2026 NBA draft thread

[cow]

This could really be about Milwaukee and gamesmanship. Wouldn't surprise me at all. 

But, for the record, if it means no Mara I'm on board.

10 and 13 for 9 and 30.  Let's go!

[RoyTarpleysGhost]

Lame…

Jake Fischer sure is talking like he knows things.

[mvossman]

With all the rumors of Mavs taking Ament at 9, I have been diving deeper into him to see if my immediate take is too harsh. I'm not finding a lot of help. Locked on Mavs had a no ceiling guy on who had him in the 20s. Read another draft analysis that had Ament in the 20s. He is just so far away.

[Chicagojk]

Interesting some mid first teams are wondering if Yaxel could slide some


https://x.com/draftexpress/status/206951...37006?s=46

[michaeltex]

Is the concept of a 9/30 to 12/17 trade with OKC off the table after their deal with Wiggins?

They still only have one slot to fill right now.

[Chicagojk]

I mean there is only a finite directions the mavs can go so someone will be right. This is not a knock on Fischer and others, but I think everyone is educating guessing per workouts, chatter and trying to put 1 and 1 together. I think there is very little meat in these predictions.

[Smitty]

No Ceilings are live now and there was a TON of talk about Atlanta trading 8 for Murphy to the Pels and them being able to jump the Mavs for Ament. Not speculation, real insider type smoke supposedly.

[Mavs2021]

Interesting some mid first teams are wondering if Yaxel could slide some


https://x.com/draftexpress/status/206951...37006?s=46

Honestly age aside, I don´t rate him that highly either from a skills standpoint.He also talked way too much crap for somebody playing against children as a grown ass man. I would not be surprised, if he falls, especially if rebuilding teams like Milwaukee snatch up the draft picks in the 10s.

[KillerLeft]

With all the rumors of Mavs taking Ament at 9, I have been diving deeper into him to see if my immediate take is too harsh.  I'm not finding a lot of help.  Locked on Mavs had a no ceiling guy on who had him in the 20s.  Read another draft analysis that had Ament in the 20s.  He is just so far away.

But everyone agrees he made significant progress with his body this year, and as a defender. 

He just didn't shoot well, that's it. 

And when you watch him move with the ball, at that size...it's just sooooo natural and smooth. He looks better with the ball in his hands right now than Flagg did at the end of last season, imo. That's not meant as a criticism of Flagg, but as a strong point for Ament. 

There's a legit chance he's the steal of the draft, imo, as in "why wasn't he on that top tier of guys?"

I get it, on a micro and macro level, the ball didn't go in. The results weren't there, and that's how teams trick themselves. But, I feel like the measurables are less deceiving with him than they are with other players. I'd be more excited for Ament than I would be for Carr, for example. I think he might be fool's gold. 

I can get behind the idea that it's a bad idea north of a certain number to take a risk like Ament, but if our new talent evaluators (and May) are SURE he's the real deal...I can see it. 

I'm still hoping for Brown Jr, but I'd give this an open mind. 

Ironically, if those same talent evaluators and May were sure Mara was the real deal, my reaction would be never to trust anything they think again, so what the hell do I know?

[SkenfromLMF]

The day we hired Masai, this became my fear - Dallas selects Nate Ament.
Ament is simply the prototypical Ujiri target. Hope he is closer to OG or Pascal than say Gradey Dick or Collin Murray-Boyles

I fear a Tatum Brown type interaction between Ament and Flagg without the success seen in Boston

[DallasMaverick]

105.3 saying Jake Fischer has Dallas locked in on Nate Ament

It means they’ve heard that someone below them wants him.

[Smitty]

No Ceilings are live now and there was a TON of talk about Atlanta trading 8 for Murphy to the Pels and them being able to jump the Mavs for Ament. Not speculation, real insider type smoke supposedly.

And here’s another one:

@NBADraftWass
Few hours before the draft, Atlanta Hawks a team that sounds pretty active in trade talks at #8, per multiple sources

[KillerLeft]

It means they’ve heard that someone below them wants him.

Well, the whole world knows Milwaukee wants him. That's not a revelation. Apparently other teams do, too.

[Smitty]

Trey Murphy III has reportedly signaled a desire to play elsewhere, per @sam_amick

“There is definitely a bunch of Trey Murphy noise. It seems pretty clear that he has also signaled a desire to play elsewhere. The market is going to be pretty robust…[The] Brooklyn [Nets] and the [Los Angeles] Clippers were mentioned as teams that were out front in that race, but I think the list is very long. I think that Detroit comes to mind. [With] Boston, actually, Trey is seen as a potential plan B for them if they miss out on Giannis, which they obviously did. So, Trey is going to have a lot of suitors, and I think that could be a draft-night deal.”

[KillerLeft]

If Dallas really does want Ament, they might have to trade UP to 8 to get him...I don't think many around here would be happy about that, lol.

[KillerLeft]

What's everyone watching/listening to right now?

[Smitty]

What's everyone watching/listening to right now?

https://www.youtube.com/live/3ukSLaOpXdU..._jPGWKIjR2

[Torielp10]

Ament and Mara smoke is our front office being badasses. I 100% think they are spooking teams below us to either trade with us, or move ahead of us to select one or both leaving us more options at PG.

[KillerLeft]

Ament and Mara smoke is our front office being badasses. I 100% think they are spooking teams below us to either trade with us, or move ahead of us to select one or both leaving us more options at PG.

This is definitely a possibility.

[OBX Maverick]

Just saw a rumor that Clips are getting cold feet about Brown’s back and are leaning Burries. This is gonna be one of the craziest drafts ever.