Kam Jones Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Injury Notes: Warriors, Davis, Barrett, Sixers, Collins, Pacers

November 24th, 2025 at 5:58pm CST by Luke Adams

The Warriors will be without three important frontcourt players on Monday against Utah. In addition to center Al Horford, who will miss at least a week due to right sciatic nerve irritation, and forward Jonathan Kuminga, who has been unavailable since November 12 due to bilateral knee tendonitis, Draymond Green has been ruled out for Monday’s game due to a right foot sprain, per Anthony Slater of ESPN.

Green was listed as questionable before being downgraded to out, which may be a sign that his injury isn’t considered significant. Of course, Kuminga’s knee soreness also wasn’t intially viewed as a cause for much concern, but he’ll miss a sixth straight contest on Monday and his return isn’t necessarily imminent.

The Warriors had hoped he’d be able to practice on Sunday, but that didn’t happen, according to Slater, who adds that imaging on Kuminga’s knees came back clean, showing no structural damage.

“He said he’s not moving that well, so I can’t tell you what the outlook is,” head coach Steve Kerr said on Sunday. “He needs to feel better and be able to move better before we can put him out there.”

We have several more injury updates from around the NBA:

Mavericks big man Anthony Davis will miss a 14th consecutive game due to a left calf strain on Monday, but head coach Jason Kidd said the plan is for Davis to take part in practice on Wednesday, writes Grant Afseth of Dallas Hoops Journal. Assuming Davis practices without a setback, his return shouldn’t be far off, Afseth notes.
The imaging results on RJ Barrett‘s sprained right knee “look promising,” according to Raptors head coach Darko Rajakovic (Twitter link via Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca). Barrett is out for Monday’s game vs. Cleveland but seems to have avoided a serious injury and is being considered day-to-day.
Sixers rookie VJ Edgecombe (left calf tightness) will miss a second consecutive game on Tuesday vs. Orlando, but center Joel Embiid (right knee injury management) has been upgraded to questionable, tweets Kyle Neubeck of PHLY Sports.
The Bulls are hopeful that Zach Collins (left wrist surgery) will be able to practice with contact this week, according to Joel Lorenzi of The Athletic (Twitter link), who says Collins has a chance to return during the team’s post-Thanksgiving road trip that begins on Friday and runs through next Monday.
Pacers guards Johnny Furphy (left ankle sprain) and Quenton Jackson (right hamstring strain) could be back in action within the next couple weeks, head coach Rick Carlisle said today (Twitter links via Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star). Carlisle added that rookie Kam Jones has recovered from his back injury, but is still in the ramp-up process and could play for the Noblesville Boom in the G League before making his NBA debut.

Pacers’ T.J. McConnell ‘Getting Closer’ To Return

November 9th, 2025 at 7:45pm CST by Rory Maher

Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle provided an encouraging update on injured point guard T.J. McConnell on Sunday, writes Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star (subscription required).

McConnell, 33, strained his left hamstring in Indiana’s preseason opener on October 7. Carlisle said a couple days later that the veteran backup would miss at least a month — this is the first official update since then.

“T.J. is getting closer,” Carlisle said. “I know he had a workout today. I hadn’t heard how that went but I heard he’s been ramping up pretty steadily.”

According to Dopirak, Carlisle also gave an update on rookie guard Kam Jones, who has been out since early October due to a lower back stress reaction. Carlisle said the 38th pick in this year’s draft is making progress but his return is not imminent.

As Dopirak notes, the Pacers have been battered by a series of injuries this fall, with nine players out tonight at Golden State. The team has been hit particularly hard at point guard, though Andrew Nembhard was able to return yesterday after missing seven games (and most of an eighth) because of a left shoulder injury.

The defending Eastern Conference champions are currently 1-8 amid the discouraging wave of injuries.

Central Notes: Rollins, Green, Turner, Jones, LaVine, Buzelis

October 31st, 2025 at 8:06am CST by Luke Adams

After waiving Chris Livingston and Tyler Smith prior to the start of the 2025/26 season, the Bucks have now gone 11 consecutive draft classes without signing one of their picks to a second contract, according to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst. As Windhorst acknowledges, Milwaukee has traded away several picks during that time – either before or after using them – but the last player the team drafted and signed to a second contract was Giannis Antetokounmpo, 2013’s 15th overall pick.

While the Bucks haven’t had any real draft success stories in the past decade, they’ve done well with certain undrafted free agents and reclamation projects, Windhorst’s colleague Tim Bontemps points out within the same story. Two of the latest examples are Ryan Rollins and A.J. Green, the current backcourt starters, who have helped the team get out to a 4-1 start this season.

As we detailed last night, Rollins had the best game of his NBA career in a win over Golden State on Thursday, racking up 32 points and eight assists in 36 minutes of action. Green contributed just 10 points in Thursday’s victory, but he made at least three three-point shots for a fifth consecutive game to open the season and is knocking them down at a 55.2% rate.

Rollins signed a three-year, $12MM contract over the summer that includes a third-year player option, while Green finalized a four-year, $45MM extension just before the season tipped off. Those could become two of the most team-friendly deals in the NBA if the Bucks’ guards keep playing like this, tweets ESPN’s Bobby Marks.

Here’s more from around the Central:

Bucks center Myles Turner said during an appearance on teammate Thanasis Antetokounmpo‘s podcast that he felt like Tyrese Haliburton‘s Achilles injury in Game 7 of the NBA Finals changed how his free agency played out, making Indiana less willing to do what it took to re-sign him. “All everybody told me was, ‘Myles, just keep your head down. Keep your head down and work. You’re going to get taken care of,'” Turner explained (hat tip to RealGM). “Then the unfortunate situation happens in the Finals with Tyrese, and I guess the front office and ownership just changed their mind. It was like, ‘Yeah… we told you all those things. And yeah… you helped us get to the Eastern Conference Finals and the Finals… but… we had to pivot.’ That was basically the sentiment. And we were just very far apart on what we thought the future should be.”
A prosecutor in Indiana opted not to file formal charges against Kam Jones after the Pacers rookie was arrested by Indiana State Police for driving erratically, according to Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files, who says the incident will serve as a “learning moment” for the first-year guard.
After playing at the United Center on Wednesday for the first time since being traded from the Bulls to the Kings in February, Zach LaVine said it “felt like I came home” and spoke about his love for Chicago, writes Jamal Collier of ESPN. LaVine got a standing ovation from Bulls fans when the team played a tribute video during the first quarter. “I know I did a lot of good in Chicago,” LaVine said. “I just wish I could have won more here.”
While LaVine’s return to Chicago was one of the major subplots of Wednesday’s game, the ongoing development of second-year forward Matas Buzelis was the most important one for the Bulls‘ future. As Jon Greenberg of The Athletic details, Buzelis led Chicago to its fourth straight win by scoring a season-high 27 points on 11-of-18 shooting — the Bulls, who won the game by 13 points, were +18 when he was on the court. “He can do it all,” LaVine said of his former teammate after the game.

Pacers’ Toppin Out At Least One Month, Mathurin Week To Week

October 28th, 2025 at 1:49pm CST by Luke Adams

A pair of key Pacers rotation players will be unavailable for the foreseeable future, according to head coach Rick Carlisle, who said on Tuesday that forward Obi Toppin will be out for at least one month as a result of his right hamstring strain, while guard Bennedict Mathurin is considered “week to week” due to a right great toe sprain, per Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star.

The Pacers entered their opener last week preparing to be without star point guard Tyrese Haliburton for the entire season as he recovers from an Achilles tear and have since added several new names to their injury report.

Toppin sustained his injury during Sunday’s loss in Minnesota, while Mathurin’s occurred in Saturday’s loss in Memphis when he tripped over Jock Landale‘s foot on his way to the basket. According to Carlisle, both players will undergo more testing when the Pacers return home following the last game of their road trip on Wednesday in Dallas.

“I can’t give you a definitive answer with either guy,” Carlisle said. “But they’re gonna miss some time.”

According to Carlisle, Andrew Nembhard (left shoulder strain) did some “court work” on Tuesday but isn’t ready to play yet, while Taelon Peter (right groin strain) is “doing better” but is “not there yet” either. Johnny Furphy (left foot soreness) will undergo additional testing on his foot when the team returns to Indianapolis, Carlisle added.

T.J. McConnell (left hamstring strain) and Kam Jones (lower back stress reaction) were doing some work near the end of Tuesday’s practice, tweets Dopirak, though the Pacers have previously indicated that both players will be out until at least November 9.

With injuries hitting the team hard at virtually every position except center, the Pacers made a roster move on Tuesday, waiving big man James Wiseman to add guard Mac McClung. As Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files tweets, Indiana should soon qualify for at least one hardship exception as well.

A hardship exception allows a team to temporarily exceed the standard 15-man roster limit if at least four players have missed three consecutive games for health reasons and are expected to remain out for at least two more weeks. Players signed via the hardship exception receive 10-day contracts.

Pacers Notes: Injuries, Mathurin, Peter, Nembhard, Carlisle

October 25th, 2025 at 10:54pm CST by Rory Maher

The Pacers were playing without six injured guards — Tyrese Haliburton (torn Achilles), T.J. McConnell (left hamstring strain), Kam Jones (lower back stress reaction), Quenton Jackson (right hamstring strain), Johnny Furphy (left foot soreness) and Andrew Nembhard (left shoulder strain) — during Saturday’s contest in Memphis (Twitter link).

Two more — rookie Taelon Peter (sore right groin) and Bennedict Mathurin (sore right foot) — were forced to exit the blowout loss after sustaining their own injuries, according to the team (Twitter links).

It’s an extremely unfortunate and seemingly unprecedented situation, as the reigning Eastern Conference champions now only have two healthy guards — Ben Sheppard and two-way player RayJ Dennis — on the roster just two games into the season. And even Sheppard chipped a tooth on Saturday, per Tony East of Circle City Spin (Twitter video link).

The Pacers may soon qualify for a hardship exception (perhaps more than one), depending on the severity of some of the team’s injuries.

We have more on the Pacers:

Head coach Rick Carlisle said after Saturday’s game that Mathurin’s injury is specifically in the “forefoot” and he may undergo imaging tomorrow, assuming the Pacers can find somewhere to do it in Minneapolis on Sunday (Twitter link via Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star). Mathurin, who will be a restricted free agent next summer, was walking gingerly in the locker room, though he wasn’t in a walking boot or using crutches, Dopirak adds (via Twitter).
It’s unclear how long Nembhard will be out after exiting Indiana’s season-opener against Oklahoma City. Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files (Substack link) provides more context on when the injury occurred, stating that Nembhard appeared to get tangled up with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in the first half of Thursday’s game and immediately grabbed his left arm.
Carlisle was incensed with the officials in the double-overtime thriller against the Thunder. As Dopirak writes (subscription required), two controversial plays involving timeouts went against Indiana during the nail-biting loss, one of which resulted in a technical foul on Carlisle. “I’m not talking about the refs,” Carlisle said after the game. “If I talk about the refs, I’m going to get fined an exorbitant amount of money.”

Pacers Notes: Jones, Turner, Mathurin, Nesmith

October 22nd, 2025 at 6:01pm CST by Eli Cohen

After being arrested on Monday for alleged erratic driving, Pacers rookie Kam Jones was determined to apologize, both to his team and to the public, writes Dustin Dopirak of the Indy Star.

“I’m deeply sorry to the Pacers organization and the fans,” Jones said. “This was a very, very traumatic experience for me. I’ve never been through anything like this, but definitely a mistake that I’ve learned from. … It won’t happen again. I’m deeply sorry to the organization and I’m looking forward to letting this one go past and get back to work.”

Subsequent reporting indicated that Jones told police he was running late for practice. Dopirak clarifies that while the Pacers didn’t actually hold a practice on Monday, Jones was on his way to the team facility for treatment and rehab on the back injury that has prevented him from participating in preseason.

Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle backed Jones publicly, telling reporters that the rookie was insistent on making his apologies and vouching for his character, which Carlisle described as “exemplary.”

“My feeling is that this is going to turn out to be a speeding ticket and probably not much more,” Carlisle said. “The kid thought he was going to be late to practice so he was going too fast. I’m not going to get into much more about it than that.”

We have more from the Pacers:

Longtime Pacers center Myles Turner didn’t expect to be changing teams when this summer began, writes Eric Nehm for The Athletic. “I thought that we would be on the same page in terms of where I’m at in my career, being 29 years old, heading into my prime and just knowing what I wanted from this next contract,” Turner said. “But we, unfortunately, just weren’t aligned. It was a surprise because I had a great, great conversation with the front office before I left, and I really thought that we were aligned for the future. So, it was kind of a shock that our heads weren’t together.” While there were conflicting reports over the summer about what the Pacers were offering Turner, Nehm hears that they never exceeded about $22MM per year for three seasons. Underwhelmed by Indiana’s proposal, Turner and his agent began looking around the league for alternatives, which resulted in him becoming the newest starting center for the division rival Bucks.
Bennedict Mathurin was one of 12 eligible players who didn’t sign a rookie scale extension by Monday’s deadline, but he’s not stressing about it, Dopirak writes in a separate story. “It’s not that big of a deal, man,” Mathurin said. “Obviously, I would’ve loved to, but I’m not worried about that. It’s just about going into the game, going into the season with my mind straight knowing that, you know what? I’m going to have a great season. I can actually be who I’ve been wanting to be.” Mathurin had been considered unlikely to receive an extension, given the multitude of higher-value contracts already on the roster. This season, he will have an opportunity to show Indiana and the league who he can be with a bigger opportunity.
After being widely viewed as an afterthought to start his career with the Celtics, Aaron Nesmith is more appreciative of his spot with the Pacers than ever after signing a two-year extension to stay with the team, Dopirak writes. “It’s awesome,” Nesmith said. “Second contract is a big deal for a lot of guys and for this one, it was really, like I said, just really stamping that I want to bring a championship to this city and continue to build this thing up. That was all this deal was about.” Carlisle is happy to have Nesmith under contract for the next four seasons: “He’s a proven starter on a championship-caliber team. The opportunity to keep him in the fold for an additional two years is a great event for the franchise. Happy for him. Happy for the organization.”

Central Notes: Pistons, Thompson, Giannis, Middleton, Jones

October 21st, 2025 at 8:58am CST by Luke Adams

Having not agreed to terms with center Jalen Duren or guard Jaden Ivey ahead of Monday’s deadline for rookie scale extensions, the Pistons now have an eventful offseason on tap for 2026, writes Omari Sankofa II of The Detroit Free Press (subscription required).

As Sankofa notes, besides entering restricted free agency with Duren and Ivey, Detroit will also have to deal with Tobias Harris‘ unrestricted free agency — the veteran forward won’t become extension-eligible prior to reaching the open market. Additionally, 2023 lottery pick Ausar Thompson will become eligible for a rookie scale extension with his own next July, so the team may be negotiating with him at the same time as it tries to resolve Duren’s and Ivey’s contract situations.

While Duren and Ivey should do very well for themselves in free agency if they have strong seasons in 2025/26, Thompson has the tools to earn the most lucrative contract of the trio if he has a breakout year after a healthy offseason. Teammate Cade Cunningham is confident about Thompson’s chances to have a big third season, as Hunter Patterson of The Athletic details.

“Ausar had a great summer,” Cunningham said in September. “I think he’s really going to make a lot of noise this year. He’s going to wake a lot of people up in a loud way.”

“I don’t think about (having a breakout season), but if my mentality is where I want it to be every single game, then I should be able to do that,” Thompson said.

We have more from around the Central Division:

In a separate story for The Detroit Free Press (subscription required), Sankofa takes a closer look at what the Pistons‘ rotation will look like without Ivey to open the season, exploring whether two-way player Daniss Jenkins has a chance to earn regular minutes and considering whether spacing or power forward depth will be an issue for the team.
Speaking about how important his legacy is to him, Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo said he’s solely focused on winning rather than “stats” and that he doesn’t consider himself to be in the same tier as all-time NBA greats like Michael Jordan, LeBron James, Wilt Chamberlain, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar — at least not yet. “That’s the goal,” Antetokounmpo said, per Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press. “I’m not there yet. They’re like top 10 all-time. I’ve got a lot of work to do. But I’m going to be there.”
Wizards forward Khris Middleton will be returning to Milwaukee on Wednesday for the first time as an opponent since the Bucks traded him at last season’s deadline. As Bijan Todd of Monumental Sports Network relays (via Twitter), Middleton expects it to be an “emotional” night. Antetokounmpo, Middleton’s longtime teammate, echoed that sentiment. “I think the most important thing, he should get the warmest welcome ever,” Giannis said (Twitter link via Eric Nehm of The Athletic). “When he comes here and he sees the tribute video, he should be in tears crying before the game. I cannot explain how much Khris means to this team. I cannot explain how much Khris means to me. … That’s my brother for life. We’ve done incredible things together, so I cannot wait to see him tear up on Wednesday.”
Noe Padilla and Ryan Murphy of The Indianapolis Star share some additional details on Kam Jones‘ Monday arrest, writing that the rookie guard told police he was “running late for practice for the Indiana Pacers” when he was pulled over for erratic driving. Jones, who allegedly didn’t comply for several minutes when police tried to stop him, said that he didn’t realize right away that he was being pulled over.

Pacers Rookie Kam Jones Arrested For Alleged Erratic Driving

October 20th, 2025 at 12:40pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Pacers rookie Kam Jones was arrested after a brief chase on Interstate 65 in Indianapolis on Monday morning, according to Mike Potter of WTHR-13News.

According to Indiana State Police, a trooper tried to pull over Jones for allegedly driving erratically on southbound I-65. Police say Jones did not pull over at first and led them on a brief chase that ended near the Fletcher Avenue exit near Fountain Square in Indianapolis. As of Monday afternoon, Jones was being held in the Marion County jail on preliminary charges of reckless driving and resisting law enforcement.

The Pacers issued this statement: “We are aware of the situation involving Kam Jones. We are in the process of gathering additional information and will not have any additional comment on the matter at this time.”

Jones was drafted with the No. 38 overall pick in June and signed a standard contract in July. He missed most of training camp due to a back injury and is expected to be reevaluated sometime next month.

A 6’5″ combo guard, Jones spent his entire four-year college career at Marquette, where he was a consensus second-team All-American and a member of the All-Big East first team in 2025 after averaging 19.2 points, 5.9 assists, and 4.5 rebounds in 33.8 minutes per game across 34 outings as a senior.

Injury Notes: Sochan, George, Demin, Suggs, K. Jones, Ingles

October 16th, 2025 at 2:44pm CST by Luke Adams

The Spurs will be without forward Jeremy Sochan when they open their regular season in Dallas next Wednesday night, according to the team (Twitter link via Jared Weiss of The Athletic).

Ramping up this fall from a calf injury he sustained during the summer, Sochan had progressed to 5-on-5 scrimmages this week and was trending toward potentially being available for opening night. However, the Spurs say that he sprained his left wrist in practice on Thursday. He’ll enter the regular season considered day-to-day, per the club.

Sochan is one of 15 players who remain eligible to sign rookie scale extensions. If he and the Spurs don’t agree to terms on or before Monday, he’ll be on track to play out his contract year and become eligible for restricted free agency next summer.

We have more injury updates from around the NBA:

After progressing to 3-on-3 work on Wednesday, Sixers forward Paul George took another step forward on Thursday, fully participating in practice, including 5-on-5 action, tweets Derek Bodner of PHLY Sports. However, head coach Nick Nurse quickly replied “no” when asked if there’s optimism about George suiting up for Friday’s preseason finale or next Wednesday’s regular season opener (Twitter video link). “Yesterday was his first day live,” Nurse said. “… Today was a short amount of 5-on-5, so we have to just keep waiting.”
No. 8 overall pick Egor Demin will make his preseason debut for the Nets on Friday vs. Toronto, writes Brian Lewis of The New York Post. Demin has been dealing with a plantar fascia tear during training camp and the preseason, but it appears he’ll be ready for the start of the season unless he experiences a setback before then.
Magic guard Jalen Suggs responded well to the limited contact work he did this week, but there are still hurdles to clear before he’s cleared for game action, head coach Jamahl Mosley said on Thursday. “We’ll have a couple more scrimmages where we’ll be able to go live, some 3-on-3, some 5-on-5, and we’ll see how he responds after each one of those days,” Mosley said, per Jason Beede of The Orlando Sentinel (subscription required). “Then we’ll be able to tell you accordingly, you’ll know whether he is or isn’t [ready] on opening night.”
After announcing last week that rookie guard Kam Jones could miss multiple weeks due to a back issue, Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle provided an update on Thursday, telling Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star (Twitter link) to check back in on Jones around November 9. That’s the same date that T.J. McConnell (hamstring) is scheduled to be reevaluated.
Timberwolves forward Joe Ingles, diagnosed last week with a left groin strain, has been cleared for basketball activities and will be available for Thursday’s game against Chicago, the team announced today in a press release.

Injury Notes: K. Jones, Sheppard, Sarr, Gafford, Suns

October 6th, 2025 at 1:04pm CST by Luke Adams

Pacers rookie Kam Jones, the 38th overall pick in this year’s draft, will be sidelined for several weeks due to a back injury, head coach Rick Carlisle told reporters on Monday (Twitter link via Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star). Carlisle added that third-year wing Ben Sheppard will miss Tuesday’s preseason opener due to an undisclosed injury.

While Carlisle indicated that Sheppard should be available soon, it sounds as if Jones probably won’t be ready to return by the time Indiana’s regular season schedule tips off on October 23 vs. Oklahoma City.

With a pair of players in the Pacers’ backcourt banged up, it’s possible veteran guard Delon Wright‘s chances of making the regular season roster have increased. Wright and center Tony Bradley are both on non-guaranteed contracts and are believed to be competing for the final spot on the team’s 15-man squad.

Here are a few more injury-related notes and updates from around the NBA:

Wizards center Alex Sarr, who sustained a right calf injury during EuroBasket, took part in non-contact work in Monday’s practice, tweets Josh Robbins of The Athletic. It was the first time this fall that Sarr had been a partial participant in a practice. Team officials said at the time of the injury that they expected 2024’s No. 2 overall pick to be ready for the start of the regular season.
Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd said on Sunday that injured center Daniel Gafford, who is recovering from an ankle injury, is “trending in the right direction” but still hasn’t been able to practice, per Grant Afseth of Dallas Hoops Journal (Twitter link). Besides Gafford and Kyrie Irving (ACL), everyone else is practicing for Dallas, according to Kidd.
Providing updates on a pair of potential starters, Suns head coach Jordan Ott said on Sunday that Jalen Green (hamstring) is “definitely progressing” and that “every day has been better” for him, while Mark Williams is “in a good place” as he ramps up for the season (Twitter video link via Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic). Ott didn’t commit to either player suiting up for one (or both) of the team’s preseason games in China on Friday and Sunday, but he also didn’t rule out the possibility. For what it’s worth, teammate Jared Butler said he thinks Green is “super close” to returning (Twitter video link via Rankin).