Meleek Thomas, right, poses for a photo with NBA Deputy Commissioner Mark Tatum after being selected by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the second round of the NBA draft Wednesday in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Cavaliers signed second round draft pick Meleek Thomas on Wednesday.

Thomas was picked 34th in the NBA draft after playing one season at Arkansas. Thomas played his first three seasons of high school basketball at Lincoln Park Performing Arts Charter School in Midland, Pa., leading the Leopards to PIAA Class 4A state championships in 2023 and 2024.

As a Lincoln Park freshman, Thomas scored 16 points during a 96-74 win over East Liverpool in the Midland-Geneva College Tournament in Midland, Pa., on Dec. 12, 2021.

Thomas scored 1,750 points in three seasons at Lincoln Park, leaving before his senior season for Overtime Elite, a league for ages 16-20 based in Atlanta.

The 19-year-old will be on a rookie scale four-year $9.3 million contract.

Thomas appeared in 37 games (21 starts) this past season for the Razorbacks, averaging 15.7 points, 3.8 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.5 steals in 30.5 minutes while shooting .416 from the three-point line. The 2024-25 McDonald’s All-American led the Razorbacks in free throw percentage (.844), three-point field goal percentage (.416) and steals (51) and ranked 10th in the SEC in field goals made (203) and steals per game (1.5). Thomas earned SEC Freshman of the Week honors after scoring a career-high 30 points at Missouri on March 7 and was named to the SEC All-Freshman Team.   

DEAN WADE DEPARTS

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The Philadelphia 76ers made their first two free-agent moves under new team president Mike Gansey, agreeing to a deal with Knicks center Ariel Hukporti on Wednesday after reaching a deal with veteran forward Dean Wade a night earlier, a person with knowledge of the agreements told The Associated Press.

The 76ers added frontcourt depth by picking up Hukporti from the NBA champion New York Knicks, agreeing to a $3.4 million, one-year deal. They agreed to a $39 million, four-year deal with Wade, according to the person who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the deals cannot be signed until the league’s offseason moratorium is lifted on July 6.

Hukporti averaged just 2.2 points in 54 games with the Knicks and will add some frontcourt depth behind two-time NBA scoring champion Joel Embiid and Adem Bona. The 24-year-old Hukporti, who is from Germany, was the final pick of the 2024 draft by Dallas and had his rights traded that night to the Knicks.

Wade was the first big offseason deal made by new 76ers president of basketball operations Gansey. Gansey joined the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2011 and worked as their general manager since 2022 before he left for Philadelphia and long championed Wade, who went undrafted in 2019 out of Kansas State.

The 6-foot-9 Wade spent his entire seven-year NBA career with the Cavaliers. He never has averaged more than 6.0 points in a season and is expected to become a key rotation player in Philadelphia.

The 29-year-old Wade has played 32 career playoff games.

He could slot in at forward and join a starting rotation that includes the aging Embiid and Paul George while the Sixers try to build around Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe.

The Sixers went 45-37 last season and were swept in the second round of the Eastern Conference playoffs by the Knicks. Daryl Morey was fired in the aftermath of the sweep and replaced by Gansey — who now made his stamp on the Sixers by bringing in a familiar face from Cleveland.