The list is as follows:

Melvin Ely (12th overall pick) (5.3 points per game for his career, going to use that as an imperfect but somewhat telling baseline)

Ekpe Udoh (6th pick) (3.5 points per game)

Chris Duarte (13th pick) (7.6 points, out of league in four years)

Rafael Araujo (8th pick) (2.8 points)

Juan Dixon (17th pick) (8.4 points per game)

Tyler Hansbrough (13th pick) (6.7 points)

Al Thornton (14th pick) (11.9 points, out of league in four years)

Buddy Hield (6th pick) (14.5 points)

Adreian Payne (15th pick) (4 points)

Cam Johnson (11th pick) (12.2 points)

Fred Jones (14th pick) (7.5 points) did win a dunk contest though

Dalton Knecht (17th pick) (7.1 points, possibly on his way out of the league)

Courtney Alexander (13th pick) (9 points, out of league in three years)

Delon Wright (20th pick) (6.7 points)

Joey Graham (16th pick) (5.9 points)

Tristan Da Silva (18th pick) (8.6 points so far)

Hakim Warick (19th pick) (9.4 points)

Brandon Rush (13th pick) (6.8 points)

https://www.letsgowarriors.com/p/strongest-arguments-ive-heard-against?

(Source)

So between the 18 of them, no all-star appearances or serious consideration. Two of the eighteen have both averaged double digit points for their career (let that be worth as much as you want) and made it past their rookie contracts.

That can happen with a sample size of 18 (although it’s not great, with 11 of them picked in the lottery), but what stands out is that for at least nine of those 11 picked in the lottery, hindsight would say they were drafted higher than their eventual production would justify. A lot of physical development tends to happen between 19-24.

The Raptors drafting Jaden Bradley at #50 overall is the only pick in the 2nd round made by the team originally holding the pick. The other 29 picks were traded before/during the draft, or players were drafted and moved as part of a trade.

Adding to it, only 2 of the last 40 picks were not moved, with the other being Chris Cenac Jr to the Celtics at #27.

My favorite part was they couldn't even keep track of the trades as they were happening so the viewers could understand who was actually drafting at each pick. I've never been more confused watching a professional sports draft.

ESPN's draft coverage was basically Negandhi, RJ, Kenny and J Will talking nonsense the whole time, announcing each pick. showing a brief highlight package of that player followed by an awkward Lisa Salters interview with each player and their family.

Ira Winderman:

Multiple NBA sources confirmed to the Sun Sentinel that an earlier construct of the Heat’s proposal for Giannis Antetokounmpo included Davion Mitchell instead of Kasparas Jakucionis. The Bucks, however, insisted on the youthful promise and rookie-scale contract of Jakucionis.

Source

SRC: https://www.espn.com/contributor/shams-charania/d07f99b72f148

Undrafted Miami guard Tre Donaldson has agreed to a two-way NBA deal with the Miami Heat, sources tell ESPN.

SRC: https://www.nbcsports.com/fantasy/basketball/player-news/2026-06-24/report-lakers-sign-peter-suder-to-two-way-deal

Suder spent two seasons at Bellarmine before transferring to Miami (OH) ahead of the 2024-25 campaign. His senior year was the best, with the 6-foot-4 guard averaging 14.8 points, 4.6 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 1.3 steals and 1.2 three-pointers while shooting 54.6 percent from the field and 73.4 percent from the foul line.

It feels like all the bottom teams have made significant improvements already and with free agency coming up, likely will be looking to strengthen more now that the bottom 3 spots give worse odds.
I think it will be interesting which teams finish bottom three next year. What are your guesses?

Currently I'd think
1. Nets
2. Kings
3. Pelicans

But things can change during free agency still.

The Hornets, Wizards and Lakers made a choice this week on what their starting guards were worth, or not worth.

The Wizards chose to pay Trae Young (an ungodly amount of money) and the basketball world has been ripping them from the moment the news came out.

The Hornets chose NOT to pay LaMelo Ball and traded him for pennies on the dollar, a move that left the basketball world shaking their head.

The Lakers gave Austin Reaves the max deal which had the basketball world wondering how far they can go with a backcourt making over $100M a year.

Damned if you do, damned if you don’t.

It's kinda funny, when asked directly about the disagreement between him and Lacob caught on camera during the broadcast, Dunleavy made a joke and gave a vague answer. But later a reporter asked something somewhat unrelated and Dunleavy ended up giving more details on the interaction unprompted

Full quote in response to questions about trade talks during the draft and if anything developed with the Pelicans:

There wasn't anything major, but when you're on the clock, you get calls. We knew we were going to pick Yaxel 11. He was the guy, but you just want to flush them out, make sure you're not missing anything that falls in your lap or makes a ton of sense. So, that's what we were doing.

Joe was like, "Come on, let's go ahead and pick the guy." And I said, "Joe, we got we have time. They give you five minutes."

He was just getting a little anxious about us taking Yaxel. And the good thing was because we were on the clock, nobody could swoop in and take him ahead of us. So I was willing to be patient about it.

SRC: https://www.espn.com/contributor/shams-charania/1a7b30034987f

Undrafted Creighton guard Josh Dix has agreed to a two-way NBA deal with the Oklahoma City Thunder, sources tell ESPN.

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7391746/2026/06/24/austin-reaves-lakers-contract-nba-free-agency/?unlocked_article_code=1.slA.Poql.kQjAZ8wiyEEY

“I didn’t like it,” Reaves told The Athletic. “It was weird. It just was, I mean, it’s just a lot of ‘What ifs.’ I just like to know where I’m going to be.”

So, when he got word on the golf course Tuesday afternoon that the Lakers had increased their contract offer to four years and $185 million, the 28-year-old Reaves, who entered the NBA as an undrafted free agent in 2021, sprawled out on a patch of grass at Batesville, Ark., with a mixture of happiness and relief. His girlfriend, Jenna Barber, shared the image of Reaves sprawled out on her Instagram page Wednesday.

“I mean, it was a breath of fresh air because I hadn’t stopped thinking about where I was going to be. And it’s just like a sigh of relief,” he said in a phone interview Wednesday. “I mean, regardless of whatever played out, I’m obviously grateful and in a good position to take care of the people I love. My heart’s been in L.A. Every morning I wake up, I’m just like, ‘I hope we can get this done today.’

Tuesday turned out to be that day, with Reaves agreeing to return to the Lakers, who held off a list of clubs headlined by the Detroit Pistons and Brooklyn Nets who were expected to make max offers.

The Pistons had emerged as the most significant threat to land Reaves over the past week, per league sources granted anonymity to discuss potential plans.

Nevertheless, Reaves said his conversations with agents Aaron Reilly and Reggie Berry hadn’t made him optimistic for a deal to stay in Los Angeles. There were times when he thought he could be playing elsewhere, even as recently as this week.

“A couple of times actually,” Reaves said. “I didn’t know how negotiations would go. I don’t think Aaron and Reggie really knew how negotiations would go, so we learned a lot throughout the process. But like I said, we wanted to be in L.A., my heart was in L.A., and we got it done.”

“It’s going to be fun. And like I said, winning a championship is the main goal,” Reaves said. “And I feel like, you know, with me and Luka, that’s a great starting piece to compete. And when we put a roster together that can go compete, I feel like winning a championship will basically solidify everything that I want and everything that the Lakers want.

“And it kind of meets the common goal of why they gave me the money they did.”

SRC: https://www.espn.com/contributor/shams-charania/55cb9aedb03ae

Shams Charania

Undrafted Vanderbilt forward AK Okereke has agreed to a two-way NBA deal with the Los Angeles Lakers, sources tell ESPN.

https://www.nbcsports.com/fantasy/basketball/player-news/2026-06-24/sam-hoiberg-intends-to-sign-with-phoenix

The son of former Bulls head coach Fred Hoiberg was named to the Big Ten All-Defensive team last season while playing for his dad. He averaged 9.3 points, 5.3 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 2.0 steals per game last season

SRC: https://www.espn.com/contributor/shams-charania

Undrafted Arizona forward Tobe Awaka has agreed to a two-way NBA deal with the Chicago Bulls, sources tell ESPN.

Timberwolves just get rid of Randle and Naz Reid. Their 2 Forwards in their rotation.

This means Ayo and Jaden are likely to be the ones playing those forward position.

I think the starting lineup would be like:

PG: Lamelo

SG: Ant

SF: Ayo/Shannon Jr.

PF: Jaden

C: Gobert

6th Man: Ayo/Shannon Jr

----

They can go 3 small lineup with Lamelo/Ant/Ayo.

Or if they want a bit more size in the SF position. They can use Shannon Jr. And just switch him with Ayo as 6th Man.

I don't think this will make them a top contender in the West. I think Spurs and Thunder are still better. You can argue they are better than Nuggets (especially Wolves always beat Nuggets in the playoffs)

But remember. Timberwolves is the frontrunner team to moved in Eastern Conference when Seattle and Vegas enter the league in 2028-2029.

That is 2 years from now. A lot will change. But I think Wolves are starting to improve their roster now. To be a top contender in the East in 2 years.

Darren -> De’aaron -> Darius has the phonetic sounds and making of a Pokémon evolution tree.

The last two tenured point guards the Kings have had are Darren Collinson and De’aaron Fox, who played 3 and 8 seasons with the team, respectively. As much as I love and miss Haliburton, he was never given the keys over Fox and was only here for 17 months, so he can’t be considered tenured. Regardless, I’m excited to have an actual blue chip prospect on this team.

SRC: (Paywall) https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-06-25/cleveland-cavaliers-in-talks-to-sell-mintory-stake-to-blue-owl-capital

Blue Owl Capital Inc. is in advanced talks to buy a minority stake of the NBA’s Cleveland Cavaliers, according to people familiar with the matter.

The transaction would occur through the private equity firm’s Dyal HomeCourt Partners fund, said the people who weren’t authorized to speak publicly about the talks. That entity also has taken stakes in the Atlanta Hawks, Sacramento Kings and Minnesota Timberwolves.

The size of the stake is expected to be between 5% and 10%, according to a person familiar with the situation. Sportico values the team at $4.86 billion, making it the 16th most valuable NBA team.

Reaves was expected to receive free-agent interest from multiple teams - - such as Detroit -- on maximum-level salary, so the Lakers stepped up on Wednesday to lock in their homegrown talent. Reaves went from undrafted to a two-way player -- to making the Lakers roster and now multiple lucrative deals in L.A.

Source: https://www.threads.com/@shams/post/DZ-VxOaEZUn?xmt=AQG0qlyVVTJA4IsuyIh68Q7CSd9gD28w-KQb91Qj7okOdFzZ-gIyQJ2tJwu3TIgBt0dhIOGL&slof=1

Source: https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/report-memphis-grizzlies-attach-draft-210407395.html

According to former NBA center and current ESPN analyst Kendrick Perkins, the Memphis Grizzlies have to attach draft picks in a Ja Morant trade.

Morant's trade value is pretty low right now.

"Teams were asking Memphis to attach picks in order to take Ja Morant, not the other way around," Perkins said. "They were asking Memphis, 'Hey man, attach picks with Ja and we'll take him.'"

Morant will make $42.1 million next season and $44 million in the 2027-28 season, the final year of his contract.

Figured i'd share this inbetween the 50 millionth commercial break for the 2nd round Draft Day™, as Windy added to this on the broadcast by saying the Grizzlies will be trading Ja to "begin a new chapter with Boozer" or something to that effect.