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Heat’s Tyler Herro To Return On Tuesday

January 6th, 2026 at 11:36am CST by Luke Adams

Heat guard Tyler Herro has been upgraded from questionable to available on the team’s injury report and is on track to make his return on Tuesday vs. Minnesota, tweets Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald.

It will be the first time Herro has played since December 9. He has missed 11 straight games and 13 of the past 14 due to a right big toe contusion. The 25-year-old was also inactive for the first 17 games of the season while he recovered from left ankle surgery — he has played just six times so far this season.

Herro was as effective as ever when he did suit up for that handful of games in November and December. In his six outings, he has averaged 23.2 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 2.3 assists in 31.8 minutes per contest, with an excellent .505/.405/.923 shooting line.

Herro was immediately reinserted into the starting lineup following his first lengthy injury absence and will likely reclaim that spot again this time around. However, it’s worth noting that Miami has been having more success lately with its lineup of Bam Adebayo, Kel’el Ware, Norman Powell, Davion Mitchell, and Andrew Wiggins. That group has started each of the past four games (including three wins) and has a +18.0 net rating during that stretch.

While the Heat are getting one of their leading scorers back for Tuesday’s game, the Timberwolves may be missing their top offensive weapon. Anthony Edwards has been added to the injury report due to right foot injury maintenance and is considered questionable to play, per the team (Twitter link).

Southwest Notes: Davis, Murray, Jones, Wemby

January 6th, 2026 at 10:36am CST by Luke Adams

As trade rumors continue to swirl around Anthony Davis, ESPN’s Tim MacMahon said during an appearance on NBA Today on Monday that the Mavericks big man isn’t actively seeking a trade out of Dallas despite the team’s struggles in the past year.

“AD’s preference would be to stay in Dallas and to get that extension this summer,” MacMahon said (Twitter video link). “Now, does that make sense for a team trying to build around a teenage prodigy (Cooper Flagg)? I think you can answer that question on your own.”

Davis’ maximum-salary contract pays him $54.1MM this season and $58.5MM in 2026/27, with a $62.8MM player option for ’27/28. While that number is manageable for now, an extension would likely overlap with Flagg’s second NBA contract — it would also begin when Davis, who has a lengthy injury history, is in his mid-30s. That’s a risky proposition not just for the Mavs but for any team entertaining the idea of pursuing a trade for the 10-time All-Star.

“The Mavericks are trying to generate a good trade market for Anthony Davis,” MacMahon said. “That is difficult because of the durability issues, and I think more so the dollars. In a situation like this, (agent) Rich Paul is going to be involved (and is) going to want AD traded somewhere that is willing to give him a long, lucrative extension. I just think mid-season it’s going to be very difficult to make all those pieces fit.”

We have more from around the Southwest:

Asked over the weekend whether he expects guard Dejounte Murray to play this season, Pelicans head coach James Borrego told reporters – including Rod Walker of NOLA.com – that he “can’t say for sure.” However, Borrego suggested there should be an update on Murray, who is making his way back from an Achilles tear, in the coming weeks. “He’s making a lot of progress,” Borrego said. “We hope to get him back in our building here soon. He’s doing a lot of work getting ready to get back here. I say in the next month we’ll have a little bit more clarity on where he’s at. But he’s made a lot of progress. Significant progress.”
Pelicans forward Herbert Jones has a chance to return to action on Tuesday vs. the Lakers after missing the past seven games with a right ankle sprain. Jones is listed as questionable, according to the team. He has been limited to 22 outings so far this season due to injuries, including a calf strain that cost him eight games in the fall.
Spurs big man Victor Wembanyama is also on the verge of making his return. He’s listed as questionable for Tuesday’s game vs. Memphis after participating in 5-on-5 work on Monday, tweets Tom Orsborn of The San Antonio Express-News. Wembanyama, who has been out for the past two games due to a left knee bone bruise, will be reevaluated ahead of Tuesday’s game, which is the first of a back-to-back set. If Wembanyama doesn’t end up playing on Tuesday, he could be activated on Wednesday against the Lakers.

Raptors Waive Mo Bamba

January 6th, 2026 at 9:24am CST by Luke Adams

Just over a week after signing him, the Raptors have waived center Mo Bamba, per Blake Murphy of Sportsnet.ca (Twitter link).

The sixth overall pick of the 2018 NBA draft, Bamba opened the 2025/26 season in the G League, then joined the Raptors last Monday to provide depth in the middle while starting center Jakob Poeltl recovers from a back injury.

Bamba, 27, was excelling in the NBAGL for the Salt Lake City Stars, averaging 16.5 points, 11.9 rebounds, and 2.7 blocks per game in 14 outings for Utah’s affiliate. However, he didn’t play much during his brief stint with Toronto, logging four minutes last Monday vs. Orlando and just 93 seconds in garbage time on Saturday against Atlanta.

Bamba’s contract was non-guaranteed, so waiving him prior to this week’s league-wide salary guarantee date will allow the Raptors to avoid paying his full salary. The team will take on a cap charge of $194,771 for Bamba’s 11 days of service (nine on the roster and two on waivers).

Teams are now permitted to sign players to standard 10-day contracts, so the Raptors may bring back Bamba on a short-term deal once he clears waivers.

On the other hand, Poeltl’s return may not be far off — he’s taking contact and working on his reconditioning, head coach Darko Rajakovic said on Monday (Twitter link via Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca). Toronto has also been playing well as of late with Sandro Mamukelashvili playing a regular role off the bench behind a small-ball starting lineup that features rookie Collin Murray-Boyles as the de facto five. Still, Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca (Twitter link) believes there’s a decent chance the team re-signs Bamba to a 10-day deal for insurance purposes.

Bamba is the second veteran center on a non-guaranteed contract to hit waivers this week, joining former Pacers big man Tony Bradley, who was cut on Monday.

Trae Young Rumors: Wizards, Nets, Rockets, Wolves

January 6th, 2026 at 8:12am CST by Luke Adams

While Washington looks like the “clear favorite” for Trae Young at this juncture, no trade agreement between the Hawks and Wizards is imminent, according to Brett Siegel of ClutchPoints, who suggests Atlanta will continue to explore other trade scenarios involving the four-time All-Star guard in the coming weeks. The Hawks’ talks involving Young have been “minimal” so far, Siegel adds.

As ESPN first reported on Monday, the Hawks and Young are working together in the hopes of finding a trade partner. Ideally, Siegel writes, that trade partner would be willing to sign Young to a contract extension after acquiring him, though it’s unclear if the Wizards would be on board with that plan.

Exploring the possibility of a deal between Atlanta and Washington, Josh Robbins of The Athletic speculates that Wizards officials may view a hypothetical Young acquisition as a “one-year trial.” In that scenario, Young would presumably exercise his $49MM player option for the 2026/27 season, which Siegel notes is the most probable outcome if he’s not extended before then. An in-season extension would require Young to turn down that option.

As for what a trade agreement between the Hawks and Wizards might look like, Siegel says Washington is seeking draft compensation in addition to Young, while Atlanta would like to add young talent alongside CJ McCollum and his expiring $30.6MM contract. Siegel speculates that the Hawks are likely asking about players like Kyshawn George, Bilal Coulibaly, and Tre Johnson, though he cautions that the Wizards have signaled they don’t want to part with their top young talent in a deal for Young.

Exploring next steps for the Hawks and Young, Yossi Gozlan of The Third Apron (Substack link) wonders if there’s a way for both Atlanta and Washington to get what they want out of a deal. For instance, Gozlan suggests the Wizards could include a useful role player like Corey Kispert along with McCollum, while the Hawks could perhaps offer a first-round pick swap.

Here’s more on Young:

ESPN’s Tim Bontemps examines why the trade market for Young is limited, while in the same article, Kevin Pelton and Zach Kram pose four hypothetical trade offers for the Hawks guard. Bobby Marks’ favorite of the four proposals for Atlanta is one that would send McCollum, Malaki Branham, AJ Johnson, and Oklahoma City’s 2026 first-round pick to the Hawks for Young and a future second-rounder. However, Marks isn’t sure whether the Wizards would make that offer, pointing out that they may want more draft compensation from Atlanta for taking on Young’s potential $49MM salary for next season.
While the Nets and Rockets have been connected to Young in the past, they don’t have interest in pursuing him at this time, Siegel writes for ClutchPoints. Sam Amick of The Athletic said the same of Sacramento on Monday.
Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic (Twitter link) views the Timberwolves as an unlikely suitor for Young. As aggressive as Tim Connelly is on the trade market, Young’s $46MM cap hit for this season and $49MM option for next season would make it difficult for the Wolves to put together a package they’re comfortable with — and to accommodate Young on their cap going forward.

Lakers Notes: Habits, LaRavia, Ayton, Hachimura, Vincent, Luka

January 5th, 2026 at 10:56pm CST by Rory Maher

The Lakers went 5-7 during the month of December. More disturbing than their record was the fact that they repeatedly displayed poor habits that frequently frustrated head coach JJ Redick, writes Dan Woike of The Athletic.

While most of Los Angeles’ issues show up on the defensive end, there have been several instances in which the team has simply lacked the “energy, effort and execution” necessary to win NBA games, according to Woike. That often manifests in a lack of focus and attention to detail — Redick said the Lakers failed to execute eight of their 12 designed plays after timeouts during Friday’s win over Memphis.

“In order to win, and at the highest level, you have to be able to do the simple things,” LeBron James said. “You have to be able to execute after timeouts, dead balls. You have to execute coming out of the locker room. You have to have a game plan, execute that. So you can’t execute the big things if you don’t execute the small things and play winning basketball from that standpoint.”

Jake LaRavia is one player whose defensive effort hasn’t waned this season, Woike adds. The fourth-year forward had another big game in Sunday’s victory over the Grizzlies, recording 26 points (on 9-of-16 shooting), five rebounds and four assists in 35 minutes.

“We knew that he was, by the metrics, a disruptive defender, something that we were really searching for, because we were bottom third in the league last year in blocks, steals and deflections,” Redick said in explaining reasons the Lakers targeted LaRavia in free agency. “He’s probably better defensively. Yeah, he is better defensively. He’s been one of our most consistent guys, if not our most consistent guy, on that end of the floor.

“But I think the thing that stands out with him is, you know, I was talking with a close friend of mine the other day about Jake, and I was just telling him, like, he’s one of the guys that his care factor is high all the time. Those are the guys that are really, really fun to coach.”

We have more from L.A.:

After being benched for the fourth quarter on Friday, starting center Deandre Ayton responded with a much better performance in Sunday’s rematch with Memphis, per Dave McMenamin of ESPN. Redick said Ayton was “frustrated” by his lack of touches during Friday’s game and the team made a concerted effort to get him the ball on Sunday. “He was great throughout the game,” Redick said of Ayton, who finished with 15 points, eight rebounds and three blocks. “I think that was good for him to just touch the basketball and feel like he’s part of the offense. It’s a tale as old as time for a big guy. That’s the reality of being a big: Someone has to pass you the ball. You’re not initiating the offense.”
While the team is optimistic his injury won’t be a long-term issue, forward Rui Hachimura will be out at least two more games, as he won’t travel for the back-to-back road trip at New Orleans and San Antonio, tweets veteran NBA reporter Mark Medina. Hachimura is dealing with a right calf ailment which the Lakers are now calling a strain.
As McMenamin relays (via Twitter), guard Gabe Vincent has a chance to play Tuesday in New Orleans — he’s listed as questionable after missing the last eight games due to a lumbar back strain.
Lakers Daily recently reported that Luka Doncic is dealing with “sharp” pain in both of his legs. According to Woike’s sources, that information is not accurate (Twitter link).

Knicks’ Dolan Talks Expectations, Thibodeau, Roster, More

January 5th, 2026 at 9:40pm CST by Rory Maher

Owner James Dolan publicly discussed the Knicks with a media member for the first time in nearly three years on Monday during an interview with WFAN’s Craig Carton, writes Stefan Bondy of The New York Post. The 70-year-old made it clear he has high expectations for the team.

“We want to get to the [NBA] Finals. And we should win the Finals,” Dolan said. “This is sports and anything can happen. But getting to the Finals, we absolutely got to do.”

New York made the Eastern Conference Finals last season for the first time in 25 years and promptly fired Tom Thibodeau. Dolan acknowledged the team’s former head coach played an important role in returning the Knicks to prominence, but stood by the decision.

“The team is really built on the shoulders of Tom Thibodeau. He built that core,” Dolan said. “We went as far as we did last year. So you really got to take your hat off to Tom. And the job that he did.

“But we did come to the conclusion that we had an idea how we wanted to organize the team. And that meant we needed to evolve. Actually beyond the old traditional coaching formulas. And we tried to work that with Tom. It really wasn’t his thing.”

According to Vincent Goodwill of ESPN, Dolan said he and president of basketball operations Leon Rose talked to Thibodeau multiple times about their desire to develop the team’s young players and bench unit so the starters weren’t worn down. Still, Dolan endorsed Thibodeau to coach another team.

“I won’t say you can’t win a title with Tom Thibodeau; I don’t know that’s true,” Dolan said. “But if you want to build a long-term, competitive, compete for the [title], you need someone who’s much more of a collaborator. But still, Tom was a great coach. He should coach in the NBA again.”

The 23-13 Knicks entered Monday’s game in Detroit having lost three straight games, a skid that extended to four when they were blown out by the top-seeded Pistons. But Dolan believes in the current roster and disputed an ESPN report that said the team discussed a trade involving Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo over the summer.

“We love our team right now. They have chemistry, they all like each other. I’ve never seen a locker room more copacetic,” Dolan said, per Bondy. “There’s a lot of energy there. Leon can always overrule me. But I don’t see us making a big change. Because we got to keep building up this group. This group can win a championship. I believe that.”

Dolan is optimistic the returns of Josh Hart and Landry Shamet will help lift the team out of its current slump, Goodwill notes. Both players are expected to be back in the next week or so.

“Look how far we got with our group last year and look at who was playing and who wasn’t,” Dolan said. “We’re going into the second half of the season, Josh is still out and Landry is coming back. We got depth. We stay healthy, we’ll go into the playoffs in much better condition than last year.”

The Knicks won the NBA Cup last month. Dolan was asked about the decision not to raise a banner for that title at Madison Square Garden, as Christian Arnold of The New York Post relays.

“We are going to raise the banner,” Dolan said. “We’re going to raise the NBA championship banner. That’s the banner we want to raise. We want an NBA championship, we don’t want some consolation prize.”

Trade Rumors: Young, LaVine, Brooks, Deadline, AD, More

January 5th, 2026 at 8:19pm CST by Rory Maher

Sam Amick and Josh Robbins of The Athletic have confirmed Shams Charania’s report that the Hawks are working with Trae Young and his representatives to find the 27-year-old point guard a new team.

As Amick reported last week, Atlanta has been increasingly willing to discuss Young trades for weeks or even months after the Hawks showed no interest in pursuing an extension, but the market for the four-time All-Star seems to be limited. According to Amick and Robbins, Young is searching for a new deal “commensurate with a star player.”

To illustrate the point about teams being wary of acquiring the diminutive point guard, Amick and Robbins cite a team source who says the Kings — long viewed as a potential landing spot for last season’s assists leader — have “no interest” in trading for Young. Zach LaVine, whose contract is very similar to Young’s, is “known” to have interest in joining the Hawks, the authors add.

Regarding Marc Stein’s report about the Hawks discussing a trade that would potentially send Young to Washington and CJ McCollum to Atlanta, Amick and Robbins note that Young doesn’t fit the archetype favored by the Wizards‘ top front office executives, and speculate that Washington might want either draft compensation or a young player to take on his contract, which includes a $49MM player option for next season.

Young missed his fifth straight game Monday due to a right quad contusion.

Here are a few more trade-related rumors and notes from around the NBA:

Don’t expect Suns small forward Dillon Brooks to be on the move in the next month. Gerald Bourguet of Suns After Dark reported (via Twitter) on Monday that Phoenix isn’t interested in moving the veteran wing due to both his on- and off-court contributions. Suns owner Mat Ishbia essentially confirmed as much just a few minutes later. On FanDuel TV’s Run It Back show (Twitter video link), former NBA big man DeMarcus Cousins said he if were running the Lakers, he would trade Austin Reaves for Brooks “in a heartbeat.” Ishbia’s response? “Don’t bother calling… Suns aren’t interested. Dillon’s not going anywhere,” he wrote (Twitter link).
Amick, Josh Robbins and John Hollinger of The Athletic discuss the biggest storylines and questions ahead of the February 5 trade deadline, noting that Giannis Antetokounmpo‘s situation with the Bucks is the one that holds the most intrigue around the league. All three think Antetokounmpo is more likely than not to stay put during the season, though that would depend on whether the two-time MVP requests a trade. Other topics include whether Anthony Davis will be traded by the Mavericks and role players who could appeal to contending teams. Hollinger lists Wizards forward Justin Champagnie as an example of a player on a team-friendly contract who could be a valuable in-season addition.
Speaking of Davis, he and Kyrie Irving wanted to play together for years before it finally came to fruition last February, writes Christian Clark of The Athletic. However, the Mavericks duo only played two-and-a-half quarters together prior to Davis suffering a left adductor strain. Less than a month later, Irving tore his ACL, and there’s no timeline for his return. Whether they’ll be able to team up again before the season ends is an open question with Dallas expected to listen to offers for Davis, Clark adds.

Alperen Sengun Expected To Miss 10-14 Days With Ankle Sprain

January 5th, 2026 at 6:31pm CST by Rory Maher

Rockets center Alperen Sengun will be reevaluated at the end of this week and is expected to miss about 10-to-14 days, head coach Ime Udoka said on Monday (Twitter link via sideline reporter Vanessa Richardson).

The 23-year-old suffered a lateral right ankle sprain just over a minute into Saturday’s game at Dallas and was ruled out for the remainder of the eventual loss.

A former first-round pick (No. 16 overall in the 2021 draft), Sengun made his first All-Star appearance in 2024/25 and is having another strong season in ’25/26. In 27 healthy games (35.6 minutes per contest) heading into Saturday, he was averaging 22.6 points, 9.3 rebounds, 6.7 assists, 1.5 steals and 1.0 block, with a shooting line of .512/.317/.734.

Sengun leads Houston in rebounds and assists per game and ranks second in points, steals and blocks. The Rockets are currently 21-11, the No. 5 seed in the Western Conference, though they’re only a half-game behind the No. 3 Lakers (22-11).

On a brighter note for the Rockets, veteran center Steven Adams will return to action on Monday against Phoenix after missing the previous two games with his own right ankle sprain. He and Clint Capela are among the primary candidates for more playing time with Sengun out.

Hawks, Wizards Discuss Trade Involving Trae Young, CJ McCollum

January 5th, 2026 at 5:15pm CST by Rory Maher

5:15 pm: In a full Substack story, sources tell Stein that the Hawks and Wizards discussed a trade centered around Young and McCollum on Monday. Washington has been actively looking at deals involving McCollum, according to Stein, who says the Hawks previously expressed interest in the former Most Improved Player winner in February 2022.

Young is looking increasingly likely to be moved before the February 5 deadline, Stein reports, and it’s also expected that the ex-Oklahoma star will pick up his player option for next season, which was hinted at by Michael Scotto of HoopsHype last month.

The Hawks are working with Young and his agents to find a trade for the 27-year-old point guard, sources tell Shams Charania of ESPN.

4:01 pm: The Wizards have “legitimate” interest in trading for Hawks star Trae Young, according to Marc Stein of The Stein Line, who reports (via Twitter) that a potential deal would involve Washington sending out CJ McCollum‘s expiring contract.

Stein technically says the Wizards are a possible landing spot for Young, but they presumably wouldn’t want to take on his maximum-salary contract if they weren’t interested in having him on the team. The four-time All-Star earns $46MM this season and holds a $49MM player option for 2026/27.

Young has been pretty durable throughout his career, but has been limited to just 10 games so far this season due to a sprained MCL in his right knee and a right quad contusion.

Stein previously reported that Young’s presence on the Hawks could prevent the team from pursuing Anthony Davis due to ownership’s reluctance to pay for a roster that would be prohibitively expensive. A potential trade sending Young to Washington could be a precursor to a deal in which Davis lands with Atlanta.

The fifth overall pick of the 2018 draft, Young holds career averages of 25.2 points, 9.8 assists, 3.5 rebounds and 1.0 steal on .432/.351/.873 shooting in 493 games (34.0 minutes per contest). He’s having a down season in ’25/26, averaging 19.3 PPG, 8.9 APG and 1.0 SPG on .415/.305/.863 shooting through 10 contests (28.0 MPG).

A Young/McCollum swap would essentially be a salary-dump deal for the Hawks, observes cap expert Yossi Gozlan (Twitter link). Veteran combo guard McCollum is earning $30.7MM this season and the Wizards would have to send out at least $6.2MM in additional salary to make a trade legal for matching purposes, Gozlan adds.

McCollum, 34, has been productive in his first season as a Wizard, averaging 18.6 PPG, 3.6 APG and 3.5 RPG on .449/.392/.800 shooting in 34 games (30.7 MPG).

Pacers Waive Tony Bradley

January 5th, 2026 at 5:11pm CST by Rory Maher

The Pacers have waived center Tony Bradley, the team announced in a press release. NBA insider Jake Fischer was first to report the news (via Twitter).

Bradley played a regular but modest role for Indiana this season, making 29 appearances while averaging 3.9 points and 2.6 rebounds in 10.7 minutes per game. The eight-year veteran’s minimum-salary contract was non-guaranteed and the Pacers had until Wednesday to decide whether or not to guarantee it for 2025/26.

Indiana will carry a $1,355,225 dead-money cap hit for Bradley, per ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Twitter link). His full salary was worth $2,940,876.

Assuming he clears waivers, Bradley will become an unrestricted free agent in a couple days. As Tony East of Forbes and Circle City Spin notes (via Twitter), the Pacers could choose to re-sign Bradley on a 10-day contract. The news also increases the likelihood of Micah Potter having his contract guaranteed.

Bradley, who turns 28 years old later this week, suffered a fracture on the tip of his right thumb two-plus weeks ago. Head coach Rick Carlisle referred to Bradley’s thumb as “partially functional” and the 6’10” big man had been wearing a splint on it.

Potter just signed with Indiana on Dec. 26 but has made a positive impression on the team in a short period of time. He has started the past two games and made six appearances overall (20.7 MPG), averaging 8.2 PPG, 4.5 RPG and 2.2 APG on .500/.389/1.000 shooting.

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