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Southeast Notes: Jakucionis, Ware, Newell, White, Richardson, Penda

June 28th, 2025 at 8:24am CST by Earnest Marshall

New Heat guard Kasparas Jakucionis declined to conduct a pre-draft workout for the Heat because he thought he’d be off the board by the time they picked at No. 20, according to the Miami Herald’s Anthony Chiang. Miami also didn’t think Jakucionis, ranked in the top 10 on several big boards, would be available to them.

“We see tremendous potential with Kas,” Heat vice president of basketball operations and assistant general manager Adam Simon said. “You’re talking about a 6-5 [guard] with a plus-three [pointer], good athlete but with a high IQ. So if you combine all those things with a work ethic, there’s no reason why you can’t mold him into a very good NBA player. I think that’s why we were attracted to take him.”

The 6’5″ guard averaged 15.0 points, 5.7 rebounds and 4.7 assists per game in his first and only season at Illinois. He’ll serve as a lead play-maker and help assert Bam Adebayo and Kel’el Ware as lob threats and roll men. Jakucionis did average 3.7 turnovers per game last year, but the Heat downplayed concerns about that figure.

“Certainly the numbers are higher than you want, but he’s high usage and he’s processing things,” Simon said. “The turnovers were high, certainly. But I think they’re turnovers that you can work with. I think those are correctable, they’re teachable to see the game. But if you just watched all his film, he’s making good reads out there, he’s making plays.”

We have more from the Southeast Division:

  • The Heat are bullish on the future of Ware and this offseason is reflecting that, Chiang writes in another story. Ware was kept essentially off limits in Kevin Durant trade talks, and Jakucionis has the makings of a long-term running mate for the big man. “We’re excited about his growth, we really are,” franchise legend and current Heat executive Alonzo Mourning said of Ware. “This summer I’ve already seen him getting better in his workouts. He doesn’t have to be here, this is his time off. But that kind of speaks volumes that he has kind of blocked out all of the distractions as a kid.“
  • Former Georgia forward Asa Newell was ecstatic to land with his hometown Hawks in the draft, per Lauren L. Williams of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “I knew deep in my heart that I really wanted to go to the Hawks, and hearing about the trades, and me and DQ [Derik Queen] basically got traded for each other, it was pretty cool,” Newell said. “So that’s gonna be a fun matchup, for sure. But it was just like, ‘Wow.’ My heart was beating so fast when the camera came to my table, and I just, I was just so happy, especially getting dropped into a great organization.”
  • Australian forward Jack White, who previously played 21 games in the NBA with the Nuggets and Grizzlies from 2022-24, will work out for the Hawks and play with them in Summer League, according to ESPN’s Olgun Uluc (Twitter link). Uluc writes that an NBA return for White is a possibility.
  • The Magic drafted Jase Richardson and Noah Penda, targeting two players they valued for their character, Jason Beede of the Orlando Sentinel writes in a subscriber-only story. “The exciting part for us as always, as you guys know, we look for the person before the player, and we feel that these two young guys have our Magic DNA,” president of basketball operations Jeff Weltman said. “They’re about others and that reflects itself on the court.” According to Beede, Penda was disappointed to not hear his name called in the first round but is excited about landing with the Magic, who traded four seconds to move up to get him.
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Southeast Notes: Mann, Johnson, Riley, Newell, Martins, DeVos

June 26th, 2025 at 8:37pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Hornets fully expect to retain restricted free agent Tre Mann, executive VP of basketball operations Jeff Peterson said during a press conference, per Roderick Boone of the Charlotte Observer (Twitter link).

“He’s a priority … I don’t see any reason why he’s not back,” Peterson said.

The Hornets, who hold Mann’s Bird rights, must make a $6.96MM qualifying offer in the coming days in order to make him a restricted free agent. If Charlotte passes on that QO, the point guard would reach unrestricted free agency and could sign with any team without the Hornets getting the opportunity to match. Peterson’s comments strongly suggest the Hornets will extend the QO.

Earlier in the week, it was reported that Mann had fully recovered from his back disc herniation. He has participated in all of Charlotte’s offseason activity and 5-on-5 scrimmages after playing in just 13 games last season.

We have more from the Southeast Division:

  • The Wizards selected Texas guard Tre Johnson (No. 6) and Illinois wing Will Riley (No. 21) in the first round. General manager Will Dawkins expects Johnson to have an immediate offensive impact, according to Candace Buckner of the Washington Post. “Pound for pound, if he’s not the best shooter, [Johnson] is one of the best shooters in the draft,” Dawkins said. “But that’s not his only skill. He’s someone that can make plays … for others and averaged 19 points a game in the SEC, led the whole conference in scoring as a freshman, like in conference play. That’s hard to do.” According to Varun Shankar of the Post, the team’s brass was impressed by Riley’s competitiveness during 3-on-3 workouts when he visited the Wizards. The front office also believes Riley has more skills than he was allowed to show with the Illini. “We think there’s more there to unlock,” Dawkins said. “That’s why we had him as high as we did, and we’re happy to have him.”
  • The Hawks traded down from the No. 13 pick on Wednesday to No. 23 and received an unprotected first-rounder next year from the Pelicans. They still got a quality talent in Georgia’s Asa Newell, according to Rod Beard of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “You don’t ever know if somebody’s going to be available when you move down that far,” Hawks general manager Onsi Saleh said. “We felt good about a bucket of players if we did get there, and it just was the right thing to do for us. It just made sense for us and where we’re at, and I think it just helped our future a little bit. So, yeah, it’s a good trade.” 
  • Alex Martins is stepping down as CEO of the Magic after 14 years and taking on a new role as the vice chair of the organization, Jason Beede of the Orlando Sentinel reports. Martins will still serve as a senior advisor to the Magic board of directors to advance long-term strategic initiatives and as a resource to team executives. The Magic don’t have plans to hire a new CEO. The succession plan also includes the third generation of the DeVos family ownership. Magic vice president of shareholder engagement Ryan DeVos will take the role of managing director while Cole DeVos will relocate to Orlando at the beginning of the 2025/26 season to work more closely with the franchise in a full-time management development program. It shows that the DeVos family has no plans to sell the franchise, Beede notes.
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Hawks Select Asa Newell At No. 23

June 25th, 2025 at 9:52pm CST by Earnest Marshall

After trading down from No. 13 to No. 23, the Hawks have used their first-round pick to select Georgia big man Asa Newell.

According to Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Twitter link), the Hawks considered Newell at No. 13 before making their deal with New Orleans. He has strong hometown ties to Atlanta; he was born there before playing collegiately at Georgia.

Newell averaged 15.4 points, 6.9 rebounds, 1.0 steal and 1.0 block in 29.0 minutes for contest on .543/.292/.748 shooting in 33 games for the Bulldogs. He helped Georgia advance to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2015.

Newell’s defensive versatility, athleticism, and compete level are considered assets, though he’s a bit undersized for a center (6’9″ with a 6’11” wingspan), so it remains to be seen whether he’ll see more time at the four or five at the NBA level.

Regardless of where he ends up spending time at the next level, Atlanta could use another depth big man. Larry Nance Jr. and Clint Capela are free agents, leaving the team without much frontcourt depth to complement Kristaps Porzingis and Onyeka Okongwu if Nance and Capela don’t return.

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Draft Notes: Spurs, Newell, Hawks, Essengue, More

June 24th, 2025 at 1:06pm CST by Luke Adams

The Spurs haven’t entirely shut down trade inquiries on the No. 2 overall pick in this year’s draft, but they still seem likely to end up with Dylan Harper themselves, since no team is expected to meet their high asking price, Kevin O’Connor of Yahoo Sports writes in his latest mock draft.

“They want a ridiculous haul,” one front office executive told O’Connor. “Far more than I’d expect anyone to give up.”

Elsewhere in O’Connor’s mock draft, he cites league sources who say that Georgia forward Asa Newell, the No. 19 prospect on ESPN’s big board, could end up being a lottery pick — O’Connor has him going to Toronto at No. 9.

O’Connor also hears that the Hawks have been exploring a potential move up from No. 13, having even placed calls to teams picking in the top five. They’re targeting a center, O’Connor adds. Based on earlier reporting from Jake Fischer, it sounds like several teams in the back end of the lottery are in the same boat, as Fischer mentioned Phoenix (No. 10), Chicago (No. 12), and San Antonio (No. 14) as clubs eyeing big men.

Here are a few more draft-related notes from around the league:

  • French forward Noa Essengue, a potential lottery pick who ranks ninth overall on ESPN’s board, will miss the conclusion of the German League finals in order to travel to New York for this week’s NBA draft, reports Donatas Urbonas of BasketNews.com. His team, Ratiopharm Ulm, holds a 2-1 lead over Bayern Munich in the best-of-five Basketball Bundesliga championship, though the 18-year-old has been playing a pretty limited role in the series. Essengue’s draft-eligible teammate Ben Saraf has had a bigger hand in Ulm’s two victories and is remaining with the team for Tuesday’s Game 4.
  • John Hollinger of The Athletic has published his list of this year’s top 75 draft prospects. While there are no surprises at the very top, Hollinger is higher than the consensus on guys like Collin Murray-Boyles (No. 6), Essengue (No. 7), Thomas Sorber (No. 10), and Saraf (No. 15), with Tre Johnson (No. 11) and Ace Bailey (No. 12) ranked outside of his top 10.
  • Law Murray of The Athletic identifies some players that might make sense as targets for the Clippers with their 30th and 51st overall picks this week, including point guards like Saraf and Kameron Jones and centers such as Ryan Kalkbrenner and Maxime Raynaud. Rod Walker of NOLA.com, meanwhile, performs a similar exercise with the Pelicans‘ seventh and 23rd overall picks, suggesting that coming away with a duo like center Khaman Maluach and guard Walter Clayton Jr. would make it a successful draft for the team.
  • The Thunder recently worked out potential second-round pick Micah Peavy, according to Rylan Stiles of SI.com. The Georgetown wing ranks 54th on ESPN’s board.
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Southwest Notes: KCP, Grizzlies, Mavericks, Weaver

June 21st, 2025 at 1:00pm CST by Luke Adams

Former Magic wing Kentavious Caldwell-Pope said in the latest episode of his Dawg Talk Podcast (YouTube link) that he got a heads-up he would be traded to the Grizzlies before the agreement was reported last Sunday, so he wasn’t caught off guard when the news broke on social media. And while it took him a little time to wrap his head around the idea of changing teams again just one year after signing with Orlando, the 32-year-old is enthusiastic about what he’ll be able to bring to his new club in Memphis.

“The more I talked about it, the more I got excited,” Caldwell-Pope said, singling out Ja Morant, Jaren Jackson Jr., and Zach Edey as new teammates he’s looking forward to playing with. “A lot of the guys over there I know and I’m going to enjoy playing with. Seeing them, playing against them and the style that they have, I think it fits right into my game.”

Caldwell-Pope had a down year with the Magic in 2024/25, scoring just 8.7 points per game with a 34.2% mark on three-point attempts — both marks were well below his career averages. However, he knocked down 40.3% of his outside shots in the five seasons before ’24/25 and won a pair of titles during that stretch, so he’ll bring championship experience to a Grizzlies team that has won just a single playoff series during the Morant/Jackson era.

Here’s more from around the Southwest:

  • Having acquired this year’s No. 16 overall pick in their deal with Orlando, the Grizzlies took a closer look on Friday at a prospect who could be a target in that spot, bringing in Georgia’s Asa Newell for a pre-draft workout, per Damichael Cole of The Memphis Commercial Appeal (Twitter link). Earl Timberlake (Bryant), Jahmyl Telfort (Butler), Jordan Gainey (Tennessee), and Obinna Anochili-Killen (Marshall) also participated in the session, Cole notes.
  • According to Grant Afseth of RG.org, a number of agents who represent point guards in this year’s free agent class have said they’re eyeing the Mavericks. With Kyrie Irving expected to miss a portion of next season while recovering from ACL surgery, those player reps view Dallas as a good spot for their clients to “build value and contribute to a playoff-caliber roster,” Afseth writes. Chris Paul and Malcolm Brogdon are among the free agent point guards who have been linked to the Mavs, while Jrue Holiday and Lonzo Ball have been cited as possible trade options.
  • New Pelicans head of basketball operations Joe Dumars tells Rod Walker of NOLA.com that he wasn’t disappointed when the club’s first-round pick slipped to No. 7 on lottery night, since he’s confident New Orleans will still get a good player at that spot. As Walker details, one reason why Dumars isn’t worried is because he trusts the scouting ability of new senior VP of basketball operations Troy Weaver. “Troy has a unique skill set,” Dumars said. “His ability to identify talent in this league is elite. He has a long track record of being able to identify players at an elite level.”
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Heat Draft Notes: Workouts, Positional Fits

June 20th, 2025 at 5:01pm CST by Eli Cohen

With the Heat still very much in the mix as a Kevin Durant trade partner with the Suns, there’s no guarantee they’ll be selecting at their allotted spot of the 20th pick in the 2025 draft. However, that hasn’t deterred them from approaching their first-round draft preparation as usual, writes Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel.

Winderman adds that there’s a lot of potential volatility in the Heat’s draft range. The 16th pick has already moved from Orlando to Memphis, while Minnesota, at 17, is also firmly in the Durant mix, and the 18th and 19th picks, belonging to Washington and Brooklyn, respectively, will likely be involved in trade discussions too, since both teams have multiple first-rounders and are rumored to be exploring trade-up scenarios.

The Heat have declined to make their pre-draft workouts public, unlike many teams, which has led to speculation that they’re focusing more on Durant. But Winderman writes that just because the sessions aren’t being announced doesn’t mean there isn’t due diligence happening behind the scenes.

We have more on the Heat’s draft outlook:

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Draft Rumors: Top Eight, Maluach, Raptors, Sixers, Hornets, More

June 17th, 2025 at 3:14pm CST by Luke Adams

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.
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Draft Workouts: Jazz, Wolves, Kings, Broome

June 12th, 2025 at 5:56pm CST by Rory Maher

The Jazz are hosting a pre-draft workout on Friday featuring Colorado State wing Nique Clifford, North Carolina wing Drake Powell, Creighton center Ryan Kalkbrenner and Tennessee guard Chaz Lanier, multiple league sources tell Tony Jones of The Athletic (Twitter link).

Clifford is the top-ranked prospect of the group, according to ESPN’s big board, coming in at No. 22. Powell (No. 31), Kalkbrenner (No. 33) and Lanier (No. 37) are also viewed as strong bets to be drafted, either late in the first round or early in the second.

Utah currently controls four picks — Nos. 5, 21, 43 and 53 — in June’s draft.

Here are a few more notes regarding pre-draft workouts:

  • The Timberwolves, who control the 17th and 31st picks, are holding a workout Thursday that includes Asa Newell (Georgia), Jamir Watkins (Florida State), Keshon Gilbert (Iowa State) and Steven Crowl (Wisconsin), reports Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News and SKOR North (via Twitter). Newell, who was invited to the green room, is ranked No. 21 on ESPN’s board, while Watkins is No. 39. The other two players are unranked.
  • The Kings will be hosting six players for a workout on Friday, the team announced (Twitter link via Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee). The six are Ryan Nembhard of Gonzaga, Curtis Jones of Iowa State, Koby Brea of Kentucky, Kadary Richmond of, Norchad Omier of Baylor, and Vladislav Goldin of Michigan. All six prospects appear on ESPN’s board, ranging from No. 47 (Brea) to No. 95 (Omier). Sacramento currently only controls the 42nd pick, but is rumored to be interested in moving into the first round.
  • Big man Johni Broome, the 40th-ranked prospect on ESPN’s list, had a workout with the Warriors today, tweets Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic. The former Auburn star said he has previously worked out for the Clippers, Pistons, Hawks, Nets, Raptors and Celtics, and has upcoming workouts scheduled with the Thunder, Timberwolves and Suns, according to Rankin. Golden State controls the 41st pick.
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NBA Invites 13 Prospects To Draft Green Room

June 10th, 2025 at 2:57pm CST by Luke Adams

A total of 13 draft-eligible players have been invited to the NBA’s green room for the 2025 draft so far, according to Jonathan Givony of ESPN.

Those players are as follows, sorted by their rank on ESPN’s big board:

  1. Cooper Flagg (Duke)
  2. Dylan Harper (Rutgers)
  3. Ace Bailey (Rutgers)
  4. V.J. Edgecombe (Baylor)
  5. Tre Johnson (Texas)
  6. Khaman Maluach (Duke)
  7. Jeremiah Fears (Oklahoma)
  8. Kon Knueppel (Duke)
  9. Kasparas Jakucionis (Illinois)
  10. Egor Demin (BYU)
  11. Carter Bryant (Arizona)
  12. Derik Queen (Maryland)
  13. Asa Newell (Georgia)

As Givony observes, 12 of the top 13 players on ESPN’s board have received invitations so far, with the only exception being French forward Noa Essengue, who comes in at No. 9. The 18-year-old is still playing in Germany for Ratiopharm Ulm as the team vies for a spot in the Basketball Bundesliga Finals.

Essengue’s season could be over as soon as later this week, in which case he’d have no problem attending the draft and would likely get a green room invite. However, it’s also possible his season might extend beyond June 25 (day one of the draft) if Ulm makes the BBL Finals and the series requires the maximum five games — in that scenario, Game 5 would be played on June 26.

Another 11 green room invitations are expected to be sent out to prospects prior to the draft, a source tells Givony. The players invited to the green room can usually feel pretty confident about their chances to be first-round picks, since the league only decides who to invite after asking teams to vote on the 25 prospects they expect to come off the board first.

Still, there are occasionally instances in which players in the green room slip further than expected. Last season, Givony notes, Kyle Filipowski and Johnny Furphy received green room invites but weren’t selected until the second round, which was held a day later for the first time.

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Eastern Notes: Yabusele, Sixers Arena, Hawks, Mazzulla

June 9th, 2025 at 9:57pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Guerschon Yabusele is “excited” to see how his free agency plays out and plans to remain in the NBA, he told Cyro Asseo de Choch of Hoops Hype. The Sixers big man was one of the few bright spots for the franchise this season after playing in Europe from 2020-24. He posted averages of 11.0 points, 5.6 rebounds and 2.1 assists in 27.1 minutes per game while appearing in 70 contests.

He’ll be an unrestricted free agent after playing for the veteran’s minimum.

“We will see those options also with the upcoming summer when we’re going to know a little bit what’s going on,” he said. “I know the Sixers are going to look change some pieces in the roster, so you have to wait also to see what’s gonna happen but the draft’s gonna set everything pretty much for every team to know where they’re going with the trades and stuff like that.

“I guess we’ll see soon, but I’m pretty excited. It’s going to be my first time really enjoying free agency, especially in the NBA. I’m pretty excited just to hear the offers, to see what’s going on, to see the movement. This summer is going to have a lot of movement on every team, so to be able to be part of that is just amazing.”

We have more from the Eastern Conference:

  • The Sixers and Comcast Spectacor have selected an architecture firm to design their new arena, according to Jake Blumgart of the Philadelphia Inquirer. Populous, a global arena design firm, will craft the plans for the new South Philadelphia structure. It’s scheduled to open in 2031, replacing the Wells Fargo Center.
  • Asa Newell (Georgia), Clifford Omoruyi (Alabama), Will Richard (Florida) and Jase Richardson (Michigan State) were among the players who worked out for  the Hawks on Monday, Lauren Williams of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution tweets. Richardson and Newell are considered first-round talents. They are currently ranked No. 20 and 21, respectively, on ESPN’s Best Available list. The Hawks hold the No. 13 and 22 picks in the first round.
  • Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla has been spotted in Turkey on an apparent scouting mission, Chema de Lucas tweets. Mazzulla could be there to take a look at Euroleague star Nigel Hayes-Davis, who plays for Fenerbahçe and has drawn interest from Boston in the past. Hayes-Davis had a brief stay in the NBA in 2017/18, playing nine games for three teams.
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