Phoenix Suns Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Western Notes: Nurkic, Fox, Davis, Blazers, Harden

January 2nd, 2025 at 11:12pm CST by Luke Adams

Despite a report to the contrary, the Suns aren’t actively shopping Jusuf Nurkic, a source tells Gerald Bourguet of PHNX Sports (Twitter link).

While the distinction may matter to Nurkic himself, the question of whether or not the veteran center is being “actively shopped” likely comes down to semantics, since it’s clear Phoenix would move him if the right opportunity arises.

However, it won’t be easy to find that right opportunity. Nurkic, who has one more guaranteed year left on his contract after this season, will have limited value on the trade market and may be easier to trade in the offseason, Bourguet notes. The Suns also can’t aggregate salaries in a trade since they’re operating over the second tax apron, meaning Nurkic can’t be dealt for a player earning more than he is ($18.13MM).

Here’s more from around the Western Conference:

Weighing in on the De’Aaron Fox situation in Sacramento, Marc Stein (Substack link) covers many of the same bases that Sam Amick of The Athletic did earlier today, writing that teams are keeping a close eye on the situation even though the Kings aren’t yet willing to entertain the idea of trading their star point guard. Discussing the possibility of the Rockets pursuing Fox, Stein cautions not to assume Houston will be in the mix, even though the 27-year-old fits the team’s timeline better than previously rumored targets like Jimmy Butler or Kevin Durant. Rockets officials like how the current roster looks and may not zero in on Fox as the player they want to sacrifice several valuable assets to acquire, Stein writes.
The Lakers held Anthony Davis out of action on Thursday vs. Portland due to a left ankle sprain. As Dave McMenamin of ESPN relays (via Twitter), head coach JJ Redick said before the game that the Lakers want to “be smart” about Davis’ lingering ankle soreness and pointed out that the team faces a challenging January schedule, with 17 games in the next 30 days.
In a preview of what 2025 holds for the Trail Blazers, Sean Highkin of Rose Garden Report (Substack link) reiterates a point he has made before, writing that it’s “hard to picture” a scenario in which Chauncey Billups is still coaching the Blazers by the time the 2025/26 season tips off. Highkin also explores where things stand with Portland’s top trade candidates and the Blazers’ ownership situation, among other topics.
Clippers star James Harden was downgraded to questionable and then ruled out for the team’s Thursday game vs. Oklahoma City due to groin soreness. As Law Murray of The Athletic tweets, Harden also missed one game last month due to a groin issue — if the ailment isn’t any more serious this time around, it shouldn’t cause him to miss much – if any – additional time.

Suns’ Devin Booker: “Frustration Level’s High”

January 1st, 2025 at 12:01pm CST by Rory Maher

After missing the past five games with a left groin strain, star guard Devin Booker returned to action on Tuesday vs. Memphis, recording 16 points, four rebounds, nine assists and a steal in 30 minutes. However, he went just 4-of-20 from the field as the Suns dropped their third straight game.

While Booker expressed confidence that he’ll soon return to his normal form, he admitted that the team is very frustrated with its recent play — after starting the season with a 9-2 record, the Suns have gone just 6-15 since, and are currently 15-17, the No. 11 seed in the West.

“Frustration level’s high,” Booker said (Twitter video links via Gerald Bourguet of PHNX Sports). “We’re all competitors in here, and we realize these games are gonna cost us in the end of the season. …We wanna gain some ground, get up out of the play-in position and just win every possible game.”

“We have guys that have won at a high level, that have high expectations, high standards,” head coach Mike Budenholzer said, per Bourguet (Twitter video link). “…We gotta find ways to get better, so these are not easy times. But our guys will find a way through it, and we’ll find a way through it together.”

Kevin Durant, who finished with 29 points (on 11-of-19 shooting), 10 rebounds, six assists, one steal and two blocks in 39 minutes, said he needed to play better for the team to find success, according to Bourguet (Twitter video link).

“I feel like I can do so much out there, I just feel like I gotta be better,” Durant said. “And I feel like every player in the locker room got that same mentality. So we all look in the mirror, we’ll be a better team.”

As Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic writes, on the night Booker returned, Phoenix lost Bradley Beal to a hip contusion of unknown severity. And Grayson Allen, who was probable entering Tuesday’s contest after missing the previous four games while in the NBA’s concussion protocol, was unable to suit up due to a shoulder injury he sustained in Monday’s practice. Veteran forward Royce O’Neale is also out at least 10 days with a left ankle sprain.

Bradley Beal Leaves Game With Hip Contusion

December 31st, 2024 at 10:58pm CST by Arthur Hill

Suns guard Bradley Beal had to leave tonight’s game after suffering a hip contusion in the first quarter, according to Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic. The team announced that he wouldn’t return, but no other details were provided.

Suns’ Royce O’Neale Out For At Least 10 Days

December 31st, 2024 at 11:52am CST by Luke Adams

Suns forward Royce O’Neale, who sprained his left ankle during Saturday’s game in Golden State, will be reevaluated in 10 days, the team announced today in a press release (Twitter link via Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic).

The injury occurred during the final minute of the second quarter, with O’Neale defending Dennis Schröder as the Warriors guard drove to the basket. O’Neale blocked Schröder’s shot, but landed awkwardly after doing so, turning his left ankle and falling to the floor (video link).

O’Neale has primarily been part of Phoenix’s second unit this season, but he has been one of the team’s most effective rotation players, averaging 10.5 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 2.4 assists per game while making 44.1% of his 5.7 three-point attempts per night. He’s also one of the Suns’ most versatile defenders and ranks third on the roster with 817 total minutes played this season, so the club will miss him during his absence.

The Suns, who have fallen to 15-16 on the season, have been banged up lately, but should get some reinforcements as early as Tuesday, with guards Devin Booker and Grayson Allen seemingly on the verge of returning to action.

While Booker and Allen could play some of the minutes that would have been O’Neale’s, the forward’s absence will likely also result in increased roles for defense-first players like Ryan Dunn and Josh Okogie. Dunn has started the past three games, while Okogie was the first player off the bench in the second half of Saturday’s contest and logged a season-high 31 minutes.

Pacific Notes: Lakers, O’Neale, Booker, Allen, Kuminga

December 30th, 2024 at 9:51pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Lakers star LeBron James had a lot of good things to say about his new teammates, Dorian Finney-Smith and Shake Milton, Jovan Buha of The Athletic tweets. That duo was acquired in a deal with the Nets over the weekend.

“Obviously, they bring experience, they bring toughness,” James said. “They’ve played in big games and have mastered their roles throughout their careers. I’m looking forward to them getting into our system and making an immediate impact whenever their number is called.”

Coach JJ Redick said he expects both of the new additions to play against Cleveland on Tuesday, Mark Medina of Sportkeeda tweets. He’ll use them in reserve roles.

We have more from the Pacific Division:

Redick said Gabe Vincent didn’t practice on Monday due to an oblique injury and is questionable for Tuesday’s game, Buha tweets. Jaxson Hayes (ankle) is probable, while Jarred Vanderbilt participated in non-contact portions of practice and remains out.
Suns forward Royce O’Neale (left ankle sprain) had imaging done on his ankle with promising results but he didn’t practice on Monday, Duane Rankin of the Arizona Republic tweets. Devin Booker (groin) and Grayson Allen (concussion protocol) participated in 5-on-5 drills on Monday. They could both return to action against Memphis on Tuesday. Booker is listed as questionable, while Allen is probable, Rankin tweets.
Warriors forward Jonathan Kuminga, a restricted free agent after the season, has pumped up his value in recent games. He’s posted back-to-back 34-point outings against the Clippers and Suns. Kuminga is averaging 21.3 points and 6.0 rebounds per contest this month. “I just think he’s turning a corner,” coach Steve Kerr told Anthony Slater of The Athletic.

Pacific Notes: Suns, Kuminga, Lakers, Hayes, LeBron

December 28th, 2024 at 9:01pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Suns remain short-handed for tonight’s game against Golden State, but they may be close to having a full lineup fairly soon, writes Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic. While Devin Booker is missing his fifth straight game with a left groin strain he suffered last week, coach Mike Budenholzer is optimistic that Booker won’t be out much longer. Phoenix has lost three of its last four games without the star guard.

“He’s making good progress,” Budenholzer told reporters before Friday’s game at Dallas. “We feel good about it. He’s still got a little more to go, but he’s progressing as expected.”

Budenholzer added that Grayson Allen is “close” to being ready as he misses his fourth straight game tonight while in concussion protocol. Bol Bol is sitting out a fifth straight game with a contusion that he suffered when he banged knees with a teammate during practice.

The Suns are also without center Jusuf Nurkic, who is serving a three-game suspension for an altercation in Friday’s game. Budenholzer addressed the incident in a pregame session with the media (Twitter link from Rankin), saying it’s dangerous when players continue trying to fight after being ejected.

“You never want these things to even escalate to probably the point that it did,” he said. “The concern about any other continued situations is not good for anybody.”

There’s more from the Pacific Division:

Even though the Warriors lost to the Clippers on Friday night, Jonathan Kuminga turned in one of the best games of his career, notes Sam Gordon of The San Francisco Chronicle. Kuminga posted a career-high 34 points, along with 10 rebounds and five assists, and led a late rally that made the game close. Although the Warriors were short-handed with Stephen Curry and Draymond Green both nursing injuries, Kuminga continued to come off the bench as coach Steve Kerr used his 18th different starting lineup of the season.
The first 30 games have shown that the Lakers don’t need to make a desperation trade for Zach LaVine, contends Mirjam Swanson of The Orange County Register. Swanson views the team’s major needs as a three-and-D wing and a reliable backup center, and recommends pursuing Jazz big man Walker Kessler.
Lakers center Jaxson Hayes, who has only been active for one of the past 21 games because of an ankle injury, has been able to play five-on-five in practice, according to Dave McMenamin of ESPN (Twitter link). Hayes hopes to be ready for Tuesday’s game against Cleveland if the ankle continues to improve.
Lakers star LeBron James will miss tonight’s game with an illness that also forced him to skip Friday’s practice, McMenamin adds (Twitter link). Gabe Vincent is taking his place in the starting lineup.

NBA Suspends Naji Marshall, Jusuf Nurkic, P.J. Washington

December 28th, 2024 at 2:22pm CST by Luke Adams

The NBA has suspended Mavericks forwards Naji Marshall and P.J. Washington and Suns center Jusuf Nurkic for their roles in an on-court altercation during Friday’s game between the two teams, the league announced today in a press release (Twitter link).

Marshall has been hit with a four-game suspension, Nurkic will be suspended for three games, and Washington will serve a one-game suspension, according to the NBA.

Nurkic was called for an offensive foul with 9:02 remaining in the third quarter of Friday’s game and began heading toward his basket before turning back and exchanging words with Marshall and Washington. The incident escalated when Nurkic struck Marshall in the side of the head. Marshall responded by throwing a punch that connected with Nurkic’s face as the Suns big man was shoved to the floor by Washington (Twitter video links).

According to the league, Marshall “attempted to further engage Nurkic in a hostile manner in the corridor outside the locker rooms” after the players were ejected from the game. That’s presumably why the Mavs forward got the longest suspension of the bunch.

Washington will serve his suspension on Saturday night when the Mavs visit Portland. In addition to missing that game, Marshall will sit out Monday’s contest in Sacramento and Wednesday’s in Houston, as well as Dallas’ home game vs. Cleveland next Friday.

Nurkic will begin serving his three-game ban on Saturday when the Suns play in Golden State. He’ll also miss games vs. Memphis on Tuesday and in Indiana next Saturday.

As Bobby Marks of ESPN tweets, Marshall’s four-game suspension will cost him $236,453 of his $8,571,429 salary, while Nurkic will forfeit $375K,000 of his $18,125,000 salary. Those figures are based on each player losing 1/145th of his total salary for each game of the suspension.

Because his suspension is just for one game, Washington will only give up 1/174th of his $15.5MM salary, which works out to $89,080, Marks notes.

The Mavericks and Suns will receive tax variance credits worth 50% of the total forfeited salary, slightly reducing their projected end-of-season luxury tax payments, Marks adds (via Twitter).

Western Notes: Malone, Brown, Suns, Mavs, Pels, Morant, Kawamura

December 27th, 2024 at 11:22pm CST by Luke Adams

Nuggets head coach Michael Malone, who was the head coach in Sacramento for a season-and-a-half from 2013-14, didn’t hold back in his criticism of his former employer for the way the Kings handled Mike Brown‘s dismissal, as Bennett Durando of The Denver Post relays.

“What really pissed me off about it was that they lost (Thursday) night, fifth game in a row, I believe — tough loss, fouling a jump-shooter — they have practice this morning, he does his post-(practice) media, and he’s in his car going to the airport to fly to L.A.,” Malone said. “And they call him on the phone (to fire him). No class. No balls. That’s what I’ll say about that.”

Malone said he was initially “really shocked and surprised” when he heard that Brown had been fired, but quickly realized the news wasn’t all that unexpected for two reasons.

“One, because as an NBA head coach, ultimately you’re going to get the blame,” Malone said. “When they win, it’s going to go to (Domantas) Sabonis and (De’Aaron) Fox. When you lose, it’s gonna go to Mike Brown. That’s the way it works. And two, who he works for. So I’m not surprised that Mike Brown got fired, because I got fired by the same person.”

We have more from around the Western Conference:

Fines and/or suspensions could be coming after Suns center Jusuf Nurkic and Mavericks forwards Naji Marshall and P.J. Washington were ejected from Friday’s game for their roles in a fourth-quarter altercation (Twitter video link). As Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic details, Nurkic was called for an offensive foul and began heading toward his basket before turning back and exchanging words with Marshall and Washington. The incident escalated when Nurkic slapped Marshall in the side of the head. Marshall responded by throwing a punch at Nurkic as the Suns big man was shoved to the floor by Washington.
In the wake of Thursday’s 17-point home loss to Houston, Pelicans head coach Willie Green bemoaned his club’s “lack of competitiveness,” telling reporters, “We were just soft tonight. Period” (Twitter link via Will Guillory of The Athletic). New Orleans followed up that performance with another loss – its ninth in a row – on Friday at home vs. the Grizzlies and now has a 5-27 record.
Grizzlies star Ja Morant exited Friday’s win over New Orleans early due to a right shoulder ailment. While it didn’t look in the moment like a significant injury, it’s the same shoulder that Morant had surgically repaired last January, so the team figures to play it safe with its franchise player. According to head coach Taylor Jenkins, Morant will be reevaluated within the “next couple days” to determine the severity of the injury, tweets Michael Wallace of Grizzlies.com.
Two-way guard Yuki Kawamura has only logged 41 total minutes across 14 outings for the Grizzlies, but the Japanese rookie has made Memphis the NBA’s most popular team in his home country this season. Damichael Cole of The Memphis Commercial Appeal has the story.

Injury Notes: Leonard, Suns, Green, Harris, Banchero

December 27th, 2024 at 3:02pm CST by Rory Maher

Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard will not play on Friday against Golden State and he will not travel with the team for its upcoming three-game road trip, writes Broderick Turner of The Los Angeles Times (subscriber link). Leonard has yet to play this season as he recovers from a right knee injury.

However, the two-time Finals MVP continues to make progress — he went through a 5-on-5 practice on Thursday and he will practice with the G League’s San Diego Clippers while the NBA club is out of town.

“Making sure he’s doing everything so this doesn’t occur again so we can kind of monitor the fluid and see how it’s working,” head coach Tyronn Lue said. “So far it’s been really good and we just want to continue to keep progressing.”

For what it’s worth, Leonard released a vague teaser video (via Twitter) on Friday saying he’ll be back “pretty soon.”

Here are a few more injury notes from around the NBA:

The Suns will be without All-Star guard Devin Booker for the fourth straight game on Friday when Phoenix faces Dallas, per Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic. Booker is recovering from a left groin strain. Grayson Allen (concussion protocol) and Bol Bol (left knee contusion) will also be sidelined for the Suns.
After previously being listed as questionable, Warriors forward/center Draymond Green has been downgraded to doubtful ahead of Friday’s matchup with the Clippers, tweets Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN. An eight-time All-Defensive member, Green is dealing with a contusion on the left side of his lower back.
Magic guard Gary Harris may suit up on Friday vs. New York after missing the past 13 games with a left hamstring strain. He’s listed as probable, according to Jason Beede of The Orlando Sentinel (Twitter links), who notes that while Paolo Banchero is still out, his injury designation has changed from torn right oblique to “return to competition reconditioning.” Banchero, who hasn’t played since Oct. 30, has been ramping up his on-court activities, but he’s not doing contact work yet.

Community Shootaround: Christmas Day Games

December 25th, 2024 at 11:04am CST by Luke Adams

Merry Christmas from the Hoops Rumors staff!

As usual, the NBA has a five-game slate on tap for Christmas Day, with many of the league’s top teams and biggest stars in action on December 25. Here’s today’s schedule:

11:00 am CT: San Antonio Spurs (15-14) at New York Knicks (19-10)
1:30 pm CT: Minnesota Timberwolves (14-14) at Dallas Mavericks (19-10)
4:00 pm CT: Philadelphia 76ers (10-17) at Boston Celtics (22-7)
7:00 pm CT: Los Angeles Lakers (16-13) at Golden State Warriors (15-13)
9:30 pm CT: Denver Nuggets (16-11) at Phoenix Suns (14-14)

While the goal on Christmas Day is generally to showcase some of the day’s biggest stars and best teams, this year’s schedule is a little lacking in the latter.

Despite featuring seven teams from the Western Conference, today’s slate of games doesn’t include any of the West’s top three seeds, the Thunder, Rockets, and Grizzlies. While Houston and Memphis weren’t necessarily expected to be this good, Oklahoma City’s absence is conspicuous, given that the Thunder were the No. 1 seed in the West last season.

Over in the East, we’ve got the No. 2 and 3 seeds in action today, but the NBA’s best team, the 26-4 Cavaliers, won’t be part of the Christmas Day slate. Instead, the third Eastern club is the 12th-seeded Sixers, who have been plagued by injuries but at least will have their big three available on Wednesday — Tyrese Maxey and Paul George aren’t on the injury report, and Joel Embiid is listed as available.

Despite the absence of so many top teams, each matchup still has something going for it, with plenty of star power on display.

The afternoon will feature rising phenom Victor Wembanyama visiting Madison Square Garden and the streaking Knicks, who have won four games in a row; a rematch of last year’s Western Conference Finals between the Timberwolves and Mavericks, who should have star guards Kyrie Irving (available) and Luka Doncic (probable) active today; and those aforementioned three Sixers stars going up against the defending champions in Boston.

The first evening contest between the Lakers and Warriors pits the No. 7 seed in the West against No. 8, but it also could be one of the last few times that NBA legends LeBron James and Stephen Curry face one another. James is considered questionable due to left foot injury management, but I’d be shocked if he didn’t play. A couple more would-be Western contenders who have had up-and-down starts will wrap up the day when the Nuggets visit Phoenix in a game that will feature a pair of former MVPs in Nikola Jokic and Kevin Durant.

We want to know what you think. Are there any teams you wish were or weren’t part of today’s schedule? Which of these five games are you most looking forward to? Which five teams are you picking to win this year’s Christmas Day matchups?

Head to the comment section below to weigh in, and feel free to use it as an open thread to discuss today’s games.