2026 NBA draft thread

[Winter]

I agree.  I will point out that (I believe) Tankathon moves players around to generate page views.  One day Burries is #10 and the next he’s #16 and he didn’t have a poor performance in the interim.  In fact, just the opposite (and as of today is back at #10).

I’ve long been dubious that all of these PG prospects will go one after another.  There just aren’t that many teams needing PG’s.  If the ratings are fairly close, some of these teams will draft for need or for a position of greater usefulness.  I wonder what teams will do with the senior Lendeborg if Michigan goes all the way.  Ready to contribute immediately,  but more of a finished product in terms of upside from here.

The question of the age of draft picks came up in a podcast I was watching. 

It's a really a discussion of "upside". I'm not entirely sure, but I suspect the media draft analysts don't much factor in age when ranking players (or at least not as much). Analysts anlyze how a player will look on team A. What does he bring to a team and what are his skills? 

A team GM, however, is different. A GM has to imagine what skill that player will need to work on and how long will it take before the player is the absolute optimum player drafted. How will he look when his rookie contract comes up? Can his problem areas be fixed? How long will it take? 

If you get an older player, you don't want many problem areas. Guys like Lendeborg are interesting, because most of his metrics are pretty advanced at age 23-24. But you have to be sure - maybe a bit more sure - than if you drafted someone younger.

I personally think Lendeborg is starter material on some team. It won't be the Mavs, but I'm interested to see how he progresses in the NBA.