Free Agent Jusuf Nurkic Wants To Remain In NBA
Jusuf Nurkic has no intention of leaving the NBA despite speculation that he might be interested in going to Europe to continue his career. Nurkic, who will be an unrestricted free agent this summer, made an appearance on the X and O’s Podcast and spoke about the Serbian club Partizan, as relayed by Eurohoops.net.
“I didn’t have an offer from the black-and-whites (Partizan). I didn’t, at least I don’t know that I did, but I wish that I had,” the Bosnian big man said.
Nurkic clarified on social media that he was speaking about the early days of his career, not his current status.
“My statement was taken out of context. I was referring to the very beginning of my basketball career,” he wrote. “Of course I didn’t have an offer from Partizan back then. I’m a fan and I have great respect for (Partizan), but I have no intention of leaving the NBA.”
Nurkic spent this year with the Jazz, averaging 10.9 points, 10.4 rebounds and 4.8 assists in 26.4 minutes per game. He only played 41 games (36 starts), as his season was cut short after the All-Star break by nasal surgery.
Earlier in 2025/26, he missed time due to a toe injury and also had several DNP-CDs. He was a prime candidate to be dealt before the Feb. 5 trade deadline due his expiring $19.3MM contract.
Nurkic reportedly would like to re-sign with Utah, though it’s uncertain whether the team will make him an offseason priority. In any case, Nurkic will likely have to take a pay cut to stay in the league. The 31-year-old has been a fixture in the NBA since the 2014/15 season.
NBA Officials Explain Thinking Behind Draft Lottery Changes
After the Board of Governors approved changes to the draft lottery format on Thursday, members of the league office explained on a conference call why the NBA felt those changes were necessary, writes John Hollinger of The Athletic.
Speaking to reporters, NBA executive VP and head of basketball operations James Jones said that the league’s ability to punish tankers under the previous system by conducting investigations and levying fines wasn’t satisfactory — especially since those tanking teams often had plausible deniability when it came to decisions related to lineups and player availability.
“Having done a lot of these investigations and inquiries with teams, when you get to the place of investigating your way to an outcome, it’s really hard to say that it’s just not coaching error, bad player performance, or some underlying basketball (thing),” Jones said. “It’s all subjective. We want to be in a place where no matter the outcome of the game, you don’t feel like you’re better off if you lose. You can’t punish your way to that.”
In addition to flattening teams’ odds throughout the lottery and introducing a “relegation zone” for the bottom three clubs in the NBA, whose odds at a top pick become slightly less favorable, the new format will give the league office wider latitude to penalize teams believed to be tanking.
While league officials don’t anticipate teams tanking the 7/8 play-in game or trying to get to No. 9 or No. 11 in their conference to get an extra lottery ball, commissioner Adam Silver will have the ability to reduce a team’s lottery odds or modify its draft position if it’s egregiously tanking in those situations.
“The consensus was that teams would not want to do that for one lottery ball, (but) that’s why they added additional disciplinary pieces as a fallback,” said Evan Wasch, the NBA’s executive vice president, head of basketball strategy and growth.
Here are a few more highlights from the conference call:
On the top-five restriction affecting the Grizzlies:
Because the new format includes a rule prohibiting teams from winning a top-five pick in three consecutive years, the Grizzlies won’t be able to get a top-five selection via Utah’s first-rounder, which they control from the Jaren Jackson Jr. trade, since the Jazz landed at No. 5 in 2025 and No. 2 in 2026. Wasch explained that by applying that restriction to a team’s first-rounder even if that team no longer owns it, the league is attempting to avoid creating an “imbalance” between traded and non-traded picks.
“It essentially becomes a windfall to the teams that own those (traded) picks, because unlike other picks, they would benefit from the upside of the restrictions without any of the downside,” Wasch said, per Hollinger. “If you were to grandfather traded picks, you essentially differentiate those picks as being more valuable than all other picks. … That didn’t feel like a systematically fair way to go about this.”
According to Wasch, this rule was communicated to teams prior to this year’s draft lottery, so if the lottery results had played out differently, it may have been a different team – rather than Memphis – affected by the rule.
For what it’s worth, while the Grizzlies were upset enough by this rule that they were the lone team to vote against the lottery changes on Thursday, they still may benefit from the new system. If an improved Jazz team ends up in the 8-11 range in the West next season, the Grizzlies will still likely end up with a better pick than they would have had under the old format, even if the ceiling isn’t as high.
Wasch’s full comments on the Jazz/Grizzlies pick and the rule change impacting it can be viewed here (Twitter link via Drew Hill of The Daily Memphian).
On why the top-five restriction is written the way it is:
As Hollinger notes, there have been questions about why the rule prohibiting teams from being in the top five for three straight years wouldn’t apply – for example – to any pick that the Jazz controlled in 2027, rather to their own pick that they no longer control.
However, multiple GMs have pointed out to The Athletic that this would’ve create imbalances in the trade market. For instance, if the Jazz still owned their 2027 pick and were prohibited from landing in the top five, but could trade it to a team that would be able to turn it into a top-five pick, “There would have been a market inefficiency, and it would have undermined the integrity of the rule,” Wasch said.
There would be other ways for teams to exploit that loophole, Hollinger notes — for instance, two teams with roughly similar expectations could trade picks with each other to circumvent the restrictions.
On why the top 16 picks in the second round will be in reverse order of the first round:
As first reported on Thursday, the new format calls for the lottery order to be flipped in round two. That means the team that wins the No. 1 overall pick will get the 46th overall pick and the team that picks 16th in the first round will get the No. 31 pick, regardless of win-loss record.
According to Wasch, there were two reasons for this decision. For one, the league wanted to “counterbalance to the luck of the draw in the first round.” Additionally, while it’s probably unlikely that a team would tank for a higher second-round pick, league officials didn’t want that to even be an option.
Free Agent Rumors: Duren, Kessler, Reaves, Dosunmu, More
Jalen Duren of the Pistons and Walker Kessler of the Jazz will be two of the top centers on the free agent market this offseason, but both will be restricted and the expectation is that they’ll remain with their current clubs, writes Tim Bontemps of ESPN.
Duren looked headed for a potential maximum-salary contract after a regular season breakout that saw him earn a spot on the All-NBA third team and rank second in Most Improved Player voting. An underwhelming postseason showing may have hurt his earning potential a little, according to Bontemps, but scouts and executives consider him likely to get a new deal that approaches $40MM per year.
“If he wants to get a max, they’ll tell him to go get one,” one Eastern Conference executive told Bontemps. “But he’s Cade (Cunningham)‘s guy, so they’ll have to play it the right way.”
Meanwhile, the Jazz added Jaren Jackson Jr. to their frontcourt during the season, but neither he nor Lauri Markkanen is expected to play the majority of his minutes at center, so Kessler remains an important part of the future in Utah. The belief around the league is that he’ll be able to negotiate a contract worth in the neighborhood of $25-30MM annually, Bontemps says.
“It appears Utah is gearing up to keep him,” an East scout told ESPN. “I don’t see an obvious fit in free agency for someone to try to get him. They’re going to be in an interesting spot next season, and I’m excited to see how they navigate all of it.”
Here are a few more notes and rumors on some of this summer’s top free agents:
- Scouts and executives who spoke to ESPN don’t expect Austin Reaves to get his full max (roughly $239MM over five years) from the Lakers, but they wouldn’t be surprised if he receives $40MM per year. “I’d be pretty surprised if the first year (salary) starts with a three instead of a four,” an Eastern Conference scout said, “but the Lakers need to keep him, and by all accounts he wants to be there, so I think they make it work.” The Nets, one of the few teams with the cap room necessary to make a run at a player like Reaves, is considered a rival suitor to monitor, sources tell Bontemps.
- Sources around the NBA believe guard Ayo Dosunmu will re-sign with the Timberwolves on a deal worth a little more than the non-taxpayer mid-level exception ($15MM), though that may require the team to part with injured guard Donte DiVincenzo to avoid going too deep into tax/apron territory, Bontemps notes.
- Rival scouts and executives would be surprised if the Knicks let unrestricted free agents Mitchell Robinson and Landry Shamet get away, especially if they win a title. “You have to bring (Robinson) back,” an East executive said. “If they win the Finals, they’re not losing anybody. And, even if they don’t, I don’t see how they let him walk.” Both players are candidates for two-year deals, since New York projects to operate above the second tax apron for the next couple years anyway, Bontemps observes.
- Trail Blazers center Robert Williams is expected to generate significant interest after his healthiest season in years, given how much teams are valuing size, Bontemps writes, adding that the range for his starting salary may be in the vicinity of $10-15MM. “The injury history will scare a lot of teams off,” a Western Conference executive said. “But when he plays, he’s good. You just can’t expect him to start for you because he won’t be on the court if you play him that many minutes. He’ll be good value if — a huge if — he can stay on the floor.”
- While Peyton Watson‘s recurring hamstring issues this past season are a concern, the expectation is that the Nuggets will find a way to give him a new contract in the $20-25MM range in restricted free agency, per Bontemps. “They could easily just pay him and pay the tax, but we know how the Kroenkes operate,” a West scout said. “That means sending out either (Cameron) Johnson or (Christian) Braun, and I don’t know where that lands. The injury stuff is a concern, but so is how they struggled without him.”
Northwest Notes: Valanciunas, Nuggets, Avdija, Jazz
After flirting with a move overseas during the 2025 offseason, Nuggets center Jonas Valanciunas is once again drawing interest from teams in Europe, he confirmed during an appearance this week on the Pikenrolas podcast (YouTube link).
“I received attention,” Valanciunas said, per BasketNews.com. “Yes, there were talks with one team, another team, and the Lithuanian club. There are discussions, and we are deciding. But the final word belongs to Denver. First of all, it depends on whether they trade me, keep me, or not. That’s their decision.
“Right now, I think the bigger question for them is what they will do with the roster overall: who stays and who goes. As I understand it, only Nikola (Jokic) is untouchable, and everyone else can be moved. I think everything will be clear in the first week of July, or maybe even earlier.”
A year ago, Valanciunas appeared to be on the verge of joining the Greek team Panathinaikos, but Sacramento traded him to the Nuggets, who wanted to him to honor his NBA contract and become Jokic’s primary backup. This time around, the cap-strapped Nuggets seem less likely to retain Valanciunas, whose $10MM salary is partially guaranteed for just $2MM. A move to the EuroLeague would become a whole lot more viable if the big man is waived by Denver.
Citing a report from the outlet Sport24, Alessandro Maggi of Sportando says Panathinaikos is once again in the mix for Valanciunas this offseason, with the Turkish team Fenerbahce and Lithuanian club Zalgiris Kaunas also reportedly showing interest.
We have more from around the Northwest:
- There are three types of trades the Nuggets could make this offseason, according to Vinny Benedetto of The Denver Gazette, who weighs the merits of a salary-dump deal, a sign-and-trade involving Peyton Watson, or a more significant move involving an impact player like Jamal Murray or Aaron Gordon.
- Sean Highkin of The Rose Garden Report (Substack link) takes a look at the potential paths the Trail Blazers could take with Deni Avdija‘s next contract, observing that a standard veteran extension is unlikely because Portland’s maximum offer would be well below the forward’s market value due to his modest $11.9MM salary for 2027/28. If they want to avoid waiting until Avdija’s free agency to negotiate a new deal, the Blazers will likely have to open up cap room next summer in order to renegotiate that ’27/28 figure, Highkin writes. Bumping up that ’27/28 figure would increase Avdija’s maximum extension, which could be completed at the same time.
- While there has been some chatter about the possibility that the Jazz could trade up or down in the draft, Tony Jones of The Athletic argues that the team’s approach to the No. 2 pick should be straightforward: take whichever of AJ Dybantsa or Darryn Peterson is available. As Jones outlines, Utah’s roster lacks a starting-caliber shooting guard, and either Dybantsa or Peterson is capable of filling that hole while providing elite long-term upside. In the event that Cameron Boozer is the surprise No. 1 pick, Jones advocates for the Jazz taking Dybantsa over Peterson.
Draft Notes: Brown, Jazz, Mitchell, Warriors, Kings, Timberwolves
Projected lottery pick Mikel Brown Jr. will work out this week for the Jazz, Kevin O’Connor of Yahoo Sports tweets. Brown told O’Connor he’s been fully cleared from the back injury he suffered while playing for Louisville. Brown averaged 18.2 points and 4.7 assists in 21 games.
The Jazz hold the No. 2 overall pick, so the visit may be about the team taking the opportunity to get familiar with as many of this year’s top prospects as possible — or performing due diligence in case of a trade down. ESPN has Brown ranked at No. 9 on its big board.
Here’s more draft news:
- St. John’s forward Dillon Mitchell is among the players the Warriors will evaluate on Wednesday, according to Adam Zagoria of NJ.com (Twitter link). Miami guard Tre Donaldson and Vanderbilt forward Tyler Nickel are also visited Golden State on Wednesday, NBC Sports Bay Area’s Dalton Johnson tweets. That trio will be looking to move into the second-round conversation. The Warriors hold the 54th overall selection.
- The Kings‘ staff will take a look at Dominique Daniels (Cal Baptist), Kylan Boswell (Illinois), Elias Ralph (Pacific), Trevon Brazile (Arkansas), Baba Miller (Cincinnati), and Chauncey Wiggins (Florida State) on Wednesday, Sean Cunningham of KCRA tweets. Miller (No. 45) and Brazile (No. 48) are the highest-ranked prospects among that group. Sacramento holds two second-rounders at 34 and 45.
- Ebuka Okorie, Ja’Kobi Gillespie, Jaden Bradley, Nickel and Sam Hoiberg visited the Timberwolves on Friday, Darren Wolfson of KSTP tweets. Okorie (Stanford) and Bradley (Arizona) are each among the top 50 prospects by ESPN, with Okorie at No. 26 and Bradley ranked No. 46.
Northwest Notes: Paul, Dundon, Jazz, Nuggets
Chris Paul doesn’t play for the Thunder or Spurs. However, he had a major impact on both of the Western Conference finalists, Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News writes.
Paul was a mentor to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander as a member of the Thunder during the 2019/20 season. He also played a leadership role for the young Spurs squad last season.
“He helped the young guys, including myself, really understand the game at a different level,” Spurs forward Keldon Johnson said. “He’s a winning basketball player, and I can see how he contributed to winning here as well.”
Here’s more from the Northwest Division:
- Trail Blazers fans have some concerns about new majority owner Tom Dundon, who has made cost-cutting measures since taking over the franchise. There are also fears Dundon might look to move the franchise to another state. The Oregonian’s Bill Oram spoke with numerous executives and fans of the NHL’s Carolina Hurricanes, a franchise Dundon also owns, and their comments should generally ease fears about Dundon’s long-term plans. Dundon has committed to investing $800MM into development around the Lenovo Center, where the Hurricanes play. Any concerns about relocation were erased after a new 20-year lease was signed in 2023. “If he bought (the Hurricanes) with a plan to leave,” Hurricanes CEO Brian Fork said, “he could have tried to execute on that. But he did the opposite of that and sort of doubled down in this market.”
- The Jazz had some major lottery luck, securing the No. 2 pick. Team president of basketball operations Austin Ainge represented the team at the lottery. He’s hoping this will be their last visit to the league’s lottery drawing room for a long time, according to Kevin Reynolds of the Salt Lake Tribune. “I hope I’m not back here,” he said.
- The Nuggets hold the No. 26 and 49 picks in next month’s draft. Vinny Benedetto of the Denver Gazette takes a closer look at some of the prospects who might be available at those points in the draft.
2026 NBA Offseason Preview: Utah Jazz
The Jazz had a relatively quiet offseason after finishing the 2024/25 season with a 17-65 record, the worst mark in the NBA. Utah had a 52.1% chance of staying in the top four at the 2025 draft lottery, but the team lost what was essentially a coin flip (47.9%), landing at its draft floor at No. 5.
In addition to selecting former Rutgers wing Ace Bailey with the fifth pick, the Jazz were also involved in a pair of trades last summer. The first saw the team send Collin Sexton and a 2030 second-round pick to Charlotte for Jusuf Nurkic, and the second sent John Collins to the Clippers in a three-team deal that netted the Jazz a 2027 second-round pick, Kevin Love, Kyle Anderson, and a traded player exception.
It's hard to say if the Jazz had any intentions of trying to be more competitive in '25/26, but considering they would have owed their 2026 first-round pick to the Thunder if it landed outside of the top eight, the team was certainly incentivized to finish near the bottom of the standings again to ensure that didn't happen. And Utah wound up being near the forefront of the tanking conversation in an unusual season in which several teams were especially focused on draft positioning due to the widely perceived strength of the 2026 class.
The Jazz would likely point to starting center Walker Kessler suffering a torn labrum in his left shoulder in training camp, an injury he aggravated just five games into the season, as the beginning of downward trend for the rest of '25/26. They were 2-3 when it was reported that Kessler would undergo season-ending surgery and just 16-35 after a win at Indiana snapped a six-game losing streak on February 3.
That's also the date the Jazz made one of the more interesting deals ahead of the February deadline, acquiring Jaren Jackson Jr., John Konchar, Vince Williams Jr., and Jock Landale from the Grizzlies in exchange for Kyle Anderson, Georges Niang, Taylor Hendricks, Walter Clayton, the Lakers’ 2027 first-round pick (top-four protected), either the Cavaliers', Timberwolves', or Jazz's 2027 first-round pick (whichever is most favorable), and the Suns' 2031 first-round pick.
Memphis had renegotiated Jackson's descending rookie scale extension during the 2025 offseason in order to bump his '25/26 salary high enough to sign him to a new veteran extension that reflected the value of a regular All-Defensive contributor who had made All-Star appearances in two of his previous three seasons. Jackson will earn $49MM, $50.5MM and $52MM over the next three years before he has to decide whether to exercise a $53.5MM player option for '29/30.
Utah, meanwhile, projected to have a good deal of cap room this summer, and rather than using it on free agents, the team made a pre-agency move for a player signed to a lucrative long-term contract.
The Jazz have been dreadful defensively in the four years since they traded Rudy Gobert to Minnesota, ranking 23rd, 30th, 30th and 29th in the league in defensive rating from 2023-26. Jackson, who turns 27 in September, is a former Defensive Player of the Year who's versatile enough on offense to play in a jumbo-sized frontcourt that also features Kessler and Finnish star Lauri Markkanen.
However, Jackson's fit with the team remains theoretical for now -- he only made three cameo appearances for the Jazz after the deal, having undergone surgery to address a benign growth in his knee, and he didn't get a chance to play with Kessler at all. While the sample size was obviously tiny, the team did perform very well when the former No. 4 overall pick was on the court.
Shutting down Jackson was the first in a series of "future-focused" moves for the Jazz, who ruled out Nurkic and Markkanen for the remainder of the season shortly thereafter. Keyonte George, who had a breakout third season and was dealing with ankle injuries at the time, only played a handful of games to finish out '25/26.
Unsurprisingly, those tanking maneuvers resulted in the Jazz falling down the Western Conference and NBA standings, as they went just 6-25 over the final two-plus months to finish with a 22-60 record. That tied Sacramento for the fourth-worst mark in the league.
The Jazz won a tiebreaker with the Kings ahead of the draft lottery which turned out to be highly consequential, as Utah moved up from No. 4 to No. 2 on lottery night while Sacramento fell from No. 5 to No. 7. Winning the tiebreaker also guaranteed Utah could end up with no worse than the eighth overall pick, meaning the selection was guaranteed to stay with the Jazz even if they hadn't gotten lucky in the lottery.
While four years of losing isn't easy to stomach for fans, the Jazz are well positioned going forward as a result of their good fortune in the lottery. They'll be able to add a potential franchise-changing talent on a very cap-friendly contract, locking in four years of team control and giving the front office time to determine the best ways to build out the roster.
Utah also enters the offseason with a surplus of future first-round picks and the financial flexibility to continue to seek upgrades on the trade market, though the club lacks the sort of mid-sized contracts necessary to add another near-max cap hit like Jackson's.
The Jazz's Offseason Plans
The Jazz have three major decisions to make this offseason: Deciding which prospect to select No. 2 overall, figuring out what a new contract for restricted free agent Kessler will look like, and determining how high they're willing to go in rookie scale extension talks with Keyonte George.
Northwest Notes: Jazz, Love, Irving, Wolves
The Jazz have a chance to add a critical piece to their rebuild after landing the second pick in the loaded 2026 draft. While many of the discussions around the pick have focused on AJ Dybantsa (BYU) and Darryn Peterson (Kansas), two other players are well worth discussing, Sarah Todd writes for The Deseret News.
Cameron Boozer (Duke) and Caleb Wilson (UNC) are two power forwards with franchise-changing potential who are genuine threats to upset the top of the draft order, Todd writes.
Boozer, who has well-documented ties to Utah and the Jazz organization, is generally considered to have a slightly lower ceiling than that of Dybantsa or Peterson due to his athletic limitations, but his cerebral game and ability to shoot and pass at a high level could help mitigate that. Meanwhile, Wilson is an athletic marvel with a burgeoning mid-range shot-creation skill set who reportedly impressed during the combine due to his demeanor in interviews.
Private workouts and medical results could end up having a large impact on how the order of the top four shakes out.
The Jazz have a loaded starting rotation of big men, but the Spurs have shown this year that bringing a No. 2 overall pick off the bench can still yield major dividends.
We have more from around the Northwest Division:
- Caleb Love will be a free agent after playing last season on a two-way contract with the Trail Blazers. In his limited opportunities, Love showed that he’s clearly an NBA player and still has room to grow, writes Joe Freeman of The Oregonian. “He’s got some (stuff) to him,” an anonymous scout told Freeman. “They have to make a decision with him. I think he’s better than a two-way contract guy. He played both sides of the ball in the games that I saw. He’s a physical guard. He created. He’s crafty with the ball. You want to see if he can be disciplined enough to incorporate everything into the system.”
- The Timberwolves need to find a secondary offensive star to pair with Anthony Edwards and the well-rounded skill set of Jaden McDaniels, and they should take a hard look at Mavericks star guard Kyrie Irving, opines Jim Souhan of the Star Tribune. As Souhan explains, given its relative lack of trade assets, the team doesn’t necessarily seem like a strong contender for a Giannis Antetokounmpo trade, but Irving could be more attainable and would help to alleviate the defensive attention that Edwards receives.
- The Wolves held a pre-draft workout on Friday that featured sharp-shooting forward Milan Momcilovic out of Iowa State, per Darren Wolfson of KSTP (Twitter link). The 6’8″ junior shot 48.7% from three this season on 279 total attempts. He has until Wednesday to decide whether he will stay in the draft. Alex Karaban (UConn), Ebuka Okorie (Stanford), and Ja’Kobi Gillespie (Tennessee) have also worked out for the Wolves, per HoopsHype. Minnesota holds the 28th and 59th picks in this year’s draft.
Scotto’s Latest: Irving, Leonard, Acuff, Hawks Draft, Front Office Hires
Masai Ujiri‘s comments since arriving as the Mavericks new president and alternate governor have been consistent and future-facing, leading some executives around the league to wonder about the long-term fit of Kyrie Irving alongside franchise cornerstone Cooper Flagg, Michael Scotto reports for HoopsHype. Ujiri has expressed enthusiasm about seeing the two stars plays together, as has newly hired assistant general manager Mike Schmitz.
“That’s something you dream of,” Schmitz said. “Having a magician with the ball like that who can pass, dribble, shoot, and someone with the connective qualities of Cooper. It’s a match made in heaven.”
However, given the difference in timelines — Irving is 34 years old and coming off a torn ACL, while Flagg will enter next season at just 19 — there are questions about how long it makes sense to keep the duo together. The Mavs have a top-10 pick in this year’s draft as well as 21-year-old Dereck Lively II, so they’re well-positioned to undergo a youth movement to build a future contender around Flagg, especially if they can continue adding to that young core in a deal for Irving. On the other hand, Kyrie could provide veteran stability and help Flagg continue to develop into a superstar while making the team more competitive.
The Mavericks struggled to find an answer at point guard this season, ranking 22nd in assists and 18th in turnovers with Irving rehabbing. Brandon Williams started 15 games while Ryan Nembhard started 27. Both showed themselves to be useful NBA role players, but not necessarily starting point guards to build around should Irving be moved.
The 2026 draft lottery is loaded with intriguing point guards, though, at least one of whom will likely be available when the Mavericks are on the clock with the ninth pick.
We have more news and notes from Scotto:
- In addition to monitoring Dallas’ plans for Irving, rival executives will be keeping a close eye on what the Clippers do with Kawhi Leonard and the fifth overall pick, Scotto writes. If the Clippers make Leonard available, many execs would have him and Giannis Antetokounmpo “neck-and-neck” as the top player on the trade market, Scotto adds. On the other hand, if L.A. retains – and possibly extends – Leonard, rivals are curious about whether the team would consider moving the No. 5 pick. Assuming the Clippers keep that selection, Illinois guard Keaton Wagler is widely viewed as their most likely target, according to Scotto.
- Echoing prior reporting from Kevin O’Connor, Scotto cites league sources who say the Kings are “enamored” with Darius Acuff, the point guard out of Arkansas. The question is whether the electric scorer will still be available when the Kings are on the clock. Acuff averaged 23.5 points and 6.5 assists while making 44.0% of 5.8 three-point attempts per game this season.
- Rival executives who have spoken to Scotto believe the Hawks will use the No. 8 pick to either select a point guard from the group of Wagler, Acuff, Mikel Brown, and Kingston Flemings, or to take 7’3″ Michigan center Aday Mara. Mara’s stock has been rising and he’s considered a lottery lock due to his size, passing ability, and potential as a defender and rim protector. According to Scotto, Atlanta would also like to bring back CJ McCollum, a veteran leader who had a red-hot start to the Hawks’ first-round series against the Knicks.
- The Mavericks are looking to fill out their front office under Masai Ujiri, and two potential targets they’re eyeing are Prosper Karangwa, the Sixers‘ assistant general manager, and Patrick Engelbrecht, the Raptors‘ director of global scouting, with whom Ujiri worked for over a decade.
- The Mavs are not alone in their interest in Kawanga, Scotto writes, as the Lakers are also eyeing him, Heat vice president of player personnel Eric Amsler, and Jazz vice president of player personnel Bart Taylor, among others, as they look to build out their front office. Timberwolves assistant general manager Steve Senior reportedly passed on an offer from the Lakers, opting to stay in Minnesota.
- The Jazz are tapping Shane Fenske as general manager of their G League affiliate, the Salt Lake City Stars, per Scotto. Fenske, who is the Jazz’s assistant general manager, was preceded by Katie Benzan, who is not leaving the team but rather changing roles within the franchise, notes Ben Anderson of KSL Sports (Twitter link).
Latest On NBA’s ‘3-2-1’ Lottery Reform Proposal
The NBA has sent the latest version of its “3-2-1” draft lottery reform plan to team owners ahead of their Board of Governors meeting next week, reports Kevin O’Connor of Yahoo Sports. The governors are expected to vote on May 28 on whether or not to approve the proposal.
As O’Connor writes, the NBA’s proposal hasn’t undergone any real changes since the details were first reported last month. It still features 16 teams, 37 total lottery balls, flattened odds, a “relegation zone” for the league’s bottom three teams, protection restrictions in the 12-15 range, and each of the top 16 picks being determined by a lottery drawing.
However, according to O’Connor, the league has since provided additional information how a pair of rules affecting repeat lottery teams would work. One of those rules prohibits teams from winning the No. 1 overall pick in back-to-back drafts, while another prevents clubs from landing top-five picks in three consecutive years.
The NBA has since offered the following clarifications related to those rules, per O’Connor:
- Those restrictions will apply in 2027 based on the 2025 and 2026 lottery results, which means the Wizards would be prohibited from landing the No. 1 overall pick in the 2027 lottery after winning it this year.
- In the event that the lottery ball of a prohibited team is drawn, they would be moved down to the first permissible draft slot. For instance, if the Wizards’ ball comes up at No. 1 in next year’s lottery, they’d be moved to No. 2 instead.
- These restrictions apply to the team that originally owned the draft pick.
While the first two clarifications seem reasonable enough, the third may result in some push-back.
Using the Jazz as an example, O’Connor explains that because they had the No. 5 overall pick in 2025 and have No. 2 in 2026, Utah’s pick wouldn’t be permitted to land in the top five in 2027 even though it’s controlled by the Grizzlies, who will receive the most favorable of Utah’s, Minnesota’s, and Cleveland’s first-rounders next year.
If it had been the Grizzlies and not the Jazz who had landed in the top five in each of the past two drafts, Memphis could still have a shot at a top-five pick in 2027 via Utah’s selection, since it wouldn’t be subject to the same three-year restriction — in that hypothetical scenario, only the Grizzlies’ own pick would be prohibited from being in the top five, whether or not Memphis still controlled it.
As O’Connor notes, this rule could materially change the value of several future traded picks between 2027-29. When the Grizzlies acquired that “most favorable” 2027 first-rounder from the Jazz in the Jaren Jackson Jr. trade in February, they presumably viewed Utah as the likeliest of the three teams to end up in the lottery and believed that pick could move as high as first overall. If Minnesota and Cleveland make the playoffs next season and Utah doesn’t, it would – from Memphis’ perspective, at least – essentially add top-five protection to that traded first-round pick.
We should get a better sense in the coming days about how teams feel about that rule and about the proposal in general. While the NBA is determined to institute a new anti-tanking policy that begins next season, the “3-2-1” plan could still undergo changes before it receives approval from the Board of Governors.