Lakers To Sign Eric Dixon To Two-Way Deal
The Lakers are signing former Villanova forward Eric Dixon to a two-way contract, sources tell Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link).
Dixon was the top player on ESPN’s big board who went undrafted tonight, coming in at No. 44 overall. Sam Vecenie of The Athletic was a little lower on the fifth-year senior, ranking him No. 67 on his on board.
The 6’8″ lefty led all Division I players in scoring in 2024/25, putting up 23.3 points per game on .451/.407/.813 shooting splits in 35 appearances for the Wildcats (34.8 MPG). He also chipped in 5.1 rebounds per contest en route to third-team All-America honors.
Dixon, 24, weighs about 260 lbs. and will likely have to play some center at the NBA level due to his lack of foot speed. While he was a prolific outside shooter and scorer in college, talent evaluators view his defense as his biggest question mark as he turns pro.
The Lakers are carrying over center Trey Jemison on a two-way deal, but Christian Koloko is a free agent and the team finished the season with a two-way opening, so no one will have to be cut to make room for Dixon when he’s eligible to sign in July.
Nets Trading No. 36 Pick To Suns For Two Future Second-Rounders
The Nets have agreed to trade the 36th pick in the 2025 draft to the Suns in exchange for two future second-rounders, according to Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link).
John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 reported earlier this afternoon that he expected Phoenix to inquire about the possibility of moving up to draft a player it likes. Once the trade is official, the Suns will have three picks in tonight’s draft at Nos. 36, 52 and 59.
Brooklyn set an NBA record last night by selecting five players in the first round. Instead of using their sixth pick, the Nets have decided to send it to Phoenix and will add to their stash of future assets.
The two second-rounders headed to Brooklyn in the deal are 2026 and 2030 picks, per Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link). The 2026 second-round pick will be the least favorable of (a) the Clippers’ 2026 second-rounder; or (b) the most favorable of the Celtics’, Pacers’, and Heat’s 2026 second-rounders. The 2030 second-round pick is Boston’s.
Both are selections that the Suns are acquiring from Houston in the Kevin Durant deal, which means this trade will either become part of that one or will be completed after the Durant trade is official. Either way, it appears this Suns/Nets trade won’t get formally finalized until July, since Phoenix and Houston won’t be able to complete their Durant blockbuster before then.
Suns Viewed As Candidate To Move Up In Second Round
Phoenix controls two late second-round picks (Nos. 52 and 59) in tonight’s draft, and John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 says he “would not be surprised” if the Suns try to move up by packaging those selections and perhaps sweetening the pot by adding a future second-rounder (Twitter link).
If the Suns do move up, they would be targeting a specific player they think could play rotation minutes, Gambo adds.
Phoenix had a busy first round last night, selecting Duke center Khaman Maluach at No. 10 and agreeing to trade Vasilije Micic, the No. 29 pick (Liam McNeeley was later selected), and a 2029 first-rounder with least favorable language to the Hornets for Mark Williams.
The Suns have made multiple trades with the Hornets in recent months, and Charlotte is reportedly open to offers on either the 33rd or 34th pick. However, it’s unclear if the package mentioned by Gambadoro would appeal to the Hornets.
The Raptors (No. 39), Warriors (No. 41) and Thunder (No. 44) are also willing to move their second-rounders, according to Jake Fischer of The Stein Line, who reported that Minnesota was taking calls on No. 31 as well.
Lakers’ Austin Reaves Reportedly Declines Extension Offer
The Lakers offered Austin Reaves a four-year, $89MM contract extension this week, but he declined in the hope of landing a bigger payday next summer, league sources tell Dan Woike of The Athletic.
As Woike details, $89MM over four years is the maximum the Lakers were allowed to offer Reaves, who is entering the third season of a four-year, $54MM contract. The 27-year-old is expected to turn down his $14.9MM player option for 2026/27 in order to become an unrestricted free agent next offseason.
While it would be easy to view Reaves’ decision as sign of disconnect between the two sides, that isn’t the case, according to Woike, who points out that the outcome was anticipated given the restrictions on what Los Angeles was permitted to offer. The Lakers have never seriously entertained the idea of trading Reaves and continue to place a high value on his contributions, Woike writes.
Reaves has vastly outplayed his current deal. In his fourth NBA season in 2024/25, the Arkansas native averaged career highs in points (20.2) assists (5.8), rebounds (4.5) and steals (1.1) per game in 73 appearances (34.9 MPG), with a shooting slash line of .460/.377/.877. He should easily command a new contract in 2026 that far surpasses the offer he recently declined.
Reaves will have Bird rights if he opts out in ’26, giving the Lakers the ability to offer him anything up to his maximum salary. However, he will be an unrestricted free agent if he takes that route, which could give the Lakers a little bit of pause, since it might open the door to a rival suitor swooping in with an enormous offer.
Still, as Woike observes, any team that is interested in trading for Reaves would be in the exact same position as the Lakers are now. And there have been no indications that either side is unhappy with the relationship — quite the opposite. Both Reaves and the Lakers are interested in working on a new deal next summer, Woike tweets.
“I want to be in L.A. I want to play my whole career in L.A. I love it there. I love the fans. Love the weather, love the golf,” Reaves told K8 News earlier this month. “And obviously the Lakers are the best organization in basketball.”
Los Angeles continues to be “aggressive” in its search for center help, but obviously nothing has materialized yet, Woike adds.
Lakers Trade 55th Pick, Cash To Bulls For 45th Pick
June 30: The trade is now official, according to Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report, who tweets that the Bulls received $2.5MM in cash in the deal, along with the draft rights to No. 55 pick Lachlan Olbrich, in exchange for the rights to No. 45 pick Rocco Zikarsky.
The Lakers subsequently traded up again – using the No. 45 pick and cash – to No. 36, but that trade won’t become official until after the July moratorium.
June 26: The Lakers are trading the 55th pick of the 2025 draft and cash to the Bulls for tonight’s 45th selection, reports Shams Charania of ESPN (via Twitter).
As Keith Smith of Spotrac tweets, the Lakers will now be hard-capped at the second tax apron for the 2025/26 season because they are sending out cash in the deal.
Bulls general manager Marc Eversley said during a Wednesday night press conference that Chicago was open to moving the No. 45 pick, either to move out of the second round or to select a draft-and-stash prospect. In this case the Bulls moved back 10 spots and added cash in the process.
Los Angeles is clearly targeting a player it likes and thinks will be available at No. 45 but may not have been at No. 55. In the past, sending out cash to move up in the draft wasn’t a big deal, but changes in the new CBA mean the Lakers will be unable to surpass the second apron — projected at $207.8MM — for next season.
Although they’ll lose a little bit of roster flexibility as a result of the trade, the Lakers were unlikely to exceed the second apron in ’25/26 anyway, notes Yossi Gozlan of Third Apron (Twitter link).
According to Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Twitter link), the Hornets (either No. 33 or No. 34), Raptors (No. 39), Warriors (No. 41) and Thunder (No. 44) are also open to trading their second-round picks. ESPN identified Charlotte this morning as a team to monitor with one of its early second-rounders.
The Timberwolves (No. 31) are also fielding trade inquiries on the first pick of the second round, sources tell Fischer (Twitter link).
Celtics Select Hugo Gonzalez At No. 28
The Celtics have drafted Spanish guard/forward Hugo Gonzalez with the 28th pick in the 2025 NBA draft.
A source tells Jonathan Givony of ESPN that Boston intends to keep the pick and plans to have Gonzalez on the roster in 2025/26 (Twitter link).
Gonzalez, 19, had a limited role off the bench in 2024/25 with Real Madrid, which competes in both the EuroLeague and Liga ACB. In 29 domestic appearances, he averaged 5.2 points and 2.5 rebounds in 14.2 minutes per game, with a shooting slash line of .444/.271/.773.
While the 6’6″ wing has a strong frame and showed brief flashes of lottery-type upside, he was hamstrung by his lack of playing time and erratic shooting, writes Givony.
Gonzalez’s offensive calling card is in transition where he’s an aggressive scorer, according to Givony, who says the teenager’s main strengths at this point are his NBA-ready body and versatility on defense.
Assuming the Celtics do bring Gonzalez over immediately, he would bring energy, athleticism and toughness off the bench. Boston has undergone major changes this offseason, trading away starters Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis to get under the second tax apron after Jayson Tatum suffered a torn Achilles tendon in the playoffs.
Kings Acquire No. 24 From Thunder, Draft Nique Clifford
11:25 pm: The trade is official, per a press release from the Kings.
9:58 pm: The Kings have agreed to acquire the No. 24 pick from the Thunder and used it to draft Colorado State’s Nique Clifford, reports Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link).
According to Sacramento radio host Carmichael Dave (Twitter link), the Thunder will receive San Antonio’s 2027 first-round pick (top-16 protected) from Sacramento. If that selection falls in its protected range, Oklahoma City will instead receive two second-rounders in 2027.
Sacramento has long been rumored as a candidate to move into the first round, as the team only controlled a second-round pick — No. 42 — heading into Wednesday. The Stein Line reported this morning that No. 24 was one pick the Kings were looking at acquiring.
The Thunder are facing a minor roster crunch in 2025/26 and had no need to add two first-round picks to their championship roster. They selected Georgetown big man Thomas Sorber at No. 15.
Clifford is among the most NBA-ready players who will be drafted this week — he spent three years at Colorado and two more at Colorado State before becoming automatically draft-eligible this year at age 23.
While he didn’t post big numbers earlier in his college career, Clifford has come on strong in the past couple seasons. In 2024/25, he nearly averaged a double-double, with 18.9 points, 9.6 rebounds, 4.4 assists, and 1.2 steals in 35.4 minutes per game across 36 starts, with a .496/.377/.777 shooting line.
The 6’5″ swingman had one of the best rebounding seasons for a wing in NCAA history for the Rams, according to Jonathan Givony of ESPN, who adds that Clifford’s “instincts and competitiveness stood out.”
Clifford’s game and versatility is similar to Josh Hart‘s, according to Law Murray of The Athletic, who points out (via twitter) that new Kings GM Scott Perry traded for Hart in New York and is now acquiring Clifford as well.
Thunder Use No. 15 Pick To Draft Thomas Sorber
Georgetown big man Thomas Sorber is headed to the defending champions — he has been selected 15th overall by the Thunder.
Sorber, who stands 6’9″ with an impressive 7’6″ wingspan, had a strong freshman year for the Hoyas in 2024/25, serving as the team’s starting center and filling up the stat sheet with 14.5 points, 8.5 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 2.0 blocks, and 1.5 steals per game in 24 outings (31.3 MPG).
Sorber’s season ended early due to a toe injury, but he still earned a spot on the All-Big East third team and decided to go pro at age 19, forgoing his remaining NCAA eligibility after a single college season.
Despite the injury, Sorber’s stock rose during the pre-draft process. He was linked to Oklahoma City in recent days, a team that often prioritizes strength and length and isn’t afraid to take a swing on players who may need time to get accustomed to the speed of the NBA game.
It’s worth noting that Isaiah Hartenstein‘s contract features a $28.5MM team option for 2026/27, when likely new deals for Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren will take effect. If he develops the way the Thunder hope, Sorber could be a long-term replacement for Hartenstein.
Pelicans Draft Jeremiah Fears With No. 7 Pick
With the seventh overall pick in the 2025 NBA draft, the Pelicans have selected guard Jeremiah Fears.
Fears raised his stock significantly over the course of his first and only college season at Oklahoma — he didn’t show up at all on ESPN’s 59-player mock draft last November. The former four-star recruit was among the NCAA’s best ball-handlers and play-makers as a freshman, averaging 17.1 points, 4.1 assists, 4.1 rebounds, and 1.6 steals per game in 34 outings (31 starts).
Fears’ jumper remains a work in progress, as he knocked down just 28.4% of 3.9 three-point tries per game for the Sooners, but the 6’4″ guard still has plenty of room to grow — he won’t turn 19 years old until October.
While Fears is viewed by some talent evaluators as having star-level upside, it could take him a while to reach that point, with defense and decision-making two other critical areas he needs to improve on going forward, writes Jonathan Givony of ESPN.
Interestingly, the Pelicans recently agreed to trade CJ McCollum and Kelly Olynyk to Washington for Jordan Poole and Saddiq Bey. Assuming Poole is New Orleans’ starting point guard, Fears — whose game is somewhat similar to Poole’s — could initially be a spark-plug scorer off the bench.
Hornets Draft Kon Knueppel At No. 4
The Hornets have used the No. 4 overall pick in the 2025 draft to select 6’5″ wing Kon Knueppel.
Knueppel, one of three top-10 prospects (along with Cooper Flagg and Khaman Maluach) from a Duke team that made it to the Final Four of the NCAA Tournament this spring, was one of the best outside shooters in college basketball in 2024/25, knocking down 2.2 three-pointers per game at an elite rate of 40.6% as a freshman.
A member of the All-ACC second team and this year’s ACC Tournament MVP, Knueppel has also shown promise as a passer and defender and exhibited the ability to score from inside the three-point line, so he’s not just a one-dimensional shooter, writes ESPN’s Jonathan Givony.
Knueppel, who turns 20 years old in August, averaged 14.4 points, 4.0 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.0 steal in 39 games (30.5 minutes per contest) in his freshman season for the Blue Devils, knocking down 56.7% of his twos and 91.4% of his free throws.
Charlotte opted for a high-floor prospect in Knueppel rather than going for a riskier choice who may have more long-term upside, with Ace Bailey and Maluach among the players who would have fit that bill.
Knueppel’s skill set should theoretically fit well in any system, and the Hornets certainly have a need for his shooting prowess after ranking last in the NBA in FG% and 28th in 3PT% in ’24/25. He could immediately slide into the starting lineup alongside LaMelo Ball and Brandon Miller.