2025 NBA Draft Discussion Part 8

[Clutch0z24]

I don’t know, Richardson came from a time where NBA athletes weren’t as money savvy as this current Gen.

They were going BROKE in a hurry.

That 5M is really like 1.5M after taxes, etc etc. nothing to scoff at but clearly different from making IQ money vs potentially being a journeyman player in the NBA cause you weren’t 2-3 inches taller.

Kyrie Made 270 Mill, Lowry the GOAT Raptor made 276 mill, Brunson made 60 mill , Trae Young made 103 Mill, Garland made 63 mill, Morant Made 73 Mill, CP3 Made 390 Mill, FVV Made 122 Mill, Conley made 276 Mill.....

These are the players that are in that height range of Jase.....Jase has a bigger wingspan than most of them while also being a better athlete than alot of them....I doubt his height is as big of an issue as you are making it out to be....Skills/Talent matter more....You could have a 6 ft 8 player who never develops skills on the level of Jase ever and they are out of the league in 2 years...

Jase also has a standing reach of 8feet 2.5 inches which is the same as Fears in this draft....His height is literally the only "red flag" other than his height all his measurments/atheltic ability translate just fine to go along with prolly top 5 skills in this class...I would take the bet on him...

After your 5000th post on Jase, I’m still confused.
Do you like him or not?

There are 5000 posts about Carter Bryant (Unproven College player), 5000 Posts about Maluach (Lots of bust potential).....Everyone in here has their player they "Like" "Dislike" And alot of posters end up posting their players they like on here alot....Don't try and make me pointing out good stuff about Jase Richardsons game any different to the other posters here....Thats what the Draft thread is about....If you don't like it go to a different thread...

[VanWest82]

I don't really understand the Jase love at 9. Donovan Mitchell succeeds at that height and play style because he's not only a tremendous shot maker but has incredible athleticism to get up and finish above the rim. Jase doesn't have that. He doesn't have Brunson's bulk or floor general like feel for the game. I don't get the upside here.

[Dalek]

I am more settled on the upside with Asa Newell. I have watched much more film and come away more impressed by his defensive awareness. He might not have the 9'5" wingspan of guys like Maluach or Fleming, but he processes quickly and is in the right spots. If you watch him against South Carolina here at around 3:20 mark you can see his defense. He rotates in help situations at the right time, closes on a shooter under control and then rotates back into the paint. He also has a number of deflections and handles CMB well.

Watch on YouTube

For a Freshman he is advanced on that side. On offense he is simple with his limited creation, but he can handle and pass a bit. He is a local kid and Georgia is a poorly coached team with no guard support, and this was their first winning year and first NCAA tournament in a decade. I think Newell was their main driver.

A guy like Fleming has highlight reel plays, but I am feeling like other than chasing for steals and blocks he has poor defensive awareness. Ben Pfeifer, draft guy points to his flaws:

Watch on YouTube

;t=587s

I am worried about an older prospect with poor awareness, but maybe people see something different.

[ciueli]

I don’t think we can pass up the potential on guys like Maluach and Bryant, even if they are very unproven offensively. Whichever one is there at 9 is probably who we take.

What is Maluach's potential exactly? He has stone hands, can't rebound and is slow... Strikes me as a bust / can't play in the 4th quarter kinda guy

Where is this coming from? Slow? He's one of the only legit 7'+ big men with true NBA C size in college actually playing effective switch defence, almost all of the other lumbering bigs stand in the paint whole possessions which can't happen in the NBA. Can't play in the 4th quarter? He makes his free throws at a good rate unlike a ton of other big men in the league who get played off the floor in the 4th like our own current starting C Jakob Poeltl. Can't rebound? Merely has per 40 minute rebound numbers as good as some of the best rebounders in the NBA had in their freshman seasons in college when they were older. Stone hands? He's one of the most effective lob threats in college at the age of 18 and finishes around the rim at crazy percentages even on bad passes.

[OakleyDokely]

I am more settled on the upside with Asa Newell. I have watched much more film and come away more impressed by his defensive awareness. He might not have the 9'5" wingspan of guys like Maluach or Fleming, but he processes quickly and is in the right spots. If you watch him against South Carolina here at around 3:20 mark you can see his defense. He rotates in help situations at the right time, closes on a shooter under control and then rotates back into the paint. He also has a number of deflections and handles CMB well.

Watch on YouTube

For a Freshman he is advanced on that side. On offense he is simple with his limited creation, but he can handle and pass a bit. He is a local kid and Georgia is a poorly coached team with no guard support, and this was their first winning year and first NCAA tournament in a decade. I think Newell was their main driver.

A guy like Fleming has highlight reel plays, but I am feeling like other than chasing for steals and blocks he has poor defensive awareness. Ben Pfeifer, draft guy points to his flaws:

Watch on YouTube

;t=587s

I am worried about an older prospect with poor awareness, but maybe people see something different.

Newell is an older Freshman, so he's only about a year younger than Fleming. Fleming will be 21 and Newell 20 by the start of the season.

[WuTang_CMB]

I don't really understand the Jase love at 9. Donovan Mitchell succeeds at that height and play style because he's not only a tremendous shot maker but has incredible athleticism to get up and finish above the rim. Jase doesn't have that. He doesn't have Brunson's bulk or floor general like feel for the game. I don't get the upside here.

he also has a superior +9 wingspan

[WuTang_CMB]

Watch on YouTube

[Pointgod]

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/25193838-updated-2025-nba-mock-draft-after-early-entrant-withdrawal-deadline

Read on Twitter

?s=46&t=0YpMScWXY2zRUqR8fH-usg

Tre Johnson had the 2nd fastest lane agility time at the combine. Why would anyone take VJ over Tre? One injury like Livingston or Oladipo and VJ is an MLE player. If Tre gets injured he still could be an allstar level player.

I value Tre higher because the two most important skills in the NBA are shooting and shot creation, Tre has both of those down with size at his position. Maybe it’s just my preferences though. I think a lot of Edgecomb to Charlotte is a better fit and the belief that Edgecomb could develop offensively.

[OakleyDokely]

I don't really understand the Jase love at 9. Donovan Mitchell succeeds at that height and play style because he's not only a tremendous shot maker but has incredible athleticism to get up and finish above the rim. Jase doesn't have that. He doesn't have Brunson's bulk or floor general like feel for the game. I don't get the upside here.

he also has a superior +9 wingspan

DMitchell is thick as well. He was 210 in his draft year.

You can be on the smaller side, but you need to be either ridiculously athletic and/or 200+ lbs.

[Psubs]

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/25193838-updated-2025-nba-mock-draft-after-early-entrant-withdrawal-deadline

Read on Twitter

?s=46&t=0YpMScWXY2zRUqR8fH-usg

Tre Johnson had the 2nd fastest lane agility time at the combine. Why would anyone take VJ over Tre? One injury like Livingston or Oladipo and VJ is an MLE player. If Tre gets injured he still could be an allstar level player.

I value Tre higher because the two most important skills in the NBA are shooting and shot creation, Tre has both of those down with size at his position. Maybe it’s just my preferences though. I think a lot of Edgecomb to Charlotte is a better fit and the belief that Edgecomb could develop offensively.

If Aaron Nesmith went in this draft, I think he'd go #2 behind Cooper Flagg, that's why I think Tre should go #2. I would say that Tre has better passing but Nesmith has become a really good POA defender.

[Pointgod]

I don't really understand the Jase love at 9. Donovan Mitchell succeeds at that height and play style because he's not only a tremendous shot maker but has incredible athleticism to get up and finish above the rim. Jase doesn't have that. He doesn't have Brunson's bulk or floor general like feel for the game. I don't get the upside here.

he also has a superior +9 wingspan

DMitchell is thick as well. He was 210 in his draft year.

You can be on the smaller side, but you need to be either ridiculously athletic and/or 200+ lbs.

So you’re saying Jase needs to get the Kyle Lowry BBL package

[OakleyDokely]

he also has a superior +9 wingspan

DMitchell is thick as well. He was 210 in his draft year.

You can be on the smaller side, but you need to be either ridiculously athletic and/or 200+ lbs.

So you’re saying Jase needs to get the Kyle Lowry BBL package

[manjusaka]

I am not sure which has more value in today’s NBA playoffs: long athletic 3D forwards or defensive C? Specifically, Essengue, Newell, Bryant vs Maluach.

[JCP11]

I don't really understand the Jase love at 9. Donovan Mitchell succeeds at that height and play style because he's not only a tremendous shot maker but has incredible athleticism to get up and finish above the rim. Jase doesn't have that. He doesn't have Brunson's bulk or floor general like feel for the game. I don't get the upside here.

Donovan was like 210lbs in his draft year, that's 30 pounds more than Jase. I understand the love for his talent but he's small, light, not a great athlete, not particularly fast...you can't justify drafting him at 9 unless you feel he's a generational talent which I don't think he is.

[Clutch0z24]

I don't really understand the Jase love at 9. Donovan Mitchell succeeds at that height and play style because he's not only a tremendous shot maker but has incredible athleticism to get up and finish above the rim. Jase doesn't have that. He doesn't have Brunson's bulk or floor general like feel for the game. I don't get the upside here.

For me you would have to do a deeper dive than just look at his size and write him off because of that....

He shot 69% at the rim in a pretty fair amount of attempts going 60-87 at attacking the rim which shows he can finish with the best of them in the paint in this class....Because he may not have the height but he has the craftyness, footwork, speed to blow by, ball handling to get to the rim and has the athletic ability to make shots because he can hang in the air with a 38 inch vert....

Hes the best C&S in this class and one of the best 3 point shooters in this class....He has the 2nd best BPM Next to Flagg, and a TS% Of 70%....

He has one of best shot creation upsides in this draft while also being a mid range assasin hitting 49% of his mid range shots....and he hits the mid ranges off his own ball handling/creation moves...

He gets to the FT line a good amount for his position and hit majority of them with a 102-122 84% makes....

Hes a legit 50-40-84% Guy which is pretty great...

While he does not have the assists numbers to show he can be a PG at the next level with 2 a game....He also was not run as a PG ....If you develop him as a PG there is no reason to believe he won't be good at it considering he has an elite AST/TO Ratio While also being a PG in HS where he gave you 4.5 AST per game...

Watch on YouTube

If you watch the vid you can see he may not have elite hops or be dunking over everyone ....Which is fine because his athletic ability helps him in many ways with finishing around defenders and makes him elite finisher sim to a Kyrie....He has sneaky hops where he gets off the floor but his game is more in the skills department...But its not like this is a FVV, Lowry, Conley who can't really get above the rim....This guy can clearly jump high and has more athletic ability than you would think at his size....Due to his hops and Long arms...

Also hes 19 years old....No one at 19 has the body of a grown man coming into the league Unless your LBJ....He has lots of time to put on muscle and bulk up...That will come with time....

[MEDIC]

Just as a random thought but Carter Bryant really reminds of all the types of players that make OKC great as a team, just saying.

But they also have the MVP of the league which is a top 3 player in the league maybe top 2.....He had 34 points, 8, 7 .....We don't have a player that comes close to Shai in talent....We need to find our Shai first before we build with 3&D role players....Unless you think Barnes can be Shai level one day...

OKC are not great because they have Caruso/Lu Dort....ofc that makes them alot better but they are great because they have the best young trio in the league with one of them thats the MVP.....Hard to replicate that when you don't have a Shai...or even a Chet level prospect big man...Id say Barnes could be on the same tier as Jalen Williams as a player.....But thats not quite good enough to just be drafting for role players imo....We need stars...

I keep wonding what this team would be like replacing Dick, Walter & IQ with Dort, Caruso & Jrue Holiday types.

I think it could be a 50 win team.

[raptor jesus]

I do wonder that if Jase played at a different, less restrictive, program, would we view him as having a higher ceiling? MSU isn't really the place to go to stand out as an NBA prospect. Is there more to his game that he didn't really get to showcase? Of course, it works both ways i.e. it's possible that MSU hid some flaws as well. I'd be curious to see how he looks in workouts.

[ishoy123]

I am not sure which has more value in today’s NBA playoffs: long athletic 3D forwards or defensive C? Specifically, Essengue, Newell, Bryant vs Maluach.

If there's anything to learn, it's that you shouldn't label players as low-upside based on superficial comparisons or measurements. Brunson went in the 2nd round and was viewed as an unathletic, low-upside player. Haliburton was an old tweener with mediocre athleticism. People didn't think Siakam would do anything beyond rebounding.

[Clutch0z24]

Just as a random thought but Carter Bryant really reminds of all the types of players that make OKC great as a team, just saying.

But they also have the MVP of the league which is a top 3 player in the league maybe top 2.....He had 34 points, 8, 7 .....We don't have a player that comes close to Shai in talent....We need to find our Shai first before we build with 3&D role players....Unless you think Barnes can be Shai level one day...

OKC are not great because they have Caruso/Lu Dort....ofc that makes them alot better but they are great because they have the best young trio in the league with one of them thats the MVP.....Hard to replicate that when you don't have a Shai...or even a Chet level prospect big man...Id say Barnes could be on the same tier as Jalen Williams as a player.....But thats not quite good enough to just be drafting for role players imo....We need stars...

I keep wonding what this team would be like replacing Dick, Walter & IQ with Dort, Caruso & Jrue Holiday types.

I think it could be a 50 win team.

Maybe....But you would have to believe in Barnes as being that guy or rely on Ingrams health (Which has been shaky his whole career)....OKC are where they are because of the MVP they have and the 2 young stars in Chet/Williams....Them 3 are driving the bus to that team....If you believe Barnes/Ingram could have an impact like Shai/Williams/Chet all power to ya...But i do not think so...

The Caruso/Holidays/Dorts are the final pieces type of guys you add to the team when you already have your number one options assorted already....Not saying we should not be trying to add them players if you can but using your only 9th pick you will have in a long time on trying to find that kind of a player to me is a bad move....You can trade/sign/Draft(Later) these players a little more easier than you can stars....If Masai actually believes one of the 3&D guys in this draft can be a legit star sure go for it but if you are drafting a 3&D guy at 9th thinking your just going to fill a role on the team its not the best option...Especially when you lack in the star department...

[OakleyDokely]

I am not sure which has more value in today’s NBA playoffs: long athletic 3D forwards or defensive C? Specifically, Essengue, Newell, Bryant vs Maluach.

If there's anything to learn, it's that you shouldn't label players as low-upside based on superficial comparisons or measurements. Brunson went in the 2nd round and was viewed as an unathletic, low-upside player. Haliburton was an old tweener with mediocre athleticism. People didn't think Siakam would do anything beyond rebounding.

and all those guys were very productive college players

usually the numbers don't lie