Naturally, a lot of attention was paid this week to the NBA Draft, which snuck up on us a mere 69 1/2 hours after the final horn of the final game of the Finals. Yes, we had Cooper Flagg’s official annointing as The Chosen One, enough of an impact on the Dallas Mavericks that Kyrie Irving is willing to stick around for another three seasons (with 119.5 million good reasons to do so) but not enough for their still ticked-off fan base to derisively chant “Fire Nico” throughout the cavernous Barclay’s Center, which surprisingly wasn’t filled to the brim given how strong the air conditioning tends to be at a time when anyone in the city would covet it.
But we also had some other compelling storylines unfold last night, as NBC SPORTS’ Kurt Helin compiled this morning.:
This was a wild first round of the 2025 NBA Draft. We had the expected — Cooper Flagg and Dylan Harper going 1-2 — but there were no trades in the top 10, when we expected a lot. Then, after 10, the trades started raining down, as did the unexpected picks.
Helin then proceeded to grade the 21 teams that actually made selections last night. Among his list of winners:
Atlanta Hawks: A
Asa Newell (23, from trade Pelicans)
This was good work by the Hawks, who traded back 10 spots with the Pelicans, picked up a 2026 unprotected first rounder for their trouble, and still drafted an Atlanta native not expected to fall to them.
Miami Heat: A-
Kasparas Jakucionis (20)
This high grade is based on the fact that this is a quality pickup this late in the first round. The Lithuanian who came to Illinois via FC Barcelona is a strong floor general who understands how to run an offense and is a creative passer.
Phoenix Suns: A
Khaman Maluach (10, via Rockets), Mark Williams (trade with Hornets)
The Suns lined up two young centers in a matter of minutes on Wednesday night and did some good work with that. Williams’ talent isn’t in question, it’s simply his ability to stay healthy (which is why the Lakers pulled out of a trade for him at the deadline). However, for what the Suns gave up it’s a risk worth taking.
Maluach has NBA center size and a 7’6″ wingspan, and he showed at Duke he could anchor their defense and moves his feet well.
Alas, the local favorites who had a full sixth of last night’s picks underwhelmed:
Brooklyn Nets: C+
Egor Demin (8), Nolan Traoré (19), Drake Powell (22), Ben Saraf (26), Danny Wolf (27)
One of the biggest surprises of the first round: The Nets kept and used all five of their first-round picks. This feels like a numbers game for the rebuilding Nets: draft a bunch of players, and hope a couple of them work out.
Demin is the big swing by Brooklyn. He is a polarizing figure among scouts, but the Nets have bet on his upside. Denim is the best passer in this class, has a good feel for the game and has fantastic positional size as a 6’8″ point guard. The question is his shot and ability to score in general, but if that part of his game can be developed then this is going to look like a steal. If not… well, the Nets are rebuilding and it’s going to take time.
But despite the honest mistake made in yesterday’s post, an entire second round will take place tonight–well, 97 per cent of it, since the Knicks will forfeit a pick. FANSIDED’s Christopher Kline does a commendable job in laying out the possibilities, and all one needs to be reminded that Jalen Brunson was a second round pick to justify why you should bother clicking on this link.
Yet in their enviable determination to optimize what’s left of a pre-holiday viewership opportunity–not to mention the impending timetable of free agency, the NHL will hold their draft beginning tomorrow night at Los Angeles’ Peacock Theatre, the more compact venue adjacent to the downtown Crypto.com center. Ironically, it’s the Nets’ one-time ill-fated co-tenants that will be in the spotlight. As THE NEW YORK POST’s Ethan Sears reports this morning:
If you want to understand what the No. 1 overall pick on Friday means to the Islanders, there’s no better way than to look at the four times they’ve previously held the top pick.
The impact of all four decisions ended up having dramatic ramifications for years on end, from the best possible outcomes to something approaching the worst.
So, there’s no better way to get primed for Friday, when Matthew Schaefer is the favorite to go to the Island after a miracle lottery win, than to look back.
1972 The pick: Billy Harris. Background: The first player in franchise history, Harris edged out Jacques Richard to go first overall, with Don Lever going third. The Islanders would also take Lorne Henning and Bob Nystrom in the second and third rounds, making it a successful day in the long run. As a right wing who played with the Toronto Marlboros in juniors, Harris rose to the top prospect in a draft that looks relatively underwhelming in retrospect.
1973 The pick: Denis Potvin. Background: Coming off a woeful 12-60-6 season, the Islanders had the No. 1 pick again, helping key a two-year stretch over which Potvin, Dave Lewis, Bob Lorimer, Clark Gillies, Bryan Trottier, Dave Langevin and Stefan Persson were all drafted while Al Arbour was hired as the head coach. Potvin, an easy pick at No. 1 overall off a junior career with the Ottawa 67s, was the first of those pieces to fall into place.
2009 The pick: John Tavares, Background: The Islanders fell back to Earth hard after making the playoffs on the final day of the 2006-07 season, winning 35 games the next season and 26 in 2008-09, which led them to some much-needed lottery luck. Tavares became captain of the Islanders, helped them to their first playoff series win since 1993 and turned himself into the face of the franchise.
So the name Matthew Schaefer is likeky to be even more prominent in the minds of hardcore New York metro area sports mavens by weekend’s end than, say, Egor Demin. ESPN.com’s Rachel Doerrie can kick-start your education process:
The Erie Otters(‘) defender is projected to become a true No. 1 cornerstone for years to come. A dynamic presence at both ends of the ice, the 6-foot-2 blueliner skates with ease and elite mobility to shut down opponents in all situations, while creating offense with quality transition play.
Though an injury at the IIHF World Junior Championships — where he was set to play a key role as a 17-year-old — cut his season to just 26 games, Schaefer still logged over 25 minutes per contest, and consistently drove play in his team’s favor.
Executives and scouts view him as a future elite NHL defenseman and a foundational piece for a championship-caliber roster. Schaefer’s ability to control play from the blue line, play tough matchups, and run a power play — combined with the belief in his character and leadership — result in many believing that Schaefer has the tools to become a top-10 defender in the league, while wearing a letter as part of a team’s leadership group.
A pretty busy week for draftniks, no doubt. But take heart. You’ll have a mere two weeks before MLB gets into the act during the All-Star Break. So don’t put those Ouija boards back into dry dock just yet.
Courage…