DeMarcus Cousins Sees Flashes of Kobe in Darryn Peterson | 2026 NBA Draft

DeMarcus Cousins Sees Flashes of Kobe in Darryn Peterson | 2026 NBA Draft

June 24, 2026



DeMarcus Cousins Sees Flashes of Kobe in Darryn Peterson | 2026 NBA Draft

DeMarcus Cousins, Jonathan Wasserman, Carter Elliott, and Greg Waddell break down the Utah Jazz selecting Darryn Peterson with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft.

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  4. peterson is just so polished offensively at 6'6 with a 6'9 wingspan. I've been surprised at how often he likes that floater, definitely an NBA guard staple. He's unique athletically in the way that he glides all over the floor, and is just extremely bendy and quick to the rim off the dribble. He isn't an s tier vertical athlete like caleb wilson, but that dosen't matter. His shotmaking has translated as expected, very nice touch as a shooter and has fakes and bumps to get it off in the mid range. His handle is excellent, not really worried despite some of these on ball moments where he can fumble the ball. He has a mid post game by fading over either shoulder, isn't bothered by contact, and after every move that is tight, can square his shoulders very well to the rim. Excellent shotmaking touch. His rim pressure isn't good, but pre injury it was great. But 58% at the rim is still pretty good even with the frequency issues. I'll talk about that in the last paragraph.

    He can play at different speeds, and uses that to his advantage. He's also comfortable firing off the catch, in the PNR, and what i love, off movement. versatile shooter who you can run off actions (flare, pin down, blob, wipe, etc.) despite having a very undisciplined shooting mechanics, twisting his upper body after shooting, or snakebiting the follow through instead of holding it. His lower body can twist sometimes as well when he's coming off a screen to shoot, even if he was straight he ends up like at a 90 degree angle. He'll even tip balls in with his left hand, pass with it, and has a good feel when to use it. Very good touch with both hands.

    He's fixed some of these tendencies as the season has gone on, and he's a lot more poised with his feet now as a shooter. He dosen't twist his hips and stick his leg out anymore. He's got nice touch with his left hand around the basket, he's a willing passer who knows where his reads are when he's not going really fast. He hasn't been tested as much in aggressive ball screen coverages yet, but we'll see. Defensively his stock numbers and instincts are really doing it in for me. He digs in the gaps but recovers extremely fast, often getting his hand on a pass to steal or deflect it. I think he can get lost in transition on defense here and there, but nothing crazy. His length (6'10 WS) helps him defend on the ball and he's got the twitch and hip flexibility to slide with defenders. He the strength to wall up and force attackers back, offers a rare blend of rim protection for a guard with his size and length. He challenges a lot of shots in that area, and reads the passing lanes like a hawk. Very good defensive upside. A nitpick for his defense could be that he can lack physicality defending ball screens.

    His motor is rare of someone who is a primary self creator on offense. The intensity has been there every game, but he can get lost and ball watch sometimes, hurting his value. He hasn't been gambling on defense either. Solid defender with elite upside on defense. However, the manipulation in his playmaking is not there despite minimal flashes. He can make reads if the defense gives him an advantage, like an open roller, or a simple lob, or a kickout driving to the basket. Occasionally he'll dump it off from the corners, or a bounce pass every now and then. He can't create advantages for his team as a passer, and that's okay. His passing versatility isn't exactly complex either. For the most part, peterson is a decent passer who certainly dosen't put the ball in harms way or turns it over.

    Because of his injuries, petersons rim pressure has tanked: he's in the 12th percentile for rim frequency, and instead has traded those layups for floaters, which is fine; but he's leaving free throws on the table when he does this. He can't explode vertically at the basket like he used to, and his speed in transition was slower as the season went on. His handle can flubber from time to time, but it's not a major issue. He can play on or off the ball, but you can argue that he's not a PG. Will he able to give his all on defense if he's the no.1 option? probably not. Double teams rush him and can make him throw inaccurate passes and make the wrong reads. Peterson has converted 58% of his shots at the rim, but extremely low frequency and that's his lowest rim fg% his whole career. It is a good % though. He also has the least amount of dunks of his career at 10, which is another very bad sign of his rim pressure. Right now, I think peterson is a 2 who can play the 1 for solid stretches, or in other words a shooting guard who can handle PG responsibilities, but isn't exactly a PG primary. Rim pressure and his passing versatility are his two biggest questions for me.

  9. I’m tired of this Kobe comp. It’s so lazy. Kobe was 6’7 ,legit 6’6. Also had bounce and one of the best dunkers of all time. His game looks more James Harden than anything.

  16. I find it interesting when people question the fit of DP with Key. Ace can’t dribble yet, Lauri gets better the less he dribbles, and jjj is not an on ball creator either. Seems pretty obvious to those who watched Jazz games that we need more people who can handle pass and shoot, since we only really had one guy who could do all three.

    Also, Key was low key great off ball.

    Seems like a win win win to me.

    Both DP and Key can play on ball and off ball and we needed another guy to handle the rock when the opposing team starts pressuring Key on ball. That was a strategy, probably the reason key played significant minutes with Callier, but the problem with Calier was that he’s a non shooter.

    For me the real question is whether DP actually makes his team better when he’s the on ball facilitator.

    Again, the guys who actually cover the Jazz have noted that our biggest needs were shooting and more ball handling. Peterson seems to fit the bill.

  17. Closer to Vinnie Johnson, than he is to Kobe. Kobe shot free throws with a ruptured achilles. Peterson checks himself out of games just because. If the Jazz can get 18 minutes a night out of him, coming off the bench, that will be a miracle.

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