Clippers Notes: Paul, Bogdanovic, Leonard, More
Future Hall-of-Famer Chris Paul is away from the Clippers after the team announced on Wednesday that it would be “parting ways” with the 40-year-old point guard. The surprising news came less than two weeks after the 11-time All-NBA selection confirmed that 2025/26 would be his final season as an NBA player.
Appearing on Amazon Prime Video on Friday (Twitter video link), NBA insider Chris Haynes discussed Paul’s acrimonious exit from Los Angeles.
“The Clippers maintain that there were a series of events and conversations between the front office and Chris Paul over the last few months that ultimately led to his departure,” Haynes said. “The front office believed they had intel that Chris Paul was criticizing the coaching staff, front office and players. And this was something that they felt they’d been hearing for the past couple of months.
“And there was a meeting about a month ago between (president of basketball operations) Lawrence Frank and Chris Paul where Frank addressed this issue again. Chris Paul vehemently denied those accusations. But ultimately Chris Paul elected to apologize to his teammates a few days later if his words or actions were misconstrued.
“(Paul) asked Frank, I was told, to set up a meeting between (Paul) and (head coach) Tyronn Lue — those two haven’t spoken in weeks,” Haynes continued. “Frank said he would get to that — it never happened. Sources said Lue refused to meet with Chris Paul.”
Marc J. Spears of Andscape reported on Thursday that Paul wanted to keep playing this season, and Paul essentially confirmed as much in a text to Haynes (Twitter link).
“I’m just staying ready,” Paul wrote. “I’m hooping right now. I don’t (know) what’s next. I’m still scarred by it all. Still processing everything. But I’m staying ready.”
Here’s more on the Clippers:
- Veteran wing Bogdan Bogdanovic could return to action on Saturday in Minnesota after missing the past eight games with a left hip contusion. He’s probable to suit up against the Wolves, the team announced today. The slumping Clips badly need Bogdanovic’s shot-creation skills, particularly with Bradley Beal out for the year with a fractured hip.
- Kawhi Leonard is not on L.A.’s injury report today and Law Murray of The Athletic (Twitter link) hears the star forward is expected to play both ends of back-to-backs going forward, assuming he’s healthy. In 13 appearances this season, Leonard has averaged 25.8 points, 5.7 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 2.0 steals per game, with a shooting line of .494/.385/.971.
- The Clippers are now 2-9 over their past 11 games after dropping Friday’s contest in Memphis. As The Orange County Register relays, the team only managed to score two points over the final six-plus of the fourth quarter and gave up a 9-0 run to conclude the game, which the Clips lost by nine points.
Pelicans Rumors: Zion, Jones, Murphy, Fears, Queen
Chris Dodson of ClutchPoints reported on Thursday that Zion Williamson is increasingly unlikely to be in the Pelicans‘ long-term plans, but the team has yet to have any meaningful trade talks regarding the oft-injured star forward, who is currently out with an adductor strain.
Williamson, who is on an unusual maximum-salary contract that features weigh-in checkpoints and guarantees based on games played, likely has minimal trade value due to his extensive injury history.
During Thursday’s live stream for Bleacher Report (YouTube link), NBA insider Jake Fischer said there’s an expectation that New Orleans will entertain offers for the former No. 1 overall pick — and he’s not the only Pelicans player that will apply to.
“You can rest assured that the Pelicans are going to be listening to trade offers for (Williamson),” Fischer said (hat tip to RealGM). “And there are definitely teams that believe, that have told me as recently as today, that New Orleans is now starting to listen and at least show some type of willingness to listen on guys like Herbert Jones and Trey Murphy III as well.
“(Jones and Murphy) are going to have a lot of interest around the league. They’re both on very strong, long-term contracts that are considered relatively team-friendly. Under $30 million in average annual value, which is a big threshold in this current market.
“… But the Pelicans are going to hold a high asking price. And they are going to need multiple first-round picks to move on from either of those guys. That’s my understanding as of now. But right now, it is pretty clear that the Pelicans, with interim head coach James Borrego, are moving in a direction of a team built around Jeremiah Fears and Derik Queen, their two lottery picks from this draft.”
Dodson’s ClutchPoints colleague Brett Siegel wrote on Friday that the odds of a deal involving Jones have grown “exponentially” in recent months amid the Pelicans’ disastrous 3-20 start to the season. After signing a contract extension in July, Jones isn’t currently eligible to be traded, but that will restriction will lift on January 14, a few weeks before this season’s deadline.
Fischer is the first reporter we’ve seen state that New Orleans may be open to the possibility of moving Murphy — Dodson suggested the team views the 25-year-old wing as part of the team’s core rather than a trade chip. Murphy is in the first season of a four-year, $112MM rookie scale extension.
In the wake of multiple rumors surrounding the struggling Pelicans, Will Guillory of The Athletic hears from several sources that the team has not had any trade talks involving Murphy, Jones or Williamson (Twitter link). Obviously that stance could change down the line, but it’s worth noting nonetheless.
Nets’ Cam Thomas Begins On-Court Work, But Remains Out
Nets guard Cam Thomas underwent an MRI earlier this week. The scan showed that his left hamstring strain is healing and he has begun on-court work, but he remains out. His status will be updated in about two weeks, the team announced today (via Twitter).
Thomas sustained the hamstring strain on November 5 against Indiana. He has missed the past 14 games with the injury and is expected to miss at least four more, with Dec. 21 vs. Toronto likely being his earliest possible return date.
The 24-year-old shooting guard has strained his left hamstring four different times in the past two seasons. Thomas only appeared in 25 games during the 2024/25 campaign due to the same issue.
The 27th overall pick of the 2021 draft, Thomas has been a polarizing player during four years with the Nets. While he’s a talented scorer, he doesn’t contribute in many other areas. In seven healthy games this season, Thomas averaged 24.4 points, 2.9 assists and 1.6 rebounds in 31.6 minutes per contest, with a shooting line of .408/.356/.875.
Brooklyn went 1-7 in games Thomas played this season and has gone 4-10 in his absence. The 5-17 Nets are currently tied for the fourth-worst record in the NBA.
Thomas will be an unrestricted free agent in 2026 after signing his one-year, $6MM qualifying offer last offseason. He has the right to veto trades in ’25/26.
Southeast Notes: Porzingis, J. Johnson, Wizards, McNeeley
After returning to action on Friday against Denver, Hawks big man Kristaps Porzingis will be held out of the second night of a back-to-back on Saturday at Washington, tweets Brad Rowland of Locked On Hawks.
Porzingis, a one-time All-Star, had missed the four games leading up to Friday with an unspecified illness. According to Kevin Chouinard of Hawks.com (Twitter link), Porzingis said his most recent ailment wasn’t related to postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS), the condition he was diagnosed with after missing extended time last season.
“No, I wouldn’t say it’s the same thing,” Porzingis said after Friday’s game. “I just wasn’t feeling too good, honestly. Just not being healthy healthy, you know? But I wouldn’t say it’s the same stuff from last season, so that’s good.
“I think I kind of put that behind me even this summer playing for the (Latvian) national team, but anyway, just catching whatever, it’s frustrating, you know? I want to be healthy. And I will be healthy.”
Porzingis, who was on a minutes restriction, performed well in Friday’s one-point loss to the Nuggets, finishing with 25 points (on 9-of-13 shooting), two rebounds, and two blocks. He was plus-18 in 20 minutes. The Latvian center admitted that coming off the bench wouldn’t be his first choice, but said he’s willing to do whatever he can to help the team.
“Obviously, it’s not what I love, you know? But I think it makes sense in limited minutes, and I will do whatever is best for the team. When I say those words, I really mean it. I’m here just to help this team win,” Porzingis said (Twitter link via Chouinard).
Here’s more from around the Southeast:
- Jalen Johnson continues to shine for the Hawks. As John Hollinger of The Athletic writes, the fifth-year forward recorded the second-fastest triple-double in NBA history on Friday and became just the sixth player to notch a triple-double in the first half. “We feed off him,” head coach Quin Snyder said of Johnson, who finished with 21 points, 18 rebounds and 16 assists, including 11 points, 10 rebounds and 12 assists in the first half. “He has the ability to impact the game at multiple levels, and his stat line represents that.”
- Josh Robbins of The Athletic recently examined the Wizards‘ season after 20 games, a stretch in which the team went just 3-17. While the on-court results have obviously been lackluster, the Wizards are incentivized to tank again this season in order to retain their top-eight protected first-round pick, Robbins notes, and Kyshawn George and Alex Sarr have taken significant steps forward in their second seasons. “I think we’ve made a lot of progress as a team and as individuals comparing the first game (this season) to where we are now,” Sarr told The Athletic. “Obviously, (there were) a lot of games that we could have won that we didn’t. So it’s a little frustrating when you look at our record knowing that we could have won some more games definitely because we were up at the end of the games. But that’s something you can’t control. It’s in the past. All we can do is learn from it and take it as lessons.”
- Late first-rounder Liam McNeeley has received inconsistent playing time for the Hornets in his rookie season, but he’s thrilled he was able to fulfill his longtime goal of reaching the NBA and has remained a positive presence on the team throughout 2025/26. “I’m having the time of my life right now,” McNeeley said with a huge grin on his face, per Sam Perley of Hornets.com. “I can’t complain. It’s so cool getting to live out the dream. It’s even better than I thought it was going to be growing up. It’s everything I could have imagined and more. It’s something that I dreamt about as a kid and now I get to live it out. I really can’t say enough good things about it.”
Stein: Mavs Plan To Eventually Promote Ryan Nembhard
Within an interesting story about how Ryan Nembhard ended up on a two-way contract with the Mavericks after going undrafted in June, Marc Stein of The Stein Line (Substack link) reports that Dallas has “already committed” to promoting the rookie to a standard deal as soon as the team is able to do so.
As we outlined on Thursday, Nembhard has been making a strong case to have his two-way deal converted to a standard contract since he took over as the Mavericks’ starting point guard five games ago. However, with only about $1.29MM in breathing room below their second-apron hard cap, the Mavs are ineligible to add a prorated minimum-salary contract to their roster until January 6.
Promoting Nembhard as soon as they can next month would put the Mavericks in a difficult financial position, as they would be just $12K away from their hard cap. Dallas was in a similar situation last season and was unable to add reinforcements when the roster was decimated by injuries during the second half.
As Stein writes, it’s possible that a minimum-salary deal wouldn’t be enough to entice Nembhard either, especially if he keeps up his recent play. So the Mavericks might have to offer more than the minimum during the season if they want to prevent him from reaching restricted free agency in 2026.
Nembhard can still be active for 33 more games as part of his two-way contract, and there isn’t necessarily a rush for the Mavs to convert him, even if they intend to do so down the line.
According to Stein, while the former Gonzaga standout worked out for 29 of the NBA’s 30 teams prior to the draft, the Mavericks were the only club to consistently express a desire to acquire him.
Sources tell Stein that Matt Riccardi, who was then an assistant general manager and has since been elevated to co-interim GM, repeatedly told Nembhard’s agents the team hoped to trade for a second-round pick to draft the 22-year-old, but if it was unable to do so and no other team selected him, the Mavericks would “definitely” offer him a two-way contact.
On the day of the second round, the Mavs’ front office was unable to land a second-rounder. Teams selecting in the 50s expressed some interest drafting Nembhard, Stein continues, but his agents rejected those overtures because going undrafted would make him an unrestricted free agent and thus able to sign the two-way deal with Dallas.
“I don’t think about it much anymore,” Nembhard told Stein about not being selected. “My focus is on today because that’s all that matters. But deep down I think I have a natural fire to compete. And it’s hotter than maybe it would have been otherwise because no one believed in me.”
Nembhard isn’t the only rookie on a two-way deal with Dallas who has made a good impression this season. Prior to Friday’s game, Mike Curtis of The Dallas Morning News asked head coach Jason Kidd about big man Moussa Cisse, who has played an unexpected role off the bench amid several frontcourt injuries (Twitter link).
“Our two-ways have done great…Moussa and the energy that he’s brought, he’s helped win some games for us early,” Kidd said. “Our two-ways have had a big impact and at some point here in January, they could run out of games. That’s just the unfortunate thing, but we’ve needed them because of injuries and they’ve responded with the opportunities they’ve been given.”
LaMelo Ball Exits Friday’s Game With Left Ankle Injury
Hornets point guard LaMelo Ball was unable to finish Friday’s game at Toronto, having been ruled out in the second half with left ankle soreness, the team announced (via Twitter).
According to Roderick Boone of The Charlotte Observer, Ball had a “slight limp” when he headed back to the locker room less than two minutes into the third quarter. The injury appeared to occur when Ball slipped on the court when trying to get back for transition defense, Boone notes.
Ball, who has dealt with numerous ankle injuries the past few years, entered tonight’s contest with a probable tag due to a sprained left wrist before being upgraded to available. The one-time All-Star missed five consecutive games earlier this season with a right ankle impingement.
As Boone writes, the timing of Ball’s injury was particularly unfortunate, because it coincided with Brandon Miller returning from a two-game absence. Boone says the team was just being cautious with Miller’s left shoulder, which caused him to miss multiple weeks earlier in the seasons.
“He allows us to have another primary defender on some of their primary ball-handlers that I think are some of their best creators,” head coach Charles Lee said of the third-year wing. “And then offensively, he gives us another weapon when we’re trying to play with pace, we’re trying to pass the ball ahead, or across his ability to get to the paint and make plays, his basketball IQ.”
Rookie wing Sion James, who filled in at shooting guard with Miller out, earned praise from Lee as well, Boone adds.
“I love the communication that he has,” Lee said of James. “He’s very vocal in what he sees during the game, which I think helps his teammates and helps me as well. And then offensively, he stays within himself. He’s looking to catch and shoot. He’s looking to create and connect everybody on our team.”
Charlotte pulled out another victory over the Raptors despite Ball’s injury. Kon Knueppel (21 points on 7-of-12 shooting, seven assists) continued his strong rookie season, while second-year forward Tidjane Salaun poured in a career-high 21 points (on 6-of-8 shooting) in just 22 minutes (Twitter link via the Hornets).
Rivers: Bucks To Take Cautious Approach To Giannis’ Recovery
Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo was diagnosed with a right calf strain on Wednesday, with ESPN’s Shams Charania subsequently reporting that the Greek superstar was expected to be sidelined roughly two-to-four weeks.
Head coach Doc Rivers says Milwaukee will take a cautious approach to Antetokounmpo’s recovery, and thinks the two-time MVP will be out closer to four weeks than two, per Jamal Collier of ESPN.
“I feel like we should learn is with calves — make sure they’re healthy,” Rivers said before Friday’s game against Philadelphia. “So that may take longer than we want. That even may make Giannis frustrated over it, but we just got to try to get that right.”
According to Collier, Rivers said he spoke to Antetokounmpo for a “long time” on Thursday after the MRI results came back, and Antetokounmpo was feeling optimistic about his prognosis.
As Dan Devine of Yahoo Sports writes, if Antetokounmpo is out four weeks, he would be sidelined for the next 12 games, making him ineligible for major postseason awards since he has already missed six. The former Finals MVP has been a first-team All-NBA selection each of the past seven years, Devine notes, and has also finished in the top four in MVP voting every season over that stretch.
Both Devine and Eric Nehm of The Athletic explore how the Bucks might be able to survive the next few weeks without their best player. It’s a tall task, to be sure — Milwaukee has gone just 1-5 so far this season in Antetokounmpo’s absence (2-6 counting the games he had to leave early due to injuries).
Having Kevin Porter Jr. back should help alleviate some pressure off Ryan Rollins, who was asked to take on an enormous workload on both ends of the court during Antetokounmpo’s recent adductor injury, Nehm writes. For his part, Rollins said the team needs to keep the ball moving as much as possible.
“We need to move the ball. With him on the court, without him on the court, we need to move the ball,” Rollins said. “But when he’s off the court, we need to move it even more. Just get everybody touches, keep the ball moving, and when that happens, we have our best chance to win and play our best basketball.”
Devine wonders if big man Jericho Sims could be in line for an increased role with Antetokounmpo out, while Nehm thinks A.J. Green could be capable of more scoring — unfortunately, the sharpshooting wing suffered a left shoulder contusion on Friday and was ruled out for the rest of the game, tweets Collier.
Bulls Notes: Collins, White, Dosunmu, Spiral, Buzelis
Veteran big man Zach Collins will make his 2025/26 season debut on Friday when the Bulls face Indiana, head coach Billy Donovan told reporters, including K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Sports Network (Twitter link).
Collins suffered a non-displaced fracture in his left wrist during a preseason game in mid-October and subsequently had surgery to address the injury. The former lottery pick, who was selected 10th overall in the 2017 draft, was cleared for contact work earlier this week.
Collins will be limited to approximately 20 minutes in his first game back, according to Donovan.
Here’s more on the slumping Bulls, who have lost five straight games entering Friday:
- Leading scorer Coby White, who has missed the past three contests with a left calf injury, will also be active for Friday’s game, Johnson adds. White underwent an MRI on his calf earlier in the week and the results came back clean — he said Wednesday that he was hoping to be back tonight and was considered day-to-day. Like Collins, White will be on a minutes restriction — Donovan said the 25-year-old combo guard would be capped at around 24 minutes.
- While Collins and White were upgraded to available after initially being listed as questionable, the opposite was true of Chicago native Ayo Dosunmu, who was downgraded to out for Friday’s contest with a right thumb sprain. The 2021 second-round pick is off to a strong start this season, averaging 15.8 points, 3.1 assists and 2.6 rebounds on .529/.494/.852 shooting through 19 games (27.8 minutes per contest). Dosunmu is one of six injured Bulls who won’t play tonight.
- The Bulls were one of the NBA’s pleasant surprises during the first couple weeks of the season, starting out 5-0. However, they’ve been spiraling down the standings ever since, going 4-12 over their past 16 games, writes Joel Lorenzi of The Athletic. While injuries have played a part in the tailspin, Chicago also hasn’t taken advantage of seemingly winnable games — the team has lost to New Orleans (3-20), Charlotte (6-16), Indiana (4-18) and Brooklyn (5-17) during the ongoing skid, with Wednesday’s loss to the Nets marking a new low point. “Listen, I’m not going to make any excuses, because I always think players want opportunities to play and compete,” Donovan said, per Lorenzi. “And you know what? For some guys, this may be the best opportunity they got. To me, you should be playing all-out crazy hard and really, really physical and say, ‘Listen, if this ends because we get healthy, at least I made an effort.’ I did not think we did that. I don’t.”
- Matas Buzelis‘ hasn’t made a second-year leap to this point in the season, but he remains confident that his game will eventually blossom, according to Julia Poe of The Chicago Tribune. A diligent worker, the 21-year-old forward has struggled at times with taking the necessary time to unwind, since he’s highly motivated to keep improving, Poe notes. “Waiting is the right word to use,” Buzelis said. “It’s all just part of the process. No one can predict it. There’s always going to be ups and downs. You’re not always going to shine in the limelight. But you continue to work, you continue to get better. That’s what I’m doing.”
Hawks’ Porzingis, Johnson Returning Friday Against Denver
Hawks center Kristaps Porzingis, who has missed the past four games with an unspecified illness, will return to action on Friday against Denver, as Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN relays (Twitter links).
Head coach Quin Snyder said before Friday’s game that Atlanta will be keeping a close eye on Porzingis, adding that the Latvian big man would be on a minutes restriction, though no number or range was given.
Porzingis was initially questionable to return Friday, according to Kevin Chouinard of Hawks.com (Twitter link). The injury designation for Porzingis was “return to competition reconditioning,” rather than the illness that prevented him from suiting up for the past 10 days.
Porzingis, who will be an unrestricted free agent in 2026, missed extended time late in 2024/25 and in the playoffs with a mysterious illness, which was eventually diagnosed as postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS). It’s unclear if his latest absence is related to that condition, which Porzingis has reportedly been able to manage without medication.
Fifth-year forward Jalen Johnson, who is having a breakout season for Atlanta, was ruled out of Wednesday’s loss to the Clippers with tightness in his right calf. However, it seems like the team was just being cautious with the former first-round pick — Johnson will be back tonight vs. the Nuggets, per Youngmisuk.
Johnson, who turns 24 in a couple weeks, has been playing the best basketball of his career with Trae Young sidelined due to a knee injury. The former Duke forward has recorded seven-plus assists in 12 straight games, averaging 24.9 points, 11.1 rebounds, 8.8 assists and 1.7 steals per night on .515/.467/.775 shooting over that span (36.8 minutes per contest).
Pistons Notes: Sasser, Robinson, Cade, Duren, More
Third-year guard Marcus Sasser could make his season debut for the Pistons on Friday, having been listed as questionable to suit up against Portland, tweets Hunter Patterson of The Athletic.
Sasser, who starred in college at Houston prior to being selected 25th overall in the 2023 draft, missed the first 22 games of 2025/26 after sustaining a right hip impingement during the preseason. He was assigned to the G League to practice on Sunday and head coach J.B. Bickerstaff said the 25-year-old was doing 3-on-3 scrimmages on Monday.
Starting wing Duncan Robinson may play tonight as well — he’s also questionable after missing the past two games with a right ankle sprain, Patterson notes.
We have more from Detroit:
- In a feature story for The Athletic, Patterson takes a look at the growing bond between All-NBA point guard Cade Cunningham and rising young center Jalen Duren, a candidate to make his first All-Star appearance following a strong start to the season. As Patterson writes, Duren has made a conscious effort to spent at least a few weeks with Cunningham each of the past two offseasons — over the summer, they went on trips to Colorado and Rome, Italy. Both players believe the time spent together in the offseason has improved their on-court chemistry in addition to strengthening their off-court connection. “(These trips) have just tied into us sticking together, us having each other’s backs,” Cunningham said. “And pushing each other to be great. We can only help each other get better. We can only help each other get to that point. So, (it’s) really just about us being brothers and having each other’s backs. I think that’s all you can ask for, and we’ll take care of the rest on the court.”
- Bickerstaff also spent two weeks with Duren over the summer, according to Vincent Goodwill of ESPN, who writes that the Pistons’ coach challenged the 22-year-old big man to “improve his on-ball skills” and be in peak condition entering his fourth season. Duren appreciated Bickerstaff’s hands-on approach to his development. “That was the first time since I’ve been in the NBA where that happened,” Duren said. “I don’t know if he knows how much that meant to me, [but] that showed me how much he cared about me.”
- Goodwill’s story, which features several more interesting quotes, is centered on the Pistons going from the worst record in the NBA (14-68) two years ago to currently holding the best mark (17-5) in the Eastern Conference. While head of basketball operations Trajan Langdon said the front office will be “opportunistic” if the right trade opportunity presents itself, he also said he’s not aggressively seeking win-now help. “I’m always pushing my group, whether it’s from an analytics or personnel standpoint, on how can we get better? Can that happen internally? Or do we need to do something, add something, to get better? There’s obviously [the risk of] what those things cost and how they can hamper your future,” Langdon said, per Goodwill.