- 2 days ago
Nathan Grubel joins The Junkies to preview the 2026 NBA Draft.
Category
🥇
SportsTranscript
00:00Nathan, good morning. Thanks for joining us, man. We appreciate the time.
00:04Good morning. We are in the thick of it. We're less than a month to the 2026 NBA draft. We
00:10have
00:10the early entry withdrawal deadline right around the corner. Intel's flying. Everything's moving,
00:16but I'm happy to be here ready to talk some NBA draft and some NBA.
00:20Seems like you love Darren Peterson. I was reading one of your tweets. You said,
00:25high outcome, one of the best shooting guards of all time. Fill us in on what you see from Darren
00:30Peterson. So Darren Peterson is one of the best scoring guards that I've evaluated in quite some
00:40time. He can literally get you a bucket from every level on the floor, was an awesome off the dribble
00:47mid-range shooter, off the dribble three-point shooter, can catch and shoot, can just get you
00:53a perimeter shot in a variety of different ways. The thing that I'm going to be watching the most
00:59from Darren Peterson as he translates to the next level is if an NBA team's going to put the ball
01:04in his hands to be a higher usage guy right out of the gate, how does he navigate the waters
01:09from a
01:10pick-and-roll standpoint? How does he actually make decisions and make everyone else around him better
01:15from a passing standpoint? We have some questions about that for sure. The Kansas State didn't really
01:21give us a lot of those answers. I know going back to a lot of the high school film that
01:25I dug into
01:25when he had more of that person explosiveness that he didn't have this season with all the variety of
01:30issues that he faced, he was electric getting downhill and when he could turn that corner wide
01:36using that screen, it set up a lot of pressure to the rim. Either somebody has to slide over and
01:42stop him, which good luck, or he's able to make that next pass out to the open man. So can
01:47we see more
01:48of that Darren Peterson in the NBA rather than just the off-ball utility score slash shooter,
01:54which we know he can do really well. We know he's one of the best at doing that. Can he
01:58take his
01:59game to the next level from a playmaking standpoint and be that all-around option? That will solidify
02:04his ceiling to potentially become one of the best shooting guards we've seen in the NBA in quite some
02:09time. Nathan, if you were inside the Wizards organization and you had a chance to pitch your guy who
02:15you believe that they should take at number one overall, would Peterson be your guy? Would you go
02:19with Tabansa? Is it a wild card? Is it not one of those two guys that I've mentioned? It seems
02:25like
02:25there's the four players and then there's a gap. Do you like Caleb Wilson? Which way would you steer
02:34the Wizards with the number one pick? If I were advising the Washington Wizards, this is going off of
02:42my evaluations, my board, and how I evaluate these players, I would pitch Cameron Boozer as the number
02:50one overall player in this draft. That's why Drabby booked him. Okay, that makes sense.
02:56Our producer is a huge Boozer guy. Well, your producer might be right on that one. The reason
03:05why I would go Cameron Boozer is because he makes every other player around him better. He not only
03:13lifts the ceiling of your franchise in terms of highest level offensive outcomes, but he lifts
03:18the floor of your franchise. Every single thing about Boozer's game is tailor-made for the NBA
03:24on the offensive end of the floor. It's about mismatch hunting. It's about reading
03:29all different levels of the defense, being one to two steps ahead, dissecting that defense,
03:34and coming up with that solution to solve that problem in real time. If you throw two with the
03:40ball, he's going to make that next pass out. If you try and double him on the block, he's going
03:44to
03:44either draw a foul or he's going to be able to, again, pass back out. If you put him in
03:49isolation,
03:49he can get past guys and score one-on-one. If you try and play him in different ball screen
03:55coverages, he knows how to call for that screen, use it or reject it, you know, depending on how
04:00you set up that ball screen, whether it's with a 4-5 or it's an inverted screen. One of the
04:04best
04:04things they did at Duke was use Isaiah Evans as a slip screener in that action that leads to an
04:09open, a wide open wing three. If you choose to put two on the ball, try and get the ball
04:15out of
04:15Cameron Boozer's hands. He can find that guy in the action. If you choose to play him straight up,
04:19he can probably get the mismatch he wants, take that guy, bully him one-on-one.
04:23There's just so many different ways in which you can utilize Cameron Boozer. I'm not even talking
04:27about the pick and roll action, the short roll, the pick and pop, the catch and shoot threes from
04:31the wings, face him out to the corners. Pretty much any way you need to use him offensively,
04:36you can use him, but it's because of his mental processing, his passing ability.
04:40I understand the Wizards brought in Trey Young and Anthony Davis. We don't know how long those
04:46guys are going to be on the team. That's a definite question mark for sure. What Cameron
04:50Boozer would allow you to do, regardless of whether those two are in the game or not,
04:54is evaluate the other young pieces on the roster and get them easier shots. You know,
04:59Trey Young is obviously going to make Alex Starr's life easier, but imagine if you had Cameron Boozer
05:04at that four spot alongside Alex Starr. He hasn't had that type of passing to actually get him easy,
05:09clean looks. You know, guys like Trey Johnson, a lot of pool of Bali as he's cutting off the ball,
05:14Keyshawn George getting wider open spot up threes because they're created for him.
05:18There's just so many different ways in which he could help the Washington Wizards move forward
05:22on that end of the floor. And you have a lot of interesting defensive pieces around him to cover
05:27up for some of those deficiencies on that end of the floor. So I would just, I would love Cameron
05:31Boozer in the Wizards. He's been, that's been my perfect fit for him this entire time, but I think he's
05:37going to be excellent wherever he goes. All right. So I have two questions. So for one,
05:42if they were to select Boozer, would you actually do that at one or would you try to engineer a
05:48trade
05:48to move down a pick or two? And then two, I like you, like Peterson. I think I would take
05:55Peterson,
05:55but whatever. I defer to you guys and you guys know more. But for whatever reason, the fan base is
06:00like 85-15. That's the Bonta. The fan base here is like, if you, if you even utter anybody else,
06:06but the Bonta, you're an idiot. Um, you're, you know, you didn't lose for all this to not take
06:12the Bonta. Why, why is the fan base so high on the Bonta and why is the Bonta not necessarily
06:18your
06:18guy? And I know, I'm sure you don't have negative things to say about the Bonta, but I'm just curious
06:23why the fan base is so adamant that it must be to Bonta. A lot of different things we can
06:29dissect
06:30there. I'll try and go in, in, in rapid order through them to, to answer your first question
06:34about, you know, would you possibly trade down out of that number one spot, pick up some assets to try
06:39to go get someone like Cam Boozer. If he isn't mock number one, I do not like that line of
06:44thinking.
06:45I'm a firm believer in, if you're confident in your evaluation, you know who you want to draft,
06:50just go get your guy. Don't mess around with trading down and maybe losing out on the opportunity
06:54to get that guy because you got a little cute with it. I I'm a firm believer. You like a
06:58guy,
06:59go get your guy in relation to AJ DeBonta versus Darren Peterson versus Cameron Boozer. It's,
07:05it's kind of been my line of thinking this entire time, you know, that AJ DeBonta would go number one
07:10overall in the 2026 NBA draft. That's not what my board says, but it's very hard to pass on someone
07:18who's basically six, 10 and shoes with his length, his athleticism, his verticality,
07:23his ability to wow you with the highlight plays, but also function within an NBA offense in terms of
07:28being able to score and hit all those star shots from the mid range, being able to work out of
07:32the
07:32mid post, find guys. If somebody brings two on the ball, he has the size, the height to be able
07:38to
07:38see over the different levels of the defense and find that next guy, be it a cutter, a shooter on
07:42the
07:42opposite wing, the opposite corner, whatever the case may be. AJ DeBonta can operate
07:46as a fulcrum for you in the middle of the floor. I think just the, the littlest thing that separates,
07:52you know, AJ DeBonta from Cameron Boozer is that I do think Boozer to me has a much better mental
07:59processing and understanding of where he needs to be and what needs to happen really on both ends of
08:04the floor. Obviously the physical talent is a stark difference between the two AJ DeBonta is a much
08:09better pure athlete than someone like Cameron Boozer, but Cameron Boozer is a bad athlete either.
08:13You know, we saw a lot of how he tested at the NBA draft combine. It wasn't necessarily blowing
08:18anybody away, but a lot of his different, you know, agility scores and metrics. He's a very
08:22functional athlete. And when you combine that with how he sees the floor and how he reads the game,
08:28I just feel like he, to me, embodies everything that I want from a modern NBA player.
08:35AJ DeBonta is a much easier sell to the front office, to the ownership group, to a fan base
08:40that this guy is electrifying. He has quote unquote star written all over him. He can be
08:46a top option on the wing. He fits the archetype that every single team and franchise and fan base
08:52is looking for in the NBA. I just think he's the easiest sell to those parties at number one
08:58overall in this draft.
08:59So Nathan, do you think that maybe not necessarily in this order, the top four, unless there's a trade
09:04out, the top four picks will be DeBonta, Peterson, Boozer, and Wilson?
09:10What do you think?
09:12That's what I'm projecting today. I'll be releasing an updated projections mock draft on my social media
09:18draft paper in a few hours. That's the top four in that order that I'm projecting today. Now,
09:24could a team possibly enter into one of those spots and maybe trade into one of those spots?
09:28We had some hot rumors pop up from Brett Siegel over at Clutch Points this weekend that maybe the
09:35OKC Thunder would try to package a few picks to move into a top three spot to maybe go after
09:40someone like a Cameron Boozer. I cannot see that happening because I just don't think there's a
09:45trade there that literally works financially to be able to give up the assets required to go make
09:50a type of move to get that pick. I put together a trade, four first round picks, three second round
09:56picks AJ Mitchell and Thomas Sorber would be what the OKC Thunder would offer the Memphis to go up
10:02to that three spot for that number three pick, Cam Spencer. Ultimately, that's how the money would
10:09have to work. You can't throw a Jalen Williams into that trade. I don't think the Memphis Grizzlies would
10:16pass up on the opportunity to bring in someone like a Cam Boozer or a Caleb Wilson to take an
10:20offer
10:21like that. I don't see anybody moving into the top four right now, but it's the NBA. We've seen
10:26crazier things happen. We saw Luka Doncic trade the Lakers. Anything's possible. Won't rule it out.
10:31But as of now, I think that top four is exactly how I see it going.
10:34What do you make of the Wizards and Michael Winger immediately after winning the lottery going,
10:40we're open for business? Now, obviously, it goes without saying it's not a Wemby year. It's not a
10:45Cooper flag year, right? But you didn't hear those GM say we're open for business. Does that tell you
10:51that they sort of disagree with the idea that the Bonsa is the one or does it just I mean,
10:59what does that tell you? What it tells me is that it aligns perfectly with sort of what's been their
11:07philosophy ever since they took over this front office with the Washington Wizards, right? They've
11:12been open to anything and everything, and they sort of operate outside of a conventional lane.
11:18Think about all the moves that they've done up to this point with the type of team that they built.
11:22Their first draft pick that they had coming in was Blau Foulibaly, a player from France who,
11:27you know, didn't have as much high pro level experience as someone like a Victor Wimbanyama
11:32played alongside him a little bit, but primarily spent a lot of his time in the Esquad League,
11:36in the Junior League, over in France. They took a big swing on him to bring him in because of
11:41his
11:41six-eighth size with a seven-two wingspan, his athleticism, his ability to change a game
11:46defensively, handle the ball. Hopefully he could become something a little bit more on offense.
11:50Then you go to draft someone like an Alex Sar. You draft guys like Keyshawn George and Bob
11:55Carrington and Trey Johnson. They're not necessarily taking the players who are quote-unquote
12:00consensus mocked to them. They're operating and building a team in their own vision that's open,
12:06that has options, that's viable in different styles and different elements,
12:10and their players who are versatile and can play multiple positions. They're not locking themselves
12:15in to anything on the court right now in terms of this is our firm direction. We have to build
12:20this
12:21way. And so when you hear a quote saying that they're open for business, potentially with listening
12:26to and hearing offers for that number one overall pick, it makes complete sense because I don't think
12:31that they want to take anything off the table. They want to consider every single option in front of
12:36them and do what they feel is best for this roster and this franchise moving forward. And it's why I've
12:42agreed with a lot of the moves that the Wizards have made. I really love the direction this front office
12:46has taken. I think that's how you have to approach team building in today's NBA.
12:50Talking to Nathan Grubel, who follows the NBA and of course the upcoming NBA draft. You can follow
12:57him on Twitter at DraftDeeper. All right, so the Spurs series here against OKC has been a little back
13:04and forth. It's now 2-2. OKC's got a couple injuries they're dealing with. How do you see
13:10these final three games, if it goes three more games, playing out? So there's been two things
13:18that have really decided the first four games in this series between both teams. It's been Victor
13:23Wem and Yama and how dominant he can be on the court at any given moment when he's putting up
13:28those
13:28massive, massive performances where you truly feel his impact, not just on defense, but on the
13:33offensive end of the floor as well. The Spurs have been very hard to beat, and then on the OKC
13:37side,
13:38if their bench has been pouring in threes like nobody's business, they've also been really hard
13:43to deal with because of what you're going to get from a Shea Gildress Alexander on a nightly basis.
13:48So now it gets a little interesting for OKC, like you mentioned. A.J. Mitchell and Jalen Williams
13:55are going to be missed some time potentially here for the Thunder. Can they rally up the rest of the
14:00troops and continue to knock in threes at that pace to match what Wendy and the Spurs are throwing
14:05at him? That Spurs defense, especially in last game in game four, was lights out. They figured
14:11out how to play different coverages. They figured out how to play SGA and make him move off the ball
14:16and make him a more inefficient scorer. Chet Holmgren really hasn't been able to get going
14:20against Victor Wem and Yama this entire series. As long as the Aaron Foss and Dylan Harper can hold
14:25it together and they aren't too hobbled themselves, if you ask me what's more likely over the next
14:30three games that Victor Wem and Yama continues to be awesome or that OKC bench rallies it together
14:35and tries to hit more threes and outshoot the opposing Spurs team, I think it's more likely
14:41that Victor Wem and Yama is going to continue to be the transcendent talent than we know him to be.
14:45I think the Spurs have a really, really strong chance to get it done in six games.
14:49They have to win this game five. Whoever wins this game five, that's going to be,
14:53in my opinion, who goes on to win the Western Conference Finals.
14:56Nathan, we know you're super busy. We really appreciate the time.
14:59Less than a month before the draft. We love to have you on again.
15:01Yeah, we'll get you on right before the draft. That'd be awesome.
15:04Anytime you guys need me, I'm here. Just give me a shout. Thanks, guys.
15:07Appreciate it. That's Nathan Grubel. He covers the NBA, G League, and NBA draft for No Ceilings NBA.
15:15Give him a follow on Twitter, at Draft Deeper. We're the junks. We'll be right back.
Comments