NBA Draft 2025 live updates: Round 2 latest picks, news and analysis tonight from Brooklyn

New York Times

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Follow all of our live updates from the second round of the 2025 NBA Draft today Imagn Images
Chicago swapping pick 45 for the Lakers' pick at 55 and cash is another reminder that the Bulls are an unserious franchise.
For the Lakers, it makes it much more likely they select a roster player on a rookie minimum deal to help them manage the luxury tax and, if they plan to get under it, the first apron. L.A. is only $4.3 million away from the first apron at the moment, pending possible new contracts for LeBron James and Dorian Finney-Smith (both of whom have player options) and a non-guaranteed $3 million for Shake Milton.
The Lakers also will be hard-capped at the second apron by this move.
The Lakers have moved up in the second round of the draft, trading the No, 55 pick and cash to the Chicago Bulls for the No. 45 pick, a team source confirmed to The Athletic .
The deal should allow for the Lakers to get a player they could roster, a trend over the past few seasons when the team has selected and rostered players like Max Christie, Maxwell Lewis and Bronny James in the second round. While the Lakers are in real need of frontcourt help, the team is also looking for defensive versatility on the wing.
One addendum from last night is that the two guys I expected to get traded didn't get traded. Ousmane Dieng is still on the Thunder, which means Oklahoma City has 16 roster players for next season right now. And John Konchar is still a Grizzly, plus Memphis traded up and increased their cap number last night, which means the Grizzlies need to create nearly $10 million in additional room to extend Jaren Jackson's contract at the 30 percent max.
Memphis can still get there by trading Konchar and Jay Huff, while the Thunder can hang on to Dieng until opening day. But draft night is often an accelerant for small salary-dump transactions like this. Last night, it wasn't. Getty Images
VCU guard Max Shulga
He was so ball-dominant at VCU, and I think there's teams that probably look at that and will be very intrigued. You can tell he's a high-IQ player. He makes good decisions in the pick-and-roll, whether it's for himself or the proper reads first level, second level and beyond. He's the guy I hated to guard or play against because he knew the game and had those European tricks — the push-offs and a lot of different things that help you win games. I hated it, but I respect it. I just don't know if that s— helps in the NBA.
The questions are: How does he play in a system where in the NBA his usage rate will be much lower? Then, how does he hold up defensively against quicker, more athletic guards? He is a good, not great 3-point shooter. He's an awesome college player because of the way (former VCU coach Ryan Odom) used him, but if you can crawl into him and be physical and do certain things to him that you can't really do in the A-10, I just don't know if he's an NBA player. He'll be a high-level guy in Europe.
College fans love to push their conference narrative and conference love, and that usually continues into the pro drafts.
On Wednesday, the Big Ten led the conference race with eight picks in the first round, followed by the SEC with five, the ACC with four, the Big 12 with three, the Big East with two and the Pac-2 and Mountain West with one each.
There were six international players selected. Imagn Images
In Georgia, there has been plenty of pain through the years about the Atlanta Falcons not selecting Georgia Bulldogs products in the first round of the NFL draft. The Falcons stopped that talk in April by drafting Georgia defender Jalon Walker.
On Wednesday, the Hawks followed the Falcons' lead, sort of. The Hawks didn't draft Georgia's Asa Newell, per se, but they did get him in a draft-day deal with New Orleans. So that counts, right?
Duke guard Tyrese Proctor
He might be a Duke player that's undervalued. When's the last time you heard that, right? Can really shoot, can manage a game. Impressed me with his IQ, knowing which shots were good ones. He's a strong right-hand driver and we tried to push him to his left, but he is capable of going both directions. When he gets into the paint, he's a very capable passer as well. Likes to pull up in the midrange. Makes big shots. You can't go under screens with him at all. Active defender and someone that's capable of getting deflections. Good positional size.
I think there's certainly an NBA role for him as a backup guard at a minimum. The shooting translates. He's competitive enough to be able to want to guard. Could he get into an Andrew Nembhard role and be a guy like that? I don't know. That's probably a little bit aggressive. As a bigger guard that can shoot, I think he's got that competitiveness and toughness about him that could allow him to exceed his draft rating.
Wisconsin wing John Tonje
Super impressive on film and equally as impressive in person. How Wisconsin played, there were times where you could kind of take him out of the game, but when it wasn't structured and the game got kind of ratted up, he was best. He excels in transition and on broken plays, which could be a good thing for the NBA with the pace and the timing. Now, is he a good enough athlete for the NBA? We'll see.
Georgetown wing Micah Peavy
I love Peavy. From a defensive standpoint, his versatility is real. He has a competitive spirit. He could impact the game just by being an elite defender. He was probably the best defender in our league on the perimeter. He could impact the games without scoring
His offense really improved this year. He's really worked at it through all the stops (Texas Tech, then TCU, then Georgetown). He seems to have an understanding of who he is as a player, which allows him to play to his strengths really well. Shooting is still going to be a question. Decision making is always gonna be a question, but his size and tenacity on defense can impact the game. He's old, so his ceiling is a little bit limited, but physically he's so ready.
Arkansas wing Adou Thiero
Not a great offensive player. Straight-line driver, athletic, tough. When he led them in shot attempts and scoring, they were worse off as a team. So I don't know what his upside is in the league. Maybe a Lu Dort-type guy. Somebody you can just have be on the other team's best player and try to shut them down. He's one of those guys that's a really impactful college player, does a lot of things that impact winning. And for him to make it I think you would have to be on a very specific roster because offensively in the NBA, he's not going to be able to do a lot of the things that he did in college because physically he was able to overwhelm you and he was an elite athlete, but in the NBA you're going to see that every single night.
He would have benefited from another year. But even if he had stayed another year, he was probably going to be the same guy. I don't know how much he's going to improve shooting the ball. So maybe it was the right move to capitalize on the season he had. Just don't think he's an NBA player. He's more of a G-League guy. Imagn Images
In the end, Ace Bailey's tumble down the NBA Draft didn't go that far. The Rutgers wing went No. 5 overall to the Utah Jazz after a pre-draft process that left league observers scratching their heads and wondering where it was headed.
Bailey had been the presumptive third pick in the draft for the last few months of the college basketball season and after the draft combine, but his pre-draft approach raised eyebrows around the league. He did not work out for the Philadelphia 76ers and it is not known if he held any pre-draft workouts. It was unclear if he might fall into the middle of the lottery or if he had a destination in mind. He seemed to avoid team workouts and visits.
Instead, the Jazz jumped on Bailey and added one of the most talented players in the draft.
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Jazz draft Rutgers star Ace Bailey with No. 5 pick, ending draft speculation Imagn Images
The Charlotte Hornets selected Kon Knueppel with the fourth pick in Wednesday night's NBA Draft. Knueppel averaged 14.4 points, four rebounds and 2.7 assists in his freshman season at Duke.
While Knueppel typically played a wingman role alongside teammate Cooper Flagg, he never shied away from elite ACC competition. Knueppel thrived in his only season at Duke, thanks to his high basketball IQ.
Known for his ability to stretch the floor with his 3-point shooting, Knueppel, 19, averaged 21 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 4.7 assists in the ACC Tournament, earning him MVP honors. He is only the eighth freshman to achieve that award.
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Hornets draft Kon Knueppel with No. 4 pick Imagn Images
The predraft process is often littered with rumor, innuendo and plain misinformation. That was particularly true in Philadelphia this summer.
And that was only natural. After all, the Sixers held the No. 3 selection in the 2025 NBA Draft, the first high lottery pick of Daryl Morey's career as team president. And because we knew who the first two picks would be, the draft essentially started with Philly. What would the 76ers do?
Internally, for multiple reasons, VJ Edgecombe nudged ahead of the rest of the pack, long before Morey and his staff phoned in their selection of the combination guard on Wednesday night.
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Why the 76ers zeroed in on VJ Edgecombe and his All-Star upside with No. 3 pick Getty Images
The 'kid from Duke' is officially a Dallas Maverick.
The Mavericks chose Cooper Flagg, an 18-year-old forward from Newport, Maine, with the No. 1 overall pick Wednesday night.
Flagg — who in April became the fifth freshman to win the Naismith College Player of the Year award (and the first male to win it since Zion Williamson in 2019) — averaged 19.2 points, 7.5 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 1.4 steals and 1.4 blocks last season. He started 37 of 39 games for Duke, missing two games with a sprained ankle in the ACC Tournament.
In May, the Mavericks experienced a draft-lottery miracle when they hit on a 1.8 percent chance of landing the No. 1 pick. It was the first time the Mavericks had moved up in the lottery since its inception in 1985. That good fortune allowed Dallas to add Flagg — a versatile, 6-foot-8 forward with the potential to be a two-way force — to its starry but aging roster.
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Dallas Mavericks make Duke's Cooper Flagg the 2025 NBA Draft's top pick Getty Images
The Portland Trail Blazers provided the first shocker in the 2025 NBA Draft, nabbing China center Yang Hansen with the No. 16 pick. The Memphis Grizzlies made the pick for Portland as part of a trade that commissioner Adam Silver announced would be finalized later.
Yang, who turns 20 on Thursday, was projected to be a mid-to-late second-round pick, but the Blazers are getting him despite already having a full stable of centers. Yang, who wasn't invited to the Green Room by the NBA, was seated in the stands when his name was called. That's why his hat didn't fit properly — he didn't get measured for his cap like other top prospects did on Tuesday.
Yang is the first Chinese-born player to be drafted in the first round since Yi Jianlian in 2007, and the third-highest draft pick ever from China. Yao Ming was selected No. 1 in 2002.
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NBA Draft surprise: China center Yang Hansen picked at No. 16, dealt to Blazers
Duke guard Sion James
Oh man, tough dude. Physical. You go out to warmups and you see him out there, he's just such a specimen. Looks like a Lu Dort. He's got that type of body. Can he have an impact, not to the same level, but can he be like a Dort? Somebody that's just really not going to be screened, fights over everything and is really good on that end. He's not great in pick-and-roll, but he's a good cutter, and he shot it at a really good clip. He's gonna really have to be a specialist type to have a role in the NBA.
Auburn big Johni Broome
His athleticism is probably the thing that's gonna hurt him more than anything, and his age, but you can't tell me that he's not going to produce, even at the NBA level. Is he a starting center? Probably not. But is he a guy that can be in the second-unit rotation and wear people down with his size and his smarts and his ability? I think so. I don't think he's got a huge upside in the league. But I do think there is a place for veteran guys that can have an imprint on a franchise.
Florida guard Alijah Martin
He's going to be a G-League guy. He's a 6-2 small forward, and I just don't think that really translates in the NBA. The one thing that could be said about him is that he's a winner. He's been to two Final Fours, won a national championship, and so he impacts winning on both ends of the floor.