From Rasheer Fleming to Rocco Zikarsky: What the Second Round Says About the NBA’s Future
Is the Joe Dumars criticism fair?
Everyone’s been piling on Joe Dumars since the first round — and they probably won’t stop for weeks. In his first draft running the Pelicans, he moved the team up from #23 to #13, giving up an unprotected future pick to do it. But let’s be clear: he didn’t use that pick on Egor Demin — he got Derik Queen, a player most people couldn’t believe was still on the board heading into draft night. Dumars targeted Queen, and he got him. Queen was arguably the best defensive freshman center in college basketball last season. The criticism stems from the fact that the Pelicans already had a lottery pick and used it on Jeremiah Fears, the riskier of the two prospects. So the question is fair: why not just take Queen at that spot and keep the future pick? Still, the trade isn’t as disastrous as it’s being made out to be. We don’t know when that future pick will convey, what it will become, or who it will ultimately land. What we do know is this: getting Queen at 13 is tremendous value. If the Pelicans hit on both Fears and Queen, Dumars could remind everyone why he built a Pistons team that won a championship. And if that future pick turns into something major? Well, we’ll remember the double phones picture.
Is NIL making the second round worse?
Thanks to NIL, college players no longer have to make the tough call of leaving school early just to support their families. It used to be that once NBA interest appeared, you were gone — ready or not. Now, with NIL, players can afford to stay until they’re actually prepared for the league. The downside? The second round has lost some of its intrigue. The draft has become more efficient, which means it’s increasingly rare to see a player take the leap too early and suffer a dramatic fall on draft night. Who were fans even waiting on in the second round this year? Rasheer Fleming?
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Could Rocco Zikarsky be something worthwhile?
At 7'4" (in shoes), Zikarsky is the tallest player in this year’s draft — and just the fifth player of that height to be drafted this century. For those who’ve followed him since last year’s draft, his past season’s performance might feel like a disappointment. But what makes him so intriguing is his age. At just 18, he’s the youngest player ever selected by an NBA team at that height. Most players with his physical profile don’t hit the league until they’re 22. Zikarsky, meanwhile, will still be a teenager when the season tips off. The offensive rebounding tools are there — but the defense? That’s the scary part. Maybe playing alongside Rudy Gobert will help.
The Nets’ best pick was the one they didn’t make
The Nets set an NBA record by making five selections in the first round. They originally had six total picks heading into the draft but traded their second-rounder to the Lakers just moments before they were on the clock. Technically, the Nets selected Adou Thiero — but the pick belonged to L.A. Confusing? Absolutely. Unlike the guards Brooklyn actually drafted in the first round, Thiero was one of the most analytically impressive guards in the class. He led the SEC in PER and posted a true shooting percentage of 61%. If Sean Marks had made this pick for the Nets, it might’ve helped quiet some of the well-earned criticism he got after round one.
Why is the NBA Draft on a Wednesday/Thursday?
The two-day NBA Draft? It’s… fine. But let’s be real — most people were asleep by the second round. The NFL Draft should be the blueprint: Round 1 on a Thursday night in primetime, then the rest over the weekend for the die-hards. Who in their right mind thought it was a smart move to drop one of the league’s marquee events in the middle of the week?
