Nuggets Notes: Jokic, Watson, MPJ
Nuggets head coach Michael Malone was “nervous” ahead of Wednesday’s matchup with Milwaukee due to the absences of Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard, as Bennett Durando of The Denver Post relays. Malone explained that teams have a tendency to “relax” when facing shorthanded rosters — just a couple weeks ago, Denver pulled off a major upset in Golden State without Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokic.
While it may not have been the best version of the Nuggets, particularly defensively, they came out victorious in Jokic’s first game back from elbow and ankle injuries. The three-time MVP looked rejuvenated after being sidelined for the previous five games leading up to Wednesday, according to Tony Jones of The Athletic, who writes that Jokic had been playing through the ailments for a while before he and the training staff decided he needed time off to heal.
“I felt a lot better than I thought I was going to feel,” said Jokic, who finished with 39 points (on 16-of-25 shooting), 10 rebounds and 10 assists. “I don’t want to say percentages or anything, but I feel much better than I thought I was going to be. I still feel the ankle a little bit, but it’s much, much, much less than how it was before.
“I think the most important thing is that we were able to win the game. What we want to do is figure out how to establish a rhythm in these last stretch of games. We want to be able to go to the playoffs and perform at our peak, and we can’t do that without being on the floor. We have to find some consistency. That’s what I want out of the rest of the regular season.”
Here’s more on the Nuggets:
- Jokic’s left ankle injury — an impingement — was particularly problematic, with the 30-year-old center telling reporters after the game that he was unable to jump off that leg for a time, per Luca Evans of The Denver Post. “It was really painful, and it was just better to feel good,” Jokic said. “And I don’t want to be on the floor and be nervous because I cannot play how I want to play, and on the level that I want to play.” Jokic is known for his durability and willingness to play through injuries.
- Third-year forward Peyton Watson, who will be eligible for a rookie scale extension in the offseason, has been playing some of his best basketball of the season as of late, Durando writes for The Denver Post. “Peyton’s playing so good,” Murray raved. “He’s not just playing with confidence, but he’s being so active on both ends of the floor. Cutting, moving even if he doesn’t get it, setting screens, rebounding, back-taps, running the floor, causing confusion.” Over the past six games, the 22-year-old is averaging 13.7 points, 5.0 rebounds and 2.3 blocks while shooting 58.2% from the field (50% from deep) in 30.2 minutes per contest.
- Michael Porter Jr. broke out of a prolonged slump in Wednesday’s win, finishing with 23 points on just nine field goal attempts (he made seven, including 6-of-8 from three-point range). After the game, Porter said a lingering hamstring injury was to blame for his shooting woes — he’s at 33.3% from three since the All-Star break, compared to 41.7% in 52 games before the break. If the Nuggets hope to win another title in 2025, they’ll need a much more consistent version of Porter in the postseason, according to Troy Renck of The Denver Post, who argues that the 26-year-old is a detriment to the team when he isn’t making shots.
Thomas Sorber To Enter Draft While Maintaining Eligibility
Georgetown forward/center Thomas Sorber is entering the 2025 NBA draft while maintaining his college eligibility, he tells Jonathan Givony of ESPN.
According to Givony, Sorber wasn’t viewed as a one-and-done candidate entering his freshman season in the fall, but he quickly moved up draft boards with his impressive play for the Hoyas. He’s currently ranked No. 24 on ESPN’s big board (Insider link), making him a projected first-round pick.
Sam Vecenie of The Athletic is even higher on Sorber, writing that no NBA teams he’s spoken to recently have the 19-year-old outside of the first round, with several projecting him to land in the teens. He’s No. 12 on Vecenie’s latest mock draft, despite the fact that he underwent season-ending foot surgery last month, which will likely cause him to miss much of the pre-draft process.
In 24 games in 2024/25, Sorber averaged 14.5 points, 8.5 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 1.5 steals and 2.0 blocks in 31.3 minutes per contest. His shooting slash line was .532/.162/.724 (he was 6-of-37 from long distance, so pretty low volume).
“I am the type of player who will always make the right play,” Sorber told Givony. “I can do a little bit of everything — pass, rebound, sit down, and switch onto guards. Read plays and come from the weakside for blocks. I have a good touch. A feel for the game. But the main thing is to try and help my team win. Everyone says they want to be like (Nikola) Jokic. I also like to watch Bam Adebayo. His hustle, the way he’s expanded his game and switches from 1-5.”
Silver Confirms NBA, FIBA Taking Next Steps Toward European League
Speaking to reporters in New York on Thursday, commissioner Adam Silver confirmed that the NBA and FIBA are moving forward on their exploration of a new professional basketball league in Europe, per Joe Vardon, Adam Crafton, and Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic and Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press.
“We feel now is the time to move to that next stage,” Silver said Thursday. “At our (Board of Governors) meeting today, there was enthusiastic support from our club owners about continuing to explore this opportunity.”
While Silver confirmed a few of the details about the league reported by Sportico earlier this week, some of the information he shared today was new or differed slightly from that initial report.
Here are a few of the highlights:
- Silver said the plan would be for the league to have 16 teams, with 12 permanent slots and four rotating.
- The league would be “integrated into the current European basketball landscape,” according to the NBA, meaning teams would also compete in their respective domestic leagues. Non-permanent members would be offered a “merit-based path to qualification,” per the NBA.
- Silver would want a salary cap system in place for the league.
- Current NBA owners would own equity in the league, but not in individual clubs.
- The league would likely use FIBA rules, including a 40-minute game instead of the NBA’s 48 minutes.
- As Marc J. Spears of Andscape tweets, Silver said the NBA is looking at existing facilities as well as the possibility of “new state-of-the-art arenas.”
The process remains in the early stages, with Silver referring to it as being in the “modeling phase.”
The NBA doesn’t yet have any formal agreements in place with existing clubs or investors who would establish new teams. However, it sounds like those conversations are ongoing. The NBA’s press release states that discussions have been taking place with “prospective investors, teams, arena developers, and commercial partners.”
Sources tell The Athletic that Real Madrid, Barcelona, ASVEL Basket, and Fenerbahce are among the EuroLeague teams worth watching as possible defectors to the new NBA league, though none of those teams have informed the EuroLeague of their intent to leave at this point. Former NBA star Tony Parker is the controlling owner of ASVEL and has been speaking to the NBA as a “conduit” between the two sides, The Athletic adds.
The NBA previously attempted to partner with the EuroLeague, which is Europe’s top existing professional basketball league, but the EuroLeague rejected those advances, per The Athletic.
The NBA’s statement indicates that additional updates from the league and FIBA will be provided at a later date.
Warriors’ Gary Payton II Has Thumb Injury, Out Indefinitely
3:41 pm: The Warriors have put out an official statement on Payton, announcing that he has a partial tear of a ligament in his left thumb and will be reevaluated in one week (Twitter link).
12:33 pm: Warriors guard Gary Payton II has a torn ligament in his left thumb and will be out indefinitely, ESPN’s Shams Charania tweets. Anthony Slater of The Athletic was the first to report that Payton had a thumb injury (Twitter link).
The Warriors will have to make do without a key part of their rotation as the postseason approaches. They’re currently tied with the Clippers for the sixth-best record in the Western Conference with a 41-31 record. The Timberwolves are lurking right behind with a 41-32 mark.
The top six teams automatically qualify for the first round in the playoffs while the next four teams in the standings have to fight through the play-in tournament.
Payton’s workload has steadily increased down the stretch. He’s averaging 11.5 points, 4.0 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 1.3 steals in 21 minutes per game this month. Overall, the veteran guard has appeared in 58 games — his highest total since the 2021/22 season — with averages of 6.6 points, 3.0 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 0.8 steals in 14.9 minutes per game.
Payton, 32, will be an unrestricted free agent this offseason. Without him, the Warriors will likely lean more on Gui Santos and Pat Spencer. Regardless, his overall contributions will be tough to replace.
Hoops Rumors Glossary: Bird Rights
The Bird exception, named after Larry Bird, is a rule included in the NBA’s Collective Bargaining Agreement that allows teams to go over the salary cap to re-sign their own players. A player who qualifies for the Bird exception, formally referred to as a Qualifying Veteran Free Agent, is said to have “Bird rights.”
The most basic way for a player to earn Bird rights is to play for the same team for at least three seasons, either on a long-term deal or on separate one- or two-year contracts. Still, there are other criteria. A player retains his Bird rights in the following scenarios:
1. He changes teams via trade.
For instance, the Hawks will hold Caris LeVert‘s Bird rights when he reaches free agency this offseason, despite just acquiring him in February. His Bird clock didn’t reset when he was traded from Cleveland to Atlanta.
2. He finishes a third season with a team after having only signed for a partial season with the club in the first year.
The Cavaliers signed Sam Merrill during the second half of the 2022/23 season, adding him to their roster in March 2023. When his contract expires this offseason, Merrill will have Bird rights despite not spending three full seasons with Cleveland, because that partial season in ’22/23 started his Bird clock.
3. He signs a full-season contract (ie. not a 10-day deal), his team waives him, and he cleared waivers. He subsequently re-signs with the club (without joining another team in the interim) and ultimately remains under contract through a third season.
This one’s a little confusing, but let’s use former Lakers big man Christian Wood as an example. After spending the 2023/24 season with Los Angeles and opening the ’24/25 season on the roster, Wood was waived by the team in February.
If the Lakers were to re-sign Wood in July without him joining a new team in the interim, his Bird clock would pick up where it left off. He’d have full Bird rights in the summer of 2026, since he would’ve spent part or all of each of the previous three seasons with the Lakers without changing teams in between.
Although the Lakers could restart Wood’s Bird clock by re-signing him, they wouldn’t be able to use any form of Bird rights to add him to their roster this offseason — they would have to use cap room or another exception to do so. His Bird clock would only resume once he’s back under contract.
This rule also applies to players who are waived after they already have Bird rights. For example, let’s say the Heat were to waive Duncan Robinson this offseason before his $19.9MM salary for 2025/6 becomes guaranteed.
Miami, which doesn’t project to have cap room this summer, would have no means to re-sign Robinson except via the minimum salary exception or perhaps the mid-level exception, since waiving him would mean losing his Bird rights. But if they did find a way to re-add him on a one-year contract after waiving him, the Heat would regain Robinson’s full Bird rights in 2026.
A player sees the clock on his Bird rights reset to zero in the following scenarios:
- He changes teams via free agency.
- He is waived and is not claimed on waivers (except as in scenario No. 3 above).
- His rights are renounced by his team. However, as in scenario No. 3 above, a player’s Bird clock picks up where it left off if he re-signs with the club that renounced them without having signed with another NBA team. For example, Kelly Oubre had Non-Bird rights last offseason, then had those rights renounced by the Sixers as they freed up extra cap room. Since Oubre eventually signed a new deal with Philadelphia, his Bird clock picked up where it left off — if he picks up his 2025/26 player option, he would have full Bird rights during the 2026 offseason.
- He is selected in an expansion draft.
Players on two-way contracts accumulate Bird rights in the same way that players on standard contracts do. Jazz center Micah Potter has been under contract with Orlando on two-way deals in each of the past three seasons, so if he remains on his current two-way deal through the end of 2024/25, he’ll have full Bird rights this summer.
If a player who would have been in line for Bird rights at the end of the season is waived and claimed off waivers, he would retain only Early Bird rights.
It’s also worth noting that there’s one specific scenario in which a player with Bird rights can lose them in a trade. A player who re-signs with his previous team on a one-year contract (or a one-year deal with a second-year option) would have his Bird clock reset if he’s traded later that season. As such, he receives the ability to veto trades so he can avoid that scenario.
[RELATED: Players who had the ability to veto trades in 2024/25]
The Bird exception was designed to allow teams to keep their best players, even when those teams don’t have the cap room necessary to do so.
When a player earns Bird rights, he’s eligible to re-sign with his team for up to five years and for any price up to his maximum salary (with 8% annual raises) when he becomes a free agent, no matter how much cap space the team has — or doesn’t have.
The maximum salary varies from player to player depending on how long he has been in the league, but regardless of the precise amount, a team can exceed the salary cap to re-sign a player with Bird rights.
A team with a Bird free agent is assigned a “free agent amount” – also called a cap hold – worth either 190% of his previous salary (for a player with a salary below the league average) or 150% of his previous salary (for an above-average salary), up to the maximum salary amount.
For players coming off rookie scale contracts, the amounts of those cap holds are 300% and 250%, respectively. The Bulls, for instance, will have a cap hold worth $25,057,101 for Josh Giddey on their books this offseason — 300% of his $8,352,367 salary for 2024/25.
Chicago could renounce Giddey and generate an extra $25MM+ in cap flexibility, but doing so would cost the Bulls the ability to re-sign him using Bird rights, which would force them to use either cap room or a different cap exception to re-sign him. As such, we can probably count on Chicago keeping Giddey’s cap hold on the books until his free agency is resolved.
Note: This is a Hoops Rumors Glossary entry. Our glossary posts will explain specific rules relating to trades, free agency, or other aspects of the NBA’s Collective Bargaining Agreement. Larry Coon’s Salary Cap FAQ was used in the creation of this post.
Earlier versions of this post were published in previous years by Luke Adams and Chuck Myron.
Jazz Rule Out Jordan Clarkson For Rest Of Season
Jazz guard Jordan Clarkson has undergone a medical procedure to address plantar fasciitis in his left foot, the team announced today in a press release.
According to the Jazz, Clarkson will be sidelined for the remainder of the season as he continues to receive treatment on his injured foot. That means the veteran will miss Utah’s last nine games of 2024/25.
Clarkson only appeared in 37 total games for the Jazz this season, but the former Sixth Man of the Year provided his usual offensive spark off the bench when he was available, averaging 16.2 points, 3.7 assists, and 3.2 rebounds in 26.0 minutes per night.
Although Clarkson’s 40.8% field goal percentage represents a career low, that number dipped in part because the 32-year-old was taking more three-pointers and fewer two-pointers this season. He made 36.2% of his three-point tries, his best mark in that category since 2019/20.
A trade candidate at this season’s deadline, Clarkson ultimately remained in Utah through February 6, but he figures to be back on the trade block this summer as he enters the final year of his current contract. He’ll be in line to earn approximately $14.3MM on an expiring deal next season and could appeal to a team looking to add a scorer to its second unit.
With Clarkson unavailable for the rest of the season, there will likely be more rotation minutes available for young guards like Isaiah Collier, Keyonte George, Johnny Juzang, and KJ Martin down the stretch in Utah. Veteran wing Svi Mykhailiuk could also see some additional run.
Atlantic Notes: Celtics, Brown, Sixers, Maxey, Payne, Robinson
The Celtics didn’t have Jayson Tatum on Wednesday due to an ankle injury. It didn’t matter, as they blew out the Suns, 132-102, for their seventh straight victory.
Boston is rounding into playoff form at just the right time. The Celtics have won 14 of their last 15 road games with their only loss coming against the Pistons on Feb. 27.
Another encouraging sign, according to Brian Robb of MassLive.com, is that Jaylen Brown looks healthy, In his second game back after missing three with a knee injury, Brown had 24 points in 29 minutes.
We have more from the Atlantic Division:
- The Sixers are desperately trying to retain a top-six selection so that they don’t have to forward their first-round pick to the Thunder. That made Wednesday’s 119-114 loss to the woeful Wizards a key one, Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer writes. The Sixers have lost six straight and 23 of their last 27 games. They remain tied with the Nets for the league’s fifth-worst record with nine games remaining. Philadelphia has a home back-to-back against Miami and Toronto this weekend.
- While Sixers coach Nick Nurse believes Tyrese Maxey will play again this season, Pompey argues that there’s no reason to bring him back under the current circumstances. Maxey hasn’t played since March 3 due to back and finger injuries.
- The Knicks‘ point guard depth took another hit on Wednesday. Cameron Payne, who started with Jalen Brunson (ankle) and Miles McBride (groin) sidelined, rolled his ankle in the first half against the Clippers and did not return. Rookie Tyler Kolek played 19 scoreless minutes with seven assists but was exploited defensively, ESPN’s Chris Herring notes. “They kept coming at us with that high two-man game, and I’ve got to be better about defending that,” Kolek said.
- Mitchell Robinson is hopeful he can play in both ends of a back-to-back before the end of the regular season. He has not yet been cleared by the Knicks medical staff to play in back-to-back games. Robinson didn’t play in Tuesday’s win over Dallas, then logged 13 minutes against the Clippers. Robinson told SNY’s Ian Begley that he’ll “probably” be cleared soon.
Hoops Rumors Chat Transcript: 3/27/2025
Hoops Rumors hosted a live chat today at 12:00 pm Central time (1:00 pm Eastern).
Lakers Add Jordan Goodwin To 15-Man Roster, Waive Reddish
12:35pm: The moves are official, according to a team press release relayed by The Athletic’s Jovan Buha (Twitter link).
11:03am: The Lakers are converting Jordan Goodwin‘s two-way contract to a standard deal, ESPN’s Shams Charania tweets. Goodwin will become playoff-eligible as a result of the promotion.
It’s a two-year deal with a team option for next season, NBA insider Chris Haynes tweets. To make room for Goodwin on the 15-man roster, the Lakers are waving Cam Reddish, Haynes adds in another tweet.
Not only are two-way players ineligible to play in the postseason but Goodwin had reached his active game limit on Tuesday when he played against Indiana. The 6’5″ guard, who played for three different organizations in his first three NBA seasons, has emerged as a steady contributor the last two months for the Lakers.
Goodwin appeared in eight February games, averaging 6.1 points and 3.8 rebounds in 16.9 minutes per contest. He’s seen action in 11 games this month, posting averages of 6.6 points, 4.1 rebounds and 1.7 assists in 23 minutes per night.
The 26-year-old signed his two-way deal in early February after toiling for the G League’s South Bay Lakers until he landed another NBA contract.
Reddish was part of the rescinded Mark Williams deal with Charlotte. After being returned to the Lakers, Reddish appeared in just two games. His most recent appearance came last Thursday when he logged 22 minutes of action against Milwaukee, his highest single-game total since Christmas Day.
Reddish was playing on an expiring contract after exercising his minimum-salary option on this season’s contract. Overall, he appeared in 33 games with the Lakers in 2024/25, including eight starts. He averaged 3.2 points in 17.8 minutes per game. The 2019 lottery pick has played for four organizations.
Since the deadline for two-way signings was on March 4, the Lakers won’t be able to add a new two-way player to fill the opening created by Goodwin’s promotion.
Southeast Notes: Banchero, Johnson, Nurkic, Niang
The Magic have moved within a half-game of seventh-place Atlanta for the top seed in the Eastern Conference play-in tournament. That’s due in large part to Paolo Banchero‘s resurgence. Their star forward has reached the 30-point mark in four consecutive games, including three victories.
In 16 games following the All-Star break, Banchero is second in the league in scoring (29.6 PPG) behind only MVP favorite Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (34.1).
“I’m playing some good basketball right now,” he told Jason Beede of the Orlando Sentinel. “[I] just want to keep it up.”
We have more from the Southeast Division:
- AJ Johnson, who was part of the Kyle Kuzma/Khris Middleton deal between the Wizards and Bucks, has shown off his athleticism since joining Washington with some high-flying dunks, Varun Shankar of the Washington Post writes. Johnson, a late first-round pick last June, had a season-high 17 points against Toronto on Monday, then showed his passing skills with nine points and six assists against Philadelphia on Wednesday. “Getting better and better every game,” Wizards coach Brian Keefe said.
- Jusuf Nurkic is feeling at home in Charlotte with the Hornets after a tumultuous season-and-a-half with the Suns, he told Roderick Boone of the Charlotte Observer. “It’s obviously a different situation,” Nurkic said. “Sometimes, it’s good for players to change situations, change teams. But just being in a respectful environment, usually the response is good. So we are still learning each other — the coaches, team. The organization is still learning me and I’m learning the organization, getting a feel for each other in our evaluations and stuff. But so far, so good.” Nurkic has one year left on his four-year, $70MM contract.
- Georges Niang has given the Hawks a boost since being traded by Cleveland. He’s averaging 13.3 points in 19 games while making 42.3 percent of his 3-point attempts. He told Grant Afseth of Sportskeeda that the Hawks made the transition easier. “This organization has done everything to help me get comfortable with the city and the team. They’ve made it feel like home — and you don’t get that everywhere. I’m truly thankful to be with a high-class, first-class organization like the Atlanta Hawks,” he said. Niang, playing for his fifth team, is signed through next season.