Atlantic Notes: Gansey, Grimes, Raptors, Nets
The Sixers recently introduced their new president of basketball operations, Mike Gansey. Now it’s time for him to start answering some of the difficult questions Philadelphia’s roster situation presents, Tony Jones writes for The Athletic.
The two factors that will complicate Gansey’s ability to put his stamp on the roster are the futures of Paul George and Joel Embiid. Both veterans had moments of high-level play this season, but they also have extremely expensive contracts and lengthy injury histories. Since it’s unlikely the Sixers will be able to find palatable avenues to trade them, it’s imperative that they try to find ways to keep both veteran stars on the floor as much as possible.
The non-taxpayer mid-level exception could be an important tool in Philadelphia’s search for an impact player to help take the team from good to very good, Jones notes. The 76ers also have the 22nd pick in the draft, which Gansey is in a good position to be able to maximize the value of, given his time running the draft in Cleveland, according to Gina Mizell of The Philadelphia Inquirer.
“At 22, you want to get a combination of best player available and fit with our roster,” Gansey said about his approach to the draft.
We have more from the Atlantic Division:
- The Sixers will also have to figure out what to do with unrestricted free agent Quentin Grimes, who is coming off an unspectacular second season in Philadelphia. Even after trading away Jared McCain, there’s an argument to be made that Kelly Oubre Jr. should be the incumbent player the team looks to retain, Adam Aaronson writes for the Philly Voice, especially because Grimes could have a wider range of teams interested in him given his age and shooting. Aaronson speculates that the Bulls, Clippers, and Bucks could be suitors for the 26-year-old’s services.
- The Raptors have had to watch two players they traded away come through the East to reach the NBA Finals in consecutive years in OG Anunoby and Pascal Siakam. The team probably mishandled the Siakam trade in particular, but it seems unlikely that keeping him in Toronto would have worked in the long run anyway, Eric Koreen writes for The Athletic. When it comes to next steps, Koreen says it would behoove the Raptors not to sign any more long-term contracts as the team try to figure out how to improve the roster, which is surprisingly expensive given the lucrative deals that Brandon Ingram, Jakob Poeltl, and Immanuel Quickley received. Toronto shouldn’t be desperate to move Ingram or Quickley, but the front office does need to be careful with how it gives out money moving forward.
- The Nets are only three-and-a-half years removed from the Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving experience, but their rebuild in recent years hasn’t quite gone according to plan, due in part to a lack of lottery luck. They will have to figure out how to start building a competitive roster this offseason, since the Rockets own their pick next summer, Yossi Gozlan writes in his offseason preview for The Third Apron (Substack link). They could look to renegotiate and extend Michael Porter Jr., who had a strong first season in Brooklyn. They could also use their stockpile of draft picks and young players to try to move up in the draft from No. 6. Additionally, they’re on the clock when it comes to reserve center Day’Ron Sharpe, who has been productive off the bench for several years.
Chauncey Billups Appears In Court For Status Update Hearing
While the Trail Blazers are moving forward with their head coaching search, former coach Chauncey Billups is seeking an end to his legal troubles.
Billups appeared in court on Thursday, along with 30 co-defendants, to attend a scheduled status update hearing for the federal gambling investigation he was arrested in conjunction with, Sean Highkin reports for the Rose Garden Report (subscriber link).
Billups has maintained his innocence, which his lawyer, Mark Mukasey, confirmed when asked by a reporter heading into the courthouse. Mukasey also told the judge, Ramon Reyes, that he and his client “loved” the proposed start date of November 2 for the trial. As Highkin writes, that’s a strong signal that Billups is not looking to accept a plea deal and will instead continue to try to fight to clear his name.
Former NBA player and coach Damon Jones, one of Billups’ co-defendants, pleaded guilty to his charges in April after initially pleading not guilty, saying, “I knew these games were rigged and that players were being cheated.”
A Blazers spokesperson declined to provide Highkin with a comment on Thursday and said the team wouldn’t discuss the situation while the case remains open.
Billups’ ongoing case makes it unclear whether the next coach the Blazers hire will be an acting head coach or the club’s permanent head coach. Highkin notes that should Billups plead – or be found – guilty, the team would have grounds to fire him for cause and void his contract. However, the team could face a challenge from the National Basketball Coaches’ Association if they try to void his contract and he’s eventually acquitted.
Assuming he doesn’t accept a plea deal, the uncertainty around his case could cause his contractual situation to linger over the team for months, if not years, despite it appearing incredibly unlikely that Billups ever coaches in the NBA again.
OG Anunoby Has Played Himself Into Finals MVP Conversation
Several heroes have stepped up for the Knicks during the first four games of the 2026 NBA Finals. Karl-Anthony Towns‘ two-way impact has been crucial, especially in the Knicks’ back-to-back wins in San Antonio to open the series, while Jalen Brunson has hit a multitude of clutch shots, despite not always having the most efficient shooting performances.
On Wednesday, OG Anunoby added his name to the list in dramatic fashion, getting a crucial block on Spurs guard De’Aaron Fox before getting his hand on a massive offensive rebound and tipping it in for the game-winning shot with 1.2 seconds left to play.
It was a fitting cap to the largest comeback in Finals history, Marcus Thompson II writes for The Athletic, showing all the things that make Anunoby, and this Knicks team, special: the hustle, the instincts, the never-say-die attitude.
“OG is someone who brings it every night,” Brunson said. “His work ethic, since the moment I’ve been teammates with him and seen him, has grown. His confidence has grown just because of his work ethic. Everything that I’ve seen, he’s gotten exponentially better at. So regardless of what the outside world thinks of him, we know what we have in our locker room, and we have a superstar in that locker room.”
Anunoby’s contributions weren’t just limited to the last-minute heroics, though. With the Spurs taking a dominant lead in the first half, the series seemed to be slipping away from the Knicks, after they had built a 2-0 lead out of the gates. Anunoby responded, building on his 28-point Game 3 performance. He hit three after three, drove into the paint, and switched onto Fox in the second half, causing problems for the Spurs’ pick-and-roll attack.
“He does everything,” Landry Shamet said. “He’s a virtuoso.”
The performance wasn’t surprising to those who know the star of few words well. Neither was how he exploded towards the basket to get the offensive rebound. In fact, that was something he worked on throughout his time in college, according to Tom Crean, his former coach at Indiana University, who says Anunoby has always been hungry to know what it will take for him to reach the next level.
“Most of the time as a coach, you’re selling a vision for them, and they may even want it, but they don’t have any idea about the reality of it,” Cream writes. “OG wanted to learn what the reality would be like if this were to happen.”
The Finals are far from over, as both teams will now travel back to San Antonio for a critical Game 5, with the Knicks holding a 3-1 edge If the Knicks are able to complete their run and win the championship though, there’s little doubt that Anunoby has made a strong case for himself to be firmly in the Finals MVP discussion, Brian Mahoney writes for The Associated Press.
He might not always be heralded for his scoring, but what the Knicks have seen from him, especially in the last two games, is far from a surprise. Anunoby has been red hot throughout the playoffs and is the team’s second-leading scorer in the postseason at 20.7 points per game. He is shooting 57.8% from the field, 50.6% from three, and 86.7% from the free-throw line in his 16 playoff outings.
A hamstring injury derailed his momentum temporarily in the middle rounds of the playoffs, but he seems to have found his rhythm again at the time the Knicks needed him most.
“He’s been amazing since he’s got here,” Josh Hart said. “This whole playoff run, he’s been amazing on both ends of the ball. He’s a winning player and he made a winning play.”
Draft Notes: Acuff, Wagner, Kayil, Lewis
As the world watches the Knicks fight for their first championship since 1973, projected 2026 top-10 pick Darius Acuff is taking notes and hoping to show teams that he could have a similar impact to New York’s star point guard, Jalen Brunson, Myron Medcalf writes in an in-depth player profile for ESPN.
Acuff grew up watching small, tough guards like Allen Iverson and Stephon Marbury, a list to which Brunson has definitively been added and which Acuff dreams of joining himself.
“We feel like we can go out there and play against anybody,” Acuff said of the similarities in mentality between himself and Brunson. “I feel like I can hopefully do the same thing one day and it’s definitely inspiring to see.”
While it’s difficult to overindex on the success of stars that break the conventional mold, such as Brunson, Acuff is not alone in the belief that he can capitalize on what could be a convincing argument that teams can, in fact, win with a small guard leading the way.
“I think Acuff can open some eyes in the NBA,” a Western Conference scout told Medcalf. “Brunson has kind of brought back the smaller, scoring, tough physical point guard that can lead a team. And Acuff has some of those traits. He might even have a little more.”
The 2026 draft lottery is loaded with position-locked point guards, so Acuff is not the only one hoping to buck the league’s recent trend of phasing out smaller guards.
We have more notes from the 2026 Draft:
- Keaton Wagler, a talented guard out of Illinois, will work out for the Kings next week, Kevin O’Connor reports for Yahoo Sports in his latest mock draft. The Clippers, who have been frequently linked to Wagler with the fifth overall pick, aren’t necessarily as enamored with the sweet-shooting 19-year-old as widely speculated, O’Connor adds, and he recently cancelled a workout with the Nets, though it’s unclear if that was due to scheduling conflicts or something more indicative of how Brooklyn is leaning with the sixth pick.
- German guard Jack Kayil is one of the few prospects in the draft still playing — he scored 10 points in a dominant win on Tuesday to help ALBA Berlin advance to the German Bundesliga Finals, where they will face off against Bayern Munich. Kayil, a 6’5″ combo guard, scored 12.3 points in 21.3 minutes per game this season and displayed some interesting shooting range, despite having an inefficient year. He’s currently 37th on Jeremy Woo’s big board for ESPN.
- Malique Lewis has been cleared to play in the NBA by the league’s fitness-to-play panel, Jonathan Givony reports for DraftExpress (via Twitter). This is a crucial development for the 6’8″ 21-year-old, who was unable to take part in the G League combine due to a preexisting heart condition, which had been known and documented for several years. Lewis was impressive at the adidas EuroCamp in early June, showing his passing, rebounding, and shooting ability, Givony notes. Lewis averaged 7.1 points, 4.3 rebounds, 2.2 assists, and 1.2 steals in 21.3 minutes a night for South East Melbourne this season while posting an impressive .455/.387/.800 shooting line. He’s 67th on Woo’s big board.
Warriors Notes: LeBron, Draft, Lendeborg, Burries
While the idea of LeBron James leaving Los Angeles to play for the Warriors still seems like a long shot, it’s a rumor that won’t die until James commits to another team or someone goes on the record to kill it, Monte Poole writes for NBC Sports Bay Area. Reporting from ESPN and The Stein Line earlier this week suggested that Golden State may be the best outside threat to lure James away from the Lakers.
“I know it seems crazy,” a well-connected league source told Poole. “But there is at least curiosity on both sides. This wouldn’t even be a conversation five or six years ago, and it might not happen now, but there’s enough there that we shouldn’t ignore the possibility. It’s mostly up to LeBron.”
The Warriors would have to make significant roster changes or convince the Lakers to accommodate a sign-and-trade in order to offer more than the non-taxpayer mid-level exception, which is projected to be worth about $15MM.
Here’s more out of Golden State:
- In a separate story for NBC Sports Bay Area, Poole argues that it would be in the Warriors’ best long-term interests to find a way to turn this year’s No. 11 overall pick into multiple first-rounders by trading down.
- Following up on the news that Yaxel Lendeborg is among the players visiting the Warriors on Thursday, Anthony Slater of ESPN suggests the Michigan star will have an individual workout and in-person meeting with the front office rather than being part of a group workout. Slater adds, citing sources that Lendeborg has “several fans” in Golden State’s front office.
- Lendeborg certainly won’t be the only potential lottery target who works out for the Warriors. According to Slater, Arizona’s Brayden Burries is expected to be among the prospects who visits the team next week.
Spurs Notes: Game 4 Collapse, Fox, Wembanyama
On the heels of the worst collapse in NBA Finals history, the Spurs were left looking for answers during their post-game media session following Wednesday’s Game 4 loss, per Michael C. Wright of ESPN and Joe Vardon of The Athletic. San Antonio held a 29-point lead in the third quarter, but they were outscored by 30 points the rest of the way as they shot just 8-of-39 from the floor in the second half.
The Spurs looked dominant in the first quarter, setting a Finals record by knocking down 14 three-pointers and building a 76-49 lead going into halftime. After registering 18 assists and just two turnovers in the first two quarters, San Antonio had six assists and committed nine turnovers in the third and fourth quarters.
“We went away from everything we were doing,” rookie guard Dylan Harper said. “In the first half, a lot of tough shots went in. Really, that was because we were playing the right way. We got away from that in the second half because of the lead. We just can’t take our foot off the gas. It’s one thing for me to sit up here and say it. It’s another for us to go out there and do it.”
Spurs star Victor Wembanyama acknowledged it was a “painful” defeat, while forward Keldon Johnson called it a “tough pill to swallow” and head coach Mitch Johnson referred to it as “disappointing to say the least.” Now facing a 3-1 deficit, Wembanyama and his teammates insisted they aren’t going to roll over and let the Knicks win the series without a fight.
“What’s going through my mind right now?” Wembanyama said. “I think it’s going to go one of two ways: a bad one and a good one. The bad one would be giving up. The good one would be getting stronger through this, getting more together. I know this is what we’re going to do.
“… We’ve proven we can surpass these difficulties. Even though we haven’t been there before, I’m convinced we’re built that way and we’re going to use the better of this. It’s going to tighten us up.”
Here’s more on the Spurs:
- De’Aaron Fox, who has battled an ankle injury in recent weeks, made a costly error in the final seconds of Game 4, attempting to make a layup with the shot clock off and his team up by one. OG Anunoby blocked the shot, regaining possession for the Knicks and setting up his game-winning tip-in. Explaining why he attempted to score following a Spurs steal instead of dribbling more time off the clock and letting the Knicks foul him, Fox said, “I thought I’d be able to outrun (Anunoby),” per Sam Amick of The Athletic. “Try to get a layup, get up three and force them to need a three,” Fox told reporters. “OG made a good block.”
- The NBA’s decision not to retroactively assess Wembanyama with a flagrant foul 1 for a shove to the back of Jalen Brunson‘s head in Game 3 looms large after the Spurs big man received a flagrant 1 in Game 4 for an elbow on Karl-Anthony Towns, notes Jared Schwartz of The New York Post. If a player accumulates four flagrant points in a postseason, he earns an automatic one-game suspension and Wembanyama is now at three points. He would’ve been unable to play in a do-or-die Game 5 if the Brunson incident had been ruled a flagrant and must avoid another flagrant foul going forward to avoid a suspension.
- Despite the fact that the Spurs held a significant lead for most of the second and third quarters, Wembanyama logged 44 minutes of action on Wednesday, his highest total of 2025/26 (regular season or playoffs) for a regulation game. Asked after the loss if he wore down as the game progressed, he replied, “Yeah, I guess I did,” according to Jeff McDonald of The San Antonio Express-News (subscription required). Johnson explained to reporters that he didn’t want to take San Antonio’s lead for granted. “With two days (off) after this, what was at stake, we wanted to win the game and try to put it away,” the Spurs’ coach said.
Fischer’s Latest: Bucks, Mavs, Hawks, Kings, Sabonis
In addition to creating the impression that they’ll have an additional first-round pick beyond their own 10th overall selection in the draft later this month, the Bucks have some rival front offices believing they want to trade up from No. 10, writes Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Substack link).
Milwaukee has met with Mikel Brown and worked out Darius Acuff while also expressing interest in Keaton Wagler and Kingston Flemings, according to Fischer, noting that all four of those guards are considered likely to come off the board within the first nine picks.
One source who spoke to Fischer speculated that the Bucks are simply doing their due diligence in case one of those players slips to No. 10, pointing out that acquiring a pick in the 5-9 range won’t be easy. According to Fischer, rival teams believes the Clippers (No. 5), Kings (No. 7), and Hawks (No. 8) are all happy to stay where they are, while the Nets (No. 6) have also indicated they’re comfortable standing pat.
A team hoping to move into the top 10 might need to talk to the Mavericks (No. 9), who have let potential trade partners know that they’re very much open to the idea of moving in either direction, sources tell Fischer.
Here are a few more highlights from Fischer’s latest collection of NBA rumors:
- Although the Hawks haven’t shown any interest in moving off of the No. 8 pick, league sources tell The Stein Line that they’ve told teams they’re more than open to offers for their second first-rounder at No. 23. There’s a sense that Atlanta would prefer to make just a single first-round selection, says Fischer.
- Following up on Wednesday’s Domantas Sabonis rumors, Fischer classifies the Kings‘ talks with the Hornets as “preliminary,” reiterating that Sacramento would like to acquire either the No. 14 or 18 pick while Charlotte has resisted that idea. If the Kings move Sabonis, they’re hoping to take back as little multiyear salary as possible, Fischer adds, so a player like forward Miles Bridges, who will be entering the final year of his contract, would appeal to Sacramento.
- The Kings continue to insist they’d want first-round draft capital to part with Sabonis, a three-time All-Star, Fischer reports. They’ve shown interest in the Raptors‘ No. 19 overall pick, per Fischer, but it’s unclear whether Toronto will renew its pursuit of the Lithuanian big man after exploring a deal prior to February’s trade deadline.
- In case you missed it, we passed along Fischer’s latest reporting on Giannis Antetokounmpo earlier today.
Giannis Rumors: Heat, Blazers, Celtics, Wolves, Warriors, More
Even though the Heat and Trail Blazers are the only two teams that Jake Fischer of The Stein Line has been able to confirm are in active pursuit of Giannis Antetokounmpo, that doesn’t mean they’re the only two clubs still interested in acquiring the Bucks star, as Fischer writes in his latest subscriber-only story at Substack.
According to Fischer, there have “undeniably been rumbles” about the Celtics‘ potential involvement. While his sources say Boston has yet to seriously engage Milwaukee in trade talks about Antetokounmpo and also hasn’t meaningfully explored sending out Jaylen Brown in a trade, those same sources can’t rule out either scenario as a possibility, Fischer explains.
Antetokounmpo shares a skills coach (Drew Hanlen) with Celtics star Jayson Tatum and has been repeatedly said to have an affinity for Boston as a potential landing spot. Additionally, Brown is a far more accomplished player than anyone in the Heat’s offer, which is why the Celtics are considered a potential Giannis suitor that “genuinely concerns” Miami, Fischer writes.
In fact, the Heat may be more wary of the Celtics’ involvement than the Trail Blazers’ pursuit of Antetokounmpo, given that questions about whether Giannis would sign an extension with the Blazers may dissuade Portland from going all-in for the two-time MVP, Fischer notes.
Here are a few more of the latest rumblings on Antetokounmpo:
- The Timberwolves and Warriors were among the teams pursuing Giannis at February’s trade deadline, but sources tell Fischer that neither Minnesota nor Golden State seems to be a major factor in the Bucks’ recent trade discussions.
- Fischer also hears that there haven’t been any “significant” recent talks between the Bucks and Magic about Antetokounmpo. There was some speculation that Orlando could become a more serious suitor after a disappointing season that culminated in a first-round loss, especially given the team’s connections to Giannis — Magic executives Jeff Weltman and John Hammond were in Milwaukee’s front office when the team drafted the Greek forward, and new head coach Sean Sweeney spent four years with Antetokounmpo as a Bucks assistant coach.
- While the Rockets were once viewed as a potential Antetokounmpo suitor, they hadn’t pursued a deal for Giannis as of a few days ago, a source tells Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald.
- One scout told Jackson he thinks the market for Antetokounmpo has been smaller than anticipated. Jackson speculates that the changing value of first-round picks due to the NBA’s draft lottery reform may have made some clubs more reluctant to give up those first-rounders.
- There’s no indication at this point that the Heat would trade center Kel’el Ware on his own or that the Bucks would flip him to another team if he were included in a package for Giannis, but a source who spoke to Jackson suggested that, based on the level of league-wide interest, either team would “very likely” be willing to net a first-round pick for Ware.
Hoops Rumors Front Office Subscriber Chat: 6/11/2026
Hoops Rumors’ Arthur Hill held a live chat today exclusively for Trade Rumors Front Office subscribers. Topics included whether the Spurs should trade De'Aaron Fox, the wealth of guard prospects in this year's draft, the Bucks' next moves if they send Giannis Antetokounmpo to Miami, the Bulls' chances of landing another lottery pick and more!
2026 NBA Offseason Preview: Denver Nuggets
The Nuggets were widely lauded for the moves they made last offseason. The first domino to fall was a cost-cutting maneuver, as Denver traded Michael Porter Jr. and an unprotected 2031 first-round pick to the Nets for Cameron Johnson.
Swapping out Porter's $38.3MM cap hit for Johnson's $21.6MM saved the Nuggets a significant amount of money in 2025/26 and will do the same in 2026/27, when there will be a similar cap disparity between the two players ($40.8MM for Porter vs. $23.1MM for Johnson).
Since depth had been an issue for the Nuggets the past few years, their priority last summer was building out their roster with veterans who could play real minutes. They signed Tim Hardaway Jr. and Bruce Brown to minimum-salary contracts, then traded Dario Saric to Sacramento for Jonas Valanciunas.
The final big 2025 offseason move for Denver was signing Christian Braun to a five-year, $125MM rookie scale extension shortly before the season started. The Nuggets prioritized locking up Braun, a full-time starter who had a strong third season, over fellow 2022 first-round pick Peyton Watson, who is now headed for restricted free agency.
Denver got off to an excellent start to the 2025/26 campaign, with a 20-6 record that belied the fact that Braun (serious ankle sprain) and Aaron Gordon (hamstring strain) both got hurt in November. Then Johnson (knee sprain/bone bruise) went down in late December, followed by Nikola Jokic (knee sprain/bone bruise) and Valanciunas (calf strain) a few days later. Each player missed multiple weeks.
Jokic was having a career year to that point, and while disaster was certainly averted, his numbers went from otherworldly historic to merely terrific. He wound up appearing in a career-low 65 games, including having to play in the final contest of the season to qualify for major postseason awards. The Serbian superstar tied an NBA record co-held by Celtics legends Bill Russell and Larry Bird by finishing either first or second (he was runner-up again) in MVP voting for a sixth consecutive season.
Watson, the primary beneficiary of all the injury absences, was having a career year prior to suffering a hamstring strain just before the trade deadline in early February. He showed real upside as an on-ball scorer and cutter on top of his defensive instincts, length, athleticism and versatility, which is why the team wants to retain him this summer.
Despite all the injuries -- Braun and Gordon combined to play 80 games, while Johnson and Watson played 54 apiece -- and a mediocre stretch in the middle of the season, the Nuggets ended the year on a 12-game winning streak and entered the playoffs as the No. 3 seed after going 54-28. Jamal Murray played a major role in the team's success, appearing in 75 games and posting terrific numbers en route to his first All-Star and All-NBA (third team) appearances.
The Nuggets' first-round opponent was one of their division rivals, the Timberwolves, who eliminated the Denver in the Western Conference semifinals in a seven-game series in 2024. The Nuggets were attempting to defend their title at the time, having won their first championship the year before.
Denver's lack of size, athleticism and defense against Minnesota this postseason was jarring. Jaden McDaniels not only prevented Murray from having any kind of offensive success with his smothering defense, he also targeted the Canadian guard on the other end of the floor. And Jokic had the least efficient playoff series of his career against Rudy Gobert. Crucially, Gobert was daring Jokic to shoot, and the superstar center converted just 19.4% of his 6.0 three-point attempts per game.
Injuries were a factor for both teams, with Watson missing the whole series and Gordon suffering yet another soft-tissue injury in Game 2. Donte DiVincenzo tore his Achilles tendon at the start of Game 4 for Minnesota, and Anthony Edwards sprained his knee later in that same contest. But the Wolves were the mentally, emotionally and physically tougher team, winning the series in six games.
After a disappointing first-round exit, the Nuggets have to figure out what steps to take with an aging core that will only get more expensive going forward.
The Nuggets' Offseason Plans
The main reason Denver's roster projects to be far more expensive going forward is the fact that Jokic will be eligible this summer for an extension that will pay him a projected $285MM over four years. He's reportedly expected to sign the deal after reiterating following the team's postseason elimination that he wants to be a "Nugget forever."
However, outside of Jokic, everything could potentially be on the table for the Nuggets, as president Josh Kroenke acknowledged at his end-of-season press conference. Murray and Gordon notably can't be ruled out as possible trade candidates after playing vital roles in the team's success for the better part of the past decade. A more likely outcome has long been presumed to be shedding Johnson's salary to re-sign Watson, though that's far from a fait accompli.