Draft 2026 NBA Draft Prospects Thread

Do we trade away our pick or draft a player?

  • Draft

    Votes: 60 80.0%

  • Trade

    Votes: 10 13.3%

  • Cash Considerations

    Votes: 5 6.7%
  • Total voters
    75
I enjoy reading Vecenie's scouting reports every year, but it strikes me as strange that he still sticks with a stat like FG% when talking about shooting, and does it without referencing the percentage of 2pt shots vs 3pt shots. FG% is pretty much useless at this point without a bunch of context. I wish he'd reference 2pt%, eFG%, and TS% more regularly in place of FG%.
 
Allen Graves is a really interesting prospect. He has some similarities to Carter Bryant in that both came off the bench for winning teams with a bunch of older teammates, and both had impressive impact stats that were outsized compared to their minutes and roles. Another interesting thing about Graves is that his #1 red flag is a very high foul rate, but if you look at the evolution of his year, lots of those occurred early in the season when they were trying to use him as a small ball center... but by the end, where he was more of a wing player, the fouling went down by quite a bit-- and that was against better competition. In the first 10 games of his season, he averaged 3.4 fouls per game, but in his last 10 games, he averaged 2.1 fouls per game. If he's an analytics darling and his only red flag is as much an outlier as his analytics, that's a definite case for a closer look. He led the entire WCC in PER, WS/40, BPM, OBPM, Offensive Rating, and Steal %. He was 3rd in offensive rebounding %, 4th in block %, 5th in defensive rebound %, and had the 2nd lowest TO %. He shot 41% from three. Santa Clara finished the season 3-3 in their last 6 games, which included losses to St Mary's, Gonzaga, and Kentucky (an OT loss in the tournament), but in all 6 games Graves posted net positive results. His analytics are off the charts, and I'm excited to watch much more film on him.
 
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He is going to blow out his other knee if he keeps compensating
BatManu20 said:
JQ moving well but he strategically didn't land on that knee once in this clip. As I've been saying for awhile now though, he'll be long gone by 20 if his medicals check out. Too much upside.

https://twitter.com/x/status/2049953736181817660
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Dang, that does not look good - I guess if you draft him, you pretty much redshirt him for his first year?
 
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QuarryHeights said:
He is going to blow out his other knee if he keeps compensating

Dang, that does not look good - I guess if you draft him, you pretty much redshirt him for his first year?
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OKC’s done that three times, although only once was with foreknowledge. It’s not as much risk if you’re already talent flush.

Wouldn’t shock me to see us trade into 13,14,15,16 for someone who slips but has upside. The OKC picks bracket that range, and I don’t believe we can get above their first pick. CHI,MEM, CHA all have multiple picks, and are in that range. CHI and MEM have other picks before, and CHA has one at 18. These would be swaps to our pick, 19 or 20, decided after the flip the coins for tie spots. We’d have to add a pick to #20 to get them to bite, probably ATL 2027, maybe top 4 protected, defaulting to our 2029 pick. Next years draft looks like ass, even if ATL falls back to earth.
 
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LeBowen said:
Because nothing indicates that we're looking for a traditional PF?
The strategy is obviously Wemby(or Kornet)+4 perimeter defenders.

We need a Barnes replacement, another bench shooter that could compete for minutes, hopefully DJG also recovers and we need a reliable 3rd string big. That's about it.
It's going to be the most boring Spurs summer in a decade.
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Assuming we don't re-sign Barnes and let CB replaced Barnes, CB is already the 9th man (Assuming no change to the starters and Bench: KJ, Harper, Kornet, CB).

If count in DJG (who has potential to handle the ball and be playmaker and he can play some D too), DJG will be the 10th man.

Our 2026 rookie will be the 11th man. Maybe will send him to the G-league.

Pretty deep and stacked tbh.
 
spursparker9 said:
Assuming we don't re-sign Barnes and let CB replaced Barnes, CB is already the 9th man (Assuming no change to the starters and Bench: KJ, Harper, Kornet, CB).

If count in DJG (who has potential to handle the ball and be playmaker and he can play some D too), DJG will be the 10th man.

Our 2026 rookie will be the 11th man. Maybe will send him to the G-league.

Pretty deep and stacked tbh.
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So you have the rookie behind DJG on the depth chart?? People overrate DJG, guy won't even get any playing time.
 
Exstatic said:
OKC’s done that three times, although only once was with foreknowledge. It’s not as much risk if you’re already talent flush.

Wouldn’t shock me to see us trade into 13,14,15,16 for someone who slips but has upside. The OKC picks bracket that range, and I don’t believe we can get above their first pick. CHI,MEM, CHA all have multiple picks, and are in that range. CHI and MEM have other picks before, and CHA has one at 18. These would be swaps to our pick, 19 or 20, decided after the flip the coins for tie spots. We’d have to add a pick to #20 to get them to bite, probably ATL 2027, maybe top 4 protected, defaulting to our 2029 pick. Next years draft looks like ass, even if ATL falls back to earth.
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personally, I'm all for the Spurs trading away the Hawks 2027 pick if it means that the Spurs can move up enough to grab a player that they have their eyes on.
 
BatManu20 said:
JQ moving well but he strategically didn't land on that knee once in this clip. As I've been saying for awhile now though, he'll be long gone by 20 if his medicals check out. Too much upside.
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Yup, pushing off and landing on his (healthy) left leg, but Spurs docs will for sure scrutinize his medical exams so I'm pretty confident they'll make the right call (whatever that is).
 
rjv said:
personally, I'm all for the Spurs trading away the Hawks 2027 pick if it means that the Spurs can move up enough to grab a player that they have their eyes on.
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I probably would be if they have their eye on a 4/5 they really like, but I think the new draft rules have the potential to make that particular pick even more valuable.
 
Bruno said:
A small off-topic tidbit:

Juan Nunez has been finally back on the court this month. He missed 14 months because of a complicated ACL injury. Let's hope he will stay healthy.
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Wish him the best but there's zero chance he figures in the Spurs' plans, just a wasted pick unfortunately.
 
Precombine top 4:

General thoughts:
- The draft is not the only way to improve the team, especially in the short term. Small trades for veterans and free agent signings can do just as much, if not more than drafting a player. Want a backup power forward who can help with physicality and athleticism with switching defense? Dean Wade is available in the offseason and rates as one of the 20 best defenders in the NBA over the last 3 seasons. Need to shore up shooting? Landry Shamet was obtained for 3 million last year. Fontecchio is also a free agent who probably won't cost much. Backup center? Karlo Matkovic is probably available for a couple seconds who can both block shots and shoot the 3 and he's only 24.

- Looking for playoff-proof performers. Reed Sheppard was a clear lesson for me the limits of analytics and low-usage contexts while underrating the importance of size and athleticism.

1. Swain
The primary appeal here is having a high level rim pressure prospect in a legitimate wing size frame. Swain averages 5.5 unassisted makes at the rim/100 possessions which is actually an underrated star signal and a predictor for elite rim pressure at the next level. This is on par with Harper, Fox, and Tyreke Evans. Between rim pressure, high level touch indicators, and a handle way better than average for someone his size, he's got a ton of outs to be a legitimate playoff-proof player despite the fact that he has very few skills right now that are truly NBA-level. Despite being extremely similar players (height, weight, wingspan, college coach, shot profiles almost identical), 20 year old Swain was basically better at everything compared to 21.5 year old Naji Marshall, and Swain has much better shooting indicators (FT%, midrange touch) as well. Basically, Swain has a high likelihood of being a dribble-pass-defend player and has a number of indicators suggesting he can shoot in the future as well, in addition to having playoff-proof size and athleticism.

If the Spurs ever have to trade Fox eventually due to second apron reasons, any player they get back will most likely not be a rim pressuring prospect. Best realistic trades Ive seen so far have been for IQ and Tyler Herro. Swain won't help for next season, or even the season after. However, developed appropriately, Swain gives you high level rim pressure, +rebounding, wing defense, and secondary creator potential in the future. This is a far more rare combination than off-ball shooter, small initiating guard, or big man rim protector and is generally not available in the mid-late first.

The concern is that he can't play off-ball on offense, and may not get the developmental reps on a contending team to realize his potential, both of which are legitimate concerns. But his shooting improvement over the years and shooting indicators make me think that he's not some Jeremy Sochan who can't ever put it together, and the payoff given his other skills is too high not to take a bet here.

2. Graves
I need to see what his combine athleticism indicators look like, namely lane agility and standing vertical. But the idea here is that he might be the best low-usage possession-maxing prospect in the draft this year. If you have multiple high-usage guys soaking up shots, then the best way to generate value through low usage is by maximizing possessions. In most cases, this is through offensive rebounding, turnover generation, and minimizing turnovers while providing spacing. Graves checks all four boxes - 14 OREB%, 5 STL%, 5 BLK%, 2.5 AST:TO, 41% from 3 with decent shooting indicators in a 6'9" frame and 7' wingspan (hopefully). The bad is that the only thing slower than his feet on the perimeter is his release on his shot, so it's uncertain how much that'll translate. I'm curious whether he can stand to lose a little weight to help him on the perimeter but he has legitimate chance to "wingify". I have no idea what his pro comp - I saw a twitter account calling him god tier Gui Santos which I like quite a bit. My hope is that he's a Champ level player (who's somehow still underrated even after the year he's had) who trades in a little shooting for size and interior presence.

3. Quaintance
Let's just stick him here for now given the uncertainty of his medicals. I understand how dumb it is to draft a potential backup center with a first round pick, but the points that I would use to push back are 1) primary rim protector and primary initiator are probably the two positions that most affect a game and 2) JQ has the potential to develop into a defensive center that can both protect the rim and switch out the perimeter equally well. This essentially makes him scheme-proof from a defensive standpoint. 10 BLK% as a 17 year old freshman while being quick enough to switch onto ballhandlers is pretty rare. Even coming back from his ACL injury the way he played against Ejiofor on both sides was eye opening. Obviously, the medicals are a concern and I suspect we'll never have truly an accurate picture of his prognosis, as there can be a number of issues that exist in conjunction ACL tears that can complicate recovery, but if the medicals check out he might even rocket to the top of this list.

4. Carr
Great shooting + nuclear athleticism is usually a great combo. His place on this list is heavily influenced by his weight at the combine. Over 190 and he's at least 4th and probably higher. Closer to 175 and i have major reservations about drafting him. Ultimately he seems to have one of the most important qualities for success which is irrational confidence. This alone makes his probability of being a contributor extremely high and makes it much more likely that he can carve out a place in the rotation. That being said, of players drafted in last 15 years <190 lbs and <2 STL%, and there are a ton of negative defenders on that list which is a pretty big concern for a guy who projects to function as mostly an off-ball player. His hips seem pretty high when guarding the perimeter making me worry that he's too slow to defend guards but too thin to defend wings. Nonetheless, he gets a nice Baylor bump because Scott Drew doesn't seem to be a particularly good coach and his prospects are usually better in the pros than in college, and I think that the irrational confidence will carry him extremely far.

Honorable Mentions: Jefferson/Reed/Zuby - I like all of these guys a lot as second rounders and would be happy with any of them - I think they all deliver solid impact at the next level. Jefferson looks like he could be a Kyle Anderson-type with high level passing, excellent defense. and great leadership but his limited success inside the arc and iffy outside shot will likely limit his actual scoring translation and cap his ceiling. Reed looks a bit similar to Day'Ron Sharpe - big, physical, underrated as a passer, good defender, everything you want from a long term backup to 3rd string big. Zuby can basically be everything Sochan was supposed to be but failed to live up to - switchable on the perimeter, good rebounder, physical presence, connective passer, great leader.
 
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