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NBA 2026 Draft Thread – Nice to Not Have to Think as Much About the Draft

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.

68 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?

SNY Knicks
@sny_knicks
The Knicks are operating at the moment as if they will NOT go into the second apron, @IanBegley says

Ian provides more details on The Putback with @IanBegley

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.

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 .

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.).

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.

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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?

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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?

Oops! It’s Dybantsa!

Not #1 pick high on him. Think he’ll be very good but not the best in this class.

It’s hardly the no-brainer that some here are making it out to be.

No one’s making it out to be a no brainer you illiterate troll.

We’re saying it’s not “suicidal”, and that the benefits of staying under it are overblown.

There are many good reasons to avoid it, and we’ve outlined several of them.

“Dammit, Z-man, I forgot they split the draft into two nights.”

No worries, I think they make 2 picks tomorrow but none tonight. (Not counting pick and trade scenarios.)

“No one’s making it out to be a no brainer you illiterate troll.”

I’ve been pretty careful not to call individuals names. But whatever, you are one of the stupidest posters in the history of this blog. Pretty much everything you have bitched and moaned about has blown up in your face. I’m sure everyone who know who you really are thinks you are a know-it-all blowhard who actually doesn’t know shit. But you keep right on being dead fucking wrong about everything! It’s actually pretty entertaining thinking back on your long litany of idiotic diatribes!

Now, back to our regularly scheduled programming…

Reporters spoiling picks 2 minutes in advance is truly a microcosm everything wrong with sports media. I don’t know why the TV broadcast indulges it.

I’d have rather had Peterson than Dybantsa. Seems like higher floor, higher ceiling to me.

Pretty much none of it has, dude. But you go on thinking that if it helps you sleep better at night.

I’m watching the draft, getting upset and thinking…”Damn, the Knicks never get to draft top talent…”. Still in disbelief, I guess.

Hey, guess who said this just a couple of days ago?

“This is the most slam dunk decision of all time.”

Let’s all enjoy the fact that the Pacers fell out of the lottery one more time.

This has gotta sting watching this if you’re a fan of those turds.

“This has gotta sting watching this if you’re a fan of those turds.”

Like our good friend Donnie Walsh?

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“This is the most slam dunk decision of all time.”

What’s this refer to?

“What’s this refer to?”

I dunno but someone here clearly thinks it doesn’t mean anything close to “It’s a no-brainer.”

I can’t fathom taking Wagler over Acuff.

From my admittedly cursory glance at the top prospects in this draft beyond the top 3, Wagler seemed like the guy who I’d be least interested in.

It’s kind of strange that I had such little interest in doing deep dives for this draft when we actually have 3 picks. I guess it’s because there was so little time between when we stopped playing and the draft compared to the last 26 years!

wagler can’t jump, has funky low release, is built like a pipe cleaner and was recruited by exactly one high end program. but i really like him.

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Spin it all you want, chump. Everyone knows where you stand. Take the L (and all the other L’s you have hanging over your petty little head for the last 6 years) and move on.

So the new Michigan coach in Dallas takes a Michigan player.. nothing weird

I saw Moretz mocked in the 12-14 area so I guess, but seems like that is not all that far out of his range. Does Mara go here?

Hmmm…Yaxel over Mara? Interesting. He’s really old but does seem to be as NBA ready as anyone.

It referred to strat’s declaration that we should pivot to a youth movement now bc our team is in decline:

For the record I said nothing even close to “we are in decline”.

I’ve repeatedly said imo we only have a 2-3 year window because we have several key players that are 30 or getting close.

So I think we should simultaneously be trying to keep the core together for another serious run AND drafting players tonight and tomorrow so as those guys age out over the next 2-3 years our young players can grow into starting roles.

The key is whether Dolan wants to go into the 2nd apron.

I think he clearly should, but if not then Mitch is the player I’d let go and I’ve elaborated on why multiple times.

If we go into the 2nd apron and have a disappointing season next year, we can always move out after next year to avoid the more serious issues and then retool. But no matter what, I want more youth for the long term and NEXT version. IMO the time to start that is now with an eye towards 3-4 years out. That’s separate from making multiple more serious runs.

I thought Brown Jr. was a reach for the Nets. He’s not a bad prospect at all, but I didn’t see any particular skill that stood out so much a team in their position should draft him at #6. Felt like they were accounting for their…uninspiring crop of existing guards.

Supposedly Acuff’s crew scared some teams. Whether Scott Perry is the source of the rumor is TBD.

I wonder if drafting Mara says anything about Hartenstein’s long term future there.

Nice win by the Yankees, now to pay attention to the draft to see who the Knicks trade their 1st rd pick too…

“I wonder if drafting Mara says anything about Hartenstein’s long term future there.”

Maybe Chet too?

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