Comments on: 2026 NBA Draft Prospect Preview: Darius Acuff

By: Thretch

Thretch — Thu, 28 May 2026 16:19:25 +0000

OK, that makes sense.

I just don’t think the Dunn/DJ/Math/Sanders pairing wins a ton of games … but you’re right in that this is a short term perspective.

By: chogokin

chogokin — Tue, 26 May 2026 23:40:40 +0000

In the short term, I think any one of Dunn, DJJ, Mathurin, and Kobe Sanders would work just fine. If you mean in the long-term, like if this team is a contender, then the guy is probably not on the roster right now. Yu basically need to pair Acuff w/ a bigger guard who’s a great defender but also decent offensively and who doesn’t need to monopolize the ball (e.g. Dylan Harper), and those guys don’t grow on trees. But that’s a future problem – if you think Acuff is a future All-Star while Wagler is just a decent rotation piece, you don’t take Wagler just because he fits in easier w/ the current non-contending roster.

By: JCplusULTRA

JCplusULTRA — Tue, 26 May 2026 15:36:22 +0000

I disagree. I think we have EXACTLY what you want around Acuff, defenders and high fliers. Acuff was the best lob thrower in college. Dunn, Jones, Lopez, and Konan will help cover him defensively. Jones, Collins, and Konan are huge lob threats on offense.

By: khyber jones

khyber jones — Tue, 26 May 2026 14:58:08 +0000

I think Acuff will be a star in this league. Just pair him with a big shooting guard. Sanders is sitting right there for the Clippers. Acuff is also strong and a great athlete, so I think he’ll be much better defensively than people think. Coach Cal wanted him to focus on offense in order to get his draft position high.

LAC already has Dunn on the roster to be his veteran wing man, and Dunn did get credibly better as a shooter. If they also play Miller/Sanders/Christie and LAC is good.

Not sure if Garland will be on the roster, but Garland and Acuff as a 1-2 PG duo will be pretty explosive. Tough to play them together except in selected stretches, however.

By: Thretch

Thretch — Tue, 26 May 2026 05:43:19 +0000

I agree all around.

But my concern with Acuff is: who do you pair him with in the backcourt?

By: chogokin

chogokin — Tue, 26 May 2026 05:37:06 +0000

I’ve warmed to the idea of taking Acuff, but ultimately I’ll root for whoever we take. What worries me about Acuff vs Wagler is that it doesn’t really seem like Wagler is much better on defense, it’s just that his problem on that end appears to be physical (re: slow, unathletic), rather than mental/effort-based. Acuff seems like he has the physical tools (outside of height of course) to at least be ok defensively, but too often he just doesn’t try – so it’s kind of a question of if you think JVG, Ty, and Dunn can coach him up.

Regarding the whole Acuff vs Garland debate – having Monta Ellis didn’t stop the Warriors from taking Steph and then trading Monta when it became clear the pairing wasn’t gonna work out. Obviously not saying Acuff is Steph (people didn’t even think Steph was Steph when he was drafted), but just pointing out that it wouldn’t be the end of the world if we needed to trade Garland or Acuff down the line.

By: chogokin

chogokin — Tue, 26 May 2026 04:09:56 +0000

I feel like even w/ Harden, Mobley should’ve been the #2 option all along, but for whatever reason he’s just been ridiculously inconsistent and has some incredibly passive performances inbetween monster games. I don’t think we can blame Harden for this because we’ve seen what he can do for a big man over his career (e.g. Capela, Zu), and it’s not like Mobley should need the ball in his hands as much as a PG/SG does. I’m not absolving Harden of blame overall (he played like shit and clearly checked out after that game 1 embarrassment), but I’m not gonna blame him for Mobley’s lack of development – to me, that’s on the coaching staff and Mobley himself. I dunno what the Cavs FO does, but if they want to mix things up they’re likely gonna have to trade at least one of Mitchell and Mobley.

By: KingAlfonse

KingAlfonse — Tue, 26 May 2026 03:06:47 +0000

I totally get that, and maybe this is just my cope but it’s just gross watching him (and them) at this point. And I get the whole “well the officials are letting them do it and it’s working” (not from you, in general) but it’s just so abysmal. They play dirty on the defensive side (and get away w/ it) and then play dirty in a completely different way on the other end. And SGA being the centerpiece (and worst offender on the flopping/falling) is sad to see but makes not having him easier to stomach for me. (Again: still wish we hadn’t done the trade then or now, it just takes some of the sting off.)

By: Based Freestyle

Based Freestyle — Tue, 26 May 2026 03:04:10 +0000

~~If they’re smart, they’ll pull a Morey. Harden is going to be 37 this summer and completely done as any sort of impact player. The time for being sentimental with him is over.~~ Never mind, just remembered Harden has a player option for $42 million. He was expected to decline it, but he might actually opt in at this point given he has no trade value and likely played himself out of the kind of money he’s expecting. They might be stuck with him for another year at least.

Wouldn’t be shocked if they tried to move Mitchell, too. Like I said, he’s nothing special. Nowhere near the kind of guy who’s worth going over the second apron to build a team around. Short of somehow getting a young MVP contender on the Shai/Wemby level to carry him, which they have no assets or draft capital for, this is the absolute ceiling of what can be done with him as a top-2 option on a team. It’s pretty disappointing when you look at everything they’ve given up to build around him – not just Garland but also Lauri. You also have to wonder if they’ve stunted Mobley’s development on offense by going all-in on this ballhog backcourt.

By: chogokin

chogokin — Tue, 26 May 2026 02:44:18 +0000

Their flopping and dirty defensive play is definitely a deliberate strategy to push the limits of the officiating. And they’re given even more leeway now that they’re the defending champs instead of just a plucky, young upstart.