2025 NBA Draft Thread

[Shine88]

53 minutes ago, orlandoholic said:

In that case i’d draft Riley. He has some serious upside. Or JT Toppin. He’d be our security blanket if we decide to trade Isaac. 

I don’t think we are adding pure shooters. If so we would have drafted Gradey Dick for example. We also have Caleb Houstan who has basically that profile. 

 

My point is. If we miss out on a PG with our own pick, i’d go for a potential Isaac replacement and look at Toppin, Fleming, Sorber

McNeeley is more than a pure shooter. He actually ran some point at UConn, and was pretty much their secondary ball handler. He was doing a lot of things at UConn that wouldn't be asked of him at the next level. He's a better fit and prospect than all the guys you have listed, and I really like Sober, too.

[jmmagicfan]

So, just to clarify, my understanding is that the “play-in” tournament does affect the draft lottery. Here is how it works based on my research. The teams that win the 7/8 matches become the 7th seeds, and the losers play the 9/10 matches’ winners for the 8th seeds. The two teams in each conference that don’t go into the playoffs now become part of the draft lottery with their odds dependent on their regular season records. So, if a 7/8 team falls out of the playoffs by losing both play-in games, they land in the lottery. With so many teams in the West still fighting for position, an East 7/8 that falls out might still have 3 or 4 West draft lottery teams with better records, and and up with the 10th or 11th odds. I am not saying we should hope for that, just saying how it works (could work?)

[CTMagicUK]

9 hours ago, jmmagicfan said:

So, just to clarify, my understanding is that the “play-in” tournament does affect the draft lottery. Here is how it works based on my research. The teams that win the 7/8 matches become the 7th seeds, and the losers play the 9/10 matches’ winners for the 8th seeds. The two teams in each conference that don’t go into the playoffs now become part of the draft lottery with their odds dependent on their regular season records. So, if a 7/8 team falls out of the playoffs by losing both play-in games, they land in the lottery. With so many teams in the West still fighting for position, an East 7/8 that falls out might still have 3 or 4 West draft lottery teams with better records, and and up with the 10th or 11th odds. I am not saying we should hope for that, just saying how it works (could work?)

Yes that's correct. The play in essentially decides whether you are in the playoffs or the lottery then your record dictates your lottery odds or draft position. 

I'm personally not hoping for the lottery. The odds are so low of us jumping up and the difference between the 11th and 16th best players in this draft doesn't feel huge to me. I posted about McNeeley above, 3 months ago people had him going in the top 10 now he looks likely to be on the board in the mid to late teens. 

I'd rather see us get some more playoff minutes under our belts.

[orlandoholic]

9 hours ago, CTMagicUK said:

Yes that's correct. The play in essentially decides whether you are in the playoffs or the lottery then your record dictates your lottery odds or draft position. 

I'm personally not hoping for the lottery. The odds are so low of us jumping up and the difference between the 11th and 16th best players in this draft doesn't feel huge to me. I posted about McNeeley above, 3 months ago people had him going in the top 10 now he looks likely to be on the board in the mid to late teens. 

I'd rather see us get some more playoff minutes under our belts.

drafting 16th could mean we miss out on every suitable Guard, including Fears.

Drafting 11th could mean we are able to get Fears. Just one example.

 

But thanks jmmagicfan for clarification. I thought the odds are set after the regular season and before the playin. 

[jmmagicfan]

42 minutes ago, orlandoholic said:

drafting 16th could mean we miss out on every suitable Guard, including Fears.

Drafting 11th could mean we are able to get Fears. Just one example.

 

But thanks jmmagicfan for clarification. I thought the odds are set after the regular season and before the playin. 

Yeah, I wasn’t sure, which is why I initially did the research! I kind of like Kam Jones, even though he’s projected closer to 20, I think it’s partly because he is a senior, so he’s older. I actually think that is a positive if you’re drafting a combo guard, especially in the middle of the first round.

[CTMagicUK]

1 hour ago, orlandoholic said:

drafting 16th could mean we miss out on every suitable Guard, including Fears.

I don't care. 

[jmmagicfan]

1 hour ago, orlandoholic said:

drafting 16th could mean we miss out on every suitable Guard, including Fears.

 

13 minutes ago, CTMagicUK said:

I don't care. 

To me it’s a bit of a balancing act, you want to get your guys playoff experience, but you also want to be able to improve your team. The question becomes is there anyone available in the range you are drafting, or that you might trade into that is better than your current roster; and is getting the playoff experience more valuable? I always think that playoff experience is valuable, but when you are on the borderline, I think it’s a much closer debate. How much is our roster going to benefit from a first round series with Cleveland or Boston and how much of our roster are we going to still have next season? Do we have a legitimate chance of winning a series with either?  I actually think we do have a chance if we remain healthy and if Mosley doesn’t mess it up with funky rotations, so I am still all in for the playoffs. That’s also why I am looking more at draft prospects in the 13-20 range, figuring someone always falls, and someone always outperforms their draft position.

[orlandoholic]

2 hours ago, CTMagicUK said:

I don't care. 

imma hold you accountable on that statement. At 11 we could be in position to get one of Fears/Jakucionis/Demin, possibly a slight trade up possibility.

”I don’t care” is the type of unlogical thinking that prevents Weltman from making needed improvements 

[Jamesdin]

Can’t our front office do their job on trading up for picks? 
what matter is winning, we need to win for the guys to get the hang of it. Let the players do their job whichbis win games and the front office ro improve the team firther may it be thru picks or FA. 

[CTMagicUK]

10 hours ago, orlandoholic said:

imma hold you accountable on that statement. At 11 we could be in position to get one of Fears/Jakucionis/Demin, possibly a slight trade up possibility.

”I don’t care” is the type of unlogical thinking that prevents Weltman from making needed improvements 

It's not illogical to want to win basketball games. 

My opinion has nothing to do with Weltman's. 

If we could have drafted one of those guys in the late lotto, and they turn out to be elite and much better than the person we draft, maybe a couple years from now I'll feel differently. And you can "hold me accountable". 

EDIT: but at the minute if we weren't in the playoffs we'd have a coin flip for 11th-13th (which could be 11th - 14th if Sacramento lose another game) so there's a chance we could miss the playoffs and pick 14 anyway. In which case if we make the playoffs our pick would be at most 2 picks lower at 16th. That's just not a lot of incentive to not make the playoffs to me. 

If you offered me pick 14 or pick 16 and a playoff series I'm taking the latter every time. In game reps against elite teams when it matters most will only make all our young players better.

I can't imagine I'll regret that. Unless of course, by sheer chance, we miss out on drafting a generational player (it's sheer chance because if hindsight was 20/20 they wouldn't even be on the board that late) to get swept. 

[The Neighborhood Bully]

Kevin O'Connor has us drafting Jase Richardson and Isiah Evans in the first round.

https://www.yahoo.com/sports/nba/article/2025-nba-mock-draft-cooper-flagg-at-no-1-no-doubt-but-who-else-is-a-first-round-pick-203049384.html

[Luke_FfS]

After last season, I was really hoping to not see activity anymore in this thread... especially not about tanking to get a better pick, that would still be around 10/15, and provide us with another Cole or Howard.