Pacific Notes: Kings, Sabonis, Warriors, Suns
The Kings are hosting a pre-draft workout on Friday featuring Boopie Miller (SMU), Nick Boyd (Wisconsin), Lamar Wilkerson (Indiana), Anthony Roy (Oklahoma State), Izaiyah Nelson (South Florida) and Ugonna Onyenso (Virginia), tweets James Ham of The Kings Beat.
Sacramento controls three picks (Nos. 7, 34 and 45) in the upcoming draft. Big men Onyenso (No. 43) and Nelson (No. 47) are the top-ranked prospects in that group on ESPN’s big board.
Here’s more from around the Pacific:
- After Evan Sidery claimed (via Twitter) that the Hornets and Kings discussed a possible trade involving Domantas Sabonis during the 2025/26 season, Ham shot down that rumor (Twitter link). “Not accurate,” a league source told Ham. Sabonis, a three-time All-Star center, is owed $94.1MM over the next two seasons.
- Nick Avila of NBC Sports Bay Area rounds up seven mock drafts for the lottery picks controlled by the Kings (No. 7) and Warriors (No. 11). Four outlets have Sacramento selecting former Houston Cougars guard Kingston Flemings, while only one name appears multiple times (twice) for Golden State: Mexican forward Karim Lopez, who spent the last two seasons with the New Zealand Breakers in the National Basketball League.
- Although the Suns currently only control the 47th overall pick in this month’s draft, they have a recent history of moving both up and down, notes Gerald Bourguet of Sports360AZ.com. He acknowledges the odds of Phoenix being able to land a first-round pick seem fairly low given the limited assets at the team’s disposal, but Bourguet lists five prospects the Suns should consider if they’re able to move into the first round, including Stanford’s Ebuka Okorie and Iowa State’s Joshua Jefferson.
Pistons Notes: Dosunmu, Duren, Thompson, Cunningham, Okorie
The Pistons pursued Ayo Dosunmu at the trade deadline, but the asking price was too high, Hunter Patterson of The Athletic reports. The Timberwolves gave up young guard Rob Dillingham, Leonard Miller and four second-round picks to the Bulls in exchange for Dosunmu and Julian Phillips. Dosunmu is headed to unrestricted free agency, which factored into Detroit’s thinking about not overpaying for the talented guard.
Patterson addressed a number of other topics in his mailbag article, including Jalen Duren‘s restricted free agency and potential trade targets for Detroit this summer.
Here’s more on the Pistons:
- Despite his offensive limitations, Ausar Thompson is an irreplaceable core player as he becomes eligible for a rookie scale extension, Omari Sankofa II of the Detroit Free Press writes. The Defensive Player of the Year finalist could command a contract similar to the one the Magic’s Jalen Suggs received, Sankofa continues. Suggs signed a five-year deal worth $150.5MM before the start of the 2024/25 season. ESPN’s Bobby Marks recently predicted a five-year extension worth $162MM for Thompson, given his ability to guard anyone on the floor. The front office is hopeful of getting both Duren and Thompson signed this offseason.
- Cade Cunningham‘s strong finish after suffering a collapsed lung late in the regular season added to his superstar trajectory, Sankofa writes for The Free Press. Cunningham averaged 28.1 points, 7.5 assists, 5.1 rebounds and 1.1 steals per game while shooting 40.2% from three during the playoffs. Cunningham was named to the All-NBA First Team. He could meet the super-max (ie. Designated Veteran) criteria if he earns All-NBA honors again in 2027. That would make him eligible for a maximum-salary extension worth up to 35% of the cap instead of 30% on his next contract.
- The Pistons hosted Stanford guard Ebuka Okorie for a pre-draft workout on Wednesday, Patterson tweets. Detroit has the No. 21 overall pick but nothing in the second round, unless it makes a trade. Okorie could be a consideration at that spot — he’s currently ranked No. 27 on ESPN’s Best Available list. Okorie averaged 23.2 points per game in his one-and-done season with the Cardinal.
Draft Notes: Momcilovic, NBA Comps, Sleepers, Dybantsa
Milan Momcilovic, who tested the draft waters this spring before deciding to withdraw and use his final year of NCAA eligibility, will be transferring from Iowa State to Kentucky for the 2026/27 season, according to Jeff Borzello of ESPN (Twitter link).
Momcilovic had been the top prospect in the transfer portal after an impressive junior year in which he led the nation with a 48.7% mark on three-point attempts. The 6’8″ forward averaged 16.9 points and made 3.7 threes per game over the course of 37 outings for the Cyclones, earning a spot on the All-Big 12 second team.
While Momcilovic would have been drafted if he had opted to go pro this spring, he’ll maximize his earnings by playing one more college season. Sources tell Adam Zagoria of NJ.com (Twitter link) that the 21-year-old’s NIL deal with the Wildcats will be worth over $6MM.
Momcilovic will now be draft-eligible in 2027.
We have more on the draft:
- ESPN’s Tim Bontemps and Jeremy Woo solicited feedback from scouts and executives and assigned NBA comps to the top 12 prospects in this year’s class. For instance, their high-end forecast for Duke’s Cameron Boozer is Kevin Love with more ball skills, whereas their low-end projetion for Boozer would be Domantas Sabonis with better outside shooting. Multiple scouts have also compared Boozer to Al Horford due to his high basketball IQ, Bontemps notes.
- Kevin O’Connor of Yahoo Sports identifies five of his favorite first-round sleepers in this year’s draft, going to bat for Stanford guard Ebuka Okorie, Santa Clara forward Allen Graves, Kentucky big man Jayden Quaintance, Arkansas guard Meleek Thomas, and Michigan forward Morez Johnson.
- With AJ Dybantsa widely projected to be the Wizards‘ pick at No. 1, Chase Hughes of Monumental Sports Network explores some of the BYU forward’s strengths and weaknesses, with input from Dybantsa himself.
Draft Decisions: Peat, Momcilovic, Tanner, Fears, More
Koa Peat has decided to leave Arizona and remain in the NBA draft, according to Jeff Borzello of ESPN. Sources tell Borzello that although Peat kept his options open for another season of college basketball, his focus over the past two months has been on staying in the draft and starting his pro career.
Peat had a productive freshman season with the Wildcats, followed by a strong NCAA tournament where he averaged 17.2 points and 7.6 rebounds in five games. However, Borzello notes that his stock began to slip at the draft combine in Chicago, where he couldn’t get his shot to fall. He wound up shooting 6-of-25 in the spot-up drill and 7-of-25 in the three-point star drill, which gave him the second-worst combined performance in those two categories.
Borzello adds that Peat had a noticeably different form on his jumper that featured a slower motion and a lower release point.
“Just trying to work on that as much as I can, trying to shoot the ball the same way every time,” he told ESPN. “Trying to eliminate misses left and right, trying to miss long or short. Trying to focus on that. Not getting too consumed about it because I can do a lot of other things that affect the game, but I’m trying to work on that … I feel like that breakthrough is going to come soon.”
Peat was projected as a late first-round pick in ESPN’s most recent mock draft, going to Boston at No. 27. Jeremy Woo suggests that at 6’7″, his NBA future could be as a small-ball center.
While Peat opted to stay in the draft, most prospects who made their decisions on Wednesday chose to return to school, including Alabama’s Amari Allen, Illinois’ Andrej Stojakovic and Arkansas’ Billy Richmond as we outlined earlier. Here’s a roundup of the decisions that were announced prior to Wednesday’s 11:59 pm ET deadline for players to withdraw and maintain their college eligibility:
- Milan Momcilovic, formerly of Iowa State, will take his name out of the draft and decide on his next school, his agents tell Borzello (Twitter link). Momcilovic established himself as the best shooter in the nation last season and is considered to be the top player in the transfer portal.
- Tyler Tanner is withdrawing from the draft and will return to Vanderbilt, per Pete Thamel of ESPN (Twitter link). The point guard earned All-SEC and honorable mention All-American honors as a sophomore, averaging 19.5 points and 5.1 assists in 36 games.
- Jeremy Fears will return to Michigan State next season, agent Mike Miller tells Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports (Twitter link). Fears was a second-team All-American selection as a junior, leading Division I players in assists at 9.4 per game.
- Dennis Parker is withdrawing from the draft and will transfer from Radford to Kansas, according to Jon Chepkevich of Draft Express (Twitter link). Parker will be a senior next season.
- Finley Bizjack will forgo the draft and transfer from Butler to West Virginia for his senior season, his agents tell Chepkevich (Twitter link).
- Rowan Brumbaugh will pass up the draft and transfer from Tulane to SMU, per Chepkevich (Twitter link). Brumbaugh will be a senior next season.
- Colby Garland is staying in college and will transfer from San Jose State to Georgia Tech for his senior season, Chepkevich adds (Twitter link).
- After committing to Texas Tech, former Hofstra guard Cruz Davis will pull out of the draft and play for the Red Raiders as a redshirt senior, tweets Joe Tipton of On3. The 22-year-old was the Coastal Athletic Association’s Player of the Year in 2025/26.
- Another player staying in the draft is Stanford’s Ebuka Okorie, his agent confirms to Goodman (Twitter link). He led the ACC in scoring this season at 23.2 PPG as a freshman.
Draft Notes: Brown, Jazz, Mitchell, Warriors, Kings, Timberwolves
Projected lottery pick Mikel Brown Jr. will work out this week for the Jazz, Kevin O’Connor of Yahoo Sports tweets. Brown told O’Connor he’s been fully cleared from the back injury he suffered while playing for Louisville. Brown averaged 18.2 points and 4.7 assists in 21 games.
The Jazz hold the No. 2 overall pick, so the visit may be about the team taking the opportunity to get familiar with as many of this year’s top prospects as possible — or performing due diligence in case of a trade down. ESPN has Brown ranked at No. 9 on its big board.
Here’s more draft news:
- St. John’s forward Dillon Mitchell is among the players the Warriors will evaluate on Wednesday, according to Adam Zagoria of NJ.com (Twitter link). Miami guard Tre Donaldson and Vanderbilt forward Tyler Nickel are also visited Golden State on Wednesday, NBC Sports Bay Area’s Dalton Johnson tweets. That trio will be looking to move into the second-round conversation. The Warriors hold the 54th overall selection.
- The Kings‘ staff will take a look at Dominique Daniels (Cal Baptist), Kylan Boswell (Illinois), Elias Ralph (Pacific), Trevon Brazile (Arkansas), Baba Miller (Cincinnati), and Chauncey Wiggins (Florida State) on Wednesday, Sean Cunningham of KCRA tweets. Miller (No. 45) and Brazile (No. 48) are the highest-ranked prospects among that group. Sacramento holds two second-rounders at 34 and 45.
- Ebuka Okorie, Ja’Kobi Gillespie, Jaden Bradley, Nickel and Sam Hoiberg visited the Timberwolves on Friday, Darren Wolfson of KSTP tweets. Okorie (Stanford) and Bradley (Arizona) are each among the top 50 prospects by ESPN, with Okorie at No. 26 and Bradley ranked No. 46.
Northwest Notes: Jazz, Love, Irving, Wolves
The Jazz have a chance to add a critical piece to their rebuild after landing the second pick in the loaded 2026 draft. While many of the discussions around the pick have focused on AJ Dybantsa (BYU) and Darryn Peterson (Kansas), two other players are well worth discussing, Sarah Todd writes for The Deseret News.
Cameron Boozer (Duke) and Caleb Wilson (UNC) are two power forwards with franchise-changing potential who are genuine threats to upset the top of the draft order, Todd writes.
Boozer, who has well-documented ties to Utah and the Jazz organization, is generally considered to have a slightly lower ceiling than that of Dybantsa or Peterson due to his athletic limitations, but his cerebral game and ability to shoot and pass at a high level could help mitigate that. Meanwhile, Wilson is an athletic marvel with a burgeoning mid-range shot-creation skill set who reportedly impressed during the combine due to his demeanor in interviews.
Private workouts and medical results could end up having a large impact on how the order of the top four shakes out.
The Jazz have a loaded starting rotation of big men, but the Spurs have shown this year that bringing a No. 2 overall pick off the bench can still yield major dividends.
We have more from around the Northwest Division:
- Caleb Love will be a free agent after playing last season on a two-way contract with the Trail Blazers. In his limited opportunities, Love showed that he’s clearly an NBA player and still has room to grow, writes Joe Freeman of The Oregonian. “He’s got some (stuff) to him,” an anonymous scout told Freeman. “They have to make a decision with him. I think he’s better than a two-way contract guy. He played both sides of the ball in the games that I saw. He’s a physical guard. He created. He’s crafty with the ball. You want to see if he can be disciplined enough to incorporate everything into the system.”
- The Timberwolves need to find a secondary offensive star to pair with Anthony Edwards and the well-rounded skill set of Jaden McDaniels, and they should take a hard look at Mavericks star guard Kyrie Irving, opines Jim Souhan of the Star Tribune. As Souhan explains, given its relative lack of trade assets, the team doesn’t necessarily seem like a strong contender for a Giannis Antetokounmpo trade, but Irving could be more attainable and would help to alleviate the defensive attention that Edwards receives.
- The Wolves held a pre-draft workout on Friday that featured sharp-shooting forward Milan Momcilovic out of Iowa State, per Darren Wolfson of KSTP (Twitter link). The 6’8″ junior shot 48.7% from three this season on 279 total attempts. He has until Wednesday to decide whether he will stay in the draft. Alex Karaban (UConn), Ebuka Okorie (Stanford), and Ja’Kobi Gillespie (Tennessee) have also worked out for the Wolves, per HoopsHype. Minnesota holds the 28th and 59th picks in this year’s draft.
Draft Notes: Graves, Okorie, Evans, Veesaar, Kayil
When he declared for the 2026 NBA draft earlier this spring, Santa Clara freshman forward Allen Graves also entered the NCAA transfer portal. However, he has been focused more on improving his draft stock than on lining up a new college for next season, per Jeff Borzello of ESPN (Twitter link).
According to Borzello, Graves said he has only had conversations with two schools since entering the transfer: LSU and Duke. Kentucky also reached out to his representatives, Graves said, but LSU and Duke would be his top two choices if he decides to play his sophomore season.
For now though, Graves is leaning toward keeping his name in the draft pool as long as he feels confident about being a first-round pick, which seems like an increasingly realistic outcome. In their most recent mock drafts, Kevin O’Connor of Yahoo Sports had Graves at No. 16 overall, Jonathan Wasserman of Bleacher Report had him at No. 20, and ESPN’s Jeremy Woo had him at No. 22.
Here are a few more draft-related updates from this week’s combine:
- Stanford guard Ebuka Okorie, who is viewed as a possible first-round pick, intends to remain in the draft and forgo his remaining NCAA eligibility, according to Borzello (Twitter link). “I already talked with (Stanford coach) Kyle Smith and I talked to my agents and my family,” Okorie said. “I’m staying in the draft.” When Okorie declared for the draft, he was said to be leaning strongly toward going pro but was leaving the door open for a return to Stanford.
- As expected, Duke wing Isaiah Evans and UNC center Henri Veesaar, who rank 21st and 31st, respectively, on ESPN’s big board, will keep their names in the draft and go pro, according to Borzello (Twitter links). Evans said that he’s “fully in” and hasn’t talked to the Blue Devils at all about returning, while Veesaar said he’s “all-in” on the draft. “It’s 100% my decision to stay. I think it’s the right decision, basketball-wise,” the North Carolina big man added.
- German point guard Jack Kayil had committed to Gonzaga for the 2026/27 season, but he plans to remain in the draft instead of going to college, agents Kevin Bradbury and Milan Nikolic tell Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress (Twitter link). Kayil is ranked just 61st on ESPN’s board, but he has receiving “first-round feedback” in Chicago this week after an excellent season with the German team Alba Berlin, Givony reports.
- Givony (Twitter link) passes along the names of several of the notable prospects who aren’t participating in 5-on-5 scrimmages at the combine, pointing out that some of them may have already decided to return to school and won’t want to risk suffering an injury.
NBA Announces 73 Invitees For 2026 Draft Combine
The NBA announced today (via Twitter) that 73 prospects have been invited to attend this year’s draft combine, which will take place in Chicago from May 10-17.
In addition to those 73 players, a handful of standout players from the G League combine, which is also held in Chicago just before the combine begins, are expected to receive invites to stick around for the main event.
Not all of the prospects invited to the combine will end up remaining in the 2026 draft pool, since many are early entrants who are testing the waters while retaining their NCAA eligibility.
College players must withdraw from the draft by the end of the day on May 27 if they wish to preserve that eligibility, while non-college players face a decision deadline of June 13. The feedback they receive from NBA teams at the combine may be a deciding factor for players who are on the fence.
Here’s the list of players who have been invited to the 2026 draft combine:
(Note: For players in international leagues, the country listed is where they had been playing, not necessarily where they’re from.)
- Matt Able, G, North Carolina State (freshman)
- Darius Acuff, G, Arkansas (freshman)
- Amari Allen, F, Alabama (freshman)
- Nate Ament, F, Tennessee (freshman)
- Christian Anderson, G, Texas Tech (sophomore)
- Tobe Awaka, F, Arizona (senior)
- Flory Bidunga, F/C, Kansas (sophomore)
- Tyler Bilodeau, F, UCLA (senior)
- John Blackwell, G, Wisconsin (junior)
- Cameron Boozer, F, Duke (freshman)
- Kylan Boswell, G, Illinois (senior)
- Nick Boyd, G, Wisconsin (senior)
- Jaden Bradley, G, Arizona (senior)
- Trevon Brazile, F, Arkansas (senior)
- Maliq Brown, F, Duke (senior)
- Mikel Brown Jr., G, Louisville (freshman)
- Brayden Burries, G, Arizona (freshman)
- Cameron Carr, G, Baylor (junior)
- Chris Cenac, F/C, Houston (freshman)
- Rueben Chinyelu, C, Florida (junior)
- Ryan Conwell, G, Louisville (senior)
- Sergio De Larrea, G, Spain (born 2005)
- AJ Dybantsa, F, BYU (freshman)
- Zuby Ejiofor, F, St. John’s (senior)
- Isaiah Evans, G/F, Duke (sophomore)
- Jeremy Fears, G, Michigan State (junior)
- Kingston Flemings, G, Houston (freshman)
- Ja’Kobi Gillespie, G, Tennessee (senior)
- Allen Graves, F, Santa Clara (freshman)
- Keyshawn Hall, G/F, Auburn (senior)
- Juke Harris, G, Wake Forest (sophomore)
- Joshua Jefferson, F, Iowa State (senior)
- Morez Johnson, F/C, Michigan (sophomore)
- Alex Karaban, F, UConn (senior)
- Jack Kayil, G, Germany (born 2006)
- Toibu Lawal, F, Virginia Tech (senior)
- Yaxel Lendeborg, F, Michigan (senior)
- Karim Lopez, F, Australia (born 2007)
- Aday Mara, C, Michigan (junior)
- Nick Martinelli, F, Northwestern (senior)
- Baba Miller, F/C, Cincinnati (senior)
- Dillon Mitchell, F, St. John’s (senior)
- Milan Momcilovic, F, Iowa State (junior)
- Malachi Moreno, C, Kentucky (freshman)
- Izaiyah Nelson, F, South Florida (senior)
- Tyler Nickel, F, Vanderbilt (senior)
- Ebuka Okorie, G, Stanford (freshman)
- Felix Okpara, C, Tennessee (senior)
- Ugonna Onyenso, C, Virginia (senior)
- Otega Oweh, G, Kentucky (senior)
- Koa Peat, F, Arizona (freshman)
- Darryn Peterson, G, Kansas (freshman)
- Labaron Philon, G, Alabama (sophomore)
- Jayden Quaintance, F/C, Kentucky (sophomore)
- Tarris Reed, C, UConn (senior)
- Billy Richmond, G/F, Arkansas (sophomore)
- Richie Saunders, G, BYU (senior)
- Emanuel Sharp, G, Houston (senior)
- Braden Smith, G, Purdue (senior)
- Hannes Steinbach, F, Washington (freshman)
- Bennett Stirtz, G, Iowa (senior)
- Andrej Stojakovic, G/F, Illinois (junior)
- Peter Suder, G, Miami (OH) (senior)
- Luigi Suigo, C, Serbia (born 2007)
- Dailyn Swain, G/F, Texas (junior)
- Tyler Tanner, G, Vanderbilt (sophomore)
- Meleek Thomas, G, Arkansas (freshman)
- Bruce Thornton, G, Ohio State (senior)
- Milos Uzan, G, Houston (senior)
- Henri Veesaar, C, North Carolina (junior)
- Keaton Wagler, G, Illinois (freshman)
- Caleb Wilson, F, North Carolina (freshman)
- Tounde Yessoufou, G/F, Baylor (freshman)
It’s worth noting that the NBA and the NBPA agreed to several combine-related changes in their latest Collective Bargaining Agreement. Here are a few of those changes:
- A player who is invited to the draft combine and declines to attend without an excused absence will be ineligible to be drafted. He would become eligible the following year by attending the combine. There will be exceptions made for a player whose FIBA season is ongoing, who is injured, or who is dealing with a family matter (such as a tragedy or the birth of a child). That player would be required to complete combine activities at a later date.
- Players who attend the draft combine will be required to undergo physical exams, share medical history, participate in strength, agility, and performance testing, take part in shooting drills, receive anthropometric measurements, and conduct interviews with teams and the media. Scrimmages won’t be mandatory.
- Medical results from the combine will be distributed to select teams based on where the player is projected to be drafted. Only teams drafting in the top 10 would get access to medical info for the projected No. 1 pick; teams in the top 15 would receive medical info for players in the 2-6 range, while teams in the top 25 would get access to info for the players in the 7-10 range.
Stanford’s Ebuka Okorie Declaring For 2026 NBA Draft
Stanford guard Ebuka Okorie is declaring for the 2026 NBA draft, agents CJ Ward and Mike Miller tell Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress (Twitter link).
Givony, who refers to the freshman as a projected first-round pick, says Okorie has “two feet in the draft,” but if the ACC’s leading scorer returns to college, it will be to Stanford.
Okorie confirmed the news on social media (Instagram link), and his announcement doesn’t say anything about maintaining his college eligibility, even though it sounds like he’ll be testing the draft waters.
A 6’2″ guard, Okorie had an incredibly productive freshman season for the Cardinal, averaging 23.2 points, 3.6 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.6 steals on .465/.354/.832 shooting in 31 games (35.1 minutes per contest). He finished eighth in the country in scoring and only behind projected lottery picks AJ Dybantsa and Darius Acuff Jr. among freshman, writes Josh Dubow of The Associated Press.
“A year ago you guys took a chance on a kid from New Hampshire with zero high major offers, welcoming me with open arms and allowing me to be the best version of myself on and off the court,” Okorie wrote in thanking Stanford’s coaching staff.
Okorie comes in at No. 38 on ESPN’s latest big board, which would make him an early second-round pick, but he goes No. 21 overall in the latest mock draft from Bleacher Report’s Jonathan Wasserman, who says Okorie’s draft range appears to be wide, with a variety of opinions from scouts.
And-Ones: Extensions, Draft Sleepers, Edwards, Partizan
In a subscriber-only story for The Third Apron, Yossi Gozlan takes a look at 11 players around the NBA who are currently eligible for veteran contract extensions.
According to Gozlan, Spurs wing Julian Champagnie has been a complete bargain on his current deal and should be in line for a considerable raise. San Antonio holds a $3MM team option on Champagnie for 2026/27, which the team would have to decline to extend him.
As Gozlan writes, the maximum the 24-year-old could receive on an extension would be $87MM over four years. Gozlan suggests a four-year deal in the $75-76MM range could be a reasonable compromise for both sides.
Gozlan also projects extensions for Spurs forward Harrison Barnes (two years, $24MM) and Jazz center Jusuf Nurkic (exact same structure), among others.
Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:
- John Hollinger of The Athletic lists nine of his favorite sleepers ahead of the 2026 draft. Hollinger acknowledges that some of the players on his list, including Santa Clara forward Allen Graves and Stanford guard Ebuka Okorie, may decide to return for another college season in 2026/27. A couple other sleepers Hollinger mentions (Corey Camper and Emanuel Sharp) will be automatically draft-eligible, as they’re both fifth-year seniors.
- Former NBA big man Jesse Edwards, who spent last season on a two-way deal with the Timberwolves, is in advanced talks with Spanish club Baskonia about a rest-of-season contract, reports Donatas Urbonas of BasketNews.com. The Dutch center played for Melbourne United in Australia in 2025/26, averaging 13.5 PPG, 8.5 RPG and 1.1 BPG in 35 games (22.4 MPG).
- In an extensive interview with Milun Nesovic of Serbian outlet Meridian Sport, Partizan Belgrade president Ostoja Mijailovic discussed a number of current and former NBA players, as Eurohoops and Sportando relay. The Sixers were limited to offering Partizan $875K as part of a buyout for Cameron Payne, yet the EuroLeague club received $1.75MM in that agreement. According to Mijailovic, the remaining $875K came from Payne himself. Mijailovic confirmed Partizan forward Isaac Bonga received NBA interest last month, but the team had the option to decline the $875K buyout it was offered for Bonga and did so because it values him. However, the former second-round pick could be on the move this summer, as Partizan will no longer have the option to turn down a buyout offer for Bonga once ’25/26 ends.
- Mijailovic also expressed regret for the lucrative deals given to Jabari Parker and Shake Milton, and said the team remains fond of Dante Exum, who was waived by Washington last month after being traded by Dallas. Exum hasn’t played at all this season due to a knee injury. “It is certainly our desire to bring back players who left a mark at Partizan and who can help the team on the court,” Mijailovic said, per Eurohoops. “Exum is one of the players we all adored, and we still adore him.”