Hoops Rumors Chat Transcript: 4/13/2026
Hoops Rumors hosted a live chat today at 3:00 pm Central time (4:00 pm Eastern).
Checking In On NBA’s 2026 Lottery Standings, Projected Draft Order
The 2025/26 NBA regular season is officially over, but the draft order for this June has not yet been set.
A handful of factors, including the play-in results, random tiebreakers, and - of course - the lottery results themselves will ultimately determine what the 60 picks in the 2026 NBA draft look like. But with the season in the books, there's plenty we do know.
Let's dive in and check in on several key aspects of the lottery standings and projected draft order...
NBA’s Play-In Field, Top-Six Playoff Seeds Set
The NBA wrapped up its 2025/26 regular season on Sunday, locking in the top six teams in each conference and lining up the teams and seeds for this year’s play-in tournament.
While most of the top seeds had already been secured ahead of Sunday’s regular season finale, there were still some meaningful outcomes in today’s games. Most notably, the Raptors’ win over Brooklyn secured their first playoff berth in four years and moved them up to No. 5 in the Eastern Conference standings while ensuring that the Sixers and Magic will have to book their playoff tickets via the play-in tournament.
Over in the West, the Trail Blazers’ victory over Sacramento locked up the No. 8 seed for Portland. That means the Blazers will get two opportunities to win a play-in game and make the playoffs, while the Clippers, bumped down to No. 9, will have to win a pair of play-in contests to advance to the first round.
Here are the play-in matchups:
Eastern Conference
Tuesday, April 14
- Game 1: Miami Heat (10) at Charlotte Hornets (9), 7:30 pm ET
- Winner plays on Friday; loser is eliminated.
Wednesday, April 15
- Game 2: Orlando Magic (8) at Philadelphia 76ers (7), 7:30 pm ET
- Winner secures No. 7 seed; loser plays on Friday.
Friday, April 17
- Winner of Game 1 at Loser of Game 2, 7:30 pm ET
- Winner secures No. 8 seed; loser is eliminated.
Western Conference
Tuesday, April 14
- Game 1: Portland Trail Blazers (8) at Phoenix Suns (7), 10:00 pm ET
- Winner secures No. 7 seed; loser plays on Friday.
Wednesday, April 15
- Game 2: Golden State Warriors (10) at Los Angeles Clippers (9), 10:00 pm ET
- Winner plays on Friday; loser is eliminated.
Friday, April 17
- Winner of Game 2 at Loser of Game 1, 10:00 pm ET
- Winner secures No. 8 seed; loser is eliminated.
Once the Nos. 7 and 8 seeds in each conference are set later this week, the eight first-round matchups will be finalized. Those first-round series will tip off on April 18 and 19.
Here are the top six seeds in each conference, along with the matchups that are set so far (and Game 1 info, per the NBA):
Eastern Conference
- Detroit Pistons (1) vs. No. 8 seed (play-in) ^
- Boston Celtics (2) vs. No. 7 seed (play-in) ^
- New York Knicks (3) vs. Atlanta Hawks (6) *
- Cleveland Cavaliers (4) vs. Toronto Raptors (5) *
* Series begins on April 18.
^ Series begins on April 19.
Western Conference
- Oklahoma City Thunder (1) vs. No. 8 seed (play-in) ^
- San Antonio Spurs (2) vs. No. 7 seed (play-in) ^
- Denver Nuggets (3) vs. Minnesota Timberwolves (6) *
- Los Angeles Lakers (4) vs. Houston Rockets (5) *
* Series begins on April 18.
^ Series begins on April 19.
The Players Who Could Be Financially Impacted By The 65-Game Rule
Earning a spot on an All-NBA team is the simplest way for a player to become eligible for a Designated Veteran or Rose Rule contract, allowing them to earn a higher maximum salary than they'd typically qualify for (35% instead of 30% for veterans, or 30% instead of 25% for players coming off rookie contracts). But that doesn't mean that there are financial benefits for every player who receives All-NBA recognition.
In order to become "super-max" eligible, a player must meet a set of specific criteria related not just to his on-court achievements but to his total NBA years of service, his contract situation, and how he joined his current team.
For instance, Luka Doncic would have been super-max eligible last summer as a member of the Mavericks, but the trade that sent him to the Lakers took that option off the table, since a player who changes teams via trade during his second contract isn't permitted to sign a Designated Veteran deal. With a super-max deal no longer in play, Doncic signed a standard max-salary extension (starting at 30% of the cap) with his new team last summer.
So, while Doncic's bid to be granted an "extraordinary circumstances" exception to circumvent the 65-game rule and gain All-NBA (and MVP) eligibility this spring could have a real impact on his career résumé, there are no financial implications hinging on that ruling.
For other players who narrowly met the 65-game criteria or will fall just short of it, there are more significant financial consequences to take into account. In the space below, we're taking a closer look at the All-NBA caliber players whose future earnings figure to be impacted the most by whether or not they got to 65 games this season.
2026 NBA Draft Early Entrants List
Early entrants who wish to declare for the 2026 NBA draft tentatively have until the end of the day on Saturday, April 25 to make that decision official. That deadline is based on presumed draft dates of June 24-25, which would line up with the league’s typical calendar in recent years but have not yet been officially confirmed.
Players who declare for the draft this year will have to withdraw by the end of the day on May 27 if they wish to retain their NCAA eligibility. The NBA’s withdrawal deadline, which is more relevant for international prospects, would be on June 14 at 5:00 pm Eastern time if the draft begins on June 24.
Typically, the initial number of early entrants declaring for the draft is far bigger than the final total will be, since many players “test the draft waters” to get feedback on their stock before ultimately deciding to withdraw.
However, the total number of early entrants has been trending sharply downward in recent years. This is due in part to players who were granted an extra year of eligibility in 2021 due to COVID-19 having graduated, meaning we no longer have dozens of “seniors” on the early entrant list. Additionally, the implementation of a rule allowing student athletes to be compensated for their name, image, and likeness (NIL) has made college basketball more lucrative than going pro for many young players.
Back in 2022, a total of 283 early entrants tested the draft waters and 149 kept their names in the draft pool. In 2025, those figures were down to just 109 and 46, respectively, and this year’s totals will likely be closer to those recent numbers.
We’ll use the space below to keep track of reports and announcements on early entrant prospects and their decisions. We’ll archive them all here in a running list, which will be accessible anytime under “Hoops Rumors Features” on the right sidebar of our desktop site, or in the “Features” page found in our mobile menu.
The players below are listed in alphabetical order. If you have any corrections or omissions, please contact us.
Last updated 4-12-26 (8:29 pm CT)
College Underclassmen
Expected to remain in draft:
- Christian Anderson, G, Texas Tech (sophomore)
- Mikel Brown Jr., G, Louisville (freshman)
- Chris Cenac, F/C, Houston (freshman)
- Allen Graves, F, Santa Clara (freshman)
- Labaron Philon, G, Alabama (sophomore)
- Dailyn Swain, G/F, Texas (junior)
- Bryson Tucker, F, Washington (sophomore)
- Keaton Wagler, G, Illinois (freshman)
- Caleb Wilson, F, North Carolina (freshman)
- Tounde Yessoufou, G/F, Baylor (freshman)
Testing the draft waters:
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)
- Dai Dai Ames, G, California (junior)
- Flory Bidunga, F/C, Kansas (sophomore)
- Finley Bizjack, G, Butler (junior)
- John Blackwell, G, Wisconsin (junior)
- Anton Bonke, C, Charlotte (junior)
- Terrence Brown, G, Utah (junior)
- Rowan Brumbaugh, G, Tulane (junior)
- Jeremy Fears, G, Michigan State (junior)
- Juke Harris, G, Wake Forest (sophomore)
- Acaden Lewis, G, Villanova (freshman)
- John Mobley Jr., G, Ohio State (sophomore)
- Milan Momcilovic, F, Iowa State (junior)
- Malachi Moreno, C, Kentucky (freshman)
- Ebuka Okorie, G, Stanford (freshman)
- Dennis Parker, G, Radford (junior)
- Aiden Tobiason, G, Temple (sophomore)
- LeJuan Watts, F, Texas Tech (junior)
International players
Note: The country indicates where the player had been playing, not necessarily where he was born.
- Mohammad Amini, G/F, France (born 2005)
- Karim Lopez, F, Australia (born 2007)
Jazz Sign Hayden Gray To Two-Year Contract
11:44 am: Gray’s deal is now official, per NBA.com’s transaction log.
9:20 am: The Jazz are signing guard Hayden Gray to a two-year contract, agent George S. Langberg tells Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link). The deal will cover the last game of the 2025/26 season and all of ’26/27, though next season is unlikely to feature any guaranteed money.
Gray, who went undrafted out of UC San Diego in 2025, signed a non-guaranteed Exhibit 10 contract with Boston last July and was waived in September, lining him up to spend his first professional season with the Maine Celtics in the G League.
The 6’4″ shooting guard made 48 appearances for Maine in 2025/26, averaging 9.9 points, 5.8 assists, 2.8 rebounds, and 2.1 steals in 27.8 minutes per game, with a .417/.332/.744 shooting line. Gray has a reputation for being an excellent defender — as a college senior in ’24/25, he led all Division I players in steals (3.1 per game) and was named the Big West’s Defensive Player of the Year.
Utah opened up a spot on its 15-man roster when guard Kennedy Chandler‘s 10-day contract expired overnight on Friday. Gray will fill that newly created opening and appears set to finish the season as the Jazz’s 15th man, while Chandler is once again an unrestricted free agent.
Gray’s rest-of-season salary will depend on whether he signs on Saturday or Sunday and whether the Jazz decide to give him more than the minimum. But at the very least, he’ll earn $7,315, which would be the prorated rookie minimum on Sunday. His salary for next season – which, again, is unlikely to be guaranteed – figures to be $2,150,917.
Draft Notes: Yessoufou, Fears, Mullins, Roy
On the heels of a strong freshman season, Baylor wing Tounde Yessoufou has declared for the 2026 NBA draft, he announced on social media (Instagram link). While Yessoufou could test the waters while maintaining his NCAA eligibility, his statement doesn’t say anything about that, so we’re assuming for now that he’s focused on going pro.
Yessoufou, 19, was a day-one starter for the Bears in 2025/26 and averaged 17.8 points, 5.9 rebounds, 2.0 steals, and 1.6 assists in 32.6 minutes per contest. The 6’5″ guard/forward launched 5.3 three-point attempts per game and hit just 29.3% of them, but given his strong physical tools and “flashes of shot-making,” he’s an intriguing NBA prospect, writes Jonathan Wasserman of Bleacher Report.
Wasserman has Yessoufou coming off the board 34th overall in his latest mock draft, while ESPN’s Jeremy Woo places him 40th on his top-100 list. The 19-year-old has a chance to become a first-round pick with a strong pre-draft process.
Here are a few more draft-related notes:
- Michigan State junior guard Jeremy Fears will test the NBA draft waters this spring, he announced Friday on Instagram. Fears had a breakout 2025/26 season, averaging 15.2 points and an NCAA-best 9.4 assists per game en route to spots on the AP’s All-American second team and the All-Big Ten first team. Still, the 6’2″ guard wouldn’t be a lock to be drafted if he keeps his name in the pool — he ranks 76th on ESPN’s big board.
- After helping UConn reach the national final by scoring double-digit points in five of six NCAA tournament games and hitting a game-winning three-pointer in the Elite Eight vs. Duke, freshman guard Braylon Mullins will face a decision on whether or not to enter the draft. Adam Zagoria of ZagsBlog.com explores that decision, citing one NBA executive who suggested that Mullins would be better off staying in school for another year. UConn head coach Dan Hurley said during an appearance on The Dan Patrick Show that Mullins could be better off returning to the Huskies if he’s not sure he’ll be a lottery pick. “Players like Braylon, he probably would make more money at UConn next year than he would if he was the 15th pick,” Hurley said. For what it’s worth, Wasserman moved Mullins up to No. 9 in his latest mock draft, though the freshman ranks 17th on ESPN’s board.
- Oklahoma State guard Anthony Roy is going through the NBA pre-draft process, agent Scott Nichols tells Jeff Goodman of Field of 68 (Twitter link), but he’s also entering the transfer portal in the hopes of gaining one more year of NCAA eligibility due to an ankle injury that limited him to 11 games in 2024/25 at Green Bay. Roy has been enrolled at six schools in six years from 2020-26, but spent two of those seasons at small non-NCAA colleges.
Celtics Sign Dalano Banton To Two-Year Deal
11:23 am: The Celtics have officially signed Banton, the team announced today in a press release.
10:06 am: The Celtics and free agent guard Dalano Banton have reached an agreement on a two-year deal, league sources tell Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link). He’ll fill the open slot on the team’s 15-man roster.
Banton, 26, has appeared in 221 total regular season games since making his debut with Toronto in 2021. The former No. 46 overall pick holds career averages of 6.7 points, 2.2 rebounds, and 1.9 assists in 14.3 minutes per night, with a .402/.304/.730 shooting line.
Although he has made more total appearances for the Trail Blazers and Raptors, Banton is very familiar with the Celtics. The 6’8″ swingman had a stint with Boston during the 2023/24 season and signed a 10-day contract with the team this February. He’ll give the C’s an emergency 15th man who will be playoff-eligible and won’t be a total newcomer to their system.
Outside of 10-day stints with the Celtics and Clippers, Banton spent most of the 2025/26 season with the Texas Legends in the G League. He appeared in 44 games for the Mavericks’ affiliate, averaging 24.9 points, 7.0 assists, and 4.1 rebounds in 32.8 minutes per contest with a .438/.321/.799 shooting line.
The Celtics have been carefully managing their payroll since the trade deadline in order to ensure they’ll finish the season below the tax line. They currently have $38,040 in breathing room below that threshold. If Banton officially signs on Saturday, his prorated minimum salary would be $28,293; if he signs on Sunday, it would be $14,146. Either way, the club will finish the season as a non-taxpayer.
Banton’s 2026/27 salary will be $2,801,346, though it will be non-guaranteed, confirms Brian Robb of MassLive.com.
Warriors Notes: Curry, Starting Five, Cryer, Moody
Star guard Stephen Curry passed Tim Duncan in total career points on Friday, moving into 19th on the NBA’s all-time scoring list (Twitter link). However, that was one of the rare bright spots in an underwhelming showing from the Warriors, who were beaten 124-118 by the Kings in Sacramento to drop to 37-44 on the season.
In addition to losing to a lottery-bound team, Golden State also got an injury scare when Curry turned his right ankle in the first half of the game and limped off the court. But he was able to return to action and ended up playing 27 minutes, his highest total since returning from a knee injury that sidelined him for two months.
While the two-time MVP didn’t have a great night, scoring just 11 points on 3-of-8 shooting, head coach Steve Kerr said after the game that the ankle won’t be an issue going forward (Twitter video link via Anthony Slater of ESPN). According to Kerr, even though Golden State is locked into the No. 10 spot in the Western Conference standings entering the play-in tournament, Curry will play on Sunday vs. the Clippers. The veteran guard’s health is the team’s top concern, but getting him into a rhythm following a long injury layoff is important too, Kerr told reporters.
For his part, Curry said he’s hoping to play his “normal minutes” on Sunday, which could mean bumping him up to 32 or more, Slater notes (Twitter video link).
Here’s more on the Warriors:
- Curry started alongside Brandin Podziemski, Gui Santos, Draymond Green, and Kristaps Porzingis on Friday vs. Sacramento. It was the first time this season that those five players started together, but Kerr sounded enthusiastic about using that starting five during next week’s play-in game(s), referring to it as “enticing” and noting that the lineup features a good amount of versatility, ball-handling, and shooting (Twitter link via Slater). Although Golden State lost on Friday, that group outscored the Kings by a score of 29-16 in just over eight minutes together and Podziemski scored a career-high 30 points.
- Warriors two-way guard LJ Cryer appeared to be in a lot of pain when he injured his right ankle during Thursday’s game vs. the Lakers and had to be helped off the court (Twitter video link via NBC Sports Bay Area). Fortunately, he seems to have avoided a serious injury. The team announced on Friday (via Twitter) that Cryer has been diagnosed with a mild ankle sprain and will be reevaluated in one week. He won’t be playoff-eligible on his two-way deal, so his season is almost certainly over, but his contract covers the 2026/27 season too.
- Warriors wing Moses Moody spoke to reporters on Friday for the first time since being diagnosed with a torn patellar tendon last month. According to Nick Friedell of The Athletic (Twitter link), Moody was in “good spirits” and expressed confidence about his ability to recover and return to his previous level of play. He has been in contact with Warriors broadcaster Kelenna Azubuike, who sustained the same injury during his own playing career.
Hornets’ Affiliate Wins G League Title, Evbuomwan Named Finals MVP
The Hornets‘ G League team, the Greensboro Swarm, denied Sacramento’s affiliate a second consecutive title on Friday, winning the second game of the best-of-three series over the Stockton Kings to win the 2026 NBAGL Finals in a sweep.
After winning Game 1 of the series on Wednesday by a score of 111-107, the Swarm registered a 119-104 victory on Friday in the final game of the G League’s 2025/26 season to earn the organization’s first NBAGL championship.
Hornets two-way player Tosan Evbuomwan was named the G League Finals Most Valuable Player after scoring a team-high 22 points on Friday to go along with seven rebounds, three assists, and a pair of steals. In the first game, he contributed 15 points and was a plus-13.
A third-year forward who has previously appeared in NBA games for Memphis, Detroit, Brooklyn, and New York, Evbuomwan didn’t play at all for Charlotte after signing with the team on February 6, but his two-way deal covers two seasons, so the Hornets will have the option of keeping him on the roster to open the 2026/27 season.
Other key contributors for Charlotte’s affiliate in the G League Finals included 2024 lottery pick Tidjane Salaun, who had a double-double in both Game 1 (10 points, 10 rebounds) and Game 2 (19 points, 10 rebounds); 2025 first-rounder Liam McNeeley, who averaged 17.5 PPG in the series; and two-way player Antonio Reeves, who had five three-pointers in Friday’s deciding game.
Salaun has a guaranteed $8.2MM salary for 2026/27 and the Hornets will have to decide by the end of October whether or not to exercise his $10.4MM option for ’27/28. McNeeley’s rookie contract runs through ’28/29, with a decision on his $3MM option for ’26/27 also due on October 31. Reeves, meanwhile, will be a restricted free agent this summer if Charlotte decides to issue him a two-way qualifying offer.
Veteran wing DaQuan Jeffries (26.0 PPG) and shooting guard Dexter Dennis (24.0 PPG) were Stockton’s leading scorers in the two-game series. Neither player is currently under contract with Sacramento.