Central Notes: Harden, Mitchell, Allen, Buzelis, Potter
Making a major in-season trade can sometimes disrupt a team’s chemistry. For the Cavaliers, adding James Harden has been a breath of fresh air, writes Jamal Collier of ESPN.
“They are two guys that are hungry to take that next step,” head coach Kenny Atkinson said of Harden and fellow star guard Donovan Mitchell. “They’ve kind of hit it off. Been seamless, really. Two guys that are so passionate about the game. They’re both hoop junkies.
“Usually when you have that kind of synergy it goes well. With them, I haven’t seen any misunderstandings or ‘You should have went there.’ They’ve been pretty locked in on the court and off the court. Couldn’t have gotten better so far.”
The only hiccup in the Harden-Mitchell pairing to this point has been injuries — Mitchell will miss his fourth straight game on Tuesday vs. Detroit because of a right groin strain, tweets Omari Sankofa II of The Detroit Free Press, while Harden will be active as he plays through a fractured right thumb.
Center Jarrett Allen, whose excellent play over the past month actually preceded Harden’s arrival, said the former MVP has helped him reach a new level.
“The confidence is renewed,” Allen said. “When big changes happen like that, your view shifts. You have more confidence in yourself. … I’m just finding my rhythm. People pass me the ball, Kenny is drawing plays for me, things are just clicking.”
While Cleveland feels good about how the team has been played over the past several weeks, there are still questions about how it will translate to the postseason, Collier notes. Mitchell has never advanced past the second round of the playoffs, while Harden made his lone NBA Finals appearance in 2012, when he won Sixth Man of the Year in his third season with Oklahoma City.
Here’s more from around the Central:
- After Sunday’s victory in Brooklyn, Michael Scotto of HoopsHype asked Cavaliers point guard Harden how much longer he wants to keep playing (Twitter video link). “I know it’s coming soon. Hopefully, later than soon, but it’s reality,” Harden said. “Everybody has to go through this at some point. … Just trying to continue to keep my body in shape and play well. … We’ll see what happens in the next few years. Take it one game at a time and cherish the moments.”
- Second-year forward Matas Buzelis has impressed for the Bulls over the last three games after he had a “heart-to-heart” talk with head coach Billy Donovan about his shot selection and continuing to find ways to impact winning, per Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times. The 21-year-old has averaged 24.0 PPG, 7.0 RPG, 3.0 APG, 1.0 SPG and 1.0 BPG on .520/.429/.727 shooting over that three-game span.
- Indiana hold a team option on Micah Potter‘s contract for next season, and the fifth-year big man is making a strong case for the Pacers to exercise it with his recent play, according to Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star (subscriber link). Over his last eight games (25.6 MPG), Potter is averaging 15.4 PPG, 5.9 RPG, 2.0 RPG and 0.9 SPG on .538/.463/.870 shooting. The 27-year-old has some defensive limitation, but he has been a good fit in Indiana’s offensive system, Dopirak writes. “Solid is the word,” head coach Rick Carlisle said. “Micah, that’s what he is. He’s solid. He’s a no-frills player. He doesn’t try to be fancy out there. He plays the game, he works to play to his strengths. I like that he’s a stretch big that can legitimately play some four. That’s a very good thing.” Potter’s $2.8MM salary for 2026/27 would still be non-guaranteed even if the Pacers exercise that option.
And-Ones: Mock Draft, Big Board, Wembanyama, USA Basketball
BYU wing AJ Dybantsa goes No. 1 overall in the latest mock draft from Sam Vecenie of The Athletic. As Vecenie details, the 6’9″ freshman has put up incredible numbers, has elite athletic tools, and has made tremendous strides in terms of his offensive decision-making and passing. Dybantsa is still a work in progress on the other end though, per Vecenie.
Dybantsa, Kansas guard Darryn Peterson (No. 2 in Vecenie’s mock) and Duke power forward Cameron Boozer (No. 3) are all in contention to be selected with the first pick, Vecenie writes, but Dybantsa and Peterson are talked about more often for that spot.
According to Vecenie, North Carolina forward Caleb Wilson is the clear No. 4 player in a class that is “absurdly good” at the top. Then there’s another five players (Houston’s Kingston Flemings, Illinois’ Keaton Wagler, Arkansas’ Darius Acuff Jr., Louisville’s Mikel Brown Jr. and Tennessee’s Nate Ament) that teams would love to land.
The 10 through 30 spots in the first round are much trickier to pin down, Vecenie continues, in part because it’s unclear which players will return to school to potentially make more money because of name, image and likeness — some could get around $4MM, per Vecenie.
Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:
- Jon Chepkevich of RookieScale.com has created a consensus big board using input sources from 13 different outlets (including The Athletic) and “dozens of other independent boards/mocks.” The same nine players listed above are the top nine on Chepkevich’s board, with Michigan big man Yaxel Lendeborg at No. 10 (he’s No. 19 in Vecenie’s mock) and Kentucky big man Jayden Quaintance at No. 11 (No. 12 in Vecenie’s mock).
- Third-year center Victor Wembanyama has become a minority investor in Nanterre, the French team with whom the Spurs star played from the ages of 10-17, per Eurohoops. Wembanyama made the announcement alongside his former coach in an interview with Yann Ohnona of L’Équipe. “I don’t even remember who approached whom first, but it happened naturally. I was born and raised in France. I want to have an impact on French basketball, and at Nanterre because that’s where I feel at home,” Wembanyama said.
- The U.S. men’s national team was upset by the Dominican Republic in a 2027 World Cup qualifying game last Thursday, writes Joe Vardon of The Athletic. Team USA never led in the game and trailed by as many as 19 points. “Now I am very happy because every player that comes to the (Dominican Republic) national team, they feel love for this country, for this flag,” Dominican coach Nestor Garcia said. “In our country, the people support us. This is for the Dominican people.” As Vardon notes, the U.S. roster isn’t exactly star-studded considering it’s the middle of the NBA season, but several players with recent experience in the league are competing, including James Wiseman and Jeremiah Robinson-Earl. After rebounding by blowing out Mexico on Sunday, Team USA is still 3-1 with eight qualifying games remaining, so the Americans aren’t in any danger of not qualifying for the World Cup at this point.
NBA Teams Can’t Sign Players To Two-Way Deals After Wednesday
NBA teams have until the final day of the regular season (April 12) to finalize their 15-man rosters and sign players to standard NBA contracts. However, each team only has until March 4 — this Wednesday — to sign a player to a two-way contract.
If you’re a regular Hoops Rumors reader, you’ve likely noticed a significant uptick in two-way activity over the past few weeks, and particularly over the past few days. If you weren’t already aware, now you know why — teams are finalizing their two-way spots for the remainder of the 2025/26 season, with an eye on the future.
There’s overlap between a team’s 15-man roster and its three available two-way spots. For example, 21 players who were on two-way contracts have had their deals converted to standard contracts in ’25/26. The majority of those players received multiyear standard deals, though that’s not always the case.
In an ideal scenario, a team would complete all its conversions before Wednesday so it can back-fill any vacant two-way slots prior to the deadline. That said, two-way contracts can be converted to standard deals until April 12.
As we explain in our glossary entry, a player with fewer than four years of NBA experience can sign a two-way contract with a team. Because a player is credited with a year of service on the last day of a league year (ie. June 30), a player with three years of experience is eligible to sign a two-way contract at any time during his fourth NBA season. Certain players who have four years of experience and have missed an entire season due to injury can still be eligible for a one-year two-way contract as well.
A player who opens a season on a two-way contract can be active for a maximum of 50 games. However, that figure is prorated once the season begins — players who finalize their deals on Monday or Tuesday are eligible to be active for a maximum of 12 games, while players who complete two-way contracts on Wednesday can be active for up to 11.
Players who have spent all of 2025/26 on two-way contracts will earn $636,435 in 2025/26, half of the rookie minimum. But just like the active-game limit, that figure is prorated for those who sign in-season deals. For example, a player who finalizes his two-way contract on Wednesday will earn $146,307.
Suns Notes: Booker, Goodwin, Green, Williams, Brooks
Suns star Devin Booker was able to do 5-on-5 work in Sunday’s practice, writes Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic. The 29-year-old shooting guard has missed Phoenix’s last four games due to a right hip strain.
“He knows his body better than anyone,” head coach Jordan Ott said. “He’s been through these processes. Incredible recovery. So, he knows how he’s supposed to feel. How he’s supposed to feel when he plays.”
Ott also provided an injury update on Jordan Goodwin, Rankin adds. The backup guard is dealing with a left calf strain and is expected to be reevaluated within the next week.
“He’s just now ramping up,” Ott said. “He is on the court. He was on the court today. Book is further along than Goodie, but he is starting to progress onto the court.”
Here’s more from Phoenix:
- Jalen Green has been in a major shooting slump over his last four games, Rankin writes, averaging 12.8 points while shooting just 21-of-75 (28.0%) from the field over that span. Ott cited Green’s conditioning as one factor in his struggles — he missed most of the season after repeatedly straining his right hamstring. “He knows he’s a little out of rhythm, but it’s good just to get him out there,” Ott said. “It’s like the consistent number of games I think is good. I think the four-day break for him too, just his body. Now he’s played in those games, five games after the All-Star break. He’s a little sore from it and that’s normal. Just going through all the normal basketball things that you take for granted when you start the season. Now he’s doing it 50 games in.”
- Starting center Mark Williams, who will be a restricted free agent this summer, has also been in a rut of late, Rankin notes. Williams is averaging 6.3 points and 6.7 rebounds while shooting 39.5% from the floor over his past six contests (18.8 minutes per game), well below his season-long rates (11.6 PPG, 8.1 RPG, 63.5% from the field). The Suns think Booker will help both Green and Williams when he returns. “Book helps make all of our lives better,” Ott said. “Not just those two.”
- Jason Quick of The Athletic takes an in-depth look at how Booker and Dillon Brooks became friends over the offseason after the latter was traded from Houston to Phoenix in the Kevin Durant deal. “It doesn’t catch me off-guard anymore, where you know, you see somebody on the court and they act as a totally different person … so him being a naggy person, the annoying person to play against, then you meet him, and he’s soft-spoken and humble,” Booker said. “And to me, those are the types of guys who want to go to war with, the guys who can turn it on.”
Giannis Antetokounmpo Will Return Monday
5:05 pm: Antetokounmpo will indeed return tonight, the Bucks announced (via Twitter), but he’ll be on a minutes restriction, head coach Doc Rivers said (Twitter link via Eric Nehm of The Athletic).
12:36 pm: Giannis Antetokounmpo is expected to play on Monday in the Bucks’ home game against the Celtics, ESPN’s Shams Charania tweets.
Antetokounmpo hasn’t suited up since Jan. 23 due to a right calf strain. He has missed 15 games due to his latest injury but the Bucks have managed to hang around the fringes of the play-in tournament race without him, going 8-7 during that stretch.
Antetokounmpo has officially been listed as questionable to play tonight by the Bucks, Eric Nehm of The Athletic tweets.
Milwaukee currently trails the seventh- and eighth-place teams in the Eastern Conference, Orlando and Miami, by five games. Atlanta has a 3.5-game lead over the Bucks, while 10th-place Charlotte has a three-game cushion.
Antetokounmpo also missed three weeks of action in December. He’s averaging 28.0 points, 10.0 rebounds and 5.6 assists while appearing in 30 games. Having been out for 29 games, the two-time MVP is ineligible for postseason awards.
The Bucks theoretically could have improved their chances of making the lottery by having their star sit out the rest of the season, but that wasn’t on their agenda. How they finish up could determine their course of action regarding plans to continue to build around Antetokounmpo or whether he’ll be on the trading block this summer.
The superstar forward is signed through the 2027/28 season but holds a $62.8MM option on the final year of that contract. He’ll become extension-eligible this October.
Trail Blazers Waive Javonte Cooke
4:45 pm: Cooke has been waived, per the official transaction log at NBA.com.
4:05 pm: The Trail Blazers plan to waive Javonte Cooke, who is on a two-way contract, league sources tell Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link).
Cooke, 26, has spent the entire 2025/26 season with Portland. The 6’6″ shooting guard has made 19 appearances for the Blazers, averaging 1.2 points and 1.0 rebounds in just 4.9 minutes per game.
While Cooke has played a limited role in the NBA, he has put up big numbers in the G League for the Rip City Remix, Scotto notes. In 15 appearances (33.1 MPG) for the Remix this season, Cooke has averaged 22.7 PPG, 5.6 RPG, 3.1 APG, 1.9 SPG and 0.9 BPG on .458/.358/.750 shooting.
Cooke, who played for three different Division II colleges, went undrafted in 2022. He primarily played in the NBAGL in the three seasons leading up to ’25/26, but he also had a stint with the Brampton Honey Badgers of the Canadian Elite Basketball League in 2024.
As our tracker shows, the Blazers already had a two-way opening, and now they’ll have two once they officially waive Cooke. One of those two-way spots will reportedly go to former Thunder guard Chris Youngblood.
Tyus Jones To Sign With Nuggets
Free agent point guard Tyus Jones plans to sign with the Nuggets, his agent Kevin Bradbury tells Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link).
As Vinny Benedetto of The Denver Gazette notes (via Twitter), the Nuggets had one opening on their standard roster, and they’ll use it to sign Jones, who was waived by Dallas on Saturday. The 29-year-old retained his playoff eligibility because he was released prior to Sunday’s deadline.
Jones’ deal will cover the rest of the 2025/26 season and he will earn a prorated portion of the veteran’s minimum, reports Bennett Durando of The Denver Post (Twitter link). If the signing is finalized on Monday, Jones will earn $877,209, while Denver will carry a cap hit of $554,273.
The 24th overall pick in the 2015 draft, Jones is in his 11th NBA season. He’s known for his ability to set up teammates and take care of the ball. The ex-Duke point guard holds career averages of 7.3 points, 4.3 assists, and just 0.8 turnovers in 20.7 minutes per game across 738 regular season appearances for Minnesota, Memphis, Washington, Phoenix, Orlando, and Dallas.
After four-year stints with both the Timberwolves and Grizzlies, Jones has bounced around the NBA in recent years, playing for four teams in the past three seasons. He opened this year with the Magic, having signed a one-year, $7MM deal with the team during the 2025 offseason, but had a disappointing year in Orlando, averaging just 3.1 PPG and 2.6 APG on .349/.281/.875 shooting in a bench role.
Jones was traded to the Hornets at the deadline in what was a salary-dump deal from the Magic’s perspective, allowing them to duck below the luxury tax line. Charlotte subsequently flipped him to the Mavericks in a separate trade.
At the time, reports indicated that Dallas had attempted to sign Jones last summer before ending up with D’Angelo Russell and that they’d be happy to have him on the roster for the rest of the season. Jones appeared in eight games with the Mavs, averaging 3.9 PPG and 3.8 APG on .382/.211/.500 shooting in 16.6 MPG.
However, Jones evidently preferred to catch on with a playoff team, and now he has agreed to join Denver, which won the championship in 2023 and was eliminated in the Western Conference semifinals each of the past two years in a pair of seven-game series.
Trae Young To Make Wizards Debut Thursday
4:21 pm: Young is expected to play between 17 and 20 minutes on Thursday, according to head coach Brian Keefe (Twitter link via Josh Robbins of The Athletic).
3:13 pm: Trae Young will make his Wizards debut on Thursday against Utah, tweets Shams Charania of ESPN.
A four-time All-Star, Young was traded to Washington on January 9 but has yet to play for the Wizards due to right knee and quad issues. He last suited up on Dec. 27 when he was still a member of the Hawks.
The Wizards announced on Feb. 19 that Young was making progress in his recovery from his right leg injuries and would begin to ramp up his on-court activities. According to Charania, the 27-year-old point guard will make his team debut two weeks after that update.
Young sprained the medial collateral ligament (MCL) in his right knee on Oct. 29. He returned to action on Dec. 18, appearing in five of Atlanta’s next six games, including one back-to-back, prior to being shut down with the right quad contusion.
The former fifth overall pick has appeared in a career-low 10 games (28.0 minutes per contest) thus far in 2025/26, averaging 19.3 points, 8.9 assists and 1.5 rebounds on .415/.305/.863 shooting splits. Young holds career averages of 25.2 PPG, 9.8 APG and 3.5 RPG on .432/.351/.873 shooting in 493 regular season games (34.3 MPG).
Given his lengthy layoff, Young will likely be on a minutes restriction for Thursday’s home game vs. the Jazz. The Wizards will embark on a four-game road trip after that contest, starting with Sunday at New Orleans.
Anthony Edwards, Jalen Duren Named Players Of The Week
Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards has been named the Western Conference’s Player of the Week, while Pistons center Jalen Duren has claimed the award in the East, the NBA announced on Monday (via Twitter).
Edwards, who was named to his fourth straight All-Star team this season, helped Minnesota go 3-0 in a trio of road games played from February 23 – March 1. The former No. 1 overall pick averaged 28.7 points, 5.0 assists, 3.3 rebounds and 1.3 steals on .457/.357/.667 shooting in those three appearances (37.7 minutes per game).
Duren, a first-time All-Star in 2025/26, helped guide Detroit to a 3-1 record last week. The 22-year-old big man averaged 25.8 PPG, 13.8 RPG, 1.3 SPG and 1.3 BPG in 34.0 MPG. He shot 63.9% from the field and 73.5% on free throws over the four games.
According to the league (Twitter link), the other nominees in the West were Saddiq Bey (Pelicans), Luka Doncic (Lakers), Kevin Durant (Rockets) and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Thunder).
Jalen Brunson (Knicks), Duren’s teammate Cade Cunningham, Jonathan Kuminga (Hawks), Tyrese Maxey (Sixers) and Brandon Miller (Hornets) were nominated in the East.
Hoops Rumors Chat Transcript: 3/2/2026
Hoops Rumors hosted a live chat today at 3:00 pm Central time (4:00 pm Eastern).