Injury Notes: Giannis, Wagner, Smart, Melton
Bucks head coach Doc Rivers said on Sunday that there’s still a chance star forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (left knee hyperextension; bone bruise) will be cleared to return before the end of the regular season on April 12, tweets Eric Nehm of The Athletic.
However, teammate Bobby Portis is skeptical that will happen. The veteran Bucks forward/center stated during a recent appearance on FanDuel TV (Facebook video link) that he doesn’t think it makes sense for the two-time MVP to come back at this point, with the team having been eliminated from postseason contention.
“I don’t think he’ll play another game this year, for sure,” Portis said (hat tip to Nehm). “Obviously, he’ll stay in the gym and keep his body tight and keep his game tight. But playing a game on court, I don’t think that’s in the picture at all.”
Reports earlier this month indicated that the Bucks wanted to shut Antetokounmpo down for the season and that he was resisting that plan and pushing to return to action. However, Portis made it clear that he understands why the club would be motivated to keep his superstar teammate off the floor during the final couple weeks of 2025/26, even if he recovers from his knee injury.
“If y’all talking about trading him, you don’t want any injury to knock value off or whatever,” Portis said. “That’s just business-wise, and then player-wise, obviously, you gotta look at just the total picture of what’s going on. We’re (9.5) games behind for the 10th seed and (with eight) games left, we can’t even make up ground.”
We have more injury-related notes from around the NBA:
- Magic forward Franz Wagner is “progressing well” as he looks to make it back from a high ankle sprain for the final stretch of the season, head coach Jamahl Mosley said on Tuesday (Twitter link via Jason Beede of The Orlando Sentinel). Wagner has done some 5-on-5 work, according to Mosley, who said the team will see how the 24-year-old responds to today’s treatment before determining next steps. It sounds like Wagner’s return may not be far off. He has played just four times since December 7, having experienced multiple setbacks related to his ankle.
- Lakers guard Marcus Smart missed a fourth consecutive game on Monday due to a right ankle contusion, but there’s no expectation the injury should result in a long-term absence. Head coach JJ Redick said Smart remains “day-to-day” in his recovery process and potential return, per NBA reporter Mark Medina (Twitter link).
- Although De’Anthony Melton has appeared in – and started – seven of the Warriors‘ past eight games, the veteran guard isn’t at 100%, as head coach Steve Kerr explained to reporters after Melton went scoreless in 25 minutes of action in a loss to Denver on Sunday. “He’s banged up,” Kerr said, per Monte Poole of NBC Sports Bay Area. “His thumb is really bothering him, and I think he’s pressing a little bit. … De’Anthony will bounce back. He’s had a great season. His last couple games have been tough, but he’s banged up. We’ll help him get right. I have total faith in his ability to bounce back.”
Celtics Clinch Playoff Spot; Warriors, Blazers Locked Into Play-In
The Celtics clinched a playoff spot with their win over the Hornets on Sunday, per the NBA (Twitter link). They became the second Eastern Conference team to do so, behind the Pistons, who officially nabbed a berth over a week ago.
Jayson Tatum had a vintage performance for the short-handed Celtics, scoring 32 points and adding eight assists in 31 minutes.
In the Western Conference, the Warriors and Trail Blazers are officially locked into a play-in spot thanks to the Rockets winning their matchup against the Pelicans on Sunday. This marks the third-straight play-in entry for Golden State, and the fourth in six years, Angelina Martin writes for NBC Sports Bay Area.
“I’m sick of the play-in,” Draymond Green said recently. “It seems like we’re a play-in magnet. It sucks, but it’s great when you want an opportunity to get into the playoffs. And that is the reality for us.”
The Warriors rank 10th in the Western Conference standings but could still move up a spot or two before the regular season wraps up. Entering Sunday’s contest vs. Denver, they were one game behind the No. 9 Blazers and 2.5 games back of the No. 8 Clippers.
The Blazers are 1.5 games behind the Clippers after beating the Wizards on Sunday. If they manage to make it through the play-in, it would be their first playoff appearance since 2021.
The Knicks could have locked in their own playoff spot with a win over the Thunder tonight, but they lost 111-100 and are now just 1.5 games ahead of the Cavaliers as they try to maintain their hold on the No. 3 seed in the East.
Warriors Rumors: Kawhi, LeBron, Porzingis, Kerr, More
There’s a significant amount of curiosity around the NBA about what the Warriors will do this offseason, writes Marc Stein of The Stein Line (Substack link).
According to Stein, Golden State made a “determined trade run” for Clippers star Kawhi Leonard in the final hour before the February 5 deadline. Los Angeles wasn’t interested in moving Leonard at the time, but the Warriors may revisit that concept this summer.
Rival teams also view the Warriors as “one of the few credible destinations” for Lakers star LeBron James, who will be a free agent this summer, Stein notes.
“It has some legs,” one league source told Stein.
League insiders had already been anticipating that the Warriors would re-sign Kristaps Porzingis this summer, per Stein, and that expectation has increased after the Latvian big man recently praised Rick Celebrini, Golden State’s director of sports medicine and performance.
Here’s more on the Warriors:
- Appearing on the Warriors Plus Minus podcast with Tim Kawakami of The San Francisco Standard, Nick Friedell of The Athletic said he believes Porzingis will be on the roster in 2026/27. “I absolutely, as we’re sitting here right now, believe that Porzingis and the Warriors will work something out where we will see him again next season in a Warriors jersey,” Friedell said (hat tip to HoopsHype).
- Friedell also weighed in on the future of head coach Steve Kerr, whose contract expires after the season. “Stephen Curry wants Steve Kerr,” Friedell said (transcription via HoopsHype). “I’ve been asked repeatedly: ‘Do you think Steve’s coming back?’ I absolutely do because I think this team, especially because of what we’ve been talking about now tonight on this episode, they want to go for it. There’s not another person you’re going to plug in that’s going to take them to some other spot more than Steve Kerr. Plus the fact that Steph wants him and they have a partnership for all these years.“
- In a column for The San Francisco Standard, Kawakami argues the Warriors should pursue either Leonard or James this summer. Kawakami says there are rumblings that the NBA might void the final year of Leonard’s contract, which will pay him $50.3MM in 2026/27, as part of the punishment for the ongoing investigation into the Clippers allegedly circumventing the salary cap to sign the 34-year-old forward. In Kawakami’s scenario, the Warriors would try to re-sign Draymond Green and Porzingis to two-year, $40MM contracts, which would open up the non-taxpayer mid-level exception to sign either Leonard or James, assuming they’re open to taking a major pay cut (the MLE is projected to start at $15.05MM next season).
Pacific Notes: Green, Curry, Porzingis, Suns, Jackson
Draymond Green says longtime Warriors teammate Stephen Curry shouldn’t try to return this season if he has “an inkling of doubt” about the condition of his right knee, “but if he’s healthy and he can play” then Curry has Green’s full support as he works toward a comeback, Sam Gordon of The San Francisco Chronicle writes in a subscriber-only story.
A report on Friday stated that Curry will be reevaluated in another week to see if his knee has progressed enough to make a return realistic. Green added that every player wants to excel in the postseason — the 38-year-old Curry may not have many more opportunities at this stage of his career.
“You just know he wants to play,” Green said. “He wants to be out there. … But I think where you get a little worried and you know he wants to come back and he hasn’t. That’s when you start looking at the clock tick … not from a standpoint of like, ‘Yo, when’s he coming back?’ But just like — I know he’s working to get back, and if not now, then what’s going on? I think you more so get a little worried but not from a standpoint of, ‘He’s going to save the day.’ (But) from a standpoint of like, ‘Oh, man. Your brother down. What the hell is going on?’”
Curry’s absence, combined with season-ending injuries to Jimmy Butler and Moses Moody, have left the Warriors a shell of what they were earlier in the season. They’re currently 10th in the West at 36-38 and may have to win two games to advance out of the play-in tournament, but there’s still a glimmer of hope if Curry returns. In the meantime, Green has accepted the mantle of on-court leader.
“You just can’t be the guy that quits when it gets tough,” he said. “I’ve had some incredible years here. Been a part of some incredible teams. … When that stuff is happening, you want to be at the forefront of it. You want to embrace it, enjoy it, all those things. It’s great. But when it goes a little left, you can’t jump off the train. You can’t walk around and pout. You can’t throw in the towel — or what was everything you did before?”
There’s more from the Pacific Division:
- Kristaps Porzingis led the way with 28 points on Friday as the Warriors defeated Washington for their first three-game winning streak in more than two months. Porzingis was 5-of-11 from three-point range, even though he’s dealing with pain in his shooting wrist, Gordon adds in a separate story. “Honestly, it’s not feeling good,” Porzingis said after practice Thursday. “I kept shooting, except it goes in anyway. Once I get it right, right, you’re going to see — there’s a difference for sure.”
- Suns big man Oso Ighodaro credits “mental will” for helping him play every game so far this season, per Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic. Ighodaro worked to build up his body during the offseason in hopes of becoming the first Phoenix player to be active for all 82 games since Mikal Bridges. “The preparation I put into my body this summer and my preparation in the weight room,” Ighodaro said. “God willing I can continue it and continue to play every game this season.”
- Dillon Brooks and Mark Williams were both able to play five-on-five Saturday for the first time since being injured, Rankin tweets. Brooks has been sidelined since February 21 with a fracture in his left hand, and Williams has been out of action since March 3 with a third metatarsal stress reaction in his left foot. “Good start. Everything is headed in the right direction,” Suns coach Jordan Ott said.
- Clippers backup center Isaiah Jackson is questionable for Sunday’s game at Milwaukee due to a sprained right ankle, according to Law Murray of The Athletic (Twitter link).
Stephen Curry (Knee) To Be Reevaluated Next Week
7:50 pm: Head coach Steve Kerr acknowledged that time is running out for Curry to return this season, per Slater (Twitter link).
“We’re not bringing him back (only) for the play-in game,” head coach Steve Kerr said. “He’d need to play some games. We need to give him a runway if this is going to work. And we are running out of games.”
Moses Moody also underwent surgery on Friday to repair his torn patellar tendon, tweets Nick Friedell of The Athletic.
6:54 pm: Warriors guard Stephen Curry will be reevaluated sometime next week as he continues to deal with a right knee injury, according to Shams Charania and Anthony Slater of ESPN (Twitter link).
Golden State hosts Washington on Friday and plays at Denver on Sunday, and Curry will miss both of those contests. He has been out since January 30 due to patellofemoral pain syndrome, colloquially known as runner’s knee.
While Curry, who turned 38 years old this month, “continues to make good progress,” he still hasn’t participated in a 5-on-5 scrimmage yet, the team announced in a press release (via Twitter). That’s supposed to happen in the “coming days,” per the Warriors.
Even though he’s been out for two months — he’ll be up to 25 consecutive absences after Sunday — Curry hasn’t given up hope on potentially returning this season, sources tell ESPN (Twitter link).
Following Sunday’s contest in Denver, Golden State returns home for a five-game stretch against four playoff teams. The Warriors’ final two games will be on the road (at Sacramento on April 10 and at LAC on April 12).
The Warriors also announced injury updates on Al Horford (right soleus strain), Seth Curry (left adductor strain) and Quinten Post (right foot soreness). Horford has begun light on-court workouts but is out at least one more week, while Seth Curry and Post are considered day-to-day.
Horford and the younger Curry brother have both missed the past seven games due to their respective injuries, while second-year big man Post has been out for the past two contests.
Warriors Notes: Porzingis, Melton, Santos, More
Veteran center Kristaps Porzingis will be an unrestricted free agent this summer if he doesn’t sign an extension before then. As Monte Poole of NBC Sports Bay Area writes, the Warriors have been using the past several weeks to evaluate the Latvian big man, while Porzingis has been considering whether he’d like to remain with the team beyond this season.
According to Poole, early indications suggest Porzingis has enjoyed his time with the organization — he has particularly singled out Rick Celebrini, Golden State’s director of sports medicine and performance. That’s noteworthy, given all of Porzingis health issues the past couple years and throughout his career.
“Rick’s amazing,” Porzingis said Thursday after practice. “Rick is the GOAT, man. Really. I’m very happy with these guys, and I’m sure they will keep me on the same path.”
Porzingis has appeared in seven of the Warriors’ last nine games and thinks he’s trending toward being able to play in back-to-backs, Poole notes. The team has two back-to-backs (April 1-2 and April 9-10) remaining this season.
“I think it’s a conversation,” Porzingis said. “I don’t know yet if I will get the chance, but maybe. Maybe. Doing pretty good and recovering well. I’m still not playing super-high minutes, obviously, but the better I feel, the better I start to look. I’ll probably earn more minutes and then probably after that, the next step is to get a chance on a back-to-back. That’s what I’m working towards.”
Porzingis has also spoken glowingly about the chance to play with Stephen Curry, Poole adds, but that has yet to come to fruition due to the 12-time All-Star guard’s ongoing knee injury, which has kept him sidelined since late January.
Here’s more on the Warriors:
- De’Anthony Melton is another potential free agent — he holds a $3.5MM player option for next season. The 27-year-old combo guard suggested on Thursday that he’s likely to turn down that option, as Nick Avila of NBC Sports Bay Area relays. “I’ve been in this league a decent amount of time,” Melton said on 95.7 The Game’s Steiny and Guru show. “So, eight years is a lot of time. I’ve put in a lot of time and effort and work into this. I think that should be rewarded and I think, for anybody, you put in that much time, effort, work and you’ve seen the results and you’ve seen how impactful you are and what you have done, like I said, you want to be rewarded for that. So, whatever comes with it, comes with it, but end of the day you want to get rewarded for your services.” The Warriors will only have Melton’s Non-Bird rights, which could make it difficult for the team to re-sign him.
- Gui Santos‘ importance to the Warriors increased when Jimmy Butler suffered a torn ACL in January. The Brazilian forward has become even more vital in the wake of Moses Moody‘s torn patellar tendon, as Santos is the only real wing left on Golden State’s roster, observes Danny Emerman of The San Francisco Standard. The 23-year-old, who scored a career-high 31 points in Wednesday’s win over Brooklyn, is looking like a bargain on the three-year, $15MM extension he signed at the end of February, says Emerman.
- Getting to the free throw line more often will be important down the stretch with the Warriors shorthanded, and Porzingis can help in that area with his ability to post up smaller defenders, per Dalton Johnson of NBC Sports Bay Area. “It does slow the game down. But sometimes that’s what we need, especially with me on the floor,” Porzingis said. “I feel like that’s an advantage we can get, we can generate.”
Warriors Notes: Moody, Santos, Williams, Curry
As devastating as Moses Moody‘s knee injury earlier this week was, there was at least one silver lining, head coach Steve Kerr said during an appearance on 95.7 The Game’s ‘Willard & Dibs’ show (Twitter video link). In some instances, a player who suffers a torn patellar tendon also sustains damage to other parts of the knee, including ligaments like the ACL or MCL, but that wasn’t the case for Moody.
“The MRI was clean in terms of all that other stuff,” Kerr said (hat tip to Florito Maniego of NBC Sports Bay Area). “It’s the tendon, so no damage to the cartilage and bone, so that’s good news. And that allows it for a pretty basic surgery.”
Moody is still facing an extended recovery period. So far, the Warriors have only formally ruled him out for the rest of the 2025/26 season, with no indication of what his timeline might look like beyond this season. However, Kerr provided a hint on Wednesday about a possible initial target date for the fifth-year wing’s return, suggesting that Moody and Jimmy Butler (torn ACL) may enter the offseason on similar timetables.
“Hopefully those guys will be back next season, mid-season or so,” Kerr said, per Anthony Slater of ESPN (Twitter link).
Here’s more on the Warriors:
- As Maniego of NBC Sports Bay Area relays, Draymond Green pushed back during his latest podcast on the idea that this Warriors season has been “cursed,” pointing out that there have been a handful of bright spots amidst the disappointing developments, including forward Gui Santos making “life-changing money.” Santos, who signed a three-year, $15MM extension last month, spoke to Kenzo Fukuda of ClutchPoints about his journey to the NBA, adjusting to life in America after growing up in Brazil, earning a spot in the Warriors’ rotation, and signing that new contract.
- Two-way player Nate Williams didn’t join the Warriors until after the All-Star game, but he has emerged as a solid part-time contributor for the team, scoring 19 points on 8-of-9 shooting in Atlanta on Saturday. “Nate’s been great,” Kerr said after that game, per Nick Friedell of The Athletic. “He’s a really good young guy. Very coachable. He’s got a live body, you can see he can score in the paint … he’s got a good touch.” Because he signed so late in the season, Williams can only be active for up to 16 games on his two-way deal and he’s already at 11, so he has been on the inactive list in three of Golden State’s past four contests.
- The next formal update on Stephen Curry‘s health is expected to come on Friday, according to Friedell, who notes (via Twitter) that the star guard is still primarily working with trainer Rick Celebrini “behind the scenes” rather than doing much on-court work. Curry has been out since January 30 due to a knee injury.
Grizzlies, Pelicans Eliminated From Playoffs; Warriors Locked Into Top-10 Seed
With the Grizzlies‘ 123-98 loss to the Spurs tonight, Memphis has officially been eliminated from playoff contention, while the Warriors have been locked into a top-10 seed. The Pelicans had their playoff possibilities officially extinguished by virtue of their 121-116 loss to the Knicks on Tuesday.
That means that the top 10 teams in the West, and therefore the playoff/play-in pool, have been finalized: the Thunder, Spurs, Lakers, Nuggets, Timberwolves, Rockets, Suns, Clippers, Trail Blazers, and Warriors will all be participating in the postseason, though there is still plenty of room for the seeding to change over the last few weeks of the season.
Wednesday night was a big night for the Western Conference playoff race, as the Nuggets, Rockets, Warriors, Clippers, Blazers, and Lakers were all in action. Coming into the night, three games separated the No. 6 Rockets from the No. 3 Lakers, and the No. 10 Warriors were just two games behind the No. 8 Clippers.
While no team is likely to catch the Spurs in second place, San Antonio is just two games behind the top-seeded Thunder, who had their 12-game winning streak snapped on Wednesday.
Spurs coach Mitch Johnson spoke about the team clinching home court advantage in the first round tonight. “I would expect it to be loud with a lot of excitement, enthusiasm,” he said, per Tom Orsborn of the San Antonio Express-News (Twitter link). “But it’s still a little bit away, so hopefully we can continue to get better and make some improvements in a lot of areas.”
On the other end of the postseason picture, the Warriors technically haven’t been eliminated from contention for a top-six seed, but they trail No. 6 Houston by 8.5 games and both teams have just nine left to play, so that will likely happen at some point in the coming days.
Warriors Sign Omer Yurtseven To Second 10-Day Contract
2:19 pm: Yurtseven’s new 10-day deal is now official, the Warriors announced in a press release (Twitter link).
10:54 am: The Warriors will re-sign center Omer Yurtseven for another 10 days after his first 10-day contract with the team expired overnight on Tuesday, according to Anthony Slater of ESPN (Twitter link).
Yurtseven, who initially signed with Golden State on March 15, made five appearances during his first deal, averaging 3.2 points and 3.2 rebounds in 11.2 minutes per game. Big man Kristaps Porzingis has been in and out of the Warriors’ lineup while Al Horford has been on the shelf with a calf strain, opening the door for Yurtseven to play a little, though he received his first DNP-CD on Monday vs. Dallas.
Yurtseven averaged 5.0 PPG and 4.6 RPG in 11.8 MPG in 113 NBA regular season appearances with the Heat and Jazz from 2021-24 before spending most of the past two years overseas playing for Panathinaikos. He recently parted ways with the Greek EuroLeague team and signed a G League contract, appearing in three games for the Rio Grande Valley Vipers before being promoted to the NBA by Golden State.
As we relayed over the weekend, Yurtseven made a positive first impression on Warriors head coach Steve Kerr.
“I’m a fan of Omer — he’s a very good player, very talented,” Kerr said. “He’s a good passer, he can shoot, and he’s had success in the NBA. We’ve only had him for a few days, but I enjoy watching him every day and seeing how he fits with the other guys.”
Assuming Yurtseven officially re-signs with the Warriors on Wednesday, his contract will run through April 3, covering the club’s next five games. Once it expires, Golden State would have to either let him walk or sign him to a rest-of-season or multiyear deal.
Yurtseven’s second 10-day contract will pay him $141,463, while the Warriors will carry a $131,970 cap hit.
Moses Moody Diagnosed With Torn Patellar Tendon
After exiting Monday’s game due to a knee injury and undergoing tests on Tuesday, Warriors wing Moses Moody has been diagnosed with a torn patellar tendon in his left knee, reports Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link).
Moody’s 2025/26 season is over and he’s facing a lengthy rehabilitation process, Charania adds. While there are no details yet on a potential timeline, the 23-year-old is unlikely to be ready for the start of ’26/27 based on the typical recovery period for this type of injury.
It’s a crushing blow for Moody, who was in the midst of the best season of his five-year NBA career. His 12.1 points, 3.3 rebounds, 1.6 assists, and 1.0 steal per game all represented career highs, as did his 40.1% three-point percentage. He started 49 of the 60 games he played for Golden State this season, averaging 25.7 minutes per night.
Moody, who was playing on Monday for the first time in three weeks after recovering from a wrist ailment, suffered the injury during the final minutes of the Warriors’ win over Dallas. He stole the ball from Cooper Flagg, dribbled up the court, and went up for a breakaway dunk, but his left knee buckled as he planted to jump. Moody lost the ball and fell to the floor, immediately grabbing at his knee. He had to be carted off the court.
A patellar tendon tear isn’t as common an injury among NBA players as an ACL or Achilles tear, but it’s certainly not unprecedented. Victor Oladipo (2023), Dante Exum (2019), Andre Roberson (2018), Jeremy Lin (2017), and David Lee (2017) are among the players to suffer similar injuries in the past decade.
Exum, who sustained his injury in mid-March, was able to get back on the court in November of the following season, but his was a partial tear. Lin was out for almost exactly one year, while Roberson estimated that he was about 85-95% recovered when he suffered a setback about eight months into his recovery period. Oladipo, who had already dealt with major leg injuries before tearing his patellar tendon, and Lee, who was 34 when he sustained the injury, didn’t play again in the NBA (though Oladipo has since attempted to make a comeback).
Moody’s injury is the latest setback for the Warriors, who have been plagued by health problems during the second half of the season and have slid down in the standings to 10th place in the Western Conference. Not having Moody available this spring will further reduce the club’s odds of making any real noise in the postseason.
In the short term, Gui Santos figures to return to Golden State’s starting lineup after coming off the bench on Monday for the first time since March 2. Looking ahead to the longer term, Moody is the second Warriors regular who will likely be on the injured list when the 2026/27 campaign tips off. Jimmy Butler, who tore his right ACL in January, isn’t expected to be available until later in the season.
Moody will be entering the second season of a three-year, $37.5MM deal this summer. He’ll make $12.5MM in ’26/27, with a guaranteed $13.43MM salary for ’27/28.