This week saw the NBA Draft Combine in Chicago, the unofficial start of draft season around the NBA (even if that is almost as year-round as the league itself). Here are the latest news, notes and rumors around the 2025 NBA Draft, taking place June 25-26 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
Spurs likely keep No. 2 pick
The minute the Spurs landed with the No. 2 pick — well, a few minutes after, once everyone got over the shock of the Mavericks getting the top pick — people started drawing a line between Giannis Antetokounmpo and San Antonio. The logic is simple: The Spurs already have De’Aaron Fox and Stephon Castle at guards so they don’t need projected No. 2 pick Dylan Harper out of Rutgers, Antetokounmpo next to Victor Wembanyama make the Spurs instant title contenders, and San Antonio has the additional picks and players to match salary to make a trade that Milwaukee would like.
Just a couple of problems with that. First, Antetokounmpo has yet to ask for a trade out of Milwaukee and may not. His choosing to stay may be the best bet.
Second, the Spurs are leaning toward holding on to the No. 2 pick. Here is what Sam Vecenie of The Athletic wrote about the Combine in Chicago.
Most of the sources I talk to around the league think the most likely outcome is that the Spurs do just that: Stand pat and pick at No. 2.
If the Spurs keep the pick, they should draft the best player on the board regardless of position. Meaning, take Harper. It’s better to have too much talent at one position (a player can always be traded) rather than saying you don’t need to draft Michael Jordan because you already have Clyde Drexler. Harper is the clear No. 2 in this class, make him a Spur.
76ers will listen to offers for No. 3
Daryl Morey is open to a trade. Shocking.
That said, Vecenie reports Philadelphia will listen to offers for the No. 3 pick and the right to draft V.J. Edgecombe or Ace Bailey, most likely. This is the smart move by Morey. For Philly, Edgecombe is another smaller guard who would become part of an already small backcourt of Tyrese Maxey and Jared McCain, a good fit but not a need. Ace Bailey has upside but is a little more of a project and the Sixers are as win-now as it gets — and considering the Jayson Tatum injury, the 76ers should be aggressive about going for it next season.
It’s unclear who it might be, but keep an eye on the No. 3 spot as a potential trade.
Standouts at NBA Draft Combine
From people in Chicago, here are a handful of players who helped their cause.
• VJ Edgecombe, guard, Baylor. Edgecombe didn’t need much help, he was already projected as a top-four pick on most boards, but his athleticism and two-way potential stood out, and he may have put himself solidly above Ace Bailey for the No. 3 spot on a lot of boards.
• Tahaad Pettiford, guard, Auburn. He turned heads with a 42-inch vertical leap and then put up big numbers in the first scrimmage. That caught many people’s eyes, but then he struggled in his next scrimmage, tempering the excitement. Still, strong Combine for him.
• Khaman Maluach, center, Duke. In an NBA where more and more teams are looking for big men who can protect the rim and are a vertical threat on pick-and-rolls, Maluach helped himself. He measured at 7’1″ barefoot and had a 7’7″ wingspan and a 9’6″ standing reach — those are the kind of big man numbers NBA teams are looking for, and Maluach fit the role with his combine tests. There are rumors he got a promise from the Raptors at No. 9.
• Maxime Raynaud, center, Stanford. The senior big man was the only player to play in the first day of scrimmages, realize how well he played (and helped his cause) and opted out of Day 2. A bubble late-first/early second kind of talent, he showed the shooting and physicality around the rim that might get him to the first round.
• Lachlan Olbrich, forward/center, Illawarra Hawks. He was a standout in Australia’s NBL and came to the G-League showcase to show he belonged in the NBA, and did well enough there to get a call-up to the main combine. He showed good rim protection skills plus the ability to stretch the floor, and while he’s more of a second-round pick — maybe more of a two-way guy — he is on team’s radar now.
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