Tounde Yessoufou Withdraws From Draft, Transferring To St. John’s
Ahead of Wednesday night’s withdrawal deadline, potential first-round pick Tounde Yessoufou opted to remove his name from the 2026 NBA draft, according to Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link).
Yessoufou’s agency tells Charania that the former Baylor guard, who will be entering his sophomore season, has committed to play for Rick Pitino at St. John’s in 2026/27.
A 6’5″ wing, Yessoufou had an impressive freshman year for the Bears, averaging 17.8 points, 5.9 rebounds, 2.0 steals, and 1.6 assists in 32.6 minutes per game across 34 outings (all starts). He struggled with his three-point shot (29.3%) but posted respectable field goal (46.5%) and free throw (74.6%) percentages.
While Yessoufou was a candidate to come off the board in the first 30 picks next month, he wasn’t a lock to do so. Jonathan Wassmeran of Bleacher Report had the 20-year-old being picked 28th overall in his most recent mock draft, but Kevin O’Connor of Yahoo Sports had him at No. 31 and ESPN’s Jeremy Woo had him at No. 34. Assuming he takes a step forward as a sophomore, Yessoufou should strengthen his case to be a first-rounder in 2027.
Yessoufou was one of two notable prospects whose draft decision had yet to be reported when Wednesday’s midnight deadline for NCAA withdrawals passed. The other was Arkansas guard Meleek Thomas, the No. 25 prospect on ESPN’s big board, whose intentions still haven’t been confirmed one way or the other.
[UPDATE: Meleek Thomas Remains In NBA Draft]
As our tracker shows, there are at least seven other college early entrants whose decisions have yet to be announced or reported, but Kennard Davis, Keanu Dawes, Gabe Dynes, Eian Elmer, Louis Hutchinson, Sebastian Rancik, and LeJuan Watts don’t show up on ESPN’s top-100 list, so if they withdraw, it’s unlikely to have a significant impact on teams’ draft plans.
[UPDATE: Seven More NCAA Early Entrants Withdrew From Draft]
Typically, the NBA provides an update shortly after the NCAA withdrawal deadline on which players have removed their names from the draft pool. The NBA’s own withdrawal deadline, which is more relevant for international players, is on June 13.
Draft Decisions: Peat, Momcilovic, Tanner, Fears, More
Koa Peat has decided to leave Arizona and remain in the NBA draft, according to Jeff Borzello of ESPN. Sources tell Borzello that although Peat kept his options open for another season of college basketball, his focus over the past two months has been on staying in the draft and starting his pro career.
Peat had a productive freshman season with the Wildcats, followed by a strong NCAA tournament where he averaged 17.2 points and 7.6 rebounds in five games. However, Borzello notes that his stock began to slip at the draft combine in Chicago, where he couldn’t get his shot to fall. He wound up shooting 6-of-25 in the spot-up drill and 7-of-25 in the three-point star drill, which gave him the second-worst combined performance in those two categories.
Borzello adds that Peat had a noticeably different form on his jumper that featured a slower motion and a lower release point.
“Just trying to work on that as much as I can, trying to shoot the ball the same way every time,” he told ESPN. “Trying to eliminate misses left and right, trying to miss long or short. Trying to focus on that. Not getting too consumed about it because I can do a lot of other things that affect the game, but I’m trying to work on that … I feel like that breakthrough is going to come soon.”
Peat was projected as a late first-round pick in ESPN’s most recent mock draft, going to Boston at No. 27. Jeremy Woo suggests that at 6’7″, his NBA future could be as a small-ball center.
While Peat opted to stay in the draft, most prospects who made their decisions on Wednesday chose to return to school, including Alabama’s Amari Allen, Illinois’ Andrej Stojakovic and Arkansas’ Billy Richmond as we outlined earlier. Here’s a roundup of the decisions that were announced prior to Wednesday’s 11:59 pm ET deadline for players to withdraw and maintain their college eligibility:
- Milan Momcilovic, formerly of Iowa State, will take his name out of the draft and decide on his next school, his agents tell Borzello (Twitter link). Momcilovic established himself as the best shooter in the nation last season and is considered to be the top player in the transfer portal.
- Tyler Tanner is withdrawing from the draft and will return to Vanderbilt, per Pete Thamel of ESPN (Twitter link). The point guard earned All-SEC and honorable mention All-American honors as a sophomore, averaging 19.5 points and 5.1 assists in 36 games.
- Jeremy Fears will return to Michigan State next season, agent Mike Miller tells Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports (Twitter link). Fears was a second-team All-American selection as a junior, leading Division I players in assists at 9.4 per game.
- Dennis Parker is withdrawing from the draft and will transfer from Radford to Kansas, according to Jon Chepkevich of Draft Express (Twitter link). Parker will be a senior next season.
- Finley Bizjack will forgo the draft and transfer from Butler to West Virginia for his senior season, his agents tell Chepkevich (Twitter link).
- Rowan Brumbaugh will pass up the draft and transfer from Tulane to SMU, per Chepkevich (Twitter link). Brumbaugh will be a senior next season.
- Colby Garland is staying in college and will transfer from San Jose State to Georgia Tech for his senior season, Chepkevich adds (Twitter link).
- After committing to Texas Tech, former Hofstra guard Cruz Davis will pull out of the draft and play for the Red Raiders as a redshirt senior, tweets Joe Tipton of On3. The 22-year-old was the Coastal Athletic Association’s Player of the Year in 2025/26.
- Another player staying in the draft is Stanford’s Ebuka Okorie, his agent confirms to Goodman (Twitter link). He led the ACC in scoring this season at 23.2 PPG as a freshman.
Lakers Notes: LeBron, Firings, Offseason Priorities, Lottery Reform
LeBron James and his representatives are waiting for the Lakers to present an offer for next season, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst said on the latest edition of The Hoop Collective podcast (YouTube link). James will be an unrestricted free agent and hasn’t committed to continuing his career, and he wants to hear the team’s plan before making his next move.
James has a $57.7MM cap hold, so the Lakers will need to resolve his financial situation before making their other offseason moves, Windhorst notes. He cautions that they might have to renounce LeBron’s free agent rights if the four-time MVP isn’t ready to make a decision on his future by the start of free agency, but the two sides could resume negotiations later in the summer after the team’s other business is resolved.
Windhorst addresses the possibility that James could move on to another team and notes that the Cavaliers and Warriors have frequently been rumored as potential destinations. His best outcome in that case is a sign-and-trade to earn a salary above the mid-level, but he needs the organization to work with him to make that happen. Windhorst adds that James’ options increase dramatically if he’s willing to play for the mid-level exception or the veteran’s minimum just to get to the team of his choice.
There’s more from Los Angeles:
- A reorganization plan resulted in the layoffs of more than a dozen Lakers employees on Wednesday, according to Dave McMenamin of ESPN. He notes that the team has continued to undergo changes since the purchase by Mark Walter was approved in October. Sources tell McMenamin that the layoffs affected marketing, team communications, team content and corporate partnerships.
- General manager Rob Pelinka recently said it’s “not the Lakers’ way” to go through losing seasons and rebuild through the draft like Oklahoma City and San Antonio did, so Melissa Rohlin of The California Post examines how the team can compete with those Western Conference powers. Her answer is to find better role players to mix with James, Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves so L.A. can match the depth of the Thunder or Spurs in future playoff meetings.
- In a subscriber-only piece, Mirjam Swanson of The Los Angeles Times explains that the 3-2-1 lottery reform proposal might benefit the Lakers, but she still sees it as a mistake for the league. Swanson believes the new system is overly complicated and doesn’t give legitimately bad teams a clear path toward improving.
Knicks Notes: Brown, McBride, Towns, NBA Finals
Mike Brown has seen a lot of ups and downs in his NBA career, being named Coach of the Year twice and getting fired four times. After his most recent dismissal by Sacramento in the middle of last season, Brown wasn’t sure if he would ever get another opportunity, so he began traveling with his wife instead of worrying about his future, Steve Popper of Newsday writes in a subscriber-only story.
The Browns ventured to Australia for a UFC event, followed by Mexico and the Caribbean before heading to New York. They had no idea at the time, but that’s where Brown would eventually return to coaching and lead his team to the brink of an NBA title.
“I just wanted to have fun, and if an opportunity came up, great,” he said. “If it didn’t, you know, shoot, I felt lucky, blessed, fortunate. I had a good run, you know? And I felt that at some point, I’d get another opportunity, whether it was a head coach or an assistant coaching position. So I just kind of rolled with it. Didn’t think much about it. And, you know, obviously, this opportunity came up. From afar, I just felt that this team was ready. And I’m just thrilled to death that (owner) Mr. (James) Dolan gave me an opportunity, and (team president) Leon Rose gave me an opportunity, to be a head coach again, especially here in New York.”
Popper states that Brown’s attitude helped him deal with the awkwardness of taking over a successful team, including lineup changes that didn’t always work and a new system that wasn’t warmly received by everyone. Brown and his players appear to have made it through the rough spots, and the Knicks have peaked during the playoffs as they tore through three Eastern Conference opponents.
“I truly felt that this team was an NBA Finals team, “Brown said after his team completed a sweep of Cleveland on Monday. “I thought we had a true opportunity. Because some jobs you take, you’re like, ‘OK, we can get better. We have a chance to make the playoffs right now.’ But this one, I felt we legitimately had a chance if we could help them figure it out, and the players could stay together during the process, especially when we hit adversity. Because we hit adversity at different times during the season, not just us as a whole group, but even some guys individually, including myself. So, you know, I did have that belief from Day One. I didn’t know how it was going to turn out, but we’re here.”
There’s more from New York:
- Miles McBride admits there were “some tough, long nights” before he became a contributor on an NBA Finals team, per Stefan Bondy of The New York Post. A second-round pick in 2021, McBride endured losing and limited playing time early in his career before the Knicks traded two guards for OG Anunoby in December of 2023. That created an opportunity for McBride, but it came after he agreed to a three-year, $13MM extension that turned out to be a great bargain for the team. He’ll be eligible for another extension this summer and will likely get a new deal that better reflects his value to the organization.
- Karl-Anthony Towns‘ transformation in the playoffs has even impressed Draymond Green, who has a long-running rivalry with the Knicks center, relays Jared Schwartz of The New York Post. “I’ve never seen Karl-Anthony Towns defend and be as engaged as he is on the defensive end,” Green said on Inside the NBA. “What we’ve seen for years, and this year some, is him get these dumb fouls. He’s not even doing that anymore.”
- John Hollinger of The Athletic looks at how the Knicks’ playoff dominance might translate to an NBA Finals matchup with Oklahoma City or San Antonio.
Andrej Stojakovic, Billy Richmond Pulling Out Of Draft
Andrej Stojakovic announced on Twitter that he will take his name out of the draft pool and return to Illinois for his senior season. Stojakovic said at the combine that he had “both feet in” regarding the draft process, but he also never gave up on the idea of staying in school and helping the Illini return to the Final Four in 2027, Colleen Kane of The Chicago Tribune writes in a subscriber-only piece.
“That’s the goal — go back to the Final Four and then strive for a national championship,” Stojakovic said during combine week. “Understanding what we have back at Illinois is extremely special, I’ve just got to make the right decision.”
Another year in college could improve Stojakovic’s draft prospects, Kane adds. The 6’7″ guard averaged 13.5 points, 3.2 rebounds and 4.5 assists in his first season at Illinois after transferring from California, but while he shot 50% from the field he only connected at 24.4% from beyond the arc. He was projected to go 50th in ESPN’s latest mock draft, and Kane states that he’ll have to expand his scoring range if he hopes to receive first-round consideration next year.
“Another year of proving what I can do, coming back even more ready next year if I do decide to go to school,” Stojakovic said during the combine. “One thing I showed this year is being able to adjust my role and make an impact when I’m not having the ball constantly like I’m used to it.”
Billy Richmond of Arkansas will also exit the draft and return to school for his junior season, agent Bill Duffy tells Jeff Goodman of The Field of 68 (Twitter link). The 6’5″ forward averaged 11.2 points, 4.3 rebounds and 2.0 assists in 37 games this year and earned a spot on the SEC’s All-Defensive Team.
Richmond was projected as the 53rd pick by ESPN.
The deadline for players to withdraw from the draft and maintain their college eligibility is tonight at 11:59 pm ET.
Thunder Notes: Mitchell, J. Williams, McCain, Caruso, Hartenstein, Holmgren
Ajay Mitchell will remain sidelined when the Western Conference Finals resume Thursday night at San Antonio. Mitchell is listed as out on the Thunder’s official injury report with a right soleus (calf) strain, marking the third straight game he will miss since suffering the injury last Friday.
OKC’s offense struggled in Game 4 without Mitchell and Jalen Williams, who are two of the team’s primary ball-handlers. However, the Thunder posted 127 points in Tuesday’s Game 5, repeatedly pushing the tempo to create easier scoring opportunities.
Williams remains questionable due to left hamstring strain injury management, and his official status may not be determined until shortly before tip-off. He was a late scratch in Games 4 and 5.
There’s more on the Thunder:
- Coach Mark Daigneault was looking for an offensive spark when he opted to start Jared McCain instead of Cason Wallace, and the move seemed to shake the team from its malaise, states Jenni Carlson of The Oklahoman. Although McCain got off to a slow start, his presence on the floor created more room for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Chet Holmgren, who combined for 15 first quarter points, Carlson notes. McCain finished with 20 points in 33 minutes in his first career playoff start.
- The Thunder got another dominant effort from their bench in Game 5, and their reserves are now outscoring San Antonio’s by a 257-127 margin for the series, according to Tim Willert of The Associated Press. “We have good players on our bench. They’ve got good players on their bench,” said Alex Caruso, who contributed 22 points and six assists in 28 minutes. “So, we know that’s an area of the game where you can try to find some positive plus-minus time for that group.”
- Daigneault often used smaller defenders against Victor Wembanyama during the regular season, but that task has mostly fallen to Isaiah Hartenstein in the playoffs, notes Ben Golliver of ESPN. Hartenstein’s physicality has bothered the Spurs star, who shot just 4-of-15 from the field on Tuesday.
- Holmgren, who turned in his best game of the series with 16 points and 11 rebounds in nearly 30 minutes, talked to Fred Katz of The Athletic about his approach to basketball and the balance between individual and team success. “Ego has been the downfall of many people’s careers,” Holmgren said. “I feel like ego gets in the way of maximizing the moment and also understanding. Basically, what you’re asking me is, would I trade what we just accomplished last year and the opportunity that we have (this year) and the group that we have? Would I sacrifice that to go be able to shoot 20 shots a game? I don’t think so.”
Amari Allen Withdrawing From Draft, Returning To Alabama
Alabama forward Amari Allen revealed on Twitter that he will withdraw from the draft and play another season for the Crimson Tide. Allen’s announcement included a graphic stating “I’m back” and a 55-second highlight reel.
The 20-year-old earned a spot on the SEC’s All-Freshman Team with a solid performance during his first college season. He averaged 11.4 points, 6.9 rebounds and 3.1 assists in 32 games (24 starts) while shooting 44.6% from the field and 34.1% from three-point range.
Allen announced in April that he planned to test the draft waters without giving up his NCAA eligibility. He was invited to the draft combine earlier this month and was measured at slightly above 6’5″, well below his listed height of 6’8″, which may have hurt his stock a little and influenced his decision to return to school.
Allen ranked 29th on ESPN’s big board of the top 100 draft prospects, which was last updated before the combine began. ESPN’s Jeremy Woo projected Allen to go to Memphis with the 32nd pick in his most recent mock draft. It likely made more financial sense for Allen to play another year at Alabama and try to boost his draft outlook for 2027.
Allen had pre-draft workouts with the Grizzlies, Knicks, Thunder and Heat, according to Emilee Smarr of The Tuscaloosa News.
And-Ones: Lyles, Brooks, Lottery, Extensions, Peterson
Veteran forward Trey Lyles, who spent 10 years in the NBA with Utah, Denver, San Antonio, Detroit, and Sacramento from 2015-25, is drawing significant interest from European teams on the heels of a successful season in Spain, writes Alessandro Maggi of Sportando. Relaying reporting from Sport5, Maggi says Real Madrid hopes to re-sign Lyles but is worried about being outbid by rival suitors, including perhaps Fenerbahce and Hapoel Tel Aviv.
Lyles, 30, helped Real Madrid reach this year’s EuroLeague championship game by averaging 13.3 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 1.6 assists in 20.9 minutes per game across 36 outings in Europe’s top league. He posted an excellent shooting line of .515/.443/.792.
According to Maggi, the expectation is that Lyles would prioritize a return to the NBA over offers from EuroLeague teams if a favorable opportunity arises stateside.
Here are a few more odds and ends from across the basketball world:
- Former NBA guard Armoni Brooks, who made 84 regular season appearances for three teams from 2021-24, is set to join ASVEL in France on a two-year deal, according to Matteo Andreani and Andrea Calzoni of BasketInside (Twitter link). Relatedly, Joey Buss and Jesse Buss – former part-owners and basketball operations executives of the Lakers who were let go by the team last year – are candidates to invest in the French club, as Aris Barkas of Eurohoops details.
- With the NBA’s “3-2-1” lottery reform plan appearing increasingly likely to be approved, ESPN’s Tim Bontemps evaluates the pros and cons of the plan. One added benefit, according to Bontemps, is that the lottery drawing itself is expected to be aired live beginning in 2027. The NBA has typically conducted the lottery behind the scenes and then unveiled the results after the fact in a more viewer-friendly TV broadcast, but the format change could make the drawing itself less confusing to follow live.
- Bobby Marks of ESPN takes a closer look at 20 of this offseason’s top extension candidates, including superstars like Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Bucks and Stephen Curry of the Warriors, and predicts whether or not they’ll end up signing new contracts in the coming months.
- Does Darryn Peterson‘s explanation that high doses of creatine caused his cramping issues at Kansas pass muster? Sarah Todd of The Deseret News speaks to medical experts to make sense of Peterson’s remarks and to get an idea of what NBA teams will be looking for when they evaluate the top prospect’s health.
2026 NBA Offseason Preview: Los Angeles Clippers
A year ago, the Clippers entered the summer with high hopes for the offseason and the season to come after posting a surprising 50-32 regular 2024/25 season record and holding their own in a highly competitive, seven-game first-round series vs. Denver despite having lost Paul George in 2024 free agency.
The newfound cap flexibility the Clippers generated as a result of George's departure allowed the team to bring in multiple quality role players and provided the front office with a more viable blueprint for maintaining a balanced roster going forward.
But the 2025/26 season was a turbulent one. The NBA launched an investigation last September into possible salary cap circumvention related to a "no-show" endorsement deal for Kawhi Leonard. One key offseason addition, Bradley Beal, underwent season-ending hip surgery in the fall, while another, future Hall-of-Famer Chris Paul, had an unceremonious split with the franchise less than two months into the season. The team got off a 6-21 start, leading to the decision to trade James Harden and Ivica Zubac at the deadline with an eye toward the future.
To be fair, the Clippers recovered admirably from that 6-21 start. Even without Harden and Zubac on the roster, the club clawed its way back above .500 by late March and finished at 42-40, earning a play-in spot. But those mid-season trades signaled that short-term contention was no longer a top priority for the organization, and L.A.'s very brief postseason run came to an end with a home loss to the Warriors in the 9/10 play-in game.
Following that abrupt postseason exit, the outlook in Los Angeles is cloudier than it was a year ago for multiple reasons. For one, the Clippers are still awaiting resolution on the NBA's probe into the team's and Leonard's relationships with the now-bankrupt green banking company Aspiration. While there haven't been any indications that Leonard's contract agreement with L.A. is in real danger of being voided as a result of that investigation, it remains very possible that the franchise will face some sort of penalty, such as lost draft picks, once it wraps up.
Even if the Clippers are cleared of wrongdoing by league investigators, there's uncertainty about what exactly the front office's plans are in the wake of the Harden and Zubac deals. Is L.A. still committed to trying to contend with Leonard as its centerpiece, as president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank insisted during his end-of-season press conference? Or did the team's willingness to move off veterans earlier this year suggest that a soft rebuild around Darius Garland and this year's No. 5 overall pick is around the corner?
The Clippers' Offseason Plans
Leonard is entering the final year of his current contract and will earn $50.3MM in 2026/27 before becoming eligible for unrestricted free agency in 2027. The two-time Finals MVP is also coming off arguably his best all-around season since he arrived in Los Angeles -- he finished seventh in MVP voting and was named to the All-NBA second team after averaging 27.9 points, 6.4 rebounds, 3.6 assists, and 1.9 steals per game on .505/.387/.892 shooting across 65 healthy outings (32.1 MPG).
With all that in mind, the question that will determine the direction of the Clippers' offseason is whether they seek an extension with Leonard, who will turn 35 in June, or sell high on the trade market, completing the roster reset they kicked off earlier this year by trading Harden and Zubac.
Draft Notes: Grizzlies, Tanner, Withdrawals, Warriors, Hornets
The Grizzlies are working out Vanderbilt’s Tyler Tanner on Wednesday, along with Chase Ross (Marquette), Sam Alexis (Indiana), and J’Vonne Hadley (Louisville), reports Damichael Cole of The Memphis Commercial Appeal (Twitter link).
Tanner, a potential first-round pick, is the most highly regarded prospect of that group and will face a decision in a matter of hours on whether or not to keep his name in the draft. The deadline for early entrants to withdraw and retain their NCAA eligibility is 11:59 pm Eastern on Wednesday.
Tanner is one of the more notable prospects who has yet to finalize his decision — it’s possible the feedback he gets on Wednesday from the Grizzlies, who hold this year’s third, 16th, and 32nd overall picks, will help sway him in one direction or the other.
We have a few more draft-related updates:
- Flory Bidunga, who is transferring from Kansas to Louisville, has withdrawn from the draft, per Joe Tipton of On3 (Twitter link). So has Shane Blakeney, who is transferring from Drexel to South Carolina, according to Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports (Twitter link), as well as Anton Bonke, who is transferring from Charlotte to Michigan State, agent Scott Nichols tells Jon Chepkevich of DraftExpress (Twitter link). Bidunga is entering his junior season in 2026/27, while Blakeney and Bonke will be seniors and will be automatically draft-eligible next year.
- In addition to Dillon Mitchell, Tre Donaldson, and Tyler Nickel, whose participation was previously reported, the Warriors are bringing in Nevada guard Corey Camper, South Carolina guard Kobe Knox, and San Diego State guard Reese Dixon-Waters for Wednesday’s group workout, according to the team (Twitter link).
- Nick Boyd (Wisconsin), Wyatt Fricks (Marshall), Nate Johnson (Kansas State), and Tre White (Kansas) are among the prospects visiting the Hornets for a pre-draft workout on Wednesday, league sources tell Rod Boone of The Charlotte Observer (Twitter link). Charlotte currently only holds the 14th and 18th overall picks, while Boyd and White rank 76th and 93rd, respectively, on ESPN’s top-100 list, so the team could be eyeing potential undrafted targets for two-way offers.
- Cincinnati forward Baba Miller had been scheduled to take part in a group workout with the Kings on Wednesday, but he was unable to participate due to an illness, tweets Sean Cunningham of KCRA News.