2026 NBA draft thread

[DallasMaverick]

You need to get your sh*t together. It´s #29.

Suns pick also improved to #50.Tankathon has projected Krivas. Didn´t somebody here like him? Have to say Lithuanian centers to be serviceable (Sabonis family, Ilgauskas, Valanciunas, Motiejunas) in the NBA is a pretty reliable bet. At #50 and as a complementary 15-18 MPG and situational bruiser to Lively/Gafford he makes some sense.

Wurzburg was reliable until Maxi Kleber…

[SleepingHero]

Getting nervous.  Draft sim mostly has a getting 8/9.  Can’t have that.  Need lose more and increase odds for top 5.  Top 5 is a must.

3 straight rolls on tankathon and the Mavs got 3rd every time. 

Wouldn't be opposed to that. Means we are guaranteed 1 of Boozer, Dybantsa, Peterson.

[JamesConway912]

Mikel Brown with another big game tonight, great to see that.

[F Gump]

Big B12 game… #9 Kansas vs #5 Iowa St on ABC at Noon.

Peterson is the headliner but ....

Peterson was again a dud. Played (but only 24) and only scored 10. 

He may be more hype than substance. But the hype is so big that the draft could get weird.

[Winter]

So Mikel Brown has had two back-to-back great games.

Brown is slotted to go somewhere in the neighborhood the Mavs are currently picking (7th)

Against NC State, Brown was 10-16 from 3-pt range. He had 9 reb, 2 ast, and 3 stls. He scored 42 points
Against Baylor, Brown was 4-5 on 3-pointers, 6 ast and 6 stls. He scored 29 pts.

His perimeter shooting was suffering for the first half of the season. The few analysts I've heard think he will find his shot soon.... and maybe he has now. If he can raise his shooting percentage, he'll be a lot more inviting for the Mavericks at #7. Brown was considered a very good PG coming into this season, but hasn't played all that well until recently. He's 6'5", shoots FTs at an 80% clip, and has a lot of intangibles. It will be interesting to watch him these next two months.

[Smitty]

Peterson was again a dud. Played (but only 24) and only scored 10. 

He may be more hype than substance. But the hype is so big that the draft could get weird.

I’ve been off the Peterson #1 train for a while. His talent is undeniable but he’s 3rd for me all day. Too many question marks.

As of this moment my top 10 are:
1) Dybantsa
2) Boozer
3) Peterson
4) Wilson
5) Wagler
6) Flemings
7) Brown Jr.
8) Ament
9) Acuff
10) Mullins

[DanSchwartzgan]

So Mikel Brown has had two back-to-back great games.

Brown is slotted to go somewhere in the neighborhood the Mavs are currently picking (7th)

Against NC State, Brown was 10-16 from 3-pt range. He had 9 reb, 2 ast, and 3 stls. He scored 42 points
Against Baylor, Brown was 4-5 on 3-pointers, 6 ast and 6 stls. He scored 29 pts.

His perimeter shooting was suffering for the first half of the season. The few analysts I've heard think he will find his shot soon.... and maybe he has now. If he can raise his shooting percentage, he'll be a lot more inviting for the Mavericks at #7. Brown was considered a very good PG coming into this season, but hasn't played all that well until recently. He's 6'5", shoots FTs at an 80% clip, and has a lot of intangibles. It will be interesting to watch him these next two months.

So which 3 point guy is he.  The one who shot 27% thought the first 15 games of the season or the guy who is 14/21 the last two games.  I like his size and athleticism.  I know he was injured to start the season, so hopefully (for the Mav's sake), the real Mikel is the more recent one.

[Winter]

So which 3 point guy is he.  The one who shot 27% thought the first 15 games of the season or the guy who is 14/21 the last two games.  I like his size and athleticism.  I know he was injured to start the season, so hopefully (for the Mav's sake), the real Mikel is the more recent one.

I was suprised all these mock drafts believed in Brown for so long with such a bad percentage. I will add though, that K. Flemings was shooting 3-pointers at 24 % through the first third of the season (and he's now at 36%). So it's hard to predict I guess. Flagg was shooting 40% on 3s during the final third of his last college season, so I guess not many rookies should be expected to be 40% right out of the gate even in college.

For him to stay at #7, I'm hoping he at least brings his percentage up to the mid-30s.

[Mavs2021]

I was suprised all these mock drafts believed in Brown for so long with such a bad percentage. I will add though, that K. Flemings was shooting 3-pointers at 24 % through the first third of the season (and he's now at 36%). So it's hard to predict I guess. Flagg was shooting 40% on 3s during the final third of his last college season, so I guess not many rookies should be expected to be 40% right out of the gate even in college.

For him to stay at #7, I'm hoping he at least brings his percentage up to the mid-30s.

Better hope he does not play too well or he gets back into the top 5.   I like him a lot. He is probably still my #1 PG on the board.

I agree with the Peterson assessments that he is playing with fire now. I think we should not forget that these are extremely small basketball sample sizes and that character is probably half of the equation. With Peterson you probably need to test his character more than his game.The first test will be whether he even bothers to work out for teams. If he does I design my whole day around playing mind games with him to test his desire, commitment and general behaviour. I´d not care one bit about him hitting 100 threes in a empty gym.

[JamesConway912]

New moch on tankathon

#6 Brown Jr
#7 Wagler to Mavs

#28 Chris Anderson Jr
#29 Bidunga © to DAL

Vecenie is very high on Mikel Brown Jr, also on defense. Not quite there yet personally but it’s great to see him play well. 

Otherwise a pretty rough night for the lottery guys. Koa Peat went down with an injury.

[Winter]

Not many exceptional games from first-rounders yesterday.

Flemings had a particularly poor shooting night.
Burries wasn't particulary good either in AZ losing to Texas Tech

Some of the better stats.

Acuff had 31 pts and 7 asts (Acuff has been remarkably consistent in his shooting numbers. He has scored in double figures every single game, and 20pts or more in six straight games against very good competiton in the SEC).

Christian Anderson had 19 pts, 8 asts, and was 6-15 from the 3-pt line

And as reported earlier, Mikel Brown with 29 points, and 4-5 on 3-ptrs.

[ThisIStheYear]

I feel good about 8 players: the Big 4; Flemings and Wagler; and now Brown and Acuff. After that, I don’t have as much confidence. Just hope the Mavs can land in the top 8 at this point.

[Dirknows]

I feel good about 8 players: the Big 4; Flemings and Wagler; and now Brown and Acuff.  After that, I don’t have as much confidence.  Just hope the Mavs can land in the top 8 at this point.

The odds off all 8 players being very good is almost 0%. There will be guys taken outside of the top 8 and even lottery that go on to have great careers as is with every draft. We just need the GM to find these players if we don’t get a top pick. Even the guys at the top have question marks.

[KillerLeft]

The odds off all 8 players being very good is almost 0%. There will be guys taken outside of the top 8 and even lottery that go on to have great careers as is with every draft. We just need the GM to find these players if we don’t get a top pick. Even the guys at the top have question marks.

The thing I'm not sure we acknowledge enough as we look back at drafts is how the circumstances of how and where these guys start their careers changes their trajectories. 

Take Marvin Bagley, just as an example: I have no idea whether or not he would've been a great player worthy of being taken in the top 5 had he been drafted by GS or SA, but I AM sure that getting drafted by SAC makes the worst possible version of someone's early career far more likely to play out. My point is that not every bust was destined to bust, just like not every hit was destined to hit. How these guys fit with their teams and the plan to use them...how well they gel with their teammates, their developmental coaches, their trainers, even the front office "helper" types...how well they adjust to life in a new city, their first time being away from family in some cases, doing adult things for the first time (with a ton of money)...these factors are just as important as any predictive extrapolation of what they show on the court in college, and imo are much more difficult to get right. 

That's why it's all such a crapshoot, imo. To a certain extent, the better organizations are just organized in a way more conducive to giving these guys a chance to succeed, and they kind of make their GM's seem "smarter." Then again, the GM's probably deserve a ton of credit for their imprint on their organizations - the good and the bad. 

Don't get me wrong - Haliburton survived being drafted by SAC, so he probably would've been great anywhere. There are some who are destined for greatness and others who are destined for failure in a predetermined, unavoidable way, probably. But, think about all the stories of Nash taking Dirk under his wing and that nice lady from the front office teaching him how to deposit his paychecks, how to pay his utility bills, etc, all while he was just wanting to give up and go home. If Dirk had been drafted by Utah, would it have worked? I think there's a lot to this line of thinking, personally.

[Winter]

The thing I'm not sure we acknowledge enough as we look back at drafts is how the circumstances of how and where these guys start their careers changes their trajectories. 

Take Marvin Bagley, just as an example: I have no idea whether or not he would've been a great player worthy of being taken in the top 5 had he been drafted by GS or SA, but I AM sure that getting drafted by SAC makes the worst possible version of someone's early career far more likely to play out. My point is that not every bust was destined to bust, just like not every hit was destined to hit. How these guys fit with their teams and the plan to use them...how well they gel with their teammates, their developmental coaches, their trainers, even the front office "helper" types...how well they adjust to life in a new city, their first time being away from family in some cases, doing adult things for the first time (with a ton of money)...these factors are just as important as any predictive extrapolation of what they show on the court in college, and imo are much more difficult to get right. 

That's why it's all such a crapshoot, imo. To a certain extent, the better organizations are just organized in a way more conducive to giving these guys a chance to succeed, and they kind of make their GM's seem "smarter." Then again, the GM's probably deserve a ton of credit for their imprint on their organizations - the good and the bad. 

Don't get me wrong - Haliburton survived being drafted by SAC, so he probably would've been great anywhere. There are some who are destined for greatness and others who are destined for failure in a predetermined, unavoidable way, probably. But, think about all the stories of Nash taking Dirk under his wing and that nice lady from the front office teaching him how to deposit his paychecks, how to pay his utility bills, etc, all while he was just wanting to give up and go home. If Dirk had been drafted by Utah, would it have worked? I think there's a lot to this line of thinking, personally.

Just to add to that, consider that you're a PG in the top of the draft (Flemings, Brown, and Acuff).

What does Dallas offer a PG? Jason Kidd is the head coach, Kyrie Irving will be your sidekick and mentor, and Cooper Flagg will be you're running mate. That sounds pretty appealing. Furthermore, there's no frontline starter PG that will make you wait your turn on this team. 

Some of it is history - No one wants to go to Washington or Sacramento it seems - and some of it is coaching I think. But you're right, where you end up is a crapshoot for better or worse.

[ThisIStheYear]

The odds off all 8 players being very good is almost 0%. There will be guys taken outside of the top 8 and even lottery that go on to have great careers as is with every draft. We just need the GM to find these players if we don’t get a top pick. Even the guys at the top have question marks.

I know. A couple of the top 8 will bust.  A handful of players taken lower will be excellent. It’s a crapshoot.  But the top 8 seem like the lowest risk. No team really ever drafts outside the tiers, so you have to hope for the best and do a good job with development. Work ethic and love of the game is what I think sets players in the same tier apart.  That doesn’t bode well for DP, but then again, I’d have him in a tier of 1 as far as talent and skill go.

[Chicagojk]

I have watched Mikel Brown once.  Maybe one of his worst games.  I have not seen Acuff play.   

They will be a fascinating evaluation.  Brown is bigger while Acuff if probably solely a point guard.   Brown's size gives him advantages of position flexibility.   Both were rated about the same entering college.  Brown has rated higher as a pro entering the season probably due to size.

Not going to lie.  Watching the highlights, I like Acuff's better.  Brown takes a lot of tough shots.   Not really a surprise how his percentage was struggling.  He takes tough shots.   If you lose some confidence, it could take some time to rebound if you are taking tough shots.   Acuff looks to get better looks.   I also think Acuff sets up his teammates better.  

The size issue is real though.   Brown has had a two run of really good games.   Acuff has had a longer run of good games.

https://youtu.be/JhSuYMAEIY8?si=Iu82kU9GB1x9HWvD

https://youtu.be/RbZAahD6fKw?si=5fD2_tpTYO8gpItg

[Winter]

I know. A couple of the top 8 will bust.  A handful of players taken lower will be excellent. It’s a crapshoot.  But the top 8 seem like the lowest risk. No team really ever drafts outside the tiers, so you have to hope for the best and do a good job with development. Work ethic and love of the game is what I think sets players in the same tier apart.  That doesn’t bode well for DP, but then again, I’d have him in a tier of 1 as far as talent and skill go.

I agree that's hard to imagine that ANY of the top 6-8 players just spending most of their time on the bench. A lot of these first rounders have had a lot more training and education about what it takes to be an NBA player that just a decade ago. They've been instructed on their weaknesses, lectured about their attitude, and trained to know what it takes. It's not hard for me to imagine the top 6-8 first-rounders in this draft won't get a shot at playing at least 20 mpg in their rookie season and none of them getting a whiff of G league. 

And yet, history says at least one or two will not make it even as a rotation player in this league. 

I can look at Braylin Mullins all day and think he was the next Ray Allen, and he still could fail miserably.

[ThisIStheYear]

The single most amazing thing about this draft, IMO, is another Wurzburg power foward is mocked to go somewhere in the vicinity of the Mav's pick. I’ve been there a couple of times. It’s a lovely, but relatively small city. They must be doing something right basketball wise.

[DallasMaverick]

I agree that's hard to imagine that ANY of the top 6-8 players just spending most of their time on the bench. A lot of these first rounders have had a lot more training and education about what it takes to be an NBA player that just a decade ago. They've been instructed on their weaknesses, lectured about their attitude, and trained to know what it takes. It's not hard for me to imagine the top 6-8 first-rounders in this draft won't get a shot at playing at least 20 mpg in their rookie season and none of them getting a whiff of G league. 

And yet, history says at least one or two will not make it even as a rotation player in this league. 

I can look at Braylin Mullins all day and think he was the next Ray Allen, and he still could fail miserably.

Just for fun, I looked back at the last 6 or 7 years’ drafts, paying particular attention to the top 8 picks.

It’s pretty mixed. A few genuine busts. A few genuine stars. A lot of rotation players. Several that it’s just too soon to tell.

I think it’s easy to feel like we’re going to get another star, especially since they just hit a home run with Flagg. But perhaps we should temper our expectations.