Draft 2026 NBA Draft Prospects Thread

[Hoopdreams11]

watching Zuby Ejifor seems like he would fit the system well

 

[Uriel]

Sacramento is a 2 hour drive from Palo Alto, though.

 

[Biggems]

I am sure that the one team that could have taken him besides Sacramento was the Spurs. The opportunity to play alongside his good friend Wemby would helped with the long distance blues.

 

[Ariel]

if only there was a mechanism whereby new entrees to the nba cant just decide where they want to go and teams can take turns selecting them

There is, it's called the first round.

 

[spurraider21]

There is, it's called the first round.

If only they added one more round where teams could once again take turns selecting players

They could call it “the round after the first round” or something. I dno. I’m not good at marketing. They could find a better name

 

[Guru of Nothing]

If only they added one more round where teams could once again take turns selecting players

They could call it “the round after the first round” or something. I dno. I’m not good at marketing. They could find a better name

Electric Boogaloo.

 

[SpursBills]

It's probably something in between. Spurs want to keep their reputation of being "player friendly" if at all possible, they have historically catered to players and agents' whims more than most other franchises. They're willing to take the hit in rep if it means getting an elite talent in the high lottery or something even if they're not the player's first choice. I think that even if Dylan Harper indicated that the Spurs weren't his first choice, the Spurs would have probably taken him anyway and figured it out later because the upside is so huge. But they're not willing to take the hit to their rep if the upside isn't big enough, and they didn't deem a second round possible backup to 3rd string center as worth it to make their rep slightly less "player friendly".

 

[OK Computer]

https://twitter.com/x/status/2035185347110609162

Feels like a Mitch guy

New rankings after tonight:

1. Nate Ament - if the theory about the Spurs wanting young players so they can mold them, then Nate is as good of a blank canvas as any despite his poor performance lately.
2. Carr - It’s just easy to envision his fit on the current team.
3. JJ - glad x-rays were negative otherwise I would have dropped him a slot or two
4. Zuby - this guy keeps going on and off my list but the more I watch and learn about him, the more firm I am with keeping him on it. Combination of freak athleticism and attitude makes me feel like this is a Kawhi-like gamble.
5. Cenac
6. Swain
7. Haugh
8. Hannes
9. Maleek Thomas
10. Tounde

 

[spurs3223]

New rankings after tonight:

1. Nate Ament - if the theory about the Spurs wanting young players so they can mold them, then Nate is as good of a blank canvas as any despite his poor performance lately.
2. Carr - It’s just easy to envision his fit on the current team.
3. JJ - glad x-rays were negative otherwise I would have dropped him a slot or two
4. Zuby - this guy keeps going on and off my list but the more I watch and learn about him, the more firm I am with keeping him on it. Combination of freak athleticism and attitude makes me feel like this is a Kawhi-like gamble.
5. Cenac
6. Swain
7. Haugh
8. Hannes
9. Maleek Thomas
10. Tounde

this list isn't jiving with my early one at all... may i ask who you were pumped up about last year?

 

[heyheymymy]

Another thing I read about Raynaud was San Antonio only wanted to offer him a 2-Way contract and Sacramento was willing to offer a full contract which he wanted.

Maxime Raynaud, the 42nd pick in the 2025 NBA draft, signed a three-year, $5.95 million contract with the Sacramento Kings, which is fully guaranteed for the first two seasons. Reports indicated the Spurs only offered a 2-way contract, while Sacramento provided the full, standard contract Raynaud sought.

 

[onechance87]

Another thing I read about Raynaud was San Antonio only wanted to offer him a 2-Way contract and Sacramento was willing to offer a full contract which he wanted.

Maxime Raynaud, the 42nd pick in the 2025 NBA draft, signed a three-year, $5.95 million contract with the Sacramento Kings, which is fully guaranteed for the first two seasons. Reports indicated the Spurs only offered a 2-way contract, while Sacramento provided the full, standard contract Raynaud sought.

Yup...Always said spurs had no intention of sigining two rookie deals when we traded the second round pick before knowing who was there.
Hell when david jones garcia was going off in the summer league,They refused to sign him to a nba deal as well.This draft should be different and
hopefully we dont trade our second round currently at 35.There should be some decent role players in the second round to snag.

 

[OK Computer]

this list isn't jiving with my early one at all... may i ask who you were pumped up about last year?

Welcome to the board. I’ve been enjoying your posts.

A little about me. I’ve been doing this for more than a decade. The draft is my favorite time of the year. I watch endless hours of tape on prospects, mostly full games, including ones that show both highlights and lowlights. Most people don’t have the time to do that or don’t go beyond the stats, and that’s fine. But I take pride in the work I put in to get better at this every year.

Some of my hits. I was high on Franz Wagner when people were down on him. I watched the tape and saw a good player. I was also an early fan of Jalen Williams and made a lot of posts about him before most people caught on, even with concerns about his age. I was early on Nic Claxton. I posted a lot about Tyrese Haliburton early as well.

I also try to identify players I don’t believe in. A lot of people were high on Poku, I wasn’t. Same with Ziaire Williams. People liked him because he checked the height box, I focused on the actual play. That comes up a lot. Jabari Smith is another example. People saw him mocked at #2 all year and assumed star upside, even when the tape didn’t fully support that. Cody Williams fell into that same pattern. Zaccharie as well. A lot of hype, but I didn’t see top five value on tape.

My track record isn’t perfect. I really liked Precious Achiuwa and thought he had more there. I liked Jalen Smith too. The important part is learning from misses. With Precious, I leaned too much on flashes. Athletic ability and a few perimeter plays stood out, but they weren’t consistent enough. That taught me to focus more on frequency, not just flashes. With Jalen Smith, I think nostalgia got me. I liked the idea of traditional bigs making a comeback and let that bias my evaluation. That’s something I’ve adjusted. I try not to let personal preference override what the league actually values.

The goal is to keep improving every year. I won’t get everything right, but I want to be as close as possible and keep tightening the process.

As for last year, I was high on Kon Knueppel and posted about him a lot when people were lukewarm because of his size. I liked Sorber as a future role player, VJ Edgecombe, and Jase Richardson. With Jase, the opportunity hasn’t been there yet, similar to Reed Sheppard early on. For most of that class, it’s still too early. It usually takes about three years to really judge a player.

You’ll also notice my rankings move around a lot. That’s part of the process. Things should start to stabilize as we get closer to draft day.

And finally, I try to apply a Spurs lens, since obviously I’m a Spurs fan. I factor in what they’ve historically valued and how they operate when thinking about who they would realistically draft. That’s a big reason I emphasize character, even if it’s easy for most people to dismiss. The reality is the Spurs have consistently prioritized it, so it matters in how I evaluate and project fits.

 

[Ariel]

If only they added one more round where teams could once again take turns selecting players

They could call it “the round after the first round” or something. I dno. I’m not good at marketing. They could find a better name

First round picks have a fixed scale, second round picks do not but high profile players who slip to the second round usually expect more money and guarantees than most teams are willing to pay them at that point, which would seem to include the Spurs going by the 2nd rounders they actually did sign.

Could the Spurs have taken him without his consent? Sure, but what do you do when he doesn't sign the contract you're willing to offer? Do you really want to play hard ball with his rights, knowing he is a close friend of Wemby, and is also represented by Wemby's agent? This would seem like a big no no for most teams, and unfathomable for the Spurs.

Bottom line, if you want to treat the second round like the first, be prepared to pay them accordingly.

 

[spurs3223]

Welcome to the board. I’ve been enjoying your posts.

A little about me. I’ve been doing this for more than a decade. The draft is my favorite time of the year. I watch endless hours of tape on prospects, mostly full games, including ones that show both highlights and lowlights. Most people don’t have the time to do that or don’t go beyond the stats, and that’s fine. But I take pride in the work I put in to get better at this every year.

Some of my hits. I was high on Franz Wagner when people were down on him. I watched the tape and saw a good player. I was also an early fan of Jalen Williams and made a lot of posts about him before most people caught on, even with concerns about his age. I was early on Nic Claxton. I posted a lot about Tyrese Haliburton early as well.

I also try to identify players I don’t believe in. A lot of people were high on Poku, I wasn’t. Same with Ziaire Williams. People liked him because he checked the height box, I focused on the actual play. That comes up a lot. Jabari Smith is another example. People saw him mocked at #2 all year and assumed star upside, even when the tape didn’t fully support that. Cody Williams fell into that same pattern. Zaccharie as well. A lot of hype, but I didn’t see top five value on tape.

My track record isn’t perfect. I really liked Precious Achiuwa and thought he had more there. I liked Jalen Smith too. The important part is learning from misses. With Precious, I leaned too much on flashes. Athletic ability and a few perimeter plays stood out, but they weren’t consistent enough. That taught me to focus more on frequency, not just flashes. With Jalen Smith, I think nostalgia got me. I liked the idea of traditional bigs making a comeback and let that bias my evaluation. That’s something I’ve adjusted. I try not to let personal preference override what the league actually values.

The goal is to keep improving every year. I won’t get everything right, but I want to be as close as possible and keep tightening the process.

As for last year, I was high on Kon Knueppel and posted about him a lot when people were lukewarm because of his size. I liked Sorber as a future role player, VJ Edgecombe, and Jase Richardson. With Jase, the opportunity hasn’t been there yet, similar to Reed Sheppard early on. For most of that class, it’s still too early. It usually takes about three years to really judge a player.

You’ll also notice my rankings move around a lot. That’s part of the process. Things should start to stabilize as we get closer to draft day.

And finally, I try to apply a Spurs lens, since obviously I’m a Spurs fan. I factor in what they’ve historically valued and how they operate when thinking about who they would realistically draft. That’s a big reason I emphasize character, even if it’s easy for most people to dismiss. The reality is the Spurs have consistently prioritized it, so it matters in how I evaluate and project fits.

Thanks for the welcome! I'm happy to have landed here. Been a fan since '90.

As for your response: Damn, you're deep in the game. Or rather playing a different game altogether. I definitely spent a lot more time looking at the past few drafts than this one, but while I wouldn't say my analysis was completely superficial before, it was NOT revolving around watching entire games. FWIW i was also high on Jase Richardson. I also liked Kon and thought it was a fine pick (tho he has surprised me.) Sorber looked good to me but I guess I just wanted more shooting, so I was a little bigger on the smaller tweeners available for the Spurs, and was therefore ecstatic about us picking Mr. Bryant. (I'm a wildcats fan too, tho.)

Seems like I'll have to put your picks in a different bucket than the rest. At least your deviance from the consensus makes a lot more sense now. (Also: Radiohead is awesome.)

 

[OK Computer]

His defensive clips start at 20:30. He’s DANCING with them. The footwork is incredible.

If the Spurs’ goal is to find a suitable defender for players like KAT without having to put Castle on them WHILE not completely falling apart when the same player has to switch on smaller players and keep up with them… Zuby is the guy.

 

[Biggems]

1 G/F Dailyn Swain or Karim Lopez
2 G/F Alex Karaban
2 F/C Rueben Chinyelu
2 F/C Tarris Reed Jr

 

[onechance87]

1 G/F Dailyn Swain or Karim Lopez
2 G/F Alex Karaban
2 F/C Rueben Chinyelu
2 F/C Tarris Reed Jr

i like