Latest news with #SamVecenie
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
NBA Draft expert raves about former Texas Longhorns guard Tre Johnson
With the NBA Draft quickly approaching, Tre Johnson has been a popular name. The former Longhorn was a human highlight reel during his freshman season and is seen as a future star. Due to his potential, he should be one of the first players to hear his name called on draft night. That was reflected in a recent mock draft by Athletic writer Sam Vecenie. He has Johnson coming off the board at No. 6 to the New Orleans Pelicans. Vecenie's prediction came after he saw Johnson in person a few weeks ago. Advertisement "I got to see Tre Johnson work out a couple of weeks ago," Vecenie said while live-streaming alongside Bryce Simon on May 6. "[He] was so, so impressive to me as a human being that came in a level of seriousness and a desire to get better. There was just this level of intensity about him where he went through this workout like 100 percent the whole way. You don't see that often." During the 2024-2025 campaign, Johnson averaged 19.9 points per game and scored 20 or more points 15 times. He was also solid from three-point range with a 39.7 shooting percentage. Although the Longhorn's season ended disappointingly, the talented guard was one of the team's bright spots. For teams needing immediate scoring, Johnson will be at the top of their lists. He can shoot from anywhere on the court and should continue to improve at the pro level. That characteristic has stood out to Vicenie when watching Johnson play. Advertisement "If you get him in an NBA scheme where he is running off of actions, taking jumpers, being able to use the threat of his gravity, I think he comes in and takes seven threes per game within the first two years of his career," Vecenie said. "He is that level (of a) shooter, in terms of being able to do it at volume." Over the next few weeks, buzz around Johnson will continue to grow as the basketball world gets closer to finding out where his NBA career will start. This article originally appeared on Longhorns Wire: NBA Draft expert raves about former Texas Longhorns guard Tre Johnson
USA Today
16-05-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
2025 NBA Draft: Nets might have trade partner in 76ers
2025 NBA Draft: Nets might have trade partner in 76ers The Brooklyn Nets have five picks in the upcoming 2025 NBA Draft, including their own first-round pick at No. 8 following the events of Monday's NBA Draft Lottery. With the report that Brooklyn is regarded as one of the teams looking to trade up in the Draft, they may have a trade partner that is able to give them the pick they would likely desire to move to. "It's expected that the Sixers will listen to offers for No. 3, but it's unclear whom the team would take if it stays," The Athletic's Sam Vecenie wrote. Daryl Morey, president of basketball operations for the Philadelphia 76ers, said after the Lottery that the team is more likely to use the pick than they are to trade it away given that the team could use some young talent. "Rutgers' (Ace) Bailey has been seen as the biggest upside swing, and he fills a theoretical position of need for Philly as a big wing," Vecenie continued. "But he is also viewed as more of a project by scouts and executives, and this is a Sixers front office that likely needs to win next year to keep its jobs." As of this writing, it's safe to say that the first two picks of the upcoming Draft will be Duke forward Cooper Flagg and Rutgers guard Dylan Harper. Flagg and Harper would be going to the Dallas Mavericks and the San Antonio Spurs, respectively, leaving the 76ers with their choice of Bailey, Baylor guard VJ Edgecombe, and Texas guard Tre Johnson. The Nets are in a considerably different position as they are coming off a 2024-25 season in which they finished with a 26-56 record. The 76ers finished the campaign 24-58, but they still have stars like Joel Embiid, Paul George, and Tyrese Maxey as they are trying to maximize the championship window that their veterans afford them. Brooklyn could be looking to trade up so that they can get a player more likely to make an impact on the franchise moving forward, especially with players like Bailey and Edgecombe potentially on the board with the third overall pick. The Nets may not be able to pull off trades with the Mavericks or the Spurs, but it seems like Philadelphia could be willing to move off of their draft pick.
New York Times
17-04-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Nikola Jokić's no-look mastery highlights the NBA's annual Bouncies awards
The Bounce Newsletter | This is The Athletic's daily NBA newsletter. Sign up here to receive The Bounce directly in your inbox. Duke freshman wing Kon Knueppel has declared for the 2025 NBA Draft. He's been in the top 10 on Sam Vecenie's draft board forever. Let me help you out with the pronunciation now. It's Kon, like Con from the Nic Cage movie 'Con Air.' Then, 'Knueppel' is CUH (like Paul Walker says 'cuz' in 2 Fast 2 Furious) and then nipple, like the body part protrusion. None of this is a joke. That's how you do it. You're welcome. The 2025 NBA Playoff Matchup Pressure Meter We know six of the eight first-round series in the 2025 NBA Playoffs, as the two No. 1 seeds await their matchups being decided Friday night in the conclusion of the Play-In Tournament. Who has the most pressure? Let's bust out the matchup pressure meter and provide bulletin board material, shall we? If you're a regular Bouncer, you know these meters are a scale of 1-5 (5 being the most pressure). Advertisement (2) Rockets v. (7) Warriors The Rockets' expectations have changed during the season, but the acquisition of Jimmy Butler has raised everything for the Warriors. They now have title expectations again. Houston's youth still gives an out. Golden State has way more pressure. Rockets Pressure: 🚀🚀 | Warriors Pressure: 🧑🍳🧑🍳🧑🍳🧑🍳 (3) Lakers v. (6) Timberwolves You always have a certain amount of pressure on you when LeBron James is on the team. Now with Luka Dončić and time ticking with the 40-year-old LeBron, they need to get things done now. For the Wolves, there is a certain amount of pressure to prove last postseason wasn't a fluke, even with new components. Lakers Pressure: 🎬🎬🎬🎬 | Wolves Pressure: 🐺🐺🐺 (4) Nuggets v. (5) Clippers Denver threw itself into big-time chaos by firing coach Michael Malone three games before the end of the season. That puts a certain spotlight on the Nuggets. And as good as the Clippers have been, there is no longer any pressure on them to perform, regardless of seeding. Nuggets Pressure: ⛰️⛰️⛰️ | Clippers Pressure: 🚢 (2) Celtics v. (7) Magic The Celtics don't have a real threat here, even though Orlando will be a physically tough opponent. And the Magic have zero pressure because nobody expects them to win. Celtics Pressure: 🏆🏆 | Magic Pressure: 🎩 (3) Knicks v. (6) Pistons The Pistons are playing with house money, so it doesn't even matter if they get swept. The Knicks cannot afford to even let this become a tough series, let alone think about losing it. Knicks Pressure: 🗽🗽🗽🗽 | Pistons Pressure: 🚘 (4) Pacers V. (5) Bucks This probably drops down to one for the Bucks if we get confirmation that Damian Lillard will miss the entire series. For the Pacers, there are still people who probably believe last year's run to the conference finals was a fluke. Advertisement Pacers Pressure: 🏁🏁🏁 | Bucks Pressure: 🦌🦌🦌 Gambling scandal reaching college ranks 💰 Betting scandal. Remember the Jontay Porter betting scandal? It runs deep into college hoops too. 🏀 Helping hand. Playing with Nikola Jokić just makes things easier. Here's how Big Honey helps. ⚜️ Joe D in New Orleans. Former Pistons executive Joe Dumars has left the NBA's league office. He's now running the Pelicans' basketball ops. 🏀 Come out to play? The Warriors finally solved their Play-In problem. Marcus Thompson wrote that this time it feels different. 🎧 Tuning in. Today's NBA Daily discusses this week's NBA Play-In action and Tyler Herro's push for Most Improved Player. 🐻 Not again. The Grizzlies are enduring another injury with Ja Morant's sprained ankle. What does it mean for Friday? Most disappointing, best dunk and more The 2024-25 regular season is done-zo! And you know what that means! The most prestigious awards in the basketball world – outside of the ones that the NBA and the NBPA and the Coaches Association and like a bunch of other organizations – are here to be given out. It's The Bouncies! Unfortunately, there was a manufacturing problem, so the hardware is a little behind, but we'll have it soon for the winners. Let's give out the awards because we have the envelopes! Best Rookie: Stephon Castle, Spurs The kid in Philadelphia was technically the best rookie we saw, but he played in only 23 games. Castle had a great finish to the season and will probably win Rookie of the Year and end up the best player of the class. | Runner-up: Jared McCain, 76ers Most Disappointing Rookie: Reed Sheppard, Rockets He didn't get a ton of chances on this Rockets team because they were good, but the can't-miss shooter third overall pick shot 35 percent from the field and 33 percent from three when he did play. | Runner-up: Cody Williams, Jazz Advertisement Most Frustrating Team: Mavericks How in the f— do you trade Dončić when he's 25 years old? How do you make this loyal fan base turn on you completely in one Saturday night? How do you ruin years of goodwill you built up by ruining an NBA Finals team you improved? | Runner-up: New Orleans Pelicans Best Surprise Team: Pistons The Pistons added Tobias Harris and Malik Beasley on the roster. Then, they added J.B. Bickerstaff as the coach. Then, this team more than tripled its wins from last year. They were better by plus-30 wins! All from having an actual gameplan. Now they're the No. 6 seed. | Runner-up: Cleveland Cavaliers Best Dish: Nikola Jokić to Aaron Gordon The framing of this angle of the pass is just perfect because Brook Lopez disappears from a play where he has no clue what's happening behind him. This is just so damn fun. | Runner-up: My man stabbing at this spaghetti behind the Grizzlies bench. The story of the greatest players in NBA history. In 100 riveting profiles, top basketball writers justify their selections and uncover the history of the NBA in the process. The story of the greatest players in NBA history. Best Acquisition: Karl-Anthony Towns, Knicks Especially during the month Jalen Brunson missed, Towns was a big time stabilizer for the Knicks. He wasn't as bad defensively as people said, but he also still needs a lot of work. His scoring has been a real savior. | Runner-up: Isaiah Hartenstein, Thunder Worst Acquisition: Paul George, 76ers Even when the injuries weren't cutting his time on the court short, he just wasn't very good. It's bizarre because he was incredible last season for the Clippers. That's not the player Philly ended up signing. | Runner-up: Mike Budenholzer, Suns Dunk of the Year: Shaedon Sharpe on Justin Champagnie I am begging the Portland Trail Blazers and the NBA and his agent and family to force Sharpe to participate in the 2026 dunk contest. We need it. This man is ridiculous. | Runner-up: Jalen Green on Cade Cunningham (let's GIF it anyway) Bucket-getter of the Year: Norman Powell, Clippers How did we measure this? We looked at players averaging at least 15 points per game while having an assist rate under 15 percent. Then, we got rid of the big men in this category. Powell keeps this moniker from the middle of the season with a 21.8 scoring average and 10.2 percent assist rate. Get those shots up! | Runner-up: Malik Beasley, Pistons Advertisement Tallest Player of the Year: Victor Wembanyama, Spurs Despite allegedly losing an inch in listed height from his rookie season, I still fully believe Wemby is 7-foot-5, contrary to reports of his height before he was in the NBA. Players can be weird about how their height is listed. For example, Kevin Durant doesn't like being listed at 7-feet tall. Congrats to Wemby on being the tallest. | Runner-up: Zach Edey, Grizzlies (7-foot-4) The funniest moments to me: Paul George shutting down his podcast. PG did this in late February to focus on getting healthier, bringing his team together and competing for a championship, as the 76ers were having a nightmare season. He played four more games after the latest episode came out before the team shut him down for injuries and to tank. | Runner-up: Bradley Beal sitting out the final game of the season due to rest (the Suns finished 36-46 and missed the Play-in). Bulls, Kings lose seasons in Play-In Tournament Last night, the Heat and Mavericks took care of business to remain alive in the hunt for the No. 8 seed in their respective conferences. For the third straight season, the Heat ended the Bulls' season in the Play-In Tournament. In the previous two seasons, it happened in the final game for the No. 8 seed. This time, a 109-90 victory fueled by Tyler Herro's 38 points and Bam Adebayo's defense took care of it a round earlier. Then, in the second game of the night, the Mavericks shut down the Kings 120-106 on the road, which has to be easy when your own homecourt feels like a much more hostile environment because of your lead executive. Klay Thompson and Anthony Davis led the way, and the Mavs used a 44-19 second quarter to take control of the game and never really look back. We'll preview their chances at the No. 8 seed tomorrow. For now, let's say goodbye to the Bulls and Kings, and take a look at what awaits them in the offseason. Chicago Bulls (39-43, ninth in the East) Sacramento Kings (40-42, ninth in the West) 📬 Love The Bounce? Check out The Athletic's other newsletters. Streaming links in this article are provided by partners of The Athletic. Restrictions may apply. The Athletic maintains full editorial independence. Partners have no control over or input into the reporting or editing process and do not review stories before publication.
