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A wild day one of the 2025 NBA Draft brought plenty of excitement with trades, consensus reaches and big moves all over the place. Let’s dive into some winners and losers from the first day of the Draft.
Winner: Jase Richardson And The Orlando Magic
As a player I deemed a lottery-level talent, Richardson was a massive steal at the 25th. Despite standing just 6 feet tall, his incredible scoring touch from all over the floor and off-ball game give him dynamic offensive upside. His youth, efficiency and production all signal NBA potential as a useful offensive piece.
Orlando’s size and defensive infrastructure make it a perfect fit for a smaller guard like Richardson, who has some defensive potential as a playmaker off the ball. Gigantic forwards like Franz Wagner and Jonathan Isaac can help insulate Richardson defensively and benefit from his offense.
A putrid Magic offense will benefit massively from Richardon’s floor-spacing and low-maintenance off-ball game. Adding Richardson and Desmond Bane will improve their offensive significantly heading into next season. This pick was my favorite blend of value and fit in the entire Draft.
Loser: Brooklyn Nets
The Nets became the first team in NBA history to make five first-round selections in a single NBA Draft. Somehow, they missed on at least four of those five selections. Two of my three largest reaches of the night were Nets picks: Egor Demin at eight and Danny Wolf at 27, both of whom consensus viewed more favorably than me.
Brooklyn clearly prioritized ball-handling and passing, drafting on-ball perimeter initiators (Demin, Wolf, Nolan Traore and Ben Saraf) with four of its five picks. It’s clear the Nets wanted to take swings at primary handlers and add more playmaking on the roster, but it will be a challenge fitting these players together.
None of the four aforementioned players are certain outside shooters or impact defensive players. All of them have major questions about scaling down off the ball, which muddies their projection together. Selecting Drake Powell as an athletic, developmental three-and-D bet made sense, but the rest of their picks did not.
Winner: Atlanta Hawks General Manager Onsi Saleh / Loser: New Orleans Pelicans’ Future Flexibility
After trading for Kristaps Porzingis two days ago, the Hawks pulled off what many consider an all-time draft night fleece. They moved down 10 spots from 13th to 23rd and picked up an invaluable unprotected 2026 first, the best selection between New Orleans’ and the Milwaukee Bucks. Both of those teams have real downside cases, making this an absolute heist.
Atlanta drafted Asa Newell 23rd, adding another versatile defender and play-finisher to the mix. Even though that Newell pick was a reach by my evaluation, he’s a logical fit on a Trae Young-led team. Regardless of who the Hawks drafted, the trade down alone made this Draft a home run for first-time general manager Onsi Saleh.
In his first draft with New Orleans, President of Basketball Operations Joe Dumars concocted a stunning, aggressive trade-up to chase a star prospect. The Pelicans traded the 23rd pick (acquired from the Indiana Pacers for their own 2026 first-round pick) and a 2026 unprotected first-round pick (the best of Milwaukee’s or New Orleans’) for the 13th pick to draft Maryland big man Derik Queen.
On paper, this looks like a disastrous trade for the Pelicans. They give up an unprotected first in the 2026 Draft, which likely will feature at least three franchise-changing prospects (Darryn Peterson, AJ Dybantsa, Cameron Boozer). Milwaukee won’t have Damian Lillard for much, if any, of the season and the Pelicans are far from a lock to make the playoffs in a loaded Western Conference.
Queen, by my evaluation, is a prospect worth trading up for. He landed among the top three on my board because of his enormous upside as an offensive centerpiece. In theory, he can develop into a lead creator with enough playmaking to balance it out. He must reach his ceiling for the Pelicans to make out well in this deal.
In a vacuum, adding Queen and Jeremiah Fears would earn most teams high marks. Their fit with some of the Pelicans’ current players, namely Jordan Poole, Dejounte Murray and Zion Williamson, is questionable, though. Swinging on foundational talents makes sense, but the Pelicans took an enormous risk here with major future downside.
Winner: Ace Bailey?
Rumors from Ace Bailey’s camp suggested Bailey didn’t want any part of playing in Utah. It’s hard to glean anything concrete from pre-draft smoke and draft day demeanor, but Bailey might not be stoked from playing in Utah. From a basketball perspective, however, Bailey with the Jazz is an ideal fit.
Utah badly needs two-way wings, and Bailey’s on- and off-ball defensive potential makes this a logical fit. He’ll thrive with a creative head coach like Will Hardy, who will unleash his scoring as a gigantic movement shooter and secondary creator.
Bailey must buy into this role to reach his ceiling. If he’s set on commanding the ball and taking difficult shots as a primary offensive option, he may never become the best version of himself. I tend to trust players to adjust to their situation and, assuming Bailey does, Utah is a spot for him to feasibly reach his ceiling.
Loser: Portland Trail Blazers
After trading down with the Memphis Grizzlies, Portland swung on one of the bigger consensus reaches, drafting Chinese center Hansen Yang 16th overall. Yang landed at 47 on my board and 34th on the consensus board, good for the second-largest consensus reach of the night. Reaching over consensus will always raise eyebrows, especially for a Portland team with plenty of bigs already around.
Deandre Ayton and Robert Williams III might not factor into the long-term plans, but in 2024, the Blazers drafted Donovan Clingan, who has a shaky shooting profile. Yang is a promising offensive player touting real upside as a passing hub and interior scorer with notable defensive limitations.
The Blazers could view his offensive upside as worth betting on, especially given their impressive defensive core. Still, drafting a player who I view as a mid-second-round pick makes this a tough sell, especially with other centers still on the board, whom I ranked more favorably.