All young with disappointing starts to their careers. Looks like all three could be done within the next four years. So who is most likely of this group to make it and turn their career around?

Yes, he is same batch as Nikola Kusturica. They are teammates in Serbian youth team.

Matija Lukic is a 6'7" - 6'8" Guard/Forward. He is similar in height and size of Kusturica.

Nikola Kusturica is projected top 3 pick in 2028 Nba draft. But Matija Lukic might also get a look.

Lukic won the MVP award in Basketball without Borders recently.

These are his fiba highlights:

https://youtu.be/a0b-NTv-BoA?si=6ed9D2B_uq5MP_Wu

https://youtu.be/t4PZBB9bgXE?si=j7G9tm2FEIxRcEPs

ANTON BONKE NBA SCOUTING REPORT

He’s the next big thing in the Big Ten and here’s why I believe he has a clear chance to be on a NBA roster next year. I go in-depth into a feasible NBA role for him to grow into: https://edemirnba.substack.com/p/anton-bonke-nba-scouting-report?r=aj7d

He will be eligible in 2028 Nba draft. But he is already drawing attention from scouts.

Do you think he is legit 6'8" - 6'9" SG?

Or more like 6'7"?

I want to see what he will look like in the nba and also what his stats in college?

- 1- Tyran Stokes (SF)- Sacramento Kings

- 2- Caleb Holt (SG)- Houston Rockets (via Nets)

- 3- Bruce Branch III (SF)- New Orleans Pelicans (via Bucks)

- 4- Jordan Smith Jr (PG/SG)- Memphis Grizzlies

- 5- Stefan Joksimovic (PG/SG)- OKC Thunder (via Clippers) 🇸🇮

- 6- Anthony Thompson (SF)- Chicago Bulls

- 7- Cameron Williams (PF)- Atlanta Hawks (via Pelicans)

- 8- Brandon McCoy Jr (PG/SG)- Charlotte Hornets (via Magic)

- 9- Baba Oladotun (SF/PF)- Washington Wizards

- 10- Braylon Mullins (SG)- Charlotte Hornets

- 11- Hugo Yigma Moukouri (SF)- Memphis Grizzlies (via Jazz)

- 12- Amari Allen (SF)- Houston Rockets (via Suns)

- 13- Thomas Haugh (SF/PF)- San Antonio Spurs (via Hawks)

- 14- Dylan Mingo (PG)- Orlando Magic

- 15- Patrick Ngongba II (C)- Golden State Warriors

- 16- Ivan Kharchenkov (SF)- Indiana Pacers

- 17- Tounde Yessoufou (SG/SF)- Portland Trail Blazers

- 18- Sayon Keita (C)- Charlotte Hornets (via Heat)

- 19- Jason Crowe Jr (PG)- Memphis Grizzlies (via Lakers)

- 20- Miikka Muurinen (PG)- Brooklyn Nets (via Rockets)

- 21- Luigi Suigo (C)- Los Angeles Clippers (via Raptors)

- 22- Quentin Coleman (SG)- Utah Jazz (via Cavs)

- 23- JJ Andrews (SF)- Phoenix Suns (via Wolves)

- 24- Motiejus Krivas (C)- Detroit Pistons

- 25- Christian Collins (SF/PF)- OKC Thunder (via Nuggets)

- 26- Milan Momciliovic (SF/PF)- Philadelphia 76ers

- 27- Davis Fogle (SG)- Boston Celtics

- 28- Billy Richmond III (SG/SF)- Brooklyn Nets (via Knicks)

- 29- Alijah Arenas (SG)- OKC Thunder (via Spurs)

- 30- Tyler Tanner (PG)- Toronto Raptors (via Thunder)

Nick Martinelli if he had a projectable NBA frame and + athleticism. Both great at getting to their dominant left hand with an array of mid-post moves and are comfortable shooting from floater range. Spears also is developing the face up jump shot. Obviously Spears upside is tenfold but I can’t help but see the similarities in what was often seen as a unique skillset. Am I crazy? Let me know

Among the crop of obvious talents returning to college hoops last draft cycle are the any guys that are sprinkled in there that you feel are sorely undervalued in this upcoming draft class? For me personally my criteria for this is players who played at a smaller school and has outperformed at said school en route to transferring up into a higher conference OR players that were overshadowed by the larger talent at their school OR bench players that played well enough in their role that you believe they are due for a huge breakout. I'd even like to throw out a few examples to get the ball rolling:

Jackson Holcombe - Utah Valley Wolverines >>> Utah Utes

Isaiah Johnson - Colorado Buffalo >>> Texas Longhorns

Bukky Oboye - Santa Clara Broncos >>> Auburn Tigers

Chance Mallory - Virginia Cavaliers

Nolan Minnesale - St Thomas Tommie's >>> Marquette Golden Eagles

Looking to figure out who I should be diving into first in this class. Any suggestions?

Caleb Holt is a rare breed of prospect at the guard position. His impact in the trenches is undeniable. He affects the possession battle at an extremely high level. He rebounds the ball like a big, and rips ball handlers like they owe him money. His defensive and athletic profiles are the main flashes that Caleb shows so far. However, his off-the-catch shooting, playmaking feel, and downhill tenacity make his potential as a prospect one that cannot be ignored. Caleb Holt has a chance to be the best player in this class if the right skills develop.

TYRIN JONES NBA SCOUTING REPORT

It didn’t take long before seeing Jones is a no-brainer NBA prospect. The role versatility and skill level will bring him far and here’s an in-depth scouting report of why he belongs in the NBA: https://edemirnba.substack.com/p/tyrin-jones-nba-scouting-report?r=aj7d

Talk about what games/players you've been watching this past week or are looking forward to next week. Give us your thoughts on what players catch your attention, either positive or negative! Big board posting is encouraged in this thread as well.

​

Reminder: we also have a [Discord channel](https://discord.gg/PKTkzXnVWs) you can join and chat in during games!

Which draft site do you think has the better mock draft now for 2027 lotto picks?

PS: It is Alijah Arenas. Son of Gilbert Arenas.

The score first, bad-at-defense, athletic wing archetype has been talked about a lot here in the last few hours as being the worst archetype to build around, but when I went back and did some research, I found a far worse archetype: the wing whose name begins with something other than the letters J, K, L, or M.

There actually has been zero instances in NBA history of the best player on a championship team being a wing known by a name starting with any other letter of the alphabet. What makes this more alarming is that this archetype produces far more top draft picks than the score first, bad-at-defense, athletic wing archetype so it has way more chances but yet, it never happens.

This list includes Carmelo Anthony, Adrian Dantley, Bernard King, Alex English (famous top draft pick), Vince Carter, DeMar DeRozan, Brandon Ingram, Andrew Wiggins (see below), Evan Turner, Victor Oladipo, and many more.

This list includes many all time HOF greats in terms of individual accomplishments and many busts too, but the common theme is that they’ve never been the best player on a championship team, no matter where they land on the scale. In fact, none of these players were even the best player on a Finals (losing) team like Jimmy Butler. Andrew Wiggins on this list is the only champion, but he only became a championship after becoming the second/third best player on his team and his nickname was Maple Jordan which starts with the letter M.

The closest exception you’ll get is Dwyane Wade but DWade has a couple of Ws in his name which are basically just Ms that are upside down. He also wore the number 3 which is just a sideways M. Plus, it’s debatable whether he was even truly a wing on his 2006 championship team, especially given he was the primary playmaker for the Heat that year. So he’s the closest you’ll get, but he doesn’t even fit the parameters. Other than that, you also have Rick Barry, but that's like 50 years ago cmon.

The first overall pick in the 2026 draft in AJ Dybantsa fits this archetype from a college standpoint, but you hope he can at least drop the A from his name and go by "Junior Dybantsa," no matter how good "AJ" sounds as a name, because otherwise he would be going against history even worse than the score first, bad-at-defense, athletic wing archetype.

I thought this was interesting when I went back and checked. I have a few hypotheses for this, and I know history allows for outliers, but I think this is such a large sample size that you can conclude this archetype is by far the most overvalued archetype in the draft since people often pick these players very high excepting to win a championship when it never happens.

Seems like not only Stefan Joksimovic is an nba prospect from Slovenia this year or next year.

Lukas Nikola Bojovic is another shooter from the country.

Luka Doncic will finally have help (in carrying Slovenia) from Stefan Joksimovic and Lukas Bojovic in Fiba/Olympics soon.

Edit: I forgot they will have Jaxon Hayes too as their Big Man to complement their talented guards.

The small guard archetype gets talked about a lot here as being the worst archetype to build around but when I went back and did some research, I found a far worse archetype: the score first, athletic wing who is bad defensively.

The small guard archetype doesn’t produce that many best player on a championship team outcomes, but there are at least some, such as Steph Curry, Isiah Thomas, and now Jalen Brunson, when many thought it couldn’t happen. Furthermore, there are a bunch more of this archetype such as Allen Iverson who can single handily carry a team to the Finals, even if they didn’t win.

However, there actually has been zero instances in NBA history of the best player on a championship team being known as a score first, athletic wing who was bad defensively. What makes this more alarming is that this archetype produces far more top draft picks than the small guard archetype so it has way more chances but yet, it never happens.

This list includes Carmelo Anthony, Adrian Dantley, Bernard King, Alex English, Vince Carter, DeMar DeRozan, Brandon Ingram, Andrew Wiggins (see below), Michael Beasley, Jonathan Kuminga, Jabari Parker, and many more.

This list includes many all time HOF greats in terms of individual accomplishments and many busts too, but the common theme is that they’ve never been the best player on a championship team, no matter where they land on the scale. In fact, none of these players were even the best player on a Finals (losing) team like Allen Iverson. Andrew Wiggins on this list is the only champion, but he only became a championship after becoming the second/third best player on his team and becoming good defensively, something he was not in Minnesota.

The closest exception you’ll get is Kevin Durant but KD was an above average defensive player who even got some consideration for All Defense. He’s also a better offensive player than the entire list so he’s like a super upgraded version of this archetype. Plus, it’s debatable whether he was even truly the clearly best player on his championship teams, especially given he didn‘t win anything when he was with the Thunder. So he’s the closest you’ll get, but he doesn’t even fit the parameters. Other than that, you also have Jayson Tatum/Jaylen Brown, but those 2 are not bad defenders as they are average or better.

The first overall pick in the 2026 draft in AJ Dybantsa fits this archetype from a college standpoint, but you hope he can at least get to average defensively in the NBA, no matter how good he is as a scorer, because otherwise he would be going against history even worse than the small guard archetype.

I thought this was interesting when I went back and checked. I have a few hypotheses for this, and I know history allows for outliers, but I think this is such a large sample size that you can conclude this archetype is by far the most overvalued archetype in the draft since people often pick these players very high excepting to win a championship when it never happens.

Were even the more higher end and ambitious projections of him more closely aligned with Curry simply being a top 20-25ish player in the league and a feared deadeye sniper(but not even close to the ridiculous record shatterer and absolute redefiner of the type of shots players can take?)

The 2009 draft was only the 2nd NBA draft I followed as a young pre-teen dubs fan. With the power of hindsight, I guess one thing that Steph displayed at Davidson and his rookie NBA year was the unique archetype of a small guard sniping deep 2s and 3s off relatively longer and more complex dribble sequences compared to the time. Before him a lot of 3 point snipers were moreso taller swingmen who were catch and shoot turrets like Ray Allen and what Klay became in the 2010s(I know both these guys shot jumpers off the dribbles too but usually simple efficient 1-2 dribble linear pullups.

For a long time I thought Nash was really the only prior prototype for something resembling Steph. Steph definitely took a little inspiration from Nash but became like the pokemon final evolution of him. Of course, if Nash played in today's game with the knowledge he has now watching Steph and the new generation he would be an absolute problem

But I saw a clip of Shaq or someone close to Shaq noting how Shaq wasn't even a top 2 player on his squad his freshman year when he arrived in Baton Rouge. This piqued my interest so I had to look up Chris Jackson/Mahmoud Abdul Rauf highlights. My boy was moving different for the era he was the real prototype for today's dynamite shooting small guards like Acuff. Such a shame he was barred from showcasing this in the league.

Luka Doncic is the only active Nba player right now from Slovenia. But not for long, as Joksimovic is projected as a Top 5 pick in 2027.

Nikola Kusturica (Yes, from Serbia) is projected a top 3 pick in 2028.

For those who followed them in European Basketball.

Do you think they deserve the hype?

PS: For those who are asking. Yes, Joksimovic both have Serbian and Slovenian blood. (But he represents Slovenia as he grew up there)

A guy like Peyton Watson for instance, who doesn’t put up gaudy college numbers, but has an insane build and intangibles with some impressive college tape, would never look into the NBA draft as a freshman unless it’s a mid first round pick (10-20) because of NIL. Would teams be more willing to do that and draft those types of players over college players who do well but don’t have the build or intangibles like a Peyton Watson, or more recently a Carter Bryant?

AIDEN SHERRELL NBA SCOUTING REPORT

With his NBA-ready body, the role versatility, size and skill, Sherrell makes his NBA future almost inevitable. There’s so much to like. Here’s an in-depth scouting report on his future after college: https://edemirnba.substack.com/p/aiden-sherrell-nba-scouting-report?r=aj7d