Hoops Rumors Front Office Subscriber Chat: 3/25/2026
Hoops Rumors’ Arthur Hill will hold a live chat Wednesday at 11 am Central time (noon Eastern) exclusively for Trade Rumors Front Office subscribers. Use the link below to ask a question in advance, participate in the live event and read the transcript afterward.
Heat Notes: Adebayo, Losing Streak, Playoffs, Free Agency
Heat coach Erik Spoelstra believes that Monday’s game against the Spurs featured the two front-runners for Defensive Player of the Year in Bam Adebayo and Victor Wembanyama, Anthony Chiang writes for the Miami Herald.
“If we can really defend the way we’ve been defending the last month, then I think it’s a two-man race for the Defensive Player of the Year,” Spoelstra said prior to the game. “I think it’s just whatever flavor you like. They’ve won at an extremely high level, San Antonio. And their defense has been consistently a notch above ours. But we’re starting to catch them in that.“
Chiang notes that sportsbooks have Adebayo closer to fifth than second, with Chet Holmgren (Thunder), Rudy Gobert (Wolves), and Scottie Barnes (Raptors) ahead of him.
Spoelstra also believes that Adebayo is deserving of an All-NBA spot this season.
We have more from the Heat:
- The Heat have tied their worst losing streak of the season, dropping their fifth straight game against the Spurs, and are now 16-26 this season against teams that entered Monday with a winning record, Chiang writes. “When the going gets tough, we let go of the rope,” guard Norman Powell said. “I think that’s what happens when we have losses like this. We get hit, get some adversity, miss some shots, and then just everybody starts worrying about what happened on offense and teams take advantage of it and keep punishing us. But yeah, when we get hit, we continue to fold.” While the Heat have hung their hat on defense this year, Chiang points out that this marks the first time in franchise history that the team has given up at least 120 points in five straight games. Adebayo and Spoelstra were seen having an animated exchange after the Heat coach subbed out his star big in the second quarter. “I don’t want to be in the play-in. So some of that is, yeah, he’s got to protect me from myself,” Adebayo said after. “But also i don’t want to be in the f—–g play-in. So every game, I’m going to try to go out there and do the best I can to carry this team and force our way out of that.”
- As counterintuitive as it might run to the Heat’s DNA, it could be beneficial for them to miss the playoffs this season, Barry Jackson writes for the Herald. Jackson notes that Miami’s refusal to tank has hurt their ability to bring in another star-level player, while even vaunted teams like the Spurs have endured years of pain to form their talented cores.
- The Heat are entering year seven of being unable to wheel in a “whale” of a talent, according to Jackson. By that, he’s referring to their ability to sign or trade for a star player, though Powell did make the All-Star game this season with Miami. He goes through some of the top stars the Heat were in the running for in recent years and how the lack of success in the pursuit ended up looking with hindsight.
Morant, Clarke, Edey Officially Ruled Out For Rest Of Season
The Grizzlies released medical updates for Ja Morant, Brandon Clarke, and Zach Edey today (via Twitter), announcing that all three players have officially been ruled out for the remainder of the 2025/26 season.
Morant has been dealing with a sprained ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) in his left elbow and hasn’t played since January 21. In early March, it was announced that he would be reevaluated in two weeks. Today’s update stated that it was recommended that the point guard receive a platelet-rich plasma injection to aid the healing process and that he is expected to make a full recovery before next season.
Clarke has only played two games this season as he works his way back from a right calf strain, but Memphis states that, following recent imaging, they have determined that there is more time needed before he can resume “high-intensity court work.”
Edey, who hasn’t played since the first week of December, had already been expected to miss the rest of the season after undergoing ankle surgery, but the Grizzlies also reported that he had a procedure done to relieve discomfort in his left elbow.
Like Clarke and Morant, Memphis writes that he is expected to make a full recovery for the 2026/27 season.
Draft Notes: Peterson, Dybantsa, Mullins, Graves
With March Madness in full swing, NBA teams are starting to round out their evaluations of how prospects play in high-leverage situations. There have been plenty of talking points regarding the 2026 draft class, with few players commanding as much attention as Kansas’ Darryn Peterson.
Peterson came into this year as the presumed top player in the draft, but an inconsistent year and questions around his health and approach makes what was thought to be an iron-clad grip on a top-three pick a bit more of a question, writes Kevin O’Connor for Yahoo Sports.
O’Connor notes that, in addition to getting little offensive help from his teammates, especially from the perimeter, the 6’5″ shooting guard was limited by the hamstring injury that plagued him throughout the season.
“I was hurt for the majority of the year,” Peterson said. “I went through some really bad stuff. I wasn’t really myself for real until like the end of the year.”
O’Connor also adds that, in addition to his lethal shooting ability, Peterson brings a good defensive playmaking skillset and is adept at drawing fouls.
The Athletic’s Sam Vecenie echoes the sentiment, saying that Peterson could end up anywhere from one to five on his board, but also notes that he has questions about the way the star guard was used by Kansas coach Bill Self, which was mostly in an off-ball capacity.
We have more notes from the top of the 2026 Draft:
- AJ Dybantsa, out of BYU, appears to have the most solid claim to the number one spot at the current moment, writes ESPN’s Jeremy Woo. Woo notes that while the talented forward has had questions arise about his ball-handling and defense, his aggression and decision-making as a passer improved greatly throughout the season, creating the impression of a well-rounded 6’9″ scorer with major upside.
- UCONN’s Braylon Mullins is looking more like someone who could be a top returner to school this season, Woo writes. The sweet-shooting guard’s season got off to a delayed start as he dealt with an ankle injury, and Woo says he never quite found the offensive consistency teams might be looking for. Vecenie adds that scouts are wondering if he’s more a good shooter than an elite shooter. He still has a chance to solidify his 2026 draft stock, but Woo says that with NIL money and the allure of a perceived weaker 2027 class, Woo says that returning to school could end up being a beneficial move long-term.
- Allen Graves, from Santa Clara, was not expected to be a significant player in the 2026 draft, but he has impressed with his defense and passing, according to Woo. He may still be best served by spending another year in college and working on his jumper, but Woo notes that the 6’9″ forward has fans in the NBA and a strong pre-draft process could put him in position to be drafted this season.
Injury Notes: Embiid, Williams, Dosunmu, McBride
Joel Embiid has been listed as questionable for the Sixers‘ game on Wednesday against the Bulls, Kyle Neubeck of PHLY Sports writes (Twitter link). Embiid, who has been dealing with an oblique strain, hasn’t played since February 26, when he scored 26 points and added 11 rebounds and four assists in a win over the Heat.
While the 7’2″ center’s stats have dipped in the years since he was a perennial MVP candidate, he has had a stronger season than many expected, averaging 26.6 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 3.9 assists per game while leading the team to a 21-12 record when he’s available.
Embiid’s upgraded designation coincides with Paul George becoming eligible to return after sitting out the final game of his 25-game suspension. Barring a setback, Tony Jones of The Athletic (Twitter link) expects Embiid to suit up vs. Chicago.
We have more injury notes from around the league:
- On Monday, Jalen Williams returned from a lengthy absence from the Thunder due to a hamstring injury, scoring 18 points and adding six assists. After the game, Williams said that not only was his leg feeling better, but the wrist on which he underwent offseason surgery is finally back to 100 percent, Tim Bontemps writes for ESPN. “It was just like one of those things that like when you have surgery and you rush into games, it’s like, I wouldn’t say rush, but I’m going into games with … I don’t know what my hands are going to look like,” Williams said. “So now I’ve had the time to actually sit down and work on it and do what I normally do throughout that process, now I’m in a really good spot with it.” Williams’ return will only make the Thunder more dangerous as they attempt to repeat as champions, according to Joel Lorenzi of The Athletic, who notes that several role players benefited from having step up in Williams’ absence. “You guys got to watch [Ajay Mitchell] blossom even more. [Jaylin Williams] and [Cason Wallace], they’ve had to be in spots that they didn’t think they were going to be in to start the season,” Williams said. “We’re better for it now.”
- Ayo Dosunmu has been added to the Timberwolves‘ injury report for Wednesday’s game against the Rockets, per the team’s Twitter account. He’s now listed as questionable with right calf soreness, an injury that Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic describes as “concerning” (Twitter link), likely due to how cautious teams have been this season with calf injuries and how they can impact players’ Achilles.
- Miles McBride hasn’t played for the Knicks since late January as he works his way back from a core injury that required surgery in early February, but he was back on the court going through his typical pregame routine on Tuesday night, per James L. Edwards III of The Athletic (Twitter link). Edwards says it’s been a long time since McBride went through his customary warm-up, and speculates that his return could be “very, very soon.” Stefan Bondy of the New York Post posted a video of McBride warming up, saying that it looked like he was moving well (Twitter video link).
Knicks Notes: Playoffs, Bridges, Clarkson, Kolek
The Knicks enter Tuesday’s game against the Pelicans on a six-game winning streak as they continue their push for the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference. However, five of those six victories came against some of the worst teams in the league, and the sixth was against the slumping Warriors. If New York is to claim the runner-up spot in the conference, they need to be ready for things to get more difficult, Stefan Bondy writes for the New York Post.
With the Thunder, Rockets, and resurgent Hornets on the horizon, Bondy says this stretch of games could impact whether or not the team has home-court advantage in a second-round Game 7.
As has been the case in past seasons, one key factor in determining the Knicks’ playoff ceiling is whether the bench can provide relief for the starters when it matters. While coach Mike Brown uses his bench more than former coach Tom Thibodeau did, the Knicks still ranked just 27th in total bench minutes heading into Sunday’s win against the Wizards, James L. Edwards III notes for The Athletic.
Edwards notes that the load management plan Mitchell Robinson has been on seems to have helped him stay healthy this season, while top reserve Miles McBride will have to hit the ground running once he returns from injury to get his rhythm back in time to be impactful in the postseason.
One benefit of the team’s improved depth is the different amount of mixing and matching Brown can do depending on what a particular series calls for, Edwards writes, though he predicts that the eventual playoff rotation will end up looking almost identical to last season’s.
We have more Knicks notes:
- Mikal Bridges‘ offensive struggles in recent games have drawn plenty of scrutiny and even prompted questions about his spot in the starting lineup, but teammate Josh Hart believes that Bridges is in a difficult situation given his role in the offense, according to Bondy. “Last year, he didn’t have many plays called for him. This year, he probably has even less plays called for him,” Hart said. “So obviously there’s a mental hurdle he needs to get through and that’s something where some of us can help him. I think he gets some of that unfair flak just because he’s doing what’s asked of him. And if we were to sit there and say, go shoot 15 shots a game, he would be efficient and he could do it. But that’s not what’s been asked of him.” Brown gave Bridges his own vote of confidence, saying, “He works at it very hard. And he cares at a high level. Usually when you have that combination from a veteran guy that’s produced the way he’s produced in the NBA, it tends to lead to good results, eventually.”
- Jordan Clarkson‘s inconsistent role with the Knicks could have led to a destructive situation, Bondy writes in a separate piece, especially as the 33-year-old began turning to social media to respond to critics in February. Instead, the veteran guard kept his head down and worked. That professionalism and positive attitude paid off, as guards like Bridges and Landry Shamet started struggling offensively. Over the last two weeks, Clarkson has been the Knicks’ most reliable shooting guard, Bondy writes. Beginning when he scored 27 points against his former team in Utah on March 11, he has averaged 12.7 points on .545/.438/1.000 shooting splits in 22 minutes per game. He was even named the Knicks’ defensive player of the game twice in that stretch. “When he’s doing that he’s playing with that fire and that passion he has, there’s not many players in the NBA coming off the bench you feel better about,” said teammate Karl-Anthony Towns.
- Second-year guard Tyler Kolek had a basketball day for the ages on Sunday, scoring 42 points on 9-of-14 from three for the Westchester Knicks before being recalled to the parent team and scoring 11 points on 3-of-3 from deep in the fourth quarter of the win over the Wizards. “We have a lot of guys on this team that are very high character, very good work ethic and he’s one of them,” Jalen Brunson said, per Jared Schwartz of the Post. “That’s just who he is.“
Pacers Notes: Jones, Zubac, Siakam, Draft Odds
As a result of his DNP-CD on Monday, Pacers rookie guard Kam Jones will fall short of appearing in 41 games this season, tweets Tony East of Circle City Spin. That’s notable because Jones’ salary for 2026/27 would have become fully guaranteed if he had reached the 41-game mark.
Jones’ salary for next season is just $2.15MM and it will still be 50% guaranteed for now, so the cost to retain him would be very modest. The remaining 50% of the 24-year-old’s salary will lock in if he remains under contract through June 30.
Still, the Pacers could have a crowded roster situation this offseason, especially if they’re able to hang onto their top-four protected first-round pick. Of their 15 players currently on standard contracts, 13 are under contract for next season, including 10 on fully guaranteed salaries, while a 14th has a team option on his deal. Depending on the decisions the team makes with certain back-of-the-roster players, it’s possible Jones’ spot could be in jeopardy.
We have more on the Pacers:
- Head coach Rick Carlisle provided more information over the weekend on the fractured rib that ended Ivica Zubac‘s season early, according to East. Carlisle told reporters that Zubac suffered the injury during the first quarter of last Wednesday’s loss to Portland. The veteran center had difficulty sleeping that night and underwent an MRI the next day that revealed the fracture. “If you’ve ever had rib stuff, it’s kind of the worst because breathing bothers it. Coughing bothers it. Sneezing is impossible, and laughing, you just can’t do it,” Carlisle said. “He’s going to be uncomfortable for a while, but he will make a full recovery. But it’s a tough break for us because we were looking forward to seeing as much of that core group together as possible and now it’s not going to happen.”
- Buoyed by Pascal Siakam, who had 37 points and a game-clinching block in his second game back from a knee sprain, the Pacers snapped their franchise-record 16-game losing streak on Monday by knocking off the Magic, writes Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star. As disappointing as the 2025/26 season has been in Indiana, Siakam hasn’t been the problem — he’s averaging 24.0 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 3.8 assists per game while shooting 48.4% from the floor. “Siakam was spectacular,” Carlisle said of his star forward after Monday’s victory. “Thirty-three minutes, 37 points. The guy’s a great, great player.”
- Despite Monday’s win, the Pacers are in no imminent danger of hurting their lottery odds, Dopirak observes in a separate story. At 16-56, Indiana has a three-game cushion on the league’s fourth-worst team, 19-53 Sacramento. Since the top-four-pick odds for the worst three teams are identical (52.1%) and the Pacers won’t keep their first-rounder if it lands between Nos. 5-9, they only need to worry about remaining in that three-team group rather than staying at the very top of the draft lottery order.
Moses Moody Diagnosed With Torn Patellar Tendon
After exiting Monday’s game due to a knee injury and undergoing tests on Tuesday, Warriors wing Moses Moody has been diagnosed with a torn patellar tendon in his left knee, reports Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link).
Moody’s 2025/26 season is over and he’s facing a lengthy rehabilitation process, Charania adds. While there are no details yet on a potential timeline, the 23-year-old is unlikely to be ready for the start of ’26/27 based on the typical recovery period for this type of injury.
It’s a crushing blow for Moody, who was in the midst of the best season of his five-year NBA career. His 12.1 points, 3.3 rebounds, 1.6 assists, and 1.0 steal per game all represented career highs, as did his 40.1% three-point percentage. He started 49 of the 60 games he played for Golden State this season, averaging 25.7 minutes per night.
Moody, who was playing on Monday for the first time in three weeks after recovering from a wrist ailment, suffered the injury during the final minutes of the Warriors’ win over Dallas. He stole the ball from Cooper Flagg, dribbled up the court, and went up for a breakaway dunk, but his left knee buckled as he planted to jump. Moody lost the ball and fell to the floor, immediately grabbing at his knee. He had to be carted off the court.
A patellar tendon tear isn’t as common an injury among NBA players as an ACL or Achilles tear, but it’s certainly not unprecedented. Victor Oladipo (2023), Dante Exum (2019), Andre Roberson (2018), Jeremy Lin (2017), and David Lee (2017) are among the players to suffer similar injuries in the past decade.
Exum, who sustained his injury in mid-March, was able to get back on the court in November of the following season, but his was a partial tear. Lin was out for almost exactly one year, while Roberson estimated that he was about 85-95% recovered when he suffered a setback about eight months into his recovery period. Oladipo, who had already dealt with major leg injuries before tearing his patellar tendon, and Lee, who was 34 when he sustained the injury, didn’t play again in the NBA (though Oladipo has since attempted to make a comeback).
Moody’s injury is the latest setback for the Warriors, who have been plagued by health problems during the second half of the season and have slid down in the standings to 10th place in the Western Conference. Not having Moody available this spring will further reduce the club’s odds of making any real noise in the postseason.
In the short term, Gui Santos figures to return to Golden State’s starting lineup after coming off the bench on Monday for the first time since March 2. Looking ahead to the longer term, Moody is the second Warriors regular who will likely be on the injured list when the 2026/27 campaign tips off. Jimmy Butler, who tore his right ACL in January, isn’t expected to be available until later in the season.
Moody will be entering the second season of a three-year, $37.5MM deal this summer. He’ll make $12.5MM in ’26/27, with a guaranteed $13.43MM salary for ’27/28.
Injury Notes: George, Edwards, Suggs, Watson
Paul George‘s 25-game absence from the Sixers‘ lineup was the result of a suspension rather than an injury, but that layoff may have come with some health-related benefits for the veteran forward. According to Kyle Neubeck of PHLY Sports (Twitter link), George suggested in his first post-suspension comments to reporters today that he was still having some issues related to his knee this winter and that getting an extended recovery period was a silver lining of his 25-game ban.
“This 25 games is just what I needed, I think, for my body to kind of heal and be in a better place,” George said.
As we detailed earlier today, since George was able to remain active during his suspension, no ramp-up period will be required — he’s ready to jump back into the rotation when the Sixers host the Bulls on Wednesday.
“I’ve been feeling great, feeling explosive again, feeling strong again,” he said. “I feel like I’m back on that level of being able to perform and be the focal guy and be the scorer.”
Here are a few more health-related notes from around the NBA:
- Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards, who has been out since March 15 due to inflammation in his right knee, was spotted at Tuesday’s practice, but he’s still just doing individual on-court work and his return isn’t imminent, per Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic (Twitter link). The team announced on March 17 that Edwards would be out for at least a week or two.
- Magic guard Jalen Suggs is facing his fourth multi-game absence of the season — after missing Monday’s game vs. Indiana due to an illness, he has also been ruled out for Tuesday’s matchup with Cleveland, tweets Jason Beede of The Orlando Sentinel. Veteran reserve point guard Jevon Carter earned the start on Monday in Suggs’ place.
- After returning on Sunday following a six-week absence due to a hamstring injury, Nuggets forward Peyton Watson admitted that the altitude in his first home game since Feb. 1 “kicked my butt,” but he felt “amazing” otherwise. “I feel like I’m right back where I was six weeks ago,” Watson said, per Bennett Durando of The Denver Post (subscription required). Still, the Nuggets are managing Watson’s workload carefully. After he played 20 minutes on Sunday, he has been ruled out of Tuesday’s game in Phoenix, the first end of a back-to-back set, with an injury designation of right hamstring injury management, tweets Vinny Benedetto of The Denver Gazette.
NBPA Calls For 65-Game Rule To Be Abolished Or Reformed
With several star players, including Pistons guard Cade Cunningham, at risk of falling short of the 65-game minimum required to qualify for end-of-season awards, the National Basketball Players Association issued a statement on Tuesday calling for the rule to be adjusted or eliminated altogether, as Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press relays (via Twitter).
“Cade Cunningham’s potential ineligibility for postseason awards after a career-defining season is a clear indictment of the 65-game rule and yet another example of why it must be abolished or reformed to create an exception for significant injuries,” an NBPA spokesperson said. “Since its implementation, far too many deserving players have been unfairly disqualified from end-of-season honors by this arbitrary and overly rigid quota.”
Cunningham appeared in 61 games before being diagnosed last week with a collapsed lung that may sideline him for the rest of the regular season. Prior to that diagnosis, he was a viable candidate for a spot on MVP ballots and the All-NBA first team. However, it appears increasingly unlikely that he’ll be able to play in the 65 games necessary to qualify for those awards.
The 65-game rule requires players to appear in at least 20 minutes for a game to count toward the minimum, with each player allowed to count up to two appearances in which he played between 15 and 20 minutes. Because Cunningham played just five minutes in his final game last Tuesday, it won’t count toward his total for the purposes of the rule, which means he’s still five games away from reaching the threshold.
The rule does include an exception for a player who suffers a season-ending injury, but only if he has already logged 20-plus minutes in at least 62 games (including 85% of his team’s games to that point). Cunningham didn’t quite get there.
The NBA’s decision to implement the 65-game rule was more about discouraging “load management” than it was about preserving the sanctity of its end-of-season awards, since most media voters already took total games played into account when weighing candidates’ cases. While it’s possible that instances of load management have been reduced as a result of the rule, it has had some troubling side effects, including players pushing to come back from injuries sooner than they otherwise might have in order to preserve their award eligibility.
A player who falls short of 65 games and misses out on All-NBA honors as a result could also face significant financial ramifications, since the criteria for “super-max” and “Rose Rule” contracts are based largely on All-NBA berths. Cunningham, for example, could have become eligible for an extension starting at up to 35% of the salary cap (instead of 30%) by making All-NBA teams in 2026 and 2027. If he misses out this season, he’ll need to make an All-NBA team in 2028 or 2029 to qualify for that super-max extension.
Nuggets center Nikola Jokic and Spurs big man Victor Wembanyama are among the other MVP candidates who would be at risk of missing the 65-game cutoff if they suffer a minor injury in the season’s final weeks. Jokic must appear in nine of Denver’s remaining 10 games to qualify, while Wembanyama has to play in at least seven of San Antonio’s final 10 contests.
The NBPA also put out a statement today about the league’s player participation policy and the Bucks’ reported plan to shut down Giannis Antetokounmpo for the rest of the season.