Luka Doncic Leaves Game With Left Leg Contusion
The short-handed Lakers suffered another significant loss Saturday night when Luka Doncic didn’t return to the game after halftime due to a contusion on his left leg, writes Dave McMenamin of ESPN.
Doncic entered the contest as the NBA’s leading scorer at 35.2 points per game, but he was noticeably off during the first half. He shot just 4-of-13 from the field and 1-of-6 from beyond the arc, finishing with 12 points, five rebounds, two assists and four turnovers in 19:34.
“I saw him hobbling towards the end of the first half. He came to me at halftime and said he couldn’t go,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said. “… I don’t have any other information.”
Doncic left the arena without talking to reporters, and Redick declined to speculate how much time he might miss. A source familiar with the injury told McMenamin it occurred in a collision with Clippers guard Bogdan Bogdanovic.
Durability concerns were among the reasons Dallas decided to trade Doncic last February, but he has been mostly healthy in his first full season with the Lakers, appearing in 21 of the team’s first 27 games. McMenamin notes that he missed three games in late October with a lower left leg contusion, but there doesn’t appear to be any connection between that injury and the latest one.
The Lakers were already missing three starters coming into the game, with Austin Reaves out due to a left calf strain, Deandre Ayton dealing with left elbow pain and Rui Hachimura suffering soreness in his groin. All the injuries appear to be short-term, as Redick indicated that Reaves and Ayton could be available for Tuesday’s game at Phoenix, while Hachimura might be sidelined for three-to-five days.
Second-year forward Dalton Knecht started the second half in place of Doncic and finished with two points and four rebounds in 13:29 as the Lakers dropped a 15-point decision to their crosstown rivals. LeBron James scored a season-high 36 points to keep the game competitive, but the rest of the team shot 19-of-60 (31.7%) from the field and 3-of-31 (9.7%) from three-point range.
“No matter what the circumstances are, it’s still next man up,” James said of the injuries. “We’re all professionals. We all got to stay ready. So, obviously it’s very challenging circumstances for our ball club tonight, but I think we played extremely hard, we followed our keys. We just came up short.”
Evaluators Split On Keon Ellis’ Value
Within a look at potential Lakers trade targets, Dan Woike of The Athletic reports that league sources believe the current asking price for Kings guard Keon Ellis is a protected first-round pick.
Ellis, who will turn 26 next month, has a reputation as a solid defender, is a career 41.8% three-point shooter, and is earning just $2.3MM in 2025/26, making him an appealing option for teams not well positioned from a cap perspective to acquire a player on a larger contract.
However, there’s not a consensus on Ellis’ value, according to Woike.
One league source who spoke to The Athletic referred to the fourth-year guard as “maybe the most divisive player in the league,” pointing out that rival scouts are high on him but neither Mike Brown nor Doug Christie has been comfortable leaning on him consistently in Sacramento. After starting 28 games and averaging 24.4 minutes per game last season, Ellis has made two starts and averaged 17.6 MPG in 2025/26.
As Woike explains, some skeptics believe Ellis’ defensive skill set is more suited to generating turnovers than to actually slowing down opposing offensive offensive players, while others have reservations about his size and ability to hold his own against bigger guards.
It’s also worth noting that Ellis will reach unrestricted free agency in July if he doesn’t sign an extension before then (he’ll become eligible on February 9), so a team acquiring him would risk losing him for nothing during the 2026 offseason.
Still, Woike believes Ellis is one of the possibilities being considered by the Lakers, who could badly use another defensive-minded player in their rotation. Pelicans forward Herbert Jones, Heat forward Andrew Wiggins, Clippers forward Derrick Jones Jr., Nets guard Terance Mann, Hornets wing Josh Green, and Bulls guard Ayo Dosunmu are among the other potential targets Woike mentions, though he cautions that not all of them will be available, especially for a price the Lakers would be comfortable meeting.
Los Angeles only has one tradable first-round pick (in either 2031 or 2032) and one movable second-rounder (2032). The team could also offer a handful of first-round pick swaps. The trade value of Dalton Knecht, a 2024 first-rounder, has slipped since last season, as he has fallen out of JJ Redick‘s regular rotation this fall.
Lakers Notes: Doncic, Ayton, Knecht, Vanderbilt
The Lakers are tied for the fourth-best record in the league, but head coach JJ Redick isn’t satisfied, demanding that the team lock in more on defense, writes Dave McMenamin for ESPN. Luka Doncic took those words to heart and says he’s committed to leading the way.
“We talked about a lot, not just that, but [Redick] was right,” Doncic said. “You got to get a little bit more, especially from the star players. So that’s on us. That’s on me. And we just got to give more, especially at the start the game. We got to start the game better.”
The Lakers have the NBA’s 20th-best defense entering Wednesday’s game while ranking 23rd in opponent fast-break points and 28th in opponent three-point percentage. According to McMenamin, with the time off afforded to the Lakers as a result of the NBA Cup schedule, the coaching staff walked the team through specific examples of where it’s lacking and what it needs to do better.
McMenamin adds that Sunday’s win against the Suns was the Lakers’ first contest following the edict issued by the coaches, and the results were on display during an eight-minute stretch of the third quarter in which Phoenix was held scoreless.
“We should be like that,” Doncic said. “Like JJ said, ‘We told on ourselves’ and we should look at that clip. Phoenix is one of the most physical teams in the NBA, so we did a pretty good job there.”
We have more from the Lakers:
- Deandre Ayton has been ruled out for Thursday’s game against the Jazz with left elbow soreness, per Law Murray of The Athletic (Twitter link). Ayton played a key role in Sunday’s win against the Suns, scoring 20 points on 11 shots and adding 13 rebounds and two steals. Austin Reaves remains out with the left calf strain that sidelined him on Sunday, while Gabe Vincent is questionable due to back soreness.
- Dalton Knecht was assigned to the South Bay Lakers G League team on Monday to get some playing time while the team was on its short break. It was his first time being sent to the G League, according to Khobi Price of the Orange County Register, who notes that Knecht has only played 56 minutes over the last month. “He’s gonna get opportunities on this team,” Redick said. “He’s already had some opportunities. He’s played well in some. He’s gonna help us at some point. But right now, he needs to play, and he needs to have fun playing.” Knecht responded by posting 30 points with six made three-pointers in his South Bay debut (Twitter video link).
- Jarred Vanderbilt rejoined the Lakers’ rotation for the first time in more than a month on Sunday and quickly made himself a critical part of the win, writes Dan Woike for The Athletic. The 6’8″ forward had six offensive rebounds in 15 minutes and added a three-pointer, a block, and two steals. It was only Vanderbilt’s second game since mid-November, but he took the demotion in stride. “It’s a long season. It’s still early, so I know whether guys getting injured or something like that, the opportunity (was) gonna come back around,” Vanderbilt said. “And the biggest thing is being ready for it mentally. And obviously doing your part on the court and, showing up to practice and being a good teammate and stuff like that, but yeah, my main thing was just staying ready. ‘Cause I knew eventually, at some point, opportunity was gonna come and I wanted to be ready for it.“
Lakers Notes: Doncic, Smart, Lineup, Hayes, James
Luka Doncic is already hearing MVP chants from the home fans, and with good reason. The Lakers star guard has racked up 92 points in the team’s first two games — the most by a player in consecutive games to begin a season in team history, Dan Woike of The Athletic notes. Doncic scored 49 points in 35 minutes in a win over the Timberwolves on Friday.
“He, of course, dominates the whole game so easily,” forward Rui Hachimura told ESPN’s Dave McMenamin. “And it’s not some random team we played against. They’re a Western Conference Finals team. So this is crazy.”
Minnesota knocked the Lakers out of the playoffs last season but Doncic didn’t have revenge on his mind.
“I just want to forget about last season,” he said. “I was trying to move on. I don’t really think about that first-round series.”
We have more on the Lakers:
- Marcus Smart signed a two-year contract in July after being bought out by the Wizards. He showed his worth on Friday with his defense and energy, of the Los Angeles Times writes. Smart had just three points and zero rebounds in 21 minutes, but the Lakers outscored Minnesota by 24 points during his time on the floor. “Unfortunately my stats aren’t going to do me any justice, so I try not to worry about it,” Smart said. “I just try to go out there, and like I said, do what I’m supposed to do, and help my teammates out the best way I can. Being plus-24 is great and everything and it definitely shows the impact that can be made without touching the ball, scoring the ball, shooting the ball.”
- Coach JJ Redick has used the same starting five in the first two games, deploying Deandre Ayton, Doncic, Gabe Vincent, Austin Reaves and Hachimura, Khobi Price of the Orange County Register notes. Dalton Knecht was also in the first-half rotation after being a DNP-CD (Did Not Play – Coach’s Decision) in the team’s opener.
- Jaxson Hayes was ruled out on Friday because of left knee soreness, Price adds. Hayes played 14 minutes in the opener against Golden State.
- Former NBA player and coach Damon Jones allegedly gave gamblers inside information regarding LeBron James‘ availability for a couple of games during the 2022/23 season. James, according to Woike and The Athletic’s Joe Vardon, was unaware that someone he considered a friend was tipping information about him and the Lakers for betting purposes.
Lakers Pick Up Dalton Knecht’s 2026/27 Option
The Lakers have exercised their team option for the 2026/27 season on forward Dalton Knecht, according to Keith Smith of Spotrac (Twitter link).
The option, which is for the third year on Knecht’s rookie scale contract, is worth $4,201,080 and is now fully guaranteed. The Lakers will face their next decision on the 24-year-old a year from now, when they’ll have to determine whether or not to pick up his $6,452,859 option for the 2027/28 season.
If that fourth-year option is exercised, Knecht would become eligible for a rookie scale extension during the summer of 2027, with potential restricted free agency on tap for 2028 if he and the Lakers don’t work out a new deal before then.
The 17th overall pick in the 2024 draft, Knecht got off to a great start as a rookie last season, averaging 12.2 points per game and making 43.9% of his three-pointers in his first 19 outings. However, he averaged just 8.1 PPG and knocked down just 34.8% of his outside shots the rest of the way while struggling defensively.
Knecht shot 32.1% from the field and 23.7% on three-pointers in six Summer League appearances and wasn’t any better in the preseason, with shooting percentages of 32.0% from the floor and 23.5% from beyond the arc in six outings. Still, the Lakers remain confident in his ability to turn things around, having picked up his 2026/27 option with plenty of time to spare before the October 31 deadline.
As our tracker shows, Knecht is the only Laker whose contract includes a rookie scale team option for ’26/27.
Lakers Notes: Luka, Smart, Knecht, Ayton, Manon, Kleber
Perennial All-NBA guard Luka Doncic and former Defensive Player of the Year Marcus Smart will make their preseason debuts for the Lakers on Tuesday against Phoenix, head coach JJ Redick told reporters, including Dave McMenamin of ESPN and Khobi Price of The Southern California News Group.
Redick said both players will suit up for two of L.A.’s final three preseason games. Given Wednesday’s contest vs. Dallas is the second of a back-to-back, it seems likely that Doncic and Smart will play again on Friday against Sacramento, McMenamin observes.
Doncic hasn’t been injured during the preseason — the Lakers have just been cautious not to overexert him after the 26-year-old spent part of the summer playing for the Slovenian national team at EuroBasket 2025. Redick indicated that Doncic will be on a minutes restriction vs. the Suns.
Forward Jarred Vanderbilt said Doncic has looked good in recent practices, according to Price.
“He’s moving great,” Vanderbilt said Monday. “Everything that I’ve seen from him, like, he’s being vocal. He’s leading the charge, he’s being everything we need him to be right now. We’re happy to have him out there right now during this week, him getting some good practices and running with us, and just starting to build that momentum towards the regular season.”
Smart was originally supposed to play in Sunday’s game against Golden State but his preseason debut was pushed back a couple days. He has battled both Achilles tendinopathy and a stomach illness during training camp.
Here’s more on the Lakers:
- While Dalton Knecht‘s trade value has reportedly taken a hit over the past several months, the second-year forward has drawn praise from Redick for his offensive play in training camp, Price adds in another story. Knecht was moved into the starting lineup for Sunday’s win against the Warriors and responded with 16 points. “His sort of ceiling is going to be based on his improvement this season as a defender,” Redick said of Knecht. “He’s a big-time threat and a big-time player, and he’s made improvements. That’s ultimately going to be what the ceiling is for him. He’s earned the opportunity to [get] a look with him in the starting lineup. And our conversations all summer, all preseason, this is a year of player development for him, of growth and what that looks like, it’s got to be incremental. He’s bought into that, which is great.”
- As Price writes, Deandre Ayton also had a solid showing on Sunday, recording 14 points, eight rebounds and five assists in 26 minutes. The former No. 1 overall pick has been something of an afterthought the past couple years in Portland, but Austin Reaves believes the Bahamian big man is capable of producing at a high level for the Lakers. “Just how much skill he has,” Reaves responded when asked what has stood out about Ayton. “People forget about when he was in Phoenix and how dominant he was there and how he was one of the biggest reasons that team made it to the Finals [in 2021]. Talent is high. Can play in the pick-and-roll. Can protect the rim. We need that. We need him to flourish in that role.”
- Rookie wing Chris Manon will likely miss the remainder of preseason after suffering a Grade 2 ankle sprain, according to Redick (Twitter link via Price). Manon, who is known for his defense, signed a two-way contract with the Lakers in July after playing for the Warriors during Summer League.
- Veteran big man Maxi Kleber has dealt with a variety of injuries in recent years, including a broken right foot he suffered in January. He has been battling a quad injury during preseason but was able to play in a stay-ready game on Monday, tweets Dan Woike of The Athletic.
Pacific Notes: Knecht, Booker, Williams, Schröder
Lakers forward Dalton Knecht got off to a great start as a rookie last season, averaging 12.2 points per game and making 43.9% of his three-pointers in his first 19 outings. However, he averaged just 8.1 PPG and knocked down just 34.8% of his outside shots the rest of the way while struggling defensively.
As Dan Woike of The Athletic writes, a poor Summer League showing in which Knecht shot just 32.1% from the field and 23.7% on three-pointers further exacerbated the concerns that rival scouts and executives have about the 24-year-old, whose trade value has dipped in the past year.
While Knecht has been viewed as a prime trade chip for the Lakers – he was part of the package the team was prepared to give up in February for Mark Williams – sources who spoke to Woike don’t believe the Lakers would be able to extract value comparable to the No. 17 pick they used on him right now. The general consensus, Woike writes, is that he could return multiple second-rounders, or perhaps even a single second-rounder.
However, Knecht is in just the second season of his four-year rookie contract and should still have plenty of time – and opportunities – to work on making his game more well-rounded. Head coach JJ Redick remains optimistic about Knecht’s potential.
“I’m very confident (that) when he’s confident, he’s a high-level offensive player in the NBA,” Redick said last weekend. “It’s the other stuff that he’s got to just do and find that consistency in his defense, on being the low man, or boxing out, or crashing every time or sprinting back and actually talking in transition. When he’s doing those things, he’s an impact player.”
Here’s more from around the Pacific Division:
- With Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal no longer in Phoenix, Devin Booker knows there’s more pressure on him to be the face of the Suns on and off the court, as Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic relays. “(I) think it’s a big responsibility for me to be a leader and continue being a leader and getting everybody on the same page so we can start this thing off the right way,” Booker said within a more extensive Q&A ahead of the team’s preseason games in China.
- New Suns center Mark Williams, who is entering a potential contract year and has dealt with injuries during his first three NBA seasons, was a high-risk, high-reward investment for Phoenix. Doug Haller of The Athletic takes a closer look at the bet the Suns made on Williams and what his ceiling might look like. “He could be one of the better rim protectors in the game, first of all,” former Hornets assistant Tyrone Corbin said. “He could get quicker at setting screens and just rolling to the rim really hard. He’s a threat at the rim always because he can catch the ball. He just has to get there a little quicker. … He’s smart. … He has the potential to be a pretty good starter and a reliable guy in the lane.”
- While the Kings made it an offseason priority to add an experienced point guard like Dennis Schröder in large part to organize the offense, head coach Doug Christie is also asking the 32-year-old to “set the tone” defensively with full-court ball pressure. Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee has the story on Christie’s defensive expectations for Schröder and the rest of the Kings.
Eastern Notes: Bufkin, NAW, Tanenbaum, Nets, Wiggins
After rebuffing trade interest in former first-round pick Kobe Bufkin earlier in the offseason, the Hawks became more open to the idea of moving him after the Las Vegas Summer League concluded, according to Grant Afseth of RG.org.
While Bufkin posted strong averages of 19.5 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 4.2 assists per game in four Vegas outings, he struggled to score efficiently, making just 35.5% of his shots from the floor, including 25.9% of his three-point attempts. The Hawks, who are hoping to contend in what looks like a wide-open Eastern Conference, are focused on players who can help them win right now and weren’t sure Bufkin fit that bill, as Afseth explains.
Bufkin was ultimately sent to Brooklyn, though the Pacers also registered some interest, sources tell RG.org.
As for the Hawks, they intend to lean on Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Luke Kennard for ball-handling duties behind star point guard Trae Young, according to Afseth, who says the team envisions Alexander-Walker taking on a more significant offensive role than he had in Minnesota — he has been working closely with Atlanta’s coaching staff to prepare for those increased responsibilities, Afseth adds.
Here’s more from around the Eastern Conference:
- Raptors governor and NBA Board of Governors chairman Larry Tanenbaum is obligated to begin the process of selling his 20% stake in Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment (the Raptors’ parent company) to Rogers Communications by July 7, 2026, per Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca. There are “rumblings” that process could begin sooner, Grange says, but either way, it sounds like it’s just a matter of time until Rogers – which already controls 75% of MLSE – owns nearly the entire company. Rogers increased its stake in MLSE from 37.5% to 75% a year ago.
- Which Nets players are the most and least likely to be part of the team’s long-term plans? Brian Lewis of The New York Post explores that question in a subscriber-only article, suggesting that Cam Thomas seems unlikely to remain in Brooklyn beyond 2025/26, whereas Egor Demin, Nolan Traore, and whoever the Nets draft with their 2026 lottery pick seem destined to be cornerstones going forward.
- Addressing the recent trade rumors linking Heat forward Andrew Wiggins to the Lakers, Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel explains why he thinks Miami would be better off keeping Wiggins than trading him for a return of Rui Hachimura and Dalton Knecht.
Pacific Notes: Harris, Wiggins, Hayes-Davis, Aspiration
Zach Harris has been named general manager of the Warriors’ NBA G League affiliate, the Santa Cruz Warriors, according to a team press release. Additionally, Noah Robotham has been promoted to assistant GM.
Harris is entering his second season with the Santa Cruz Warriors after serving as an assistant GM last year. He joined the Warriors organization with four years of G League experience, having worked for the Grand Rapids Gold as a basketball strategy coordinator for the 2022/23 season, the Capital City Go-Go as a basketball operations assistant from 2018-20, and as an intern for the Iowa Wolves in 2017.
Robotham is entering his third season with the Santa Cruz Warriors, having spent last year as the team’s manager of basketball operations. In his first season with the Warriors in 2023/24, he served as a coaching associate and basketball operations coordinator.
Here’s more from the Pacific Division:
- The Lakers reportedly are looking to upgrade the wing position with the Heat’s Andrew Wiggins as a potential target. Lakers beat reporter Jovan Buha expresses skepticism on his Buha’s Block podcast (video link) that the Lakers can pull off a Wiggins trade without including a first-round pick. He also doesn’t expect that some combination of Dalton Knecht, Rui Hachimura and Gabe Vincent would be enough to pull off a trade.
- The Suns signed Nigel Hayes-Davis to a one-year contract in July after he spent seven years playing overseas. The Athletic’s Doug Haller details Hayes-Davis’ long journey back to the NBA. “For sure, I would’ve been surprised (it took so long), but to talk about the past is almost pointless,” Hayes-Davis said. “… I will say that I’m appreciative of the journey that I’ve had. Is it the one I thought about as a child growing up? Of course not. But it’s been fantastic.”
- The ongoing saga regarding Kawhi Leonard‘s no-show endorsement deal with Aspiration as a means of the Clippers potentially circumventing the league’s salary cap rules has been a hot topic the past two weeks. ESPN’s Shwetha Surendran takes a closer at the now-defunct company, including its business model and high-profile investors.
Lakers Notes: Knecht, Ayton, Doncic, Bronny, Jokic, Thiero
Dalton Knecht will play for the Lakers’ Summer League team. He’s looking to expand his game and showcase more skills beyond his three-point shooting.
“Just showing what I can do,” Knecht told Khobi Price of the Orange County Register. “Feel like I kind of showed a little bit throughout my rookie year, but just keep building on top of that.”
Knecht was part of the rescinded midseason trade with Charlotte when Mark Williams failed the Lakers’ physical. He remained in the rotation and averaged 9.1 points and 2.8 rebounds per game while shooting 37.6 percent from long range in 78 appearances as a rookie.
“After the season we had a talk and stuff like that,” Knecht said of coach JJ Redick. “And we’ve been doing a workout. We’ve got lunch and stuff. Just talking and getting to know each other more and then being able to communicate with each other. That’s the most important thing. Then, obviously, JJ is a great shooter and we’ve just been doing shooting drills and stuff like that. It’s good just getting to the gym with your head coach. Learn from him, because he’s a great shooter as well.”
We have more on the Lakers:
- At least one prominent Laker is enticed about the prospect of Deandre Ayton joining the team. Luka Doncic is excited about the opportunity to play with Ayton, according to Dan Woike and David Aldridge of The Athletic. They are both clients of longtime agent Bill Duffy.
- Statements by agent Rich Paul after LeBron James opted in to his contract has fueled speculation that James might want to be traded at some point if he’s unhappy with the team’s roster moves. That was news to his son and teammate Bronny James. “Actually, one of my friends called me, talking about where [I was going to play next season], what I was going to do because they saw my dad [in the news],” Bronny told Dave McMenamin of ESPN. “I didn’t see it. He called me. I was like, ‘Yeah, I have no idea what you’re talking about.’ … I don’t really pay attention to that stuff. There’s a lot of stuff going around that I don’t pay attention to.”
- Doncic paired up with Nikola Jokic? That is the dream scenario for Lakers fans and Bleacher Report’s Eric Pincus outlines how the Lakers are seemingly making moves designed to clear enough future cap space to bring in Jokic at or before the 2027 offseason if he becomes disillusioned with the Nuggets. While Pincus acknowledges it may be a pipe dream, he points out that the Lakers have a history of making unlikely deals to land future Hall-of-Famers.
- Adou Thiero, drafted with the 36th overall pick, won’t play this summer for the Lakers, Woike tweets. He’s still rehabbing the left knee injury he suffered this past season at Arkansas but he’s expected to be fully cleared for training camp.