Jalen Williams, Ajay Mitchell Declared Out For Game 5
May 26: Williams is listed as out, Tim MacMahon of ESPN tweets.
May 25: The Thunder have listed Jalen Williams as questionable for Tuesday’s critical Game 5 against the Spurs, tweets Justin Martinez of The Oklahoman.
Williams’ official injury designation is left hamstring strain injury management. He has missed the past two games due to the left hamstring issue, which he first strained on April 22 in Game 2 of Oklahoma City’s first-round series vs. Phoenix. He was absent for the entire second-round sweep of the Lakers due to that injury, then aggravated it in Game 2 of the Western Conference finals vs. San Antonio.
While Williams, a 2024/25 All-Star and All-NBA wing, has a chance to play on Tuesday, the defending champions have already ruled out Ajay Mitchell, who injured his right calf in the third quarter of Game 3. The second-year guard, who also missed Game 4, is dealing with a right soleus strain.
The Thunder struggled to score in Sunday’s Game 4 loss without two of their main offensive initiators, putting extra pressure on Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. The Thunder will host the Spurs on Tuesday with the series tied at two games apiece.
The Spurs are banged up as well, with De’Aaron Fox playing through a right ankle sprain and Dylan Harper battling through right adductor soreness. Neither player is on Tuesday’s injury report even though they’re both less than 100%, per Tom Orsborn of The San Antonio Express-News (Twitter link).
Celtics’ Joe Mazzulla Named Coach Of Year
The Celtics’ Joe Mazzulla has been named Coach of the Year, the league announced on Tuesday (Twitter link). He earned the Red Auerbach Trophy, named after the Celtics’ coaching legend.
Mazzulla is the first Celtics head coach to win the award since Bill Fitch in 1979/80 and the fourth in franchise history, a group that also includes Auerbach (1964-65) and Tom Heinsohn (1972-73). At 37, Mazzulla is the youngest Coach of the Year since Phil Johnson in 1974/75.
Mazzulla led Boston to a 56-26 record and the No. 2 playoff seed in the Eastern Conference, including a 51-19 mark after a 5-7 start.
Mazzulla received 62 first-place votes, 24 second-place votes and 10 third-place votes, totalling 392 points. The Pistons’ J.B. Bickerstaff finished second in the voting with 312 points (29 first-place votes, 51 second and 14 third). Spurs coach Mitch Johnson finished a distant third with 133 points (9 first, 17 second, 37 third). A global media panel of 100 voters selected the Coach of the Year. Full results can be found here.
The Celtics issued a statement in which Mazzulla expressed his thanks but felt it should be a shared award.
“Thank you to the Lord for the platform he has given me, and to my wife and family who support me on this journey,” he said. “Thank you to our players who compete and give it everything they have each night. I am grateful for every member of the Celtics organization whose dedication impacts winning every day. This award belongs to our staff, who are there for the guys every day. Their relentless work ethic improves our team daily. This award should be named Staff of the Year.”
Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens praised his head coach and staff.
“This is well deserved recognition and a testament to both Joe and his staff,” he said. “With all of our unknowns entering the season, Joe did a fantastic job building and growing a team. He pours everything he has into competing at a high level, while helping players find the best versions of themselves within the framework of a team. On top of all of that, Joe leads with an authentic care for the Celtics and everyone he works with – players, coaches, and staff.”
Pelicans Notes: Williamson, Mosley, Bickerstaff, Assistants
Jamahl Mosley was introduced as the Pelicans’ new head coach during a press conference on Tuesday. One of his priorities is to get the most out Zion Williamson, according to ESPN’s Ohm Youngmisuk.
Mosley is convinced Williamson has a lot more to give.
“He hasn’t even scratched the surface of things he can do,” Mosley said. “I really do believe that. And I think being able to open the floor up more for him, attacking, being able to play him in different positions, because he’s an excellent basketball player with a high IQ for playmaking, for making guys around him better, knowing when to make plays and the right passes to make.”
Williamson’s stats were down this season — 21.0 points and 5.7 rebounds — but he was able to play 62 games. Williamson has played 30 games or less in three of his seven seasons while also missing the entire 2021/22 season due to injuries.
“I think just opening the floor up a lot more for him to attack the basket, giving space, being able to live at the free throw line consistently,” Mosley said. “Some of the things he’s done here have been obviously spectacular — and so just making sure that we continue that, along with us being healthy.”
Here’s more on the Pelicans:
- Mosley was fired by the Magic after they lost in the first round to the Pistons, who are coached by his close friend J.B. Bickerstaff. The Pistons coach believes Mosley is a good fit for the Pelicans’ roster, he told Rod Walker of NOLA.com in a subscription-required story. “With me having built a relationship with Joe Dumars over the years and seeing Troy (Weaver) and having an opportunity to coach some of the players Troy drafted here in Detroit, the (Pelicans) organization is headed in the right direction,” Bickerstaff said. “You look at the talent level on that team now. It’s a team that went through similar injuries (to Orlando) last year. They are talented. With Jamahl’s fit there with his personality and ability to coach and organize and build an environment, I feel like that organization has a chance to take a step this year.”
- In another subscriber-protected post, Walker interviews some of Mosley’s former college teammate and NBA personnel and comes away with the notion that Mosley is a workaholic who strives to excel. One NBA front office executive who wanted to remain anonymous told Walker “Jamahl did an incredible job of resetting the culture in Orlando by establishing a defensive identity and demanding accountability. Their offensive players bought into defending everynight. The Magic went from a bottom-five defense to one of the best defensive teams in the NBA. That type of transformation starts with the coach setting standards and commitment from the players.”
- A quartet of assistants have followed Mosley to New Orleans and their roles are defined, Walker tweets. God Shammgod will be involved in player development and in-game game planning/adjustments; Bret Brielmaier will coordinate the offense, while Dale Osbourne will coordinate the defense. Randy Gregory will head up player development.
And-Ones: OKC/Spurs Impact, Anderson, Joerger, More
The Thunder and Spurs have built talented young rosters that look capable of contending for championships for the next five or 10 years, but rival teams won’t be content to take a step back and wait their turn until those potential dynasties in Oklahoma City and San Antonio eventually crumble, writes Howard Beck of The Ringer.
“The notion that everyone is just gonna accept it is insane,” an executive from an Eastern Conference playoff team told Beck. “Everybody that are in these jobs are competitive. They’re not just gonna accept it. A team like San Antonio, who have gotten lucky to get generational talent multiple times (in the lottery), people take that s–t personally, and they have a drive to beat those guys. They’re not gonna sit back and take a beating for the next 10 years.”
As Beck writes, teams around the NBA figure to seek “advantages in the margins” as they considers ways to match up with and beat these two Western Conference powerhouses. Wild-card factors like injuries could also affect the ability of OKC and San Antonio to make deep playoff runs in certain years. Plus, there’s no guarantee that either team will be able to maintain the star power and depth of their respective rosters as their key players get more expensive and they have to navigate punitive apron-related restrictions.
“People are gonna figure it out, how to beat them,” that same exec told Beck. “With the rules the way they are, San Antonio may not be able to keep all those guys. So a window opens up again. You have to be prepared for when that window is there.”
We have more odds and ends from around the basketball world:
- Texas Tech guard Christian Anderson will be keeping name in the 2026 NBA draft pool, agent Aaron Mintz tells Jeff Borzello of ESPN. Anderson, a projected top-20 pick, was always expected to forgo his remaining NCAA eligibility and go pro, but now it’s confirmed. “This is a dream I’ve worked toward my entire life, and the fact that it’s now a real opportunity is something I don’t take for granted,” said Anderson, who ranks 16th on ESPN’s board. “I’m incredibly grateful for the chance to compete at the highest level in the world, and I’m ready to make the most of it.”
- Former NBA head coach Dave Joerger has interviewed with Melbourne United for their head coaching vacancy, reports Pete Hooley for NBL.com.au. Joerger compiled a 245-247 record in six seasons coaching Memphis and Sacramento and has spent the past two years as a Bucks assistant. As Hooley notes, he has a strong relationship with veteran forward Joe Ingles, who is joining Melbourne United for the 2026/27 season.
- ESPN’s Zach Kram, Ben Golliver, and Andre Snellings propose six hypothetical offseason trades that could shake up the league, including one that sends Ja Morant to Minnesota and one sending Kyrie Irving to Detroit. Evaluating the trade concepts, Bobby Marks is most intrigued by one that sends Daniel Gafford from Dallas to the Lakers, reuniting him with former pick-and-roll partner Luka Doncic.
- In a story open to non-subscribers, Yossi Gozlan of The Third Apron hands out his front office awards for the 2025/26 season. Gozlan lauds the Celtics for the best salary cap management and the Thunder for maintaining the most efficient payroll, while dubbing the Hawks‘ deal with Nickeil Alexander-Walker the best value signing.
Cavaliers To Retain Head Coach Kenny Atkinson
Kenny Atkinson will remain in his role as the Cavaliers‘ head coach entering the 2026/27 season, reports Joe Vardon of The Athletic.
After the Cavs were outscored by 77 points over the course of a four-game sweep at the hands of the Knicks in the Eastern Conference finals, there had been speculation that the team might consider a head coaching change. But that won’t be the case, according to Vardon, who hears from sources that no major changes involving either the coaching staff or the front office are expected in Cleveland this offseason.
Atkinson, hired in 2024 to replace J.B. Bickerstaff, has led the Cavs to an outstanding 116-48 (.707) regular season record over the past two seasons and earned Coach of the Year honors for the 2024/25 season.
However, the team hasn’t had the sort of playoff success it hoped for during that time. Cleveland was eliminated in the second round as the East’s No. 1 seed last spring and narrowly eked by the Raptors and Pistons with Game 7 victories this spring before being dominated by New York.
Atkinson faced some criticism during the Knicks series for his game management during a fourth-quarter collapse in Game 1, when he declined to use his timeouts or change his defensive game plan as Jalen Brunson repeatedly beat James Harden on defense and the Knicks erased a 22-point deficit. He also raised eyebrows between Games 3 and 4 by claiming that his team had “analytically” earned two of three expected wins to that point in the series.
Still, Cavs owner Dan Gilbert has maintained his support of Atkinson, who has three years left on his contract, Vardon reported earlier today. ESPN’s Shams Charania and Jamal Collier convey a similar sentiment, indicating that Atkinson remains highly regarded by key officials within the organization.
Star guards Donovan Mitchell and Harden also voiced their support for Atkinson in the wake of Monday’s Game 4 loss. All indications are that the veteran coach has strong relationships with both players.
Gilbert put out a statement on Monday night praising the Cavs for taking a step forward this season but adding that they’re “nowhere near where we need to be.” Those remarks suggest that major changes could be coming this offseason — since those changes apparently won’t impact the front office and coaching staff, it’s safe to assume this roster won’t look the same in October as it did in the conference finals.
“I have confidence — confidence in myself, first of all, confidence in the group,” Atkinson said on Monday when he was asked about his job security. “The roster talk, that’s for down the line. Our front office has done a phenomenal job giving us a great roster. Obviously, there’ll be decisions to be made like every summer, but I think we’re doing pretty well with those decisions since I’ve been here. Just keep trusting. Trusting our process. Trust our collaboration.”
Allen Graves To Remain In 2026 NBA Draft
Santa Clara standout Allen Graves has decided to keep his name in the 2026 NBA draft, forgoing his remaining NCAA eligibility in order to go pro, he tells Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress (Twitter link).
Graves only started four of 35 games during his first and only college season, but he was a valuable reserve for the Broncos, averaging 11.8 points, 6.5 rebounds, 1.9 steals, and 1.8 assists in 22.6 minutes per contest. The 19-year-old also had a solid shooting line of .512/.413/.750 and won a pair of awards, having been named the WCC’s Freshman of the Year and Sixth Man of the Year.
While Graves wasn’t necessarily viewed as a first-round lock at the time he declared for the draft, he has improved his stock during the pre-draft process – despite displaying underwhelming athleticism during combine testing – and now looks like a safer bet to come off the board within the first 30 picks. Graves is an analytics darling who is said to have a good feel for the game.
In their most recent mock drafts, ESPN’s Jeremy Woo had Graves at No. 22, Jonathan Wasserman of Bleacher Report placed him at No. 27, and Kevin O’Connor of Yahoo Sports had him at No. 25.
Reporting earlier this month indicated that Graves, who also entered the NCAA transfer portal this spring, was focusing more on the pre-draft process than on lining up a new school. He had conversations with LSU and Duke, but the sense at the time was that he would remain in the draft as long as he felt confident about being a first-round pick.
As we outlined earlier this afternoon, NCAA early entrants have until the end of the day on Wednesday to decide whether or not to go pro. The NBA’s own deadline for early entrants isn’t until June 13, but in order to retain his NCAA eligibility, a player must withdraw today or tomorrow.
Withdrawal Deadline Looms For NCAA Early Entrants
The deadline for players who declared for the 2026 NBA draft as early entrants to withdraw their names from the pool is June 13 at 4:00 pm Central time.
A player who withdraws from the 2026 draft by that deadline would be eligible to be drafted in a future season — that could happen as early as 2027 if the player declares again as an early entrant or is automatically draft-eligible next year, or he could become draft-eligible in 2028 or 2029.
However, the NCAA sets its own withdrawal deadline each year. While the NBA’s deadline comes 10 days before the start of the draft, the NCAA’s deadline occurs just 10 days after the combine ends. This year, the NCAA’s withdrawal deadline is May 27 (this Wednesday) at 10:59 pm CT.
A college player who is testing the draft waters could technically put off his decision for another two-and-a-half weeks, but if he withdraws from the draft pool on June 13, he would lose the ability to return to an NCAA program for the 2026/27 season. That route would only make sense for a player who had lined up a non-college opportunity, such as playing in a professional league overseas.
In other words, virtually all of the college players who declared for this year’s draft as early entrants will finalize their decisions on whether to return to school or go pro by the end of the day on Wednesday.
As our tracker shows, there are still a couple dozen prospects in the “testing the draft waters” section whose intentions haven’t been confirmed, including Santa Clara’s Allen Graves, Arizona’s Koa Peat, and Vanderbilt’s Tyler Tanner. Additionally, some of the players on our “expected to remain in the draft” list technically haven’t forgone their NCAA eligibility yet and could still reverse course before the end of the day on Wednesday.
[UPDATE: Allen Graves To Remain In 2026 NBA Draft]
We’ll be keeping close tabs over the next couple days on the decisions made by those early entrants. Once Wednesday’s deadline passes, we should have a clearer idea of what this year’s draft pool will look like.
Draft Rumors: Thunder, Boozer, Bulls, Warriors, Lendeborg, Mavs
Two executives who spoke to Brett Siegel of ClutchPoints about next month’s draft suggested they could envision the Thunder packaging several assets, including this year’s 12th and 17th overall picks, in order to try to trade into the top four to land Duke forward Cameron Boozer.
However, it seems unlikely that any teams near the top of the draft would be amenable to such a deal for a few reasons. For one, this year’s top four prospects are considered to be in a tier of their own. It’s also probably safe to assume that no teams will be eager to help the defending champion Thunder land another potential franchise cornerstone on a rookie scale deal unless they’re significantly overpaying to do so.
For what it’s worth, the Bulls – who have the No. 4 overall pick – would only have interest in trading that selection if they were moving up, not down, sources tell Siegel.
Even if the Thunder aren’t able to move that high in the draft, there’s an “overwhelming belief” that they won’t simply remain at No. 12 and No. 17 and draft two rookies, Siegel writes. Oklahoma City is expected to be aggressive on the trade market, which could mean trading one or both of those picks either to move up or for future draft assets.
Here are a few more draft-related rumors from Siegel:
- If they hang onto the No. 11 pick, the expectation is that the Warriors will be targeting a prospect who can step in and contribute right away. According to Siegel, Golden State is hoping this offseason to add an “impactful” guard who can play on or off the ball next to Stephen Curry, though that may not happen in the draft — Anfernee Simons and Collin Sexton have been mentioned by league sources as the types of veteran free agents the team may be looking at.
- The Warriors (No. 11), Hornets (Nos. 14 and 18), Spurs (No. 20), and Pistons (No. 21) are among the teams with interest in Michigan star Yaxel Lendeborg, Siegel reports. With the exception of Golden State, each of those clubs might have to trade up to have a shot at drafting Lendeborg, since he’s widely projected to be a late lottery pick. Multiple sources tell Siegel that Charlotte’s interest in Lendeborg is considered “real” and they’ll explore the possibility of moving up.
- Based on the fact that Masai Ujiri has long prioritized length and athleticism, league sources who have spoken to Siegel have identified Tennessee’s Nate Ament and Baylor’s Cameron Carr as two potential targets to watch for the Mavericks, who control the ninth overall pick.
Lakers Hire Rohan Ramadas As Assistant GM
May 26: The Lakers have made it official, announcing today in a press release that Ramadas has been named the team’s assistant general manager of strategy and data systems. He’ll oversee basketball analytics and strategic initiatives for basketball operations, per the team.
“Rohan is an important and strong addition to our front office as we further build out our basketball operations resources,” Pelinka said in a statement. “His unique blend of career experiences and analytical expertise will further strengthen the strong work already taking place internally within our data analytics and salary cap management teams.”
May 25: The Lakers will hire former Pelicans vice president of strategy and operations Rohan Ramadas as an assistant general manager, according to Dave McMenamin and Shams Charania of ESPN. Ramadas will work directly under president of basketball operations and GM Rob Pelinka.
Ramadas joined the Pelicans in September of 2024 as their senior director of analytics and innovation. He was promoted to the VP position last May.
The move was confirmed by Dan Woike of The Athletic (Twitter link), who points to Ramadas’ scientific-based background, which includes more than 12 years with The Aerospace Corporation, and states that he’s “regarded as very smart by people in the league who know him.”
“He’s a literal rocket scientist,” a Pelicans source told McMenamin and Charania, adding that Ramadas implemented AI and coded models to help the front office in New Orleans.
Pelinka said at his end-of-season press conference that the organization had plans to hire two assistant general managers – one to specialize in pro and draft scouting as well as player development, and another to focus on strategy, particularly analytics and the salary cap.
The Lakers held face-to-face meetings with many of the candidates during the draft combine in Chicago, sources tell McMenamin and Charania.
Matt Able Withdrawing From Draft, Transferring To UNC
Matt Able, who had been testing the draft waters while maintaining his NCAA eligibility this spring, has opted to withdraw his name from the draft pool and play college basketball again in 2026/27, he tells Marc J. Spears of Andscape (Twitter link). Able will be transferring from North Carolina State to UNC for his sophomore season, he confirmed.
“(I’m) grateful for the feedback I received throughout this process and excited to be a part of the Tar Heel family,” Able said within his statement to Spears.
Able, a 6’5″ shooting guard who will turn 19 in July, had a promising freshman year as a reserve for the Wolfpack. He averaged 8.8 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 1.2 steals in 21.8 minutes per game in 34 appearances off the bench, registering a shooting line of .416/.355/.796.
Able was one of several dozen prospects invited to the NBA’s draft combine and boosted his stock during that week in Chicago. He had an impressive wingspan measurement and scored 17 points with four made three-pointers during one of the five-on-five scrimmages.
The No. 60 prospect on ESPN’s big board at the time he declared for the draft in April, Able had worked his way up to 33rd overall in Jeremy Woo’s latest mock draft. However, rather than going pro, he’ll cash in on NIL benefits in college for at least one more year in the hopes of further improving his draft stock and increasing his odds of becoming a first-rounder in a future draft.