Pacific Notes: Booker, Green, Schröder, LaVine, Jones, Bogdanovic, Bufkin
Suns star Devin Booker will miss Sunday’s game against Miami due to a right ankle sprain, tweets Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel. The 29-year-old guard sustained the injury in Friday’s loss at Atlanta.
While Booker will be out, his teammate Jalen Green has a chance to suit up — he’s listed as questionable with what the team is calling right hamstring injury management. Green also exited Friday’s game early after experiencing tightness in his right hamstring.
We have more from around the Pacific Division:
- Dennis Schröder offered a profane response to hearing his name pop up in trade rumors, per Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee. Several Kings, including the veteran guard, have been the subject of rumors leading up to the February 5 deadline with Sacramento holding the fourth-worst record (12-34) in the NBA. “I don’t give a f–k about that,” Schröder said after Friday’s loss in Cleveland. “At the end of the day, I enjoy every single day being in the NBA. I don’t take it for granted.”
- The Kings will be playing without Zach LaVine during Sunday’s game at Detroit, Anderson adds in another story. The two-time All-Star was ruled out of today’s game due to lower back soreness.
- Clippers forward Derrick Jones Jr. (right knee sprain) and guard/forward Bogdan Bogdanovic (left hamstring injury management) were limited participants in Saturday’s practice, head coach Tyronn Lue told reporters, including Law Murray of The Athletic (Twitter link). Both players will be out again for Sunday’s contest vs. Brooklyn.
- Kobe Bufkin‘s 10-day contract with the Lakers expired on Thursday night and he since been re-acquired by G League’s South Bay Lakers, notes Dave McMenamin of ESPN (via Twitter). The 15th overall pick in the 2023 draft, Bufkin appeared in four games with Los Angeles, averaging 3.0 points in 11.3 minutes per contest.
Derrick Jones Jr. To Be Reevaluated In Six Weeks Due To MCL Sprain
Derrick Jones Jr. has been diagnosed with a Grade II MCL sprain in his right knee, Shams Charania reports for ESPN (Twitter link). According to Charania, Jones will be reevaluated in six weeks.
Jones had played just four games for the Clippers since returning from a similar injury that he suffered in November. At the time of his previous injury, he was given the same estimated recovery timeline and ended up being sidelined from Nov. 16 to Dec. 28, missing 17 games during that span.
In his 17 games this season, Jones has posted career-high scoring numbers, averaging 10.4 points while shooting 40.0% from three, a personal best. He’s also averaging a career-high 1.1 blocks per game.
Law Murphy of The Athletic notes (via Twitter) that the Clippers have 20 games left before the All-Star Break, and this timeline could mean that Jones misses all of them. The Clippers went 5-12 during his previous absence.
Injury Notes: LaVine, D. Jones, T. Young, J. Smith, C. White
After missing nine games with a left ankle sprain, Kings wing Zach LaVine will return to action on Sunday against Milwaukee, tweets James Ham of TheKingsBeat.com. Rookie center Maxime Raynaud will also be active after having an injury scare in Friday’s loss to Phoenix.
LaVine is reportedly one of several players the Bucks are monitoring ahead of the trade deadline, so it’s an interesting coincidence that he’s returning today.
Here are a few more injury-relates updates from around the NBA:
- Clippers forward Derrick Jones Jr. suffered a right knee injury in Saturday’s loss to Boston and will undergo an MRI on Sunday, reports Law Murray of The Athletic (All Twitter links here). According to Murray, Jones limped to the locker room after being fouled by Payton Pritchard in the fourth quarter. It’s a disappointing development for the high-flying Jones, who just returned to action on December 28 after missing several weeks with a sprained MCL in the same knee.
- Hawks point guard Trae Young missed his fourth straight game on Saturday at Toronto, per Brad Rowland of Locked On Hawks (Twitter link). The four-time All-Star has been battling a right quad contusion. Kristaps Porzingis (return to competition reconditioning) was also out for the second night of a back-to-back, which was expected, Rowland notes (via Twitter).
- Bulls big man Jalen Smith has entered the NBA’s concussion protocol after taking a hard hit to the head in the third quarter of Saturday’s loss to Charlotte, head coach Billy Donovan said after the game (Twitter link via K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Sports Network). Smith has been ruled out of Monday’s contest at Boston after being diagnosed with a concussion (link to injury report). On a brighter note, guard Coby White has a chance to return Monday — he’s questionable with what the team is calling right calf injury management.
Pacific Notes: Clippers, Raynaud, Schröder, Post
The Clippers ranked 29th in pace during a catastrophic 6-21 start that almost ruined their season. Instead of speeding up, they’ve slowed down even more during their six-game winning streak, writes Law Murray of The Athletic, ranking dead last in pace but first in both offensive and defensive rating. They’ve also been number one in their rate of attempted free throws, while allowing the fewest three-pointers in the league.
Coach Tyronn Lue credits the turnaround to the players’ willingness to stay committed to the things that are necessary to succeed.
“Just having humility, continue to keep working hard, pay attention to detail, executing and then just being unselfish, sharing the basketball,” he said. “Allowing our other guys to make plays and be aggressive offensively. The ball’s going to find Kawhi (Leonard) and James (Harden); it’s going to get back to them eventually. And just those four things. I just give those guys credit for just coming in and continuing to work when our back was against the wall. So when you keep working hard, you keep coming to work every single day, you’ll get the results eventually. That’s what we’ve been able to do.”
Murray notes that a large part of the credit goes to Leonard, who has topped 40 points three times during the current streak after never doing it more than twice in a season. The return of Derrick Jones Jr. from an MCL sprain has solidified the point-of-attack defense alongside Kris Dunn, while John Collins is posting his best rebounding games of the season and Nicolas Batum has been winning his minutes by a wide margin.
“I just think everybody’s urgency just went up as a group,” Dunn said. “Understanding that it’s starting to get — not late into the season, but we’re getting into the thick of the season, and we want to just turn things around. … I just try to do what I do. I think everybody knows what I was brought here to do, and I just try and do it to the best of my ability.”
There’s more from the Pacific Division:
- An MRI on Kings rookie center Maxime Raynaud showed no structural damage to his left leg, a source tells Jason Anderson of the Sacramento Bee (subscription required). Raynaud had to be helped off the court after a collision in the fourth quarter of Friday’s game.
- Kings guard Dennis Schröder said he never gets nervous around the trade deadline, even though he’s been dealt multiple times in his career (Twitter video link from Sean Cunningham of KCRA News). “I always give everything for whoever I’m playing for,” Schröder said. “I’m doing it for myself first, for my family and then of course for the organization who I play for.”
- Warriors coach Steve Kerr isn’t concerned about Quinten Post‘s three-point shooting, even though the second-year center has regressed from 40.8% last season to 33.3% now, per Sam Gordon of The San Francisco Chronicle (subscription required). “I think it’s all part of being a young player, gaining the confidence,” Kerr said. “… QP is in his second (season). The game has to slow down. You have to feel that sense of calm and confidence.”
Clippers’ Derrick Jones Jr. Expected To Return Sunday
Clippers forward Derrick Jones Jr. has been cleared to return to action for Sunday’s game against Detroit, sources tell Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link).
Jones has been sidelined since November 16 with a sprained MCL in his right knee. He was projected to miss at least six weeks, so he’s returning right on schedule.
Jones’ absence is among the reasons for the Clippers’ slow start, although they’ve rebounded over the past week to win three straight games. He’s averaging 10.4 points, 2.5 rebounds and 1.1 assists in 13 games, and he provides a strong defensive presence that L.A. has been missing.
Jones was injured in a collision with Boston’s Jaylen Brown that caused his knee to bend inward at an odd angle. He had to be helped off the court, and the Clippers were relieved when medical testing showed there was no structural damage.
Jones was a full-time starter before the injury and figures to make his way back into that role, even if it doesn’t happen right away. Coach Tyronn Lue has been using a makeshift starting lineup since Ivica Zubac suffered an ankle sprain that’s expected to sideline him through mid-January.
In addition, Bogdan Bogdanovic will miss Sunday’s game due to left hamstring injury management and Cam Christie is questionable with a sprained left ankle.
Pacific Notes: Kuminga, Green, Raynaud, Murray, Hachimura, D. Jones, Allen
Scott Ostler of The San Francisco Chronicle (subscription required) has a prescription for fixing the Warriors that includes trading Jonathan Kuminga and removing Draymond Green from the starting lineup, at least on a temporary basis. He contends that significant changes are required to jump-start a team that had lost three straight games coming into tonight and is in peril of slipping out of a play-in spot.
Ostler argues that Kuminga, who will be eligible to be dealt on January 15, has become too much of a distraction because of his up-and-down play and his constantly changing status in coach Steve Kerr‘s rotation. Kuminga returned to action Thursday after being held out of the previous three games, but he played just 9:31 and missed four of his five shots from the field. Ostler believes Kuminga still has trade value because there are rival teams who think he hasn’t been given a legitimate chance to succeed and he would be better off if he’s freed from Golden State’s system.
Green should come off the bench for at least a game or two, Ostler adds, due to his persistent turnover issues (3.3 per game this season compared to a career average of 2.3) and his poor shooting (39.1% coming into Saturday’s game). Ostler predicts Green would accept the move and it would allow the team to surround Stephen Curry with at least three other shooters in the starting lineup.
There’s more from the Pacific Division:
- Rookie center Maxime Raynaud will be the Kings‘ starting center “for the foreseeable future” after Friday’s announcement that Domantas Sabonis will miss at least four-to-five more weeks, writes Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee (subscription required). The French big man, who was taken with the 42nd pick in this year’s draft, has been productive since moving into the starting lineup, averaging 15.4 points, 8.8 rebounds and 1.4 assists over the past five games while shooting 53.4% from the field and 33.3% from beyond the arc. Coach Doug Christie juggled his starting lineup on Thursday, Anderson adds, moving Keegan Murray from power forward to small forward, which the organization views as his “future” position.
- Lakers coach J.J. Redick said “the hope” is that Rui Hachimura will only be sidelined for three-to-five days with groin soreness, according to Dave McMenamin of ESPN (Twitter link). Hachimura started to feel discomfort in his hip area during Thursday’s game at Utah. Redick also said Deandre Ayton (left elbow) and Austin Reaves (left calf) are both making progress and could be ready for Tuesday’s contest at Phoenix.
- Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said Derrick Jones Jr., who’s sidelined with an MCL sprain, has begun playing in five-on-five scrimmages, tweets Law Murray of The Athletic. Murray suggests that Jones might be able to beat his projected timetable for a return in early January.
- Suns guard Grayson Allen missed his second straight game tonight with soreness in his right knee, but he’s expected back soon, per Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic (Twitter link). “No setbacks. He’s doing more and more every day,” coach Jordan Ott said. “It’s going on the right direction. Then we’re hopeful that it continues and he’ll be out there soon.”
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.
Derrick Jones Jr. Out At Least Six Weeks With MCL Sprain
Clippers forward Derrick Jones Jr. suffered a sprained medial collateral ligament (MCL) in his right knee during Sunday’s loss in Boston and will miss at least six weeks, which is when he’ll be reevaluated, reports ESPN’s Shams Charania (via Twitter).
According to Law Murray of The Athletic (Twitter link), the Clippers were “relieved” that Jones’ injury wasn’t more serious.
The injury occurred late in the second quarter when Jaylen Brown lost his dribble and dove to retrieve the ball just as Jones was reaching for it (YouTube link). The incidental contact resulted in Jones’ knee bending inward at an odd angle, with Jones immediately grabbing at his knee in pain. The high-flying swingman had to be helped off the court and was unable to put any weight on his right leg.
Whiles Jones’ stats are fairly modest — he was averaging 10.9 points, 2.5 rebounds and 1.1 blocks on .540/.341/.786 shooting in the 12 games (26.0 minutes per contest) leading up to the injury — his absence will certainly be felt by the Clippers. The former dunk contest winner is an offensive lob and transition threat and one of the team’s best defenders.
Third-year wing Jordan Miller also exited Sunday’s game with an injury — he aggravated the left hamstring strain that caused him to miss the first three weeks of the season, Murray notes (Twitter links). It’s an unfortunate setback for the 25-year-old, who scored a career-high 22 points in his season debut on Wednesday.
Miller, who is on a two-way deal with Los Angeles, has been ruled out of Monday’s back-to-back in Philadelphia with left hamstring soreness, but isn’t expected to miss extended time, according to the team (Twitter link via Murray).
Rookie guard/forward Kobe Sanders, another two-way player, will get his first career start on Monday, tweets Murray.
Star forward Kawhi Leonard, who is dealing with right ankle and foot sprains, has resumed on-court work and is nearing his return, though it’s unclear if he’ll resume playing during L.A.’s ongoing road trip, which wraps up next Tuesday at the Lakers, Murray adds.
Los Angeles Notes: Jones Jr., Clippers, Silver, Doncic
Clippers forward Derrick Jones Jr. didn’t provide his former agent written notice of 15 days prior to firing him before he signed a free agent contract last year. That was a key reason why an arbitrator ruled that Jones’ former agent, Aaron Turner, was entitled to his full 4% commission of $1.2MM on the three-year, $30MM contract that Jones inked, Michael McCann of Sportico reports.
Jones stated he directly negotiated with the Clippers last year. Prior to Turner’s dismissal, the Mavericks offered Jones a three-year, $27MM contract. Jones testified he was “furious” by the offer, which was much less than he expected.
On June 26, 2024, Jones sent Turner an email saying he was terminating their Standard Player Agent Contract. Two days later, Jones asked Turner to waive the 15-day notice period and Turner declined.
Here’s more on the Los Angeles teams:
- So what kind of penalties could the league hit the Clippers with regarding Kawhi Leonard‘s alleged no-show endorsement deal if it’s determined the team circumvented the salary cap illegally? John Hollinger of The Athletic notes that the league could fine the Clippers up to $7.5MM, fine Leonard up to $350K, forfeit Clippers draft picks, suspend owner Steve Ballmer or other Clipper personnel up to a year and fine them up to $1MM each; void Leonard’s contract and prohibit him from re-signing with the Clippers; and require Leonard to return the money he received from Aspiration. However, if the investigation ends during the season, voiding Leonard’s contract could lead to unintended consequences, with him becoming a free agent and signing with a contender on a minimum contract, Hollinger notes.
- Regarding the investigation, commissioner Adam Silver promised at the Front Office Sports conference that “we will get to the bottom of it,” according to Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic (Twitter link). Silver added that “I don’t know anything about Kawhi’s deal. Show, no show; we’ll certainly find out.” The league hired a law firm to investigate the matter.
- Luka Doncic admits he was shocked when the Mavericks traded him to the Lakers and wasn’t sure how to process it, he told Jason Gay of The Wall Street Journal (subscription required; hat tip to Kurt Helin of NBC Sports). “I didn’t know how to react, how to act, what to say,” Doncic said. “It was a lot of shock. I felt Dallas was my home. I had many friends there. The fans always supported me. I didn’t want to upset Dallas fans. And I didn’t want to upset Laker fans.” Doncic also described his offseason conditioning program, which included one key element. “For the first time, I stopped playing basketball for a month,” he said, replacing that with “pure training and fitness.”
Pacific Notes: Lakers, Kuminga, DJJ, Suns, Micic
After stating in mid-July that he was “pretty confident” the Lakers weren’t interested in Heat forward Andrew Wiggins, Dan Woike of The Athletic confirms reporting from Marc Stein, writing that the Lakers appear more inclined to pursue an upgrade on the wing – including a player like Wiggins – in the wake of Luka Doncic‘s long-term commitment to the team. Doncic signed a three-year, maximum-salary extension with Los Angeles last month.
Although the Lakers seem more open to taking on contracts that run beyond the 2025/26 season in the right deal, they also may want to see how new additions like Deandre Ayton, Marcus Smart, and Jake LaRavia look this fall before they cash in any of their limited trade assets, Woike cautions.
The Lakers can currently only trade one future first-round pick, either their 2031 or 2032 selection.
Here’s more from around the Pacific:
- Checking in on where things stand between Jonathan Kuminga and the Warriors, Monte Poole of NBC Sports Bay Area says the restricted free agent forward continues to show little interest in Golden State’s two-year, $45MM offer that includes a second-year team option and requires him to waive his right to veto a trade. In Poole’s view, Kuminga signing his $7.98MM qualifying offer remains the most likely outcome.
- An arbitrator has ruled that Derrick Jones Jr.‘s former agent, Aaron Turner, is entitled to his full 4% commission ($1.2MM) on the three-year, $30MM contract the veteran forward signed with the Clippers in 2024, per NBA insider Marc Stein (Twitter link). Jones made an agent change right around the time he entered free agency last summer.
- Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic relays several of the most notable comments that former Suns point guard Vasilije Micic made during a recent appearance on the X&O’s Chat (YouTube link), including Micic’s impressions of Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, and Bradley Beal, and his thoughts on why Phoenix fell well short of its expectations. “Why didn’t they succeed?” the Serbian guard said in his native language. “It was a bit of everything. Issues with the coach, issues with working together, which I don’t even know what it was.”