2026 NBA Draft

[RatkoVarda]

The Ringer's big board is fun to use.

https://www.theringer.com/nba-draft/2026/big-board?view=skim

[Deleterious]

Visually, there isn't even anything close to The Ringer's draft site.  But I still can't get over them having Killian Hayes as the #1 player in his draft.  

[buddha]

30 minutes ago, Deleterious said:

Visually, there isn't even anything close to The Ringer's draft site.  But I still can't get over them having Killian Hayes as the #1 player in his draft.  

i thought this was a different guy doing it?

keaton wagler reminds me of killian.  only wagler can shoot.  i question if he's athletic enough for the nba.

[Deleterious]

23 minutes ago, buddha said:

i thought this was a different guy doing it?

keaton wagler reminds me of killian.  only wagler can shoot.  i question if he's athletic enough for the nba.

It might be.  KOC is the one who had Hayes #1.

That is the lowest I have seen Morez Johnson.  Most have Chris Cenac higher as well.  

I understand Detroit needs shooting.  But passing on Cenac and Johnson for a 6'1" guard isn't ideal.  Draft one of those two and trade Stewart.

[Deleterious]

Cam Boozer is now my #1 pick and its very scientific how I got there.

I read a rumor OKC wants to trade it's two picks to move up for Boozer.  Presti is the GOAT drafter so now I like Boozer, simple.

I wonder if Utah would do it if they can't move up for Dybantsa.  #12 and #17, plus they pick one of JDub or Chet.  That seems like decent value.  After trading for JJJ they are looking to win sooner rather than later.  A more veteran player might appeal to them.  Their starting lineup would be:

George

JDub

Markkanen

Bailey

JJJ

That is a playin team with an outside shot at 5th/6th seed.  

[Shinzaki]

I really like Morez Johnson....Not as much as Yaxel...but I think he could be a better NBA player than Mara, who strikes me more as a back up 

[Deleterious]

I only watched one Michigan game this year, and that was actually to watch Duke.  But from what I have read it sounds like Johnson is pretty limited on offense.  

I think they would have to trade Stewart if they draft Johnson.  I'm not necessarily opposed to that, he wasn't good in the playoffs either.  But I do worry because Stewart is a culture guy.  He sets the tone for this team and I wonder how the team reacts if he was no longer around.  

[Shinzaki]

Saw a lot of Michigan this year...Johnson can hit the occasional 3 and he's a solid finisher at the rim.  Good rebounder at both ends of the floor and has like a +5 wingspan so there's some defensive potential as a rim protector

[buddha]

3 hours ago, Deleterious said:

I only watched one Michigan game this year, and that was actually to watch Duke.  But from what I have read it sounds like Johnson is pretty limited on offense.  

I think they would have to trade Stewart if they draft Johnson.  I'm not necessarily opposed to that, he wasn't good in the playoffs either.  But I do worry because Stewart is a culture guy.  He sets the tone for this team and I wonder how the team reacts if he was no longer around.  

stew was good until he got hurt.  then he was as bad as duren, only without the 30 minute per game leash jb gave him.

[Shinzaki]

ESPN has Mara (#10) rated ahead of Lendeborg(#12) and Johnson (#14).  Says there's buzz re Mara and Chicago at 6

[RatkoVarda]

Every team will need some size to slow down Wemby

[Deleterious]

It's that time of year again.  Where NBA teams drastically overvalue big men.  

[papalawrence]

3 hours ago, Deleterious said:

It's that time of year again.  Where NBA teams drastically overvalue big men.  

A true elite rim protector, like Gobert is valuable. That's not a strength for Duren, which is my concern there. Mara has a 9'9" standing reach and is considered good at the D rim

[Betrayer]

19 hours ago, papalawrence said:

A true elite rim protector, like Gobert is valuable. That's not a strength for Duren, which is my concern there. Mara has a 9'9" standing reach and is considered good at the D rim

Any player has value at the right price, but too many teams overvalue Centers.

Gobert has never been to the finals for a reason. In fact, he's gotten benched during key moments and played off the court more times than I can count during the playoffs because teams go small, switch, and space. Centers just don't have the value that other positions do unless you can land a Wemby/Jokic.

I agree with your assessment of Duren. He's not a rim protector and he can't shoot outside of 3' feet. He's a rim runner with mediocre interior defense and poor perimeter defense. He's a bad investment at anything more than average starter salary (23M) or slightly above that if you have to (25-28M).

[buddha]

having wemby guard the paint has made sga almost invisible.  rim protectors are becoming more and more important in the league.

[gehringer_2]

On 5/29/2026 at 1:56 PM, RatkoVarda said:

Every team will need some size to slow down Wemby

OKC had the size, didn't make it work for them.

[Deleterious]

It isn't even necessarily about whom the better player is.  The 1st/2nd/3rd pick makes $15/$13/$12 million next year when Chet will make $41 million.  The OKC payroll will be about $260 million with Chet, so that puts them into the 2nd apron and well into the luxury tax for the first time.  They need to cut salary.

But I don't see anyway Washington, Utah, or Memphis trades their pick for Chet.  I do think Utah could be interested in JDub though.  

 

[RatkoVarda]

19 hours ago, gehringer_2 said:

OKC had the size, didn't make it work for them.

they did; they went 7 games; just ran out of offense

[Deleterious]

Trying to overpower Victor with size is the wrong approach. The key to beating him is shooting, not physical play.

Look at what happened to SGA this series. He shot 65% in the paint in round one, 50% in round two, and just 35% in the conference finals. That drop tells the whole story. SGA's entire game is built around attacking the basket, and Wembanyama is basically his kryptonite — a 7-foot-4 shot-blocker who takes away everything SGA does best.

If I'm a WCF GM building a team, I never draft a kid like Mara.  Victor will murder a slow lumbering guy like Mara on the perimeter.  I would go out and get shooting, shooting, and then after that I go get some shooting.  I mean you can't have ten Duncan Robinson's running around.  You have to look for guys that shoot and do other things as well.  But loading up on size is not something I would do to beat San Antonio.  Unless that size can shoot.  

 

[Betrayer]

13 hours ago, Deleterious said:

Trying to overpower Victor with size is the wrong approach. The key to beating him is shooting, not physical play.

Look at what happened to SGA this series. He shot 65% in the paint in round one, 50% in round two, and just 35% in the conference finals. That drop tells the whole story. SGA's entire game is built around attacking the basket, and Wembanyama is basically his kryptonite — a 7-foot-4 shot-blocker who takes away everything SGA does best.

If I'm a WCF GM building a team, I never draft a kid like Mara.  Victor will murder a slow lumbering guy like Mara on the perimeter.  I would go out and get shooting, shooting, and then after that I go get some shooting.  I mean you can't have ten Duncan Robinson's running around.  You have to look for guys that shoot and do other things as well.  But loading up on size is not something I would do to beat San Antonio.  Unless that size can shoot.  

 

Exactly. Wemby forces you out of the paint. You beat Wemby with a team like the old Warriors. They weren't concerned with shot blockers when they were killing you from three point range. Problem is, it's tough to build a team like that and other teams without Steph that just fire up threes all day (Boston) have shown that the variance is high enough you can just get bounced in the 1st round.