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Sixers Notes: Yabusele, Draft, Oubre, Grimes, McCain

June 8th, 2025 at 10:46am CST by Arthur Hill

Guerschon Yabusele accepted a one-year, minimum-salary contract with the Sixers when he decided to return to the NBA, and his performance on that deal has him positioned for a much bigger payday this summer as an unrestricted free agent. The 29-year-old power forward talked about his experience during a recent interview with Basketball Network (hat tip to Souichi Terada of MassLive).

“The main thing, for me, when I decided to go back to the NBA was to enjoy this time,” Yabusele said. “Because the first time, when it stopped, and you realize it’s done fast. It took me five years to come back. So I really decided the main thing was to go over there to enjoy and gain that experience and try to get better. I was happy that I was able to perform.”

Yabusele was a first-round pick by the Celtics in 2016 and came stateside a year later, but he wasn’t able to earn consistent playing time during his two seasons in Boston. He developed into a star with Real Madrid in the EuroLeague, then rekindled NBA interest with a strong showing while representing France in last year’s Summer Olympics.

Philadelphia had a difficult season, but team-wide injury woes gave Yabusele plenty of opportunity to display his skills. He appeared in 70 games, making 43 starts and averaging 11.0 points, 5.6 rebounds and 2.1 assists in 27.1 minutes per night with .501/.380/.725 shooting numbers.

“It was a good season,” he said. “All the ups and downs. I was able to go out there and really experience, for the first time, being in the league.”

There’s more from Philadelphia:

  • The Sixers’ decision with the No. 3 pick will have huge implications for the teams drafting directly behind them, notes Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. Rutgers forward Ace Bailey is frequently linked with Philadelphia in mock drafts, but Baylor guard V.J. Edgecombe and Texas guard Tre Johnson could be in the mix as well, with some scouts viewing them as better long-term prospects than Bailey. The Sixers may also consider trading down — one executive told Pompey that a couple of teams slotted after Philadelphia are conducting “heavy research” on the possibility of moving up to No. 3.
  • In the same piece, Pompey states that forward Kelly Oubre is expected to pick up his $8.3MM player option for next season. That echoes a report from Marc Stein last month. Pompey also hears that the Sixers are optimistic about their chances of re-signing free agent guard Quentin Grimes, who averaged 21.9 PPG after being acquired from Dallas in February.
  • Rookie guard Jared McCain covered Game 1 of the NBA Finals as part of the league’s Player Correspondent Program. The endeavor provides experience for players who may be interested in media careers after retirement. Miami’s Jaime Jaquez, Atlanta’s Dyson Daniels and Chicago’s Matas Buzelis are also participating this year.
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And-Ones: Cook, Sirvydis, 2022 Redraft, Gasol

June 2nd, 2025 at 9:54pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Former NBA forward Tyler Cook is signing with a Japanese team, Donatas Urbonas of BasketNews.com reports. He’ll be joining the Ibaraki Robots.

Cook averaged 15.0 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 1.5 assists on 63.6% shooting in the Turkish league with Merkezefendi this past season. He played 65 games in the NBA, most recently with Chicago in 2021/22.

Here’s more from the international basketball world:

  • Another former NBA forward, Deividas Sirvydis, is re-signing with Lithuania’s Zalgiris Kaunas on a contract that runs through the 2027/28 season, according to a team press release. In his debut EuroLeague season, Sirvydis averaged 8.4 points and 2.6 rebounds per game, shooting 51.5% from two-point range and 38.8% from three-point range. Sirvydis, a 2019 second-round pick, made 23 appearances with Detroit.
  • If they had to do it all over again, Paolo Banchero would still be the No. 1 pick of the 2022 draft. HoopsHype’s Frank Urbina conducted a 2022 re-draft and there was one big move up the draft ladder — Urbina suggests Jalen Williams would be the No. 2 pick instead of the No. 12 selection, while Dyson Daniels would also move into the top five.
  • Speaking to Eurohoops, former NBA All-Star Pau Gasol wouldn’t go as far as saying the current group of European stars are better than his era’s top imports. Rather, he looks at it as each generation grows the legacy of European players before them.
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Southeast Notes: Hornets, Mitchell, Burks, Hawks

May 30th, 2025 at 8:03pm CST by Eli Cohen

The Hornets have the ignominious honor of holding the league’s longest active playoff drought, leaving them with many questions to answer heading into the offseason, according to The Charlotte Observer’s Roderick Boone.

In a mailbag column, Boone writes that he expects the team to add more veteran presence to its young core, along the lines of last year’s Taj Gibson signing. The goal would be to help build a winning locker room culture and assist in the development of head coach Charles Lee, who himself is still learning the ropes of being an NBA veteran coach.

Boone also advises fans not to overreact if 2024 lottery pick Tidjane Salaün spends more time in the G League next year, writing that rushing his development would be a mistake and would hurt him in the long run. The sixth pick in last year’s draft averaged 5.9 points and 4.7 rebounds in 20.7 minutes per night for Charlotte, while shooting just 33.0% from the field and 28.3% from three, though he was always known to be a project who would take multiple years to be ready for major contributions.

As for roster moves, Boone says the team could use another center or power forward, especially one who can shoot. Meanwhile, Tre Mann appears to be on the road to recovery from a back injury that cut his season short and is entering restricted free agency. If he’s healthy, Boone believes that he might be more likely to sign a qualifying offer and hit the open market next year than to sign a long-term deal.

We have more from the Southeast Division:

  • 6’4″ shooting guard V.J. Edgecombe is rumored to be a favorite for the Hornets‘ fourth overall pick in the 2025 draft if he’s still available, writes Boone. Boone points to his strong defensive pedigree as a great fit between LaMelo Ball and Brandon Miller in Lee’s system, but warns that he’ll need to improve his ball-handling to become a more well-rounded offensive threat.
  • After a strong second half of the season following a mid-year trade to the Heat, Davion Mitchell is expected to receive an $8.7MM qualifying offer making him a restricted free agent, writes Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald. However, Chiang writes that the most likely outcome is that the Heat allow another team to pursue an offer sheet with the 26-year-old defensive-minded guard before deciding how he fits into their future plans. Chiang writes that Mitchell could garner offers that approach the full mid-level exception ($14.1MM), and the Heat are only around $4MM from the luxury tax without much hope of putting together a top-tier team for next year. They are also expected to pursue as much cap space in 2026 as possible, making multiyear deals complicated.
  • After a career shooting year, Alec Burks is hoping to be back with the Heat next season, writes Chiang. “It was a good year. I learned a lot. Even though I’m in my 14th year, I still learned something. So I’m glad I was here,” Burks said. The soon-to-be 34-year-old started both play-in games for Miami but only appeared in Game 1 of the team’s first-round matchup with the Cavaliers. Coach Erik Spoelstra praised his ability to stay ready for whatever was asked of him, saying, “There aren’t a lot of vets that really want to accept these kinds of roles. That’s just the reality. And he is not only able to accept it, but he thrives in that role.”
  • The Hawks are desperately trying to move out of the middle of the pack to become a legitimate contender, writes Keith Smith of Spotrac. The front office has decisions to make regarding the free agency of longtime center Clint Capela, who was supplanted this year by Onyeka Okongwu in the starting five, as well as new acquisitions Caris LeVert and Larry Nance Jr., which could decide how the team’s depth looks next season. Smith writes that it would make sense for LeVert and Atlanta to come to terms on a deal in the ballpark of $12MM annually over two or three years, while the team’s ability to retain Nance may rest on what kind of outside offers he gets. Dyson Daniels and Trae Young are both extension-eligible this summer, though Smith believes it would make more sense to extend Daniels than Young, given that Young’s role in the team’s long-term plans remains uncertain. And, of course, none of this is likely to happen before the team replaces recently fired general manager Landry Fields.
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NBA Announces 2024/25 All-Defensive Teams

May 22nd, 2025 at 1:07pm CST by Luke Adams

The NBA has officially announced its All-Defensive teams for the 2024/25 season (Twitter links).

The teams are determined by a panel of 100 media members, with players receiving two points for a First Team vote and one point for a Second Team vote.

There were no unanimous First Team selections this year, but Defensive Player of the Year Evan Mobley came close, having been named to the First Team on 99 ballots (Twitter link). He was selected to the Second Team on the 100th ballot, for a total of 199 points.

The honorees are as follows, along with their point totals:

First Team

Second Team

The NBA adjusted the voting rules in 2023 to allow All-Defensive ballots to be positionless. Up until that point, each team consisted of two guards, two forwards, and a center.

Despite the lack of positional requirements, this year’s teams are reasonably well balanced — while Mobley, Green, Zubac, Jackson, and Gobert all serve as defensive anchors for their respective clubs, Mobley, Green, and Jackson spend much of their time on the court playing forward rather than center.

It’s the ninth time that Green has made an All-Defensive team and the eighth time that Gobert has earned the honor. Jackson and Mobley have each been recognized multiple times too — it’s the third time Jackson has made the cut and the second time for Mobley. However, Daniels, Dort, Thompson, Zubac, Williams, and Camara have never been named All-Defensive players before this season.

Among the other players who received votes, Knicks forward OG Anunoby came closest to cracking the top 10, having been named to the First Team on two ballots and the Second Team on 45 ballots for a total of 49 points. An additional 13 players received at least one vote, but none of them had more than 18 total points.

That group of players who missed the cut includes Heat big man Bam Adebayo, whose streak of five straight All-Defensive seasons has come to an end.

Players were required to meet the criteria of the 65-game rule in order to qualify for All-Defensive consideration. The full voting results can be viewed here (Twitter link).

As Bobby Marks of ESPN tweets, Dort has earned a $500K bonus for making the First Team this season. In addition to increasing his earnings for this season, that will bump Dort’s cap hit for 2025/26 from $17,722,222 to $18,222,222, since the bonus will now be considered likely to be earned next season.

Conversely, after missing out on All-Defensive spots this season, Derrick White and Jaden McDaniels will see their cap hits for next season reduced by $250K and $431K, respectively, Marks adds (Twitter link). Those bonuses, which had been considered likely after the duo earned All-Defensive nods in 2024, won’t be earned this season, which means the Celtics and Timberwolves will each receive a tax variance credit and both bonuses will be considered unlikely for 2025/26.

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And-Ones: Wright, Rookie Extensions, All-Interview Team, More

May 10th, 2025 at 3:55pm CST by Luke Adams

Former Colorado guard McKinley Wright IV, who appeared in 32 NBA regular season games for Minnesota and Dallas from 2021-23, has been named the Most Valuable Player for the ABA League (formerly known as the Adriatic League) in Europe.

Wright has spent the last two seasons playing for KK Buducnost and led the Montenegrin team to a 26-4 record and a No. 1 seed in ABA competition this season. The 26-year-old, known as a solid perimeter defender, averaged team bests of 12.8 points and 4.9 assists in 22.5 minutes per game, with an excellent shooting line of .545/.370/.848.

Wright now has the honor of sharing a career accomplishment with future Hall of Famer Nikola Jokic, who was named the MVP of the ABA League in 2014/15, his age-20 season, when he played for Mega Basket in Serbia.

Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

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Southeast Notes: Jaquez, Hawks, Murray, Hunter, Joseph

May 8th, 2025 at 10:14pm CST by Earnest Marshall

Heat second-year wing Jaime Jaquez Jr. had a strong debut season in 2023/24, finishing fourth in Rookie of the Year voting, but he followed up that successful campaign with a quieter year. He finished the ’24/25 campaign averaging 8.6 points per game (down from 11.9 last season) and was out of the rotation at times.

“It was an extremely humbling experience,” Jaquez said during his exit interview, per Ira Winderman of South Florida’s Sun Sentinel. “Sometimes things don’t go your way, and sometimes only after do you realize why that had happened to you.”

Jaquez’s efficiency took a slight hit in his second season and he wound up playing a reduced role, even falling out of the rotation during the second half.

“Clearly has to work on some things, which he will,” coach Erik Spoelstra said. “He’ll work on defending in open space, defending situationally in our system, outside shooting will be key again, but he was working on that last summer. I think a full summer again, I think you’ll see big progress. He was coming out of training camp shooting the ball great. So I think we can fast track that.

“And, then, ultimately the hardest one is decision making. Schemes have changed against him. He has to be aggressive, but now there’s going to be different schemes and you graduate to different levels to this. And when there’s a second defender, making the right read and finding open guys, when he’s in a crowd.”

We have more from the Southeast Division:

  • The Hawks are already seeing the rewards of the deal that sent Dejounte Murray to the Pelicans, Lauren L. Williams of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution writes. Dyson Daniels came away with the NBA’s Most Improved Player award after establishing himself as one of the league’s premier defenders. In addition to acquiring a new long-term building block, they added a veteran leader in Larry Nance Jr. in that same trade, along with two first-round picks.
  • Atlanta sending De’Andre Hunter to Cleveland at the deadline looks like a win-win for the Hawks and Cavaliers, Williams writes in another story. Although he’s dealing with an injury now, Hunter quickly established himself as a crucial bench piece for the Cavs, while the Hawks obtained cap flexibility by acquiring an expiring contract in Caris LeVert and moving off the $48.2MM in guaranteed money that Hunter is due over the next two years.
  • Cory Joseph said during his exit interview that this past season with Orlando was his favorite of his career, Jason Beede of the Orlando Sentinel writes. The 33-year-old was brought in to primarily serve as a veteran mentor, but ended up becoming the Magic‘s starting point guard by the end of the year after the team dealt with injuries. “Being able to come here and feel like it was a perfect fit for me, in terms of where the team was and where I was … I really enjoyed my time this season being here,” Joseph said. The Magic hold a team option worth $3.4MM on Joseph for 2025/26. He expressed interest in returning to Orlando for his 15th season, per Beede.
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Southeast Notes: Herro, Burks, Hawks, Suggs

May 1st, 2025 at 3:59pm CST by Rory Maher

Heat guard Tyler Herro had an impressive regular season, making his first All-Star appearance and winning the three-point contest. He posted career highs in several statistical categories, including points (23.9) and assists (5.5) per game, while making a career-best 77 appearances. The 25-year-old also struggled in the final two games of Miami’s first-round series with Cleveland, though the Heat were clearly overmatched against the top-seeded Cavs.

Herro, who is under contract through 2026/27, will be eligible for a three-year extension in October. Asked about the possibility of signing that extension, Herro made it clear that he wants to stay with the Heat, writes Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald.

“Not the biggest deal, but I would love to be here,” Herro said. “The front office, the organization, the city, everyone knows how much I love Miami. I’ve been here since I was 18, 19. I’ve got two kids here.

“This is really home for me. I love being here. Basketball is why I’m here at the end of the day. I want to win and I know how badly this organization and city want to win. We will see what happens. If it doesn’t get done in October, then we can get it done next summer. It will just be a little bit higher of a price.”

Here’s more from the Southeast:

  • While a few Heat veterans declined to speak to the media, guard Alec Burks would like to return to Miami, according to Jackson. “Hopefully I can come back,” said Burks, who will be an unrestricted free agent this summer after signing a one-year deal for the veteran’s minimum in 2024.
  • In a subscriber-only story for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Lauren Williams takes a look at which Hawks players are likely to return in ’25/26 and which players could be on different rosters next season. Unsurprisingly, young core players like Jalen Johnson, Dyson Daniels and Zaccharie Risacher fall into the former group, while impending free agents such as Caris LeVert and Clint Capela are in the latter.
  • At his end-of-season media availability on Thursday, Magic guard Jalen Suggs said undergoing season-ending knee surgery won’t change the physical way he defends opponents heading into ’25/26. “I ain’t changing a damn thing,” Suggs told Josh Robbins of The Athletic (Twitter link). “I ain’t going to lie. I ain’t changing nothing. That’s what all this (rehab) work is for.” Suggs, who made the All-Defensive Second Team last season, was limited to 35 games in ’24/25 due to injuries. 
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Dyson Daniels Named Most Improved Player

April 30th, 2025 at 6:09pm CST by Arthur Hill

Hawks guard Dyson Daniels is this year’s Most Improved Player, the NBA announced (via Twitter).

Daniels blossomed after coming to Atlanta in an offseason trade. He became a full-time starter for the first time in his third NBA season and posted career highs with 14.1 points, 5.9 rebounds and 4.4 assists in 76 games with .493/.340/.593 shooting splits.

With 229 steals, Daniels led the league by a wide margin and was named as a finalist for Defensive Player of the Year honors as well as Most Improved.

Daniels captured 44 first-place votes, 36 for second place and four for third to easily win the award with 332 total points.

The other finalists were Clippers center Ivica Zubac (23-18-17-186) and Pistons guard Cade Cunningham (15-11-14-122).

Nuggets guard Christian Braun (9-15-30-120) and Lakers guard Austin Reaves (8-4-12-39) rounded out the top five.

Also receiving first-place votes were Cavaliers big man Evan Mobley, Rockets swingman Amen Thompson, Trail Blazers forward Deni Avdija, Heat guard Tyler Herro and Bulls guard Josh Giddey.

In total, 14 players showed up on at least one ballot. The full voting results can be viewed here.

The Pelicans selected Daniels with the eighth pick in the 2022 draft, but he wasn’t able to fully develop his game in two seasons with New Orleans. That changed after he was sent to Atlanta last July in a trade for Dejounte Murray. As a 6’8″ defensive specialist, Daniels was a perfect fit alongside Trae Young in the Hawks’ backcourt, and playing alongside Young helped him significantly improve his shooting numbers.

Daniels, 22, will be eligible for a rookie scale extension this summer.

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Warriors’ Draymond Green Wins 2024/25 Hustle Award

April 25th, 2025 at 1:23pm CST by Rory Maher

Warriors forward/center Draymond Green has won the NBA’s Hustle Award for the 2024/25 season, the league announced today (story via Brian Martin of NBA.com).

The Hustle Award has been around since the ’16/17 campaign. Unlike other postseason awards, it is not voted on by the media.

Instead, the award goes to the player who has the top composite ranking in nine “hustle stats” — charges drawn, deflections, screen assists, contested two-point shots, contested three-point shots, offensive loose balls recovered, defensive loose balls recovered, offensive box outs, and defensive box outs.

As Martin writes, Green didn’t lead the NBA in any of those nine categories, but he was in the top 15 in five and became the first winner in the award’s history to rank in the top 40 in all nine.

The Hustle Award is meant to honor players “who make the effort plays that don’t often appear in the traditional box score but impact winning on a nightly basis,” per Martin.

Green, who finished third in Defensive Player of the Year voting this season, was runner-up for the Hustle Award on two other occasions, Martin notes. Thunder guard Cason Wallace finished second behind Green, with Sixers forward Guerschon Yabusele, Thunder wing Luguentz Dort, and Hawks guard Dyson Daniels rounding out the top five.

Thunder swingman Alex Caruso won the Hustle Award in ’23/24 while playing for the Bulls. Wizards guard Marcus Smart has won the award three times.

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And-Ones: Gambling, Doncic, Thompsons, DPOY, More

April 24th, 2025 at 8:01am CST by Luke Adams

As part of their anonymous poll of 158 NBA players, the full results of which can be viewed here, Sam Amick and Josh Robbins of The Athletic got several interesting responses about the league’s gambling partnerships and the impact they’ve had.

Of The Athletic’s poll respondents, 46% felt the partnerships were bad for the NBA, while 34% said they were good — the remaining 20% were either undecided or were somewhere in the middle. The general consensus is that those partnerships have benefited the league financially but have increased the likelihood of players being harassed by fans.

As Amick and Robbins write in a separate story, players around the league also sounded off on February’s shocking Luka Doncic trade, questioning not only the Mavericks‘ decision to deal the perennial All-NBA first-teamer but also the timing of the move.

Some players who spoke to The Athletic acknowledged that the trade wouldn’t have looked quite so bad if not for the injury woes that tanked the Mavericks’ season, while others said it was too early to render final judgment. But the responses Amick and Robbins got strongly suggested that the only players fully on board with the deal were anonymous Lakers, including one respondent who said, “I think it (was a) phenomenal decision. So smart. Wise. I’m a Nico Harrison fan.”

Here are more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

  • In an entertaining feature for ESPN.com, Michael C. Wright takes a closer look at the rapid rise of twin brothers Amen Thompson and Ausar Thompson, who have met their goal of making the playoffs for the first time this year, with the Rockets and Pistons, respectively. Now, they’re ready to take that goal one step further. “I want to see him in the Finals,” Amen told Wright. “That would be fire. But just one of us wins. I know who that’s going to be.” Ausar shares his brother’s goal, but disagrees with his prediction about which team would come out on top. “Man, we would whoop ’em,” Ausar said. “This year, when we played, when we had all of our players, we beat them.”
  • With the NBA set to announce its Defensive Player of the Year award winner on Thursday evening, Josh Robbins of The Athletic spoke to 13 head coaches and assistants around the league about who deserves the honor. Hawks guard Dyson Daniels and Thunder wing Luguentz Dort were the top vote-getters in Robbins’ poll — Dort isn’t among the three finalists for the award.
  • Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report looks ahead to the offseason and identifies under-the-radar teams that might make sense as destinations for 10 potential trade candidates around the NBA, ranging from stars like Kevin Durant and Trae Young to role players such as Marcus Smart and Daniel Gafford.
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