NBA Draft 2025 Open Thread

[hrdboild]

I love it. It's an effort statistic and the more we get of that, the better.

I could get on board with Devin Carter, Nique Clifford, and Keegan Murray at the 1-2-3 positions with a new frontcourt if that's the plan. That's three guys on the perimeter who are all hard workers, can defend their position, and should keep most opposing backcourts off the glass. I'm lukewarm on this pick mostly because our front office hasn't done anything yet to indicate that they're going to commit to the young guys. Drafting one of the oldest players in the draft at a position where we have no immediate need just feels like business as usual to me for an endlessly risk-averse Sacramento Kings front office.

And if it is business as usual, we can expect them to waffle around adding B-tier free agents to further clutter the depth chart while refusing to sell off the veterans until they lose almost all of their value. If we sign someone like Dennis Schröder and roll with LaVine, Sabonis, and DeMar in the starting lineup again while a better, tougher squad of hungry young guys rides the bench I will not find much joy in watching the Kings next season. I look forward to being pleasantly surprised though if this Kings front office is actually built different than the rest.

 

[MizzouKing]

The one thing it also shows is that apparently the insistence on defense and intangibles isn't totally out the window. Carter, Keon, Jones, Clifford, and Keegan. They fit the talk coming in. Now hopefully common sense continues to prevail.

It's like they're doing what they said they were gonna do.... weird!

 

[QWERTYLICIOUS]

Monte McNair: I will go down as the best General Manager in Sacramento Kings history when it comes to managing my assets, especially those assets directly tied to draft picks.
Scott Perry: Hold my beer, *****!!!

 

[The_Jamal]

I could get on board with Devin Carter, Nique Clifford, and Keegan Murray at the 1-2-3 positions with a new frontcourt if that's the plan. That's three guys on the perimeter who are all hard workers, can defend their position, and should keep most opposing backcourts off the glass. I'm lukewarm on this pick mostly because our front office hasn't done anything yet to indicate that they're going to commit to the young guys. Drafting one of the oldest players in the draft at a position where we have no immediate need just feels like business as usual to me for an endlessly risk-averse Sacramento Kings front office.

And if it is business as usual, we can expect them to waffle around adding B-tier free agents to further clutter the depth chart while refusing to sell off the veterans until they lose almost all of their value. If we sign someone like Dennis Schröder and roll with LaVine, Sabonis, and DeMar in the starting lineup again while a better, tougher squad of hungry young guys rides the bench I will not find much joy in watching the Kings next season. I look forward to being pleasantly surprised though if this Kings front office is actually built different than the rest.

Why would you ever draft for need?

And a a good defensive wing is exactly what this team needs anyway?

 

[kingdivac]

Given what the Spurs got today I think that is a good trade especially with top 16 protections. Plus it is more reason to root even harder against the spurs. lol.

Why all the hate for the Spurs - Or does the lol indicate otherwise

 

[sactowndog]

We got big rebounding guards down. Clifford averaged nearly 10 as a 2-3 tweener and Carter averaged 9 as a combo guard in his last college season.

I don’t really see how Perry couldn’t like Carter being somebody that traded for Josh Hart. He has more offensive and defensive potential too. Hope both of these guys stick around and we use Monk and DDR to acquire bigger forwards and a point.

I’m not worried about Clifford’s size. He was about 6’6 1/2 without shoes. He’ll be playing in shoes and all his athletic measurements were pretty remarkable except for wingspan but he has speed, strength, hops, and intelligence.

Not that I don’t want the Kings to find wingspan length. Perhaps tomorrow.

Not sure where you are getting your numbers. The combine has him listed at 6’5.25” and as a PG/SG.

Draft Combine Anthrometric | Stats | NBA.com

NBA Draft Combine Anthrometric data

www.nba.com

Compared with Carter, last years steal of the draft, and Keon…..

Nique
Height. Weight. SR. wingspan
6’5.25. 202lbs. 8’6.5. 6’8”

Carter
6’2.25”. 193. 8’2”. 6’8.75

Keon Ellis
6’4”.75 174. 8’6”. 6’8.5”

LaVine
6’4.5”. 180.9. 8’4”. 6’8.25”

Somehow the Kings have a propensity to draft wherever they have the most stacked talent. The dude is literally a direct overlap with Keon except some added bulk.

 

[BuddyBuckets]

Mixed emotions. Trade was solid value, drafting another shooting guard though...
But if the long term plan is to rebuild this roster from basically the studs... If I envision a roster where Demar, LaVine, Monk all disappear?

Carter, Keon, Clifford, Keegan is a great start to the 1-3 spots. I can squint and see a Pacers/OKC vision where these guys occupy the roles of Nembhard, Shepphard, Nemsmith, or Wallace, Caruso, Dort, Wiggins.

The problem is we need to fix our top 3.

 

[datamanwes]

I am like that too. I do not get on laptop during games or the draft but am on as soon as they are over. We got a very good player in Nique. Good size, good defender and good in the passing lane and like last years pick a good rebounder for a guard. Plue he can finish at the rim. I am sure he was our target all along being he was dressed in purple. Plus the trade was a good one. Glad we didnt give the farm away like a lot of others today. We still have tomorrow and free agency as well as trades to build what we need for next season but a great start.

 

[KingsFanSince85]

Tristan Da Silva. Who a lot of us liked last year.

Quick glance around, seems like a quality wing, with real on-ball skills, can shoot it, defend multiple positions. Older and a late break-out, is why he fell to 24.

Argh! I knew it was gonna be easy, but I just couldn’t put my finger on it.

Stupid AI on google kept giving me Tyus Jones and “The Dream Shake” in an NBA context.

Thanks for clarifying. Yeah, I remember the Da Silva hype. Hopefully he plays bigger than his measurements.

 

[pdxKingsFan]

Why all the hate for the Spurs - Or does the lol indicate otherwise

because they are constantly gifted generational picks and they also get my favorite players (Sean Elliott, Carter Bryant) and because the stunt Fox pulled.

But really it's because if they stink in 2027 we get a pick.

 

[Kingz19]

Not sure where you are getting your numbers. The combine has him listed at 6’5.25” and as a PG/SG.

Draft Combine Anthrometric | Stats | NBA.com

NBA Draft Combine Anthrometric data

www.nba.com

Compared with Carter, last years steal of the draft, and Keon…..

Nique
Height. Weight. SR. wingspan
6’5.25. 202lbs. 8’6.5. 6’8”

Carter
6’2.25”. 193. 8’2”. 6’8.75

Keon Ellis
6’4”.75 174. 8’6”. 6’8.5”

LaVine
6’4.5”. 180.9. 8’4”. 6’8.25”

Somehow the Kings have a propensity to draft wherever they have the most stacked talent. The dude is literally a direct overlap with Keon except some added bulk.

Tankathon had his combine numbers listed. Maybe didn’t update his height from his college listing like they did the other players. Or one of them has a misprint

 

[BuddyBuckets]

Not sure where you are getting your numbers. The combine has him listed at 6’5.25” and as a PG/SG.

Draft Combine Anthrometric | Stats | NBA.com

NBA Draft Combine Anthrometric data

www.nba.com

Compared with Carter, last years steal of the draft, and Keon…..

Nique
Height. Weight. SR. wingspan
6’5.25. 202lbs. 8’6.5. 6’8”

Carter
6’2.25”. 193. 8’2”. 6’8.75

Keon Ellis
6’4”.75 174. 8’6”. 6’8.5”

LaVine
6’4.5”. 180.9. 8’4”. 6’8.25”

Somehow the Kings have a propensity to draft wherever they have the most stacked talent.

I mostly agree with you. But playing devils advocate and using the numbers you posted.
Nique
Height. Weight. SR. wingspan
6’5.25. 202lbs. 8’6.5. 6’8”

Josh Hart
6'5.5. 203.6lbs. 8'3.5. 6'8.5

Hart was also 22 years old, and considered a shooting guard coming out. The measurements are actually extremely similar.

 

[KingsFanSince85]

Mixed emotions. Trade was solid value, drafting another shooting guard though...

That was my initial thought as well. But as a proponent of BPA, I can live with it if this kid was indeed best available at 24.

I also do not hate the fact that it is a late first rounder (17-30) or two 2nd rounders sent out to get him.

Seems like a worthwhile gamble.

 

[sactowndog]

Mixed emotions. Trade was solid value, drafting another shooting guard though...
But if the long term plan is to rebuild this roster from basically the studs... If I envision a roster where Demar, LaVine, Monk all disappear?

Carter, Keon, Clifford, Keegan is a great start to the 1-3 spots. I can squint and see a Pacers/OKC vision where these guys occupy the roles of Nembhard, Shepphard, Nemsmith, or Wallace, Caruso, Dort, Wiggins.

The problem is we need to fix our top 3.

Yeah if somehow they manage to trade LaVine and have Leon starting and Clifford backing him up I will gladly come back and eat my words but I don’t see it happening.

 

[Tetsujin]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1938087711518372240

 

[QWERTYLICIOUS]

In my perfect world, here's to Maxime Raynaud falling another 12 picks.
Yes, I understand that my perfect world most likely exists within a dream, but crazier things have happened on draft day.
Maybe Tyrese Proctor is available at 42???

 

[kingdivac]

Getting a pick earlier much better than none at all. Highlights look fairly encouraging....already a better defender than LaVine without stepping on the court. Clifford likes his turnaround fadeaway.....alot,...... by the highlights.....only thing lacking was left hand around the rim, but many players lack it. Good strength/power for his size. Thx to the Thunder for being happy with their title and saying what do we care about late 1st round this year, we are the champions....

 

[sactowndog]

I mostly agree with you. But playing devils advocate and using the numbers you posted.
Nique
Height. Weight. SR. wingspan
6’5.25. 202lbs. 8’6.5. 6’8”

Josh Hart
6'5.5. 203.6lbs. 8'3.5. 6'8.5

Hart was also 22 years old, and considered a shooting guard coming out. The measurements are actually extremely similar.

Yeah they are. And if he becomes Hart with his feel for the game so he can stretch up great. But Hart was at Villanova and a National Champ. He is very much an anomaly.

Here are height and Wingspans for every SF in the NBA

https://craftednba.com/player-traits/length

 

[hrdboild]

Why would you ever draft for need?

And a a good defensive wing is exactly what this team needs anyway?

It's not about the pick. It's about showing that they have a plan beyond drafting 1 guy and calling it a day. They did that last year and Devin Carter only played in 400 minutes. Carter was also hailed as a steal where we got him, a gamer, the most NBA ready player in the draft, a defensive dynamo, a force on the boards. And I'm not saying he isn't all of those things -- I was and am still a Devin Carter fan -- but at some point this organization has to make a choice between continuing to fight for a play-in spot with guys who are never going to be good enough to win a playoff series or trying to build a winning identity around some talented young guys instead the way Houston and OKC have. I'm not hiding that I think one of those paths forward is significantly better than the other.

All we heard before the draft is that Keon Ellis and Keegan Murray are the two guys who are absolutely staying. If that's the case, yeah it is a little puzzling to me that Nique Clifford ends up being the guy our front office wanted badly enough to do something our franchise almost never does and trade back into the first round. I guess that means they must view either Ellis or Clifford as a deluxe bench player? It's not a coincidence that most of the prospects I was interested in from this year's draft are frontcourt players -- Khaman Maluach, Thomas Sorber, Derik Queen, Rasheer Fleming. There weren't a lot of tiers in this draft -- just different styles of player. If we had drafted any of those frontcourt guys it starts to look to me like we're committing to getting younger across the board. Taking the guy they think is BPA and leaving the rest of the roster untouched is not a strong enough statement to convince me anything has changed. I'm not unhappy with this pick exactly, I just have to score it as incomplete. I only like it if Scott Perry and co. follows this up with a fire sale of all of our defensively-challenged highly-paid veterans.

 

[Rain man]

Not sure where you are getting your numbers. The combine has him listed at 6’5.25” and as a PG/SG.

Draft Combine Anthrometric | Stats | NBA.com

NBA Draft Combine Anthrometric data

www.nba.com

Compared with Carter, last years steal of the draft, and Keon…..

Nique
Height. Weight. SR. wingspan
6’5.25. 202lbs. 8’6.5. 6’8”

Carter
6’2.25”. 193. 8’2”. 6’8.75

Keon Ellis
6’4”.75 174. 8’6”. 6’8.5”

LaVine
6’4.5”. 180.9. 8’4”. 6’8.25”

Somehow the Kings have a propensity to draft wherever they have the most stacked talent. The dude is literally a direct overlap with Keon except some added bulk.

Some added bulk? 30 pounds is pretty significant bulk. Especially when a lot of people think Keon could guard 3s if he was stronger. He is basically a much thicker/stronger Keon, with incredible rebounding. You could do a lot worse then Keon and Nique guarding at the 2/3.

 

[kingdivac]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1938087711518372240

Some younger folks may not remember Dennis Rodman - "Mr dive for the rebound"

 

[QWERTYLICIOUS]

Some younger folks may not remember Dennis Rodman - "Mr dive for the rebound"

I feel old!!!

 

[sactowndog]

Clifford brings the number of players on the roster for next season to eleven:

https://www.spotrac.com/nba/sacramento-kings/overview

There is a lot of room to add talent, apart from any trades that may take place.

And depending on how you count them the number of 2 guards to 5:
DeRozen, LaVine, Ellis, Clifford, Monk

Half seems like a good number

 

[The_Jamal]

It's not about the pick. It's about showing that they have a plan beyond drafting 1 guy and calling it a day. They did that last year and Devin Carter only played in 400 minutes. Carter was also hailed as a steal where we got him, a gamer, the most NBA ready player in the draft, a defensive dynamo, a force on the boards. And I'm not saying he isn't all of those things -- I was and am still a Devin Carter fan -- but at some point this organization has to make a choice between continuing to fight for a play-in spot with guys who are never going to be good enough to win a playoff series or trying to build a winning identity around some talented young guys instead the way Houston and OKC have. I'm not hiding that I think one of those paths forward is significantly better than the other.

All we heard before the draft is that Keon Ellis and Keegan Murray are the two guys who are absolutely staying. If that's the case, yeah it is a little puzzling to me that Nique Clifford ends up being the guy our front office wanted badly enough to do something our franchise almost never does and trade back into the first round. I guess that means they must view either Ellis or Clifford as a deluxe bench player? It's not a coincidence that most of the prospects I was interested in from this year's draft are frontcourt players -- Khaman Maluach, Thomas Sorber, Derik Queen, Rasheer Fleming. There weren't a lot of tiers in this draft -- just different styles of player. If we had drafted any of those frontcourt guys it starts to look to me like we're committing to getting younger across the board. Taking the guy they think is BPA and leaving the rest of the roster untouched is not a strong enough statement to convince me anything has changed. I'm not unhappy with this pick exactly, I just have to score it as incomplete. I only like it if Scott Perry and co. follows this up with a fire sale of all of our defensively-challenged highly-paid veterans.

Sorry, this is a ridiculous statement in June. In October, before game 1 and nothings really changed? OK sure, you have a point. But nobody considers this the only move the FO needs to make this offseason. Of course not.

But we have now have a 2nd data point on Perry. Took a do it all wing, thats seemingly excellent on defense and very much fits the mold of a lot of very successful complimentary guys on playoff teams. Didn't overpay to trade for the pick.

Did you expect the roster to be fully revamped by now? Why?

I've said the multiple times, but people should be ready for some serious changes. Otherwise, we would have stayed the status quo with Monte.

 

[Capt. Factorial]

Not sure where you are getting your numbers. The combine has him listed at 6’5.25” and as a PG/SG.

They play in shoes. Most listings that are NOT from the combine list players' height in shoes.

Compared with Carter, last years steal of the draft, and Keon…..

Nique
Height. Weight. SR. wingspan
6’5.25. 202lbs. 8’6.5. 6’8”

Barefoot. Will play at 6'6.5"

Carter
6’2.25”. 193. 8’2”. 6’8.75

Barefoot. Plays at 6'3.5"

Keon Ellis
6’4”.75 174. 8’6”. 6’8.5”

In shoes

LaVine
6’4.5”. 180.9. 8’4”. 6’8.25”

Barefoot. Plays at 6'5.75"

Somehow the Kings have a propensity to draft wherever they have the most stacked talent. The dude is literally a direct overlap with Keon except some added bulk.

Almost two inches taller and 25+ pounds of bulk. Not exactly overlapping.

 

[kingdivac]

If Scott Perry wanted Ben Saraf he would have taken him at #24 so obviously he wasn't a target for our front office. I can see the reasons to make the Nique Clifford pick (he's a solid bet to be a steady NBA role-player who contributes in a lot of areas) but I don't personally see him as a big upside guy -- more of a depth pick. Saraf would have made sense as a playmaker on a team that needs one. We already had a logjam at SG and I don't see the one stand-out skill that Clifford brings to the table which makes it easer to trade Keon Ellis and open up minutes for him. I would have taken Rasheer Fleming given who was left on the board but I want most of this roster gone so I'm prepared to be disappointed.

I just want LaVine gone.......but doubt they can move his contract. As mentioned, "Bulls West".

 

[Joshyjosh31]

It's not about the pick. It's about showing that they have a plan beyond drafting 1 guy and calling it a day. They did that last year and Devin Carter only played in 400 minutes. Carter was also hailed as a steal where we got him, a gamer, the most NBA ready player in the draft, a defensive dynamo, a force on the boards. And I'm not saying he isn't all of those things -- I was and am still a Devin Carter fan -- but at some point this organization has to make a choice between continuing to fight for a play-in spot with guys who are never going to be good enough to win a playoff series or trying to build a winning identity around some talented young guys instead the way Houston and OKC have. I'm not hiding that I think one of those paths forward is significantly better than the other.

All we heard before the draft is that Keon Ellis and Keegan Murray are the two guys who are absolutely staying. If that's the case, yeah it is a little puzzling to me that Nique Clifford ends up being the guy our front office wanted badly enough to do something our franchise almost never does and trade back into the first round. I guess that means they must view either Ellis or Clifford as a deluxe bench player? It's not a coincidence that most of the prospects I was interested in from this year's draft are frontcourt players -- Khaman Maluach, Thomas Sorber, Derik Queen, Rasheer Fleming. There weren't a lot of tiers in this draft -- just different styles of player. If we had drafted any of those frontcourt guys it starts to look to me like we're committing to getting younger across the board. Taking the guy they think is BPA and leaving the rest of the roster untouched is not a strong enough statement to convince me anything has changed. I'm not unhappy with this pick exactly, I just have to score it as incomplete. I only like it if Scott Perry and co. follows this up with a fire sale of all of our defensively-challenged highly-paid veterans.

I don’t think Nique or Ellis are starters especially with Carter here

 

[sactowndog]

Some added bulk? 30 pounds is pretty significant bulk. Especially when a lot of people think Keon could guard 3s if he was stronger. He is basically a much thicker/stronger Keon, with incredible rebounding. You could do a lot worse than Keon and Nique guarding at the 2/3.

Nique would be severely undersized guarding the three. Frankly I’m tired of saying this crap every single year when Kings fans try to convince themselves yet another drafted guard can “guard the 3”

Go here click on SF so only it’s dark and tell me you think Clifford has the size to guard any of the top 20 guys

https://craftednba.com/player-traits/length

 

[Tetsujin]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1938049541452054795

 

[SacTownKid]

Some added bulk? 30 pounds is pretty significant bulk. Especially when a lot of people think Keon could guard 3s if he was stronger. He is basically a much thicker/stronger Keon, with incredible rebounding. You could do a lot worse then Keon and Nique guarding at the 2/3.

On paper, Carter on POA and Keon and Clifford in the lanes is opposing team nightmare fuel. As for PG, both Carter and Clifford were great in pick and roll in college according to the numbers. Nique and Carter both had assist percentages in the same range as players like Jakucionus and Clayton Jr.