A wild day in the 2025 NBA Draft brought a lot of excitement, with transactions everywhere, consensus reaching and big moves. Let’s dig into some winners and losers starting on the first day of the draft.
Winners: Jase Richardson and Orlando Magic
As a player, I think the lottery-level talent, Richardson was a huge steal on the 25th. Despite being only 6 feet tall, he scored incredible points on the floor and off the ball, giving him a dynamic offense over the air. His youth, efficiency and production all show the potential of the NBA, which is a useful offensive work.
Orlando’s scale and defensive infrastructure make it a perfect fit for a small guard like Richardson, who has defensive potential among players. Huge forwards like Franz Wagner and Jonathan Isaac can help Richardson defend the quarantine and benefit from his offense.
Richardon’s floor spacing and low maintenance ball innings will benefit greatly. Plus Richardson and Desmond Bane will significantly improve their offense until next season. This pick is my favorite value fusion and fits the entire draft.
Loser: Brooklyn Basketball
The Nets became the first team in NBA history, with five first-round selections in a single NBA draft. Somehow, they missed at least four of these five options. Two of my three biggest distances that night were Nets draft picks: Egor Demin was eight and Danny Wolf was 27, and their consensus was more popular than me.
Brooklyn clearly prioritized ball opponents and passes, drafting the ball perimeter starters (Demin, Wolf, Nolan Traore and Ben Saraf) with four of the five draft picks. It’s obvious that the Nets want to swing on the main handler and add more play to the roster, but that will be the challenge of bringing these players together.
None of the four players mentioned above are some external shooters or influencers of the defensive players. All of them have major questions about scaling from the ball, which messes up their projections. It makes sense to choose Drake Powell as athleticism, but the rest of the options are not.
Winner: Atlanta Hawks General Manager Onsi Saleh/Loser: Future Flexibility of New Orleans Pelicans
Hawks took off what many thought were ever-presented draft night wool after Hawks traded Kristaps Porzingis two days ago. They dropped 10 attractions from the 13th and first gained the precious unprotected 2026, the best choice between New Orleans and Milwaukee Bucks. Both teams have real downward cases, which is an absolute robbery.
Atlanta drafted Asa Newell on the 23rd, adding another versatile defender and game to the mix. Even though my assessment was Newell’s draft pick, he was logical for the team of young TRAE leaders. Regardless of who the Hawks drafted, the deal alone made the draft a home run for the first time for general manager Onsi Saleh.
In its first draft with New Orleans, Joe Dumars, president of basketball, concocted an amazing, aggressive trade to chase the stars’ prospects. The Pelicans traded the 23rd overall pick (with their own 2026 first-round pick from the Indiana Pacers) and the 2026 unprotected first-round pick (the best new pick from Milwaukee or New Orleans) to pick Maryland big shot Derik Queen.
On the surface, this looks like a catastrophic trade for the Pelicans. They gave up an unprotected No. 1 in the 2026 draft, which could have at least 3 prospects for changing the franchise (Darryn Peterson, AJ Dybantsa, Cameron Boozer). Milvon’s basic season won’t have much (if any) and the Pelicans are far from locking in the playoffs and can make it into the playoffs in a full Western Conference game.
According to my assessment, the Queen is a prospect worth a deal. He made the top three on my board due to his huge upward move as the offensive core. In theory, he could develop enough gameplay to balance its main creator. He has to reach the ceiling for the Pelicans to stand out in the deal.
In the vacuum, plus the Queen and Jeremiah’s concerns will win high scores for most teams. They are comparable to some of the Pelicans current players, namely Jordan Poole, Dejounte Murray and Zion Williamson. It makes sense to wield basic talent, but the Pelicans are taking huge risks here and with great disadvantages in the future.
Winner: Ace Bailey?
Rumors at the Ace Bailey camp suggest Bailey doesn’t want to compete in Utah. It’s hard to collect any concrete that pre-draft smoke and draft day behavior, but Bailey probably won’t play in Utah. But, from a basketball perspective, Bailey in Jazz is ideal.
Utah is in desperate need of bidirectional wings, and Bailey’s on-board defense potential makes this logical. He will flourish with creative head coaches like Will Hardy, who will unleash his score as a huge sports shooter and secondary creator.
Bailey had to take on this role to reach the ceiling. If he intends to direct the ball and use tough shots as a primary offensive option, he may never be the best version of himself. I tend to believe players can adapt to their situation and assume that Bailey does, Utah is a place for his viable ceiling.
Loser: Portland Trail Blazers
After a deal with the Memphis Grizzlies, Portland reached one of the larger consensus in a larger one, ranking 16th overall for Chinese center Hansen Yang. Yang landed on my board with 47, No. 34 at Consensus Committeevery suitable for the second largest consensus that night. A consensus always draws attention, especially for a Portland team that already has many large teams.
DeAndre Ayton and Robert Williams III may not be included in the long-term plan, but in 2024, the Trail Blazers drafted Donovan Clingan, which has a swing. Young is a promising offensive player who touts real upside, with obvious defensive limitations as a pass hub and internal scorer.
The Trail Blazers can see his offensive upside as noteworthy, especially given their impressive defensive core. Still, drafting the player I think is a midway draft pick makes it a tough sale, especially at other centers on the board, which makes it even more favorable.
