NBA Mock Draft Picks 13-18: Which teams landed mid-round STEALS?

NBA Mock Draft Picks 13-18: Which teams landed mid-round STEALS?

welcome to the locked on NBA mockdraft special We’re diving deep into every first round pick with local experts from across the network Insider analysis bold trades and surprise selections you won’t see coming Let’s hit the clock The draft starts now Welcome to episode 3 of the Locked on Podcast Network’s 2025 mock draft The most comprehensive first round mock draft anywhere Over this six episode series you’ll get analysis from every level college international NBA team and league coverage We have it all for you right here You can find all six episodes of this series on Lockdown NBA’s channel as well as Lockdown NBA Big Board on YouTube and wherever you get your podcast here at Locked On We have a show for every single NBA team and each of our hosts will act as GMs making picks and trades We got to trade this episode We’ll talk about that and more today Joining me on the desk host of NBA Big Board the scout extraordinaire Raphael Barlo and host of Locked on NBA Game Night and Locked on Heat Wes Goldberg I’m Nick Angad host of Locked on NBA Game Night and Locked on Mavs Let’s get to our first pick the Atlanta Hawks via Sacramento Who are the Hawks going with right here with the 13th pick in the 2025 locked on NBA mock draft the Atlanta Hawks select Derek Queen out of Maryland My name is Brad Roland I’m the host of the Lock on Hawks podcast is a very intriguing pick for Atlanta and quite honestly I am surprised that Queen was still available on the board and because of that it was not a tough decision in some respects Now Queen is not a perfect fit in Atlanta I have to say he’s kind of an undersized big man and already have one of those in Yaka Kongu was breaking out at the end of last season but crucially Queen for me was the highest player available on my board and it was not a bad enough fit for me to drop down what was basically a half tier to the next player Queen is that kind of potential hub creator at the NBA level and importantly he can play with a con in my opinion as well as play with Jaylen Johnson The other intriguing front court piece for Atlanta and again overall just a very good value to have this kind of player for me a top eight or nine guy in this class dropped to 13 and that was enough for the Hawks to select Derek Queen at 13 Derek Queen going to the Hawks Raphael you thought that he could go a little bit earlier in this but you like the pick for Atlanta here yeah I don’t know if I I’m a big fan of this fit because when I look at Atlanta’s roster the one thing that they need is size and they need a sevenfooter They need a backup point guard Queen doesn’t fit either of those Clint Capella you have to imagine he’s on his way out And then Okangu and Queen you you have a pretty undersized front court I mean Jaylen Johnson was really good Risa Shay has some size there but unless they think Queen is going to be their five in their their center of the future I’m not a big fan of the Fit And then with Trey Young by him being smaller and defense is his biggest concern I think you really need to surround him with size length and a rim protector And Queen’s biggest weakness or the biggest area of concern for Derek Queen is his defense So if you’re going to have both of those guys on the floor together I think Atlanta could have some issues with both of those guys I hear all the concerns there and and I agree with them At the same time if you think Queen is the best player on the board you take him and then you figure out the fit later And and then from Atlanta’s perspective too yeah the size part the defensive part those are definitely issues But if you are convinced that a Congu and Jaylen Johnson is your front court of the future and you’re just looking for a third big who you can kind of toggle in and out queen theoretically could play with Jaylen Johnson queen at the five Jaylen Johnson at the four or with the four with a congaloo at the five Again you’re lacking a little bit of size there but you could theoretically play that What I do like about Queen in Atlanta is that the Hawks are a finesse basketball team for the most part And Queen is a physical player He He’s going to be able to pound you inside He’s be able to get to his shots He could do some stuff in the low post He’s a presence there He’s a rebounder He just adds some much needed muscle And so he’s not providing the height and the size but he is providing muscle and strength which I think is a very underrated thing at the NBA level And something that Atlanta just doesn’t have a lot of you Their strongest most physical player is probably Jaylen Johnson and he’s been hurt the last couple years So I like Derrick Queen as a good hedge for some of the Johnson injuries if you’re looking from scoring for that four spot Uh that really put them in a tough spot last year when Jaylen Johnson was out Uh and at the same time if you’re just looking for a third big long term you could talk yourself into it But mostly if we think he’s the best player on the board go ahead and take him I don’t have a problem with it What if I told you that there’s a guy left on the board that was second in the ACC in scoring first in rebounding is a legit sevenfooter was second in NCAA history in three-pointers made by a sevenfooter Only Lori Markin made more He’s on the board And even though he’s a senior he was born 18 months before Derek Queen who’s a freshman I would have to remember who’s in the ACC first They changed the conference They changed the conferences up so much Mine Reno he had a historic season Like I said second in scoring in the ACC led the ACC in rebounding made over 63s legit sevenfooter and if you want to talk about the age thing he was born in 2003 and Dererick Queen was born in 2004 Despite Derek Queen being a freshman Reo is a senior so I would have went with the size Reo is a really good athlete very underrated athlete was probably the biggest winner of the combine as far as guys that played Now I wasn’t surprised by it because he’s been good all year It’s just nobody’s been talking about him And for Atlanta that needs a seven-footer and a floor spacer Rayo would have been the pick for me Nick I just want to point out that Rainol plays for Stanford and that’s the team in the ACC That’s the one Coast Conference That’s where you’re supposed to guess in California Is Derrick Queen not just the best player available like is this This to me is just like they’re eventually going to go to a rebuild maybe a Trey Young trade They just are like let’s just go best player available We don’t know what our team’s going to look like in 12 months It just depends though But are people saying Derek Queen is the best player available because he’s a freshman and he’s newer to the scene again I just pointed out that one was born in 03 one was born in ‘ 04 So the age thing is not that big of a difference Where would you have preferred Derrick Queen get drafted because you were so high on him uh as we were going through the first couple of episodes of the Smok draft Is was there a I know we talked about I can’t remember where we talked about Was it Blazers was that your would that been your number one pick for him yeah I mean it’s not necessarily a knock on queen It’s just I’m a lot higher on Ray Null than the consensus He’s been a first round pick for me all year and it just seems like people just started to notice after he had one game at the combine All my gosh he’s a first round pick but he averaged 20 and 11 in a major conference And like I’ve mentioned only one sevenfooter in the history of college basketball made more threes They need to read NBA big board is what they need to do Maybe you heard it here first Well either way Derek Queen goes to the Atlanta Hawks at 13 Derek Queen is the next Nola Jokic I’m Trey Moore of locked on turbs And I really believe that Derek Queen could be the next Jokic of the NBA Projected lottery pick I think he is one of the best players in the draft And after watching him all year at Maryland he has some of the highest IQ of any big man coming into the draft that I remember His skill set his scoring versatility the way he passes the ball his mid-range game the way he post stuff he has all the abilities and all the skill set to be a difference maker at the next level But I think his game compares a lot to the MVP and the arguably the best player in the NBA Nicola Jokic With the 14th pick the Hawks original pick goes to the San Antonio Spurs The Spurs on the clock with the number 14th pick in the 2025 locked on NBA mock draft The Spurs selected Asa Noell out of Georgia I’m Jeff Garcia with the locked on Spurs podcast And yeah I think with Asa Noel the Spurs address one of the needs they have pressing this off season and that is bringing in quality big men to back up Wimi Last season the Spurs did not have that after trading away Zack Collins And that is a big need and actually a priority for the Spurs this off season With Asa Noel you have an athletic big exactly what the Spurs need an elite shot blocking big man with versatility and again those defensive instincts around the rim He’s a strong help defender which checks another box that the Spurs need out of their big men and also great at the weak side and cover positions He can cover ground just pretty much quickly Uh switch ball on defense which I like And I think he’ll fit in well with the Spurs moving forward He’s an excellent finisher around the rim Last season he saw 73% uh field goal percentage at the rim So that is pretty good He has a strong frame great mobility explosive leaper exactly what the Spurs need from a quality big man to pair with Victor One But we can say sure perimeter shot is not all that there limited shot creation but I think the Spurs can work with him moving forward Uh so with the 14th pick the Spurs pick as Newell This is Jeff Garcia with Spurs Make sure to subscribe on Spurs wherever you get your favorite podcast Asa Newell from Georgia goes to the San Antonio Spurs their second pick in this draft Raphael what are they getting in this pick now their second one You get just an energetic athletic play finisher with some upside as a face up scorer I think he’s a little stuck between a four and a five I don’t know if he’s big enough to be a five but I don’t know if he’s skilled enough or or if he shoots it well enough to be a four But one thing you are getting is an athletic play finisher guy that can run the floor in transition And he’s very active on the offensive glass Now if he can continue to improve as a shooter and he’s a very underrated passer I forgot to add that He’s a very very underrated passer didn’t really get a chance to show a lot of it at Georgia but if you watched him in high school you saw like the connective passing Could be an interesting fit next to Victor Wimbeyama who Victor allows you a lot of flexibility He can play the four he can play the five I mean 7 foot five guy playing the four is pretty crazy but play three if he wanted to My concerns for N is he doesn’t really rebound on the defensive end He attacks the offensive glass but he doesn’t provide the same energy on the defensive end And he’s not much of a rim protector despite being like a pogo stick athlete But those concerns are somewhat eliminated when you have Victor Winyama on your team Yeah this reminds me a little bit of when an NFL team with a good defensive line just drafts a defensive end in the first round The Ravens or the Steelers just like pick another one right you’re doubling down on a strength And in San Antonio’s uh case it’s we have these huge super versatile long athletes in our front court Now that doesn’t mean new is going to be the next Victor Wemanyama but the Spurs also need depth behind Wemby right like that is a thing that they need When WBY goes off the court they stink And uh Newell is at least an effort to address that And here at number 14 I don’t mind it You hear a lot of the same things that you heard about Nick Claxton coming out of the draft about Ace Newell here Not that they’re exactly the same kinds of players but switchable defensively Is he a four is he a five where’s his skill set all these things San Antonio has a very good track record of developing big man Uh Victor Webbmanyama Tim Duncan or or even just other guys They they’ve been able to develop bigs pretty consistently over the last few years Um if they could do it with Newell then you’ve got a tweener type four five a versatile guy who could play with or behind Victor Webbyama I like it for them But I like the guy that I just mentioned in the last segment Victor’s teammate from his youth days in France They’re both French I thought he was going back to Queen I thought he was going to flip on us No I don’t know Reo another sevenfooter and another floor spacer And the concern for Rayo is he’s not like an elite rim protector But if you have Victor on the floor that fixes that So if you’re San Antonio you could have two seven-footers that already have chemistry from playing together They’re going to play together on the French national team for years to come and both can space the floor Both good athletes I mean that would have been a move I would have made too Talk about something you need for De’ar Fox Dylan Harper Stefon Castle like yeah an interesting pick there Raphael if you’re the Spurs and you come away with Dylan Harper and Asa Newell with your two first round picks how are you feeling i’m feeling good I mean it definitely gives the fan base something to be excited about but you have to wonder like again are we making these picks for the Spurs or is there another play down the line because like we mentioned in the first episode the Dylan Harper fit isn’t clean with San Antonio And for your number two pick to maximize his potential it has to be a clean fit Feels like they had a number two pick and a and 14 And neither of them are like really great fits like at their spot too which is like right And when you put it that way it makes this pick almost even better if they are determined to trade these players because somebody like Newell could ostensibly just sort of fit anywhere Oh we need a four we put him there We need a five put him there You kind of tuck yourself into I mean Dylan Harper is obviously a great How do you think he’d look next to Bobby Poris oh dream front court I mean end it there What else do you need new goes 14 to the San Antonio Spurs Coming up we’ve got a trade for the 15th pick Find out what it was and who’s going where next Today’s episode is brought to you by FanDuel Go check out FanDuel See all the great stuff that’s available for the NBA draft Right now Cooper Flag minus 100,000 to go number one overall Seems like that that’s going to happen Dylan Harour minus 4,000 to go number two as we’re recording this VJ Edgeum the favorite right now to go number three minus25 Ace Bailey plus 230 right after him Then Trey Johnson plus 460 to go number three overall So there’s a bunch of stuff like that Uh there’s a whole bunch of other odds that you can get on FanDuel You can get them all throughout the NBA Finals if they’re still going You can go through uh NFL futures as well WNBA great stuff on there all the time And if you’re new to FanDuel it’s the perfect time to sign up That’s right now Head to fanduel.com Place your first $5 bet If that one wins you get $200 in bonus bets So put that down on something you think is absolutely going to hit no matter what because you win whatever you get from the $5 Then you also get $200 to use on basically anything else Make every moment more with FanDuel official sports betting partner of the NBA Please gamble responsibly Our first trade of the mock draft we’ve got the Brooklyn Nets moving up to 15 the trade that sends Cam Johnson to the Thunder The Nets are get Aaron Wiggins Usgeman Jen They get the 2025 OKC pick So the both the picks in this draft they get 15 the one we’re about to talk about and the 24th pick So we’ll talk about that one a little later They also get Milwaukee’s second round pick in 2028 and Atlanta’s second round pick in 2029 Do you think they could have squeezed them for anything else like what else do you think they could have could have gotten shout out to our locked on podcast host just taking this super seriously Good for them Thunder getting Cam Johnson Let’s start with the trade first Wes Cam Johnson going to the Thunder the team already in the finals Uh what what does he do for them uh comes off the bench you know like I guess look Oklahoma City what else are you going to do you’re going to take somebody here at 15 no you could turn that into Cam Johnson Good for you He makes sense there He is theoretically an upgrade over Aaron Wiggins I’m not as high on Cam Johnson as it seems like every other fan base is because if you go on NBA Twitter around the trade deadline they talk about Cam Johnson like he’s a first ballot hall of famer but um it’s it’s a nice pick for for the Thunder They’re not going to need much from him He could space the floor add some size I like it for them Theoretically an upgrade over Aaron Wiggins That is that’s the opposite of high on Johnson Like I said I’m not as high on him as most people are What do you think it’s a win A win for the Thunder It’s Yeah it’s definitely a win for the Thunder It’s a win for for both teams because the Thunder don’t need a young player I mean they already have Nicole Topic who was a lottery pick last year who basically red shirted You have AJ Mitchell and Ushan Jen Those guys they couldn’t find minutes for for them I think um Dylan Jones was a first round pick Not a lot of minutes there You get someone that can come in and play and crack your rotation And for the Nets you get a bunch of picks and you give some young guys an opportunity and guys that you’re given an opportunity that come from a winning situation They’ve been around winners They’ve been around OKC systems So I think that helps out It’s not like you’re bringing in some young guys that are coming from teams that weren’t trying to win So if I’m going to make a trade if I’m the Nets and I’m going to dump Cam Johnson even though the league is probably furious at me because I just gave the Thunder more firepower these are the type of players that I would want guys that have seen what it takes to to win And so if I want to start from scratch I want to build a a franchise around some guys like that And talk about getting two first round picks for him and a couple of seconds That’s pretty good value that the Nets are getting back in this deal for sure At the 15th pick now the Nets make their selection With the 15th pick in the 2025 locked on NBA mock draft the Brooklyn Nets select Jaor Deon the former host of lockdown Nets traded into this pick at 15 and they take another swing on Demen a 6’9 ball handler point guard out of BYU a player who is probably the best pure passer in this year’s draft class who makes reads in an extremely high level processing defense whether it’s driving and finding role men whether it’s finding weak side cutters whether it’s hitting skip passes to shooters he does it all in that regard the three-point shot is a question this is a player that could have been a top five projected pick at the beginning of this college season Some three-point struggles have dropped him But if he’s if he is able to get that three-point shot to come around force some defenders to work over the top of screens in the pick and roll His playmaking should really shine And he has you know at least some upside defensively at 6’9 with his frame So the Nets taking another swing on a ball handler here with Jagor Deon a player who if everything clicks and the shooting comes together can be a highle offensive engine at the next level With the 15th pick the Nets select Jaor Deon from BYU Raphael is this a good pick is this a foundational piece for them it’s a great pick but the happiest man is Cam Thomas Cam Thomas the guy who is not known to you know be passive He ends up getting Demond who is in my opinion the best playmaker in the draft He has excellent positional size at 69 The knock on Demon is he’s a little bit passive a little bit too unselfish And if you’re Cam Thomas you want all of those You know you know at the end of the shot clock they call them grenades You want all of those grenades or bombs at the end of the shot clock Cam Thomas is going to get a few more because Demon loves to pass the ball But he also like I said he has good positional size the best passer in this draft And so if you’re the Nets you get your point guard And if you’re trying to put yourself in position to get a top pick in 2026 then who better to put you in that position than Cam Thomas averaging 30 points per game because he’s going to get buckets He’s going to be exciting and you’re still going to lose games and you’re going to be in position to get AJ even though they won too many games this year But I actually like the fit Yeah it’s a good fit Look Demon’s the best pick and roll passer in this draft So it gives you an identity that isn’t Cam Thomas just taking shots every possession down the court Right So whether it’s Thomas taking the shot or whoever else is Thomas is happy because nobody else is going to take shots That’s right Um you can see how Demond would at least give them some kind of identity We could play some pick and roll with whoever our center is if it’s still Claxton or maybe not as we kind of move forward with this draft Um you know Deon just he makes sense in terms of here’s a thing that we want to do offensively that isn’t just give the ball to Cam and get out of the way Eventually Deon will just give the ball to Cam and get out of the way but this is like a first other thing that we could do before that Spoiler alert for the rest of the draft This is the second of six picks the Nets will make in this in this first round of this mock draft So their but their second pick is Jagar Deon Jagger Deon is going to be an absolute steal in the 2025 NBA draft Hi everybody Jay Hatch host of Locked on Cougars your daily podcast focused on the BYU Cougars And you heard me say that I believe in three or four years time when we look back at the 2025 NBA draft there will be people saying that Jerger Deon how in the world did he fall where he fell in that NBA draft blessed with a 6’9 frame the ability to see over opposing defenders but more importantly having the ability to see the court and pass it unlike anybody his age according to multiple experts out there Those are prednatural abilities that will only be enhanced as he continues to hone his craft more importantly filling out his frame and also working on his shot selection and more importantly putting the ball in the hoop He showed a very improved shot during the pre-draft process And so long as that uh progress continues there will be a number of NBA teams who are very happy to have him as a part of their rotation But more importantly I think he’d be a downright star for whoever drafts him in this draft Another trade here back-to back trades The Blazers are trading and getting the 16th pick They get KCP and they get Gary Harris from Orlando while the Magic get Anthony Simons Big move there And a second round pick from Memphis in 2026 A second round pick from Portland in 2027 Wes Anthony Simons going to the Magic Is this finally the offensive jolt will they finally score more than like 90 points a game yeah it’ll be like 95 No it’s a it’s it’s it’s a fine trade for the Magic Anthony Simons is the lowest of the hanging fruits uh out there this off season He does provide some shooting He provides some playmaking although I do wonder that in crunch time if he’s actually going to have his hands on the ball to start possessions or if that’s still just going to go to Paulo and Fron which probably should be the way it goes anyway Uh but he does help and the fact that you only had to give up Contavius Caldwell Pope and Gary Harris in order to make that upgrade um does make sense for Orlando and that from the you’re looking at this from the Portland side Okay you got a middle of the first round pick and you gave up Anthony Simons You didn’t get really a ton of stuff back even though KCP is a is a coach’s pet So I’m sure Chanty Phillips will appreciate him but it does feel like maybe you could have sold Anthony Simons earlier and gotten a little bit more So maybe they waited on this or they just really love the guy that they’re about to pick Is that what the CP stands for the end of case coach No I don’t Oh coach’s pet Ravville Anthony Simons going to the Magic The Blazers now getting the 16th pick A good deal for the Blazers If I were giving out trade grades I’d give the Blazers an A on this trade They got more size You traded Simons you got more size And then with the the earlier pick of Yakonis now it makes sense You got another ball handler So you got bigger in the back court You got some shooting you got some defense And Rashir Fleming is one of my favorite players in this draft I had mentioned with the Yakonas pick I thought they should have taken a four but now they have a four maybe a four five but with Portland’s roster construction he’ll play the four And Fleming is a guy who I’ve always liked but this was the first year where I felt like his talent and his production were on the same page He averaged 15 points eight rebounds but he shot 39% from three He also blocked 1.5 shots per game So in in theory if you’re Portland you have a fourman that can space the floor that can play as a vertical lob threat but that can also defend So I think this is a big big win for Portland and it could be a sign of Grant Jeremy Grant out of town No he’s going to stay there forever I’m The network is is telling me the pick has been tipped Let’s hear from the Portland Trailblazers on their pick at 16 With the 16th pick in the 2025 locked on NBA draft the Portland Trailblazers select Rashir Fleming from St Joseph’s I’m Mike Richmond host of Locked on Blazers and I was already on the clock at 11 I knew some of the guys I’d like would fall back to me at 16 except a lot of the guys I like were off the board Cedric Coward was gone Derek Queen was gone Jaggore Dean was gone So that left me with a relatively easy decision of the players that I was interested in and felt like fit the Blazers needs Rashe Fleming fit the bill 69 with long arms shot 39% from three his final year in college last season and he might not have a bunch of other tools on offense but he’s got some defensive playmaking skills some shooting skills and the Blazers could use some additional help in those two areas Uh and they’re just looking for talent And while Fleming Knight might not be the biggest upside swing he seems like a relatively reasonable role player and fits some needs for the Blazers along with it So Fleming was the pick at 16 Rashier Fleming going to the Blazers Raphael you already like this pick so can move on Wes uh how are you feeling about what the Blazers are doing right now what they’re putting together Yeah sorry My connection’s not already alerted me to the pick I was going to say you are you already got tipped on the pick I mean it’s frowned upon some for some We’re okay with it This is great We’re okay with it Um I like it I like it I like Fleming’s potential to be a super disruptive defender Projects as a potential floor spacing four You mentioned the vertical uh ability with him He just he makes a lot of sense next to somebody like Donovan Klingan right and my only question is all right you just traded in Anthony Simons When do you trade Jeremy Grant when are you trading DeAndre Eaton when are you trading trading Robert Williams you got to get all those guys out of the way because if if it’s Fleming and Klingan as your front court of the future that to me makes a ton of sense But there’s a lot of guys kind of crowding their space right now that they got to get out of town Maybe there’s more trades for them to do the rest of this offseason Uh but I think it’s a good pick for the Blazers who so far these their f their top two picks in the top 16 I think have had a very clear um plan of what it is that they wanted to accomplish And I think you got to feel pretty good about what they’ve done so far Yeah I agree They added veterans They added shooting They added guard depth I mean I think the Blazers so far one of the early winners of the 2025 Kind of rebalanced the roster a little bit here Yep There you go Balance I think they’re stuck with Aton and Robert Williams Like I think they’re absolutely stuck with those guys If you just look at the league other than Phoenix who needs help at at the five i mean Atlanta’s trying to get rid of or they had been trying to get rid of Capella Oh I think they’re stuck with them There’s a team in there’s a team in Southern California that would just love to to have him but I don’t know if they have the contracts to put together for them Well they’re going to have their pick between possibly Gaffford Capella Williams Aton I mean you can go down the line So some some of those guys are going to end up breaking right for the Lakers Andre Aton get two two of the top four picks from that that Luca Don the 2018 draft What’s Marvin Baggley up to right now what’s he doing he was playing really well for the Grizzlies Uh there you go Oh Rashir Fleming going 16 to the Blazers and some Marvin Bagley content Rashier Fleming comes from St Joe’s in the mid- major ranks perfectly hidden away just like his skill set Why cuz that’s going to allow Fleming to hopefully go back into the first round to a great team where he can come off the bench and do a whole bunch of the role player things that he does so well Last year averaging 14.7 points 8 and a half rebounds 1.3 assists 1.4 four steals in one and a half blocks while shooting 39% from three and 65% from two He does that with a 75 wingspan at 69240 that reres havoc on the defensive end What you don’t want Fleming doing though is handling the ball or trying to create for himself There’s also the lack of experience against highlevel competition coming out of the A10 Is that an issue well I don’t know But I feel confident that his athleticism length and motor are going to allow him to succeed right away with the right team in the right role Coming up who do the Timberwolves add to their team that’s been the Western Conference Finals two years in a row And then what do the Wizards do with their second pick we’ll explain coming up Today’s episode is brought to you by Monarch Money I enjoy Monarch Money I use it all the time because you have so many different kinds of financial things now There’s like stuff floating all around and as you get older you get more and more You get a 401k you get a mortgage you have student loans you have different credit cards for different things you have a savings account over here a high yield savings account over there You got all this different stuff and you have to figure out a way to manage it all in one spot Monarch Money is just that But it’s not just a budgeting app It’s a complete financial command center You can track all your accounts investments and spending all in one place So you stop managing your money and start building wealth They also have surprising insights You can say like “I want to buy a house or I want to do this pay off debt different things like that.” They’ll give you certain steps based on where you stand and all that kind of stuff I love that The all-in-one convenience is great too Take control of your finances with Monarch Money Use the code locked on NBA all one word Locked on NBA at monarchmoney.com for 50% off your first year That’s monarchmoney.com That code is locked on NBA You get half off your first year 50% off the entire first year with MonarchMoney at monarchmoney.com Code locked on NBA The 17th pick the Minnesota Timberwolves via the Pistons here Let’s hear their pick the Timberwolves With the 17th pick in the 2025 NBA draft the Minnesota Timberwolves select Nick Clifford out of Colorado State I’m Ben Beacon with the Daily Lockdown Wolves podcast And the Timberwolves have both 17 and 31 It’s unlikely they pick and keep two rookies in this draft Uh you know two really valuable picks I think one gets moved forward maybe for a future pick but if Nick Clifford is there at 17 he’s a perfect fit for Minnesota And that’s how our draft board felt here at lockdown Nick Clifford is already an NBA player He’s 23 He’s a five-year college player Some similarities to last year’s late first round pick for the Wolves and TJ Shannon Jr A terror in transition Um NBA body He’s about 66 with a 68 wingspan So just a little smaller than TJ Shannon but probably more physical a little bit more built a little bit more strength on his frame and a developing offensive game despite the age He’s plug-andplay from a defensive standpoint He’ll be flexible and switchable on the perimeter but the offensive game is developing and there’s a lot to like there for him as a catch and shoot player If the Wolves get Nick Clifford at number 17 Nick Clifford going to the Timberwolves What are the Timberwolves getting a team that was in the Western Conference Finals What are they getting now in Nick Clifford plug and play I mean it’s going to be tough to crack that rotation We saw Terrence Shannon was able to do it at the end of the year but Nick Clifford provides just an option that you can plug and play He’s the best rebounding guard in the country He a little less than 10 rebounds per game at the guard spot He’s a good shooter He’s a good passer He’s one of the players that when I look at his film there’s not a lot of flaws in his game He can shoot he can pass he can defend Like I said he rebounds And he’s the type of connective piece that I think could really help a playoff team He’s the kind of connective piece that Nikquil Alexander Walker was from Minnesota this past year And with NAW as a free agent potentially they’re going to have to replace him Maybe it is Terrence Shannon Maybe it’s Jaylen Clark Well they just got another option here with Nick Clifford It’s also sort of the opposite of what they did last year in moving up to get Rob Dillingham who was a little bit more raw And that was the expectation there with Clifford Five-year college player like Raphael says plugandplay This is a team that just is probably going to need one more rotation guy And they might have just found it with this pick An interesting pick We’ll see with the Timberwolves if how they end up shaping up If Julius Randle still there what happens with that with that team if they decide to make a move or if they decide to just stand pat We’ll see with them Nick Clifford though to the Timberwolves What’s not to like about Colorado State guard Nick Clifford I’m Andy Patton the co-host of the Lockdown College Basketball Podcast Clifford did a little bit of everything last year for the Rams In the competitive Mountain West Conference Clifford averaged 19 points and n 12 rebounds per game for Colorado State shooting nearly 38% from three on about five attempts per game Clifford is a gifted passer as well He is a go-to scorer who can do it at all three levels and he held his own in a physical conference defensively as well Clippford may be an older prospect which could concern some of the rebuilding teams in this draft class but any franchise that is in in win now mode should be all over adding this versatile do it all guard to their roster as he can contribute to winning basketball at the NBA level from day one With the 18th pick the Washington Wizards taking over Memphis’s pick here And let’s see who they decide to go with With the 18th pick in the 2025 locked on NBA mockdraft the Washington Wizards select Danny Wolf center Michigan I’m Abdullahubi with the Locked on Wizards podcast And wow did the Wizards get a steal at pick 18 Danny Wolf a man a prospect with very high upside playmaking ability He’s a sevenfooter that has guard skills Maybe a lot of people want to point out the lack of athleticism Athleticism in today’s NBA is a little overrated And I think if you’re the Wizards you get a guy in Danny Wolf who you pair with Alex Sar And I think they can complement each other really really well I didn’t think he would be there at pick 18 but it is another great pick by Will Dawkins You got a guard the sixth overall pick and Jeremiah Fears And now Danny Wolf who also be in a front court with Alex Sar Tristan Vuvich a young guy who I can definitely think could be that forward uh for the future the starting forward for the Wizards and comp competition That’s what I love to see Uh seeing guys fight for their starting position here at this young Wizards team Danny Wolf pick 18 Will Dawkins another home run pick Danny Wolf going to the Washington Wizards I feel like this is a little lower than I’ve seen him on some mocks Raphael what do you think about this pick i like the pick I mean Wolf is he’s very polarizing but one you have to love the size He’s a sevenfooter Moves incredibly well is a really really good passer Can space the floor a little bit The reason why he could be a little bit polarizing is because despite being a really good passer he’s very very turnover prone Like he’s ranked as one of the NCAA leaders in turnovers And with his turnovers sometimes he’ll fire just a just incredible pass to a cutter from the top of the key that makes you shake your head like I haven’t seen too many sevenfooters that can make that pass but the next possession he may fire the ball into the fifth row And so with him with his passing being like his greatest attribute you have to wonder is he going to have the freedom to to to basically play free and make some of those mistakes because he’s going to have to tone down some of the turnovers if he wants to to really stick in a rotation Think playing with Jordan Pool will help him do that there might not be enough turnovers to go around Um no I I love this pick Also while we’re at the on the names part of this I have a few names flagged here Danny Wolf does sound like the protagonist in a movie about a high school basketball team Uh but I love I love the pick here Um look the Wizards we talked about their depth chart a little bit earlier They have a lot of guys who are play finishers shot makers They don’t have a lot of guys who initiate a ton of offense Danny Wolf can walk in right away U add some playmaking to an offense that really needs it That’s full of interesting shot makers but he’s sort of that glue guy Now again Raw to Raphael’s point there could be a lot of turnovers there but he’s also going to get the reps in Washington to maybe work through some of those things Every once in a while while you’re looking for your Nicola Joic you land on a Josh McRoberts but if that’s who they end up with I think it’s fine in the middle of the first round Um but I like this pick for them I think it’s the right idea You just need a connective piece there And he does play the right position He could play with Sar He can play with Gulabal He can play with a lot of these guys Add some size and some heft to a to a front line that really needs it So positionally it makes sense Skill-wise it makes sense I think it’s the right place for him I did not expect a Josh McRoberts drop at at this point in the NBA draft but Danny Wolf going to the Wizards at 18 Is your NBA team looking for someone that is a point guard style of player but might be 7 feet tall i’m Isaiah Hole from Locked on Wolverines and I’m here to tell you a little something about Danny Wolf who Dusty May got from Yale via the transfer portal He’s got everything man He’s got the size He’s got the ability to pass the ball like a point guard He can take the ball up the court He can also make all of those mid-range shots He is the exact type of player that NBA teams absolutely desire He can do everything and has the size to be able to rumble down low unlike a lot of those point guards that you get But he can actually bring the ball up the court He can facilitate He can get those assists He can do a little bit of everything Sometimes he has a little bit of turnover problems but a lot of those have been mitigated in some of the big games So keep your eye out for Danny Wolf because he is going to be one of those guys that everyone in the NBA is going to be looking at and saying “Why didn’t we think of him sooner?” That wraps up episode three of the lockdown 2025 NBA mock draft We still have some good names on the board and we got another trade next episode And the Brooklyn Nets spoiler we’ll make three picks in the next episode Uh we’ll talk about that next Next you can check out every episode of the Lockdown 2025 NBA mockdraft on the Lockdown NBA channel as well as the Lockdown NBA bigboard channel on YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts

Locked On’s five episode NBA Mock Draft is here. Find out who the Portland Trail Blazers selet at No. 16. For every episode of the 2025 Locked On NBA Mock Draft search Locked On NBA Draft wherever you get your podcasts.

Follow & Subscribe on all Podcast platforms…
🎧 https://link.chtbl.com/LOBlazers?sid=YouTube

Locked On NBA League-Wide: Every Team, Fantasy, Draft, WNBA & More
🎧 https://linktr.ee/LockedOnNBA

Watch the show and subscribe on YouTube
📺 https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCeE7WdPaNWwA-IZGfHek90Q?sub_confirmation=1

Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!
CarGurus
Buy or sell your next car today with CarGurus at CarGurus.com to make sure your big deal is the best deal.

SKIMS
Shop SKIMS Mens at SKIMS.com/lockedonnba. Let them know we sent you! After you place your order, select “podcast” in the survey and select our show in the dropdown menu that follows.

Monarch Money
Take control of your finances with Monarch Money. Use code LOCKEDONNBA at monarchmoney.com for 50% off your first year.

FanDuel
Right now, new customers can get TWO HUNDRED DOLLARS in BONUS BETS when your first FIVE DOLLAR BET WINS! Download the app or head to FANDUEL.COM to get started. Bet with FanDuel—Official Partner of the NBA.

FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN)

#TrailBlazers #NBA