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Christian Wood To Undergo Arthroscopic Surgery On Left Knee

Lakers big man Christian Wood will undergo an arthroscopic procedure on his left knee and is expected to be sidelined for several weeks, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski and Dave McMenamin tweet.

Back on Feb. 21, the Lakers reportedly felt Wood’s knee soreness was relatively minor and that he’d be back in action in a couple of weeks. It obviously hasn’t healed to expectations.

Wood appeared in 50 of the team’s first 56 games, averaging 6.9 points and 5.1 rebounds in 17.4 minutes per night in his first season with the Lakers. He hasn’t played since Feb. 14.

Wood surprisingly remained on the free agent market until early September last year, when the Lakers signed him to a two-year, veteran’s minimum contract. He holds a $3MM option on his contract for next season.

Wood and the Mavericks failed to reach an extension agreement last season and he didn’t get the type of offers normally conveyed to players who averaged 16.6 points and 7.3 rebounds during their walk year.

The Lakers currently hold the final play-in spot in the Western Conference. Wood probably won’t be available until later in the postseason, if the Lakers advance.

Wizards Rookie Coulibaly Has Wrist Fracture, Out For Season

Wizards rookie wing Bilal Coulibaly will miss the remainder of the season after being diagnosed with a right wrist fracture, the team’s PR department tweets.

The injury was suffered when Coulibaly fell during the Wizards’ game against Chicago on Saturday.

Coulibaly was initially diagnosed with a contusion, Josh Robbins of The Athletic tweets. A team spokesman informed Robbins that  testing revealed the fracture on Monday afternoon and that Coulibaly will not require surgery.

Washington has the league’s worst record at 11-57. Coulibaly has been one of the few bright spots for the team.

The seventh overall pick in last year’s draft has averaged 8.4 points, 4.1 rebounds and 1.7 assists in 27.2 minutes per game. He’s appeared in 63 contests, including 15 starts.

Coulibaly scored in double figures in his last five outings. The Wizards already had six other players ruled out heading into Tuesday’s contest with the Rockets, including Deni Avdija (knee), Tyus Jones (back) and Marvin Bagley (back).

Marcus Morris Joins Cavaliers On 10-Day Contract

MARCH 18: Morris’ signing is official, according to NBA.com’s transactions log.


MARCH 16: The Cavaliers will sign veteran forward Marcus Morris to a 10-day contract, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic. Morris is expected to be available when Cleveland travels to Indiana on Monday, Charania adds.

Morris, 34, has been a free agent since being waived by San Antonio on February 29. He didn’t appear in any games with the Spurs after being acquired in a trade at the deadline, and he hasn’t been on the court since February 5.

The Cavs will be the fourth team this season for Morris, who started off with the Clippers before being shipped to his hometown Sixers as part of the James Harden trade in early November. Morris mostly played a reserve role for Philadelphia, appearing in 37 games and averaging 6.7 points and 2.9 rebounds in 17.2 minutes per night.

In Cleveland, Morris will provide frontcourt depth for a team playing without Evan Mobley, who is sidelined with a sprained left ankle. Morris will also add a heavy dose of veteran leadership and playoff experience to the locker room.

After Monday’s game, Cleveland will play five more times in the 10-day span. Morris will be eligible for a second 10-day deal, but he’ll have to be signed to a standard contract to be on the roster for the postseason.

The Cavaliers have been carrying a roster opening since Sharife Cooper‘s 10-day contract expired last week, so they won’t need another move before making Morris’ contract official.

Patrick Beverley first stated on Friday (via Twitter) that his former teammate was planning to sign with the Cavaliers.

Cavs’ Mitchell To Miss More Time Due To Knee Injury

Cavaliers star Donovan Mitchell, who returned to action on Wednesday after missing seven games due to a left knee bone bruise, is expected to be sidelined again due to his nagging knee issue, according to Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com (subscription required).

Michell didn’t look like himself in his first two games back, scoring just 27 total points on 9-of-29 shooting (31.0%). He lacked explosiveness on Saturday vs. Houston in a game he exited multiple times due to injury, Fedor notes. The All-Star guard admitted during a post-game media session that the knee is still a problem.

“I’m probably not playing next game, to be honest with you,” Mitchell told reporters, including Fedor. “Just gotta take some time to rest and get it right. I thought I was ready. I’m not. It sucks. I want to be out there. But it’s clear as day. Even to myself. I can’t fool myself. Just get it right and be ready when that time comes.”

Mitchell told Fedor that he’s not sure how much time he’ll have to miss, but said no operation should be necessary and expressed optimism that he’ll be back to 100% before the end of the regular season.

“The one thing we don’t have time for is rest but that’s what you need is rest. Sit my ass down and take the proper approach because at the end of the day it’s April that we are getting ready for,” he said. “Tried to hide it as much as I can. But it’s pretty blatant and obvious. It sucks. I’m pissed off. But I trust these guys. Gonna go out there and do their thing. I will get right. And then be ready to go.

“… I’m a very eager person. I want to be out there. I have no doubt I will be fine. Everybody else believes the same thing. It’s not a concern from that standpoint. It’s more me fighting my own battle.”

The Cavaliers are currently dealing with a series of injuries to their starters. Evan Mobley (left ankle sprain) has been on the shelf for six consecutive games, while Max Strus (left knee strain) has been out for the past seven. Dean Wade, who had taken over Mobley’s spot in the starting lineup, rejoined the team on Friday after missing three games for personal reasons, but was ruled out for Saturday’s contest due to right knee soreness.

Head coach J.B. Bickerstaff said on Saturday that it will require a group effort to keep the team on track during another Mitchell absence. The Cavs currently have a 42-25 record and are one game back of the Bucks for the No. 2 seed in the East, with a two-game cushion on the No. 4 Knicks.

“It’s everybody. Everybody has to tick up,” Bickerstaff. “That’s what we’ve done in the past. Everybody has stepped their own game up and played to their strengths. We have proven that we can do it because we have always done it together. That is the focus of every single night, every conversation we have, it’s about the whole.”

For what it’s worth, Mitchell is already ineligible for end-of-season awards, including All-NBA honors, since he has missed more than 17 games this season.

Isaiah Thomas Signing 10-Day Deal With Suns

The Suns will add former All-Star guard Isaiah Thomas on a 10-day contract, sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

The 35-year-old guard recently joined the Salt Lake City Stars in the G League in hopes of landing another NBA opportunity. He showed he still has his scoring touch, averaging 32.5 points in four games while shooting 45% from three-point range.

Thomas will provide another veteran scorer with playoff experience for a Phoenix team that’s locked in a tight race to avoid the play-in tournament. The Suns entered tonight percentage points behind Sacramento for the sixth spot and one game ahead of eighth-place Dallas.

The 11-year veteran has been out of the NBA since the 2021/22 season, when he made brief appearances with the Lakers and Mavericks before ending the year with the Hornets.

Thomas was an All-Star with Boston in 2015/16 and ’16/17 before suffering a right hip injury that derailed his career. He bounced around the league after that, and most of his recent stops have been on 10-day contracts.

Phoenix plays in Milwaukee at noon Central time on Sunday and has a three-day break before its next game, so it’s unclear whether or not Thomas will sign his new deal right away. If his contract begins when the team returns home on Wednesday, he would be eligible for six games over the following 10 days. A second 10-day deal would take him close to the end of the season, but the Suns would have to give him a standard contract to make him eligible for the playoffs.

Phoenix has a roster opening, so a corresponding move won’t be necessary to make room for Thomas, who will earn $183,704 over the course of his 10 days with the team. The Suns will take on a cap hit of $116,075.

Wolves Sign T.J. Warren To Second 10-Day Deal

1:47pm: Warren’s second 10-day contract with the Timberwolves is official, the club confirmed in a press release. It’ll run through March 25, covering Minnesota’s next five games.


1:02pm: The Timberwolves are bringing back forward T.J. Warren on a second 10-day contract, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). Warren’s first 10-day deal with the club came to an end on Friday night.

Warren, who had been out of the NBA for the entire 2023/24 season before signing with Minnesota earlier this month, was thrust into an immediate rotation role for the team due to Karl-Anthony Towns‘ injury absence.

In four games, Warren averaged 4.8 points, 2.0 rebounds, and 0.8 assists in 16.0 minutes per game during his first 10 days from the team. He made just 1-of-7 three-pointers (14.3%), but was 8-of-12 (66.7%) from inside the arc.

Warren, who is now 30 years old, isn’t quite as effective a scorer as he was earlier in his career since a left foot injury cost him nearly two full seasons from 2020-22. However, he still has a scoring average of 14.5 PPG on .506/.352/.780 shooting in 378 career regular season contests.

Given that Warren played regular minutes on his first 10-day contract and Minnesota only has 13 players on standard, full-season contracts, a second 10-day deal doesn’t come as a real surprise. Once this second contract expires, the Wolves will have to decide whether or not to sign him for the rest of the season.

Warren will earn $167,004 on his 10-day deal, while Minnesota carries a cap hit of $116,075. The club will still have an open spot on its 15-man standard roster with Warren back under contract.

Taj Gibson Signs With Pistons For Rest Of Season

MARCH 16: Gibson has officially signed a rest-of-season contract with the Pistons, the team announced today (via Twitter).


MARCH 15: Veteran big man Taj Gibson will sign with the Pistons for the remainder of the 2023/24 season, agent Mark Bartelstein tells ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link).

As Woj notes, Gibson’s 10-day deal with Detroit will expire at midnight ET. He’s expected to sign his rest-of-season contract on Saturday.

Gibson, 38, spent a portion of this season with the Knicks, having signed a non-guaranteed contract with the team in December.

The 15-year veteran was waived on January 7 before his full salary could become guaranteed, then returned to New York on a pair of 10-day deals in January and February. However, the club opted not to bring him back on a rest-of-season contract when the second of those deals expired.

At this point in his career, Gibson is most valued for his veteran leadership and presence in the locker room, though he did appear in 16 games for the Knicks this season, averaging 1.0 PPG and 1.8 RPG in 10.3 MPG. He didn’t play at all for Detroit during his first 10 days with the team.

Once Gibson officially signs his new contract tomorrow, the Pistons will have 14 players on standard deals, which means they’ll still have an opening on their 15-man roster.

Tyler Herro Receives PRP Injection, Out At Least 1-2 More Weeks

Heat guard Tyler Herro, who has been sidelined since February 23, received a platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injection on Friday to treat his injured right foot, sources tell Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. According to Chiang, Herro will be reevaluated in one-to-two weeks.

Herro has been listed as out in recent weeks due to right foot medial tendinitis, notes Chiang, adding that the 24-year-old also dealt with a hyperextended left knee. The knee issue has healed and it’s the foot injury that is keeping him on the shelf.

While Herro isn’t on the verge of returning, there’s hope that he’ll be able to suit up for the Heat at some point before the end of the regular season, per Chiang.

Herro has been a full-time starter for Miami when healthy this season, averaging 20.8 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 4.4 assists in 33.6 minutes per game across 36 contests. His 39.9% three-point percentage is tied for a career high, and he’s attempting more threes than ever (8.1 per game).

Herro was injured and unavailable during the Heat’s run to the NBA Finals last spring, so while the club has shown that it can win without him, it’s safe to assume he’ll be pushing hard to be part of the postseason rotation this time around.

Of course, a playoff spot still isn’t assured for the Heat, who are tied for the No. 7 spot in the East at 36-30. Miami has the same record as the No. 8 Sixers, though both clubs hold a relatively safe lead (4.5 games) over the No. 9 Bulls and remain hot on the heels of the No. 6 Pacers (37-30).

Sixers Sign Kai Jones To 10-Day Contract

MARCH 15: The Sixers have officially signed Jones to a 10-day deal, the team announced today in a press release.


MARCH 14: The Sixers plan to sign free agent forward/center Kai Jones to a 10-day contract on Friday, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter). Jones reportedly worked out for Philadelphia last week.

The No. 19 overall pick in the 2021 draft, Jones averaged just 2.7 points and 2.0 rebounds in 9.1 minutes per game across 67 total appearances in his first two professional seasons. He had a much bigger role at the G League level, averaging 17.2 points, 9.9 rebounds, 1.2 steals and 2.1 blocks in 38 regular season games with the Greensboro Swarm — Charlotte’s affiliate — from 2021-23.

Jones made a series of unusual social media posts prior to the 2023/24 season, calling out some of his teammates in a handful of tweets and videos. A report ahead of training camp indicated that the big man wouldn’t be reporting to the Hornets for personal reasons. He subsequently requested a trade and then was waived by the club shortly thereafter. The 23-year-old has been a free agent since then.

Last week, Shams Charania of The Athletic stated that Jones has been working on himself “on and off the court” since the fall in the hopes of earning another NBA opportunity. The young center said back in November that he was meeting with teams, and one report around that time indicated that the Clippers brought him in for “a visit of some capacity.”

Charania also noted that Jones played well for the Bahamas in a pair of AmeriCup qualifying contests last month, averaging 13.5 points and 8.0 rebounds in 29.2 minutes per game while making 68.8% of his shots from the floor.

The Sixers, who have been on the lookout for frontcourt help since Joel Embiid went down with a knee injury, have two open roster spots, so they won’t have to waive anyone to add Jones, who will earn $116,075 over the course of his 10 days with Philly.

Kuminga Says He Hopes To Be “Warrior For Life”

Less than two-and-a-half months after a report stated that he had lost faith in head coach Steve Kerr, Warriors forward Jonathan Kuminga said this week during the latest episode of the Dubs Talk podcast that he wants to remain in Golden State for the rest of his career, per Monte Poole of NBC Sports Bay Area.

“I would love to just be one of the Warriors for life – and just never change,” Kuminga said, indicating that he’d like to follow in the footsteps of teammates Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green, as well as his all-time favorite player, Kobe Bryant.

“When I look at those three people – Steph and Klay and Draymond – and I look at their pictures in the practice facility every day, I’m like, ‘This is where I want to be.’ I want to be right there.” Kuminga said, according to Poole. “I want to play here my whole life.

“You don’t choose and control where you want to be, but that’s the goal. That’s where I want to be. I want my name hanging next to those guys one day. And, you know, anywhere you get drafted, you always have love for the places you get drafted.  And, obviously, I got drafted here. The people are great. They always take care of me. They’re always helping me grow as a person.

“… Obviously, my favorite player (Bryant) was a Laker for life,” he added. “So, obviously, I would love to be a Warrior for life.”

It’s a fascinating turnaround from earlier in the year for Kuminga, whose future with the Warriors appeared to be in doubt when that report about his frustration with his role surfaced in early January. He and Kerr subsequently had a one-on-one meeting to talk things out, and the 21-year-old has played a bigger role in the months since then.

In his past 28 games, Kuminga has averaged 20.5 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 2.7 assists in 30.3 minutes per night, with a shooting line of .551/.393/.793. Looking back on where things stood before his recent breakout, the 2021 lottery pick explained during his Dubs Talk appearance that he never wanted to leave the Warriors but that he believed he had earned a chance to play more consistent minutes.

“I did not lose faith of being here; it’s not what I said,” Kuminga said. “It was just definitely to a point where I felt like I need to be (on the court). I felt like I could help. I felt like there was just so much left on the table where I felt like me and the young guys could go out there and help Steph, Klay and Draymond.

“… It was just me trying to go out there and just find a way to play. Find a way to be on the floor. Find a way to help every young guy get their chance. And as you see every young guy getting a chance, including me, we are doing the things that we were supposed to be doing. We’re not going to help every day. We’re not going to win every day. But as you gain that experience, you’re going out there and just helping as much as we can.”

Besides Kuminga, rookies Brandin Podziemski and Trayce Jackson-Davis have seen regular playing time for the Warriors this season, while fellow ’21 lottery pick Moses Moody is also averaging a career high in minutes per game.

Kuminga is in the third season of his four-year rookie contract, so he’ll become eligible for a rookie scale extension in July. Two or three months ago, it was unclear whether Golden State would pursue a new deal with the young forward this offseason, but it seems relatively safe to assume now that the team will make a strong effort to lock him up long-term.

If he and the Warriors don’t agree to an extension by the start of the 2024/25 season, Kuminga will be eligible for restricted free agency during the summer of 2025.