New Mavericks president Masai Ujiri gives perfect answer when asked if he would've traded Luka Dončić

The 2024-25 NBA season was overshadowed by the blockbuster midseason trade that sent star Luka Dončić from the Dallas Mavericks to the Los Angeles Lakers in a three-team swap.

The deal caused Mavericks fans to stage various protests outside of American Airlines Center, calling for the firing of former GM Nico Harrison before he was finally shown the door in November 2025.

Dallas began a search for a replacement and, on May 4, agreed to terms with former Toronto Raptors GM Masai Ujiri to become the franchise’s new team president and alternate governor.

Ujiri is tasked with continuing Dallas’ turnaround following a 26-56 season. Fans are still not over the Dončić decision, and it was clear that anyone hired for the role would have to answer for the faults of his predecessor.

During his introductory press conference, Ujiri was asked whether he would have made the deal that sent Dončić away. Rather than simply saying “No,” he gave a well-thought-out answer to help fans see the past as the past and focus the future.

“We have to respect everybody and everything that happened here,” he said. “He [Dončić] is a Hall of Fame player. He is gone. He will always be a Maverick.

We have to move, we really have to move on. It is not for me to start criticizing what anybody else is doing. It is for me to criticize what I am doing, and worry about what I’m going to do.

If I continue harping and harping on that, and I think all of you are going to be asking what I am doing. I have to look to the future because winning is what we have to do here and winning is a responsibility of mine.“

Ujiri is credited with being the mastermind behind the Raptors’ impromptu championship run in 2019. The irony of the hire in Dallas is that at the time, Ujiri received some heat for trading away the former face of the franchise, DeMar DeRozan, in exchange for Kawhi Leonard.

The trade would prove pivotal for Toronto in its championship efforts. Now, Ujiri takes over a franchise infused with young talent like 2025 No. 1 overall pick Cooper Flagg. From this response, it’s clear that his focus is on the franchise’s future, not the past.

“We have a saying in Africa, we say, ‘when kings go, kings come,’“ Ujiri said. “And a king went, and we have a little prince here that we’re gonna turn into a king.”

Sixers coach Nick Nurse briefly leaves team after older brother's death

Philadelphia 76ers head coach Nick Nurse stepped away from the team Tuesday, May 5 so he could attend the funeral of his older brother.

The 76ers coach flew home to Iowa after the loss against the New York Knicks in Game 1 of the NBA conference semifinals following the death of his older brother, Steve Nurse, per The Philadelphia Inquirer. Nurse’s brother reportedly died “unexpectedly” on April 29 before Game 6 between the 76ers and the Boston Celtics in the opening round of the Eastern Conference playoffs.

Steve Nurse, who was 62 years old, was the longtime athletic equipment manager for the University of Northern Iowa.

According to The Athletic, the 76ers held a film session but no practice Tuesday afternoon.

Nurse is expected to rejoin the organization in New York Tuesday evening. Game 2 against the Knicks is Wednesday at Madison Square Garden at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN.

Nurse has coached the Sixers for three seasons, beginning with the 2023-24 season, and has taken the team to the playoffs twice, including this year. Nurse began his head coaching career with the Raptors in 2018-19 after five years as assistant in Toronto. He led the Raptors to their first NBA title in his first season with the team.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Nick Nurse away from Philadelphia 76ers for older brother’s funeral

2026 NBA Draft Lottery: odds, date, time, top prospects, how it works, future format

The NBA Draft Lottery is less than a week away. The Washington Wizards, Indiana Pacers and Brooklyn Nets each have the highest odds — 14% — in the lottery to land the No. 1 pick in what is expected to be a loaded draft. Recent years also have seen a number of teams jump bottom of the lottery into the top three of the draft, including the Dallas Mavericks, who won the lottery last year and earned the right to take the future Rookie of the Year, Cooper Flagg.

The defending NBA champion Oklahoma City Thunder, who had the best record for the second season in a row, could even win the lottery. They own the Los Angeles Clippers’ pick courtesy of the Paul George trade.

This figures to be the final NBA Draft Lottery in its current format before the league likely puts a new system in place for next season in an effort to reduce teams tanking for better odds. Here’s everything you need to know about the 2026 including, the top prospects.

NBA mock drafts: 3.0 • 2.0 • 1.0 | NBA Draft combine participants

When and what time is the NBA Draft Lottery?

The lottery is at 3 p.m. ET Sunday, May 10. It will be at Chicago’s McCormick Place convention center and coincides with the draft combine.

Where is the NBA Draft Lottery streaming?

It will be on ABC, ahead of Game 4 of the Eastern Conference semifinal playoff series between the New York Knicks and Philadelphia 76ers.

NBA Draft Lottery odds to land the No. 1 pick

The 14 teams that didn’t make the playoffs have a chance to land the No. 1 pick. The teams that finished with the three-worst records — Washington, Indiana and Brooklyn — each have the highest odds (14%) at winning the No. 1 pick.

Here are the odds for every team in the draft lottery, based on team records at the end of the regular season. Teams that finished the season with identical records had their draft order determined by a random drawing.

1. Washington Wizards

Record: 17-65
Odds for No. 1 pick: 14%

2. Indiana Pacers

Record: 19-63
Odds for No. 1 pick: 14%

Due to the Ivica Zubac trade with the Clippers, if the Pacers’ pick lands between the 5-9 spots on lotto night, it will go to L.A.

3. Brooklyn Nets

Record: 20-62
Odds for No. 1 pick: 14%

4. Utah Jazz

Record: 22-60
Odds for No. 1 pick: 11.5%

5. Sacramento Kings

Record: 22-60
Odds for No. 1 pick: 11.5%

6. Memphis Grizzlies

Record: 25-57
Odds for No. 1 pick: 9%

7. New Orleans Pelicans (Atlanta Hawks)

Record: 26-56
Odds for No. 1 pick: 6.8%

The Pelicans owe their unprotected first-round pick to the Atlanta Hawks as part of their 2025 draft-night trade.

8. Dallas Mavericks

Record: 26-56
Odds for No. 1 pick: 6.7%

9. Chicago Bulls

Record: 31-51
Odds for No. 1 pick: 4.5%

10. Milwaukee Bucks

Record: 32-50
Odds for No. 1 pick: 3%

11. Golden State Warriors

Record: 37-45
Odds for No. 1 pick: 2%

12. Los Angeles Clippers (Oklahoma City Thunder)

Record: 42-40
Odds for No. 1 pick: 1.5%

The Clippers owe their 2026 first-round pick to the Thunder as part of the 2019 Paul George trade.

13. Miami Heat

Record: 43-39
Odds for No. 1 pick: 1%

14. Charlotte Hornets

Record: 44-38
Odds for No. 1 pick: 0.5%

How the NBA Draft Lottery works

The draft lottery determines the order of the first 14 picks. It takes place in a private room with NBA officials, representatives of participating teams, select media and the accounting firm Ernst & Young, which oversees the drawings, in attendance.

For the drawings, 14 ping-pong balls (numbered 1 through 14) are dropped in a lottery machine. Before the lottery, 1,000 of a possible 1,001 combinations are assigned to the 14 participating lottery teams. A league representative randomly selects four balls, revealing a four-number combination.

From the NBA:

The drawing process occurs in the following manner: All 14 balls are placed in the lottery machine and they are mixed for 20 seconds, and then the first ball is removed. The remaining balls are mixed in the lottery machine for another 10 seconds, and then the second ball is drawn. There is a 10-second mix, and then the third ball is drawn. There is a 10-second mix, and then the fourth ball is drawn. The team that has been assigned that combination will receive the No. 1 pick. The same process is repeated with the same ping-pong balls and lottery machine for the second through fourth picks.

If the same team comes up more than once, the result is discarded and another four-ball combination is selected. Also, if the one unassigned combination is drawn, the result is discarded and the balls are drawn again.

After the first four picks are determined, the remaining picks are based on regular-season records, in reverse order.

Rest of 2026 NBA Draft order

FIRST ROUND NOS. 15-30

15. Portland (to Chicago)

16. Phoenix (to Memphis)

17. Philadelphia (to Oklahoma City)

18. Orlando (to Charlotte)

19. Toronto

20. Atlanta (to San Antonio)

21. Minnesota (to Detroit)

22. Houston (to Philadelphia)

23. Cleveland (to Atlanta)

24. New York

25. Los Angeles Lakers

26. Denver

27. Boston

28. Detroit (to Minnesota)

29. San Antonio (to Cleveland)

30. Oklahoma City (to Dallas)

Best prospects in 2026 NBA Draft

AJ Dybantsa

Dybantsa could become one of the NBA’s most unstoppable shot-creators. At 6-foot-9, he has a special blend of athletic tools with the way he bends, shifts, and explodes with the ball in his hands. Dybantsa led the nation with 25.5 points per game while breaking Danny Ainge’s 48-year-old BYU freshman scoring record with a 43-point eruption. He gets to the rim at will, cooks in the midrange, draws fouls at a high rate, and displays point-forward potential. What will determine his upside is whether he can become a knockdown 3-point shooter, as well as a more impactful defender to take full advantage of his physical tools. But the native of Brockton, Massachusetts, has a tremendously high floor with his scoring skill alone. — Kevin O’Connor

Cameron Boozer

He’s a do-it-all offensive talent who can post up, run pick-and-rolls, set screens, spot up and crash the boards. He doesn’t need to rely on bully ball to make an impact as a scorer or passer. Defensively, some of the questions about Boozer popped up in Duke’s Elite Eight loss to UConn: He wasn’t big enough to defend Tarris Reed, and he got smoked by Alex Karaban on a key 3-pointer on the perimeter. But he plays hard and has improved at every weakness in his game so far. — O’Connor

Darryn Peterson

He can pull up from anywhere and get to his spots. Plus he’s 6-6 and plays with a fluidity that just screams superstar. Not to mention he’s a defensive playmaker with the tools to guard multiple positions and the approach to impact the game even if he’s not scoring. Between the cramping saga, the missed time, the lack of apparent athletic pop, and the stretches where he played heavy minutes but struggled to produce offensively, there’s a lot to be concerned about. But the pre-draft period could answer any questions. — O’Connor

Caleb Wilson

Wilson is the most gifted athlete in the draft class. He’s 6-10 with springs for legs. When he’s flying above the rim, finishing through contact, and chasing down every shot in his area code, he looks like a future franchise cornerstone. But the conversation changes when you watch his jumper because he hasn’t shown any consistency as a shooter at any level. Still, even without the jumper, he has star upside. — O’Connor

Darius Acuff Jr.

Acuff is not the biggest guard or the most explosive athlete, but he reads defenses like someone who’s been in the league for a decade. He emerged as a freshman as a skilled, low-turnover playmaker. And that’s not even what he’s best at. Acuff is a wiry scorer who can get a bucket from anywhere on the floor with a quick trigger, slippery handle, and a feel for manipulating defenses. He has a knack for clutch moments too. The question that follows every undersized guard into the draft is whether the brilliance survives contact with bigger, longer, faster defenders. — O’Connor

When and where is the 2026 NBA Draft?

The 2026 NBA Draft will again be two days: Tuesday, June 23 for the first round; and Wednesday, June 24 for the second round. Both rounds are in Brooklyn, New York.

ABC/ESPN will broadcast the first round, and the second round will be on ESPN.

Is the NBA Draft Lottery changing?

Almost certainly. NBA commissioner Adam Silver wants to curb the wide-spread tanking teams engaged in ahead of this season’s draft.

The league reportedly will put forth a new 3-2-1 format for a vote by team owners on May 28. The new format will create a system where each team gets a certain number of ping-pong balls to win the No. 1 pick. Here’s how it looks in reverse order of the standings and then play-in game participants:

• No. 1-3: two ping-pong balls (5.4%)

• No. 4-10: three ping-pong balls (8.1%)

• Teams in 9-10 play-in games: two ping-pong balls (5.4%)

• Losers of 7-8 play-in games: one ping-pong ball (2.7%)

The league hopes non-playoff teams will be incentivized to stay competitive late in the season. It also provides the No. 8 seeds in the East and West at least one shot at the top pick.

In addition, the league will not allow teams to win the top pick in back-to-back seasons or win a top-five pick in three consecutive seasons.

Nick Nurse steps away from 76ers for brother's funeral, expected back for Game 2 vs Knicks

NEW YORK (AP) — Philadelphia 76ers coach Nick Nurse was away from the team Tuesday ahead of Game 2 of its second-round playoff series against the New York Knicks to attend the funeral of his brother.

Nurse’s brother Steve Nurse, 62, died unexpectedly last Wednesday. Nick Nurse left the team following Philadelphia’s 137-98 loss to open the second round against the Knicks on Monday for the service on Tuesday in Ankeny, Iowa.

Nurse is expected to rejoin the Sixers for Game 2 on Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden.

“I’d like to pass my condolences along to Nick Nurse and his family, his brother’s family and all their friends,” Knicks coach Mike Brown said at the team’s training center in suburban Greenburgh. “Life is precious and you don’t wish that upon anybody, so I’d like to pass along my condolences to him and his family while they’re going through these times.”

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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA

Pistons sign head coach J.B. Bickerstaff to contract extension after first-round playoff win over Magic

The Detroit Pistons have signed head coach J.B. Bickerstaff to a contract extension.

The Pistons announced the transaction on Monday, a day after the Pistons won Game 7 against the Orlando Magic to advance to the second round of the NBA playoffs. Terms of the deal were not announced.

Bickerstaff has overseen a turnaround in Detroit that produced the best record in the Eastern Conference this season. With Sunday’s win, the Pistons have advanced out of the first round of the playoffs for the first time since 2008.

Bickerstaff joined the Pistons for the 2024-25 seasons on the heels of a 14-68 campaign in Detroit that produced the worst record in the NBA. In Bickerstaff’s first season, the Pistons improved by 30 wins to 44-38 and clinched a playoff spot. They improved to 60-22 this season and will now face the No. 4 seed Cleveland Cavaliers in the second round of the playoffs as the East’s No. 1 seed.

This story will be updated.

Anthony Edwards reportedly could return to Timberwolves for Game 3 or 4 against Spurs 'at the earliest'

The Minnesota Timberwolves survived and advanced past the Denver Nuggets despite Anthony Edwards missing two-plus games of their first-round playoff series with a bone bruise in his left knee.

Up next is a second-round playoff matchup against Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs in which the Timberwolves are expected to need Edwards to have a reasonable chance of pulling off an upset. Per a report on Sunday, there’s a chance that Edwards could return to the Timberwolves’ lineup when the series shifts back to Minnesota.

ESPN’s Shams Charania reported on “NBA Tip-Off” that Edwards traveled with the team to San Antonio, where the series will tip off with Game 1 Monday. Edwards has returned to light workouts, but isn’t expected to play in Games 1 or 2, per the report.

But Charania reports that Edwards is “hopeful that he could push to be back in the lineup potentially for Game 3 or Game 4 at the earliest.” Game 3 is scheduled for Friday in Minnesota. Game 4 will take place next Sunday.

Charania also noted that “Minnesota is going to be conservative” in bringing Edwards back due in part to inflammation in his right knee that sidelined him for the stretch run of the regular season.

But the prospect of Edwards returning in time to impact the series is certainly good news for the Timberwolves, especially considering the initial scare around his injury. Edwards hyper-extended his left knee in Game 4, prompting initial fears that he’d sustained a long-term injury.

The bone bruise sidelined him for Games 5 and 6 as the Timberwolves closed out the series without him, but he avoided more serious ligament damage. And now, with a spot in the Western Conference finals at stake, there’s hope in Minnesota that Edwards could return to take on the Spurs.

Edwards made his fourth straight All-Star team the season and averaged a career-high 28.8 points, alongside 5 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 1.4 steals per game. He also posted career highs while shooting 48.9% from the field and 39.9% on 8.4 3-point attempts per game.