Landing spots for three NBA Draft prospects remain a mystery

With most of the pre-draft process already wrapped up, it feels safe to project the landing spots of many of the draft’s premier talent. Cooper Flagg will most likely head to the Dallas Mavericks, and it's looking increasingly likely that Dylan Harper will be the next player selected. After that, VJ Edgecombe, Ace Bailey, Khaman Maluach, Tre Johnson and Jeremiah Fears all appear to be in play for the next few selections. 

But while all the previously mentioned players have a fairly confined draft range—none of them are going to fall out of the top 10 unless something drastic happens—there are a handful of highly touted players who could go just about anywhere in the first round. Below is a list highlighting three specific prospects who could wind up anywhere from mid lottery to the back end of the first round. 

Derik Queen

Fresh off of a dynamic showing in Maryland's run to the Sweet 16 in March Madness, freshman Derik Queen felt like he had a decent shot at being a top-five pick. With a game that mirrors elite offensive-minded big men like Alperen Sengun and Domantas Sabonis, Queen certainly has fans in the NBA. 

After a poor outing at the NBA Draft Combine, however, where many of Queen’s physical and athletic measurements left a lot to be desired, many teams appear to be second-guessing the pro appeal of the 20-year-old big man. Queen is still too talented and skilled offensively to fall too far in the draft, but he suddenly feels like a prospect NBA front offices are viewing with a fair amount of risk.

Physical limitations aside, Queen feels like he could still be in play starting at pick No. 5 with the Utah Jazz, a team in desperate need of an offensive cornerstone. The likeliest outcome, however, is that Queen may have to wait until the back end of the lottery for a team like the Chicago Bulls (No. 12) or the Atlanta Hawks (No. 13) to call his name.

Jase Richardson

Jase Richardson is another player who performed admirably throughout his freshman year and in Michigan State’s Elite Eight March Madness run, but then faltered greatly during the NBA combine. Due in large part to unimpressively measuring and weighing in at 6-foot, 178 pounds, Richardson’s draft stock has been steadily trending downwards over the past handful of weeks.

Richardson still offers just enough shooting and on-ball intrigue to buy into his long-term appeal, but with his immense size disadvantage, it feels like teams no longer view him as a prospect with star potential. 

Just last year, an undersized guard (Reed Sheppard) with a similar game to Richardson was taken third overall, so there remains a chance another team could take a swing on Richardson early on in the lottery. It is worth mentioning, of course, that last year’s crop of prospects was viewed in a much less favorable light than this year’s, however. Richardson appears to have been overtaken by a number of other prospects, and now feels like he could be in play to hear his name called in the mid-to-late 20s. 

Cedric Coward

Beginning his collegiate career back in 2021 at Division III Willamette, Coward is the ultimate wild card in the 2025 NBA Draft. Just a year ago, Coward was off draft boards entirely, but now, after a strong pre-draft process, Coward appears to have a decent chance to be a lottery pick. 

Whether we're talking about a player like Jalen Williams back in 2022, Bilal Coulibaly back in 2023 or Tidjane Salaun just last year, there always seems to be one player who comes out of nowhere and gets drafted far earlier than the general public expects. Coward appears to have the widest draft range of any player in the draft, as he could realistically go top-10 or be one of the last selections of the first round.