Kasparas Jakucionis Rumors

And-Ones: Dybantsa, NBC, Crawford, Miller, T. Antetokounmpo

December 11th, 2024 at 10:14am CST by Luke Adams

Top recruit A.J. Dybantsa, projected to be a top pick in the 2026 NBA draft, has committed to BYU for the 2025/26 season, he announced on ESPN’s First Take on Tuesday (YouTube link). Sources tell Sam Lance and Adam Zagoria of ZagsBlog.com that Dybantsa’s NIL figure was close to $7MM.

While Dybantsa is still at least a year-and-a-half from being drafted, there’s plenty of excitement among scouts and evaluators about how his game will translate to the NBA. He has been considered the frontrunner to be the No. 1 pick in 2026 since he reclassified last fall to the 2025 recruiting class.

“Let’s put it this way,” ESPN’s Jay Bilas told Scott Van Pelt on SportsCenter on Tuesday (link via Zagoria at NJ.com). “If Dybantsa was in this (2025) draft class, along with Cooper Flagg and Ace Bailey and Dylan Harper and all the outstanding players — this is a great draft class — he may very well be No. 1.”

With Dybantsa not eligible to be drafted for another year, Flagg, Harper, and Bailey – in that order – continue to hold the top three prospects on ESPN’s newest big board for the 2025 draft, according to Jonathan Givony of ESPN (Insider link). In his latest rankings update, Givony has moved BYU’s Egor Demin up to No. 7 (from No. 11), Illinois’ Kasparas Jakucionis to No. 8 (from No. 15), and Illinois’ Will Riley to No. 12 (from No. 22).

We have a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world to pass along:

NBC, which will begin broadcasting NBA games during the 2025/26 season, has reached a deal to hire Jamal Crawford as an analyst, according to Andrew Marchand of The Athletic, who says the three-time Sixth Man of the Year is expected to call games for the network. Crawford, who has worked with TNT Sports, NBA TV, and MSG Network, isn’t the only former NBA guard drawing NBC’s attention — Marchand says the company also has interest in lead TNT analyst Reggie Miller and that talks with Miller are ongoing.
Thanasis Antetokounmpo will turn 33 in July and is recovering from an Achilles tear, but he has no plans to call it a career, according to Jim Owczarski of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, who spoke to the former Buck about his recovery and comeback efforts. “I didn’t miss a beat when it came to my rehab. I’ve been working almost every day, six out of seven days,” Antetokounmpo said. “That’s why I’m in this condition that I am now. Guys see me out there like, ‘Hey man, you look great.’ I was like, thank you, I’ve been working my butt off, I’m not gonna lie. I’m just proud.”
ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Insider link) breaks down which players are currently trade-eligible and which players will join that list in the coming days and weeks, providing an in-depth summary of the trade restrictions affecting players around the league. Most offseason signees will become trade-eligible on December 15, though others will remain ineligible to be dealt until January 15 or other dates.

And-Ones: Harper, Bailey, Demin, Wembanyama, Langford

December 3rd, 2024 at 9:45pm CST by Dana Gauruder

It’s a mixed bag for the Rutgers’ freshmen duo of Dylan Harper and Ace Bailey so far this season, according to ESPN’s Jonathan Givony and Jeremy Woo. While Harper is considered a rising prospect and potential top pick, Bailey heads the list of prospects “who still have a lot to show.” The ESPN duo also identifies Houston’s Joseph Tugler, Duke’s Kon Knueppel and Illinois’ Kasparas Jakucionis as risers during college basketball’s first month with an eye toward the 2025 draft.

We have more from around the basketball world:

Duke’s Cooper Flagg may have a new challenger for the top spot — BYU guard Egor Demin is ranked No. 2 among draft prospects by The Athletic’s Sam Vecenie. Why? Vecenie considers Demin’s passing and processing ability to be at an elite level. Harper, Bailey and Jakucionis round out his top five.
No surprise, Victor Wembanyama is ranked No. 1 by ESPN NBA Insiders Tim Bontemps, Bobby Marks, Kevin Pelton and Woo among the top 25 players under the age of 25, based on potential. Anthony Edwards, Paolo Banchero, Franz Wagner and Chet Holmgren round out their top five.
Former NBA guard Romeo Langford has parted ways with his French team, BCM Gravelines-Dunkerque, BCM Basketball tweets. Langford last appeared in the NBA in 2022/23 when he played 43 games with San Antonio. The former lottery pick was waived by the Jazz during 2023 training camp.

And-Ones: Chiozza, McRae, 2025 Mock, Fouls

October 28th, 2024 at 4:00pm CST by Tristan Tucker

Former NBA point guard Chris Chiozza signed with Manisa Basket, according to a release from the team (Twitter link). Chiozza joins the Turkish club after spending last season with Baskonia and the 2022/23 season with the G League’s Long Island Nets.

Chiozza, 28, went undrafted in 2018 out of Florida. He signed a 10-day deal with the Rockets in 2019, catching on for the rest of the season. He was then waived and spent consecutive years on two-way contracts with Washington, Brooklyn and Golden State. His biggest role came in Brooklyn in 2019/20, averaging 6.4 points and 3.1 assists in 15.4 minutes per game across 18 appearances (two starts).

In all, Chiozza holds career averages of 3.3 PPG and 2.4 APG in 91 career games. He last appeared in an NBA game in ’21/22 with Golden State.

We have more from around the basketball world:

Former NBAer Jordan McRae signed with Italian club Givova Scafati, according to Sportando. A second-round pick in 2014, McRae holds 123 games of NBA experience. He played for Cleveland, Phoenix, Denver, Detroit and Washington over the course of his career and was part of the Cavaliers’ 2016 title team that overcame a 3-1 series deficit. McRae found his biggest success at the NBA level from 2018-20, averaging 9.5 points and 2.0 assists in 56 games (four starts) with the Wizards.
To little surprise, in his most recent 2025 NBA mock draft, Bleacher Report’s Jonathan Wasserman has the Nets selecting Duke’s Cooper Flagg at No. 1 overall. Rutgers’ Dylan Harper and Ace Bailey round out the top three, while VJ Edgecombe comes in at No. 4. UNC’s Drake Powell (No. 6), Illinois’ Kasparas Jakucionis (No. 8), Texas’ Tre Johnson (No. 9) and BYU’s Egor Demin (No. 14) are a few of Wasserman’s other notable lottery picks.
Fouls and free throws have defined the opening portion of the regular season, The Athletic’s John Hollinger writes. The 99 combined free throws attempted by the Sixers and Raptors on Friday were the most combined by two teams in a game since 2017, and the free throw rate is up by over 20% across the league. Hollinger explores the phenomenon with points of view from several coaches. “There’s been an emphasis historically, over the last several years, on freedom of movement. That concept having specific application in pick-and-roll is something that’s significant,” Hawks coach Quin Snyder said. ”Coaches adjust, players adjust to how things are being called, and if that’s something we have to adjust to, we will.“

And-Ones: M. Williams, Rookies, International Prospects, G League Trade

October 20th, 2024 at 7:06pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Monty Williams will be a head coach after all this season, just not in the pro or college ranks.

Williams has accepted the head coaching job at TMI Episcopal prep school in San Antonio, where he will coach his son Elijah, NBA insider Chris Haynes tweets. The Pistons fired Williams in June just one season after he signed a six-year, $78.5MM contract.

Williams is replacing former NBA forward Bruce Bowen at the San Antonio prep school, Haynes adds in another tweet.

We have more from around the basketball world:

Jared McCain (Sixers), Ryan Dunn (Suns) and top pick Zaccharie Risacher (Hawks) were among the rookies who stood out in preseason play, according to The Athletic’s Will Guillory, Fred Katz and Josh Robbins. LaMelo Ball, Scottie Barnes and Jaden Ivey are among the most intriguing candidates for the Most Improved Player award, the trio adds.
Looking ahead to the 2025 NBA draft, ESPN’s Jeff Borzello and Jonathan Givony rate the top international newcomers into the college ranks. Their list is headed by guard Kasparas Jakucionis (Illinois), center Khaman Maluach (Duke) and wing Egor Demin (BYU).
Earlier this week, the NBA G League’s Oklahoma City Blue (Thunder) acquired the returning rights to forward Malik Fitts and guard Kevion Nolan from the Memphis Hustle (Grizzlies) in exchange for the returning rights to forward Robert Woodard, the Blue tweeted.

And-Ones: 2025 Draft Big Board, Tanking, NBAGL Trade

October 10th, 2024 at 7:01pm CST by Tristan Tucker

Now through June 2025, writers across the globe will eagerly anticipate an exciting upcoming draft class headlined by Duke forward Cooper Flagg, alongside other top talents. Jonathan Givony and Jeremy Woo of ESPN recently paired to provide an early look at the top 100 prospects before the college season tips off (Insider link).

Flagg ranked first, but Rutgers guards Ace Bailey (No. 2) and Dylan Harper (No. 3) aren’t far behind. Baylor’s VJ Edgecombe (No. 4) and France’s Nolan Traore (No. 5) remain among the top options as well, while Duke’s Kon Knueppel (No. 6) is an early riser after an impressive offseason and preseason.

UNC’s Drake Powell, Duke’s Khaman Maluach, Spanish guard Hugo Gonzalez and UConn’s Liam McNeeley round out the remainder of the top 10.

Collin Murray-Boyles is the draft’s highest-ranked returner after making the decision to come back to South Carolina, with the ESPN duo ranking him at 12.

We have more from around the basketball world:

The top five of Sam Vecenie’s recent mock draft for The Athletic matches ESPN’s big board to a tee, with Brooklyn being slated to be the ones to land Flagg’s services in June’s draft. However, Vecenie’s mock draft deviates from there, with Illinois’ Kasparas Jakucionis coming off the board at No. 6 due to his ball and scoring skills. Vecenie mocks Georgia’s Asa Newell to the Hornets at No. 7 and Ratiopharm Ulm’s Ben Saraf at No. 8 to the Raptors, while ESPN has those players at No. 31 and No. 16, respectively.
With such a talented draft class on deck, The Athletic’s John Hollinger suspects teams will return to tanking in 2024/25. While some teams greatly underperformed in 2023/24, as in any year, there wasn’t as much incentive to lose since there wasn’t a consensus top pick like in next year’s draft. Hollinger likens the 2025 class to the 2018 class that produced the likes of Luka Doncic, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Brunson and Trae Young in terms of the depth of talent. Hollinger’s story addresses this, but I’d contend that while teams may be blown away by the talent of the 2025 class, the Hawks had a better record than nine teams but still landed the No. 1 overall pick. Meanwhile, the Pistons had their worst season in franchise history but didn’t pick until No. 5.
The Rio Grande Valley Vipers, Houston’s G League affiliate, executed a six-team trade on Wednesday, per the team (Twitter link). Several picks swapped hands, but for simplicity’s sake, we’ll focus on the player rights that were moved. The Vipers acquired the returning player rights to Jermaine Samuels, who is currently in camp with the Rockets. The Valley Suns acquired Cassius Stanley‘s rights, the Indiana Mad Ants (Pacers) received Dakota Mathias‘s rights, the Memphis Hustle (Grizzlies) got both Malachi Smith and Devin Cannady‘s rights, the Mexico City Capitanes obtained Loudon Love, and Gary Clark‘s rights were re-routed to the Wisconsin Herd (Bucks). Mathias was already signed and waived by the Pacers, so this is an indication he’ll play for the Mad Ants this season as an affiliate player. It remains to be seen whether Stanley, Smith, Cannady or Clark will sign camp deals to be later waived and set up as affiliates. The Capitanes aren’t an NBA team’s direct affiliate, so while Love could still sign anywhere as an NBA free agent, his rights being moved aren’t directly correlated with him potentially being an affiliate player.