Jalen Suggs Undergoes Left Knee Surgery, Out For Season
March 4: Suggs has undergone arthroscopic surgery to remove a cartilage fragment in his left knee, according to the Magic, who say the procedure also involved a “mosaicplasty to repair the trochlear joint surface” (Twitter link).
The team has formally ruled out Suggs for the rest of the season.
March 2: All-Defensive Team Magic guard Jalen Suggs will have a cartilage fragment removed from his left knee via arthroscopic surgery, reports Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link).
Jason Beede of The Orlando Sentinel reports that Suggs will undergo surgery this week, and the Magic anticipate that he will fully recover.
Earlier this week, Suggs had been sidelined indefinitely after being diagnosed with a trochlea injury in his left knee. The team had reportedly considered a litany of non-surgical interventions, including physical therapy, anti-inflammatory medication and rest, but ultimately determined that surgery was the best route.
The 23-year-old had already been shelved for Orlando’s last 14 games with what was originally called a left quad contusion. All told, the young guard has been out for 24 of Orlando’s last 25 contests, having also dealt with a low back strain in January.
Suggs had been building toward a return to action in recent weeks, but soon felt some lingering discomfort in his left knee. Further imaging revealed the trochlea injury.
The former No. 5 pick out of Gonzaga has averaged 16.2 points, 4.0 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game this season for Orlando. Suggs is widely seen as one of the league’s elite perimeter defenders, and he has clearly been missed on both ends of the floor.
Orlando has gone 20-15 across Suggs’ 35 healthy bouts this year, and an underwhelming 9-17 when he has sat. The Magic had been a top-four seed for much of the season prior to his injuries but is now 29-32 and the East’s No. 8 seed.
As Charania notes (via Twitter), Suggs has played sparingly this season with Orlando’s other top rising talents, All-Star forward Paolo Banchero and fellow starting forward Franz Wagner. Collectively, that triumvirate has only shared the hardwood for 97 total minutes in 2024/25.
In October, Orlando inked Suggs to a five-season, $150.5MM rookie scale extension. That fully-guaranteed deal will kick in when the 2025/26 league year begins. He is clearly considered a major part of the club’s long-term future, but it’s unclear when he’ll be able to contribute again.
Kyrie Irving Diagnosed With Season-Ending ACL Tear
Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving‘s left knee injury has been diagnosed as a torn ACL, reports Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link). The injury will end Irving’s season.
Irving was injured during the first quarter of Monday’s loss to Sacramento as he drove to the basket and attempted to split Kings defenders DeMar DeRozan and Jonas Valanciunas (Twitter video link). He lost his balance and came down awkwardly on his left leg, which appeared to hyperextend, before he fell to the court in pain and grabbed at his left knee.
After remaining on the floor for several minutes, Irving was helped to his feet and was able to shoot two free throws as fans in Dallas regaled him with “MVP” chants (Twitter video link). The star guard made both free throws before being assisted to the locker room.
It’s an absolutely brutal blow to a Dallas team that had already been afflicted by the injury bug in a major way in recent weeks, with big men Anthony Davis, Dereck Lively, and Daniel Gafford among the regulars who have missed significant time.
Following the trade of Luka Doncic last month, Irving has been a steadying force in Dallas, assuming the brunt of the ball-handling and play-making duties in the backcourt and helping to guide the team through a tumultuous period.
For the season, he averaged 24.7 points, 4.8 rebounds, 4.6 assists, and 1.3 steals in 36.1 minutes per game across 50 appearances, with a shooting line of .473/.401/.916. Entering Monday, he had put up 28.1 PPG in 39.3 MPG in 10 outings since Doncic was traded.
With Irving out for the rest of the season, the Mavericks figure to turn to players like Spencer Dinwiddie, Dante Exum, Jaden Hardy, and Brandon Williams to handle point guard responsibilities. Hardy also exited Monday’s game due to an injury of his own, however, having sprained his right ankle in the third quarter.
Dallas has an open spot on its 15-man roster, but can’t add a free agent until April 10 due to its proximity to a first-apron hard cap. That means, barring a last-minute change to its two-way players, the team will have to make do with its current group as it attempts to hold onto a play-in spot.
The Mavericks currently have a 32-30 record, good for 10th in the Western Conference. They lead the 11th-place Suns by 3.5 games and the No. 12 Trail Blazers by four games.
While Dallas’ potential for a deep playoff run this spring has obviously taken a major hit as a result of Irving’s torn ACL, the injury figures to have an impact on the club beyond the current season. Many NBA players who have sustained ACL tears have required upwards of one year to come back from the injury and longer than that to get back to full strength.
A quicker recovery timeline is certainly a possibility, but the Mavericks probably shouldn’t count on having Irving back when the 2025/26 season gets underway next fall and shouldn’t necessarily assume he’ll be back to 100% before next spring or even until ’26/27.
It also remains to be seen how the injury will affect Irving’s contract situation. The nine-time All-Star holds a player option worth just shy of $43MM for next season, but was widely expected to turn it down in search of a lucrative new multiyear deal. It’s unclear if Irving will still decide to opt out — presumably, he would only do so if the Mavericks are still comfortable making a significant long-term investment in the 32-year-old while he recovers from a major injury.
As Bobby Marks of ESPN notes (via Twitter), besides now being ineligible for end-of-season awards (including All-NBA) this spring as a result of falling short of the required minimum of 65 games, Irving will also miss out on a pair of $1MM bonuses in his contract.
Cavs’ Ty Jerome Fined $25K For Criticizing Officiating
Cavaliers guard Ty Jerome was fined $25K by the NBA on Monday for public criticism of the officiating, the league announced in a press release (Twitter link).
The comments that got Jerome in trouble came after the Cavaliers eked out a 133-129 overtime win against Portland on Sunday.
The game featured a total of 53 fouls and 70 free throws between the two teams, far above their usual rates, and Jerome was asked after the win how difficult it was to get into a rhythm.
“Yeah, I thought the refs were really bad tonight,” he said. “Especially Natalie (Sago), she was really bad. So when stuff like that happens, they kind of lose control of the game and you’ve just got to keep your head. I thought that first half was ridiculous, third quarter was horrendous.”
A $25K fine isn’t significant as far as potential penalties from the NBA go, but it’s more meaningful for Jerome than it would be for many players — his $2,560,975 salary this season is well below the league average.
After missing nearly all of last season due to an ankle injury, Jerome has had an impressive bounce-back year in 2024/25 and is in contention for Sixth Man of the Year honors. In 56 games (two starts) for the East-leading Cavs, he has averaged 12.0 points, 3.4 assists, and 2.6 rebounds in 19.5 minutes per game, with a shooting line of .516/.449/.889.
And-Ones: Kerr, Traveling, Draft, Roberts
The Warriors rebounded on Monday from a Saturday loss to Philadelphia, getting back in the win column with a 119-101 victory in Charlotte. But head coach Steve Kerr had a bone to pick after the game, telling reporters that he believes NBA referees let far too many traveling violations go uncalled.
“I don’t understand why we are not teaching our officials to call travel in this league,” Kerr said, per Steve Reed of The Associated Press. “They do a great job and work their tails off and communicate well, but I see five or six travels a game that aren’t called.”
Kerr earned a technical foul in the third quarter on Monday for arguing with officials over what he believes what a travel by Hornets guard LaMelo Ball (video link). Officials let it go and the play resulted in a Warriors foul.
While Kerr was upset in that instance about a non-call that hurt the Warriors, he said his own team is just as guilty as any other, noting that when he watched film of the team’s loss to the Sixers, he noticed four Golden State travels that weren’t called.
“The entire game is based on footwork,” Kerr said. “We need enforce traveling violations and we are not doing it and I don’t understand why. … These (officials) are awesome. They do a great job, and they have a million things to watch, but footwork is the entire basis of the game and we need to call traveling. It will be a much better game if we clean it up.”
Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:
- Jonathan Givony and Jeremy Woo of ESPN.com (Insider link) have updated their list of this year’s top 100 draft prospects. Texas guard Tre Johnson (No. 11 to No. 5) and French center Joan Beringer (No. 24 to No. 13) are among the big risers in the lottery, while French point guard Nolan Traore has dropped from No. 7 to No. 15 and Israeli guard Ben Saraf has fallen from No. 13 to No. 21.
- Just one year ago, Long Island Nets guard Terry Roberts was in the hospital on a ventilator after being shot in the upper chest by a stray bullet. Brian Lewis of The New York Post (subscription required) takes an in-depth look at Roberts’ recovery and his road back to being a regular contributor this season for Brooklyn’s G League affiliate.
- With less than six weeks in the 2024/25 regular season, several of ESPN’s NBA reporters pose 19 questions facing teams down the stretch as the playoff races in both conferences heat up. Among those questions: Do the Cavaliers have enough to beat the Celtics? How do the Bucks avoid another early playoff exit? Are the Grizzlies ready to take a step forward in the postseason? And what is the Warriors‘ ceiling?
Lakers Notes: Doncic, Redick, Goodwin, Jemison, Reddish, Len
Facing the Clippers on Friday and Sunday for the first times since his Mavericks eliminated them from the playoffs last spring, Luka Doncic picked up right where he left off, leading the Lakers to a pair of hard-fought victories over their Los Angeles rivals.
Doncic scored 31 points in Friday’s win, then put up 29 points, nine assists, and six rebounds on Sunday. In that second victory, the Lakers were a +19 in his 37 minutes on the court and were outscored by 13 points in the 11 minutes he didn’t play. Head coach J.J. Redick loved what he saw from his newest star, as Dan Woike of The Los Angeles Times writes.
“It just seemed like throughout the game, when we needed a bucket, when we needed him to draw a second, third defender at times, he was able to make the right play — minus the six turnovers. But he played fantastic,” Redick said after Sunday’s win. “And again, it was that verve and that spirit of competition. But also just something that is — maybe it’s an inner demon, I don’t know — but it comes out and it’s fantastic for us when it does.”
The Lakers’ defense has been a revelation during their recent hot streak — the team ranks first in the NBA with a 107.5 defensive rating since January 15 and has won 18 of 22 games during that time. But Doncic’s recent play has shown just how dangerous the team can be an offense as well.
“You’ve got a guy in your corner going Super Saiyan, for lack of a better word,” Lakers guard Gabe Vincent said. “And making great plays, hitting shots, it’s a lot of fun. It can give us a lot of life and we’ve been creating a lot of energy on the defensive side. And when he gets hot offensively, we feel like we can’t be stopped in that regard.”
Here’s more on the Lakers:
- Doncic briefly left Sunday’s game after being kneed in the right knee, explaining after the game that he has taken multiple shots to that area within the past week. “Third straight game, the same spot,” he said (Twitter link via ESPN’s Dave McMenamin). “So, I was kind of struggling on that right leg. But I’m good.”
- Only two teams in the NBA – the Cavaliers and Thunder – have a better home record than the Lakers’ 23-7 mark, which is why it’s encouraging that they’ve climbed into the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference, writes Dylan Hernandez of The Los Angeles Times. If they hold that spot, they’d have home-court advantage for at least the first two rounds of the postseason. After Sunday’s win, Doncic referred to the atmosphere inside of Crypto.com Arena as “unbelievable.”
- In a separate column for The L.A. Times, Hernandez writes that Redick has been everything the Lakers could have hoped for when they hired him as a first-time head coach. The Lakers players are buying what Redick is selling, according to Hernandez, who says the new coach has successfully instilled a positive culture and identity more effectively than any of his recent predecessors.
- Cap expert Eric Pincus breaks down the Lakers’ options for promoting Jordan Goodwin and Trey Jemison from their two-way contracts to the standard roster, noting that giving them standard deals will be necessary if the team wants to have the duo available for the playoffs. While Cam Reddish seems likely to be the odd man out if just one of the two is promoted, it’s unclear who else might be waived if the Lakers want to elevate both — Pincus suggests recently signed center Alex Len, who struggled in limited minutes and quickly dropped out of the rotation, could be a release candidate.
- Pincus also points out that the Lakers wouldn’t be able to sign a new two-way player to replace Goodwin or Jemison unless a promotion occurs today, since March 4 is the deadline for two-way signings.
Kyrie Irving Suffers Left Knee Injury
[Update: Upon further evaluation, Irving’s knee injury has been diagnosed as a season-ending ACL tear.]
Mavericks star guard Kyrie Irving suffered a left knee sprain in Monday’s game against Sacramento, according to ESPN News Services.
The injury occurred during the first quarter. Irving drove between defenders DeMar DeRozan and Jonas Valanciunas in the lane and fell to the court. He grabbed at his left knee and was down face-first for a few minutes.
DeRozan was called for a reach-in foul on the play and Irving managed to make two free throws before being helped to the locker room.
It’s another brutal blow for the Mavericks, who have been hit by a wave of injuries since the controversial trade of Luka Doncic. Anthony Davis suffered an adductor strain in his first game with Dallas and remains sidelined. Dereck Lively, Daniel Gafford and Caleb Martin are also on the mend.
Irving came into the contest averaging 25.0 points, 4.9 rebounds and 4.7 assists in 49 games. He’s reached the 30-point mark in five games since the Doncic trade.
To make matters worse, Jaden Hardy exited the game during the second half with a right ankle sprain, Grant Afseth of the Dallas Hoops Journal tweets. The Mavs were blown out, 122-98.
If Irving needs to miss significant time, Spencer Dinwiddie will likely absorb the bulk of his minutes.
Southwest Notes: Williams, Olynyk, Williams Jr., Mavs Ticket Prices
The four-year, $8.2MM contract that Jeenathan Williams signed on Sunday after getting promoted by the Rockets from his two-way deal is only guaranteed for the remainder of this season, Danielle Lerner of the Houston Chronicle tweets. Williams’ teammates were well aware of his addition to the 15-man roster.
“As soon as I walked in the gym, they, like, they stampeded me and all gave me hugs and like, saying congrats. So it was a dope moment,” he told Lerner (Twitter link).
We have more from the Southwest Division:
- Veteran big man Kelly Olynyk, acquired from Toronto in the Brandon Ingram trade, continues to shine for the Pelicans. He scored a season-high 26 points on 10-for-14 shooting in a win over the Jazz on Sunday night. “It’s rare,” Pelicans coach Willie Green said about Olynyk’s skill set, per John Coon of The Associated Press. “He’s seven feet. Can shoot the ball. Put it on the floor. Can post. Can rebound. Can pass. He’s smart defensively. He knows when to switch. He’s good with angles. He’s a great addition to our group.” Olynyk will have one year and $13.4MM remaining on his contract after this season. He’s averaging 12.2 points, 9.2 rebounds and 3.4 assists in five games with the Pelicans.
- Grizzlies guard Vince Williams Jr. says he’s not quite fully recovered from the Grade 3 ankle sprain he suffered in November, Damichael Cole of the Memphis Commercial Appeal tweets. Williams says he’s at “about 80 percent,” but feels good and is hoping to hit his stride when other guys around the league may be wearing down. Williams has appeared in seven games since the injury but has been limited to 20 minutes per game.
- Mavericks fans were infuriated by the Luka Doncic trade. Now, they have an additional reason to be upset. They’ll have to pay more money to watch the team next season, as the franchise is raising season-ticket prices. The team said season tickets will go up by an average of 8.61% next season and the increase is due to “ongoing investments in the team and fan engagement,” according to ESPN News Services.
Southeast Notes: Okogie, McClung, Ware, Robinson, Mitchell
Hornets forward Josh Okogie has begun individual on-court workouts as he continues to rehab a left hamstring strain, the team’s PR department tweets. He will be reevaluated in two weeks.
Okogie has been sidelined since late January. He had given Charlotte a boost after being acquired earlier that month, averaging 10 points, 3.4 rebounds, 2.7 steals and 1.4 assists in 21.3 minutes per game over seven appearances.
Okogie was traded from Phoenix to Charlotte as part of the Nick Richards deal. A rotation regular with Phoenix for two-and-a-half seasons, Okogie played 25 games with the Suns this season. He’s in the first year of a two-year, $16MM contract, which includes a non-guaranteed salary of $7.75MM next season.
We have more from the Southeast Division:
- Three-time dunk contest winner Mac McClung suffered a broken right thumb while playing for the NBA G League’s Osceola Magic on Sunday, ESPN’s Shams Charania tweets. McClung, who is averaging 21.1 points in the G League while on a two-way contract with the Magic, plans to play through the injury, according to Charania.
- Heat rookie big man Kel’el Ware was sidelined on Monday against the Wizards due to a sprained left knee. It’s the first game he has missed with an injury or illness since sitting out the Heat’s Dec. 2 loss to the Celtics due to right foot tendinitis, according to the Miami Herald’s Anthony Chiang. Ware was benched for virtually all of the fourth quarter in an overtime loss to the Knicks on Sunday, then played three-plus minutes in OT. “Every game I sit back, I watch it, I try to learn from it and see where I can get better,” Ware said. “So it’s a developmental process.” Ware underwent an MRI on his knee, which showed no structural damage, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald tweets.
- Duncan Robinson had a combined 44 points and 11 assists in two Heat victories prior to being held to 10 points and five assists in 32 minutes on Sunday. Robinson can become a free agent this upcoming summer by terminating next season’s $19.9MM salary by June 29. If Robinson opts in for 2025/26, the Heat could make him a free agent by waiving him by July 8 — in that scenario Miami would only be on the hook for $9.9MM. However, Robinson’s strong play may make that a difficult choice, Chiang notes. “He’s really improved in all aspects,” coach Erik Spoelstra said.
- Heat guard Davion Mitchell has been receiving heavy minutes in nine appearances since being acquired in the Jimmy Butler blockbuster. Mitchell has averaged 10.1 points, 4.2 assists and 1.2 steals while shooting 53.9 percent from the field in 33.1 minutes per game. “We want to encourage him to continue to be more aggressive,” Spoelstra said, per Chiang. “I think he still can be a guy who can generate some easy opportunities when he touches the paint. He’s a very willing passer, he wants to get guys involved, he wants to get our main guys the ball almost to a fault. We’ll clean that all up. But I like his game when he’s assertive because he has the right intentions to move the ball.”
Kai Jones Signs Two-Way Contract With Mavericks
March 3: The Mavericks have officially confirmed (via Twitter) that they’ve waived Kelley and signed Jones to a two-way contract.
March 2: Dallas will waive Kylor Kelley to make room for Jones, sources tell NBA insider Marc Stein (Twitter link).
March 1: Kai Jones, who was released earlier today by the Clippers, expects to sign a two-way deal with the Mavericks once he clears waivers, sources tell NBA insider Chris Haynes (Twitter link).
The 24-year-old center saw limited action in 28 games with L.A. this season, averaging 2.2 points and 1.6 rebounds in 7.4 minutes per night. He was getting consistent playing time earlier in the season, but was only used once during February and hasn’t played more than three minutes in a game since January 15.
At 6’11”, Jones can provide valuable size for a Dallas team that is trying to survive while its top three big men recover from injuries. Anthony Davis is set to be reevaluated March 6 for the adductor strain he suffered in his Mavericks debut. Daniel Gafford, who has a grade 3 MCL sprain, and Dereck Lively, who’s dealing with a fractured ankle, will have their conditions checked on that same date, although they aren’t expected to return for a while.
Moses Brown has been the Mavs’ starting center for the past two games, but he will become a free agent when his 10-day contract expires tonight. Hard cap restrictions will prevent Dallas from offering Brown another contract until April 10.
That could create an opportunity for Jones to make an immediate impact. Even though his NBA career has been disappointing so far, he was regarded highly enough to be the 19th pick in the 2021 draft.
Dallas’ two-way slots are currently filled by Brandon Williams, Kessler Edwards and Kylor Kelley, so a move will have to be made in time for Jones to be added by the March 4 deadline to sign two-way players.
Wizards Claim JT Thor Off Waivers
The Wizards have claimed forward JT Thor off waivers, Michael Scotto of HoopsHype tweets.
Thor, who was on a two-way contract, was waived by the Cavaliers over the weekend. Washington opened up a two-way slot on Monday by promoting Justin Champagnie and giving him a standard four-year deal.
Thor, 22, was the 37th overall pick in the 2021 draft out of Auburn and spent three seasons with the Hornets before signing a two-way contract with Cleveland in September.
The 6’9″ forward was a regular in Charlotte, appearing in 165 total games as a Hornet, but played a limited role for the Cavaliers this season, appearing in just nine games and averaging 4.7 minutes per night. He was effective in his rare appearances, compiling 28 points on 9-of-15 shooting in 42 total minutes.
Thor also saw action in 24 Tip-Off Tournament and regular season games for the Cavs’ G League affiliate, the Cleveland Charge, averaging 14.3 points, 7.1 rebounds, and 2.1 assists in 31.8 minutes per contest, with an underwhelming shooting line of .434/.276/.762.