In The Loopus: First Draft. Final Draft.

In the Loopus returns for another overanticipated, undercontemplated recap of an action filled evening in the NBA Draft

Folks, do you remember when I wrote 5000 words over the course of 12 hours about the NBA Trade Deadline? I remember it like it was yesterday. I remember it, because it gave me (and former face of Canis Hoopus and victim of my ravings Jack Borman) a migraine.

I have not learned a lesson and am daring to sit at my computer during this outrageous heat wave that has my apartment at easily above 100 degrees and leaves me with no choice but to keep my shower running on cold all day in a hope that it will help me.

This could go many different ways. I could hit pick four and find myself at a loss, my brain shrinking like a raisin in the blue lighted sun-lighted hell. Alternatively, I could give the people what they want. I could reminisce on my good draft takes like “Tyrese Haliburton is the second best player in the 2020 draft class” or “Jalen Williams is a better prospect than Jabari Smith Jr.” Alternatively, I could remember that I had Malachi Flynn as a lottery talent and thought Sidy Cissoko would be a better value than any non-Wemby pick.

Still, it’s fun to hang out, and it’s always fun to write. So please, join me in our absurd recap of the most insane night of the NBA year. Outside of the opening of free agency. Or the trade deadline. OK cut that.

Let’s just have some fun. See you guys at 8 PM EST.

The Draft is now opened, as Adam Silver has opened up the floor to the Dallas Mavericks who do not deserve nice things. Despite the maniacal trade criminal that is Nico Harrison, the Mavs have managed to luck into the first overall pick and will take Cooper Flagg.

Flagg playing next to Anthony Davis is set to be one of the best front courts in the NBA. Flagg excels as a weakside shot blocker and is almost guaranteed to be at least a very, very, very good player even if I’m not completely sold on the shot-making necessary to be the type of player many have projected Flagg to be.

Still, it’s baffling that a player who went to highschool in rural Maine is going to go first overall in the NBA draft. That feels like something that would have happened in the 60s, not the 21st century.

Flagg is joining a team simultaneously maximized to have him play a part in winning games and set to leave him on an aging roster with no real help in five years.

In the mean time, a team courting D’Angelo Russell will continue to talk about defense winning championships.

First Overall Pick: Cooper Flagg, SF/PF, Duke

See Above…

But, genuinely, that is one of the fastest turnarounds I’ve ever seen between the opening of the draft and the first pick being drafted. It’s so ridiculous to see this level of punctuality when the NBA struggles to start its games any earlier than 30 minutes late.

EDIT: This was a lie, apparently. I guess I just have a bad internal clock.

Flagg is now the third first overall pick on the Mavericks as he joins the aforementioned Anthony Davis and Kyrie Irving, who will likely miss a significant portion of the year while recovering from a torn ACL.

In regards to injury, it’s worth noting the malpractice that the Dallas organization committed last year. I simply hope Flagg does not have to deal with anything of the sort.

Second Overall Pick: Dylan Harper, PG, Rutgers

It’s still going according to plan for the draft experts. It’s completely unsurprising that Harper, the second best player in the class and a first overall pick quality of player, goes to a team that is happy to take him even with two other point guards they’ve invested into heavily.

I remain uninterested in Stephon Castle, who won Rookie of the Year while only being a pretty decent starter. Unfortunately for the Spurs, he straight up cannot shoot, both off the dribble and on the catch. He is an excellent cutter, however, and an even better defensive player.

Funny enough, if you inverted those comments, you’d have a pretty decent approximation of Harper who is like if Anfernee Simons knew how to pass out of his drives and was 6’5.

This starts a clock on those guards for some, but the Indiana Pacers managed to play three different point guards in their rotation during the playoffs. The difference is, the three guards were Tyrese Halliburton, Andrew Nembhard and TJ McConnell. All of those players have a lot less cache and ego than the three the Spurs are building around alongside Victor “Adrian Shaolin Monk” Wembanyama.

Third Overall Pick: VJ Edgecombe, G, Baylor

First things first, the Bahamian national team has really impressive talent across the NBA. Seven years ago, Deandre Ayton was able to brand himself as the Bahamian Beast. Nowadays, the whole team is beastly, filled with athleticism and defense.

Edgecombe is much of the same, and the same level of basketball sicko as his teammates, the Thompson twins. The truth is however, that the Sixers now have three point guards, which leaves us with the exact same question as we asked about the Spurs. The good news for Philly is that Jared McCain, the Rookie of the Year frontrunner before his injury last year, can play on or off ball much more than any of the three of Castle, Fox, or Harper.

Amazingly, that Pacers example works much better for these three than those before. Edgecombe is a supersized TJ McConnell with the athleticism that would cause a player of McConnell’s size to break physics to the tune of a certain Jerry Seinfeld speech from the Bee Movie.

If Maxey and McCain are both Nembhard-like in their own rights, Edgecombe brings something the Sixers do not have on the wings: athleticism, excitement, and defense.

Oh, and make sure to add Justin Edwards in that young core list whenever it comes up.

Fourth Overall Pick: Kon Knueppel, SG, Duke

Who wants some shooting? Knueppel is a high floor, high ceiling player. Of everyone in the draft, I’d be most comfortable committing to Kon being a ten year NBA player.

That is off to an awful start though, as he is now heading to what may be the worst organization in the NBA. A team that is largely only know for its off court scandals now hosts two excellent young shooters in Brandon Miller and Knueppel.

I’m sure Bill Simmons loves it.

New BS Podcast – 3rd of the week!
—The Grizzlies’ future, NBA Draft stuff + what Memphis is really like w/ @ChrisVernonShow + @HousefromDC
—The Devers trade + post-Betts Red Sox dysfunction w/ @KevinHench
—Checking in w/ Duke’s lottery pick Kon Kneuppelhttps://t.co/WLanlajpQl

— Bill Simmons (@BillSimmons) June 18, 2025

Fifth Overall Pick: Ace Bailey, F, Rutgers

Folks, you have never known fear the likes you experience on Mormon Tinder. When I was in Utah for the All Star Game a few years ago, I thought it was all fun and games and I am still haunted by what I saw. I have never seen someone figure out what hotel I was staying at as quickly as that acursed Utahian did that day.

Anyway, the Jazz are a funny team lacking a singular blue chip talent even three years after trading Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell. Well, that just changed.

Ace Bailey could be a complete non-factor if you look exclusively at the numbers. He doesn’t get to the rim well. He does not create space on the dribble and he does not do much else if he is not scoring.

However, if you watch him, you see a supersized wing who can make any shot, anywhere, at any time. Will Hardy is going to rip his own hair out, but Bailey will be taking 18 shots a game no matter what.

This is, all in all, probably the funniest option for Ace, who is now the face of a franchise that is still searching for a real identity.

Sixth Overall Pick: Tre Johnson, PG, Texas

I am a huge fan of Tre Johnson, the draft prospect, but Tre Johnson, the fashionista, has thoroughly deepened my doubt. Look, I don’t think there’s anything wrong wearing shorts with a suit (okay, I do, but that’s his prerogative!), but this fit just screams with the energy of something we look back on years from now and say “how did I ever think he’d work out?”

I felt the same way with Kevin Knox’s Fortnite suit, a consumerist symbol donned by a prospect I really liked. But, I think I’ve said enough about that.

Johnson will immediately replace Jordan Poole playing an incredibly similar role to what he did at Texas as a shot-maker. Johnson is an amazing pairing with personal favorite Bub Carrington and adds a real upside play for a Washington team that simply has a lot of good players without anyone hinting at superstar upside.

Johnson doesn’t exactly have that type of ceiling, but I think he does a lot of things really well. First on that list? Scoring.

Seventh Overall Pick: Jeremiah Fears, PG, Oklahoma

deep breath

I guess we can just wait to see if the Pelicans end up ruining his development as well. (Yes, I still have beef with the New Orleans Pelicans. While some of their fans apologized for the fanbase-mates sending me death threats, I am a hater above all else.)

Fears is, in a word, fun. I have no clue if he’ll be good, but he’s tiny and cannot finish at the rim. It’s hard to be good enough to be a top 10 pick with such glaring weaknesses, but Fears is worthy of that.

I worry that being stuck behind DeJounte Murray and Jordan Poole caps him out as a Collin Sexton type player, but if there’s one thing I’ve been forced to rehash tonight, it’s three guard lineups in the playoffs.

So, fortunately for New Orleans, there is a path to success within this archetype. Unfortunately for New Orleans, well, they’re the Pelicans and they have not made the playoffs a whole lot.

Eighth Overall Pick: Egor Demin, SF, BYU

Did you think you had enough of Mormonism following the Ace Bailey pick? Well, buckle up because BYU has NIL and they are willing to use it on as much soda as they might need. Demin is not from Utah, and is instead from Russia.

He is a lanky playmaker who is at his best when moving in transition. People are going to compare him to Andre Kirilenko because of the similar measurables and Eastern European background, but he plays more like Dalano Banton if I can get deep in my bag.

He has a frame that came succeed, but whereas similar players have needed to put on weight, he needs to put on weight while learning how to shoot, which is an incredibly difficult line to walk.

Time will tell if the Nets got the best option with the first pick of the night but they certainly have many other shots left to take tonight.

Ninth Overall Pick: Collin Murray-Boyles, F, South Carolina

This is an analytics darling who is the most Masai Ujiri player maybe ever. He plays hard, he’s massive, he struggles to shoot, and he is stupidly strong. In many ways, the Raptors are hoping that Scottie Barnes becomes Pascal Siakam. With this pick, they’re hoping they’ve found their OG Anunoby replacement.

Funny enough, it feels like this Raptors core is attempting to prepare vessels for a ritual return of the spirits of that 2018-19 team, sans a true superstar like Kawhi Leonard. If Gradey Dick starts playing with the same hate in his heart that Norm Powell does, and Barnes develops a more consistent shot making ability, and Jakob Poeltl continues to act like he’s 28 instead of… 29? Wait, Poeltl is 29?

Boyles is heading to a land of snow, although according to Twitter, he’s already there. The team has a ton of intriguing pieces, but I can’t help but feel a little disappointed that the team is not getting any real guard help, or a developmental center beyond the 29 year old Poeltl.

When your whole roster is wings, you need them to be fully locked in on versatility. Boyles has that in spades.

Tenth Overall Pick: Khaman Maluach, C, South Sudan and Duke

Last summer, I wrote a short blurb about the importance of what Luol Deng has done in South Sudan. The former Bulls cornerstone reinvested the entirety of his own contract savings into buoying South Sudan’s basketball association. That’s pretty damn cool.

Tonight is the second time that decision bore fruit. When South Sudan nearly beat the USA, losing by only one point, it was a statement. Tonight, it’s a story.

It’s in this moment that I need to divert the conversation to the Suns, who not only drafted Maluach, but also made a move for Mark Williams. It’s funny that Phoenix went from the worst front court rotation in the league to a pretty decent one in just a few hours, but it does limit my optimism on Khaman’s minutes.

Still, this is simply really cool. It’s a big week for people who spent some time in Uganda during their childhood, as Khaman has just been drafted and Zohran Mamdani managed to earn the Democratic nomination for Mayor of my home city of New York.

I am proud to say I support both.

Eleventh Overall Pick: Cedric Coward, F, Washington State

Coward is going to Memphis but is one of my favorite players in this class. He’s fast, he’s smart, and above all else, he cares. He cares more than anyone ever really should on a basketball court.

In sports, it’s always a good choice to bet on players who are good people. There’s so many awful people who are both popular and good, but it’s a much better bet to support quality people.

Years ago, I felt the same way about Nickeil Alexander-Walker coming out of Virginia Tech. There is no guarantee that Coward will work out, but it’s amazing that he’s arrived at this point. In football, walk ons becoming first round picks is not an uncommon story. In the NBA? It’s a whole different story.

Comping anyone to Cedric Coward is hard, but I’m tempted to tie him to Giannis Antetokounmpo. He won’t be as good as Giannis, but he will absolutely do anything and everything to be the best player he possibly can be. His pairing with Jaylen Wells gives the Grizzlies two players in that mold, and that is more than enough to buy in on.

Twelfth Overall Pick: Noa Essengue, F, Radiopharm Ulm/France

It’s odd how much I loved Coward and Murray-Boyles and feel comparably unenthused about Essengue. He is a lot of things. A high upside player with exceptional defensive tools that could be anything from a Bruno Caboclo to a Pascal Siakam.

I don’t have much to say here. I didn’t get around to watching a ton of film on Essengue so I’ll leave it there. I try to make sure I don’t talk about things I know nothing about.

Thirteenth Overall Pick: Derik Queen, C, Maryland

NCAA Basketball: Big Ten Conference Tournament Quarterfinal-Maryland vs Illinois

I didn’t care much about Fears as a prospect but this crushes me. While I didn’t think he was the best player in the draft by any means, he was my favorite one to watch. I loved his Julius Randle-like forcefulness in attacking the rim from the high post and his playmaking at his size.

People have comped him to Demarcus Cousins. I am people. But, now that he’s on a team I categorically cannot support, playing in a system that does not suit him, with a teammate that is currently being investigated for assault and kidnapping, I just think it’s a truly sad day for Queen even though it’s a dream come true for the young man.

Fourteenth Overall Pick: Carter Bryant, G/F, Arizona

To me, this pick feels oddly reminiscent of what the Spurs did while planning for the development of Devin Vassell. I see a lot of Dante Cunningham in Bryant (and I truly mean that as a compliment) so it makes sense that the Spurs have his clone years later.

6’7 wing with 7’0 wingspan is never a bad bet in the NBA. Bryant will develop in the back pocket of the Spurs and could be the answer on the wing going forward if Vassell is included in any big game hunt.

In the meantime, Bryant will get to shadow Harrison Barnes (not to be confused with Harrison Faigen, as my phone thought I meant), and few things could help him more than that.

Edit: In the meantime, my laptop has given up due to the heat (not in Miami) so it will simply be up to my Google Pixel 6a to handle the temperature and hold up long enough for me to write about basketball and make stupid little jokes about 22 year olds who have just made more money than I ever will.

Fifteenth Overall Pick: Thomas Sorber, C, Georgetown

My computer is in hell, so we’re going to gloss over this one as I try to catch up on the rest of the draft. In a few words, Sorber was not a prospect I liked very much. Between the foot injury and the lack of real movement skills, I didn’t love what I saw. However, the path to success is certainly there and OKC is the perfect landing spot as my issues with him sound a lot like what people said about Isaiah Hartenstein for years before he ended up in New York and then OKC.

Funny enough, the Thunder already have 15 players signed to their roster for next year, so I have no clue how they’re going to do this.

Sixteenth Overall Pick: Hansen Yang, C, China/Qingdao Eagles

From the man who gave you “why take Bilal at 6 when you can get Sidy Cissoko at 45?”, I now present my knowledge:

why take Sorber at 17 when you can get Hansen Yang at 31?

— thilo latrell widder (@Tlo_L_W) June 25, 2025

Why take Sorber at 15 when you can take Hansen Yang at 16 ON HIS BIRTHDAY?

I love to see this. Without a doubt, it’s the coolest pick of the draft. Yang is an incredible passer and is absolutely massive. He is the highest drafter Chinese player since Yao Ming and wore a beautiful jersey for the Eagles.

It’s hard to get past the sheer awesomeness of this pick. It’s just cool, man. This is what it’s all about.

If you want me to sell you on Yang, thing of the best centers in the NBA. Each and every one of them creates their value in at least one of two ways: athleticism or feel. Yang falls into the latter camp. His touch as a passer is immense. I am going to be a full on homer and compare him to Domas Sabonis here.

God, I love this. It’s so cool. Let’s go Portland.

Seventeenth Overall Pick: Joan Beringer, C, France/Cedevita Olijimpia

I kind of hate this pick, but there’s tons of other people on Canis who can speak on it. I am going to link Leo Sun’s current draft ticker where I’m sure he will hit all the important notes on Beringer.

Edit: Here is the link to the preliminary Beringer deep dive.

In a sentence: not a bad pick, but Kasparas Jakucionis would’ve excited me considerably more. As big of a need as center was, I’m simply not quite sure that Beringer is good enough to pass up on a player of that caliber. (OK, two sentences)

Eighteenth Overall Pick: Walter Clayton Jr, G, Utah Jazz

I had heard that the Miami Heat at 20 wanted Clayton Jr badly. The Jazz leapfrogging them for the most outstanding player of the NCAA tournament is simply the cost of doing business.

He’s an old prospect, but that is by no means a slight. He was a massive clutch performer during March Madness and can shoot the lights out. I think he may be a bit redundant next to Keyonte George, but the Jazz simply need to find real NBA players, as they certainly lack a lot of that.

Anyway, hopefully he can find a hobby in Utah because it is decidedly different from Miami, which would have been a simple in-state transition.

My hands are too sweaty to type well and my computer isn’t turning on anymore so I will simply be linking my favorite tweet about the last 10 prospects. Sorry if this is disappointing, I tried my best.

Nineteenth Overall Pick: Nolan Traore, G, Saint-Quentin/France

this is a nasty comp for Nolan Traore lmaooo pic.twitter.com/dKVcQM3XsN

— Dan Water (@Dan2579z) June 26, 2025

Twentieth Overall Pick: Kasparas Jakučionis, G, Illinois

Heat first round pick Kasparas Jakucionis:

“I speak Spanish, and in Miami a lot of people speak Spanish.”

My man.

— Will Manso (@WillManso) June 26, 2025

Twenty-First Overall Pick: Will Riley, SG, Illinois

Love Will Riley’s skill, but I question his frame and how it will hold up through 82 games.

Talented player for @IlliniMBB who went for 31pts in his first game of the season. pic.twitter.com/ktqmqyF80j

— Terrence Oglesby (@T_Oglesby22) June 24, 2025

Twenty-Second Overall Pick: Drake Powell, G/F, UNC

I love college basketball because Drake Powell was dead-last amongst all rotation players at North Carolina in shot% last year, and he’s the best NBA prospect of them all by a mile. https://t.co/GdUJWiuFCM

— Matthew Winick (@matthewwinick) June 26, 2025

Twenty-Third Overall Pick: Asa Newell, F/C, Georgia

One of the craziest stats I came across of any prospect this year was Asa Newell

He went 21/22 at the rim in transition (95.5%). His game will scale up well with NBA spacing, guard play, and tempo

— Rich Stayman (@RichStayman) June 26, 2025

Twenty-Fourth Overall Pick: Nique Clifford, F, Colorado State

Too bad Nique Clifford is going to the Sacramento Kings because he would’ve been the oldest player on the Oklahoma City Thunder. pic.twitter.com/0dHDQxSBPT

— At The Buzzer (@AtTheBuzzer1) June 26, 2025

Twenty-Fifth Overall Pick: Jase Richardon, G, Michigan State

Jase Richardson. YOU are a Orlando Magic. pic.twitter.com/gpx14Z4zDr

— Jalen ‍ (@imjalenwynn) June 25, 2025

Twenty-Sixth and Twenty-Seventh Overall Picks: Ben Saraf (G) and Danny Wolf (C)

27. Brooklyn Nets – Danny Wolf – C-

Not it either. I’m realizing I’m starting to sound like a hater, I really do hope each and everyone of these guys succeed, but based on my personal evaluations the Nets front-office went 0/5 for actual NBA talent. Generationally bad scouting.

— TaouTi (@TaouTi959) June 26, 2025

joe tsai hasn’t even heard of ben saraf he saw israel and got so hard he passed out

— john haliburtons defense attorney (@ocksportello) June 26, 2025

Twenty-Eighth Overall Pick: Hugo González, G/F, Real Madrid

Jonathan Givony’s pre-draft analysis on Hugo González #CelticsDraft ☘️ pic.twitter.com/DFEU9b4GTX

— (@fsh733) June 26, 2025

Twenty-Ninth Overall Pick: Liam McNeeley, F, UConn

I thought Steve Ballmer was Liam McNeely’s father.

Sheesh

— Mr Ass (@JohnchoVilla) June 26, 2025

Thirtieth Overall Pick: Yanic Konan-Niederhauser, C, Switzerland

Yanic Konan Niederhauser pic.twitter.com/sjSIRdJmGu

— humphrey (@humphreezius) June 26, 2025

Ladies and gentlemen, and everyone else in between or outside, that concludes the first round of the NBA Draft. Here’s a little poem:

My laptop has melted.

I have too.

The offseason has started,

What do you mean Portland traded for Jrue?

I will likely be live tweeting the second round if the universe stops sending waves of toxic radiation (sunlight) through a magnifying glass pointed right at me (my windows), so if you enjoyed the absolute car wreck that was the second ever live-write up for In the Loopus, you can follow me at @TLo_L_W on Twitter.

I want to additionally give a quick shout out to Leo Sun, for pushing the updates as they were happening and dealing with me complaining about the heat and the Heat. I also want to thank my cat Gruffalo who is very clearly going through it in regards to the temperature. If anyone has any suggestions on how to safely give a cat a haircut, or even if that’s a good idea, please DM me.

Until next time, friends. Thanks for sticking around.