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Injury Notes: Jazz, Williams, Sheppard, Furphy

October 12th, 2025 at 5:01pm CST by Eli Cohen

The Jazz are getting closer to full health, tweets Andy Larsen of The Salt Lake Tribune. According to Larsen, Lauri Markkanen, Walker Kessler, and Kyle Filipowski, who missed the start of training camp due to lower back, left shoulder, and left wrist injuries, respectively, were full participants in practice on Sunday.

The three big men were unavailable for Utah’s opening two preseason matchups, but are gearing up for their returns. Markkanen previously stated that while his injury was minor, he wasn’t sure of his exact timetable for return.

Larsen also notes that Kyle Anderson, who played at least 14 minutes in each of the opening preseason games, was not able to suit up for practice due to right knee tendinitis.

We have more injury notes from around the league:

  • Vince Williams Jr. missed the Grizzlies‘ game against the Hawks on Friday night, but according to head coach Tuomas Iisalo, his absence wasn’t a cause for concern. Iisalo said the decision was made because of “small precautions,” according to Damichael Cole of The Memphis Commercial Appeal (via Twitter), and added that it was “nothing serious at this moment.”
  • Ben Sheppard has been absent from each of the Pacers‘ two preseason games so far and is doubtful for Monday’s upcoming tilt against the Spurs, reports Dustin Dopirak of the Indianapolis Star (Twitter link). According to coach Rick Carlisle, Sheppard is still working his way back to being a full practice participant. The Pacers are very light on healthy guards at the moment; in addition to Tyrese Haliburton, Indiana is already missing T.J. McConnell, who will be out at least a month with a hamstring injury, as well as 2025 draft pick Kam Jones, who is sidelined due to a back injury.
  • Pacers sophomore Johnny Furphy is joining Sheppard on the injury report after he sprained his left ankle in Saturday’s contest with the Thunder, Dopirak writes. Furphy’s recovery timeline has not been reported yet, nor has the severity of the sprain.
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Central Notes: White, Jackson, Allen, Hunter

October 9th, 2025 at 8:15pm CST by Earnest Marshall

Coby White has added motivation to return swiftly from a calf strain that’s plagued him ahead of the 2025/26 season, Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times writes. White is on track to be an unrestricted free agent next summer and will be looking to build on the best two years of his career.

According to Cowley, early indications are that both the Bulls and White are interested in getting a deal done next summer. Both sides are expected to proceed with caution when it comes to his return from his calf injury.

With White sidelined in Chicago’s preseason opener on Tuesday, Kevin Huerter took the bulk of his minutes and started in his stead. If White is to miss any regular season time, Huerter would be the prime candidate to assume a larger role.

We have more from the Central Division:

  • After missing all but five games last season due to an Achilles injury, Pacers center Isaiah Jackson seems to have the inside track to the starting center role, according to Dustin Dopirak of IndyStar, who details the big man’s recovery and conditioning process. “I can use my weight,” Jackson said. “I was always physical but I couldn’t move guys how I wanted to. I couldn’t play my brand of basketball. I’d get up to the offensive rim and I’d have to go straight up. Now I can bump people and move people out the way and I don’t really affected by it. Strength wise, I can play defense a little better. I can hold my own.“
  • The tandem of Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley has proven to be effective, but Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated speculates that Allen could be a name to watch at the deadline depending on how the Cavaliers open the season. According to Mannix, most evaluators view Mobley as a long-term center, so there’s a sense that the team could be open to moving Allen at some point for the right return.
  • De’Andre Hunter had his most successful NBA season in 2024/25 across stints with the Hawks and Cavaliers, averaging a career-high 17.0 points per game and finishing fourth in Sixth Player of the Year voting. He looks poised to carry over that momentum this fall and take another step forward, having recorded 17 points and seven rebounds in Cleveland’s preseason opener. In a subscriber-only piece, Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com examines why Hunter’s teammates are expecting a “huge year” from the forward and why head coach Kenny Atkinson has referred to him as the club’s “offseason MVP.”
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T.J. McConnell Out At Least One Month With Hamstring Strain

October 9th, 2025 at 12:55pm CST by Rory Maher

Pacers point guard T.J. McConnell will be sidelined for at least one month after suffering a left hamstring strain, head coach Rick Carlisle announced today (Twitter link via the team).

McConnell was forced to leave Tuesday’s preseason opener in the second quarter due to the injury.

Obviously, it’s a disappointing development for the Pacers, who will be without star point guard Tyrese Haliburton for the entire season after he sustained a torn Achilles tendon in the first quarter of Game 7 of the 2025 NBA Finals. Second-round pick Kam Jones, another guard, is expected to miss multiple weeks with a back injury.

McConnell, 33, is entering his 11th NBA season and seventh with Indiana.

The veteran backup appeared in 79 regular season contests in 2024/25, averaging 9.1 points, 4.4 assists, 2.4 rebounds and 1.1 steals in 17.9 minutes per game. He also had a strong playoff showing, with very similar averages — 9.5 PPG, 4.0 APG, 3.3 RPG, 0.9 SPG — in 23 games (17.5 MPG).

Indiana originally intended to sign Monte Morris to compete for a spot as the third-string point guard behind Andrew Nembhard and McConnell, but the deal fell through when Morris suffered a calf strain. Veteran Delon Wright was signed instead, but was released  Thursday morning in favor of Cameron Payne after Wright took two brutal blows to the head during Tuesday’s preseason opener.

Wright announced on social media (Twitter link) that he needed 10 stitches above his right eye and four on his right elbow, but is “doing good” otherwise.

According to Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star, Payne will likely be the second-string point guard while McConnell recovers. Carlisle discussed the transactions this afternoon.

“It just didn’t work out with Delon,” Carlisle said, per Dopirak. “Cam’s here. We’ve seen a lot of Cam the last two years with Milwaukee and New York. He’s a guy we always had to account for in scouts and what not. It’s a great opportunity for him.”

“His speed, his long-range shooting ability is high level,” Carlisle said when asked what he likes about Payne’s game. “He’s experienced, knows the game, has good feel, and he’s a play-maker.”

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Pacers Sign Cameron Payne, Waive Delon Wright

October 9th, 2025 at 9:39am CST by Dana Gauruder

The Pacers have signed veteran point guard Cameron Payne and waived Delon Wright, the team announced in a press release.

Payne, who appeared in 72 regular season games with the Knicks last season, was one of the top free agents still on the market. Payne was signed to a training camp contract, Michael Scotto of HoopsHype tweets.

Payne averaged 6.9 points, 1.4 rebounds and 2.8 assists in 15.1 minutes per night last season with .401/.363/.907 shooting numbers. He scored 14 points off the bench and was a plus-23 overall in the opener of the Knicks’ first-round series against Detroit. However, his shooting numbers declined throughout the playoffs, and he was removed from the rotation during the Eastern Conference Finals.

The New York Post reported last month the Knicks were not interested in re-signing him.

Payne was selected by Oklahoma City with the 14th pick in the 2015 draft. He was traded to Chicago at the 2017 deadline and later spent time with Cleveland, Phoenix, Milwaukee and Philadelphia before signing with New York. He has appeared in 477 regular season games.

Ironically, Payne and Wright were teammates with the Knicks. Wright began last season with the Bucks before being traded to the Knicks ahead of the deadline. He averaged 3.1 points per game across 40 appearances with both teams and was a bit more productive in New York, averaging 4.3 points and 2.1 assists per night and making six playoff appearances. Wright has appeared in 548 regular season contests for 10 different NBA teams in a career that also began in 2015.

Wright was signed to an Exhibit 9 contract late last month. Exhibit 9 deals are standard, non-guaranteed contracts that protect an NBA team in the event that a player suffers a significant injury in training camp.

He played four minutes in the team’s preseason opener on Tuesday but was forced to exit after a head-to-head collision.

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Pacers Notes: Wright, McConnell, Bradley, Furphy

October 8th, 2025 at 3:26pm CST by Luke Adams

Pacers guard Delon Wright, who is competing to earn a spot on the team’s regular season roster, was forced to exit Tuesday’s preseason opener after spending just four minutes on the court, writes Devon Henderson of The Athletic.

Handling the ball just across the half-court line late in the second quarter, Wright went to change directions and took a brutal head-to-head shot from Timberwolves guard Jaylen Clark, who was attempting to sneak behind him for the steal. Wright was knocked to the floor and took another shot to his head when it struck the court (Twitter video link).

Wright, who had a bloody gash above his right eye as a result of the play, received treatment on the court and was eventually helped to the locker room. The veteran guard is with the Pacers on a non-guaranteed Exhibit 9 contract, but is viewed as a legitimate contender to become the 15th man on a team that has 14 players on fully or partially guaranteed standard deals.

Here’s more on the Pacers:

  • Wright wasn’t the only Pacers point guard who had to leave Tuesday’s game early. As Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star writes, T.J. McConnell exited in the second quarter due to a sore left hamstring and didn’t return. Indiana, of course, is already missing its starting point guard, as Tyrese Haliburton will spend the entire 2025/26 season recovering from an Achilles tear.
  • Tony Bradley provided crucial frontcourt depth for the Pacers down the stretch last season, but with Isaiah Jackson and James Wiseman back following injury absences, there may not be room on the roster for him this fall. Bradley, who is on a non-guaranteed contract, said this week that he knows “what’s at stake” during the preseason, and that he’s determined to do all he can to remain in the NBA after spending two full years out of the league from 2023-25. “I stayed motivated ever since I went down to the G League and came up,” Bradley said, according to Dopirak (subscription required). “My whole mindset is just different, how I see everything. I’m very motivated, always.”
  • 2024 second-round pick Johnny Furphy had a very limited role as a rookie, averaging just 7.6 minutes per night in 50 games. However, he’s playing with more confidence ahead of his second NBA season and is making a case for a spot in the Pacers’ rotation, Dopirak writes for The Indy Star (subscription required). “He’s gotten stronger, he’s gotten bigger, I think he’s gotten taller,” head coach Rick Carlisle said. “He’s obviously a hard worker. He does a lot of things system-wise that really help us. Speed, rebounding, pressure on the rim, and defensively he’s improved. … He’s a fearless athlete. He attacks everything. He’s unafraid, tough, and every day he gets better.”
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And-Ones: Delfino, Positional Rankings, Top Storylines, More

October 8th, 2025 at 10:35am CST by Luke Adams

Appearing on the “Doble Doble” podcast this week, former NBA forward Carlos Delfino confirmed that he is retiring as a player, as Johnny Askounis of Eurohoops writes.

Delfino, who turned 43 in August, was the 25th overall pick in the 2003 NBA draft and spent nine years in the league from 2004-08 and 2009-14 (he played in Russia in 2008/09). The Argentinian wing averaged 8.1 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 1.7 assists in 22.8 minutes per game across 507 regular season outings for the Pistons, Raptors, Bucks, and Rockets before injuries derailed his career.

Delfino eventually returned to action in Europe in 2017 and spent the next several seasons playing for non-NBA teams. A longtime international standout, he won an Olympic gold medal in Athens in 2004 as a member of the Argentina national team that upset Team USA in the semifinals, then took home a bronze medal at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.

We have several more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

  • Law Murray of The Athletic ranked all 30 NBA teams based on their depth charts at each position, with the Thunder (Shai Gilgeous-Alexander; Cason Wallace) taking the No. 1 spot at point guard while the Timberwolves (Anthony Edwards; Terrence Shannon Jr.) sit atop the shooting guard list. The Rockets (Kevin Durant; Tari Eason), Bucks (Giannis Antetokounmpo; Bobby Portis), and Nuggets (Nikola Jokic; Jonas Valanciunas) ranked first at small forward, power forward, and center, respectively.
  • What storylines will be the biggest of the 2025/26 season? Chris Mannix of SI.com makes his predictions, including whether or not Antetokounmpo will finish the season with the Bucks, how much better the Magic will be with Desmond Bane, and whether the concept of playoff reseeding will gain any momentum based on the relative strength of the Western Conference.
  • An international basketball league that has been in the works for the past couple years still plans to launch in 2026, but LeBron James‘ business partner Maverick Carter is no longer involved in the venture, according to Ben Horney and Daniel Roberts of Front Office Sports. The report from Horney and Roberts provides some details on the big names who are investing in the league, including tennis star Novak Djokovic and former WNBA star Candace Parker.
  • John Hollinger of The Athletic‘s projections for the bottom half of the Eastern Conference in 2025/26 include the Sixers, Celtics, and Pacers finishing 10th through 12th with 37, 36, and 31 wins, respectively. However, he acknowledges that Philadelphia might have a wider range of potential outcomes than any other team in the NBA.
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Injury Notes: K. Jones, Sheppard, Sarr, Gafford, Suns

October 6th, 2025 at 1:04pm CST by Luke Adams

Pacers rookie Kam Jones, the 38th overall pick in this year’s draft, will be sidelined for several weeks due to a back injury, head coach Rick Carlisle told reporters on Monday (Twitter link via Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star). Carlisle added that third-year wing Ben Sheppard will miss Tuesday’s preseason opener due to an undisclosed injury.

While Carlisle indicated that Sheppard should be available soon, it sounds as if Jones probably won’t be ready to return by the time Indiana’s regular season schedule tips off on October 23 vs. Oklahoma City.

With a pair of players in the Pacers’ backcourt banged up, it’s possible veteran guard Delon Wright‘s chances of making the regular season roster have increased. Wright and center Tony Bradley are both on non-guaranteed contracts and are believed to be competing for the final spot on the team’s 15-man squad.

Here are a few more injury-related notes and updates from around the NBA:

  • Wizards center Alex Sarr, who sustained a right calf injury during EuroBasket, took part in non-contact work in Monday’s practice, tweets Josh Robbins of The Athletic. It was the first time this fall that Sarr had been a partial participant in a practice. Team officials said at the time of the injury that they expected 2024’s No. 2 overall pick to be ready for the start of the regular season.
  • Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd said on Sunday that injured center Daniel Gafford, who is recovering from an ankle injury, is “trending in the right direction” but still hasn’t been able to practice, per Grant Afseth of Dallas Hoops Journal (Twitter link). Besides Gafford and Kyrie Irving (ACL), everyone else is practicing for Dallas, according to Kidd.
  • Providing updates on a pair of potential starters, Suns head coach Jordan Ott said on Sunday that Jalen Green (hamstring) is “definitely progressing” and that “every day has been better” for him, while Mark Williams is “in a good place” as he ramps up for the season (Twitter video link via Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic). Ott didn’t commit to either player suiting up for one (or both) of the team’s preseason games in China on Friday and Sunday, but he also didn’t rule out the possibility. For what it’s worth, teammate Jared Butler said he thinks Green is “super close” to returning (Twitter video link via Rankin).
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2025/26 NBA Over/Unders: Central Division

October 3rd, 2025 at 11:20am CST by Luke Adams

With the 2025/26 NBA regular season tipping off later this month, we’re getting serious about predictions for the upcoming campaign and continuing an annual Hoops Rumors tradition.

With the help of the lines from a series of sports betting sites – including BetMGM and BetOnline – we’re running through the predicted win totals for each of the NBA’s 30 teams, by division. In a series of team-by-team polls, you’ll get the chance to weigh in on whether you think those forecasts are too optimistic or too pessimistic.

In 2024/25, our voters went 13-17 on their over/under picks. Can we top that in ’25/26?

We’ll continue our series today with the Central Division…

Cleveland Cavaliers

Detroit Pistons

Milwaukee Bucks

Indiana Pacers

Chicago Bulls

Previous voting results:

Atlantic

  • New York Knicks (53.5 wins): Over (63.2%)
  • Boston Celtics (42.5 wins): Over (52.7%)
  • Philadelphia 76ers (42.5 wins): Under (58.7%)
  • Toronto Raptors (37.5 wins): Over (50.2%)
  • Brooklyn Nets (20.5 wins): Over (54.4%)

Northwest

  • Oklahoma City Thunder (62.5 wins): Over (62.9%)
  • Denver Nuggets (53.5 wins): Over (72.1%)
  • Minnesota Timberwolves (49.5 wins): Over (58.7%)
  • Portland Trail Blazers (34.5 wins): Over (57.1%)
  • Utah Jazz (18.5 wins): Over (55.3%).
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Pacers Notes: Wright, Walker, Guy, G League Trade

October 3rd, 2025 at 10:19am CST by Luke Adams

Although point guard Delon Wright isn’t guaranteed a regular season roster spot with the Pacers, he has a couple factors working in his favor, writes Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star.

For one, while the Pacers are already carrying 15 players on standard contracts, one of those 15 is journeyman center Tony Bradley, whose salary for 2025/26 is non-guaranteed. As Dopirak observes, Bradley would be Indiana’s fourth center and may not be a necessary piece on this roster unless the team has concerns about one or both of Isaiah Jackson and James Wiseman, who are returning from Achilles tears.

Wright has also played for Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle before — Carlisle was the head coach in Dallas when the veteran guard played a regular role off the bench for the Mavericks in 2019/20.

“Delon’s a good NBA player,” Carlisle said earlier this week. “He played for us in Dallas. He’s had good stints in a lot of places. … There’s an opportunity there for him. He seems to be in a good place physically and mentally. I think our style suits his abilities quite well.”

Competing for a roster spot in training camp is a new experience for Wright, who has appeared in 548 regular season games and another 47 playoff contests since entering the NBA as the 20th overall pick in the 2015 draft.

“I’ve never actually been in this situation,” Wright said. “I’ve been around the league 11 years now. They know what I do. They brought me here for a reason. If I am on the team, good. If not, I know I’ll give it my all. A lot of it is out of my control.”

Here’s more on the Pacers:

  • Jarace Walker came off the board eighth overall in the 2023 draft, but has played a relatively limited role at the NBA level thus far, averaging 14.1 minutes per night in 108 total appearances. Walker, who says he has learned a lot from Pascal Siakam, is extra motivated to make an impact after not getting to play in the NBA Finals due to a sprained ankle. The third-year forward has earned praise from Carlisle for his “tremendous” conditioning and hard work in camp. “It’s difficult being a top-10 pick,” Carlisle said, according to Dopirak (subscription required). “You feel like you’re supposed to go in there and be an impact guy. In our situation, his position was pretty crowded, so it took time. But he’s learned and he’s worked extremely hard and he’s positioned himself to be a major factor on this team.”
  • Given that he was supposed to work as an assistant coach at the University of Nevada this season, Kyle Guy is an unlikely addition to the Pacers’ preseason roster. However, he tells Dopirak (subscription required) that he jumped at the opportunity when he got an Exhibit 10 offer from Indiana and is looking forward to playing for the team’s G League affiliate, the Noblesville Boom, while holding out hope that he can turn the audition into something more. “The goal is to make the (Pacers’) roster,” Guy said. “I’m not an idiot. I don’t know if that’s in the cards right now, but I think after I get my feet under me and play for the Boom and help establish a winning culture and a fun atmosphere there that I could make those things happen down the road.”
  • Speaking of the Boom, Indiana’s NBAGL affiliate made a trade on Thursday, acquiring forward Ray Spalding‘s returning rights from the Rio Grande Valley Vipers (the Rockets‘ affiliate) in exchange for a 2026 first-round pick, tweets Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files. That could point to Spalding signing an Exhibit 10 deal with the Pacers later in camp to ensure he gets a bonus for playing for Noblesville this season.
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Bucks Notes: Rollins, Giannis, Anthony, Green, Turner

October 2nd, 2025 at 8:08pm CST by Luke Adams

Bucks guard Ryan Rollins told reporters after Thursday’s practice that he played through a left shoulder injury last season and underwent surgery to address the issue about a week after the team was eliminated from the playoffs, per Eric Nehm of The Athletic (Twitter link). Although he admitted that his shoulder feels “a little different…range-wise,” Rollins clarified that it feels good and he has “no hesitation” in the shoulder.

“It was a four-month recovery,” he said. “I started back playing maybe the end of July, actually doing stuff on the court. And I would say my first live segment was not this week, but last week. So I’m just getting back into playing condition and all that, but I feel stronger. I feel good. I feel confident.”

Asked on Wednesday about what Rollins’ role would look like this season with Kevin Porter Jr. and Cole Anthony also in the point guard mix, head coach Doc Rivers made it clear that he’s not pigeonholing those players into a specific position and wouldn’t have any qualms about playing two of them at a time.

“I don’t look at them as point guards,” Rivers said (Twitter link via Nehm). “I think they all can play all the positions. I mean, we played Ryan and Cole together today. So, it doesn’t matter, they’re guards. Our offense is…not a point guard orientated offense.”

Rivers mentioned earlier in the week that he anticipates Porter will be a starter this fall.

Here’s more on the Bucks:

  • Star forward Giannis Antetokounmpo, who remained in Greece this week dealing with a case of COVID-19, is set to join the Bucks as their training camp shifts from Milwaukee to Miami, writes Ben Steele of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “He’ll be flying in either tonight or in the morning,” Rivers said on Thursday ahead of the team’s flight to Florida. The Bucks’ preseason schedule will tip off on Monday with a matchup vs. the Heat in Miami, so the club will be in town for a few days before that game.
  • Anthony was held out of the contact portion of Thursday’s practice as a precautionary measure due to an unspecified health issue, tweets Nehm. Rivers didn’t provide any details on what was wrong with the veteran guard.
  • One of just a handful of Bucks players who didn’t sign a new contract this offseason, A.J. Green is unfazed by not having a contract extension in place yet, as Jim Owczarski of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel relays. “It’s gonna happen exactly how it should,” said Green, who is on an expiring deal. “If I worry about it, what’s that gonna do for me? I’m not in control of it. I can only do what I can now. So, I just gotta trust that whatever is gonna happen is gonna happen regardless. It’s out of my hands.”
  • After saying on media day that he’s happy to be “in a city now that wants to celebrate me,” new Bucks center Myles Turner sought to clarify that the remark wasn’t intended as a shot at Indianapolis or Pacers fans. “This quote has NOTHING to do with Indy fans and EVERYTHING to do with my free agency experience,” Turner tweeted.
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