2026 NBA draft thread

[mvossman]

To add to the difficulty, whoever manages to slow Wemby down needs to shoot well enough to consistently drag him out of the paint. Otherwise he'll still smother your offense. 5-out might be mandatory moving forward.

I think this is actually a more important factor than finding "the guy" that can stop him.  The ability to play 5 out has been crucial in the playoffs.  Boston, OKC and SA (the three best teams in the NBA when healthy) all play a lot of 5 out in the playoffs.  If nothing else this means you cannot spend significant assets/cap on a player that can't guard the perimeter.  This is the reason I am out on Mara and more than willing to move on from Gafford.

[Winter]

To FGumps question: Johnson is slotted to go in the late teens or early 20s, so I'm sure OKC could get him if they wanted with their picks. #9 is probably too soon to target Johnson for the Mavs, so I don't see this happening.

[Winter]

Funny... this was just posted on HoopsRumors. Both ESPN and Kevin O'Connor have the Thunder taking Johnson at #17 in their mocks.

"After helping Michigan win the NCAA title last month, sophomore big man Morez Johnson Jr. will keep his name in the 2026 NBA draft, his agents at CAA Basketball tell Jeff Borzello of ESPN.

“I am excited to chase my lifelong dream of playing in the NBA,” Johnson said. “Every stop along my journey has prepared me for this moment, and I’m extremely grateful.”

As Borzello writes, Johnson has been rising up NBA draft boards after last week’s combine, where he measured 6’9″ and 251 pounds, with a 7’3.5″ wingspan and an 8’11” standing reach. He also performed well in shooting drills, according to ESPN’s Jeremy Woo, who has the 20-year-old going No. 17 overall in his latest mock draft.

For what it’s worth, Kevin O’Connor of Yahoo Sports also has the Thunder selecting Johnson 17th overall, though he writes that there’s been a lot of speculation about Oklahoma City potentially looking to trade the pick for future selections. Johnson is considered a strong, versatile defender, per O’Connor."

[dirkfansince1998]

Would anyone be suprised if the Spurs target one of the lottery bigs/forwards. In most mocks I have seen the Spurs pick a big. Makes sense because their weak link in this years playoffs run is Kornet. Don't think Lendeborg or Johnson drop to #20 but the Spurs have the assets to move up.

[khaled1987]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MEm5KiMIMnk 2026 NBA Mock Draft with trades | FULL TWO ROUND NBA Mock Draft | Utility Sports Discord Mock Draft

He has us taking Wagler at 9 and Tarris Reed Jr at 30

OKC trading up for a guy like Mara is interesting, especially if they see him as a guy needed to slow down Wemby a bit. Not necessary with the Clippers btw, they could also look at other teams including ours.

[F Gump]

I think this is actually a more important factor than finding "the guy" that can stop him.  The ability to play 5 out has been crucial in the playoffs.  Boston, OKC and SA (the three best teams in the NBA when healthy) all play a lot of 5 out in the playoffs.  If nothing else this means you cannot spend significant assets/cap on a player that can't guard the perimeter.  This is the reason I am out on Mara and more than willing to move on from Gafford.

IMO your eagerness to get rid of Gafford is a mistake. I think you focus too much on what you assume Gafford can't do, and fail to notice the difference his force makes on the opponent. And without Gaff (or a physical bruising center very much like him) I suspect there will never be an effective Lively, because he's too slight to absorb the pounding.

Would it make you rethink your "analysis" of Gafford's ability to know that since Gaff became a Mav, the Mavs most consistently effective center vs Wemby based on plus/minus - with never a minus - is Gafford? +2, +7, +8, +13, +2, 0 

Lively has higher ups, but also negatives. And without Gaff playing the other minutes and dealing out physicality, Lively's result vs Wemby has been a negative.

OKC has tried to counter Wemby by using their finesse, slender, 5-out center. It really hasn't really been working. Maybe there's a lesson in that, I dunno.

[F Gump]

To FGumps question: Johnson is slotted to go in the late teens or early 20s, so I'm sure OKC could get him if they wanted with their picks. #9 is probably too soon to target Johnson for the Mavs, so I don't see this happening.

If Johnson is the obvious Wemby answer, and he's slotted around 15-20, then yep OKC has no urgency. Unless some other team comes to the same conclusion and grabs him first.

[RasheedsBigWhiteSpot]

Practical draft question - is there anyone in this draft who might be highly capable of slowing Wemby? Mara? Yaxel? Someone else?

There's 2 reasons to consider that...
1 Now that they want to win, Mavs will need such a solution
2 OKC also needs a solution, and you might be able to score big by letting them trade up and use pick 9 to get the guy they need. As in, how much will they be willing to offer, if they come calling and you drive a really hard bargain?

I think the "guy", longterm, could be Caleb Wilson. If OKC is bounced and it looks ugly when it happens, perhaps they make a "Godfather" offer to the Bulls. 

Maybe #12, #17, LAC's 2027 1st, Dallas' 2028 swap, 14 2nds (they actually DO have 14 2nds!!!) and they say "pick 2 out of...Sorber, Tomic, Joe, Jaylin Williams, McCain and Wallace" for #4. I mean, Chicago could say no and OKC could still say, "Okay, here's two more future 1sts."

Maybe OKC takes Wilson and says, "Look, kid, we don't care about your offense right now. Take your time. We just want you to be our Wemby stopper." I could see Wilson, with his crazy KG-like competitive streak absolutely revel in taking on that role.

[Smitty]

Practical draft question - is there anyone in this draft who might be highly capable of slowing Wemby? Mara? Yaxel? Someone else?

There's 2 reasons to consider that...
1 Now that they want to win, Mavs will need such a solution
2 OKC also needs a solution, and you might be able to score big by letting them trade up and use pick 9 to get the guy they need. As in, how much will they be willing to offer, if they come calling and you drive a really hard bargain?

A healthy Quaintance?

[dirkfansince1998]

OKC has tried to counter Wemby by using their finesse, slender, 5-out center. It really hasn't really been working. Maybe there's a lesson in that, I dunno.

Considering that Gobert was borderline unplayable against Wemby I highly doubt it.

[RasheedsBigWhiteSpot]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MEm5KiMIMnk 2026 NBA Mock Draft with trades | FULL TWO ROUND NBA Mock Draft | Utility Sports Discord Mock Draft

He has us taking Wagler at 9 and Tarris Reed Jr at 30

I think I'd puke if that was the Mavs pick. I just think he'll be too soft to get into the paint. And if that relegates him to being a spot up shooter, well, that's just not much of a building block. 

Reed I'd be cool with being on the team, though my hopes of who falls to #30 are a bit more optimistic.

[Knutsen]

OKC has tried to counter Wemby by using their finesse, slender, 5-out center. It really hasn't really been working. Maybe there's a lesson in that, I dunno.

I mean it’s one game and that was easily winnable. OKC got a lot of great looks from three but couldn’t convert and SGA played really bad. 

If the Spurs were to win in dominant fashion - like 4-1 as in the regular season - then OKC could be tempted to adapt and put their chips on the table. But the series could still very much turn into a convincing victory for OKC.

[khaled1987]

I am getting more and more convinced that Philon Jr should be rated much higher than where he is. I think he will be far better than guards taken before him. I will be happy if he is our pick.

[mvossman]

IMO your eagerness to get rid of Gafford is a mistake. I think you focus too much on what you assume Gafford can't do, and fail to notice the difference his force makes on the opponent. And without Gaff (or a physical bruising center very much like him) I suspect there will never be an effective Lively, because he's too slight to absorb the pounding.

Would it make you rethink your "analysis" of Gafford's ability to know that since Gaff became a Mav, the Mavs most consistently effective center vs Wemby based on plus/minus - with never a minus - is Gafford? +2, +7, +8, +13, +2, 0 

Lively has higher ups, but also negatives. And without Gaff playing the other minutes and dealing out physicality, Lively's result vs Wemby has been a negative.

OKC has tried to counter Wemby by using their finesse, slender, 5-out center. It really hasn't really been working. Maybe there's a lesson in that, I dunno.

I am focused on what I watched Gafford not be able to do.  He got repeatedly abused in space during the playoff run.  A small sample of meaningless regular season games does not impact my thinking.  If you want to look at meaningful plus/minus, compare Gafford and Lively in the playoffs.  I have no doubt if Gafford ever runs into Wemby in the playoffs the results will not be good.

[JamesConway816]

Random thought:

Its a bit of a stretch but Gafford might literally be the reason that we got into this mess which culminated into the Luka trade.

Kidd made the decision to start Gafford over Lively and it essentially killed their mojo  the first dozen games or so after the finals run. The difference with Luka / Kyrie / Klay / PJ playing with either Gafford OR Lively was historically big. Like Gafford was literally the reason they started every single game bad back then and the second Lively stepped onto the court the suddenly ran other teams off the court. Go back and look at the numbers the on / off difference over the first 10-15 games was flat out insane.

I still go back to this every once in a while. Had Kidd just started Lively the early part od the AD trade season would have gone a lot smoother. Who knows what would have happened if they had just started Lively instead….

______

Sry for derailing this thread.

[mvossman]

I think I'd puke if that was the Mavs pick. I just think he'll be too soft to get into the paint. And if that relegates him to being a spot up shooter, well, that's just not much of a building block. 

Reed I'd be cool with being on the team, though my hopes of who falls to #30 are a bit more optimistic.

Lot of Wagler hate on this site.  For a guy that gets regularly mocked at 5, seems like a lot of folks on here would be upset with him at 9.  I would be more than happy if he drops to 9.

[dirkfansince1998]

https://x.com/KevinOConnor/status/2056867746076319876

It would definitely be shocking if the Thunder use all three picks. I'd expect them to move up as Windy suggested, or use just #12 and trade away #17 and #37 for future draft capital. The Clippers (#5), Mavs (#9), and Bucks (#10) are the most realistic trade down teams.

At least confirms that it's not just us thinking about this scenario.

[michaeltex]

With the Wemby performance during the playoffs, does anyone think teams will react by prioritizing bigs instead of guards/wings? Could this throw all the mock drafts into a blender?

[HoosierDaddyKid]

With the Wemby performance during the playoffs, does anyone think teams will react by prioritizing bigs instead of guards/wings? Could this throw all the mock drafts into a blender?

The only thing is, there are no bigs in this draft who come close to replicating Wemby in any shape or form. He's one of one.

[khaled1987]

The only thing is, there are no bigs in this draft who come close to replicating Wemby in any shape or form. He's one of one.

Sure, but the importance of big men will increase regardless