Pacific Notes: Triano, Kings, Christie, Clippers, Redick
Jay Triano, who had been the Kings‘ lead assistant this season, won’t be returning to Doug Christie‘s staff for 2025/26, sources tell Anthony Slater and Sam Amick of The Athletic (Twitter link).
Triano, who has been a Kings assistant since 2022, previously served as a head coach in Toronto (2008-11) and Phoenix (2017-18) and had stints as an assistant with the Raptors (2002-08), Trail Blazers (2012-16), Suns (2016-17), and Hornets (2018-22) before arriving in Sacramento. He was promoted to associate head coach in 2024 following the departure of Jordi Fernandez and still had time left on his contract after this season, reports Amick.
As Slater and Amick note (via Twitter), Triano’s exit comes as part of an overhaul of Christie’s coaching staff, with Jawad Williams, Riccardo Fois, Robbie Lemons, and Sam Logwood also on the way out.
One assistant coach who will remain under Christie is Leandro Barbosa, Slater adds. A former NBA guard, Barbosa has been with the Kings since 2022 after previously serving as a player development coach in Golden State.
Here’s more from around the Pacific:
- Reintroducing Christie as the Kings‘ permanent head coach during a media session on Friday, new general manager Scott Perry said he was impressed from afar this season by the way Christie handled his “baptism by fire” and connected with his players after replacing Mike Brown in December, per Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee. “Look, I’m a former coach, and I’m the first to tell him or anybody else, it’s not an easy job,” Perry said. “It’s the most second-guessed job in the world probably, but he is made of the type of internal fortitude necessary to navigate those waters.”
- Hampered for years by untimely injuries to key players, the Clippers have shown in the first-round series vs. Denver that they’re a formidable opponent when their stars – in this case, Kawhi Leonard and James Harden – are healthy, writes Mirjam Swanson of The Orange County Register. While Leonard has been the team’s top offensive postseason weapon, scoring at least 20 points in each of the first six games of the series, the Clippers may need Harden to come up as big as he did in Game 6 (28 points, eight assists) to win on Saturday and advance to round two, says Law Murray of The Athletic.
- With J.J. Redick‘s inaugural season as a head coach in the books, Jovan Buha of The Athletic evaluates the job the first-time coach did for the Lakers and notes that Redick is bullish about his potential to continue improving. “I know I will get better,” he said this week. “I don’t necessarily take any satisfaction from how the year went. That’s not to say I’m not proud of what the group was able to do, and how we were able to figure out things on the fly and put ourselves in a position to have home court in the first round. But there’s always ways to get better. And I can get a lot better.”
Celtics Widely Expected To Make Offseason Roster Changes
After winning a title in 2024, the Celtics brought back essentially the same team this season, parting ways with only a couple reserves. No NBA team retained more players from the end of the 2023/24 season to the start of ’24/25 than Boston (15).
However, even if the Celtics repeat as champions this spring, they’re unlikely to maintain that sort of continuity going forward, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania. During an appearance on The Pat McAfee Show this week (YouTube link), Charania said Boston is widely expected to make cost-cutting moves that will impact its roster this offseason.
“The rest of the league is bracing for some level of change to come to the Celtics roster this offseason,” Charania said (hat tip to RealGM). “Sources have been telling me for weeks now that the Celtics will be exploring trade options in the offseason.
“This iteration just is not going to be sustainable for this team and no one around the organization – from players to staffers – would be surprised if there are changes coming to this roster. Because when you think about the new Collective Bargaining Agreement, there’s restrictions that come with trades, there’s restrictions that come with freezing of draft picks. That’s all stuff that they’re dealing with right now.”
As Charania observes, star wings Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown will both be on super-max contracts in 2025/26 and beyond, with Derrick White, Kristaps Porzingis, and Jrue Holiday also set to earn between $28.1MM and $32.4MM apiece next season. Those five players on their own will earn a combined $198.5MM, which exceeds the projected first tax apron ($195.9MM).
In total, Boston has about $221MM in guaranteed money committed to nine players and will still need to add at least five more players to that count. Even if those last five players are earning minimum-salary deals, the Celtics’ team salary would soar past the second apron ($207.8MM), setting the club up to pay a massive tax bill as the more punitive repeater penalties go into effect. It would also place serious limitations on what the front office can do in free agency and on the trade market.
[RELATED: Celtics’ Wyc Grousbeck Talks Tax Aprons, Sale, Chisholm, Arena]
What form Boston’s roster changes take remains an open question, one that figures to be decided at least in part by how the team performs during the remainder of its postseason run. While it’s possible a starter like Porzingis or Holiday ends up on the trade block this summer, the team also may look to make tweaks around the edges, perhaps including a role player like Sam Hauser.
If the Celtics’ new ownership group is comfortable paying substantial tax penalties, there won’t necessarily be urgency to get below the second apron right away, but the longer the team continues to operate above that threshold, the more limited its roster-building options become — a team that remains above the second apron for several years at a time would have a handful of future first-round picks “frozen” (ineligible to be traded) and moved to the back of the first round.
For now, Boston’s focus is on winning a second consecutive title, but teams around the NBA are keeping an eye on the defending champions and are curious to see what’s in store for them this offseason, according to Charania.
“None of these changes are at the top of mind for the Celtics now, they can’t be,” Charania said. “This is obviously the most talented team in the league. I think a lot of people would agree with that. So these are good problems to have, but the league is bracing for some level of change to come to this Celtics roster in the offseason.”
Several Teams Promoting Interim Head Coaches, Forgoing Searches
It’s not uncommon for several NBA teams to be on the lookout for new head coaches each spring. During the 2022 offseason, four clubs hired new coaches; that number increased to six in 2023 and was six again in 2024.
It looked like that would trend would continue in 2025. The Kings made a coaching change in December 2024, with the Grizzlies and Nuggets following suit in March and April, respectively. The Suns fired Mike Budenholzer once their season ended and longtime Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich stepped down from his position for health reasons.
Despite the fact that five teams have parted ways with their head coaches in the past four-and-a-half months, only one of those clubs is currently conducting a head coaching search.
After finishing the season with a 27-24 under interim head coach Doug Christie, who reportedly had support from team owner Vivek Ranadive, the Kings opted to name Christie the permanent replacement for Mike Brown, finalizing a new multiyear contract agreement with him earlier this week.
The Grizzlies took the same path with Taylor Jenkins‘ in-season replacement, Tuomas Iisalo, removing his interim tag this week and announcing that he would be keeping the job.
In San Antonio, Mitch Johnson was technically the acting head coach and didn’t hold the interim title — that’s really just a technicality that reflects the fact that Popovich was still hoping to return at some point. But when Popovich decided to call it a career, the Spurs wasted no time confirming that Johnson would remain in the role and they wouldn’t be interviewing anyone else.
The Nuggets are still alive in the playoffs, so it’s possible – especially if they lose Game 7 of their first-round series to the Clippers on Saturday – that they could launch a full-fledged coaching search, with interim coach David Adelman receiving consideration as part of that search. But Adelman is widely respected within the organization, including by stars Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray, so there’s a chance that Denver just sticks with him — especially if he leads the team to at least the second round of the postseason.
It’s not out of the question that other teams could make coaching changes this spring. However, most teams whose seasons are over have had time to think about it and probably would have made their move by now if they planned to do so. Willie Green of the Pelicans is one coach to monitor from this group, though one recent report said the “prevailing expectation” is that he’ll be retained by new head of basketball operations Joe Dumars.
While there has been no indication that a change is in the cards for either the Bucks or Hawks, Doc Rivers is another head coach worth keeping an eye on, as is Quin Snyder, who received a strong endorsement from general manager Landry Fields last month, only for Fields to be fired by Atlanta a few days later.
As for the teams still alive in the postseason, it seems relatively safe to assume that Kenny Atkinson, Joe Mazzulla, Rick Carlisle, Mark Daigneault, Chris Finch, Tyronn Lue, Ime Udoka, and Steve Kerr aren’t going anywhere unless they choose to.
Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau is perhaps the most at risk in this group, but he likely relieved some of the pressure he was facing by getting past Detroit in the first round. New York will enter the conference semifinals against Boston as a significant underdog, so unless the Knicks are embarrassed in that series, a coaching change may not be in their plans.
If no other teams replace their coaches this spring, it would leave the Suns in position to take their time with their own search, knowing they aren’t in danger of having their top choice poached by a rival team. Reports have already indicated that Phoenix plans to be patient as it seeks its fourth head coach in four seasons — the team is expected to identify 14 or 15 candidates, then pare that list down to a smaller group of finalists.
While there haven’t been any reports yet about candidates who have secured meetings or interviews with the Suns, the following names have been linked to the team’s coaching vacancy by various reporters:
- Cavaliers assistants Johnnie Bryant and Jordan Ott
- Mavericks assistants Sean Sweeney and Jared Dudley
- Rockets assistants Royal Ivey and Ben Sullivan
- Pelicans assistant James Borrego
- Thunder assistant Dave Bliss
- Heat assistant Chris Quinn
- Former Kings coach Mike Brown
- The Suns’ own assistant David Fizdale
- Former Suns assistant (and current BYU head coach) Kevin Young
Central Notes: Giannis, Bucks, Cavs, Bulls Centers
Speaking to Adam Mares on the All NBA podcast (YouTube link), veteran NBA reporter Marc Stein said the Bucks are unlikely to trade Giannis Antetokounmpo this offseason unless he specifically asks for a trade. Stein acknowledged that neither side is eager to go down that path, but pointed out that the Bucks don’t have a realistic way to build a legitimate contender around the two-time MVP, particularly in the wake of Damian Lillard‘s torn Achilles tendon.
“The rumbles that you always hear are that just having Giannis is so important to them financially,” Stein said (hat tip to RealGM). “They’re not going to trade him unless he pushes it.
“… The whole league is on edge waiting to see will Giannis’ representatives go to the Bucks and say, ‘It’s time. Move us, hold the auction, and start over.’ I don’t think the Bucks want to do that. You could make the case that they should want to do that, that they should say, ‘Let’s go out and get the largest haul we can get back for Giannis,’ but I don’t think the Bucks are there. We’re going to see where Giannis is.”
Here are a few more notes from around the Central:
- If the Bucks do trade Giannis, what would a hypothetical deal look like? Bucks beat writer Eric Nehm of The Athletic evaluates fake proposals from his colleagues David Aldridge, Eric Koreen, Tony Jones and Sam Vecenie. One three-team proposal involves Houston and Portland, with the Bucks receiving Amen Thompson, Jalen Green, Cam Whitmore, Donovan Clingan, three first-round picks and having their 2028 and 2030 pick swaps with Portland extinguished; the Rockets acquiring Antetokounmpo and Jerami Grant; and the Trail Blazers getting back Alperen Sengun and Jock Landale.
- Cavaliers point guard Darius Garland is dealing with a sprained left big toe and his availability for Game 1 vs. Indiana is uncertain. If Garland can’t play Sunday, will the Cavs stick with Sam Merrill or turn to someone else? Joe Vardon of The Athletic explores that topic, noting that head coach Kenny Atkinson didn’t tip his hand one way or another. “(Merrill) can create advantages, not in the pick and roll but with off-ball screen stuff, and then he can hold his own defensively,” Atkinson said. “But you could argue, do you go with a bigger body? Do you go with a (Tyrese) Haliburton matchup? This series is different.”
- The Bulls have three centers under contract for next season, but it wouldn’t be surprising if two of them get traded this summer, writes Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times. “There are some good young pieces that can be built around,” Nikola Vucevic said in his exit interview last month. “A lot of questions when you are a team not fighting for the top. I have trust in them and believe they want to do what’s best and build a good team that wants to win, so we’ll see. Obviously, I am at the stage in my career where I am trying to win now, play in the playoffs and hopefully deep playoff runs. It’s a young team and it does take time. It all depends on what their timeline is and how they see this team.”
Rockets Notes: Adams, Zones, VanVleet, More
Veteran center Steven Adams missed about half of the 2022/23 season with a knee injury. That same injury kept him on the shelf for the entire ’23/24 campaign. After a 21-month absence, Adams returned to action in late October.
The Rockets brought Adams along slowly to open ’24/25, frequently giving him extra rest days and limiting his playing time. He wound up making 58 regular season appearances and averaging a career-low 13.7 minutes per game.
While his production looked fairly modest on the surface — he averaged 3.9 points and 5.6 rebounds — Adams quietly posted the best offensive rebounding percentage of his career. He was also second in the team in net rating differential, only trailing All-Star center Alperen Sengun.
That trend has carried over to the postseason as well — Adams has been terrific in the Rockets’ first-round series with Golden State. The Rockets are plus-53 in Adams’ 129 playoff minutes and are minus-38 in the 159 minutes he’s been on the bench. The two-big pairing of Adams and Sengun has been particularly effective against the Warriors, Kevin O’Connor of Yahoo Sports notes (via Twitter).
Adams wound up playing a season-high 31 minutes in Friday’s Game 6 victory in San Francisco, recording 17 points, five rebounds, one steal and three blocks. After falling in a 3-1 hole, the Rockets have now evened the series at three games apiece heading into Sunday’s Game 7.
“Adams was fantastic tonight,” Warriors head coach Steve Kerr said after the game, per Matt Young of The Houston Chronicle. “He’s having a great impact,” added Warriors forward/center Draymond Green.
Adams, 31, is playing on expiring $12.6MM contract and will be an unrestricted free agent this summer.
Here’s more on the Rockets:
- Head coach Ime Udoka has befuddled the Warriors by deploying a variety of zone defenses over the past two games, with Adams often used as the anchor, writes Kelly Iko of The Athletic. That was particularly true of yesterday’s fourth quarter, when Golden State only managed one field goal over an eight-minute stretch to open the final period. “Just attention to detail,” Fred VanVleet said. “Trying to find the shooters. We’ve been experimenting with some things in the zone and having the bigs on the back line, and then just morphing and flying around. Half the time, we don’t even know what the hell we’re doing out there. I’m sure it’s hard to game plan against but just flying around, having effort, being physical. We know the guys that we want to limit their touches and shots, make it tough on them.”
- Former All-Star guard VanVleet had arguably his best performance of the series in Game 6, scoring an extremely efficient 29 points to go along with eight rebounds and eight assists in 40 minutes. As Danielle Lerner of The Houston Chronicle details, VanVleet had no idea the Rockets would be in this position when he signed with Houston a couple years ago. “You always dream of the moment, the best moment possible, and rising to the occasion and building up a team,” VanVleet said. “But I think first and foremost, it was hard to see that part when I first got there, first practice and first training camp. We just had so much work to do. But it’s just a testament to these young guys and how far they’ve come in such a short amount of time. I can bark all day. Ime can bark all day. It’s not gonna matter if these guys didn’t put the work in, if they weren’t hungry, if they weren’t selfless, they weren’t confident, they weren’t talented. So I mean, they get all the credit in the world. They’re making me look good.“
- Assistant coach Will Dunn made it clear that VanVleet has been critical to Houston’s rise over the past two seasons — the coaching staff refers to him as “The General” due to his position and the way in which he motivates himself and teammates, according to Lerner. “He has the best pulse on our team. He knows exactly what our team needs to hear,” Dunn said. “He’s had huge moments and huge series. He’s not scared of the moment. Every single chance when he has a chance to take a big shot, he’s gonna step into it and shoot like he’s gonna make it.”
Magic Notes: Offseason Plan, Banchero, F. Wagner, Bitadze
After finishing with a losing record for four straight seasons, the Magic went 47-35 and made the playoffs a year ago, eventually losing a tight seven-game series against Cleveland.
Entering 2024/25, Orlando added veteran wing Kentavious Caldwell-Pope in free agency, but long-term injuries to key players — including Paolo Banchero, Franz Wagner, Moritz Wagner and Jalen Suggs — played a significant role in the team’s middling 41-41 record. The Magic advanced as the No. 7 seed via the play-in tournament, but once again lost in the first round, this time in five games to the defending champion Celtics.
As Jason Beede of The Orlando Sentinel writes, the Magic finished with the second-best defensive rating in the NBA during the regular season, but had the fourth-worst offense, including the worst three-point percentage. President of basketball operations Jeff Weltman says Orlando is ready to transition to a “win-now” phase entering ’25/26.
“What we need is proven shot-making, proven offensive play, someone that’s going to come in and help augment our weakness,” Weltman said. “Clearly, we need to get better offensively. Clearly, we need to shoot the ball better. Those are the goals and that’s the lens we need to look at as we enter the offseason.
“I don’t think anything’s off the table. Veteran help, proven offensive help is what we’re going to be looking for.”
Most of the Magic’s roster is under contract for next season, Beede observes, and the team won’t have the cap room necessary to be a major player in what’s viewed as a relatively weak free-agent class. That means the front office will have to make trades to add the types of players it’s looking for, which Weltman acknowledged.
“Most of our roster upgrades are going to have to come more through swapping than just adding,” Weltman said. “The reason we’ve been a good team the last couple of years — and I do believe we are a good team — is because we’ve got an elite defensive backbone.
“And as we look to improve our offense, we have to be very cognizant of not unraveling the DNA of our team. That’s what we have to balance this summer.”
Here’s more on the Magic:
- In addition to his end-of-season media session, Weltman also discussed the Magic’s season, the inactive trade deadline, and the team’s offseason plan on Mike Bianchi’s “Open Mike” radio show.
- Following the first-round elimination, Banchero reflected on how his season played out, according to Beede of The Orlando Sentinel. “Kind of how I evaluated the team’s season, it was a little disappointing for me and my season,” Banchero said. “Just going down with the injury and then coming back and having to work my way into shape and battle through those times. But I was happy with how I was able to kind of respond and finish strong. I didn’t let some of those early tough times discourage me. I kept going and, like the team, I wanted to finish strong, and do whatever I could to help us get to the postseason. We were able to do that.”
- Banchero, a former No. 1 overall pick and All-Star, will be eligible for a rookie scale extension this summer. He made it clear he’s ready to sign a long-term deal with Orlando, Beede adds in the same story. “I love it here,” Banchero said about Orlando. “… It’s a place that I love spending time, my family loves spending time here, and I couldn’t be more happy to be a part of the Orlando Magic. I look forward to spending a lot more years here.”
- While Franz Wagner isn’t sure whether or not he’ll suit up for Germany at this summer’s EuroBasket, center Goga Bitadze says he’s definitely going to represent his home country of Georgia at the tournament, per Johnny Askounis of Eurohoops. “I take that very seriously,” Bitadze said. “I’m going to prepare for that and got to stay in shape all summer. Hopefully, we win a lot of games with the national team.”
Poll: Who Will Win Nuggets/Clippers Game 7?
As a result of the Rockets’ win over the Warriors on Friday night, we have two Game 7 matchups on tap for this weekend. Golden State will head to Houston as the Western Conference’s No. 2 and No. 7 seeds battle it out on Sunday for the right to face the Timberwolves in conference semifinals.
But before we get that last showdown between the Rockets and Warriors, we’ll get another Western Conference Game 7, with the Nuggets hosting the Clippers on Saturday for the right to face the Thunder in round two.
The first-round series between the No. 4 and No. 5 seeds in the West has been a back-and-forth affair. After narrowly squeaking past the Clippers in overtime in Game 1, the Nuggets dropped two games in a row, losing Game 3 by 34 points in Los Angeles. The Clippers looked like the heavy favorites at that point, but Denver bounced back with two consecutive wins to reclaim a 3-2 lead before L.A. evened things up with a 111-105 home win on Thursday.
Nikola Jokic has been his usual dominant self for the Nuggets, averaging a triple-double through the team’s first six playoff games and making 50.9% of his shots, including 44.8% of his three-pointers. Jamal Murray has been reliable too, contributing 24.0 points and 6.5 assists with a .482/.432/.938 shooting line.
But Denver lacks depth and its supporting cast has been hit and miss. Starting forward Michael Porter Jr. has been held to seven points or fewer in three separate games, while Christian Braun – a Most Improved Player candidate who averaged 15.4 PPG with a .397 3PT% during the regular season – has seen his postseason marks drop to 11.2 PPG with a .250 3PT%.
While Russell Westbrook has given the Nuggets some good minutes off the bench, they haven’t gotten much from their other reserves — in Denver’s three losses, the non-Westbrook bench players scored a total of 15 points in 95 combined minutes.
The Clippers, meanwhile, have gotten a big boost from a healthy Kawhi Leonard, who has frequently showed the form that helped him earn Finals MVP awards earlier in his career with the Spurs and Raptors. Leonard has averaged 25.5 points, 8.0 rebounds, and 5.2 assists per game on .545/.394/.741 shooting.
Los Angeles’ other star, James Harden, has been less consistent. After a 32-point outing in Game 1, he averaged 16.0 points per game on 41.2% shooting through the next four contests before bouncing back with a 28-point showing in Game 6.
The Clippers have gotten what they’ve needed from center Ivica Zubac and swingman Norman Powell, but have had to experiment to find other effective combinations and lineups to complement their top four players. As we detailed earlier on Friday, head coach Tyronn Lue played starting guard Kris Dunn for just 10 minutes and gave Ben Simmons his first DNP-CD of the series in Game 6 in order to improving the club’s offensive spacing.
The change was an effective one — veteran forward Nicolas Batum played a series-high 34 minutes and the Clippers were a +11 when he was on the court. Veteran wings Derrick Jones and Bogdan Bogdanovic also give the team good minutes off the bench.
The oddsmakers at BetOnline.ag currently list the Nuggets as 1.5-point favorites for Saturday’s deciding game, but that’s likely more about the home-court factor than a belief that Denver is the legitimately better team. The Nuggets have a strong track record in the mile-high elevation at Ball Arena, while the Clippers had a 20-21 regular season road record and have lost two of three games in Denver this series.
We want to know what you think. Are you picking the Nuggets or the Clippers to win on Saturday and advance to round two? Vote in our poll, then head to the comment section to share your predictions and thoughts!
Who will win Saturday's Game 7?
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Denver Nuggets 59% (534)
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Los Angeles Clippers 41% (376)
Total votes: 910
Lakers Notes: Doncic, LeBron, Redick, Offseason
Luka Doncic, who will become extension-eligible this summer, will have several different options available to him if he wants to sign a new deal with the Lakers. His maximum contract as of August 2 would be worth a projected $229MM over four years, but it might be more favorable for him in the long term for him to sign a three-year deal with a third-year option that would allow him to opt out in 2028, when he has 10 years of NBA experience and qualifies for a salary worth 35% of the cap.
Team sources tell Jovan Buha and Sam Amick of The Athletic that the Lakers would be amenable to whatever kind of contract Doncic wants, while sources close to the star guard tell ESPN’s Dave McMenamin that he’ll likely take his time with the decision.
A source close to Doncic tells ESPN that the five-time All-Star feels “wanted” in Los Angeles, so it seems possible that he’ll make some sort of commitment to his new team this summer. For what it’s worth, LeBron James told ESPN that he’d love to see Doncic in Los Angles long term but won’t be trying to influence his teammate’s decision.
“No, that ain’t my job,” James said, per McMenamin. “I think … I don’t think, I know, Luka knows how I feel about him. And ultimately, that trade happened for the future. That’s not for me. Luka has to decide what he has to do with his future. He’s (26) years old, I’m 40, so he can’t be basing his career off me. That’s just real.
“But I hope, obviously, (he stays long term). Laker fans f—ing love him here. L.A. has accepted him. We love him as a teammate, as a brother. But ultimately, he’s got to make a decision for him. S–t, I ain’t going to be around much longer.”
Here’s more on the Lakers:
- James will have a contract decision of his own to make this summer, and while a return to the Lakers seems likely, team and league sources who spoke to Jovan Buha and Sam Amick of The Athletic wouldn’t entirely rule out the possibility of the four-time MVP finishing his career elsewhere. Assuming he remains in Los Angeles, LeBron isn’t expected to consider taking a pay cut, according to Buha and Amick. A year ago, James shaved approximately $2.7MM off his max deal to help the team remain under the second tax apron and reportedly would’ve accepted an even bigger discount if the front office had been able to land one of the four free agent targets on his wish list (James Harden, DeMar DeRozan, Klay Thompson, or Jonas Valanciunas).
- First-year head coach J.J. Redick came under fire for his handling of the Lakers’ rotation in the first-round playoff series vs. Minnesota, as well as his abrupt exit from a press conference prior to Game 5. However, team sources tell Buha and Amick that the Lakers remain high on Redick’s future with the organization and were aware there might be some “growing pains” in year one. Redick also seems to have the full support of the locker room, with Doncic and James both expressing support for him after the team’s Game 5 loss. “I think he’s a hell of a coach,” Doncic said, per McMenamin. “I’m really glad I got coached by him these couple of months. It feels sometimes like I’m back in Europe a little bit. So I love it. We have a great bond. It’s been nothing but amazing with him as a coach.”
- Both Redick and Lakers president of basketball operations Rob Pelinka preached patience following the club’s midseason roster shake-up, as Khobi Price of The Orange County Register relays. “These things take time, particularly with the star players,” Redick said. “There’s a reason in the modern NBA history, go back the last 30, 40 years, there’s been less than a handful of All-Star players traded in-season that led directly to a championship. These things take time.” Pelinka agreed, noting that the offseason will give the Lakers an opportunity to continue building around their stars: “When you make a seismic trade at the deadline, your roster and the building around it, it’s kind of like trying to build an airplane in the sky. Now we get a chance to land that plane, put it in the hangar, and really figure out the parts of it that we need to retrofit and change. That’s what we’ll do.”
- As disappointing as their five-game playoff exit was, the Lakers provided a number of reasons for optimism and hope going forward, writes Bill Plaschke of The Los Angeles Times.
- In case you missed it, Pelinka confirmed on Thursday that upgrading the frontcourt will be one of the Lakers’ top priorities this summer.
Draft Notes: Early Entrants, T. Johnson, C. Bryant, Combine
When the NBA announced its initial early entrant list for the 2025 NBA draft, there were just 106 names on that list. As Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic writes, that’s the lowest total since 91 players declared early in 2015, which was the last year before college players were granted permission to test the draft waters while maintaining their NCAA eligibility.
According to Vorkunov, a handful of factors contributed to the major drop-off in early entrants this season, but the money now available to college players is easily the No. 1 factor. Prospects increasingly have opportunities to earn higher “salaries” playing college basketball than they would if they were a second-round pick in the NBA, Vorkunov points out.
The name, image, and likeness (NIL) money available to NCAA players isn’t just reducing the number of American-born players entering the draft. As Vorkunov details, international prospects have also become increasingly inclined to leave top teams and developmental programs in Europe in order to play college basketball, lowering the number of international early entrants.
Here’s more on the 2025 NBA draft:
- Sam Vecenie of The Athletic has published a new mock draft ahead of this year’s lottery and combine, with Texas wing Tre Johnson among his big risers — the No. 7 pick in Vecenie’s March mock draft, Johnson moves up to No. 3 this time around, with Ace Bailey slipping to No. 5. Arizona’s Carter Bryant is among the other notable risers on Vecenie’s board, moving up to No. 9 after coming in at No. 23 in his previous mock draft. According to Vecenie, Bryant has a “ton of juice when you talk to front offices” and has moved into the No. 7 to No. 16 range of the draft.
- Although Cooper Flagg is considered a high-end talent at No. 1 overall and Dylan Harper looks locked in at No. 2, teams around the NBA have “real questions” about the average value of this year’s draft class starting at No. 3, Vecenie notes within that new mock draft. While there are solid prospects to be had in the middle of the lottery and into the teens, those players come with significantly more question marks, so the results of the lottery will be especially important for teams seeking a cornerstone player, Vecenie explains.
- According to ESPN’s Jonathan Givony (Twitter link), all 75 prospects invited to this month’s NBA combine in Chicago are among the top 100 players on ESPN’s big board. ESPN’s top 56 prospects all made the cut, with No. 57 Mouhamed Faye of Reggio Emilia representing the site’s highest-ranked player who didn’t get a combine invite. Kentucky’s Amari Williams (No. 58) and Malique Lewis of South East Melbourne (No. 59) are the others in ESPN’s top 60 who weren’t invited to the event.
Bucks’ Lillard Undergoes Surgery To Repair Torn Achilles
Bucks star Damian Lillard underwent successful surgery on Friday to repair his torn left Achilles tendon, the team announced (via Twitter).
According to the Bucks, the procedure was performed in Los Angeles by renowned surgeon Dr. Neal ElAttrache, with consultation from Bucks orthopaedic surgeon Dr. Carole Vetter.
The news had been expected since word broke earlier this week that Lillard had been diagnosed with a left Achilles tear. He’ll now begin a lengthy recovery and rehab process. While the Bucks didn’t provide a timeline for Lillard’s projected return, there’s a chance the recovery will sideline him for the entire 2025/26 season, given how late in this season the injury occurred.
Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson are among the other stars in their 30s who have undergone surgery to repair Achilles tears in recent years. Durant underwent surgery in June 2019 and returned in December 2020 (at the start of the delayed 2020/21 season). Thompson’s recovery period spanned from November 2020 to January 2022.
It’s not uncommon even for a younger player to require a full calendar year to make it back from a torn Achilles. Grizzlies forward Brandon Clarke, for instance, sustained the injury on March 3, 2023 and returned to the court on March 27, 2024.
Despite the long road ahead for Lillard, who will turn 35 this July, he made it clear to Doc Rivers that he’s “not going out this way” and fully intends to eventually get back to full strength, as the Bucks head coach told reporters this week. The veteran point guard is owed a projected $54.1MM next season and holds a player option for 2026/27 expected to be worth $58.5MM.