{"id":2135617,"date":"2026-09-09T09:30:46","date_gmt":"2026-09-09T06:30:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2135617"},"modified":"2026-09-09T09:30:46","modified_gmt":"2026-09-09T06:30:46","slug":"victor-wembanyama-cooper-flagg-thompson-twins-highlight-nba-rookie-scale-draft","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2135617","title":{"rendered":"Victor Wembanyama, Cooper Flagg, Thompson twins highlight NBA rookie-scale draft"},"content":{"rendered":"
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In the age of the dreaded second apron<\/a>, having useful players on rookie-scale salaries has never been more important.<\/p>\n

Look at the Oklahoma City Thunder\u2019s offseason. They traded Luguentz Dort, Aaron Wiggins and Isaiah Joe in an effort to avoid the harshest penalties. They could do that because they have backfilled those slots with Cason Wallace, who is going into his fourth year, and Ajay Mitchell and Jared McCain, both entering their third season. Those three will make a combined $14.7 million in 2026-27. The three traded players will make about $38 million.<\/p>\n

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That\u2019s why, instead of repeating our 2024 exercise of\u00a0drafting the best 21-and-under players<\/a>\u00a0in the league,\u00a0The Athletic<\/em>\u2019s Will Guillory, James L. Edwards III and Jared Weiss took part in a 30-player draft to select<\/span> the best players still on rookie-scale contracts. You need to consistently hit in the draft to build a sustainable contender.<\/p>\n

For the sake of this draft, no extra value was given to a rookie, who can be on their first deal for four more seasons, over a fourth-year player, who is heading for a new deal next offseason. (Victor Wembanyama and Amen Thompson, for instance, have already signed their next deals but are eligible for this draft because they will play 2026-27 on their initial contracts.) The three writers attempted to balance overall talent with building a sensible basketball team. They conducted a 10-round draft, snaking back at the end of each round.<\/p>\n

Without further ado \u2026<\/p>\n

Round 1<\/h2>\n

1. Team Guillory: Victor Wembanyama, center, San Antonio Spurs, fourth year<\/strong><\/h3>\n

If we did a draft of the entire NBA, there\u2019s a good chance Wemby would go No. 1. He\u2019s already the most dominant two-way player in the league. As we learned from his first trip to the NBA Finals, there\u2019s still so much room for him to grow. The French phenom has received criticism for his performance on and off the court against the New York Knicks, but it\u2019s still wild to think he\u2019s accomplished so much at 22 years old. In case you\u2019re wondering, no player has won league MVP while still on his rookie contract since Derrick Rose in 2011.<\/p>\n

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Victor Wembanyama’s top moments of the 2026 postseason<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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