Southeast Notes: Black, Diabate, Wizards
The sixth overall pick in the 2023 draft, Magic guard Anthony Black will become eligible for a rookie scale extension this offseason as he enters his fourth year in the league. With significant long-term money already owed to Paolo Banchero, Franz Wagner, Desmond Bane, and Jalen Suggs, Orlando will likely be cautious in its negotiations with Black. But he has emerged as a key part of the team’s rotation, so it seems safe to assume the club will be interested in a new deal.
Black would absolutely reciprocate that interest, suggesting to Jason Beede of The Orlando Sentinel (subscription required) that he’d welcome the opportunity to sign an extension with the Magic in the coming months.
“It’s just an opportunity to officially stamp it as like my home,” Black said. “It’s just something I’ll be looking forward to doing. Starting my young life, this is the first city I’ve played in, so it would mean a lot being able to play here for years.
“Obviously I want to win a lot too and I feel like we’re in a great position to do that and we came really close to doing that,” he continued. “So, for me, that would be ideal, but it’s the NBA and it’s always a decision that has to be made.”
We have more from around the Southeast:
- Hornets center Moussa Diabate had a breakout year in 2026/27, establishing career highs in points (7.9), rebounds (8.7), assists (1.9), and blocks (1.0) per game as he started 47 games in the middle. The 24-year-old, who is entering the final season of his minimum-salary contract in Charlotte, tells Rod Boone of The Charlotte Observer that he has no intention of getting “complacent” and wants to continue improving, especially on the offensive end. “Not saying that at the end of the day, I want to (have) a pull-up jumper and all this, but being a threat offensively is going to make me even better, and it’s going to help my teammates,” Diabate said. “So for me, definitely being comfortable with the ball more. Whether it’s me pushing it on the break or just on my handoffs or anything like that, me driving to the basket. Just really expand my game.”
- NBA fans in Washington haven’t had much to cheer about in recent years, as the Wizards have been below .500 for eight straight seasons and haven’t won more than 18 games in a season since 2022/23. However, as Josh Robbins of The Athletic details, ticket sales are soaring in D.C. in the wake of trades for Trae Young and Anthony Davis and the team’s draft lottery win. President of business operations Jim Van Stone told Robbins the team has seen a 190% increase in new full-season ticket revenue from 2025 to 2026.
- In case you missed it, we rounded up several notes on the Heat on Thursday night, including items on Pelle Larsson, Davion Mitchell, and the team’s offseason plans.
NBA Officials Explain Thinking Behind Draft Lottery Changes
After the Board of Governors approved changes to the draft lottery format on Thursday, members of the league office explained on a conference call why the NBA felt those changes were necessary, writes John Hollinger of The Athletic.
Speaking to reporters, NBA executive VP and head of basketball operations James Jones said that the league’s ability to punish tankers under the previous system by conducting investigations and levying fines wasn’t satisfactory — especially since those tanking teams often had plausible deniability when it came to decisions related to lineups and player availability.
“Having done a lot of these investigations and inquiries with teams, when you get to the place of investigating your way to an outcome, it’s really hard to say that it’s just not coaching error, bad player performance, or some underlying basketball (thing),” Jones said. “It’s all subjective. We want to be in a place where no matter the outcome of the game, you don’t feel like you’re better off if you lose. You can’t punish your way to that.”
In addition to flattening teams’ odds throughout the lottery and introducing a “relegation zone” for the bottom three clubs in the NBA, whose odds at a top pick become slightly less favorable, the new format will give the league office wider latitude to penalize teams believed to be tanking.
While league officials don’t anticipate teams tanking the 7/8 play-in game or trying to get to No. 9 or No. 11 in their conference to get an extra lottery ball, commissioner Adam Silver will have the ability to reduce a team’s lottery odds or modify its draft position if it’s egregiously tanking in those situations.
“The consensus was that teams would not want to do that for one lottery ball, (but) that’s why they added additional disciplinary pieces as a fallback,” said Evan Wasch, the NBA’s executive vice president, head of basketball strategy and growth.
Here are a few more highlights from the conference call:
On the top-five restriction affecting the Grizzlies:
Because the new format includes a rule prohibiting teams from winning a top-five pick in three consecutive years, the Grizzlies won’t be able to get a top-five selection via Utah’s first-rounder, which they control from the Jaren Jackson Jr. trade, since the Jazz landed at No. 5 in 2025 and No. 2 in 2026. Wasch explained that by applying that restriction to a team’s first-rounder even if that team no longer owns it, the league is attempting to avoid creating an “imbalance” between traded and non-traded picks.
“It essentially becomes a windfall to the teams that own those (traded) picks, because unlike other picks, they would benefit from the upside of the restrictions without any of the downside,” Wasch said, per Hollinger. “If you were to grandfather traded picks, you essentially differentiate those picks as being more valuable than all other picks. … That didn’t feel like a systematically fair way to go about this.”
According to Wasch, this rule was communicated to teams prior to this year’s draft lottery, so if the lottery results had played out differently, it may have been a different team – rather than Memphis – affected by the rule.
For what it’s worth, while the Grizzlies were upset enough by this rule that they were the lone team to vote against the lottery changes on Thursday, they still may benefit from the new system. If an improved Jazz team ends up in the 8-11 range in the West next season, the Grizzlies will still likely end up with a better pick than they would have had under the old format, even if the ceiling isn’t as high.
Wasch’s full comments on the Jazz/Grizzlies pick and the rule change impacting it can be viewed here (Twitter link via Drew Hill of The Daily Memphian).
On why the top-five restriction is written the way it is:
As Hollinger notes, there have been questions about why the rule prohibiting teams from being in the top five for three straight years wouldn’t apply – for example – to any pick that the Jazz controlled in 2027, rather to their own pick that they no longer control.
However, multiple GMs have pointed out to The Athletic that this would’ve create imbalances in the trade market. For instance, if the Jazz still owned their 2027 pick and were prohibited from landing in the top five, but could trade it to a team that would be able to turn it into a top-five pick, “There would have been a market inefficiency, and it would have undermined the integrity of the rule,” Wasch said.
There would be other ways for teams to exploit that loophole, Hollinger notes — for instance, two teams with roughly similar expectations could trade picks with each other to circumvent the restrictions.
On why the top 16 picks in the second round will be in reverse order of the first round:
As first reported on Thursday, the new format calls for the lottery order to be flipped in round two. That means the team that wins the No. 1 overall pick will get the 46th overall pick and the team that picks 16th in the first round will get the No. 31 pick, regardless of win-loss record.
According to Wasch, there were two reasons for this decision. For one, the league wanted to “counterbalance to the luck of the draw in the first round.” Additionally, while it’s probably unlikely that a team would tank for a higher second-round pick, league officials didn’t want that to even be an option.
Jalen Williams ‘Obviously Not 100%’ In Return
Returning on Thursday from a three-game absence following his second left hamstring strain of the postseason, Thunder forward Jalen Williams showed clear rust during the team’s 118-91 loss, writes Tim MacMahon of ESPN.
Coming off the bench for the first time since December 22, Williams scored a single point in his 10 minutes of action. He also committed a pair of turnovers and Oklahoma City was outscored by 18 points during his time on the floor. The 25-year-old, who made the All-NBA third team a year ago, didn’t speak to the media after the game, MacMahon notes, but head coach Mark Daigneault came to his defense.
“He’s obviously not 100%,” Daigneault said. “He didn’t know what to expect. I didn’t know what to expect. So it was a matter of getting him out there in kind of an insulated role and see what he can bring to the team.
“He’s an All-Star player, he’s an All-NBA player. He hasn’t done a full return to play (protocol) like he would if this was the regular season, and yet he just wants to do whatever he can to try to contribute whatever he can to the team. I give him a lot of credit to get himself out there. He did the best he could. He’s certainly not the reason we lost.”
Williams missed 26 of 28 games from January 19 to March 21 due to right hamstring issues, then strained his left hamstring in Game 2 of the Thunder’s first-round series vs. Phoenix. He returned to action for the start of the Western Conference finals following an absence of nearly four weeks, but re-injured the left hamstring in Game 2 last Wednesday, forcing him to the sidelines again.
Oklahoma City has posted an 8-1 record during the playoffs when Williams has been inactive. However, seven of those wins came in games that Ajay Mitchell played. Mitchell, who has been the Thunder’s go-to starter when Williams is out, has been sidelined for the past three games vs. San Antonio due to a right soleus (calf) strain. OKC has 21-point and 27-points losses during that stretch.
Speaking to reporters, including MacMahon, after Thursday’s loss, Daigneault admitted he’s not sure what Williams’ role will look like in Game 7 on Saturday.
“There’s a lot of conversations to be had,” Daigneault said. “I don’t have any information about how he came out of the game. Relative to the situation, I thought he looked pretty good, but we’ll see how he feels. We’ll huddle back up and do everything we can to get him ready and then take it from there.”
Mitchell Robinson Undergoes Finger Surgery, Aims To Play In Game 1
May 29: Robinson has undergone surgery to repair the break in his pinky finger, sources tell Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link). According to Charania, the veteran center “fully plans” to play in Game 1 of the Finals next week. The expectation is that he’ll wear a brace on his right hand to protect the finger.
May 28: Mitchell Robinson suffered a broken right pinky finger earlier this week, according to James L. Edwards III and Fred Katz of The Athletic, who report that there’s no timetable for the Knicks center’s return.
It’s unclear how Robinson broke his pinky, per The Athletic.
The injury news has been confirmed by several other outlets, including ESPN (Twitter link).
While the unknown timeline may seem a little ominous, that doesn’t necessarily mean Robinson will miss any of the NBA Finals, with New York set to face either Oklahoma City or San Antonio on Wednesday for Game 1. It simply means his availability is currently unclear.
Still, Robinson’s absence would certainly be felt if he’s unable to suit up. He’s physically imposing, a fantastic rebounder, and a strong, versatile defender.
Robinson, who has been plagued by injuries throughout his eight years in the league, made 60 regular season appearances in 2025/26, his most since ’21/22. The 7’0″ big man averaged 5.7 points, 8.8 rebounds, 1.2 blocks and 0.9 steals in 19.6 minutes per night, leading the league in offensive rebounding percentage and ranking in fourth in offensive rebounds per game (4.2), note Edwards and Katz.
Robinson has been a key part of New York’s identity throughout the season and has appeared in 13 of the Knicks’ 14 playoff games, but his playing time (14.2 MPG) has been cut back due to opponents intentionally fouling him; he has converted just 30.2% of his 3.3 free throw attempts per game in the postseason. He’s averaging 5.3 PPG and 5.5 RPG so far in the playoffs.
The 36th overall pick in the 2018 draft, Robinson has spent all eight of his NBA seasons with the Knicks, the team that drafted him. He’ll be an unrestricted free agent this summer if he doesn’t sign a veteran extension before then.
Second-year center Ariel Hukporti and fourth-year forward Jeremy Sochan are among the candidates for more playing time if Robinson is sidelined during the finals.
Heat Notes: Larsson, Mitchell, Fontecchio, Giannis, Lottery
Following an uneven rookie campaign with the Heat, Swedish wing Pelle Larsson took significant strides forward in year two, writes Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald.
“I’m happy with how I performed and played this year, compared to last year,” Larsson said after Miami was eliminated in the play-in tournament. “I definitely stepped up in my development. I think just getting more minutes, being on the court more and getting more familiarity with everyone around here. I got trusted more with our new offense, and that was great. I think it resulted in a lot of good things for me.”
The Heat hold a $2.3MM team option on Larsson for next season that they seem very likely to exercise because he’d still be eligible for restricted free agency in 2027 if they pick it up. He’ll be extension-eligible in July assuming that option is exercised, according to Chiang, who considers the pros and cons of Miami offering Larsson a new deal — assuming he’s still on the roster.
Here’s more on the Heat:
- In another story for The Miami Herald, Chiang evaluates Davion Mitchell‘s 2025/26 season, writing that the 27-year-old point guard was a steady floor general for the Heat as he enters the final year of his contract. Mitchell, who will make $12.4MM in 2026/27, is valued highly by the coaching staff and front office, Chiang notes. “He’s been one of our most important guys that’s kind of been under the radar,” head coach Erik Spoelstra said. “There’s been a lot of big factors to us winning versus losing. But in the games that he missed, it definitely changed the look of how we play. I just think he’s an elite on-ball defender. And he’s fully embracing everything in our system. So it’s giving him an opportunity to be seen in this league as a competitor. And that’s not even talking about his offense. He’s in many ways the engine of when we run, and we’re at our best and in our pace. Oftentimes it’s him, the one that’s igniting it and pitching the ball ahead.”
- Italian forward Simone Fontecchio recently reiterated his desire to remain with the Heat, according to Eurohoops, citing a report from Sky Sport Italia. “I hope to find a place for next season,” said Fontecchio, who will be an unrestricted free agent next month. “I would love to stay in Miami because I felt very comfortable there and my family enjoyed it too. It would be important for me to continue what I built over the last year.” The 30-year-old also confirmed he’ll play for the Italian national team during the August qualifying window for the 2027 World Cup.
- While “Plan A” for the Heat’s offseason would be to trade for Giannis Antetokounmpo, if they’re unable to do so, “Plan B” would consist of chasing another star talent, Chiang states in a mailbag. If neither of those scenarios come to pass, “Plan C” would be to preserve cap room for summer of 2027, when Antetokounmpo could be a free agent, Chiang adds.
- Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel considers how the “3-2-1” lottery reform changes, which will take effect next year, could impact the Heat’s ability to pursue Antetokounmpo this summer.
Western Notes: Kings, Warriors, DiVincenzo, Sorber
UConn forward Alex Karaban headlines a group of six prospects set to work out for the Kings on Friday, writes Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee. Karaban, a senior who was automatically eligible for the draft, goes 31st overall in the latest mock draft from ESPN’s Jeremy Woo and comes in at No. 30 on ESPN’s big board.
The other five draft prospects are Ryan Conwell (Louisville), Otega Oweh (Kentucky), Toibu Lawal (Virginia Tech), Tyler Nickel (Vanderbilt), and Mark Mitchell (Missouri). All are in ESPN’s top 100, with Conwell (No. 36) the only other player aside from Karaban in the top 50.
Sacramento controls the seventh, 34th and 45th picks in next month’s draft, Anderson notes.
Here’s more from around the Western Conference:
- The Warriors hosted six prospects — Trey Campbell (Northern Iowa) Oscar Cluff (Purdue), Carson Cooper (Michigan State), Jaden Henley (Grand Canyon), Elias Ralph (Pacific), and Jalen Warley (Gonzaga) — for a pre-draft workout on Thursday, per an announcement from the team (Twitter link). Boilermakers center Cluff (No. 63) is the top-ranked player in that group, according to ESPN, with Henley (No. 72) also in the top 100.
- Timberwolves coach Chris Finch said Donte DiVincenzo was the “heart and soul of so many things we do” after the veteran guard tore his right Achilles tendon in the first round of the playoffs, as Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic writes. It was a brutal blow for the 29-year-old, who brought a consistent toughness and competitiveness to Minnesota. Now he faces an uncertain future, as he’s likely to miss most — if not all — of next season as he enters the final year of his contract, which will pay him $12.5MM in 2026/27. “He’s trying to get back as soon as possible, and I think he’s going to have a great recovery, the way he’s treating it and the attitude he has about it, getting right, getting better, it’s just great to see,” Jaden McDaniels said. “I mean, we all love Donte. Hopefully he’s going to have a speedy recovery.”
- Thomas Sorber has missed his entire rookie season due to a torn ACL, but the Thunder big man is still getting his NBA education on the sidelines and hopes to play in Summer League in July, per Dan Woike of The Athletic. “I’m still reading the scouting report. I’m still seeing who’s a hot shooter, who to worry about, who not to worry about,” Sorber said. “Just trying to get the game plan in my head so when I am ready next year to play, then I’ll be able to, you know, already have it under my belt.” The 20-year-old center was the 15th overall pick in last year’s draft.
Thunder’s Jalen Williams (Hamstring) Active For Game 6
Thunder wing Jalen Williams has been upgraded to available for Thursday’s Game 6 in San Antonio, tweets Rylan Stiles of SI.com. Williams will come off the bench as Oklahoma City looks to clinch its second straight NBA Finals appearance, per Joel Lorenzi of The Athletic (Twitter link).
Williams, who has missed the past three games after aggravating a left hamstring injury in Game 2 of the Western Conference finals, was initially listed as questionable. The Thunder currently hold a 3-2 lead on the Spurs after Tuesday’s Game 5 victory in OKC.
As we relayed on Wednesday, second-year guard Ajay Mitchell will remain out on Thursday. The Belgian guard is battling a right soleus (calf) strain.
Williams first strained his left hamstring 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 vs. San Antonio.
After playing through a right wrist injury during the Thunder’s title run in 2025, Williams underwent surgery on that wrist in the offseason and then had a second procedure for the same ailment in the fall. Williams made his season debut in late November but missed extended time in 2025/26 due to a pair of right hamstring strains, ultimately only playing 33 regular season contests.
Williams, a third-team All-NBA selection last season, has averaged 17.8 points, 4.0 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.3 steals in 24.3 minutes per game across four playoff appearances this spring.
Terry Rozier Charged With Two New Federal Felonies
Former Heat guard Terry Rozier was charged with two new felony counts after being indicted by a grand jury in Brooklyn federal court on Thursday, reports Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic.
Rozier, who pleaded not guilty after being arrested on two wire fraud charges this past October related to the same case, has been charged with sports bribery and honest services fraud, according to Vorkunov.
As Vorkunov details, federal prosecutors from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York allege that Rozier accepted a payment worth approximately $100,000 to take himself out of a game early when he was a member of the Hornets.
The indictment says Rozier conspired with a group of gamblers — including Marves Fairley, who claims he paid a player to alter his game performance — to share non-public information to help them win. As Vorkunov writes in another story, while Fairley didn’t identify anyone by name on Thursday when he pleaded guilty to seven felony charges, including two related to this case, a prosecutor later clarified that Rozier was the player.
Jim Trusty, an attorney who represents Rozier, denied the allegations.
“There are some desperate men in this case with terrible criminal records and tons of exposure, and they know what to say to please these prosecutors,” Trusty said. “The new indictment confirms that our motion to dismiss was a good one — it’s just new charges and new theories trotted out in the hope that something sticks.”
The incident took place on March 23, 2023. Rozier allegedly told his friend and co-conspirator Deniro Laster that he would pull himself out of a game early, citing a foot injury, so that Laster and two other gamblers — Fairley and Shane Hennen — could bet on it. The indictment says Laster then told Fairley and Hennen, who exchanged texts about the plan. Laster and Hennen have pleaded not guilty, Vorkunov notes.
Rozier, who was averaging more than 21 points and 35 minutes per game at the time, only played nine minutes and 34 seconds in that Hornets game at New Orleans. He was inactive for the final eight games of the ’22/23 season because of the same foot injury.
Fairley is the second person to plead guilty in the case after former NBA guard and assistant coach Damon Jones did the same last month, Vorkunov adds.
NBA Announces 38 Early Entrants Withdrew From Draft
The NBA has officially announced the 38 early entrants who have withdrawn from the 2026 draft (Twitter link). The majority of those players — 35 of the 38 — played college basketball last season and will be headed back to the NCAA.
Early entrants who played college basketball had to withdraw by the end of Wednesday if they wished to retain their NCAA eligibility. One player who wasn’t on the NBA’s initial early entrant list was among those who withdrew: John Mobley Jr., who said when he declared for the draft that he planned to return to Ohio State if he pulled out.
Our tracker of early entrants, including the 26 college underclassmen who are expected to remain in the draft and the eight international prospects who remain eligible to be drafted, has been updated to reflect the news.
Here’s the full list of college underclassmen who have withdrawn from the draft:
Note: Some of these players may also be transferring to new schools; their 2025/26 school is listed here.
- Matt Able, G, North Carolina State (freshman)
- Amari Allen, F, Alabama (freshman)
- Alijah Arenas, G, USC (freshman)
- Flory Bidunga, F/C, Kansas (sophomore)
- Finley Bizjack, G, Butler (junior)
- John Blackwell, G, Wisconsin (junior)
- Shane Blakeney, G, Drexel (junior)
- Anton Bonke, C, Charlotte (junior)
- Rowan Brumbaugh, G, Tulane (junior)
- Elliot Cadeau, G, Michigan (junior)
- Rueben Chinyelu, C, Florida (junior)
- Jacob Cofie, F, USC (sophomore)
- Cruz Davis, G, Hofstra (junior)
- Kennard Davis, G/F, BYU (junior)
- Keanu Dawes, F, Utah (junior)
- Gabe Dynes, C, USC (junior)
- Eian Elmer, F, Miami (OH) (junior)
- Jeremy Fears, G, Michigan State (junior)
- Colby Garland, G, San Jose State (junior)
- Juke Harris, G, Wake Forest (sophomore)
- Isiah Harwell, G, Houston (freshman)
- Louis Hutchinson, G/F, Alabama A&M (junior)
- Acaden Lewis, G, Villanova (freshman)
- John Mobley Jr., G, Ohio State (sophomore)
- Milan Momcilovic, F, Iowa State (junior)
- Malachi Moreno, C, Kentucky (freshman)
- Paulius Murauskas, F, Saint Mary’s (junior)
- Dennis Parker, G, Radford (junior)
- Sebastian Rancik, F, Colorado (sophomore)
- Billy Richmond, G/F, Arkansas (sophomore)
- Andrej Stojakovic, G/F, Illinois (junior)
- Tyler Tanner, G, Vanderbilt (sophomore)
- Aiden Tobiason, G, Temple (sophomore)
- LeJuan Watts, F, Texas Tech (junior)
- Tounde Yessoufou, G/F, Baylor (freshman)
Three international early entrants have withdrawn from the draft as well. The country indicates where the player had been playing, not necessarily where he was born.
- Bassala Bagayoko, C, Spain (born 2006)
- Marc-Owen Fodzo Dada, G, France (born 2006)
- Alex Samodurov, F, Greece (born 2005)
With the NCAA withdrawal deadline behind us, the next big draft-related date to watch is June 13, which is the NBA’s withdrawal deadline. The eight remaining international early entrants will have until that Saturday to decide whether to keep their names in or pull out.
Sixers Notes: Grimes, Barlow, Oubre, Watford, Offseason
There’s increased pressure on the Sixers to hang onto unrestricted free agent Quentin Grimes this offseason after the team traded another guard – Jared McCain – to Oklahoma City at the February deadline, writes Tim Bontemps of ESPN.
As Bontemps points out, re-signing Grimes and free agent wing Kelly Oubre Jr. would likely push Philadelphia’s team salary well into luxury tax territory, and the team has resisted paying the tax in recent years. But according to Bontemps, rival executives believe the Sixers will try to sign both players, with Grimes potentially getting a salary around the non-taxpayer mid-level exception ($15MM).
“I do think he stays there out of pressure,” a Western Conference executive told ESPN. “You have to keep at least one of (Grimes or Oubre), if not both, after that (McCain) trade. And if they don’t go into the tax, they’re going to get crushed.”
Here’s more on the 76ers:
- While Dominick Barlow‘s game has some holes – including his three-point shot – the fourth-year forward proved in 2025/26 that he’s a rotation-caliber NBA player, says Adam Aaronson of PhillyVoice.com. The Sixers hold a $3.4MM team option for ’26/27 on Barlow, who averaged 7.7 points and 4.8 rebounds in 23.8 minutes per game across 71 appearances (59 starts) this past season.
- In two additional stories for PhillyVoice.com, Aaronson also evaluates the performances the 76ers got this season from Oubre and forward Trendon Watford, weighing what comes next for each player. As Aaronson writes, Philadelphia may be able to get a more favorable annual salary on Oubre by signing him to a multiyear deal, but the team will have to determine how many guaranteed years it’s comfortable offering. As for Watford, the club will have to make a decision on his $2.8MM option for ’26/27.
- Gina Mizell, Gabriela Carroll, and David Murphy of The Philadelphia Inquirer answer a handful of questions about the 76ers’ offseason, with Mizell and Carroll both viewing Oubre – not Grimes – as the team’s most important free agent. Murphy, meanwhile, argues neither player should be a priority to retain unless he’s willing to accept a team-friendly contract.
Rory Maher contributed to this article.