Mega mock draft: Overvalued/underrated prospects, intel on lottery picks, projecting Cooper Flagg’s career, Ace Bailey’s stock, picks doomed to miss + much more

Summary

Podcast Summary: Eye On College Basketball – “Mega Mock Draft: Overvalued/Underrated Prospects, Intel on Lottery Picks, Projecting Cooper Flagg’s Career, Ace Bailey’s Stock, Picks Doomed to Miss + Much More”
Release Date: June 24, 2025
Hosts: Gary Parrish, Matt Norlander, & Kyle Boone
Platform: CBS Sports

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Introduction

In the latest episode of CBS Sports’ Eye On College Basketball, hosts Gary Parrish, Matt Norlander, and Kyle Boone delve into an extensive mega mock draft for the 2025 NBA Draft. The trio provides insightful analysis on top prospects, discusses overvalued and underrated players, and projects potential career trajectories for standout athletes like Cooper Flagg and Ace Bailey.

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Conducting the Mock Draft

[02:20]
Gary Parrish kicks off the episode by setting the stage for their mock draft, emphasizing its comprehensive nature and the limited time frame they have to complete it.

Matt Norlander adds, “I am eager,” highlighting the excitement and anticipation surrounding the upcoming draft.

[03:28]
The hosts decide to adopt an alternating pick format, where Matt Norlander makes the first selection, followed by Kyle Boone, and then Gary Parrish.

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Top Picks and Projections

1. Cooper Flagg – Dallas Mavericks

[07:21] – Gary Parrish:
“Cooper Flagg has the highest floor and ceiling of any player in this class. His defensive prowess and versatility make him a potential Hall of Famer.”

[06:35] – Matt Norlander:
“If Cooper Flagg remains injury-free, he will undoubtedly have a Hall of Fame career, averaging close to an MVP-caliber performance.”

Gary emphasizes Flagg’s comprehensive skill set, comparing his potential to legends like Scottie Pippen, stating, “I think he can hit Scottie Pippen type levels at his ceiling.”

2. Dylan Harper – San Antonio Spurs

[08:52] – Kyle Boone:
“Dylan Harper, son of former NBA player Ron Harper, brings a strong pedigree and versatility to the Spurs. His ability to create for himself and his teammates makes him an ideal pick.”

Kyle compares Harper to Jalen Brunson, noting his smooth left-handed gameplay and playmaking skills.

4. Ace Bailey – Charlotte Hornets

[09:40] – Matt Norlander:
“Ace Bailey’s pre-draft process has been unconventional, raising questions about his fit with the Philadelphia 76ers. However, his potential landing in Charlotte could offer him a thriving environment.”

[14:00] – Gary Parish:
“Taking Ace Bailey at number four to Charlotte is strategic. His ceiling is the second-best in this draft, capable of averaging over 25 points per game with the right team support.”

5. BJ Edgecombe – Utah Jazz

[19:38] – Kyle Boone:
“BJ Edgecombe stands out as a top-tier athlete and a defensive game changer. His two-way capabilities make him a perfect fit for the Utah Jazz’s system.”

Kyle highlights Edgecombe’s high athleticism and defensive skills, noting his potential to become a standout NBA player.

6. Con Canepel – Washington Wizards

[22:14] – Kyle Boone:
“Con Canepel is the best shooter in this class, boasting over 40% from three-point range. His smart play and defensive prowess make him a valuable asset for the Wizards.”

Gary Parish echoes Kyle's sentiments, praising Canepel’s versatility and intelligence on the court, saying, “He’s going to be a really quality NBA player for a long time.”

7. Casper Siakachonas – New Orleans Pelicans

[27:18] – Kyle Boone:
“Casper Siakachonas brings excellent size and shooting ability. His basketball IQ and passing skills make him an intriguing pick for the Pelicans.”

Gary adds, “Siakachonas is destined to be taken early, potentially reshaping any team he joins with his skill set.”

8. Jeremiah Fears – Brooklyn Nets

[29:25] – Kyle Boone:
“Jeremiah Fears combines high usage rate with exceptional ball-handling. Despite concerns about his shooting, he has the potential to be a star with the Brooklyn Nets.”

Gary Parish, however, remains skeptical about Fears’ defensive capabilities, stating, “He is too small and an atrocious defender compared to the expectations of a top pick.”

10. Carter Bryant – Phoenix Suns

[17:16] – Gary Parish:
“Carter Bryant is a solid defender with the ability to translate his skills immediately to the NBA. His growth potential makes him a valuable pick for the Suns.”

Matt Norlander underscores Bryant’s defensive impact and potential for multiple All-Star appearances, highlighting his suitability for Phoenix’s evolving roster.

11. Cedric Coward – Portland Trail Blazers

[42:20] – Kyle Boone:
“Cedric Coward’s rise has been meteoric, reminiscent of players like Jalen Williams. His physicality and shooting make him a prime target for the Blazers.”

Gary Parish lauds Coward’s dedication and potential, describing him as one of the most impressive players he has ever covered.

12. Derek Queen – Chicago Bulls

[50:14] – Kyle Boone:
“Derek Queen possesses exceptional passing skills for a big man, projecting him as an Alperen Şengün-type player. His versatility makes him a contender for the Bulls’ frontcourt.”

Gary acknowledges Queen’s strengths but remains cautious due to concerns about his shooting mechanics and conditioning.

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Additional Notable Picks

• 13. Noah Ascende – Atlanta Hawks:
  A strong international prospect with questions about his shooting and strength, Noah Ascende is positioned at number thirteen, reflecting his solid pre-draft evaluations.

• 14. Colin Murray Boyles – San Antonio Spurs:
  Colin provides depth and defensive versatility, fitting well into the Spurs’ system alongside Victor Wembanyama.

• 15. Liam McNeely – Oklahoma City Thunder:
  McNeely’s shooting consistency raises concerns, but his potential keeps him within the Thunder’s draft strategy for future role players.

• 16. Asa Newell – Memphis Grizzlies:
  Projected to contribute immediately with his athleticism and length, Newell is expected to blend well with the Grizzlies’ versatile frontcourt.

• 17. Nick Clifford – Minnesota Timberwolves:
  An All-American with immediate impact capabilities, Clifford is a high-upside pick deserving of his position in the mid-first round.

• 18. Jace Richardson – Washington Wizards:
  Despite his smaller stature for a guard, Richardson’s basketball IQ and scoring ability make him a valuable pick for the Wizards.

• 19. Thomas Sorbert – New Orleans Pelicans:
  A physical presence from Georgetown, Sorbert offers efficient scoring and rebounding, fitting seamlessly into New Orleans' roster.

• 20. Nolan Trey – Miami Heat:
  Trey's consistent growth and international experience make him a strategic addition for the Heat’s backcourt needs.

• 21. Danny Wolf – Utah Jazz:
  Wolf’s unique combination of guard skills and size positions him as a versatile asset for the Jazz, despite some polarizing opinions.

• 22. Joan Berenger – France:
  Berenger’s exceptional shot-blocking and rebounding skills make him a standout prospect with high expectations in the NBA.

• 23. Rashire Fleming – St. Joseph’s:
  Fleming’s reliable three-point shooting and strong physique make him a desirable late first-round pick, akin to a Bobby Portis-type role player.

• 24. Ben Seraph – Israel:
  An upcoming point guard with solid pick-and-roll abilities, Seraph is drafted by the Oklahoma City Thunder as part of their strategy to develop future role players.

• 25. Walter Clayton Jr. – Orlando Magic:
  Clayton’s defensive prowess and shooting capabilities make him a fitting pick for the Magic, emphasizing his potential for growth.

• 26. Hugo Gonzalez – Spain:
  A developing shooter with strong measurables, Gonzalez offers international finesse and versatility to the Detroit Pistons.

• 27. Maxim Reynold – Stanford:
  Reynold’s stretching ability and modern big-man skills position him as a valuable draft pick for teams seeking perimeter threats in the frontcourt.

• 28. Additional Prospects:
  The hosts briefly touch upon other emerging talents, emphasizing the depth and unpredictability of the 2025 draft class.

• 29. Ryan Kalkbrenner – Creighton:
  An efficient rebounder and strong interior presence, Kalkbrenner is highlighted as a top-tier prospect with significant NBA potential.

• 30. Rashire Fleming – St. Joseph’s:
  Fleming rounds out the mock draft with his versatile skill set and reliable shooting, projecting a role akin to Bobby Portis.

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Reflections and Insights

Throughout the mock draft, the hosts discuss the significance of scouting, the impact of college performance, and the unpredictability of draft outcomes. They emphasize that while top picks like Cooper Flagg and Ace Bailey have clear trajectories, many prospects’ futures remain uncertain and highly dependent on their development and the teams that select them.

[90:24] – Matt Norlander:
“Consistent performance and adaptability are key. It’s not just about being drafted but how you evolve in the league.”

Gary Parish echoes this sentiment, reminding listeners of the dynamic nature of player development and the critical role of the right team environment in shaping an NBA career.

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Conclusion

As the mock draft concludes, the hosts express excitement for the real 2025 NBA Draft, promising live coverage and further analysis. They encourage listeners to tune in live on Wednesday night for an in-depth look at the actual draft results.

[99:48] – Gary Parish:
“We’ve gone over 90 minutes. Make sure to join us live on draft night where we’ll break down the selections and what they mean for the teams and players involved.”

Matt Norlander wraps up the episode by highlighting the importance of versatility and determination for aspiring NBA players, reinforcing the message that success can come from anywhere, not just the most prestigious college programs.

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Notable Quotes

• Gary Parrish [07:21]:
  “Cooper Flagg has the highest floor and ceiling of any player in this class. His defensive prowess and versatility make him a potential Hall of Famer.”

• Matt Norlander [06:35]:
  “If Cooper Flagg remains injury-free, he will undoubtedly have a Hall of Fame career, averaging close to an MVP-caliber performance.”

• Kyle Boone [22:14]:
  “Con Canepel is the best shooter in this class, boasting over 40% from three-point range. His smart play and defensive prowess make him a valuable asset for the Wizards.”

• Gary Parish [14:00]:
  “Taking Ace Bailey at number four to Charlotte is strategic. His ceiling is the second-best in this draft, capable of averaging over 25 points per game with the right team support.”

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Final Thoughts

This episode of Eye On College Basketball offers a comprehensive and engaging exploration of the 2025 NBA Draft prospects. Whether you’re a die-hard college basketball fan or simply interested in the future stars of the NBA, the hosts provide valuable insights and thoughtful analysis that enrich your understanding of the draft process and its potential impact on the league.

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For more detailed scouting reports and in-depth analysis, be sure to subscribe to Eye On College Basketball on your preferred podcast platform.

Transcript

[Gary Parish]

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[Matt Norlander]

Hey there, it's Gary Parish. Welcome back to the CBS Sports I Own College Basketball podcast where we sometimes discuss camel fighting, dodo birds and leaky black. Matt Norlander is here with me. So is Kyle Boone. Strong jaw. If you're watching on YouTube. You know what to do to that. Like button shouts to Brandon Davies. And if you haven't yet, subscribe to the CBS Sports College Basketball YouTube channel. It would be awesome if you did that while you're here. Let's get into it. We are now just, I guess it's two days away from the 2025 NBA Draft. So like any self respecting basketball podcast, we're going to conduct the first round mock alternating picks. Norlander is going to pick first, then strong Jaw, then me. Do either one of you have anything to add before we get started? Or Norlander, are you ready to take Cooper flag number one overall?

[Gary Parish]

Wait a second, I've got number one? I think so, yeah. By the way, these guys have done a combined like four mock drafts in the past 36 hours or something like that. They're, they're absolutely roaring and ready. I'm fresh. I know mock draft television responsibilities today, so I'm coming to this. Eager. Raring to go. C.P. are you raring?

[Matt Norlander]

I don't know if raring would be the right word, but I am eager. I am eager.

[Gary Parish]

We're gonna have fun. Can we get this done in less than 90 minutes, by the way?

[Matt Norlander]

Oh, God. We better, we better. I gotta pack.

[Kyle Boone]

Let's just let Norlander do Solopod here.

[Gary Parish]

Yeah, well good. We'll see on that. By the way, Jim's got a pack. He's gonna be in studio Wednesday night. Mock draft, Real draft. Real draft HQ. That will be live on YouTube. K will be involved in our coverage as well on Thursday. And it's a pleasure. We had Finkelstein on the draft mailbag episode last week. That was a lot of fun as well. If you're not listening to that, please go dive into that. We got in some different angles, so we wanted to give you a variety of different thoughts. So yeah, let's, let's go. Let's rock. I'm psyched pick. Okay, with the first Pick in the 2025, are we doing this thing for every pick?

[Matt Norlander]

By the way, I don't think we have to pretend to be Adam Silver. I don't, I don't believe we have to pretend to be Adam Silver.

[Gary Parish]

Although.

[Matt Norlander]

Look, look.

[Gary Parish]

You'Re getting there. Yeah. This whole thing again.

[Matt Norlander]

Yeah, I need to drop 10. About 20 more. Yeah, 20 more.

[Gary Parish]

Grow good 6 inches and you're good.

[Matt Norlander]

I need to grow 6 inches.

[Gary Parish]

You know what?

[Matt Norlander]

I might not need to lose 20 more if I just grow 6 inches.

[Gary Parish]

You're good to go if you can pull that Off. You're absolutely good to go. I'm going first. Boone is second. Paris is third. All right, Cooper Flag to the Mavericks. We've talked about him plenty on the spot, obviously. Let me just toss this back to you guys on this. Fifteen years from now, Cooper Flag, where is his career going to wind up? Is he going to be a Hall of Fame level player? Will he be just short of that? Will he be a pretty good player? Will he be a Jag? Boone, I'm going to you first. We know why he is the number one prospect in this class. But let's have a little reckless speculation in future forecasting. When we are, you know, approaching the year 2040, will Cooper flag have validated all of this hype? Because where he is right now, if he hits it, he's a Hall of Fame player. Is that what he's going to be?

[Matt Norlander]

Yeah.

[Kyle Boone]

So peek behind the curtain is I do a grading system for every prospect in this year's draft class every single year. My rank and grade 100 players. Cooper flag obviously got the highest grade in this class, and he is the only prospect in this year's class who got a grade between 95 and 100, which is like, except exclusive, rare air only, you know, like Victor Women. Yama got that several years ago. He got that as well, which is a projected future hall of Famer. Now, saying that out loud seems insane. He's a teenager. That is high expectations, even given the fact that he is a prodigious talent. But, you know, I think if all goes right, he could end up being a future hall of Famer just because he is so good, so sound at so many different things. He is a defensive game changer. He led Duke in scoring and assist and blocks and steals and everything else. And Duke went to the Final Four and they won 35 games. There's not a lot of holes in Cooper Flag's game. So, you know, it feels weird to project and predict that he will be a future hall of Famer. But, you know, based on my grading system, based off of the scouting that I've done on him, I think there's a real chance that could end up being in his. In his future.

[Matt Norlander]

Yeah, I don't think it's weird to go there. Like, we would have went there with Anthony Davis coming out of college. We would have went there with Greg Odin coming out of college. We would have went there with probably Kevin Durant coming out of college. Obviously, the Greg Odin thing is a great example because you never know. Injuries can derail anybody's career. But I put it this way. If Cooper Flag doesn't have serious injury issues throughout his career, he will be a Hall of Fame basketball player. Something short of an mvp, but something worthy of hall of Fame credentials by the time he calls it a career. Yes, I would. I would predict that.

[Gary Parish]

Yeah, that's a good way of putting it over. Under 0.5 MVPs in his career. You'll take the under.

[Matt Norlander]

I would take the under. I just think like, I mean like Victor Womenyama is going to exist for a long time. Yeah, you. You've got Debance coming in behind him. I just think like that's such a hard thing. But keep in mind I. I could be wrong. I promise you, you go back to whatever draft Shay Gil just Alexander was coming out of, I would have never told you I thought he was going to be an mvp. And he's an MVP and a scoring champ and a world champ and the whole deal. So I leave open the possibility for anything. But I would go under 0.5 MVPs. But hall of Fame career.

[Gary Parish]

Yeah, we have. We've nearly run out of things to say and certainly right about Flag because we've been. I mean I remember going back to the Nike circuit a few years back and just even at that point, you know, as he's 14 into 15 years old and you know there's this kid from Maine. You don't, you don't. You're not custom in that environment to even seeing a team. And at the Peach Jam, which is main across the chat like he has been building towards something here deservedly so clearly on his own tier. I think he can hit Scotty Pippen type levels at his ceiling. I think for his skill set can actually match actually a lot of what Pippen did with the Bulls. Overall he does so many things so well. His floor is by far the highest of any in this class and the ceiling is the highest as well of anyone in the class there so intrigued to see what he can do in Dallas and that is fade accompli. We'll obviously offer up a few more thoughts on him. We will. Paris and I will be doing a round one reaction podcast on Wednesday night. KB you were up next number two with San Antonio gonna do the expected.

[Kyle Boone]

Here gonna select Dylan Harper from Rutgers for the Spurs. This seems like it is going to happen just like it seems Cooper Flag will be a Dallas Maverick. And you know I won't take the air out of it too much but you know this is someone who his dad played at The NBA level. Ron Harper, he's got a great pedigree. Former five star recruitment. Harper's smooth lefty. He can create for his own, for his, for himself on offense. He can create for teammates. Just a, you know, I think what you probably hope for in a modern NBA guard, which is, you know, for him, I think it's kind of like a jumbo. Jalen Brunson would be kind of in his range of outcomes, which, you know, if you're getting a bigger version of Jalen Brunson at number two, seems like a pretty good deal for the Spurs.

[Matt Norlander]

There may be a mock draft out there somewhere that doesn't have Cooper flag and Dylan Harper going one and two, but I don't think my eyeballs have seen it. So barring a surprise, something that would surprise all of us, that is the way the draft's going to start. And then we get to three with Philadelphia and there are big questions here. KB before we discuss what I would do with this pick, just update us on the Ace Bailey situation. He famously canceled a visit in Philadelphia. I saw a report that suggested he might try to get there actually before the draft, but who knows. Just update us on Ace Bailey's unusual pre draft process.

[Kyle Boone]

Yeah, it's been interesting. So his, his agent is actually Sharif Cooper's dad, Omar Cooper doesn't have a lot of high profile clients, very, I think fresh in the agency space. And so his handling of the pre draft process has I think been interesting and a little bit scrutinized. So last week had a pre draft private workout meeting and workout with the seven 76ers who obviously hold the number three pick. Canceled that on Wednesday, just a couple days before that was scheduled to happen. You know, and before that I think most people expected Bailey would be the number three pick or a lot of people expected that Bailey would very much be in the mix to be the number three pick. And now, you know, I think there's a, there's a lot of noise surrounding that situation where, you know, is he trying to steer to Washington at number six where he can go and potentially be the number one option or you know, even the Utah Jazz at number five would make some sense. It's a, it's a very interesting fluid situation. I wouldn't be surprised frankly if Bailey ends up working out for the Philadelphia 76ers. We saw just a few years ago with Ben Simmons a very similar situation. Philadelphia 76ers had the number one pick. Simmons, throughout the pre draft process declined and rejected invitations to work out for the 76ers. And that changed just a few days before the draft. Of course, the 76ers wound up selecting Ben Simmons. So, you know, we have 48 hours as we're taping it now before the draft starts. A lot can change between now and then. Right now, I expect Vijay Edgecombe would be the pick, but if Bailey ends up, you know, making amends there with that front office, I think he's still very much in the mix at number three.

[Matt Norlander]

Yeah, you don't. There's no rule that says somebody has to work out for you for you to select them.

[Kyle Boone]

Sure.

[Matt Norlander]

If he is selected without ever stepping foot in Philadelphia, he will not be the first prospect to ever be drafted by a franchise that didn't see him up close and get him in the building, as always. We'll see. But it's just a, I don't know, a fascinating storyline. You think leading into the draft is just going to be Cooper flag, Cooper flag, Cooper flag. And yet, as we're two days out, the main story, like the trending topic is apparently Ace Bailey. And I'm not even trying to be cute, I'm just speaking factually. It is wild to me to have this young man's career and then place it in the hands of a non certified agent who is an ex convict. Again, that's not a joke. That's a real thing. That is what Ace Bailey has done here. I wish him luck. Even before all of this became a big story, I was pretty consistent that I believe Trey Johnson from Texas was the third best prospect in this draft. Reasonable minds can disagree. I think reasonable minds do disagree. But where I break with the consensus is right here. I go flag. I go Harper, but then I go Trey Johnson, a 65 guard, great athlete, shot 39.7 from 3 on 6.8 attempts per game, led all freshmen in scoring. I know the Sixers have good guards in Tyrese Maxey and Jerry McCain. I just don't let that move me off of the person I believe is the third best prospect in this draft. The best prospect available at this point in the draft. If Philadelphia doesn't see it that way, then, you know, again, Sam Presti and every other GM don't see everything the same way, but I would not. I guess this is what I'm trying to say. If I were in Philadelphia and my evaluation process led to me to. Trey Johnson is the third best prospect in this draft. I am taking him and I have little regard for what else is on my roster right now.

[Gary Parish]

Yeah, all sorts of intrigue around the third pick here. I'm with you on Trey Johnson. I mentioned this on the on the podcast with Fink last week and then GP and I talked about that some pods ago. I I have Trey Johnson 2 on my board. I think he is going to be an extremely good future NBA player and easily make multiple all star games here. A trade also in this spot seems possible. There's curiosity if if Charlotte would actually covet Edgecombe so much that it will try and l just hop up one pick so that Philly doesn't take them. And if that's the case in Philly for whatever reason and Daryl Morey looks at his board and he's got Johnson, Bailey, Edgecomb and all these and to a certain extent like the guys that are like three to six feels quasi up in the air. I will say this. We're gonna work. What's interesting is we're gonna get to Vijay Edge come in a second. I don't think edgecombe falls below 4 but I personally don't have him top 4 overall that it will be intriguing what to see what Philly does with I'm gonna guess they don't trade it but I think significant chance that it winds up happening there. And yeah, where Bailey winds up, we'll get to that in just a second. And by a second I literally mean right now because for the purpose of our mock I've got the fourth pick. I'll send Ace to Charlotte here. This for our listeners and viewers. We are combining what we think could happen in addition to adding our own, you know, interpolations of these players, how they project Bailey to Charlotte to me between Sixers at 3, Charlotte at 4, Utah at 5, Washington at 6, New Orleans at 7, Bailey at one time we seem to have a 2 to 4 range and now it's like 3 to 8. We're speaking to what GP just said before there he has hurt his stock seemingly. Unless Philly is going to be unfazed by this and take him at three, I've got him at Charlotte at four. I think his ceiling is the second best of any player in the draft. Only flag is a higher ceiling if he hits again. This is if you hit and it's best case scenario. Ace Bailey I think could have an opportunity to thrive and flourish even more as a professional in the right situation with the right team and be a guy who is capable of averaging north of 25 a game if it all goes right. The problem is people don't know if it's going to all go right and people don't know how long it's going to take for him develop into that kind of player. He's not going to come into the league next season. Probably not. And be a guy who is instant, who is instant offense and adding to any type of culture out of most of these teams here, Philly included and, and turning that around what he is by year two, what he is by year four and really what he is by like year six or so that's what you're drafting on, I guess. But with the way the NBA is now like they're keep in mind when you're talking about a lot of these players that we're discussing and how they're going to get picked, a lot of these guys inevitably will find their footing with the second franchise they land at. We are taught. We were just talking about the current MVP and where that was the case overall. So I'm intrigued by that. I will have Bailey going for to Charlotte and that is because of where I have him. Big board. Overall I'm going to put faith in his talent winning out. But as I say every year and it's worth reminding every year talk about the top five or six guys in this class and there are many reasons to like a lot of them. Reality is at least two of them probably are just going to wind up not hitting nearly to the level of the others. We'll look back in five years and be like huh, that was a thing. And now look where they are now. I think Bailey is at most risk of any guy in the top six. Personally to me he's at the most risk of having the farthest fall.

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[Matt Norlander]

That note, like, I always find it interesting leading into a draft, we spend months writing about these players, talking about these players, talking to people about these players, talking on camera about these players. And I'm telling you after Wednesday night, about 20 of these dudes who are selected, maybe 15. But you'll get the point. You will never say their name again. You'll never discuss them again. Like a lot of these guys do, just disappear. They just disappear. And even the ones that you think are like, he's an incredible prospect, he'll just disappear and then somebody take it in the second round, will become a real thing. Yeah, but a lot of these guys, like I have said probably more words about, I don't know, I'm just gonna throw somebody out here. I've probably said more words, I've probably said more words about Danny Wolf over the last two months than I might ever say again.

[Gary Parish]

That's incorrect. He's gonna hit.

[Matt Norlander]

I've just refused to talk about him. But I'm not gonna say his name just to prove the point.

[Kyle Boone]

He's gonna be a Memphis Grizzly.

[Matt Norlander]

That would be tough.

[Gary Parish]

Yeah.

[Matt Norlander]

He ends up in Memphis. I've already sworn I'll never say his name again. It's gonna be tough.

[Gary Parish]

Yep.

[Matt Norlander]

I'll figure it out.

[Gary Parish]

I'll figure it out. KB you're next at number five, Utah.

[Kyle Boone]

Yeah, number five for the Jazz. I'm gonna select BJ Edgecombe, who I think will be the number three. Pick one and done from Baylor. 35, a 35 three point shooter in his one season with the Bears last season. He is a 99th percentile athlete, maybe the best athlete in this class. And again, I think a huge reason why I would select him at number three in this draft, big believer in his defense. Just his, his physical frame, his intangibles, the, the way that he plays I think is going to translate at a really high level. There's a little bit of untapped playmaking with him as well. So just a two way guard who doesn't have a lot of weaknesses in his game I think would make a lot of sense for the Jazz at number five.

[Matt Norlander]

So I've got the Wizards at number six. And this is where I believe the betting markets now have Ace Bailey falling and it is somewhat by design. So like we can talk about how chaotic this pre draft process is and you know, going from three to six, just, just that little bit of a drop is the difference over the first two years of a rookie contract of about $6 million. So he's leaving real money on the table. But there is some reporting that suggests this is what he wants. He would rather be in Washington at 6 than other places at 4 or 5. So maybe he gets what he wants. But in this mock draft he's now off the board, which leads me to select Concanipple out of Duke who is now showing up in the top five of various mock drafts in part because of the Ace Bailey situation. Norlander had a terrific piece on him deep in the season. I think at this point people are familiar he was the Robin to Cooper Flag's Batman. But at basically any other school he could have been the Batman. Maybe the best shooter in this draft. Although Trey Johnson might have an argument against him. Liam McNeely might have an argument to get into that conversation. But he obviously shot it terrifically at Duke and on the run through the NCAA tournament he was at 19 points, 63.6 shooting from beyond the arc. Just obviously hammered home all of the stuff that you like about him. And I would just be for a variety of reasons he will get called a shooter. Oh yeah, he's a. But he's, he's a basketball player. He's not just a shooter. He can guard, is positioned better than. I think some probably realize this is a well rounded guy and somebody who I don't think there's any doubt, barring injuries, of course, he's going to be in the league for a long time.

[Gary Parish]

Yeah. Kb, your thoughts first and I'll hop in on, on Kanipple here.

[Kyle Boone]

Yeah, I think Knipple is the best shooter in this class. Shot 40 plus percent from 3 point range. He was 90 plus percentile on catch and shoot on true jump shots. Just a very versatile scorer who can do it in a variety of ways. And you know, there was an interview, I think it was during the Insta Play tournament with Con Canepel where someone kind of asked him to evaluate himself like what are some strengths for some weaknesses and, and basically paraphrasing it and maybe being, you know, a little too blunt here but he was like, I'm kind of just a white guy who isn't super athletic. And you know, that's how he wins. He wins by being smarter than everyone. He's really good playing off of two feet. He's really sav at being able to read and manipulate defenses at a high level. So you know, I don't think again, I don't think there's a lot of holes in Knipple's game. I have a lot of confidence that he's going to be a really quality NBA player for a long time and I think there's a lot of value in that. Just knowing that hey, you know, you could take an Ace Bailey and if everything hits he could be a multi time all star because he can score it and he has great size unlike anyone else in, in this draft class. Well, I know Con Canipple is going to be productive in his role for a very long time and you know, I think I would be very willing to spend a top five pick on, on Con Cannipple. So at number six for the Wizards I think this would be great value.

[Gary Parish]

Yeah, this is his floor. I think Charlotte at 4 is his ceiling. Certainly a very good possibility there for a couple notes on him. I, I do love that he's just, he's bringing back the park down the middle, feathery look. It's just you don't see that at the professional level in almost any sport anymore. So that's, it's a strong statement there. And just to see a badass on the floor who's rocking that kind of haircut. Take some. He's not short on confidence, let's put it that way. He Knipples rise has been intriguing because here from a few scouts that go check out Duke practice back in, back in the preseason I was also there in the preseason but even in advance of me getting there like there started to be some real buzz of like okay, this guy probably is going to be a first round pick and one of the biggest reasons why is he's a legitimate defender. No, not a, not a 99th or 90th percentile kind of athlete, but really smart, really tough, plays through his chest often, really good at switching, adequate enough lateral quickness to say the least. And it was the defense that really put him in that conversation. Then he goes out and he shoots what he does. He then reinforces his stock when flag gets hurt in the SEC tournament. Knipple goes out, helps Duke when the ACC championship player of the the the most valuable player in that ACC tournament and it's all, it's all validate. He's going to be an extremely good NBA player. I will be surprised if Knipple does not stick in the league for 10 years. I think he has the shooting and the adroitness overall to, to make it happen. Wizards, by the way, if you're, you know, they haven't been a relevant franchise, but in just talking to a variety of different sources this, in this year's cycle, apparently there's like a lot of real positive feedback on the new people in place running that front office in the direction of the franchise. Now we'll see if they can actually produce results over the next couple years and truly turn it around. But it's the one franchise even more than the Hornets. Yes, nada. Even more than the Hornets in this. In this top six who are unfortunately just been in just this vortex. They can't get out of there. If they get connected to follow him at 6, they should obviously sprint into call to make the pick. But it will be intriguing to see how we know what one and two is going to be, how three through six falls is going to be super interesting. And then from there it gets even more intriguing. I've got the pick at seven with the Pelicans and I'm gonna go here. I also went. I. I'm putting a player in that I think I'm a little bit higher on than the general, you know, prognosticators and the consensus out there. I will go Casper Siakachonas from Illinois, good size, good shooter that I actually, I think that he will grow into a much more reliable and consistent shooter as a pro than he did at Illinois where he had his ups and downs. He has a very, very good quality in his game to being able to see passing lanes, anticipate body movement. I actually think there's a chance that where he is and I think Danny Wolf's even got some of this as well. And not just those two. I think Cedric Coward, who will get to in a second, has some of this as well. There are certain players that have. Certain that have skill sets that the college level can see some success, but once they actually get playing at the NBA level with bigger players, with smarter players and more experienced players, it actually accentuates their capabilities all the more. I think that's Yakos. Overall, he plays well within himself. He's actually in. In watching him for, man, I must have seen him play, I don't know, 22, 23 times last season. Overall. There were some times where the, the chaos would get too much for him, but he does seem to almost embrace that element of what. Of what basketball can be. So I've got him. I've got him going to New Orleans at 7. I think that they could absolutely use him positionally in terms of fit overall. I think this makes sense. KB I'll send it right back to you and then GP chime in. I guess as be too high, too low, just right for you with Yakachon is going to nola.

[Kyle Boone]

Yeah, this is about right. I expect his range is probably somewhere between like 6 and 10 in this draft. I. I would be surprised if Fears is drafted. Jeremiah Fears, who we'll talk about in a minute if Fears is drafted behind Jaco Jonas. But you know, I think the fit and where he's selected at number seven would make a lot of sense. You kind of highlighted some of the highs of his game which is he can make every pass in the book. He had, you know, a 26 plus percent assist rate. That's really good. He's got really good size at, you know, a six foot six. He doesn't have, you know, elite athleticism or burst necessarily, but he does make up for it in a lot of ways. Just in terms of, you know, similar to Conquer Nipple actually just really good playing off of two feet. He's very savvy, really good finisher around the basket which, which I think bodes well for him at the NBA level just because he is able to kind of overcome some deficiencies in terms of his athletic ability. The turnovers I think were a tad concerning last season at Illinois. 25 turnover rate, which is basically in line with his assist rate. And see, I think that's probably an area where he needs to clean that up pretty substantially if you're projecting him to be a future point guard. That is a, I think probably huge red flag. I think probably hoping that he can be some sort of connective piece in the NBA, not necessarily your true point guard just because the concerns that he showed with his turnovers and then you're talking about some issues with his shooting as well where you know, shot 32 from three. So you know, there's some areas where you'd hope to see him improve a little bit. But I am with you Norlander on the whole. Like I really like him as a prospect. I would take him inside the top 10 and this would make sense at number seven I think for the New Orleans Pelican Wilkins.

[Matt Norlander]

I agree with kb this is Yakushona's range. But I also would take Jeremiah Fears off the board before I took him off the board. So KB with that, why don't you go ahead and get Jeremiah Fears off the board.

[Kyle Boone]

Yeah, my little oklahomie. Jeremiah Fears. Someone who actually was top 10 in usage rate last season among major conference players at the Division 1 level. We're talking about someone who's one of the youngest players in this draft class. Actually reclassified up a year. Played at University of Oklahoma as a young teenager. He's kind of, I think guys like the, the Moneyball meme reincarnated where you know, during. I don't know if you've seen the movie or not. Peter Brand shows Billy Bean a prospect who, who looks great and he does all these amazing things, but he can't hit or he can't. You know, it's like it's kind of a major red flag. It feels the same with Jeremiah Fears where he's exceptional with the ball. He can create paint touches at a high level. You look at like his ball handling mixtape, it is phenomenal. He looks fantastic. But that's kind of how I feel about his shooting too. I think there's some real flags, real red flags with his shooting. Struggled last season in particular from 3 point range. Last season shot 28.4% from 3 point range and I think that's a. An area of concern and why he could end up slipping later than maybe expected just because I think there are some concerns about projecting that to the NBA level. But you know, I think if some things hit right, he could end up being a star in this league. And you know, at number eight for the Brooklyn Nets who have four first round picks, I think I would be very willing and eager to take a chance on someone like Jeremiah Fierce.

[Gary Parish]

I'll just hop in here real quick because then you got to pick after this. I'm. This is one of my biggest sellers. I don't, I don't have him as a top 20 prospect in the class. I think he's too small. He's an atrocious defender. If you're going to have a top 10 pick on a guard like him, he's got really good athleticism. He is good with the ball in his hands. There's no doubt about that. He was not good as a, as an attack. For all the athleticism and sometimes creativity had was not a good player around the rim at all. Do we see that jumping at the next level? I don't know. There's just going to be inevitably a couple of guys that get picked too late and they should have been 20 spots higher and there's going to got guys in the top 10 and they should have been 10 or so spots lower. For me this is just, I'm, you know, it is Nothing personal against the player. I'm just trying to evaluate guys that I saw how I think I project and I just, I'm a big, I'm a big seller on him. I. If you told me he was there at like, you know, 18, 16, I get it. 21. Yeah. Hell yeah, I'm in. But with the top 10 pick here, if you were going to be his size and be taken with a top eight overall pick, I think you probably need to be something bordering on special in the NBA. And I don't think Fierce has that game.

[Matt Norlander]

I will say he does play the position where you can kind of get by being a below average shooter. If you are physically gifted in a way that. That just makes it hard for people to stay in front of you. You know, I live in a city that has a franchise point guard who is described that way. He's not John Morant, a great three point shooter or even a good three point shooter, although he's better than he used to be.

[Gary Parish]

Like, you look at what Morant was coming out of college. And Fierce isn't that either. No, no, no, no, no. I'm not saying you are. But just as a means of comparison for our listeners and viewers, like, he's a tear down at least from even what Morant was coming out of Murray State.

[Matt Norlander]

I believe that. I agree. I'm just saying that if you can keep people on skates, you can play in that league with the ball in your hands. Obviously it's helpful if you also have the shot to go with it. And if this doesn't get up to a respectable number, then this will be too high for him. But is if it does get to a respectable number, it will be too low because the other stuff is there. Norland, you make an important point. He will get targeted on defense. He's only like £180. You know, he's. He's very, I don't want to say weak, but like he's not strong. You wouldn't call him strong and so he's gonna struggle with that. The shot is a source of concern, but he was an 85 free throw shooter, which is not always, but often an indication that there is some, there's some feel there, there's some shooting ability there that maybe just hadn't materialized yet. So I'm a believer. But I, I understand all of the. I understand the concerns. At nine with the Raptors. I've got them taken. Come on, Malawatch. Out of Duke, 7 foot 2 center, like nearly a 7 foot 7 wingspan. He's just an unusually large human. Forget basketball player. There aren't many humans walking around on the planet who measure like Malawatch and can move like Malawatch. Now, we went through an era in the NBA where I had actual front office members in the NBA tell me they would not spend a top 10 pick on a traditional center like ever again. I just don't think that's true anymore. I don't know that it was ever true across the board of the NBA. But you. Let's look at these playoffs. I mean, Oklahoma City, I know Chad Hogan is not a traditional big, but they start two bigs in okc. The Lakers tried to play small when they couldn't get that Mark Williams trade. Dealers when it got rescinded and they got destroyed by Rudy Gobert. Like you need people like this on your basketball team. Now if, if only for the playoffs, you're gonna need somebody who is just a massive presence. And there's nobody better equipped to do that for a long time than Mileage Watch. I know the last impression was bad. 21 minutes in a loss, zero rebounds against Houston. But that's just an outlier game. That's not who he is. And keep in mind that was at a time when there were reports about deportations and there was some thought that happened.

[Gary Parish]

But to be fair, that literally broke in the middle of the game. So he wouldn't have known about that before the game tipped.

[Matt Norlander]

My memory was that it was circulating okay in advance of the game to where it would have been hard to keep that out of his head. But maybe that's true.

[Gary Parish]

Actually, maybe I have that wrong. I remember the game happening and it being like, it's unfair to ask this dude about this because this stuff just happened in the middle of the game. I still remember that. So there could have been other stuff circling. I don't want to. We don't need to get.

[Matt Norlander]

Yeah, let's not get distracted by that. That point. The larger point is that was just an outlier performance. That's not who he is. And I would not. I'd be aware of it. You know, I'd make note of it, but I would not let it deter me from from selecting him in the top 10 of this draft.

[Gary Parish]

KB, where's your rank overall on Malawatch? Where do you have them on your big board?

[Kyle Boone]

I have him at number nine and I love to see GP pushing the size still matters agenda. He's seven foot two. As he mentioned. Seven put seven foot six point seven five. Wingspan was his reported wingspan at the NBA combine. And you can go and search on Google if you want. But I wrote a story from the combine on Common Moloch, who began playing basketball at 13 years old, someone who actually first loved soccer. But he told me frankly like he was so sick of soccer because he grew so big and he was so skinny that people kept just pushing him into the goal and he was sick of that and that's what Houston did to him. Yeah, yeah. And so. Exactly. Yes. And so obviously he picked up basketball a little bit late in his career in his life and has flourished, has become a potential lottery pick and was very impactful last season for a 35 win Duke team that was top five on offense and defensive efficiency. And he was a, a very, very important player in, in doing that alongside obviously Cooper Flag and Con Canipple who we've already mentioned as top 10 picks in this class.

[Gary Parish]

Malawatch I think can switch two to five at the NBA level. He'd literally switch one to five at the college level. And yes, as I said with on the podcast with Fink and put in my mock draft, it is absolutely on the table that he is the best defensive player to come out of this class. Needs to be taken with the top 10 pick. If he goes as high as 6, it wouldn't stun me because of the attributes on the defensive end. Plenty of questions about how he fits in on a rolling offense and how you utilize him. I get all that stuff. But man, he's got some serious, serious fortes as a potential all league defender. I've got the 10th pick with the Suns who now have this pick after the Kevin Durant trade over the weekend. And for here I'm going to stick with the the player that I had my mock at 10 is actually 10th on our prospect rankings overall and that's Carter Bryant out of Arizona. If you want a little bit of a deeper conversation as to okay, here we go. We got a guy who didn't start in college, you know, didn't average, you know, 22, 23 minutes a game. You look at the numbers or whatever. Why would a guy like this go top 10? I asked this question to Adam Finkelstein on the mailbag episode last week and we got into about five or six minutes. So go back if you have not already. Listen to that, some really good perspective on all of that. He certainly seems to have the momentum as a prospect Brian does to be a top 12 pick. We're going to send him here 10 to the Suns. What's intriguing is now you've got a Team that now has this pick that didn't have it until all of what, 48 hours ago or so. And so what are the Suns prioritizing? That franchise in general is something that's hard to even target. See what they see, what they're looking for. Are they going to settle at 10? Are they going to try and trade out again? We'll see. This is just the range I'm trying to project where Brian's going to be. The 10 spot overall seems to fit nicely. He defensively can translate immediately as a prospect there. We'll see how he grows on the offensive end. But exceedingly good scouting reports on him throughout the pre draft process. It's not just the combine, it's other things as well. And you know there's also a chance he's 19. Is he done fully growing? How much weight can he put on? He's the kind of frame and athlete that if you put on an additional like £20 it's only going to probably likely increase his game. Some players are better at putting on weight and actually making that an attribute and, and becoming all the better. Some players aren't. Brian seems to have the framing game for that. So yeah, we'll send them here. 10 to Phoenix.

[Matt Norlander]

Yeah, I've got him in this range as well. I'm a believer in the switchability on defense. Everybody needs players like this. I know I've said this before. You're hesitant to select a guy like Mikhail Bridges in the top 10 because he's just a role player and then he becomes a great role player and you give up five first round picks for him. So like these, these guys are that valuable and I think Carter Bryant projects is the best possibility among three and the wings at this point in the draft. You mentioned the pre draft all the stuff is coming back positive like strong family, high character and impacted winning at Arizona like didn't play a lot or maybe didn't play as much as he should have but like the on court numbers for him were better than the off court numbers for him as it pertains to Arizona as a basketball team. So you know, wasn't an all american candidate or anything like that but can still be a lottery pick based off what people believe he'll be able to do at the NBA level in time. Before we get to the blazers at number 11, let's pay some bills. Let's get a word from from our partners.

[Gary Parish]

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[Matt Norlander]

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[Matt Norlander]

Okay, KB the Blazers are on the clock. What are they gonna do?

[Kyle Boone]

They're going to select Cedric Coward from Washington State. One of the biggest pre draft risers that I have seen here over the last couple years. Kind of reminiscent of Jalen Williams from Santa Clara.

[Gary Parish]

Who?

[Kyle Boone]

Jalen Williams, NBA champion Jalen Williams, Cedric Coward. A very interesting story. I want to actually toss it over to to Norlander because he wrote a story about it but you know, began his career at the Division 3 level, played at Eastern Washington, ended up at Washington State. He had such a precipitous rise during the pre draft process that he was committed to Duke and that just seemed impossible because he just kept rising from hey, this guy might be a really interesting second round gamble to okay, this guy's going to be a lottery pick and he's definitely not going back to college. So I think it would make sense for the blazers. At number 11, he's 6 foot 5, he has a 7 foot 2 wingspan career 39% 3 point shooter. Just I mean physically he is, he's off the charts gifted, built like a brick and, and can do a number of different things that kind of built in a lab for what you kind of hope for in a modern day NBA wing.

[Gary Parish]

I have a big feature up on him that published a few days ago. I would guess I have, I've sent that, you know, heard some feedback from some NBA folks and stuff like that which I appreciate and I told some of them I would guess I've either I've, I've interviewed in some capacity in person over the phone like I don't know, 300 plus, maybe 400 plus college athletes since I've been doing this. Central Cow is one of the five most impressive players I've ever talked to. He is like it is, he is a rare dude, he just is. And in fact coincidentally enough he very like in terms of just talking. I sat down, I went to Brooklyn the day before he worked out the Nets. We sat down, we talked for like 90 minutes. A lot of like that discussion was so reminiscent. And this was not by design initially but I as coincidence would have it, I profiled Jalen Williams three years ago and there are a ton of parallels just in the way these guys are wired. Their games aren't, their games are not exactly the same. They can fill similar spots on a roster I guess overall. But if you told me that Coward did rise to be, you know, the third, like Williams right now is, is a top 20 player in the NBA I guess maybe even top 15 and the second best player in the NBA champion. I don't know if Coward ceiling can be that. Although he absolutely believes it can be if not more than that, I do think he has a healthy chance at stepping in and being an impactful pro for a long time and a guy who validates his draft spot if indeed he winds up this, I don't think he'll go this high. Not that it can't. I was told as I had in the story, there have been three teams holding lottery picks that have expressed genuine interest toward Cowards Camp. Like a couple of teams in the lottery have like interviewed him, done that stuff. There are three teams that at least if they were to select him, Coward. And his camp will not be surprised if it comes to that on Wednesday night. Real quick on the backstory here. I don't want to go too long here, but I did do a 5,000 word feature on this guy. There's never been anything like it. It's insane. And please go read the story if you haven't already, because this is. This is the goods. Like, this is why I love covering the draft and covering college sports. It's for stuff like this. Because this has never happened ever. There have been more than 8, 000 players drafted since the mid-1940s. No one has ever done this. I'll try and be as abbreviated as possible. He is not good enough to play varsity at a public high school until his junior year. The summer before his junior year, which is really the most critical year for talent evaluation. It's Covid. He's frustrated in his overall game and even admitted to me is like, I wasn't good enough and I wasn't trying to be good enough. But he wants to be on a better AAU team than he is. He's not. He quits AAU that year. There are that that you do that your chances of making the NBA, however small they are, they diminish tenfold because of that decision for almost anyone else. So doesn't play AAU for a year, makes the varsity team. And then it's not that he just didn't get a D1 offer. We have had players like that. Derrick White didn't get a D1 offer and he wound up making the league. We've seen that story happen before, although it's rare, you know, Scotty Pippen to get a D1 offer back in the day. That's probably two Pippen references in the first 40 minutes he had guys two Division 3 schools recruited him to play basketball. It's not like, okay, wasn't good for D1, but some D2s were hot enough he could have played no. 2. And he was such a good academic student in high school that the schools that he was going to consider, one was in Carolina, North Carolina, and the other one was Willamette up near Portland in Oregon. And it was as much for the academics as it was anything else. So he goes, he plays there. And the team was 1 in 29 the two years before he played there. And then they only won six games the year that he was there. And then as I write in the story, the only reason why he even ends up at Eastern Washington is because then coach David Riley, who's now at Washington State, and Coward went with him there. He's. He follows that league, that D3 league, because he used to play in it. Not at Willamette, but a different school. So. But only because he has this devotion and connection. Riley at this time I think was like 34, maybe 33 years old. He's like young coach. His college days are barely more than a decade behind him. He's like, all right, we'll talk on the Willamette Portland game. And that night, Coward's the best player on the floor. Catches his eye. As another coincidence, a guy on Riley's staff had Fresno ties. Used to be a high school coach in Fresno. So he kind of tracks from afar. At the end of that season, Coward clearly like good enough to at least try going the portal. She goes in the portal. Eastern Washington beats out New Mexico State and Idaho who recruited him. But even Coward told me it's like it wasn't even close. Like Eastern Washington came to me with a plan and showed me how I could do this. He's one of the most efficient players coming off the bench his first year. He makes the leap a second year. I'm going to gloss over a lot of stuff. It's all details in the story. And then he's good enough to at least try after a second year at Eastern Washington, try the pre draft process. He doesn't get a combine invite, does not get a G league combine invite. Goes into the portal. Number of schools offer him big money, including Texas Tech, which was close to a million. He goes and I didn't ask him for the number at, at Washington State, but it's not even close to that. Okay. It's not even remotely close. He sticks with that coaching staff. It rips his shoulder in practice six games into the season after he looked awesome to start. Awesome. And he's still gonna go in the top 20. This is not supposed to happen. It is an incredible story. It's a testament to his work ethic. I got more details on his recovery, rehab, all of that. Talked to his coaching staff, talked to his mom, his, his grandfather. One of them won a gold medal on a relay team for the Team USA in 1976 at the Olympics. Awesome dude. Awesome story. I will not be stunned whatsoever by any success this guy has. I love kb Put him this high. I don't think he'll go this high. But. But when you watch the draft on, on Wednesday night, Just be more aware of his story because it is incredible. He's the fastest riser and a super, super cool story.

[Matt Norlander]

In my personal mock draft that updated earlier today, I have him 16th headed to the Memphis Grizzlies. He's going to be my neighbor.

[Gary Parish]

That would be phenomenal if, if he gets. There's a couple teams.

[Matt Norlander]

Yeah.

[Gary Parish]

That are sitting there that if he's got to get past OKC at 15, that's what and, and frankly San Antonio 14 wouldn't surprise me either. But yeah, we'll see Grizzlies at 16. If he's there, I would, I would leap for it.

[Matt Norlander]

He just seems like the type of prospect the smart franchises want. Yep.

[Gary Parish]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Matt Norlander]

At number 12. Chicago Bulls picking. I've got him taking Derek Queen out of Maryland. The one and done big. Just a super skilled big who who showed all of that in the NCAA tournament, had the buzzer beater against Colorado State, got 27 points against the eventual national champions. He could go higher than this. I have seen him lower than this. And there are some thought that the pre draft process if it's been great for say Carter Bryant, it hasn't been as great for Derek Queen. There's some concerns about his conditioning, how seriously or how focused he is on that. And I, I don't think it's the type of thing that makes him slip out of the lottery. But the things you're hearing just in recent days as a prospect with the draft approaching, you always want to hear this guy has blown people away in the pre draft process. And I have not heard that about Derek Queen too much.

[Kyle Boone]

KB you that is, that is in line with what I've heard. And having watched him at the NBA draft combine I think there's also concerns about like his shooting mechanics. The shot is something that I think you're hoping to project out. It's not necessarily something that is a foundational piece of him as a prospect right now. And watch him at the NBA draft comment. I actually talked to a college coach who was there watching Queen do his workouts because he had a player who was doing in the same pod doing a workout and he said like, like what's up with Derek Queen's shot? And I was like man, I noticed that too. And he had some sort of like hitch at the top of his release that I did not see during his time at Maryland. I think it is a concern and I think it's something that I've even heard during his pre draft workouts is just it's been Circled something that like I don't. The mechanics of a shot just don't seem to be completely settled now. He's a former five star recruit. He's been long considered one of the, of the top 15 or so prospects in this class. I don't think it's going to sway him necessarily out of the lottery, but you're given all the, you know, the situation with him right now where the conditioning concerns and the shooting concerns there, I think there's a real chance that he could end up slipping maybe a little bit further than maybe we expect on draft.

[Gary Parish]

I think it's. His stock is a little bit tough to pin down. If he goes to Chicago at 12, it actually won't surprise me at all. In spite of what we said here. I would put, I would put his range 10 to 18 overall. Really good intangibles, really smart player and I think he finds a way to make it work. I understand some of the drawbacks there. There's another player that I featured during the season came away extremely impressed. Also someone who's, yeah, just sit down, have a conversation with them. You don't feel like you're talking to someone. He's now 20. I think he just felt like I was talking to a guy in mid-30s who had lived, lived a long and, and happy successful life which nothing for the best, but the best for May. Although some of the aspects of his game do seem like he's got skill sets that will work at the NBA level regardless. I almost wonder if he is a player that ultimately needs to go to the right kind of situation to have him. Some players, they can't be broken. Maybe he needs to go to the right spot to ensure it. But I'm, I'm in on Queen making it work at the NBA level and that's a guy who a year ago I would have been like there's no way that guy should be a one and done. He's gonna need more. I'm. He's flipped me entirely.

[Kyle Boone]

I've got the, the best passer among bigs in this class.

[Gary Parish]

Like I think him and Wolf go head to head. I think yes, it's almost as good, if not as good.

[Kyle Boone]

And on the website we have a, you know, scouting reports for all 60 prospects right now. Queen is. We also have player comps and one comp for Queen we have is Alpern Shingoon who's had immense success in the NBA. He's one of the focal points of the Houston Rockets and you know, a huge reason that he's found success is because of his playmaking as a the offensive hub for the Rockets. I can see a similar path to success for Queen in the NBA. If he cleans up some other things, I think there's a real chance he could hit and hit in a big way.

[Gary Parish]

All right, I've got the 13th pick with the Hawks. I've got Noah ascende from France here. I'll say he doesn't wind up going to Atlanta on Wednesday, but again I'm trying to. When we got to this part of our mock I I thought he's probably won't slip past 15 and I'm not convinced San Antonio OKC will be a player, although I could see it happening for a number of reasons with those franchises he will be the highest drafted international player. Questions about the shooting, questions about strength. But he's 18. He'll grow into it. You know, right now can he switches both a 3 and a 4? We'll see a little bit of a project. But this is, you know, obviously GP and KB more than gpi. But GPI are not like diving into the tape on Noah ascending in the middle of February. It's just not happening. So I going off of what KB saying, talking to a few NBA people who right now a sengay and then a guy we've got Baron J further down. The vibe is like these guys are going top 16. So I, I had to fit him in there somewhere. I send them 13 to Atlanta.

[Kyle Boone]

KB yeah, that sounds about right. This is someone who's from France. He's had a very strong pre draft process. Big frame, kind of like a big swing. We'll see kind of where he goes on draft night. But like I've heard there's real interest from teams who are picking inside the top 10 for a single way that feels like a little bit rich and even a month ago like I thought he might not be a first round pick for sure. So yeah, I think 13 feels about right for a single. His draft stock. I think his range is pretty wide. But there's a lot of interest in him just given the last couple weeks. A lot of steam around a single.

[Matt Norlander]

And that takes us to 14. San Antonio spurs on the board. KB, you got the pick?

[Kyle Boone]

Yes, I'm going to select Colin Murray Boyles from South Carolina at number 14. I selected Dylan Harper at number two. I'm coming back here adding some size for the spurs front court, some defense. I, I think there's been a lot of behind the scenes. It seems like the spurs may be Interested in adding some size next to Victor Womenyama. Obviously, they're pretty set in the backcourt. They have Stefan Castle, who was the rookie of the year last year. They have Dear and Fox, who they traded for. Now they have Dylan Harper. You know, I. I don't know if Colin Murray Boyles would be like the perfect fit for pairing next to Victor Womenyama, but he's someone who's very physically mature, produced at a high level at South Carolina in two seasons, a physical interior post, present sense. And I think someone who, you know, with his passing ability, with his defensive versatility, could just kind of be a joker, fit in a number of different roles for the spurs. And obviously Victor Women. Yama is there. He's going to do a lot of everything on both ends. So I think Murray Boyles could help kind of fill the holes where. Where needed.

[Matt Norlander]

With the 15 pick, it's the Oklahoma City Thunder, the reigning NBA champs. And I know some people look at this like, well, what do they even need? But you know what? They need players who are going to replace their role players when their role players become too expensive. Yeah, they'll pay Shay, Gilgis, Alexander. They'll pay Chet. They'll pay Jalen Williams.

[Kyle Boone]

Yes.

[Matt Norlander]

And the rest of these guys are just not going to be able to get in Oklahoma City what it is they're going to be able to get elsewhere.

[Gary Parish]

You're going to send Unc packing. He's gone.

[Kyle Boone]

It's gone.

[Gary Parish]

Russo, I'll see you later. You're doing this in the bald brotherhood right now.

[Matt Norlander]

GP I don't want to do that. That's not what I want to do. But the way. The way the system is in place now, and I don't like this. I. I actually think this is a fundamental flaw in the NBA. I don't think you should hire. Be able to hire somebody as brilliant as Sam Presti, have him do as brilliant a job as he's done, and then based on the rules, like, quite literally be unable to keep it together because without paying $500 million in taxes or something. But. But that is. This is where we're at, and this is what the owners wanted. And so here we are. But they're not just Oklahoma City drafting for depth. They don't need anything that this draft has right now. But what they do need is when these role players become too expensive, they need to have guys on rookie contracts who can step in and fill that role. The Nuggets were not able to do this after winning a championship, and it's cost Them Oklahoma City is going to be better equipped than anybody perhaps in the history of the NBA to do what it is we're talking about and actually string NBA titles or win more than just this one. But if they, let's just say they win three titles over the next 10 years, it might, they might all come with Shake Gilt is Alexander, they might all come with chat, they might all come with Jalen Williams, but the other pieces are going to be swapped out and that's what you're trying to find in this and every other draft where you're making first round picks. With all that said, I've got to take him Liam McNeely out of Yukon. He only shot 31.7 from 3 point range, but as we've talked about a lot, that is not a number that people are obsessed with because there's so much data on him dating back to high school grassroots that suggests like he's a real shooter. He is a real shooter on the wing. And so you wonder, okay, well why did he shoot below 32 at UConn? Honestly, I think some of it was just he was being asked to do more than he was maybe capable of doing. He had that ankle injury mid season that derailed things and you know, cost him valuable time. It just, he had an up and down freshman season, but he's a 6, 7 wing who can really shoot it, at least in theory. And that's going to be enough, I think, to get him selected in the top 20 of this draft.

[Gary Parish]

All right, I'll keep it moving. Now we've got the Grizzly. I've got the Grizz pick at 16 here, Asa Newell from Georgia. I think Newell's range is probably 13 to 24. It seems to be a bit wide. He's a big gp, you know, the Chris roster, you know, much better than I do. I, I do think that he's got a chance of having the right physical profile and doing the right kind of things that that franchise, you know, puts a priority on to, to be able to stick. He's, he's got to work on some of his offensive game, there's no doubt about it. But good athleticism, really good length, length. I think he can grow it. I, I think it's interesting when you get into this range because depending on what kind of play you are and the franchise you go to, if you can really home in on two or three specific things that you just say, these are the things that I'm going to become. Top 10, top 15, top 20 level in the NBA regardless, like I am going to dedicate myself to this. You can really carve out yourself one hell of a career and by the way, an ultra rich career in the process. I think Asa Newell has the potential to grow into one of the best rebounders in this class if he dedicates himself to that and then as no, by the way, grow into a nice little pick and pop big. You know, he's 6 9, 6 10, good muscle build already. I'm probably more aggressive on him here than he'll wind up getting picked. But I think there is a healthy chance that if a team OPTS to go 16, 17 or better on him that he's got, he's got a really good work ethic. Background checks are all going to clear. So I go with the grizz him at 16.

[Matt Norlander]

I'll just add real quickly about the Grizzlies roster. It's a little bit having Jaren Jackson Jr. In your front court is a little bit like having Victor Wembanyama in your front court. I'm not saying Trip is wimby, but they're both incredibly versatile, you know, front court players who can kind of float on defense, float on offense, comfortable all over the court. Both of them are, you know, defensive players of the year. And my larger point is that you can play anybody with them. Like there are some starting centers or starting power forwards in the NBA where it's if you're trying to add front court pieces, you have to think along the lines of how does he fit with this guy? Can he play with this guy? And you don't really have to think about that with Jaren Jackson Jr. Or you know, in San Antonio with Wimby, they can play with any type of front court player. If you need them to play center, they can play center. If you want them to play with a traditional center and be a stretch the floor four, they can do that. And so yeah, I, I, this is higher than I would have asa new going. But I have no concerns about how he would fit next to Jaren Jackson Jr. Because I think basically any kind of front court player can work next to Jared Jackson Jr.

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[Matt Norlander]

The Timberwolves at number 17 KB. You're on the clock.

[Kyle Boone]

Yes and I will select Nick Clifford from Colorado State. Minnesota made a big investment last draft with Rob Dillingham. Not entirely sure that they will go guard again, but I think Clifford would present some good value here. That'd be really tough to pass up. Someone who spent five years in college produced like an All American last season at Colorado State. I think he can be like an instant 3 and D impactful player for any NBA team. And you know, for the Minnesota Timberwolves specifically competing at the top of the the West. I think he could fill a role for a team that is looking to try and fill pieces next to obviously Anthony Edwards and and Rudy Gobert. They also have some Nazrid and Julius Randle have player options this offseason so maybe they look to to address the front court. But I think Nick Clifford here I'm a little bit higher on him than maybe some others. This to me would be very tantalizing and probably too good a deal to pass up at 17 GPL.

[Gary Parish]

Hopping real quick here on Clifford. Very high and I'm not as high as kb. I do like the daringness of this pick. I actually do like the fit overall and I think he is a top five most likely dude when when you are on the road in July and we see some summer league like player picked after number 10 top 5 most likely dude just to freaking ball out and look incredible in summer league. I think he is going to hit the ground running and be an immediate Immediately. A player who's immediately willing to contribute anything and everything possible to be a force for good and positivity and helping a franchise there. I don't know if he'll go as high as 17. I don't think he's falling below like 22 or 23. Really, really do love his upside.

[Matt Norlander]

That brings us to the 18th pick, the Wizards. I've got him selecting Jace Richardson out of Michigan State. Six one combo guard, six six wingspan. Dad obviously was a top five pick and a 14 year NBA veteran. So he's got the genes. And as our pal San Versini has pointed out in his big draft preview, over the final 15 games, Jace Richardson averaged 16 points. Shot 47 from the field and 42 from three. So he closed really strong. Good frame. He's a strong body. Not a great athlete, but a good enough athlete. Changes speeds well, knows how to use his body to create scoring opportunities, all of that stuff. And he's pretty good around the rim despite his size. But the size is an issue, particularly if he's playing off the ball. Just look at the top of this draft, the second player is going to be Dylan Harper. Jumbo guards Stefan Castle. Like the back courts in the NBA are getting bigger than they have ever been. Which I think by definition means it's harder to play in that league and flourish in that league at 6 foot 1 than it has ever been. There are guys who got drafted just a few years ago, like Kennedy Chandler comes to mind, who I don't think would get drafted today. Like just, just based off of the size. I think the NBA has changed that much. Where positional size is, is. Is really valued and being this little can be difficult. But I'm going to trust that he'll figure it out. I'm going to trust that he'll figure it out and he'll stick in this league. But if somebody wanted to argue, I just don't feel comfortable spending a top 20 pick on a 61 guard who might need to play off the ball as much as he plays on the ball. I would nod and say I understand.

[Gary Parish]

Gaby, quick thoughts on Richardson.

[Kyle Boone]

Yeah, I think, I think probably I mostly agree with GP in that that I think size still matters in the NBA where at 6 foot and change he is definitely undersized. He did measure like at 6 foot 6 at the, @ the combine just with his wingspan and there's, there's a lot to like here. I think he's like pretty good on the ball as a, as kind of a microwave scorer.

[Gary Parish]

He.

[Kyle Boone]

I think he can do a number of things on offense that I think is pretty projectable. I go back to a story that I think Norlander, you wrote earlier this season, which was a quote from Tom Izzo talking about Jace Richardson shouldn't be allowed in Vegas because he is so smart and he consumes things, digests it and understands it really well. So I think his just understanding of how to play basketball, his pedigree of being the son of Jason Richardson, there's a lot of things working in his favor, I think. And you know, obviously it's really hard to bet on guys who are maybe a tad undersized, but Jason Richardson is someone who I personally like maybe a little bit more than most. I have him as a top 20 prospect in this class and I, I think he will end up sticking in some role in the NBA just because he is so smart. He thinks the game at a really high level and the offensive skills I think are going to translate pretty seamlessly to the NBA.

[Gary Parish]

Yeah, he's gotta. In order to stick, he's gotta get there with his physicality and make some growth because he wasn't a projected one and done player until basically until we got to like February. But. But he does have a chance. And coincidentally enough, we'll go to 19 here. I've got Brooklyn, the, the player I have here in some. They're not polar opposites. They're not, but they're both guards, they're both point guards. But the player I have at 19 is going to get picked somewhere between. I would say his range is 15 to 24. At this range. At this point, probably it's Jaeger Demon out of BYU who started the season hot, really started to flirt with like top 5 stock overall and then he definitely leveled out. But he is, he's the tallest point guard in the class. He's got as good of a passing acumen as, as anyone in the class. I think when you really look at how he can run the floor, see the floor, what he brings there, that's what's going to make sure that he gets drafted in the first round. The shooting has so much to go. There's. There's just, there's a lot to overcome there. I feel like he sometimes plays where he's got, he's got confidence, but he doesn't have conviction at certain points, which was a little bit worrisome considering when some of those moments happened last year on a good BYU team that still made the Sweet 16. But he, he somehow managed not to level up In a way that I expected him to down the straight stretch in the postseason, conference, tournament, NCAA tournament. But overall I, I actually fairly in on him. I have him higher on my board than we have him here, but I am mocking him to Brooklyn at 19 almost regardless of the pick. Keep an eye on the Nets in general on Wednesday. They hold a lot of picks. It seems inevitable they're going to trade out of at least one of them. But I do think Demon is unquestionably a top 20 prospect in this class.

[Kyle Boone]

Yeah, I, I like that. I think his range is pretty broad, but he's the best passer in this class. He's 6 foot 9. I project him as a true point guard and there's questions about his defense, there's questions about his shooting. But I think at number 19, given Brooklyn's wealth of picks in this, in this draft specifically. Now, I don't know if they keep all of them, but I do think that a team, he needs to go to a team like that that maybe has a chance or a reason to maybe stomach a little bit more risk, like Annettes who have more multiple picks. And if he hits, if, if the defense starts to, to come around, if his shooting starts to come around, I think he could hit in a big way.

[Matt Norlander]

All right, that brings us to Miami with the 20th pick. KB, that's you.

[Kyle Boone]

Yes. And I'm going to select Nolan Trey or from France at number 20 for the heat. I, I think probably the Heat are in a spot where they're going to address their backcourt in some way. I expect they probably take a look at Nolan Trey or if he's on the board here. I would would Expect Walter Clayton Jr. Could be in the mix. Hugo Gonzalez could make some sense. Trey Ors from France, he's playing in the Pro A, the same league that produced Bilal Kulebale and Victor Womenyama over the last couple years. Guys who were, you know, number one pick and a former lottery pick. Trey or's someone who actually began the year as a top 10 prospect. He kind of struggled to start the year, but has consistently shown growth throughout the season. I think he could go somewhere in this range, probably 15 to 25. And given the fact that the Heat are probably going to address their backcourt in some way and given the fact that Trey Orr is going to go in this range, that is why I select him at number 20.

[Matt Norlander]

So that's 20 picks in the book. 10 more to go before we finish this thing up. Not if we can. Man. Let's get One more word from our partners.

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[Gary Parish]

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[Kyle Boone]

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[Matt Norlander]

Rated R. Now streaming on Paramount plus so with the 21st pick we got the Utah Jazz on the clock. I will have them selecting Danny wolf out of Michigan 611 center, moved from the Ivy League to the Big Ten and didn't really miss a beat. 13.2 points, 9.7 rebounds for the 1 Wolverines. He's got guard skills in a big man's body. That's like sentence one of the scouting report and so you go okay, how did that happen? Well, he was 6 foot 3 when he was a freshman in high school and by his junior season he was 6 foot 10. So he spent most of his life as a guard and then hit the growth spurt and these are the way sometimes these things happen. Better than some realized defender. A little bit of a polarizing prospect pick in the sense that I don't know, it just doesn't it doesn't look normal on the court the way he plays basketball. But he was awesome at Michigan and I know there are people in Norlander's one of them who I'm a believer obviously, but there are people who believe in him even more than what the 21st pick would suggest.

[Gary Parish]

Major believer over here. I can't remember we had to send in our own personal big boards. I had Wolf top 15 for sure. There's a few guys here in fact 20 who we have at 21 and 22. I just don't think they they're not here on Wednesday night and that's just a function of us trying to three man mock draft. You're going to pick players you have priority on. That's just going to happen inevitably. I will be shocked if Wolf is still sitting here at 21. The Jazz would be beyond thrilled if he is sitting there. GP gave most of it just a dazzling passer. He's also big. I mean he is. He has the size, he has the shooting defensively he even he stepped it up last last season at Michigan he answered some real questions. I in fact I think part of why he's going to be taken somewhere between 13 and 19 in my estimation is because he proved himself not to be a turnstile on defense. Overall I've got 22. But real quick KB, do you want to hop in on anything on Wolf? Are you buyer seller? Real quick, what's the scouting report from you?

[Kyle Boone]

No, I think that's all right. You had him at 11 on your big board.

[Gary Parish]

Yeah, I'm in on him. I think he is going to wind up noticeably underdrafted regardless when we look up and say 2029 for sure. Okay, I've got the 22nd pick and I've got Joan Berenger out of France. If Cowards Rise has already kind of settled over the past like 15 days, I would say Baron J. Since I don't know since first, second week of June. He seems to be on. On a little bit of a rocket here and it seems destined to be taken. Some people think that he is really maybe there for the taking at 13 or 14 overall and a team makes a big pick there. He's 610. He's 19. He's a big I think he's got, he's got us. My scouting report is purely what other folks have have told me on him and he seems like he is able to grow into a player who is going to be highly productive. His stats if you look at what he he did coming playing an international play, it's not going to pop to you overall but he can rebound 611 and there's just.

[Matt Norlander]

He's.

[Gary Parish]

He's going to be too physically impressive and because of his age, because I think he's what he's 18 now. Someone is going to see that they can turn him into a real legitimate player by the end of his first NBA contract and it would shock everyone I've talked to if he we have him here at what, 22. I think it will surprise people if he's like like still there at 18 overall. So just keep that in mind as we go through the mock.

[Kyle Boone]

He's the third youngest prospect in the class. So very young. Cooper Flag is the youngest player. He's I think the best shot.

[Gary Parish]

Fears is two right in that in that order. Just so our listeners know. I think Fears is too.

[Kyle Boone]

He was also.

[Gary Parish]

He was a.

[Kyle Boone]

Yes, I believe that's correct. And and so Behringer's still very young, only 18 years old. He's the best shot blocker I believe in the in this class. He's a true big kind of a rim runner, can finish lobs obviously very good at blocking shots. You I think kind of hit the nail on the head. He's not going to be here on draft night Wednesday at number 22. I think he's going to go somewhere in the lottery and maybe even higher. We'll see. But there is going to be a run I think on big men somewhere in the twenties in in this draft on Wednesday, as you can see kind of, kind of playing out in our mock exercise here. Danny Wolf, Joan Behringer and no spoilers, but I have Thomas sober going off the board next at 23.

[Gary Parish]

Take it away, KB. You're next up. 23 with the Pelicans. Let's have the scouting report.

[Kyle Boone]

Yeah, Thomas Sorbert going off the board, number 23 for the Pelicans. Wouldn't be surprised if the Hawks considered him here. A pick before this at 22. Seems like there's some interest there. The Pelicans have Eve's misi, but Sorber's a different kind of curveball type prospect. He's physical, interior type presence. Someone who produced at a high level at Georgetown, was not expected to be a one and done very physical, just in the way that he plays. And someone who I think is going to be very efficient scoring inside of the perimeter, a very good rebounder, someone who's already very physically mature, measured very well at the NBA draft combine. Hard, hard to pin down exactly where his stock is right now because you know, I think a month ago the expectation was he was going to go somewhere in the top 15 or so. I think that range is a little bit wider. But somewhere between 15 and 25 on draft. He's a really interesting prospect who checks a lot of boxes with his measurables.

[Matt Norlander]

So that brings us to number 24, Oklahoma City Thunder picking again. I've got him taken Ben Seraph from Israel. He's another teenager point guard with good positional size depending on what number you see at 6 foot 5 or 6 foot 6. Really understands how to play and pick and rolls. But there are concerns about two obvious things. The three point shooting is just not there and the athleticism is not necessarily what an NBA point guard would typically have. He would be a below average athlete to play that position in this league and a below average shooter to play that position this week. So you know a lot of stuff to work on. But if you're Oklahoma City, you're not trying to take somebody who can help you next season. You don't need anybody to help you next season. You need to get interesting prospects in your facility, into your franchise and start developing them for whenever. Again, these role players that helped them win a title earlier this week become too expensive to keep in Oklahoma City. Whether that's Aaliyah McNeely, Ben Serif or anybody else they select. That's the mindset. You might not see these dudes again for three years on a basketball Court. But you need to have them ready to go when you need them ready to go.

[Gary Parish]

So I talked to one NBA person who thinks that there's a, like a realistic scenario that he winds up being, you know, right there with Demon like five years from now among the best passers in this class. And that's why his stock has now jumped to be a likely first rounder. Finkelstein talked about him on the mock on the mailbag podcast we, we did last week. And he was especially high on him relative to where he's projected to go. I've got the pick with the magic at number 25. And this is a player that I think if you truly could peer into every big board of every NBA franchise. If you told me that this guy was as high as like 13 or 14 on some boards and as low as like 37 or 38 on others, I'd believe you. I think he has no business waiting until 25 and I cannot imagine him getting to 25 in Orlando. Not taking him. It is the in state product from, well, just this past season, obviously. And that is Walter Clayton Jr. Third best player in college basketball last season. He's got the shot making. Oh, by the way, we have a, we did a video treatment on him, a video feature also that we just published on Monday with CBS Sports on the YouTube page. Be sure to give that a look as well. To me. Although this is not a. To a, like, you know, Clayton, Jalen, Brunson, that kind of stuff. I, I do think that his size, physicality, the way he plays good enough defender shooting is undeniable. It's such a success. Was, it was time and time again too. Now don't get me wrong, like with the athletes in size and the way the NBA game is played, like he's gonna have to translate that consistently to validate being taken in say the top 20, which I don't know if he'll go. I would put him there. I have him top 20 grade overall. But the fit here for Orlando is awesome. And I think that they would probably be thrilled if they, if he fell to him. And I guess it's realistic that they could. But yeah, I'm, I'm. Once we got to our mock draft process and I was looking through, I was like, Clayton's still there. Like there's just no other player that I want to put above him in this spot. And I do, I do genuinely believe that he will go into the league, not be productive right away, but grow into a solid player. I think his age is Working against him a little bit, fair or not, but we will circle back to this draft four, five, six years down the road and we will say, huh, look at that. Walter Clayton Jr. He really was one of the 10 best players in this class, but was never even remotely in the conversation to go there. I think that's his destiny. But ultimately his reality on Wednesday night will be somewhere in the 20s, I think.

[Matt Norlander]

KB that takes us to the nets.

[Kyle Boone]

At number 26, I will select Hugo Gonzalez from Spain. He is a physical wing, really good measurables international prospect, someone who is a developing shooter. I think there's a, a range on draft night for him where he could go, you know, somewhere in the 20s. At 26, this seems to make a reasonable sense. Again I've talked about Brooklyn before but they do have first four first round picks. This is a franchise that is completely resetting essentially. And Gonzalez is a, as a young wing who, you know, I think going back to your point about Clayton, someone who was going to develop, I don't think he's going to be ready to contribute right away in the NBA's and you get to this area in the draft in the 20s, you're not really expecting that. But in a few years I, I think you could see a player like Gonzalez eventually develop into something for your franchise. And at 26 in the draft that's kind of all you can hope for I think in, in this range. So that's who I'm going to select here.

[Matt Norlander]

So I got the Nets picking again at number 27. I'm gonna have them selecting Maxim Reynold, the four year player out of Stanford. He's an international prospect, I guess technically born in Paris, but did spend four years playing college basketball. And everybody says this is the way they want their four year career to go. Maybe not at Stanford playing in the acc, losing a lot, but like beyond that like just get better every year. I want to be a little bit better every year than I was the year prior. And he, he really was that year one at Stanford. He only plays like 12 minutes a game. By his fourth year at Stanford he's averaging 20 points per game. So you know, legitimate seven footer who shot for his career around 35% from three. So he's just your modern stretch the floor big. I mean there's obvious concerns like you know, not every guy who can shoot at that size is a impactful NBA player because sometimes you just can't keep them on the court because they can't do the other things that they need to do to stay on the court as always, we'll see. But if you're in the market for bigs with size who can stretch the floor and allow you to play five out, this is the type of player that theoretically lets you do that.

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[Matt Norlander]

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[Gary Parish]

The next pick and by the way, I think you got to believe the nets will trade out of one of those two. But we'll see. Reyno was a stat monster. I'm interested to see where he goes and if he just. He's one of those guys where you're watching the playoffs three years from now and he's like getting real minutes and you're like huh? It really did translate. There he is. Like he's. He's on the floor in the third quarter of a game that matters at end the, like the. The eastern conference semis or something like that. I've got the 20th pick with the Celtics and I have him taking no appenda out of France. Feels like his floor is right around here. I don't think he falls to the second round. He's a. He's like a power wing, good with the ball in his hands, can play off of it, selling a three point shooter and we'll take some time to, to adjust and grow and we'll see what his track is. Celtics are an interesting spot. You know, Oklahoma City. We've talked about, you know, they win the title and they're sitting here with with first round picks. That's obviously a great job by Presti. The Celtics meanwhile, won't have Tatum when they come back next season because he's going to be repairing that Achilles injury. And who they pick here and how much a player can really step in and be an impactful guy. I'll be intrigued to see who it's going to be. I picked Penda here. He was my highest ranked prospect when it came back around to us. Kb, you're next with the Suns, but before that, any quick thoughts or scouting report on on Penda here. He's probably going to be the last guy or one of the last guys in a run this year in the first round where we're looking at five, six, maybe seven guys with international backgrounds that wind up getting selected.

[Kyle Boone]

Yeah, and a lot of guys from France who are going to end up being selected somewhere in this range. Just a power wing as you mentioned, elite feel and skill. Just watching him, he's a kind of like true defensive playmaker, someone who like is always in passing lanes and blocking shots and deflecting passes and producing at a high level professionally in France, which I think is like a good indicator for future success. Not, not always. But you know, he's playing in the LNB Pro A which again produced Victor Womenyama, produced Bilal Kulabali and producing at a high level at just 20 years old. I think there's a lot to like here. The Celtics in an interesting and maybe unique position to, you know, take a flyer on someone like a Penda and maybe stash them for a year, draft them, develop them, be whatever it is and end up, you know, potentially coming back to be a useful piece for a team that you know, when healthy can contend for an NBA championship.

[Matt Norlander]

That puts us at where we At 20, 29, 29, 29.

[Kyle Boone]

Phoenix Suns for the Phoenix Suns I will select Yannick Conan Niederhauser from Penn State. This is a kind of wild card swing. Neiderhauser was not on my radar as a first round pick. Picked as recently as like 40 days ago, probably.

[Gary Parish]

But something KB where our listeners are our potter, like who is this dude that's just there? Like it's just Penn State wasn't that good. But anyway he has developed into a legit prospect. But continue.

[Kyle Boone]

Yeah, yeah, no, he and he produced at a high level kind of in obscurity last season at Penn State but really kind of made a splash at the draft combine, turned heads in A in a big way. And, and I didn't think he really had a decision to make where everyone kind of expected he would come back to school, but he played. So what the NBA draft combine, his measurables were so good and he just looked like he belonged on the floor during the scrimmage section of the combine that he just decided to stay in the draft and now might be a first round pick. He's got really good size, someone who I think can be a potential starting caliber center at the NBA and getting any type of starter at number 29 in the draft would be like just a major, major hit. So I for the Phoenix Suns, who obviously are in a bit of a rebuild here after trading Kevin Durant, that would, that would be a huge boost. They obviously in an interesting spot where the Suns, they have Devin Booker already. They just traded for Jalen Green. Kevin Durant is moving out. So a lot of moving pieces there in Phoenix.

[Matt Norlander]

He played three years of college basketball during each of those seasons. We do at least three I own college basketball podcasts per week.

[Gary Parish]

You think this guy's got no shot?

[Matt Norlander]

Oh no, no. I don't think that at all.

[Gary Parish]

I'm kidding, I'm kidding. I just mean that I know we never always love it. His name was never, never been said until this month.

[Matt Norlander]

That's until like. Yes. And for my purposes until two minutes ago. If his name's ever been said before, I wouldn't listen. Okay. So I just like it when there's a rare possible first round draft pick that operated completely off of the national radar.

[Gary Parish]

Yeah.

[Matt Norlander]

Through three years of college. And, and, and this is an example of that. And perhaps, you know, the final pick in this mock draft is, is a, an example that. Not quite as dramatically, but I've got the Clippers selecting with the 30th pick Rashire Fleming out of St. Joseph's he's a six nine forward, seven five, wingspan, 230 pounds. So like looks the right way. 15 points, nine rebounds per game and shot 39 from three on four and a half attempts per game. So on so many of these prospects we're like, and here's something he can't do, and here's something he can't do and here's something has to improve and a lot of time it's like the body's got to improve, gotta get stronger, gotta improve the shot. Well, here's a guy with a great body who's a, you know, reliable three point shooter. There are questions about his feel for the game and overall skill set. But I just believe in people like this six, nine, great body, who can shoot. I've seen some comparisons to like, you know, Bobby Portis and if you could get a Bobby Portis with the 30th pick in the draft, you'd be very happy with that.

[Kyle Boone]

Yeah.

[Gary Parish]

Hop in there, KB Then I'll, I'll close it with a thought.

[Kyle Boone]

No, I, I think that's right. Like there's, there's a lot to like here with Richer Fleming, someone who didn't necessarily dominate at St. Joseph's but he was in a role at St. Joseph's like later in his career where I don't think he's ever going to be asked to be like the, the number one or the number two option in the NBA like he was in college. So I, I think he is a perfect prospect of like primed for his role at the NBA, which is he's, he's going to use his size to be a defensive minute. He's going to be asked to step out and make corner threes. He's going to try and, you know, not do too much essentially. Like he's not going to be asked to do any creation on offense. He's not going to do any of the things that he was doing at St. Joseph's and I think he would be a star in his role, which is, you know, essentially what you're looking for someone late in the first round.

[Gary Parish]

Yeah, you know, he was, I love stories like this. It really. He and Neiderhauser, who by the way sounds like. Sounds like one of the nicknames from rookie of the Year, God knows a neater Hauser, they. You can come, you really can come from anywhere. You know, Fleming going into last season when St. Joe's was thought to be like a good chance at breaking through in the A10 and making the NCAA tournament. And then that didn't happen. But a big reason why was two reasons. It was Eric Reynolds and Xavier Brown down and those guys wound up being pretty solid and they led. They were the two leading scorers for, for St. Joe's last season. Then Fleming was third, led the team in rebounding, led the team in blah or he was second on the team in blocks. But he a player's path to getting drafted, at least having a shot at the NBA. Be it if you're the 30th projected pick or the 21st or hell, even if you're like sitting in that 45 to 54 range, they will find you. Look at Cedric Cowardly board. He should not have ever been found. They will find you. And every year. I, I don't know if, I don't know if we're sure Fleming will stick. I don't know if he'll play more than 10 games ever in the NBA or if he's looking down the barrel of a 12 year awesome career. But I, I think it's, it's a good reminder to players right now who are getting ready to play their next season college basketball, be it their second, third or fourth season or whatever it is. And they know they're not going to be the number one option. They know they're not gonna be the number two option. Hex Cedric Howard was the number six option when he first played in Division one. If you, you know, walk your path and abide by the things that you think are going to get you there and you're really honest with yourself and you trust your coach and you get the right advisors and people around you, like you can break through. You know, Very few people that are going to watch the draft on Wednesday night have any idea who Rasheer Fleming is. And I don't know if he'll get taken Wednesday or in the second round of Thursday. But it is, it's a, it's a cool story. Regardless that he has played and worked his ass off to get in the, in this, in this spot. Overall, regardless of where he eventually winds up and being taken, it is one.

[Matt Norlander]

Of the big misnomers with dreaming about the NBA that you need to go to Duke or Kentucky or Kansas. Obviously those are great places to go and they produce a lot of NBA players. But more than anything, they recruit NBA players and then pass them on to the NBA. To your point, I'm not exaggerating, this is not hyperbole. If you play Division 1 men's basketball and really not even that, but let's just draw the line at division women's basketball. It does not matter where you play. If you're a legitimate NBA prospect, they will find you. It does not matter where you play. Damian Lillard got found at Weber State.

[Gary Parish]

And that wasn't tournament.

[Matt Norlander]

Yeah, I mean, John Morant before he became what he became was a third leading scorer on an OVC team and he was going by Demetrius. He was Demetrius Morant, third leading scorer on OVC team and they found him there. And then the next season's when he bought, you know, just went crazy and then became the second pick in the draft. But he was on NBA radars after being the third leading scorer at an OVC school. Because they saw stuff that they liked. Like, you're going to see a lot of misses in this draft, in every draft, but the advanced scouting has never been better throughout the world. And like, if I had a son who was a basketball prospect, this is something that I would be emphasizing. Like, hey man, it's up to you. Go wherever you want to go. But if you think you need to go to a certain type of place to have a real shot at the NBA, that is wrong. You can go anywhere. And if you're an NBA player, the.

[Gary Parish]

NBA will find you, no doubt our highest ranked players on our CBS Sports consensus big board. By the way, here are the top four in order quarter. Ryan Kalkbrenner out of Creighton is our 27th player. Drake Powell out of Carolina, an intriguing player to follow on draft night, be it Wednesday and or Thursday. He's 28. Will Riley out of Illinois, who I thought would have, we'd be higher on consensus wise, but that's actually more in line with where I have them. So other folks Obviously agreed. He's 32 and then Cam Jones is 34 and he's the one player we can wrap on this and we can get out of here. By the way, GP we went 90 minutes. Cam Jones is one player who if you told me he winded, wound up going like 26, 27, 28. It wouldn't stun. It wouldn't stun me. I just, I'm picking up on a little bit like, is he kind of sneakily. Are there a couple teams that are like really coveting him? More than that has been represented, be it in mocks or just general coverage, he's the guy I'd keep an eye on. And then the other thing I'll tag this with and you guys can close whatever thoughts you want, however you want to go with it. Janai Broom is, you know, we talked about Clayton, we talked about flags, and Ibrahim was the second best player in the sport last season. He doesn't seem to be having the momentum to go in the first round, but I do expect him to go anywhere from say 35 to 43 overall. He will have, he will covet some suitors. His translation of the NBA is obviously a big question there, so we'll wait and see on that. But Cam Jones is the one guy who's like kind of universally been projected the second round that if he said could really pop in and sneak on Wednesday, I put my money on him.

[Matt Norlander]

You know, the, the three point percentage was not as good in his last year at Marquette. But you know, he was playing a totally different role and I think think probably helped himself in that role even if the three point numbers weren't great, because we know he can shoot. Like, I mean he's got a large sample size of shooting and what we learned in that last year at Marquette is, you know, he can play on the ball. So when you talk about a guy like Jace Richardson as a combo guard on the smaller side, you know, Cam Jones is average sized for a, an off ball shooting guard, but for a combo guard, he's pretty good size. And if the shooting looks more like the first years at Marquette as opposed to the last year at Marquette, you got something interesting there like a combo guard with size who can, you know, really knock down shots. I think he'll play it wherever he's picked. I think he'll play in the NBA.

[Gary Parish]

I think he's got a good shot as well. Kb, close us out on this second round guy that you're really high on higher than most. You would take him the first round. You got a first round grade that we didn't take here tonight. Who is it?

[Kyle Boone]

Drake Powell from North Carolina? Yeah, I have him as the number 22 player on my board. I'm surprised that he, he didn't get mocked and picked here. But yeah, like the, the late 20s or even like mid-20s to late 20s and early 30s is really strong in this draft. Like we didn't talk Drake Powell, we didn't talk Cam Jones a Duthiro, Ryan Kalkbrenner, Will Riley, like all of those guys could end up being first round picks and it wouldn't be totally surprising. Like there is a lot of strength in the 20s and 30s in this draft. Like there's a surprising amount of depth. And man, if there's a team that ends up getting ryan Coltbrenner like 33, like how excited would you be on draft night? Like that is tremendous value. Someone who's produced at a high level, like was a four time biggest defensive player of the year. There's, I think there's gonna be some smart teams who end up trying to trade up into the, into the early portions of the second round just because of the value proposition that is, is.

[Matt Norlander]

Is probably awaiting there and just expand on that point. Like there's so many mock drafts out there and readers are consuming perhaps not all of them, but lots of them. So you see a guy who is like in the twenties in every mock graph you've seen and you're like, well, I guess he's got to go in the 20s. But every year this happens to somebody. He's mocked in the 20s and everybody and then he's 37th. And so my I haven't put down pen to paper and actually done the research on it, but I think something close to this is probably true. If you are consensus mocked in the top five, you're probably going to go in the top 10. If your consensus marked in the top 10, you're probably at worst going to go somewhere in the top 20. Once you get to the 20s, buddy.

[Gary Parish]

Like you can go so many different products.

[Matt Norlander]

You could go 22 or 37 and there ain't much difference. Very much. There is a major difference between say 2 and 17, but there ain't much difference between 22 and 37 with I.

[Gary Parish]

Some people would tell you like 25 to 50, it really is not that much difference, particularly in the, in the modern NBA.

[Matt Norlander]

By the way, same same thing with recruiting rankings. There is a massive difference between the number one ranked high school player and the 20th ranked high school player in most years. But there's almost no difference between the 60th and the 90th would agree.

[Gary Parish]

That's a show. Look at us. More than 90 minutes in on a mock draft. GP looking strong. Better call saul by the way. Strong jaw. Kb. It's a pleasure doing it with you guys. I'm gonna shut up and put the mic up. We're. I'll, I'll talk. We'll talk to you again on Wednesday night during the draft.

[Matt Norlander]

Don't Forget will be CBS Sports HQ and live on YouTube for the draft. I believe starting. I should have checked the start time. I think it's something start at 7pm we'll go to the first round. That's done. I'll be in studio in Stanford, Connecticut and then as soon as we're done with that. So let's say 10, 15 minutes, maybe 20 after the first round of the draft is complete. You know how it is in Stanford. I gotta make sure, I gotta make sure they set all my stuff up. You know what, you know my green M and M's.

[Gary Parish]

Damn it. You know I can't podcast without my green M M's.

[Matt Norlander]

Well, we'll also have to do a bunch of VODs after the draft. It's going to be a minute, all right, maybe 25. But eventually it'll be my face and Norlander's face and we'll recap the first round of of the 2025 NBA Draft. So join us on Wednesday night and with that. Let's get out of here. Shouts to Devin downey. Chester Cat, S.C. shouts to Terry Teagle. He's a legend. Hook Larnell. Thank you guys once again for watching listening to the Ion College basketball podcast. If you're not subscribed, please go. Subscribe anywhere. Subscribe to podcast, Apple, Spotify. There's more of us than there are of them. That should be reflected in the comments. So please do that. We'll talk to you again on Wednesday night. Till then, take.

[Kyle Boone]

W.

[Matt Norlander]

You can be.

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