NBA Rumors - HoopsRumors.com

Warriors’ Kerr Indicates Kuminga Will Rejoin Rotation

December 17th, 2025 at 3:20pm CST by Luke Adams

Jonathan Kuminga is expected to rejoin the rotation when the Warriors resume their schedule on Thursday in Phoenix following a three-day break, head coach Steve Kerr indicated today.

“You definitely want to see how guys respond in practice,” Kerr said. “And I can tell you, JK, has been great this last week as he’s been out of the rotation. He’s working really hard, and I’m going to reward that.”

It has been a roller coaster of a season so far for Kuminga, who played so well through his first five games as a starter that Kerr publicly declared he would remain in the lineup for the foreseeable future. However, he cooled off and was moved to the second unit a couple weeks later, then missed seven consecutive games due to knee issues.

After returning to action in late November, Kuminga appeared in four games in a row, earning another start on December 6 in Cleveland, but he made just 1-of-10 shots from the floor in that contest and has been a DNP-CD in each of Golden State’s past three games.

Kerr said on Tuesday that he’d like to stick with his current starting five of Stephen Curry, Jimmy Butler, Draymond Green, Moses Moody, and Quinten Post for now, barring an injury, so Kuminga figures to come off the bench on Thursday.

Kuminga’s status is worth keeping a close eye on, since the former No. 7 overall pick figures to be one of the NBA’s top trade candidates at this season’s deadline. He’ll become eligible to be dealt as of January 15.

Through his first 17 games (13 starts) this season, Kuminga is averaging 12.4 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 2.6 assists in 25.6 minutes per night, with a .438/.320/.741 shooting line. That 43.8% shooting mark is the lowest of his career, while his 2.5 turnovers per game represent a career high by a significant margin.

Ime Udoka Fined $25K For Comments About Officiating

December 17th, 2025 at 2:15pm CST by Luke Adams

The NBA has fined Rockets head coach Ime Udoka $25K for his public criticism of the officiating after Monday’s overtime loss to the Nuggets, per a league press release (Twitter link).

Speaking to reporters after Monday’s game, Udoka referred to it as “the most poorly officiated game I’ve seen in a long time” (Twitter video link via Vanessa Richardson).

“Two (referees) have no business being out there and the crew chief was acting star-struck,” Udoka said. “You’re seeing all kinds of inconsistent calls.”

While the Nuggets were whistled for more total fouls (28) than the Rockets (25) on the night, the league’s last two minute report for the game indicated that the only three incorrect calls made in the final two minutes of the fourth quarter and overtime benefited Denver.

That report stated that Rockets forward Kevin Durant shouldn’t have been called for a foul on Nikola Jokic with 1:40 left in overtime (video link); Nuggets wing Tim Hardaway Jr. should have been whistled for a loose ball foul on Alperen Sengun with 1:08 remaining in overtime (video link); and a foul was incorrectly called on Rockets guard Amen Thompson with 47 seconds left in OT (video link).

Those Durant and Thompson fouls resulted in four made free throws by Jokic and Jamal Murray, which represented the difference in a game that Denver won by three points.

Grizzlies Notes: Aldama, Morant, Clarke, Spencer, Edey

December 17th, 2025 at 1:25pm CST by Luke Adams

Speaking to Mark Medina of EssentiallySports, Grizzlies forward Santi Aldama discussed a wide range of topics, including his impressions of head coach Tuomas Iisalo, his reaction to the disagreement earlier in the season between teammate Ja Morant and the coaching staff, and his perspective on a recent dust-up with Draymond Green.

Aldama also admitted that when he signed a new three-year contract with the Grizzlies over the summer, he didn’t expect to be playing center as much as he’s had to this fall, with big men Zach Edey and Brandon Clarke both missing extensive time due to injuries.

“It’s not easy,” Aldama said. “… But the group needed me to do it. It’s been hard to adjust at times. But it’s also been seamless because of the work we’ve put in and I’ve been with Jaren (Jackson Jr.) my whole life. I’ve played the four, and he’s played the five. Now we’ve kind of switched it up. But it’s about having honest conversations and seeing where I can help the group at all times. With being one of the most veteran guys on the team and having been here as one of the longest, it’s important for me to be that voice and constant amid the chaos.”

Aldama went on to speak specifically about some of the adjustments he’s had to make in that new role, crediting Morant for helping him adapt.

“The challenge is mainly with the way we run the floor,” Aldama said. “I’m used to getting behind and starting in transition for us. But as a five, you’re more in the middle of the court and trying to set some screens and find maybe a pop, a roll or a cut to get the corners open. As a four, you’re more playing off closeouts.

“Where my advantage lies on offense has been different. But I’ve been talking with guys that play that position. I’ve been talking to Ja. He’s been great for us there. Obviously, my advantage is different than his. But he understands the spacing.”

Here’s more on the Grizzlies:

After initially being listed as questionable for Wednesday’s game vs. Minnesota, Morant has been downgraded to doubtful due to his left ankle sprain, according to the team (Twitter link). The star point guard sustained the injury on Monday in his second game back from a calf strain.
Clarke, who has yet to play this season while he recovers from right knee surgery, has been listed as questionable to make his season debut on Wednesday, per the Grizzlies (Twitter link). Injuries have limited the 29-year-old to just 70 total appearances since the start of the 2023/24 season, but he has been an effective role player in Memphis’ frontcourt when healthy.
Like his brother Pat Spencer of the Warriors, Grizzlies guard Cam Spencer will miss his team’s next game for personal reasons, having been ruled out on Wednesday, according to the injury report. Cam has played a key role for Memphis of late, averaging 16.9 points and 5.2 assists per game with an incredible 63.6% three-point percentage in his past 10 outings.
Damichael Cole of The Memphis Commercial Appeal spoke to a pair of doctors about Edey’s ankle injury, which will sideline him into the new year. As Cole writes, Edey’s offseason ankle surgery addressed ligaments and soft tissue, whereas his recent stress reaction affects the bone in that ankle, so it’s not an aggravation of the same injury, though there’s presumably a connection. “It’s most likely related to the rehab, where he may have ramped up too quick,” orthopedic foot and ankle surgeon Kenneth Jung said. “Basically, the stress in the bone means the load up on the bone is quicker than the bone can keep up with.” Neither specialist who talked to Cole anticipates that the injury will be a long-term problem for Edey. “I would become more concerned if it’s recurrent, or the bone just doesn’t respond and he needs more time ramping up,” Jung said. “If he recovers and gets back to play, then I don’t think it’s an issue.”

Injury Notes: Herro, Jovic, Trae, Magic, Wolves, Dosunmu

December 17th, 2025 at 12:21pm CST by Luke Adams

Tyler Herro (right big toe contusion) is traveling with the Heat on their three-game road trip that begins in Brooklyn on Thursday and hopes to return to action at some point on that trip, but admitted there’s “a lot of swelling” in his toe, per Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald.

Herro, who has missed three of the past four games due to the toe injury, played last Tuesday after taking a Toradol shot, then practiced during the team’s five-day break before being ruled out of Monday’s contest.

“I probably shouldn’t have practiced,” Herro said today. “That kind of like sparked things back up. So I’m just trying to control the swelling and the inflammation, and then from there I can kind of decide what I want to do from there.”

Forward Nikola Jovic, who was diagnosed with a right elbow contusion/laceration after taking a hard fall on Monday, told reporters on Wednesday that he considers himself week-to-week. However, he’s optimistic his absence won’t be a lengthy one and said he was relieved that his injury wasn’t worse.

“I was scared I broke my arm, because I didn’t feel anything and I just saw a lot of blood,” Jovic said. “And they were really scared, too, because I had a pretty deep and a big cut, too. I have stitches now. But it didn’t look good as soon as I went back, because I started feeling my arm. It feels good now. I can’t do a lot of stuff. I can’t really hold stuff right now. But it’s not broken, so I guess that’s the most important thing and I think I’ll be back really soon.”

We have more injury updates from around the NBA:

Hawks guard Trae Young, who has been out since October 29 due to a sprained MCL, appears to be nearing his return. Young was assigned to the G League on Tuesday to practice with the College Park Skyhawks, then recalled on Wednesday for a practice with the NBA squad, according to the team (Twitter links).
Franz Wagner (left high ankle sprain) and Moritz Wagner (ACL recovery) aren’t traveling with the Magic on their four-game Western Conference trip that begins Thursday in Denver, reports Jason Beede of The Orlando Sentinel (Twitter links). While the Wagner brothers remain in Orlando to focus on their rehab work, Jalen Suggs (left hip contusion) will join the team on its trip, though head coach Jamahl Mosley said the guard “wasn’t able to go and do much in practice” on Wednesday.
After missing the Timberwolves‘ past two games, star guard Anthony Edwards (right foot injury maintenance) is listed as questionable for Wednesday’s matchup with Memphis (Twitter link). Veteran point guard Mike Conley, meanwhile, has been ruled out for a third straight game due to right Achilles tendinopathy.
Bulls guard Ayo Dosunmu is listed as questionable for Wednesday’s game vs. Cleveland and hopes to be active following a two-game layoff, but both of his thumbs are sprained and taped up, and he has a bone bruise in his right thumb. Those injuries would eventually heal with rest, but Dosunmu intends to play through them, referring to it as a “pain tolerance thing” (Twitter links via K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Sports Network and Joel Lorenzi of The Athletic).

Knicks Notes: Banner, Hart, Brown, Robinson, Kolek

December 17th, 2025 at 11:00am CST by Luke Adams

The Bucks and Lakers raised banners in their arenas after winning the first two NBA Cups in 2023 and 2024, and head coach Mike Brown told his players prior to the 2025 final on Tuesday that the Knicks would do the same if they won.

However, the team has reversed course on that plan, according to Stefan Bondy of The New York Post, who reports that the Knicks won’t hang a banner for this year’s NBA Cup championship after all. A league source tells Bondy that the decision was made because the Knicks are “focused on the bigger picture.”

The team will still celebrate winning the in-season tournament before Friday’s home game against Philadelphia, Bondy writes.

Here’s more on the NBA Cup champs:

The Knicks have won nine of 10 games since reinserting Josh Hart into their starting five. As Vincent Goodwill of ESPN writes, Brown referred to a November meeting between him and Hart as an important turning point. “I was open and honest,” the Knicks’ head coach said. “He hadn’t played a lot in the preseason because he got hurt early on, so I didn’t have a great feel for how to use him, when to use him, what his game was completely like.” Brown added that Hart took accountability for not playing up to his usual standard early in the season and said the candor in that meeting helped their relationship grow.
While Brown was focused early in the season on implementing his own offensive system, rival coaches believe he has pushed those changes less aggressively as of late and has been more inclined to simply let his players do what they do best, per James L. Edwards III of The Athletic. “The first 10 or 12 games, it felt like they were running more,” Raptors head coach Darko Rajakovic said. “Now, it seems like they’re settling into personnel. They’re playing a little bit more to the strengths of their main players, but at the same time try to implement ball movement and body movement. Obviously, they’re a very talented team, so it’s the right thing to do to focus on the strengths of those guys and let them be who they are.”
OG Anunoby (28 points) and Jalen Brunson (25) were the Knicks’ top scorers in Tuesday’s NBA Cup victory, but a handful of reserves provided crucial contributions off the bench. Bondy of The New York Post singles out center Mitchell Robinson, who racked up 10 offensive rebounds in just 18 minutes of action, while Jared Schwartz of The New York Post takes a look at the contributions the team is getting from second-year guard Tyler Kolek, whose 14 points and five rebounds on Tuesday would be career highs if the game had counted toward the regular season.
In case you missed it, we wrote earlier today about the Knicks players who benefited most from the $531K bonus for winning the NBA Cup.

Warriors Notes: Kerr, Butler, Green, Lacob, Lineup, Horford, Spencer

December 17th, 2025 at 10:09am CST by Luke Adams

After the Warriors fell below .500 on Sunday as a result of a 136-131 loss in Portland, head coach Steve Kerr took the blame for the loss and the 13-14 club’s recent struggles, writes ESPN’s Anthony Slater.

“I’m not doing my job well this year,” Kerr told reporters.

Stephen Curry scored 48 points in the loss, his second-highest total of the season. However, Golden State’s offense has struggled badly when the two-time MVP isn’t on the floor. The team has scored 118.8 points per 100 possessions when Curry is in the game, compared to just 107.1 when he’s not. The latter mark would be equivalent to the worst offense in the NBA.

As Slater notes, Kerr singled out one sequence in Sunday’s game when Curry wasn’t on the floor and star swingman Jimmy Butler didn’t touch the ball for four consecutive possessions.

“That’s on me,” Kerr said. “But that’s also on our players to understand. I can’t call a play every time. Nor do I want to. We have to find a way in collaboration to make sure we are playing through Jimmy.”

Here’s more on the Warriors:

Nick Friedell of The Athletic suggests that the Warriors need more aggression from Butler, whose 11.4 shot attempts per game this season are well below the 14.5 per game he averaged from 2014-24. Draymond Green didn’t disagree with that sentiment, though he also suggested he needs to do more to get Butler involved in the offense. “I think I got to do a better job of knowing, paying attention to the flow of the game, when he hasn’t touched the ball.” Green said. “When he hasn’t touched the ball for multiple possessions, getting him a touch and making sure he’s in the flow. … And then, as I do a better job of that, I also need Jimmy to be more aggressive and demonstrative and go take the ball. Or come get the ball. And say exactly where he want the ball.”
As Alex Simon of SFGate.com writes, a Warriors fan who wrote an email to Joe Lacob to express his frustrations with the team and with Golden State’s usage of Butler got a candid and near-instant response from the team owner. “You can’t be as frustrated as me,” Lacob wrote in his reply to the fan. “I am working on it. It’s complicated. Style of play. Coaches desires regarding players. League trends. Jimmy is not the problem.” Asked on Tuesday about the leaked email, Kerr indicated he wasn’t bothered by Lacob’s reference to “coaches’ desires regarding players,” according to Slater. “Not a big deal,” Kerr said. “… We’re all frustrated. Joe is frustrated. I’m frustrated. Steph and (Green), everybody’s frustrated. … Joe supports me 100 percent. I support him. We have a great connection. We’ve had so much continuity here. Our stable environment in our organization is one of our strengths.”
Seeking more continuity, Kerr said on Tuesday that he intends to keep using his current starting lineup – Curry, Butler, Green, Moses Moody, and Quinten Post – for the foreseeable future, barring an injury, tweets Slater.
The health issue that has sidelined Al Horford for eight of the past nine games (right sciatic nerve irritation) has healed, Kerr said on Tuesday. The veteran big man is still considered doubtful to play on Thursday vs. Phoenix, but he’s nearing a return (Twitter link via Slater).
Two-way player Pat Spencer will miss Thursday’s game for personal reasons, as Marc Stein tweets. Spencer has been active for each of Golden State’s 27 games so far and is already more than halfway to his 50-game limit. Any game he misses will give the Warriors a little extra time later in the season to convert him to a standard contract in order to keep him active.

The Knicks Players Who Benefited Most From NBA Cup Prize Money

December 17th, 2025 at 8:17am CST by Luke Adams

The Knicks‘ team salary this season is nearly $208MM, which is the second-highest figure in the NBA, behind only the Cavaliers ($228MM+). However, five of the 14 players on New York’s standard roster are on minimum-salary contracts, while a sixth is earning just slightly above the minimum.

So while the $530,933 bonus for winning the NBA Cup may be a drop in the bucket for the highest-paid players on the Knicks’ roster, like Karl-Anthony Towns ($53.1MM), OG Anunoby ($39.6MM), and Jalen Brunson ($34.9MM), it represents a significant pay raise for the players on the lower half of the Knicks’ cap sheet, as well as the players on two-way contracts who will receive bonuses worth $265,467 apiece (50% of the full prize share).

The NBA Cup prize money results in at least a 14% raise for each of the following Knicks players, whose 2025/26 base salaries are noted in parentheses:

Players receiving a $530,933 bonus:

Jordan Clarkson ($3,634,153)
Landry Shamet ($3,080,921)
Pacome Dadiet ($2,847,600)
Tyler Kolek ($2,191,897)
Ariel Hukporti ($1,955,377)
Mohamed Diawara ($1,272,870)

Players receiving a $265,467 bonus:

Tosan Evbuomwan ($636,435)
Trey Jemison ($636,435)
Kevin McCullar Jr. ($636,435)

The bonuses for Diawara and the Knicks’ two-way players represent a raise of more than 40% on their respective base salaries.

None of this prize money will count against the salary cap, so the Knicks’ team salary for cap, tax, and apron purposes remains unchanged, as do the team salaries for San Antonio and the other six clubs who made the knockout round of the NBA Cup. Their prize money is as follows:

Spurs: $212,373 per player ($106,187 for two-way players)
Magic and Thunder: $106,187 per player ($53,094 for two-ways)
Heat, Raptors, Lakers, and Suns: $53,093 per player ($26,547 for two-ways)

Jackson Rowe Signs With Ironi Ness Ziona

December 17th, 2025 at 7:45am CST by Luke Adams

Former Warriors forward Jackson Rowe has signed with Ironi Ness Ziona, the Israeli team announced today in a press release. Rowe became a free agent after being waived by Golden State earlier this month.

Rowe, who will turn 29 in January, played his college ball at Cal State Fullerton from 2016-20, then bounced around Europe and North America during his first few professional seasons. He played in France, Sweden, Canada, and Germany before catching on with the Santa Cruz Warriors – Golden State’s G League affiliate – during the 2023/24 season.

Rowe established himself as a rotation player for Santa Cruz and played well enough to earn a promotion to a two-way contract with Golden State in January 2025. The Canadian signed a two-year deal, so after appearing in six NBA games for the Warriors last season, he opened the 2025/26 season with the team too. He didn’t play at all for Golden State this fall, however, and was cut a couple weeks ago to open up a two-way slot for LJ Cryer.

Rowe had a strong season with Santa Cruz in ’24/25, appearing in 36 total games and averaging 16.3 points, 7.9 rebounds, and 2.8 assists in 33.0 minutes per contest while shooting 51.5% from the floor, including 39.1% on three-pointers. In five G League games this season, he averaged 13.4 PPG, 8.4 RPG, and 2.6 APG with a .441/.238/.714 shooting line.

Ironi Ness Ziona, which competes in Israel’s top domestic league, is off to a slow start this season at 3-6, so Rowe will look to help the team turn things around. He’ll join a handful of other former NBAers on the roster — Damion Lee, Udoka Azubuike, and Isaiah Whitehead also play for the club.

NBA Will Decide On Expansion In 2026, Silver Says

December 17th, 2025 at 12:00am CST by Rory Maher

At a press conference prior to the NBA Cup championship game, commissioner Adam Silver said the league would determine at some point in 2026 whether it will add a pair of domestic expansion teams, according to Joe Vardon of The Athletic.

As Tim Bontemps of ESPN writes, Tuesday evening marked the first time Silver has given a timeline for a decision on expansion since he first broached the possibility ahead of the 2020/21 season.

“I’d say in terms of domestic expansion, that is something we’re continuing to look at,” Silver said. “It’s not a secret we’re looking at this market in Las Vegas. We are looking at Seattle. We’ve looked at other markets, as well. I’d say I want to be sensitive there about this notion that we’re somehow teasing these markets, because I know we’ve been talking about it for a while.

“As I’ve said before, domestic expansion, as opposed to doing a new league in Europe, is selling equity in this current league. If you own 1/30 of this league, now you own 1/32 if you add two teams. So it’s a much more difficult economic analysis. In many ways, it requires predicting the future.

“I think now we’re in the process of working with our teams and gauging the level of interest and having a better understanding of what the economics would be on the ground for those particular teams and what a pro forma would look like for them, and then sometime in 2026 we’ll make a determination.”

While Silver mentioned the NBA has looked at several possibilities, he clarified to Vardon after the press conference that the league is primarily focused on the cities of Las Vegas and Seattle, which have long been viewed as the frontrunners for potential expansion.

“I think Seattle and Las Vegas are two incredible cities,” Silver said, per Bontemps. “Obviously we had a team in Seattle that had great success. We have a WNBA team here in Las Vegas in the Aces. We’ve been playing the summer league here for 20 years. We’re playing our Cup games here, so we’re very familiar with this market.

“I don’t have any doubt that Las Vegas, despite all of the other major league teams that are here now, the other entertainment properties, that this city could support an NBA team.”

Silver also discussed several other topics on Tuesday, Bontemps adds, including the ongoing WNBA negotiations for a new collective bargaining agreement, Chris Paul‘s acrimonious exit from the Clippers, and the number of injuries around the league.

After the press conference ended, Silver suggested the NBA Cup final might be held at different venues going forward, per Jason Jones of The Athletic. The first three in-season tournament championship games were held at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

“We’ve loved our experience in Vegas,” Silver said in an appearance on the NBA on Prime pregame show. “We’re talking with Amazon Prime about whether it makes sense to maybe go to some unique locations for the final game. They’ve suggested, for example, some storied college arenas. So we’re just looking at other ways to do this.”

Knicks Win 2025 NBA Cup; Jalen Brunson Named MVP

December 16th, 2025 at 10:40pm CST by Rory Maher

The Knicks won Tuesday’s NBA Cup final, defeating San Antonio, 124-113, to claim their first in-season tournament title.

Star point guard Jalen Brunson was named MVP of tournament, the NBA announced (via Twitter).

Brunson’s statistics in the championship game were fairly run-of-the-mill by his lofty standards; he finished with 25 points, eight assists and four rebounds in 41 minutes, but shot just 11-of-27 from the field and committed four turnovers. However, he was awarded MVP not only for his play in the final but for the group stage and knockout rounds as well.

According to the league (Twitter link), 20 members of the media selected the MVP and Brunson was nearly a unanimous winner, earning 19 votes. Knicks forward OG Anunoby, who had an outstanding final (29 points on 11-of-17 shooting, nine rebounds, three assists), received the other vote.

As Law Murray of The Athletic tweets, the Spurs were up 11 points with just over two minutes left in the third quarter, but the Knicks rallied behind major contributions from reserves Mitchell Robinson (15 rebounds — including 10 offensive — in 18 minutes), Tyler Kolek (14 points, five rebounds, five assists in 20 minutes), and Jordan Clarkson (15 points in 27 minutes).

Brunson made sure to credit Anunoby, Robinson, Kolek and Clarkson after he was awarded MVP. “Without them, we don’t win this,” Brunson said, per James L. Edwards III of The Athletic (Twitter link).

Rookie guard Dylan Harper scored a team-high 21 points for San Antonio in the loss, and also matched a team-high with seven rebounds.

Head coach Mike Brown told the Knicks before the game that a banner would be raised in Madison Square Garden if they won, notes Stefan Bondy of The New York Post (via Twitter).