41. Toronto Raptors - Shelton Henderson
Miami - 6'5" - Guard/Wing
Toronto has struggled a bit over the past few years. This late in the draft, why not take a swing on upside and go with a young (just 19 years old on draft night) player with strength, athleticism and the potential to possibly end up being a top 10-15 player from this class?
42. Los Angeles Clippers - Ian Jackson
St. John's - 6'4" - Guard
James Harden is getting up there in age. So eventually the Clippers will need someone who can take over at least some of the ball handling duties. Jackson models his game after guys like Harden and Donovan Mitchell. I like the idea of drafting Jackson here and letting him learn from Harden to increase the chances that he reaches his ceiling.
43. San Antonio Spurs - Alex Karaban
Connecticut - 6'8" - Forward
Similar to the Rosario pick, Karaban gives the Spurs another guy who doesn't need the ball in his hands. Can just come in and play a role, fit in tothe team concept, knock down open shots. And Karaban is bigger - more of a PF/SF, whereas Rosario is more of a SF/SG so I'm not worried about overlap with them.
Karaban also comes with that winning DNA, having started on back to back NCAA championship teams at UConn.
44. Minnesota Timberwolves - Yaxel Lendeborg
Michigan - 6'9" - PF/C
Minnesota drafted two non-shooting bigs in 2025 (Joan Beringer and Rocco Zikarsky). But Lendeborg is likely more of a four in the NBA so he could play with them. He also has a fair amount of shooting potential to complement the non-shooting bigs on the Timberwolves (Rudy Gobert included).
I'm also intrigued by how Lendeborg could develop his game from playing on a team with Julius Randle. If Lendeborg reaches his ceiling, he may end up being a pretty similar player to Randle in terms of the size, strength, athleticism and ability to dribble/pass/shoot from a four man.
45. Boston Celtics - Wesley Yates
Washington - 6'4" - Guard
When in doubt, go with the best player available. And go with a shooter, when drafting for the team that shoots lots of threes. Also, Anfernee Simons is likely not going to stay with the Celtics beyond this season. Yates could give them a somewhat similar player at a fraction of the contract price.