Hoops Rumors Live Chat: 6/1/2026
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BRING BACK THE VANCOUVER GRIZZ
3:54
How high do you see Aday Mara actually going in the draft? This has been quite the rise.
Luke Adams
3:55
It feels like 8 is probably his ceiling. Wouldn't be surprised if he ends up in the 10-12 range.
Billie
3:55
Do bulls use cap space to take on contracts with draft capital? Or do new tanking rules make 1st round picks harder to acquire? I can't see them accepting 2nd rounders to take on bad money.
Luke Adams
3:58
Acquiring first-rounders in salary-dump deals was pretty hard even before the lottery rules changed. When it happens, it's usually because the team giving up the first-round pick is also getting a quality player in return (like Cameron Johnson in the Nuggets/Nets deal last year).

I imagine the Bulls will be more than willing to accommodate salary dumps if the price is right, but it's worth noting that the lottery rules might incentivize them to use some of their room to sign a quality or player or two so that they don't end up being a bottom-three team next season.
Grant
3:58
I had been thinking Portland had a lot of leverage in the Giannis situation due to owning the Bucks picks. Do the new rules make the Bucks less incentivized to get their own picks back?
Luke Adams
4:00
To some extent, yes. Any projected lottery pick will still have real value due to the potential for any of them to turn into No. 1 overall. But reacquiring their own picks and then tanking hard is no longer as appealing for the Bucks, since going that route might not net them anything better than No. 11 or No. 12, whereas under the old system they could basically guarantee they'd be in the top half of the lottery.
4:01
Thanks for all the great questions today, guys. We'll do this again next Monday. In the meantime, enjoy the start of what should be a fun NBA Finals!
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