Sixers Sign Jabari Walker To Two-Year Deal
February 19: Walker’s promotion to the standard roster is official, the Sixers announced today in a press release.
February 16: The Sixers are signing forward Jabari Walker to a two-year deal, Shams Charania reports for ESPN (via Twitter).
Earlier this month, Walker became the first player on a two-way contract to reach his 50-game active game limit, which forced him to miss Philadelphia’s last four games heading into the All-Star break.
By trading Jared McCain for a draft pick and Eric Gordon for the draft rights to Justinian Jessup, the Sixers opened up spots to convert both Walker and Dominick Barlow to standard contracts. Barlow signed a two-year deal with a team option on February 5.
After spending his first three seasons with the Blazers, Walker joined the Sixers on a two-way contract and quickly won a bench role in coach Nick Nurse‘s rotation.
Still just 23 years old, Walker brings defensive versatility and intensity on the wing, though he has struggled with his shot, hitting just 27.0% of his threes this season.
The Sixers are also signing veteran point guard Cameron Payne to their 15-man roster. He and Walker will fill Philadelphia’s 14th and 15th roster spots, but the team will have enough room below the luxury tax line after finalizing those contracts to make another roster move at the end of the season if necessary, notes Yossi Gozlan of The Third Apron (via Twitter).
Ja Morant To Be Reevaluated In Two Weeks; KCP Set For Finger Surgery
Ja Morant is making progress in his recovery from a UCL sprain in his left elbow and will be reevaluated in two weeks, the Grizzlies announced (via Twitter).
The team also revealed that Kentavious Caldwell-Pope will undergo a surgical procedure on Thursday to address misalignment of his right pinky finger.
Morant suffered his injury in a January 21 game against Atlanta and hasn’t played since. He continues to experience discomfort in the elbow, according to the team. The point guard has appeared in just 20 games this season and has only been available three times since the start of the new year.
Morant was one of the top names on the trade market heading into the deadline and was reportedly surprised that he didn’t get moved. That was partially due to his lack of availability, as he’s been limited to 79 total games over the past three seasons. His contract also factored in, as teams were reluctant to take on an unreliable player who’s owed $42.4MM and $44.9MM during the next two years.
His productivity has also been declining, which could be related to the injuries. He’s averaging 19.5 points per game this season while shooting career lows of 41% from the field and 23.5% from three-point range.
Memphis is expected to resume its search for a Morant trade this summer, but the return may still be limited, especially if he continues to battle injuries for the rest of the season. The Grizzlies reportedly talked with Miami, Minnesota, Sacramento and Milwaukee about Morant deals prior to the deadline.
Caldwell-Pope has been a mainstay for a team affected all season by injuries, appearing in 51 of Memphis’ first 53 games. The 33-year-old shooting guard, who was acquired from Orlando last summer, is averaging 8.4 points, 2.5 rebounds and 2.7 assists in 21.3 minutes per night, mostly as a reserve.
Caldwell-Pope has the team’s second-highest salary at $21,621,500 and he holds a player option for the same amount next season.
The Grizzlies state that a timeline for Caldwell-Pope will be set after the operation is completed, and he’s expected to make a full recovery. Memphis is 20-33 and five-and-a-half games out of the 10th spot in the West, so there’s a chance that Caldwell-Pope won’t return this season.
Suns Sign Haywood Highsmith
FEBRUARY 18: The Highsmith signing is official, relays Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic (Twitter link).
FEBRUARY 14: The Suns are signing free agent forward Haywood Highsmith to a multiyear contract, agent Jerry Dianis tells Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link).
According to Charania, “multiple playoff teams” were pursuing Highsmith before he decided to join Phoenix. The Lakers and Sixers were linked to Highsmith over the past week.
A native of Baltimore, Maryland, Highsmith has yet to play a game this season after he underwent surgery to address a torn meniscus in his right knee in August and experienced a setback in his rehab in October. However, Dianis recently told Michael Scotto of HoopsHype his client is healthy and had been targeting February 11 for his 2025/26 debut prior to being waived by the Nets.
A 6’5″ combo forward, Highsmith averaged 6.3 points, 3.3 rebounds and 0.9 steals in 22.7 minutes per game across 140 appearances from 2023/24 and 2024/25. He spent four seasons with Miami, which traded him to Brooklyn in the offseason.
Highsmith is known as a strong, versatile defender and he has improved his outside shot over the years as well. The 29-year-old converted 38.8% of his three-point looks over the past two seasons.
John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 confirms the news and says the second year of Highsmith’s contract isn’t fully guaranteed (Twitter link).
The Suns had an opening on their 15-man standard roster, which means no corresponding move will be necessary to sign Highsmith.
Domantas Sabonis Undergoes Season-Ending Knee Surgery
The Kings will be without their starting center for the rest of the 2025/26 season, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania, who reports (via Twitter) that Domantas Sabonis underwent surgery on Wednesday morning to repair the meniscus tear in his left knee.
Sabonis is one of two Kings stars to undergo season-ending surgery on Wednesday. As previously reported, guard Zach LaVine is going under the knife to repair a tendon tear in his right fifth finger. That procedure is happening right now, tweets James Ham of The Kings Beat.
Sabonis suffered that left meniscus tear back in November and originally opted for a non-surgical treatment plan, rehabbing the injury and returning to action a couple months later, in mid-January.
However, upon returning, Sabonis appeared in just eight of Sacramento’s 15 games heading into the All-Star break and played a relatively limited role (24.9 minutes per game). With the Kings well out of the playoff race and the big man seemingly not all the way back to 100%, he and the team apparently determined that it made sense to address the injury via surgery now in order to make sure he’s back to full health for 2026/27.
An All-NBA third-teamer in 2023 and 2024, Sabonis led the NBA in rebounds per game for three straight years from 2023-25. In 19 games (15 starts) this season, he averaged 15.8 points, 11.4 boards, and 4.1 assists in 29.7 minutes per night.
The Kings went just 3-16 in the games Sabonis played and haven’t been much better without him (9-28). Sacramento ranks dead last in the NBA with a 12-44 mark.
There are several more injury updates out of Sacramento ahead of the team’s matchup with Orlando on Thursday:
- Forward Keegan Murray, who has been out since January 4 due to a sprained ankle, said today that he’s ready to return, according to Ham (Twitter link). Murray, who signed a lucrative long-term extension with Sacramento last fall, has been limited to just 19 outings this season due to injuries.
- Shortly after being converted from his two-way deal to a standard contract, rookie big man Dylan Cardwell has been ruled out for at least four weeks due to a sprained left ankle, tweets Ham. Cardwell, who’s scheduled to be reevaluated in one month, sustained the injury at the team’s practice facility. With Sabonis and Cardwell unavailable, Maxime Raynaud, Precious Achiuwa, and Drew Eubanks figure to man the five for the Kings.
- After missing Sacramento’s last three games before the break due to left eye iritis, forward De’Andre Hunter was a full participant in Wednesday’s practice, tweets Ham. Hunter seems likely to be available on Thursday vs. Orlando.
Clippers Promote Jordan Miller To Standard Roster
3:03 pm: The Clippers have officially signed Miller to a new standard contract, the team confirmed.
10:38 am: After elevating Kobe Sanders from his two-way contract to their 15-man roster earlier this month, the Clippers will take the same route with another two-way standout, forward Jordan Miller. According to Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link), Miller has agreed to sign a new two-year standard contract with the team.
The 48th overall pick in the 2023 draft, Miller didn’t play much during his first two NBA seasons, appearing in just 45 games and averaging 10.0 minutes per night. However, the 26-year-old began to receive regular rotation minutes for L.A. in mid-December and has since emerged as a reliable contributor.
Miller has appeared in each of the Clippers’ last 29 games and the club has gone 20-9 during that time. In his past 18 outings, the 6’5″ wing has averaged 12.4 points, 3.7 rebounds, 2.1 assists, and 1.1 steals in 25.9 minutes per game while making 52.6% of his shots from the floor.
Miller still had 15 games of eligibility left on his two-way contract, but the Clippers have nearly reached their “under-15” limit for two-way players. Teams are only permitted to use players on two-way contracts for a total of 90 combined games as long as they’re carrying fewer than 15 players on standard contracts — L.A. is at 88, per Spotrac.
In other words, the Clippers would’ve needed to keep their 15th roster spot filled in order to continue using Miller anyway, so the team has opted to simply promote him into that opening. L.A. will now have a pair of two-way slots open and will be able to activate whichever players fill those openings without worrying about the under-15 rule.
As for Miller, he’ll receive a minimum-salary contract that includes a team option for 2026/27, reports Law Murray of The Athletic (Twitter link). His exact rest-of-season salary – and the Clippers’ accompanying cap hit – will depend on when the team officially completes the signing, but if it happens today, both figures would be $712,637.
Jeanie Buss Says Father Would’ve Supported Lakers Sale
Back in 2022, Jeanie Buss told The Los Angeles Times that she hadn’t given any thought to selling the Lakers, explaining that her late father Jerry Buss always wanted to keep the team in the family. However, Jeanie had a change of heart in the years since then, spearheading a 2025 effort to sell majority control of the franchise to minority stakeholder Mark Walter.
According to Alex Sherman and Jessica Golden of CNBC, Jeanie insists that Jerry would’ve supported the family’s decision to sell the team.
“What was important to him was that the Lakers stay at the top of the NBA, and to stay at the top of the NBA, you need to have the resources,” she said. “You need to have everybody pulling together. And he would want (that for) the Lakers, because the Lakers are his legacy.”
Although an NBA team’s ability to spend is restricted to some extent by the league’s salary cap, it’s a soft cap, so having a deep-pocketed owner who is willing to repeatedly pay luxury tax penalties can give a club a leg up on its competition. That sort of owner may also be more inclined to invest in a team’s infrastructure and personnel beyond its roster.
Walter’s net worth far exceeded that of the Buss family, which was one factor Jeanie and her siblings considered when they decided to sell to the Los Angeles Dodgers owner, who previously controlled a 27% share of the Lakers.
“It’s about the Lakers and the greatness and what the fans expect, and you need resources and you need a direction,” she explained. “I think it’s fair to say that my family — we all have our different opinions and (are) living our lives, choosing what we want to do with our time, and this was the best decision for all six of us.”
As Sherman and Golden write, as part of the sale process, the Buss family retained a 15% stake in the franchise, which will allow Jeanie to continue to operate as governor going forward. The team announced when the sale was finalized that she will remain in that role for another five years, though she didn’t explicitly confirm to CNBC that she plans to see out the full term.
“That’s what I agreed to,” Buss said. “Mark Walter and I are very comfortable with the way things are set up. And I expect things to go on and be successful. And you know, I’m not going anywhere.”
Buss also told CNBC that the Lakers intend to build around Luka Doncic this summer and beyond. That doesn’t necessarily mean LeBron James‘ time with the club will come to an end this offseason, but Buss said the four-time MVP, who was the centerpiece of the roster for several years prior to the Doncic trade, hasn’t conveyed to management that he plans to continue playing in Los Angeles beyond this 2025/26.
“Never say never, but you know, he certainly hasn’t given an indication,” she said. “He’s earned the right to decide how his career will go, and you know, he continues to impress.”
Heat Sign Myron Gardner To Three-Year Deal
The Heat have filled the open spot on their 15-man roster by promoting swingman Myron Gardner from his two-way contract, the team confirmed today in a press release. Gardner and the Heat reached an agreement on a three-year contract, agent Jake Cohen tells NBA insider Chris Haynes (Twitter link).
The deal won’t be guaranteed beyond this season, according to Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald (Twitter link). Chiang describes the second- and third-year guarantees as “conditional,” which suggests Gardner will have to remain under contract through certain dates to receive his full salary for those seasons.
Gardner, who went undrafted out of Arkansas-Little Rock in 2023, spent two seasons with the Osceola Magic in the G League before signing a two-way contract with Miami last July.
The 6’6″ wing barely played for the Heat through the first two months of the season, but has seen more action since the start of January and has recently been thrust into a starting role. In his last seven games before the All-Star break, Gardner made four starts and averaged 7.0 points and 6.0 rebounds in 17.7 minutes per night, with a .474/.444/.714 shooting line.
As Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel observes, while the Heat have a full 15-man roster, they still have enough room below the luxury tax line to bring in another free agent at some point in the coming weeks if they want to. In that scenario, Terry Rozier would be the obvious candidate to be cut.
Miami will have until March 4 to sign a two-way player to fill the opening created by Gardner’s promotion.
Franz Wagner Out Indefinitely Due To Ankle Injury
The left ankle injury that has sidelined Magic forward Franz Wagner for 25 of the team’s past 29 games continues to be a problem, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania, who reports (via Twitter) that Wagner will be out indefinitely when the team resumes play following the All-Star break.
Wagner continues to experience soreness in that left ankle after being diagnosed with a high ankle sprain back in early December, Charania explains. The 24-year-old returned for two games in mid-January and played in Orlando’s last two contests before the break, but has never been back to 100% and will require addition time and rehabilitation.
The plan, as reported by Charania and confirmed by the Magic (Twitter link), is to reevaluate Wagner in three weeks. That timeline suggests he’ll miss at least the next 10 games, and it seems likely he’ll be sidelined for longer than that.
It has been a frustrating season for Wagner, who was playing at an All-Star level before injuring his ankle on December 7 in New York. In his first 23 healthy games this season, the German forward averaged 23.4 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 3.8 assists in 34.5 minutes per game.
The Magic went 14-9 with Wagner healthy to open the season, but have played sub-.500 basketball since then (14-16) and are currently in play-in territory. At 28-25, Orlando has a half-game lead over Miami for the No. 7 seed in the Eastern Conference.
Wagner had come off the bench in his two most recent games, so the Magic won’t have to adjust their starting five on Thursday in Sacramento. Reserve forward Noah Penda, who has played more frequently since Wagner first went down, figures to continue seeing rotation minutes for the club.
Cameron Payne Signs With Sixers
February 18: Payne has officially signed with the Sixers, the team confirmed today in a press release.
February 16, 11:41 am: Partizan Belgrade has officially announced Payne’s departure for the NBA and the $1.75MM buyout fee it will receive to release him, Stein tweets.
February 16, 8:59 am: Cameron Payne will leave his European team and join the Sixers for the rest of the season, league sources tell Marc Stein of The Stein Line (Twitter link).
The 31-year-old guard was in training camp with the Pacers last fall, but was waived before the season began. In December, he agreed to a deal with KK Partizan in Serbia, heading overseas for the first time in his career.
However, Payne has been held out of recent games, sparking rumors that he might be headed elsewhere, according to Johnny Askounis of Eurohoops. He appeared in just 10 games for Partizan, averaging 12.4 points, 2.3 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 1.2 steals. Askounis adds that the Serbian team will receive $1.75MM in a buyout agreement.
It may take some time to secure Payne’s release from Partizan, Stein tweets. The Sixers have to obtain a Letter of Clearance from FIBA, and they can only contribute up to $875K toward his buyout.
The move will mark a return to Philadelphia for Payne, who finished the 2023/24 season with the Sixers after being acquired from Milwaukee at the trade deadline. He averaged 9.3 points, 1.8 rebounds and 3.1 assists in 31 games and remained in the team’s rotation for the playoffs.
Payne signed with the Knicks in the summer of 2024 and appeared in 72 games last season before becoming a free agent again.
The Sixers are down to 13 players on standard contracts after 10-day deals for Charles Bassey and Patrick Baldwin Jr. expired over the weekend. They have enough room to add two players on prorated veteran minimum contracts for the rest of the season without going into luxury tax territory, according to Keith Smith of Spotrac (Twitter link).
Philadelphia is low on experienced guards after trading Jared McCain to Oklahoma City, so Payne will have a chance to contribute right away. The Sixers’ season will resume Thursday against Atlanta.
Mavericks’ Kyrie Irving Won’t Return This Season
Star guard Kyrie Irving won’t make his return from an ACL tear this season, the Mavericks announced today in a press release. According to the team, Irving has made “steady progress” in his recovery from ACL reconstruction surgery on his left knee but will continue his rehab work and will wait until the fall to make his comeback.
“This decision wasn’t easy, but it’s the right one,” Irving said in a statement. “I am grateful for the Mavericks organization, my teammates and our fans for their continued support throughout the process. I am looking forward to coming back stronger next season. The belief and drive I have inside only grows. And I wanted to send a huge shoutout to ALL of my brothers and sisters out there who’ve torn their ACL or gotten injured doing what they love to do every day. THANK YOU for the inspiration. No fear!”
Irving’s agent, Shetellia Riley Irving, also issued a statement to Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link) to explain the decision to postpone Kyrie’s return until the start of the 2026/27 season.
“This is about Kyrie being 1000% when he comes back and giving himself the best chance to chase a championship next season,” she said.
Irving tore the ACL in his left knee nearly a year ago, suffering the injury in a March 3 game against Sacramento. He underwent surgery about three-and-a-half weeks later and was ruled out indefinitely.
It’s not uncommon for players to take a full year – or longer – to return from an ACL tear, so it was never considered a sure thing that Irving would be back on the floor this season, even with head coach Jason Kidd making headlines at the start of November by expressing hope that his point guard would be back in 2025 rather than 2026.
While his recovery seemed to be progressing well, the 33-year-old consistently made an effort to keep expectations in check, advising fans last summer to not “hold your breath” on seeing him return during the 2025/26 regular season.
With Dallas out of the playoff picture and retooling its roster around Cooper Flagg after trading Anthony Davis to Washington earlier this month, there was even less urgency to bring back Irving down the stretch. The veteran guard indicated last week that he’d soon provide an update on his status, with Marc Stein reporting that the decision would be a collaborative one between Irving and the Mavs.
Irving, who signed a new three-year, $118MM+ contract with Dallas as a free agent last summer, will earn a $39.5MM guaranteed salary next season, with a $42.4MM player option for 2027/28. If the Mavs fully lean into a youth movement, he could emerge as a trade candidate during the ’26/27 league year, but the team has repeatedly messaged that it has no plans to trade Irving and that it views him as an ideal fit alongside Flagg.
Of course, the organization is also expected to hire a new permanent head of basketball operations at some point in the coming months, so it’s possible that executive will hold a different view. But for now, there has been no indication Irving won’t still be a Maverick when the ’26/27 season tips off.
While it’s in the Mavs’ best interest to lose more than they win during this season’s final two months in order to maximize their position in the draft lottery, they won’t have the same incentive beginning next season. The team doesn’t control its own first-round picks for the four years from 2027-30.
Prior to the ACL injury last season, Irving continued to perform at an All-Star level, averaging 24.7 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 4.6 assists in 36.1 minutes per game, with a shooting line of .473/.401/.916.