The Cavaliers feel that they got a steal when they drafted Jaylon Tyson 20th overall back in 2024. They are similarly optimistic about their latest rookie, Meleek Thomas, and are expected to sign the 20-year-old guard to a standard NBA deal with the second-round exception, Michael Scotto reports for HoopsHype.
While Thomas will enter the league at just 185 pounds and 20 years old, he projects to give the bench the type of backcourt scorer and shot creator they have been looking for since Ty Jerome left last offseason. He scored 20 points nine times last season despite only starting 21 of his 37 games for Arkansas, and he shot 41.6% from three on 5.3 attempts per game.
Given how expensive the Cavaliers’ roster projects to be, especially once they negotiate a new deal for free agent James Harden, having bench contributors on cheap, long-term deals is imperative for their continued attempts to contend in the Eastern Conference.
The second-round exception allows a team to sign its second-round picks to standard contracts without needing cap space to do so.
We have more from around the Central Division:
- Micah Potter became a rotation piece for the injury-plagued Pacers this season, and he delivered on the opportunity to play on the first standard contract of his career, averaging 9.7 points and 5.0 rebounds in 19.3 minutes per game while hitting 42.3% of his threes. Now, Indiana faces a Monday deadline to make a decision on Potter’s team option, Tony East writes for Forbes. It would appear the Pacers are leaning towards picking it up, as team president Kevin Pritchard recently said the big man would be in the mix for the backup center spot. After they do so, they have another decision to make: they could simply roster him going into next season, or risk waiving Potter and hope another team doesn’t claim him off waivers before re-signing him, a move that would give Indiana slightly more financial wiggle room as they look to fill out their roster.
- The Pacers traded for the 38th pick in the 2026 draft to select Braden Smith. They had to move up for Smith, as they were facing competition from the Bucks and Lakers, according to the former Purdue point guard, per Scott Agness of the Fieldhouse Files (Twitter video link). “They were all kind of fighting for that (draft spot),” Smith said. “So I was trying to figure out which team of the three, and I knew right as they were on the clock that Pacers were it.” To get him, the Pacers traded Kam Jones, second-round swaps, and cash. In 2028, the Pacers will get the least favorable pick between the Bulls’ second-rounder and the more favorable of the Pacers’ and Suns’ second-rounders. In 2030, the Pacers will get the least favorable pick between the Bulls’ and Pacers’ second-rounders, Tony East reports for Circle City Spin.
- Rookie point guard Ebuka Okorie had an unexpectedly fast rise up draft boards this year, but Pistons president Trajan Langdon has had his eye on the shifty guard since long before that, Omari Sankofa II writes for the Detroit Free Press. Langdon’s son, Tayden, attended Brewster Academy in New Hampshire, which Okorie transferred to and played for in his senior year. “It was funny because one day in the gym this spring, I jokingly told [Tayden Langdon], ‘Your dad’s called me a couple times asking about Ebuka,’ and he laughed,” Brewster coach Jason Smith said. “He said, ‘Yeah, he’s called me a couple times, as well.‘”
