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Western Notes: Kings, Warriors, DiVincenzo, Sorber

By | at May 28, 2026 9:29 pm

UConn forward Alex Karaban headlines a group of six prospects set to work out for the Kings on Friday, writes Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee. Karaban, a senior who was automatically eligible for the draft, goes 31st overall in the latest mock draft from ESPN’s Jeremy Woo and comes in at No. 30 on ESPN’s big board.

The other five draft prospects are Ryan Conwell (Louisville), Otega Oweh (Kentucky), Toibu Lawal (Virginia Tech), Tyler Nickel (Vanderbilt), and Mark Mitchell (Missouri). All are in ESPN’s top 100, with Conwell (No. 36) the only other player aside from Karaban in the top 50.

Sacramento controls the seventh, 34th and 45th picks in next month’s draft, Anderson notes.

Here’s more from around the Western Conference:

  • The Warriors hosted six prospects — Trey Campbell (Northern Iowa) Oscar Cluff (Purdue), Carson Cooper (Michigan State), Jaden Henley (Grand Canyon), Elias Ralph (Pacific), and Jalen Warley (Gonzaga) — for a pre-draft workout on Thursday, per an announcement from the team (Twitter link). Boilermakers center Cluff (No. 63) is the top-ranked player in that group, according to ESPN, with Henley (No. 72) also in the top 100.
  • Timberwolves coach Chris Finch said Donte DiVincenzo was the “heart and soul of so many things we do” after the veteran guard tore his right Achilles tendon in the first round of the playoffs, as Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic writes. It was a brutal blow for the 29-year-old, who brought a consistent toughness and competitiveness to Minnesota. Now he faces an uncertain future, as he’s likely to miss most — if not all — of next season as he enters the final year of his contract, which will pay him $12.5MM in 2026/27. “He’s trying to get back as soon as possible, and I think he’s going to have a great recovery, the way he’s treating it and the attitude he has about it, getting right, getting better, it’s just great to see,” Jaden McDaniels said. “I mean, we all love Donte. Hopefully he’s going to have a speedy recovery.”
  • Thomas Sorber has missed his entire rookie season due to a torn ACL, but the Thunder big man is still getting his NBA education on the sidelines and hopes to play in Summer League in July, per Dan Woike of The Athletic. “I’m still reading the scouting report. I’m still seeing who’s a hot shooter, who to worry about, who not to worry about,” Sorber said. “Just trying to get the game plan in my head so when I am ready next year to play, then I’ll be able to, you know, already have it under my belt.” The 20-year-old center was the 15th overall pick in last year’s draft.
4 comments 2026 NBA Draft Golden State Warriors Minnesota Timberwolves Oklahoma City Thunder Sacramento Kings

Knicks Notes: Team Building, Brunson, Brown, Hart, Workouts

By | at May 26, 2026 8:18 pm

The Knicks are patiently awaiting the NBA Finals after sweeping Cleveland. How did they finally turn into a Finals team? The Athletic’s Fred Katz takes an in-depth look at that topic.

Some of the key moments included trading Kristaps Porzingis, which gave them future flexibility, deciding not to trade away assets for Jalen Brunson before they signed him as a free agent, and the subsequent deals for Karl-Anthony Towns, Mikal Bridges, OG Anunoby and Josh Hart.

The New York Daily News’ Peter Sblendorio, meanwhile, details how the Knicks’ 2022 bet on Brunson has paid major dividends.

Here’s more on the Knicks:

  • Brunson could join a very exclusive club if the Knicks go on to win the NBA championship, Vincent Goodwill of ESPN notes. Only two players 6’2” or under have been the undisputed headliners of their teams and led them to a championship. Isiah Thomas and Stephen Curry have done it and Brunson is now four wins away from becoming a member of that group.
  • Mike Brown wasn’t the Knicks’ top choice to replace Tom Thibodeau but his strategies and adjustments have proven his skeptics wrong, Stefan Bondy of the New York Post writes, Brown has been fired four times since 2010 but now sits four wins away from joining Red Holzman as the only other Knicks head coach with an NBA championship. “Our business is funny. In my previous job [with the Kings], I supposedly took them to a point that was higher and it didn’t work out,” Brown said. “I truly felt these Knicks were an NBA Finals team. I felt we had a true opportunity. Some jobs you take, you say, ‘OK, we’ll get better and we have to make the playoffs right now.’ But this one, I felt we legitimately had a chance if we could help them figure it out and the players can stay together during the process. Especially when we hit adversity. Because we hit adversity at different parts in this season. Not just us as a whole group, but even guys individually and myself as well. I did have that belief from day one.”
  • Hart was acquired from the Trail Blazers for Cam Reddish, Svi Mykhailiuk and guard Ryan Arcidiacono along with a first-round pick. That trade turned out to be a huge reason why the Knicks are now the Eastern Conference champions, Mike Vaccaro of the New York Post opines.
  • The Knicks hosted six draft prospects on Tuesday — Arkansas’ Meleek Thomas, Baylor’s Tounde Yessoufou, USF’s Izaiyah Nelson, BYU’s Keba Keita, Missouri’s Mark Mitchell and Akron’s Amani Lyles, according to SNY’s Ian Begley (Twitter links). Thomas and Yessoufou are the most intriguing names in that group, as Thomas is ranked No. 25 overall by ESPN and Yessoufou is ranked No. 34. Ugonna Onyenso, a seven-foot center who played last season at Virginia, has a workout scheduled with the Knicks this weekend, Bondy tweets. He is ranked No. 43 overall by ESPN. The Knicks have the 24th, 31st and 55th picks in the upcoming draft.
22 comments 2026 NBA Draft New York Knicks

44 Prospects Invited To 2026 G League Combine

By | at May 1, 2026 3:26 pm

Earlier today, the NBA revealed the 73 prospects that have been invited to the draft combine in Chicago later this month. That group of players will be joined by a small group of standouts from the G League combine, which takes place from May 8-10 in the days leading up to the main event.

While the league typically doesn’t formally announce which prospect receive invites to the G League combine, Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress (Twitter link) has the details, reporting that the following 44 players make up the list of invitees:

  1. Michael Ajayi, F, Butler (senior)
  2. Alijah Arenas, G, USC (freshman)
  3. Donovan Atwell, G/F, Texas Tech (senior)
  4. Nathan Bittle, C, Oregon (senior)
  5. Elliot Cadeau, G, Michigan (junior)
  6. Rafael Castro, F/C, George Washington (senior)
  7. Zach Cleveland, F, Liberty (senior)
  8. Jacob Cofie, F, USC (sophomore)
  9. MJ Collins, G, Utah State (senior)
  10. Quadir Copeland, G, North Carolina State (senior)
  11. Melvin Council, G, Kansas (senior)
  12. Tucker DeVries, G/F, Indiana (senior)
  13. Tre Donaldson, G, Miami (senior)
  14. Reynan Dos Santos, G, Mexico City Capitanes (born 2004)
  15. Malique Ewin, F/C, Arkansas (senior)
  16. Jamal Fuller, G/F, Long Island (senior)
  17. Isiah Harwell, G, Houston (freshman)
  18. Jaden Henley, G/F, Grand Canyon (senior)
  19. Bryce Hopkins, G/F, St. John’s (senior)
  20. Graham Ike, F, Gonzaga (senior)
  21. Kasen Jennings, G, Appalachian State (senior)
  22. Trey Kaufman-Renn, F, Purdue (senior)
  23. Keba Keita, C, BYU (senior)
  24. Kobe Knox, G/F, South Carolina (senior)
  25. Xaivian Lee, G, Florida (senior)
  26. Malique Lewis, F, Australia (born 2004)
  27. Tamin Lipsey, G, Iowa State (senior)
  28. Fletcher Loyer, G, Purdue (senior)
  29. Aidan Mahaney, G, Santa Barbara (senior)
  30. Robert McCray, G, Florida State (senior)
  31. Kevin (Boopie) Miller, G, SMU (senior)
  32. Mark Mitchell, F, Missouri (senior)
  33. Paulius Murauskas, F, Saint Mary’s (junior)
  34. Jaron Pierre, G, SMU (senior)
  35. Kowacie Reeves, G/F, Georgia Tech (senior)
  36. Jaylin Sellers, G, Providence (senior)
  37. Markhi Strickland, G, North Dakota State (senior)
  38. Aiden Tobiason, G, Temple (sophomore)
  39. Seth Trimble, G, North Carolina (senior)
  40. Cade Tyson, F, Minnesota (senior)
  41. Ernest Udeh, C, Miami (senior)
  42. Lamar Wilkerson, G, Indiana (senior)
  43. Darrion Williams, F, North Carolina State (senior)
  44. Noam Yaacov, G, Belgium (born 2004)

While the players invited to the G League combine generally aren’t regarded as highly as NBA prospects as those selected for the primary combine, there are always at least a handful who end up in the league on two-way or standard contracts. Last year, for instance, Yanic Konan Niederhauser, Dylan Cardwell, Ryan Nembhard, Amari Williams, Will Richard, and Jahmai Mashack were among the invitees.

The G League combine will give some players who declared for the draft as early entrants an opportunity to see where they stand ahead of the draft withdrawal deadline on May 27. Not all of the players who participate in this event will remain in the draft pool.

Arenas, for instance, is the highest-rated prospect on ESPN’s board among the G League combine invitees, coming in at No. 52, but Ryan Kartje of The Los Angeles Times reported this week that he’s expected to withdraw and return to USC. As Givony notes (Twitter link), the list above is subject to change — if Arenas or other players end up declining invitations because they don’t plan to stay in the draft, they could be replaced before the event begins next Friday.

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Portsmouth Invitational Tournament Announces 2026 Rosters

By | at April 13, 2026 11:47 pm

The 2026 Portsmouth Invitational Tournament will take place this week from April 15-18 in Portsmouth, VA. The event features college seniors working to boost their stock ahead of the NBA draft, with invitations to the combine a possibility for some standouts.

Several P.I.T. alumni have gone on to become solid NBA players in recent years, including Toumani Camara, Craig Porter Jr., Daniss Jenkins and Kobe Sanders, among others. Camara (2023) and Sanders (2025) were both second-round picks.

This year’s tournament features eight different teams with eight players apiece, for a total of 64 participants. Here’s the full list, per the P.I.T.:

Champaign native Boswell, who helped lead the Illini to the Final Four, appears to be one of the top prospects among the group. The 6’2″ guard came in at No. 66 on ESPN’s latest big board, with Volunteers center Okpara (No. 86) and Boilermakers big man Kaufman-Renn (No. 88) among the other prospects on the top-100 list.

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