Bulls Notes: Miller, Smith, Ball, Okoro, Donovan
Third-year forward Leonard Miller has been a bright spot for the Bulls over the past couple weeks, writes Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca. The 22-year-old Torontonian rarely received playing time in his two-and-a-half seasons in Minnesota, but he’s getting an opportunity to showcase his abilities with Chicago.
Over his last six games, Miller is averaging 13.2 points and 7.2 rebounds in 29.8 minutes per contest, with a shooting line of .533/.300/.872. The Bulls acquired him in the Ayo Dosunmu trade ahead of last month’s deadline.
“I mean, he’s got a really good motor. He’s good on the glass,” said head coach Billy Donovan. “I think, like any young player who did not really get a chance to play a lot early in his career … he’s got to get better in terms of the game plan and discipline, knowing the league, knowing who he’s guarding, those kinds of things.
“But I think he shoots the ball fairly well. He can put it on the floor some. I think he can be a very, very promising guy for us. I think what he’s done to this point in time, in a short period of time (of) getting the opportunity to play, he’s taking full advantage of it.”
The Bulls hold a $2.4MM team option on Miller for 2026/27. If they decline the option, he would be eligible for restricted free agency this summer.
Here’s more from Chicago:
- Big man Jalen Smith was disappointed in the Bulls’ effort following Wednesday’s loss to Toronto, according to Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times. “We had no fight,” Smith said. “This is the third time we’ve played them and we’ve gotten punked. At the end of the day we just got to want it. We’ve got to have that fight and we have to have that grit. I honestly couldn’t tell you [why], it’s basketball so every day isn’t going to be perfect, but we’ve got to figure out what else can we do to impact the game. It’s just a mental game right now for us.”
- With the Cavs visiting on Thursday, Donovan reflected on last summer’s trade that sent Lonzo Ball to Cleveland and Isaac Okoro to Chicago, per Cowley. Donovan has been pleased with Okoro’s play and team-first attitude, but feels empathy for Ball, who is an unrestricted free agent after he was salary-dumped to Utah and subsequently waived by the Jazz. “I loved him as a player and a guy, and he was so cerebral,” Donovan said of Ball, who missed nearly three calendar years with a knee injury. “He was so selfless, that’s really one of the things I admired. To see him have to go through what he went through, to fight to get back, see what he’s going through now, that’s tough for me because it’s almost like what could have been, how good could he have been?“
- Dosunmu said on Tuesday that mid-range shots were “really prohibited” during his time with the Bulls, but Donovan pushed back on that notion, as Cowley writes in another story. Donovan pointed out that DeMar DeRozan, Zach LaVine and Nikola Vucevic all took a good amount of mid-range jumpers while Dosunmu was on the team. “I think you have to play to players’ strengths, so I’m a believer in the first part of the shot clock you certainly want to try and get something downhill to the basket, and generally what happens is when the ball gets into the paint and the ball gets sprayed out that’s when the threes are going to go up,” Donovan said in part. “Most of the time the mid-range stuff is coming off (isolation) situations. It’s late clock, a guy is stuck with the ball, and at that time you’ve got to manufacture and generate shots.”
Hoops Rumors Glossary: Minimum Salary Exception
The minimum salary exception is something of a last resort for capped-out teams looking to add players, as well as for players seeking NBA contracts, but it’s one of the most commonly used cap exceptions.
As its name suggests, the minimum salary exception allows an over-the-cap team to sign a player to a minimum-salary deal. A contract signed using the minimum salary exception can be a one- or two-year deal, but can’t cover more than two seasons.
Teams can use the exception multiple times in a league year, giving clubs that have used all of their cap room and other exceptions an avenue to fill out their rosters. The exception also accommodates teams’ acquisitions of minimum-salary players via trade, as players signed via the minimum salary exception don’t count as incoming salary for salary-matching purposes.
Players are entitled to varying minimum salaries based on how long they’ve been in the NBA. In 2025/26, a player with no prior NBA experience was eligible for a $1,272,870 minimum salary, while a player with 10 or more years of experience was eligible for $3,634,153.
[RELATED: NBA Minimum Salaries For 2025/26]
Under the NBA’s current Collective Bargaining Agreement, the minimum salary is adjusted each season to reflect the year-to-year salary cap change. If the cap increases by 5%, so will minimum salaries. If the cap doesn’t change from one season to the next, neither will minimum salaries.
Our minimum-salary estimates for 2026/27, based on a projected salary cap of $166MM, can be found right here.
There’s a wide disparity between the minimum salary for rookies and for long-tenured players, with a minimum-salary veteran of 10+ seasons earning nearly three times as much as a rookie making the minimum next season. The NBA doesn’t want those pricier deals to discourage clubs from signing veterans, however, so the league reimburses teams for a portion of a minimum-salary player’s cost if he has three or more years of experience, as long as the contract is a one-year deal.
For example, when the Kings signed 17-year veteran Russell Westbrook to a one-year pact ahead of the 2025/26 season using the minimum salary exception, he locked in a salary of $3,634,153, but the team’s cap hit was just $2,296,274, equivalent to the minimum salary for a player with two years of NBA experience. The league will reimburse the Kings for the difference between Westbrook’s salary and cap hit ($1,337,879).
Many salary cap exceptions can only be used once each season. When a team uses its full mid-level exception to sign one or more players, the club can no longer use that exception until the following league year. Unlike the mid-level and other cap exceptions though, the minimum salary exception can be used any number of times in a single season.
The Bucks, for instance, used the minimum salary exception to sign Gary Harris, Taurean Prince, Jericho Sims, Thanasis Antetokounmpo, Cole Anthony, and Chris Livingston last offseason. They also used it during the season to add Cam Thomas on a rest-of-season contract.
While many exceptions begin to prorate midway through the regular season, the minimum salary exception prorates beginning after opening night. If a season is 174 days long and a player signs a minimum-salary deal after 25 days have passed, he would only be paid for 149 days.
An example of a prorated minimum salary occurred when the Kings signed Killian Hayes on March 15. Hayes has five years of NBA experience, so he would’ve been eligible for a full-season minimum salary of $2,667,947. But because he signed on the 146th day of the regular season, he received just 29/174ths of that amount: $444,658.
In cases where a veteran player signs a one-year contract using the minimum salary exception midway through a season, his cap hit is prorated in the same way that his salary is.
For example, when Tyus Jones joined the Nuggets on March 5, there were 39 days left in the ’25/26 season. He earned a rest-of-season salary of $814,552 (39/174ths of his full-season minimum of $3,634,153), while his cap hit was $514,682 (39/174ths of $2,296,274, the minimum salary for a player with two years of experience).
When a player signs a two-year contract using the minimum salary exception, his second-year salary is locked in as part of that agreement. Depending on the amount of the second-year cap increase, he may end up making more or less than the amount he would have earned if he’d instead signed two consecutive one-year minimum contracts.
On a two-year, minimum-salary deal, the player’s second-year salary is worth 105% of the first-year minimum for a player with the same years of NBA experience.
For instance, a rookie signing a two-year minimum-salary deal in 2025/26 would be assured of $2,150,917 in ’26/27, once he has one year of NBA experience under his belt — that’s 5% more than the minimum for a player with one year of NBA experience in ’25/26 ($2,048,494).
Finally, it’s worth noting that the minimum salary exception can be used to claim a player off waivers in the same way that it can be used to trade for a player. However, in the case of both trades and waiver claims, a minimum-salary player can’t be acquired using the minimum salary exception if his contract is for more than two years or if his salary exceeded the minimum in any previous year of the contract.
When the Jazz waived Vince Williams Jr. earlier this month, he was earning a $2,301,587 salary, which was his minimum for this season at the time he signed. But Williams was in the third year of his contract and had earned more than the minimum in his first season of that deal back in 2023/24 — both of those factors made him ineligible to be claimed using the minimum salary exception, so if a team had wanted to claim him, it would have needed to use cap room or another exception, such as the mid-level or bi-annual.
Here are a few more notes on the minimum salary exception:
- Players signed using the minimum salary exception are eligible for trade bonuses, but not incentive bonuses. A minimum-salary player with a trade bonus cannot be acquired in a trade using the minimum salary exception unless he waives that bonus.
- When a minimum-salary player is traded during the season, any reimbursement from the NBA is split between his two teams. It’s prorated based on the number of days he spends with each club.
- If a minimum-salary player with a non-guaranteed salary is waived before he exceeds the minimum for a two-year veteran, his team won’t be reimbursed for any portion of his salary.
- Every 10-day contract is worth a prorated minimum salary. The NBA also reimburses teams for a portion of the 10-day minimum salary for veterans with three or more years of experience.
- A team isn’t permitted to sign a player using the minimum salary exception if the deal would push that club’s salary beyond its hard cap. The only exception to this rule is when a team is using the exception to sign a player to an Exhibit 9 or Exhibit 10 contract prior to the regular season, since those deals don’t count against the cap until the season begins.
Note: This is a Hoops Rumors Glossary entry. Our glossary posts will explain specific rules relating to trades, free agency, or other aspects of the NBA’s Collective Bargaining Agreement. Larry Coon’s Salary Cap FAQ and the Basketball Insiders salary pages were used in the creation of this post.
Earlier versions of this post were published in previous years by Luke Adams and Chuck Myron.
Lakers Notes: Doncic, LeBron, Kleber, LaRavia, Redick
Lakers stars Luka Doncic (right hip soreness) and LeBron James (left foot arthritis) were initially listed as questionable for Thursday’s game vs. the Heat on the second night of a back-to-back set, but both players ended up suiting up and submitting historic performances.
As Dave McMenamin of ESPN writes, Doncic poured in a season-high 60 points en route to a 134-126 win, earning MVP chants from the crowd despite playing on the road in Miami’s Kaseya Center. The 27-year-old increased his NBA-best scoring average to 33.4 points per game and led the Lakers to their eighth straight win, making a case that he needs to start being mentioned among the frontrunners for this season’s Most Valuable Player award.
“He’s playing as well as anyone in basketball,” Lakers head coach JJ Redick said. “He’s really elevated his play at a really important time for our team. He’s elevated the play of his teammates. I think there’s a trust level that we all have — coaches, teammates — with him closing games for us. He’s been fantastic, and I think he’s one of the best and should be in the MVP conversation. Hopefully people will start talking about that because he’s having as good a season as anyone.”
James, meanwhile, compiled 19 points, 15 rebounds, and 10 assists to register a triple-double for the 124th time in his career. But he made history by simply stepping on the court. It was the 1,611th regular season game of his NBA career, tying Robert Parish‘s all-time record.
“If anyone is deserving of breaking the iron man record, I would say LeBron James is,” Parish told McMenamin in a Thursday phone call. “Because he takes such good care of himself. … His approach to fitness and what he puts into his body reflects, or mirrors, how I felt about my fitness and what I ate, how I took care of myself. And so, it’s a testament to not only my longevity, but LeBron’s longevity. … He’s playing at an All-Star level still, which is equally impressive.”
We have more on the Lakers:
- Lakers big man Maxi Kleber didn’t play vs. Miami, sitting out for a sixth straight game due to a back strain, but he appears to be nearing a return. The team announced on Thursday that Kleber had been assigned to the South Bay Lakers to practice with the G League team, tweets Khobi Price of the California Post.
- Among the Lakers’ 2025 offseason additions, Jake LaRavia was somewhat overshadowed by former No. 1 overall pick Deandre Ayton and former Defensive Player of the Year Marcus Smart, but LaRavia has played the second-most total minutes of any Laker this season and is the only player on the roster to appear in all 70 regular season games so far. Redick spoke on Wednesday about the forward’s importance to the team, as Benjamin Royer of the Orange County Register relays (Twitter link).
- While the Lakers looked like paper tigers during the first half of the season as they compiled a strong record despite a negative point differential, they’ve come on strong in recent weeks and are establishing themselves as a more serious threat entering the postseason, according to Law Murray of The Athletic (Twitter link), who notes that Los Angeles has gained the tiebreaker edge over Denver, Houston, and Minnesota based on head-to-head results.
- Melissa Rohlin of the California Post argues that Redick deserves more credit than he’s getting for his growth as a head coach and the work he has done with the Lakers this season.
Southeast Notes: Kuminga, Powell, White, Wizards
Hawks forward Jonathan Kuminga (left knee) has been ruled out for Friday’s game in Houston, but the expectation is that he’ll be available on Saturday for his first matchup with his former team, the Warriors, tweets Dalton Johnson of NBC Sports Bay Area.
While Kuminga’s stint in Golden State turned sour over the course of his four-and-a-half years with the franchise, no one in the organization holds any ill will toward him, according to head coach Steve Kerr, who said the Warriors want to see Kuminga succeed in Atlanta.
“To be honest, I haven’t given (the first matchup against Kuminga) much thought because we’re trying to win a damn game,” Kerr told Nick Friedell of The Athletic. “But I can tell you that everybody likes JK. Everybody on our team wants the best for him. I want the best for him.
“… I think players need the right set of circumstances to thrive. And the trade made sense because these were not the right circumstances for JK. And you can see right away that Kristaps (Porzingis) has a very clear role on this team, something we’ve needed for years. And we’re looking forward to getting him out there with Steph (Curry). And so in the end, hopefully it’s a trade that works for both guys and both teams.”
Although the on-court fit wasn’t right for him, Kuminga developed several strong relationships during his time with the Warriors. One of those relationships was with current Hawks general manager Onsi Saleh, who was the vice president of basketball strategy in Golden State before being hired by Atlanta in 2024.
“I would go in the front office and mess with him,” Kuminga said of Saleh, per Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Substack link). “He was somebody that you could really sit down and communicate with.”
Saleh may be looking to negotiate a new contract with Kuminga this summer. According to Fischer, sources say there’s mutual interest between the Hawks and the forward’s camp in the possibility of the team declining its $24.3MM option on Kuminga for the 2026/27 season in order to work out a new, multiyear deal.
Here’s more from around the Southeast:
- Since missing seven games due to a groin strain, All-Star guard Norman Powell has come off the bench in two of the Heat‘s last three games. He has still played at least 30 minutes in each of those contests and is taking the adjustment to his role in stride, writes Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. “I feel like I’m a starter. I’ve worked to be in that role,” Powell said. “But if the team feels that me coming off the bench some games or whatever it is based on a matchup is going to put us in position to win games, I’m going to accept the role and go out there and play basketball.”
- Coby White is playing fewer minutes in Charlotte so far than he did in Chicago, but the Hornets guard is looking more and more comfortable in his sixth man role, averaging 23.0 points in 23.0 minutes per game on .512/.417/.938 shooting in his past three outings. “I appreciate his humility in wanting to kind of fit in, but he’s a heck of a player, and he’s gotta be himself,” head coach Charles Lee said, per Mike Kaye of The Charlotte Observer. “And I think the guys encouraged him and continue to do that too, and be aggressive. He’s another guy who can just generate more offense, get the offense flowing. He helps us get to the free throw line because he understands how to use his body, and when he feels contact he starts to get into his shot. But the passing has been really good, too. So I’m really proud of Coby’s growth and evolution since he’s been here.”
- David Aldridge of The Athletic takes a look at what the Wizards and Trae Young are looking to accomplish in the final few weeks of the regular season, noting that Young and rookie guard Tre Johnson each expressed a desire to get plenty of reps alongside one another.
Draft Notes: Dybantsa, Boozer, Pacers, Wilson, Guards, More
BYU’s NCAA tournament run ended early, with the West’s No. 6 seed knocked off by No. 11 Texas on Thursday. However, forward AJ Dybantsa did little to hurt his draft stock in the process, putting up 35 of his team’s 71 points in the losing effort.
According to Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Substack link), Dybantsa may have entered this week as the frontrunner to be the No. 1 overall pick in June due to some concerns related to Kansas guard Darryn Peterson‘s health over the course of his freshman year with the Jayhawks and skepticism about whether Cameron Boozer‘s “athletic profile” will limit his ceiling at the NBA level.
Fischer clarifies that no one expects any sort of draft-night fall for Peterson or Boozer, who have widely been considered top-three prospects alongside Dybantsa for months. In fact, he says some rival teams believe Boozer would be the Pacers‘ top choice if they got the No. 1 pick due to his potential fit with their current personnel.
However, Fischer also suggests that there’s been momentum toward UNC’s Caleb Wilson joining that top tier of prospects, despite the fact that hand and thumb injuries prematurely ended the forward’s season. Wilson has drawn comparisons to players like Chris Bosh and Evan Mobley, and there’s no sense that his thumb surgery will impact his standing as a top-five lock, Fischer adds.
“I don’t think anyone is taking Wilson No. 1 overall,” one NBA general manager said. “But I think every team is going to have him above one of those other three guys.”
Here’s more from Fischer on the 2026 NBA draft:
- One Eastern Conference scout recently predicted that there might be “an entire lottery of freshmen” this June, according to Fischer, who adds that the draft class is considered especially heavy on backcourt talent. Some scouts view it as the strongest group of guards since 2018, when Luka Doncic, Trae Young, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander entered the league, while one executive compared it to a 2008 class that was headlined by Derrick Rose and Russell Westbrook, Fischer writes.
- Illustrating the depth of the 2026 draft, Fischer notes that one veteran scout suggested that whichever team lands the No. 1 overall pick should seriously consider the idea of trading down to maximize the value of that selection. “There’s just too much opportunity to still get an All-Star caliber player and another future asset,” the scout said. According to Fischer, multiple executives have also expressed that there could be lottery-caliber prospects available in the 20s and a number of NBA-ready players available in the second round. “This might be a draft where more guys are getting guaranteed (NBA contracts) in the second round,” a Western Conference scout speculated.
- While the lottery will consist mostly of college freshmen, there are several “plug-and-play” upperclassmen who will appeal to teams later in the first round. Fischer identifies Iowa State forward Joshua Jefferson, Florida forward Thomas Haugh, Michigan center Aday Mara, Iowa guard Bennett Stirtz, and Texas wing Dailyn Swain as juniors and seniors frequently mentioned as intriguing targets in that range.
- Fischer also singles out Vanderbilt guard Tyler Tanner, Purdue guard Braden Smith, and Santa Clara forward Allen Graves as players who are “generating intrigue” among NBA evaluators, observing that Tanner and Graves in particular are analytics darlings.
Wizards To Reevaluate Anthony Davis At End Of Month
Anthony Davis had the ligament damage in his left hand reevaluated on Thursday in Los Angeles, according to the Wizards, who announced today in a press release that the big man’s recovery “continues to progress positively” (Twitter link). However, the volar plate tissue in Davis’ left hand has yet to fully heal, per the team.
The plan, the Wizards say, is for Davis to continue with “conservative” treatment and to ramp up his basketball activity “as tolerated.” He’ll be evaluated again at the end of March.
After Washington acquired Davis at February’s trade deadline, there were conflicting accounts on whether he’d make his Wizards debut in 2025/26. Multiple reporters suggested that the 32-year-old’s season was likely over, but general manager Will Dawkins stated in a media session that he expected Davis to return before the team’s regular season finale on April 12.
The Wizards have the NBA’s second-worst record at 16-53 and aren’t particularly motivated to win games down the stretch. Besides wanting to ensure they hang onto their top-eight protected first-round pick – rather than sending it to New York – they’ll want to maximize their odds of landing a top-four selection in the draft lottery.
Still, the Wizards showed by bringing back guard Trae Young earlier this month following his own lengthy injury absence that they like the idea of having their new veteran additions establish some chemistry with the team’s young core before the end of the season.
It’s entirely possible Davis won’t play again in 2025/26, but it also wouldn’t be a total surprise if he’s active for a few games at the end of the season, assuming his hand has fully recovered by then and the Wizards are in little danger of compromising their favorable lottery position.
Davis has been limited to just 20 outings so far this season, all with Dallas. He averaged 20.4 points, 11.1 rebounds, 2.8 assists, and 1.7 blocks in 31.3 minutes per night.
Bucks Co-Owner Edens: Giannis Will Be Extended Or Traded
The Bucks have no intention of letting Giannis Antetokounmpo play out the final guaranteed year of his contract in 2026/27 and opt for free agency during the 2027 offseason, team co-owner Wes Edens told Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.
“Giannis is going into the last year (of his contract),” Edens said. “So one of two things will happen: Either he will be extended or he’ll be traded. The likelihood you’ll let him just kind of play out the last year, we can’t afford that. It’s not consistent with what’s good for the organization. That’s not a Giannis issue. That’s any player that’s in their last year.”
Antetokounmpo’s contract, which pays him $54.1MM this season, includes a $58.5MM guaranteed salary for ’26/27, followed by a $62.8MM player option for ’27/28. He’ll become eligible on October 1 to sign a four-year, maximum-salary extension that would be worth a projected $275MM (the exact value would depend on where the ’27/28 cap ends up).
However, if Giannis informs the Bucks this offseason that he doesn’t intend to sign that extension once he’s eligible to do so, it sounds like the team is prepared to reopen trade discussions that began in earnest prior to last month’s deadline, even if the two-time MVP doesn’t explicitly request a change of scenery.
[RELATED: Giannis Resisting Bucks’ Plan To Shut Him Down For Season]
Still, according to Shelburne, rival executives and insiders around the league are skeptical about whether the Bucks’ choice will be quite that simple.
As Shelburne explains, the team has an unusual ownership structure that involves the governor title changing hands between co-owners Edens and Jimmy Haslam every five years. In addition to controlling ownership rotating between those two men, another franchise shareholder, Jamie Dinan, is involved in major decisions. The setup has created some confusion among rival teams about who would get the final say in Milwaukee on a roster move as monumental as an Antetokounmpo trade.
“This has nothing to do with Giannis and whether he asks out,” one source told Shelburne. “It’s about who’s making the decision on whether to trade Giannis, and I don’t think anyone knows that. I deal with them all the time and honestly it depends on the day. They’re not even close to being ready to make a decision like that.”
Edens, who will be the controlling owner for two more years before handing the reins to Haslam for five years beginning in 2028, tells ESPN that his partnership with Haslam is “unbelievably good” and that he has no concerns about the arrangement, but Shelburne suggests there have been signs that Haslam’s influence within the organization is growing since he bought Marc Lasry‘s share of the team in 2023.
When longtime Bucks president Peter Feigin left the organization earlier this season, he was replaced by Haslam Sports Group executive Josh Glessing, according to Shelburne, who also hears from sources that one team discussing a potential Giannis trade last month had direct negotiations with Haslam.
“The more time goes on, the more power Jimmy’s going to have,” a source close to the team said. “And long term, it’ s going to be his anyway, so he’s not going to let the guy that’s [passing controlling ownership on] eventually dictate what it looks like.”
“We mostly dealt with (general manager Jon) Horst,” added a rival executive whose team pursued Antetokounmpo. “But our impression was that Jimmy was really the one who would decide this.”
Although Edens insists that he and Haslam are “completely united” on the Giannis situation, other teams and Bucks minority shareholders are keeping a close eye on the situation due to the way in which the relationship between Edens and Lasry fell apart before Lasry sold his stake in the franchise. Notably, Shelburne writes, the two co-owners disagreed on who to hire to replace former GM John Hammond in 2017 — Horst was eventually promoted to fill the role after the team seriously considered its own assistant GM Justin Zanik and Nuggets executive Arturas Karnisovas.
Here are a few more items of interest from Shelburne’s story, which is well worth reading in full:
- Multiple sources told ESPN that the Bucks’ asking price for Antetokounmpo prior to February’s deadline was “enormous,” with one team suggesting that Milwaukee was simply gauging the market and sought “all our draft picks and good young players.” Another rival executive said there was “no question” that the Bucks wanted to hang onto the star forward. “Because it never reached a point in time, in any of our discussions with them, where they said, ‘We will do it if you do X,'” that exec told Shelburne.
- The Warriors made an offer for Giannis that included four unprotected first-round picks, but they never seemed to gain any real momentum toward a deal, sources tell ESPN. According to Shelburne, the Bucks were more interested in pursuing concepts that would net them a young cornerstone like Cavaliers big man Evan Mobley or Sixers guard VJ Edgecombe, though there’s no indication Cleveland or Philadelphia would’ve been willing to discuss those players.
- While the Bucks may be preparing to offer Antetokounmpo another maximum-salary extension during the offseason, multiple league executives believe the club would be better off accepting the best possible trade offer for him, Shelburne writes.“He’s still a game changer, but he’s 31 with a history of leg injuries,” one exec said. “And now you’d basically be trading for a guy on an expiring deal, so I’m not sure the offers they’ll get this summer are going to be better than what they already got.”
Nets Notes: Dëmin, Thunder Loss, Clowney
Nets guard Egor Dëmin underwent a successful non-surgical procedure help with the plantar fasciitis in his left foot, though neither he nor head coach Jordi Fernandez specified what type of procedure it was, according to Brian Lewis of The New York Post.
“Everything went well, and now it’s just the process of rehab and getting back on the court as soon as the season ends, as we planned,” the Russian rookie said in his first comments since being shut down for the season. “Hopefully everything’s going to go in the right direction and I’ll be able to get back to work as soon as I can.”
Dëmin said the foot injury, which he originally sustained last offseason, had been bothering him more and more as 2025/26 went on, Lewis writes. The 2025 lottery pick is looking forward to being fully healthy ahead of summer league.
“Yeah, I’m taking this … I don’t want to say time off, but this time being off the court with a positive approach where I’ve really tried to take advantage of it, where I can have more time in the lifting room without worrying about being sore and not being able to play the same as I could,” Dëmin said. “So I’m just trying to kill as much as I can right now [since] it’s not going to affect my game because I’m not playing.
“So there’s a lot of advantage from not playing, even though I really like basketball and I’d prefer to be [playing]. But everything is happening for a reason and I believe in it, and I’m trying to be intentional with whatever I have in front of me.”
Here’s more on the Nets:
- The Nets had a historically awful first half on Wednesday against the defending champion Thunder, per Lewis. They only managed 24 points, the lowest-scoring half in franchise history, and trailed by 36 at the break. “Obviously you feel embarrassed when you score 24 points in a half of basketball,” said Fernandez. “And I do believe, no doubt in my mind, our guys are better than this. But it’s not about what I believe; it’s about going out there and doing it.” Brooklyn had 68 points in the second half but still lost by 31.
- Third-year forward Noah Clowney was forced out of Wednesday’s game in the fourth quarter due to a right wrist issue, but he told Lewis the injury isn’t serious and he should be OK. “Yeah, we have to take a look and see what’s there, and obviously prioritize his body and his health,” Fernandez said. “That’s the most important thing, especially now with 13 games to go. And hopefully he’s fine.”
- In case you missed, leading scorer Michael Porter Jr. may have played his last game of 2025/26 after being diagnosed with a left hamstring strain. He’ll be reevaluated in two-to-three weeks.
Spurs Clinch Playoff Spot
The Spurs became the second NBA team to clinch a playoff spot after pulling off a comeback victory over Phoenix on Thursday.
Victor Wembanyama, who had game highs of 34 points and 12 rebounds in 35 minutes, converted a game-winning fadeaway jump shot with 1.1 seconds remaining to put San Antonio up one (Twitter video link via the NBA). The Suns didn’t have a timeout to advance the ball, and Devin Booker missed a heave from beyond half court as time expired.
The Spurs, who have the second-best record in the league and are currently the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference, improved to 52-18 with the win, while the No. 7 Suns dropped to 39-31. Phoenix is now 13 games behind San Antonio with only 12 games remaining, so there’s no way for the Suns to make up the deficit.
This will be the first playoff appearance for the Spurs since 2019, when they were eliminated in a seven-game first-round series against Denver. No one from that roster is on the current iteration of the team.
The Spurs had a strong start to the season, going 23-7 over their first 30 games. They had a brief lull in the middle of the season, compiling a 9-9 record from December 27 through January 31, but have been on fire ever since, reeling off 20 wins in their past 22 games.
San Antonio trails Oklahoma City, the only other team to secure a playoff berth, by three games for the top seed in the West.
Pistons Notes: Cunningham, Duren, Bickerstaff, Thompson
The Pistons were dealt a major blow on Thursday when Cade Cunningham was diagnosed with a collapsed lung. However, there was some relief in Detroit that the star guard didn’t sustain a broken rib, Vincent Goodwill of ESPN said on NBA Today (Twitter video link).
According to Goodwill, Cunningham appears likely to miss the remainder of the regular season, but the team is hopeful its best player will recover from the ailment in time for Game 1 of the first round of the playoffs, which will begin on April 18.
When the Pistons announced Cunningham’s injury, they said he’d be reevaluated in two weeks. Goodwill hears they’re optimistic Cunningham’s lung will have healed by that point, and then he’ll ideally begin doing non-contact work for a week, followed by a week (or more) of contact work ahead of the playoffs.
“It’s tough. Tough for Cade to go through what he’s going through now,” head coach J.B. Bickerstaff said prior to Thursday’s game at Washington (Twitter link via Hunter Patterson of The Athletic). “… He’s a huge part of what we do from a leadership standpoint. The talent’s there, but being around him every single day makes people’s days better. We’ll miss that.”
We have more on the Pistons:
- Bickerstaff said before the game that Detroit will be playing through All-Star center Jalen Duren more often with Cunningham sidelined, per Patterson (Twitter link). “That’s what it’s going to be,” Bickerstaff said. “The ball is going to be in his hands a ton, and he has the ability. It’s been great to see his growth overall as a connector. … He’s a guy we’ll play through.” Duren had a strong performance against the tanking Wizards, recording 24 points, 11 rebounds and two steals in 25 minutes in the 22-point victory.
- The Pistons collected their 50th win of the season on Thursday. It’s the first time they’ve won 50-plus games since 2007/08, when they went 59-23, the team noted (via Twitter). Detroit now has a four-game lead over Boston for the top seed in the Eastern Conference.
- In his third game back from a right ankle sprain, third-year wing Ausar Thompson finished with 10 points, nine rebounds, three assists, two blocks and a steal in 22 minutes. The team’s top perimeter defender discussed Cunningham’s absence after the win, as Patterson tweets. “We play with him in our mind,” Thompson said. “How hard he goes every day, his energy, we’ve got to step up as a collective and bring that. … When he comes back we’re going to be very excited and ready for him to step in and do what he does.“