2026 NBA draft thread

[Chicagojk]

Vecenie draft guide came out today. I am no longer a subscriber so I can’t read. I did see his rankings though.

5-10 are

Acuff
Wagler
Flemings
Burries
yaxel
brown jr

[Chicagojk]

“@shamscharania

Developments ahead of the June 23-24 NBA draft: BYU's AJ Dybantsa has conducted formal visits with both the Washington Wizards (No. 1) and Utah Jazz (No. 2) while Kansas' Darryn Peterson only visited the Wizards and does not plan to grant anyone else a meeting, sources tell me and @JeremyWoo.

Both have believed in going No. 1 -- and now teams in the lottery are taking note of Peterson's decision to only give access to Washington.”

If this is the case, and Peterson has a chance of falling, the Mavs should be HIGHLY motivated to potentially trade up with Chicago.

Everything with a Peterson just feels difficult.  I don’t think a team in the top 3 will pass on him but come on.  Only working out for one team.  Is it too much to work out for two more teams.  It is a place he may be for at least the next 7 years.   Nothing is ever simple with him.

[Chicagojk]

Not sure if it is group think but you are hearing more and more that Utah could take Boozer 2. If so, what does Utah do with their glut of front court depth. Lauri and Jackson have years left on their deals and around 50 mil per year. Kessler has a big extension coming. I sort of like Filipkowski as a bench big. Which is the two big contracts do they move? Is there a big market for either? Peterson is the way easier fit but Ainge won’t hesitate taking Boozer if he thinks he will be the better player.

[mvossman]

Regarding the finals in relation to the draft.

For me, this final makes me feel more comfortable about the draft, it is an opportunity, an important one, but not as consequential as folks said.

But the traditional model of a "Batman and Robin doesn't seem to be the current one. Well coached and deep teams are essential.

A year ago, or less, KAT was a loser you can't build a winner around, Brunson was a undersized ball hog that doesn't win chips. Now they are champions. None on this team is a traditional franchise player. Not a single starter was drafted by them.

Last year, OKC had clear superstar , but I don't see a clear "side kick" but rather a strong deep team. Same with 2023  Denver. 2022 GSW was kind off the same too. Boston 2024 is the closest thing to that, though I feel it was 2 robins  with a very deep team around them.

Get a good talent, don't focus too much on his limitation, and see how it works as a fit and then we work from there.

I would argue the Batman/Robin model still tends to dominate.  Your Batman needs to be an elite creator and your Robin needs to be a strong creator as well.  For OKC the Robin is Jalen Williams.  Shai desperately needs somebody to help shoulder the creation load.  Chet is a great complimentary player, but he can't shoulder Robin level creation which is why they lost in the playoffs.  In Denver Murray is the Robin.  In NY KAT is the robin, but he did have a lot of help.  We are seeing a trend of having more creation throughout the lineup (NY, Spurs, Boston).  When you don't have a top 3-5 creator on the roster you need more than one guy to help out.

[RasheedsBigWhiteSpot]

Vecenie draft guide came out today.  I am no longer a subscriber so I can’t read.  I did see his rankings though.

5-10 are

Acuff
Wagler
Flemings
Burries
yaxel
brown jr

Interesting. I've read that Yaxel could slide because all of his workouts have gone poorly and teams are concerned about his immature reputation.

[Scott41theMavs]

Interesting. I've read that Yaxel could slide because all of his workouts have gone poorly and teams are concerned about his immature reputation.

At 24 years old!

[RoyTarpleysGhost]

Everything with a Peterson just feels difficult.  I don’t think a team in the top 3 will pass on him but come on.  Only working out for one team.  Is it too much to work out for two more teams.  It is a place he may be for at least the next 7 years.   Nothing is ever simple with him.

Yeah, he has too much of a risk profile for an elite prospect.  Of course with the Mavs having the 9th pick, anything they could do to get him short of trading Cooper Flagg would still be exciting.  But if the Mavs had a top 3 pick, I would be very weary of Peterson. He's like the opposite of Jalen Brunson when it comes to intangibles and vibes.

You didnt play half your games in college because of creatine?  I call BS. Your HOF head coach looked uncomfortable answering questions about why you weren't on the court.

Also showed very little playmaking ability in college. Feels like a Bradley Beal type prospect to me. No doubt he'll average 25ppg at some point in his NBA career but not sure he's that dude.

[DallasMaverick]

I would argue the Batman/Robin model still tends to dominate.  Your Batman needs to be an elite creator and your Robin needs to be a strong creator as well.  For OKC the Robin is Jalen Williams.  Shai desperately needs somebody to help shoulder the creation load.  Chet is a great complimentary player, but he can't shoulder Robin level creation which is why they lost in the playoffs.  In Denver Murray is the Robin.  In NY KAT is the robin, but he did have a lot of help.  We are seeing a trend of having more creation throughout the lineup (NY, Spurs, Boston).  When you don't have a top 3-5 creator on the roster you need more than one guy to help out.

So, in the Golden State model, who would you say was Robin?

[mvossman]

So, in the Golden State model, who would you say was Robin?

Obviously Durant when he was there, but otherwise it was Green.  He didn't create for himself, but he created for others at a high level.  A big part of their offense was predicated on him playing the hub.  They were a unique team.  Its hard to overstate how powerful Curry gravity was.

[cow]

Obviously Durant when he was there, but otherwise it was Green.  He didn't create for himself, but he created for others at a high level.  A big part of their offense was predicated on him playing the hub.  They were a unique team.  Its hard to overstate how powerful Curry gravity was.

 Green was Batman on defense though with Klay being his Robin.   Such a fun team.

[michaeltex]

Yeah, he has too much of a risk profile for an elite prospect.  Of course with the Mavs having the 9th pick, anything they could do to get him short of trading Cooper Flagg would still be exciting.  But if the Mavs had a top 3 pick, I would be very weary of Peterson.  He's like the opposite of Jalen Brunson when it comes to intangibles and vibes.

You didnt play half your games in college because of creatine?  I call BS.  Your HOF head coach looked uncomfortable answering questions about why you weren't on the court.

Also showed very little playmaking ability in college.  Feels like a Bradley Beal type prospect to me.  No doubt he'll average 25ppg at some point in his NBA career but not sure he's that dude.

Petersen feels, to me, like a guy blessed with great talent who does the minimum to get by. If his talent gets results and rewards, then great, but if he has to work for it, then maybe the cost is too much.

Just a gut feeling that he's going to show up as a prima donna, especially if he's #1. Interesting to see what happens with that meets the reality of an NBA season.

[Scott41theMavs]

Petersen feels, to me, like a guy blessed with great talent who does the minimum to get by. If his talent gets results and rewards, then great, but if he has to work for it, then maybe the cost is too much.

Just a gut feeling that he's going to show up as a prima donna, especially if he's #1. Interesting to see what happens with that meets the reality of an NBA season.

Seems to me that he and the Wizards are made for each other.

[F Gump]

Petersen feels, to me, like a guy blessed with great talent who does the minimum to get by. If his talent gets results and rewards, then great, but if he has to work for it, then maybe the cost is too much.

Just a gut feeling that he's going to show up as a prima donna, especially if he's #1. Interesting to see what happens with that meets the reality of an NBA season.

All of this is a huge issue.

Unless it's not. DP fully explained what happened last season. Is it true? If it is, he was a player who badly wanted to play, but couldn't, who was forced to be cautious when he played because he didn't want to die on the court, not knowing what was causing his issues, and who has since been able to get it figured out medically and end the problem.

His explanation could be true. We outsiders don't know.

But I would think NBA guys in position to pick him won't be forced to guess, and will have access to much more info to be able to make an informed decision. Even if he doesn't want to do a private interview and work out with teams lower in the draft order, they all get equal access to his meds and measurements. I do find it somewhat revealing that his draft stock seems to be revealing no issue with this past season (which might be an indicator that, when teams checked out his explanation, it has turned out to be completely true).

[Scott41theMavs]

Just 8 days until the first round.

[Chicagojk]

https://x.com/noahweber00/status/2066581...42209?s=46

[DallasMaverick]

Everything with a Peterson just feels difficult.  I don’t think a team in the top 3 will pass on him but come on.  Only working out for one team.  Is it too much to work out for two more teams.  It is a place he may be for at least the next 7 years.   Nothing is ever simple with him.

Reminds me a little of Ace Bailey last year with Utah.

Really bad advice from his agent, whom he subsequently fired.

You never know whom these 18-year-olds are listening to.

[HoosierDaddyKid]

Jeremy Woo: The second wave of players invited to the NBA draft green room, per sources: Cameron Carr, Chris Cenac Jr, Yaxel Lendeborg, Morez Johnson Jr, Hannes Steinbach, Bennett Stirtz

Twitter

[HoosierDaddyKid]

Sources told KSL Sports that Darryn Peterson’s camp is “very confident they are going #1,” prompting the change in this week’s plans. Despite that expectation, there has been “plenty of communication” between the Jazz and Peterson, and the Kansas guard was not “trying to avoid Utah at all.” Teams often know the likely top overall pick entering the final week before the draft. As of Monday, Peterson’s decision to cancel his workout with the Jazz, while AJ Dybantsa maintained his visit, suggests a shift at the top of the draft.

sports.ksl.com

[Scott41theMavs]

Sources told KSL Sports that Darryn Peterson’s camp is “very confident they are going #1,” prompting the change in this week’s plans. Despite that expectation, there has been “plenty of communication” between the Jazz and Peterson, and the Kansas guard was not “trying to avoid Utah at all.” Teams often know the likely top overall pick entering the final week before the draft. As of Monday, Peterson’s decision to cancel his workout with the Jazz, while AJ Dybantsa maintained his visit, suggests a shift at the top of the draft.

sports.ksl.com

I would love for Utah to trade #2 and stuff for Dybantsa as the first pick and for the Wizards to get Peterson at 2, for the express purpose of bursting DP’s “I’m the #1 pick” bubble.

[F Gump]

I would love for Utah to trade #2 and stuff for Dybantsa as the first pick and for the Wizards to get Peterson at 2, for the express purpose of bursting DP’s “I’m the #1 pick” bubble.

I don't want Dybantsa to go to the Jazz unless they pay more than their pick for him. I think Ainge has been plotting to get Dybantsa since he was in HS -- isn't that why he went to BYU? - and I want him to pay the price (a significant one, too) to move up to #1 to be able to draft him.