NBA Draft 2nd Round June 26, 2025 8 PM EST Moved Up With The 45th Pick

Bailey's predraft workout strategy has perplexed some observers, as he has yet to conduct a single known workout to date, having declined invitations from several teams within his draft range. Sources say Bailey's camp has informed interested teams that they believe he is a top-3 player in the draft, but also seeks a clear pathway to stardom, perhaps feeling comfortable that a team will trade up to get him at Nos. 3 or 4, should he drop.

Some teams question whether Bailey has received assurances of being selected by a team currently outside the top five, to a situation deemed more advantageous from a geographic and playing time perspective.

Bailey is scheduled to conduct a workout with the 76ers later this week, but it's unclear if he plans to visit any other teams at this stage. Should the Sixers pass on him, he could very well slide to the No. 6 or No. 7 picks, two teams in Washington and New Orleans that are said to be highly intrigued with the 18-year-old's talent. And both are situations in which there appear to be plenty of minutes and shots to be had. -- Givony

Airious "Ace" Bailey, SG/SF, Rutgers

LoL
Instead of 1-3 pick at one point he was considered better than Flagg,he will be chosen by somebody in twenty -ish

 

wasn't there talk of NO trying to move up to get him. hope they don't gift morey herb jones, though i think i saw some folks shoot that idea down.

 

5 days to go

 

excited about our 2nd round pick



our next "difference maker"

 

Seems like we very well may buy one or two more picks now that Mark is paying the tab.



I don't understand the "lesser" or "no(!?)" impact on salary cap situations at all though. Could someone please explain?

 

Wait, is that a bottle of OE?

 

new cba was built in part to answer what phx and the clippers and nets and gs were doing, so there are more than financial guardrails. like, you can't spend more than a certain amount on picks (which was always true, but it's lower now for higher spending teams, iirc).

and we've spent to buy picks. where we didn't spend was retaining dead weight salary. like when we just let beasley's contract expire. that was 15 million we could have used in some way--beasley would have been glad to extend one year for the sake of being used as a trade chip.

so, there will be some impacts, i think, but it's not like 5 years ago when if your owner wanted to just blow through the cap, you could do A LOT to be more competitive.

where we'll see the difference is in all the surrounding stuff, imo--more front office, scouts, medical staff, better amenities for players, etc.

 

I did an AI search a couple days ago and it came back that buying picks was not weighted as prohibitively against the Cap as the cumulative actual salaries themselves, so am curious about that now.

 

There may be multiple trades going down on draft night. We might get lucky, and slide in and steal, an unexpected asset.

 

There are several teams with multiple draft picks and limited roster spots. At the very least, we should be able to buy a 2nd from some team. Probably something like all of our available cash to Washington for #40. We might also be able to trade into the first round. Keep an eye on what Brooklyn does. I feel like they may likely target a playmaker like Denin or Traore with #8. But if they draft a big, then there's a good chance we could get Claxton off of them, maybe along with one of their other picks, like #26. I also wouldn't be surprised by a deal like 2031 1st (unprotected) to OKC for #15 and #24. They don't have much roster room, and it is a deep draft, so it could be an opportunity with us. Lakers should also be looking to move Rui and Knecht to teams that actually want them for their value on the court.

Example deal #1: Rui + Kleiber + Knecht + 2031 Lakers 1st(unprotected) to Utah for Collins + #21 + 2027 Lakers 1st (top 4 protected). We already own the 1-4 range, so 2027 is 100% our pick back.

 

With the rules about stashing players and how they can be signed by others, and with us in win now mode, are we really a contender for buying more picks. We may end up, just developing them for somebody else.

 

I think it's time to discard the f them picks mentality. Luka just turned 26 himself, and we have new ownership. They know you can't just be doing patchwork stuff year by year. The team will be well supported for development from here on out. Luka is around the same age as many older rookies.

 

You can't win in this CBA without a few drafted players. They're the best contracts and good players almost always overplay them.
We'll likely try to get some picks in the next years and try to pull an AR on a couple ones

 

Hoping this can happen in our favor

Sometimes being the right place at the right time pays off

 

Marks threw out a trade idea

Yeah, i really don't like how Bailey and his agent are handling this process. His game better back it up cause big red flags coming out of his whole ramp to to the draft strategy.

 

this graphic!!

 

No AD, Pau and Big Game

 

They're not at this level