2026 NBA draft thread

[Scott41theMavs]

I guess LIKELY is another word we could be talking over each other.  There are other guys who I think are more likely to be able to take on lead guard roles, but not necessarily by enough to account for the lower floor.  If I am looking for the guy most likely to become a starter on a contending team then I probably go with Burries.  Not just because he has the best defense of the group and tools to potentially make it either on ball or off, but also because of his mental makeup.  He choose a talented team and took on a limited role seamlessly because he wanted to win.

But if I were of your mindset, and wanted the guy most likely to develop into a lead guard on a contending team I would probably go with Flemings.  He has the elite first step and high BBIQ that will carry over to the next level.  He also has good enough defense (for the 1) that you won't have to build your team around him (like Acuff).  But he can't fall back to another position due to his lack of size and limited shooting.  I would be happy with either guy.

Winter was saying he hadn't been considering Wagler since he was projected to go earlier. I think Acuff is a dawg (on offense) who is going to generate lots of hype for whoever drafts him (which is why it seems like he wouldn't fall past the Kings - "Can't play defense? Who cares. Will put butts in seats."). I had not been considering him much as Winter wasn't considering Wagler, because he keeps getting mocked top 7. While I think Acuff is an offensive nuke, he doesn't seem like a Masai guy due to the shortness and lack of defense. Not sure how I'd feel if the Mavs were to get him at 9. I would assume they would do the Brunson-style build-around to accommodate him. 

The thing about Burries is that we rarely hear of him going before 8 at the earliest. Several weeks ago, I considered him a bit of a reach at 9. I have since come around that he is at least almost as good (all aspects of their games taken in consideration) as the other four, and definitely see him as the 9th-best player in the draft and a great consolation prize. As long as Masai doesn't engender the facepalm by going Mara, Lendeborg, or Ament (at 9 as opposed to in a trade-down), this should be a pretty happy 1st round for Mavs fans.

The singular other guy who I wouldn't mind seeing the Mavs "reach" on at 9 is Johnson, because if he isn't gone by 9, he's getting mocked higher and higher and higher and probably wouldn't be available in a trade-down. If that's Masai's guy, I'd be fine with that at 9 in ways I would in no way be wrt the MLA trio.