A fresh rookie-scale draft has already started sorting the league’s next wave of talent, and the first name off the board was the obvious one: Victor Wembanyama. William Guillory of The Athletic kicked things off by taking the Spurs star at No. 1 overall, and the rest of the top of the board came fast behind him.
Cooper Flagg went second to James L. Edwards III, who grabbed the Mavericks forward, before Jared Weiss answered with Dylan Harper at No. 3 and AJ Dybantsa at No.
- From there, Brandon Miller landed fifth with the Hornets, and Caleb Wilson followed at No. 6 for the Bulls.
The rest of the top 10 filled out with Amen Thompson to the Rockets, Ausar Thompson to the Pistons, Cameron Boozer to the Grizzlies and Kon Knueppel to the Hornets. Three teams came away with multiple selections: the Spurs with Wembanyama, Harper and Stephon Castle at No. 11; the Wizards with Dybantsa, Alex Sarr at No. 18 and Kyshawn George at No. 29; and the Jazz with Darryn Peterson at No.
12, Ace Bailey at No. 14 and Keyonte George at No. 15.
A few familiar names were left out despite being on rookie scale deals, including Scoot Henderson of the Trail Blazers, Jaime Jaquez Jr. of the Bucks and Zach Edey of the Grizzlies.
Elsewhere around the league, Danny Chau of The Ringer put together a list of six breakout candidates for the upcoming season. The Thompson twins were both on it, along with Henderson, Kel’el Ware of the Bucks at No. 17 in the rookie-scale draft, and Matas Buzelis of the Bulls at No. 27.
Zach Kram of ESPN.com also sorted the league into tiers for 2026/27, placing the Knicks, Thunder and Spurs in his “championship favorites” group. He then put the Pacers, Heat, Sixers and Raptors in a “high-upside Finals contenders” tier after four “flawed West contenders” and three “regular-season win machines” from the East.
At the bottom end, Kram labeled the Bulls, Kings, Nets, Clippers and Bucks “noncompetitive.” Chicago and Sacramento were separated from Brooklyn, L.A. and Milwaukee because the former pair control their own picks while the latter three do not.
And in a different corner of the basketball world, Danilo Gallinari reflected on the injuries that shaped his NBA career. The veteran forward, who retired as a player this past December, spoke with Cyro Asseo of HoopsHype about the long road he traveled after leaving New York for Denver.
“ There is a lot of, unfortunately, because of my injuries, there is a lot of what-if in my career,” Gallinari said as part of a larger quote when asked if he wondered how his career might have differed had he never been traded from New York to Denver. “ I don’t know, I’m probably the biggest what-if guy in the history of the game, maybe.
But it’s part of an NBA career. It happened to me, unfortunately, more than any other athlete probably, as far as injuries, but I don’t think about it too much.
“
In Other News...
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The bigger appeal is how Harris handles possessions. The Spurs have had stretches where turnovers undercut promising moments and turned manageable games into self-inflicted trouble, and Harris offers a steadier kind of answer on the wing and in the frontcourt. If he can give them offense while keeping the ball moving and the mistakes down, he could end up solving one of the franchises more frustrating recurring issues. [Read more 🡒]
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Spurs Face A Big Wembanyama Decision As Markkanen Buzz Returns
Lauri Markkanens name has started circling back into the Spurs conversation, and for good reason. San Antonio is still working through the bigger picture around Victor Wembanyama and the roster it wants to build around him, which is why any real conversation about adding another high-end piece naturally draws attention. Markkanen has long made sense as the type of versatile scoring forward who could ease some of the burden on the Spurs young core, and the fit is the part that keeps this idea alive.
For Utah, the discussion comes with a different set of incentives. The Jazz are rebuilding, but Markkanen remains one of the most valuable players on the roster, so there is no sense of urgency around moving him just to move him. That leaves the Spurs waiting on a situation that is still more buzz than substance, with possible trade frameworks and strategic fit doing most of the heavy lifting while an actual deal remains out of reach. [Read more 🡒]