2026 NBA draft thread

[Winter]

Not that it matters, but I put this question in AI:

"what is the average height of an nba shooting guard"

Answer - 6'4 1/2 "

[Mavs2021]

Not that it matters, but I put this question in AI:

"what is the average height of an nba shooting guard"

Answer - 6'4 1/2 "

What does AI really know? It also thinks the return for Luka should be seven 1st round picks.

[Winter]

What does AI really know? It also thinks the return for Luka should be seven 1st round picks.

I don't think AI is very good with "should be" questions.

[Scott41theMavs]

What does AI really know? It also thinks the return for Luka should be seven 1st round picks.

(Shrug) sounds right to me.

[myconsumerclub]

I am praying and hoping UTAH still tanks and loses to MEM and NOP so we sneak back into 6th. They did tie SAC for worst record so it is possible they will want to tank these last few games against NOP and MEM.

LA trying to win is understandable but the rest of our games need to end up as L's

[Chicagojk]

If the mavs drop to 8-10, I am sure there is a solid chance I talk myself into Brown jr. You watch a two minute highlight clip of him with his athleticism and size and wonder why there isn’t a big 5 in this draft. My biggest issue is I feel some Dennis smith jr with him. Smith jr was my pick in that draft. I watched very little college basketball that year with newborn but I knew of him from high school. I know he had a knee injury as a senior and had some wow games as a freshman. Like Brown, smith jr had a wow highlight film. When I watched smith jr as a rookie and second year player, he still had this wow plays but there was a lot of stuff that I didn’t like. Made me not like watching his game.

Brown takes so many, I think, terrible shots. Sure he can make them but does he need to take like 6 of them a game? It is sort of promising that he shot ok while shooting so many tough shots. He has some wow highlights driving and dunking, but on the whole he lacks strength right now to finish at the rim.

He really needs a hard coach in the pros who will really limit these bad tendencies and give him time. I am not sure Kidd is that coach. He legit has skills to be included with the other guards and his high school rankings was very high. I think he is boom or bust. Risky proposition as we really need a guy to pair with Cooper. Is he a guy you have confidence in who will grind and find ways to get better every year?

[Winter]

The board is pretty split on Brown. I'm not a fan really, but I admit he's a good athletic PG. I think I'd rather go a different direction in the draft and look for a veteran PG in a trade. It may come down to workouts before the draft, and we'll just have to rely on a new GM to make the call.

[Scott41theMavs]

Judging by halftime, looks like neither Mullins nor Lendeborg are interested in getting picked in the lottery.

[Winter]

Judging by halftime, looks like neither Mullins nor Lendeborg are interested in getting picked in the lottery.

Both teams were too tight and wound up for a good shooting night. Kind of ugly. The best team won though. M. Johnson and Mara probably made the biggest difference inside the paint. Johnson had five offensive rebounds.

[Chicagojk]

While I am not a fan of the transfer crazy nature of the current college basketball.
Well done Michigan. At least 4 of their starters were transfer guys.the coach replaced a fame ex fav five player and wins a tile in two years. Quite the accomplishment.

UConn deserves props too. They play their best ball typically when it matters. Mullins is a firs rounder. Probably a lottery pick but probably not until 27 if I had to guess. Do they have another first rounder? Time will tell. If you can accept tough coaching they should be a consideration for any player. They make you better and compete for championships.

[michaeltex]

Judging by halftime, looks like neither Mullins nor Lendeborg are interested in getting picked in the lottery.

FWIW, I think Lendeborg was playing on a hurt leg from the previous game.

He's older than most draftees, but I think he'll be a good addition to someone's team.

[Chicagojk]

Loaded pg class gets more loaded

https://x.com/draftexpress/status/204158...57582?s=61

[Chicagojk]

https://x.com/draftexpress/status/204161...23127?s=61

[Chicagojk]

https://theringer.com/nba-draft/2026/mock-draft

Highest I have seen Burries, lowest I have seen flemings.

Carr and sarr higher than I have seen as well.

There will be a lot of different of opinions with this draft class. That is fine. I don’t particularly agree with these rankings as my rankings are different so far.

[Mavs2021]

https://theringer.com/nba-draft/2026/mock-draft

Highest I have seen Burries, lowest I have seen flemings.

Carr and sarr higher than I have seen as well.

There will be a lot of different of opinions with this draft class.  That is fine.  I don’t particularly agree with these rankings as my rankings are different so far.

I actually rate Mann´s opinion, unlike Kevin O'Clown. Also respect somebody that does his own rankings and does not go off the consensus with some minor deviations.

[F Gump]

THOUGHT EXERCISE. Let's say the Mavs end up with pick 7. As the draft plays out, the team drafting at 4 wants a PG rather than a PF and is left with either Boozer or Wilson. So they are willing to trade back, and take one of the PGs at 7, if you will send them both 7 and 30. Would you?

[Winter]

In almost every Mock draft I looked at today, Dybantsa was #1. Peterson was either #3 or #4,

Acuff has supplanted Flemings as the top true PG - and is generally between #5 and #7.

Not surprisingly, every Michigan player moved up in almost every draft (Aday, Lendeborg, and Johnson). Aday even made the top 10 in one draft. Burries generally moved up on most, but not all mock drafts. Brayden Mullins didn't move much at all, but Tarris Reed was, I think, a secure first-rounder now. Swain was too. Evans, on the other hand, moved down to the 2nd round in many of the drafts (no good reason for that as his play was very good throughout the tournament). Ament fell out of the top 10 on several drafts, but a couple still had him there.

[Winter]

THOUGHT EXERCISE. Let's say the Mavs end up with pick 7. As the draft plays out, the team drafting at 4 wants a PG rather than a PF and is left with either Boozer or Wilson. So they are willing to trade back, and take one of the PGs at 7, if you will send them both 7 and 30. Would you?

In a F-ing heartbeat.

[KillerLeft]

In almost every Mock draft I looked at today, Dybantsa was #1. Peterson was either #3 or #4,

Acuff has supplanted Flemings as the top true PG - and is generally between #5 and #7.

Not surprisingly, every Michigan player moved up in almost every draft (Aday, Lendeborg, and Johnson). Aday even made the top 10 in one draft. Burries generally moved up on most, but not all mock drafts. Brayden Mullins didn't move much at all, but Tarris Reed was, I think, a secure first-rounder now. Swain was too. Evans, on the other hand, moved down to the 2nd round in many of the drafts (no good reason for that as his play was very good throughout the tournament). Ament fell out of the top 10 on several drafts, but a couple still had him there.

I think this is good news. I can't really even explain why, but I have this feeling Flemings is the right guy for the Mavs.

[F Gump]

In almost every Mock draft I looked at today, Dybantsa was #1. Peterson was either #3 or #4,

Acuff has supplanted Flemings as the top true PG - and is generally between #5 and #7.

Not surprisingly, every Michigan player moved up in almost every draft (Aday, Lendeborg, and Johnson). Aday even made the top 10 in one draft. Burries generally moved up on most, but not all mock drafts. Brayden Mullins didn't move much at all, but Tarris Reed was, I think, a secure first-rounder now. Swain was too. Evans, on the other hand, moved down to the 2nd round in many of the drafts (no good reason for that as his play was very good throughout the tournament). Ament fell out of the top 10 on several drafts, but a couple still had him there.

I appreciate the info. But let me add a caveat.

From EVERYTHING that I have seen regarding scouting and the NBA draft, all this movement is likely to be way "wrong" (if we're trying to get a prediction of the draft itself). The common theme is that while the scouts and execs do give some consideration to the NCAA Tourney games - and it's a somewhat bigger data point than most of the others - it's not nearly the be-all end-all that the mock draftsters make it out to be. 

The point made over and over is that these are just games. And there have been MANY games this year to look at, in which these players did things. Super important results for the team and the college, but just a few games vs literally dozens before. In addition, draft position transcends game performances - other things are also super important like height, length, wingspan, speed, vertical, age, injuries, work within a team, etc etc, and these are things which in most cases didn't change at all in the NCAA Tourney. 

I suspect some of these players did indeed move to some degree, but maybe not nearly as much as the gurus doing some knee-jerking. For me and you, these games are informative because we may be seeing some of these guys for the 1st time, whereas for the scout and exec, these were just the last game of many views. 

The point being, when we have a mock draft that has shifted considerably in the wake of the NCAA's, we should probably give that mock (and the guy who did it) a major side eye. My 2c.