2025 NBA Draft Thread

[B Sox]

- Lamelo #1 to GSW. Edwards #2 to MIN. Hayes #3 to DET. Okongwu #4 to ATL.
- They all LOVE Obi Toppin. Saying he can be an all-star caliber player within a couple years.
- One dude has Cole Anthony in the 20s on his big board. There's absolutely zero chance he gets passed BOTH the Knicks and Suns.
- Had the Cs taking Jalen Smith at 17. Kira Lewis was still on the board though. I'm torn.
- Kira Lewis going the next pick to Dallas. Would be perfect there.

 

[addict4sneakers]

Kira Lewis should be the 3rd PG off the board. I can’t be told anything else

 

[pmatic]

http://nbadraftcomp.herokuapp.com/stats/

Statistical and physical comps for prospects tool.

 

[pums]

Kira Lewis should be the 3rd PG off the board. I can’t be told anything else

He going before Cole?

 

[addict4sneakers]

He going before Cole?

I think he should. The only thing cole does better is jump higher

 

[youngthundercat]

melo going to GSW is so trash

 

[Vincent Van Goat]

- Lamelo #1 to GSW. Edwards #2 to MIN. Hayes #3 to DET. Okongwu #4 to ATL.
- They all LOVE Obi Toppin. Saying he can be an all-star caliber player within a couple years.
- One dude has Cole Anthony in the 20s on his big board. There's absolutely zero chance he gets passed BOTH the Knicks and Suns.
- Had the Cs taking Jalen Smith at 17. Kira Lewis was still on the board though. I'm torn.
- Kira Lewis going the next pick to Dallas. Would be perfect there.

Was this based off what they actually think will happen? Okongwu to ATL seems like a logjam unless they said they're going to trade one of their current bigs

Man, I feel like there's wide variance on Obi. I've seen some question his potential due to the age thing and others compare him to Amare and now this eval

I'd love to have Lewis as a Mav but they've got Curry, Wright and Brunson already. I would hate to get rid of any of em but I don't know who else would be available at that spot and if Lewis is there it'd be hard not to take him

 

[frshstunna]

The USC dude in ATL means they moving on from Collins when his deal is up, and that would be dumb ...But they been mad at yo since he got busted for steroids so won’t be too surprised

 

[Vincent Van Goat]

DAL needs defense (any position really) and could use a legitimately sized wing. If Sadiq Bey or Nwora are there I wouldn't mind

Going to investigate Patrick Williams, Aaron Nesmith and Tyler Bey

Also forgot about Jay Scrubb. Wonder if someone rolls the dice on him in the first round

 

[frshstunna]

DAL needs defense (any position really) and could use a legitimately sized wing. If Sadiq Bey or Nwora are there I wouldn't mind

Going to investigate Patrick Williams, Aaron Nesmith and Tyler Bey

Also forgot about Jay Scrubb. Wonder if someone rolls the dice on him in the first round

From what I’ve seen and looked up ...Williams won’t be ready to help any team for a few years, Nesmith can only catch and shoot, and Bey is an older cat that’s just getting nice...Would go with Bey if they think it’s some potential left there and he might be able to hit a 3 consistently

 

[ballinsam23]

I like Toppin, but I'm also cautious with every PF that filled up stat sheets in college. The common theme with all these guys is that they dont do anything great (except Beasley but feel like he didnt pan out for other reasons) or play defense.

Cody Zeller
Jordan Hill
Mike Beasley
Tyler Hansboro
Derrick Williams
Thomas Robinson
Julius Randle
Frank Kaminsky
Kelly Olynk

Looking back at it, I cant think of one PF that panned out for their draft position outside of Love. Excluding the clear cut #1 picks (Blake, AD, KAT, etc).

If Obi goes top 5, whats he great at?

 

[frshstunna]

Toppin shouldn’t go top 5, he’s a 22 year old soph pf with no in between game and still trying to learn how to play defense

Yo would be a steal in this draft after 10 tho

 

[addict4sneakers]

I like Toppin, but I'm also cautious with every PF that filled up stat sheets in college. The common theme with all these guys is that they dont do anything great (except Beasley but feel like he didnt pan out for other reasons) or play defense.

Cody Zeller
Jordan Hill
Mike Beasley
Tyler Hansboro
Derrick Williams
Thomas Robinson
Julius Randle
Frank Kaminsky
Kelly Olynk

Looking back at it, I cant think of one PF that panned out for their draft position outside of Blake, and Love. Excluding the clear cut #1 picks (Blake, AD, KAT, etc).

If Obi goes top 5, whats he great at?

Zion
Bagley
Julius absolutely panned out
Sabonis

Obi is an athlete but he’s 22 and he can’t defend a chair. He’s not slated to go that high for his production but more so what translates to the league. I think he’s going to fall out of the top 7ish depending how these ping pong balls work.

 

[frshstunna]

I like Toppin, but I'm also cautious with every PF that filled up stat sheets in college. The common theme with all these guys is that they dont do anything great (except Beasley but feel like he didnt pan out for other reasons) or play defense.

Cody Zeller
Jordan Hill
Mike Beasley
Tyler Hansboro
Derrick Williams
Thomas Robinson
Julius Randle
Frank Kaminsky
Kelly Olynk

Looking back at it, I cant think of one PF that panned out for their draft position outside of Love. Excluding the clear cut #1 picks (Blake, AD, KAT, etc).

If Obi goes top 5, whats he great at?

All these dude were at least 21 when they got drafted expect for Beasley...Obi falls in line with em, I ain’t rocking with it

 

[addict4sneakers]

All these dude were at least 21 when they got drafted expect for Beasley...Obi falls in line with em, I ain’t rocking with it

And it gets super dicey when your picking in the 10 range historically. It’s not a “PFs don’t translate thing”

 

[ballinsam23]

Zion was clear cut #1.

The jury is out on Bagley. Still way too early, but I dont see him being an all star. A good starter sure. A #2 pick that never makes an all star game is a bust.

 

[ballinsam23]

All these dude were at least 21 when they got drafted expect for Beasley...Obi falls in line with em, I ain’t rocking with it

I'm not with it too. I dont think he'll fall to 7. Many consider him the best big in the draft. Honestly, if he can hit the 3 ball at a 35% clip, he's a starting 5.

 

[frshstunna]

And it gets super dicey when your picking in the 10 range historically. It’s not a “PFs don’t translate thing”

What’s your top 5 and cats that you would pass on in the top 5? ballinsam23 too

My top 5 is Edwards, Wiseman, Ball, Advija, and Anthony ...I would pass on Toppin, Haliburton, Hayes, Okoro and Hampton in the top 5

 

[addict4sneakers]

What’s your top 5 and cats that you would pass on in the top 5?

My top 5 is Edwards, Wiseman, Ball, Advija, and Anthony ...I would pass on Toppin, Haliburton, Hayes, Okoro and Hampton in the top 5

not quite a 5 and 5 but:

edwards
Ball
Hayes
Wiseman
Okongwu

I’m cool on Haliburton, advija, toppin, Anthony

 

[frshstunna]

I need to watch more of Okongwu, I know the stats show productivity tho ...Also high on Maxxey and Kira Lewis but they seemed to be over looked

 

[B Sox]

Could easily see Haliburton having a better career than Lamelo and Hayes. Gotta gamble with the ceiling of those two over him though. He'll go somewhere 5-10 though and be a key piece on a good team at some point.

The more I think about things, the more I think Wiseman could absolutely be worth taking in the 3-5 range. What is his worst case scenario? Tristan Thompson? I'd take that. Okongwu getting picked over him probably depends on how the lotto shakes out.

Okoro doesn't have enough basketball skill to go in the top 10, IMO. Maybe not even end of lotto.

Feel like one of Cole Anthony/Kira Lewis/Tyrese Maxey is going to be a stud. The other two will be decent contributors. Just not sure who it's gonna be.

 

[B Sox]

Was this based off what they actually think will happen? Okongwu to ATL seems like a logjam unless they said they're going to trade one of their current bigs

The moderator dude gave it a bad grade. Said it would've been a great pick if it were pre-Capela though.

Don't really know what this team should do if they can't get Edwards.

 

[B Sox]

Is anyone in here high on Precious Achiuwa? If so, can you help sell me on him?

I don't really understand why he should be valued over guys like Jalen Smith, Daniel Oturu, and Zeke Nnaji. He is 6 months older than Smith, the same age as Oturu, and 16 months older than Nnaji. All 3 of them strike me as being much more skilled.

 

[pmatic]

Hollinger wrote this about Precious and Paul Reed last month:

Check out the stat line on these two players:

Player A: 27.4 PER; 26.7 pts, 18.8 reb, 2.9 ast, 3.3 st, 4.5 bk per 100; 30.8% on 3s

Player B: 23.3 PER; 28.4 pts, 19.4 reb, 1.7 ast, 2.0 st, 3.4 bk per 100; 32.5% on 3s

It’s close, but Player A’s line is superior. Player A also played a harder schedule — the nation’s 28th most difficult schedule, according to KenPom, while Player B played the 80th toughest schedule.

These two are similar beyond stats: Both are the same size, although Player B is a bit thicker in the shoulders and might be five pounds heavier, and they reported the same wingspan. They’re also the same age.

They play similarly too, profiling as almost exactly the same type of player — a highly switchable, multi-positional defensive weapon with offensive question marks centered on iffy shooting and a questionable handle and feel.

Believe it or not, Player B is seen as a lottery pick by many, while Player A is universally pegged as a late second-rounder.

This makes no sense.

If you haven’t figured it out by now, Player A is DePaul’s Paul Reed. And Player B? That is Memphis’s Precious Achiuwa.

I’m guessing that much of the perception difference between the two is that Achiuwa is a one-and-done and Reed is a junior. Reed, indeed, is older than Achiuwa … by three whole months. They both will be 21 on opening night. The biggest “difference” between the two is an insignificant one.

Meanwhile, let’s talk about defense, since that’s the main selling point of each. Achiuwa is indeed quite good at this end. But Reed is a freaking beast. I don’t think you need to devour tape 24/7 to conclude that Reed is a superior defender; though both players can harass guards effectively with their long arms and lateral quickness, Reed is the better of the two and his fast hands are a game-changer. The numbers back it up too: He had the highest steal rate of any significant draft prospect at any position, despite playing inside on a terrible team that rarely left him in position to succeed.

Reed, incidentally, had little to do with his team’s woes. As our Sam Vecenie recently noted, DePaul outscored opponents by 7 points per 100 possessions when he played … and got rocked by 22 per 100 when he sat.

To be clear: I like both of these guys. They are extremely similar and both should go in the first round. But to the extent you can divine any differences, all the advantages point to Reed. That makes it really odd that he appears about 40 spots lower on draft boards.

This is the biggest point of cognitive dissonance in the draft right now. Personally, I will have Reed a few spots higher than Achiuwa on my final board.

Hollinger: Five takes on NBA Draft prospects where I’m against the consensus

In comparing his evaluation of prospects to where they are ranked by the most prominent draftologists, Hollinger noticed some differences.

theathletic.com

 

[Sonny Corinthos]

I saw some dude on youtube calm he is hearing the Wiz want to draft Lamelo Ball .