2026 NBA draft thread

[hakeemfaan]

What they can't do is take a swing on upside and get it wrong, agreed. 

But, a swing on upside that they get right is the best case scenario, nay? As Mike D'Antoni (probably) once said to James Harden: "But what if you MAKE them?"

That's why Masai and Schmitz are getting paid what they are while we are on our couch and on message boards.

You have to have some sort of indicator that certain things can change in a few years, but certain things are there right now which show he can have a long career.

For eg, when Shai was drafted, his long range shooting was the question mark as well as his release, but other aspects of his game (defense, finishing touch, midrange) were all solid.   

With Ament, he is a scorer who is poor at shooting the 2, poor at shooting the 3, poor at finishing, not blowing by anyone athletically, and not getting much separation on his shots.  Again, I've heard the other side that he had a growth spurt and that he was a very good shooter in HS. 

That's the vetting and info that teams have that we don't. So if they draft him, they must feel confident. I'm just telling you from the limited info that I have from watching his tape, he has a lot of things that need fixing.