NBA draft winners and losers: Mavs’ shot at redemption and the strange tale of Ace Bailey | NBA

Cooper Flagg and Nico Harrison

The greatest winners of the NBA 2025 draft are Cooper Flagg and the Dallas Director of Dallas, Nico Harrison. Beyond the prestige and financial awards to be the first choice, Flagg won the draft evening because he avoided going to a reconstruction team, where he could have taken years to acquire experience in the playoffs.

By landing with the Mavericks, Flagg joins the veterans of the NBA Anthony Davis, Kyrie Irving and Klay Thompson, whose mentoring should make her learning curve less dangerous. Instead of enduring the tribulations to lead a background team, Flagg will play a key role by helping the Mavs to face a title in his recruited season – although in a occasional Western conference that includes the champion Oklahoma City Thunder, Nikola Jokić Nuggets of Denver Nuggets and the Los Angeles Lakers, with the old jewelry of the Crown of Mavericks, Donoin. Expect that Flagg integrates perfectly as a time that can play several positions and contribute defensively.

In turn, the history of Harrison’s redemption begins with the selection of Flagg. After months of sustainable reaction to exchange a generational talent in Dončić, Harrison has an unexpected opportunity to rewrite his heritage so Flagg reaches his full potential.

San Antonio Spurs

The selection of Dylan Harper at n ° 2 adds to the explosive area spurs which already presents from’aron Fox and the recruit of the year Stephon Castle. Harper’s ability to put pressure on the defenses with his speed and assault will lead to more open looks and individual opportunities for Victor Wembanyama, already a superstar at the age of 21. They also chose Carter Bryant at 14, a guard / small defensive striker with a coherent three -point blow.

But if the Spurs are considering more ambitious movements, they are in the primary position to exchange some of their young active people for an NBA player like Giannis Antetokounmpo – it is if commercial talks increase in the coming months.

Whatever the direction they choose, the Spurs have taken a step in front of the recovery evening and are closer to jumping to the playoffs in the Western Conference.

Atlanta Hawks

The Hawks have made several wise movements this week by acquiring Kristaps Porzingis in a three -team business. On the evening of the evening, the Hawks remained active by sending the choice n ° 13 to New Orleans for the choice n ° 23. In the exchange with the Pélicans, the Hawks also obtained a choice of first-round recovery in 2026 unprotected which will be delivered via the most favorable position between the Pélicans or Milwaukee Bucks.

The western conference that should be even more rigorous next season, the Pelicans will find it difficult to guarantee a higher place. The impressive coup gives the Hawks an active ingredient given the highly anticipated draft class next year. With choice n ° 23, the Hawks hung Asa Newell, a late perspective that has unexpectedly fell to his hometown team.

At a conference that does not have a dominant team due to the injuries of Achille by Jayson Tatum and Tyrese Haliburton, the Hawks used the week to reorganize because each deductible of the Eastern Conference seeks to take advantage of the opportunity window.

Losers

AS Bailey

In the weeks leading to this year’s project, Bailey put a masterclass on how to land in the “loser” category. Whether his choices are due to the bad advice of his representatives or the erroneous audacity of young people, the immense talent of Bailey was overshadowed due to bad decisions that led to a negative press.

The third best hope of the draft decided not to work for the teams and snubbed the 76ers of Philadelphia which had the choice n ° 3. Falling outside the first three costs Bailey 10 million dollars and the opportunity to learn from Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey and Paul George.

Recovered by Utah Jazz even after refusing training and an interview, Bailey landed in a team that has finished with the worst League record and will be in rebuilt in the foreseeable future. Bailey has enough talent to bounce back from his blunders, but unfortunately, he has already found ways to make recruit errors.

Brooklyn Nets

The Brooklyn Nets entered this year’s draft with a record of five draft choices in the first round and finished the end of the infamy. Their first misadventure came with the selection of Egor Demin with the choice no 8. DEMIN had to fall in the middle of the first round, so the nets seem to have exceeded by selecting Demin and by transmitting players with higher ceilings such as Khaman Maluach and Collin Murray-Boyles.

But the blatant misstep of Nets was the act of keeping all their choices. Brooklyn has made the opportunity to exchange a more talented perspective or to use the choices to acquire a rising star to build.

It is possible that each recovery choice is useful and that Demin can make an All-Rookie team. But overall, the nets entered the story by selecting five players in the first round while failing to modify the trajectory of their franchise.

New York Knicks

For Knicks fans, the draft should be known as “five first round choices for the day of awareness of the Mikal bridges”. Without head coach or choice of draft in the first round, the Knicks stayed sleeping on the first day.

After an animated race to the final of the Eastern Conference, the Knicks have the opportunity to take control of the East by adding some key players who could put them on the bump. But in a week when several teams exchanged choices or other assets, the Knicks decision to stay on the sidelines is not a promising sign as the off -season takes place.

The Knicks, who have lost their own choice of second round for the falsification of the signature of Jalen Brunson, will have to wait for the 50th choice (via Memphis) to make a selection. Knicks fans can only hope for more aggressive movements on the second day of the draft.