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The 2026 NBA Draft was a memorable one for the Wolverines. Now, Michigan basketball fans will get a chance to relive it through Basketball Hall of Famer Dwyane Wade's new YouTube documentary series, "The Call: Hoopers," that will include Morez Johnson Jr. and Aday Mara.
Episodes will be released weekly, and Johnson's episode is directed by Jess Speight, a former Michigan defensive lineman. The other four basketball players who will be profiled are Iowa's Bennett Stirtz, Texas Tech's Christian Anderson Jr., St. John's Zuby Ejiofor and Baylor's Cameron Carr.
Oh No He Didn't: Shams on rookie extensions for the rest of the 2023 draft class: "I'm told there is optimism with an Ausar Thompson extension in Detroit. And then I would also keep an eye on Cason Wallace, Brandin Podziemski, Jaime Jaquez...and Anthony Black who's also a high draft pick in that class. But I would look at both Brandon Miller and Ausar Thompson to have more and more conversations with their respective teams, the Hornets and the Pistons, in the upcoming days and weeks"
Oh No He Didn't: Shams on expansion: "The NBA is focused right now on closing on the owner of the Las Vegas expansion team and then moving toward Seattle. And there are few reasons for that: One of the major ones being that there's just a hotter bidding market right now developing in Las Vegas and you have rising valuations approaching $10 billion, potentially even higher. I've also had some people close to the process tell me the NBA could close in Las Vegas and then see who the runner ups are that still have interest in joining the Seattle process. And that could bring some more competitiveness to that process. Now logistically, timing wise, the NBA still wants to have a decision by the end of the year"
It was only a moment, a random encounter on an ordinary day, but Sam Presti never forgot it. A 17-year-old high school gym rat on his way to play Division III basketball, Presti was at the Lexington Club, a fitness center in suburban Boston, one day in the 1990s when he saw a man across the gym. The man did not look like much. A shade above 6 feet. Medium build. Probably in his 30s with an office job. So, when he walked over to Presti and asked to play one-on-one, Presti thought, All right, I’ll give it to this guy. Then the game began. And the man kicked his ass. Completely humiliated him in an empty gym. Presti soon learned why: The man was not just a desk jockey at a local real estate firm. He was Jim McCaffrey, a former star guard at Holy Cross who the Phoenix Suns had drafted a decade earlier.
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It was what happened next that lodged in Presti’s memory as he rose through the NBA to become one of the most celebrated executives in sports. When it was over, McCaffrey didn’t leave. He offered Presti tips, showing him how to position his feet better on defense and breaking down the moves he’d made on offense. He encouraged him to keep working. Made him feel like a peer. “He really coached me,” Presti said.
Presti finished high school, played Division III basketball at Emerson College and dedicated his life to the sport, first as a whiz-kid front-office staffer for the San Antonio Spurs, then as the mastermind general manager behind the Oklahoma City Thunder. Then one day in 2023, he reread a book called “Values of the Game” by Bill Bradley, the former New York Knicks forward and United States senator. It was about the through lines that exist in sports, the pieces of shared wisdom that shape our lives, the ideals that get passed down. “Leadership,” Bradley wrote, “means getting people to think, believe, see and do what they might not have without you.”
McCaffrey eventually transferred to Holy Cross and became an executive at Eastdil Secured in London. Van Gundy had a long career as a college and NBA head coach, leading the Orlando Magic to the NBA Finals in 2009. In both their lives, it was a mere blip, but 45 years later, McCaffrey could still remember the exact words Van Gundy used during those workouts. Respect yourself, respect the game and get better every day. “Stan Van Gundy,” McCaffrey said, “taught me how to be a basketball player.” Decades later, Van Gundy was surprised to hear about his impact. He didn’t feel like he meant that much. He was just a young coach working out a player. But it did remind him of those people who had done something similar for him. In fact, there was one that almost nobody knew about.
One summer morning in the early 1980s, Herb Livsey asked Van Gundy to drive Pete Newell, the legendary former college coach. Livsey was the head of the Snow Valley Basketball School, one of the premier instructional camps on the West Coast, and Newell was coming to teach. Van Gundy’s assignment was to pick up Newell in Palos Verdes, Calif., drive him two hours back to the camp, then spend the next few days at his side. For Van Gundy, who was in his early 20s, it was a plum assignment — and a meaningful one. “I probably wore Pete Newell out for two days, asking questions,” Van Gundy said. “I don’t think I ever let him catch his breath.”
Oh No He Didn't: Shams on expansion: "The NBA and Adam Silver are in deeper and deeper stages of the expansion conversation. And I'm told specifically for Las Vegas the next round of bids for an expansion team in Las Vegas are due on Thursday, and then final bids expected to be some point shortly thereafter. My understanding is proposals for that Vegas team is reaching and potentially exceeding $10 billion. And so far the Vegas process has moved with more pace then Seattle, but those Seattle conversations are continuing as well...it's unclear when a final vote would be. And I think over the next couple of months, we're gonna get clarity on the final offers, potentially 10 billionish in Las Vegas, potentially 7 billion range in Seattle, and then a potential vote to finalize expansion to 32 teams"
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The Oklahoma City Thunder have signed center Christoph Tilly to an Exhibit 10 contract. The deal sets up Tilly to join the Oklahoma City Blue of the G League following the preseason.
Andrew Schlecht: The Oklahoma City Thunder has signed center Christoph Tilly to an Exhibit-10 contract. He appeared in 118 games (91 starts) during his collegiate career between Santa Clara and Ohio State with averages of 9.7 points on 52.9% shooting, 4.3 rebounds and 1.7 assists in 20.6 minutes.
Justin Martinez: Jalen Williams held a five-star dinner Sunday that hosted approximately 125 guests served by City Rescue Mission, which helps those experiencing homelessness. The dinner was held through the WTTP Foundation, a philanthropic platform of brothers Jalen and Cody Williams that’s led by their mother, Nicole. Paycom also announced Monday that it donated $100,000 to the WTTP Foundation. It funded Sunday’s dinner and will support future dinner events in OKC and Arizona.
Justin Martinez: Jason Bodin, executive vice president of marketing and communications at Paycom: “Paycom is proud to help make the Williams Brothers Sunday Dinner possible for families who may not often have the chance to be served in this way. Our partnership with Jalen has always been about more than promoting Paycom’s software. It extends into the community, where we can support efforts that bring people together and make a lasting impact.”