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Southwest Notes: Mavs, DSJ, Brown, Spurs, Pelicans

June 6th, 2025 at 5:01pm CST by Eli Cohen

Acquiring a point guard is one of the top priorities for the Mavericks in the 2025 offseason, writes Mike Curtis of The Dallas Morning News. With star Kyrie Irving recovering from ACL surgery and not expected to get back on the court until at least January, the team will need help at the position this fall.

In a mailbag for the Morning News, Curtis discusses how Chris Paul will likely be a name to watch for Dallas, citing NBA Insider Marc Stein who listed him as a potential option along with Lonzo Ball and Jrue Holiday. The latter two players are still under contract but their respective teams may entertain offers for them, given roster construction and salary cap considerations.

After a rocky season as a part-time starter for the Suns, Curtis doesn’t consider upcoming unrestricted free agent Tyus Jones a serious target, writing, “Jones has proven he can run an offense, but there are better options on the market this offseason.”

We have more from the Southwest Division:

  • Dennis Smith Jr. is set to work out with the Mavericks next week as part of a veteran mini-camp, notes Grant Afseth of Dallas Hoops Journal. The athletic, defensive-minded guard is just one of a number of free agents who will take part in the mini-camp, but he could fill a need for the Dallas team that drafted him in 2017 and help complement the team’s budding defensive identity. Smith recently participated in a similar camp for the Sixers.
  • One name to watch as the Spurs continue to search for stars to put around Victor Wembanyama and De’Aaron Fox is Jaylen Brown, Sports Illustrated’s Chris Mannix said during an NBC Sports Boston appearance (YouTube link). While Giannis Antetokounmpo has been linked to the Spurs, Mannix believes they may not be comfortable with the price they’d have to pay to acquire the Bucks star, which could lead them to look elsewhere. “I think if you’re Boston, you’re not going to… get a Stephon Castle in a potential Jaylen Brown (trade),” Mannix said. “You would get a No. 2 pick back in return, you would get some of the pieces… the Devin Vassells, the Keldon Johnsons, future first-round capital. That’s something I’d watch.” There’s no indication at this point that the Celtics will make Brown available.
  • The Pelicans conducted pre-draft workouts for UNC’s RJ Davis, Arkansas’ Johnell Davis, Wisconsin’s Steven Crowl, and Kansas’ Hunter Dickinson, reports The Athletic’s Will Guillory (via Twitter). Of the four players, UNC’s Davis ranks the highest on ESPN’s top-100 board, coming in at 93rd.
  • New Pelicans president of basketball operations Joe Dumars views the two teams in the NBA Finals as reasons to believe New Orleans can follow a similar small-market path, writes Rod Walker of NOLA.com. The first step in that process is building the proper culture and making the team feel like a first-class organization. “Taking care of the players. Taking care of their families. The way you do business. The way you travel. Everything. People have to feel good about coming into the building,” Dumars said.
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Kings Notes: Haliburton, Draft Workouts, Wagner

July 10th, 2021 at 5:06pm CST by Arthur Hill

Kings guard Tyrese Haliburton is enjoying his experience with the U.S. Select Team, which is giving him a chance to test his skills against some of the NBA’s best players, writes Jason Jones of The Athletic. Haliburton had previous experience in the international format as part of the USA under-19 National Team while at Iowa State.

Haliburton has fully recovered from the hyperextended left knee that brought an early end to his first NBA season. Although he played just 58 games, he was an All-Rookie First Team selection and finished third in the Rookie of the Year voting. He has been working out in Sacramento for the past month and now gets to see how his expanded game fares against elite competition.

“For me to get out and use that stuff against other guys and see it work against them in live action, it helps a lot,” Haliburton said. “And just kind of seeing what other guys are working on at the same time, how other guys are improving. Just taking bits and pieces of that, putting that into my training and things like that.”

There’s more from Sacramento:

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Draft Decisions: Agbaji, Cockburn, Dickinson, Wong, More

July 6th, 2021 at 1:50pm CST by Luke Adams

Kansas wing Ochai Agbaji has decided to withdraw from the 2021 NBA draft and will return to school for his senior year, a source tells Jonathan Givony of ESPN.

Agbaji, who was the No. 67 prospect on ESPN’s big board, averaged 14.1 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 1.9 assists per game for the Jayhawks last year, knocking down 37.7% of his three-point attempts in 30 games (33.7 MPG). Agbaji projected as a potential second-round pick, according to Givony, who refers to him as one of the best defenders at the NCAA level.

The NCAA’s withdrawal deadline for early entrants in this year’s draft is on Wednesday, so there are plenty of other prospects making decisions on their future today. Here are a few of the other early entrants who are pulling out of the draft and returning to school:

While a number of prospects are removing their names from the 2021 draft pool, some early entrants have made the decision to go pro. UCLA’s Chris Smith is one, posting a farewell message to Bruins fans on Instagram. Sources tell Rothstein (Twitter link) that Saint Louis forward Hasahn French is also going pro rather than returning to college.

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NBA G League Announces 40 Draft-Eligible Participants For Elite Camp

June 14th, 2021 at 2:47pm CST by Luke Adams

The NBA G League has announced in a press release that 40 draft-eligible prospects are set to participate in the NBAGL Elite Camp next week in Chicago from June 19-21.

The G League Elite Camp is back this year after being canceled in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic. The event, which takes place right before the draft combine, will give a few dozen draft-eligible players an opportunity to impress scouts, coaches, and executives through strength and agility drills and 5-on-5 games.

As today’s announcement confirms, a select number of draft-eligible prospects participating in the G League Elite Camp will also be invited to attend the combine itself, which is scheduled for June 21-27 in Chicago.

The list of draft-eligible players who took part in the most recent G League Elite Camp in 2019 included a handful of prospects who were eventually drafted, such as Terance Mann, Cody Martin, Justin Wright-Foreman, Reggie Perry, and Dewan Hernandez.

Many of the draft-eligible participants in the 2019 Elite Camp also made it to the NBA after going undrafted, including Oshae Brissett, Chris Clemons, Tyler Cook, Tacko Fall, DaQuan Jeffries, Caleb Martin, Justin Robinson, and Max Strus.

Two years ago, this event also featured 40 G League veterans, for a total of 80 players. Based on today’s press release, it sounds like this year’s Elite Camp may be pared down to only include draft-eligible prospects, though it’s possible the NBAGL will announce more names within the next few days.

Here are the 40 draft-eligible prospects participating in the 2021 G League Elite Camp:

  1. Derrick Alston Jr. (Boise State)
  2. Keve Aluma (Virginia Tech)
  3. Jose Alvarado (Georgia Tech)
  4. Juhann Begarin (France)
  5. Chaundee Brown (Michigan)
  6. Jordan Burns (Colgate)
  7. Marcus Carr (Minnesota)
  8. D.J. Carton (Marquette)
  9. Moussa Cisse (Memphis)
  10. Kofi Cockburn (Illinois)
  11. Oscar Da Silva (Stanford)
  12. Darius Days (LSU)
  13. Hunter Dickinson (Michigan)
  14. Dawson Garcia (Marquette)
  15. Marcus Garrett (Kansas)
  16. Haowen Guo (China)
  17. Jay Huff (Virginia)
  18. DeJon Jarreau (Houston)
  19. Carlik Jones (Louisville)
  20. DeVante’ Jones (Coastal Carolina)
  21. Balsa Koprivica (Florida State)
  22. A.J. Lawson (South Carolina)
  23. E.J. Liddell (Ohio State)
  24. Mac McClung (Texas Tech)
  25. JaQuori McLaughlin (UCSB)
  26. Matt Mitchell (San Diego State)
  27. RJ Nembhard (TCU)
  28. Eugene Omoruyi (Oregon)
  29. EJ Onu (Shawnee State)
  30. Scotty Pippen Jr. (Vanderbilt)
  31. Orlando Robinson (Fresno State)
  32. Aamir Simms (Clemson)
  33. Javonte Smart (LSU)
  34. Mike Smith (Michigan)
  35. D.J. Stewart (Mississippi State)
  36. MaCio Teague (Baylor)
  37. M.J. Walker (Florida State)
  38. Duane Washington (Ohio State)
  39. Aaron Wiggins (Maryland)
  40. Jalen Wilson (Kansas)
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Draft Notes: Nakic, Tisma, Dickinson, Cockburn

May 27th, 2021 at 9:25am CST by Luke Adams

Serbian-Croatian forward Mario Nakic has declared for the 2021 NBA draft, agent Misko Raznatovic tells Jonathan Givony of ESPN (Twitter link).

Nakic, who will turn 20 next month, has spent the 2020/21 season playing for BC Oostende in Belgium. According to Givony, the 6’8″ wing has averaged 10 points in 18 minutes per contest, while knocking down an impressive 58% of his three-point attempts. Nakic, who will have until July 19 to decide whether to remain in the draft or withdraw, is ranked 84th overall on ESPN’s big board for 2021.

Here are a few more draft-related notes:

  • Another Raznatovic client is declaring for the draft, according to Givony, who tweets that 6’9″ Croatian wing Boris Tisma has entered the draft pool. Tisma, 19, played for Real Betis in the Spanish League this season, though he saw limited action.
  • Coming off of an Elite Eight run with the Wolverines this season, Michigan freshman center Hunter Dickinson has decided to test the draft waters while maintaining his college eligibility, he announced (via Twitter). In his first college season, Dickinson emerged as a starter, averaging 14.1 points and 7.4 rebounds in 28 games (26.0 MPG).
  • Illinois sophomore center Kofi Cockburn will keep his name in the draft and go pro, sources confirm to Adam Zagoria of ZagsBlog.com. As we noted when he declared in April, Cockburn’s initial statement strongly suggested he wouldn’t just be testing the waters.
  • In case you missed it, the NBA sent teams a list of over 130 seniors who have declared for this year’s draft. We relayed that list right here.
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