2026 NBA Draft

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POR will probably be a playin team and may not even get its pick if they somehow make it out of the play in. Seems like they are all in on winning.
 
These last 4 games make me think this thread should be on the front page again. Anyone have anything good to say bout a player who might be in our range?
 
UKRAINEFAN said:
These last 4 games make me think this thread should be on the front page again. Anyone have anything good to say bout a player who might be in our range?
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I think we'll be in the play-in. Yaxel Lendeborg would make a lot of sense for us if he's still there.
 
No one is debating the talent at the top of this draft, as college basketball is having a freshman renaissance this season. This draft is both elite at the top and deep, with freshman stars such as Houston's Kingston Flemings, Louisville's Mikel Brown Jr., Tennessee's Nate Ament, Arkansas' Darius Acuff Jr., Arizona's Koa Peat, UConn's Braylon Mullins, Houston's Chris Cenac Jr. and Illinois' Keaton Wagler giving the sport an adrenaline shot of young talent.

"It is extra deep with high-end talent," said a veteran scout. "This draft will hold up historically as one of the better ones in the last 20 years." https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/47786399/kansas-peterson-byu-dybantsa-top-draft-prospects
 
Morez Johnson Jr. is my favorite non-freshman in the draft right now. Reminds me a lot of Al Horford with a similar combination of skills and physical tools to be a positive impact player on both ends that you can play at both big spots.

 
This thread has been buried. Don't watch much college hoop. Anybody with new thoughts based on things over the past couple weeks?
 
Boozer and C.Willson are neck and neck for me

Boozer: Kevin Love/Paolo Banchero
Wilson: Sheed (absolute ceiling/motor and drive are an issue)

Peterson is the best prospect but his injury history is pretty wild - takes games off like Kawhi.
 
Fez Hammersticks said:
Boozer and C.Willson are neck and neck for me

Boozer: Kevin Love/Paolo Banchero
Wilson: Sheed (absolute ceiling/motor and drive are an issue)

Peterson is the best prospect but his injury history is pretty wild - takes games off like Kawhi.
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What are you talking about?
Motor & drive are some of Wilson's strengths.
 
Duke and Michigan playing at 3:30 p.m. Pacific time. Can watch Boozer and Lendeborg go head to head.
 
Crazy day in college hoops 1 vs 3 and 2 vs 4. Lots of scouts at those two games.
 
Lendeborg looking good early with his ability to finish through contact and get to the line.
 
blazerkor said:
If we're drafting late in the lotto Yaxel would be a great pick for us.
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If we're not in the top four, there still are players 10-14 that could be great picks.

Lendeborg would be a solid addition. He'll be 24. He'll be plug-and-play. I don't know that he has much upside, but I think he's going to come in good enough to help a playoff-caliber team off the bench.

I think Cenac from Houston is going to be a steal for someone. A lot of the mocks I've seen the last couple of months seem to have him dropping from around 8 to the mid-teens. He's going to be a great defender, IMO. I think he's slipped not so much because of what he hasn't done but because Flemmings has been so good and has gotten a lot of the limelight, and Cenac's been experimenting expanding his game.

The guy I really like who's been dropping is Toudre Yessoufou from Baylor. Every time I've watched him, I just love what he does. I love the athleticism, but I also love the little things he does. Lu Dort that you can run offense for? A more powerful Victor Oladipo? I think his downside is a much-better Sidy ... he does everything Sidy does better and more. I could imagine him turning into an Andre Igoudala-type of player.

Lopez, the Mexican forward playing in New Zealand, is another that could slip into that part of the draft and turn out to be really, really good.

BTW, this was a great day for hoops, as we might have gotten a preview of the final four already, but Iowa State and BYU are tipping off in 15 minutes. Everyone knows about Dybantsa, and I think Richie Saunders will get picked by someone in the second round from BYU and become a good NBA player -- a bigger Gillespie with an amazing motor who also rebounds, but Iowa State has several guys who are going to get drafted. Joshua Jefferson is another forward who I think gets picked in the teens and will eventually be a good NBA player. He's extremely versatile.

The Big 12 has been fun to watch this year, with Houston, Arizona, Iowa State, Kansas, BYU, Texas Tech ... so many NBA draft prospects in that league this year and I could see it putting three teams in the final four. Baylor has some top-tier talent and is like 4-10 in-conference; that's how good that league has been this season.
 
BigGameDamian said:
Might need to do a little tanking first?
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Probably not. I haven't seen a mock that has him higher than 14. With Arenas playing now and looking good, I expect that's going to be one fewer spot in the top 10 where he can get picked.

I think the top four is pretty set with Peterson, Dybantsa, Boozer and Wilson. Flemings will go in the top 10. Arenas will go in the top 10 -- he was considered right there with that top four before the accident. Brown, Acuff, Wagler are consistently mocked in the top 10. Ament has gotten his groove back and is mocked consistently in the top 10. That's 10 right there without even mentioning Steinbach, Philon, Mullins or Koa Peat.
 
I think the other thing about this is even if the Blazers don't win in the lottery, 11-14 this year has better prospects than the No. 14 pick the Blazers traded with Brogdon for Deni, therefore that pick near the end of the lottery has more value and I'd be keeping my eye for players around the league that fit the Deni mold when we got him from the Wizards that Cronin-Schmitz might be able to buy low and get another steal. I think they did that with Vit, too.

Although some of the recent stuff the front office has done doesn't make sense to me, just looking at most of its moves, I think, if they don't get into the top four, they'd probably look to move their 2026 pick for a young vet who's either been blocked like Deni and Vit or has someone behind him like what happened with Nurk in Denver where the Blazers can buy low because that player's current team is being forced to move them for some reason. And there's also the potential that the Blazers could use that pick to help facilitate two other teams making a big move and the Blazers can leverage it to get a very good player that has to be dealt for salary reasons or just because they don't have a spot on their team's roster anymore (e.g. Bridges in some kind of Knicks' trade for Giannis).

Lot of ways the Blazers could play this and win big. I think even if they get stuck at 14 there'll be a player they could pick that could be in the rotation or someone might be willing to overpay in future draft capital to get that pick.
 
Bollocks! We need to win and make the playoffs and lose our pick this year. Thats way more important. We don't need more talent. Championship here we come!!!!
 
It's the wrong year to shoot for the first round sweep. Huge mistake by the organization, but they seem bound and determined to make the play-in, even if it means playing their injured best player into back surgery.
 
This is my assessment and subject to change but based on what we've seen so far, pre-March Madness:

If Portland gets a Top 3 pick. Dybantsa>Boozer.

If Portland gets Top 5-7. Draft Acuff. Trade to move up, if you have to. Offensively, he's like Chris Paul meets Lillard.

If Portland stays in the later lottery. Draft Lendenborg.

If Portland can acquire a late first/early 2nd round pick. Draft Neoklas Avdalas. Maybe look at that Okorie guy, too, as a potential Simons clone.
 
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