Jaden McDaniels Listed As Week-To-Week With Knee Ailment
Timberwolves forward Jaden McDaniels has been diagnosed with left knee patella tendinopathy and a bone bruise, according to a team press release.
An MRI conducted at Mayo Clinic Sports Medicine determined the extent of his injury. McDaniels will be listed as week-to-week, the release adds.
McDaniels won’t require surgery and the timeline could still position him for a playoff return, Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic tweets.
It’s a major development for a team currently tied with the Rockets for fifth place in the Western Conference standings. McDaniels had scored at least 16 points in his last five appearances, most recently on Wednesday. He sat out Saturday’s home loss to Detroit.
Overall, McDaniels has appeared in 71 games, averaging a career-high 14.8 points, 4.2 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 1.1 steals and 1.0 blocks in 31.9 minutes per night. He’s shooting 51.8 percent from the field and 42.1 on three-point tries while also providing his usual strong play on the defensive end.
McDaniels has been one of the league’s most durable players over the past five seasons, never playing in fewer than 70 games. Without him, Minnesota will have to rely more on Terrence Shannon Jr., Ayo Dosunmu and Jaylen Clark at the wing position.
Dosunmu hasn’t played since last Sunday due to a calf injury but is available for tonight’s game against the Mavericks. Star guard Anthony Edwards is listed as questionable due to right knee patellofemoral pain syndrome. He’s been out since March 15
Injury Notes: McBride, Grant, Edwards, Pistons
Miles McBride will return to action for the Knicks on Sunday after being sidelined since January 27 due to a sports hernia surgery, per James L. Edwards III of The Athletic (via Twitter).
McBride is scoring at a career-best rate this season, averaging 12.9 points per game while hitting a career-high 42.0% of his 6.9 three-point attempts per contest.
His return comes during a key stretch for the Knicks, who are looking to catch the Celtics for the No. 2 seed in the East while playing in Oklahoma City on Sunday and Houston on Tuesday in two of their remaining regular season tests. Entering Sunday, the Knicks trail the Celtics by 1.5 games.
Edwards adds (via Twitter) that McBride will be on a minutes restriction, though he doesn’t specify what the restriction will be. Stefan Bondy of the New York Post adds that Landry Shamet is with the Knicks on their road trip, and, according to coach Mike Brown, is progressing in his recovery from a bone bruise in his knee (Twitter link).
We have more injury notes from around the league:
- According to Trail Blazers coach Tiago Splitter, veteran forward Jerami Grant underwent an MRI on his calf and will remain without a recovery timeline until he can go through more testing, per Sean Highkin of the Rose Garden Report (via Twitter). Grant said he “felt a pop” in his right calf during the third quarter of Friday’s loss to the Mavericks.
- Anthony Edwards has been upgraded to questionable for the Timberwolves‘ game on Monday, per Marc Stein of The Stein Line (Twitter link). Edwards has missed Minnesota’s last six games with a knee injury, with the team going 4-2 during that stretch. The Wolves currently hold a half-game lead over the Rockets for the No. 5 seed in the West.
- The Pistons have a lengthy injury report for Monday’s game against the Thunder, with Jalen Duren (right knee), Tobias Harris (left hip), and Duncan Robinson (right hip) all listed as doubtful, while Ausar Thompson (right ankle) is questionable. Detroit is already missing Cade Cunningham (left lung) and Isaiah Stewart (left calf).
Western Notes: Edwards, Dosunmu, McDaniels, Matkovic, McCain
While Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards still has to go through a workout Sunday and a shootaround Monday before being cleared to play in Monday’s game in Dallas, “all signs” point to that happening, according to Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic.
“We can’t relax now that Ant’s coming back and say, ‘Hey, give Ant the keys and just go,’” point guard Mike Conley said. “I think we’ve got to let Ant do his thing. But at the same time, continue to push the ball, continue to involve everybody, and I think that’s when we’re our best self. When the ball’s moving, guys are being selfless.”
Edwards has missed the last six games due to patellofemoral pain syndrome in his right knee. He was cleared for on-court activities on Friday.
In order to meet the 65-game minimum to qualify for end-of-season awards, Edwards would have to suit up for each of Minnesota’s final eight games of the season, beginning on Monday. He has been named second-team All-NBA each of the past two seasons and is a strong candidate to make another All-NBA team in 2025/26 if he qualifies, Krawczynski notes.
We have more from around the Western Conference:
- In addition to Edwards, the Timberwolves were also playing without Ayo Dosunmu (right calf soreness) and Jaden McDaniels (right knee soreness) in Saturday’s loss to Detroit. Both players are considered day-to-day, per Krawczynski, which suggests their returns shouldn’t be far off.
- Big man Karlo Matkovic has been a bright spot for the Pelicans in his second NBA season, writes Rod Walker of NOLA.com. Interim head coach James Borrego raved about the 2022 second-round pick, who spent a couple seasons overseas after he was selected 52nd overall. “I love his spirit,” Borrego said. “His competitiveness. He’s an incredible teammate. He’s so coachable.” In addition to the intangible qualities the forward/center brings to the second unit, Borrego also praised Matkovic’s speed, athleticism, outside shooting, and ability to both finish at and protect the rim. “Those guys are hard to find in the NBA,” Borrego said, per Walker. “Guys that are that athletic and can play multiple positions and are switchable defensively and can knock down threes.” New Orleans holds a $2.3MM team option for Matkovic in 2026/27.
- Second-year guard Jared McCain recently talked about his role when the Thunder are fully healthy and the team’s battle with the Spurs for the No. 1 seed in the West, relays Jordan Davis of The Oklahoman. Oklahoma City currently has a two-game lead on San Antonio with eight games remaining for both teams.
Wolves’ Naz Reid Fined $50K By NBA
Timberwolves big man Naz Reid has been fined $50K for “questioning the integrity of game officials,” the NBA announced on Friday (via Twitter).
Reid received a technical foul and was ejected for the incident, which occurred with 4:13 remaining in overtime during Wednesday’s comeback win over Houston (Twitter video link via ClutchPoints).
A former undrafted free agent, Reid was named the league’s Sixth Man of the Year in 2024 and is among the frontrunners for the award again this year. In 70 appearances (26.1 minutes per game) in 2025/26, the 6’9″ center/forward has averaged 13.7 points, 6.3 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 1.0 steal and 1.0 block on .466/.372/.732 shooting splits.
Reid is earning approximately $21.6MM in the first season of a five-year, $125MM contract, so the fine won’t significantly impact his financial outlook.
Injury Notes: Oubre, Maxey, Edwards, Brown, Lakers, Jazz, Suns
After missing the Sixers‘ last eight games due to a left elbow sprain, forward Kelly Oubre Jr. said today that he’ll be back in action on Saturday in Charlotte, tweets Derek Bodner of PHLY Sports.
With Paul George and Joel Embiid both having returned earlier this week, Philadelphia is close to being back to full strength — only star guard Tyrese Maxey, out since March 7 due to a finger injury, remains sidelined, and he’s due to be reevaluated in the coming days.
Head coach Nick Nurse told reporters on Friday that Maxey has been “a lot more involved” in activities during the past 48 hours, tweets Kyle Neubeck of PHLY Sports. Nurse added that Maxey has been diligent about keeping up his conditioning during his recovery process, which suggests he shouldn’t require much of a ramp-up period.
Here are a few more injury updates from around the NBA:
- Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards (right knee patellofemoral pain syndrome) will miss a sixth straight game on Saturday vs. Detroit, per the team (Twitter link). However, Edwards has been cleared for on-court practice activities, according to the Wolves, which suggests his return may not be far off. In order to meet the 65-game minimum to qualify for end-of-season awards, Edwards would have to suit up for each of Minnesota’s final eight games of the season, beginning on Monday.
- Celtics star Jaylen Brown has been ruled out for Friday’s game vs. Atlanta due to left Achilles tendinitis, the team announced (via Twitter). Brown, an All-NBA lock, needs to appear in one more game to reach the 65-game threshold and become eligible for end-of-season awards.
- Lakers teammates Luka Doncic (hamstring) and Rui Hachimura (calf) have both been upgraded to available after initially being listed as questionable for Friday’s matchup with the Nets, tweets NBA reporter Mark Medina.
- Although Jaren Jackson Jr. is still expected to miss the rest of the season, he’s making good progress in his recovery from a procedure to remove a non-cancerous growth in his left knee. He has resumed individual on-court work and will be reevaluated in two weeks, writes Kevin Reynolds of The Salt Lake Tribune. Reynolds also checks in on a few other injured Jazz players, suggesting that forward Lauri Markkanen (hip) and Keyonte George (hamstring) could still return before the end of the season.
- Injured Suns Dillon Brooks (hand) and Mark Williams (foot) are making progress in their respective injury recoveries, but they’ve yet to participate in any 5-on-5 work, head coach Jordan Ott said today (Twitter link via Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic).
Injury Notes: Giannis, Cade, Edwards, Kings, K. George, Wade
The National Basketball Players Association seemed to imply in a statement earlier this week that Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo is healthy enough to play, but that’s not the case, according to head coach Doc Rivers. As Eric Nehm of The Athletic relays, Rivers told reporters on Wednesday that Antetokounmpo continues to recover from the left knee hyperextension and bone bruise that have sidelined him since March 15.
“He’s not (healthy),” Rivers said. “He’s progressing. He’s just not healthy. Our focus right now is just getting him healthy. We’re just trying to get Giannis cleared and healthy; that’s our only focus. All the other stuff, we stay above.”
Reporting last week suggested that Antetokounmpo and the Bucks were at odds over whether he should be shut down for the rest of the season, with Milwaukee preferring to take a conservative approach and the two-time MVP pushing to return. The NBPA’s statement suggested that the Bucks are motivated to hold Giannis out of action to potentially improve their draft position, an idea Rivers downplayed.
“We didn’t have a meeting about this (statement from the NBPA),” Rivers said. “We didn’t have one discussion. (General manager) Jon Horst didn’t call me to talk about this, just to show you the concern we have.”
Here are several more injury updates from around the NBA:
- Appearing on NBA Countdown on Wednesday (Twitter video link), ESPN’s Shams Charania provided health updates on Cade Cunningham (collapsed lung) and Anthony Edwards (knee inflammation). According to Charania, the Pistons are optimistic that Cunningham will be able to return in time for the start of the playoffs, while the Timberwolves consider Edwards day-to-day at this point, and he could return as Saturday vs. Detroit or Monday at Dallas.
- Kings forward Keegan Murray, out since February 25 due to a left ankle sprain, is making “good progress” in his return-to-play process and is resuming contact work, the team announced on Wednesday (Twitter link via James Ham of ESPN 1320). The update suggests Sacramento plans on having Murray back before the end of the season. Veteran guard Russell Westbrook, meanwhile, underwent an MRI on his sore right foot and has been diagnosed with joint irritation of the first toe. He’ll remain out, with further updates provided as appropriate, per the Kings.
- The Wizards, who announced on March 4 that forward Kyshawn George had sustained a partial UCL tear in his left elbow and would be reevaluated in three weeks, provided an update right on schedule on Wednesday. According to the team (Twitter link), elbow specialist Dr. Keith Meister confirmed this week that George has a Grade 2 distal UCL tear. The plan is to continue to treat the injury “conservatively” and evaluate the 22-year-old again next Wednesday.
- Cavaliers forward Dean Wade appeared to suffer an ankle injury during warm-ups prior to Wednesday’s contest vs. Miami, per Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com (Twitter links). While Wade was held out of the game, Fedor refers to it as a “precaution,” which suggests the injury probably isn’t serious.
Injury Notes: Embiid, Williams, Dosunmu, McBride
Joel Embiid has been listed as questionable for the Sixers‘ game on Wednesday against the Bulls, Kyle Neubeck of PHLY Sports writes (Twitter link). Embiid, who has been dealing with an oblique strain, hasn’t played since February 26, when he scored 26 points and added 11 rebounds and four assists in a win over the Heat.
While the 7’2″ center’s stats have dipped in the years since he was a perennial MVP candidate, he has had a stronger season than many expected, averaging 26.6 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 3.9 assists per game while leading the team to a 21-12 record when he’s available.
Embiid’s upgraded designation coincides with Paul George becoming eligible to return after sitting out the final game of his 25-game suspension. Barring a setback, Tony Jones of The Athletic (Twitter link) expects Embiid to suit up vs. Chicago.
We have more injury notes from around the league:
- On Monday, Jalen Williams returned from a lengthy absence from the Thunder due to a hamstring injury, scoring 18 points and adding six assists. After the game, Williams said that not only was his leg feeling better, but the wrist on which he underwent offseason surgery is finally back to 100 percent, Tim Bontemps writes for ESPN. “It was just like one of those things that like when you have surgery and you rush into games, it’s like, I wouldn’t say rush, but I’m going into games with … I don’t know what my hands are going to look like,” Williams said. “So now I’ve had the time to actually sit down and work on it and do what I normally do throughout that process, now I’m in a really good spot with it.” Williams’ return will only make the Thunder more dangerous as they attempt to repeat as champions, according to Joel Lorenzi of The Athletic, who notes that several role players benefited from having step up in Williams’ absence. “You guys got to watch [Ajay Mitchell] blossom even more. [Jaylin Williams] and [Cason Wallace], they’ve had to be in spots that they didn’t think they were going to be in to start the season,” Williams said. “We’re better for it now.”
- Ayo Dosunmu has been added to the Timberwolves‘ injury report for Wednesday’s game against the Rockets, per the team’s Twitter account. He’s now listed as questionable with right calf soreness, an injury that Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic describes as “concerning” (Twitter link), likely due to how cautious teams have been this season with calf injuries and how they can impact players’ Achilles.
- Miles McBride hasn’t played for the Knicks since late January as he works his way back from a core injury that required surgery in early February, but he was back on the court going through his typical pregame routine on Tuesday night, per James L. Edwards III of The Athletic (Twitter link). Edwards says it’s been a long time since McBride went through his customary warm-up, and speculates that his return could be “very, very soon.” Stefan Bondy of the New York Post posted a video of McBride warming up, saying that it looked like he was moving well (Twitter video link).
Injury Notes: George, Edwards, Suggs, Watson
Paul George‘s 25-game absence from the Sixers‘ lineup was the result of a suspension rather than an injury, but that layoff may have come with some health-related benefits for the veteran forward. According to Kyle Neubeck of PHLY Sports (Twitter link), George suggested in his first post-suspension comments to reporters today that he was still having some issues related to his knee this winter and that getting an extended recovery period was a silver lining of his 25-game ban.
“This 25 games is just what I needed, I think, for my body to kind of heal and be in a better place,” George said.
As we detailed earlier today, since George was able to remain active during his suspension, no ramp-up period will be required — he’s ready to jump back into the rotation when the Sixers host the Bulls on Wednesday.
“I’ve been feeling great, feeling explosive again, feeling strong again,” he said. “I feel like I’m back on that level of being able to perform and be the focal guy and be the scorer.”
Here are a few more health-related notes from around the NBA:
- Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards, who has been out since March 15 due to inflammation in his right knee, was spotted at Tuesday’s practice, but he’s still just doing individual on-court work and his return isn’t imminent, per Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic (Twitter link). The team announced on March 17 that Edwards would be out for at least a week or two.
- Magic guard Jalen Suggs is facing his fourth multi-game absence of the season — after missing Monday’s game vs. Indiana due to an illness, he has also been ruled out for Tuesday’s matchup with Cleveland, tweets Jason Beede of The Orlando Sentinel. Veteran reserve point guard Jevon Carter earned the start on Monday in Suggs’ place.
- After returning on Sunday following a six-week absence due to a hamstring injury, Nuggets forward Peyton Watson admitted that the altitude in his first home game since Feb. 1 “kicked my butt,” but he felt “amazing” otherwise. “I feel like I’m right back where I was six weeks ago,” Watson said, per Bennett Durando of The Denver Post (subscription required). Still, the Nuggets are managing Watson’s workload carefully. After he played 20 minutes on Sunday, he has been ruled out of Tuesday’s game in Phoenix, the first end of a back-to-back set, with an injury designation of right hamstring injury management, tweets Vinny Benedetto of The Denver Gazette.
Northwest Notes: Hyland, Wolves, Watson, Markkanen, George
Bones Hyland has provided a heavy dose of fun for a Timberwolves team that badly needs it, writes Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic. Pressed into a larger role with star guard Anthony Edwards and several other players injured, Hyland has responded by averaging 20 points per game over his last four outings, including a 23-point performance in Sunday’s win at Boston. He has also been displaying his vibrant personality, which includes exuberant celebrations and verbal jousting with opponents.
“It feels good to be here,” Hyland said in a post-game interview with NBC. “Everyone loves each other. We go out shopping together. We eat together. It’s a fantastic team, phenomenal team. Everyone can step up and contribute to winning. That’s what we’re doing right now, creating the vibes for the playoffs.”
Krawczynski states that Hyland’s enthusiasm is a welcome addition for a Minnesota team that has been fighting to stay out of play-in territory after two straight trips to the Western Conference Finals. He describes them as a “brooding group” that tends to quietly handle the ups and downs of a long season. But Hyland, whom Krawczynski calls the team’s “Chief Vibes Officer,” stands out from his teammates and is enjoying his time in the spotlight until Edwards returns.
“We can’t fill Ant-Man’s shoes. He’s a superstar,” Hyland said. “He’s the head of our team. Trying to fill in his shoes would be tough, but we’ve got a lot of guys on our team that can step up and come out here and put on a show. That’s what we did tonight.”
There’s more from the Northwest Division:
Wolves Notes: Randle, Gobert, Connectors, Reid
In Julius Randle‘s two seasons in Minnesota, Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch has never been publicly critical of the three-time All-Star, according to Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic.
However, that changed after Friday’s loss to Portland, when the Wolves were up 104-103 with 35 seconds remaining and gave up a pair of offensive rebounds, eventually resulting a Jerami Grant three-pointer that put the Blazers ahead for good. Minnesota gave up 18 offensive boards in the game, while Randle — who is averaging a career-low 6.8 rebounds per game, Krawczynski notes — had five boards and only three on the defensive glass.
“All we gotta do, we’re up 104-103, and all we have to do is get a rebound and we can’t,” Finch lamented. “There’s like a lag time from the time the shot goes and we take a breath and we look up. They’re flying around and we’re delayed in our reactions. It’s been that way for a while. It’s just not good enough.
“We knew our guards needed to rebound. Ayo (Dosunmu) did a good job on the defensive glass. Rudy (Gobert) did a good job, but after that, we’ve got to have more rebounding. Julius has three defensive rebounds. That’s not good enough. It’s just not good enough.”
As Krawczynski writes, Randle and Finch have a close relationship, and Finch understands the “mercurial” power forward responds best to public support. The fact that Finch felt the need to criticize Randle speaks to the coach’s level of desperation as Minnesota jockeys for playoff positioning, Krawczynski adds.
While that play was emblematic of the Wolves’ overall effort on Friday, they had other opportunities to win the game and didn’t capitalize, per Krawczynski. Still, Randle didn’t disagree with his coach’s assessment.
“Just gotta go get the ball,” Randle said. “Sometimes it’s not tactical or all that stuff. We just gotta go get the ball out of the air. They are quicker to the ball than us right now. We shouldn’t lose games from rebounding.”
Here’s more from Minnesota:
- Finding ways to get Gobert, who missed a couple of tip-in attempts in the closing seconds that would have tied Friday’s game, more involved offensively is a top priority for the Wolves ahead of the postseason, Krawczynski states in another story. Gobert’s shaky hands and flubs around the basket sometimes cause his teammates to ignore him when he’s open, but Finch wants the team to keep giving the veteran center the ball. “They know not to look to me for sympathy if Rudy drops one of their passes, because sometimes he’s going to,” Finch said. “I tell them to keep throwing it. We have to. It pays off more than not. There are plenty of times when we miss him. We obviously want him to catch it. We want to be able to throw it in a manner where it’s easier for him to catch and finish. But I’ll take some of those turnovers if we’re trying to make the right play.”
- Anthony Edwards says Mike Conley, Kyle Anderson and trade deadline acquisition Ayo Dosunmu have all been “connectors” in the Timberwolves’ locker room, per Chris Hine of The Star Tribune. Donte DiVincenzo had a more blunt assessment of what Conley and Anderson, in particular, bring to the table. “I mean, they’re mature adults,” he said. “Call it what it is. Not to say everybody else is not. You bring mature adults into a group that, call it what it is, guys go through emotions in a season, well, those guys are so comfortable with themselves, are very mature and know how to handle ups and downs. So, when you have that and guys can rely on them and lean on them, it just levels everybody out during those tough moments.”
- Key reserve Naz Reid was sidelined for Friday’s game due to a right ankle sprain. The 26-year-old big man is listed as questionable ahead of Sunday’s matchup in Boston, the team announced (via Twitter).