Draft 2026 NBA Draft Prospects Thread

[Ice009]

Is Oscar a legit prospect? And has it been said if he'll enter the draft?

 

[spursparker9]

Oscar the new thannas

 

[BatManu20]

https://twitter.com/x/status/2013340439877685677

 

[Guru of Nothing]

Now that the Atlanta swap is looking sexy, Nate Ament is getting my attention again. He's 6'10" and tankathon lists him as a SF (#6 on big board), but I'll bet he could play some PF too; at least provide a complimentary game to that of CB. If we miss on Caleb Williams, maybe this is our guy.

Three-point needs a lot of work, but his volume indicates there's hope: 1.1-4.0/gm = 27.8%. Ball handling skills look good, but for some turnovers. Not a perfect prospect, but there's a lot to work with. His build is in the mold of a Risacher, but with just a little more length; maybe Asa Newell.

Hmmm. Does he spin the ball sideways on his shot?

 

[Exstatic]

Now that the Atlanta swap is looking sexy, Nate Ament is getting my attention again. He's 6'10" and tankathon lists him as a SF (#6 on big board), but I'll bet he could play some PF too; at least provide a complimentary game to that of CB. If we miss on Caleb Williams, maybe this is our guy.

Three-point needs a lot of work, but his volume indicates there's hope: 1.1-4.0/gm = 27.8%. Ball handling skills look good, but for some turnovers. Not a perfect prospect, but there's a lot to work with. His build is in the mold of a Risacher, but with just a little more length; maybe Asa Newell.

Hmmm. Does he spin the ball sideways on his shot?

I’ve been patient, and will remain so, but I really don’t want any more 3 point projects on our roster.

Unless we have super top 4 luck again,I’m just looking for a player who can already shoot the three and rebound. He doesn’t even have to be a great defender,just neutral. That’s it. That’s what we need,

 

[RC_Drunkford]

https://twitter.com/x/status/2013340439877685677

french U21 league is not really impressive. Players like Risacher put up numbers in the big league before the draft.

 

[LeBowen]

french U21 league is not really impressive. Players like Risacher put up numbers in the big league before the draft.

Risacher will be a solid role player, it's just that Hawks were dumb enough to pick him at #1.

 

[Ariel]

french U21 league is not really impressive. Players like Risacher put up numbers in the big league before the draft.

There's a pretty good chance some big market team picks him up in the 2nd round, trying to plant the seed for a future run at Wemby in free agency, say either of the LA teams, NY, Chicago, etc.

 

[Ariel]

Risacher will be a solid role player, it's just that Hawks were dumb enough to pick him at #1.

Let's be fair though, there were no really good options at their disposal:
Sarr? Didn't want to go there
Sheppard? Not that impressive anyway
Castle? Hindsight talking, no one had him that high back then
Clingan? Role player and still a reach.

All in all, the best move was trading the pick or at least moving back, but we have no idea what the offers would have been.

 

[Ice009]

There's a pretty good chance some team big market team picks him up in the 2nd round, trying to plant the seed for a future run at Wemby in free agency, say either of the LA teams, NY, Chicago, etc.

Interesting. That would be a worthwhile strategy for any of those teams. Burn a second rounder for a one in a million shot (not sure what the odds would be).

Risacher will be a solid role player, it's just that Hawks were dumb enough to pick him at #1.

I didn't follow Risacher at all. Did he play in a better league before being drafted?

 

[LeBowen]

Sarr? Didn't want to go there

And why would that matter? Jazz just picked Bailey who was trying to dodge Utah way more than Sarr tried to dodge Atlanta.

Castle? Hindsight talking, no one had him that high back then

Why not? That's where the people that actually make a living from scouting need to earn their paychecks.
Their insight has to be way better than the media's.

I didn't follow Risacher at all. Did he play in a better league before being drafted?

No idea.

 

[Guru of Nothing]

There's a pretty good chance some big market team picks him up in the 2nd round, trying to plant the seed for a future run at Wemby in free agency, say either of the LA teams, NY, Chicago, etc.

For a hot minute I thought the Wizards might lean into an all-France team in DC, once they added Sarr to Coulibaly, in an effort to entice Wemby. Not too worried about it now.

 

[Guru of Nothing]

I’ve been patient, and will remain so, but I really don’t want any more 3 point projects on our roster.

Unless we have super top 4 luck again,I’m just looking for a player who can already shoot the three and rebound. He doesn’t even have to be a great defender,just neutral. That’s it. That’s what we need,

I'm almost there too, but I'd could persuaded on Ament. Seems to be a mere half-project at the moment with regards to shot, not a full-blown one. Definitely worth tracking.

 

[Ariel]

I was already there the last 2 years, but it just so happened that the guys we took (Castle and Harper) were (IMO) clearly the best talent available. I also had Carter Bryant in group of players I considered at 14 (alongside Coward, Beringer and Sorber), but with the specific caveat that you had to buy into his jumper (I can only see the one season in College which was decent). Clearly Carter Bryant's shot was much further behind than anticipated, we can't keep stockpiling these guys as they have negative synergy.

 

[Guru of Nothing]

I was already there the last 2 years, but it just so happened that the guys we took (Castle and Harper) were (IMO) clearly the best talent available. I also had Carter Bryant in group of players I considered at 14 (alongside Coward, Beringer and Sorber), but with the specific caveat that you had to buy into his jumper (I can only see the one season in College which was decent). Clearly Carter Bryant's shot was much further behind than anticipated, we can't keep stockpiling these guys as they have negative synergy.

Karim Lopez might be your guy. 6'8", 220, New Zealand NBL. 1.3-3.0 44.4% from 3 per game in 22 minutes. Built almost exactly like CB, but has better polish in the paint. From Hermosillo, (northern) Mexico, so could be a fan favorite.

 

[bozhemoi]

Let's be fair though, there were no really good options at their disposal:
Sarr? Didn't want to go there
Sheppard? Not that impressive anyway
Castle? Hindsight talking, no one had him that high back then
Clingan? Role player and still a reach.

All in all, the best move was trading the pick or at least moving back, but we have no idea what the offers would have been.

I was taking Castle #1. Any smart team would have taken him #1. It was the easy pick in that draft. Risacher was a bit of smoke and mirrors, really. He didn't do anything but shoot and play pretty good defense, and his shooting was only during a fairly short period. I was actually lower on Sarr than he's turned out to be (kudos to him), but any team going through their progressions, if they couldn't take Sarr, would take Castle. And I had Castle first in a runaway.

It's their responsibility to not blow these top picks.

 

[Ignazzz]

Castle #1 in mocks? Nope

 

[Exstatic]

There's a pretty good chance some big market team picks him up in the 2nd round, trying to plant the seed for a future run at Wemby in free agency, say either of the LA teams, NY, Chicago, etc.

Wemby’s not going anywhere. He doesn’t care about big American markets, because he’s not American. Television markets are going to become a thing of the past as more and more stuff is streamed. Wemby will be a draw wherever he is. It doesn’t matter

Karim Lopez might be your guy. 6'8", 220, New Zealand NBL. 1.3-3.0 44.4% from 3 per game in 22 minutes. Built almost exactly like CB, but has better polish in the paint. From Hermosillo, (northern) Mexico, so could be a fan favorite.

I was looking at his profile. I’d also be interested in spending an SRP on one of the Ivisic twins.

 

[mo7888]

Wemby’s not going anywhere. He doesn’t care about big American markets, because he’s not American. Television markets are going to become a thing of the past as more and more stuff is streamed. Wemby will be a draw wherever he is. It doesn’t matter
I was looking at his profile. I’d also be interested in spending an SRP on one of the Ivisic twins.

I'm pretty high on one of the Ivisic twins in the 2nd as well. Real good replacement for Bismack..

 

[Russ]

Wemby’s not going anywhere. He doesn’t care about big American markets, because he’s not American. Television markets are going to become a thing of the past as more and more stuff is streamed. Wemby will be a draw wherever he is. It doesn’t matter

I tend to agree with you but I also think Wemby is always looking for the next thing.

He's in San Antonio now, so that's not the next thing.

That said, I like the Spurs chances of keeping him because he's also into legacy.

 

[Shmurs]

It would be highly untenable for another team to draft a Bronny and then keep him on the roster for squishy, long term reasons while never expecting him to make an impact. It sounds like a legit plan until you think about what it really looks like. Media circus, your core players seeing the press go talk to the end of bench guy, no defined timetable on how long you wait to make a push for Vic…it’s too clunky to make work.

 

[Ariel]

It would be highly untenable for another team to draft a Bronny and then keep him on the roster for squishy, long term reasons while never expecting him to make an impact. It sounds like a legit plan until you think about what it really looks like. Media circus, your core players seeing the press go talk to the end of bench guy, no defined timetable on how long you wait to make a push for Vic…it’s too clunky to make work.

You've got the plan wrong, the idea isn't for any team to draft and hold on to Wemby's brother until he reaches free agency, more like drafting him, building a relationship, being "extra nice and accommodating", trying to generate good will. His size and athletic profile would make him blend in much more seamlessly than Bronny (6'1" combo guards who can't shoot are dime a dozen), I don't see why he'd be a distraction.

If he proves a real NBA player then great, it's a great pick on its own. If not, you do right by him, send him wherever he wants. Then when Wemby's free agency comes close, you have even a little bit of an edge, an inside track. Big market teams have gone much farther than that in the past (Clippers with Kawhi, NY with Brunson, etc). It costs them very little, may end up a worthwhile investment on its own (if he pans out) and if not, you've built bridges that may help you in 4 or 5 years. We've seen schemes 100x more absurd than this come to fruition.

 

[Ariel]

Wemby’s not going anywhere. He doesn’t care about big American markets, because he’s not American. Television markets are going to become a thing of the past as more and more stuff is streamed. Wemby will be a draw wherever he is. It doesn’t matter
I was looking at his profile. I’d also be interested in spending an SRP on one of the Ivisic twins.

Probably, I'd still might use a second rounder on him if he's on the board, whether on a draft and stash or on a 2-way. Wouldn't hurt to be extra nice to Wemby Jr., even if you may not need it or could do without it.

 

[scott]

If Oscar Wembanyama shows the skills worthy of two-way, it would seem foolish to not take him especially considering he's at a position and fits a profile of what we need.

That is, unless Wemby would view this as a distraction rather than a comfort. He might.

 

[Ariel]

Karim Lopez might be your guy. 6'8", 220, New Zealand NBL. 1.3-3.0 44.4% from 3 per game in 22 minutes. Built almost exactly like CB, but has better polish in the paint. From Hermosillo, (northern) Mexico, so could be a fan favorite.

Just checked him, but the numbers I found don't match: https://www.basketball-reference.com/international/players/karim-lopez-1.html