Kawhi Leonard Has “Cleanup” Work On Injured Knee
Kawhi Leonard underwent a “cleanup” surgical procedure on the torn meniscus in his right knee, tweets Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN.
The operation carries an eight-week recovery period, but Clippers president Lawrence Frank said the surgery took place in early June so there are no concerns that Leonard won’t be ready for the start of training camp. Leonard is feeling “terrific,” Frank adds (Twitter link).
Leonard suffered the injury in L.A.’s playoff opener against the Suns and aggravated it by playing in Game 2. The Clippers split the first two games of the series with Leonard scoring 38 and 31 points, but they lost three straight once he was unable to play.
The five-time All-Star has been hampered by injuries since he signed with the Clippers in 2019. The team was extremely careful with him this season as he returned after missing a full year with an ACL tear. Leonard appeared in 52 games, averaging 23.8 points, 6.5 rebounds and 3.9 assists in 33.6 minutes per night.
Leonard, who turned 32 this month, will earn $45.64MM in what could be his final season with the Clippers. He has a $48.78MM player option for the 2024/25 season and could elect to become a free agent next summer.
Cam Whitmore Slips To Rockets At No. 20
The Rockets have selected Villanova small forward Cam Whitmore with the No. 20 pick, an epic slide for a player who had long been considered a potential top-five pick, even as recently as a few days ago.
According to Jeremy Woo of ESPN (Twitter link) and Jonathan Wasserman of NBADraft.net (Twitter link), it sounds like ominous medical results were the main reason for Whitmore’s descent down most teams’ draft boards. Both draft analysts note that Whitmore still has a high ceiling, should he stay healthy.
It was also reported earlier this week that subpar pre-draft workouts may have dissuaded some lottery clubs from selecting the strong wing.
A thumb surgery limited Whitmore’s availability at the start of his lone collegiate season. Across his 26 contests with the Wildcats, the 2022/23 Big East Rookie of the Year averaged 12.5 PPG, 5.3 RPG, 1.4 SPG and 0.7 APG. A 6’7″ wing, he was also named to the Big East All-Freshman Team.
Though Whitmore, a big swingman with a 6’8″ wingspan, is a middling jump shooter, his abilities as a solid isolation scorer, a creator off the dribble and a finisher in the paint had endeared him to scouts prior to his discouraging medical results. Still just 18, Whitmore was an underwhelming distributor for his position in college, but he does boast intriguingly versatile defensive upside, especially in transition.
Whitmore makes plenty of sense as a flyer pick on a rebuilding Houston team. Earlier tonight, the Rockets selected Overtime Elite guard Amen Thompson with the No. 4 overall pick.
Armed with tough new head coach Ime Udoka, plenty of lottery-grade talent, and the most available cap space in the league, Houston seems primed for an active summer well beyond the draft.
Wizards Trading Up To No. 7, Drafting Bilal Coulibaly
The Wizards have agreed to a trade with the Pacers, moving up in the draft one spot from No. 8 to No. 7 in order to select French forward Bilal Coulibaly, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).
According to Charania (via Twitter), Washington is sending two second-round draft picks to Indiana in the deal. Per Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link), those two picks are 2028 second-rounders: the Wizards’ own and an incoming pick from the Suns acquired in their Bradley Beal trade.
Jeremy Woo of ESPN tweets that the Wizards opted to move up to ensure they were able to draft Coulibaly before another club could select him, noting that the Jazz had grown intrigued by the swingman recently.
The 6’8″ small forward was a teammate of this year’s top pick, now-Spurs big man Victor Wembanyama, on Metropolitans 92 this past season. A raw, athletic swingman, Coulibaly averaged 10.0 PPG on a .532/.452/.595 slash line, in addition to 6.1 RPG, 1.6 APG and 1.5 SPG.
Per Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington, Coulibaly’s solid playoff performance alongside Wembanyama helped him move up teams’ internal pre-draft rankings. Hughes adds that he is considered a multifaceted defender, and his 7’3″ wingspan allows him to be effective on and off the ball.
Washington has been incredibly active this week, agreeing to trade away Beal, Kristaps Porzingis, and Chris Paul for younger pieces and future draft picks.
The Pacers are using the No. 8 pick to select Houston forward Jarace Walker.
Luke Adams contributed to this report.
Trail Blazers Draft Scoot Henderson Third Overall
The Trail Blazers have selected G League Ignite star point guard Scoot Henderson with the No. 3 overall pick in this year’s draft.
The Blazers were long rumored to be exploring a trade involving the No. 3 pick as they sought impact veterans to complement Damian Lillard, but it appears they ultimately didn’t find a deal they liked and opted to hang onto the selection.
It will be interesting to see now whether the Henderson pick signifies the beginning of the end of Lillard’s Portland tenure.
Henderson is considered by draft experts to have All-NBA upside, and it’s unclear whether or not Lillard will be content playing alongside a rookie point guard in a now-crowded backcourt that also features undersized shooting guard Anfernee Simons. It’s possible the selection of Henderson will be the first in a series of moves involving the Blazers’ backcourt this summer.
An athletic 6’4″ lead guard, Henderson averaged 16.5 PPG, 6.5 APG, 5.4 RPG, 1.1 SPG and 0.5 BPG across 19 regular season contests for the Ignite in 2022/23. He represents the rare high-level prospect who spends two seasons with the Ignite, having graduated high school a year early for the opportunity to get extra pro seasoning.
An explosive athlete with a quick first step, Henderson is a dangerous threat to score both in transition and the half-court. His long-range shooting continues to need work, as he has not converted more than 30% of his triple tries during either of his two G League seasons. He is a good rebounder for his size and is considered an instinctive passer.
Hornets Select Brandon Miller With No. 2 Pick
The Hornets have selected Alabama small forward Brandon Miller with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2023 draft.
Charlotte reportedly decided between Miller and G League Ignite point guard Scoot Henderson, who were widely considered the top two prospects in the draft behind Victor Wembanyama.
From a fit perspective, Miller – a 6’9″ wing – makes more sense for the Hornets than another ball-handling guard like Henderson. Incumbent Hornets point guard LaMelo Ball battled injuries this past season but made the 2022 All-Star team, so Miller was viewed for most of the process as the favorite to land in Charlotte.
Miller had a stellar freshman season on the court for the Crimson Tide. The 6’9″ prospect averaged 18.8 PPG on .430/.384/.859 shooting splits. He also notched 8.2 RPG, 2.1 APG, 0.9 SPG and 0.9 BPG across his 37 regular season contests.
For his efforts, the 20-year-old was named the SEC Player of the Year and an All-SEC First Teamer. He was also selected to the 2023 All-American Second Team.
Miller was widely considered to be the best freshman in the NCAA for 2022/23. Accordingly, he was named the SEC Rookie of the Year, the NABC Freshman of the Year, and the USBWA National Freshman of the Year.
Miller has faced scrutiny for his connection to a fatal January shooting in Tuscaloosa. He brought former Alabama teammate Darius Miles the gun that was used in the killing of young mother Jamea Jonae Harris, but has insisted that he didn’t know the weapon was in the car. He cooperated in the investigation and didn’t face any criminal charges.
Luke Adams contributed to this report.
Spurs Draft Victor Wembanyama With No. 1 Pick
In a move that has been expected since the moment they won the draft lottery last month, the Spurs have officially used the first overall pick in the 2023 NBA draft to select French big man Victor Wembanyama.
Wembanyama, 19, is widely considered to be the best NBA prospect since LeBron James entered the league 20 years ago.
The 7’5″ phenom averaged 21.6 points, 10.4 rebounds, 2.4 assists, and 3.0 blocks per game in 34 appearances (32.1 MPG) for the Metropolitans 92 in France’s top league (LNB Pro A) in 2022/23, becoming the youngest MVP in LNB history and cementing his place atop this year’s NBA draft class.
A potential rim-blocking anchor on defense, Wembanyama also projects to be a dynamic multi-level scorer on offense. He made just 27.5% of his three-pointers in France this past season, but showed a willingness to let it fly from beyond the arc (5.0 attempts per game) and made 82.8% of his free throws, which is a promising sign for his developing outside shot.
Wembanyama will join a young Spurs core that includes 2022 lottery pick Jeremy Sochan and former first-rounders Keldon Johnson and Devin Vassell. The team also possesses multiple second-round picks in tonight’s draft and projects to have a significant chunk of cap room available this offseason as it begins the process of building around Wembanyama.
The Metropolitans’ season ended just a week ago and Wembanyama hopes to represent France in the World Cup beginning in late August, so there was a belief that the Spurs might hold him out of Summer League play this July. However, he told reporters on Wednesday that he plans to participate, which means it may just be a matter of weeks before we may get our first look at him in action as a Spur.
Wizards To Receive Six Second-Rounders, Four Pick Swaps, Cash In Beal Trade
5:16pm: The Wizards will receive about $3.5MM in cash from the Suns as part of the deal, tweets John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7.
2:58pm: The Wizards and Suns have finalized their Bradley Beal trade agreement, sources tell ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter links).
The blockbuster deal is not yet official, but the two sides have formally agreed on the terms. They are as follows, according to Wojnarowski:
- Suns to acquire Beal, Jordan Goodwin, and Isaiah Todd.
- Wizards to acquire Chris Paul; Landry Shamet; the Suns’ second-round picks in 2024, 2025, 2026, 2027, 2028, and 2030; first-round pick swaps in 2024, 2026, 2028, and 2030; and cash.
- Note: Paul will be flipped to Golden State in a separate trade.
It was previously reported that Goodwin and Todd would go to Phoenix as part of the package, and we knew that the Wizards were receiving “multiple” second-round picks and first-round swaps. However, it’s news that Phoenix is sending every second-rounder and first-round swap it possibly can to Washington.
NBA teams can only trade picks for up to seven drafts in the future, so this deal will have to wait until after Thursday’s draft is officially completed, since it includes assets from 2030.
The Suns previously traded away their 2029 second-round selection, so they’ll send the Wizards their six remaining tradable second-rounders.
Phoenix also previously dealt its 2025, 2027, and 2029 first-round picks to Brooklyn and gave the Nets the right to swap first-round picks with the Suns in 2028. The Suns will be able to offer Washington the ability to swap first-rounders with Phoenix in 2024, 2026, and 2030 and the ability to swap the Wizards’ own first-rounder with the least favorable of the Suns’ and Nets’ picks in 2028.
There’s also a scenario in which the Wizards would be able to swap their own first-rounder for the Sixers’ pick in 2028 if the Suns end up with that one instead of their own or Brooklyn’s, but that would require a specific set of outcomes and is probably a long shot.
A previous report stated that the Wizards and Suns are hoping to complete their trade call with the NBA on Friday. For cap-related reasons, the Beal trade will have to be completed in June, while the subsequent Paul trade with the Warriors will be finalized in July, tweets cap expert Albert Nahmad.
Warriors Trading Jordan Poole To Wizards For Chris Paul
The Warriors are trading Jordan Poole and future draft picks to the Wizards for Chris Paul, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link).
Golden State has no plans to waive Paul, and the two sides are looking forward to working together, sources tell Chris Haynes of Bleacher Report (Twitter link).
According to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter links), Golden State will be sending Washington a protected 2030 first-rounder and a 2027 second-rounder, along with Ryan Rollins, who was a second-round pick last year.
[UPDATE: The Wizards also reportedly receiving Patrick Baldwin.]
The 2030 first-round pick is top-20 protected, per ESPN’s Zach Lowe (Twitter link), and those protections can’t be pushed to 2031 since the pick is already seven years out. That means there’s a zero percent chance that the Wizards will get a top-20 selection from the Warriors. The pick seems likely to turn into a 2030 second-rounder if it falls within its protected range, though that has yet to be confirmed.
Rollins’ $1.7MM salary for ’23/24 was fully guaranteed, tweets Anthony Slater of The Athletic, and removing him from the books will open up a roster spot, likely for a veteran. The former Toledo guard’s ’24/25 salary is partially guaranteed at $600K.
Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports was first to report (via Twitter) that Golden State was actively discussing a Poole trade. Fischer heard the Wizards tried to land Golden State’s first-round pick in tonight’s draft — No. 19 overall — as part of the trade, but the Warriors were able to keep it.
As John Hollinger of The Athletic notes (Twitter link), the trade will have to be finalized in July when Poole’s four-year, $125MM extension kicks in, as Poole is currently on the last year of his rookie contract. Poole is currently subject to the poison pill provision due to the difference between his 2022/23 and ’23/24 salaries.
Paul’s $30.8MM contract for ’23/24 is expected to be fully guaranteed as part of his initial trade from Phoenix to Washington, tweets ESPN’s Bobby Marks. It had previously only been guaranteed for $15.8MM. However, Paul’s $30MM salary for ’24/25 is fully non-guaranteed.
While the Warriors have been linked to Paul in the past, it’s still a shocking turn of events to shed Poole’s contract for a 38-year-old future Hall-of-Famer. Despite being known for his incredible basketball IQ, Paul’s teams typically play in a slow, methodical style, which doesn’t seem like an obvious fit with Golden State’s motion offense.
The deal is yet another indication that the Warriors are abandoning their “two timeline” plan to develop their young players alongside their veterans and instead are going all-in on the present. The club traded former No. 2 overall pick James Wiseman in February in order to reacquire Gary Payton II, who had signed with Portland in free agency last summer.
According to Slater (Twitter link), the Warriors are placing a big bet on their medical staff, led by Rick Celebrini. Paul has a lengthy injury history, including sustaining a groin strain during the postseason, which sidelined him for four games in Phoenix’s second-round exit to the Nuggets.
Poole, the 28th pick of the 2019 draft, struggled mightily as a rookie for Golden State, but he turned a corner in the second half of year two, which lead to a breakout third season. He averaged 18.5 PPG, 4.0 APG and 3.4 RPG on .448/.364/.925 shooting during the ’21/22 regular season, playing a key role off the bench in helping the Warriors win their fourth title in eight seasons.
However, his ’22/23 season was derailed before it even started after being punched by Draymond Green in training camp. There was an awkwardness between them for the remainder of the season, and while Poole showed flashes of scoring brilliance, he also frustrated with turnovers, decision-making, and poor shot selection. Poole averaged 20.4 PPG, 4.5 APG and 2.7 RPG on .430/.336/.870 shooting during the regular season, but was ice cold in the playoffs, averaging just 10.3 PPG and 3.5 APG on .341/.254/.765 shooting.
Poole is still only 24 years old, so the Wizards will be gambling on him returning to his previous upward trajectory. They’ll also pick up some marginal draft assets as part of the deal for taking on his long-term contract.
Paul, one of the most accomplished point guards in league history, holds career averages of 17.9 PPG, 9.5 APG, 4.5 RPG and 2.1 SPG on .472/.369/.870 shooting in 1214 regular season games across 18 NBA seasons. While he was still effective in ’22/23, he also averaged a career-low 13.9 PPG to go along with 8.9 APG, 4.3 RPG and 1.5 SPG on .440/.375/.831 shooting in 59 regular season games.
Lakers, Pacers Swapping Second-Round Picks
The Lakers are trading the 47th pick and cash to the Pacers in exchange for the 40th pick in tonight’s draft, sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link).
Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star confirms the news (via Twitter).
As Wojnarowski tweets, the Lakers now control the Nos. 17 and 40 picks, while the Pacers control Nos. 7, 26, 47 and 55. It’s Indiana’s second trade ahead of the draft — the team previously reached a previous agreement with the Nuggets.
The Lakers sent out $2MM in cash at the trade deadline as part of the deal for Mohamed Bamba, notes ESPN’s Bobby Marks (via Twitter), so they could send the Pacers up to $4,363,000 as part of the agreement.
A source tells Dopirak that Indiana will receive $4.3MM in cash from L.A., so it appears the Lakers have temporarily reached their cash limit (Twitter link). The cash allotment will be reset when the new league year begins July 1, Marks adds.
Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files hears the Pacers are “very active” on the trade market in search of a veteran wing, holding conversations with multiple teams (Twitter link). Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports reported similarly earlier today, with Indiana coming close to acquiring De’Andre Hunter from the Hawks before talks fell apart.
The Sixers might target the No. 47 pick if the Pacers aren’t able to make a consolidation trade, tweets Kyle Neubeck of PhillyVoice.com. The Sixers don’t currently own a pick, but have been looking to buy a second-rounder.
Hornets Leaning Towards Scoot Henderson At No. 2?
Several recent reports have stated that the Hornets were favoring Alabama’s Brandon Miller at No. 2 overall in tonight’s draft, but G League Ignite’s Scoot Henderson is building “serious momentum” with Charlotte for that selection, sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).
Charania says the Hornets have been “torn” in the lead-up to the draft, with both players viewed as strong candidates. The organization has final meetings on Thursday to decide which prospect it will choose, Charania adds.
The Athletic’s Sam Vecenie recently placed Henderson at No. 2 in his latest mock draft, expressing skepticism that the Hornets were truly favoring Miller over Henderson.
President of basketball operations Mitch Kupchak said on Wednesday that the Hornets would be choosing between two players, and while he didn’t mention them by name, they’re widely expected to be Henderson and Miller. He also said they’d be taking the best player available approach, as David Newton of ESPN relays.
“I don’t think we’re at the stage where we’re good enough to focus on fit,” Kupchak said. “Next year, knock on wood, we’re healthy, we might be getting close where we could look a little bit more to fit.
“But right now, it’s about adding the best player that we could possibly add to the team. … We’re going to take the player that we feel is best for this organization going forward.”
Kupchak also said the team was open to trading the pick, though the offer would likely have to be overwhelming. As of yesterday, he anticipated keeping the valuable selection.
Jonathan Wasserman of Bleacher Report is another talent evaluator who has been skeptical of the rumors that Miller was the leading candidate to go No. 2. He says many people seem to favor Henderson as the second-best prospect in the draft (Twitter links). According to Wasserman, league insiders haven’t been able to trace the source of Charlotte’s rumored preference for Miller, since the team is known for being pretty tight-lipped.
As Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports tweets, other lottery teams believe Henderson is still receiving strong consideration, buoyed by support from the Hornets’ new ownership group, which is led by Gabe Plotkin and Rick Schnall, who are buying Michael Jordan‘s majority stake. However, Kupchak said at his press conference Wednesday that Jordan would have final say on basketball decisions, per Roderick Boone of The Charlotte Observer.
“Michael has the final say,” Kupchak said. “During the last month or two I would talk to Michael in the morning two or three times a week. With the sale of the organization, one of the new owners was in a couple of days ago and is in today, and I expect them to weigh in, whether it’s in-person or not.
“There’s a lot of texts going back and forth, there’s a lot of questions, there’s a lot of catch-up for a new owner. This is not a simple process. There’s a lot of research, testing, intel, opinion that goes into the decision. The new owners are catching up as quick as they can. So the debate will continue today, it might continue (Thursday), which is good. It’s healthy. I welcome that.”