Sam Cassell Among Lakers’ Head Coaching Candidates
Celtics assistant Sam Cassell is among the candidates to become the Lakers‘ next head coach, according to Shams Charania and Jovan Buha of The Athletic, who describe Cassell, James Borrego, and J.J. Redick as the team’s “initial leading targets.” ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported on Monday that Borrego and Redick are “names to watch” in Los Angeles’ head coaching search.
A former All-Star and three-time champion as an NBA player, Cassell transitioned to coaching in 2009. He spent five seasons as an assistant with the Wizards before spending the next decade coaching under Doc Rivers, including stints with the Clippers from 2014-20 and the Sixers from 2020-23. He was hired by the Celtics as Joe Mazzulla‘s lead assistant last spring.
According to reports from both Charania and Buha at The Athletic and Wojnarowski and Dave McMenamin of ESPN, the Lakers’ initial round of head coaching interviews is expected to focus on candidates the franchise doesn’t know as well and hasn’t previously vetted. After speaking to those candidates, the Lakers will move on to talking to the ones they’re more familiar with before eventually narrowing the full group down to a smaller pool of finalists, per ESPN.
In addition to Borrego, Redick, and Cassell, potential candidates like David Adelman, Kenny Atkinson, Micah Nori, Chris Quinn, and Sean Sweeney have been linked to the Lakers. Here’s more on the search:
- Sources tell Charania and Buha that the Lakers are seeking a coach who can command the locker room and hold players accountable. Their ideal candidate would also “tirelessly game-plan and provide a level of structure and organization,” according to The Athletic. Wojnarowski and McMenamin add that the term “grinder” keeps coming up in Rob Pelinka‘s conversations with people around the league about what he’s looking for.
- While the Lakers are hoping to have LeBron James around for at least one or two more seasons, they’re “placing a premium” on finding a head coach who can maximize Anthony Davis‘ talents, per Charania and Buha. “This should be more of a hire about AD than LeBron,” one source told The Athletic.
- Longtime Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski is serving as a useful “unofficial resource” for the Lakers during their search process, multiple sources tell The Athletic. Krzyzewski has a level of familiarity with a number of the candidates L.A. is considering, including former Blue Devils sharpshooter Redick.
Cavs Notes: Officiating, Mitchell, Allen, LeVert, Wade, LeBron
The Cavaliers outscored the Celtics in the paint (42-38) in Monday’s Game 4 loss, but they were awarded just seven free throws on the night, compared to 24 for Boston. As Joe Vardon of The Athletic writes, Cleveland’s players and head coach expressed their displeasure after the game with that discrepancy.
“We drive the ball … a lot,” Cavs guard Darius Garland said, emphasizing the last two words. “Seven free throws, two of those were techs, so five (free throws) in a 48-minute game, it’s tough. … I know how many times I get hit. I know many times my teammates get hit, put on the floor and we can’t reciprocate it. It’s tough.”
“I thought our guys deserved much better, the way that they were competing,” head coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. “They were attacking the paint. You know, they were getting after it the same (as Boston). We’re not asking for anything more, but we’re asking for equal. And I don’t think we got an equal opportunity at it tonight from that standpoint.”
The Game 4 loss puts the Cavaliers on the brink of elimination. They’ll face a 3-1 deficit as they travel back to Boston for Wednesday’s Game 5.
We have more out of Cleveland:
- Cavaliers star Donovan Mitchell, who was unavailable for Game 4 due to a left calf strain, admitted that his status for Game 5 is “very much in doubt,” writes Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com (subscription required). The injury is affecting the same leg that has bothered Mitchell in recent months — he missed 16 games down the stretch as a result of tendinitis in his left knee, and he’s wary of returning sooner than he should and risking a more serious injury. “It’s not just the calf strain,” Mitchell told Fedor. “The calf can lead to an Achilles and then things get much worse.”
- The Cavs’ issues extend beyond Mitchell. Within the same Cleveland.com story, Fedor says that Jarrett Allen‘s return from a rib contusion “doesn’t feel close” and adds that Caris LeVert aggravated a knee issue on Monday that has been bothering him as of late.
- Even Dean Wade, who has been able to suit up for the past two games following a lengthy absence due to a right knee injury, isn’t fully out of the woods. According to Fedor (subscription required), the possibility of offseason surgery hasn’t been ruled out for the Cavs forward. “There’s still concern,” said Wade, who declined to offer specific details on the diagnosis. “We’ll see what happens after the season. We had options and we took this option as the best path.”
- Lakers star LeBron James, who was in attendance at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse for Monday’s Game 4, received a loud standing ovation from Cavs fans, as Vardon writes for The Athletic. In a separate story for The Athletic, Jason Lloyd – arguing that James’ public actions are always “calculated” – considers whether another return to Cleveland is a possibility for the four-time MVP before he retires. During a segment on ESPN’s Get Up, Brian Windhorst (YouTube link) also discussed James’ appearance in Cleveland.
Pacers Notes: Nesmith, Haliburton, McConnell, Siakam
Aaron Nesmith (right shoulder soreness) is no longer on the Pacers‘ injury report heading into Game 5 on Tuesday, tweets Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star. Nesmith was listed as questionable for Game 4 before being upgraded to available and logging 24 minutes on Sunday.
Tyrese Haliburton, who is dealing with low back spasms, a right ankle sprain, and a sacral contusion, is once again listed as questionable, Dopirak notes. But like Nesmith, that was Haliburton’s designation before Game 4 as well and he was able to suit up. The star point guard was a +31 in 28 minutes in Sunday’s win, which evened the series at 2-2.
Here are a few more notes on the Pacers ahead of a pivotal Game 5 in New York:
- T.J. McConnell struggled in Game 3 but has otherwise been one of the Pacers’ most effective players in the series vs. New York, writes Brian Lewis of The New York Post. The veteran guard has averaged 12.3 points, 6.5 assists, and 1.5 steals in just 21.2 minutes per contest, and Indiana has a +16.0 net rating during his time on the court. “T.J., he’s one of our leaders,” teammate Myles Turner said. “He’s really taken it upon himself to lead that second unit.”
- With the Pacers/Knicks series now essentially a best-of-three, Fred Katz and Eric Nehm of The Athletic pose five pressing questions for the rest of the series, including whether or not New York has run out of gas and which players could be X-factors in the remaining games.
- Asked during a an appearance on FanDuel’s Run it Back show (Twitter video link) about his claim in a French-language interview that Pacers forward Pascal Siakam is overrated, Wizards youngster Bilal Coulibaly clarified his comments, but didn’t exactly walk them back. “I just said he’s not overrated, but they were asking me who was the easiest superstar to guard,” Coulibaly said. “And I was like, Pascal, I watched the films and I knew what he was about to do, when he was going left, spinning around, going right. So he was the easiest superstar to guard.”
- In a story for The Indianapolis Star, Dopirak takes a closer look at the key roster moves the Pacers made in recent years to build a roster that’s just two wins away from securing a spot in the Eastern Conference Finals.
Southwest Notes: Spurs, Grizzlies, Rockets, Doncic
Two days after honoring last year’s No. 1 overall pick Victor Wembanyama with the presentation of his Rookie of the Year award on Friday (Andrew Lopez of ESPN has the details), the Spurs enjoyed a successful draft lottery for a second consecutive spring on Sunday. As Tom Orsborn of The San Antonio Express-News (subscription required) writes, general manager Brian Wright said San Antonio was thrilled to come away from Sunday’s event with the No. 4 and No. 8 picks.
“You are always looking at how you build a team and how do you get enough bites at the apple with whatever mechanism, and two lottery picks gives us a great opportunity to add two young players to our young core or also see what else is out there,” Wright said. “Like we do everything, we will evaluate all options.”
The Spurs’ own pick moved up one spot to No. 4 as a result of the lottery drawing, while the top-six protected pick that the Raptors owed San Antonio fell from No. 6 to No. 8, outside of its protected range. Spurs management may have preferred to acquire that pick in a stronger draft year, but there’s no guarantee it would’ve landed inside the top 10 in any other year.
Whether the Spurs keep or trade their lottery picks, finding players who complement Wembanyama will be a top priority, Wright confirmed.
“You definitely take that into consideration because you want to build a team that is cohesive and can grow together,” the GM said.
Here’s more from around the Southwest:
- As happy as the Spurs were with Sunday’s lottery results, it’s worth noting that accounting for the cap holds for those two lottery selections at No. 4 and No. 8 will cut into their projected cap space. Bobby Marks of ESPN (Twitter link) now has San Antonio projected for about $19.5MM in room, assuming the team waives Devonte’ Graham and Charles Bassey.
- The Grizzlies have recently parted ways with several assistant coaches, according to Kelly Iko of The Athletic, who tweets that head coach Taylor Jenkins is restructuring his staff this spring. Iko didn’t specify exactly which coaches have been let go.
- Damichael Cole of The Memphis Commercial Appeal considers some of the options the Grizzlies will have with the No. 9 pick in the draft, discussing which prospects could fit the team at that spot and whether it makes sense to trade up, down, or out of the draft.
- Asked after the Rockets landed the No. 3 pick in the draft lottery what sort of roster needs his team might want to address this offseason, head coach Ime Udoka pointed to shooting, shot creation, and positional versatility as traits Houston will be looking for, according to Iko. “Shooting is always at a premium, so you look at that,” Udoka said. “Versatility across the board with how we defend and want to play. And well-rounded players, we want shot creation as well. Trying to cover all the bases and with that third pick, you can do that with a lot of these players.”
- While there has been no indication that he won’t play, Mavericks star Luka Doncic is once again listed as questionable for Monday’s Game 4 due to his right knee sprain and left ankle soreness, tweets Tim MacMahon of ESPN. Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News (subscription required) takes a closer look at the beating that Doncic has taken so far in the playoffs, noting that the MVP finalist told reporters that “everything” was sore after the Mavs’ Game 3 victory.
2024 NBA Offseason Preview: Detroit Pistons
With Cade Cunningham healthy and set to return after being limited to 12 games in 2022/23 due to a leg injury, the Pistons entered last fall with aspirations of being in the play-in mix and perhaps even getting their young core some postseason experience.
That goal seemed sensible enough through the first three games of the season, which included a pair of wins and a one-point loss. It looked – to put it mildly – increasingly unrealistic as Detroit lost its next 28 games in a row and 35 of its next 36 in total. Suddenly, the organization’s goal was simply to avoid the embarrassment of posting the NBA’s worst record of all-time. The team avoided that fate, but its 11-32 finish following a 3-36 start was hardly cause for legitimate optimism entering the summer.
It has been over four years since the Pistons launched their rebuild in earnest and three years since they landed the No. 1 overall pick that they used to draft Cunningham. The process that general manager Troy Weaver repeatedly referred to as a “restoration” rather than a rebuild was supposed to bear more fruit by now.
The lack of forward progress in Detroit has already cost Weaver his role as head of basketball operations and could result in more significant changes to the Pistons’ roster this offseason, with players once considered long-term building blocks perhaps having their futures on the roster reconsidered.
The Pistons’ Offseason Plan
The Pistons are in the market for a new head of basketball operations and until they officially make a hire, it’s hard to get a sense of exactly what direction their offseason will take. Assuming that new executive has the final say on basketball decisions, which is the expectation, the way he feels about specific players will go a long way toward determining the moves Detroit makes.
At this point though, it seems safe to assume that Cunningham isn’t going anywhere. The 22-year-old will be eligible for a rookie scale extension this offseason and looks like the Piston whose ceiling is the highest, so I’d expect the organization to make an effort to get him locked up for the long term. The only real question there is whether or not he gets the max.
As bad as the Pistons have been since Cunningham made his debut in 2021, he continues to trend in the right direction on an individual level, establishing new career highs in 2023/24 in categories like points (22.7) and assists (7.5) per game, along with field goal percentage (44.9%) and three-point percentage (35.5%). It would be nice if 2022/23 hadn’t been a lost season or if he’d been something a little closer to an All-Star level player this year, but I suspect he’s shown enough to warrant a maximum-salary investment — especially since Detroit’s cap for the years to come is pretty clear.
I’d expect Ausar Thompson, last year’s No. 5 overall pick, to remain part of the core for now too. His jump shot has a long way to go (he made just 21 of 113 three-pointers as a rookie), but he’s a terrific positional rebounder and has tremendous upside as a defender, so should develop into a valuable role player even if he never becomes a reliable threat from outside. If the three-point percentage increases, his ceiling as a player will increase along with it.
Jaden Ivey and Jalen Duren, the Pistons’ lottery picks in 2022, once looked like foundational pieces, but that’s not a certainty heading into the summer of 2024. There are questions about Ivey’s fit next to Cunningham and about Duren’s ability to grow into the kind of defensive anchor and rim protector Detroit would need him to be.
That’s not to say there’s not a place for them in the Pistons’ future, but it’s certainly more of an open question than it seemed to be a year or two ago, especially since the new head of basketball operations will have no particular attachment to those youngsters, having not drafted them himself. The same goes for Isaiah Stewart, who could become a trade chip on his new rookie scale extension if Detroit decides he’s not part of the long-term plan.
Of course, the Pistons will have the opportunity to add another young prospect to their core this June with the No. 5 overall pick in the draft. There has been some speculation that first-rounder could be used as a trade chip, but that will depend on which players come off the board in the top four and what kind of offers are on the table for the pick.
There’s not a ton of excitement about the top of this year’s draft class, but that means the drop-off from No. 1 to No. 5 might not be significant. The Pistons’ new president may want to put his stamp on the franchise right away by taking a swing on a potential cornerstone in that spot. A sharpshooter like Reed Sheppard, a play-making forward like Matas Buzelis, or a three-and-D forward like Zaccharie Risacher would be among the most intriguing options, assuming they’re still available.
The Pistons only have about $57MM in guaranteed money on their books for 2024/25, so even after accounting for cap holds for restricted free agent Simone Fontecchio and the No. 5 pick, they could create upwards of $65MM+ in cap room. After using up that room, they’d be able to go over the cap to re-sign Fontecchio using his Early Bird rights, which I expect they’ll do. A three-point shooter with some size, Fontecchio made a strong positive impression down the stretch after being acquired from Utah and should be in line for a new deal worth at least $12-14MM per year.
Besides Fontecchio, two other notable Pistons are eligible for restricted free agency. However, I don’t expect either former No. 2 overall pick James Wiseman or unlikely 50-point man Malachi Flynn to receive qualifying offers to make them RFAs. They simply haven’t shown enough during their first four seasons in the league to warrant it.
Now, it’s worth noting that Wiseman’s qualifying offer amount dropped by more than half, to about $7.7MM, when he failed to meet the starter criteria, so if the new head of basketball operations remains high on the big man, perhaps the Pistons will decide to take a shot on him for at least one more year. But I’d be surprised if Wiseman gets any sort of multiyear deal like the one Detroit gave Marvin Bagley III in a similar spot a couple years ago.
So what’s the plan for the rest of the cap room? Rumors in recent weeks have suggested that Tobias Harris, Miles Bridges, Malik Monk, and Nic Claxton could be among the free agent targets near the top of Detroit’s board, with trade candidates like Brandon Ingram and Zach LaVine also worth keeping an eye on.
Of course, as we’ve mentioned a couple times already, the new president’s likes and dislikes could go a long way toward morphing that list into something new as the offseason progresses. Remember, Houston was viewed as a prime suitor for James Harden a year ago until the team hired a new head coach (Ime Udoka) who wasn’t all that interested in pursuing the former MVP.
The Rockets, who had the most cap space of any NBA team in 2023, ultimately ended up targeting a couple hard-nosed veterans – Fred VanVleet and Dillon Brooks – who were capable of making an impact on both ends of the floor and complementing Houston’s young core. The Rockets arguably overpaid both players to make sure they landed them.
With a ton of cap room and few long-term commitments on their books, the Pistons could afford to take a similar path this summer, throwing significant short-term money at their top targets and getting out from under those contracts before they’ll need to invest in second deals for most of their young players.
I expect the club to focus on wings who can shoot and big men who can play defense, so the free agents mentioned above all make sense. If they’re more interested in spreading their cap space across three or four players, then Gary Trent Jr., Royce O’Neale, Caleb Martin, Isaac Okoro, and Isaiah Hartenstein are a few others who might be fits.
Salary Cap Situation
Guaranteed Salary
Isaiah Stewart ($15,000,000)- Cade Cunningham ($13,940,809)
- Ausar Thompson ($8,376,000)
- Jaden Ivey ($7,977,240)
- Jalen Duren ($4,536,840)
- Quentin Grimes ($4,296,682)
- Marcus Sasser ($2,755,080)
- Total: $56,882,651
Non-Guaranteed Salary
- Troy Brown ($4,000,000)
- Buddy Boeheim (two-way)
- Tosan Evbuomwan (two-way)
- Total: $4,000,000
Dead/Retained Salary
- Dewayne Dedmon ($2,748,674)
- Total: $2,748,674
Player Options
- None
Team Options
- Evan Fournier ($19,000,000): Bird rights
- Chimezie Metu ($2,654,644): Non-Bird rights
- Stanley Umude ($2,120,693): Early Bird rights
- Total: $23,775,337
Note: Metu’s and Umude’s salaries would remain non-guaranteed if their options are exercised.
Restricted Free Agents
- James Wiseman ($7,744,600 qualifying offer / $30,298,600 cap hold): Bird rights
- Malachi Flynn ($5,809,537 qualifying offer / $11,619,075 cap hold): Bird rights
- Simone Fontecchio ($5,216,324 qualifying offer / $5,216,324 cap hold): Early Bird rights
- Total (cap holds): $47,133,999
Two-Way Free Agents
Note: Because he has finished each of the past two seasons on a two-way contract with the Pistons, Rhoden’s qualifying offer would be worth the minimum salary for a player worth two years of NBA experience (projected to be $2,093,637). It will include a small partial guarantee.
Draft Picks
- No. 5 overall pick ($8,269,440)
- No. 53 overall pick (no cap hold)
- Total (cap holds): $8,269,440
Extension-Eligible Players
- Cade Cunningham (rookie scale)
- Evan Fournier (veteran)
- Extension-eligible until June 30 (or beyond, if his team option is exercised).
- Quentin Grimes (rookie scale)
Note: Unless otherwise indicated, these players are eligible for extensions beginning in July.
Unrestricted Free Agents
- Taj Gibson ($2,093,637 cap hold): Non-Bird rights
- Total (cap holds): $2,093,637
Cap Exceptions Available
Note: The Pistons project to operate under the cap. They would have to renounce three trade exceptions – worth $10,489,600, $1,386,800, and $800,926 – in order to use cap room.
- Room exception: $8,006,000
Scotto’s Latest: Wizards, Kuzma, Hawks, Bridges, Brogdon, DeRozan, More
The Wizards already hold a pair of picks in the first round of this year’s draft at No. 2 and No. 26, but there’s an expectation that they’ll try to acquire another 2024 first-rounder, league sources tell Michael Scotto of HoopsHype.
As Scotto explains, the Wizards’ current front office – led by president Michael Winger and general manager Will Dawkins – is focused on building through the draft and developing young talent. The group made its first lottery pick last year when it used the No. 7 selection to nab Bilal Coulibaly, who was one of the NBA’s youngest players this past season. It sounds like Washington is in no hurry to accelerate its rebuild and won’t be opposed to taking fliers on more young, raw prospects, with Scotto indicating that the club also has its eye on the 2025 draft class.
Within his discussion of the Wizards’ next steps, Scotto adds that forward Kyle Kuzma is expected to generate interest on the trade market again this summer after being included in some discussions leading up to the February deadline. Prior to the trade deadline, Washington reportedly brought a Mavericks offer to Kuzma and asked him if he wanted to be moved — he opted to remain in D.C.
Here’s more from Scotto:
- Echoing previous reports, Scotto says there’s a “widespread belief” from rival executives that the Hawks will break up their starting backcourt of Trae Young and Dejounte Murray this offseason by trading one of the two guards. Those execs also believe that Atlanta will be more open than ever to moving Young, though Scotto’s sources say the Spurs didn’t have “substantive” discussions about the three-time All-Star earlier this year and are skeptical that will change this summer.
- In addition to the Hornets, the teams expected to have interested in free agent forward Miles Bridges this summer include the Pistons and Jazz, league sources tell Scotto.
- Rival executives are keeping an eye on Trail Blazers guard Malcolm Brogdon as a potential offseason trade candidates, Scotto says. Brogdon will be on a $22.5MM expiring contract and there’s an expectation that Portland will be looking to shed some salary.
- There’s a belief around the NBA that DeMar DeRozan will ultimately re-sign with the Bulls rather than changing teams as a free agent, according to Scotto, who notes that the veteran forward is comfortable in his role in Chicago and the Bulls are seemingly willing to pay him.
- Scotto refers to G League Ignite forward Matas Buzelis as a “notable” candidate for the Pistons with the No. 5 overall pick, pointing out that Buzelis is represented by agent Michael Tellem, the son of Pistons vice chairman Arn Tellem.
Draft Notes: Combine, Mocks, Holland, Trade Rumors, Osobor
Boogie Ellis (USC), Isaac Jones (Washington State), Jesse Edwards (West Virginia), Nae’Qwan Tomlin (Memphis), and Enrique Freeman (Akron) are among the prospects who stood out at the G League Elite Camp over the weekend and earned invitations to participate in the NBA’s combine this week, according to a series of tweets from Jonathan Givony of ESPN. The G League officially confirmed Givony’s reporting (Twitter link).
The combine got underway in Chicago on Monday, with all participants taking part in shooting drills and undergoing strength, agility, and performance testing.
Language in the NBA’s new Collective Bargaining Agreement requires all prospects to participate in those aspects of the combine, though they’re still permitted to opt out of this week’s scrimmages. Jonathan Wasserman of Bleacher Report (Twitter link) identifies several of the fringe first-rounders who have decided to pass on scrimmaging, including Kyshawn George (Miami), Carlton Carrington (Pittsburgh), Kevin McCullar (Kansas), and Johnny Furphy (Kansas), among many others.
As Chase Hughes of Monumental Sports Network tweets, prospects whose international teams’ seasons haven’t ended are permitted to miss the combine, but those players – including Zaccharie Risacher of JL Bourg and Nikola Topic (Crvena Zvezda) – will be required to complete “pre-draft activities” at a later date.
Here are several more draft-related notes:
- Wasserman, Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer, and Jonathan Givony and Jeremy Woo of ESPN.com updated their 2024 mock drafts following the conclusion of Sunday’s lottery to reflect the new order. All three mocks have the Hawks using the No. 1 overall pick on French big man Alexandre Sarr.
- John Hollinger of The Athletic has shared his rankings of the top 20 prospects in the 2024 draft class, with plenty of choices that deviate from the consensus. Hollinger has G League Ignite guard Ron Holland at No. 1, with Sarr at No. 5 and Risacher (ESPN’s top prospect) all the way down at No. 13.
- Zach Lowe of ESPN (Insider link) and Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports, two of the media members who were in the draft lottery drawing room on Sunday, share some behind-the-scenes observations from the event and consider what’s next for the teams most impacted by Sunday’s results. Sources tell Lowe that the Rockets (No. 3) and Grizzlies (No. 9) are expected to be among the teams that explore trade possibilities with their picks, though both teams could ultimately end up hanging onto their lottery selections. Meanwhile, Wizards general manager Will Dawkins told Fischer that he thinks “there are multiple All-Stars in this class.” Washington holds the No. 2 pick.
- Coming off his junior year at Utah State, forward Great Osobor is testing the NBA draft waters, but it sounds like he’ll end up transferring to a new school for his senior year. According to Givony, Osobor has an NIL deal in place with Washington worth $2MM, which is the most lucrative known deal in college basketball this season.
- A series of ESPN’s NBA reporters explore the biggest questions facing every lottery team.
Full 2024 NBA Draft Order
Now that the NBA’s draft lottery results are in, the full 2024 draft order has been set.
We’ll likely see some of these picks change hands on June 26 or 27, 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 2024 NBA draft order:
First Round:
- Atlanta Hawks
- Washington Wizards
- Houston Rockets (from Nets)
- San Antonio Spurs
- Detroit Pistons
- Charlotte Hornets
- Portland Trail Blazers
- San Antonio Spurs (from Raptors)
- Memphis Grizzlies
- Utah Jazz
- Chicago Bulls
- Oklahoma City Thunder (from Rockets)
- Sacramento Kings
- Portland Trail Blazers (from Warriors)
- Miami Heat
- Philadelphia 76ers
- Los Angeles Lakers
- Orlando Magic
- Toronto Raptors (from Pacers)
- Cleveland Cavaliers
- New Orleans Pelicans (from Bucks)
- Phoenix Suns
- Milwaukee Bucks (from Pelicans)
- New York Knicks (from Mavericks)
- New York Knicks
- Washington Wizards (from Clippers)
- Minnesota Timberwolves
- Denver Nuggets
- Utah Jazz (from Thunder)
- Boston Celtics
Second Round:
- Toronto Raptors (from Pistons)
- Utah Jazz (from Wizards)
- Milwaukee Bucks (from Trail Blazers)
- Portland Trail Blazers (from Hornets)
- San Antonio Spurs
- Indiana Pacers (from Raptors)
- Minnesota Timberwolves (from Grizzlies)
- New York Knicks (from Jazz)
- Memphis Grizzlies (from Nets)
- Portland Trail Blazers (from Hawks)
- Philadelphia 76ers (from Bulls)
- Charlotte Hornets (from Rockets)
- Miami Heat
- Houston Rockets (from Warriors)
- Sacramento Kings
- Los Angeles Clippers (from Pacers)
- Orlando Magic
- San Antonio Spurs (from Lakers)
Philadelphia 76ers- Note: The Sixers forfeited this second-round pick due to free agency gun-jumping.
- Indiana Pacers (from Cavaliers)
- Indiana Pacers (from Pelicans)
- Washington Wizards (from Suns)
- Golden State Warriors (from Bucks)
- Detroit Pistons (from Knicks)
- Boston Celtics (from Mavericks)
- Los Angeles Lakers (from Clippers)
- Denver Nuggets (from Timberwolves)
- Memphis Grizzlies (from Thunder)
Phoenix Suns (from Nuggets)- Note: The Suns forfeited this second-round pick due to free agency gun-jumping.
- Dallas Mavericks (from Celtics)
Hawks Win 2024 NBA Draft Lottery; Wizards, Rockets, Spurs In Top 4
The Hawks have won the 2024 NBA draft lottery, jumping all the way up from No. 10 in the pre-lottery order to No. 1.
Atlanta had just a 3% 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 full lottery order for the 2024 draft is as follows:
- Atlanta Hawks
- Washington Wizards
- Houston Rockets (from Nets)
- San Antonio Spurs
- Detroit Pistons
- Charlotte Hornets
- Portland Trail Blazers
- San Antonio Spurs (from Raptors)
- Memphis Grizzlies
- Utah Jazz
- Chicago Bulls
- Oklahoma City Thunder (from Rockets)
- Sacramento Kings
- Portland Trail Blazers (from Warriors)
There’s no consensus No. 1 pick in 2024 like there was with Victor Wembanyama a year ago, so the Hawks will have plenty of options to consider in the coming weeks.
French big man Alexandre Sarr, French forward Zaccharie Risacher, UConn center Donovan Clingan, G League Ignite wing Ron Holland, Ignite forward Matas Buzelis, Serbian point guard Nikola Topic, and Kentucky guard Rob Dillingham are among the prospects expected to be in the mix for the top few picks.
Some of those players look like better fits than others on the current Atlanta roster, but there has been an expectation that the Hawks will make some significant changes this summer, with Trae Young and Dejounte Murray viewed as possible trade candidates. Atlanta’s front office will have to take those potential moves into account as it weighs what to do with the No. 1 pick.
Washington, Houston, and San Antonio are among the other big winners of draft lottery day. The Wizards entered the day ranked second in the pre-lottery order and no team had better odds at the top pick, but they also had just a 27.4% chance to remain in the top two, so they can’t complain about the outcome. It will be the second lottery pick for the current front office, which will get the opportunity to add another building block to last year’s No. 7 overall selection Bilal Coulibaly.
The Rockets‘ own pick at No. 12 will be sent to the Thunder as a result of 2019’s Russell Westbrook trade, but Houston will pick third overall thanks to one of the unprotected Nets first-rounders that was included in the 2021 James Harden blockbuster. Prior to the lottery, that pick had just the ninth-best odds to move into the top three (14.5%).
A report this week stated that the Rockets are interested in trading their lottery selection for future draft assets after having made nine first-round picks in the past three years. Assuming Houston’s stance hasn’t changed following the lottery results, the fact that the pick is now No. 3 instead of No. 9 should significantly improve its value on the trade market.
The Spurs, meanwhile, had an eventful lottery day, landing a pair of picks in the top eight as they look to build a contending team around Wembanyama. Their own pick moved up one spot, from No. 5 in the pre-lottery order to No. 4, and they also secured a second pick as a result of Toronto dropping from No. 6 to No. 8.
The Raptors traded their top-six protected 2024 first-round pick to San Antonio in a package for Jakob Poeltl last year and would have retained it if no teams had leapfrogged them into the top four. Because Atlanta and Houston both moved up, that No. 8 pick will be controlled by the Spurs — the Raptors’ obligation to San Antonio is complete and they’ll control all their own first-rounders beginning in 2025.
It’s another disappointing lottery day for the Pistons, who – for a second consecutive year – finished with the NBA’s worst record and ended up with the No. 5 overall pick. For what it’s worth, Detroit only had about a 50/50 chance (52.1%) in each case to land in the top four, due to the flatter nature of the odds under the NBA’s current format. Still, losing that coin flip in back-to-back years is a discouraging outcome for a Pistons team whose rebuild hasn’t progressed at the rate the organization hoped.
While no team dropped as far as the Pistons (four spots), the Hornets (No. 3 to No. 6), Trail Blazers (No. 4 to No. 7), Grizzlies (No. 7 to No. 9), and Jazz (No. 8 to No. 10) also moved back multiple spots as a result of the lottery.
If Utah had fallen one more spot, the Jazz would’ve owed their top-10 protected first-round pick to the Thunder, but that obligation will roll over to 2025 instead — the pick will retain its top-10 protection next year.
The Wizards, Pistons, Hornets, Trail Blazers, and Kings also had traded picks fall into their protected range and will owe their 2025 first-rounders to rival teams. The Knicks will receive Washington’s 2025 pick if it’s not in the top 10 and Detroit’s pick if it’s not in the top 13. The Spurs will control Charlotte’s lottery-protected 2025 pick; the Bulls would get Portland’s 2025 pick if it’s outside the lottery; and the Hawks will acquire the Kings’ 2025 first-rounder if it doesn’t end up in the top 12.
Finally, it’s worth noting that the Warriors would have retained their 2024 first-rounder in the unlikely event that it had moved into the top four. Because it stayed at No. 14, it was sent to Portland and Golden State has no further obligation to the Blazers.
Lakers Eyeing Nori, Adelman, Sweeney, Quinn In Coaching Search
The Lakers, who are in the process of searching for a new head coach, have interest in a handful of veteran assistant coaches around the NBA, Jovan Buha of The Athletic stated within a mailbag video (YouTube link; hat tip to Lakers Nation).
According to Buha, Timberwolves assistant Micah Nori, Nuggets assistant David Adelman, Mavericks assistant Sean Sweeney, and Heat assistant Chris Quinn are among the head coaching candidates that intrigue the Lakers.
Nori has been with the Timberwolves since 2021, having previously served as an assistant in Detroit, Denver, Sacramento, and Toronto. Adelman, who has been an assistant under Michael Malone in Denver since 2017, was on the Wolves’ staff from 2011-15 and was with the Magic in 2016/17. Sweeney’s stint with the Mavericks, which began in 2021, was preceded by assistant jobs in Detroit, Milwaukee, and Brooklyn. Quinn has been on Erik Spoelstra‘s staff in Miami since 2014.
“To my knowledge, the Lakers are not at the stage of interviewing coaches yet, but that will be happening soon,” Buha said. “It’s a little tricky timing-wise because you have Adelman, Nori, and Sweeney all in playoff series right now. You have J.J. Redick who is on the top broadcast team at ESPN and is supposed to be calling the Finals, which would be about a week or so before the draft.
“So it’s going to be interesting to see how the Lakers end up doing their interviews and just the timing of it and if they request certain guys while they’re still in the playoffs, how that process works with the teams.”
[RELATED: 2024 NBA Head Coaching Search Tracker]
As Buha observes, the logistics may be especially challenging with Nori, who is essentially functioning as a co-head coach for the Timberwolves in their series vs. Denver due to the knee injury that has affected Chris Finch‘s ability to occupy his usual spot on the sidelines. For what it’s worth, it doesn’t sound like the Lakers are in a rush to make a hire within the next week or two, so if Nori is one of their top choices, they could be willing to wait for him.
“From what I’ve been told, the Lakers’ plan is to have a coach in place by the NBA draft, which is June 26,” Buha said.
According to Buha, Tyronn Lue is probably the Lakers’ top choice, but there has still been no indication that the Clippers‘ head coach will become available this offseason. Redick, Kenny Atkinson, and James Borrego have also been mentioned as possibilities for the Lakers; Charles Lee and Mike Budenholzer were too, but they’ve since taken head coaching jobs with other teams.
Appearing on ESPN’s NBA Countdown on Saturday (Twitter video link), Adrian Wojnarowski described Redick as a candidate that the Lakers have been “drilling down on” in their initial research. Woj adds that L.A.’s search is expected to be “wide-ranging” and “lengthy.”