Welcome to Glass Slipper! Ty Jerome, I miss you already; please enjoy the show.

- Jacob Rhee

Loser: Brooklyn Nets

• Round 1 (Pick No. 8): Egor Demin, BYU PG

• Round 1 (Pick No. 19): Nolan Traore, Saint-Quentin PG

• Round 1 (Pick No. 22): Drake Powell, North Carolina SG/SF

• Round 1 (Pick No. 26): Ben Saraf, Ratiopharm Ulm PG/SG

• Round 1 (Pick No. 27): Danny Wolf, Michigan PF/C

Oh, it’s so bad. Like, to an unacceptable degree. The Traore pick is fine. He’s a blur with the ball, and there’s a lot to like about his future as a distributor. I can live with the Drake Powell selection, as well. A massive recruit that buries 38% of his threes at a national power has earned a first-round look. The rest of this haul is an abject catastrophe.

Demin is my least favorite collegiate prospect to be taken in the top-10 since Kevin Knox and his infamous Fortnite jacket came off the board seven years ago. Those already-hideous 41-27-70 shooting splits sunk to 35-21-68 against ranked competition, and he rarely showed much interest in guarding anyone.

Saraf is essentially a slightly shorter version of Demin, so my concerns are identical. He’s a big playmaker that is a non-threat from distance, and struggles to stay in front of good athletes. Meanwhile, I don’t see Wolf being a meaningful NBA contributor. He’ll be considering contract offers in Greece by the end of the decade.

Nets fans slogged through another brutal campaign, only to be rewarded with more disappointment.

Loser: New Orleans Pelicans

• Round 1 (Pick No. 7): Jeremiah Fears, Oklahoma PG

• Round 1 (Pick No. 13): Derik Queen, Maryland PF/C

• Round 2 (Pick No. 40): Micah Peavy, Georgetown SG/SF

You guys know how much I adore Jeremiah Fears. Something bizarre must have happened in order for the Pelicans to end up on my list of losers…

Did we just watch a 61-loss squad fling away an unprotected 2026 first-rounder to scoot up 10 spots? If you’re taking a Home Run Derby swing like that for Derik Queen, you better be fully convinced that he really is the reincarnation of Nikola Jokic. Unfortunately for New Orleans, the kid does not possess that kind of ceiling.

First of all, Queen is 6-foot-9 barefoot, with a 28-inch max vertical. There’s not a single dude in the league that will have chattering teeth trying to finish with him near the basket. He’s a brilliant offensive talent, but the outside shot isn’t close yet. Queen needs to be paired with an elite rim protector that can space the floor, and that hypothetical big is not on the Pels’ current roster.

I’m happy for Peavy, who was a lot of fun to watch last year. It felt like there was some luck involved with his sudden success as a shooter; credit to him for knocking them down in his final season of eligibility, and cashing out as a result. I’m pulling for him to stay hot.

Look, the folks labeling the Queen trade as an all-time disaster are being a tiny bit dramatic. A healthy New Orleans squad probably hovers around .500 this year, which would likely place the departing pick on the fringes of the lottery. Still, it’s a wild risk for a player with clear flaws. I certainly would not have done it.

Loser: Boston Celtics

• Round 1 (Pick No. 28): Hugo Gonzalez, Real Madrid SG/SF

• Round 2 (Pick No. 46): Amari Williams, Kentucky C

• Round 2 (Pick No. 57): Max Shulga, VCU PG/SG

I love Brad Stevens. In fact, I could make an argument that he’s building a case for the Basketball Hall of Fame. After that iconic run at Butler, he instantly became one of the NBA’s elite head coaches. Stevens fell victim to LeBron’s prime and Kemba Walker’s failing knee, but then seamlessly transitioned into one of the league’s top executives. In four years as a general manager, the guy has a pair of Finals appearances and a championship.

The two of us simply don’t see eye to eye when it comes to prospect evaluations, though. Brad has yet to draft a single player that I genuinely believe in.

Hugo Gonzalez indeed passes my does-he-compete eye test with flying colors. That’s partly because… he’s literally on the floor for eight minutes a night. I would hope that a teenager buried on a depth chart overseas can put some high-energy stuff on film. The minimal role isn’t necessarily his fault; EuroLeague teams are notorious for rolling with their veterans. I just wish he had at least one standout trait that I could bank on. Right now, I’m looking at an average NBA athlete that doesn’t shoot it very well. I’d be pretty startled if he grows into a real rotational piece in Boston.

In spite of that extremely fun court vision, Amari Williams is a backup at best. He committed 28 more turnovers than any other Wildcat, and is an obvious iso target for opposing ball handlers. Shulga - a beautiful fit in Joe Mazzulla’s offensive system - is going to be tested mercilessly at the other end. Max should a hire a full-time lateral quickness trainer to help him hold his own. I don’t think the Celtics improved much at all.

Pressroom

Spin It

“Dreams” by The Cranberries. Big week ahead.