Giannis Antetokounmpo Talking To Bucks About His Future
Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo and agent Alex Saratsis have initiated conversations with the team about the two-time MVP’s future, reports Shams Charania of ESPN.
According to Charania, Antetokounmpo and Saratsis are talking to the Bucks in the hopes of determining whether the forward’s best fit is in Milwaukee or elsewhere, with a resolution expected in the coming weeks.
Antetokounmpo’s future in Milwaukee became the subject of intense scrutiny over the offseason after the Bucks were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs for a third consecutive year and lost Damian Lillard to an Achilles tear in the process.
Although the 30-year-old has repeatedly expressed his love for the city and the franchise, he has also made it clear that being in position to contend for titles remains his number one goal. Antetokounmpo was said to have “serious questions” about the Bucks’ championship potential and spoke to the team over the summer about the idea of exploring a possible “alternative path forward.” At that time, he reportedly conveyed that he’d be interested in the Knicks if he were to leave Milwaukee.
The Bucks briefly engaged in trade talks with the Knicks, according to reports, but weren’t compelled by what New York had to offer and gained no traction toward a deal. Instead of moving Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee’s front office did its best to try to upgrade the roster around him, waiving and stretching Lillard’s maximum-salary contract in order to create cap room to sign center Myles Turner, one of the top free agents on the market.
According to Charania, Antetokounmpo reaffirmed his commitment to the Bucks ahead of the season and came into camp expecting to evaluate how the first 25 or so games of the season went before making any decisions about his future. Asked during the preseason about the report linking him to the Knicks, Giannis expressed confidence in Milwaukee’s revamped roster, but didn’t deny the rumor and didn’t rule out the possibility that he could change his mind “in six, seven months.”
After a 4-1 start this fall, the Bucks have slumped, losing eight of their past nine games and dropping to 9-13 on the season, which puts the team outside the top 10 in the Eastern Conference. Milwaukee has outscored opponents by 8.8 points per 100 possessions when Antetokounmpo is on the court, but has a dismal -11.0 net rating when he’s not on the floor.
Sources who spoke to Charania described the Bucks’ recent skid as frustrating for Antetokounmpo and the rest of the organization, with one source suggesting the “writing is on the wall” for a potential change of scenery for the superstar forward unless Milwaukee can begin turning things around in the very near future.
[UPDATE: Giannis Antetokounmpo Leaves Wednesday’s Game With Apparent Calf Strain]
While the Knicks had something of an exclusive negotiating window in the offseason, that wouldn’t be the case if Antetokounmpo decides to ask for a trade this winter, Charania writes. A number of teams around the NBA would be expected to get involved in that scenario — the Heat and Nets are among the clubs who have repeatedly been described in the past as potential suitors for Giannis, though there may be others who could offer more compelling packages.
Antetokounmpo, who will celebrate his 31st birthday on Saturday, continues to produce at an MVP level so far this season, averaging 30.6 points, 10.7 rebounds, and 6.4 assists in just 30.8 minutes per game, with a shooting line of .639/.435/.630. His maximum-salary contract includes a cap hit of $54.1MM this season, with a guaranteed $58.5MM salary for 2026/27. He holds a $62.8MM player option for ’27/28 and will become extension-eligible next October.
De’Anthony Melton To Make Season Debut On Thursday
Warriors guard De’Anthony Melton will make his season debut on Thursday against one of his former teams in Philadelphia, tweets ESPN’s Shams Charania.
Melton, who has spent the fall going through the final phase of his recovery from an ACL tear, isn’t on the Warriors’ initial injury report for Thursday’s contest vs. the Sixers. He’ll be available for the first time since he suffered that knee injury on November 12, 2024, nearly 13 months ago.
After signing a one-year contract with the Warriors during the 2024 offseason, Melton appeared in just six games for Golden State before his season came to an early end. He looked like a great fit in the backcourt during that very small sample, averaging 10.3 points, 3.3 rebounds, 2.8 assists, and 1.2 steals in 20.2 minutes per contest. The team had a +10.9 net rating during his 121 minutes of action.
Melton, who returned to the Warriors this fall after being traded to Brooklyn last season, also missed a significant portion of the 2023/24 season due to a back issue and has appeared in just 14 regular season and playoff games since the calendar flipped to 2024. With that in mind, it’s safe to assume head coach Steve Kerr will be conservative with the 27-year-old as he returns to the court — he figures to be on a minutes restriction for the foreseeable future.
Still, Melton’s return will be a welcome one for a Warriors team that’s missing star guard Stephen Curry due to a quad contusion. Curry may not be the only rotation player who is inactive on Thursday, as several others – including Jimmy Butler (left knee soreness), Jonathan Kuminga (right ankle soreness), and Quinten Post (left ankle sprain) – are listed as questionable to play.
Hornets Notes: Knueppel, Miller, Mann, Green
On the heels of a seven-game losing streak, the Hornets appeared to be showing signs of progress over the weekend as they registered back-to-back wins over Chicago on Friday and Toronto on Saturday. However, the team hit another low point on Monday, losing by double digits to a Nets team that had only won three of its first 19 games, writes Roderick Boone of The Charlotte Observer.
Rookie standout Kon Knueppel, who has been one of the bright spots in Charlotte during a 6-15 start to the season, referred to the Hornets’ performance against Brooklyn as “unacceptable” and “really disappointing.” Veteran guard Collin Sexton delivered a similar post-game message, telling reporters that the team has to clean up its mistakes and mental errors and can’t take any games for granted.
“We can’t expect to come in and play and teams are going to lay down for us. We are not that team,” Sexton said. “We’re the team that we’ve got to go out and fight at full 48 (minutes). And we have to go take the wins. If you don’t take them, nobody’s going to give them to you.
“I feel like that’s what we’ve got to do to change our mindsets. We got to do it together, but also we got to do it with some type of urgency. We’re 6-15, so what are we going to do? We have to change the narrative. We can’t be like, ‘Oh, we won two in a row.’ We truly ain’t done s–t. So, that’s how I look at it.”
Here’s more on the Hornets:
- While Knueppel was widely touted as the best spot-up shooter in the 2025 draft class, he has shown through the first six weeks of his NBA career that he’s much more than that, according to John Hollinger of The Athletic, who examines the way in which the Eastern Conference’s Rookie of the Month has made an impact as a rebounder and as a scorer inside the three-point line. Head coach Charles Lee has also been impressed by Knueppel’s effort on defense. “He’s taken to personnel tendencies really fast for a young player in the league,” Lee said. “Sometimes, you’re getting so much information, and you’re overwhelmed, but he wants more of it. He’s like, ‘Hey, what else? What other edge can I get on the competition?’ And so, he does a lot of film study, and I think that he’s been able to then take it to the court and apply it pretty quickly.”
- Brandon Miller (left shoulder subluxation) and Tre Mann (left ankle impingement) both sat out on Monday after having played in both ends of the weekend back-to-back and going through the morning shootaround, Boone notes. The duo has also been ruled out for Wednesday’s game vs. New York (Twitter link). “(Mann’s) ankle impingement has been giving him some issues,” Lee said on Monday. “So, he went through shootaround a little bit and like most of our guys, they want to go and I think that we deemed it important for him to kind of just take a couple days and try to get himself back together. And then unfortunately we got to the arena, and as Brandon got evaluated, trying to manage that three (games) in four (days), he had a little bit of shoulder soreness.”
- Hornets wing Josh Green, who has yet to play this fall after undergoing left shoulder surgery in June, appears to be nearing his season debut. According to Boone (Twitter link), Green was assigned to the G League on Tuesday in order to practice with the Greensboro Swarm, Charlotte’s NBAGL affiliate.
Northwest Notes: Murray, Strawther, Thunder, Kessler, Beringer
Nuggets guard Jamal Murray exited Monday’s game vs. Dallas due to a right ankle sprain, but it doesn’t sound as if the injury will require an extended absence. In fact, it may not cost Murray any games at all, as he has been listed as questionable to play on Wednesday in Indiana, tweets Vinny Benedetto of The Denver Gazette.
While the update on Murray is good news for the Nuggets, the team is still down multiple starters (Christian Braun and Aaron Gordon), and is also missing reserve wing Julian Strawther, who could have been in line for an increased role if he were healthy. As Bennett Durando of The Denver Post writes (subscription required), Strawther will miss a ninth consecutive game on Wednesday due to a back injury, and it doesn’t sound as if he’s all that close to returning.
“He’s been doing minimal movement stuff,” head coach David Adelman said on Monday. “He was on the exercise machines today. I think it’s just a process of the (treatment) working and then seeing where it leads to, just through activity. (But) not basketball activity or physicality. So at this moment, I really don’t have any update on him, other than it was good to see him moving around.”
According to Adelman, there wasn’t a specific play on the court that caused Strawther’s injury.
“It wasn’t in-game. It was an off day after a game,” Adelman explained. “He just woke up with pain, and then it got considerably worse, to the point where anybody that’s had back issues — I have — it sucks. Like, you can’t do anything. No mobility. So we’re just trying to work our way through it.”
Here’s more from around the Northwest:
- Do the 21-1 Thunder have a legitimate chance to set a new NBA record by winning 74 games in 2025/26? Exploring that question, Sam Amick of The Athletic takes a look at how this year’s Thunder compare to the 73-win Warriors and notes that at least one member of that 2015/16 team believes Oklahoma City could break Golden State’s record. “I do think they’re capable,” Warriors forward Draymond Green told Amick on Tuesday. “You just need so many things to go right, though — from health, (although) they kind of plow right through health (issues), so it don’t matter, it seems. You need a lot of breaks to go your way, but they’re on the right track. I think 73 wins took some years off my life. But like I said, they’re capable of a lot.”
- In a feature story for ESPN.com, Anthony Slater does a deep dive on one key contributor to the Thunder‘s success, exploring Chet Holmgren‘s lengthy recovery from a fractured pelvis last season and outlining why the center and his teammates believe Holmgren will keep getting better.
- Jazz center Walker Kessler has remained “very engaged” while he recovers from a season-ending shoulder injury, taking part in practices and film sessions, head coach Will Hardy said this week, per Andy Larsen of The Salt Lake Tribune. Kessler isn’t traveling with the team on road trips, but that will likely happen eventually. “We’ll address the travel part a little bit further into his rehab,” Hardy said. “… I want Walker around the team. Rehab can be very isolating, and I don’t think that’s good for Walker. But that’ll be a little bit further down the road as his rehab gets more established.”
- Timberwolves rookie Joan Beringer hasn’t gotten a chance to play much this fall, but a Western Conference scout tells Grant Afseth of RG.org, “People in that building rave about how willing he is to learn.” For his part, Beringer says he’s focused on making a defensive impact and not trying to do too much in the instances when he gets a little playing time. “If I play five, six, seven minutes, I try to be good in my role, and the coach pushes me in this way,” the 19-year-old big man said.
Clippers Announce They’re ‘Parting Ways’ With Chris Paul
11:13 am: Paul clashed with members of the Clippers’ organization as a result of his leadership style, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania (Twitter link), who hears from sources that the team felt the veteran point guard had become “disruptive” in his efforts to vocally hold players, coaches, and front office members accountable.
Former Clippers guard Lou Williams made similar comments earlier in the day during an appearance on FanDuel’s Run It Back show, noting that Paul was attempting to hold players and coaches accountable and “had some criticisms” of the Clippers’ front office (Twitter video link).
According to Charania, head coach Tyronn Lue and Paul hadn’t been on speaking terms for several weeks. Haynes, meanwhile, reports (via Twitter) that Paul asked to meet with Lue a few weeks ago to discuss allegations that he had been a negative presence for the team and the Clippers’ coach refused to meet with him.
6:51 am: The Clippers have put out a statement announcing that they’re “parting ways” with future Hall-of-Famer Chris Paul, who signed a one-year, minimum-salary contract with the team over the summer for what will be his final year in the NBA.
NBA insider Chris Haynes (Twitter link) first reported the news at around the same time Paul posted an Instagram story that reads, “Just found out I’m being sent home,” accompanied by a peace-sign emoji.
“We are parting ways with Chris and he will no longer be with the team,” Clippers president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank said in a statement to Law Murray of the Athletic. “We will work with him on the next step of his career.
“Chris is a legendary Clipper who has had a historic career. I want to make one thing very clear. No one is blaming Chris for our underperformance. I accept responsibility for the record we have right now. There are a lot of reasons why we’ve struggled. We’re grateful for the impact Chris has made on the franchise.”
Sources confirm to Murray that the decision to part ways with the Clippers wasn’t Paul’s and wasn’t initiated by him.
A 12-time All-Star who made five of those All-Star appearances during his first stint with the Clippers from 2011-17, Paul returned to Los Angeles for his age-40 season in the hopes of providing his former team with some reliable depth behind star point guard James Harden.
However, the season hasn’t gone as planned for Paul or the Clippers, who are off to a miserable 5-16 start. The 21-year veteran averaged just 2.9 points and 3.3 assists in 14.3 minutes per game across 16 outings as a Clipper, shooting 32.1% from the floor. He fell out of the rotation for several games in November and has only returned in recent weeks as L.A. deals with a handful of injuries to key players.
Despite the apparent split between the two sides, the Clippers are unlikely to waive Paul anytime soon unless he agrees to a buyout. The team is currently operating just $1.28MM below its first-apron hard cap and doesn’t have the ability to sign a free agent to a prorated minimum-salary contract until January 7.
Since L.A. is carrying just 14 players on its standard roster, waiving Paul would drop that number to 13 and would require the club to get back to the 14-man minimum within two weeks. Given those roster and cap limitations, the Clippers will likely wait until Paul becomes trade-eligible on December 15 and explore the market for him at that time, assuming he’s not open to negotiating a buyout.
According to Stefan Bondy of The New York Post (Twitter link), the Knicks have discussed the idea of targeting Paul in a trade to add point guard depth. New York is dealing with a hard cap of its own and would need to send out at least a minimum-salary player in order to accommodate Paul, who used to be represented by Knicks president of basketball operations Leon Rose when Rose was still a player agent.
As Murray writes, this development with Paul represents the latest instance of the Clippers unceremoniously divorcing from a key figure of their “Lob City” era. Back in January 2018, the team traded Blake Griffin to Detroit just a few months into his new five-year, maximum-salary contract with L.A.
Former NBA Center Elden Campbell Dies At Age 57
Former NBA champion Elden Campbell has died at the age of 57, according to Broderick Turner of The Los Angeles Times. The cause of his death isn’t known.
A 6’11” center who played his college ball at Clemson from 1986-1990, Campbell was the 27th overall pick in the 1990 NBA draft and spent the next eight-and-a-half years with the Lakers before a mid-season trade sent him from Los Angeles to Charlotte in 1999.
Campbell remained in the NBA for several more seasons after that, spending time in Charlotte, New Orleans, Seattle, New Jersey, and Detroit to wrap up his 15-year career in the league. He won a title in 2004 as a member of the Pistons, appearing in 14 postseason games during the team’s championship run that spring.
In total, Campbell appeared in 1,044 regular season games, starting 671 of them. He averaged 10.3 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 1.5 blocks in 24.7 minutes per game and shot 46.0% from the floor and 69.9% from the free throw line. The big man also made 106 more appearances (53 starts) in the playoffs.
Campbell, who ranks 37th all-time among NBA players with 1,602 blocked shots, was known for his “seemingly effortless style of play” and his “easy-going” personality, Turner writes.
“I just remember his demeanor. That’s why we nicknamed him ‘Easy E,'” Campbell’s former Lakers teammate Byron Scott told Turner. “He was just so cool, nothing speeding him up. He was going to take his time. He was just easy. He was such a good dude. I loved Easy, man.”
Our condolences go out to Campbell’s family and friends.
Sixers Fined $100K For Injury Reporting Violation
The NBA has fined the Sixers $100K for violating the league’s rules related to injury reporting, according to a press statement (Twitter link).
As the NBA outlines in its announcement, the 76ers are being penalized for failing to accurately disclose Joel Embiid‘s status prior to a November 30 game against Atlanta. After being initially listed as “out” for that contest vs. the Hawks, Embiid was upgraded to questionable several hours before tip-off, then was deemed available to play later in the day.
The league noted within its statement that the $100K penalty levied against the Sixers takes into account the team’s prior history of fines for similar violations. Philadelphia was fined twice during the 2023/24 season for injury reporting violations related to Embiid.
The league also fined the Sixers in October 2024 after various team officials made seemingly contradictory comments about Embiid’s health. That fine was said to be connected to the NBA’s player participation policy.
Embiid, who underwent left knee surgery in the offseason and has dealt with some right knee soreness this fall, sat out on Tuesday vs. Washington after suiting up on Sunday for the first time since November 8.
Stephen Curry Expected To Miss Three More Games
Injured star Stephen Curry won’t travel with the Warriors as they embark on a three-game road trip that begins on Thursday in Philadelphia, head coach Steve Kerr told reporters on Tuesday night.
That means that in addition to missing Thursday’s game against the Sixers, Curry will be unavailable for a weekend back-to-back in Cleveland on Saturday and Chicago on Sunday. After that trip, Golden State will have four full days off before hosting the Timberwolves on December 12.
“It was a long shot for him to play in the back-to-back and we don’t play again until (next) Friday,” Kerr explained, per Ali Thanawalla of NBC Sports Bay Area. “So it just makes perfect sense for him to stay home with (director of sports medicine and performance) Rick (Celebrini), get the rehab done here, get his work in and hopefully be ready for Minnesota next Friday.”
Curry exited last Wednesday’s loss to Houston with an injury that the Warriors later diagnosed as a quad contusion and muscle strain. He was initially ruled out for Saturday’s game against New Orleans and Tuesday’s matchup with the defending champion Thunder.
The Warriors beat the Pelicans over the weekend and put up a valiant effort on Tuesday against an Oklahoma City team that has been dominating the league this season, but couldn’t pull off the second-half comeback without Curry and star forward Jimmy Butler, who exited the game due to left knee soreness, as Anthony Slater of ESPN writes.
It’s unclear whether Butler, who was initially listed as questionable to play vs. OKC due to a glute contusion, will be available on Thursday vs. Philadelphia, Slater adds.
“I don’t know anything more,” Kerr said after the game when asked about Butler’s injury. “I didn’t even know (he was out) until I was drawing up a play with a minute to go (before the second half) and somebody came in the huddle and said Jimmy is down.”
The 11-11 Warriors, who have an overall net rating of +0.7 so far this season, are at +6.3 when Butler is on the court, +3.6 when Curry is playing, and +10.6 when they’re on the floor together.
Rockets Sign Tyler Smith To Two-Way Deal
10:00 pm: The Rockets have officially signed Smith and waived Harris, per NBA.com’s transaction log.
3:12 pm: The Rockets intend to sign free agent forward Tyler Smith to a two-way contract, according to NBA insider Jake Fischer, who reports (via Twitter) that Houston will waive guard Kevon Harris in order to open up a roster spot for the newcomer.
Smith, 21, was the 33rd overall pick in the 2024 draft and spent his rookie season with the Bucks. However, he played a very limited role in Milwaukee, logging just 122 total minutes across 23 NBA appearances.
Smith played more regularly in the G League, averaging 25.1 minutes per contest across 25 outings for the Wisconsin Herd, but he didn’t put up big numbers for the Bucks’ NBAGL affiliate, averaging 10.7 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 1.2 assists per game with a .415/.327/.824 shooting line.
The victim of a roster crunch in Milwaukee, Smith was waived by the Bucks in October and entered the G League draft, where he was selected second overall by the Osceola Magic. The 6’9″ forward was subsequently traded to the Capital City Go-Go, Washington’s affiliate, and has averaged 10.5 PPG, 4.8 RPG, and 1.5 APG on .378/.243/.846 shooting through eight games for the Go-Go this fall.
Despite his underwhelming production in the G League, Smith still has enough value to earn a shot from the 13-5 Rockets, one of the NBA’s best teams so far this season. Smith is more likely to stay in the G League and join the Rio Grande Valley Vipers than to see regular playing time at the NBA level for Houston, but it’s worth noting that he could be active for up to 38 NBA games for the rest of the season.
Harris, 28, hadn’t played at all for the Rockets this season. A G League veteran, he made 34 total NBA appearances from 2022-24 while on two-way contracts with Orlando.
Nikola Jokic, Cade Cunningham Earn Player Of The Month Honors
Nuggets center Nikola Jokic and Pistons guard Cade Cunningham are the NBA’s Players of the Month for October/November, earning the honor for the Western and Eastern Conference, respectively, per an announcement from the league (Twitter link).
It’s the ninth time that Jokic has won a Player of the Month award over the course of his 11-year career. He earned it in this case with a superlative start to the season that saw him comfortably average a triple-double – 28.9 points, 12.4 rebounds, and 10.9 assists per game – while leading Denver to a 14-5 record.
Jokic’s shooting percentages were arguably even more remarkable than his per-game averages, as he shot 63.7% from the field and converted 45.3% of his three-point attempts.
The Nuggets star came out on top of a competitive field that included nominees like fellow MVP candidates Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of the Thunder and Luka Doncic of the Lakers. Clippers guard James Harden, Rockets center Alperen Sengun, Trail Blazers forward Deni Avdija, Lakers guard Austin Reaves, and Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards were also nominated for Player of the Month in the West, according to the NBA (Twitter link).
In the East, meanwhile, Cunningham’s Pistons have been one of the most pleasant surprises of the season’s first six weeks. While Detroit was viewed as a strong playoff contender, few NBA observers expected the team to win 16 of its first 20 games and sit atop the Eastern Conference at the end of November.
Cunningham was the driving force behind the Pistons’ hot start, averaging 28.8 points, 9.4 assists, and 6.4 rebounds in 36.8 minutes per game across 17 outings, while shooting 45.6% from the floor and 81.5% from the free throw line.
Raptors forward Scottie Barnes, Celtics wing Jaylen Brown, Bulls guard Josh Giddey, Hawks forward Jalen Johnson, Sixers guard Tyrese Maxey, Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell, Heat guard Norman Powell, Magic forward Franz Wagner, and Knicks teammates Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns were also nominated for Eastern Conference Player of the Month, which Cunningham won for the first time in his career.