Draft Notes: Guards, Wings, Trades, Fears, Queen
Even after Duke phenom Cooper Flagg and Rutgers guard Dylan Harper, the draft’s presumed top two picks, come off the board, this year’s draft lottery is loaded with intriguing wings and guards.
David Aldridge of The Athletic consulted with anonymous league scouts and coaches about the best guard prospects in the draft, and also took a look at the best potential NBA wings.
Harper proved to be somewhat divisive. The folks Aldridge consulted were decidedly mixed on his upside, with some projecting him as an eventual All-Star and others believing he could be a longtime pro but may not have a high ceiling.
“He has a professionalism about him that’s really uncommon,” one college assistant coach said of Harper. “He knows the game. He plays the right way. He guards. He tries defensively.”
Arizona wing Carter Bryant may lack a great handle, but an Eastern Conference scout appreciates the rest of his offensive makeup. He’s projected to be the No. 10 pick in the latest ESPN mock.
“His shot’s fluid, especially in spot-up situations,” the scout said. “He’s not somebody who’ll create his own shots, at least his first few years in the league. He’s good at relocating to open space. His shot comes out of his hand really well, and the defense is high-level.”
There’s more intel ahead of the draft:
- In a fairly deep draft year, Kevin O’Connor of Yahoo Sports identifies several prospects he believes could be worth trading down out of the top three to acquire for the Spurs and Sixers. O’Connor evaluates the shooting promise of Duke guard Kon Knueppel and Texas guard Tre Johnson, the motor of Baylor wing V.J. Edgecombe, and the upside of Duke center Khaman Maluach, among other lottery-level players.
- Should they stay put, the Nets could still have plenty of promising possibilities to select with the eighth pick this year. An NBA scout raved to Brian Lewis of The New York Post about the upside of Oklahoma guard Jeremiah Fears, who could still be available in the middle of the lottery. “I’m not [drafting] in the top two or three, in terms of being able to hit a home run on a guy that could be an absolute superstar game-changer, he’d be one of the guys past [Nos.] 3 or 4 that could actually do that,” the scout said.
- Under a new front office regime, the Pelicans are high on freshman Maryland big Derik Queen, a source informs Field of 68’s Jeff Goodman (Twitter link). New Orleans possesses the No. 7 pick this season following another injury-plagued year. The All-Big Ten center averaged 16.5 PPG and 9.0 RPG in Maryland last year.
Nets Notes: Johnson, Trade Rumors, Draft, Bailey
After Memphis received a blockbuster haul of future draft assets from Orlando in its Desmond Bane trade, Brian Lewis of The New York Post (subscriber link) considers how that could impact the Nets‘ return in a potential Cameron Johnson trade.
Johnson, 29, is a solid two-way player – if never an All-Star – and remains in his athletic prime. The 6’8″ forward, who established himself as a starter on a talented Suns team before being dealt to Brooklyn, averaged 18.8 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 3.4 assists per contest in 57 healthy games for the Nets this past season. He posted a shooting line of .475/.390/.893.
As Lewis writes, Johnson isn’t the passer or rebounder that Bane is, and he’s three years older than the Magic’s latest addition. However, they posted similar scoring and shooting numbers this past season, and Johnson’s current contract is more team-friendly than Bane’s — the Nets forward is owed $44MM over the next two seasons, while Bane will make $163MM across the next four years.
NBA sources have repeatedly informed Lewis that they expect the 2025 offseason to be incredibly active, and that they anticipate Brooklyn will be heavily involved in trade activity.
There’s more out of Brooklyn:
- Although Lewis tweets that he anticipates the Nets will explore ditching veteran salaries and getting involved in three-team trades, he has been informed that Brooklyn is also being floated in conversations about deals that the team has nothing to do with. According to Lewis, this is “predictable gamesmanship” in the offseason, and the Nets make for an easy subject of speculation due to their significant cap room.
- The Nets’ name has been thrown around in the trade rumor mill so often, C.J. Holmes of The New York Daily News opted to take stock. Holmes believes it’s quite possible Brooklyn gets involved as a third team to help facilitate a Kevin Durant trade out of Phoenix, but he’s skeptical the Nets will achieve their “Plan A” of acquiring Giannis Antetokounmpo from Milwaukee.
- Although Rutgers wing Ace Bailey initially seemed to be out of reach for the Nets at the No. 8 pick, his recent refusal to work out for anyone seems to presage a drop in this year’s draft. Net Income of Nets Daily wonders if Brooklyn would trade up to nab the 18-year-old if he falls out of the top three picks — but perhaps not out of the top five.
Pacers’ Tyrese Haliburton Will Play In Game 6
7:40 pm: Doctors informed Haliburton that his calf ailment would normally take multiple weeks to recover, per Shams Charania of ESPN (via Twitter). Given the stakes, the Pacers guard pushed to play.
5:52 pm: All-NBA Pacers point guard Tyrese Haliburton will suit up for Game 6 of the NBA Finals against the Thunder on Thursday night, head coach Rick Carlisle told reporters (Twitter link via Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press). Carlisle added that Haliburton won’t face any sort of minutes limit (Twitter link via Vincent Goodwill of Yahoo Sports).
It had previously been reported that the 25-year-old Olympian intended to give it a go, but his availability had not been confirmed. Haliburton had been considered a game-time decision to play through a right calf strain incurred in the first half of Monday’s Game 5, a 120-109 loss.
The defeat marked the first time Indiana had lost two consecutive games during its postseason run to the Finals this spring.
Across 21 contests in his second-ever playoffs, Haliburton has averaged 17.9 points, 9.1 assists, 5.8 rebounds, 1.3 steals and 0.7 blocks per game. Those numbers dipped a little in Game 5 when the former Iowa State star attempted to play through the calf injury.
Haliburton failed to connect on a single field goal attempt on Monday, finishing with four points on 0-of-6 shooting. He did chip in seven rebounds and six assists.
Indiana, playing in its first Finals since 2000, now returns to Gainbridge Fieldhouse on the brink of elimination. The Pacers trail the Thunder 3-2 in the series.
Oklahoma City coach Mark Daigneault, in his own pregame presser, anticipated that Haliburton would give it his all, per Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star (via Twitter).
“We’re expecting his best punch,” Daigneault said. “Indiana’s a great team, we’re expecting their best punch.”
Thunder Notes: SGA, Title Path, Market Size, Jalen Williams, K. Williams
Now leading Indiana 3-2 in the NBA Finals, the Thunder and their All-NBA point guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander are on the cusp of securing their first title in Oklahoma City. Joe Mussatto of The Oklahoman (subscriber link) unpacks what that would mean for the team, Gilgeous-Alexander, All-NBA forward Jalen Williams, big man Chet Holmgren, team owner Clay Bennett, longtime general manager Sam Presti, head coach Mark Daigneault, and more.
Gilgeous-Alexander, who’s already one of the most NBA’s most efficient scoring guards, can still be maximized as a distributor by Oklahoma City, writes Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca. Grange observes that, over the last 40 years, only Gilgeous-Alexander and Kevin Durant have scored 2,400 or more points with a true shooting mark of .630 or better, both during their respective MVP seasons for the Thunder.
The 6’6″ guard continues to try to thread the needle when it comes to looking to score and looking to involve other players in the offense. Grange notes that Gilgeous-Alexander notched eight assists in Game 2 and 10 more in Game 5, but has had just seven total dimes in the other three games of the series.
There’s more out of Oklahoma City:
- The Thunder’s consistent organizational infrastructure has helped the club return to the NBA Finals and reach the brink of a championship, observes Anthony Slater of The Athletic. Presti has held his gig for 18 seasons and counting, while Bennett has proven to be a stabilizing force on the business front. Slater notes that the Thunder, who won just 24 games three years ago, have managed a remarkable turnaround back to contention.
- The Thunder have hardly let being the league’s third-smallest market franchise limit their aspirations, writes Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic. Rival executives are convinced that Oklahoma City spends extensively on its front office— its 88 basketball operations staffers lap the big-market Lakers’ 56. Vorkunov also notes that the team’s front office stability has been appealing to help the team retain talent.
- Hall of Fame former Chicago forward Scottie Pippen has noticed the parallels between himself and All-NBA Thunder wing Jalen Williams, writes Tim MacMahon of ESPN. Both were two-way standouts who blossomed next to more established scoring guards en route to Finals appearances. “He is pretty special,” Pippen told MacMahon. “I’m enjoying watching him. I see a lot of me in him for sure. I see a guy rising to be one of the top players in this league. He’s definitely a player that is capable of being able to lead that franchise to multiple championships — him and Shai, of course.”
- In another piece for The Oklahoman (subscriber link), Mussatto examines Kenrich Williams‘ natural fit in Oklahoma City. Williams has now been with the Thunder longer than every player on the roster aside from Gilgeous-Alexander and Luguentz Dort. “He’s an old head,” Dort said of Williams. “He has an old soul. You feel it every time you’re around him. His leadership has been big for us on and off the court.” Williams is in the second year of a four-season, $27.2MM deal with the club. Thanks to a deep backcourt, Daigneault has been deploying Williams in spot minutes throughout the playoffs. He’s been averaging 8.1 MPG in the 14 games he’s seen action.
Latest On Kevin Durant
Evidently Phoenix isn’t thrilled with the trade offers the team has received for Kevin Durant to this point.
Appearing on The Pat McAfee Show (Twitter video link), ESPN’s Shams Charania said that while several teams have expressed interest in the 36-year-old forward, none have been willing to give the Suns the type of return package they’re looking for.
“The Suns know if they’re going to trade Kevin Durant, they clearly have a price threshold they want met,” Charania said. “I had one team tell me today that it’s kind of a game of chicken at this point. From the Rockets, to the Heat, to the Minnesota Timberwolves, it’s literally one or two pieces away (from getting a deal done).
“But at the end of the day, one of these teams has to meet that threshold to get something done. The NBA draft is about a week away. So could this go into the NBA draft? For sure. But I don’t think the Suns want it to, I don’t think the other teams want it to. … My understanding is they’re in active conversations with those three teams, specifically, on trying to get a deal done for Kevin Durant. … I would also not be surprised if this (involves three or four teams).”
Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald confirms (via Twitter) that the Heat are currently unwilling to meet Phoenix’s asking price for Durant, but it’s possible that could change.
According to Charania (Twitter video link), the Suns are very much willing to make a trade that does not involve the Spurs, Rockets or Heat, who are reportedly at the top of Durant’s list of preferred destinations. But Durant also has a degree of leverage, since he could be a free agent in 2026 — he’s on an expiring contract, which will pay him $54.7MM next season.
Charania also touched on the Spurs’ interest in Durant, which sounds somewhat tepid (Twitter video link).
“(The No. 2 pick) I don’t see going anywhere,” Charania reported. “I think the Spurs feel really good about No. 2. Dylan Harper, he’s already been to the Spurs’ facilities, met them in San Antonio earlier this month. But you know, you never know with the draft. But that’s what it looks like right now.
“… My feel right now is that the Spurs, they have interest in Kevin Durant. They have talked to the Suns — to my understanding — about Kevin Durant. But there is a certain price threshold they’ll go to for a guy like Kevin Durant, and if that price doesn’t align with Phoenix’s, then clearly, there’s just not going to be a deal.”
Charania went on to suggest that the Spurs are likely waiting to use their stockpile of assets on a player who would better fit their timeline, assuming such a player becomes available in the future.
Sam Amick of The Athletic also discussed the Durant situation on FanDuel’s Run It Back show (Twitter video link). According to Amick, the Spurs appear to be the top team on Durant’s wish list.
“(The Suns) clearly don’t like what they’re hearing from San Antonio, Houston and Miami,” Amick said. “And I keep making the distinction, those three teams are not created equal on the list. Kevin has made it clear in different conversations — at times, anyway — that he was really focused on the Spurs. They’re not showing a ton of incentive to get a deal done. It’s one of those things where, if you want to give him to us on our terms, where we don’t really give up a lot, then that would be great.
“Phase two, to me, of these talks is that the Suns clearly like what they could get out of Minnesota. But the Wolves are not gonna play that game at all unless they are confident that Kevin wants to come. And you can tell that Phoenix is kind of trying to nudge him in that direction and compel him to add a fourth team to his list.
“So that, to me, is the interesting dynamic: Does he change his stance on Minnesota?” Amick continued. “If not, when do (the Suns) come off of that and maybe look harder at Miami or one of these other situations. So I still feel like we’re a little ways away.”
Pacers’ Tyrese Haliburton Intends To Play Game 6
Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle on Wednesday referred to Tyrese Haliburton as a game-time decision for Game 6, with the star point guard later stating was going to everything he could to suit up after suffering a right calf strain.
Appearing on The Pat McAfee Show on Thursday (Twitter video link), ESPN’s Shams Charania reported that as long as he’s medically cleared, Haliburton intends to play tonight as Indiana looks to stave of elimination and extend the NBA Finals to seven games.
“From my understanding, he has every intention of playing tonight,” Charania said. “… Unless there’s some kind of a setback there (at the 5:00 pm ET walkthrough) where the medical team (decides to hold him out), he’s fully intending to be out there tonight. He’s going to gut it out. I would expect to have some padding on that calf.”
In a subsequent appearance on NBA Today, Charania shed a little more light on the severity of Haliburton’s injury (Twitter video link).
“It is a calf strain. … These are tricky injuries with the calf, we know the implications it could have on the rest of your leg,” Charania said. “I was told today, if this were the regular season, Tyrese Haliburton would be missing multiple weeks. So if he is able to play, how does he look? How sharp does he look? Or how much does he struggle and how much is he limited?”
While Haliburton managed to play 34 minutes in Monday’s Game 5 loss, he clearly was hampered by the injury, having missed all six of his field goal attempts and being limited to just four points, compared to his playoff average of 17.3 PPG. On the NBA’s latest injury report, the 25-year-old is officially listed as questionable.
If the third-team All-NBA guard is unable to suit up, T.J. McConnell and Andrew Nembhard will be in line for increased ball-handling and play-making responsibilities.
James Nnaji Leaving Europe, Joining Knicks For Summer League
Draft-and-stash center James Nnaji has informed Spanish club Barcelona that he is leaving Europe as he focuses on trying to sign his first NBA contract with the Knicks, confirms Jared Schwartz of The New York Post. Nnaji’s decision was first reported by Marc del Rio of Sport.es.
The Knicks acquired the rights to Nnaji, the 31st pick of the 2023 draft, in the blockbuster trade that sent Karl-Anthony Towns to New York. The Nigerian center has spent the past four seasons in Europe, playing a fairly limited role for Barça from 2021-24 before spending the 2024/25 campaign on loan with Merkezefendi (Turkey) and Girona (Spain).
Nnaji, who turns 21 years old in August, is already in New York and has been working out for the Knicks, his agent Gerard Raventos told The Post. Nnaji is hoping to impress during Summer League action next month with an eye on making the 2025/26 roster.
“Hopefully after [the Summer League], we can reach an agreement,” Raventos said. “That’s the plan, from both sides. It’s 50-50, it depends how he does. He’s coming in great shape. … Everything will be based on his performances in the Summer League.”
Nnaji has a highly impressive physical profile, Schwartz notes, measuring 7’0″ with a 7’7″ wingspan and weighing 251 lbs. a couple of years ago at the combine. He averaged 5.3 points and 4.1 rebounds in 14 appearances while on loan to Girona this season (16.2 minutes per contest).
With Precious Achiuwa possibly heading elsewhere in free agency, Nnaji could be an inexpensive addition to New York’s frontcourt. As Yossi Gozlan of Third Apron tweets, signing Nnaji to a minimum-salary contract would give the Knicks more financial wiggle room to use the taxpayer mid-level exception in ’25/26. He would also be eligible for a two-way deal.
Hoops Rumors Chat Transcript: 6/19/2025
Ahead of what might be the final game of the 2025 NBA postseason, Hoops Rumors hosted a live chat today at 1:30 pm Central time (2:30 pm Eastern).
Five More Prospects Receive Green Room Invitations
Prior to Thursday, a total of 19 prospects had received green room invitations from the NBA to attend the first round of the 2025 draft.
Today, reports from Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Twitter link) and Jonathan Givony of ESPN indicated that five more players have been invited, bringing the tally up to 24 — that’s expected to be the final number.
Here are the five prospects, sorted by their current rank on ESPN’s big board:
- Joan Beringer, C, Cedevita Olimpija (No. 15)
- Danny Wolf, F/C, Michigan (No. 19)
- Nique Clifford, G/F, Colorado State (No. 22)
- Walter Clayton Jr., G, Florida (No. 27)
- Cedric Coward, G/F, Washington State (No. 29)
According to Fischer, Wolf is a potential late lottery pick, having impressed teams in that range with his shooting during workouts.
The players invited to the green room can usually feel pretty confident about their chances to be first-round picks, since the league only decides who to invite after asking teams to vote on the 25 prospects they expect to come off the board first.
Still, there are occasionally instances in which players in the green room slip further than expected. In 2024, Kyle Filipowski and Johnny Furphy received green room invites but weren’t selected until the second round, which was held a day later for the first time.
Rockets To Sign Coach Ime Udoka To Contract Extension
Head coach Ime Udoka has agreed to a long-term extension with the Rockets, sources tell Shams Charania of ESPN.
According to Charania, Udoka’s new extension will make him one of the highest-paid coaches in the NBA. Kelly Iko of The Athletic confirms (via Twitter) that Udoka has agreed to a multiyear deal.
A former NBA wing, Udoka has led Houston to a dramatic turnaround over the past two seasons. The team won just 17, 20 and 22 games in the three years prior to Udoka’s arrival in 2023, but in 2023/24 — his first season at the helm — he guided the club to a .500 record (41-41).
That upward trajectory continued this season, as the Rockets went 52-30 and earned the No. 2 seed in a highly competitive Western Conference. The young team was eliminated from the playoffs in the first round, losing to Golden State in seven games.
After retiring as a player, Udoka spent seven years an assistant with San Antonio before one-year stints in Philadelphia and Brooklyn. He was hired as Boston’s head coach in 2021 and had an impressive first season in ’21/22, with the Celtics going 51-31 and advancing to the NBA Finals for the first time since 2010, eventually losing to the Warriors in six games.
While he was technically still under contract with the Celtics in ’22/23, Udoka didn’t coach at all, having been suspended for the entire season for violating team policies — he reportedly had an affair with a member of the team’s staff.
The 47-year-old’s time with the Celtics ended in February 2023, when the team promoted Joe Mazzulla to be the permanent head coach. Udoka was hired by the Rockets a couple months later, signing a four-year contract at that time.
The Knicks reportedly asked the Rockets for permission to interview Udoka for their head coaching vacancy last week, but that request was was denied. Now, Udoka has agreed to a long-term extension to remain with Houston.