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
One of either morez johnson jr or chris cenac jr...They are pf/centers with decent size and potential shooting improvement.They are also
athletic and play decent d.
 
^ Not necessarily the outcome I want, but a good layout of what Spurs have typically gone for lately and a very good chance it's fairly accurate. I'd add Morez Johnson to the mix, I've read about some supposed character issues (that to my knowledge seem exaggerated) and he's raw offensively, but he's a young 20 year old at a position of need that has shown "flashes" on offense. Risky prospect, but no less so than most on that list.
 
Krivas was the type I was settling for. He must be like Haugh, going for a title while making better money is clearly the better choice.

We'll need to really check out the market of existing players to get another Big. It's too bad Olynyk is dunzo. He's the type of player we'd need if he was younger.
 
There are two ways for Spurs to fill that third string center slot :

1) They can have a dedicated third string center :
It is a very limited role. I doubt Spurs will spend #20 on that. If Tarris Reed is available at #34/#35, he could be a great option.
A lot of free agents should refuse to play that role. The best Spurs could do in free agency to fill that role is likely players like Looney or Eubanks.

2) They can have a power forward able to play some center too :
It might be complicate to find a player will all the qualities to do that. Spurs will need a player with the mobility and outside shot to play PF, with the size and paint presence to play center. In the draft, Cenac at #20 is an option. In FA, Dean Wade, Marvin Bagley or Kenrich Williams have the right profile. There is John Collins too...
 
The Truth #6 said:
This is my Experimental Board for this draft. I'm trying to predict who Wright prioritizes and will ultimately pick. These criteria are based on my assessment of Wright's drafting priorities/proclivities/tendencies and nothing, absolute zero, about their basketball skill, other than they are in most consensus Big Boards from around number 8 to 25, give or take, I used the ESPN board for reference. But I am watching zero film and reading nothing about their basketball skill.

This is sort of a surreal alternative to let's say one of Scott's hard data crunches. This is subjective, not based on who I think they SHOULD draft but who they WILL draft in the first round, based on an unscientific vibes based assessment of Wright's drafting predilections.

The Buford model of overlooked gems is not Wright's model at all.

Could Wright totally change his paradigm and approach starting this year based on how we do in the playoffs? Of course. Regardless, we aren't there yet. And of course, this is me just goofing around and taking a piss. So. Ándale...

The criteria/preferences:

1. Age - 18 year old and 19 year olds exclusively. 20 year olds might as well join AARP.
2. Race - no one who identifies as white but mixed race is extra points.
3. Major College program - no small schools or international leagues.
4. Blue chip prospects preferred.
5. Extracurriculars - nerd interests or high level of community service almost a hard requirement.
6. Strong family background /support.
7. Photogenic - do they smile well in photos (seems insignificant but actually correlates the most highly with getting drafted by Wright)

* The first pass (no one aged 20 or over, or white, or from a small school/international))

The Players

1. Nate Ament

2. Chris Cenac Jr.

3. Jayden Quaintance

4. Koa Peete

* The second pass adding nerd potential, photogenics, and community service to the criteria.

1. Nate Ament (basketball coach father; Rwanda genocide survivor mother) ("personal finance nerd", loves Minecraft) (advocate for Rwandan children and organ/tissue donors) (great smile, appears genuine, innocent)

2. Chris Cenac Jr. (both parents involved and hard working) ("huge improv nerd" - has comedian aspirations?) (family history with philanthropy) (smile is also very good)

3. Jayden Quaintance (father very involved) (likes chess and anime) (great smile, almost manic)

4. Koa Peete (volunteers with a Native American community) (both parents involved) (no obvious nerd potential) (huge smile, could do anti perpisirant commercials)



Notable Mentions

* Karim Lopez (both parents around, Dad is very involved) (leads youth basketball camps) (no obvious community service) (no American college) (smile is very good)
* Dailyn Swain (age 20, but what a smile!)
* Allen Graves (small school)


The Verdict

Nate Ament is probably the dream candidate due to his multiple community service interests, and it's hard to under appreciate the Rwandan human interest but he looks to be top 10, evidently he must be good at basketball so not likey.

Cenac Jr. seems to lack any obvious human interest story potential, so I'm not as bullish, but he's on the short list.

To me it's a two-man race between Quaintance and Koa. Unless Quaintance is really good at chess, I think the pick, if available, is Koa Peete.

Koa works with a nearby Indian tribe, went to a great program that just gave us Carter Bryant, and let's be honest, just has an amazing smile and chiseled physique. Alpha but not asshole. Could easily do body odor product commercials but is grounded in community.

Koa Peete, welcome to San Antonio!!
Click to expand...
This is funny, but I don’t agree with #’s 2 and 3 of your criteria.

According to insiders, Wright had Sarr and Sheppard #1 and #2 on his draft board the year we drafted Castle. If that is true, it immediately invalidates your race/international league criteria (Sarr played professionally in Australia and Sheppard is, of course, white).
 
The Truth #6 said:
This is my Experimental Board for this draft. I'm trying to predict who Wright prioritizes and will ultimately pick. These criteria are based on my assessment of Wright's drafting priorities/proclivities/tendencies and nothing, absolute zero, about their basketball skill, other than they are in most consensus Big Boards from around number 8 to 25, give or take, I used the ESPN board for reference. But I am watching zero film and reading nothing about their basketball skill.

This is sort of a surreal alternative to let's say one of Scott's hard data crunches. This is subjective, not based on who I think they SHOULD draft but who they WILL draft in the first round, based on an unscientific vibes based assessment of Wright's drafting predilections.

The Buford model of overlooked gems is not Wright's model at all.

Could Wright totally change his paradigm and approach starting this year based on how we do in the playoffs? Of course. Regardless, we aren't there yet. And of course, this is me just goofing around and taking a piss. So. Ándale...

The criteria/preferences:

1. Age - 18 year old and 19 year olds exclusively. 20 year olds might as well join AARP.
2. Race - no one who identifies as white but mixed race is extra points.
3. Major College program - no small schools or international leagues.
4. Blue chip prospects preferred.
5. Extracurriculars - nerd interests or high level of community service almost a hard requirement.
6. Strong family background /support.
7. Photogenic - do they smile well in photos (seems insignificant but actually correlates the most highly with getting drafted by Wright)

* The first pass (no one aged 20 or over, or white, or from a small school/international))

The Players

1. Nate Ament

2. Chris Cenac Jr.

3. Jayden Quaintance

4. Koa Peete

* The second pass adding nerd potential, photogenics, and community service to the criteria.

1. Nate Ament (basketball coach father; Rwanda genocide survivor mother) ("personal finance nerd", loves Minecraft) (advocate for Rwandan children and organ/tissue donors) (great smile, appears genuine, innocent)

2. Chris Cenac Jr. (both parents involved and hard working) ("huge improv nerd" - has comedian aspirations?) (family history with philanthropy) (smile is also very good)

3. Jayden Quaintance (father very involved) (likes chess and anime) (great smile, almost manic)

4. Koa Peete (volunteers with a Native American community) (both parents involved) (no obvious nerd potential) (huge smile, could do anti perpisirant commercials)



Notable Mentions

* Karim Lopez (both parents around, Dad is very involved) (leads youth basketball camps) (no obvious community service) (no American college) (smile is very good)
* Dailyn Swain (age 20, but what a smile!)
* Allen Graves (small school)


The Verdict

Nate Ament is probably the dream candidate due to his multiple community service interests, and it's hard to under appreciate the Rwandan human interest but he looks to be top 10, evidently he must be good at basketball so not likey.

Cenac Jr. seems to lack any obvious human interest story potential, so I'm not as bullish, but he's on the short list.

To me it's a two-man race between Quaintance and Koa. Unless Quaintance is really good at chess, I think the pick, if available, is Koa Peete.

Koa works with a nearby Indian tribe, went to a great program that just gave us Carter Bryant, and let's be honest, just has an amazing smile and chiseled physique. Alpha but not asshole. Could easily do body odor product commercials but is grounded in community.

Koa Peete, welcome to San Antonio!!
Click to expand...
So another small PF listed at 6'8 who is not a low post rim protector at the NBA level and is a non shooter only hitting 7 3pt shots last year, only 1 in his last 14 games games, at a 33% rate. Wright sent a player off the team who played small on the inside and is a non shooter. Really hope Wright doesn't go back to that type of player again.
 
Late FRPs will lose most of their value over the next few years, tbh.
 
Cenac (and to a lesser extent, Morez) are offering no resistance to Robert Williams if they’re seen as bigs who can masquerade as C’s. Gobert will probably bully them down low, too. This draft is becoming bare, unfortunately. If the Spurs are going to address a need, it’s better to do it when there’s full confidence in a player. I don’t know if they’ll find full confidence in Cenac.
 
OK Computer said:
Cenac (and to a lesser extent, Morez) are offering no resistance to Robert Williams if they’re seen as bigs who can masquerade as C’s. Gobert will probably bully them down low, too. This draft is becoming bare, unfortunately. If the Spurs are going to address a need, it’s better to do it when there’s full confidence in a player. I don’t know if they’ll find full confidence in Cenac.
Click to expand...
You think it would be worth packaging '26 and '27 ATL picks to move up in the draft?
 
LeBowen said:
You think it would be worth packaging '26 and '27 ATL picks to move up in the draft?
Click to expand...
I like a lot of players in this draft. However, I’d say that there are only a couple of them that I’d trade up for. For example, if a team was offering Carr to trade down to us, I would reject that deal. Carr is going to be really good, but I would only be willing to trade future assets for players who are oozing special talent. Mind you, I don’t mean that they’re guaranteed to hit when I say that. All I am saying is that their talent pops off the screen.

The two are:
1. Hannes Steinbach - may not be able to defend C’s either, but there’s something special here.
2. Jayden Quaintance - trust me when I say that this isn’t on equal grounds with Hannes, but there’s something special here too that the Spurs should do their diligent work and see if everything checks out health-wise.

Now if they don’t trade up, I’d be perfectly happy if they land some of my other guys.
 
Hannes Steinbach is the only big at his height in this class who can handle the ball on a fast break, navigate through multiple defenders, and still finish through traffic with control. It’s honestly pretty special, and not many bigs in the NBA can even do that at his size.
 
Ariel said:
Another aspect to consider is depth of draft class, NIL caused many players to stay in College rather than declaring for the draft, but those players eventually need to declare for the draft. In the long run things will stabilize, but the reduction of the talent pool we saw last year means that build up of talent will enter the draft in the next couple of years, when Spurs probably won't be picking top 10 (hopefully Atlanta implodes, but we can't count on it). With most teams going for underclassmen, it could be an opportunity for the Spurs to heavily scout the draft deeply, which they haven't done in like 25 years.

These are the likely Spurs picks:
  • FRP from Atlanta (say 10-20, most likely 15-20)
  • SRPs (right now) from Utah (likely 31-35), Portland and Miami (both 40-45).
This is a good opportunity to use or move up for more developed players, some I've liked in the past couple of years that were available at that SRP range include Ajay Mitchell, Adem Bona, Rasheer Fleming, Noah Penda, Kalkbrenner, Tyrese Proctor, all guys with positional value and a baseline of skills that at least won't take you 3 years to figure out, you can probably have a very good sense whether they'll contribute in a couple of years at most. Alternatively, use those picks for a more established vet, roll them over if the price is right, just don't pick another Juan Nuñez, Sidy Cissoko, etc, which are players with a high development cost (years) and low chance of success (low value archetype, fatal flaws, etc).
Click to expand...
You are talking about Brian wrong he crew they will sell the picks to pay for charter fuel cost.
 
Uriel said:
This is funny, but I don’t agree with #’s 2 and 3 of your criteria.

According to insiders, Wright had Sarr and Sheppard #1 and #2 on his draft board the year we drafted Castle. If that is true, it immediately invalidates your race/international league criteria (Sarr played professionally in Australia and Sheppard is, of course, white).
Click to expand...
Wrong is horrible. No feel for anything.
 
OK Computer said:
Hannes Steinbach is the only big at his height in this class who can handle the ball on a fast break, navigate through multiple defenders, and still finish through traffic with control. It’s honestly pretty special, and not many bigs in the NBA can even do that at his size.
Click to expand...
This is the guy I have been saying sours need to draft not a great rim protector for his size but good enough
 
Uriel said:
This is funny, but I don’t agree with #’s 2 and 3 of your criteria.

According to insiders, Wright had Sarr and Sheppard #1 and #2 on his draft board the year we drafted Castle. If that is true, it immediately invalidates your race/international league criteria (Sarr played professionally in Australia and Sheppard is, of course, white).
Click to expand...

To clarify, let me quote the esteemed scholar Donald Rumsfeld,

"Reports that say something hasn't happened are always interesting to me, because as we know, there are known knowns; there are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns – the ones we don't know we don't."

😂

But I hear your point. I'm only going by what they have done, as far as I remember, and using that for my "experiment".
 
Uriel said:
According to insiders, Wright had Sarr and Sheppard #1 and #2 on his draft board the year we drafted Castle.
Click to expand...
What is the source for that? I don't remember reading anything close to it.
 
onechance87 said:
Trying to hear about what morez johnson doing
Click to expand...
Been lurking long before I ever posted, and I often don't agree with your takes, but I think we may be the biggest Morez Johnson Jr. fans on this forum. He just seems like the best fit to me, as a casual observer.

Once you get to pick 20, it's a bit of a crapshoot, tho. People get paid a lot of money to pick terrible players for a reason. So unless we're particularly high on someone, at this range, I just don't see the appeal in adding another wing. Since we're gambling anyway, we need someone big who can do more than just be big far more than we need another small forward who can sort of squeak in as an undersized big.
 
onechance87 said:
One of either morez johnson jr or chris cenac jr...They are pf/centers with decent size and potential shooting improvement.They are also
athletic and play decent d.
Click to expand...
Think Cenac will be gone by 20 tbh, esp if he shoots it well at the Combine. One of the more high-side picks in the draft. Morez Johnson Jr. has grown on me quite a bit but there's a decent chance he's gone by 20 too tbh. Think the younger guys are gonna be flying off the shelf in the top-20.
 
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