Cooper Flagg

Mavs’ Kidd Talks No. 1 Pick, Flagg, Doncic Trade

May 17th, 2025 at 2:36pm CST by Luke Adams

Appearing on The Dan Patrick Show this week (YouTube link), Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd admitted he wasn’t watching Monday’s draft lottery live and said he thought there was a “1” missing when he received text messages telling him that Dallas would be drafting in the top four and then that the team had secured the No. 1 overall pick.

“I just felt we were going to stay around 11, if not go backwards, the way things were going for us this year,” Kidd said (hat tip to Grant Afseth of Dallas Hoops Journal).

Asked by Patrick whether the Mavs plan to use the No. 1 overall pick to select Duke’s Cooper Flagg, the consensus top prospect in this year’s draft pool, Kidd was hesitant to outright confirm as much or to discuss Flagg directly, explaining that he’s trying “to make sure we don’t get in any trouble.”

When Patrick asked if the NBA would be fine with him commenting on “the kid from Duke,” the Mavs’ coach smiled and replied, “We’re excited about the kid at Duke.”

“I’m just the coach (but) yes, I would say we’re all concentrating on No. 1,” Kidd said. “The draft is deep, but the name you just brought up, I think we’re all focused on.”

If the lottery outcome had been different, Flagg could have ended up as the centerpiece for a rebuilding club like Utah or Washington. Instead, he’ll be joining a team with championship aspirations led by veterans like Anthony Davis, Kyrie Irving, and Klay Thompson. Kidd believes it’ll be an ideal situation for the No. 1 pick.

“He’ll be 18. He doesn’t turn 19 until December, and so just understanding he’s young, but he’s very talented, can play both ends,” Kidd said. “Being able to have older players—and when I say that, out of respect, they’re not dinosaurs—but when you look at the age of 30, Ky, AD, guys that are here, Klay could definitely help him with the process of going through a rookie season.

“… I think this is a great situation for him,” Kidd continued. “(Considering) the different guys that we have already on the team, the pressure of living up to No. 1 will be a lot easier with the talent around him. When you talk about the other clubs (he could’ve ended up with), he would have to produce right away at a high, high level. I think this is a great situation for him to grow his game, where the pressure isn’t as high. But we are playing for a championship.”

Kidd also spoke to Patrick about how he learned about – and reacted to – the Luka Doncic trade in February, explaining that when he got that call from general manager Nico Harrison at a hotel in Cleveland, he immediately began considering how the star guard’s departure and the additions of Davis and Max Christie would affect the Mavericks’ game plan.

According to Kidd, the day of the trade was the last time he spoke to Doncic. Having been unexpectedly traded himself as a player, the Mavs’ head coach knew some of what the 26-year-old was going through.

“I don’t think he was too happy. From the experience of being traded, maybe being surprised, upset, feelings are high,” Kidd said (hat tip to Johnny Askounis of Eurohoops). “But I loved the opportunity of coaching Luka. He’s an incredible person, and we all know his talent is one of the best in the world. … I’ve always said this publicly and privately: I wish Luka the best. He’s one of the best players in the world.”

Southwest Notes: Mavs, Flagg, Spurs, Harper, Pelicans

May 15th, 2025 at 7:16pm CST by Earnest Marshall

The Mavericks realize how fortunate they are to have won Monday’s draft lottery that all but guaranteed Cooper Flagg will land in Dallas. According to Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News (subscriber link), CEO Rick Welts said the business staff received an overwhelming number of ticket and sponsor requests shortly after winning the lottery.

“In the past 24 hours alone,” Welts said earlier in the week, “we’ve had 28 times more inbound calls for season tickets and 35 times more daily additions to the season-ticket waitlist. Also, six times more inbound sponsorship communications from brands and prospective clients.”

According to Jonathan Givony of ESPN, Flagg also understands how great a situation Dallas can be for him and is excited about the prospect of joining a playoff-caliber roster and getting the chance to be a significant part of the offensive scheme.

We have more from the Southwest Division:

After the shocking Luka Doncic trade in February sent uproars throughout the Mavericks fanbase, winning the lottery gives those same fans a reason to be hopeful, Christian Clark of The Athletic writes. In a similar story, Mark Medina of Athlon Sports writes that Flagg can help the Mavericks jump back into contention in year one.
After landing the second overall pick in the lottery, the Spurs appear primed to select Rutgers guard Dylan Harper. He spoke about the chance of playing alongside ball-dominant players like De’Aaron Fox and Stephon Castle, according to San Antonio Express-News’ Tom Orsborn (Twitter link). “The NBA is really positionless basketball, so I mean you could play with a bunch of ball-handlers and a bunch of people that could get opportunities for themselves, but let other people get opportunities for them,” Harper said.
After finishing with the fourth-worst record in the league, the Pelicans fell three spots in the draft lottery to No. 7. Rod Walker of NOLA.com analyzes seven prospects who could make sense for New Orleans after the lottery didn’t go their way. Walker writes that Duke’s Kon Knueppel would be his pick at No. 7 if he had to choose a favorite, given the spacing that he would add. Another intriguing pick could be South Carolina’s Collin Murray-Boyles, whom new basketball operations head Joe Dumars might favor due to his toughness.

And-Ones: East/West, Stephenson, East Finals, World Cup

May 15th, 2025 at 11:40am CST by Luke Adams

The stunning events that occurred on Monday, namely Dallas and San Antonio moving up to No. 1 and No. 2 in the draft lottery and Celtics star Jayson Tatum tearing his Achilles tendon, will reverberate through the NBA for years to come. As Tim Bontemps of ESPN writes, there was already a significant divide in star power between the Western Conference and the Eastern Conference — now there could be a “chasm.”

“The West just keeps getting richer,” one league executive told Bontemps. “How come everybody keeps going to the West? For the veteran players, you could say it’s better weather, going to California, better organizations. But they’ve also just gotten really lucky.

“It seems like every time there’s one of these generational talents — Victor (Wembanyama), Zion (Williamson), Anthony Davis — they just end up in the West. It’s just bad luck … it is what it is.”

Aside from Indiana, New York and Cleveland, Tatum’s injury means there are suddenly major question marks in the East, which could make teams more aggressive on the trade market. There’s a possibility that Giannis Antetokounmpo could be traded to the West as well.

“Cooper Flagg is going to the West for the next 10 years, Giannis could be headed West, Tatum is out of the mix for a year and the Celtics likely are, too,” a scout said. “Good for East teams who are trying to make the Finals.”

We have more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

Former NBA swingman Lance Stephenson is signing a contract to play in the BIG3 for the 3×3 league’s upcoming season, reports NBA insider Chris Haynes (Twitter link). Stephenson, who played for eight NBA teams across 10 seasons from 2010-22, spent most of his professional career in Indiana. He last played in the G League for the Iowa Wolves in 2023/24.
While the Pacers don’t yet know which team they’ll be facing, the Eastern Conference Finals schedule has been announced (Twitter link via Michael Preston). The series will begin on May 21, with games played every other day until a potential Game 7 on June 2.
FIBA has announced the draw for the 2027 World Cup qualifiers, officially confirming the groups for the Africa, Americas, Asian, and European events. Team USA will be in group A of the Americas qualifiers, alongside the Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, and a to-be-determined fourth team that makes it through the pre-qualifiers.
FIBA is looking to engage the NCAA about a possible letter of clearance system for international players who want to leave their teams for a college program, per Jonathan Givony of ESPN (Twitter links). As Givony points out, international teams already have the ability to block a player from leaving if he’s under contract, so it’s unclear why the NCAA would agree to a change that would give European teams more leeway to prevent a young prospect from moving stateside.

Rory Maher contributed to this post.

Cooper Flagg Comments On Fit With Mavericks

May 14th, 2025 at 6:19pm CST by Arthur Hill

Cooper Flagg, who’s almost certainly headed to the Mavericks after the surprising results of Monday’s lottery, commented on the process for the first time today at the draft combine in Chicago, according to Grant Afseth of DallasHoopsJournal (subscription required).

“I’m grateful to get this opportunity, or any opportunity to hear my name called on draft night,” Flagg said. “I’m just really excited for this whole experience. Not everybody gets to go through this, so I just feel really blessed. As far as Dallas goes, they’ve got a lot of really good pieces.”

Flagg was the consensus No. 1 pick in this year’s draft even before he arrived at Duke. He solidified that status with an outstanding freshman season, averaging 19.2 points, 7.5 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 1.4 steals and 1.4 blocks per game while shooting 48.1% from the field and 38.5% from beyond the arc. He led the Blue Devils to a 35-4 record and a spot in the Final Four.

With Utah, Washington and Charlotte holding the best odds coming into the lottery, Flagg could have easily ended up in a rebuilding situation. Instead, he joins a Dallas team with a strong veteran core in Anthony Davis, Kyrie Irving, Klay Thompson, Daniel Gafford and P.J. Washington.

Flagg is excited to be teaming up with another Duke alum, Dereck Lively, who was drafted by the Mavericks two years ago.

“To be able to learn from D-Live — that’s pretty cool,” Flagg said. “So I think it would be a really cool opportunity.”

Flagg was in the audience as the envelopes were opened Monday night, attending the event with Duke teammate Kon Knueppel, another likely lottery pick. Flagg didn’t directly address the results, which came down to Dallas, San Antonio, Philadelphia and Charlotte as the four finalists, but he indicated some surprise at the outcome.

“It was a crazy draft lottery,” he said. “It was a cool experience to be there and go through that experience.”

Flagg isn’t expected to do much at the combine outside of the mandatory measurements and testing. Afseth reports that he measured 6 feet, 7.75 inches without shoes with a wingspan of 7 feet and a standing reach of 8 feet, 10.5 inches. He weighs 221 pounds and recorded a 40-inch vertical leap.

It’s unlikely that Flagg will work out for any teams other than Dallas, so his schedule will be relatively light until the first round of the draft on June 25. He says his approach to his rookie season would have been the same no matter which team won the right to draft him.

“Wherever it is, I’m just gonna try and be me to the best of my ability,” Flagg said. “Try to do whatever the team needs — play both sides of the ball and just play really hard in every single possession.”

Mavs Intend To Keep No. 1 Pick, Draft Cooper Flagg

May 13th, 2025 at 3:08pm CST by Luke Adams

Since the Mavericks‘ unlikely lottery win on Monday night, there has been speculation about the possibility of the front office – which clearly isn’t shy about taking big swings – including the No. 1 overall pick in a trade for a proven superstar such as Giannis Antetokounmpo.

However, that’s not the plan in Dallas, according to Tim MacMahon of ESPN, who hears from sources that the Mavericks intend to use the pick to draft consensus top prospect Cooper Flagg and won’t entertain the idea of trading it. Marc Stein (Twitter link) has heard the same thing from a source with knowledge of the team’s thinking.

According to MacMahon, Mavericks governor Patrick Dumont considers it a “gift” to get the opportunity to draft a prospect like Flagg. The possibility of re-gifting the Duke star to another team isn’t under consideration, says MacMahon, noting that Dumont has given general manager Nico Harrison leeway to run the front office but still has the final say on all basketball decisions.

As MacMahon points out, the decision to trade Luka Doncic to the Lakers in February resulted in “significant business concerns” for the Mavericks, in addition to creating a murky long-term outlook for a franchise that has traded away control of its own first-round picks from 2027-30. Being able to add Flagg to Dallas’ core would go a long way toward mitigating both of those concerns, MacMahon writes.

Flagg will be joining a Mavs roster headlined by Anthony Davis, Kyrie Irving, Dereck Lively, and P.J. Washington.

As fortunate as Dallas is to be in position to bring aboard a talent like Flagg, there’s still plenty of work to be done on the roster this summer. With Irving expected to miss a significant chunk of the season while he recovers from a torn ACL, the team is short on ball-handling and play-making and will be looking to upgrade its backcourt.

Mavs Rejoice After Getting Top Pick

May 12th, 2025 at 9:25pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Mavericks recently completed what CEO Rick Welts summed up as a “tumultuous” season. Dallas is now celebrating its unlikely lottery luck, moving up from No. 11 to the top pick.

“Just looking at that potential roster and thinking about what could happen next season, it’s a reversal of fortunes that’s really unimaginable,” Welts said, per Brad Townsend of the Dallas Morning News (Twitter link).

Dropping Cooper Flagg into a Mavericks lineup that includes Anthony Davis and, when he recovers from his knee injury, Kyrie Irving, gives the franchise real hope of a championship in the coming seasons. All this after the firestorm created by the controversial Luka Doncic trade with the Lakers.

“I am so happy for Mavericks fans,” Welts said, per ESPN’s Michael C. Wright and Jonathan Givony. “I only got to Dallas Jan. 1 this year. Feb. 1, we broke the internet [with the Doncic trade]. I am just amazed at the depth of emotion and connection that the fan base has with this team. And what happened today, I can’t imagine a better day for Mavs fans. It’s going to really be something special. I can’t wait to get back to Dallas.”

Welts all but declared Flagg to be the team’s choice next month.

“I don’t know who we’re going to take, but should we take him, I think his résumé is pretty strong,” Welts said of the Duke star forward. “Every time he’s put in a situation that everyone wondered if he could succeed, he’s succeeded and then some.”

The Mavs’ head coach is eager to see what the team looks like with a star like Flagg added to the mix.

“Incredible day for the Mavericks,” Dallas coach Jason Kidd told Marc Stein of The Stein Line (Twitter link). “We are all so excited.”

Flagg didn’t talk specifically about joining the Mavs but he indicated he’d fit right in with a team that has put a premium on two-way players. Doncic’s defensive issues was one of the reasons general manager Nico Harrison was willing to deal him.

“Being a two-way player is something I’ve done since I was a little kid, so I’m just going to keep doing that to the best of my ability,” he said, per Grant Afseth of the Dallas Hoops Journal.

Welts, who worked for the league from 1982-1999, knows all about conspiracy theories involving the lottery. He heard quite a bit about that during the 1985 lottery, won by the Knicks.

“I’m the only person who was in this room and the room 40 years ago. I was in charge of the NBA draft lottery 40 years ago when Patrick Ewing won,” Welts said. “I’ve been doing conspiracy theory stories ever since. This is very surreal, personally.”

Draft Notes: Flagg, NIL, Combine, Lakhin, International Prospects

May 12th, 2025 at 3:01pm CST by Eli Cohen

Cooper Flagg is as close to a lock to go number one in the 2025 draft as any non-Victor Wembanyama prospect can be, writes Sam Vecenie for The Athletic. In breaking down Flagg’s potential fit with all of this year’s lottery teams, Vecenie illustrates how the 18-year-old’s well-rounded skill set on both sides of the ball will allow him to slot in seamlessly with just about every team construction.

In his breakdown, Vecenie writes that the Pelicans and Raptors are the only rosters in the lottery that could make for a questionable fit, given that the two teams are already primarily built around a plethora of wings and forwards.

Still, Vecenie emphasizes that questions around fit are secondary to adding the level of talent Flagg promises, so even those two teams shouldn’t hesitate to take the 6’8″ forward if the opportunity presents itself. However, that scenario might necessitate a trade involving one or more of the incumbent forwards already rostered.

2025 NBA Draft Lottery Primer

May 12th, 2025 at 1:53pm CST by Luke Adams

The 2025 NBA draft lottery will take place on Monday evening prior to Game 4 of the Eastern Conference semifinals between the Knicks and Celtics. The half-hour event will be broadcast on ESPN beginning at 6:00 pm Central time.

While last year’s draft class had no clear-cut frontrunner to be the first player off the board heading into lottery night, there’s a consensus No. 1 pick in this year’s class: Duke forward Cooper Flagg. As Chris Mannix of SI.com tweets, it’s safe to assume whichever team lands the first overall pick in Monday’s lottery will be keeping it and drafting Flagg rather than entertaining trade proposals.

“If we don’t get him, I just hope he winds up in the (other) conference,” one lottery team executive told Mannix.

While Dylan Harper of Rutgers is considered a strong consolation prize at No. 2, the presence of a surefire No. 1 choice at the top of the draft will make the results of the 2025 lottery especially meaningful, with teams holding out hope that their logo will be on the final card revealed by the NBA on Monday evening.

Here’s what you need to know heading into Monday’s lottery:

Pre-Lottery Draft Order:

The top 14 picks in the 2025 NBA draft would look like this if tonight’s lottery results don’t change the order:

Utah Jazz
Washington Wizards
Charlotte Hornets
New Orleans Pelicans
Philadelphia 76ers
- Note: The Thunder will receive this pick if it falls out of the top six (36.0%).
Brooklyn Nets
Toronto Raptors
San Antonio Spurs
Houston Rockets (from Suns)
Portland Trail Blazers
Dallas Mavericks
Chicago Bulls
Atlanta Hawks (from Kings)
- Note: The Kings will retain this pick if it moves into the top four (3.8%).
San Antonio Spurs (from Hawks)

For the full pre-lottery draft order, click here.

Draft Lottery Odds:

The Jazz, Wizards, and Hornets have the best odds to land the No. 1 pick. Each of those three teams has a 14.0% chance to pick first overall.

From there, the Pelicans (12.5%), Sixers (10.5%), Nets (9.0%), Raptors (7.5%), and Spurs (6.7% across two picks) have the next-best odds to receive the first overall selection.

When the NBA introduced its new lottery format in 2019, the selling point was that the new system flattened the odds, making it less likely that the league’s very worst teams would claim a top pick.

Before the NBA tweaked the lottery rules, there was a 60.5% chance that one of the league’s bottom three teams would secure the No. 1 pick and only a 27.6% chance that a team in the 5-14 range of the lottery standings would do so. Now, those odds are 42.0% and 45.5%, respectively.

Despite the flattened odds, there were few major lottery-night surprises in the years leading up to 2024. The Pelicans moved up from No. 7 in the lottery standings in 2019 to claim the first overall pick, which they used on Zion Williamson, but in each of the next four years, a team in the top three of the lottery standings won the No. 1 pick.

That streak ended a year ago, however, when the Hawks moved up from the No. 10 spot in the lottery standings to claim the No. 1 overall pick, which eventually became Zaccharie Risacher. Perhaps we’ll get another major surprise in this year’s event.

For this year’s full draft lottery odds for all 14 spots, click here.

For full details on the current lottery format, click here.

Trades Affecting The Draft Lottery:

The Sixers traded their 2025 first-round pick to the Thunder, but will keep that selection if it lands within the top six. There’s a 63.9% chance that will happen and a 36.1% chance it will slip to No. 7 or below and be sent to Oklahoma City. If Philadelphia retains its first-rounder this year, the club would instead owe its 2026 first-round pick (top-four protected) to the Thunder.

The Rockets have acquired the Suns‘ unprotected first-round pick, which will likely land at either No. 9 (50.7%) or No. 10 (28.3%), but has a 17.3% chance to move into the top four.

The Kings will owe the Hawks their first-round pick if it lands outside of the top 12, which is highly likely. There’s a 92.9% chance that pick will be at No. 13 and a 3.3% chance of it moving down to No. 14. By comparison, there’s only a 3.8% chance that it will move into the top four, allowing Sacramento to keep it.

Finally, the Hawks‘ first-round pick, which projects to be No. 14, will be sent to the Spurs. There’s a 96.6% chance it will be the 14th overall pick, but with a 3.4% chance it will turn into a top-four pick, San Antonio has a shot at moving up in the lottery with two separate first-rounders.

Draft Lottery Representatives:

The representatives for each of this year’s lottery teams are as follows, according to a pair of announcements from the NBA:

Utah Jazz
- On stage: Ashley Smith (team co-owner)
- Drawing room: Justin Zanik (general manager)
Washington Wizards
- On stage: Bub Carrington
- Drawing room: Will Dawkins (general manager)
Charlotte Hornets
- On stage: Charles Lee (head coach)
- Drawing room: Rick Schnall (co-chairman and governor)
New Orleans Pelicans
- On stage: Zion Williamson
- Drawing room: Joe Dumars (executive VP of basketball operations)
Philadelphia 76ers
- On stage: Jared McCain
- Drawing room: Ned Cohen (assistant GM)
Brooklyn Nets
- On stage: Jordi Fernandez (head coach)
- Drawing room: Makar Gevorkian (VP of basketball operations alignment and strategic planning)
Toronto Raptors
- On stage: Masai Ujiri (vice chairman and president)
- Drawing room: Bobby Webster (general manager)
San Antonio Spurs
- On stage: Mitch Johnson (head coach)
- Drawing room: Brian Wright (general manager)
Houston Rockets
- On stage: Hakeem Olajuwon (former Rockets player)
- Drawing room: Sam Strantz (senior team counsel)
Portland Trail Blazers
- On stage: Toumani Camara
- Drawing room: Andrae Patterson (assistant GM)
Dallas Mavericks
- On stage: Rolando Blackman (team ambassador)
- Drawing room: Matt Riccardi (assistant GM)
Chicago Bulls
- On stage: Matas Buzelis
- Drawing room: Faizan Hasnany (manager of basketball strategy and analytics)
Sacramento Kings
- On stage: Keon Ellis
- Drawing room: Alvin Gentry (VP of basketball engagement)

Although they’ll receive the Kings’ first-round pick if it lands outside the top 12, the Hawks won’t have any representatives on hand because they don’t have a path to a top-four pick.

The Thunder, who will receive the Sixers’ pick if it’s outside of the top six, won’t have an on-stage representative for the same reason. However, executive VP and GM Sam Presti will be in the drawing room.

Southeast Notes: Hawks, Hornets, Wizards, Coulibaly, Black

May 12th, 2025 at 10:01am CST by Luke Adams

After reporting on Friday that the Hawks have shown interest in the possibility of hiring a player agent to run their front office, Marc Stein and Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Substack link) confirm that Sportsology, the search firm leading the process, has reached out to “various agents” to gauge their interest. A Saturday report indicated that Trae Young‘s agent Austin Brown is among the candidates to be contacted by Atlanta.

While it remains to be seen whether the Hawks will consider a move involving Young this offseason, they’re projected to be active on the trade market, according to Stein and Fischer, who note that Atlanta is expected to have some cap flexibility and owns a pair of sizable trade exceptions. That makes the team a candidate to take on salary and acquire assets as a facilitator in multi-team deals.

Here’s more from around the Southeast:

The Hornets are among the teams with the most at stake in tonight’s draft lottery, states Roderick Boone of The Charlotte Observer. Charlotte has a 14% chance to land the top pick and add a franchise-changing talent in Cooper Flagg, but there are several prospects who would be useful additions to the team’s young core. “This is a great draft class,” Miles Bridges said. “They have a talented draft class. It would be really big if we could get No. 1 or even No. 2. But it will be big for us.”
Flagg would also be a monumental addition for the Wizards, who also have a 14% shot at the No. 1 pick and are assured of finishing in the top six. David Aldridge and Josh Robbins of the Athletic look at Washington’s likely selections with each of their potential picks, noting that the choices would get much murkier once Flagg and Dylan Harper are off the board.
Speaking to Raul Barrigon of HoopsHype, Wizards forward Bilal Coulibaly discussed his goals this offseason (working on his handle and three-point shot), the most difficult NBA player to defend (De’Aaron Fox, due to his speed), and his plans to play for France in EuroBasket 2025, among other topics.
Injuries to his Magic teammates created opportunities for second-year guard Anthony Black, but he often didn’t shoot well enough to take advantage of them, per Jason Beede of The Orlando Sentinel. Black plans to spend the offseason working on his overall offensive game, including shooting, dribbling, scoring through contact and creating his own shots. “I look forward to helping this team win,” Black said. “This summer is going to be all about figuring out how to do that, how they want me to do that and try to maximize that. I know I can contribute a lot to the team next year.”

Arthur Hill contributed to this post.

Draft Notes: Lottery Teams, Mock Draft, S. Johnson

May 9th, 2025 at 3:38pm CST by Rory Maher

Jonathan Givony and Jeremy Woo of ESPN break down each lottery team’s outlook ahead of the 2025 NBA draft lottery, which will take place on Monday. They also list which player each team is most likely to select assuming the pre-lottery draft order remains unchanged.

While Duke forward Cooper Flagg and Rutgers guard Dylan Harper are widely expected to come off the board first and second overall, respectively, there could be some surprises starting at No. 3. Rutgers wing Ace Bailey and Baylor guard V.J. Edgecombe are ranked third and fourth, respectively, on ESPN’s big board and Givony and Woo believe they should be selected (in some order) with the following two picks.

However, Oklahoma guard Jeremiah Fears and Texas guard Tre Johnson could also be in consideration starting at No. 3, according to Givony, who reports that NBA teams are bullish on both players’ long-term potential, though they’re also somewhat polarizing. Fears is ranked fifth on ESPN’s board, while Johnson is sixth.

Here are a couple more notes related to the 2025 NBA draft:

Jonathan Wasserman of Bleacher Report recently published his last pre-lottery mock draft. There’s a good deal of overlap between ESPN’s most likely picks and Wasserman’s, including the Raptors selecting Duke center Khaman Maluach at No. 7. There are also some noteworthy differences. For instance, Wasserman seems a little lower on Illinois guard Kasparas Jakucionis (No. 14 to San Antonio vs. No. 8 in ESPN’s story) and quite a bit higher on Georgia forward/center Asa Newell (No. 10 to Houston vs. outside the lottery on ESPN).
UConn forward Samson Johnson impressed at the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament last month and has upcoming pre-draft workouts with the Jazz, Lakers, Bucks and Wizards, sources tell Keith Smith of Spotrac (Twitter link). A 6’10” big man, Johnson averaged 7.5 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.5 blocks as a senior this past season for the Huskies (19.4 minutes per game). Johnson is not ranked on ESPN’s big board.

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