Mobile Menu
HEADLINES

Newsstand

Hawks’ Jalen Johnson To Undergo Season-Ending Shoulder Surgery

January 29th, 2025 at 3:05pm CST by Luke Adams

3:05pm: The Hawks have put out a press release officially confirming that Johnson will undergo season-ending surgery next week to repair the torn labrum in his left shoulder and stating that he’s expected to make a full recovery ahead of the 2025/26 season.

9:40am: Hawks forward Jalen Johnson has been diagnosed with a torn labrum in his left shoulder and will be sidelined for the rest of the season, reports NBA insider Chris Haynes (Twitter link). Confirming the report, Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link) says Johnson will undergo surgery to repair the tear.

Johnson sustained the injury last Thursday in the second quarter of a game vs. Toronto while defending Raptors forward Scottie Barnes (video link).

It’s an extremely unfortunate turn of events for the Hawks and for Johnson, who had averaged 18.9 points, 10.0 rebounds, 5.0 assists, 1.6 steals, and 1.0 block in 35.7 minutes per game so far this season.

The fourth-year forward, who made 50.0% of his shots from the field in 36 outings this season, looked like a borderline All-Star candidate and a contender for Most Improved Player votes.

Johnson was a key contributor for an Atlanta team that exceeded expectations in the first half of the season. Given an over/under of 35.5 wins by oddsmakers entering the season, the Hawks were 22-19 at the midway point. However, they’ve lost their last six games in a row and now sit ninth in the Eastern Conference at 22-25.

While they still look like a strong candidate to be a play-in team, not having Johnson for the rest of the season will put a damper on the Hawks’ chances of making the playoffs. It could also impact how the front office approaches the trade deadline, though the team doesn’t control its own first-round pick, which will be sent to San Antonio, and won’t be motivated to lose games.

With Johnson unavailable for the rest of the season, the Hawks figure to lean more heavily on forwards Zaccharie Risacher and De’Andre Hunter, with David Roddy and Larry Nance Jr. among the reserves who could move up the depth chart and see more regular playing time. However, as Brad Rowland of Locked on Hawks tweets, there’s no one on the roster capable of stepping in and replicating what Johnson did for the club on both ends of the floor.

Atlanta won’t be eligible to apply for a disabled player exception to replace Johnson, since the deadline to request a DPE was January 15.

Johnson would have been eligible for restricted free agency this coming season if he hadn’t agreed to terms on a rookie scale extension with the Hawks just ahead of the October deadline. He signed a five-year, $150MM deal that will go into effect for the 2025/26 season.

Retweet 0 Share 0 Send via email0

Kings’ De’Aaron Fox Addresses Trade Rumors

January 29th, 2025 at 2:09pm CST by Luke Adams

Speaking to reporters at Wednesday’s shootaround, Kings guard De’Aaron Fox “validated reports” that the team is listening to trade inquiries for him, according to Chris Biderman of The Sacramento Bee.

In the wake of ESPN’s Shams Charania reporting on Tuesday that the Kings are willing to discuss the possibility of trading their starting point guard, Fox said he wouldn’t be surprised if he ends up being moved ahead of next Thursday’s deadline.

“In this league, I expect the unexpected,” he said. “I think crazier things have happened. … That’s their decision to make. I can’t tell them not to listen to offers or I can’t tell them to listen to offers.”

According to Biderman, Fox said on Wednesday that he hasn’t requested a trade. Even if he had, he likely wouldn’t confirm it on the record to reporters, since a player who publicly asks to be traded is subject to a substantial fine from an NBA.

Still, Fox’s statement doesn’t contradict Tuesday’s reporting. Of course, those reports suggested that the 27-year-old has shown no inclination to sign a long-term extension with the Kings, who were advised by agent Rich Paul that it might be in their best interests to consider moving his client sooner rather than later. So even if no trade request has been made, it sounds like the team is feeling pressure from Fox’s camp.

Reports on Tuesday indicated that in the event of a trade, Fox has a preferred landing spot, which is believed to be San Antonio. While he didn’t confirm on Wednesday that he’s looking to get the Spurs, he also didn’t dispute the idea of having his eye on a particular team.

“For sure, I think everybody has a preferred destination,” Fox said, per Biderman. “I think everybody has a preferred destination if they’re not in the place that — or if they’re not going to be in the place where they are in the moment. I think it’s natural.”

Sacramento is seeking win-now players and draft assets in any Fox deal, Charania said during an appearance on ESPN’s First Take on Wednesday (Twitter video link).

The star guard remains under contract for one more season beyond 2024/25, so if the Kings don’t get an offer they like for him at next week’s trade deadline, they could resume trade talks in the offseason. As Biderman writes, Fox has no intention of sitting out games while waiting to see if he’s traded.

“Every day I step on the court, I do my job. That’s always my thing,” Fox said. “I’ve never been a person to worry about anything else or go and do anything else. Every time I step on the court, I try to play the best I can, I try to win games.”

Fox has spoken in the past about wanting to remain in Sacramento long-term as long as the team shows it’s capable of contending for a title and isn’t just battling for a playoff spot. The Kings are doing the latter this season, with a 24-22 record that puts them in 10th place in the West.

Asked whether there’s a chance the Kings hang onto Fox, upgrade their roster, and convince him to sign an extension during the 2025 offseason, the former Kentucky star didn’t rule out the possibility.

“I think anything’s possible in this league,” he said. “Like I said, crazier things have happened.”

Retweet 0 Share 0 Send via email0

Anthony Davis Has Abdominal Strain, Out At Least One Week

January 29th, 2025 at 10:20am CST by Luke Adams

Lakers star Anthony Davis, who exited Tuesday’s loss to Philadelphia in the first quarter due to an abdominal muscle strain, underwent an MRI on Wednesday that confirmed that diagnosis, the team announced (via Twitter).

According to the Lakers, Davis is heading back to Los Angeles and will be reevaluated in about one week. That means he’ll miss at least the three remaining games in the club’s Grammy road trip — Thursday in Washington, Saturday in New York, and next Tuesday at Intuit Dome vs. the Clippers.

The Lakers’ next home game is on Thursday, Feb. 6, the day of the trade deadline, against Golden State.

While it doesn’t necessarily sound like Davis’ ailment is significant, the timing isn’t great, given that the big man had been playing some of his best basketball of the season in the games leading up to the injury.

Davis racked up 42 points and 23 rebounds in a win over Charlotte on Monday after having put up 36 points and 13 rebounds in a victory over Golden State on Saturday. During his most recent four games entering Tuesday, he had averaged 32.8 PPG, 15.0 RPG, and 2.5 BPG, with the Lakers outscoring opponents by 60 points during his 136 minutes on the court.

The Lakers, who were up by three points when Davis exited on Tuesday, ended up losing to the Sixers by 14.

“When our best player goes out, it’s always challenging,” LeBron James said, per Dave McMenamin of ESPN. “If he’s out from the beginning, then we have a game plan set. We know what to expect, we know what our lineup is going to be. But when AD or any one of our guys go down throughout the course of a game, it’s just tough.”

Dorian Finney-Smith started the second half vs. the 76ers in place of Davis, as the Lakers utilized a small lineup that featured three forwards (Finney-Smith, James, and Rui Hachimura) and no true center. Head coach J.J. Redick may return to that look in the next few games, though reserve centers Jaxson Hayes and Christian Koloko also figure to play increased roles.

The injury news wasn’t all bad for the Lakers on Tuesday, as Hachimura returned following a two-game absence due to left calf soreness. Gabe Vincent (left knee soreness) sat out a second straight contest, but is considered likely to return during the road trip, as Khobi Price of The Orange County Register relays.

Retweet 0 Share 0 Send via email0

Rockets Aren’t Interested In De’Aaron Fox Deal

January 28th, 2025 at 6:33pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Cross the Rockets off the list of potential suitors for De’Aaron Fox, according to The Athletic’s Kelly Iko.

With the revelation that the Kings might consider dealing their leading scorer before next week’s deadline, Houston has been mentioned as a potential landing spot. However, Iko hears the Rockets aren’t interested in making a major move until at least the offseason. That echoes a Marc Stein report regarding the Rockets’ reluctance to pursue a blockbuster deal.

Rockets front office executives learned through recent conversations with Kings officials that there’s an increasing likelihood of a potential Fox trade, according to Iko.

In the Rockets’ thinking, it’s not time to mess with a good thing. They currently lead the Southwest Division and sit second in the Western Conference standings. The Rockets’ front office is pleased with the growth of its young roster and wants to ride out the rest of the season with that core group, as general manager Rafael Stone stated publicly last month.

Team sources told Iko they’re only interesting in making a marginal move that wouldn’t impact the current rotation. The Rockets would seek draft compensation in the form of second-round picks to take on additional salary in such a trade.

That’s because the Rockets aren’t saddled with the same restrictions as some contenders who are above the first or second tax aprons. The Rockets are approximately $10.6MM under the luxury tax and still have their $12.8MM non-taxpayer mid-level exception available to use in a trade.

While there will likely be plenty of other teams with interest in Fox, multiple reports have indicated that San Antonio is believed to be the guard’s preferred destination.

Retweet 0 Share 0 Send via email0

Kings Expected To Entertain Trading De’Aaron Fox

January 28th, 2025 at 3:29pm CST by Luke Adams

3:29pm: Fox’s preferred landing spot is believed to be San Antonio, reports James Ham of The Kings Beat (Twitter link).

However, agent Rich Paul of Klutch Sports remains open about where his client might land and is expected to talk to interested teams ahead of the Feb. 6 trade deadline, according to Amick, who says Paul told the Kings it might be in their best interests to move Fox sooner rather than later.

2:41pm: The Kings are expected to open up discussions about the possibility of moving De’Aaron Fox ahead of next Thursday’s trade deadline, sources tell Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link).

According to Charania, there will likely be many teams with interest in Fox, though there’s a belief that the star guard – who can become a free agent in 2026 – is targeting a specific destination.

Sam Amick of The Athletic (Twitter link) confirms that piece of intel, adding that Fox has “continued to signal a lack of interest” in signing a contract extension with Sacramento. NBA insider Chris Haynes (Twitter link) also hears that the 27-year-old is “zeroed in” on a specific team and says other potential suitors will be discouraged from acquiring him.

The timing of the news is interesting, given that the Kings have played their best basketball of the season over the past month, following the dismissal of head coach Mike Brown. Sacramento had a 13-19 record as of December 30, but has since climbed to 24-22 by winning 11 of its past 14 games under new coach Doug Christie.

Still, Fox’s contract situation in Sacramento is tenuous. He turned down a three-year, maximum-salary extension offer during the 2024 offseason, ostensibly because he’d have the opportunity to earn a more lucrative deal during the summer of 2025 — at that time, he’d be eligible for a four-year max deal or, if he earns All-NBA honors this season, a five-year super-max extension.

Fox subsequently spoke in both October and December about not wanting to commit long-term to Sacramento unless he was sure the team was able to “compete at a high level” and wasn’t just “fighting for a playoff spot.” Even after their recent surge, the Kings fall into that latter category. They currently hold the No. 10 seed in the Western Conference.

Reports in recent weeks have indicated that the Kings continue to seek out upgrades for their roster in the hopes of improving their playoff chances. Players like Brooklyn forward Cameron Johnson and Utah big man John Collins have been most frequently mentioned as potential targets.

However, the Kings may be reluctant to give up future assets for supplemental pieces if they’re not confident about their ability to retain Fox beyond his current contract and uncertain whether those potential additions would help convince him to stay.

A report last month indicated that the Spurs were positioning themselves to pursue Fox if he were made available.

The Rockets, who reportedly had interest in Donovan Mitchell last year, are also viewed as a logical suitor, with Fred VanVleet‘s maximum-salary contract only guaranteed through this season, notes Chris Mannix of SI.com (Twitter link). However, NBA insider Marc Stein (Twitter link) hears that Houston remains reluctant to make a major in-season move.

Sources tell Ian Begley of SNY.tv (Twitter link) that the Nets are among the teams with Fox on their radar and are monitoring the situation. Amick said earlier this month that the Heat and Lakers are frequently discussed by people around the league as possible Fox suitors, with the Magic also believed to be considering the idea of going after him.

Of course, we don’t yet know the identity of the team Fox reportedly has his eye on, which figures to have a substantial impact on how the Kings’ trade talks play out.

For what it’s worth, opposing executives who have spoken to Begley (Twitter link) believe San Antonio is among the teams Fox would like to play for. During an NBA Today appearance on Tuesday afternoon (Twitter video link), Charania said the Lakers aren’t Fox’s destination of choice.

As Bobby Marks of ESPN notes (via Twitter), if Fox’s preferred destination has cap room in 2026, that team could sign him outright at that point. But if Fox gets dealt to that team – along with his Bird rights – prior to 2026, he could sign a far more lucrative contract, worth up to a projected $296MM over five years instead of $219MM over four.

Because Fox is under contract for one more season beyond this one, the Kings aren’t necessarily under the gun to make a decision on his future by February 6. If he remains in Sacramento through the trade deadline, the team could revisit its trade options during the 2025 offseason.

Retweet 0 Share 0 Send via email0

NBA Announces Player Pool For 2025 Rising Stars Event

January 28th, 2025 at 2:25pm CST by Luke Adams

The NBA has officially revealed the 10 rookies, 11 sophomores, and seven G League players who have been selected to take part in the 2025 Rising Stars event at All-Star weekend in San Francisco next month.

The following players made the cut, as voted on by NBA assistant coaches (rookies and sophomores) and selected by the league office (G Leaguers):

Rookies

Sophomores

G League Players

* Note: Players marked with asterisks are on standard or two-way contracts with NBA teams.

As usual, the Rising Stars event will consist of four teams and three games. The seven G League players will comprise one team, while the other 21 players will be drafted to three squads on February 4.

The four teams will be split into two first-round matchups and the winners of those two games will face one another for the Rising Stars championship. The two semifinals will be played to a target score of 40 points, while the final will be played to a target score of 25 points.

All three contests will take place on Friday, February 14 as part of All-Star weekend’s opening night. The winning team will compete on Sunday in a similar four-team tournament, with the three other rosters made up of NBA All-Stars.

A handful of injury replacements will be necessary, with McCain, Lively, and Brandon Miller among the players who won’t be available to suit up. Additionally, since players selected as All-Stars won’t play in the Rising Stars event, Wembanyama will almost certainly need to be replaced.

Retweet 0 Share 0 Send via email0

NBA To Stick With Two-Day Draft In 2025

January 28th, 2025 at 2:08pm CST by Luke Adams

After splitting its draft into two days for the first time in 2024, the NBA confirmed today (via Twitter) that it will use the same format for its 2025 event.

According to the league, the dates for the 2025 NBA draft are as follows:

  • Wednesday, June 25 (8:00 pm ET): Round one
  • Thursday, June 26 (8:00 pm ET): Round two

As usual, the event will take place at Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

After long having held the draft on a single night, the NBA and NBPA decided last year to make it a two-day affair in order to give its teams, broadcast partners, and incoming players more time – and a bigger spotlight – in the second round.

During single-night drafts, that second round typically began late in the evening on the East Coast, then flew by because teams only had two minutes to make their picks — each year, a number of those picks were made while ESPN’s broadcast was on a commercial break. It was also often difficult to track which teams owned which picks, with teams trading second-rounders more frequently than first-rounders.

In the new format, teams have four minutes per pick in the second round, only slightly less than the five minutes per pick in round one.

Retweet 0 Share 0 Send via email0

Stein: Raptors A Team To Watch For Brandon Ingram

January 28th, 2025 at 1:19pm CST by Luke Adams

The Raptors have emerged as a team to watch as a potential suitor for Pelicans forward Brandon Ingram, according to Marc Stein of The Stein Line (Substack link).

Stein’s report doesn’t indicate that the two sides have gained any momentum toward a deal, but he writes that “the mere suggestion of potential Raptors interest” is the most noteworthy development on the Ingram front for several weeks.

Bruce Brown, Chris Boucher, and Davion Mitchell, all of whom are on expiring contracts, have frequently been mentioned as Raptors trade candidates leading up to next Thursday’s deadline, as has big man Kelly Olynyk, who has one more guaranteed year left on his own deal.

As Stein observes, most recent Raptors-related rumors have connected Toronto to a potential multi-team Jimmy Butler blockbuster as a facilitator. But Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca cited a front office source last week who said the Raptors are also believed to be on the lookout for a “significant piece” to pair with All-Star forward Scottie Barnes.

While it remains to be seen if Toronto’s front office views Ingram as that “significant piece,” the 27-year-old forward is a former All-Star who is very much available via trade as he plays out his $36MM expiring contract. He and the Pelicans have been unable to agree to terms on an extension, creating uncertainty about his future in New Orleans beyond this season.

Unfortunately, Ingram hasn’t had much of an opportunity to boost his stock this season as he nears unrestricted free agency. Injuries, including a badly sprained left ankle that has sidelined him since December 7, have limited him to 18 outings for the 12-35 Pelicans, who have endured a nightmare season so far.

In those 18 contests, Ingram has averaged 22.2 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 5.2 assists per game with a shooting line of .465/.374/.855.

Retweet 0 Share 0 Send via email0

NBA Reschedules Two Postponed Games, Moves Seven Others

January 28th, 2025 at 11:50am CST by Luke Adams

The NBA has announced a series of changes to its game schedule, issuing a press release on Tuesday (via Twitter) stating that two postponed games have been rescheduled and seven others have been moved around as a result of the changes.

The two postponed games are the Spurs/Lakers contest from Saturday, January 11 that wasn’t played due to the Los Angeles wildfires and a Jan. 22 matchup between the Bucks and Pelicans that was postponed due to severe winter weather in New Orleans. According to the league, the new dates for those games are as follows:

  • San Antonio Spurs at Los Angeles Lakers: Monday, March 17.
  • Milwaukee Bucks at New Orleans Pelicans: Sunday, April 6.

The NBA also announced the following seven schedule changes to accommodate the rescheduled games:

  • Chicago Bulls at Orlando Magic: Moved from March 12 to March 6.
  • Orlando Magic at San Antonio Spurs: Moved from March 17 to April 1.
  • Milwaukee Bucks at Los Angeles Lakers; Moved from March 18 to March 20.
  • Toronto Raptors at Golden State Warriors: Moved from March 19 to March 20.
  • Milwaukee Bucks at Golden State Warriors: Moved from March 20 to March 18.
  • Orlando Magic at New Orleans Pelicans: Moved from April 6 to March 13.
  • New Orleans Pelicans at Milwaukee Bucks: Moved from April 9 to April 10.

In addition to the four teams affected by the original postponements, the Bulls, Magic, Raptors, and Warriors also had games affected as a result of today’s announcement.

It’s the second time this month that the league has made a series of changes to its schedule to accommodate postponed games — the NBA announced on January 15 that nine games had been rescheduled.

There are no more postponed games still requiring new dates, so if no additional postponements take place for the rest of this season, this should be the last schedule adjustment the league needs to make.

Retweet 0 Share 0 Send via email0

Heat ‘Cautiously Optimistic’ About Moving Butler By Deadline

January 28th, 2025 at 10:32am CST by Luke Adams

10:32am: The Warriors, viewed near the start of the month as an unlikely suitor for Butler, are one of the teams back in the mix now that the Heat have lowered their asking price, reports Kevin O’Connor of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link).

Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel hears from a source that the Heat would be satisfied to receive a “potential contributing” player on a one- or two-year contract, expiring salary, and a pair of draft picks in exchange for Butler.

9:48am: The Heat are “cautiously optimistic” about the possibility of making a Jimmy Butler trade before the February 6 deadline, according to Barry Jackson and Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald, who report that Miami has been engaging “several” teams besides the Suns.

While Phoenix has long been viewed as Butler’s preferred landing spot and the team most willing to give the 35-year-old the maximum-salary contract he’s seeking, the Suns haven’t had much luck finding a trade structure that works, per The Herald.

Bradley Beal would have to be sent to a third team in order for the Suns to acquire Butler, since Phoenix can’t aggregate contracts and Miami isn’t interested in the veteran guard, who has two more years and nearly $111MM left on his contract after this season.

Finding a taker for Beal has been a challenge, especially since he has the ability to veto any deal using his no-trade clause. While Beal is reportedly open to waiving that clause to join a contending team, ideally one in a warm-weather city, he also seems to be comfortable with the idea of remaining in Phoenix, according to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype.

Appearing on ESPN (Twitter video links), NBA insider Brian Windhorst backed up the notion that the Heat are talking to teams besides the Suns about Butler and said Miami is “really, really trying to make this happen,” adding that the team’s asking price on Butler has dropped a little from where it was earlier in the month.

“Obviously, the Phoenix Suns have tried to get this done for weeks,” Windhorst said on SportsCenter. “They have tried three-, four-, five-team machinations. They have not been able to overcome the fact that what they’ve really got to trade is Bradley Beal, who has a no-trade clause and not a very big market. So now I do believe this is going to bring in some other teams. We could see some surprising moves in this little battle in the next couple of days.

“… I am not saying for sure this is going to happen. I’m not predicting what’s going to happen. But I do think some teams that thought they were out of this are coming back in because it doesn’t look like the Suns and Heat are going to be able to consummate a deal. I think we might see a team swoop in here and get Jimmy Butler at a cheap price. A guy who can be the best player in a playoff series at a bargain price.”

Windhorst went a step further during an appearance on ESPN’s First Take on Tuesday morning (Twitter video link).

“Jimmy Butler’s going to get traded,” he predicted. “I wasn’t sure about that maybe seven to 10 days ago. I really am more sure than ever that that’s going to happen.”

The Heat announced on Monday that they’ve suspended Butler for a third time. Following a five-game suspension earlier this month and a two-game suspension that just concluded on Saturday, the latest suspension is an indefinite one and was said to be for “withholding services.” That means it will cost Butler 1/91.6th of his $48.8MM salary for each game he misses — the previous suspensions for conduct detrimental for the team cost him 1/145th of his salary per game.

Since word of Butler’s desire to be traded first broke last month, reports have indicated that the Heat are willing to hang onto the six-time All-Star through this season and revisit trade talks in the summer if they don’t get the sort of return they want by February 6. The club is said to be prioritizing win-now players with contracts that don’t extend beyond 2025/26.

However, with the standoff between the two sides continuing to escalate, it appears increasingly untenable for Butler to remain on the roster for several more months, which is why the front office is more motivated than ever to find a viable deal.

As Jackson and Chiang point out, while Butler’s camp has long conveyed that he intends to decline his 2025/26 player option in favor of free agency, the veteran forward could make life difficult on the Heat by picking up that option in June and essentially putting Miami back in the same situation it’s in now — with a disgruntled star on a maximum-salary deal, hamstringing the team’s ability to improve the roster around him.

Additionally, while the Heat are theoretically saving some money as a result of Butler’s suspensions, team-imposed suspensions don’t affect a team’s tax bill, and based on existing precedents, it’s very possible Butler will regain a chunk of his lost salary through the appeal process. In other words, the financial incentives to continue suspending him are minimal.

Neither Windhorst nor the duo of Jackson and Chiang named specific teams outside of Phoenix that might be exploring a deal for Butler. Previous reporting has indicated that the Grizzlies have kicked the tires on the possibility, despite being warned against it, while Marc Stein said on Monday that rival clubs continue to wonder if the Bucks will get involved.

Retweet 0 Share 0 Send via email0
Load More Posts