The NBA announced that the Philadelphia 76ers violated league rules governing the timing of this season’s free agency discussions and that the league has rescinded Philadelphia’s second-round pick in each of the 2023 and 2024 Drafts.  

The rescindment of two Draft picks reflected findings, following an investigation, that the 76ers engaged in free agency discussions involving two players (P.J. Tucker and Danuel House, Jr.) prior to the date when such discussions were permitted.      

The team fully cooperated with the investigation.

The NBA will stream every Victor Wembanyama game this season through its NBA app.

Wembanyama's agent recently insisted that his client will not shut down his season to prepare for next year's NBA draft.

Wembanyama's Metropolitans 92 will play on October 29 at 2 p.m. ET. 

Adam Silver proposed a change to the NBA lottery in which teams could not be in the top-3 two years in a row.

The measured gained traction but was met with resistance by a small number of general managers.

The Houston Rockets recently had the second pick in 2021 and then the third in 2022. 

“I like the idea,” a general manager told Yahoo Sports on Tuesday afternoon. “It doesn’t stop tanking altogether, but it does keep more teams competitive as late as possible.

“And it prevents that losing culture from hurting really good young players.”

The NBA believes changes made to the lottery a few years ago have improved its issue of teams tanking.

Some have suggested eliminating the draft altogether would make for a better system. Under that system, teams would use cap space or exceptions to sign players entering the league.

"You're dealing with a 14% chance of getting the first pick," Silver said. "I recognize at the end of the day analytics are what they are and it's not about superstition. A 14% chance is better than a 1% chance or a no percent chance. But even in terms of straightforward odds, it doesn't benefit a team to be the absolute worst team in the league, and even if you're one of the poor-performing teams, you're still dealing with a 14% chance [of winning the lottery].

"It's one of these things where there's no perfect solution, but we still think a draft is the right way to rebuild your league over time. We still think it makes sense among partner teams, where a decision was made where the worst-performing teams are able to restock with the prospects of the best players coming in. So we haven't come up with a better system."

The NBA has widely been expected to change the one-and-done rule in their next collective bargaining agreement, but there appears to be little motivation from any of the key stakeholders on the matter outside of Adam Silver.

The union expects to receive major financial concessions from owners in exchange for this bargaining chip.

NBPA members say they see little benefit to allow a new class of teenagers to enter the league and take roster spots from veterans.

Front office executives have openly dreaded the possibility of returning to high school gyms to scout prospects. 

College basketball's biggest stars are also able to make significant sums of money with NIL deals. 

Silver is on the record as being adamant that changing the age limit is "the right thing to do," this past July, pointing to "societal changes" and saying he is "hopeful that's a change we make in this next collective bargaining cycle, which will happen in the next couple years."

If a rule change is agreed upon, it is not expected start earlier than the 2026 draft. 

Victor Wembanyama has spent time this year working with Holger Geschwindner on his shooting. 

Geschwindner was the longtime shooting coach of Dirk Nowitzki.

Beyond Wembanyama's length and instincts at 7'4 is his ability to shoot, both on spot-ups and off the dribble.

“Victor will be unguardable if he’s knocking down jumpers,” said one NBA general manager.

Big men who can shoot have frequently been given the "unicorn" moniker over the past few years, but LeBron James believes Victor Webanyama goes even further.

"Everybody’s been a unicorn over the last few years, but he’s more like an alien," said James. "No one has ever seen anyone as tall as he is but as fluid and as graceful as he is out on the floor."

Webanyama, 7-4, made seven three-pointers in a game against the G League Ignite this week.

Webanyama is widely expected to be the top pick in the 2023 NBA Draft.

The performance of Victor Wembanyama against the G League Ignite solidified the hype surrounding his future in the NBA. Many teams have been preparing for his draft for several years and more teams may join in their pursuit of landing the No. 1 overall pick in next May's lottery.

"Victor distorts basketball reality," one GM told ESPN on Wednesday. "The tank/trade market will really shift after that showing. It feels like last night will start a race to the bottom like we've never seen."

As a GM on a team with a chance to contend for the 2023 No. 1 overall pick told ESPN on Wednesday morning: "He's a 7-foot-4 Durant who blocks shots -- and he's not even close to what he's going to be. He will be the most hyped player since LeBron."

Front offices had a better chance to sell a tanking strategy to both owners and fans after seeing Wembanyama play against the G League Ignite. Multiple top executives have said their ownership groups have expressed a better understanding of the transformational value of drafting Wembanyama. Plus, the presence of Scoot Henderson as a consolation prize at No. 2 is incredibly appealing. 

The possibility of landing either Wembanyama or Henderson is 27 percent for the teams with the three worst records.

The agent of Victor Wembanyama has insisted there are no plans to listen to some team executives who suggest he should be shut down until the 2023 NBA draft in June.

"NBA people are telling me to shut him down, and we are not going to shut him down," Bouna Ndiaye told ESPN on Wednesday. "If we came with that kind of talk to [Wembanyama], he will look at us and say, 'What are you talking about?' He'll never agree to that. He wants to compete and get better. With Victor, it's basketball first and everything else second. He was so pissed off that he lost."

Wembanyama's performance against the G League Ignite was seen in person by approximately 200 NBA executives and scouts. 

When French club Metropolitans 92 and G League Ignite agreed to play a pair of exhibition games, it was hoped that Victor Wembanyama and Scoot Henderson would put on a show. The two 18-year-old prospects delivered.

Wembanyama scored 37 points on 11-of-20 shooting, including 7-of-11 on three-pointers. He also blocked five shots. The combination of seven threes and five blocks has happened only one time in NBA history.

Henderson led the Ignite to a 122-115 victory behind his 28 points. The guard scored 28 points on 11-of-21 shooting. Henderson showed off an impressive mix of his driving ability and his jump shot.

Wembanyama and Henderson are widely expected to be selected first and second overall, respectively, at the 2023 NBA Draft.