2025 NBA Draft

[tazzmaniac]

I have heard good things about Cedric Coward.

Coward has all the tell tail signs of a draft sleeper.

I was just looking at him and was going to suggest him.  Started off at D3 level for a season (multi-season).  Played a couple seasons at Eastern Washington and then transferred to Washington State but unfortunately suffered a rotator cuff injury 6 games into the season and had to have surgery.  He got a medical exemption and transferred to Duke for the upcoming season assuming he doesn't stay in the draft which sounds like his preference. 

6'6" 206lbs, solid build with 7'1" wingspan.  Good 3PT and free throw percentages. Highlights look good including some defensive highlights at the end.  Nothing spectacular but appears to be good, versatile player overall.  I'd take him at 28 if he is available.  Sounds like his draft stock may be rising. 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ROGD71Ekz2A 

[keevsnick]

A lot of interesting guys kin the 20-35 range, so it's nice to have two picks there. But it does give them some ammo to move up.

Last year I really wanted Ware, but he went well ahead of where the Celtics picked. This year my "probably goes too high to pick" player is Thomas Sorber.

6'10 260lbs with a very large 7'5 wingspan. Great rebounder and tremendous shot blocker. Not a shooter from three, but shoots decently from the line so he could develop a three-point jumper in time. Decent passer out of the post and very good screener giving his size and strength. Could easily see him developing into a starting level big. Turns 20 next year. Pretty much every mock draft I've seen has him in the 16-22 range, so might be gettable if they were willing to package the two picks (28+32) together.

[tazzmaniac]

I would love for Stevens to take a flyer on Rocco Zikarsky somewhere in the second round.

He would not be ready to play a competitive NBA game for a year or two but the upside is worth taking a risk.

Zikarsky is 7-3 (barefoot), with a standing reach of 9-6.

He is just extremely raw.

I was looking at him too.  Love the name.  Sounds like he should be a Celtic.  Not a 3pt shooter and not a good FT shooter.  Didn't see a single jump shot in his highlights.  Dunks and layups.  Moves well and is active.  Good in pick and roll.  Lots of at the rim defensive highlights but nothing on his perimeter defense.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QXu7rtZ2V74

For the 2nd round pick, I was thinking a different international, Bogoljub Marković. 19yrs old, 6'11" 190 so needs to add some weight and strength.  Looks like he's developed his 3pt shot over the past couple seasons and could be a 3 lvl scorer.  Ball handling and passing looks good but turnovers a bit high. Defensive highlights look good but I expect there are lowlights of him being outmuscled.  Not as raw as Rocco, more versatile and appears to be a better fit for the modern NBA.   
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EG9vFRbvDrw

[slightly biased bias fan]

I have heard good things about Cedric Coward.

Coward has all the tell tail signs of a draft sleeper.

I was just looking at him and was going to suggest him.  Started off at D3 level for a season (multi-season).  Played a couple seasons at Eastern Washington and then transferred to Washington State but unfortunately suffered a rotator cuff injury 6 games into the season and had to have surgery.  He got a medical exemption and transferred to Duke for the upcoming season assuming he doesn't stay in the draft which sounds like his preference. 

6'6" 206lbs, solid build with 7'1" wingspan.  Good 3PT and free throw percentages. Highlights look good including some defensive highlights at the end.  Nothing spectacular but appears to be good, versatile player overall.  I'd take him at 28 if he is available.  Sounds like his draft stock may be rising. 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ROGD71Ekz2A

Yeah 100%, looks like all this talk about him being a sleeper has risen his draft stock inside the first round unfortunately.

[slightly biased bias fan]

I would love for Stevens to take a flyer on Rocco Zikarsky somewhere in the second round.

He would not be ready to play a competitive NBA game for a year or two but the upside is worth taking a risk.

Zikarsky is 7-3 (barefoot), with a standing reach of 9-6.

He is just extremely raw.

I was looking at him too.  Love the name.  Sounds like he should be a Celtic.  Not a 3pt shooter and not a good FT shooter.  Didn't see a single jump shot in his highlights.  Dunks and layups.  Moves well and is active.  Good in pick and roll.  Lots of at the rim defensive highlights but nothing on his perimeter defense.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QXu7rtZ2V74

Yeah he is extremely raw still so he would be spending 1-2 years in the G-League as a two way guy or 1-2 years as a draft stash playing on overseas pro leagues.

Rocco looks very athletic for someone that is 7-3 and that is definitely worth the risk of a second rounder.

[CFAN38]

Unfortunately for Johni Broome, his name was a popular topic Wednesday because of a vertical jump that was less than impressive. The Auburn star recorded a standing vertical leap of 24.5 inches during testing drills. ...

Several detractors on social media also pointed out that Broome's standing vertical was less than massive Florida defensive tackle Desmond Watson, who weighs 464 pounds and jumped 25 inches at the NFL Combine.

How bad is 24.5 inches in perspective?  Is it disqualifying for an NBA big?  I looked it up, and Queta jumped a 24.0!

Don't think so.  Focusing on single measurements is silly and standing vert doesn't rate in importance.  I'd be much more concerned that he shot 28% from 3 and 59% from the line as a senior.  Unless he's fundamentally (footwork, movement, strength, etc) a very good defender, I wouldn't draft him.   

And by the way ...

Jokić was 19 years old and two months removed from being drafted in the second round by the Denver Nuggets. He had come to P3 to undergo an advanced athlete assessment. When he attempted a vertical leap, he jumped 17 inches. It was, according to Elliott, the worst vertical jump they had ever recorded.

I agree measurements shouldn't be a deal breaker for a prospect but rather just a piece of the evaluation puzzle. For Broome I think the lack of vertical pop is a big deal. I worry he is a great college player who has just enough size, athletism and skill to dominate the NCAA but in a league full of alpha athletes he will be nothing more than a really good G-league big.

To compare him vetically to Queta..

Queta had a 27" standing vert with a 9'4.5" standing reach. Giving him a standing apex of 11'7.5"

Broome had a 24" standing vert with a 9'0.5" standing reach. Giving him a standing apex of 11'05"

 

[tazzmaniac]

Didn't see him play but really like Drake Powell's highlights offensively and defensively.  19-year-old freshman playing at NC.  He did play out of position at the 4.  His free throw shooting was poor but he shot 38% from 3.  Appears to finish well at the rim.  His measurements at the combine were good to great including the best standing vert and Max vert (43").  So why do the mocks I've seen have him going mid 2nd round?   
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hlm95kJQz0I

[hardlyyardley]

I think that trading Holiday or KP will require giving up our round one pick for getting a team to take that contract

[Birdman]

Who are top players in next year draft ?

[tazzmaniac]

Who are top players in next year draft ?

Incoming freshman who few on here would know about.  AJ Dybantsa, Darryn Peterson, Cameron Boozer and Nate Ament are amongst the top 4 in both 2026 mock drafts that I looked at. 

[perks-a-beast]

Labaron Philon at #28 and Noah Penda at #32 are the guys I want.

Dare I say Philon plays a bit like a young Jrue Holiday. His shots not there yet, but hes a defensive menace with great composure for a freshman and good size at 6'4 for a PG.

Id be pleasantly surprised if Penda is still on the board at 32. But if he is, Brad has to take him. Smart IQ guy who can guard 1-5. I know comps to Draymond have been done to death, but he really does remind me of him - minus the smug personality and constant crash-outs.

[A Future of Stevens]

A lot of interesting guys kin the 20-35 range, so it's nice to have two picks there. But it does give them some ammo to move up.

Last year I really wanted Ware, but he went well ahead of where the Celtics picked. This year my "probably goes too high to pick" player is Thomas Sorber.

6'10 260lbs with a very large 7'5 wingspan. Great rebounder and tremendous shot blocker. Not a shooter from three, but shoots decently from the line so he could develop a three-point jumper in time. Decent passer out of the post and very good screener giving his size and strength. Could easily see him developing into a starting level big. Turns 20 next year. Pretty much every mock draft I've seen has him in the 16-22 range, so might be gettable if they were willing to package the two picks (28+32) together.

Just watched a highlight video of him. Productive, good touch, 19, huge wingspan. Sold. I'd love to find a way to get him.

[Smartacus]

Who are top players in next year draft ?

Incoming freshman who few on here would know about.  AJ Dybantsa, Darryn Peterson, Cameron Boozer and Nate Ament are amongst the top 4 in both 2026 mock drafts that I looked at.

Dybantsa would be my wish. Really like watching his handle against high school players, you just have to hope he can scale it up to higher levels of competition.

Any of the 4 would be excellent additions to the team though. Boozer is rock solid and Peterson might be the best of them. Haven?t looked much into Ament yet.

[Vermont Green]

Yeah, so we have pick 28 and 32, not so exciting to me.  Maybe we package these for pick 19 or 20 or something.  Still not all that exciting.  Yes, I know, Pritchard was pick 26 and Bane was pick 30, but these picks are not nearly as intriguing as the recent talk of trading with DAL or SAN for pick 1 or 2.

I guess if I am DAL, I need to be in win now mode, so Brown, Davis, Kyrie is solid.  But would DAL really do this?  I have my doubts but they did just trade Luka so why not trade Flagg?  I would be OK with this for the Celtics.  I think Flagg could be Banchero or better.  2025-26 would be a development year and then you get Tatum back in 2026-27.  There would be more to the trade than just Brown for Flagg of course, but this is the foundation of the trade.

But do you do this for Dylan Harper?  I know even less about Dylan Harper.  Is he Cade Cunningham?  Tyrese Haliburton?  There would be risk trading for Flagg, but this seems even riskier.  A lot depends on what else you get back in the trade I guess.  With Flagg, I almost don't even care what else we would get back.

[Who]

A lot of interesting guys kin the 20-35 range, so it's nice to have two picks there. But it does give them some ammo to move up.

Last year I really wanted Ware, but he went well ahead of where the Celtics picked. This year my "probably goes too high to pick" player is Thomas Sorber.

6'10 260lbs with a very large 7'5 wingspan. Great rebounder and tremendous shot blocker. Not a shooter from three, but shoots decently from the line so he could develop a three-point jumper in time. Decent passer out of the post and very good screener giving his size and strength. Could easily see him developing into a starting level big. Turns 20 next year. Pretty much every mock draft I've seen has him in the 16-22 range, so might be gettable if they were willing to package the two picks (28+32) together.

Just watched a highlight video of him. Productive, good touch, 19, huge wingspan. Sold. I'd love to find a way to get him.

Is he the Georgetown center?

Reminds me of Derrick Favors.