Injury Notes: Brown, Hayes, Siakam, Thompson, Jovic, Goodwin
Celtics star forward Jaylen Brown won’t play on Tuesday against the Suns due to a right knee contusion. He was originally listed as questionable but was downgraded about seven hours before tipoff, Brian Robb of MassLive.com reports.
This will be the sixth game Brown has missed this season. The veteran wing is averaging 29.2 points, 7.0 rebounds and 4.9 assists per game and scored a team-high 32 points in 36 minutes on Sunday against the Lakers.
Here’s more injury news from around the league:
- Lakers big man Jaxson Hayes will miss tonight’s game against Orlando due to a right ankle sprain, ESPN’s Dave McMenamin tweets. Hayes played just five minutes against Boston on Sunday before exiting due to that injury.
- Rockets guard Amen Thompson will sit out Wednesday’s home game against Sacramento due to left quad tendinitis, Varun Shankar of the Houston Chronicle tweets. Thompson played 29 minutes against Utah on Monday, contributing 20 points, seven rebounds and three assists in Houston’s 20-point victory.
- Pacers forward Pascal Siakam won’t play against Philadelphia tonight due to a left wrist sprain, Tony East of Forbess tweets. It will be the seventh game he’s missed this season.
- Heat forward Nikola Jovic has returned to Miami during the team’s current road trip for back treatment, Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel writes. Miami plays Milwaukee tonight and wraps up its trip in Philadelphia on Thursday. The Heat’s next home game is Saturday against Houston. It’s been a rough season for Jovic, who has been in and out of the rotation after signing a four-year, $62.4MM extension in October.
- Suns guard Jordan Goodwin, who is dealing with a left calf strain, will be re-evaluated in one to two weeks, Duane Rankin of the Arizona Republic tweets. Goodwin had a 17-point outing against Orlando on Saturday, then missed the next contest against Portland. The Suns also confirmed Dillon Brooks‘ four-to-six week timeline before a reevaluation of his broken left hand.
Shaedon Sharpe Has Stress Fracture, Could Miss Rest Of Season
Trail Blazers guard Shaedon Sharpe has a stress fracture in his left fibula, Sean Highkin of the Rose Garden Report tweets. He’ll be reevaluated in approximately 4-to-6 weeks, according to the team, to allow for adequate healing before beginning a progressive return to full basketball activity.
Sharpe hasn’t played since February 6 due to what was originally diagnosed as a left calf strain. The fibula fracture was discovered after follow-up imaging.
Given the timeline provided by the team, it seems likely that Sharpe will miss the remainder of the season. The 2022 lottery pick is averaging a career-high 21.4 points, 4.4 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.4 steals in 30 minutes per game while appearing in 48 contests (42 starts). He’s the team’s second-leading scorer.
Sharpe signed a four-year, $90MM rookie scale extension in October, which kicks in next season.
The loss of Sharpe is a blow to a Portland team that’s currently in ninth place in the West with a 29-30 record. It’s unlikely the Blazers will fall out of the play-in tournament, considering the teams sitting in the bottom five of the conference trail them by at least six games, but the organization may not have Sharpe available this spring as it looks to get back to the playoffs for the first time since 2021.
Jazz’s Jusuf Nurkic To Undergo Surgery, Miss Rest Of Season
Jazz center Jusuf Nurkic will undergo a surgical procedure on his nose on Tuesday and will miss the remainder of the season, NBA on Prime insider Chris Haynes reports (via Twitter).
According to Haynes (Twitter link), Nurkic has had issues breathing and sleeping since he broke his nose a few years ago.
Nurkic has appeared in 41 games this season, including 36 starts. The 31-year-old big man averaged 10.9 points, 10.4 rebounds and 4.8 assists in 26.4 minutes per game.
Nurkic hasn’t played since the All-Star break. Earlier in the season, he missed time due to a toe injury and also had several DNP-CDs. He was a prime candidate to be dealt before the Feb. 5 trade deadline due his expiring $19.3MM contract.
The Jazz never found a suitable deal for him, so instead that money will come off their cap and Nurkic will be seeking a new opportunity as an unrestricted free agent. Utah is expected to have significant cap space this offseason to chase free agents and facilitate trades, though the team may also have interest in bringing back Nurkic.
The Jazz raised eyebrows over the summer when they attached a second-round pick to Collin Sexton in a trade with Charlotte for Nurkic, who was coming off a down year. However, the big man played a larger role than anticipated due to Walker Kessler‘s season-ending shoulder injury.
With Nurkic, Kessler, and Jaren Jackson Jr. all out for the rest of the season, Kyle Filipowski, Kevin Love and Oscar Tshiebwe are Utah’s options in the middle.
Spurs Add Emanuel Miller On Two-Way Deal, Waive Umude
The Spurs have signed forward Emanuel Miller to a two-way contract and waived two-way guard Stanley Umude, the team announced today in a press release.
Miller was acquired by the Cavaliers from the Bulls at the beginning of the month as part of the three-team deal that sent De’Andre Hunter to the Kings. Miller didn’t play for the Cavaliers before they waived him on Friday, but he didn’t have to wait long to hook on with another team.
A 6’5″ Canadian forward, Miller went undrafted in 2024 out of TCU. He made a total of 11 NBA appearances for the Bulls after initially signing a two-way contract with the team in December 2024. The 25-year-old has put up 18.0 PPG, 6.3 RPG, and 2.3 APG in 27 G League games (33.7 MPG) this season for the Windy City Bulls and the Cleveland Charge.
Umude was signed by San Antonio in December but only appeared in two games with the Spurs this season. He’s played regularly for the Austin Spurs, seeing action in 31 NBAGL games. He’s averaged 18.2 PPG, 4.5 RPG and 1.5 APG in 34.8 MPG in those contests.
The 6’6″ swingman appeared in 47 NBA games prior to this season, including 22 with the Bucks last season. Prior to that, he played with the Pistons, averaging 5.3 points in 12.8 minutes per night during the 2023/24 season.
Pippen Jr., Gardner Fined $35K Apiece For Altercation
Grizzlies guard Scotty Pippen Jr. and Heat forward Myron Gardner have each been fined $35K by the NBA for their roles in an on-court altercation, the league announced on Monday (Twitter link).
The scuffle occurred with 1:55 remaining in the fourth quarter of the Heat’s 136-120 victory over the Grizzlies on Saturday. According to the league, Gardner initiated the incident by bumping Pippen from behind, causing the Memphis guard to fall to the floor. Pippen further escalated the altercation by forcefully shoving Gardner in response.
Several players and coaches quickly ran over, and Pippen and Gardner were eventually separated. Both players were assessed technical fouls and ejected from the game.
“I thought it was kind of a cheap shot,” Pippen said to the media afterward. “He kind of hit me from when I didn’t see him. So I thought it was a soft move.”
The good news for both players is that they avoided suspensions.
Pacers Notes: Brown, Siakam, Haliburton, Carr, Zubac
Along with acquiring Ivica Zubac from the Clippers earlier this month, the Pacers added guard Kobe Brown in the deal. Brown was only averaging 8.7 minutes per game in L.A. but his playing time has skyrocketed with his new team.
Brown has appeared in five games, including one start, and is averaging 10.2 points and 6.8 rebounds in 26.4 minutes per contest. The 26-year-old had a season-high 15 points and seven rebounds in 19 minutes against Dallas on Sunday.
“This is a great chance for us to figure out as much as we can about him,” Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said, per Dustin Dopirak of the Indianapolis Star. “I like the things he’s doing. … When you get an opportunity like this, this is where you can really show what you can do.”
It’s a de facto audition for Brown, who will be an unrestricted free agent after the season. The Clippers declined their option on his 2026/27 contract prior to this season.
“For him he’s got to understand what we want him to do and where we need him to be,” forward Pascal Siakam said. “But I think he’s doing a great job of playing within whatever’s happening and not thinking about it. When you’re open, shoot it. Other than that, just play as hard as you can.”
Here’s more on the Pacers:
- Siakam scored 30 points on 12-of-19 shooting, including 2-of-3 from three-point range, for his 11th 30-plus point performance of the season during the loss to the Mavs. He also notched eight rebounds and three assists and the Pacers were +7 in his 29 minutes, Dopirak notes. Siakam is dealing with a left hamstring issue but doesn’t want to be shut down, despite the team’s record and the franchise’s desire to get the best lottery odds possible. “Anyone that knows me knows that I want to play,” Siakam said. “I don’t want to sit around.”
- As if Tyrese Haliburton didn’t have enough to deal with as he worked his way back from an Achilles tendon tear, the star guard has been diagnosed with shingles, according to an ESPN report. He will be away from the team for a few weeks. “It’s a very painful thing,” Carlisle said. “… He will make a full recovery, but this happened over the last few days. He was meeting us in D.C. and had some odd symptoms, and he came back here. That’s what’s happening with him. We certainly wish him a speedy recovery. It’s a unique case and a unique situation, but I talked to him a few times, and he’s always in a good mood, so he’ll get through it.”
- Senior vice president of player personnel Ryan Carr is joining Darian DeVries‘ staff at Indiana University as executive director of basketball, according to Jeff Rabjohns of 247Sports.com. Carr, who will report directly to DeVries, has been with the Pacers organization for 25 years. He has managed the team’s pre-draft preparation for more than a decade as well as its evaluations of all draft prospects. He’s a former IU manager.
- How will Zubac fit in with the Pacers? In a Forbes article, Tony East takes a closer look at Zubac’s potential impact, including his defensive prowess and willingness to set hard screens. Zubac has yet to make his Pacers debut due to an ankle injury.
Wizards Convert Tristan Vukcevic To Three-Year Contract
4:54 pm: The Wizards announced Vukcevic’s multi-year contract and Black’s two-way deal in a press release.
11:52 am: The Wizards are promoting two-way center Tristan Vukcevic on a three-year, $9MM standard contract, ESPN’s Shams Charania tweets. The third year of the deal will be a team option.
Washington had just 13 players on standard contracts, along with Alondes Williams, whose 10-day contract expires on Wednesday. Thus, no corresponding move needs to be made on the 15-man roster.
To fill the two-way spot that will open up when Vukcevic is promoted, the Wizards are signing wing Leaky Black, Charania adds in another tweet.
Vukcevic, a 2023 second-round pick, has appeared in 35 games this season (five starts). He’s averaging 7.9 points, 2.7 rebounds, 1.1 assists and 0.7 blocks in 12.3 minutes per game. He entered the All-Star break with nine games remaining before his NBA eligibility for a two-way player this season reached the 50-game limit.
Vukcevic originally signed a standard contract with the organization as a rookie. Washington held a team option on his 2024/25 contract and declined it, then re-signed him to a two-way deal in the summer of 2024. He remained with the Wizards by signing another two-way contract last offseason.
Black, who went undrafted out of North Carolina in 2023, spent his rookie season on a two-way contract with the Hornets, then played last season for the Capital City Go-Go, Washington’s G League affiliate. He made 26 NBA appearances for Charlotte in 2023/24, averaging 2.7 points and 1.8 rebounds in 10.9 minutes per game.
In 44 games last season for the Go-Go, Black averaged 7.9 points, 4.8 rebounds, 2.2 assists, and 1.2 steals in 26.7 minutes per contest. He participated in Wizards training camp but was waived in mid-October. He returned to the Go-Go and has averaged 10.4 points, 7.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.8 steals in 35.2 minutes per game over 35 contests.
The Wizards will use a portion of their mid-level exception to sign Vukcevic to a three-year deal. Black, meanwhile, will be eligible to be active for up to 15 regular season games on his new two-way contract.
Bulls Shut Down Zach Collins; Ivey Out At Least Two Weeks
The Bulls are shutting down big man Zach Collins for the remainder of the season, the team announced (via Twitter).
Collins, who has been out with a right toe sprain, underwent further evaluation from training and medical professionals. They decided that Collins needed surgery to fix the problem.
Chicago coach Billy Donovan said earlier this month that Collins, who injured his toe on Dec. 27, might not return.
‘‘That could happen,” Donovan said. “As they put him two more weeks into the boot, I think how he comes out of that is going to tell a lot. He’s going to need a ramp-up period in order to run. . . . . The whole thing right now has been trying to prevent surgery.’
Prior to that injury, Collins missed the first six weeks of the season with a wrist injury. He wound up appearing in just 10 games this season, averaging 9.7 points and 5.6 rebounds. The veeteran forward/center appeared in a total of 64 games with San Antonio and Chicago last season.
Collins will be an unrestricted free agent this summer and will likely need to take a big pay cut to stay in the league. He signed a two-year, $34.8MM extension with San Antonio during the fall of 2023.
Additionally, the Bulls announced that guard Jaden Ivey will be reevaluated in two weeks.
Ivey, who was traded by the Pistons earlier this month, is experiencing left knee soreness. He has appeared in four games since the trade, including three starts, and is averaging 11.5 points, 4.8 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 2.0 steals in 28 minutes per game with Chicago.
Ivey suffered a fractured left leg midway through the 2024/25 season with Detroit and missed some time early this season due soreness in his right knee. He underwent surgery on that knee in mid-October and mentioned after receiving a DNP-CD this week that he’s still feeling some soreness.
Ivey will be a restricted free agent after the season if the Bulls issue an $8.77MM qualifying offer. If the team passes on that QO, he would be an unrestricted free agent.
Blazers Notes: Adelman, Poor Outing, Hansen, Henderson
David Adelman, the Nuggets’ head coach, grew up in the Portland area. He’s irked by the speculation that the Trail Blazers might be moved to another state, Ryan Clarke of The Oregonian writes.
“This was the best place to grow up,” Adelman said. “I loved it here. Still do. They’ve got to keep the team here. They’ve got to find a way to do that. This is a basketball city. The Northwest deserves two teams. (The team leaving) would be crushing for this community.”
The Trail Blazers are appealing to Oregon state legislators for $600MM in public funding to upgrade the Moda Center with the team in the process of being sold to Tom Dundon.
“I know there’s a lot to that, I know there’s financial things to it,” Adelman said. “That’s not my department. Emotionally, I just know what this place is and what it means to have a professional basketball team here. It’s not just something to go hang out at. It’s something go and be a part of. I hope this team maintains what’s going on here.”
Here’s more on the Trail Blazers:
- In their first game since the All-Star break, the Blazers were embarrassed by the Nuggets. Denver scored at will in a 157-103 thumping of Portland. The 157 points is the most scored in a road game in Nuggets history and the most by any NBA team this season. It was also the highest point total Denver had ever registered in regulation. “One of our worst games of the season,” Blazers acting head coach Tiago Splitter said, per Clarke. “The Nuggets had a sense of urgency to win this game. They lost last night, I think three of their last five games. And coming off the break, we were just not ready.” The Blazers will try to redeem themselves at Phoenix on Sunday. “I think we’ve got to bounce back on this,” Splitter said. “Go to Phoenix, bounce back same way (Denver) did. Lost last night, came here with that sense of urgency to win and do the right things. Effort, defense, talk, communicate, no putting your head down when you make a mistake, not running back, forget your matchup. So, all those little things are important in basketball games, and they were not there tonight.”
- Rookie center Yang Hansen got some advice from Nuggets superstar Nikola Jokic, Hansen’s idol, according to Clarke. “He told me don’t get nervous all the time,” Hansen said via a translator. “He’s like, you’re a great player. Just go play.” The 16th pick of last year’s draft has appeared in 35 games but is averaging just 7.5 minutes in those outings.
- Scoot Henderson is no longer under a minutes restriction, Sean Highkin of the Rose Garden Report tweets. However, in the first game after the break Henderson played 21 minutes, about the same amount in his four prior games. Henderson missed the first 51 games due to a hamstring injury.
L.A. Notes: Doncic, James, Reaves, Garland, Collins, Rosen
The Lakers had their big three — Luka Doncic, LeBron James and Austin Reaves — in the starting lineup on Friday in a 125-122 victory over the Clippers. Doncic erupted for 38 points with 11 assists, while Reaves poured in 29 points. James supplied 13 points and 11 assists despite some knee soreness. The Lakers’ success the rest of the way is predicated on that trio developing chemistry.
“I mean, every game, every second, every minute that we’re on the floor together, it helps,” James said, per Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times. “Like I said, when was that, All-Star weekend? We don’t know what we’re going to be until we get fully healthy and tonight was one of the first games where JJ (Redick) and the coaching staff can look down and know everybody was available. So, we just got to keep pushing. We got to keep pushing. We got a tough team coming in on Sunday (against the Celtics). Obviously, a lifetime NBA rivalry, so we got to be ready for them. They’re playing great basketball, too.”
Here’s more on the Los Angeles teams:
- Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue says his team isn’t anywhere near tank mode despite the roster upheaval prior to the trade deadline. The Clippers are sitting ninth in the Western Conference standings and are likely to make the play-in tournament. “I just feel confident. I just feel confident in our players. I feel confident in our coaching staff and I just feel confident in the environment, like the culture we’ve set,” he said, per Dave McMenamin of ESPN. “And why wouldn’t you want to play to win. That’s our mindset. That’s my mindset every single night. And as tough as it may be or you start 6-21 or whatever it may be, you’re playing to win. And so, we make the playoffs and then anything can happen. So, our goal is to make the playoffs and so I don’t know why somebody would scoff at that.”
- Initially, Darius Garland wasn’t thrilled about getting traded from Cleveland to the Clippers. Now he says he’s “super excited” about joining forces with Kawhi Leonard and playing in Los Angeles. “I’m good with the change,” Garland told Marc J. Spears of Andscape. “When it first happened, I was kind of skeptical. But I couldn’t turn down this opportunity to play with another Hall of Famer (Leonard) and having a ball in my hands damn near 99 percent of the time.” Garland has yet to make his Clippers debut. He has not played since Jan. 14 due to a toe injury and is reportedly unlikely to return until March but told Spears he plans to play “really, really soon.”
- Clippers forward John Collins took a shot to the face on Friday and required some stitches along his left eye, Mark Medina tweets. He finished the game with 12 points in 16 minutes.
- Longtime Dodgers executive Lon Rosen is moving into the Lakers‘ front office as president of business operations, according to The Associated Press. He replaces Tim Harris, who is stepping down after 35 years with the organization. Rosen has been the Dodgers’ executive vice president and chief marketing officer since 2012, the same year new Lakers majority owner Mark Walter purchased the MLB team. Rosen began his sports career with the 1980s Showtime Lakers as an intern and a front office executive. He went on to become an agent and a business partner of Magic Johnson.