Atlantic Notes: Knicks Rotation, Anunoby, George, Tatum
Despite missing Karl-Anthony Towns in their dominant win over the Bulls on Friday, the Knicks are nearing full health as the playoffs approach. With that development, the shape of the postseason rotation is beginning to take shape, Ian Begley of SNY writes.
On Friday, with Mitchell Robinson starting, head coach Mike Brown experimented by using Jeremy Sochan as the backup center and was pleased with the results, naming him the Defensive Player of the Game for New York.
“It allowed us to do a lot of things like switch pick and rolls,” Brown said. “It brought a different element to our game. Not just offensively with the speed, but defensively with switching a lot of things and just keeping the ball in front of us.”
While Robinson will take the majority of reserve center minutes in the playoffs, having Sochan as an option could allow Brown to go to the Towns-Robinson frontcourt more than he might otherwise be comfortable.
Another notable change was that neither Jose Alverado nor breakout rookie Mohamed Diawara played in the first three quarters. With Miles McBride and Landry Shamet healthy, Brown indicated that getting them back up to speed is crucial.
“Deuce is getting healthier and Landry’s getting healthy and trying to find minutes for those guys — both of those guys are capable of playing that (backup guard) spot — is going to be a priority because they’ve proven themselves this year for us,” he said.
We have more from around the Atlantic Division:
- Mike Brown was surprised to hear that wing OG Anunoby has only made All-Defense once in his career, Begley writes in the same article. He believes the 6’8″ forward’s performance with the Knicks is clearly deserving of such an accolade. “His versatility is just off the charts and you can do a lot of things with your defense because of him,” Brown said. “In my opinion, he deserves First Team All-Defense this year — and hopefully the powers that be will see it that way, too.” Anunoby agreed with his coach’s assessment, saying, “I think I should’ve gotten it last year. I think I should get it this year. That’s definitely a goal of mine, coming into the season, especially defensively, being on the first team or second team — hopefully first.”
- Paul George is listed as probable for the Sixers‘ game against the Pistons today due to left knee injury management. Derek Bodner of PHLY Sports notes (via Twitter) that if George is able to play, this will mark his first back-to-back of the season. Since coming off his 25-game suspension, the nine-time All-Star has been rounding into form, averaging 27.0 points, 6.8 rebounds, 4.0 assists, and 3.2 steals in the five games since returning.
- There were concerns within the Celtics organization, including players, about trying to rebuild in-game chemistry with Jayson Tatum so soon before the playoffs, but the star wing has quickly alleviated any such concerns, Jay King writes for The Athletic. Boston is 10-2 with Tatum playing and he has already been named Eastern Conference Player of the Week. Most importantly, King writes, he hasn’t looked hesitant or uncertain about his body. He is driving at around the same rate as last season, and the defense with him on the floor has been elite. King notes that if the Celtics win the championship this season, his return could go down in history as one of the league’s all-time comebacks.
2026 Hall Of Fame Inductees Officially Announced
The Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame officially unveiled its Class of 2026 today, prior to the kick-off of the Final Four in Indianapolis.
Many of the names listed had been previously reported, such as Bucks’ head coach Doc Rivers, former Suns head coach Mike D’Antoni, and a trio of both men’s and women’s players in Amar’e Stoudemire, Elena Delle Donne, and Candace Parker.
The rest of the class has now been released. On the men’s side, Gonzaga head coach Mark Few has been recognized for his storied collegiate coaching career. The press release calls the two-time Naismith Coach of the Year “The winningest active coach by winning percentage” and notes that he “has recorded at least 20 wins in every season as Gonzaga’s head coach.” Few was also the assistant coach on the 2024 Olympic gold medal-winning men’s basketball team.
Referee Joey Crawford is the final inductee on the men’s side. Crawford refereed in the NBA for 39 seasons, from 1977 to 2016, including every NBA Finals from 1986 to 2015. His record includes 2561 regular-season games and 374 playoff games.
Also being inducted for women’s basketball is Chamique Holdsclaw, the six-time All-Star and former number one pick and Rookie of the Year in 1999 for the Washington Mystics. Holdsclaw, who is a member of the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame as well, was an Olympic gold medalist in 2000, a two-time Naismith College player of the Year, and won three NCAA championships with Tennessee. She led the WNBA in scoring in 2002, led the league in rebounding twice, and made three All-WNBA teams.
Finally, the 1996 United States Women’s National Team rounds out the 2026 Hall of Fame class. The group, coached by Tara VanDerveer and featuring Lisa Leslie, Sheryl Swoopes, Dawn Staley, Teresa Edwards, Rebecca Lobo, and Katrina McClain, went 8-and-0 in competition and won by an average of over 30 points per game. In its press conference, the Hall of Fame cites its team dominance as partially responsible for the launch of the WNBA later the same year.
Poll: Who Should Be NBA Rookie Of The Year?
The Mavericks fell to 24-53 with a loss to Orlando on Friday night, but it was another huge night for No. 1 overall pick Cooper Flagg, who became the youngest player – and the first teenager – in NBA history to score at least 50 points in a game, per ESPN’s Tim MacMahon.
Flagg set a new career high by racking up 51 points on 19-of-30 shooting. The performance increased his full-season scoring average to 20.8 points per game, which ranks first among rookies. Among qualified rookies, he also ranks third in rebounds (6.6), second in assists (4.5), second in steals (1.2), and second in blocks (0.9) per game.
The 19-year-old is on track to become just the fourth rookie since the ABA-NBA merger in 1976 to average at least 20 points, six rebounds, and four assists per game, notes MacMahon. The other three are Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, and Luka Doncic.
“He should be Rookie of the Year. It’s unbelievable,” head coach Jason Kidd said of Flagg. “The country is not watching the same thing that we get to watch on a daily basis. The things that he’s done, he’s in rare air. He’s with the GOAT when you talk about MJ and what he did in his rookie year — and as a teenager.”
However, Flagg isn’t the current frontrunner for Rookie of the Year recognition. That honor belongs to his former college teammate Kon Knueppel, who earned 80 of 100 first-place votes in a Rookie of the Year straw poll recently conducted by Tim Bontemps of ESPN (Flagg received the other 20 first-place votes).
Knueppel, who has played 12 more games and 227 more total minutes than his former Duke co-star, has averaged 18.8 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 3.4 assists in 31.5 minutes per contest as a rookie for the Hornets.
Two major factors have given Knueppel the edge over Flagg in the eyes of many voters. For one, he’s having the best shooting season of any rookie in NBA history. The fourth overall picks leads the NBA with 264 made three-pointers and is knocking down 43.1% of his attempts, which also puts him among the league leaders in three-point percentage. Flagg isn’t having a bad shooting season – he has made 51.8% of his two-pointers – but he has converted just 29.3% of his shots from beyond the arc.
Additionally, while the Hornets are hardly a juggernaut, the emergence of the young squad has been one of the most fun NBA stories of the last few months. Charlotte hasn’t made the playoffs since 2016 and got off to an 11-23 start this season, but has since improved its record to 42-36. The team, which currently holds the No. 8 seed in the Eastern Conference, has a real chance to end its postseason drought, and Knueppel has played a crucial role in that turnaround.
Flagg’s boosters would argue that it’s not his fault the banged-up Mavs essentially entered tank mode midway through the season and that he doesn’t have the same sort of supporting cast Knueppel does in Charlotte, where LaMelo Ball, Brandon Miller, and Miles Bridges are also having big years.
There’s even a recent precedent for a star rookie on a bad team winning Rookie of the Year over a fellow standout who had an important role on a playoff team — Victor Wembanyama of the 22-60 Spurs beat out Chet Holmgren of the 57-25 Spurs in 2024. But Wembanyama, who averaged over 20 points and 10 rebounds per game while leading the league in blocked shots, was even better two years ago than Flagg has been this season.
We want to know what you think. With apologies to VJ Edgecombe and a few other notable members of 2025’s draft class, Rookie of the Year has become a two-man race this season. So should Flagg or Knueppel win the award?
Vote in our poll and head to the comment section below to weigh in with your thoughts!
Who should be this season's NBA Rookie of the Year?
Warriors’ Draymond Green Talks Contract, Future, Kerr
An ESPN report this week suggested that Draymond Green is unlikely to seriously consider leaving the Warriors in free agency this summer and that the more likely outcome is that he’ll either pick up his $27.7MM player option or turn it down in order to sign a new multiyear contract with Golden State.
Speaking to Tim Kawakami of The San Francisco Standard, Green suggested he has a path in mind, though it came with the caveat that he, agent Rich Paul, and the team still need to sit down and talk the situation through.
“Rich and I discussed it a couple months ago briefly,” Green said. “We haven’t talked much about it because we don’t deal with those things until the offseason. But I think in an ideal world, and again, this is me talking without me talking to my representation so Rich will probably kill me. But in an ideal world, I think the best path would be to decline and extend. If I had it my way, that would be the best path forward.”
A scenario in which Green declines that option in order to sign a new contract could benefit both him and the Warriors. The veteran forward would likely receive an overall guarantee exceeding $27.7MM while earning multiyear security, and Golden State could reduce his 2026/27 salary in order to create more cap flexibility for the coming season.
That added cap flexibility, in turn, would be useful if the Warriors go star-hunting this summer, a path that wouldn’t surprise Green.
“Playing for a great organization with a great ownership group and a great front office group like we have, those possibilities are always there,” he told Kawakami. “I wouldn’t necessarily call it big-name hunting. (Team owner) Joe (Lacob) is just always trying to win. And whatever is going to give him the best possible chance to win, that’s what he’s going to win. If that’s a big name, if that’s a small name, whatever is going to give him the best possible chance to be a winner. That’s what he’s going to do. And you have to know that in playing here.”
Green, candid as ever, offered up several more interesting tidbits during his conversation with Kawakami. While the story is worth checking out in full for Warriors fans, here are a few additional highlights:
On how long he and longtime teammate Stephen Curry will continue playing:
“When we do speak about it, we speak of it in terms of summers. ‘How many more summers am I willing to give to this?’ Because ultimately, that’s what it boils down to, right? How many more summers am I taking away from things with my kids? How many more summers am I willing to build my whole life around preparing for an NBA season?
“… We don’t speak on it in the sense of, ‘Man, how many years I’m going to go, how long till you walk out, do we walk out together?’ We haven’t discussed it in that manner. What we do discuss is, ‘Man, how many more summers do you think you could do this?’ … And quite honestly, the last we spoke about it, we both agreed we had two or three more summers. So we’ll see.”
On his belief that head coach Steve Kerr will be back for 2026/27:
“We don’t want to play for anyone else. We built this thing together. Just as much impact as Steph Curry has had, as I’ve had, as Klay (Thompson) had, Steve’s had. We built this thing up from the ground. … I think when you look at (him) not signing an extension, I think Steve sits in the same place I sit. I’m not going to do anything that straps this team. I’m not going to do anything that handcuffs this organization. I think Steve sits in that same place. So when he didn’t sign an extension, none of us made much of it because we know he should and will have the choice to be here. And we all want to finish with him.”
On how he wants his Warriors tenure to eventually end:
“I’ve seen too many guys leave a place and it’s nasty. And I just don’t understand why it’s that way. It don’t have to be that way. So I want to make sure that whenever my time is up here, that it ends the way it’s supposed to end. That it doesn’t end with me bitter, with them bitter. It ends the way it’s supposed to end: Everybody’s happy, we’ve done great things, and we move forward.”
Nets Signing Malachi Smith To Two-Year Contract
Malachi Smith‘s second 10-day contract with the Nets expired overnight on Friday, but he’ll be sticking with the team for the rest of the season — and potentially beyond that.
According to Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link), the Nets and Smith have agreed to a two-year contract that will cover 2026/27 in addition to the rest of this season. While the exact terms of the deal aren’t yet known, it’s unlikely to include guaranteed money for next year.
A G League veteran who has also spent time with the Rip City Remix, Wisconsin Herd and Memphis Hustle since going undrafted out of Gonzaga in 2023, Smith spent most of this season with the Long Island Nets before being called up by Brooklyn on a 10-day deal in March.
The 6’4″ guard ended up signing a pair of 10-day deals with the Nets and has been a regular contributor off the bench in the first 10 NBA games of his career, averaging 7.3 points, 2.1 rebounds, and 2.0 assists in 18.2 minutes per night, with an excellent shooting line of .527/.545/1.000. The 26-year-old has made 29-of-55 shots from the floor, including 12-of-22 three-pointers.
“The mentality is leave it all on the floor,” Smith said after scoring 15 points against Atlanta on Friday (Facebook video link via YES Network) “I’m someone that has been praying for this opportunity and working for this opportunity for years, so I’m not going to take any minute for granted. I always tell myself, I don’t care if I get one minute or 10 minutes. I’m going to be able to go to sleep at night knowing I played as hard as I can, and whatever happens after that, I can live with the results.”
Although the Nets technically already have 15 players on standard contracts, one of those 15 – Tre Scott – is on a hardship 10-day deal, so Brooklyn will be able to bring back Smith without having to place anyone on waivers.
Smith, who signed a training camp contract that included a $42,650 partial guarantee and then made $73,153 on each of his two 10-day contracts, would earn a rest-of-season salary of $65,838 if he officially signs a new minimum-salary contract on Saturday, bringing his total NBA earnings this season to $254,794.
That total would dip to $247,479 (including a $58,523 rest-of-season salary) if he doesn’t re-sign until Sunday, though it could also come in higher if the Nets – who have the NBA’s lowest payroll – decide to give him more than the minimum using their remaining cap room.
Southwest Notes: Kidd, Cuban, Zion, Clarke, Memphis
Responding in more detail on Friday to the implication that he was involved in last season’s decision to trade Luka Doncic to Los Angeles, Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd refuted Mark Cuban‘s statements and reiterated that he wasn’t informed of the blockbuster deal that shocked the NBA until an agreement was in place, per Christian Clark of The Athletic and Grant Afseth of Dallas Hoops Journal.
“Cuban has mentioned that I knew about the trade,” Kidd said. “Unfortunately, as I have said, I was not part of the process. I was informed at the 11th hour. And that’s the truth.”
Cuban, the Mavs’ former majority owner who is now a minority shareholder in the franchise, made a reference during a recent podcast appearance to “our coach and general manager” trading Doncic. According to Kidd, he called Cuban “right away” to discuss those remarks and stressed that he was telling the truth about his involvement – or lack thereof – in Dallas’ controversial trade with the Lakers.
“I was called (by former Mavs GM) Nico (Harrison into) the room, and he told me that there was a trade that was going to go public at 11 o’clock,” Kidd explained. “That’s what happened. That’s the details of the conversation. I waited until 11 o’clock, and that trade, the world changed.”
In a subscriber-only column for The Dallas Morning News, Tim Cowlishaw argues that by implicating Kidd, Cuban is ignoring his own involvement in the most unpopular transaction in team history — after all, the ownership group that Cuban sold control of the team to had final say on the deal.
We have more from around the Southwest:
- By appearing in his 61st game of the season on Friday, Pelicans forward Zion Williamson has now ensured that at least 80% of his $42.17MM salary for 2026/27 will be guaranteed entering the offseason, tweets ESPN’s Bobby Marks. The remaining 20% would be guaranteed if Williamson meets certain weight-related benchmarks or if he remains under contract through at least July 15, which should be a lock.
- Lucas Finton of The Memphis Commercial Appeal has more details on Brandon Clarke‘s arrest in Arkansas, reporting that the Grizzlies forward led local deputies on a “miles-long chase” and was driving over 100 miles per hour. When he was eventually stopped, over 230 grams of kratom were found in his possession, per an arrest affidavit. Kratom, described by the Mayo Clinic as a herbal extract that can act as a stimulant at lower doses and a sedative for pain relief at higher doses, is legal in Tennessee but is considered a Schedule 1 controlled substance in Arkansas.
- Lakers star LeBron James drew the ire of NBA fans in Memphis when he suggested in the latest episode of the Bob Does Sports YouTube show that the Grizzlies should move from Memphis to Nashville, as Devon Henderson of The Athletic and Jonah Dylan of The Memphis Commercial Appeal detail. “Staying at the f—ing Hyatt at 41 years old, you think I want to do that s—?” James said. “Being in Memphis on a random-ass Thursday. I’m not even the first guy to talk about this in the NBA. We’re all like, ‘You guys have to move.'”
Embiid ‘Pissed Off’ About Not Playing Wednesday, Calls Out Morey
After sitting out Wednesday’s win in Washington due to an illness, Sixers center Joel Embiid was back in action on Friday, registering 19 points, 13 rebounds, and seven assists across 34 minutes of action in a home victory over Minnesota.
In his post-game media session, Embiid was asked about the unusual sequence of events that took place on Wednesday, when he took to social media to express surprise about being ruled out for that night’s game vs. the Wizards. The Philadelphia Inquirer reported that day that Embiid, who had been battling an illness on Monday against Miami, was still sick and missed Wednesday’s shootaround, prompting the team to rule him out. He responded by tweeting that they “won’t let me play basketball.”
“I was pissed off,” Embiid said after Friday’s game (Twitter video link via PHLY Sports; story via Adam Aaronson of PhillyVoice). “I wanted to play basketball. I wasn’t allowed to play basketball. So I think this is more of a question (for president of basketball operations) Daryl Morey and whoever makes the decisions.”
Embiid went on to explain that he was “pretty sick” in Miami, but was determined to play against one of the teams that was neck-and-neck with the 76ers in the playoff race. He added that he “felt a little bit better” in Washington but wasn’t able to sleep on Tuesday night until 5 or 6 a.m. and “couldn’t make it” to shootaround.
“Then after that, I found out online that I wasn’t playing that night,” he continued. “So yeah, that kind of caught me off guard and, yeah, that pissed me off. But then again, I guess they make the decisions, so it doesn’t matter what I think or not. I’ve just got to follow.”
As Aaronson observes, Embiid and the Sixers have long been cagey about providing updates about his various health ailments, with the star center preferring to keep the specifics of those issues as private as possible within the NBA’s injury reporting rules. While the 76ers have frequently been accused of a lack of transparency when it comes to Embiid’s health, they’re usually working with him in those instances — in this case, the team and the player were at odds over his status.
Embiid’s post-game comments put a damper on what was otherwise a very positive night for the Sixers, Aaronson notes, as the team held onto the No. 6 seed in the Eastern Conference with a solid victory over another playoff team. The 76ers and Embiid will want to be sure they’re on the same page as the club enters a difficult stretch of games that starts on Saturday vs. Detroit and is followed by matchups in San Antonio on Monday and Houston on Thursday.
NBA Tells 13 Teams To Look For New Regional TV Deals
The NBA has informed the 13 teams affiliated with Main Street Sports Group that they’re free to seek new in-market media rights deals ahead of the 2026/27 season, reports Tom Friend of Sports Business Journal.
Main Street, previously known as Diamond Sports Group, runs FanDuel Sports Network, which broadcasts local and regional TV games for the Thunder, Spurs, Pistons, Cavaliers, Clippers, Heat, Timberwolves, Magic, Hornets, Hawks, Pacers, Grizzlies, and Bucks. However, the company is headed for insolvency and will discontinue broadcasting for those teams when the regular season concludes on April 12.
“FanDuel Sports Network has reached agreements with the NBA and NHL to broadcast games and other programming through the end of the 2026 NBA regular season and the end of the first round of the NHL playoffs,” a Main Street Sports Group spokesperson said in a statement to Sports Business Journal.
“We are preparing to wind down our operations upon seasons’ end unless we reach a strategic transaction. We’re pleased to finish out the NBA and NHL seasons, and we appreciate the collaborative relationships we have enjoyed with our team and league partners as well as the connections we have fostered with local fans.”
While this has been an expected outcome for months, it leaves nearly half of the teams in the league without in-market broadcasting contracts for next season. According to Friend, the 13 teams could opt for over-the-air channels or streaming options (or both), but whichever route they take, the league has been urging those clubs to sign one-year agreements or to at least have an opt-out after one season, so they can join the streaming hub for local broadcasts the NBA plans to launch down the line.
While previous reporting indicated the NBA might try to launch that streaming RSN hub for 2026/27, it didn’t come up at last month’s Board of Governors meetings, Friend writes, and teams are operating as though it won’t be ready until ’27/28 at the earliest. DAZN has been aggressively reaching out to those 13 clubs to try and secure media rights with an eye on possibly running the streaming RSN platform.
As Friend details, DAZN could have competition for that national streaming project, with Amazon, YouTube TV and the ESPN app all potentially in the mix. DAZN also has competition for local rights, as multiple teams are considering streaming-only options instead of having over-the-air broadcasts. Victory+ (streaming only), ViewLift (Altitude for Denver and Monumental for Washington) and Kiswe (Jazz) are the other companies vying for regional streaming projects.
None of the 13 teams have received rights fee payments from Main Street in 2026, but multiple sources tell friend each club could receive up to 60% of its lost TV money once dissolution agreements are finalized with the NBA and Main Street.
Those lost payments impacted the latest salary cap projection for 2026/27, decreasing it by $1MM. It’s unclear whether the projection might bounce back slightly if part of that lost money is recouped or if that was already factored into the most recent estimate.
Pacers Sports and Entertainment CEO Mel Raines confirmed to Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star that Indiana is seeking a new broadcast partner for next season.
“We’re throwing a very wide net and looking to both potential over-the-air partners and direct-to-consumer partners and looking at every possible option to reach as many of our fans as we can next season over local television,” Raines said.
Free Agent Notes: Porzingis, Yabusele, Sharpe, Valanciunas
Although multiple reports have suggested Kristaps Porzingis appears to be leaning toward re-signing with the Warriors, he declined to commit to staying with Golden State after Thursday’s loss to Cleveland. The Latvian center is extension-eligible and will be an unrestricted free agent this summer if he doesn’t sign a new deal before then.
“It’s hard to say,” Porzingis told Nick Friedell of The Athletic. “Of course, it would be nice for me to go ahead and say, ‘Yes, I want to continue here,’ and this and that. But the reality is I didn’t have a good year at all. I barely showed what I’m capable of. And so I have to see what’s out there.”
Health issues have limited Porzingis to just 29 appearances thus far in 2025/26, and he’s averaging a career-low 24.0 minutes per game. He has been very productive when available, but he told The Athletic he’s not close to being at his peak performance.
“For me, I just wanted first to get to decent shape,” Porzingis said. “Take care of that. Which I am kind of working my way into. And then seeing the whole picture, kind of taking a step back, not to put too much pressure on myself. It’s been a year like that, and we’ll see.
“Honestly, the team is great here. I haven’t gotten a chance to play with Steph (Curry) yet, but the team is great, the city is great, the organization is fantastic. The only thing is the time difference with Europe — it’s 10 hours, it’s too much. But everything else, I enjoy it here.”
According to Friedell, Porzingis was joking about the time difference, but he was serious about his excitement to play alongside Curry. The 30-year-old big man also continues to praise director of sports medicine and performance Rick Celebrini, and he said the relationship he has built with the training staff will factor into his decision this offseason.
“That’s definitely (something) I have to take into account,” Porzingis told Friedell. “I believe I’m in incredible hands here. And that means something. When you have a really strong staff with somebody like me, maybe that’s had some injuries throughout their career … to be in the best hands, it makes a difference for me to stay out there healthy.”
Here are some more notes on players who either will be or could be free agents in 2026:
- Guerschon Yabusele is expected to draw plenty of EuroLeague interest this summer and there has been speculation that’s why he declined his 2026/27 player option ($5.8MM) to facilitate a trade to the Bulls, but the French forward/center said on Friday that his priority is to stay in the NBA, per K.C. Johnson of Chicago Sports Network (Twitter links). “My main goal is to stay in the NBA for sure,” Yabusele said. According to Johnson, the Bulls value Yabusele’s “work ethic and positivity,” which the former first-round pick displayed when he was asked about his erratic role with the Knicks. “I always say, if that was Coach (Mike Brown)’s decision, that was coach’s decision. I just respect it,” Yabusele said. “I worked hard and tried to be the best version of me. Nothing but love for New York.”
- The Nets hold a $6.25MM team option on center Day’Ron Sharpe for next season. He told Brian Lewis of The New York Post he’s unsure what the club has in store for him (Twitter link). “I don’t know. Whatever the team has planned for me, that’s what they’ve got,” Sharpe said. The 24-year-old big man, who has drawn praise from head coach Jordi Fernandez, is recovering from season-ending thumb surgery. He said he plans to continue to work on his body this summer and is eager to add a three-point shot to his arsenal as well (Twitter link via Lewis).
- Longtime center Jonas Valanciunas has been out of the Nuggets‘ rotation of late, but it’s not affecting his attitude in the locker room, writes Bennett Durando of The Denver Post. “I would say he has been as professional as you can be in this situation,” head coach David Adelman said. “And professional in our game means he should be pissed off — and he was — because he wants to play and help the team. Not because it’s about him. … He’s been great on the bench. He’s been great in film sessions. He’s worked out extremely hard. He’s done everything you ask of somebody to do. So I have complete trust in Jonas.” The Lithuanian big man was repeatedly linked to Greek EuroLeague team Panathinaikos last summer and only $2MM of his $10MM salary for next season is currently guaranteed. “I will stay ready. What am I gonna say?” Valanciunas told The Denver Post when asked about Denver going a different direction. “Am I pissed off? … As long as we’re winning the game, you know. I’m here if you need me. I’m here. I’m gonna do everything (I usually do). So it’s simple as that.”
NBA Investigating Bucks As Giannis Insists He’s Healthy
The NBA is investigating the Bucks for potentially violating the player participation policy as well as possible inconsistent statements regarding the health status of superstar forward Giannis Antetokounmpo, sources tell Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link).
According to Charania, the league has already interviewed Antetokounmpo, as well as the team and its doctors.
The two sides have presented differing views of the situation, Charania adds (via Twitter), with the Bucks expressing a belief that Antetokounmpo isn’t ready and doesn’t actually want to play, while Giannis insists he’s healthy but the team refuses to give him medical clearance.
Antetokounmpo has been out since March 15 with what the team has referred to as a left knee hyperextension and a bone bruise. He has played just 36 games this season due to knee, groin, ankle, and calf issues. The fewest games he had played in a season leading up to 2025/26 was 61.
As Eric Nehm of The Athletic reports, Antetokounmpo gave an interview with local reporters on Friday and said there’s a growing rift between himself and the organization.
“You know who you are dealing with,” Antetokounmpo said. “So for somebody to come and tell me to not play or not to compete, it’s like a slap in my face. So, I don’t know where the relationship goes from there.”
Nehm reported a few days after Antetokounmpo’s Mar. 15 injury occurred that Milwaukee had approached the Greek forward about having him sit out the rest of the season to prioritize his health, but the 31-year-old wasn’t on board with the idea. Giannis said Friday that he discussed the concept with head coach Doc Rivers and general manager Jon Horst a few weeks ago, but no one on the team has talked to him about it since.
The two-time MVP told The Athletic and other media outlets that he has been healthy for weeks. He went through yet another full pregame workout on Friday, according to Nehm, just as he’s done numerous times since the team approached him about sitting out. The 31-year-old finished the workout with a windmill dunk, Nehm notes.
“I’m available to play, but I’m not in the game,” Antetokounmpo said. “I’m available to play today. Right now. I’m available. Do I look like I’m not available? … I don’t see myself in the first 12. I don’t see myself in the starting lineup.
“I don’t know what game is being played right here, I just don’t wanna be a part of it.”
Antetokounmpo downplayed the severity of the left knee issue after the Mar. 15 game and said he wasn’t going to seek out imaging. He was initially questionable for the following contest due to an ankle injury, not his knee, and Rivers said the scans on Antetokounmpo’s knee came back clean when he was a late scratch ahead of the Mar. 17 matchup vs. Cleveland.
“The good news was it was a really good image, so there was no damage,” Rivers said at the time. “Nothing. It was really just good news. But I don’t know the next part (regarding a timeline).”
The NBPA put out a statement on Mar. 24 that both supported Antetokounmpo and questioned whether the NBA is committed to enforcing its player participation policy.
“I’ve never seen a case of a player saying, my caliber of player, that’s like — I’m saying it publicly — I want to f–-ing play. You know what I’m saying?” Antetokounmpo said Friday, per Nehm. “I don’t think I’ve seen this. So, if there needs to be an investigation, great. There should be. I don’t know. There should be. Until we figure something out.”
As Nehm details, Antetokounmpo tried to walk back his comments to some extent, saying he and the Bucks needed to find an “amicable solution” to the disagreement. He also acknowledged he understood the team’s logic in wanting him to sit out to prioritize his health and the team’s draft positioning — he just disagreed with the premise.
“What are you telling me? The next time I’m going to be play basketball is October? Why? I don’t want to do that. I don’t,” Antetokounmpo said. “I want to play basketball. I was born to play basketball.
“I’ve been here 13 years and I understand the team gets eliminated from the playoffs, be smart. Taking care of your body, being in and out, just to be careful, to prepare for the next season, prepare for the next generation and the young players to get some minutes, go out there — I get that. But that wasn’t the time that this took place. That’s what bothers me. It’s almost like you waved the white flag and I don’t do that. I am sorry. I don’t. And I never, never will.”
The Bucks reportedly listened to trade offers for Antetokounmpo ahead of the February deadline, though it sounds as though they never came close to actually pulling the trigger on a deal. Bucks co-owner Wes Edens told ESPN a couple weeks ago that the nine-time All-NBA member would either be extended or traded this offseason.