NBA Rumors - HoopsRumors.com

Thunder Notes: Paul, SGA, Dort, Holmgren

December 10th, 2025 at 6:12pm CST by Arthur Hill

The single season that Chris Paul spent with the Thunder planted the seeds for last year’s championship run and the current 23-1 start, writes Tim MacMahon of ESPN. Paul was traded to Oklahoma City in the summer of 2019, along with a collection of draft assets, in the deal that sent Russell Westbrook to Houston. He regularly invited his younger teammates to his home on off nights to watch other NBA teams play and used those games as teaching opportunities. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Luguentz Dort both credit that experience with helping them develop into better players.

“Chris really was the first person to show me what it meant to be a professional,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “He was always doing extra. It was more so off the court than on the court. It was the things you don’t think about as a kid. As a kid, you’re taught to just work super hard, but you’re not really taught nutrition and taking care of your body, getting massages, getting treatment, those type of things he was always on top of. He just always had a get-better mentality in every way, in every way of life.”

Paul was especially influential with Dort, who was in his rookie season when they were teammates. Paul bought him an iPad to study game footage, along with a subscription to the Second Spectrum video service. He was also vocal about encouraging Dort not to pass up open shots, even though he was connecting at less than 30% from beyond the arc at the time.

“I used to be on Lu all the time,” Paul said. “I used to say, ‘Lu, you play defense so hard and you compete so hard that I don’t care if you miss (shots) on offense. I just want you to shoot it and give yourself a chance.’ When guys compete and play like that, then you live with the results.”

There’s more from Oklahoma City:

In an interview with Marc J. Spears of Andscape, Gilgeous-Alexander said the Thunder became more motivated to succeed after losing to Milwaukee in last year’s NBA Cup final. OKC was already establishing itself as one of the NBA’s elite teams, but it fell by 16 points to a veteran Bucks squad in the title game. “It definitely helped. It for sure helped. Losing in general helps all the time,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “It’s easy to learn from losing. It definitely just showed us the formula for losing. The way we played that night, we didn’t give what the game required and it showed us that. And I think that prepared us to go into the playoffs having to play for something. It showed us before the schemes, before the scouting report, before the making shots, missing shots, the personnel, you’ve got to bring a certain level of intensity, focus and fight to the game if you want a chance to win.”
One reason for this year’s improvement is the presence of Chet Holmgren, who was only available for 32 regular season games last year. Holmgren has re-invented himself on offense, observes Rylan Stiles of Sports Illustrated, becoming an efficient shooter all over the court and a reliable scorer in transition, pick-and-rolls and post-ups.
The Thunder’s dominance may make teams reluctant to go all in with trade offers for Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo, suggests Kirk Goldsberry of The Ringer. Particularly for Western Conference teams, it may not make sense to mortgage their future in a major deal when OKC looks unbeatable.

Kerr, Spoelstra, Lue Top List Of NBA’s Highest-Paid Coaches

December 10th, 2025 at 4:59pm CST by Luke Adams

Warriors head coach Steve Kerr is the NBA’s highest-paid head coach, with an average annual value of $17.5MM on his current contract, according to Kurt Badenhausen of Sportico. Erik Spoelstra of the Heat and Tyronn Lue of the Clippers round out the top three at $15MM per year, Badenhausen adds.

While Kerr is the highest earner among head coaches in the short term, his deal with Golden State expires at the end of the 2025/26 season, whereas Spoelstra (eight years) and Lue (five years) signed longer-term extensions in 2024, so they’re assured of far more overall guaranteed money.

After that top three, there are several coaches in the range of $11MM annually, per Badenhausen: Doc Rivers of the Bucks, Ime Udoka of the Rockets, Joe Mazzulla of the Celtics, and Rick Carlisle of the Pacers.

The Knicks‘ Mike Brown is the only other coach with an average annual value of at least $10MM, with Mavericks coach Jason Kidd coming in at $9.5MM per year and Lakers coach JJ Redick at $9MM annually.

Interestingly, while Spoelstra, Kerr, and Lue are three of the NBA’s four longest-tenured head coaches, the other member of that group – Billy Donovan of the Bulls, the league’s third longest-tenured coach – doesn’t crack the list of top 10 salaries shared by Badenhausen.

Details on the other 20 NBA head coaches’ contracts aren’t included in Badenhausen’s report, but he notes that the lower end of coaching salaries is approximately $4MM per year. Presumably, that figure applies only to coaches who have the title permanently, rather than assistants who have received in-season promotions and are serving as interim replacements, such as James Borrego in New Orleans or Tiago Splitter in Portland.

For what it’s worth, the NBA’s estimated average salary for players in 2025/26 is $13.87MM, so just three of 30 head coaches are earning more than an average player in the league.

Atlantic Notes: Tatum, Sixers, Kolek, Hukporti

December 10th, 2025 at 3:59pm CST by Luke Adams

With the streaking Celtics having climbed to the No. 3 spot in the Eastern Conference on the strength of five consecutive wins and Jayson Tatum doing 1-on-1 work, head coach Joe Mazzulla was asked on Wednesday when conversations might begin in earnest about the possibility of the star forward returning from his Achilles tear in the coming months.

“It’s all up to him,” Mazzulla said, per Jay King of The Athletic. “At the end of the day, his health is the most important thing, his process is the most important thing. You trust him, trust the team that’s around him — he’s got a great team — and then you just kind of go from there. So it kind of just all starts (with) where him and his team think he’s at.”

While Tatum will certainly be involved in the decision on if and when he returns to the court this season, it’s not his to make alone. The Celtics’ front office and medical team, as well as Tatum’s own doctors, will be involved in determining what that plan looks like.

Mazzulla made it clear that he’s not spending much time thinking about whether or not he’ll get Tatum back in his lineup later in the season, since he appreciates the way the 27-year-old is contributing to the team even without playing in games.

“To me, the only thing I care about is his presence and his leadership, and he’s given that in different ways — on the bench for games, communicating with guys, in film sessions, traveling with us,” Mazzulla said. “At the end of the day, he’s on our team. He’s a part of our team. He’s helping us get better, and then everything else just comes down to him and the people around him, and you just trust that.”

We have more from around the Atlantic:

The Sixers need more from their centers, according to Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer, who notes that Joel Embiid went 4-for-21 from the floor in Sunday’s loss to the Lakers, while Andre Drummond was a -15 in 18 minutes despite registering a double-double (11 points, 12 rebounds). Both big men struggled defensively against the Lakers’ duo of Deandre Ayton and Jaxson Hayes, who combined to make all eight of their shot attempts, Pompey adds.
Knicks reserve guard Tyler Kolek didn’t get off the bench during the team’s NBA Cup quarterfinal loss last season, but he used his share of the prize money to buy his mother a car, according to Stefan Bondy of The New York Post. This time around, Kolek – who has appeared in 10 consecutive games for New York – should play a more active role in determining how far the Knicks advance. He was a +13 in less than eight minutes on the court in Tuesday’s quarterfinal victory over the Raptors. Asked if his mom will be getting another car this Christmas using his NBA Cup prize money, Kolek replied, “Nope, my dad wants the next one.”
Ariel Hukporti‘s speed could be his path to an increased role with the Knicks, according to Kristian Winfield of The New York Daily News, (subscription required) who notes that head coach Mike Brown referred to Hukporti as “one of the fastest bigs I’ve ever been around.” Hukporti, who has had a limited role this fall, logged a season-high 23 minutes in Sunday’s win over Orlando, but played just 73 seconds on Tuesday vs. Toronto and was assigned to the G League on Wednesday (Twitter link).

Heat’s Pelle Larsson Out 1-2 Weeks With Ankle Sprain

December 10th, 2025 at 3:15pm CST by Luke Adams

The Heat are expecting to be without swingman Pelle Larsson for the next week or two, according to Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press (Twitter link).

Larsson underwent an MRI on Wednesday after injuring his left ankle on Tuesday, per Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel (Twitter link). While that MRI confirmed that Larsson suffered a sprain, it was far from a worst-case outcome. The injury will likely cost the former second-rounder no more than a handful of games, with his return timeline depending on how the ankle responds to treatment, Winderman notes.

Larsson, 24, has played an increased role for Miami in his second NBA season, averaging 8.7 points, 3.2 assists, and 2.5 rebounds in 21.9 minutes per game across 24 contests (16 starts).

While Larsson was a starter for most of November, he has seen his minutes cut back in games when both Tyler Herro and Norman Powell have been active.

As long as Herro and Powell stay healthy, the Heat’s rotation shouldn’t be significantly impacted by Larsson’s absence, but Simone Fontecchio and Keshad Johnson are among the candidates for additional minutes if either of those players misses any time before Larsson returns.

Having been eliminated from the NBA Cup on Tuesday, the Heat will play just once in the next week (on Monday vs. Toronto) before heading to Brooklyn and Boston for a back-to-back set next Thursday and Friday, so Larsson may not end up missing many games.

Pacers Among Teams Eyeing Ivica Zubac

December 10th, 2025 at 1:52pm CST by Luke Adams

The Pacers are among the teams expected to pursue Ivica Zubac this season, according to Brett Siegel of ClutchPoints, who hears from sources that Indiana recently made a call to the Clippers to inquire about the veteran center.

After losing Myles Turner in free agency to the division-rival Bucks over the summer, the Pacers are deploying Isaiah Jackson, Jay Huff, and Tony Bradley in the middle this season while keeping an eye out for a potential long-term answer at the position, as ESPN’s Shams Charania reported on Tuesday.

Another Tuesday report, from NBA insider Jake Fischer, suggested that Mavericks big man Daniel Gafford is among the potential targets the Pacers have considered.

Both Gafford and Zubac are under team control for multiple seasons beyond this one, at a rate of about $18-20MM annually. That contract structure likely appeals to the Pacers, who are already carrying two maximum-salary players – Tyrese Haliburton and Pascal Siakam – and were paying Turner just under $20MM in the last year of his contract in 2024/25.

Indiana controls all of its own first-round picks and has some potential trade candidates on its roster that could be used to match Zubac’s $18.1MM cap hit, including Obi Toppin ($14MM), Bennedict Mathurin ($9.2MM), and Jarace Walker ($6.7MM), so the club could put together a viable package.

Whether the Clippers will actually be willing to entertain the idea of trading Zubac, who made the All-Defensive second team and finished second in Most Improved Player voting, remains to be seen. Fischer wrote on Tuesday that L.A. doesn’t seem inclined to part with the 28-year-old big man, while Siegel himself acknowledged last week that there are “mixed signals” about whether or not the Clippers would be open to the possibility of a Zubac trade.

In his latest article, Siegel says rival executives believe the Clippers, who are off to a 6-18 start this season, would at least have a conversation about Zubac if multiple first-round picks were on the table for him.

Monte Morris Signs With Olympiacos

December 10th, 2025 at 1:28pm CST by Dana Gauruder

December 10: Morris has officially signed with Olympiacos, the team announced in a press release.

December 9: The Greek team Olympiacos is in advanced talks with veteran NBA guard Monte Morris, according to Michalis Stefanou of Eurohoops.net.

There’s optimism from the EuroLeague club that an agreement can be reached with Morris sooner rather than later on a one-year contract. The point guard became a free agent when the Pacers waived him on Nov. 21 after he appeared in six games, averaging just 10.8 minutes per contest.

Indiana had signed Morris two weeks earlier. The Pacers originally planned to sign him to compete for a roster spot in training camp, but the deal fell through when he sustained a calf injury in late September.

The 30-year-old played 45 games (12.7 MPG) for Phoenix in 2024/25, averaging 5.2 PPG, 1.6 APG and 1.5 RPG on .426/.360/.826 shooting. He has also played for the Nuggets, Pistons and Timberwolves.

Frank Ntilikina, Saben Lee and Evan Fournier are among the former NBA players on the Olympiacos roster.

Bucks Notes: Turner, Porter, Green, Giannis

December 10th, 2025 at 12:45pm CST by Luke Adams

After dropping 10 of their last 12 games, the Bucks have had four full days off prior to Thursday’s game vs. Boston to reset and to evaluate how to reenter the Eastern Conference playoff picture without Giannis Antetokounmpo available. According to Eric Nehm of The Athletic, veteran center Myles Turner stressed on Tuesday that it’s far from being a lost season in Milwaukee.

“We are only five-and-a-half games away from the third seed, so I don’t think it’s time to panic personally; I think it’s time to be aware,” Turner said. “I think being aware and panicking are two very different things. Just aware that we’re not where we want to be, but we’re also not far away.

“With the group we have right now, I think that we’re very capable of making an extra push. But we can talk about it all we want to; it’s a matter of going out there and getting it done.”

As Nehm writes, figuring out how to get more out of Turner, whose average of 12.6 points per game is his lowest mark in five years, will be crucial if the Bucks hope to stay afloat while Antetokounmpo recovers from a calf strain. Nehm also points to forward Kyle Kuzma and guards Kevin Porter Jr. and Ryan Rollins as key figures during Giannis’ injury absence, noting that it would be a boon for Milwaukee if Porter (27.0 PPG on .581./615/.870 shooting in his past four games) can stay hot for a little longer.

Here’s more on the Bucks:

While Antetokounmpo’s return is still a ways off, the Bucks could get some reinforcements on Thursday in the form of sharpshooter A.J. Green. Although Green didn’t take part in Tuesday’s practice, head coach Doc Rivers told reporters – including Nehm (Twitter link) – that the 26-year-old could play against Boston after missing Saturday’s game due to a shoulder injury.
With trade speculation once again swirling around Antetokounmpo, the two-time MVP met with several teammates to address those rumors and to encourage them to focus on basketball rather than being distracted by outside noise, Chris Haynes said during an appearance on NBA TV (Twitter video link).
In a Substack article open to non-subscribers, Yossi Gozlan of The Third Apron explores the difficult spot the Bucks find themselves in. As Gozlan details, given that they’ve traded away so many of their future draft picks and have a big chunk of dead money on their cap for the next several years, the Bucks would be under significant pressure to maximize their return in an Antetokounmpo trade if they pivot to a rebuild. Even if they extract a strong package for Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee’s front office would have its work cut out for it in the post-Giannis era, Gozlan writes.

Mavs’ Dereck Lively To Undergo Season-Ending Foot Surgery

December 10th, 2025 at 11:03am CST by Luke Adams

Dereck Lively II will undergo a procedure to address ongoing discomfort in his right foot, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania and Tim MacMahon, who report (via Twitter) that the Mavericks center will miss the rest of the season as a result of the surgery.

The Mavericks have officially confirmed the news, announcing (via Twitter) that Lively is expected to make a full recovery and be ready for training camp next fall.

It’s a brutal blow for the Mavs and especially for Lively, whose right foot has been an issue since he sustained a fracture in the foot/ankle area last January. That injury sidelined him for over two months and required him to undergo surgery in July in the hopes of fixing the issue.

Although the 21-year-old was cleared to return for opening night, he continued to be plagued by health problems, missing a nine-game stretch in October and November due to a right knee sprain, then battling nagging discomfort in his right foot. Reporting late last month indicated that the Mavs were concerned Lively would require an extended absence, with word breaking last week that he was consulting with multiple doctors about potential next steps.

According to MacMahon (Twitter link), Lively sought second and third opinions on his foot injury in the hopes of avoiding another surgery, but it was ultimately determined that another procedure would be necessary.

Injuries have been a recurring problem for Lively since he entered the NBA as the 12th overall pick in the 2023 draft. He has made only 98 regular season appearances since then, including seven in 2025/26, and has played just 2,242 total regular season minutes — as a point of comparison, 51 NBA players exceeded that total in ’24/25 alone.

When healthy, Lively has been a positive contributor, performing well enough to be viewed as Dallas’ long-term starting center. The former Duke standout has averaged 8.4 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 1.5 blocks in 22.9 minutes per contest while shooting 72.5% from the floor. He also averaged 22.0 MPG off the bench during the Mavs’ run to the 2024 NBA Finals, contributing 7.9 PPG and 7.4 RPG across 21 postseason outings.

With Lively ruled out for the season, the Mavs will lean on Anthony Davis and Daniel Gafford in their frontcourt, though both players are considered possible trade candidates. Veteran big man Dwight Powell and two-way player Moussa Cisse are available off the bench to provide depth in the middle, with forward P.J. Washington a candidate to play some small-ball center if needed.

Lively, meanwhile, will become eligible for a rookie scale extension during the 2026 offseason, before he plays his next game. If he and the Mavericks don’t come to terms on a new deal prior to the start of the ’26/27 season, he would be on track for restricted free agency in 2027.

Dallas will likely apply for a disabled player exception in response to Lively’s injury, but it would be worth just $2,626,680 (half of Lively’s $5,253,360 salary) and wouldn’t give the team the ability to surpass its second-apron hard cap. The Mavs are currently operating roughly $1.29MM below that hard cap.

And-Ones: Front Offices, I. Mobley, NBA Europe, Quaintance

December 10th, 2025 at 10:56am CST by Luke Adams

The Thunder are coming off a championship and are just the third team in NBA history to open a season with at least 23 wins in their first 24 games, so it comes as no surprise that general manager Sam Presti came out on top in The Athletic’s annual poll on the league’s best front offices.

A group of The Athletic’s NBA writers asked 36 executives around the NBA to rank their top five front offices, and Oklahoma City received an overwhelming 31 first-place votes.

The rest of the top five wasn’t simply made up of the teams at the top of the NBA’s standings. Brad Stevens and the Celtics placed second, followed by Rafael Stone and the Rockets at No. 3, Pat Riley and the Heat fourth, and Kevin Pritchard and the Pacers rounding out the top five. Each of those front offices received at least one first-place vote.

The Cavaliers, Timberwolves, Knicks, Spurs, and Warriors finished in the top 10, with another 15 teams cited at least once, either as a top-five front office or as a group considered to be “on the rise” and earning an honorable mention. According to The Athletic, the five clubs not to be mentioned at all were the Mavericks, Kings, Pelicans, Suns, and Bulls.

Here are more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

Isaiah Mobley, the older brother of reigning NBA Defensive Player of the Year Evan Mobley, is in the process of finalizing an agreement with Hapoel Jerusalem, sources tell Donatas Urbonas of BasketNews.com (Twitter link). Mobley, a 2022 second-round pick who spent parts of three seasons in the NBA with Cleveland and Philadelphia from 2022-25, has been playing this fall with Manisa Basket in Turkey.
The fall of 2027 continues to be viewed as a “realistic target” for the launch of the NBA’s European league, according to FIBA secretary general Andreas Zagklis. Joe Vardon of The Athletic passes along some of the other comments Zagklis made about the prospective league during a news conference on Tuesday, including the fact that the goal is to give more teams across Europe a pathway to qualifying for the NBA’s league than can currently qualify for the EuroLeague.
Kentucky’s Jayden Quaintance has cracked the top five in the latest 2026 NBA mock draft from Jonathan Wasserman of Bleacher Report, behind the usual suspects at the top. The 6’10” sophomore forward is making his way back from an ACL tear he sustained while playing for Arizona State last season.

Western Notes: Powell, Beringer, Two-Ways, Booker, Suns

December 10th, 2025 at 9:23am CST by Luke Adams

Mavericks minority owner Mark Cuban shot down a report indicating that big man Dwight Powell will likely retire at the end of this season, tweeting that it’s “not true.”

Powell, 34, no longer plays a significant role in Dallas, but has been with the Mavericks for over a decade and has appeared in 20 of the club’s 25 games so far this season, averaging 10.9 minutes per night.

Powell is on a $4MM expiring contract in 2025/26, so if he does intend to extend his career beyond this season, he’ll need to sign a new deal. In all likelihood, he’ll be a minimum-salary player going forward.

We have more from around the Western Conference:

The Timberwolves assigned rookie center Joan Beringer to the G League for the first time this season on Tuesday, per the team (Twitter link). Beringer has played limited minutes at the NBA level so far this fall, so he’ll get an opportunity to take on a more significant role for the Iowa Wolves when they face the Motor City Cruise this Friday.
Two-way contracts recently signed by LJ Cryer (Warriors), Malevy Leons (Warriors), and Tyler Smith (Rockets) are all for two years, Hoops Rumors has learned. That means Golden State and Houston will have the option of retaining those players on their two-way deals through the 2026/27 season. However, it’s somewhat rare for a player to play out a full two-year, two-way contract, as most are either promoted or waived before the deal expires.
After Suns head coach Jordan Ott indicated over the weekend that Devin Booker has a chance to return to action on Wednesday from his groin injury, the team officially upgraded the star guard to questionable for its NBA Cup showdown with Oklahoma City, tweets Justin Martinez of The Oklahoman.
ESPN’s Baxter Holmes shares the latest details on the legal battle between Suns owner Mat Ishbia and a pair of minority shareholders, Scott Seldin and Andy Kohlberg. While attorneys for Seldin and Kohlberg are taking aim at Ishbia’s majority control of the franchise, a spokesperson for Ishbia dismissed the claims in the lawsuit as “ridiculous,” according to Holmes. “Unwilling to take responsibility and invest in the team, these guys are resorting to threats and publicity stunts to get Mat to buy them out just so they make more money,” that spokesperson said.