The 2025 NBA Draft featured one of the most talented prospect pools in recent history. Cooper Flagg hogged the spotlight and dominated the storylines at Duke, but he's far from the only future All-Star from this group. Dylan Harper, VJ Edgecombe and other top picks figure to render an immediate impact, while even some late first- or early second-round picks are well positioned for swift productivity.
It's next to impossible to project rookie success with anything approximating accuracy, but after extensively studying the 2025 draft class, there are a handful of newcomers who feel deserving of a bit more shine. This league changes constantly, and very few jobs are 100 percent safe. Plenty of Game 1 starters won't survive until the All-Star break. Rookies, meanwhile, often need a few weeks to win over their coaches and prove their mettle against NBA competition.
For the purposes of this article, we will ignore the rookies who feel destined to start (Cooper Flagg, Kon Knueppel, Tre Johnson, Ace Bailey, Egor Dëmin) and instead focus on those battling for minutes in training camp and who, by the end of next season, could surpass their veteran counterparts for a spot in the starting five.
Here are the veterans on the chopping block.
Moussa Diabaté/Mason Plumlee, Charlotte Hornets
The Charlotte Hornets have a few options at the center position this season, but the Opening Day starting spot probably belongs to either 23-year-old Moussa Diabaté or 35-year-old Mason Plumlee. Both have their positives, with Diabaté enjoying the perks of youth as a major athlete with an appetite on the glass, while Plumlee is a heady vet who can deliver any pass on the short roll.
And yet, there is competition here from second-round pick Ryan Kalkbrenner, who came off the board 34th overall to Charlotte. It's rare for second-round picks to climb the ladder so quickly, but a) Kalkbrenner shouldn't have fallen to the second round to begin with and b) this is generally a weak spot in the Hornets depth chart. Especially if this season begins to go south, the Hornets will look to youth.
The "youth" argument doesn't entirely work in Kalkbrenner's favor, as he's the same age as Diabaté, but the five-year college star put together an incredible résumé at Creighton. He's a four-time Big East Defensive Player of the Year. He led the conference in rebounding and blocks last season, not to mention field goal percentage for the last four seasons. Kalkbrenner was a dominant force at the collegiate level and he has only gotten better with each campaign, extending his range as a shooter and adding more tricks in the post.
For a team built around a trio of quality passers in LaMelo Ball, Brandon Miller and No. 4 pick Kon Knueppel, Kalkbrenner occupies a valuable archetype. He's a 7-foot-2, 257-pound behemoth who sets solid screens, finishes everything in the paint, and comfortably pops out to the 3-point line for spot-up jumpers. His feel and his fundamental solidity makes him a perfect successor to Charlotte's current batch of misfit centers.
Davion Mitchell, Miami Heat
Davion Mitchell arrived with the Miami Heat midway through last season and immediately broke out. After a rough patch in Sacramento and Toronto, it finally felt like Mitchell was in a situation where his unique set of skills was both needed and appreciated. He's one of the most committed on-ball defenders in the NBA and no team loves to muck up the game and bend the pace to their will quite like Miami.
It didn't hurt that Mitchell was suddenly hitting 44.7 percent of his 3s on healthy volume. When he's hitting shots on the perimeter, it opens up the dribble drive game and makes Mitchell a legitimate weapon on or off the ball. That said, it's hard to bank on Mitchell to shoot that well for a full season. He's a tremendous defender, but small, one-position stoppers like him only have limited value, especially if the offense falters.
Miami added Illinois point guard Kasparas Jakučionis with the 20th overall pick. How he fell so far remains a mystery. It was a wonky freshman campaign for Jakučionis, but he's a brilliant passer with a deadeye pull-up jumper and a mean step back. He will need to prove that he can defend to stick in Erik Spoelstra's rotation, but the offensive talent is far beyond your average 20th pick, and Miami really needs to start laying the groundwork for the future.
If Mitchell's shooting comes back down to earth and the Heat find themselves in need of a bit more offensive punch beyond Tyler Herro, we could see Jakučionis climb the ladder pretty quickly. He's an extremely skilled and high-feel individual, which makes it easy to look past some of the flaws.
Yves Missi, New Orleans Pelicans
The New Orleans Pelicans' offseason will be studied for years to come. It was an utterly baffling set of moves from new GM Joe Dumars, who swapped CJ McCollum's expiring contract for Jordan Poole's long-term money (???) and gave up an unprotected 2026 first-round pick to move up seven spots and pick Derik Queen 13th overall (???????). Both moves put New Orleans in a vulnerable position. This group is under immense pressure to stay healthy and win games this season.
While the Queen trade was absurdly risky and borderline malpractice, it does show immense confidence in the Maryland product. I'd also contend that Queen should have come off the board several spots higher, so it's not like the Pelicans gambled their future on a bad prospect. There is bonafide All-Star potential if Queen hits his ceiling, which is clearly what the Pels are banking on.
Queen's defense will be a making sticking point at the next level. He's a tremendously gifted offensive player, but it only matters so much if he's a cakewalk in the middle for opponents. While he wasn't a bad defender at Maryland, Queen isn't an elite lateral mover and he's not a prolific shot-blocker. Yves Missi was a flawed rookie, but he can get up for blocks and hound the glass. He will probably get the starting nod accordingly, but New Orleans has a lot riding on Queen. The latter is also a more pliable offensive fulcrum, comfortable stepping out to the 3-point line, working as a passing hub at the elbow, or tossing his weight around in the post.
After a breakout freshman season that saw him become one of the stars of March Madness, it wouldn't be the least bit shocking if Queen is starting games by season's end.
Quentin Grimes, Philadelphia 76ers
He's technically still a free agent, but it's hard to imagine a world in which Quentin Grimes does not eventually re-sign with the Philadelphia 76ers after his breakout 2024-25 campaign. Whether he agrees on a long-term contract or simply picks up the qualifying offer so he can test free agency again next summer is the real crux of the issue, and that deliberation is why Grimes has waited so long to put pen to paper.
Either way, the Sixers probably start him next season. There are multiple potential iterations of Philadelphia's starting lineup — Grimes at the two, Justin Edwards at the three; Jared McCain at the two, Quentin Grimes at the three — but there's a good chance No. 3 overall pick VJ Edgecombe begins the season as a sixth man. Just don't expect that to last forever.
The Sixers didn't pick Edgecombe third to let him toil in a bench role. He needs to get more consistent as a shooter, especially off the dribble, but Edgecombe is a game-wrecker on defense and a notoriously hard-working, high-character individual. He's going to win over his coaches and find ways to make an impact sooner than later.
If Grimes ends up taking the qualify offer, that increases the odds of a move to the bench by midseason. If he's not a long-term piece, it's more incentive for Philly to toss Edgecombe into the fie. Moreover, Grimes' magical second-half run last season came with half the roster hurt. It remains to be see if he looks as good with Tyrese Maxey, Jared McCain and others mooching backcout touches.
Stephon Castle, San Antonio Spurs
Stephon Castle won Rookie of the Year after taking on an outsized role for the San Antonio Spurs down the stretch. The competition wasn't great (although Zaccharie Risacher made a strong case), but Castle put up big numbers and won over every Spurs fan with his fearless slashing and committed defense.
Under most circumstances, it would be difficult to imagine the reigning No. 4 pick, coming off a ROTY campaign, getting demoted. But the Spurs once again found favor with the lottery gods, jumping up to No. 2 and winning the right to select Rutgers jumbo point guard Dylan Harper.
The general consensus is that Harper will begin his season coming off the bench in a super sixth man role, but there's a good chance he looks far too good for a backup gig before long. San Antonio's backcourt is awkwardly crowded after the De'Aaron Fox extension, but Harper's immense gifts as a slasher and playmaker will eventually force Mitch Johnson's hand. He's a better prospect than Castle was and should enter the league far more polished on offense, even if the 3s don't fall too consistently.
Castle will have the benefit of a full year in the NBA and greater comfort with the Spurs playbook, but he remains a limited shooter with valid efficiency concerns. Harper is also much more of a natural facilitator. That may play better in a bench role to start, but he's going to live in the paint and create a lot of easy looks for Victor Wembanyama. I'd expect that chemistry to develop quickly. As such, Castle could settle into the sixth man role, which feels like his most natural long-term fit, within months.