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Seth Trimble

Central Notes: Harden, Pacers, Giddey, Pistons

By | at May 28, 2026 12:12 pm

Speaking to Marc J. Spears of Andscape, Cavaliers guard James Harden admitted he’s “starting to think about” life after basketball but believes he’s still a little ways away from retirement, noting that he “definitely” wants to play 20 seasons. The former MVP will be entering his 18th year in the NBA in 2026/27.

Harden, who said in his post-game media session after the Cavaliers’ season came to an end on Monday that he wants to stay in Cleveland, expressed the same sentiment to Spears. The veteran guard is confident that the Cavs can be even better next season after he has a full offseason and training camp with the club.

“I told the guys I’m willing to do whatever it takes,” Harden said to Spears. “So, if I got to play off the ball, less shots, I’m willing to do it. I have no problem with that. You can come talk to me about anything and I’m willing to do it. That was the mindset. … I think having a full year will definitely help coming off this push. … Coming into my 18th year, I don’t have no pride. I just want to win.”

We have more from around the Central:

  • The Pacers are holding a pair of pre-draft workouts this week, with Nimari Burnett (Michigan), Tucker DeVries (Indiana), Sam Hoiberg (Nebraska), Emanuel Sharp (Houston), Peter Suder (Miami), and Seth Trimble (UNC) visiting the team on Thursday and MJ Collins (Utah State), Barry Dunning (Pitt), Nate Johnson (Kansas State), Jaxon Kohler (Michigan State), Kowacie Reeves (Georgia Tech), and Ernest Udeh (Miami) participating in Friday’s session, the team announced in a press release. Indiana doesn’t currently own a 2026 draft pick, but the team is doing its due diligence since it could trade back into the draft and will likely add a few undrafted free agents to its training camp roster.
  • Josh Giddey signed a four-year, $100MM contract with the Bulls last summer and is owed more long-term guaranteed money than anyone else on the roster. However, that doesn’t necessarily mean the 23-year-old is viewed as a franchise cornerstone, according to Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times, who suggests we need more time to get a better sense of how highly new head of basketball operations Bryson Graham values Chicago’s point guard.
  • Yossi Gozlan of The Third Apron (Substack link) evaluates the Pistons‘ upcoming offseason, considering whether or not it would make sense for the team to operate under the cap to try to pursue an impact free agent, given the trade-offs that would accompany that approach. Gozlan also explores how the team could add more offensive help with two non-shooters – Jalen Duren and Ausar Thompson – about to get more expensive.
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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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