2025 NBA Draft

[lebomb]

I want Bailey so bad.. He has the highest ceiling in the draft by far.

I like Harper and VJ Edgecombe better.

[mo7888]

Jase Richardson was the best player in a game against Bailey and Harper.

Hes one of the guys i like playing alongside Castle.

[CorrectCrusader]

I like Harper and VJ Edgecombe better.

Harper is insanely good too. I haven't watched any Edgecombe

[Dejounte]

I think you are severely overrating him. Fleming is not going to be projected in the teens by any reputable analyst, and there is zero chance OKC takes him in the top 10 in this draft.

On defense, he 100% has good physical tools that you mention, and I think he's definitely able to defend traditional big men and provide solid rim protection. However, I think you're overrating his ability to defend on the perimeter. His footwork needs A LOT of work. He's downright bad at closeouts and fighting over screens as a result.

Eh I’m sorry, man. i don’t think this topic could be productive at all between us. it’s not really how far apart we are on our thoughts on Rasheer, but the tone in your posts that makes it sound like you’re unwilling to budge. It’s like I could write paragraphs on end and you would already be prepared to disagree. It won’t be fruitful, but that’s alright. We can agree to disagree.

Anyway, it took me a minute to search for one mock draft that had Rasheer at 22, three spots from the teens. That was Chad Ford’s mock, a guy who has done this for decades. Not out of the realm of possibility there will be a mock draft that moves him into the teens.

[Russ]

A player you haven't heard of and who will be likely drafted in the first round is french player Joan Beringer. He is currently #24 on Givony's big board.



The main thing about him is that he has played basketball for 3 and a half years. He barely knows how to play but he is true physical specimen (6'10/6'11" barefoot with a 7'4" wingspan and a great mobility/explosiveness) and is improving quickly.
Teams with multiple first round picks like OKC and Nets will surely use one of them on him. A very high risk and reward prospect.

Had my eye on him and almost asked our French expert about him.

Looks like an athletic rim runner.

If only he could hit the three -- we could call him Joan of Arc.

[rascal]

Harper is insanely good too. I haven't watched any Edgecombe

Harper is exactly what the Spurs need, the number 2 option and the 2nd star.

[stnick2261]

Had my eye on him and almost asked our French expert about him.

Looks like an athletic rim runner.

If only he could hit the three -- we could call him Joan of Arc.

Sounds perfect next to "Castle"

[SpursBills]

Eh I’m sorry, man. i don’t think this topic could be productive at all between us. it’s not really how far apart we are on our thoughts on Rasheer, but the tone in your posts that makes it sound like you’re unwilling to budge. It’s like I could write paragraphs on end and you would already be prepared to disagree. It won’t be fruitful, but that’s alright. We can agree to disagree.

Anyway, it took me a minute to search for one mock draft that had Rasheer at 22, three spots from the teens. That was Chad Ford’s mock, a guy who has done this for decades. Not out of the realm of possibility there will be a mock draft that moves him into the teens.

In your estimation is his 70th percentile outcome both stylistically and impact-wise basically Tari Eason - havoc creator, turnover generator, man defender, play finisher, average shooter?

[Dejounte]

In your estimation is his 70th percentile outcome both stylistically and impact-wise basically Tari Eason - havoc creator, turnover generator, man defender, play finisher, average shooter?

Yeah, I think it’s somewhere between Precious Achiuwa and Tari Eason.

[keithington1]

I like Maluach and Essengue. Brian would never take Maluach because he would steal Wembys rebounds. Spurs need to go all out on size and defense. They can sign shooters in free agency.

[baseline bum]

I want Bailey so bad.. He has the highest ceiling in the draft by far.

Could definitely see Ace being another McGrady if things work out right, but Flagg's ceiling looks even better.

[scott]

Could definitely see Ace being another McGrady if things work out right, but Flagg's ceiling looks even better.

Looking forward to Year 16 Ace Bailey being added to our playoff roster

[LeBowen]

Looking forward to Year 16 Ace Bailey being added to our playoff roster

Nice of you to think we'll be making the playoffs with 38 year old Wemby.

[scott]

Nice of you to think we'll be making the playoffs with 38 year old Wemby.

I'm counting on whomever we draft with MIN 2031 pick to carry us to the le that year

[stnick2261]

I’m curious what Flagg’s personality is like and how he’d gel with the team (Duncan liked DnD stuff, Wemby likes fashion, etc)…. but there is no denying the amount of work that Flagg puts into getting better. Him and Wemby would be the first ones in the gym and the last to leave. They’d have to become best friends from the sheer amount of time they would be working out together.

[Kurik]

Hes one of the guys i like playing alongside Castle.

He seems to process the game very well and doesn’t take bad shots. Not to bring up a Spurs legend but I think he has some of the qualities the Spurs hoped to get from Primo. I think he’ll be mocked between 10-15 if Mich State does well in the tournament.

[SpursBills]

Best values relative to consensus mock draft opinion (There are other prospects I like, but these just point to value relative to mock draft)

Cooper Flagg (Tankathon mock:1) -
shouldn't really be a debate, putting up Chet-level impact numbers with no frame or injury concerns; insane motor and high level BBIQ; high level run and jump athlete. High level movement + historic production scaled by age = future top 10 player, possibly top 5 player, think Franz Wagner but like 25% better at everything (for the record Franz is a top 10 player himself in impact metrics the last 2 years at the ripe age of 23)

VJ Edgecomb (Tankathon mock:5) -
So, I actually have this guy comfortably ahead of Ace and actually neck and neck with Harper from a star upside standpoint (hot take alert). Harper's numbers look like Harden's but the problem is that Harden's outside shot really developed much more than what his college numbers would have suggested. Meanwhile, Harper's shot was very questionable in HS, and his FT shooting has come back down to earth (71% FT, 34% 3P), as has his midrange accuracy (26%). If his shot doesn't translate, he'll likely have a much harder time acting as an offensive engine. However, that's still a very valuable player and probably a low level all-star.

Meanwhile for VJ - athleticism pops not only with dunks but lateral movement. Insane event generator for his size (3.3 BLK%, 4.5 STL%, 7.1 OREB%). I actually trust his shot more than Harper's - he shot well in a large sample in HS and both his FT% and 3 point% are drifting back up to the mean. He'll never be an offensive engine, but you may not need that if you've got Castle around and imagine those two in the backcourt absolutely terrorizing ball handlers.

I'm coming to realize that nuclear athleticism + decent feel typically leads to very good outcomes, especially if a prospect has decent shooting indicators. Even idiot chuckers like Jalen Green, Lavine, and Shaedon Sharpe have had decent careers so far on the backs of their athleticism in spite of being low feel players. VJ's not the prospect Amen is obviously because of his frame and lower feel, but Oladipo seems like a reasonable 50-70th percentile outcome. My primary worry about VJ is that despite his athleticism he does not finish as well at the rim as I would expect (60%) which is a concern regarding his touch and downgrades the likelihood of his shot translating.

Collin Murray-Boyles (Tankathon mock: 16) -
In a league where length and agility is king, and next to the lengthiest and one of the skinniest dudes in the league, I think there should be room for strength and bulk. Good combination of a both a strength and finesse based low post game and off the dribble face-up game to punish mismatches that exceeds that of other forwards like Newell, Fleming, Essengue, and Penda. High feel + athleticism scaled to his body type. South Carolina is terrible this year so he's basically taking on double teams every game. Last year he looked great until he ran into Johnni Broome and Auburn who limited him to a 1/9 night at the end of the season. Then he ran into Broome in single coverage again this year and basically dog-walked him to a tune of 25/7 while limiting player of the year contender Broome to 6 on 3/11 shooting.

Examples of athleticism + instincts + hand-eye coordination:

Freshman CMB dunks over/through 7'2" Ivisic from a flat footed start: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/MndPxzOD9kI
Freshman CMB blocks a 7'3" center from the weak side (posted this one in the past):https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-3PGaNB6bQ8
CMB is basically everywhere guarding multiple actions: https://x.com/bjpf_/status/1869582367117164747
I don't really know what this is - looks like some Kawhi : https://x.com/DraftPow/status/1881009258541760686

He's basically built like Julius Randle except I really hated Julius Randle as a prospect for being a black hole with zero feel and piss poor defense (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-h6SMSDgfA), and CMB is like the bizarro version of that where he constantly hits the corners from the post, can playmake off the top of the key, doesn't force the issue, and has high level awareness and feel. Obvious warts being a 6'7" power forward who hasn't shown much in terms of shooting, high turnovers given difficulty adjusting to double teams and sometimes lazy passes, and you can see how his downside is like a Xavier Tillman if the offense doesn't translate, but of all the guys mocked at the stage, he's got the most two way star equity by far to me. 50th percentile is probably Brandon Clarke or something similar.

Also as an added bonus, I view him as something of an anti-Chet weapon moving forward - too strong with a low center of gravity to get into Chet's body, the speed to stay with him on the perimeter, the length to contest his shots. On the other end, low center of gravity to move Chet at the rim similar to guys like Kenneth Lofton did to Wemby in U19s.

Miles Byrd (Tankathon mock: 36) -
You've gotta be ting me with this ranking. 6'7", +wingspan. Career 84% FT shooter, jacks up 12 3's/100 possessions, shoots 40% on unassisted non-rim 2s. Yeah, he's skinny and only shoots 48% at the rim, but 90% of those makes are unassisted. 15 BPM against top 100 compe ion, almost 20% AST% with 1.5 AST:TO. 4+ BLK and STL%. This clearly screams high level 3 and D + player with some creation upside. The fact that this guy is ranked 36 and kon knueppel is 6 is just...I mean, I like Kon aside from the fact that he can't seem to get his shot off against high level compe ion, but this has to be one of the best values for draft position that I've seen.

[mo7888]

Most years I put up my Board from a league perspective and then right before draft time I put up a smaller board from a Spurs perspective. This year I'm just doing a top 30 from the perspective of the order I'd like for the Spurs to choose from. Feel free to rip it to shreds because a few spots are out of sync with what alot of the prognosticators have on their boards.

1. Cooper Flagg
2. Dylan Harper
3. Ace Bailey
4. Kasparas Jackucionis
5. Tre Johnson
6. V.J. Edgecombe
7. Jon Knueppel
8. Liam McNeely
9. Sergio De Larrea
10. Jase Richardson
11. Rasheer Fleming
12. Egor Demin
13. Danny Wolf
14. Miles Byrd
15. Will Riley
16. Alex Karaban
17. Nolan Traore
18. Collins Murray-Boyles
19. Dink Pate
20. Ben Saraf
21. Asa Newell
22. Johni Broome
23. Shaman Maluach
24. Derick Queen
25. Ian Jackson
26. Drake Powell
27. Noa Essengue
28. Jeremiah Fears
29. Tyrese Proctor
30. Boogie Fland

Dink was the hardest choice on here. I could of had him from 14 to 19. I'm still a little torn on him because of the upside compared to a few guys in that range.

[BatManu20]

Tre Johnson has been really coming on as of late. Almost single-handedly brought Texas back to beat A&M after a 22-point halftime deficit this weekend. Kid was on fire.

Really advanced scorer for his age though. Arguably the best shooter in the draft. 38% from 3 on 6.6 attempter/per. Good size and length at 6'6 200 lbs with a 6'10 wingspan. Gives me some Ray Allen at UCONN vibes (though not quite as good). Or a better Tyler Hero at Kentucky. Maybe some Michael Redd as well. Either way, he's the best bucket-getter in this draft imo.

[Mr. Body]

Best values relative to consensus mock draft opinion (There are other prospects I like, but these just point to value relative to mock draft)

Cooper Flagg (Tankathon mock:1) -
shouldn't really be a debate, putting up Chet-level impact numbers with no frame or injury concerns; insane motor and high level BBIQ; high level run and jump athlete. High level movement + historic production scaled by age = future top 10 player, possibly top 5 player, think Franz Wagner but like 25% better at everything (for the record Franz is a top 10 player himself in impact metrics the last 2 years at the ripe age of 23)

VJ Edgecomb (Tankathon mock:5) -
So, I actually have this guy comfortably ahead of Ace and actually neck and neck with Harper from a star upside standpoint (hot take alert). Harper's numbers look like Harden's but the problem is that Harden's outside shot really developed much more than what his college numbers would have suggested. Meanwhile, Harper's shot was very questionable in HS, and his FT shooting has come back down to earth (71% FT, 34% 3P), as has his midrange accuracy (26%). If his shot doesn't translate, he'll likely have a much harder time acting as an offensive engine. However, that's still a very valuable player and probably a low level all-star.

Meanwhile for VJ - athleticism pops not only with dunks but lateral movement. Insane event generator for his size (3.3 BLK%, 4.5 STL%, 7.1 OREB%). I actually trust his shot more than Harper's - he shot well in a large sample in HS and both his FT% and 3 point% are drifting back up to the mean. He'll never be an offensive engine, but you may not need that if you've got Castle around and imagine those two in the backcourt absolutely terrorizing ball handlers.

I'm coming to realize that nuclear athleticism + decent feel typically leads to very good outcomes, especially if a prospect has decent shooting indicators. Even idiot chuckers like Jalen Green, Lavine, and Shaedon Sharpe have had decent careers so far on the backs of their athleticism in spite of being low feel players. VJ's not the prospect Amen is obviously because of his frame and lower feel, but Oladipo seems like a reasonable 50-70th percentile outcome. My primary worry about VJ is that despite his athleticism he does not finish as well at the rim as I would expect (60%) which is a concern regarding his touch and downgrades the likelihood of his shot translating.

Collin Murray-Boyles (Tankathon mock: 16) -
In a league where length and agility is king, and next to the lengthiest and one of the skinniest dudes in the league, I think there should be room for strength and bulk. Good combination of a both a strength and finesse based low post game and off the dribble face-up game to punish mismatches that exceeds that of other forwards like Newell, Fleming, Essengue, and Penda. High feel + athleticism scaled to his body type. South Carolina is terrible this year so he's basically taking on double teams every game. Last year he looked great until he ran into Johnni Broome and Auburn who limited him to a 1/9 night at the end of the season. Then he ran into Broome in single coverage again this year and basically dog-walked him to a tune of 25/7 while limiting player of the year contender Broome to 6 on 3/11 shooting.

Examples of athleticism + instincts + hand-eye coordination:

Freshman CMB dunks over/through 7'2" Ivisic from a flat footed start: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/MndPxzOD9kI
Freshman CMB blocks a 7'3" center from the weak side (posted this one in the past):https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-3PGaNB6bQ8
CMB is basically everywhere guarding multiple actions: https://x.com/bjpf_/status/1869582367117164747
I don't really know what this is - looks like some Kawhi : https://x.com/DraftPow/status/1881009258541760686

He's basically built like Julius Randle except I really hated Julius Randle as a prospect for being a black hole with zero feel and piss poor defense (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-h6SMSDgfA), and CMB is like the bizarro version of that where he constantly hits the corners from the post, can playmake off the top of the key, doesn't force the issue, and has high level awareness and feel. Obvious warts being a 6'7" power forward who hasn't shown much in terms of shooting, high turnovers given difficulty adjusting to double teams and sometimes lazy passes, and you can see how his downside is like a Xavier Tillman if the offense doesn't translate, but of all the guys mocked at the stage, he's got the most two way star equity by far to me. 50th percentile is probably Brandon Clarke or something similar.

Also as an added bonus, I view him as something of an anti-Chet weapon moving forward - too strong with a low center of gravity to get into Chet's body, the speed to stay with him on the perimeter, the length to contest his shots. On the other end, low center of gravity to move Chet at the rim similar to guys like Kenneth Lofton did to Wemby in U19s.

Miles Byrd (Tankathon mock: 36) -
You've gotta be ting me with this ranking. 6'7", +wingspan. Career 84% FT shooter, jacks up 12 3's/100 possessions, shoots 40% on unassisted non-rim 2s. Yeah, he's skinny and only shoots 48% at the rim, but 90% of those makes are unassisted. 15 BPM against top 100 compe ion, almost 20% AST% with 1.5 AST:TO. 4+ BLK and STL%. This clearly screams high level 3 and D + player with some creation upside. The fact that this guy is ranked 36 and kon knueppel is 6 is just...I mean, I like Kon aside from the fact that he can't seem to get his shot off against high level compe ion, but this has to be one of the best values for draft position that I've seen.

Edgecombe has been on a bit of a heater lately. If he can hit jump shots he's top three material.

[The Truth #6]

I don't know the players in this draft very well at all yet. But I'll say this, every yea there's usually a player who's about 6 ft 2" so they're not mocked until somewhere around the teens in the draft. Almost every year it seems like one of these types of players do really well. I'm thinking of Tyrese Maxwell. I'm thinking of Jared McCain.

Is there anyone this year that sort of fits that mold? Because if so, I'd be intrigued. Even if they're a little short, we need someone who can shoot and score and create at a high level.

[Mr. Body]

I don't know the players in this draft very well at all yet. But I'll say this, every yea there's usually a player who's about 6 ft 2" so they're not mocked until somewhere around the teens in the draft. Almost every year it seems like one of these types of players do really well. I'm thinking of Tyrese Maxwell. I'm thinking of Jared McCain.

Is there anyone this year that sort of fits that mold? Because if so, I'd be intrigued. Even if they're a little short, we need someone who can shoot and score and create at a high level.

That might be Jeremiah Fears depending on where he ends up.

[The Truth #6]

That might be Jeremiah Fears depending on where he ends up.

Thanks. Teens is probably where we're drafting so I think I would rather roll the dice with a little short but can actually play versus good height and measurement, but big question marks.

[Uriel]

NBA Draft Room describes Nolan Traore as a taller Tony Parker and Ben Saraf as Manu Ginobili lite.

I think we have our picks.

[ffadicted]

NBA Draft Room describes Nolan Traore as a taller Tony Parker and Ben Saraf as Manu Ginobili lite.

I think we have our picks.

Nolan is a sub 30% 3pt shooter... do we really wanna deal with another one of those lol