2025 Early NBA Mock Drafts | Page 2 | The Boneyard

2025 Early NBA Mock Drafts

HooperScooper said:
We still have the Sampson misspelling to deal with. I don't know how people are still doing that but we did see Tristan for 2 years so it doesn't shock me.

I've seen Aiden instead of Aidan a bunch already. And also Mahaney instead of Mahaney.

We've had Jaylen instead of Jaylin.

I've seen McNeeley instead of McNeeley. That one isn't too bad.

Now we have Newell instead of Nowell.

Oy vey, it's gonna be a rough year for me. :)
Expand ...
Jaylin spellers always get a pass. If your parents refused to name you something other than Jayden, Jaylen, Jaden, Jaylin, Jaydin, Jalin, Jalen...

Well, what can you do?
 
navery12 said:
I'd be shocked if he's getting any minutes at SG. I don't think it's good for the team or for him individually for his NBA hopes
Expand ...
how could it be bad for his nba hopes? a wing plays SG/SF so draft prospects need to show they can be competent ball handlers and wing defenders. not showing that on the college level would be bad for his nba hopes because he's too small to play stretch 4 in the nba.
 
Last edited:
bendm said:
that was my thinking for the past 2+ months but if stew is going to live up to a first round projection as an NBA wing then he needs to: 1) defend opposing Gs/Ws and 2) handle the ball competently.

stew is smaller than i thought. 6'7 205 is SG/SF size in the nba so he needs to show off his guard skills. i thought he was like 6'8 215 and a tweener SF/PF.
Expand ...
I think Stewart and McNeeley are both 3s, and neither is really a SG/2. Can flex Stew to 4 obviously, but Alex will play a lot, if fewer minutes than the last two years.

My guess remains that McNeeley is on the bench to start the season and will come on later in the season and show enough to still be a lottery pick.
 
bendm said:
how could it be bad for his nba hopes? a wing plays SG/SF so draft prospects need to show they can be competent ball handlers and wing defenders. not showing that on the college level would be bad for his nba hopes because he's too small to play stretch 4 in the nba.
Expand ...
Because it doesn't fit his skill set at all, and it's not where he'd be playing in the NBA. If you want to say he'll be strictly a 3 in the NBA instead of a 4 like he is in college I can see a case for that.

But shifting him all the way up to the 2 doesn't seem likely, this is a guy who was playing the 5 for stretches last year and was put into the game the rare times Karaban was being overmatched by a physical 4. There's wings who play the 2/3 and wings who play the 3/4, he's the latter
 
HuskyHawk said:
I think Stewart and McNeeley are both 3s, and neither is really a SG/2. Can flex Stew to 4 obviously, but Alex will play a lot, if fewer minutes than the last two years.

My guess remains that McNeeley is on the bench to start the season and will come on later in the season and show enough to still be a lottery pick.
Expand ...
i agree stew's position of choice in college is SF since he's 6'7 and the average SG is probably 6'3, but most teams play three guard lineups anyways like we did with Ball while Castle was out.

navery12 said:
Because it doesn't fit his skill set at all, and it's not where he'd be playing in the NBA. If you want to say he'll be strictly a 3 in the NBA instead of a 4 like he is in college I can see a case for that.

But shifting him all the way up to the 2 doesn't seem likely, this is a guy who was playing the 5 for stretches last year and was put into the game the rare times Karaban was being overmatched by a physical 4. There's wings who play the 2/3 and wings who play the 3/4, he's the latter
Expand ...
if playing on the wing doesnt fit his skillset at all than good luck being a first round draft pick because 6'7 205 is way too small to play stretch 4 in the nba. i dont know why youre quibbling about SG versus SF skillsets when there's more overlap between SG and SF than any other two positions in the modern nba. all of these guys are same size or bigger than stew and can play SG:

Jaylen Brown- 6'6 220 (started at SF this year but SG last year)
Paul George- 6'8 220 (started at SG this year)
Mikal Bridges- 6'6 210 (will be starting SG on the knicks)
Demar Derozan- 6'6 220 (has started at both SG and SF throughout his career)
Kris Middleton- 6'7 220 (listed as SG on bucks depth chart)
Brandon Miller- 6'7 200 (was hornets starting SG)
Klay Thompson- 6'7 220 (has always been a SG)
Brandon Ingram- 6'8 190 (started a SG for pels this year)

the guys that can play the 3/4 are even bigger, e.g., michael porter 6'10, jaden mcdaniels 6'10, kawhi leonard 6'8, scottie barnes 6'8, kyle kuzma 6'9 etc.
 
Last edited:
bendm said:
i agree stew's position of choice in college is SF since he's 6'7 and the average SG is probably 6'3, but most teams play three guard lineups anyways like we did with Ball while Castle was out.


if playing on the wing doesnt fit his skillset at all than good luck being a first round draft pick because 6'7 205 is way too small to play stretch 4 in the nba. i dont know why youre quibbling about SG versus SF skillsets when there's more overlap between SG and SF than any other two positions in the modern nba. all of these guys are same size or bigger than stew and can play SG:

Jaylen Brown- 6'6 220 (started at SF this year but SG last year)
Paul George- 6'8 220 (started at SG this year)
Mikal Bridges- 6'6 210 (will be a SG on the knicks)
Demar Derozan- 6'6 220 (has started at both SG and SF throughout his career)
Kris Middleton- 6'7 220 (listed as SG on bucks depth chart)
Brandon Miller- 6'7 200 (was hornets starting SG)
Klay Thompson- 6'7 220 (has always been a SG)
Brandon Ingram- 6'8 190 (started a SG for pels this year)
Expand ...
I totally agree that Jaylin can be an NBA SG if his handle develops. McNeeley too. The 2-3 are closer to interchangeable in the NBA than in college. It's just "wing". In college we see, as we saw with Stewart, a lot of 3s playing the 4. NBA 4s should be bigger than Stewart, ideally probably bigger than Alex.
 
.-.
HuskyHawk said:
I totally agree that Jaylin can be an NBA SG if his handle develops. McNeeley too. The 2-3 are closer to interchangeable in the NBA than in college. It's just "wing". In college we see, as we saw with Stewart, a lot of 3s playing the 4. NBA 4s should be bigger than Stewart, ideally probably bigger than Alex.
Expand ...
totally agree. i'm not denying stew mostly played PF last year but that was partly due to our personnel. i just think i'm stating the obvious when i say that if he wants to be a wing in the nba then he should be able to play on the wing in college too.
 
bendm said:
i agree stew's position of choice in college is SF since he's 6'7 and the average SG is probably 6'3, but most teams play three guard lineups anyways like we did with Ball while Castle was out.


if playing on the wing doesnt fit his skillset at all than good luck being a first round draft pick because 6'7 205 is way too small to play stretch 4 in the nba. i dont know why youre quibbling about SG versus SF skillsets when there's more overlap between SG and SF than any other two positions in the modern nba. all of these guys are same size or bigger than stew and can play SG:

Jaylen Brown- 6'6 220 (started at SF this year but SG last year)
Paul George- 6'8 220 (started at SG this year)
Mikal Bridges- 6'6 210 (will be starting SG on the knicks)
Demar Derozan- 6'6 220 (has started at both SG and SF throughout his career)
Kris Middleton- 6'7 220 (listed as SG on bucks depth chart)
Brandon Miller- 6'7 200 (was hornets starting SG)
Klay Thompson- 6'7 220 (has always been a SG)
Brandon Ingram- 6'8 190 (started a SG for pels this year)

the guys that can play the 3/4 are even bigger, e.g., michael porter 6'10, jaden mcdaniels 6'10, kawhi leonard 6'8, scottie barnes 6'8, kyle kuzma 6'9 etc.
Expand ...
Because there's way more to playing a position than just height and weight. He does not have the skill set of a SG. I'm not sure how else to say it at this point
 
Interestingly Hurley indicated in one of his interviews he’s considering going 9 and even 10 deep and pressing much more than what we have been seeing recently.

He did say he needed to spend time observing the players but this might be the year the full court press returns.
 
ctchamps said:
Interestingly Hurley indicated in one of his interviews he’s considering going 9 and even 10 deep and pressing much more than what we have been seeing recently.

He did say he needed to spend time observing the players but this might be the year the full court press returns.
Expand ...
I know this is a very ‘off seasony’ take. But I won’t be shocked if we go 9 deep in most games. We have 10 guys who should play, on paper.
 
navery12 said:
Because there's way more to playing a position than just height and weight. He does not have the skill set of a SG. I'm not sure how else to say it at this point
Expand ...
You have a true gift when it comes to being arrogantly dismissive.

SG and SF is the same skillset so If you don’t think he can dribble and pass well enough to play SG in college then he won’t be able to play SF in the nba either. I’m not sure how else to say he ain’t big enough to be a PF in the nba. Size is a limiting factor at a certain point. Name a 6’7 205 lb PF cause can’t think of a single one.
 
Last edited:
bendm said:
You have a true gift when it comes to being arrogantly dismissive.

SG and SF is the same skillset so If you don’t think he can dribble and pass well enough to play SG in college then he won’t be able to play SF in the nba either. I’m not sure how else to say he ain’t big enough to be a PF in the nba. Size is a limiting factor at a certain point. Name a 6’7 205 lb PF cause can’t think of a single one.
Expand ...
I can't, which is why I said he'll play the 3 in the NBA. And there's tons of guys who don't have the ball handling ability to play guard but can play the 3. We're also comparing end of freshman year Jaylin to grown men in their mid to late 20s. I wouldn't be surprised if he's not 205 by the time he's leaving for the NBA
 
.-.
Last year we played 3 point guards because that's what the roster called for.
This year we'll very likely play 3 small forwards.
 
ibleedhuskyblue said:
Last year we played 3 point guards because that's what the roster called for.
This year we'll very likely play 3 small forwards.
Expand ...
Three PG who were 6ft 5-6 and strong. Spencer was a SG with some passing skills anyway. We will see how Stew and McNeeley progress with ball handling, perimeter defense, passing and attacking the paint. Hurley will play the guys who earn the minutes. The competition is closers than it has been the last two seasons. Ross and Solo will push for time too.
 
navery12 said:
there's tons of guys who don't have the ball handling ability to play guard but can play the 3.
Expand ...
Ok I concede there are a handful but it’s not great company. I just skimmed all the rosters and these are the guys I’d say are pigeonholed at SF because they aren’t big enough to play PF and don’t have the ball skills to play SG:

Sam Hauser
Oshae Brissett
Kevin McCullar
KJ Martin
Patrick Williams
Torrey Craig
Isaac Okoro
Troy Brown
Doug McDermmot
Chris Livingston
Taurean Prince
Justin Holiday
Peyton Watson
Corey Kispert
Nassir Little
TJ Warren
Andrew Wiggins
Kessler Edwards
Leaky Black
AJ Griffin
Herb Jones
 
HuskyHawk said:
I think Stewart and McNeeley are both 3s, and neither is really a SG/2. Can flex Stew to 4 obviously, but Alex will play a lot, if fewer minutes than the last two years.

My guess remains that McNeeley is on the bench to start the season and will come on later in the season and show enough to still be a lottery pick.
Expand ...
After I just went through this 3 posts above yours? :)
 
bendm said:
i agree stew's position of choice in college is SF since he's 6'7 and the average SG is probably 6'3, but most teams play three guard lineups anyways like we did with Ball while Castle was out.


if playing on the wing doesnt fit his skillset at all than good luck being a first round draft pick because 6'7 205 is way too small to play stretch 4 in the nba. i dont know why youre quibbling about SG versus SF skillsets when there's more overlap between SG and SF than any other two positions in the modern nba. all of these guys are same size or bigger than stew and can play SG:

Jaylen Brown- 6'6 220 (started at SF this year but SG last year)
Paul George- 6'8 220 (started at SG this year)
Mikal Bridges- 6'6 210 (will be starting SG on the knicks)
Demar Derozan- 6'6 220 (has started at both SG and SF throughout his career)
Kris Middleton- 6'7 220 (listed as SG on bucks depth chart)
Brandon Miller- 6'7 200 (was hornets starting SG)
Klay Thompson- 6'7 220 (has always been a SG)
Brandon Ingram- 6'8 190 (started a SG for pels this year)

the guys that can play the 3/4 are even bigger, e.g., michael porter 6'10, jaden mcdaniels 6'10, kawhi leonard 6'8, scottie barnes 6'8, kyle kuzma 6'9 etc.
Expand ...

Well said.

While he was at UConn, did anyone think this guy would be a SG in the NBA? I doubt Navery did. :)

www.basketball-reference.com

Caron Butler Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Draft Status and more | Basketball-Reference.com

Checkout the latest stats of Caron Butler. Get info about his position, age, height, weight, draft status, shoots, school and more on Basketball-Reference.com
www.basketball-reference.com www.basketball-reference.com
 
.-.
Fan1978 said:
He hasn’t done anything to warrant being drafted yet. Was basically a bench piece once castle was full strength. He has plenty of talent but played tentatively and scared last year. I think he will need 2 more years to be NBA ready.
Expand ...
Agree with this, but Solo may have some of the more impressive physical traits on the team. His length, hops and stroke are all high plus, so now really a matter of honing it all in and getting head screwed on right. He looked lost a lot last year.
 
Hey Adrien! said:
Jaylin Stewart getting NBA Draft hype after averaging just 9 minutes per game is pretty amazing.

Each Championship team has featured a sophomore that made an incredible leap. 2023 was Hawk. 2024 was Karaban. I expect Stewart to be that sophomore breakout next season.
Expand ...
I think Clingan was the sophomore breakout for the 2024 Champs.
 
.-.
HooperScooper said:
Another 2025 mock draft.

McNeeley 8th.

Karaban 13th. How can he have pulled out of the draft twice when he only entered it once?

www.cbssports.com

Way-too-early 2025 NBA Mock Draft: Duke's Cooper Flagg a solid top pick, Baylor's V.J. Edgecombe goes No. 2

Duke and Rutgers have two top-10 prospects in Kyle Boone's first mock draft of the 2025 cycle
www.cbssports.com www.cbssports.com
Expand ...
Another stat/line regarding McNeeley is that the betting sites have him as a pre season top ten in odds for winning the Wooden player of the year award.
Even though he has yet to play a college game, this alone says a lot about his talent and expectations.
 
Fan1978 said:
He hasn’t done anything to warrant being drafted yet. Was basically a bench piece once castle was full strength. He has plenty of talent but played tentatively and scared last year. I think he will need 2 more years to be NBA ready.
Expand ...

He did more than Stew, no? I mean Solo started 10 games and averaged 7/gm in that span including 13 against UNC. Yes, once he went to the bench he lost his way. But I think Solo showed more potential than Stew (who still has a lot of potential).
 
Wish nothing but the best for Steve and his team. Falling to UConn in the Final Four is great
 
boog204 said:
He did more than Stew, no? I mean Solo started 10 games and averaged 7/gm in that span including 13 against UNC. Yes, once he went to the bench he lost his way. But I think Solo showed more potential than Stew (who still has a lot of potential).
Expand ...
Stu did his best work at the end of the year and solo did his best early. both have plenty of potential and could be mediocre to great this year. I have more confidence in stu but certainly could be wrong. Team has so much depth that either could struggle for pt if they struggle early
 
boog204 said:
He did more than Stew, no? I mean Solo started 10 games and averaged 7/gm in that span including 13 against UNC. Yes, once he went to the bench he lost his way. But I think Solo showed more potential than Stew (who still has a lot of potential).
Expand ...
He did more early, but people act like he went from starter to out of the rotation immediately. The reality was he played his way out of the rotation because Stewart was slightly better, and did more for us defensively. Stewart also got a later start, which explains why Solo was more ready at the beginning of the season.

I think both guys are gonna develop into good players for us, but it was obvious by the end of the season who would contribute more in their minutes.
 
.-.
You must log in or register to reply here.

Forum statistics

Threads
168,202
Messages
4,556,691
Members
10,442
Latest member
Virginiafan


Top Bottom