And-Ones: Cuban, CEBL, Tanking, 2026 Draft

Mavericks minority owner Mark Cuban has made an investment in a Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL) team. The Brampton Honey Badgers announced on Thursday that Cuban has joined the club’s ownership group. Former Mavs executive Al Whitley currently serves as the Honey Badgers’ CEO.

“I am thrilled that Mark has decided to formally join me on this journey after having already helped along the way, including introducing me to our current CEO Al Whitley,” team owner Leonard Asper said in a statement. “No one brings more basketball knowledge and winning culture than Mark, and all of us at the Honey Badgers are honored to have him join this organization.”

The CEBL, which began play in 2019, features 10 teams across six Canadian provinces. There has been no shortage of players with NBA experience competing in the league in recent years. During the 2025 season, four of the CEBL’s top five scorers – Javonte Smart, Mitch Creek, Donovan Williams, and Terquavion Smith – were players who have appeared in NBA games.

Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

• Only about 28% of the players polled by The Athletic don’t view tanking as a problem for the NBA, according to Joe Vardon, Sam Amick, and Josh Robbins, with the other 72% viewing it as either a “big” or “little” issue. “I’m salty on this one, I think the league needs to do something about it,” one player said. The Athletic’s reporters also relayed players’ thoughts on whether the NBA’s integrity is in any real danger (75% said no) and what changes they would make if they were running the league. Reducing the amount of regular season games and eliminating back-to-backs were among the top responses to that last question, along with tweaking rules to favor defense and expanding the league beyond 30 teams.
• Jonathan Wasserman of Bleacher Report has updated his 2026 mock draft ahead of the upcoming lottery, with no major surprises among the first few picks. Notably, Arizona’s Brayden Burries has moved into Wasserman’s top 10 along with the usual suspects after UConn’s Braylon Mullins opted not to go pro.
• Jeremy Woo of ESPN previews this Sunday’s draft lottery by breaking down each team’s odds for the No. 1 pick and a top-four selection, from the Wizards to the Hornets, and outlining the prospects who would best fit each of those clubs.