Southwest Notes: Irving, Wembanyama, Jordan, Middleton
It was recently announced that Kyrie Irving would miss the rest of the Mavericks‘ season. According to Mike Curtis of The Dallas Morning News, the decision was the right one, both for his own health and the team’s long-term success.
Curtis notes that by the time Irving returns to play, nearly 600 days will have elapsed from the time of his last on-court action. While that time off will make it difficult to immediately return to his previous form, it should give him ample time to make sure that his knee is fully healthy before diving into the next era of Mavericks basketball.
Irving has had multiple surgeries on his left knee over the year, and given his age and the mileage a 15-year career has taken, there’s additional concern about the possibility of re-injuring the knee should he return too soon.
The Mavs will also be looking to maximize their draft position this summer to add another high-end talent to the duo of Irving and star rookie Cooper Flagg.
Curtis notes that it would have been useful for the team’s two cornerstones to get some time to start building their chemistry, but playing things safe on the injury and lottery fronts should yield even higher benefits.
“I am looking forward to coming back stronger next season,” Irving said. “The belief and drive I have inside only grows.”
We have more from around the Southwest Division:
- Victor Wembanyama had an outsized impact on the All-Star game this year, adding a sense of intensity and competitiveness to what is often a less-than-enthusiastic affair. Next, the Spurs‘ star may have his sights set on another event: the Slam Dunk Contest. “I’ll be in the dunk contest one day,” he said after a recent win in which he unleashed a two-handed windmill dunk (Twitter video link).
- DeAndre Jordan hadn’t played for the Pelicans since October 29 heading into Saturday’s contest against the Sixers. Against Philadelphia, he played over 31 minutes in the start, recording 15 rebounds, five of them offensive, as well as four blocks. In an article for NOLA.com, Rod Walker called it a “turn back the clock” performance. The blocks total was the highest Jordan has recorded since the 2020/21 season. “I was extremely excited,” Jordan said. “Anytime you can go out there and compete in this league, it’s a gift. It was cool to be able to go out there and be able to play.” After the game, Jordan said he was craving two things: wine and ice.
- Khris Middleton had his best scoring game of the season tonight for the Mavs, putting up 25 points on 11-of-15 shooting while adding seven rebounds and seven assists in a five-point victory over the Pacers. After the game, coach Jason Kidd spoke effusively about the veteran wing. “A lot of times, you don’t understand how tall he is so he can create space with his height, and midrange game,” Kidd said, per Curtis (Twitter link). “He can always get his shot off. His ability to playmate, being able to run an offense with him. We got guys layups and wide open shots. He was really good tonight.” Middleton has stepped up with Flagg out, scoring 18 points in Friday’s loss to the Wolves.
Fischer’s Latest: Antetokounmpo, Morant, Bulls, Yabusele
The rumors circulating about the Bucks trading Giannis Antetokounmpo didn’t amount to anything at the February 5 deadline, but that will only postpone speculation about Antetokounmpo’s future in Milwaukee rather than ending it.
Jake Fischer, writing for The Stein Line (Substack link), says his sources around the situation still believe that a move to what he calls “a true title contender” is the most likely outcome for Giannis this summer, especially since many of those contenders will be able to offer more than they did at the deadline.
Fischer also writes that many people around the league are expecting the Nets to become a legitimate suitor for the two-time MVP, either using a package built around Michael Porter Jr. and draft picks or one that keeps Porter in Brooklyn.
Fischer adds that how teams like the Rockets and Spurs fare in the playoffs could impact Antetokounmpo’s trade market too.
We have more from around the league:
- Ja Morant wasn’t traded at the deadline, with reports indicating that the Grizzlies weren’t ready to accept a package similar to the one the Hawks received for Trae Young. While there wasn’t a strong market for the Memphis point guard at the deadline, multiple teams believe that the Bucks have real interest in bringing Morant in, Fischer reports, whether as a successor to Antetokounmpo in their next phase of team-building or as a complement to him.
- Trade deadline moves by the Wizards and Jazz reduced the future financial flexibility of two of the projected cap space teams in 2026, leaving Chicago, Brooklyn, and the two Los Angeles teams as the summer’s probable cap room clubs. According to Fischer, the Bulls have signaled that their primary directive in free agency will be going after wings. The list of free agent wings ranges from unrestricted veterans like Khris Middleton and Tobias Harris to younger restricted FAs such as Bennedict Mathurin and Tari Eason. In addition to wings, the guard-heavy Bulls will also need to find a starting center.
- After removing his second-year player option in order to facilitate a trade from the Knicks to the Bulls, Guerschon Yabusele is expected to have a competitive EuroLeague market this summer, Fischer writes, noting that the French forward had considered signing with the Nuggets prior to joining the Knicks.
Grizzlies Sign Rayan Rupert To 10-Day Deal
8:00 pm: Rupert’s 10-day contract is official, per NBA.com’s transaction log.
4:25 pm: The Grizzlies are signing Rayan Rupert to a 10-day contract, Shams Charania reports for ESPN (Twitter link).
The 6’7″ wing was the 43rd overall pick in the 2023 draft and spent his first two-and-a-half seasons with the Blazers, averaging 3.2 points in 12.0 minutes per game.
Rupert played three games for the Rip City Remix G League team this season, averaging 12.7 points, 9.0 rebounds, and 4.0 assists per contest while hitting 36.4% of his threes.
Rupert played in 48 games for Portland this season, but the trade for Vit Krejci, along with Blake Wesley‘s return from injury, moved him down the wing pecking order. He was waived by the Blazers on Friday to make room for Sidy Cissoko‘s two-year deal.
Memphis has an open spot on its 15-man roster, so no corresponding move will be necessary to make room for Rupert. If the deal is finalized on Sunday, he’ll be available for the Grizzlies’ next five games before his contract expires.
Bulls Notes: Simons, Ivey, Huerter, Tanking
Anfernee Simons will miss the Bulls‘ matchup against the Knicks on Sunday with a left wrist sprain, according to Joel Lorenzi of The Athletic (Twitter link). Simons left Saturday’s loss to the Pistons after just 13 minutes due to the injury.
According to head coach Billy Donovan, Simons will undergo imaging on the wrist on Monday, and it’s entirely possible that the “sprained wrist” diagnosis will change following the results of those tests (Twitter link via Lorenzi). Donovan said the Bulls don’t currently know the severity of the injury.
Prior to Saturday, Simons had played five games with the Bulls after being acquired in a deal that sent Nikola Vucevic to the Celtics. In those five games, he averaged 17.4 points, 3.6 assists, and 3.0 rebounds with a .446/.327/1.000 shooting line.
We have more from the Bulls:
- Chicago’s trade deadline was filled with moves designed to secure the best possible lottery odds this summer, but the acquisition of Jaden Ivey was one of the few forward-facing moves they made in terms of adding personnel. Ivey’s recent injury status makes that calculation more complicated, especially given his impending free agency, writes The Chicago Tribune’s Julia Poe. However, despite Ivey’s comments about his body not feeling the same following knee and leg injuries, Poe says there’s cautious optimism from the team’s coach about his ability to recapture his old form. “There’s a feeling that if he can get some more strength back then he can get back to where he was athletically,” Donovan said. “He knows that he’s not as explosive as he once was, but I don’t think that means that he can’t get back to that point. A big part of that is going to be him getting stronger.” According to Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times, Ivey’s former coach, J.B. Bickerstaff, agrees with Donovan, but adds that the most important part of the process is mental. “We expected a full recovery, but the timing you never know; it’s something you can never know,” Bickerstaff said. “And then the part for him is believing and trusting in it. That happens with the injury, too, especially when you’re explosive and your athleticism is so unique. You’ve got to find that trust back in it.”
- Kevin Huerter recently spoke about the trade that sent him from the Bulls to the Pistons, Cowley writes. One thing he touched on was the lack of clarity in Chicago about whether the team would compete or move into a rebuilding phase. “We talked about it [as a team], and we just didn’t know,” Huerter said. “We were sitting at .500 most of the year. It could have gone either way. As players, you have to expect everything, but seven or eight trades, whatever it was, I don’t know if anyone expected that.” While the move to the East-leading Pistons came as a surprise, the 27-year-old shooting guard is grateful for the opportunity it has provided him. “The transition, it’s always tough in season, even coming here last year, it was tough to move everything, your whole life, in about a week,” he said. “But you’re going to a team like this, No. 1 in the East, and they just compete their ass off.”
- The Bulls are behind the eight ball when it comes to maximizing their 2026 draft lottery odds, Poe writes, noting that Chicago has the ninth-worst record in the league at 24-33 and might have a hard time dropping any further than that. Poe suggests the belated effort to tank has something in common with vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas‘ habit of not dealing players until after their value has started to decline. Still, Poe writes that the move to begun the next era of Bulls basketball is the right one, given the depth and promise of the 2026 draft class.
Southeast Notes: McCollum, Herro, Carter, Penda
CJ McCollum replaced Zaccharie Risacher in the Hawks‘ starting lineup for Sunday’s game against the Nets, a move that shifts the former No. 1 overall pick to the bench for the first time since the second game of his NBA career. Previously, Risacher had started in 117 of his first 119 games.
This decision to promote McCollum to the starting five reflects Quin Snyder‘s trust in the veteran guard. Recently, the Hawks’ head coach discussed closing games with McCollum over Risacher.
“That is, by far, our best lineup from a plus-minus standpoint,” Snyder said of the group that features McCollum alongside Jalen Johnson, Dyson Daniels, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, and Onyeka Okongwu, per Kevin Chouinard of Hawks.com (Twitter link). “You could make an argument that we should start that lineup … How can we best use CJ?”
According to Lauren L. Williams of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution writes (via Twitter), people around the league believe Risacher puts a lot of pressure on himself and that this move could help relieve some of that pressure.
The Hawks fell behind against the Nets but completed a fourth-quarter comeback, winning 115-104. McCollum had 16 points, eight rebounds, and four assists, while Risacher scored seven points off the bench.
We have more from around the Southeast:
- After missing over a month with a rib injury, Tyler Herro has come off the bench for the Heat‘s last two games, both of which were wins. It’s a role the former Sixth Man of the Year is very familiar with, Ira Winderman writes for the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. “It doesn’t really feel like I’m out of place, because we got guys that can start and I’m comfortable in my role and in myself,” Herro said. “So I’m happy where I’m at.” Herro scored 24 points in 23 minutes as a reserve in his return to action against the Hawks, and 14 points on 15 shots against the Grizzlies. His role and minutes will likely be determined by how his body reacts to returning to play. “We are going to manage the minutes. I’m not overthinking it. I’m not putting anything in cement. I don’t have a timeline for anything,” head coach Erik Spoelstra said. “We’re how many ever games into the season right now and we finally have our full roster. We’re just going to try to maximize these next 25 games as much as possible and we just want everybody just to pour into the team, pour into the role, don’t overthink things at this point.”
- In his third game with his new team, Jevon Carter hit a massive three-pointer in double overtime for the Magic before a Jalen Green shot won it for the Suns. After the game, Paolo Banchero spoke about Carter’s impact. “Just coming in here and taking advantage of his opportunity, just fitting in, playing both sides of the ball,” Banchero said, per Jason Beede of the Orlando Sentinel (Twitter link). “He hit a big shot, I wish we could have pulled the win out for him, because that was a huge shot.” While Carter’s late-game shot was his biggest moment of the game, it’s his defense that has most impressed coach Jamahl Mosely, Beede writes. “As soon as he stepped on the court, it was pick-up full-court, talking in the huddles, getting guys in the right spots, stepping in with confidence to his shot,” Mosley said. “He’s about all the right things. He’s about winning. He’s about toughness. He fits exactly what we do here with the Magic, just being able to (play) hard-nose defense, creating your offense on the other end.”
- When the Magic drafted Noah Penda 32nd overall last June, they likely didn’t expect him to become a crucial piece in year one, but amidst an injury-plagued season, he has become an important factor in keeping the team afloat, Spencer Davies writes for RG. Davies adds that Penda has maintained the same mindset and effectiveness whether coming in for a four-minute run off the bench or closing games as a starter. Penda’s rebounding has been a crucial part of his impact — when the rookie goes to the bench, the team’s offensive rebounding rate drops by nine percent, Davies notes. The rookie forward says the entire team has helped him learn the ropes in his first NBA season, but cites Tyus Jones, who was traded at the deadline, as a veteran who really took Penda under his wing when he wasn’t playing and helped him focus on what he needed to do to be ready when his number was called.
Injury Notes: Goodwin, Giannis, Embiid, Flagg, D. Green
Suns guard Jordan Goodwin, who suffered a left calf injury in the fourth quarter of Saturday’s win over Orlando, underwent an MRI on Sunday and has been diagnosed with a left calf strain, per Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic (Twitter links).
It’s the latest in a string of discouraging health updates for the Suns, who recently lost their two leading scorers — Devin Booker (right hip strain) and Dillon Brooks (left hand fracture) — to injuries.
While it’s unclear how long Goodwin will be sidelined, a strained calf typical results in a player missing weeks, not days. We’ll have to wait for more information from Phoenix to learn the severity of Goodwin’s injury.
The 27-year-old has been a key rotation player for the Suns in 2025/26, averaging 8.9 points, 4.7 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.5 steals in 54 games (22.4 minutes per contest). Goodwin will be an unrestricted free agent this summer.
Here are a few more injury updates from around the NBA:
- Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo went through a pregame workout ahead of Sunday’s game vs. Toronto, according to Eric Nehm of The Athletic (Twitter video link). The Greek forward, who has been out since January 23 due to a right calf strain, did some scrimmaging in Saturday’s practice, head coach Doc Rivers said, but he has not yet played 5-on-5 (Twitter link via Nehm). “We were in the gym and did some 3-on-3 stuff. 4-on-4 and 3-on-3, I think, live. That was good,” Rivers said.
- Sixers center Joel Embiid will miss his fifth straight game on Sunday due to right knee and shin soreness, writes Kyle Neubeck of PHLY Sports. Philadelphia has been in a major rut lately without the former MVP, having lost four straight contests.
- Rookie standout Cooper Flagg was out for the third consecutive time on Sunday at Indiana, but the Mavericks forward is making progress from a left mid-foot sprain, as Mike Curtis of The Dallas Morning News relays (via Twitter). “He’s feeling better. Had a good workout today,” head coach Jason Kidd said. “We’ll see how he feels tomorrow. We’ll practice (in Indiana) tomorrow because of the weather (in New York). We’ll see how he feels after that practice.”
- Veteran forward/center Draymond Green was a late scratch for Sunday’s game against Denver because of a lower back injury, the Warriors announced (via Twitter). Green had not previously been on the team’s injury report.
Kings Sign Patrick Baldwin Jr. To Two-Way Contract
The Kings have signed free agent forward Patrick Baldwin Jr. to a two-way contract, the team announced in a press release.
Baldwin, a former first-round pick, has spent most of 2025/26 in the G League with the San Diego Clippers. However, he recently signed 10-day contracts with the Clips and Sixers, and now is back in the league on a two-way deal with Sacramento.
It’s worth noting that this is Baldwin’s fourth NBA season and he will no longer be two-way eligible in the offseason. He will be an unrestricted free agent this summer.
A 7’0″ power forward, Baldwin has appeared in 96 total NBA games since he was selected No. 28 overall in the 2022 draft. The 23-year-old holds career averages of 3.7 points and 2.0 rebounds in 8.8 minutes per game across his appearances with the Warriors, Wizards, Clippers and 76ers.
In 26 total NBAGL games (33.8 MPG) with San Diego this season, Baldwin has averaged 21.3 PPG, 7.2 RPG, 2.9 APG and 1.3 SPG, with a shooting slash line of .518/.336/.667.
The Kings were one of seven NBA teams with an open two-way spot, so no corresponding move was needed to add Baldwin. Sacramento still has a standard roster opening.
Aaron Nesmith Out At Least One More Week Due To Ankle Sprain
Pacers wing Aaron Nesmith, who suffered a right ankle sprain in Thursday’s loss to Washington, will miss at least one more week due to the injury, according to head coach Rick Carlisle (Twitter link via Tony East of Circle City Spin).
Nesmith was limited to 15 minutes in Thursday’s contest and was sidelined for Friday’s rematch with the Wizards. Sunday’s game vs. Dallas will mark his second straight absence, and he will miss at least two more games after that as a result of the sprain.
Indiana has been ravaged by injuries in 2025/26, as several players have been sidelined for extended stretches. Forward Obi Toppin, for example, hasn’t played since October after undergoing foot surgery, and second-year swingman Johnny Furphy was diagnosed with a torn ACL in his right knee a couple weeks ago, ending his season early.
In fact, only three Pacers have missed fewer than 10 games this season: Jay Huff (zero), Jarace Walker (one) and Pascal Siakam (six). All-Star forward Siakam will return to action on Sunday after missing the team’s last two games.
Nesmith missed 19 consecutive games from mid-November to late-December because of a left knee sprain. The 26-year-old small forward, who was nominated for the Eastern Conference’s Player of the Week award for games played from Jan. 26 – Feb. 1, has averaged 13.2 PPG, 4.7 RPG and 2.1 APG in 33 games this season (30.0 MPG).
Kings To Sign Killian Hayes To 10-Day Contract
The Kings plan to sign free agent guard Killian Hayes to a 10-day contract, reports Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (via Twitter).
Detroit selected Hayes with the seventh overall pick in the 2020 draft, but he struggled with offensive efficiency during his Pistons tenure and the team waived him in February 2024.
Still just 24 years old, Hayes has largely been out of the NBA for the past two seasons. He spent most of last season in the G League with Brooklyn’s G League affiliate in Long Island, averaging 17.3 points, 7.4 assists, 5.4 rebounds and 2.0 steals on .463/.371/.689 shooting in 33 games (32.9 minutes per contest).
Hayes, who played six games with the Nets in 2024/25 on a 10-day contract, signed an Exhibit 10 training camp deal with the Cavaliers in the fall to secure a bonus for playing for their affiliate team, the Cleveland Charge. Through 28 games with the Charge this season, Hayes is averaging 23.1 PPG, 8.3 APG, 3.9 RPG and 1.7 SPG on .468/.325/.800 shooting.
The Kings have an opening on their standard roster, which means they won’t need to waive anyone to sign Hayes. As a five-year veteran, Hayes will earn $153,330 over the course of his 10 days with Sacramento, while the Kings will carry a cap charge of $131,970.
Sixers’ Johni Broome Out Indefinitely With Torn Meniscus
Rookie big man Johni Broome suffered a lateral meniscus tear in his right knee on Saturday while playing for the Delaware Blue Coats in the G League, the Sixers announced in a press release.
Broome will consult with medical professionals to determine how to treat the injury, per the team. Meniscus injuries can be addressed surgically – by either repairing or removing the cartilage – or, in some cases, non-surgically. Broome’s recovery timeline will be determined based on which treatment plan he and the team choose.
The 23-year-old forward/center starred in college at Morehead State (two years) and Auburn (three years) prior to being selected with the 35th overall pick in the 2025 draft. However, he hasn’t been able to crack Philadelphia’s rotation in his first NBA season, playing just 55 total minutes across 11 appearances.
Broome has been a regular contributor for the Blue Coats, averaging 21.8 points, 8.4 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 1.5 blocks and 1.2 steals on .463/.287/.656 shooting in 26 games (32.8 minutes per contest). He’s on a four-year standard contract and will earn a guaranteed $2.15MM in 2026/27, but the following two seasons are non-guaranteed.