Kristaps Porzingis Ready For Action After 10-Game Absence
Kristaps Porzingis is not on the Hawks’ injury report for Wednesday’s game against the Timberwolves, Brad Rowland of Locked On Hawks tweets.
Porzingis has been out for 10 games due to an unspecified illness. Overall, he has missed 14 of the past 15 contests with the ailment.
After his lone game earlier this month, Porzingis admitted he was frustrated by the illness, which he said wasn’t related to postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS), the condition he was diagnosed with after missing extended time in 2024/25 while a member of the Celtics.
Porzingis, who will be an unrestricted free agent next summer if he doesn’t sign an extension before then, has been very productive when available in his first season with Atlanta, averaging 19.6 points, 5.6 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.6 blocks on .497/.364/.855 shooting in a career-low 25.9 minutes per contest.
His return should give the reeling Hawks, currently saddled with a 15-19 record, a much-needed spark. Atlanta has lost seven straight and its defense has generally been a no-show. The Hawks have given up 126 or more points in each of their last nine losses and ranks 23rd in defensive field goal percentage at 47.9%.
A strong return by Porzingis could also have other implications. The Hawks have been prominently linked to Mavericks big man Anthony Davis and Porzingis’ $30.7MM expiring contract would be a likely component to match salaries. Even if the Hawks don’t acquire Davis, Porzingis’ contract could be one of the more attractive assets on the trade market in the coming weeks.
Jalen Johnson, who missed Monday’s loss to Oklahoma City due to an illness, is also off the injury report while Trae Young is questionable due to a right quad contusion.
Latest On Anthony Davis, Trae Young
Atlanta is viewed as a “real-deal suitor” for Mavericks big man Anthony Davis, Marc Stein reports in his latest Substack post. Chris Haynes reported on Saturday morning that the Hawks remain “very intrigued” by the possibility of acquiring Davis, whom the team has been linked to for multiple weeks.
However, there are several complicating factors that could prevent a potential trade from coming together.
While Haynes reported that Trae Young would not be included in an outgoing package for Davis, Stein suggests the four-time All-Star point guard might have to be sent elsewhere to make a deal work for financial reasons. The Hawks are not known for being big spenders, Stein observes, and having Young ($48.97MM player option) and Davis ($58.46MM) under contract at the same time in 2026/27 would make the roster prohibitively expensive.
Like many other reporters, Stein hears Davis is expected to seek a lucrative long-term extension once he becomes eligible to sign one in August, whether he stays with Dallas or is moved to another team.
According to Stein, there’s a “growing belief” around the NBA that the Hawks are open to moving Young, but whether they’d actually be able to find a suitable deal for him remains to be seen. As Michael Scotto of HoopsHype reported a couple weeks ago, rival executives think Young may end up having to exercise that player option, which doesn’t exactly point to a robust free agent or trade market.
Stein isn’t the only reporter to hear Atlanta could be looking to trade Young. ESPN’s Tim MacMahon said something similar on Monday’s Hoop Collective podcast (hat tip to Doric Sam of Bleacher Report).
“The Hawks certainly are indicating that they’re looking for the exit ramp with Trae Young,” MacMahon said. “They did not make any attempt to get him signed to an extension. When that’s the case with your face of the franchise, that’s a pretty clear message that the end could be near.”
MacMahon pointed to Ja Morant (Grizzlies) and LaMelo Ball (Hornets) as two other maximum-salaried point guards who are in similar situations as the Hawks and Young.
“If there is an attempt to trade these guys, it’s not going to be easy,” MacMahon said. “There’s not going to be some wide array of teams raising their hand and trying to get in on the bidding, and I’m not sure if you’re even gonna be able to make a trade that’s going to bring value in return.”
The Mavericks also already have Kyrie Irving in the backcourt, and while he’s still recovering from a torn ACL, it would make zero sense to pair him with a small, ball-dominant, defense-deficient guard like Young.
As for who the Hawks could send out for Davis, Stein says the team appears to be willing to part with 2024 No. 1 overall pick Zaccharie Risacher under the right circumstances, and points to the expiring contracts of Kristaps Porzingis and Luke Kennard as salary-matching pieces. But it’s unclear if Atlanta would be willing to offer draft compensation — or if Dallas would be interested in that proposal.
According to Stein, Hawks forward Jalen Johnson and the 2026 first-round pick Atlanta controls (the more favorable of the Pelicans’ and Bucks’ selections) are viewed as off-limits in any trade talks.
It’s also unclear how willing the Mavericks are to make an in-season deal involving Davis, as Stein hears governor Patrick Dumont is among a group of key executives who would like to see Irving, Davis and Cooper Flagg play together before making another major trade. Waiting until the offseason could be the prudent choice, depending on the types of offers the Mavs receive, Stein writes.
Haynes reported that the Warriors are considering making a run at Davis. According to Stein, while Golden State has a “longstanding fondness” for the 10-time All-Star, the team has reservations about his contract and lengthy injury history and doesn’t appear to be actively pursuing him.
As Stein notes, Jimmy Butler or Draymond Green would have to be included in a possible Davis deal for matching purposes, which is one reason why a trade looks unlikely at this time.
Stein continues to hear the Warriors are looking for the “best possible” deal centered around Jonathan Kuminga‘s $22.5MM contract once the fifth-year forward becomes trade-eligible on January 15.
The Hawks have gone 0-6 since Young returned to action earlier this month (he appeared in five of those games). He will miss Monday’s contest at Oklahoma City due to a right quad contusion, tweets Brad Rowland of Locked On Hawks. Johnson is also out with an illness.
Kristaps Porzingis Out Monday, Now Considered Day-To-Day
While Hawks center Kristaps Porzingis will be out again for Monday’s contest at Oklahoma City, his return shouldn’t be far off. According to the team (Twitter link), Porzingis is progressing in his return from an illness and is now considered day-to-day.
This is the first official update on Porzingis since Atlanta ruled him out for two weeks on December 14. Porzingis’ new status was first reported by Ohm Youngmisuk and Shams Charania of ESPN (via Twitter).
Monday will mark the Latvian big man’s 10th straight absence due to the unspecified illness. Overall, he has missed 14 of the past 15 contests with the ailment. After his lone game earlier this month, Porzingis admitted he was frustrated by the illness, which he said wasn’t related to postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS), the condition he was diagnosed with after missing extended time in 2024/25.
Porzingis, who will be an unrestricted free agent next summer if he doesn’t sign an extension before then, has been very productive when available in his first season with Atlanta, averaging 19.6 points, 5.6 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.6 blocks on .497/.364/.855 shooting in a career-low 25.9 minutes per contest. The Hawks are plus-3.4 points per 100 possessions with Porzingis on the court and minus-2.3 when he’s not.
However, availability has been a significant issue, with the 30-year-old only appearing in 13 of the team’s 33 games to this point.
Porzingis, who was sent from Boston to Atlanta in the offseason, has popped up in several trade rumors to open ’25/26. Our Luke Adams listed the former All-Star as the Hawks’ most likely trade candidate earlier this week.
The Hawks have been sliding down the Eastern Conference standings for weeks, having lost six straight games and 10 of their past 12. They held a players-only meeting following Friday’s loss to Miami, tweets Lauren L. Williams of The Atlanta Journal Constitution.
“We kind of had like a real sit-down with the whole group, and said, ‘We need to be better.’ And I think you can feel it in the presence of the game,” Nickeil Alexander-Walker said Saturday.
Atlanta made a late rally in Saturday’s game vs. New York, but ultimately came up short, losing by three points.
“We told each other what we needed to say yesterday,” Jalen Johnson added after the team’s latest loss (Twitter link via Williams). “A lot of guys spoke, so I think that was a good sign. So yeah, and I think it reflected today.”
Afseth’s Latest: Spurs, Giannis, J. Johnson, Jazz, Bey
The Spurs have flashed tantalizing potential this season with a 21-7 start and a run to the NBA Cup championship game, but league sources who spoke to Grant Afseth of Dallas Hoops Journal don’t expect San Antonio to make the sort of significant in-season trade that would compromise the club’s future flexibility.
“They’re not going to sit around being satisfied, but I don’t see them making a move like trading for Giannis (Antetokounmpo),” a source told Afseth. “There are more reasonable options out there. They can be patient and opportunistic.”
According to Afseth, the expectation is that the Spurs will focus on internal growth of their young core this season while preserving their most valuable long-term assets. Still, he says some rival teams have wondered whether San Antonio would be willing to sacrifice some of those assets for another high-level role player who would complement the current group.
“They have the assets to make a trade like Orlando did to add Desmond Bane,” a source said. “It’d have to be someone that fits their timeline. Someone like a Trey Murphy III, for example, could be a strong fit.”
Here are a few more items of interest from Afseth’s latest round-up:
- If Antetokounmpo is made available this season, many of the top suitors for the Bucks star are expected to be Eastern Conference clubs, says Afseth. That group includes the Heat, Knicks, Hawks, and Raptors, though rival executives are skeptical that New York would want to break up its roster during the season and Atlanta isn’t expected to make forward Jalen Johnson available, Afseth notes.
- While both Afseth and Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Substack link) say that hanging onto their top-eight protected 2026 first-round pick is a priority for the Jazz, Fischer writes that Utah also wants to “establish a winning environment” sooner rather than later. Lauri Markkanen and Keyonte George – along with 2026 restricted free agent Walker Kessler – are viewed as cornerstones for the Jazz, with Kyle Anderson, Jusuf Nurkic, Kevin Love, and Georges Niang considered potential in-season trade candidates, per Afseth. Afseth adds that both management and ownership have confidence that Will Hardy is the right head coach to guide the team out of its rebuilding stage.
- Pelicans forward Saddiq Bey is increasingly piquing the interest of teams in need of help on the wing, according to Afseth, who published a full story on Sunday examining Bey’s return to action this season following a torn ACL. The 26-year-old is averaging 15.0 points and 6.1 rebounds in 29.5 minutes per game through 29 outings (21 starts) for New Orleans.
Stein’s Latest: Antetokounmpo, Lakers, Porzingis, Johnson, Spencer
Not much has changed on the Giannis Antetokounmpo trade front, Marc Stein writes in his latest article for the Stein Line (Substack link). However, according to Stein, there have been some indications which teams would – and wouldn’t – become players for Antetokounmpo should the Bucks, who lost by 45 points to the Nets on Sunday, make him available.
Teams are waiting for signals from the Bucks that they are open for business, but those signals have yet to come, according to Stein, who hears there have actually been whispers that Milwaukee will actually go the opposite way and look to reinforce the roster around its superstar forward.
If Antetokounmpo does end up on the trade block, some of the teams best positioned to pursue him may not enter the mix. Stein suggests there’s a “growing belief” that the Spurs, Rockets, and Thunder are happy with their current cores and won’t be looking to break them up to try to land the two-time MVP.
We have more from Stein:
- The Lakers‘ loss to the Victor Wembanyama-less Spurs in the NBA Cup quarterfinals helped emphasize L.A.’s dire need for perimeter on-ball defenders, Stein writes. “I think being able to contain the basketball is probably the most difficult thing for our team right now,” Lakers head coach JJ Redick said after that game. According to Stein’s sources, the Lakers are hoping to target three-and-D players at the trade deadline, but the player pool – beyond Kings guard Keon Ellis – is relatively limited for now. Stein also notes that Los Angeles’ preferences in any deal would be to bring in a player on a similar age timeline as Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves, who are 26 and 27, respectively.
- Any major moves made by the Hawks during this trade deadline are expected to include Kristaps Porzingis‘ $30.7MM expiring deal, Stein reports. However, he notes the recent announcement that Porzingis would miss the next two weeks due to an unspecified illness could complicate a potential deal, given the similar health problems that limited the Latvian big man during the 2025 playoffs.
- Jalen Johnson is expected to be off-limits in any trade talks for the Hawks. Johnson posted his fourth-straight triple-double on Sunday night, which Stein notes (via Twitter) ties Nikola Jokic for the longest streak this season. Johnson has been instrumental in keeping Atlanta competitive with Trae Young having been limited to just five games this season due to a knee injury. The Hawks have posted a 12-9 record without Young, and Johnson has averaged 23.8 points, 11.2 rebounds, and 8.8 assists per game in that span.
- Warriors guard Pat Spencer is viewed as a near lock to have his two-way contract converted to a guaranteed deal, Stein writes. Entering Sunday, Spencer has been active for all 26 Golden State games, meaning he’s over halfway to his 50-game limit. The third-year guard is posting career-highs across the board, averaging 7.7 points, 3.3 assists, and 2.6 rebounds in 16.4 minutes per game on .457/.424/.900 shooting splits. The Warriors currently have a full 15-man roster and are only operating about $264K below their hard cap, so they’ll need to make another move before they’re able to convert Spencer.
Jaylen Brown, Jamal Murray Named Players Of The Week
Celtics wing Jaylen Brown and Nuggets guard Jamal Murray have been named the NBA’s Players of the Week, the league announced on Monday (via Twitter).
Brown won for the Eastern Conference, while Murray claimed the award in the Western Conference.
Brown, the 2024 Finals MVP, led Boston to an unblemished 3-0 record in games he played from December 1-7. He sat out the Dec. 4 contest at Washington, which the Celtics won by 45 points. The 29-year-old averaged 34.0 points, 6.7 rebounds, 5.7 assists and 1.0 steal on .538/.471/.889 shooting in three appearances last week (37.7 minutes per game).
A Georgia native who played one season of college ball for California, Brown is well on his way to making his fifth All-Star game in 2025/26. He’s averaging career highs of 29.1 PPG and 4.9 APG while also contributing 6.2 RPG and 1.1 SPG through 23 contests (33.7 MPG).
Murray, meanwhile, helped guide Denver to a 3-1 record last week. The 28-year-old Canadian averaged 29.8 PPG, 7.5 APG, 4.5 RPG and 1.3 SPG on .595/.621/.929 shooting in four appearances (33.8 MPG).
Murray is off to a fantastic start to the season himself and appears well-positioned to make his first All-Star appearance. Through 22 games (35.0 MPG), he’s averaging 25.0 PPG, 6.8 APG and 4.5 RPG — all career highs — with an elite shooting line of .506/.447/.898.
According to the NBA, De’Aaron Fox (Spurs), Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams (Thunder), and Murray’s teammate Nikola Jokic were the other nominees in the West (Twitter link). Jalen Brunson (Knicks), Jalen Johnson (Hawks), Tyrese Maxey (Sixers), Michael Porter Jr. (Nets), and Brown’s teammate Derrick White were nominated in the East.
Southeast Notes: Porzingis, J. Johnson, Wizards, McNeeley
After returning to action on Friday against Denver, Hawks big man Kristaps Porzingis will be held out of the second night of a back-to-back on Saturday at Washington, tweets Brad Rowland of Locked On Hawks.
Porzingis, a one-time All-Star, had missed the four games leading up to Friday with an unspecified illness. According to Kevin Chouinard of Hawks.com (Twitter link), Porzingis said his most recent ailment wasn’t related to postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS), the condition he was diagnosed with after missing extended time last season.
“No, I wouldn’t say it’s the same thing,” Porzingis said after Friday’s game. “I just wasn’t feeling too good, honestly. Just not being healthy healthy, you know? But I wouldn’t say it’s the same stuff from last season, so that’s good.
“I think I kind of put that behind me even this summer playing for the (Latvian) national team, but anyway, just catching whatever, it’s frustrating, you know? I want to be healthy. And I will be healthy.”
Porzingis, who was on a minutes restriction, performed well in Friday’s one-point loss to the Nuggets, finishing with 25 points (on 9-of-13 shooting), two rebounds, and two blocks. He was plus-18 in 20 minutes. The Latvian center admitted that coming off the bench wouldn’t be his first choice, but said he’s willing to do whatever he can to help the team.
“Obviously, it’s not what I love, you know? But I think it makes sense in limited minutes, and I will do whatever is best for the team. When I say those words, I really mean it. I’m here just to help this team win,” Porzingis said (Twitter link via Chouinard).
Here’s more from around the Southeast:
- Jalen Johnson continues to shine for the Hawks. As John Hollinger of The Athletic writes, the fifth-year forward recorded the second-fastest triple-double in NBA history on Friday and became just the sixth player to notch a triple-double in the first half. “We feed off him,” head coach Quin Snyder said of Johnson, who finished with 21 points, 18 rebounds and 16 assists, including 11 points, 10 rebounds and 12 assists in the first half. “He has the ability to impact the game at multiple levels, and his stat line represents that.”
- Josh Robbins of The Athletic recently examined the Wizards‘ season after 20 games, a stretch in which the team went just 3-17. While the on-court results have obviously been lackluster, the Wizards are incentivized to tank again this season in order to retain their top-eight protected first-round pick, Robbins notes, and Kyshawn George and Alex Sarr have taken significant steps forward in their second seasons. “I think we’ve made a lot of progress as a team and as individuals comparing the first game (this season) to where we are now,” Sarr told The Athletic. “Obviously, (there were) a lot of games that we could have won that we didn’t. So it’s a little frustrating when you look at our record knowing that we could have won some more games definitely because we were up at the end of the games. But that’s something you can’t control. It’s in the past. All we can do is learn from it and take it as lessons.”
- Late first-rounder Liam McNeeley has received inconsistent playing time for the Hornets in his rookie season, but he’s thrilled he was able to fulfill his longtime goal of reaching the NBA and has remained a positive presence on the team throughout 2025/26. “I’m having the time of my life right now,” McNeeley said with a huge grin on his face, per Sam Perley of Hornets.com. “I can’t complain. It’s so cool getting to live out the dream. It’s even better than I thought it was going to be growing up. It’s everything I could have imagined and more. It’s something that I dreamt about as a kid and now I get to live it out. I really can’t say enough good things about it.”
Hawks’ Porzingis, Johnson Returning Friday Against Denver
Hawks center Kristaps Porzingis, who has missed the past four games with an unspecified illness, will return to action on Friday against Denver, as Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN relays (Twitter links).
Head coach Quin Snyder said before Friday’s game that Atlanta will be keeping a close eye on Porzingis, adding that the Latvian big man would be on a minutes restriction, though no number or range was given.
Porzingis was initially questionable to return Friday, according to Kevin Chouinard of Hawks.com (Twitter link). The injury designation for Porzingis was “return to competition reconditioning,” rather than the illness that prevented him from suiting up for the past 10 days.
Porzingis, who will be an unrestricted free agent in 2026, missed extended time late in 2024/25 and in the playoffs with a mysterious illness, which was eventually diagnosed as postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS). It’s unclear if his latest absence is related to that condition, which Porzingis has reportedly been able to manage without medication.
Fifth-year forward Jalen Johnson, who is having a breakout season for Atlanta, was ruled out of Wednesday’s loss to the Clippers with tightness in his right calf. However, it seems like the team was just being cautious with the former first-round pick — Johnson will be back tonight vs. the Nuggets, per Youngmisuk.
Johnson, who turns 24 in a couple weeks, has been playing the best basketball of his career with Trae Young sidelined due to a knee injury. The former Duke forward has recorded seven-plus assists in 12 straight games, averaging 24.9 points, 11.1 rebounds, 8.8 assists and 1.7 steals per night on .515/.467/.775 shooting over that span (36.8 minutes per contest).
And-Ones: First-Time All-Stars, 2026 Draft, NBA Cup, More
The 2026 NBA All-Star Game is still over two months away, but a number of players around the league are emerging as legitimate candidates to appear in the game for the first time, writes Zach Harper of The Athletic.
Harper points to Bulls guard Josh Giddey, Hawks forward Jalen Johnson, Pistons center Jalen Duren, and Heat guard Norman Powell as Eastern Conference standouts who could become first-time All-Stars, while identifying Lakers guard Austin Reaves, Trail Blazers forward Deni Avdija, Thunder big man Chet Holmgren, and Nuggets guard Jamal Murray as the most plausible first-timers in the Western Conference.
Of those players, only Duren looks like a shoo-in to make the game, according to Zach Kram of ESPN, who takes his own early look at potential All-Stars and divides players into two groups — “near-locks” and “on the bubble.”
Duren is among Kram’s seven near-locks in the East, though he considers Giddey, Johnson, and Powell to have strong cases to make the cut. In the West, Kram thinks Murray could still find himself on the outside looking in despite a career-best first half, given the strength of the competition for the 12 spots. However, with eight international spots to fill and the potential for injury replacements beyond the initial 24 All-Stars, there could be multiple paths for the Nuggets guard to finally earn the honor.
We have more odds and ends from around the basketball world:
- Although Kansas guard Darryn Peterson has only appeared in two games so far this season, he’s the 2026 draft prospect that NBA scouts seem most excited about, according to Sam Vecenie of The Athletic, who places Peterson atop his most recent mock draft, ahead of Duke’s Cameron Boozer and BYU’s AJ Dybantsa. Tennessee’s Nate Ament has slipped out of Vecenie’s top five, with UNC’s Caleb Wilson at No. 4, followed by Louisville’s Mikel Brown Jr.
- A panel of ESPN insiders answers a series of questions related to the NBA Cup, including which player was the MVP during the group stage (Luka Doncic and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander got two votes apiece) and which team has the best chance to upset Oklahoma City in the knockout round (the Lakers earned three of five possible votes).
- In an interesting story for ESPN, Kevin Pelton takes a deep dive into the data to explore the impact of familiarity on shooting efficiency and explains why a number of high-profile players who changed teams over the summer – including Cameron Johnson, Desmond Bane, and Myles Turner – may have gotten off to slow starts.
- Lindsay Schnell of The Athletic examines how former G League players became NCAA-eligible and what it means for college basketball going forward. “At the end of the day, we’re not the ones making decisions,” Baylor coach Scott Drew said. “We either adapt to the rules or we get left behind. So until something changes, I guess all of us are watching G League games now.”
Nikola Jokic, Cade Cunningham Earn Player Of The Month Honors
Nuggets center Nikola Jokic and Pistons guard Cade Cunningham are the NBA’s Players of the Month for October/November, earning the honor for the Western and Eastern Conference, respectively, per an announcement from the league (Twitter link).
It’s the ninth time that Jokic has won a Player of the Month award over the course of his 11-year career. He earned it in this case with a superlative start to the season that saw him comfortably average a triple-double – 28.9 points, 12.4 rebounds, and 10.9 assists per game – while leading Denver to a 14-5 record.
Jokic’s shooting percentages were arguably even more remarkable than his per-game averages, as he shot 63.7% from the field and converted 45.3% of his three-point attempts.
The Nuggets star came out on top of a competitive field that included nominees like fellow MVP candidates Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of the Thunder and Luka Doncic of the Lakers. Clippers guard James Harden, Rockets center Alperen Sengun, Trail Blazers forward Deni Avdija, Lakers guard Austin Reaves, and Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards were also nominated for Player of the Month in the West, according to the NBA (Twitter link).
In the East, meanwhile, Cunningham’s Pistons have been one of the most pleasant surprises of the season’s first six weeks. While Detroit was viewed as a strong playoff contender, few NBA observers expected the team to win 16 of its first 20 games and sit atop the Eastern Conference at the end of November.
Cunningham was the driving force behind the Pistons’ hot start, averaging 28.8 points, 9.4 assists, and 6.4 rebounds in 36.8 minutes per game across 17 outings, while shooting 45.6% from the floor and 81.5% from the free throw line.
Raptors forward Scottie Barnes, Celtics wing Jaylen Brown, Bulls guard Josh Giddey, Hawks forward Jalen Johnson, Sixers guard Tyrese Maxey, Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell, Heat guard Norman Powell, Magic forward Franz Wagner, and Knicks teammates Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns were also nominated for Eastern Conference Player of the Month, which Cunningham won for the first time in his career.