RealGM Basketball Wiretap

30 June 2025

• Hornets Acquire Collin Sexton, 2030 2nd Rounder From Jazz For Jusuf Nurkic

  The Charlotte Hornets have acquired Collin Sexton from the Utah Jazz for Jusuf Nurkic and a 2030 second round pick. The Jazz are attempting to balance out their roster after selecting Ace Bailey and Walter Clayton Jr. at the draft.

  The Jazz acquired Sexton in a sign-and-trade as part of their trade with the Cleveland Cavaliers involving Donovan Mitchell and Lauri Markkanen.

  The Hornets could use Sexton as a replacement for Tre Mann, who is a restricted free agent. Sexton is on a $19 million expiring contract.

  Nurkic is also on an expiring contract worth $19 million after he was acquired by the Hornets last season from the Phoenix Suns. The second round pick from the Hornets to the Jazz is the more favorable between the LA Clippers and the Jazz.

• Hornets, Grizzlies Interested In Ty Jerome

  The Charlotte Hornets and Memphis Grizzlies are expressing interest in signing free agent guard Ty Jerome of the Cleveland Cavaliers. Jerome is looking for a deal that will start around the Non-Taxpayer Mid-Level Exception amount of $14.1 million.

  Jerome's future with the Cavs seemed sealed when Cleveland acquired Lonzo Ball for Isaac Okoro in a trade with the Chicago Bulls. The Cavaliers also agreed to re-sign guard Sam Merrill.

  Charlotte is expected to have the full Non-Taxpayer MLE available this offseason, as they are operating well under the luxury tax. The situation in Memphis is less clear, as the Grizzlies are believed to be considering creating cap space to renegotiate-and-extend Jaren Jackson Jr. this offseason. If that happens, the Grizzlies will have access to the Room Exception, worth $8.8 million this summer.

  Jerome, who is represented by Mark Bartelstein and Kieran Piller, averaged 12.5 points, 2.5 rebounds and 3.4 assists and a PER of 20.8 last season.

• Suns Exercise $8.1M Team Option For Vasilije Micic

  The Phoenix Suns have picked up the $8.1 million team option for guard Vasilije Micic. This move was necessary for Phoenix to complete the reported draft night draft for Mark Williams of the Charlotte Hornets.

  Prior to the news of Micic being traded to the Hornets in the Williams deal, it was expected the Suns would decline the option. It's been reported that Micic has several offers from EuroLeague teams. It's unclear what the plans are now that Micic's contract is fully guaranteed and he's back with Charlotte.

• 2025 NBA Draft Second Round Results: Rasheer Fleming Goes No. 31 To Suns

  The Phoenix Suns acquired the No. 31 overall pick and selected Rasheer Fleming out of Saint Joseph's to begin the second round of the 2025 NBA draft.

  2025 NBA Draft, Round 1 Results
  31. Phoenix Suns: Rasheer Fleming, F, Saint Joseph's
  32. Orlando Magic: Noah Penda, F, France
  33. Charlotte Hornets: Sion James, SF, Duke
  34. Charlotte Hornets: Ryan Kalkbrenner, C, Creighton
  35. Philadelphia 76ers: Johni Broome, C, Auburn
  36. Los Angeles Lakers: Adou Thiero, PF, Arkansas
  37. Detroit Pistons: Chaz Lanier, SG, Tennessee
  38. Indiana Pacers: Kam Jones, PG/SG, Marquette
  39. Toronto Raptors: Alijah Martin, SG, Florida
  40. New Orleans Pelicans: Micah Peavy, SG/SF, Georgetown
  41. Phoenix Suns: Koby Brea, SG/SF, Kentucky
  42. Sacramento Kings: Maxime Raynaud, C, Stanford
  43. Washington Wizards: Jamir Watkins, SG/SF, Florida State
  44. Oklahoma City Thunder: Brooks Barnhizer, SF, Northwestern
  45. Minnesota Timberwolves: Rocco Zikarsky, C, Brisbane
  46. Boston Celtics: Amari Williams, C, Kentucky
  47. Milwaukee Bucks: Bogoljub Markovic, PF/C, Mega Superbet
  48. Memphis Grizzlies: Javon Small, PG, West Virginia
  49. Cleveland Cavaliers: Tyrese Proctor, G, Duke
  50. LA Clippers: Kobe Sanders, SG/SF, Nevada
  51. New York Knicks: Mohamed Diawara, F, France
  52. Golden State Warriors: Alex Toohey, SF/PF, Sydney
  53. Utah Jazz: John Tonje, SF, Wisconsin
  54. Indiana Pacers: Taelon Peter, G, Liberty
  55. Chicago Bulls: Lachlan Olbrich, PF/C, Illawarra
  56. Golden State Warriors: Will Richard, SG, Florida
  57. Boston Celtics: Max Shulga, G, VCU
  58. Cleveland Cavaliers: Saliou Niang, SG/SF, Trento
  59. Houston Rockets: Jahmai Mashack, G, Tennessee

• Suns Acquire Mark Williams From Hornets For No. 29, 2029 First Rounder

  The Phoenix Suns have acquired Mark Williams from the Charlotte Hornets for the No. 29 pick in the draft and a 2029 first round pick, which will be the least favorable of picks via the Cleveland Cavaliers, Utah Jazz and Minnesota Timberwolves. The Hornets will also re-acquire Vasilije Micic from the Suns after he was included in the February deal involving Jusuf Nurkic.

  The Suns had a significant need at center and have now traded for Williams while also selecting Khaman Maluach at No. 10 out of Duke.

  The Hornets previously traded Williams to the Los Angeles Lakers, but the trade was eventually rescinded. Williams is eligible for a contract extension this offseason.

• 2025 NBA Draft First Round: Cooper Flagg, Dylan Harper, VJ Edgecombe Picked Top-3

  The Dallas Mavericks have opened up the 2025 NBA draft by selecting Cooper Flagg out of Duke with the first overall pick. Flagg will wear No. 32 for the Mavericks after wearing No. 2 at Duke The Mavericks won the lottery with just a 1.8 percent change, which is the fourth lowest in NBA history.

  The San Antonio Spurs selected Dylan Harper out of Rutgers with the No. 2 pick. San Antonio has the two most recent Rookies of the Year in Victor Wembanyama and Stephon Castle.

  The Philadelphia 76ers then selected V.J. Edgecombe out of Baylor at No. 3 followed by Kon Knueppel to the Charlotte Hornets at No. 4.

  The first real surprise of the draft came when the Utah Jazz selected Ace Bailey. Bailey had an unorthodox lead up to the draft in which he didn't work out for any teams. Bailey had hoped to be selected by the Washington Wizards, New Orleans Pelicans or Brooklyn Nets.

  2025 NBA Draft, Round 1 Results
  1. Dallas Mavericks: Cooper Flagg, SF/PF, Duke
  2. San Antonio Spurs: Dylan Harper, PG, Rutgers
  3. Philadelphia 76ers: V.J. Edgecombe, SG, Baylor
  4. Charlotte Hornets: Kon Knueppel, SF, Duke
  5. Utah Jazz: Ace Bailey, SF, Rutgers
  6. Washington Wizards: Tre Johnson, SG, Texas
  7. New Orleans Pelicans: Jeremiah Fears, PG, Oklahoma
  8. Brooklyn Nets: Egor Demin, PG, BYU
  9. Toronto Raptors: Collin Murray-Boyles, PF/C, South Carolina
  10. Phoenix Suns (via PHX/BKN/HOU): Khaman Maluach, C, Duke
  11. Memphis Grizzlies (via POR): Cedric Coward, SF, Washington State
  12. Chicago Bulls: Noa Essengue, PF, Ratiopharm Ulm
  13. New Orleans Pelicans (via SAC/ATL): Derik Queen, C, Maryland
  14. San Antonio Spurs: (via ATL): Carter Bryant, SF, Arizona
  15. Oklahoma City Thunder (via MIA/LAC): Thomas Sorber, C, Georgetown
  16. Portland Trail Blazers (via ORL/MEM): Yang Hansen, C, China
  17. Minnesota Timberwolves (via DET/NYK): Joan Beringer, C, Cedevita Olimpija
  18. Utah Jazz (via MEM/WAS): Walter Clayton Jr., PG, Florida
  19. Brooklyn Nets (via MIL/NYK): Nolan Traore, PG, Saint-Quentin
  20. Miami Heat (via GSW): Kasparas Jakucionis, PG, Illinois
  21. Washington Wizards (via MIN/UTA): Will Riley, SF, Illinois
  22. Brooklyn Nets (via LAL/NOP/ATL): Drake Powell, SG/SF, North Carolina
  23. Atlanta Hawks (via IND/NOP): Asa Newell, PF/C, Georgia
  24. Sacramento Kings (via LAC/OKC): Nique Clifford, SG, Colorado State
  25. Orlando Magic (via DEN): Jase Richardson, PG/SG, Michigan State
  26. Brooklyn Nets (via NYK): Ben Saraf, PG/SG, Ratiopharm Ulm
  27. Brooklyn Nets (via HOU): Danny Wolf, PF, Michigan
  28. Boston Celtics: Hugo Gonzalez, SG/SF, Real Madrid
  29. Charlotte Hornets (via CLE/UTA/PHX): Liam McNeeley, SG/SF, UConn
  30. LA Clippers (via OKC): Yanic Konan Niederhauser, C, Penn State

• Sixers Expected To Stay At No. 3; Hornets, Jazz Fielding Trade Offers

  The Philadelphia 76ers are expected to remain at the No. 3 position approximately one hour before the start of the draft. The Charlotte Hornets and Utah Jazz are continuing to field trade calls for their picks at No. 4 and No. 5 respectively.

  "The real musical chairs of this draft will start at picks four Charlotte and five Utah," said Shams Charania on ESPN.

  After Cooper Flagg and Dylan Harper come off the board with the first two picks, there are varying opinions on the next best prospects between VJ Edgecombe, Kon Knueppel, Ace Bailey and Tre Johnson.

  The Brooklyn Nets, Oklahoma City Thunder, Utah Jazz and Washington Wizards each own multiple first round picks.

• Josh Green Undergoes Successful Shoulder Surgery

  Charlotte Hornets forward Josh Green underwent surgery to address left shoulder instability and will be sidelined indefinitely. The team announced Green is expected to make a full recovery but provided no timeline for his return.

  Green averaged 7.4 points, 2.5 rebounds and 1.6 assists in 27.8 minutes per game during his first season in Charlotte. He appeared in 68 games with 67 starts after joining the Hornets in a trade from the Dallas Mavericks.

  Green shot 39.1 percent from three-point range last season, his second-highest career mark. His shooting percentage ranked second among qualified Hornets players during the 2024-25 campaign.

  Green was originally selected 18th overall by the Mavericks in the 2020 NBA Draft. He holds career averages of 6.7 points, 2.7 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 0.8 steals across 291 games over five seasons.

• Sixers, Hornets Fielding Trade Offers For No. 3, No. 4 Until They're On Clock At Draft

  The Philadelphia 76ers and Charlotte Hornets have signaled to teams that they each intend to continue listening to trade offers for No. 3 and No. 4 respectively until they are on the clock during the draft on Wednesday, June 25.

  The Utah Jazz, who pick at No. 5, have not encouraged trade offers for their selection from teams behind them. The Washington Wizards are a potential candidate to trade up from No. 6.

  There is growing skepticism that the Spurs will seriously entertain trading out of No. 2.

  While the exact order of players selected after Cooper Flagg at No. 1 and Dylan Harper at No. 2 is yet to be determined, it is highly likely to consist of VJ Edgecombe, Ace Bailey, Tre Johnson, Jeremiah Fears, Kon Kneuppel and Khaman Maluach.

  "If it's not those eight [in the top eight], it will be seven of those eight," said one Eastern Conference executive.

  The Toronto Raptors, who own the No. 9 selection, are considered the team most likely to trade out of the top-10. With Maluach having a good chance of being selected before Toronto is on the clock, the Raptors are evaluating center options later in the first round.

• Cooper Flagg, Dylan Harper, VJ Edgecombe Top Three In Latest ESPN Mock Draft

  There were no surprises at the top of ESPN's latest mock for the 2025 NBA Draft. Cooper Flagg and Dylan Harper were the first two players off the board, as most expect. Then things started to get a bit interesting.

  V.J. Edgecombe went third to the Philadelphia 76ers, followed by Kon Knueppel to the Charlotte Hornets with the fourth pick. The Utah Jazz then selected Tre Johnson with the fifth pick.

  That meant that Ace Bailey fell to the sixth overall pick and the Washington Wizards. That's quite the drop for Bailey, who was once considered a contender for the second pick in the draft, behind Flagg.