2026 NBA Offseason Preview: Orlando Magic
The Magic pushed their chips into the middle of the table when they surrendered four first-rounders and a pick swap in a trade for Desmond Bane during the 2025 offseason. The thinking was that Bane would provide exactly what was needed offensively for a Magic team that ranked near the bottom of the NBA in scoring - and dead last in three-point shooting - without compromising what made them so good defensively.
And after getting off to a bit of a slow start with his new team, Bane was everything what Orlando hoped he would be. The 27-year-old wing averaged just over 20 points per game with an excellent .484/.391/.908 shooting line and was the most durable player on the roster, appearing in all 91 regular season, play-in, and playoff games.
Unfortunately, the Magic learned the hard way that they weren't just one player away from becoming a legitimate title contender. Projected by oddsmakers to be the third-best team in the East behind Cleveland and New York, Orlando spent most of the season outside of the top six in the conference and ultimately needed to win a do-or-die play-in game to claim the No. 8 seed.
The Magic took a step forward on offense, but only a modest one, finishing with the NBA's 18th-best offensive rating. And that improvement was essentially cancelled out by regression on the other end of the court, where the team had the No. 13 defensive rating after placing in the top three in each of the previous two years.
This is already an expensive roster and it will only get pricier as Paolo Banchero's maximum-salary rookie scale extension takes effect this July. The Magic aren't the sort of free-spending organization that will be willing to go deep into tax and apron territory for a 45-win team, but that doesn't necessarily mean a roster overhaul is coming. Certainly, when he spoke to reporters after the season, president of basketball operations Jeff Weltman didn't sound like someone who is eager to make major changes, and there's reason to believe in that line of thinking.
First and foremost, Orlando's best all-around player, Franz Wagner, was limited to 34 regular season outings and four playoff appearances due to ankle and calf injuries. Of course, every team deals with injuries, and it's fair to argue that the Magic had the talent necessary to withstand Wagner's lengthy absences better than they did. Still, it was certainly easier to see Weltman's vision for the roster when Wagner was on the court.
The Magic's preferred starting lineup of Wagner, Banchero, Bane, Jalen Suggs, and Wendell Carter Jr. outscored opponents by 11.6 points per 100 possessions when it played together. And a fully healthy Orlando team took a 3-1 lead on the top-seeded Pistons in the first round of the playoffs before Wagner went down with a calf strain and the Magic lost control of the series, losing Games 5, 6, and 7.
There's still tantalizing upside here, but does it really make sense to keep running back this group when Wagner, Banchero, and Suggs have had so much trouble staying healthy at the same time? And even when the Magic are at full strength, does this roster have legitimate championship upside? Some difficult decisions will have to be made sooner rather than later in Orlando.
The Magic's Offseason Plans
The first order of business in Orlando this spring is finding a new head coach after Jamahl Mosley was let go following five years on the job. Can a new coach really help the Magic take the next step toward title contention, or is Mosley just a convenient fall guy for a front office that didn't optimize its roster construction and cap management?
Draft Notes: Pacers, Wizards, Mock Drafts, Jazz, Grizzlies, More
Pacers president of basketball operations Kevin Pritchard released a statement (via Twitter) after the team’s top-four protected first-round pick landed at No. 5 and conveyed to the Clippers. Indiana also sent Los Angeles its unprotected 2029 first-rounder, Bennedict Mathurin, Isaiah Jackson and a 2028 second-round pick (via Dallas) in exchange for 2024/25 All-Defensive center Ivica Zubac.
“I’m really sorry to all our fans. I own taking this risk,” Pritchard wrote. “Surprised it came up 5th after this year. I thought we were due some luck. But please remember – this team deserved a starting center to compete with the best teams next year. We have always been resilient.”
While the Pacers lost their coin flip, the Wizards landed the No. 1 overall selection, becoming the first team to win the lottery with after finishing with the worst record in the league since the NBA flattened the lottery odds in 2019. Jeremy Woo of ESPN and Kevin O’Connor of Yahoo Sports have updated their 2026 mock drafts after the lottery results, with identical top fives: AJ Dybantsa (to Washington), Darryn Peterson (Jazz), Cameron Boozer (Grizzlies), Caleb Wilson (Bulls) and Keaton Wagler (Clippers).
Here are a few more notes about the 2026 NBA draft:
- Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress (Twitter link) has an identical three through five, but he has Peterson going No. 1 and Dybantsa No. 2. While the Wizards will undoubtedly perform their due diligence, Michael Wallace of Grizzlies.com suggests (via Twitter) the Jazz would be thrilled if they’re able to select Peterson, whom Keyonte George and other members of the team congratulated. According to Wallace, many people around the league think the Grizzlies will be making a “tough choice” between Boozer and Wilson.
- The mock drafts from ESPN and Yahoo Sports have 13 overlapping players in the 14-team lottery, but there are some differences in where they’re selected. For example, O’Connor has the Hawks selecting Michigan center Aday Mara eighth overall, while Woo has the Spanish big man going 14th to the Hornets. Among the overlapping picks: Tennessee forward Nate Ament to the Bucks (No. 10), Mexican forward Karim Lopez to the Warriors (No. 11), and Michigan big man Yaxel Lendeborg to the Thunder (No. 12).
- In addition to Trey Kaufman-Renn (Purdue) and Jacob Cofie (USC), who were previously mentioned as G League combine standouts, Keith Smith of Spotrac (Twitter link) hears from NBA scouts and executives who said Aiden Tobiason (Temple), Rafael Castro (George Washington), Aaron Nkrumah (Tennessee State) and Nate Bittle (Oregon) helped themselves on Day 1 of scrimmages.
Southwest Notes: Champagnie, Pelicans, Rockets, Grizzlies
Julian Champagnie‘s improved rebounding has been an overlooked part of the Spurs‘ success this season, writes Tom Orsborn of The San Antonio Express-News. Head coach Mitch Johnson tasked Champagnie with improving his work on the glass at the start of 2025/26 and the fourth-year small forward responded by averaging a career-high 5.8 rebounds per game after pulling down 3.9 RPG a year ago.
Champagnie has been steadily productive in the playoffs, averaging 10.8 PPG, 5.9 RPG and 1.3 SPG while shooting a blistering hot 55.0% from three-point range in eight appearances, all starts (28.1 MPG). He grabbed 12 boards — a career playoff high — during Friday’s win in Minnesota, Orsborn notes.
“It’s a vital part of a playoff team,” Johnson said of Champagnie’s rebounding. “Typically, you have to do more than just one thing in terms of being a specialist. And when you become an elite rebounder like that, it’s a really, really impactful thing because it is the transition from your defense to your offense or it’s creating more opportunities for your offense.”
Champagnie, 24, is eligible for a veteran’s extension.
Here’s more from around the Southwest:
- Fans in New Orleans were paying close attention to Sunday’s draft lottery even though the Pelicans didn’t control their own pick, as Rod Walker of NOLA.com writes. Walker’s story was released before the lottery results, which saw the Hawks acquire the No. 8 overall pick to complete last year’s Derik Queen trade. The full trade was: Pelicans receive No. 13 overall pick in 2025 (Queen); Hawks receive No. 23 overall pick in 2025 (Asa Newell) and No. 8 overall pick in 2026 (to be determined). “Human nature kicks in,” head of basketball operations Joe Dumars said at the end of the season. “Of course I’m going to follow it.”
- The Rockets‘ offseason could be complicated by Tari Eason‘s restricted free agency and their proximity to the 2026/27 tax aprons, and there’s a chance their free agent signings might not be finalized until the fall, similar to the Warriors’ situation with Jonathan Kuminga last year, Yossi Gozlan of Third Apron (Substack link) states in his offseason preview. Gozlan identifies 2025 free agent addition Dorian Finney-Smith as a potential salary-dump candidate since he’s entering the final guaranteed year of his contract after offseason surgery limited his effectiveness with Houston in ’25/26. Moving Finney-Smith without taking money back could put the Rockets below the luxury tax line, depending on what other moves they make, Gozlan adds. Amen Thompson (potential rookie scale extension), Eason, and Fred VanVleet ($25MM player option) are among the other contract situations Gozlan examines.
- Memphis jumped up from No. 6 to No. 3 in today’s draft lottery after injuries and tanking measures down the stretch. The Grizzlies also control the 16th overall pick (via Phoenix) and the 32nd pick (via Indiana). While adding elite prospects to a young core featuring Cedric Coward, Zach Edey and Jaylen Wells will be their top priority, finding a trade for Ja Morant is the other major decision hanging over the Grizzlies’ offseason, Keith Smith writes in his preview for Spotrac.
Full 2026 NBA Draft Order
Now that the NBA’s draft lottery results are in, the full 2026 draft order has been set.
We’ll likely see some of these picks change hands on June 23 or 24, or in the days leading up to the draft — we’ll be sure to update the list below if and when picks are traded.
Here’s the full 2026 NBA draft order:
First round
- Washington Wizards
- Utah Jazz
- Memphis Grizzlies
- Chicago Bulls
- Los Angeles Clippers (from Pacers)
- Brooklyn Nets
- Sacramento Kings
- Atlanta Hawks (from Pelicans)
- Dallas Mavericks
- Milwaukee Bucks
- Golden State Warriors
- Oklahoma City Thunder (from Clippers)
- Miami Heat
- Charlotte Hornets
- Chicago Bulls (from Trail Blazers)
- Memphis Grizzlies (from Suns)
- Oklahoma City Thunder (from Sixers)
- Charlotte Hornets (from Magic)
- Toronto Raptors
- San Antonio Spurs (from Hawks)
- Detroit Pistons (from Timberwolves)
- Philadelphia 76ers (from Rockets)
- Atlanta Hawks (from Cavaliers)
- New York Knicks
- Los Angeles Lakers
- Denver Nuggets
- Boston Celtics
- Minnesota Timberwolves (from Pistons)
- Cleveland Cavaliers (from Spurs)
- Dallas Mavericks (from Thunder)
Second round
- New York Knicks (from Wizards)
- Memphis Grizzlies (from Pacers)
- Brooklyn Nets
- Sacramento Kings
- San Antonio Spurs (from Jazz)
- Los Angeles Clippers (from Grizzlies)
- Oklahoma City Thunder (from Mavericks)
- Chicago Bulls (from Pelicans)
- Houston Rockets (from Bulls)
- Boston Celtics (from Bucks)
- Miami Heat (from Warriors)
- San Antonio Spurs (from Trail Blazers)
- Brooklyn Nets (from Clippers)
- San Antonio Spurs (from Heat)
- Sacramento Kings (from Hornets)
- Orlando Magic
- Phoenix Suns (from Sixers)
- Dallas Mavericks (from Suns)
- Denver Nuggets (from Hawks)
- Toronto Raptors
- Washington Wizards (from Timberwolves)
- Los Angeles Clippers (from Cavaliers)
- Houston Rockets
- Golden State Warriors (from Lakers)
- New York Knicks
- Chicago Bulls (from Nuggets)
- Atlanta Hawks (from Celtics)
- New Orleans Pelicans (from Pistons)
- Minnesota Timberwolves (from Spurs)
- Washington Wizards (from Thunder)
Wizards Win 2026 NBA Draft Lottery; Jazz, Grizzlies, Bulls In Top Four
The Wizards, who had the worst record in the league during the 2025/26 season, have won the 2026 NBA draft lottery. Washington entered the lottery tied for the best possible odds (14%) to land the No. 1 overall pick.
The full lottery order for the 2026 NBA draft is as follows:
- Washington Wizards
- Utah Jazz
- Memphis Grizzlies
- Chicago Bulls
- Los Angeles Clippers (from Pacers)
- Brooklyn Nets
- Sacramento Kings
- Atlanta Hawks (from Pelicans)
- Dallas Mavericks
- Milwaukee Bucks
- Golden State Warriors
- Oklahoma City Thunder (from Clippers)
- Miami Heat
- Charlotte Hornets
The Wizards have won 15, 18, and 17 games in the last three seasons, but didn’t have a clear-cut franchise player to show for it yet. They drafted Alex Sarr second overall in 2024 and slipped to sixth in 2025, opting to select Tre Johnson at that spot. This year, the ping pong balls landed in their favor and have put them in position to draft a long-term centerpiece.
While BYU forward AJ Dybantsa is the favorite to be the top pick, the Wizards figure to seriously consider prospects like Kansas guard Darryn Peterson, Duke forward Cameron Boozer, and UNC forward Caleb Wilson before making their selection on June 23.
The lottery results were also great news for the Jazz, who entered the day fourth in the pre-lottery order and moved up to No. 2. Like the Wizards, Utah has been rebuilding for multiple years and had been preparing to take a step forward in 2026/27 even before the lottery outcome was known. While Washington traded for Trae Young and Anthony Davis ahead of this year’s trade deadline, Utah acquired former Defensive Player of the Year Jaren Jackson Jr. in February.
Now, the Jazz are set to land a potential future All-Star to a roster that already features Jackson, Lauri Markkanen, Keyonte George, 2025 lottery pick Ace Bailey, and restricted free agent center Walker Kessler.
Notably, both the Wizards and Jazz had technically traded away their 2026 first-rounders, but both picks included top-eight protection, meaning they remained in Washington and Utah, respectively.
The same can’t be said for the Pacers, who traded their 2026 first-round pick with top-four protection to the Clippers in February’s Ivica Zubac blockbuster. After posting the second-worst record in the league this season, Indiana entered the day with a 52.1% chance of retaining that pick. Instead, L.A. won what was essentially a coin flip, with the pick slipping just outside of the top four. It’s a best-case scenario for the Clippers, who get the No. 5 overall selection and will add a young building block from a strong draft class to their core.
[RELATED: Pacers Hopeful Of Retaining Pick But Won’t Regret Zubac Deal]
Assuming neither the Jazz nor the Wizards do anything too surprising with the top two picks, the Grizzlies and Bulls, the day’s other two big winners, should have their choice of the remaining two prospects from a consensus top four of Dybantsa, Peterson, Boozer, and Wilson.
Memphis, sixth in the pre-lottery order, had a 27.6% chance of moving into the top three, while Chicago made the biggest move up, from No. 9 to No. 4. The Bulls had just a 20.2% shot at a top-four pick entering the lottery.
The next tier of prospects in the 2026 class is made up of a handful of guards, including Illinois’ Keaton Wagler, Arkansas’ Darius Acuff, and Houston’s Kingston Flemings. Louisville guard Mikel Brown, Tennessee forward Nate Ament, Arizona guard Brayden Burries, Alabama guard Labaron Philon, Michigan forward Yaxel Lendeborg, and Mexican forward Karim Lopez are among the other players in the mix for teams with top-10 picks.
That group of teams in the top 10 is rounded out by the Nets, Kings, Hawks, Mavericks, and Bucks. Besides Milwaukee, each of those teams fell one or more spots as a result of the lottery outcome. That’s especially disappointing for Brooklyn and Sacramento, two retooling teams whose rosters lack star power.
Atlanta was likely also hoping for a better result, having controlled the more favorable of the Pelicans’ and Bucks’ first-rounders entering the lottery. While the Hawks had a 40.2% chance at a top-four pick, they instead moved down a spot from No. 7 to No. 8, as New Orleans was leapfrogged by Chicago while Milwaukee’s pick remained at No. 10.
That pick was the one the Hawks acquired from the Pelicans at last year’s draft — we now know that the terms of that trade turned out to be Derik Queen for Asa Newell and this year’s eighth overall pick.
After teams eliminated in the play-in tournament won each of the past two draft lotteries – Atlanta in 2024 and Dallas in 2025 – there was no movement among this year’s play-in clubs, with the Warriors remaining at No. 11 and the Heat and Hornets staying at No. 13 and No. 14, respectively. Additionally, the Clippers’ own first-rounder, which was controlled by the Thunder, remained at No. 12 — it’s safe to assume the rest of the NBA breathed a sigh of relief when that envelope was opened and OKC’s logo was revealed.
Although the NBA doesn’t air the actual lottery drawing process during its half-hour broadcast announcing the results, the league has put out a behind-the-scenes video that shows the draw taking place. It can be viewed right here (via Twitter).
Knicks’ OG Anunoby Out For Sunday’s Game 4
Knicks forward OG Anunoby will miss his second straight game on Sunday due to a right hamstring strain, head coach Mike Brown told reporters, including Stefan Bondy of The New York Post (Twitter link).
The Knicks currently hold a 3-0 lead in the Eastern Conference semifinal matchup vs. the 76ers. Game 4 will be played in Philadelphia.
Onunoby, who was in the midst of a remarkable playoff run, sustained the injury on Wednesday in the Game 2 victory against the Sixers. The 28-year-old was originally listed as questionable for Sunday’s contest before being downgraded to out.
Miles McBride and Landry Shamet took the majority of the minutes that would have gone to Anunoby in Game 3. McBride, who got the start, played 21 minutes and had three points on (1-of-6 shooting), two assists and two blocks. Shamet was 5-of-6 from the field, scoring 15 points and grabbing three boards in 26 minutes.
Anunoby has been referred to as day-to-day since he strained his hamstring on Wednesday. The strain is considered mild, but obviously the Knicks need to exercise caution with the soft-tissue injury, which could be easily aggravated if it’s not fully healed.
Anunoby has been outstanding in his eight playoff appearances this spring, averaging 21.4 points, 7.5 rebounds, 1.9 steals and 1.1 blocks in 35.3 minutes per contest, with a scorching hot shooting line of .619/.538/.811.
Knicks Notes: Towns, Brown, Hart, Bridges, Potential Sweep
Coach Mike Brown made a strategic adjustment heading into Game 4 of the first-round series against Atlanta, and the Knicks haven’t lost since, writes Ian Begley of SNY.tv. Trailing 2-1 in the series, Brown opted to station Karl-Anthony Towns on the perimeter more often and use him as a playmaker. The results have been spectacular as New York has reeled off six straight wins by an average of 25.8 points per game and is now one victory away from the conference finals.
“The real change for us came before Game 4 in Atlanta,” Towns told reporters. “That’s when we really changed our offense. It’s been great. It’s been something I’ve talked about for a lot of the season, to feel like we can help our guys [on offense] more. We made the right moves.”
Brown likes having an “equal opportunity” offense where anyone can contribute in a variety of ways, and he believes the Knicks are “just scratching the surface” of what they can become on that end of the court. He plans to keep the philosophy in place beyond the current playoff run.
“What we’re doing now, I think, can have great carryover next year and down the line because we’d be able to expand on it the right way through a training camp,” Brown said.
There’s more on the Knicks:
- Josh Hart is still feeling the effects of a sprained left thumb he suffered in Game 2, Begley adds. An X-ray taken during that game showed that it wasn’t broken, so he opted to keep playing. “It’s something I’ll revisit in the offseason,” he said. “There’s people that played through this.”
- The Knicks are seeing the version of Mikal Bridges that caused them to send five first-round picks to Brooklyn in a 2024 trade, per Kristian Winfield of The New York Daily News (subscription required). Bridges is playing shutdown defense on Sixers guard Tyrese Maxey and is contributing on offense as well. “I would take it a step further. There’s a ton of stuff that I would argue people don’t see that he does throughout the course of the game that’s far more important than just a couple of the big plays and coming up with a loose ball down the stretch,” Landry Shamet said. “He does that for 48 minutes. So does his level go up and does he show up in big moments? Absolutely, but I would argue that he’s the type of guy that does that for all 48 and finds a way to do it every night.”
- The Knicks have a chance to sweep their rivals from Philadelphia for the first time in 37 years, but they’re not looking past Sunday’s game, according to Stefan Bondy of The New York Post. The Sixers overcame a 3-1 deficit to beat Boston in the first round, and the Knicks don’t want to offer them any hope of another big comeback. “We just gotta stay in the present,” Towns said. “The next game is the most important game. There’s a lot of things we need to clean up and we want to clean up and we have another game to do that. It’s about just staying about us.”
Lakers Notes: Ayton, Doncic, LeBron, Redick
Beyond the imposing 3-0 deficit they face after a trio of blowout losses, the biggest concern for the Lakers in their series with Oklahoma City might be the uninspired performance of Deandre Ayton, Thuc Nhi Nguyen of The Los Angeles Times writes in a subscriber-only piece.
L.A. was counting on Ayton to help neutralize OKC’s big front line, but he only played 24 minutes on Saturday, finishing with 10 points and six rebounds. He’s shooting 39.3% in the series after connecting at 60.4% during the regular season and was just 3-of-11 in the restricted area during the first two games.
Head coach JJ Redick pulled Ayton from Game 3 after a sequence that saw the Thunder collect three offensive rebounds within 19 seconds, ending with a foul when he shoved Ajay Mitchell on a drive to the basket. Redick didn’t want to reinsert Jaxson Hayes, who was ineffective in the 8:30 of playing time he got on Saturday, so he turned to rookie forward Adou Thiero to patrol the middle. The Lakers surrendered another offensive rebound off a free throw after Thiero entered the game, and Nguyen observes that Hayes “stared blankly ahead and shook his head slowly” with his arms folded across his chest.
It’s a frustrating repeat of last year’s playoffs, when Redick eventually opted to play without a center in a first-round loss to Minnesota. Ayton was signed last summer to fix the issue and was mostly effective during the regular season and the series against Houston. However, his meltdown against a superior OKC team raises questions about whether he’s a long-term solution. He holds an $8.1MM player option for next season, with a decision due by June 29.
“DA is a hell of a player,” Marcus Smart said after Saturday’s loss. “We all know it. We just want to get him the touches and get him the feel early, just to give them a different look. … All the guards are doing their thing. So we’re just trying to get the big fella involved.”
There’s more on the Lakers:
- It looks like L.A. will be eliminated before Luka Doncic has a chance to return from his hamstring injury, which is bad news for the future as well as the current season, notes Mirjam Swanson of The Los Angeles Times (subscription required). Without their top player, it’s hard for the Lakers to gauge exactly how far away they are from being able to compete with the Thunder. “Look, yeah, when you have the league’s leading scorer out there – if he was – it definitely changes the dynamic of a team,” Luke Kennard said. “Obviously, we miss him. And we know he’s working his butt off right now [to return to play] … but yeah, I mean, he would definitely change it for us. But right now, he’s not.”
- LeBron James looked old and tired as OKC seized control of the game in the third quarter, contends Bill Plaschke of The Los Angeles Times (subscription required). James played nearly 11 minutes in the quarter, but finished with just one made shot, no rebounds and a minus-13 rating.
- Redick may be out of answers as he tries to match up with the league’s deepest team, suggests Nick Friedell of The Athletic. The Thunder have pummeled the Lakers in the second half of all three games and have clear talent advantages throughout the roster. “Typically, if you can poke holes in a playoff series, there’s a good chance they might have a temporary solution or can sort of adjust maybe a little bit,” Redick said. “This team in-game, because of their personnel, can just adjust like that. They need shooting on the floor? Great. They need multiple wing defenders on the floor? Great. They need two bigs on the floor? Great.”
Warriors Rumors: Kerr, Curry, Green, Lottery
Steve Kerr’s new two-year contract with the Warriors was the result of rediscovering his passion for coaching, according to Anthony Slater of ESPN.
Kerr expressed doubts about whether he wanted to continue in the profession following a difficult season that ended with a play-in loss to Phoenix last month. He told reporters after that game that he wasn’t certain if he would be back, noting that “these jobs all have an expiration date” and suggesting it might be time for “new blood and new ideas.”
Sources tell Slater that Kerr took a week off before beginning talks with controlling owner Joe Lacob and general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. He then went on a golf trip and returned with a renewed excitement about leading the team.
Kerr would have plenty of media opportunities available if he wanted to transition to a lower-stress environment, but he loves the highly competitive atmosphere of being on the sidelines and was never really happy with front office work, Slater states.
There were other obstacles to reaching a new deal that went beyond Kerr’s desire to return, Slater adds. The discussions with Lacob and Dunleavy went deep into possible changes regarding playing style and staffing as well as the state of the roster following a 37-45 season. The Warriors already know that Jimmy Butler and Moses Moody won’t be available for much of next season as they recover from serious injuries.
Slater cites a “consensus” that Kerr might not have been brought back if management was ready to commit to rebuilding. He adds that there’s an “internal understanding” that the team may not be able to return to title contention with Stephen Curry and Draymond Green nearing the end of their careers, but keeping Kerr is a sign that an effort will be made this summer to become more competitive.
There’s more on the Warriors:
- Slater hears that Curry preferred to keep playing under Kerr as his career winds down, but didn’t make any demands from management. Team sources tell Slater that Curry would likely have been part of the search for a new coach if that had become necessary. There’s also an expectation that keeping Kerr in place will simplify extension talks with Curry when he becomes eligible in August. Curry has one season remaining on his current deal and can be extended for one or two more years.
- With a $27.6MM player option, Green’s future with the team is less certain, but Slater views Kerr’s return as a “beneficial development” toward Green staying. Team sources told Slater that they don’t plan to shop Green this summer or try to force him out, as he’s still seen as an elite defender who raises the team’s chances to be successful. Management believed he had “a positive season as a leader” and essentially became an extra assistant coach, according to Slater. The benefits of opting in or out will be discussed, Slater adds, but a long-term extension at a lower number is only likely if it creates enough cap room to make a significant roster addition.
- The results of today’s draft lottery could play a major role in setting the course for the offseason, Slater notes. Landing a top-four pick would provide a valuable asset that could be used in a trade for Giannis Antetokounmpo, Kawhi Leonard or another star, but it could also deliver an infusion of youth for a team filled with veterans. The Warriors are slotted at No. 11 and have a 9.4% chance of moving up.
Hawks Could Be Among Suitors For Jaylen Brown
The Celtics and Hawks had a “brief conversation” last offseason about Jaylen Brown, according to Chris Mannix of NBC Sports (video link), who expects them to revisit the idea of a trade this summer (hat tip to BasketNews).
Mannix adds that initial talks between the teams were only exploratory because Atlanta was “leery” about taking on Brown’s $53.1MM salary and wasn’t “really in a position to go all in” with a developing roster. He states that Boston wasn’t “looking to give Jaylen Brown away” so there wasn’t much common ground to work out a deal.
Brown wound up posting the best statistical season of his career as the team’s primary scoring threat while Jayson Tatum was recovering from an Achilles tear. However, the season ended in disappointment with a first-round playoff loss to Philadelphia, so Mannix believes the Celtics could consider moving on from Brown’s pricey deal, which still has three years remaining at more than $183MM.
A late-season surge propelled the Hawks to the No. 6 seed, so they could be more open to taking on salary this offseason in hopes of becoming a serious contender in 2026/27.
In addition to the Hawks, Mannix states that several other clubs could make a run at Brown if he becomes available. He mentions the Heat, Rockets and Warriors as teams that are expected to pursue Giannis Antetokounmpo and suggests they could turn their attention to Brown if they fail to land the Bucks star.
As Mannix notes, it has been a tumultuous week for Brown since the Celtics were eliminated last Saturday. He blasted series officials on his Twitch stream, claiming they had “an agenda” against him that resulted in an unusually high number of offensive fouls, and singled out Sixers star Joel Embiid for flopping. His remarks on the referees resulted in a $50K fine from the league.
There was also a backlash from Boston fans after Brown called this his “favorite season” even with the early playoff exit. NBC’s Tracy McGrady, who has served as Brown’s mentor, claimed that he has “frustration” with the Celtics behind the scenes, leading president of basketball operations Brad Stevens to tell reporters at his end-of-season press conference on Wednesday that Brown hasn’t expressed any unhappiness to him.
Brown tried to diffuse the situation later in the week by reaffirming his commitment to the organization and stating that he would like to finish his career in Boston. He also denied any friction with Stevens, saying they have a “great relationship.”
While Brown is an all-NBA talent and won’t turn 30 until October, his contract could make some teams think twice about making a deal. He’ll earn $57MM next season, $61MM in 2027/28 and nearly $65MM in 2028/29 before becoming a free agent that summer.