Draft 2026 NBA Draft Prospects Thread

[mo7888]

As a casual (I watch YouTube highlights), I'm locking in on Karim Lopez as the player I want the Spurs to select, and Carter Bryant's nice little breakout yesterday really drives it home. Putting two fluid big bodies on the floor with Wemby who can play the 3 or 4 is a daydream I can get behind: a deep, big, physical, defense-first team with the best offensive bag in the league when you look at team as a whole.

Would also love to see the Spurs give up some of those sweet 2nd round picks if they could be used to move up and grab Aday Mara in the late 1st.

I would say the consensus here is trending towards being that CB is our future 4, I'm not so sure he's not our future 3.

 

[Exstatic]

As a casual (I watch YouTube highlights), I'm locking in on Karim Lopez as the player I want the Spurs to select, and Carter Bryant's nice little breakout yesterday really drives it home. Putting two fluid big bodies on the floor with Wemby who can play the 3 or 4 is a daydream I can get behind: a deep, big, physical, defense-first team with the best offensive bag in the league when you look at team as a whole.

Would also love to see the Spurs give up some of those sweet 2nd round picks if they could be used to move up and grab Aday Mara in the late 1st.

The Spurs once signed Venezuela product Carl Herrera because he was a Spanish speaker. Drafting an Actual product of Mexico who can play seems to be a likely event.

 

[Guru of Nothing]

The Spurs once signed Venezuela product Carl Herrera because he was a Spanish speaker. Drafting an Actual product of Mexico who can play seems to be a likely event.

Merch sales = cash considerations++

 

[OK Computer]

My annual tier system

History shows each draft has around 3 franchise players, 4 running mate all-star-esque players, then 10 long term role players… the rest? Disappear off the face of the planet. Why am I saying this? Because people get out of hand and project everybody as all stars when they fall in love with a clip or two of prospects they watch.


Tier 1 - franchise - max three players
Darryn Peterson
AJ Dybantsa
Caleb Wilson

Tier 2 - running mates - max four players

Cameron Boozer
Mikel Brown Jr.
Tounde Yessefou

Tier 3 - long-term role players - max 10 players

Hannes Steinbach
Koa Peat
Braylon Mullins

Obviously still early, but these are the players I have some confidence in where they’re slotted so far. Realistically, I would love any of Tounde, Hannes, Koa, Mullins to be the Spurs pick this year.

Below are players I’ve watched but don’t believe they’re worth the hype they’re getting right now:

Kingston Flemings - same size as Dillingham makes me concerned of how effective he’ll be in the NBA.

Keaton Wagler - if a team dedicates their entire offense to him running it, he will find success. If he’s drafted to fit in as a role player, nope. That said, he could land in my tier 2 and 3 eventually.

Nate Ament - I’m just not a fan of these skinny, 1 dimensional shooter types in the draft. If he’s drafted too high, he’ll disappoint fans thinking he’s much more than he is. Classic case of equating height and shooting for high potential.

Karim Lopez - same case as above. Jabari Smith-esque on offense. Can’t get past anybody. Not that mobile on defense.

I don’t feel like we’ll spend the first round pick on a straight up center so I don’t feel like I should say much about Jayden Quaintance, Ngongba.

Still have to watch more of Haugh, Cenac… but Cenac, I have reservations about due to taking up the same space on offense as Wemby would.

 

[Biggems]

Steinbach and Swain are my two pet cats.

 

[scott]

In his last 10 games, Lendeborg is 7/42 from behind the arc...

The rise of Carter Bryant changes a lot of things regarding the draft. Spurs might enter this summer without a significant hole. In that case, trading the pick for future pick(s) like they did with #8 in 2024 makes a lot of sense. Small weaknesses in Spurs roster (third string center, a shooter...) can be fixed with the MLE and second round picks.

Was just thinking this last night, especially when coupled with the fact the Spurs will only have the MLE and the BAE to work with this offseason and without any superfluous matching salary to send out. I definitely expect Barnes brought back, Champ declined-and-extended. That's 10 roster spots filled just like that. MLE and BAE FA's make 12. Two min guys and an SRP sounds like a way to successfully fill out the roster.

Unless a prospect they love is sitting there for them, I can definitely see a move out like the MIN trade or hopefully someone will make them an NOP-like offer (or close to it... surely no one will be that stupid again) because they're in love with someone falling.

 

[scott]

And given what I just said... I'm interested in takes on late FRP and SRP candidates... I think there is a stronger possibility in the past that the Spurs look to actually utilize a SRP on an older prospect who can be a deep bench contributor.

 

[CGD]

As a casual (I watch YouTube highlights), I'm locking in on Karim Lopez as the player I want the Spurs to select, and Carter Bryant's nice little breakout yesterday really drives it home. Putting two fluid big bodies on the floor with Wemby who can play the 3 or 4 is a daydream I can get behind: a deep, big, physical, defense-first team with the best offensive bag in the league when you look at team as a whole.

Would also love to see the Spurs give up some of those sweet 2nd round picks if they could be used to move up and grab Aday Mara in the late 1st.

Totally. I think a mobile, high energy PF who will through a wall is exactly what we need. I don’t think the PF has to be an offensive engine. Karim is in that mold.

 

[CGD]

And given what I just said... I'm interested in takes on late FRP and SRP candidates... I think there is a stronger possibility in the past that the Spurs look to actually utilize a SRP on an older prospect who can be a deep bench contributor.

My preference for those is the upper classmen from a blueblood/elite programs that just know how to play the right way.
For example Caraban from UConn. It is also the ideal place for a back up big.

 

[Ariel]

This year I'm in lazy mode, leeching off of your research , barely watching some youtube clips here and there and focusing on a handful of prospects I found interesting. So thank you all for your contributions, keep them coming.

 

[RC_Drunkford]

In his last 10 games, Lendeborg is 7/42 from behind the arc...

The rise of Carter Bryant changes a lot of things regarding the draft. Spurs might enter this summer without a significant hole. In that case, trading the pick for future pick(s) like they did with #8 in 2024 makes a lot of sense. Small weaknesses in Spurs roster (third string center, a shooter...) can be fixed with the MLE and second round picks.

why would you trade a lottery pick in the most stacked draft class of the last decade?

Was just thinking this last night, especially when coupled with the fact the Spurs will only have the MLE and the BAE to work with this offseason and without any superfluous matching salary to send out. I definitely expect Barnes brought back, Champ declined-and-extended. That's 10 roster spots filled just like that. MLE and BAE FA's make 12. Two min guys and an SRP sounds like a way to successfully fill out the roster.

Unless a prospect they love is sitting there for them, I can definitely see a move out like the MIN trade or hopefully someone will make them an NOP-like offer (or close to it... surely no one will be that stupid again) because they're in love with someone falling.

Spurs roster next year should be stacked 1-15. Main rotation guys, Barnes resigned, Carter Bryant. That's 10. That leaves us with 5 open roster spots, which should be:

starting level PF
back up C
3-point specialist
third string PG
PF/SF prospect

sign the PF with the MLE and another one with the BAE.

We should absolutely draft another forward. There are plenty in the 10-20 range. Even an older one like Haugh makes sense. Just having that cost controlled 4-year contract should be huge in the following years.

Leaves us with 2 minimum contracts. Karaban from UCONN will be in this draft and might be a good forward to pick up in the second round.

 

[Ariel]

why would you trade a lottery pick in the most stacked draft class of the last decade? Y'all kill me with all these stupid ideas.

Stupid is not considering all options at your disposal, if you land #3 and Dybantsa and Boozer are gone, are you going to use the pick on Peterson when you can get a haul for it? If you land a mid first and all your targets are gone, are you going to reach for someone you don't really like? Broad generalizations disregarding context are what is stupid.

 

[RC_Drunkford]

Stupid is not considering all options at your disposal, if you land #3 and Dybantsa and Boozer are gone, are you going to use the pick on Peterson when you can get a haul for it? If you land a mid first and all your targets are gone, are you going to reach for someone you don't really like? Broad generalizations disregarding context are what is stupid.

in that situation you can trade down and draft Caleb Wilson or any other PF instead of trading the pick away completely when the next 2 drafts are considered weak and you possibly got 4 back to back max extensions coming up.

 

[onechance87]

Stupid is not considering all options at your disposal, if you land #3 and Dybantsa and Boozer are gone, are you going to use the pick on Peterson when you can get a haul for it? If you land a mid first and all your targets are gone, are you going to reach for someone you don't really like? Broad generalizations disregarding context are what is stupid.

yea like sochan,branham and wesley right?How did we fck that up so bad in getting a decent role player in that draft?
Fire the scouts and development team if they get this shit wrong again in a obvious good draft.Unless we trade this pick for
two future first round picks,Spurs better be doing there homework this draft.

 

[Ariel]

in that situation you can trade down and still get another forward instead of trading the pick away completely when the next 2 drafts are considered weak and you possibly got 4 back to back max extensions coming up.

Weak and strong are usually a measure at the top but a poor indicator of the quality available below. Look at the much talked about 2018 draft, outside of the lottery you have a single great player and he was taken in the second round, meaning no one saw him coming (Jalen Brunson). Lots of supposedly bad drafts are much stronger outside of the lottery than that one, like 2020 (Maxey, Jaden McDaniels, Desmond Bane, etc). 2013 was bad, and Giannis came out of it. Spurs came away from 2024 with Castle.

I'd even postulate that a "strong" draft is usually nothing but a reflection on how certain people are that the top prospects are good more so than anything else, meaning a top pick guarantees a high level player. But outside of that, there's little you can tell in advance, projecting mid round picks in 2027 and 2028 is borderline idiotic.

 

[LeBowen]

And on top of that while getting more high end players is always better, we don't really need those.
All we need now are some Bowens, Hills, Splitters.

The Spurs stayed competitive for decades not only because of the big3 staying together, but because PATFO managed to pull seemingly random players out of their ass and make them look elite in their system.
DJG looked like another Juice Simmons in the making, wasn't meant to be.
Champagnie is the perfect example of a Spurs player.

A lot of contenders throughout history fell apart not because their star players declined, but because they couldn't find the right role players to refresh the roster when it was needed.

 

[Exstatic]

yea like sochan,branham and wesley right?How did we fck that up so bad in getting a decent role player in that draft?
Fire the scouts and development team if they get this shit wrong again in a obvious good draft.Unless we trade this pick for
two future first round picks,Spurs better be doing there homework this draft.

If you look back at the 2022 draft, assuming Sochan is shown the door this summer, six of the TOP TEN PICKS are no longer with their drafting teams. It was kind of a shit draft.

 

[bozhemoi]

If you look back at the 2022 draft, assuming Sochan is shown the door this summer, six of the TOP TEN PICKS are no longer with their drafting teams. It was kind of a shit draft.

I think I responded to that post already, but yeah, that was a pretty bad draft in retrospect. Banchero is causing problems for his team with inefficiency, Jabari Smith is an overpaid role player, Murray has plateaued or declined, Shaeden Sharpe is a no-offense gunner who is very inefficient, Ivey is hurt all the time, etc. There are some good role players like Christian Braun but others like LaRavia who are just meh.

 

[CGD]

If you look back at the 2022 draft, assuming Sochan is shown the door this summer, six of the TOP TEN PICKS are no longer with their drafting teams. It was kind of a shit draft.

I remember how highly touted it was too. At the top Paulo and Chet have been decent, but have also left a lot to be desired too.

 

[Ariel]

The fact that in this very thread and even after 4 years of evidence people still call the 2022 draft "shitty" because of the lottery, is a perfect example of why you shouldn't give that qualifier any significance: even outside the lottery, that class had plenty of legitimate good starting caliber players (Tari Eason, Christian Braun, Walker Kessler, Peyton Watson, Andrew Nembhard, Mark Williams, Ryan Rollins) and other useful role players (Max Christie, Jaylin Williams, Jake LaRavia) even some undrafted (Julian Champagnie, Keon Ellis).

Bottom line, don't be fooled: "bad drafts" not only aren't necessarily "bad" when looked at in hindsight, and may even be better from a depth perspective. Or, put in another way, what is good or bad isn't the quality of the players themselves, but the ability to reliably sort them in advance. For the most part, they're more "obscure" than they're "bad", so to speak.

 

[bozhemoi]

The fact that in this very thread and even after 4 years of evidence people still call the 2022 draft "shitty" because of the lottery, is a perfect example of why you shouldn't give that qualifier any significance: even outside the lottery, that class had plenty of legitimate good starting caliber players (Tari Eason, Christian Braun, Walker Kessler, Peyton Watson, Andrew Nembhard, Mark Williams, Ryan Rollins) and other useful role players (Max Christie, Jaylin Williams, Jake LaRavia) even some undrafted (Julian Champagnie, Keon Ellis).

Bottom line, don't be fooled: "bad drafts" not only aren't necessarily "bad" when looked at in hindsight, and may even be better from a depth perspective. Or, put in another way, what is good or bad isn't the quality of the players themselves, but the ability to reliably sort them in advance. For the most part, they're more "obscure" than they're "bad", so to speak.

Yes, people mean the lottery when they talk about drafts overall. And, yes there are some good players in that draft, but it's not a great one overall. Having a number of role players is cool, but it's a mediocre draft.

 

[Vienna]

why is it so important if some think the draft is stacked and other think it's just decent??
it might have made a difference, if Spurs decided to trade the pick this deadline.
but this way they will see where the pick falls and on draft night they can decide if they like a player or make a deal and it doesn't matter how much we like the draft today.

 

[ace3g]

https://twitter.com/x/status/2020561583508684954

 

[The Truth #6]

Tounde all the way until the draft, baby

People haven’t learned to listen yet when I make these calls. Too bad

Interesting. I give you credit for Franz and Jaylen Williams. So are you thinking he's just the best player available for us, or do you actually see him for positional need specifically?

I mean the way you described him sounds like a a rich man's Ime Udoka, to me.

 

[OK Computer]

Interesting. I give you credit for Franz and Jaylen Williams. So are you thinking he's just the best player available for us, or do you actually see him for positional need specifically?

I mean the way you described him sounds like a a rich man's Ime Udoka, to me.

When people give me props they typically list those two i’ve had more recent draft hits, man!

It’s way too early to say he’s the best available, but I’ll just say I really, really like what I see. He’d fit in not in the positional sense, but an identity one. His style of play is aggressive, walks the line between stupid-aggressive that leads to turnovers and good-aggressive that leads to game changing plays (think Manu). I keep saying this, but think of a more talented version of Keldon who is way more athletic, and has more ways to score. Adding that to our team would be downright deadly.