Jazz Rule Out Jordan Clarkson For Rest Of Season
Jazz guard Jordan Clarkson has undergone a medical procedure to address plantar fasciitis in his left foot, the team announced today in a press release.
According to the Jazz, Clarkson will be sidelined for the remainder of the season as he continues to receive treatment on his injured foot. That means the veteran will miss Utah’s last nine games of 2024/25.
Clarkson only appeared in 37 total games for the Jazz this season, but the former Sixth Man of the Year provided his usual offensive spark off the bench when he was available, averaging 16.2 points, 3.7 assists, and 3.2 rebounds in 26.0 minutes per night.
Although Clarkson’s 40.8% field goal percentage represents a career low, that number dipped in part because the 32-year-old was taking more three-pointers and fewer two-pointers this season. He made 36.2% of his three-point tries, his best mark in that category since 2019/20.
A trade candidate at this season’s deadline, Clarkson ultimately remained in Utah through February 6, but he figures to be back on the trade block this summer as he enters the final year of his current contract. He’ll be in line to earn approximately $14.3MM on an expiring deal next season and could appeal to a team looking to add a scorer to its second unit.
With Clarkson unavailable for the rest of the season, there will likely be more rotation minutes available for young guards like Isaiah Collier, Keyonte George, Johnny Juzang, and KJ Martin down the stretch in Utah. Veteran wing Svi Mykhailiuk could also see some additional run.
Hoops Rumors Chat Transcript: 3/27/2025
Hoops Rumors hosted a live chat today at 12:00 pm Central time (1:00 pm Eastern).
Mavs’ Irving Undergoes ACL Surgery, Pelicans’ Murphy Gets Shoulder Surgery
Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving underwent successful surgery on Wednesday to repair the ACL tear in his left knee, the team announced on its website.
The procedure had been expected since Irving was diagnosed with a torn ACL on March 4 after sustaining that knee injury one day earlier. Typically, ACL surgery is delayed by a few weeks in order to allow the swelling and inflammation in the player’s knee to subside to some extent.
The Mavericks’ announcement doesn’t provide a specific recovery timeline for Irving, simply stating that updates on his status will be provided as appropriate. However, the start of the NBA’s 2025/26 season is less than seven months away and the recovery period for this sort of surgery typically extends beyond that, so it seems relatively safe to assume the star guard won’t be ready for opening night in the fall.
Irving, who turned 33 on Sunday, holds a player option worth nearly $43MM for the 2025/26 season. If the Mavs are interested in working out a longer-term deal while he recovers from his knee surgery, he’ll have multiple contract options, including declining that option to sign a new contract or exercising the option and extending off of it.
Meanwhile, elsewhere in the Southwest Division, the Pelicans announced in a press release that wing Trey Murphy also went under the knife on Wednesday in order to repair the torn labrum in his right shoulder.
Murphy sustained his injury, which included a partial tear of his rotator cuff, on March 17, ending his season. He becomes the second Pelicans starter to undergo shoulder surgery already this year, joining teammate Herbert Jones.
According to the Pelicans’ release, Murphy is expected to make a full recovery following his surgery. But the team doesn’t specify whether or not he’ll be available for the start of the 2025/26 season, stating – like the Mavs with Irving – that further details will be “appropriately provided.”
As we wrote last week, Pelicans guard Dejounte Murray‘s recovery from an Achilles tear is expected to extend well into ’25/26 and it remains possible that Murphy and/or Jones will also have their season debuts delayed next fall. While it’s too early to pinpoint a return date for either player at this point, it will be worth keeping an eye out for any updates on their respective rehab processes this spring and summer.
Murphy, coming off a breakout year in which he averaged 21.1 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 3.5 assists per game on .454/.361/.887 shooting, signed a four-year, $112MM rookie scale extension last fall. That contract will go into effect this July.
And-Ones: Award Races, Summer Flight Risks, BRI, RFAs
As we relayed on Wednesday, Warriors forward Draymond Green took over this week as the new betting favorite for Defensive Player of the Year honors, surpassing Cavaliers big man Evan Mobley.
Mobley’s teammates and head coach disagree that Green should be considered the frontrunner and Zach Harper of The Athletic sides with the Cavs’ contingent, placing Mobley ahead of Green (and Hawks guard Dyson Daniels) on his hypothetical ballot in his latest look at this season’s award races.
With just over two weeks left in the 2024/25 season, Harper currently has Shai Gilgeous-Alexander ahead of Nikola Jokic in the MVP race, Stephon Castle ahead of Jaylen Wells for Rookie of the Year, Payton Pritchard ahead of Malik Beasley for Sixth Man of the Year, Kenny Atkinson over J.B. Bickerstaff for Coach of the Year, and Cade Cunningham over Mobley for Most Improved Player.
Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:
- Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report runs through all 30 NBA teams and predicts their most likely flight risk in 2025 free agency. In some cases – like Seth Curry in Charlotte or Dalano Banton in Portland – the player in question has a relatively modest role, but others – such as Ty Jerome in Cleveland or Russell Westbrook in Denver – have been important contributors. Of course, a handful of clubs have stars or high-level starters to worry about, including Indiana with Myles Turner and the Clippers with James Harden.
- In a free article for his Substack, Pincus shares some highlights from the NBA’s recent memo to teams, including the fact that players – who have 10% of their salaries put into escrow each season – are only on track to get a very small percentage of that money back in order to balance the basketball-related income split between players and teams. In other words, Pincus writes, a player with a $10MM cap hit for 2024/25, is only projected to actually earn about $9.1MM.
- What sort of contracts will this season’s restricted free agents sign? Keith Smith of Spotrac digs into that question, making predictions ranging from nine-figure deals for Bulls guard Josh Giddey, Warriors forward Jonathan Kuminga, and Sixers wing Quentin Grimes to minimum-salary contracts (and no qualifying offers) for players like Pacers center Isaiah Jackson and Nets wing Ziaire Williams.
Draft Notes: Stirtz, Byrd, Big Boards, Early Entrants
After starring at Drake as a junior, guard Bennett Stirtz intends to follow head coach Ben McCollum from the Bulldogs to the Hawkeyes by transferring to Iowa for next season, Tyler Tachman of the Des Moines Register confirms. While the plan is for him to make the move to Iowa, Stirtz will also test the NBA draft waters this spring, he told Tachman.
Stirtz averaged 19.2 points, 5.7 assists, 4.3 rebounds, and 2.1 steals per game with a .498/.395/.794 shooting line in 2024/25 and led Drake to a first-round victory over Missouri in the NCAA Tournament last week. He’s currently the No. 35 prospect on ESPN’s big board, suggesting he’d have a good chance to get drafted if he decides to go pro this year.
ESPN’s No. 50 prospect, San Diego State guard Miles Byrd, is also declaring for the 2025 draft while maintaining his college eligibility, he announced on Instagram. Byrd became a full-time starter as a redshirt sophomore this season and put up 12.3 PPG, 4.4 RPG, 2.7 APG, and 2.1 SPG in 30 outings.
Byrd has flashed impressive defensive tools but has struggled to score efficiently, making just 38.1% of his shots from the floor this season, including 30.1% of his three-pointers. He had just four points and committed three turnovers in the Aztecs’ First Four loss to UNC last week.
Here are a few more draft-related notes:
- Ahead of the NCAA’s Sweet 16 round, Jonathan Givony and Jeremy Woo of ESPN.com (Insider link) have updated their list of 2025’s top 100 prospects and checked in on whose stock is on the rise (including Stirtz) and whose stock has dipped a little (including Byrd).
- After making the move this past year from The Ringer to Yahoo Sports, Kevin O’Connor has a new-look version of his annual big board and mock draft up for his new employer. After No. 1 prospect Cooper Flagg, O’Connor has Dylan Harper, Ace Bailey, Derik Queen, and Khaman Maluach rounding out his top five.
- The following prospects are also declaring for the 2025 NBA draft, according to various reports or announcements:
- Keyshawn Hall, G/F, UCF (junior) (Twitter link via Givony)
- Kobe Knox, G, South Florida (junior) (Twitter link via Sam Kayser of League Ready)
- Nick Pringle, F, South Carolina (senior) (Twitter link via Joe Tipton of On3 Sports)
- Marquel Sutton, F, Omaha (senior) (Twitter link via Jeff Goodman of Field of 68)
Kings Exec Wes Wilcox Named University Of Utah GM
March 26: The Utes have formally announced Wilcox as their new general manager.
March 25: The University of Utah is targeting Kings assistant general manager Wes Wilcox as the new GM of its men’s basketball program, reports Pete Thamel of ESPN.
While nothing’s official yet, Thamel says the two sides are expected to reach a deal in the near future. James Ham of The Kings Beat (Twitter link) confirms that Wilcox is expected to leave Sacramento for the Utes.
Wilcox initially joined the Kings under general manager Monte McNair in 2020 and was signed to a contract extension in 2023. Prior to his stint in Sacramento, Wilcox held front office jobs in Cleveland and Atlanta, including serving as the Hawks’ GM from 2015-17. He also worked for the Heat and Pelicans earlier in his career.
According to Thamel, if Wilcox officially joins the Utes, he would become the highest-ranking sitting NBA front office executive to accept a college front office job.
This sort of NBA-to-NCAA move is becoming increasingly common due to the ongoing professionalization of college sports, Thamel writes, adding that schools are expected to be able to pay athletes directly through revenue sharing beginning next season.
The University of Utah reached a deal earlier this month to hire Mavericks assistant Alex Jensen as the team’s new head coach. Wilcox hired Jensen as the head coach of the G League’s Canton Charge back when he worked in the Cavaliers’ front office, Thamel notes.
Southwest Notes: Wells, Rockets, Champagnie, Pelicans
Although he has fallen to fourth in the betting odds for Rookie of the Year, Grizzlies wing Jaylen Wells has “exceeded expectations” in his first NBA season, according to head coach Taylor Jenkins, who says Wells’ consistency has “blown us away,” per Mark Medina of Sportskeeda.
Fellow rookies Stephon Castle, Alex Sarr, and Zaccharie Risacher have surpassed Wells in terms of scoring and may finish ahead of him in Rookie of the Year voting. However, Jenkins insists that Wells’ all-around impact for a team positioned to make the playoffs shouldn’t be overlooked. The former Washington State standout has handled challenging defensive assignments and knocked down 35.6% of his three-pointers as a complementary option on offense.
“It’s impact on winning,” Jenkins said, according to Medina. “Obviously, we still have a lot more basketball left in the season to see where this team is going to end up. But he’s kind of entrenched himself in First Team All-Rookie for sure. Everyone is going to look at the stat lines, this, that and the other. But his opportunity, he’s playing a unique role where he’s not one of the featured guys offensively. But he’s got great offensive numbers.”
Wells, who spoke at length to Medina about his rookie season and how much he enjoys guarding the top scorers on opposing teams, said that the Rookie of the Year award is “not really something I’m striving for.”
“When you’re on a team like this that has an opportunity to win a championship like this, that’s the main goal,” Wells said. “That’s the end-of-the-season award that I’m looking forward to — a championship. If it happens while playing winning basketball, then I would love to have that (Rookie of the Year) award. But it’s not the number one goal on my list.”
We have more from around the Southwest:
- The Rockets‘ twin-tower lineup featuring Alperen Sengun and Steven Adams has been remarkably successful and could come in handy during the postseason this spring, writes Kelly Iko of The Athletic. Through 117 minutes across 17 games, lineups featuring the two centers have an outstanding +33.3 net rating and a 50.0% offensive rebounding rate. “It’s been real big for us,” forward Jabari Smith Jr. said. “I see the numbers on it are crazy. When we get a shot with that offense, it’s almost a 50 percent chance that we’re going to get a rebound, especially with me in there too — I’m crashing too. It’s a great staple. And then with the zone, you got three almost 6-(foot)-10-plus people out there. It’s tough. It’s a good wrinkle we found. I’m glad we found it.”
- Spurs forward Julian Champagnie spoke to Grant Afseth of Sportskeeda about how he’s grown in in his second full season in San Antonio, the impact that veteran leaders Chris Paul and Harrison Barnes have had on him, and what has most impressed him about teammates Victor Wembanyama and Stephon Castle, among other topics.
- Yossi Gozlan of The Third Apron (Substack link) previews the Pelicans‘ offseason, explaining why he views CJ McCollum as a stronger candidate to be extended than traded and touching on several other decisions facing the team, including whether to entertain trading Zion Williamson and whether to retain head coach Willie Green.
Lonzo Ball On Track To Return Before End Of Season
Bulls point guard Lonzo Ball has been out since February 28 due to a sprained right wrist and isn’t ready to return quite yet, but he still intends to make it back before the end of the regular season, tweets Julia Poe of The Chicago Tribune.
Ball took part in a 5-on-5 scrimmage at the Bulls’ practice on Wednesday (Twitter video link via Poe) and was “upbeat and optimistic” afterwards when he spoke to reporters, according to K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Sports Network (Twitter link).
The expectation is that Ball will need another week to get his conditioning back up to speed. Poe suggests that next Friday’s game against Portland might be a target date for his return.
Ball returned to action last fall after having been sidelined for more than two-and-a-half years due to a series of knee problems. Given how long he was away from the game, it has been a successful comeback season in 2024/25 for the 27-year-old, who has averaged 7.6 points, 3.4 rebounds, 3.3 assists, and 1.3 steals in 22.2 minutes per game across 35 outings (14 starts). The Bulls have posted a +5.5 net rating when he’s on the court, compared to a -4.8 mark when he’s not.
Although the knee injury hasn’t been a problem for Ball this season, his wrist has been a recurring issue. He missed 15 straight games in October and November due to a right wrist sprain, so this is his second extended absence this season as a result of that same injury.
According to Poe and Johnson (Twitter links), Ball has been experiencing pain during his shooting follow-through all season and doesn’t expect his wrist to be pain-free until he gets the opportunity for a longer recovery period during the offseason.
While Ball entered the season on an expiring contract, he signed an extension with Chicago last month and now has a guaranteed $10MM salary for next season, followed by a $10MM team option in 2026/27.
Sixers Sign Phillip Wheeler To 10-Day Deal
2:07 pm: Wheeler’s 10-day deal with the Sixers is now official, the club announced in a press release.
1:58 pm: The Sixers intend to sign G League forward Phillip Wheeler to a 10-day contract, reports Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link).
Wheeler, who went undrafted in 2022, has spent the last few years playing in the G League and the Puerto Rican league. He has appeared in a total of 38 NBAGL games this season for the Texas Legends and Maine Celtics, averaging 15.8 points, 5.7 rebounds, 1.3 assists, and 1.0 steal in 28.2 minutes per contest, with a shooting line of .495/.365/.612.
Wheeler should have a good opportunity to make his NBA debut for a banged-up Sixers team that has awarded rotation roles to several young prospects, two-way players, and 10-day signees in recent weeks.
Chuma Okeke, who averaged 24.4 minutes per game across seven outings with Philadelphia, had his second 10-day contract with the team come to an end on Tuesday night, which will create a roster slot for Wheeler.
Technically, the 76ers have a full 15-man standard roster, but due to all their injured players, they’ve qualified for multiple hardship exceptions as of late and figure to use another one to bring Wheeler aboard. Forward Marcus Bagley is also currently on a 10-day hardship deal with Philadelphia.
Wheeler will earn $66,503 over the course of his 10-day contract and will be eligible for the Sixers’ next five games if the signing is officially completed on Wednesday.
Suns Notes: Beal, Gillespie, Allen, Plumlee
Suns guard Bradley Beal, who is dealing with a left hamstring strain, will miss his fifth consecutive game on Wednesday vs. Boston, as Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic relays (Twitter video link).
According to head coach Mike Budenholzer, who spoke to reporters on Tuesday, Beal has yet to take part in any 5-on-5 scrimmages but is doing on-court workouts and moving through the necessary steps in his recovery process: “He’s ramping up his court work. We feel like he’s making good progress. … The next few days are big. We’ll just see how he progresses each day.”
As Rankin writes for The Arizona Republic, the Suns are riding a four-game winning streak with Beal on the shelf. The team is leaning more on Kevin Durant and Devin Booker for scoring and play-making while surrounding those two stars with more defensive-minded role players.
Obviously, when he gets healthy, Beal will have a spot in the rotation, Rankin writes, but it remains to be seen what exactly that role will look like. Phoenix has been thriving with younger guards like Collin Gillespie and Ryan Dunn doing the “dirty work” next to Booker in the backcourt, so the team may ask him to slot into a similar role.
Here’s more out of Phoenix:
- The Suns have been playing a fun style of basketball during their current four-game winning streak and have finally looked like the team that got off to an 8-1 start in the fall, according to Gerald Bourguet of PHNX Sports, who considers whether Phoenix has turned a corner and whether or not it has happened too late in the season to make a difference.
- The Suns are aware that they’ll need to waive a player from their 15-man standard roster in order to promote Gillespie from his two-way contract in order to make him postseason-eligible, Budenholzer said on Tuesday. However, the Suns’ coach said the team hasn’t discussed that scenario yet (Twitter link via Rankin). Since Gillespie won’t reach his active game limit before the end of the regular season, Phoenix doesn’t need to make a roster decision for at least a couple more weeks.
- Grayson Allen returned to action on Monday vs. Milwaukee after missing six games due to a foot strain he described as “frustrating,” per Bourguet (Twitter video link). “Took me longer than I thought (to recover),” Allen said. The veteran wing contributed three points and a pair of rebounds in 12 minutes against the Bucks.
- Suns center Mason Plumlee was also available on Monday after being inactive for two games due to a left quad strain, but he didn’t see any action. Plumlee said ahead of the Bucks game that an MRI on the quad revealed a “small tear” and he was advised to sit out for seven-to-10 days to avoid making it worse (Twitter video link via Rankin).