2026 NBA Draft Thread

#157      
Bigtex
the juiceman cometh said:
I think every NBA coach and scout has seen these guys play.

I also think Dusty May has never had an NBA job in any capacity and NBA scouts are, well, NBA scouts.

But mostly I think the thing I said was that if the Mavs thought Morez projected as the better NBA player it was fine, but "if they took him over fit despite thinking Mara would be the better overall NBA player, that's dumb." Since I'm not quite understanding it, can you let me know which part of that your post is trying to address?
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I think it is very telling that the coach who saw them in practice (everyone sees games) took who he thought was the best player available (of the 3) or all remaining prospects.
 
#158      
the juiceman cometh
Fly Illini Fly! said:
https://twitter.com/x/status/2069624010111910321

Could’ve made a ton more coming back….
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Eh, sometimes you gotta shoot your shot. All of these guys were going first round in plenty of mock drafts. They probably all will end up early 2nd round with 2nd round exception deals. Going back to college they maybe could have improved draft stock. But just as likely, maybe even more likely, that being another year older their draft stock falls further. If the end goal is NBA and you're not a lottery talent you probably just have to take a chance at some point. Most guys that play out their entire eligibilty don't get drafted at all. It's certain that in the short term, they will make less money than if they'd gone back to college. It is not at all certain that in the long term this decision will be less lucrative, and it's entirely possible this decision will be far more lucrative, despite falling to the 2nd round.

Evans already did come back once. If he had gone in the 2025 draft, he probaby is projected late 1st to early 2nd just based on potential. He came back thinking with more playing time he'd improve his stock...and he got more plaing time and it did not improve his stock. Veesaar is already 22, and while the odd Yaxel type guy exists, most of the time when you get to that age every additional year of college makes you a less attractive draft prospect. Meleek Thomas's decision makes the least sense, and did so at the time as well. You figure just being 19 and with a weaker draft class next year he had the most to gain by staying. But some guys just want to get to the league, as fast as possible.
 
#159      
the juiceman cometh
Bigtex said:
I think it is very telling that the coach who saw them in practice (everyone sees games) took who he thought was the best player available (of the 3) or all remaining prospects.
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If NBA organizations istened to coach's pratice reports Austin Hutcherson would have been the #1 pick in the 2022 NBA draft.

And again, I was not responding to a post that said Morez was the best player available. I was literally responding to a post that said the Mavs probably took Morez over Mara because of "fit." I've pointed this out several times, how is this difficult?
 
#160      
Fly Illini Fly!
Top 5 PRISM scores this year:

IMG_1149.jpeg


This was the top 5 last year:

IMG_1148.jpeg
 
#161      
EyeoftheIllini
nonsenseone said:
basically bulls gm panicked and blew it. it was unfortunate nobody in top 10 fell and steinbach was the last straw. he should have moved up for anyone even if he couldnt get wagler. instead he settled for a wing that cant shoot and share position with wilson, matas. this shows he lacks creativity.
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Panicked? LOL. The first “trade up” didn’t happen until pick 16. We have no idea if he tried to move up, but sure doesn’t seem like teams picking in spots 5 through 14 were itching to trade down.

Maybe just maybe once he couldn’t trade up he was more than happy taking a kid who is a downhill scorer that never shot worse than 81% from the line, improved his two-point percentage every year (55.2% to 56.7% to 60.2%) and improved his three-point percentage every year (15.4% to 25% to 34.4%). And this season was the first year he shot more than 30 threes. That sure looks like the shooting profile of a guy who can improve his three-point shooting to me.
 
#162      
ironhand
New topic: Who was at Keaton's during the draft? And how many were allowed at the tables? I know Coach and his mom and Dad, but there were others.
 
#165      
PepeSilvia
Fly Illini Fly! said:
From their POV, they wouldn’t have gotten Morez had they traded back. At least would’ve been super risky.

Let’s say you trade with OKC and they take Mara at 9 …. MIL at 10 takes Burries.

How do you know GSW won’t take Morez? Coming into today, Morez’s draft stock was thought to be higher than Yaxel (who’s pre draft interviews / workouts / intel was questionable for a lot of teams).

IMO, your argument would work better with GSW for taking Yaxel (who goes ahead of Mara, Steinbach, Ament). If they had traded down to 14 or 15, it’s very possible (likely) they still would’ve ended up with him.

…..

FWIW, Dusty had always thought of Morez as the anchor/leader of last year’s Michigan team. Yaxel when he got there had some lethargic personality moments, often cited as he didn’t know “how to work.” But Morez was the barometer of the locker room. His effort was never in question.
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Honestly Morez got slept on by the draft industry a lot and I don't think actual NBA evaluators though as low of him.

He has a pretty rare ability for a big to slide his feet and guard on the perimeter. He has an NBA ready body and he's only 20.

If he develops on offense he is basically Bam Adebayo 2.0 imo and I think his frame is actually a bit bigger/wider. If he doesn't develop on offense as much you still have an NBA ready role player who can defend multiple positions and is a fantastic rebounder.

The floor alone makes him worth it at 9 imo. Especially if you go look at past drafts and realize how many lottery picks and 1st round picks don't ever pan out.
 
#166      
EyeoftheIllini
the juiceman cometh said:
Eh, sometimes you gotta shoot your shot. All of these guys were going first round in plenty of mock drafts. They probably all will end up early 2nd round with 2nd round exception deals. Going back to college they maybe could have improved draft stock. But just as likely, maybe even more likely, that being another year older their draft stock falls further. If the end goal is NBA and you're not a lottery talent you probably just have to take a chance at some point. Most guys that play out their entire eligibilty don't get drafted at all. It's certain that in the short term, they will make less money than if they'd gone back to college. It is not at all certain that in the long term this decision will be less lucrative, and it's entirely possible this decision will be far more lucrative, despite falling to the 2nd round.

Evans already did come back once. If he had gone in the 2025 draft, he probaby is projected late 1st to early 2nd just based on potential. He came back thinking with more playing time he'd improve his stock...and he got more plaing time and it did not improve his stock. Veesaar is already 22, and while the odd Yaxel type guy exists, most of the time when you get to that age every additional year of college makes you a less attractive draft prospect. Meleek Thomas's decision makes the least sense, and did so at the time as well. You figure just being 19 and with a weaker draft class next year he had the most to gain by staying. But some guys just want to get to the league, as fast as possible.
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That is what I’ve been saying for awhile. Everyone jumps on the “he blew it; could have made more money in college” train, and it drives me nuts. Not every kid loves college. They get that close to the NBA and they want to take their shot as you said. So they bet on themselves and hasn’t worked out perfect. Doesn’t mean it won’t in the end.

I will say if I was an NBA prospect, I would take note of those agent/agencies names. No idea who else they rep, but not a great look that two are from the same agency. And I read somewhere (might have been in the comments of that tweet) that the other guy had a player not get picked in first round last year who had eligibility left. Might just be a case of those players just saying, nope let’s go for it, but due diligence might be warranted.
 
#175      
kmunt09
ESPN’s best available lists Oscar Cluff at #28, while Tyler Bilodeau is #31. I see Bilodeau having more redeeming qualities than Cluff, personally.

Other B1G listings:
#9 Braden Smith
#19 Bruce Thorton
#23 Nick Martinelli
#25 Nate Bittle
#31 Kylan Boswell
#35 Nick Boyd

TKR buried at #47, Lamar Wilkerson at #50.
 
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