bluebellmaniac
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You mean he doesn't play defense?
Draft 2026 NBA Draft Prospects Thread
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spurraider21
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kobe is a 12 time all-defensive team guy. yes, the last few were lifetime achievement awards but for much of his career he was great on that end. in the later years he pick and chose his spots a lot more but in crunchtime would sitll lock up younger guys
bluebellmaniac
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He also loved taking plays off so he could rest for his offensive moves. Pop would destroy a player like that on this team. Or Mitch would.
RC_Drunkford
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Unless his name is Bryn Forbes or Marco Belinelli
People talk about their being one ball and all that, and fit, but to me, it's just more good assets they can keep flipping for more draft picks. So for example, if they got Boozer (even if you don't think he'll be great or anything -I hope they don't get in that range of players like Wilson, Boozer, or higher), even if he doesn't fit well for them, they can just trade him for more assets. Then the other thing is, that player could fit very well and make them even better. Either way, they'd have assets to trade for more first round draft picks.
spursparker9
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Can you believe this guy previously said that he wants to play with Wemby and the Spurs to draft him?
I don't recall any top prospects ever in history that openly said want to go to the Spurs
Maybe there is a chance to sign him as FA after his rookie contract end after he played for rotting franchise like Wizards or Kings. But by then not sure we have how many max contracts on the team already....
Ariel
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To be fair, if memory serves right his reasoning was somewhere along the lines of "Wemby doesn't have a point guard" and "they'd be great together", he probably envisioned himself as the sidekick Wemby lacked at the time, which is no longer the case. I'm now not so sure he'd show the same enthusiasm as he did almost a year ago, with how many on ball players the Spurs have and the role that would be required of him.Can you believe this guy previously said that he wants to play with Wemby and the Spurs to draft him?
I don't recall any top prospects ever in history that openly said want to go to the Spurs
Maybe there is a chance to sign him as FA after his rookie contract end after he played for rotting franchise like Wizards or Kings. But by then not sure we have how many max contracts on the team already....
That’s a good point.
…but if they got Dybansa they could trade jdub for a million first round picks if they run into payroll issues whereas boozer will quickly be revealed as a role player and therefore much less valuable.
BatManu20
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Yea been saying it for a couple months now but I think Dybantsa will end up being the top pick. He's got that "it" factor and has the highest upside of any prospect imo. Just looks the part of a future perennial All-Star. We really gotta hope the Clippers start winning some games and OKC doesn't end up with one of these blue-chippers tbh...
BatManu20
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My pet cat of this draft continues to put up big performances for UNC (albeit against some bad teams). I think he has the 2nd highest upside of any prospect in this draft class though. It's too bad the Spurs won't have a shot at him. He and Wemby would form one of the nastiest defensive front courts in the league.
I thought it’s been very obvious for about a year that he was a cut above every other prospect. It makes no sense to put a guard that will end up living and dying by a jump shot and a role player on the same tier as him.
He's got to be on our short list if we're in the mid-teens..
Yaxel Lenderborg is number 1 on my Spurs board outside the top 4 guys and maybe Jayden Quaintance depending on how his season goes. Mikel Brown and Kingston Flemings are better prospects but Spurs don’t need anymore guards.
I think Yaxel goes in the 8-12 range and I’m not sure the Hawks will be that bad but we never know. May be able to trade up a couple spots. He would be an ideal eventual replacement for Barnes in the SL when Father Time comes knocking, allowing Barnes to move to a backup role as he ages.
He’ll be nearly 24 by draft night but the Spurs are already contenders so current production and fit/role are just as important if not more so than long term upside.
He only started playing organised basketball in high school so there may be some more improvement left. He was only 6’4 at 16 years old, he’s now 6’9.
His physical profile/archetype fits very well next to Wemby. 6’8.5 without shoes, 7’4 wingspan and huge 9’0.5 standing reach. Basically a bigger Aaron Gordon, not the vertical explosive athlete Gordon is, but I’d argue he moves across the floor better than Gordon. Better shooter and passer. He might even be able to play some Center with that size.
His production this year has been insane. Averaging 20-9-5 with nearly 4 stocks per 36 minutes. TS% of .736, lowish usage of 20% which is perfect for his role on the Spurs, doesn’t turn the ball over, doesn’t foul, 3 point shot is at 40%, free throws at 86%, looks solid defensively. Doing it on a top 2 team in the country.
Some other older prospects drafted since 2021 with similar-ish physical profiles who have had success. Keegan Murray, Tari Eason, Tristan Da Silva, Herb Jones, Jalen Williams, Toumani Camara.
Thomas Haugh (more of a 3/4) and Steinbach (more of a 4/5) would be my next choices after Yaxel. I’m not that high on Koa Peat, Karim Lopez, Cenac Jr.
I think Yaxel goes in the 8-12 range and I’m not sure the Hawks will be that bad but we never know. May be able to trade up a couple spots. He would be an ideal eventual replacement for Barnes in the SL when Father Time comes knocking, allowing Barnes to move to a backup role as he ages.
He’ll be nearly 24 by draft night but the Spurs are already contenders so current production and fit/role are just as important if not more so than long term upside.
He only started playing organised basketball in high school so there may be some more improvement left. He was only 6’4 at 16 years old, he’s now 6’9.
His physical profile/archetype fits very well next to Wemby. 6’8.5 without shoes, 7’4 wingspan and huge 9’0.5 standing reach. Basically a bigger Aaron Gordon, not the vertical explosive athlete Gordon is, but I’d argue he moves across the floor better than Gordon. Better shooter and passer. He might even be able to play some Center with that size.
His production this year has been insane. Averaging 20-9-5 with nearly 4 stocks per 36 minutes. TS% of .736, lowish usage of 20% which is perfect for his role on the Spurs, doesn’t turn the ball over, doesn’t foul, 3 point shot is at 40%, free throws at 86%, looks solid defensively. Doing it on a top 2 team in the country.
Some other older prospects drafted since 2021 with similar-ish physical profiles who have had success. Keegan Murray, Tari Eason, Tristan Da Silva, Herb Jones, Jalen Williams, Toumani Camara.
Thomas Haugh (more of a 3/4) and Steinbach (more of a 4/5) would be my next choices after Yaxel. I’m not that high on Koa Peat, Karim Lopez, Cenac Jr.
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Nice. His game looks like part CB, part Buzelis..
BatManu20
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Yea I posted about Haugh (pronounced "Haut") a few pages back. He'll def be on the Spurs' radar imo if their pick winds up in the early-mid teens. I have him and Yaxel Lendeborg in the same tier as far as Forward prospects go. Similar to Yaxel, he's older than most prospects (will be nearly 23 on draft night), but could step in a be an immediate contributor. His ceiling is a serviceable role-playing stretch 4 at the next level imo, but I'd easily take him right now over Sochan. He's a versatile Swiss-army knife type player who does a little bit of everything. Kid plays his ass off though and can shoot the 3. Sign me up tbh.
I like Yaxel and Haugh (Yaxel is top 10 on my board currently), but I don't think he goes that high. His age will be a real factor that makes several teams pass on him and the same is true for Haugh. The decision for the Spurs is do you you get the older player who needs less development, but has a limited ceiling or do you go with a Cenac Jr who has a much higher ceiling, but needs time? Maybe you split the difference and go with Steinbach...
BatManu20
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If Steinbach is on the board when the Spurs are on the clock, I'm almost certain he would be the pick tbh. But based on the season he's having, I think he ultimately ends up going top-10 and thus out of our range barring a complete meltdown by the Hawks. The Combine and pre-draft process will help better determine where he goes as well.
Steinbach projects as a big PF though at the next level who can play C in certain lineups imo. He's a skilled offensive player and an elite rebounder (statistically the best rebounder in the draft at 12.1 RPG), but a limited rim-protector due to his lack of athleticism. He has a great 6'11 frame and long arms though. Still only 19 and an excellent passer as well. He doesn't shoot the 3 much right now (55% 3PT% on 1.2 attempts per game), but the potential is clearly there. He's got great form on his jumper and is a plus FT shooter at 75%. I think he has the potential to develop into a solid stretch-4 over time, which would be perfect for us while Barnes holds that spot down for the next couple years.
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Nice. He moves well for a 7 footer. Not quite Markkanen athletic, but there’s some similarities in their game. Less shooting and more inside game.
Player Comparison | Tankathon
Compare the statistics of 2026 NBA Draft prospects to each other and prospects from previous drafts. Stats are normalized to per-36-minutes numbers.
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OK Computer
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Any prospect has to be able to do at bare minimum what Barnes does and Haugh being praised for taking only four dribbles doesn’t sound like Barnes to me. Barnes is able to take it to the hole pretty adequately.
I think there's a real chance thst he rises out of our range as well. He's behind Yaxel now, but I'd guess thst changes because of age at sime piunt..
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With all respect to our resident draft gurus here (and for real, shout out to ya'll... you are all legit!)... I'm so happy that I really DGAF about this thread and only check it out of a sense of obligation. I'll care about this next June
OK Computer
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You and me both, my friendWith all respect to our resident draft gurus here (and for real, shout out to ya'll... you are all legit!)... I'm so happy that I really DGAF about this thread and only check it out of a sense of obligation. I'll care about this next June
Your reason might be that you’re riding the highs of how good this team is
Mine is:
There’s literally no player (where we’re selecting) that’s going to come from this draft that’s going to be a serious contributor next year. And that’s including the possibility of drafting Hannes who I am big on. We’re back to the old days where we have to reel rookies in slowly.
I’m much more excited about what happens in the offseason with trades and free agency.
SpursBills
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I think when you draft mid-first round, you draft for your team 2-3 years from now. For that reason, I'm not married to necessarily drafting for need in these next couple drafts. That being said, most young guys take 2-3 years to percolate, but what you don't want is to be in the middle of a 3-4 year run deep in the playoffs and you have to offload a guy due cap issues with no viable replacement or taking a prayer on someone who is still unproven.
3 years from now, Barnes will be 36 and Kornet will be 33, Castle's extension will have kicked in, and the Spurs might be forced to choose between Fox and Vassell. Backup big, wing, and initiator are all possibilities for this year's pick, just depends on who you think is going to be good and who you think you might lose. Presti drafted Sorber last year knowing IHart's contract was going to be an issue. He took Cason probably as a long term replacement for Dort.
I do think you might see some general guidelines with regards to positions for how the spurs acquire players though whether through the draft or FA or trades or whatever
Initiators:
Baseline level of advantage creation with passable defense
On top of that, at least 1 physical advantage (speed, strength, athleticism, size) over typical guards
+skill relative to size/physical characteristics
Wings:
Baseline level of pass-shoot-defense
On top of that, at least one + involving creation(dribble)/shoot/defense
Bigs:
Baseline level of rim protection/rebounding
On top of that, at least one + involving passing/shooting
3 years from now, Barnes will be 36 and Kornet will be 33, Castle's extension will have kicked in, and the Spurs might be forced to choose between Fox and Vassell. Backup big, wing, and initiator are all possibilities for this year's pick, just depends on who you think is going to be good and who you think you might lose. Presti drafted Sorber last year knowing IHart's contract was going to be an issue. He took Cason probably as a long term replacement for Dort.
I do think you might see some general guidelines with regards to positions for how the spurs acquire players though whether through the draft or FA or trades or whatever
Initiators:
Baseline level of advantage creation with passable defense
On top of that, at least 1 physical advantage (speed, strength, athleticism, size) over typical guards
+skill relative to size/physical characteristics
Wings:
Baseline level of pass-shoot-defense
On top of that, at least one + involving creation(dribble)/shoot/defense
Bigs:
Baseline level of rim protection/rebounding
On top of that, at least one + involving passing/shooting
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