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Draymond Green Challenges Warriors’ Commitment To Winning

November 12th, 2025 at 9:00am CST by Luke Adams

The Warriors finished last season 23-8 after the Jimmy Butler trade, then opened the 2025/26 campaign with four wins in their first five games. However, they’ve since dropped five of seven, prompting forward Draymond Green to suggest after Tuesday’s blowout loss to Oklahoma City that Golden State isn’t taking the same team-first approach that was so successful down the stretch last season.

“I think everybody was committed to winning [back then] and doing that any way possible,” Green said, per Anthony Slater of ESPN. “Right now, it doesn’t feel that way.

“… I think everyone has a personal agenda in this league,” Green continued. “But you have to make those personal agendas work within the team confines. If it doesn’t work, you kind of got to get rid of your agenda or eventually the agenda is the cause of someone getting rid of you.”

Green didn’t single out any specific teammates who he believes are letting “personal agendas” get in the way of winning — when Slater approached him for follow-up questions after his general media session, the former Defensive Player of the Year simply said that “everyone” has to take some responsibility for the team’s recent slide.

However, as Slater points out, Brandin Podziemski spoke repeatedly before the season about his career ambitions, including his goal to be “better than” Stephen Curry, while a desire for a more significant role was a major factor in Jonathan Kuminga‘s restricted free agency standoff with the Warriors. So when a veteran gripes about “personal agendas,” those younger players tend to fall under the spotlight first, Slater notes.

After a strong start to the season, Kuminga has slowed down in the past couple weeks, shooting just 44.4% from the floor (25.0% on three-pointers) and committing more than three turnovers per game, including five in 24 minutes on Tuesday. Head coach Steve Kerr and Butler have both spoken about a need to take better care of the ball and not trying to do too much with it, as Slater relays.

“Myself, I can’t have turnovers,” Butler said. “JK can’t have turnovers. … We’re the ones that have to keep our turnovers down.”

While Green’s comments presumably weren’t aimed at his longtime teammate Curry, the star guard was willing to shoulder his share of the blame after struggling in his return to action on Tuesday after a three-game absence due to an illness. In 20 minutes, Curry scored just 11 points on 4-of-13 shooting and committed five fouls. He was a -23 in a game the team lost by 24 points.

“I kind of fell into [the agenda thing] a little bit myself,” Curry said. “Trying to get myself going. But the bigger issue when you lose is you start to look around and figure out what’s the issue. Commitment to winning is just running the floor, rebounding, taking care of the basketball. It’s not really about shots going in or not.”

All six of the Warriors’ losses so far this season have come on the road — they’re 5-0 at home. However, they’ll get no help from the schedule in the near future. They’ll play in San Antonio on Wednesday and Friday, New Orleans on Sunday, Orlando next Tuesday, and Miami next Wednesday before finally returning to the Bay Area for a five-game home stand.

Sixers Notes: Embiid, George, Close Games, Edwards

November 12th, 2025 at 7:56am CST by Luke Adams

There are no structural issues with Joel Embiid‘s right knee, head coach Nick Nurse told reporters during his post-game media session on Tuesday, per Tim Bontemps of ESPN.

While Embiid has primarily dealt with left knee issues over the last couple seasons, he was held out of Tuesday’s game vs. Boston due to soreness in his other knee and underwent further evaluation to assess the severity of the injury.

However, as Bontemps details, it doesn’t like it’s considered a serious problem, with the team announcing the star center’s status as day-to-day. Prior to Tuesday’s tip-off, Nurse said there were “no expectations” that Embiid’s latest knee issue would result in an extended absence.

“No expectation at all,” Nurse said. “He just reported a little soreness in his right knee. He’s had some imaging on that this afternoon, and the doctors are here tonight to go over that with him.”

Here’s more on the 76ers:

Veteran forward Paul George also met with team doctors on Tuesday and the club provided a minor update on his status, announcing that he’s in the “final stage” of his return-to-play process as he continues strengthening his left quad following offseason knee surgery. With George moving closer to making his season debut, his status will be updated again later this week, according to the Sixers.
Through their first 11 contests, the 76ers have played in nine games defined as “clutch” (within five points in the final five minutes), including five that have come down to one possession. While Philadelphia has performed well in those clutch games (6-3), the team doesn’t want to make a habit of having to erase deficits and win 50/50 games, notes Tony Jones of The Athletic. “I think it’s a good habit that we are resilient and we show the ability to fight and claw and scratch and get the lead back,” Sixers wing Quentin Grimes said. “But, we don’t want to keep having to play like this. We don’t want to have to be in position to have to keep trying to get back into these games.”
A revelation last season as an undrafted free agent, second-year forward Justin Edwards had a mediocre Summer League and played a limited role through the Sixers’ first 10 games, averaging 4.0 PPG in 11.3 MPG on 38.7% shooting. However, he showed in Tuesday’s victory that he remains capable of making positive contributions in Philadelphia’s rotation, as he racked up 22 points on 8-of-9 shooting in 27 minutes of action. “I think I said this to you guys before, like, I love him,” Nurse said of Edwards, per Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer (subscription required). “I don’t worry about him. Works extremely hard. He really worked on his shooting. He goes out there and tries extremely hard on defense every time. He’s not perfect. But he’s a really good developing young player that I love. If he has a bad game, it doesn’t even phase me, because I love him.”

Magic Notes: Banchero, Suggs, Bane, Da Silva

November 11th, 2025 at 10:47pm CST by Dana Gauruder

How did Magic forward Paolo Banchero celebrate his rookie scale extension this summer? By going back to the gym that night, he told Marc J. Spears of Andscape.

“I definitely signed it right away. There was no real thought. Just where do I sign?” Banchero said. “It was a surreal feeling. The day it got announced and everything, the day it got done, I didn’t know what to even do. My phone was blowing up. Everybody wanted to congratulate and call me and it was like the middle of the day and I was just sitting in the house and I was just like, ‘What am I supposed to do?’ Am I supposed to go celebrate or am I supposed to respond to everybody? I don’t know.’

“So, I had worked out that morning and I ended up just going back to the gym that night. And I was just like, ‘I’ll just go say thank you to the game and just go get some shots up.’ And that’d be my way of celebrating, kind of paying it back to the game for blessing me in that way. So that’s kind of what I did. I didn’t really know how else to handle it.”

Banchero signed his five-year, maximum-salary extension in early July. He’s averaging 23.3 points, a career-high 9.1 rebounds, and 4.3 assists per game so far this season.

Here’s more on the Magic:

Jalen Suggs didn’t play on Monday against Portland due to left knee injury management and still hasn’t been cleared for back-to-backs, according to ESPN’s Ohm Youngmisuk. Suggs had 20 points and eight rebounds in 29 minutes during Sunday’s 111-107 loss to Boston. Suggs, who underwent arthroscopic surgery to remove a cartilage fragment in his left knee in March, is not on the injury report for Wednesday’s game against the Knicks, Jason Beede of the Orlando Sentinel tweets.
Slumping Desmond Bane, the team’s big offseason acquisition, hit a three-pointer at just the right time. Bane knocked down his first career game-winning buzzer beater against the Trail Blazers in Monday’s 115-112 victory. Bane has missed his five previous three-point tries during the contest. “I just want to be a part of winning,” Bane said, per Youngmisuk. “But I think moments like tonight really help you settle into a new situation.” Bane, a career 40.7% three-point shooter, has made only 27.7% of his long-distance tries this season.
Tristan Da Silva had just two points and three rebounds in 17 minutes on Monday but generally, he’s shown growth offensively during his second NBA season, Beede notes. The 24-year-old forward is averaging 10.9 points on 46.7% shooting from the field and 39.2% from distance. As a rookie, he averaged 7.2 points on 41.2% shooting (33.5% on threes).

All-Star Game To Feature U.S. Vs. World Three-Team Format

November 11th, 2025 at 9:12pm CST by Dana Gauruder

This season’s All-Star Game will have a U.S. vs. World format, the NBA confirmed today in a press release. The game is scheduled to be played Sunday, Feb. 15 at 5 p.m. ET at the Clippers’ Intuit Dome in Inglewood, Calif.

Two teams of U.S. players and one team of international players (the World team) will compete in a round-robin tournament featuring four 12-minute games. The three teams will each have a minimum of eight players.

The NBA has experimented with an number of different formats to make the All-Star Game more entertaining and encourage players to take the game more seriously. This is the latest attempt by the league and Player’s Association to make that happen.

As in the past, 24 NBA All-Stars (12 from each conference) will be selected as follows: The five starters from each conference will be selected by fans (50% of the vote), current NBA players (25%) and a media panel (25%). The seven reserve players from each conference will be chosen by NBA head coaches.

This year, the All-Stars will be selected without regard to position. The process for assigning players to the two U.S. teams will be determined at a later date.

According to the release, if All-Star voting does not result in the selection of 16 U.S. players and eight international players (which can include American players with ties to other countries, if necessary), commissioner Adam Silver will select additional All-Stars to join either group to reach that minimum.

In the round-robin tournament, Team A will play Team B in Game 1. The winning team from Game 1 will take on Team C in Game 2, followed by the losing team of Game 1 meeting Team C in Game 3.

After Game 3, the top two teams by record will advance to face each other in the championship game (Game 4). If all three teams have a 1-1 record after Game 3, the tiebreaker would be point differential in each team’s two round-robin games.

The All-Star Game will be played earlier in the day than usual because it will be broadcast by NBC, which is building All-Star Weekend around the network’s coverage of the Winter Olympic Games, ESPN’s Tim Bontemps points out.

Pistons Notes: Cunningham, Injuries, Harris, Jenkins, Green

November 11th, 2025 at 8:13pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Cade Cunningham, the reigning Eastern Conference Player of the Week, scored a career-high 46 points in the Pistons’ wild 137-135 overtime win over the Wizards on Tuesday. With a handful of regulars sitting out, Cunningham attempted 45 field goals and made 14. He went 16-of-18 from the foul line.

Cunningham also recorded his first triple-double of the season — he contributed 11 assists, 12 rebounds, five steals and two blocks, becoming the first player in NBA history with those numbers in a single game since the league began tracking steals and blocks in 1973/74, according to the team’s PR department (Twitter link).

Cunningham also took a hard fall in the fourth quarter when he was fouled by Wizards forward Cam Whitmore but he stayed in the game, which was the Pistons’ seventh straight win.

“I didn’t like the way that it happened,” Detroit coach J.B. Bickerstaff said of Whitmore’s foul, per Hunter Patterson of The Athletic. “When you take a guy out of the air like that, you don’t walk up on him. I thought (the officials) could have done a better job of controlling that situation. … It shows the courage of Cade, the resilience of Cade, the want to not let his teammates down. He could’ve stayed in the back, very easily, with what he was going through. But he didn’t want to give up. He wanted to continue to fight even when we were down, and he led us to the victory.”

Here’s more on the Pistons:

Detroit played without Ausar Thompson (right ankle), Tobias Harris (right ankle), Jaden Ivey (right knee), Isaiah Stewart (left ankle), Caris LeVert (left knee) and Marcus Sasser (right hip). Harris has missed five consecutive games. “It’s a high ankle sprain and he’s progressing,” Bickerstaff said. “It’s just those things that take a little longer than you would like, but he’s progressing day to day. We’re hopeful he’ll be back soon.” Harris and Thompson are listed as out against Chicago on Wednesday, while Stewart is doubtful, Patterson tweets.
Two-way player Daniss Jenkins logged 34 minutes and finished with 24 points, eight rebounds, four steals and three assists in what was just his 13th career NBA game. Jenkins sent the game into overtime on a corner three-pointer in the final second of regulation. “You dream of stuff like this,” Jenkins told Omari Sankofa II of the Detroit Free Press. “To come out and really hit that type of shot, I didn’t know what to do. I was just filled with a lot of joy and excitement and just congratulating myself, staying true to the journey, staying true to everything. I have to practice what I preach. This life is a marathon, everything is a marathon. My journey is a marathon.”
Due to the injuries, Javonte Green made his first start with the Pistons, notching his first double-double of the season and second of his career with 11 points, 11 rebounds, three assists, two blocks and one steal in 38 minutes. Detroit signed Green, who played for New Orleans and Cleveland last season, to a one-year, partially guaranteed deal in the summer. “He blocked [two] threes, which is hard to do…Again, It’s top to bottom. These guys care about winning, and they’re willing to do whatever it takes to win. [Green] knows who he is and understands how he impacts winning,” Bickerstaff said.

Eastern Notes: Ware, Cavs Injuries, Shead, White

November 11th, 2025 at 6:50pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Heat second-year big man Kel’el Ware had 14 points and a career-high 20 rebounds in 34 minutes while making his third straight start in place of the injured Bam Adebayo on Monday. Miami pulled out an overtime win over Cleveland and coach Erik Spoelsta heaped praise on Ware.

“That’s the best game he’s played in a Miami Heat uniform,” Spoelstra said, per Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald. “I don’t care what the stats are. I know he had 20 rebounds. But those efforts on the glass were incredible. And he was reliable defensively. He was with it. He was in the right spots. (Evan) Mobley made a couple great shots, but Kel’el was there. He was there, doing the right thing.”

The Heat have won all three games Ware has filled in for Adebayo.

“I feel like that’s something they always wanted to see,” Ware said. “They’ve been wanting to see it from me. It feels [good] to see them encouraging me on that end and proud of me for bringing that out.”

Here’s more from the Eastern Conference:

The Cavaliers will be missing three starters in their rematch against Miami on Wednesday, Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com tweets. Darius Garland (injury management — left big toe), Donovan Mitchell (rest) and Evan Mobley (rest) are listed as out, while Larry Nance Jr. (knee contusion) is considered questionable.
Jamal Shead has continued to give the Raptors a reliable play-maker off the bench in his second season, Michael Grange of Sportnet writes. “He’s able to do a lot of things,” forward Brandon Ingram said. “We know what he can do on the defensive end, but he’s able to attack the paint, he’s always searching for guys. He knows he’s playing with scorers, so when he gets the ball, he’s trying to attack, and he always knows where guys are.” In 10 games, Shead is averaging 6.4 points and 5.0 assists, compared to 1.1 turnovers, in 17.4 minutes per game. He’s making just $1.96MM this season and Toronto holds a club option on his contract for next season.
Coby White (strained right calf) made it through a practice on Monday with the Windy City Bulls, Chicago’s G League affiliate. White, who has yet to make his season debut, could return at some point during the team’s upcoming road trip, Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times reports, though he won’t play on Wednesday when they visit Detroit. ‘‘Everything that I heard was that it went well,’’ head coach Billy Donovan said. ‘‘I think the biggest thing is always trying to find out the next day how it went. The plan right now . . . would be to get back into practice with us when we get back from Detroit. We’ll have three days. One of those days, we’ll certainly have contact. The plan is to get him into that practice pretty extensively.’’

Sixers Notes: Broome, 10-Game Start, Grimes, Barlow

November 11th, 2025 at 5:32pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Sixers rookie power forward Johni Broome has only made two cameo appearances this season. He’s trying to adjust to his NBA reality as a second-round pick, according to Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer.

“I’m just kind of trusting my work and my faith,” Broome said. “Obviously, it’s a little difficult at times because it’s kind of something I’m getting used to. But I understand what comes with it. So I’m taking it day by day. I’m not getting frustrated. I know I just have to keep working, keep staying ready. When Coach (Nick Nurse) feels like he’s ready to put me in, he’s going to put me in. Until then, like I say, I’m going to keep working and keep earning his trust however I can.”

Broome sprained his right ankle while playing with the G League’s Delaware Blue Coats over the weekend. When he returns to action, he’ll likely spend most of the season with the Blue Coats.

“Wherever I’m at, I’m going to try to compete and get my work in,” Broome said. “If they want me to go down to the G League and play, that’s what I’m going to do.”

Here’s more on the Sixers:

They are off to a decent start at 6-4 but they could have won a couple more games with better crunch time execution, Tony Jones of The Athletic notes. All but one of their games has come down to clutch time, which is defined as a game being within five points or less with five minutes remaining. In three of their losses, they missed a shot on the final possession of the game. Guard Tyrese Maxey has seen a lot of positives. “I like that we can do a lot of different things, and I like that we can play a lot of different ways,” Maxey said. “We can play fast and we can play slow. We can play in the halfcourt, and we can play in transition. There are a lot of different things that we can do to win games.”
Quentin Grimes has switched agents. Grimes will now be represented by CAA Basketball, Brett Siegel of Clutch Points tweets. Grimes, who was previously repped by agent David Bauman, went through a lengthy restricted free agency process over the summer and ultimately signed his $8.74MM qualifying offer. Grimes will be an unrestricted free agent next summer and also has the ability to veto any trade this season.
Dominick Barlow worked out on the court before the Sixers faced the Celtics on Tuesday, Pompey tweets. Barlow will miss his seventh straight game due to a right elbow laceration.
In case you missed it, center Joel Embiid has been ruled out of Tuesday’s contest due to right knee soreness. It’s the first non-scheduled absence so far this season for Embiid, who had an MRI on his knee on Tuesday.

JT Thor Signs With Reggio Emilia

November 11th, 2025 at 4:03pm CST by Luke Adams

Free agent forward JT Thor has signed with Reggio Emilia (aka Pallacanestro Reggiana), the Italian club announced in a press release (hat tip to Eurohoops).

The 37th overall pick in the 2021 draft out of Auburn, Thor spent three seasons in Charlotte, then played on a two-way contract for the Cavs and Wizards last season. He has appeared in a total of 185 regular season games, averaging 3.2 points and 2.1 rebounds in 12.2 minutes per contest.

Thor, 23, became an unrestricted free agent this summer when his two-way contract with Washington expired and remained on the market for the entire offseason. The fact that he’s no longer eligible for a two-way deal presumably contributed to his lack of viable NBA options.

In addition to spending four years in the NBA, Thor has some international experience, representing South Sudan in the 2024 Olympics in Paris. However, this will be his first time playing professionally overseas.

“JT Thor is an athletic, vertical player with great footwork and quickness,” Reggio Emilia head coach Dimitris Priftis said in a statement. “He’s a good defender, capable of rebounding and protecting the rim. On offense, he brings versatility and an ability to shoot from beyond the arc, adding elements we’ve been missing. JT arrives after several seasons in the NBA. It will be his first experience overseas, and naturally, he’ll need some time to adapt to the European style of basketball.”

Suns’ Jalen Green To Miss At Least 4-6 Weeks

November 11th, 2025 at 3:45pm CST by Luke Adams

After re-injuring his right hamstring in his second game back, Suns guard Jalen Green will be reevaluated in four-to-six weeks, according to Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link).

Charania’s report lines up with the timeline first projected by Suns insider John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 FM (Twitter link). Even if Green is able to return in four weeks, he’ll still miss the team’s next 13 games.

The hamstring has been an ongoing problem this fall for Green, who initially suffered a strain early in training camp, then aggravated it during his ramp-up process in mid-October. The 23-year-old sat out the first eight games of the regular season, played 23 minutes in his return last Thursday, then exited Saturday’s game after just seven minutes of action when he aggravated the injury again.

Green reportedly felt a sharp pain after passing the ball to Ryan Dunn for a corner three-point shot late in the first quarter on Saturday. He hobbled toward the team’s bench while grabbing at the hamstring and had to be helped off the court by two staff members. He was declared out for the game shortly afterward, with reporting at the time indicating he’d undergo medical imaging to assess the severity of the injury.

Green spent the first four years of his NBA career in Houston before being sent to Phoenix along with Dillon Brooks in the blockbuster Kevin Durant trade over the summer. Injuries were rarely an issue for the former No. 2 overall pick during his time as a Rocket — he appeared in all 82 regular season games in each of the past two seasons and hadn’t missed a game since February 2023.

While Green’s extended absence will prevent the Suns from getting a longer look at how he fits alongside Devin Booker until later in the season, the team has outperformed expectations in the early going even without having the former Rocket available. Phoenix has won five of its last six games to improve its record to 6-5.

Grayson Allen and Royce O’Neale are logging big minutes on the wing in Green’s absence, with guards Dunn (24.4 minutes per game), Collin Gillespie (23.9 MPG) and Jordan Goodwin (14.9 MPG) all playing regular rotation roles as well.

Mavs Rumors: Harrison, Davis, Cuban, Kidd, Flagg, Cisse

November 11th, 2025 at 3:06pm CST by Luke Adams

Having lost trust in general manager Nico Harrison, Mavericks governor Patrick Dumont decided overnight on Monday that there was no reason to put off a front office change that seemed inevitable, writes Tim MacMahon of ESPN.

[RELATED: Mavericks Dismiss GM Nico Harrison]

In making the decision to fire Harrison on Tuesday, Dumont may appease some fans in Dallas, who have frequently chanted “fire Nico” at home games since last season’s Luka Doncic trade. According to Ian Begley of SNY.tv (Twitter link), several Mavericks players actually preferred to play away from home this fall, since there was far less vitriol related to Harrison on the road. MacMahon makes a similar point, noting that there has been no home court advantage to speak of for the Mavs so far this season.

“These people don’t want us to win,” one player griped, according to a source who spoke to ESPN.

While Harrison’s exit may improve the vibes in Dallas to some extent, there’s still no quick fix for the 3-8 club, which has a significant hole at the point guard spot until Kyrie Irving is able to return from his torn ACL.

“There’s no point guard. You don’t have a floor leader,” an Eastern Conference scout told MacMahon. “That’s the first problem. Then you’re trying to make a guy who isn’t a point guard (Cooper Flagg) a point guard. The coach doesn’t trust the guy you signed this summer (D’Angelo Russell). That’s obvious. They don’t trust him enough to make him the floor leader, and that’s in line with the consensus around the league. They don’t have shooting, and they don’t have creation. Those are things you need to be a good offensive team.”

Russell, who was replaced in the starting lineup by Brandon Williams on Monday, has come off the bench in eight of 11 games so far and is posting career-worst shooting percentages. The Mavericks’ cap situation meant they had limited tools at their disposal this past offseason to upgrade their roster — they used their full taxpayer mid-level exception to sign Russell. Still, there presumably would’ve been more options available to Dallas on the trade market if the team had been willing to move some of its frontcourt depth to address the backcourt.

“Remarkable that Nico did not acquire a good guard this summer so they could win some games,” an Eastern Conference executive said to ESPN. “That was such low-hanging fruit.”

We have more on the Mavs:

One big question in Dallas now will be whether the team looks to move star big man Anthony Davis. John Hollinger of The Athletic argues that a Davis trade is the best path forward for the club and believes the 32-year-old would still command a haul of draft picks and/or young players, despite his injury history. According to MacMahon, several sources around the NBA agree with Hollinger and believe that the Mavs must at least gauge Davis’ trade value in the coming months. “You have Flagg, but you’re old and you don’t own your picks,” a Western Conference decision-maker told ESPN. “[They have to] be comfortable with taking two steps back if that’s the necessary path. Be patient. They need to lose this year, but I don’t see Dumont being comfortable with taking a step back. It’s not natural as a new owner.”
Former Mavericks majority owner – and current minority shareholder – Mark Cuban was involved in a meeting on Monday with Dumont and team president Rick Welts before Harrison was let go, according to Marc Stein of The Stein Line (Substack link). MacMahon, meanwhile, hears that Cuban and Dumont have talked more frequently in recent months and that Cuban is the one in favor of targeting former Mavs advisor Dennis Lindsey to replace Harrison. It remains to be seen how open Dumont will be to Cuban’s suggestions, MacMahon adds.
According to Stein, Dumont is expected to “lean heavily” on head coach Jason Kidd during this transition period. Kidd has signed contract extensions in each of the past two offseasons and is clearly in no danger of following Harrison out the door.
Despite the 3-8 start, there have been some bright spots in Dallas as of late. As MacMahon writes for ESPN, Flagg had his best all-around game on Monday, with 26 points and nine rebounds, and tied LeBron James as the youngest player in NBA history to score at least 25 points in a game. Additionally, two-way rookie big man Moussa Cisse seems to be finding his footing at the NBA level, having held his own in a rotation role with Davis sidelined, notes Grant Afseth of Dallas Hoops Journal. Cisse has averaged 7.3 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 2.0 blocks in 17.7 minutes per game in his past three outings — the Mavs outscored opponents by 18 points in his 53 minutes on the court during that stretch.

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