Technically, Rockets draft Duke center Khaman Maluach (who will be traded to Suns)
Technically, the Rockets drafted Duke center Khaman Maluach at No. 10 overall in the 2025 first round. He will be traded to Phoenix in early July as part of the Kevin Durant deal.
Technically, Houston selected Duke center Khaman Maluach with the No. 10 overall selection in Wednesday's first round of the 2025 NBA draft. He then donned a Rockets hat.
The key word, of course, is technically.
Houston's No. 10 pick was sent to Phoenix earlier this week as part of the trade package to acquire All-Star forward Kevin Durant. So, the Rockets picked on behalf of the Suns. Similarly, the Rockets will pick on behalf of Phoenix at No. 59 overall in Thursday's second round.
But because the Rockets-Suns deal needs to include the elevated 2025-26 salary of Jalen Green, the trade needs to wait until July to be made official. July is when the league's next fiscal year will start.
Later in the first round, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver confirmed that Maluach would be dealt from the Rockets to Phoenix as part of a trade 'to be finalized later.' It's not a secret as to what trade that was in reference to.
So, as with Rudy Gay and others from back in the day, Maluach was technically drafted by the Rockets, and Houston will officially be part of his NBA career story. He will then be officially traded in early July and likely play for the Suns at the upcoming 2025 summer league in Las Vegas.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Fox Sports
29 minutes ago
- Fox Sports
Mavs' no-brainer with Cooper Flagg is latest in what is becoming quite the Duke plan
Associated Press DALLAS (AP) — Before the Dallas Mavericks won the NBA draft lottery and the right to select Cooper Flagg, general manager Nico Harrison said he was preparing for a pick around the 11th spot. Which begs the obvious question: How much more draft prep did Harrison have to do? 'Not too much,' Harrison said as he resisted the urge to laugh. It's becoming quite the Duke plan for Harrison and company. The sudden fortune of winning the lottery with a 1.8% chance paid off Wednesday night when Dallas took Flagg No. 1 overall about 24 hours after the Mavs agreed on a new contract with Kyrie Irving. The nine-time All-Star guard was the top pick out of Duke 14 years ago. Once Irving returns from a torn ACL, probably two or three months into next season, a healthy Dallas starting lineup is likely to include three one-and-done Blue Devils. The Mavs got center Dereck Lively II with the 12th overall pick in 2023. Dallas won the lottery May 12, a little more than three months after the seismic trade of young superstar Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers for Anthony Davis, a move that enraged most of the fan base. Irving's injury March 3 against Sacramento actually played a role in Dallas ending up with Flagg. It all but ended any realistic playoff hopes for the Mavs, with Davis already sidelined by a groin injury sustained in his Dallas debut a little less than a month before Irving went down. Davis eventually returned, and the Mavericks secured the last spot in the Western Conference play-in tournament a year after representing the West and losing to Boston in five games in the NBA Finals. Dallas won at Sacramento before losing at Memphis with the No. 8 seed in the playoffs at stake. A win there would have kept the Mavs out of the lottery. There was never much question that Irving would return, and the move was expected when he declined his $43 million player option for 2025-26 and agreed to a $119 million, three-year deal with a player option in the final season. Irving also signed a three-year deal with a player option the offseason after he joined the Mavs in a trade with Brooklyn. The idea was to pair him with Doncic for deep playoff runs, but Dallas missed the postseason in 2023 before reaching the finals for the first time since 2011 last year. Davis and Irving both have player options in 2027-28, when Flagg will be entering the third year of his rookie deal. 'We had a great week,' Harrison said. 'Obviously, there's a lot of stuff we can't say. But we were able to have initial conversations with a couple of our guys. And we feel good about the outcome of that.' Flagg is the second No. 1 overall pick in Dallas franchise history. The Mavericks took Mark Aguirre out of DePaul in 1981. Flagg's new coach, Jason Kidd, was the second overall pick by the Mavs in 1994. Dallas was coming off its expansion season when Aguirre was picked, so it goes without saying the high-scoring guard didn't have much around him. Flagg comes to Texas under much different circumstances. The Mavericks are in the unique position of letting The Associated Press men's college player of the year find his way surrounded by accomplished veterans. Irving won a championship with LeBron James in Cleveland in 2016, and Davis paired with James to bring the Lakers their 17th title five years ago. The heavily criticized Harrison has maintained that the immediate goal of a championship didn't change when he traded Doncic. The style of play in trying to win one is what changed, he said, with an emphasis on defense. Harrison believes Flagg fits the profile of a two-way player. The 18-year-old was supposed to be graduating from high school about now, until he changed the timeline by going to Duke a year early and leading the storied program to the Final Four. 'I think it's actually awesome that somebody gets to develop on their own time, whatever that is, and we have the support that we can allow him to develop on his own time,' Harrison said. 'We'll be able to win when he's having good games and also win when not having his best.' Davis' extensive injury history didn't do much to boost Harrison's belief after the trade that the Mavs were set up to win now and in the future. The lottery win gave Dallas a chance to cultivate its next generational talent less than six months after giving up the one it had. 'I think it's win now,' Harrison said. 'It's also win in the future. Eventually, it's going to be Cooper's team. We don't when that transition will happen. So I think win now and then set yourself up to win in future as well.' ___ AP NBA: recommended
Fox Sports
34 minutes ago
- Fox Sports
Celtics' Brad Stevens says Jayson Tatum progressing well, but won't return until 'fully ready'
Associated Press When Jayson Tatum ruptured his right Achilles tendon in the Celtics' conference semifinals loss the the New York Knicks, everything about Boston's immediate future changed. But what won't change is the Celtics' front office's prudence in making sure he has the space and time to make a full recovery. Boston president of basketball operations Brad Stevens said the All-Star is progressing well following surgery last month. But asked about whether the team had put a potential timeline on Tatum's return, Stevens was definitive that there would be no rushing the star's rehabilitation. 'We don't and we won't,' Stevens said Wednesday night following the first round of the NBA draft. 'We won't put a projected timeline on him for a long, long time. ... It's baby steps right now. He's actually progressed great, but I don't know what that means in regard to projected timelines. But that will be in consultation with him ... and everybody else to make sure when he hits the court he is fully ready, and fully healthy. And that will be the priority." Tatum is expected to miss most if not all of next season. It has already had implications for next season, with the team opting to trade Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday — both key contributors from the 2024 title team — in an effort to get the team's salary under the luxury tax second penalty apron. But Stevens said All-Star Jaylen Brown has already been back to the Celtics' training facility since he had minimally invasive surgery to clean up his right knee. Brown is doing some light ball handling and work around the rim, Stevens said. 'We said be ready for training camp and I think he'll probably be going full well ahead of that," Stevens said. While Stevens said league rules wouldn't allow him to address the pending trades of Porzingis or Holiday, he said anything they do this offseason is with an eye toward regaining flexibility after multiple seasons with a high payroll. 'As far as whatever moves that those are a apart of, they're all separate and hard and things that you're going to have to do your best to make sure you put yourself in the right positions,' Stevens said. 'We knew this was coming. This isn't a huge surprise. ... The biggest thing for us is making sure that we balance that, maximizing what we can with regard to what we bring back so we can continue to build and grow.' ___ AP NBA: recommended
Washington Post
an hour ago
- Washington Post
Suns add 7-footer Mark Williams, send two first-round picks to Hornets, AP source says
PHOENIX — The Phoenix Suns have acquired center Mark Williams in a trade that sends two first-round picks to the Charlotte Hornets, a person familiar with the move told The Associated Press on Wednesday. The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the trade hasn't officially been announced.
