Blazers Notes: Avdija, Injuries, Love, Cissoko, Hinson
Trail Blazers forward Deni Avdija has been upgraded to questionable for Sunday’s game in Sacramento, the team announced (Twitter link). As Sean Highkin of The Rose Garden Report observes (via Twitter), the upgraded status is a good sign for Avdija potentially returning after missing three games with a lower back strain.
Avdija is having an excellent season for Portland, averaging 26.1 points, 7.1 rebounds and 6.9 assists on .468/.355/.801 shooting in 40 appearances (35.4 minutes per game). The 25-year-old suffered the back injury last Sunday against New York.
Jrue Holiday, Jerami Grant and Robert Williams are all doubtful to suit up on the second night of a back-to-back. Holiday and Grant recently returned from lengthy injury absences, while Williams has battled knee issues for years.
Here’s more on the Trail Blazers:
- Portland has dealt with a series of injuries in 2025/26, but improved to 21-22 with a 16-point victory over the Lakers on Saturday. According to Joe Freeman of The Oregonian, the team feels as though it’s rounding into form. “It feels like we’re starting to be the team that everyone thought we were going to be at the beginning of the year,” center Donovan Clingan said, flashing a wide smile. “Hopefully, once we get everyone healthy, we’re going to make a big jump and we’re going to start winning a lot of games. This is just the start of it and it feels really good.”
- Two-way players Caleb Love and Sidy Cissoko have emerged as viable members of the rotation in the wake of the injuries. Love, who went undrafted out of Arizona in 2025, recorded 22 points and seven assists in yesterday’s win and has now scored 10-plus points in 14 straight games, per the Blazers (Twitter link). The 24-year-old guard has also made multiple three-pointers in 14 consecutive games, tied for the second-longest streak by a rookie in league history.
- As Highkin recently noted, Love and Cissoko are nearing their active-game limits and both players have made cases to be converted to standard deals. If and when those conversions occur, Highkin believes the Blazers should promote Rip City Remix standout Blake Hinson to a two-way contract. The 6’8″ forward has played 21 games (32.6 MPG) with Portland’s G League affiliate in ’25/26, averaging 24.4 PPG, 4.5 RPG and 2.4 APG on .491/.388/.717 shooting.
Western Notes: Sengun, Booker, Horford, Cissoko, Love
Rockets center Alperen Sengun was expected to miss 10-to-14 days due to a right ankle sprain. However, he only ended up being sidelined for three games over seven days. Sengun admitted on Wednesday that he’s not fully healthy, tweets Kelly Iko of Yahoo Sports.
“Still not 100 percent. It’s not going to be 100 percent for a while,” Sengun said. “But I’ve played through this all my life and I’m okay with it. Trying to get my treatment every day, feel as strong as I can be and go play.”
The Rockets have been in a slump lately, dropping four of their past five games, including a 20-point home loss to Oklahoma City on Thursday.
We have more from around the Western Conference:
- Suns guard Devin Booker missed Thursday’s loss in Detroit due to a left ankle sprain, but head coach Jordan Ott is optimistic he could return for Saturday’s game at New York, per The Associated Press. It was the four-time All-Star’s fourth absence of the season after he previously missed time due to a groin injury.
- Veteran big man Al Horford only spent one season with the Thunder, but he made a lasting impact on the organization, writes Justin Martinez of The Oklahoman (subscriber link). Horford also rebuilt his value in Oklahoma City after a disappointing season with Philadelphia. “He was one of the first vocal vets that I had been around,” Kenrich Williams told The Oklahoman. “He showed us how to prepare for games. He showed us how to stay ready. And when his number wasn’t called, he always was encouraging on the sideline. It’s kind of like what you see all the guys do today on the team. Even though there were only three (current) guys on that team, I feel like he played a big part in our success.”
- A pair of two-way players for the Trail Blazers are nearing their active games limits, according to Sean Highkin of The Rose Garden Report (Substack link). Assuming he’s active every game between now and then, forward Sidy Cissoko will reach his 50-game limit on February 11, Highkin writes, while guard Caleb Love is projected to hit his limit toward the end of February. Both players have made cases to be promoted to standard contracts after becoming rotation regulars amid a series of injuries, Highkin notes.
Northwest Notes: Gordon, Trail Blazers, Holiday, Bailey
The Nuggets have been using Aaron Gordon off the bench since he returned from a hamstring strain to maximize the value of his limited minutes, writes Bennett Durando of The Denver Post. Coach David Adelman wants Gordon to be available to help close out games, so he’s playing him strategically the rest of the time.
“When you have a minute restriction, if you start somebody, they sit for so long before you put them back in. So this allows me to kind of play with the minutes,” Adelman said after Friday’s loss to Atlanta. He pointed out that a starting lineup with Hunter Tyson and DaRon Holmes was able to keep the game close until Gordon checked in.
Gordon logged 24 minutes on Friday, the most he has played in any of the three games since his return after a six-week absence, and finished with 14 points, nine rebounds and five assists. He said the hamstring feels “fine” now, but he’s still adjusting to the unfamiliar role.
“I’m just trying to figure out the flow of my minutes, you know? It’s a longer halftime for me right now, for going in at halftime, then coming off the bench out of halftime,” Gordon said. “It’s a little bit longer for me. So I’m just trying to figure out how I can continue to get my body back and contribute more in the second half. And help my team win. I feel like if I was better in the second half, we would have won that game. At least in the fourth quarter. So I take this one on me.”
There’s more from the Northwest Division:
- The Trail Blazers are on a five-game winning streak, triggering memories of last season’s second-half surge, Sean Highkin of The Rose Garden Report states in a subscriber-only story. Injury issues created opportunities for two-way players Sidy Cissoko and Caleb Love, who have become trusted parts of the rotation. “It’s just the confidence that these guys are getting,” interim coach Tiago Splitter said. “True minutes, meaningful minutes. Knowing that we have a system and a way to play, and we just follow it.”
- Trail Blazers guard Jrue Holiday is close to returning after missing the past 27 games with a right calf strain, according to Joe Freeman of the Oregonian. He has been upgraded to questionable for Sunday’s game against New York and could be back on the court for the first time since November 14. Freeman notes that Holiday was originally expected to be reevaluated in one to two weeks, but the injury continued to linger. In 12 games, Holiday is averaging 16.7 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 8.3 assists in 33.4 minutes per night.
- Jazz rookie Ace Bailey was only able to play 10 minutes on Wednesday against Oklahoma City as he tried to return from a strained hip flexor. It’s the only time he’s been on the court since suffering the injury on December 26. “Yeah, it’s still day to day,” coach Will Hardy told reporters, per Andy Larsen of The Salt Lake Tribune (Twitter link). “You know, he felt like he could go in OKC, and then after his first two shifts, we didn’t love how he looked moving, he didn’t love how he felt, and so we don’t want to put him in a position that hurts him. So we’re taking it day by day. He’s working really hard. He was on the court today. Still got a long way to go.”
Scoot Henderson’s Return Not Imminent
It has been nearly eight weeks since the Trail Blazers announced that point guard Scoot Henderson had torn his left hamstring in a workout and would miss the start of the 2025/26 season.
At the time, the team said Henderson was expected to resume basketball activities in about four-to-eight weeks. However, while the former No. 3 overall pick tells Jason Quick of The Athletic that he has “made a lot of progress” in his recovery, his return to the court isn’t imminent and he says his resumption of basketball activities remains “week to week.”
According to Henderson, he’s scheduled to meet this week with the team’s director of health and performance, Dr. Courtney Watson, who will determine next steps. So far, the third-year guard’s activities have been limited to some stationary shooting and dribbling and upper-body weight lifting.
“I can walk around to spots, but no jumping, no exploding,” Henderson explained to Quick. “I shoot free throws, some ball-handling, but without moving much.”
As Quick points out, Trail Blazers general manager Joe Cronin told reporters on media day in September that Henderson’s timeline for resuming basketball activities could extend to 10 weeks or even beyond that, since hamstring injuries can be “stubborn” and tricky to handle. For his part, Henderson is optimistic that once he’s cleared for full basketball activities, he won’t require an extended ramp-up period before he’s cleared to play in games.
“I feel like I will be good,” Henderson told The Athletic. “I feel like I’ve always been good like that (coming off injury). I’m sure I will be tired, because you can’t compare basketball activity with anything else, so for a few games I will feel it.”
The struggling Trail Blazers, who have lost five of their last six games to fall to 6-8 on the season, could use Henderson back in their lineup. In addition to missing Damian Lillard, who is out for the season with a torn Achilles, Portland is currently without Blake Wesley (out since Oct. 31 due to foot surgery) and Jrue Holiday (out the past two games due to right calf soreness), leaving the team thin at point guard.
Shaedon Sharpe and Deni Avdija have taken on increased ball-handling responsibilities during the past two games with Holiday out, while rookie two-way player Caleb Love has also entered the rotation. Love had a career-high 17 points in 32 minutes in Tuesday’s loss to Phoenix.
Trail Blazers Announce Signings Of Hansen Yang, Caleb Love
The Trail Blazers have signed first-round pick Hansen Yang to a rookie scale contract and undrafted free agent Caleb Love to a two-way deal, the team announced in a pair of press releases.
Yang, 20, is a 7’1″ center who starred with the Qingdao Eagles of the Chinese Basketball Association. He was selected as CBA Rising Star of the Year the past two seasons and Defensive Player of the Year in 2023/24. He has also been a CBA All-Star in both his years with Qingdao.
Like all first-round picks, Yang is eligible for up to 120% of the NBA’s rookie scale salary. Assuming he gets the full amount, he’ll make $4.4MM in his first season and $21.4MM over the four years of his contract.
Love played at Arizona, where he was named Pac 12 Player of the Year in 2024 and earned a spot on the All-Big 12 team this season. Love played three years at North Carolina before transferring, and the Blazers note that he’s the 13th player in NCAA history to reach 1,000 points with two schools.
Trail Blazers Signing Caleb Love To Two-Way Deal
The Trail Blazers are inking Arizona guard Caleb Love to a two-way contract, sources inform Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link).
The 6’4″ guard wasn’t selected in the just-concluded 2025 draft, despite being the 2024 Pac-12 Player of the Year and a 2025 All-Big 12 honoree during his two seasons with the Wildcats.
A fifth-year senior, Love began his collegiate career in the ACC, where he suited up for North Carolina. In 37 healthy contests for Arizona last year, Love averaged 17.2 PPG, 4.4 RPG, 3.4 APG, and 1.2 SPG. He notched a shooting line of .398/.340/.889.
Love had been ranked as the No. 63 best prospect among this year’s class by Sam Vecenie of The Athletic.
Portland has had a buzzy run this week. After trading to acquire six-time All-Defensive Team guard Jrue Holiday from Boston earlier this week, the Trail Blazers traded out of the lottery on Wednesday to take a flier on 7’2″ former Qingdao center Hansen Yang.
Draft Rumors: Suns, Centers, Pelicans, Nuggets, Kings
The Suns are believed to be “highly intrigued” by the possibility of adding a center who can space the floor as they continue to look for a starting-caliber big man, writes Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Substack link).
In addition to their rumored NBA targets, the Suns are also eyeing stretch fives in next week’s draft, according to Fischer, who reports that Creighton’s Ryan Kalkbrenner and Stanford’s Maxime Raynaud are “very much in consideration” with the 29th overall pick, which the team controls. Kalkbrenner recently worked out for Phoenix, Fischer adds.
Raynaud is ranked No. 24 on ESPN’s big board, while Kalkbrenner is No. 33.
Here are a few more rumors and notes on the 2025 NBA draft:
- The Pelicans, who control the seventh pick, hosted Duke’s Kon Knueppel and Washington State’s Cedric Coward for workouts last week, league sources tell Michael Scotto of HoopsHype. As Scotto notes, Knuppel is projected to go No. 7 overall in HoopsHype’s latest aggregate mock draft, with Coward landing at No. 15 (Oklahoma City). The two wings are ranked No. 8 and No. 29, respectively, on ESPN’s board.
- According to Ohm Younmisuk of ESPN (Twitter link), the Nuggets recently brought in Arizona guard Caleb Love, Kansas center Hunter Dickinson, Bradley forward Darius Hannah and Indiana center Oumar Ballo for a pre-draft workout. Of the four prospects, only Love (No. 75) appears on ESPN’s board.
- The Kings hosted a pre-draft workout on Monday featuring two point guards, two wing and two centers, the team announced (Twitter link via Sean Cunningham of KCRA News). The six players are Mark Sears (Alabama), Javon Small (West Virginia), Kobe Johnson (UCLA), Dink Pate (G League), Oumar Ballo (Indiana) and Bogoljub Markovic (Mega Basket). Markovic (No. 38) is the top-rated player of the group on ESPN’s board, followed by Small (No. 49) and Pate (No. 56).
Western Notes: Kidd, Blazers, Kings, Nelson, Nuggets
Letting Jason Kidd go to the Knicks would be a terrible outcome for the Mavericks, according to Tim Cowlishaw of the Dallas Morning News. There’s reportedly mutual interest between Kidd and the Knicks.
Under Kidd, Dallas has won five playoff series in four seasons. Cowlishaw also notes that Kyrie Irving likes Kidd and believes in him. In Cowlishaw’s viewpoint, the only way general manager Nico Harrison‘s vision for the current group will work is dependent on Anthony Davis staying healthy and Irving getting healthy and remaining happy. If Cooper Flagg then plays up to his draft status, the Mavs have a chance to secure a title in 2026/27 before the window of opportunity runs out for their aging stars.
Here’s more from the Western Conference:
- Arthur Kaluma (Texas), Gabe Madsen (Utah), Chibuzo Agbo (USC), Alex Toohey (Sydney Kings), Jahmai Mashack (Tennessee) and Dylan Cardwell (Auburn) worked out for the Trail Blazers on Tuesday, Sean Highkin of The Rose Garden Report tweets. Toohey is the biggest name in the group, as the Australian forward is ranked No. 36 on ESPN’s Best Available list.
- Jeremy Roach (Baylor), Caleb Love (Arizona), Jaxson Robinson (Kentucky), John Tonje (Wisconsin), Great Osobor (Washington), CJ Huntley (Appalachian State) will work out for the Kings on Wednesday, Jason Anderson of the Sacramento Bee tweets. That group is headed by Tonje (19.6 PPG with the Badgers last season), a high-scoring guard who is ranked No. 42 by ESPN.
- Grant Nelson (Alabama) is expected to reschedule a workout with the Jazz, Brian Lewis of the New York Post tweets. Nelson, who worked out for the Nets on Tuesday, is currently rated 65th by ESPN.
- Though the Nuggets took the Thunder to a Game 7 in these playoffs, they can’t afford to run it back with the same group, Sean Keeler of the Denver Post opines. The bench is in serious need of upgrades, Keeler argues, as the Nuggets basically went six deep this season and that forced the starters to empty their tanks.
Northwest Notes: Edwards, Randle, Jazz Draft, Trail Blazers Workouts
Anthony Edwards scored just 16 points in Game 4 of the Western Conference Finals on Monday. However, the Timberwolves superstar believes he played the game the way it’s supposed to be played.
“I don’t look at it like I struggled, or (Julius Randle) struggled,” Edwards said. “They just, they had a good game plan, making us get off the ball. Especially for me, man. They were super in the gaps, I made the right play all night.”
Edwards only attempted 13 shots and made just one three-pointer.
“It’s an urge that I want to get the ball in the rim, put it up there,” Edwards said, per Dave McMenamin of ESPN. “But you don’t want to take bad shots and get your team out of rhythm. So I was just playing the game the right way, man.”
We have more from the Northwest Division:
- Randle took just seven shots and made only one. He was disappointed in himself that he wasn’t more assertive, he told Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic. “I’ve got to figure out a way to get myself in position to be more aggressive, rather than just standing, spectating or trying to crash the glass,” he said. “Or I can just find other little things to do.”
- The Jazz possess the No. 5 and 21 picks in the first round and pair of second-rounders in next month’s draft. Multiple league sources indicated to the Deseret News’ Sarah Todd that the front office is willing to hear offers and make deals on any of those draft picks. However, considering it’s been over a decade since Utah had a top-five selection, Todd believes it’s likely that the Jazz will retain the No. 5 pick.
- Zach Hicks (Penn State), Chris Manon (Vanderbilt), Wade Taylor IV (Texas A&M), Caleb Love (Arizona), Zack Austin (Pittsburgh) and Money Williams (Montana) worked out for the Trail Blazers on Tuesday, Sean Highkin of the Rose Garden Report tweets. That group is comprised of players trying to earn second-round consideration.
Draft Notes: NBAGL Elite Camp, Niederhauser, Combine, Ruzic
Malique Lewis (South East Melbourne), Amari Williams (Kentucky), Caleb Love (Arizona), Caleb Grill (Missouri), and Yanic Konan Niederhauser (Penn State) are among the top prospects teams will be watching at this weekend’s G League Elite Camp in Chicago, according to Jonathan Givony of ESPN.
The standout players at the G League event typically earn invitations to the full-fledged combine that will take place this coming week. Givony expects about five-to-eight prospects to move on, noting that players like Terance Mann, Cody Martin, and Aaron Wiggins have gotten “called up” from the Elite Camp to the combine in the past before going on to establish themselves in the NBA.
According to Jon Chepkevich of Rookie Scale (Twitter link), Niederhauser has been the “early star” of the G League Elite Camp, racking up 17 points, four rebounds, and a pair of blocks in the first scrimmage. The Penn State forward looks like a safe bet to be among the players who advance to the combine, Chepkevich adds.
Missouri’s Tamar Bates led all scorers in the first Elite Camp scrimmage with 19 points. The full stats can be viewed here (via Twitter).
Here are a few more draft-related notes:
- Jeremy Woo of ESPN.com identifies Yaxel Lendeborg (UAB), Boogie Fland (Arkansas), Darrion Williams (Texas Tech), Rocco Zikarsky (Brisbane), and Miles Byrd (San Diego State) as five prospects to monitor at the combine, noting that they still have the option of withdrawing if they don’t have strong showings this week.
- Lendeborg, the No. 26 prospect on ESPN’s big board, has committed to transferring to Michigan and may only decide to turn pro if he draws serious first-round interest from a specific NBA team or teams, Woo writes, since he can make “excellent” money if he spends 2025/26 with the Wolverines.
- PJ Haggerty, Jamir Watkins, and RJ Luis Jr. are three more NCAA prospects whose performances at the combine will be of particular interest to college teams, Givony notes in the same story. In addition to testing the draft waters, all three players are in the transfer portal and haven’t yet committed to a new school, so they’ll be popular targets if they opt not to remain in the draft pool.
- Although Joventut Badalona’s season isn’t over yet, Croatian power forward Michael Ruzic, who plays for the Spanish club, has been cleared to attend the NBA’s draft combine this week and will be a full participant in 5×5 scrimmages, agent Bill Duffy tells Givony (Twitter link). Ruzic missed significant time due to a thumb injury this season and has played a limited role when healthy, so the Chicago combine will give NBA evaluators an opportunity to take an extended first-hand look at a prospect who ranks 49th overall on ESPN’s board.