2026 NBA draft thread

[Scott41theMavs]

I like players who do a lot of thing very well without much fuss.  Burries should be one of the guys I love, but it's just that I don't like him at 9.  If there was a trade down scenario to around 14, I would have no complaints with him.   He is a bit older and I don't see anything about his game that says there is another level that he can reach in the pros. 

Unless he has some unforeseen health or injury issues, we are living in Wemby's world for the next 15 years. Harper is a load too.  We have Coop.  This is one of our last chances to get a high pick in the next 2-3 years to get some potential star power to help Coop. The previous regime already messed up with their half hearted tank attempt. That's why I want this regime to be more bold. I'm ok with even Mara at 9.

(Response intended to be to windjc's post above as well This draft is huge.

To me, it would take a really terrible front office *not* to get an excellent, perennial starting player in this draft at the ninth pick (aside from some guy turning into a repetitive injury problem in ways his trajectory up to this point didn't identify). Unfortunately, we're the Dallas Mavericks - the team that has the 9th pick and needs, not a great #4 or #5 guy, but a major impact player, since we won't get another in the next four years (or if we do, it will be a home run with one of our late first rounders in those drafts) because of our prior atrocious front office. If the Mavs pick 9th, yes, they'll get a great player, but that's not good enough. We need them to hit on (as I've said before) this year's Donovan Mitchell or Bam Adabayo (referencing the 2017 draft) - the guy who, in re-draft exercises five years from now, is unquestionably the best player who was left on the board.

Of course, the good news is that we are now blessed to have what is almost certainly a top five front office. I trust Masai and Schmitz to know, between themselves, who the best player available really is. And because this draft is at least 20 players deep in guys who will likely be perennial starters, if they don't think the best guy at 9 will have enough of an impact, they'll find a way to get another pick (including by virtue of the oft-mentioned Thunder trade-down). 

I haven't participated much in the usual player-evaluative posting I used to throw my hat in on, because, as I have said, Masai/Schmitz know how to manage this draft far better than I ever would, I trust their judgment, and I'm just more and more excited that this draft + our front office is going to add up to results we're really pleased with a couple of years down the line.