Luka Doncic Out At Least One Month; All-NBA Streak To End
Mavericks guard Luka Doncic will be sidelined for at least one month after suffering a left calf strain in the second quarter of Wednesday’s loss to Minnesota, according to Shams Charania and Tim MacMahon of ESPN.
Multiple other reporters, including Mike Curtis of The Dallas Morning News, Dallas-based NBA insider Marc Stein (Twitter links), and Lauren Merola and Christian Clark of The Athletic, have confirmed the news.
As Charania and MacMahon detail, Doncic underwent an MRI on Thursday and consulted with multiple medical professionals to establish a return timeline. ESPN’s duo reported on Wednesday that the Mavs were anticipating Doncic would miss an “extended period of time” with the injury, which caused him to leave the arena on crutches.
Doncic appeared to suffer the injury when he drove into the lane while being defended by Jaden McDaniels (Twitter video links). There was no contact to his left leg on the play.
According to ESPN, this is third time Doncic has strained his left calf in the past few years. He also missed all of preseason action with a left calf contusion and recently returned from a left heel contusion.
Doncic, who has made the All-NBA First Team each of the past five seasons, will see that streak come to an end in 2024/25. He has already missed eight games this season, and Dallas plays 16 games between now and January 25, which is around the time he’ll be reevaluated. That would put him on pace to miss at least 24 games, making him ineligible for major end-of-season awards, including MVP, due to the 65-game rule.
The 25-year-old superstar has averaged 28.1 points, 8.3 rebounds, 7.8 assists and a career-high 2.0 steals in 22 games this season (35.7 minutes per contest). His shooting line is .464/.354/.767.
With Doncic out, star backcourt mate Kyrie Irving will take on additional scoring and play-making responsibilities. Quentin Grimes will likely start in Doncic’s stead, with Spencer Dinwiddie another candidate for more touches and minutes.
The Mavericks have had success without Doncic in ’24/25, going 6-2 to this point. But the reigning Western Conference champions will be tested over the next several weeks without their best player.
Grizzlies Interested In Nets Forward Finney-Smith
The Grizzlies are a “team to watch” as the Nets look to move forward Dorian Finney-Smith, Marc Stein reports in his latest Substack article.
The two teams could be a match because the Nets have interest in the Grizzlies guard John Konchar, league sources tell Stein, who says the Magic and Heat are also looking at Konchar as a potential trade target.
It’s no secret Brooklyn is open for business regarding its veteran players as it tries to stockpile assets. Long noted for his defensive prowess, Finney-Smith is averaging 10.8 points and 4.3 rebounds per game this season. He’s also shooting a career-best 45.2% on 3-point attempts.
Finney-Smith has missed the last three games with a left calf contusion. He’s pulling in $14.9MM this season and has a player option on his contract for 2025/26 worth $15.4MM.
Finney-Smith could provide depth at the power forward spot for the Grizzlies behind Jaren Jackson Jr. and offer an alternative to rookie Jaylen Wells at small forward.
Konchar has seen his playing time plummet this season. He started 46 games over the previous two seasons but has come off the bench this season and appeared in just 15 contests.
Konchar is in the first season of a three-year, $18.5MM contract. Luke Kennard‘s $9.25MM expiring deal would a logical contract to package with Konchar in a deal for Finney-Smith but there’s a big catch. As Stein notes, Kennard would lose his Bird rights if he’s traded, since he re-signed with Memphis on a one-year contract. That means he would have to approve any trade involving him, and it’s hard to see him agreeing to go to a rebuilding team like the Nets.
And-Ones: Fears, 2025 Draft, 2026 Draft, Graham, Young, Wells
Oklahoma guard Jeremiah Fears has improved his draft stock with his early season performances, according to Jonathan Wasserman of Bleacher Report. In Wasserman’s view, Fears now projects to go anywhere from No. 3 to No. 10 next June after leading the Sooners to a 12-0 start, including a 30-point outing against Michigan.
Saint Joseph’s forward Rasheer Fleming and Illinois guard Kasparas Jakucionis have also been impressive during the first two months of the college season. Fleming is now receiving first-round consideration, while Jakucionis is solidifying his projected lottery status.
We have more from around the basketball world:
- While the 2025 draft class has received plenty of hype, the top of the 2026 draft could be even more impressive, according to Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic. Wing AJ Dybantsa is the top player in his class, while Cameron Boozer and Darryn Peterson have also generated some buzz regarding their futures. One NBA executive suggested to Vorkunov that teams might start positioning themselves for the 2026 draft ahead of this year’s trade deadline.
- Unsigned NBA veteran guard Devonte’ Graham may have earned at least a 10-day deal with his outing in the G League Showcase, according to John Hollinger of The Athletic. Graham had a 24-point game for the South Bay Lakers. Graham spent training camp and the preseason on a non-guaranteed contract with the Trail Blazers before being waived. A few other unaffiliated players stood out, Hollinger adds, with Grand Rapids Gold guard Jahmir Young heading that group. He had 50 points in two games. He was waived by the Nuggets during training camp.
- The race for the Rookie of the Year award is wide open, The Athletic’s Fred Katz notes. With the Sixers‘ Jared McCain sidelined, Grizzlies‘ second-rounder Jaylen Wells currently tops Katz’s ballot. He lists Pelicans big man Yves Missi second and Spurs wing Stephon Castle third but any number of players could emerge from the pack in the coming months and challenge for top honors.
Southwest Notes: Wembanyama, Paul, Thompson, Missi
Those who tuned in for the early Christmas game between the Spurs and Knicks saw an overwhelming performance by Spurs big man Victor Wembanyama, even though the Knicks pulled out a three-point win.
Wembanyama finished with 42 points, 18 rebounds, four assists and four blocks in 40 minutes. No previous player had ever turned in a combination of that many points, rebounds, assists and blocks on Christmas Day. Wembanyama also came close to Wilt Chamberlain‘s record of 45 points in a Christmas debut.
However, Wembanyama was more focused on the loss than his big numbers, Joe Vardon of The Athletic writes.
“It’s not my first thought at all, I don’t even know the real history by heart of the best Christmas games in history,” Wembanyama said. “I’m thinking about the game right now and just thinking we’re close, but we lack some attributes at times. You know, we’re right there. It was a really disputed game.”
We have more from the Southwest Division:
- The Spurs are sitting at .500 after losing their last two games. Chris Paul believes the team’s next step is to learn to execute during crunch time, he told Tom Orsborn of the San Antonio Express-News. “For us, the next step is winning those games,” Paul said. “We got to get to that point where all that ‘young guy stuff’ got to go out the window. We pros just like everybody else and there’s a grit and a will that you got to have in this league in order to figure out ways to win those games, especially on the road when we are the only ones that’s cheering for us.”
- Klay Thompson has passed Reggie Miller for fifth place on the league’s all-time 3-point makes list. That’s a special accomplishment for the Mavericks guard, “I loved Reggie Miller growing up,” Thompson told Christian Clark of The Athletic. “I watched his film and game-winners my whole life. He’s always inspired me to shoot the ball and be a killer. It’s just surreal. Talk about times I prayed for. I prayed for times like that.” Thompson is wearing No. 31 as a tribute to Miller, who wore the same number in his 18 seasons with the Pacers.
- Due to injuries, Pelicans rookie center Yves Missi has been thrown into the fire this season and he seems to be improving with each game. Messi had 21 points, nine rebounds, three blocks and two steals against Denver on Sunday. “He’s well ahead of the curve,” teammate CJ McCollum told Rod Walker of the New Orleans Times Picayune. “He’s probably surprised himself. The development has been great for him. From the first day he got here to now has been night and day.”
Southeast Notes: Butler, Banchero, Coulibaly, Sarr, Wong, Miller
Jimmy Butler was in the spotlight quite a bit on Thursday, but he won’t be on the court tonight when the Heat play in Orlando. He’s listed as out due to return to competition reconditioning, Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald tweets. Butler is expected to rejoin the team on Friday when it prepares for Saturday’s road game against the Hawks.
Heat president of basketball operations Pat Riley issued a statement on Thursday declaring that he won’t trade Butler. There has been heavy speculation regarding the future of Butler, who holds a $52.4MM option on his contract for the 2025/26 season.
We have more from the Southeast Division:
- Magic star Paolo Banchero continues to ramp up his on-court work, Jason Beede of the Orlando Sentinel reports. Banchero has been sidelined eight weeks since he was diagnosed with a torn right abdominal muscle. However, he still hasn’t gone through a contact practice, so his timeline to return remains unclear.
- Bilal Coulibaly and Alex Sarr are available to play for the Wizards tonight against Charlotte, Varun Shankar of the Washington Post tweets. Both players sat out Monday’s loss to the Thunder.
- 2023 second-rounder Isaiah Wong is averaging 7.0 points, 2.7 rebounds and 2.3 assists in seven December games. Roderick Boone of the Charlotte Observer explores whether the Hornets may have found a diamond in the rough in Wong, who was signed to a two-way deal earlier this month.
- Hornets forward Brandon Miller is back in action tonight after missing the last three games due to an ankle injury, Boone tweets.
Pacific Notes: Carter, Davis, Reaves, Schröder
Lottery pick Devin Carter appears to be nearing his season debut for the Kings.
Sources tell Sean Cunningham of Fox 40 Sacramento that Carter, who underwent surgery in July to repair a torn labrum in his left shoulder, has been cleared for “unrestricted basketball activity.” The team confirmed the news in a press release (Twitter link via James Ham of The Kings Beat).
The former Providence star is expected to be assigned soon to Sacramento’s G League affiliate in Stockton to participate in live play, Cunningham reports.
The Kings announced in November that Carter had been cleared for unrestricted shooting. When he underwent surgery, Carter was given a return timeline of six months, and he seems to be right on track in his recovery process.
Here’s more from the Pacific:
- Anthony Davis tells Dave McMenamin of ESPN he’s confident the left ankle sprain he experienced on Wednesday won’t keep him out for the Lakers‘ next matchup (Twitter link). “I’ll be OK. I am playing against SAC on Saturday,” Davis said. The star big man missed most of yesterday’s game with the injury.
- Austin Reaves says he’s “not really an emotional person” but he nearly teared up after notching a 26-point triple-double and making a game-winning layup in the Lakers‘ Christmas victory over Golden State, writes Dan Woike of The Los Angeles Times. “I know all my people back home are locked in and sitting around with family watching the game and that means a lot to me. I say it all the time, I’m not necessarily supposed to be in this position,” said Reaves, who went undrafted in 2021 and wasn’t heavily recruited coming out of high school. “I got lucky, got my foot in the door and took advantage of an opportunity. And now I’m sitting here … on Christmas with a game-winner and a triple-double, and really the win that matters the most to me.”
- Veteran guard Dennis Schröder is still adjusting to his new role after being traded to the Warriors less than two weeks ago, he tells Marc J. Spears of Andscape. An impending free agent, Schröder has struggled in his first four games with Golden State after putting up some of the best numbers of his career this season with Brooklyn. He says he doesn’t mind switching teams so many times over the past several years. “Twelve years in, I don’t really care no more,” Schröder said. “As long as I’m somewhere where I’m wanted and people appreciate me, and that is what I’ve had so far from the coaches. Steve Kerr is one of the best coaches. For him to believe in me like that, everybody in the organization telling me, ‘You kicked our ass the last couple of years.’ Of course, that is great. If I can stick here, cool. But if not, then I will move on to next city and organization. I don’t really mind. There are 400 people out of eight billion who play in the NBA. I don’t take those moments for granted. I can play 25, 30, 35 minutes every night. I don’t care what nobody has to say. You played on eight teams. That’s fine. I’m really blessed. I have more money to spend and help my family.”
Northwest Notes: Billups, Randle, Gordon, Murray, Caruso
Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups will miss the next two games — on Thursday and Saturday against Utah and Dallas, respectively — due to the recent passing of his grandmother, Portland announced in a press release (via Twitter).
According to the team, assistant Nate Bjorkgren will serve as acting head coach in Billups’ stead. Bjorkgren has previous head coaching experience with Indiana, though his stint was short-lived.
Our condolences go out to Billups’ family and friends.
Here’s more from the Northwest:
- Following the Timberwolves‘ victory over Dallas on Wednesday, power forward Julius Randle said he’s still getting used to acting as more of a facilitator after spending several years in New York being “wired to score,” according to Chris Hine of The Star Tribune. “That’s really been the biggest change. You’re somewhere for five years, playing a certain way and I come here and it’s a little bit different,” said Randle, who will be an unrestricted free agent next summer if he declines his $30.94MM player option for 2025/26. “I love my role here. I love playing with my teammates, but finding what helps the team and what the team needs the most on a night-to-night basis has been the harder part, but everybody has been great with me, coaches included, helping me adjust and figuring things out.”
- The Nuggets are dealing with lingering injuries to Jamal Murray and Aaron Gordon, writes Bennett Durando of The Denver Post. In the third quarter of Wednesday’s loss in Phoenix, Gordon aggravated a calf strain which already caused him to miss 10 games in 2024/25. “Thats the unfortunate thing — and the Suns have gone through this themselves — with those soft tissue injuries, is they linger. They hang around. They hang around,” Malone said of Gordon. “And you make one explosive move and you feel it. And I could tell in that third quarter, he goes, ‘I feel like it’s about to, like, really have a bad strain.’ So that was the decision at that point in time. Take him out, get him checked and shut him down for the night to hopefully avoid something a lot more sinister and severe.” Murray, meanwhile, revealed a couple weeks ago that he’s been dealing with plantar fasciitis for “years” and has also battled hamstring and ankle injuries this season, the latter causing him to miss Monday’s game. Denver’s starting point guard suggested he wasn’t fully healthy during yesterday’s game, per Durando.
- Thunder defensive stalwart Alex Caruso has been ruled out of Thursday’s game vs. Indiana due to a left hip strain, as Rylan Stiles of Sports Illustrated relays. According to Stiles, Caruso exited Monday’s contest early when he dove for a loose ball and appeared to land on his hip. Caruso, who recently signed a four-year, $81.1MM extension, will miss his ninth game of the season Thursday, largely due to issues with his left hip, Stiles notes.
Pat Riley Announces Heat Aren’t Trading Jimmy Butler
In an unusual move, Heat president of basketball operations Pat Riley has made a public statement saying Miami isn’t trading Jimmy Butler (Twitter link).
“We usually don’t comment on rumors, but all this speculation has become a distraction to the team and is not fair to the players and coaches. Therefore, we will make it clear – We are not trading Jimmy Butler,” Riley said.
Riley’s statement comes on the heels of ESPN’s Shams Charania reporting on Wednesday that Butler preferred a trade out of Miami, though he has not formally requested to be dealt, which was confirmed by multiple local reporters.
Neither Butler nor the Heat have denied that the star forward is unhappy with his contract situation, however, and Riley did not address that in his statement. That may be a moot point, since there’s no indication Butler has caused any friction behind the scenes, and he still has at least this season left on his contract, with a $52.4MM player option for 2025/26. But Butler did force his way out of Minnesota six years ago.
Barry Jackson and Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald followed up on Charania’s report by adding additional details, including that Butler would play out the season with Miami if that’s what the team decides, but would be fine with a change of scenery as well. Time will tell if Butler changes his mind on that stance.
Responding to the rumors prior to Riley’s announcement, head coach Erik Spoelstra made it clear the Heat want to keep Butler around.
“We want Jimmy here. There’s no ifs, ands or buts about it,” Spoelstra said as part of a larger quote. “And it’s just unfortunate that you have to control or deal with a lot of the noise on the outside.”
Reporting in the wake of Miami’s elimination from the 2024 playoffs indicated that Butler would be seeking a maximum-salary extension during the offseason. Asked about that possibility during his end-of-season press conference in the spring, Riley expressed reluctance to make that sort of financial investment in a player “unless you have someone who is going to be available every night,” a reference to Butler’s injury issues in recent seasons.
Butler subsequently decided to remain with the Heat without an extension rather than pushing for an offseason trade. However, he has been unhappy about not being extended, according to The Miami Herald, which reported that Butler’s relationship with the Heat has become “somewhat strained.”
Marc Stein and others have reported that the Heat believe they’d be in a good position with Butler next summer, since the rebuilding Nets are the only team projected to have maximum-salary cap room. Jackson reiterated that point yesterday and again this morning, suggesting that Miami would be perfectly fine with — and even prefers — parting with Butler in a possible sign-and-trade in the offseason, even if it doesn’t return much value (Twitter links). That would only be possible if Butler declines his player option, which he still intends to do, according to Jackson.
Butler led the Heat to the NBA Finals in two of his first five seasons in Miami, and was a missed three-pointer away from making a third trip. The Heat lost on each occasion (to the Lakers and Nuggets, respectively).
A five-time All-NBA and five-time All-Defensive team member, Butler has been a highly effective two-way star for Miami when healthy. However, he will be 36 before the start of next season, and he has dealt with injuries throughout his 14-year career, only twice exceeding 70 games played in a regular season.
Of course, it’s always possible that the Heat could be trying to put a public rest to the recent drama while still listening to offers for Butler ahead of the February 6 trade deadline. We’ll see what happens over the next six weeks.
Heat Notes: Butler, Spoelstra, Johnson, Stevens, Rozier
Although his contract situation is the leading factor (he wanted an extension and the Heat haven’t offered one), another part of the reason Jimmy Butler prefers a trade out of Miami is that he’s been hoping the team would be able to acquire more impact players, but it has been unable to do so, according to Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter video link).
“Over the last three years, Jimmy Butler has wanted the Heat to go get him some help in that roster,” Charania said. “They just have not been able to land players. They’ve gone after Kevin Durant, Damian Lillard, Kyrie Irving. They have not been able to land that next big fish with Jimmy Butler.
“The writing, in a lot of ways, is on the wall, for the Heat and for Jimmy Butler.”
Charania, who first reported that the Heat were willing to entertain offers for the star forward earlier this season, reiterated that Miami doesn’t feel any urgency to move Butler, which has been confirmed by multiple local reporters, including Anthony Chiang and Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald. Head coach Erik Spoelstra responded to the latest reports on Thursday, as Chiang and Jackson relay.
“That’s just the deal,” Spoelstra said. “You have to compartmentalize in this business. We want Jimmy here. There’s no ifs, ands or buts about it. And it’s just unfortunate that you have to control or deal with a lot of the noise on the outside. In terms of this morning, this was a pretty focused group coming off of the last game that we came [to Orlando, when the Heat blew a 22-point fourth-quarter lead].”
ESPN and The Miami Herald have reported that Butler hasn’t formally requested a trade, but he’s not happy with his situation and is prepared to leave while still being professional. When asked directly if Butler has asked him to be moved, Spoelstra declined to answer.
“That’s all I’m going to talk about it,” Spoelstra said. “The more any of us talk about it, the more fuel it gets. It’s just really unfortunate that it just continues to build momentum outside of our building.”
Here’s more on the Heat:
- All-Star center and team captain Bam Adebayo also addressed the Butler rumors, per Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel. “You go out there and you win games,” Adebayo said. “That’s how you keep the distractions out. You go out there and win games, do it together. Like I said, they’ll handle everything behind closed doors. Obviously, you have the business side of it. So at the end of the day, we’re all a family, we’re all in a brotherhood. So we’ll worry about the basketball games that we have to play.”
- Dru Smith, who is on a two-way contract, was on track to be promoted to a standard deal before sustaining a torn left Achilles tendon, which will sideline him for the remainder of the season. In the wake of the devastating news, the Heat instead converted rookie forward Keshad Johnson‘s two-way contract into a standard deal. Johnson’s two-way spot was filled by Isaiah Stevens, with both signings officially completed today. “It’s well earned, we’re really happy for them,” Spoelstra said of Johnson and Stevens, per The Herald. “We congratulate them on that.”
- Will Terry Rozier be able to step up in Smith’s absence? Winderman ponders that question in a subscriber-only mailbag.
Celtics Notes: Mazzulla, Tatum, Porzingis, Springer
The Celtics still may have the best roster in the league, but they haven’t looked like the defending champions for the past two weeks, writes Brian Robb of MassLive. Boston is 3-4 in its last seven games, including losses against the sub-.500 Bulls and the short-handed Magic. Coach Joe Mazzulla was candid about his team’s recent play after falling to Philadelphia on Wednesday.
“We’re playing inconsistent basketball, so we’ve got to be better at both ends of the floor,” he said. “Got to be more consistent at both ends of the floor.”
The Celtics are second in the East and third in the NBA with a 22-8 record, but Robb notes that their schedule is about to get much more challenging. There are limited off days and a few back-to-backs coming up over the next three weeks, which could be taxing for a veteran roster and provides little opportunity for practice time.
“We’ve got to be better,” Jayson Tatum said. “It’s still a long season. Nobody’s panicking. We’ve got to navigate the emotional roller coaster of the NBA season. It feels a lot worse than it actually is. We’re not panicking or anything. We’ve just got to man up and look in the mirror and figure out some things that we’ve got to do better at. Everybody’s fully capable, and we’ve always done a really good job of responding, and I have no doubt that we will. So I’m not panicking, but we’ve got to be better, and we will.”
There’s more from Boston:
- Tatum provided an explanation of the illness that made him a late scratch for Monday’s game against Orlando, Robb adds in a separate story. He described it as a “a 24-hour, 48-hour bug” that began to affect him after warmups. He was still feeling some effects from the virus on Wednesday, even though he managed to post 32 points and 15 rebounds in 41 minutes. “Maybe a little fatigued, I guess, from being sick the last few days, but I’m just trying to push through it, catch my second wind, things like that,” Tatum said.
- The Celtics weren’t able to provide much information on a left ankle injury that sidelined Kristaps Porzingis for the second half of Wednesday’s game, per Souichi Terada of MassLive. Porzingis seemed to tweak the ankle early in the contest, but he was able to keep playing before having his status downgraded at halftime. “I noticed that he played through it,” Mazzulla told reporters after the game. “I asked him how he was. He said he was okay and then he got re-evaluated at halftime. But I haven’t heard anything.” Porzingis didn’t talk to reporters, but Terada observed that he didn’t seem to have much protection on the ankle in the locker room.
- Jaden Springer hasn’t played much since the Celtics acquired him in a February trade, but the fourth-year shooting guard tells Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe that being in Boston has been a good learning experience. “I’ve grown a lot,” Springer said. “Coming to a different organization you get to see a different way of basketball. Everyone plays a different style, so coming here you learn new things, pick up on new styles of play, and playing behind another great group of guys. (Jaylen Brown), (Tatum), Jrue (Holiday), Derrick White, (Porzingis), Payton Pritchard, Sam Hauser, a bunch of guys. So being able to learn from them and watch them every night, it’s been pretty big for me.”