2025 NBA Draft Thread: Detroit Pick Edition

[shangrila]

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Who was this about? Demin?

[BlacJacMac]

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Who was this about? Demin?

Wolf. Its in the first part of the tweet.

The player who made the biggest jump for me while doing a big deep dive and draft guide profile so far might be Danny Wolf.

One stat: Michigan is 20 points per 100 better with Wolf on-court versus off. That's 10 points per 100 better than Michigan's next best rotation player.

[shangrila]

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Who was this about? Demin?

Wolf. Its in the first part of the tweet.

The player who made the biggest jump for me while doing a big deep dive and draft guide profile so far might be Danny Wolf.

One stat: Michigan is 20 points per 100 better with Wolf on-court versus off. That's 10 points per 100 better than Michigan's next best rotation player.

Ah.

That tweet you quoted was the only one I could see without an account. Thought it might be Demin because I know Vecenie likes him.

It being about Wolf makes sense too. The shot isn't broken form-wise and the turnovers will improve, although I do think he'll always be liable for big turnover games given his high handle.

[minimus]

At last year's NBA combine, Nique measured at 6-foot-5 with a 6-foot-8 wingspan. For comparison, TJ Shannon measured 6-foot-5.75 and 6-foot-8.75.

This is a fun breakdown from January 2024.

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Is he more Jaime Jacques archetype of wing?

[Klomp]

Is he more Jaime Jacques archetype of wing?

That's another pretty good comparison, though I think he has a little more scoring potential.

[shrink]

I've been trying to find a way to best describe what Tim Connelly looks for in a draft prospect, as a way to inform my personal draft scouting experience and help narrow down a list of prospects who I think the team would reasonably consider.

The number one thing Connelly looks at is character. However, since we really don't have the resources for the behind-the-scenes access to know this about prospects, I'm not going to factor it in this discussion.

I think the best way to narrow it down is that he largely looks for an area where a prospect has the potential to be very good to elite. It might not be a skill that everyone necessarily values equally, but it's a skill that can set that player apart. It's not a perfect system where every player hits the mark, but generally has led to a pretty good draft record where generally most of the selections can fall into this category whether or not they pan out.

Everyone will point to Jokic and Murray, but even guys like Beasley (shooting), Vanderbilt (rebounding), Porter (shooting), Morris (playmaking), Hyland (shooting range), Bol (length), Kessler (shotblocking), Minott (athleticism), Miller (on-ball big), Clark (defense), Dillingham (ballhandling), and Shannon (athleticism) all offered a skill where they could be potentially elite at their position group. If a prospect didn't have an elite skill, he looked more for well-rounded versatile skillsets (Mudiay, Hernangomez, Lauvergne, Lyles, Cancar, Moore). Interestingly, his success rate is far lower there.....

His draft history points to is a willingness to gamble on upside. He is not afraid to take someone who has injury concerns (Beasley, Porter, Vanderbilt, Bol, Clark) or frame concerns (Hyland, Bol, Miller, Dillingham) either. Heck, you could include Shannon's "concerns" from last season too in that category. He definitely does his due diligence on players even if it doesn't work out.

Knowing all of this, here are a few guys who I think become more intriguing to the front office from this draft class:
Egor Demin (elite passer potential)
Derik Queen (elite offensive skillset potential)
Thomas Sorber (elite defensive skillset potential / injury concerns)
Danny Wolf (elite offensive tools potential)
Nique Clifford (elite rebounding potential)

I’m not a draft guy so I don’t keep up with thread often enough, but this is a great post Klomp! Thank you.

One other point I’d add is that Connelly drafts for team need, and isn’t stuck in his own preferences every year. Last summer, he knew the team would be strong defensively, but needed to climb up to a top 10 offense, and drafted Dillingham and especially Shannon, hoping both could provide immediate help. The KAT trade changed the minutes priority, but when he made those choices, he was flexible, trying to fit needs for a win-now team.

[Neeva]

What a rough night for Toppin, the basketball iq is not there. Honestly of all the bigs in the tournament besides Flagg I will probably take Queen. He has real talent on offense and can be similar to Naz if he can somehow be made to give a damn on defense..


Should the Wolves consider Clayton Jr. with the utah pick? His shooting can be amazing but he’s old and not a great athlete.. that shooting though. At worse he could be a Malik Beasley type off the bench

I still prefer Sorber at 31 if his injury makes him drop.

[moss_is_1]

What a rough night for Toppin, the basketball iq is not there. Honestly of all the bigs in the tournament besides Flagg I will probably take Queen. He has real talent on offense and can be similar to Naz if he can somehow be made to give a damn on defense..


Should the Wolves consider Clayton Jr. with the utah pick? His shooting can be amazing but he’s old and not a great athlete.. that shooting though. At worse he could be a Malik Beasley type off the bench

I still prefer Sorber at 31 if his injury makes him drop.

Not really a fan of taking Queen. Doesn't seem like the type of player to gamble on when we really need cheap production.

Consider me a fan of Clayton though. He looked great last night. Game reminded me of Jamal Murray. Wouldn't mind him with that Utah 2nd or something.

Agreed on Sorber. Getting those 2 would be awesome.

[moss_is_1]

Kon Knueppel is really good. Also didn't realize he's listed at 6'7". His ability to get into the paint, make plays for others reminded me a bit of Austin Reeves.

[Klomp]

Kon Knueppel is really good. Also didn't realize he's listed at 6'7". His ability to get into the paint, make plays for others reminded me a bit of Austin Reeves.

Fun fact: His mother grew up in a small west-central MN town, only 25 miles from my house. I would be a major fan of that draft pick for that alone.

[Klomp]

One other point I’d add is that Connelly drafts for team need, and isn’t stuck in his own preferences every year. Last summer, he knew the team would be strong defensively, but needed to climb up to a top offense, and drafted Dillingham and especially Shannon, hoping both could provide immediate help. The KAT trade changed the minutes priority, but when he made those choices, he was flexible, trying to fit needs for a win-now team.

This is another good point, and speaks to his roster-building as a whole. Just like how rebounding and defense were a major need, so he targeted Gobert via trade after the Memphis series. This last year, we needed pace and offensive creation potential, both areas where the rookies have helped already this year at times.

[Neeva]

What a rough night for Toppin, the basketball iq is not there. Honestly of all the bigs in the tournament besides Flagg I will probably take Queen. He has real talent on offense and can be similar to Naz if he can somehow be made to give a damn on defense..


Should the Wolves consider Clayton Jr. with the utah pick? His shooting can be amazing but he’s old and not a great athlete.. that shooting though. At worse he could be a Malik Beasley type off the bench

I still prefer Sorber at 31 if his injury makes him drop.

Not really a fan of taking Queen. Doesn't seem like the type of player to gamble on when we really need cheap production.

Consider me a fan of Clayton though. He looked great last night. Game reminded me of Jamal Murray. Wouldn't mind him with that Utah 2nd or something.

Agreed on Sorber. Getting those 2 would be awesome.

From this class I think the only player that can positively help a playoff team right off the bat is Cooper Flagg so I am willing to wait a few years for the player that wolves draft to develop.

College basketball is so ugly and hard to watch for every decent game you get a dozen butt ugly ones like both of today’s games.

[Klomp]

Realistically, no rookie next year will be in the regular rotation. They may get rotational opportunities, but it won't be on a regular basis. So I wouldn't that use that as a deciding factor for who to pick.

[Domejandro]

Huge win tonight for the Detroit pick.

Tied in the loss column with 17/18.
One loss away 19/20.
Two losses away 21/22.
Three losses away from 23.

Realistically, the pick will be 18-20.

[minimus]

Latest mock from BR:
https://www.nba.com/news/bleacher-report-2025-nba-mock-draft-final-four

19. Minnesota Timberwolves (via Pistons): Nolan Traore
31. Minnesota Timberwolves (via Jazz): Maxime Raynaud

But I rather take Sorber (22) or Wolf (21) or Rasheer Fleming (25) AND Bennett Stirtz (33) or Milos Uzan (35) or Adou Thiero (40)

[minimus]

While I love Clark's game, last game against DEN was kind of low point for him. He committed unnecessary fouls both in defense and offense, but what caught my eye once again, he got blocked at rim. Here is why Minott got minutes, whilу Josh is not high IQ player, his size at wings allows him to finish around the rim and compensates at some degree lack of awareness in defense.

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I really hope Clark continues to develop his floater game and footwork which will allow him to finish over defense. But at the same time I can see how a full sized combo wing (6'8"-6'9") can contribute right away for MIN. I have two questions here:

Do you see someone like Adou Thiero (220lbs, 6'8" with a 7'0" wingspan, 40+ vertical): strong defensive minded athletic wing without consistent 3PT shot as a good candidate with UTA SRP (early 31-35 range)? Or someone like Alex Karaban (220lbs, 6'7" with a 6'11" wingspan, 32 vertical): wing shooter with mediocre defense?

[minimus]

Getting one of them will be a good draft for me.

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[Klomp]

Looking at Sorber, I get Gorgui Dieng vibes from hm. And that's not necessarily a bad thing.

[Klomp]

While I love Clark's game, last game against DEN was kind of low point for him. He committed unnecessary fouls both in defense and offense, but what caught my eye once again, he got blocked at rim. Here is why Minott got minutes, whilу Josh is not high IQ player, his size at wings allows him to finish around the rim and compensates at some degree lack of awareness in defense.

Read on Twitter

I really hope Clark continues to develop his floater game and footwork which will allow him to finish over defense. But at the same time I can see how a full sized combo wing (6'8"-6'9") can contribute right away for MIN. I have two questions here:

Do you see someone like Adou Thiero (220lbs, 6'8" with a 7'0" wingspan, 40+ vertical): strong defensive minded athletic wing without consistent 3PT shot as a good candidate with UTA SRP (early 31-35 range)? Or someone like Alex Karaban (220lbs, 6'7" with a 6'11" wingspan, 32 vertical): wing shooter with mediocre defense?

Unless he really blows up during pre-draft workouts, I think we will be close to the range where Arizona forward Carter Bryant will land because he's just raw enough to possibly sneak under radars. I think he would be a great piece as a developmental forward with good upside.

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[Mattya]

While I love Clark's game, last game against DEN was kind of low point for him. He committed unnecessary fouls both in defense and offense, but what caught my eye once again, he got blocked at rim. Here is why Minott got minutes, whilу Josh is not high IQ player, his size at wings allows him to finish around the rim and compensates at some degree lack of awareness in defense.

Read on Twitter

I really hope Clark continues to develop his floater game and footwork which will allow him to finish over defense. But at the same time I can see how a full sized combo wing (6'8"-6'9") can contribute right away for MIN. I have two questions here:

Do you see someone like Adou Thiero (220lbs, 6'8" with a 7'0" wingspan, 40+ vertical): strong defensive minded athletic wing without consistent 3PT shot as a good candidate with UTA SRP (early 31-35 range)? Or someone like Alex Karaban (220lbs, 6'7" with a 6'11" wingspan, 32 vertical): wing shooter with mediocre defense?

Unless he really blows up during pre-draft workouts, I think we will be close to the range where Arizona forward Carter Bryant will land because he's just raw enough to possibly sneak under radars. I think he would be a great piece as a developmental forward with good upside.

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I don’t see how he slips to the second round looking at some of the players mocked at the end of the first.