Everyone loves a mock draft this time of year, right?
To cap the penultimate full week before the 2025 NBA Draft begins on June 25 and wraps up on June 26 — and mark that there appears to be a frontrunner for the Sixers' selection at No. 3 overall — I decided to run with my second mock now.
Once again, this mock includes a few trades, but nothing crazy. It will likely be at least vaguely similar to last week's mock, which you can read here.
I will once again provide the disclaimer that none of these predictions are derived from sources or intel, merely guesses based on rumors and my own understanding of team needs, both on the court and when it comes to circumstances related to the salary cap. Let's begin:
No. 1 overall: Dallas Mavericks select Cooper Flagg, F, Duke
Not even the Mavericks can mess this up. Flagg is a generational prospect given his skill and production at such a young age. Somehow, Dallas committing the ultimate basketball sin has been rewarded.
No. 2 overall: San Antonio Spurs select Dylan Harper, PG, Rutgers
San Antonio could have difficult decisions down the line with De'Aaron Fox and Stephon Castle already in their backcourt rotation, but having three stellar guards is a great problem to have. They will figure it out eventually.
No. 3 overall: Philadelphia 76ers select VJ Edgecombe, SG, Baylor
With NBA insider Jake Fischer of The Stein Line reporting on Wednesday that Edgecombe has become the "primary" candidate for the Sixers at No. 3 and already met with the team's higher-ups as well as Tyrese Maxey, it seems reasonable to slot him here for the time being. A trade down still seems very possible, but if they stick and pick Edgecombe may very well be the guy. Fischer later added that the team is going to meet with Ace Bailey soon as well, but Edgecombe's dynamic athleticism and potential to be a two-way force makes him a superior option.
The people who would advocate against taking Edgecombe this high would point to the fact that he is a true guard like Maxey and Jared McCain, while someone like Bailey could play alongside the team's two current long-term building blocks. There are also extremely valid concerns about the extent of Edgecombe's offensive upside; he is a decent shooter but not a great one and lacks the requisite ball-handling skill to be a consistent on-ball scorer right now. Edgecombe is a dominant transition scorer but has a ways to go putting the ball in the basket against set defenses.
For those interested in learning more about the apparent frontrunner to land with the Sixers at No. 3, this pair of stories are for you…
GET TO KNOW VJ EDGECOMBE
What the scouts say | What the numbers say
No. 4 overall: Charlotte Hornets select Ace Bailey, F, Rutgers
Bailey goes one pick later instead, joining LaMelo Ball and Brandon Miller in Charlotte. Ball's passing craft and ability to command an offense could help Bailey settle into a modest role early on, where his shot-making prowess can be utilized while he refines his on-ball abilities.
No. 5 overall: Utah Jazz select Tre Johnson, SG, Texas
Johnson is the best shooter in this draft, and Utah has a strikingly limited amount of young talent given the length of their rebuild to date. They need to hit on this pick, and after Flagg and Harper, Johnson has the clearest path to offensive stardom in the NBA.
No. 6 overall: Washington Wizards select Kon Knueppel, SG/SF, Duke
Washington's most significant draft picks in the early stages of its rebuild have given the organization a sturdy defensive infrastructure; now they can go get someone to raise their capabilities on offense. Knueppel is just that, an excellent shooter with underrated on-ball chops.
No. 7 overall: New Orleans Pelicans select Jeremiah Fears, PG, Oklahoma
The Dejounte Murray trade was a disaster for New Orleans even before Murray ruptured his Achilles. Fears has been one of the biggest winners of the pre-draft process, and if he hits his high-end outcomes, the Pelicans will have their point guard of the future.
No. 8 overall: Brooklyn Nets select Kasparas Jakucionis, PG, Illinois
Brooklyn is desperate for star power and has the means to move up from this spot, but they also have so few sure things on their NBA roster that it might be best to take as many swings as they can. They start with Jakucionis, the jumbo-sized guard who needs to iron some things out.
No. 9 overall: Toronto Raptors select Carter Bryant, F, Arizona
Bryant seems to be rising on boards, and the 19-year-old wing with a wingspan just under 7-foot fits a mold that Masai Ujiri, Bobby Webster and the Raptors have appreciated for a long time.
No. 10 overall: Houston Rockets select Noa Essengue, F, France
Houston takes another player who appears to be a beneficiary of the pre-draft process, as Essengue could hear his name called even higher than this. Even if teams view Essengue as a longer-term development project than a plug-and-play prospect, the Rockets have more than enough contributors on their roster to make a pick with the long view in mind.
No. 11 overall (TRADE): Oklahoma City Thunder select Khaman Maluach, C, Duke
Trade terms: Portland Trail Blazers trade No. 11 overall pick to Oklahoma City Thunder for No. 15 overall pick, No. 24 overall pick.
Oklahoma City can likely only carry one rookie into 2025-26, but have two first-round picks. What a tough break! They seem like almost a lock to deal at least one of their picks unless they take a draft-and-stash player, but one option they have is packaging No. 15 with No. 24 to move into the lottery. They could get even higher than this with all of the draft capital they still own, but landing a center prospect of Maluach's caliber at No. 11, leapfrogging a logical fit for him in Chicago, would be a major win.
No. 12 overall: Chicago Bulls select Collin Murray-Boyles, PF, South Carolina
Instead, Chicago ends up with one of the elite defenders in this class, in hopes that their offensive-oriented roster can help mollify Murray-Boyles' potential pitfalls on that end of the floor. Murray-Boyles and Matas Buzelis could make for a dynamic forward pairing moving forward.
No. 13 overall: Atlanta Hawks select Derik Queen, C, Maryland
Queen has the ability to crush this draft slot, and it is likely that he will be a top-10 pick. But if the bigs start to fall, Atlanta could benefit from it. Onyeka Okongwu has developed into a solid starting center, but the Hawks are surprisingly loaded at other positions. Queen and Okongwu could certainly end up playing together some, too.
No. 14 overall (TRADE): Minnesota Timberwolves select Cedric Coward, SG/SF, Washington State
Trade terms: San Antonio Spurs trade No. 14 overall pick to Minnesota Timberwolves for No. 17 overall pick, No. 31 overall pick.
If Coward does not fall to Minnesota at No. 17, there are not a ton of options that make sense for them, particularly as they look to reinforce their perimeter rotation with Nickeil Alexander-Walker on the way out. So, they use the No. 31 pick to move up and nab the Washington State wing who could go in the middle of the lottery after a meteoric rise.
No. 15 overall (TRADE): Portland Trail Blazers select Liam McNeeley, SF, UConn
Trade terms: Portland Trail Blazers trade No. 11 overall pick to Oklahoma City Thunder for No. 15 overall pick, No. 24 overall pick.
Portland gets good value for the No. 11 pick without an obvious choice available to them, and upon moving down take McNeeley to add to a wing rotation that will center around Demi Avdija moving forward. With Anfernee Simons, Scoot Henderson and Donovan Clingan all on roster, a logical conclusion would be that Portland's first pick would be used on a wing in an ideal world.
- MORE SIXERS
- Could the Sixers trade with Spurs for the No. 2 overall pick, draft Dylan Harper?
- Bonus Sixers mailbag: How many players should be in consideration at No. 3 overall?
- Making the statistical cases for and against the Sixers drafting Ace Bailey
No. 16 overall: Orlando Magic select Jase Richardson, G, Michigan State
This feels like one of the more obvious fits imaginable, as the Magic finally appear ready to acknowledge and address their horrid lack of shooting and scoring. Richardson has many questions in his game, but those are not among them.
No. 17 overall (TRADE): San Antonio Spurs select Rasheer Fleming, PF, Saint Joseph's
Trade terms: San Antonio Spurs trade No. 14 overall pick to Minnesota Timberwolves for No. 17 overall pick, No. 31 overall pick.
San Antonio continues collecting assets by dealing with Minnesota, but remains positioned to add another prospect with a real chance of helping them. Fleming is a prospect I am surprised has not gotten even more buzz lately; his combination of length and shooting skill is uncommon.
No. 18 overall: Washington Wizards select Thomas Sorber, PF/C, Georgetown
Speaking of length, Sorber's incredible 7-foot-6 wingspan is the headline of his scouting report, and adds to Washington's aforementioned defensive infrastructure. If anyone should have him well-scouted, it is the nearby Wizards.
No. 19 overall: Brooklyn Nets select Asa Newell, PF/C, Georgia
Newell falls a bit here relative to projections, but ends up landing in Brooklyn where he should be able to play quite a bit. The Nets have so few key pieces locked in that they should just be taking as many shots as they can. Luckily, they have two more first-round picks (and a second-rounder) after this.
No. 20 overall: Miami Heat select Walter Clayton Jr., PG, Florida
Clayton feels like a player the Heat would covet, not to mention Miami could use some additional ball-handling around Tyler Herro and Bam Adebayo now that Terry Rozier appears unplayable.
No. 21 overall: Utah Jazz select Egor Demin, G, BYU
Earlier in the year Demin was projected to go a lot higher than this. The Jazz should be taking as many big swings as they can, and Demin is probably the biggest swing left at this point.
No. 22 overall (TRADE): Boston Celtics select Danny Wolf, C, Michigan
Trade terms: Atlanta Hawks trade No. 22 overall pick to Boston Celtics for Sam Hauser, No. 28 overall pick.
This trade saves Boston considerable money as they begin their quest to cut costs and reset their harsh salary cap penalties, and for Atlanta it represents incredible value, adding one of the league's best three-point shooters in Hauser on an affordable deal and only moving back six spots in the back end of round one to do so. With their upgraded pick, Boston takes a center who could have an immediate path to playing time.
No. 23 overall: Indiana Pacers select Yanic Konan Niederhauser, C, Penn State
With Wolf off the board, Indiana takes one of the draft's true wild cards to fill its backup center vacancy. Niederhauser has risen from relative unknown to potential first-round pick in a very short time, and with a run on bigs happening before Indiana's turn on the clock, they could convince themselves to take a high-upside gamble on him.
No. 24 overall (TRADE): Portland Trail Blazers select Noah Penda, F, France
Trade terms: Portland Trail Blazers trade No. 11 overall pick to Oklahoma City Thunder for No. 15 overall pick, No. 24 overall pick.
Portland continues to stockpile wing talent with Penda joining McNeeley, Avdija, old friend Jerami Grant and All-Defense honoree Toumani Camara. The Trail Blazers are not far away from being ready to consolidate some of their young talent if they choose to do so.
No. 25 overall: Orlando Magic select Joan Beringer, C, France
With little roster space available and no obvious trade partner to deal with, Orlando takes a potential draft-and-stash in Beringer who is raw but very much fits the Magic mold with his length and athleticism.
No. 26 overall: Brooklyn Nets select Will Riley, SG/SF, Illinois
On the clock once again, the Nets take their second player from Illinois, landing the Canadian wing with a decorated pre-college career. In their first three picks, they land a guard, wing and big.
No. 27 overall: Brooklyn Nets select Hugo González, SG/SF, Spain
Whether or not Brooklyn will end up actually making four first-round picks is unclear; it is certainly not too difficult to imagine them moving a pick or two, whether they go up or down the board. But here they stick and pick at all four slots.
No. 28 overall (TRADE): Atlanta Hawks select Ben Saraf, G, Israel
Trade terms: Atlanta Hawks trade No. 22 overall pick to Boston Celtics for Sam Hauser, No. 28 overall pick.
After adding a big in Queen and wing shooter in Hauser, the Hawks draft a potential backup point guard of the future who has the size to play alongside Trae Young as well.
No. 29 overall: Phoenix Suns select Ryan Kalkbrenner, C, Creighton
Another one of the obvious fits in this draft, the Suns do not have many better options at the five than drafting someone here and hoping they can contribute immediately. Kalkbrenner certainly has the size to succeed at the NBA level.
No. 30 overall: Los Angeles Clippers select Maxime Raynaud, C, Stanford
The Clippers have two holes to fill in their rotation this summer if they do not make any big swings: backup point guard and backup center. Old friend Ben Simmons was basically tasked with being both down the stretch of the season and it did not work. Perhaps Raynaud can help with the latter.
No. 31 overall (TRADE): San Antonio Spurs select Nique Clifford, SG/SF, Colorado State
Trade terms: San Antonio Spurs trade No. 14 overall pick to Minnesota Timberwolves for No. 17 overall pick, No. 31 overall pick.
San Antonio ends up with an NBA-ready wing prospect expected to be a first-round pick at No. 31. Clifford's age could lead to him falling, but his current skills may make him a more appealing pick for teams in need of immediate help. For the Spurs, he is likely the best player available.
No. 32 overall: Boston Celtics select Nolan Traoré, PG, France
Boston adds an intriguing guard prospect whose short-term role would depend on whether or not the team trades Jrue Holiday. If they do, perhaps Traoré can earn a limited role behind Derrick White and Payton Pritchard. Otherwise, he can learn in the shadows.
No. 33 overall: Charlotte Hornets select Tyrese Proctor, G, Duke
Proctor had a terrific shooting season to conclude his career at Duke. The Hornets add more offensive punch and do so from a player their scouts surely saw a whole lot in person during the year…
No. 34 overall: Charlotte Hornets select Hansen Yang, C, China
…Then they take a shot in the dark on another wild card. Yang's actual draft range is either very wide or completely undetermined, but he possesses some fascinating tools. Clearly, Charlotte is not sold on Mark Williams holding up as the team's center of the future — if Yang blossoms, perhaps he will be.
No. 35 overall: Philadelphia 76ers select Drake Powell, SG/SF, North Carolina
Once again, I am mocking Powell at No. 35 after a deep dive last month indicated he is a perfect representation of what the Sixers have looked for with their later draft picks over the last five years under President of Basketball Operations Daryl Morey. It is certainly possible — more likely than not, in fact — that he is gone by the time the Sixers are making their second-round pick. But it is not an inevitability that he is gone.
MORE: Why Powell fits Sixers' mold, other possible targets at No. 35
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