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Pistons, Hawks, Raptors Expected To Be Anthony Davis Suitors

December 9th, 2025 at 7:59am CST by Luke Adams

A number of Eastern Conference contenders, including the Pistons, Hawks, and Raptors, are expected to be among the suitors for Mavericks big man Anthony Davis at this season’s trade deadline, reports Shams Charania of ESPN.

As Charania details, Atlanta, Toronto, and especially Detroit all look like potential playoff teams in a wide-open Eastern Conference, and may view Davis as the sort of player who could turn them into a legitimate championship contender.

Davis has battled injuries over the course of his career, especially since being traded from the Lakers to Mavericks at last season’s trade deadline. But he’s healthy now, having played in five of six games since returning from a calf strain late last month, including both ends of a back-to-back on Friday and Saturday.

In spite of a two-point outing in Oklahoma City last week, Davis has registered solid overall averages of 18.4 points, 10.2 rebounds, 4.2 assists, and 2.0 blocks in 28.4 minutes per night in his first five games back from that calf injury.

Potential suitors will likely be somewhat wary of Davis’ maximum-salary deal, which includes a $54.1MM cap hit this season and a $58.5MM salary in 2026/27, along with a $62.8MM player option for ’27/28. However, the Pistons, Hawks, and Raptors would each be capable of stacking contracts to send out enough outgoing salary to accommodate him.

A Detroit package would likely start with Tobias Harris‘ expiring salary ($26.6MM); Atlanta could offer Kristaps Porzingis‘ $30.7MM expiring salary; and Toronto could use RJ Barrett ($27.7MM), who has one additional year left beyond this one. Hawks guard Trae Young ($46MM) and Raptors guard Immanuel Quickley ($32.5MM) could also be trade candidates, depending on the structure of a deal.

The Pistons and Hawks would have more salary-matching leeway than the Raptors, who are operating just $1MM below the first apron and would have to match any incoming salary nearly dollar for dollar.

All three teams have plenty of tradable draft picks that could be used to sweeten potential offers. The Pistons and Raptors control all their own future first-rounders, while Atlanta has traded away its own 2027 pick but controls a pair of 2026 selections, including the most favorable of the Pelicans’ and Bucks’ first-rounders, which would be a guaranteed top-five pick if the season ended today.

Rich Paul of Klutch Sports, who represents Davis, recently met with Michael Finley and Matt Riccardi, the Mavericks’ co-interim general managers and sought clarity about the team’s plans for his client, according to Charania. The Mavs’ lead executives conveyed to Paul that they’re keeping its options open for now and will make a decision based in part on how the club performs in the next few weeks.

Dallas hasn’t ruled out the idea of hanging onto Davis and extending him during the offseason, Charania notes.

Injury Notes: Wembanyama, Smart, H. Jones, Sheppard

December 8th, 2025 at 11:05pm CST by Rory Maher

It’s unclear if he’ll be available to play, but star center Victor Wembanyama will travel with the Spurs to Los Angeles for Wednesday’s NBA Cup quarterfinal against the Lakers, head coach Mitch Johnson told Jeff McDonald of The San Antonio Express-News and other media members (Twitter link).

Wembanyama was a full practice participant on Sunday. He was out again Monday — his 11th straight absence — due to a left calf strain he sustained on November 15.

Through 12 appearances this season, Wembanyama has averaged 26.0 points, 12.9 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 1.1 steals and 3.6 blocks in 34.7 minutes per game. The 7’4″ big man was the first overall pick of the 2023 draft.

Here are a few more injury updates from around the NBA:

The Lakers are hoping to have former Defensive Player of the Year Marcus Smart back for Wednesday’s matchup vs. San Antonio, writes Khobi Price of The Southern California News Group. The 12th-year guard has missed the past six games due to a back issue — his injury designation has changed multiple times, with the latest being left lumbar muscle strain, Price notes. Smart went through an on-court workout on Sunday in Philadelphia. “Over the last couple days, he’s [gotten] closer,” head coach JJ Redick said before Sunday’s game. “We were hoping he’s back Wednesday, but still day-to-day.”
After missing eight games with a right calf strain, Pelicans defensive ace Herbert Jones returned to action on Monday against San Antonio, the team announced (via Twitter). Jones, whose name has popped up in some trade rumors with New Orleans off to a disastrous 3-22 start, had a strong outing in his first game since Nov. 11, recording 17 points (on 6-of-10 shooting), six rebounds, four assists (zero turnovers), four steals and one block in 26 minutes.
Pacers guard Ben Sheppard has a Grade 1 left calf strain and will be out at least 10 more days, head coach Rick Carlisle said on Monday (Twitter links via Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star). The former Belmont star has been sidelined for the past two games with the injury and will be out at least three more, with Dec. 20 at New Orleans likely being his earliest possible return date.

Knicks Notes: NBA Cup, McBride, Towns, Bridges, Anunoby

December 8th, 2025 at 10:05pm CST by Rory Maher

While Josh Hart says the pressure of the NBA Cup is “not even close” to competing in the playoffs, he and the rest of the Knicks are focused on winning their first in-season tournament title after being eliminated in the quarterfinals each of the past two years, writes Stefan Bondy of The New York Post (subscriber link).

“Every year, we fell short at this stage,” Hart said. “So we got to get over that hump.”

The Knicks open the knockout stage at Toronto on Tuesday. If they win, they’ll advance the semifinal and face the winner of Miami vs. Orlando in Las Vegas on Saturday.

“Life is short. And this is how I look at it — you want excitement in your life. So you try to put yourselves in position when you have pressure at times,” head coach Mike Brown said. “That’s something that, if you’re a competitor and you want some excitement in your life, you embrace it. And one of our standards is having a competitive spirit. So all of our guys. Especially as you go along and advance, you should embrace any type of pressure that comes along with it.

“And it also helps you prepare for times down the road when you’re put in the same situation. So in the regular season, this is about as close as you can get to simulating a playoff run. So we try to talk about it and add more pressure to it and handle it the right way and see if we can go get it.”

Here’s more on the Knicks:

Miles McBride, who sustained a left ankle injury in Sunday’s win over Orlando and underwent an MRI on Monday, has been diagnosed with a sprain and will miss Tuesday’s game, according to Bondy (Twitter links). The 25-year-old guard was spotted in a walking boot earlier in the day, Bondy adds. Karl-Anthony Towns, who was ruled out of Sunday’s contest due to left calf tightness, is questionable for the matchup against the Raptors.
Mikal Bridges and OG Anunoby are both worthy of legitimate consideration for their first All-Star appearances, contends James L. Edwards III of The Athletic. As Edwards explains, the Knicks are currently the No. 2 seed in the East, and if that continues, they’ll be deserving of having multiple All-Stars. Anunoby was arguably New York’s second-best player to open the season, but he missed nine games with a hamstring strain, leaving Bridges as the stronger candidate as of now. While neither player puts up gaudy offensive stats, they’ve both been highly efficient on that end on top of being top-notch defenders, Edwards writes. “He’s impacting winning,” Hart said of Bridges. “He plays both sides of the ball. Defensively, he’s been amazing. He’s been an All-Defense player for us.”
The Knicks improved to 13-1 at home with Sunday’s victory, notes Mike Vaccaro of The New York Post (subscription required), and that edge at Madison Square Garden could be an important factor in the playoffs for a team with championship aspirations. “We’ve done a great job of protecting our home court,” Hart said after contributing 17 points, 12 rebounds and two steals Sunday. “This should be the hardest place to play in the NBA, and we want teams to know that.”

RJ Barrett Receives PRP Injection, Out At Least One More Week

December 8th, 2025 at 8:25pm CST by Rory Maher

Raptors wing RJ Barrett recently received a platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injection in his sprained right knee, and while he’s making progress in his recovery, he will be out at least one more week, the team announced on Monday (Twitter link via Marc J. Spears of Andscape).

As Spears notes, Toronto hosts New York in the quarterfinals of the NBA Cup on Tuesday, and the Raptors will be without Barrett, their third-leading scorer. Jamison Battle (left ankle sprain) is doubtful for Tuesday’s matchup, while key reserve Jamal Shead is questionable because of a right quad contusion.

The No. 3 overall pick of the 2019 draft, Barrett was off to a solid start to 2025/26 prior to sustaining the injury on November 23 vs. Brooklyn. Through 17 games, the 25-year-old guard/forward averaged 19.4 points, 4.8 rebounds and 3.8 assists in 30.9 minutes per contest, with a shooting line of .506/.356/.725.

It’s been an unusual season for Toronto, which won its first game, lost four in a row, won four straight, lost another, reeled off nine consecutive victories, and has now dropped five of its past six games. Despite the recent downturn, the Raptors are still 15-10, the No. 4 seed in the Eastern Conference, though only one game separates them from the No. 9 spot.

Barrett has missed the past eight games due to the knee sprain. The Raptors have gone 3-5 so far without the Toronto native available.

Second-year guard Ja’Kobe Walter has started each of the past five games for Toronto with Barrett sidelined, but has struggled mightily in the past two, going 0-for-9 from the floor in 37 combined minutes. The Raptors were minus-40 when the 21-year-old was on the court over that two-game span.

Magic’s Desmond Bane Fined $35K By NBA

December 8th, 2025 at 7:04pm CST by Rory Maher

Magic guard Desmond Bane has been fined $35K for throwing the game ball at Knicks forward OG Anunoby with force and in an “unsportsmanlike manner” the NBA announced today (via Twitter).

Bane was assessed a technical foul for the incident, which occurred with 6:13 remaining in the fourth quarter of Sunday’s contest in New York (YouTube link). Orlando lost the game by six points.

After an errant pass from Jalen Suggs was stolen by Mikal Bridges, Anunoby and Anthony Black raced down the court in a fast-break opportunity for New York. Black tried to intercept Bridges’ pass to Anunoby but still caught up to the play, stripping the ball from Anunoby, who fell out of bounds.

Bane, who was trailing the action, collected the ball easily while in-bounds and instead of turning around to go to the offensive end, decided to wind up and throw the ball off Anunoby. It the play was ruled a hostile act by Bane, resulting in the technical, though the Magic retained possession since Anunoby was out of bounds.

It was an odd incident, and not the first time Bane has thrown the ball off an opponent this season. The 27-year-old was ejected from a November 4 game at Atlanta after receiving a flagrant 1 foul and a technical for pulling down Onyeka Okongwu on a fast break and spiking the ball off him when Okongwu lost possession (YouTube link).

Bane is earning $36.7MM this season as part of a lucrative long-term contract, so the fine won’t impact him much financially.

Hawks’ Jacob Toppin Undergoes Season-Ending Shoulder Surgery

December 8th, 2025 at 5:22pm CST by Rory Maher

Third-year forward Jacob Toppin, who is on a two-way contract with the Hawks, will miss the remainder of the 2025/26 season after undergoing surgery on Monday to repair a torn labrum in his right shoulder, the team announced in a press release.

According to the Hawks, Toppin sustained the shoulder injury in a November 29 G League game with the College Park Skyhawks.

After going undrafted out of Kentucky in 2023, Toppin spent most of his first two NBA seasons on a two-way deal with New York. He was waived by the Knicks in early March and quickly caught on with Atlanta, signing with the Hawks a few days later. He re-signed with the Hawks on another two-way contract in July.

Toppin hasn’t played much in the NBA to this point in his career, making 31 total appearances for a total of 131 minutes (4.2 minutes per game). He appeared in five games for Atlanta in ’25/26, averaging just 3.4 MPG.

While his NBA role has been very modest, Toppin has been a productive contributor in the G League. In five games with College Park this season, he filled the stat sheet, averaging 18.0 points, 10.4 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 1.0 steal and 1.2 blocks in 31.0 minutes per contest, with a shooting slash line of .480/.357/.600.

The 25-year-old averaged 22.3 PPG, 8.3 RPG and 3.3 APG on .503/.371/.812 shooting in 23 total G League games in ’24/25 (36.6 MPG).

It wouldn’t be surprising to see the Hawks waive Toppin in the coming days or weeks in order to add a healthy two-way player to the roster. Toppin is the younger brother of Pacers forward Obi Toppin, who is also dealing with a long-term injury — he underwent foot surgery at the end of October and is expected to be out until at least the start of February.

Jaylen Brown, Jamal Murray Named Players Of The Week

December 8th, 2025 at 4:54pm CST by Rory Maher

Celtics wing Jaylen Brown and Nuggets guard Jamal Murray have been named the NBA’s Players of the Week, the league announced on Monday (via Twitter).

Brown won for the Eastern Conference, while Murray claimed the award in the Western Conference.

Brown, the 2024 Finals MVP, led Boston to an unblemished 3-0 record in games he played from December 1-7. He sat out the Dec. 4 contest at Washington, which the Celtics won by 45 points. The 29-year-old averaged 34.0 points, 6.7 rebounds, 5.7 assists and 1.0 steal on .538/.471/.889 shooting in three appearances last week (37.7 minutes per game).

A Georgia native who played one season of college ball for California, Brown is well on his way to making his fifth All-Star game in 2025/26. He’s averaging career highs of 29.1 PPG and 4.9 APG while also contributing 6.2 RPG and 1.1 SPG through 23 contests (33.7 MPG).

Murray, meanwhile, helped guide Denver to a 3-1 record last week. The 28-year-old Canadian averaged 29.8 PPG, 7.5 APG, 4.5 RPG and 1.3 SPG on .595/.621/.929 shooting in four appearances (33.8 MPG).

Murray is off to a fantastic start to the season himself and appears well-positioned to make his first All-Star appearance. Through 22 games (35.0 MPG), he’s averaging 25.0 PPG, 6.8 APG and 4.5 RPG — all career highs — with an elite shooting line of .506/.447/.898.

According to the NBA, De’Aaron Fox (Spurs), Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams (Thunder), and Murray’s teammate Nikola Jokic were the other nominees in the West (Twitter link). Jalen Brunson (Knicks), Jalen Johnson (Hawks), Tyrese Maxey (Sixers), Michael Porter Jr. (Nets), and Brown’s teammate Derrick White were nominated in the East.

Terry Rozier Pleads Not Guilty To Federal Gambling Charges

December 8th, 2025 at 3:56pm CST by Rory Maher

Heat guard Terry Rozier pleaded not guilty to two federal charges related to illegal sports betting on Monday in Brooklyn federal court, reports Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic.

Rozier, who was arraigned alongside friend and alleged co-conspirator Deniro Laster, was released on $3MM bond secured using his Florida home, Vorkunov adds.

Rozier was arrested on October 23 on charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering. Prosecutors allege the 31-year-old combo guard tipped off Laster that he would remove himself from a game in March 2023 when he was a member of the Hornets. The indictment states Laster then sold that information to two bettors for approximately $100K.

A former first-round pick (16th overall in the 2015 draft), Rozier is earning about $26.6MM this season in the final year of his contract. Both he and Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups — who was arrested in a separate but related illegal gambling case — were placed on immediate leave and aren’t being paid. Rozier’s withheld salary is in an interest-bearing account.

Word broke back in January that federal prosecutors in New York were investigating Rozier as part of a probe into illegal sports betting. Investigators were specifically looking at a game that took place on March 23, 2023.

Ahead of that game, one bettor reportedly placed 30 wagers in 46 minutes on the “unders” on Rozier-related prop bets at a casino in Biloxi, Mississippi, raising alarms about potential suspicious activity. At the same time, there was a rush on multiple sportsbooks in New Orleans of under bets on Rozier props. Sportsbooks and the NBA were alerted, and some books stopped taking bets related to Rozier’s performance that day.

After recording five points, four rebounds and two assists in 9:34 of action in the first quarter, Rozier exited the game during a timeout and didn’t return, citing a foot issue. All 30 of those “under” prop bets won as a result of the abbreviated outing, and Rozier didn’t play the final eight games of the 2022/23 season due to the injury.

A source tells Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald that the Heat still haven’t learned from the NBA whether or not they can use Rozier’s salary in a trade or potentially waive him before his salary becomes fully guaranteed in January; about $1.7MM of Rozier’s salary this season is non-guaranteed. While that sum might seem fairly trivial compared to the overall figure, removing it from the team’s books would give Miami extra flexibility below the luxury tax threshold, Chiang writes.

Warriors Add Malevy Leons On Two-Way Deal, Waive Alex Toohey

December 8th, 2025 at 3:18pm CST by Dana Gauruder

3:18 pm: The moves are official, according to the Warriors, who confirmed in a press release (Twitter link) that Leons has taken Toohey’s two-way spot.

2:29 pm: The Warriors are adding 6’9″ wing Malevy Leons on a two-way contract and waiving Alex Toohey, reports Anthony Slater of ESPN (via Twitter).

Toohey requires knee surgery and will miss the rest of the season, according to Slater.

Leons is averaging 14.8 points and 7.6 rebounds for the G League’s OKC Blue, the Thunder’s affiliate.

After going undrafted out of Bradley in 2024, Leons signed an Exhibit 10 deal with the Thunder last September and was waived before the 2024/25 season began. However, he was re-signed on a standard contract and spent two-plus weeks with the Thunder last fall before being cut in mid-November. He made six cameo regular season appearances for Oklahoma City during his brief stint with the team.

Leons spent the rest of the 2024/25 season with the Blue, appearing in 47 G League games. He was on Oklahoma City’s training camp roster this year via an Exhibit 10 contract but was waived prior to opening night and rejoined the Blue.

Toohey, a 6’7″ forward out of Australia, played two years with the Sydney Kings prior to coming over to the NBA this year. Last season, he averaged 10.6 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 1.4 steals in 23.0 minutes per game.

Toohey was drafted in the second round in June and signed to a two-way in late September. He has yet to appear in an NBA game.

Magic’s Franz Wagner Has High Ankle Sprain

December 8th, 2025 at 2:45pm CST by Rory Maher

December 8: Wagner has a high left ankle sprain, ESPN’s Shams Charania tweets. According to Charania, an MRI conducted on Monday showed no structural damage on his left leg, and the Magic forward is expected to be out two-to-four weeks.

December 7: Star forward Franz Wagner appeared to suffer a significant injury in the first quarter of Sunday’s matinee game in New York, tweets James L. Edwards III of The Athletic.

According to the Magic (Twitter link), Wagner has a lower left leg injury and will miss the remainder of Sunday’s contest. He will be reevaluated when the team returns to Orlando.

The injury occurred on a fast break (YouTube link). After poking the ball away from Jalen Brunson, Wagner was the first player down the court and positioned himself near the basket. Teammate Anthony Black threw up an alley-oop attempt for Wagner, but Knicks big man Ariel Hukporti swatted the pass away, fouling Wagner in the process. Wagner fell awkwardly and immediately grabbed his left knee in pain.

Hukporti, a fellow German, clearly felt badly about Wagner’s injury and checked in with him. After staying down on the floor for an extended period, Wagner was helped off the court by older brother Moritz Wagner and rookie Noah Penda. He was unable to put weight on his left leg.

It’s a potentially devastating development for the Magic, who just got Paolo Banchero back from a groin strain on Friday. Wagner was off to a terrific start to the season, averaging 23.4 points, 6.2 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 1.2 steals on .487/.354/.823 shooting through 23 games (34.5 minutes per contest).

Wagner, who has been wearing a face mask after breaking his nose in November, was nominated for the Eastern Conference’s Player of the Month award for October/November.