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Draft Notes: Topic, Top Five Picks, Combine, Bronny

May 14th, 2024 at 8:47pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Projected top-10 pick Nikola Topic avoided a serious injury after a scary incident during the Adriatic League finals, ESPN’s Jonathan Givony reports (Twitter link).

Topic suffered a non-contact injury, with an initial diagnosis of a sprained left knee that will likely rule him out for the remainder of the Adriatic League tournament. However, he should be a full participant in NBA pre-draft activities in June, Givony adds. The Serbian point guard is currently ranked No. 5 on ESPN’s Best Available list.

We have more draft-related tidbits:

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Atlantic Notes: Thibodeau, Sixers, Raptors, Nets

May 14th, 2024 at 4:00pm CST by Luke Adams

Asked before Tuesday’s Game 5 about the outside perception that Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau is running his players into the ground, Josh Hart – who leads all NBA players with 44.1 minutes per game in the postseason – scoffed at the idea, according to Peter Botte of The New York Post.

“You expect ignorance when people have no idea what goes on in this building,” Hart said. “People love to have a narrative or a label and run with it. None of those guys are here watching us practice. None of those guys are watching what we do. At the end of the day, seventh year of my career, I’ve probably had more off days than I’ve had in other days. We don’t go contact in practice. Everyone thinks we do three-hour practices of scrimmaging. It’s idiotic to put (the Knicks’ injury woes) on him. He’s not going to say anything about it. He’s going to take it on the chin and keep on moving.”

Within an in-depth feature on Thibodeau, Tim Keown of ESPN notes that the Knicks’ head coach has a knack for staggering his timeouts during games in order to give his players as much rest as possible even when they’re playing heavy minutes. That’s something that hasn’t gone unnoticed by those who play for him.

“I would say he’s one of the most prepared coaches,” Donte DiVincenzo said. “That’s not a shot at any other coach, but Thibs is on a whole ‘nother level. He knows every single movement they’re going to do, every single adjustment they’re going to make. We go through it all, and being the more prepared team makes you more confident, and when you’re more confident, you play more loose.

“The way he runs a game,” DiVincenzo added, “you kind of forget the minutes sometimes.”

Here’s more from around the Atlantic:

  • Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer considers whether the Sixers are likely to use their substantial 2024 cap room on free agents, noting that many of the top players on this year’s market could end up being unavailable, since they’re candidates to sign extensions or free agent contracts with their current teams. “The main mistake that could be made that we won’t make is if some of the better options don’t go our way,” president of basketball operations Daryl Morey said last month. “Trade into our cap space, free agents, turn our draft picks into things – if all those things don’t yield what we want, we are definitely not going to just sign some player for a lot of money who’s just an OK player.”
  • Sunday’s draft lottery results mean the Raptors won’t control their own first-round pick – No. 8 overall – this year, having committed it to San Antonio in last year’s Jakob Poeltl trade. As Eric Koreen of The Athletic writes, that outcome gives the franchise an opportunity to learn from its past mistakes and to have a clean slate going forward. Toronto holds all of its own first-rounders beginning in 2025, so if the team wants to take a patient approach to its retooling process, the front office won’t have to worry about losing a lottery pick in a stronger draft year.
  • Lucas Kaplan of NetsDaily rounds up a few items related to the Nets‘ offseason, including following up on the report stating that the Rockets asked Brooklyn earlier this year about swapping draft assets. According to Kaplan, league sources say the talks between the Rockets and the Nets “reached nothing beyond light-hearted conversation.”
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Southwest Notes: Spurs, Grizzlies, Rockets, Doncic

May 13th, 2024 at 4:00pm CST by Luke Adams

Two days after honoring last year’s No. 1 overall pick Victor Wembanyama with the presentation of his Rookie of the Year award on Friday (Andrew Lopez of ESPN has the details), the Spurs enjoyed a successful draft lottery for a second consecutive spring on Sunday. As Tom Orsborn of The San Antonio Express-News (subscription required) writes, general manager Brian Wright said San Antonio was thrilled to come away from Sunday’s event with the No. 4 and No. 8 picks.

“You are always looking at how you build a team and how do you get enough bites at the apple with whatever mechanism, and two lottery picks gives us a great opportunity to add two young players to our young core or also see what else is out there,” Wright said. “Like we do everything, we will evaluate all options.”

The Spurs’ own pick moved up one spot to No. 4 as a result of the lottery drawing, while the top-six protected pick that the Raptors owed San Antonio fell from No. 6 to No. 8, outside of its protected range. Spurs management may have preferred to acquire that pick in a stronger draft year, but there’s no guarantee it would’ve landed inside the top 10 in any other year.

Whether the Spurs keep or trade their lottery picks, finding players who complement Wembanyama will be a top priority, Wright confirmed.

“You definitely take that into consideration because you want to build a team that is cohesive and can grow together,” the GM said.

Here’s more from around the Southwest:

  • As happy as the Spurs were with Sunday’s lottery results, it’s worth noting that accounting for the cap holds for those two lottery selections at No. 4 and No. 8 will cut into their projected cap space. Bobby Marks of ESPN (Twitter link) now has San Antonio projected for about $19.5MM in room, assuming the team waives Devonte’ Graham and Charles Bassey.
  • The Grizzlies have recently parted ways with several assistant coaches, according to Kelly Iko of The Athletic, who tweets that head coach Taylor Jenkins is restructuring his staff this spring. Iko didn’t specify exactly which coaches have been let go.
  • Damichael Cole of The Memphis Commercial Appeal considers some of the options the Grizzlies will have with the No. 9 pick in the draft, discussing which prospects could fit the team at that spot and whether it makes sense to trade up, down, or out of the draft.
  • Asked after the Rockets landed the No. 3 pick in the draft lottery what sort of roster needs his team might want to address this offseason, head coach Ime Udoka pointed to shooting, shot creation, and positional versatility as traits Houston will be looking for, according to Iko. “Shooting is always at a premium, so you look at that,” Udoka said. “Versatility across the board with how we defend and want to play. And well-rounded players, we want shot creation as well. Trying to cover all the bases and with that third pick, you can do that with a lot of these players.”
  • While there has been no indication that he won’t play, Mavericks star Luka Doncic is once again listed as questionable for Monday’s Game 4 due to his right knee sprain and left ankle soreness, tweets Tim MacMahon of ESPN. Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News (subscription required) takes a closer look at the beating that Doncic has taken so far in the playoffs, noting that the MVP finalist told reporters that “everything” was sore after the Mavs’ Game 3 victory.
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Draft Notes: Combine, Mocks, Holland, Trade Rumors, Osobor

May 13th, 2024 at 1:03pm CST by Luke Adams

Boogie Ellis (USC), Isaac Jones (Washington State), Jesse Edwards (West Virginia), Nae’Qwan Tomlin (Memphis), and Enrique Freeman (Akron) are among the prospects who stood out at the G League Elite Camp over the weekend and earned invitations to participate in the NBA’s combine this week, according to a series of tweets from Jonathan Givony of ESPN. The G League officially confirmed Givony’s reporting (Twitter link).

The combine got underway in Chicago on Monday, with all participants taking part in shooting drills and undergoing strength, agility, and performance testing.

Language in the NBA’s new Collective Bargaining Agreement requires all prospects to participate in those aspects of the combine, though they’re still permitted to opt out of this week’s scrimmages. Jonathan Wasserman of Bleacher Report (Twitter link) identifies several of the fringe first-rounders who have decided to pass on scrimmaging, including Kyshawn George (Miami), Carlton Carrington (Pittsburgh), Kevin McCullar (Kansas), and Johnny Furphy (Kansas), among many others.

As Chase Hughes of Monumental Sports Network tweets, prospects whose international teams’ seasons haven’t ended are permitted to miss the combine, but those players – including Zaccharie Risacher of JL Bourg and Nikola Topic (Crvena Zvezda) – will be required to complete “pre-draft activities” at a later date.

Here are several more draft-related notes:

  • Wasserman, Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer, and Jonathan Givony and Jeremy Woo of ESPN.com updated their 2024 mock drafts following the conclusion of Sunday’s lottery to reflect the new order. All three mocks have the Hawks using the No. 1 overall pick on French big man Alexandre Sarr.
  • John Hollinger of The Athletic has shared his rankings of the top 20 prospects in the 2024 draft class, with plenty of choices that deviate from the consensus. Hollinger has G League Ignite guard Ron Holland at No. 1, with Sarr at No. 5 and Risacher (ESPN’s top prospect) all the way down at No. 13.
  • Zach Lowe of ESPN (Insider link) and Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports, two of the media members who were in the draft lottery drawing room on Sunday, share some behind-the-scenes observations from the event and consider what’s next for the teams most impacted by Sunday’s results. Sources tell Lowe that the Rockets (No. 3) and Grizzlies (No. 9) are expected to be among the teams that explore trade possibilities with their picks, though both teams could ultimately end up hanging onto their lottery selections. Meanwhile, Wizards general manager Will Dawkins told Fischer that he thinks “there are multiple All-Stars in this class.” Washington holds the No. 2 pick.
  • Coming off his junior year at Utah State, forward Great Osobor is testing the NBA draft waters, but it sounds like he’ll end up transferring to a new school for his senior year. According to Givony, Osobor has an NIL deal in place with Washington worth $2MM, which is the most lucrative known deal in college basketball this season.
  • A series of ESPN’s NBA reporters explore the biggest questions facing every lottery team.
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Hawks Win 2024 NBA Draft Lottery; Wizards, Rockets, Spurs In Top 4

May 12th, 2024 at 2:27pm CST by Luke Adams

The Hawks have won the 2024 NBA draft lottery, jumping all the way up from No. 10 in the pre-lottery order to No. 1.

Atlanta had just a 3% chance of claiming this year’s top pick. Those are the longest odds for any team that has won the lottery since the NBA revamped the format prior to the 2019 draft.

The full lottery order for the 2024 draft is as follows:

  1. Atlanta Hawks
  2. Washington Wizards
  3. Houston Rockets (from Nets)
  4. San Antonio Spurs
  5. Detroit Pistons
  6. Charlotte Hornets
  7. Portland Trail Blazers
  8. San Antonio Spurs (from Raptors)
  9. Memphis Grizzlies
  10. Utah Jazz
  11. Chicago Bulls
  12. Oklahoma City Thunder (from Rockets)
  13. Sacramento Kings
  14. Portland Trail Blazers (from Warriors)

There’s no consensus No. 1 pick in 2024 like there was with Victor Wembanyama a year ago, so the Hawks will have plenty of options to consider in the coming weeks.

French big man Alexandre Sarr, French forward Zaccharie Risacher, UConn center Donovan Clingan, G League Ignite wing Ron Holland, Ignite forward Matas Buzelis, Serbian point guard Nikola Topic, and Kentucky guard Rob Dillingham are among the prospects expected to be in the mix for the top few picks.

Some of those players look like better fits than others on the current Atlanta roster, but there has been an expectation that the Hawks will make some significant changes this summer, with Trae Young and Dejounte Murray viewed as possible trade candidates. Atlanta’s front office will have to take those potential moves into account as it weighs what to do with the No. 1 pick.

Washington, Houston, and San Antonio are among the other big winners of draft lottery day. The Wizards entered the day ranked second in the pre-lottery order and no team had better odds at the top pick, but they also had just a 27.4% chance to remain in the top two, so they can’t complain about the outcome. It will be the second lottery pick for the current front office, which will get the opportunity to add another building block to last year’s No. 7 overall selection Bilal Coulibaly.

The Rockets‘ own pick at No. 12 will be sent to the Thunder as a result of 2019’s Russell Westbrook trade, but Houston will pick third overall thanks to one of the unprotected Nets first-rounders that was included in the 2021 James Harden blockbuster. Prior to the lottery, that pick had just the ninth-best odds to move into the top three (14.5%).

A report this week stated that the Rockets are interested in trading their lottery selection for future draft assets after having made nine first-round picks in the past three years. Assuming Houston’s stance hasn’t changed following the lottery results, the fact that the pick is now No. 3 instead of No. 9 should significantly improve its value on the trade market.

The Spurs, meanwhile, had an eventful lottery day, landing a pair of picks in the top eight as they look to build a contending team around Wembanyama. Their own pick moved up one spot, from No. 5 in the pre-lottery order to No. 4, and they also secured a second pick as a result of Toronto dropping from No. 6 to No. 8.

The Raptors traded their top-six protected 2024 first-round pick to San Antonio in a package for Jakob Poeltl last year and would have retained it if no teams had leapfrogged them into the top four. Because Atlanta and Houston both moved up, that No. 8 pick will be controlled by the Spurs — the Raptors’ obligation to San Antonio is complete and they’ll control all their own first-rounders beginning in 2025.

It’s another disappointing lottery day for the Pistons, who – for a second consecutive year – finished with the NBA’s worst record and ended up with the No. 5 overall pick. For what it’s worth, Detroit only had about a 50/50 chance (52.1%) in each case to land in the top four, due to the flatter nature of the odds under the NBA’s current format. Still, losing that coin flip in back-to-back years is a discouraging outcome for a Pistons team whose rebuild hasn’t progressed at the rate the organization hoped.

While no team dropped as far as the Pistons (four spots), the Hornets (No. 3 to No. 6), Trail Blazers (No. 4 to No. 7), Grizzlies (No. 7 to No. 9), and Jazz (No. 8 to No. 10) also moved back multiple spots as a result of the lottery.

If Utah had fallen one more spot, the Jazz would’ve owed their top-10 protected first-round pick to the Thunder, but that obligation will roll over to 2025 instead — the pick will retain its top-10 protection next year.

The Wizards, Pistons, Hornets, Trail Blazers, and Kings also had traded picks fall into their protected range and will owe their 2025 first-rounders to rival teams. The Knicks will receive Washington’s 2025 pick if it’s not in the top 10 and Detroit’s pick if it’s not in the top 13. The Spurs will control Charlotte’s lottery-protected 2025 pick; the Bulls would get Portland’s 2025 pick if it’s outside the lottery; and the Hawks will acquire the Kings’ 2025 first-rounder if it doesn’t end up in the top 12.

Finally, it’s worth noting that the Warriors would have retained their 2024 first-rounder in the unlikely event that it had moved into the top four. Because it stayed at No. 14, it was sent to Portland and Golden State has no further obligation to the Blazers.

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Rockets Interested In Trading 2024 Pick For Future Draft Assets

May 10th, 2024 at 9:38pm CST by Luke Adams

After having selected nine players in the first rounds of the past three drafts, the Rockets aren’t eager to add another young prospect to their roster for the 2024/25 season, according to Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle (subscription required).

As Feigen explains, the Rockets are more interested in adding to their stockpile of future draft assets by trading their 2024 lottery pick to a team willing to give up picks in 2025 and beyond. A person with knowledge of the team’s thinking tells The Chronicle that those efforts have been “ongoing” for several months and are expected to continue leading up to draft day on June 26.

Barring an unexpected development in Sunday’s draft lottery, the Rockets’ project to have this year’s No. 9 overall pick, which initially belonged to Brooklyn. Houston’s own first-rounder, which projects to be No. 12, will be sent to Oklahoma City unless it moves into the top four. In that scenario, the Rockets would hang onto it and would hold two lottery picks, but the odds of that happening are just 7.1%.

Reports earlier this year indicated that the Rockets inquired about Nets forward Mikal Bridges prior to February’s trade deadline and were willing to give up a combination of Jalen Green and some of Brooklyn’s first-round picks that Houston controls. However, according to Feigen, the Rockets’ primary goal in those talks with the Nets was to push back their collection of draft picks.

Two sources familiar with the teams’ discussions tell Feigen that Houston general manager Rafael Stone sought the Suns’ draft assets controlled by Brooklyn in exchange for Nets assets held by the Rockets. It’s unclear based on Feigen’s wording whether Stone was willing to return control of all of Brooklyn’s picks in exchange for all of the Nets’ Phoenix assets or if just some picks on either side were involved in those talks.

Either way, Brooklyn “quickly dismissed” the idea, per The Chronicle, since the Nets wanted to focus on its efforts to be a playoff team rather than pivoting to a rebuild and bottoming out in order to fully take advantage of having their own draft picks back.

In addition to controlling the Nets’ lottery pick this year, the Rockets own Brooklyn’s unprotected 2026 first-rounder and have swap rights in 2025 and 2027. The Nets, in turn, hold the Suns’ first-rounders in 2025, 2027, and 2029 (all unprotected), with swap rights in 2028.

Assuming the Nets don’t want to revisit that concept, Feigen suggests Houston could reach out to another team that has accumulated several extra future first-round selections, such as Utah or Oklahoma City. However, the Jazz made three first-round picks last year and have two more first-rounders this year, including one that’s projected to be No. 8, ahead of Houston’s top pick.

The Thunder, meanwhile, may not be looking to add a rookie to a deep roster that appears increasingly close to title contention. However, it’s worth noting – especially if Oklahoma City ends up picking three spots behind Houston – that OKC has shown a willingness to trade up in the first round in recent years to ensure it lands its top targets. The Thunder moved up from No. 12 to No. 10 last year to nab Cason Wallace.

The Rockets’ efforts will be complicated by the fact that the top of the 2024 draft class is widely considered to be weaker than usual, so the No. 9 pick this year wouldn’t necessarily be equivalent in value to No. 9 in a typical draft. But for the sake of comparison, the last time a selection in that range was traded exclusively for future draft assets, the Knicks received three protected first-rounders from the Thunder in exchange for the No. 11 pick in 2022.

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Brian Keefe Top Candidate For Wizards’ Coaching Job?

May 10th, 2024 at 12:26pm CST by Rory Maher

The Wizards are expected to start interviewing candidates for their head coaching vacancy within the next few days, a team source told Josh Robbins of The Athletic.

Brian Keefe, who finished out the 2023/24 season as interim head coach, is viewed by sources from three rival teams as the top candidate for the job, they told Robbins.

Robbins’ sources also speculated that the Wizards might be eyeing Heat assistant Chris Quinn, Rockets assistant Royal Ivey, and Mavericks assistant Sean Sweeney as potential candidates.

Washington’s coaching search has been very quiet since the regular season concluded. Multiple staff members were reportedly let go three weeks ago, but the Wizards retained Keefe and assistant coach David Vanterpool.

Multiple reports have stated Keefe will be in the running for the permanent job despite compiling a 8-31 record in his 39 games. He has a “strong player-development background,” Robbins writes, and players were very supportive of Keefe when the season ended. Jordan Poole, for instance, performed much better after Keefe decided to bring him off the bench to be a primary ball-handler and play-maker, Robbins notes.

“I can really only just really speak on the stuff that B.K. has brought since he’s been here, and I think he’s been really good for our young team: the detail-orientedness that he brings, the structure that he brings,” Poole said after the regular season ended. “He loves the game, and that’s something that goes a really long way, especially at the highest level. And he’s willing and very genuine and authentic about putting our team (and) putting guys in positions to be successful and play to their strengths and really unlocking them because he cares about them as individuals. He’s done a really good job.”

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Celtics’ Brad Stevens Named NBA’s Executive Of The Year

April 30th, 2024 at 10:59am CST by Luke Adams

Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens has been named the NBA’s Executive of the Year for the 2023/24 season, the league announced today (via Twitter).

In his third season as the Celtics’ head of basketball operations after eight years as the team’s head coach, Stevens put together a dominant Boston roster that posted a 64-18 record, easily the best mark in the NBA, along with a +11.7 net rating, the third-best mark in league history.

The Celtics were coming off a 57-win season in 2022/23, but Stevens shook up the roster drastically last summer, trading away longtime defensive stalwart Marcus Smart in a deal for Kristaps Porzingis, then moving key role players Malcolm Brogdon and Robert Williams in a a blockbuster for Jrue Holiday as training camps got underway.

Stevens also signed several Celtics players to contract extensions in the past 12 months, including Jaylen Brown, Payton Pritchard, and Holiday.

Unlike the NBA’s other major awards, the Executive of the Year is voted on by 29 team executives from around the league rather than 99 media members. Stevens received 16 of 29 potential first-place votes, along with six second-place votes and three third-place votes, for a total of 101 points (Twitter link).

The runner-up, Sam Presti of the Thunder, had 47 points, including four first-place votes. Tim Connelly of the Timberwolves also earned the top spot on four ballots en route to a third-place finish (29 points).

Knicks president Leon Rose (27 points; one first-place vote) was the only other executive to earn more than 11 points, though Nico Harrison (Mavericks) and Monte McNair (Kings) also received first-place votes, while Rockets general manager Rafael Stone earned a pair of them. A total of 13 executives showed up on at least one ballot.

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Sixers’ Maxey Named Most Improved Player

April 23rd, 2024 at 6:13pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Sixers guard Tyrese Maxey has won the NBA’s Most Improved Player award for the 2023/24 season, the league’s communications department tweets.

Maxey edged out Bulls guard Coby White for the award. Maxey received 51 of 99 first-place votes while recording 319 voting points. White had just 32 first-place votes, but showed up on more ballots (91) than Maxey (79) and compiled 305 points.

The third finalist, Rockets center Alperen Sengun, was a distant third with six first-place votes and 92 points.

Thunder forward Jalen Williams and Knicks guard Jalen Brunson finished fourth and fifth, respectively, according to the NBA, which revealed the full voting results on Twitter.

A total of 14 players appeared on at least one ballot, with Wizards forward Deni Avdija and Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton each earning one first-place vote.

Maxey, who is expected to sign a maximum-salary contract this offseason as a restricted free agent, ranked 11th in the NBA in points per game (+5.6 PPG from last season) and 20th in assists per game (+2.7 APG from last season). The first-time All-Star also made a career-high 212 three-pointers, up from 160 last season.

Maxey recorded three games of 50 or more points, tied for the most in the NBA. Those were the first 50-point games of his four-year career.

Maxey is the first member of the Sixers to win the award since Dana Barros was the leading vote-getter for the 1994/95 season.

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Doncic, Gilgeous-Alexander, Jokic Named MVP Finalists

April 21st, 2024 at 6:03pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Mavericks guard Luka Doncic, Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Nuggets center Nikola Jokic were revealed on Sunday as the finalists for the Most Valuable Player award, according to the NBA (Twitter link).

Doncic led the league in scoring (33.9 points per game) and finished second in assists (9.8) while also grabbing 9.2 rebounds per contest. Gilgeous-Alexander led the Thunder to the top seed in the Western Conference by averaging 30.1 points, 5.5 rebounds, 6.2 assists and 2.0 steals per contest. Jokic, who is widely considered the favorite to win his third MVP trophy, averaged 26.4 points, 12.4 rebounds and 9.0 assists per night.

The NBA also announced the finalists for six other postseason awards. Here are the finalists for all of those awards:

Most Valuable Player

Sixth Man

Defensive Player of the Year

Most Improved Player

Note: Sengun appeared in just 63 games but was eligible for award consideration based on the season-ending injury exception described in our glossary entry on the 65-game rule.

Coach of the Year

  • Mark Daigneault, Thunder
  • Chris Finch, Timberwolves
  • Jamahl Mosley, Magic

Rookie of the Year

Clutch Player of the Year

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