Recap Of 2025/26 Salary Guarantee Decisions
Entering this week, there were 32 players who were signed to standard, full-season contracts but whose salaries for the 2025/26 campaign weren’t fully guaranteed.
The deadline for teams to waive those players and avoid having their full ’25/26 salaries become guaranteed was on Wednesday, January 7 at 4:00 p.m. CT.
Although their salaries won’t technically become guaranteed until January 10, those players would still receive their full-season guarantees if they’re cut today or tomorrow, since they wouldn’t clear waivers before Saturday’s guarantee deadline.
Here’s a roundup of the decisions teams made with those 32 players:
Players on standard contracts who will have their salaries guaranteed:
Each player’s salary is noted here. His cap hit is identical to his salary unless otherwise indicated.
- Terry Rozier (Heat): $26,643,031
Dean Wade (Cavaliers): $6,623,456- Bismack Biyombo (Spurs): $3,634,153 *
- Russell Westbrook (Kings): $3,634,153 *
- Thomas Bryant (Cavaliers): $3,287,409 *
- Landry Shamet (Knicks): $3,080,921 *
- Amir Coffey (Bucks): $2,874,436 *
- Javonte Green (Pistons): $2,874,436 *
- Bones Hyland (Timberwolves): $2,461,463 *
- Lindy Waters III (Spurs): $2,461,463 *
- Precious Achiuwa (Kings): $2,453,285 ^
- Justin Champagnie (Wizards): $2,349,578
- Jordan Goodwin (Suns): $2,349,578
- Vit Krejci (Hawks): $2,349,578
- Keon Ellis (Kings): $2,301,587
- Keaton Wallace (Hawks): $2,296,274
- Moussa Diabate (Hornets): $2,270,735
- Brandon Williams (Mavericks): $2,270,735
- Mouhamed Gueye (Hawks): $2,221,677
- Trayce Jackson-Davis (Warriors): $2,221,677
- Craig Porter Jr. (Cavaliers): $2,221,677
- Gui Santos (Warriors): $2,221,677
- Jordan Walsh (Celtics): $2,221,677
- Jalen Wilson (Nets): $2,221,677
- Tyrese Martin (Nets): $2,191,897
- N’Faly Dante (Hawks): $2,048,494
- Ariel Hukporti (Knicks): $1,955,377
- Isaac Jones (Pistons): $1,955,377
- Micah Potter (Pacers): $1,527,805
- Mohamed Diawara (Knicks): $1,272,870
(*) cap hit of $2,296,274
(^) cap hit of $2,111,516
Besides Rozier and Wade, whose deals already featured significant partial guarantees, each player on a non-guaranteed contract who was retained through January 7 is earning his minimum salary for the season, so the financial impact of keeping those players is relatively minor for their respective teams.
Still, open roster spots are valuable at this time of year. At least one or two of these players on this list were probably fortunate not to be let go by a club prioritizing flexibility ahead of the trade deadline. Many others have played regular rotation minutes during the first half or hold long-term value and were never candidates to be cut.
Players on standard contracts who were waived before their salaries became guaranteed:
Each player’s salary is noted here. His cap hit is identical to his salary unless otherwise indicated.
- Tony Bradley (Pacers): $1,335,225
- Mo Bamba (Raptors): $194,770
Both Bradley and Bamba were on minimum-salary contracts, but Bradley had been with Indiana since before the start of the season, while Bamba was signed by Toronto last Monday, which is why his cap hit is so much smaller than Bradley’s.
After Bradley cleared waivers on Wednesday, Bamba will do so today. The Raptors’ dead-money cap hit for Bamba would disappear if he’s claimed off waivers by a new team, but that club would have to commit to guaranteeing his salary for the rest of the season, so it’s unlikely.
There were several other players with partially or non-guaranteed salaries who were cut earlier in the regular season. That group consists of the following players, listed in the order they were waived (with their accompanying cap hits):
Jaden Springer (Pelicans): $70,732- James Wiseman (Pacers): $1,000,000
- Note: Wiseman was later re-signed to a 10-day contract that increased his overall Pacers cap hit to $1,131,970.
- Mac McClung (Pacers): $177,731
- Monte Morris (Pacers): $321,183
- Jeremiah Robinson-Earl (Pacers): $325,365
- Note: Robinson-Earl previously signed a pair of 10-day contracts that increase his overall Pacers cap hit to $589,305.
- Garrison Mathews (Pacers): $297,356
- Note: Mathews previously signed a pair of 10-day contracts that increase his overall Pacers cap hit to $561,296.
These moves didn’t go down to the wire like the others listed above, having occurred well in advance of the salary guarantee deadline.
Players on two-way contracts who were waived before their salaries became guaranteed:
Under the current Collective Bargaining Agreement, the league-wide salary guarantee date of January 10 also applies this season to players on two-way contracts. Prior to 2024, the guarantee date had been Jan. 20 for two-way salaries.
Two-way salaries are only worth half of the rookie minimum and don’t count against the salary cap, so many teams likely weren’t feeling a ton of pressure to make rest-of-season decisions on their two-way players by Wednesday. Two-way contracts can be signed until March 4, so there will be many clubs that make changes between now and then.
Still, there were seven players on two-way contracts who were waived between the start of January and Wednesday’s waiver deadline. Those players, who subsequently won’t receive their full two-way salaries this season, are as follows:
- Tosan Evbuomwan (Knicks)
- Trentyn Flowers (Bulls)
- Mark Sears (Bucks)
- Tyler Smith (Rockets)
- Malik Williams (Hawks)
There are currently three open two-way slots around the NBA, belonging to the Hawks, Bucks, and Knicks.
The full list of players who are still on two-way contracts and earned full guarantees can be found right here.
Giannis: No Plans To Leave Bucks, Asking For Trade ‘Not In My Nature’
Speaking to Sam Amick of The Athletic after Wednesday’s loss to Golden State, Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo reiterated that he’s “locked in” with the team and said he plans to remain in Milwaukee for the rest of his career.
“There will never be a chance, and there will never be a moment that I will come out and say I want a trade. That’s not … in … my … nature. OK?” Antetokounmpo said, pausing between those last few words for emphasis.
Antetokounmpo has been the subject of trade speculation since last spring, when Milwaukee was eliminated in the first round of the playoffs for a third straight year and Damian Lillard suffered a torn Achilles tendon. The Bucks made drastic changes to their roster during the offseason, including waiving Lillard and signing center Myles Turner, as they attempted to construct a supporting cast for Antetokounmpo that is capable of making a deep postseason run.
However, an October report indicated that the Bucks and Knicks had briefly discussed the possibility of an Antetokounmpo trade during the offseason after Giannis conveyed that he had some interest in New York. In December, a report stated that Antetokounmpo’s camp had reopened conversations with the Bucks about his future.
Antetokounmpo told reporters later in December that those talks with the Bucks involved agent Alex Saratsis, not him. He referred to Saratsis as “his own person” and suggested that he “can’t control” the conversations that his agent has with the club. Giannis repeated that message to Amick.
“I keep on saying (that) conversations that are happening between other people, third parties, it’s something that I can’t control,” Antetokounmpo said. “I can’t control what you’re going to say with my agent, or with my best friend, or with my chef. I can only control what comes out of my mouth. And not one time have I shown that I’m not invested in this team.
“If there was a time on the basketball court where you’ve seen that, ‘Oh, Giannis doesn’t look like he wants to be a part of this team no more,’ I want you to pinpoint that. There’s never been an interview where I’ve said that. So I don’t know why people discredit what I say. Like, even when your article will come out … people will say, ‘Yeah, but. Yeah, but.’
“… I am not (going anywhere). I am invested in this team. I want to turn this team around. I want to play good basketball. I want to be healthy. I want to help my teammates. I wanna win games. The last six games we’ve played, we’re 4-2. We have a lot of games in front of us. I’m locked the f–k in. I’m locked in. My priority is just staying healthy.”
Antetokounmpo’s statements to Amick represent his most emphatic commitment to the Bucks in recent months and suggest that teams waiting to see if he’ll request a trade before the February 5 trade deadline probably shouldn’t hold their breath. Still, his comments weren’t entirely unequivocal.
Asked by Amick if he has definitively decided that he doesn’t want out of Milwaukee, Giannis replied, “As of today. You know how they say this thing about your significant other, or your wife, you always have to say, ‘As of today.'”
When Amick pointed out that remarks like that are the reason why fans believe he’s “leaving an out” to change his mind about his future with the Bucks, Antetokounmpo said that doesn’t bother him.
“I don’t care. I really don’t. It doesn’t affect me at all,” he said. “What I care about is basketball. I want to be good at what I do. And there’s some things that I have to do, which I will do on the basketball court.
“But until today, my guy (Bucks director of content) Nick (Monroe) has been with me for 13 years, and it’s been great. Tomorrow, when I wake up, it may not be great. Today, our relationship is great. Tomorrow it might be different. It’s the same thing with my wife. Until today, my wife is great. She’s a great mother. She’s a great partner. She supports me. Until today. Tomorrow, she might wake up and be like, ‘I don’t want this. I fell out of love.’
“Until today, me and (Bucks general manager) Jon (Horst) have a good relationship. Tomorrow, (Horst) might think there’s something else out there, and he might have to do whatever he has to do.
“You know, for me, right now, today, I am committed — not 100 percent, but one million percent to my teammates, to my craft, to this team, and to this city. One million percent. I don’t look right. I don’t look left. I look only to the next game, which is the Lakers, and I want to win the game. I want us to stack wins before the All-Star game to get ourselves back to the race. We’re what, 11th now? This is not who we are, you know? So that’s the only thing in my mindset.”
While the Bucks are 16-21 on the season and remain one game back of the Bulls for the final play-in spot in the Eastern Conference, they have a 13-10 mark when Antetokounmpo has been on the court. He has performed at his usual MVP-caliber level in those games, averaging 29.5 points, 10.0 rebounds, and 5.5 assists in 29.0 minutes per contest, with a .645/.406/.655 shooting line.
Antetokounmpo is making $54.1MM this season and is owed $58.5MM in 2026/27, with a $62.8MM player option for ’27/28. He’ll be eligible for a contract extension beginning in October.
Trae Young Trade Notes: Possible Extension, Trade Bonus, TPE, More
Once the trade sending Trae Young to Washington is officially complete, the Wizards and their new starting point guard will be open to exploring a potential contract extension, but it won’t be “top of mind,” reports ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne (Twitter link).
As Shelburne explains, both the Wizards and Young may take the opportunity to evaluate the situation and the fit before making a decision on their long-term future together. That process could extend to the 2026/27 season, since Young holds a $49MM player option that he could pick up if he doesn’t sign an extension and doesn’t want to test the free agent market.
If Young were to sign an extension with the Wizards in the coming months, it would require him to turn down his option and replace it with a new deal starting in ’26/27. An agreement between the two sides could tack on a maximum of three years to the current season.
If Young picks up his option in June, he would be eligible during the offseason to sign an extension that begins in ’27/28 and adds up to four new seasons to his option year.
Here’s much more on the first trade of the 2025/26 NBA season:
- Young’s contract includes a 15% trade kicker, and there has been no indication that he won’t receive his bonus as part of the trade. However, trade bonuses don’t apply to option years and can’t increase a player’s salary beyond his maximum for that year. Young currently has a $45,999,660 cap hit for this season and his maximum salary would be $46,394,100, so if he receives his full bonus, he’ll get a $394,440 bump.
- The Hawks are sending out more salary than they’re taking back in the deal and will generate a small traded player exception as a result. That exception will be worth $1,357,994.
- Having cleared Young’s salary from their books for next season, the Hawks are considered likely to remain in pursuit of Mavericks big man Anthony Davis, ESPN’s Shams Charania said on Wednesday evening during an appearance on NBA Countdown (Twitter video link). As John Hollinger of The Athletic observes, CJ McCollum and Corey Kispert can’t have their salaries aggregated in a second trade prior to the February 5 deadline, so any Atlanta package for Davis ($54.1MM) would have to start with the expiring contracts of Kristaps Porzingis ($30.7MM) and Luke Kennard ($11MM), and it may have to include Zaccharie Risacher ($13.2MM) too.
- The Wizards will open up a roster spot once the trade is complete, and Keith Smith of Spotrac (Twitter link) suggests it could be used to promote two-way player Tristan Vukcevic to a standard multiyear contract. Washington may wait on that until after the trade deadline, since Vukcevic won’t hit his 50-game limit for another month or so, and maintaining roster flexibility could help the team accommodate another deadline deal.
- Kevin Pelton of ESPN thinks the trade could be a win-win for the Wizards and Hawks, giving both teams a grade of B for the deal. Zach Harper of The Athletic is far less bullish on the move from Atlanta’s perspective, assigning the Hawks a D-plus grade while giving Washington an A.
- McCollum told Chris Haynes of NBA on Prime (Twitter link) that he “loved” his brief time in D.C. but is looking forward to joining the Hawks. “(The Wizards’) organization was great to my family and I,” McCollum said. “(Executives) Michael Winger and Will (Dawkins) did everything they said they would and kept their word from the very beginning. Love the city and they’re doing things the right way over there. Excited to get to the A and get to work. Very familiar with their style of play. Love the ownership group and front office. Good group of players.”
Hawks Have Interest In Corey Kispert
The Hawks have interest in Wizards wing Corey Kispert, according to NBA insider Marc Stein, who reports (via Twitter) that if the two teams make a trade involving Trae Young, Atlanta hopes to acquire Kispert in the deal.
Known as a sharpshooter, Kispert has been limited to 19 games so far this season due to thumb and hamstring injuries. When healthy, he has averaged 9.2 points, 2.3 rebounds, and 1.7 assists in 19.5 minutes per contest, with a .496/.395/.765 shooting line.
The Wizards are operating far below the luxury tax line and are in position to take on some salary in a trade, but in order to match Young’s $46MM cap hit, they would have to send out more than CJ McCollum and his $30.7MM expiring contract in order to make the trade legal. Washington could get there by including other expiring deals, starting with Malaki Branham and his $5MM salary, but Kispert ($14MM) would also do the trick.
Notably, Kispert is in the first season of a four-year, $54MM rookie scale extension that is fully guaranteed for two more seasons beyond this one, so if the Hawks were to acquire him in a deal for Young, it would cut into their cap flexibility going forward. Still, Atlanta would be adding a solid role player on the wing while still creating significant savings by removing Young’s $49MM player option for 2026/27 from its books.
Although Washington is said to be Young’s preferred landing spot, the Hawks still have four weeks to see if any other viable suitors emerge for the veteran point guard, so a deal between the two Southeast teams may not be imminent. The Wizards and Hawks would also need to figure out what the draft compensation would look like, which might not be simple.
Still, Stein says (via Twitter) that if the teams do eventually make a trade involving Young, the players going from Washington to Atlanta appear increasingly likely to be McCollum and Kispert.
Interestingly, Kispert has been ruled out for Wednesday’s game in Philadelphia due to left hamstring injury management. Kispert has missed six of Washington’s past seven contests due to that hamstring issue, but wasn’t listed on today’s injury report at all until the 6:00 pm Eastern time update. McCollum will also miss his first game of the season tonight due to right quad soreness.
Heat Guarantee Terry Rozier’s Contract
The Heat decided against waiving guard Terry Rozier on Wednesday, per Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press (Twitter link), which means his full cap hit for the 2025/26 season is now guaranteed.
Rozier’s $26,643,031 salary had been partially guaranteed for $24,924,126, so Miami could have realized just over $1.7MM in cap savings by waiving him. That would’ve opened up a second spot on the Heat’s 15-man roster and given the team the ability to add two players on standard contracts without surpassing the luxury tax line.
However, despite the fact that Rozier has been inactive since being arrested on federal gambling charges and was placed on leave by the league in October, the Heat determined it made more sense to keep him on the roster.
That decision suggests the team wants to maintain the ability to include his expiring contract in a trade for salary-matching purposes. The NBA reportedly hasn’t confirmed one way or the other whether Miami would be permitted to do so, but the team is said to be “confident” that the league wouldn’t block a deal that includes Rozier’s contract.
[RELATED: Attorneys For Terry Rozier Seek Dismissal Of Federal Charges]
While Rozier’s cap hit is now guaranteed, his salary is still being withheld by the NBA in an escrow-type interest-bearing account while he remains on leave. That decision is being fought by the Players Association, with a ruling on the grievance anticipated this month.
Rozier had plenty of company among the players with non-guaranteed salaries who held onto their roster spots today. According to ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Twitter link), not a single player on a standard non-guaranteed contract was placed on waivers on Wednesday, ahead of the salary guarantee deadline.
Three two-way players were cut today: Mark Sears of the Bucks, Malik Williams of the Hawks, and Tosan Evbuomwan of the Knicks.
Bucks Waive Mark Sears
The Bucks waived guard Mark Sears on Wednesday, according to NBA.com’s official transaction log. The move ensures that Milwaukee won’t be on the hook for Sears’ full salary, having cut him prior to the league-wide salary guarantee date.
Sears, a college star at Alabama, reached an agreement with the Bucks on a two-way deal shortly after going undrafted in June and finalized that agreement in July.
The six-foot guard remained on that two-way contract for the first half of this season but didn’t have a regular role in the Bucks’ rotation, logging a total of 26 minutes in seven NBA appearances. He racked up 22 points in those 26 minutes, but was playing almost exclusively in garbage time.
In 12 games for the Wisconsin Herd at the G League level, Sears averaged 16.2 points, 5.4 assists, and 2.8 assists in 31.0 minutes per contest, posting a shooting line of .422/.328/.839.
The Bucks are now one of three NBA teams with a two-way contract slot open, joining the Hawks and Knicks.
Knicks Waive Tosan Evbuomwan
4:06 pm: The Knicks have officially waived Evbuomwan, the team confirmed (Twitter link).
9:10 am: The Knicks intend to waive forward Tosan Evbuomwan, according to Ian Begley of SNY.tv (Twitter link). Evbuomwan is on a two-way contract with New York and will be cut before his salary becomes fully guaranteed.
A former Ivy League Player of the Year at Princeton, Evbuomwan went undrafted in 2023 and has spent the two-and-a-half seasons since then bouncing back and forth between the NBA and G League.
The 6’8″ forward signed 10-day contracts with the Grizzlies and Pistons as a rookie before finishing that season on a two-way deal with Detroit, then spent the majority of his second season on a two-way deal with Brooklyn. Evbuomwan was waived by the Nets this past August and signed a new two-way contract with the Knicks in September.
While Evbuomwan has made 50 total appearances at the NBA level, only five of them have come since he joined the Knicks, and he logged just eight minutes of garbage-time action in those five outings for New York. The 24-year-old did make 12 appearances this season for the Westchester Knicks in the G League, averaging 17.7 points, 6.6 rebounds, 3.9 assists, and 1.3 steals in 35.6 minutes per game, with a shooting line of .427/.263/.729.
Although Evbuomwan will only receive a prorated portion of his $636,435 salary, he earned a bonus worth $265,467 when the Knicks won the NBA Cup last month, which will nearly make up the difference.
Evbuomwan will become a free agent on Friday if he goes unclaimed on waivers, while the Knicks will open up a two-way contract slot on their roster alongside wing Kevin McCullar Jr. and center Trey Jemison.
Siegel’s Latest: Sabonis, Raptors, Bucks, Warriors, Nets, White, Lakers
After buying low on Brandon Ingram at last season’s trade deadline, could the Raptors seek out a similar move this February? According to Brett Siegel of ClutchPoints, Kings center Domantas Sabonis is one name that has been continually linked to Toronto. The Raptors’ interest in Sabonis was first reported in December by Jake Fischer and has since been corroborated by several other outlets.
Malik Monk is another player who has intrigued Toronto in the past, Siegel writes, noting that Kings general manager Scott Perry drafted current Raptors veterans RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley when he was in New York’s front office. While there’s no indication that the two teams have seriously discussed such a deal involving those four players, Siegel suggests that sort of framework could be worth keeping an eye on.
If Toronto does end up moving Barrett in that sort of bigger move, he’d likely draw interest from several teams besides Sacramento, Siegel writes, given the lack of high-level wing talent on the trade market. The Bucks, for example, expressed interest in Barrett last season, per Siegel.
Here’s more from Siegel’s latest NBA rumor round-up:
- The Warriors have internally discussed many possible center trade targets, including Myles Turner and Bobby Portis of the Bucks, per Siegel. A number of teams around the NBA are curious about Milwaukee’s plans for Portis, Siegel continues, with the Hornets and Suns also considered possible suitors, perhaps in multi-team scenarios.
- Suns guard Jalen Green is among the players the Bucks have inquired on, but Phoenix isn’t interested in moving him at this point, says Siegel. Given that Green has only played two games this season due to hamstring issues, the Suns view him as a sort of trade-deadline addition themselves, Siegel explains.
- Although the Nets are fielding inquiries on players like Michael Porter Jr. and Nic Claxton, they aren’t actively looking to move them. In order for Brooklyn to consider a deal involving either player, the starting point for a package would have to be a “true” unprotected first-round pick, Siegel writes.
- The Mavericks and the Clippers are among the teams with interest in Bulls guard Coby White, sources tell Siegel, who reiterates that the Timberwolves also remain interested and notes that some league insiders have speculated that the Hawks could be a destination for White in the event of a Trae Young trade.
- With higher-level options like Herbert Jones potentially out of reach, players like Bulls forward Isaac Okoro, Kings guard Keon Ellis, and Nets wing Haywood Highsmith are considered more realistic possibilities for a Lakers team seeking defensive help, according to Siegel. Mavericks forward Naji Marshall is another possible trade candidate to add to that group if Dallas commits to becoming a seller.
Wizards Reportedly Trae Young’s Preferred Landing Spot
The Wizards are the top team on Trae Young‘s list of preferred destinations, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania, who stated during an appearance on NBA Today (Twitter video link) that the Hawks have gained some traction in their trade talks with Washington.
NBA insider Marc Stein was the first to report earlier this week that the Wizards and Hawks had engaged in negotiations about a possible trade that would send Young to Washington and veteran guard CJ McCollum to Atlanta.
Subsequent reporting has suggested that the Hawks are willing to be patient as they gauge Young’s trade market and that the two Southeast rivals still have work to do to figure out what the rest of a deal would look like — Washington is reportedly seeking draft compensation from Atlanta and is said to be reluctant to part with the sort of young talent the Hawks would want along with McCollum.
While other teams are reportedly monitoring Young’s situation, the Wizards are the only club confirmed to be a viable suitor so far, so the fact that the 27-year-old would be on board with a move to D.C. bodes well for a potential deal.
Although Washington isn’t exactly a title contender, the rebuilding team has played better as of late, with five wins in its past seven games, and its young core could benefit from the addition of an elite play-maker like Young, despite concerns about his defense.
Additionally, the Wizards have no significant multiyear contracts on their cap, meaning they’re well positioned to accommodate Young’s $49MM player option for 2026/27 — or a potential contract extension that replaces that option, which is presumably the outcome the four-time All-Star and his camp are hoping for.
As Charania notes, Young also has a connection to Wizards senior vice president of player personnel Travis Schlenk, who drafted the former Oklahoma Sooners star when he was the general manager of the Hawks.
Young is currently on the shelf due to a right quad contusion and will miss a sixth consecutive game on Wednesday when the Hawks host the Pelicans.
Injury Notes: Oubre, Watford, Vincent, LeBron, Wemby, Harden, More
The Sixers are expected to get a pair of forwards back from injuries on Wednesday vs. Washington, having upgraded Kelly Oubre Jr. and Trendon Watford to probable after they participated in today’s shootaround, tweets Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer.
Oubre has been out since November 14 due to a left knee sprain, while Watford – who has been recovering from a left adductor strain – last played on November 25.
Both Sixers vets had been playing some of the best basketball of their careers before going down with injuries. Oubre started all 12 games he played in the fall and scored 16.8 points per game with a career-high 49.7% field goal percentage. Watford averaged 8.9 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 3.6 assists in 20.4 minutes per game with a .534/.389/.800 shooting line in 14 appearances (four starts).
Here are more injury updates from across the NBA:
- Lakers guard Gabe Vincent (lumbar back strain) is no longer on the injury report and appears on track to play on Wednesday vs. San Antonio after missing the past nine games, per Dan Woike of The Athletic (Twitter link). Vincent last suited up on December 14.
- Lakers forward LeBron James (left foot joint arthritis and right sciatica) and Spurs big man Victor Wembanyama (left knee bone bruise) are both listed as questionable to play on Wednesday. Wembanyama returned from a two-game absence on Tuesday vs. Memphis and seemed fine after the game, according to Michael C. Wright of ESPN, who says (via Twitter) that the plan is to have Wembanyama play vs. Los Angeles if he feels up to it.
- Clippers guard James Harden, who sat out on Monday due to shoulder stiffness, is probable to return on Wednesday vs. the Knicks, who will still be without Josh Hart (right ankle sprain), tweets James L. Edwards III of The Athletic. Hart has missed New York’s past six games, four of which were losses.
- Magic guard Jalen Suggs, who has been out for two games with a right knee MCL contusion, hasn’t progressed to contact or on-court work yet, head coach Jamahl Mosley said on Tuesday (Twitter link via Jason Beede of The Orlando Sentinel). “Just slowly seeing how he responds to the treatment that he does day-to-day,” Mosley said.
- While there’s still no word on a potential timeline or target date for his return, Kyrie Irving traveled with the Mavericks to Sacramento this week and completed a workout with assistant coach Phil Handy following the team’s shootaround on Tuesday, writes Grant Afseth of The Dallas Hoops Journal. Irving’s presence on the three-game road trip is a sign of progress, according to Afseth, who adds that forward P.J. Washington is considered day-to-day after sitting out Saturday’s game with a right ankle sprain.