With the 10th pick in the NBA Draft the Houston Rockets Select...

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/45515479/2025-nba-mock-draft-59-picks-trade-talks-heat-30-teams

 

In case the 2026 season does not match this year's Finals season.

 

or to satisfy Stepien rule for trade flexibility?

 

Ah, the complication in this whether they traded future picks back2back.

This once they traded this year's pick so it shouldn't fall under the Stepien.

 

[SB Nation] Collin Murray-Boyles is the NBA Draft’s analytic darling who wants to prove he can fix his shot

https://www.sbnation.com/nba/2025/6...draft-profile-sleeper-prospect-advanced-stats

 

Knueppel looks like a version of Sheppard.

 

A taller and more talented version of him.

 

Wow!! Mojave King just got royally screwed if the Pacers win a championship.

 

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6429478/2025/06/18/nba-draft-confidential-guard-2025/

Kasparas Jakučionis | 6-5 guard | 19 years old | Illinois

College assistant coach No. 2 (his team played Illinois): If you allow him to go left, into his stepback, he’s deadly. He did tail off the last 10 to 15 games because, obviously, the scouting is good and people started figuring him out a little bit. Got the size. Very turnover-prone, because he takes risks, as many European players do. I hear he’s a great kid. They played him at point guard. Defensively, very average. We got our guards in a switch with his guy and he wanted no part of it. But I think he had a great reputation coming over. He’s going to get you 16, at least, and give you six turnovers. But very good player.

Western Conference executive No. 3: You’re going to be at a disadvantage every night if he’s your starter. Because he has to go against 29 of the best guards in the world. I could see him having trouble defensively. One-on-one, iso, pick-and-roll. But he makes it up with the intangibles because he plays hard. He tries. Offensively, if he could play five-on-four, he would be really, really good. He can shoot, he can pass, he can handle, he can distribute. But I do not see this kid, if you’re not a Play-In (team), I don’t think he’s good enough in that context as a starter. As a reliable backup? Sure.

Western Conference executive No. 1: A couple of our guys are real KJ fans. When I studied him on film, he just looked solid to me. I didn’t see anything special. Can shoot it, but he doesn’t have great speed and quickness. He’ll have to be a fit guy. If he doesn’t get exposed athletically, he can look decent. But if you draft him to be your point guard and the face of it, I think you’re going to be disappointed. I see more backup than starter.

Eastern Conference scout No. 1: I know he’s had some times where he’s struggled. But I think he got a little bit of the hype train. Then he had one or two teammates get hurt. There’s a difference between him and Fears to me. There’s a little more maturity and dependability with him that I feel better about. I saw him at Northwestern, and he couldn’t make a shot in the first half, but didn’t force anything. He came out in the second half and made some shots, some big shots. But he rebounded the ball. He’s not a negative defender. I think he’s neutral, and maybe a tad better than neutral. If we keep calling games the way we’re calling them, he can be all right. He can shoot when he’s not on the ball. He’s got enough size. He can get stronger, but he’s strong enough. He may never be a starting point guard; he may be a backup. But he’ll be a really good backup.

Egor Demin | 6-8 guard | 19 years old | BYU

College assistant coach No. 4 (his team played BYU): The first thing that stands out is you walk out there and he’s 6-8 1/2. (ED: Demin measured slightly shorter – 6-8 1/4 – in Chicago.) He’s tall. He’s frail, but he’s tall and he’s long. When we played them, our whole thing was we were going to get up and pressure him, pressure him, pressure him. He can make all the reads, all the passes, both hands. He’s got all that down, especially when he sees the same coverages over and over. … We were like, let’s attack him. Trap the ball screen, go under. We kept switching it up. He struggled a little bit with that. I think he’s a good player, the Josh Giddey-ish type guy. I think he’s going to end up shooting it better. The NBA guys were asking me, “Well, what worries you?” It’s so physical (in the NBA). He’ll have to get adjusted to that, because he’s light in the ass that way. I think he’s going to just have to figure that out. Once he (does) that, he’ll be fine. Probably will wind up being a backup point guard for some years, because he’s got size, he can make shots. And he can really pass.

Eastern Conference scout No. 2: Egor shot the ball well in Chicago in that one-on-none; but the game’s played at 7, with people in the stands.

Western Conference Executive No. 3: His vision and passing stuff, he’s not (Luka) Dončić. But this kid can pass it and has size and can play in an NBA game, because he can think on his own. He doesn’t need a script and look at it and has to learn it. He understands flow, who needs touches, time management, already. He’s mature beyond what he would be as a rookie. At worst, (he’s Josh) Giddey, in that hemisphere of a clone. The shooting piece, I’m not concerned with. He’ll figure that out. … Overall, he may be getting a little undervalued. When I saw him early, I figured if he played 34, 36 minutes a game, he could come close — I’m not saying he would — to averaging a triple-double. And I don’t think he was playing with that great (a group) of guys around him. How many other guys from that team are going to be pulling down a pro paycheck, except for maybe one or two of them?

Walter Clayton Jr. | 6-2 guard | 22 years old | Florida

College assistant coach No. 5 (his team played Florida): I did a terrific job (on the scout), when they kicked our ass (laughs). You can’t speed him up. To me, you can talk about being able to play fast. Tremendous pace. Has NBA size for the (guard) positions. Built to do it, good base. When you see him make sidestep 3s that are really difficult, I think he’s really powerful in the hips. He’s an NBA shot maker. He does it with confidence. And there’s very few guys that can do it. They take big shots. He takes and makes. His ability to create separation is great. Good range. And he’s sneakier than you think going downhill. We didn’t think he was a great finisher. This would be my only concern: How competitive is he? He was one of the guys we would go at. Who gets tired? Who will give in? We didn’t think he was a guy who would really guard. Walter was a load to handle at the offensive end.

Western Conference Scout No. 1: I liked him at (St. John’s). Since then, he’s gotten better. Because when the game is on the line, that’s when he shows up. Because he can score the ball. He knows who he is. He’s confident as hell. He can also make plays. He’s a score-first point guard (who) can pass. Plays hard, plays the right way. And he fits in with this new NBA.

Eastern Conference executive No. 1: Great kid, all-time great kid. Tough as hell. Needs to go to the right team. He’s not a point guard. He’s like a tough, powerful combo guard. I like him more than I did a year ago, but I’m not sold he’s going to be quite as good as people think. What a great kid. He’s a little bit undersized. But he’s strong. Nobody thought Jalen Brunson was going to be what he is, either. You never know.

Eastern Conference executive No. 3: I like him as a scoring point guard. He has to play the point. And in today’s game, the point guard has to be able to score. But you also need to be able to involve your teammates and get them good shots. He does that occasionally, but not on a consistent basis. The other thing is that because he has to have such a large offensive load, the defensive intensity is lacking at times. I think he has the ability to do it, but not at a consistent level. He isn’t going to have the usage level he did at Florida. Clayton was the point guard for Florida. But he also had to be the scorer. He was in that dilemma of whether to look for his shots or help his teammates get good shots.

 

he will still get a ring.

 

Bailey is going to fall it seems

 

Seems like a pretty big reach for a 3&D prospect who was hurt most of last year and will be 22 yrs old when the season starts.

 

Would he still be able to join them in the locker room if they win? Getting a ring is nice, but missing out on the actual experience of winning a title with two games left would suck.

 

I don't think he's as talented as Whitmore .... He isn't near as explosive / athletic either.

 

do you take bailey if he falls to 10?

 

I'm not too big on reading too much into reporting on how guys did in interviews as I expect a lot of misinformation.

On Bailey, I think there is a strong anchoring bias holding him high on draft boards. Sam Vecenie has him 6th in his draft guide, but it just does not read like Sam believes that. It reads like here is a chance he's going to be great, but he likely will suck. Even if he's great, you are probably going to have to wait 3-4 years on him and hope you don't screw up and send him to another team before then.

 

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6430848/2025/06/19/nba-draft-confidential-wings-2025/

Cedric Coward | 6-5 wing | 21 years old | Washington State

College head coach No. 3 (his team played Eastern Washington while Coward was there): He was a COVID kid, graduated from high school in 2021. We knew he had already played at Eastern for a year and had modest numbers but made the transition pretty well. I popped on the scout tape, getting ready to play them. First thing I told my staff was, “Guys, this guy might be an NBA player.” His measurables, the way he moves were so smooth and fluid. I just loved him. I had such a man crush on his game. We were fortunate when we competed against them. The way we played defense against their system really helped us when we played them. … I was not surprised at all he started climbing up draft boards the last 16 months. Humble kid. Easy to root for.

When he gets on the floor with more good players around him, more spacing and close-out situations, I think a lot of his college basketball was played in these compartments of post-ups and 3-point shots. He doesn’t seem like a bad ballhandler. I just think there’s a lot more to his game. … He got a lot of layups posting people up with his size. And the turnaround jumper, he’s got that kind of natural, old-school MJ fade to his game. And he’s really become a consistent 3-point shooter. I didn’t think they really featured him like you’d think they’d feature an NBA player. Like Dylan Jones at Weber State, the whole deal ran through him. He had the ball in his hands the whole time. One of the benefits of Cedric being in that system, though, is that he’ll know how to fit into a team. That’s probably one of the things people value about him. He’s a freak in terms of his measurables, and he just fits in with good players.

College assistant coach No. 5 (his team played Eastern Washington while Coward was there): I saw him a ton. We had Dalton Knecht in the league, and Cedric was in the league as a sophomore. He was good. But then that second year, Knecht went to Tennessee. We also had Dylan Jones from Weber State. I think Cedric Coward is better than these guys. … (Coward) can hit you from 3, he can post you up. He worked on his handle and the little things you saw before you played them. They’re running 17s before the game. He had a pro mentality from afar. When you look at his measurables, he’s got long arms. Kind of plays like a pro. His coach at Washington State, they ran a lot of intricate stuff, and he could really pick it up. He could score at all facets of their offense, which was like a kind of five-out deal. I was like, that’s a pro. You could see it. … On the court, he was an SOB. He lets you know about it on the court. When they got in trouble, they put him on the point.

Carter Bryant | 6-7 wing | 19 years old | Arizona

College assistant coach No. 6 (his team played Arizona): We go to Arizona, and we got there two hours before, a little earlier than we usually do. I just watched him go through his routine, and I was like, “Oh, this dude’s a pro.” He’s out there, nobody else out there. One-foot hops. He’s going through it. I was like, this guy’s got a routine to his game. And he was coming off the bench. He plays, whatever, 20 minutes a game. He’s big, good shoulders. You can tell. Obviously, he’s not getting the volume of shots and everything you want, but probably, for his benefit, if he was, he’d probably have gotten exposed a little bit more. So, it was like, OK, this is my role: I catch and shoot shots, I make 3s. For a freshman, it was ideal as it’s gonna get. They didn’t give him a ton, so what he got, he made shots. I’d bet he’s going to be a good pro. He’ll figure it out. He’s got a good base to him. But I do remember, specifically, the routine.

Eastern Conference scout No. 1: He’s tricky. What we knew about him before the season started didn’t change. He’s got a great body. They did him a favor because they played him at four, and he didn’t have to dribble. He’s a good passer, and his rebounding stood out because he had to rebound at the four. But you don’t want him to be a four in the NBA. He can shoot 3s, and he’s a potentially switchable defender. And, he can pass. Maybe he has to play four at the beginning.

Keegan Murray had been in school for five years. We knew more about him. That might be what Carter’s role is. There’s intrigue with him, like there was with Peyton Watson. You have to go with what you know. The analytics people say you look at his per 36s, and they’re unbelievable. But the more he plays, do his weaknesses become more apparent? College coaches aren’t stupid. Some of them may be bad people, but they want to win. If they thought Carter Bryant could help them win, they would play him.

Eastern Conference executive No. 2: More quiet, on the reserved side. But when you watch him play, he does a lot of things that impact winning. Blend player. Not somebody who’s going to break you down like Nique Clifford, but he has the potential to do more. Consistency was an issue coming out of high school. Very willing and aware to do what helps the team. You look at the box score and you say, “This kid’s a first-round pick?” But then you watch him play. His shot’s fluid, especially in spot-up situations. He’s not somebody who’ll create his own shots, at least his first few years in the league. He’s good at relocating to open space. His shot comes out of his hand really well, and the defense is high-level. He moves really well. He’s long; he has a frame that’s going to be able to hold contact. Everybody can use a guy like him.

Noa Essengue | 6-10 forward | 18 years old | Ratiopharm Ulm

Eastern Conference executive No. 3: He’s coming on real strong. They’re going to play deep into the playoffs, and he has a really, really good role. He’s shooting the ball better. The getting to the rim and stuff like that, he’s been good at that. He has some pretty freakish dimensions. He has a bunch of kids that he grew up playing with, and they’re all having success. Arguably, he’s more talented than them. He’s more talented than (Zaccharie) Risacher. If you had those guys in a gym together, Noa’s more talented. He does things and you’re like, damn, he’s like Scottie Pippen. It’ll be a team like Washington that’s patient and can wait, but in a year or two, people are gonna be like, “He went, what? Nine? Ten?”

He actually has a decent feel. He can attack a closeout and get to the rim, and he can make an open shot. You can hide him as your fifth-best player in a starting lineup. He can guard his yard, and at the other end, you can’t not guard him. He’ll cut and he’ll put it on your head. And if you don’t guard him, he can make a catch-and-shoot shot. He’s kind of safe in the way that he’s not gonna bust. His worst-case scenario, he’s a long 3-and-D guy that has a good feel to pass the ball and cut. The upside is, when the ball skills start to come and the defense starts to come … once he puts on weight, he’ll be able to guard bigs. … Low key, he was talking s— (at Ratiopharm). His buddy (guard Ben Saraf) was struggling. He was, like, let me help you out with this. These kids started coming at him, and he was like, “Nah, you can’t get your shot off against me.” He’s long, he has quick feet. If his mentality is right, he comes over to the NBA and looks around and starts to measure himself and goes, “I’m better than a lot of these MFs.” If he has that mentality, be careful with him.

Eastern Conference executive No. 4: He’s playing better at home in the playoffs than on the road. Long, athletic, can run. He’s been, for lack of a better term, very French over the years, but he’s playing with more effort. I’ve just seen too many times him not impacting the game like he should. Somebody is going to take him and bet on the upside. He can impact the game just by running the floor. I just can’t trust that he’s going to play hard. All of a sudden, we’re two months out from the draft, and he starts playing great.

Western Conference executive No. 3: The wild card of the draft. Long wingspan, high motor. Needs to develop his body. Kid has some (Pippen) in him. He’s my wild card in this draft. Can go anywhere from (No.) 5 to 15, I think. Hard worker. Will develop an offensive game eventually because of how dedicated he is.