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Draft Notes: 2024 Mocks, Withdrawals, Sheppard, Traore

June 1st, 2024 at 3:34pm CST by Rory Maher

Jonathan Givony and Jeremy Woo of ESPN (Insider link) recently published a new 2024 mock draft that features lots of interesting information.

Former Dayton star DaRon Holmes II has canceled several upcoming workouts, sources tell Woo, “raising strong suspicions that he has secured a guarantee in the back part of the first round.” The mock has Holmes, who is ranked No. 45 on ESPN’s big board, going No. 28 overall to the Nuggets.

According to Givony, rival teams think the Trail Blazers, Grizzlies and Bulls have interest in moving up in the draft — possibly to No. 3, a pick the Rockets control — to select UConn center Donovan Clingan.

While the Hawks haven’t made their intentions known regarding the No. 1 pick, each team in the top five has “significant interest” in French forward Zaccharie Risacher, who looks “highly unlikely” to fall past the Wizards at No. 2, per Givony. ESPN’s mock has Atlanta selecting Risacher first overall.

The entire mock draft is worth reading in full for those who subscribe to ESPN+.

Here are a few more draft notes:

  • In a separate article for ESPN (Insider link), Givony and Woo answer questions related to the early-entrant withdrawal deadline for college players to maintain their NCAA eligibility. That deadline passed on Wednesday night. Of the players who withdrew from the draft, Givony thinks Michael Ajayi (transferring to Gonzaga) has a great chance to improve his stock in 2025, while Woo views Alabama’s Jarin Stevenson as a player who could move up boards next year.
  • Jonathan Wasserman of Bleacher Report also updated his mock draft after the withdrawal deadline. While the top-three picks (Risacher, Alexandre Sarr and Reed Sheppard) are the same on both mocks, there are also some major differences. For example, ESPN’s mock has Colorado’s Cody Williams landing with Portland at No. 14, but Wasserman has Detroit selecting Williams at No. 5. Kel’el Ware (No. 23 in ESPN’s mock, No. 14 in Bleacher Report’s) is another player with a seemingly wide draft range.
  • Kentucky guard Sheppard recently sat down for an interview with Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium (Twitter video link), answering questions about his family background, NBA players he looks up to, and more.
  • French guard Nolan Traore, who spent this season with Saint-Quentin in France’s top basketball division, has signed a two-year extension, the team announced (via Twitter). ESPN’s Givony was the first to report the news, writing that Traore was being recruited by major colleges as well as other professional teams from around the world. “Basketball-wise, it’s the best situation for me,” Traore told Givony. “I can play with a coach that I know, that gave me the confidence to play in the playoffs. I liked the first experience that I had with them. Playing in the FIBA Champions League [BCL] group stage next season will be exciting and was a big positive.” The 17-year-old is a projected lottery pick in 2025, according to Givony, who adds that Traore will be ranked in the top five when ESPN updates its mock draft for next year.
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2024 NBA Offseason Preview: Memphis Grizzlies

May 30th, 2024 at 1:32pm CST by Rory Maher

The Grizzlies won 56 games in 2021/22 and 51 games in ’22/23, entering the playoffs as the West’s No. 2 seed on each occasion. However, they didn’t find much playoff success, winning one series over those two seasons despite compiling 107 regular season victories.

Entering ’23/24, expectations were a little lower, with a projected win total of 46.5. Memphis finished nowhere near that mark, going 27-55, the seventh-worst record in the NBA.

A big part of the reason why the Grizzlies’ projected win total was lower in October was star point guard Ja Morant had to serve a 25-game suspension following another off-court incident involving a firearm. After serving the suspension and playing nine games, Morant sustained a labral tear in his right shoulder after a training session in January. At the time of his surgery, the recovery was outlined as a six-month process; he’s reportedly making good progress.

Brandon Clarke‘s season was also essentially a wash. He returned in late March after sustaining a torn Achilles tendon in March 2023 and looked pretty good in his six games, but the team’s season was over by that point.

Starting center Steven Adams missed the entire season after undergoing knee surgery in October and was traded to Houston ahead of the February deadline. Marcus Smart, who was acquired in a three-team trade last summer (Memphis gave up Tyus Jones and two-first round picks), was limited to just 20 games due to a variety of injuries. The team’s best player in ’23/24, Desmond Bane, appeared in just just 42 games. The list goes on.

There were a couple bright spots amid the injury-ravaged season. Second-year wing Vince Williams had an unexpected breakout, earning a promotion from a two-way deal to a multiyear standard contract (he was also limited to 52 games due to injuries). And rookie GG Jackson, another former second-round pick who was converted to a standard deal, had a big second half, earning a spot on the All-Rookie Second Team in the process.

With Morant, Bane and Jaren Jackson Jr. all under contract for at least the next two seasons, the Grizzlies still have a window to build around their three best players. But with Bane no longer on his rookie contract (his near-max rookie scale extension kicks in next season), their financial situation will be trickier to manage going forward.

The Grizzlies’ Offseason Plan

Memphis experimented with using Jackson more at center in ’23/24, with mixed results. Having him more involved in pick-and-rolls defensively meant he couldn’t be a weak-side roamer, which is what he’s best at. He can also be overpowered by bigger centers and is a subpar rebounder for a big man.

Offensively, Jackson can theoretically space the floor (he only made 32.0% of his threes last season; he’s at 34.5% for his career), and he’s quicker than most centers, which enables him to drive and draw fouls. It’s essentially a trade-off of offense for defense, but it isn’t a particularly fruitful one.

Jackson was the league’s Defensive Player of the Year in ’22/23. In ’23/24, he received no votes for the All-Defensive First Team and one for the Second Team. Obviously, utilizing him in a more effective way on that end is critical to the team’s success.

The Grizzlies fell two spots in the draft lottery and wound up with the No. 9 overall pick. After trading Adams and Xavier Tillman, center is a clear roster weakness, but the draft is light on big men who project to be available at that spot.

Do the Grizzlies really want to add another 19- or 20-year-old to a relatively young team that’s trying to win now? Unless they try to move up to snag a true center like Donovan Clingan, I think it’s probably more likely that they’ll trade their lottery pick for immediate help than keep it (they also control two second-rounders at No. 39 and No. 57).

If Memphis exercises its $14.8MM team option on Luke Kennard, the team would have 13 players with guaranteed deals and a team salary of approximately $172.5MM, including the dead-money cap hit of Kennedy Chandler. If the Grizzlies keep the No. 9 pick, that figure rises to about $178.2MM.

The projected luxury tax line for ’24/25 is $171.3MM. The first apron is at $178.7MM. If the Grizzlies pick up that option on Kennard, they would lose access to the non-taxpayer mid-level exception (which starts at $12.86MM) and the bi-annual exception ($4.68MM). Instead, they would have the taxpayer MLE ($5MM).

On the other hand, declining the option could mean losing a productive role player and a useful mid-sized salary for trade purposes. Kennard is one of the league’s best shooters — his 43.9% career mark on three-pointers is tops among active players, and third-best all-time. He’s also a decent tertiary play-maker and moves the ball well. The problem is he’s a below-average defender, a weakness that tends to be exploited more in the playoffs.

The Grizzlies already have Morant, Bane and Smart on the roster. Would Kennard even be part of closing lineups? On offense, sure, he could be used in place of Smart, but wasting timeouts on offense-for-defense substitutions isn’t really a great strategy at the end of games.

Is this team, as currently constructed, worth paying the tax for? Probably not. But with a small tweak or two, it could be.

Let’s say the Grizzlies decline the option and use the non-taxpayer MLE to sign a free agent center or two. Nic Claxton will be out of their price range. The Knicks could just use their Early Bird rights on Isaiah Hartenstein to outbid Memphis if the Grizzlies offer him the full MLE.

The remaining list of free agent centers doesn’t inspire a ton of confidence. Former Grizzly Jonas Valanciunas remains highly productive as a post scorer and rebounder, but he’s 32 and struggles defensively. If they split the MLE, they might be able to sign both Andre Drummond and Goga Bitadze — I don’t hate the idea as a temporary solution, but I also don’t think it would help them contend for a championship.

If he actually becomes available this summer, Cavaliers center Jarrett Allen looks like a terrific fit for this roster. I imagine he would be near the top of the Grizzlies’ list of potential trade targets.

Allen is on a relatively team-friendly contract that will pay him $20MM each of the next two seasons. He’s 26, right around the age of Memphis’ top three players. He’s a strong defender who would be an athletic lob threat to pair with Morant. The former All-Star wouldn’t come cheap in a trade, but the Grizzlies have the pieces to pursue him.

Would the No. 9 pick, Clarke or Kennard, and a young, cost-controlled player who can contribute (like Williams or Jackson) be enough to get it done? (Another contract might be needed for salary-matching purposes.) The Cavs would probably counter by asking for a second first-rounder, since the Grizzlies control all of their future first-round picks, but Cleveland would at least have to consider it. Of course, the Cavs are trying to compete for a championship too, which makes the 2024 lottery pick less appealing unless they can flip it for win-now help.

If healthy, the Grizzlies have the framework of a good team — they went 6-3 in games Morant played last season, though that’s a small sample and it isn’t a given that he’ll stay out of trouble going forward. The problem is, “good” isn’t good enough in the West — the Pelicans won 49 games and were unable to avoid the play-in tournament. Memphis can’t just run it back with its current roster and hope for better health luck. The Grizzlies will need to improve this summer if they want to be a legitimate contender.

Salary Cap Situation

Guaranteed Salary

Non-Guaranteed Salary

Dead/Retained Salary

Player Options

Team Options

Restricted Free Agents

  • None

Two-Way Free Agents

Draft Picks

  • No. 9 overall pick ($5,773,800 cap hold)
  • No. 39 overall pick (no cap hold)
  • No. 57 overall pick (no cap hold)
  • Total (cap holds): $5,773,800

Extension-Eligible Players

  • Santi Aldama (rookie scale)
  • Jaren Jackson Jr. (veteran)
    • Extension-eligible as of October 1.
  • Luke Kennard (veteran)
    • Extension-eligible until June 30 (or beyond, if his team option is exercised).
  • Marcus Smart (veteran)
  • Ziaire Williams (rookie scale)

Note: Unless otherwise indicated, these players are eligible for extensions beginning in July.

Unrestricted Free Agents

Other Cap Holds

  • Yves Pons ($1,867,722 cap hold)
  • Total (cap holds): $1,867,722

Note: Pons’ cap hold is on the Grizzlies’ books from a prior season because he hasn’t been renounced. He can’t be used in a sign-and-trade deal.

Cap Exceptions Available

Note: The Grizzlies project to operate over the cap and under the first tax apron. If they approach or exceed the first apron, they would lose access to the full mid-level exception and bi-annual exception and would gain access to the taxpayer mid-level exception ($5,183,000).

  • Non-taxpayer mid-level exception: $12,859,000
  • Bi-annual exception: $4,681,000
  • Trade exception: $12,600,000
  • Trade exception: $7,492,540
    • Expires on July 8.
  • Trade exception: $2,718,240
  • Trade exception: $1,930,681

Note: Unless otherwise indicated, trade exceptions don’t expire before the regular season begins.

Luke Adams contributed to this post.

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Allen Calls Having Jersey Retired A "Dream Come True"

May 24th, 2024 at 9:15am CST by Rory Maher
  • In an interview with Kelly Iko of The Athletic, former defensive ace Tony Allen says having his No. 9 jersey retired next season is a “dream come true.” “This is every hooper’s dream and I’m very thankful,” Allen said. “Big shout out to the Grizzlies for always holding it down for me. Embracing me. Acknowledging the fact that I struck a match to the organization with my phrase ‘Grit-n-Grind’ and that lives forever.” Memphis originally planned to retire Allen’s number during the 2021/22 season, but the veteran guard asked the team to postpone the ceremony due to his legal issues.
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2023/24 All-NBA Teams Announced

May 22nd, 2024 at 7:01pm CST by Arthur Hill

The All-NBA teams have been announced for the 2023/24 season (Twitter link).

A total of 99 media members voted on the honors, with players receiving five points for a First Team vote, three points for a Second Team vote and one point for a Third Team vote. This year’s All-NBA teams are as follows:

First Team

Second Team

Third Team

Gilgeous-Alexander and Jokic were the only two unanimous First Team selections, receiving 99 of 99 possible votes. Doncic earned 98 First Team votes but was named to the Second Team on one ballot. Antetokounmpo (88), Tatum (65), Brunson (37), Edwards (3), and Durant (2) were the only other players to receive multiple First Team votes.

Others receiving votes and their point totals are the Celtics‘ Jaylen Brown (50), the Clippers‘ Paul George (16), the Sixers‘ Tyrese Maxey (16), the Timberwolves‘ Rudy Gobert (12), the Spurs‘ Victor Wembanyama (11), the Pelicans‘ Zion Williamson (11), the Magic’s Paolo Banchero (10), the Kings‘ De’Aaron Fox (9) the Heat’s Bam Adebayo (7) and the Bulls‘ DeMar DeRozan (1).

This is the first season that a minimum number of games was required to qualify for most postseason awards under the new Collective Bargaining Agreement. Among the stars who might have received All-NBA consideration if they had reached the 65-game threshold are Sixers center Joel Embiid, who was the 2023 MVP, along with Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell, Grizzlies guard Ja Morant, Knicks forward Julius Randle and Celtics big man Kristaps Porzingis.

This was also the first season that voting for the All-NBA team was positionless, though that didn’t have a huge impact on the results, as the top two teams still feature two guards, a pair of forwards, and a center. The Third Team is made up a center, three guards, and just one forward.

Wembanyama, who received two votes for the Second Team and five for the Third Team, was the only rookie named on any of the ballots. Earlier this week, he became the first rookie to earn a spot on an All-Defensive First Team.

The Lakers with Davis and James and the Suns with Durant and Booker were the only teams to have multiple players honored. They were both eliminated in the first round of the playoffs.

Several players became eligible for salary increases or earned a bonus by achieving All-NBA honors. Read more here.

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Morant Showing Good Progress From Shoulder Surgery

May 21st, 2024 at 5:49pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Ja Morant appears to be ahead of schedule in his recovery from shoulder surgery, Damichael Cole of the Memphis Commercial Appeal reports.

According to Grizzlies head coach Taylor Jenkins, Morant and several other players who suffered significant injuries are making good progress. Desmond Bane, Jaren Jackson Jr., Ziaire Williams, Vince Williams and Marcus Smart were among the other Grizzlies players who missed chunks of time due to injury this season.

“Everything is going well,” Jenkins said on Tuesday. “Ja is the only one when June rolls around, he’s going to be pretty close to full go on the court. Everything that everyone was dealing with towards the end of the season is in a good place right now.”

Morant’s season was essentially a washout. He missed the first 25 games of the season due to an NBA suspension, then averaged 25.1 points, 8.1 assists and 5.6 rebounds in nine games after the suspension, including a game-winning shot against New Orleans on Dec. 19 in his return to action.

Morant was then diagnosed with a labral tear in his right shoulder after a training session. At the time of his January surgery, the recovery process was outlined as a six-month process.

Grizzlies head of basketball operations Zach Kleiman said in April that there wasn’t a timeline on Morant’s full availability, but that he was “expected to be fully cleared for basketball activities maybe halfway through the offseason.”

Morant will be entering the second year of his five-year, max contract.

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NBA Announces 2023/24 All-Rookie Teams

May 20th, 2024 at 1:07pm CST by Rory Maher

The NBA officially unveiled the two All-Rookie teams for the 2023/24 season on Monday (Twitter links). The teams are as follows:

First Team

Second Team

Unsurprisingly, Wembanyama and Holmgren were unanimous selections to the first team (Twitter link). Last year’s No. 1 overall pick, Wembanyama was also the unanimous choice for Rookie of the Year, with Holmgren receiving all but one second-place vote for that award.

The entire first team mirrored the Rookie of the Year balloting, with Miller, Jaquez and Podziemski coming in third through fifth. Lively received the most points for the second team, followed by Thompson, George, Wallace and Jackson.

Jackson is the only All-Rookie member who wasn’t drafted in the first round; he was selected 45th overall in 2023 and initially signed a two-way contract. He was converted to a standard contract in February.

The current youngest player in the NBA, Jackson didn’t start receiving regular minutes until mid-January. The 19-year-old put up some big numbers down the stretch though, including 31 points and 44 points in the final two games of the season.

Jackson beat out Warriors big man Trayce Jackson-Davis for the final spot on the second team by a single point. Jackson actually received fewer overall votes (38 vs. 42 for Jackson-Davis), but earned the nod by receiving five first-team votes, which were worth two points apiece (second-team votes were worth one point each).

A total of 22 rookies received at least one vote. Aside from Jackson-Davis, the other top finishers who didn’t make the cut were Pistons forward Ausar Thompson (35 points), Trail Blazers guard Scoot Henderson (33), and Wizards wing Bilal Coulibaly (14). Ausar is Amen’s identical twin brother.

All-Rookie was one of the awards that didn’t require players to meet the newly instituted 65-game minimum. Jackson, Lively, Thompson, and Wallace didn’t meet that criteria, but they were still eligible for All-Rookie honors.

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And-Ones: Potential Coaching Changes, Wembanyama, France, Draft Odds

May 19th, 2024 at 11:00am CST by Arthur Hill

Head coaches Taylor Jenkins, Willie Green and Chauncey Billups could all be in danger of losing their jobs next season, according to John Hollinger of The Athletic, who discussed the topic with league personnel at the draft combine. Hollinger cites a belief that the Grizzlies, Pelicans and Trail Blazers will consider coaching changes if they get off to slow starts.

Jenkins has been mostly successful during his time in Memphis, finishing second in the 2022 Coach of the Year race, but he’s coming off a 27-win season as the Grizzlies were overwhelmed by injuries. Hollinger notes that the organization fired most of his staff prior to the combine, which could be a sign of trouble.

Green posted 49 wins this season, but New Orleans wasn’t competitive while being swept out of the playoffs in the first round by Oklahoma City. There’s been more scrutiny on Green’s offensive philosophies and player usage, especially at center, Hollinger adds.

Billups seems most likely to be replaced as he’s entering the final year of his contract and is reporting to a general manager who didn’t hire him. Portland also made changes involving its assistant coaches, and Hollinger states that Billups seemed to be trying to position himself for the Suns job before they hired Mike Budenholzer. Everyone that Hollinger spoke with expects Billups to be replaced by next offseason.

There’s more from around the basketball world:

  • In addition to trying to win a gold medal for France, Victor Wembanyama hopes to use the 2024 Olympics as a learning experience, per Johnny Askounis of Eurohoops. “I am here to learn from some of the best players in the history of the national team,” Wembanyama said. “I am not here to explain anything to players with five, six or seven international campaigns under their belts. For sure, I will have responsibilities, but they will be realistic. I will have as many as necessary.”
  • Alexandre Sarr, who hopes to follow Wembanyama as the second French player to be drafted No. 1 overall, is part of a wave of NBA talent from the nation, Hollinger writes in a separate story. Zaccharie Risacher will also get consideration as the top pick, as four players from France may be taken in the first round. Wembanyama and Bilal Coulibaly both went in the lottery last year, and Hollinger notes that Nolan Traore is likely to be selected early in 2025. “I think we got so much talent, it’s exciting,” French native Rudy Gobert said. “You go (back) 20 years ago, we had a few guys like (Tony Parker) and Boris Diaw and (Nicolas) Batum, and now you look and there’s so much talent every year coming in. Credit the French clubs and the French federation for being able to develop some of this talent and allowing them to play to their abilities.”
  • HoopsHype has released its annual draft predictor, charting the most likely players to be selected by each team. The list starts with Sarr, who is considered to have an 87.9% chance to be drafted by Atlanta.
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Jack White Signs With Melbourne United

May 15th, 2024 at 9:00am CST by Luke Adams

Free agent forward Jack White, who finished the 2023/24 season with the Grizzlies, has signed a two-year contract with Melbourne United in Australia’s National Basketball League, the team announced. White’s new deal includes a second-year player option and an NBA-out clause.

An Australian native, White also played for Melbourne from 2020-22, winning an NBL title with the team in 2021. He subsequently made the leap to the NBA and was a member of the Nuggets during their championship season in 2022/23.

White signed with the Thunder last offseason, but was waived at the end of the preseason and spent most of the ’23/24 season in the G League. In 29 total appearances for the South Bay Lakers in the Showcase Cup and NBAGL regular season, the 26-year-old averaged 9.6 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 1.8 assists in 26.1 minutes per game on .442/.321/.595 shooting. He shot the ball much better with the Grand Rapids Gold – Denver’s affiliate – in ’22/23, posting a .438 3PT% and a .767 FT% in 26 contests.

White signed with the Grizzlies during the final days of the regular season, but because it was a hardship contract, it expired immediately after Memphis’ final regular season game and didn’t give the team any form of Bird rights on him. That allowed the forward to immediately return to the free agent market, clearing the path for him to sign with Melbourne.

According to Olgun Uluc of ESPN, White will have the ability to exercise the NBA out in his new deal if he’s offered a standard contract or a two-way deal.

Uluc goes on to posit that Melbourne United’s deal with White signals that the NBL team is preparing to be without forward Luke Travers for the 2024/25 season. Travers just finished the first season of his three-year contract with Melbourne, but his NBA rights are held by the Cavaliers, who drafted him in the second round in 2022, and there’s an expectation that he’ll make the move stateside this summer, Uluc notes, adding that White and Travers essentially play the same position.

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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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