2026 NBA draft thread

[KillerLeft]

I haven't studied Wagler much because I kind of thought he'd be the second guard off the board, after Peterson. Now that there's talk of an outside chance he makes it to #9 I suppose I'll have to take a dive on him soon.

[mvossman]

I haven't studied Wagler much because I kind of thought he'd be the second guard off the board, after Peterson. Now that there's talk of an outside chance he makes it to #9 I suppose I'll have to take a dive on him soon.

Almost every mock I have seen recently has Wagler going to the Clippers.  The one exception is the Ringer, which has the Clippers taking Burries and Mavs taking Wagler.  Over half have the Mavs taking Burries, but there are a few with Brown and at least one with Flemings.  I don't think I have seen a mock with Acuff getting past Kings.

[Chicagojk]

I really don't think there is any chance he gets by the Kings.  I think Wagler is more likely to drop than him, then Flemings, then Brown.

I think it is unlikely as well.  Supposedly the Kings are fans, but who knows.  I just would not put much, if any, stock in mock drafts.

[mvossman]

I haven't studied Wagler much because I kind of thought he'd be the second guard off the board, after Peterson. Now that there's talk of an outside chance he makes it to #9 I suppose I'll have to take a dive on him soon.

This board is rather down on him, but I like him a lot.  Here is a particularly glowing analysis by a no ceilings guy:

https://www.noceilingsnba.com/p/keaton-w...tar-future

EDIT: and for those who said Wagler is nothing like SGA, this guy would beg to differ

[Winter]

I sort of imagine Wagler to be a guy who could really struggle his rookie year, but eventually play into a good starter. He makes good decisions and is a good playmaker. But where he plays on the court (and how) seems like it will require time.

[Chicagojk]

Today is deadline day for college prospects to go back to college. Need to be careful of seeing who is in or not. Social media can be tricky.

I thought I saw Peat, Christian Anderson and Meleek Thomas were all staying in the draft.

[Chicagojk]

Karaban has workout scheduled with Dallas

https://x.com/esidery/status/2059647558863974559?s=46

[mvossman]

I sort of imagine Wagler to be a guy who could really struggle his rookie year, but eventually play into a good starter. He makes good decisions and is a good playmaker. But where he plays on the court (and how) seems like it will require time.

I think early on he will play more off ball and leverage his shooting with the playmaking being more secondary.  The hope would be that he eventually develops into an elite on ball player that some think he can be.

One of the most interesting points made in that article was that one of the knocks on SGA was his reliance on screens in college.  Less than 10% of his possessions were ISO.

[michaeltex]

Consensus on this board seems to lean strongly on taking a guard with the 9th pick. What does that mean?

We have talked a lot about size, reach, shooting skills, jump height, etc. But what do we want this person to do?

Play calling
Distribution
Primary handling
Primary scoring
Secondary scoring
Paint scoring
3pt scoring
POA defense
Rebounding

Nobody checks all the boxes. Which ones are most important to supporting a Flagg-centered team?

[Chicagojk]

I like the no ceilings draft content, but I think I figured out they are not 1-2 guys.  They are sort of a group with a lot of people.    That gets a little more cloudy when reading opinion pieces if they are done by different people.  Anyway....here is one on Philon.

https://www.noceilingsnba.com/p/stop-ignoring-labaron-philon?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F6be1d367-ad4b-4699-8f7f-b178c0698841_2544x1036.jpeg&open=false

[HoosierDaddyKid]

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/4888...ery-reform


The pros and cons of the new draft lottery reform.

[Chicagojk]

Consensus on this board seems to lean strongly on taking a guard with the 9th pick. What does that mean?

We have talked a lot about size, reach, shooting skills, jump height, etc. But what do we want this person to do?

Play calling
Distribution
Primary handling
Primary scoring
Secondary scoring
Paint scoring
3pt scoring
POA defense
Rebounding

Nobody checks all the boxes. Which ones are most important to supporting a Flagg-centered team?

There will be good guards at 9 and Dallas definately needs more play makers.   I think creation and smart players are the biggest needs.    Coop is such an advanced playeer, you just want guys who know how to play and play off of him.

While I think taking a guard is likely, for the last month I have warned people not to laser focus on just guards.    In his last draft, Masai took a PF when they already were pretty deep at that position.   Schmitz was the asst. GM but seems to have a long history with Hanson and they took them despite having one of their young core players already at center.    I really think they will take the player they feel is the best long term prospect...regardless of position.    Even it complicates things with the current roster.

[mvossman]

Consensus on this board seems to lean strongly on taking a guard with the 9th pick. What does that mean?

We have talked a lot about size, reach, shooting skills, jump height, etc. But what do we want this person to do?

Play calling
Distribution
Primary handling
Primary scoring
Secondary scoring
Paint scoring
3pt scoring
POA defense
Rebounding

Nobody checks all the boxes. Which ones are most important to supporting a Flagg-centered team?

shooting, creation (for themselves and others) and defense.  Honestly Burries is probably the best combination of those three things.  The other guys probably have more on ball upside.

[mvossman]

There will be good guards at 9 and Dallas definately needs more play makers.   I think creation and smart players are the biggest needs.    Coop is such an advanced playeer, you just want guys who know how to play and play off of him.

While I think taking a guard is likely, for the last month I have warned people not to laser focus on just guards.    In his last draft, Masai took a PF when they already were pretty deep at that position.   Schmitz was the asst. GM but seems to have a long history with Hanson and they took them despite having one of their young core players already at center.    I really think they will take the player they feel is the best long term prospect...regardless of position.    Even it complicates things with the current roster.

Personally the laser focus has not been about positional need, its simply that the second tier of the next 5 players happen to all be guards.  If they are looking for smart, skilled players I think anybody outside that 5 will be a reach.

[ballsrchr]

Consensus on this board seems to lean strongly on taking a guard with the 9th pick. What does that mean?

We have talked a lot about size, reach, shooting skills, jump height, etc. But what do we want this person to do?

Play calling
Distribution
Primary handling
Primary scoring
Secondary scoring
Paint scoring
3pt scoring
POA defense
Rebounding

Nobody checks all the boxes. Which ones are most important to supporting a Flagg-centered team?

Few people will, or ever have, checked all those boxes,  What we need most is:

Play calling
Primary handling
Distribution
Secondary scoring
3pt scoring...

...arguably in that order.  Anything else would be a bonus. And we do need a point guard. The biggest problem with Nembhard is that he needs to be 6"+ taller...and this is from an old, short point guard.

[Torielp10]

Would yall do kyrie and #9 for Darius Garland and #5? Would the clippers?

[mvossman]

Would yall do kyrie and #9 for Darius Garland and #5? Would the clippers?

I would do Garland straight up for Kyrie.  Would not need the pick swap. Garland is a really good player and 8 years younger than Kyrie.

[Torielp10]

I would do Garland straight up for Kyrie.  Would not need the pick swap.  Garland is a really good player and 8 years younger than Kyrie.

I was just thinking with number 5. You could grab wagler. Garland, wagler and Coop would be a pretty good start.

[F Gump]

I would like pick 5, but Garland does not excite me.

[Chicagojk]

Mikel PR game is on point

https://x.com/aph00ps/status/2059718056020955432?s=46