Alex Sarr, C, Perth
Reed Sheppard, G, Kentucky
Donovan Clingan, C, Connecticut
Ron Holland, Wing, G League Ignite#
Rob Dillingham, G, Kentucky
Zaccharie Risacher, Wing, JL Bourg
Stephon Castle, G, Connecticut
Dalton Knecht, Wing, Tennessee
Devin Carter, G, Providence
Nikola Topic, G, Mega
Jaylon Tyson, Wing, California
Carlton Carrington, G, Pittsburgh
Tristan Da Silva, Wing, Colorado
DaRon Holmes, PF, Dayton
Tyler Kolek, G, Marquette
Tidjane Salaun, F, Cholet
Yves Missi, C, Baylor
Jared McCain, G, Duke #
Matas Buzelis, F, G League Ignite
Baylor Scheierman, Wing, Creighton
Jalen Bridges, Wing, Baylor
KJ Simpson, G, Colorado
Cody Williams, Wing, Colorado
Pacome Dadiet, Wing, Ratiopharm Ulm #
Isaiah Collier, G, USC
Zach Edey, C, Purdue #
Ja’Kobe Walter, Wing, Baylor
Kyshawn George, Wing, Miami
Johnny Furphy, Wing, Kansas
Kyle Filipowski, F, Duke
Kevin McCullar, Wing, Kansas
Anton Watson, F, Gonzaga
Melvin Ajinca, Wing, Saint-Quentin
Jaylen Wells, Wing, Washington State
Adem Bona, C, UCLA
Terrence Shannon JR, Wing, Illinois
Cam Christie, Wing, Minnesota
Reece Beekman, G, Virginia
Tyler Smith, F, G League Ignite
Dillon Jones, Wing, Weber State
Kel’el Ware, C, Indiana
Nikola Djurisic, Wing, Mega
Armel Traore, F, ADA Blois Basket
Oso Ighodaro, PF, Marquette
Bobi Klintman, F, Cairns Taipans
Ajay Mitchell, G, UC Santa Barbara
Ryan Dunn, F, Virginia
Justin Edwards, Wing, Kentucky
Emanuel Miller, Wing, TCU
Trey Alexander, G, Creighton
Dylan Disu, F, Texas
Jonathan Mogbo, F, San Francisco
Zyon Pullin, G, Florida
Olivier Nkamhoua, F, Michigan #
Cam Spencer, Wing, Connecticut
Tristen Newton, G, Connecticut
PJ Hall, F, Clemson
Isaiah Crawford, Wing, Louisiana Tech
Trentyn Flowers, Wing, Adelaide
David Jones, Wing, Memphis
Enrique Freeman, F, Akron
Harrison Ingram, Wing, North Carolina
Judah Mintz, G, Syracuse
Boogie Ellis, G, USC
Jamal Shead, G, Houston
Antonio Reeves, G, Kentucky
Quentin Post, C, Boston College
Malevy Leons, F, Bradley
Keshad Johnson, F, Arizona
Pelle Larsson, Wing, Arizona
Jaylin Williams, Wing, Auburn
Isaac Jones, PF, Washington State
Bronny James, G, USC #
Juan Nuñez, G, Ratiopharm Ulm
Ulrich Chomche, F, Cameroon
AJ Johnson, SG, Illawara Hawks
Ariel Hukporti, C, Melbourne
N’Faly Dante, C, Oregon
Jaelen House, G, New Mexico
Jesse Edwards, C, West Virginia
Kevin Cross, F, Tulane
Branden Carlson, PF, Utah
Blake Hinson, Wing, Pittsburgh
Joseph Girard, G, Clemson
Jameer Nelson Jr, G, TCU
Matthew Strazel, G, AS Monaco
Spencer Jones, Wing, Stanford
Riley Minix, F, Morehead State
Eric Gaines, G, UAB
Mantas Rubstavicius, Wing, Lietkabelis
Darin Green Jr, SG, Florida State #
Aaron Estrada, G, Alabama
Jalen Cook, G, LSU
Armando Bacot, PF/C, North Carolina
Malik Hall, Wing, Michigan State
Warren Washington, C, Texas Tech
Taran Armstrong, G, Cairns Taipans
Yannick Kraag, Wing, Joventut
Boo Buie, G, Northwestern
Sasha Grant, Wing, Grissin Bon Reggio Emilia
Teafale Lenard, Wing, Texas Legends
Joel Soriano, C, St. John’s
Kuany Kuany, Wing, VCU
Drew Pember, F, UNC Asheville
BJ Mack, F, South Carolina
Donta Scott, F, Maryland
Roko Prkacin, F, Gran Canaria #
“#” indicates the last player on a tier
Tier 1: The Top Bunch
With the quality of this draft being so poor, especially juxtaposed with the Wemby draft and the Flagg/Bailey draft, these are the 4 players I am most confident in becoming multiple time all stars. Sarr has the best upside as a potential well-rounded athletic, switchable big that can space the floor. Sheppard has the outlier shooting + defensive activity. Clingan has the best rim presence on both ends and can change an entire defensive culture. Holland is the pure swing for the fence in hope that he returns to his high school form in terms of upside.
Tier 2: Quality First Rounders
This is a pretty wide range, including many players I like enough to give a guaranteed contract, but not enough to take my only lottery pick with. Dillingham has the best upside of the bunch, but most of this group is high floor players that I know will stick. One of my objectives this year is to simply find players that stick in terms of floor, as opposed to chasing upside and finding the diamond in the rough. I expect a heavy majority of this tier to become impactful rotation players.
Tier 3 and Tier 4: First Round Upside Plays
These two tiers are bunched together, and round out my first round grades. Scheierman and Bridges have simple routes to jumping up into the next tier, but they have big defensive holes that could limit their game. As for the rest of the players in this tier, these are mostly upside plays that I feel more sour on ever breaking through as a starter for a playoff team. Edey is my last first round grade because I project him as a ~20 minute per game player, but ultimately still impactful in those minutes.
Tier 5: Second Round Grades
This is the second round tier, and I have the entire second round as mostly interchangeable. Walter, George, and Furphy all have high-profile shooting to hang their hats on, but I worry about what else they can do to impact the game when their shots are not falling, which is a scouting quirk I have always been loyal to. Furphy is among my lowest ranked defenders, George has a decent path as a passer, but still not enough since he is not a play initiator, and Walter could be a good defender, but would have to hit his high-end outcomes as both a shooter and defender to climb a tier. Tyler Smith is not a great enough shooter at this stage, combined with being among the worst defensive players in the class, to justify a high ranking in my eyes. Additionally, as I wrote in his scouting report, many of his numbers came in garbage time minutes, making him a bit of fools gold in my eyes, even with him being 19. The rest of the tier is mostly good floor players that won with efficiency or impact stats.
Tier 6: Top Two Way Candidates
This tier is for the priority two-ways I would offer, mostly full of players with a plus skill in the following areas: shooting, defense, or feel for the game. There are a few exceptions, with some upside plays that have low floors in this range, but ultimately this is the crop that should be targeted by teams without a pick after 40, and could have an argument to be drafted.
Tier 7: Extra Two Way Spots
Players in this tier could be fill-in two-ways or Exhibit 10 contracts worth converting up to a two way. This would be for players vying at a chance at a training camp roster or players I see shining in the G League early on, or eventually having successful careers overseas.
Tier 8: True Exhibit 10 candidates
This is the final tier, and the best of the rest among players I felt belonged on a board from years of scouting or having a path to a professional career in a respectable league internationally. Many of these players will get chances in the G League and could easily outdo their spots in this tier.
Draft Summary:
This draft is the least amount of both first round and overall draftable grades I have ever given out (26 first round grades, 54 draftable grades). The class lacks clear starpower and will need to rely on outlier level development in the upside plays, a la the 2016 NBA Draft, to even inch towards average. The Covid-19 development pauses are apparent through this draft, as these players missed key development areas as most of the first rounders were freshmen/sophomores in high school. There will still be quality second round players, but many role players have lower floors than normal years, and most of the star upside players have a lower floor than usual. The 2025 NBA Draft will be vastly different, with higher ceilings across the board, as well as more depth across the board.