Brandin Podziemski Has Wrist Debridement Surgery
Brandin Podziemski underwent left wrist debridement surgery Tuesday in Los Angeles, the Warriors announced (via Twitter). He’s expected to make a full recovery and be ready when training camp opens this fall.
There had been no indication that Podziemski was dealing with a wrist injury before Wednesday night’s announcement. He appeared in all 12 of Golden State’s playoff contests and led the team with 28 points in the Game 5 loss to Minnesota two weeks ago.
The second-year guard struggled with his shot during the postseason, which could have been a result of the wrist ailment. After connecting at 44.5% from the field and 37.2% from beyond the arc during the regular season, those numbers dropped to 36.4% and 32.8% in the playoffs.
According to the San Jose Mercury News (subscription required), the University of California San Francisco’s Department of Surgery states that the debridement procedure “involves thoroughly cleaning the wound and removing all hyperkeratotic (thickened skin or callus), infected, and nonviable (necrotic or dead) tissue, foreign debris, and residual material from dressings.”
Podziemski quickly made an impact with the Warriors after being selected out of Santa Clara with the 19th pick in the 2023 draft. He immediately earned a spot in coach Steve Kerr‘s rotation and finished fifth in the 2024 Rookie of the Year race.
He turned 22 in February and appears to be a long-term fixture for a Golden State team that needs more production from its younger players to ease the burden on Stephen Curry, Draymond Green and Jimmy Butler.
Wolves Notes: Game 5, Conley, Edwards, Randle, Defense
The Timberwolves understand what’s at stake as they prepare for tonight’s Game 5 in Oklahoma City, writes Cassidy Hettesheimer of The Star Tribune (subscription required). Minnesota narrowly missed a chance to tie the series on Monday, which means three straight wins will now be necessary to reach the NBA Finals. Two of those will have to come at the Paycom Center, where the Thunder won by 26 and 15 points to open the series.
“We’re just trying to get another home game and trying to play in front of our home crowd again,” Donte DiVincenzo said. “Everybody has counted us out all year. We’ve been through a lot. We’re together as a locker room. We don’t care what the media is going to say.”
This is the second straight year the Wolves have reached the Western Conference Finals, and Hettesheimer notes that they were expected to be in a better position this time. Last year, Minnesota was exhausted after coming off a seven-game series with Denver and lost to Dallas in five games. This time, the Nuggets took OKC to seven games while the Wolves had time to rest after a five-game series with Golden State. Despite that, Minnesota is back in the same position, staring at a 3-1 deficit.
Jaden McDaniels believes the key to Game 5 will be getting off to a fast start and not letting the Thunder build up momentum in front of their fans.
“At home, they start super well, so we’ve just got to [slow] their little run at the beginning,” he said. “We’ve got to play tougher, playing stronger and just hold them to one shot.”
There’s more on the Wolves:
- Veteran guard Mike Conley is counting on Anthony Edwards and Julius Randle to bounce back after subpar performances in Game 4, according to Dave McMenamin of ESPN (Twitter link). OKC’s swarming defense held Edwards to 16 points on 5-of- 13 shooting and Randle to five points on a 1-of-7 night. “We need our best guys to be our best guys,” Conley said.
- Randle seems to have found a home in Minnesota, which is the fourth stop in his 11-year career, McMenamin observes in a full story. He notes that the surprise trade that sent Randle to the Wolves in October reunited him with head coach Chris Finch, who was an assistant in New Orleans earlier in Randle’s career, and he has bonded with president of basketball operations Tim Connelly over their shared love of cuisine. Randle’s comfort level could become important this summer, as he holds a $30.1MM player option and may be interested in a long-term contract.
- The most disappointing part of Minnesota’s performance in the two conference finals has been the failure of its vaunted defense, according to Chris Hine of The Star Tribune. The Wolves weren’t able to control Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving last year, and the Thunder are averaging 115.3 points through the first four games of this series.
RJ Luis To Remain in NBA Draft
St. John’s star RJ Luis has officially decided to keep his name in this year’s draft, according to Jonathan Givony of ESPN (Twitter link). The decision confirms a statement Luis made two weeks ago when he said he’s “all-in” for the draft.
The 6’7″ guard is coming off an outstanding season with the Red Storm, being named Big East Player of the Year and earning second-team All-America honors. He was also voted the Most Outstanding Player in this year’s Big East Tournament.
Luis averaged 18.2 points, 7.2 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.4 steals in 35 games while leading St. John’s to its first conference championship in 40 years. He shot 43.9% from the field and 33.6% from three-point range on 3.9 attempts per game.
Despite the accolades, Luis isn’t considered a sure thing to be drafted. He’s ranked 62nd on ESPN’s latest big board, although that could rise as some of the players ahead of him return to school.
Givony states that Luis would have been one of the most sought-after players in the transfer portal if he had opted for another year of college. North Carolina, Kansas, Mississippi, Villanova and Georgetown were among the schools that have expressed interest. There were some substantial NIL offers involved, Luis’ father told college basketball writer Jeff Goodman of The Field of 68 (Twitter link).
“We understand the situation, we were offered a lot of money to go back to college,” Reggie Luis said. “But we have a plan and we’re going to stick with the plan.”
NCAA early entrants who want to maintain their college eligibility will have to withdraw from the draft by the end of the day on Wednesday.
Adou Thiero Staying In NBA Draft; Oweh, Bittle, Others Withdrawing
After spending the 2024/25 season at Arkansas, 6’6″ wing Adou Thiero will be keeping his name in the 2025 NBA draft, agent Lucas Newton of Klutch Sports tells Jonathan Givony of ESPN (Twitter link).
While Thiero was technically testing the waters and could have pulled out of the draft to return to school for another year, the wording of his initial announcement strongly indicated that his plan was to go pro. It sounds like he hasn’t received any feedback during the pre-draft process that dissuaded him from taking that route.
Thiero, who spent his first two college seasons at Kentucky, had a breakout year for the Razorbacks as a junior, averaging 15.1 points, 5.8 rebounds, 1.9 assists, and 1.6 steals in 27.5 minutes per game across 27 contests (26 starts). He made just 25.6% of his three-point attempts (11-of-43) and shot 68.6% on free throws, but is considered a potential first-round pick due in large part to his exceptional athleticism and energy.
Theiro was listed as the No. 30 prospect in the latest version of ESPN’s big board for the 2025 draft.
Here are a few more of the latest draft decisions made by early entrants:
- Kentucky guard Otega Oweh will be removing his name from the draft pool and rejoining the Wildcats for his senior season, agent Wilmer Jackson tells Givony (Twitter link). Oweh, who transferred to Kentucky after two years at Oklahoma, was the team’s leading scorer in 2024/25 with 16.2 points per game and made the All-SEC second team. He was the No. 72 player on ESPN’s big board.
- Oregon forward/center Nathan Bittle, the No. 79 prospect on ESPN’s board, intends to withdraw from the draft and return to the Ducks for one more year, tweets Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports. Bittle was named to the All-Big Ten third team and the conference’s All-Defensive team this spring after averaging 14.2 points, 7.6 rebounds, and 2.1 blocks per game. He has been with Oregon for four years, but was granted a medical redshirt for the 2023/24 season after being limited to five appearances due to health issues.
- Wisconsin guard John Blackwell worked out for a few NBA teams during the pre-draft process and got positive feedback, but he has decided to pull out of the draft and head back to school, reports Jon Chepkevich of DraftExpress (Twitter link). Blackwell became a full-time starter for the Badgers as a sophomore last season and put up 15.8 PPG, 5.1 RPG, and 2.2 APG in 37 games.
- Guard Camron McDowell has withdrawn from the draft, according to agent Curtis Lawrence (Twitter link via Chepkevich). McDowell poured in 27.1 points per game last season playing for Division II school Northwestern Oklahoma State. He’s in the transfer portal and will be returning to a Division I team for his senior year, Chepkevich notes.
And-Ones: Trade Market, Top FAs, Award Ballots, Kemp
With so little cap room available around the NBA this year and most top free agents expected to remain with their current teams, executives across the league are projecting a significant amount of activity on the trade market during the upcoming offseason, writes Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Substack link).
“It’s gonna be a crazy summer,” one Western Conference exec told Fischer. “There’s going to be a lot of movement.”
“Trades are going to be the marquee aspect because there’s a number of high-level players (available) and there aren’t really any marquee free agents,” another team’s salary cap strategist said.
Kevin Durant is among the biggest names expected to be available via trade this summer, and it’s possible two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo could join him on the trade block if the Bucks forward decides he wants to seek a change of scenery.
Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:
- ESPN’s Kevin Pelton has shared his top 25 NBA free agents for the summer of 2025. Kings guard Keon Ellis is perhaps the most surprising entry near the top of Pelton’s list (he’s at No. 10), though Sacramento holds a minimum-salary team option on the guard, so he’ll likely only become a restricted free agent if the team has a very good idea of what it will take to lock him up long-term.
- Keith Smith of Spotrac takes a closer look at the top shooting guards in free agency this offseason, with Malik Beasley, Quentin Grimes (restricted), and Nickeil Alexander-Walker leading the way. We took our own deep dive into the 2025 free agent market for shooting guards in a Front Office article earlier this month.
- While we’ve heard plenty about in recent weeks about the tax- and apron-related challenges facing teams like the Celtics, every team in the league will have difficult financial decisions to make this summer. Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report identifies the biggest decision facing each team, such as whether the Pacers will go into tax territory, how much the Hawks should pay Dyson Daniels on an extension, and whether the Heat will extend Tyler Herro.
- Owen Phillips of The F5 digs into the ballots submitted by the NBA’s award voters this season, evaluating which media members made the most and least unique choices, while also considering whether “groupthink” has become an issue.
- Shawn Kemp, the former SuperSonics forward and six-time NBA All-Star who played in the league from 1989-2003, has pleaded guilty to a second-degree assault charge for shooting at two men inside a vehicle in a Washington state mall parking lot, per The Associated Press. Prosecuting attorneys having recommended that Kemp be sentenced to nine months in jail — that hearing will take place in August.
Offseason Zion Williamson Trade Considered ‘Very Unlikely’
It’s “very unlikely” that the Pelicans will trade forward Zion Williamson before the 2025/26 season tips off, reports William Guillory of The Athletic.
It was another injury-shortened season in 2024/25 for Williamson, who was limited to 30 or fewer games for the fourth time in his six years in the NBA. His injury woes, along with a disappointing season for the Pelicans as a whole and a front office overhaul that saw Joe Dumars hired as the team’s new head of basketball operations, have led to speculation that the former No. 1 overall pick could be on the trade block this summer.
However, Guillory says there has been communication between Dumars and Williamson’s camp on “several occasions” since the former Pistons executive replaced David Griffin in New Orleans last month. According to Guillory, both sides are feeling good about where the relationship stands ahead of next season.
Echoing prior reporting from Marc Stein, Guillory also confirms that the Pelicans’ decision to make Williamson their on-stage representative at this month’s draft lottery was “very intentional,” as was Zion’s decision to be there. Stein previously noted that Williamson’s presence at the lottery on behalf of the organization was a strong signal that he’ll remain a franchise centerpiece in New Orleans.
Although Williamson has been limited to 214 total regular season games across six NBA seasons and has never suited up in the playoffs, he has been terrific when he has been available, with career averages of 24.7 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 4.3 assists in 31.4 minutes per contest.
As Guillory notes, after missing a chunk of the season due to hamstring issues, the former Duke star looked to be in the best shape of his career and was playing some of his best basketball during the second half of the season. That stretch served as a reminder that the Pelicans can get more from a healthy Williamson on the court than they could realistically hope to get in exchange for him on the trade market.
Still, while he views a Williamson trade as a long shot to happen this summer, Guillory cautions that the new front office is unlikely to be as patient as the previous regime was with the 24-year-old if he continues to have issues related to his health, conditioning, and/or work ethic.
Williamson is owed approximately $126.5MM across the next three seasons.
Tahaad Pettiford Withdrawing From Draft, Returning To Auburn
After testing the NBA draft waters following his freshman year at Auburn, Tahaad Pettiford has decided to pull out of the draft pool and return to the Tigers for the 2025/26 season, he tells Jonathan Givony of ESPN (Twitter link). Pettiford confirmed the news with a post on his Instagram account.
[RELATED: 2025 NBA Draft Early Entrants List]
Pettiford, a 6’1″ point guard who will turn 20 in August, earned a spot on the SEC’s All-Freshman Team after averaging 11.6 points, 3.0 assists, and 2.2 rebounds in 22.9 minutes per game in 38 appearances (one start) in 2024/25.
He posted a solid shooting line of .421/.366/.804 and helped Auburn earn a No. 1 seed and make a deep run in the NCAA tournament. The Tigers were defeated by eventual champion Florida in the Final Four.
Pettiford was considered a strong candidate to be drafted but was less likely to be a first-round pick. He came in at No. 38 on the most recent update of ESPN’s big board of 2025 prospects.
According to Givony, Pettiford is expected to enter his sophomore season as a projected first-rounder in the 2026 draft.
Jamir Watkins To Remain In 2025 NBA Draft
Jamir Watkins will keep his name in the 2025 NBA draft, he tells Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports (Twitter link).
Watkins, who played two seasons for VCU and two for Florida State, had one year of college eligibility remaining and had entered the transfer portal this spring, but will go pro rather than returning to school for another season.
A 6’7″ forward, Watkins averaged 18.4 points, 5.7 rebounds, 2.4 assists, and 1.2 steals in 30.9 minutes per game across 32 outings (all starts) for the Seminoles in 2024/25. He posted a shooting line of .427/.321/.747 and was named to the All-ACC second team.
Watkins began his college career in 2020/21, which didn’t count toward his four years of eligibility because the season was shortened due to COVID-19. He was then sidelined for all of ’21/22 due to a knee injury, earning him a redshirt year. As a result of his extended college career, he’ll turn 24 this July, which will limit his appeal to NBA teams looking for a young player with untapped upside.
Still, Watkins’ experience at the college level puts him in position to potentially emerge as an immediate contributor at the next level. He was ranked as the No. 65 overall prospect on ESPN’s latest big board, and a few prospects ahead of him on that list have since withdrawn their names from the draft.
As we outlined earlier today, NCAA early entrants who want to maintain their college eligibility will have to withdraw from the draft by the end of the day on Wednesday.
Warriors Announce Details For 2025 California Classic Summer League
The seventh annual California Classic Summer League will take place this summer on July 5, 6, and 8 at Chase Center, the Warriors announced today in a press release.
According to today’s announcement, the Warriors will be joined at this year’s event by the Heat, Lakers, and Spurs. Each team will face every other club once over the course of the three-day event.
San Antonio owns the No. 2 overall pick in the 2025 draft, so it’s possible Dylan Harper – who is considered the overwhelming favorite to be selected at that spot – will make his Summer League debut at this year’s California Classic.
The California Classic, which is held days before the league-wide Las Vegas Summer League, was launched by the Kings in 2018, and has been held in either Sacramento or San Francisco in recent years, with the Kings and Warriors trading hosting duties back and forth.
The event expanded from four teams to six in 2023 and then to eight in 2024, with China sending its national team to participate. However, it seems it will revert to just four squads again in 2025. The Warriors, Lakers, and Heat typically participate every year, while the Spurs have competed since 2023. This will be the first time the Kings aren’t involved in the event.
The California Classic will take place at the same time as the Jazz are hosting the Salt Lake City Summer League in Utah. The Vegas Summer League, which features all 30 NBA teams, will be played from July 10-20.
Pelicans Hire Troy Weaver As Senior VP Of Basketball Operations
May 28: The Pelicans have formally confirmed the addition of Weaver to their front office, announcing that he’s the team’s new senior VP of basketball operations.
New Orleans also announced Jason Hervey as the team’s director of player personnel and Davis Smith as basketball operations manager. The club’s deal with Hervey was previously reported by Michael Scotto of HoopsHype.
April 23: The Pelicans are hiring former Pistons general manager Troy Weaver, according to Marc J. Spears of Andscape, who reports (via Twitter) that Weaver will be named the senior vice president in New Orleans’ basketball operations department under new executive VP Joe Dumars.
In a full story on ESPN.com, Spears says Weaver will also hold the title of Pelicans general manager.
Weaver spent more than a decade in the Thunder’s front office before being hired by the Pistons as their general manager in 2020. He oversaw the rebuilding project in Detroit for four years, but was removed from his position last spring after the team posted a franchise-worst 14-68 record in 2023/24.
As poor as the Pistons’ record was during Weaver’s tenure, he perhaps deserves partial credit for the team’s renaissance this season, which was led by a handful of his draft picks, including star point guard Cade Cunningham, center Jalen Duren, and swingman Ausar Thompson.
Following his exit from Detroit, Weaver joined the Wizards last summer as a senior advisor. He’ll be leaving that role to join the Pelicans’ front office, says Spears.
Although both Dumars and Weaver are former heads of basketball operations in Detroit, their stints with the club didn’t overlap at all. Dumars led the Pistons’ front office from 2010-14, departing the organization while Weaver was still in Oklahoma City.