Round 2, No. 41: Philadelphia 76ers draft Adem Bona (2024)

NEW YORK — Years of speculation have finally ended. Bronny James, the eldest son of Lakers star LeBron James, indeed has a home in the NBA, on his father’s team.

Bronny James, one of the most highly scrutinized amateur basketball players of the last decade, was taken 55th overall Thursday night in the NBA Draft by the Los Angeles Lakers. The selection capped 12 long months of guessing about James’ place in the game, which included questions about whether he could compete professionally following a cardiac arrest.

“My dream has always just been to put my name out, make a name for myself, and, of course, get to the NBA,” James said at the NBA Draft Combine in May.

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Full second-round results

Full first-round results

The Philadelphia 76ers selected Adem Bona with the No. 41 pick.

The Athletic NBA Draft analyst Sam Vecenie on Bona:

Adem Bona is limited, but he’s good at the things NBA teams ask their bigs to be good at. He’s a good rim protector, and he’s an active, aggressive defender who has versatility on the perimeter. He’s athletic and consistently plays with a high-end motor. He’s a true energy-giver to his team in the way he’s able get second-chance opportunities and momentum-shifting recovery blocks. Still, Bona needs to improve in specific areas of his skill to reach even just the bare minimum level required for an NBA rotation big.

He needs to operate in dribble-handoffs comfortably and to feel more comfortable on the perimeter with the ball in his hands. He needs to finish more efficiently inside if someone takes away a dunking opportunity. And he needs to read the floor better as a passer and playmaker. I think these are reachable goals, and Bona projects as a solid backup NBA center long-term with potential starter upside if he can clean up all those factors. He’ll have limited usage, but the strengths dovetail nicely with what teams want from the center position.

A college assistant coach whose team played Marquette said this about Oso Ighodaro, picked by the Suns at No. 40.

He’s not very big. He might be 6-9-ish, maybe. But he and (Tyler) Kolek were incredible, because Oso can really handle and pass and create at the five spot, incredibly athletic, and really, really good defensively. He didn’t shoot at all outside of five, 10 feet. He had that floater he was shoot in the paint off of dribble handoff keeps. So, he’s a guy, I hope I’m wrong, was a great college player, had a really good team, the shooting around him, and an incredible playmaking and creative guard like Tyler Kolek. But I just don’t quite know how he will translate as a five man at the next level. Because he’s small. And he doesn’t shoot it. If he was a 3-point shooter, with his playmaking ability, and his athleticism, and his defense, then I would say, no doubt about it. But his shooting is worrisome to me at the next level. There’s a place for him in the league, because he is talented. I just don’t know how you become successful with him in the game, offensively. If he’s in the game, I’m in perpetual drop (coverage) at all times.

Ighodaro was one of my favorite sleepers in this draft, and as an added bonus, he's a native Arizonan who gets to come home and join the Suns. With his ability to pass from the elbows and switch onto the perimeter defensively, I think he is capable of playing backup 5 minutes immediately, although he doesn't do some of the "traditional" big things (rebound, block shots) at a super high level.

The Phoenix Suns selected Oso Ighodaro with the No. 40 pick.

The Athletic NBA Draft analyst Sam Vecenie on Ighodaro:

Oso Ighodaro was one of my favorite players to watch in college basketball over the last two years. His blend of ingenious playmaking and pristine synergy with Tyler Kolek in ball screens was a sight to behold. He was constantly communicating with his teammates and helping them get into the right spots. He’s an incredible passer from all areas of the court, and I’m not sure I saw someone as dynamic in screens, re-screens, handoffs and all the little ways big men help their guards get loose on the perimeter. He also moves his feet well and was useful on defense. Yet, I just couldn’t quite get there for his NBA projection because of his lack of size and strength. Bigs in the NBA are physical.

They move big players around like it’s nothing. Additionally, the players in Ighodaro’s archetype — interior scorer and passer — that tend to work (think Jokić, Sabonis, even Nikola Vučević) tend to be of the much more physical, strong types as opposed to the finesse types. I ended up with a second-round grade and see him on the borderline of being worth a guaranteed contract or a two-way contract.

The Memphis Grizzlies selected 20-year-old Washington State wing Jaylen Wells with the No. 39 pick.

The Athletic NBA Draft analyst Sam Vecenie on Wells: Jaylen Wells is the kind of player a lot of teams see as an undervalued asset. With a COVID-19 season breakout in high school, combined with a late growth spurt, Wells was off the radar for so long that he didn’t get noticed until this season. He wasn’t even starting on his junior varsity high school team as a sophom*ore. That means he’s early in his developmental process, and it shows on tape. He’s still learning a large portion of his game, from defense to passing to overall movement and footwork on offense.

Wells has one thing that you cannot teach: He can fire the ball up from 3. His mechanics and touch are pristine. On top of that, the intel is he's a high-character person who works hard at his game. I think he’s worth a bet in the top 50. The rest of his game outside of his shot is so far away that it would be hard for me to give him a guaranteed contract, but I see him as one of my priority two-way bets in the class because of his jumper. If you can knock down shots from distance at this level, you have a real chance to make an impact in the NBA.

The Oklahoma City Thunder selected 22-year-old UCSB guard Ajay Mitchell with the No. 38 pick after a trade with the New York Knicks.

The Knicks received cash from the Thunder for the pick, league sources said.

The Athletic NBA Draft analyst Sam Vecenie on Mitchell: Ajay Mitchell is one of my favorite upside swings in the draft. His ability to decelerate and play through contact as a shot creator is somewhat rare across the NBA. I buy his footwork translating to the NBA, where he’ll have even wider driving lanes. I also think he’s an underrated passer, and the NBA setting — where he’ll be surrounded by better players — will show those gifts even more. This grade is a bet on him as a shooter. He must improve significantly there from average to well above-average as he scales down his usage. Because of that, I didn’t quite have what I’d consider to be a normal “first round” grade on Mitchell. His floor is not an NBA player if the jumper doesn’t improve, but his ceiling is higher than what meets the eye if his jumper takes a sizable leap — which could very well happen given his touch and the shot’s mechanics.

An Eastern Conference executive sizes up Bobi Klintman, who just went to the Pistons with the No. 37 pick:

His body has really, really improved since last year. That year in Australia playing against men, he’s big. When you have him come into your building, you’re like, damn, this dude is like, 6-10-ish, 6-9 1/2. He’s a fluid, smooth athlete, runs the floor, like a wing. He’s not a big trying to masquerade or transition into being a wing. He’s a wing. Still needs to be more consistent with the 3. But good IQ in terms of pushing the ball in transition and making the next play. If you run him off the 3-point line, he actually is a facilitator. He can get into the paint, come to a two-foot stop, find a guy, relocate. He’s a second-action, third-action guy. His swing skill is going to be, how consistent will his catch and shoot 3 be?

The Bucks have really decided to lean into a youth movement on the back end of their roster over the last two days with these selections. It won't necessarily draw the same amount of attention as the Warriors' infamous "two timelines" strategy since AJ Johnson and Tyler Smith were selected at the end of the first round and start of the second round, instead of the lottery, but this is a fascinating decision by the Bucks.

Like Johnson on night one, it seems unlikely that Smith is going to find a way to contribute immediately for the Bucks next season. And the Bucks will be looking to develop Johnson and Smith on the side while still trying to compete for a championship in the 2024-25 season. That puts extraordinary pressure on general manager Jon Horst to find players that can make an impact with veteran minimum contracts when free agency opens up on Sunday.

To bring the focus back to today's selection, Smith is a fascinating player. The 19-year-old big man is 6-foot-9 with a 7-foot-1 wingspan and posted a 38-inch vertical at the combine, but profiles as more of a switch defender with strong side-to-side movement instead of a rim protector in the NBA. Smith's best skill is his 3-point shot. He hit 36 percent from deep this past season and he has a pretty left-handed stroke.

The Detroit Pistons selected 21-year-old Cairns Taipans forward Bobi Klintman with the No. 37 pick after a trade with the Minnesota Timberwolves.

The Athletic NBA Draft analyst Sam Vecenie on Klintman: Bobi Klintman is a fascinating bet for a team that buys into his tools and talent. He is the type of player NBA teams search the globe to acquire. He’s a big wing creator who can knock down shots from distance at a high level and has potential as a ballhandler and playmaker given his tape at lower levels. He can handle the ball and make passing reads, both in transition and out of ball screens. These qualities are exceedingly difficult to find in players this big; that alone will draw him a ton of interest. He has some athletic deficiencies, however, that could hinder him from reaching his ceiling.

He’s not overly explosive or powerful, which means it will be tough for him to get into the paint and create enough pressure on his defender to allow his skills to flourish. He needs to get bigger and stronger while maxing out his limited quickness. If he does that, Klintman will play in the NBA for a while, because the league is always looking for players his size who can dribble, pass, shoot and rebound.

The San Antonio Spurs selected 20-year-old Ratiopharm Ulm guard Juan Núñez with the No. 36 pick.

The Athletic NBA Draft analyst Sam Vecenie on Núñez: Juan Núñez’s tape may be the most enjoyable to watch in this draft class. He’s an aesthetically pleasing player with his passing ability. He’s as good at keeping his team’s offense in rhythm as any 20-year-old playing high-level European hoops in a while. His pedestrian stats understate his value on the court. At the same time, it’s hard to be a small, non-scoring guard in today’s NBA. Even successful ones like Monte Morris are capable shooters— Morris was a midrange assassin at Iowa State and has made 38 percent of his 3s in his NBA career. Núñez’s archetype is something in the T.J. McConnell mode, but McConnell is faster. Maybe Núñez grows into his body and adds some quickness to take the fullest advantage of his game. Alternatively, maybe he develops into a more proficient outside shooter. Those possibilities make him an attractive option for teams without roster spots available and thus in need of someone they can stash in Europe for a season.

I wonder if Núñez’s fate will be like that of Sergio Rodriguez, the player to whom he’s often compared. Rodriguez is having an all-time career in Spain and has been a Spanish national team stalwart for nearly two decades. While Rodriguez was good enough to play in the NBA, he was much more valuable overseas as a professional.

The Indiana Pacers selected 19-year-old Kansas wing Johnny Furphy with the No. 35 pick.

The Athletic NBA Draft analyst Sam Vecenie on Furphy: Johnny Furphy is an NBA project who must improve his jumper and ballhandling. Defensively, Furphy will have to work on his mechanics and become more instinctive. However, physically and athletically, he’s the kind of big wing every team is desperate to find. He’s been productive in college basketball and he’s still a teenager. I’m lower on Furphy than the consensus because I’d be less inclined to be the first team that must put in the time to develop him, but he’s well-regarded as a competitor and worker. It’s believable that Furphy will be the impact wing in a role that NBA teams covet by the time he turns 24. I just think it will take some time and a developmentally minded organization willing to put in the effort. .