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Western Notes: Gafford, Lakers, Kings, Jazz

June 9th, 2025 at 8:32pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Mavericks big man Daniel Gafford would be a good trade target for the Lakers but they’d probably have to overpay to get him, Jovan Buha of The Athletic stated on his Buha’s Block podcast (YouTube link; hat tip to BasketNews.com).

Buha speculated that it would require a package of Gabe Vincent, Dalton Knecht and a first-round pick to get Dallas’ attention. Gafford will make $14.4MM in the final year of his contract next season, making him a prime trade candidate on a team with frontcourt depth.

We have more from the Western Conference:

  • Camryn Carter (LSU), Tyrese Proctor (Duke). TJ Bamba (Oregon), Jahmai Mashack (Tennessee), Alex Toohey (Sydney) and Mohamed Diawara (Cholet) worked out for the Kings on Monday, James Ham of The Kings Beat tweets. Toohey, a forward, is rated No. 36 overall by ESPN and Proctor is No. 43 on their Best Available list.
  • The Jazz are promoting Marquis Newman to director of pro scouting and Katie Benzan to general manager of the NBA G League’s Salt Lake City Stars, Michael Scotto of HoopsHype tweets. Newman has spent 11 years with the Jazz. Benzan, who was hired by Utah in 2022, will become the second current female GM in the G League.
  • There’s hope for the Jazz if they take their cue from the Pacers and Thunder, Gordon Monson of the Salt Lake Tribune opines. They should study how these teams were built and developed and their style of play, Monson writes, to establish a blueprint for another small-market franchise like the Jazz.
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Northwest Notes: Wiggins, Blazers, Garland, Wolves

June 3rd, 2025 at 9:49pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Aaron Wiggins had to wait until the 55th pick to be selected in the 2021 draft. The Thunder offered him a two-way deal and he wasn’t necessarily thrilled at the prospect at the time, he told Andscape’s Marc J. Spears.

“We’re sitting there watching the draft and there was a lot of mixed emotions,” Wiggins said. “The second round started. There were a couple [draft] spots with teams that I thought I had good workouts with and I’m expecting to possibly be drafted and don’t get drafted. Then late in the second round, I get a call from my agent saying the Thunder are drafting me and want to sign a two-way [contract]. I wasn’t necessarily upset. I was happy and grateful to be blessed, but I wasn’t happy either. So, I was just glad to have heard my name and know that I was being given an opportunity.”

Wiggins has done the most with that opportunity. He eventually had the two-way converted to a standard deal and last summer he signed a five-year, $45MM contract. He appeared in 76 regular season games, though his playing time has dropped in the postseason.

“I’m just doing the same thing I’ve done for the last couple of years,” Wiggins said. “Trust in our coaching staff. Buying into the team first and understand that success will come. I trust in that and want to win first, celebrate my teammates and everything will work its way out.”

We have more from the Northwest Division:

  • In their latest pre-draft workout on Tuesday, the Trail Blazers looked at Cameron Hildreth (Wake Forest), Ben Gregg (Gonzaga), Jamiya Neal (Arizona State), Mohamed Diawara (Cholet), Caleb Grill (Missouri) and Damari Monsanto (UTSA), Sean Highkin of the Rose Garden Report tweets. Grill, ranked No. 74 on ESPN’s Best Available list, heads that group of potential second-round selections.
  • How can the Trail Blazers upgrade their roster? Yossi Gozlan of The Third Apron (subscription required) believes there are several approaches they could take. The Blazers could add another frontcourt player to give them additional size and seek an upgrade at guard if they don’t think Scoot Henderson will ever live up to his draft status. They could also target a young player with high upside on a low-cost contract, similar to what they did last season when they acquired Deni Avdija from Washington.
  • Darius Garland might be an ideal backcourt partner for Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards, Michael Rand of the Minneapolis Star Tribune opines. Garland would be the type of combo guard who could unlock more of Edwards’ two-way potential while taking pressure off him offensively, according to Rand. Garland has three years and approximately $126.5MM remaining on his contract. The Cavaliers aren’t looking to move their starting point guard, but are said to be more open to the idea than in the past.
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NBA’s 2024 Draft Withdrawal Deadline Has Passed

June 17th, 2024 at 7:40am CST by Luke Adams

The deadline for early entrants to withdraw from the 2024 NBA draft passed on Sunday at 5:00 pm Eastern time, meaning that any players who haven’t removed their names from consideration at that point will remain in this year’s draft pool.

Because the NCAA has its own draft withdrawal deadline earlier in the spring, the NBA’s deadline typically represents decision day for non-college players, including international prospects. As we relayed on Sunday, several of those international early entrants who initially tested the draft waters decided to pull out before the deadline.

The following players also withdrew from the draft ahead of Sunday’s deadline:

Additionally, there were several reports on Sunday about international prospects who decided to keep their names in the draft pool. Here are those players:

There was no word on Sunday about several of the big-name international prospects, such as Alexandre Sarr, Zaccharie Risacher, and Tidjane Salaun, but there’s no doubt they kept their names in the draft, since they’re projected lottery picks. Nikola Topic is in that group as well, despite the fact that he recently suffered a partially torn ACL.

As our early entrant tracker shows, there are still a handful of prospects whose intentions haven’t been announced or reported, but it shouldn’t be long before we get clarity on them — the NBA will likely announce its official early entrant list for the 2024 draft at some point within the next 24 to 48 hours or so.

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Izan Almansa, Jaxson Robinson Among Draft’s Latest Early Entrants

April 24th, 2024 at 9:06am CST by Luke Adams

Izan Almansa, a 6’10” Spanish power forward, has announced on Instagram that he’s declaring for the 2024 NBA draft. Almansa came stateside in 2021 and spent two years with the Overtime Elite program before joining the G League Ignite for 2023/24.

Almansa appeared in 48 total Showcase Cup and regular season games for the Ignite, averaging 10.5 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 1.5 assists in 27.3 minutes per contest. He made 54.3% of his shots from the floor, but only attempted 35 three-pointers all season (he made seven) and hit just 54.0% of his free throws.

Viewed by Sam Vecenie of The Athletic last August as a potential lottery pick, Almansa has fallen all the way to No. 52 on Vecenie’s latest big board for 2024. ESPN’s draft experts are a little higher on the 18-year-old, placing him at No. 37 on their top-100 list.

Here are a few more early entrants who have recently declared for the NBA draft:

  • BYU senior wing Jaxson Robinson is entering the 2024 draft, he announced on Twitter. Robinson, who played for Texas A&M and Arkansas earlier in his college career, enjoyed a breakout season in 2023/24, averaging 14.2 points per game on .426/.354/.908 shooting. The No. 55 prospect on ESPN’s board, he was named the Big 12’s Sixth Man of the Year after starting just six of 33 games.
  • Illinois senior forward Coleman Hawkins, the No. 86 prospect on ESPN’s top-100 list, revealed on Twitter that he’s entering the NBA draft and suggested within his announcement he plans to forgo his final year of NCAA eligibility. Hawkins, who also declared for the draft a year ago before withdrawing, has been a full-time starter for the Fighting Illini for the past two seasons. He put up 12.1 PPG, 6.1 RPG, 2.7 APG, and 1.5 SPG with a .369 3PT% in 2023/24.
  • Kansas State junior forward Arthur Kaluma has announced on Instagram that he’s entering the 2024 draft. Kaluma averaged 14.4 PPG, 7.0 RPG, and 2.0 APG with a shooting line of .427/.345/.747 in his first season with the Wildcats after two years at Creighton. He first tested the draft waters in 2023.
  • French forward Mohamed Diawara, who has spent the past few seasons under contract with Paris Basketball and will turn 19 next Monday, has declared for the draft, according to agent Olivier Mazet (Twitter link).
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