Sixers Sign Jabari Walker To Two-Year Deal
February 19: Walker’s promotion to the standard roster is official, the Sixers announced today in a press release.
February 16: The Sixers are signing forward Jabari Walker to a two-year deal, Shams Charania reports for ESPN (via Twitter).
Earlier this month, Walker became the first player on a two-way contract to reach his 50-game active game limit, which forced him to miss Philadelphia’s last four games heading into the All-Star break.
By trading Jared McCain for a draft pick and Eric Gordon for the draft rights to Justinian Jessup, the Sixers opened up spots to convert both Walker and Dominick Barlow to standard contracts. Barlow signed a two-year deal with a team option on February 5.
After spending his first three seasons with the Blazers, Walker joined the Sixers on a two-way contract and quickly won a bench role in coach Nick Nurse‘s rotation.
Still just 23 years old, Walker brings defensive versatility and intensity on the wing, though he has struggled with his shot, hitting just 27.0% of his threes this season.
The Sixers are also signing veteran point guard Cameron Payne to their 15-man roster. He and Walker will fill Philadelphia’s 14th and 15th roster spots, but the team will have enough room below the luxury tax line after finalizing those contracts to make another roster move at the end of the season if necessary, notes Yossi Gozlan of The Third Apron (via Twitter).
And-Ones: Tanking Reform, Power Rankings, Hayes-Davis, Gasol
The subject of tanking has become a hot-button topic in recent weeks, prompting NBA commissioner Adam Silver to address it over All-Star weekend. ESPN’s Bobby Marks spoke on NBA Today on Monday about the commissioner’s response, including his comments about potentially stripping picks from teams.
“Change is coming here when we’re looking at this lottery system, and basically not incentivizing teams to lose to gain advantage in the draft,” Marks said (YouTube video link).
There have been different ideas thrown out as potential remedies for the current system. Marc Stein, in his latest Substack article, suggests a new approach, wherein teams could only secure the highest odds for landing the top pick once they clear 27 wins.
Stein uses 27 wins as the cut-off because that would mean winning at least a third of the season’s games, and would discourage teams from bottoming out completely. Some semblance of competitiveness would be required to hit that mark and qualify for a top pick. Teams that didn’t reach 27 wins would have lower odds of landing a top-four pick in this scenario.
Whatever the choice is, Stein writes that it’s important that the league doesn’t overreact to a particularly egregious single-year tank battle due to what is considered a generational draft.
We have more from around the world of basketball:
- Law Murray of The Athletic released his post-All-Star Break power rankings today, which he broke into five categories: top contenders, in a good place, the bubble, not the tier to fear, and basement floor. His top contenders category includes five teams, led by the Pistons, followed by the Spurs, Thunder, Knicks, and Celtics, while his second tier is a three-team race between the Cavaliers, Nuggets, and Rockets. On the other side of the spectrum, he has five “basement floor” teams, with the two lowest being the Wizards at 29 and the Kings, whom he calls “a true factory of sadness,” at 30.
- It was recently reported that Nigel Hayes-Davis would be leaving the NBA to return to Europe, signing a deal with Panathinaikos that will extend through 2028. He explained the decision to choose the Greek team instead of joining one of his former squad, Fenerbahce Beko. “Everyone knows Fenerbahce was an option and what I did there over the last few years, especially what we accomplished as a team last season. It just felt like that chapter was closed and that I had given my all,” he said, per Kevin Martorano of Sportando. Hayes-Davis was the EuroLeague Final Four MVP a year ago as Fenerbahce won the 2025 title.
- Former NBA star Pau Gasol confirmed his involvement in NBA Europe, though what exactly he will be doing has yet to be fully clarified, Martorano writes for Sportando. “At the moment, there is no defined role. I’m simply working with the NBA, with FIBA, and speaking with teams to see what the evolution of basketball’s growth in Europe should look like,” the two-time NBA champion said. “From there, we’ll see what role I will ultimately take on, whether at the league level or with a team.” He also outlined his vision for what the project would be able to accomplish: “We need to build everything from scratch. Basketball is a globally important sport, and I believe we have the space to enhance it both as an experience and as a show, going beyond the simple magic of the game itself. That is exactly what we are here to do.”
Knicks Notes: Defense, Schedule, Warren, All-Star Game
The Knicks‘ 2025/26 season has progressed through several different phases, and the fact that they’ve seemingly been able to maintain their status as a contender throughout those changes is something to value, writes Stefan Bondy of the New York Post.
Bondy weighs several different answers when it comes to the highlight of the season so far: there’s the NBA Cup victory, though that was quickly followed by the team’s worst stretch of play this year. There’s the increase in three-point attempts — Bondy notes that the Knicks are first in corner threes attempted and made after being 11th in both categories last season.
Ultimately, he lands on the defensive improvements. After ranking 18th on defense through their first 43 games, the Knicks have ratcheted up the intensity and have been the best defense in the league from January 20 to the All-Star break, improving to 11th overall on the season.
Bondy credits assistant coach Darren Erman for switching the scheme to force the ball to the sidelines and baselines, rather than funneling into the middle as they had been doing.
He notes that the return of Landry Shamet and the addition of Jose Alvarado at the trade deadline helped improve the team’s point-of-attack defense. The recent signing of Jeremy Sochan will give them another versatile defender — and one with enough size to guard wings and forwards.
Bondy wraps up by positing that the second half of the season will be a success if the Knicks can clinch the No. 2 seed. They are currently a half-game behind the Celtics, and while it’s unlikely they catch the No. 1 Pistons, securing home court advantage for the first two rounds could help the team make a deep playoff run.
We have more from the Knicks:
- One thing that will make the pursuit of the second seed a little more challenging is New York’s schedule coming out of the All-Star break. Peter Sblendorio, writing for the New York Daily News, describes the team’s first 11 games as a gauntlet, starting with the return to action against the Pistons, albeit a Pistons team missing its usual big man rotation as Jalen Duren and Isaiah Stewart serve suspensions. The Knicks will go on to face the top five teams in the Western Conference and three of the top five Eastern teams in a stretch that includes seven road games and two back-to-backs.
- Veteran NBA wing T.J. Warren has rejoined the Westchester Knicks, the G League team announced today. Warren played for Westchester last season as well, averaging 22.8 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 4.2 assists in 21 regular season games, but hewas never called up to the parent team. His last NBA action came in the 2023/24 season, when he played 11 games for the Timberwolves.
- The Knicks won the Shooting Stars event during All-Star weekend, but Jared Schwartz of the New York Post writes that the All-Star Game itself was one to forget for the New York stars. While Jalen Brunson‘s team made it to the final game, he played deferentially throughout the event, doing little to leave his mark on the competition. Meanwhile, Karl-Anthony Towns was on the wrong side of two game-winning sequences. There were some minor fireworks, though, when Brunson got Towns in isolation and flew by him for the layup — Towns tried to block the shot and was called for goaltending.
Southwest Notes: Flagg, Irving, Durant, Coward
Cooper Flagg appeared at Saturday’s game between Duke and Clemson with a boot on his left foot, but league sources tell Marc Stein of The Stein Line (Substack link) that the Mavericks believe they’re lucky that his midfoot sprain is not a more severe injury .
There’s still no specific timeline for how long Flagg will be out as a result of the injury, according to Stein, who says the more pressing concern for the team is how to keep the star rookie’s energy and enthusiasm up through what is likely the longest losing streak of his basketball life.
The Mavericks lost their last nine games prior to the All-Star break, which Stein notes is the team’s longest losing streak since the 1997/98 season. At No. 12 in the Western Conference, Dallas is currently two games up on the Jazz and 1.5 games behind the Grizzlies, who have embarked on their own rebuild after trading Jaren Jackson Jr. to Utah.
With Jackson out for the rest of the season following knee surgery and Utah owing its pick to the Thunder if it falls outside of the top eight, it will be worth keeping an eye on just how quickly Dallas brings the productive Flagg.
We have more from around the Southwest Division:
- Kyrie Irving announced on Saturday that he will soon be giving an update on whether or not he plans to return for the Mavericks this season. While it would be beneficial for Dallas’ draft outlook for Irving to sit the rest of the season, Stein’s sources tell him that the decision will ultimately be a collaborative one between Irving and the team, as he writes in his latest Substack article. The decision will depend in part on whether the star point guard feels like his body needs more time to recover or whether he wants to try to work some rust off in-season.
- In the midst of his 18th season in the league, Kevin Durant is more concerned with making sure he remembers all the moves in his arsenal than adding new ones to it, Varun Shankar writes for the Houston Chronicle. “There’s so much I’m thinking about. I don’t want to forget some stuff in my package and it goes away,” Durant said. “If you don’t use it, you lose it.” Shankar details the Rockets‘ star’s meticulous pregame workouts, including the balance drills designed to engage his legs. When it comes to a bad workout, assistant coach Royal Ivey puts it bluntly. “I haven’t seen one,” he said.
- Cedric Coward has gone from mystery box draft prospect to breakout player for the Grizzlies, starting 35 of the 48 games he’s played this season with averages of 13.3 points and 6.2 rebounds per contest. He recently sat down with Kevin O’Connor of Yahoo Sports to talk about his rookie year and what improvements come next. When asked about lessons taken away from being guarded by some of the league’s premier defenders, Coward spoke to a late-game situation against the Thunder and Alex Caruso. “Just keep it simple. The biggest moment I learned that was when we played Oklahoma City at home,” Coward said. “Last possession, Caruso put me in a box. And I was too complicated in what I was trying to do, so for me, I wish I could get that moment back, I know I’ll have that moment again — it might not be against Caruso, but I know the moment will come again.”
Wizards Sign Alondes Williams To 10-Day Deal
5:00 pm: Williams’ 10-day deal is official, according to the Wizards. It will run through next Wednesday, covering the team’s next four games.
4:17 pm: The Wizards are signing guard Alondes Williams to a 10-day contract, reports ESPN’s Shams Charania (via Twitter).
Williams, a 6’4″ guard, has played games for the Nets, Heat, and Pistons since going undrafted in 2022, with a seven-game stint for Miami in 2023/24 representing his most playing time in a single season.
Williams, 26, has been productive with the Wizards’ G League team, the Capital City Go-Go, averaging 20.2 points, 4.5 assists, and 5.2 rebounds in 13 regular season games while knocking down a career-high 43.0% of his threes.
The explosive guard has improved his outside shot since his time in college. A 27.0% shooter over his three-year collegiate career, he holds a lifetime G League three-point percentage of 37.0% on 5.4 attempts per game.
Washington has an open spot on its 15-man roster after Keshon Gilbert‘s 10-day deal expired.
Giannis Antetokounmpo Talks Bucks Commitment, Chelsea Investment
After months of trade speculation, Giannis Antetokounmpo stayed put at this month’s deadline, with the Bucks reportedly entertaining offers but not engaging in serious back-and-forth negotiations with interested teams.
In response to the lack of a deal, Antetokounmpo took to social media, writing, “Legends don’t chase. They attract” (Instagram video link) and indicating that as long as he’s in Milwaukee, he’s committed to the team. He reiterated that sentiment at All-Star weekend, per ESPN.
“What I’ve said from the beginning of this year is that, out of my mouth and the way I’ve carried myself, you will never hear me say I don’t want to be a Milwaukee Buck,” the two-time MVP told ESPN’s Malika Andrews.
However, he also offered his usual caveat, leaving the door open for his position to change down the road.
“As of today, I’m committed to the Milwaukee Bucks,” Giannis said, echoing previous remarks he has made throughout the year. Antetokounmpo also didn’t deny that the idea of playing for another team has crossed his mind.
“Growing up, you dream, ‘Oh, what if I played for the Knicks, Madison Square Garden,'” he said. “‘What if I get drafted by the Lakers and I’m teammates with Kobe Bryant? What if I go play for the Cavs and LeBron [James] passes me the ball?‘”
While Antetokounmpo made clear that getting back to competing for championships is paramount — he likened it to trying a delicious steak and not being able to get it out of your head — he doubled down on his commitment to the Bucks, at least for the rest of the season.
“This is my team, and I love it,” he said.
Antetokounmpo also spoke to Eric Nehm of The Athletic about his recent investment in the Chelsea Women’s soccer club.
On February 7, Antetokounmpo announced (via Twitter) that he had joined the ownership group for the club alongside Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian.
“Chelsea’s history speaks for itself, and I’m excited to contribute to the future by supporting continued growth and impact in women’s sport,” he wrote in the post. “This is about ambition, legacy, and pushing the game to new heights.”
Speaking to Nehm, Antetokounmpo expressed that doing something to amplify women’s sport appealed to him.
“[Ohanian] was telling me how he wants to make a difference and do things that his daughters can remember him for, and I was like, ‘Damn, I didn’t even think about that,'” Antetokounmpo said. “… He was like… ‘I’m trying to keep on pushing forward and investing in women’s sports and just change the narrative around that.’ And I said, ‘Hey, I mean, just let me know when and what I gotta do,’ and then the opportunity came to my desk of investing and being a minority owner of Chelsea Women. I was like, ‘Say less. I want to do it.'”
It’s unclear how big a stake the Greek star has in the club, according to Nehm, who points out that this spring could be an opportunity for the new minority owner to get some face time with the team, given that the Bucks are currently on outside of the playoff picture.
“This is probably the only offseason that I’m going to have that I’ll be able to probably go out there and be around the team, meet the players, meet the staff and see what it’s about,” Antetokounmpo said.
LeBron James Discusses Past, Lakers’ Present, Future
LeBron James spoke about a range of topics on All-Star Sunday, reflecting on his journey over the years, the Lakers‘ status this season, and his future.
The 21-time All-Star was particularly sentimental when it came to discussing his time spent playing with and competing against Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant, Joaquin Ruiz writes for NBC Sports.
“It’s always a pleasure and an honor to see those guys,” James said. “We’ve had so much of an unbelievable journey throughout our individual careers… When it comes to me, Steph, and KD, we’ll be interlocked for the rest of our careers, for sure. And it’s been great to be able to have some moments with those guys, versus those guys, teaming up with those guys.”
Although Curry sat out the All-Star game with a knee injury, James and Durant helped take their team to the All-Star championship game, losing to the younger American stars led by Anthony Edwards.
Discussing the Lakers’ rest-of-season outlook, James was hesitant to project how the team will play at full strength.
“It’s hard to say [what the team is capable of accomplishing] because this is a new group,” James said, per Athlon’s Mark Medina (Twitter video link). “… It’s too hard to really say what we’re really capable of. I know that when we’ve played some of our best basketball this season, we’ve looked really good. On the other side, when we’ve been terrible, we’ve looked disgusting. So I think the most important is like, if we can get healthy, how many minutes we can be on the floor, how much chemistry we can build with the sprint starting.”
He added that the regular season is meant for playoff teams to build chemistry, and he’s hopeful that the Lakers can get healthy enough to start doing that while integrating the newly acquired Luke Kennard into the mix.
As for his plans for the 2026/27 season, James remained noncommittal, Dan Woike writes for The Athletic.
“When I know, you guys will know,” he said. “I don’t know. I have no idea. Just want to, just wanna live. That’s all.”
He added that his upcoming free agency doesn’t impact his approach or thinking about what the future will bring.
“It has nothing to do with that,” James said. “Same motivation, same mind factor. Just, we’ve got past the marathon, and now the sprint is about to start.”
Anthony Edwards Named 2026 All-Star MVP
Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards was named All-Star MVP after his team – the USA Stars – defeated the rival U.S. squad – USA Stripes – 47-21 in the All-Star championship game. It’s Edwards’ first All-Star MVP award and his third All-Star appearance overall.
The first three games of the All-Star game rewarded the choice of format, with all three matchups decided by one possession.
In game one between USA Stars and Team World, Victor Wembanyama (Spurs) set the tone early, recording 14 points and three blocks while his teammate Karl-Anthony Towns (Knicks) contributed 10 points. Edwards led the Stars attack with 13 points, but it was Scottie Barnes (Raptors) who knocked down the game-winning three-pointer, completing a comeback to defeat his head coach, Darko Rajakovic, who was coaching Team World.
After the game, Edwards credited Wembanyama for doing what he said he would and amping up the intensity on the floor for everyone.
Game two between the two American teams also came down to the final shot, as Jaylen Brown (Celtics) led USA Stripes in scoring while Edwards and Cade Cunningham (Pistons) paced USA Stars with 11 points apiece. De’Aaron Fox (Spurs) hit the game-winning three-pointer for the Stars.
In game three, Kawhi Leonard (Clippers) took over for his home crowd, scoring 31 points in 12 minutes on 11-of-13 shooting while Wembanyama kept Team World in it with 19 points of his own. Leonard iced the game with a three-pointer over Towns to take USA Stripes to the championship game in a rematch with USA Stars.
In the fourth and final game, USA Stripes’ older legs appeared worn down by the previous two contests and the younger stars ran out to a 12-1 lead, led by Edwards and Tyrese Maxey (Sixers), who finished with a game-high nine points. They pushed the lead up to 26-9 on an Edwards three-pointer and eventually went on a 15-0 run, as Jalen Brunson (Knicks) and LeBron James (Lakers) were the only players to hit a field goal over the first seven minutes for USA Stripes. Donovan Mitchell (Cavaliers) finished the game with a team-high six points for USA Stripes.
All-Star Notes: Richardson, Curry, Brown, Johnson
Jase Richardson says that he’s okay after suffering a bad fall while representing the Magic for the 2026 Dunk Contest.
“I’m good,” he said, per Jason Beede of the Orlando Sentinel. “I tried to go do a little 360 off the side of the glass, (but) my arm got caught on the side of the backboard.”
Richardson was eliminated in the first round after his backup dunk was given a 43.4 composite score.
“After taking a fall like that, I just had to move on from that dunk,” Richardson said. “It is what it is.”
Richardson took to social media after the contest to share a clip of how he intended the uncompleted dunk to look (Twitter video link).
Richardson had turned to his father, two-time Dunk Contest champion Jason Richardson, to help with his preparation for the event, Kurt Helin writes for NBC Sports, though Jase resisted wearing his father’s jersey during the event, wanting to forge his own path, according to Beede.
“I just wanted to do the contest and try to make it my own thing instead of everything having to do with my father,” the younger Richardson said.
We have more from around the All-Star festivities:
- Stephen Curry would like to return to the three-point contest next season, writes Taylor Wirth for NBC Sports, especially after Damian Lillard won for a third time this year — the Warriors star only has two three-point championships to his name. “I already scheduled it,” Curry said. “We’re going to bring some people: Me, Dame, I’m going to try and get Klay [Thompson].”
- Jaylen Brown is one player in favor of bringing a 1-on-1 competition to All-Star weekend, per ESPN’s Vincent Goodwill (via Twitter). “I’m actually a big fan,” the Celtics‘ All-Star said. “It’s the purity of the game. I would love to challenge some people here. Like Luka [Doncic], Shai [Gilgeous-Alexander], Donovan [Mitchell]. We could donate to charity. Set it up.” The idea of a 1-on-1 tournament has been a popular discussion topic this weekend following the success of the women’s league Unrivaled’s 1-on-1 tournament, which was won by Aces guard Chelsea Gray.
- Keshad Johnson‘s journey from undrafted player to slam dunk contest champion for the Heat has given him a sense of gratitude, writes Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. “I beat the odds. I made it. I made it into the NBA,” he said. “I dreamed of every year I was watching the NBA dunk contest, I dreamed of being out there, putting on a show for everybody… I learned from all the people that came before me, paying homage to them, and now I’m here.” Johnson said he was just excited to be able to introduce himself to the wider basketball world, both as a dunker and as a person. “Now they know who I am,” he said.
Atlantic Notes: Diawara, Tatum, Nets Guards, Hart
Mohamed Diawara‘s emergence as a rotation player has made his future with the Knicks an offseason priority, Stefan Bondy writes for the New York Post.
Diawara, who has become an unexpectedly reliable shooter off the bench for New York, is on a one-year, $1.3MM contract that makes him eligible for restricted free agency this summer. Since the Knicks signed him to that one-year deal, he has become perhaps the team’s best draft pick since Miles McBride was selected in the second round of the 2021 draft, Bondy writes in a separate piece.
“There’s just a lot of little things when you see Mo play that make you go, ‘Oh my gosh, wow,'” coach Mike Brown said. “And all those things, when you add them up to a possible opportunity, it gives you more confidence as a coaching staff to throw him out there and say, ‘OK, let’s see what’s going to happen.'”
While he has shown some interesting flashes of dribbling and passing at 6’9″, Diawara knows what he needs to focus on if he wants to succeed in the future.
“Three-point shooting and defense,” he said. “Those are things that are going to make me stay in the league for the longest.”
Bondy writes that the still-raw wing is not expected to command a large market as a restricted free agent but that his contract situation will be one of the more important ones for the team to resolve, after that of impending unrestricted free agent Mitchell Robinson.
We have more from the Atlantic Division:
- There’s still no timeline for Jayson Tatum‘s return from his Achilles tear, but there have been encouraging signs of late, including his recent 5-on-5 scrimmage with the Celtics‘ G League team. Teammate and co-star Jaylen Brown recently added his cautious endorsement, saying, “In terms of what I’ve seen, he looks pretty damn good,” according to ESPN’s Dave McMenamin (via Twitter).
- Nolan Traore knows the Nets are a work in progress, but he believes he and fellow rookie Egor Demin complement one another well and could become Brooklyn’s long-term backcourt, writes Brian Lewis of the New York Post. “We complete each other, and we play great [together],” Traore said. “He is a good shooter, and it is always good for me to play with good shooters.” Head coach Jordi Fernandez says he likes what he’s seen from the two and challenges them to improve their physicality. Traore started the season in and out of Brooklyn’s rotation, but he has hit his stride of late, averaging 12.0 points and 4.8 assists on 43.2% shooting from deep in his last 12 games.
- Josh Hart is an identity-setter for the Knicks, but despite being an integral part of the team’s success, he knows he’s unlikely to ever get an All-Star nod, Steve Popper writes for Newsday (subscriber link). “I think you’d always like to be an All-Star,” Hart said. “Do I think a guy that’s my style of play is really going to be an All-Star? Probably not. If I was ever fortunate to be in that position, I would love it, but I just know the play style, it’s not the glitz and the glamour to it.” The Knicks have a record of 29-14 with Hart playing this season and have gone just 6-6 without him.