Apricot's 2025 NBA Draft Tournament Group A: Johni Broome, Caleb Grill, LJ Cryer

GSW invited all of them for pre-draft workouts

The index piece for Apricot’s 2025 NBA Draft Tournament is here. It describes the selection process, our stellar history of voting, why BPM is important, how Apricot’s Clunky Comps works, and all other gory details.

Intro: The Draft Tournament is to help you enjoy the draft

The tournament is designed for people who are not draft experts to catch up at a casual pace on prospects in the Warriors range. For this reason, I have sliced it up into a series of smaller votes instead of a massive 16+ player scouting report. These will be spaced out over the next few weeks until the NBA Draft.

The ultimate goal is for you to develop opinions and attachments about the different prospects, so you can

• argue with others,

• dream about the future,

• enjoy the draft with more suspense and emotional investment,

• be angry that your favorite wasn’t selected,

• and then in the future tell everyone how you had it right and the drafters were a bunch of idiots.

Despite our stellar track record, it’s unlikely we’ll guess exactly whom the Warriors will draft.

So it’s time for more! The Warriors have MIA’s second round pick at #41. Normally, you might say, why bother even thinking about this pick, because, in that range, the chances that the draftee will make an NBA roster is quite small.

However, the Warriors have really set the bar high, with

• 2024 #52 pick Quinten Post (feisty stretch 5 and stroopwafel enthusiast),

• 2023 #57 draft pick Trayce Jackson-Davis (solid big man and occasional starter) and

• 2022 #55 pick Gui Santos (energy guy and very occasional spot starter).

And yes yes everyone always wants to trade the pick for someone ready to contribute. Please don’t be obvious and boring and suggest that.

That’s like going to Disneyland and explaining that everyone there is exploited labor and that feline leukemia is the #1 killer of cats.

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Group A

Here are some scouting reports to help you vote on which of these prospects is the best for GSW to draft.

Johni Broome, Auburn, 6-10, #2 BPM

• BR 2025-05-28 #44, ESPN Givony 5-30 #40, TheAthletic 2025-06-10 #40, Yahoo O'Connor 5-30 #50

• The Ringer Mann 6-10: Older, offensively dominant college bigs with a largely below-the-rim repertoire have a worrisome track record in the NBA. Tyler Hansbrough, Drew Timme, Oscar Tshiebwe, Trevion Williams, on and on. When the competition’s size and speed ratchet up, players of this type typically see their reign over the paint come to an end, but a key potential difference here is that Broome’s (wildly streaky but tolerable in small doses) shooting, passing, and impact as a team defender could widen his opportunities to be useful. He’ll likely never be the focal point of an offense again, meaning he’ll have to shift away from the role of advantage creator and toward being more of an advantage converter—passing out of short rolls, making opportunistic cuts, etc.,

• Yahoo O'Connor 6-13: Mitchell Robinson is a great interior defender, but his limitations as a free throw shooter can put a strain on the Knicks' offense. New York needs another option to play at center. Broome is a super senior who brings a ready-made game as an interior finisher with a passing feel and tone-setting defense. Though his shaky jumper hasn’t progressed as much as NBA teams would hope, playing next to Karl-Anthony Towns would allow Broome to take the interior role.

• Apricot: Shades of Trayce Jackson-Davis. TJD was #1 in BPM and a fantastically productive college player and he was undervalued because he was older and played many years in college. But he isn’t tall enough to be an elite defensive center and he can’t shoot a jumper, which gives him a difficult path to starting. All these critiques apply to Johni Broome.

  His Clunky Comps are full of players that were excellent in college but found awkward fits in the pros.

NBA.com

Analysis
Broome is most comfortable in the paint on both ends of the floor. He can score in the post and finish at the rim, whether he gets the ball off a pick-and-roll or an offensive rebound. He isn’t reliant on getting all the way to the rim, as he can finish with a floater touch. Receiving the ball in the post is a playmaking option for Broome as well, since he can read the floor and make good passes. Defense is his primary calling card, as he’s a great shot-blocker and floor general.

Projection
Broome should appeal to NBA teams interested in a small-ball five who can still block shots. Teams interested in running big could also deploy him as a power forward, though one whose 3-point shooting needs to be refined. Ultimately, he’s a capable rebounder and a strong backline defender on defense who can fit a couple of different roles on offense, some of which may depend on his development. Broome shares similarities to players like Jaylin Williams, Taj Gibson and Daniel Theis.

Caleb Grill, Missouri, 6-3, #10 BPM

• ESPN Givony 5-30 #74, TheAthletic 2025-06-10 #90

• Apricot: Great shooting stats and he can get up and dunk too. I was trying to talk myself into this guy as he’s killing it in analytics. I was devastated to find my own Clunky Comp Finder found no comparable players drafted by the NBA. Clunky Comps may not be meaningful, but that’s a distressing signal anyway.

SI.com:

On paper, the 25-year-old, 6-foot-3 Grill doesn't fit the mold of an NBA draftee in recent years. Teams wary about his age, size and lack of a high ceiling will be prone to shy away from the guard. However, his blistering 39.6 percent 3-point shooting on a ridiculously difficult shot profile is nearly impossible to ignore. While he probably won't hear his name called on draft night, Grill will likely sign a Summer League deal soon after, where he'll get his chance to prove his worth in Las Vegas. Grill can catch fire and take over a game like few others in the draft process, so getting a chance at the hot commodity of Summer League will be a premiere opportunity to land a G-League roster spot, or a two-way contract.

Grill's shooting itself is a valuable enough asset to keep around, even if it's in the G-League. With his volume shooting, he could set himself up for a mid-to-late season call-up to a team's main roster. It might not be on draft night, or even the 2025-2026 season openers, but expect Grill to step on an NBA court at some point in the upcoming season.

NBA.com:

Overview
Grill hardly played as a freshman at Iowa State before transferring to UNLV, where he started all 27 of his appearances and averaged 9.1 points. He then went back to Iowa State for two years, serving exclusively as a reserve in his first season before starting 22 of 26 appearances in the second. Grill then entered the transfer portal again, landing with Missouri. After an injury riddled first campaign with the Tigers, Grill made his presence felt in 2024-25, averaging 13.7 points while shooting 39.6% from 3 on 6.8 attempts per game. He also averaged a career-high 1.7 steals per game, showcasing a two-way ability. Grill started only two of his 29 appearances in his final collegiate campaign but was named SEC Sixth Man of the Year.

Analysis
Grill is a prototypical 3-point specialist who utilizes screens to get clean looks. He also displayed elite range in college, so the transition to the NBA line shouldn’t be difficult. While he won’t be the greatest athlete in the NBA, Grill does pop sometimes and can finish with authority if given the opportunity. Grill can handle the ball well enough but wasn’t a primary playmaker in college and was better operating as a two guard, which will likely be the case as a pro.

Projection
Given his 3-point prowess, it’s easy to compare Grill to fellow sharpshooters like Landry Shamet (6-foot-4, 190), Bogdan Bogdanovic (6-foot-5, 225) and AJ Green (6-foot-4, 190). Shooting and spacing the floor are paramount in today’s NBA, and every contending team has a sharpshooter off the bench like Grill at their disposal.

LJ Cryer, Houston, 6-1, #11 BPM

• ESPN Givony 5-30 #99

Yardbarker:

L.J. Cryer is a proven, battle-tested scoring guard who brings elite shooting, composure, and winning habits to the floor. He profiles best as a scoring combo guard at the next level, capable of spacing the floor and creating offense in spurts. While his size may limit some aspects of his game defensively, his IQ, toughness, and shot-making give him clear value as a reliable contributor and pro prospect.

SI.com:

A proven scorer, he’s reliable from the line and gets there with good frequency. He’s an elite 3-point shooter as well, which is exactly why he’s an easy fit at the NBA level. Any player that lacks positional size in the modern NBA must be a top-notch shooter, and Cryer is just that.

He is in half court sets as a spot-up shooter, but can also score off the bounce. When it comes to getting a bucket, there’s few better than him at the guard position. He’s highly efficient on the perimeter as well as in the midrange, with a quality package of runners, floaters and jumpers.

While his assist numbers might not be the highest, Cryer is also an underrated facilitator. At the NBA level, he should be able to play at either guard spot.

Apricot: He’s one of the best shooters in the country, and a leader of one of the best teams in the country. And he’s short (6-1) which makes his college impact extra impressive. And yet overall Clunky Comps considers Cryer not NBA Draft level. You can see Seth Curry and Kyle Guy in the list if you’re an optimist.

Nate Bittle, Oregon, 7-0, #15 BPM

Update 2025-06-13.

Chadara pointed out that Bittle has withdrawn from the NBA Draft to return to Oregon. This seems to be the definitive report, that he withdrew and is returning to Oregon. I guess I have to pull him from the Tourney.

I’ll leave his scouting report up for your enjoyment…

Apricot: BPM loves him for good True Shooting and Off Rating with a sky high 34% AST rate, and being a rebounding and block machine.

It’s funny how Clunky Comps considers Bittle to be a stretch 5. Those comps… PJ Hall, our favorite stroopwaffle Quinten Post, Vucevic, Muscala, Karl Anthony-Towns… And yet, his shooting isn’t great on the surface. Career 33% 3P, 74% FT isn’t screaming “stretch”. But there must be something in the stats because GSW invited him to work out and Clunky Comps, as possibly meaningless as it is, thinks he’s a stretch 5.

NBA.com

Overview
A 7-foot center born in Central Point, Oregon, Bittle was a highly-touted prospect out of Crater High School, but he decided to stay in his hometown for college. He spent the four years at Oregon, alternating between being a bench option (freshman and junior years) and operating as a regular starter (sophomore and senior). Bittle had the best year of his college career in 2024-25 after Oregon moved from the Pac-12 to the Big Ten, and he averaged a career-high 14.2 points as a senior while starting in each of his 35 appearances for the Ducks. Bittle also averaged career-high marks in rebounds (7.6), assists (1.9), steals (0.8) and blocks (2.1) per game during his senior year.

Analysis
Bittle projects to be a role player in the NBA. He’s not a go-to scorer, but he has a soft touch around the rim and an above-average mid-range game for his size. His 3-point shooting has improved with time as well and is good enough to keep defenses honest. Bittle is also a capable rebounder who can engage in physical battles down low due to his frame, and he’s flashed passing vision. His biggest strength may be how few weaknesses he has.

Projection
Bittle emerged as an NBA prospect in the final year of his college career. He needs to add some muscle to his frame, but if a team is willing to take a flyer on him, he could be a second-round pick. He might bring value in the right role as a frontcourt depth piece.

How To Vote

Simply vote in this embedded poll. If you are moved, you can make a COMMENT VOTE that counts as 10 votes. However, I will not count any vote unless it has

• some justification of your vote

• exactly one hashtag with the last name of your candidate, #BROOME, #GRILL, #CRYER, #BITTLE.

  • I know many of you are very creative, but any deviations from these instructions will make my life harder and annoy me.