Marvin Bagley III

Southeast Notes: Miller, Kalkbrenner, Connaughton, Bagley, Mosley

November 22nd, 2025 at 9:54pm CST by Arthur Hill

Brandon Miller posted 21 points and three assists Saturday afternoon as he returned to the Hornets‘ lineup after missing four weeks with a partially dislocated left shoulder, writes Roderick Boone of The Charlotte Observer (subscription required). Even though Charlotte dropped a 15-point decision to the Clippers to fall to 4-12, there’s a sense of relief in seeing Miller back on the court. Injury problems have limited him to 30 total games after an outstanding first season in which he finished third in the Rookie of the Year race.

Miller played a little more than 25 minutes today as coach Charles Lee plans to ease him back into a normal role. His court time might be limited as the Hornets play Sunday in Atlanta on the second game of a back-to-back and have four games over a seven-day stretch.

“Your first game back, I’m not going to try to push him to the brink as much as I probably would want to, but we want to be smart about it,” Lee said. “I think that we want to be intentional with how we ramp him back up. So hopefully we can keep him in a good controlled space, and then we’ll just kind of just go forward day after day. “How’s he responding? What’s the plan? For him, it’s a little bit different, obviously, coming back from not a lower leg extremity injury.”

Boone notes that Miller provided an early spark for the Hornets, scoring their first eight points, including a crowd-pleasing dunk to open the game. He wound up shooting 8-of-18, but was only 2-of-10 from three-point range.

“We’re all excited for Brandon to be back in the lineup for a lot of different reasons,” Lee said. “I think for myself, I’m really happy with how he handled himself during this process. … His whole process as he went through his rehab and his return-to play-program, he came in every day locked in and excited for an opportunity to keep trying to get better. He saw the progress he was making, which was really good. I’m happy for him to be back out there after kind of having to go through that journey again. I think it ultimately just made him stronger and better.”

There’s more from the Southeast Division:

Lee had his preferred starting lineup together for the first time since the second game of the season, Boone adds, but the good fortune didn’t last long. Hornets‘ starting center Ryan Kalkbrenner (left ankle soreness) and reserve wing Pat Connaughton (right calf soreness) both left the game in the first half and didn’t return.
At age 26, Marvin Bagley III has become one of the veteran leaders on a young Wizards roster, per Chase Hughes of Monumental Sports Network. During a team meeting last weekend, Bagley talked to his teammates about the obstacles he had to overcome and cautioned them that they shouldn’t get used to losing. “I was in a tough spot as a young player; 18 years old coming in (and) I didn’t really have the older vets to guide me,” Bagley said. “It kind of felt like I had to figure things out on the run, on the fly, by myself. That’s a hard spot to be in, especially in this league.”
Magic coach Jamahl Mosley was able to conduct his post-game meeting with reporters after missing the second half of today’s contest due to illness, tweets Jason Beede of The Orlando Sentinel. Mosley said he was feeling light-headed and dizzy during the game and called the experience “scary.” He expects to coach Sunday at Boston, per Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN (Twitter link). Mosley added that Paolo Banchero will miss his sixth straight game with a left groin strain, and it hasn’t been decided if Jalen Suggs will play on the second night of a back-to-back.

Southeast Notes: Diabate, Johnson, Powell, Herro, Sarr, Bagley

November 22nd, 2025 at 8:52am CST by Luke Adams

While the Hornets are off to a disappointing start this season, having won just four of their first 15 games, their depth in the middle hasn’t been as big a problem as it looked like it might be entering training camp. After trading Mark Williams and Jusuf Nurkic over the summer, Charlotte has gotten impressive production from rookie Ryan Kalkbrenner, who has started 14 games and is leading the NBA with an 81.1% field goal percentage.

Former second-round pick Moussa Diabate, meanwhile, has been one of the league’s most effective backups, with 10.1 points, 8.2 rebounds, and 1.4 blocks in 22.9 minutes per game. Despite his modest role, Diabate ranks third in the NBA with 62 offensive rebounds, behind only Donovan Clingan and Steven Adams. But the big man’s impact goes beyond those offensive boards, according to head coach Charles Lee.

“Offensively, he’s grown (from) being more than just an offensive rebounder,” Lee said, per Roderick Boone of The Charlotte Observer. “I think that his screening has gotten a lot better, understanding coverage solutions versus switching, versus center field. I also think that his adjustment off penetration — like working the dunker area — has gotten really good. He’s got good hands down there, so guys feel comfortable with some dump-offs.”

As Boone writes, Lee wore a shirt during a media session earlier this month that featured Diabate and the caption “Moose on the Loose.” The 23-year-old center responded with a smile when asked about that piece of apparel.

“It’s great,” Diabate said. “I’ve come far now. So, it’s just funny how quickly things can turn around, in the span of, what, a year and a half? I go from a two-way, not even thinking that I was going to play, thinking I’m being a G League the whole year. Literally just damn near got cut by the Clippers to now having a shirt (worn) by one of the NBA head coaches. So, it’s a great feeling. It’s a blessing, and I’m just happy to be able to keep it going.”

We have more from around the Southeast:

Hawks forward Jalen Johnson spoke to Marc J. Spears of Andscape about how getting a “reality check” in the G League during his first NBA season helped change his mindset and his trajectory as a pro. Johnson, who played just 120 total minutes in 22 games as a rookie in 2021/22, is now a rising star in year five, with averages of 22.3 points, 9.6 rebounds, 6.6 assists, and 1.8 steals per game so far this season, plus a shooting line of .580/.400/.812.
Heat swingman Norman Powell, who missed three games earlier in the season due to a right groin strain, exited Friday’s contest early with a left groin strain. However, he was able to return to action and finish the game, then downplayed the issue after a Miami victory. “I saw the doctors and they’re not worried about it,” Powell said (Twitter link via Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald). “They don’t think it can get any worse. So it’s all about pain tolerance. I have a high pain tolerance, so I’m not too worried about it.”
With the Heat on a roll (six wins in eight games) and Tyler Herro about to make his season debut, should there be any concerns about the guard’s fit in the lineup? Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel (subscription required) doesn’t think so, arguing that the return of an All-Star player should only make a good team better, even if it creates some tough lineup decisions.
The Wizards were shorthanded in the frontcourt on Friday, as second-year center Alex Sarr missed a second consecutive game due to left big toe soreness (Twitter link). Marvin Bagley III, who started in Sarr’s place on Wednesday and played nearly 31 minutes, was also unavailable on Friday due to a right hip contusion. With two of their top big men out, the Wizards were out-rebounded 48-29 in a 30-point blowout loss to Toronto.

Contract Details: A. Jackson, K. Jones, Small, Sanders, Bagley

July 11th, 2025 at 3:58pm CST by Luke Adams

The Bucks originally had a July 7 deadline to decide whether or not they wanted to guarantee Andre Jackson‘s full $2.22MM salary for the 2025/26 season, but reporting on Monday indicated that the team had awarded the guard a partial guarantee on that figure as part of an agreement to move back his full salary guarantee date.

According to Keith Smith of Spotrac (Twitter link), Jackson received an $800K partial guarantee as part of that agreement, locking in a little over a third of his ’25/26 salary. His new guarantee date will be one day before the start of the regular season in the fall.

In other words, if Jackson earns a spot on the Bucks’ opening night roster, his full salary for next season will be locked in, but the team has a few more months to make that decision.

Here are a few more contract details from around the NBA:

Kam Jones‘ four-year, $8.7MM contract with the Pacers is fully guaranteed in year one, with a 50% partial guarantee for year two, reports Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link). That means only about $2.35MM of Jones’ total salary will be guaranteed, including $1.27MM in year one. The 6’5″ guard was the 38th overall pick in last month’s draft.
The two-way contract that No. 48 overall pick Javon Small signed with the Grizzlies will cover two seasons, per Scotto (Twitter link). That will put Small on track for restricted free agency in 2027 if he’s not promoted (or waived) before then.
Kobe Sanders‘ two-way contract with the Clippers is also for two years, tweets Smith. Sanders was the No. 50 overall pick in the 2025 draft.
Marvin Bagley III‘s one-year, minimum-salary deal with the Wizards is guaranteed, Hoops Rumors has learned. Washington now has 16 players on guaranteed contracts, plus Richaun Holmes and Justin Champagnie on non-guaranteed deals, so some roster moves will be necessary in D.C. at some point — the team won’t have to resolve that situation until the day before the regular season, however.

Wizards Sign Marvin Bagley III

July 11th, 2025 at 6:59am CST by Earnest Marshall

July 11: Bagley has officially signed with the Wizards, per the transaction log at NBA.com.

July 10: The Wizards are signing free agent big man Marvin Bagley III to a one-year deal, according to Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link).

On paper, it makes sense for the Wizards to target a veteran big man in free agency given the fact they traded away Kelly Olynyk this week. Washington only has one player on its standard roster taller than 6’9″ — second-year center Alex Sarr.

However, it’s an interesting move given that the Wizards just traded Bagley away at the deadline to the Grizzlies. Washington originally acquired the former No. 2 overall pick ahead of the 2024 trade deadline alongside Isaiah Livers and a second-round pick. This year, the Wizards sent Bagley out in a multi-team deal that landed them Marcus Smart and a first-round pick, which they used to trade down and select Will Riley.

Bagley appeared in 43 games (16 starts) with Washington across parts of 2023/24 and ’24/25, averaging 9.6 points and 5.8 rebounds per contest.

Despite the move making positional sense, it remains to be seen whether Bagley will actually stick on an already-crowded roster. The Wizards have 15 players on official, standard contracts. They also have Richaun Holmes and Justin Champagnie on standard deals, but Holmes’s $13.28MM contract is only guaranteed for $250K and Champagnie is non-guaranteed.

If Bagley’s deal is non-guaranteed, it would seem like a cut-and-dry situation to let go of him, Holmes and Champagnie to solve the roster crunch. However, Champagnie being cut would be somewhat surprising despite his non-guaranteed status, given that he started 31 games last season and averaged 8.8 points while shooting 51.1% from the field and 38.3% from three.

If Washington opts to keep Champagnie, it would mean trading or cutting a player with a guaranteed contract. If Bagley is guaranteed, that means two players on Washington’s roster could potentially be let go despite having guaranteed deals.

In any scenario in which Bagley and/or Holmes doesn’t make the opening-night roster, that would mean Washington would be entering the season with 6’8″ Kyshawn George and Bilal Coulibaly as the tallest players on the 15-man squad outside of Sarr.

After the Grizzlies acquired Bagley last season, he only appeared in 12 games and averaged 3.6 PPG. He holds career averages of 12.0 points and 6.5 rebounds in 238 games.

Grizzlies Notes: Game 1 Loss, Morant, Bagley

April 22nd, 2025 at 12:28pm CST by Luke Adams

After falling behind by as many as 56 points, the Grizzlies lost by 51 to the Thunder on Sunday in Game 1 of their first-round series. However, as Tim MacMahon of ESPN and Damichael Cole of The Memphis Commercial Appeal write, Memphis’ players didn’t seem demoralized by the loss in the locker room after the game.

Star point guard Ja Morant vowed, “We will never play that bad again,” while wing Desmond Bane spoke about the need to “turn the page fast” ahead of Tuesday’s Game 2.

“At the end of the day, it’s one game,” Bane said on Sunday. “If we lose by 50 or lose on a buzzer-beater, the series is still 1-0. Not the result we wanted for sure, but still got a good opportunity to get one on the road in two days.”

Grizzlies big man Jaren Jackson Jr., the team’s most valuable player during the regular season, had his worst game of the season in Game 1, with four points, three rebounds, and three turnovers. He’s not expecting a repeat of that showing.

“In every area, I can get better,” Jackson said, according to William Guillory of The Athletic. “There’s so much room for improvement after a loss like that. It’s definitely just one game. That’s how a series works. We can’t really overthink things in any way. … I’m going to figure out a way to play better and get myself involved in the series. Then, we’ll be good.”

Here’s more on the Grizzlies:

After the Grizzlies defeated Dallas in Friday’s play-in game, Morant referred to his right ankle sprain as a “difficult” injury and hinted that he wouldn’t have been on the court if it were a regular season contest. “Obviously, regular season games, it’s not win or go home,” Morant said (story via ESPN). “So this one was way more difficult — the whole process, like, learning what I would have to do to be able to get out there. I was kind of questioning it, but with our staff, the doctors, they gave me all the info I needed and [in the] simplest terms so I will understand.” Following Sunday’s Game 1 vs. Oklahoma City, Morant declined to say whether he was still receiving pain-killing injections for the ankle and dismissed the idea that the injury affected his performance. “It felt good,” he said, per MacMahon.
A trade-deadline acquisition, big man Marvin Bagley III averaged just 8.3 minutes per game in 12 appearances for the Grizzlies in the regular season. On Sunday, the former No. 2 overall pick racked up 17 points on 8-of-8 shooting in 16 minutes across the first three quarters. Bagley’s strong play was one of the few bright spots in an otherwise forgettable game and could earn him a longer look going forward, per Michael Wallace of Grind City Media. “Marvin’s performance was extremely encouraging,” interim head coach Tuomas Iisalo said. “In the absence of (injured forward) Brandon (Clarke), we have not been strong in those minutes. And it seems like we’ve found a solution with Marvin.”
Even if the Grizzlies play better for the rest of the series than they did in Game 1, the same will likely be true of Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who scored a season-low 15 points on 4-of-13 shooting on Sunday, writes Darnell Mayberry of The Athletic, noting that doesn’t bode well for Memphis.

Southwest Notes: Powell, Christie, Smith Jr., Bagley

February 25th, 2025 at 6:46pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Mavericks won’t have Anthony Davis when they face the Lakers for the first time since the teams’ blockbuster deal that landed Luka Doncic in Los Angeles. They could get another big man back for the showdown. Dwight Powell, who has missed the last 16 games due to a hip injury, has been upgraded as questionable, Marc Stein tweets.

It’s expected that Powell will be active, Stein adds. Powell has appeared in 33 games off the bench this season, though he’s averaged just 7.6 minutes in those appearances.

The Lakers will honor Davis with a video tribute, NBA insider Chris Haynes tweets.

We have more from the Southwest Division:

Another of the players the Mavericks acquired from the Lakers was guard Max Christie. He has given Dallas a boost since the deal, averaging 15.3 points, 4.9 rebounds and 3.1 assists in eight games. Christie told Andscape’s Marc J. Spears he’ll looking forward to Tuesday’s game but harbors no ill will toward his former team. “I’m not even looking at this game as a ‘revenge game,’” Christie said. “I’m actually looking forward to it from a sense that I get to see old teammates, old colleagues, old coaches. I’m looking forward to just enjoying that game. I want to win, obviously. The Lakers are a playoff team. They’re really, really good. It’s a good test for us as a matchup, as a team as well. But I’m not going in there with any bad blood or any intention of trying to drop 40 on them. I’m just going in there to try to win the game, play my game and let the game come to me.”
Blending Jabari Smith Jr.‘s offensive skills with the current rotation will be a key to the Rockets’ postseason success, Kelly Iko of The Athletic writes. If Houston has any hope of making a deep run, Smith must become more of a focal offensive option, according to Iko. Smith has played two games since recovering from a fractured hand, an injury he suffered on New Year’s Day.
Big man Marvin Bagley III wound up with the Grizzlies in a three-team trade earlier this month. Bagley, the No. 2 pick of the 2018 draft, has only made one brief appearance with Memphis. Damichael Cole of the Memphis Commercial Appeal explores how Bagley might carve out a role with the Grizzlies, his fourth team since entering the league. He’ll be a free agent after the season.

Grizzlies GM Kleiman Explains Deadline Approach, Talks Chasing Stars

February 8th, 2025 at 11:43am CST by Earnest Marshall

The Grizzlies had two options at the trade deadline, according to Damichael Cole of Memphis Commercial Appeal: push their chips in for a star to bolster their chances at a title or create cap flexibility. Memphis ended up opting for the latter route, sending Marcus Smart and Jake LaRavia out in a move that returned the expiring contracts of Marvin Bagley III and Johnny Davis.

According to Grizzlies general manager Zach Kleiman, the Grizzlies did explore making a move for a star player, but none of the ones they were interested in ended up being moved. Memphis was reportedly attached to Jimmy Butler at one point, but Kleiman was “not sure” why his team was a rumored destination.

Butler’s camp advised the Grizzlies not to pursue him, according to reports from January. Meanwhile, ESPN analyst Bob Myers indicated that Kevin Durant told the Grizzlies “no” in regards to potentially trading for him. Kleiman pushed back on the notion that star players wouldn’t want to play for the Grizzlies.

“I think there are misconceptions about Memphis,” Kleiman said. “I think we have a group of guys in Ja (Morant), (Desmond Bane) and Jaren (Jackson Jr.) that star players would love to play with.”

As for the moves they did make, the Grizzlies felt comfortable trading away Smart because guards/wings Jaylen Wells, Scotty Pippen Jr. and Vince Williams Jr. could handle being primary wing defenders and secondary ball handlers.

The Grizzlies attached a first-round pick to move Smart and LaRavia after spending two firsts to acquire Smart and selecting LaRavia 19th overall in 2022. Still, the Grizzlies feel Smart helped play a significant role in the growth of the team, Cole writes.

“We made a move that so far to date, hadn’t worked,” Kleiman said. “I’d much rather own that myself. That starts with me. You cut your losses on a move, and we put ourselves in best position to build the team going forward.”

As for LaRavia, the Grizzlies weren’t in a position to play him when at full health, so they opted to send him somewhere he can have a chance to contribute. Kleiman expressed confidence in the young guys they have under team control for multiple years moving forward.

While Davis’ future with the Grizzlies is “TBD” according to Kleiman, Cole writes Bagley is on his way to Memphis and will seemingly stick around with the team. If the team were to move on from Davis, it would open up a roster spot to either pursue a buyout option or promote a two-way player.

According to Cole, if the Grizzlies don’t win it all this year, they feel the deadline helped set them up for more flexibility in the summer to pursue big moves. Still, Memphis fully believes its window is right now with its core headlined by Morant, Bane, and Jackson.

“We’re taking seriously what this group can achieve right here and right now,” Kleiman said. “I think the competitive window with Ja, Des and Jaren entering the heart of their careers is here, and there’s a lot of belief in what we have on the court. We firmly believe we’re in the mix.“

Grizzlies Trade Marcus Smart, First-Round Pick To Wizards; Jake LaRavia To Kings

February 6th, 2025 at 8:35pm CST by Luke Adams

8:35 pm: The three-team trade involving the Grizzlies, Wizards, and Kings is official, according to press releases from all three clubs.

In addition to the details reported below, the Wizards sent the Grizzlies a 2025 second-round pick as part of the agreement, as reported by Varun Shankar of The Washington Post (Twitter link).

2:07 pm: The Grizzlies are trading Marcus Smart and a 2025 first-round pick to the Wizards in a multi-team deal that will see Memphis acquire a pair of second-round picks, reports Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link). The trade will also include the Kings, per multiple reports.

According to Charania (Twitter link), NBA insider Chris Haynes (Twitter link), and Marc Stein of The Stein Line (Twitter link), here are the details of the deal that are known so far:

Grizzlies to acquire Marvin Bagley III (from Wizards), Johnny Davis (from Wizards), a 2028 second-round pick (from Kings), and one additional second-round pick (possibly from the Wizards, though it’s unclear).
Kings to acquire Jake LaRavia (from Grizzlies).
Wizards to acquire Smart (from Grizzlies), Colby Jones (from Kings), Alex Len (from Kings), and the Grizzlies’ 2025 first-round pick (top-14 protected; from Grizzlies).

Obviously, Memphis’ initial trade for Smart completely backfired, as the former Defensive Player of the Year has only made 39 combined appearances for the Grizzlies over the past two seasons due to a series of injuries. The Grizzlies gave up Tyus Jones, the draft rights to Marcus Sasser (No. 25 overall pick in 2023) and Golden State’s 2024 first-rounder (which was later traded multiple times — Carlton Carrington was selected No. 14 overall by Washington) in that initial deal.

Smart also hasn’t been particularly effective when active for the Grizzlies, especially in 2024/25, averaging just 8.7 points, 3.7 assists, 2.3 rebounds and 1.2 steals on .358/.322/.833 shooting in 19 games (21.1 minutes). That’s not much production for a player earning $20.2MM this season and $21.6MM in ’25/26.

Former first-round pick LaRavia, on the other hand, has been effective in a crowded Memphis rotation this season, averaging 7.3 points, 4.4 rebounds and 2.8 assists on .490/.444/.698 shooting in 47 games (20.9 minutes). However, the Grizzlies declined to pick up his $5.16MM rookie scale team option for ’25/26 last fall, which means they couldn’t offer him a starting salary above that amount when he hits unrestricted free agency this summer — that same restriction will now apply to Sacramento.

Moving off Smart’s contract will free up Memphis’ books for next season, as Bagley and Davis will hit free agency this summer. That should help them re-sign forward Santi Aldama, an impending restricted free agent, and possibly extend All-Star big man Jaren Jackson Jr. The Grizzlies will also add a couple of second-round picks in the deal.

It’s a pretty low-risk move for the Kings, who are looking to make a playoff push. Even if it turns out that they won’t be able to re-sign LaRavia in the offseason, they didn’t give up any rotation players and the outgoing assets are modest.

Both Memphis and Sacramento will save some money in ’24/25 as a result of the deal as well, giving the clubs more flexibility to potentially be players on the buyout market.

As for the Wizards, they’ll take a flyer on Smart in the hopes that he gets healthy and becomes a trade chip next season. Jones and Len aren’t owed money beyond this season. Of course, the primary motivation for making the deal for the rebuilding team was to acquire the 2025 first-round pick, which would land at No. 27 overall if the season ended today.

Rory Maher contributed to this story.

Wizards, Bucks Have Discussed Middleton, Kuzma

February 4th, 2025 at 10:10am CST by Luke Adams

The Wizards and Bucks have explored a potential trade that would involve Milwaukee forward Khris Middleton and Washington forward Kyle Kuzma, two league sources tell Josh Robbins and David Aldridge of The Athletic. As we relayed on Monday, Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Substack link) previously reported that the Bucks have had conversations about pursuing Kuzma.

Swapping Middleton for Kuzma would allow the Bucks to move below the second tax apron, Robbins and Aldridge outline, saving them money and generating more roster flexibility while also allowing them to avoid having their 2032 first-round pick become “frozen” at season’s end.

However, Kuzma is in the midst of the worst season of his career and The Athletic’s duo says the Wizards would be seeking draft capital in order to acquire Middleton, who has battled injuries in recent years.

A straight-up swap of the two players also wouldn’t quite be possible due to the difference in their salaries, so for matching purposes, the Wizards would have to send out a second player along with Kuzma ($23.5MM cap hit; $26.5MM apron hit) in order to take back Middleton ($31.7MM cap hit; $34MM apron hit).

The Bucks are operating about $6.5MM above the second apron and acquiring a second player would keep them above that threshold. So if getting out of second-apron territory is a goal, they’d need to either find a third-team facilitator or send out a second player themselves.

It’s unclear how much traction the two teams have gained in their talks, according to Robbins and Aldridge. When healthy, Middleton is a more valuable all-around player than Kuzma, but he also has been more injury-prone, is four years older, and is more expensive. Middleton holds a $34MM player option for next season, while Kuzma will make $21.5MM in 2025/26 and $19.4MM in ’26/27 on his declining contract.

As for the Wizards, they’re more willing to trade Kuzma now than they were a year ago, when they passed on an opportunity to send him to Dallas, according to The Athletic. But Robbins and Aldridge also note that the forward’s value is at its lowest point, given his struggles this season (.420/.281/.602 shooting), so it may not be the right time for Washington to move him.

Here’s more on the Wizards:

Washington is interested in using its $12.4MM trade exception to take on an unwanted contract in order to add more future draft assets, league sources tell Robbins and Aldridge. The club is operating nearly $12MM below the tax line, so it could use most of that exception without going into tax territory.
Malcolm Brogdon, Marvin Bagley III, and Richaun Holmes are among the other players on expiring or pseudo-expiring contracts whom the Wizards are willing to move, according to The Athletic. Bagley and Holmes aren’t positive assets and Brogdon’s trade value probably isn’t better than neutral, but their expiring money could be useful to a team looking to move off a multiyear contract.
None of the rival teams that have spoken to The Athletic’s duo have heard anything about Jordan Poole being available on the trade market. Poole’s sizable contract remains a potential impediment, but the Wizards are also happy about how he’s performed and bought into the team’s youth movement this season, Robbins and Aldridge explain.
While Corey Kispert isn’t off the table in trade talks, the poison pill provision will make any deal more challenging and the Wizards have genuine interest in keeping the fourth-year sharpshooter around through their rebuild, league sources tell The Athletic.

Eastern Notes: Finney-Smith, Celtics, Toppin, J. Johnson, Bagley

December 27th, 2024 at 10:30pm CST by Luke Adams

Veteran forward Dorian Finney-Smith returned to the Nets‘ starting lineup on Friday vs. San Antonio after missing three games due to a left calf contusion, an injury he admitted was related to a left ankle sprain that cost him several games in November and early December, according to Brian Lewis of The New York Post.

“Same ankle, which kind of ran up my calf, changed the way I ran,” Finney-Smith said. “You know your body adjusts to pain, so I started running a little different. So it started causing me to irritate my calf. I’ll be all right. I’ve just got to be smarter, listen to my body sometime.”

Besides being an important part of Brooklyn’s starting lineup, Finney-Smith is considered a prime candidate to be traded before this season’s deadline, so the Nets will want to keep him healthy for both reasons.

Finney-Smith’s three-and-D skill set would be a fit for just about any contending team and he can become an unrestricted free agent at season’s end if he turns down his 2025/26 player option. With that in mind, the rebuilding Nets are expected to try to get what they can for him rather than risk losing him for nothing in the summer.

Here’s more from around the East:

The Celtics were missing a pair of starters on Friday vs. Indiana, with Kristaps Porzingis out due to a left ankle sprain and Jrue Holiday unavailable for a second straight game due to a right shoulder impingement (Twitter link). The defending champions weren’t hampered by the absences though, blowing out Indiana by a score of 142-105, led by Jaylen Brown‘s 44 points.
The Pacers were without forward Obi Toppin for Friday’s blowout loss. Head coach Rick Carlisle – who acknowledged on Thursday that Toppin would “probably miss some time,” per Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star – said before Friday’s game that he doesn’t yet have a sense of a timetable for Toppin, but noted that he has always been a quick healer (Twitter link via Dopirak).
Lauren Williams of The Atlanta Journal Constitution explores the All-Star case that Hawks forward Jalen Johnson is making this season. Besides averaging new career highs in points (19.8), rebounds (10.3), and assists (5.5) per game, Johnson has posted impressive on/off-court numbers — Atlanta has a +0.9 net rating when he’s on the floor and a dismal -10.4 mark when he isn’t.
After injuring his right knee on Monday, Wizards big man Marvin Bagley III has been diagnosed with a sprain, tweets Josh Robbins of The Athletic. Bagley was out Thursday and figures to remain on the shelf for the foreseeable future, but he avoided a worst-case scenario, according to head coach Brian Keefe, who said he doesn’t expect the injury to be a season-ender, per Varun Shankar of The Washington Post (Twitter link).

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