Pacific Notes: Melton, Kuminga, Murray, Christie, Brooks
The Warriors assigned a trio of players to the G League on Wednesday, with guard De’Anthony Melton and forwards Jonathan Kuminga and Gui Santos all joining the Santa Cruz Warriors in order to scrimmage, tweets Anthony Slater of ESPN. Santos was getting some conditioning work in, while Melton and Kuminga are in the final stages of injury recoveries.
According to Brett Siegel of ClutchPoints, the Warriors are optimistic that Melton will be able to make his season debut following an ACL tear during the first week of December. The veteran guard is due to be reevaluated this weekend.
As for Kuminga, who has been sidelined due to bilateral knee tendonitis, the hope is that he won’t have any setbacks during his scrimmages with Santa Cruz. If that’s the case, there’s an expectation that the fifth-year forward could be back on the court at some point during Golden State’s current home stand, which wraps up on December 2, Siegel reports.
We have more from around the Pacific:
- The Kings have won two of three games since Keegan Murray made his season debut, and the fourth-year forward was especially effective in Monday’s overtime victory over Minnesota, with 26 points and 14 rebounds. Teammate DeMar DeRozan spoke after that win about what Murray’s return means to the team, as Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee relays (via Twitter). “It’s everything,” DeRozan said. “Keegan is the key to this team. It’s his team. He’s one of those guys who’s going to be very, very special in this league and he’s showing it.”
- While there have been some questions about Doug Christie‘s job security in Sacramento, Kings general manager Scott Perry told Sam Amick of The Athletic this week that he has “complete confidence” in Christie to “lead this team into better times.” Sacramento’s head coach appreciated the public show of support, according to Anderson. “His backing, the alignment from him, is huge,” Christie said. “He hasn’t said anything to me differently, so I’m glad that he said that (publicly). More than anything, it’s about us playing a style and a brand of basketball that Sacramento Kings fans can be proud of. On the path to that, there are a lot of steps to that, but first things first. I appreciate that from Scott. Obviously, when the boss speaks highly of you, it’s a good thing.”
- Playing against the Rockets on Monday for the first time since Houston traded him to Phoenix over the summer, Suns forward Dillon Brooks talked trash to his former teammates and accused them of flopping, writes Doug Haller of The Athletic. However, Rockets head coach Ime Udoka took it in stride, telling reporters that Brooks’ impact during his two years in Houston was “invaluable” and he doesn’t mind the forward’s tendency to push boundaries. “To bring in a veteran, like him and Fred (Van Vleet), to change the culture and environment, the competitiveness on a nightly basis,” Udoka said. “You’ve seen that happen here. I don’t mind at all. We both toe the line I guess at times, but he’s a guy that I love and have a ton of respect for.”
Southwest Notes: Sheppard, Edey, Coward, Pelicans
Rockets guard Reed Sheppard made just 2-of-9 shots from the floor in his first start of the season on Monday in Phoenix, but he contributed five assists and three steals in his 27 minutes, and Houston was a +6 when he was on the court. It marked the eighth consecutive game in which the Rockets outscored their opponent during Sheppard’s minutes.
While the 21-year-old still has plenty of room to grow, Sheppard has taken a significant step forward so far this season, with his averages – 13.1 PPG and 3.2 APG on .490/.471/.706 shooting – up across the board. As William Guillory of The Athletic writes, Houston’s odds of competing for a title are only increasing as a result of the second-year guard’s improvement.
“The real thing is the opportunity he’s getting, and he’s taking advantage of it,” head coach Ime Udoka said of Sheppard last week. “You’re going to get more of a rhythm with the more minutes and opportunities you get. We needed him to take that step this year, regardless of Fred (VanVleet) being out. He’s really been great. We want him to continue to be confident.”
Sheppard, who started in place of Kevin Durant on Monday, could have another opportunity to be part of the starting five on Wednesday in Golden State, with Durant out for a second straight game for personal reasons.
Here’s more from out of the Southwest:
- After missing the first 13 games of the Grizzlies‘ season as he recovered from offseason ankle surgery, center Zach Edey exited his fifth game back early on Monday due to a head injury. If Edey is forced to miss time, it would be a major blow to Memphis, says Damichael Cole of The Memphis Commercial Appeal, given that the club has a +16.5 net rating in Edey’s minutes and a -8.0 mark when he doesn’t play. “Zach is a huge part of what we do, both offensively and defensively,” teammate Cedric Coward said after Monday’s loss to Denver. “Just his presence alone is so meaningful to the team. You guys understand, when he came back, how much better our team got defensively, on the rebounding end, even the offensive end. His roles are gravitating guys inside, so we’re getting easier shots on the outside. It was a huge loss.”
- Coward has been one of the NBA’s most productive rookies this fall and is making the Grizzlies look good for trading up to No. 11 in June to draft him, as a Western Conference scout tells Grant Afseth of RG.org. “He only played six Division I games after the partially torn rotator cuff, and that made him one of the biggest unknowns in the draft,” the scout said of Coward. “A lot of scouts weren’t sure how his game would translate against top talent because he’d spent most of his college career at Willamette and Eastern Washington. But Memphis clearly saw something real. … And now he’s outperforming even the optimistic projections. He looks completely comfortable at this level.”
- The Pelicans‘ past two games provided a reminder of Zion Williamson‘s impact. After scoring just 98 points on Saturday as Williamson sat out the second game of a back-to-back, New Orleans poured in 143 points on Monday vs. Chicago with Williamson back on the court. While the star forward led the way with 29 points, Monday’s performance was a team effort, with eight players scoring in double figures, writes Les East of NOLA.com. “You couldn’t ask for a better team win when you look at the stat sheet,” said interim head coach James Borrego, who registered his first win since taking over for Willie Green.
- Outside of the Hornets, who drafted four players in the top 34 in June, no team has gotten more minutes from its rookies so far this season than the Pelicans, according to Jim Eichenhofer of Pelicans.com. That trend figures to continue going forward, Eichenhofer posits, since Jeremiah Fears, Derik Queen, and Micah Peavy are all part of the rotation now and should see regular playing time with several New Orleans veterans sidelined due to injuries.
Key Dates For Teams Up Against Hard Cap, Tax Line
There are currently five NBA teams who have an open spot on their respective 15-man rosters and don’t have the ability to sign a free agent to fill that opening because of their proximity to a first- or second-apron hard cap.
For instance, after hard-capping themselves at the first apron in the offseason, the Lakers are operating just $1,124,195 below that threshold. A prorated minimum salary for a veteran signed today would count against the cap for $1,834,380 and wouldn’t fit under Los Angeles’ hard cap. But as of January 18, that figure would drop to $1,121,743, just low enough for the Lakers to accommodate it.
Here are the dates as of which those five teams who have 14-man rosters and are right up against a hard cap could first sign a player:
- January 7: Los Angeles Clippers
- January 8: Houston Rockets
- January 9: Orlando Magic
- January 18: Los Angeles Lakers
- April 2: New York Knicks
The Warriors were also on this list when the season began, but they now have enough room below their hard cap to sign a 15th man — every day they put off doing so creates a little more flexibility below that threshold, which could come in handy later in the season.
Those teams aren’t the only ones worth keeping an eye on due to their cap limitations though. The Mavericks, for example, have a full 15-man roster, but could be looking to make a change after ruling out Dante Exum for the season due to a knee injury. That wouldn’t be possible right now though, since Dallas is just $1,292,084 away from a second-apron hard cap. The Mavs won’t be able to add a new 15th man in place of Exum until January 6, at which point a prorated minimum deal would carry a cap charge of $1,280,107.
There are also a handful of teams operating just under the luxury tax line who wouldn’t have the ability to sign a free agent to a minimum-salary contract without surpassing that threshold. The tax line isn’t a hard cap, so there’s nothing stopping a club from surpassing it today and then trying to duck below it later in the season. But that comes with some risk, since getting below the tax typically requires the cooperation of a trade partner.
Here are the teams currently unable to sign a veteran free agent without going into the tax, along with the dates when that will change:
- December 13: Miami Heat
- December 19: Portland Trail Blazers
- January 26: Oklahoma City Thunder
The Trail Blazers and Thunder currently have full 15-man rosters, and there’s no indication that either team wants to make a roster move. The Heat, on the other hand, have an open roster spot, so they’re worth keeping a closer eye on starting in mid-December.
It’s worth noting that all of these dates apply to free agent signings only. If a team were to sign a player whose draft rights it held to a rookie minimum contract, the cap hit would be significantly lower, so it could happen sooner. But few teams have that sort of draft-rights player waiting in the wings to join the roster during the season.
We should also mention that the dates above only apply to one-year, minimum-salary contracts. If a team wants to bring in a player on a multiyear minimum deal, the first-year cap hit is generally higher, so it would have to happen later in the season.
Finally, these dates are all contingent on the team’s current cap situation, so they’re subject to change if a club makes a trade, completes a buyout, or makes a 10-day signing that changes its position relative to the tax line or aprons.
Pacific Notes: Perry, DeRozan, Booker, Durant, Goodwin, Paul
The Kings are in a familiar place, sitting near the bottom of the Western Conference standings after a 4-13 start. New general manager Scott Perry is preaching something that fans in Sacramento have heard for many years — be patient.
“I totally understand their frustrations to this point,” Perry told Sam Amick of The Athletic. “It hasn’t been what they wanted. But again, it’s the old saying that Rome wasn’t built in a day — and that’s a fact. If you look at a number of the top teams in the league, they all went through a very tough stretch when they were trying to lay a foundation and create an environment that led to sustainable winning. … All I’ve ever asked from the very beginning is just: buckle up, be patient for the ride. We definitely have a plan in place, and we’ll do this thing together.”
Complicating Perry’s mission is the fact that six high-salary players are signed through next season. The highest of the 2026/27 salaries, Zach LaVine‘s $49MM, is a player option and there’s no clarity as to whether he’ll pick it up, according to Amick. The Clippers have shown some interest in the oldest player on the Kings’ roster, DeMar DeRozan, per Amick. He has a partial guarantee ($10MM) on his $25.7MM contract for next season.
We have more from the Pacific Division:
- Kevin Durant will miss the Rockets’ game at Phoenix tonight due to a family matter. Suns guard Devin Booker is disappointed he won’t get to face his former teammate, Duane Rankin of the Arizona Republic tweets. “I hope everything is OK with his family first, but yeah, I would love a matchup with him,” Booker said.
- Jordan Goodwin won a training camp battle to earn a roster spot after being claimed off waivers by the Suns. Goodwin has been a steady contributor off the bench, averaging 7.9 points, 4.4 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game. “He just has a knack not only on offensive rebounds, but deflections. Any type of loose balls. Just has a hunger to get the basketball. That’s part of who he is, that’s part of what made him and that’s part of why we love him,” coach Jordan Ott said, per Rankin (Twitter link).
- Chris Paul evokes a wide range of reaction but The Athletic’s Zach Harper lays out his case of why the Clippers guard should be appreciated by NBA fans. The 12-time All-Star is retiring after the season.
Kevin Durant To Miss Rockets’ Next Two Games
Rockets star Kevin Durant will miss the next two games as he tends to a family matter, reports Shams Charania of ESPN (via Twitter).
Houston plays at Phoenix on Monday and at Golden State on Wednesday.
Durant continues to produce at a high level in his age-37 season. In 14 games (36.1 minutes per contest) so far with the Rockets, the 15-time All-Star has averaged 24.6 points, 4.8 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.0 steal, with a shooting line of .485/.364/.800.
While Durant has long been admired for his tremendous work ethic, he often preferred to lead by example. Being with a younger group in Houston has required the future Hall of Famer to become a more vocal leader, writes Kelly Iko of Yahoo Sports.
“I got more comfortable speaking up when I see stuff,” Durant said. “I feel like I study the game a lot. I’ve been through every situation and experienced every situation. So I feel like that’s given me more confidence to speak up when I see things and to help my teammates as much as possible. But it’s just been a natural progression of me just being comfortable in the locker room, and also my teammates being open-minded to hear what I have to say.”
According to Iko, Durant is “particularly fond” of second-year guard Reed Sheppard, who has been playing excellent basketball over the past few weeks.
“Knowing the kind of person he is and how much confidence he’s given me is really cool,” said Sheppard, the second overall pick in the 2024 draft.
The Rockets will be shorthanded at forward with Durant out and Dorian Finney-Smith (offseason ankle surgery) and Tari Eason (oblique strain) recovering from injuries. Veterans Jae’Sean Tate and Jeff Green could receive more minutes in the short term, though Tate would need to be recalled from his G League assignment.
And-Ones: K. George, Canada, 2026 Draft, Boozer, More
Wizards wing Kyshawn George, one of two active NBA players to represent Canada in the 2025 AmeriCup (Timberwolves forward Leonard Miller was the other), tells Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca that he “one hundred per cent” hopes to play for his home country in the 2027 World Cup and 2028 Olympics.
“That’s one of my goals, to be able to be on that final team that’s going to compete for gold,” George said. “I’m just trusting the process, doing what I can do day-to-day to prove that I belong.”
George, a first-round pick in 2024, had yet to make his NBA regular season debut when Team Canada won bronze at the 2023 World Cup or competed in the 2024 Olympics in Paris. But he has taken a significant step forward in his second season in the league, with averages of 16.5 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 4.9 assists per game, plus a .484/.440/.773 shooting line. The 21-year-old credited his time with the national team this summer as a factor in his breakout fall.
“I do a lot of individual work in the offseason,” George said. “But there’s no better way to put it into practice than in an actual game. I was grateful to be able to play for Team Canada and to have them trust me to have that type of role where they trusted me with the ball and to make plays for myself and my teammates, and I think that just kind of led into training camp and the start of the season, where the Wizards have trusted me to make the right decision on the floor.”
Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:
- Sam Vecenie of The Athletic shares some of his early takeaways on notable 2026 draft prospects, including explaining why most scouts seem to have Cameron Boozer behind Darryn Peterson and AJ Dybantsa in the race for the No. 1 overall pick. Vecenie points to shot creation and finishing at the rim as areas where Boozer has room for improvement.
- Which teams are most in need of a “blow it up” trade? Sam Quinn of CBS Sports ranks all 30 teams by that metric, from the Thunder at No. 30 to the Kings at No. 1. The Mavericks, Pelicans, Clippers, and Grizzlies are also in Quinn’s top five.
- The Athletic’s NBA writers identify one area of concern for all 30 NBA teams, including frontcourt depth for the Celtics, turnovers for the Rockets, and three-point shooting for the Lakers.
- Veteran NBA reporter Zach Lowe has joined Amazon Prime Video’s NBA coverage, tweets Richard Deitsch of The Athletic. Lowe, who currently works for The Ringer after a previous stint with ESPN, will appear on Amazon’s studio show periodically throughout the NBA season.
Jae’Sean Tate Assigned To Rockets’ G League Affiliate
Sixth-year forward Jae’Sean Tate has been assigned to the Rockets‘ G League affiliate, the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, reports Kelly Iko of Yahoo Sports (via Twitter).
According to Iko, the Rockets and Tate mutually agreed to the assignment in order to get the 30-year-old some playing time and a chance to find his rhythm. Despite injuries to fellow forwards Dorian Finney-Smith and Tari Eason, Tate has been a healthy scratch for two of the past three games and played only two minutes in his lone appearance during that stretch.
Tate, who missed the regular season opener and was on a minutes restriction to open 2025/26 following offseason ankle surgery, has spent all six of his NBA seasons with Houston. As a free agent over the summer, he re-signed with the Rockets on a one-year, minimum-salary contract.
While it’s common for young players and veterans working their way back from injuries to be assigned to the NBAGL, it’s unusual for a veteran to accept the assignment when healthy. Still, Tate has only played 41 total minutes over eight appearances this season, so it’s understandable why he’s eager to work on his game, regardless of the level of competition.
Southwest Notes: KD, Sengun, Bey, Zion, Mavs, Morant, Edey, Coward
When Fred VanVleet tore his ACL prior to training camp, it raised questions about how the Rockets would function without a veteran point guard on the court to organize the offense. However, VanVleet’s absence hasn’t slowed down Houston’s attack at all through the season’s first four weeks — Houston ranks first in the NBA with an offensive rating of 123.4.
As William Guillory of The Athletic writes, the offseason addition of forward Kevin Durant, the ongoing improvement of center Alperen Sengun, and the chemistry quickly formed between that duo have been major factors in the Rockets’ success so far. Durant recently told Guillory that he has never played with a big man who can “dominate in the post” the way that Sengun does. Sengun, meanwhile, said he has “never played with so much space in my life” thanks to the defensive attention that Durant commands.
While Amen Thompson and Reed Sheppard have handled their increased on-ball responsibilities admirably in the wake of VanVleet’s injury, the Rockets are frequently running their offense through Sengun, who is operating as something of a “point center,” Guillory writes. The big man is leading the team with 7.4 assists per game, as he and Durant look to take advantage of defenses keying on them by getting their teammates involved — the rest of the Rockets are shooting 48.8% from the floor so far this season.
“We know teams are going to go after Kevin quite a bit. Alpi in the pocket is a great decision-maker and scorer. We invite the double-teams and let Alpi play with the numbers behind it,” head coach Ime Udoka said. “It’s a good thing for us. Alpi gets doubled in the post; KD gets doubled on the perimeter. It opens up shots for everyone else. The chemistry between those guys is really growing.”
We have more from around the Southwest:
- Pelicans forward Saddiq Bey missed a game for the first time this season on Monday, having been ruled out of the second end of a back-to-back set due to a sprained left ankle (Twitter link). He was originally listed as questionable, as was forward Zion Williamson, who ultimately sat for an eight straight game. Those initial injury designations suggest that Williamson is close to returning and that Bey shouldn’t be out long.
- Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd, who has been without multiple rotation players in every game this season, expressed some frustration on Monday over the team’s ongoing injury issues, per Mike Curtis of The Dallas Morning News (Twitter link). “Our health is a big problem,” Kidd said. “We have guys out for one game and then they’re in and on minute restrictions. There’s no continuity. There won’t be any continuity. We’re trying to piece this thing together, and give those guys in that locker room credit. They’re fighting, and it’s just what it is right now until we can get healthy.”
- While rival teams are wondering whether the struggling Grizzlies might consider blowing up their roster, the messaging out of Memphis is that the team has no interest in taking that route and remains committed to building around Ja Morant and Jaren Jackson Jr., writes Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Substack link). Even if the Grizzlies change their minds and make Morant available, Fischer doesn’t view the Timberwolves as a logical trade partner, given Minnesota’s lack of draft assets and the fact that the Wolves would have to give up at least one valuable starter for salary-matching purposes.
- Center Zach Edey, who recently returned from ankle surgery, and forward Cedric Coward, who has been dealing with some foot soreness, were both on minutes restrictions on Saturday, according to Grizzlies head coach Tuomas Iisalo. Both players logged about 25 minutes. “It’s a challenging situation, because both guys have done a great job for us, we like to play them a lot and both are starting for us,” Iisalo said, per Michael Wallace of Grind City Media. “But at the same time, we have to be smart because their future is also very important for us. So, we’re making sure we make good decisions right here, especially with those two guys.”
Dorian Finney-Smith Still Not Cleared For Contact
- The Rockets‘ depth took a hit with Tari Eason sidelined four-to-six weeks with an oblique strain, and it doesn’t appear that Dorian Finney-Smith will be able to help any time soon, writes Danielle Lerner of The Houston Chronicle. The free agent addition is still recovering from offseason surgery on his left ankle and hasn’t been cleared for contact drills.
Rockets’ Tari Eason Suffers Oblique Strain, Out 4-6 Weeks
Rockets forward Tari Eason has been diagnosed with a strained oblique and will miss four-to-six weeks, according to head coach Ime Udoka (Twitter link via Danielle Lerner of The Houston Chronicle).
The 24-year-old sustained the injury in the first half of Friday’s win over Portland, with Houston initially describing it as a right hip contusion. Upon further evaluation, it turns out he suffered an oblique strain.
It’s a tough blow for Eason, who has battled multiple injuries the past few years. After appearing in all 82 regular season games as a rookie, Eason played just 22 games in 2023/24 and 57 last season.
The 17th overall pick of the 2022 draft, Eason has been a valuable contributor for the Rockets when healthy. He holds career averages of 10.4 points, 6.2 rebounds and 1.4 steals in 22.8 minutes per game and was off to a solid start to the season prior to the injury, averaging 12.3 PPG and 5.3 RPG on .517/.531/.714 shooting through 10 games (24.5 MPG).
Until Dorian Finney-Smith returns from offseason ankle surgery, the Rockets won’t necessarily have a direct positional replacement for Eason. Udoka could give Reed Sheppard, who has been playing the best basketball of his young career of late, more minutes, perhaps sliding Amen Thompson up to the wing at times instead of playing point guard.
Veteran guard Aaron Holiday played a season-high 13 minutes — all in the second half — with Eason out and responded with 10 points.
Eason will be a restricted free agent in the summer if Houston gives him a qualifying offer.