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Lakers Notes: Reaves, LeBron, Thiero, Hawks Loss

November 10th, 2025 at 6:53pm CST by Rory Maher

After initially being listed as questionable for Monday’s contest in Charlotte, Lakers guard Austin Reaves was subsequently upgraded to probable and then available, as Khobi Price of The Southern California News Group tweets.

Reaves had missed the past three games with a right groin injury. The 27-year-old, who is expected to become a free agent next summer, was back in the starting lineup on Monday alongside Luka Doncic, Marcus Smart, Rui Hachimura and Deandre Ayton.

Here’s more on the Lakers:

Superstar forward LeBron James is expected to practice with the G League’s South Bay Lakers later this week, according to Price (Twitter link). James was recently cleared for contact work and is ramping up to make his season debut after dealing with sciatica on his right side. The 40-year-old was selected to his record-extending 20th All-NBA team in 2024/25.
While Adou Thiero is out again Monday, head coach JJ Redick is optimistic that the rookie forward could make his NBA debut during the team’s current road trip, tweets Law Murray of The Athletic. The Lakers have three more road games this week (at Oklahoma City, New Orleans and Milwaukee) before returning home to Los Angeles. Thiero, 21, was selected 36th overall in the 2025 draft. He has been sidelined with a knee injury he sustained in college at Arkansas.
Although the Lakers were shorthanded in Saturday’s loss in Atlanta, so were the Hawks, who were down six players, including Trae Young, Kristaps Porzingis, Jalen Johnson and Nickeil Alexander-Walker. The lopsided defeat snapped a five-game winning streak for the Lakers. “This isn’t the identity of this team,” forward Jake LaRavia said, per Thuc Nhi Nguyen of The Los Angeles Times. “This game was an outlier of the first 10 games that we played. [We have to] just not let it break us and be ready to play the next game.”

Draft Notes: 2026 Mock, Big Board, Yessoufou, More

November 10th, 2025 at 5:21pm CST by Rory Maher

Kansas guard Darryn Peterson goes No. 1 overall in the first 2026 mock draft conducted by Sam Vecenie of The Athletic. Peterson, BYU wing AJ Dybantsa (No. 2 in the mock) and Duke power forward Cameron Boozer (No. 3) are widely viewed as the top three prospects in the 2026 class, and Vecenie views each player as having star-level upside on the same level as 2025’s top pick, Cooper Flagg.

While NBA teams are eager to land Peterson, Dybantsa or Boozer, the overall depth of the class is somewhat shaky, according to Vecenie, who says prospects currently in the Nos. 4-16 range all have at least one question mark scouts want answered during the season.

There’s also a significant amount of variability beginning at No. 17 (Florida’s Thomas Haugh), Vecenie writes, and it’s possible players currently mocked outside of the lottery could move up — or they may not even be drafted next June.

As Vecenie details, the 2027 draft class is viewed as being considerably weaker than 2026, which could lead to more NBA teams tanking down the stretch of 2025/26 to try and acquire one of the top prospects, particularly if a few players rise up draft boards in the spring, which seems to happen every year.

It’s only November, but four Houston Cougars — Chris Cenac Jr. at No. 6, Isiah Harwell at No. 18, Joseph Tugler at No. 21, and Milos Uzan at No. 27 — go in the first round of Vecenie’s mock.

Here are some more notes on the 2026 draft class:

Jeremy Woo of ESPN.com has released his first big board for 2026, ranking the top 100 prospects. The first four players (Tennessee forward Nate Ament is No. 4) are in the same order as Vecenie’s mock, but there’s a major difference in evaluation starting at No. 5 — Woo has North Carolina big man Caleb Wilson at that spot, while Vecenie has the freshman forward going No. 16. Duke forward Dame Sarr (No. 10 on Woo’s board, No. 25 in Vecenie’s mock), New Zealand Breakers forward Karim Lopez (No. 11 at ESPN, No. 24 at The Athletic), Alabama guard Labaron Philon (No. 18 for Woo, No. 10 for Vecenie), Arkansas wing Karter Knox (No. 38 for ESPN, No. 19 for The Athletic), Harwell (No. 45 on Woo’s board) and Uzan (No. 55 on ESPN) are among the other players rated quite differently between ESPN’s big board and The Athletic’s mock.
Baylor guard/forward Tounde Yessoufou, who goes ninth overall in Vecenie’s mock and is ranked 13th on Woo’s board, is expected to become the first player born in the West African country of Benin to make the NBA, per Marc J. Spears of Andscape. “What makes him a little different than some of the other freshmen we’ve had here is he’s very similar to [San Antonio Spurs forward] Jeremy Sochan, a great defender who could guard multiple positions,” Baylor head coach Scott Drew said of Tounde, who is 6’5″ and 215 pounds. “Tounde is somebody physically that can guard multiple positions and wants to be an elite defender and is a tremendous rebounder for his size. That makes him a little different from the other people in his draft class. He has a little more physicality to him than some of the guys we’ve had in recent years because he’s bigger, stronger.”
Jeff Borezllo and Woo of ESPN list the 10 college teams with the most NBA prospects, with Duke (five players in the top 34 of Woo’s board) at No. 1 and Houston No. 2.

Raptors’ Brandon Ingram Fined $25K By NBA

November 10th, 2025 at 4:49pm CST by Rory Maher

Raptors forward Brandon Ingram has been fined $25K for spiking his water bottle while on the bench during the third quarter of Saturday’s loss in Philadelphia, the NBA announced today in a press release (Twitter link).

Ingram’s bottle of water bounced off the floor and hit a game attendant, the statement notes. The incident also resulted in the game being delayed in order to dry the court (YouTube link).

As Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca observes (via Twitter), Ingram appeared to be frustrated after an injury scare — he pulled up limping after fouling Sixers forward Trendon Watford on an and-one drive. Regardless of the rationale, it certainly wasn’t a good look for Ingram, who simply sat on the bench and watched as several people — including teammate Garrett Temple — cleaned up the mess he created.

In his first full season with the Raptors, Ingram is averaging 21.0 points, 6.3 rebounds and 4.0 assists on .510/.317/.902 shooting through 10 games (33.3 minutes per contest). The one-time All-Star is earning about $38.1MM this season, so the fine won’t impact him much financially.

Pistons Sign Wendell Moore Jr. To Two-Way Deal, Waive Colby Jones

November 10th, 2025 at 3:22pm CST by Dana Gauruder

3:22 pm: The Pistons have officially signed Moore and waived Jones, the team announced today (via Twitter).

11:17 am: The Pistons are signing guard Wendell Moore Jr. to a two-way contract, according to HoopsHype’s Michael Scotto, who reports that the team is waiving Colby Jones to open up a roster spot for Moore (Twitter links).

Moore has been seeking another NBA opportunity since the Celtics waived him during training camp. Detroit’s coaching staff is quite familiar with Moore — he spent part of last season with the Pistons organization.

A late first-round selection in 2022, Moore played two seasons with the Timberwolves. The Pistons acquired him in an offseason trade and he appeared in 20 games before he was waived at the trade deadline in February. He then joined the Hornets on a two-way contract about a week later, finishing the season in Charlotte. Boston brought him in this offseason on a training camp deal.

Overall, Moore has seen action in 90 NBA games, averaging 2.3 points in 8.1 minutes per contest. Last season, he played in a combined 36 games and averaged 4.2 PPG, 2.6 RPG, and 1.2 APG in 13.9 MPG.

Jones received seven minutes of garbage time in one game this season. An early second-round pick in 2023, Jones appeared in 30 games off the bench for Sacramento as a rookie, then played a combined 39 games for the Kings and Wizards last season.

Jones was traded by Washington to Oklahoma City in June, but the Thunder immediately waived his non-guaranteed $2.22MM contract. The Pistons added him on a two-way deal in late July.

Cade Cunningham, Nikola Jokic Named Players Of Week

November 10th, 2025 at 2:53pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Pistons guard Cade Cunningham has been named the Eastern Conference Player of the Week, while Nuggets center Nikola Jokic has been chosen as the Western Conference Player of the Week, according to the NBA (Twitter links).

Cunningham led Detroit to four consecutive wins during the week of November 3-9 while averaging 31.0 points and 9.8 assists per game on 54.7% shooting. This marks the second time in his career that Cunningham has received a Player of the Week award.

Jokic also led his team to a 4-0 week, with home victories over Sacramento, Miami, Golden State, and Indiana. The three-time MVP averaged a triple-double, with 31.3 points, 13.3 assists, and 11.3 rebounds per contest. His biggest game of the week came last Wednesday against the Heat, when he racked up 33 points, 16 assists, 15 rebounds, and three steals.

Giannis Antetokounmpo (Bucks), Jalen Duren (Pistons), Kon Knueppel (Hornets), Donovan Mitchell (Cavaliers), Norman Powell (Heat) and Karl-Anthony Towns (Knicks) were the other Eastern Conference nominees.

Devin Booker (Suns), Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Thunder), Trey Murphy III (Pelicans), Julius Randle (Timberwolves) and Alperen Sengun (Rockets) were also nominated in the West.

Central Notes: Giannis, Duren, White, Okoro

November 10th, 2025 at 1:31pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Bucks folded in the late stages of a 122-115 loss to Houston on Sunday. Giannis Antetokounmpo posted 37 points, eight rebounds and three assists but couldn’t sustain that same level of production in crunch time, Eric Nehm of The Athletic notes. In the final five minutes, Antetokounmpo had one field goal, went 2-of-6 from the free throw line, and committed two turnovers.

“We didn’t execute as well (as them),” Antetokounmpo said. “The ball was sticking a lot… Whenever we were double-teaming or trapping the pick-and-roll, they were moving the ball, finding the open man. They were able to make some shots and we did the complete opposite.”

The Bucks superstar is listed as probable to play against Dallas in the second game of a back-to-back on Monday, Grant Afseth of the Dallas Hoops Journal tweets.

We have more from the Central Division:

The Pistons are shooting for the seventh straight victory when they host the Wizards on Monday. They pulled out a 111-108 road win over Philadelphia on Sunday. During the winning streak, Cade Cunningham is averaging 29.2 points and 11.2 assists per game, while center Jalen Duren — who is headed to restricted free agency — is averaging 23.5 PPG and 13.5 RPG.“He’s been dominant,” Pistons coach J.B. Bickerstaff said of Duren, per Tim Bontemps of ESPN. “The way he helps us protect the rim, the job he does on the boards, the threat that he is in the pick-and-roll and in the pocket … he’s a guy that can connect our group, too. He’s another guy who can facilitate and playmake, and then he’s an elite communicator, which has been a huge growth for him defensively. He’s talking to guys, always in the right spot, so I thought he was great again (Sunday).”
Coby White (strained right calf) has yet to play this season, but the Bulls guard is expected back soon. Coach Billy Donovan anticipates he’ll make a seamless return to the rotation, according to Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times. “I feel pretty good about him coming back,” Donovan said. “He’s always been a team guy. The rhythm for him individually, he’s going to work through that, and in time, it will get better, but in terms of him seamlessly coming back, I don’t worry about the chemistry at all, not with him. He plays the right way. Being around these guys, his IQ, his years in the league, I think he’ll know how to come back and integrate himself.” White was assigned to the G League’s Windy City Bulls on Monday to get some practice time, K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Sports Network tweets.
Isaac Okoro faced his former team on Saturday when the Cavaliers defeated the Bulls, 128-122. The Bulls forward, who was traded by Cleveland during the offseason, scored 19 points with four rebounds and three assists in 33 minutes. “I had a wonderful five years in Cleveland,” Okoro said, per Johnson (Twitter link). “They treat their players right –coaches, front-office staff. I love all these guys. But once tip goes up, it’s Bulls vs. Cavs.”

Bucks Forward Taurean Prince Out Indefinitely With Neck Injury

November 10th, 2025 at 11:45am CST by Dana Gauruder

Bucks reserve Taurean Prince has a herniated disk in his neck and is expected to miss a significant period of time, ESPN’s Shams Charania tweets.

The team released an update via social media (Twitter link), which indicated that Prince underwent an MRI last week that revealed the herniated disk. The veteran forward will be sidelined indefinitely as the team’s medical staff and external specialists determine the best treatment plan.

Prince has appeared in eight games this season but missed Milwaukee’s last two contests after going 0-for-5 from the field against Toronto in 21 minutes of action on Tuesday. He’s averaging 6.1 points, 1.6 rebounds and 1.0 assists in 21.1 minutes per game.

Prince was a starter for most of last season, appearing in 80 games for the Bucks, including 73 starts. He averaged 8.2 points, 3.6 rebounds and 1.9 assists in 27.1 minutes per contest. Milwaukee re-signed him on a two-year, veteran’s minimum contract this summer.

Prince’s ability to guard multiple positions on defense and knock down three-pointers on offense makes him a valuable rotation player on the wing. He converted a career-high 43.9% of his attempts from beyond the arc in 2024/25.

Milwaukee head coach Doc Rivers has used smaller starting lineups this season with A.J. Green and Gary Trent Jr. manning the wings. The loss of Prince could result in more minutes for Kyle Kuzma and Amir Coffey.

Prince, 31, began his NBA career in 2016 and has had stints with the Hawks, Nets, Cavaliers, Timberwolves, and Lakers.

Timberwolves Contacted Grizzlies About Ja Morant

November 10th, 2025 at 10:59am CST by Arthur Hill

The Timberwolves have “checked in” with the Grizzlies about a potential Ja Morant trade, Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic said in a recent appearance on SiriusXM Radio (Twitter link, hat tip to RealGM).

Krawczynski described the contact as exploratory, saying Minnesota is “testing the waters a little bit” to see if a deal might be available later on. He projects that talks could become more serious if the Wolves haven’t found an answer at point guard by December, saying, “I do think that they could explore at least looking harder at Ja Morant.”

Trade speculation surrounding Morant began to increase nine days ago after he had a disagreement with the coaching staff during a loss to the Lakers. Head coach Tuomas Iisalo reportedly confronted Morant about his effort level and focus during halftime and following the game, and Morant expressed frustration over Iisalo’s unorthodox substitution pattern.

The situation has been calmer since Morant returned from a one-game suspension, but there’s no indication that the dispute has died down. Still, multiple reports indicate the Grizzlies aren’t currently considering a Morant trade and are hoping that any hard feelings can be resolved.

The Timberwolves were cited last week as one of the teams monitoring Morant’s situation in Memphis, and their need for a reliable point guard has been obvious early in the season. Thirty-eight-year-old Mike Conley has been used mainly as a reserve and is averaging career lows with 6.5 points and 3.9 assists per game. Krawczynski points out that Anthony Edwards and Julius Randle have been handling most of the play-making duties.

Tax apron restrictions make it difficult for Minnesota to work out a deal for Morant or any other star player. Because they’re operating above the first apron, the Wolves aren’t permitted to send out more salary than they take back in a trade, and Morant is earning $39.5MM this season.

Latest On Mavericks GM Nico Harrison

November 10th, 2025 at 10:27am CST by Luke Adams

As Marc Stein writes for The Stein Line (Substack link), Mavericks governor Patrick Dumont opted to continue backing president of basketball operations and general manager Nico Harrison throughout the offseason and into the 2025/26 season in large part because Dumont was the one who ultimately approved last season’s shocking, widely panned trade sending Luka Doncic to Los Angeles — even if Harrison was the one who instigated that deal.

However, while the vibes in Dallas appeared to be on the rebound after the Mavs lucked into the No. 1 overall pick in May and drafted Cooper Flagg in June, the team is once again on the downswing this fall, having gotten off to a 3-7 start.

According to Stein, as the Mavs try to overcome injuries, a lack of shot creation and play-making, and subpar point-of-attack defense, morale within the organization has “cratered.” The relentless negativity surrounding the team – including at home games, where Dallas has a 2-5 record and fans have repeatedly chanted for Harrison to be fired – has been wearing on ownership.

As Stein details, it still doesn’t seem as if Dumont is eager to make a front office change, but the idea of considering such a move has become “unavoidable” amidst the ugly start to the season.

In the latest episode of The Hoop Collective podcast (YouTube link), ESPN’s Tim MacMahon essentially said the same thing in much stronger terms.

“At this point, I believe it is a matter of when, not if, Nico Harrison will be fired,” MacMahon said. “And there’s a very, very strong likelihood that will be mid-season. … After that Luka trade, Patrick Dumont, one of his infamous quotes was, ‘In Nico we trust.’ I’m just telling you, the trust is disintegrated at this point.”

MacMahon pointed to the recent handling of Anthony Davis‘ left calf strain as an example of how Dumont has become increasingly involved in organizational decisions that would previously have been left up to Harrison and/or other staff members. As MacMahon explains, Davis had hoped to return to action on Saturday in Washington, but was held out after some “internal disagreement” about whether that was a good idea.

“There was a lot of opinions voiced in that,” MacMahon said. “… One of the opinions – I don’t know if it was a veto, I don’t know how heavily this opinion weighed in – but one of the opinions that was involved here was Patrick Dumont’s. Patrick Dumont went from blind faith in Nico to now weighing in on whether a star can come back from injury.”

While MacMahon didn’t say it outright, his implication was that Davis rushed back from an injury last season in an effort to quell the negative PR surrounding Harrison and that Dumont didn’t want to risk having that happen again.

“My understanding is that there were people with the Mavericks’ medical staff that were saying, ‘We cannot rush this guy back,’ that Dumont certainly agreed with that, and that ultimately – I was told – by the end, everybody was on the same page. You know, OK,” MacMahon said with an eye-roll. “Ultimately they decided to hold off at least another couple of days. But the fact that Patrick Dumont is involved in that sort of decision making is a major, major development.”

The ongoing absence of point guard Kyrie Irving, who is recovering from an ACL tear, has been one major reason for the Mavericks’ struggles so far this season. But the front office knew heading into the offseason that Irving would miss a significant chunk of the season, and its major summer addition meant to fill that point guard void – veteran free agent D’Angelo Russell – wasn’t even in the starting lineup to open this season. Instead, Flagg – the NBA’s youngest player – was asked to take on a primary ball-handling role that was new to him.

According to Stein, if Dumont does make an in-season move to replace Harrison, the motivation would be two-fold. In addition to ensuring that the executive responsible for the Doncic trade isn’t the one continuing to make crucial personnel decisions, the goal would also be to recapture some positive vibes and try to win back fans that were alienated by that shocking deal.

Kings Notes: Sabonis, Schröder, Ellis, Achiuwa

November 10th, 2025 at 9:02am CST by Arthur Hill

Domantas Sabonis was back on the court Sunday night after sitting out two games with a left ribcage contusion, but he couldn’t prevent the Kings from suffering their second straight blowout loss at home, writes Jason Anderson of the Sacramento Bee (subscription required). Sabonis, who played 30 minutes and posted 20 points and 13 rebounds in a 144-117 loss to Minnesota, was determined to play because he felt that the pain of losing was worse than the “sharp stab” he was feeling in his ribs.

“You don’t want to keep losing games,” he said after pregame warmups. “I love the game and we’re not winning, so you want to try to turn things around.”

It’s been a difficult season for Sabonis so far apart from the injury. The three-time All-Star is averaging 15.3 points per game, by far his lowest total since coming to Sacramento, and his shooting percentages of 47.7% from the floor and 15.4% from three-point range are down sharply from last season.

There’s more on the Kings:

Also off to a rough start is point guard Dennis Schröder, who was added in a sign-and-trade deal as one of the team’s major offseason moves. Schröder’s shooting woes continued against the Wolves as he made just one shot on the night and is 1-0f-16 over the past two games. In an interview with Sean Cunningham of KCRA News (Twitter video link), Schröder admitted that he’s still adjusting to his new surroundings. “I don’t feel comfortable, and when I don’t feel comfortable it’s just not effective,” he said. “I’ve got to watch film and get better in areas where I can be more effective. If the shot’s dropping or not dropping, you can’t control if the ball goes in, but what you can control is on the defensive side of the ball that you’re impacting it.”
Kings fans chanted for Keon Ellis during Sunday’s game, but once again he didn’t get off the bench until the fourth quarter. Coach Doug Christie explained why he’s not using Ellis more often despite the team’s defensive struggles (Twitter video link from Cunningham). “Trying to play 10 players and finding a rhythm for that is difficult, like there’s a logjam at that position,” Christie told reporters. “One guy plays damn near the whole game, the other guy plays a few minutes and then there’s Keon. But I know in this league that things happen how they happen, and the one thing we’re going to do is try to figure it out.” He also promised that Keon “will get his opportunity.”
Christie was complimentary of Precious Achiuwa, who made his first start since joining the Kings and delivered 12 points and 10 rebounds in 29 minutes. “There’s some grown man things that Precious does out there, and I’m all for it,” Christie said. “There’s a level of physicality, there’s a level of aggressiveness and he rebounds the basketball.”