Follow along for live rumors and news from around the league on NBA draft day.

Getting the first overall pick in the NBA draft is supposed to be a game-changing occurrence for an NBA franchise, with the team in position to land a generational talent. So long as they don't mess that pick up, they could be set for years, competing for championships.

Unfortunately, fortune doesn't favor teams equally.

As awesome as it might feel to get the No. 1 overall pick, some teams have been destined to return to the top of the draft board time and time again. While that often inspires hope in their respective fanbases, it also leads to utter devastation when it doesn't work out ... again.

So, whether it be by luck of the lottery or continual basement-dwelling, the No. pick has known many teams, but some far more than others.

Here are the teams that have made the most No. 1 selections in NBA draft history:

Teams with the most No. 1 picks in NBA draft history

Since the inception of the draft in 1947, the team to make the most No. 1 picks in NBA draft history is currently a tie between the Cleveland Cavaliers and Washington Wizards. Although with the Wizards earning the No. 1 pick in the 2026 draft, that will not be the case for long.

The Wizards have not had the No. 1 overall pick since 2010 when they drafted John Wall. Here is a full list of the Wizards' history with No. 1 draft picks:

*If the team was previously known by a different name, that name is listed in parentheses next to the selection

• 1951: Gene Melchiorre (Baltimore Bullets)
• 1954: Frank Selvy (Baltimore Bullets)
• 1961: Walt Bellamy (Chicago Packers)
• 1962: Bill McGill (Chicago Zephyrs)
• 2001: Kwame Brown
• 2010: John Wall

Here are the Cleveland Cavaliers' selections at No. 1 overall:

• 1971: Austin Carr 
• 1986: Brad Daugherty
• 2003: LeBron James
• 2011: Kyrie Irving
• 2013: Anthony Bennett
• 2014: Andrew Wiggins

How many teams have made five No. 1 picks?

Only two franchises, the Houston Rockets and Sacramento Kings have made exactly five No. 1 overall picks.

Houston Rockets

• 1968: Elvin Hayes (San Diego Rockets)
• 1976: John Lucas
• 1983: Ralph Sampson
• 1984: Hakeem Olajuwon
• 2002: Yao Ming

Sacramento Kings

• 1956: Si Green (Rochester Royals)
• 1957: Hot Rod Hundley (Cincinnati Royals)
• 1959: Bob Boozer (Cincinnati Royals)
• 1960: Oscar Robertson (Cincinnati Royals)
• 1989: Pervis Ellison

Are there any teams to never make a No. 1 pick?

Six franchises have never had the No. 1 pick in the draft:

• Denver Nuggets
• Indiana Pacers
• Seattle Supersonics/Oklahoma City Thunder
• Miami Heat
• Vancouver/Memphis Grizzlies

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Teams with most top overall picks in NBA draft: Where do Wizards rank?

When Giannis Antetokounmpo was traded to the Miami Heat late on Monday night, it signaled the end of an annoying, disingenuous, drawn-out process that has lasted almost a year. In that span, Giannis went from being one of the NBA’s most-beloved superstars, to simply a superstar, and now to one of the league’s biggest supervillains. It has far less to do with Giannis wanting a trade, or even specifically wanting to go to Miami — and far more to do with how he approached the process, the lies told along the way, and the acrimonious end to his Milwaukee tenure, which saw a mammoth fish in a small pond escape to larger waters.

Teams and players often outgrow each other, but the ending to the Giannis era with the Bucks wasn’t for lack of effort. Milwaukee had tried everything to bolster the team and turn it back into a contender with Antetokounmpo as the centerpiece after winning the NBA Championship in 2020-21, but each swing quickly turned into a strikeout. At first, they attempted to bring in ancillary role players like Grayson Allen and Jae Crowder while keeping their core intact, but that failed. Then they tried swinging for the fences with the seemingly brilliant trade for Damian Lillard, but that went belly-up when he tore his Achilles. It then became an effort of throwing good money after bad in an attempt to keep the ship afloat. They tried Kyle Kuzma, which failed. They went big to get Myles Turner, and that didn’t work either. Time and time again, the Bucks used every tool at their disposal to try and build a contender, but it just kept on failing.

Hell, the Bucks catered to hilarious nepotism by signing Thanasis and Alex Antetokounmpo to appease Giannis, knowing full well that neither of them had any NBA talent.

That context is important because it highlights that nobody is really in the wrong when it comes to the Giannis/Milwaukee break-up. The Bucks did everything they could to try to make things work, while Giannis kept playing sensational basketball. The whole era had just reached a point where Milwaukee had run out of assets to really improve the team, and Antetokounmpo had crossed the barrier into his 30s, with his biological clock ticking to win another championship.

The issue comes from how Giannis handled this process. A player normally known for his candidness and honesty morphed over the last year into something else entirely. Giannis ended a four-year break from Twitter/X to endorse the trading card platform Arena Club, marking the beginning of his grift era. A player who once tweeted about how much he loved Milwaukee, and complimented other NBA players on their achievements, now he was focused solely on boosting brands or focusing on his investments.

This culminated at the NBA Trade Deadline in 2026 when the entire process played out through rumor mills and predictive markets, with Giannis seemingly executing a staggering rug pull when after a full day of betting and speculation he announced that he had joined the ownership of Kalshi — 25 minutes after spending the day stoking rumors that he would move on.

We all on @Kalshi now pic.twitter.com/cCNGxfLWO8

— Giannis Antetokounmpo (@Giannis_An34) February 6, 2026

Immediately following the trade deadline he cozied back up to Bucks fans. Posting a scene from The Wolf of Wall Street he seemingly indicated he was in it for the long haul, saying “legends don’t chase, they attract,” a clear jab at players relocating for titles rather than sticking out the process. This refrain continued as Giannis expressed his love for the city and desire to stay as recently as this April, when he sat down with the Milwaukee Journal Constitution.

“I want to be here. I want to be with my team. I want to win here again. This is my home. I’ve spent more years [that I can remember] here than in Greece. It’s my home. I want to help the community with my wife and my brothers. Thanasis is loved here, my brother, my mother are loved here. My kids and I … it’s a normal life, I have a normal life. If you go somewhere else, all this switches.”

In the streets it was all about how much he loved Milwaukee, but in private it was something else entirely. Giannis wanted out. He wanted out when he was talking about how much he desired to stay. He wanted out when he posted a smiling photo at the Milwaukee zoo a month ago. He wanted out when he asked Bucks fans to attend the store he opened with his brothers across the street from the arena. Something happened along the way that turned Giannis the Honest, into Giannis the Kalshi Grifter — and this continued to staggering levels.

Almost everything Antetokounmpo shared on social media was to announce a new investment, trying to leverage his fans into customers. From “IM8 Health,” a supplement brand, to grocery delivery service GoPuff, and endless photos of his new Nike signature shoe in exotic locales, we watched in real-time as Giannis went from being a superstar catching flack for posting a photo wearing a “Protect Kids, Not Guns” shirt, into a man who wanted every follower to be a consumer, a buyer — and he was going to keep fans on the hook for as long as possible, convincing them he wanted to be in Milwaukee out of one side of his mouth, while brokering his exit out the other.

The “normal life” that Giannis preached about wanting for himself and his family is comical now that we know his desire was to head to Miami. In the array of American cities you could label as “normal” Miami sits somewhere near the bottom, somewhere between Las Vegas and Los Angeles. He chose a new home with maximal attention, but perhaps more importantly: A whole new array of consumers to pitch his products to.

That’s who Giannis is now, a pitchman — and deep down he knows it too. It would have been so easy to forgive it all if he had simply become a superstar who outgrew the small market that drafted him, or if he was honest about seeing the writing on the wall in Milwaukee and wanting to win another championship before it was too late. Instead, he was intentionally deceptive and strung along a city for the better part of a year, before being jettisoned.

The Giannis Antetokounmpo good guy act is over. The question is whether any of this was genuine to begin with, or a newfound leverage of his stardom while the window was still open. Perhaps the Damian Lillard situation was a wake-up call, showing him how quickly it could all crash down — or maybe this was the plan all along. Get every ounce of juice out of Milwaukee as possible, then move on to a new city. Either way, Giannis is the villain now — not because he chose to bail on the Bucks to join a contender after saying he wouldn’t, but because he toyed with the emotions of a fanbase that loved him like no other.

There might not be a good equivalent to Giannis in the Greek pantheon, but there sure is a Roman one: Janus, the two-faced god of beginnings, endings, and transitions. It doesn’t get more simple than that.

The Milwaukee Bucks finally traded Giannis Antetokounmpo, and now the fallout is really beginning. The move anticipated for an entire NBA season is done, on the eve of the NBA draft, and there is at least one major star whose future could be inextricably altered given how the Antetokounmpo deal went down.

The Boston Celtics were runner-ups to the Miami Heat in the Antetokounmpo sweepstakes, with a reported offer of Jaylen Brown and two first-round picks not enough to sway the Bucks from the haul they received from Miami. So what does Brown think about all this, coming off the best season of his career with Jayson Tatum mostly sidelined?

This isn't the first time Brown's name has surfaced in serious trade talks, and speculation is already swirling this could prompt him to ask out of Boston. Antetokounmpo's trade has officially kickstarted the NBA offseason, and Brown suddenly might be the best player available for teams that can create the salary cap space for a supermax contract. Unless he and the Celtics can move past nearly parting ways (again) in recent days.

USA TODAY Sports is tracking all the rumors and reports related to Jaylen Brown's future with the Boston Celtics and whether he could end up being traded to another NBA team in the fallout of the Giannis Antetokounmpo trade. Here's the latest ahead of the 2026 NBA Draft:

NBA DRAFT LIVE: Mock draft, league news, rumors, what we're hearing

Is Jaylen Brown getting traded?

Maybe. The Celtics reportedly used him as the centerpiece of their trade offer to the Bucks for Antetokounmpo, along with two first-round draft picks.

It's still unclear if the Celtics were only willing to make Brown available for Antetokounmpo, or whether they still plan to trade him to another team. Brown has not commented on his future since the Antetokounmpo deal went through, but he did allude to his name being mentioned in trade rumors on Sunday, June 21.

"”Somewhat grateful, because I get to see some negativity that I didn’t want. But that just gives more fuel to the fire," Brown said on his Twitch stream while training with Olympic sprinter Noah Lyles. "I see some comments, or takes, that I didn’t even care to see, but it just gives me more fuel to the fire. To all the people who have doubted me, that want me to do this or want me gone, you’re turning me into a monster."

Jaylen Brown trade rumors after Giannis deal

The Celtics previously involved Brown in trade discussions for Kevin Durant four years ago. Brown subsequently won NBA Finals MVP during Boston's title run in 2024 and finished as an NBA MVP finalist with Tatum recovering from a torn Achilles during most of the 2025-26 regular season.

ESPN's Brian Windhorst said on the Tuesday, June 23 edition of "Get Up" he anticipated a "bidding war" for Brown now that the Celtics made him available in the Antetokounmpo trade talks. Multiplereports have suggested the Bucks chose the Heat's trade package over the Celtics, in part, because there were fears Brown would not want to remain in Milwaukee long-term.

"I am not convinced he’s going to be on the team in October. I think it’s 50/50," The Ringer's Bill Simmons, a Celtics superfan, said on his podcast in the aftermath of the team's failed attempt.

Jaylen Brown landing spots: Teams that could trade for Celtics star

Atlanta Hawks

Brown's hometown team could package emerging young wings like Jonathan Kuminga, Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Dyson Daniels and draft picks to pair a bonafide star with Jalen Johnson

Houston Rockets

Brown won a title in Boston with Rockets coach Ime Udoka and Houston had a rockier-than-expected first year with Kevin Durant in the fold. There are plenty of young pieces, most notably big man Alperin Sengun, that would likely interest the Celtics in a potential Brown deal.

Portland Trail Blazers

The Trail Blazers have set themselves up to have the salary cap space to bring in Brown and there's a new owner who might want to make a splash. The contracts of Jrue Holiday or Jerami Grant will have to be involved, and a possible deal would hinge on what the Celtics think of Portland's young core.

New Orleans Pelicans

Trey Murphy has long been an attractive trade piece the Pelicans have not been willing to part with, but Brown might be the caliber of player to change their mind. Jordan Poole's expiring contract could help facilitate an easy exchange.

Jaylen Brown contract details

Brown is under contract with the Boston Celtics through the 2028-29 NBA season after signing a 5-year supermax extension worth up to $304 million in July 2023. He is eligible to sign an additional 2-year, $142-million extension with the Celtics during the 2026 offseason. He still has three years and nearly $182 million remaining on his current contract.

Jaylen Brown stats

Brown averaged a career-best 28.7 points, 6.9 rebounds and 5.1 assists during the 2025-26 season. He just completed his 10th year in the NBA after the Celtics chose him with the No. 3 overall pick in the 2016 NBA Draft

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Jaylen Brown trade rumors, landing spots, contract after Giannis trade

“Is this just not our year?”

These are never the words that an NBA fan wants to hear from their general manager. If a team is rebuilding, it goes without saying. If they’re competitive, it’s a brutal concession.

Yet, those were the words that came out of Rafael Stone’s mouth as the 2025-26 NBA trade deadline approached. The Houston Rockets were waving the white flag. That was confirmed when the deadline passed, and they did precisely nothing.

Was that the wrong move?

Rockets smart to hold at deadline

One frustrating quality a lot of fans share is that they seemingly rely on their team to bring them joy in their lives. They need the dopamine rush that comes with the notification: The Houston Rockets have acquired…

When they don’t get it, they’re mad. How could Rafael Stone just sit on his hands? Why did we acquire Kevin Durant if we’re not making a title push? How am I supposed to find the will to live if Coby White isn’t on this roster?

Here’s the problem: White was traded for Collin Sexton, Ousmane Dieng, and three future second-round draft picks. Ayo Dosunmu? Rob Dillingham, Leonard Miller, and four second-round draft picks. Personally, I wanted the Rockets to get Jose Alvarado, but it feels like the Pelicans willingly sent him to his hometown New York Knicks.

That worked out pretty well for him.

You may be thinking: Sure, but the Rockets could have beaten either the White or Dosunmu packages. That is correct. They could have rendered those deals laughable.

They could have traded Alperen Sengun, and/or Amen Thompson for them.

Too much? Agreed. Do me a favor. Load up the trade machine, and identify the package the Rockets could have offered that was more than either the White or Dosunmu package, but less than “too much”.

Exactly.

The Rockets have a rich team’s problem: They (almost) only have premium assets. Houston has enough second-round draft capital to acquire a rotation player, but excluding Alvarado, both of the needle-moving guards that got moved at last year’s deadline fetched more than, say, Dorian Finney-Smith and all the second-round picks the Rockets could legally move.

Seriously. Is Finney-Smith and seven second-rounders (the most Houston can move) a better package than Sexton, Dieng, and four second-rounders? I’d rather take the flyer on Dieng.

Imagine this. Your friend has a Pokémon card (why not?) that he’s looking to sell. It’s worth $25. Your other friend is willing to give him $30 dollars for it, because he really wants it (because you are children, presumably). You also want it, but you only have $100 bills (because you are rich children, apparently), and about ten bucks in change. Do you want it badly enough to fork over $100?

You have enough for the card: In fact, you have too much for the card. That’s Stone’s issue:

So what’s the solution?

Rockets need to stay the course

Exactly what Stone has been doing: Nothing.

The Rockets don’t have a spare player that any team is trading multiple future seconds for. They have young players with first-round value and veterans who are either too integral to the team or not worth multiple future seconds. So, diversifying their portfolio by recouping some second-round equity is out.

Overpaying shouldn’t be an option. The Rockets could have offered Finney-Smith and a future first for White or Dosunmu. They’d have still not won the NBA championship, and now they’d be contemplating whether to keep either White or Dosunmu in free agency, and they’d be down one valuable future first.

Partly, this is a hole Stone dug for himself. He flipped four second-rounders for Steven Adams. That was good. Attaching two second-round picks to Usman Garuba and TyTy Washington just to make space for a Brook Lopez that never was, was not. The Rockets also moved a pile of second-rounders for Durant, which is hard to argue with.

It feels myopic to hold Stone’s feet to the fire over the two second-rounders he wasted on Garuba et al. The reality is that Stone has (mostly) already used the bulk of his second-rounders (relatively) well.

He’s got enough left to make a move for an Isaiah Joe, or a Klay Thompson, or a Malik Monk this summer. That’s about it. Largely, the Rockets will either have to focus on upgrading their rotation through the draft, or use their premium assets to make a blockbuster deal:

Luckily, they have lots of those.

The NBA Draft has finally arrived. Here are three players that our Raptors HQ experts believe the Toronto Raptors should take at pick 19 to take the next step.

Jayden Quaintance

An awesome choice at this pick is Jayden Quaintance. Some draft projections have him going too early for Toronto to get, but other boards have him somewhere in the 20s. It would be totally possible for him to still be available to the Raptors, as some teams have concerns about an Achilles and meniscus tear he sustained last year. Of course, the Raptors have proven they’re patient and able to help rehab a player back into peak playing form.

His biggest asset is his defence (where have we heard that before). He’s big: six-foot-nine barefoot and 253 pounds with a standing reach of just over nine feet. With explosive strength and athleticism, he’s already a great rebounder, something that Toronto desperately needs. I’m imagining him and Collin Murray-Boyles sharing the court and collecting almost everything that comes off the boards. He also seems to have a motor, something that would fit well with what Toronto is building alongside guys like Jamal Shead and Murray-Boyles.

His offensive game is still a question mark (again, where have we heard that before), as he even struggles from the free-throw line. He shot 6-32 from long range during his college career, but did manage a 53 per cent field-goal percentage largely as a lob threat, operating in the paint, and rim running.

This could be a bit of a gamble, but Toronto got Ja’Kobe Walter at 19 two years ago, so perhaps this will be a lucky pick for the Raps. – Rebecca Schapelhouman

Chris Cenac Jr.

Chris Cenac would be my pick at number 19. Recently mocked as going 20th overall, the big man from Houston stands at 6’11, and has the potential to be the missing piece in Toronto’s offence. Not only is he a capable interior threat, but he has a great looking outside shot, adding some flexibility that the Raptors currently lack.
Cenac’s length exceeds that of other big men projected to be taken towards the middle of the draft, and while the Cougar is not known for his rim protection, extra height is never a bad thing when contending in the modern NBA. Having another centre could only help Toronto better navigate its murky situation at the 5, and with this draft relatively light on big men, grabbing him at pick 19 looks like the right way to go. A stretch big who is also capable on the boards does not come around often, so the front office should attempt to snap him up if he remains available.

Cenac’s ability to contribute offensively without being in the paint could open up offensive opportunities for RJ Barrett drives and Scottie Barnes post moves, allowing the stars to shine even more. Chris and Murray-Boyles could form an undersized “twin towers” duo, pairing the rookie’s lob threat with the sophomore’s interior presence. And considering the whispers about the Raptors trying to pick up Myles Turner, adding a true rebounding centre to balance out that deficiency could mean the difference as Toronto continues to shake up its roster. – Julian Apolinario

Christian Anderson

While I appreciate the idea of selecting a big man, I think the 2026 NBA Draft should be used to add someone who can contribute right away, especially if that prospect has an elite transferable skill. Texas Tech’s Christian Anderson is viewed by many analysts as the best shooter in this year’s draft. The Raptors were one of the worst three-point shooting teams in the league last season. It’s a perfect fit.

Anderson shot a blistering 41.5 per cent on 7.9 three-point attempts. While the Raptors selected Gradey Dick out of Kansas for his shooting prowess (40.3 per cent on 5.7 attempts), Anderson has something different. The film shows the six-foot-one guard harnessing a shooting-aura that blankets perimeter defenders with dread. Anderson has unwavering confidence and legitimate game-breaking range that fits on any contending NBA bench. The next time defences load up on Scottie Barnes or Brandon Ingram in the playoffs, Raptors fans will want Anderson to get 3-4 attempts at a clean look from three.

While it’s true that Anderson will be hunted on the other side of the court, Toronto has enough weapons to absorb any potential problems. What’s the point of having elite defensive geniuses like Barnes and Murray-Boyles or pesky on-ball defenders like Shead and Walter if they can’t hide an offensive explosion waiting to happen like Anderson? – Kristian Cuaresma

The Giannis Antetokounmpo trade has finally happened … and the Detroit Pistons were not involved. Yet. Despite weeks of speculation, when the Milwaukee Bucks superstar’s trade was broken by Shams Charania of ESPN, it involved just the two primary two teams — the Buck and Miami Heat. The Pistons were seen as a natural fit for and highly interested in Miami’s Tyler Herro, who did, indeed, get shipped in the deal. The Wisconsin native is currently slated to be a member of the Bucks, but the deal will not be made official until the new league year on July 6. That gives plenty of times for other organizations, including Detroit, to join the fray.

Elsewhere, the Chicago Bulls decided to sacrifice their cap space to take on Brooklyn Nets big man Nic Claxton in a deal that also saw the Minnesota Timberwolves jettison Julius Randle to the Nets. That opened up the flexibility for Minnesota to agree to a massive new deal for Ayo Donsunmu for north of $100 million. It also might also eat into the cap space for Brookyln, but I have heard there are structures that would allow them to do the deal without using cap space that I don’t quite understand.

If the Nets and Bulls are mostly out on major free agent acquisitions, that leaves the Lakers as the only potential threat, however minor, to lure Jalen Duren with a big offer sheet. I anticipate a multi-year deal for Duren to return to Detroit any day.

Donsunmu getting such a huge contract hints at the going rate for ball-handlers and scorers, which is precisely what Detroit is on the market for. In other words, it expensive.

That is why the Pistons are one of the “many” reported suitors for new Buck Tyler Herro, and why the cost for Detroit might have been as much as Isaiah Stewart, plus Ron Holland, plus stuff.

One other free agent target has also fallen off the board for Detroit with CJ McCollum agreeing on a deal to return to the Atlanta Hawks for another go-round. Oh yeah, and Aaron Wiggins was shipped off the OKC to save a boatload of cap space and put less pressure on them to deal Isaiah Joe, another Detroit target, though a trade might still be needed for financial reasons.

The Pistons currently have the No. 21 pick in the draft, and that feels like the range to be able to grab a skilled guard or wing. It also could present opportunities to draft another defensive-minded big if you really want to take all these Isaiah Stewart trade rumors to heart.

Langdon has said he’s more likely to trade up to get a targeted player than he is to trade down in the draft. We will see what happens.

If any other juicy rumors pop up, add them in the comments. If anything really interesting comes along that involves Detroit, expect that to get its own post.

Happy Tuesday from the basement. Temperatures are set to hit 99 F later today at the place I’m typing this thing from, so I guessed it’d be better to do it now before the keyboard melted. Such is life in sunny Spain, where summers are not as cool and fun as they look.

• It’s Draft Day! Not that we care (that much) with the Knicks coming off winning the title, but SNY’s Ian Begley put together a comprehensive report of who’s worked out in New York, potential targets, and everything else for those watching on Tuesday and Wednesday nights.
• Most interestingly, and in the lone insider-like note included in his write-up, Begley named St. John’s forward Zuby Ejiofor as someone with “fans” within the Knicks organization. Color me excited, we’re finally getting Ron Artest!

“If Robinson and Shamet are back, the Knicks probably look at size on the wing or a player who can handle the ball. Ejiofor has some fans in the organization. If they think they are losing Robinson or Hukporti, maybe the Knicks draft a center? Tarris Reed Jr. from UConn would be a strong pick in New York’s range.”

• The Knicks are set to sign the realest Frenchman hooper to a four-year, $10.5 million deal. Hooray!
• Loud Monday night across the Association, with two All-Stars moving places in Giannis Antetokounmpo (destination Miami) and Julius Randle (back to New York, but the bad one).
• As ClydeWingo pointed out on Monday night’s post-trade comments, and something I wasn’t aware of or simply had forgotten, Randle was seemingly key in the hiring of Tom Thibodeau as the man to lead the Knicks out of wherever the hell they were a few years ago, after Leon Rose asked him about it given his A1 role back then. Gotta love good ol’ Jules.
• The Celtics balked at adding players to the Giannis deal, ended up submitting a one-for-one package built around Jaylen Brown and two first-round picks, failed to convince the Bucks, kept trying to ostracize one of their two superstars, and seem poised to move new-generation Carlos Boozer anyway, says ESPN’s Brian Windhorst. Windhorst argued that Boston has simply realized the Celtics don’t have enough to beat the Knicks as currently constructed, and the only way out of purgatory is by dealing Brown away and quickly. Music to my ears.

“The Celtics took a hard look in the mirror and decided, we weren’t going to beat the Knicks”

• Windhorst surely was on a hot run yesterday, also saying that Brown “is accepting (the Celtics want to trade him) and realizes this is a chance to turn the page in his career and he may be getting his own team.” For the next chapter, tune in on whatever platform he streams his life so you get his take on it from the rawest possible source.
• On Tuesday morning, ESPN’s Shams Charania brought the Knicks name back into the Giannis trade conversation. Remember when NYK was close to pulling it off a few months ago? Here’s some tiny additional details.

“Antetokounmpo pushed for a trade, with his reps making it clear that the New York Knicks were his preferred destination. The Bucks and the Knicks briefly engaged in discussions last summer, but New York never believed Milwaukee seriously considered trading its superstar. The Bucks, on the other hand, believed the Knicks’ offers were never serious enough.”

• John Wall thinks it’s time.
• Speaking of Carlos Boozer, he was a bit salty about his son Cameron undoubtedly not getting drafted with the No. 1 overall pick, but the No. 2 either. Have a great time in Memphis, Bozo.
• The Knicks are going to need some depth next season, and if they really don’t cross the second apron, well, they will need to work the vet-min market with pinpoint accuracy and savviness. Helping New York, however, is OAKAAK Frank Ntilikina, who just left Olympiacos by mutual agreement. How we feeling?
• Vegas has its first backer for an NBA franchise once expansion comes to fruition, and it’s the NHL’s Vegas Golden Knights owner, Bill Foley, who is set to pony up as much dough as needed to bring hoops to Sin City. Years away, yes, but just for fun, if the expansion draft happened tonight, which eight players would you leave unprotected from the Knicks’ title-winning roster?

Knowing Leon Rose and how the Knicks have operated under his guidance, I was always (and still am) convinced they’d move their first-round pick, leaving us all waiting for something to enjoy on Tuesday night on the cold, and with no prospect to call one of ourselves. Anyway, I still think they will end up drafting someone at some point in the second round, and then the UDFA market will open for undrafted prospects.

That’s all for today, fellas. Exciting times ahead!

It finally happened.

After an endless amount of speculation, rumors and reports, the Milwaukee Bucks decided it was time to trade the franchise's star, dealing superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo to the Miami Heat in a blockbuster – a move that shifts the landscape of the league on the eve of the 2026 NBA Draft.

Whether the trade transforms the Heat into championship contenders is up for debate, but it ends a long search for a franchise player in the post-Dwyane Wade years for Pat Riley. Now it's up to Miami's front office to build around the two-time MVP, who has battled injuries in recent years.

Following rampant trade speculation throughout the 2025-26 NBA season, perhaps an introduction "Heat Culture" is the type of fresh start that Antetokounmpo needed after 13 seasons in Milwaukee.

As for the Bucks, they can now hit the reset button on a team that had stalled since capturing the franchise's second NBA championship in 2021.

So who won the trade? Are the Heat contenders? Reaction has been pouring in across the league and media in the wake of the trade. Here's what the people are saying:

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Giannis trade reactions: Bill Simmons, Skip Bayless weigh in on deal

The Milwaukee Bucks traded Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bobby Portis to the Miami Heat late Monday night for Tyler Herro, Kel’el Ware, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Kasparas Jakucionis, three first-round picks, a pick swap and a second-round pick. Boston had pursued Antetokounmpo with an offer built around Jaylen Brown, but Milwaukee ultimately preferred Miami’s younger players and draft capital.

It’s finally over.

After weeks of reports, counterreports, fake trades, real negotiations and enough collective bargaining agreement analysis to qualify half of Celtics Twitter for an entry-level front office job, Giannis Antetokounmpo is taking his talents to South Beach.

The Celtics were involved deeply enough for Shams Charania to report that Jaylen Brown had been placed at the center of their offer, and close enough for Boston fans to spend several days weighing the arrival of one of the greatest players ever against the end of the partnership that has defined this era of Celtics basketball.

This would have hurt.

For a moment, Brown stopped feeling like the player we would watch next season and became the player we were preparing to remember. We pictured him in a Bucks uniform and imagined Jayson Tatum returning without the teammate who had grown up beside him. We began sorting through the past ten seasons of playoff runs, criticism, improvement and the championship they eventually won together.

Then Milwaukee chose Miami.

Brown remains a Celtic for now. Whatever happens next, the possibility of losing him brought his entire Boston career into sharper focus. It reminded us how much of the last decade he has occupied, how much he has given this franchise and how strange it would feel to see No. 7 play anywhere else.

Ten years ago, Boston greeted him with boos.

Brown was 19 years old when the Celtics selected him third overall in the 2016 NBA Draft, a pick that immediately disappointed a loud section of the fanbase. People wanted a trade. They wanted a bigger name like Kris Dunn, Dragan Bender or Buddy Hield. They wanted someone they had already decided was safer, readier or easier to understand.

Brown stepped into that noise and made a promise anyway.

“I’m going to go to war for the city,” he said shortly after being drafted. “I wear my heart on my sleeve and I’m gonna leave it on the floor every night. I love to play ball and I know you guys love to watch. So let’s build this bond, and I promise I won’t disappoint.”

Ten years later, Boston already has its answer. Brown has kept every part of that promise.

Jaylen has grown up in front of us

Brown’s path to NBA stardom has been anything but smooth.

He fought for minutes as a rookie on a veteran team trying to contend. He worked his way into the rotation, then into the starting lineup, then into the heart of a team that kept reaching the edge of something bigger without quite getting there.

Every step forward in his game seemed to uncover a new flaw for everyone else to discuss.

His handle was too loose. His decision-making was too slow. His shooting came and went. He couldn’t go left. He and Jayson Tatum supposedly could not play together. One of them would eventually have to leave. Brown’s contract was too large, his game too limited, his fit beside JT too uncertain.

Then he would come back the next season with another answer.

The handle tightened. The jumper improved. His body got stronger. His reads became quicker. He took on harder defensive assignments and gradually became someone Boston could trust with an entire possession when a game began to wobble.

His growth has rarely been graceful, and maybe that’s part of what makes his journey so satisfying.

Brown has become a five-time All-Star and a two-time All-NBA selection during his first decade in Boston. He has climbed to 10th on the Celtics’ all-time scoring list, surrounded by names that already hang above the floor at TD Garden. He’s helped Boston reach six conference finals and two NBA Finals while spending his entire career under the pressure that comes with playing for a franchise that measures success in banners.

Through all of it, he has simply kept getting better.

The run that changed everything

Brown’s place as a Celtics great was secure before 2024. That year’s postseason run made him a Celtics legend.

He entered the year carrying the label of the league’s most overpaid player after signing his (at the time) record-breaking supermax extension. He had just been left off the All-NBA teams despite helping Boston post the league’s best record, and the Celtics’ shiny new toys in the form of Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porziņģis led some people to wonder whether he would become the odd man out.

Instead, Brown played the best basketball of his life when Boston needed it most.

He averaged 23.9 points during the 2024 playoffs while shooting 51.6 percent from the field, often drawing the most difficult defensive assignment on the other end. When the Celtics were seconds away from losing Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals, Brown deflected an inbound pass, then buried the game-tying three. Two nights later, he scored 40 as Boston took control of a series it would eventually sweep.

On this day last year: Jaylen Brown @FCHWPO hit INSANE 3 to force OT in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals against Pacers ☘️ pic.twitter.com/0RrughR8DL

— Tomek Kordylewski (@Timi_093) May 21, 2025

If we thought that was the mountaintop, the Finals showed us Jaylen still had another level to reach.

Brown hounded Luka Doncic, attacked Dallas whenever Boston’s offense started drifting and delivered one of the defining performances of his career in Game 3. Boston nearly lost a 21-point fourth-quarter lead that night, but Brown steadied the game with the jumper that effectively ended Dallas’ comeback.

When the series ended in Boston, the Bill Russell NBA Finals MVP trophy belonged to him.

Brown’s first instinct was to share it.

“It was a full team effort,” he said. “I share this with my brothers, and my partner-in-crime, Jayson Tatum. He was with me the whole way.”

Jaylen Brown gets the finals MVP, and the first thing he does is he shout-outs his Celtics teammates and his partner in crime Jayson Tatum: pic.twitter.com/ozb1pi2hGu

— Tomek Kordylewski (@Timi_093) June 18, 2024

That remains the Jays’ story at its best. They were drafted one year apart, compared constantly and blamed regularly whenever Boston fell short. Together, they grew through it. And when they finally reached the top, Brown used the greatest individual moment of his career to pull Tatum right beside him.

There is no banner 18 without both of them.

Boston has gotten more than a basketball player

Brown has never treated Boston like a temporary workplace. His ambitions have always extended beyond basketball.

Through the 7uice Foundation, he has worked to close opportunity gaps for young people in communities that are often overlooked. The Bridge Program brought students from Dorchester, Roxbury and other Boston neighborhoods to MIT, where they studied fields including artificial intelligence, robotics and climate science. He wants kids to see themselves in places that may once have felt closed to them.

Brown also launched Boston XChange with the goal of creating generational wealth in communities of color. Its creator incubator has supported local entrepreneurs working across arts, fashion, food and media. He partnered with Jrue Holiday to invest in people who had ideas and talent but had not always been given access to the rooms where money and opportunity move.

Brown has also become a trusted voice among his peers. In 2019, at only 22 years old, he was elected as a vice president of the National Basketball Players Association. His fellow players re-elected him to a third term in 2025, another reflection of the leader he has become and the respect he commands well beyond Boston.

All of it speaks volumes about the man Jaylen has become over the years. Brown could have kept his relationship with the city confined to basketball. Plenty of players do. They arrive, perform, maybe donate to a few visible causes and eventually leave.

Brown has studied the city, challenged it and invested in it.

Like Bill Russell before him, Brown cares about Boston without pretending the city is perfect. He has spoken openly about racism, education and economic inequality. He has marched against injustice and used the attention that comes with basketball to force conversations far beyond it.

Sometimes, that has made him complicated. He’s willing to say things that invite disagreement and think out loud in ways professional athletes are often trained to avoid. Brown is curious, ambitious and occasionally difficult to place into the neat little boxes fans prefer.

This year, Brown continued offering people a closer look at how he saw the game and the team around him. After the season, his livestreams became their own source of controversy when he called it his favorite year of basketball. Some fans heard that as a dismissal of the championship season, but his full explanation was far more personal. He had watched young teammates earn real roles, seen Tatum fight his way back from injury and helped a team with modest expectations become one of the East’s best.

The reaction was revealing. Celtics fans say they want athletes to be more open and candid, then occasionally bristle when those athletes give answers that do not match the ones they expected. Brown’s Twitch streams offer something rare: an unfiltered look at one of the best players in franchise history thinking through his season in real time. Even when people disagree with him, there is something special about being invited that close.

I, for one, am thrilled Boston gets the whole person.

History will remember the Jays together

When you talk about one Jay, it’s hard not to talk about the other. Brown and Tatum are not simply two stars who happen to share the court. As a duo, they have been Boston’s timeline. Celtics fans have watched them evolve from young prospects to playoff regulars, then through painful losses that felt like referendums on everything they were building.

They lost to LeBron James as kids. They battled with the Brooklyn experiment, Heat culture and Golden State’s dynasty. They heard that they did not pass enough, did not fit well enough and would never finish the job together.

But they did finish it together, and no trade can ever separate them in the Celtics history. The trade that never was would’ve ended the partnership. Instead, the Giannis pursuit reminded everyone how much the partnership has already accomplished.

If this is it, the Jays Era ends with:

477 regular season wins (most in NBA)
220 road wins (most in NBA)
77 playoff wins (most in NBA)
36 road playoff wins (most in NBA)
5 Eastern Conference Finals
2 NBA Finals
1 Championship https://t.co/dvxvJEgqnx

— Dan Greenberg (@StoolGreenie) June 14, 2026

What happens next between Brown and the Celtics is harder to know. Shams Charania reported that Boston made an offer built around Brown, but we have no idea what Brad Stevens told him behind closed doors, how seriously the Celtics believed Milwaukee was considering their package or whether Boston’s involvement helped force Miami to offer more. Once Milwaukee began prioritizing younger players and draft capital beyond Brown, the deal may have stopped making sense for the Celtics anyway.

Still, seeing your name publicly attached to a trade for your replacement can leave a bruise, even in a league where everyone understands the business. Stevens now has to make sure Brown knows where he stands and whether the trust that carried this partnership through years of rumors remains intact.

Brown has spent a decade giving Boston answers. After the past week, the Celtics may owe him one.

The promise became the legacy

There is a symmetry to Brown’s story in Boston that already feels almost too perfect to be real.

He arrived with people booing the pick before he had even put on the jersey. Instead of shrinking from that reception, he told the city exactly what he planned to give it.

He would go to war for Boston.

Over the next decade, he has lived up to every word.

He has played through criticism and trade rumors, transforming parts of his game that people treated as permanent limitations. He has defended the best players in the world, carried the Celtics through crucial playoff moments and kept the franchise among the league’s top-tier contenders.

Away from the floor, he’s treated Boston like a place worth investing in. He’s given young people access to education and helped local creators imagine businesses of their own. He understands that wearing Celtics green gives him influence and has tried to make that influence useful and positive.

The boos did not define his relationship with Boston. They only made what followed more meaningful.

One day, Jaylen Brown will walk onto the TD Garden floor with his family beside him and watch No. 7 rise above his head. Tatum’s No. 0 will find its way up there eventually, too, because even history should understand that those two are inseparable.

Brown’s journey in Boston began beneath those rafters with people wondering why he was here. Someday, it will end in the same building with thunderous applause, as the city he went to war for gets the chance to thank him for everything he has given it.

But that day is not here yet.

No. 7 still belongs on the floor. Jaylen Brown is still a Celtic. And after spending the past week imagining how we would say goodbye, Boston has another chance to appreciate him before his place among the legends becomes something we can only look up at.

The 2026 NBA Draft happens begins Tuesday night. The Sixers are likely going to make their only pick in this year’s draft at 22^nd overall. It’s an important pick for the franchise as it was the primary return in the highly-scrutinized Jared McCain trade from this past February. With Mike Gansey taking over as the team’s new president of basketball operations, we felt now was a good time to look back on Gansey’s draft record in Cleveland, a front office he worked in for nearly a decade.

Before we go any further, it’s important to point out that Gansey was always working under Koby Altman in Cleveland. That’s likely to change now that Gansey is in Philadelphia. If you take the Sixers at their word that Bob Myers will only be involved from afar, Gansey’s going to be making practically all the final decisions when it comes to personnel and day-to-day basketball operations.

We’ll see what Gansey has up his sleeve in his first offseason running the Sixers, but the most widely-held belief as to what the Sixers are going to do with the 22^nd overall pick next week is to use it on a player that can quickly assimilate into their rotation and give them some much-needed bench help. Gansey’s tenure in Cleveland’s front office spanned a long enough time to see the Cavs drafting in a variety of places across the first round which makes this an interesting exercise. Without further ado, we’ll look at the hits, misses and TBDs of the Cleveland first-round picks under Gansey.

Hits

Collin Sexton (8^th overall – 2018): Sexton was the first draft pick the Cavaliers made after Gansey was promoted from the G League to assistant general manager. Perhaps this one might be more in the gray area. Sexton has played for four teams already since being drafted and has never made an All-Star game, but I do think if you’re simply deciding between hit and miss, Sexton is a hit. For his career, he’s averaged over 18 points per game and shot just below 40% from the three-point line. His assist totals could likely be a bit higher, but he’s always been more of a combo guard than a true point guard anyway. Plus, he had to be good enough for Utah to want as a piece in the Donovan Mitchell trade four years ago, right?

Darius Garland (5^th overall – 2019): Much like Sexton, Garland is no longer with Cleveland, although he stuck around with the Cavs much longer than Sexton did. Additionally, there should be no mixed feelings on Garland’s time in the NBA. The two-time All-Star slowly got better in his first three seasons as a pro and perhaps what’s most notable about his statistical increases is that his assist average went from 3.9 per game to 8.6 per game from his rookie season to his third season in the association. If you’re still scratching your head as to why Cleveland traded Garland in a deal that brought back James Harden, you’re not alone, but the sole action of drafting Garland has to be a hit. 

Evan Mobley (3^rd overall – 2021): This one’s a no-brainer. Mitchell is probably Cleveland’s best player, but Mobley is definitely the second-best player on the Cavs’ roster in that case. The USC product is a walking double-double and is just one year removed from winning the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year award.

Additional hits: We do want to take some time for Cleveland’s ability to dig up Sam Merrill and Dean Wade while Gansey was working there. After one season in Milwaukee and another in Memphis, Merrill was fighting for survival in the NBA in 2022. He joined Cleveland’s G-League roster to start the 2022-23 season and by March was signed to a 10-day contract with the Cavaliers. Since then, he has blossomed into a rotation player that’s usually playing between 15 and 25 minutes per night.

Wade joined the Cavs immediately after not being drafted in 2019. He would appear in 12 games at the NBA level in 2019-20 before playing 63 and becoming a fixture in the NBA for years to come. He’s grown to the point where he’s starting more than half the regular season games he’s appearing in for Cleveland. His stats don’t stand out, but he’s certainly been a positive return on investment given that he’s still with the organization seven years after not being drafted.

Misses

Isaac Okoro (5^th overall – 2020): After six seasons in the NBA, Okoro has at the very least carved out a role for himself as a professional, but when you’re merely a role player as a top-five pick regardless of how weak the draft might have been, that’s a disappointment. And yes, if you’re thinking “Wasn’t 2020 the COVID draft that took place in November?” you’d be correct, but we still had most of the college basketball season take place in 2019-20. The point is, Okoro has became a decent wing defender who doesn’t score a lot and while that’s kept him around in the NBA, it’s not enough to be a hit as a top-five selection. Cleveland moved on from Okoro last season too, trading him for Lonzo Ball last offseason which should tell you a lot. 

Ochai Agbaji (14^th overall – 2022): While Agbaji never played a game for the Cavaliers, he wasn’t one of those selections who saw his rights get traded to another team on draft night either. Therefore, we have to include him here because Cleveland at least drafted him with some intention of him playing in Northeast Ohio. Agbaji was selected at the end of the lottery four years ago, but was included with Sexton in the trade to Utah for Mitchell just before training camp opened for the 2022-23 season. He’s started less than half the games he’s appeared in during his four seasons in the NBA, his numbers have fluctuated but have never been anything that have stood out and it would come as no surprise if he’s hanging on for dear life just to survive in the NBA a couple years from now.

To Be Determined

Jaylon Tyson (20^th overall – 2024): This one’s probably the pick that could be the most insightful for Philly’s 22^ndoverall pick next week for a couple of reasons. First off, it’s a pick that was made just two years ago and is the closest of all of these selections in the first round to 22^nd overall. Tyson was also the only pick of these first-rounders that wasn’t a lottery pick. Additionally, through two seasons in the NBA, Tyson’s early career arc seems to be mirroring what you get out of good picks made in the first round outside of the lottery.

Much like Tyrese Maxey for the Sixers, Tyson did not come right into the NBA and start a lot of games. Now, his role was less in Cleveland during his rookie season that Maxey’s was in Philly, but Tyson took a big leap from his rookie season to his second season. He started just three games as a rookie and that number ballooned to 42 starts in 2025-26. All of his statistical numbers went up and Cleveland is probably most encouraged by a 10-point uptick in his three-point percentage from 34.5% in 2024-25 to 44.6% this past season.

It’s still just a TBD because these players often improve incrementally and we’ve only seen one season of incremental improvement from Tyson. He’ll have to continue to get better like Maxey did as he takes on a bigger role for the Cavaliers and plays even more minutes in the future. Having said this, it looks like this pick is trending towards a hit for the Cleveland front office. 

Verdict

While there are more hits than misses, I think most juries would still be deliberating if this was the only available evidence put in front of them. With the exception of maybe Sexton, all of these players are still young enough in their NBA careers for things to change in a positive or negative direction, even if you might have your mind made up on a lot of them.

For purposes of the exercise, I had three hits, two misses and one TBD which leaves the final grade very difficult to give anyway. It’s also worth noting that most of these picks, particularly the ones in the top 10, were likely Altman’s calls as it would only be logical to assume that Altman was making the more impactful roster decisions and Gansey was tasked with finding marginal improvements. That’s another reason why Cleveland selecting Tyson seems like the best reflection of Gansey in the present day. By the 2024 draft, Cleveland was coming off a season in which it made it to the second round of the playoffs. Its core, mostly built by Altman, was in place and marginal upgrades were more easily achievable.

We should note that the marginal upgrades like Merrill and Wade are also a good sign for Gansey’s future in Philadelphia, particularly in the short term. If you subscribe to the widely-held belief that Philadelphia is simply stuck with Paul George and Joel Embiid for the next few seasons, then how else are they going to improve? Even if they hit a home run at 22, that’s still just one player for a team that needs probably three or four serviceable bench players to feel good about its rotation next season. Adding cheap talent in the second round, undrafted free agency or simply players like Merrill who were late bloomers after one or two changes of scenery is how you improve marginally. Doing that enough in the next 6-24 months might just be enough for the Sixers to become a contender with Embiid and George still on their cap sheet. Plus, finding cheap rotation players that are young would give fans more reason for optimism about what the team could look like in the 2030s, presumably built around Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe.

At the end of the day, there’s more to like than to dislike when it comes to Cleveland’s evaluation of draft prospects with Mike Gansey in its front office. It’s a thumbs up for Gansey based on what we know, but you probably also shouldn’t be brimming with confidence either.

Just when you thought basketball season was over until the fall! The New York Knicks win their first NBA title since the Nixon administration and they get precisely 10 days to enjoy it, as the NBA calendar quickly moves on to the the NBA Draft and later free agency set to begin on June 30. And that doesn’t even include trade season – Giannis is already on the move to Miami!

Tonight’s draft will have an Iowa tinge to it, as Bennett Stirtz looks set to become Ben McCollum’s first NBA draft pick and Iowa’s third first rounder since 2022, after Keegan and Kris Murray joined the Association in 2022 and 2023, respectively. After a huge drought of first round picks between Ricky Davis and Keegan, Iowa now looks to get three in a four-year window.

The Scout

You all saw Stirtz play, both at Drake two seasons ago and then at Iowa this past season. The shot making. Don’t let anyone else tell you he’s a bad athlete – he’s not. At times, excellent defense. The near-iron man minutes. Stirtz lived up to all of the billing that accompanied him from Drake in his lone season at Iowa, a season that – remember this?? – ended with the Hawks making the Elite Eight for the first time since 1987. Stirtz averaged 19.8 points, 2.6 rebounds, 4.4 assists, and 1.4 steals per game in that lone campaign in Iowa City. Oh and he finished with 48/36/85 shooting splits. Not bad! He backed that up at the NBA combine in Chicago on May 11. Stirtz measured in at 6-2 1/2 without shoes with a 6 1/2-foot wingspan. He had a 37 1/2-inch vertical at the combine, with a 30 1/2-inch no step vertical. Stirtz also had a 3/4 court sprint time of 3.17 seconds, which was good for fourth in the combine.

Those are pretty good numbers overall and put to bed most worries about his athleticism, but where Stirtz really blew up was in the shooting categories. Stirtz was 20/25 on spot-up jumpers and 23/30 off the dribble. The spot up number was the best at the combine (out of 26), while he tied for third in off the dribble shooting (also out of 26.) In the 3-point star drill, he made 16 of 25 attempts, which tied him for 6th out of 25. He’s impressed enough that Jay Bilas finally found it in his heart to mention Iowa, where he has Stirtz listed as the sleeper of the draft.

The Draft Projections

Prior to his excellent combine, mock drafts such as The Athletic had Stirtz going at 26 overall to the Denver Nuggets. Not bad for a former D-II player, finding yourself in late first round territory. And also, yes, please on that draft – Denver needs another player that can shoot and take the ball handling burden off of Jamal Murray and to an extent, Nikola Jokic.

But that was pre-Combine. Post-Combine, every mock I’ve found has Stirtz moving into the top 20. The Athletic’s Sam Vecenie has Stirtz at 19 overall to Toronto. Vecenie notes hearing Stirtz in a tight range from 16 to 21, which would be landing spots in Memphis, Oklahoma City, Charlotte, the aforementioned stop north of the border in Toronto, San Antonio, or Detroit. ESPN’s latest mock has Stirtz at 17 to Oklahoma City. J. Kyle Mann’s last mock at The Ringer has Stirtz at 21 to Detroit. One could do worse than Toronto, Oklahoma City, or Detroit. All three were in the playoffs, and Oklahoma City was a game away from a shot at defending their 2025 title.

The 2026 NBA Draft begins at 7:00 p.m. central and will air on ESPN/ABC.

It’s been 40 days since the Minnesota Timberwolves season ended. The rest of the league wrapped things up just over a week ago, so it’s time we officially turn the page on the 2025-2026 NBA season.

Nothing signals the start of a new season like the NBA draft.

That was my initial thought before Monday night happened. The Wolves weren’t expected to make much of a splash as far as the draft is concerned, holding just picks 28 and 59. The focus was more about a lot of looming player movement dominoes. Well, most of those dominoes fell yesterday.

With Julius Randle jettisoned, Ayo Dosunmu terms agreed to, and the 28th pick turned into the 33rd pick, Wolves fans should expect to a rather drama-free evening. Let’s congregate in the ol’ Canis comments section to see what happens to the other 29 teams!

---

Draft Info

What: 2026 NBA Draft Round 1
When: Tuesday, June 23, 2026 @6:00 pm CT
Where: Barclays Center (Brooklyn, NY)
TV: ABC/ESPN

---

What to Expect on Draft Night

The Timberwolves books look a lot different than they did 24 hours ago. Prior to shedding Randle’s $33.3 million contract, adding a fringe-first round rookie (pick 28) at roughly $3 million a year would have been tough. However, dumping his contract came at the cost of sliding down from pick 28, to pick 33. Some pundits have had the discussion of whether a guaranteed contract of a first round pick is more valuable than the open flexibility of a second round pick, so it’s worth asking if this was really was a downgrade.

That said, Wolves President of Basketball Operations Tim Connelly came from out of the shadows to acquire the eighth overall pick during the 2024 draft. Even prior to Connelly giving up this year’s first round pick yesterday, there was speculation that he could be up to something similar again.

Was this just some last minute due diligence? Or was a precursor of something else Connelly has cooking in the oven like they did when they secretly brought in Joan Beringer for a workout? In theory, it does make sense for Minnesota to get back into the mix as they have more financial flexibility to acquire and sign a first round pick post-Randle trade.

As mentioned earlier, many fans around the league will be eagerly awaiting announcements of ensuing blockbuster trades to come. Randle was first, and then came Giannis Antetokounmpo. Who’s next? Jaylen Brown? Kyrie Irving? Derrick White?

What else will happen tonight?

---

Draft updates

LIVE updated board:

Round 1:

1. WAS
2. UTA
3. MEM
4. CHI
5. LAC
6. BKN
7. SAC
8. ATL
9. DAL
10. MIL
11. GSW
12. OKC
13. MIL
14. CHO
15. CHI
16. MEM
17. OKC
18. CHO
19. TOR
20. SAS
21. DET
22. PHI
23. ATL
24. NYK
25. LAL
26. DEN
27. BOS
28. BKN
29. CLE
30. DAL