Kings Eyeing Free Agent Precious Achiuwa
12:27 pm: Isaac Jones would likely be waived if the Kings come to an agreement with Achiuwa, Brett Siegel of Clutch Points tweets.
11:31 am: The Kings could soon add a veteran big man. They are looking at bringing in Precious Achiuwa, NBA insider Jake Fischer tweets.
Sacramento is off to a 2-4 start and is undersized at the power forward spot. The Kings have been using smaller starting lineups with DeMar DeRozan essentially manning the four. Overall, they have an underwhelming collection of big men outside of Domantas Sabonis.
With Keegan Murray currently sidelined by a thumb injury, Sabonis is the only non-guard or wing on the roster averaging more than 3.2 points per game.
Sacramento has a full roster and would have to drop someone to add Achiuwa. He was waived late in training camp by the Heat, who would have been pushed over the luxury tax limit if they had held onto him.
Achiuwa has spent the past five years in the NBA after being selected 20th overall by Miami in the 2020 draft. The 26-year-old has appeared in 320 regular season games with the Heat, Raptors and Knicks over that span, with career averages of 7.6 points and 5.7 rebounds in 20.0 minutes per contest. He appeared in 57 regular season games with the Knicks last season, including 10 starts.
However, Achiuwa struggled to find a suitable opportunity in free agency this summer and wound up taking a non-guaranteed contract to rejoin the Heat. Erik Spoelstra discussed Miami’s decision to waive Achiuwa before opening night, citing cap concerns.
“It is tough, especially because we spent time with him four years ago, it felt like we wanted to keep that going,” the longtime Heat coach said. “But that’s just where we are right now with the roster. We’ll have to see what happens in the future.”
Achiuwa averaged 4.8 points and 5.3 rebounds in 11.7 minutes per game across four preseason outings.
Pacers Add Jeremiah Robinson-Earl On 10-Day Hardship Contract
2:00 pm: Robinson-Earl’s 10-day hardship contract with the Pacers is now official, per a team press release.
11:11 am: The Pacers are planning to sign forward Jeremiah Robinson-Earl to a 10-day contract via the hardship exception, ESPN’s Shams Charania tweets.
Indiana’s star player, Tyrese Haliburton, is out for the season after suffering a right Achilles tendon rupture during the Finals. The Pacers are also currently without guards T.J. McConnell (hamstring), Kam Jones (back), Bennedict Mathurin (toe), Andrew Nembhard (shoulder) and Johnny Furphy (foot). Additionally, forward Obi Toppin just underwent a procedure on his foot that will keep him out of action for at least three months.
A team qualifies for a hardship exception when it meets all of the following criteria:
- It has at least four players unavailable due to injury or illness.
- All four of those players have missed at least three consecutive games.
- All four of those players are expected to remain sidelined for at least two more weeks.
Robinson-Earl played 66 games with the Pelicans last season, including nine starts. He averaged 6.3 points, 4.8 rebounds and 1.3 assists in 18.8 minutes per game. He was waived by Dallas prior to the season opener after signing an Exhibit 9 contract with the team during the offseason.
Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd praised Robinson-Earl during training camp and expressed hope that he could find another NBA opportunity.
“When you talk about him being a pro — he should be on an NBA roster,” Kidd said. “When you look at what he does, he’s consistent. He comes to work every day and does his job. He can shoot it, he can pass it, he can defend. It’s really sad that he’s not on an NBA roster for whatever reason.”
His G League rights are held by the Texas Legends.
Nets Notes: Clowney, Demin, Saraf, Mann, Williams, Claxton
The Nets are off to a 0-5 start and Noah Clowney has been part of the problem. The forward has scored just 5.2 points per game while shooting 25% from the field, mostly from beyond the arc. The coaching staff wants Clowney to keep firing away.
“Just keep shooting it,” coach Jordi Fernández told Dan Martin of the New York Post. “Don’t overthink it.”
The front office picked up Clowney’s 2026/27 option at the start of the season. The third-year forward/center averaged 9.1 points and 3.9 rebounds in 22.7 minutes per contest last season, shooting just 35.8% from the floor in 46 games.
“We need Noah,” Fernández said. “Noah is a big presence for our team. [He has] toughness, size, shooting, rebounding [and] winning plays. We need more verticality and he’s a big part of doing that.”
Here’s more on the Nets:
- Fernandez sat rookies Egor Demin and Ben Saraf for the entire fourth quarter of their 117-112 loss to the Hawks on Wednesday, as the coach decided to go with veterans Tyrese Martin and Terance Mann, Brian Lewis of the New York Post notes. Demin has shot 9-for-22 from beyond the arc this season but hasn’t even attempted a shot inside the three-point line. “Yeah, he’s got to figure it out. Obviously, I want him to touch the paint,” Fernández said. “We all, everybody, will figure it out that he’s a threat from the three-point line, but he cannot play just behind the three.”
- As for Mann, whose three-year, $47MM extension he signed with the Clippers last October kicked in this season, he’s averaging 11.2 points in 25.4 minutes per game while shooting 54.6% from the field. “Terance has a good overall feel for the game,” Fernandez said, per Andrew Crane of the New York Post. “He does a little bit of everything, and I like when he’s aggressive and he gets assists when he gets to the rim and he sprays the ball.”
- Ziaire Williams has a “small, very minor” back fracture after a hard fall on Sunday in San Antonio. He’s hopeful he can return this Sunday when the Nets host the Sixers, according to Crane. “It locked up on me,” Williams said. “… But it’s something that can’t get worse. So at this point, it’s just a pain tolerance thing, so as soon as the pain just goes down, it’s never gonna be perfect, at least right now.”
- Brooklyn ranks last in the league in defensive efficiency ranks and needs defensive anchor Nic Claxton to step up his game, C.J. Holmes of the New York Daily News writes. “It’s very simple. I mean, Nic is a very good defender. He’s not happy,” Fernandez said. “He has high standards and he’s hard on himself… We’re all together here. I believe in him. We had a great stretch last year when we were high level offensively, and right now we’re not. So, continuity, work together, believe in each other; all those things are important. And you know, we know he’s a great rim protector. We know he can get deflections. We know he can run the floor. We know he can rebound. So those things I believe he can do. And he believes.”
Lakers Notes: Doncic, Smart, Ayton, Reaves, NBA Cup
In his return to action on Friday, Lakers superstar guard Luka Doncic reached heights only achieved by Wilt Chamberlain. Doncic scored 44 points in a win over Memphis, becoming the only player in NBA history other than Chamberlain to top 40 points in three straight games to begin his season.
Doncic had missed the previous three games with a sprained finger on his left hand and a lower left leg contusion.
“I mean, I feel great,” Doncic said when told about joining Chamberlain that category, per Dave McMenamin of ESPN. “But obviously, if we get a win, I feel even better. So that’s the whole point, trying to help the team to win. And sometimes it’s going to be scoring, sometimes other things.”
By averaging 45.3 points in his first three games, Doncic became the first Lakers player since Kobe Bryant in 2007 to average 45 or more in any three-game span. He doesn’t see himself keeping up the 4o-per game pace throughout a whole season.
“That’s going to be tough,” Doncic said. “Sometimes they’re going to double me more. Sometimes I won’t be able to score that much. I had I think three or four shots that were crazy shots that I felt like doing, but they were terrible shots. … I’ve got to work on that. But that’s tough. I don’t know.”
We have more on the Lakers:
- After missing two games due to a quad contusion, Marcus Smart contributed 12 points, four assists, three rebounds and two steals on Friday. “He was great,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said, per Khobi Price of the Orange County Register. “The main point about physicality, I think he, along with a couple other guys, but he’s gotta be the leader of the physicality. He’s gotta set the tone and there were a lot of moments where he did that. But it made a big difference and then he just played really good on the offensive end, made some timely shots for us.”
- Starting center Deandre Ayton didn’t play in the second half after experiencing back spasms. Redick said Ayton was available to play in the fourth quarter, but didn’t want to “risk it,” according to Price.
- Austin Reaves averaged 40 points during the three games Doncic missed. He had a season-low 21 points against Memphis and was disappointed with his 5-of-14 shooting performance. “His ability to get us off to hot starts is big for us because, if you come out and he has 15 in the first, we’re going to score, I would assume, 30 (points),” Reaves said of Doncic. “Unless everybody else is shooting bricks like I was (Friday).”
- The Lakers’ win on Friday was the first of four NBA Cup group play games. Their other matchups are at the Pelicans on Nov. 14, at home vs. the Clippers on Nov. 25 and at home vs. the Mavericks on Nov. 28, Price notes. “It’s my little taste of an All-Star Game,” Ayton said. “It feels like that’s when everybody [is] watching, and everybody playing their hardest. Dudes are playing extremely hard. It feels like playoff games, the fans are super into it.”
Ja Morant Expresses Frustration With Coaching Staff After Poor Outing
Toumas Iisalo is in the early stages of his first full season as the Grizzlies head coach, but his star player is already expressing frustration with him.
After Ja Morant struggled mightily during the team’s loss to the Lakers on Friday, Morant repeatedly told the media, “Go ask the coaching staff,” and “Go ask him” when quizzed on his performance.
Asked if he had any other observations regarding the game, Morant offered the following reply, per Damichael Cole of the Memphis Commercial Appeal (Twitter link).
“According to them, probably don’t play me, honestly. That’s basically what the message was after.”
Morant scored eight points on 3-of-14 shooting with seven assists while playing just under 31 minutes on Friday. Although he has appeared in all six of Memphis’ games this season, he has not played more than 31:33 in any game yet this season, Josh Robbins of The Athletic notes. He was also torched by Luka Doncic on the defensive end as the Lakers star poured in 44 points.
Morant wrapped up his post-game comments by denying there was anything wrong with him physically. The media didn’t get a chance to talk to the coach regarding Morant’s comments.
Former All-Star Blake Griffin, now a commentator on Amazon Prime Video, criticized Morant after the game.
“For a guy that’s making $40 million and needs to be the leader of the team, I just don’t love it. I don’t know if he was not feeling well, if he’s hurt. But that, to me, is a very bad sign and is something that … has to change,” Griffin said, per Robbins.
Morant is shooting 40.6% overall and just 15.6% on 3s. He’s in the third year of a five-year, $197.2MM contract, while Memphis is off to a 3-3 start this season.
Morant, of course, is no stranger to controversy. He was suspended twice by the league in 2023 for conduct detrimental to the league after social media posts in which he was seen brandishing a firearm.
Morant’s comments on Friday suggest some sort of disconnect with the current staff. Whether that could lead to a trade request or the front office making him available in trade talks remains to be seen.
Alex Len Signs With Real Madrid
October 30: Real Madrid has officially announced the signing of Len.
October 28: Longtime NBA big man Alex Len has agreed to a multiyear deal with Real Madrid, Michael Scotto of HoopsHype tweets. Len has an NBA opt-out clause for next season as part of his new agreement with the Spanish club, Scotto adds (Twitter link).
Len was waived 10 days ago by the Knicks after he signed a non-guaranteed training camp contract.
Last season, Len appeared in 36 games with the Kings and 10 more with the Lakers. The veteran center signed with the Lakers as a free agent after Sacramento traded him in February to the Wizards, who quickly waived him. He averaged a modest 1.6 points and 2.1 rebounds in 8.3 minutes per game during those 46 appearances in 2024/25 and became a free agent after the season.
Len, the fifth pick of the 2013 draft, has averaged 6.7 PPG and 5.3 RPG over the course of his 12-year career with the Suns, Hawks, Kings, Raptors, Wizards, and Lakers.
Pelicans Notes: Williamson, Green, Fears, Jordan
Zion Williamson sat out the Pelicans’ game Monday against Boston due to a left foot bone contusion. Without their star forward, the Celtics blew them out 122-90. Williamson, who practiced on a limited basis on Tuesday and is questionable to play Wednesday at Denver, told Rod Walker of NOLA.com that the injury is minor.
“Right now we’re in a day-to-day thing,” he said. “But nothing major. Nothing that is going to keep me out for a long time. Just day to day.”
Williamson was injured during Friday’s game against the Spurs on a put-back dunk. He stepped on the foot of Victor Wembanyama.
“Landed on someone’s foot and the side of my foot just banged the ground,” Williamson said. “The pain level didn’t really pick up until a day or two days later. I spoke with the team, made the best decision on it. Got it looked at.”
We have more on the Pelicans:
- Is head coach Willie Green already on the hot seat after the team’s 0-3 start? Green spoke of the team’s “lack of toughness” after Monday’s debacle, William Guillory of The Athletic writes. “I’m disappointed in how we approached the game. I’m disappointed in the lack of toughness on the floor more than anything. That’s the part that’s difficult,” Green said. “It’s one thing to not win a game. It’s a whole other thing to get kind of punked on your home floor. And I’m a part of that.”
- Lottery pick Jeremiah Fears made his first career start in Williamson’s absence, Les East of NOLA.com notes. It didn’t go well. The No. 7 overall pick missed 10 of the 11 shots he attempted and finished with two points, two assists and one steal in 26 minutes.
- Veteran big man DeAndre Jordan made his Pelicans debut after signing a one-year deal on Friday. He made an immediate impact, according to Walker, scoring and getting fouled on a dunk just 14 seconds after entering the game. Jordan, 37, finished with seven points and five rebounds in 11 minutes.
Cavaliers Notes: Merrill, Mitchell, Garland
Weighed down by salary cap concerns, the Cavaliers made Sam Merrill a priority in free agency. They re-signed him to a team-friendly four-year, $38MM contract. The early returns have been very promising, notes Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com (subscription required). After Sunday’s win over Milwaukee, coach Kenny Atkinson has “probably been our best player over the first three games.”
“Guys just love playing with him,” Atkinson said. “He’s a winner. That’s why we gave him a nice contract this offseason. If there’s ever a guy that deserved it, he’s the guy.”
Merrill has been starting in the early going. Last season, Merrill averaged 7.2 points on 40.6% from the field and 37.2% from 3-point range.
“When you’re in a position that I have been in, it’s you want to almost know your place type of thing,” Merrill said. “But having been with these guys for three or four years, we all have trust in each other, and we all listen to each other. I’m not out here pretending I’m a 10-time All-Star or anything. But I know guys trust in what I have to say and as long as everyone is on the same page and having that trust in being accountable, I guess anyone can say what they need to say.”
Merrill only played 18 minutes at Detroit on Monday due to a hip injury.
“He’s hurting,” Atkinson said, per Spencer Davies of Clutch Points. “When Sam can’t come back in the game, it’s [painful]. I think Evan [Mobley] actually hit him in the hip. Somehow they [collided].”
We have more on the Cavaliers:
- Atkinson believes Donovan Mitchell is underappreciated on a national basis. Mitchell tore up the Pistons with 35 points on the second game of a back-to-back. “I think he’s underrated,” Atkinson said. “First Team All-NBA, I don’t know why people don’t talk about him more. Because he’s no controversy, low-key, humble? Does that equal, you get underrated because of that personality? I don’t know.”
- Guard Darius Garland was assigned to the G League’s Cleveland Charge for conditioning purposes, according to the NBA transactions log at RealGM.com. Garland is working his way back from offseason toe surgery. Mitchell’s backcourt partner in the middle of a five-year contract and his salary carries a cap hit of $39,446,090 this season.
- Merrill, who has been diagnosed with a right hip contusion, won’t play against the Celtics on Wednesday, Souichi Terada of Masslive.com relays. Garland also remains listed as out.
Blazers Notes: Williams, Splitter, Avdija, Holiday
Trail Blazers center Robert Williams was assigned to the G League’s Rip City Remix for conditioning purposes, the team’s PR department tweets. Williams is working his way back from a knee injury.
Health issues have limited Williams to 26 total outings since he was traded to Portland two years ago. He underwent arthroscopic surgery on his left knee back in March.
Williams will try to work his way into the rotation upon his return. He’ll be an unrestricted free agent after the season and could be a valuable trade piece prior to this year’s deadline.
We have more on the Trail Blazers:
- Interim coach Tiago Splitter is the first Brazilian-born head coach in NBA history. It’s a matter of pride for Splitter, who has replaced Chauncey Billups after Billups was shockingly arrested by the FBI following the team’s season opener. and placed on indefinite leave by the league. “It’s an honor, to be honest,” Splitter said, per Kurt Helin of NBC Sports. “You know, coming from Brazil is really, you know, a soccer country where basketball is growing, but it’s not there yet. And a lot of people follow me in Brazil and proud of just this accomplishment.”
- The Blazers have gone 2-1 since Splitter took over, including a 14-point win over the Lakers on Monday. Deni Avdija has led the team in scoring in all three games. “He knows how to talk to us. He knows how to prepare us,” Avdija said of Splitter, per Mark Medina of RG.org. “His basketball knowledge is very good. Other than that, I don’t want to get into that (the coaching situation) too much.”
- The team’s scoring limitations will define its ceiling, according to Sean Highkin of The Rose Garden Report. The Blazers shot 37% in a loss to the Clippers but bounced back to knock down 45.6% of their shots against the Lakers. They’re shooting 33.8 percent from deep and that could be a season-long issue. “I think our offense will definitely catch up to our defense,” Jrue Holiday said. “There’s been times where we get a bit stagnant, but it could be because we’re playing so hard on the defensive end. But I really enjoy our offense. The way we move the ball, the way we get each other involved, it’s not just one person doing everything. Everybody gets involved. That’s how I like my basketball.”
- Yossi Gozlan of The Third Apron (Substack link) examines Shaedon Sharpe‘s four-year extension as well as Toumani Camara‘s four-year extension and what moves the front office might have in store in the near future, including a potential extension for Avdija.
Pistons Notes: Gores, Cunningham, Thompson, Cavs Loss
Pistons owner Tom Gores believes the team’s players and coaches are “fully aligned” after last season’s surprise run to a playoff berth, according to Pistons.com’s Keith Langlois.
“There’s alignment,” Gores said. “There’s tremendous alignment between the players and what they’re trying to accomplish, the coaching staff and (J.B. Bickerstaff). We are fully aligned. I’m sleeping much better at night knowing that. Nobody is laying low on what we did last year. Last year we came out with great urgency, a chip on our shoulder and we won. It’s great, but we’ve go to come in with a bigger chip and great urgency. I think it’s right down from Trajan (Langdon)‘s front office folks to the coaching staff to the players. There’s a huge opportunity for the Pistons to do a lot of special things.”
Gores attended the team’s home opener on Sunday afternoon and spoke with the media prior to its win over Boston. The franchise has generally floundered since he took control of the franchise but Gores believes he’s finally got the right front office and coaching staff to produce a consistent winner.
“I was thinking today driving in, it’s been a decade, really, trying to get to where we are today,” he said, per Omari Sankofa II of the Detroit Free Press. “It’s taken a lot of patience and a lot of hard times. It feels great. I feel like we’re set up to be a machine. I feel like we’re set up to be a sustainable winner. But I’m also nervous, we have to win.”
We have more on the Pistons:
- Can Cade Cunningham work his way into the Most Valuable Player conversation? If the Pistons can build off last season’s success, Cunningham believes it’s possible, he told ESPN’s Vincent Goodwill. “If I can help get this team to where my goal is to get this team this season, all this stuff will be on the way,” he said. “I’m not shy to say that. I think that’s very possible.”
- Ausar Thompson averaged 4.7 assists during the team’s first three games. Bickerstaff believes that Thompson can develop into a reliable play-maker during his third year in the league. “That was part of the plan,” Bickerstaff said. “We go back and you try to study every summer, try to figure out ways to help guys improve, and ways to help your team improve. We noticed, obviously, how many good things happen when we put the ball in Ausar’s hands. … The next step for him was the ball in his hands as a playmaker. Being that Swiss army knife that we knew he was capable of.”
- The Pistons’ three-game winning streak was halted on Monday by the Cavaliers, who blew them out by a score of 116-95. Bickerstaff isn’t overly concerned with the team’s clunker against an elite club. “They’re a good defensive team. We just had a rough night (Monday),” he said. “We turned the ball over 26 times. It’s hard moving your offense when you’re turning the basketball over. But it’s one night – we’ll be better.”
- The Pistons host Orlando on Wednesday. Thompson is questionable to play because of an illness, Hunter Patterson of The Athletic tweets.
- In case you missed it, the Pistons picked up their rookie scale options for 2026/27 on three players. Get the details here.