2026 NBA draft thread

[F Gump]

I decided to take up the challenge presented by dirkfan's comment to FGump that the team as is didn't have a lot of talent. Back in the golden years when we had Dirk and then Luka, I used to evaluate players we had on the basis of what their role would be on a championship team at that point, to pinpoint what our quantitative needs were in terms of talent quotient. So here's how I look at the roster at the close of the season (presuming a healthy Kyrie and a putatively healthy Lively at the beginning of next season) in order of the talent value of the player (which is not the same as the trade value or longevity issue):

Thanks for the detailed thoughts on each player. Good points. 

I think there are several other factors in play that are impossible to gauge, but that can make a significant difference in the overall team potential.
1 Health (or continuity) -- if the Mavs don't have game after game of "who's injured today" then they can better build what works and keep improving it
2 The ability of key players we don't know yet -- the Mavs will get a top 10 pick, and might get a good MLE player too, and perhaps might make a trade for someone who provides an upgrade. More talent helps. Adding "top talent" makes lesser talent play better, because they can perhaps match up against weaker players.
3 The synergy of inserting better players improves all 4 players alongside - The Mavs played with HUGE holes in the lineup all the time this past season, and it drains the impact of good players when they are not playing with other good players. To speak to one of your question marks, did PJ not look that good on defense because he has slipped, or because he was often playing with 2, 3, or 4 players who couldn't defend a 3rd grader? Maybe if he's in a lineup with good defenders everywhere, he returns to exactly what he always ways before. Synergy is a multiplier. Good enhances good.
....The point being, many of these players may look very different once you have 15 healthy players, and you've changed out some meh guys for perhaps 2-3 guys who will offer upgrades. Each plus change is a ripple effect.
4 We should probably also add that this team was not exactly trying to be a winner all season in 2025-26. Change the intent, and you also might see an invisible upgrade in what players look like.

Shopping list starts with Expert GM (Presti, please!). 
Then he acquires Expert Training/Medical Staff. 
Then he works the roster, with some of the most important moves being decisions on who to draft, who to chase with the MLE, who if anyone to swap (coming AND going), and which fringe players need to be removed from the mix.

Oh, and btw, if this is "only" a fringe playoff team next season, imo that is a GREAT year. Make the playoffs, and get Flagg's feet wet, that's a high bar from where this season ended, but it would also be a steppingstone to greater things in following years.