2026 NBA draft thread

[SkenfromLMF]

Bagley putting up a Mejri

[Mavs2021]

No wonder Clingan gets so many rebounds. Barely shooting above 20% around the rim.

[cow]

No wonder Clingan gets so many rebounds. Barely shooting above 20% around the rim.

He missed so many bunnies tonight.

[Chicagojk]

I really wonder if Philon is the prospect hiding in clear sight. I am really curious how he turns out. His growth from freshman to sophomore is really impressive. The one drawback is he is not an explosive leader but bounds he hard to stay in front of. He has added this step back three where he gets crazy separation and defenders are routinely on skates. An improved three point shot makes him even more lethal. He also has good size and is young for a sophomore.

There has been some recent Alabama guards who have disappointed but I do wonder if people are bypassing Philon due to a lack of perceived upside while in reality he could have just as much of bounce potential as some of the others.

[HoosierDaddyKid]

I really wonder if Philon is the prospect hiding in clear sight.  I am really curious how he turns out.  His growth from freshman to sophomore is really impressive.  The one drawback is he is not an explosive leader but bounds he hard to stay in front of.  He has added this step back three where he gets crazy separation and defenders are routinely on skates.  An improved three point shot makes him even more lethal.  He also has good size and is young for a sophomore.

There has been some recent Alabama guards who have disappointed but I do wonder if people are bypassing Philon due to a lack of perceived upside while in reality he could have just as much of bounce potential as some of the others.

I don't know if you consider Collin Sexton and Keon Ellis as disappointments, as far as guards are concerned. SF's Brandon Miller and Herb Jones can be borderline stars at their positions.  They're all good players. Are Sexton and Ellis stars? No, but they can play a role on an NBA roster.

[Smitty]

21 Wins and 10 Games to go for the Jazz. They have 3 winnable games left on their schedule IMO. (WAS, NOP, MEM)
23 Wins and 10 Games to go for the Mavs. They have 4 winnable games left on their schedule IMO. (POR, MIL, LAC, CHI)
24 Wins and 11 Games to go for the Grizzles. They have 3 winnable games left on their schedule IMO. (CHI, MIL, UTAH)
25 Wins and 10 Games to go for the Pelicans. They have 4 winnable games left on their schedule IMO. (POR, SAC, ORL, UTAH)


I feel comfortable saying it's unlikely the Mavs tie or jump the Jazz for the 5th spot. As well as it being unlikely that the Pels tie or jump the Mavs, in this disgraceful tank-off. As my kids would say, six--seven... It likely comes down to the final game of the season against CHI, with the Mavs needing to lose to stay in a tie with MEM or stay ahead of them in the Win column.

Mavs win one that I thought was winnable. Now tied with MEM in the win column, who has a big game tonight against CHI.

[DanSchwartzgan]

It's likely that Burries is closer to 6'3, if we look at the history of college guards getting their listed heights exaggerated.   

IF we're thinking of Flagg as the future Point-Forward, I can get behind it. But I'd also want Max, or someone with his skillset, at the small Wing (SF) spot for his shooting and switchability on defense as well.

Thanks for following up with the Burries stats when Bradley is off the floor...very encouraging.  Given the very real possibility that Acuff, Flemings and Wagler are off the board when we draft, the discussion may be less about how Burries compares to them and more about how he compares to Brown, Philon, Lendebord and Ament.   BTW, if Burries is 6'3", then Acuff is 6'0" of 6'1" at the most.  There is a noticeable difference between them.  

I do think we have to account for Flagg spending some time on the ball in a similar way to what we see from players like Tatum, Kawhi or Avdija.  That doesn't mean we don't need another player who can create for others.  I just wonder how "pure" of a PG it has to be given what I think Flagg will be doing.  If Kyrie were available, the starting lineup would be Kyrie, Christie, Forward, Flagg and a Center.  I don't think we'd be complaining that Kyrie isn't "pure" enough despite the fact that many have pointed out that Kyrie isn't a "pure" PG.  

I think a lot of our offensive issues would be remedied by having another self/others creator (like Kyrie) on the floor.  I'm not saying Burries is Kyrie, but I do think he can fit into a guard rotation with Kyrie and Christie - maybe not as well as Wagler, but he can be on the floor with either Christie/Flagg or Kyrie/Flagg.   Could we run minutes with NAW/Flagg?  Booker/Flagg?  Those seem to be the comps.  The answer is probably more about what Flagg is than what Burries is.

[DanSchwartzgan]

Curious what people think...Where would a healthy Lively go in this draft?

[ThisIStheYear]

Thanks for following up with the Burries stats when Bradley is off the floor...very encouraging.  Given the very real possibility that Acuff, Flemings and Wagler are off the board when we draft, the discussion may be less about how Burries compares to them and more about how he compares to Brown, Philon, Lendebord and Ament.   BTW, if Burries is 6'3", then Acuff is 6'0" of 6'1" at the most.  There is a noticeable difference between them.  

I do think we have to account for Flagg spending some time on the ball in a similar way to what we see from players like Tatum, Kawhi or Avdija.  That doesn't mean we don't need another player who can create for others.  I just wonder how "pure" of a PG it has to be given what I think Flagg will be doing.  If Kyrie were available, the starting lineup would be Kyrie, Christie, Forward, Flagg and a Center.  I don't think we'd be complaining that Kyrie isn't "pure" enough despite the fact that many have pointed out that Kyrie isn't a "pure" PG.  

I think a lot of our offensive issues would be remedied by having another self/others creator (like Kyrie) on the floor.  I'm not saying Burries is Kyrie, but I do think he can fit into a guard rotation with Kyrie and Christie - maybe not as well as Wagler, but he can be on the floor with either Christie/Flagg or Kyrie/Flagg.   Could we run minutes with NAW/Flagg?  Booker/Flagg?  Those seem to be the comps.  The answer is probably more about what Flagg is than what Burries is.

Burries, Brown, Philon, and even Yaxel and Steinbach have practically the same potential as Acuff, Flemings, and Wagler. Some people even still like Ament. If the Mavs don’t move up in the lottery, it doesn’t matter what pick they have.  Burries would be a worthy pick at 5 (I have him 6 after Acuff), but he could easily go 10th (because he’s an old frosh). It’s the most clustered group of good prospects down to pick 13 we’ve ever seen.

And, a healthy Lively (BPM around 9), goes about 20 in this draft I think, maybe lower. He’s probably the same tier as the current Duke center, but due to his chronic injury problems won’t have as good a career, unfortunately. Lively has the sort of injury history that is fatal for a big man’s career.

[Winter]

Curious what people think...Where would a healthy Lively go in this draft?

I think he'd grade out higher than Ngongba would - the current Duke center. 

Ngongba usually is slotted somewhere between 16 and 24 and usually closer to 24. It's a little hard to imagine Lively above Aday Mara who is usually slotted around the same spot. So I'm guessing somewhere around 20-24.

[vfromlmf]

I really wonder if Philon is the prospect hiding in clear sight.  I am really curious how he turns out.  His growth from freshman to sophomore is really impressive.  The one drawback is he is not an explosive leader but bounds he hard to stay in front of.  He has added this step back three where he gets crazy separation and defenders are routinely on skates.  An improved three point shot makes him even more lethal.  He also has good size and is young for a sophomore.

There has been some recent Alabama guards who have disappointed but I do wonder if people are bypassing Philon due to a lack of perceived upside while in reality he could have just as much of bounce potential as some of the others.

Philon is my dark horse for sure and I’ve noticed the same thing about his step back. That’s an NBA shot that will translate. He can mature into a dawg on defense too.

[mvossman]

Thanks for following up with the Burries stats when Bradley is off the floor...very encouraging.  Given the very real possibility that Acuff, Flemings and Wagler are off the board when we draft, the discussion may be less about how Burries compares to them and more about how he compares to Brown, Philon, Lendebord and Ament.   BTW, if Burries is 6'3", then Acuff is 6'0" of 6'1" at the most.  There is a noticeable difference between them.  

I think I read that Acuff got an official measurement of 6'1" when he was 16.  This is a bit of a Fletch reference, but I wonder if Burries looks a little taller than he is compared to Acuff because of the hair.

[Scott41theMavs]

Good job, Grizz! I knew you could (barely) beat Josh Kiddies's team.