MAJOR 76ers Draft Rumors: Ace Bailey NOT The Pick? Khaman Maluach, Tre Johnson IN PLAY At #3?

MAJOR 76ers Draft Rumors: Ace Bailey NOT The Pick? Khaman Maluach, Tre Johnson IN PLAY At #3?

[Music] On today’s show, going to go through some of the latest draft intel surrounding the Philadelphia 76ers and what they could do at pick number three. This coming from draft expert Raphael Barlo, who if you’re not familiar with who Raphael Barlo is, he is a former scout and still does a bunch of scouting in his own time, runs some social media pages, and he’s very, very tapped in with the NBA world and the NBA draft. Has a lot of connections to current NBA scouts around the league. So, what he has to say, I trust a ton. And he has a lot of connections again with some of these scouts. So, we’ll get into some of what he had to reveal on the Sixers on today’s show. But before we get into that, I was talking with my good friend here at Chat Sports, Tyler Smith, and he was bragging a little bit because he’s the host of our Celtics Today channel, and they just had a huge big time like record that they set over there at Celtics Today, and he doesn’t think we can do it here on 76ers. Now, he said there’s no way we can surpass 300 likes on today’s show. I want to prove him wrong. I hate the Celtics. I know you hate the Celtics. So, I want to show him how we do things over here at 76ers. Now, hit that thumbs up icon, like the video so we can prove my boy Tyler Smith wrong. And now, let’s get into some of this draft intel from Raphael Barlo. Starting with Ace Bailey, who has been the presumed number three overall pick to Philadelphia and the guy that myself and a lot of other Sixers fans and analysts would like a number three overall. But Barlo said that several scouts and executives he has spoken to believe there’s a real chance he could slide. Here’s what Barlo passed along that one current NBA scout told him regarding Ace Bailey. Measurements may have hurt Bailey in the eyes of teams a little bit, but if you saw him in person, you knew he wasn’t actually 6’10. I think he could fall past Philly. Does have some flaws that people get hung up on. If he doesn’t go number three, he could definitely fall. And again, Ace Bailey, a little bit of a polarizing prospect for sure, right? Put up pretty good stats and counting numbers in his lone season at Ruckers in what was a very disappointing year for that team with him and Dylan Harper, two potential top three picks in this draft. And he’s obviously a bonafide scorer. That’s what he does best. Although the shots that he takes aren’t necessarily the best shots you can get in an offense. Now, when he tested at the NBA combine, some ups, some downs. Of course, the height came in shorter than you were expecting, but the wingspan is still great. The reach is still great. All the shooting numbers were very, very solid as well. And the athletic numbers also very solid. That’s another plus upside to his game. As I mentioned, Ace Bailey, a very, very excellent shot maker. He can make shots all over the floor. And with that height and that wingspan, it’s very, very difficult for defenders to truly contest his shots. Now, he does need to put on some weight. You can kind of tell from these images like he’s a little bit skinny, but again, he’s so young. A lot of these guys coming out of college right now still growing into their bodies. Definitely can improve as a defender. Although, I think he showed a lot of signs and a lot of growth over his lone season at Ruckers in that regard. the shot creation, shot selection have to come along sometimes for Ruckers, whether it was because of how he plays the game or because of how bad that team was, just taking a lot of bad shots and he can’t really create a ton of space because the handle’s a little bit loose. But I really do still believe Ace Bailey is the guy at number three. You look at, you know, a team like the OKC Thunder and not just OKC, but all the better teams in the league, they’re all driven for the most part by young talent and young stars. The Sixers need to buy into this idea of getting young talent on board and thinking beyond Joel Embiid and Paula George. And the guy with the highest ceiling outside of Cooper Flag and Dylan Harper, I believe, is Ace Bailey. He has a chance to be a bonafide all-star someday. If the other aspects of his game comes along because of his scoring upside, another NBA scout on Ace Bailey, Philly should take Ace. I understand the hesitation, but I think he’s just been overly scrutinized, especially on social media and in public circles. He seems to get the bulk of the blame for Rucker’s disappointing season and not Dylan Harper. There’s a lot to like about Ace, and I think Philly should not overthink it. Just take him at number three. So, obviously, a lot of scouts are split, a lot of fans, and just people in NBA draft circles as a whole are split. So, I want to see where you guys are at on Ace Bailey. If you’re Daryl my would you take ace number three overall? Give me a Y for yes. Give me an N for no. But where things start to get a little interesting on some of this draft intel from Raphael Barlo combined with the fact that Ace Bailey reportedly could fall a little bit in the draft. These other three guys, VJ Edgecom, Kaman Malawich, and Trey Johnson, especially these bottom two right here starting to emerge as real candidates for that number three overall pick for Philadelphia. We’ll start with VJ Edgecom, the other guy who’s been commonly mocked to Philadelphia at number three. Here is what one NBA scout told Raphael Barlo about VJ. If they don’t take Ace, they can look at VJ Edgecomb. I think number three is too high for VJ. People get enamored with athletic guards, but I don’t think he creates well enough off the bounce to be a real initiator. My question is, will he be a good enough shooter off the catch? To me, VJ a smaller version of Benedict Matan of the Pacers. Guys like Mathan and VJ looked good in college, but at the pros you have to think and be efficient. Mathan’s bigger and more physical, but in college, he was just an athlete. That’s kind of what I see from VJ right now. And I have some similar concerns when it comes to VJ Edgecomb’s game. And again, this is why I’d rather go ace over VJ. He’s a great athlete. There’s no doubt about it. And he can impact the game right away with his defense. We know he at least has that floor. But the offense still has to come along. Despite him being a great athlete, he did struggle to finish at the rim and the shooting. We really don’t know what kind of offensive player we’re going to get, especially if he can’t be a floor spacer on the offensive end of the floor. Now, he did get better as time went on, similar to Ace Bailey at Baylor for VJ. And you can see with the 2.1 steals number, 15 points per game, solid numbers again for a freshman there. And the testing is going to look great, of course, for somebody like VJ. shooting actually was pretty promising for someone like him. Now, of course, you know, all these testing numbers, it’s in an open gym and they’re not really being guarded by anybody. So, a lot of the numbers do look very good, but you know, for someone like VJ where shooting is a swing skill, it’s nice to see him sink almost 30 out of 48 three-pointers at the combine. Of course, the vertical numbers are great, the athletic numbers are great, and did come in right around 6’3, 6’4, which is, you know, maybe a tiny bit lower than people would have been hoping. And of course with VJ, it’s the athleticism that is his claim to fame when it comes to his NBA career. Really does show up as a finisher mostly in on the fast break and on defense where again he’s going to be a great defender right away. He has shown the ability to develop into an elite shooter on the perimeter. He’s shown the flashes, the signs are there, the shot looks good, but it needs to be more consistent and he still is working on his creation off the dribble. Here’s more from another NBA scout on VJ. He’s a wild card to me because of how well he played with the Bahamas team last summer. If you don’t know, he did play with that team. Was the youngest player on that team with guys like Buddy Healed and he was the best player on that team. Started off slow this year, but definitely got better as the season went on. I’ll admit that. But early on, there were games where he looked terrible. I saw him against Arizona, this is the scout, of course, in January, and thought he was a completely different guy by the end of the year. I think he really improved his three-point shot. So, I do think he could be a good fit for Philly if they do pass on Ace. And I can see the vision with VJ Edge. I’m not here to trash on him and say he’s some terrible prospect. I do see a world where with that athleticism, he has a high floor and that gives him a higher ceiling if some of these offensive creation, you know, skills could come around. But that’s why I like Ace Bailey so much because he’s still a really good athlete. He has the ability to knock down these shots. He has some other aspects of his game to refine. But there is a world and I can see a world where VJ Edgecom is a very very successful NBA player and I wouldn’t hate it if they took him at number three. Going to get to Kaman Milo and Trey Johnson coming up next because apparently these two gaining some traction to be the Sixers pick at number three overall. But before we get there, I want to tell you guys about this fantastic deal over with our friends at Fanatics on this 76ers baseball jersey. I know a little little unique, but I think it looks absolutely dope. Of course, the Phillies baseball season in full swing right now and they’re off to a pretty hot start of a loss like the last four games as of this recording. But if you want to be able to support the Sixers and support the Phillies, you know, something you can wear to Citizens Bank Park, this baseball jersey is 50% off right now in all sizes. It is on clearance, so that means it is going fast. Be sure to get in on the axe. We’ve already sold, I believe like four or five of these have gone since the last time I talked about these just from people on this show. Oh, and of course, there’s plenty more being sold as well. So, do not wait. Do not hesitate. Get your Sixers baseball jersey today. chatsports.com/76 baseball is the link. I’ll have that clickable in the comment section and description of today’s show so you can go take advantage of that 50% off before it is too late. All right, let’s get to Kaman Malawatch rising a little bit in some of these recent draft projections and rising as a potential Sixers target at number three. According to Barlo, Malawatch quietly gra gaining traction as a potential option for Philadelphia. Here is what an NBA scout had to say on come on Malawatch to Barlo. The Sixers need to maximize their window. They have older players with big contracts. I don’t think Malawatch gets past Toronto. Philly is solid at the guard spot already. Don’t be surprised if they take a long hard look at Kaman Malawatch. Honestly, I would be surprised if they took a look at Malawatch. But, you know, scouts right here are saying that they believe this is a possibility. A very, very rough prospect who had high-end flashes at Duke, but, you know, had some low-end flashes as well, where he had zero rebounds in the national championship or in the game before the national championship against Houston. Obviously, very efficient from the field, all of his shots coming at the rim. big another skill for him that I don’t know if I’d call it a swing skill, but something that could really increase his development in his ceiling is that shooting at the NBA combine and really at Duke as a whole in general. Wasn’t really able to show that off. It’s theoretically in there, that jumper. He showed it in the past, but just wasn’t really able to show it off at the combine. But look, where he really excels is the things you can’t teach. That’s his height, his insane wingspan of over 76 and that reach of 9’6 in. Absolutely insane. He uses that massive frame to his advantage and he moves very well for his size. He is an elite rim protector as an interior finisher throwing down lobs. He is a play finisher. He is a really good rebounder and the numbers don’t always 100% show that on paper and you know people will look at that Houston game and be like, “Wow, what happened there?” But he is a good rebounder. again, still very raw in his awareness. Hasn’t been playing basketball all that long. Overall, offensively, has a lot of room to grow, but there is reason to believe he can grow in that aspect. Regardless, I don’t see Daryl my going this route for Philadelphia. I’d be very surprised if they stick at number three and this is the pick. I just don’t see my kind of admitting and giving up on Joel Embiid in a way, saying, “We don’t think he’s going to be healthy enough. Let’s go grab another center.” We already have Drummond on the roster and Bono on the roster behind Embiid. I’d be very shocked if they did go center. I know they’re kind of set at guard, but there’s other prospects that are better at guard at wing. I don’t see them going this kind of route and looking this far ahead into the future post Embiid. But also in the mix at number three, Trey Johnson gaining some hype. Raphael Barlo on him. There are scouts who believe around the league Trey Johnson is a legitimate option at number three overall. So, we’re getting a lot of different guys here that are potentially in play for Philadelphia. Here is an NBA scout on Trey. I don’t think people know how good he is playing off the ball. There’s this narrative that if he’s not on the ball a ton, he’s going to struggle, but he’s really good off movement. He can relocate. He can pass. I don’t think people realize how good of a passer he is. He makes plays out of ball screens. Trey Johnson, the first thing you got to bring up when you’re talking about Trey, he is a bonafide scorer and a tremendous shooter. Maybe the best pure shooter scorer in this draft from that aspect. You could see almost 20 points per game as a true freshman in the SEC, shooting almost seven threes a game and knocking down basically 40% of those threes. Just absolutely ridiculous stuff. and doing it on a Texas team that really was not all that good. At the combine, measured in about 6’6 with a 6’10 wingspan. So, helping his prospects a little bit to potentially play on the wing. Although, I do still view him as more of a natural two guard. And of course, the shooting numbers, he absolutely lit it up at the NBA combine as well. And the athleticism showed off a little bit there as well. Again, a very dynamic shooter, especially with the ball in his hands. If he catches fire, it’s like he can’t miss. He can shoot, catch and shoot on the wing. He can even put it in the post a little bit. Shoot some post fadeaways. He does have an act to create for his teammates as well. People like to knock him for kind of having tunnel vision. And sure, when he gets really hot and in that mode, he might only be looking to score, but he’s even said himself in interviews, it’s a very underrated part of his game, his vision and his ability to pass. Now, where there’s a lot of concerns for him is the defensive end of the floor because he does lack size. He does lack strength. He’s not a superb athlete and just not very good laterally moving his feet, things like that. So, defensively, could teams kind of attack him? Could be a worry. More from an NBA scout on him and specifically with Trey number three. I don’t know about Trey Johnson in Philly at number three. He couldn’t always get his shots off. That’s the only thing. doesn’t get by defenders very well, but it’s not like he had to be the primary option in Philly. If he can just play second side actions, get some pick and roll reps, shoot it off the catch, he’ll be fine. I think the shooting will translate right away, but I think number three is too high still. It might make sense for Philly if they go all in on offense. Honestly, I don’t love that idea of just going all in on offense. The Thunder, for example, right? You know, I keep bringing them up, but they’re the top of the NBA right now. them and the Pacers, of course, want to give respect to both of these teams. They’re both very good defensive teams. Like the Pacers obviously have a very great offense and the defense not top of the league, but they’ve steadily improved over the years. And of course, OKC has a tremendous defense. You can’t just ignore one side of the ball, right? So, I like Trey Johnson as a prospect. I think he’s going to be a 20 point per game scorer in this league. It’s going to translate. I just don’t love his fit for this 76ers team that’s already pretty heavy on guards. Again, I don’t love him playing at the wing. If you were to run Maxi Grimes and Trey Johnson, I just feel like you’d suffer a little bit defensively. You need guys bigger wings that can guard opposing teams wings. And Trey Johnson, if he is getting attacked on defense, can he make up for an offense? Maybe, but I I just rather again go someone like Ace Bailey who has the bigger size and kind of similar shotmaking skills to Trey Johnson. So, we talked about four prospects here on today’s show that are being linked to Philadelphia that all realistically could be the option at number three. Let me know which one you take. AB for Ace Bailey, VJ for VJ Edgecomb, KM for Come on Match, or TJ for Trey Johnson. And that’ll do it on today’s show. As we get closer and closer to the draft, which is just in 22 days now at this point as I record this on June 3rd, we’re going to keep hitting you with more draft news, draft rumors along the way. Of course, free agency will be coming up. We’ll be live for the draft and free agency. So, do not miss a thing as we approach that date. Hit that sub button, turn on those notifications, and I appreciate you for watching today’s show. [Music]

Philadelphia 76ers NBA Draft rumors headline today’s 76ers Now as NBA Draft expert and NBA Scout Rafael Barlowe dropped draft intel on multiple NBA Draft prospects for the Sixers, including Ace Bailey, VJ Edgecombe, Khaman Maluach and Tre Johnson. Daryl Morey has kept his Sixers draft plans secret as nobody knows what Philadelphia will do in the 2025 NBA Draft. Jake Chipper reacts to the latest Sixers news and rumors on the NBA Draft on today’s Philadelphia 76ers YouTube video.

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NBA Scout on Ace Bailey:
“Measurements may have hurt Bailey in the eyes of teams a little bit. But if you saw him in person, you knew he wasn’t 6’10”. I think he could fall past Philly. He does have some flaws that people get hung up on. If he doesn’t go No. 3, then he could definitely fall.”

Ace Bailey stats:
– 17.6 PPG, 7.2 RPG, 1.3 BPG, 46.0 FG%, 34.6 3P%

Chat it up with your fellow Sixers fans by answering today’s questions down in the comments section:
– Would you take Ace Bailey at #3? Type ‘Y’ for Yes or ‘N’ for No
– Pick one to draft: Ace Bailey (Type ‘AB’), VJ Edgecombe (Type ‘VJ’), Khaman Malauch (Type ‘KM’) or Tre Johnson (Type ‘TJ’)

NBA Scout on VJ Edgecombe:
“If they don’t take Ace, they can look at VJ Edgecombe. But I think No. 3 is too high for VJ. People get enamored with athletic guards, but I don’t think he creates well enough off the bounce to be a real initiator. And my question is—will he be a good enough shooter off the catch? To me, VJ is a smaller version of Benedict Mathurin. Guys like Mathurin and VJ look good in college, but in the pros, you have to think and be efficient. Mathurin’s bigger and more physical, but in college he was just an athlete. That’s kind of what I see from VJ right now.”

VJ Edgecombe stats:
– 15.0 PPG, 5.6 RPG, 2.1 SPG, 43.6 FG%, 34.0 3P%

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NBA Scout on Khaman Malauch:
“The Sixers need to maximize their window. They have older players with big contracts. I don’t think Maluach gets past Toronto. Philly is solid at the guard spot. Don’t be surprised if they take a long, hard look at Maluach.”

Khaman Maluach stats:
– 8.6 PPG, 6.6 RPG, 1.3 BPG, 71.2 FG%

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Philadelphia 76ers Draft Picks:
– 2025 1st Round Pick (#3)
– 2025 2nd Round Pick (#35)
– 2026 1st Round Pick (Least Favorable of OKC/HOU/LAC)
– 2026 1st Round Pick
– 2027 2nd Round Pick (via MIL)
– 2027 2nd Round Pick
– 2028 1st Round Pick (via LAC)
– 2028 1st Round Pick
– 2028 2nd Round Pick
– 2029 1st Round Pick (swap best with LAC)
– 2029 2nd Round Pick
– 2030 1st Round Pick
– 2030 2nd Round Pick

NBA Scout on Tre Johnson:
“I don’t think people know how good he is playing off the ball. There’s this narrative that if he’s not on the ball a ton, he’s going to struggle. But he’s really good off movement. He can relocate. He can pass. I don’t think people realize how good of a passer he is—he makes plays out of ball screens.”

Tre Johnson stats:
– 19.9 PPG, 3.1 RPG, 2.7 APG, 42.7 FG%, 39.7 3P%

Can’t get enough Philadelphia 76ers YouTube videos? Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered:
– Sixers Interested In SNEAKY Overseas Prospect + Kelly Oubre HINTS At Returning! 76ers News & Rumors – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CeUtqFTjtiE
– 76ers Get GREAT NEWS On This Potential Sixers Trade Target – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5EnPd9uhbc8
– This Could Be BAD NEWS For The Philadelphia 76ers In 2025 NBA Free Agency… | Sixers News & Rumors – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E85auwluU2M

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