2025 NBA Draft

Draft Notes: Fland, Combine, Coward, Knueppel, Markovic

May 14th, 2025 at 12:57pm CST by Luke Adams

Guard Boogie Fland, who entered the 2025 NBA draft pool following his freshman year at Arkansas, has decided to withdraw his name from this year’s list of early entrants, agent Mike Miller told Jonathan Givony of ESPN (story via ESPN’s Jeff Borzello).

Fland, the No. 42 prospect on ESPN’s big board of 2025 prospects, had been in attendance at this week’s draft combine in Chicago but won’t take part in the rest of the event. Instead, he’ll shift his focus to the NCAA transfer portal, which he entered earlier this spring while testing the draft waters.

According to Borzello, there has been “significant buzz” about the possibility of Fland transferring to Florida for his sophomore season. A strong showing at the college level in 2025/26 could improve his standing for the 2026 NBA draft if he decides to declare as an early entrant again next spring.

Here are a few more draft-related notes:

In another story for ESPN.com, Givony, Jeremy Woo, and Jeff Borzello share their draft combine takeaways from Tuesday, identifying Yaxel Lendeborg, Drake Powell, Chaz Lanier, Mark Sears, and Tre Johnson as some of the day-one standouts while noting that Cedric Coward is generating some buzz among NBA personnel as a potential first-round pick. Coward is currently at No. 35 on ESPN’s board.
Duke’s Kon Knueppel, a projected lottery pick, didn’t take part in the athletic testing or shooting drills at the combine beacuse he sprained his ankle a few weeks ago and is “not all the way back yet,” agent Mark Bartelstein tells Givony (Twitter link). “He’s at 85% now and we want him at 100%,” Bartelstein said. “He’s really close. Hopefully, he’s back by the end of the week and can participate in our pro day Friday.” As Givony points out, the NBA’s Collective Bargaining Agreement requires Knueppel to complete the athletic testing and shooting drills at a later date at a team facility.
Serbian prospect Bogoljub Markovic, who was forced to miss the draft combine because he was still playing for Mega Basket, recently sprained his ankle, which will sideline him for the quarterfinals of the ABA League playoffs, per Givony (Twitter links). However, Markovic still intends to attend the European combine in Treviso in early June and then travel stateside to work out for NBA teams ahead of the draft.

Community Shootaround: Draft Lottery Changes

May 13th, 2025 at 8:26pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Is it time for another change to the draft lottery?

That’s what many people are thinking after seeing the Mavericks leapfrog 10 other teams and win the Cooper Flagg sweepstakes on Monday.

If not for a wave of injuries – and of course, the controversial Luka Doncic trade – Dallas wouldn’t have even held any lottery combinations. The Mavs’ good fortune comes one year after the Hawks jumped from No. 10 to the top spot.

The current lottery format was introduced in 2019, in which the teams with the three worst records have an equal chance – 14 percent – of getting the top pick. Since that time, no team entering the lottery at No. 1 has gained the top pick, though four teams in either the second or third spot has had the winning combination.

With the lottery determining the top four slots, the team with the worst record has dropped from No. 1 to No. 5 three consecutive times – the Pistons twice and this time the Jazz. It can be argued that Utah, which overtly tanked for a good portion of the season, deserved its fate.

And that’s the issue. The current system was designed to discourage tanking, as was the creation of the play-in tournament to get more teams into the postseason. But it certainly hasn’t erased that strategy by struggling or rebuilding franchises.

There could be ways to make the lottery seem more fair. Perhaps not allowing a team to win the lottery more than once in a short span. Similarly, there could be a rule against a team moving up from its slot more than once or twice in a certain time frame. It certainly seems unfair that San Antonio has wound up with the top pick, the No. 4 pick and the No. 2 pick in three straight drafts.

The lottery could also be changed so that teams near the bottom of it can’t get the No. 1 pick. Any number of tweaks could be considered and it appears the current system could use some.

That brings us to today’s topic: How do you feel about the current lottery format? Should changes be made? If so, what should be done to make it fairer?

Please take to the comments section to weigh in on this topic. We look forward to your input.

Mavs Intend To Keep No. 1 Pick, Draft Cooper Flagg

May 13th, 2025 at 3:08pm CST by Luke Adams

Since the Mavericks‘ unlikely lottery win on Monday night, there has been speculation about the possibility of the front office – which clearly isn’t shy about taking big swings – including the No. 1 overall pick in a trade for a proven superstar such as Giannis Antetokounmpo.

However, that’s not the plan in Dallas, according to Tim MacMahon of ESPN, who hears from sources that the Mavericks intend to use the pick to draft consensus top prospect Cooper Flagg and won’t entertain the idea of trading it. Marc Stein (Twitter link) has heard the same thing from a source with knowledge of the team’s thinking.

According to MacMahon, Mavericks governor Patrick Dumont considers it a “gift” to get the opportunity to draft a prospect like Flagg. The possibility of re-gifting the Duke star to another team isn’t under consideration, says MacMahon, noting that Dumont has given general manager Nico Harrison leeway to run the front office but still has the final say on all basketball decisions.

As MacMahon points out, the decision to trade Luka Doncic to the Lakers in February resulted in “significant business concerns” for the Mavericks, in addition to creating a murky long-term outlook for a franchise that has traded away control of its own first-round picks from 2027-30. Being able to add Flagg to Dallas’ core would go a long way toward mitigating both of those concerns, MacMahon writes.

Flagg will be joining a Mavs roster headlined by Anthony Davis, Kyrie Irving, Dereck Lively, and P.J. Washington.

As fortunate as Dallas is to be in position to bring aboard a talent like Flagg, there’s still plenty of work to be done on the roster this summer. With Irving expected to miss a significant chunk of the season while he recovers from a torn ACL, the team is short on ball-handling and play-making and will be looking to upgrade its backcourt.

Draft Lottery Notes: Spurs, Sixers, Mavs, Nets, Hornets, More

May 13th, 2025 at 1:53pm CST by Luke Adams

In the wake of last night’s eventful NBA draft lottery, a series of draft experts – including ESPN’s Jonathan Givony and Jeremy Woo, Kevin O’Connor of Yahoo Sports, and Sam Vecenie of The Athletic – have updated their 2025 mocks.

A common theme has emerged in those mock drafts, with ESPN’s duo, O’Connor, and Vecenie questioning the fit of certain players who are expected to come off the board right after Cooper Flagg at No. 1. Rutgers’ Dylan Harper, for instance, has long been viewed as the consensus No. 2 in this year’s draft pool, but he’s not exactly a clean fit for the Spurs next to guards Stephon Castle and De’Aaron Fox.

The Sixers, meanwhile, could add a one-and-done prospect like Harper’s former Rutgers teammate Ace Bailey, but the 18-year-old guard/forward – considered by many pundits to be the third-best player in this year’s draft – is viewed as more of a long-term project who may not fit into Philadelphia’s win-now plans.

In other words, John Hollinger of The Athletic writes, the unexpected results of Monday’s lottery have opened the door for some tantalizing offseason trade possibilities. With the Mavericks, San Antonio, and Philadelphia all closer to contention than is typical for teams at the top of the draft, could Dallas or the Spurs consider using their pick in a package for a superstar like Giannis Antetokounmpo? Could the 76ers trade down, or perhaps even swing for a star themselves by attaching Paul George to the No. 3 pick and a couple future first-rounders?

As Hollinger notes, there’s some intrigue further down the lottery as well, where teams like the Pelicans and Rockets don’t necessarily need to add rookies to their roster and might consider shopping their picks at No. 7 and 10, respectively. Hollinger also suggests that the Trail Blazers could look into putting the No. 11 pick in a package to improve the trade value of a veteran like Jerami Grant or Deandre Ayton.

Here’s more on the heels of Monday’s shocking draft lottery:

Rival teams view the Nets as a team to monitor for a possible trade up in the draft, according to Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Substack link). As Fischer explains, the Nets have three additional first-round picks this year (at No. 19, 26, and 27) on top of their lottery pick at No. 8 and have an excess of future first-rounders as well. They also lack a blue-chip prospect to build around.
Several of the media members who were in the lottery drawing room on Monday, including Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic, Sarah Todd of the Deseret News, Rod Boone of The Charlotte Observer, and Sean Highkin of Rose Garden Report (Substack link), have published stories from behind the scenes. As Boone writes, although Charlotte dropped one spot from their pre-lottery rank, Hornets governor Rick Schnall was relieved his team will be picking in the top four. “We are obviously disappointed we didn’t get the No. 1, but it could be a lot worse,” Schnall said. “I thought (for a minute) we were going to be seventh. But we are going to get a good player.”
Andy Larsen of The Salt Lake Tribune, who was also in attendance for the drawing, responds to conspiracy theories about the lottery being rigged by explaining why he believes that’s very unlikely.
With many fans displeased about the outcome of Monday’s lottery and questioning whether the event is above board, Michael McCann of Sportico digs into why a lottery determines the NBA’s draft order at all, exploring other ways the league could distribute talent and explaining why those alternatives wouldn’t necessarily be any better.
A series of ESPN’s NBA reporters takes a look at the biggest question facing each of the 13 teams in the lottery after Monday’s results.

Mavs Rejoice After Getting Top Pick

May 12th, 2025 at 9:25pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Mavericks recently completed what CEO Rick Welts summed up as a “tumultuous” season. Dallas is now celebrating its unlikely lottery luck, moving up from No. 11 to the top pick.

“Just looking at that potential roster and thinking about what could happen next season, it’s a reversal of fortunes that’s really unimaginable,” Welts said, per Brad Townsend of the Dallas Morning News (Twitter link).

Dropping Cooper Flagg into a Mavericks lineup that includes Anthony Davis and, when he recovers from his knee injury, Kyrie Irving, gives the franchise real hope of a championship in the coming seasons. All this after the firestorm created by the controversial Luka Doncic trade with the Lakers.

“I am so happy for Mavericks fans,” Welts said, per ESPN’s Michael C. Wright and Jonathan Givony. “I only got to Dallas Jan. 1 this year. Feb. 1, we broke the internet [with the Doncic trade]. I am just amazed at the depth of emotion and connection that the fan base has with this team. And what happened today, I can’t imagine a better day for Mavs fans. It’s going to really be something special. I can’t wait to get back to Dallas.”

Welts all but declared Flagg to be the team’s choice next month.

“I don’t know who we’re going to take, but should we take him, I think his résumé is pretty strong,” Welts said of the Duke star forward. “Every time he’s put in a situation that everyone wondered if he could succeed, he’s succeeded and then some.”

The Mavs’ head coach is eager to see what the team looks like with a star like Flagg added to the mix.

“Incredible day for the Mavericks,” Dallas coach Jason Kidd told Marc Stein of The Stein Line (Twitter link). “We are all so excited.”

Flagg didn’t talk specifically about joining the Mavs but he indicated he’d fit right in with a team that has put a premium on two-way players. Doncic’s defensive issues was one of the reasons general manager Nico Harrison was willing to deal him.

“Being a two-way player is something I’ve done since I was a little kid, so I’m just going to keep doing that to the best of my ability,” he said, per Grant Afseth of the Dallas Hoops Journal.

Welts, who worked for the league from 1982-1999, knows all about conspiracy theories involving the lottery. He heard quite a bit about that during the 1985 lottery, won by the Knicks.

“I’m the only person who was in this room and the room 40 years ago. I was in charge of the NBA draft lottery 40 years ago when Patrick Ewing won,” Welts said. “I’ve been doing conspiracy theory stories ever since. This is very surreal, personally.”

Full 2025 NBA Draft Order

May 12th, 2025 at 7:02pm CST by Luke Adams

Now that the NBA’s draft lottery results are in, the full 2025 draft order has been set.

We’ll likely see some of these picks change hands on June 25 or 26, 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 2025 NBA draft order:

First round

Dallas Mavericks
San Antonio Spurs
Philadelphia 76ers
Charlotte Hornets
Utah Jazz
Washington Wizards
New Orleans Pelicans
Brooklyn Nets
Toronto Raptors
Phoenix Suns (via Rockets)
Portland Trail Blazers
Chicago Bulls
Atlanta Hawks (from Kings)
San Antonio Spurs (from Hawks)
Oklahoma City Thunder (from Heat)
Memphis Grizzlies (from Magic)
Minnesota Timberwolves (from Pistons)
Washington Wizards (from Grizzlies)
Brooklyn Nets (from Bucks)
Miami Heat (from Warriors)
Utah Jazz (from Timberwolves)
Brooklyn Nets (from Lakers via Hawks)
New Orleans Pelicans (from Pacers)
Oklahoma City Thunder (from Clippers)
Orlando Magic (from Nuggets)
Brooklyn Nets (from Knicks)
Brooklyn Nets (from Rockets)
Boston Celtics
Phoenix Suns (from Cavaliers)
Los Angeles Clippers (from Thunder)

Second round

Minnesota Timberwolves (from Jazz)
Boston Celtics (from Wizards)
Charlotte Hornets
Charlotte Hornets (from Pelicans)
Philadelphia 76ers
Brooklyn Nets
Detroit Pistons (from Raptors)
Indiana Pacers (from Spurs)
Toronto Raptors (from Trail Blazers)
New Orleans Pelicans (from Suns via Wizards)
Golden State Warriors (from Heat)
Sacramento Kings (from Bulls)
Utah Jazz (from Mavericks)
Oklahoma City Thunder (from Hawks)
Chicago Bulls (from Kings)
Orlando Magic
Milwaukee Bucks (from Pistons)
Memphis Grizzlies (from Warriors)
Cleveland Cavaliers (from Bucks)
New York Knicks (from Grizzlies)
Los Angeles Clippers (from Timberwolves)
Phoenix Suns (from Nuggets)
Utah Jazz (from Clippers)
Indiana Pacers
Los Angeles Lakers
~~New York Knicks~~
- Note: The Knicks forfeited this second-round pick due to free agency gun-jumping.
Memphis Grizzlies (from Rockets)
Orlando Magic (from Celtics)
Cleveland Cavaliers
Phoenix Suns (from Thunder via Rockets)

Mavericks Win 2025 NBA Draft Lottery; Spurs, Sixers, Hornets In Top 4

May 12th, 2025 at 6:26pm CST by Luke Adams

The Mavericks have won the 2025 NBA draft lottery, jumping all the way from No. 11 in the lottery standings to No. 1 in the draft.

Dallas had just a 1.8% chance of claiming this year’s top pick. Those are the longest odds for any team that has won the lottery since the NBA revamped the format prior to the 2019 draft.

The Mavs’ unlikely lottery victory puts them in position to select consensus top prospect Cooper Flagg, the Duke star who led the Blue Devils to the Final Four as a freshman and was named the ACC Player of the Year, as well as the Naismith College Player of the Year.

The full lottery order for the 2025 draft is as follows:

Dallas Mavericks
San Antonio Spurs
Philadelphia 76ers
Charlotte Hornets
Utah Jazz
Washington Wizards
New Orleans Pelicans
Brooklyn Nets
Toronto Raptors
Houston Rockets (from Suns)
Portland Trail Blazers
Chicago Bulls
Atlanta Hawks (from Kings)
San Antonio Spurs (from Hawks)

It’s an incredible turn of events in Dallas, where general manager Nico Harrison and his front office have been hammered by fans and pundits alike for the last three-plus months for their decision to trade franchise player Luka Doncic to the Lakers at February’s deadline. Now the Mavs are poised to add another cornerstone and a potential All-Star in Flagg, who will join Anthony Davis and Kyrie Irving on the new-look roster.

As Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News tweets, this is the first time in 17 lottery appearances that the Mavs ended up with a better pick than their odds dictated.

The lottery results feature plenty of fascinating stories beyond Dallas’ win, starting with the Spurs‘ pick moving up from No. 8 in the pre-lottery order to No. 2 in the draft. Dylan Harper of Rutgers is widely viewed as the second-best prospect in this year’s class behind Flagg and will be the frontrunner to join an up-and-coming San Antonio roster that already features Victor Wembanyama, De’Aaron Fox, and Rookie of the Year Stephon Castle.

When it was revealed on ESPN’s broadcast that the Mavericks and Spurs had moved into the top four, it momentarily looked as if the Sixers would lose their top-six protected pick, which appeared poised to slide to No. 7 and be sent to the Thunder. However, Philadelphia was among the lucky clubs to move up, claiming the No. 3 pick and hanging onto the selection for at least one more year. The 76ers will now owe their 2026 first-rounder, with top-four protection, to Oklahoma City.

The Hornets, who entered the lottery as one of three teams tied for the best odds at the first overall pick (14%), moved down one spot from No. 3 to No. 4. The Jazz and Wizards, who posted the NBA’s two worst records during the regular season, were even less fortunate, falling four spots each and coming in at No. 5 and No. 6.

That’s a worst-case scenario for those two clubs, who came into the night hoping to add a centerpiece like Flagg or Harper for their rebuild and instead dropped as far as they could have. There was a 47.9% chance Utah would end up at No. 5, but just a 20% chance Washington would slide all the way to No. 6.

The Pelicans were among the night’s biggest losers as well, slipping from No. 4 in the pre-lottery order to No. 7 when three teams leapfrogged them. The Nets and Raptors each dropped two spots to No. 8 and No. 9, respectively, while the Rockets (No. 10, via the Suns) and Trail Blazers (No. 11) slid one spot.

Although the Bulls didn’t move from their pre-lottery slot of No. 12, they had one of the biggest heartbreaks of the night — they finished with the same regular season record as the Mavericks and lost a coin flip last month for the No. 11 spot in the lottery. If they had won that tiebreaker, it would be the Bulls, not the Mavs, whose ping-pong ball combination was drawn for the top pick on Monday.

The lack of movement at the very back of the lottery means the Kings‘ pick, which came in at No. 13, will be sent to the Hawks, as expected. That selection – from the 2022 Kevin Huerter trade – was top-12 protected, so Sacramento only would have kept it if it had jumped into the top four.

The Spurs’ second pick of the lottery, courtesy of the Hawks, didn’t move from No. 14.

The NBA has posted a 13-minute video of the lottery drawing on social media.

Draft Notes: Flagg, NIL, Combine, Lakhin, International Prospects

May 12th, 2025 at 3:01pm CST by Eli Cohen

Cooper Flagg is as close to a lock to go number one in the 2025 draft as any non-Victor Wembanyama prospect can be, writes Sam Vecenie for The Athletic. In breaking down Flagg’s potential fit with all of this year’s lottery teams, Vecenie illustrates how the 18-year-old’s well-rounded skill set on both sides of the ball will allow him to slot in seamlessly with just about every team construction.

In his breakdown, Vecenie writes that the Pelicans and Raptors are the only rosters in the lottery that could make for a questionable fit, given that the two teams are already primarily built around a plethora of wings and forwards.

Still, Vecenie emphasizes that questions around fit are secondary to adding the level of talent Flagg promises, so even those two teams shouldn’t hesitate to take the 6’8″ forward if the opportunity presents itself. However, that scenario might necessitate a trade involving one or more of the incumbent forwards already rostered.

2025 NBA Draft Lottery Primer

May 12th, 2025 at 1:53pm CST by Luke Adams

The 2025 NBA draft lottery will take place on Monday evening prior to Game 4 of the Eastern Conference semifinals between the Knicks and Celtics. The half-hour event will be broadcast on ESPN beginning at 6:00 pm Central time.

While last year’s draft class had no clear-cut frontrunner to be the first player off the board heading into lottery night, there’s a consensus No. 1 pick in this year’s class: Duke forward Cooper Flagg. As Chris Mannix of SI.com tweets, it’s safe to assume whichever team lands the first overall pick in Monday’s lottery will be keeping it and drafting Flagg rather than entertaining trade proposals.

“If we don’t get him, I just hope he winds up in the (other) conference,” one lottery team executive told Mannix.

While Dylan Harper of Rutgers is considered a strong consolation prize at No. 2, the presence of a surefire No. 1 choice at the top of the draft will make the results of the 2025 lottery especially meaningful, with teams holding out hope that their logo will be on the final card revealed by the NBA on Monday evening.

Here’s what you need to know heading into Monday’s lottery:

Pre-Lottery Draft Order:

The top 14 picks in the 2025 NBA draft would look like this if tonight’s lottery results don’t change the order:

Utah Jazz
Washington Wizards
Charlotte Hornets
New Orleans Pelicans
Philadelphia 76ers
- Note: The Thunder will receive this pick if it falls out of the top six (36.0%).
Brooklyn Nets
Toronto Raptors
San Antonio Spurs
Houston Rockets (from Suns)
Portland Trail Blazers
Dallas Mavericks
Chicago Bulls
Atlanta Hawks (from Kings)
- Note: The Kings will retain this pick if it moves into the top four (3.8%).
San Antonio Spurs (from Hawks)

For the full pre-lottery draft order, click here.

Draft Lottery Odds:

The Jazz, Wizards, and Hornets have the best odds to land the No. 1 pick. Each of those three teams has a 14.0% chance to pick first overall.

From there, the Pelicans (12.5%), Sixers (10.5%), Nets (9.0%), Raptors (7.5%), and Spurs (6.7% across two picks) have the next-best odds to receive the first overall selection.

When the NBA introduced its new lottery format in 2019, the selling point was that the new system flattened the odds, making it less likely that the league’s very worst teams would claim a top pick.

Before the NBA tweaked the lottery rules, there was a 60.5% chance that one of the league’s bottom three teams would secure the No. 1 pick and only a 27.6% chance that a team in the 5-14 range of the lottery standings would do so. Now, those odds are 42.0% and 45.5%, respectively.

Despite the flattened odds, there were few major lottery-night surprises in the years leading up to 2024. The Pelicans moved up from No. 7 in the lottery standings in 2019 to claim the first overall pick, which they used on Zion Williamson, but in each of the next four years, a team in the top three of the lottery standings won the No. 1 pick.

That streak ended a year ago, however, when the Hawks moved up from the No. 10 spot in the lottery standings to claim the No. 1 overall pick, which eventually became Zaccharie Risacher. Perhaps we’ll get another major surprise in this year’s event.

For this year’s full draft lottery odds for all 14 spots, click here.

For full details on the current lottery format, click here.

Trades Affecting The Draft Lottery:

The Sixers traded their 2025 first-round pick to the Thunder, but will keep that selection if it lands within the top six. There’s a 63.9% chance that will happen and a 36.1% chance it will slip to No. 7 or below and be sent to Oklahoma City. If Philadelphia retains its first-rounder this year, the club would instead owe its 2026 first-round pick (top-four protected) to the Thunder.

The Rockets have acquired the Suns‘ unprotected first-round pick, which will likely land at either No. 9 (50.7%) or No. 10 (28.3%), but has a 17.3% chance to move into the top four.

The Kings will owe the Hawks their first-round pick if it lands outside of the top 12, which is highly likely. There’s a 92.9% chance that pick will be at No. 13 and a 3.3% chance of it moving down to No. 14. By comparison, there’s only a 3.8% chance that it will move into the top four, allowing Sacramento to keep it.

Finally, the Hawks‘ first-round pick, which projects to be No. 14, will be sent to the Spurs. There’s a 96.6% chance it will be the 14th overall pick, but with a 3.4% chance it will turn into a top-four pick, San Antonio has a shot at moving up in the lottery with two separate first-rounders.

Draft Lottery Representatives:

The representatives for each of this year’s lottery teams are as follows, according to a pair of announcements from the NBA:

Utah Jazz
- On stage: Ashley Smith (team co-owner)
- Drawing room: Justin Zanik (general manager)
Washington Wizards
- On stage: Bub Carrington
- Drawing room: Will Dawkins (general manager)
Charlotte Hornets
- On stage: Charles Lee (head coach)
- Drawing room: Rick Schnall (co-chairman and governor)
New Orleans Pelicans
- On stage: Zion Williamson
- Drawing room: Joe Dumars (executive VP of basketball operations)
Philadelphia 76ers
- On stage: Jared McCain
- Drawing room: Ned Cohen (assistant GM)
Brooklyn Nets
- On stage: Jordi Fernandez (head coach)
- Drawing room: Makar Gevorkian (VP of basketball operations alignment and strategic planning)
Toronto Raptors
- On stage: Masai Ujiri (vice chairman and president)
- Drawing room: Bobby Webster (general manager)
San Antonio Spurs
- On stage: Mitch Johnson (head coach)
- Drawing room: Brian Wright (general manager)
Houston Rockets
- On stage: Hakeem Olajuwon (former Rockets player)
- Drawing room: Sam Strantz (senior team counsel)
Portland Trail Blazers
- On stage: Toumani Camara
- Drawing room: Andrae Patterson (assistant GM)
Dallas Mavericks
- On stage: Rolando Blackman (team ambassador)
- Drawing room: Matt Riccardi (assistant GM)
Chicago Bulls
- On stage: Matas Buzelis
- Drawing room: Faizan Hasnany (manager of basketball strategy and analytics)
Sacramento Kings
- On stage: Keon Ellis
- Drawing room: Alvin Gentry (VP of basketball engagement)

Although they’ll receive the Kings’ first-round pick if it lands outside the top 12, the Hawks won’t have any representatives on hand because they don’t have a path to a top-four pick.

The Thunder, who will receive the Sixers’ pick if it’s outside of the top six, won’t have an on-stage representative for the same reason. However, executive VP and GM Sam Presti will be in the drawing room.

Southeast Notes: Hawks, Hornets, Wizards, Coulibaly, Black

May 12th, 2025 at 10:01am CST by Luke Adams

After reporting on Friday that the Hawks have shown interest in the possibility of hiring a player agent to run their front office, Marc Stein and Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Substack link) confirm that Sportsology, the search firm leading the process, has reached out to “various agents” to gauge their interest. A Saturday report indicated that Trae Young‘s agent Austin Brown is among the candidates to be contacted by Atlanta.

While it remains to be seen whether the Hawks will consider a move involving Young this offseason, they’re projected to be active on the trade market, according to Stein and Fischer, who note that Atlanta is expected to have some cap flexibility and owns a pair of sizable trade exceptions. That makes the team a candidate to take on salary and acquire assets as a facilitator in multi-team deals.

Here’s more from around the Southeast:

The Hornets are among the teams with the most at stake in tonight’s draft lottery, states Roderick Boone of The Charlotte Observer. Charlotte has a 14% chance to land the top pick and add a franchise-changing talent in Cooper Flagg, but there are several prospects who would be useful additions to the team’s young core. “This is a great draft class,” Miles Bridges said. “They have a talented draft class. It would be really big if we could get No. 1 or even No. 2. But it will be big for us.”
Flagg would also be a monumental addition for the Wizards, who also have a 14% shot at the No. 1 pick and are assured of finishing in the top six. David Aldridge and Josh Robbins of the Athletic look at Washington’s likely selections with each of their potential picks, noting that the choices would get much murkier once Flagg and Dylan Harper are off the board.
Speaking to Raul Barrigon of HoopsHype, Wizards forward Bilal Coulibaly discussed his goals this offseason (working on his handle and three-point shot), the most difficult NBA player to defend (De’Aaron Fox, due to his speed), and his plans to play for France in EuroBasket 2025, among other topics.
Injuries to his Magic teammates created opportunities for second-year guard Anthony Black, but he often didn’t shoot well enough to take advantage of them, per Jason Beede of The Orlando Sentinel. Black plans to spend the offseason working on his overall offensive game, including shooting, dribbling, scoring through contact and creating his own shots. “I look forward to helping this team win,” Black said. “This summer is going to be all about figuring out how to do that, how they want me to do that and try to maximize that. I know I can contribute a lot to the team next year.”

Arthur Hill contributed to this post.

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