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The stunning events that occurred on Monday, namely Dallas and San Antonio moving up to No. 1 and No. 2 in the draft lottery and star tearing his Achilles tendon, will reverberate through the NBA for years to come. As Tim Bontemps of ESPN writes, there was already a significant divide in star power between the Western Conference and the Eastern Conference — now there could be a “chasm.”
“The West just keeps getting richer,” one league executive told Bontemps. “How come everybody keeps going to the West? For the veteran players, you could say it’s better weather, going to California, better organizations. But they’ve also just gotten really lucky.
“It seems like every time there’s one of these generational talents — , , — they just end up in the West. It’s just bad luck … it is what it is.”
Aside from Indiana, New York and Cleveland, Tatum’s injury means there are suddenly major question marks in the East, which could make teams more aggressive on the trade market. There’s a possibility that could be traded to the West as well.
“ is going to the West for the next 10 years, Giannis could be headed West, Tatum is out of the mix for a year and the Celtics likely are, too,” a scout said. “Good for East teams who are trying to make the Finals.”
Rory Maher contributed to this post.
After being eliminated in the Western Conference Finals in the spring of 2024, vowed the would be “back next year,” writes Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic.
That looked like a long shot for much of the season as Minnesota spent most of 2024/25 hovering around the seventh or eighth spot in the West. But the Wolves moved up to sixth on the last day of the regular season, dispatched the Lakers in round one, and – with Wednesday’s win over Golden State – made good on Edwards’ declaration, as well as responding to a challenge issued by head coach .
“The challenge we laid down to our guys from day one was quite simple,” Finch said after the Wolves’ Game 5 victory, per Dave McMenamin of ESPN. “It was one question: ‘Were you a Western Conference Finals team, or were you a team that just happened to make the Western Conference Finals?’ And there’s only one way to prove that: Go out and do it again. And that was our mission all year.”
While the Wolves have achieved one of their goals, they’re still two series wins away from their ultimate objective, which is why Edwards told reporters on Wednesday that there’s “no satisfaction” in the locker room yet, according to McMenamin. Minnesota would enter the 2025 Western Finals as a significant underdog if the 68-win Thunder get past Denver in the other conference semifinal, but the Wolves players say they’re not fazed by that.
“Our mentality going in was nobody expected us to beat the Lakers, no one expected us to beat the Warriors,” said. “So our expectation going in was just stick together and we know that no one is going to pick us, and we’re fine with that.”
We have more from around the Northwest:
assistant is among the candidates receiving consideration for the ‘ head coaching job, reports Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link).
A veteran NBA assistant, Langstaff was first hired by the Thunder in 2010 and has since been part of coaching staffs for the Knicks, Bucks, Bulls, and Hornets. He was hired by Charlotte under last offseason and coached the Hornets’ Summer League team in July.
Langstaff also previously spent a season as the head coach of the Erie BayHawks, who were Atlanta’s G League affiliate at the time (2017/18). He worked for Team USA under during World Cup qualifiers as well, Scotto notes.
Reporting earlier this week indicated that the Suns have cast a wide net in their coaching search and have interviewed more than 15 candidates for their head coaching position. In other words, the fact that Langstaff is simply among that group doesn’t necessarily mean he’s a frontrunner or even that he’s assured of advancing to the team’s second round of meetings.
Still, reports have indicated that the Suns are likely to hire a younger, first-time head coach this time around on the heels of on-and-done seasons with a pair of veteran coaches ( and ). Langstaff, 42, would fit that bill.
While they didn’t fall as far as teams like Utah or Washington, the were among the clubs to slide multiple spots in Monday’s draft lottery. They entered the night with the seventh-best odds, but will be picking ninth overall in this year’s draft.
As Eric Koreen of The Athletic writes, that lack of lottery luck diminishes the odds of Toronto adding a difference-maker in this year’s draft after the team spent much of the season angling for a better draft position. While that will raise the level of difficulty as looks to build another title-contending team, the Raptors president indicated on lottery night that he wasn’t fazed by the results, pointing to the organization’s positive history with the No. 9 overall pick.
“. . ,” Ujiri said. “We’ll be fine. I guarantee you we’ll be fine. … We have all our picks going forward. I think we continue this rebuild and grow as a team. And honestly, I’m as optimistic as I was (before the lottery).
“I believe that the NBA has become (about) movement, movement, movement. You just wait for your turn (for a big transaction that makes sense). It will come: patience and (we will) see if that’s the way. But I think for this team, we’re just going to keep growing. And (we have) young players. We’ll be fine adding another one.”
As for which prospects the Raptors might target at No. 9, Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca points to Duke big man as one possible fit, noting that the club will be seeking center depth behind Poeltl. According to Grange, some league sources have told him Maluach is high on Toronto’s radar, while other sources with knowledge of the team’s thinking have pushed back on that notion.
The Raptors, who also hold 39th overall pick in this year’s draft, have a workout scheduled with Australian forward , tweets Grange. Toohey is the No. 39 prospect on ESPN’s big board.
Here’s more from around the Atlantic:
The were eliminated from the playoffs on Wednesday, falling to the Timberwolves in Game 5 of their second-round series. After taking Game 1, Golden State was without for all four of its losses in the Western Conference semifinals. Would the outcome of the series have been different if Curry hadn’t been sidelined by a strained hamstring?
“I am pretty positive that if we had Steph, we’d have won this series,” team owner told Anthony Slater and Marcus Thompson II of The Athletic after the game.
“I don’t even have to think what (if),” head coach said when asked whether he’ll wonder what the Warriors could have done with a healthy Curry (story via Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN). “I know we had a shot. I know we could have gone the distance. Maybe we wouldn’t have, but it doesn’t matter. Again, everything in the playoffs is about who stays healthy and who gets hot. Are you playing well at the right time?”
As Slater and Thompson note, the sentiment expressed by Lacob in particular is notable, since it suggests the Warriors believe in this group and don’t intend to seriously shake up the roster. Team sources tell The Athletic that the conversations within the front office entering the summer have been about how best to complement Curry, , and , not about trying to acquire another star.
“On the surface, that’s why (Butler) signed for two more years — our belief we can make it work,” Curry said. “And we’ve proven that the last three months. Just gotta figure out what is going to get us to the next level as a whole. One guy can’t win it. Two guys can’t win it. It’s gotta be a team.”
The plan is for Kerr and general manager to return as well, per Slater and Thompson, who write that Warriors ownership remains fully confident in its coaching staff and front office.
“I have a great coach and I have a great GM,” Lacob told The Athletic. “I have no problems with anything in respect to them. Mike made a fantastic trade (for Butler). Before we made that trade, we were one game under .500 and it didn’t look like we were going anywhere.
“We won a first-round series against a very good up-and-coming team with a lot of athleticism and size. I thought it was a hell of a win. Got us pretty tired probably for this series, and maybe that was just too much to overcome. In that first game (against Minnesota), Steph looked like he was going to cook, right? But what are we going to do? Stuff happens.”
For his part, Kerr also expressed enthusiasm about the Warriors going forward: “I’m excited. We’ve got Jimmy and Dray and Steph all coming back. Our young players performed really well. There’s a lot to look forward to.”
Here’s more on Golden State:
was an unexpected star as the staved off elimination by beating the Knicks in Wednesday’s Game 5, writes Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe. With struggling through another ineffective game, coach decided to have Kornet start the second half in his place. Kornet delivered one of the best performances of his career, blocking five shots in the third quarter while scoring four points and grabbing five rebounds.
“He was great,” coach said in a separate Boston Globe story. “He did a great job protecting the rim, he did a great job defending without fouling, did a great job on both ends of the floor. I just thought his presence was good, especially with the rebounding. … He made some big-time plays for us.”
Kornet finished the night with a near triple-double, posting 10 points, nine rebounds and seven blocks in 26 minutes. With Porzingis slowed by lingering virus symptoms, Kornet may have a more significant role for the rest of the series, which moves back to New York on Friday.
“He was unbelievable,” said of Kornet. “He came in and just seemed to be always in the right position. Seven blocks is crazy, he was unbelievable tonight and really stepped up when he needed him. He’s a had a great season, and he was big time for us tonight. … Yeah, I was barking with him. It’s just fun to see him do that.”
There’s more from Boston:
executive has emerged as a target for the as they search for a new president of basketball operations, Marc Stein reports in his latest Substack article (subscription required).
Sources tell Stein that it’s unclear if Atlanta has a legitimate chance to lure Ujiri, who has been with Toronto for the past 12 years. Ujiri’s contract status hasn’t been made public, but Stein hears that he’s believed to be entering the final season of his current deal.
After starting his career as a scout, Ujiri worked his way up to assistant general manager with the Raptors in 2008 before leaving to become the GM in Denver in 2010. He was named Executive of the Year with the Nuggets in 2013, then returned to Toronto as executive vice president.
Ujiri bolstered his reputation as one of the NBA’s top executives when he built the Raptors team that captured the franchise’s first-ever NBA title in 2019. The final piece of the puzzle was a bold move to trade for San Antonio’s , who was entering the final year of his contract and only spent one season with the team.
Ujiri, who has since been promoted to president and vice chairman, is still recognized as a master team builder, even though Toronto has fallen on hard times in recent years, missing the playoffs in four of the past five seasons. Stein notes that after finishing 30-52 this year, Ujiri promised at an April press conference to bring another championship to Toronto.
The Hawks shook up their front office after being eliminated in the play-in tournament, firing general manager on April 21. Assistant GM was promoted to interim GM and is currently handling the day-to-day operations, but the new hire is expected to run the organization.
A Stein Line report last week indicated that owner was exploring the idea of having a player agent take over the job, with ‘s agent, of CAA, among the top candidates. League sources confirm to Stein that Octagon’s Alex Saratsis, who represents Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bam Adebayo, has also moved into the picture, as previously reported by Grant Afseth.
The Warriors are teetering on the brink of elimination heading into tonight’s Game 5 at Minnesota, but they haven’t lost confidence that they can rally and take the series, writes Ann Killion of The San Francisco Chronicle. Golden State won the opener, but the tone of the series shifted when Stephen Curry suffered a Grade 1 left hamstring strain after playing just 13 minutes. The Warriors haven’t looked the same without their star guard to stretch Minnesota’s defense, dropping three straight games, including two in a row at Chase Center.
“Win one game, take it from there,” Draymond Green said after Monday’s loss. “That’s our mindset. You win one and everything changes.”
Coach Steve Kerr has been juggling his rotations throughout the playoffs amid inconsistent performances from his role players. Killion notes that Brandin Podziemski has been struggling with his shot, going 3-of-14 from the field in Game 4 while missing all four of his three-point attempts, while Buddy Hield committed four turnovers and made just two three-pointers.
“We have belief, we have faith,” Kevon Looney said. “We’ll take it possession by possession, quarter by quarter. We’ve got to put together a full game, not just 40 good minutes of basketball.”
There’s more on the Warriors:
In an interview with college basketball reporter Andy Katz (Twitter video link), Georgetown big man Thomas Sorber said he has made up his mind to keep his name in the NBA draft.
Sorber maintained his eligibility when he declared for the draft in late March. He’ll have to miss much of the pre-draft process because he’s still recovering after undergoing foot surgery in February. That led to speculation that Sorber might opt for another year of college basketball, but he tells Katz that he’s “all in” when it comes to the draft.
Sorber also provided an update on his medical status, saying that doctors expect him to be ready to resume playing in late July or early August.
Sorber is ranked 23rd on ESPN’s big board and seems likely to be selected somewhere in the latter part of the first round. He wasn’t considered a sure-fire first-round pick when he arrived at Georgetown, but he boosted his status with a strong freshman season, averaging 14.5 points, 8.5 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 1.5 steals and 2.0 blocks in 24 games before the injury.
“I think I showed a lot of toughness, like at an early part of my Georgetown career,” Sorber said. “I showed a lot of fight. I was able to show how I was able to read the game. That’s what a lot of teams said. And my ability to play out on defense, my ability to block shots, read screens, tighter drop or switch. They just like my quick thinking, honestly.”
We have updates on several other draft prospects:
