RealGM Basketball Wiretap

05 July 2025

• Wizards Acquire Cam Whitmore From Rockets For Two Second-Round Picks

  The Washington Wizards are trading for Cam Whitmore of the Houston Rockets. Washington will send Houston two second-round picks for Whitmore.

  The Wizards are continuing to rebuild around young players. The nearly 21-year-old Whitmore will give Washington another young forward option. In 98 games over two seasons, the 6-foot-7 forward has averaged 10.8 points and 3.4 rebounds in 17.4 minutes off the Rockets bench.

  Houston continues to clear out space under their impending first-apron hard cap. The Rockets have several pending transactions lined up when the NBA's moratorium lifts at noontime on Sunday, July 6. Houston is acquiring Kevin Durant in a trade, Clint Capela in a sign-and-trade, Dorian Finney-Smith in free agency, and re-signing Fred VanVleet, as well as Jeff Green, Aaron Holiday and Jae'Sean Tate.

• Wizards Showing Interest In Jonathan Kuminga

  The Washington Wizards have expressed serious interest in signing Golden State Warriors restricted free agent forward Jonathan Kuminga. The Wizards would have to complete a sign-and-trade for Kuminga, as they don't have the cap space to sign the forward to an offer sheet.

  Kuminga has also received varying levels of interest from the Sacramento Kings, Miami Heat, Chicago Bulls, Milwaukee Bucks and Brooklyn Nets. Of that group, only the Nets have a path to create the cap space to make Kuminga an offer. The other teams would be looking at sign-and-trade scenarios, like the Wizards.

  Kuminga's role was reduced with Golden State last season. He was injured for part of the year, then fell out of Steve Kerr's rotation. Kuminga averaged 15.3 points on 45% shooting, while grabbing 4.6 rebounds per game.

  In the 2023-24 season, while being a regular starter, the 22-year-old forward averaged 16.1 points on 53% shooting. Kuminga played in 74 games that season with 46 starts.

• Wizards Waive Anthony Gill

  The Washington Wizards have waived Anthony Gill.

  Gill appeared in 51 games last season with the Wizards, averaging 2.5 points and 1.3 rebounds in 7.8 minutes. Gill joined the Wizards ahead of the 2020-21 season at the age of 28 after several seasons in Europe.

• Thunder Trading Dillon Jones, Second Round Pick To Wizards

  The Oklahoma City Thunder are trading guard Dillon Jones to the Washington Wizards. Oklahoma City will also send a 2029 Houston Rockets second-round pick to Washington.

  The Thunder received guard Colby Jones from Washington in the deal, and they immediately waived him. In effect, Washington is being paid a second-round pick to take on the $2.7 million contract of Dillon Jones, while getting a look at the former first-round pick.

  Oklahoma City was facing a logjam on their roster. The Thunder have 13 players under contract, with Ajay Mitchell and Jaylin Williams as pending free agent. In addition, Thomas Sorber was selected in the first-round of the 2025 NBA Draft.

• Kadary Richmond, Wizards Agree To Two-Way Contract

  Kadary Richmond has agreed to a Two-Way contract with the Washington Wizards after going undrafted out of St. John's.

  After transferring from Seton Hall, Richmond averaged 12.4 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 5.3 assists in his senior year at St. John's.

• 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

• Ace Bailey's Camp Told At Least One Top-5 Team He'd Refuse To Report If Selected

  The Utah Jazz selected Rutgers wing Ace Bailey with the fifth overall pick despite his representatives informing at least one top-five team he wouldn't report if drafted, according to ESPN sources. The Utah Jazz selected Bailey fifth overall despite his refusal to work out for the team. Bailey's pre-draft strategy created significant intrigue in the run up to the first round of the 2025 NBA draft on Wednesday.

  "I can control what I can control," Bailey said when asked about critics questioning his happiness with Utah. "They feel how they feel."

  Agent Omar Cooper defended Bailey's pre-draft approach as standard business practice. Cooper noted that Bailey completed 18 team interviews and participated in a Chicago workout attended by all NBA franchises.

  "Every NBA team watched him work out in Chicago. Everyone got his medical. They watched him run and jump. They got his measurements," Cooper told ESPN.

  Rival teams believed Bailey's camp preferred the Washington Wizards, who held the sixth overall pick. Washington successfully drafted Alex Sarr second overall in 2024 after he avoided workouts with the Atlanta Hawks, who were selecting at No. 1.

  The Wizards possessed an ideal roster fit for Bailey's wing skills and scoring ability. However, Utah's secretive draft plans under new president Austin Ainge caught rival teams off-guard.

  Utah finished with the league's worst record but fell to fifth in the draft lottery. The Jazz capitalized on Bailey's availability at a position where he wasn't expected to remain.

  "He's great. We were able to speak with him. He was super excited. We're super excited," Ainge said Wednesday night. "His scoring gets a lot of attention, deservedly so. He's very skilled for his size."

  Cooper declined to address specific questions regarding Bailey's future relationship with the Jazz organization.

• Jazz Trade Up With Wizards To Select Walter Clayton Jr.

  The Utah Jazz moved up from No. 21 to No. 18 to select Walter Clayton Jr. out of Florida. The Jazz sent Nos. 21, 43 and second rounders in 2031 and 2032 to the Washington Wizards.

  Clayton averaged 18.3 points, 3.7 rebounds and 4.2 assists for Florida as they won the 2025 NCAA championship.

• 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

• Pelicans Trade CJ McCollum To Wizards For Jordan Poole, Saddiq Bey

  The New Orleans Pelicans have agreed to trade CJ McCollum, Kelly Olynyk, and a future second round pick to the Washington Wizards for Jordan Poole, Saddiq Bey and the No. 40 pick.

  With the acquisition of McCollum on a $30.67 million expiring contract, the Wizards are expected to approach $100 million in cap space during the 2026 offseason.

  McCollum averaged 21.1 points, 3.8 rebounds and 4.1 assists in 32.7 minutes across 56 games last season for the Pelicans. McCollum will be entering his age 34 season.

  Poole is signed through the 2026-27 season on his four-year, $128 million contract signed with the Golden State Warriors in October 2022. Poole was subsequently traded by the Warriors to the Wizards in Jun 2023. Poole is owed $31.8 million this season and $34 million on an expiring. Poole averaged 20.5 points, 3.0 rebounds and 4.5 assists in 29.4 minutes in 68 games last season with the Wizards. Poole had a PER of 16.5 and TS% of .591 as opposed to 12.0 and .529 during his initial season with Washington.

  Olynyk is on a $13.4 million expiring contract. Olynyk averaged 8.7 points, 4.7 rebounds and 2.9 assists in 20.3 minutes across 44 games with the Pelicans and Toronto Raptors.