Could Portland select Koa Peat in the 2026 NBA Draft?
Regardless of how the rest of the season goes for the Portland Trail Blazers, including whatever happens in the postseason, it is becoming pretty clear what range they will be drafting in during the 2026 NBA Draft. Portland will either land a late lottery pick if it fails to survive the play-in tournament and earn a true playoff berth, or it will be selecting just outside the lottery in the middle of the first round if it does make the playoffs.
Because of that, there is a fairly clear tier of prospects this front office should be focused on. And while best player available is still the right approach for a team in Portland’s situation, there are definitely some positional needs that matter more than others.
Center is not one of them. Donovan Clingan has already given the Blazers strong present-day production, and Yang Hansen gives them intriguing long-term upside there as well. Forward, on the other hand, feels like a much bigger priority.
As solid as Jerami Grant is, he is not likely to be a long-term part of Portland’s future. That makes a forward exactly the type of prospect the Blazers should be watching closely, and Arizona’s Koa Peat could be one of the more interesting options in that range.
In a recent mock draft, Portland was projected to select Peat at No. 12 overall. He was a highly touted recruit who is on track to be a one-and-done freshman at Arizona and has played a major role in the Wildcats putting together a dominant regular season, earning a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament, and advancing to the Elite Eight after a win over Arkansas on Thursday night.
Peat’s biggest weakness right now is his lack of a reliable three-point shot, but in just about every other way, he looks like an NBA-ready prospect. He has an ideal physical profile, good mobility for his size, and strong feel for the game. He is not Deni Avdija in the sense that he can fully run offense as a pseudo point guard, but he is a very good connective forward. He can pass, make quick decisions, play with pace, and keep the ball moving, all of which fit the style Portland appears to be building toward.
At 6-foot-8 and still just 19 years old on draft night, Peat would make a lot of sense as a Trail Blazers target. If the jumper ever comes around, there is even more upside there. So while Portland will have several options in this range, Peat is absolutely a name to keep an eye on throughout the rest of Arizona’s NCAA tournament run.