And-Ones: Sengun, A. Smith, G League Combine, More
In their annual player poll, Josh Robbins, Sam Amick, Joe Vardon, and other reporters for The Athletic solicited opinions from players around the NBA about the league’s most underrated and overrated stars, which coaches have impressed them the most and the least, and the best defensive players among their peers.
No player earned more votes as “most overrated” than Rockets center Alperen Sengun, who was named by 10 out of 81 respondents. However, for what it’s worth, many players polled by The Athletic declined to answer that question.
“I was part of the group that said Tyrese Haliburton for most overrated (in 2025), and what he did in the playoffs last year was unreal,” one player said. “So I’m not saying (who I think is overrated). We have a lot of really good players in this league.”
Here are more odds and ends from around the basketball world:
- Former NBA All-Star Adrian Smith, who earned All-Star Game MVP honors in 1966 as a member of the Cincinnati Royals and won an NCAA title in 1958 with Kentucky, has passed away at the age of 89, per the league (Twitter link). Smith spent 10 years in the league, averaging 11.8 points per game across 719 total appearances for the Royals and the San Francisco Warriors.
- Jaxon Kohler (Michigan State), Aaron Nkrumah (Tennessee State), and Malik Reneau (Miami) have been chosen as replacements for the upcoming G League combine, reports Jeremy Woo of ESPN (Twitter links). They’re stepping in for Isiah Harwell (Houston), Paulius Murauskas (St. Mary’s), and Alijah Arenas (USC), all of whom had been testing the draft waters. While it’s unclear if all three of those players are withdrawing from the draft, it sounds like Arenas, at least, has decided to remove his name.
- Yossi Gozlan of The Third Apron (Substack link) questions whether the time is right for the NBA to implement its “3-2-1” draft lottery reform plan, pointing out that the changes will significantly impact the value of several traded picks for 2027 and arguing that the league might be better off taking another year to figure out a more effective long-term solution to combat tanking.
- Former Hawks finance executive Lester T. Jones Jr. was formally sentenced last week after pleading guilty to wire fraud in December, per an Associated Press report. Jones, who embezzled roughly $3.7MM from the team by submitting fraudulent expense reports and misusing corporate credit cards, received three years and five months in prison.
Draft Notes: Stokes, 2026 Mocks, Lottery Reform Proposal
Five-star recruit Tyran Stokes announced during an appearance on ESPN’s NBA Tip-Off on Tuesday that he will play for Kansas next season, as Jeff Borzello and Paul Biancardi of ESPN write. Stokes, who chose the Jayhawks over Kentucky, is the No. 1 prospect on ESPN’s list of 2026 recruits and is viewed as the current frontrunner to be the first overall pick in the 2027 NBA draft.
A 6’7″ small forward, Stokes has won three gold medals as a member of Team USA, most recently in last summer’s FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup. According to Borzello and Biancardi, he has already displayed impressive scoring, play-making, and rebounding, along with an ability to attack the rim.
Having recruited Stokes, Bill Self and the Jayhawks will now have a potential No. 1 overall pick on their roster for a second consecutive year — star guard Darryn Peterson spent a one-and-done season at Kansas in 2025/26 and is widely expected to come off the board in the top three this June.
Here are a few more draft-related updates:
- With the initial early entrant deadline now behind us, Jeremy Woo of ESPN and Sam Vecenie of The Athletic have updated their 2026 mock drafts and have nearly identical top sevens. AJ Dybantsa, Peterson, Cameron Boozer, and Caleb Wilson are the top four players in both mocks, in that order, then Woo has Darius Acuff at No. 5 and Keaton Wagler at No. 6, while Vecenie has those two players flipped. Kingston Flemings is the No. 7 overall pick for both Woo and Vecenie.
- Kevin O’Connor of Yahoo Sports shares more details on the NBA’s latest draft lottery reform proposal, laying out various odds for each team based on that plan. As O’Connor details, the three worst teams would only be slightly more likely to get a top-five pick (28%) than the No. 12 overall pick (25%) under the newest concept.
- O’Connor expresses some reservations about the way the proposed lottery system might give teams some extra incentive to tank a play-in game, but notes that the proposal includes a clause that would give the NBA more leeway to penalize blatantly tanking teams by reducing their lottery odds or moving their pick outright.
- David Aldridge of The Athletic argues that the NBA’s plans to reform the lottery don’t address the underlying reason behind tanking and contends that it’s a bad idea to move even further away from simply giving the league’s worst teams access to the best incoming prospects.
NBA’s Lottery Reform Plan Includes 16 Teams, Flattened Odds
Major reforms to the draft lottery system could be on the horizon beginning next year.
The NBA has shared with its 30 GMs a new anti-tanking, draft reform proposal termed the “3-2-1 lottery” that includes expanding the lottery to 16 teams, flattened odds, and a “relegation zone” where the bottom three teams will be penalized with fewer lottery balls for the No. 1 pick, ESPN’s Shams Charania reports.
If passed during the league’s Board of Governors meeting on May 28, the new system would be in place in 2027.
Here’s some of the key elements to the “3-2-1” proposal, named to represent the number of lottery balls per team, according to Charania and The Athletic’s Sam Amick:
- Teams that do not qualify for the playoffs or play-in tournament but stay out of the relegation zone (ie. the teams that finish with the fourth-worst record through the 10th-worst record) would receive three lottery balls each.
- Teams with a bottom-three record — the relegation area — would have just two lottery balls but would have a floor of the 12th pick, while the rest of the 13 lottery teams could fall as far as the 16th pick.
- The 9th and 10th play-in seeds in each conference receive two lottery balls each, while the losers of the 7-8 play-in games receive one lottery ball each.
- No team would be able to win the No. 1 overall pick in consecutive years or be able to have three consecutive top-five picks.
- Trade rules would also be impacted. Teams would not be able to include protection in the 12-to-15 range on traded picks going forward.
- The proposal includes a sunset provision, with the new system expiring following the 2029 draft and requiring an affirmative vote of the Board of Governors to either continue with the system or transition to a new one.
- The league would have expanded disciplinary authority to regulate tanking by having the option to reduce teams’ lottery odds and/or modify teams’ draft positions.
Commissioner Adam Silver, who has been pushing hard for a revised lottery system, initially offered a variety of proposals to address tanking. The league office has held multiple critical meetings with its Board of Governors, competition committee and 30 GMs over the last few weeks to narrow toward this new singular proposal ahead of the owners’ vote.
There could be minor modifications to the proposal, but the key points of the framework have a majority of the support from teams, sources told Charania.
Motiejus Krivas Returning To Arizona For 2026/27 Season
Lithuanian center Motiejus Krivas has decided to return to Arizona for his senior year, according to Jonathan Wasserman of Bleacher Report (Twitter link).
Krivas was viewed as a potential first-round pick ahead of the 2026 draft, but he decided not to declare as an early entrant and instead will return to the Wildcats for the 2026/27 season. The 7’2″ big man confirmed the news in an announcement, per Adam Zagoria of ZagsBlog.com.
Krivas went No. 28 overall in Wasserman’s latest mock draft and was No. 27 on ESPN’s best available players list prior to Friday’s deadline for early entrants to declare for the draft. He’ll be looking to boost his stock and solidify his status as a first-round pick in 2027.
As a junior for Arizona in 2025/26, Krivas became a full-time starter, appearing in 39 games while averaging 10.4 points, 8.2 rebounds and 1.9 blocks in 25.4 minutes per contest. He was named first-team All-Big 12 and also earned a spot on the conference’s all-defensive team.
The Wildcats won both the Big 12 regular season and Big 12 tournament titles en route to a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament. Their 36-3 season ended in the Final Four, when they were eliminated by eventual champion Michigan.
In other 2026 draft news, Jeremy Woo of ESPN has updated his big board after Friday’s deadline. Several projected first-round picks have moved up a few spots after potential lottery selections like Braylon Mullins and Thomas Haugh decided to return to college.
Braylon Mullins To Play Another Season At UConn
Braylon Mullins, who was considered a potential lottery pick in this year’s draft, has decided to return to Connecticut for his sophomore season, according to Jeff Goodman of The Field of 68 (Twitter link).
The 20-year-old guard produced a legendary March Madness moment last month when he drilled a long three-pointer in the final second to oust top-seeded Duke in the Elite Eight. He turned in a solid first season for the Huskies, averaging 12.0 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 33 games while shooting 42.1% from the field and 33.5% from three-point range.
Mullins hopes to become a guaranteed top-10 pick after another season in college, Goodman adds, noting that he was “highly compensated” through NIL money to continue playing at UConn for his sophomore season.
Mullins, who earned a spot on the Big East All-Freshman team, ranked 17th on ESPN’s latest list of the top 100 draft prospects.
He impressed scouts with his shooting ability and willingness to take clutch shots, but there’s also a desire to see what else he has in his offensive game. ESPN notes that he’ll have a strong chance to move up the board in 2027, with fewer stars projected to be in the draft class.
Alex Condon To Skip Draft, Play Another Year At Florida
Alex Condon, a potential late first-round draft pick out of Florida, has decided to remain in school for his senior season, according to Jeremy Woo and Shams Charania of ESPN.
The 21-year-old Australian forward/center played an important role in the Gators’ run to the 2025 national title, and he wants to help them win another one in 2027 after this year’s surprising loss to Iowa in the second round.
“It’s not the result that we wanted at the end of the year,” Condon told ESPN. “I think we’re a better team than that. So, [we] left a bit of unfinished business with the Gators. So to go back to school and compete — we know what it’s like to win a national championship, and that’s the No. 1 goal for me.”
Condon made the SEC All-Freshman team in 2024 and has earned third-team All-Conference honors the past two seasons. He averaged a career high 15.1 points per game as a junior while shooting 55% from the field, along with 7.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.4 blocks. Florida has an 87-24 record in his three years at the school.
“When the team succeeds, everyone succeeds off the court too,” Condon said, noting that Florida players Walter Clayton, Alijah Martin and Will Richard were all drafted in 2025. “I feel like it could really be the same for us individually [next season]. I want to be first-team All-SEC and in the talks for All-American. And I think the way that I closed out the season, if I’m able to be that consistent for a whole season, the sky’s the limit for [my] draft stock.”
ESPN had Condon ranked 30th on its most recent list of the top 100 draft prospects. At 6’11”, his combination of mobility, physicality and play-making skills should make him a projected first-rounder entering the next draft cycle, according to the authors. Outside shooting is the most obvious concern in his game, they add, as he’s connecting at just 26.2% from three-point range during his three college seasons.
“My shooting is a big thing, to get that more consistent,” Condon admitted. “I think I did a better job in the second half of the season, just taking the pressure off [myself], not living and dying by the three, just playing my game and doing everything else that I do well. My versatility defensively, being able to switch 1 through 5 is something that I can do, and I really want to show that to NBA scouts [next season] as well.”
Pistons Notes: Cunningham, Duren, T. Smith, M. Williams
The 65-game rule has been a hot topic of conversation in recent weeks amid injuries to Cade Cunningham, Anthony Edwards and Luka Doncic, all of whom would have been shoo-ins for All-NBA spots prior to getting hurt. Pistons star Cunningham reflected on the rule after Wednesday’s win over Milwaukee, his first game back from a collapsed lung, writes Hunter Patterson of The Athletic.
“I feel a lot of different ways about it,” Cunningham said. “What they were trying to do with it is have superstars play and not sit out just to rest, because fans pay a lot of money to come watch us play games. I have a lot of respect for that; I know fans come to watch me play. I want to make sure I’m available and I give them a show whenever they come out. So in that way, I respect the rule. I think it’s a good rule.
“It’s tough for me right now, this year, because I think I did a lot of work to be in consideration for awards and All-NBA. I’m in a tough spot, but I think it’ll all play out how it’s supposed to play out. I’m just trying to do my best to help my team win. I’m hearing all this stuff about exceptions … I don’t know how all that works. I just keep doing my job day by day. Whatever comes will come, whatever is meant to be will be.”
Here’s more from Detroit:
- While Cunningham may not qualify for major postseason awards, All-Star center Jalen Duren met the minimum requirement on Wednesday, Patterson notes. Duren, who will be a restricted free agent this summer, offered some insight into Cunningham’s mentality while he was recovering from the injury. “Time away for him, probably personally, was needed,” Duren said. “It sucks that he was injured, but I think it gave him a mental break, obviously a physical break. He was able to kind of shake back and get his body right going into the playoffs. In terms of the team, I don’t think we really missed a beat because he wasn’t away. We were still around him, he would still be talking, he was still in the facility, still in the group chat, still giving his opinion on games. So it wasn’t really like he was away and today was the first time we’d seen him. His presence was always around.”
- Second-year big man Tolu Smith was converted from a two-way deal to a two-year standard contract earlier this week. The former Mississippi State star said his family was emotional when he FaceTimed them to inform them of the news, according to Omari Sankofa II of The Detroit Free Press (Twitter video link). Head coach J.B. Bickerstaff told reporters that the 25-year-old earned the promotion, Sankofa adds (via Twitter). “He’s been great. Over the past couple of years he’s done everything we’ve asked him to and more,” Bickerstaff said. “He plays a similar brand we play … we’ve seen stretches this year where he’s just dominated the painted area and dominated the offensive and defensive boards.”
- In an interesting interview with Marc J. Spears of Andscape, former Pistons head coach Monty Williams said he still follows the team and remains in contact with members of the organization. “Yeah, I do. I was talking to [Pistons assistant coach] Fred Vinson today, actually,” Williams told Spears. “Those guys have done an unreal job there. … I’ve been on teams that won. I’ve been on teams that didn’t win, and that was a failure for me — Detroit was. And I don’t shy away from that. What J.B. [Bickerstaff] and that staff have been able to do there should be applauded. Those guys are knocking it out of the park, and Cade is exactly what I thought he was. I couldn’t bring it out of him like J.B. has. And Jalen is knocking it out of the park, and Ausar [Thompson] and all those kids, man, they’re awesome. Would I have loved to have been a part of that? Absolutely. … But man, I’m cool with where I am and happy for those guys. I still talk to a number of people up there. … But yeah, I don’t shy away from that. I failed and that’s only going to make me better as a coach. And I’ve been able to share my failures with other people so that they can be better. I think that’s what life is about — or part of living — is to be able to talk about your shortcomings and failures so that you can help another person not go down that road. And that’s how I view it.” Williams has spent the past two seasons coaching his sons in Texas — his older son Elijah Williams, who has committed to Baylor, could be a one-and-done prospect in the 2027 draft, Spears writes. Williams added that he hasn’t ruled out a potential NBA return down the line, but he’s not actively seeking out head coaching jobs.
Bruce Branch III Reclassifies, Making Him A Top 2027 NBA Draft Prospect
Bruce Branch III, who was considered one of the top college basketball prospects in the 2027 graduating class, has decided to reclassify to 2026, according to Jeff Borzello and Paul Biancardi of ESPN.
The move puts Branch, a standout at Prolific Prep in Florida, in contention to be the No. 1 pick in the 2027 NBA draft, the authors add, noting that the draft class has been viewed as lackluster compared to its 2026 counterparts.
“I believe in my ability. I am confident that I can do this,” Branch said. “I have been playing up my whole life. I am not going to let anyone outwork me. I remember when I was in the first grade playing against third graders. I got pushed down, and I got back up.”
Branch, who turned 17 in October, hasn’t made any official college visits yet, saying he plans to “take things one step at a time.” He’s expected to announce his choice of schools in the spring, and the authors note that Kentucky, Kansas, Louisville, USC, BYU, Arizona, Houston and Miami are considered to be among the top contenders.
Branch is 6’7″ with a 7’2″ wingspan, and Borzello and Biancardi describe him as possessing “NBA-level athleticism with his speed and explosiveness.” They state that he’ll be one of the top three-point shooters in his class and that he has a high release on his mid-range shot that makes it difficult for opposing defenders to contest.
“I want to expand my opportunities,” Branch said in explaining why he opted to reclassify. “I know there are challenges with this decision. The mental side is as hard as the physical side.”
Branch displayed his skills during the summer at the Adidas Eurocamp in Treviso, Italy, per Tobias Bass of The Athletic. Branch earned a spot on the All-Camp Team and received the Rising Star award while competing against some of the world’s best young talent, many of whom were two years older than him.
Bass talked to a couple of NBA scouts, who seem to support his decision to reclassify.
“This obviously was a strategic move in the planning for a while now,” an Eastern Conference scout said. “It’s straight out of the Cooper Flagg playbook. He’ll be super young, 19 years old for his entire rookie season. By moving up a year he’s legitimately a top-three prospect, and you can make the case for him being No. 1 overall. He’s a great kid off the court, a hybrid athlete with IQ, play-making skills and will be a switchable defender.”
Draft Notes: 2026 Mock, Big Board, Yessoufou, More
Kansas guard Darryn Peterson goes No. 1 overall in the first 2026 mock draft conducted by Sam Vecenie of The Athletic. Peterson, BYU wing AJ Dybantsa (No. 2 in the mock) and Duke power forward Cameron Boozer (No. 3) are widely viewed as the top three prospects in the 2026 class, and Vecenie views each player as having star-level upside on the same level as 2025’s top pick, Cooper Flagg.
While NBA teams are eager to land Peterson, Dybantsa or Boozer, the overall depth of the class is somewhat shaky, according to Vecenie, who says prospects currently in the Nos. 4-16 range all have at least one question mark scouts want answered during the season.
There’s also a significant amount of variability beginning at No. 17 (Florida’s Thomas Haugh), Vecenie writes, and it’s possible players currently mocked outside of the lottery could move up — or they may not even be drafted next June.
As Vecenie details, the 2027 draft class is viewed as being considerably weaker than 2026, which could lead to more NBA teams tanking down the stretch of 2025/26 to try and acquire one of the top prospects, particularly if a few players rise up draft boards in the spring, which seems to happen every year.
It’s only November, but four Houston Cougars — Chris Cenac Jr. at No. 6, Isiah Harwell at No. 18, Joseph Tugler at No. 21, and Milos Uzan at No. 27 — go in the first round of Vecenie’s mock.
Here are some more notes on the 2026 draft class:
- Jeremy Woo of ESPN.com has released his first big board for 2026, ranking the top 100 prospects. The first four players (Tennessee forward Nate Ament is No. 4) are in the same order as Vecenie’s mock, but there’s a major difference in evaluation starting at No. 5 — Woo has North Carolina big man Caleb Wilson at that spot, while Vecenie has the freshman forward going No. 16. Duke forward Dame Sarr (No. 10 on Woo’s board, No. 25 in Vecenie’s mock), New Zealand Breakers forward Karim Lopez (No. 11 at ESPN, No. 24 at The Athletic), Alabama guard Labaron Philon (No. 18 for Woo, No. 10 for Vecenie), Arkansas wing Karter Knox (No. 38 for ESPN, No. 19 for The Athletic), Harwell (No. 45 on Woo’s board) and Uzan (No. 55 on ESPN) are among the other players rated quite differently between ESPN’s big board and The Athletic’s mock.
- Baylor guard/forward Tounde Yessoufou, who goes ninth overall in Vecenie’s mock and is ranked 13th on Woo’s board, is expected to become the first player born in the West African country of Benin to make the NBA, per Marc J. Spears of Andscape. “What makes him a little different than some of the other freshmen we’ve had here is he’s very similar to [San Antonio Spurs forward] Jeremy Sochan, a great defender who could guard multiple positions,” Baylor head coach Scott Drew said of Tounde, who is 6’5″ and 215 pounds. “Tounde is somebody physically that can guard multiple positions and wants to be an elite defender and is a tremendous rebounder for his size. That makes him a little different from the other people in his draft class. He has a little more physicality to him than some of the guys we’ve had in recent years because he’s bigger, stronger.”
- Jeff Borezllo and Woo of ESPN list the 10 college teams with the most NBA prospects, with Duke (five players in the top 34 of Woo’s board) at No. 1 and Houston No. 2.
Miikka Muurinen Signs Three-Year Deal With Partizan Belgrade
Consensus five-star recruit and potential 2027 first-round pick Miikka Muurinen has officially signed with Partizan Belgrade, per a team press release (Twitter link).
According to BasketNews, the Serbian EuroLeague club specified that it has signed Muurinen to a three-year contract.
Muurinen helped Finland achieve its best-ever result (fourth place) at EuroBasket 2025 earlier this month, receiving the tournament’s Rising Star award in the process. In eight games with the Finnish national team, he averaged 6.6 points, 1.9 rebounds and 0.6 blocks in 11.1 minutes per contest, shooting 14-of-16 on two-pointers (87.5%), 6-of-17 from long distance (35.3%), and 7-of-15 on free throws (46.7%).
Muurinen, who was the youngest player (he’s 18) competing at the tournament, has spent the past two years in the United States playing high school basketball and had originally been expected to return to AZ Compass for his senior season before a recent change of plans, as agent Teddy Archer told Jonathan Givony of Draft Express (Twitter link).
A 6’10” forward, Muurinen displayed an intriguing combination of length, agility and athleticism at EuroBasket, including several highlight reel dunks. He’s expected to be one of the top college recruits in 2026 if he elects to go that route, though it’s unclear if his new contract has an out clause.
Finnish outlet Salon Seudun Sanomat first reported that Muurinen had reached an agreement with Partizan. Muurinen’s mother, Jenni Laaksonen, recently told Ilta-Santomat her son grew up admiring the play style of Serbian teams as well as Greek powerhouse Panathinaikos.
Partizan Belgrade, also known as KK Partizan, features several former NBA players, including Jabari Parker, Sterling Brown, and German wing Isaac Bonga, among others.