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

HOW DARE YOU

accurately describe me


I’m fine with running it back. It means we have a chance to really hone in on what we started or that come deadline a major shift happens.

It’s really unlikely Tari and Jabari remain Rockets past next offseason. We don’t have to agree on which one but I’m really enamored with the idea of nabbing MurrayBoyles as a cost effective replacement for the one that’s vacating.

 

No offense my man, lol. Sheppard is also a Cancer and he seems professional and chill AF.

I also like the idea of Murray-Boyles but really to add to the number of savage defensive disruptors they can put on the floor at one time not to replace anyone.

 

Bailey looks to me to be a smaller version of Jabari .... without the defense.

Can't dribble, isn't an explosive athlete and doesn't get to the rim, not much of a passer just a jump shooter.

 

There would exist a possibility of an Amen-Dillon-Tari-Jabari-CMB lineup and that's a fascinating prospect imo. That lineup is not losing smolbol minutes very often. Your offense turns into stepback 3 chuckfest. It might be a rudimentary offense but Dillon, Tari, Jabari can provide something like league-average spacing and Amen's attacking/drive&kick ability can fill it up.

 

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6435925/2025/06/20/nba-draft-confidential-bigs-centers-2025/

Collin Murray-Boyles | 6-7 forward/big | 20 years old | South Carolina

College assistant coach No. 4 (his team played South Carolina): I would say I love his game. He was a little bit like Draymond (Green), similar size. Great passer in the short roll. You couldn’t double him because he’d make you pay. Just really hard to guard. Analytically, I had that scout. He was shooting a crazy percentage within three feet of the basket. He shoots such a high percentage and no one can really stop him from getting that close. He’s such a good dribbler and he’s so strong. It just makes him unique. He shot 62 from two on the year. The midrange kind of drew it down a little bit, but when he got close, the ball’s going in, or he’s getting to the free throw line. That, combined with the passing … and the rebounding is elite.

He’s so quick, and has such a good feel for where the ball’s going. There’s some awesome plays, some great defensive plays, where most guys would get a deflection, he’d just catch the ball. They’d throw it right to his hands, and it just, like, sticks. The shooting is the biggest question, but I think he has everything else. … He seems like he’s a great kid, even though they were struggling. He was playing really hard.

College head coach No. 2 (his team played South Carolina): He was a handful. The thing I worry about with him is we didn’t guard him on the perimeter. He’s undersized. If you’re undersized in the NBA, you’ve got to be able to shoot. I look at a guy like Draymond, who could shoot in college. I don’t know if he’ll ever be a respectable enough shooter where you have to guard him. Back in the day, guys used to work to get NBA money. Now they already get NBA money. So I don’t know how hard he’s going to work at shooting. If I’m making $2 million and I’m at South Carolina, I ain’t worrying about shooting. But we couldn’t keep him off the glass. He’s physical. He knows how to score around the rim.

College assistant coach No. 5 (his team played South Carolina): He’s really good positionally, and he’s so strong. So you can never get to your spots. Rebounds. I think the thing is his strength. It’s hard for you to get to where you want to get to. Just trying to get to your plays, he holds you, and he’s so strong. They hedged. He hedges extremely hard, so it makes it hard for you to turn the corner. He does a great job of being able to hard hedge and get back to his guy. They did drop and level at times. But he was more of a hedge guy. He’s got good feet. Very long arms, too, so it’s very hard to throw over the top. He could potentially guard at three, but as far as playing the three, his handle and shot, he’s not there. Obviously, he defends extremely well. He walls up at the rim when you try to score over him. His shooting is not good. But him going over that right shoulder, he’s money down low.

Thomas Sorber | 6-9 big | 19 years old | Georgetown

College assistant coach No. 6 (his team played Georgetown): He’s not terribly tall. I thought, for a young big guy, his motor was incredible. A lot of times, young big guys don’t play quite hard enough. He had a grown man’s motor as a freshman. You look at his face, you can tell he was a baby; he has the braces. He’s so young. But he plays hard. Great face-up game. But I was impressed with his motor. Against us, we were fronting, he had a catch and finish like, holy s—. He’s talented. I think he has the touch to kind of extend his range out. He’s a pretty good jump shooter. He just shot 15-footers, face-ups and that kind of stuff. I think he’s got the touch to be able to extend his range. To be able to play that hard, and if he can shoot it some, I like his progression. That’s something he’ll have to work on. But I don’t think he’s far off from what his NBA game, or style should be – a hard-playing four who can stretch it.

He’s not a center at the next level. He’s not a 7-foot monster like some of those guys are. He battles in the post. … He’s not a true center. I don’t think he can guard a (Nikola) Jokić. He can guard Myles Turner, probably. But not the bigger centers. Defensively, he contested shots. He was good in ball screens. They did some zone, they did some switching. The effort was there. His motor was real, his talent was real.

College assistant coach No. 7: He played in, what, 20 games, 23 games, before he got hurt? He’s got a chance to be really good. He’s really skilled. Thinks the game. But he’s got a lot of stuff to work on. … He’s a good athlete, but he’s not a great athlete. He reminds me of a David West type, eventually. David could pass, he was pretty skilled, smart.

Asa Newell | 6-9 forward/big | 19 years old | Georgia

Eastern Conference executive No. 1: He’s long. He’ll shoot the 3, and sometimes shoots it when he shouldn’t. But there’s an upside that I like there. (Obi) Toppin’s a little better athlete, but Newell’s longer. There’s a point of interest with him.

College assistant coach No. 4 (his team played Georgia): I was surprised he was able to score the way he did in the SEC, just based on what he did at Montverde. When he was younger, there were times when he really struggled to score. He would catch the ball and just look a little awkward. They did an amazing job with him, to do what he did. He would get some easy ones that he probably won’t get at the next level, like rim runs or transition; that kind of drove his percentages up. I do feel like he made a jump scoring the ball. He would let it fly. When he was open, he would shoot it. He didn’t turn many down. Didn’t shoot it great from 3, but I don’t think he took many bad ones. …Really nice kid, worker. I think he has a chance to make a jump because of who he is, in terms of work ethic and attitude.

College assistant coach No. 5 (his team played Georgia): I don’t know if he was great against us, but with his length, he’s so long, and he offensive rebounds so well, and he’s a lob threat. He gets fouled. Lefty, moves well, can run down the floor extremely well. Incredible on the glass.

Maxime Raynaud | 7-0 center | 22 years old | Stanford

Western Conference scout No. 2: Somebody’s gonna get a star in him. Got better each year. A good team is gonna get him, and people are gonna be ‘How did they get him?’ He’s got to get stronger, but he can post up, he can pass, he’s got the jump hooks, both hands. Turnaround J. He can step out and shoot 3s. And he can put it on the floor. (Donovan) Clingan went seven (in last year’s draft). Zach Edey went nine. Other than (Edey) being bigger, (Raynaud’s) more skilled than both of them put together.

Western Conference scout No. 1: Hates to be touched. In the playoffs, the way they let you play, you’ve got to get used to a bit of manhandling. Has some talent. He’s like Luke Kornet. Could shoot the ball, great hands, but hated to be touched. He had to learn. Took him a while, but now he’s a serviceable player. (Raynaud’s) better than Kornet, but he’s going to have to find somebody who values his finesse.

Hansen Yang | 7-1 big | 20 years old | Qingdao

Western Conference executive No. 3: He’s got good hands. When he came to Chicago, he wasn’t in shape. He shut down. He’s not a guy that’s going to run up and down. He’s like (Joel) Embiid. He’s going to be trailing. But he’s got skills. If Berenger had his skills, he’d be a top-five pick. But he’s slow. Berenger is fast as hell, but he’s limited.

 

If Jakucionis is there at #10, there's no way I'm including him in a KD deal.

 

Cedric Coward or Maxime Raynaud. Otherwise send it to PHX for KayDee.

 

5 days left… have we interviewed or worked out anyone?

 

Rox spent 3 days with Shepp and no one knew. So they probably have and probably have a favorite already.

 

or ime’s just trading out

 

Pelton’s Top 30

1. Cooper Flagg | Duke | F | Top 100: No. 1 | Stats: No. 1 | Consensus: 5.3 WARP
2. Kon Knueppel | Duke | G/F | Top 100: No. 6 | Stats: No. 2 | Consensus: 4.1 WARP
3. VJ Edgecombe | Baylor | SG | Top 100: No. 4 | Stats: No. 3 | Consensus: 3.9 WARP
4. Dylan Harper | Rutgers | G | Top 100: No. 2 | Stats: No. 4 | Consensus: 3.7 WARP
5. Ace Bailey | Rutgers | PF | Top 100: No. 3 | Stats: No. 22 | Consensus: 2.9 WARP
6. Noa Essengue | Ratiopharm Ulm | PF | Top 100: No. 9 | Stats: No. 5 | Consensus: 2.9 WARP

A late rise up the top 100 has moved Essengue closer to his top-five stats-only projection, which is built on his play in the EuroCup continental competition. Essengue averaged 12.4 points and 5.3 rebounds in 23.7 minutes per game over 18 games for Ulm, shooting 66% on 2s and averaging 2.1 steals per 36 minutes. Essengue may need to improve his 3-point shooting, hitting 29% of his 3s on 38 EuroCup attempts and faring worse in German BBL play, but he has time. Essengue won't turn 19 until December, making him the second-youngest prospect in the top 100 after Flagg.

7. Jeremiah Fears | Oklahoma | PG | Top 100: No. 8 | Stats: No. 16 | Consensus: 2.7 WARP
8. Egor Demin | BYU | PG | Top 100: No. 11 | Stats: No. 15 | Consensus: 2.5 WARP

As a 6-foot-9 point guard with premier playmaking ability (his projected assist rate is second to Traore among top-30 prospects) but limited outside shooting ability (27% from the college 3), Demin is a unique prospect. Flagg is the only other player in the top 30 without any previous NCAA prospect scoring a similarity of at least 96 on a scale where 100 represents greatest similarity. Demin and Fears have almost identical overall projections with wildly different skill sets, making them an interesting pair of prospects to watch on draft night.

9. Tre Johnson | Texas | SG | Top 100: No. 5 | Stats: No. 24 | Consensus: 2.5 WARP
10. Collin Murray-Boyles | South Carolina | PF | Top 100: No. 14 | Stats: No. 11 | Consensus: 2.5 WARP

Murray-Boyles' well-rounded game actually produces the most statistical strengths for any prospect (seven), just ahead of Flagg (six). Shooting as one of Murray-Boyles' two weaknesses is a concern, particularly because he's unlikely to play primarily at center after measuring 6-foot-6½ in bare feet at the NBA draft combine. But Murray-Boyles is an outstanding finisher (62% on 2s) who stuffs the stat sheet.

11. Carter Bryant | Arizona | F | Top 100: No. 12 | Stats: No. 14 | Consensus: 2.5 WARP

The move Bryant has made since the last update, when he ranked 18th, reflects the role of the top 100 in the consensus projections. Bryant has actually moved slightly ahead of his stats-only projection, which is still good for the back end of the lottery. That might seem surprising about a player who started just five games and averaged 6.5 points as a freshman, but Bryant's block rate is elite for a perimeter player, and he understands his role in spacing the floor on offense.

12. Kasparas Jakucionis | Illinois | PG | Top 100: No. 10 | Stats: No. 18 | Consensus: 2.4 WARP

Jakucionis is down a couple of spots due to sliding from seventh in the top 100 as of the last update, which is closer to his stats-based projection. Although Jakucionis is a skilled offensive player, his limited defensive playmaking is a concern. Jakucionis has one of the three lowest steal projections for drafted point guards since 2012 and blocked just nine shots during the 2024-25 season.

13. Asa Newell | Georgia | PF | Top 100: No. 19 | Stats: No. 8 | Consensus: 2.4 WARP
14. Khaman Maluach | Duke | C | Top 100: No. 7 | Stats: No. 29 | Consensus: 2.3 WARP
15. Cedric Coward | Washington State | SF | Top 100: No. 21 | Stats: No. 13 | Consensus: 2.2 WARP

After performing well in combine drills, Coward opted to remain in the draft rather than transfer to Duke. He's the biggest mover from the last update, up from 27th, albeit still not quite where Coward ranks in my stats-only projections thanks to his hyperaccurate 2-point shooting (72% career). Coward also boasts strong steal and rebound rates should he move to the wing, where his 39% 3-point shooting is encouraging.

16. Jase Richardson | Michigan State | G | Top 100: No. 18 | Stats: No. 17 | Consensus: 2.2 WARP
17. Walter Clayton Jr. | Florida | PG | Top 100: No. 28 | Stats: No. 10 | Consensus: 2.2 WARP

Conventional wisdom says prospects such as Clayton, the Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four, tend to be overdrafted after strong NCAA tournament runs. I actually found the opposite when I researched the topic in 2017, that prospects tended to outperform their draft slot after reaching the Final Four. There was plenty to like about Clayton before March, regardless, including 39% career 3-point shooting and a low turnover rate. Clayton isn't a natural playmaker, which could be an issue at his size, but I like his value in the late first round.

18. Rasheer Fleming | Saint Joseph's | PF | Top 100: No. 27 | Stats: No. 12 | Consensus: 2.1 WARP

As a junior at Saint Joseph's, Fleming shot 65% on 2s and 39% on 3s, the latter being a huge step forward after he hit just 31% over his first two college seasons. If Fleming can shoot well enough to stick at power forward in the NBA, his rebounding and shot blocking will be major advantages. If not, Fleming is big enough to potentially play center off the bench. One reason Fleming rates so well statistically: He won't turn 21 until July, making him the youngest upperclassmen in the draft.

19. Liam McNeeley | UConn | SF | Top 100: No. 17 | Stats: No. 20 | Consensus: 2.1 WARP
20. Koby Brea | Kentucky | SG | Top 100: No. 47 | Stats: No. 6 | Consensus: 2.0 WARP
21. Kameron Jones | Marquette | G | Top 100: No. 46 | Stats: No. 9 | Consensus: 1.9 WARP
22. Thomas Sorber | Georgetown | C | Top 100: No. 16 | Stats: No. 26 | Consensus: 1.9 WARP
23. Payton Sandfort | Iowa | SF | Top 100: No. 84 | Stats: No. 7 | Consensus: 1.9 WARP
24. Nolan Traore | Saint Quentin | PG | Top 100: No. 23 | Stats: No. 29 | Consensus: 1.6 WARP
25. Will Riley | Illinois | F/G | Top 100: No. 24 | Stats: No. 36 | Consensus: 1.4 WARP
26. Wade Taylor IV | Texas A&M | PG | Top 100: NR | Stats: No. 19 | Consensus: 1.4 WARP
27. Will Richard | Florida | SG | Top 100: No. 72 | Stats: No. 21 | Consensus: 1.4 WARP
28. Joan Beringer | Cedevita Olimpija | C | Top 100: No. 15 | Stats: No. 52 | Consensus: 1.3 WARP
29. Zakai Zeigler | Tennessee | PG | Top 100: No. 98 | Stats: No. 22 | Consensus: 1.3 WARP
30. Rocco Zikarsky | Brisbane | C | Top 100: No. 22 | Stats: No. 29 | Consensus: 1.3 WARP
32. Derik Queen | Maryland | C | Top 100: No. 13 | Stats: No. 62 | Consensus: 1.2 WARP

It's worth discussing Queen, the highest-ranked player not to crack the top 30. Although Queen is far more skilled than some of the centers above him, his 56% 2-point shooting was low by the standards of a modern center. Queen blocked just 4% of opponent 2-point attempts, poor for a center and the reason the players most similar to him are often combo bigs such as Bobby Portis and Cody Zeller. Lastly, Queen turned 20 during his freshman season. He's a year older than Sorber and nearly two years older than Beringer.

 

Similar, except he's got so horrible on decision making on jumpshooting that his efficiency is terrible on those against college players. When I watched JSJ in college, he would attack closeouts with 2 dribbles and nail mid range efficiently or just drain threes if the closeout wasn't aggressive enough. That hasn't panned out in the NBA. All I see from Bailey is an advanced stepback that he can get any time, but it just isn't efficient enough to cover the rest of his game.

I am not a fan of drafting projects with players available that aren't close to being as much of a project.

 

Jabari wasn't efficient from midrange at Auburn. He shot 32.2% from 10-15 feet and 40% on long twos. He wasn't efficient anywhere inside the arc at Auburn actually.

 

Alright now that the Durant thing is done, who we picking? I still want Coward or Kasparas.

 

"We have a trade"

 

Either of Kon or Kasparas

 

got both to compare; didn't realize Kasparas is 18

 

So Keith Pompey (of the 76sers beat) elaborating on why the Ace's 76ers workout was cancelled.

Not making some good first impresisions.

1. Ace's agent Omar Cooper made a demand to the 76ers, which was Ace will workout if 76ers pre-agree to picking him 3rd.

​

2. So 76ers declined.​

The juicy tidbit a historical one. Apparently there was a player's agent in the past, who did this with 76ers, and 76ers agreed. It was Markel Fultz. Pompey said from multiple sources told him that Philly made an arrangement to trade up to #1 to get him, that by the time Fultz came to workout pre-draft, arragements were already made. This was the year Celtics gave Philly their #1, and use the 3rd pick to draft Tatum. Fultz still in the nba, last season with the Kings now (8 min per game).


Comment:

I've no idea if Philly will still consider Ace. Hope the guy doesn't drop to 10th. --That some other team pick him before us, because his agent sounds like a pain in the arse to deal with.​