Rockets’ Fred VanVleet Undergoes Surgery For Torn ACL
September 25: VanVleet underwent successful surgery today to repair his ACL tear, reports Iko of Yahoo Sports (via Twitter).
September 22: Rockets guard Fred VanVleet has sustained a torn ACL, reports Shams Charania of ESPN.
According to Kelly Iko of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link), VanVleet suffered the right knee injury at an unofficial team mini-camp in the Bahamas. The one-time All-Star and 2019 NBA champion will undergo surgery this week, Iko adds.
It’s a devastating blow for both Houston and VanVleet, who re-signed with the Rockets this summer on a two-year, $50MM contract.
VanVleet will earn $25MM each of the next two seasons, with a player option for 2026/27 he seems likely to exercise now that he appears destined to miss the entire ’25/26 campaign with a major knee injury.
VanVleet, 31, has been one of the keys to Houston’s dramatic turnaround. The Rockets went 17-55, 20-62 and 22-60 in the three years before he signed with the team as a free agent in 2023. With VanVleet as the starting point guard, Houston had a 41-41 record in ’23/24, followed by a 52-30 mark last season.
While VanVleet took a minor statistical step back last season in several categories, averaging 14.1 points, 5.6 assists, 3.7 rebounds and 1.6 steals while shooting 34.5% on three-pointers in 60 regular season games, the Rockets were consistently better when he was on the court (+6.2) than when he was off it (+2.9).
VanVleet also had a strong playoff showing in Houston’s first-round loss to Golden State, averaging 18.7 PPG, 4.4 APG, 4.1 RPG and 1.1 SPG while shooting 43.5% from long distance in the seven-game series. When he was on the court in the playoffs, the Rockets had a +3.9 net rating in 280 minutes; in the 56 minutes he didn’t play, their net rating was an abysmal -17.1.
As ESPN’s Bobby Marks notes (via Twitter), the Rockets will likely apply for a disabled player exception in the wake of VanVleet’s injury. However, they’re hard-capped at the first apron and are currently only $1.25MM below that threshold, meaning they’re not in position to use that DPE to add a 15th man to the roster.
Given their position relative to the hard cap, the Rockets won’t be able to even sign a free agent to a minimum-salary contract until January unless they reduce their team salary in a trade.
Reed Sheppard, Amen Thompson and Aaron Holiday are among the candidates to receive more minutes and ball-handling duties for Houston in the wake of VanVleet’s unfortunate injury.
Jazz Sign Mo Bamba
1:10pm: Bamba has officially signed with the Jazz, according to a press release from the club.
11:38am: The Jazz intend to sign free agent center Mo Bamba, league sources tell Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link).
Scotto doesn’t specify what type of contract Bamba will sign, but given the timing and the fact that Utah has 15 players on guaranteed standard deals, it seems likely to be a non-guaranteed Exhibit 9 contract that may contain Exhibit 10 language as well.
The Jazz currently have 20 players on their roster (two on Exhibit 10 deals and three on two-way contracts in addition to the other 15), one shy of the offseason limit. Signing Bamba will put them at 21.
Bamba, 27, was the sixth overall pick of the 2018 draft after one college season at Texas. He holds seven years of NBA experience, mostly with Orlando.
After signing a minimum-salary deal with Philadelphia in 2023/24, Bamba hit free agency again last summer and signed another veteran’s minimum contract, this time with the Clippers. He appeared in 28 games with L.A. before being traded to Utah in a salary-dump deal involving P.J. Tucker. The Jazz waived him the following day.
Bamba spent some time in the G League with the Pelicans’ affiliate while looking for another NBA opportunity and found one on March 10, when he signed a 10-day deal with New Orleans. Bamba has been an unrestricted free agent since that contract expired.
In 32 appearances last season with the Clips and Pels, Bamba averaged 4.3 points, 4.5 rebounds and 1.0 block in 13.2 minutes per game. He holds career averages of 6.8 PPG, 5.4 RPG and 1.3 BPG in 364 games (16.8 MPG).
Bamba reportedly drew interest from multiple EuroLeague teams this offseason, but we hadn’t seen him linked to an NBA club until now.
Kings, Warriors Resume Kuminga Sign-And-Trade Talks
After going more than a month without engaging in discussions regarding a potential Jonathan Kuminga sign-and-trade, the Kings and Warriors resumed their conversations earlier this week, team sources tell Sam Amick of The Athletic.
According to Amick, the two Pacific Division rivals didn’t make significant progress in those talks, but the fact that they happened at all indicates that Sacramento hasn’t closed the door on making a move for the restricted free agent forward.
The Kings were considered the top rival suitor earlier in the offseason for Kuminga, offering him a three-year, $63MM contract and offering Golden State a package of Malik Monk and a lottery-protected 2030 first-round pick.
As Amick writes, there are a number of reasons why the Warriors turned down that offer. For one, they don’t appear all that enthusiastic about acquiring Monk — there are questions about his fit on the roster, plus his $21.6MM player option for 2027/28 doesn’t appeal to Golden State from a cap perspective. According to Amick, the Warriors would likely want to flip Monk to another team, but it’s unclear if such an opportunity would be available at this point.
Another potential sticking point for the Warriors is the fact that swapping Kuminga straight up for Monk would hard-cap the team at the first tax apron due to base year compensation rules. That would complicate Golden State’s ability to fill out the rest of its roster, including signing Al Horford using the taxpayer mid-level exception.
The Warriors would likely have to trade either Buddy Hield or Moses Moody to a third team to avoid that first-apron hard cap. Prior reporting stated that Golden State didn’t have much interest in taking that route, and Amick suggests that stance has only gotten stronger as of late.
Finally, while Sacramento is unlikely to entirely remove the protections from the 2030 first-round pick they’re including in their offer, the Warriors would likely want those protections lightened in order to seriously consider making a deal with the Kings, Amick continues. In Sacramento’s current offer, the Warriors would receive the least favorable of the Kings’ and Spurs’ 2031 first-rounders if the 2030 pick lands in the lottery.
Recent reporting indicated that Golden State has made new offers to Kuminga, including one three-year, $75MM proposal that includes a third-year team option. However, the 22-year-old’s agent, Aaron Turner, continues to suggest that accepting the $8MM qualifying offer – which comes with a no-trade clause and a clear path to 2026 unrestricted free agency – is a viable option for his client.
Turner told ESPN’s Shams Charania on Wednesday that the Warriors’ insistence on a team option in the final year of their two- and three-year offers has been a sticking point for Kuminga and his reps.
Kuminga has until October 1 to sign his qualifying offer, so resolution should come – one way or another – within the next week.
Jazz, Walker Kessler Unlikely To Reach Extension Agreement
Despite having held “multiple meetings”over the summer, the Jazz and fourth-year center Walker Kessler are not expected to reach an agreement on a rookie scale contract extension before the regular season begins, sources inform Tony Jones of The Athletic.
Utah has put a formal offer on the table for Kessler, but hasn’t come close to agreeing to terms, per Jones. If the two sides don’t agree to a deal this fall, the seven-footer will reach restricted free agency next summer.
As Jones explains, the Jazz value Kessler’s skill set, viewing him as one of the top defenders at his position in the league and an important part of their future. However, holding off an extension for the time being will benefit the team from a salary cap perspective.
As a restricted free agent in 2026, Kessler would have a cap hold of just $14.9MM. Since any extension would likely feature a much more lucrative starting salary, completing a deal now would limit Utah’s cap flexibility next offseason.
The Lakers, who have expressed interest in Kessler in the past, are among the teams on track to have cap room available next offseason, Jones observes. With rival suitors potentially lurking, Jones suggests that Utah’s front office may want to prepare a number it’s comfortable with and have an offer ready for its starting center at the beginning of free agency in 2026.
With Kessler poised to play major minutes on a tanking team, a spike in production is a possibility. In 58 healthy bouts last season, the 24-year-old out of Auburn averaged a career-best 11.1 points, 12.2 rebounds, 2.4 blocks, 1.7 assists and 0.6 steals per game.
Quentin Grimes, Sixers Still ‘Very Far Apart’
8:56 pm: Confirming that the Sixers have offered Grimes a one-year contract worth more than his qualifying offer (which would require him to waive his no-trade clause), Tony Jones of The Athletic reports that the Sixers and the RFA wing also have mutual interest in working out a longer-term deal.
While both sides are amenable to the idea of working out a four-year agreement, they’re far apart on what the money in such a contract would look like, Jones adds.
3:01 pm: Restricted free agent Quentin Grimes and the Sixers are still “very far apart on a deal” to resolve their summer-long standoff, Shams Charania of ESPN said in an appearance on NBA Today (Twitter video link).
Agent David Bauman told Charania that today was the first time the team made a “formal, hard offer” since free agency began. Bauman said Grimes won’t attend Philadelphia’s media day on Friday and he doesn’t plan to accompany the team this weekend to Abu Dhabi, where they’ll play two preseason games against the Knicks.
Charania points out that the Sixers have less incentive to offer a lengthy contract to Grimes after landing dynamic shooting guard VJ Edgecombe in the draft. Coupled with uncertainty over the health of stars Joel Embiid and Paul George, Philadelphia may not want to add another expensive deal to its payroll.
Charania suggests that the likely resolution appears to be Grimes either accepting the team’s $8.7MM qualifying offer, or possibly a larger one-year deal where Grimes would waive his no-trade clause. Either way, he would become an unrestricted free agent next summer when more teams will have money to spend.
Grimes was acquired from Dallas in a February trade, joining a team that was decimated by injuries and had difficulty fielding a competitive roster. He immediately became the Sixers’ offensive star, averaging a career-best 21.9 PPG in 28 games while shooting 46.9% from the field and 37.3% from three-point range.
He had hoped those numbers would lead to a lucrative new contract, but he ran into a difficult market for a number of restricted free agents. Josh Giddey reached a new deal with the Bulls, but Cam Thomas accepted his qualifying offer with Brooklyn and Jonathan Kuminga remains in a standoff with Golden State.
Charania also provided an update on Kuminga, saying he’s the only projected member of the Warriors‘ roster who is not attending a mini-camp that Jimmy Butler is holding in San Diego this week.
Kuminga is still locked in a “stalemate” with the team, and Charania said agent Aaron Turner told him on Wednesday that the Warriors’ insistence on a team option “still remains critical” in keeping the two sides from reaching an agreement.
Jazz Waive Forward KJ Martin
The Jazz have waived forward KJ Martin, according to a team press release. In the process, Utah shed Martin’s non-guaranteed $8MM contract for the upcoming season.
Martin appeared in 19 games (nine starts) last season with Utah, averaging 6.3 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 1.5 assists in 22.7 minutes per game. He wound up with the Jazz as part of February’s blockbuster five-team trade in which Jimmy Butler was dealt to Golden State.
While on the Sixers’ roster, Martin missed a big chunk of last season due to a foot injury. He appeared in 24 games with Philadelphia, including seven starts, averaging 6.4 points and 3.0 rebounds in 20.0 minutes per game.
The No. 52 pick of the 2020 draft, Martin spent his first three NBA seasons in Houston prior to being traded to the Clippers in a five-team deal in the 2023 offseason. He only played two games for Los Angeles, having been sent to Philadelphia in November 2023 as part of the James Harden blockbuster. After playing a modest role for the Sixers in 2023/24, Martin re-signed with the club on a two-year, $16MM deal.
By waiving Martin, the Jazz opened up a training camp spot. They have 15 players on guaranteed contracts.
According to Spotrac contributor Keith Smith (Twitter link), the Jazz could create up to $10.5MM in salary cap space but will continue to operate as an over-the-cap team for now. Utah has an $18.4MM traded player exception for John Collins that is keeping them over the cap.
Martin could be an interesting option for a team seeking help at the forward spots once he clears waivers.
Jayson Tatum: ‘I Haven’t Said I’m Not Playing This Season’
Appearing on ESPN’s First Take on Tuesday (YouTube link), Celtics forward Jayson Tatum made it clear that he’s not closing the door on the possibility of returning from his Achilles tear at some point before the end of the 2025/26 season.
“I haven’t said I’m not playing this season,” Tatum said in response to a question from Stephen A. Smith about how the new-look Celtics might fare without him. “The most important thing is a full recovery, being 100%, not rushing it at all. But also, I don’t go to rehab six days a week for nothing.”
Tatum is one of several notable NBA players in the process of rehabbing a torn Achilles, which typically requires a recovery period of a full year — or close to it. The Celtics star underwent surgery to repair his Achilles tear on May 13.
While the Pacers have already ruled out Tyrese Haliburton – who tore his Achilles on June 22 – for the entire 2025/26 season, the Celtics haven’t done the same for Tatum, and there have been a number of positive updates on the early stages of his recovery process. Tatum’s orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Martin O’Malley, was the latest to offer an encouraging assessment of the forward’s progress.
“I don’t think I’ve seen a person’s calf look as strong as his,” O’Malley told Eileen Finan of People Magazine. “At six or eight weeks he was doing double heel rises. He worked his calf so hard that the side effect of loss of strength, I don’t think he’s going to have any.”
The Celtics’ medical staff will presumably have the final say on Tatum’s availability this season. That decision could hinge in part on how Boston performs without its leading scorer — if the team is scuffling around or below .500 after the All-Star break and doesn’t look capable of making a deep playoff run, there likely won’t be any urgency for Tatum to return.
Still, Tatum is holding out hope that he won’t have to wait until the start of the 2026/27 season to suit up again for the Celtics. In the meantime, he’s going to try to stay as connected to the team as he can.
“I’m going to be at practices and go to games and travel,” Tatum told Finan. “As frustrating as it’ll be to not be able to play, feeling like I’m a part of the team will help me out.”
Latest On Darius Garland’s Recovery From Toe Surgery
Cavaliers point guard Darius Garland, who underwent surgery in June to address the toe injury that limited him in the postseason, has resumed some on-court basketball activities and will take part in training camp in a limited capacity, reports Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com.
“He looks good,” Cavaliers president of basketball operations Koby Altman said on Tuesday morning, per Fedor. “He’s had a really good offseason from a strength standpoint.”
While Garland has progressed beyond the weight-room portion of his recovery process, there’s still no timeline for his return to action, according to Fedor, who has heard from sources that the 25-year-old may miss double-digit games to open the 2025/26 regular season.
The Cavs announced on June 9, following Garland’s procedure, that his status would be updated in approximately four or five months. It has been about three-and-a-half months since then, so the fact that Cleveland’s starting point guard is expected to miss some time at the start of the season comes as no surprise.
Garland had an excellent regular season in 2024/25, averaging 20.6 points, 6.7 assists, and 2.9 rebounds in 30.7 minutes per game. He posted a .472/.401/.878 shooting line and earned the second All-Star berth of his career. However, a turf toe injury forced him to the sidelines for the final two games of the Cavs’ first-round series vs. Miami and the first two games of the Eastern Conference semifinals against Indiana.
With Garland unavailable, Donovan Mitchell is expected to take on some additional ball-handling responsibilities this fall. Point guards Lonzo Ball and Craig Porter Jr. also figure to move up the depth chart until Garland is ready to return.
The Cavs will be without two of their starters on opening night, as small forward Max Strus will also be recovering from an injury. He underwent foot surgery in August and is expected to miss at least three or four months.
Steve Nash Joining Suns As Senior Advisor
Suns owner Mat Isbhia announced (via Twitter) on Monday that former star point guard Steve Nash is “formally joining” the franchise as a senior advisor ahead of the 2025/26 season.
Marc Stein reported in April that Nash was being hired by Amazon Prime Video to be an analyst for its first season as an NBA broadcast partner.
Despite his longtime ties to the Suns and his head coaching experience with Brooklyn, Nash reportedly wasn’t interested in the Suns’ head coaching job this spring, a position that eventually went to veteran assistant Jordan Ott. But Nash will have another basketball-related role with the organization where he enjoyed his most success as a player.
During his 10 years in Phoenix, Nash won back-to-back MVP awards in 2005 and 2006 and finished second in voting 2007. The 6’3″ Canadian was named first-team All-NBA three straight years, had a pair of second teams nods, made six All-Star appearances, and won five assists titles.
Nash, 51, was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2018.
Advisors often have less formal (and less stressful) roles than coaches, so it’s not surprising that Nash decided to take on this new venture, particularly since he said last year that he didn’t intend to continue coaching and was focused on spending time with his family.
Nash, who played his college ball at Santa Clara and had NBA stints with the Mavericks and Lakers, compiled a 94-67 (.584) record in two-plus regular seasons as Brooklyn’s coach, including a 7-9 (.438) mark in the postseason. He was fired following a 2-5 start to the 2022/23 season.
Nash was a part-time consultant with the Warriors before landing the Nets job. He also interviewed for the Raptors’ head coaching position in 2023.
Pelicans’ Jones, Murphy Expected To Be Ready For Season Opener
Pelicans forwards Herbert Jones and Trey Murphy III have been back on the court at full strength and full speed in recent weeks and are on track to be available when the team’s regular season tips off next month, executive VP of basketball operations Joe Dumars told reporters on Monday (Twitter link via sideline reporter Erin Summers).
Jones and Murphy both had their 2024/25 campaigns cut short due to shoulder injuries. Jones underwent surgery in February to repair a torn right rotator cuff, while Murphy suffered a torn labrum and partial rotator cuff in March that also required surgery.
The Pelicans didn’t provide a specific return timeline for either player last winter, so it was unclear whether their recoveries might extend into the fall and cost them the start of the 2025/26 season. Based on Dumars’ comments today, it doesn’t sound like that’s a concern, which is good news for a team coming off a season that was derailed by injuries.
Jones, who made the NBA’s All-Defensive first team in 2024, was limited to just 20 games in 2024/25. He averaged 10.3 points, 3.9 rebounds, 3.3 assists, and 1.9 steals in a career-high 32.4 minutes per night, but didn’t play after January 8. The Pelicans still consider him an important part of their future, however, and signed him to a three-year, $68MM extension in July.
Prior to his season-ending injury, Murphy was on track for a career year after signing a four-year, $112MM rookie scale extension last fall. His 21.2 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 3.5 assists per game in 53 outings (51 starts) all represented career highs, and he posted a solid shooting line of .454/.361/.887 while increasing his volume.
Although Jones and Murphy are expected to be ready for the start of the season, that doesn’t necessarily mean New Orleans will be at full strength this fall. It doesn’t sound as if guard Dejounte Murray (Achilles tear) and rookie forward Derik Queen (wrist surgery) are as far along in their respective recovery processes. Dumars said today that their rehabs are going well but that there’s no update at this time on when they’ll be available (Twitter link via Summers).