Early look at the 2026 draft

[CFAN38]

I want Hugo?s Spanish teammate Aday Mara

At #27 id be thrilled with Mara but I suspect he goes much higher and the closer to the lottery he gets the less I like the pick. The draft is very prone to runs on player types. Years ago when Shaq was dominating we had a run on 7' 280+lb centers, Dirk started a run on 3pt shooting euros, and now I think Wemby is ushering in a new found interesting in the 7'++ guys. Mara is a solid big man prospect but his core strength, FT shooting, lateral mobility leaves me projecting him at more of a Kornet ceiling. Great pick up after pick 20 but some mocks have him top 10!

[Celtics4ever]

I could live with Mara, but I have seen around the 15-20 range.   Maybe if we trade a piece we will demand a draft pick.

[rondohondo]

Google ai says the c's have interest in Alex Karaban from uconn

[slightly biased bias fan]

I am curious if Sacramento would be silly enough to trade a top three pick and LaVine, for Brown (plus future picks).

[slamtheking]

I am curious if Sacramento would be silly enough to trade a top three pick and LaVine, for Brown (plus future picks).

trade a cost-controlled potential all-star for someone on a huge contract even if it is JB?  not happening and I'm a big JB supporter. 

having said that, if the BPA available is Boozer, I wouldn't make that trade from Boston's standpoint.  I just think  he's going to underwhelm in the NBA

[Celtics4ever]

Google ai says the c's have interest in Alex Karaban from uconn

 I hope not, his play was all over the place in the NCAAs.   

[Celtics2021]

Google ai says the c's have interest in Alex Karaban from uconn

 I hope not, his play was all over the place in the NCAAs.

Google AI is not what I would call reliable.

[slamtheking]

what really stinks is that for the first time in years we're out of the playoffs before the lottery and an even longer stretch from the last time we weren't playing at the time of the lottery without a stake in how the results come out.

sucks having kill over a month of time before the next day of interest as a C's fan -- the draft

[Celtics2021]

I want Hugo?s Spanish teammate Aday Mara

At #27 id be thrilled with Mara but I suspect he goes much higher and the closer to the lottery he gets the less I like the pick. The draft is very prone to runs on player types. Years ago when Shaq was dominating we had a run on 7' 280+lb centers, Dirk started a run on 3pt shooting euros, and now I think Wemby is ushering in a new found interesting in the 7'++ guys. Mara is a solid big man prospect but his core strength, FT shooting, lateral mobility leaves me projecting him at more of a Kornet ceiling. Great pick up after pick 20 but some mocks have him top 10!

Mara is an excellent passer.  He is at Kornet-level now with a much higher ceiling.  Even his last 15 games he got up to 82% from the line compared with 48% his first 25 games.  He is absolutely deserving of a late lottery, so I have long since removed him from my wish list.

The guy I have seen in the 15-20 range for some reason (I guess age) lately is Yaxel Lendebourg.  If he falls out of the lottery that is who to move up for if possible.  Immediate contributor, and a future Al Horford at both ends, plus in the locker room.

[Celtics4ever]

The guy I have seen in the 15-20 range for some reason (I guess age) lately is Yaxel Lendebourg.  If he falls out of the lottery that is who to move up for if possible.  Immediate contributor, and a future Al Horford at both ends

He plays more like a wing than a Center

[DefenseWinsChamps]

The guy I have seen in the 15-20 range for some reason (I guess age) lately is Yaxel Lendebourg.  If he falls out of the lottery that is who to move up for if possible.  Immediate contributor, and a future Al Horford at both ends

He plays more like a wing than a Center

I see Pascal Siakim. I'd love Yaxel and think he will end up being a top 8 player in this draft.

[Celtics2021]

The guy I have seen in the 15-20 range for some reason (I guess age) lately is Yaxel Lendebourg.  If he falls out of the lottery that is who to move up for if possible.  Immediate contributor, and a future Al Horford at both ends

He plays more like a wing than a Center

I see your point.  I guess I would say he is a versatile PF, as with his length (7?4? wingspan, 9 ft standing reach) and strength, he can rotate down to the 5 defensively, but offensively is more of a wing.  At Michigan he did not need to play center much at all with Mara and Morez Johnson both present, but prior to Michigan he did play center some.  With Boston, Horford was often the 4 in a two-big lineup, and I guess that is the version of Horford I was referring to ? a big who took threes and created for his teammates off the pass, while occasionally taking it inside off the dribble.

[Celtics4ever]

I would love to have  him on our team, Celtics 2021.

We would have to trade up to get him.

[Celtics2021]

I would love to have  him on our team, Celtics 2021.

We would have to trade up to get him.

Agreed.  OKC is the team that I could see trading back and out.  They look to have a couple in the teens.

[CFAN38]

The guy I have seen in the 15-20 range for some reason (I guess age) lately is Yaxel Lendebourg.  If he falls out of the lottery that is who to move up for if possible.  Immediate contributor, and a future Al Horford at both ends

He plays more like a wing than a Center

I see your point.  I guess I would say he is a versatile PF, as with his length (7?4? wingspan, 9 ft standing reach) and strength, he can rotate down to the 5 defensively, but offensively is more of a wing.  At Michigan he did not need to play center much at all with Mara and Morez Johnson both present, but prior to Michigan he did play center some.  With Boston, Horford was often the 4 in a two-big lineup, and I guess that is the version of Horford I was referring to ? a big who took threes and created for his teammates off the pass, while occasionally taking it inside off the dribble.

I really like what Yaxel brings to the court and currently have him 15th on my board but I would be scared to give up the assets that it would likely cost to trade up for him. It may not be fair to judge off of so little but he comes off as very immature in his post game interviews. This is a red flag for a player who will be almost 24 on draft night. To contrast 20yr old Morez Johnson comes off as much more mature and composed.

If I am an NBA team drafting a 22+ year old in the top 20 picks I would expect him to be a mature and ready addition to my team. Last season Kalkbrenner and Raynaud where older prospects who I was high on and a small part of that was the fact that they sounded like pros in interviews.

All that being said I assume he goes top 14 and trading up for him would have to be a major move signaling him as a near foundational piece moving forward. If he was to drop into the 20s and could be had for #27+ Hauser or #27 + 20271st then I would be very interested.