It’s nice to be NBA champions, and not have to think too much about the draft.
But hey, the draft still matters, of course, so we shall see what Leon Rose and Brock Aller come up with! It could tell us what their plan is with Mitchell Robinson if they draft a “Ready to play” center.
22 replies on “NBA 2026 Draft Thread – Nice to Not Have to Think as Much About the Draft”
Your Question of the Night:
How many picks will the Knicks actually make tonight?
I listened the Putback to hear the whole thing and Begley made it pretty clear this is Dolan’s mandate. He even suggested it’s still possible the front office could try to talk him out of it. This is no case of Dolan speaking for Leon. This is Dolan speaking to Leon. So no matter what happens, Leon gets a pass here, and anyone who appeals to authority is appealing to James Dolan’s, not the front office’s.
The mandate likely goes back multiple years.
https://x.com/NBA/status/2069551899490087021 Jose working the draft
Throwing out first pitch at Mets game Thursday
*I think he picks up his option
Reposting:
As a reminder, these are my personal rankings with absolutely zero conscious care for where guys will actually be drafted. I even try to avoid looking at too many mocks, lest I get influenced into herding.
1. Boozer
2. Dybantsa
3. Wilson
4. Flemings
5. Peterson
6. Burries
7. Acuff
8. Graves
9. Philon
10. Steinbach
11. Wagler
12. Swain
13. Okorie
14. Johnson Jr.
15. Brown Jr.
16. Lendeborg
17. Mara
18. Carr
19. Lopez
20. Thomas
21. Jefferson
22. Quaintance
23. Stirtz
24. De Larrea
25. Cenac
26. Saunders
27. Ejiofor
28. Evans
29. Peat
30. Reed
31. Anderson
32. Nelson
33. Oweh
34. Gillespie
35. Copeland
36. Kayil
37. Bittle
38. Bilodeau
39. Lipsey
40. Ament
41. Castro
42. M. Brown
43. Thornton
44. Karaban
45. Reneau
46. Donaldson
47. Onyenso
48. Conwell
49. Tyson
50. Smith
51. Veesaar
52. Sharp
53. Miller
54. Nkrumah
55. Brazile
56. Wilkerson
57. Martinelli
58. Okpara
59. Lawal
60. Mitchell
-As far as the Knicks specifically go, narrowing it down to guys who have a prayer of being there when we pick of course, I’d be happy with Philon, Graves, Lopez, Thomas, Jefferson, Quaintance, and De Larrea in the first round, and Zuby, Saunders, Reed, Peat, Nelson, Copeland, and Nkrumah in the second or with a UDFA/two-way slot. That’s not to say I’d be unhappy with other guys, these names just stand out in terms of a combination of quality, and positional need.
-As you can tell, I am lower on Peterson than the consensus. I also think he has the ability to make me look very stupid. It’s just impossible for me to justify taking him over guys who flatly beat the brakes off him production wise against similar competition, and that’s without accounting for all the…weirdness.
-I think Nate Ament is basically Kevin Knox.
-Adding this to my original post, IMO there is an enormous drop off in this draft right around the end of the first round, give or take a few spots. It was hard to feel strongly about anyone past 35 or so. Those rankings might as well be interchangeable. Here’s to hoping we find the next Mo D.
I’ll just say Baba Miller is my sleeper in this draft. I see Jonathan Isaac with more scoring upside. Like many other players he needs to iron out his shot, but a lot to work with.
Boozer should go 1, but won’t .
2
why do you hate keaton wagler you fool
0
Knicks will make zero picks and I’m good with that.
I am generally pro-Wagler, it’s more of a vote of confidence in the guys above him. Ultimately broke a few ties via his less-than-elite functional athleticism (he had zero dunks this year and I’m not positive his frame will ever fill out).
It’s a very strong top of the draft!
I think we will make one pick we add to the active roster and another we keep around in some capacity (two-way, G-League, etc.).
Senga is a gas can. Him and Peterson have fallen so far.
I’ll say zero picks because it seems like the easiest bet.
In his pod re: cap stuff, Jeremy Cohen makes a strong case for not going into the 2nd apron. It’s hardly the no-brainer that some here are making it out to be. So pardon me if I don’t buy into the silly blame game.
Folks know that tonight is only the first round, right? Alan asked specifically about the first round. marechal, do you really think the Knicks will make 2 first round picks?
I’m guessing Peterson here.
It’s amazing that nobody from the Mets organization has been fired after this debacle has prolonged so far into the season. They’re 13th out of 15 teams in the National League, and Mendoza and all of the coaches still all have their jobs.
I think Cohen knows it’s the roster and that’s why Mendoza still has a job.
Stearns on the other hand..
Can someone explain to me why the NBA has let the Kawhi drama with the Clippers last past this draft night?
The evidence is so damning, yet Adam Silver greets it only with silence. Merely “Wachtel Lipton will issue a blue ribbon report” blah blah
Shouldn’t they have voided Kawhi’s contract, fined Steve Ballmer (which doesn’t matter because he has more money than does the League), and then docked them some number of draft picks? And wouldn’t that all have to happen before tonight?
Dammit, Z-man, I forgot they split the draft into two nights.
Oops! It’s Dybantsa!
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