Mock draft 2026

[hrdboild]

There are some players in the 2nd round who probably fit into that high-risk with high-potential category. Unless they decide to withdraw their names from the draft, which may still happen. Of the projected lottery players, it's Nate Ament. Jayden Quaintance too if he stays in the draft. I don't know anything about Karim Lopez, but he's been mocked in that late lottery range. I do also like Christian Anderson's potential as a lead guard if we pick up an additional pick in the bottom third of the first round.

 

[Tetsujin]

So whose roster would you rather have?

They’ve been in their rebuild for 4 years now while the Kings decided to pull the plug like three months ago. The answer is neither

 

[Joshyjosh31]

You will probably get another chance to draft a kid like Brown again. Remember Hali fell to 12. You likely will not get another chance to draft a kid like Ament.

What does ament do that’s good? Can’t shoot, at 6’10 he can’t finish, can barley drive because he’s 100lbs what does he do

Brown got better as the season went on and was playing himself into a top five pick meanwhile ament was playing himself out the lottery

 

[Tetsujin]

What does ament do that’s good? Can’t shoot, at 6’10 he can’t finish, can barley drive because he’s 100lbs what does he do

Brown got better as the season went on and was playing himself into a top five pick meanwhile ament was playing himself out the lottery

He’s got a nice standing reach.

 

[Joshyjosh31]

He’s got a nice standing reach.

It’s funny because that’s literally theonly thing his supporters would say

 

[sactowndog]

What does ament do that’s good? Can’t shoot, at 6’10 he can’t finish, can barley drive because he’s 100lbs what does he do

Brown got better as the season went on and was playing himself into a top five pick meanwhile ament was playing himself out the lottery

Aments advanced stats are better than Browns across the board. His projected 3 point shot is .357 which is pretty good for a guy who is 6’ 10”

Player Comparison | Tankathon

Compare the statistics of 2026 NBA Draft prospects to each other and prospects from previous drafts. Stats are normalized to per-36-minutes numbers.

www.tankathon.com

 

[The_Jamal]

Aments advanced stats are better than Browns across the board. His projected 3 point shot is .357 which is pretty good for a guy who is 6’ 10”

Player Comparison | Tankathon

Compare the statistics of 2026 NBA Draft prospects to each other and prospects from previous drafts. Stats are normalized to per-36-minutes numbers.

www.tankathon.com

Have you seen Ament play and think he's actually worth a swing? Or is it because he's a 6'10 wing?

 

[Tetsujin]

Every time I’ve watched Nate Ament, he’s reminded me of Cody Williams and Taylor Hendricks, two tall long guys that theoretically could be big wins but in actually turned out to be tall guys who are bad at basketball while also not strong enough to play minutes as bigs. Both guys coincidentally were drafted by Danny Ainge.

 

[Telemachus]

Have you seen Ament play and think he's actually worth a swing? Or is it because he's a 6'10 wing?

I watched 4 or 5 games of Tennessee this year, and he should go back to school. He had entire games where he was invisible this season. He has good length and athleticism, but was very inconsistent. Whoever drafts him is likely waiting until his 3 season before you get any returns.

 

[iowamcnabb]

I’m higher on Ament than a lot you guys. He was a top five pick coming into the year, started slows and then had pretty major run towards the end of the season. If I was him, I’d go back and be a contender for top five next season.

 

[Joshyjosh31]

Aments advanced stats are better than Browns across the board. His projected 3 point shot is .357 which is pretty good for a guy who is 6’ 10”

Player Comparison | Tankathon

Compare the statistics of 2026 NBA Draft prospects to each other and prospects from previous drafts. Stats are normalized to per-36-minutes numbers.

www.tankathon.com

What do you mean projected 3 point shot this pure nonsense

If ament goes back to school like he should I’d be interested if we get another lottery pick I’d be interested otherwise there’s 7-8 guys that no team should draft him over and that includes brown

 

[sactowndog]

What do you mean projected 3 point shot this pure nonsense

If ament goes back to school like he should I’d be interested if we get another lottery pick I’d be interested otherwise there’s 7-8 guys that no team should draft him over and that includes brown

Projected 3 point shot uses stats to project how well a player will shoot the 3 in the pro’s. Turns out that free throw percentage has one of the highest correlations to future 3 point success.

 

[sactowndog]

What do you mean projected 3 point shot this pure nonsense

If ament goes back to school like he should I’d be interested if we get another lottery pick I’d be interested otherwise there’s 7-8 guys that no team should draft him over and that includes brown

If Ament goes back and has a good year it will likely take a top 3 pick to get him. Guess what, we don’t tank so it will be another year of futility going 8 years now (minus Keegs) of failing to get a big wing.

Luckily for me I am looking at theater season tickets so I can put the treadmill of futility behind me.

 

[The_Jamal]

I’m higher on Ament than a lot you guys. He was a top five pick coming into the year, started slows and then had pretty major run towards the end of the season. If I was him, I’d go back and be a contender for top five next season.

I don't mind this take. I think he's an interesting swing, but I basically like all the guards in this range more: Wagler/Flemmings/Acuff/labaron/mikel. All 5 to me can be engines of a great offense, which we desperately need going forward.

 

[dude12]

Not feeling Ament…..would rather have the older prospect in Yaxel with the late lottery pick instead.

 

[sactowndog]

Every time I’ve watched Nate Ament, he’s reminded me of Cody Williams and Taylor Hendricks, two tall long guys that theoretically could be big wins but in actually turned out to be tall guys who are bad at basketball while also not strong enough to play minutes as bigs. Both guys coincidentally were drafted by Danny Ainge.

Ainge takes big swings in the lottery. Too early to tell on Williams but yeah Hendricks is a bust. Yes you missed out on Hendricks but he hit big on Brown who everyone thought was a bust.

 

[Tizzy Flip]

Not feeling Ament…..would rather have the older prospect in Yaxel with the late lottery pick instead.

Ament reminds me if you took the skills of Kuzma with the motivation of WCS. Dude is so underwhelming

 

[The_Jamal]

Ainge takes big swings in the lottery. Too early to tell on Williams but yeah Hendricks is a bust. Yes you missed out on Hendricks but he hit big on Brown who everyone thought was a bust.

IIRC, Brown was a consensus top 5 pick in that draft. Not like he pulled up the 17th ranked prospect to 3 and hit.

 

[Tetsujin]

IIRC, Brown was a consensus top 5 pick in that draft. Not like he pulled up the 17th ranked prospect to 3 and hit.

And there were people who wanted to take Tatum first overall (some of them on this forum) so it’s not like Ainge really thought out of the box taking the 6’8” forward from Duke. (I will give him credit for taking advantage of a thirsty Sixers team and convincing them to trade up for Fultz though)

 

[Tetsujin]

https://twitter.com/x/status/2046966683533975672

Scott Perry and Doug Christie being huge fans of Caleb Wilson really the least surprising news I’ve seen. Kid checks off every single one of Perry’s Pillars.

 

[QWERTYLICIOUS]

https://twitter.com/x/status/2046966683533975672

Scott Perry and Doug Christie being huge fans of Caleb Wilson really the least surprising news I’ve seen. Kid checks off every single one of Perry’s Pillars.

Caleb Wilson, YOU...are a Sacramento King.

 

[The_Jamal]

https://twitter.com/x/status/2046966683533975672

Scott Perry and Doug Christie being huge fans of Caleb Wilson really the least surprising news I’ve seen. Kid checks off every single one of Perry’s Pillars.

I love Caleb, but if you take him over one of the big 3, you BETTER be right on him.

 

[Tizzy Flip]

I love Caleb, but if you take him over one of the big 3, you BETTER be right on him.

I’m always taking Caleb over Boozer

 

[The_Jamal]

I’m always taking Caleb over Boozer

Again, Caleb is a great prospect, but im just not going to discount Boozer putting up one of the best college seasons ever at 18 years old, with one of the most difficult SOS in the country.

I haven't fully nailed down where id take these guys yet, but im much closer to Boozer at 1 than I am Caleb flipping him or any of the other top 3

 

[SacTownKid]

I love Caleb, but if you take him over one of the big 3, you BETTER be right on him.

And also be able to develop Wilson properly. Boozer is an out of the box type. They'd have to really go full Kangz to screw him up. If the Kings luck into the top 4, they're good. Outside of that is where it starts getting a little shaky.

 

[Tetsujin]

https://twitter.com/x/status/2047054415144645019

This also reads like someone trying to cover their bases and trying to get a team to pass on one of the top three guys in case their pick lands at 4

 

[Capt. Factorial]

https://twitter.com/x/status/2047054415144645019

This also reads like someone trying to cover their bases and trying to get a team to pass on one of the top three guys in case their pick lands at 4

I'm assuming it's AJ settling in at #1 with Peterson slipping due to motivational/injury concerns and Boozer slipping due to positional/athleticism concerns?

 

[Tetsujin]

I'm assuming it's AJ settling in at #1 with Peterson slipping due to motivational/injury concerns and Boozer slipping due to positional/athleticism concerns?

That’s probably it but it feels like we’re getting another Luka situation with Boozer where guys are just overthinking the hell out of taking a 19 year old baller for “ceiling” concerns.

 

[The_Jamal]

That’s probably it but it feels like we’re getting another Luka situation with Boozer where guys are just overthinking the hell out of taking a 19 year old baller for “ceiling” concerns.

It's literally exactly this. "The 18 year old Euroleague MVP is too fat, couldn't possibly do that in the NBA!"

"The 18 year old putting up one of the best college seasons ever possibly can't do that in the NBA, it won't translate!"

 

[hrdboild]

That’s probably it but it feels like we’re getting another Luka situation with Boozer where guys are just overthinking the hell out of taking a 19 year old baller for “ceiling” concerns.

I doubt it's as much about Boozer moving down as it is about Caleb moving up. Caleb has a skillset that is in high demand and the eye-popping athleticism that NBA front offices always value highly. There are quite a few of us who view him as very close to Dybantsa as an all-around talent. And I agree that if anything, it is Peterson who has moved down because of the uncertainty around his attitude and ongoing injury issues. This is still very early though. Everything changes once teams can do their one-on-one interviews and private workouts.

I think Dybantsa is pretty solidly #1 but any of the top four guys could go in any order depending on who is picking and what type of player they prefer.

(Washington, for instance, probably picks Boozer over Wilson since they already have Alex Sarr as their defensive anchor. But they need guard help too and scoring so they might go for Peterson or Dybantsa. I would assume they have Wilson ranked 4th. Don't know about the other teams. Utah also has defensive role-player bigs and might lean more toward Boozer if they take a big).