University of South Carolina guard AJ Lawson announced on Wednesday that he will withdraw from the NBA Draft and return to Carolina, where he enters his junior season in the Garnet and Black. Lawson averaged a team-high 13.4 points and 3.7 rebounds per game last season.
Frank Martin stands with A.J. Lawson in staying in the NBA Draft at this point in time. “There’s no need to rush. He’s had probably six or seven interviews with NBA teams, which is what they’re all doing right now,” Martin said. “As long as NBA teams are offering interviews, I don’t see any reason why he should try to make a decision sooner than he has to. If no NBA team was asking to meet with him, I would think he’d make a decision by now.”
Jon Rothstein: Sources: South Carolina's AJ Lawson is returning to school next season and will withdraw from the 2020 NBA Draft.
South Carolina’s A.J. Lawson is still in the NBA Draft, despite reports to the contrary. “He’s still in the draft,” Lawson’s father, Anthony, told ZAGSBLOG on Tuesday.
South Carolina men’s basketball coach Frank Martin said he expected top scorer A.J. Lawson back on campus at the end of June. And a report from CBS Sports college basketball insider Jon Rothstein made it appear the talented rising junior was fully headed back to USC and out of the NBA Draft. But on Tuesday morning, Lawson’s father told The State the report was “not accurate” and the family never spoke to anyone about his decision.
Jeff Goodman: South Carolina’s AJ Lawson will declare for the NBA Draft without hiring an agent, source told @Stadium.
July 5, 2022 | 9:54 am EDT Update
TJ Warren to Brooklyn

Adrian Wojnarowski: Free agent G TJ Warren has agreed to a one-year deal with the Brooklyn Nets, sources tell ESPN.
Knicks to be fined for tampering on Jalen Brunson deal?

Fred Katz: People I talk to around the league expect the Knicks to get dinged for tampering. They started dumping salary for Brunson on draft night. They continued their offloading five days later, 48 hours before free agency even began. They had let go of almost $33 million by the time they could talk to Brunson. You reported two days before free agency that he was heading to New York.
Fred Katz: From what I’ve gathered, the Mavericks are quite frustrated with the Knicks — and not just because reports of a finished deal came out before New York was even allowed to speak with Brunson (though I am not sure how tampering rules account for father-son relationships, and this situation involves two of those). Dallas wasn’t thrilled about Knicks executive William “World Wide Wes” Wesley showing up courtside to a Mavs-Jazz playoff game, either.
July 5, 2022 | 8:55 am EDT Update
Spurs, Gorgui Dieng agree to one-year contract

Shams Charania: Free agent center Gorgui Dieng has agreed to a one-year deal with the San Antonio Spurs, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium.
BasketNews: Here are the second round groups for FIBA WC Qualifiers 👀🔽 Group I 🇱🇻 Latvia (3-1) 🇬🇷 Greece (3-1) 🇧🇪 Belgium (2-2) 🇹🇷 Turkey (2-2) 🇷🇸 Serbia (1-3) 🇬🇧 Great Britain (1-3)
BasketNews: Boban dunking without even jumping is truly a sight for our eyes 😅 #FIBAWC #WinForAll pic.twitter.com/r2JBJbLRZO
July 5, 2022 | 5:38 am EDT Update
Sasha Vezenkov close to deal with Kings?
The Sacramento Kings looked back at a player selected in the 2017 NBA Draft with only the 57th pick. The Brooklyn Nets chose this player, but his rights were transferred to the Cleveland Cavaliers during the blockbuster James Harden trade. No other team was as excited as the Kings. Talking with BasketNews, Vezenkov admitted – he’s the closest to the NBA he’s ever been. “I knew the Kings were interested in me, they watched me play during the season,” Vezenkov said. “I wasn’t sure when or how this was going to turn out. I’m telling everybody now that all I know and all I’m happy about is that my rights belong to a team that is interested in me. The Kings show the attention and want to see me.”