https://www.espn.com/nba/insider/story/_/id/41434858/2024-mens-college-basketball-2025-nba-draft-buzz-uconn-duke-unc-rutgers

Bailey is somewhat of a roller-coaster ride from possession-to-possession in terms of his shot selection, decision-making, off-ball defensive awareness, and understanding of concepts for what his team is trying to accomplish at any given moment, doing everything at 120 mph -- for better or worse.

Harper is still working himself back to 100 percent after missing time over the summer following a voluntary knee procedure he underwent in June. More than one NBA scout told ESPN they have Harper ranked No. 1 on their boards going into the season.

Kon Knueppel was the best player on the floor for Duke -- and it wasn't particularly close -- while helping his team win all three scrimmages. We'll have to see how this translates in games, as the 6-foot-7 Knueppel has questions to answer with his average frame, length and explosiveness. He looks like he could be firmly in the mix as a top-10 draft pick if what I saw (and have heard) continues once the season starts.

Flagg didn't have his best day offensively, turning the ball over more than expected when creating in pick-and-roll or one-on-one, while showing the growth he needs to make as a ball handler. He did everything else at a high level, though.

Mcneeley was their loudest player in practice and seems like he's going to have quite a bit of offense running through him, similar to how Spencer was utilized last season, as he could very well end up being the team's leading scorer. His defense, while not yet a strength, is not poor by any means thanks to his mentality. It's hard to see McNeeley not having a lottery-type campaign, but we'll have to see how the season goes.

I wanted to get Synergy stats for the NBA this season.

I went to this link to buy it, but its an error page: https://shop.synergysports.com/collections/consumer-products/products/stats-deep-dives

I emailed them to make sure I wasn't at the wrong link and they said:

"Unfortunately, the deep dives products is no longer available. The last day Deep Dives will be available to those who still have a current subscription will be October 23rd. Kind regards"

I been wondering. Could the Wizards pick French/Nolan Traore if they miss Flagg, regardless of the potential and talent available? This French focus been a little concerning to me. In fact, didnt the Wizards just recruit former Piston's GM that picked Frenchman Killian Hayes at 7? same person who just did a piss poor job at a Piston's Rebuild? Maybe Iam overthinking this. I can accept that. But do you all see a pattern here. Rumor is that Bilal was selected because he is French. If thats True, I really dont like that method of drafting for a team like the Wizards that dont have talent nor FA appeal.

I'll say one: Garwey Dual. Been a believer on him since HS, expect a bigger offensive leap, his off-ball role at Providence didn't do him any good.

Also a shoutout to Jamir Watkins. Was frankly super high on him last season, had him at the Lottery Range before he decided to ultimately stay one more year.

Does anyone have info on which teams have whose picks? Tryna figure out who got the clippers pick

Source

"I'm going into this year with an open mind about who the No. 1 pick might be," one NBA executive recently told ESPN. "This is how mistakes are made: getting anchored to an opinion and then closing yourself off to new, much more important information that we'll be receiving in the coming months seeing how the season plays out.

"I need to see if Cooper Flagg is indeed a No. 1-type offensive option who can be expected to carry a team at some point in his career, or if he's more of a superstar role player who is better suited as your second- or third-best player. Every year there are surprises, new players pop up and others take an unexpected leap."

Also you guys might remember this post I made a couple months ago where another exec said he thinks Flagg will "eventually be a good second or third option on a really good NBA team". I think fans in general might be higher on Flagg's offense than people in the NBA are

Just wanted to give the draft community a heads up. Karim Lopez (potential top 5 prospect in the 2026 draft)and the New Zealand Breakers play the Utah Jazz on 10/4 at 8PM central.

• 1- Cooper Flagg (SF/PF)- Detroit Pistons; Pistons win the Lottery here for my personal mock draft and Flagg goes to the Motor City to pair up with Cade Cunningham, Jaden Ivey, Ausar Thompson and Jalen Duren

• 2- Airious "Ace" Bailey (SG/SF)- Washington Wizards; Ace in Washington just makes too much sense especially at this point; Poole stays at point guard but Bailey with Sarr, Kuzma, Coulibaly and company they would have a pretty bright future in the Nation's capital

• 3- Nolan Traore (PG)- Brooklyn Nets; they get their point guard for the future to pair up with Cam Thomas in this rebuild

• 4- Dylan Harper (PG/SG)- Toronto Raptors; Raptors get another Harper considering they drafted Dylan's older brother Ron Jr and their dad Ron Sr played in this league as a legend on those Bulls teams with Jordan, Pippen, Rodman and company; Dylan ends up in Toronto as well; but he's a much better prospect than his brother and on a team with Quickley, Barnes, Dick, Barrett and company he would fit right in

• 5- Khaman Malauch (C)- Chicago Bulls; get their center for the future and you can move on from Nikola Vucevic

• 6- VJ Edgecombe (SG)- Utah Jazz

• 7- Hugo Gonzalez (SG/SF)- Charlotte Hornets

• 8- Egor Demin (PG/SG)- Portland Trail Blazers

• 9- Tre Johnson (SG)- San Antonio Spurs

• 10- Collin Murray-Boyles (PF)- San Antonio Spurs via Atlanta Hawks

• 11- Rocco Zikarsky (C)- New Orleans Pelicans

• 12- Liam McNeeley (SF)- Atlanta Hawks via Los Angeles Lakers

• 13- Jalil Bethea (SG)- Los Angeles Clippers

• 14- Drake Powell (SG/SF)- Houston Rockets

• 15- Dink Pate (SG)- Atlanta Hawks via Sacramento Kings

• 16- Noa Essengue (PF)- Indiana Pacers

• 17- Michael Ruzic (PF)- Utah Jazz via Cleveland Cavaliers

• 18- Donnie Freeman (PF)- Memphis Grizzlies

• 19- Zvonimir Ivisic (C)- Orlando Magic

• 20- Ian Jackson (SG)- Golden State Warriors

• 21- JT Toppin (SF/PF)- Miami Heat

• 22- Alex Karaban (SF/PF)- OKC Thunder via Philadelphia 76ers

• 23- Boogie Fland (PG)- Utah Jazz via Minnesota Timberwolves

• 24- Kasparas Jakucionis (PG)- Brooklyn Nets via Phoenix Suns

• 25- Izan Almansa (PF)- Brooklyn Nets via New York Knicks

• 26- Jarin Stevenson (PF)- Dallas Mavericks

• 27- Kon Knueppel (SG/SF)- Brooklyn Nets via Milwaukee Bucks

• 28- Kwame Evans Jr (SF)- Orlando Magic via Denver Nuggets

• 29- Karter Knox (SF)- OKC Thunder

• 30- Hunter Sallis (SG)- Boston Celtics

After having drafted the 4 year college player to the warriors I was super impressed with how quickly he was able to get in the rotation, and stay there. He showed a lot of flashes of very solid rotation center on both sides of the ball. I am wondering for those who watched him in Indiana–what do you think are some reasonable goals / skills he would try to transfer to the NBA.

I understand that he is not going to the offensive hub of the warrior offense and likely profiles as a capable starting center (tad undersized but not too worried about that)

Do you think that he could be a really capable switchable defender? I am saying he has to be able to guard 1-5 like dray or Bam but how versatile can he be in the NBA.

Does he have strong playmaking tendencies / court vision. I know that he probably showed a lot at indiana but not sure how much time he developed this area of his game? He made some nice reads during the season and had a few nice, smart bounce passes. But to be honest he was mostly screening and rolling to the rim, and finishing at an elite level I should say.

How would you rate his rim protection, and shot blocking. He had a nasty sequence where he blocked Giannis twice in one possession, steph grabbed the board went full court and in transition beauty lob to TJD it was unusual and he really played great all year round.

cheers!