2026 NBA draft thread

[Smitty]

As I have said many times, I have a lot of trust in the current FO and their competence. Whatever they do in this draft may not be what I would do, but they have the skins on the wall that display their competence, and I will wait and see how things turn out. 

But in the case of them picking Ament, that will be a very tough one. It's not just that I see him as a major reach at 9 (and perhaps not the best use of this very valuable-to-the-Mavs asset if they trade down and draft him later). It's that he is a long-game pick who will take a very long time to become whatever they believe he will be, and several years of growing pains and hand-wringing by us fans until he gets there. Please, Masai and Schmitz, don't do that to us unless you truly believe he's the next Durant.

If they believe he's the next Durant, they should be doing everything they can to trade up and get him. Durant at #9? That's an extremely unrealistic expectation. But it's draft season!

I'm not as down on Ament as the board seems to be. I have him as my #11 prospect personally, but what we think matters ZERO. There are a lot of really good prospects in this draft. I feel confident that the new MBT will do the work and make the best decision possible. There won't be trade downs to save cap, or agents that can manipulate Masai & Co., or gamblers running the draft room. Not to say they won't miss on their evaluation and selections, but that we finally have professionals in the room.