2026 NBA Draft Thread.....

[nate33]

And wait we have 4 second round picks in what’s supposed to be another deep draft? Surely we could package a few for another first.

I'm sure we will try.

One issue is that, due to the NIL system where college players can now get paid something approaching NBA vet minimum salaries, there is no longer a compelling case for good college players to declare for the draft if it looks like they will be drafted in the 2nd round. They're better off staying in school, getting that NIL money, and then hoping to be drafted in the first round the following year where they get a bigger, longer, guaranteed contract.

The end result is there is currently a real drop-off in talent between the first and second round. That condition should go away in a few years as upperclassmen who have been deferring the draft for a couple years hit the end of their 4-year college eligibility. At that point, we will actually see the opposite effect where the 2nd round should be stacked with lots of well-developed college seniors who were good enough to be second round picks 2 years ago.

[SUPERBALLMAN]

And wait we have 4 second round picks in what’s supposed to be another deep draft? Surely we could package a few for another first.

I'm sure we will try.

One issue is that, due to the NIL system where college players can now get paid something approaching NBA vet minimum salaries, there is no longer a compelling case for good college players to declare for the draft if it looks like they will be drafted in the 2nd round. They're better off staying in school, getting that NIL money, and then hoping to be drafted in the first round the following year where they get a bigger, longer, guaranteed contract.

The end result is there is currently a real drop-off in talent between the first and second round. That condition should go away in a few years as upperclassmen who have been deferring the draft for a couple years hit the end of their 4-year college eligibility. At that point, we will actually see the opposite effect where the 2nd round should be stacked with lots of well-developed college seniors who were good enough to be second round picks 2 years ago.

We do have another 1st round pick already, although it may be the last pick in the round.

[tontoz]

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[9 and 20]

Tell me about Boozer. Who does he compare to? Looks like a bit of Sabonis plus a perimeter game? Some of both Franz Wagner and Banchero? He's definitely not a wing and looks more like a traditional power forward.

Peterson and Tre would be a great back court.

Not sure what to make of Dybantsa. Looks like an outrageous athlete. Probably the most questions about him among the top 3, but maybe also the highest upside.

[tontoz]

Tell me about Boozer. Who does he compare to? Looks like a bit of Sabonis plus a perimeter game? Some of both Franz Wagner and Banchero? He's definitely not a wing and looks more like a traditional power forward.

Peterson and Tre would be a great back court.

Not sure what to make of Dybantsa. Looks like an outrageous athlete. Probably the most questions about him among the top 3, but maybe also the highest upside.

To me right now Peterson looks like the clear number one. AJ is probably number 2. A lot of upside but definitely has things to work on.

I can't get on board with Boozer so far. I plan on watching him a lot but right now he looks like a guy who benefited from maturing early and excelled because of it. I am not sure how well his game translates to the NBA.

[pcbothwel]

Tell me about Boozer. Who does he compare to? Looks like a bit of Sabonis plus a perimeter game? Some of both Franz Wagner and Banchero? He's definitely not a wing and looks more like a traditional power forward.

Peterson and Tre would be a great back court.

Not sure what to make of Dybantsa. Looks like an outrageous athlete. Probably the most questions about him among the top 3, but maybe also the highest upside.

Banchero isnt bad, but doesnt quite have the on-ball juice and is a better/Higher IQ defender. My closest comp would be something closer to a Horford/Webber/Sabonis mix, which is a great fit next to Sarr. That said, I still have AJ a tad higher.
I have it as:
Peterson/AJ
Boozer/Ament
Brown/Tounde

[tontoz]

There are currently 11 teams with a record of 1-3 or worse.

[tontoz]

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[9 and 20]

Early look at standings and how teams are playing so far -

In the East, Brooklyn is asstastic. Boston and Indiana may punt their seasons due to injuries to their key guys. Toronto and Atlanta are struggling, but I can't imagine either not going for the 8th/9th/10th seed given how bad the East is.

In the West, Utah is tanking. The Pelicans are also struggling but they've already traded their draft pick so they will likely not sell and I imagine will win some games. Phoenix and Sacramento aren't very good.

So we should be in the mix for a bottom five record I think. Phoenix might be, too, which is great.

We will need to call in some reinforcements to make certain we end up near the bottom, though. Maybe sign Tyler Smith to a contract and give him some minutes at center? Trading/releasing Bagley and making Vuk and Smith the backup centers will have an impact, especially if Sarr only plays around 30 minutes a game. Keeping Cam in the rotation and having Champagnie on the bench also helps with the losses. Same with playing Kispert and Mids, but I'm pretty sure they'll both be gone at the trade deadline, unlike Cam.

Not sure what else they need to do or can do. Kyshawn and Sarr playing this well and Tre already being a solid contributor makes them way better than Brooklyn and probably about as good as Utah, New Orleans, Phoenix, and Sacramento.

What happens if Bilal comes back and also better - might be tough to maintain that bottom 5.

[tontoz]

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[SUPERBALLMAN]

Tell me about Boozer. Who does he compare to? Looks like a bit of Sabonis plus a perimeter game? Some of both Franz Wagner and Banchero? He's definitely not a wing and looks more like a traditional power forward.

Peterson and Tre would be a great back court.

Not sure what to make of Dybantsa. Looks like an outrageous athlete. Probably the most questions about him among the top 3, but maybe also the highest upside.

Banchero isnt bad, but doesnt quite have the on-ball juice and is a better/Higher IQ defender. My closest comp would be something closer to a Horford/Webber/Sabonis mix, which is a great fit next to Sarr. That said, I still have AJ a tad higher.
I have it as:
Peterson/AJ
Boozer/Ament
Brown/Tounde

After watching the Duke Tennessee game I came away VERY impressed with Ament. Looks like the type of player the Wizards target.

Also impressed early with Caleb Wilson at UNC.

[nate33]

Early look at standings and how teams are playing so far -

In the East, Brooklyn is asstastic. Boston and Indiana may punt their seasons due to injuries to their key guys. Toronto and Atlanta are struggling, but I can't imagine either not going for the 8th/9th/10th seed given how bad the East is.

In the West, Utah is tanking. The Pelicans are also struggling but they've already traded their draft pick so they will likely not sell and I imagine will win some games. Phoenix and Sacramento aren't very good.

So we should be in the mix for a bottom five record I think. Phoenix might be, too, which is great.

I'm not too worried about Indiana being competition for the tank. They have been ravaged by injuries, but when Nembhart, Mathurin and McConnell get back from their relatively minor injuries, I think the team is too good and has too much pride to tank. Those guys plus Siakam and Nesmith is just too much talent to consistently lose in the East. Also, Carlisle is an exceptional and highly competitive coach who has been above .500 in 17 of 23 seasons. And in those 6 losing seasons, he was above 33 wins in 4 of them. He doesn't seem like the kind of guy who would stand for tanking.

I'm more worried about Boston. I could definitely see them trading Derrick White to Houston and trying to reload here. I don't think Jaylen Brown and Pritchard alone are enough to win games, and the rest of their team is awful.

[tontoz]

Boston just blew out the Cavs lol. No idea how that happened i watched them play the Sixers and their defense was epically bad.

[SUPERBALLMAN]

I'm buying a ticket for the Hannes Steinbach train...

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[nate33]

Early look at standings and how teams are playing so far -

In the East, Brooklyn is asstastic. Boston and Indiana may punt their seasons due to injuries to their key guys. Toronto and Atlanta are struggling, but I can't imagine either not going for the 8th/9th/10th seed given how bad the East is.

In the West, Utah is tanking. The Pelicans are also struggling but they've already traded their draft pick so they will likely not sell and I imagine will win some games. Phoenix and Sacramento aren't very good.

So we should be in the mix for a bottom five record I think. Phoenix might be, too, which is great.

I'm not too worried about Indiana being competition for the tank. They have been ravaged by injuries, but when Nembhart, Mathurin and McConnell get back from their relatively minor injuries, I think the team is too good and has too much pride to tank. Those guys plus Siakam and Nesmith is just too much talent to consistently lose in the East. Also, Carlisle is an exceptional and highly competitive coach who has been above .500 in 17 of 23 seasons. And in those 6 losing seasons, he was above 33 wins in 4 of them. He doesn't seem like the kind of guy who would stand for tanking.

I'm more worried about Boston. I could definitely see them trading Derrick White to Houston and trying to reload here. I don't think Jaylen Brown and Pritchard alone are enough to win games, and the rest of their team is awful.

The other thing about tanking that still hasn't been internalized by fans is the fact that a bottom 4 finish isn't all that much better than finishing in the bottom 5-8 range as far as lottery odds go. Since the new lottery odds have been put in place, 9 of the last 15 top 3 draft picks were made by teams outside the bottom 3 in the standings. So a team like Indy or Boston might decide to tank their way out of the playoffs to make sure they secure a lottery pick, but they'll be okay with 32 wins and a #7 positioning in the draft lottery rather than demoralizing themselves all year with a 20-win record just to get a top 3 position.

Frankly, I'd be adopting that mindset for the Wizards if it weren't for the fact that our pick is top 8 protected and swappable with Phoenix. It's as close to an all-or-nothing proposition that you can get in the modern draft era. If we finish 8th-to-last or better we probably get no pick at all. And if we finish 5th-to-last or lower, we will likely have a greater than 60% chance at a top 3 pick.

[queridiculo]

I'm buying a ticket for the Hannes Steinbach train...

Naw bro.

No DEI hires in Chocolate City.

[SUPERBALLMAN]

Also to keep in mind, we have a late 1st round pick, and I think 4 2nd rounders? I'm not sure if any of those were a part of the Whitmore trade...

With that in mind....

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