NBA News and Rumor Roundup 6/26/2024 (Plus A Freebie!)
Draft Day, more free agency craziness, and the coaching carousel continues (UPDATE: MIKAL BRIDGES!)
Aaaaand we’re back!
Ladies and gentlemen, we’re here — the NBA Draft begins in full tonight. Despite the NBA breaking the draft into two separate days (with the second round going down tomorrow), today is still Draft Day™ presented by…State Farm, strangely?
Regardless, like a good neighbor, this news and rumor roundup is here to beat down your door with the NBA’s best tidbits and reports, but this week I’ve thrown in something a little extra; call it a “Welcome to The Neighborhood”-type gift.
Over the past few weeks, I’ve been putting together some scouting reports on my top 60 guys in this year’s draft, and I’ve been debating whether or not to release them. In the end, I’ve decided to not only release it, but also to offer it (deemed “The Prospect Report”) to all subscribers at no charge. Why?
It’s the first edition of The Prospect Report, so I want you all to be introduced to it before next year’s edition
I would’ve liked to include a few more stats that I couldn’t get around to yet, hence I don’t consider it a fully-fleshed-out product (or I have imposter syndrome, one of the two 🤷)
Here’s what you’ll find in the 2024 (and inaugural) edition of The Prospect Report:
60 separate scouting reports that include strengths, weaknesses, physical metrics, stats, and only somewhat biased opinions
15 mini-articles on key prospects, breaking down their game to a more granular degree and discussing the wider narratives surrounding each individual prospect
Color-coded stats, giving you a better understanding of what players do well, as well as what they don’t
Draft projections for each player based on a combination of factors (my opinions, media consensus, draft fit, etc.)
A somewhat appealing design that makes it as little like a spreadsheet as possible
Next year’s edition (and most likely every edition afterward) will be only for paid subscribers, so get it while you can!
Now, without further ado, we have some news and rumors to round up!
(Note: this was mostly written before the Mikal Bridges trade — that is now updated toward the bottom of the article…more on Mikal to come in a separate piece!)
Smokescreen Season Is Almost Over
We’re in peak Smokescreen Season right about now, when teams actively leak ridiculous reports in order to get other teams to bite on their draft-day bait. Here’s a trio (plus one unrelated report) of the many draft rumors in the works and whether I think each of them are smokescreens or, uh, nope-screens, I guess.
The Blazers’ Most Absurd Report
Here’s a doozy of a report for you: The Ringer’s Kevin O’Connor reports that the Portland Trail Blazers are “extremely high” on Purdue big man Zach Edey and may go as far as taking him with the #7 overall selection to grab him.
While Edey was the most dominant basketball player at the collegiate level last season, most mock drafts have his ceiling as the back half of the lottery, while the aggregate ranking (per HoopsHype’s Michael Scotto) slots him in at #18 overall, which makes this report very strange indeed. Grabbing Edey at #14 (where the Blazers’ second selection of the night will be) wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world, but #7 would feel foolish. Plus, Portland already has two bigs in DeAndre Ayton and Robert Williams, who, despite neither looking like long-term pieces, would stifle a guy like Edey from the jump.
In other words, this is peak smokescreen, yet one so ridiculous that I doubt any other team will believe it.
The Lakers Look To Swing A Trade
In a recent report from Yahoo Sports’ Jake Fischer, he notes that the Lakers — now armed with JJ Redick at the coaching throne — may look to trade back in the draft to acquire more depth. The quote is as follows:
There remains a simpler scenario in which the Lakers move down from the No. 17 pick. The New York Knicks and Utah Jazz have made advances about combining their last first-round pick and second-round draft capital to slide up into the teens of this draft, rival executives told Yahoo Sports. Would Utah’s Nos. 29 and 32 picks be enough to entice the Lakers to fall back from their original slot? Both selections would afford Los Angeles an earlier chance to draft Bronny James, as compared to the Lakers’ current second-round pick at No. 55.
- Jake Fischer, Yahoo Sports
Overall, this report makes sense. The Lakers are in no position to go for a big swing in the draft department and are in desperate need of immediate contributors. Grabbing two low-ceiling/high-floor guys would be extremely helpful to a Lakers squad in need of extra depth. Plus, with the Jazz looking to continue their rebuild with high-upside prospects, trading up to #17 would present a lot of nice options, such as Carlton Carrington or Tyler Kolek.
Even the Knicks trading up wouldn’t be so bad, despite Tom Thibodeau’s tendency to lock up not play his young guys very much. Turning two young guys (two draft picks) into one could still allow for some immediate contributors at #17 to be added to this squad, and there are enough “older” prospects in that range who Thibs might actually play.
Overall, this is a nope-screen. Don’t be surprised if we see something akin to this tonight.
Alex Sarr Goes Second?
One of the more interesting developments over the past few weeks has been Alex Sarr’s supposed unwillingness to even work out for the #1 pick-holding Atlanta Hawks, potentially giving us insight into who might go at the top of the draft. According to Jonathan Givony, Sarr is “pretty much a lock” to go to the Washington Wizards at #2 overall due to — and I’m inferring here — Sarr’s preferred destination not being Atlanta for various basketball reasons.
This is the kind of report that really could be a massive smokescreen. I’ve heard from multiple people in NBA circles that teams can and do hold secret draft workouts for certain prospects, which could make this whole “Sarr hates Atlanta” point moot.
On the other hand, Sarr may want to take the reigns of a team from the get-go, which is something he would be allowed to do in Washington and not in ATL. That, plus the various reports surrounding the matter from different sources, makes me think this is the real deal. Plus, Landry Fields (who could be lying, I suppose) noted that they had Sarr scheduled for a workout but that he declined to show up. I’m pretty sure this is a nope-screen — but take it with a grain of salt, if you will.
Matas Buzelis Has Beef?
For Buzelis, it appears that beef is, in fact, what’s for dinner.
In a recent interview with Shams Charania, Buzelis doubled down on his request from last year to go one-on-one with possible #1 selection Zaccharie Risacher, going as far as to call him out himself. Check this quote out:
“I respect Zach (Risacher) as a player…He just doesn’t want to see me. I’m just going to keep it real with everybody.”
- Matas “Roast Beef” Buzelis
Could this be the mumblings of an in-league rivalry? Or, even better, could Buzelis and Risacher be drafted to the same team? It’s unlikely but if Risacher were to fall to 4 and Buzelis to fall to 8, it could happen — though I doubt it.
Regardless, Buzelis calling out Risacher again feels like perfect NBA television material. There’s no smokescreen here, but there is some, uh, smoke.
Free Agency and Trade Rumors
To be honest, a lot of potential free agency rumors have been stifled by soon-to-be finalized contracts, such as Pascal Siakam’s reported 4-year, $189.5 million deal with the Pacers. However, there are a few key names in both the trade and free agency market who haven’t found their way yet.
Two key players who could end up being crucial pieces of a contending team are Blazers forward Jerami Grant and Pelicans big man Jonas Valančiūnas — and like all NBA free agent/trade reports these days, both are linked to the Lakers. Valančiūnas is a free agent this offseason and provides solid scoring numbers combined with his near-10 rebounds per game average, which would allow the Lakers to slide Anthony Davis to PF permanently. However, while there aren’t many other reports surrounding the Pels’ big man, I’m sure other teams will be involved — don’t be surprised to see the OKC Thunder throw their hat in the ring as well if they can’t grab Isaiah Hartenstein.
Grant, on the other hand, is a little more complex but has had a little bit of smoke around him for a bit. His contract runs for at least 3 more years (4 if you count his player option in 2027-28) and has an average value of $32 million per year. However, with the salary cap rising and him showing off his 40% shot from range this past season, his contract feels a lot easier to swallow than one might think. Other reports state that he’s been tied to the Mavericks in an effort to bolster their core for a title run, along with other undisclosed teams.
Separately, one of the stranger most-wanted free agents on the market is Sixers forward Tobias Harris. Despite being somewhat streaky, Harris could still provide solid production for a contending team — if those teams were actually looking to acquire his services, which isn’t happening right now. In fact, the two “strongest suitors” (according to Shams) are the Pistons and the Jazz who are definitely not contending. The Pistons would likely look to add him as some sort of veteran presence, while the Jazz…I’m not really sure. Utah already has John Collins and Lauri Markkanen at the forward slots and has a young player at the position in Taylor Hendricks.
Lastly, the Cavaliers could be looking to shop All-Star center Jarrett Allen in an effort to retool around Donovan Mitchell, per HoopsHype. There was reportedly some discourse between Allen and the organization toward the end of the playoffs, as Allen supposedly refused to get a numbing injection that would allow him to play through his rib injury. Regardless of what’s true and what’s not here, don’t be surprised to see Allen’s name pop up for multiple contenders.
Side Note 1: The Rockets just pulled off a very complex trade, per Woj, involving the Nets’ picks and Phoenix’s picks and I have no idea what’s going on anymore — and they want KD, maybe (but also maybe they want Devin Booker instead)?! Will be talking about this in a piece soon…
Side Note 2: There’s been quite a lot of noise surrounding DeMar DeRozan’s future as well as Paul George’s, but I won’t be covering them here due to Marc Stein having the sources on that. His work is for paid subscribers only and aggregating it feels slimy. Here you can find his reports on George and DeRozan, respectively.
Other News, Rumors, and Fun Facts
The Cavaliers are reportedly hiring Warriors assistant Kenny Atkinson as their new head coach. That may discourage the team from trading Jarrett Allen, as Atkinson coached Allen when he was with the Brooklyn Nets — but time will tell.
With Atkinson off the board, the Pistons are now looking to former Hornets HC James Borrego as their lead candidate for becoming the new head coach of the franchise.
Now this is an intriguing one: per Bloomberg, Red Bull (yes, that Red Bull) is considering making a bid for a would-be NBA expansion franchise in Las Vegas. If the company were to do so, it would be the first time that a company would own an NBA team, almost akin to what goes on in F1. While nothing has been announced formally, it’s possible we hear more about expansion sometime soon due to the NBA’s media rights deal being finalized; that’s something Adam Silver talked about recently as well.
James Harden reportedly hasn’t made a decision about his Clippers future, and he won’t be doing so until the Paul George saga is finished. According to at least one report, Harden will “align” his contract with the rest of the team’s stars as long as George doesn’t blow it all up in Los Angeles, which is far from a sure thing. In other words, we could be seeing another James Harden saga…again.
The Lakers (I feel like I’m having to report on them more than I would like…) are reportedly fully committed to LeBron James and will be offering him a 3-year max contract, as long as he’s up for it. With JJ Redick being hand-selected (no matter what the Lakers’ FO says) by LeBron and Anthony Davis, I doubt Bron would leave — stranger things have happened, though.
Newly-minted NBA Champion Kristaps Porzingis is undergoing leg surgery, despite wanting to hold off on it till after the Olympics. That now puts his Olympics future in doubt, but nothing has been ruled out quite yet except for Latvia’s qualifying rounds.
In his 15th season as a member of the Pelicans’ front office, Bryson Graham has been named the franchise’s new general manager. This comes after former GM Trajan Langdon left to become the president of basketball operations for the Pistons.
Apparently, the Knicks, Rockets, and Jazz are looking at going after Mikal Bridges in a draft-day trade, but the Nets thus far haven’t budged. As a Rockets fan, I want him to go to the Knicks because (1) I don’t want Houston to give the Nets their picks back and (2) getting the Brunson/Hart/DiVincenzo/Bridges Villanova crew together would be the vibiest team in NBA history.
UPDATE: Mikal Bridges has been traded to the New York Knicks, per Woj, for a massive haul of picks and the power of friendship (now it’s officially the Villanova Knicks). Absolutely bonkers trade:
On this day in NBA history, lots of guys got drafted. I know, it’s obvious, but here are some highlights:
Yao Ming (2002, the first player to play neither high school nor college basketball in the U.S.)
Allen Iverson (1996, the AI before artificial intelligence)
LeBron James (2003, you know, that’s pretty good at basketball)
Derrick Rose (2008, one of the biggest what-ifs in NBA history who became the league’s youngest-ever MVP before injury)
My Favorite Reads This Week
- just put together a nice collection of the best moments from the 2023-24 NBA season, including (but not at all limited to!) Boban Marjanović getting fans free chicken, Steve Kerr hating on techno music, and game-winners galore. Check that piece out here.
- is writing a series on what each team has to tackle this offseason, and one of his most recent editions involves every team with fans that have northern accents and want to know why you’re walking ‘ere…and Toronto. Go look at his per-team breakdown right here.
Before the draft tonight, check out this piece from
, who wrote about Cameroonian prospect Ulrich Chomche’s draft profile. Chomche doesn’t have a lot of film to work with and is really, really raw offensively, but everything else about his game is so tantalizing. Here’s that piece, go read it.- (who and I deemed the “hardest working dude in the game”) just wrote up his collection of players who he thinks could be key undrafted free agents from this year’s draft — check part 2 of that series here.
- just released his 100th article for his publication , and I was honored to contribute. The topic — biggest underdogs in sports — led me down the rabbit hole that is Jimmy Butler’s story, and you’ll find out more about that in the article along with other Substackers’ takes. Here’s that piece!
That’s it for this week’s roundup! Hopefully, tonight’s (and tomorrow’s!) draft poses some level of intrigue, of which I’ll be writing about in the coming days. Until then, take a look through The Prospect Report from the beginning of this roundup!