5 hours ago
1
ESPN’s Jay Bilas takes a shot at some Q&A with Post columnist Steve Serby about Wednesday’s 2025 NBA Draft:
Q: Does Cooper Flagg have any negatives?
A: He’s not 25 (chuckle). No, he doesn’t have any negatives. He’s the most complete player in the draft. I think his positives are equally as good as a defender as they are as an offensive player. He’s incredibly aware on the floor and he touches every part of the game. He can shoot it — it’s not like he’s Steph Curry shooting it, but he shot 44 percent from 3 in ACC games, and he averaged 21 a game during ACC play and really played his best basketball toward the end of the year.
He gets steals, deflections, blocked shots, he rebounds at a high rate. He’s not out to get stats, he just makes the right play, and when he makes the right play over and over and stacks the right play, he winds up with numbers across the board by the end of the game. So he’s ultra-productive and ultra-competitive, and with his length and athleticism. … He’s 18 ¹/₂ right now — he’s the real deal. But his level of competitiveness is on the highest gear of prospects I’ve scouted.
Q: Will he make an immediate impact?
A: I think so because he can blend in. He’s not going to be expected to lead the way with Dallas. If he had gone to another team that had only won 15, 20 games, he’d be expected to step in and really lead the way, but I think he can really mature with Dallas without those kind of expectations.
Q: Who do you compare him to?
A: A lot of people say he’s a little bit like Andrei Kirilenko, I heard that a lot from scouts early in the season, I haven’t heard it as much lately. I kind of thought he was just a bigger, more offensively gifted Franz Wagner. He’s bigger and longer and stronger, especially at that age. He’s the best freshman Duke’s ever had. Now, it doesn’t mean he’s going to ultimately be as good as Grant Hill or Kyrie Irving, but no freshman at Duke’s had a better year than he had.
Q: Dylan Harper?
A: He’s got size, long arms, he finishes at the rim and he’s got a great feel for how to get in the lane and how to score. He’s probably the best pick-and-roll guard in this draft. Good in transition. He’s not a great shooter. With his length and strength, I think he can be a good defender, but he’s gotta be more impactful on that end. He gets steals, but I wouldn’t call him a great defender. He’s got the ability to be much better defensively.
Q: Ace Bailey?
A: He’s interesting. He’s got a really high ceiling. He can make shots from all three levels. He’s incredibly confident in himself, which I actually feel is a positive. But not many guys are able to make the degree of difficulty shots that he can take, and then the challenge shots that he can take. A good bit of his scoring came from the mid-range, but he can stretch it and also he’s pretty good around the rim. He’s not a great decision-maker right now, but he’s still just 18 years old, and playmaking is not at the top of the list of attributes with him, but he still had 39 against Indiana, 38 against Northwestern, and he’s got the ability to be a really good defender. He’s got a 7-foot wingspan at 6-8, 6-9, whatever he is. He’s got a lot of ability and a lot of potential to be really, really good.
Q: VJ Edgecombe?
A: Probably the best athlete in the draft. Explosive, and he can really be impactful at both ends of the floor because he’s got the ability to be an outstanding defender. He’s only one of two players in the Big 12 last year that averaged over 15 points and two steals. He set a Baylor freshman record for steals in a season. He kind of reminds me of a young Victor Oladipo at the same age and maybe Dwyane Wade at the same age. It doesn’t mean he’s going to reach those heights as a player, but he has a lot of ability. Very competitive, good offensive rebounder … but an elite athlete, had one of the best vertical leaps at the combine.
Q: Kon Knueppel?
A: Arguably the best shooter in the draft. He’s not the kind of athlete that Cooper Flagg is. He doesn’t have that length and athleticism, but still, with his strength and his savvy, he’s been able to finish around the rim. But where he’s really good is as a shooter. As a corner shooter, most of his shots are catch-and-shoot, but he shot 48 percent as a corner 3-point shooter, and one of the few guys in the country who shot 48 percent from the field, 41 from 3 and 91 from the foul line. When Flagg was out, he really stepped forward. He’s not an elite athlete from a run-and-jump standpoint. He can hang defensively but defense, especially in isolation, isn’t his strength, but he gets a ton of loose balls, he’s always around the ball and he’s really tough. He had the highest plus-minus in Division I. Cooper Flagg was second.
Q: Khaman Maluach?
A: He’s a lob threat, shot blocker, rebounder, excellent offensive rebounder. He’s got a 7-7 wingspan so he can affect things around the rim. He can run north-south but he’s not the most agile going east-west, so he can have some issues defending out of the perimeter, but at 7-foot, you’re not expecting him to do that and he played mostly in drop coverage at Duke. Really good finisher around the rim, shot 71 percent from the field. Really good on screen-roll-lob, so he’s difficult to deal with [77 dunks].
Q: Tre Johnson?
A: He and Knueppel are the best shooters in the draft but Johnson can shoot it off the dribble better than Knueppel can. Knueppel’s a better standstill shooter. Elite length — he’s got 6-7 wingspan, he’s only like 6-5, 6-6. But as good a 3-point shooter as you’re going to find in this draft, both catch-and-shoot and off the dribble. He’s very efficient at pick-and-roll. He’s a pretty good passer. I think he’s got good speed, he did really well at the combine in the lane agility so he can really move his feet, and I think that indicates that he can be a much more impactful defender. He’s a scorer, and he’s just 19 years old, so he’s got a lot of growth ahead of him.
Q: Jeremiah Fears?
A: He’s probably the best pure ball handler in the draft, and he can get wherever he wants to go with the ball. Really dynamic as a shot creator, and does a great job at getting fouled. He gets to the free-throw line but he can really get into the paint. He can create shots for himself, he can create fouls, he can create shots for others, good passer, and as good a pick-and-roll guard as you’re going to find in this draft. The problem he has is he’s not a great perimeter shooter. He shot 28 percent from 3. I think he can certainly improve that. He’s got really good speed, and then over his last nine games he played his best, and he had half a dozen games where he scored 25 points or more and most of those came against Top 25 teams. Good free-throw shooter, he gets there a lot, he shot over six free throws a game as a point guard.
Q: Carter Bryant?
A: Prototypical 3-and-D wing. Long arms. He’s athletic. He gets steals, deflections. He’s not a big-time scorer. All of his 3s came in catch-and-shoot situations. He’s not a guy that’s going to put it on the deck and pull up, but he was second on the Arizona team in blocked shots. When he was the primary defender on a guy, his assignment shot 37 percent on the season. He’s one of nine freshmen that had more than 25 blocks and 25 steals this season. He’s very, very talented, and had one of the highest vertical leaps, really good in the three-quarter sprint. He’s got a near 7-foot wingspan. For a 3-and-D kinda versatile defensive wing, he shows a lot of promise at just 19 years old.
Q: Kasparas Jakucionis?
A: Talented. He’s got a great feel, especially at pick-and-roll, he’s sort of a playmaker in that regard, he can pass and find people. The issue that Jakucionis had this last year were the number of turnovers that he had, just way too many. But great feel for the game and a really good understanding of the game. I think he’s a decent shooter, but I wouldn’t call him a great shooter. He only shot like 25 percent from 3 over his last 14 or 15 games. He can move his feet, he’s got decent size and he can drive it. Another guy who does a good job using his body and getting fouled.
Q: Who else are you high on that could go high?
A: I think Collin Murray-Boyles has a chance to go in the top 10. He’s about 6-7, 6-8, got a 7-foot wingspan, really versatile defender. Left-hander, really knows how to play. He’s relentless defensively. Gets steals, deflections, blocks. Can guard anybody, and plays really hard. Excellent rebounder, really good offensive rebounder. He’s just not a shooter. He scores most of his points in the painted area. He’s the only player in the Southeastern Conference, the best league in the country, that had over 40 steals and 40 blocks. Good at finishing at the rim, but he only shot like 30 percent on jump shots. With his feel and dedication, I think he’ll improve that over time. I like him a lot.
Q: Is Derik Queen in that conversation?
A: Maybe. He’s got really good footwork. He’s an excellent rebounder, and he’s got good hands. He’s not a big-time athlete, I think that’s the one thing that would kind of set him back a little bit. He’s had 15 double-doubles in the season, he’s an outstanding rebounder, he averaged nine a game and 2 ¹/₂ of those were offensive rebounds. His testing results at the combine were not great as far as his ability to move his feet and run and all that. He’s down at the bottom five of lane agility, shuttle, the three-quarter sprint and also in the vertical leap categories.
Q: Noa Essengue?
A: He plays really hard, that’s what sets him apart. But very versatile defensively, he’s a good cutter, good offensive rebounder, and with that length and speed, he can play the vertical game, but he’s also disruptive defensively and what I would call a secondary shot blocker. He’s not like a 7-foot-2 rim protector like Maluach is, but he can block and change shots. He’s just not polished offensively. He doesn’t shoot it off the dribble yet and he struggled a little bit shooting it from 3-point range.
Q: A Big East Conference prospect: St. John’s RJ Luis?
A: He’s probably a second-round pick, if at all. He may go undrafted. Sometimes if you’re late in the second round, going undrafted is better because you get to choose where you go. He’s a good wing scorer, he’s got a middle game, can get to the basket. But I think he’s got some improving to do. But he’s a solid second-round prospect, I would say.
Q: Liam McNeeley?
A: He’s going to be a first-round pick. He’s strong, he plays really hard and he’s got a good feel for how to play. He had his best games against the best teams last year at UConn. He’s good in transition. Against Top-25 opponents, he averaged over 20 a game. He communicates on defense. He’s not what I would call a big-time athlete but it’s not like he’s unathletic. He moved his feet really, really well, like he can run and he’s pretty good laterally. He’s got this knack for making the right play, and I like how competitive he is. And he can shoot it. He’s a solid shooter, he shot 32, 33 percent from 3, I think he could have been much better, so he’s a little bit streaky, but I think he’s got a good stroke and good mechanics, so I don’t see how getting more consistent is going to be beyond his grasp.
Q: Walter Clayton Jr.?
A: He had as good a year as any guard in the country, and his clutch performance in the [NCAA] Tournament — he had three 30-point games and I think he scored 35 clutch points and that was by far the most in the NCAA Tournament this last year. This year he became a much more focused defender, and I think he improved his playmaking, and he can make really tough shots. He’s not a big guard and he’s not a lengthy guard but that kind of shot-making and that clutch gene. … He’ll be a first-round pick, the question is does he go 18 or 28? He can go anywhere in that range.
Q: Thomas Sorber?
A: I think he’s probably the most underrated big guy in the draft, you don’t hear a lot of talk about him. He got hurt during the season for Georgetown, but he’s one of these freak lengthy big guys that can really rebound, and he can block shots. They haven’t had a big guy like that probably since Alonzo Mourning that could affect things on both ends of the floor like he can. I would be very surprised if he’s not taken in the lottery. I think that’s the kind of ability that he has. With his ability to block shots, to change shots and to rebound the ball and finish. … He’s got really good strength, but his defensive tools are elite and he’s got a very good touch. One of the best rebounders in the country. He’s the first Big East freshman that averaged two blocks and still shot over 50 percent from the field in the last 25 years. Non-Big East players that did that recently were guys like Chet Holmgren and Evan Mobley. He’s just not a jump shooting big guy and if he has to switch out on a guard in a pick-and-roll situation he doesn’t have great foot speed, but at 6-10 and a 7-6 wingspan, you’re not as concerned about that. He’s a force in the paint, really good finisher around the rim.
Q: Ryan Kalkbrenner?
A: Kalkbrenner is 7-foot tall, another long-armed guy, he’s kind of a straight up-and-down big guy but really good defender, rim protector, doesn’t get out of position very much, and a very good rebounder. A guy that can set a screen and roll to the basket. Keeps it high when he rebounds or when he catches it so he doesn’t get it stripped very often. I see him kind of at the end of the first round, top of the second.
Q: Kam Jones?
A: He had to take over the point guard position for Tyler Kolek, and that’s what took away arguably the best playmaker in college basketball for Marquette. He stepped in as a scorer and became the point guard. Good passer, handled the ball very well, and still averaged about 19 a game. So I think one of the underrated guards, he doesn’t have a ton of size, but man, that dude plays hard at both ends of the floor. I project him as a second-round pick, but I don’t think you’d want to pass on him in the second round. He’s a tough kid.
Q: Eric Dixon?
A: Left-hander. Really became perimeter 3-point threat in addition to doing those Villanova backdowns where he could use his body. Tough, hard-nosed, undersized as a forward, but that scoring piece is very effective.
Q: Any thoughts on Dan Hurley coaching the Knicks?
A: If he’s interested in coaching in the NBA, I’m sure it’s available to him. It’s going to require an adjustment, certainly. He’s going to lose a few more games in the NBA than he does in college, but he’s certainly capable of doing it, it’s just a question whether he wants to. It used to be people would say, “Well, can a college coach coach in the NBA?” Of course they can, they always could. … Of course he’s capable of doing it. You’d hate to see him leave UConn, but at the same time, I’m a huge NBA fan, so I’d get to watch him no matter what.
English (US)