Hawks Notes: Kuminga, Hield, Landale, Okongwu, Saleh
Hawks general manager Onsi Saleh has a background with the Warriors, so he pounced on the opportunity to trade for Jonathan Kuminga, writes Angelina Martin of NBC Sports Bay Area. Before going to Atlanta, Saleh spent three years in Golden State’s front office, giving him a first-hand look at Kuminga’s potential.
“I was there for, I think, [Kuminga’s] first three years,” he said. “For us, [the trade] made sense given our timeline and what we’re trying to do. I think a 23-year-old with a ton of potential — I think the things that he helps us with are his rim pressure that he puts on. He’s a phenomenal athlete. He’s a good rebounder. I think in transition, he could be absolutely phenomenal, and he adds size at the wing position if we ever need to add another defender to guard one of these bigger wings in the league. So, I’m really excited about Jonathan.”
After years of looking for a fresh start, Kuminga finally got his wish on Thursday when the Hawks acquired him and Buddy Hield in exchange for Kristaps Porzingis. Kuminga is currently dealing with a bone bruise in his left knee that will sideline him through the All-Star break, but the team is confident he’ll be able to produce when he returns.
Saleh also welcomes the outside shooting that Hield can provide and said his “hilarious” personality will be good to have in the locker room.
There’s more from Atlanta:
- Jock Landale made a strong impression in his debut with the Hawks, delivering 26 points, 11 rebounds, five assists and four blocks in Thursday’s win over Utah. He was in Memphis when the trade was announced and turned down the team’s offer for a flight, opting to make the 5 1/2-hour drive to Atlanta instead, according to Lauren L. Williams of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Twitter link). “I kind of said, if I’m looking to play that next night, I want to get there as soon as possible,” Landale said. “So loaded up the truck and hit the road.”
- The Hawks sent $3MM to the Jazz in the Landale trade, per ESPN’s Bobby Marks at Sports Business Classroom. The cash amount wasn’t specified when the deal was announced.
- Onyeka Okongwu returned Saturday after missing four games with a dental fracture, per Brad Rowland of Locked on Hawks (Twitter link). The only player remaining on the injured list for the contest was Kuminga.
- Prior to the game, Saleh spoke to the media about his strategy at the deadline, Rowland adds (Twitter link). “Everything is future forward,” he said. “We didn’t want the flexibility that we created at the start of the season to be impacted by the deadline, and we felt like we maintained that flexibility.” Saleh also talked about preserving “optionality” for the summer.
Jazz Acquire Lonzo Ball, Second-Rounders From Cavs
February 5: The Jazz have officially acquired Ball and two second-round picks from the Cavaliers, according to press releases from both teams. Utah also separately completed its deal with Atlanta involving Landale.
“Lonzo Ball was the consummate professional during his time with the Cavaliers, and we’re grateful for his hard work and team-first mentality,” Cavaliers president of basketball operations Koby Altman said in a statement. “We wish him nothing but the best moving forward.”
Oddly, neither the Jazz’s release nor the Cavs’ announcement indicated what exactly Cleveland received from Utah to complete the deal, but RealGM’s official transaction log indicates it was cash.
February 4: The Jazz have agreed to a pair of trades, according to Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter links), who reports that Utah will be acquiring point guard Lonzo Ball and two second-round picks from the Cavaliers and is also sending center Jock Landale to the Hawks in exchange for cash considerations.
The Jazz are making their deal with Cleveland solely for the draft capital and are expected to waive Ball after the trade is complete, Charania adds (via Twitter). Once he clears waivers, he’d be eligible to sign with any team except the Cavs.
The Cavaliers acquired Ball from Chicago last summer in a swap for Isaac Okoro in the hopes that he could provide the team with a reliable replacement for Sixth Man of the Year finalist Ty Jerome, who departed in free agency. However, Ball had a disappointing season in Cleveland, averaging career lows in several categories, including points (4.6) and minutes (20.8) per game, as well as field goal percentage (30.1%) and three-point percentage (27.2%).
With the Cavs making an effort to reduce payroll and perhaps duck below the second tax apron, moving Ball and his $10MM salary made sense, especially after the team acquired guards Dennis Schröder and Keon Ellis from Sacramento over the weekend.
The Cavs will save approximately $65MM as a result of the Ball trade and are now just $3.9MM over the second apron, tweets Yossi Gozlan of The Third Apron. Cleveland may very well keep looking for ways to get out of second-apron territory in order to avoid having its 2033 first-round pick becoming “frozen” for trade purposes this offseason, but the club has already generated massive savings as a result of its recent moves — approximately $115MM in total, per Gozlan (Twitter link).
Utah, meanwhile, still had a significant amount of breathing room below the luxury tax threshold after adding to their payroll in Tuesday’s Jaren Jackson Jr. blockbuster and will take advantage of that flexibility to take on some unwanted salary and acquire the Cavs’ 2028 and 2032 second-round picks in the process, tweets Jake Fischer of The Stein Line. Those were the only second-rounders Cleveland had available to trade.
The Jazz still have a trade exception worth more than $12MM from last summer’s John Collins deal that they’ll use to absorb Ball’s pseudo-expiring contract (he has a $10MM team option for next season that will be automatically declined when he’s waived). That Collins exception was initially worth over $26MM and has since been used to acquire Georges Niang and John Konchar as well.
Landale was one of three role players the Jazz acquired alongside Jackson in Tuesday’s blockbuster with Memphis, but he wasn’t part of Utah’s future frontcourt plans and will now head to Atlanta.
The 30-year-old Australian center was having a career year for the Grizzlies prior to the trade, averaging 11.3 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 1.7 assists in 23.6 minutes per game across 45 outings (25 starts). He was also knocking down 38.0% of a career-high 2.9 three-point tries per game. He’ll provide frontcourt depth for a Hawks team that has been hit hard by injuries up front this season.
The Hawks will have to waive a player in order to make room for Landale, but that shouldn’t be a problem — both Duop Reath and N’Faly Dante are out with season-ending injuries and are candidates to be cut. They’ll be able to take on Landale without sending out any salary of their own since he’s on a minimum-salary contract.
Hawks Finalize Jock Landale Trade, Waive Duop Reath
The Hawks have officially finalized their previously reported trade with the Jazz, acquiring center Jock Landale from Utah in exchange for cash considerations, the team confirmed in a press release.
While that agreement was reported as part of a Jazz/Cavaliers trade, it appears the two moves will be completed separately rather than as a single three-team transaction — the Hawks’ announcement doesn’t include any mention of Cleveland’s involvement in the deal.
Landale, 30, was having a career year for the Grizzlies prior to being sent to Utah in the Jaren Jackson Jr. blockbuster, averaging 11.3 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 1.7 assists in 23.6 minutes per game across 45 outings (25 starts). He was also knocking down 38.0% of a career-high 2.9 three-point tries per game.
The Australian big man will provide frontcourt depth for a Hawks team that has been impacted by injuries up front this season and is sending Kristaps Porzingis to Golden State.
Landale is on a one-year, minimum-salary contract, so Atlanta can acquire him without sending out matching salary. The team did need to open up a spot on its 15-man roster for Landale though, and did so by placing recently acquired center Duop Reath on waivers (Twitter link).
Reath, who was dealt from Portland to Atlanta in Sunday’s Vit Krejci trade, recently underwent season-ending foot surgery and wasn’t expected to remain on the Hawks’ roster. His $2,221,677 cap hit for this season will remain on the team’s books, but he isn’t owed any salary beyond 2025/26.
Grizzlies Trade Jaren Jackson Jr. To Jazz
The Grizzlies and Jazz have finalized a blockbuster trade that sends former Defensive Player of the Year Jaren Jackson Jr. from Memphis to Utah along with wings John Konchar and Vince Williams Jr. and center Jock Landale.
In exchange, the Grizzlies have acquired guard Walter Clayton, swingman Kyle Anderson, forwards Taylor Hendricks and Georges Niang, and three future first-round picks.
Those three first-rounders headed to the Grizzlies in the deal are the Lakers’ 2027 pick (top-four protected), either the Cavaliers’, Timberwolves’, or Jazz’s own 2027 pick (whichever is most favorable), and the Suns’ 2031 pick (unprotected).
It’s a shocking move for a couple reasons. For one, multiple reports ahead of Thursday’s trade deadline suggested that Memphis had no interest in moving Jackson and hoped to hang onto – and build around – the big man going forward.
Additionally, while there were multiple teams said to be inquiring on Jackson’s availability in the hopes that the Grizzlies changed their mind, there was no indication that the Jazz were among those teams or that they’d be looking to use their stash of future draft picks to make this sort of move this week. Entering Tuesday’s games, Utah holds a 15-35 record, which is the sixth-worst mark in the NBA.
However, the move for Jackson suggests first-year president of basketball operations Austin Ainge and the Jazz are preparing to take a step forward next season. League sources tell Tony Jones of The Athletic (Twitter link) that the team doesn’t plan to trade forward Lauri Markkanen and still wants to re-sign center Walker Kessler in restricted free agency this summer. Utah envisions a frontcourt made up of Markkanen, Jackson, and Kessler, Jones explains.
Third-year guard Keyonte George and 2025 lottery pick Ace Bailey are among the other long-term building blocks in Utah, where the Jazz still control at least one first-round pick in every future draft, starting in 2026. Notably, that 2026 first-rounder will be sent to Oklahoma City if it lands outside the top eight — the Jazz are still in a fairly strong position to hang onto it, since there’s a 4.5-game gap between them and the NBA’s seventh- and eighth-worst teams (the 18-29 Bucks and 19-30 Mavericks).
As for the Grizzlies, we’d heard for weeks that they were open to trading two-time All-Star Ja Morant, but it wasn’t clear whether they intended to retool around Jackson or fully rebuild around a younger core headlined by Cedric Coward, Zach Edey, and Jaylen Wells. Now we have our answer.
While Clayton and Hendricks are just 22 years old and could carve out places in the Grizzlies’ long-term plans, the return for Jackson is primarily about adding three more first-round picks to an ever-growing collection of draft assets and creating additional cap flexibility in the present and future. The Grizzlies now control 12 first-rounders in the next seven drafts, notes Yossi Gozlan of The Third Apron (Twitter link).
Jackson renegotiated and extended his contract with Memphis last offseason and will earn $205MM over the next four years after this one. He’s the only player of the eight involved in this trade who is owed guaranteed money beyond next season, and taking on his long-term deal will likely eliminate Utah’s cap room this summer.
In terms of 2025/26 money, Utah will be taking advantage of its significant breathing room below the luxury tax line by increasing its payroll by more than $18MM — the Jazz are sending out a combined $27.5MM in salary and taking back roughly $45.8MM.
As Gozlan tweets, the Jazz will use their four outgoing players to legally match Jackson’s $35MM cap hit, then take the other three incoming players into existing traded player exceptions (or a portion of their mid-level, if they prefer to preserve their bigger TPE).
Memphis, meanwhile, will create a record-setting trade exception worth nearly $28.9MM, per ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Twitter link).
Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link) first broke the news of the deal, with Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Twitter link) providing the details on the draft picks involved. The Jazz officially confirmed the news in a press release.
Northwest Notes: McDaniels, Thunder, Jazz, Conley
Jaden McDaniels‘ name has popped up in rumors surrounding the Timberwolves‘ pursuit of Giannis Antetokounmpo, but on Thursday night’s win over the Thunder, he showed just how valuable he is to Minnesota in his own right, writes Jon Krawczynski for The Athletic.
The sixth-year wing is averaging career-highs in points (14.9) and assists (2.9) per game, as well as three-point percentage (44.5%), free throw attempts per game (2.5) and free throw percentage (84.9%). He has also missed just two games this season after playing all 82 last year, and has only made fewer than 70 appearances once in his career (in a COVID-shortened season).
Most importantly, McDaniels has the support of the team around him.
“He’s my favorite player in the league,” star Anthony Edwards said about him. “I love everything about Jaden, everything that he does on the court, defensively, offensively, for us as a team, on the bench, he’s always cheering his teammates on no matter how the game goes for him.”
Both Edwards and head coach Chris Finch have discussed how hard he grinds to fix the holes in his game and the business-like approach he takes to his career.
“He’s an incredible worker,” Finch said. “He’s like a machine every day.”
Krawczynski writes that any Antetokounmpo deal for the Wolves would likely require McDaniels to be moved, either to the Bucks or to a third team, but should no deal come to pass, McDaniels has become the piece the Wolves need him to be at exactly the right time.
We have more from the Northwest Division:
- The Thunder are unlikely to make a major shake-up move at the trade deadline, with most reports indicating that 22-year-old wing Ousmane Dieng is the most likely player on the team to be moved. That said, the team could still use some frontcourt insurance depth, especially with Isaiah Hartenstein in and out of the lineup with injuries, Rylan Stiles writes for Sports Illustrated. In his breakdown of seven potential trade targets, Stiles primarily focuses on depth big men who are unlikely to be overly coveted by their team. Kevin Love (Jazz), Nick Richards (Suns), Bobby Portis (Bucks), and Jock Landale (Grizzlies) are three veterans he believes could be acquired for little more than Dieng and second-round picks, of which the team is loaded. He also looks at the Nets‘ Day’Ron Sharpe, a productive per-minute big man whom Stiles notes could fit into Oklahoma City’s non-taxpayer mid-level exception before the club decides what to do with his team option in the summer. As a more ambitious target, Stiles notes that Trey Murphy III (Pelicans) would make an excellent stylistic fit, but the cost to acquire him would likely be more than the Thunder are willing to pay in-season.
- The Jazz are also not expected to make any major moves by the deadline, Andy Larson writes for the Salt Lake City Tribune. Notably, that means that unless Utah is blown away by a godfather offer, Lauri Markkanen is expected to remain a part of the team’s core moving forward. While Jusuf Nurkic was considered a clear trade candidate coming into the year, his solid play within coach Will Hardy‘s system has the team trying to figure out how he can fit into the team’s outlook moving forward rather than gauging what they can get for him in a deal, Larson reports. Nurkic is averaging a career-high 5.0 assists per game, along with his 11.2 points per game, his best mark since the 2022/23 season. Larson notes that Love and Kyle Anderson could be moved in deals, as both have been in and out of the rotation, and that rather than acting as sellers, the Jazz could be in a position to take bad money in order to add more assets to their substantial draft pick collection. He lists D’Angelo Russell of the Mavericks and Maxi Kleber of the Lakers as two such players they could receive draft compensation to take on.
- Timberwolves point guard Mike Conley wants to keep playing past this season, but doesn’t know if he’ll be able to do so, according to Dane Moore (Twitter video link). “Honestly, every game I play from here on out I think about, ‘Is this my last game?‘” Conley said. “I know I want to play more years, but you just never know how things work… I’m just gonna go out there and have fun and not take things for granted.“
Grizzlies Notes: Morant, Iisalo, Jackson, Landale, Koloko
The relationship between Ja Morant and head coach Tuomas Iisalo looked rocky after the Grizzlies‘ starting point guard was suspended by the team for one game early in the season, but it seems to be in a better place at the moment, according to Damichael Cole of The Memphis Commercial Appeal (subscriber link).
Iisaslo criticized Morant’s “leadership and effort” following an October 31 loss to the Lakers, while Morant — who questioned Iisalo’s unorthodox substitution patterns — responded to his coach in a “tone deemed inappropriate.”
Morant had 17 points, 10 assists and four rebounds in 25 minutes during Friday’s win over Milwaukee, his first game back following a four-game absence, Cole writes. Iisalo said the Grizzlies and Morant are still trying to find an ideal balance as the team monitors the 26-year-old minutes.
“I think both of us were very happy that he was able to express himself fully and then still not have those long stretches where he’s off the court or on the bench,” Iisalo said after Friday’s game.
Here’s more from Memphis:
- Star big man Jaren Jackson Jr. struggled mightily to open the season, but he has caught fire of late, Cole adds. Jackson thinks his slow start was a result of beating his projected return timeline from offseason turf toe surgery. “I think I was still just recovering from surgery, honestly,” Jackson said. “That probably took a bigger toll on me than I even knew of. I think my whole goal was to just be healthy, so when I got back playing, I didn’t really think anything of it, and I just kind of assumed that I would be exactly who I was immediately.”
- Center Jock Landale was a late scratch for Friday’s game vs. Milwaukee due to right calf soreness, notes Chris Herrington of The Daily Memphian (via Twitter). Landale, who is averaging career highs of 11.0 points, 5.9 rebounds and 22.3 minutes per game on a one-year, minimum-salary deal, will likely miss his second straight contest on Sunday in Washington — he has been downgraded to doubtful ahead of tip-off, the Grizzlies announced (via Twitter).
- With big men Zach Edey, Brandon Clarke and Landale out with injuries Friday, Iisaslo gave Christian Koloko extended playing time and the 25-year-old center responded well, Cole writes in the same subscriber-only story. “He wasn’t scheduled for this type of minutes,” Iisalo said. “We were thinking more in terms of what happened in Utah, and it was a complete surprise that Jock wasn’t able to go. … I was very impressed with his ability to step out and guard different type of guys. Christian has made a good impression on us.” Koloko, who is on a 10-day hardship contract with Memphis, finished with four points, three rebounds, three steals and one block and was a game-high plus-23 in 28 minutes.
Zach Edey To Miss At Least Four Weeks With Ankle Injury
Grizzlies center Zach Edey will be reevaluated in four weeks after being diagnosed with a stress reaction in his left ankle, the team announced today (via Twitter). According to the Grizzlies, the expectation is that Edey will make a full recovery “following a period of offloading and rehabilitation.”
“This is a management plan to optimize Zach’s long-term health in consultation with the Grizzlies and medical experts,” Edey’s agent Mark Bartelstein tells ESPN’s Shams Charania (Twitter links). “Following this step, the short- and long-term prognosis for Zach is excellent.”
It’s a disappointing turn of events for the Grizzlies, who went 4-9 without Edey to open the season as he advanced through the final stages of his recovery from offseason surgery on his left ankle. Memphis has won seven of 11 games since Edey’s return and he has been the team’s most valuable player during that stretch.
Across 11 outings, Edey has averaged 13.6 points, 11.1 rebounds, and 1.9 blocks in 25.8 minutes per game. More notable than those stats are his on/off-court numbers — the Grizzlies have outscored opponents by 18.3 points per 100 possessions and have a defensive rating of 94.5 during Edey’s 284 minutes on the court.
Jock Landale will likely return to the starting lineup during Edey’s absence, with power forward Jaren Jackson Jr. spending more time at center.
The Grizzlies also announced a couple more injury updates on Thursday, indicating that swingman John Konchar has a UCL tear in his left thumb and will undergo a procedure to repair that tear. The team isn’t providing a recovery timeline for Konchar until after the surgery, but that sort of injury typically sidelines a player for at least a month.
Meanwhile, rookie guard Javon Small is making good progress from the turf toe injury on his left foot, per the Grizzlies, but his return is still a little ways off. Small is expected to be back in action in about three-to-five weeks, according to the team.
While the Grizzlies’ press release didn’t mention Ja Morant, the club’s starting point guard appears to be on the verge of returning from the right calf strain that has kept him on the shelf since November 15. According to Damichael Cole of The Memphis Commercial Appeal, head coach Tuomas Iisalo said Morant went through a full practice on Thursday and a decision will be made about his availability for Friday’s game vs. Utah after the team sees how his body responds to today’s work.
Zach Edey Returns For Grizzlies; Cedric Coward Moves Into Starting Lineup
The Grizzlies unveiled a new-look lineup for Saturday’s game in Cleveland, with Zach Edey making his season debut and rookie Cedric Coward joining him as a starter.
Edey missed the first 13 games of the season as he recovered from offseason surgery on his left ankle. The 7’4″ center took over the starting job as a rookie, averaging 9.2 points, 8.3 rebounds and 1.3 blocks in 66 games while shooting 58% from the field. He finished fifth in the Rookie of the Year voting.
Coward is off to a strong start after being selected with the 11th pick in this year’s draft, putting up 14.3 points, 5.9 rebounds and 3.1 assists through 13 games while playing 26.8 minutes per night. He was listed as doubtful earlier today due to soreness in his right foot, but he was later upgraded to questionable and then given clearance to play.
The lineup changes mean Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Jock Landale are coming off the bench after beginning the season as starters.
For Caldwell-Pope, who was acquired from Orlando this summer as part of the Desmond Bane trade, it’s his first game as a reserve since he was with the Lakers during the 2019/2020 season, notes Damichael Cole of The Memphis Commercial Appeal (Twitter link). The 32-year-old shooting guard has gotten off to a rough start, averaging 8.1 PPG while shooting career lows from the field (35.1%) and three-point range (29.8%).
Caldwell-Pope has been experiencing elbow soreness, which was aggravated during Wednesday’s game, but he’s able to play today, according to Michael Wallace of Grizzlies.com (Twitter link).
Landale is a career backup who was signed as a free agent this summer to provide depth at center and handle the starting duties until Edey was healthy. He has taken advantage of the opportunity by averaging career highs of 10.7 points and 5.5 rebounds through 13 games while shooting 56.8% from the floor and 48.5% from long distance.
Edey’s return is welcome news for the Grizzlies, who are off to a 4-9 start that included an early-season blowup between head coach Tuomas Iisalo and star guard Ja Morant. Memphis has lost three straight games, including a 131-95 embarrassment Wednesday night in Boston.
The Grizzlies are still short-handed, as Brandon Clarke and Scotty Pippen Jr. are recovering from surgery, Ty Jerome has a right calf strain, Olivier-Maxence Prosper has a left quad contusion and Javon Small will miss multiple weeks with turf toe.
Pacers’ Toppin Out At Least One Month, Mathurin Week To Week
A pair of key Pacers rotation players will be unavailable for the foreseeable future, according to head coach Rick Carlisle, who said on Tuesday that forward Obi Toppin will be out for at least one month as a result of his right hamstring strain, while guard Bennedict Mathurin is considered “week to week” due to a right great toe sprain, per Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star.
The Pacers entered their opener last week preparing to be without star point guard Tyrese Haliburton for the entire season as he recovers from an Achilles tear and have since added several new names to their injury report.
Toppin sustained his injury during Sunday’s loss in Minnesota, while Mathurin’s occurred in Saturday’s loss in Memphis when he tripped over Jock Landale‘s foot on his way to the basket. According to Carlisle, both players will undergo more testing when the Pacers return home following the last game of their road trip on Wednesday in Dallas.
“I can’t give you a definitive answer with either guy,” Carlisle said. “But they’re gonna miss some time.”
According to Carlisle, Andrew Nembhard (left shoulder strain) did some “court work” on Tuesday but isn’t ready to play yet, while Taelon Peter (right groin strain) is “doing better” but is “not there yet” either. Johnny Furphy (left foot soreness) will undergo additional testing on his foot when the team returns to Indianapolis, Carlisle added.
T.J. McConnell (left hamstring strain) and Kam Jones (lower back stress reaction) were doing some work near the end of Tuesday’s practice, tweets Dopirak, though the Pacers have previously indicated that both players will be out until at least November 9.
With injuries hitting the team hard at virtually every position except center, the Pacers made a roster move on Tuesday, waiving big man James Wiseman to add guard Mac McClung. As Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files tweets, Indiana should soon qualify for at least one hardship exception as well.
A hardship exception allows a team to temporarily exceed the standard 15-man roster limit if at least four players have missed three consecutive games for health reasons and are expected to remain out for at least two more weeks. Players signed via the hardship exception receive 10-day contracts.
Grizzlies Announce Injury Updates On Clarke, Edey, Jackson
Grizzlies big man Brandon Clarke is undergoing an arthroscopic procedure to address synovitis in his right knee, the team announced in a press release (via Twitter).
Clarke’s 2024/25 season was cut short in March when he suffered a PCL sprain in his right knee.
While that injury has fully healed, per the Grizzlies, he experienced synovitis — inflammation that affects the synovial membranes in joints — during recent training sessions. Memphis says it will provide a return timeline after the procedure, but Clarke is expected to make a full recovery.
Shams Charania of ESPN, who first reported the news, hears that Clarke is expected to miss a minimum of six weeks, which is when he will be reevaluated (Twitter link).
It’s another unfortunate setback for Clarke, who has been plagued by various injuries throughout his career, including a torn Achilles tendon that cost him most of ’23/24.
In the same press release, the Grizzlies also provided injury updates on center Zach Edey and forward/center Jaren Jackson Jr., both of whom are recovering from offseason surgeries.
Edey, who underwent left ankle surgery in June, has been cleared to ramp up basketball activities. However, he remains several weeks away from returning, as he is expected to make his season debut in six-to-nine weeks.
If Edey is ready to play in six weeks, he would be back in early November. The more conservative end of that time frame would see the former Purdue star return around the end of that month.
Jackson, who had surgery in July to repair a turf toe issue, will also begin ramping up his on-court activities. He’s expected to return in four-to-six weeks, which means he could miss a little bit of time to open ’25/26.
On a more positive note, first-round pick Cedric Coward will be a full training camp participant after recovering from a left shoulder injury he sustained last year at Washington State.
With Clarke, Edey and Jackson likely to miss the start of the season, Memphis’ frontcourt depth will be tested early on. Santi Aldama and Jock Landale are among the players who could receive more playing time in their stead.