Day: June 9, 2024

USC guard Bronny James was set to have a limited number of workouts ahead of the 2024 NBA Draft. However, James’ agent Rich Paul of Klutch Sports now says that may not be the case.

After initially restricting his list to the Los Angeles Lakers and Phoenix Suns, James may expand that list. Paul told Marc Stein that “a few more” workout invitations are being considered for the 6-foot-4 combo guard.

James is widely projected to be a second-round pick. Paul previously said that James will not consider signing a two-way contract. That, combined with doing fewer workouts, could limit the number of teams interested in drafting James.

The Orlando Magic should have nearly $50 million in cap space this offseason. That’s enough for Orlando to get in the market for a big-name player, should they want to go that route.

Two players the Magic could have interest in are Paul George of the LA Clippers and Klay Thompson of the Golden State Warriors. George has a player option for next season, which he is expected to decline. Thompson is set to become a free agent when the league year changes over.

Both George and Thompson could ink extensions with their current teams by the end of the day on June 30. But neither player has seemingly made much progress on the extension front.

Orlando has this offseason with near-max cap space, before their roster will start to get expensive. Both Franz Wagner and Jalen Suggs are eligible to sign rookie scale extensions this summer. Those deals would start in 2025-06. Paolo Banchero will be extension-eligible in the summer of 2025. An expected max extension for Banchero would start with the 2026-27 season.

Donovan Clingan has positioned himself to be a top prospect in the 2024 NBA Draft. Despite that status, Clingan could slip in the draft, because several teams with top picks already have centers in place.

If Clingan starts to slide, a handful of teams are positioned to try to trade up to select him. The Chicago Bulls, Memphis Grizzlies, Oklahoma City Thunder and Utah Jazz could all move up from their later-lottery picks to get in range to draft Clingan. The floor for the UConn center is considered to be the Portland Trail Blazers, who hold the seventh overall pick.

Clingan measured at 7-foot-3 with a 7-foot-7 wingspan and a 9-foot-7 standing reach at the Draft Combine. He’s considered an outstanding defender, and he has nice touch on his jumper too. Many scouts envision Clingan eventually becoming an all-around offensive threat, who can also protect the rim, similar to a later-career Brook Lopez.

Matas Buzelis has been considered a top prospect in the 2024 NBA Draft for a while now. Recent workouts have solidified his status over recent weeks.

The 6-foot-10 combo forward has shown off an improved jumper, while demonstrating defensive versatility and good playmaking skills for his position. One team interested in potentially moving up for Buzelis in the draft is his hometown Chicago Bulls.

The Bulls watched Buzelis at a private workout in Los Angeles. Chicago president Arturas Karnisovas and Buzelis also share Lithuanian heritage, and familiarity from being around the Lithuanian national program.

In 34 games with the G League Ignite last season, Buzelis averaged 14.1 points on 45.5% shooting. He also grabbed 6.6 rebounds and blocked 1.9 shots per game.

Nikola Jokic is undecided about playing for Serbia at the 2024 Paris Olympics. The Denver Nuggets center said he had to “think about it”, after Denver’s season ended in the second round of the NBA playoffs.

Serbia’s head coach, Svetislav Pesic recently called a report that Jokic had committed to playing “fake news”. Pesic said that Jokic will let Serbia know “when the time comes”.

Jokic last played for Serbia at 2022 EuroBasket. The three-time NBA MVP sat out of the 2023 FIBA World Cup after the Nuggets run to the NBA title.

Serbia will compete in Group C at the Olympics. Group C includes the United States, South Sudan and the winner of the Puerto Rico Olympic Qualifying Tournament.