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Lakers’ Reaves To Undergo MRI, Team Optimistic Hachimura Injury Isn’t Serious

March 1st, 2025 at 8:14am CST by Earnest Marshall

Lakers guard Austin Reaves exited Friday’s game against the Clippers and did not return due to right calf soreness, according to ESPN’s Dave McMenamin. He subbed out with just under three minutes left in the first quarter and will receive an MRI on Saturday.

“He was experiencing some tightness in the calf, some soreness,” head coach JJ Redick said. “Was held out as a precaution.”

Forward Rui Hachimura missed Friday’s game entirely after he was ruled out due to a left knee strain he suffered on Thursday against the Timberwolves. Hachimura received an MRI on Friday, and while there’s no timetable for his return yet, Redick expressed optimism that the injury isn’t serious.

“It’s still not quite clear on when he will be available to play,” Redick said. “But we’re optimistic.”

The Lakers’ head coach later clarified that Hachimura has been diagnosed with left patellar tendinopathy and will be reassessed in one week, according to McMenamin (Twitter links).

In Reaves’ place, Gabe Vincent received an uptick in minutes and started the second half. Forward Dorian Finney-Smith took over a starting role with Hachimura out.

The surging Lakers will feel the absence of Reaves and/or Hachimura if either has to miss much time. Reaves has recorded multiple 30-point games since New Year’s Eve and is averaging 23.5 PPG in his last 11. Hachimura is a full-time starter when healthy, averaging 13.3 points and 5.2 rebounds per contest this season.

The Lakers have won 15 of their last 18 games to move up the standings and now sit just a game back of the second seed in the West.

Players Waived After Saturday Won’t Be Playoff-Eligible

February 28th, 2025 at 9:36pm CST by Luke Adams

In order to retain his postseason eligibility for a new NBA team, a player must be waived on or before March 1. That means that any player who remains on an NBA roster after Saturday won’t be eligible to suit up in the playoffs for a new team, though there’s at least one key exception to that general rule.

A player who is currently on a 10-day contract – or a current free agent who signs one after March 1 – will retain his playoff eligibility going forward. For instance, once Lamar Stevens‘s 10-day deal with the Grizzlies expires on Sunday night, he’d still be able to re-sign with Memphis or join a new team and be eligible to play in the postseason, since he’s not being placed on waivers after March 1.

That rule applies even if a player has his 10-day contract terminated early, since that player becomes a free agent immediately without being required to pass through waivers.

Here’s the list of players on 10-day contracts that run through at least March 1 who will retain their playoff eligibility when their current deals expire:

Moses Brown, Mavericks (runs through 3/1)
Killian Hayes, Nets (3/1)
Jaden Springer, Jazz (3/1)
Nae’Qwan Tomlin, Cavaliers (3/1)
Bismack Biyombo, Spurs (3/2)
Lamar Stevens, Grizzlies (3/2)
Jalen McDaniels, Wizards (3/3)

Kevin Knox (Warriors), Kevon Harris (Hawks), and Malachi Flynn (Hornets) are also reportedly set to sign 10-day contracts this weekend. They’re all playoff-eligible too.

Since it’s often a point of confusion, it’s worth clarifying that a player doesn’t have to sign with a new team by March 1 to be playoff-eligible — he simply can’t be placed on waivers after 11:59 pm Eastern time on Saturday.

For example, P.J. Tucker was waived by Toronto on Friday. As long as he signs with a new team by the final day of the regular season (April 13), he can play in the postseason (including play-in games). If he had been cut two days later, on Sunday, Tucker would have lost his postseason eligibility.

The buyout market in 2025 hasn’t been all that active, with Ben Simmons, Javonte Green, Torrey Craig, and Alex Len among the only veterans of note who have been waived and found new NBA teams in February.

All of those players – and those who have been waived but haven’t yet signed with new teams, such as Josh Richardson, Reggie Jackson, and Mohamed Bamba – will be playoff-eligible for their new clubs, but anyone on a standard or two-way contract who is waived after Saturday won’t be. We’ll be keeping a close eye on the NBA’s transaction wire over the next 24 hours to see who else might land on waivers before that deadline passes.

Mitchell Robinson Making Season Debut On Friday

February 28th, 2025 at 5:57pm CST by Earnest Marshall

February 28: Robinson will make his season debut on Friday vs. Memphis, Charania confirms (via Twitter).

February 27: Knicks center Mitchell Robinson has been upgraded to questionable and is on track to make his season debut as early as Friday against the Grizzlies, Shams Charania of ESPN reports (Twitter link).

Robinson hasn’t played since Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals against the Pacers last spring, having been sidelined for all of 2024/25 so far while he recovered from ankle surgery.

It’s unclear exactly which game Robinson will return for, as Charania’s report says he’ll play “as early as” Friday. He’ll travel for the team’s upcoming two-game road trip that includes a matchup in Miami on Sunday and is expected to play in at least one of those two games.

It was previously reported that Robinson was “inching” toward a return and that the Knicks were optimistic about having him back this weekend. Robinson may be brought along slowly after not playing at all this season so far. However, when he’s at full strength, he’s an obvious boost to a Knicks frontcourt with depleted depth.

With Robinson out and Karl-Anthony Towns missing the team’s last game due to a lower body injury, New York turned to rookie Ariel Hukporti to make his first career start on Wednesday night. However, the rookie center is now out for at least four-to-six weeks with a significant knee injury he suffered in that game.

Not counting Robinson, Hukporti’s injury left the Knicks with only Precious Achiuwa as a big-man option behind Towns.

Robinson is a force on the boards for the Knicks, averaging 7.9 rebounds in 24.5 minutes per game over the course of his career. Last season, he averaged 5.6 points, 8.5 rebounds, 1.2 steals and 1.1 blocks, establishing himself as a defensive anchor for the team and ranking second in the league with 4.6 offensive rebounds per night. However, he was only available for 31 regular season contests and missed the final six games of the playoffs due to his ankle issues.

While Robinson is expected to come off the bench behind Towns upon returning to action, the Knicks figure to utilize the two big men together at times, with Towns stretching the floor on offense and Robinson protecting the rim on defense.

Raptors Waive P.J. Tucker

February 28th, 2025 at 5:36pm CST by Arthur Hill

5:36 pm: The Raptors officially placed Tucker on waivers on Friday, per NBA.com’s transaction log.

1:28 pm: Veteran forward P.J. Tucker is being waived by the Raptors, according to Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link).

Tucker, 39, hasn’t played this season, but he was traded twice before the deadline. The Clippers sent him to the Jazz in a February 1 deal, then Utah moved him to Toronto five days later as part of the complex five-team trade involving Jimmy Butler.

Tucker has been mentioned as a buyout candidate, but there’s no indication from Charania that he agreed to give up a portion of his $11.54MM salary to be released. Because he’ll be waived by the March 1 deadline, Tucker will be eligible for the postseason if he joins another team.

Because Tucker’s salary is below the $12.8MM non-taxpayer mid-level exception, he will be free to sign with anyone once he clears waivers. The only exception is Utah because he’s not permitted to return to the last team that traded him for at least a year.

While he hasn’t seen much on-court action over the past two years, Tucker has served as a valuable three-and-D contributor for several playoff teams throughout his career. His postseason experience and defensive prowess could be attractive to contenders now that he’s a free agent.

Tucker was in the final season of a three-year, $33MM contract the Sixers gave him in free agency in 2022. He was sent to L.A. as part of the James Harden trade in 2023, but never really had a consistent role with the Clippers, appearing in just 28 games after the deal.

Knicks’ Hukporti To Miss At Least 4-6 Weeks Following Knee Surgery

February 28th, 2025 at 5:18pm CST by Rory Maher

February 28: Hukporti underwent surgery on Friday to address his left meniscus tear and will be reevaluated in four-to-six weeks, according to the Knicks (Twitter link).

February 27: Knicks center Ariel Hukporti made his first career start in Wednesday’s victory over Philadelphia, recording eight points, two rebounds and a block in 16 minutes. Unfortunately, the German big man also sustained a significant injury during the game.

According to Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link), the 22-year-old is expected to be sidelined for the next four-to-six weeks after suffering a torn meniscus in his left knee.

Steve Popper of Newsday confirms (via Twitter) that Hukporti will be out for an extended period, though he hears the team is still evaluating the test results and it’s not yet certain that Hukporti sustained a meniscus injury.

The 58th and final pick of the 2024 draft, Hukporti has received sporadic playing time during his rookie season, averaging 1.9 points and 2.0 rebounds in 8.7 minutes per game across 25 appearances.

It’s a tough blow for Hukporti, who was initially signed to a two-way contract but was converted to a standard deal in early November in part to navigate New York’s salary cap situation. The Knicks hold a minimum-salary team option on his contract for 2025/26.

If Hukporti is able to return at the conservative end of the timeline Charania reported — six weeks — he would back just in time for the end of the regular season in mid-April. Returning sooner would obviously give him more time to prepare as the Knicks prepare for a playoff push — they’re currently the No. 3 seed in the East, with a record of 38-20.

On a more positive note, Mitchell Robinson is reportedly on track to make his season debut this weekend, so he should help fortify the Knicks’ frontcourt depth, which will be a little more thin with Hukporti out. Precious Achiuwa is another candidate for more minutes at backup center.

The Knicks also have an open roster spot and will be able to squeeze in a rest-of-season minimum-salary contract for a 15th man below their hard cap as of Friday.

Magic’s Jalen Suggs Out Indefinitely Due To Knee Injury

February 28th, 2025 at 5:05pm CST by Luke Adams

Magic guard Jalen Suggs, who has missed the past 14 games due to what the team referred to as a left quad contusion, has been ruled out indefinitely after undergoing additional testing and being diagnosed with a trochlea injury in his left knee, reports Jason Beede of The Orlando Sentinel (subscription required). The team has confirmed the news in a press release (Twitter link).

Suggs was experiencing discomfort during his return-to-play activities, according to Beede, which prompted the Magic to reevaluate the fourth-year guard and conduct an MRI. Those additional tests revealed the trochlea injury.

As Beede explains, the trochlea is “a groove in the lower end of the femur that guides the kneecap during knee movements.” When it’s damaged, it can cause pain, instability, and additional knee issues.

According to the team, a treatment plan is still being developed for Suggs, but the expectation is that he’ll make a full recovery.

Suggs has now missed 24 of the Magic’s past 25 games after also sitting out for 10 consecutive contests in January due to a low back strain. He has been limited to just 35 total outings this season and had averaged 16.2 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 3.7 assists in 28.6 minutes per game, with a shooting line of .410/.314/.882.

Although Suggs’ shooting numbers are underwhelming, the Magic have clearly missed having him in the backcourt. Besides being one of the team’s offensive engines, the 23-year-old is a major part of Orlando’s defense. He earned a spot on the All-Defensive Second Team last season, but won’t get a chance to repeat that feat this season, since he’ll fall short of the required 65-game minimum.

The Magic are 20-15 in games Suggs has played this season and just 9-17 without him. The club, which held a top-four spot in the East for most of the season through mid-January, has fallen to 29-32 as a result of its recent swoon and currently ranks seventh in the conference, which is in play-in territory.

Orlando is typically pretty vague about injury recovery timelines, so it may be a little while before we get a clear sense of when Suggs could return. He signed a five-year, $150MM rookie scale extension with the team last fall that will go into effect in 2025/26, so it’s safe to assume the Magic will take a cautious approach to his recovery process.

Sixers Rule Out Joel Embiid For Rest Of Season

February 28th, 2025 at 3:05pm CST by Luke Adams

The Sixers have ruled out star center Joel Embiid for the remainder of the 2024/25 season due to his ongoing left knee issues, the team announced today in a press release (Twitter link).

“The Philadelphia 76ers and Joel Embiid have been consulting with top specialists regarding ongoing issues with his left knee,” the club’s statement reads. “After further evaluation, it has been determined that he is medically unable to play and will miss the remainder of the season to focus on treatment and rehabilitation.

“We are working with medical experts to determine the exact treatment plan and will update media when we have more information. The team and specialists will continue working with Joel to ensure the best path forward for his long-term health and performance.”

Embiid’s left knee has been a problem since January of 2024, when he sustained a lateral meniscus injury that required surgery. He was able to return last April and played all six games of the Sixers’ first-round playoff series vs. New York in the spring, then suited up for Team USA at the Paris Olympics over the summer.

However, Embiid continued to deal with swelling in the knee in the fall, which delayed his season debut until November 12. In the months since then, he has never looked fully healthy, appearing in just 19 total games and averaging 23.8 points, 8.2 rebounds, and 4.5 assists in 30.2 minutes per game.

While those numbers would be impressive for most players, the scoring and rebounding rates were well below the former MVP’s career averages, as were his 44.4% field goal percentage and 29.9% mark on three-pointers.

According to Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Substack link), Embiid has met with more than 10 doctors over the course of the season in an attempt to figure out the best way to reduce – or, ideally, eliminate – the discomfort and swelling in his troublesome left knee.

Embiid told Lisa Salters of ABC/ESPN earlier this month that he may require offseason surgery, but that comment took Sixers staffers by surprises, sources tell Fischer, who hears that another procedure on the knee still isn’t a given. While the 30-year-old big man is still hoping for some sort of “cure-all procedure” that would allow him to return to 100%, there’s no clear consensus among Sixers doctors and medical experts outside of the organization about the best path forward, Fischer explains.

With the Sixers sitting at 20-38 and 2.5 games back of the No. 10 Bulls in the Eastern Conference standings, it makes sense for the club to take a long-term view and shut down Embiid, who is on a maximum-salary contract that includes three more guaranteed seasons beyond this one, plus a player option for 2028/29.

The question now is whether Philadelphia will continue to try to push for a play-in spot or whether the team might also consider holding out Paul George and Tyrese Maxey, both of whom have been playing through health issues of their own. George has taken injections to continue playing through various injuries, including tendon damage in his finger, while Maxey is also said to be battling a finger injury that’s affecting his ball-handling and shooting.

The Sixers will owe their 2025 first-round pick to the Thunder if it lands outside the top six and they currently have the NBA’s sixth-worst record, which will be another factor to consider as they weigh their approach to the rest of the season.

If they finish sixth in the lottery standings, the 76ers would have approximately a 45.8% chance of hanging onto their first-rounder. Those odds would increase to about 64% if they drop to the fifth-worst record in the league and 81.1% if they have the fourth-worst mark.

Timberwolves’ Anthony Edwards Suspended For One Game

February 28th, 2025 at 2:05pm CST by Dana Gauruder

2:05 pm: The NBA has officially confirmed in a press release (via Twitter) that Edwards has been suspended for one game. He’ll serve the one-game ban on Friday when the Timberwolves visit Utah.

9:17 am: Anthony Edwards was ejected after picking up two technical fouls on Thursday and now faces an automatic one-game league suspension when Minnesota faces Utah tonight. The Timberwolves star guard has reached the 16-technical threshold, unless the league rescinds one of the two he collected in the loss to the Lakers.

Edwards and Lakers forward Jarred Vanderbilt were called for double technical fouls when they exchanged shoves at the end of the first quarter. Edwards’ second technical occurred during the third quarter when he complained about a no-call.

“{Edwards] was issued his second unsportsmanlike technical foul for directing profanity towards a game official,” crew chief James Williams told a pool reporter, per ESPN’s Tim MacMahon.

According to ESPN Research, the Timberwolves star is the first player to receive 16 technical fouls before March since DeMarcus Cousins during the 2016/17 season. His coach believes Edwards has to learn to control himself.

“He’s got to be better,” Chris Finch said. “He’s had too many outbursts. I think a lot of them are deserved. They’re going to miss some calls from time to time for sure, so he’s got to be better. We’ve been talking to him about it, so it’s on him.”

Edwards tossed the ball into the stands after his ejection, which will likely lead to another league fine. He has already accrued $285K in fines for five separate infractions this season, The Athletic’s Jon Krawczynski notes.

Edwards will be suspended an additional game for every two technical fouls he receives going forward for the rest of the year. Point guard Mike Conley believes Edwards isn’t the only player on the team guilty of being overly reactive.

“We’ve got a lot of guys who get emotional when things don’t go the right way, individually. And that can hurt our team as a whole,” he said. “We have to be better. Ant has to be better. He knows that.”

Bucks Sign Pete Nance To Two-Way Contract

February 28th, 2025 at 10:54am CST by Earnest Marshall

February 28: The signing is official, the team announced today (via Twitter).

February 27: The Bucks are planning to sign Pete Nance to a two-way contract, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania (Twitter link). They’ll add the former Northwestern and UNC player using the open roster spot they created by waiving Liam Robbins, as we relayed earlier on Thursday.

Nance has played two seasons after going undrafted in 2023, appearing in eight games with the Cavaliers as a rookie in 2023/24 and seven this season with the Sixers. The 6’11” forward spent time on a 10-day pact and two-way contract with Cleveland last season.

Nance was waived by the Cavaliers this past October and was signed twice by the Sixers on a two-way deal, first in December and then in January. He was waived earlier this month.

The younger brother of Larry Nance Jr., Pete Nance has played much more at the G League level, appearing in 18 total games (17 starts) this season with Cleveland and Philadelphia’s developmental teams. In those 18 outings, he’s averaging 15.5 points per game while shooting 37.8% from three.

After Milwaukee adds Nance to his two-way deal, they’ll have 14 players on standard contracts and three on two-way deals. The deadline to sign players to two-way contracts is March 4. Two-way guard Ryan Rollins has just one game left before reaching his two-way limit, so the Bucks may opt to convert him to a standard deal and fill his two-way slot with someone new.

According to The Athletic’s Eric Nehm (Twitter link), Nance’s two-way contract will cover two years.

Mavs Inquired About Anthony Edwards Before Trading Doncic To Lakers

February 28th, 2025 at 7:51am CST by Dana Gauruder

The Lakers were not the only team that Mavericks president of basketball operations Nico Harrison reached out to regarding a possible Luka Doncic trade. According to The Athletic’s Sam Amick, the Mavericks had informal discussions with the Timberwolves regarding a possible Doncic-Anthony Edwards swap in the weeks leading up to the blockbuster deal with Los Angeles.

Those discussions didn’t go anywhere because Minnesota had no interest in trading its All-Star guard. However, the Timberwolves brass was stunned that Dallas was even considering the idea of trading Doncic, sources tell Amick.

From a salary standpoint, the numbers would have matched up pretty neatly — Doncic is making $43MM this season and Edwards is pulling in $42.2MM. Edwards is in the first year of a five-year, max extension that currently adds up to $244.6MM. Recall that the main motivation for Dallas to trade Doncic is that the front office didn’t want to give him a five-year, super-max extension worth a projected $345MM.

Had the Timberwolves been willing to trade Edwards for Doncic, the two franchises would have essentially swapped superstars entering or in their prime. Edwards is still just 23 years old, while Doncic is 26.

Instead, the centerpiece of the package the Mavs received was 31-year old big man Anthony Davis, an oft-injured perennial All-Star who suffered an adductor strain in his Dallas debut and has yet to return. The deal has been extremely unpopular with Mavericks fans but they might have had a different reaction if the team essentially replaced one high-scoring play-maker with a younger one.

Thus far, the Lakers are 4-2 in the games that Doncic has played since the trade, including a 111-102 win over the Timberwolves on Thursday.

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