Thunder’s Nikola Topic Could Return To Action This Summer
With his team one win away from a championship, Thunder 2024 lottery pick Nikola Topic has been a forgotten man. He missed the entire season after undergoing surgery to repair a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee last July.
However, Topic could return to action as soon as next month during the Las Vegas Summer League, according to Jordan Davis of The Oklahoman.
“In terms of what he’s doing right now, he’s still X amount of time post-op,” coach Mark Daigneault said. “He’s still return-to-performance. I don’t think he’s the player right now that he will be in training camp. The thing that’s most impressive about him to see is he’s incredibly young, he’s stateside for the first time, in the NBA for the first time, coming off a long-term injury and he’s been unbelievably consistent and mature and professional in his approach. When you watch somebody go through that, you can learn a lot about them.”
Word initially broke weeks before the draft that Topic had suffered a partially torn ACL, so the Thunder weren’t caught off guard by the need for surgery when they drafted the Serbian point guard with the No. 12 overall pick.
Topic, 19, is expected to compete for backup minutes next season. He has a guaranteed salary of $5.2MM in ’25/26, followed by team options of $5.4MM and $7.5MM in his third and fourth seasons.
The organization is pleased by how he attacked his rehab.
“Inserted himself into the mix in a very appropriate way,” Daigneault said. “The guys really respect the way that he approaches things. He’s an old soul. He’s way beyond his years and so that bodes really well for him, regardless where he starts as a player on the court. That stuff translates, and he’s been very impressive with that.”
Topicc averaged 15.1 points, 3.2 rebounds, 5.9 assists and a steal in 18 games with the Adriatic League’s Crvena Zvezda club during the 2023/24 season.
2025 NBA Offseason Preview: Denver Nuggets
A lot has gone wrong for the Nuggets over the past 12 months.
Less than three weeks after Denver gave up three second-round picks to move up six spots in the 2024 draft to nab DaRon Holmes at No. 22, the rookie forward sustained a season-ending Achilles tear during his Summer League debut.
The Nuggets' only other trade during the 2024 offseason saw them give up three second-round picks to get Reggie Jackson's contract off their books. With that newly opened salary slot, they used their taxpayer mid-level exception to sign Dario Saric, who ultimately logged just 210 total minutes across 16 outings, failing to emerge as the sort of reliable frontcourt reserve the front office envisioned.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, a key part of the roster that won a title in 2023, walked in free agency and Denver, already operating in tax-apron territory, wasn't in position to acquire a veteran replacement for him.
The relationship between head coach Michael Malone and general manager Calvin Booth became so strained that the Nuggets decided to fire both of them with less than a week left in the 2024/25 regular season.
Somehow, despite those personnel missteps, the unlucky breaks, and the organizational turmoil, Denver earned a guaranteed playoff spot in a competitive Western Conference, won a hard-fought first-round series against a talented Clippers team, then took the eventual conference champion Thunder to a Game 7 in round two before bowing out of the postseason.
It's a testament to the talent at the top of the Nuggets' roster that, in spite all that went wrong, Denver was just a Game 7 victory away from making the NBA's final four and potentially carving out a path to another title. That top-end talent starts with Nikola Jokic, who has been named the NBA's Most Valuable Player in three of the past five seasons and had a strong case for the award in the two years he didn't win it.
As long as the Nuggets have a healthy, prime Jokic on their roster and surround him with enough complementary talent, they're capable of contending for a championship. In Jamal Murray and Aaron Gordon, the club has two clear pieces of that puzzle, and Christian Braun made a strong case with his breakout 2024/25 season that he should be considered a part of Denver's core, too.
The question for the Nuggets is whether they'll be able to get enough out of the rest of their roster to supplement those impact players in the starting five. Having lost important depth pieces like Caldwell-Pope, Bruce Brown, and Jeff Green during the previous two summers, the new-look front office will have to figure out a way to use the club's limited assets to replenish that depth and get the roster back to a championship-caliber level.
The Nuggets' Offseason Plan
While I assume Denver views Jokic, Murray, Gordon, and Braun as core players going forward, I'm not sure the same can be said for Michael Porter Jr., who has been the subject of trade rumors for the last year or two and struggled mightily in the postseason as he attempted to play through a shoulder injury.
Desmond Bane Had Orlando At Top Of Wish List
Desmond Bane believes the package the Magic gave up for him was worth it. The Grizzlies moved the high-scoring guard to Orlando, receiving Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Cole Anthony, four unprotected first-round picks and one first-round pick swap in return.
Bane anticipates he’ll have no trouble fitting in with Paolo Banchero, Franz Wagner and the rest of the Magic’s core as they strive to become a top contender in the Eastern Conference.
“It’s time to win,” Bane said, per Jason Beede of the Orlando Sentinel. “It’s pretty much as simple as that. If we do what we’re supposed to do … Not to say those picks weren’t valuable, but they would have fallen in place that, we’ve got a lot of young talent here already in the building, and we have a lot of talent at the top of the roster, so I think it’s a perfect for the organization to do what they did.”
Bane was asked by his agent after the Grizzlies’ season ended that if he were traded where would he prefer to wind up.
“I promise you, Orlando was right at the top of the list,” Bane said. “It’s a perfect fit.”
Orlando had a crying need for another play-maker and shooter and Bane fits that bill. He averaged 19.2 points, 6.1 rebounds, 5.3 assists and 1.2 steals per game this season while shooting 39.2% from three on 6.1 attempts per contest. Bane slots in alongside Jalen Suggs in the starting backcourt.
It was a calculated risk by the Magic, not only for the loss of draft capital but also because Bane’s big contract pushes them closer to luxury tax territory. He has four years left on his five-year, $197.2MM deal.
“I’ve gotten a chance to play against them — not a ton coming from the Western Conference — but it was always tough to put the ball in the basket against them,” Bane said of his new teammates. “They guard and I’ll fit right into what they’re trying to do on that end, and hopefully help out on the spacing front on offense.”
When Memphis general manager Zach Kleiman contacted Bane regarding the trade, Bane’s emotions went from concern to elation.
“Before he told me where I was going, my heart sank, just because there’s 29 other teams outside of the Grizzlies that I could have ended up on,” Bane said. “Once he said Orlando, I was smiling through the phone. I wasn’t trying to be disrespectful like I was moving on from Memphis that fast, but I was genuinely excited about the new opportunity.”
Central Notes: Pistons Approach, Pistons Draft, Portis, Buzelis
The Magic traded major assets to acquire Desmond Bane. Should the Pistons make a similar move at this stage?
According to Omari Sankofa II of the Detroit Free Press (subscription required), Detroit may be more patient because of its financial situation. As Sankofa points out, Orlando has already signed multiple players to big extensions, which will lead to a large payroll beginning next season. Other than Cade Cunningham and Isaiah Stewart, the Pistons’ front office has yet to give out lucrative extensions to its young players. That buys them more time to lean on player development, rather than taking a big swing on the trade market.
Here’s more on the Central Division:
- On a smaller scale, the Pistons could look to make a trade if they wish to move into the first round. Their first-round pick was sent to Minnesota but, as Sankofa points out, there are a few teams with multiple first-rounders who may be looking to move one or more of those picks. Detroit has 14 future second-rounders at its disposal to dangle in order to move into the first round. The Nets, Thunder and Magic are among the teams with late first-rounders that could be available.
- Don’t expect Bobby Portis to give the Bucks a discount in free agency. “Obviously, I would love to be back in Milwaukee,” he said on the Run It Back podcast. “I’m not saying I don’t want to come back to the Bucks—I would love to—but I just want to be compensated fairly, man. I’ve taken a lot of team-friendly deals to be here. We’re at a point now where I feel like it’s time I get compensated—fairly—to my peers. That’s all I ask for.” Portis holds a $13.4MM option on his contract for next season but his comments strongly indicate he’ll opt out. Portis was suspended 25 games by the league this season for using a banned drug, but was effective when he played, with averages of 13.9 points and 8.4 rebounds per game.
- Matas Buzelis met up in Los Angeles with a few of his Bulls teammates earlier this month for workouts and scrimmages. Buzelis has added muscle and looks ready to become a dominant player, according to guard Ayo Dosunmu. “Matas is a hard worker, a tremendous worker,” Dosunmu told Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun Times. “He loves the work. I have high praises for him, high expectations for him. I’m seeing him in person, him getting stronger. He’s starting to realize how strong he is and how he’s able to dominate. I know Giannis is a Hall of Famer, top 20, top 30 player [all time], but Matas has a chance to really dominate the game like that because he’s 6-10, 6-11, and as he continues to get stronger, continues to get in the weight room, he’s only going to get bigger.”
Thunder Notes: Williams, Offensive Flow, Hartenstein
The Thunder need just one more win to claim the NBA title, thanks to Jalen Williams. The third-year forward poured in 40 points in Game 5 as Oklahoma City took a 3-2 series lead over the Pacers.
“He was really gutsy tonight,” MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander said during the post-game press conference, per ESPN’s Tim MacMahon. “He stepped into big plays. Felt like every time we needed a shot, he made it. He wasn’t afraid. He was fearless tonight.”
Williams became the third-youngest player to score at least 40 points in an NBA Finals game, trailing only Magic Johnson and Russell Westbrook.
“It’s something more that I’ll look back on later than worry about what kind statement it makes,” he said. “I think the only statement we have right now is we’re up 3-2 and we have to still go earn another win.”
Williams is eligible for a rookie scale extension this offseason that could be worth a projected $246MM over five years. The maximum value could increase to a projected $296MM if Williams makes an All-NBA team again in 2026 after earning a spot on the All-NBA Third Team this season.
Here’s more on the Thunder:
- Williams’ teammates are thrilled for his success. Marcus Thompson II of The Athletic examines how the Thunder forward reached this point. “He’s one of those guys that you want to see succeed, especially when you know him personally,” Chet Holmgren said. “You want to root for him. You want him to do good just because he shows up every single day, does the right things. He’s a good guy off the court, treats everybody well. He’s always respectful. He works really hard. You want to see it pay off for him. … We don’t get here without him playing as good as he’s playing. So, we’ve got to make sure he gets his credit, gets his flowers.”
- While the Thunder shot just 42.6 percent from the field in Game 5, they made 14 of 32 three-point attempts and had 24 assists, compared to 11 turnovers. “It was for sure better,” Gilgeous-Alexander said of the team’s offensive flow, according to The Athletic’s Fred Katz. “Ball moved a little bit more. We were more aggressive. We were in the paint making decisions. Yeah, we were good.”
- Their top free agent from last offseason, Isaiah Hartenstein, played a pivotal role with his decision-making, especially in the first half. Hartenstein posted modest stats — four points, eight rebounds (six of them offensive), four assists, one block and one steal in 21 minutes — but his impact was much greater than those raw numbers, according to The Athetic’s Kelly Iko. “I think it’s big,” Hartenstein said. “I think I provide different things, and I can also change my role, that’s the biggest thing. I can adapt. This series has been less scoring and trying to get guys open. Just me being ego-less in that sense helps the team a lot.”
Draft Rumors: Top Eight, Maluach, Raptors, Sixers, Hornets, More
There appears to be a consensus developing among many of the teams and executives around the league about the top eight prospects in the 2025 NBA draft, Jake Fischer writes for The Stein Line (Substack link). According to Fischer, while the order after the top two remains up in the air, Cooper Flagg, Dylan Harper, V.J. Edgecombe, Ace Bailey, Tre Johnson, Jeremiah Fears, Kon Knueppel, and Khaman Maluach are widely viewed as the the top eight players available this year.
“If it’s not those eight (drafted in the top eight), it will be seven of those eight,” one Eastern Conference executive told Fischer.
That developing consensus may be one reason why the Raptors’ selection at No. 9 is widely viewed as the top-10 pick most likely to be traded, according to Fischer.
While league sources tell Grant Afseth of RG.org that multiple members of Toronto’s front office are thought to be high on Maluach, the Duke big man seems unlikely to still be available at No. 9. He has visited the Wizards (No. 6) and Pelicans (No. 7), in addition to the Hawks (No. 13), and is also expected to meet with the Jazz (No. 5) before the draft. As such, the Raptors have been spending time evaluating centers who are little further down on draft boards, such as Danny Wolf and Asa Newell, Fischer reports.
A number of teams in the back half of the lottery, starting with the Pelicans at No. 7, have been connected to center prospects too, Fischer notes. That group includes the Bulls at No. 12 and the Hawks at No. 13 — Nikola Vucevic and Clint Capela have spent most of the last few years as those teams’ starting centers, but Vucevic is a trade candidate and Capela is entering free agency, so the Bulls and Hawks may each be looking to add a young player to their frontcourt.
Here’s more on the draft:
- The Sixers (No. 3) and Hornets (No. 4) have conveyed to teams that they’re prepared to listen to trade offers for their picks until they’re on the clock next Wednesday, sources tell Fischer. The Jazz (No. 5) haven’t actively encouraged trade interest in their pick, while the Wizards (No. 6) are considered a possible trade-up candidate, Fischer adds.
- The Raptors worked out guards Jase Richardson and Nolan Traore on Monday, according to Afseth. Both players are projected first-round picks, though Richardson is at No. 20 on ESPN’s big board while Traore is at No. 25. It’s unclear if Toronto is considering one or both at No. 9 or preparing for possible trade-down scenarios.
- Washington State’s Cedric Coward and French center Joan Beringer are receiving legitimate lottery consideration, Afseth writes in a separate RG.org story. The Hawks (No. 13) and Spurs (No. 14) are among the teams closely monitoring Beringer, sources tell Afseth. “He hasn’t been playing the game that long, but you’d never guess it with how quickly he picks things up,” one scout said of Beringer.
- Wisconsin’s Steven Crowl, who has worked out for the Warriors and Nuggets, among other teams, is having a strong pre-draft process and is considered a good candidate for a two-way contract, per Afseth.
- Illinois’ Will Riley was considered a likely target for the Magic at No. 16, according to Fischer, who says it’s possible some teams in the late teens will have a shot at Riley now that Orlando has traded that pick to the Grizzlies.
Heat Notes: Durant, Wiggins, Ware, Burks
Although the Heat remain engaged with the Suns on forward Kevin Durant, John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 stated during a radio appearance on Monday that Miami’s offer isn’t where it needs to be to seriously entice Phoenix.
“I have to preface this by saying that offers change. (But) right now, this is what I know, this is as of today. Miami wouldn’t be able to get a deal done today,” Gambadoro said (Twitter video link). “Deals change. You go back to the table, you go back to the drawing board. If you want the guy really bad, you then take guys out (of the offer) and add other guys, or add more draft capital.”
Gambadoro went on to say that the Suns probably aren’t very interested in taking back Andrew Wiggins, who is coming off a down year and is owed more than $58MM over the next two seasons (Twitter video link). He also suggested he’s not sure how much Kel’el Ware would move the needle for Phoenix, though he acknowledged that Miami would be improving its chances of landing Durant by adding the young big man to its offer.
For what it’s worth, Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic wrote today that the Suns are struggling to gain leverage in their trade negotiations due to Durant’s age, contract situation, and desire for a fresh start with a new team. Phoenix may have to lower its asking price in order to get a deal done, according to Rankin.
Here’s more on the Heat:
- While Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro are obviously off limits in the Durant trade talks, no one on the Heat’s roster should be considered entirely untouchable for the right player, draft asset, or combination of both, says Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel. Winderman runs through the players currently under contract with Miami, evaluating their trade value and considering what sort of scenarios it would take to move them.
- In two more stories for the Sun Sentinel, Winderman explains why Durant having the Heat on his wish list only means so much and argues that Miami should set a self-imposed deadline to either acquire Durant or move onto other pursuits.
- During an appearance on Tuesday at a Miami-area basketball camp, veteran guard Alec Burks said he remains focused on re-signing with the Heat this offseason and would love to reach an agreement with the team before the end of the month, as Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald relays. “I just like being here,” Burks said. “I like the city. The city shows me a lot of love and my family, I like the organization, everybody I work with. It’s just a great place to be for this stage of my career. I like being here.” Playing on a minimum-salary contract in 2024/25, Burks averaged 7.3 points in 17.6 minutes per game across 49 outings, with a career-high 42.5% mark on three-point tries.
Pelicans, Pacers Complete Draft-Pick Swap
2:23 pm: The trade is official, the Pelicans confirmed in a press release.
12:51 pm: The Pelicans and Pacers have agreed to a trade, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania, who reports (via Twitter) that Indiana is sending the No. 23 overall pick in this year’s draft to New Orleans, along with the draft rights to 2023 second-round pick Mojave King.
In exchange, the Pelicans will trade Indiana’s 2026 first-round pick back to the Pacers. That pick, which was originally sent to Toronto with top-four protection as part of the Pascal Siakam blockbuster at the 2024 deadline, was flipped to New Orleans at the 2025 deadline in the Brandon Ingram deal.
The deal will give the Pelicans some extra ammunition in this year’s draft. New Orleans also controls the No. 7 overall pick but previously traded away its second-rounder. The Pelicans will now have an opportunity to add two of the top 23 players from the 2025 draft pool, assuming the front office hangs onto both picks.
King, who was the 47th overall pick in the 2023 draft, has played in the G League, New Zealand, and Puerto Rico in the past two years. Although he’s not considered an elite draft-and-stash prospect, the 6’5″ guard is still just 23 years old, so it’s not out of the question that he’ll sign an NBA contract at some point.
As for the Pacers, the deal accomplishing two things. For one, it will remove a cap hold of roughly $3.24MM from their books for 2025/26, tweets ESPN’s Bobby Marks. That will give the team slightly more cap flexibility as it looks to re-sign Myles Turner without going too deep into luxury-tax territory.
Additionally, as Kevin O’Connor of Yahoo Sports tweets, the move will free up more of the Pacers’ future first-rounders for trade purposes. Previously, due to the Stepien rule that prevents teams from leaving themselves without a pick in the first round of consecutive future drafts, the Pacers wouldn’t have been able to offer more than two first-rounders unconditionally in any trade package. Now they could offer up to four (2026, 2028, 2030, and 2032).
While teams typically aren’t permitted to make trades between the in-season trade deadline and the end of their season, the Pacers can make this deal while they remain alive in the NBA Finals because it doesn’t involve any players on their 15-man roster.
Tyrese Haliburton Undergoing MRI On Right Calf Injury
2:01 pm: Haliburton is believed to have suffered a right calf strain and is undergoing an MRI to determine the severity of the injury, sources tell Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link).
9:32 am: Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton, who spoke earlier in the NBA Finals about dealing with a “lower leg” issue, was hampered by an injury affecting the same leg during the team’s Game 5 loss on Monday, writes Jamal Collier of ESPN.
Haliburton’s initial lower leg issue was later revealed to be a right ankle ailment. On Monday, he went to the locker room in the first quarter due to right calf tightness before returning to the court and finishing the game. He told reporters after the loss that Monday’s injury was in the “same area,” but that he never considered shutting it down for the night.
“It’s the Finals,” Haliburton said. “I’ve worked my whole life to be here and I want to be out there to compete, help my teammates any way I can. I was not great tonight by any means, but it’s not really a thought of mine to not play here. If I can walk, then I want to play.”
Monday’s performance was easily Haliburton’s worst of the NBA Finals. His four points matched a personal career playoff low, and he didn’t make a single field goal attempt, going 0-for-6 from the floor as the Pacers fell behind 3-2 in the series. He did manage to grab seven rebounds and hand out six assists, but Indiana was outscored by 13 points when he was on the floor in a game the team lost by 11 points.
“Just trying to keep pace in the game, impact whatever way I can,” Haliburton said, per Shakeia Taylor of The Athletic. “Just trying to get (Pascal Siakam) the ball in the right spots. Try to get the ball to guys in the right spots if I can. As far as what happened there, we have to watch film to see it.”
Having their All-NBA point guard battling health issues obviously isn’t ideal for the Pacers as they prepare for a win-or-go-home Game 6 in Indiana, but head coach Rick Carlisle expressed confidence the Haliburton will be available on Thursday.
“He’s not 100 percent. It’s pretty clear,” Carlisle said. “But I don’t think he’s going to miss the next game. We were concerned at halftime, and he insisted on playing. I thought he made a lot of really good things happen in the second half. But he’s not 100 percent. There’s a lot of guys in the series that aren’t. We’ll evaluate everything with Tyrese and see how he wakes up tomorrow.”
As Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star writes, backup point guard T.J. McConnell gave the team some huge minutes on Monday with Haliburton struggling. McConnell scored 18 points on 8-of-14 shooting in 22 minutes off the bench.
If Haliburton doesn’t look like his normal self on Thursday, the Pacers may have to lean more on McConnell, Siakam, and Andrew Nembhard for play-making.
Wizards Rumors: Rebuild, Young Core, Draft, Fears
The Wizards are expected to take a patient approach to their rebuild, according to Josh Robbins of The Athletic, who hears from a team source that the front office plans to continue evaluating its young core through at least the end of the 2027/28 season.
In addition to the current Wizards players who have one or two NBA seasons under their belts, like Bilal Coulibaly, Alex Sarr, Carlton Carrington, and Kyshawn George, that young core figures to feature at least one or two rookies from the 2025 draft class (Washington controls the sixth, 18th, and 40th overall picks), as well as the player(s) the team drafts in 2026.
That doesn’t necessarily mean Washington will remain at or near the top of the draft lottery for the next three seasons. Houston is an example of a club that has taken a few years to evaluate its young core while supplementing those players on rookie scale contracts with veteran free agents and making a significant move up the standings in the process.
As Robbins explains, the Wizards simply don’t want to give up on any of their young players too early by including them in a trade for a win-now veteran before they get a better sense of what those youngsters can become. Robbins points to the Kings trading Tyrese Haliburton less than two years after drafting him or the Pelicans trading Dyson Daniels after his second season as the types of moves the Wizards will look to avoid in the coming years.
We have more out of D.C.:
- Washington will send its 2026 first-round pick to New York if it lands outside the top eight. If that pick ends up in its protected range, the Knicks will instead receive the Wizards’ 2026 and 2027 second-rounders. Given how important it is to the Wizards to keep that first-rounder after having no luck in the 2025 draft lottery, Robbins says it’s “very difficult” to envision a scenario in which the club risks losing it. In other words, Washington appears likely to be one of the league’s five worst teams again in 2025/26.
- Robbins wouldn’t be surprised if the Wizards look to trade up from No. 6 or No. 18 for a specific player they like. As he points out, they moved up one spot in the 2023 lottery to nab Coulibaly and two spots in 2024 to draft George.
- The Wizards would like to upgrade their backcourt this summer and have done “extensive due diligence” on draft-eligible guards, sources tell Grant Afseth of RG.org, who identifies Jeremiah Fears as a name to watch if the Sooner standout is available at No. 6.
- A team source who spoke to Robbins believes that – with Cooper Flagg and Dylan Harper virtually certain to be drafted first and second – the Wizards have six players in their next tier and will decide from among the prospects still available in that group. That tier consists of V.J. Edgecombe, Ace Bailey, Fears, Tre Johnson, Kon Knueppel, and Khaman Maluach.