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Zach Edey Returns For Grizzlies; Cedric Coward Moves Into Starting Lineup

November 15th, 2025 at 5:02pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Grizzlies unveiled a new-look lineup for Saturday’s game in Cleveland, with Zach Edey making his season debut and rookie Cedric Coward joining him as a starter.

Edey missed the first 13 games of the season as he recovered from offseason surgery on his left ankle. The 7’4″ center took over the starting job as a rookie, averaging 9.2 points, 8.3 rebounds and 1.3 blocks in 66 games while shooting 58% from the field. He finished fifth in the Rookie of the Year voting.

Coward is off to a strong start after being selected with the 11th pick in this year’s draft, putting up 14.3 points, 5.9 rebounds and 3.1 assists through 13 games while playing 26.8 minutes per night. He was listed as doubtful earlier today due to soreness in his right foot, but he was later upgraded to questionable and then given clearance to play.

The lineup changes mean Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Jock Landale are coming off the bench after beginning the season as starters.

For Caldwell-Pope, who was acquired from Orlando this summer as part of the Desmond Bane trade, it’s his first game as a reserve since he was with the Lakers during the 2019/2020 season, notes Damichael Cole of The Memphis Commercial Appeal (Twitter link). The 32-year-old shooting guard has gotten off to a rough start, averaging 8.1 PPG while shooting career lows from the field (35.1%) and three-point range (29.8%).

Caldwell-Pope has been experiencing elbow soreness, which was aggravated during Wednesday’s game, but he’s able to play today, according to Michael Wallace of Grizzlies.com (Twitter link).

Landale is a career backup who was signed as a free agent this summer to provide depth at center and handle the starting duties until Edey was healthy. He has taken advantage of the opportunity by averaging career highs of 10.7 points and 5.5 rebounds through 13 games while shooting 56.8% from the floor and 48.5% from long distance.

Edey’s return is welcome news for the Grizzlies, who are off to a 4-9 start that included an early-season blowup between head coach Tuomas Iisalo and star guard Ja Morant. Memphis has lost three straight games, including a 131-95 embarrassment Wednesday night in Boston.

The Grizzlies are still short-handed, as Brandon Clarke and Scotty Pippen Jr. are recovering from surgery, Ty Jerome has a right calf strain, Olivier-Maxence Prosper has a left quad contusion and Javon Small will miss multiple weeks with turf toe.

Rockets’ Tari Eason Suffers Oblique Strain, Out 4-6 Weeks

November 15th, 2025 at 1:04pm CST by Rory Maher

Rockets forward Tari Eason has been diagnosed with a strained oblique and will miss four-to-six weeks, according to head coach Ime Udoka (Twitter link via Danielle Lerner of The Houston Chronicle).

The 24-year-old sustained the injury in the first half of Friday’s win over Portland, with Houston initially describing it as a right hip contusion. Upon further evaluation, it turns out he suffered an oblique strain.

It’s a tough blow for Eason, who has battled multiple injuries the past few years. After appearing in all 82 regular season games as a rookie, Eason played just 22 games in 2023/24 and 57 last season.

The 17th overall pick of the 2022 draft, Eason has been a valuable contributor for the Rockets when healthy. He holds career averages of 10.4 points, 6.2 rebounds and 1.4 steals in 22.8 minutes per game and was off to a solid start to the season prior to the injury, averaging 12.3 PPG and 5.3 RPG on .517/.531/.714 shooting through 10 games (24.5 MPG).

Until Dorian Finney-Smith returns from offseason ankle surgery, the Rockets won’t necessarily have a direct positional replacement for Eason. Udoka could give Reed Sheppard, who has been playing the best basketball of his young career of late, more minutes, perhaps sliding Amen Thompson up to the wing at times instead of playing point guard.

Veteran guard Aaron Holiday played a season-high 13 minutes — all in the second half — with Eason out and responded with 10 points.

Eason will be a restricted free agent in the summer if Houston gives him a qualifying offer.

Pelicans Dismiss Head Coach Willie Green

November 15th, 2025 at 10:55am CST by Dana Gauruder

10:55 am: Borrego will remain the interim coach for the remainder of the season, Will Guillory of The Athletic tweets.

8:41 am: The Pelicans have fired head coach Willie Green, NBA insider Chris Haynes reports (via Twitter). James Borrego will take over as the team’s interim coach, per Marc J. Spears of ESPN (Twitter link).

The change comes as no surprise. New Orleans has lost four straight and sits at the bottom of the Western Conference standings with a 2-10 record.

It was reported last month that they were having “serious” internal discussions about Green’s future. Team owner Gayle Benson told NOLA.com this week that any decision on Green’s job status would be made by executive VP of basketball operations Joe Dumars.

The Pelicans released a statement confirming Green’s dismissal and Borrego’s promotion.

“After careful evaluation, we have made the difficult decision to make a change at head coach,” Dumars said in the statement. “I have the utmost respect for Willie Green, and I’m sincerely appreciative of his contributions to the Pelicans organization and the New Orleans community. We wish him and his family all the best in the future.”

Benson also confirmed that Dumars made the decision to relieve Green of his duties.

“As I have stated, Joe Dumars is in charge of basketball operations decisions, and as one of the best basketball minds in the business, I trust him to make the right decisions for our franchise,” she said. “I have tremendous admiration and respect for Willie Green, and I truly appreciate all he has done for our organization over the last few years. This is a tough business and these are difficult decisions. My expectation is to be a winning team that competes for championships, and I remain steadfast in our commitment to building a championship-caliber organization for our players, partners, and above all, our fans.”

Green was named New Orleans’ head coach prior to the 2021/22 season and the team’s record steadily improved during his first three seasons. The Pelicans posted 36 wins in his first year, 42 the next and 49 in 2023/24. They made the playoffs in two of those seasons, falling in the first round both times.

Everything fell apart last season with injuries to multiple rotation players greasing the skids for a 21-61 season. Dumars was hired afterward and chose to stick with Green in the short term, but the club’s disastrous start led to his dismissal.

Pivoting to Borrego is also not a surprise.

Earlier this month, Marc Stein reported that Borrego was retained as New Orleans’ lead assistant in anticipation of a possible head coaching change. Stein noted that the Pelicans denied a request from the Knicks to interview Borrego to become the lead assistant on Mike Brown‘s staff.

Borrego, of course, has plenty of head coaching experience. He was Orlando’s interim coach in 2014/15, then had a four-year stint as Charlotte’s head coach from 2018-22. He has compiled a 148-183 record during his head coaching career.

Nuggets’ Christian Braun Out At Least Six Weeks With Ankle Sprain

November 14th, 2025 at 5:15pm CST by Rory Maher

Nuggets wing Christian Braun has been diagnosed with a left ankle sprain and will miss at least six weeks, which is when he’ll be reexamined, reports Shams Charania of ESPN (via Twitter).

The Nuggets put out a press release confirming the news (Twitter link).

Braun sustained the injury late in the first quarter during Wednesday’s win at the Clippers. While attempting to pressure James Harden near mid-court, Braun appeared to have his right foot briefly stepped on and then took an awkward step backward with his left foot and immediately reacted in pain (Twitter video link via Law Murray of The Athletic).

Braun, who signed a five-year, $125MM rookie scale extension on the final day he was eligible to so (October 20), emerged as a full-time starter for Denver in 2024/25, posting career-best numbers in virtually every major statistic, including points (15.4), rebounds (5.2), assists (2.6), steals (1.1) and minutes per game (33.9) in 79 appearances. His shooting line of .580/.397/.827 was also excellent.

The 21st overall pick in the 2022 draft, Braun hadn’t been quite as productive through 10 healthy games this season, averaging 11.9 PPG, 4.4 RPG, 2.9 APG and 0.9 SPG on .484/.214/.778 shooting in 30.8 MPG. But he’s still an important part of the rotation, particularly on defense, where he’s frequently tasked with slowing down the opposing team’s best perimeter scorer.

The 24-year-old guard/forward had been quite durable to this point in his career, only missing nine total games over his first three seasons. He’ll more than double that total because of the left ankle sprain — the Nuggets play 19 times over the next six weeks, Murray notes.

Braun isn’t the only Nugget dealing with an injury, as starting forward Cameron Johnson will miss Saturday’s game in Minnesota with a right bicep strain, tweets Vinny Benedetto of The Denver Gazette. Superstar center Nikola Jokic is questionable due to a left wrist sprain.

With Braun out, Bruce Brown, Tim Hardaway Jr. and Julian Strawther are candidates for more playing time. Peyton Watson seems likely to start in place of Johnson, though that’s just speculation.

Pelicans Owner: Decision On Green Is Dumars’ To Make

November 14th, 2025 at 1:47pm CST by Luke Adams

Amid rumors that the Pelicans are having “serious” internal discussions about head coach Willie Green‘s future, team owner Gayle Benson tells Jeff Duncan of NOLA.com (subscription required) that any decision on Green’s job status will be made by executive VP of basketball operations Joe Dumars, not by her.

There was speculation when Dumars replaced David Griffin as the Pelicans’ head of basketball operations in the spring that he’d bring in a new head coach after Green led the team to a 21-61 record last season. That didn’t happen, but now that New Orleans is off to a 2-9 start this fall, those rumors have resurfaced and intensified, with some reports suggesting that Benson’s fondness for Green is the reason why he still has his job.

Speaking to Duncan, Benson insisted that’s not the case.

“I really like Willie Green, but I hired Joe Dumars to assess our basketball operation. And that’s what he is doing. He is assessing Willie and all the players,” Benson said. “He and I spent the entire halftime (of Wednesday’s game) talking. When he makes a decision, that’s up to him. That’s why I hired him.

“I trust Joe, because I feel like he knows people. He’s known Willie since he was a child, so they know each other. And if he can fix that problem, then he’ll fix it. If he can’t, then that’ll be his decision, not mine. I’ve left that in his hands.”

Injuries have limited the Pelicans’ ceiling in recent years, particularly since the start of the 2024/25 season. Star forward Zion Williamson has played in just 35 of 93 games during that time, and virtually every other starter or rotation player has missed time for health reasons too, including projected long-term cornerstones Trey Murphy III and Herbert Jones.

Still, even when the Pelicans have had most of their top players available, the results haven’t been great. As William Guillory of The Athletic recently observed, the team has a net rating of -11.3 during the 75 minutes in which Williamson, Murphy, and Jones have played together this season.

Benson talked to Duncan for about a half-hour in total, speaking at length about the poor starts this fall by the Pelicans and her other team, the NFL’s New Orleans Saints. Benson sought to make it clear during that interview that neither franchise is on the market.

“The teams are not for sale. That’s in capital letters. I want everybody to know the teams are not for sale,” Benson said. “I get tired of people asking me (if they’re for sale). I’m going to turn 79 in January, but I’m pretty healthy. I hear that people want to talk to me about buying the team. I’m like, well, that’s a waste of my time. That’s not going to happen. And people need to calm down about the team moving.”

Benson wanted to make one last point at the end of her conversation with Duncan.

“I just want everyone to know that I’m doing everything that I can, other than throwing the ball and catching it and getting the ball in the hoop,” she said. “I can’t do any more than I’m doing. I’m giving (the teams) the money. I’ve done everything I can to help these guys. After every game, win or lose, both teams, I’m in that locker room. When they come in from the field or off the court, I’m hugging every one of them, win or lose. I can’t do any more than let them know I’m supporting them. I don’t know what else I can do.”

Rival Teams Would Have Interest In Domantas Sabonis Trade

November 14th, 2025 at 10:01am CST by Arthur Hill

The Kings would have several interested suitors if they decide to part with Domantas Sabonis, Sam Amick of the Athletic said during a recent appearance on SacTown Sports (YouTube link; hat tip to Real GM).

“So, as it relates to Sabonis, my understanding is there are at least a few teams that have raised their hand to say, ‘Yeah, he’s somebody we’d want to talk about,’” Amick told the hosts. “I’ve said it on your show before — I don’t have that sort of information about Zach (LaVine).”

Sabonis is currently making $42.3MM and still has two more seasons left on the four-year extension he signed in 2023. He’ll earn $45.5MM in 2026/27 and $48.6MM in 2027/28 before becoming a free agent in the summer of 2028.

Sabonis, 29, is a three-time All-Star who has led the league in rebounding the past three years. He’s gotten off to a slow start this season as his numbers are down across the board at 15.3 points, 12.3 rebounds and 3.7 assists through nine games, but he’s still a highly valued big man.

The Kings have been an early disappointment at 3-9 and could be considering changes, either in an effort to salvage the season or to tank in hopes of landing a high pick in a strong draft.

As Amick indicates, it could be much easier to trade Sabonis than LaVine, who’s making $47.5MM and holds a $49MM player option for next season. The Bulls spent months trying to find a taker for LaVine before Sacramento agreed to acquire him as part of a three-team trade in February.

Amick also said the Kings were “comfortable” giving Keegan Murray a five-year rookie scale extension because “they not only valued him within their program, but they learned that he’s got a lot of value around the league.” Murray hasn’t played yet this season after undergoing thumb surgery in October.

Pacers Reportedly Eyeing Jose Alvarado

November 13th, 2025 at 9:38pm CST by Rory Maher

With Tyrese Haliburton out for the season due to a torn Achilles tendon, the Pacers have been on the lookout for help at point guard, having cycled through multiple veterans during the preseason and later cutting James Wiseman to add Mac McClung. McClung was subsequently replaced by Monte Morris, whom the team initially intended to bring in for camp before discovering he had a calf injury that has since healed.

Head coach Rick Carlisle said McClung was the most impressive participant in a three-player free agent workout on October 27, which is why the Pacers signed him. According to Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Substack link), the other two participants in that session were Morris and Cody Martin, whose 10-day hardship contract with Indiana expires on Friday.

Martin, who missed Thursday’s game in Phoenix due to an illness (Twitter link via the team), is unlikely to return to the Pacers unless they’re granted another hardship exception, Fischer writes.

In addition to keeping close tabs on free agents, Indiana has also been monitoring the trade market for backcourt help. Sources tell Fischer that Pelicans guard Jose Alvarado is of particular interest to the Pacers.

Alvarado, 27, went undrafted in 2021 after a standout college career at Georgia Tech. The 27-year-old is making $4.5MM this season and holds a player option for 2026/27 worth the same amount.

Through 10 games this season, Alvarado is averaging 6.7 points, 2.6 assists, 2.6 rebounds and 1.0 steal in 18.9 minutes per contest, with a shooting line of .423/.429/.800.

Taurean Prince Undergoes Neck Surgery, Out Indefinitely

November 13th, 2025 at 6:57pm CST by Rory Maher

Bucks forward Taurean Prince underwent surgery in Los Angeles on Thursday to address the herniated disk in his neck, the team announced in a press release (Twitter link).

Prince will remain out indefinitely, according to the Bucks, with additional updates to come “as necessary.”

The 12th overall pick in the 2016 draft, Prince is in his 10th NBA season and second with Milwaukee. As a free agent over the summer, the 31-year-old re-signed with the Bucks on a two-year deal, including a $3.8MM player option for 2026/27 that he seems highly likely to exercise after the unfortunate injury.

Prince, who last played on November 4, underwent an MRI last week, which revealed the herniated disk. On Monday, the team said it was still evaluating possible treatment plans — surgery was determined to be the best course of action.

In 80 appearances last season, including 73 starts, Prince averaged 8.2 points, 3.6 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.0 steal while shooting 43.9% from long distance (27.1 minutes per game). The Baylor alum made eight appearances this fall, averaging 6.1 PPG, 1.6 RPG, 1.0 APG and 0.8 SPG while shooting 42.9% from deep (21.1 MPG).

Kyle Kuzma has seen an uptick in minutes with Prince out, a trend that will likely continue with the veteran forward reportedly expected to miss extended time.

Jalen Brunson Sustains Grade 1 Right Ankle Sprain

November 13th, 2025 at 4:03pm CST by Luke Adams

4:03 pm: Brunson appears to have avoided a major injury, as he has been diagnosed with a Grade 1 ankle sprain, as first reported by Ian Begley of SNY.tv (via Twitter) and confirmed by several other outlets (all Twitter links here).

While Brunson will be out Friday against Miami, he will be evaluated on a daily basis moving forward, which suggests he probably won’t miss an extended period of time.

8:50 am: Knicks point guard Jalen Brunson sustained a right ankle injury late in the fourth quarter of a lopsided home loss to Orlando on Wednesday and was seen wearing a walking boot on his right foot and using crutches as he exited Madison Square Garden, writes Stefan Bondy of The New York Post.

Brunson didn’t speak to reporters after the loss and head coach Mike Brown didn’t have an update on the star guard’s status, so it’s not yet clear whether the injury will force him to miss time.

Since arriving in New York in 2022, Brunson has been quite durable, appearing in at least 65 regular season games in each of his three seasons with the Knicks. However, as Bondy points out, the 29-year-old missed roughly a month near the end of the 2024/25 season after badly spraining the same ankle.

Bondy also notes that the situation in which Brunson injured his ankle on Wednesday opens up Brown to some criticism. After former Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau made a habit of leaving his starters in games that seemed out of reach, Brown told reporters during training camp that he wouldn’t be afraid to “throw the towel in early” in those scenarios in order to keep his best players as fresh and healthy as possible.

The Knicks were trailing by 16 points when Brunson suffered the injury with 1:54 left to play.

Paolo Banchero Suffers Left Groin Strain

November 13th, 2025 at 2:20pm CST by Luke Adams

2:20 pm: An MRI confirmed that Banchero has a left groin strain, tweets Shams Charania of ESPN. According to Charania, the forward has been ruled out for Friday’s game vs. Brooklyn and will continue to be evaluated daily beyond that. The update suggests that Banchero avoided a major injury.

7:45 am: The Magic‘s 17-point win in New York on Wednesday was the team’s most impressive victory of the season, but it came at a cost. Star forward Paolo Banchero exited the game in the second quarter due to a left groin strain and didn’t return. He told Fred Katz of The Athletic that he sustained the injury after trying to accelerate up the floor following a defensive rebound.

“I just slowed up, and I felt it right away,” Banchero said. “And then, I did a couple more trips up and down, and then, it was still there. So I asked to come out because I didn’t wanna risk further injury.”

Banchero confirmed that he’ll undergo an MRI to determine the severity of the injury, but he’s hopeful that it’s not significant. As he pointed out to Katz, he wasn’t in nearly as much discomfort on Wednesday as he was when he suffered an oblique tear last season that cost him over two months.

“I dealt with an oblique last year, and that was a tear,” Banchero said. “And feeling it, it was kinda really painful to where I couldn’t really do much. I couldn’t really move much. This (groin injury), I can still do movements. There just was a pain there. (Trainers) said if it was torn or anything, I wouldn’t be able to do anything. So, that’s encouraging.”

Banchero, who started each of Orlando’s first 12 games this season, entered Wednesday’s contest with averages of 23.3 points, 9.1 rebounds, and 4.3 assists in 34.7 minutes per night.

Reserve forward Jonathan Isaac started the second half in Banchero’s place and is a prime candidate for an increased role if the former No. 1 overall pick has to miss time. Forward Tristan Da Silva could also earn a minutes bump in that scenario.

The Magic’s road victory over the Knicks pulled the team back to .500 (6-6) following a 1-4 start to the season.