2022 NBA Draft: #37 Jaden Hardy (6' 3", 6' 9" WS) to DAL | two 2nds to SAC

[F Gump]

There's no absolute truth about what player is going to be picked where. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and there are 30 beholders (teams) -- and within each of those teams, there probably is much variation in opinions of who should be picked where.

So unless someone is good enough to be regularly projected to be in the top 15, there's no guarantee he isn't there at 26. The consensus I'm hearing has been that there is a tier that goes for 6-7 players, another for about 6-7 players, and from about 12-40 it's really a crapshoot. Even now, players are being slotted up and down in various mocks, even those being done by the same person but in different weeks, even though none of these guys has played a single game minute since May 1.

That even happens here. Our thoughts on who we want at 26 vary from fan to fan, and from day to day.

If I'm the Mavs, and assuming I expect to pick at 26, then I need to take a close look at all the players from about 15 to 30. I need to know what to do as the teams before 26 take choices from random slots on my board, and also need to know what to do if opportunity to move up or down is offered.