My Top 1o NBA Draft Prospect.

Compared To The NFL Draft the NBA Draft Process Doesn’t Posses Any Of The “Razzle-Dazzle” The Ric Flair Drip Although The Two Preeminent Sports Leagues In America Don’t Share The Same Structure But Share The Same Purpose: Evaluating Talent Before Signing A Contract.NFL Draft Has A Multi-day Combine Where The 40 Yard Dash Times and Athletic Testing Numbers Go Viral Every Year As Plaudits Fawn Over(Ad Nauseam) The Latest 4.2 Time To The Point That Fans( Like Myself) and Plaudits(like myself) Don’t Often Have Look Up An Athletes Testing Numbers To Know Them Off The Top As They Get Printed On The Brain Like Some Illuminati, End Of Times, Mark Of The Beast conspiracy Theory. You Know The Ones I’m Talking About. In The NBA A Vertical Leap Might Get Mentioned On A X/Twitter Thread. The NFL And The Media Circuit Treat Their Draft Experience Like A Disney World Experience With Multiple Levels, With Multiple Interviews, Workouts, And Player Profiles While The NBA Draft Feels More Like A 15 15-minute board Meeting that's Straight To The Point. The NFL Gets “Invasive” Nearly Federal as Team’s Prod Their Future Employees. NFL Teams And NFL Media Dive Deep Into A Player's History and Family History, You Could Almost Find Out When A Guy Or Boy Became A Man, Mean While All I’ve Found Out about NBA prospects from Their combined details is That Some schools intentionally Misreported Height and Weight Information So You’re 6’9 College Freshman Comes

In Closer To 6’7, 6’5 Usually Means Below 6’2. As We Creep Closer To The June Date Of The NBA Draft More Granular Details Of These High Profile Players But For The Most Part The film and the On Court Tellthe Vision Of Each Players Skill and Upside.  

As A Duke Fan, I watch Carefully Near Piously The Ascent Of Cooper Flagg From A High School Superstar, Gatorade Player Of The Year To ANaismith Player Of The Year Who Led Duke To The Final Four. Across A Prolific High School Career And One Dazzling Freshman Season At Duke Forward and Presumptive Number One Pick Cooper Flagg Has Generated So Much Clout As A Basketball Phenom That His Very Name Calls To The Game Of Basketball. Throughout Say Three Years Flagg’s Career As A Basketball Player Has Seen Him Earn More Decorations Than An Over The Top Met Gala Out Fit.

Cooper Flagg, Forward, Duke—His Magical Freshman Season At Duke Ended In Disappointing In Final Four Getting Knockout at The Hands Of Houston As Flagg’s Jump Shot Falls Short Bouncing Off The Rim Flat But That Duke Team Feature A Histrionic Statistical Profile Finishing the Season With The Best Net Rating Since The 2000 Season And Ending The Year on a 31-1 Spear Headed By Flagg’s Outstanding Performance. Describing Cooper Flagg’s Game Presents Both a Challenge And A Simplicity, He’s A Complete prospect(Not In A, Jack Of All Trade Master Of None, Andrew Wiggins Type Of Way) Flagg Has Delivered On His Promise In his One Year Of College Ball And Holes In His Game Don’t Standout You Have To Dig For Them And He’s Only 18 Years Of Age. Flagg Has an Incredible Deft With The Ball In His Hand, If He’s On The Court You Want Him Initiating Your Team’s Offense Out Of Pick N Roll Where He Could Probe Defenses And Pick Spots To Penetrate And Play Make On The Wing. Flagg Accounted For 26.8% Of His Team’s Assist When He’s On The Court A lot Of Which Comes Out of Roll, I Don’t Have The Numbers But The Blue Devils Ran Pick And Roll To Death With Flagg At The Wing, Where Cooper Used His Decision Making, Court Vision To Open Voids For Teammates and Also Exploited Mismatches With Either Smaller Or Larger Slow Footed Defenders. Flagg Himself Doesn’t Blow By Defenders His 35-inch Vertical Shouldn’t Have Surprised Anyone Gets Cut Off His Path To The Rim Quite Frequently, and A lot Of His Drives That Start At The Three Point Line End Result In Contested Mid-Range Field Goals Attempt—He Probably Not Going To Improve In This Area As He Transitions into The Pros, But Pro spacing Should Afford Flagg A lot More Room.

To Work In Isolation. He Didn’t Demonstrate That Supernatural Feel For Seeing The Play, The Game, And The Court Unfold Before The Play Even Began Instead He Examines And Educatedly Deduced Where Each Player would rest On The Court just Based On how Frequently He Controlled The Ball(30.9 percent usage rate, January 2025). Flagg Has an Efficient Range Game and his Three Off The Bounce and The Catch Both Prove Lethal For Opponents Against The Blue Devils. He’s Got Strong, Repeatable Mechanics—Not Picturesque Like Steph Or Devin Booker But Respectable—Where The Ball Climbs Near The Top Of His Head And He Gets a Good Arch And Follow Through On His Shot. His Three Point Numbers Where Pedestrian In College But He Proved He Could Make Shorts From A Variety Of Locations On The Court.

Flagg Lacks The Flashiness But He’s Equipped With An Assortment Of Hang Dribble, Pivot Moves, and Hesitation Moves That Keep His Opponents and Defenders Off Balance.  He’ll Face better Defenders Whom He won't Outsize and Out Quick In The League So He’ll Need To Improve In His Shot Creation And Play Making Area. Playing For The Blue Devils Makes Flagg A Tough Evaluation For One On One Defense As The Blue Devils Play A Lot Of Zone Defense Which Require Their Players To Man A Spots And Not An Individual Assignment.  Flagg Excelled In “Help” Defensive Situations Where He Hunted Unsuspecting Wayward Attempts AT the Rim Which Netted Him Multiple Blocks, 1.4 Blocks Per Game, A 3.3 Defensive Win Share, And 6.7 Defensive Plus/Minus Both Of Which Led Conference Play, from A Purely Subjective, And Judging Flagg Off His Skills As A Basketball Prospect, Hes Nearly Complete, Nearly Perfect. He Doesn’t Have A 40” Vertical But He Does Have A Job Shot and An elite Court Feel. Flagg Has Earned Comparison To former Bull and Hall Of Famer Scottie Pippen Based More On Play Style As a Point Forward Rather Than Athletic Profile Celtic Star and Former Duke Star Jayson Tatum Who Also Shares A Skillset Akin To Flagg. Still, Tatum Looked More Advanced Offensively In His One year At Duke Compared To Flagg. My Pro Comp, Gordon Hayward The Former Butler and Utah Jazz Star Forward.

2)Dylan Harper, Guard, Rutgers—

At Two On Just About Every Board Enters Dylan Harper Out Of Rutger Who Finds Himself In A More Challenged Position Behind Cooper Flagg But He’s Set Barring Something Tectonic Happening With Another Draft Prospect. A Point Guard Prospect Standing Close To 6’5 Harper Has Basketball In His Heritage His Father Ron Harper Played In The NBA as A Legendary Defender And Around Guard, a Former First Round Pick Of The Cavaliers. A Five Star Recruit and Five Player In His Class Harper Choose To Play At Rutgers A Non-Traditional Basketball School With His Friend and Fellow Top ten Recruit and Projected Lottery Ace Bailey. Together The Five Star Duo Couldn’t Lead Rutgers To The Tournament But Dylan Didn’t Fail To Impress. At Guard Dylan Possesses A Steady Game. He’s Not Slippery Or Explosive But Agile, Knowing How To Use His Body Control and momentum angles To Get To His Spot. His Handle Of the Ball Can Get Away From Him At Times But Harper Possesses An Array Of Snake Dribbles Through Screens, Hesitations, In And Out Dribbles All Of Which Harper Uses To Get Into The Or Before Pull-Up. Because Of The Dearth Of Talent At Rutgers Harper Found Himself Force To Take The Crux Of The Scoring In Playing Making, which Placed Him In A Great Position For The Next Level. In His Freshman season, Harper Came Away With Stats 19.4 Ppg, 4.6 Rebs, 4.0 Ast, 33.3 Three Point Field Goals, 48.4 FG%, Effective Field Goal. At Point Only Averaging Four Assist Looks Like A Red Flag But Understanding That He Didn’t Play With The Most Talent Teammates Assuages Some Of The Concern Instead You Want To Make Sure He Played His Role Properly. While The Basketball gods(Or God Himself) Didn’t Bless Harper With A 40” Inch Vertical He Posses A 6’10 Wingspan Which Enabled Him Amongst Other Things To Register A 67.6% At The Rim. His Wingspan and His Ball Instincts Made Him A Problem Passing Lane Where He Picked Off Wayward Passes And Over The Top For Hustle Blocks Of Help Side. Harper’s Spot Up Three Point and Mid Range Game Looks Solid And Depending On Where He Lands He Could Find Himself Playing A Steady Role Off the Ball. With His Southpaw Style and His Movement Skills, Harper Reminds Me A Ton Of James Harden(The Clippers’ Version and Play Style; Not The Rockets’Version), D’Angelo Russell Standout As Another Comparison But Harper Lacks The Play Making Chops Russell Had As A Freshman. Dylan also Shares Comparisons To Cade Cunningham, Both Underwhelming Athletes Who Use Their Size and Savvy To Manipulate The Court.

Pro Comp—Clipper’s James Harden, D’Angelo Russell.

3)VJ EdgeCombe, Guard, Baylor— The Number Three Player On The Board Will Prove The Great Debate Of The Early Portion Of The Draft But For Now, VJ Edgecombe Has The Edge Due To His Elite Upside and Athletic Profile. Edgecombe, A Native Of The Bahamas Spent One Year at Baylor University Where Averaged A Solid 15 Points Per Game, 5.6 Rebounds, and 3.2 assists on 43.6% Shooting, 50.4 Effective Field Goal, 34% From Three. Edgecombe Ppayed The Two Guard At Baylor But Holds The Distinction As A Combo Gaurd Due To His Height At 6’4 and His Recognized But underutilized Ability To Create Offense. Baylor’s Roster Featured An Assortment Of Guards Which Forced Edgecombe To Play Off Ball But Numbers Like a Solid 19.2 Assist Percentage On a Measly 24.1% Usage Rate Indicate Solid Playmaking Potential He Could Stand To Improve His 12.8 Turnover Rate. I Don’t Believe He Can Morph Into A True Lead Guard But Number One Playmaking Option Given He Improves His Skills. Edgecombe Still Gets Careless With The Ball To The Point He Coughs up The Ball In Traffic, Edgecombe Can Also Improve His Move Set By Adding A Variety Of Attacking Moves. Counting Stats From College Can Betray A A Prospects True Value and Basic Arithmetic Never Tell Us Much About The Granular Level Of His Skillset But One Thing About Edgecombe’s Production Standouts, His 2.1 Steals Per Game. Defensively He’s A Standout, He’s Solid At Taking Charges And Closing Off Drives, and By Turning 20 This Summer He’s Physically Matured For The Next Level. He’s Not The First Freshman To Turn 20 Before The Season But It’s Not Ideal His Upside Still Trumps A Potential Fault. His Three-Point Shooting, while Below 35% Still Bodes Well As He Shot Nearly 80% On Free Throw With Relative Volume. At Baylor Edgecombe Showed Promise As A Shooter On The Move and In Catch and Shoot But Less On Creating Shots Off The

Bounce. As A Prospect Touted For His Athleticism, Edgecombe Underwhelm At The Combine With An 38.5 inch Max Vertical(Reed Sheppard The Sharpshooter From

Kentucky Had A 42 Inch Vertical and He Didn’t Rely On his Athleticism LikeVJ) Most Expect, Excellent But I Truly Expected 40 Inch From His Highlights, 11.27 Lane Agility, Solid Number But Again Sub 11 Would Have Stood Out For A Player Who Relies On His Athleticism As A Calling Card. He’s Not Phenomenal or Special At Create Off The Dribble in Structure He’s Better Once He Builds A Head Of Steam Which Allows Him To Dictate His Defenders Move Rather Than Creating The Shot He Seeks Out Of An Action Or Play Design. This Showed In His Effectiveness Around The Rim Where He Finished The Season Converting Less Than 53% Of His Shots At The Rim, Partly Because He Lacks Creativity and Doesn’t Blow By Defenders Consistently. Edgecombe Has a High side But He’ll Need Some Time To Develop Into The Caliber Of Player Of Said Potential. Where Edgecombe Lands Could Determine His Developmental Trajectory While he’s Not Ready For A Lead Role Out Of The Box He’ll Need Opportunities To Explore And Expand His One Game, A Place Like Charlotte Where Lamelo Ball Controls The Ball, and Brandon Miller And Miles Bridges Supply Perimeter Offense For The Team Not Leaving Much For Opportunity For EdgeCombe To Explore.  From Some Of Theskills He Displayed He’s Perfectly Capable Of Taking Over A Play Making Role Without Identifying As A Point Guard.

Pro Comp: Victor Oladipo

4)Kon Knueppel, Guard, Duke—Kon Knueppel Could End His Career As The Second Best Player In This Class, Maybe Even One But No Less Than Top Five Simply Because His Skillset Projects Almost Seamlessly Into The League. The Blue Devil Star and Former Five Star Recruit Kon Enter The Draft As The Best Pure Shooter No Competition. While Many Prospects In This Draft Have Debatable Expertise Kon Stands Alone As The Top Marksman With picture mechanics and Follow Kon averaged 14.4 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 2.7 assists per game, while shooting an impressive 40.6% from three-point range and 47.9% from the field. At 6’7 With Movement Skills—Not Quick But Decisive—Knueppel Proved He Could Get His Shot Off Over Any Defender At Any Place On The Court; Open Shots That Duke Created For Him In The Offense Torpedoed Through The Bottom Of The Net Almost Automatically. As A Primary Shooter Kon Produced A 64.2% True Shooting Percentage. Outside Of His Outside Game, He’s Quite Deft At Scoring Despite Lacking Naturally Burst Or An Extended Array Of Skill Moves Kon Uses His Size to Move Lighter Defenders As Well as His Pump Fake To Throw Defenders Off Balance To Open Up Small Creases To The Rim. His Profile As A Shooter Made Him a Decisive Pick In Roll Threat As  Big Had To At Least Flare Out To Deter The Threat Of His Shot Which Left Even The Shortest Of Windows Open For A Lop Or Roll To The Rim. Because Of His Foot Speed Concerns and His lack Of Top Shelf Athleticism, He’ll need To Work On His Defensive Savvy And Intelligence, Just Putting Himself In The Right Position. Knueppel’s Profile As A Catch Shoot, Efficient Dribbling Marksman Begs Me To Compare Him To Klay Thompson. They are Two Standout shooters Both Boost Picturesque Shooting Motions and Both Lack Deep One On One Skills But Klay Has At The Very Least Base Line Athleticism, and Eventually develops Into A Formidable Wing Defender.

Pro Comp: Luke Kennard.

Tre Johnson, Guard, Texas—Tre Johnson Represents Another Guard Prospect Who Could Find Himself On the Threshold Of The Best Player In This Class By The Last Say. Listed at  6’6 Tall But Measured In Under 6’5, 190 lbs Put His Frame More On The Slender Side, With a 6’10 Tre Johnson From Texas Possesses The More Prototypical Two Guard Game That Easily Translates To The Pro Game. He’s incredibly shifty, Zigs, and Zags Left To Right In Almost One Fluid Motion, You have to Adjust Their Footing At Least Once Or Twice When Defending Johnson On The Perimeter, With How Easily it stops His Momentum And Changes Direction. If A Defender Flinches Or Has To Recover For Only A Moment This Gives Johnson Just Enough Time To Rise A take Lightly Contested Shot, With His Wingspan Johnson Can Get Shot Up Just About Anywhere On The Court Which Him and put Together A Fabulous Freshman season with Averages Of 19.9 PPG on 42.7 FG% 39.7 3P% 87.1 FT% leading entire SEC in scoring. As The Primary Offensive Cog In Texas’s Offense Johnson Register has A true Shooting Percentage Of 55.7% an Assist Percentage Of 16.5%, and a Turnover percentage of 9.2. He is Solid In Catch Shoot Situations Whether  Spotting Up Or On The Move. Johnson Showed A Decent Athletic Profile At The Combine With a Vertical Leap Of 37.5 But On Tape, He Struggled To Create A Separation On Drive Like He Rarely Blows By Defenders Which Leads To Johnson Settling For Long Contested Two Pointers Or Floating Layups Headed Towards The Basket. While He Demonstrated Some Deft At Converting These Types Of Shots He’ll Face A Tougher Test Converting Those Shots At The Pro Level. as Far As Finishing Around The Rim Johnson dazzle Using His Excellent Length To Wrap Layups Around The Backup, And Extending His Arm To Get The Ball On The Glass Before Defenders Can Attempt To Deter His Motives. As Texas’ Number One Offensive Option Johnson Found Himself Facing Double And The Bulk Of The Defenses Attention which Opened The Door for Him To Create As A passer. Johnson Demonstrated Good Feel For The Court and Open Areas For Skip Passes To Open Shooters and Rollers. Johnson Wouldn’t Identify As A Playmaker More Like A Creator From His Offensive Output. Johnson Looks Like A Solid Pro Two Guard Prospect, Even With His Unspectacular ‘Athleticism’, He’s A Solid Shot Creator and Difficult Shot Maker. His Shot Selection Could Turn A Coach's Stomach But Convert Enough Three three-pointers to Justify His Place On The Roster.

Pro Comp: Jamal Crawford

Jeremiah Fears, Guard, Oklahoma—As Far As Guard Prospects Go Jeremiah Fears Has Produced Runs That Have Made them look like The True Numbed Two Prospect In This Draft But Getting Him To Produce At a Level consistently Even In College Has Fears Teetering Outside The Top Five In The Draft. Game Play Wise Fears Has Loads Of Talent, He’s a Crisp Dribbler Of The Ball, rarely Out Of Control, Using Rhythm and Skill To Dance Around Opponents and Dive To the Cup. You Name The Move The Kid Can Dish Dribbles Out, From Crossovers, to Behind The Back Crossover Combos, Fears And These Moves Allowed Fears To Knife Into The Lane With Relative Ease and A Crafty Finisher Reminiscent Of Kyrie Irving Using Angles To Control The Trajectory Of The Ball Off The Class, With Either Hand, Along With Strong Finishing Strengths From Standard Layup Position(Unbalanced and Acrobatic); Borderline Defenses Do Not Want This Kid Near The Basket. He’s Not The Snappiest Athlete But He Can Change Direction And Use Sudden Burst To Finish Around The Rim Before Rim Protectors Can React. At Point Guards He’s Got A Eye And Feel For Play Making, as His Skill Bridge beyond The Scope Running A Play Or Action Or Simply Hitting The Open Man Off His One On One Work Offensively. Fears Can Create and Hunt The Shot He Wants, Whether A Paint Opportunity For Him Or A Teammate, He Can Create A Three Or Corner Jumper Elbow Jumper For Himself No Matter How The Defense Decides To Front Him. Physically At 6’3 Fears Possesses Solid Height For A Lead Guard But He Needs To Add Strength and Muscles To Keep Himself From Getting Knock Off Balance As He Attacks The Rim: His 6’5 Wingspan Doesn’t Help Either In The Respect. Fears Also Proved Turnover Prone Which Usually Comes As A Consequence Of Playing The Role of the Primary Offensive Catalyst For Oklahoma But An 18.3 Turnover Percentage Stands As A Little Egregious—This Means fears Accounted For Nearly 1/5 Of Oklahoma’s Turnover—Even With A 28.6 Assist Percentage Cant Justify That Extreme Adverse Performance. He possesses Sufficient Athleticism for his Size With 36.5 Max Vertical With That Ever so Coveted Sub 11 Seconds Lane Agility Number(10.95). Still Only 18 And Doesn’t Turn 19 Until October Fears Represents A Player Who Could Leap Frog To The Top Of This Class By The Time The Careers Of These Players Have Ended. He Exhibits Limitless Upside But He’s Got Easily Translatable Skills That The League Desires. His Shooting Stats Did Raise Eyebrows At 28% From Three But His Mechanics But An 85% Free Throw Shooter Bode Well For His Prospects To Improve with More Reps And Opportunities. He’s Still A Teenager and Be Legally Able To Take A Drink Until Three Years Into His NBA Rookie deal.

Pro Comp: Darius Garland.

Airious “Ace” Bailey, Forward, Rutgers—

With A Name Like Airious, Some Enter Life Meant To Play Basketball. He’s A Wing Scorer With High Upside Athleticism, And Uncanny Shot Mechanics and Shot Making Ability Who Earned Repute In High School And Entered His Freshman Season At Rutgers Projected As The Second Best Player In His Class Behind Cooper Flagg. Playing Along Dylan Harper Bailey Put Forth a Solid Campaign Scoring 17.6 points per Game(Including Three 30 three-point outings) And Over 7 Rebounds But His Efficiency Numbers 19.9 Player Efficiency Rating, a 51% Effective Field Goal Percentage. Ace Bailey Demonstrated Excellent Form And Function As A Spot Shooter Off The Catch And The Move, Leading To a 35% Three Point Conversion Rate. Bailey Can String Together Shots in Hurry Once In Rhythm, He Gets Optimal Arch On His Jumper and presents Sound Mechanics. Bailey’s Struggles On Offense Begin With Creating His Shot, He’s Not Yet Gifted As A ball And On Drives To Lacks Contact Balance That Hinders Him From Getting To The Rim He Simply Can't impose Himself On His Defenders As You Want. Many Of Bailey’s Drives Result In tough, Contested Two Point Jumper That He Can Hit But Simply Don’t Incite Thoughts of Success At The Next Level. Despite Bailey’s Ideal Size At 6’7 For a Scorer, He’s An Average Athlete Almost Depressingly Because He Looks Like A Guy Who Should Exhibit Better Explosive Traits Than A 34.5 Max Vertical But He Just Doesn’t Get To The Space. He Does Have Some Thunderous Jams On His Highlight But He Just Doesn’t Blow By Any One. Measuring In At 6’7 At The Combine and Not 6’10 Or Even 6’9 As Listed As Rutgers Does Hurt Bailey’s Profile Because His Skillset At 6’10 Looks Grand But Below 6’8 Looks Standard. Bailey Does Boast A 7-foot Wingspan An Indication Of a High Defensive Upside. With his Size and Ability, Bailey Compares Favorably To Pros Like Cam Johnson Of The Brooklyn Nets Or Former Blazer Travis Outlaw. His Play Making Works As An Extension Of His Threat as Scoring As Defenses Have To Respect Him On The Outside Opening Up Easy Windows For Teammates But Bailey Doesn’t Create Opportunities For His Teammates as A Function Of His Play Style. Bailey Will Turn 19 Before The Season And He May Have Not Touched His Upside His Limitations Have Become More Pronounced As The Revelations About His Height And Scoring Capacity Became Making Bailey Less Tantalizing.

Pro Comp: Cam Johnson.

8)Kahman Maluach, Center, Duke—

The Big Men In This Draft Live In The Shadow Of The Higher Profile Wings and Guards In This Draft But Some Interesting Skillsets at Forward and Center Will Enter The NBA In This Year’s Draft. Kahman Maluach Brings The Most Upside Of Any Big In This Class, Standing About 7’2 With a 7’7 Wingspan The South Sudanese Product Maluach Anchor One Of The Best Defenses In College Last Season At Duke. The Impressive Numbers On Kahman End At His Frame, He Registered An underwhelming 34 inch Max Vertical, 8.6 Points Per Game, 6.6 Rebounds, 72.3% Effective Field Goal Percentage, and 25% From Three. On offense, Maluach Parked Near The Rim Mostly Existing As A Lob Threat Or A Dive Basket Attacker. Offensively He’s No More Than A Finisher, He’s Got Good Hands, and He Can Run The Floor But Little As far as Posting Up Or Taking Range Jumpers, He’s Just A Converter Of Range Bunnies Right Now. Maluach through His Time In The Olympics As A 17 Year Old Playing For South Sudan Or His One Year At Duke Maluach Generated The Repute As A Defensive Force And With His Size, He Eats Up Space and Length Helps Him Deter Shots The Statistics Don’t Support Or Back Up Maluach’s Renown Defensively. Offensive Players Absolve Maluach Paltry Blocking Numbers(1.6 A Game) Because Teams Refused To Test Him Frequently In The Paint. Even Beyond The Blocks His Defensive Box Plus/Minus 3.6, Defensive Win Share, 2.0. Derek Lively Who Played At Duke Two Seasons Ago 6.8 Defensive Box Plus/Minus and Joel Embiid Who Also Came To America From Africa Like Maluach With a Little Basketball Experience, Branded As A Project, 6.9. Lively produced A 12.7 Block percentage, Embiid, 11.7 Block Percentage Compared To Maluach 6.8. He’s An effective Helped Defender, He’s Got Good Timing For When To Attack The Ball, and He’s Not Just Flailing Wildly. Because of College Spacing Offenses  Didn’t Spend Too Much time Forcing Khaman To Play Defense On The Perimeter So Thats A Question Mark For Him Going Into The League. Khaman Has Convincing Mechanics To Make Even The most skittish Skeptic Believe He Can Extend His Range Out To The Three Point Line. His On The Upside Maluach Projects As A Force Through The Middle At Just 18 To This Point You Could Fathom A Joel Embiid Type Development Just based On Dimensions Of His Game. Embiid Entered The League At 20 And Didn’t Play Until Turning 23, Maluach Will Have About Five Years Of Difference On A Comparative Timeline. On The Height, I Think Khaman’s Career Projects Closer To De’Andre Jordan Or Andre Drummond On The Low Side Hasheem Thabeet.  

Pro Comp: Andre Drummond Or A High-End Robin Lopez.

Kasparas Jakuicoinis, Guard, Illinois—

The Illinois Product Out Of Lithuania Has A Pro Ready Game, Excellent Shot Mechanics, Excellent Change Of Pace, And Body Control Who Can Finish From A Variety Of Angles. A Ball Control Guard Standing At 6’6, Kasparas Doesn’t Exhibit The Feel Or Poise Of A Point Guard But He Can Create Offense AS A Primary Catalyst. With Picturesque Mechanics Kasparas Already Proved He Can Convert From All Over The Court From a Variety Of Set Ups Particularly Off The Dribble. In The Vein Of Many Europeans Before Him Kasparas Lacks Elite Or Even Decent Athleticism; He Couldn’t Blow By A Stop Sign Open Road. Most Of His Penetration Happens As A Product Of Him Over Power Defenders With His Size Of Simply Proving To Crafty Through His Herky-Jerky, Stop and Go Play Style.   Kasparas won't Climb Into The Top Five Simply based On His Limited Upside Athletically but His Shot Making And Combo Multi Positional Flexibility Make Him A Suitable Candidate For A NBA Roster In Need Of A Solid Rotational Player. Kaparas Has The Set Of Skills Which Could Make Him Invaluable To A Team Or Could Lead to Him Heading Back To Europe.

Pro Comp: Austin Reeves

Derik Queen, Forward, Maryland—Standing At 6’9-6’10 A Touch Undersize For The Position Queen Profile Showcases Some of The Best Wing And Guard Skills Of Any Player In This Draft Regardless Of Position. Despite Anchor Ingram Maryland’s Middle Queen Demonstrated Most Of His Effective That Have Him Stationed At The Top Of Draft Boards Away From The Basket By Coupling A Combination Of Dribbles, Head Fakes, Hesitations and Pump Fakes To Work Defenders From The Mid Post and Beyond Down To The Basket. He’s Quick-footed Off The Bounce, Moving Easily Around Slower Defenders and Challenging Smaller Defenders On The Perimeter With His Nimbleness. He’s Sound and Sudden On Dribble Keeping The Ball Tight To His Body and Knowing When To Pull His Dribble Away From Prying Hands Almost Keeping The Ball On A String. When He Can't Dribble Around Defenders He uses His Frame, His Girth To Move Bodies Into The Lane. He’s Got A Pure Jumper In The Mid Range Which He plays with A Game Winner In The tournament and He Can Get To From Either A Post Up And Face Up Position. He plays With Good Pace, Under When To Attack Down Hill And When To Attack In The Post, and How To Vary His Approach for Different Angles. Excellent Passer At 6’10, Whether in Transition Bringing The Ball Up The Court Or From The Post And Mid Post. Derik Queen Defensively He’s A Non-Factor, He possesses average Length And Average Athleticism(28 28-inch vertical) To Protect The Rim. Three Point Shooting Will Also Need To Improve as He Shot 20% From Deep But A Promising 77% On Free Throws Suggest His Three Point Numbers Can Improve. His Defensively Struggles Combine With The Fact That Queen Turns 21 In December Makes His Place In The Top Circumspect But He’s Far more Proven Talent Than Kasparas Or Other Option Vying For A Position In the Top Of Players.

Pro Comp: Alpeen Sengun, Shades Of Boogie Cousins.