Mavs’ Daniel Gafford To Make Season Debut Saturday
Mavericks center Daniel Gafford will make his 2025/26 season debut on Saturday in Mexico City against Detroit, he told reporters, including Mike Curtis of The Dallas Morning News and Christian Clark of The Athletic (Twitter links).
“Of course. Yeah,” The 27-year-old big man said. “Of course. Just taking my time.”
Gafford said he sprained his right ankle on the first day of training camp in late September when he landed on Anthony Davis‘ foot in one of the team’s first drills (Twitter video link via Curtis). He was originally expected to miss two-to-three weeks, but has now been out for just over a month.
“It’s been a lot of ups and downs,” Gafford said. ” … Couldn’t really control it. … It wasn’t something anyone was planning on happening but as they say, ‘stuff happens.’“
As Grant Afseth of Dallas Hoops Journal writes, Gafford is officially listed as questionable for Saturday’s game, as is guard D’Angelo Russell, who is dealing with a left knee contusion he sustained in Wednesday’s win vs. Indiana. Dereck Lively II (right knee sprain) will miss his third straight game, with Anthony Davis (calf strain), Kyrie Irving (recovering from ACL surgery) and Dante Exum (right knee injury management) out as well.
Gafford averaged a career-high 12.3 points per game last season, along with 6.8 rebounds and 1.8 blocks, but injuries limited him to 57 games. He sat out 21 straight contests with a sprained knee late in ’24/25, but was able to return in early April.
The former second-round pick’s offseason was highlighted by a three-year, $54MM extension that runs through the ’28/29 season.
Nets Notes: Clowney, Demin, Saraf, Mann, Williams, Claxton
The Nets are off to a 0-5 start and Noah Clowney has been part of the problem. The forward has scored just 5.2 points per game while shooting 25% from the field, mostly from beyond the arc. The coaching staff wants Clowney to keep firing away.
“Just keep shooting it,” coach Jordi Fernández told Dan Martin of the New York Post. “Don’t overthink it.”
The front office picked up Clowney’s 2026/27 option at the start of the season. The third-year forward/center averaged 9.1 points and 3.9 rebounds in 22.7 minutes per contest last season, shooting just 35.8% from the floor in 46 games.
“We need Noah,” Fernández said. “Noah is a big presence for our team. [He has] toughness, size, shooting, rebounding [and] winning plays. We need more verticality and he’s a big part of doing that.”
Here’s more on the Nets:
- Fernandez sat rookies Egor Demin and Ben Saraf for the entire fourth quarter of their 117-112 loss to the Hawks on Wednesday, as the coach decided to go with veterans Tyrese Martin and Terance Mann, Brian Lewis of the New York Post notes. Demin has shot 9-for-22 from beyond the arc this season but hasn’t even attempted a shot inside the three-point line. “Yeah, he’s got to figure it out. Obviously, I want him to touch the paint,” Fernández said. “We all, everybody, will figure it out that he’s a threat from the three-point line, but he cannot play just behind the three.”
- As for Mann, whose three-year, $47MM extension he signed with the Clippers last October kicked in this season, he’s averaging 11.2 points in 25.4 minutes per game while shooting 54.6% from the field. “Terance has a good overall feel for the game,” Fernandez said, per Andrew Crane of the New York Post. “He does a little bit of everything, and I like when he’s aggressive and he gets assists when he gets to the rim and he sprays the ball.”
- Ziaire Williams has a “small, very minor” back fracture after a hard fall on Sunday in San Antonio. He’s hopeful he can return this Sunday when the Nets host the Sixers, according to Crane. “It locked up on me,” Williams said. “… But it’s something that can’t get worse. So at this point, it’s just a pain tolerance thing, so as soon as the pain just goes down, it’s never gonna be perfect, at least right now.”
- Brooklyn ranks last in the league in defensive efficiency ranks and needs defensive anchor Nic Claxton to step up his game, C.J. Holmes of the New York Daily News writes. “It’s very simple. I mean, Nic is a very good defender. He’s not happy,” Fernandez said. “He has high standards and he’s hard on himself… We’re all together here. I believe in him. We had a great stretch last year when we were high level offensively, and right now we’re not. So, continuity, work together, believe in each other; all those things are important. And you know, we know he’s a great rim protector. We know he can get deflections. We know he can run the floor. We know he can rebound. So those things I believe he can do. And he believes.”
Lakers Notes: Doncic, Smart, Ayton, Reaves, NBA Cup
In his return to action on Friday, Lakers superstar guard Luka Doncic reached heights only achieved by Wilt Chamberlain. Doncic scored 44 points in a win over Memphis, becoming the only player in NBA history other than Chamberlain to top 40 points in three straight games to begin his season.
Doncic had missed the previous three games with a sprained finger on his left hand and a lower left leg contusion.
“I mean, I feel great,” Doncic said when told about joining Chamberlain that category, per Dave McMenamin of ESPN. “But obviously, if we get a win, I feel even better. So that’s the whole point, trying to help the team to win. And sometimes it’s going to be scoring, sometimes other things.”
By averaging 45.3 points in his first three games, Doncic became the first Lakers player since Kobe Bryant in 2007 to average 45 or more in any three-game span. He doesn’t see himself keeping up the 4o-per game pace throughout a whole season.
“That’s going to be tough,” Doncic said. “Sometimes they’re going to double me more. Sometimes I won’t be able to score that much. I had I think three or four shots that were crazy shots that I felt like doing, but they were terrible shots. … I’ve got to work on that. But that’s tough. I don’t know.”
We have more on the Lakers:
- After missing two games due to a quad contusion, Marcus Smart contributed 12 points, four assists, three rebounds and two steals on Friday. “He was great,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said, per Khobi Price of the Orange County Register. “The main point about physicality, I think he, along with a couple other guys, but he’s gotta be the leader of the physicality. He’s gotta set the tone and there were a lot of moments where he did that. But it made a big difference and then he just played really good on the offensive end, made some timely shots for us.”
- Starting center Deandre Ayton didn’t play in the second half after experiencing back spasms. Redick said Ayton was available to play in the fourth quarter, but didn’t want to “risk it,” according to Price.
- Austin Reaves averaged 40 points during the three games Doncic missed. He had a season-low 21 points against Memphis and was disappointed with his 5-of-14 shooting performance. “His ability to get us off to hot starts is big for us because, if you come out and he has 15 in the first, we’re going to score, I would assume, 30 (points),” Reaves said of Doncic. “Unless everybody else is shooting bricks like I was (Friday).”
- The Lakers’ win on Friday was the first of four NBA Cup group play games. Their other matchups are at the Pelicans on Nov. 14, at home vs. the Clippers on Nov. 25 and at home vs. the Mavericks on Nov. 28, Price notes. “It’s my little taste of an All-Star Game,” Ayton said. “It feels like that’s when everybody [is] watching, and everybody playing their hardest. Dudes are playing extremely hard. It feels like playoff games, the fans are super into it.”
Ja Morant Expresses Frustration With Coaching Staff After Poor Outing
Toumas Iisalo is in the early stages of his first full season as the Grizzlies head coach, but his star player is already expressing frustration with him.
After Ja Morant struggled mightily during the team’s loss to the Lakers on Friday, Morant repeatedly told the media, “Go ask the coaching staff,” and “Go ask him” when quizzed on his performance.
Asked if he had any other observations regarding the game, Morant offered the following reply, per Damichael Cole of the Memphis Commercial Appeal (Twitter link).
“According to them, probably don’t play me, honestly. That’s basically what the message was after.”
Morant scored eight points on 3-of-14 shooting with seven assists while playing just under 31 minutes on Friday. Although he has appeared in all six of Memphis’ games this season, he has not played more than 31:33 in any game yet this season, Josh Robbins of The Athletic notes. He was also torched by Luka Doncic on the defensive end as the Lakers star poured in 44 points.
Morant wrapped up his post-game comments by denying there was anything wrong with him physically. The media didn’t get a chance to talk to the coach regarding Morant’s comments.
Former All-Star Blake Griffin, now a commentator on Amazon Prime Video, criticized Morant after the game.
“For a guy that’s making $40 million and needs to be the leader of the team, I just don’t love it. I don’t know if he was not feeling well, if he’s hurt. But that, to me, is a very bad sign and is something that … has to change,” Griffin said, per Robbins.
Morant is shooting 40.6% overall and just 15.6% on 3s. He’s in the third year of a five-year, $197.2MM contract, while Memphis is off to a 3-3 start this season.
Morant, of course, is no stranger to controversy. He was suspended twice by the league in 2023 for conduct detrimental to the league after social media posts in which he was seen brandishing a firearm.
Morant’s comments on Friday suggest some sort of disconnect with the current staff. Whether that could lead to a trade request or the front office making him available in trade talks remains to be seen.
Wizards Notes: Coulibaly, George, Lottery, Wall, Haywood
Third-year Wizards forward Bilal Coulibaly had an impressive season debut in Thursday’s loss to Oklahoma City, as Josh Robbins of The Athletic details.
Coulibaly missed the entire preseason and the first four games of 2025/26 after undergoing surgery last month to repair a torn ligament in his right thumb. The 21-year-old suffered that injury while playing for the French national team at EuroBasket 2025.
Coulibaly, who will be eligible for a rookie scale extension next summer after having his fourth-year option for 2026/27 exercised, recorded 16 points, eight rebounds, four assists, one steal and three blocks in 24 minutes against the Thunder. While the statistics speak for themselves, the manner in which the French wing produced was an encouraging sign for the Wizards, Robbins writes.
“I’ve worked too much to be passive and all that,” Coulibaly said afterward. “I’m just trying to be as active as possible this year. Every possession, everybody’s got to feel me. I think it will be a really good step up.”
The seventh overall pick in the 2023 draft, Coulibaly was immediately reinserted into the starting lineup, with Bub Carrington moving to the bench. Head coach Brian Keefe likes the defensive versatility of Coulibaly, Kyshawn George and Alex Sarr, and believes they can eventually form the “backbone of a top defense,” according to Robbins.
“He thinks we are guys that can really defend and be on top of the league at some point,” Coulibaly said.
Here’s more on the Wizards:
- George, who will get more on-ball reps with the starters now that Carrington is running the second unit, recently spoke to Grant Afseth of RG.org about a number of topics, including what has led to his strong start to the season. The 21-year-old guard/forward says he hasn’t just been working to improve his on-court skills, but his leadership as well. “I think it ties into the player I want to be in the future — one of the best,” George told Afseth. “And I think to be one of the best, you’ve got to be a leader and you’ve got to be aggressive on the court. I worked a whole lot during the offseason. I was in Washington most of my offseason for a reason, and I think now it’s just about me putting it into practice in the game.”
- While it’s promising that George, Sarr, Coulibaly and Tre Johnson, among others, appear to be taking steps forward in their development, the Wizards will still need lottery luck next year if they hope to find a star-level talent, contends David Aldridge of The Athletic. As Aldridge observes, the 2026 draft class is considered very strong at the top, with Darryn Peterson, A.J. Dybantsa and Cameron Boozer all viewed as having considerable upside.
- Former Wizards star John Wall and ex-Wizards big man Brendan Haywood have joined the team’s local broadcasts as analysts on Monumental Sports Network, as Scott Allen of The Washington Post relays (subscriber link).
Knicks Exercise 2026/27 Option On Pacome Dadiet
The Knicks have exercised their third-year team option on Pacome Dadiet, reports Ian Begley of SNY.tv (via Twitter).
Dadiet, the 25th overall pick in last year’s draft, will now earn a guaranteed $2,983,680 in 2026/27. New York will have until the end of next October to decide whether to pick up its fourth-year option on Dadiet.
A 6’7″ guard/forward, Dadiet only played 111 minutes in 18 games with the Knicks as a rookie last season. He has yet to make an appearance in year two.
The French wing received more playing time at the G League level in ’24/25, averaging 13.9 points, 5.4 rebounds and 2.4 assists in 23 games (31.8 minutes per contest) for the Knicks’ affiliate team in Westchester. Scoring efficiency was an issue for the 20-year-old, who posted a shooting line of .402/.296/.826.
There were rumors that the Knicks might look to trade Dadiet this fall to clear enough room below their second-apron hard cap to keep two veterans on their roster to open the season instead of one. However, Malcolm Brogdon‘s surprise retirement likely ended any speculation on that front, and now Dadiet will be under contract through at least next season.
Today was the deadline for teams to make decisions on rookie scale team options for 2026/27. All of those decisions can be found here.
Chris Livingston Signs Two-Way Contract With Cavaliers
8:00 pm: The deal is official, per NBA.com’s transaction log.
3:26 pm: Free agent wing Chris Livingston will be signing a two-way contract with the Cavaliers, ESPN’s Shams Charania reports (via Twitter).
The 58th overall pick in the 2023 draft, Livingston spent his first two NBA seasons on a standard deal with Milwaukee, the team that drafted him. He rarely played for the Bucks, averaging just 4.7 minutes per game across 42 total appearances over that span.
Livingston, who turned 22 earlier this month, has showed some promise in the G League. In 18 outings for the Wisconsin Herd in 2024/25, he averaged 18.1 points, 8.2 rebounds, 2.0 assists, and 1.1 steals in 29.5 minutes per contest, with a shooting line of .485/.301/.828.
The 6’6″ small forward also played well for the Bucks’ Summer League team this July, earning a new one-year, minimum-salary contract in Milwaukee after having been waived two weeks earlier. His new deal was fully guaranteed, but the Bucks decided to release him again ahead of the regular season due to a roster crunch.
As our tracker shows, the Cavaliers and Nets are the only teams in the NBA with an open two-way spot — no corresponding move will be necessary for Cleveland to add Livingston.
Livingston will earn a prorated portion of a full two-way salary, which is worth half the rookie minimum. If his deal is finalized on Friday, that would work out to just under $600K, a figure that is non-guaranteed until January.
It’s a homecoming for Livingston, who was born nearby in Akron, Ohio.
Bulls’ Noa Essengue Expected To Spend Extended Time In G League
Bulls forward Noa Essengue, the 12th overall pick in the 2025 draft, won’t travel to New York for Sunday’s game against the Knicks, head coach Billy Donovan said today (Twitter links via Joel Lorenzi of The Athletic and K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Sports Network).
Instead, the 18-year-old will be assigned to the G League on Saturday to begin practicing and playing for the Windy City Bulls. As Lorenzi notes, Chicago’s NBAGL affiliate is in the early stages of training camp — Windy City’s season opener is next Saturday, October 8.
According to Johnson, Essengue is likely to spend extended time with Windy City to open his rookie season. The French forward has yet to make his NBA regular season debut for the Bulls, who are off to a 4-0 start.
Essengue, who played professionally last year in Germany, didn’t look NBA-ready in Summer League action in Las Vegas or during the preseason, so it’s not surprising that he’ll need to continue to work to adjust to the speed and physicality of the league.
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.