Man Tyran Stokes is a fascinating #1 projected pick. Loved clipping together his highs in transition, as a passer/slasher, what he can when engaged defensively, but some MAJOR questions such as how well/often is he gonna shoot it, can he dust the character/effort narratives, etc. What do you guys think of him?

I was thinking about the situation and I remembered with the Clips forfeiting picks that only 29 players will be guaranteed a standard rookie contract in those years.

Despite their brothers being two former top 3 picks, It’s likely Cayden and Ace won’t have the ceilings that Cam and Cooper project to have at the NBA level, but for those that have frequently tuned the Boozer and Flagg brother’s college careers and even their HS careers, how many years do you think Cayden and Ace needs to spend in college before going to the NBA? Do you think Cayden or Ace have lottery pick potential? And finally, what do you think Cayden and Ace both project to be at the NBA level?

Since 1989, when the NBA draft went to two rounds, 264 NBA players have been drafted without ever playing a minute in an NBA game. (From the wikipedia article I took this data from, it was unclear whether these were players who never signed to a team or players who were on the team but never played).
Almost all (257) of these were second round picks, but there were 7 first round picks that never played as well. This number was fairly consistent, around 8-12 players per draft class (with a few dips) between 1989 to 2015. In 2015, it peaked at 16 picks who never played. After that year, which was the year two way contracts were introduced, the number has gone down, to 2-6 picks per year who didn't play.
Some of these are probably players whose skills didn't fit into the rotation. Some of them were probably injuries, and some were players in foreign leagues who didn't choose to relocate.
(There are also plenty of undrafted players who did play in the NBA)

The biggest takeaway for me is just how competitive the NBA is. Out of all the prospects, only 60 get drafted per year, but the real story is even more strict than that, because typically around 8-10 of those wouldn't even qualify to ever play a single minute of garbage time in the NBA.

Brandon McCoy just suffered an ACL injury and has been officially announced as out of the upcoming season at Michigan. I have heard a lot of hype behind him coming into Michigan and the tape I saw was impressive. Tough blow for the kid and I hope he will be able to recover fully for a push at the 2028 draft (assuming this will stop him from entering in 2027)

Berrouet is from Texas and in the 2028 high school class, but played for Latvia (his mother's home country) and led them to gold in the U16 Eurobasket while posting record-breaking efficiency numbers.

Berrouet averaged 23.6 points, 15.0 rebounds, 4.1 assists, and 3.6 blocks per game for the competition, shooting 65% from 2, 39% from 3, and 76% from the foul line.

He was also 1st team all EYBL in the U16 division and is young for the class (June 2010 birthday, same as JJ Crawford who is the #1 ranked class of '29 player and didn't play very much for USA's U17 World Cup team), so I was surprised to see him not have any writeups here yet or shoot up to the very top of the rankings for his class.

Whether that's due to his dual-nationality situation (not playing for team USA and then dominating European basketball while not being from there) or his unorthodox game/frame (more athletic Allen Graves would be the first comparison that came to mind for me), I don't know, but he could establish himself as one of the top high school prospects regardless of class this coming season.

2026 FIBA U16 Eurobasket Highlights

LATHAN SOMMERVILLE NBA SCOUTING REPORT

The physicality, toughness and mobility makes Sommerville one of my favorite long-term center prospects for the NBA. He has serious potential to have a solid pro career, and here’s why that’s the case: https://edemirnba.substack.com/p/lathan-sommerville-nba-scouting-report?r=aj7d

Draftroom and Draftnet almost have same names in the top 10. But the order is a bit different.

They agreed Joaquim is #1 prospect in the class right now. They both have Kusturica high. But Draftnet surprisingly have AJ Williams second.

Draftroom prefer Spears/Rosser. While Draftnet prefer Black and Soliman.

Who do you think has better mock draft so far?

These are the top prospects in 2028 Draft aside from Joaquim and Kusturica.

Anthony Thompson's defensive impact is undeniable. He shadows opponents and locks down his individual matchups consistently. And off the ball, he offers stifling rim protection, balanced closeouts, and sharp rotations. While also having a burner from deep range and an extremely brief release. Anthony's potential is a defensive stopper wing shooter that brings intriguing ball skills. And I expect him to be a lottery prospect and bring an impact that I would compare to Herb Jones's game.

I was thinking about this and I don't see a single draft where he isn't top 3 apart from 2003(the Pistons wanted a center badly).

All young with disappointing starts to their careers. Looks like all three could be done within the next four years. So who is most likely of this group to make it and turn their career around?

Yes, he is same batch as Nikola Kusturica. They are teammates in Serbian youth team.

Matija Lukic is a 6'7" - 6'8" Guard/Forward. He is similar in height and size of Kusturica.

Nikola Kusturica is projected top 3 pick in 2028 Nba draft. But Matija Lukic might also get a look.

Lukic won the MVP award in Basketball without Borders recently.

These are his fiba highlights:

https://youtu.be/a0b-NTv-BoA?si=6ed9D2B_uq5MP_Wu

https://youtu.be/t4PZBB9bgXE?si=j7G9tm2FEIxRcEPs

ANTON BONKE NBA SCOUTING REPORT

He’s the next big thing in the Big Ten and here’s why I believe he has a clear chance to be on a NBA roster next year. I go in-depth into a feasible NBA role for him to grow into: https://edemirnba.substack.com/p/anton-bonke-nba-scouting-report?r=aj7d

He will be eligible in 2028 Nba draft. But he is already drawing attention from scouts.

Do you think he is legit 6'8" - 6'9" SG?

Or more like 6'7"?

I want to see what he will look like in the nba and also what his stats in college?

- 1- Tyran Stokes (SF)- Sacramento Kings

- 2- Caleb Holt (SG)- Houston Rockets (via Nets)

- 3- Bruce Branch III (SF)- New Orleans Pelicans (via Bucks)

- 4- Jordan Smith Jr (PG/SG)- Memphis Grizzlies

- 5- Stefan Joksimovic (PG/SG)- OKC Thunder (via Clippers) 🇸🇮

- 6- Anthony Thompson (SF)- Chicago Bulls

- 7- Cameron Williams (PF)- Atlanta Hawks (via Pelicans)

- 8- Brandon McCoy Jr (PG/SG)- Charlotte Hornets (via Magic)

- 9- Baba Oladotun (SF/PF)- Washington Wizards

- 10- Braylon Mullins (SG)- Charlotte Hornets

- 11- Hugo Yigma Moukouri (SF)- Memphis Grizzlies (via Jazz)

- 12- Amari Allen (SF)- Houston Rockets (via Suns)

- 13- Thomas Haugh (SF/PF)- San Antonio Spurs (via Hawks)

- 14- Dylan Mingo (PG)- Orlando Magic

- 15- Patrick Ngongba II (C)- Golden State Warriors

- 16- Ivan Kharchenkov (SF)- Indiana Pacers

- 17- Tounde Yessoufou (SG/SF)- Portland Trail Blazers

- 18- Sayon Keita (C)- Charlotte Hornets (via Heat)

- 19- Jason Crowe Jr (PG)- Memphis Grizzlies (via Lakers)

- 20- Miikka Muurinen (PG)- Brooklyn Nets (via Rockets)

- 21- Luigi Suigo (C)- Los Angeles Clippers (via Raptors)

- 22- Quentin Coleman (SG)- Utah Jazz (via Cavs)

- 23- JJ Andrews (SF)- Phoenix Suns (via Wolves)

- 24- Motiejus Krivas (C)- Detroit Pistons

- 25- Christian Collins (SF/PF)- OKC Thunder (via Nuggets)

- 26- Milan Momciliovic (SF/PF)- Philadelphia 76ers

- 27- Davis Fogle (SG)- Boston Celtics

- 28- Billy Richmond III (SG/SF)- Brooklyn Nets (via Knicks)

- 29- Alijah Arenas (SG)- OKC Thunder (via Spurs)

- 30- Tyler Tanner (PG)- Toronto Raptors (via Thunder)

Nick Martinelli if he had a projectable NBA frame and + athleticism. Both great at getting to their dominant left hand with an array of mid-post moves and are comfortable shooting from floater range. Spears also is developing the face up jump shot. Obviously Spears upside is tenfold but I can’t help but see the similarities in what was often seen as a unique skillset. Am I crazy? Let me know

Among the crop of obvious talents returning to college hoops last draft cycle are the any guys that are sprinkled in there that you feel are sorely undervalued in this upcoming draft class? For me personally my criteria for this is players who played at a smaller school and has outperformed at said school en route to transferring up into a higher conference OR players that were overshadowed by the larger talent at their school OR bench players that played well enough in their role that you believe they are due for a huge breakout. I'd even like to throw out a few examples to get the ball rolling:

Jackson Holcombe - Utah Valley Wolverines >>> Utah Utes

Isaiah Johnson - Colorado Buffalo >>> Texas Longhorns

Bukky Oboye - Santa Clara Broncos >>> Auburn Tigers

Chance Mallory - Virginia Cavaliers

Nolan Minnesale - St Thomas Tommie's >>> Marquette Golden Eagles

Looking to figure out who I should be diving into first in this class. Any suggestions?

Caleb Holt is a rare breed of prospect at the guard position. His impact in the trenches is undeniable. He affects the possession battle at an extremely high level. He rebounds the ball like a big, and rips ball handlers like they owe him money. His defensive and athletic profiles are the main flashes that Caleb shows so far. However, his off-the-catch shooting, playmaking feel, and downhill tenacity make his potential as a prospect one that cannot be ignored. Caleb Holt has a chance to be the best player in this class if the right skills develop.