Category: NBA

Only Henri knows the answer to that for sure. When a kid from Estonia grows up dreaming of being in the NBA, that decision goes well beyond simple salary math. Veesaar recently married, and after three years of college life, a desire for a change in lifestyle would be completely understandable. The NBA draft values potential more than anything else, and a player’s age plays a role in those calculations. Henri turned 22 in March, and a 23 year old Veesaar is slightly less valuable than a 22 year old Veesaar, all other things being equal. Veesaar had these and other reasons to go, all totally valid. Godspeed, Henri. Knock ’em dead.

UNC has three players on next season’s roster in the conversation for next year’s first round: Nikolas Avdalas, Seyon Keita, and Matt Able. Given that, Henri’s decision seems worthy of discussion. UNC fans will likely be crossing this bridge with one or more players at the end of every season, who will be faced with the same sorts of risks, opportunities, and options. What did Henri leave behind?

Start with this: the decision in the short term likely cost Veesaar a significant amount of money. If it seems odd to contemplate a player taking a pay cut to move to the NBA, welcome to college basketball in 2026. UNC was reported to have offered Veesaar something around $5 million to return to UNC for one more season. With the change in eligibility rules announced this week, Veesaar actually had two more years of college eligibility remaining. Let’s pretend Veesaar opts for two more years of college ball rather than the NBA, and let’s assume he remains healthy. Those two years would net Veesaar — or someone like him — at least $10 million.

Compare that to the players selected at the top of the second round in 2025.

• Rasheer Fleming, pick #31 in 2025: $8.7m for four years ($5.9m guaranteed)
• Noah Fleming, pick #32 in 2025: $8.6m for four years ($2.4m guaranteed)
• Sion James, pick #33 in 2025: $10m for four years ($4.7m guaranteed)

Evan Mobley didn’t take the massive leap that many fans hoped for this season. But the fifth-year player did show meaningful improvements throughout the Cleveland Cavaliers’ run to the Eastern Conference Finals. How much is that worth?

All grades are based on our usual expectations for each player.

Regular Season Stats

• 18.2 points
• 9.0 rebounds
• 3.6 assists
• 54.6% FG
• 29.7% 3PT FG
• 60.6% FT

Pathways towards being an MVP candidate are looking slim for Mobley. He was momentarily handed the keys to Cleveland’s offense at the start of the season and immediately got pulled over. Kenny Atkinson had no choice but to put Donovan Mitchell back in charge as Mobley nearly drove the team off the road with plummeting efficiency.

Mobley’s sluggish start to the season was disappointing. It became clear that he doesn’t have a go-to move on offense and was flailing around for most of the ‘ber months. This led to the Cavs cutting that experiment short and eventually going all-in on salvaging the season by trading for James Harden. The Cavs had no interest in punting away any more wins while waiting for Darius Garland to get healthy or Mobley to figure it out.

The Cavs put Mobley back into a box. That is to say, they turned him back into being a play-finisher rather than a play-creator. That caused his efficiency to skyrocket back to where you’d expect as he led the NBA in dunks by the end of the season. But these are short-term wins at the cost of long-term answers, if you ask me.

Cleveland still doesn’t know who Mobley can be at his peak. That’s because they haven’t really tried to take him outside of his comfort zone for more than two weeks. There’s value in putting someone in a sink-or-swim position. The Cavs shouldn’t have bailed him out.

Thankfully, the playoffs gave us some valuable insight into Mobley’s ceiling.

The Cavs made it all the way to the Eastern Conference Finals. No one man is responsible for that. But, for the first time in his career, Mobley was arguably the best playoff performer in a Cavalier uniform.

Mobley was a defensive force in the first two rounds, averaging 4.3 stocks per game against the Detroit Pistons and providing elite resistance at the rim versus Toronto. Meanwhile, he turned in some clutch offensive performances, putting up 21 points, 12 rebounds, and 6 assists in Game 7 in Detroit.

Watching Mobley confidently bury clutch shots in the playoffs was an eye-opener. Maybe there is something left in his game to uncover after all. That’s a stark contrast from the start of his season, but I’ll take a playoff sample over a few games in October.

For this reason, it can be hard to grade Mobley’s season. He didn’t meet expectations for most of the year. And, even his exciting postseason was met with a bitter ending as the New York Knicks ran him out of the gym. This is really a mixed bag that can offer drastically different conclusions depending on which stretch of the season you want to focus on. I’ll do my best to capture the full picture.

The good? Mobley showed out in the playoffs and gave us hope that he can still take his game to another level. Some of his shot creation and playmaking, particularly when operating in five-out lineups, make me think Mobley isn’t done developing.

The bad? His jumper totally abandoned him for most of the season. He shot below 30% from deep and even struggled to knock down free throws. He can’t afford for that to happen again.

The worst? Mobley fumbled a prime opportunity. The Cavs wanted him to take a step forward, and he couldn’t do it. There’s no guarantee that he’ll be given that chance again. Mobley will have to step up and demand a larger role in the offense. That’s something he can only do by proving it on the court. Next season will be pivotal in determining what kind of player Mobley wants to be.

Grade: B+

San Antonio continued its recent trend of selecting talent from established teams in powerhouse conferences – nabbing getting Ja’Kobi Gillespie from Tennessee and Maliq Brown from Duke. Meanwhile, there were eyeball-popping amounts of trade activity again around the Spurs’ draft picks.

• 42nd selection: Ja’Kobi Gillespie (Tennessee) – 6’0″ 182 lb.
• 44th selection: Maliq Brown (Duke) – 6’8″ 217 lb.

Below is a review of the entire second round, but first, a few quick observations:

• The pre-drafting show segment tonight went longer than last night’s lead-up into the first pick. This could have been for the longer explanations about the importance of these second round picks (featuring 2-way contracts) in the new ‘3-2-1’ drafting world.
• It was really pleasant to hear the applause across the board for Mark Tatum as he walked up to announce each pick.
• The names repeated as second round found gold ranged from Jalen Brunson to Nikola Jokic to our own Manu Ginobili (forever knighted as “E-man-yoo-el Gee-noh-bee-lee“) (other luminaries: Dennis Rodman and Draymond Green)
• Way more cooler names in the second round, including: Baba Miller, Trevon Brazile (who went from San Antonio to Denver), Otega Oweh, Vsevolod Ishchenko, and Narcisse Ngoy.
• Denver scuttled Isaiah Stewart to memphis for only three future second round picks. He would have been an upgrade for the Spurs’ bench.

And now onto the picks!

31. Houston Rockets (via New York)

PLAYER: Bruce Thornton (Ohio State)

OBSERVATION: When I first heard his voice from the other browser tab, I immediately thought ‘Dennis Rodman!‘

UNOFFICIAL PLAYER COMP: Non-Spurs: Chauncey Billups / Spurs: Thicc DeMar DeRozan

---

32. Memphis Grizzlies

PLAYER: Richie Saunders (BYU)
OBSERVATION: An heir to the tater tot kingdom is a winner in my eyes.

UNOFFICIAL PLAYER COMP: Non-Spurs: what Warriors fans want Brandin Podziemski to be / Spurs: 2002-2003 Stephen Jackson

---

33. Minnesota Timberwolves (via Brooklyn)

PLAYER: Isaiah Evans (Duke)

OBSERVATION:  The nickname “Showtime Slim” is quite exemplary.

UNOFFICIAL PLAYER COMP: Non-Spurs: Aaron Wiggins / Spurs: early 90s Dale Ellis

---

34. Cleveland Cavaliers (via Sacramento)

PLAYER: Meleek Thomas (Arkansas)

OBSERVATION: He looks deceptively quick.

UNOFFICIAL PLAYER COMP: Non-Spurs: poor man’s Bradley Beal / Spurs: Gary Neal in a pinch

---

35. Denver Nuggets (from San Antonio)

PLAYER: Trevon Brazile (Arkansas)

OBSERVATION: He looks like a no-nonsense big that has a nice motor.

UNOFFICIAL PLAYER COMP: Non-Spurs: Willey Cauley-Stein / Spurs: 2007 Francisco Elson

---

36. Los Angeles Clippers

PLAYER: Baba Miller (Cincinnati)

OBSERVATION: He had a very blingy ‘B’ necklace to complete his draft day fit. Loved it.

UNOFFICIAL PLAYER COMP: Non-Spurs: Amare Stoudemire (squinting heavily) / Spurs: would’ve chewed up and spit out Zach Collins in practice

---

37. Miami Heat (from Oklahoma City)

PLAYER: Ryan Conwell (Louisville)

OBSERVATION: This pick immediately went to Miami – who just need to fill out their roster at this point.

UNOFFICIAL PLAYER COMP: Non-Spurs: Devin Booker / Spurs: a more compact Danny Green

---

38. Indiana Pacers (from Chicago)

PLAYER: Braden Smith (Purdue)

OBSERVATION: Heady point guard going to Indiana? Of course.

UNOFFICIAL PLAYER COMP:  Non-Spurs: TJ McConnell with pizzazz / Spurs: Speedy Claxton if we could have kept him beyond 2003

---

39.  New York Knicks (from Houston)

PLAYER: Jack Kayil (Germany)

OBSERVATION:  Maybe an understudy for Jalen Brunson. This seems like the type of draft-and-stash San Antonio used to make.

UNOFFICIAL PLAYER COMP: Non-Spurs: Deron Williams / Spurs: A fully-formed Blake Wesley

---

40. Boston Celtics

PLAYER: Dillon Mitchell (St. John’s)

OBSERVATION: Didn’t hear too much about him with most of the analysts’ attention on Zuby Ejiofor.

UNOFFICIAL PLAYER COMP: Non-Spurs: Aaron Nesmith / Spurs: (way back machine) Monty Williams

---

41. Oklahoma City Thunder (from Miami)

PLAYER: Otega Oweh (Kentucky)

OBSERVATION: Looks like a defensive lineman masquerading as a basketball wingman.

UNOFFICIAL PLAYER COMP: Non-Spurs: less-dirty Lu Dort / Spurs: 2nd year Carter Bryant

---

42. San Antonio Spurs

PLAYER: Ja’Kobi Gillespie (Tennessee)

OBSERVATION: The highlight plays seemed to come easy for him.

UNOFFICIAL PLAYER COMP: Non-Spurs: Jose Alvarado / Spurs: Gary Neal with handles

---

43. Brooklyn Nets

PLAYER: Tyler Bilodeau (UCLA)

OBSERVATION: The shooting stroke looks smooth, but he’ll need to contribute on the defensive end.

UNOFFICIAL PLAYER COMP: Non-Spurs: Adam Morrison / Spurs: 2002 Steve Smith

---

44. San Antonio Spurs

PLAYER: Maliq Brown (Duke)

OBSERVATION: He looks like a potential upgrade for Julian Champagnie or a platoon partner – particularly while leading his teams with deflections and steals.

UNOFFICIAL PLAYER COMP: Non-Spurs: Jalen Williams / Spurs: Champagnie

---

45. Sacramento Kings (from New York)

PLAYER:  Emanuel Sharp (Houston)

OBSERVATION: Their salary cap seems harder to manager than a grad school economics course.

UNOFFICIAL PLAYER COMP: Non-Spurs: Jae’Sean Tate / Spurs: Lonnie Walker IV

---

46. Orlando Magic

PLAYER: Felix Okpara (Tennessee)

OBSERVATION: This pick was soon after traded to Washington. If he had stayed with Orlando, that would’ve been a crowded frontcourt.

UNOFFICIAL PLAYER COMP: Non-Spurs: Grant Williams / Spurs: A taller more filled out Sidy Cissoko

---

47. Phoenix Suns

PLAYER:  Tyler Nickel (Vanderbilt)

OBSERVATION: This pick was sent to New York. He would be a broadcaster’s dream if he learned to pass well – “What a dime by Nickel!“

UNOFFICIAL PLAYER COMP: Non-Spurs: Alex Caruso / Spurs: Jeremy Sochan before the confidence was sucked out of him

---

48. Dallas Mavericks

PLAYER:  Tobi Lawal (Virginia Tech)

OBSERVATION:  He looks like he’ll be a rotation big for a decade-plus.

UNOFFICIAL PLAYER COMP: Non-Spurs: Jonathan Isaac / Spurs: Chimezi Metu – with more playing time

---

49. Denver Nuggets

PLAYER:  Bryce Hopkins (St. John’s)

OBSERVATION: Denver’s picks seems like eventual Aaron Gordon buddy material or his replacements.

UNOFFICIAL PLAYER COMP: Non-Spurs: Aaron Gordon / Spurs: 2021 LaMarcus Aldridge (sad face)

---

50. Toronto Raptors

PLAYER: Jaden Bradley (Arizona)

OBSERVATION: His college heroics would seem to portend to success in the league.

UNOFFICIAL PLAYER COMP: Non-Spurs: Marcus Smart / Spurs: Malaki Branham in a non-Wemby universe

---

51. Orlando Magic (from Washington)

PLAYER:  Izaiyah Nelson (USF)

OBSERVATION: He looks like the type of tweener who will excel on his second team.

UNOFFICIAL PLAYER COMP: Non-Spurs: Miles Bridges / Spurs: what Jaron Blossomgame could have been

---

52.  Atlanta Hawks (from Los Angeles Clippers)

PLAYER:  Henri Veesaar (North Carolina)

OBSERVATION: Just as I was about to type “Ivica Zubac’s replacement,’ the trade was announced.

UNOFFICIAL PLAYER COMP: Non-Spurs: Brook Lopez / Spurs: however, this feels like a Luka Samanic situation

---

53. Houston Rockets

PLAYER:  Ugonna Oyenso (Virginia)

OBSERVATION: Surprise! This was traded to Detroit. But he had one of the top five inspirational reactions upon getting drafted.

UNOFFICIAL PLAYER COMP: Non-Spurs: Theo Ratliff / Spurs: Mason Plumlee

---

54. Golden State Warriors

PLAYER:  Lajae Jones (Florida State)

OBSERVATION: He moved pretty smoothly in all of his highlights.

UNOFFICIAL PLAYER COMP: Non-Spurs: more athletic Gui Santos / Spurs: moves somewhat like Quinndary Weatherspoon

---

55.  New York Knicks

PLAYER:  Nick Martinelli (Northwestern)

OBSERVATION: He should have been a Warriors pick given that the Martinelli’s beverage company is heardquartered here in the Bay Area.

UNOFFICIAL PLAYER COMP: Non-Spurs: 2010s Gordon Hayward / Spurs: fully actualized Boris Diaw

---

56. Chicago Bulls

PLAYER:  Vsevelod Ishchenko (Russia)

OBSERVATION: Yet another trade after the fact – this one went to the Mavericks.

UNOFFICIAL PLAYER COMP: Non-Spurs: Andrei Kiriklenko (in high school) / Spurs: the way Nikola Milutinov made so many of our mouths salivate in 2015 and the years after

---

57. Atlanta Hawks

PLAYER:  Narcisse Ngoy (France)

OBSERVATION: This one was also traded to the Clippers. #GINOBILI!

UNOFFICIAL PLAYER COMP: Non-Spurs: Guerschon Yabusele is envious of Narcisse’s dimensions / Spurs: I could see Nazr Mohammed

---

58.  New Orleans Pelicans

PLAYER:  Jaron Pierre, Jr. (SMU)

OBSERVATION:  Is this their first pick of this draft? This particular pick has traveled more than I have on the basketball court.

UNOFFICIAL PLAYER COMP: Non-Spurs: Ryan Dunn (at least the way he’s played against San Antonio) / Spurs: David Garcia-Jones

---

59.  Minnesota Timberwolves

PLAYER:  Trey Kaufman-Renn (Purdue)

OBSERVATION:  This looks like a depth move should Naz Reid move into the starting lineup.

UNOFFICIAL PLAYER COMP: Non-Spurs: Sacramento version of Trey Lyles / Spurs: Trey Lyles alert!

---

60. Washington Wizards

PLAYER:  Malique Lewis (Trinidad and Tobago)

OBSERVATION:  It’s really cool that the Wizards got the first and last picks of the 2026 draft! However, this pick was sadly traded to Milwaukee.

UNOFFICIAL PLAYER COMP: Non-Spurs: oddly enough, 2013 Giannis Antetokounmpo (before the growth spurt and the muscles) / Spurs: If any of you remember him, James Anderson!

—

Good news, Pounders! It’s only about 1.5 weeks til the California Classic in Northern California and 2 weeks until the NBA Summer League! Hallelujah for basketball!

The New York Knicks exited the 2026 NBA Draft with two new players on their roster, both of them second-rounders, after being clearly focused on preserving financial flexibility throughout the two-day neophyte-filled event.

After a series of first-round trades helped New York move the hell out of signing prospects to any sort of guaranteed contract, the front office created additional breathing room under the league’s second apron and ended up with a plethora of future second-round picks as well as two nice kids: Vanderbilt forward and no-nonsense three-point flamer Tyler Nickel, and German guard and no-way-I’m-going-back Jack Kayil.

Even with the added flexibility, keeping the championship core—outside of the starters—intact remains a difficult equation.

"The Knicks are operating, planning as if they're going to stay below the second apron…

It's going to be really tough to bring Mitchell Robinson back, assuming he gets strong offers on the open market – which he will.

I think he'd have to take a pay cut to come back to New… pic.twitter.com/S4rJUfzjBr

— SNY Knicks (@sny_knicks) June 23, 2026

The challenge is related to the upcoming unrestricted free agencies of center Mitchell Robinson and guards Landry Shamet and Jordan Clarkson.

SNY’s Ian Begley reported on Tuesday that Robinson is expected to generate significant interest across the NBA, including from teams that could offer him a larger role on top of just more money.

“I heard earlier in the postseason that there were numerous suitors, and there was at least one team back then that was prepared to offer Mitchell Robinson a starting spot. To me, that’s significant because he knows he’s not starting in New York as long as Karl-Anthony Towns is here. So if that’s a factor for him, that’s something that I’m keeping an eye on.”

Shortly after making those comments, Begley pointed to the Sacramento Kings as a logical landing spot.

“I don’t have specific info, I mean, I have heard the same whispers about the Lakers, but just based on their need at center and their situation financially. Sacramento, if they didn’t have a player at the position that they loved, I think they’d be all over Mitchell Robinson. They’re always a team that I link to Robinson.”

The connection goes beyond roster fit, with that perhaps being the least appealing thing for Mitch as things stand. The Kings have Domantas Sabonis starting at center and drafted Maxime Raynaud last year. Sabonis could slide down to the power forward position to make room for Robinson at center, but it feels like a lateral move and a similar situation to the one Mitch faced in New York with KAT and his playing at the five and not the four.

However, Sacramento’s No. 1 asset in convincing Robinson to bolt out of Manhattan might be their general manager, Scott Perry, who drafted Robinson in 2018 while still with the Knicks and is a strong supporter of the country boy.

Back in mid-May, the New York Post’s Stefan Bondy already reported the possibility of the Kings entering the Robinson sweepstakes, noting that league sources view Sacramento as a legitimate threat to sign Robinson away from New York in free agency.

“Sources around the league have pegged the Sacramento Kings as a threat to pry away Robinson in free agency. Scott Perry, the GM of the Kings, has long been a fan of Robinson after drafting him the 2018 second round as a member of New York’s front office. It was probably Perry’s best move in a tenure of blunders before (Leon) Rose arrived. Perry’s Kings have no cap space but could maneuver the roster to open a competitive offer for Robinson, who has mostly been underpaid throughout his career ($67 million in career earnings over eight seasons).”

Regarding the cap space issues, the Kings are already trying to solve those by trading (not happening) or waiving and stretching veteran DeMar DeRozan’s $25.74 salary. Not to mention, Sabonis is always on the rumor mill, and there are already whispers about a possible trade.

A week ago, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst reported that the Knicks had already begun “some level of cursory negotiations” with Robinson’s camp.

That said, New York will have it tough, if not outright impossible, to navigate free agency while remaining under the second apron if they want to retain every single piece of their title-winning team. The math simply doesn’t work, and it’s looking like the Knicks will need to choose between re-signing Robinson alone or bringing back a combination of Shamet/Clarkson and Jose Alvarado, whose $4.5 player option is due to be activated or rejected on Friday.

Robinson, who remained healthy through the regular season playing under a heavy load-managed plan, was key in the team’s championship run, albeit his postseason impact was diminished because of multiple factors. Even then, he will easily command a raise from the roughly $13 million he earned last season, particularly if another team offers a starting role, which would already be incentivizing enough for Mitch to open a new career chapter.

Shamet, meanwhile, has rebuilt his value massively in New York, and there is no way he doesn’t get a deal twice or thrice as expensive as his $3 million current contract. The same goes for Clarkson, who might get another vet min or perhaps finds someone out there willing to raise that bar a bit to convince him to leave NYC.

As free agency approaches July 1, the Knicks appear increasingly unlikely to retain everybody, and perhaps that’s why they started the draft by sending picks packing in a hurry… but ultimately ended up grabbing a couple of warm bodies to fill the end of the bench, even if they don’t sniff the court any time soon.

588 days ago, right at the beginning of the 2024 NBA season, I called for the Bucks to trade Giannis Antetokounmpo to avert disaster. I was admittedly early to the party, and was thus called many names: “mad man,” “idiot,” “Celtics writer”; I was even refuted in a point-by-point counterargument by a Bucks blogger the same day. To quote from the initial piece:

“When struggling through the doldrums of being alive, we may naively believe that, because things are so bad right now, they can only get better. We may think we have hit ‘rock bottom,’ and that our situation must improve because there is no lower point imaginable. But we are wrong.” 

And as much as I’d like to say I saw “the jagged gravel that is waiting for them at the end of this impossibly deep hole they are free-falling down,” I did not expect it to get this bad. The sentiment that the Bucks needed to trade Giannis to save their franchise metastasized into a two-year circus of confusion and stupidity that saw Milwaukee repeatedly take out new mortgages on a house that was built on a fault line. From a Khris Middleton extension to Doc Rivers’ hiring-and-firing to a lunatic Myles Turner contract, the Bucks repeatedly refused to accept reality. Antetokounmpo, meanwhile, repeatedly refused to force their hand.

Giannis and the Bucks held the NBA world hostage for almost two years, and by the end I was ready for them to just flip a coin and get it over with. But a saga that had nothing but questions at least finally deserves some answers, and so we’re going to spend the next bajillion words answering as many questions as we can. Hopefully, through self-reflection, we can avoid something like this ever happening again.

So who got the best deal?

To call the eventual trade the result of the “Giannis Sweepstakes” adopts an overly laudatory tone for what was essentially two teams, the Boston Celtics and the Miami Heat, presenting the Bucks with two options: attempt to compete with Jaylen Brown and receive minimal draft compensation, or accept far more draft picks, Tyler Herro and several younger pieces from the Heat. In the end, they chose the latter.

The fact that the Giannis Antetokounmpo market turned into a staring contest that may have come down to the Celtics’ refusal to include Hugo Gonzalez is an absurd and fitting end to sad saga from which there are essentially no winners. The Heat now have an utterly gutted roster with Bam Adebayo and Giannis, no future draft assets and no remaining young players. They improved their short term outlook, sure, but “Giannis plus random guys” just repeatedly failed in Milwaukee.

The Celtics, meanwhile, will now enter the offseason with an unclear relationship with Jaylen Brown, who they just openly tried to trade. They could look to trade him elsewhere or try to repair the relationship, but whatever the solution it probably won’t be as simple as a pure Giannis upgrade.

The Bucks probably got the best deal they could, and I was surprised by how many draft picks they managed to squeeze out of the Heat. Still, they essentially took back speculative players in the deal, with none of Kel’el Ware, Jaime Jaquez Jr. or Kasparas Jakucionis anything close to a sure-thing. Herro is allegedly the centerpiece of the deal, but he’s really just a moderately sized expiring contract that the Bucks may-or-may-not extend. Essentially, they got cryptocurrency back for Giannis — could it be valuable? Sure. Is it? Nobody knows!

Beyond losing their best player since Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, the real price the Bucks paid was the massive opportunity cost of waiting so long. If you had told me two years ago, after the publication of my initial Giannis trade piece, that the Heat would eventually trade for him but would nothave to include Bam Adebayo? I would have laughed in your face. The fact that the Celtics did not offer more first-round picks or Hugo Gonzalez is laughable, nor is the concept that more teams didn’t want to be in the Giannis business. 

Had the Bucks simply traded Antetokounmpo at any point in the last two years rather than vainly try to mend a relationship that had already become untenable, they could have received the largest haul of assets in the history of the league by far. Instead, they got Bitcoin. 

Why did the Bucks take the Heat offer over Jaylen Brown?

This is among the more interesting deals to unpack, given that we actually know precisely what the two offers were and can compare them directly. The Heat offer was Herro, Ware, Jaquez Jr. and Jakucionis plus three first-round picks, a swap and a second round pick. Those first round picks are the 13th pick tonight, Miami’s 2031 and 2033 picks and a 2030 swap. The Celtics offer was, apparently, just Jaylen Brown and two first-round picks. It’s less draft compensation, but Brown is a wildly superior player to anyone the Bucks got back from the Heat. So why did the Bucks take the Miami deal over Boston?

The debate was conveniently sorted as a question: do the Bucks want to contend this year or rebuild for the far future? Brown could help them win games immediately while the Heat package is, again, highly speculative. I find that framing somewhat misleading; yes, Milwaukee could have won some games with Brown next year, but which games? In December? Does that team make it to May? Can Jaylen Brown and … some other random dudes win the Eastern Conference? Absolutely not. From that perspective, I found the Miami offer far more realistic. 

Kevin O’Connor reported Tuesday morning that Bucks owner Jimmy Haslam was the main force behind taking the Heat deal over the Celtics package because of fears that Brown would not sign an extension and himself demand a trade. Perhaps that was the main reason, but it also may be that it simply did not make sense to pay Brown major money when the team is half a decade or more from getting back to relevancy. If you accept the thesis that Giannis was the better player in the trade with Brown (both sides did), it does not make any sense to swap the two and expect to contend with the same supporting pieces. That is just grass-is-always-greener team building.

The one icky thing about the deal that Bucks took is how far down the road those picks are. Save for the 13th pick this year, they received no picks in 2027, 2028 or 2029. That means it will be four entire years until the Bucks begin cashing in on the assets of this trade, and their immediate future is no more secure with the Damian Lillard waive-and-stretch on the books, Myles Turner eating up space and nothing else to really hang your hat on. It reminds me (I’m not kidding) of how my history professors in college described the finances of Bourbon France right before the French Revolution. Because of how far they are from getting their head above water, there is a real chance the Bucks become an all-time irrelevant franchise for an entire decade. 

Could this trade cause any ripple effects?

It surely will, but I don’t believe this is enough of a disruptor immediately deter teams in the East from loading up. The Heat aren’t just beatable, they’re arguably still more beatable than Boston or New York. But beyond the immediate question of Jaylen Brown’s future, I wonder exactly how much this saga will shape NBA teams’ behavior with superstars on declining teams. The Bucks, a small market generally unable to attract high-level free agents, were so frightened of losing Giannis that they repeatedly made irresponsible decisions to try to appease him. But what did we learn about appeasement in school, kids? That’s right: don’t do it.

The next player to hold their team hostage like this may be treated differently, and the “all-in” thesis of having a star player and needing to maximize their window may be greeted by a chilling effect from the Giannis situation. As I pointed out above, the Bucks are scheduled for about a decade of total irrelevance, a period in which their team revenue will decrease as their fans focus more on the Green Bay Packers offensive line questions. 

However, one clear mathematical truth emerged from the Giannis saga, which is that we finally derived the formula for total franchise collapse: trading all your own draft picks plus unhappy superstar divided by a small market to the square root of paying for past performance equals disaster. The Bucks have written the book on how to collapse.

So was this all worth the 2021 NBA Championship?

Brian Windhorst famously said that if you win the championship, you don’t have to apologize for anything; trades, free agents, draft picks. None of it matters if you win the title. I’d like to officially file a complaint about that maxim.

This whole situation stems from the Bucks trading the farm for Jrue Holiday, which propelled them to the 2021 NBA Championship and everyone could live happily ever after. While that move is totally defensible, the Bucks took so many additional bites at the apple after their title that they reset the clock on having to apologize. The Damian Lillard trade was desperate and arguably gifted Boston the 2024 title by diverting Holiday to them, and the Lillard/Turner waive-and-stretch is the single most insane NBA transaction in my lifetime. They certainly have to say sorry for all that.

Most fans, myself included, see an NBA team’s responsibility as getting a championship with their best player before they retire or move on. There is nothing so painful as having a great player and never achieving anything with them. Had the Celtics failed to win with Tatum and Brown before they were split up (as seems likely right now), I would have been devastated. Had the Red Sox not won the 2018 World Series with Mookie Betts before making the worst trade in sports history (still mad, will always be mad), I would cry myself to sleep nightly.

The sad reality is that the Bucks went so all-in that they became basically incapable of improving their roster after the Lillard trade. They had the 2021 run and then an incredible title defense in 2022 that saw an absurdly competitive second-round loss to Boston. But the Bucks did not properly account for how ambitious Giannis would be beyond their single championship, and panicked repeatedly to ensure he would stay in Milwaukee. That, to me, will be the legacy of this entire post-championship era.

Quadir Copeland didn’t hear his name called during the second round of the NBA Draft on Wednesday night, but he’ll still have a chance to play in the NBA this upcoming season. Copeland quickly agreed to sign a two-way contract with the Houston Rockets once the draft concluded.

The Rockets have a need at point guard, which they addressed in taking Ohio State’s Bruce Thornton in the first round, but that was their only draft pick this year (they traded a couple of second rounders away). So this looks like a pretty spot for Quadir to begin his pro career.

He’ll likely spend the bulk of the season with Houston’s G-League affiliate, the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, but the two-way deal means the Rockets can bring him up and let him play in up to 50 NBA games. NBA teams have a couple extra roster spots specifically for two-way players, which gives those guys an opportunity to develop without having to worry about losing their jobs to a roster squeeze on the big club.

Best of luck to Quadir this season.

So the draft is over, and what does it mean for the many tentacles of the Brotherhood? Let’s look at it. Well, some of them, anyway. There’s a lot of sifting and sorting to be done yet.

First, this year’s draftees: Cameron Boozer is a Grizzlie with the #3 pick, Isaiah Evans is a Timberwolf with the #33 pick, and Maliq Brown went to the Spurs with the #44 pick.

The Grizzlies traded for Detroit’s Isaiah Stewart, which means they suddenly have a very rugged frontcourt. They have Boozer, Stewart, and man mountain Zach Edey. Those guys are going to leave some bruises, and Stewart can help get Boozer up to speed on the league. And they also picked up Karim Lopez, who is apparently a bit of a bruiser himself.

All of it should also allow them to move away from Ja Morant, and if he decides to be foolish again, guns or otherwise, assuming they can’t trade him, they can afford to glue him to the bench. Cedric Coward and Ty Jerome could manage and be much steadier.

Incidentally, like Darryn Peterson, taken with the #2 pick by Utah, Boozer felt he should have been the #1 pick. Actually, he probably got a break. Washington has been a black hole in the NBA galaxy for decades, a place where careers go to die. He’s better off with Memphis.

Evans was taken by Brooklyn and sent to the T-Wolves, where he can build a solid niche, especially with Donte DiVincenzo getting over a serious injury. He can take pressure off of Anthony Edwards and help open the interior for an aging Rudy Gobert. Everybody can use a flamethrower.

The San Antonio Spurs went hard for defensive help after getting beaten up inside by the New York Knicks in the NBA Finals. Brown can guard multiple positions, and he, along with Jayden Quaintance (6-9/253) and Tarris Reed (6-10/260), should offer reed-thin Victor Wembanyama some protection from rough defenders.

However, adding three young big men probably means Brotherhood member Mason Plumlee, now 36, won’t be back.

In Dallas, the Mavericks picked up Morez Johnson and Tobi Lawal. Both should help Cooper Flagg in the frontcourt. Johnson can help in a lot of ways, and while he hasn’t fully mastered the game, Lawal is a spectacular athlete. It’ll be interesting to see what new coach Dusty May does with him, not to mention how Kyrie Irving will work with them.

The Mavs also traded for Sergio De Larrea, a 6-6 Spaniard who could help if he is on the roster this year. There is some speculation that he could be a draft-and-stash.

In Charlotte, Kon Knueppel will greet new teammates Hannes Steinbach and Christian Anderson (there’s a bad joke there somewhere with Hannes Christian Anderson).

Steinbach is a promising big man who rebounds well, and Anderson will add more perimeter sniping. The Hornets rise should continue. However, they still need some muscle. They’d probably take San Antonio’s haul without asking twice.

Still, look at the young core: Knueppel, LaMelo Ball, Brandon Miller, Miles Bridges, Moussa Diabate, Sion James, Ryan Kalkbrenner, and now Steinbach and Anderson. They’ll probably lose Coby White to free agency, but Anderson may cover that.

It’s a solid core and if they can pick up a couple of pieces, they might go far, but perhaps without Ball, who Charlotte is shopping around, which might persuade them to hang on to White, if possible, as a stop-gap point guard. Maybe they can find one in free agency. Or maybe it’s a chance to pick up the muscle they think they need.

Update: muscle acquired. According to ESPN’s Shams Chamaria, “The Charlotte Hornets are trading star guard LaMelo Ball and Josh Green to the Minnesota Timberwolves for Naz Reid, a 2033 unprotected first-round pick, three first-round pick swaps (2028, 2029, 2030) and three second-round picks (2029, 2032, 2033)…” They still have to figure out point guard, but muscle? They got the muscle.

Out in San Francisco, GM Mike Dunleavy has the unenviable task of moving from the Steph Curry era to whatever will replace it.

The Warriors picked up Michigan’s Yaxel Lendeborg, and he’s a pretty solid prospect. We were surprised by Florida State’s Lajae Jones, who impressed us last year. Golden State got him with the 54th pick.

In Los Angeles, coach JJ Redick will add Baylor’s Cameron Carr. A 6-5 guard, he’s lavishly athletic. They still need a quality center, though.

In Detroit, meanwhile, Trajan Langdon made some interesting moves. The Pistons got Stanford’s Ebuka Okorie with the 17th pick. It’s a bit of a gamble, only because he’s a smallish guard, and we saw him struggle with bigger defenders, notably Blue Devil Dame Sarr. He’ll see a lot of guys like that, especially if he continue to score a lot.

Detroit also got Virginia’s Ugonna Onyenso with the 53rd pick. Onyenso has the potential to be a devastating shot blocker. Langdon, as noted, shipped Isaiah Stewart to the Grizzlies, so he may not be done wheeling and dealing yet.

In Hotlanta, Quin Snyder and the Hawks got Kingston Fleming from Illinois with the #8 pick, St. John’s Zuby Ejiofor with the #23 pick, and UNC’s Henri Veesaar at #52 after a trade with the L.A. Clippers.

Toronto GM Bobby Webster seems to have a type. Over the years, he has selected 6-8 Scottie Barnes, and traded for former Blue Devils RJ Barrett and Brandon Ingram. This year, he picked Alan Graves with the 19th pick. A 6-9 forward who was a guard before he grew, Graves has a similar package of skills as the others we just mentioned. They may not all be on the roster next season, but the guy has a pretty clear preference for mid-sized, versatile talents.

Out in Phoenix, Khaman Maluach and Mark Williams may have gotten an enforcer as Arizona’s Koa Peat was taken with the 30th pick.

Other ACC players who were taken include Caleb Wilson, who went to the Chicago Bulls with the #4 pick. He somewhat foolishly called himself a GOAT, which is a bad move since Chicago’s real GOAT, Michael Jordan, also came from UNC. Wilson should be good, but he would have been smarter to be a bit more modest. He’s never going to be the GOAT in Chicago.

Louisville’s Mikel Brown went to Brooklyn with the #6 pick, and Cardinal teammate Ryan Conwell ended up with Miami after being taken with the 37th pick by Oklahoma City. Finally, SMU’s Jaron Pierre was taken with the 58th pick by the New Orleans Pelicans.

Go to the DBR Boards to find Blue Healer Auctions || Drop us a line

• 2026 NBA Draft Grades: Analysis for AJ Dybantsa, Darryn Peterson, Cameron Boozer, rest of first-round picks
• AJ Dybansta, Cameron Boozer top 2026 NBA draft superlatives
• Cameron Boozer Given Great Advice by Father Carlos Boozer
• Cameron Boozer’s mom’s complicated love life after stealing spotlight at NBA Draft
• Grizzlies haven’t had a rookie quite like Cameron Boozer since Pau Gasol
• Cameron Boozer’s Mother CeCe Turns Heads With Elegant NBA Draft Night Look
• Duke Basketball’s Head Coach Jon Scheyer On How Cameron Boozer Is As A Player | Gary Parrish Show
• Grizzlies draft Duke forward Cameron Boozer with No. 3 pick, add Karim Lopez after trade-downs
• Cam Boozer Ready To Bring Grizzlies Back to ‘Where They Once Were’
• Cameron Boozer is a certified winner
• 2026-27 NBA Rookie of the Year odds: Cameron Boozer opens as favorite
• Duke’s Cameron Boozer addresses No. 1 overall pick snub at 2026 NBA Draft
• Grizzlies’ Zach Kleiman Lays Out Vision for Cameron Boozer After No. 3 Pick
• Cameron Boozer Gives Grizzlies a New Foundation to Build Around
• Cam Boozer is Arch Manning and more cross-sport comps for every NBA Lottery Pick
• Cameron Boozer speaks on Duke legacy after top-three pick in 2026 NBA Draft
• Memphis Grizzlies NBA draft grades for Cameron Boozer 1st-round pick
• Boozer, Dybantsa early joint ROY favorites
• Cameron Boozer hints at jersey number change with Grizzlies after NBA Draft
• The Mary Ann of the NBA Draft: Cameron Boozer’s Unique Appeal
• Patrick: Boozer a ‘great pick’ for Grizzlies
• Minnesota Timberwolves Draft Isaiah Evans + Trey Kaufman-Renn | Why Evans Could Have Immediate Impact
• Duke guard Isaiah Evans headed to Timberwolves after being taken in the second round of the NBA draft
• Julius Randle trade just got even better as Timberwolves draft Duke stud
• Potential gems picked in 2026 NBA Draft second round: Isaiah Evans, Tyler Nickel
• Isaiah Evans, Maliq Brown Chosen in Second Round of NBA Draft
• From North Carolina to the Pros: Isaiah Evans Selected 33rd Overall by Timberwolves
• Grizzlies’ Isaiah Evans slip-up could end up being a gift for the Timberwolves
• Isaiah Evans and Maliq Brown selected 33rd and 44th overall in 2026 NBA Draft
• Wolves select Duke’s Isaiah Evans to complete Julius Randle trade
• Duke’s Isaiah Evans heading to Timberwolves after being selected 33rd overall in NBA Draft
• Former Syracuse Forward Maliq Brown gets drafted to the San Antonio Spurs
• Spurs select Ja’Kobi Gillespie and Maliq Brown in second round of 2026 NBA Draft
• Spurs add more frontcourt help with Maliq Brown
• Spurs Grab Maliq Brown at No. 44 in the 2026 Draft 
• Onyenso & Brown selected in second round of 2026 NBA Draft
• Isaiah Evans, Maliq Brown Chosen in Second Round of NBA Draft
• Former Duke teammates drafted: Isaiah Evans to Minnesota, Maliq Brown to Spurs
• 2026 NBA Draft second round: Duke’s Evans, UNC’s Veesaar picked then traded, Duke’s Brown also selected
• Former Duke teammates drafted: Isaiah Evans to Minnesota, Maliq Brown to Spurs
• Maliq Brown lands with the Spurs in the second round of the 2026 NBA Draft
• Welcome to SA, Maliq Brown 
• Culpeper native Maliq Brown picked by San Antonio in second round of NBA Draft

Go to the DBR Boards to find Blue Healer Auctions || Drop us a line

The 2026 NBA Draft has reached its conclusion, with members of the incoming rookie class now knowing which city will serve as their new home.

But many will actually start their career playing in the Summer League.

The league is an offseason basketball series that includes some of the NBA teams competing, with the intention of evaluating the younger talent they have in their system. The field usually features the incoming rookie class and second-year NBA players. 

AJ Dybantsa (No. 1 to the Washington Wizards), Darryn Peterson (No. 2 to the Utah Jazz) and Cameron Boozer (No. 3 to the Memphis Grizzlies) are all likely to make their respective NBA debuts with their new teams during the summer.

Here’s when the action takes place:

NBA DRAFT TEAM GRADES: Which front offices did the best in both rounds?

When does Summer League play begin?

While the complete schedule for the Summer League in Las Vegas hasn't been officially released, the tournament will take place from July 9-19 at the Thomas & Mack Center.

The Jazz and the Wizards will play on opening day in Vegas in a game that will likely feature Peterson and Dybantsa on the court against each other.

The Salt League City action will begin on July 4 and continue on July 6 and 7.

The California Classic will have games happening in two places. The Golden State Warriors and the Sacramento Kings will serve as dual hosts this year. The Warriors will host games at the Chase Center in San Francisco on July 3, 5 and 6, and the Kings will host games at the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento from July 4-6.

A list of teams competing at each event has not been announced.

All times Eastern

Salt League City schedule

Saturday, July 4

Memphis Grizzlies vs. Oklahoma City Thunder, 3 p.m.

Atlanta Hawks vs. Utah Jazz, 5 p.m.

Monday, July 6

Atlanta Hawks vs. Oklahoma City Thunder, 7 p.m.

Memphis Grizzlies vs. Utah Jazz, 9 p.m.

Tuesday, July 7

Atlanta Hawks vs. Memphis Grizzlies, 7 p.m.

Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Utah Jazz, 9 p.m.

Thursday, July 9

Utah Jazz vs. Washington Wizards, 9 p.m.

Friday, July 10

Chicago Bulls vs. Memphis Grizzlies, 5 p.m.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: NBA Summer League 2026 schedule, games, times for Salt Lake City

Austin Reaves was so far off the radar with high school basketball recruiting analysts, some didn’t give him even one of five stars.

So a decade later, how did Reaves land a $185 million, four-year deal with the Los Angeles Lakers in what is the largest contract ever signed by an undrafted NBA player?

It goes beyond the shot-making, the playmaking and the white headband.

Reaves, the 28-year-old shooting guard, averaged 23.3 points, 5.5 assists and 4.7 rebounds per game last season and continues to develop as one of the Lakers’ most dynamic players.

Inheriting genes from parents who played college basketball at Arkansas State certainly hasn't hurt. But embedded in his success appears to be character traits.

These traits surfaced long before he signed a two-way contract with the Lakers after the 2021 NBA Draft. The first signs emerged in Newark, Arkansas, a town of about 1,200 people where Reaves grew up on his family’s 300-acre farm.

An assignment for Austin Reaves

When Reaves was a senior at Creek Ridge High School, he took a life skills class with teacher Priscilla Callahan, who said she pushed Reaves to create a backup plan for his career.

Callahan said her fear was Reaves struggled with shoulder injuries that eventually required surgery.

"He just kind of said, ‘I'm going to play in the NBA, and I'll basically (said) figure it out if something happens,' ’’ Callahan told USA TODAY Sports.

Reaves never created a backup plan, and Callahan said she interprets it as self-belief that helped propel Reaves to the NBA.

"That is exactly it," Callahan said. "But there's a difference between what I would say is confidence and cockiness. And he had the confidence."

Reaves has said his representatives told the Detroit Pistons not to pick him in the second round of the 2021 NBA Draft. The hope was he could catch on with the Lakers. As he did.

Before the 2024-25, he could have signed a four-year, $53.8 million contract extension. But he chose to hold off and try to increase his leverage. Then he played his best season yet and, as a result, landed the $185 million deal.

'They glue him up'

Reaves, who is 6-5, did not sprout up until his junior year. Those who scouted him earlier may have been put off by his size and chronic shoulder dislocations.

But Isaac Middlebrooks, who coached Reaves at Cedar Ridge, saw the picture differently.

"One of my favorite stories about Austin, we were in the state tournament and I think it was the semifinal game his senior year and Austin hadn't scored yet," Middlebrooks told USA TODAY Sports. "It might've been the start of the second quarter around that time. It's a close game and he dives on the floor after a loose ball and bust open his eyelid."

Reaves bled as he walked across the floor and saw the trainer, according to Middlebrooks.

"And they glue him up," said Middlebrooks, who added he called timeout to buy time as the trainer worked with Reaves.

"Austin, he didn't even stop and say, ‘Hey, you want me to go in coach?’ He just walked right by me, checked in and finished the game with 40-some points. And we won."

The toughness accompanied Reaves to Wichita State, where he played two seasons. And then to Oklahoma, where he played another two seasons. And now to Los Angeles, where he just completed his fifth season.

'Wanted to stick it out'

Cade Crabtree was Reaves' teammate on the high school basketball team and celebrated three state titles in four years.

They were best friends, as were their brothers, who were two years older and top players on the basketball team.

"Me and Austin, were same age, grew up together, best friends since 3 years old and our brothers, same way," Crabtree said. "Growing up, they're bigger, stronger, they're faster.

"Well, we would always play, whether it was a Whiffle ball game or basketball or whatever, me and Austin would always be on the same team knowing that the majority of the time we're about to get spanked by our older brothers.

"They beat us in everything they played us in and every now and then be like, ‘Y'all want to switch up things?’ And we never would because it was like, ‘No, we're going to keep playing y'all till we win.’ "

Which happened maybe once ever 100 games, according to Crabtree.

"But that's just kind of a testament because it's like, yeah, we could have split up and got one of the older brothers on our team made of a more fair game … (Reaves) didn't want it easy. He just wanted to stick it out."

Now Reaves, who’s known in Newark for his non-flashy attire and humble ways, is facing a new challenge, according to Crabtree.

"To be honest, the guy may have to practice learning how to spend more money because that's just not his style," Crabtree said.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Austin Reaves' $185M deal with Lakers reflects more than basketball

Over the past two evenings, the Spurs drafted four new players. The Silver & Black now hold the draft rights to Jayden Quaintance, Tarris Reed, Ja’Kobi Gillespie, and Maliq Brown. The draftees address vulnerabilities in the Spurs game. But the work is not yet done.

Heading into the draft, the Spurs had nine contracts committed for next season. Six players including Harrison Barnes, Kelly Olynyk, Bismack Biyombo, and Jordan McLaughlin could be packing their bags heading into the 2026-2027 season.

The Spurs now look toward free agency to maintain their “win now” mode which carried them into the 2025 NBA Finals. One free agent who has previously been linked to the Spurs — and is an unrestricted free agent — is John Collins.

Collins career as a player has passed its peak. With the Clippers last season he averaged 13.6 points per game, the sixth best on a team that didn’t make the playoffs. What he lacks in statistics he brings in leadership. His veteran presence paired with hunger to win a title may pair well with a team who had a championship within their sights.

The Spurs need a true power forward. There are some worthy candidates in free agency. Is Collins a good fit for the Spurs?

What do you guys see as the biggest needs to the Spurs to attend to when the window opens on June 30th?

---

Welcome to the Thread. Join in the conversation, start your own discussion, and share your thoughts. This is the Spurs community, your Spurs community. Thanks for being here.

Our community guidelines apply which should remind everyone to be cool, avoid personal attacks, not to troll and to watch the language.

Now that the smoke has cleared from the NBA Draft, it seems like Kentucky’s two draftees found themselves in really good situations.

Starting off with Jayden Quaintance, who found himself in a really good spot being selected 20th overall by the San Antonio Spurs. Quaintance lands on a Spurs team coming off an appearance in the NBA Finals where he will join a frontcourt with one of the best players in the league in Victor Wembanyama.

That frontcourt pairing of Wembanyama and Quaintance should strike fear into opposing teams with the length and shot-blocking ability those two possess.

Of course, that all hinges on Quaintance’s health, which has been (and continues to be) a significant question mark. The good thing for Quaintance is that he isn’t going to a team whose success will hinge on his ability to be an impact player right away. The Spurs have the luxury of being able to let Quaintance come along at a slower pace and make sure he’s healthy before rushing onto the court.

If everything is good for Quaintance health-wise, this could be the best pick of the draft.

Otega Oweh heard his name called in the second round at 41st overall, as he will head to the Oklahoma City Thunder to join a pair of former Cats in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Cason Wallace.

I also really like the Oweh-OKC pairing. The Thunder needed to add depth on the wing, and Oweh will have an opportunity to fill that role. Oweh will look to be a strong perimeter defender for the Thunder, and if he can continue to develop his jump shot, he could prove to be a reliable rotation player for a Thunder team that should be a championship contender.

This year’s draft turned out well for the pair of former Cats.

Tweet of the Day

His moment. pic.twitter.com/SaH19XOl27

— Kentucky Men’s Basketball (@KentuckyMBB) June 25, 2026

A really cool moment for Oweh.

Headlines

Rhyne Howard joining WNBA elite – Herald Leader

Howard continues to impress on the court.

Mason Williams ready to make his mark at Kentucky – Cats Pause

Williams could surprise some people this season.

Caleb Ourigou takes visit to Kentucky – KSR

This is a recruitment to keep an eye on.

Grading every team’s NBA Draft – ESPN

A lot of praise for the Grizzlies.

Is Ja Morant done in Memphis? – Bleacher Report

Seems like the Grizzlies are looking to enter a new era.

All but certain U.S. will take on Bosnia and Herzegovina in Round of 32 – Yahoo

Barring an extreme change, we now know who the U.S. will face off against next week.

Lions CB Arnold potentially faces life in prison following arrest – CBS Sports

The allegations are pretty awful.

Will the Hornets trade LaMelo Ball? – NBC Sports

Ball could end up being the guy in Milwaukee now that Giannis is gone.

Could the Celtics still trade Jaylen Brown? – SI

This would be a major move for Boston.

Fever coach calls out Mercury for alleged cheap shots on Caitlin Clark – CBS Sports

What do you think?

Lawsuit already filed in response to NCAA’s five-year rule – ESPN

We knew this was coming.

After going undrafted in the 2026 NBA Draft, as expected, the starting frontcourt of the 2025-26 MSU Basketball Team each were signed by NBA teams.

Carson Cooper earned the more promising of the two offers. The former Spartan center continues the pipeline from East Lansing to Memphis as he signed a two-way contract with the Grizzlies. A two-way contract means a player can play for both an NBA team as well as its G-League affiliate, in this case the Memphis Hustle. Per NBA rules, players on two-way contracts can play up to 50 NBA games, but are not eligible for the playoffs unless they receive a standard contract.

During the Tom Izzo era, other big men to go straight from MSU to Memphis include Zach Randolph, Jaren Jackson Jr., and Xavier Tillman, though all three of them were drafted. The Grizzlies roster also includes former Purdue star Zach Edey as well as recent Detroit Pistons player Isaiah Stewart (traded during the draft) at the center position.

Jaxon Kohler signed an Exhibit 10 deal with the Utah Jazz, his home state team. This type of contract allows a team to have a player on their training camp roster. Basically, this means that Kohler will get to play with Utah on their Las Vegas Summer League team, which runs in July. If Kohler can impress in Vegas, he can earn a two-way or even a regular contract, otherwise he can just be put on the Jazz’s G-League roster, the Salt Lake City Stars. There is also the possibility, ever so small, that Kohler does not do well with this opportunity and doesn’t even get on the G-League team, in which case he will have to find another team to sign with, domestically or abroad.

The Utah Jazz feature former Spartan (and former Memphis Grizzly) Jaren Jackson Jr. as their starting power forward. They also have depth with Kyle Filipowski and Blake Hinson who have two and one years of NBA experience, respectively.

We now are closer to the solutions to the poll questions we ran in the Feed earlier this week.

Most of the votes predicted Cooper would be on a G-League team, though a couple of you said he would be on an NBA roster, and that still has a chance of happening.

Similarly, most thought Kohler would play for a G-League team, though he did not receive any NBA votes.

Wishing both of these Spartan Dawgs loads of success in their next chapter.

The Kentucky Basketball team started practicing earlier this month, and one of the biggest surprise performers thus far has been James Madison transfer Justin McBride. One reason for that is the offseason work he has put in before arriving in Lexington.

McBride, who previously played for Oklahoma State, Nevada, and most recently, James Madison, is listed at 6-foot-8 and 250 pounds on Kentucky’s roster list. Those listed numbers are bigger than any of his previous stops, but he is currently in the best shape of his career.

According to one source, McBride has lost 10-12 pounds of fat from his top playing weight at James Madison. That has allowed him to be more mobile in practice, a pleasant surprise to what the staff was expecting of him coming in.

Mark Pope had a comparison for McBride in a ‘Mark Pope vs. the Shot Clock’ segment on UK Sports Network.

“Julius Randle vibes, seriously,” Pope stated.

Randle was the SEC Rookie of the Year and an All-American in his one season at Kentucky, so high praise for McBride. However, Pope is not comparing McBride to Randle in terms of talent, but in terms of style.

McBride grades excellent as a catch-and-shoot guy in analytics, shooting 40% from deep last season, an ability that Randle has shown in the NBA. Also similar to Randle, he can use his size to get to his spots in the paint and muscle his way for a rebound.

Having a bully-ball kind of player, who is also efficient from 3-point range, is a welcome addition for a Kentucky program that has struggled with physicality in recent seasons.

Mark Pope vs. the Shot Clock ⏱️

Meet your 2026 @KentuckyMBB team in 30 seconds pic.twitter.com/NLexvGpySl

— UK Sports Network (@UKSportsNetwork) June 23, 2026

From 2002 to 2020, the Knicks were an abysmal franchise. I know that, you know that, the less said about it, the better.

There are a lot of reasons why one of the league’s biggest teams in the biggest market stayed so irrelevant for so long. Terrible free agent signings, trades, and overall incompetence were big parts, but so was the inability to draft.

They burned top-10 picks on the likes of Mike Sweetney, Channing Frye, Danilo Gallinari, and Jordan Hill in the first decade, passing on guys like Andrew Bynum, Danny Granger, Brook Lopez, and DeMar DeRozan.

In the latter era of darkness, they burned top-1o picks on Frank Ntilikina, Kevin Knox, and Obi Toppin, passing up on Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Donovan Mitchell, Bam Adebayo, and Tyrese Haliburton.

All throughout these 20 years, they also failed to effectively hit on mid-first-round picks, didn’t get any production out of second-round prospects, and watched as the picks they traded became guys like Joakim Noah and LaMarcus Aldridge. All that young talent could’ve been wearing orange and blue, but incompetent management bungled it all up.

Sure, there were good picks. Kristaps Porzingis was a bold pick that panned out and RJ Barrett was the predictable, but wise pick after the lottery gods spat on Steve Mills and Phil Jackson’s franchise. But through all the busts and guys who weren’t good enough, there was one pick in the early second round in 2018 that shined through all the dysfunction.

After tiptoeing his way through the graveyard of busts and forgettable has-beens, he’s emerged on the other side as an NBA champion.

Our NBA champion.

Mitchell Robinson was born on April 1, 1998, in Pensacola, Florida. He lived there for much of his pre-NBA life, attending Pine Forest High School through his sophomore year, but a major growth spurt turned him into a seven-foot behemoth, prompting him to transfer to Chalmette High School in in Louisiana, where his stock exploded as a junior.

He became one of the best high school basketball players in the nation. As a senior, he averaged 25.7 points, 12.6 rebounds, and six blocks a game, leading Chalmette to a district title and their deepest state title run in 32 years. His tremendous season saw him named a McDonald’s All-American, where he scored 14 points and blocked two shots in a game headlined by Michael Porter Jr., DeAndre Ayton, and Mo Bamba.

As a five-star recruit and one of the top players in the entire Class of 2017, he had a wild recruitment. He committed to Texas A&M in April 2015 before his stock exploded, but decommitted after his junior year ended. He then became the best recruit (by a country mile) in Western Kentucky history, enrolling in June 2017.

But after two weeks of practicing with the team, he vanished. He cleaned out his dorm and left campus, deserting and being indefinitely suspended. The big man had second thoughts about his decision, and his godfather, Shammond Williams, was fired as an assistant. He just didn’t want to be there.

He was granted his release and entered the transfer portal, but rules at the time dictated that he was now ineligible for the 2017-18 season. Still seeking a waiver, he visited LSU, Kansas, and New Orleans to see if he could salvage things before deciding in September, on his own, to sit out from organized basketball in his pre-draft season.

It was an unprecedented decision, one that had never been replicated by a serious NBA prospect. He didn’t go overseas, he wasn’t eligible to play in the G-League, and he would just train and wait. It definitely damaged his stock ahead of the 2018 NBA Draft, but his drop ended when the Knicks selected him at No. 36 to pair him with fellow 2017 All-American Kevin Knox in their draft class.

Right out the gate, you could tell this guy was a freak athlete. In his first Summer League, Robinson averaged 13 points and 10.2 rebounds a game, breaking all-time Summer League records for blocks per game (4.0) and offensive rebounds per game (6.2). Even before he officially wore the orange and blue, excitement was palpable.

Mitchell Robinson in a 2018 Summer League game against the Pelicans:

14 PTS
12 REB
5 BLK pic.twitter.com/IxjJ9kxDY5

— Dylan Backer (@DylanBackerESM) July 5, 2025

As a rookie, he was an extremely raw product. For a dreadful 65-loss team, he played 66 games (starting 19). After starting the season behind Enes Kanter and Noah Vonleh in the rotation, he was put in the starting lineup in November, but couldn’t stay on the court because of dreadful foul woes. His per-36 average for fouls? 5.7. He would foul out in every single game if he played starters minutes.

As a result, he played just 20 minutes a night. He’d show flashes with a double-double in early November, a nine-block game against Orlando nine days later, another 17/14/6 game against the Magic in February, and a tremendous 19-point, 21-rebound game in a blowout loss to Toronto in March. He was named to Second-Team All-Rookie for his troubles and finished eighth in Rookie of the Year voting.

Rookie Mitch was a fever dream. A center with god-given athletic traits that made the sky the limit, even if his offensive game was limited. That playstyle was never sustainable for a long career because of the foul troubles, but it was exhilarating while we saw it. We’ll always have his #26 to remember it by, as he switched his number to 23 to honor two late high school teammates.

He spent much of the 2019-20 season backing up Taj Gibson, as even though he was emerging as the team’s most promising player, his foul trouble necessitated restraint. He slightly improved in that regard and upped his averages to 9.7 points and 7.3 rebounds. By the time the NBA season was suspended in March due to COVID-19, Robinson had stumbled upon an NBA record.

He had broken Wilt Chamberlain’s record for FG% in a single season, shooting a baffling 74.2% from the field. As crazy as it sounds, he’s exceeded that number since then, shooting 76.1% from the field two years later, but fell just short of qualifying with enough shots to re-break the record.

The first chapter of Robinson’s career closed with the pandemic. The second chapter had begun, one where he was the undisputed starter at center for a rejuvenated team under Tom Thibodeau. His minutes jumped to 27.5/night. His fouls dropped, sacrificing a bit of his bonkers block totals to do so. About 25 games into the season, the first major domino of the next phase of his career fell.

Robinson broke the fourth metacarpal in his right hand on February 12, 2021. He missed about five weeks, returning on March 21. His production was up and down in the ensuing four games, but he went down once again just six days after returning against the Bucks.

A fractured fifth metatarsal in his right foot ended his season. The Knicks’ dream run to their first playoff berth in eight years would happen without their starting center, which would have dire consequences as Trae Young and Clint Capela made mincemeat out of Gibson and Nerlens Noel. The injury gave him a long offseason, where the thin, lanky big man bulked up considerably to get stronger in the post (on both ends).

The decision to do that made him look slow and ineffective to start 2021-22. It’s possible for a center to put on too much weight and muscle, especially in the situation of Robinson being a player who relied on athleticism to that point. He played considerably better as the season went on, getting in better shape and ultimately producing a quality year when the rest of the team collapsed around him. He was rewarded with a $60 million extension in the offseason, marking an extreme rarity as a Knicks’ draft pick to earn a second contract.

The following season was more of the same, except team success followed. Robinson was down to 7.4 points a game, but had gotten considerably better on the board, leading the NBA in offensive rebounding for the first time. By the time the season ended, he would finally be unleashed in the first-round series against Cleveland, where he had one of the most dominant series by a low-usage big man in recent history.

Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen were both All-Stars. Mobley would go on to be a Defensive Player of the Year. Both of them would be picked seven days a week and twice on Sundays over Robinson entering that series. But in that five-game shellacking, he brutalized them so much that he put a dent in both of their reputations that hasn’t been fully buffed out to this day.

He was really starting to come into his own to start 2023-24. He was respected as a premier rim protector and rebounder. The Ringer added him to their Top 100 rankings. His rebounding was on another level. In a 16-game span from late October to late November, he averaged 11.5 rebounds a game. This was it. This was where he would take the next step.

We now begin the third stage in Robinson’s career. In a loss to the eventual NBA champion Boston Celtics in early December, his ankle gave out. A stress fracture in his left ankle seemed to have ended his season, with the Knicks applying for a disabled player exception for deadline flexibility. For months, they assumed he was done for the year.

But he did return. After missing 50 games, he popped back in off the bench on March 27, 2024, backing up his good friend and breakout player Isaiah Hartenstein. His role from there would be limited due to the injury’s proximity, but he still made a major impact when he did play.

He had 8 points, 12 rebounds, and 4 blocks in a Game 1 win against the Sixers. He was a +20, taking on the assignment of Joel Embiid and staring the former MVP straight in the eye. It was a heavyweight battle for the ages.

Embiid tried to take him out for a reason, Big Mitch gave him PROBLEMS
pic.twitter.com/yLNxqkqPKm

— Teg🚨 (@IQfor3) May 4, 2024

Until it wasn’t. Embiid yanked down Robinson by his ankles in Game 3, re-aggravating his ankle injury and taking him out for the next game and a half. He’d return to play Games 5 and 6, along with Game 1 against Indiana, but would soon be shut down once again with the injury. Initially, it was believed not to be that bad, but his injury held him out a lot longer than anyone expected.

First, Ian Begley reported the team was targeting a Christmas return. Then January passed. He was still in street clothes. By the time he returned on February 28, 2025, that bum left ankle had cost him a baffling 108 games of his career. The injury had a big domino effect, as it resulted in Hartenstein pricing himself out and the Knicks getting desperate to trade for Karl-Anthony Towns.

At this point, the injury woes were piling up. He was close to something truly special, but the Knicks were now forced to effectively keep him on a leash with his playing time. The team’s defense fell off big time with him injured in both 2023-24 and 2024-25. They needed him.

When he returned, he played 15 minutes a game behind Towns. He had a few strong games, notably a 14/14 game in 20 minutes against a depleted Sixers team, but the real test was playoff intensity.

He certainly had his moments. He grabbed eight offensive rebounds in Game 5 against Detroit. Despite not doing much scoring, his mere presence was a major part of the Knicks’ two comeback wins against Boston. With the starting lineups’ ineffectiveness mounting, Robinson was inserted into the starting lineup in Game 3 against Indiana for his first playoff start since 2023, but was ineffective against their fast-paced playstyle.

Heading into 2025-26, a critical contract year for the longest tenured Knick, the training staff had enough. After his first healthy offseason in a good bit, they enacted strict rules. His minutes would be capped, he would not play back-to-backs, and he would occasionally be held out for multiple games to manage soreness when it arises.

To their credit, despite him missing Opening Night and having some odd absences, he made it through completely healthy. His 60 games played were the most since 2021-22. He still managed to make 16 starts, but he was only playing 19.6 minutes a game.

His impact was present as ever. Whatever role the Knicks needed from him, he provided. He still grabbed back-breaking rebounds, his touch around the rim tremendously improved, and he got lift back in his leaps. His FG% was back up to 72.3 percent. He had re-emerged as a big lob threat. His per-36 averages of 7.7 OREB and 16.1 rebounds a game were jaw-dropping.

In a season more defined by his consistency, he still managed to put up a big 21/16 game off the bench and grab a career-high 22 rebounds against Indiana in mid-March. By playoff time, the secret weapon was intact, and even got a first-place vote for Sixth Man of the Year for his troubles.

How did he do come playoff time? He had some good games, namely Game 2 against Atlanta, but struggled in others. He was somehow a +29 in 8:35 in that Game 6 bludgeoning before getting ejected for a fight with Dyson Daniels.

He sat out of Game 2 against Philly (likely matching Embiid’s injury flare-up), but was otherwise extremely durable (except for the broken pinky, I guess). Oh yeah, he also postered him.

He was effective throughout the postseason, even if the stats didn’t jump out at you.

…except for the Hack-a-Mitch. We haven’t mentioned this whole time that Robinson is one of the worst free-throw shooters in NBA history. No matter how hard he works on it, he just can’t crack it. He would get repeatedly played off the floor in this postseason due to it, and it impacted his play. Mike Brown was handcuffed at times. I guess the silver lining was that teams who utilized it immediately got the worst karma ever (cough cough, Cavs and Spurs).

Robinson’s postseason was missing the big moment. Then Game 5 of the NBA Finals rolled around.

In a series defined by Towns’ foul trouble and Robinson’s inability to cover all the minutes for a variety of factors, he was the one thrown onto the court in the final minutes as the Knicks looked to finish off the comeback and close out a championship.

With 26.1 seconds left, the Knicks led by three with Josh Hart at the line. A made free throw would give them firm control of this game, but a miss would allow the Spurs to have a glimmer of hope.

The ball was released from Hart’s hands and rolled off the rim. In the moment, Robinson is jostling with 7’5″ Victor Wembanyama.

Time slows down.

Robinson is the only player on this roster who experienced the dark ages. His first career game was coached by David Fizdale. The executive who picked him was Steve Mills. They went 17-65 when he was a rookie.

He came into a franchise that was looking not just for a star, but for foundational pieces. Frank Ntilikina was a bust. Kevin Knox was a bust. RJ Barrett was just okay. Kristaps Porzingis, with whom he was briefly teammates, was traded.

He lived through Fizdale’s dysfunction. He lived through the nightmare of the 2019 draft lottery. He lived through Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving spurning them for Nic Claxton’s Brooklyn Nets.

He was on the court when Vince Carter ended the 2019-20 season with a memorable final basket. He was in the starting lineup when the Knicks returned from COVID-19 in late December 2020.

Throughout every era this team has gone through since, from dysfunction to revival to disappointment to steady ascension. It had brought him here. To this moment.

All of his compatriots are gone. Barrett is a Raptor. Julius Randle is now in Brooklyn. Immanuel Quickley is also in Toronto. Obi Toppin is in Indiana. Knox is… somewhere. Tom Thibodeau is maybe enjoying retirement. Fizdale and Mills are hopefully rueing their tenures here.

Everyone who was around him when he was a young pup is gone. The only player in the organization who was here before Brunson changed everything in July 2022 is Deuce McBride, who’s the only other one to experience a losing season in New York (37-45 isn’t even that bad).

Regardless of how this series goes, regardless of if this is his final game in New York because of his impending free agency and lucrative market, he’ll go down as the bridge between eras. The one bright spot in a depressing post-Melo world that lived to see the Knicks be relevant.

But relevant isn’t good enough. It never was good enough.

HUGE OFFENSIVE BOARD BY MITCHELL ROBINSON.

WHAT A PLAY FOR THE KNICKS TO KEEP POSSESSION. pic.twitter.com/ImFcnQ42Sq

— NBA (@NBA) June 14, 2026

He outmuscled the still-maturing Wembanyama and gobbled up the offensive rebound, kicking it out before he could be intentionally fouled. OG Anunoby would make one of his free throws, providing the distance that the Knicks needed. Of course, there’d be more free throws and dramatics to follow, but making it a two-possession game fundamentally changed everything.

The man who’s spent the last four years as the greatest offensive rebounder on the planet did it in the biggest spot of his entire career, broken pinky and all. Maybe he didn’t need to do it to become a champion, but he did nonetheless. And then he got to ride one of his massive monster trucks at the parade.

If this is it, thanks for everything, Big Mitch. You’re an NBA champion.

–

(P&T will be doing player-by-player article tributes over the next few weeks to commemorate the special team that ended our long, half-century nightmare)