Mark Sears Signs Two-Way Deal With Bucks
July 3: Sears’ two-way contract with the Bucks is official, according to the team (Twitter link).
June 26: Consensus All-American guard Mark Sears, who went undrafted, has agreed to a two-way contract with the Bucks, ESPN’s Shams Charania tweets.
The 6’1” Sears started 37 games in each of the last three seasons for Alabama after transferring from Ohio University. He averaged a career-best 21.5 points, 4.2 rebounds and 4.0 assists during the 2023/24 season, shooting 50.8 percent from the field and 43.6 percent from distance.
He averaged 18.6 points, 2.9 rebounds and 5.1 assists last season but his shooting percentage plunged to 40.3 percent overall and 34.5 percent from three-point land. He was still a consensus first-team All-American and made the All-SEC first team.
Sears’ size (6’1”) worked against him in the draft but it’s not out of the question he could see some NBA action as a rookie, considering the Bucks will be down a starter at point guard due to Damian Lillard‘s Achilles tear.
Chucky Hepburn To Sign Two-Way Contract With Raptors
Louisville guard Chucky Hepburn, who was named the Atlantic Coast Conference Defensive Player of the Year, has agreed to a two-way contract with the Raptors, ESPN’s Shams Charania tweets.
The 6’2” Hepburn started 137 games during his four-year college career but wasn’t selected in the draft. He spent his first three seasons with Wisconsin before joining the Cardinals. Hepburn expanded his offensive numbers at Lousville, averaging 16.4 points, 5.8 assists, 3.4 rebounds and 2.4 steals per game last season. He shot 43.2 percent from the field and 32.8 percent from deep, while making 84.4 percent of his free throws.
Hepburn scored 14 points in the ACC championship game against Duke and supplied 22 points and six assists in an NCAA Tournament opening-round loss to Creighton.
Toronto finished the season with an empty two-way spot. Hepburn will likely be ticketed for the G League in his first season but, given his experience, could be an early contributor at the NBA level if injuries arise to the Raptors backcourt.
Clippers Acquire No. 50 Pick Kobe Sanders From Knicks
10:48 pm: The trade is official, according to an announcement from the Clippers.
8:56 pm: The Clippers have moved up by one spot in the second round of the draft, acquiring the No. 50 pick from the Knicks and using it on Nevada wing Kobe Sanders, per Law Murray of The Athletic (Twitter link).
The Knicks moved down to No. 51, acquiring the draft rights from Luka Mitrovic from L.A. in the deal, reports Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Twitter link). New York used the 51st overall pick on French forward Mohamed Diawara.
Sanders, a 6’6” senior, transferred to Nevada after four seasons with Cal Poly. He averaged 15.8 points, 4.5 assists, 3.8 rebounds and 1.1 steals last season. He shot 46.2 percent from the field and 34.2 percent beyond the arc.
As for Diawara, the 6’8”, 20-year-old forward averaged 5.8 points, 3.1 rebounds and 1.4 assists for Cholet last season. Diawara is also good friends with Knicks 2024 first-round pick Pacome Dadiet, according to Ian Begley of SNY TV (Twitter link). He’s viewed as a good athlete and strong defender, as he often guarded the opponent’s lead ball-handler for France’s U-20 team, Begley adds.
Mitrovic was drafted in 2015 and has never played in the NBA, so it’s safe to say he won’t be coming stateside. Fred Katz of The Athletic notes he can’t even be used as a touching point in a trade since he wasn’t part of the last nine drafts (Twitter link), so there doesn’t seem to be a compelling reason why the Knicks dropped one spot, except that the team loves to stockpile draft-rights players.
Southeast Notes: Mann, Johnson, Riley, Newell, Martins, DeVos
The Hornets fully expect to retain restricted free agent Tre Mann, executive VP of basketball operations Jeff Peterson said during a press conference, per Roderick Boone of the Charlotte Observer (Twitter link).
“He’s a priority … I don’t see any reason why he’s not back,” Peterson said.
The Hornets, who hold Mann’s Bird rights, must make a $6.96MM qualifying offer in the coming days in order to make him a restricted free agent. If Charlotte passes on that QO, the point guard would reach unrestricted free agency and could sign with any team without the Hornets getting the opportunity to match. Peterson’s comments strongly suggest the Hornets will extend the QO.
Earlier in the week, it was reported that Mann had fully recovered from his back disc herniation. He has participated in all of Charlotte’s offseason activity and 5-on-5 scrimmages after playing in just 13 games last season.
We have more from the Southeast Division:
- The Wizards selected Texas guard Tre Johnson (No. 6) and Illinois wing Will Riley (No. 21) in the first round. General manager Will Dawkins expects Johnson to have an immediate offensive impact, according to Candace Buckner of the Washington Post. “Pound for pound, if he’s not the best shooter, [Johnson] is one of the best shooters in the draft,” Dawkins said. “But that’s not his only skill. He’s someone that can make plays … for others and averaged 19 points a game in the SEC, led the whole conference in scoring as a freshman, like in conference play. That’s hard to do.” According to Varun Shankar of the Post, the team’s brass was impressed by Riley’s competitiveness during 3-on-3 workouts when he visited the Wizards. The front office also believes Riley has more skills than he was allowed to show with the Illini. “We think there’s more there to unlock,” Dawkins said. “That’s why we had him as high as we did, and we’re happy to have him.”
- The Hawks traded down from the No. 13 pick on Wednesday to No. 23 and received an unprotected first-rounder next year from the Pelicans. They still got a quality talent in Georgia’s Asa Newell, according to Rod Beard of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “You don’t ever know if somebody’s going to be available when you move down that far,” Hawks general manager Onsi Saleh said. “We felt good about a bucket of players if we did get there, and it just was the right thing to do for us. It just made sense for us and where we’re at, and I think it just helped our future a little bit. So, yeah, it’s a good trade.”
- Alex Martins is stepping down as CEO of the Magic after 14 years and taking on a new role as the vice chair of the organization, Jason Beede of the Orlando Sentinel reports. Martins will still serve as a senior advisor to the Magic board of directors to advance long-term strategic initiatives and as a resource to team executives. The Magic don’t have plans to hire a new CEO. The succession plan also includes the third generation of the DeVos family ownership. Magic vice president of shareholder engagement Ryan DeVos will take the role of managing director while Cole DeVos will relocate to Orlando at the beginning of the 2025/26 season to work more closely with the franchise in a full-time management development program. It shows that the DeVos family has no plans to sell the franchise, Beede notes.
Mavs Notes: Frontcourt, Washington, Flagg, Free Agency, Sweeney, Lottery Luck
The Mavericks frontcourt might seem a little crowded with Dereck Lively, Anthony Davis, P.J. Washington and Daniel Gafford — who just agreed to an extension — joined by top pick Cooper Flagg.
However, general manager Nico Harrison indicated he’s planning to have all of them sharing minutes, rather than moving one of the veterans. He also envisions Washington, the incumbent starting small forward, playing together with Flagg at times. Harrison even brought up the subject with Washington.
“I said, ‘Hey, P.J., you think you guys can play together?’ ” Harrison recalled, per Brad Townsend of the Dallas Morning News. “He’s like, ‘Oh yeah, we can play together.’ So I don’t see any jealousy. I think guys are excited to play with him and as he’s ready, he’s gonna get more and more opportunities.”
By winning the draft lottery, Harrison believes the team will be contenders for years to come.
“I think it’s win now. It’s also win in the future,” Harrison said. “Eventually it’s going to be Cooper’s team. We don’t know when that transition will happen. So I think it’s win now and then set yourself up to win in the future as well.”
Here’s more on the Mavs:
- Harrison envisions Flagg as making an impact in a variety of ways, Grant Afseth of the Dallas Hoops Journal relays. “He’s a basketball player. He can handle the ball, he can shoot, he can make plays for people. He’s a good passer,” Harrison said. “He’s going to be on the floor. The big thing is: who can he defend? And he’s a great defender.”
- Harrison said the Mavs will look in free agency to fill the temporary void left by Kyrie Irving‘s ACL injury but it won’t necessarily be a traditional point guard. “I’m not really worried about someone to run the offense. I think we’ve got enough guys that can handle the ball and play multiple positions — just someone to get us organized,” Harrison said, per Afseth, adding, “A lot of players want to come play in Dallas.”
- Harrison became extremely unpopular with fans after trading Luka Doncic but the franchise’s lottery luck seems to have to toned down the vitriol, he notes. “I’ve seen the fans react since we got the No. 1 pick. It feels like they’re feeling really good and optimistic about the future,” he said, according to Afseth. “I’m hoping so. I’m assuming so — a little bit maybe.”
- Harrison emphasized during his press conference that Jason Kidd was staying put as head coach, dousing speculation that Kidd could wind up with the Knicks. Sean Sweeney‘s agent, Andy Miller, told Townsend (Twitter link) that Dallas did want to keep Sweeney but that the Spurs offered the highly regarded assistant a “bigger role.” “Sean’s contract was expiring,” Miller said. “Dallas made a yeoman’s effort to obviously retain him. They wanted to keep him. I think for Sean this is an opportunity to have a bigger role, a bigger say, more input, with an upward trajectory…”
- A team source told ESPN’s Baxter Holmes that the organization was stunned when it drew the top combination in the lottery last month. “We never even considered that the impossible could happen on May 12,” the source said. “I’m not sure there has ever been a more abrupt reversal of fortune.”
Pelicans Notes: Dumars, Fears, Queen, Murray, Size
New Pelicans head of basketball operations Joe Dumars has been very active, making three trades over the last nine days. He wound up with two lottery picks after moving the No. 23 pick and next year’s first-rounder to the Hawks for the No. 13 selection, with which he chose Maryland big man Derik Queen. Earlier, at the No. 7 spot, he chose Oklahoma point guard Jeremiah Fears.
Prior to the draft, Dumars agreed to deal CJ McCollum and Kelly Olynyk to the Wizards in exchange for Jordan Poole, Saddiq Bey and the No. 40 pick in this year’s draft.
“It’s the only way I’ve ever had success in this league. I’ve been around aggressive teams my entire life,” Dumars said on Wednesday, per Will Guillory of The Athletic. “We’re going to be an aggressive team. We’re going to be an aggressive front office.”
Dumars explained why he selected Fears, who struggled with his long-range shooting in his lone college season at Oklahoma.
“I like his skill set. The ability to get anywhere on the court like that is a unique ability,” Dumars said. “If you’re going to be a really, really good team, you have to have guys who can compromise the other team’s defense. … When you do that, you’ve got a chance.”
As for moving up to take Queen, Dumars indicated he was pursuing trades to go up and get the Maryland standout as early as the No. 9 pick.
“I put his IQ for the game up against anybody in this draft. This is a super, super high-IQ guy,” Dumars said. “He finds people. He has the mentality of a guard. He’ll push it up. He’s just got unique skills for a 6-10 big.”
Here’s more on the Pelicans:
- Some draft pundits are questioning the fit of Queen with Zion Williamson, but the rookie is intent to show that Dumars made a wise decision, according to Rod Walker of NOLA.com. “It shows how much they wanted me and how much they believe in me,” Queen said. “I’m just ready to show them they got their money’s worth and ready to put on for the Pelicans.”
- Dejounte Murray is looking forward to blending his talents with the new additions. Dumars spoke with the combo guard on Wednesday and Murray requested the phone numbers of the newcomers, leading Dumars to describe Murray as “all in,” Guillory tweets. Dumars has also addressed with Murray some of the concerns the veteran guard expressed about his first season with the franchise during a recent podcast. Murray called it his “worst experience in the NBA,” not only because of his injuries issues – a broken hand and a torn Achilles – but numerous personal problems. He felt that he didn’t get the sort of support he needed from the previous regime. “The organization, it got bad, man,” he said. “As you guys can see, such and such got fired, another guy left, they brought new people in.”
- The addition of Queen addresses at least part of the concerns raised by the trade of Olynyk, as it left the Pelicans thin in the frontcourt. Guillory noted prior to the draft (Twitter link) that Yves Missi and Karlo Matkovic were the only centers remaining on the roster.
Draft Notes: Bailey, Johnson, Maluach, Jazz, Raptors
Ace Bailey may be the most polarizing player at the top half of the lottery. Bailey, once projected to go off the board with the No. 2 or 3 pick, could drop a few notches after his unconventional pre-draft approach.
The Wizards, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer’s Keith Pompey, are hoping that’s the case. Sources tell Pompey that the Wizards want to select the Rutgers freshman with the sixth pick. Washington hopes that Bailey’s refusal to work out for teams during the pre-draft process will cause to him to fall out of the top five.
Bailey canceled his pre-draft workout with the Sixers after they wouldn’t commit to selecting him third overall.
Here’s more draft-related info:
- Tre Johnson, a top-10 prospect, has worked out for the Hornets, Jazz, Wizards and Nets, Brian Lewis of the New York Post tweets. Johnson, a one-and-done who averaged 19.9 points for Texas in his lone college season, is ranked No. 5 on ESPN’s Best Available list.
- In their latest mock draft, ESPN’s Jonathan Givony and Jeremy Woo have moved Duke center Khaman Maluach into the No. 7 slot, where the Pelicans sit. New Orleans agreed to trade Kelly Olynyk to the Wizards and are in need of more size. The Suns, who acquired the No. 10 pick from the Rockets, are now projected to select Arizona forward Carter Bryant.
- The Jazz currently have four picks in the draft, including the No. 5 selection. Andy Larsen of the Salt Lake Tribune gives his preferred selections at each spot in a subscriber-only story. He’s hoping Baylor’s V.J. Edgecombe slips to that spot but believes it’s more likely the Jazz will wind up with Johnson.
- Multiple league sources confirmed to TSN’s Josh Lewenberg that the No. 9 pick held by the Raptors is available. Toronto is looking to upgrade its roster with established players who are ready to contribute to a playoff push.
Kyrie Irving Declines Option, Re-Signs With Mavs On Three-Year Deal
July 6: Irving has officially re-signed with the Mavericks, per NBA.com’s transaction log.
June 24: Mavericks star guard Kyrie Irving is declining his $43MM player option and intends to sign a three-year, $119MM contract with the team as a free agent in July, ESPN’s Shams Charania reports (Twitter link). The deal, which is nearly identical to the one he signed in 2023, will include a player option for the 2027/28 season.
The nine-time All-Star is recovering from a torn ACL in his left knee, which he injured in early March.
Irving was enjoying a typically strong season prior to the injury. He averaged 24.7 points, 4.8 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 1.3 steals in 50 starts. Most of the outings came with Luka Doncic alongside him in the backcourt, so his assist totals could spike when he returns as the team’s primary ball-handler.
The deadline for Irving to opt in was today and it wasn’t surprising that the option was declined for more long-term security. As far back as April, it was reported that Dallas preferred to re-sign the 33-year-old to a three-year deal.
Irving’s first-year salary on his new contract will be lower than the option he declined, reducing the Mavs’ team salary and moving them below the second tax apron. That will enable Dallas to use the $5.7MM taxpayer mid-level exception to pursue a lead guard in free agency to run the team while Irving recovers, according to Marc Stein (Twitter link).
The Mavericks are optimistic that Irving can return to action sometime in the middle of next season. The Mavericks were hopeful that the combination of Irving and Anthony Davis would produce a championship in the short run. The unexpected addition of Cooper Flagg via winning the lottery will make them even more dangerous in the coming years.
Irving was the No. 2 free agent on our top-50 rankings and becomes the first player on that list to reach a contract agreement with his current team.
Reaction To Jrue Holiday-Anfernee Simons Trade
The Celtics pulled off a tremendous swap by not only getting off of Jrue Holiday‘s contract but also getting draft capital in return, John Hollinger of The Athletic opines.
Holiday has three years and $104.4MM left on his deal and it was fair to wonder whether the Celtics would have to attach a first-round pick or two to deal him, Hollinger writes. Instead, they’ll receive Anfernee Simons and two second-rounders from the Trail Blazers.
Boston could extend Simons’ deal — he’s got one year left on his contract, Hollinger notes. It’s also quite possible Simons could be flipped for a player with a lower cap hit as Boston looks to continue shedding salary. The Celtics reached an agreement on another cost-cutting deal on Tuesday, dealing Kristaps Porzingis to the Hawks in a three-team deal that will drop them under the second tax apron.
On the flip side, Hollinger believes this is a baffling move for Portland. The Blazers could have spent another year acquiring young talent and developing players. Instead, they’re trading one of their key sources of offense and handing the point guard duties to Scoot Henderson, who has struggled through his first two seasons.
Aaron Fentress of The Oregonian believes top executive Joe Cronin and coach Chauncy Billups are now in a must-win situation with an ownership change looming (Twitter link). The acquisition of Holiday could help the team reach the postseason and his long-term contract is irrelevant to the current regime, Fentress suggests, since Cronin and Billups might not survive an ownership change if the franchise endures another losing campaign.
The Trail Blazers don’t view themselves as a rebuilding team anymore, according to Sean Highkin of The Rose Garden Report (Substack link), who notes that making the postseason was a stated goal when Cronin and Billups received contract extensions after the team won 23 of its last 41 games.
According to Highkin, Holiday is the type of player that Billups has pined for since Damian Lillard was dealt. Holiday is not only a tough, defensive-minded guard but will provide much needed leadership in the locker room.
Highkin also points out that Cronin effectively picked Henderson over Lillard two years ago by drafting him with the No. 3 overall pick and is now choosing Henderson over Simons. Additionally, Highkin believes Holiday will be more willing to come off the bench behind Henderson than Simons would have been during his walk year, though Fentress (Twitter link) expects Holiday to end up in the starting lineup.
Finally, it’s worth noting that Steve Bulpett of Heavy.com has a source who claims Holiday is upset about being sent to Portland.
“If he winds up staying there, I’m sure he’ll be the professional he’s always been and make a positive contribution,” that source told Bulpett. “But he’s not happy with this deal. I’ll be surprised if Portland doesn’t move him on if they can, because right now he does not want to go there. I’m sure if he has to go to Portland, he’ll end up going and it’ll be OK, but right now they want to be somewhere else. But with that contract, it’s not going to be that easy.”
The idea that the Blazers would give up multiple draft picks to acquire Holiday only to try to trade him to another team doesn’t really pass the smell test, nor does it align with the reporting in the past 24 hours. We’ll see if any other reports corroborate the claim that Holiday is unhappy about the deal, but for now, the comments from Bulpett’s source can probably be taken with a grain of salt.
Nuggets Notes: Kroenke, Jokic, Tenzer, Wallace, Holmes
Nuggets vice chairman Josh Kroenke said that Nikola Jokic will receive a contract extension offer this offseason, The Denver Post’s Bennett Durando tweets, though the superstar center could receive an even bigger deal by waiting another year.
“We’re definitely gonna offer it,” Kroenke said during a Tuesday press conference. “I’m not sure if he’s gonna accept it or not because we’re also gonna explain every financial parameter around him, signing now versus signing later.”
Jokic’s contract runs through 2026/27, with a player option for ’27/28. Jokic will become extension-eligible on July 8 and could sign for approximately $212MM at that time on a three-year extension that replaces his option — or he could wait until July 2026 and sign for four years and $293MM.
Here’s more from Kroenke’s presser, via Durando:
- Kroenke made an ominous, perhaps inadvertent statement, regarding the Collective Bargaining Agreement and its implications. While discussing the second tax apron, Kroenke brought up a doomsday scenario in which Jokic could be traded. “There are rules around it that we needed to be very careful of with our injury history,” he said (Twitter link). “Wrong person gets injured, and very quickly you’re into a scenario that I never want to have to contemplate, and that’s trading No. 15 (Jokic).”
- Regarding front office responsibilities, Kroenke indicated that Ben Tenzer, the new executive vice president of basketball operations, and former Timberwolves executive Jon Wallace, who was named executive vice president of player personnel, will share duties involving trades, free agents signings and contract negotiations. Kroenke will take a more hands-on role in the short run as the duo settles into their positions, then ease back and just check in with them every few days or on a weekly basis. (Twitter links)
- According to Vinny Benedetto of the Denver Gazette (Twitter link), Tenzer said that forward/center DaRon Holmes II would participate in Summer League play. Holmes tore his Achilles in his Summer League debut last July after the Nuggets traded up to snag him with the No. 22 pick.