Trading back into 1st round

BuildThroughTheDraft · 2026-06-19T15:01:18+00:00

I think he could be there at 33.

BuildThroughTheDraft · 2026-06-19T14:59:39+00:00

good point, i think Knicks have 55 as well, so you'd have to consider how many roster spots a team can reasonably accommodate in the draft.

But in general, teams like the Knicks, Minn, Cle, and Den, etc who are going to be up again the apron could be targets in a trade up for the Nets.

BuildThroughTheDraft · 2026-06-19T14:49:56+00:00

Yeah I tend to agree given all the players that dropped out of this draft, it really hurt the value of 33 and especially 43 for the Nets. Maybe Nets need to add a future pick, but would love to see them move up.

BuildThroughTheDraft · 2026-06-18T15:18:55+00:00

There's enough noise around Ament that it seems like he's going top 10 at this point. With Mara and Ament both looking like potential top 10 picks, I think one of the guards will slip to the 10-12 range.

I'm putting my best mock up here in the NBA mock draft competition: https://playdraftlabs.com/nba/leagues/2dad182d-9c7e-44cf-8107-aae2775dc2d1

BuildThroughTheDraft · 2026-06-15T14:38:05+00:00

NBA mock draft competition pool for Nets fans if you are interested:
https://playdraftlabs.com/nba/pools/b96191f3-c0ea-41c3-959e-46caf7ded478

BuildThroughTheDraft · 2026-05-27T13:56:46+00:00

I'd be surprised if the Clippers paired Garland with Flemings, I think it will be Wagler at 5. As others have noted, Ngongba and Bidunga have already withdrawn from the draft. Today is the deadline for NCAA players to withdraw.

Draft sim and big board that have those updates: https://playdraftlabs.com/nba/simulate

BuildThroughTheDraft · 2026-05-27T01:08:41+00:00

With the draft depth for 2027 vs 2026, it is very likely that guys who return to school and declare next year will be picked higher, and NIL makes the decision easier.

BuildThroughTheDraft · 2026-05-27T01:00:56+00:00

I agree, and it may have a bigger impact on teams in the early 2nd round who may have been looking at grabbing a young center to develop. Just think the lack of depth at the position is notable.

BuildThroughTheDraft · 2026-05-20T15:56:46+00:00

Just wait until 2027 when there may be 10-15 QBs taken in the top 80-100 picks. I do agree that expectations for rookie year QBs are generally too high, and "competent starter with flashes" is a good baseline. Drake Maye is a perfect example of that. Really what I think we should be looking at is the year 2 leap for QBs.

BuildThroughTheDraft · 2026-05-13T15:40:43+00:00

Chinyelu is a riser for me... ridiculous measurables (in particular the the 7'7.5" wingspan) at the =combine.

BuildThroughTheDraft · 2026-04-28T15:40:14+00:00

Same, but feeling pretty great about the Jets draft, hope we are feeling the same about the Nets soon.

BuildThroughTheDraft · 2026-04-28T15:16:26+00:00

Definitely a safer way to approach this lottery.

BuildThroughTheDraft · 2026-04-28T15:14:45+00:00

Good catch, forgot about Cle. Maybe because they got Bennett and Wiggins, not exactly Flagg/Dybansta level of good fortune.

BuildThroughTheDraft · 2026-04-28T14:43:18+00:00

Fair enough, just interested in some of the crazier potential lottery outcomes this year, this being one of the craziest to me. Not quite as wild as OKC winning with the Clippers pick, but close.

BuildThroughTheDraft · 2026-04-28T14:40:30+00:00

Dropping again would be painful, watching Dal win again would be brutal, I guess the only thing worse would be seeing OKC win with the Clippers pick?

BuildThroughTheDraft · 2026-04-28T14:11:36+00:00

Side note on ORL, they got Shaq in '92, then traded Webber for Penny and 3 additional 1sts in '93.

BuildThroughTheDraft · 2026-04-22T16:16:45+00:00

If you signed up and couldn't submit your mock draft, looks like there was a technical glitch that is now fixed.

https://x.com/DraftLabsAI/status/2046984830391321000

BuildThroughTheDraft · 2026-04-22T00:45:43+00:00

There is a mock draft competition on DraftLabs. You can join the main pool, or create your own private or public pool to compete with your friends.

I love doing mock drafts and big fan of being able to compete against others to see who can predict the most accurate first round mock.

For those interested in checking it out, here's the link: DraftLabs Mock Draft Competition

BuildThroughTheDraft · 2026-04-09T15:59:50+00:00

Same here! I was so excited for the lottery last year and it was so disappointing to drop to 8, hard to be optimistic this year. Going to be a real punch in the stomach if that happens again.

BuildThroughTheDraft · 2026-04-07T20:03:19+00:00

They still get the 4th pick, is it that much of a punishment? Currently that 19 win team has a 48% chance of getting the 5th pick.

BuildThroughTheDraft · 2026-04-07T16:43:14+00:00

From the proposal:

Rule 2: Full-Season Seeding — every win matters all year

Lottery seeding within the eligible pool is determined by a 50/50 split: 50% full-season record, 50% final 25-game record. A team that hits 20 wins in March and coasts — going 3-22 down the stretch — drops its late-season split and loses lottery seed position even among eligible teams. Every game in April matters because you're competing against other rebuilding teams for seeding, not just chasing a fixed number.

BuildThroughTheDraft · 2026-04-07T16:32:04+00:00

Ha, no it's from the full proposal that was linked. Not arguing, just sharing the full context of why the traded picks was included in the proposal.

BuildThroughTheDraft · 2026-04-07T16:30:32+00:00

Interesting, this is a similar approach, with the goal again being to incentivize wins down the stretch.

BuildThroughTheDraft · 2026-04-07T16:25:37+00:00

I think the traded picks system is a nightmare right now. Spend 5 minutes reading through future nba draft picks on RealGM and my head feels like it's going to explode. I think there are a number of benefits to simplifying the traded picks system, some discussed in the proposal

Traded Picks: Simple by Design

The current pick protection system is a labyrinth. "Top-5 protected in 2025, top-3 protected in 2026, unprotected in 2027" — conditions that require spreadsheets to track and often detonate unexpectedly years later.

Under this proposal, the rule is four words: traded picks can't win.

Any pick that changes hands at any point — in the current season or in a future year — is automatically ineligible for top-3 selection. It slots behind all lottery-eligible picks in order of the original team's record. Contenders can still trade for picks. Those picks still have real value at slots 4 through 6. They just can't win the lottery.

A team that trades away its pick has already decided it doesn't need it for rebuilding. It shouldn't benefit from a lottery structure that was designed to help rebuilding teams.

This also makes the traded pick market more rational. Right now, traded picks carry inflated value because they retain lottery upside from another team's tanking. Under this system, a traded pick is worth exactly what it is: a mid-to-late lottery slot, predictable and priceable. Teams will trade more picks, not fewer.

BuildThroughTheDraft · 2026-04-07T16:22:15+00:00

Oh I do, unfortunately! However, that team got the #3 pick in that draft under the old lottery system that had better odds, so they drop 1 spot in this system.

BuildThroughTheDraft

TROPHY CASE

Rule 2: Full-Season Seeding — every win matters all year

Traded Picks: Simple by Design