Southeast Notes: Hawks, Heat, J. Young, Magic
An NBA scout who had been bearish on the Hawks‘ ceiling with Trae Young as their centerpiece tells Ken Sugiura of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (subscription required) that he liked the fact the team “picked a path” ahead of the trade deadline. After dealing Young to Washington for CJ McCollum and Corey Kispert, Atlanta made four additional deals, adding Jonathan Kuminga, Buddy Hield, Gabe Vincent, and Jock Landale as well as three future second-round picks.
“I think they’re going all in on chemistry over absolute talent,” the scout told Sugiura. “Trae was a better player than what they had, but not necessarily a winning player. … You either have to go all in and build around Trae or you’ve got to go all in with the young guys and start to build it together, and it looks like they’ve done that. They’ve made sure that almost everyone they’ve brought in has been a shooting piece, except for Kuminga.”
Besides generating some extra cap flexibility, taking a shot on a former lottery pick in Kuminga, and adding a few minor draft assets, the Hawks have positioned themselves to continue adding talent. That effort will begin with the valuable 2026 first-round pick Atlanta controls, which will be the most favorable of the Bucks’ and Pelicans’ selections.
The scout who spoke to Sugiura said the Hawks are set up for “long-term growth” and suggested there are multiple spots on the roster that the front office could look to address this summer.
“You could argue that they could upgrade at center over (Onyeka) Okongwu or they could keep it as is and try to get an upgrade over (Zaccharie) Risacher, with, like, a big, long defensive three-and-D (wing) that kind of makes sense for their group,” the scout said. “But I think they could go either direction there. And they’ll have to rebuild a little bit of the bench in the offseason.”
We have more from around the Southeast:
- The Heat are typically active on the buyout market, but that may not be the case this year, according to Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald, who says the team wants to make sure it has enough meaningful minutes to go around for its young players in the final two months of the season. That was also one reason why Miami stood pat at the trade deadline after striking out on Giannis Antetokounmpo instead of seeking out a marginal upgrade that would have cut into the playing time for those youngsters, Chiang adds.
- Jahmir Young, who is on a two-way contract with the Heat, may not be one of those younger players who sees regular action in the second half of the season — he has logged just 44 total minutes in eight NBA games so far this season. Still, as Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel details (subscription required), Young has exceeded the team’s expectations with his excellent performance for the Sioux Falls Skyforce in the G League (26.2 PPG, 8.9 APG, 5.3 RPG in 22 games). “Jahmir has been one of the better surprises of the season,” head coach Erik Spoelstra said. “He’s been playing simply fantastic basketball in Sioux Falls. And then whenever we have an opportunity to see him, he’s just a handful because he’s going full speed. … Our guys are always telling him (in practice), ‘Hey, dial it back a little bit,’ and we’re always telling him, ‘No, be who you are. Be a total nightmare to guard.'”
- Within an analysis of the first half of the Magic‘s season and a look at what’s to come after the All-Star break, Jason Beede of The Orlando Sentinel (subscription required) observes that the team still has an open spot on its 15-man roster after signing Jevon Carter earlier this month. Orlando figures to wait until sometime in March (or April) to fill that opening in order to remain below the luxury tax line, per Beede, who identifies two-way player Jamal Cain as a candidate for a promotion.
Dennis Sets Record With College Park
- Second-year guard RayJ Dennis, who is on a two-way contract with the Hawks, has set a G League scoring record with the College Park Skyhawks (Twitter link). Dennis scored a franchise-record 47 points on Thursday, per the Skyhawks, and is the first player in team history to have multiple games with 45-plus points.
Post-Deadline Rumors: Morant, JJJ, Bulls, Missi, Celtics
The fact that Ja Morant wasn’t traded at last week’s deadline came as a bit of a surprise to him, according to Tomer Azarly of ClutchPoints, who says the Grizzlies weren’t willing to accept a package similar to what Atlanta got for Trae Young.
The Grizzlies talked to the Heat, Timberwolves, and Bucks about Morant, but didn’t come close to making a deal, Azarly writes. League sources tell ClutchPoints that Ryan Rollins was a player Memphis and Milwaukee talked about, but the Grizzlies were averse to taking back Kyle Kuzma and/or Bobby Portis, who are both on multiyear guaranteed contracts.
According to reporting last week, Memphis signaled a willingness to take on long-term salary if it came attached to first-round draft compensation, but there’s no indication the Bucks would’ve put their lone tradable first-rounder on the table for Morant.
The expectation is that the Grizzlies will try to trade Morant again in the summer, and Azarly suggests that the point guard should be able to return from his left elbow injury not long after the All-Star break. As Azarly explains, even though Memphis has pivoted to a full-on rebuild and would benefit from piling up losses down the stretch, both the team and Morant himself would appreciate the opportunity to have the 26-year-old rebuild his trade value with a strong finish to the season.
Here are a few more leftover rumors from last week’s trade deadline:
- In addition to Golden State and Toronto – whose talks with the Grizzlies were previously reported – the Pistons and Hawks also “checked in” on Jaren Jackson Jr. before he was dealt to the Jazz, while the Suns and Hornets also had interest, says Brett Siegel of ClutchPoints. There’s no indication that any of those teams made any real progress toward acquiring Jackson from Memphis.
- The Bulls, who acquired a total of eight second-round picks in their various pre-deadline deals, made an effort to flip some of those second-rounders to the Pelicans last Thursday in a deal for second-year center Yves Missi, Siegel writes. However, New Orleans was holding out for a first-round pick and ended up retaining Missi through the deadline.
- Sources who spoke to Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Substack link) viewed the Celtics‘ swap of Anfernee Simons for Nikola Vucevic as a “clear indicator” that Boston thinks forward Jayson Tatum will be able to return before the end of the season. Simons’ was the team’s fourth-leading scorer prior to the trade, but would’ve likely seen his role reduced in a rotation that featured a healthy Tatum.
Timberwolves’ Reid, Hawks’ Gueye Fined $35K
Timberwolves big man Naz Reid and Hawks forward Mouhamed Gueye have been fined $35K apiece for their roles in an on-court altercation in Monday’s game in Atlanta, the NBA announced today (Twitter link).
On the first possession of the fourth quarter, Gueye committed a defensive foul on Reid, who fell to the floor after being shoved by the Hawks forward. Upset by the play, Reid got up and confronted Gueye, which led to some shoving between the two players, who also grabbed and held each other’s jerseys “in an aggressive manner,” per the league (YouTube video link).
Coaches and players from both teams stepped in and were eventually able to deescalate the confrontation between Reid and Gueye. Both players received technical fouls and were ejected from the game, which the Timberwolves won by a score of 138-116. Now they’ve been hit with matching fines as well.
The $35K penalty will be felt more by Gueye, who is earning a minimum salary of $2,221,677 in the third season of a four-year contract with Atlanta.
Reid, who signed a five-year, $125MM deal last offseason that made him 2025’s highest-paid free agent, is earning $21,551,724 this season.
More On Pacers’ Trade For Ivica Zubac
The Clippers were resistant for most of the season to the idea of trading Ivica Zubac, according to Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Substack link), who says that even after last week’s James Harden deal with Cleveland, there was a sense that L.A. wouldn’t change its stance on its starting center.
However, the Pacers were “more determined than anyone realized” to find a long-term answer at the five, Fischer writes, noting that the team also called the Cavaliers about Jarrett Allen and thought highly of Hawks big man Onyeka Okongwu, whose team-friendly deal (two years and $33MM after this season) was appealing to a team targeting centers with mid-sized contracts.
According to Brett Siegel of ClutchPoints, the Pacers also looked at options like Mavericks center Daniel Gafford and Pelicans big man Yves Missi, but Zubac was always thought to be on top of their list.
For the Clippers to relent on Zubac, it was going require a team to meet their asking price of two first-round picks “and then some,” per Fischer, who suggests that some members of the Clippers wouldn’t have been upset if Indiana had decided the cost was too high, since it would’ve meant L.A. “had” to hang onto the 28-year-old, who was highly valued within the organization.
However, the Pacers put together a package of two valuable first-round picks, a future second-rounder, and two young players – Bennedict Mathurin and Isaiah Jackson – for Zubac, which convinced the Clippers to pull the trigger on a deal.
As Fischer writes, one of those first-rounders features unusual protection. It will convey to L.A. in 2026 only if it lands between No. 5 and No. 9 in this year’s draft. Besides the unique protections, that traded pick also includes unusual roll-over details — if Indiana keeps it this year, the Clippers would instead receive a 2031 first-rounder.
In a typical deal, the Pacers would owe the Clippers their 2027 first-rounder if the ’26 pick were to land in its protected range. However, according to Fischer, it was important to the Clips to secure a farther-off draft pick in that scenario. L.A.’s thinking was that Indiana – armed with Zubac and a potential top-four pick in 2026 – would have a bright short-term outlook, reducing the value of the team’s ’27 first-rounder, whereas there would be more variability by ’31.
Here are a few more notes related to the trade:
- While the Clippers had been prioritizing 2027 cap room in the hopes of going star-hunting that offseason, the team recognized that mere cap space might not be enough to land that sort of player, given how few stars reach free agency these days, Fischer writes. With that in mind, L.A. wanted to replenish its cache of draft picks to some extent. The Clippers that those picks they’ve acquired from the Pacers will help put them in a better position to pursue an impact player down the road, per Fischer.
- The Pacers had zero interest in surrendering their 2026 first-round pick in a deal for Gafford, while the Mavericks didn’t have a ton of interest in Mathurin, so trade talks between those teams didn’t generate any real traction, Siegel writes.
- The Mavericks had been hoping to add a 2026 first-rounder if they were going to move Gafford at the deadline, but the Hawks, another team with interest in the big man, also didn’t have interest in parting with its least favorable ’26 first-round pick (likely to be Cleveland’s), so the discussions between the two teams failed to gain momentum, according to Siegel.
And-Ones: Bediako, Risacher, Expansion, Hayes-Davis
A Tuscaloosa circuit court judge had denied Charles Bediako‘s motion for a preliminary injunction that would allow him to continue playing college basketball for Alabama, according to reports from Nick Kelly of AL.com and Myron Medcalf of ESPN.
Bediako, who went undrafted in 2023 and has since signed three Exhibit 10 contracts with NBA teams (including one that was converted into a two-way deal), never actually appeared in an NBA game. However, he was attempting to become the first player regain NCAA eligibility after signing NBA contracts.
Daniel F. Pruet, the circuit court judge responsible for the ruling, said that Bediako didn’t have a “reasonable expectation” that he’d be permitted to return to college basketball when no player had ever been granted eligibility in his situation. NCAA president Charlie Baker referred to it as a win for “common sense,” while Bediako’s attorney Darren Heitner said he was “deeply disappointed” by the ruling.
“This ruling ignores that an athlete’s NIL value is directly tied to his ability to play, overlooks that NCAA rules do not distinguish between athletes with prior college experience and those without, and contrasts with eligibility grants to many other former pros,” Heitner wrote on Twitter. “We fight on for fairness.”
Bediako is considering his options for a possible appeal, Heitner added.
Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:
- Hawks forward Zaccharie Risacher will take part in the Rising Stars event at All-Star weekend, having been named an injury replacement for Ajay Mitchell of the Thunder, according to the NBA (Twitter link). With Mitchell battling an abdominal strain, Risacher will take his spot on Team T-Mac this Friday.
- While there have been no announcements or concrete reports to this point, Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News (Twitter link) has heard rumblings about the NBA’s Board of Governors potentially voting this summer to expand the league by two teams. Seattle and Las Vegas have long been viewed as the favorites in that scenario, Townsend notes.
- With Nigel Hayes-Davis appearing likely to head back to the EuroLeague after being waived by Milwaukee last week, Hapoel Tel Aviv has emerged as the frontrunner to land the forward, reports Donatas Urbanos of BasketNews. Fenerbahce is also still in the running but isn’t offering as much as the Israeli club, according to Urbonas, who says it would be a surprise if Hayes-Davis ends up with a team besides Hapoel Tel Aviv.
NBA Teams With Open Roster Spots
A number of free agent signings have been finalized in the days since last Thursday’s trade deadline, but there are still many teams around the NBA with one or more open spots on their respective rosters.
For clubs with just a single standard or two-way opening, there’s not necessarily any urgency to fill those spots, especially ahead of the All-Star break. But the clock is ticking for teams who have two or more openings on their standard rosters to make a move, since clubs are only permitted to carry fewer than 14 players on standard contracts for up to two weeks at a time.
These situations remain fluid, with more roster moves being finalized each day. But with the help of our roster count tracker, here’s where things stand for all 30 teams around the NBA as of Tuesday morning. As a reminder, teams are typically permitted to carry up to 15 players on standard contracts and three on two-way deals.
(Note: Teams marked with an asterisk have a player on a 10-day contract.)
Multiple open roster spots
- Teams with multiple 15-man openings:
- Boston Celtics
- Denver Nuggets
- Minnesota Timberwolves
- Teams with one 15-man and one two-way opening:
- Golden State Warriors
- Sacramento Kings
The Celtics entered trade deadline week with 14 players on their standard roster and sent out four players (Anfernee Simons, Chris Boucher, Xavier Tillman Sr., and Josh Minott) while only taking back one (Nikola Vucevic). They promoted Amari Williams from his two-way contract to the standard roster to get to 12 players, but they still have three roster openings.
Given how tight their margins are below the tax line, the Celtics will likely use their full two-week allotment and wait until February 19 before making two additions to get back to the roster minimum of 14.
The Nuggets dipped to 13 players on standard contracts by trading Hunter Tyson last Thursday and also have until Feb. 19 to get back to 14. Two-way standout Spencer Jones has reached his 50-game limit and is the obvious candidate to be promoted into that spot, though he’s in the concussion protocol for now, so Denver may not to need to make that move until after the All-Star break.
The Timberwolves went from 14 players to 13 when they sent out Mike Conley on Tuesday of trade deadline week, so they have until Feb. 17 to reach the roster minimum again. It sounds like their old 14th man will likely become their new 14th man, with Conley expected to re-sign in Minnesota after being dealt twice ahead of last week’s deadline.
As for the Warriors and Kings, both clubs both briefly went down to 13 players, but they’ve since promoted two-way players Pat Spencer and Dylan Cardwell, respectively, so they’re back to 14 and there’s no urgency for them to make additional moves. Still, it’s worth noting that both teams technically have multiple roster openings, since they’ve yet to sign new two-way players to replace Spencer and Cardwell. Both Golden State and Sacramento are carrying 14 players on standard contracts and a pair on two-way deals.
One open roster spot
- Teams with a 15-man opening:
- Brooklyn Nets
- Cleveland Cavaliers
- Houston Rockets
- Indiana Pacers
- Miami Heat
- New Orleans Pelicans
- New York Knicks
- Orlando Magic
- Phoenix Suns
- Utah Jazz
- Washington Wizards *
- Teams with a two-way opening:
- Detroit Pistons
- Los Angeles Clippers *
- Milwaukee Bucks
- Philadelphia 76ers **
The Nets, Cavaliers, Rockets, Pacers, Heat, Pelicans, Knicks, Magic, and Jazz are all carrying 14 players on full-season standard contracts and three on two-way deals, with no reported signings pending. They’re each free to carry that open roster spot for as long as they want to, though some figure to fill it sooner rather than later.
The Suns, meanwhile, are in the same boat as those teams but might create a second opening on their 15-man roster in the near future — the expectation is that they’ll waive newly acquired guard Cole Anthony. If they do so, they’d have 14 days to add a replacement.
The Wizards have perhaps the most fluid situation of any team in this group. They have 13 players on standard, full-season contracts, with Keshon Gilbert on a 10-day deal that will expire during the All-Star break. It’s also possible that D’Angelo Russell, acquired in the Anthony Davis blockbuster, won’t be on the roster much longer, with buyout rumors swirling around him. If Washington parts ways with Russell and doesn’t re-sign Gilbert, the team would have three 15-man openings and would need to fill at least two of them.
The Pistons, Clippers, Bucks, and Sixers all currently have full 15-man rosters and one open two-way slot, but L.A. and Philadelphia will soon open up standard roster spots.
The Clippers have Dalano Banton on a 10-day deal through next Monday, while the 76ers have Charles Bassey and Patrick Baldwin Jr. on 10-day pacts through Saturday. Both teams are at or near their limit of “under-15” games for two-way players, so if they want to continue using their players on two-way contracts, they’ll need to ensure they maintain full 15-man rosters.
No open roster spots
- Atlanta Hawks
- Charlotte Hornets
- Chicago Bulls
- Dallas Mavericks
- Los Angeles Lakers
- Memphis Grizzlies *
- Oklahoma City Thunder
- Portland Trail Blazers
- San Antonio Spurs
- Toronto Raptors
The Hawks, Hornets, Bulls, Mavericks, Lakers, Thunder, Trail Blazers, Spurs, and Raptors are all carrying 15 players on standard contracts and three on two-way deals. If they want to make a free agent addition during the season’s final two months, they’ll have to cut a player to do so.
In some of those cases, there’s an obvious release candidate on the roster. For instance, it’s believed to be just a matter of time until Toronto officially waives Chris Paul. A few of those clubs will also need to make room on their 15-man rosters to convert two-way players — Ryan Nembhard in Dallas and Sidy Cissoko in Portland are among the top candidates for promotions.
As for the Grizzlies, one of their 15 standard players – Lawson Lovering – is on a 10-day contract. His deal will expire after the team’s Feb. 20 game, opening up a roster spot in Memphis.
Stephon Castle, Jalen Johnson Named Players Of The Week
Spurs guard Stephon Castle has been named the Western Conference Player of the Week and Hawks forward Jalen Johnson has won the award in the East, the NBA announced today (Twitter links). Week 16 of the 2025/26 season covered games played from February 2-8.
Castle, the reigning Rookie of the Year, helped San Antonio go 3-0 last week. The 21-year-old filled the stat sheet, averaging 24.0 points, 7.3 rebounds, 7.3 assists, 3.0 steals and 1.0 block in just 26.7 minutes per game, with a shooting line of .630/.364/.769.
As Michael C. Wright of ESPN.com details, Castle’s week was highlighted by a phenomenal performance in Saturday’s victory vs. Dallas. The former UConn standout scored a career-high 40 points (on 15-of-19 shooting, or 78.9%), grabbed a season-high 12 rebounds, dished out 12 assists, and swiped three steals in 32 minutes.
Castle became the youngest player in NBA history with a 40-12-12 stat line (the record was previously held by Oscar Robertson), per Wright, and the second player in league history to register a 40-point triple-double while shooting at least 75.0% from the field, joining Wilt Chamberlain, who accomplished the feat three times. And it all came on the one-year anniversary of when he set his previous career high with 33 points.
“I don’t know, something about this day,” Castle said, smiling. “Having a game like this, it’s definitely a dream come true. It felt good just to be out there feeling comfortable with every shot that I took and [got to] see them go in.”
As for Johnson, the 2026 All-Star continued his standout season last week, averaging 27.3 PPG, 12.0 RPG, 11.3 APG and 1.0 SPG on .544/.294/.750 shooting in three games (Atlanta went 2-1 in those contests). Johnson recorded a pair of triple-doubles from Feb. 2-8, raising his season total to 10, the most in the East and second-most in the NBA, only trailing Nikola Jokic (18).
No other player has ever recorded 10 triple-doubles in their entire Hawks career, let alone in a single season, per the team. It was the second weekly honor for the fifth-year forward, who also won Player of the Week in November.
According to the NBA, the other nominees in the West were Trail Blazers teammates Donovan Clingan and Jerami Grant, Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard, Pelicans forward Trey Murphy III, and Castle’s teammate Victor Wembanyama. Scottie Barnes (Raptors), Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns of the Knicks, Tyrese Maxey and Joel Embiid of the Sixers, Donovan Mitchell (Cavaliers), and Ryan Rollins (Bucks) were nominated in the East.
Hawks Notes: Kuminga, Hield, Landale, Okongwu, Saleh
Hawks general manager Onsi Saleh has a background with the Warriors, so he pounced on the opportunity to trade for Jonathan Kuminga, writes Angelina Martin of NBC Sports Bay Area. Before going to Atlanta, Saleh spent three years in Golden State’s front office, giving him a first-hand look at Kuminga’s potential.
“I was there for, I think, [Kuminga’s] first three years,” he said. “For us, [the trade] made sense given our timeline and what we’re trying to do. I think a 23-year-old with a ton of potential — I think the things that he helps us with are his rim pressure that he puts on. He’s a phenomenal athlete. He’s a good rebounder. I think in transition, he could be absolutely phenomenal, and he adds size at the wing position if we ever need to add another defender to guard one of these bigger wings in the league. So, I’m really excited about Jonathan.”
After years of looking for a fresh start, Kuminga finally got his wish on Thursday when the Hawks acquired him and Buddy Hield in exchange for Kristaps Porzingis. Kuminga is currently dealing with a bone bruise in his left knee that will sideline him through the All-Star break, but the team is confident he’ll be able to produce when he returns.
Saleh also welcomes the outside shooting that Hield can provide and said his “hilarious” personality will be good to have in the locker room.
There’s more from Atlanta:
- Jock Landale made a strong impression in his debut with the Hawks, delivering 26 points, 11 rebounds, five assists and four blocks in Thursday’s win over Utah. He was in Memphis when the trade was announced and turned down the team’s offer for a flight, opting to make the 5 1/2-hour drive to Atlanta instead, according to Lauren L. Williams of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Twitter link). “I kind of said, if I’m looking to play that next night, I want to get there as soon as possible,” Landale said. “So loaded up the truck and hit the road.”
- The Hawks sent $3MM to the Jazz in the Landale trade, per ESPN’s Bobby Marks at Sports Business Classroom. The cash amount wasn’t specified when the deal was announced.
- Onyeka Okongwu returned Saturday after missing four games with a dental fracture, per Brad Rowland of Locked on Hawks (Twitter link). The only player remaining on the injured list for the contest was Kuminga.
- Prior to the game, Saleh spoke to the media about his strategy at the deadline, Rowland adds (Twitter link). “Everything is future forward,” he said. “We didn’t want the flexibility that we created at the start of the season to be impacted by the deadline, and we felt like we maintained that flexibility.” Saleh also talked about preserving “optionality” for the summer.
Hawks’ Jonathan Kuminga Out Through All-Star Break
New Hawks forward Jonathan Kuminga will be reevaluated after the All-Star break due to the bone bruise in his left knee, the team announced today (Twitter link via Brad Rowland of Locked On Hawks).
The 23-year-old hyperextended his left knee in a January 22 loss to Dallas, which turned out to be his final game with Golden State. Kuminga was traded to Atlanta along with Buddy Hield in the deal that sent Kristaps Porzingis to the Warriors.
Kuminga will miss Atlanta’s next three games (vs. Charlotte, at Minnesota, and at Charlotte) because of the knee injury. The earliest he could make his Hawks debut would be February 19 at Philadelphia, the team’s first game after the break.
The former No. 7 overall pick demanded a trade out of Golden State on January 15, the first day he was eligible to be moved. While Kuminga was expecting to be dealt, he was “shocked” he landed with the Hawks, a source tells Dalton Johnson of NBC Sports Bay Area (story via Johnson’s colleague Ali Thanawalla). Atlanta wasn’t a team his camp kept in contact with, but he’s looking forward to the fresh start, per Johnson.
Kuminga could be an unrestricted free agent this summer — his contract features a $24.3MM team option for 2026/27. Atlanta will have until June 30 to decide whether it wants to exercise that option.