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Mark Sears Signs Two-Way Deal With Bucks

June 26th, 2025 at 10:05pm CST by Dana Gauruder

July 3: Sears’ two-way contract with the Bucks is official, according to the team (Twitter link).

June 26: Consensus All-American guard Mark Sears, who went undrafted, has agreed to a two-way contract with the Bucks, ESPN’s Shams Charania tweets.

The 6’1” Sears started 37 games in each of the last three seasons for Alabama after transferring from Ohio University. He averaged a career-best 21.5 points, 4.2 rebounds and 4.0 assists during the 2023/24 season, shooting 50.8 percent from the field and 43.6 percent from distance.

He averaged 18.6 points, 2.9 rebounds and 5.1 assists last season but his shooting percentage plunged to 40.3 percent overall and 34.5 percent from three-point land. He was still a consensus first-team All-American and made the All-SEC first team.

Sears’ size (6’1”) worked against him in the draft but it’s not out of the question he could see some NBA action as a rookie, considering the Bucks will be down a starter at point guard due to Damian Lillard‘s Achilles tear.

Hunter Dickinson To Sign Two-Way Contract With Pelicans

June 26th, 2025 at 10:01pm CST by Earnest Marshall

The Pelicans are signing former Michigan and Kansas center Hunter Dickinson to a two-way contract, ESPN’s Shams Charania reports (Twitter link).

The two-time consensus AP All-American holds career averages of 17.4 points, 9.2 rebounds, 0.7 steals and 1.5 blocks while shooting 55.5% from the field. He played his first three college seasons with the Wolverines before playing with the Jayhawks each of the past two years.

Dickinson makes sense for the Pelicans, as key decision-maker Troy Weaver continues to add players from the DMV area. Just this week, New Orleans added Dickinson (from Virginia), Saddiq Bey (Maryland) and Derik Queen (Maryland).

Lester Quinones remains under contract on a two-way deal for New Orleans. He isn’t guaranteed to hold that spot, but if he does, the Pelicans will have one more two-way contract spot to offer after Dickinson’s deal is completed.

Suns Sign App State’s CJ Huntley To Two-Way Deal

June 26th, 2025 at 9:53pm CST by Earnest Marshall

July 3: Huntley’s two-way contract is official, the Suns announced today in a press release.

June 26: The Suns were quick to add an undrafted rookie from the 2025 class, agreeing to sign Appalachian State forward CJ Huntley to a two-way contract, according to ESPN’s Jonathan Givony (Twitter link).

Huntley played all five collegiate seasons at App State, improving almost every year. In 2024/25, he averaged 15.7 points, 8.1 rebounds and shot 49.3% from the field and 35.6% from three. He’s a 6’10” forward, giving Phoenix a potential developmental stretch big.

As Givony notes, Huntley gained fans during the pre-draft process, which was highlighted by a standout performance at the Portsmouth Invitational.

Phoenix has no players currently signed to two-way deals, so they’ll have two more spots to fill if they so choose. Collin Gillespie, Jalen Bridges and TyTy Washington closed the 2024/25 season on two-way deals with Phoenix, but will all be free agents.

Chucky Hepburn To Sign Two-Way Contract With Raptors

June 26th, 2025 at 9:46pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Louisville guard Chucky Hepburn, who was named the Atlantic Coast Conference Defensive Player of the Year, has agreed to a two-way contract with the Raptors, ESPN’s Shams Charania tweets.

The 6’2” Hepburn started 137 games during his four-year college career but wasn’t selected in the draft. He spent his first three seasons with Wisconsin before joining the Cardinals. Hepburn expanded his offensive numbers at Lousville, averaging 16.4 points, 5.8 assists, 3.4 rebounds and 2.4 steals per game last season. He shot 43.2 percent from the field and 32.8 percent from deep, while making 84.4 percent of his free throws.

Hepburn scored 14 points in the ACC championship game against Duke and supplied 22 points and six assists in an NCAA Tournament opening-round loss to Creighton.

Toronto finished the season with an empty two-way spot. Hepburn will likely be ticketed for the G League in his first season but, given his experience, could be an early contributor at the NBA level if injuries arise to the Raptors backcourt.

Trail Blazers Signing Caleb Love To Two-Way Deal

June 26th, 2025 at 9:46pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

The Trail Blazers are inking Arizona guard Caleb Love to a two-way contract, sources inform Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link).

The 6’4″ guard wasn’t selected in the just-concluded 2025 draft, despite being the 2024 Pac-12 Player of the Year and a 2025 All-Big 12 honoree during his two seasons with the Wildcats.

A fifth-year senior, Love began his collegiate career in the ACC, where he suited up for North Carolina. In 37 healthy contests for Arizona last year, Love averaged 17.2 PPG, 4.4 RPG, 3.4 APG, and 1.2 SPG. He notched a shooting line of .398/.340/.889.

Love had been ranked as the No. 63 best prospect among this year’s class by Sam Vecenie of The Athletic.

Portland has had a buzzy run this week. After trading to acquire six-time All-Defensive Team guard Jrue Holiday from Boston earlier this week, the Trail Blazers traded out of the lottery on Wednesday to take a flier on 7’2″ former Qingdao center Hansen Yang.

Lakers To Sign Eric Dixon To Two-Way Deal

June 26th, 2025 at 9:38pm CST by Rory Maher

The Lakers are signing former Villanova forward Eric Dixon to a two-way contract, sources tell Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link).

Dixon was the top player on ESPN’s big board who went undrafted tonight, coming in at No. 44 overall. Sam Vecenie of The Athletic was a little lower on the fifth-year senior, ranking him No. 67 on his on board.

The 6’8″ lefty led all Division I players in scoring in 2024/25, putting up 23.3 points per game on .451/.407/.813 shooting splits in 35 appearances for the Wildcats (34.8 MPG). He also chipped in 5.1 rebounds per contest en route to third-team All-America honors.

Dixon, 24, weighs about 260 lbs. and will likely have to play some center at the NBA level due to his lack of foot speed. While he was a prolific outside shooter and scorer in college, talent evaluators view his defense as his biggest question mark as he turns pro.

The Lakers are carrying over center Trey Jemison on a two-way deal, but Christian Koloko is a free agent and the team finished the season with a two-way opening, so no one will have to be cut to make room for Dixon when he’s eligible to sign in July.

Grizzlies Trade No. 56 Pick Will Richard To Warriors

June 26th, 2025 at 9:19pm CST by Earnest Marshall

July 6: The trade is now official, the Grizzlies announced in a press release (Twitter link).

June 26: The Grizzlies have agreed to trade the No. 56 pick in the draft – used to select Florida’s Will Richard – to the Warriors, according to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link).

Memphis moved down to No. 59, which had been controlled by Golden State, as part of the swap. The Grizzlies used that pick to select Tennessee’s Jahmai Mashack.

Richard was a key part in Florida bringing home the national championship this season. He averaged 13.3 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 1.7 steals per game as a senior in 2024/25.

In order to move up to get Richard, the Warriors will give up the rights to 2020 draft pick Justinian Jessup and a top-50 protected 2032 second-round pick along with the No. 59 selection, per The Athletic’s Anthony Slater (Twitter link).

The No. 59 pick has changed hands several teams this offseason, including as part of the Kevin Durant trade, when it was sent from the Rockets to the Suns. Phoenix subsequently flipped it to the Warriors, who are now sending it to Memphis. Because the original Durant deal can’t become official until July, this trade will have to wait until next month too.

Clippers Acquire No. 50 Pick Kobe Sanders From Knicks

June 26th, 2025 at 8:56pm CST by Dana Gauruder

10:48 pm: The trade is official, according to an announcement from the Clippers.

8:56 pm: The Clippers have moved up by one spot in the second round of the draft, acquiring the No. 50 pick from the Knicks and using it on Nevada wing Kobe Sanders, per Law Murray of The Athletic (Twitter link).

The Knicks moved down to No. 51, acquiring the draft rights from Luka Mitrovic from L.A. in the deal, reports Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Twitter link). New York used the 51st overall pick on French forward Mohamed Diawara.

Sanders, a 6’6” senior, transferred to Nevada after four seasons with Cal Poly. He averaged 15.8 points, 4.5 assists, 3.8 rebounds and 1.1 steals last season. He shot 46.2 percent from the field and 34.2 percent beyond the arc.

As for Diawara, the 6’8”, 20-year-old forward averaged 5.8 points, 3.1 rebounds and 1.4 assists for Cholet last season. Diawara is also good friends with Knicks 2024 first-round pick Pacome Dadiet, according to Ian Begley of SNY TV (Twitter link). He’s viewed as a good athlete and strong defender, as he often guarded the opponent’s lead ball-handler for France’s U-20 team, Begley adds.

Mitrovic was drafted in 2015 and has never played in the NBA, so it’s safe to say he won’t be coming stateside. Fred Katz of The Athletic notes he can’t even be used as a touching point in a trade since he wasn’t part of the last nine drafts (Twitter link), so there doesn’t seem to be a compelling reason why the Knicks dropped one spot, except that the team loves to stockpile draft-rights players.

Lakers To Acquire No. 36 Pick Adou Thiero

June 26th, 2025 at 7:50pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

The Lakers have agreed to acquire the No. 36 overall pick in the draft from Minnesota and used it to select Arkansas forward Adou Thiero, per Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link).

The 36th pick has changed hands in multiple deals that aren’t yet official, from the Nets to the Suns to the Timberwolves and now to the Lakers. Minnesota is moving down to No. 45 as part of this deal and acquiring cash from the Lakers as well, according to Charania (Twitter link).

Los Angeles has been rocketing up the second round since the start of the day. The Lakers first traded the No. 55 selection and cash considerations to the Bulls in exchange for the No. 45 pick, which now is being rerouted to the Timberwolves.

After the Lakers sent out cash to Chicago in that initial exchange, L.A. became hard-capped at the NBA’s second luxury tax apron.

ESPN’s Brian Windhorst mentioned during the network’s second round broadcast that Los Angeles had serious interest in moving up to select Thiero specifically. The Lakers did not have their own first-round pick this season.

The 6’6″ swingman enjoyed a breakout junior year at Arkansas. He had transferred there for the 2024/25 season, following a modest role at Kentucky from 2022-24. In his 27 contests with the Razorbacks last season, Thiero averaged 15.1 PPG, 5.8 RPG, 1.9 APG, 1.6 SPG and 0.7 BPG.

Magic Acquire No. 32 Pick Noah Penda From Celtics

June 26th, 2025 at 7:26pm CST by Earnest Marshall

9:34 pm: The trade is official, the Magic confirmed in a press release (Twitter link).

7:26 pm: The Celtics have agreed to trade the No. 32 overall pick to the Magic, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania, who reports (via Twitter) that Boston is acquiring tonight’s No. 46 and No. 57 picks, along with second-rounders in 2026 and 2027.

With their newly acquired pick, Orlando selected French forward Noah Penda.

Penda, a 6’8″ French forward, played for Le Mans in France last season. In 37 total games with the club, he averaged 10.2 points, 5.5 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 1.2 steals and 0.9 blocks while shooting 44.7% from the field and 32.2% from three.

Penda is a strong defender, has a good frame and has the potential to do everything well on offense. The Athletic’s Sam Vecenie had him ranked No. 21 on his board.

On ESPN’s draft broadcast, Jonathan Givony reported that multiple teams were interested in getting Penda, but some of those clubs wanted to make him a draft-and-stash prospect, which he wasn’t enthusiastic about. The Magic will be bringing Penda over right away, so he’ll be on their 2025/26 roster, according to Givony.

The 2026 second-rounder the Celtics are acquiring is the most favorable of the Detroit, Milwaukee or Orlando picks, while the 2027 second-rounder is the most favorable of Orlando and Boston, reports Jason Beede of The Orlando Sentinel (Twitter link).