2025 NBA DRAFT NIGHT!

[specialsauce]

Then what's the point of Oso.

Seems redundant. Can't play two bigs that can't shoot

[Shabazz]

CMB comes with the usual Justise Winslow/Stanley Johnson concerns. Players of his profile seem to have a pretty high bust rate.

Can you get a very similar player with a bit more on ball juice by just taking Adou Thiero at 29?

[Kryptonic]

[Shabazz]

I don’t see it* with Newell.

*based on 5 minutes of highlight tapes.

[Superbone]

It’s NBA draft night! Suns have the following picks: 10,29,52,59


Time to lock in!


Who do you want? Who do you think we pick??

Any chance all four are on the roster to start the season? Will we see the Suns maneuver any picks? Does Gregory even have that in him? Will Jones be involved? I have lots of questions and no answers.

[Superbone]

I just want for the day to pass and when I find out about the draft there's a roster that makes sense.

I don't think we're really going to get there until our trades and FA signings are completed.

[Superbone]

We’re drafting a sg.

The odds are -10000.

[Shabazz]

For what it’s worth John Hollinger has CMB, Essengue, and Bryant as his #6, 7, and 8 prospects.

CMB

I don't know what to do at No. 6. There are four players I really like, one (Fears) I'm willing to gamble on and then I kind of throw my hands up. So, a 6-7 center from a team that went 2-16 in conference? Why not.

Murray-Boyles will need to change his game at the pro level because it’s unlikely he can play center for more than brief stretches. That will involve developing his nascent perimeter game, getting in better shape and improving his rarely used right hand, among other things.

That said, I’ve warmed up to his case. Watching him in the SEC tournament, his jumper isn’t broken. It’s a push shot from his chest, the release is slow and he rarely stretched out to the 3-point line in his role at South Carolina. But yes, he can get to the point where he makes a third of them.

Additionally, he has the feet and hands to guard smaller players on the perimeter; in fact, that part requires no adjustment at all, as he did that comfortably even as a collegian.

What I love about the clip linked above is how close he is to the dribbler at the start; players tell on themselves by how much cushion they give. Murray-Boyles had no fear that he could slide his feet with a smaller player.

Murray-Boyles’ hands, in particular, are notable: His rate of 2.9 steals per 100 possessions is pretty spectacular for a big man. He also shows good feel and instincts at the offensive end, both as a finisher and passer.

Finally, Murray-Boyles is a young sophomore who just turned 20. He suffered from having to be the best player on two horrible South Carolina teams, but he has a role player’s profile. He likely will need an adjustment year at the offensive end – similar to another SEC center, Grant Williams – but he can be a starting power forward if everything breaks right.

Essengue

One of my biggest hot takes for this draft is that Essengue isn't getting nearly enough attention. A Frenchman plying his trade in Germany, Essengue rivals Flagg as the youngest player in the draft with his December 2006 birthdate. Essengue was nonetheless a productive starter for a solid EuroCup team that is playing for the German league championship this week. Essengue's stats this year stand out for an overseas teenager, with a PER of 18.4, block and steal rates over 2.0 percent and a solid 14.0 percent rebound rate despite barely weighing 200 pounds. (Filling out physically is one of his biggest developmental to-dos.)

Essengue also had 20 points, eight rebounds, three steals and two blocks in a preseason game against the Portland Trail Blazers, while guarding Deni Avdija for much of it; here's a clip of a pick-six steal and dunk he had in that game.

Essengue's big swing skill will be shooting; he made 26.5 percent from 3 and 70.2 percent from the line this year; obviously, that won't get it done. On the other hand, can we talk about his work inside the arc? Essengue shot 64.1 percent on 2s with a James Harden-esque free-throw rate (290 free throws against just 269 2-point attempts), an amazing feat for a skinny teen in a physical league. Even going up a level in the game against Portland, he managed to grift six foul shots.

Statistically, Essengue has a lot of similarities to what the Wizards' Bilal Coulibaly did in France in his draft year, except that Essengue is further along as a decision-maker (he had a slightly positive assist-turnover ratio, in fact). Coulibaly went seventh in the 2023 draft; it doesn't seem unreasonable to have Essengue seventh on the board in 2025.

Bryant

Bryant grabbed my attention during the 2024 Hoop Summit practices. Playing on the scout team scrimmaging against a U.S. squad with Flagg, Harper and others, Bryant made it obvious that he was on the wrong team and should have been selected for the U.S. squad. His freshman year at Arizona started slowly, but by the end, it was clear he was one of the best prospects in his class, even in a low-usage role.

About that: One thing that may make teams skittish about grabbing Bryant this high is that he has a limited handle that may consign him to a low-usage, 3-and-D role. While Bryant can get more buckets off cuts, transitions and general energy at the pro level than he did at Arizona, his shot-creation tools are still pretty rudimentary.

That said, the rest of the package looks ready to go, and he can easily be in an opening-night rotation. Bryant has position size at both forward spots, makes good reads as a passer to offset some of his dribble weakness and has a smooth jumper that he can launch over closeouts.

Defensively, his rates of blocks and steals stood out for a one-and-done wing (2.8 steals and 2.9 blocks per 100), although he needs to chill on the rampant fouling. Among non-center prospects, only Flagg topped him in “stocks” rate. Bryant’s defensive tape in isolation situations is solid but not amazing; he can be a half-beat slow changing directions but makes up for it with elite closing ability on shooters. The fact that his clips included turns checking guys like Flagg and Edgecombe tells you what the coaches thought.

Maybe Bryant isn’t overly exciting. But players in this size-skill category get $20 million a year in free agency, so you always draft them if you have the chance.

[Superbone]

Hey, how are we doing this today? Are you guys posting the twitter feed as soon as the players are picked which is always ahead of the broadcast? I'm trying to figure out if I want to follow along here or watch on TV first and then check back.

[Superbone]

That one hand, close up magic, rip is very impressive.

[INFORMER]

Gambo wants CMB. I don't know, I'd be kind of underwhelmed with an undersized 4 that can't shoot and he's just too small for the 5. I don't like the Draymond comp, I think we need more size and athleticism in the frontcourt. I do like the passing and defensive versatility but I think he's a reach at 10.

GROSS

[Superbone]

Gambo wants CMB. I don't know, I'd be kind of underwhelmed with an undersized 4 that can't shoot and he's just too small for the 5. I don't like the Draymond comp, I think we need more size and athleticism in the frontcourt. I do like the passing and defensive versatility but I think he's a reach at 10.

Spoiler: show/hide

GROSS

What's it going to take to make an INFORMER happy tonight? Sorber and...

[INFORMER]

For what it’s worth John Hollinger has CMB, Essengue, and Bryant as his #6, 7, and 8 prospects.

Hopefully that means someone will draft CMB before the Suns can.

[INFORMER]

Gambo wants CMB. I don't know, I'd be kind of underwhelmed with an undersized 4 that can't shoot and he's just too small for the 5. I don't like the Draymond comp, I think we need more size and athleticism in the frontcourt. I do like the passing and defensive versatility but I think he's a reach at 10.

Spoiler: show/hide

GROSS

What's it going to take to make an INFORMER happy tonight? Sorber and...

Staying at 10 and going with Carter Bryant or Danny Wolf. I'd settle for Sorber there too. Egor Demin wouldn't be the end of the world, I just think he has a high bust potential that scares.

Alternatively, trade 10 and get multiple 1st rounders (OKC, Brooklyn) and draft some combo of Walter Clayton Jr., Cedric Coward, Maxime Raynaud, and Rasheer Fleming.

[TOO]

People trying to spin CMB as some sort of Draymond lite is disgusting, first off, we're never gonna see Draymond again, we'd probably end up getting Boris Diaw lite instead of Draymond. Do not want.

[JJ Slim]

I'm still all in on Wolf. I'm not sure he is worth #10 but I don't know if he will be there at #29

[JJ Slim]

And if Ace Bailey drops to 10 I'm not sure I want us to take a chance on him either

[TOO]

Bryant and Kalkbrenner is what I want.

[ShelC]

People trying to spin CMB as some sort of Draymond lite is disgusting, first off, we're never gonna see Draymond again, we'd probably end up getting Boris Diaw lite instead of Draymond. Do not want.

We have our Boris-lite. His name is Oso.

[Superbone]

1. Flagg
2. Harper

Who's next?