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.