Kyshawn George Has Partial UCL Tear, Will Be Reevaluated In Three Weeks
Kyshawn George suffered a partial tear of the UCL in his left elbow and will be reevaluated in three weeks, the Wizards announced (via Twitter). The team states that it plans to treat the injury “conservatively,” so there’s no guarantee that George will return before the season ends on April 12.
George left Monday’s game against Houston midway through the third quarter. He returned to the bench after being checked out in the locker room, but wasn’t put back into the game. George was also dealing with a left knee contusion that caused him to be listed as questionable for Monday’s contest.
The second-year forward has started all 48 games he has played this season. He’s averaging 14.8 points, 5.1 rebounds and 4.5 assists in 29 minutes per night with .438/.381/.802 shooting numbers.
George was selected to participate in this year’s Rising Stars event at All-Star Weekend and was a member of Team Vince, which captured the championship.
The 24th pick in the 2024 draft, George will make $3.1MM next season on the third year of his rookie contract. The Wizards will have to decide by this fall whether to exercise their option on his $5.4MM salary for 2027/28, and he’ll become eligible for a rookie scale extension next summer.
Knicks Notes: Robinson, Alvarado, Sochan, Diawara
The load management plan that the Knicks instituted for Mitchell Robinson has been successful so far, writes Jared Schwartz of The New York Post. Robinson has already appeared in 44 games, which tops his totals from each of the past two seasons, and he’s on pace for his highest number of games played since 2021/22. Coach Mike Brown credits his medical team for keeping Robinson healthy, along with Robinson himself for being on board with the strategy.
“He’s bought into this plan and he’s tried to execute it at the highest of high levels,” Brown said. “So I give all those guys a ton of credit because I’m just kind of jumping on the bandwagon and following their lead. To see him out there, because the best thing almost anybody can have is their availability, so to see him out there as much as he’s been out there has been really good for us.”
Part of the plan includes not playing Robinson on back-to-back nights, regardless of the circumstances. Brown opted to use Robinson in Tuesday’s win at Toronto rather than saving him for tonight’s game against Oklahoma City, the reigning NBA champs, explaining that he felt beating the Raptors was more important because they’re an Eastern Conference rival, per Stefan Bondy of The New York Post.
Robinson came up limping and grabbed at his ankle after fighting for a rebound in the first quarter on Tuesday, but he told reporters it was nothing serious.
There’s more from New York:
- Speaking to the media before tonight’s game, Brown saluted team president Leon Rose for acquiring Jose Alvarado from New Orleans at the trade deadline (Twitter video link from Ian Begley of SNY.tv). Alvarado has been getting regular minutes at backup point guard and is averaging 8.0 points and 4.0 assists in 10 games since joining the Knicks. “I gotta give Leon credit; he went out and got him, ” Brown said. … “The energy on top of the quickness that he brings to the table every time we step on the floor is irreplaceable.”
- It’s been a much different experience for Jeremy Sochan, another recent addition who joined the Knicks after agreeing to a buyout with San Antonio. Limited mostly to garbage time in seven appearances with New York, Sochan told Jeff McDonald of The San Antonio Express News (subscription required) that he’s still adjusting to his new surroundings. “I’m settling in,” he said. “It’s been chaotic for sure. It doesn’t help that it’s in season, so we’ve been traveling as well. Everyone has been welcoming — the owners and the players and the whole community. Everything has been positive.”
- Mohamed Diawara, the 51st pick in last year’s draft, is the latest in a string of second-round finds for the Knicks, Kristian Winfield of The New York Daily News observes in a subscriber-only piece. Diawara’s playing time has been modest, but he has impressed the team whenever he’s been given minutes. “First thing I would say is Mo is not afraid. I’ve said this to you guys before, for a young guy, I’ve thrown him out there in games — to start — on national TV, and he didn’t bat an eye,” Brown told reporters after Sunday’s game. “And he might start three games in a row, then he might not play the fourth game, he doesn’t bat an eye. He is the most confident young man I’ve been around.”
Nuggets Sign David Roddy To Two-Way, Waive Tamar Bates
6:00 pm: Both moves are now official, according to RealGM’s log of NBA transactions.
1:51 pm: The Nuggets are making a change to one of their two-way contract slots ahead of Wednesday’s deadline, according to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype, who reports (via Twitter) that current two-way player Tamar Bates is being waived in order to create space for the team to sign forward David Roddy.
Roddy, who will turn 25 later this month, has played for five NBA teams since being selected 23rd overall in the 2022 draft, making 168 appearances in total for Memphis, Phoenix, Atlanta, Philadelphia, and Houston. However, the former Colorado State star hasn’t been on a roster at all this season since spending training camp with the Raptors and being waived at the end of the preseason.
Outside of a brief recent stint with USA Basketball for a pair of World Cup qualifying games, Roddy has spent the 2025/26 season with the Raptors 905 in the G League. In 34 total outings for Toronto’s NBAGL affiliate, he has averaged 12.3 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 3.6 assists in 27.8 minutes per game while making 47.5% of his shots from the floor, including 39.2% from beyond the arc.
Roddy played well for Team USA in those recent qualifiers vs. the Dominican Republic and Mexico, totaling 28 points on 9-of-12 shooting. He led the team with 20 points in Sunday’s blowout victory over Mexico.
Bates, meanwhile, quickly caught on with the Nuggets on a two-way deal last summer after going undrafted out of Missouri, but his rookie season was derailed in December when he underwent surgery to repair a fracture in his left foot. The 6’4″ guard hasn’t played at all since then and was limited to 12 appearances in the G League before that point. Although he has yet to make his regular season NBA debut, he averaged 19.6 PPG on .550/.442/.900 shooting for the Grand Rapids Gold before getting hurt.
Roddy can be active for up to 11 games for the Nuggets for the rest of the regular season and won’t be eligible to play in the postseason. As Blake Murphy of Sportsnet.ca points out (via Twitter), Roddy is the third Raptors 905 regular to be called up to a new NBA team this week, joining Julian Reese and Olivier Sarr, who were signed to two-way deals by the Wizards and Cavaliers, respectively.
Eastern Notes: Knueppel, McCain, Edgecombe, Suggs, Carter
Mavericks forward Cooper Flagg appeared to be the frontrunner for this season’s Rookie of the Year award after he scored 49 points against Charlotte on January 29 in his first NBA meeting with Kon Knueppel. However, that was no longer the case by the time the two teams faced one another again on Tuesday, writes Christian Clark of The Athletic.
Flagg’s extended absence due to a foot injury, combined with a 15-3 stretch for the Hornets, has given his former Duke teammate the upper hand back in the Rookie of the Year race. At least, that’s how Charlotte head coach Charles Lee feels.
“I don’t even think it’s close,” Lee said, per Clark. “(Knueppel) probably would be mad at me for saying something like that, because he just wants to focus on our team winning games and impacting games any way he possibly can.”
While Knueppel slightly lags behind Flagg in points (20.4 to 19.2), rebounds (6.6 to 5.5), and assists (4.1 to 3.5) per game, he has been the far more efficient scorer, with an effective field goal percentage of 61.6% compared to Flagg 51.5%. The Hornets wing has also appeared in more games (61 to 49), plays for the better team, and has been arguably the best outside shooter in the NBA — he has knocked down his three-pointers at a 43.5% clip and has made a total of 212, 15 more than second-place Tyrese Maxey.
Here’s more from around the Eastern Conference:
- With Jared McCain thriving for the Thunder, Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Substack link) and Kevin O’Connor of Yahoo Sports each revisit the Sixers‘ surprising decision to trade the second-year guard at last month’s deadline, exploring whether Philadelphia’s front office was really “selling high” like president of basketball operations Daryl Morey suggested at the time. “I don’t think he meant any harm from it,” McCain said of Morey’s “selling high” comment, per Fischer. “I just kind of take it as: That’s his job. And if he feels that’s the best decision (for the organization), then that’s his decision. But obviously I’m gonna have confidence in myself.”
- Sixers rookie guard VJ Edgecombe, who left Tuesday’s game early due to a back injury, underwent an MRI and has been diagnosed with a lumbar contusion, tweets Derek Bodner of PHLY Sports. While Edgecombe has been ruled out for Wednesday’s game vs. Utah, he’ll be reevaluated ahead of Saturday’s contest in Atlanta, per the team.
- Recently signed Magic point guard Jevon Carter, an eight-year NBA veteran, is having a positive impact on 24-year-old Jalen Suggs, writes Jason Beede of The Orlando Sentinel (subscription required). “My favorite part about (him) is, he’s held me accountable on multiple occasions,” Suggs said of his new teammate. “Just raw, uncut comms, not trying to sugarcoat, not trying to make me feel good. He’s just sharing real truth with me and I’ve appreciated that. It’s been nice having him around.”
Northwest Notes: Hyland, Dort, Nuggets, Blazers
In an excellent profile, Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic explores the journey Bones Hyland has taken to end up with the Timberwolves, detailing the tragic 2018 fire that burned down Hyland’s childhood home and took the lives of his grandmother and 11-month-old cousin. Hyland, who jumped out of a second-floor window to safety, tore the patellar tendon in his right knee and was initially told by doctors that they didn’t think he’d play basketball again, Krawcyznski writes.
“I cried my eyes out,” Hyland said. “But I knew it wasn’t the end for me. God always got the last say-so.”
Grieving the loss of two family members and recovering from his own injuries with the overwhelming support of a Wilmington community that made sure he was never alone in his hospital room, Hyland began rehabbing his knee and eventually made it back onto the basketball court, earning a scholarship to VCU and then becoming a first-round pick in the 2021 NBA draft.
Although earlier stints with the Nuggets and Clippers didn’t end the way he hoped, Hyland has found a new NBA home in Minnesota, where he has settled into a second-unit role for the Wolves this season, averaging 7.1 points and 2.5 assists in 14.7 minutes per game, with a 38.8% three-point mark.
“I love having him on the team,” head coach Chris Finch said, per Krawczynski. “He’s the same every day. He’s a super happy guy. He’s one of these guys who brings joy to the game in the way that he plays it.”
We have more from around the Northwest:
- Four days after being ejected from a showdown with the Nuggets after tripping Nikola Jokic on his way up the court, Thunder forward Luguentz Dort expressed some regret for the play that was ruled a flagrant 2 foul, writes Joel Lorenzi of The Athletic. “Obviously, that was unnecessary contact that I shouldn’t have done,” Dort said. “… That’s a physical game and there’s limits to it. And I went over the limit.” Informed of Dort’s comments, Nuggets coaches and players were unmoved, with David Adelman, Bruce Brown, and Jonas Valanciunas each responding with a “no” when asked by Troy Renck of The Denver Post if Dort’s acknowledgement meant anything to them (Twitter video links).
- Efforts to secure public funding for the Trail Blazers‘ arena renovation took a step forward on Wednesday as the Oregon state senate passed Senate Bill 1501, which would allow the state to issue up to $360MM in bonds toward the renovation plan (Twitter links via Sean Highkin of the Rose Garden Report). The bill, which will be sent to the state’s house of representatives for a vote, is just one piece of the overall puzzle, according to Bill Oram of The Oregonian (subscription required), who notes that the project will also require funding from the city and the county. Additionally, the Blazers still need to negotiate a new Moda Center lease once new owner Tom Dundon takes control of the franchise.
- The two-way deals recently signed by guard Chris Youngblood and forward Jayson Kent with the Trail Blazers will each cover two seasons, running through 2026/27, Hoops Rumors has learned.
Pelicans Sign Josh Oduro To Two-Way Contract
4:00 pm: Oduro’s two-way deal is now official, per NBA.com’s transaction log.
8:33 am: The Pelicans have reached an agreement on a two-way deal with big man Josh Oduro, reports Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link).
A 6’9″ forward/center who went undrafted out of Providence in 2024, Oduro had brief stints with the Pelicans during each of the past two preseasons and has spent his pro career to date with the Birmingham Squadron, New Orleans’ G League affiliate.
In 35 games this season for the Squadron, the 25-year-old has averaged 14.3 points, 7.3 rebounds, 1.7 assists, 1.3 blocks, and 1.3 steals in 28.6 minutes per contest, making 56.0% of his shot attempts from the floor and 63.3% from the free throw line.
As we noted earlier this morning, the Pelicans entered the day as the only team with an open two-way slot. Given that Wednesday is the last day for teams to sign players to two-way contracts during the 2025/26 regular season, an update on New Orleans’ plans had been expected.
Oduro will join guard Trey Alexander and center Hunter Dickinson as the Pelicans’ two-way players and will be eligible to be active for up to 11 regular season games for New Orleans for the rest of the season.
And-Ones: Yurtseven, Metu, KD, Wiseman, Dybantsa
A pair of former NBA big men have signed new contracts and are set to resume their playing careers.
Former Heat and Jazz center Omer Yurtseven, who averaged 5.0 points and 4.6 rebounds per game in 113 NBA regular season appearances from 2021-24, has signed a G League deal and will join the Rockets‘ affiliate, the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, reports Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Twitter link). The Turkish big man has spent most of the past two years overseas playing for Panathinaikos, but recently parted ways with the Greek team.
Meanwhile, former NBA forward/center Chimezie Metu is headed to Europe, having agreed to join Gran Canaria in Spain for the rest of the 2025/26 season, according to an announcement from the team. Metu made 260 NBA appearances from 2018-24 for Sacramento, San Antonio, Phoenix, and Detroit, but signed with Barcelona for the 2024/25 season and then suffered a torn Achilles last March.
We have more odds and ends from around the basketball world:
- Rockets star Kevin Durant spoke recently about his desire to play for Team USA at the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles, and head coach Erik Spoelstra appears to be on board with the idea, writes Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press. “Just him saying that is incredible,” Spoelstra said over the weekend. “You know, that’s the culture of USA Basketball. You just want the best American players to raise their hand and say, ‘I want to do this.'”
- Speaking of USA Basketball, Joe Vardon of The Athletic checked in this weekend with former No. 2 overall pick James Wiseman, who was representing the U.S. in a pair of World Cup qualifying games against the Dominican Republic and Mexico. Wiseman viewed the games as “a test to see where I was at” following last season’s Achilles tear and an opportunity to show he deserves a spot on an NBA roster. Team USA head coach Stephen Silas believes he made a strong case. “He’s long, he can play pick-and-roll defense,” Silas said. “… He rebounds, he blocks shots. He’s a little rusty; scoring around the hoop was a little bit tough for him. But he belongs on the NBA roster.”
- Asked by McKay Coppins in an episode of Deseret Voices (YouTube link) if he thinks he’ll be the No. 1 pick in this year’s NBA draft, BYU forward AJ Dybantsa suggested it’s not a sure thing that he goes pro this spring. “I might not leave college,” Dybantsa said (Twitter video link via The Deseret News). “… My mom wants me to graduate, so I might not leave.” It’s not uncommon for top prospects to make that sort of declaration during the college season – Cooper Flagg did the same thing a year ago – but it would be virtually unprecedented in recent draft history for a potential top pick like Dybantsa to actually follow through on the idea.
- Former Morgan Stanley investment advisor Darryl Cohen, who advised current Trail Blazers guard Jrue Holiday and other NBA players, was convicted by a Manhattan jury on Tuesday of wire fraud and investment advisor fraud, reports Michael McCann of Sportico. Cohen, who was charged for leading a scheme to defraud Holiday and former NBA players Chandler Parsons and Courtney Lee, arranged for those players to buy insurance policies at “massive markups” and moved money from their financial accounts into a fraudulent nonprofit organization under the guise that they were making charitable donations, as McCann details.
Grizzlies Sign Rayan Rupert To Two-Way Contract
1:59 pm: Rupert has officially re-signed with Memphis on a two-way deal, the team announced in a press release (Twitter link).
1:37 pm: Less than 24 hours after his 10-day contract with the team expired, the Grizzlies will re-sign guard Rayan Rupert to a two-way deal, sources tell ESPN’s Shams Charania (Twitter link).
The 43rd overall pick in the 2023 draft, Rupert averaged just 3.2 points and 1.8 rebounds in 12.0 minutes per game across 139 appearances in two-and-a-half seasons with Portland. The 21-year-old Frenchman was cut by the Trail Blazers last month when they promoted Sidy Cissoko to their 15-man roster and almost immediately caught on with Memphis after clearing waivers.
Rupert played big minutes off the bench for the Grizzlies during his first 10 days with the club, averaging 10.4 PPG, 5.8 RPG, and 1.6 SPG in 26.8 MPG, with a shooting line of .452/.353/.800.
Memphis entered the day with all three of its two-way slots filled, but created an opening by promoting Olivier-Maxence Prosper to a standard contract. The team will essentially flip Prosper’s and Rupert’s spots on the 18-man roster, with Prosper going from a two-way to a standard deal, while Rupert goes from a 10-day to a two-way.
Rupert will be able to appear in a maximum of 11 more games at the NBA level for the rest of the season, a prorated portion of the usual 50-game limit for two-way players.
Warriors GM Dunleavy Talks Curry, Kerr, Kuminga, Porzingis
If Milwaukee had been willing to make a deal at last month’s trade deadline, the Warriors likely would’ve given up several of their future first-round picks – and swaps – to acquire star forward Giannis Antetokounmpo. However, speaking to Tim Kawakami on his TK Show podcast (Spotify link) on Tuesday, general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. pointed to the health issues currently afflicting his top players as an example of why surrendering significant future draft capital carries significant risk.
“I think going back to the Jimmy (Butler) trade last year, that’s why we loved the trade so much, because we’re getting a great player and we’re only giving up that year’s pick. There’s nothing out in the future,” Dunleavy said, according to Kawakami. “…I think we’re always being disciplined about using those picks, considering them in trades, things like that. But when you’re put in a situation like this, where your best players are out and you’re struggling to win games, I think you appreciate having that draft capital moving forward.”
In addition to missing Butler (torn ACL) and Kristaps Porzingis (illness), the Warriors are currently playing without their top scorer, Stephen Curry, who has been out since January 30 due to a knee issue. Asked by Kawakami if there’s any possibility that Curry gets shut down for the rest of the season, Dunleavy didn’t rule it out, but said it would be “very surprising” if that happens.
“I’m not a doctor and things can go a certain way,” he said. “I don’t want the headline to be, ‘Steph may be done for the year’ because I’m not ruling it out. But just because he’s not playing right now, I just have to acknowledge that, ‘Yeah, sure, there’s a chance.’ But we don’t expect that.”
Here are a few more of Dunleavy’s most notable quotes from his appearance on The TK Show:
On whether he expects Steve Kerr to be the Warriors’ head coach in 2026/27:
“I don’t see why not. I think Steve’s mentioned wanting to get to the end of the season and figure it out. I think things, for him, are going well. We’ll figure all that out when it comes. I think it’s been interesting, like the focus for us internally between myself, (team owner) Joe (Lacob), the players, Steve, has really been on like getting this thing right the rest of the season. So we haven’t put a whole bunch of thought into it.
“But you know, obviously, on a personal level, (I) love having Steve here. Yeah, I would project that he’s our coach next year. But again, we’re going down to absolute certainties, and a lot of it’s in his court, so we’ll have to see.”
On whether the Warriors seriously considered hanging onto Jonathan Kuminga through last month’s trade deadline:
“I think you guys know, it’s been put out there about (Kuminga’s) trade demand, and I think any time a player wants that, I want to try to accommodate. You want people who want to be here. And for that reason, we felt it was the right time to move on. I think JK’s happy about it, I think we’re in the right spot for it, it was just kind of the right thing to do at the time.”
On whether he’s satisfied with the information-gathering process that led to the Warriors acquiring Porzingis (who has been limited to a single outing since the trade due to health issues):
“That’s a great question, it’s a fair question. I think it’s really, really complicated. This is a unique situation. I’d say from our end, I feel good about, from the information we had, I feel good about our evaluation of what that was on the medical side. And for that reason, that’s why we made the trade.”
Cavaliers Add Olivier Sarr On Two-Way Deal
March 4: The Cavaliers have officially signed Sarr to a two-way contract, the team confirmed in a press release.
March 3: The Cavaliers and big man Olivier Sarr have agreed to a two-way deal, according to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link). To make room for Sarr, Cleveland has waived guard Darius Brown II.
Sarr played for the Thunder for parts of three seasons from 2021-24, averaging 4.8 points and 3.5 rebounds in 13.8 minutes per game across 46 outings, before spending last season in the G League. He was on the Raptors’ training camp roster last fall but was waived before opening night.
Sarr then joined Toronto’s G League club, the Raptors 905. Through 39 games, Sarr has averaged 11.2 points, 7.1 rebounds and 1.3 blocks in 23.7 minutes per contest.
Brown signed his two-way contract last week and it turned out to be a temporary stay. He’s played 36 games for the Cleveland Charge this season and will likely head back to that G League club.