Draft Notes: Graves, Burries, Mara, Harris, Able, More
Santa Clara freshman forward Allen Graves is declaring for the 2026 NBA draft, he announced this week on social media (Twitter link).
Graves only started four of 35 games during his first college season, but he was a valuable reserve for the Broncos, averaging 11.8 points, 6.5 rebounds, 1.9 steals, and 1.8 assists in 22.6 minutes per contest. The 19-year-old also had a solid shooting line of .512/.413/.750 and won a pair of awards, having been named the WCC’s Freshman of the Year and Sixth Man of the Year.
Graves comes in at No. 32 overall in the newly updated big board from Jeremy Woo of ESPN, making him a candidate to be a first-round pick this spring if he has a strong pre-draft process.
Here’s more on the 2026 draft:
- Woo’s new top-100 list features BYU forward AJ Dybantsa taking over the No. 1 spot, with Illinois guard Keaton Wagler moving into the top five in place of Houston’s Kingston Flemings, who slips to No. 7. The biggest risers near the top of Woo’s board are Arizona’s Brayden Burries, who jumped from No. 17 to No. 10, and Michigan’s Aday Mara, who is up to No. 14 after previously ranking 32nd.
- Jonathan Wasserman of Bleacher Report has published an updated version of his mock draft, which features Arkansas guard Darius Acuff Jr. coming off the board fifth overall and UConn’s Braylon Mullins moving up to No. 9.
- Wake Forest guard Juke Harris is entering the transfer portal while testing the draft waters, he confirmed on Instagram. Harris had a breakout year for the Demon Deacons as a sophomore in 2025/26, increasing his scoring average to 21.4 points per game and earning Most Improved Player honors in the ACC. He’s currently ranked 39th on ESPN’s big board.
- North Carolina State guard Matt Able, who averaged 8.8 PPG, 3.4 RPG, and 1.2 APG as a reserve across 34 appearances as a freshman, has entered the transfer portal while also putting his name in the NBA draft pool, tweets Jeff Borzello of ESPN. Able is the No. 60 prospect on ESPN’s board.
- The following prospects are also entering the 2026 draft (players marked with an asterisk are entering the transfer portal too):
- Dai Dai Ames, G, California (junior) (Twitter link via Joe Tipton of On3) *
- Rowan Brumbaugh, G, Tulane (junior) (Twitter link via Tipton) *
- Dennis Parker, G, Radford (junior) (Twitter link via Travis Branham of 247 Sports) *
- Bryson Tucker, F, Washington (sophomore) (Twitter link)
- LeJuan Watts, F, Texas Tech (junior) (Twitter link via Borzello) *
Draft Notes: Peterson, Dybantsa, Mullins, Graves
With March Madness in full swing, NBA teams are starting to round out their evaluations of how prospects play in high-leverage situations. There have been plenty of talking points regarding the 2026 draft class, with few players commanding as much attention as Kansas’ Darryn Peterson.
Peterson came into this season as the presumed top player in the draft, but an inconsistent year and questions around his health and approach makes what was thought to be an iron-clad grip on a top-three pick a bit more of an open question, writes Kevin O’Connor for Yahoo Sports.
In addition to getting little offensive help from his teammates, especially from the perimeter, the 6’5″ shooting guard was limited by the hamstring injury that plagued him throughout the season, says O’Connor.
“I was hurt for the majority of the year,” Peterson said. “I went through some really bad stuff. I wasn’t really myself for real until like the end of the year.”
Besides his lethal shooting ability, Peterson brings a good defensive play-making skillset and is adept at drawing fouls, O’Connor adds.
The Athletic’s Sam Vecenie echoes O’Connor’s concerns about Peterson, writing that the Jayhawks guard could end up anywhere from one to five on his board. However, he adds that he has questions about the way the 19-year-old was used by Kansas coach Bill Self, which was mostly in an off-ball capacity.
We have more notes from the top of the 2026 draft:
- BYU forward AJ Dybantsa appears to have the most solid claim to the No. 1 spot at this time, writes ESPN’s Jeremy Woo. While the talented forward has faced some questions about his ball-handling and defense, his aggression and decision-making as a passer improved greatly throughout the season, Woo notes, as he established himself as a well-rounded 6’9″ scorer with major upside.
- UConn’s Braylon Mullins is looking more like someone who could be a top returner to school this season, according to Woo. The sweet-shooting guard’s season got off to a delayed start as he dealt with an ankle injury, and Woo says he never quite displayed the offensive consistency NBA teams might have been looking for. Vecenie adds that scouts are wondering if Mullins is more a good shooter than an elite shooter. He still has a chance to solidify his 2026 draft stock, but with NIL money and the allure of weaker competition around him in the 2027 draft class, returning to school could end up being a beneficial move long-term, Woo says.
- Allen Graves, from Santa Clara, was not expected to be a significant player in the 2026 draft, but he has impressed with his defense and passing, according to Woo. Graves may still be best served by spending another year in college and working on his jumper, but the 6’9″ forward has fans in the NBA and a strong pre-draft process could put him in position to be drafted this season, Woo notes.
Draft Notes: Dybantsa, Boozer, Pacers, Wilson, Guards, More
BYU’s NCAA tournament run ended early, with the West’s No. 6 seed knocked off by No. 11 Texas on Thursday. However, forward AJ Dybantsa did little to hurt his draft stock in the process, putting up 35 of his team’s 71 points in the losing effort.
According to Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Substack link), Dybantsa may have entered this week as the frontrunner to be the No. 1 overall pick in June due to some concerns related to Kansas guard Darryn Peterson‘s health over the course of his freshman year with the Jayhawks and skepticism about whether Cameron Boozer‘s “athletic profile” will limit his ceiling at the NBA level.
Fischer clarifies that no one expects any sort of draft-night fall for Peterson or Boozer, who have widely been considered top-three prospects alongside Dybantsa for months. In fact, he says some rival teams believe Boozer would be the Pacers‘ top choice if they got the No. 1 pick due to his potential fit with their current personnel.
However, Fischer also suggests that there’s been momentum toward UNC’s Caleb Wilson joining that top tier of prospects, despite the fact that hand and thumb injuries prematurely ended the forward’s season. Wilson has drawn comparisons to players like Chris Bosh and Evan Mobley, and there’s no sense that his thumb surgery will impact his standing as a top-five lock, Fischer adds.
“I don’t think anyone is taking Wilson No. 1 overall,” one NBA general manager said. “But I think every team is going to have him above one of those other three guys.”
Here’s more from Fischer on the 2026 NBA draft:
- One Eastern Conference scout recently predicted that there might be “an entire lottery of freshmen” this June, according to Fischer, who adds that the draft class is considered especially heavy on backcourt talent. Some scouts view it as the strongest group of guards since 2018, when Luka Doncic, Trae Young, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander entered the league, while one executive compared it to a 2008 class that was headlined by Derrick Rose and Russell Westbrook, Fischer writes.
- Illustrating the depth of the 2026 draft, Fischer notes that one veteran scout suggested that whichever team lands the No. 1 overall pick should seriously consider the idea of trading down to maximize the value of that selection. “There’s just too much opportunity to still get an All-Star caliber player and another future asset,” the scout said. According to Fischer, multiple executives have also expressed that there could be lottery-caliber prospects available in the 20s and a number of NBA-ready players available in the second round. “This might be a draft where more guys are getting guaranteed (NBA contracts) in the second round,” a Western Conference scout speculated.
- While the lottery will consist mostly of college freshmen, there are several “plug-and-play” upperclassmen who will appeal to teams later in the first round. Fischer identifies Iowa State forward Joshua Jefferson, Florida forward Thomas Haugh, Michigan center Aday Mara, Iowa guard Bennett Stirtz, and Texas wing Dailyn Swain as juniors and seniors frequently mentioned as intriguing targets in that range.
- Fischer also singles out Vanderbilt guard Tyler Tanner, Purdue guard Braden Smith, and Santa Clara forward Allen Graves as players who are “generating intrigue” among NBA evaluators, observing that Tanner and Graves in particular are analytics darlings.
And-Ones: Extensions, Draft Sleepers, Edwards, Partizan
In a subscriber-only story for The Third Apron, Yossi Gozlan takes a look at 11 players around the NBA who are currently eligible for veteran contract extensions.
According to Gozlan, Spurs wing Julian Champagnie has been a complete bargain on his current deal and should be in line for a considerable raise. San Antonio holds a $3MM team option on Champagnie for 2026/27, which the team would have to decline to extend him.
As Gozlan writes, the maximum the 24-year-old could receive on an extension would be $87MM over four years. Gozlan suggests a four-year deal in the $75-76MM range could be a reasonable compromise for both sides.
Gozlan also projects extensions for Spurs forward Harrison Barnes (two years, $24MM) and Jazz center Jusuf Nurkic (exact same structure), among others.
Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:
- John Hollinger of The Athletic lists nine of his favorite sleepers ahead of the 2026 draft. Hollinger acknowledges that some of the players on his list, including Santa Clara forward Allen Graves and Stanford guard Ebuka Okorie, may decide to return for another college season in 2026/27. A couple other sleepers Hollinger mentions (Corey Camper and Emanuel Sharp) will be automatically draft-eligible, as they’re both fifth-year seniors.
- Former NBA big man Jesse Edwards, who spent last season on a two-way deal with the Timberwolves, is in advanced talks with Spanish club Baskonia about a rest-of-season contract, reports Donatas Urbonas of BasketNews.com. The Dutch center played for Melbourne United in Australia in 2025/26, averaging 13.5 PPG, 8.5 RPG and 1.1 BPG in 35 games (22.4 MPG).
- In an extensive interview with Milun Nesovic of Serbian outlet Meridian Sport, Partizan Belgrade president Ostoja Mijailovic discussed a number of current and former NBA players, as Eurohoops and Sportando relay. The Sixers were limited to offering Partizan $875K as part of a buyout for Cameron Payne, yet the EuroLeague club received $1.75MM in that agreement. According to Mijailovic, the remaining $875K came from Payne himself. Mijailovic confirmed Partizan forward Isaac Bonga received NBA interest last month, but the team had the option to decline the $875K buyout it was offered for Bonga and did so because it values him. However, the former second-round pick could be on the move this summer, as Partizan will no longer have the option to turn down a buyout offer for Bonga once ’25/26 ends.
- Mijailovic also expressed regret for the lucrative deals given to Jabari Parker and Shake Milton, and said the team remains fond of Dante Exum, who was waived by Washington last month after being traded by Dallas. Exum hasn’t played at all this season due to a knee injury. “It is certainly our desire to bring back players who left a mark at Partizan and who can help the team on the court,” Mijailovic said, per Eurohoops. “Exum is one of the players we all adored, and we still adore him.”