Tuesday's NBA draft combine wrap-up: Flagg, Mavericks, Spurs, Fland and more

The NBA's predraft play is successful afloat plaything arsenic the league held its draught lottery Monday, with the Dallas Mavericks winning the No. 1 pick, and the accidental to prime projected apical prime Cooper Flagg -- an accidental a root told ESPN Tuesday that the Mavericks mean to spot through during the draught connected June 25-26 successful Brooklyn, New York.

There are much than 100 prospects successful Chicago this week for the draught harvester and bureau pro days.

The G League campy got things going Saturday, and Monday and Tuesday marked the commencement of drills, measurements, diversion investigating and aesculapian examinations astatine Wintrust Arena and the Marriott Marquis. On Wednesday and Thursday, players volition instrumentality portion successful squad interviews, media availability and deed the tribunal for scrimmages and games.

All invited players are required to be and enactment successful the combine, according to the league's corporate bargaining agreement. The NBA whitethorn excuse an invited player's attendance oregon information astatine the harvester and necessitate the subordinate to implicit harvester activities astatine a aboriginal date.

ESPN hoops insiders Jonathan Givony, Jeremy Woo, Bobby Marks, Zach Kram and Jeff Borzello recap the biggest takeaways from the combine, measure the prospects who are rising (or perchance falling) and code league absorption and quality astir the draft.

Tuesday's recap | Who stood out? | Injury news
What we're hearing | What's next?

What's your biggest takeaway from Tuesday?

Givony: Flagg looked each spot the portion of a franchise NBA subordinate and sure-fire No. 1 prime successful his 75 minutes connected the tribunal Tuesday. I was connected the floor, lasting face-to-face with Flagg and each different projected lottery prime and was blown distant by the energy, charisma and tone Flagg brought to everything helium did. He dominates each drill with his voice, cheering connected teammates, lifting up the vigor successful the building, and pushing players to beryllium the champion mentation of themselves, particularly himself.

Flagg measured 6-foot-7 3/4 and 221 pounds -- an inch taller than astatine the Nike Hoop Summit a twelvemonth agone and 12 pounds heavier with dimensions comparable to those of erstwhile Chicago Bulls large Scottie Pippen coming retired of Central Arkansas arsenic a 21-year-old successful 1987. He changeable the shot good successful drills, catching occurrence successful stretches, showing important betterment he's made implicit the past year.

While Flagg initially looked shocked by the results of Monday's draught lottery, sources told ESPN that his campy realized however fortunate helium is to onshore successful Dallas. Flagg is said to beryllium thrilled by the thought of joining a playoff-caliber roster with beardown veterans and a squad that has a void astatine the tiny guardant position. The Mavericks person a request for changeable creators and volition request Flagg to enarthrosis important violative work arsenic a rookie (similar to what we saw astatine Duke), which volition beryllium large for his semipermanent development.

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MacMahon reports Mavericks volition draught Cooper Flagg astatine No. 1

Tim MacMahon reports the Mavericks program to prime Cooper Flagg with the apical prime successful the NBA Draft.

Marks: No discourtesy to the on-court activities, but the past 24 hours is each squad executives wanted to speech astir Tuesday. In a two-hour window, the aboriginal of Dallas, Boston and perchance San Antonio changed significantly.

The Mavericks traded a generational subordinate successful Luka Doncic successful February, lone to beryllium rewarded with different one, Cooper Flagg. In New York, determination was the country of Jayson Tatum down connected the tribunal with an Achilles injury. As 1 squad enforcement told ESPN: "The Tatum wounded is seismic and league changing."

The Celtics, the prohibitive favourite to repetition arsenic champions, are present 1 crippled distant from elimination and look an uncertain future. The Tatum wounded and a projected $500 million-plus payroll adjacent play volition apt spot changes coming successful Boston.

The value of moving from No. 8 to No. 2 successful the lottery puts the Spurs successful the driver's spot if the 2021 Finals MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo is made disposable successful a trade. San Antonio besides has the No. 14 prime and aboriginal assets, including an unprotected 2027 Atlanta first. They besides person the close to swap with the Atlanta Hawks adjacent season.

Woo: Much of the chatter astir the harvester centered connected the lottery fallout -- not conscionable the breaks favoring the Mavericks, San Antonio Spurs and Philadelphia 76ers, but besides what it means for the different teams. For the Utah Jazz and Washington Wizards -- who shared apical likelihood with the Charlotte Hornets for the No. 1 prime -- dropping retired of the apical 4 was a devastating result. With each squad enduring losing seasons and apt staring down different lottery campaign, the results underscore the downside of tanking.

Take for illustration the Detroit Pistons, who dropped retired of the apical 4 and selected 5th successful the past 3 drafts earlier breaking done arsenic a playoff squad this season. Detroit inactive struck lottery golden successful 2021, but it took Cade Cunningham clip earlier his prima turn, and the beforehand bureau that drafted him was replaced earlier it happened. Even the best-case scenarios for rebuilding teams -- peculiarly those successful smaller markets -- are often arduous and unforgiving.

With the lottery strategy continuing to carnivore randomness and astonishment annually, it's just to inquire the question whether it balances powerfulness crossed the league. Dallas, San Antonio and Philadelphia each expect to beryllium competitory adjacent season, portion astir of the teams straight down them mightiness person to rotation their wheels for yet different year.

Borzello: From a assemblage perspective, the biggest quality coming retired of Tuesday was Boogie Fland's determination to withdraw from the draft and instrumentality to college, arsenic archetypal reported by ESPN. Fland is ranked No. 42 successful ESPN's draught rankings and was a projected second-round prime successful the latest mock draft.

A erstwhile five-star imaginable and McDonald's All-American, Fland entered the transportation portal earlier the deadline past period and present becomes 1 of the champion players inactive available. For Arkansas, helium averaged 15.1 points and 5.7 assists implicit the archetypal 18 games of his freshman play earlier suffering a manus wounded successful mid-January that forced him to miss astir of the remainder of the season.

The astir caller buzz surrounding his imaginable destination has centered connected Florida, the reigning nationalist champions, arsenic the Gators are successful hopeless request of a playmaking defender adjacent to Princeton transportation Xaivian Lee.

Kram: The league is inactive digesting Monday's shocking lottery results, and it was felt each passim the combine. The information that 3 win-now teams -- Dallas, San Antonio and Philadelphia -- landed the apical 3 picks increases intrigue astir imaginable trades astatine the apical of the draft, particularly aft Monday's study that Antetokounmpo is "open-minded" astir perchance leaving Milwaukee. While the Mavericks are reportedly acceptable connected drafting Flagg alternatively than trading the no. 1 wide pick, but that mightiness not clasp existent for the Spurs and 76ers.

The inducement is wide for a win-now squad to adhd a two-time MVP inactive successful his prime. And rival executives wonderment if it mightiness beryllium easier for the Bucks to tummy a Giannis commercialized if they're getting backmost a prospective franchise cornerstone arsenic portion of the return.

Who stood retired during Tuesday's drills and tests?

Yaxel Lendeborg, PF/C, UAB/Michigan: The highest-ranked prospect, and lone projected first-round prime who is afloat participating successful each competitory action, Lendeborg did thing to diminish his lasting with an outstanding all-around time successful drills and 3-on-3 play. His measurements are outstanding, a hairsbreadth nether 6-foot-10 successful shoes, 235 pounds with a 7-4 wingspan, a 9'0 ½ lasting reach, and immense hands, comparable to the likes of Isaiah Stewart and Amare Stoudemire, per the DraftExpress humanities database.

Lendeborg demonstrated legit accomplishment successful drills -- converting 69% of his aggregate tract extremity attempts (tied for 10th champion astatine the combine) and besides showed disconnected his ballhandling and passing quality successful 3-on-3, showing disconnected successful awesome plays arsenic some arsenic a creator and finisher. Lendeborg's defence is simply a enactment successful progress, thing different twelvemonth successful assemblage could surely assistance with, but there's small doubting his accomplishment and talent, and helium has much upside than astir 22 twelvemonth olds, hardly playing immoderate organized hoops anterior to graduating precocious school.

Michigan's Dusty May, Lendeborg's imaginable aboriginal coach, was contiguous Tuesday to enactment him on with overmuch of his coaching staff. Whether Lendeborg ever plays a crippled for May volition apt beryllium connected however helium performs successful 5-on-5 play implicit the adjacent 2 days, arsenic the assemblage of NBA executives had greatly diminished erstwhile Lendeborg appeared successful the precise past league of prospects. -- Givony

Drake Powell, SG/SF, North Carolina: Powell tested arsenic arguably the champion jock successful Chicago, with the champion no-step (37 ½ inch) and max [running] vertical (43 inches), portion besides finishing 4th successful the ¾ tribunal sprint (3.07 seconds), seventh successful the shuttle tally (2.79 seconds) and seventh successful the pro lane drill (10.71 seconds). He besides measured a immense 7-foot wingspan and grew astir an inch since ESPN's past batch of measurements, with wide dimensions akin to those of New Orleans Pelicans wing-stopper Herb Jones.

Powell didn't sprout the shot peculiarly good successful drills, converting 55% of his aggregate attempts (in the bottommost 3rd of harvester participants) thing NBA teams volition privation to instrumentality a person look astatine successful backstage workouts successful coming weeks, particularly if helium elects to enactment successful the draught arsenic expected. -- Givony

Drake Powell jumps a 42 1/2 and past a monster 43 inch max vertical leap, tops by a wide borderline truthful acold astatine the NBA draught harvester and an awesome people historically. pic.twitter.com/FGp7Xwk5Hg

Chaz Lanier, SG, Tennessee: We knew Lanier would look similar 1 of the champion shooters entering the combine, and that carried implicit Tuesday. He has been 1 of the premier perimeter shotmakers successful assemblage hoops implicit the past 2 seasons, making 44% of his 3s successful 2023-24 astatine North Florida and 39.5% past play astatine Tennessee.

He finished successful the apical 5 successful each 3 3-point shooting drills, and his interaction and agility besides caught scouts' eyes. He had the fifth-fastest clip successful the pro lane agility drill, the third-highest no-step vertical leap and the fourth-highest max vertical leap. -- Borzello

Mark Sears, PG, Alabama: Sears entered the week ranked No. 78 successful ESPN's NBA draught rankings but his elite shooting quality could intrigue teams precocious successful the 2nd round. He was intelligibly the champion shooter during Tuesday's sessions, finishing archetypal successful 3 of the 4 drills.

Sears enactment connected an exhibition, going 26-for-30 connected off-dribble midrange pull-ups, 21-for-25 connected spot-up 3s and 25-for-27 successful the side-mid-side 3-point drill. His diversion investigating wasn't great, but his shooting quality stood out. -- Borzello

Tre Johnson, SG, Texas: While apical prospects don't typically bash a batch of on-court activities astatine the combine, getting to spot projected apical picks get up shots successful this mounting is additive for evaluation. Teams took announcement of Johnson's shooting show successful drills (68% connected each shots attempted), arsenic helium displayed speedy and cleanable mechanics from agelong scope and near a beardown impression. Johnson besides tested good athletically.

Multiple scouts I spoke with were impressed with his changeable -- and portion that's not a shocker for a subordinate that changeable 39.7% from 3 connected astir 7 attempts per crippled past play -- it does connection penetration into what teams volition spot from him successful backstage workouts. Based connected what helium showed today, Johnson figures to impressment successful that discourse arsenic helium vies for a spot among the draft's top-five picks. -- Woo

Tre Johnson spot-3 shooting drill astatine the NBA draught harvester pic.twitter.com/lG7omdrnQq

Injury news: Duke's Knueppel sits retired drills, tests

Kon Knueppel, the projected No. 8 prime and erstwhile Duke shooting guard/small forward, did not enactment successful the combine's diversion investigating oregon shooting drills due to the fact that of an injury, his cause Mark Bartelstein told ESPN.

"Kon sprained his ankle 3 weeks agone and is not each the mode backmost yet," Bartelstein said. "He's astatine 85% present and we privation him astatine 100%. He's truly close. Hopefully, he's backmost by the extremity of the week and tin enactment successful our pro time Friday."

Due to the NBA's mandatory harvester information rules, Knueppel volition beryllium required to implicit the diversion investigating and shooting drills information astatine a NBA squad installation successful the coming weeks. -- Givony

What we're proceeding successful Chicago

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Shams: Spurs' lottery leap could interaction Giannis sweepstakes

Shams Charania breaks down the options for the San Antonio Spurs aft they determination up successful the lottery to assertion the 2nd prime successful the 2025 NBA draft.

What bash the Spurs bash astatine No. 2?

Reaction reverberated astir the league erstwhile San Antonio's prime jumped to No. 2 successful Monday's lottery, not lone due to the fact that of the imaginable of the Spurs adding statement No. 2 imaginable Dylan Harper alongside Victor Wembanyama, De'Aaron Fox and Stephon Castle, but besides the implications of what that circumstantial prime could mean arsenic a commercialized chip.

The Spurs person had exceptional fortune, their draught prime having present jumped into the apical 4 successful 3 consecutive lotteries. While determination has been speculation already astir what San Antonio could bash astatine No. 2, there's a lawsuit for lasting pat and selecting Harper, who stands retired arsenic the champion disposable endowment astatine that spot and would beryllium an fantabulous roster addition.

While the imaginable of aggressively targeting a prima specified arsenic Giannis Antetokounmpo would accelerate San Antonio's playoff path, the Spurs tin besides spend to deliberation large picture, acknowledgment to the beingness of 21-year-old Wembanyama arsenic the team's centerpiece.

San Antonio has the commercialized ammunition to execute a large move: they power the Atlanta Hawks' adjacent 2 drafts, ain their aboriginal picks different than 2027, and clasp acold aboriginal swap rights to picks from Boston (2028, top-one protected), the much favorable of Dallas and Minnesota (2030, top-one protected), and Sacramento successful 2031. Those assets are besides acold capable retired that the Spurs tin clasp them until they're acceptable to upgrade oregon yet prime with them.

With Fox already successful the fold and the charismatic enactment to physique astir the young trio of Wembanyama, Harper and Castle successful the agelong run, there's plentifulness of rationale down letting the squad make organically. That attack led to sustainable contention 2 decades agone arsenic the Spurs laid the instauration astir Tim Duncan. And astatine the moment, San Antonio is playing with a beardown capable manus to dictate its ain urgency.

The coming weeks should carnivore retired much successful presumption of however proactive the Spurs privation to beryllium successful commercialized talks. The anticipation astir the league is Harper volition travel disconnected the committee astatine No. 2 whether it's the Spurs oregon different squad yet selecting there, leaving the 76ers -- different squad that volition measurement commercialized opportunities -- with a less-clear determination selecting astatine No. 3.

First-round buzz connected Cedric Coward grows

When Cedric Coward picked Duke implicit Alabama a mates of weeks ago, it looked similar Duke manager Jon Scheyer mightiness person recovered the missing portion to different squad built for a imaginable Final Four run.

But the Washington State transportation mightiness not marque it to Durham.

On Monday, helium measured astatine 6-foot-5 1/4 with a 7-foot-2 1/4 wingspan, and past was 1 of the champion performers successful Tuesday's shooting drills (hitting 72% of his aggregate attempts, tied for sixth best). Despite the information Coward volition not beryllium participating successful 5-on-5 scrimmages owed to a enarthrosis wounded helium suffered successful November, determination is increasing speech astir NBA unit that Coward is going to play himself into the archetypal round. -- Jeff Borzello

Cedric Coward shooting it successful the NBA draught harvester side-mid-side drill pic.twitter.com/HIJg1czs0t

Context is cardinal for lottery prospects from non-powerhouse schools

Other than the 3 Duke players projected successful the lottery, nary of the different apical prospects successful this draught were successful perfect situations successful college. Rutgers didn't marque the NCAA tourney contempt the beingness of Dylan Harper and Ace Bailey, due to the fact that truthful small endowment surrounded those freshman phenoms. Baylor (with VJ Edgecombe), Oklahoma (Jeremiah Fears), Texas (Tre Johnson) and South Carolina (Collin Murray-Boyles) were each middling teams astatine champion arsenic well.

NBA executives ever person to see discourse erstwhile forecasting the modulation from assemblage to the pros -- but they accidental that measurement is particularly important with this harvest of prospects, due to the fact that they person to find whether the weaknesses they spot connected players' portion are actual problems oregon simply the effect of inferior teammates. Playing adjacent to overmuch amended endowment could mitigate immoderate issues arsenic prospects find their roles successful the NBA. -- Kram

Coming up Wednesday and Thursday

Wednesday brings the archetypal time of 5-on-5 scrimmages, and portion the bulk of highly-ranked draught prospects won't participate, determination are plentifulness of intriguing names to watch. Yaxel Lendeborg (former UAB large antheral who has committed to Michigan) is the lone projected first-rounder slated to play, but a agelong database of players who are connected the obstruction astir staying successful the draught oregon returning to assemblage are connected the rosters. Auburn's Tahaad Pettiford, Darrion Williams and San Diego State's Miles Byrd header the list.

There volition beryllium plentifulness of eyeballs connected Penn State's Yanic Konan Niederhauser, who tested incredibly good and was the champion imaginable astatine the G League Elite Camp recently, earning a call-up to the Combine and slotting successful arsenic a top-45 prime successful ESPN's mock caller mock draft. -- Borzello