Zach Edey knows the current NBA is all about centers who can step out and shoot. Edey thinks he can do that too, but he's more focused on staying true to his game.

“I think it just comes with kind of realizing who I am,” Edey said. “I’m never going to be the wiry seven-foot guy who can — like Kevin Durant, that is never going to be me, guys like that. I’m a 7-foot-4, 300-pound guy. I’m built to be in the paint, to carve out space to protect my area. And that’s what I’m gonna keep doing. I think there’s a lot of people in the NBA that do stuff like that. (Jonas) Valanciunas, (Ivica) Zubac, Steven Adams; guys who had a lot of success in the NBA being those paint presences. I’m going to stick to who I am and I kind of know who I am.”

The Purdue product measured in at nearly 7-foot-4 without shoes at the NBA Draft Combine. He also ended up with a nearly 7-foot-11 wingspan. That size, combined with his skill and timing, made Edey one of college basketball's best shot-blockers last season.

That skill, plus his ability to control the glass, is what Edey plans to bring initially into the NBA.

“A team would be drafting me for who I am,” Edey said. “I think I can get there but right now they’re not drafting me for, like, pick-and-pop shoot 3s. Right now, they’re drafting me to get in the paint, get rebounds, protect the paint. Obviously, you saw in my shooting drills I can shoot. I can do stuff like that if you ask me to.

“But it all just comes down to what the team asks me to do at the end of the day.”

The Utah Jazz have expressed interest in working out Bronny James, sources told Krysten Peek of Yahoo! Sports.

The team could be interested in selecting James with the 32nd pick in the upcoming draft.

James said earlier in the week that his focus was getting to the league instead of playing with LeBron James. 

Evan Mobley's representation cautioned the Cleveland Cavaliers from selecting him with the third pick in the 2021 NBA Draft, sources told The Athletic. Mobley is represented by Thaddeus Foucher and Joe Smith of Wasserman.

Mobley's representation were attempting to get him to the Oklahoma City Thunder.

The Thunder reportedly made several offers to the Cavs for the third pick. 

With Mobley available for an extension this summer, the two sides now have a healthy relationship.

Bronny James is more focused about establishing his NBA career than playing with his father LeBron James.

"I would be happy about getting to the league instead of me thinking about playing with my dad," Bronny James said. "That's not my mindset or not at all. I'm just trying to put in the work and see where it takes me from there."

Bronny James didn't grant interviews during his season at USC.

"Bronny was just a nickname that I was just given when I was younger," James said. "But everything that follows my dad, people just try to link me with that and all the greatness that he's achieved. I haven't done anything yet, so I feel like there needs to be that divide between Bronny and LeBron.

"Everyone's heard this before. I just want to have people know my name is Bronny James and not being identified as just LeBron James' son. I feel like that would great."

Nikola Topic, a potential top-five pick in the 2024 NBA Draft, suffered a left knee injury on Monday. Topic was injured on a non-contact play after an awkward landing following making a pass. An MRI showed Topic suffered a sprained knee.

Topic is expected to miss the remainder of the ABA Finals due to the injury. Topic is expected to be a full participant in workouts in June, ahead of the draft.

The 6-foot-6 point guard was injured in Game 1 of the Adriatic League finals. Topic had returned to Crvena Zvezda after spending the early part of the season playing for Mega Bemax.

Topic is considered a top-five pick by most draft experts. Some even have him in consideration to go as high as the second pick. The 18-year-old missed four-and-a-half months earlier this season with an injury to same knee he injured on Monday.

While the Houston Rockets were linked with a trade pursuit of Mikal Bridges back in January, they were also seeking a way to convert some of their future picks into picks that stretch further out into the future.

During that trade discussion, the Rockets offered the Brooklyn Nets their own first round picks back to them in exchange for the picks from the Phoenix Suns.

The Nets declined that scenario as they were pursuing a spot in the playoffs last season.

The Rockets ultimately held onto Brooklyn's pick in the 2024 draft and it moved up in the lottery to No. 3. 

Houston could reach out to other teams with a similar stockpile of picks such as the Utah Jazz or the Oklahoma City Thunder.

The Rockets traded James Harden to the Nets in 2021 for unprotected first round picks in 2022, 2024 and 2026, along with pick swaps in 2021, 2023, 2025 and 2027. Brooklyn subsequently traded Kevin Durant to the Suns in 2023 for first round picks in 2023, 2025, 2027 and 2029, as well as a pick swap in 2028.

LeBron James has deemphasized the importance of playing alongside his son, Bronny James, both in public comments and the reporting surrounding the situation. Bronny James' draft standing has come into question over the past few months after a cardiac situation last summer and an uneven season at USC.

The Los Angeles Lakers do have interest in adding Bronny James to their roster, but they are not preparing to use their first round pick on him.

"I think if the Lakers have an opportunity to draft Bronny James, they will do so. Whether that's with the 55th pick, or if they make another deal around the draft where they pick up another pick, I think they will try. I don't think it is going to be their top priority. I don't think the league right now is looking at this like if you draft Bronny James and you can get LeBron."

The Memphis Grizzlies are expected to evaluate trade opportunities for the No. 9 overall pick, sources tell Zach Lowe of ESPN.

The Grizzlies are treating their 23-24 season as a gap of year of sorts as Ja Morant began the season suspended and then suffered a season-ending injury. The Grizzlies could look to turn the lottery pick into a veteran contributor.

Memphis, however, isn't determined to trading the pick and instead "will look at everything."

With the 2024 NBA draft considered one of the weaker ones in recent memory, the trade packages for No. 9 could be limited. 

Bronny James has been medically cleared by the NBA's Fitness to Play Panel. That means James is fully cleared to participate in the 2024 NBA Draft process.

Last summer, James went into cardiac arrest. It was discovered he had a congenital heart defect and he had surgery to repair to it. James then spent several months recovering before making his collegiate debut on December 10.

The 6-foot-4 guard then played 25 games for the Trojans in his freshman season. James averaged 4.8 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.1 assists in 19.4 minutes per game.

After being medically cleared, James is expected to stay in the draft. He has until May 29 to withdraw from the draft and to return to play college basketball.

The Houston Rockets had some luck in the 2024 NBA Draft Lottery. The Rockets, who got their pick from the Brooklyn Nets in the James Harden trade in 2021, moved from the ninth overall pick to the third overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft.

Now, Houston GM Rafael Stone is expected to shop the third pick in trade talks to bring in a veteran player. The Rockets signed several veteran free agents in the 2023 offseason. Those players helped Houston improve from 22 wins in 2022-23 to 41 wins in 2023-24.

In addition to adding the vets, the Rockets still have a good young core. That has Houston looking at options for more win-now help, as opposed to adding another young player to the core of Alperen Sengun, Jalen Green, Jabari Smith II, Amen Thompson and Tari Eason.