Sixers Sign Colin Castleton To 10-Day Deal
April 3: Castleton’s 10-day deal is official, according to a team press release. As expected, he has taken Bagley’s spot on the roster.
April 2: The Sixers intend to sign big man Colin Castleton to a 10-day contract, league sources tell NBA insider Jake Fischer (Twitter link).
Castleton, who went undrafted out of Florida in 2023, spent his rookie year on a two-way contract with the Lakers and was on a two-way deal with the Grizzlies for the first half of this season before being waived in January.
The 6’10” center didn’t play much for either of those teams, but saw rotation minutes with the Raptors on a pair of 10-day deals last month, averaging 6.9 points, 7.4 rebounds, and 1.8 assists in 25.9 minutes per game across 10 outings (four starts).
Outside of his time with Memphis and Toronto, Castleton has spent much of this season in the G League playing for the Osceola Magic, Orlando’s affiliate. He has averaged 17.4 PPG, 10.6 RPG, and 2.8 APG in 17 regular season contests for Osceola.
The Sixers have a full 15-man roster but have been granted a series of hardship exceptions due to the various injuries afflicting their players down the stretch of this season.
A team qualifies for a hardship exception – which allows the club to exceed the usual 15-man limit – when it has at least four players who have missed three straight games and who are expected to be out for at least two more weeks. If a team has a fifth player meeting that criteria, it can receive a second hardship exception, which has been the case in Philadelphia recently — both Marcus Bagley and Phillip Wheeler are currently on hardship 10-day deals.
Bagley’s contract will expire overnight on Wednesday, so it seems likely that Castleton will take his spot on the roster, though we’ll have to wait for official confirmation from the team to be sure. Castleston will earn $107,027 over the course of his 10 days with the 76ers.
Pistons Notes: Cunningham, Schröder, Gores, Harris
Cade Cunningham made his first All-Star appearance this season. The Pistons guard wants even greater recognition as his career unfolds, he told Eric Woodyard of ESPN.
“I think I can be the best basketball player in the world. I think I’m on my way,” Cunningham said. “I want people to understand that and that’s what I’m working to show people every time I play.”
Prior to the team’s astonishing turnaround, the No. 1 pick of the 2021 draft heard whispers that he was a bust, even after signing a max extension last summer. He understood the criticism and took it constructively.
“There was a time where I didn’t give them much else to think,” said Cunningham, who has missed the last five games with a calf contusion. “But I felt support since day one being here, though, and more than anything I wanted to hold up my end of the bargain.”
We have more on the Pistons:
- Ron Holland and Marcus Sasser served their one-game suspensions and Isaiah Stewart began his two-game ban in the Pistons’ 119-103 loss to Oklahoma City on Wednesday. The suspensions resulted from an altercation with the Timberwolves on Sunday. That led to a 40-minute outing for veteran point guard Dennis Schröder, who produced 15 points and seven assists. Schröder, a trade-deadline acquisition, has also been increasingly relied upon in crunch time, even when Cunningham plays. “I love watching him play in the fourth quarter,” coach J.B. Bickerstaff told the Detroit Free Press’ Omari Sankofa II. “I love watching him play in those big moments because he finds a way to impact the game.”
- Owner Tom Gores is fighting back on criticism of his players in the aftermath of the dust-up with the Timberwolves. He issued a statement via the team’s PR department (Twitter link) which read, “In recent days, our team has faced scrutiny stemming from moments of intensity on the court. Let me be absolutely clear: We stand behind our players. While I wish the penalty outcome had been different, I write to you with a full heart — with pride in our players, passion for our city, and a clear voice of support for all those who wear the Pistons’ colors. We are bonded through our challenges. Our players compete with passion and teamwork — values that so many of us share. Detroit has always been a city that plays with hustle and pride. The Pistons have never shied away from playing hard and having each other’s backs, and we won’t start now. In Detroit, we rise together. To our players and coaches: Continue to work hard and play hard. We see you. We appreciate you. We support you. Your dedication fuels this franchise, and your courage inspires us all. To our fans: thank you for riding with us through every game, battle, and moment. Your energy fuels our players and makes the Pistons who we are. Together, we will keep building. together, we will keep competing. and together, we will keep proving that Detroit basketball is more than a game — it’s a way of life.”
- Starting forward Tobias Harris left Wednesday’s game in the second half due to right Achilles tendinopathy, according to the team’s PR department (Twitter link). Harris, who scored 10 points in 22 minutes, missed the previous two games with the same issue. Harris has appeared in 70 games, averaging 13.8 points and 6.0 rebounds in the first season of his two-year contract he signed as a free agent.
Knicks Notes: Brunson, McBride, Payne, Anunoby, Hart, More
Jalen Brunson, who has been out since March 6 with a sprained ankle, is with the Knicks on their current two-game road trip and is expected to participate in the team’s next practice, which could happen on Friday, according to Stefan Bondy of The New York Post.
Given where Brunson is in his rehab process, it’s logical to assume he could return to action for one of the Knicks’ two games this weekend, either on Saturday in Atlanta or on Sunday back home vs. Phoenix, Bondy writes. Ian Begley of SNY.tv made a similar prediction, suggesting that he anticipates seeing Brunson play in one of those two games based on his current recovery trajectory.
The Knicks have six games left on their regular season schedule, so if Brunson is back in action for one of the next two contests, he’d have a week to get his feet back under him before the playoffs get underway. A weekend return would also put him in position to play the four games he needs to meet the 65-game minimum and qualify for end-of-season award consideration.
Here’s more on the Knicks:
- Brunson isn’t the only Knicks guard nearing a return from an injury. Miles McBride, who has missed seven games with a groin issue, and Cameron Payne, sidelined for the last four with a sprained ankle, are both close, head coach Tom Thibodeau told reporters on Wednesday. “Deuce and Cam should be any day,” Thibodeau said, per Bondy.
- OG Anunoby is playing some of the best basketball of his career as of late, averaging 23.3 points per game on .476/.394/.843 shooting with his usual lock-down defense over the past 17 games. The key for the Knicks will be to see if they can keep getting this version of Anunoby after Brunson returns, writes James L. Edwards III of The Athletic, noting that the forward is driving to the basket and getting to the free throw line more effectively than ever. “He’s got a great mix going right now with attacking the rim, getting to the line and high-volume threes … he’s not hesitating,” Thibodeau said. “It’s really, really good basketball. And his defense is elite.”
- The construction of the Knicks’ roster “fits me like a glove,” forward Josh Hart tells Bondy (subscription required), explaining that the healthy version of the starting lineup allows him to be the best version of himself. “We have three guys who can be No. 1 options (Brunson, Karl-Anthony Towns, and Mikal Bridges). And you got OG, who can be a 2-3 option. So for me, it’s a benefit. Because I always got the worst defender,” Hart said. “And then if it’s a small guy on me, he got to worry about me crashing the boards. If it’s a big, we’re not hiding him. He’s going to be put into the action, and that allows me to kind of get into space and play my game.”
- Begley checks in on where things stand with Mitchell Robinson‘s conditioning and talks to veteran wing Landry Shamet about the role he’s playing for the Knicks.
- It would behoove the Knicks to lock up the No. 3 seed in the East sooner rather than later, according to Mike Vaccaro of The New York Post (subscriber link), who notes that the team would benefit from getting its regulars some rest (or at least reduced minutes) in the final games of the season. New York’s magic number to clinch the No. 3 spot is down to three.
Spurs Notes: Paul, Vassell, McLaughlin, King, Ingram
When a player signs a contract that includes unlikely incentives, those incentives can be worth up to 15% of the player’s base salary. The Spurs took full advantage of that rule last summer when they signed Chris Paul, making the most of their cap room by agreeing to a one-year deal with a base salary of $10.46MM and another $1.569MM in achievable unlikely incentives that wouldn’t count against the cap.
Paul began cashing in on those incentives on Wednesday, according to ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Twitter link), when the Spurs registered their 32nd win of the season, beating the Nuggets in Denver. The veteran point guard earned a $262K bonus as a result of the team reaching that win total, Marks reports.
Paul is on track to earn another $523K before the end of the season by meeting two more individual performance benchmarks, Marks tweets. As Marks previously wrote for ESPN.com, those bonuses are related to Paul’s net rating and true shooting percentage.
Here’s more on the Spurs:
- Spurs wing Devin Vassell was held out of Wednesday’s win for left ankle injury management, missing a game for the first time since December 6. Acting head coach Mitch Johnson explained that the team decided to rest Vassell because he was “getting a little bit too much in the danger zone” after having been playing through an ankle injury, writes Tom Orsborn of The San Antonio Express-News. “It’s being mindful of the big picture, keeping him healthy, and so we made the call,” Johnson said.
- A throw-in piece in the De’Aaron Fox blockbuster in February, guard Jordan McLaughlin has barely played for the Spurs since being dealt from Sacramento to San Antonio. But he was a +8 in 17 minutes of action in Denver on Wednesday and made a crucial three-point shot in the fourth quarter. With just nine Spurs players active for the game, McLaughlin said the reserves’ attitude was to “go out there and have fun,” as Orsborn relays. “We all work really hard behind the scenes even when we’re not playing, so it was just a great opportunity for us to go out there and play basketball,” the veteran guard said.
- Scott King, the head coach of the Austin Spurs, San Antonio’s G League affiliate, has been named the NBAGL’s Coach of the Year, the league announced on Wednesday (Twitter link). A former Knicks player development coach, King led Austin to a 22-12 record and the No. 2 seed in the G League’s Western Conference in his first year at the helm, finishing ahead of runners-up DeSagana Diop (Westchester Knicks) and Quinton Crawford (Stockton Kings) in a vote conducted by the league’s 31 head coaches and GMs. At the time of his hiring, one report indicated that King was viewed as a future NBA head coach — he likely bolstered his case with his performance this season.
- Speaking to Grant Afseth of RG.org, Spurs two-way forward Harrison Ingram said his goal is to earn a standard contract. The 48th overall pick in the 2024 draft, Ingram has appeared in just three games for San Antonio this season, having spent most of the year in Austin, an experience he discussed with Afseth. He’ll be eligible for restricted free agency this summer.
Draft Notes: Quaintance, Martinelli, Hubbard, Mock Draft
Arizona State freshman forward Jayden Quaintance underwent knee surgery on March 19 for a tear in his right ACL, writes Jonathan Givony of ESPN. Quaintance, who is seen as a potential top-five prospect in the 2026 draft, is also entering the NCAA transfer portal to seek out his next collegiate opportunity, according to Givony.
“He’s already ahead of schedule, the doctor says, and should be cleared for contact in September,” his father Haminn Quaintance said.
With the 2025/26 season slated to tip off in November, that recovery timeline sounds optimal.
“I’m planning on coming back better than last year,” the younger Quaintance told ESPN. “I’m already attacking my rehab aggressively.”
A Big 12 All-Freshman and All-Defensive teamer, Quaintance logged averages of 9.3 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 2.6 blocks per game in his debut college season. Quaintance, born in 2007, graduated high school a year early, so he is not eligible to declare for the NBA until next year’s draft. He was the youngest player in college basketball this season, Givony notes.
There’s more from the upcoming draft:
- Northwestern swingman Nick Martinelli, the leading scorer in the Big Ten this season, is testing the draft waters while retaining his college eligibility, per Givony (Twitter link). The 6’7″ forward, who averaged 20.5 PPG in 2024/25 for the Wildcats, would remain at Northwestern – rather than transferring – were he to return to the NCAA. Martinelli was not among the top 100 prospects on Givony’s latest 2025 pre-draft big board.
- Two-time All-SEC Mississippi State guard Josh Hubbard will declare for the 2025 draft, but plans to preserve his collegiate eligibility, the 5’10” NBA hopeful informed Joe Tipton of On3 Sports (via Twitter). Hubbard is also not among Givony’s top 100. In 34 contests this season, the sophomore registered averages of 18.9 PPG, 3.1 APG and 2.1 RPG. He posted shooting splits of .402/.345/.878.
- In his latest 2025 mock draft, Jonathan Wasserman of Bleacher Report highlights the upside of three intriguing prospects out of Florida and speculates about the appeal of two potential picks out of Auburn, big man Johni Broome and guard Tahaad Pettiford.
Rockets Clinch Playoff Spot, Southwest Division
In blowing out the Jazz, 143-105, on Wednesday, the Rockets earned their 50th win of the 2024/25 season and locked in a top-six playoff seed in the Western Conference. Houston also secured the Southwest Division crown with the victory.
With no starter playing more than 29 minutes in a dominant win over the rebuilding Jazz, Houston was paced by Jalen Green‘s 22 points on 7-of-15 shooting. All-Star Rockets center Alperen Sengun and reserve forward Jabari Smith Jr. each notched 15-point, 14-rebound double-doubles. Sengun was also one assist shy of a triple-double.
Houston didn’t emerge from the contest totally unscathed, however. Starting wing Dillon Brooks incurred his 16th technical foul of the season for kicking Utah guard Collin Sexton in an inconvenient place, and will net a one-game suspension unless the tech is rescinded.
In their second season under head coach Ime Udoka, the Rockets have returned to the playoffs for the first time in five years. This iteration of the club is quite different from the club’s last playoff team.
Young talents like Sengun, Green, Smith, Tari Eason and Amen Thompson will get their first postseason run, and will be supported in that effort by playoff-seasoned pros like Brooks and Fred VanVleet. It will be fascinating to see how this relatively inexperienced squad might stack up in a battle with one of the West’s more veteran-heavy playoff teams.
At present, Houston is the No. 2 seed in the West. Only six games separate the Rockets from the West’s No. 8 seed, the 43-32 Clippers. Houston is also just 2.5 games better by record than the 47-29 Nuggets, and three games better than the 45-29 Lakers, so the Rockets’ seed and first-round opponent remain very much up in the air.
Houston hardly has an easy road for its final six games of the 2024/25 regular season. The Rockets will face off against only postseason-bound West rivals, with two games against the Warriors, two games against the Clippers, and matchups with the Lakers and the top-seeded Thunder left on the docket.
Southeast Notes: Heat, Spoelstra, LaMelo, Magic
It’s possible the Heat will control two first-round picks in what’s expected to be a stacked 2025 draft.
According to Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald, Miami will earn Golden State’s 2025 first-rounder should it fall outside the top 10. Given that the Warriors have now climbed into the West’s fifth seed, that’s looking highly likely. The Heat would also retain their own first-rounder if they miss out on the playoffs.
Currently the No. 9 seed in the East with a 34-41 record, Miami is locked into at least a play-in tournament berth. The Heat would land in this year’s draft lottery if they’re eliminated in the play-in tournament. With the 11th-worst record in the NBA as of this writing, Miami would have only an outside chance to land the top overall pick or a top-four overall selection, but could end up with two picks in the top 20.
There’s more from around the Southeast:
- Things have hardly gone to plan for the Heat this season on the whole. Just two years removed from their second NBA Finals appearance with Jimmy Butler, the All-Star swingman demanded a trade out of town. When he left, his team sank in the East standings. Now, head coach Erik Spoelstra is grappling with Miami’s new fate: a likely play-in tournament appearance, as Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald writes. “Are we where we had planned to be as an organization?” Spoelstra asked. “No, but there is great competition now league-wide. And when you have something to play for as an organization, it’s fun and it matters still.”
- Hornets guard LaMelo Ball has undergone successful arthroscopic surgeries on his right wrist and right ankle, the team announced today (Twitter link). According to the Hornets, the 6’7″ pro is expected to resume full basketball activities within five or six weeks. Charlotte has long since been eliminated from the postseason. In his 47 healthy bouts this season, Ball logged averages of 25.2 points, 7.4 assists, and 4.9 rebounds per game.
- The Magic enjoyed a spectacular night shooting from distance during a win over San Antonio on Tuesday, nailing 18 triples. But that’s more the exception than the rule for a club that has been struggling to convert from long range overall in 2024/25, writes Jason Beede of The Orlando Sentinel. “It changes our game completely when we have shooting like that and guys just can’t sit in the paint,” star forward Franz Wagner said. Orlando’s 31.4% three-point rate this season ranks dead last among all 30 NBA clubs. The Magic’s 35.3 outside attempts per game put them 23rd in terms of frequency.
Mavericks’ Dereck Lively To Play For First Time In 36 Games
Mavericks center Dereck Lively II is set to return to action for a Wednesday night tilt against Atlanta, per a team press release (via Twitter).
Lively has missed 36 consecutive contests for the Mavericks. The second-year pro has been on the shelf since January 14 with a right ankle stress fracture.
Dallas head coach Jason Kidd told reporters that the 7’1″ big man will be operating on a 15-minute restriction, per Tim MacMahon of ESPN (Twitter link).
Ahead of the postseason, several previously ailing Mavericks are healing. Beyond Lively, fellow big men Anthony Davis and Daniel Gafford recently returned to the lineup.
Among the Mavs’ core rotation, only nine-time All-Star guard Kyrie Irving — arguably the team’s most important player — is out long-term, as he recuperates from surgery to address an ACL tear. Forward P.J. Washington is also out, for now, due to an undisclosed illness.
Before his injury, the Duke alum had taken over starting duties at the five from Gafford early in the season. It remains to be seen how Kidd will ultimately deploy his big man rotation with Davis, Lively and Gafford all having started at center for the team this year.
In his 32 healthy games for the team, including 25 starts, Lively has averaged 9.1 points, 7.8 rebounds, 2.6 assists, and 1.7 blocks per night.
At present, the Mavericks occupy the No. 9 seed in the competitive Western Conference. They’re just a half-game ahead of the No. 10 Kings and two games up on the No. 11 Suns.
Suns’ Bradley Beal Plans To Return This Weekend
Veteran guard Bradley Beal is planning to be back in the fold for the Suns at some point during the club’s ongoing road trip, reports Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic (Twitter link).
The Suns will face the Celtics in Boston on Friday and the Knicks in New York on Sunday before returning to Phoenix.
Beal has been on the shelf with a left hamstring strain for eight games, having last played on March 16 against the Lakers.
The 6’4″ wing has been dogged by health issues for years. He hasn’t appeared in more than 53 games since the 2020/21 season, and hasn’t been available in more than 60 since 2018/19.
This year, Beal has suited up for 48 contests so far, starting 33 of them. At most, he’ll be able to make 54 apperances for the 35-41 Suns.
In his available contests, the 31-year-old is averaging 17.3 PPG, 3.6 APG, 3.4 RPG and 1.0 SPG. He’s also posting an efficient shooting line of .505/.395/.813, but his defensive issues have resulted in him being occasionally benched by first-year head coach Mike Budenholzer.
Chemistry issues between Beal and All-Stars Kevin Durant and Devin Booker have made winning a tough prospect this year in Phoenix. As of this writing, the club occupies the Western Conference’s No. 11 seed and is 1.5 games behind the No. 10-seeded Sacramento for the conference’s final play-in tournament slot.
Joel Embiid To Undergo Arthroscopic Surgery On Knee
Sixers center Joel Embiid will undergo arthroscopic surgery on his left knee next week, a team official tells Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link).
The 76ers ruled out Embiid for the rest of the season on February 28 after he continued to be affected by ongoing left knee issues. He and the team have been consulting with medical specialists and weighing treatment options in the weeks since then and have decided to go the surgical route.
According to Charania (Twitter link), Embiid will be reevaluated six weeks after the procedure and is expected to make a full recovery. The knee in question is the same one the former MVP underwent surgery on in February 2024 after he sustained a lateral meniscus injury.
Embiid was able to return last April and played all six games of the Sixers’ first-round playoff series vs. New York in the spring before suiting up for Team USA at the Paris Olympics over the summer. However, he continued to deal with swelling in the knee in the fall, which delayed his season debut until November 12.
He never looked fully healthy after that, making just 19 appearances this season and averaging 23.8 points, 8.2 rebounds, and 4.5 assists in 30.2 minutes per game. While those numbers would be impressive for most players, the scoring and rebounding rates were well below Embiid’s career averages, as were his 44.4% field goal percentage and 29.9% mark on three-pointers.
Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Substack link) reported in February that Embiid had met with more than 10 doctors over the course of the season in an attempt to figure out the best way to reduce – or, ideally, eliminate – the discomfort and swelling in that troublesome left knee.
Embiid told Lisa Salters of ABC/ESPN earlier in February that he may require offseason surgery, which reportedly took Sixers staffers by surprise, since the team had still been hoping at that point that non-surgical treatment and maintenance could help the big man regain his All-NBA form.
Getting Embiid fully healthy again is the Sixers’ number one priority, since the franchise has invested heavily in his long-term future. He is owed $179MM in guaranteed money over the next three seasons, with a $69MM player option for the 2028/29 season.