Category: NBA

The Washington Wizards have the No. 1 pick in the 2026 NBA Draft. That is a huge morale boost for the fans. And yet … the organization is willing to make moves with that pick, including trading down that very pick, according to Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report and The Stein Line.

It’s important to note that it is very rare for a team that has a No. 1 overall pick traded before he plays for that team. But it has happened twice in relatively recent memory.

The last such case was in 2017 when the Philadelphia 76ers acquired the No. 1 pick to select Markelle Fultz from the Boston Celtics who received the No. 3 pick to select Jayson Tatum. Fultz ultimately bounced between multiple teams while Tatum became Boston’s franchise player and led the Celtics to a championship in 2024.

Also, in 2014, the Cleveland Cavaliers drafted Andrew Wiggins of Kansas No. 1 overall before trading him in a package for Kevin Love. The move ultimately worked out for the Cavaliers who would go on to win the NBA championship two years later. Even for Wiggins, he had a strong start to his NBA career for the Timberwolves. Wiggins ultimately became an All-Star in 2022 for the Golden State Warriors, as well as an NBA champion.

Again, it’s very rare for a team to trade the No. 1 pick away, whether before the draft or soon after. And anything Monumental Basketball President Michael Winger said about “considering” trading down from the No. 1 pick? Well, any sound front-office executive will say that to maintain maximum leverage.

Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

What a game! I kind of inexplicably blacked out 12 minutes into the game and gained consciousness a few moments later to watch the rest of the entertaining wrestling match/basketball game trying to piece together what happened like in the movie Memento. You, fellow readers, get the pleasure of going with me on this journey to find the truth.

The first truth we find is that De’Aaron Fox and Dylan Harper led the team with 24 points apiece, and both guards’ hands were busy with 3 steals each to match the aggressive defense played on both sides. Fox justified his previous “Clutch Player of the Year” award by making timely plays down the stretch for the good guys while Harper justified being the number two overall pick by making professional play after professional play.

Take a good look at this highlight below because it’ll be the last time you’ll get to see these! For this game at least, let’s keep our fingers crossed.

If you’re a fan of Arrested Development, you’ll get this reference. If you’re not a fan of Arrested Development, I don’t know what to say—I can only bring so much culture into your life. Victor Wembanyama’s plus/minus was -1 tonight in 12 minutes of play on the floor. He managed 4 points, 4 rebounds, and one assist in those 12 minutes.

What gives? It’s like he really is an alien and the mother ship suddenly came down and plucked him from the court while blasting disco music like Gonzo’s alien family did in Muppets from Space. Even the official San Antonio Spurs Twitter account is missing a whole chunk of highlights of the first quarter after this assist from De’Aaron Fox to Wembanyama. The mystery thickens!

Other than this highlight of Dylan Harper with the beautiful subtle ball fake and step through, there’s no other highlight (evidence) of the entire 1st quarter, whether of Wembanyama or anything Spursy. I had the game on mute so I could only assume that after Wembanyama’s sudden disappearance the Spurs were also shocked but tried to keep it close—closing out the mystery quarter down 4 to the Timberwolves.

I scanned the sidelines and even peaked into the raucous crowd but could not find a trace of the man in the jersey stitched with the number “1.” I asked my two colleagues in the living room with me if they had seen the 7-foot Frenchman that abruptly vanished from our television screen earlier. I was only met with “Huh? Why are you talking to me in a weird Robert Downey Jr. as Sherlock Holmes British accent?” and “Can I go to bed *after* I finish watching Finding Nemo”? (Note: Happy Mother’s Day to all the moms and anyone who’s a mom to someone!)

That being said, Carter Bryant surely made his mother proud with this easy dunk off the pretty ball movement from Harper to Julian Champagnie, who found Bryant open under the basket.

Somewhat similar to Game 2 against the Portland Trail Blazers when the boys unexpectedly lost Wembanyama early in the game, it seemed to take the air out of their sails. For this game, they seemed just a bit better equipped to deal with the cards dealt. Luke Kornet, for one, stepped up and played 26 solid minutes of clean the glass, put all the put backs back, and blocked or altered all the shots.

I think Stephon Castle felt what I felt: shock, confusion, a bit of anger, and hunger for some birria tacos. And who could blame him? A rowdy game will bring that out of you. So much that he even dunked on his own teammate!

Amid the circus, it’s worth pointing out the crisp and purposeful ball movement of these Spurs. Here, Devin Vassell makes a crazy circus shot of his own, but the play was set up by ping-ponging passes initiated by Castle and fed through Champagnie.

What a flip into the bucket by Harper. It’s like his limbs move independently of his body.

OK as we got toward the end of this game, I have considered all the available evidence to me (i.e., self-imposed Twitter blackout, live broadcast on mute, ignoring family (only briefly! It was *still* Mother’s Day), pretending to read group chats and only replying with 👽 emojis), and the only conclusion I could come up with is that Victor Wembanyama got thrown out of the game for laughing. It happened to Tim Duncan so why couldn’t history repeat itself?

In all seriousness, losing Wembanyama to a flying elbow (to be clear, an elbow that he himself threw with those pterodactyl wings he calls arms) was a huge blow to the team and this game. It’s worth noting that our boy did spend last summer with Shaolin monks and Kevin friggin’ Garnett. The “there are two wolves” inside of us narrative could not be more true in this case where it seems like nirvana and Kevin friggin’ Garnett (a Timberwolf, no less) were constantly at odds with each other.

It’s like Frank Costanza stood alone and screamed “Serenity now!!” into the void while multiple Timberwolves clawed at him. Even Lloyd Braun couldn’t save the day, but the hopefully the good guys will have their fearless leader back in time for the next match.

If you missed the game because you were too busy writing sticky notes to yourself with reminders to buy milk, watch more games on mute, and to enjoy Game 5, here are the full-game highlights:

Next up, the Spurs head back to San Antonio for Game 5 against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Tuesday, May 12, 2026.

Incoming Dallas Mavericks president of basketball operations and alternate governor Masai Ujiri said in his introductory press conference on Tuesday that he wanted to bring “calm” to an organization beset by tumult in the year-plus before he was hired.

In a sit-down interview with team Chief Communication Officer Gina Miller later in the week, Ujiri preached “focus, purpose and an honest direction toward winning.”

Yea. Sign us up for some of that.

Listening to the man now in charge of the once proud franchise that was submarined by previous leadership to the point of ethical (perhaps too ethical) tanking for much of the 2025-26 season, through his introductory presser and this latest interview, gives one the sense that he lives everything he talks about. He has a process to get there. Maybe most importantly, he’s done it before.

Ujiri says it, and he makes you believe he has a plan to make it happen. When he says he wants to bring calm, he says it in a measured tone. When he talks about talent evaluation, he brings with him a new incoming general manager whose ball-knowing acumen in recent years has been proven prescient. When he talks about purpose, he cites his years’ worth of work growing the game globally with Basketball Without Borders.

The skins are on the wall behind him, but he doesn’t want attention. He doesn’t just have a reputation for being a relationship guy. He’s spent his entire career in the game of basketball forging them across the globe.

He told several anecdotes during the interview that make his landing in Dallas sound like a little dose of cosmic kismet, even if he also admitted the plain truth up front that “if there weren’t issues [in Dallas], I wouldn’t be here talking to you.”

He’s forged connections with several longtime Mavericks through his time in scouting, from Kike Vandeweghe, who gave Ujiri his first full-time job in an NBA front office as a scout in Denver, to Donnie Nelson, who he met and competed with on the international scouting trail. He’s worked with Dirk Nowitzki and Steve Nash through his years at Basketball Without Borders, where he also connected with “a lot of the NBA players who came through like Shawn Bradley, Dirk Nowitzki, Shawn Marion, Kyrie [Irving] and Rolando Blackman.”

“This franchise has lived in me somehow, and then this happened so organically,” Ujiri said. “The global footprint of the Dallas Mavericks is right there. I’m proud to be associated with the growing up of Dirk in the league, with Steve Nash, all these guys that set the tone for where we were going, not only as a team, but as a league. This is a big part of our game, and I’m so proud that this organization was at the forefront of this.”

He also told a story about being at the NBA Draft lottery last year, as he and the Toronto Raptors hoped against hope, just like the Mavericks did, to move all the way up to the No. 1 overall selection and have the chance to grab hold of a special young talent he went back to over and over again during the interview.

“It’s a moment where we’re all human beings,” Ujiri said. “You feel it. You know what the odds are, but you still feel like you are the one. I saw [NBA Deputy Commissioner] Mark Tatum going up to the stage. From the angle I was sitting, I could see, when he got to nine. He was opening up the card and even before he said it, I saw the red [Raptors logo]. We got bumped. We fell. I get home, my kids,, ‘Papa, we didn’t get Cooper Flagg.’”

Fast forward to just over two weeks ago, when Ujiri had finalized his discussions with Mavericks’ governor Patrick Dumont to take the job at the head of Dallas’ front office.

“I told them at dinner,” Ujiri said. “And I’m telling you, they went wild. Cooper Flagg! Cooper! Cooper! It is crazy to me that it came like that, you know, full circle. What an honor, to come to this organization and have that gift. I know we’ve gone through a tough time as an organization, but we all have to really see this moment where we start to grow and show this kid that we are going to grow with you. We are going to support you, and this is the direction that we are going. We were blessed to have been given this kid.”

He talked about watching Flagg practice before the draft and being in awe of his footwork and his wingspan.

“They don’t come often. They really don’t. We have a generational talent here and we are going to do the best possible job here to give him a chance to bring championships to this city.”

And when he says it, you believe he has a plan to make it happen.

You can watch the full interview exclusively within the Mavs app on all iOS and Android devices.

Now that the draft lottery is over, people can start to make some educated guesses about who goes to what team.

Here’s an interesting factor we had not considered: not only is Carlos Boozer Cameron Boozer’s father, he’s also a scout for the Utah Jazz, and the Jazz hold the #2 pick.

Utah can get an 18-year scouting report on Boozer. In all seriousness, Carlos could deliver the most in-depth analysis of not just Cameron’s basketball talents, but also the most in-depth psychological analysis any athlete has ever received.

The question is how objective he could be. Even so, it’s a valuable gift to the Jazz, whatever they decide to do.

Generally speaking, everyone seems to expect Washington to take BYU’s AJ Dybantsa with the #1 pick. But this guy argues that Washington needs post play more, and Boozer fits the bill.

On the other hand, here’s an argument that Boozer’s tailor-made for Memphis, that he and Zach Edey would be monstrous inside. He would also be teammates with near-Devil Cedric Coward, who committed to Duke as a transfer last season before opting to stay in the draft.

Meanwhile, this article expects that with the fourth pick, Chicago will get either Boozer or UNC’s Caleb Wilson. If it works out that way, that’s not bad.

• Cameron Boozer Draft Stakes Loom Large After 2026 Lottery
• How Cameron Boozer became the most polished NBA prospect
• Cameron Boozer: NBA draft scouting report and intel

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Bucks seeking trade offers for Giannis Antetokounmpo ahead of draft: Report originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

A trade involving Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo appears closer than ever.

ESPN’s Shams Charania reported Monday that the franchise is “open for business on trade calls and offers” for the two-time league MVP.

The Golden State Warriors, Miami Heat and New York Knicks have long been considered potential suitors for the 31-year-old forward. Charania also mentioned the Minnesota Timberwolves, Cleveland Cavaliers, Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers as teams that pursued him at February’s trade deadline.

Bucks co-owner Jimmy Haslam said at a press conference last week, where the team introduced new head coach Taylor Jenkins, that he wants there to be a resolution before the draft on June 23-24. Antetokounmpo has one year left on his contract before a player option next summer, making him extension eligible in October.

“Sometime over the next six or seven weeks we’ll decide whether Giannis is going to sign a max contract and stay with us or he’s going to play somewhere else,” Haslam told reporters. “And [general manager] Jon [Horst] and Taylor, along with [co-owner] Wes [Edens] and myself, will make that call and we understand the gravity of that call.”

The trade drama began last summer, when Antetokounmpo reportedly expressed a desire to play for the Knicks. Milwaukee decided to hold onto him for the 2025-26 season, but that backfired as the team limped to a 32-50 record before Doc Rivers departed as head coach.

The Bucks hold the No. 10 pick in the draft after Sunday’s lottery results. The Warriors will pick at No. 11 and the Heat are at No. 13, giving them the best draft slots among the aforementioned teams.

Charania reported that ownership and front office officials expect a young blue-chip talent and/or a surplus of draft picks in any potential trade, but their leverage is obviously waning as Antetokounmpo gets closer to his 2027 contract opt-out.

Antetokounmpo played 36 games this season as he dealt with groin, calf and knee injuries. He averaged 27.6 points, 9.8 rebounds and 5.4 assists per game while making his 10th All-Star appearance in 13 seasons.

Sunday evening’s Game 4 in Minneapolis did not go as planned for the San Antonio Spurs.

With  8:39 left in the second quarter, Wemby was ejected when his right elbow hit Reid’s throat.

Forgetting for a second that, had it been any other player, the elbow would have landed on Reid’s chest, the foul represents a lapse in Victor’s judgement and tranquility. Considering his pursuit of ethical basketball, the move is most uncharacteristic.

Unfortunately, the implications of the flagrant technical 2 are not yet complete. Victor Wembanyama could face a game suspension of the incident due to the nature of this foul. The NBA will review the play as standard procedure, which means there is a chance the league could decide on its own punishment.

After the game, head coach Mitch Johnson praised Wemby for “protecting himself,” pointing out that Wemby has been physically challenged beyond a realm of appropriate.

After the game, studio analysts Vince Carter, Carmelo Anthony, and Tracy McGrady said there is no chance Wemby misses Game 5.

Spurs are back in San Antonio Tuesday night for the tiebreaker at the Frost Bank Center.

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The Lakers are done. 

They know it. We know it. 

They trail their second-round playoff series against the reigning champion Thunder 3-0, a deficit no NBA team has ever recovered from. So, what’s left to play for in Game 4? 

For the Lakers, there’s pride on the line. They don’t want to get swept. 

LeBron James, who’s undecided about his future, doesn’t want his career to potentially end so unceremoniously. 

Austin Reaves, who has free agency looming this summer after he’s expected to turn down his $14.9 million player option for next season, wants to leave a strong impression as he tries to secure a lucrative contract. 

Lakers coach JJ Redick has gotten the team to fight all season. He’s not going to let them drop the rope now. 

“Still think we can beat them,” Redick said after the Lakers’ 131-108 loss in Game 3. 

Those words ring empty. 

It’s a scream at a rock concert. A gasp underwater. 

The Lakers have no chance of making a historic comeback. Not against the Thunder, who are younger and deeper and make them look like a puttering old Chevy that ran out of gas in the second half of games, where they’ve been outscored by an average of 18 points.

But don’t expect the Lakers to accept a sweep. Not this team. If there’s one thing we’ve learned about them this season it’s that they have a lot of fight.

When they’ve hit walls, they’ve bared their teeth. 

When the Big 3 was an offensive liability, James embraced being the team’s third option, an unprecedented downgrade for a superstar of his caliber who could still lead a team. 

That sacrifice decluttered their offense, leading the Lakers to go on a 16-2 run this spring.

Just as they were considered potential championship contenders, they shockingly lost Luka Doncic (hamstring) and Reaves (oblique) on April 2. After that, they weren’t expected to even make it out of the first round of the playoffs. Not without their two leading scorers, who averaged a combined 60 points a game. 

How did they respond? 

They jumped to a 3-0 series lead over the Rockets. The 41-year-old James put on his Superman cape. Luke Kennard showed he’s more than a 3-point specialist. Marcus Smart put on a defensive clinic. From top to bottom, everyone starred in their roles as they clawed their way past Houston in six games. 

But all of that effort just secured a date with someone completely out of their league.

Against the Thunder, they were facing a team that they lost to by an average of 29 points a game in the regular season. They were without Doncic. But they still fought. They kept games close in the first half before crumbling.

Now they’re facing their toughest challenge. 

How will they respond when things are hopeless? 

If the Lakers win Game 4, they’ll just be buying themselves a trip to Oklahoma City, where they’ll play the league’s top team in one of the toughest arenas. They’ll just be delaying the inevitable. They’ll be prolonging their suffering. 

But still, expect the Lakers to fight. 

James didn’t become arguably the greatest player of all time by waving the white flag when things got tough. 

Reaves didn’t skyrocket from being undrafted to becoming a star by rolling over when things become challenging. 

Would it be embarrassing if the Lakers were swept? Not exactly. Not against this historically great Thunder team that seemingly has an endless army of fresh legs.

What would be embarrassing is if they rolled over Monday.  

“Obviously, this situation sucks,” Reaves said. “But that doesn’t give us the license to quit. We gotta come in here and compete. We owe the organization that. We owe each other that. We owe our fans that. So we’re gonna come here Monday and play as hard as we can.”

Expect the Lakers to go out swinging. 

How small are their chances? 

Teams trailing 3-0 in a playoff series are 0-161 all time. 

Against the Thunder, whom Redick called “one of the greatest teams ever,” whatever infinitesimal chance they have shrinks to something imperceptible by the human brain.

The Lakers may be swinging at the air. 

But they’ll still be swinging. 

Otherwise that would be a truly tragic end to a season filled with so much heart. 

INDEPENDENCE — The Cleveland Cavaliers won Game 3 against the Detroit Pistons, but in a way that their head coach called “unsustainable” 15 minutes after the final buzzer. The next day after practice, he echoed those same sentiments.

“I hate to keep bringing up that possession game stat, -14,” Kenny Atknison said about Game 3. “I think there’s a big difference between the first and second half. Minus two in the possession game in the second half. So we did better. Like I said postgame, that’s not sustainable, especially the rebounding.”

The Pistons are one of the best teams in the league at grabbing offensive rebounds and forcing turnovers. They collected 34.3% of their missed shots in the regular season (2nd) and turned over their opponent on 16.8% of defensive possessions (1st). Consistently creating more opportunities for their offense allowed a somewhat stagnant attack to finish the season just inside the top 10 for offensive rating.

We’ve seen the benefit of this through the first three games of the series.

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The Pistons have grabbed over 34% of their missed shots in all three games so far this series. That puts them above the 69th percentile or better each game. This has translated to 19, 16, and 18 second-chance points.

The Cavs cleaned up the turnover issues after struggling in Game 1. They’ve committed a lower percentage of turnovers for possessions in the most recent two games of the series. They’ve shown that they can overcome this problem. The same isn’t true for the rebounding, which is worrying Atkinson.

There are a couple of factors that go into winning the rebounding battle. How you play defense is one of them.

“There’s certain schemes you rebound better at,” Atkinson said. “It’s just a fact. So we take that into account. Unfortunately, they got a great player (Cade Cunningham). We have to be up higher. Our bigs aren’t as close to the rim.”

Physicality is the other.

“Their bigs are elite, elite at offensive rebounding,” Atkinson said. “A lot of times, our bigs are wrestling with their bigs. That’s why Donovan [Mitchell] having 10 rebounds was huge last night. Max [Strus] is coming in. It’s going to be a guard-rebounding series.”

These clips show why that’s so important. Jarrett Allen and/or Evan Mobley are busy boxing out Detroit’s bigs. If you’re boxing out properly, making sure your assignment doesn’t get the ball, you’re creating a way for one of your teammates to come in and secure the possession.

Rebounding is a team activity, and not always an individual stat.

“We are giving it our best effort,” Jarrett Allen said. “They are strong. They are big bruisers down there, and will say even though we don’t get the rebounds, Donovan having 10 rebounds last night, six rebounds in the other game [is huge].”

The Cavs have shown for spurts that they can keep Detroit off the glass. Particularly, down the stretch of Game 3 where they allowed just five offensive rebounds compared to the 12 they surrendered in the first half. Whether they’re able to play more like the second half or not will go a long way in determining whether they can come back in this series.

The New York Knicks are headed back to the Eastern Conference Finals for the second consecutive season after completing a dominating sweep of the Philadelphia 76ers on Sunday afternoon.

After falling behind 2-1 against the Atlanta Hawks in the Quarterfinals, there were questions to if this current Knicks nucleus could win in the postseason and make a realistic push for the NBA Finals to contend for a title.

New York answered those questions by becoming one of the hottest teams in all of basketball, and in large part due to the offensive play of Karl-Anthony Towns, who put on an absolute clinic over the last four games.

In Sunday’s series clincher, KAT put up 17 points, 10 assists, four rebounds, and two blocks in just 20 minutes.

The former Kentucky Wildcat averaged 15 points, eight rebounds, and seven assists over the four-game sweep in just 23 minutes of action. He’s completely taken control of facilitating the offense and has the Knicks as the favorite to represent their conference in the NBA championship.

One flaw for Towns, though, has been his play on the defensive end, and that could become a problem as the postseason continues. Towns committed four or more fouls in each game of the semis, leading to fewer minutes on the court and leading to inconsistencies with the Knicks’ lineups.

He has four or more fouls in seven of the 10 playoff games so far, so it’s a consistent issue that he’s going to have to fix if the Knicks hope to win another series — or two — over the next month.

Tweet of the Day

Hope every mom had a wonderful Mother’s Day!

Headlines

Late Additions Have Changed Kentucky Basketball Seasons – KSR

Hard to believe this is the year.

Knicks sweep 76ers, return to Eastern Conference finals – ESPN

Red hot.

A Keith Bogans Jersey Belongs in the Rupp Arena Rafters – KSR

Absolutely.

Wizards win draft lottery; Jazz, Grizz, Bulls round out top 4 – ESPN

The order is set.

PREDICTION: Kentucky Beats Alabama in Will Stein’s SEC Opener – KSR

This would be something.

Pritchard on Pacers losing No. 5 pick: ‘Sorry’ to our fans – ESPN

Mega fumble.

Kentucky Makes the Final Cut for Coveted Offensive Line Target – KSR

Big momentum boost.

Scott Boras: Tigers ace Tarik Skubal could have short rehab – ESPN

Good news for Detroit.

The 2026 NBA Draft lottery is in the books. Every NBA team knows when it's drafting in the 2026 NBA Draft, and so now the evaluation process begins in full. Front office personnel from around the league, top prospects and their agents have all convened in Chicago this week for the annual NBA draft combine.

The entire draft class typically goes through medical examinations, as well as agility and shooting drills, at Wintrust Arena with private workouts conducted through agents during the week-long event. There are also live-action scrimmages the top of the draft class usually decline to play in, but the right performance in front of so many influential eyes can often propel a fringe prospect.

This year's combine will feel different than some of its recent predecessors due to the decline in underclassmen who have declared for the draft, which is a reflection of the NIL money available at the college level these days. But it nonetheless carries enormous weight for players trying to improve their draft stock while figuring out whether to return to school before the NBA Draft's June 13 early entry withdrawal deadline.

Here's a look at a group of players, as well as two potential college basketball national championship contenders, with the most at stake as the 2026 NBA Scouting Combine gets underway in Chicago:

NBA fans often want their general managers to make decisions that, if they were in the same shoes, they may not make themselves.

It’s human nature. If you’d been there, he wouldn’t have gotten away with it. You’d have done the brave thing. If I were in charge, we wouldn’t be in this mess.

Until you’re there, and you don’t, or you are, and we are. For example, NBA fans love the idea of “selling high”. If you were the general manager of an NBA team, you may not be willing to specifically move a player because he’s playing well. When your job is on the line, high-risk profiles lose some appeal.

So I wrote that if I were Rafael Stone, I’d split Alperen Sengun and Amen Thompson up this summer. That would mean either moving Sengun for pieces or Thompson for a high-volume three-point shooting star. I will not lose my The Dream Shake position if the Rockets do that and it goes poorly.

Stone probably won’t trade either of his two highest-performing young draftees to date. That’s defensible. That doesn’t mean he should sit on his hands this summer.

So, once again, as someone with minimal skin in the game, as a guy whose life is not affected by the Houston Rockets to any more than the extent to which I allow it to be, I have a plan. If Stone isn’t going to make franchise-altering moves, he still has to tinker on the margins.

He has to do the bare minimum. Here’s a two-step plan for him to do exactly that.

1. Trade Clint Capela for a combo guard

Were you expecting Dorian Finney-Smith?

Again – bare minimum. During the Rockets’ exit presser, there seemed to be a sentiment that Finney-Smith will have a chance to bounce back from an abysmal season with a summer to rehabilitate. To paraphrase 90s Australian pop sensations Savage Garden:

“Oh, I want (him), I don’t know if I need (him), but, oh, I’m (probably going to) find out”.

Yet, there is no reason to keep Capela. He was Steven Adams’ insurance. Adams got hurt, the playoffs came, and Ime Udoka didn’t trust Capela to get on the floor anyway. If nothing else, it was a realistic facsimile of how insurance typically actually does shake out.

As such, Capela will have minimal trade value. Still, the Rockets should be able to fetch someone with his modest contract and some second-round draft capital.

Leading candidates include Tre Mann (who, as an aside, always makes me think of a superhero whose superpower is cashing treys), D”Angelo Russell, Cam Spencer, and Bradley Beal.

Decidedly unsexy names. Still, each would bolster the Rockets’ ball-handling and floor spacing without stepping too firmly on the toes of Reed Sheppard and Amen Thompson with a returning Fred VanVleet in the fold. Flipping Capela for a guard would balance the roster:

But we still need that Adams insurance.

2. Sign Andre Drummond

Not a player like Andre Drummond. Not a player with a comparable skillset:

Very specifically, Andre Drummond.

Drummond’s development as a floor spacer has quietly been a watershed moment in the development of the center position. This was one of those guys who was just never going to shoot the three-ball.

How about 35.6% on 1.4 attempts per game? Nobody is mistaking Drummond for the omnipresent Myles Turner, but those are solid apples. He’s a floor spacer now.

He also remains one of the single best rebounders in the history of the NBA. He didn’t play enough minutes to qualify for leader boards, but his 17.5% Offensive Rebounding Percentage would have ranked second in the league, his his 29.8 Defensive Rebounding % fourth, and his overall Rebounding Percentage first in the entire league.

On a related note: Ime Udoka.

If you hadn’t heard, he likes rebounding. Moreover, Drummond’s newfound floor spacing ability should make him a more viable dual big pairing with Sengun. The Rockets need to trade Capela, and then, they need to sign Drummond in free agency to replace him.

It’s the least they can do.

Without a game being played, the NBA draft lottery is one of the most impactful days on the NBA calendar. A surefire way to build a championship-caliber team is with picks at the top of the NBA Draft. The Celtics’ success over the past decade has been driven by two top-3 picks. If you survey this year’s playoff landscape, you see the court littered with guys like Victor Wembanyama, Cade Cunningham, Anthony Edwards, and Karl Anthony Towns, Chet Holmgren, all of whom are necessary pillars on playoff juggernauts.

BROOKLYN, NY – JUNE 23: Jaylen Brown shakes hands with NBA Commissioner Adam Silver after being selected number three overall by the Boston Celtics during the 2016 NBA Draft on June 23, 2015 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2016 NBAE (Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler /NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images

NEW YORK, NY – JUNE 22: Jayson Tatum walks on stage with NBA commissioner Adam Silver after being drafted third overall by the Boston Celticsduring the first round of the 2017 NBA Draft at Barclays Center on June 22, 2017 in New York City. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images) | Getty Images

The lottery is especially significant this year. The upcoming draft is viewed as having three, maybe four, franchise-altering prospects: AJ Dybantsa, Cam Boozer, Darryn Peterson, and Caleb Wilson. Because I am selfish and can only think of NBA happenings as they pertain to the Boston Celtics, let’s examine how the 2026 NBA Lottery results impact our beloved team.

Most importantly, we avoided the two crisis situations that could have been catastrophic for not just the Boston Celtics but the entire NBA: both the Oklahoma City Thunder and Indiana Pacers being stripped of their chance to pick in the top four of this year’s draft. The Thunder are the defending champions and are currently undefeated in the playoffs. Handing them another blue-chip prospect would have been a doomsday scenario for the league. Thankfully, the basketball gods decided that the 7.1% chance of OKC jumping into the top four would not come to fruition. 

Eastern Conference teams can breathe a sigh of relief as the Indiana Pacers not only dropped out of the top four, but lost their pick entirely to the Los Angeles Clippers as part of the Ivica Zubac trade. As we have seen with Jayson Tatum’s recovery from his Achilles injury, it’s reasonable to assume Haliburton can return to his pre-injury self, priming the Pacers to return to their championship-caliber form. Had the Pacers had the chance to add a six-foot-eight Jaylen Brown-type prospect to their team in AJ Dybantsa, it would have fortified them as a contender in the conference. 

While the two most impactful scenarios that could stand in the way of Banner 19 did not come to fruition, it wasn’t a perfect day for the Celtics. With the Washington Wizards, fellow Eastern Conference resident, securing the number one overall pick, they now have an intriguing and potentially dangerous core — “potentially” being the keyword here. I am dubious of a team relying on Anthony Davis to make them a legit playoff contender. Sure, the Sacramento Kings getting the number one pick would have been optimal, but the Wizards are still a long way from being a real threat.

A fun bit of trivia comes out of the Wizards getting the first overall pick; Anthony Davis has now been involved in four instances of teams securing the number one overall pick. AD himself was the number one overall pick. The year Davis left the New Orleans Pelicans, they jumped up in the lottery to select Zion Williamson. After Davis was moved in the Luka Doncic trade, the Dallas Mavericks lucked into the first pick with only a 1.8% chance of jumping into the top spot. And now the Wizards land the number one overall pick.

Next, we have the Utah Jazz and Memphis Grizzlies, two Western Conference teams who jumped into the second and third draft slots instead of Eastern Conference teams. While I think it’s possible the Jazz could be frisky and push for 50 wins next season, they are not a threat to win the title. Memphis jumping into the third spot keeps another blue-chip prospect in the West. We love to see that.

If an Eastern Conference team is going to jump up in the Draft Lottery, it may as well be the Chicago Bulls. They have given us very few reasons to believe they are a serious organization since the departure of Michael Joran.

We move to the the fallout as it relates to a potential Celtics trade involving Giannis Antetokounmpo.  Most significantly, the Milwaukee Bucks did not receive the monumental amount of luck needed to turn their bleak situation around. The Bucks required both the Pelicans and their own pick to jump into the top four in order to benefit from any shenanigans. The Miami Heat have been reported as a potential suitor for Giannis, with the Heat staying put at the 13th pick, their trade offer continues to be a pu pu platter of uninspiring young players and mediocre draft picks. For those who are intent on the Celtics trading for Giannis Antetokounmpo, the Lottery results have arguably improved the team’s chances of making that happen. 

Lastly, the countdown for the Cooper Flagg trade demand to the Boston Celtics is on. The Dallas Mavericks were not rewarded with back to back years of miraculous lottery luck. They dropped from the 8th best odds to the 9th pick in the draft. Now, the Mavericks do not control their own draft pick until 2031. Dallas will get Kyrie Irving back next season, but he is going into his age 34 season. The path for the Mavericks to get back to playoff contention is murky at best. Will Flagg get fed up with being a perennial lottery team without a lottery pick? We can dream.

And if you have any Brooklyn Nets fans in your life, I would implore you to do a wellness check on them. Their future is bleak. 

Only 34 of the 471 teams that have fallen behind 2-0 in an NBA playoff series have come back and won the series. The Cleveland Cavaliers are trying to become the 35th team to do so as they attempt to climb out of that hole against the Detroit Pistons. Winning Game 4 and evening the series would go a long way in helping them do so.

As of now, the Cavs are favored in Game 4 and have a good chance of doing so. FanDuel lists Cleveland as a 3.5-point favorite in Game 4. So far this series, the favored team has won all three games and covered the point spread in the process. The Cavs are hoping that trend continues on Monday.

The race out of the Eastern Conference is clearing up with the New York Knicks sweeping the Philadelphia 76ers. Understandably, the Knicks are the favorites to come out of the conference as they’re -150 to do so.

The Pistons are closely behind. FanDuel lists them at +200 to win the East. The Cavs are far behind at +650 to do so.

These odds mirror how things look for the Cavs in terms of winning a championship. The Cavs have the fifth-lowest odds to win the Finals among the seven remaining playoff teams at +4000. The Pistons are just in front of them at +1800.

This rationale makes sense. The Cavs are behind in the series. Even if they tied things up in Game 4, they would still need to win on the road at least once to prevail in the series. Picking up a road win has alluded them so far this postseason as they’ve dropped all five road games. Since 2023, the Cavs are a combined 4-13 away from Rocket Arena in the postseason.

We’ll see if the Cavs can come back against the Pistons in their second-round series.

You can follow all of the playoff action with FanDuel.

Victor Wembanyama was ejected for the first time in his NBA career - for elbowing an opponent - as his San Antonio Spurs side were beaten 114-109 by the Minnesota Timberwolves in game four of the Western Conference semi-finals.

France international Wembanyama, 22, had grabbed the rebound of a missed Spurs three-pointer early in the second quarter and was protecting the ball when he turned around and appeared to elbow Timberwolves' Naz Reid in the jaw.

The incident was initially called as a offensive foul, as fans in Minneapolis chanted "kick him out, kick him out".

And, after a video review of the play by the officials, it was upgraded to a flagrant 2 - which is an automatic ejection and a minimum of $2,000 (£1,464) fine - for excessive contact above the neck.

• Lakers one game from exit as Thunder and Cavs win

When the ejection was announced, Wembanyama appeared to ask Spurs team-mate Harrison Barnes: "What does that mean?"

Timberwolves' victory on Sunday levels the best-of-seven series at 2-2 before game five in San Antonio, Texas on Tuesday.

Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said, while he did not condone Wembanyama's actions, he was glad he "took matters into his own hands" as he believes the 7ft 4in (2.24m) star needs more protection from referees.

Johnson added: "I'm glad Naz Reid is OK and I didn't want him to elbow him. But [Wembanyama's] going to have to protect himself if no-one else does for him. And I think it's disgusting."

Wembanyama finished with four points and four rebounds in just under 13 minutes of action, while his Spurs team-mates De'Aaron Fox and Dylan Harper scored 24 points each.

Reid, meanwhile, contributed 15 points and nine rebounds off the bench for the Timberwolves.

"We never expected them just to go away," Timberwolves coach Chris Finch said.

"They won a game in the Portland series without Wembanyama, so they're a very good team."

Also on Sunday, the New York Knicks advanced to the Eastern Conference finals as they brushed aside the Philadelphia 76ers 144-114 in game four.

Miles McBride scored 25 points and Jalen Brunson added 22 points to hand the Knicks a 4-0 series clean sweep.

The Knicks will take on top-seeded Detroit Pistons or fourth-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers for a spot in the NBA Finals.

Maybe it was a misteak.

The descendant of the brothers credited with creating the first Philly cheesesteak will make the renowned sandwiches at a Long Island pizzeria — while wearing head-to-toe Knicks gear — after losing a bet with the eatery’s co-owner.

Frank Olivieri, proud owner of Philadelphia’s iconic Pat’s King of Steaks, will begrudgingly wear orange and blue while slinging sandwiches at Dario’s Pizza in West Hempstead after the Knicks annihilated the 76ers 144-114 on Sunday.

Olivieri had instigated a friendly wager with the pizza parlor’s co-owner, Louis Cretella. The pair bet on which teams would win, Olivieri siding with the 76ers and Cretella with the Knicks — and the loser would have to travel to the other’s restaurant and cook for a day in the winning team’s gear.

“[Olivieri] wanted to make a wager on game three. I said, let’s bet the whole series,” Cretella told The Post.

Olivieri is accustomed to losing, but held out hope for his Philadelphia team until the bitter end.

“We always have a feeling that the 6ers, or anyone else in Philly are going to come back. We’re used to saying ‘maybe next year’,” he told The Post.

He shrugged off the impending ignominy, adding that he’s “been meaning to try [Dario’s] cheesesteak anyway.”

“I figured it would be a good way to extend some brotherly love to our brothers up in New York and on Long Island,” he added.

Olivieri and Cretella haven’t set a firm date for when the cheesesteak connoisseur will grace the Long Island pizzeria, but suggested that this may not be the end of their game.

“We’re willing to do another bet in the next round, whether it’s a place Cleveland or Detroit, so we’ll see,” Cretella said.

The Knicks advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals and will play the winner of the Detroit Pistons vs. the Cleveland Cavaliers series.

The friendly wager came about after Olivieri learned his ancestors’ cheesey, meaty creation had come under fire amid the NBA’s Eastern Conference Semifinals, where the Knicks were pitted against the 76ers.

Many eateries in New York City seized on the rivalry and cheekily desecrated their menus’ Philly cheesesteaks, including Dario’s Pizza.

Cretella changed the menu item from Philly cheesesteak to the Philly SUCKS cheesesteak in the restaurant’s computer system. Hard copy menus also have the “Philly” crossed out and “F*** Philly” in black marker written over it.

Olivieri took notice and reached out to place the bet he has now lost.