NBA News and Rumor Roundup 6/25/2025
Draft day, the most painful NBA moment I've seen live, and trades galore!
Aaaaaand we’re back!
Not only are we back, but it’s done — that is, the NBA’s 2024-25 season. The Thunder, as we all know well by now, claimed the crown, potentially kickstarting a new, more modern dynasty, though time will tell whether or not that’s the case.
We’ll talk more about the players, the game, and the overall implications in a moment, but it’s also NBA Draft Day! Today, we’ll get to see the entire first round go through from top to bottom, and I’ll give my predictions for the lottery in this roundup, too.
Somehow, there’s even more, as Kevin Durant got sent to the Houston Rockets in a deal that makes me, as an H-Town native, more than ecstatic. Quite frankly, I see it as a bank robbery, but I don’t want to spoil my trade grades too much — and there’s more trades to be had, too!
Let’s get right into this week’s jam-packed roundup! First up, our primary recurring segment of the week…
This Week’s Kings of The Court
If you’re new around here (welcome!), this is a segment of the roundup where I get to talk about three players/teams who I deem to be worthy of the King of The Court moniker. Now, crucially, these don’t have to be the absolute best players of the past 7 days, but are instead those who I deem most impressive for one reason or another.
Because we just wrapped up the Finals, we have a very small pool of players to choose from, so we’re going with one player from each team, along with the team of the year…
👑Andrew Nembhard, Worthy of The Bag👑
Key Stats From the Past Week
16.0 PPG
5.0 AST
62% from three-point range
Bonus Stat: Only two players in Finals history have recorded a game of 17+ points and 4+ assists without shooting more than 7 shots. Those two players are Magic Johnson and Andrew Nembhard.
If there’s one thing we’ve learned in these Finals (though we’ve learned almost too many things to count), it’s that Andrew Nembhard should be up in the same role player echelon as guys like Derrick White and Alex Caruso. In the face of Tyrese Haliburton being injured (and then completely out of the equation), Nembhard took control of the ball alongside T.J. McConnell and did an absolutely bang-on job.
His passing is better than I ever thought, while his ability to create his own shot is borderline shocking considering that some scouts believed he couldn’t do that at the next level. He’s constantly getting in his bag like the fries are at the bottom, beating defenders off the dribble and making everyone look silly for ever thinking he wasn’t a starting-caliber guy:
If the Magic Johnson-esque stat above doesn’t convince you, nothing will. And while he’s playing at a level in the Derrick White territory, he’s getting paid far less; White will clear $30 million per year in 2026-27, while Nembhard’s deal won’t even eclipse $20 million until 2027-28. Nembhard is the best role player you could want for this team, and despite what looks to be a rocky road ahead, the Pacers should be glad to have him locked in in the manner they do.
👑Cason Wallace, On a Nembhard Trajectory👑
Key Stats From the Past Week
50% FG
50% from three-point range
Highest plus-minus out of all players on OKC who played over 20 MPG
Bonus Stat: Only 6 players in NBA history (at 21 years or younger) have recorded a Finals game of 10+ PTS on 60% FG or greater: Magic Johnson, Dereck Lively II, Jordan Farmar, Daniel Gibson, Kawhi Leonard, and Cason Wallace. Wallace is the only one to do it in a Game 7.
Cason Wallace isn’t 100% there yet, but there’s ample reason to believe that his trajectory is awfully similar to Nembhard’s and, by extension, Derrick White’s. Wallace didn’t need to score a lot in this series, but he came up when it mattered, scoring 10 points on 60% FG in Game 7 and averaging 2 steals (in just 20 MPG!!!) over the past two games.
Wallace is incredibly hard-nosed, and his 6’8” wingspan helps a lot in intercepting passing lanes, allowing him to do stuff that doesn’t always show up in the box score. But when it does show up in the box score, you can easily see how impactful this man is on a per-minute basis. Just look at him absolutely pestering T.J. McConnell here!
Wallace feels like a microcosm of the absurdity of OKC’s structure. They have Wallace, a former 10th overall pick who is still just 21 years of age, playing off the bench in the Finals, playing a massive role in disrupting the flow of the opponent’s offense, and he’s only being paid $5.8 million for this upcoming season and won’t hit restricted free agency till 2027-28.
He’s been a steal (no pun intended) for OKC, and he’s so darn cheap right now.
👑OKC, Sam Presti, and Everyone Involved👑
Key Stats From the Past Week
Won an NBA championship
Need I say anything else?
Bonus Stat: OKC is the youngest team to win an NBA title since the Blazers in 1977. They could have as many as THIRTEEN first-round picks over the next seven drafts (7 of their own, 6 additional) - per
What more can we mention about this OKC team? Shai Gilgeous-Alexander put up one of the best statistical seasons in NBA history, won MVP, won Finals MVP, and, despite my qualms about his free-throw drawing, showed all the traits of a #1 option throughout the playoffs. They said his game wouldn’t translate, and it did. We questioned whether Jalen Williams was too young to be the true #2 option in the playoffs, and he turned into Gen Z Scottie Pippen. Surely, we said, the team’s rebounding woes would be an issue. To the extent that they were, it didn’t really matter in the end. Do I think Indiana deserved this more? Maybe, but that’s not the point — the team that won, won.
Sam Presti has constructed a team that is so powerful, so deep, and so well-stocked for the future that it begins to boggle the mind. They didn’t even play their #12 overall pick from this past draft, Nikola Topic, who was recovering from a partially torn ACL. They didn’t play Ousmane Dieng, the 11th overall pick from 2022, and he averaged over 20 PPG in the G League this year. They own every pick you could ever imagine and then some, so much so that they could swing a trade for a guy like Giannis Antetokoumpo without actually blowing up the whole team.
The only downside to such a roster, potentially, is the fact that Mark Daigneault may not get the coaching credit as much as he would if this team were, uh, worse. He did a great job throughout this playoffs, and with him winning a chip, expect a massive extension to come in sometime in the next year.
Everyone involved with OKC’s rise put everything together phenomenally. No longer relying on the Seattle Supersonics’ history to give them a championship banner, OKC now gets to truly chart its own course.
The Most Painful Moment I’ve Seen Live
Sunday night’s game felt like one of those “Where were you when…” moments, but not because of the game outcome itself. Before the game started, a friend of mine who does not normally watch NBA games asked me for the “lore” of players, so I gave him the whole shpiel on SGA’s MVP season, Jalen Williams turning into Scottie Pippen, and Andrew Nembhard competing against SGA since they were kids, even waning into my albeit used Gen Z slang to get the point across.
Then I turned to my favorite chapter of what I expected to be a great Game 7:
There’s something special about watching your favorite player, from any team, make it to a Game 7 in the Finals. A player whom I once said was the Gen Z Chris Paul and would be a future Hall of Famer before it was actually popular.
Tyrese then scored 9 points in, like, 2 minutes. I was flabbergasted. My flabbers, I tell you, were absolutely gasted. Deep threes, mouthing off to the crowd, that’s the guy everybody has learned to love in these playoffs.
Then he tore his Achilles. I immediately texted another friend:
Just like there’s something special about watching your favorite player play in a Game 7 in the Finals, there’s something all the more devastating about watching him go out like that. Screaming, crying, having the internal knowledge that his team’s season was over. ESPN cuts to Tyrese’s father crying — it’s the most painful moment I have ever witnessed live, and I don’t think (and I hope) it’ll be topped any time soon.
Now, you may be wondering, why did I say “What did I tell you” to the friend above? Well, before Game 6, when Tyrese had a reported calf strain, I sent him this message:
The calf strain to Achilles tear pipeline is all too common this season and a storyline from the past 5 at least. There isn’t much else to say, as I don’t have a cold and fast solution. It just feels like the most consequential injury in NBA history, and I hate that it had to happen to my favorite player.
Houston, We Have a Bank Robbery
After months and months of reports stating that they didn’t want in on a Kevin Durant sweepstakes, the Rockets decided to do just that — and who can blame them when they paid the equivalent of an NBA Sam’s Club membership?
While the full trade cannot be finalized till early July due to Jalen Green’s poison pill clause in his contract, this is what the deal looks like:
Houston receives: Kevin Durant
Phoenix receives: Jalen Green, Dillon Brooks, the No. 10 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, five second-round picks
For Houston, the benefits of adding Durant are obvious. While the team has been phenomenal on defense under Ime Udoka’s leadership, the offense has been, at times, abysmal. Now, instead of simply filling the offensive gap, they’re injecting literal rocket fuel (pun intended) and adding one of the best individual scorers in NBA history. I see some say that KD isn’t the same player and isn’t near as mobile as he used to be, which is true, but this is also a guy that ranked in the 91st percentile last season for spot-up looks, so he doesn’t need to have the ball in his hands at all times to score. And, come on, it’s Kevin Durant.
In the process, Houston gave up Jalen Green, who I loved as a player but hated as a contributor to winning (or lack thereof). He takes too many shots away from Sengun and Amen Thompson, couldn’t play defense, and needed the team to be built around him for him to operate at his best. Worse, his presence prevented Houston from actually playing #3 2024 pick Reed Sheppard, who will now get more of a chance in the limelight. Giving him away may be addition by subtraction, especially as it gives Amen Thompson even more of the reigns at the guard slot.
Losing Dillon Brooks is bad for the team’s defense, but not so much for the offense, and they have Tari Eason who is able to step up immediately, so I wouldn’t be too worried about that (though I’m biased).
The most important part of the deal besides Green seems to be the #10 pick, which is one that Houston wouldn’t have likely been able to roster and play real minutes. They tack on 5 second-rounders (which, based on the draft pick value chart, is probably no better than a mid-first-rounder), and, crucially, did not give the Suns back their 2027 and 2029 unprotected first-rounders. This is highway robbery, because the Suns will likely be bad in both those years due to their current circumstances and lack of pick control and will practically hand over phenomenal assets to the Rockets in the process.
The Suns’ silver lining is very slim, but maybe they do hit it out of the park at #10. Either way, Devin Booker looks like he’s in a terrible situation (and, reportedly, they’re not trading him), Bradley Beal still exists with a no-trade clause, and Jalen Green will get to take a lot of shots in the process.
Fun times in Houston, terrible times in Phoenix. Such is the NBA offseason.
Portland, We Have…Something Kind Of Bad?
I didn’t intend to have two separate trade analysis sections, but then the Blazers decided to trade for Jrue Holiday (for the second time!) in wildly confusing fashion, so here we are.
The Celtics and Blazers engaged in a trade that is structured like this:
Boston receives: Anfernee Simons, two second-round picks
Portland receives: Jrue Holiday
Is this not a really weird deal? The Blazers were okay last season, have some upward trajectory, and, while Simons likely wasn’t going to stick around, he can be a flamethrower on offense at times. This is the Blazers pivoting to a defensive mindset at the guard slot (which is fine!), but it’s also them taking in a 35-year-old who has anywhere from 2 to 3 seasons left on his contract, the last in which he would get paid a whopping $37 million! Instead of keeping Simons, who was on an expiring $27 million salary for this upcoming season, they took in more money for a longer time for a way older player, seeing as Simons is still just 26. And, on top of all of that, the Blazers sent out two seconds, when Boston should be giving that to Portland for the service of taking Jrue off their hands!
Unless the Blazers are going to flip Jrue for a greater package, I don’t see the point of this. Sean Highkin (Blazers Insider) has reported that the Blazers won’t flip Jrue, while Brett Siegel (ClutchPoints) says they will, so we don’t know which way they’re leaning yet.
For Boston, this feels like such a win. They now get an avid three-point shooter who is young, on an expiring deal, and has enough long-term upside. If they don’t want to keep him beyond this season for cap reasons, they don’t have to. The defense is quite terrible, but the Celtics may be in a gap year next season anyway due to Jayson Tatum’s Achilles surgery. Throw in two second-rounders to take some swings at, and you’ve got a solid deal here for Boston.
According to Shams, the Celtics are engaged in other trades involving “multiple key players” on the roster, which could mean that anyone from Kristaps Porzingis to Jaylen Brown is on the table.
Oh, by the way, Porzingis got traded too, in a three-team deal involving the Hawks and Nets. The Celtics are getting right down to business in the salary-shedding moves, as they’re now below the dreaded second apron:
Atlanta Hawks receive:
Kristaps Porzingis (from Celtics)
Second-round pick (from Celtics)
Brooklyn Nets receive:
Terance Mann
No. 22 overall pick (from Hawks)
Boston Celtics receive:
Georges Niang
Second-round pick (from Nets)
This is a shrewd move for the Nets, who get a solid guard in Terance Mann and what amounts to virtually a free first-round pick, while the Hawks are betting that a Trae Young/Porzingis pick-and-roll can bring them back into playoff relevance.
CJ McCollum Gets Sent to the Gulag
Just when I thought I could officially schedule this piece, I had to update it again because of the Wizards doing this:
This is a wild trade for a few reasons, but mainly because I’m stunned that Jordan Poole and Saddiq Bey can be traded for CJ McCollum and Kelly Olynyk — but, of course, this isn’t about the quality of play. McCollum is on an expiring deal, which opens up the Wizards for nearly $100 million in projected cap space for next offseason, and with players like Trae Young, Austin Reaves, Naz Reid, and maybe even Jaren Jackson Jr. up for free agency in 2026, that is 100% what this is about.
Grabbing Kelly Olynyk feels like a great thing for the Wizards’ veteran presence at the big man slot, and he can effectively play alongside Alexandre Sarr when need be, too.
For the Pelicans, they seem to just be trying to find something that works. Poole is younger than McCollum but wildly immature in his shot selection, and he’s getting paid over $30 million per year for the next two seasons. I don’t love this for the Pels, who could have afforded to let McCollum’s contract expire after this upcoming season and use him as a veteran presence if they end up drafting a guard.
NBA Draft Day!
Today, after years of hype, Cooper Flagg will be going #1 overall. However, beyond him and Dylan Harper, there’s still a lot of conflicting opinions on who goes where. I’ll accumulate the draft rumors in the following section, but here’s the top 14 lottery guys based on what I would expect to happen, with only a bit of it influenced by my own opinions. This isn’t a big board (as I have Collin Murray-Boyles higher on my personal board, and I would take Rasheer Fleming in the top 15), but it is one that at least has some injection of nuance:
#1 (Dallas Mavericks): Cooper Flagg
Do I really have to explain this one? Barring a crazy Nico Harrison trade (again), Flagg will be heading to the Mavericks today. Enough said.
#2 (San Antonio Spurs): Dylan Harper
Like Flagg, there isn’t too much explanation here. Harper is widely expected to go #21 overall, and it’s still very likely the Spurs will use their pick here unless Giannis Antetokoumpo or a player of his caliber is suddenly on the table. The fit is weird between him, Stephon Castle, and De’Aaron Fox, but you have to take the guy based on the ceiling alone.
#3 (Philadelphia 76ers): VJ Edgecombe
This is where things get murky. For a long time, Ace Bailey was considered to go here, but his strange draft workout decisions and shot selection issues have mucked that up. It’s likely between Edgecombe and Tre Johnson here, though the Sixers could also trade back. If Edgecombe is drafted here, he immediately injects some great tenacious defense and a crazy slashing upside, and he doesn’t clash with Tyrese Maxey, Quentin Grimes, or (if healthy) Joel Embiid.
#4 (Charlotte Hornets): Kon Knueppel
If I were the Hornets, I wouldn’t take Knueppel this high. However, I also wouldn’t take Ace Bailey, who would be a worse fit from a shot-chucker standpoint and meshing with Brandon Miller. Knueppel is a good fit in Charlotte and plays with grit, plus he doesn’t need the ball in his hands at all times. Maybe a slight reach but, unless they trade down, the other options are kind of bad from a fit perspective.
#5 (Utah Jazz): Tre Johnson (???)
There’s a very real chance Ace Bailey gets taken here, but Johnson is widely mocked to go this high anyway.
Now, it’s worth noting the two picks (Hornets and Jazz) could be swapped; at least in the sense that Charlotte could take Johnson and Utah would take Knueppel. So call this 4A/4B range.
#6 (Washington Wizards): Ace Bailey
Here he is. Jonathan Givony recently mentioned that Bailey seems to prefer the teams outside the top-5, and if he wants a chance to get up shots, the Wizards may provide the best opportunity to do so, especially if they get rid of Jordan Poole at any point in the next 12 months. He’d be flanked by a great defensive anchor in Alexandre Sarr, a high-IQ running mate in Bilal Coulibaly, and would have no pressure to turn the Wizards into a win-now team right away. Will he fall this far? Givony’s reports imply he could, so I’m leaving him here.
Interesting note: Letting go of Jordan Poole opens up more shooting opportunities for somebody. If Bailey is really trying to force his way to a team with more time to shoot at volume, the Wizards may have just given him a special invitation to do so.
#7 (New Orleans Pelicans): Jeremiah Fears
If this were a big board, I’d have Fears getting drafted by the Jazz — I really like the guy. But because this is a mock, going to New Orleans would be perfect for his development. The quick-footed, high-offense guard would learn from a great defensive point guard in Dejounte Murray, has another veteran to listen to in CJ McCollum — oh wait, not anymore! — and could be eased into the role of the lead guard. Fears’ supposed defensive weaknesses would be best developed in New Orleans, so this feels like a hand-in-glove fit.
It’s worth noting that him and Poole would be a Swiss cheese defense, so who knows what happens here now.
#8 (Brooklyn Nets): Khaman Malauch
The Nets are a massive wild card here. They could take anyone from Maluach to Noa Essengue to Derik Queen. Here I have them taking Malauch, which is based on all the intel that’s come out and what Brooklyn seems to want: Upside. Maluach is incredibly mobile, is a phenomenal shot-blocker, and maybe (just maybe) has a three-pointer in him. If he hits his ceiling, he could be an All-Defense guy and be a multi-time All-Star. At worst, he’s a bulkier Nic Claxton, which the Nets already have.
#9 (Toronto Raptors): Collin Murray-Boyles
This is the first part where I go against the consensus/average mocks, but only because I think it’s truly possible. The Raptors will want Maluach here based on Masaj Ujiri’s penchant for crazy athletic big men with raw offensive skill sets, but Collin Murray-Boyles would fit his bill, too. He doesn’t have a three-point shot yet but is an analytical darling, and he’s getting quite a bit of top-10 attention in some circles. I do think Toronto may take him here, and the defense would be plug-and-play right away.
#10 (Phoenix Suns): Derik Queen
Now that the Suns own the Rockets’ pick at #10 (which was originally theirs in the first place), they’re probably going to want to fill the big man gap. Queen doesn’t provide the defense that the team may want, but he provides the offense in spades as well as mobility. He and Devin Booker would be a pseudo/Bizarro version of what Jalen Green and Alperen Sengun were in Houston. If the Suns want to take a swing, Queen is their guy, even if the athletic concerns are a major issue.
Also, if Matt Ishbia is really committed to the bit, the Suns would take Michigan State product Jase Richardson here. If he’s not committed to signing/hiring every Michigan State alumnus in basketball, then Queen is a reasonable choice.
#11 (Portland Trail Blazers): Kasparas Jakucionis
This one makes too much sense in my eyes. The Blazers are a good defensive team and have some key pieces to work with in Shaedon Sharpe, Deni Avdija, and Donovan Clingan, but they still need a real distributor who can survey the floor — and no, Scoot Henderson isn’t quite that guy yet. Trading for Jrue Holiday helps provide more defense and a veteran presence, assuming they don’t flip him, but he’s also 35. Jakucionis provides floor surveying in spades and, despite some turnover concerns, is the perfect jumbo guard mold for today’s NBA. I’m seeing a lot of people down on Jakucionis for seemingly arbitrary reasons, and he’d be primed to prove a lot of people wrong in Portland.
#12 (Chicago Bulls): Noa Essengue
The Bulls need a big man, which would potentially open them up for Joan Beringer here, but I don’t know if they have the guts to pull the trigger this high (trading back is an option!). Consider him a 12A/12B kind of guy if the Bulls are feeling bold.
The Bulls could definitely use Essengue, however. There’s a small overlap with Buzelis, but the team’s starting SF is Kevin Huerter, who is perfectly fine but is on an expiring deal for this upcoming season and can be replaced by a higher-upside guy. Hence, Essengue could be plugged in quite soon, and his ability to score the ball from just about everywhere adds some extra spice to this already kind of fun roster.
#13 (Atlanta Hawks): Joan Beringer
This is the most hand-in-glove fit in this entire draft, so I have to mock Beringer to the Hawks here. As I’ve noted in previous weeks, Beringer is incredibly mobile and has great rim deterrence, and while I think scouts may be falling afoul of the classic “Overseas, mobile, big” fallacies when looking at him in the top-13, I can’t ignore the fact that the fit is awesome and ESPN’s Jonathan Givony just put him at #14 to the Spurs.
You want a new Clint Capela, Atlanta? Here’s your man!
#14 (San Antonio Spurs): Carter Bryant
Carter Bryant is the classic case of betting on the eye test. He averaged under 6 points per game in college but showed incredible defensive versatility and fits the mold of the modern NBA wing. He’d have a chance to ease into the game and eventually replace the minutes that Harrison Barnes and Keldon Johnson are getting, and he wouldn’t have to do as much offensively when paired with Wemby, (theoretically) Dylan Harper, and Devin Vassell.
Inevitably, I’ll be very wrong on some of these picks, especially since some teams may be very high on guys like Egor Demin, Cedric Coward, and Jase Richardson, who all have a wide floor-to-ceiling zone. Regardless, the above picks are what I would expect from each franchise given their history and fit.
Other News, Rumors, and Fun Facts
According to Grant Afseth (who is generally a Mavs insider), the Wizards have tried to aggressively trade up to #2 and have included some “surprising names” (though we don’t know who) in the process. However, the Spurs don’t seem to be budging. Afseth also notes that the Wizards are trying to get into the top 5, potentially for Jeremiah Fears. That may be more feasible, though we know nothing as of now.
The Mavericks have extended big man Daniel Gafford for three years at $54 million, which feels like a steal for a guy who is one of the best rim protectors in the league. He and Cooper Flagg are going to be very hard to score against, not to mention the absolute wall that those two and Anthony Davis (when healthy) will create.
Per Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer, league executives believe Ace Bailey’s agent is trying to force him to the East Coast, potentially opening up the opportunity for a slide as far as Brooklyn’s #8 pick. It’s not out of the question at this point, as more and more seem to be souring on Bailey’s draft mentality.
In an interesting anecdote, Shams Charania mentioned on Pat McAfee’s show that the Hornets shouldn’t discount moving LaMelo Ball if a team comes in with a big offer. However, he also notes he has not heard of any rumors, so maybe this is another team trying to use Charania to posture a bit?
One player to monitor as a trade candidate this offseason for cap space reasons is Jrue Holiday. While he’s been great for the Celtics, the team can’t really afford his contract with the second apron restrictions, and Zach Lowe says he was originally included in some three-team deals related to the Durant trade.
Matisse Thybulle, a defensive menace (but offensive, um, not a menace) for the Blazers, has picked up his $11.5 million option for this next season, per Shams.
Possibly the most consequential trade in the Eastern Conference happened during the NBA Finals, and it seemed to be innocuous when it happened — mostly because it was. The Pacers, looking to save some cap space by not drafting a first-rounder this year, traded their 2025 first for 2026’s first, which the Pelicans received in an earlier trade. Now, with Haliburton injured, the Pacers could have a shot at getting a high lottery pick, especially if they have a so-called gap year.
Per multiple reports, Maria Taylor, who once worked for ESPN and has been with NBC for NFL games, has been named NBC’s lead NBA and WNBA studio host, paving the way for her, Carmelo Anthony, and Vince Carter (along with unconfirmed others) to create a studio crew together.
Speaking of NBC, Grant Hill is reportedly jumping ship from TNT to join the network’s basketball coverage as well!
Per Shams, Kyrie Irving is declining his player option with the Mavs and is instead opting to sign a 3-year, $119 million deal with a player option in 2027-28. This, most likely, means that (barring a trade), the Mavs are the final franchise that Kyrie will play significant minutes for, and bodes well for a future Flagg/Irving pick-and-roll.
According to ESPN’s Bobby Marks, the Bucks are “aggressively” trying to find trades and/or free agents that they can utilize to build around Giannis Antetokoumpo instead of simply placing him on the trade market. He mentions that they could try to go for Cam Johnson on the Nets or dish an injured Damian Lillard to Phoenix, but the former seems more reasonable. Regardless, it would require Milwaukee to give up draft picks, which could further endanger their post-Giannis future.
Brandon Roy Jr. — yes, that’s the son of that Brandon Roy — recently announced he’s committing to Washington for the 2025-26 college basketball season. Unfortunately, his recruiting profile shows him as a zero-star recruit, so he’ll have an uphill battle to make it to the league. Stranger things have happened, however, and you have to be happy for the kid and his dad!
Per Michael Scotto of HoopsHype, the Suns may be shopping Grayson Allen and Royce O’Neal, which makes sense, but also because they have no hope for the future. Lovely times.
According to
, Jevon Carter is picking up his 2025-26 player option with the Bulls, which will keep him in Chicago through the rest of next season. Not a big announcement, but he brings good veteran presence to the table at a minimum.Speaking of unsurprising opt-ins, Khris Middleton will be staying with the Wizards due to his $33.3 million player option for 2025-26. Middleton is in a losing situation anyway, so taking the bag makes sense, and this also makes him a tantalizing salary dump/matching candidate for other teams.
On this day in NBA history (in 1997!), San Antonio selects Tim Duncan from Wake Forest with the first pick in the 1997 NBA Draft, and then, just two years later (on the same exact day!), would win the championship with their then-Finals MVP.
My Favorite Reads This Week
Since it’s so close to the draft (literally today!), we have quite a few draft articles to choose from. Jase Richardson is one of the more intriguing bets in the draft, with the primary concern being that he’s a smaller guard.
does a good job of talking through Richardson’s overall game, which you can go give a read about here.- always does great when analyzing prospects out of Africa, so I wanted to link his recent Khaman Malauch report that goes deep into what his role projects to be at the next level. You can go find that one right here.
If you missed it, the Lakers got sold to the Dodgers’ owner, which means that the cash must flow. A recent edition of
talked about the implications of the deal, which can essentially be summed up by the fact that the Lakers of today are not the Lakers of the past 4-ish decades. You can go read that one right here.This one’s more of a link roundup, but
recently noted in one of his pieces that Barbados — which has a GDP of around $6.7 billion — is investing $30 million in new sports facilities on the island, which I thought was really cool. That’s 0.44% of GDP, which is about the same percentage that OECD countries spend on vocational education! Regardless, go read Darren’s top-5 roundup here.
That’s it for this week’s roundup! Though I don’t have a concrete plan for this offseason other than posting at the same clip I’ve been doing for (almost) the past two years, I do have a few specific pieces in the works that I think you all will enjoy. Regardless, more writings are on the way for this weekend, post-draft!