Lakers Notes: Thiero, Looney, Kaluma, Reaves
Lakers guard Adou Thiero has shown progress during Las Vegas Summer League action, averaging 17.5 points and 4.0 rebounds in the last two games. Thiero appeared in 25 NBA contests during his rookie season but only averaged six minutes per game.
“He took what was in front of him. He attacked matchups,” Summer League coach Ty Abbott said after Saturday’s game, per Benjamin Royer of the Orange County Register. “He understood that there was gonna be some paint swarming; those guys were gonna try and flood and meet him at the rim. And he made the right pass. And when he started doing that, it started to open up for him, and he was able to finish at the rim.”
Thiero’s $2.15MM salary for 2026/27 is fully guaranteed, but he’ll need to show enough in the upcoming regular season to ensure the Lakers exercise their $2.53MM option for 2027/28 next offseason.
Here’s more on the Lakers:
- Location had a lot to do with Kevon Looney‘s decision to join the Lakers, he told Mark Medina of Fadeaway World. “I knew I was going to be a free agent. I looked at the landscape of free agency and where there was an opportunity where I could play,” he said. “A few teams called looking for a backup big. L.A. is a place that I come to all the time. I’m here a lot of the times. I got a lot of friends and family. So to have the opportunity to join the Lakers, I couldn’t turn that down.” Looney, who played for New Orleans last season, signed a one-year, veteran’s minimum contract.
- Summer League invitee Arthur Kaluma, who played for the G League’s South Bay Lakers last season, erupted for 34 points in a Vegas contest against Dallas on Saturday night. He was 11-for-16 from the field and made 6-of-10 three-point tries. Kaluma, who went undrafted last year, took advantage of extended playing time with first-round pick Cameron Carr sidelined by a right thumb contusion. “The G (League) can get grimey, you know what I’m saying? It’s a time where everybody is trying to fight for a position and there is a certain hunger that you have to have in order to be successful in the G,” Kaluma told Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times. “And I feel like that drive that I had my first year in it pushed me into this summer to really get better and work on my game and come here and have the opportunity to perform.”
- Austin Reaves admits it will be strange not having LeBron James on the team next season, Khobi Price of the California Post tweets. “I don’t know if I’ve honestly processed it yet,” he said. “I mean, I kind of was thinking about it last night when I got here. Starting a season without him being on the team is going to be different for me. It’s kind of all I’ve ever known…But, that’s his decision. I’ve got nothing but love and respect for him.”
Lakers Notes: Kessler, Ayton, Thiero, Contention
The Lakers‘ decision to enter into a sign-and-trade agreement with the Jazz to acquire restricted free agent center Walker Kessler was an all-in swing to establish a defensive infrastructure to complement offensive-first backcourt of Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves.
Kessler is the exact type of defender you’d want to play alongside Los Angeles’ two lead guards, Sam Vecenie writes in a breakdown for The Athletic. The 24-year-old big man is a high-level interior rotator, making him a great help defender, and he has become more schematically versatile over his time in Utah, according to Vecenie, who predicts that Kessler makes at least one All-Defensive team during his time with the Lakers. However, Vecenie believes Kessler can be a great defender rather than an elite one, ranking his ceiling above players like Jarrett Allen and Isaiah Hartenstein but below Rudy Gobert.
Offensively, Kessler is a very strong screener, making him a good pick-and-roll partner for Reaves and Doncic, as well as a lob threat and an elite offensive rebounder. However, there are concerns with how limited his scoring game is overall, Vecenie notes. In half-court settings, excluding offensive rebounds, Kessler only took around four shots per game last year, and his limitations on that side of the ball could be a concern in the playoffs.
The contract Kessler signs will likely end up paying him fairly based on how he ranks among centers league-wide, but the draft picks sent to acquire him, which depleted the Lakers’ future-facing assets, make the move incredibly risky, Vecenie concludes, while adding that it very well could turn out to be the right choice. It must work for L.A. to make the most of its Doncic era.
We have more Lakers news and notes:
- By agreeing to trade Deandre Ayton to the Wizards for Jaden Hardy and two second-round picks, the Lakers were able to create $2.1MM in savings. That extra bit of space gave the team the financial flexibility it needed to add free agents Quentin Grimes, Sandro Mamukelashvili, and Kessler into their cap space, as Yossi Gozlan details for The Third Apron (Substack link). Without that trade, the Lakers wouldn’t quite have had enough room to complete their deals for Grimes (four years, $60MM), Mamukelashvili (four years, $52MM), and Kessler (four years, $130MM) based on their reported terms.
- 2025 second-round pick Adou Thiero didn’t play much in his rookie year, but he’s looking to step into a leadership role for the Lakers’ Summer League team, Thuc Nhi Nguyen writes for the L.A. Times. Thiero is also already forming an intriguing wing duo with rookie Cameron Carr, given the former’s rim pressure ability and the latter’s hair-trigger jump shot. “That’s a dynamic partnership between the two of them,” Summer League coach Ty Abbott said after Sunday’s victory over Miami at the California Classic. “They did a really good job of playing with each other. There’s a good connection there. Adou, being unselfish, finds him and they just kind of play from there. The connection that they have and their unselfishness for the two of them to work together, after, you know, five days, is great. Love to see that.”
- The Lakers are trying to do something they haven’t attempted in years: build a competitive roster without LeBron James. Even though James took a bit of a step back into a supporting role at times last season, his presence was a safety net for the team, especially when Reaves and/or Doncic missed time, Law Murray writes for The Athletic. Now, that safety net is gone and the roster doesn’t yet look like a finished product. The recent additions have little playoff experience, and several of them may be best suited for bench roles on a contender, according to Murray, who suggests the Lakers could use another forward who could give them 25 solid minutes per game.
Pacific Notes: Doncic, Karaban, Lendeborg, Carr, Flagler, Mogbo
Luka Doncic gives a thumbs up to the flurry of Lakers roster moves, according to Dan Woike of The Athletic.
Woike hears that Doncic is “excited” about the Lakers’ signings, with the team addressing his biggest desires for the roster by re-signing Austin Reaves and securing an elite rim-protecting center in Walker Kessler via a reported sign-and-trade.
The Lakers have kept in regular communication with Doncic, who is spending his summer in Europe, and his representatives.
Here’s more from the Pacific Division:
- Kings draft pick Alex Karaban will be sidelined at least one week due to a right ankle sprain, James Ham of The Kings Beat tweets. Karaban, who was selected with the No. 29 pick, underwent an MRI after spraining the ankle during a practice on Thursday. He’ll miss the California Classic Summer League but hasn’t been ruled out for Las Vegas.
- Warriors lottery pick Yaxel Lendeborg made a strong first impression in his California Classic debut, Dalton Johnson of NBC Sports Bay Area writes. The University of Michigan star played 22 minutes and scored 19 points. He made all six of his shots, including four three-pointers. Lendeborg led the Warriors in rebounds (five) and assists (six) while adding a block and a steal. “I would say probably like a B,” the No. 11 overall pick said of grading his performance. “I messed up a lot of defensive rotations. That’s kind of taken a while for me to get the rotations down. I played a fairly well game until the fourth quarter.”
- The Lakers were blown out by 32 points in that contest but their first-rounder, Cameron Carr, had a solid debut too. He also scored 19 points, going 7-for-15 from the field. “It was a great moment,” Carr said, per Thuc Nhi Nguyen of the Los Angeles Times. “It was exciting, a blessing, like I’ve been saying. I’ve been preaching it: just the opportunity to get to step on the court with these dudes, and just learn the way and how they play and how we’re coming together.”
- The Kings’ two-way contracts for Adam Flagler and Jonathan Mogbo cover two seasons apiece, notes Spotrac contributor Keith Smith (Twitter links). Flagler previously played for 39 games for the Thunder from 2023-25. Mogbo saw action in 40 games with the Raptors last season and became a free agent when Toronto declined its option on his contract.
AJ Dybantsa Among First-Round Picks To Sign On Thursday
Five first-round picks have signed their rookie scale contracts throughout the day on Thursday.
A couple of the players are expected to take part in the Salt Lake City and California Classic Summer Leagues, which will take place before the Las Vegas Summer League, so their teams are taking the opportunity to get them under contract ahead of practices this week and their SL debuts over the weekend.
In past years, we’ve devoted full stories to each of the 30 first-round picks signing his rookie scale contract, but since most of those deals are a mere formality and the salary terms are predetermined, we’ll likely try relaying most of them in round-up form this year, like we’ve done below. That only figures to change if there’s something unusual to note about a particular signing, such as a player accepting below the usual 120% of his rookie scale amount.
Here are the players who have signed their rookie scale contracts on the first day of the new league year, per the NBA’s transaction log and/or announcements from their teams. We’ve included their tentative contract details (based on 120% of the rookie scale) and links to our stories from when they were drafted last week.
- AJ Dybantsa (Wizards): First-year salary of $14.7MM; four-year total of $66.9MM (story)
- Kingston Flemings (Hawks): First-year salary of $7.3MM; four-year total of $33.4MM (story)
- Morez Johnson Jr. (Mavericks): First-year salary of $6.8MM; four-year total of $30.7MM (story)
- Allen Graves (Raptors): First-year salary of $4.1MM; four-year total of $19.7MM (story)
- Cameron Carr (Lakers): First-year salary of $3.3MM; four-year total of $16.8MM (story)
Pacific Rumors: Leonard, Lakers, Z. Williams, Carr, Peat
While the Clippers continue to field trade offers for star forward Kawhi Leonard, they have thus far been unimpressed by what teams are willing to offer and are signaling their desire to move forward with Leonard, Tomer Azarly and Brett Siegel report for Clutch Points.
The Clippers have been in due diligence mode when it comes to fielding calls on Leonard’s availability, but they are not initiating trade conversations themselves, Azarly and Siegel write, adding that the club considers the offers it has received so far to be “underwhelming.” L.A. is rumored to be unimpressed with a Raptors‘ construction centered around Brandon Ingram and didn’t propose a counteroffer, according to Clutch Points’ sources.
If Toronto included All-Rookie forward Collin Murray-Boyles, it could shift the calculus, but the Raptors have given no indication they’re interested in parting ways with last year’s lottery pick. As for the Mavericks, their offer would likely need to include young center Dereck Lively II to pique the Clippers’ interest, per Azarly and Siegel.
There is also said to be some level of mutual interest between the Clippers and Leonard in coming to terms on an extension to keep the two-time champion in L.A. long-term, though it’s unclear how such a deal would be impacted by the ongoing investigation into Leonard’s connection with Aspiration. Azarly and Siegel add that the two sides are currently “far apart” on what the numbers in an extension would look like. For what it’s worth, Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca hears from sources that Leonard is unlikely to end up signing an extension with the Clippers.
We have more from the Pacific Division:
- Following the news that the Nets are declining his $6.25MM player option, the Lakers are a team seen as a potential suitor for Ziaire Williams in free agency, The Athletic’s Dan Woike reports. Adding wing depth and getting younger and more athletic are priorities for the Lakers this offseason. The 6’9″ 24-year-old Williams, who went to high school with Bronny James at Sierra Canyon, is a versatile defender who has shot the ball a little better from outside over the past couple years.
- Cameron Carr was projected to be drafted somewhere near the back of the lottery, but he said he’s not disappointed that he fell to the Lakers at pick 24, Benjamin Royer writes for the Orange County Register. Instead, he calls it “a blessing.” “It didn’t feel real for the first couple minutes when I found out,” Carr said. “It was trying to get my head around, ‘Man, I’m about to walk across the stage and be an NBA player.’ I’ve dreamed of this my whole life, especially since I was a kid. So it took a second. Still trying to get my head wrapped around it, but nothing but excitement and happiness. I feel more motivation to work.” He added that he knows that defense will be the area he needs to improve the most, especially in a league where he’s no longer automatically the most athletic player on the court. Carr comes from an NBA family, as his father, Chris Carr, spent six years in the league and was runner-up to Kobe Bryant is the 1997 dunk contest. “I’ve always wanted to be better than him,” the younger Carr said of his father. “I’ve always been behind, so I want to show he’s put a lot of work in me becoming a better man. So I feel the only way I can credit him and show I’m thankful for him is by putting in the work and using it every single day. He was a heck of a player, so it’s some big footsteps I’ve got to follow and a long journey.”
- Carr isn’t the only player who wasn’t taken as early as he expected on draft night. Koa Peat fell to No. 30 before the Suns traded up to select him, but like Carr, Peat is focused on where he landed, not where he didn’t, Duane Rankin writes for AZ Central. “For me, I think the fit and situation is better than the pick,” he said. “The picks are out the window now. You’re going into the Summer League, and those picks don’t even matter. First pick, second pick, third pick, they don’t matter. You got to compete against those guys every day.” Peat is as homegrown as it gets, growing up in Arizona before spending his lone college season with the Wildcats. He hopes he can bring the same kind of winning attitude to the Suns as he did in his previous stops.
Lakers, Knicks, Mavs, Suns Make Four-Team Trade Official
The Lakers, Knicks, Mavericks, and Suns have officially completed three separate draft-night deals as a single four-team trade, according to press releases from Dallas, Phoenix, and New York.
The full terms of the trade, which involved the 24th, 25th, and 30th picks in the first round of the draft, are as follows, with additional info from Fred Katz of The Athletic (Twitter link):
- Lakers acquire the draft rights to Cameron Carr (No. 24 pick; from Knicks).
- Mavericks acquire the draft rights to Sergio de Larrea (No. 25 pick; from Lakers).
- Suns acquire the draft rights to Koa Peat (No. 30 pick; from Mavericks).
- Knicks acquire the No. 47 overall pick (from Suns), the Suns’ 2029 second-round pick, the Sixers’ 2030 second-round pick (from Mavericks), the Mavericks’ 2032 second-round pick, the Suns’ 2033 second-round pick, the draft rights to Louis Labeyrie (from Lakers), the draft rights to Chinemelu Elonu (from Lakers), the draft rights to Melvin Ajinca (from Mavericks), and cash (from Lakers).
Essentially, the Lakers moved up from No. 25 to No. 24 to nab Carr by sending cash and a pair of draft-rights players to New York. The Mavericks then moved up from No. 30 to 25 for de Larrea by sending two future second-rounders and Ajinca’s rights to the Knicks. Then the Suns moved up from No. 47 to No. 30 to draft Peat by conveying their own 2029 and 2033 second-rounders to New York.
There’s no indication that New York plans to bring former second-rounders Labeyrie, Elonu, and Ajinca stateside. That’s perhaps still a possibility at some point for a player like Ajinca, a 2024 second-rounder who is just 21 years old. But Elonu was a 2009 second-rounder who is now 39 years old, while Labeyrie was a 2014 pick and is 34.
The acquisition of draft-rights players is more of a running bit by Knicks executive Brock Aller and their front office, notes Katz. The team now controls the rights to 19 of those players, per Keith Smith of Spotrac (Twitter link).
While Carr and Peat are safe bets to sign their rookie scale contracts in July and begin their NBA careers right away, it’s unclear whether de Larrea will sign this year or become a draft-and-stash prospect. According to Marc Stein of The Stein Line (Twitter link), there was an expectation before the draft that the Spaniard would remain in Europe for at least one more season, but those plans – including whether or not he’ll join the Mavs’ Summer League team – are still being figured out.
Knicks To Trade No. 24 Pick Cameron Carr To Lakers
The Knicks have selected Cameron Carr with the 24th overall pick, but they’ll be sending him to the Lakers and moving down one spot to No. 25, reports Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link). New York is receiving cash considerations in the deal, according to Charania (Twitter link).
An explosive athlete and strong shooter, Carr barely saw any action during the first two years of his college career at Tennessee, but broke out as a junior in 2025/26 after transferring to Baylor. The 6’5″ shooting guard started all 34 games he played for the Bears last season, averaging 18.9 points, 5.8 rebounds, 2.6 assists, and 1.3 blocks in 33.7 minutes per contest, with a shooting line of .494/.374/.801.
Carr’s strong season, which earned him a spot on the All-Big 12 third team, put him firmly on NBA teams’ radars as a probable first-round pick. He increased his stock further with an impressive showing at May’s draft combine in Chicago, where he was one of the biggest winners of the event. In addition to showing off an impressive wingspan (7’0.75″) and maximum vertical leap (43 inches), Carr registered the fastest time in the pro lane agility drill and was arguably the best player on the court in the week’s first scrimmage.
Carr will be a second-generation NBA player, as his father Chris Carr played in the league from 1995-2001, appearing in nearly 300 total regular-season games for six teams.
The Lakers have lacked explosive athleticism from the wing position outside of LeBron James, and in Carr, they get a high flyer who should help Los Angeles’ transition play in addition to holding tremendous potential as a shooter. He also showed intriguing skills as a help-side rim protector, though his defense will likely require time, focus, and added strength before it becomes truly impactful.
The Lakers’ roster is still up in the air, but Carr fills a clear need, as the team only has Jake LaRavia, Dalton Knecht, and Adou Thiero under contract at the wing positions.
By trading cash considerations to the Knicks, the Lakers are now hard-capped at the second apron for the 2026/27, Yossi Gozlan of the Third Apron notes (via Twitter), though that likely won’t be a real impediment as L.A. builds out its roster.
Draft Rumors: Wagler, Brown, Ament, Hawks, Pelicans, Mavericks
The Clippers appear likely to keep their pick at No. 5 in tonight’s draft and decide between Illinois guard Keaton Wagler and Louisville guard Mikel Brown, according to Brett Siegel of ClutchPoints. Although there’s been speculation since the lottery that L.A. might be willing to part with the selection in exchange for veteran help, Siegel states that there wasn’t “an ounce of chatter” over the weekend about the Clippers making a deal.
Siegel notes that Wagler could develop into an elite shooter alongside Darius Garland and can handle some play-making responsibilities as well. Brown offers a unique mix of size and athleticism for a guard and could become the team’s top scorer in the future.
Siegel states that Brown is virtually locked into being the fifth or sixth pick because the Nets are targeting him as well. Their opinion on Wagler is less clear, Siegel adds, and they’ve been listening to trade offers over the past few days in case Brown is off the board. Siegel suggests that Brooklyn might be willing to move down into the 8-12 range and target Nate Ament, Aday Mara or Morez Johnson.
There’s also a chance that the Nets could stay at No. 6 and take Ament, with multiple sources telling Siegel that they have “real interest” in the Tennessee forward. If that happens, it’s possible that Sacramento selects Darius Acuff with the seventh pick and Wagler falls all the way to Atlanta at No. 8. However, Siegel is skeptical of that scenario, saying that multiple teams outside the top 10 would like to trade up for Wagler and will become more motivated to make offers if he slips past the fifth pick.
Siegel has more on tonight’s first round:
- The Thunder have expressed interest in Ament if they’re able to package the 12th and 17th picks to move into the top 10, Siegel states. The Mavericks at No. 9 and the Bucks at No. 10 are also eyeing Ament if he’s still on the board.
- Siegel hears that the Hawks are listening to offers for their picks at No. 8 and No. 23. He considers it unlikely that Atlanta parts with the eighth pick, but says multiple teams have inquired about it, including the Thunder before the clubs agreed to the Aaron Wiggins trade.
- The Pelicans are trying to trade into the lottery, and Siegel states that the Warriors, Mavericks, Thunder and Hornets have been listening to their offers. All those teams are hoping to acquire Trey Murphy III, but Siegel says New Orleans is still seeking “multiple valuable assets” to part with Murphy. If the Pelicans are able to obtain a lottery pick, Siegel hears that they like Ament and Cameron Carr.
- Sources tell Siegel that the Mavericks have been shopping center Daniel Gafford and their 30th pick over the past week in hopes of moving into the top 20. Siegel cites the Raptors (No. 19) and Hornets (No. 14 and 18) as teams that might be interested and points to Carr and Labaron Philon as players that Dallas may target. He also states that the Mavs recently worked out Hannes Steinbach, who could be a long-term replacement for Gafford.
Central Notes: Zubac, Bucks, Bulls, Pistons
The Pacers put a lot of faith in big man Ivica Zubac when they traded Bennedict Mathurin and what eventually became the 5th overall pick in the 2026 draft to acquire him.
Zubac only played five total games for Indiana after the trade, several of which came with a minutes restriction. His lack of reps with the team means he has a big challenge awaiting him next season, Tony East writes for Circle City Spin, as Indiana will hope to hit the ground running with the return of Tyrese Haliburton.
Not only will Zubac have to bounce back from an injury-riddled season, but he will also have to learn a new system, as the Haliburton-led Pacers have played a style that’s very different from the one he spent over six seasons playing with the Clippers. However, the big man thinks that the 118 minutes he was able to play for head coach Rick Carlisle this year gave him a head-start in understanding what’s expected.
“Definitely helped with (getting) a feel for how this team wants to play, about the pace, about defensive coverages, the defensive rotations,” Zubac said. “Offensively, where they want me to be, what they want me to do. So it definitely helped. I wish (there) were more games to get a better feel for it. But I kind of understood what they want from me, and (I’ve) got the whole summer to get in the best shape of my life and get ready for the next year.”
We have more from around the Central Division:
- The Bucks have the 10th pick in the 2026 NBA draft and have reportedly been operating like a team that expects to make more than one selection. Given the franchise’s uncertain state as Giannis Antetokounmpo trade rumors continue to swirl, starting out with a strong draft pick will be crucial. With that in mind, Ben Steele of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel breaks down a multitude of potential candidates, including Nate Ament, whose floor might be the No. 10 pick.
- The Bulls are widely expected to take Caleb Wilson with the fourth overall pick, barring an unexpected decision in the top three, but what about No. 15? Cameron Carr is one of the true two-way wing prospects in the class, writes Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times in his annual mock draft. Carr also fulfills the SLAP (Size, Length, Athleticism, Physicality) requirements of the new vice president of basketball operations, Bryson Graham, according to Cowley.
- After recording their most wins in a single season since 2005/06, the Pistons are in the market to address two key areas this summer: shooting and ball-handling, according to Omari Sankofa II of the Detroit Free Press. Sankofa looks at three potential blockbuster trades to fill those holes, including the rumored three-team Antetokounmpo scenario that would land Tyler Herro in Detroit. Herro would come with some risks due to durability and defensive concerns, as well as his expiring contract. Sankofa also examines frameworks for deals that would send Trey Murphy III or Kyrie Irving to Detroit.
Draft Rumors: Thomas, Bulls, Hornets, Sixers, Johnson, More
Arkansas guard Meleek Thomas appears to be rising up draft boards after impressing NBA teams during his pre-draft workouts, league sources tell Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Substack link).
Fischer hears that Thomas, who’s ranked No. 29 on ESPN’s big board, is receiving consideration from teams selecting in the late teens and early 20s.
According to Fischer, Thomas, Christian Anderson and Labaron Philon all worked out for the Bulls on Friday and each of those players is a candidate to be selected 15th overall.
We have more rumors on the upcoming draft, which is just two days away:
- If the Hornets don’t select a big man with the 14th pick, there’s an expectation that they’ll do so a few spots later at No. 18, according to Fischer. Although they’re guards rather than frontcourt players, Fischer hears “numerous scouts and agents” have connected Charlotte to Iowa’s Bennett Stirtz and Baylor’s Cameron Carr.
- The Raptors (No. 19) and Spurs (No. 20) have worked out several forwards and centers, Fischer writes, creating the impression that they might prioritize those positions in the draft.
- Since several teams ahead of them are expected to target frontcourt additions, Fischer suggests Allen Graves (Santa Clara) and Chris Cenac (Houston) are unlikely to be available for the Sixers at No. 22. Both players worked out for Philadelphia this week and the 76ers would be interested if they fall, Fischer adds.
- Dailyn Swain is another player who has worked out for the Sixers, but he or Ebuka Okorie could be headed to the Pistons at No. 21, per Fischer. Detroit has largely been linked to guards and wings leading up to the draft, says Fischer.
- The Nets hosted Michigan big man Morez Johnson for a pre-draft workout on Sunday, reports Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (via Twitter). Brooklyn controls the sixth pick in the first round, while Johnson is at No. 15 on ESPN’s board.