From left, Lakers second-round draft pick Bronny James, new Lakers head coach JJ Redick, Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka and first-round pick Dalton Knecht arrive for the introductory press conference for James and Knecht on Tuesday at UCLA Health Training Center in El Segundo. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images) Lakers first-round draft pick Dalton Knecht answers questions from reporters during his introductory press conference on Tuesday at UCLA Health Training Center in El Segundo. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images) Lakers second-round draft pick Bronny James, left ..read more

The Warriors didn’t expect to make a pick in the 2024 NBA Draft after they agreed to send their lone selection — No. 52 overall — to the Oklahoma City Thunder for reserve wing Lindy Waters III. But serendipitously, the pick changed hands once more, and later became available again. And the way the draft played out, Golden State wanted back in. Some cash considerations later, the Warriors had their own pick back, using it to take Boston College stretch-five Quinten Post. The transactions turned a busy couple days at the Warriors’ war room in Chase Center into wonky ones. “We felt like (Waters ..read more

The Warriors started Day 2 of the NBA Draft with the 52nd overall pick, traded out of it before the second round started, then eventually paid to get it back. Golden State’s end result: cash to Portland for Oklahoma City Thunder reserve Lindy Waters III and Boston College center Quinten Post. The move to purchase their own pick back was reported by multiple journalists. The Warriors are expected to keep Waters, a 3-point specialist, on the roster as a depth option on the wing. Late second-round picks rarely contribute right away at the NBA level, but Post could one day become a stretch center ..read more

Jonathan Mogbo, a 2023-24 All-West Coast Conference selection for San Francisco, is heading up north. The Toronto Raptors selected Mogbo with the first pick of the second round — 31st overall. The 6-foot-6 forward averaged 14.2 points and 14.1 rebounds per game last year with the Dons. A late bloomer, Mogbo had no Division I scholarship offers coming out of high school. He began his college career with two years at community colleges in Kansas an Oklahoma. The Florida native then impressed as a junior at Missouri State before transferring to USF. He was named the WCC newcomer of the year in hi ..read more

The Warriors entered Thursday’s Day 2 of the NBA Draft with the 52nd overall pick, but have traded out of the position before the second round started. According to Shams Charania of The Athletic, Golden State sent the 52nd pick — their only 2024 selection — to Oklahoma City for Lindy Waters III. Waters, who is about to turn 27, is entering his fourth year in the NBA. A career 37.7% 3-point shooter, the wing saw his role diminish this season as the Thunder roster around him blossomed into a Western Conference contender. Waters has a club option for $2.2 million this season and becomes an unres ..read more

This year’s NBA draft will not include a bonafide Bay Area star like Jason Kidd, Aaron Gordon, or Damian Lillard. But that doesn’t necessarily mean the region won’t be represented at the draft, which starts Wednesday with the first round and ends Thursday with second-round selections. According to draft experts, the best Bay Area prospects are most likely to go in the second round but have the potential to be high-impact contributors who could play right away.  Here is a breakdown of the locals who might get picked: Jaylon Tyson, forward, Cal, junior Tyson, an All-Pac-12 first-team select ..read more

The Warriors have the 52nd overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft, giving Mike Dunleavy Jr. and his front office a chance to add an NBA-ready player to the mix. Last year, picking 57th, the Warriors did just that by selecting Trayce Jackson-Davis, who looks like a rotational center for years to come. Hitting on such a low pick can have tremendous value. Jackson-Davis’ rookie-scale deal, for instance, is worth less than $2 million annually over four years. For a team that paid roughly $180 million in luxury tax alone last year, finding contributors on cheap contracts is key. The Warriors have worke ..read more

As their odds foreshadowed, the Warriors are giving up their first-round pick to the Portland Trail Blazers. The ping pong balls didn’t bounce the Warriors’ way on Sunday during the NBA draft lottery, as their selection landed at No. 14 — where Portland will pick. The only way the Warriors could have used the pick this year is if they had jumped from 14th into the top four of the lottery, an outcome with just a 3.37% chance based on the lottery’s odds. The Warriors traded their 2024 first-round pick in 2019 to Memphis in a package that included Andre Iguodala. The pick has changed multiple han ..read more

We’ve written about this before and the trend has remained true: free agency in the NBA ain’t what it used to be. The stars have learned that it’s better to secure the extension through Bird Rights — thereby maximizing their contracts — and pick the destination later by requesting a trade. Kevin Durant did it. Bradley Beal did it. Dame Lillard could do it next. As a result, the upcoming free agency won’t include a franchise player changing teams for a fourth straight year. The 2019 class was a doozy and we may never see it again. But there are some game-changers available, even if most of the ..read more

With the first pick, the “Wemby Draft” went according to plan. We’ll see if Victor Wembanyama’s career follows suit. Wembanyama, the giant Frenchman, shook Adam Silver’s hand in a dark green suit and officially joined the San Antonio Spurs. The process was drawn out by the NBA to achieve maximum airtime for ESPN, with the Spurs requiring the full five minutes for the pick. Then the clock started on the real drama, with Michael Jordan making his final pick as Hornets owner at No. 2. Here were the top-10 picks from Thursday’s draft: 1. SPURS: VICTOR WEMBANYAMA Previous Team: Metropolitans 92 (Fr ..read more