Lakers Notes: LeBron, Ayton, Doncic, Smart, Marciulionis
Lakers star LeBron James set another NBA record on Thursday night vs. Denver, surpassing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar on the list of players with the most made field goals in league history, writes Dave McMenamin of ESPN.
While James repeatedly referred to the achievement as “pretty cool” after the game, it was a bright spot in an otherwise disappointing night. LeBron, who wasn’t able to lead the Lakers to a victory over the shorthanded Nuggets, injured his left elbow with about four minutes left in the fourth quarter and had to sit out for several crunch-time possessions, as McMenamin notes in a separate article.
“It’s pretty sore right now,” James said after the game, admitting that he’s unsure about his status for Friday’s matchup with Indiana. “It felt like one of those funny bone situations, but like, super more intense. … We’ll see what happens over the next couple of days. Hopefully, I’ll wake up (Friday) and it doesn’t feel too much worse than it is now. Or, if it feels better, that would be great. So, it’s day-to-day, we’ll see what happens.”
James wasn’t the only Lakers starter to suffer an injury in Thursday’s loss. Center Deandre Ayton exited the game in the first quarter due to left knee soreness, per McMenamin.
“For him, it sucked for him not to be out there in the game,” Marcus Smart said of his teammate. “He tried to go, and it just didn’t feel right for him, and it sucks. We definitely could have used him.
“I know as of lately he’s been getting a lot of backlash for his effort and his play. He understands it. I know it might not seem like it, but he does, and he wants to do, good, and he wants to help this team, and I think that’s what’s more frustrating for him because he’s trying. But the way he’s trying is not working, and he’s still trying to figure it out. But he definitely was down tonight.”
Here’s more on the Lakers:
- Lakers star Luka Doncic was assessed his 15th technical foul of the season on Thursday, moving him within one tech of an automatic suspension, writes Dan Woike of The Athletic. Crew chief Ed Malloy explained after the game that the technical was a result of Doncic directing profanity toward an official, but the All-Star guard is hoping it’s rescinded. “I yelled at him, I guess. That’s what he said. But I heard three other players say the exact same sentence and didn’t get a tech,” Doncic said. “And that’s my problem, you know, I was trying not to talk at all. This is the first thing I said, no warning or nothing. But I heard three other players say the exact same thing and nothing. So it’s just, you know… I don’t know what to say.”
- After a pair of injury-plagued seasons in Memphis and Washington, Smart has enjoyed a bounce-back year with the Lakers, according to Kelly Iko of Yahoo Sports, who points out that many of Smart’s advanced defensive statistics are in the same ballpark as the ones he posted in his Defensive Player of the Year campaign in 2021/22. “Smart has starred in his role for what we need consistently from him throughout the year,” head coach JJ Redick said earlier this week. “He’s played great basketball for the last five or six weeks and that starts on the defensive end. He’s been tremendous for us defensively.” Smart holds a $5.39MM player option for the 2026/27 season.
- Lithuanian point guard Augustas Marciulionis spent most of last summer and fall with the Lakers and has been playing for Los Angeles’ G League team this season after going undrafted. However, he finalized a buyout of his NBAGL contract this week in order to pursue an opportunity overseas, the South Bay Lakers announced (Twitter link). As BasketNews.com relays, Marciulionis has joined Rytas Vilnius, his hometown club, and explained in an interview this week that he decided to make the move after recognizing that he wouldn’t be called up to the NBA this season. “In Vilnius, I could play for a team that truly cares,” he added (YouTube link). “I missed that feeling – the shivers and excitement the night before a game. When you care, you feel it. In the G League, the priorities are different. So, when Rytas offered me a contract, I didn’t hesitate.”
Injury Notes: Flagg, Niederhauser, Nuggets, Demin
Mavericks rookie Cooper Flagg, who has been out since February 10 due to a left midfoot sprain, is expected to return to action on Thursday in Orlando after missing the club’s past eight games. Co-interim general manager Michael Finley first suggested during a Wednesday radio appearance on 105.3 The Fan that Flagg’s return was imminent, per Grant Afseth of Dallas Hoops Journal.
“That’s the plan right now,” Finley said of Flagg returning on Thursday. “I think it’s still a game-time decision, but he looked good in his workouts yesterday, he looked good earlier today, so we’re keeping our fingers crossed that he could come back and give us some minutes tonight.”
Marc Stein of The Stein Line (Twitter link) has since confirmed that Flagg will return tonight, while Mike Curtis of The Dallas Morning News echoes that report. According to Curtis, the plan is for the first-year forward to be on a minutes restriction vs. Orlando, then see an uptick in usage on Friday in Boston, barring a setback.
We have more injury updates from around the NBA:
- After sustaining a right foot injury in the Clippers‘ win over Indiana on Wednesday, reserve center Yanic Konan Niederhauser will miss at least the next two games, staying home as the team visits San Antonio on Friday and Memphis on Saturday, tweets Joey Linn of SI.com. Isaiah Jackson, who took Niederhauser’s place in the rotation in Wednesday’s game, scored 10 points in 18 minutes against his former team and should see an increased role going forward.
- The Nuggets have formally ruled out forwards Aaron Gordon (right hamstring strain), Peyton Watson (right hamstring strain), and Spencer Jones (right shoulder strain) for Thursday’s game vs. the Lakers, the first of a back-to-back set, tweets Vinny Benedetto of The Denver Gazette. Gordon is reportedly targeting Friday’s matchup with New York for his return, while Watson may not be far behind him. Jones, meanwhile, is missing a third straight game, while Cameron Johnson (right ankle inflammation) is listed as questionable after sitting out on Monday in Utah.
- Rookie guard Egor Dёmin will miss his third straight game on Thursday when the Nets play at Miami, per C.J. Holmes of The New York Daily News. The eighth pick in last year’s draft is currently sidelined with what the team calls left plantar fascia injury management. “Right now, he’s not good to go,” head coach Jordi Fernández said. “We’ll see what the next step is. It’s important that we manage them.” As Holmes notes, Dёmin missed most of Brooklyn’s training camp and the preseason while rehabilitating from a plantar fascia tear.
Rory Maher contributed to this post.
Kings Sign Killian Hayes To Second 10-Day Deal
After his initial 10-day contract with the Kings expired on Wednesday night, guard Killian Hayes has signed a second 10-day deal with the club, agent Yann Balikouzou confirmed to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link). Hayes’ newest contract is listed in NBA.com’s official transaction log.
Hayes made five appearances during his first 10 days with Sacramento, averaging 2.2 points and 3.4 assists in 13.0 minutes per night off the bench. The 24-year-old, whose limited offensive game has been an issue since he entered the NBA as the seventh overall pick in the 2020 draft, struggled with his shot in those five outings, making just 4-of-27 shots from the floor (14.8%).
The 6’5″ guard spent the better part of four NBA seasons in Detroit from 2020-24 before being waived near the end of his rookie contract. He has played in the G League for most of the past two years, signing a 10-day contract with Brooklyn last February and now a pair of 10-day deals with Sacramento this winter.
In 28 NBAGL games with the Cleveland Charge in 2025/26, Hayes has averaged 23.1 points, 8.3 assists, 3.9 rebounds, and 1.7 steals per contest with a shooting line of .468/.325/.800.
Hayes will earn $153,330 during his second 10-day deal with the Kings, bringing his total earnings with the team to $306,660. His two 10-day contracts will carry a total cap charge of $263,940 ($131,970 apiece).
Hayes’ second 10-day deal will cover the Kings’ next five games before expiring after next Saturday’s matchup with the Clippers. Since players aren’t permitted to sign three 10-day contracts with the same team, Sacramento would have to either sign the guard to a rest-of-season contract or let him go at that point.
Anthony Davis Begins Individual On-Court Work, Out At Least Two More Weeks
Wizards big man Anthony Davis, out since January 8 due to ligament damage in his left hand, was reevaluated on Wednesday in Los Angeles and continues to make progress in his recovery, the team announced in a press release (Twitter link).
According to the Wizards, Davis has been cleared to begin limited individual on-court basketball activities. The plan is to reevaluate him again in two weeks, with another update provided at that time.
Washington made mid-season deals to acquire veteran stars Davis and Trae Young while both were dealing with injuries. The team is out of contention and wants to hang onto its top-eight protected 2026 first-round pick, so those acquisitions were made with an eye toward 2026/27.
Still, Young is prepared to return from quad and knee injuries to make his Wizards debut on Thursday and the team has yet to rule out Davis for the season. In fact, Wizards general manager Will Dawkins said after the trade deadline that he expected the 32-year-old to play at some point before the ’25/26 campaign is over.
Whether that actually happens remains to be seen.
Prior to Dawkins’ post-deadline media session on February 8, multiple reporters had suggested that Davis was unlikely to make his Wizards debut until the fall. There are less than six weeks left in the season, and the 16-45 squad has no reason to rush the 10-time All-Star back. Additionally, based on today’s update, it sounds like he’s still a little ways off from scrimmaging or being cleared for full contact.
The team’s next progress update on Davis in a couple weeks should give us a clearer sense of whether or not we’ll see him on the court this spring.
Northwest Notes: Anderson, Jazz, Dundon, Caruso, Hartenstein
It’s rare for a player added on the buyout market to make a significant impact on his new team, but the Timberwolves believe Kyle Anderson is capable of doing just that, writes Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic. Besides the fact that the 32-year-old is very familiar with the Wolves, whom he played for from 2022-24, the team also has a need for a versatile wing like Anderson, according to head coach Chris Finch.
“We’re very comfortable, I think, in what he can do and how he fits into us,” Finch said. “We need more connectors, more play-makers. We’ll put the ball in his hands. We’ll treat him like a point guard. Defensively, he gives us versatility, switching, intelligence. He’s a great quarterback of the defense.”
Anderson left Minnesota in free agency in 2024 with the Wolves facing a cap crunch. He received a three-year, $27MM deal from Golden State that his former team likely wasn’t in position to offer, but his time with the Warriors didn’t last long. Anderson was traded from Golden State to Miami to Utah to Memphis in the past two seasons, and after being let go by the Grizzlies, he jumped at the chance to rejoin the Wolves.
“With Kyle, it feels good that A) he had such a great experience here, B) he went on and was rewarded for that experience financially, which we always root for, and C) he wanted to come back because he enjoyed being here, and his family enjoyed being here,” Finch said. “The circle is complete in that regard, and hopefully we can all benefit from it in these last 20 games and in the playoffs.”
We have more from around the Northwest:
- Anderson, who appeared in 20 games with the Jazz this season before being dealt to Memphis, admitted he didn’t love playing for a team that was more focused on preserving its top-eight protected 2026 first-round pick than making the playoffs. “I had a lot of fun in the organization and everybody in the organization was awesome,” Anderson said (Twitter video link via Andrew Dukowitz of Zone Coverage). “Obviously, playing not to win (a championship) is tricky and tough, and I didn’t enjoy it personally, but the staff and the players, I loved the players… the people in the organization were awesome, nothing bad to say about them.”
- Tom Dundon, whose purchase of the Trail Blazers is expected to close at some point in the coming weeks, has reached a deal to sell a 12.5% stake in the NHL’s Carolina Hurricanes at a valuation of $2.66 billion, according to Scott Soshnick, Eben Novy-Williams, and Kurt Badenhausen of Sportico. It’s unclear, per Sportico, whether the timing of the transaction means Dundon is seeking additional liquidity as he prepares to finalize the Blazers sale.
- The Thunder earned their fourth consecutive victory on Wednesday, beating the Knicks 103-100 on the second night of a road back-to-back. However, they didn’t leave New York unscathed. As Marc Stein tweets, both Alex Caruso (left hip contusion) and Isaiah Hartenstein (left calf tightness) exited early and were ruled out for the rest of the night. It remains to be seen whether they’ll miss more time as a result of those injuries.
Checking In On 10-Days, Pending Deals, Open Roster Spots
Two important roster-related dates for the 2025/26 NBA season are now behind us — teams can no longer sign players to two-way contracts and players who are waived by their current clubs from here on out won’t be playoff-eligible for a new team.
That certainly doesn’t mean there won’t be any players signed or waived in the coming weeks, but the NBA’s transaction wire should be a little less busy going forward. That makes it a good time to step back and take stock of where things stand with rosters and contract situations around the league as we enter the home stretch of the season.
10-day contracts
After Killian Hayes‘ 10-day contract with the Kings expired on Wednesday night, there are currently just two active 10-day deals around the NBA, as our tracker shows. Those deals are as follows:
- Utah Jazz: Mo Bamba (runs through March 7)
- Brooklyn Nets: Grant Nelson (runs through March 8)
Following a flurry of 10-day signings during and after the All-Star break, no team has finalized a 10-day deal in nearly a week, but I’d expect action to pick up on that front shortly.
A year ago, a total of 23 10-day contracts were signed between March 6 and the end of the season, with a handful of players receiving multiple deals – and, in some cases, rest-of-season commitments – from their respective teams. There are still a number of clubs across the league with open roster spots, and many of those openings figure to be temporarily filled with 10-day signees in the coming days and weeks.
Pending deals
Before we take a look at exactly which teams have roster spots to fill, it’s worth noting that there’s still one reported transaction that hasn’t been officially completed. The Nuggets reached an agreement with point guard Tyus Jones on Monday but have yet to formally announce his new deal.
No corresponding roster move will be needed for Denver, since the team already has an open spot on its 15-man roster, and it shouldn’t be long before Jones officially joins the roster. As Harrison Wind of DNVR Sports tweets, the 29-year-old was at the Nuggets’ practice facility on Wednesday and is expected to be available for the club’s game against the Lakers on Thursday.
[UPDATE: Jones has officially signed with the Nuggets.]
Open roster spots
As our tracker shows, the following teams currently have one spot available on their 15-man standard rosters:
- Golden State Warriors
- Houston Rockets
- Orlando Magic
- Sacramento Kings
- Toronto Raptors
The Nuggets technically belong on this list too, but they’ll have a full roster once they officially sign Jones. The Jazz and Nets could also join this group if they don’t re-sign Bamba and Nelson, respectively, after their 10-day contracts expire.
The Warriors and Rockets are operating in luxury tax territory, and while they have plenty of room below their hard caps to add a 15th man, they’re probably not all that eager to increase their projected tax bills by bringing in someone who won’t play at all.
The Magic, Kings, and Raptors are all operating less than $1MM away from the tax line, but each team has enough room to bring in a minimum-salary veteran on a rest-of-season contract without becoming a taxpayer, so if there’s someone out there they like, they don’t necessarily have to wait.
Finally, there’s one notable team not mentioned in the list above because they technically have three open 15-man roster spots, not just one. That’s the Celtics. Boston is in the midst of executing an intricately timed plan to meet the NBA’s rules related to roster minimums for the rest of the season while narrowly staying out of the tax.
After 10-day deals for Dalano Banton and John Tonje expired over the weekend, it’s a safe bet that Boston will stick with just 12 players for the maximum allowable 14 days before making a couple roster additions in mid-March. Current two-way player Max Shulga will likely get a promotion at that time for financial reasons (his rookie minimum salary wouldn’t be subject to “tax variance“). If all goes according to plan, the Celtics will be able to sign a 15th man on the last day of the regular season without surpassing the tax threshold.
Southwest Notes: Jordan, Murray, Sheppard, Prosper
After signing with the Pelicans at the start of the regular season, veteran center DeAndre Jordan made two appearances in his first week on the roster in October, then didn’t see any action until after last month’s All-Star break. He has played regular minutes since then, earning five starts and logging double-digit minutes in each of New Orleans’ past six games.
Even before his return to the rotation, Jordan “elevated our program tremendously,” according to interim head coach James Borrego, who spoke glowingly about the the 37-year-old’s leadership and “massive impact” on the Pelicans’ locker room, per Mark Medina of EssentiallySports.
“He has a high standard,” Borrego said. “He’s the first one to show up. Pregame, he does his work. Then you add the leadership piece. He’s wrapped his arms around the vets. He’s wrapped his arms around the young guys. … He’s brought us an edge and a physicality. He’s a massive and tremendous communicator. I think that’s what we’re trying to get our young guys to develop more. That’s the ability to communicate, especially for bigs. It’s massive. To look like a big defense or be a good defense, you have to talk, especially from that five spot. He does it as well as anybody.”
Despite not seeing the floor for over three-and-a-half months and playing for a team that opened the season by losing 31 of its first 39 games, Jordan hasn’t been discouraged by his situation or the modest role he has been asked to take on, he told Medina.
“As I’ve gotten older, I’ve embraced that locker room leader and mentor kind of role,” Jordan said. “Whenever my number is called, I’ll be ready to play and contribute in any way that I can in the days that I’m not playing. I encourage my teammates. I’ll criticize them when it’s necessary. I let them know about things that I see on the floor. I give them knowledge back.
“… We don’t want to be complacent and okay with losing nine or 10 games in a row. But we’ve had a lot of young guys who are playing big minutes early. So it’s about being able to get them some familiarity with the NBA and the speed and the sets and coverages. So that next year when we’re a healthy team, and these guys have a full rookie season under their belt, we’ll be better.”
Asked how much longer he hopes to play, Jordan – who is in his 18th NBA season – said it’s long been a goal to get to 20 seasons in the league if he can.
We have more from around the Southwest:
- Pelicans guard Dejounte Murray has been effective since returning from his year-long absence due to an Achilles tear, scoring at least 13 points in each of his first four games, but he’s still not ready to play in back-to-back contests. Murray has been ruled out for Thursday’s matchup with Sacramento, the first of a back-to-back, due to “return to competition conditioning,” according to the team. Forwards Trey Murphy III (neck spasm) and Zion Williamson (right ankle sprain) are both considered questionable to suit up.
- With Reed Sheppard playing some of the best basketball of his career recently in an increased role, Kelly Iko of Yahoo Sports and William Guillory of The Athletic examine the strides the Rockets guard is making in his second NBA season and consider what his role will look like once starters Amen Thompson and Jabari Smith Jr. return from injuries. “My teammates are giving me the space to grow, and they’re pushing me to be aggressive. That’s made it a lot easier for me,” Sheppard told Guillory. “It hasn’t always been perfect, but I’m working to fix the mistakes. I know I can play an important role for us to get where we want to go.”
- The second year of Olivier-Maxence Prosper‘s new two-year, minimum-salary contract with the Grizzlies is a team option, as Michael Scotto of HoopsHype tweets. Prosper’s rest-of-season salary is $527,879, while his 2026/27 option is worth $2,497,812.
NBA’s Two-Way Signing Deadline Has Now Passed
The deadline for NBA teams to sign players to two-way contracts was Wednesday, March 4. Since that deadline has now passed, no two-way deals can be signed between now and the end of the 2025/26 season. Clubs will be permitted to begin signing two-way contracts for the ’26/27 season on July 1 (restricted free agents who receive two-way qualifying offers can technically accept them in June).
Under the NBA’s previous Collective Bargaining Agreement, two-way signings weren’t permitted after January 15. Teams took full advantage of the extended window to complete two-way deals this season, finalizing 34 of them between the February 6 trade deadline and Wednesday’s deadline. During that same period, teams promoted 20 players from two-way contracts to standard deals.
There were six teams – the Nets, Bulls, Rockets, Lakers, Knicks, and Raptors – that didn’t make any moves involving their two-way players between last month’s trade deadline and the two-way signing deadline. The other 24 clubs were active.
As our tracker shows, all 90 two-way slots around the NBA are now filled. However, that doesn’t necessarily mean the 90 players currently on two-way contracts will all finish the season on those deals.
There are still a handful of two-way players who could receive standard contracts before the regular season ends. The Celtics, for instance, are one team to watch, as both Max Shulga and Ron Harper Jr. are candidates to be promoted to the 15-man roster to fill one of the team’s three open spots.
A team can promote one or more of its two-way players to its standard roster at any time between now and the end of the season — that team simply wouldn’t be permitted to sign a new player to fill the empty two-way slot created by the promotion.
Here are all the transactions related to two-way players that have been finalized since the trade deadline, sorted by team and listed in the order they were completed (from earliest to most recent):
Atlanta Hawks
- Promoted Caleb Houstan to standard contract (story)
- Signed Keshon Gilbert to two-way contract (story)
Boston Celtics
- Promoted John Tonje to standard (10-day) contract (story)
- Re-signed John Tonje to two-way contract (story)
Charlotte Hornets
- Waived KJ Simpson (story)
- Signed Tosan Evbuomwan to two-way contract (story)
Cleveland Cavaliers
- Promoted Nae’Qwan Tomlin to standard contract (story)
- Signed Riley Minix to two-way contract (story)
- Waived Emanuel Miller (story)
- Signed Darius Brown II to two-way contract (story)
- Waived Darius Brown II (story)
- Signed Olivier Sarr to two-way contract (story)
Dallas Mavericks
- Promoted Ryan Nembhard to standard contract (story)
- Waived Miles Kelly (story)
- Signed Tyler Smith to two-way contract (story)
- Signed John Poulakidas to two-way contract (story)
Denver Nuggets
- Promoted Spencer Jones to standard contract (story)
- Signed KJ Simpson to two-way contract (story)
- Waived Tamar Bates (story)
- Signed David Roddy to two-way contract (story)
Detroit Pistons
- Promoted Daniss Jenkins to standard contract (story)
- Signed Isaac Jones to two-way contract (story)
Golden State Warriors
- Promoted Pat Spencer to standard contract (story)
- Signed Nate Williams to two-way contract (story)
Indiana Pacers
- Promoted Quenton Jackson to standard contract (story)
- Signed Jalen Slawson to two-way contract (story)
Los Angeles Clippers
- Promoted Kobe Sanders to standard contract (story)
- Promoted Jordan Miller to standard contract (story)
- Signed Sean Pedulla to two-way contract (story)
- Signed Norchad Omier to two-way contract (story)
Memphis Grizzlies
- Promoted Olivier-Maxence Prosper to standard contract (story)
- Signed Rayan Rupert to two-way contract (story)
Miami Heat
- Promoted Myron Gardner to standard contract (story)
- Signed Trevor Keels to two-way contract (story)
Milwaukee Bucks
- Signed Cormac Ryan to two-way contract (story)
Minnesota Timberwolves
- Waived Johnny Juzang (story)
- Signed Jules Bernard to two-way contract (story)
- Waived Jules Bernard (story)
- Signed Zyon Pullin to two-way contract (story)
New Orleans Pelicans
- Promoted Bryce McGowens to standard contract (story)
- Signed Josh Oduro to two-way contract (story)
Oklahoma City Thunder
- Waived Chris Youngblood (story)
- Signed Buddy Boeheim to two-way contract (story)
- Waived Buddy Boeheim (story)
- Signed Payton Sandfort to two-way contract (story)
Orlando Magic
- Waived Orlando Robinson (story)
- Signed Alex Morales to two-way contract (story)
Philadelphia 76ers
- Promoted Dominick Barlow to standard contract (story)
- Signed Dalen Terry to two-way contract (story)
- Promoted Jabari Walker to standard contract (story)
- Signed Tyrese Martin to two-way contract (story)
Phoenix Suns
- Promoted Jamaree Bouyea to standard contract (story)
- Signed CJ Huntley to two-way contract (story)
Portland Trail Blazers
- Promoted Sidy Cissoko to standard contract (story)
- Waived Javonte Cooke (story)
- Signed Chris Youngblood to two-way contract (story)
- Signed Jayson Kent to two-way contract (story)
Sacramento Kings
- Promoted Dylan Cardwell to standard contract (story)
- Signed Patrick Baldwin Jr. to two-way contract (story)
San Antonio Spurs
- Waived Stanley Umude (story)
- Signed Emanuel Miller to two-way contract (story)
Utah Jazz
- Signed Blake Hinson to two-way contract (story)
Washington Wizards
- Promoted Tristan Vukcevic to standard contract (story)
- Signed Leaky Black to two-way contract (story)
- Promoted Jamir Watkins to standard contract (story)
- Signed Julian Reese to two-way contract (story)
Nuggets Sign David Roddy To Two-Way, Waive Tamar Bates
6:00 pm: Both moves are now official, according to RealGM’s log of NBA transactions.
1:51 pm: The Nuggets are making a change to one of their two-way contract slots ahead of Wednesday’s deadline, according to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype, who reports (via Twitter) that current two-way player Tamar Bates is being waived in order to create space for the team to sign forward David Roddy.
Roddy, who will turn 25 later this month, has played for five NBA teams since being selected 23rd overall in the 2022 draft, making 168 appearances in total for Memphis, Phoenix, Atlanta, Philadelphia, and Houston. However, the former Colorado State star hasn’t been on a roster at all this season since spending training camp with the Raptors and being waived at the end of the preseason.
Outside of a brief recent stint with USA Basketball for a pair of World Cup qualifying games, Roddy has spent the 2025/26 season with the Raptors 905 in the G League. In 34 total outings for Toronto’s NBAGL affiliate, he has averaged 12.3 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 3.6 assists in 27.8 minutes per game while making 47.5% of his shots from the floor, including 39.2% from beyond the arc.
Roddy played well for Team USA in those recent qualifiers vs. the Dominican Republic and Mexico, totaling 28 points on 9-of-12 shooting. He led the team with 20 points in Sunday’s blowout victory over Mexico.
Bates, meanwhile, quickly caught on with the Nuggets on a two-way deal last summer after going undrafted out of Missouri, but his rookie season was derailed in December when he underwent surgery to repair a fracture in his left foot. The 6’4″ guard hasn’t played at all since then and was limited to 12 appearances in the G League before that point. Although he has yet to make his regular season NBA debut, he averaged 19.6 PPG on .550/.442/.900 shooting for the Grand Rapids Gold before getting hurt.
Roddy can be active for up to 11 games for the Nuggets for the rest of the regular season and won’t be eligible to play in the postseason. As Blake Murphy of Sportsnet.ca points out (via Twitter), Roddy is the third Raptors 905 regular to be called up to a new NBA team this week, joining Julian Reese and Olivier Sarr, who were signed to two-way deals by the Wizards and Cavaliers, respectively.
Eastern Notes: Knueppel, McCain, Edgecombe, Suggs, Carter
Mavericks forward Cooper Flagg appeared to be the frontrunner for this season’s Rookie of the Year award after he scored 49 points against Charlotte on January 29 in his first NBA meeting with Kon Knueppel. However, that was no longer the case by the time the two teams faced one another again on Tuesday, writes Christian Clark of The Athletic.
Flagg’s extended absence due to a foot injury, combined with a 15-3 stretch for the Hornets, has given his former Duke teammate the upper hand back in the Rookie of the Year race. At least, that’s how Charlotte head coach Charles Lee feels.
“I don’t even think it’s close,” Lee said, per Clark. “(Knueppel) probably would be mad at me for saying something like that, because he just wants to focus on our team winning games and impacting games any way he possibly can.”
While Knueppel slightly lags behind Flagg in points (20.4 to 19.2), rebounds (6.6 to 5.5), and assists (4.1 to 3.5) per game, he has been the far more efficient scorer, with an effective field goal percentage of 61.6% compared to Flagg 51.5%. The Hornets wing has also appeared in more games (61 to 49), plays for the better team, and has been arguably the best outside shooter in the NBA — he has knocked down his three-pointers at a 43.5% clip and has made a total of 212, 15 more than second-place Tyrese Maxey.
Here’s more from around the Eastern Conference:
- With Jared McCain thriving for the Thunder, Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Substack link) and Kevin O’Connor of Yahoo Sports each revisit the Sixers‘ surprising decision to trade the second-year guard at last month’s deadline, exploring whether Philadelphia’s front office was really “selling high” like president of basketball operations Daryl Morey suggested at the time. “I don’t think he meant any harm from it,” McCain said of Morey’s “selling high” comment, per Fischer. “I just kind of take it as: That’s his job. And if he feels that’s the best decision (for the organization), then that’s his decision. But obviously I’m gonna have confidence in myself.”
- Sixers rookie guard VJ Edgecombe, who left Tuesday’s game early due to a back injury, underwent an MRI and has been diagnosed with a lumbar contusion, tweets Derek Bodner of PHLY Sports. While Edgecombe has been ruled out for Wednesday’s game vs. Utah, he’ll be reevaluated ahead of Saturday’s contest in Atlanta, per the team.
- Recently signed Magic point guard Jevon Carter, an eight-year NBA veteran, is having a positive impact on 24-year-old Jalen Suggs, writes Jason Beede of The Orlando Sentinel (subscription required). “My favorite part about (him) is, he’s held me accountable on multiple occasions,” Suggs said of his new teammate. “Just raw, uncut comms, not trying to sugarcoat, not trying to make me feel good. He’s just sharing real truth with me and I’ve appreciated that. It’s been nice having him around.”