kingsboi
Hall of Famer
it's not called basketball hell for no reason, let's not forget now
Mock draft 2026
- Thread starter iowamcnabb
- Start date
it's not called basketball hell for no reason, let's not forget now
SacTownKid
Hall of Famer
Yeah, but if a team can get someone that starts and finishes their teams offense that's always the get. There's definitely some can't stop him stuff Wagler is doing. The fact that he's doing it at that speed is interesting too. Looks like Kyle Anderson but with SGA's game, haha.
Tetsujin
The Game Thread Dude
I absolutely get that but it’s hard to see him going any higher than sixth when the guys ahead of him are a Kobe-level generational guard prospect, Tracy McGrady, Cam Boozer, KG and C-Webb’s secret love child, and Tyrese Maxey but somehow a better shooter.
QWERTYLICIOUS
Starter
You don't have Caleb Wilson in your top 5? Get the *** outta here!
Dude is averaging 20/10 with 3 assists and 3 stocks and somehow he's just not good enough.
I wonder which top 5 guy you're lowest on, haha
Tetsujin
The Game Thread Dude
It’s not that I’m low on Cam, it’s just that i legitimately don’t know how good a guy with his athletic limitations at his position can be in the league (I also said this about Luka and wound up being dead wrong but I also said this about Paolo and was sorta right). You can deny the numbers and the fact that he’s won/been dominant on every level but he also plays and moves like Pistons Blake Griffin. There’s a good chance that he ends up the best guy in his class but if I’m picking one or two I just can’t see myself going with him over quite possibly the most complete offensive guard prospect in decades and the 6’9” two guard with ridiculous body control.
Joshyjosh31
Starter
Peterson
AJ
Boozer
Wilson/Wagler/Flemming
I’d prefer wagler and flemming for what they brings offensively but those three guys are in the same tier either way you can’t go wrong in the top six
QWERTYLICIOUS
Starter
Yeah, no chance that the Kings don't go with either Peterson or Dybantsa with a top 2 pick. Not unless someone like Cam Boozer blows them out of the water so much that the Kings are sold on that guy. In which case, I'd much rather trade down to 3 or 4 and acquire additional assets.
sactowndog
Hall of Famer
People said Tatum was not athletic enough either but like Boozer his skill level was super high.
All fair. And he's 3 on my list right now, so I'm in lock-step there with you about not having him over Peterson or AJ
But just with his eval, I'm going to trust my eyes and the statistical profile that he's going to be dominant. He's so skilled, he's so good at using his body for positioning, he's so smart with the reads he makes. And he's just not statistically dominant, he's putting up one of the best college basketball seasons in recent memory at 18 years old with one of the hardest, if not the hardest SOS schedule in the country.
Tetsujin
The Game Thread Dude
They’re a little different though because while the conversation was always about Tatum being a 3/4 who might not quite be fast enough to be a full time wing, he came into the league right when the forward position sorta solidified into one role and made the distinction meaningless, and Boozer is sort of stuck one grade up as a 4/5, which is still very much a concern in the modern NBA. Still think Cam ends up a 20/10/5 guy in the NBA regardless, which would be more than fine from a number one pick in pretty much any draft class but this one haha
This remains my big "what if" with Wilson and moving him past 4 and thinking about him vs Fleming. If the offensive scoring doesn't translate and he's a supercharged Jaden McDaniels as a 15-17 PPG guy... there's basically a near certainty that at least one of Peterson/Booz/AJ are an elite #1 option and there's a damn good chance from Flemings, Wagler, Mikel grouping you get at least one elite offensive player.
sactowndog
Hall of Famer
Fair. The tweener is the 4 - 5 gap.
SacTownKid
Hall of Famer
I think it's a top 3 and then who knows. We'll see how the season finishes off. Flemmings looks good but is he franchise talent? Not so sure about that one. I get the Rose comps but Rose was a beast physically and had a 1 step explosion off the rip that very few players have had. Flemmings while a smooth athlete doesn't have that level of sonic boom.
The other thing that seems to have gotten lost regarding Wilson in these prospect conversations is that in addition to incredible feats of athleticism and reaction time like this, he's also the guy who said in an interview before the UNC vs. Kansas game that he finds someone who has disrespected him before every game and makes that person the wallpaper on his phone. Guys with this personality trait (the ability to manufacture a chip on their shoulder as motivation) in addition to his athletic gifts tend to do very well in the league. In terms of what an MVP level player looks like to me, more than just skills it's size and freakish athleticism and crazy work ethic and the hunger to be better than everyone else.
In other words, Wilson may have further to go to get to MVP level production compared to Peterson, Dybantsa, Boozer, and maybe even Fleming but he comes the closest to me in measuring up to my expectations on the MVP level archetype. It's not enough to be skilled, you also need to be one of the best athletes in the world -- to push the game in directions that 99.9% of NBA players are incapable of. And your team also needs to win a lot before anyone is actually putting you in the MVP conversation which means a player's impact on defense is extremely relevant to their chances of one day being a top 5 player in the league. That or playing for the Lakers and taking advantage of their insane FTA advantage... and we're not the Lakers.
As for the others...
I like Peterson's skillset. The athleticism is maybe coming back after the issues he's had with his hamstring and ankle but he's gotten to sit out half the season and then come in and score 20 points in 15 minutes and go back to the bench. The stats are impressive, the skills are impressive, and he often looks the part of an elite guard but what does that say about him as a team player?
It's hard for me to get a read on Dybantsa because he's almost a different player night to night. Some games he's a superstar and others he's just coasting out there. Generally if you're going to hand over your franchise to a player you want them to be switched on at all times.
@Tetsujin did a good job earlier of summing up the Cam Boozer conundrum. The production and skillset are damned impressive but will it translate to the NBA as elite production against bigger lineups, stronger opponents, elite athletes? We've seen other players dominate college basketball only to look ordinary in the NBA. Generally those players aren't freshmen but Boozer does have the advantage of his dad being an NBA player. He's already had access to all of the professional resources that most of these prospects are just starting to take advantage of. Is he a player that is ahead of his peers because he's peaked earlier or does he still have a lot of room left to improve?
