Heat’s Pelle Larsson Out 1-2 Weeks With Ankle Sprain
The Heat are expecting to be without swingman Pelle Larsson for the next week or two, according to Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press (Twitter link).
Larsson underwent an MRI on Wednesday after injuring his left ankle on Tuesday, per Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel (Twitter link). While that MRI confirmed that Larsson suffered a sprain, it was far from a worst-case outcome. The injury will likely cost the former second-rounder no more than a handful of games, with his return timeline depending on how the ankle responds to treatment, Winderman notes.
Larsson, 24, has played an increased role for Miami in his second NBA season, averaging 8.7 points, 3.2 assists, and 2.5 rebounds in 21.9 minutes per game across 24 contests (16 starts).
While Larsson was a starter for most of November, he has seen his minutes cut back in games when both Tyler Herro and Norman Powell have been active.
As long as Herro and Powell stay healthy, the Heat’s rotation shouldn’t be significantly impacted by Larsson’s absence, but Simone Fontecchio and Keshad Johnson are among the candidates for additional minutes if either of those players misses any time before Larsson returns.
Having been eliminated from the NBA Cup on Tuesday, the Heat will play just once in the next week (on Monday vs. Toronto) before heading to Brooklyn and Boston for a back-to-back set next Thursday and Friday, so Larsson may not end up missing many games.
Pacers Among Teams Eyeing Ivica Zubac
The Pacers are among the teams expected to pursue Ivica Zubac this season, according to Brett Siegel of ClutchPoints, who hears from sources that Indiana recently made a call to the Clippers to inquire about the veteran center.
After losing Myles Turner in free agency to the division-rival Bucks over the summer, the Pacers are deploying Isaiah Jackson, Jay Huff, and Tony Bradley in the middle this season while keeping an eye out for a potential long-term answer at the position, as ESPN’s Shams Charania reported on Tuesday.
Another Tuesday report, from NBA insider Jake Fischer, suggested that Mavericks big man Daniel Gafford is among the potential targets the Pacers have considered.
Both Gafford and Zubac are under team control for multiple seasons beyond this one, at a rate of about $18-20MM annually. That contract structure likely appeals to the Pacers, who are already carrying two maximum-salary players – Tyrese Haliburton and Pascal Siakam – and were paying Turner just under $20MM in the last year of his contract in 2024/25.
Indiana controls all of its own first-round picks and has some potential trade candidates on its roster that could be used to match Zubac’s $18.1MM cap hit, including Obi Toppin ($14MM), Bennedict Mathurin ($9.2MM), and Jarace Walker ($6.7MM), so the club could put together a viable package.
Whether the Clippers will actually be willing to entertain the idea of trading Zubac, who made the All-Defensive second team and finished second in Most Improved Player voting, remains to be seen. Fischer wrote on Tuesday that L.A. doesn’t seem inclined to part with the 28-year-old big man, while Siegel himself acknowledged last week that there are “mixed signals” about whether or not the Clippers would be open to the possibility of a Zubac trade.
In his latest article, Siegel says rival executives believe the Clippers, who are off to a 6-18 start this season, would at least have a conversation about Zubac if multiple first-round picks were on the table for him.
Bucks Notes: Turner, Porter, Green, Giannis
After dropping 10 of their last 12 games, the Bucks have had four full days off prior to Thursday’s game vs. Boston to reset and to evaluate how to reenter the Eastern Conference playoff picture without Giannis Antetokounmpo available. According to Eric Nehm of The Athletic, veteran center Myles Turner stressed on Tuesday that it’s far from being a lost season in Milwaukee.
“We are only five-and-a-half games away from the third seed, so I don’t think it’s time to panic personally; I think it’s time to be aware,” Turner said. “I think being aware and panicking are two very different things. Just aware that we’re not where we want to be, but we’re also not far away.
“With the group we have right now, I think that we’re very capable of making an extra push. But we can talk about it all we want to; it’s a matter of going out there and getting it done.”
As Nehm writes, figuring out how to get more out of Turner, whose average of 12.6 points per game is his lowest mark in five years, will be crucial if the Bucks hope to stay afloat while Antetokounmpo recovers from a calf strain. Nehm also points to forward Kyle Kuzma and guards Kevin Porter Jr. and Ryan Rollins as key figures during Giannis’ injury absence, noting that it would be a boon for Milwaukee if Porter (27.0 PPG on .581./615/.870 shooting in his past four games) can stay hot for a little longer.
Here’s more on the Bucks:
- While Antetokounmpo’s return is still a ways off, the Bucks could get some reinforcements on Thursday in the form of sharpshooter A.J. Green. Although Green didn’t take part in Tuesday’s practice, head coach Doc Rivers told reporters – including Nehm (Twitter link) – that the 26-year-old could play against Boston after missing Saturday’s game due to a shoulder injury.
- With trade speculation once again swirling around Antetokounmpo, the two-time MVP met with several teammates to address those rumors and to encourage them to focus on basketball rather than being distracted by outside noise, Chris Haynes said during an appearance on NBA TV (Twitter video link).
- In a Substack article open to non-subscribers, Yossi Gozlan of The Third Apron explores the difficult spot the Bucks find themselves in. As Gozlan details, given that they’ve traded away so many of their future draft picks and have a big chunk of dead money on their cap for the next several years, the Bucks would be under significant pressure to maximize their return in an Antetokounmpo trade if they pivot to a rebuild. Even if they extract a strong package for Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee’s front office would have its work cut out for it in the post-Giannis era, Gozlan writes.
Mavs’ Dereck Lively To Undergo Season-Ending Foot Surgery
Dereck Lively II will undergo a procedure to address ongoing discomfort in his right foot, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania and Tim MacMahon, who report (via Twitter) that the Mavericks center will miss the rest of the season as a result of the surgery.
The Mavericks have officially confirmed the news, announcing (via Twitter) that Lively is expected to make a full recovery and be ready for training camp next fall.
It’s a brutal blow for the Mavs and especially for Lively, whose right foot has been an issue since he sustained a fracture in the foot/ankle area last January. That injury sidelined him for over two months and required him to undergo surgery in July in the hopes of fixing the issue.
Although the 21-year-old was cleared to return for opening night, he continued to be plagued by health problems, missing a nine-game stretch in October and November due to a right knee sprain, then battling nagging discomfort in his right foot. Reporting late last month indicated that the Mavs were concerned Lively would require an extended absence, with word breaking last week that he was consulting with multiple doctors about potential next steps.
According to MacMahon (Twitter link), Lively sought second and third opinions on his foot injury in the hopes of avoiding another surgery, but it was ultimately determined that another procedure would be necessary.
Injuries have been a recurring problem for Lively since he entered the NBA as the 12th overall pick in the 2023 draft. He has made only 98 regular season appearances since then, including seven in 2025/26, and has played just 2,242 total regular season minutes — as a point of comparison, 51 NBA players exceeded that total in ’24/25 alone.
When healthy, Lively has been a positive contributor, performing well enough to be viewed as Dallas’ long-term starting center. The former Duke standout has averaged 8.4 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 1.5 blocks in 22.9 minutes per contest while shooting 72.5% from the floor. He also averaged 22.0 MPG off the bench during the Mavs’ run to the 2024 NBA Finals, contributing 7.9 PPG and 7.4 RPG across 21 postseason outings.
With Lively ruled out for the season, the Mavs will lean on Anthony Davis and Daniel Gafford in their frontcourt, though both players are considered possible trade candidates. Veteran big man Dwight Powell and two-way player Moussa Cisse are available off the bench to provide depth in the middle, with forward P.J. Washington a candidate to play some small-ball center if needed.
Lively, meanwhile, will become eligible for a rookie scale extension during the 2026 offseason, before he plays his next game. If he and the Mavericks don’t come to terms on a new deal prior to the start of the ’26/27 season, he would be on track for restricted free agency in 2027.
Dallas will likely apply for a disabled player exception in response to Lively’s injury, but it would be worth just $2,626,680 (half of Lively’s $5,253,360 salary) and wouldn’t give the team the ability to surpass its second-apron hard cap. The Mavs are currently operating roughly $1.29MM below that hard cap.
And-Ones: Front Offices, I. Mobley, NBA Europe, Quaintance
The Thunder are coming off a championship and are just the third team in NBA history to open a season with at least 23 wins in their first 24 games, so it comes as no surprise that general manager Sam Presti came out on top in The Athletic’s annual poll on the league’s best front offices.
A group of The Athletic’s NBA writers asked 36 executives around the NBA to rank their top five front offices, and Oklahoma City received an overwhelming 31 first-place votes.
The rest of the top five wasn’t simply made up of the teams at the top of the NBA’s standings. Brad Stevens and the Celtics placed second, followed by Rafael Stone and the Rockets at No. 3, Pat Riley and the Heat fourth, and Kevin Pritchard and the Pacers rounding out the top five. Each of those front offices received at least one first-place vote.
The Cavaliers, Timberwolves, Knicks, Spurs, and Warriors finished in the top 10, with another 15 teams cited at least once, either as a top-five front office or as a group considered to be “on the rise” and earning an honorable mention. According to The Athletic, the five clubs not to be mentioned at all were the Mavericks, Kings, Pelicans, Suns, and Bulls.
Here are more odds and ends from around the basketball world:
- Isaiah Mobley, the older brother of reigning NBA Defensive Player of the Year Evan Mobley, is in the process of finalizing an agreement with Hapoel Jerusalem, sources tell Donatas Urbonas of BasketNews.com (Twitter link). Mobley, a 2022 second-round pick who spent parts of three seasons in the NBA with Cleveland and Philadelphia from 2022-25, has been playing this fall with Manisa Basket in Turkey.
- The fall of 2027 continues to be viewed as a “realistic target” for the launch of the NBA’s European league, according to FIBA secretary general Andreas Zagklis. Joe Vardon of The Athletic passes along some of the other comments Zagklis made about the prospective league during a news conference on Tuesday, including the fact that the goal is to give more teams across Europe a pathway to qualifying for the NBA’s league than can currently qualify for the EuroLeague.
- Kentucky’s Jayden Quaintance has cracked the top five in the latest 2026 NBA mock draft from Jonathan Wasserman of Bleacher Report, behind the usual suspects at the top. The 6’10” sophomore forward is making his way back from an ACL tear he sustained while playing for Arizona State last season.
Western Notes: Powell, Beringer, Two-Ways, Booker, Suns
Mavericks minority owner Mark Cuban shot down a report indicating that big man Dwight Powell will likely retire at the end of this season, tweeting that it’s “not true.”
Powell, 34, no longer plays a significant role in Dallas, but has been with the Mavericks for over a decade and has appeared in 20 of the club’s 25 games so far this season, averaging 10.9 minutes per night.
Powell is on a $4MM expiring contract in 2025/26, so if he does intend to extend his career beyond this season, he’ll need to sign a new deal. In all likelihood, he’ll be a minimum-salary player going forward.
We have more from around the Western Conference:
- The Timberwolves assigned rookie center Joan Beringer to the G League for the first time this season on Tuesday, per the team (Twitter link). Beringer has played limited minutes at the NBA level so far this fall, so he’ll get an opportunity to take on a more significant role for the Iowa Wolves when they face the Motor City Cruise this Friday.
- Two-way contracts recently signed by LJ Cryer (Warriors), Malevy Leons (Warriors), and Tyler Smith (Rockets) are all for two years, Hoops Rumors has learned. That means Golden State and Houston will have the option of retaining those players on their two-way deals through the 2026/27 season. However, it’s somewhat rare for a player to play out a full two-year, two-way contract, as most are either promoted or waived before the deal expires.
- After Suns head coach Jordan Ott indicated over the weekend that Devin Booker has a chance to return to action on Wednesday from his groin injury, the team officially upgraded the star guard to questionable for its NBA Cup showdown with Oklahoma City, tweets Justin Martinez of The Oklahoman.
- ESPN’s Baxter Holmes shares the latest details on the legal battle between Suns owner Mat Ishbia and a pair of minority shareholders, Scott Seldin and Andy Kohlberg. While attorneys for Seldin and Kohlberg are taking aim at Ishbia’s majority control of the franchise, a spokesperson for Ishbia dismissed the claims in the lawsuit as “ridiculous,” according to Holmes. “Unwilling to take responsibility and invest in the team, these guys are resorting to threats and publicity stunts to get Mat to buy them out just so they make more money,” that spokesperson said.
Spurs Notes: Harper, Fox, Castle, Wembanyama
No. 2 overall pick Dylan Harper helped lead the Spurs to a victory over New Orleans on Monday with a 22-point, six-assist outing, proving that he can be successful in his role even when De’Aaron Fox and Stephon Castle are both available. Still, as Jeff McDonald of The San Antonio Express-News (subscription required) writes, it was evident with all three of those guards were healthy and active for the first time this season that there are still some kinks to work out in the backcourt.
While Harper thrived, Castle showed some rust in his first game back from a hip injury, making just 5-of-15 shots and turning the ball over three times in 23 minutes. Meanwhile, McDonald suggests that Fox seemed “unsure of when to assert himself” — the former All-Star scored just 14 points on 4-of-11 shooting and committed four turnovers.
Still, the trio of Harper, Castle, and Fox combined for 54 points and 18 assists in a three-point victory over the Pelicans, and Harper is optimistic that it won’t be long before all three players are firing on all cylinders.
“This is just a little sample size of what you’re going to see,” the rookie said, per Tom Orsborn of The San Antonio Express-News (subscription required). “When (Castle) really gets back into the groove of things, we’re going to be scary.”
“I’m trying to get adjusted to the game,” Castle added. “Having a little three-week break, I’m trying to get back in rhythm.”
Here’s more on the Spurs:
- Harper’s teammates were impressed by the way that the 19-year-old bounced back from his worst game of the season – a 1-for-11 dud in Cleveland on Friday – to set a new career high in points on Monday, as Orsborn relays. “He has so much skill and maturity to his game,” Fox said of Harper. “It’s a long season. I’ve talked to him about that as well. You’re not going to play well in every single game. It would be asinine to think that.”
- Although head coach Mitch Johnson said this week that Victor Wembanyama is “getting closer” to returning from the calf strain that has sidelined him since November 14, the big man has been ruled out for Wednesday’s NBA Cup quarterfinal against the Lakers, as Orsborn writes for The Express-News. The Spurs have taken a cautious approach with Wembanyama’s recovery timeline, and Johnson noted earlier in the week that the NBA Cup game wouldn’t be treated any differently, “medically speaking.”
- While many of the Spurs’ cornerstone players – including Wembanyama, Harper, and Castle – are in their early 20s, the team also has a handful of veterans in their 30s – such as Harrison Barnes, Kelly Olynyk, and Bismack Biyombo – providing leadership in the locker room. In a story for The Express-News (subscription required), McDonald explores how those two generations of players have meshed and the mentorship that the vets have provided. “At times, the older ones are barking at the younger ones like older dogs do puppies,” Johnson said. “Other times, the bigger personalities step up and command the room. Sometimes, you have this electric energy from these young guys. It’s a good balance.”
Pelicans Notes: Queen, Jones, Murphy, Poole, Zion
Two of the league’s most promising rookies had the best games of their respective NBA careers on Monday in New Orleans. The Spurs and Dylan Harper, who scored 22 points and handed out six assists in 26 minutes off the bench, ultimately came out on top, with a three-point win over the Pelicans and Derik Queen.
Still, it was a memorable night for Queen, who became the first rookie center to ever record a 30-point triple-double, per ESPN’s Michael C. Wright, with 33 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists. The big man also blocked four shots and was a +14 in 33 minutes.
“Special night for him,” Pelicans interim head coach James Borrego said of his standout rookie. “He was great. He did a really good job defensively on the boards, controlled the offense. We ran a lot of our stuff through him. He was fantastic.”
Although Monday’s loss dropped the Pelicans to a league-worst 3-22 on the season, Queen’s ongoing emergence is one reason for optimism, according to Rod Walker of NOLA.com (subscription required). Walker adds that the rookie’s strong play may help turn down the heat on head of basketball operations Joe Dumars, who faced loud criticism for his decision to trade an unprotected 2026 pick to move up 10 spots for Queen in June.
Those critics are unlikely to go away if the pick Dumars sent to Atlanta in that deal lands in the top three next June, especially since there will always be questions about whether the Pelicans could’ve moved up from No. 23 to No. 13 in this year’s draft without giving up quite such a valuable asset. However, if Queen – who will turn 21 later this month – continues to turn in performance like Monday’s, the deal could turn into a win-win for the Pelicans and Hawks.
Here’s more from out of New Orleans:
- William Guillory of The Athletic considers what sort of in-season trades to expect from the Pelicans, writing that he views Herbert Jones as more likely to be moved than Trey Murphy III, though there’s no guarantee New Orleans will seriously consider dealing either player. Guillory notes that a move involving Zion Williamson would be easier to complete in the offseason than before the trade deadline, and adds that high-priced guards Jordan Poole and Dejounte Murray and role players Saddiq Bey and Kevon Looney could also emerge as trade candidates.
- Although there’s still skepticism around the league that the Pelicans will trade either Jones or Murphy this season, Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Substack link) says he spoke to five separate rival teams last week that said New Orleans isn’t shutting down inquiries on those players like the front office has in the past.
- Poole, who has been sidelined since November 4 due to a quad strain, participated in some parts of Tuesday’s practice, according to Borrego, who said the plan is for Poole to go through a full practice on Wednesday (Twitter link via Guillory).
- In a subscriber-only column for NOLA.com, Walker takes a look at the latest disappointing turn of events in the Williamson saga. This was supposed to be a “get-right” season for the former No. 1 overall pick, Walker writes, but hamstring and adductor strains have limited the two-time All-Star to just 10 appearances, and the Pelicans haven’t played well with or without him.
And-Ones: Reddish, Two-Ways, Rozier, East, All-In Trades
Veteran NBA forward Cam Reddish, who signed with BC Šiauliai in September, has officially left the team and returned to the U.S. for personal reasons, the Lithuanian club announced in a press release.
The 10th overall pick in the 2019 draft, Reddish spent six years in the NBA, playing for the Hawks, Knicks, Trail Blazers, and Lakers. He failed to develop into a reliable offensive threat during that time, averaging 8.5 points per game on .398/.322/.821 shooting in 254 total outings (116 starts).
In nine appearances in the Lithuanian Basketball League this season, Reddish averaged 14.7 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 1.4 assists per contest.
We have more odds and ends from around the basketball world:
- As Keith Smith of Spotrac tweets, there are a dozen players on two-way contracts around the NBA who are already approaching the halfway point of their active-game limit of 50 games. While promotions to standard rosters may not happen quite yet, teams will be looking for a way to accommodate their two-way standouts later in the season. Bobby Marks of ESPN points out (via Twitter) that 22 of the 26 conversions from two-ways to standard deals last season occurred after February 1.
- Jim Trusty, the attorney for Terry Rozier, said an arbitration hearing with the NBA has been scheduled for December 17 to determine whether the Heat guard will continue not to be paid, per Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic. The federal judge overseeing Rozier’s case said that Dec. 17 hearing and other NBA proceedings won’t affect the schedule for the case.
- Vincent Goodwill of ESPN takes a look at five key players (beyond the most obvious names) who could play significant roles in determining which team comes out of the Eastern Conference this season.
- There may be one or more teams prepared to go “all-in” for Giannis Antetokounmpo if the Bucks superstar requests a trade, but Howard Beck of The Ringer makes the case that the history of all-in deals doesn’t point toward it being a fruitful approach for most buyers.
Fischer’s Latest: Gafford, Pacers, CP3, Clippers, Turner, Warriors
Earlier today, Shams Charania of ESPN passed along several rumors related to the NBA’s trade market, including the fact that the Pacers are on the lookout for a long-term answer at center and that Daniel Gafford is among the players the Mavericks are willing to discuss in trade talks.
In his own look at the trade market on Tuesday, Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Substack link) links those two items, reporting that the Pacers are believed to have interest in Gafford, who could make sense as a pick-and-roll partner for Tyrese Haliburton once the star point guard returns from his Achilles tear.
As we noted earlier in the day, Gafford signed a three-year extension during the offseason that will run through 2028/29, but he remains trade-eligible because that three-year, $54MM+ deal didn’t exceed the NBA’s extend-and-trade restrictions.
It’s unclear exactly what sort of return the Mavs would be seeking for the veteran center, but Obi Toppin ($14MM) or a package of Bennedict Mathurin ($9.2MM) and Tony Bradley ($2.9MM) are a couple examples of potential matches for Gafford ($14.4MM) from a salary perspective. Indiana also controls all of its own future first-round picks and most of its second-rounders.
Here are a few more highlights from Fischer’s latest rumor round-up:
- According to Fischer, the Clippers fully intend to work with Chris Paul and his representatives at CAA to find a new home for the veteran point guard, who may be the top candidate to be dealt on December 15 when dozens of players become newly trade-eligible. Playing close to his home in Los Angeles was Paul’s top priority in the offseason, but Fischer wonders if playing time will be a more important factor for the future Hall of Famer this time around, pointing out that CP3’s dissatisfaction grew as his minutes decreased in L.A.
- Outside of Paul, the Clippers aren’t considered likely to pursue any significant deals right away when trade season unofficially opens next Monday, says Fischer, adding that he views Ivica Zubac, James Harden, and Kawhi Leonard as unlikely candidates to be moved — at least for now. Sam Amick of The Athletic made a similar point during an appearance on FanDuel’s Run it Back show on Tuesday (Twitter video link), pointing out half-jokingly that Clippers owner Steve Ballmer has an “inexplicable, borderline insane addiction to this group.”
- Maintaining cap flexibility beginning in 2027 remains a top priority for the Clippers, according to Fischer, who hears from sources that the team never offered Norman Powell a contract extension before trading him to the Heat over the summer. The Clippers’ front office expected Powell to seek a new deal in the neighborhood of $30MM, per Fischer.
- While Giannis Antetokounmpo would obviously be of greater interest if the Bucks become sellers, Fischer suggests that Milwaukee center Myles Turner could be a target worth watching for the Warriors as they explore the market for potential deals involving Jonathan Kuminga. Golden State has had interest in Turner in the past, having discussed scenarios involving Kuminga, Buddy Hield, and Andrew Wiggins back when the big man was still in Indiana, Fischer writes.