Draft Notes: Bulls, Cenac, Spurs, Mavericks, Hall
Houston big man Chris Cenac worked out for the Bulls on Monday, a source tells Joel Lorenzi of The Athletic (Twitter link). The 6’11” big man, who spent his freshman season with the Cougars before declaring for the 2026 draft as an early entrant, is ranked 21st on ESPN’s big board.
Donovan Atwell (Texas Tech), Tobe Awaka (Arizona), Josh Dix (Creighton), Nate Johnson (Kansas State) and Xaivian Lee (Florida) also participated in Monday’s workout with the Bulls, Lorenzi reports. Awaka (No. 49) is considered a potential second-round pick, while the other four players are projected to go undrafted.
Chicago controls the fourth, 15th, 38th and 56th picks.
Here are few more notes on June’s draft:
- The Spurs (20th, 35th, 42nd, 44th) also control four draft picks. Brett Siegel of ClutchPoints hears Cenac is a “real possibility” for San Antonio at No. 20, assuming he’s still available (Twitter link).
- The Mavericks conducted a pre-draft workout on Monday featuring Sam Alexis (Indiana), DJ Armstrong (UMBC), Quincy Ballard (Mississippi State), Kylan Boswell (Illinois), David Dixon (Duquesne) and Mark Mitchell (Missouri), reports Mike Curtis of The Dallas Morning News (via Twitter). Dallas currently has two first-round picks (ninth and 30th) and one second-rounder (48th). Boswell (55th on ESPN’s board) is considered the most likely player to be selected later this month.
- Former Virginia point guard Dallin Hall worked out for the Wizards last week and had a workout with the Magic on Sunday, agent Jake Cohen tells Jason Beede of The Orlando Sentinel (Twitter link). Hall, a senior this past season, spent three years at BYU prior to transferring to Virginia.
Pacific Notes: Kings, Acuff, Flemings, Kerr, Suns, Morant
The Kings control the seventh, 34th and 45th picks in the 2026 NBA draft. They’ve been active in working out prospects and that will continue on Tuesday morning, according to James Ham of The Kings Beat (Twitter link).
Sacramento will be hosting six players tomorrow: Tamin Lipsey (Iowa State), Ja’Kobi Gillespie (Tennessee), J’Vonne Hadley (Louisville), Jevon Porter (Missouri), Giovanni Emejuru (East Carolina) and Ernest Udeh (Miami). Gillespie is viewed as the top prospect among that group by some outlets, ranking No. 44 on ESPN’s big board.
Here’s more from around the Pacific:
- Several mock drafts last month had the Kings selecting Darius Acuff with the seventh overall pick, but that has changed of late, notes Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee. That’s not because the Kings aren’t interested in Acuff — the mocks have him coming off the board at No. 5 or No. 6. Instead, those mocks have the Kings drafting Kingston Flemings, another guard who’s a projected lottery pick. A current NBA agent and former scout who spoke to Anderson had Acuff ranked higher than Flemings, calling the latter a “10-year starter” but “not an All-Star.”
- Jerry Stackhouse spent the past two seasons as an assistant coach on Steve Kerr‘s staff before parting ways with the Warriors when his contract expired. He talked about what he learned from Kerr on FanDuel TV’s Run It Back Show (YouTube link), as Will Simonds of NBC Sports Bay Area relays. “I saw how how Steve, you know, he wants conversation,” Stackhouse said in part. “He wants to make sure that you understand — even the coaching staff — just constantly confirming with everybody to make sure that you know where you stand and and you know what we’re trying to get accomplished.”
- The Suns have no interest in trading for Ja Morant, a source reiterated to Gerald Bourguet of Suns After Dark (Twitter link). Bourguet reported about a month ago that Phoenix wasn’t intrigued by the possibility of acquiring Morant, but speculation about the possibility has persisted.
Thunder GM Talks Holmgren, Team Options, Draft, More
While Thunder big man Chet Holmgren drew plenty of criticism for his lackluster performance in the Western Conference finals, particularly the Game 7 loss in which he finished with just four points (on 1-of-2 shooting) and four rebounds in 33 minutes, general manager Sam Presti publicly backed the former No. 2 overall pick on Monday, writes Justin Martinez of The Oklahoman.
According to Presti, Holmgren’s “underdog” mentality will serve him well going forward.
“Chet’s one of our guys,” Presti said. “He’s been so impactful. He drives winning on so many different levels for us. We were sweeping our way to the Western Conference Finals primarily because of his efforts in the [Suns and Lakers] series. All that to say, he didn’t have a great series in the last series.
“… This is a guy who’s intrinsically motivated. He doesn’t need people questioning him or things on the internet to drive his improvement. The best example of that is we won the Finals last year, and he was dominant in Game 7 defensively and through a lot of the playoffs.
“I’m not really that concerned about him. The good thing is you get to confront those things again and continue to improve, and I’m confident that he’ll be ready to go.”
Here’s more from Presti’s end-of-season press conference:
- The Thunder project to be well over the second tax apron in 2026/27 if they exercise their team options on Isaiah Hartenstein, Luguentz Dort and Kenrich Williams. They could also be facing a roster crunch, with two first-round picks (Nos. 12 and 17) and one second-rounder (No. 37) on top of having most of the roster signed to guaranteed contracts for next season. However, Presti reiterated ownership is willing to spend to contend for championships if the front office deems it necessary, as Anthony Slater of ESPN relays. “Is it possible that we just pick up the options for everybody and roll into next season when we have a bigger financial jump for the team?” Presti said. “That’s certainly possible. … The process itself to get to those potential options, it could take a little while. I could see it going a little deeper into the summer than we’re used to.”
- Oklahoma City will explore a number of possibilities with those three selections in this month’s draft, Presti told reporters, including Martinez. “Everybody knows we try to move up every year,” Presti said. “We try to get a price for what it would take for us to move out entirely, and then we also have contingencies to move back in the draft. It’s all about creating value. That’s how we see each one of these picks. Sometimes, the best value is to take the best player on the board and figure it out later. … But we’ll look at all these different options.”
- Presti spoke highly of Thomas Sorber, the team’s 2025 first-round pick who tore his ACL this past September and missed his entire rookie season, Martinez writes. However, Presti doesn’t think Sorber will play in Summer League next month.
- The longtime executive also praised mid-season acquisition Jared McCain, Martinez adds. “I’ve always felt like he’s a guy that contributes to winning,” Presti said. ” … There aren’t many people that I would choose to try to assimilate into our particular team in the middle of the year. … But he had the right mindset to walk into a team like ours and in the right game. I think, going forward, there’s a more balanced player in there and not just a guy that’s going to come off and be able to hit shots like that. He really understands the game. He understands winning. He’ll put his body out there. I’m looking forward to a full summer with him, a full training camp and really seeing how he accents our full team.”
Hoops Rumors Chat Transcript: 6/8/2026
Hoops Rumors hosted a live chat today at 3:00 pm Central time (4:00 pm Eastern).
International Notes: O. Wembanyama, Lee, Hezonja, Francisco, Richman
While his older brother Victor has been busy with the NBA Finals, Oscar Wembanyama has been making a strong impression at Eurocamp, which was held over the weekend, Johnny Askounis of Eurohoops.net relays.
Currently playing for SIG Strasbourg in France’s Betclic Elite after transitioning from handball in 2021, the 19-year-old forward is looking to improve his prospects for next year’s draft. He displayed impressive perimeter shot-making, transition fluidity, and efficient play, Askounis writes. DraftExpress’ Jonathan Givony tweets that the younger Wemby has made dramatic improvements over the past 12-to-18 months.
Here’s more from around the international basketball world:
- Lithuania’s Zalgiris Kaunas is close to reaching an agreement with former NBA guard Saben Lee on a two-year contract, Kevin Martorano of Sportando relays. Lee began last season with Olympiacos before joining Anadolu Efes, where he appeared in 16 EuroLeague games and averaged 11.2 points, 3.1 assists, and 1.7 rebounds per contest. Lee appeared in 134 NBA games, most recently with Phoenix during the 2023/24 season.
- Mario Hezonja remains firmly committed to Real Madrid and has no plans to play elsewhere unless an NBA opportunity arises, Aris Barkas of Eurohoops.net reports. Hezonja’s current contract runs until 2029 and contains an NBA opt-out clause. Hezonja was named the Most Valuable Player of Spain’s Liga ACB this season. He averaged 17.5 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 1.9 assists per game over 31 contests.
- Zalgiris point guard Sylvain Francisco, who went undrafted in 2019, is hoping to make the jump to the NBA next season, according to Eurohoops. “The main goal is the NBA. Things can change, but that is the place I want to go,” he said. Francisco averaged 16.5 points and 6.5 assists this season, earning a spot on the All-EuroLeague First Team.
- Ryan Richman, the former Wizards assistant, is the new head coach of Alvark Tokyo in the Japanese B.League Premier, Jake Fischer of The Stein Line tweets. After leaving Washington to lead SeaHorses Mikawa to three-straight playoff appearances, Richman was sought after by numerous teams in Japan and also had a few NBA assistant opportunities before agreeing to a deal with Alvark.
Knicks Notes: Game 3, Egoless Approach, Brunson, Brown, Shamet
The Knicks won’t just be fighting the Spurs heading into Game 3 of the Finals — they’ll have to fight off complacency, Stefan Bondy of the New York Post opines.
After winning two road games to put the Spurs in a huge hole, the Knicks can’t afford to ease up despite playing the next two games at home.
“It’s still 0-0 as far as we’re concerned. Being up 2-0 means really nothing,” Josh Hart said. “The Spurs are going to come out on Monday with an unbelievable amount of energy and desperation, and we’ve got to be better.”
Here’s more on the Knicks:
- On a team filled with high-priced players, egos have not been a factor. In fact, pushing those egos aside has put them on the brink of a championship, Fred Katz of The Athletic writes. “You work on connectivity throughout the course of the year for moments like these,” coach Mike Brown said. “And no matter what run (the Spurs) went on, no matter what time of the game, our guys just kept uplifting one another, not just the guys on the floor but the guys on the bench.”
- While the odds are stacked in the Knicks’ favor now, Jalen Brunson is taking nothing for granted, Zach Braziller of the New York Post relays. “In my mind there’s nothing really to celebrate yet,” he said. “There’s still a lot of work to be done.”
- The team can’t wait to have a home game in the NBA Finals for the first time in 27 years. “The Garden is going to be rocking,” Hart said, per Peter Sblendorio of the New York Daily News. “Obviously, in this city we love our Knicks. So we’re going to come out, show love, support. The energy is going to be electric.”
- Former coach Tom Thibodeau was often criticized for riding his starters too long. ESPN’s Vincent Goodwill details how Brown came in with the intent of getting more out of the reserves. Goodwill also details how Brown lobbied the front office to re-sign Landry Shamet. “I thought Landry could be impactful,” Brown said. “He signed late because his agent convinced him to do that. Hopefully, it won’t happen going forward. I said, ‘Hey, I want you here. I’m sorry about the way the circumstances are contractually. I have nothing to do [with] that. I believe you can help us on both ends of the floor.'”
Raptors Agree To Extend GM Bobby Webster’s Contract
The Raptors have agreed to a multiyear extension for general manager Bobby Webster, according to a team press release. In addition to the extension, Webster has already earned a promotion, adding the new title of executive vice president to his existing GM title.
Webster, 41, is headed into his 10th season as the Raptors’ general manager. He assumed full leadership of the front office in August 2025 following the team’s split with president Masai Ujiri. Before being elevated to the GM role, he served as assistant GM and VP, basketball management and strategy.
Michael Grange of Sportsnet reported last month that an extension for Webster was likely. Toronto’s head of basketball operations had one year left on his contract and the organization was seeking continuity after making its first playoff appearance in four years.
“We’re building something special here, and I’m proud to continue to lead the Toronto Raptors as we work towards our next championship,” Webster said in a statement. “Thank you to (Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment CEO) Keith (Pelley) and the MLSE Board of Directors for their confidence and support. This is a franchise that’s focused on the future, and we’re ready for what’s next.”
“Bobby has an elite understanding of the game and the NBA, and he’s used that to build a team that competes at a high level,” Pelley added in a statement of his own. “It’s been an exciting year for the Raptors. They were a joy to watch compete together, and with Bobby and the Raptors, we’ve seen the results, and we believe in where his leadership will take us.”
The Raptors also announced contract extensions for three additional front office members: Dan Tolzman, vice president, player personnel and assistant general manager; Keith Boyarsky, vice president, basketball strategy and research; and Tyla Flexman, vice president, operations.
“This group has been integral to building the organization and shaping our long-term vision – their leadership, expertise and commitment is second to none,” Webster said.
Head coach Darko Rajakovic could be next in line for an extension, Josh Lewenberg of TSN Sports tweets. Rajakovic also has one year left on his contract.
Windhorst: Heat ‘The Team To Watch’ In Giannis Trade Sweepstakes
The Heat are “the team to watch” as trade talks surrounding Giannis Antetokounmpo intensify, Brian Windhorst said Monday morning on ESPN’s “Get Up” during a panel discussion of the Bucks star (Twitter video link).
“Miami would say … well, we’ve got Tyler Herro, who is a young player who’s been an All-Star, we’ve got draft picks, including the 13th pick in this draft – we can give you a lottery pick in this draft – and Giannis, I think, wants to be in Miami,” Windhorst said. “There’s more checkmarks on Miami.”
A report last week from Sam Amick and Eric Nehm of The Athletic listed Herro and the No. 13 pick as part of the Heat’s likely offer to Milwaukee, along with second-year center Kel’el Ware, Sixth Man of the Year runner-up Jaime Jaquez Jr. and two future first-rounders. However, Amick stated Friday on a radio show that Antetokounmpo has “questions” about the quality of Miami’s remaining roster if that deal were to go through.
Antetokounmpo is under contract for one more season at $58.5MM and holds a $62.8MM player option for 2027/28, so there’s some risk involved in trading for him if he’s not fully committed to staying with his new team.
The Bucks are reportedly hoping to resolve the Antetokounmpo situation before the draft begins on June 23, either by trading the 10-time All-Star or getting him to commit to a long-term extension that he’ll become eligible to sign later in the year. Numerous teams have been pursuing Antetokounmpo since the trade deadline or even longer, with the Heat being among the most aggressive.
During the discussion, Windhorst became the latest reporter to throw cold water on the idea that the Thunder might part with Chet Holmgren or Jalen Williams to acquire Antetokounmpo following their playoff loss or that the Celtics may get involved with a multi-team deal involving Jaylen Brown.
“The message that Oklahoma City is sending out is that they are not touching that core,” Windhorst said. “You can choose to not believe them if you want; they say they’re running it back.”
Regarding the Celtics, Windhorst stated, “I’m not sure Boston is ready to trade Jaylen Brown. Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum have won a championship together. I thought there was a decent chance we’d be in Boston right now for Game 3 of these Finals.”
Hawks’ Quin Snyder Signs Multiyear Extension
10:29 am: The Hawks have confirmed the extension in a press release, although terms of the agreement weren’t disclosed.
“I am grateful to the Ressler family and humbled to continue leading this team. I love this group of players, love coaching this team and am fortunate to have a tremendous coaching staff. Atlanta has truly been home for my family, and I am excited to continue this journey,” Snyder said. “Tony (Ressler), Jami (Gertz) and the entire Ressler family are deeply committed to providing us every resource we need for success and the partnership Onsi and I have developed is strong, with the shared focus of bringing Hawks fans the success they deserve.”
9:54 am: Hawks head coach Quin Snyder has agreed to a multiyear contract extension, sources tell Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link).
The team also recently extended Onsi Saleh while promoting him from general manager to president of basketball operations and is focused on “organizational continuity,” per Charania.
Snyder led Atlanta to its first playoff appearance in three years, ending the regular season on a 20-6 run to grab the sixth seed. The Hawks lost to New York in six games in the opening round, but they’re still the only team to register a victory over the Knicks during this postseason.
The playoff berth came amidst a season of change that saw Trae Young get traded to Washington in January. The Hawks opted to place more emphasis on defense with a collection of young, athletic players, and CJ McCollum, who was acquired in that deal, became a reliable scorer and a late-game hero in their two playoff victories.
Snyder, 59, came to Atlanta midway through the 2022/23 season following a successful eight-year run in Utah. He has a 132-135 record with the Hawks and a 504-399 mark overall.
Charania points out that Snyder is the only head coach to ever have consecutive Most Improved Players, with Dyson Daniels and Nickeil Alexander-Walker winning the award the past two seasons.
An extension for Snyder was considered “inevitable,” Jake Fischer and Marc Stein of The Stein Line stated last month. They cited rumors during the regular season that Snyder was viewed as a potential replacement for Kenny Atkinson in Cleveland, but the Cavaliers weren’t ready for a coaching change.
Bogdan Bogdanovic Hoping For At Least One More NBA Season
Representatives for Bogdan Bogdanovic have told European teams that he plans to spend at least one more season in the NBA, BasketNews relays, citing a report from the Serbian website Meridian Sport.
There has been some overseas interest in the 33-year-old shooting guard, who could become a free agent later this month. The Clippers hold a $16MM team option for next season that has to be exercised by June 26. L.A. is expected to decline that option, but it’s not certain whether the team plans to seek a new deal with Bogdanovic or cut ties altogether.
Bogdanovic, who was acquired from Atlanta at the 2025 trade deadline, is coming off his worst NBA season. Appearing in just 23 games, he averaged a career-low 7.4 points in 19.7 minutes per night while his shooting numbers fell to 38.8% from the field and 34.7% from three-point range, far below his career averages.
Bogdanovic dealt with injuries through most of the season, beginning with a ruptured hamstring he suffered while playing for Serbia at EuroBasket last summer. He could be counting on a bounce-back season once he’s fully healthy, which explains why he’s discouraging interest from Europe.
A report in March cited Partizan Belgrade as a potential destination for Bogdanovic, stating that the Serbian team views him as the centerpiece of its plan to improve by signing former NBA players. Bogdanovic addressed that rumor in late March, telling reporters that he wanted to concentrate on finishing out the season before making any decisions about his future.
Bogdanovic began his professional career with Partizan in 2010 before coming to the NBA seven years later. He won four Serbian League titles in four years and was named Playoffs MVP in 2014.