Blazers’ Thybulle Undergoes Thumb Surgery, Out 4-6 Weeks
Trail Blazers wing Matisse Thybulle underwent surgery on Friday morning to repair a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his left thumb and will be reevaluated in four-to-six weeks, the team announced (via Twitter).
According to the Blazers, Thybulle sustained the thumb injury during Wednesday’s game in Utah. The 28-year-old had an MRI on Thursday, which revealed the UCL tear.
It’s a tough blow for the guard/forward, who is now in his seventh NBA season. Thybulle is on an expiring $11.5MM contract and will be an unrestricted free agent next summer unless he signs a veteran extension before the league year ends on June 30, 2026.
After playing at least 65 games in each of his first five seasons, Thybulle was limited to just 15 contests in ’24/25 due to knee and ankle injuries. The former first-round pick, who was selected 20th overall in 2019, is mostly known for his athleticism and top-tier defense, having been named to a pair of All-Defensive teams (in 2021 and 2022).
In four appearances this fall, Thybulle has averaged 5.0 points and 2.5 steals in just 12.3 minutes per game. It’s a very small sample size (49 minutes), but Portland has been much better when Thybulle is on the court (+21.0 net rating) than when he’s not playing (+1.8).
On a more positive note, oft-injured center Robert Williams will make his season debut on Friday versus Denver, interim head coach Tiago Splitter told reporters, including Sean Highkin of The Rose Garden Report (Twitter link). Williams had been listed as questionable to suit up.
Third-year wings Kris Murray and Rayan Rupert are candidates for more playing time while Thybulle recovers from thumb surgery.
Anthony Davis Out At Least Two Games With Calf Strain
Mavericks big man Anthony Davis has been diagnosed with a low grade left calf strain and will miss at least two games before being reexamined, the team announced today (Twitter link).
Davis underwent an MRI to determine the extent of the injury, which he sustained in the first quarter of Wednesday’s game against Indiana. He was held out of the remainder of that two-point win for precautionary reasons, per the Mavs.
The 32-year-old forward/center will be sidelined for Saturday’s contest in Mexico City against the Pistons and Monday’s game at Houston. According to Carlos Rodriguez of The Associated Press, Davis traveled with the team to Mexico City and attended Friday’s practice.
“It is going to be day-to-day,” said Davis. “But I feel better that is for sure.”
The diagnosis is probably close to a best-case scenario for Dallas. The 10-time All-Star entered Wednesday’s game with a sore Achilles, so it’s welcome news that nothing catastrophic occurred.
Davis has been hobbled by injuries throughout his decorated career, having played between 36 and 56 games in four of the past five seasons. He made just nine appearances for Dallas in 2024/25 after being acquired in February in the shocking blockbuster trade that sent Luka Doncic to the Lakers.
Obi Toppin Undergoing Foot Surgery, Out At Least 3 Months
Pacers forward Obi Toppin will undergo surgery to place a screw in the fifth metatarsal bone in his right foot, head coach Rick Carlisle told reporters on Friday (Twitter links via Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star and Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN).
According to Dopirak, Carlisle said not to ask about Toppin’s injury again until February 1, which suggests the high-flying ex-Dayton star will be sidelined for at least three months.
The Pacers announced (via Twitter) that Tobbin has been diagnosed with a partial stress fracture in the fifth metatarsal.
In perhaps the most optimistic way of viewing the news, Topping being sidelined for so long will theoretically give him more time to recover from a right hamstring strain, which was already expected to keep him out for at least a month. The fact that both injuries are on the same leg is clearly not ideal, however.
Toppin, the eighth overall pick of the 2020 draft, sustained the hamstring surgery in Sunday’s loss to Minnesota. That’s also when the foot fracture occurred, according to the team.
After an up-and-down first three seasons in New York, Toppin was traded to Indiana in July 2023 for a pair of second-round picks. He has become a rotation regular for the Pacers, and had been quite durable before these untimely injuries, only missing three combined games since the start of the 2023/24 campaign.
The Pacers have been hit hard by injuries this fall, with T.J. McConnell (hamstring strain), Kam Jones (lower back stress reaction), Bennedict Mathurin (right great toe sprain) and Andrew Nembhard (left shoulder strain) all missing time. And that doesn’t include Tyrese Haliburton, who will miss the entire season with a torn Achilles tendon.
Third-year forward Jarace Walker is most clear-cut candidate for more playing time with Toppin expected to miss a good chunk of the season. It’s a big opportunity for Walker, who will be eligible for a rookie scale extension in the offseason.
Jalen Williams To Miss More Time After Second Wrist Procedure
Star wing Jalen Williams underwent a second procedure on his right wrist to remove a screw that was causing irritation during the final stages of his return-to-play process, the Thunder announced today (Twitter link via Justin Martinez of The Oklahoman).
According to the team, Williams will be reevaluated in 10-to-14 days.
Williams earned his first All-Star, All-NBA (third team) and All-Defensive (second team) nods during the 2024/25 season, which culminated in Oklahoma City winning its first championship following a nail-biting seven-game NBA Finals against Indiana. He suffered a torn scapholunate ligament in his right wrist in early April, but played through the injury during the playoffs.
Williams, 24, underwent the initial surgery to address the injury on July 1.
While it’s obviously unfortunate that Williams’ season debut will be delayed further following the screw removal procedure, the Thunder are still playing extremely well as a team, having gone 6-0 to open the ’25/26 campaign.
Multiple guards and wings — including Luguentz Dort, Cason Wallace, Aaron Wiggins and Ajay Mitchell — have been receiving more minutes with Williams out.
Williams is in the final season of his rookie scale contract, which will pay the former 12th overall pick $6,580,997 in ’25/26. He signed five-year, rookie scale max extension with the Thunder this offseason, so the earliest he could hit free agency would be 2030.
Austin Reaves Boosting Value In Contract Year
The Lakers have held their own in recent days despite missing both LeBron James and Luka Doncic due to injuries. The play of guard Austin Reaves has been a major reason why Los Angeles has put up a 2-1 record without its two superstars — after scoring 51 points in Sacramento on Sunday and pouring in 41 more vs. Portland on Monday, Reaves hit the game-winning shot in Minnesota on Wednesday to cap a 28-point, 16-assist performance.
“That guy is going to show up in the big moments,” head coach JJ Redick said after Wednesday’s win over the Timberwolves, per Dave McMenamin of ESPN. “I’m not surprised. He’s done that many times in his career.”
Reaves, 27, is averaging an eye-popping 34.2 points, 10.0 assists, and 5.6 rebounds through his first five games this season, making 52.5% of his shots from the field, including 38.5% of his three-pointers. He also leads the NBA in free throws made per game (10.4).
While he’s very unlikely to continue producing at that rate, Reaves is off to a terrific start in what figures to be a contract year. He holds a $14.9MM player option for the 2026/27 season but is a virtual lock to decline that option in search of a more lucrative deal.
The fifth-year guard is technically extension-eligible now, but can’t sign for more than $87.4MM over four seasons, so he reportedly plans to wait until the 2026 offseason to get a new contract done. According to ESPN’s Tim Bontemps, the belief around the NBA is that he’ll be able to command at least $30MM per year, and potentially well above that number.
“He’s always been a very good player, but now he’s in a role where he can have the ball and generate a lot of offense,” a Western Conference executive told ESPN. “Someone is going to pay him a lot of money next summer.”
Another executive who spoke to Bontemps suggested that Reaves’ value on the open market could far exceed $30MM per year, speculating that a rival suitor might be willing to offer him $180MM for four seasons. While that may be more than the Lakers were prepared to pay for the former undrafted free agent, they have the cap flexibility to make a significant offer themselves and could give themselves a leg up by putting a five-year deal on the table — other teams wouldn’t be able to exceed four years.
“I don’t think he’s going to quite keep up this pace because LeBron will take away touches,” that second executive said to ESPN. “But he is good and the Lakers intend to keep him and he intends to stay, so my guess is it gets done.”
Clippers Declining Kobe Brown’s 2026/27 Option
The Clippers have decided to decline their 2026/27 rookie scale team option on forward Kobe Brown, reports Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (via Twitter).
The move will make Brown an unrestricted free agent during the 2026 offseason, assuming he plays out the current season without being waived. The Clippers – or Brown’s new team, if he’s traded prior to February’s deadline – would not be permitted next summer to offer him a starting salary exceeding $4,792,058, which is the amount of the ’26/27 option being declined.
Brown, who played four years of college ball at Missouri, was the 30th overall pick in the 2023 draft. He will make $2,654,880 this season, which is his third in the NBA.
The 25-year-old combo forward hasn’t received much playing time with Los Angeles to this point in his career, making 84 appearances and averaging 7.9 minutes per game through two seasons. He has appeared in three games with the Clippers so far this fall, averaging just 4.7 MPG.
While his NBA role has been very modest, Brown has been a featured player at the G League level the past two years in the instances when he has been sent down for more reps. In six games (33.3 MPG) with the San Diego Clippers in 2024/25, Brown averaged 21.0 points, 5.5 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 1.7 steals on .474/.366/.800 shooting.
We’re tracking all of this year’s rookie scale team option decisions right here.
Pelicans’ Willie Green Reportedly On Hot Seat
The Pelicans are having “serious” internal discussions about head coach Willie Green, league sources tell Brett Siegel and Chris Dodson of ClutchPoints.
After winning just 21 games last season, the Pelicans revamped their front office and retooled their roster during the offseason. Amid those changes, however, Green held onto his head coaching job under new executive VP of basketball operations Joe Dumars.
New Orleans entered this fall hoping for a bounce-back season, but the team hasn’t gotten off to a good start. After tight losses to Memphis and San Antonio, the Pelicans have been blown out in each of their last two games, losing by 32 points at home to Boston on Monday and by 34 in Denver on Wednesday.
Sources tell ClutchPoints that multiple Pelicans players have appeared frustrated by Green’s lineup decisions and that there’s a growing sense around the league that the fifth-year coach has lost the locker room.
The Pelicans will play on Friday against the Clippers in L.A. and on Sunday against the Thunder in Oklahoma City before returning home. It’s possible a decision on Green’s future will be made at the conclusion of that road trip, according to Siegel and Dodson, who say assistant James Borrego would be the favorite to take over in the event of a coaching change.
Green has a record of 148-184 (.446) since being hired by New Orleans in 2021. The team has made the playoffs twice during Green’s tenure and won 49 regular season games in 2023/24, but hasn’t advanced beyond the first round, losing to the Suns in six games in 2022 and to the Thunder in four games in 2024.
Following Wednesday’s one-sided loss in Denver, which dropped the Pelicans to 0-4, Green said that the club needs to “dig down and find our identity,” per Rod Walker of NOLA.com.
“We have to believe in each other. That’s first,” he said. “The first order of business is you’ve got to compete harder, play harder, play more together and the belief has to be there.”
Thunder’s Nikola Topic Undergoing Treatment For Testicular Cancer
Nikola Topic, the Thunder‘s lottery pick in the 2024 draft, is being treated for testicular cancer, general manager Sam Presti announced on Thursday, per Justin Martinez of The Oklahoman.
According to Presti, Topic has begun chemotherapy and there’s no timeline for his return to the court. However, Presti added that doctors are “extremely positive” about the 20-year-old’s prognosis, noting that testicular cancer is the “most cured” among males.
“Our only expectation of him is to focus on this,” Presti told reporters on Thursday (Twitter video link via Rylan Stiles of SI.com). “This is his most important priority. He’ll be back playing basketball when he’s able to, but we’re not putting any type of expectations on that, obviously. He has our total support, encouragement and love.”
The 12th overall pick in the 2024 draft, Topic missed the Thunder’s championship season due to a torn ACL. He played 31 minutes in Oklahoma City’s preseason opener earlier this month, then was ruled out for at least four-to-six weeks after undergoing a testicular procedure. Presti said today that procedure was necessary to determine whether or not Topic had cancer.
As Jeff Stotts of In Street Clothes points out (via Twitter), veteran NBA center Nene was diagnosed with testicular cancer and missed 76 days during the 2007/08 season after undergoing chemotherapy. Nene spent another decade in the league after that, so ideally Topic will follow a similar trajectory.
Despite Topic’s diagnosis and the fact that he has yet to play an NBA game, all indications are that the Thunder continue to view the young point guard as a part of their future — Oklahoma City exercised its 2026/27 option on Topic prior to the start of the season, locking in his $5.43MM salary for next season.
NBA’s Board Of Governors Unanimously Approves Lakers Sale
11:42 am: The Lakers have put out a press release confirming that Walter has finalized his acquisition of a majority stake in the team. The sale is now closed, confirms ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne (Twitter link).
“The Los Angeles Lakers are one of the most iconic franchises in all of sports, defined by a history of excellence and the relentless pursuit of greatness,” Walter said in a statement. “Few teams carry the legacy and global influence of the Lakers, and it’s a privilege to work alongside Jeanie Buss as we maintain that excellence and set the standard for success in this new era, both on and off the court.”
11:11 am: The NBA’s Board of Governors has unanimously approved the sale of a majority share of the Lakers to Mark Walter, the league announced today in a press release, adding that the transaction is expected to close soon (Twitter link).
Walter, 65, is the CEO of Guggenheim Partners, a global investment firm, and co-CEO and chairman of TWG Global, a diversified holding company.
Walter, who also owns the Los Angeles Dodgers (MLB) and Los Angeles Sparks (WNBA), among other sports investments, had been a minority shareholder in the Lakers, having purchased a 27% stake in 2021 alongside Todd Boehly. Boehly will remain a limited partner in the franchise, per Kurt Badenhausen of Sportico.
Walter reached an agreement in June to buy a controlling interest from the Buss family at a record-setting valuation of $10 billion. It will be the first time since 1979 that the franchise has a new majority owner.
“Mark Walter has a long association with our leagues, having served as a minority owner of the Lakers and as a principal owner of the WNBA’s Sparks for more than a decade,” NBA commissioner Adam Silver said in a statement. “As Mark assumes his role as majority owner of the Lakers, I have no doubt that he will be a committed steward of the team and a great addition to our league given his many successful ventures in business and sports.”
Although Walter is assuming majority control of the Lakers, Jeanie Buss will remain in her role of governor for at least five years after the transaction closes, the league confirmed within its announcement. That means the Buss family will retain at least a 15% stake in the team, which is the minimum required for the governor role.
“I also want to thank and congratulate Jeanie Buss and the Buss family for 46 years of transformational leadership and service,” Silver continued. “While this historic transaction transfers the Buss family’s majority interest in the Lakers, I am thrilled that Jeanie will remain the team’s governor and an active and engaged member of our league.”
NBA Investigators Reportedly Never Cleared Rozier, Still Looking At Beasley
Despite his lawyer’s assertion that the NBA “cleared him two years ago,” Terry Rozier was never technically cleared of wrongdoing after the league looked into suspicious betting activity involving the guard in 2023, a source in the league office tells investigative reporter and podcaster Pablo Torre (Twitter video link).
“Terry’s investigation was never closed, so he was not cleared of anything,” that source said. “Us not being able to find something is not the same as cleared. It is true we did not find a violation of our rules, but we did not close our investigation.”
As Torre outlines, the NBA hired the law firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz to investigate Rozier following a flurry of activity on his “under” prop bets prior to a March 23, 2023 game when he was a member of the Hornets.
According to Torre, Rozier was interviewed via Zoom and turned over his phone to investigators, who looked for specific search terms. After not finding a “smoking gun,” those investigators ultimately deferred to the feds, while the guard was permitted to continue playing, first for the Hornets and later for the Heat.
Rozier is now facing charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering after being accused of telling his friend – and co-defendant – De’Niro Laster that he would remove himself early from that March 2023 game.
According to a federal indictment, Laster was paid $100K for sharing that information with another defendant, Marves Fairley. The tip was then allegedly shared with others, resulting in the group wagering $259K on those “under” prop bets, which hit after Rozier left the game in the first quarter with a foot injury. Prosecutors allege that winnings were later delivered to and counted at Rozier’s home.
Veteran NBA sharpshooter Malik Beasley has also been investigated by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York and the NBA for possible illegal betting activity, and Torre hears from sources that both of those investigations are still ongoing.
According to Torre, the NBA previously looked at Beasley for bets he made on other sports. While he was cleared in that case, the league hasn’t yet closed its latest probe, despite so far finding “no hard evidence of Beasley altering his performance or communicating with gamblers to tip his performances,” per a league office source.
Beasley remains unsigned, with news of the investigation having broken just before he officially became a free agent this summer.