Eastern Notes: Sixers, Nelson, Giannis, Wizards, Nets
After Marc Stein reported that Sixers assistant general manager Jameer Nelson is a candidate for an “expanded role” following Daryl Morey‘s exit and Jake Fischer confirmed that Nelson has many supporters within the organization, Tony Jones of The Athletic hears from multiple league sources that the former NBA point guard is a legitimate candidate to become the next president of basketball operations in Philadelphia.
Nelson is the strongest internal candidate in the Sixers’ front office search, and even if he doesn’t take Morey’s spot atop the basketball operations department, he appears likely to receive a promotion, league sources tell Jones.
Although Nelson was technically third in the 76ers’ front office hierarchy under Morey and GM Elton Brand this past season, he had more responsibilities than a “typical” No. 3, Jones explains, adding that Nelson is viewed as a rising star and is expected to get an opportunity to run a team sooner or later, even if he doesn’t happen this offseason.
Jones also confirms several previously reported details related to the Sixers’ search for Morey’s successor, writing that Mike Gansey, Nick U’Ren, Trent Redden, and Matt Lloyd are considered candidates and noting that Atlanta denied Philadelphia’s request to speak to Hawks GM Onsi Saleh last week.
Here’s more from around the Eastern Conference:
- Appearing earlier this week on The Pat McAfee Show (YouTube link), ESPN’s Shams Charania reiterated that while he hasn’t explicitly requested a trade, Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo has “believed for a period of months” that a deal sending him to a new team is ultimately in both his and the Bucks’ best interests. “Giannis’s stance has not changed from what I’ve reported over the last several months,” Charania said.
- Michigan State guard Jeremy Fears and Miami (OH) guard Peter Suder were among the prospects in for a pre-draft workout with the Wizards this week, tweets Adam Zagoria of NJ.com. Washington controls two of the last 10 picks in this year’s draft, at No. 51 and No. 60, while Fears currently ranks 67th on ESPN’s big board and Suder comes in at 101st.
- The Nets took point guards with their first two picks in the 2025 draft, but Arkansas’ Darius Acuff could still make sense for Brooklyn with this year’s No. 6 overall pick, writes C.J. Holmes of The New York Daily News (subscription required). Neither Egor Demin nor Nolan Traore made an All-Rookie team, and while there are concerns about Acuff’s size and defense, he offers star potential as a scorer.
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.
Draft Notes: Yessoufou, Fears, Mullins, Roy
On the heels of a strong freshman season, Baylor wing Tounde Yessoufou has declared for the 2026 NBA draft, he announced on social media (Instagram link). While Yessoufou could test the waters while maintaining his NCAA eligibility, his statement doesn’t say anything about that, so we’re assuming for now that he’s focused on going pro.
Yessoufou, 19, was a day-one starter for the Bears in 2025/26 and averaged 17.8 points, 5.9 rebounds, 2.0 steals, and 1.6 assists in 32.6 minutes per contest. The 6’5″ guard/forward launched 5.3 three-point attempts per game and hit just 29.3% of them, but given his strong physical tools and “flashes of shot-making,” he’s an intriguing NBA prospect, writes Jonathan Wasserman of Bleacher Report.
Wasserman has Yessoufou coming off the board 34th overall in his latest mock draft, while ESPN’s Jeremy Woo places him 40th on his top-100 list. The 19-year-old has a chance to become a first-round pick with a strong pre-draft process.
Here are a few more draft-related notes:
- Michigan State junior guard Jeremy Fears will test the NBA draft waters this spring, he announced Friday on Instagram. Fears had a breakout 2025/26 season, averaging 15.2 points and an NCAA-best 9.4 assists per game en route to spots on the AP’s All-American second team and the All-Big Ten first team. Still, the 6’2″ guard wouldn’t be a lock to be drafted if he keeps his name in the pool — he ranks 76th on ESPN’s big board.
- After helping UConn reach the national final by scoring double-digit points in five of six NCAA tournament games and hitting a game-winning three-pointer in the Elite Eight vs. Duke, freshman guard Braylon Mullins will face a decision on whether or not to enter the draft. Adam Zagoria of ZagsBlog.com explores that decision, citing one NBA executive who suggested that Mullins would be better off staying in school for another year. UConn head coach Dan Hurley said during an appearance on The Dan Patrick Show that Mullins could be better off returning to the Huskies if he’s not sure he’ll be a lottery pick. “Players like Braylon, he probably would make more money at UConn next year than he would if he was the 15th pick,” Hurley said. For what it’s worth, Wasserman moved Mullins up to No. 9 in his latest mock draft, though the freshman ranks 17th on ESPN’s board.
- Oklahoma State guard Anthony Roy is going through the NBA pre-draft process, agent Scott Nichols tells Jeff Goodman of Field of 68 (Twitter link), but he’s also entering the transfer portal in the hopes of gaining one more year of NCAA eligibility due to an ankle injury that limited him to 11 games in 2024/25 at Green Bay. Roy has been enrolled at six schools in six years from 2020-26, but spent two of those seasons at small non-NCAA colleges.