2026 NBA draft thread

[KillerLeft]

This was kind of where my question was headed.  I think guys that can operate on ball should be the priority, but I don't feel the need to focus on a true point guard(s) if we have multiple guys that can play on ball.

It's so funny how easy it is to talk past each other in this format. People use these qualifying words like "true" or "traditional" to describe their disagreement for someone else's opinion, but those words don't actually add the context needed for clarity because we each view things so differently. 

I haven't seen what I'd call a "true" or "traditional" PG succeed in the NBA since...idk, 2011 Jason Kidd? And even then, the reason they won was because Terry was the PG down the stretch of every (literally EVERY) close game, and Kidd was relegated to an off-ball catch and shoot guy/secondary playmaker. 

If by "true" or "traditional" people mean in the modern sense, then we're talking about someone kind of like Terry, honestly. Brunson would be another good example. A guy who can hold his own in all of the modern pick and roll scenarios. Make the right reads, the right passes, present as a threat to score from all three levels, know how to counter each and every defensive wrinkle thrown at him. Above all (and this is where I started not to believe in Luka towards the end), they need to be willing to give the ball up not ONLY when they're doubled and think they can get an assist out of it, but when they see that another teammate is two passes away from an advantage. 

Flagg was better with the ball last year than I expected by the end. That's awesome that he can handle it - it will make him so, so much more dangerous and by extension, the Mavs' offense. But, I am aggressively uninterested in having him bring the ball up, initiate offense from above the break very much, etc. I want him catching more lobs than he throws. I want him running towards the rim or trailing the ball in transition, not making decisions with the ball. It's not about whether he can/can't succeed with the ball. I'm sure he's capable of reaching proficiency in that role, making some all star teams, whatever. It's just that I think that version of his career sells ridiculously low on his potential. The version of Flagg I'd be chasing is one who finishes more plays than he starts and one who remains a force on DEFENSE well into his 30's, not someone who has to fight a defender who picks him up at half court every night just to get to his spots. 

Flagg can, should and will handle the ball a lot. There will be times when he runs the offense, probably on a nightly basis - he's going to be a star player. It's nice to know that he won't be limited in those situations, just like it's nice to know that if he's a screen setter he'll be able to decimate teams on the short roll as a decision maker, etc, etc, etc. I'm not suggesting he stand in the corner - I'm suggesting that the best version of him as a player, even considering offense only, is not giving him a live dribble above the break as the primary starting point for the team's offense. I'm surprised there's so much pushback about this, frankly. 

None of this is real (at least not to me) until the Mavs have an on-ball offensive scorer/playmaker worthy of being Flagg's running mate in terms of both skill and age. Flagg is basically the next generation of guys like Dirk and Kevin Garnett, imo. Those guys were infinitely more skilled with the ball than their predecessors, just like Flagg and Tatum are more skilled with the ball than they were. However, no matter how much basketball changes, it will always be played inside-out, meaning the ball will always need to make it to a player with two feet in the paint, via either dribble penetration or the post pass. As a playmaker, Flagg has a much better chance of affecting that kind of offensive impact if he isn't getting the ball above the break full time. This team needs a lead ball-handler, and since Flagg is a forward, it makes a ton of sense for that guy to be a guard, which is great, because even in 2026 it's easier to find guards who qualify, imo - there are like 5 potentials in the upcoming draft.