2026 NBA Draft Thread.....

[Kanyewest]

It’s clear suns will be better than amongst the most awful teams in the league. Imagine, you get rid of Brad Beal and you immediately get better and play with more life.

Moral of the story, get the pick swap from the team Brad Beal plays for, not the team he just left. He’s a great tank commander.

The Clippers without Kawhi/Harden may be on paper the worst team in the West so maybe there is still a chance the Suns will be bad, given they lost the last game to the Clippers by 27. Although it is a bit disconcerting that they beat the Spurs while holding Wemby to 9 points.

[9 and 20]

Dallas, Brooklyn, Utah, Charlotte all losing tonight. Games still ongoing, but it's looking like getting our asses handed to us yet again does nothing but maintain our standing in the race for last.

Is there a catch phrase yet in the chase for Peterson? Stop carin' for Darryn. Best I can come up with.

[9 and 20]

Caleb Wilson looking pretty good. I need to convince myself that I'd be good with him after another tank season gives us the number 6 pick.

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Peterson highlights from the same game -

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[tontoz]

Mixed feelings on both guys. Caleb is very active on D. He goes aggressively for loose balls and rebounds. His jumper looked surprisingly good. He made a couple of MJ turnaround fadeaways from midrange. On the other hand he is pretty weak physically and his handles are definitely suspect. Not sure where to place him now.

Peterson looked good but somewhat disengaged, like 'Im just here because i have to be'. I got a similar vibe from Harper last season. NBA body already. Looked good from 3 and driving. Didnt show much playmaking though.

[SUPERBALLMAN]

Its so great basketball is in full swing !! Last night Wizards-Cavs, as well as Maryland-Georgetown and Kansas-North Carolina!

After watching the Carolina/Kansas game... Peterson is the real deal. He can truly do it all and is NBA ready now. Without a doubt #1 in the draft.

Caleb Wilson was impressive. If we do end up at 4 or 5 I would not be mad if we end up with him. Something goofy about the way he moves, but man is he athletic with pogo stick hops and wiry strength, a super smooth turn around jumper and midrange, nice passing skills and ability to read the floor, and just tenacious on D with non-stop energy and hustle.

Also liked the UNC big man Veesaar. He looks interesting in that Hartenstein role of physical big who could play with or backup Sarr, plays hard and is surprisingly skilled and athletic.

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My TV schedule this weekend...

Duke plays today at 1:30 on CW

WIZARDS vs Dallas tonight 7pm

The Go-Go are on NBATV Sunday at 3pm

Washington (Steinback) vs Baylor (Yessoufou) Sunday night 8:30pm ESPN

[tontoz]

Yessoufou is an athletic, physical sg that is aggressive looking to score inside.

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[SUPERBALLMAN]

I am feeling optimistic about this draft. Obviously we want to draft for highest upside talent, but in addition to pure talent, our needs are #1 a stud level PG, a SGA type franchise level player who can lead this team out of the rebuild phase and take this team to the next level. And that player is in this draft Darryn Peterson.

Our #2 need is a PF who can compliment Sarr, add physicality and rebounding, score, pass and defend in a team concept. It is early in this college season, but I have already seen several freshmen against top competition who fit this role at a high level. Cam Boozer at the top of the draft, Caleb Wilson and Koa Peat outside the top 3, and Steinbeck later in the draft (10-20 ?) if we can obtain another pick in trade (CJ, Mids, Kispert, Bags, late 1st round pick, 4 2nd round picks...). Those are just some of the players I have already actually watched in games this season that I really like.

[SUPERBALLMAN]

Love the Terps, but I am a fan of Georgetown's Caleb Williams...

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[SUPERBALLMAN]

No Ceilings brought up Aaron Gordon as a comp. Deni is about that size too.

Boozer gives me Michael Beasley vibes the way he consistently slithered into the paint mixed with Blake Griffin's pogo like bounce (more quick off his feet than pure ups), frame & intensity.

Beasely's a tough comp in general because of all the off the court stuff. Beasely at Kansas State was a problem. One of the most dominant college players I've seen.

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At the time of that K-State Kansas game Beasely had 12 30+ ppg games. The rest of the Big 12 had 11. If Boozer puts up Beasely esque numbers he'll push for #1.

I'm starting to wonder if the comp for Boozer might be more Shane Battier.

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[Dat2U]

We mentioned him last cycle but Neoklis Avdalas looks like a top 5 pick here. With Jalen Wilson looking legit, this draft is really starting to show some depth.

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?t=Z_4uZklDawBJJgfcp4-kxw&s=19

[SUPERBALLMAN]

We mentioned him last cycle but Neoklis Avdalas looks like a top 5 pick here. With Jalen Wilson looking legit, this draft is really starting to show some depth.

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?t=Z_4uZklDawBJJgfcp4-kxw&s=19

Nice!

Yeah I was interested in him last draft in the 2nd round, maybe late 1st. Looks like a good move to play a year of college.

There is potentially good PG depth in this draft... Brown, Acuff, Philon, Cayden Boozer among others.

[tontoz]

No Ceilings did a couple of vids on him not long ago and didn't seem too impressed. As I recall they said he struggled to score from everywhere lol.

I remember Demin and Kasparas got a lot of buzz early last season. Then they got exposed when the competition got tougher. Will keep an eye on this guy but I wouldn't make too much of one game against Providence.

[SUPERBALLMAN]

No Ceilings did a couple of vids on him not long ago and didn't seem too impressed. As I recall they said he struggled to score from everywhere lol.

I remember Demin and Kasparas got a lot of buzz early last season. Then they got exposed when the competition got tougher. Will keep an eye on this guy but I wouldn't make too much of one game against Providence.

NBA DRAFT ROOM has Avdalas at 27.

Also fwiw they have top of the draft:

1. Peterson
2. Dybantsa (to the Wizards)
3. Boozer
4. Wilson
5. Peat
6. Brown
7. Ament
8. Cenac

https://nbadraftroom.com/2026-nba-mock-draft/

[SUPERBALLMAN]

BTW mark your calendar and set your DVR...

11/18 DUKE VS KANSAS 9PM ESPN

[SUPERBALLMAN]

Finally got around to watching the BYU-Villanova game on my DVR. Man do I hate Kevin Willard.

Yeah Dybantsa is good.

Long, smooth, coordinated, can handle and pass it, reads the defense, makes good decisions, gives good effort on both ends, can really shoot it from everywhere, and is high level defensively and is a disruptor on that end.

Thinking of him on the floor with Sarr, Kyshawn and Bilal defensively is enticing.

I like Boozer, but this dude is just physically superior.

If we get 1 or 2 I think we are getting that franchise level player with either Peterson or Dybantsa.

If we get 3 to 5 we are getting someone who can raise the level of this team pretty dramatically as well with Boozer, Wilson or Peat.

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[nate33]

Finally got around to watching the BYU-Villanova game on my DVR. Man do I hate Kevin Willard.

Yeah Dybantsa is good.

Long, smooth, coordinated, can handle and pass it, reads the defense, makes good decisions, gives good effort on both ends, can really shoot it from everywhere, and is high level defensively and is a disruptor on that end.

Thinking of him on the floor with Sarr, Kyshawn and Bilal defensively is enticing.

I like Boozer, but this dude is just physically superior.

If we get 1 or 2 I think we are getting that franchise level player with either Peterson or Dybantsa.

If we get 3 to 5 we are getting someone who can raise the level of this team pretty dramatically as well with Boozer, Wilson or Peat.

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Agreed. He is definitely a better prospect than Boozer. He is a very fluid athlete. He can explode to the cup when needed but also showed some crafty deceleration moves. And he gets excellent elevation on his jumper.

If he is there at #2, take him. Yeah, we have a million forwards, but you take the best player available. Over time, one of Dybantsa, Kyshawn or Riley should sufficiently develop their playmaking skills to take over as a full time point guard. Perhaps we find a stopgap PG in the meantime via free agency, but I wouldn't turn down an opportunity to draft Dybantsa just because he isn't a perfect positional fit.

[tontoz]

After the big sample size of 1 game I am not so sure Peterson is a better prospect than AJ. AJ looks like a smaller, quicker version of Giannis. Peterson looked more like a combo guard than a pg, but a very good one.

I am not sure if Boozer would even be worth a top 8 pick. Against Tenn in their last exhibition game and their opening game vs Texas he was 10-32 from the field. Those teams are pretty good not great.

[nate33]

After the big sample size of 1 game I am not so sure Peterson is a better prospect than AJ. AJ looks like a smaller, quicker version of Giannis. Peterson looked more like a combo guard than a pg, but a very good one.

I am not sure if Boozer would even be worth a top 8 pick. Against Tenn in their last exhibition game and their opening game vs Texas he was 10-32 from the field. Those teams are pretty good not great.

Agreed. I don't know who is better between Peterson and Dybantsa yet. It'll be a fun debate as the NCAA season wears on.

[SUPERBALLMAN]

After the big sample size of 1 game I am not so sure Peterson is a better prospect than AJ. AJ looks like a smaller, quicker version of Giannis. Peterson looked more like a combo guard than a pg, but a very good one.

I am not sure if Boozer would even be worth a top 8 pick. Against Tenn in their last exhibition game and their opening game vs Texas he was 10-32 from the field. Those teams are pretty good not great.

I’m not bailing on Boozer yet still have him 3rd. But I’ll say I’m not sure he’s better than Wilson or Peat. I was very impressed with both of them when I watched them against good teams. Boozer and Peat are pretty similar as prospects and style of play. Wilson is probably a bit more dynamic than either one.

I would as of now put Peterson and Dybantsa in their own top tier, with Boozer, Wilson, Peat, Ament, Brown in the next tier down. I still need to watch Brown, and Cenac.

Tuesday night 8pm on ESPN Louisville vs Kentucky good game to watch Mikel Brown Jr, got my DVR set!

[SUPERBALLMAN]

Watched the Baylor-Washington game... The best player in the game was Cam Carr on Baylor. Could be a good player to take in the 2nd round.

Steinback was pretty much kept in check by Baylor, after early foul trouble played more passive than usual didn't really have a chance to assert himself, then had a bad travel call against him took away 2 pts.

Youssoufou showed some nice flashes of supreme athleticism but was far from dominant. Has potential, but far from a finished product. At this point more athlete than complete player.