2026 NBA draft thread

[mvossman]

Looking ath the Poetl draft #9 for him looks a little meh.  Looking back at the draft though, the only player who should have gone ahead of him in that range is Sabonis.    

Although in that same draft he did get Siakam at the end of the first and Fred Vanvleet as an undrafted.  Not a bad haul.

Flynn was a big miss but that was that weird draft.  Bane went right ahead of him.

Dick has been a disappointment but I do wonder if he tries to buy low on him.  Dick was beat out for minutes by former Mavs two way AJ Lawson in the playoffs.  He clearly needs a new start.

I'm not sure there is such a thing as a big miss at 29.  

No interest in buying low on Dick.

That is an impressive list, especially considering how many of those picks were in the 20s.

[Smitty]

@DraftDeeper
NEW 2026 NBA MOCK DRAFT "WHAT WOULD I DO " EDITION

Tankathon chose VIOLENCE today with the lottery sim (last sim mock of the cycle for me)! Every pick is what I would choose, not what I project. Constant revisions coming each week leading up to the draft!

[Smitty]

@DraftDeeper
NEW 2026 NBA MOCK DRAFT "WHAT WOULD I DO " EDITION

Tankathon chose VIOLENCE today with the lottery sim (last sim mock of the cycle for me)! Every pick is what I would choose, not what I project. Constant revisions coming each week leading up to the draft!

If it played out this way, I'd take Burries at 10. Mavs probably go Flemings. And I'd hope they take I. Evans at 30 and be happy with it, despite falling to 10 in the lottery.

[dirkfansince1998]

Suigo is a euro-stash guy. Nowhere near NBA ready. Not the direction that I would take. But thinking about euro-stash guys reminded me of Melvin Ajinca. Is there any hope left for him? Just looking at the numbers he hasn't improved at all.

[Smitty]

Suigo is a euro-stash guy. Nowhere near NBA ready. Not the direction that I would take. But thinking about euro-stash guys reminded me of Melvin Ajinca. Is there any hope left for him? Just looking at the numbers he hasn't improved at all.

I forgot all about him. He was hurt during summer league last year.. after that I forgot he existed.

[Mavs2021]

Suigo is Euro Thabeet. Hell no. Look at Edey, difference maker, for all 15 games he´s healthy per season.

[Smitty]

@NBAPR
DRAFT COMBINE UPDATE:

Juke Harris (Wake Forest) has withdrawn from the 2026 NBA Draft and will not attend the AWS NBA Draft Combine 2026.

[Chicagojk]

https://x.com/onballcreator/status/20517...23267?s=46

[Winter]

https://x.com/onballcreator/status/20517...23267?s=46

He might be 6'5" if you add his hair.

[dirkfansince1998]

https://x.com/onballcreator/status/20517...23267?s=46

I think I saw a scouting report that mentioned him measured at 6'1.75'' barefoot last year. Reasonable to assume that he added an inch or two. So maybe 6'3 barefoot. 6'5 in shoes. 
Combine is going to be interesting. How many of the 6'...short guards are really 6ft+. And how many of them really have a plus wingspan.

[dirkfansince1998]

Looking at the 2nd round. Last week I joked about Brazile because he looked like the stereotype Raptors pick. Can we expect an Ujiri pick in the 2nd round? If not Brazile. Maybe Jojo Tugler, Baba Miller or Rafael Castro?

[Chicagojk]

He might be 6'5" if you add his hair.

In all seriousness, I am not too worried about his height.  I think he will measure close 6’3 without shoes.  So that will put him in line with expectations. I do have concerns about a few of the other guards heights though.

[Smitty]

In all seriousness, I am not too worried about his height.  I think he will measure close 6’3 without shoes.  So that will put him in line with expectations. I do have concerns about a few of the other guards heights though.

Agree. His height is zero issue going into this thing. All about the back.

https://x.com/tyler_rucker/status/205185...29874?s=20

[Winter]

Looking at the 2nd round. Last week I joked about Brazile because he looked like the stereotype Raptors pick. Can we expect an Ujiri pick in the 2nd round? If not Brazile. Maybe Jojo Tugler, Baba Miller or Rafael Castro?

Brazile is interesting. He may possibly be an option at #30. He was up and down in regards to his play, but he has some real physical tools and is good enough to play on the wing and guard smaller players. I wasn't a big fan early in the college season, but he got better as the season ended.

[Smitty]

More NoCeilings talk on Brown:

@jamontheboards
Not only does Mikel Brown Jr. have one of the highest upsides of anybody in the class, the floor is probably higher than he gets credit for.

At the floor, he’s a multiple level shotmaker that can be trusted to creatively operate ball screens to score and make plays for others

[DanSchwartzgan]

More NoCeilings talk on Brown:

@jamontheboards
Not only does Mikel Brown Jr. have one of the highest upsides of anybody in the class, the floor is probably higher than he gets credit for.

At the floor, he’s a multiple level shotmaker that can be trusted to creatively operate ball screens to score and make plays for others

It feels like we are cycling through these guys.  Flemings was "it" early in the season.  Then it was Acuff and Wagler and Brown fell because of the back issues.  Then Burries was the riser.  Now, back to Brown.  I suspect we will revisit Flemings pretty soon (unless we move up Sunday).

Truth is, there are 9 of these guys and if we end up at 8 or 9 we will get one of the worst of the bunch...or the perceived worst of the bunch.  So, to sume extent it almost doesn't matter who we (on the board) like or don't like as we are likely not going to get much choice in the matter.  I do suspect a healthy Brown moves up and the choice is probably Burries or Flemings if we stay at 8 though I still don't completely get Wagler as high as some mocks have him.  

Pick 10 starts to be a problem (Masai mentioned yesterday Toronto fell from 6th to 9th, but when you are 6th, picking 6th is the least likely outcome whereas when you are 8th, drafting 8th is the most likely single outcome).  In round numbers, it is about 29% top 4, 33% number 8 and 31% number 9 with only a 6.6% chance of 10 and a 0.4% chance of #11.

[Smitty]

It feels like we are cycling through these guys.  Flemings was "it" early in the season.  Then it was Acuff and Wagler and Brown fell because of the back issues.  Then Burries was the riser.  Now, back to Brown.  I suspect we will revisit Flemings pretty soon (unless we move up Sunday).

Truth is, there are 9 of these guys and if we end up at 8 or 9 we will get one of the worst of the bunch...or the perceived worst of the bunch.  So, to sume extent it almost doesn't matter who we (on the board) like or don't like as we are likely not going to get much choice in the matter.  I do suspect a healthy Brown moves up and the choice is probably Burries or Flemings if we stay at 8 though I still don't completely get Wagler as high as some mocks have him.  

Pick 10 starts to be a problem (Masai mentioned yesterday Toronto fell from 6th to 9th, but when you are 6th, picking 6th is the least likely outcome whereas when you are 8th, drafting 8th is the most likely single outcome).  In round numbers, it is about 29% top 4, 33% number 8 and 31% number 9 with only a 6.6% chance of 10 and a 0.4% chance of #11.

I think the reality is that all of these guards will be ranked very differently in every draft room across the league. Also, it feels highly unlikely that they'll go 5-10, like they're stacked in most mocks or rankings.

I've often referenced the pick of Gaurds in this draft to being which flavor of ice cream you prefer. All of them have their strengths and weaknesses. The chances that all of them are good to great NBA players is low. The thing that must be avoided at all costs is picking a bust. If we pick a Guard in this draft, there are a few that worry me more than others... I feel more confident today with Masai at the head of the table.

[Chicagojk]

More NoCeilings talk on Brown:

@jamontheboards
Not only does Mikel Brown Jr. have one of the highest upsides of anybody in the class, the floor is probably higher than he gets credit for.

At the floor, he’s a multiple level shotmaker that can be trusted to creatively operate ball screens to score and make plays for others

It is really tricky for me.   For one, I see the upside.  Just by looking at them, Brown should be my favorite and I could see myself being talked into him.

I saw a few games from Wagler, a few games from Acuff, a few games from Flemings, a few games from Philon and a few games from Brown.   What makes it difficult is trying to make a judgement on such a small sample size.   My issue is I liked the games of all the guys...except from Brown.  For Brown I saw a guy who took a ton of really tough shots, a guy who had trouble finishing inside and also turned it over quite a bit.   Maybe it was the team he played for, maybe i saw bad games or maybe his back caused some issues.   I don't know.   And again, I would not recommend making any conclusions on such a small sample size.   I just think Brown would be the player I loved the most but in my viewing I liked him the least.

[mvossman]

More NoCeilings talk on Brown:

@jamontheboards
Not only does Mikel Brown Jr. have one of the highest upsides of anybody in the class, the floor is probably higher than he gets credit for.

At the floor, he’s a multiple level shotmaker that can be trusted to creatively operate ball screens to score and make plays for others

His floor is a guy fighting back issues his entire career.  From that perspective he has the lowest floor of the PGs because he is the only one with significant injury concerns.

[mvossman]

It feels like we are cycling through these guys.  Flemings was "it" early in the season.  Then it was Acuff and Wagler and Brown fell because of the back issues.  Then Burries was the riser.  Now, back to Brown.  I suspect we will revisit Flemings pretty soon (unless we move up Sunday).

Truth is, there are 9 of these guys and if we end up at 8 or 9 we will get one of the worst of the bunch...or the perceived worst of the bunch.  So, to sume extent it almost doesn't matter who we (on the board) like or don't like as we are likely not going to get much choice in the matter.  I do suspect a healthy Brown moves up and the choice is probably Burries or Flemings if we stay at 8 though I still don't completely get Wagler as high as some mocks have him.  

Pick 10 starts to be a problem (Masai mentioned yesterday Toronto fell from 6th to 9th, but when you are 6th, picking 6th is the least likely outcome whereas when you are 8th, drafting 8th is the most likely single outcome).  In round numbers, it is about 29% top 4, 33% number 8 and 31% number 9 with only a 6.6% chance of 10 and a 0.4% chance of #11.

I think Wagler is high due to positional size, elite shooting, high BBIQ and the late bloomer factor.  He has a high floor and some folks see Haliburton as his ceiling.

I agree there is a drop off after 9, but not sure we will see 5 guards picked in a row (5-9) so one of those guys may be there at 10 anyways.

I'm a little worried that Ujiri may be the guy to break up the guard run.  The good news is that the guys most likely to fall to him (Brown, Flemings, Burries) seem like guys he would like.