Eastern Notes: Pistons, T. Young, Reese, Raptors
Entering Saturday’s game in Detroit, Brooklyn had lost 10 in a row. The Nets appeared to be on their way to an 11th straight defeat early in third quarter, when they trailed by 23 points.
Instead, the top-seeded Pistons stunningly dropped their third consecutive contest on the front end of a home-road back-to-back, writes Hunter Patterson of The Athletic. Detroit will play at Miami on Sunday.
“Our level of respect for the game,” head coach J.B. Bickerstaff said when asked what changed for his team down the stretch. “(During) the second half, we built a 20-point lead, and then we stopped respecting the game. You disrespect the game, and it’s going to bite you in the ass. That’s what happened to us.”
Bickerstaff was again frustrated with the team’s effort level, particularly on the defensive end, saying the team went away from its identity. Backup center Isaiah Stewart echoed that sentiment, Patterson notes.
“Everyone in this locker room felt this was a must-win game,” Stewart said. “All of us, as men, have to look ourselves in the mirror. … We know we didn’t play up to our standards for 48 (minutes) tonight.”
We have more from around the Eastern Conference:
- Trae Young was anxious ahead of Wizards debut on Thursday, but his presence brought a level of excitement to the home fans that has been “largely absent” in 2025/26, per Josh Robbins of The Athletic. Young didn’t let his pregame jitters impact his play on the court, as he scored on the team’s first possession. The four-time All-Star point guard finished with 12 points, six assists, two rebounds, two steals, and was plus-four in 19 minutes in his first game in over two months. “Going to a new city and a new place, I’m telling you I’m living in the moment,” Young said afterward. “I’m just so joyful, happy that I’m here in this situation, this city, and I just look forward to having some great moments here. It’s all about what we do on the court.”
- Wizards forward/center Julian Reese delivered an impressive performance on Thursday in his third career game. As Robbins writes for The Athletic, the 22-year-old scored 18 points and pulled down 20 rebounds, with the latter being the single-game high for any rookie this season. “Being thrown into the fire like he has (been) this last week, it’s been great to see,” Young said. “This being his third game and having this type of night, I know he’s excited and he’s happy. But his teammates are just as excited and happy for him as well. Hopefully, he has more of these nights in the future, for sure.”
- In a mailbag for The Athletic, Eric Koreen answers several big-picture questions about the Raptors. Koreen expects Toronto to be aggressive in search for roster upgrades this summer, and writes that while Scottie Barnes has developed into one of the best defensive players in the league, his offensive limitations make him a tricky player to build around.
Wizards Notes: Young, Davis, T. Johnson, Reese
The Wizards‘ rebuilding effort took an unexpected turn with trades for Trae Young in January and Anthony Davis in February. Injuries have kept both players on the sidelines so far, but the presence of two multi-time All-Stars has raised expectations for next season, writes Josh Robbins of The Athletic.
“We’re already talking about the playoffs, how different it will be,” Bilal Coulibaly said. “We were talking about it with Trae and AD this morning. They’re just talking to us a lot about all that stuff. We’ve never been there, so we don’t know what it looks like. But we can’t wait.”
However, the four NBA scouts that Robbins consulted are less confident about Young and Davis being able to turn the franchise around. Both players drew limited interest on the trade market before Washington was able to acquire them at a discount price, and the questions surrounding them – Young’s defensive deficiencies and Davis’ susceptibility to injuries – aren’t going to go away.
“Trae’s defense is of paramount concern,” one scout told Robbins. “He’s coming to a team that’s horrific defensively by the numbers. I don’t care if you’re developing players or trying to win games — you can’t be that bad defensively and think, ‘Oh, we’re just going to get these guys and be better.’ We know Trae’s terrible (on defense), and I get the theory of bringing in AD. But AD’s not the AD he was three, five or seven years ago.”
There’s more from Washington:
- In a pregame session with reporters, coach Brian Keefe said Kyshawn George, Tristan Vukcevic and Tre Johnson were all on minutes restrictions Saturday against Toronto, Robbins tweets. George sat out Thursday’s game with a knee contusion, Vukcevic was listed on the injury report with a left hip impingement and Johnson’s playing time has been limited since returning from a sprained ankle.
- Johnson proved himself as a scorer in college, and now the Wizards want to develop his skills as a play-maker, per Chase Hughes of Monumental Sports Network (Twitter link). “We’re going to continue to put him in situations to grow. I think he can do that really well,” Keefe said. “We’ve seen his play-making this year, attacking the basket and when they put two on the ball he can hit (teammates) with either hand. I think he’s going to be a really good creator off the dribble.”
- Washington appears to have immediate plans for forward Julian Reese, who signed a two-way contract earlier today, Hughes adds (Twitter link). “He’s going to give us some physicality inside with his rebounding,” Keefe said. “He’s a great rebounder so we added some insurance underneath on the boards. We’re excited to have him.”
Wizards Sign Julian Reese To Two-Way Contract
The Wizards have signed free agent forward Julian Reese to a two-way contract, the team announced on Saturday (via Twitter).
A Baltimore native who played four years of college ball at Maryland, Reese went undrafted in 2025 after a solid senior season with the Terrapins. He signed an Exhibit 10 deal with Toronto in the fall, was waived to secure a bonus for playing for the team’s G League affiliate, and has spent the entire 2025/26 season to this point with the Raptors 905.
Reese, a 6’9″ power forward, has appeared in 38 total games for the Raptors 905 across the Tip-Off Tournament and the regular season. The 22-year-old has averaged 7.9 points, 7.2 rebounds and 0.9 blocks in 17.2 minutes per game while shooting 62.9% from the field and 66.2% from the free throw line.
According to Josh Robbins of The Athletic (Twitter link), the expectation is that Reese could be active as early as Tuesday’s contest at Orlando.
The Wizards had a two-way opening after recently promoting Jamir Watkins to a two-year standard contract. As our chart shows, Reese will be eligible to be active for up to 13 games for Washington.
Reese is the younger brother of Chicago Sky forward Angel Reese.
Raptors Sign, Waive Julian Reese
9:40 pm: Toronto has waived Reese, the team announced. As noted below, he’s now eligible for a bonus if he spends at least 60 days with the Raptors 905.
1:23 pm: The Raptors have signed undrafted rookie forward Julian Reese, the team announced today in a press release. It’s a non-guaranteed Exhibit 10 contract, according to Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca (Twitter link).
Reese spent the past four seasons at Maryland, where he averaged 13.3 points, 9.0 rebounds, and 1.5 blocks in 28.5 minutes per game (36 appearances) as a senior in 2024/25. By the time he left the Terrapins, he was the second all-time leading rebounder in school history, behind only Len Elmore.
Reese, whose sister Angel Reese plays for the WNBA’s Chicago Sky, joined the Lakers’ Summer League team in July and appeared in four games for the club — two at the California Classic and two in Las Vegas. He averaged 3.0 PPG and 2.5 RPG in 11.5 MPG.
The Raptors likely plan on making Reese an affiliate player for the Raptors 905, their G League team. Assuming he’s waived within the next couple days and then reports to Toronto’s NBAGL affiliate, he’d be in line to earn a bonus worth up to $85,300 on top of his standard G League salary as long as he stays with the team for at least 60 days.
The Raptors cut five players from their preseason roster on Thursday, so there was plenty of room for Reese. The team now has 17 players under contract.
Southeast Notes: Young, Hornets, Magic, K. Johnson
A native of Norman, Oklahoma who played his college ball for the Sooners, Trae Young has some affinity for the local NBA team. However, while the Hawks guard will be rooting for the Thunder in the NBA Finals, he tells Lauren Williams of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that seeing Oklahoma City make a serious run at a title really just makes him more determined to take his own team to those same heights.
“It’s even more motivating for me,” Young said on Wednesday at a sponsor event. “I want to win a championship bad. But the fact that it’s in my city and I’m just watching it now, if you thought I wanted it bad before, it’s even worse now. … Hopefully we’re here playing the Thunder next year, and I’m not having this (event) here in OKC. So, we have this party there in Atlanta. I love Atlanta.”
The Hawks have missed the playoffs in each of the past two seasons and haven’t won more than 43 games in a season since Young was drafted in 2018, but the star guard remains optimistic about the franchise’s direction.
“We had the No. 1 pick (Zaccharie Risacher) last year that made strides and almost won Rookie of the Year, got second,” Young said. “We have a lot of young, young, really good players. We have a great coach. We have a lot of stuff, and we have a big summer ahead, for sure.”
We have more from around the Southeast:
- Dylan Cardwell (Auburn), Steven Crowl (Wisconsin), Chucky Hepburn (Louisville), and Jalon Moore (Oklahoma) visited the Hornets for a pre-draft workout earlier this week, while Obinna Anochili-Killen (Marshall), Eric Dixon (Villanova), Kobe Johnson (UCLA), and Julian Reese (Maryland) auditioned for the team on Thursday, reports Rod Boone of The Charlotte Observer (Twitter links). Charlotte controls the fourth, 33rd, and 34th overall picks in this year’s draft. Among those prospects, Dixon is the highest-rated on ESPN’s big board at No. 45.
- Keith Smith of Spotrac and Yossi Gozlan of The Third Apron (Substack link) both previewed the Magic‘s offseason this week, discussing Paolo Banchero‘s upcoming rookie scale extension, looking at Orlando’s rising payroll, and considering how the team might use its multiple first-round picks (No. 16 and No. 25) in this year’s draft.
- Although he played limited minutes in just 16 NBA games as a rookie in 2024/25, Heat forward Keshad Johnson feels he has “grown mentally” since entering the league, writes Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. “I’ve learned a lot about basketball, Xs and Os,” said Johnson, who played well for the Sioux Falls Skyforce in the G League. “Just being in the NBA, at first it started off fast. But it started to slow down as time got going. Just getting comfortable. Skill-wise, I feel like the mental aspect of learning cheat codes and things like that.” The Heat hold a minimum-salary team option on Johnson for the 2025/26 season and must exercise or decline that option by June 29.