Shaedon Sharpe, Out For Two Months, Upgraded To Doubtful
The Trail Blazers are close to getting a key player back for the play-in tournament.
Shaedon Sharpe, who has not played since Feb. 6, has been upgraded to doubtful for Portland’s game against San Antonio on Wednesday, according to Joe Freeman of Oregonlive.com. Sharpe has been sidelined by a stress fracture in his left fibula.
It’s a major development for a club sitting in the ninth spot in the Western Conference standings. The 2022 lottery pick is averaging a career-high 21.4 points, 4.4 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.4 steals in 30 minutes per game while appearing in 48 contests (42 starts).
The latest development is somewhat of a surprise, according to Freeman. Acting coach Tiago Splitter said last week that Sharpe had not yet resumed full basketball activities.
“He’s getting better, but still not like on a court,” Splitter said. “He’s shooting free throws and stuff like that.”
Sharpe signed a four-year, $90MM rookie scale extension in October, which kicks in next season.
Vit Krejci, who has not played since March 15, is also listed as doubtful. He has missed the last 11 games with a left calf bruise.
The Blazers acquired him on Feb. 1 from Atlanta for Duop Reath and two second-round picks. He’s averaged 7.4 points and 2.8 rebounds in 18 games.
Atlantic Notes: George, Knicks Lineup, Poeltl, Queta, Stevens
Sixers forward Paul George has come back strong from his 25-game league suspension for violating the league’s drug policy. However, it’s unlikely George has increased his trade value, according to Adam Aaronson of PhillyVoice.com.
Aaronson notes that George will soon turn 36 years old and will make over $54.1MM next season while holding a player option worth more than $56.5MM for the following season. George’s injury history would also likely discourage any potential suitors. George has averaged 24.4 points, 5.9 rebounds and 4.0 assists in his last seven games.
Here’s more from the Atlantic Division:
- Knicks coach Mike Brown doesn’t anticipate making a lineup change in the postseason, Stefan Bondy of the New York Post reports. “I don’t believe in never ever. But right now we’re going to start that five and that’s how I foresee it,” the coach said. “If I feel I need to make a change at any time, I’ll make a change. But I don’t feel that way right now.” There were discussions about moving Landry Shamet into the lineup. Earlier this season, Brown downsized his starting lineup, replacing Mitchell Robinson with Josh Hart.
- Jakob Poeltl was handed a three-year contract extension last offseason to remain with the Raptors. Now, the big man appears to be an awkward fit for the Raptors’ rotation and cap sheet, The Athletic’s Eric Koreen opines. Poeltl has appeared in just 42 games due to a back ailment. He’s also not a scoring threat outside the paint and not a good enough defensive player in the paint to make up for that, Koreen adds. Making moves will be complicated due to Poeltl’s contract being guaranteed through 2028/29.
- Celtics forward Jaylen Brown is lobbying for Neemias Queta to receive consideration for the Most Improved Player award. “Neemi’s been great,” Brown said, per The Athletic’s Jay King. “He’s been just consistently getting better, protecting the rim, finishing, making those little shots, rebounding. He’s been great. In my opinion, he’s probably one of the most improved players this year. And I don’t know if he’s up for the award, but he should be.” Queta has started 72 of 73 games, averaging career bests in scoring (10.2), rebounding (8.4) and blocks (1.3).
- Celtics top executive and former head coach Brad Stevens guided Butler to two NCAA Tournament championship games. Stevens indicated he has no interest in going back to the college ranks, Brian Robb of Masslive.com tweets. “I’m not motivated to do anything but what I’m doing,” he said.
Bucks Guard Kevin Porter Jr. Undergoes Knee Surgery
Bucks guard Kevin Porter Jr. underwent arthroscopic surgery on his right knee on Tuesday, the team tweets. Porter Jr. will miss the rest of the season and the team has not yet determined a timetable for his recovery.
Porter Jr. hasn’t played since March 17, when he racked up 25 points and 10 assists against Cleveland. He put up good numbers when he was able to suit up but Porter Jr. only appeared in 38 games.
This is actually the second knee procedure for Porter this season. Porter sprained his left ankle in the Bucks’ season opener, and as he was working to make his way back from that injury, he sustained a torn meniscus in his right knee. He wound up missing another four weeks due to that injury following surgery. He also missed four straight games earlier in March due to swelling in his right knee.
Porter Jr. averaged 17.4 points — the second-highest total of his career — and a career-best 7.4 assists. He also posted averages of 5.2 rebounds and 2.2 steals.
Porter Jr. was re-signed by the Bucks last summer on a two-year, $10,524,700 contract that also included a $5,390,700 player option for next season. He’ll have an interesting decision to make whether to take the guaranteed money or become a free agent again. His knee injury could factor into that choice.
Victor Wembanyama Has Rib Contusion, Doubtful To Play Wednesday
April 7: Wembanyama is listed doubtful to play in Wednesday’s game against Portland but there’s confidence he will play at least one of the team’s final three regular-season games, ESPN’s Shams Charania tweets. His MRI came back clean, Chris Haynes of NBA on Prime tweets.
April 6: Spurs star Victor Wembanyama has been ruled out of the second half of Monday’s matchup vs. Philadelphia due to a left rib contusion, the team announced (Twitter link via Jared Weiss of The Athletic).
According to Weiss, the injury occurred in the first half when the French big man fell to the ground. Luke Kornet started the third quarter with Wembanyama sidelined.
The silver lining for Wembanyama is he was able to play 16 minutes in the first half, so the appearance will still count toward the 65-game minimum. The 22-year-old had one previous outing where he played 17 minutes and that will also count toward the games-played requirement.
Wembanyama needs to play at least 20 minutes in one of San Antonio’s final three games to be eligible for major postseason awards. In that scenario, he would be at 64 regular season games but would still meet the 65-game threshold because he played in the NBA Cup final, which counts toward the minimum requirement even though the statistics from that game aren’t officially recorded.
The No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 draft, Wembanyama had 17 points, five rebounds and three blocks in his 16 minutes Monday. The team was plus-seven when he was on the court.
Assuming he qualifies, Wembanyama is viewed as a lock to win Defensive Player of the Year and appears likely to be a finalist for MVP. He’s a strong candidate for first-team All-NBA as well.
In the latest straw poll from ESPN’s Tim Bontemps, which was released Thursday morning, Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was the overwhelming favorite to win his second consecutive MVP award. The Canadian superstar received 88 of the 100 potential first-place votes for a total of 958 points.
Wembanyama, who has touted his own MVP credentials a couple times in recent weeks, was in second place with eight first-place votes and 644 total points. Nuggets center Nikola Jokic, who has either won or finished second in MVP voting in each of the past five seasons, was in third with 500 points.
The only other player to receive a first-place vote was Celtics wing Jaylen Brown, who received one and was in fifth place with 123 points. Lakers guard Luka Doncic was fourth with 347 points.
Of course, the bigger concern for the Spurs is the health of their best player as they look to make a deep playoff run. Wembanyama has also been battling right ankle pain the past few weeks, though that injury evidently doesn’t bother him all the time.
Christian Anderson, Labaron Philon Among Prospects Entering Draft
Texas Tech sophomore point guard Christian Anderson is declaring for the 2026 NBA draft, agent Aaron Mintz tells Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress (Twitter link).
Anderson, who turned 20 last Thursday, played a whopping 38.4 minutes per game in 33 starts for the Red Raiders this season and enjoyed a breakout season, claiming a spot on the All-Big 12 first team and being named the conference’s Most Improved Player. He averaged 18.5 points, 7.4 assists, 3.6 rebounds, and 1.5 steals per game, with a strong shooting line of .472/.415/.805.
Anderson currently ranks 19th on ESPN’s big board for the 2026 draft, with Jeremy Woo writing in last month’s mock draft that NBA evaluators like Anderson’s “well-rounded” game, including his ability to play both on and off the ball.
Here are a few more of the latest draft decisions from NCAA prospects:
- Another breakout sophomore, Alabama guard Labaron Philon, is entering the draft pool, he announced on Instagram. Philon, the No. 21 prospect on ESPN’s board, more than doubled his scoring average, from 10.6 PPG as a freshman to 22.0 PPG in 2025/26. He also contributed 5.0 assists, 3.5 rebounds, and 1.2 steals per game, making 50.1% of his shots from the floor and 39.9% of his three-pointers. Philon has improved his draft stock after testing the waters and unexpectedly withdrawing a year ago.
- Texas junior wing Dailyn Swain is declaring for the draft, his agents at WME Basketball tell Givony (Twitter link). After transferring from Xavier to the Longhorns for the 2025/26 season, Swain emerged as an All-SEC second-teamer, scoring 17.3 PPG on 54.2% shooting to go along with 7.5 RPG, 3.6 APG, and 1.6 SPG. The 6’8″ swingman is viewed as a potential first-round pick, coming in at No. 29 on ESPN’s board.
- Wisconsin guard John Blackwell will test the draft waters on the heels of a big junior year that saw him make the All-Big Ten third team, he told Jeff Borzello of ESPN (Twitter link). Blackwell, the No. 65 prospect on ESPN’s board, isn’t a lock to be drafted and has also entered the transfer portal, so he may be playing for a new school if he returns to college for his senior season.
- Kentucky center Malachi Moreno, who started 30 games for the Wildcats as a freshman, is testing the draft waters this spring, agent George S. Langberg tells Jon Chepkevich of DraftExpress (Twitter link). Moreno averaged 7.8 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 1.5 blocks in 22.6 minutes per contest across 36 total outings in 2025/26. If he decides not to go pro, the plan is for him to return to Kentucky, Chepkevich notes.
Hawks Notes: Snyder, Landale, NAW, Risacher, Kispert
Appearing on 92.9 The Game on Tuesday morning, Hawks head coach Quin Snyder referred to the play that injured Jock Landale last Wednesday as a “dirty” one by Magic center Goga Bitadze (Twitter video link). Bitazde pulled Landale down by his shoulder as he took the ball up for a scoring chance at the basket, resulting in the Atlanta big man landing awkwardly and spraining his ankle. He was ruled out for at least two weeks.
“I wish it would have been taken more seriously than it was,” Snyder said, per Mike Conti of 92.9 The Game (Twitter link). “To get to a point where there’s no penalty, there’s no suspension, there’s nothing?”
Snyder went on to point out that it wasn’t a first-time offense for the division-rival Magic, whom the Hawks beat by 29 points in Orlando last week (Twitter video link).
“The part of it that’s even more concerning to me is that we played (the Magic) last year — we were in a similar situation, where we had a trade at the deadline and we were playing really well,” Snyder said. “And we went down to Orlando and two guys on our team were knocked out for the season, Larry Nance and Vit (Krejci), both on dirty plays.
“So here we are, a year removed, and you could see it coming. That’s the game plan against the Hawks is to try to punk us. And you know what? It didn’t work, because we were tough and we competed. And then it turned into that when the game was over. It makes me really, really angry.”
We have more on the Hawks:
- Nickeil Alexander-Walker continues to strengthen his case for Most Improved Player recognition. The guard scored 36 points in Monday’s loss to New York and hit seven shots from beyond the arc, increasing his three-point total for the season to 244. That’s a new single-season team record, per the Hawks (Twitter link), surpassing Bogdan Bogdanovic‘s 240 threes in 2023/24.
- Former No. 1 overall pick Zaccharie Risacher played a career-low seven minutes on Monday, which Snyder chalked up to a crowded rotation, stressing that it wasn’t an indictment of the second-year forward. “We only have so many guys that we can actually put in the game,” he said (Twitter link via Maura Carey of The Associated Press). “… It’s not anything about one player, that’s just the game.”
- Sharpshooter Corey Kispert has also been a DNP-CD in three of the past four games after appearing in each of his first 35 contests with the team. “Corey didn’t play (on Monday), and Corey played great last game,” Snyder said (Twitter link via Carey). “We can only have so many guys that we can actually put in the game, and in certain situations we’re giving Nickeil, Dyson (Daniels) and those guys more minutes… (Jonathan Kuminga) played a little more, so those minutes come from somewhere.”
- After winning 18 of their previous 20 games, the Hawks fell at home on Monday to a potential playoff opponent, losing 108-105 to the Knicks. Atlanta viewed the defeat as a learning experience, writes Michael Cunningham of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (subscription required). “This is like a lesson,” Alexander-Walker said. “It’s good for us to be battle-tested headed for the postseason. That’s a good team. Now we know how much better we can be. And we know their strengths, they know ours, and it’s how do we make an adjustment should we meet in the playoffs.”
Pistons To Promote Tolu Smith, Waive Bobi Klintman
2:07 pm: Confirming that the Pistons are waiving Klintman to open up a 15-man roster spot, Omari Sankofa II of The Detroit Free Press adds (via Twitter) that Smith’s new contract will be non-guaranteed in 2026/27.
1:41 pm: The Pistons are promoting two-way player to Tolu Smith to their 15-man roster and will sign him to a new standard two-year contract, agent Corey Marcum tells Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link).
Smith, who went undrafted out of Mississippi State in 2024, signed a two-year, two-way contract with the Pistons in January of 2025 and has been on that deal since then. He played just once for Detroit last season and has made only 13 NBA appearances in 2025/26, but several of those appearances have come in recent weeks. He had eight points and three rebounds in 13 minutes of action in Orlando on Monday.
Smith has had a more significant role in the G League this season, averaging 19.5 points, 11.0 rebounds, 3.6 assists, and 1.5 blocks in 28.7 minutes per game across 26 outings for the Motor City Cruise.
Adding the 6’11” forward to their standard roster will allow the Pistons to use Smith in the postseason if they need to, giving them a little more frontcourt depth. He wouldn’t have been playoff-eligible if he had remained on his two-way contract.
The Pistons’ 15-man roster is currently full, so someone will need to be waived in order to create an opening for Smith. Based on usage and contract situations, second-year forward Bobi Klintman may be the odd man out. The 23-year-old has made just 20 NBA appearances since being drafted 37th overall in 2024, including 12 this season, and isn’t owed any guaranteed money beyond 2025/26.
Rockets Promoting JD Davison To Standard Roster
The Rockets have agreed to a two-year contract with guard JD Davison and will promote him to their standard 15-man roster, agent Corey Marcum tells ESPN’s Shams Charania (Twitter link). The second year of Davison’s deal will be a team option, add Varun Shankar of The Washington Post (Twitter link).
Davison, who previously spent three seasons with Boston, has appeared in a career-high 27 games for the Rockets this season but has played sparingly, logging just 192 total minutes. He’s averaging 2.2 points and 1.0 assist in 7.1 minutes per contest.
Although Davison has only seen action in 27 games, he has been active for 23 more, so he had reached his 50-game limit and was ineligible to play again in 2025/26 unless he was promoted to Houston’s standard roster.
As we outlined on Monday, in addition to the fact that Davison had hit his personal 50-game cap, the Rockets had used up all 90 of their “under-15” games. Teams are only permitted to use their two-way players for a combined total of 90 games if they’re carrying fewer than 15 players on standard contracts, and Houston reached that limit.
Promoting Davison will address both issues for the Rockets. He’ll now be able to play in the team’s remaining regular season games and in the postseason, with his 50-game limit no longer in place. Meanwhile, Houston will also be able to its other two-way players (Tristen Newton and Isaiah Crawford) during the final week of the regular season, if needed, since the club will have a full 15-man roster.
Grizzlies Re-Sign Adama Bal To Hardship Deal
The Grizzlies have re-signed forward Adama Bal following the expiration of his first 10-day contract on Monday night, the team announced in a press release (Twitter link).
While Bal’s new deal is referred to by Memphis as a second 10-day contract, there are only technically six days left in the season, so it’ll pay him just $43,892, a prorated portion of the usual $73,153 figure for a rookie. Standard 10-day signings are no longer permitted, but the Grizzlies can sign Bal to a “10-day” contract using a hardship exception, since they’re dealing with so many injuries.
A 6’7″ French forward who spent most of the season with the Westchester Knicks, Bal got into six games during his first 10 days with Memphis. He played 27.3 minutes per night off the bench and contributed 8.8 points, 2.8 rebounds, 1.7 assists, and 1.0 steal per contest, making 43.3% of his three-point tries (13-of-30).
The former Santa Clara standout is one of four players on hardship deals with the Grizzlies, who are carrying a 22-man roster since they have seven players out with season-ending injuries. Lucas Williamson‘s 10-day contract will expire on Thursday night, while Dariq Whitehead‘s and Toby Okani‘s will – like Bal’s – run through Sunday’s regular season finale.
NBA G League Announces 2025/26 All-NBAGL Teams
Four days after being named the 2025/26 NBA G League Most Valuable Player, Bulls two-way guard Mac McClung has also earned a spot on the All-NBAGL first team, the league announced (all Twitter links).
McClung, who averaged 31.8 points, 7.9 assists, and 3.6 rebounds per game on .515/.381/.775 shooting in 29 regular season outings for Windy City, headlines that five-man group of G League standouts along with Rockets two-way player Tristen Newton and NBA veteran DaQuan Jeffries, who finished second and third, respectively, in MVP voting.
Newton, who made five appearances for the Iowa Wolves before joining the Rio Grande Valley Vipers for 30 more games, registered averages of 25.6 PPG, 5.2 RPG, and 4.5 APG with a .480/.376/.859 shooting line. Jeffries, who had a brief NBA stint this season on a 10-day contract with Sacramento, made 28 regular season appearances for the Stockton Kings and contributed 23.5 PPG, 5.9 RPG, and 2.4 APG with an excellent shooting line of .515/.436/.831.
Pistons two-way player Isaac Jones and veteran NBA guard Lester Quinones round out the All-G League first team.
The complete breakdown of the 2025/26 All-NBA G League teams is below. Players who are currently on standard NBA contracts are noted with an asterisk (*), while those on two-way contracts are noted with a caret (^).
All-NBAGL First Team
- DaQuan Jeffries (Stockton Kings)
- Isaac Jones (Motor City Cruise) ^
- Mac McClung (Windy City Bulls) ^
- Tristen Newton (Rio Grande Valley Vipers) ^
- Lester Quinones (Osceola Magic)
All-NBAGL Second Team
- Kobe Bufkin (South Bay Lakers) *
- Killian Hayes (Cleveland Charge) *
- Note: Hayes played for the Cavaliers’ G League affiliate but is on a standard contract with the Kings.
- A.J. Lawson (Raptors 905) ^
- Drew Timme (South Bay Lakers) ^
- Jahmir Young (Sioux Falls Skyforce) ^
All-NBAGL Third Team
- RayJ Dennis (College Park Skyhawks) ^
- PJ Hall (Greensboro Swarm) ^
- Ron Harper Jr. (Maine Celtics) *
- Alijah Martin (Raptors 905) ^
- Daishen Nix (Rio Grande Valley Vipers)