'25-26 NBA Thread

[JWags85]

Castle is gonna be an all-star - otherwise not much star power. Jaren McClain is solid and Kolek may end up being a top 5 guy from this draft.

Yea, Castle is the star so far, he's gonna be really dangerous if he figures out an outside shot.  And to be fair, Sarr is a very bright spot on an otherwise terrible Wizards team.  And Sheppard is really young and still developing but I don't know how much he'll be other than a lights out shooter.

But otherwise in the top 10, Risacher is just a guy, Clingan is a nice 10/10 guy but I don't know how much more ceiling he has, Edey puts up decent numbers but is unplayable in certain lineups and you'll never win a title with him as one of your top 3 guys.  Then Holland, Dillingham, and Williams all stink to varying degrees.  Saluen doesn't do much on a Hornets team begging for contributions.

Agree about McCain, but even out of the lottery, it doesn't get much brighter.

[MuggsyB]

I didn't realize how good Avdija is.  That dude is balling. 

[JWags85]

I didn't realize how good Avdija is.  That dude is balling. 

The trade to get him out of purgatory in Washington was big for him.  He had a good year last year, but man, he's exploded so far this year.  And the scary part is that he's got some upside still with his shooting, he's lost a bit of his efficiency with the larger volume as his role expanded this year.  And he's only 24, he's gonna be a problem for awhile.  Hope the Blazers figure it out or add some pieces so we can see him in meaningful games.

[MU82]

Jokic hurt his knee last night. Update expected from the Nuggets later today.

[wadesworld]

Jokic hurt his knee last night. Update expected from the Nuggets later today.

Hyperextended knee, out at least 4 weeks.  Giannis had the same injury in game 5 of the 2021 Eastern Conference Finals and played game 1 of the 2021 NBA Finals.  Definitely thought he tore his ACL when it happened.

[MU82]

Hyperextended knee, out at least 4 weeks.  Giannis had the same injury in game 5 of the 2021 Eastern Conference Finals and played game 1 of the 2021 NBA Finals.  Definitely thought he tore his ACL when it happened.

Sucks for Jokic and the Nuggets. The world's best basketball player was having (another) historically great season. I hope he comes back as strong as ever.

[MU82]

Already without 3 starters (Gordon, Braun, Johnson), the Nuggets recently lost the best player in the world for at least 4 weeks. And now Jokic's backup, Jonas Valanciunas, is out for at least 4 weeks.

They have the 3rd-best record in the conference, 23-10.

[wadesworld]

Bucks are sitting at 16-20 and their next 12 games are at Warriors, at Lakers, at Nuggets, vs. Wolves, at Spurs, at Hawks, vs. OKC, vs. Denver, vs. Dallas, at Sixers, at Washington, at Boston, taking them into February 2.  Can't wait for the Lavine trade while sitting at 18-30.

[cheebs09]

Bucks are sitting at 16-20 and their next 12 games are at Warriors, at Lakers, at Nuggets, vs. Wolves, at Spurs, at Hawks, vs. OKC, vs. Denver, vs. Dallas, at Sixers, at Washington, at Boston, taking them into February 2.  Can't wait for the Lavine trade while sitting at 18-30.

Or Trae Young.

[JWags85]

Or Trae Young.

Horst has not instilled a ton of faith in Bucks faithful lately, but good lord I would think even he's not that stupid.

[MUBurrow]

Or Trae Young.

If not Dame, why Dame shaped?

[wadesworld]

Horst has not instilled a ton of faith in Bucks faithful lately, but good lord I would think even he's not that stupid.

Oh, it's a big name.  Horst will definitely try to make that happen.

[tower912]

Hey, now.  Going to the trade portal fixes everything.

[MU82]

Great pic, showing Anthony Edwards complaining about a foul call and, in the background, Julius Randle's son in the exact same pose.



(As seen on The Athletic)

[JWags85]

Speaking of another Edwards, I can't think of another NBA top 3 pick since him that has made me go HOLY F*** in college to the same extent as Dybantsa has this year. Wemby doesn't count cause he was in France and not the same exposure/volume.

Flagg was great at Duke and started strong and will be great in the NBA, but wasn't the same shooter that Dybantsa is already.  Cade Cunningham was incredibly smooth and a multi level scorer but while he's plenty athletic, he's not a springy freak like Dybantsa. Banchero was great but he never stunned me in college to the point where I was like "I can't wait for him in the NBA". 

Edwards at UGA was so raw and on a bad team, but seemingly every night he did something that made you go "what in the f***" in astonishment. And he wasn't a great shooter consistently but he had games burying 4/5/6 with good form that you could tell it would be a piece of his game eventually..:in a way that I didn't see with Flagg.

But Dybantsa, my god. Windmill dunks in the half court with a crowded lane while also shooting 40% from 3 and adding 7 and 7 against a non-cupcake? The game after going for 24/8/3 in your first conference game on the road, and 2 games after putting up a flippin 33 point triple double? The across stat sheet production is staggering enough...without the absurd athleticism to cap it off.

And the fact that Kevin Young is a long term NBA assistant that has them playing that uptempo, NBA-style offense not only allows Dybantsa to fill up the stat sheet, it features him in a way very similarly to how he'll be featured/able to play next year.

[wadesworld]

Speaking of another Edwards, I can't think of another NBA top 3 pick since him that has made me go HOLY F*** in college to the same extent as Dybantsa has this year. Wemby doesn't count cause he was in France and not the same exposure/volume.

Flagg was great at Duke and started strong and will be great in the NBA, but wasn't the same shooter that Dybantsa is already.  Cade Cunningham was incredibly smooth and a multi level scorer but while he's plenty athletic, he's not a springy freak like Dybantsa. Banchero was great but he never stunned me in college to the point where I was like "I can't wait for him in the NBA". 

Edwards at UGA was so raw and on a bad team, but seemingly every night he did something that made you go "what in the f***" in astonishment. And he wasn't a great shooter consistently but he had games burying 4/5/6 with good form that you could tell it would be a piece of his game eventually..:in a way that I didn't see with Flagg.

But Dybantsa, my god. Windmill dunks in the half court with a crowded lane while also shooting 40% from 3 and adding 7 and 7 against a non-cupcake? The game after going for 24/8/3 in your first conference game on the road, and 2 games after putting up a flippin 33 point triple double? The across stat sheet production is staggering enough...without the absurd athleticism to cap it off.

And the fact that Kevin Young is a long term NBA assistant that has them playing that uptempo, NBA-style offense not only allows Dybantsa to fill up the stat sheet, it features him in a way very similarly to how he'll be featured/able to play next year.

I've always thought Dybantsa was the best NBA prospect of all of them since Flagg, Dybantsa, Peterson, and Boozer were all thought of as an elite group of prospects, but I'm not sure Dybantsa is the better shooter between Flagg and him.  Flagg shot 38.5% from 3 on more attempts per game last year, while Dybantsa is at 35% from 3 this year.  It's the one knock on Dybantsa, but in my opinion that number will go up as he approaches his prime in the NBA.  The form is good and smooth.

If I had to rank that group on who I'd start my NBA franchise with, I'd go Dybantsa 1, Peterson 2, Flagg 3, Boozer 4.  But I'd be thrilled with any of them.  And honestly, I might go Caleb Wilson above Flagg and Boozer as crazy as that is.  If he develops a perimeter jumper, which I think he will because everything I hear is the guy loves the game and works extremely hard, he's going to be awesome.

The fact that guys like Flemings, Peat, Brown, Acuff, and Ament are just afterthoughts as freshman shows how crazy the top of this freshman class is.

[JWags85]

I've always thought Dybantsa was the best NBA prospect of all of them since Flagg, Dybantsa, Peterson, and Boozer were all thought of as an elite group of prospects, but I'm not sure Dybantsa is the better shooter between Flagg and him.  Flagg shot 38.5% from 3 on more attempts per game last year, while Dybantsa is at 35% from 3 this year.  It's the one knock on Dybantsa, but in my opinion that number will go up as he approaches his prime in the NBA.  The form is good and smooth.

If I had to rank that group on who I'd start my NBA franchise with, I'd go Dybantsa 1, Peterson 2, Flagg 3, Boozer 4.  But I'd be thrilled with any of them.  And honestly, I might go Caleb Wilson above Flagg and Boozer as crazy as that is.  If he develops a perimeter jumper, which I think he will because everything I hear is the guy loves the game and works extremely hard, he's going to be awesome.

Flagg has a solid mid game and a good shot, but I agree on Dybantsa.  He just has a much nicer/smooth looking shot than Flagg, IMO.

No disagreements otherwise.  Boozer will a good high floor pro, but he for some reason reminds me of Al Horford.  Not unathletic, but kind of heavy feet/not particularly quick.  Will play for a long time but not a transformational kind of player you want in a top 5 pick like AJ or Peterson are.

[JWags85]

In other news, started with Kolek getting run, but Ive been watching a lot of Knicks games cause they are fun and I couldn't be more impressed with Mike Brown.  I knew he did a good job in Sacramento and got kind of screwed, but I didn't watch a ton of their games for obvious reasons as a non-Kings fan.  But watching Knicks Mike Brown versus Cavs/Lakers Mike Brown, he has so clearly picked up/learned/adapted his coaching style and approach after spending 6 years with Kerr and the Warriors.  Read a bunch of good tweets/mini blogs from Knicks writers about Brown's "man-management", to steal a soccer term, and how its worked so well with his consistently changing rotations, lineups, and balancing injuries.

Saw this in a blog and it reminded me that I had saved it to watch later.  But a prime example of what he's been doing all year with TK and others.
https://x.com/TommyBeer/status/2006554426820145299?s=20

[MU82]

As I said a year ago, if any of this crop of freshmen is actually better than Cooper Flagg, I'd be pretty effen impressed. And yes, I'm pretty effen impressed! Especially with Dybansta. What an incredible, unique, all-around game. Seems like a real team-first player, too. Not that the others aren't, but he especially so. Very impressive.

Maybe he'll stay at BYU another year to work toward his degree. 

[WhiteTrash]

As I said a year ago, if any of this crop of freshmen is actually better than Cooper Flagg, I'd be pretty effen impressed. And yes, I'm pretty effen impressed! Especially with Dybansta. What an incredible, unique, all-around game. Seems like a real team-first player, too. Not that the others aren't, but he especially so. Very impressive.

Maybe he'll stay at BYU another year to work toward his degree. 

Of course, after a 2 year mission.

[GB Warrior]

Wow, Providence had no idea you could delay a game for player safety

[wadesworld]

Wow, Providence had no idea you could delay a game for player safety

Amateur hour. They don't even call traveling in the NBA, so you don't even need to go to side out of bounds for the team with the ball if anyone travels.

[WhiteTrash]

Congrats to the Bulls for avoiding a loss tonight.

[Shaka Shart]

If I wanted to watch young men sweating all over slippery hardwood, my scoop name would be JB