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Cavs Second-Rounder Saliou Niang Signs With Virtus Bologna

July 16th, 2025 at 6:00pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Second-round Cavaliers draft pick Saliou Niang has joined the Italian EuroLeague squad Virtus Bologna, the team announced today (via Twitter). The move had been previously expected and is now official.

The 6’5″ Senegalese swingman has been playing professionally in Italy since 2021/22. Niang, 21, initially suited up for Fortitudo Bologna and had been plying his trade with Trento since 2023/24.

Niang will now get the opportunity to develop his game in the EuroLeague for at least one season before he links up with Cleveland. The Cavaliers went 64-18 last season and are angling for deeper postseason success this year, and Niang would have faced an uphill battle to crack the club’s rotation anyway.

Across 30 Italian League games for Trento in 2024/25, Niang averaged 8.1 PPG, 5.0 RPG, 1.4 APG and 0.6 SPG. He posted shooting splits of .532/.333/.712.

Virtus Bologna is something of a powerhouse in the Italian League, having won it outright three times in the past four seasons. The club also won the Italian Cup as recently as 2022/23.

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Top 45 Picks From 2025 Draft Have Signed NBA Contracts

July 12th, 2025 at 12:56pm CST by Luke Adams

It has been 16 days since the NBA’s 2025 draft wrapped up and just 11 days since those draftees were permitted to start signing contracts, but the majority of the ’25 draft class have already put pen to paper, finalizing standard or two-way deals with their respective teams.

As our tracker shows, all 30 first-round picks have signed their rookie scale contracts, and the top 15 picks in the second round are now under contract too. Outside of the top 45, four additional players – No. 48 pick Javon Small, No. 49 pick Tyrese Proctor, No. 50 pick Kobe Sanders, and No. 55 pick Lachlan Olbrich – have formally inked their first NBA contracts.

That leaves the following players who don’t yet have an NBA contract in place for the 2025/26 season:

  1. Boston Celtics: Amari Williams
  2. Milwaukee Bucks: Bogoljub Markovic
  3. New York Knicks: Mohamed Diawara
  4. Golden State Warriors: Alex Toohey
  5. Utah Jazz: John Tonje
  6. Indiana Pacers: Taelon Peter
  7. Golden State Warriors: Will Richard
  8. Boston Celtics: Max Shulga
  9. Cleveland Cavaliers: Saliou Niang
  10. Memphis Grizzlies: Jahmai Mashack

A number of these players are expected to end up on two-way deals — Jonathan Givony of ESPN (Twitter links) reported on draft night that both of these Celtics picks – Williams and Shulga – would be signing two-ways with Boston, for instance.

Still, not all of these guys will be on NBA rosters when the 2025/26 season begins. For example, the expectation is that Niang will spend next season in the EuroLeague with Virtus Bologna.

Players born outside the U.S. and/or ones who already have experience in non-NBA leagues are typically the best candidates to become overseas draft-and-stash players, so that could be an option for late second-rounders like Markovic, Diawara, and Toohey too. It’s hardly a given though. Post-draft reporting indicated that the Bucks and Knicks weren’t yet sure if Markovic and Diawara, respectively, will be stashed in Europe or if they’ll play stateside in ’25/26. Diawara, in particular, might have a chance to earn a standard contract for a New York team with little breathing room below its hard cap.

The other option for draft-and-stash players is to spend the season in the G League rather than in a league outside the U.S. Typically, at least one or two players go that route each season. That’s what Nikola Djurisic, the Hawks’ No. 43 overall pick a year ago, did in 2024/25 before signing his first NBA contract with Atlanta earlier this week.

We’ll be keeping a close eye on these players in the coming days and weeks, as many of them could end up finalizing their plans for 2025/26 either during the Las Vegas Summer League or shortly thereafter.

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Draft Notes: Proctor, Niang, Markovic, Grizzlies, Olbrich, Shulga

June 27th, 2025 at 12:35am CST by Luke Adams

The Cavaliers intend to sign No. 49 overall pick Tyrese Proctor to a multiyear NBA contract, according to Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Twitter link). While most players in Proctor’s draft range will likely get two-way deals, the Cavs will benefit from a luxury tax perspective from having Proctor on their 15-man roster on the rookie minimum. They were also thrilled that they were able to draft him late in the second round.

“We had him almost as a first-round grade, so for him to fall to 49 was something we were very excited about,” general manager Mike Gansey said, per Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. “… He came over to Duke a year earlier probably than he should have. We ended up seeing him at his pro day in California in May and I think he put on about 10 or 11 pounds, so he’s definitely worked on his body. Great kid and a worker.”

As for No. 58 pick Saliou Niang, the plan is for the Senegalese wing to spend next season in the EuroLeague with Virtus Bologna, says Jonathan Givony of ESPN (Twitter link). It remains to be seen whether or not Niang will be on the Cavs’ Summer League team, Fedor writes in another Cleveland.com story.

“The last two seasons he’s gotten a lot better. The strides he has made have been pretty incredible,” Gansey said of Niang. “It’ll be a great opportunity for him to play at the highest level over there and we’ll be tracking him and keeping tabs on him.”

We have more on the contract situations for several second-round picks:

  • Speaking to reporters after Thursday’s draft, Bucks assistant general manager Milt Newton said the team isn’t sure yet whether No. 47 overall pick Bogoljub Markovic will be stashed overseas or whether he’ll be in Milwaukee next season, tweets Eric Nehm of The Athletic. Either way, Markovic will join the team for Summer League, according to Newton.
  • Chris Herrington of The Daily Memphian (Twitter link) expects No. 48 pick Javon Small to end up on a two-way contract with the Grizzlies, but isn’t certain what the future holds for Jahmai Mashack. The No. 59 pick may be competing for a two-way deal during Summer League, Herrington adds.
  • As Givony first reported on ESPN’s draft broadcast, Australian forward/center Lachlan Olbrich, the 55th overall pick on Thursday, is expected to come stateside and sign a two-way contract with the Bulls, tweets K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Sports Network. Olbrich, 21, has been competing in Australia’s National Basketball League since 2021, so he already has a good deal of professional experience.
  • The third of three prospects drafted by the Celtics this week, No. 57 pick Max Shulga will be on a two-way contract with the team in 2025/26, reports Givony (Twitter link). Boston drafted Shulga with one of the picks the team acquired from Orlando earlier in the evening.
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12 Prospects Will Be In Green Room For Draft’s Second Round

June 26th, 2025 at 3:27pm CST by Luke Adams

After all 24 prospects who were invited to the green room for the first round of the 2025 NBA draft were selected on Wednesday, at least a dozen new prospects will be in the green room on Thursday for the second round, per the NBA.

As Steve Popper of Newsday relays (via Twitter), the following 12 players will be present in the green room at Barclays Center:

The NBA has already updated the list once to add one extra name (Penda), so it’s possible another player or two will be added before the draft resumes this evening. As Popper tweets, there are expected to be other draft-eligible prospects attending the event in the stands.

Not all of the players in the green room are consensus top-59 prospects — Alamansa and Niang were at No. 64 and No. 72, respectively on ESPN’s last pre-draft big board, for instance.

However, the second round is typically less predictable than the first round, with teams’ decisions sometimes hinging on what sort of contract a player is willing to accept. A prospect who is willing to accept a two-way contract offer might have a better chance of being drafted in the mid-to-late second round than one seeking guaranteed money and a 15-man roster spot. Certain teams may also be targeting players who are willing to play overseas for a year or two before getting an NBA opportunity.

Hopefully all 12 of the prospects listed above will hear their names called on Thursday night and no one is still left in the green room when the draft concludes.

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Top International Prospects Staying In 2025 Draft

June 15th, 2025 at 7:01pm CST by Eli Cohen

Several of the top international prospects among this year’s early entrants have decided to keep their names in this year’s draft pool.

Noa Essengue, Joan Beringer, Hugo Gonzalez, Nolan Traore, Ben Saraf, Noah Penda, Hansen Yang, Alex Toohey, Bogoljub Markovic, Rocco Zikarsky, Izan Almansa, Saliou Niang, Mohamed Diawara, and Eli Ndiaye are all staying in the 2025 NBA draft, reports ESPN’s Jonathan Givony (via Twitter).

That player group represents 14 of the 15 international players who were ranked on ESPN’s top-100 prospect board coming into the day, with Essengue the highest-ranked prospect at No. 9, and Ndiaye the lowest at No. 97. The lone ranked prospect to withdraw from the draft today was Neoklis Avdalas, ranked No. 51.

While their withdrawals from the draft haven’t been officially confirmed, it sounds like Asim Djulovic, Lazar Gacic, Muodubem Muoneke, Ousmane N’Diaye, and Zaion Nebot also pulled out, since Givony refers to the above list as the “final tally” of international prospects in the draft.

[RELATED: 2025 NBA Draft Early Entrants List]

Dink Pate, who played for the Mexico City Capitanes in the G League this past season, is also keeping his name in the draft pool, Givony notes. Pate is the No. 56 prospect on ESPN’s board.

With a bigger-than-usual amount of lower-ranked NCAA prospects returning to school thanks to NIL deals, the international class has a chance to gain ground with strong pre-draft showings. Essengue, in particular, has seen his draft stock rise following a strong playoff run for Ratiopharm Ulm.

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Draft Notes: Gwath, Fland, Niang, M’Madi

April 25th, 2025 at 11:08pm CST by Luke Adams

Magoon Gwath won’t be going through the 2025 NBA draft process after all, having announced this week on Instagram that he’ll withdraw his name from the draft pool and will return to San Diego State for the 2025/26 season.

As Mark Ziegler of The San Diego Union Tribune (subscription required) writes, Gwath’s announcement omitted an important detail — the big man underwent arthroscopic surgery on his knee earlier in the week and will face a lengthy recovery period, though head coach Brian Dutcher expects him to be ready for the start of next season.

Gwath, who injured the knee in February and played through it, had a strong freshman season for the Aztecs, averaging 8.5 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 2.6 blocks in 24.9 minutes per game across 26 outings (all starts). The seven-footer was named the Defensive Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year for the Mountain West Conference.

Here are a few more draft-related updates:

  • Arkansas freshman Boogie Fland entered the NCAA’s transfer portal prior to this week’s deadline, as Jeff Borzello of ESPN writes. However, Fland remains likely to go pro after declaring for the draft several weeks ago, as ESPN’s Jonathan Givony confirms after interviewing the 18-year-old in New York (Twitter video link)
  • Senegalese wing Saliou Niang, who has been playing for Aquila Basket Trento in Italy, is declaring for the NBA draft, he announced on Instagram. Niang, 21 next month, has averaged 8.3 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 1.4 assists in 20.3 minutes per game with a .525/.350/.725 shooting line in 27 domestic league appearances this season.
  • Mathias M’Madi, a 6’5″ guard born in 2005, has filed early entry paperwork for the 2025 draft, reports Jon Chepkevich of Rookie Scale (Twitter link). M’Madi has been playing for the Spanish club CB Morón.
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