Draft Notes: Brown, Jazz, Mitchell, Warriors, Kings, Timberwolves
Projected lottery pick Mikel Brown Jr. will work out this week for the Jazz, Kevin O’Connor of Yahoo Sports tweets. Brown told O’Connor he’s been fully cleared from the back injury he suffered while playing for Louisville. Brown averaged 18.2 points and 4.7 assists in 21 games.
The Jazz hold the No. 2 overall pick, so the visit may be about the team taking the opportunity to get familiar with as many of this year’s top prospects as possible — or performing due diligence in case of a trade down. ESPN has Brown ranked at No. 9 on its big board.
Here’s more draft news:
- St. John’s forward Dillon Mitchell is among the players the Warriors will evaluate on Wednesday, according to Adam Zagoria of NJ.com (Twitter link). Miami guard Tre Donaldson and Vanderbilt forward Tyler Nickel are also visited Golden State on Wednesday, NBC Sports Bay Area’s Dalton Johnson tweets. That trio will be looking to move into the second-round conversation. The Warriors hold the 54th overall selection.
- The Kings‘ staff will take a look at Dominique Daniels (Cal Baptist), Kylan Boswell (Illinois), Elias Ralph (Pacific), Trevon Brazile (Arkansas), Baba Miller (Cincinnati), and Chauncey Wiggins (Florida State) on Wednesday, Sean Cunningham of KCRA tweets. Miller (No. 45) and Brazile (No. 48) are the highest-ranked prospects among that group. Sacramento holds two second-rounders at 34 and 45.
- Ebuka Okorie, Ja’Kobi Gillespie, Jaden Bradley, Nickel and Sam Hoiberg visited the Timberwolves on Friday, Darren Wolfson of KSTP tweets. Okorie (Stanford) and Bradley (Arizona) are each among the top 50 prospects by ESPN, with Okorie at No. 26 and Bradley ranked No. 46.
Knicks Notes: Robinson, Towns, Bridges, Pre-Draft Workout
Knicks center Mitchell Robinson announced Saturday that he’ll be staying away from social media due to concerns about his mental health, writes Jared Schwartz of The New York Post. Robinson informed his followers on Snapchat a few hours before the start of Game 3.
“I’m deleting all apps for a little while until I can get back to myself,” he wrote. “I had a very upsetting experience a few days ago. I’m not gonna go into detail about it, just gonna focus on the playoffs and myself. I know some of you have called and texted and it popped up green. That’s because I got a new [phone] number. My mental health is not the best right now but I am fighting to get back on track while playing on the biggest stage in the world in the Eastern Conference finals.”
Schwartz states that Robinson went public regarding his mental health issues after being ejected from Game 6 of the first-round series against Atlanta for fighting with Dyson Daniels. Robinson posted on Facebook that he was “just lost in the world at the moment,” and he sent out another Facebook message on Thursday saying he would be deleting all his social media accounts.
“Last post before I delete this app,” Robinson wrote. “I finally have changed my number for many reason [sic]…as I fight through and keep fighting in this playoffs run my focus have to go to another level. This is the start of a new chapter in my life. Love and will miss y’all…. Mitch out.”
There’s more on the Knicks:
- LeBron James has been impressed by New York’s recent run of playoff dominance, Schwartz adds in another story. Speaking on his Mind the Game podcast (Twitter link), the Lakers star raved about the Knicks’ newfound versatility on offense. “The defense can’t just key on a couple of actions anymore. I thought over the last couple of years with New York, you kind of got a good rhythm of how they were gonna play. The ball was gonna end up in a certain way every single time,” James said, referring to heavy reliance on Jalen Brunson isolations and pick-and rolls. James explained that running the offense through Karl-Anthony Towns has opened up opportunities for everyone on the court.
- Cleveland has adjusted to limit the effectiveness of Towns’ passing, but the Knicks have found other ways to win and that versatility could lead to a championship, Kristian Winfield of The New York Daily News suggests in a subscriber-only story. Brunson carried the scoring load with 38 points in Game 1, and Josh Hart launched a three-point barrage in Game 2. “That’s the blessing of our group,” Towns said after Saturday’s shootaround. “We have multiple ways and systems that we can utilize to help us get the win. I’ve been happy because we’ve continued to win.”
- Prior to Game 3, coach Mike Brown talked to reporters about Mikal Bridges‘ value, per Ian Begley of SNY.tv (Twitter link). “It starts with (owner) Mr. (James) Dolan because he’s willing to spend money,” Brown said. “… From there you talk about (team president) Leon Rose and his group, they identified Mikal as a two-way player and they went and got him.”
- Miami’s Tre Donaldson is the latest draft prospect to work out for the Knicks, Begley adds (Twitter link). The senior guard averaged 16.4 points and 5.7 assists per game for the Hurricanes this season.
44 Prospects Invited To 2026 G League Combine
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:
- Michael Ajayi, F, Butler (senior)
- Alijah Arenas, G, USC (freshman)
- Donovan Atwell, G/F, Texas Tech (senior)
- Nathan Bittle, C, Oregon (senior)
- Elliot Cadeau, G, Michigan (junior)
- Rafael Castro, F/C, George Washington (senior)
- Zach Cleveland, F, Liberty (senior)
- Jacob Cofie, F, USC (sophomore)
- MJ Collins, G, Utah State (senior)
- Quadir Copeland, G, North Carolina State (senior)
- Melvin Council, G, Kansas (senior)
- Tucker DeVries, G/F, Indiana (senior)
- Tre Donaldson, G, Miami (senior)
- Reynan Dos Santos, G, Mexico City Capitanes (born 2004)
- Malique Ewin, F/C, Arkansas (senior)
- Jamal Fuller, G/F, Long Island (senior)
- Isiah Harwell, G, Houston (freshman)
- Jaden Henley, G/F, Grand Canyon (senior)
- Bryce Hopkins, G/F, St. John’s (senior)
- Graham Ike, F, Gonzaga (senior)
- Kasen Jennings, G, Appalachian State (senior)
- Trey Kaufman-Renn, F, Purdue (senior)
- Keba Keita, C, BYU (senior)
- Kobe Knox, G/F, South Carolina (senior)
- Xaivian Lee, G, Florida (senior)
- Malique Lewis, F, Australia (born 2004)
- Tamin Lipsey, G, Iowa State (senior)
- Fletcher Loyer, G, Purdue (senior)
- Aidan Mahaney, G, Santa Barbara (senior)
- Robert McCray, G, Florida State (senior)
- Kevin (Boopie) Miller, G, SMU (senior)
- Mark Mitchell, F, Missouri (senior)
- Paulius Murauskas, F, Saint Mary’s (junior)
- Jaron Pierre, G, SMU (senior)
- Kowacie Reeves, G/F, Georgia Tech (senior)
- Jaylin Sellers, G, Providence (senior)
- Markhi Strickland, G, North Dakota State (senior)
- Aiden Tobiason, G, Temple (sophomore)
- Seth Trimble, G, North Carolina (senior)
- Cade Tyson, F, Minnesota (senior)
- Ernest Udeh, C, Miami (senior)
- Lamar Wilkerson, G, Indiana (senior)
- Darrion Williams, F, North Carolina State (senior)
- 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.
Portsmouth Invitational Tournament Announces 2026 Rosters
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.:
- Rashaun Agee (Texas A&M)
- Donovan Atwell (Texas Tech)
- Ezra Ausar (USC)
- Robbie Avila (Saint Louis)
- Kylan Boswell (Illinois)
- Duke Brennan (Villanova)
- Nimari Burnett (Michigan)
- John Camden (California)
- Javontae Campbell (Bowling Green)
- Corey Camper Jr. (Nevada)
- Tre Carroll (Xavier)
- Rafael Castro (George Washington)
- Zach Cleveland (Liberty)
- Carson Cooper (Michigan State)
- Quadir Copeland (NC State)
- Melvin Council Jr. (Kansas)
- Malik Dia (Mississippi)
- Josh Dix (Creighton)
- Tre Donaldson (Miami)
- Themus Fulks (UCF)
- David Green (Tulsa)
- J’Vonne Hadley (Louisville)
- Jaden Henley (Grand Canyon)
- Meechie Johnson (South Carolina)
- Nate Johnson (Kansas State)
- Tavari Johnson (Akron)
- Lajae Jones (Florida State)
- Trey Kaufman-Renn (Purdue)
- Jaxon Kohler (Michigan State)
- Riley Kugel (UCF)
- Toibu Lawal (Virginia Tech)
- Xaivian Lee (Florida)
- Tamin Lipsey (Iowa State)
- Ven-Allen Lubin (NC State)
- Amani Lyles (Akron)
- Max Mackinnon (LSU)
- Rienk Mast (Nebraska)
- Robert McCray V (Florida State)
- Devin McGlockton (Vanderbilt)
- Duke Miles (Vanderbilt)
- Kevin (Boopie) Miller (SMU)
- Mark Mitchell (Missouri)
- KeShawn Murphy (Auburn)
- Izaiyah Nelson (USF)
- Moe Odum (Arizona State)
- Felix Okpara (Tennessee)
- Nijel Pack (Oklahoma)
- Kowacie Reeves Jr. (Georgia Tech)
- Malik Reneau (Miami)
- Jordan Riley (East Carolina)
- Chase Ross (Marquette)
- Anthony Roy (Oklahoma State)
- Jaylin Sellers (Providence)
- Tre’Von Spillers (Wake Forest)
- Corey Stephenson (FIU)
- AJ Storr (Mississippi)
- Peter Suder (Miami OH)
- Nick Townsend (Yale)
- Seth Trimble (UNC)
- Cade Tyson (Minnesota)
- Ernest Udeh Jr. (Miami)
- Jalen Washington (Vanderbilt)
- Solomon Washington (Maryland)
- Tre White (Kansas)
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.
