Basketball Operations Brief

gREGORY SPICER – NBA DRAFT – 07/01/2025

It was an eventful night at the Barclays Center for the 2025 NBA draft. Between the highly anticipated first overall selection of Cooper Flagg, Ace Bailey’s controversy, and multiple unexpected trades, it was an intense two days. 

A front office can have many things in mind leading up to its selection, but the one thing any team can hope to do is give themselves a better foundation to continue in whatever direction they desire. For some teams, that’s acquiring a top pick and selecting a young high potential player to build around for the future. Other teams look to take advantage of the chance to add low salary talent to their contending team by selecting a more polished player. While these approaches tend to be the most common, some organizations can be a little tougher to figure out. 

Here is a breakdown of the teams with the most notable drafts, for better or for worse. 

1. Charlotte Hornets 

Grade. A

The Hornets strategy for this draft was pretty clear: acquire a lot of young talent with winning experience. This was an appropriate decision given their 19-63 finish last season. 

Starting with their top pick, we have Kon Knueppel, who was selected fourth overall out of Duke. In one season, Knueppel put up 14.4 points on 48/41/91 shooting splits. Tre Johnson (Texas) and Ace Bailey (Rutgers) were both options, but Knueppel was the move based on factors on and off the court (Ace Bailey).

At 6 foot 7 inches and 219 pounds, he should have enough size to make a Ball-Miller-Knueppel lineup viable on defense, and the offensive fit will be natural. Knueppel is a weapon who specializes off the ball and shot over 40% from three at Duke last season. Combine that with his experience coming from a winning culture, and this pick grades out pretty well. 

The other Hornets headline on the night was their deal with the Suns, trading  Mark Williams for  25’ and 29’ first round picks. This was also a very solid move. If they are going to keep rebuilding around an injury prone Lamelo Ball (47 games in 2024//25), then they have to surround him with healthy players.  Williams does not fit that mold as he played just 44 games last season. On top of that, the pick they acquired from the Suns was well executed. Liam McNeeley is another player that comes from a winning culture (UConn) that has the off-ball skills needed to fit alongside Lamelo Ball and Brandon Miller. He will be more of a project as he struggled to score the ball efficiently in college (53% TS%), but given their rebuild direction, he has time. 

Overall, the first round went about as well as it could have in Charlotte. They flipped a center who didn’t fit into their plans for two firsts, acquired two off ball talents that bring winning cultures to a team that has none, and opened up some salary cap in the trade. 

2. Phoenix Suns

Grade. B-

The Suns have traded Kevin Durant and appear to be entering a mini-rebuild of sorts to surround superstar Devin Booker with a new roster. Part one of that plan was to acquire the #10 pick from Houston in the Durant deal. Besides that deal however, the Suns have done nothing to indicate that they are a team hoping to tear things down. This odd, hybrid, rebuild approach the front office is taking explains why their grade is at a B- despite making a great selection with their #10 pick. 

Starting there, the Suns decided to take the third Duke player from the night in Khaman Maluach. The talented big man put up averages of 8.6 points and 6.6 rebounds at Duke in just 21 minutes per game. The counting numbers aren’t where his potential is realized, however. Taking a deeper look, Maluach is a 7 foot 2 inch, 250 pound monster, making him one of the biggest players in the NBA at age 18. He also shot over 70% from both the field and the free throw line, a very impressive feat for a big of his size.

Although Phoenix executed their first round pick very well, their roster’s poor construction is highlighted when breaking down their side of the  Williams deal with Charlotte. Trading two valuable assets for Williams means that Maluach will be limited to a bench role in his rookie year. Also, the Suns still have Bradley Beal, who they did not use draft capital to get rid of, and Jalen Green, a third high usage shooting guard. Having two other star shooting guards next to Booker is an awkward fit, and even if they are able to set Beal loose, the Booker/Green fit is  questionable. 

Williams is a great talent, but he is coming to Phoenix at the wrong time. The Suns swapped their other 2025 first round pick and a 2029 worst swap pick for him, which is a lot of value for a player who suited up for just 44 games last season. If the Suns were in a position to win now, I would validate the move because it would sure up a position in question. That is not the case though, as the Suns just traded Kevin Durant and used the pick they acquired for him to draft a center who certainly has the potential to start in the next two seasons. Williams may be a placeholder for Maluach’s development, but those can be added for much cheaper than two first round picks, especially with players like Brook Lopez available on low commitment contracts. 

The only real explanation is that the Suns front office wants to conduct some sort of hybrid rebuild where they develop talent while building around Booker. Although this type of approach can be nice for teams that want to reconstruct their roster while keeping fans engaged, it has put other organizations such as the Chicago Bulls and Miami Heat in a brutal play-in cycle that could hurt Phoenix for years. 

4. New Orleans Pelicans

Grade. D+

After years of mediocrity following the viral Zion Williamson selection, the Pelicans are making another effort to get it right and create sustainable success. Despite not having a single playoff series win in his tenure, New Orleans has surrounded Zion with other star caliber players such as Dejounte Murray, CJ McCollum, and Brandon Ingram. With McCollum and Ingram out of the picture, the Pelicans brought in a new class of prospects who the front office is hoping will bring a winning culture to New Orleans. 

The first of these players is Jeremiah Fears, the 6 foot 4 inch point guard who played his only year of college ball at Oklahoma. This pick is not a horrible one, as Fears’ offensive upside is certainly worth the gamble given his 17 points per game average as a freshman in a difficult SEC conference. With that said, there will be a time limit to get him comfortable at the NBA level before former all-star Murray returns from injury and takes over the majority of ball handling duties. While the defensive side of a Fears-Murray backcourt could work, as they are both big guards, Murray has a history of offensive struggles when playing with another point guard (Trae Young, Hawks).

The biggest shock of night was when New Orleans traded their 2024 first round pick and an ultra valuable 2026 first round pick (best of Milwaukee and New Orleans) to move up ten spots and select Derrick Queen at #13.

Let’s first break down what this 2026 pick is. Atlanta now has the better selection of Milwaukee, who just waived Damian Lillard, and New Orleans, who only won 21 games last year, in next year’s draft. This pick has a good chance of being very high, and when the return is a mid rank (13) slot in the first round, that just doesn’t add up. 

As for the player they drafted, the Derrick Queen selection was great. New Orleans was clearly shocked by Chicago’s passing on him and likely made a panic move to get a player they had highly ranked, which is understandable. At Maryland, Queen posted 16.5 points and 9.0 rebounds, highlighted by a game winner against Colorado State in the NCAA tournament. 

Outside of his individual talent, Queen’s placement on the Pelicans roster doesn’t justify the value they traded to get him. New Orleans already has Zion, who at 6 foot 7 inches, 285 pounds is very similar in size to Queen (6’9”, 245). Then, at the center position the Pelicans have Yves Missi, one of the best rookies in the NBA last season. If Queen is to begin the season on the bench, it’s hard to justify trading your following year’s draft pick just to acquire him. 

The explanation of this chaos in New Orleans is likely similar to the Suns. They want to rebuild and acquire young talent while still constructing a win-now(ish) team around Zion Williamson. While this gamble may be one worth taking for Phoenix, the Pelicans no longer have a first round pick next season. This means that the stakes just got very high for a young team coming off 21 wins.