Fischer’s Latest: Celtics, Sixers, Hawks, Capela, Draft
While there was speculation around the combine that rival teams would likely seek some sort of assets from Boston along with Kristaps Porzingis ($30.7MM expiring contract) or Jrue Holiday ($104.4MM over the next three years), the Celtics have been operating as though they’re confident those former All-Stars will return positive value on the trade market, reports Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Substack link).
According to Fischer, the Celtics have given some teams the impression they aren’t in a rush to reduce their projected record-breaking luxury tax bill for 2025/26, and may do so in phases rather than all at once. That could include trading Porzingis for a smaller salary this offseason, and perhaps waiting for the trade deadline next February to make another cost-cutting move.
ESPN’s Shams Charania recently reported that the Celtics won’t be actively looking to move Jaylen Brown or Derrick White this offseason, but they don’t necessarily view either player as untouchable.
Fischer hears Boston would have to have to be blown away to part with White, pointing to Brooklyn’s return for Mikal Bridges as a point of comparison. He also states that Payton Pritchard should be in a similar category of “extremely hard-to-get,” with Boston looking to remain competitive next season despite losing Jayson Tatum to a torn Achilles.
Here’s more from Fischer’s latest rumor round-up:
- Confirming a report from Michael Scotto of HoopsHype, Fischer has also heard the Sixers have spoken to the Spurs about the possibility of moving up from No. 3 to No. 2 in the draft. Fischer also confirms that Philadelphia has zeroed in on four candidates for the third pick, though only two of those prospects — V.J. Edgecombe and Ace Bailey — are currently known. Moving back in the draft remains a possibility as well, Fischer adds.
- After reporting that there hasn’t been much chatter about the Hawks combining their two first-round picks (Nos. 13 and 22) in an effort to move up in the draft, Fischer has subsequently heard otherwise from “various sources.” According to Fischer, rival teams believe Atlanta is focused on centers in the draft, with Clint Capela expected to walk in free agency.
- There’s an expectation around the league that there could be a rush of trade activity late in the first round and early in the second as teams jockey for prospects, Fischer writes. As Fischer explains, several players projected to be selected in that range wound up returning to college due to multi-million dollar NIL deals, leaving the latter portion of the second round, in particular, somewhat lacking in young talent compared to previous drafts.
Dorian Finney-Smith Undergoes Left Ankle Surgery
Lakers forward Dorian Finney-Smith, who holds a $15.4MM player option for next season, recently underwent surgery to deal with a “lingering” left ankle injury and is expected to be ready for training camp in the fall, sources tell Dave McMenamin of ESPN.
According to McMenamin, Finney-Smith has been bothered by his left ankle for “several seasons,” but the 32-year-old was determined to play through the injury. The procedure will give him the ability to play without pain.
As McMenamin writes, Finney-Smith missed a total of 20 games last season related to issues with the ankle, including eight after being traded from Brooklyn to Los Angeles at the end of December.
While his counting stats — including 7.9 points and 3.6 rebounds in 28.8 minutes per game — with the Lakers were fairly modest, Finney-Smith shot 39.8% from long distance and provided the sort of versatile defense and toughness the team had long been seeking.
As our Luke Adams mentioned in his Offseason Preview, the Lakers were far better when the three-and-D forward was on the court, and went 29-14 in games he played during the regular season, McMenamin notes.
Kings Rumored To Have Interest In Holiday, Smart, Brogdon
As the Kings continue to explore pathways to improve their backcourt, Jrue Holiday of the Celtics, Marcus Smart of the Wizards, and impending free agent Malcolm Brogdon are among the players Sacramento is believed to be interested in, sources tell Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Substack link).
The Kings have consistently come up as a suitor for point guards, having previously been linked to Tyus Jones and Cavaliers All-Star Darius Garland. Jones is another impending free agent, while Garland is on a maximum-salary contract with Cleveland for three more years.
Although Holiday, Smart and Brogdon are all capable of bringing the ball up the court and initiating an offense, they profile more as combo guards than traditional table-setters. Holiday has three years and $104.4MM left on his contract, while Smart is entering the final year of his deal, which will pay him $21.6MM in 2025/26.
According to Fischer, the Kings have also been looking at moving into the first round of the draft, and have “expressed confidence to various agents” that they could acquire a selection “as high as the early 20s.” Sacramento currently only controls one pick, a second-rounder at No. 42 overall.
For what it’s worth, any Kings offer for Holiday would likely have to include either DeMar DeRozan or Malik Monk for salary-matching purposes as the Celtics look to reduce their payroll and luxury tax bill in ’25/26.
Draft Notes: Player Comps, Fit/Value, Guide, Withdrawals
In a story for ESPN.com, Jeremy Woo lists both the high- and low-end comparisons for each player mocked by ESPN to go in the top 15 of the 2025 draft, which will begin on June 25. Woo writes that the likely outcome for the comparisons typically falls somewhere in the middle.
For consensus top prospect Cooper Flagg, Woo says Jayson Tatum with more defense would be a best-case outcome, with his low-end comp being Andre Iguodala with more offense. How about Dylan Harper, widely viewed as the second-best player in the class? According to Woo, Harper has a chance to become a Jalen Brunson-type player with more size, while a career like D’Angelo Russell‘s may be his floor.
As the draft gets closer to the back end of the lottery, there’s a wider range of outcomes. For instance, if Collin Murray-Boyles improves his jump shot, Woo thinks he could develop into a player like Al Horford. But if he doesn’t, he might just be a frontcourt depth option with solid defense, similar to Xavier Tillman.
Derik Queen (Alperen Sengun/Sandro Mamukelashvili), Joan Beringer (Clint Capela/Jaxson Hayes) and Noa Essengue (Pascal Siakam/Jarred Vanderbilt) are among the prospects mentioned in the teens.
Here are a few more notes on the upcoming draft:
- ESPN’s latest mock draft focuses on the first round, with Jonathan Givony selecting a player who fills each team’s biggest need, while Woo chooses the prospects who offer the best value. While there’s a decent amount of overlap between the fit and value picks, there are also some major differences, starting at No. 2, where Givony views Kon Knueppel as the best fit for the Spurs (Harper is the best available).
- Sam Vecenie of The Athletic recently released his comprehensive draft guide, featuring in-depth scouting reports on 75 players and ranking his top 100 prospects. Vecenie is extremely bullish on Flagg, believing him to be the second-best prospect in the past decade, only behind Victor Wembanyama, and is also high on Harper. However, he’s not as optimistic about the rest of the draft, with those two in separate tiers of their own. Notably, Vecenie is much lower on Oklahoma’s Jeremiah Fears (No. 18 vs. No. 7) than ESPN. The same is true of BYU’s Egor Demin (No. 25 vs. No. 11). By contrast, he’s much higher on Cedric Coward (No. 10 vs No. 29) and Noah Penda (No. 15 vs. No. 28) than ESPN’s experts. The guide is well worth checking out in full if you subscribe to The Athletic.
- A pair of international prospects are withdrawing from the draft, according to Givony of ESPN and Jon Chepkevich of DraftExpress (Twitter links). Croatian forward/center Michael Ruzic, the 44th-ranked prospect on ESPN’s big board, has withdrawn from consideration, agents Bill Duffy and Sasa Zagorac tell Givony. Meanwhile, Bassala Bagayoko, a 6’9″ big man from Mali, will return to Spanish club Bilbao for the 2025/26 season, Chekpkevich reports. June 15 is the final deadline for early entrants to withdraw from the draft.
2025 NBA Offseason Preview: Orlando Magic
From the 2012/13 season through 2021/22, the Magic were one of the worst teams in the NBA. They finished well below .500 in nine of those 10 years, and went just 42-40 in their one winning season ('18/19) during that decade-long stretch.
The Magic committed to a rebuild in '20/21 after being stuck in mediocrity for a few years, trading away Nikola Vucevic, Aaron Gordon, and Evan Fournier. Orlando shrewdly drafted Franz Wagner eighth overall in 2021 with one of the picks it acquired for Vucevic, then got lucky in 2022, winning the draft lottery and selecting Paolo Banchero.
After going just 22-60 the year before Banchero was selected, Orlando made significant strides during his first two seasons, winning 34 games in his rookie campaign and compiling a 47-35 record and making the playoffs in '23/24. The team eventually lost its highly competitive first-round series vs. Cleveland in seven games.
Given their talented young core, seemingly college-like off-court chemistry, and a rock-solid defense, there was an expectation that the Magic would continue to improve again in '24/25. But that didn’t happen, as they finished 41-41 and had to advance through the play-in tournament to secure the seventh seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs. Orlando again lost in the first round, this time to the defending champion Celtics in five games.
There were a number of reasons why the Magic took a minor step back this season, with the most obvious being injuries to their best players. Banchero, Wagner and Suggs account for a huge chunk of the team’s offense, but the trio was limited to a combined 141 appearances and suited up together just six times. On top of that, Orlando's fourth-leading scorer, reserve big man Moritz Wagner, only played in 30 games due to a torn ACL.
The Magic actually had a strong run in the first third of '24/25 even after losing Banchero to a torn abdominal muscle in their fifth game, going 17-9 with Franz Wagner looking like a strong early contender to earn his first All-Star and All-NBA nods. Unfortunately, he sustained the same injury as Banchero in December, with older brother Moritz going down later that month as well.
While injuries were undoubtedly a major factor Orlando's .500 record, the end result was still disappointing.
Key offseason signing Kentavious Caldwell-Pope was unable to build much chemistry with his new teammates and had an underwhelming first season with the Magic. Role players like Wendell Carter, Jonathan Isaac and Cole Anthony took steps back. Second-year guard Jett Howard continued to receive sporadic minutes and largely struggled when he was on the court, despite being a late lottery pick -- 11th overall -- a couple years ago (he was selected with the second first-rounder the Magic received in the Vucevic deal).
Veteran guard Cory Joseph and rookie forward Tristan da Silva were forced into bigger roles than expected due to injuries, and while they acquitted themselves fairly well given the circumstances, it certainly wasn't something the team had planned for. Overall, things were a bit of mess, particularly on the offensive end.
But there are still plenty of reasons to be optimistic about the Magic’s future, especially if the front office is able to find the right combination of talent to surround their top players over the next several months. There’s a strong foundation in place in Orlando, which has a legitimate chance to be a contender in a depleted East next season with better luck and a few changes to balance out the roster.
The Magic's Offseason Plan
The first order of business for the Magic this summer is signing Banchero to a rookie scale extension. There’s really no drama with that decision — I fully expect him to get a five-year max deal with Rose rule language that could increase the value from 25% to 30% of the '26/27 salary cap if he meets certain performance criteria next season.
Jay Wright Not A Candidate For Knicks’ Coaching Job
Former Villanova coach Jay Wright is not a candidate for the Knicks‘ head coaching job, reports Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports (via Twitter).
According to Rothstein, Wright frequently talks to Knicks president Leon Rose, who is aware that Wright is happy in retirement. Wright retired in 2022 after 21 seasons with the Wildcats.
Wright, 63, has been a commentator for CBS in recent years. Although he was floated as a possible candidate after Tom Thibodeau was fired, subsequent reports indicated that Wright was highly unlikely to leave retirement to take the job.
Wright said last June he had no interest taking an NBA job, whether it was in New York or elsewhere. His ties to the Knicks are obvious, as three key players — Jalen Brunson, Mikal Bridges and Josh Hart — played under Wright at Villanova. Wright led the Wildcats to four Final Four appearances and won two national championships (in 2016 and 2018).
Multiple Knicks beat reporters have confirmed the news (all Twitter links).
Western Notes: Kidd, Jazz, Wojciechowski, Kings
As of Friday night, the Knicks had not yet requested permission — formally or informally — from the Mavericks to interview Jason Kidd for their head coaching vacancy, tweets Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News.
Marc Stein reported on Friday morning that New York was expected to seek Dallas’ permission to interview Kidd, who has been the Mavs’ head coach since 2021 and is under contract for two more seasons. Multiple reporters have confirmed the news.
However, it remains unclear if the Mavericks will permit the Knicks to speak to Kidd. According to Townsend (Twitter link), the Knicks should tread carefully and “go by the book,” because the Mavericks “would love to nail” New York with a tampering charge.
Here’s more from around the Western Conference:
- How can the Jazz‘s recent draft picks improve this offseason? In a subscriber-only story for The Salt Lake Tribune, Andy Larsen relays comments from GM Justin Zanik and head coach Will Hardy about how Taylor Hendricks, Keyonte George, Brice Sensabaugh, Cody Williams, Isaiah Collier and Kyle Filipowski can take the next steps in their development. Hardy said defense and shooting discipline are top priorities for George, Larsen writes. “Keyonte has got to improve his defense. His defense can be improved in a variety of ways,” the coach said. “Some of it is the mental aspect, but there also is an element of his conditioning and his physical strength” that can be improved as well.
- The Jazz have promoted Steve Wojciechowski to be an assistant on Hardy’s staff, the team announced in a press release. Wojciechowski, a longtime assistant at his alma mater Duke and the former head coach at Marquette, has been the head coach of the Jazz’s NBA G League affiliate, the Salt Lake City Stars, the past two seasons. Wojciechowski compiled a 41-17 regular season record with the Stars and led the club to consecutive playoff berths.
- The Kings have parted ways with veteran scouts Scott Layden and Greg Stratton, sources tell Sean Cunningham of NBC Sacramento (Twitter link). Layden, formerly the top basketball executive of Utah, New York and Minnesota, had been with the Kings since 2022, while Stratton was hired in 2018. The Kings are also bringing back Garrius Adams as a player development assistant under head coach Doug Christie, Cunningham reports (via Twitter). Adams, who worked in Sacramento from 2021-23, has been on Willie Green‘s staff in New Orleans the past two seasons.
Rival Teams Skeptical Giannis Will Request Trade?
While he cautioned that it’s too early to say what might happen, and things could change later this month, Jake Fischer of The Stein Line recently said on a Bleacher Report live stream (YouTube link) that rival teams have become skeptical that Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo will request a trade out of Milwaukee.
“Honestly, right now I’d say the prevailing sentiment from rival teams that I’m speaking to — around the combine two weeks ago, two and a half weeks ago — there was no shortage of optimism, of hope, of excitement from other teams that they were going to be able to potentially make an offer to get Giannis Antetokounmpo into their franchise, into their building,” Fischer said (hat tip to RealGM).
“Of late, I’d say that that confidence has been replaced with skepticism. To a man, from talking to agents, team executives, whoever, there is not a lot of belief right now at this juncture. It’s only June 5th — anything could happen — and I’ve been told all along that if there is a decision, a formal decision made to shut or open the door on trade conversations for Giannis this summer, that it would likely happen closer to the end of June and when the offseason really, really begins.
“But I’d say for now, for now, talking to people around the league, the assessment and the expectation is that they’re going to believe it when they see it — that someone who has valued being the franchise face, that the central linchpin of the Bucks franchise, is going to want to play somewhere else.”
The two-time MVP is reportedly mulling his future in Milwaukee and is expected to let the Bucks know at some point soon whether he remains committed to the team or would prefer to seek a change of scenery. While Shams Charania of ESPN reported a few weeks ago that Antetokounmpo is more “open-minded” than in the past about taking the latter route, there has been no indication to this point that he’s looking to leave the Bucks.
Fischer’s comments echo reporting from Brian Lewis of The New York Post, who wrote that NBA personnel he’s spoken to recently have been expressing less confidence about Giannis asking to be traded this summer.
Windhorst: Cavs Listening To Offers For Darius Garland
Appearing on 850 ESPN Cleveland (Twitter video link), ESPN insider Brian Windhorst said the Cavaliers are listening to trade offers for point guard Darius Garland and are “open-minded” about the possibility of moving him if it improves their roster.
“The interesting thing about the Cavs is a year ago, there was some belief that Darius Garland may want to get traded,” Windhorst said (hat tip to RealGM). “That was definitely out there, that if Donovan (Mitchell) extended his contract then maybe Darius would want to get traded. And the message that was very hard out there, (president of basketball operations) Koby (Altman) was on the record I’m pretty sure even saying, ‘We’re not trading Darius Garland.’
“A year later, I think there’s some belief that Darius Garland might be available under the right circumstances,” Windhorst continued. “And I don’t think Darius Garland wants to go anywhere. I think Darius Garland is very happy with how things have developed in Cleveland and he really likes it, he likes the role that he’s got.
“But I think the Cavs are listening and open-minded without actively trying to think that they need to change their roster.”
In a separate podcast appearance with ESPN Cleveland’s Chris Oldach (YouTube link), Windhorst clarified that the Cavaliers are concerned about the roster-building restrictions of being a second-apron team, which is why they’re active in trade talks.
“What I’m trying to say here is that executing a significant trade is going to be hard for them,” Windhorst said. “They’re definitely open to it. I definitely think they’re willing to discuss options. I think last year, ironically, when they were coming off a quote-unquote more questionable season, they were much less interested in adjusting and listening to options than they are now.
“Talking to teams out there, I think the Cavs are much more open-minded regardless of what Koby said. However, it’s not that they’re open-minded necessarily because they think this team needs to be renovated. They’re open-minded because they realize once the second apron comes a lot of doors get closed.
“... I think they’re active without being aggressive,” Windhorst added.
Windhorst’s reporting is more or less confirmation of what Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com recently reported, that the Cavaliers are more open to entertaining offers for Garland and Jarrett Allen than they have been in the past, though Windhorst didn’t explicitly mention Allen by name.
Garland, 25, made his second All-Star appearance in 2024/25, averaging 20.6 points, 6.7 assists, 2.9 rebounds and 1.2 steals on .472/.401/.878 shooting in a career-best 75 regular season games (30.7 minutes per contest). However, he aggravated a toe injury in Cleveland’s first-round sweep of Miami, wound up missing four playoff games, and was hindered in his return to the court during the Cavs’ second-round loss to Indiana.
Fischer’s Latest: Raptors, Maluach, Barrett, Suns, Triano
The Raptors are among the teams who “highly value” Duke center Khaman Maluach ahead of this month’s NBA Draft, sources tell Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Substack link). However, it remains to be seen if the 7’2″ big man will be available at No. 9, which is the lottery pick Toronto currently controls.
If Maluach — who is ranked No. 6 on ESPN’s big board — is unavailable, rival teams have gotten the impression the Raptors might target a different center, Fischer writes. For what it’s worth, Derik Queen (No. 13), Joan Beringer (No. 15) and Thomas Sorber (No. 18) are the next three centers on ESPN’s board.
Here are a few more items of interest from Fischer’s latest rumor round-up:
- As we relayed on Friday evening, Fischer pointed to Raptors wing RJ Barrett as a potential salary-matching piece if Toronto decides to make a play for Kevin Durant. Citing sources, Fischer also confirms a report from Michael Scotto of HoopsHype stating that Barrett’s name came up in the Brandon Ingram trade talks between the Pelicans and Raptors. Toronto ultimately acquired Ingram in February by sending New Orleans Bruce Brown, Kelly Olynyk, one first-round pick and one second-rounder.
- New head coach Jordan Ott intends to meet with the Suns‘ current assistants in the coming days, according to Fischer, who says there was a “strong belief” during the search process that Phoenix would ask associate head coach David Fizdale to remain on staff under the new hire. However, it’s unclear if Fizdale will be amenable to that arrangement after receiving multiple interviews for the head coaching job. Cavaliers assistant DeMarre Carroll — who has worked with Ott on three different teams — and Mavericks assistant Jared Dudley are also viewed as candidates to join Ott’s staff, Fischer writes.
- Following up on a report from his Stein Line colleague Marc Stein, Fischer hears former Suns and Raptors head coach Jay Triano is finalizing a contract to join the Mavericks as an assistant under Jason Kidd. The Knicks are interested in speaking to Kidd for their coaching vacancy, though Dallas would have to grant New York permission for that to happen.