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SPORTS
Fischer’s Latest: Bucks, Mavs, Hawks, Kings, Sabonis
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In addition to creating the impression that they’ll have an additional first-round pick beyond their own 10th overall selection in the draft later this month, the Bucks have some rival front offices believing they want to trade up from No. 10, writes Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Substack link).
Milwaukee has met with Mikel Brown and worked out Darius Acuff while also expressing interest in Keaton Wagler and Kingston Flemings, according to Fischer, noting that all four of those guards are considered likely to come off the board within the first nine picks.
One source who spoke to Fischer speculated that the Bucks are simply doing their due diligence in case one of those players slips to No. 10, pointing out that acquiring a pick in the 5-9 range won’t be easy. According to Fischer, rival teams believes the Clippers (No. 5), Kings (No. 7), and Hawks (No. 8) are all happy to stay where they are, while the Nets (No. 6) have also indicated they’re comfortable standing pat.
A team hoping to move into the top 10 might need to talk to the Mavericks (No. 9), who have let potential trade partners know that they’re very much open to the idea of moving in either direction, sources tell Fischer.
Here are a few more highlights from Fischer’s latest collection of NBA rumors:

Although the Hawks haven’t shown any interest in moving off of the No. 8 pick, league sources tell The Stein Line that they’ve told teams they’re more than open to offers for their second first-rounder at No. 23. There’s a sense that Atlanta would prefer to make just a single first-round selection, says Fischer.
Following up on Wednesday’s Domantas Sabonis rumors, Fischer classifies the Kings‘ talks with the Hornets as “preliminary,” reiterating that Sacramento would like to acquire either the No. 14 or 18 pick while Charlotte has resisted that idea. If the Kings move Sabonis, they’re hoping to take back as little multiyear salary as possible, Fischer adds, so a player like forward Miles Bridges, who will be entering the final year of his contract, would appeal to Sacramento.
The Kings continue to insist they’d want first-round draft capital to part with Sabonis, a three-time All-Star, Fischer reports. They’ve shown interest in the Raptors‘ No. 19 overall pick, per Fischer, but it’s unclear whether Toronto will renew its pursuit of the Lithuanian big man after exploring a deal prior to February’s trade deadline.
In case you missed it, we passed along Fischer’s latest reporting on Giannis Antetokounmpo earlier today.



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Eastern Notes: Sixers, Nelson, Giannis, Wizards, Nets
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After Marc Stein reported that Sixers assistant general manager Jameer Nelson is a candidate for an “expanded role” following Daryl Morey‘s exit and Jake Fischer confirmed that Nelson has many supporters within the organization, Tony Jones of The Athletic hears from multiple league sources that the former NBA point guard is a legitimate candidate to become the next president of basketball operations in Philadelphia.
Nelson is the strongest internal candidate in the Sixers’ front office search, and even if he doesn’t take Morey’s spot atop the basketball operations department, he appears likely to receive a promotion, league sources tell Jones.
Although Nelson was technically third in the 76ers’ front office hierarchy under Morey and GM Elton Brand this past season, he had more responsibilities than a “typical” No. 3, Jones explains, adding that Nelson is viewed as a rising star and is expected to get an opportunity to run a team sooner or later, even if he doesn’t happen this offseason.
Brand also confirms several previously reported details related to the Sixers’ search for Morey’s successor, writing that Mike Gansey, Nick U’Ren, Trent Redden, and Matt Lloyd are considered candidates and noting that Atlanta denied Philadelphia’s request to speak to Hawks GM Onsi Saleh last week.
Here’s more from around the Eastern Conference:

Appearing earlier this week on The Pat McAfee Show (YouTube link), ESPN’s Shams Charania reiterated that while he hasn’t explicitly requested a trade, Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo has “believed for a period of months” that a deal sending him to a new team is ultimately in both his and the Bucks’ best interests. “Giannis’s stance has not changed from what I’ve reported over the last several months,” Charania said.
Michigan State guard Jeremy Fears and Miami (OH) guard Peter Suder were among the prospects in for a pre-draft workout with the Wizards this week, tweets Adam Zagoria of NJ.com. Washington controls two of the last 10 picks in this year’s draft, at No. 51 and No. 60, while Fears currently ranks 67th on ESPN’s big board and Suder comes in at 101st.
The Nets took point guards with their first two picks in the 2025 draft, but Arkansas’ Darius Acuff could still make sense for Brooklyn with this year’s No. 6 overall pick, writes C.J. Holmes of The New York Daily News (subscription required). Neither Egor Demin nor Nolan Traore made an All-Rookie team, and while there are concerns about Acuff’s size and defense, he offers star potential as a scorer.



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NBA Announces 73 Invitees For 2026 Draft Combine
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The NBA announced today (via Twitter) that 73 prospects have been invited to attend this year’s draft combine, which will take place in Chicago from May 10-17.
In addition to those 73 players, a handful of standout players from the G League combine, which is also held in Chicago just before the combine begins, are expected to receive invites to stick around for the main event.
Not all of the prospects invited to the combine will end up remaining in the 2026 draft pool, since many are early entrants who are testing the waters while retaining their NCAA eligibility.
College players must withdraw from the draft by the end of the day on May 27 if they wish to preserve that eligibility, while non-college players face a decision deadline of June 13. The feedback they receive from NBA teams at the combine may be a deciding factor for players who are on the fence.
Here’s the list of players who have been invited to the 2026 draft combine:
(Note: For players in international leagues, the country listed is where they had been playing, not necessarily where they’re from.)

Matt Able, G, North Carolina State (freshman)
Darius Acuff, G, Arkansas (freshman)
Amari Allen, F, Alabama (freshman)
Nate Ament, F, Tennessee (freshman)
Christian Anderson, G, Texas Tech (sophomore)
Tobe Awaka, F, Arizona (senior)
Flory Bidunga, F/C, Kansas (sophomore)
Tyler Bilodeau, F, UCLA (senior)
John Blackwell, G, Wisconsin (junior)
Cameron Boozer, F, Duke (freshman)
Kylan Boswell, G, Illinois (senior)
Nick Boyd, G, Wisconsin (senior)
Jaden Bradley, G, Arizona (senior)
Trevon Brazile, F, Arkansas (senior)
Maliq Brown, F, Duke (senior)
Mikel Brown Jr., G, Louisville (freshman)
Brayden Burries, G, Arizona (freshman)
Cameron Carr, G, Baylor (junior)
Chris Cenac, F/C, Houston (freshman)
Rueben Chinyelu, C, Florida (junior)
Ryan Conwell, G, Louisville (senior)
Sergio De Larrea, G, Spain (born 2005)
AJ Dybantsa, F, BYU (freshman)
Zuby Ejiofor, F, St. John’s (senior)
Isaiah Evans, G/F, Duke (sophomore)
Jeremy Fears, G, Michigan State (junior)
Kingston Flemings, G, Houston (freshman)
Ja’Kobi Gillespie, G, Tennessee (senior)
Allen Graves, F, Santa Clara (freshman)
Keyshawn Hall, G/F, Auburn (senior)
Juke Harris, G, Wake Forest (sophomore)
Joshua Jefferson, F, Iowa State (senior)
Morez Johnson, F/C, Michigan (sophomore)
Alex Karaban, F, UConn (senior)
Jack Kayil, G, Germany (born 2006)
Toibu Lawal, F, Virginia Tech (senior)
Yaxel Lendeborg, F, Michigan (senior)
Karim Lopez, F, Australia (born 2007)
Aday Mara, C, Michigan (junior)
Nick Martinelli, F, Northwestern (senior)
Baba Miller, F/C, Cincinnati (senior)
Dillon Mitchell, F, St. John’s (senior)
Milan Momcilovic, F, Iowa State (junior)
Malachi Moreno, C, Kentucky (freshman)
Izaiyah Nelson, F, South Florida (senior)
Tyler Nickel, F, Vanderbilt (senior)
Ebuka Okorie, G, Stanford (freshman)
Felix Okpara, C, Tennessee (senior)
Ugonna Onyenso, C, Virginia (senior)
Otega Oweh, G, Kentucky (senior)
Koa Peat, F, Arizona (freshman)
Darryn Peterson, G, Kansas (freshman)
Labaron Philon, G, Alabama (sophomore)
Jayden Quaintance, F/C, Kentucky (sophomore)
Tarris Reed, C, UConn (senior)
Billy Richmond, G/F, Arkansas (sophomore)
Richie Saunders, G, BYU (senior)
Emanuel Sharp, G, Houston (senior)
Braden Smith, G, Purdue (senior)
Hannes Steinbach, F, Washington (freshman)
Bennett Stirtz, G, Iowa (senior)
Andrej Stojakovic, G/F, Illinois (junior)
Peter Suder, G, Miami (OH) (senior)
Luigi Suigo, C, Serbia (born 2007)
Dailyn Swain, G/F, Texas (junior)
Tyler Tanner, G, Vanderbilt (sophomore)
Meleek Thomas, G, Arkansas (freshman)
Bruce Thornton, G, Ohio State (senior)
Milos Uzan, G, Houston (senior)
Henri Veesaar, C, North Carolina (junior)
Keaton Wagler, G, Illinois (freshman)
Caleb Wilson, F, North Carolina (freshman)
Tounde Yessoufou, G/F, Baylor (freshman)

It’s worth noting that the NBA and the NBPA agreed to several combine-related changes in their latest Collective Bargaining Agreement. Here are a few of those changes:

A player who is invited to the draft combine and declines to attend without an excused absence will be ineligible to be drafted. He would become eligible the following year by attending the combine. There will be exceptions made for a player whose FIBA season is ongoing, who is injured, or who is dealing with a family matter (such as a tragedy or the birth of a child). That player would be required to complete combine activities at a later date.
Players who attend the draft combine will be required to undergo physical exams, share medical history, participate in strength, agility, and performance testing, take part in shooting drills, receive anthropometric measurements, and conduct interviews with teams and the media. Scrimmages won’t be mandatory.
Medical results from the combine will be distributed to select teams based on where the player is projected to be drafted. Only teams drafting in the top 10 would get access to medical info for the projected No. 1 pick; teams in the top 15 would receive medical info for players in the 2-6 range, while teams in the top 25 would get access to info for the players in the 7-10 range.



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