Mavericks Notes: Christie, Washington, Gafford, Weather, Riccardi
Anthony Davis was the centerpiece of last year’s Luka Doncic trade, but the Mavericks have been getting more production out of Max Christie, writes Christian Clark of The Athletic. While Davis has been repeatedly injured, Christie has developed into one of the league’s most reliable outside shooters. He’s connecting at 45.9% from beyond the arc after sinking eight three-pointers in Monday’s win at New York.
“Being in the zone, you are kind of unconscious,” Christie said. “You don’t really feel what’s going on around you. You kind of just are in flow state. Your body is obviously taking over. It’s a great feeling. Being able to make that many threes is something I’ll be chasing for sure.”
Davis is among the biggest names on this year’s trade market, while Christie looks like he’ll be a long-term foundational piece in Dallas. His production makes him a bargain at his $7.7MM salary, and he’s under contract for $8.3MM next season with an $8.9MM player option for 2027/28.
With the Mavs short on three-point threats, Clark states that they’ve been encouraging Christie to shoot them more often. His high success rate may give him a chance to participate in the three-point contest next month at All-Star Weekend.
“That would be sick,” Christie told Grant Afseth of Dallas Hoops Journal. “That would be a dream come true if I got invited to be a part of that, so I definitely wouldn’t turn it down. Either way, I’m just happy to be shooting it as well as I am right now. It’d be a great bonus to be in the three-point contest, but if not, I’m still grateful for the year I’m having so far.”
There’s more from Dallas:
- P.J. Washington will return for Thursday’s game against Golden State, and Daniel Gafford could be back as well, according to Eddie Sefko of Mavs.com. Washington has missed seven of the past eight games due to a sprained ankle and personal reasons, but he’s not on the team’s injury report. Gafford, who has sat out the past three games with an ankle sprain, is listed as questionable. Sefko states that both players were able to participate in a light practice session on Wednesday. Moussa Cisse missed practice because of illness and is considered questionable.
- A winter storm in the forecast for this weekend could affect Saturday’s home game against the Lakers, according to Mike Curtis of The Dallas Morning News (subscription required). “Oh yeah, that’s out of my pay grade,” coach Jason Kidd said. “We show up rain or shine. It snows on the East Coast. I don’t see them postponing.”
- In a separate story, Curtis profiles Matt Riccardi, who’s approaching his first trade deadline as co-interim general manager of the Mavericks.
Jeanie Buss Reportedly Considered Trading LeBron James
Lakers governor Jeanie Buss harbored resentment toward LeBron James and considered trading him at one point, ESPN’s Baxter Holmes claims in a lengthy examination of the state of the franchise while it was under control of the Buss siblings.
Sources tell Holmes that Buss privately complained about James’ “outsized ego” and the influence that he and Klutch Sports exercised over the organization after he arrived in 2018. She also resented the idea that James was celebrated for joining the Lakers in free agency, rather than team leaders being praised for signing him. According to Holmes, team sources have said for years that James’ camp informed Lakers brass in 2017 that he was planning to come to L.A. when his contract expired.
Buss was particularly upset about the fallout from the ill-fated Russell Westbrook trade in the summer of 2021, Holmes adds. The Lakers added the former MVP to appease James, but he was mostly able to escape responsibility for the deal after it went bad. L.A. missed the playoffs during Westbrook’s lone full season with the team, and he was pulled from the starting lineup and then traded the following year.
In 2022, Buss considered not negotiating an extension with James or even trading him, with the Clippers mentioned as a possibility, according to Holmes’ sources. He eventually received a two-year, $104MM contract in July 2024 that included a no-trade clause. Buss also believes James didn’t display enough gratitude for the team’s decision to take his son, Bronny James, with the 55th pick in the 2024 draft, Holmes adds.
Buss issued a statement to The Athletic in response to the claims made by Holmes, relays Sam Amick (Twitter link). “It’s really not right, given all the great things LeBron has done for the Lakers, that he has to be pulled into my family drama,” it reads. “To say that it wasn’t appreciated is just not true and completely unfair to him.”
Holmes touches on many more subjects in the in-depth piece, which is worth reading in full. Here are a few highlights:
- Joey Buss and Jesse Buss tried to convince their siblings to sell a smaller portion of the family’s 66% controlling interest in the team. They presented the plan to the Lakers’ chief financial officer and chief legal counsel as a way to provide cash for the older Buss siblings while maintaining control of the franchise. However, they learned at meetings last summer about Jeanie’s intention to sell most of the family’s stake to Mark Walter at a $10 billion valuation. The family retains 17% ownership, just above the 15% required to allow Jeanie to remain in her role as governor for the next five years.
- Sources tell Holmes that Jeanie made the decision to sell because she wasn’t convinced that the family could continue to keep the Lakers competitive in a league where an increasing number of teams are owned by billionaires. Joey and Jesse reportedly disagreed with that logic because of restrictions in the NBA’s Collective Bargaining Agreement that place limitations on the amount that teams can spend.
- Holmes states that several members of Jeanie’s inner circle received large bonuses as a result of the sale, including former player Kurt Rambis and his wife Linda Rambis. A person with knowledge of the agreement told Holmes that Linda received $24MM and Kurt got $8MM, amounts that were chosen based on Kobe Bryant‘s uniform numbers.
- Joey and Jesse were told that “new ownership” was responsible for their dismissal from front office roles in November, but sources tell Holmes they discovered that Jeanie made the decision. “Dr. (Jerry) Buss’ idea was for Joey and I to run basketball operations one day,” Jesse said in a statement. “But Jeanie has effectively kept herself in place with her siblings fired.”
Pacific Notes: Kuminga, Kerr, Sabonis, Lakers
Warriors general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. raised eyebrows on Tuesday when he discussed Jonathan Kuminga‘s trade demand in frank terms, telling reporters, “When there’s a demand, there needs to be a demand on the market.”
Kuminga’s agent Aaron Turner responded to Dunleavy’s remarks on social media, tweeting the definition of the “law of demand” accompanied by the following caption: “Demand is sensitive to price or playing time, So if a seller sees demand is low, lower the price point or let him play and demand will go (up).”
While it remains to be seen whether the Warriors will “lower the price point” as they explore potential Kuminga trades, they moved forward with the other half of Turner’s suggestion — following Jimmy Butler‘s season-ending ACL tear, Kuminga was back in the rotation on Tuesday for the first time in over a month. The move was a success, writes Nick Friedell of The Athletic. In 21 minutes of action, the fifth-year forward scored 20 points on 7-of-10 shooting and was a +3 in a game Golden State lost by 18 points.
“It was great,” head coach Steve Kerr said. “He came in and had great energy, attacked the rim, made some shots. I thought JK was really good and it’s a great sign. With Jimmy out, obviously there’s a hole at that spot on our roster. So JK’s gonna factor in here again and really pleased with the way he stayed ready and stayed prepared and got his opportunity and played really well.”
Veteran forward Draymond Green viewed Kuminga’s performance as a reflection of the work the 23-year-old has put in and the positive attitude he has maintained as he awaits a potential trade.
“I think we’ve all been very vocal about how he’s handled himself,” Green said, per Friedell. “He’s been incredible. And that is proven by the game he had. If you’ve been a nuisance, if you will, that game doesn’t happen for you.”
Here’s more from around the Pacific:
- Within a larger story about the situation in Golden State, Logan Murdock of The Ringer cites sources who say multiple Warriors assistant coaches have been operating under the premise that Kerr won’t be coaching the team in 2026/27. Some of those assistants have been preparing for the possibility of finding new jobs, Murdock adds, noting that veteran assistant Chris DeMarco left earlier this season for a WNBA position. To be clear, that doesn’t necessarily mean Kerr (who doesn’t have a contract for next season) has made any decisions about his future — his assistants may just be preparing contingency plans in case he decides not to return.
- Kings center Domantas Sabonis has come off the bench and averaged just 19.3 minutes per night in his first three games back following a two-month absence due to a knee injury. According to Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee (Twitter links), head coach Doug Christie said on Tuesday that Sabonis’ limited role isn’t the result of an explicit minutes restriction from the medical staff and has been “decision-based.” Sabonis will sit out the second end of a back-to-back set on Wednesday vs. Toronto due to left knee injury management, Anderson adds.
- In Tuesday’s win over Denver, the Lakers looked more connected defensively than they have for much of the season, according to Dan Woike of The Athletic, who wonders if the performance is a positive sign of things to come for Los Angeles. “One of the things that makes it complicated for us is, we have a lot of guys that are going to be free agents, and we have a lot of guys that have player options for next summer, so you might as well count them as free agents,” head coach JJ Redick said. “And the tendency for any athlete when things aren’t going well … you’re naturally going to turn inward. So that’s really what our emphasis points as coaches are, just being about the group and staying connected and keep continuing to fight and play for each other.”
Pacific Notes: Reaves, Timme, Wiggins, Warriors, Ellis
Injured guard Austin Reaves is “progressing well” from his Grade 2 left gastrocnemius (calf) strain and is on track to return to action at some point during the Lakers‘ road trip, head coach JJ Redick told reporters on Tuesday (Twitter link via Dan Woike of The Athletic).
As Mike Trudell of Spectrum SportsNet notes (via Twitter), Los Angeles’ eight-game road trip began on Tuesday in Denver and concludes on February 3 in Brooklyn.
Reaves, who suffered the injury in a Christmas Day loss to Houston, was in the midst of a breakout fifth season for the Lakers prior to the injury, averaging 26.6 points, 6.3 assists, 5.2 rebounds and 1.0 steal on .502/.365/.873 shooting in 23 games (35.3 minutes per contest).
Here’s more from around the Pacific:
- Drew Timme, who is on a two-way contract with the Lakers, received unexpected rotation minutes on Saturday due to injuries affecting Deandre Ayton and Jaxson Hayes and responded with a career-high 21 points on 9-of-12 shooting, writes Janis Carr of The Orange County Register. Redick indicated that Timme would likely be part of the rotation for the time being as long as he keeps playing well. The 25-year-old big man went undrafted in 2023 after starring in college at Gonzaga, but didn’t sign his first NBA contract until March 28, 2025. He says he’s fueled by his doubters. “In college and since I’ve left, it’s been you can’t do this, you can’t do that, you’re not good enough for this and that. All these things that I can’t do. And I see it, and it’s fuel,” Timme said. “At the end of the day, I’m a good player. I believe in myself and my abilities, and I believe that I can impact the game at any level, anywhere. To be able to have this opportunity and to be able to help the team, it’s great.”
- Veteran forward Andrew Wiggins received a warm reception from the Warriors and their fans on Monday in his first game back at Chase Center since he was traded to Miami last February as part of the Jimmy Butler blockbuster, according to Janie McCauley of The Associated Press. The team played a video tribute for Wiggins, who spent five years with the Warriors and helped them win the NBA Finals in 2022. “Wiggs is just such a great human being and beloved in our locker room. Had so much success here and helped us turn things around from that two-year stretch when we didn’t make the playoffs,” head coach Steve Kerr said. “He was just a joy to coach every single day. When you get a guy like that on your team and you go through a lot together, both on and off the court, then you make a trade, it’s just like that. It’s just crazy, this league, how this business operates. You have to just deal with it but it is sad when your relationships like that are all of a sudden — I mean you still have a relationship but you don’t see each other.”
- Kings guard Keon Ellis, who has been involved in several trade rumors this season, was available for Tuesday’s contest vs. Miami after missing two games with a sore knee, tweets James Ham of TheKingsBeat.com. Ellis will be an unrestricted free agent in the offseason if he doesn’t sign an extension before then.
Pacific Notes: LeBron, Ayton, Melton, Green, Kings
For the first time in 22 seasons, Lakers superstar LeBron James was not named an All-Star starter, observes Tim Bontemps of ESPN.
The news isn’t surprising, given James missed the first 14 games of 2025/26 due to sciatica and understandably had to work his way into shape and form when he did return, having missed training camp and the preseason with the injury. But it’s still noteworthy, given that the 41-year-old has made the All-Star game a record 21 times — Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is second with 19 appearances.
As Bontemps writes, the league’s coaches will have to select James as a reserve in order for him to extend the record streak, which dates back to 2005. To this point in his career, the only season when James didn’t make the All-Star game (or an All-NBA team, for that matter) was in 2003/04, when he won Rookie of the Year.
While James has played much better lately and has put up impressive statistics (22.6 points, 6.9 assists, 5.9 rebounds and 1.1 steals on .509/.328/.757 shooting), especially considering he’s the NBA’s oldest player, it seems fairly unlikely that the 6’9″ forward will be selected. He has missed 17 of Los Angeles’ 41 games, and there are lots of other worthy candidates in a stacked Western Conference.
Here’s more from the Pacific:
- Lakers center Deandre Ayton missed Saturday’s loss to Portland due to left knee soreness but he returned to action on Sunday and had a huge night in the victory over Toronto, writes Dave McMenamin of ESPN. The former No. 1 overall pick recorded 25 points (on 10-of-10 shooting) 13 rebounds and no turnovers, becoming the first player in team history (since individual turnovers became an official statistic in 1977/78) to score 25-plus points on 100% shooting with zero turnovers, per ESPN Research. Ayton also became the third Laker to make 10-plus field goal attempts without missing a shot while grabbing at least 10 rebounds, joining Wilt Chamberlain and Mitch Kupchak, McMenamin adds.
- Warriors guard De’Anthony Melton will miss Monday’s game against Miami, which is the front end of a back-to-back, tweets ESPN’s Anthony Slater. While it’s a small sample size (373 minutes), Golden State has outscored its opponents by a staggering +19.6 points per 100 possessions when Melton is playing, compared to a -0.7 net rating in the 1701 minutes the 27-year-old has been off the court. Melton missed most of last season as well as the start of ’25/26 due to a torn ACL in his left knee. Forward/center Draymond Green will also miss Monday’s game after being downgraded to questionable and then out because of a right ankle sprain, notes Brett Siegel of ClutchPoints (Twitter link).
- Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee lists some surprising statistics from the Kings‘ four-game winning streak, which was snapped with Sunday’s loss to Portland.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Bam Adebayo Named Players Of Week
Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Heat big man Bam Adebayo have been named the Western and Eastern Conference Players of the Week, respectively, the NBA announced today (Twitter links).
Oklahoma City had a 2-1 record during the week of January 12-18, with the reigning Most Valuable Player averaging 31.0 points, 4.0 assists, 3.7 rebounds, and 2.0 blocks per game. Gilgeous-Alexander posted a shooting line of .547/.400/.912 as the Thunder outscored opponents by 43 points during his 103 minutes on the court.
Gilgeous-Alexander becomes the first NBA player to be named the Player of the Week for the third time this season — he also earned the honor twice in November.
As for Adebayo, he posted averages of 27.0 points, 8.3 rebounds, and 4.3 assists per night while shooting 65.5% from long range as the Heat won two of three games. This is the third time he has earned the award and first time since January 2024.
Donovan Clingan and Shaedon Sharpe (Trail Blazers), DeMar DeRozan (Kings), Luka Dončić (Lakers), James Harden (Clippers), Jamal Murray (Nuggets), Alperen Sengun (Rockets) and Victor Wembanyama (Spurs) were also nominated for the Western Conference Player of the Week award, per the NBA.
Brandon Miller (Hornets), Norman Powell (Heat), Pascal Siakam (Pacers), Anfernee Simons (Celtics), Jaylon Tyson (Cavaliers) and Nikola Vučević (Bulls) were the other Eastern Conference nominees.
Antetokounmpo, Curry Head List Of All-Star Starters
The NBA’s 2026 All-Star starters have been set, the league announced today (Twitter links). Here are the 10 players who earned those spots:
Eastern Conference
- Giannis Antetokounmpo (Bucks)
- Jaylen Brown (Celtics)
- Jalen Brunson (Knicks)
- Cade Cunningham (Pistons)
- Tyrese Maxey (Sixers)
Western Conference
- Stephen Curry (Warriors)
- Luka Doncic (Lakers)
- Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Thunder)
- Nikola Jokic (Nuggets)
- Victor Wembanyama (Spurs)
This season’s All-Star Game will have a U.S. vs. World format. The round-robin event is scheduled to be played Sunday, Feb. 15 at 5 p.m. ET at the Clippers’ Intuit Dome in Inglewood, Calif. Two teams of U.S. players and one team of international players (the World team) will compete in a tournament featuring four 12-minute games. The three teams will each have a minimum of eight players.
How the teams will be divvied up is yet to be determined.
Two-time MVP Antetokounmpo has been selected as a starter for the 10th consecutive season. 2024 Finals MVP Brown will be making his fifth All-Star appearance, while Brunson will be making his third consecutive appearance.
This marks Cunningham’s second NBA All-Star selection and first as a starter. Cunningham is the first Pistons player to be named an Eastern Conference starter in the All-Star Game since Allen Iverson in 2009. It will also be Maxey’s second All-Star appearance and first as a starter.
This will be Curry’s 12th All-Star Game and 11th as a starter. Doncic will be making his sixth All-Star appearance.
This marks the fourth career All-Star appearance for reigning NBA MVP and Finals MVP Gilgeous-Alexander and his third consecutive season as an All-Star starter. Three-time MVP Jokic has been named an All-Star for the eighth consecutive year. Wembanyama is the first Spurs player to be named an All-Star starter since Kawhi Leonard in 2017.
Fans accounted for 50% of the vote to determine the starters, while players and media accounted for 25% each. Wembanyama won a tiebreaker with the Timberwolves’ Anthony Edwards for a starting spot. The full voting results can be found through this NBA.com link.
Teams Holding Onto Assets For Potential Giannis Antetokounmpo Trade
Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bucks officials have both attempted to quash speculation about a potential trade over the past two weeks, but teams around the league continue to closely monitor the situation, according to two prominent NBA observers.
ESPN’s Brian Windhorst said during a recent appearance on NBA Countdown (YouTube link) that numerous deals are on hold because rival teams aren’t convinced that Antetokounmpo won’t be moved by the February 5 trade deadline. General managers are reluctant to part with assets that could be useful if the two-time MVP were suddenly to become available over the next two-and-a-half weeks.
“The biggest question in the NBA right now is are the Bucks really going to stand for this and is Giannis really going to stand for this,” Windhorst said. “And I know what Giannis has said on the record and I know that the Bucks have been out there trying to buy, but I’m telling you when I talk to people in the league, they’re still holding, waiting to see. … There are deals that are on hold … because teams still aren’t 100% sure whether Giannis is going to be on the team the rest of the year, and these last few games have made them even stutter some more.”
NBA insider Zach Lowe identifies the Hawks, Warriors, Lakers, Heat and Knicks as teams that are “considering holding onto their assets for a potential pursuit of Giannis Antetokounmpo now or in the summer” (Twitter video link). Lowe notes that Antetokounmpo, who’s signed through next season and holds a $62.8MM player option for 2027/28, will become eligible for an extension in October.
“If he doesn’t take that extension, that’s the same things as basically demanding a trade,” Lowe said. “… Right now, the Bucks are only 5-5 since he came back from injury. They are getting shellacked every second that he’s off the floor on the bench resting. They’re still in 11th in the East, and the time to convince him that this group can actually do anything serious might be now.”
Lowe suggests the Bucks should target Grizzlies guard Ja Morant in their search for immediate help. Morant, who had 24 points and 13 assists on Sunday as he returned from a right calf injury, has been among the most prominent names on the trade market, but he said after the game that he’s a “loyal guy” and prefers to stay in Memphis.
“The whole league is watching,” Lowe added. “If they slide any further down the standings, if they can’t even get up to 10th or ninth in the East, does Giannis push the button now instead of waiting until the summer? It’s the biggest story in the NBA potentially.”
Milwaukee is coming off a miserable week, dropping three straight games, including an 18-point loss to San Antonio and a 33-point loss to Minnesota. At 17-24, the team is still only 1.5 games behind 10th-place Atlanta for the East’s final play-in spot and 2.5 games in back of ninth-place Chicago.
The Bucks have sent out strong indications that they’ll approach the trade deadline as buyers in hopes of making a late-season run. But they have limited trade assets available and are reportedly reluctant to part with their lone tradable first-round pick (in either 2031 or 2032).
Even if Milwaukee manages to earn a playoff spot, there’s no guarantee that will satisfy Antetokounmpo, who has stated repeatedly that he wants to win another championship before he retires. Regardless of the Bucks’ official position, teams are preparing for the possibility that a trade might happen by the deadline.
Injury Notes: Green, Herro, Lakers, Knicks
The Suns are rolling, winning 11 of their past 16 games, including two victories over the Knicks in just over a week. They’re currently fighting for a top-six seed in the Western Conference and boast a 25-17 record, despite having spent most of the season playing without Jalen Green, a key offseason addition.
“We miss Jalen,” Devin Booker said after Phoenix’s latest win over New York on Saturday, per Duane Rankin of the Arizona Republic. “I think Jalen, he’s another person out there that’ll have rim presence for us and draw a lot of fouls. [Collin Gillespie], he’s really punctual. He’s going to get to his middy. Grayson (Allen) has some rim pressure, but we’re all getting excited for Jalen.”
Allen echoed Booker’s sentiment and expressed excitement about how Green could fit into the offense.
“Just another guy who can create his own shot, create advantages for other people,” Allen said. “Make tough shots. Draw two defenders. He’s a big-time scorer. So he’ll help a lot.”
The wait for Green’s return may be over. According to Rankin (Twitter link), the fifth-year guard is listed as questionable for Monday’s game against the Nets. While his return isn’t guaranteed, coach Jordan Ott spoke in optimistic terms after the team’s shootaround on Saturday.
“Everything seemed to be good,” Ott said of Green’s third stint of five-on-five work. “So, we’ll see. Still going in the right direction.”
Booker hinted that Green could have returned earlier, suggesting that the Suns were being cautious with his recovery.
“He’s been licking his chops getting ready for this moment,” Booker said. “I think we’ve overdone it with keeping him out. He’s going to be healthy and strong and ready to go.”
We have more injury notes from around the NBA:
- Tyler Herro didn’t travel with the Heat for their five-game road trip after suffering a rib contusion that caused him to miss Saturday’s game against the Thunder, writes Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel (via Twitter). While initial reports indicated that the injury was on the more minor side, he is now set to undergo an MRI, per Winderman (Twitter link), and it’s unclear how many more games he’ll be held out for. Herro has been plagued by injuries for most of the season, having missed 31 of Miami’s first 42 games.
- Lakers stars Luka Doncic and LeBron James are questionable to play in Sunday night’s matchup against the Raptors, tweets Marc Stein. Doncic is dealing with left groin soreness, while James continues to fight through left foot joint arthritis and sciatica. The Lakers are still missing their third star, Austin Reaves, due to the calf strain that has sidelined him since Christmas.
- The Knicks are in a tailspin, having lost eight of their last 10 games, and they may have to make do without two of their leaders against the beat-up Mavericks on Monday. Stefan Bondy of The New York Post notes (via Twitter) that Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart are both listed as questionable for the game. Brunson, the team’s captain and offensive hub, is dealing with a right ankle sprain, while Josh Hart, who in many ways represents the team’s emotional leader, has right ankle soreness.
- While the Mavericks are still missing a majority of the top end of their roster, including P.J. Washington (personal reasons), Daniel Gafford (right ankle sprain), and D’Angelo Russell (illness), they got a bit of good news, as star rookie Cooper Flagg was upgraded to questionable as he looks to return from a left ankle sprain, per Mike Curtis of The Dallas Morning News (Twitter link).
Pacific Notes: Luka, Lakers, Achiuwa, Kawhi, Santos
The Lakers are coming off a disappointing home loss to Charlotte and will be without the NBA’s leading scorer for Saturday’s matchup in Portland, as Dave McMenamin of ESPN relays. Star guard Luka Doncic will miss Saturday’s game due to left groin soreness, while centers Jaxson Hayes (left hamstring tendinopathy) and Deandre Ayton (left knee soreness) are questionable to play.
Veteran guard Marcus Smart was critical of the Lakers’ defensive effort on Thursday after the Hornets shot 53.5% from the field and 46.5% from three-point range en route to 137 points, per Janis Carr of The Orange County Register.
“It doesn’t matter who it is. The team or the player doesn’t matter. When they play [against] us, everything goes through the roof,” Smart said. “If they were shooting 20%, they shoot 50% [against us]. It’s unfortunate, but that’s part of the game. It’s tough. We have to figure it out.
“We must play [with] a little bit more urgency on that end, especially, and kind of impose our will. Teams are doing a really good job of picking straight matchups and picking certain plays that they want.”
We have more from around the Pacific:
- Precious Achiuwa is embracing the opportunity to log most of his minutes at power forward with the Kings, he tells Stefan Bondy of The New York Post (subscriber link). “This is how I’ve always played. All throughout high school, college. First couple years in the league in Toronto, that’s how I played. Mainly playing the four position, which is my natural position,” Achiuwa said. “And that’s how I had a lot of success my first year in New York. Just the ball is able to move around a lot better. Guys are able to play the game with a sense of freedom better. Well, for me at least, I would say a better sense of freedom. Instead of just being pigeonholed.”
- In addition to a right ankle sprain, star forward Kawhi Leonard is also battling a left knee contusion he suffered last weekend, according to the Clippers (Twitter link via Law Murray of The Athletic). Leonard, who missed Friday’s overtime win in Toronto, is considered day-to-day.
- Warriors forward Gui Santos will be sidelined for Saturday’s game against Charlotte after spraining his left ankle in the first quarter of Thursday’s win over New York, writes Dalton Johnson of NBC Sports Bay Area. It’s possible Santos, who has been a rotation regular of late, could miss additional time as well. “It’s a big loss,” head coach Steve Kerr said after Friday’s practice. “The energy, the offensive rebounding but also the size. When we go to him and Gary [Payton II] we’re generally playing him at the four next to Draymond [Green] at the five. He’s a rebounder, especially on the offensive side, and a great screener. But the size that he brings will be missed.”