Draft 2026 NBA Draft Prospects Thread

Do we trade away our pick or draft a player?

  • Draft

    Votes: 54 81.8%
  • Trade

    Votes: 7 10.6%
  • Cash Considerations

    Votes: 5 7.6%

  • Total voters
    66
Very helpful write up OK Computer.

While I'm still highest on Haugh and Lopez in our range (at this early stage), I'm liking the idea of Carr as a potential Devin replacement down the road. Very similar profile.

Personally, I'm not a fan of drafting a center. That's just me. Think those guys can be found in free agency. But, i do wonder if Victor has put a new premium on that position again, after years of disinterest league wide.
 
I was just taking a look at ESPN's latest big board to get a sense of what we could expect to be available with the Spurs pick, since it's usually the most predictive. Of course it's a rough estimate since the draft is a long way out and the combine and measurements can really have a big impact. With that said, players available as per ESPN where the Spurs pick or close:
  • 19/20: 17) Mullins 18) Cenac 20) Quaintance 24) Cam Carr 25) Krivas 26) Swain 27) Morez
  • 34/35 + 42 + 44: 35) Jefferson 37) Zuby Ejiofor 40) Yessoufou 42) Taris Reed 44) Veesar 48) de Larrea
Spurs might not come out of this draft with a future star but should be able to find really good, long term, fitting pieces, especially bigs and wings.
 
looking at the ESPN big board I would also point at some other players, but everyone has his favorits, obviously.

but outside this, there is one name that is kind of interesting and that's Dame Sarr. ESPN has him #31, so they still espect him in the draft, while a lot of mocks don't rank him at all, or just totally ignore that he exists. (like tankathon).
I didn't really look at him before, but I did now and I kind of changed my mind and would now add him to my list of highly possible Spurs draft picks 2026.
one thing that jumped out at me was his shooting from the corner. while his shooting numbers don't look promising, he shot very well from both corners on a sample size maybe big enough to trust at least the potential (30-70, 43%). and, for whatever it is worth, his shot looks good. so, I think it's fair to say, that there is a good chance, that he will improve from other areas as well.
another point, of course, is his physical profile. there might not be an other player in the draft (outside Dybantsa of course), who displays that combination of size, lenght and athleticism. (measurements will tell, but he should be at least 6'8'' barefoot)
he is raw offensively, likely more raw than Carter was, but he is already an outstanding defender, likely better than CB (ACC all defense team).
I think Pop once said something like the draft is 30% about what is there and 70% about what could be. and Sarr gives you a lot that could be.
one last point about Sarr: teams will like his biography. he is a smart and ambitious young man from Italy, who left home at 15 to work on his career, he is fluent in English and Spanish, speaks some French as well, he is quite refelcted on what he is and what he needs to work on.

so, I'm far from putting him on top of my wish list, but I wouldn't be surprised, if he was quite high on the Spurs draft list.
 
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looking at the ESPN big board I would also point at some other players, but everyone has his favorits, obviously.

but outside this, there is one name that is kind of interesting and that's Dame Sarr. ESPN has him #31, so they still espect him in the draft, while a lot of mocks don't rank him at all, or just totally ignore that he exists. (like tankathon).
I didn't really look at him before, but I did now and I kind of changed my mind and would now add him to my list of highly possible Spurs draft picks 2026.
one thing that jumped out at me was his shooting from the corner. while his shooting numbers don't look promising, he shot very well from both corners on a sample size maybe big enough to trust at least the potential (30-70, 43%). and, for whatever it is worth, his shot looks good. so, I think it's fair to say, that there is a good chance, that he will improve from other areas as well.
another point, of course, is his physical profile. there might not be an other player in the draft (outside Dybantsa of course), who displays that combination of size, lenght and athleticism. (measurements will tell, but he should be at least 6'8'' barefoot)
he is raw offensively, likely more raw than Carter was, but he is already an outstanding defender, likely better than CB (ACC all defense team).
I think Pop once said something like the draft is 30% about what is there and 70% about what could be. and Sarr gives you a lot that could be.
one last point about Sarr: teams will like his biography. he is a smart and ambitious young man from Italy, who left home at 15 to work on his career, he is fluent in English and Spanish, speaks some French as well, he is quite refelcted on what he is and what he needs to work on.

so, I'm far from putting him on top of my wish list, but I wouldn't be surprised, if he was quite high on the Spurs draft list.
I might have to add this guy to my already “locked in” list. At first glance, he’d probably slot in my “justifiable” tier. I’m skeptical, however, that he will declare for the draft.
 
Very helpful write up OK Computer.

While I'm still highest on Haugh and Lopez in our range (at this early stage), I'm liking the idea of Carr as a potential Devin replacement down the road. Very similar profile.

Personally, I'm not a fan of drafting a center. That's just me. Think those guys can be found in free agency. But, i do wonder if Victor has put a new premium on that position again, after years of disinterest league wide.
The second round is also stacked with backup C talent. I can convince myself of taking Ngongba there, who struggles quite bad on switches, but then I think to myself that he’s going to be a backup and everything will be alright. Mara has a slight chance of falling. Krivas will probably be there. Tarris Reed is my current favorite to take with the pick.
 
To me, a backup big is a priority in the offseason. An important possibility is that with the Spurs now a clear contender with a young core, we may see veterans flocking over. Not sure what the landscape looks like, but like finding Kornet, there may be others that want to chip in.

Otherwise, getting a young player who will likely never start is a hard get. This may be a big part of why Reynaud didn't want to come. (There were other bigger reasons, it seems.)

But the team needs to plan on contingencies. Kornet gets hurt and sick, he's not available 82 games. He's past 30 years old. We need to expect Vic to be out at least a portion of each season. And one of our biggest vulnerabilities is against big lineups that hammer the boards.

I'm not sure whether the answer is in the draft. I expect the FO has ideas for trades or other pick-ups. The unicorn for our unicorn right now is a mobile, big guy who can bang but also shoot from deep. A Brook Lopez or Naz Reid. It's sliced gold at this point.
 
The second round is also stacked with backup C talent. I can convince myself of taking Ngongba there, who struggles quite bad on switches, but then I think to myself that he’s going to be a backup and everything will be alright. Mara has a slight chance of falling. Krivas will probably be there. Tarris Reed is my current favorite to take with the pick.
Mara sounds like he's locking into the lottery and maybe top 10. I think Krivas will be there at 19/20, or a Morez.
 
Zuby could have played the Jojo Tugler role on St Johns if they had a true center. Jojo, by the way, is a sneaky good player. I was watching for Cenac, but Jojo was there in the middle of most plays which was impressive.
I’m glad you mentioned Tugler I haven’t seen too much interest concerning him as far as all the draft related threads. With his wingspan probably over 7’ I would think the Spurs would be interested as they usually seem to be. Any concerns with his foot issues? He’s had a couple of procedures I believe and he doesn’t seem to have the same explosion or agility he once had. The Houston team as a whole was “softer” this season and not the hungry, every possession was a war team we’ve grown accustomed to. Tugler didn’t seem to play with the same wreckless abandon as previous seasons.
 
NIL is changing everything. For a while there I thought it would just be screwing up the NBA’s second round, but i think it might start post lottery range in first round tbh. Will be interesting to see is Mullins takes that UConn bag, for example.
 
NIL is changing everything. For a while there I thought it would just be screwing up the NBA’s second round, but i think it might start post lottery range in first round tbh. Will be interesting to see is Mullins takes that UConn bag, for example.
He’s my pick for us
 
NIL is changing everything. For a while there I thought it would just be screwing up the NBA’s second round, but i think it might start post lottery range in first round tbh. Will be interesting to see is Mullins takes that UConn bag, for example.
It's an amazing free for all. Like huge flocks of birds in random directions after each season. You never know who is on each team anymore. Apparently costs are shooting up as schools are competing with each other hard-core. I think something has to break but not sure how.
 
I’m glad you mentioned Tugler I haven’t seen too much interest concerning him as far as all the draft related threads. With his wingspan probably over 7’ I would think the Spurs would be interested as they usually seem to be. Any concerns with his foot issues? He’s had a couple of procedures I believe and he doesn’t seem to have the same explosion or agility he once had. The Houston team as a whole was “softer” this season and not the hungry, every possession was a war team we’ve grown accustomed to. Tugler didn’t seem to play with the same wreckless abandon as previous seasons.
I had no idea about his foot issues. My exposure to him has only been in the games this year when I was watching Cenac. As far as Spurs’ interest - he’s lacking a 3 pt shot pretty bad. But, that’s never been a disqualifying thing for me if the player brings it everywhere else. He can be a player who earns his way up from the G-league. To me, he’s like a polished Carter Bryant but without the 3 pt shot.
 
I had no idea about his foot issues. My exposure to him has only been in the games this year when I was watching Cenac. As far as Spurs’ interest - he’s lacking a 3 pt shot pretty bad. But, that’s never been a disqualifying thing for me if the player brings it everywhere else. He can be a player who earns his way up from the G-league. To me, he’s like a polished Carter Bryant but without the 3 pt shot.
I didn't think CB would have a legit 3 point shot this early but he has looked very solid from 3 lately.

Castle and Harper have also made big strides from 3 post ASB. Jimmy Baron earning his paycheck and then some.
 
Damn. He could have at least pushed someone down the board. Reports are he'd be getting 4 to 5 million, that should be equivalent to year 1 salary for a pick in the 15-20 range (source: https://www.salaryswish.com/rookie-scale/2027 adjusting for 120% of the base value).

He's probably thinking he's getting paid at the same rate he'd be getting in the NBA (though pushing second contract 1 year) while being featured on UConn and betting he'd be going top 10 in next year's draft which seems to lack top end talent.
 
He’s my pick for us
He’d be great, but imagine if that caliber of player starts accepting bags from college teams. Pretty much dilutes the value of FRP post 14.

Edit: just saw the post above. Def devalues our pick.
 
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Damn. He could have at least pushed someone down the board. Reports are he'd be getting 4 to 5 million, that should be equivalent to year 1 salary for a pick in the 15-20 range (source: https://www.salaryswish.com/rookie-scale/2027 adjusting for 120% of the base value).

He's probably thinking he's getting paid at the same rate he'd be getting in the NBA (though pushing second contract 1 year) while being featured on UConn and betting he'd be going top 10 in next year's draft which seems to lack top end talent.
yup...unlikely cam carr falls to us now.
 
Damn. He could have at least pushed someone down the board. Reports are he'd be getting 4 to 5 million, that should be equivalent to year 1 salary for a pick in the 15-20 range (source: https://www.salaryswish.com/rookie-scale/2027 adjusting for 120% of the base value).

He's probably thinking he's getting paid at the same rate he'd be getting in the NBA (though pushing second contract 1 year) while being featured on UConn and betting he'd be going top 10 in next year's draft which seems to lack top end talent.

That about sums it up
 
IMO, Mullins had a strong risk of falling in this draft. He was nowhere near as polished as he appeared to be. I’m not talking about the low percentages in the tournament (although his lack of polish might have contributed to that), but he’d make some stupid plays throughout the game that would make you question his basketball IQ.
 
Ejiofor and Reed out of this draft. Reed gives the Spurs a 6 11 banger on the inside who also has an offensive low post game.
Reed is a solid shot blocker and rebounder and passes well out of the post as this plays well for the spurs strength in their guards abilities to cut to the basket.

Ejiofor is a 6 9 athletic high energy scoring PF/SF who will run the court with the spurs athletic guards and he and Reed will complement the Spurs depth at PF allowing the Spurs to either go big with Reed when needed or small with Ejiofor depending on best matchups.

Which one should get drafted with the first pick with hopes of landing the other with the 2nd round pick?
 
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