2025 NBA Mock Draft: Southeast Division

After the blockbuster Desmond Bane trade on Sunday during the NBA finals, the teams of the Southeast Division have a better understanding of what each of them needs from the upcoming draft. Draft Nation offers the following insights on each:

Charlotte Hornets

The Hornets are a team needing stability. LaMelo Ball was supposed to be their franchise player, but he has struggled with injuries. Brandon Miller showed he has All-Star upside in the NBA, but he had season-ending wrist surgery in January. The Hornets look lost without a team identity.

VJ Edgecombe (PG/Guard, Baylor) should be available at pick 4 and will help ease the offensive load on both Brandon Miller and LaMelo Ball. Edgecombe could play wing with his 6’ 4”, 193 lb frame, but with the Hornets, he could comfortably slide in as a big point guard. Miller and Ball are both great passers, but having a defense-focused point guard who will gladly be the team’s point-of-attack defender will help lighten the load.

What makes Edgecombe such a good prospect for the Hornets is his insane athleticism. He has a 38.5 Max vertical leap and a 6’ 7” wingspan. Edgecombe has both blocked three-point attempts but also gets chase-down blocks from behind. It’s rare for a player with that skillset to be a natural point guard, but Edgecombe also has good passing instincts. 

The Hornets currently don’t have a ton of defensive presence, and when their two offensive hubs, Miller and Ball, come back from injury, the Hornets will need to get a ball handler who can help them transition back into form. Edgecombe’s shot is still questionable outside of the back half of this past year, but given his insane athleticism, his offense can be centered around his driving and passing.

Outside the Draft the Hornet’s need a veteran presence to help connect their young players and help provide solid defense. Chris Paul is in the twilight of his career, but he is known around the league as a veteran who will help young stars and mentor them. While he doesn’t have the juice on defense anymore, he is still crafty. Paul had the 16th most steals this past year, with 103. Having a veteran point guard like Paul could help mentor Edgecombe and bind together this talented but young offensive core. If not Chris Paul, Malcolm Brogdon or Fred VanVleet are solid targets to fit that role.

Washington Wizards

The Wizards have been a dumping ground of bad contracts for the past couple years since the Wall/Beal era ended. Also, major prospects that could have been rotation pieces like Rui Hachimura and Deni Avdija stagnated with the Wizards, only to step up their games after leaving. The Wizards need to nail the 6th overall pick to help build their young core.

Kon Knueppel (SF/Wing, Duke) is a 19-year-old who has a well-developed game that will mesh well with the existing scorers and defenders on the Wizards. Knueppel comes from a Duke team with both Khaman Maluach and Cooper Flagg. This means Knueppel got to develop his playmaking and be an offensive hub alongside the two other major scoring threats. His 6’ 5”, 219 lb frame has a lot of size for someone who has a 40.6% shot from three. 

Initially, Knueppel will be a great floor spacer from the corner, dragging out players from the paint. If he can show he can still thrive in the mid-range and play make to the other scorers on the Wizards, Knueppel will take Khris Middleton’s spot as starting small forward. From there the Wizards have an offensive gravity well that can both suck defenders out of the paint, draw them in when he drives, and pass the ball to escape his orbit to open shooters or cutters.

One downside is Knueppel doesn’t have an amazing athletic profile. On offense, he has developed in spite of it, but on defense, Knueppel struggles to stay in front of smaller, shiftier perimeter players. The Wizards have developing defenders that can cover Knueppel’s weakness like Alex Sarr and Kyshawn George.

Thomas Sorber (C/Big, Georgetown) may be available if the Hornets consider trading down. Assuming the Wizards can get some value and trade below pick 10, then Sorber presents as an interesting prospect for the Wizards. Sorber is a 6’ 9”, 262 lb Georgetown center with a 7’6” wingspan. The Wizards already have a center in Alex Sarr, but they can move Sorber over to Power Forward and embrace a Duncan/Robinson twin-towers philosophy. 

Sorber is only a freshman but has the offensive and defensive IQ of a senior. This past year, Sorber not only was a defensive anchor for the historic Georgetown but also did this while limiting his fouls. The concern for Sorber is his size. Despite his wingspan, Sorber is still only 6’ 9” and questions about his driving, back-to-the-basket, play style loom. Sorber’s playmaking and IQ will certainly translate and help a lot, but whether his three-ball develops past his poor 16.2% on 1.5 attempts per game from deep.

Sliding Sorber to power forward will let him better use his physical size and bully the lighter, leaner forwards in the league. Spacing will be a question, as Alex Sarr only shot 30.8%, but with the defensive upside of a big defense anchor like Sarr being given a similar running mate with a high IQ could make it worth it.

Atlanta Hawks

The Hawks are in an identity crisis right now. They are in a transitional period going from the old core, Clint Capela, Bogdan Bogdanović, and De’Andre Hunter, to their young core, Dyson Daniels, Zaccharie Risacher, Jalen Johnson, and Onyeka Okongwu. In the middle of this is the 26 year old franchise player, Trae Young. The old core is gone, but whether they should try to quickly develop into a playoff team again around Trae Young, or trade him away to focus on the young core, is up in the air.

Derik Queen (C/Big, Maryland) would make a great fit if he were available at pick 13. However, if the 6’ 9”, 247 lb center does fall, it’s because of size concerns. Similar to Thomas Sorber, Queen is undersized. This isn’t helped by only having a 7’0” wingspan. This concern gives the Hawks a chance to experiment and slide Queen over to the four and put him next to Onyeka Okongwu. 

Queen is one of the best inside scorers in the draft, having elite balance and strong hands. Queen will be a consistent inside scoring threat that can help open up space for a Hawks team that has plenty of strong driving finishers. However, the Hawks need to be sure Queen’s game will translate, as it’s unclear if he can be a true scoring threat or if his shot will develop. Also, this will move Jalen Johnson to the three and give the Hawks a truly massive starting lineup. 

At a bare minimum, Queen can be the primary backup center and power forward for the Hawks. Either playing with Okongwu as a big ball lineup or playing next to Jalen Johnson and helping anchor the defense.

Cedric Coward (SG/Wing, Washington State) has the potential to be a solid wing for the Hawks. He also straddles the Hawks' choices of wanting to compete now or develop for later. Should the Hawks want to compete now, Coward will be a great rotational wing/guard who can provide spacing with his 40.0% shooting from deep this past year. Coward can guard wings and slower guards initially, but will struggle against players bigger or faster than him.

Coward needs to put on some weight to fully transition into a wing player. If the team decides to stick with Trae Young, Coward can provide spacing now and good shot blocking from either backup shooting guard, or small forward. It will only take a couple of years for him to develop if he is to reach his potential.

If the Hawks decide to trade away Trae Young, they will still have an athletic wing with tons of tools to go beyond the profile currently presented. Especially if Coward ends up at shooting guard and can speed up his lateral movement to stay with guards.

Miami Heat

The Miami Heat struggled to find themselves after losing franchise center point Jimmy Butler. Butler played poorly in Miami, partially because he wanted to be traded, but even after losing him Miami still needed to develop chemistry in their new roles. The team needs to give Bam Adebayo, Tyler Herro, Andrew Wiggins, and Davion Mitchell another year to build chemistry. Those players have played great basketball in the past and have a great number of solid role players behind them.

Collin Murray-Boyles (PF/Big, South Carolina) is the exact kind of player the Miami Heat love to pick. A well-developed player who is less valuable for his potential and more valuable for what he can do now. A player who is the definition of hustle, basketball IQ, and having that “dawg” in him. The 6’ 6” 239-pounder has a 7’0” wingspan but doesn’t play like a wing. Murray-Boyles is a true forward-big tweener that has gone extinct in the NBA.

On offense, Murray-Boyles can’t shoot well, but has great passing vision and footwork working down in the post. He will use his size to get under traditional bigs and uses his footwork and polished finishing to muscle to the basket. On defense, Murray-Boyles is a shark with blood in the water. His off-ball defense will lead to scores of stripped ball handlers, blocks from behind, and shattered dreams as he blows up plays. Whether Murray-Boyles can find his spot in the league is uncertain, but for sure, the Heat are a team that would find a way to utilize his unique skill set.

Murray-Boyles is only 20 years old, so he has several years to develop his game. But having a 2-way spark plug coming off the bench will terrorize second units across the league. Murray-Boyles is similar to players like the Heat’s Jaime Jaquez Jr. The sort of player who is a good basketball player first and a prospect second.

Jase Richardson (PG/Guard, Michigan State) is another option here. His 6’ 6” wingspan and defensive instincts make him a great help defender and solid two-way player. Jase’s value is in his high IQ. Having grown up around the NBA due to his father being 2 two-time NBA Slam Dunk Champion Jason Richardson, Jase has seen what it takes to be in the NBA.

Richardson has a well-developed handle that utilizes his flexibility to get off complex dribble packages. He thrived in a minimized role at Michigan State and continued to show efficiency as his minutes increased this past year. Richardson’s ceiling will depend on whether he continues to develop his passing and adds more muscle to his frame. The Heat would love a player who can make the right plays and can mesh well even when he isn’t the star.

Orlando Magic

After the trade for Desmond Bane, the Magic are setting themselves up for a big jump next year. The one thing the Magic need is a floor general. Yes, Bane is a solid playmaker and the volume scoring guard the Magic need. However, the Magic still need to get a true point guard from pick 25 to pair alongside Bane and let him focus on being a scorer.

Kasparas Jakucionis (PG/Guard, Illinois) was heralded as a top ten prospect at the beginning of this past year’s college season. However, after having an injury to his left forearm mid-season he struggled and ended the season averaging 31.8% from deep. Prior to the injury, Jakucionis was shooting 41.6% on his three-point attempts in November and December of 2024. 

Outside of adding much-needed spacing, Jakucionis is one of, if not the, best passer in the draft class. Giving Jakucionis scoring options like Franz Wagner, Desmond Bane, and Paolo Banchero will give him a chance to show his insane creativity with the ball.

The Magic would need to trade up for the 6’ 4” 205 lb 19-year-old but moving up from 25 to somewhere in the mid-teen would be worth it to add a passing guard to their rotation. The Bane trade got rid of Cole Anthony and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, so the Magic need more guard play. Anthony Black and a healthy Jalen Suggs will be able to step up, but the pass-first, deep three-ball shooting Jakucionis would give some playmaking juice to a more score-focused guard room.

Walter Clayton Jr. (PG/Guard, Florida) would be going in the opposite direction. If the Magic want their playmaking to be more in the aggregate, then they can run Jalen Suggs at point and Desmond Bane at 2-guard in order to maximize their defense. Going this route points to them staying pat at pick 25 and selecting Walter Clayton Jr., the 6’ 2” 22-year-old shooting phenom out of Florida.

Clayton Jr. shot 195 times from behind the line and averaged 36.9%. While this doesn’t sound impressive, having a player still shoot that efficiently on that many shots shows how refined and technically sound Clayton is. While Clayton is an older prospect, his age also means he has had more time to refine his game. Clayton doesn’t have the athleticism to truly be a two-way guard, but being the second unit’s primary ball handler and spark plug is very valuable for any team looking to make a deep playoff run.