Draft Notes: Acuff, Wagner, Kayil, Lewis

As the world watches the Knicks fight for their first championship since 1973, projected 2026 top-10 pick Darius Acuff is taking notes and hoping to show teams that he could have a similar impact to New York’s star point guard, Jalen Brunson, Myron Medcalf writes in an in-depth player profile for ESPN.

Acuff grew up watching small, tough guards like Allen Iverson and Stephon Marbury, a list to which Brunson has definitively been added, and which Acuff dreams of joining himself.

“We feel like we can go out there and play against anybody,” Acuff said of the similarities in mentality between himself and Brunson. “I feel like I can hopefully do the same thing one day and it’s definitely inspiring to see.”

While it’s difficult to overindex on the success of stars that break the conventional mold, such as Brunson, Acuff is not alone in the belief that he can capitalize on what could be a convincing argument that teams can, in fact, win with a small guard at the helm.

“I think Acuff can open some eyes in the NBA,” a Western Conference scout said. “Brunson has kind of brought back the smaller, scoring, tough physical point guard that can lead a team. And Acuff has some of those traits. He might even have a little more.”

With the 2026 Draft lottery being loaded with position-locked point guards, Acuff is not the only one hoping to buck the league’s recent trend of phasing out small guards.

We have more notes from the 2026 Draft:

• Keaton Wagler, a talented guard out of Illinois, will work out for the Kings next week, Kevin O’Connor reports for Yahoo Sports in a recent mock draft. The Clippers, who had previously been linked to Wagler with the fifth overall pick, may not be enamored with the sweet-shooting 19-year-old, and he recently cancelled a workout for the Nets, though it’s unclear if that was due to scheduling conflicts or something more indicative of how Brooklyn is leaning with the sixth pick.
• German guard Jack Kayil is one of the few prospects in the draft still playing, as he recently scored 10 points in a dominant win to help ALBA Berlin advance to the German Bundesliga Finals, where they will face off against Bayern Munich. Kayil, a 6’5″ combo guard, scored 12.3 points in 21.3 minutes per game this season and displayed some interesting shooting range, despite having an inefficient year. He’s currently 37th on Jeremy Woo’s big board for ESPN.
• Malique Lewis has been cleared to play in the NBA by the league’s fitness-to-play panel, Jonathan Givony reports for Draft Express (via Twitter). This is a crucial development for the 6’8″ 21-year-old, who was unable to play in the G League combine due to a preexisting heart condition, which had been known and documented for several years. Lewis was impressive at the adidas EuroCamp in early June, showing his passing, rebounding, and shooting ability, Givony notes. Lewis averaged 7.1 points, 4.3 rebounds, 2.2 assists, and 1.2 steals in 21.3 minutes a night for South East Melbourne this season while posting an impressive .455/.387/.800 shooting line. Lewis is 67th on Woo’s big board.