Hornets’ LaMelo Ball Reportedly Open To Trade
5:10 pm: For what it’s worth, Ball responded to Iko’s report (via Twitter) with a clown face emoji.
4:39 pm: After losing to Indiana on Wednesday, a defeat in which he was benched for the final 4:32 of the fourth quarter, LaMelo Ball has become “increasingly frustrated” with the Hornets and is open to being traded to a new team, multiple league sources tell Kelly Iko of Yahoo Sports.
The Pacers entered Wednesday’s game with a 1-13 record and picked up their second victory of the season over the Hornets, who have dropped four straight and are now 4-11. Ball finished the game with 18 points, nine assists, seven rebounds and two steals in 27 minutes, but shot just 5-of-21 from the floor and committed six turnovers.
The third overall pick in the 2020 draft, Ball won the Rookie of the Year award in 2021 and was named to his first and only All-Star team in 2022. The 6’7″ point guard’s career has been derailed by a series of ankle injuries over the past few years. He played just 105 out of a possible 246 regular season games in the three seasons leading up to 2025/26.
Ball has gotten off to a rocky start this season, having missed six games due to a right ankle impingement and struggling with offensive efficiency. Still, Iko points out that Charlotte has been much better when Ball is playing and has struggled mightily when he’s not on the court.
According to Iko, one point of contention for Ball is his desire to play in a more uptempo offense — the Hornets currently rank 20th in the NBA in pace.
It sounds like the frustration goes both ways. Charlotte’s front office has grown “disillusioned” with Ball, no longer views him as a long-term cornerstone and is open to a trade as well, Iko reports.
[UPDATE: Fischer: Hornets ‘Not Actively Looking To Move’ LaMelo Ball]
As Iko writes, while Ball is still young and undeniably talented, it’s unclear how much interest he would generate if he’s made available, given his lengthy injury history, lucrative long-term contract, and “whispers” about the way he behaves on the court. Ball is on a maximum-salary deal which will pay him approximately $168.7MM over the next four years.
LeBron James Makes Season Debut On Tuesday
Nov. 18: James will make his season debut tonight against the Jazz, McMenamin tweets.
Nov. 16: Lakers superstar LeBron James has been recalled from his G League assignment with South Bay and will be a full participant in Monday’s practice, according to Shams Charania of ESPN, who says the NBA’s all-time leading scorer is nearing his season debut (Twitter link).
James went through at least two practices with the Lakers’ NBAGL affiliate over the past handful of days, including doing contact five-on-five work, and reportedly showed no ill effects afterward.
This will be James’ first practice with the Lakers in 2025/26, tweets Dan Woike of The Athletic.
Charania reported about a month ago that James was targeting a mid-November return from the nerve issue — sciatica on his right side — that has caused him to miss training camp, the preseason, and the first 14 games of the season. Charania’s ESPN colleague Dave McMenamin recently wrote that James could make his season debut this week, possibly on Tuesday vs. Utah.
When he suits up, James will set a record by playing in his 23rd NBA season.
The Lakers have gotten off to a strong start to the season in James’ absence, currently holding a 10-4 record.
James, who extended his own NBA record by making his 21st consecutive All-NBA team in 2024/25, could see that streak come to an end in ’25/26 due to the 65-game rule. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Kobe Bryant and Tim Duncan hold a three-way tie for the second-most All-NBA appearances with 15 apiece.
The 40-year-old forward, who also made his record-extending 21st straight All-Star appearance in ’24/25, remained highly productive last season, averaging 24.4 points, 8.2 assists, 7.8 rebounds and 1.0 steal in 70 games (34.9 minutes per contest). His shooting slash line was .513/.376/.782.
However, James’ ’24/25 season ended in disappointing fashion as the Lakers were ousted by Minnesota in the first round of the playoffs and he suffered an MCL sprain late in the final game.
James opted into his $52.6MM player option over the summer. He holds a no-trade clause and will be an unrestricted free agent in 2026.
Kings’ Keegan Murray Expected To Make Season Debut Thursday
November 18: Murray is expected to make his season debut on Thursday vs. the Grizzlies, according to Anderson.
November 17: The Kings are optimistic that fourth-year forward Keegan Murray could make his season debut on Thursday in Memphis or on Saturday in Denver, reports Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee.
Murray was assigned to the G League on Monday to practice with the Stockton Kings. The 25-year-old has been cleared for 5-on-5 contact drills and is expected to join the NBA team on Wednesday in Oklahoma City, a source tells Anderson.
It has been five weeks since Murray underwent surgery to repair a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his left thumb, an injury he sustained in a preseason game. At the time, the Kings said he would be reevaluated in four-to-six weeks; this is the first real update since then.
The fourth overall pick in the 2022 draft, Murray signed a five-year, $140MM rookie scale extension a few days after he underwent surgery. While some people around the league were reportedly surprised at how lucrative the deal was, cap expert Yossi Gozlan viewed it as “sensible” and Sam Amick of The Athletic recently reported that rival teams value Murray as well.
As Anderson observes, the Kings have struggled mightily without their best defender, while Murray’s absence exposed a glaring lack of forward depth on the roster. Sacramento is currently just 3-11, which is the second-worst record in the Western Conference.
Giannis Antetokounmpo To Miss 1-2 Weeks With Groin Strain
November 18: Antetokounmpo’s MRI “went pretty well,” according to Rivers, who said during an appearance on Courtside with Gale Klappa podcast that the Bucks star will “probably” miss two weeks (Twitter audio link via Nehm).
ESPN’s Shams Charania tweets that it’s a “low-grade” strain for Antetokounmpo and is expected to sideline him for a week or two.
November 17: Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo sustained a left groin strain in the second quarter of Monday’s game in Cleveland and will not return for the second half, the team announced (Twitter link via Eric Nehm of The Athletic).
Antetokounmpo appeared to suffer the injury on a drive to the basket, according to Nehm, who tweets that the Greek forward hobbled back down the court on defense, committed a foul, and then checked himself out of the game and walked to the locker room. Harris Stavrou of SPORT24 has a partial video of the incident (Twitter link).
Antetokounmpo will undergo an MRI on Tuesday, according to head coach Doc Rivers (Twitter links courtesy of Nehm).
“We won’t know anything until tomorrow. Didn’t look great, I can tell you that,” Rivers said. “ … He grabbed (his groin), I want to say in the first quarter and I asked him then. He said it was fine. Then I think he grabbed it again and he said it was fine. And then the third time, you know, is when it happened. But I think it happened earlier, in my opinion.”
Backup big man Jericho Sims started the second half with Antetokounmpo unavailable, Nehm adds (via Twitter).
A two-time MVP who has finished no worse than fourth in voting for the award in each of the past seven years, Antetokounmpo was off to arguably the best start of his decorated career in 2025/26 prior to the injury, averaging 32.6 points, 11.3 rebounds, 7.1 assists and 1.3 blocks through 12 games (33.4 minutes per contest).
The 30-year-old entered Monday’s game on the injury report with a probable tag due to an unrelated issue with his left knee (patellar tendinopathy) before being upgraded to available. Rivers said last week that injury isn’t considered serious.
While it’s unclear how much time Antetokounmpo will miss as a result of the groin injury, it’s probably not a great sign that it was quickly diagnosed as a strain — even relatively mild groin strains can be tricky to recover from.
Sims and Bobby Portis are the most obvious candidates for more minutes with Antetokounmpo out for a yet-to-be-determined amount of time. Myles Turner figures to take on an expanded offensive role as well.
Pistons Notes: Duren, Jenkins, Cade, Thompson, Klintman
After missing the past two games with a right ankle sprain, Pistons center Jalen Duren returned to action on Monday and completely overpowered the Pacers, recording 31 points (on 12-of-13 shooting), 15 rebounds and three assists in 29 minutes.
“He’s just continued to dominate and that’s the only way you can say it,” head coach J.B. Bickerstaff said (Twitter link via Omari Sankofa II of The Detroit Free Press). “The way he’s rebounding the ball through contact and in traffic, getting to the free throw line … he’s just playing a well-rounded game.”
Detroit won its 10th straight game, the first time the team has reeled off that many victories in a row since 2008, per the NBA (via Twitter). Duren discussed the achievement after the game, according to Sankofa (Twitter video link).
“It’s the work we put in, I think it’s the summer work that we’ve put in. Obviously camaraderie and I think culture, honesty everything plays a part in it. It’s still early in the season, we have a long, long way to go,” Duren said.
Here’s more on the Pistons:
- Duren also discussed his growth as a leader, per Hunter Patterson of The Athletic (Twitter video link). “I’ve grown a lot,” Duren said. “ … Everybody holds everybody accountable. We’re not the type of team where it’s one guy dictating everything.”
- Daniss Jenkins, who was nominated for the Player of the Week award in the Eastern Conference, had another huge game on Monday, recording a career-high 26 points to go along with eight assists. The second-year guard, on a two-way contract, has thrived over the past handful of games amid backcourt injuries.
- Speaking of injuries, star guard Cade Cunningham missed his third straight game with a left hip contusion, while starting forward Ausar Thompson missed his fourth straight due to a right ankle sprain. Both players were listed as questionable before being ruled out, and Bickerstaff says they’re “trending in the right direction,” Patterson tweets.
- Second-year forward Bobi Klintman is expected to miss a “little bit of time” with a left ankle sprain, Bickerstaff told reporters, including Sankofa (Twitter link). The 22-year-old was a second-round pick in last year’s draft (37th overall).
Heat Notes: Herro, Jakucionis, Rebounding, Butler Deal
Heat guard Tyler Herro returned to practice on Sunday but said he’ll miss at least one more week as he works his way back from September ankle surgery.
As Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald observes, Herro could have qualified for a Designated Veteran contract extension — also known as a “super-max” deal — in the offseason if he had made an All-NBA team in 2025/26. However, that will no longer be possible, since the 25-year-old will soon be ineligible for major postseason awards due to the 65-game rule. Herro thinks the rule is “fair,” according to Chiang.
“I mean every year I try to come in with a mindset of playing the most games possible, not necessarily for accolades or anything like that. I just want to be on the floor as much as possible,” Herro said. “That’s what they pay me to do. And last season I had a very healthy season. This season started weird for me, something I couldn’t really control. So once I’m back on the floor again, I’m going to do as much as I can to be out there for every game possible. That’s what I want to do. That’s my goal.”
Herro, who has never made an All-NBA team and would have been a long shot for a Designated Veteran deal anyway, is under contract for a combined $64MM over the next two seasons.
We have more from Miami:
- Both Herro and head coach Erik Spoelstra are confident the seventh-year guard will be a seamless fit in the team’s new uptempo offense, writes Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel (subscription required). “That’s easy to figure out,” Spoelstra said of when Herro returns. “His skill level, he’s one of the most skilled guys in the league. It’s going to fit, it’s going to add. We miss him dearly. That offensive talent, play-making, scoring, he can play fast, all of that really fits well.”
- Rookie first-rounder Kasparas Jakucionis missed the first eight games of the season with a right groin strain. While he was available for the November 7 game against Charlotte, he didn’t end up playing and has yet to make his NBA debut. The 19-year-old guard was assigned to Heat’s G League affiliate (the Sioux Falls Skyforce) on Saturday to play a few games before being recalled, tweets Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press. Jakucionis’ first game with the Skyforce didn’t go particularly well, Winderman notes, as he finished with 12 points (on 4-of-15 shooting), seven rebounds, two assists and six turnovers in 22 minutes.
- Defensive rebounding has been issue for the Heat this season, particularly with Bam Adebayo continuing to miss time with his toe injury, Chiang writes for The Herald. “It’s costing us games now,” Spoelstra said following Friday’s loss in New York. “That’s where we are and we’ve said it enough that we have to fix it. We’re being stubborn about it, the things that we need to do better. I feel like we’re fully capable of doing it. Is it easy? Winning is not easy in this league.” While the Heat lost the battle of the boards against the Knicks again on Monday, they did a better job of limiting New York’s second-chance opportunities and pulled out a two-point win.
- In another story for The Sun Sentinel, Winderman evaluates the February trade of Jimmy Butler.
Mavs Notes: AD, Kyrie, Flagg, Cisse, Williams, Thompson
ESPN insiders Bobby Marks, Kevin Pelton, Zach Kram and Jeremy Woo take a look at some important decisions the Mavericks will face in the coming months, including whether they should trade Anthony Davis — and what they might be able to get for him.
“While you can point to Davis as a top-20 player in Los Angeles, it is a $175 million gamble and perhaps more, if you trade for him,” a Western Conference executive told Marks. “I would want to see a long stretch of games of Davis healthy before there could ever be a discussion.
“The extension and paying a player in their mid-30s an average of $69 million and the last nine months in Dallas is what scares me. In this current CBA, you cannot afford to have a player earning 35% of the salary cap on the sidelines more than on the court.”
As Marks writes, while rival teams would undoubtedly take on risk if they pursued Davis, given his contract situation (he’s in the first season of a three-year, $175MM deal and will be eligible for a massive new extension in the offseason) and lengthy injury history (he’s currently sidelined with a calf strain), the star big man would still receive interest if he’s put on the market.
Here’s more on the Mavs:
- Appearing on NBA Today on Monday (Twitter video link), Marc J. Spears of Andscape and ESPN provided an injury update on star guard Kyrie Irving. “Kyrie’s looking good, he’s ahead of schedule. He’s working out with the purpose of playing this season,” Spears said. “… I think, optimistic-wise, probably around late January, All-Star break (for a potential return). Someone close to (Irving) told me if it was the playoffs he could play right now. … But the problem is, who’s running the show? What’s their record going to be? Will Anthony Davis be back? I think by the time he’s able to potentially come back in late January, there’s going to be a collective decision — from him, from the team, from everybody that’s close to him — on whether it’s worth it for (Irving) to come back. But I hear he wants to be back.”
- Top pick Cooper Flagg was held to just two points in the first half on Sunday against Portland and was “visibly irritated” by the way the game was going for him, according to Grant Afseth of Dallas Hoops Journal. The 18-year-old rookie credited Daniel Gafford for changing his mindset — Flagg scored 19 points in the second half and helped lead the Mavs to their fourth victory. “He was frustrated at halftime,” Gafford said. “I told him to slow down — it’ll come to him. The game finds you.”
- With six players (Twitter link via Afseth) — including big men Davis, Gafford (right ankle injury management) and Dereck Lively II (right knee injury management) out on Monday for the second game of a back-to-back, center Moussa Cisse received his first career start, tweets Mike Curtis of The Dallas Morning News. The 6’10” rookie, who is on a two-way contract, has been a bright spot for Dallas amid a disappointing start to the season, averaging 4.4 points, 3.6 rebounds and 1.4 blocks in 10.8 minutes per game through 10 appearances.
- In a pair of stories for DallasHoopsJournal.com, Afseth takes a look at how Brandon Williams‘ speed has created advantages for the Mavericks’ offense and how the attention Klay Thompson attracted on Sunday (he tied a season-high with 19 points) led to easy scoring opportunities for teammates. “Brandon Williams has been incredible,” Flagg said. “High energy, so quick, uses his speed to get downhill and find guys. Our chemistry in the two-man game late in games has been really good.”
Nikola Jokic, Jalen Johnson Named Players Of The Week
Nuggets center Nikola Jokic has been named the Western Conference Player of the Week, while Hawks forward Jalen Johnson has won the award in the East, the NBA announced on Monday (via Twitter).
Jokic, who won the weekly honor in the West for the second straight time (19th overall), had another phenomenal week, even by his lofty standards. He led Denver to three road victories, averaging 39.0 points, 13.0 rebounds, 8.0 assists and 1.7 steals on .737/.643/.889 shooting splits.
Jokic’s week was highlighted by a 55-point outburst against the Clippers in which he recorded 52 points, 11 rebounds and six assists through only three quarters, the first player to have such a stat line through three periods since the NBA began play-by-play tracking in 1997/98, per the Nuggets. He notched another three points and one rebound in two-plus minutes in the fourth, shooting 18-of-23 from the field, 5-of-6 from three, and 14-of-16 from the line in 34 minutes.
The Nuggets have won seven straight games and are currently 10-2, only trailing the 13-1 Thunder in the West. Jokic, a three-time MVP who finished as the runner-up in the two seasons he didn’t win the award over the past five years, is averaging career highs in several statistical categories in 2025/26.
Johnson had a spectacular stretch of games himself in winning his first Player of the Week award. The 23-year-old guided Atlanta to a perfect 4-0 record on the team’s Western Conference road trip, the first time the Hawks have gone undefeated on a West trip spanning at least four games since 1970/71. He averaged 24.0 points, 12.0 rebounds, 9.3 assists and 2.5 steals on .603/.571/.783 shooting.
Johnson had a historic stat line on Thursday in Utah, recording career highs in points (31), rebounds (18), assists (14) and steals (seven), the first player to meet all of those statistical benchmarks in a game since steals became an official stat in ’73/74. The Hawks are now 9-5, tied for the No. 3 seed in the East.
According to the NBA (Twitter link), the other nominees in the West were Stephen Curry, Luka Doncic, Anthony Edwards, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, James Harden, Lauri Markkanen and Alperen Sengun. Giannis Antetokounmpo, Scottie Barnes, Jaylen Brown, Pistons two-way guard Daniss Jenkins, Karl-Anthony Towns and Franz Wagner were nominated in the East.
Derrick Jones Jr. Out At Least Six Weeks With MCL Sprain
Clippers forward Derrick Jones Jr. suffered a sprained medial collateral ligament (MCL) in his right knee during Sunday’s loss in Boston and will miss at least six weeks, which is when he’ll be reevaluated, reports ESPN’s Shams Charania (via Twitter).
According to Law Murray of The Athletic (Twitter link), the Clippers were “relieved” that Jones’ injury wasn’t more serious.
The injury occurred late in the second quarter when Jaylen Brown lost his dribble and dove to retrieve the ball just as Jones was reaching for it (YouTube link). The incidental contact resulted in Jones’ knee bending inward at an odd angle, with Jones immediately grabbing at his knee in pain. The high-flying swingman had to be helped off the court and was unable to put any weight on his right leg.
Whiles Jones’ stats are fairly modest — he was averaging 10.9 points, 2.5 rebounds and 1.1 blocks on .540/.341/.786 shooting in the 12 games (26.0 minutes per contest) leading up to the injury — his absence will certainly be felt by the Clippers. The former dunk contest winner is an offensive lob and transition threat and one of the team’s best defenders.
Third-year wing Jordan Miller also exited Sunday’s game with an injury — he aggravated the left hamstring strain that caused him to miss the first three weeks of the season, Murray notes (Twitter links). It’s an unfortunate setback for the 25-year-old, who scored a career-high 22 points in his season debut on Wednesday.
Miller, who is on a two-way deal with Los Angeles, has been ruled out of Monday’s back-to-back in Philadelphia with left hamstring soreness, but isn’t expected to miss extended time, according to the team (Twitter link via Murray).
Rookie guard/forward Kobe Sanders, another two-way player, will get his first career start on Monday, tweets Murray.
Star forward Kawhi Leonard, who is dealing with right ankle and foot sprains, has resumed on-court work and is nearing his return, though it’s unclear if he’ll resume playing during L.A.’s ongoing road trip, which wraps up next Tuesday at the Lakers, Murray adds.
Wembanyama Sustains Left Calf Strain, Out Multiple Weeks
Spurs star Victor Wembanyama has been diagnosed with a left calf strain after undergoing an MRI, the team announced in a press release. The French center suffered the injury in Friday’s loss to Golden State.
While the Spurs didn’t give a return timeline for the former No. 1 overall pick, ESPN’s Shams Charania hears Wembanyama will miss a few weeks (Twitter link).
Through 12 appearances this season, Wembanyama has averaged 26.0 points, 12.9 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 1.1 steals and a league-high 3.6 blocks in 34.7 minutes per game. He’s second in the league in rebounds per contest (Nikola Jokic is at 13.0) and holds a shooting slash line of .500/.345/.857.
The 21-year-old big man missed his first game of the season on Sunday due to the injury — head coach Mitch Johnson indicated Wembanyama experienced soreness in his calf on Friday and would undergo testing.
According to Michael C. Wright of ESPN (Twitter link), Wembanyama was wearing a “small sleeve” on his calf in the locker room following Sunday’s win, but was otherwise in good spirits and didn’t seem to be in any pain. Still, San Antonio is known for being cautious with injuries, and calf strains are notoriously tricky to manage — they can also lead to more severe injuries.
Both Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press and Wright (Twitter links) hear Wembanyama will be reevaluated in two-to-three weeks, confirming Charania’s reporting.
Backup center Luke Kornet and veteran big man Kelly Olynyk are among the Spurs who could receive more playing time with Wembanyama out.
Second-year guard Stephon Castle was also hurt recently, having suffered a hip injury on Sunday which prevented him from returning from the victory over Sacramento (Twitter link via Matthew Tynan). It’s unclear if the reigning Rookie of the Year will miss additional time as a result of the injury.
Several noteworthy players — including Anthony Davis, Ja Morant, Wembanyama and Spurs rookie Dylan Harper — have been diagnosed with calf strains in recent weeks.