Sixers Rumors

2025 NBA Draft Picks By Team

May 16th, 2025 at 1:19pm CST by Luke Adams

The Nets and Jazz were among the teams who left Monday’s draft lottery disappointed, as Brooklyn slipped two spots to No. 8 while Utah, the NBA’s worst team during the 2024/25 season, ended up at No. 6.

Still, while they won’t be picking as high in the lottery as they might like, the Nets and Jazz will enter this year’s draft armed with plenty of ammunition. Brooklyn controls a league-high five 2025 draft picks, including four first-rounders and an early second-rounder. Utah, meanwhile, is one of just two teams (along with the Magic) controlling four picks in this year’s draft, including a pair of first-rounders.

Four other clubs – the Spurs, Hornets, Wizards, and Thunder – own three picks apiece, so those seven teams combine to control 25 of the 59 selections in the 2025 draft.

In addition to those teams with three or more picks, 12 more clubs own a pair of 2025 draft selections, while another 10 control one apiece. That latter group includes the Mavericks, whose No. 1 overall pick is their only selection in this year’s draft.

That leaves just a single NBA team without a draft pick this year: the Nuggets. Denver traded its 2025 first-rounder to Orlando back in 2021 as part of a package for Aaron Gordon in a deal that has worked out exceedingly well for the 2023 champions and sent out its 2025 second-rounder last offseason in a Reggie Jackson salary-dump. The Nuggets could still trade into this draft, but for now they’re the only team on track to sit it out.

To present a clearer picture of which teams are most – and least – stocked with picks for the 2025 NBA draft, we’ve rounded up all 59 selections by team in the space below. Let’s dive in…

Teams with more than two picks:

Brooklyn Nets (5): 8, 19, 26, 27, 36
Utah Jazz (4): 5, 21, 43, 53
Orlando Magic (4): 16, 25, 46, 57
San Antonio Spurs (3): 2, 14, 38
Charlotte Hornets (3): 4, 33, 34
Washington Wizards (3): 6, 18, 40
Oklahoma City Thunder (3): 15, 24, 44

Teams with two picks:

Philadelphia 76ers: 3, 35
Toronto Raptors: 9, 39
Houston Rockets: 10, 59
Chicago Bulls: 12, 45
Atlanta Hawks: 13, 22
Minnesota Timberwolves: 17, 31
Indiana Pacers: 23, 54
Boston Celtics: 28, 32
Phoenix Suns: 29, 52
Los Angeles Clippers: 30, 51
Memphis Grizzlies: 48, 56
Cleveland Cavaliers: 49, 58

Teams with one pick:

Dallas Mavericks: 1
New Orleans Pelicans: 7
Portland Trail Blazers: 11
Miami Heat: 20
Detroit Pistons: 37
Golden State Warriors: 41
Sacramento Kings: 42
Milwaukee Bucks: 47
New York Knicks: 50
Los Angeles Lakers: 55

Teams with no picks:

Denver Nuggets

Draft Rumors: Spurs, Giannis, Bucks, Sixers, Coward, More

May 16th, 2025 at 9:07am CST by Rory Maher

The Spurs moved up from No. 8 to No. 2 in the NBA draft lottery on Monday. As Sam Vecenie of The Athletic writes, Rutgers guard Dylan Harper is “nearly unanimously” viewed by league executives and scouts as the second-best prospect in the 2025 class.

However, San Antonio just traded for star point guard De’Aaron Fox in February and also has Rookie of the Year winner Stephon Castle. All three guards are at their best with the ball in their hands, which may make Harper’s fit a little awkward at first. For what it’s worth, he recently expressed confidence about the possibility of playing alongside Fox and Castle.

The majority of the NBA sources Vecenie has spoken to believe the “most likely outcome” is that San Antonio will keep the No. 2 pick and select Harper. But the value of that pick — and having Harper on a rookie scale contract for the next four years — could open another possibility: a potential trade for Giannis Antetokounmpo, should he become available.

“If the Spurs paired Giannis and (Victor Wembanyama), they would be the favorite to win the title next year,” one Eastern Conference executive told Vecenie. “They’d have two guys who might be top-five players in the league next year on the same team. Plus, they fit. They’d have a dominant defense that no one would be able to score against inside, and they’d have the ability to play five-out in an even more devastating way than the Bucks did with Brook Lopez if they surrounded Giannis and Wemby with the right wings.”

Here are some more draft-related rumors, mostly from Vecenie:

Vecenie hears the Bucks still want to keep Antetokounmpo, but it’s unclear if he will seek a change of scenery after spending his first 12 NBA seasons in Milwaukee. If Giannis does request a trade, the draft lottery results could be a boon for the Bucks. As Vecenie explains, while it isn’t known if the Spurs would actually offer the No. 2 pick as part of a package for Antetokounmpo, people around the league are very high on Harper, and Milwaukee could leverage his possible inclusion in a trade to try and create a bidding a war between San Antonio and any other interested suitors, with the Rockets viewed as another possible landing spot. According to Vecenie, Harper as a centerpiece to an offer would hold more league-wide appeal than Castle, who is a more polarizing prospect due to question marks about his shooting.
The Sixers landing the No. 3 pick in the lottery could also be beneficial to the Bucks, Vecenie writes, since president of basketball operations Daryl Morey has historically been one of the most aggressive suitors for star players. The third pick doesn’t have as much value as the second in this draft, but it’s still an asset that Milwaukee could try to leverage in negotiations.
Vecenie hears the Sixers are expected to be aggressive in looking for roster upgrades after acquiring the No. 3 pick and are expected to listen to offers from teams interested in moving up in the draft. However, if Philadelphia stands pat, it’s not yet clear which prospect it would prioritize. Ace Bailey is viewed as more of a long-term project instead of a player who can help a team win right now, Vecenie notes, and there are question marks about the fit and/or value of selecting V.J. Edgecombe, Tre Johnson or Kon Knueppel at No. 3.
According to Vecenie, there appears to be a “dead zone” outside of the top eight for point guards who aren’t great at playing off the ball at this stage in their development, with the majority of the teams in the nine-to-18 range already having lead guards. Vecenie suggests that prospects like Jeremiah Fears, Nolan Traore and Jase Richardson have a chance to slide on draft night if they aren’t selected in top eight.
Former Washington State forward Cedric Coward seems to be leaning toward keeping his name in the draft, according to Jonathan Givony of ESPN (Twitter link). Coward plans to transfer to Duke if he stays in college, but that possibility sounds “increasingly unlikely,” says Givony. Coward, who started his college career at Willamette University, a Division III school, is ranked No. 35 on ESPN’s big board. He recently sat down for an extensive interview with Kevin O’Connor of Yahoo Sports (YouTube link).

Atlantic Notes: Raptors, Maluach, Sixers, Bailey, Nets, Fears

May 15th, 2025 at 9:02am CST by Luke Adams

While they didn’t fall as far as teams like Utah or Washington, the Raptors were among the clubs to slide multiple spots in Monday’s draft lottery. They entered the night with the seventh-best odds, but will be picking ninth overall in this year’s draft.

As Eric Koreen of The Athletic writes, that lack of lottery luck diminishes the odds of Toronto adding a difference-maker in this year’s draft after the team spent much of the season angling for a better draft position. While that will raise the level of difficulty as Masai Ujiri looks to build another title-contending team, the Raptors president indicated on lottery night that he wasn’t fazed by the results, pointing to the organization’s positive history with the No. 9 overall pick.

“Tracy McGrady. DeMar DeRozan. Jakob Poeltl,” Ujiri said. “We’ll be fine. I guarantee you we’ll be fine. … We have all our picks going forward. I think we continue this rebuild and grow as a team. And honestly, I’m as optimistic as I was (before the lottery).

“I believe that the NBA has become (about) movement, movement, movement. You just wait for your turn (for a big transaction that makes sense). It will come: patience and (we will) see if that’s the way. But I think for this team, we’re just going to keep growing. And (we have) young players. We’ll be fine adding another one.”

As for which prospects the Raptors might target at No. 9, Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca points to Duke big man Khaman Maluach as one possible fit, noting that the club will be seeking center depth behind Poeltl. According to Grange, some league sources have told him Maluach is high on Toronto’s radar, while other sources with knowledge of the team’s thinking have pushed back on that notion.

The Raptors, who also hold 39th overall pick in this year’s draft, have a workout scheduled with Australian forward Alex Toohey, tweets Grange. Toohey is the No. 39 prospect on ESPN’s big board.

Here’s more from around the Atlantic:

Confirming a report from Michael Scotto of HoopsHype, Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer writes that assistant coach Coby Karl has been let go by the Sixers. Karl is one of several staffers the team is parting ways with, according to Pompey, who identifies associate player development coach Terrel Harris, senior physical therapist and assistant athletic trainer John Tooher, and director of coaching operations Michelle Bell as a few of the others exiting the organization.
In a column for The Philadelphia Inquirer, Pompey makes the case that the Sixers should use the No. 3 overall pick on Rutgers’ Ace Bailey, assuming Cooper Flagg and Dylan Harper are off the board. However, if they do select Bailey, the 76ers will need to make sure they “focus on making him a real contributor from day one,” Pompey contends, rather than possibly stunting his growth by making him a fourth option or role player.
Could Oklahoma guard Jeremiah Fears be the right fit for the Nets at No. 8 in this year’s draft? Noting that Fears shows up at that spot in multiple mock drafts, Brian Lewis of The New York Post writes that the lottery prospect has worked out for Brooklyn and the Wizards so far and received some positive feedback from the Nets. “Yes, I met with Brooklyn. I worked out for Brooklyn as well,” Fears said. “The conversations were great. They were just telling me how they think I could fit within their system and be an overall good piece for them.”

Scotto’s Latest: Gafford, Huerter, Jazz, Boozer, Giddey, More

May 14th, 2025 at 3:28pm CST by Luke Adams

Looking ahead to the 2025 offseason trade market, Michael Scotto of HoopsHype identifies Daniel Gafford as a possible trade candidate to watch if the Mavericks and the veteran big man are unable to come to terms on a contract extension.

While Gafford has been a key rotation player over the last season-and-a-half in Dallas, he doesn’t project to be a starter as long as Anthony Davis and Dereck Lively are healthy, and his expiring $14.4MM contract could be a useful salary-matching piece as the Mavericks shop for backcourt help this summer.

Scotto also notes that Bulls wing Kevin Huerter drew some interest from the Jazz after being acquired by Chicago at this year’s trade deadline. The Kings were known to have explored the possibility of a John Collins trade before making their De’Aaron Fox deal, so Huerter likely came up in those talks with Utah. However, Scotto’s wording suggests the Jazz still had interest in Huerter after Sacramento agreed to send him to the Bulls.

It’s unclear if the Jazz will circle back to Huerter this summer or if their interest was solely about acquiring another asset that would’ve been attached to the veteran’s unwanted contract.

Here are several more highlights from Scotto’s latest rumor round-up:

Carlos Boozer, who earned two All-Star berths with the Jazz during his playing career, has been around the team at the draft combine in Chicago this week and is expected to be hired by Utah as a scout, league sources tell HoopsHype.
According to Scotto, there’s still a belief around the NBA that Bulls restricted free agent Josh Giddey will be seeking a five-year, $150MM contract this summer, similar to the one Jalen Suggs signed with Orlando last fall. That was Giddey’s reported asking price last October as well.
While David Griffin wanted to hang onto Kelly Olynyk and re-sign Bruce Brown, it’s unclear how new Pelicans head of basketball operations Joe Dumars feels about that veteran duo, Scotto writes. There’s a similar situation at work in Atlanta, where there was an expectation prior to Landry Fields‘ dismissal that the Hawks would try to re-sign Larry Nance Jr. and Caris LeVert while letting go of Clint Capela. It’s not yet known if that will still be the plan for the new-look front office, Scotto notes.
Sixers assistant Coby Karl isn’t expected to return to Nick Nurse‘s coaching staff next season, Scotto reports.

Draft Lottery Notes: Spurs, Sixers, Mavs, Nets, Hornets, More

May 13th, 2025 at 1:53pm CST by Luke Adams

In the wake of last night’s eventful NBA draft lottery, a series of draft experts – including ESPN’s Jonathan Givony and Jeremy Woo, Kevin O’Connor of Yahoo Sports, and Sam Vecenie of The Athletic – have updated their 2025 mocks.

A common theme has emerged in those mock drafts, with ESPN’s duo, O’Connor, and Vecenie questioning the fit of certain players who are expected to come off the board right after Cooper Flagg at No. 1. Rutgers’ Dylan Harper, for instance, has long been viewed as the consensus No. 2 in this year’s draft pool, but he’s not exactly a clean fit for the Spurs next to guards Stephon Castle and De’Aaron Fox.

The Sixers, meanwhile, could add a one-and-done prospect like Harper’s former Rutgers teammate Ace Bailey, but the 18-year-old guard/forward – considered by many pundits to be the third-best player in this year’s draft – is viewed as more of a long-term project who may not fit into Philadelphia’s win-now plans.

In other words, John Hollinger of The Athletic writes, the unexpected results of Monday’s lottery have opened the door for some tantalizing offseason trade possibilities. With the Mavericks, San Antonio, and Philadelphia all closer to contention than is typical for teams at the top of the draft, could Dallas or the Spurs consider using their pick in a package for a superstar like Giannis Antetokounmpo? Could the 76ers trade down, or perhaps even swing for a star themselves by attaching Paul George to the No. 3 pick and a couple future first-rounders?

As Hollinger notes, there’s some intrigue further down the lottery as well, where teams like the Pelicans and Rockets don’t necessarily need to add rookies to their roster and might consider shopping their picks at No. 7 and 10, respectively. Hollinger also suggests that the Trail Blazers could look into putting the No. 11 pick in a package to improve the trade value of a veteran like Jerami Grant or Deandre Ayton.

Here’s more on the heels of Monday’s shocking draft lottery:

Rival teams view the Nets as a team to monitor for a possible trade up in the draft, according to Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Substack link). As Fischer explains, the Nets have three additional first-round picks this year (at No. 19, 26, and 27) on top of their lottery pick at No. 8 and have an excess of future first-rounders as well. They also lack a blue-chip prospect to build around.
Several of the media members who were in the lottery drawing room on Monday, including Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic, Sarah Todd of the Deseret News, Rod Boone of The Charlotte Observer, and Sean Highkin of Rose Garden Report (Substack link), have published stories from behind the scenes. As Boone writes, although Charlotte dropped one spot from their pre-lottery rank, Hornets governor Rick Schnall was relieved his team will be picking in the top four. “We are obviously disappointed we didn’t get the No. 1, but it could be a lot worse,” Schnall said. “I thought (for a minute) we were going to be seventh. But we are going to get a good player.”
Andy Larsen of The Salt Lake Tribune, who was also in attendance for the drawing, responds to conspiracy theories about the lottery being rigged by explaining why he believes that’s very unlikely.
With many fans displeased about the outcome of Monday’s lottery and questioning whether the event is above board, Michael McCann of Sportico digs into why a lottery determines the NBA’s draft order at all, exploring other ways the league could distribute talent and explaining why those alternatives wouldn’t necessarily be any better.
A series of ESPN’s NBA reporters takes a look at the biggest question facing each of the 13 teams in the lottery after Monday’s results.

Sixers Promoting Jameer Nelson To Assistant GM

May 13th, 2025 at 10:21am CST by Rory Maher

The Sixers are promoting former NBA point guard Jameer Nelson to assistant general manager, according to Kyle Neubeck of PHLY Sports (Twitter link).

Shams Charania of ESPN has confirmed the news (via Twitter).

The 20th overall pick in the 2004 draft, Nelson spent 14 seasons in the NBA, averaging 11.3 PPG and 5.1 APG across 878 regular season contests, earning All-Star honors for the Magic in 2009. He last appeared in the league during the 2017/18 season, when he played a total of 50 games for the Pelicans and Pistons.

Nelson, who grew up in Chester, Pennsylvania and played his college ball at Saint Joseph’s, has been with the 76ers since 2020. He was initially named a scout for Philadelphia as well as assistant general manager of the team’s NBA G League affiliate before being promoted to GM of the Delaware Blue Coats in 2023.

Nelson, 43, has drawn strong reviews for his performance as an executive and spoke back in November about his desire to one day run an NBA team.

Mavericks Win 2025 NBA Draft Lottery; Spurs, Sixers, Hornets In Top 4

May 12th, 2025 at 6:26pm CST by Luke Adams

The Mavericks have won the 2025 NBA draft lottery, jumping all the way from No. 11 in the lottery standings to No. 1 in the draft.

Dallas had just a 1.8% chance of claiming this year’s top pick. Those are the longest odds for any team that has won the lottery since the NBA revamped the format prior to the 2019 draft.

The Mavs’ unlikely lottery victory puts them in position to select consensus top prospect Cooper Flagg, the Duke star who led the Blue Devils to the Final Four as a freshman and was named the ACC Player of the Year, as well as the Naismith College Player of the Year.

The full lottery order for the 2025 draft is as follows:

Dallas Mavericks
San Antonio Spurs
Philadelphia 76ers
Charlotte Hornets
Utah Jazz
Washington Wizards
New Orleans Pelicans
Brooklyn Nets
Toronto Raptors
Houston Rockets (from Suns)
Portland Trail Blazers
Chicago Bulls
Atlanta Hawks (from Kings)
San Antonio Spurs (from Hawks)

It’s an incredible turn of events in Dallas, where general manager Nico Harrison and his front office have been hammered by fans and pundits alike for the last three-plus months for their decision to trade franchise player Luka Doncic to the Lakers at February’s deadline. Now the Mavs are poised to add another cornerstone and a potential All-Star in Flagg, who will join Anthony Davis and Kyrie Irving on the new-look roster.

As Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News tweets, this is the first time in 17 lottery appearances that the Mavs ended up with a better pick than their odds dictated.

The lottery results feature plenty of fascinating stories beyond Dallas’ win, starting with the Spurs‘ pick moving up from No. 8 in the pre-lottery order to No. 2 in the draft. Dylan Harper of Rutgers is widely viewed as the second-best prospect in this year’s class behind Flagg and will be the frontrunner to join an up-and-coming San Antonio roster that already features Victor Wembanyama, De’Aaron Fox, and Rookie of the Year Stephon Castle.

When it was revealed on ESPN’s broadcast that the Mavericks and Spurs had moved into the top four, it momentarily looked as if the Sixers would lose their top-six protected pick, which appeared poised to slide to No. 7 and be sent to the Thunder. However, Philadelphia was among the lucky clubs to move up, claiming the No. 3 pick and hanging onto the selection for at least one more year. The 76ers will now owe their 2026 first-rounder, with top-four protection, to Oklahoma City.

The Hornets, who entered the lottery as one of three teams tied for the best odds at the first overall pick (14%), moved down one spot from No. 3 to No. 4. The Jazz and Wizards, who posted the NBA’s two worst records during the regular season, were even less fortunate, falling four spots each and coming in at No. 5 and No. 6.

That’s a worst-case scenario for those two clubs, who came into the night hoping to add a centerpiece like Flagg or Harper for their rebuild and instead dropped as far as they could have. There was a 47.9% chance Utah would end up at No. 5, but just a 20% chance Washington would slide all the way to No. 6.

The Pelicans were among the night’s biggest losers as well, slipping from No. 4 in the pre-lottery order to No. 7 when three teams leapfrogged them. The Nets and Raptors each dropped two spots to No. 8 and No. 9, respectively, while the Rockets (No. 10, via the Suns) and Trail Blazers (No. 11) slid one spot.

Although the Bulls didn’t move from their pre-lottery slot of No. 12, they had one of the biggest heartbreaks of the night — they finished with the same regular season record as the Mavericks and lost a coin flip last month for the No. 11 spot in the lottery. If they had won that tiebreaker, it would be the Bulls, not the Mavs, whose ping-pong ball combination was drawn for the top pick on Monday.

The lack of movement at the very back of the lottery means the Kings‘ pick, which came in at No. 13, will be sent to the Hawks, as expected. That selection – from the 2022 Kevin Huerter trade – was top-12 protected, so Sacramento only would have kept it if it had jumped into the top four.

The Spurs’ second pick of the lottery, courtesy of the Hawks, didn’t move from No. 14.

The NBA has posted a 13-minute video of the lottery drawing on social media.

Spurs, Rockets In Best Position To Pursue Giannis?

May 12th, 2025 at 4:00pm CST by Luke Adams

Giannis Antetokounmpo has yet to make any decisions about his future with the Bucks, as Shams Charania of ESPN reported today and Marc Stein of The Stein Line (Substack link) confirms. But with Charania suggesting that Antetokounmpo is becoming more “open-minded” about considering opportunities outside of Milwaukee and executives converging on Chicago this week for the NBA draft combine, speculation about the two-time MVP’s future with the Bucks is running rampant.

Stein, Grant Afseth of RG.org, and Brian Windhorst of ESPN (Twitter video link) are among the reporters who have pointed to the Spurs and Rockets as the two top teams to watch as potential Antetokounmpo suitors in the event he requests a trade.

As Windhorst explains, those teams are obvious fits because they have the ability to offer quality young players along with draft picks that aren’t their own in a package for Giannis.

Since the Bucks don’t control their own first-round picks for the coming years, they may not be inclined to launch a full-fledged rebuild if they trade Antetokounmpo. They also might not highly value draft picks coming directly from the team acquiring the star forward, since the picks from a Giannis-led team likely wouldn’t land high in the first round.

Windhorst, Stein, and Afseth also identify the Pelicans as a team to watch as a possible facilitator in any Antetokounmpo deal. If the Bucks do want to hit the reset button, reacquiring their own draft picks could be an important part of their plan, and New Orleans controls those picks in the short term. The Pelicans have the ability to swap picks with Milwaukee in both 2026 and 2027 (top-four protected).

Here’s more on a superstar who has suddenly become a popular subject of trade speculation:

The Nets have long been known to covet Antetokounmpo and are ready to pounce if he becomes available, writes Brian Lewis of The New York Post. While Brooklyn’s cap flexibility collection of future draft assets could make the club an intriguing suitor, Windhorst notes that the Nets don’t have as much young talent as some of the other teams that would likely be part of the bidding.
Do the Heat have the assets necessary to get involved in the potential Antetokounmpo sweepstakes? Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald explores that question, concluding that there are several other teams who could outbid Miami. The Heat would probably only have a legitimate chance at the Bucks star if he were to exert leverage by putting them atop his wish list, Chiang adds.
Afseth cites the Hawks as a possible dark-horse Antetokounmpo suitor, noting that Giannis’ agent – Alex Saratsis of Octagon – is among the player representatives Atlanta is believed to be evaluating as a possible candidate to lead the team’s front office. Head coach Quin Snyder, who has a role in personnel decisions, is also represented by Octagon, Afseth observes.
In his look at potential trade packages for Antetokounmpo, ESPN’s Bobby Marks identifies the Rockets and Spurs as the best overall fits, the Nets and Jazz as the teams best positioned to put together offers heavy on draft picks, and Pistons, Grizzlies, Thunder, Pelicans, Magic, and Sixers as possible wild cards.
Eric Nehm of The Athletic considers how the Bucks might be able to sell Antetokounmpo on the idea of remaining in Milwaukee by treating 2025/26 as a “gap year” and building a younger, more flexible roster around him in the long term.

Community Shootaround: Best, Worst Draft Lottery Outcomes

May 11th, 2025 at 8:37pm CST by Luke Adams

Fans of NBA teams who own a pick (or two) in this year’s lottery will obviously be rooting for their favorite club to get lucky on Monday and claim the No. 1 pick in the 2025 draft, putting them in position to select Duke phenom Cooper Flagg.

But what about the fans who don’t have a personal rooting interest in Monday’s event? What outcome should they be hoping for? Would it be more interesting for Flagg to become the centerpiece of a rebuilding team that badly needs one, like the Jazz or Wizards? Or would it be more fun to see him join a team with some established talent that only ended up high in the lottery due to injuries, like the Pelicans or Sixers?

Here are all the teams that have a shot at the No. 1 pick, as our breakdown of the lottery odds indicates:

Utah Jazz (14%): The Jazz have made five first-round picks in the past two drafts, but none of those players looks like an obvious franchise cornerstone. They bottomed out this season in the hopes of landing one.
Washington Wizards (14%): If the Wizards ended up with the first overall pick, they’d be adding Flagg to a young core that includes Bilal Coulibaly, Alex Sarr, and Bub Carrington.
Charlotte Hornets (14%): The Hornets almost certainly would’ve been a lottery team even if they’d been healthy in 2024/25, but injuries to key players like LaMelo Ball, Brandon Miller, and Mark Williams are the main reason they’re this high in the lottery standings.
New Orleans Pelicans (12.5%): Perhaps no team was hit harder by the injury bug this past year than the Pelicans, whose decision on Zion Williamson‘s future (keep or trade) would be all the more interesting if they were able to add Flagg.
Philadelphia 76ers (10.5%): While Joel Embiid‘s health remains a major question mark going forward, no Eastern Conference team would want the Sixers to get the chance to add Flagg to a group that features Embiid, Paul George, and Tyrese Maxey.
Brooklyn Nets (9%): The Nets reacquired control of their first-round pick from Houston last offseason, anticipating that they’d be in this position. That trade would pay off in a massive way if they get lucky on lottery night.
Toronto Raptors (7.5%): The Raptors have a crowded forward depth chart already, with Brandon Ingram joining Scottie Barnes and RJ Barrett. Adding Flagg to the mix would create a pretty unbalanced roster, but they’d absolutely welcome that problem.
San Antonio Spurs (6.7%): Besides their own pick (6.0%), the Spurs also control the Hawks’ first-rounder (0.7%), giving them two outside shots at No. 1. Given that the Spurs won the lottery for Victor Wembanyama just two years ago, it would feel a little unfair for them to luck into Flagg too, but that duo would be very fun to watch together.
Houston Rockets (3.8%): The 52-win Rockets, who control Phoenix’s first-round pick, have no shortage of young talent on their roster already. Winning the lottery would be a case of the rich getting richer, especially considering that Houston also has extra future draft assets that could be used as trade chips for additional upgrades.
Portland Trail Blazers (3.7%): Portland’s young core features plenty of intriguing talent, including Deni Avdija, Toumani Camara, Shaedon Sharpe, and Scoot Henderson, but they’d love to add one more long-term keeper to that group before they start trying to contend. For what it’s worth, the Hawks moved up from this spot in the lottery standings to No. 1 last year.
Dallas Mavericks (1.8%): Jumping up to No. 1 might be karmic justice for fans in Dallas, who were devastated by this year’s Luka Doncic trade. But would it feel right for general manager Nico Harrison to be rewarded with a new franchise player after making that Doncic deal? Either way, adding Flagg to a roster that features Anthony Davis and Kyrie Irving would certainly qualify as intriguing.
Chicago Bulls (1.7%): The Bulls have begun leaning into a rebuild this past year, having traded away Alex Caruso, DeMar DeRozan, and Zach LaVine. They’ll probably need to tear things down further if they want to have a legitimate shot at a top pick, but you never know.
Sacramento Kings (0.8%): The Kings’ top-12 protected pick will likely be sent to Atlanta at No. 13, but there’s a 0.8% chance of them moving up to No. 1. After a tumultuous year that saw Sacramento fire head coach Mike Brown and GM Monte McNair and trade star point guard De’Aaron Fox, new head of basketball operations Scott Perry would love to begin his tenure by seeing this long shot of less than 1-in-100 come through.

We want to know what you think. Outside of your favorite team, which club would you most like to see win the draft lottery on Monday evening? Which outcome would be a worst-case scenario, in your view?

Head to the comment section below to weigh in with your thoughts!

Sixers Rumors: Oubre, Drummond, Gordon, Grimes, Yabusele, Bona

May 11th, 2025 at 6:36pm CST by Luke Adams

The Sixers should plan on having Kelly Oubre, Andre Drummond, and Eric Gordon on their books this summer, according to Marc Stein and Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Substack link). Oubre, Drummond, and Gordon all hold player options for next season, but are considered likely to exercise them before the June 29 deadline.

That doesn’t necessarily mean all three players will still be on Philadelphia’s roster when the 2025/26 season tips off, since any of them could be traded after opting in. But it does mean the Sixers will have to account for their respective cap hits this offseason — Oubre’s option is worth $8.38MM, Drummond’s is for $5MM, and Gordon’s would pay him $3.47MM.

Assuming all three players pick up their options, the amount of guaranteed money on Philadelphia’s cap for next season would increase to approximately $166MM for seven players. That figure doesn’t include the cap hold for their first-round pick – which they may or may not keep, depending on the lottery results – or new deals for free agents like Quentin Grimes and Guerschon Yabusele.

Next season’s luxury tax line projects to be at $187.9MM.

Here’s more on the Sixers:

The 76ers are projecting confidence that they’ll be able to re-sign Grimes, according to Stein and Fischer. Grimes will be eligible for restricted free agency this offseason after failing to come to terms on a rookie scale extension with Dallas last fall. The Mavericks didn’t get up to $10MM per year with their offer at that time, per Stein and Fischer, but the 25-year-old looks like a good bet to get a deal exceeding that annual salary this summer after a breakout 2024/25 season that included a 21.9 PPG scoring average in 28 games as a Sixer.
League sources also continue to tell Stein and Fischer that Philadelphia hopes to re-sign Yabusele and made moves at the trade deadline (namely, dealing Caleb Martin) to create more financial flexibility to retain him. Yabusele’s Non-Bird rights won’t allow for much of a raise, so the Sixers will likely have to dip into their mid-level exception to make a competitive offer.
Speaking to TRT Spor, Ergin Ataman, the head coach of the Turkish national team indicated that the plan is for Sixers big man Adem Bona to participate in the EuroBasket tournament this summer (hat tip to Eurohoops). “Last week, our sporting director Alper Yilmaz visited him, and Adem is very enthusiastic about playing for the national team,” Ataman said of the 22-year-old, who is coming off his rookie season in Philadelphia. “He’ll be coming for the European championship.”
Sixers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey appeared on the Rights To Ricky Sanchez podcast (YouTube link) this week to discuss a number of Sixers-related topics, including the team’s lottery pick, Joel Embiid‘s knee injury, and more.

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