Heat Have ‘Strong Interest’ In Mavericks’ Klay Thompson
The Heat have “strong interest” in Mavericks guard/forward Klay Thompson, Barry Jackson and Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald report.
According to Jackson and Chiang, Miami is interesting in adding Thompson to its roster irrespective of whether or not LeBron James decides to return for a second stint with the Heat.
As Jackson and Chiang detail, the Heat are looking to add another wing shooter and scorer with size after trading for Giannis Antetokounmpo. Listed at 6’5″ and 220 pounds, Thompson is one of the most prolific — and accurate — three-point shooters in NBA history, ranking fourth on the all-time made threes list.
The 36-year-old appeared in 69 games last season for Dallas, averaging career lows of 11.7 points, 2.1 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 21.7 minutes per contest. While the four-time champion’s three-point percentage (38.3%) was well above the league average (36.0%), it represented a career low for Thompson, who also posted career-worst marks on twos (41.8%) and from the field (39.3%).
Thompson ending up in Miami is far from a fait accompli, per Jackson and Chiang. The former lottery pick (11th overall in 2011) is owed about $17.5MM next season on an expiring deal, and unless he’s willing to give up some of that money in buyout with the Mavs, the Heat may not be able to acquire him.
Marc Stein reported about a month ago that Dallas was open to trading Thompson and reiterated last week that the team would rather deal him than negotiate a buyout, according to The Miami Herald.
“To this point as much has been relayed to me is the Mavs’ preference would be a trade,” Stein said. “I think it’s still early enough in the summer that if you’re the Mavs you would exhaust those options first.”
While sending Nikola Jovic to Dallas for Thompson would satisfy salary-matching requirements, the Mavs probably aren’t eager to take on the $62.4MM the Serbian forward is owed over the next four years, Jackson and Chiang note, especially since he’s coming off a down season.
Here are a few more Heat-related rumors from Jackson and Chiang:
- Although the Heat had a “preliminary discussion” with Bradley Beal‘s agent, they haven’t been actively trying to sign the veteran guard, according to Jackson and Chiang. Beal, who was limited to just six games played in 2025/26 due to a hip injury, remains an unrestricted free agent after declining his $5.6MM player option at the end of June.
- Jackson and Chiang suggest multiple teams pursuing James view DeMar DeRozan as a potential plan B, and write that if the 41-year-old joins another team, there’s a “real possibility” the Heat could sign DeRozan, a six-time All-Star who was recently waived by Sacramento.
- Following up on a report from Stefan Bondy of The New York Post indicating Russell Westbrook is a candidate to sign with the Heat if they miss out on LeBron, Jackson and Chiang say that can’t be ruled out but add that Miami hasn’t been “aggressively pursuing” the nine-time All-Star point guard.
Free Agent Rumors: LeBron, Westbrook, Robinson-Earl, Umude
Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch made the case for Minnesota being the best landing spot for LeBron James during a Bleacher Report live stream on Friday with Jake Fischer and Marc Stein of The Stein Line (Twitter link).
Finch added that Klutch Sports CEO Rich Paul hasn’t informed the Wolves they’re no longer in the running for James, who’s an unrestricted free agent. Several teams are reportedly in the mix for the 22-time All-Star forward.
Later in the same live stream, Stein said James seems to be monitoring three Eastern Conference teams — the Cavaliers, Heat and Sixers — more closely than Western suitors (Twitter video link).
“What I do believe, based on actual reporting … is Cleveland, Miami, Philly,” Stein said. “He is looking at Eastern Conference destinations with much more seriousness (than anticipated before free agency began)…He’s apparently open to going very, very far away from where he’s been for the last eight years.”
ESPN’s Shams Charania also discussed James’ free agency during a SiriusXM NBA Radio appearance on Saturday and confirmed that rival teams view the Cavs, Heat and Sixers as the apparent frontrunners, with the Warriors and Timberwolves also in the mix (Twitter video link).
“Every team that’s in it still believes they have a chance and is still engaged with Rich Paul on a daily basis, hourly basis. Cleveland, Miami, Golden State, Minnesota, Philadelphia, those are the five teams that I’ve been hearing,” Charania said. “… When I talk to other teams, they look at Cleveland a lot, Miami, and Philadelphia. Those are the three teams that others view as strong here.”
Here are a few more rumors on current free agents:
- Veteran point guard Russell Westbrook, a nine-time All-Star and former NBA MVP, is a candidate to join the Heat but only if they miss out on signing LeBron, a league source tells Stefan Bondy of The New York Post. Bondy has also heard Cleveland, Miami and Philadelphia are the presumed favorites to land James. Westbrook, who spent parts of two seasons with James on the Lakers, played for the Kings last season and was linked to the Wizards by Stein and Fischer prior to the start of free agency.
- Five-year NBA veteran Jeremiah Robinson-Earl is in advanced contract talks with Aris BC in Greece, sources tell Stavros Barbarousis of Eurohoops.net. The 32nd overall pick in the 2021 draft, Robinson-Earl spent part of last season with Indiana and Dallas, appearing in 22 combined games. He spent the rest of 2025/26 in the G League. SDNA first reported the Greek team’s interest in the 25-year-old forward.
- Spanish powerhouse Barcelona is among the teams interested in Stanley Umude, according to Donatas Urbonas of BasketNews. The 27-year-old wing, who holds for years of NBA experience, spent about two months of last season on a two-way contract with San Antonio prior to being released in late February. He primarily played for the Austin Spurs in ’25/26.
Kings Notes: DeRozan, LaVine, Sabonis, Westbrook, Achiuwa
Waiving DeMar DeRozan was a smart financial move, but that didn’t make it any easier for the Kings to let him go, writes Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee (subscription required). General manager Scott Perry addressed that decision and several other topics during a press conference on Wednesday, calling DeRozan “one of my favorite players to work with.”
“I’ve worked with some great players, some Hall of Fame players, in my career,” Perry said. “His professionalism, his leadership, the way he went about preparing for his job each and every day was exemplary, and how he poured into our young players last year was very important and very much appreciated.”
DeRozan only had a $10MM guarantee on his $25.74MM salary for the upcoming season, and the team can create even more immediate cap savings by using the stretch provision to spread that $10MM across the next three years. That would reduce his cap charge for 2026/27 by over $22MM, taking the Kings out of apron territory and below the luxury tax line.
While the benefits of parting ways with DeRozan were obvious, Perry told reporters that he searched for other alternatives to reduce payroll.
“We were trying to figure out ways we could keep him, but as we all know there is a financial component to this job,” Perry said. “Unfortunately, we weren’t able to figure out anything that would allow us to keep him, but I’m going to miss him. I’ll be honest with you.”
There’s more on the Kings, all from Anderson:
- Perry is focused on the upcoming season with Zach LaVine, who will reportedly exercise his $49MM player option. LaVine has been the subject of trade speculation, but Perry hasn’t heard any offers that he likes. “Zach and I have been in communication since the season has been over,” Perry said. “… Zach is still an excellent basketball player. He knows what’s expected of him coming back here this year. I’m very clear with him on that. He’ll be the first to tell you that, and I think he’s ready to come back, embrace that and perform to the best of his abilities this year.”
- Perry sounded a similar tone regarding Domantas Sabonis, who has also been the subject of trade rumors involving several teams. The three-time All-Star will be trying to bounce back after injuries limited him to 19 games last season. “Obviously, he missed a lot of last year, but he’s always played hard,” Perry said. “I expect him to do that, provide some veteran presence for this team, really have a tremendous rebounding year and help us build some winning habits.”
- Reporters brought up the possibility of re-signing Russell Westbrook to serve as a mentor to first-round pick Darius Acuff Jr. Perry said Westbrook “has always been a favorite of mine,” but added that the Kings currently can’t offer more than the veteran’s minimum deal that he played on last season. Sacramento technically holds Westbrook’s Non-Bird rights, allowing the team to go 20% above his minimum, but it sounds like non-minimum deals for any free agent are unlikely as long as the team is flirting with the luxury tax line and first-apron hard cap.
- Perry is happy that Sacramento was able to keep Precious Achiuwa on a new two-year contract when he had other options in free agency. “He could have gone elsewhere, but he wanted to be here,” Perry said. “I think he came here last year searching for a place he could call home. He quickly established himself, the way he competed each and every night at both ends of the floor. He’s a versatile athlete, and I can’t say it enough: I love having guys who want to be here and are invested in something they can build into something bigger than just themselves, and Precious embodies that.”
Stein/Fischer’s Latest: Kawhi, Raptors, Brown, Westbrook, More
The Raptors and Clippers continue to have serious discussions about a Kawhi Leonard trade and there’s “momentum” on a deal that would send the two-time Finals MVP back to Toronto, league sources tell Marc Stein and Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Substack link).
Fischer first reported the Raptors’ interest in a reunion with Leonard, with multiple subsequent reports confirming the negotiations between the two teams.
Regardless of whether a deal comes to fruition, the Clippers haven’t pursued Celtics wing Jaylen Brown this offseason and don’t intend to make a run at the 2024 Finals MVP, Stein and Fischer report.
Here’s lots more from The Stein Line:
- The Wizards have a “level of interest” in free agent guard Russell Westbrook, according to Stein and Fischer. The former league MVP spent the 2020/21 season in Washington prior to being traded to the Lakers. Westbrook, 37, played for the Kings last season.
- Speaking of the Kings, they’re aiming to re-sign Precious Achiuwa and promote Daeqwon Plowden to a standard contract, per The Stein Line. Sacramento made Plowden, who finished last season on a two-way deal, a restricted free agent on Monday. Forward/center Achiuwa, meanwhile, is an unrestricted free agent.
- The Lakers are “strongly believed” to be one of three teams set to meet with Jazz restricted free agent center Walker Kessler on Tuesday, according to Stein and Fischer. The Lakers are also expected to meet with Pistons RFA Jalen Duren. Yet another restricted free agent, Nuggets forward Peyton Watson, continues to be linked to the Clippers, Stein and Fischer add.
- The Spurs are looking to add a power forward with the non-taxpayer mid-level exception, according to The Stein Line, with Sandro Mamukelashvili, Tobias Harris, Dean Wade, Rui Hachimura and John Collins said to be targets. The Lakers are another team with their eyes on Raptors forward/center Mamukelashvili, according to both Stein and Fischer and Dan Woike of The Athletic. Sources tell Stein and Fischer the Georgian big man is expected to receive multiple offers exceeding $10MM per year after declining his minimum-salary option to become a free agent.
- In other Raptors news, the team is expected to work out a new standard deal with 2025 second-rounder Alijah Martin, per Stein and Fischer. Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca reported the two sides were working on a multiyear standard contract after Martin was given a two-way qualifying offer, making him a restricted free agent.
- After previously reporting that the Magic were bracing to lose Moritz Wagner in free agency, Stein and Fischer hear the Nets are a “real contender” to sign the German big man. The Magic, meanwhile, are expected to re-sign Jonathan Isaac after waiving him earlier this week, sources tell the Stein Line.
- If the Bulls end up signing Norman Powell, his new contract is expected to be a lucrative short-term deal, Stein and Fischer report. Chicago is also thinking about retaining Anfernee Simons, who’s expected to receive interest from the Warriors and Celtics, and is also interested in Jonathan Kuminga. The Cavaliers are another potential Kuminga suitor, though they don’t have much money to offer at the moment, Stein and Fischer add.
- The Cavaliers agreed to re-sign Thomas Bryant in part because they believed the Pacers were going to pursue him in free agency, according to Stein and Fischer, who hear Josh Okogie, Gary Trent Jr. and Kelly Oubre Jr. are potential free agent targets for Indiana.
- Bradley Beal, Gabe Vincent and Khris Middleton are among the veterans the Heat are considering pursuing in free agency, Stein and Fischer report.
Western Notes: Suns, Mavs, Burries, Giannis, Westbrook
The Suns have numerous decisions to make regarding their own free agents, Spotrac’s Keith Smith notes in his offseason preview.
Mark Williams will be a restricted free agent and Phoenix should tread cautiously, according to Smith, who writes that Williams is a solid but not overly impactful center and has a lengthy injury history. The big man could wind up signing his $9.6MM qualifying offer.
The fact that Phoenix holds Early Bird rights on guards Collin Gillespie and Jordan Goodwin should allow the front office to give them competitive offers and retain the duo. Smith anticipates something in the range of $40MM over four years as a solid baseline for Gillespie and views a three-year, $18MM offer as fair value for Goodwin.
As for a potential extension for Dillon Brooks, Smith notes he turned 30 in January and thus the franchise shouldn’t get carried away. A four-year, $100MM contract should be considered a fair offer.
Here’s more from the Western Conference:
- The Mavericks should seriously consider Arizona freshman guard Brayden Burries with their lottery pick at No. 9, James Piercey of Dallas Hoops Journal writes. Burries made 39.1% of his three-point tries during his one-and-done season with the Wildcats, in which he averaged 16.1 points per game. With Cooper Flagg serving as a point forward, Burries could be an ideal complement to the team’s franchise player. Burries is also a stout point-of-attack defender, Piercey adds.
- The Trail Blazers should make an aggressive trade proposal to the Bucks to win the Giannis Antetokounmpo sweepstakes, Bill Oram of The Oregonian opines in a subscriber-only column. While Portland showed some growth this season, the Blazers need a star talent to make them true contenders. Oram believes that if a smaller market club has a chance to add a proven superstar, it must go all-in on that opportunity. Oram also notes the Trail Blazers have a built-in advantage — they control Milwaukee’s first-round picks from 2028 to 2030.
- Russell Westbrook, who played his first 11 seasons with the Thunder organization, is giving back to the Oklahoma City community. He returned to the city on Monday for the groundbreaking ceremony of the multi-purpose stadium that’s set to open in 2028, according to The Oklahoman’s Joe Mussatto. Westbrook teamed up with Christian Kanady, the founder and CEO of Echo Investment Capital, to develop the surrounding stadium district. The 10,000-seat outdoor venue will be the home of Oklahoma City’s pro soccer and football teams, which will compete in the United Soccer League and United Football League, respectively. Westbrook is headed to unrestricted free agency this summer.
Kings Notes: Christie, Perry, Westbrook, DeRozan, Assistant Coaches
Doug Christie‘s success in developing young players was a major reason why the Kings decided to keep him as head coach, Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee writes in a subscriber-only piece. The team only won 22 games this season, but general manager Scott Perry said during Wednesday’s exit interviews that he’s encouraged by the progress of rookies Nique Clifford, Maxime Raynaud and Dylan Cardwell, who improved significantly throughout the season.
“That was one of the main reasons in making sure Doug Christie came back as head coach,” Perry told reporters. “Doug’s relentless energy, his leadership that he exhibited with these young guys, his patience, never wavered throughout a challenging year.”
Christie, who also spoke at the event, promised to eventually produce a winner “come hell or high water.” Perry noted that injuries played a role in this year’s failure, as Christie was forced to use 34 different starting lineups. He got just 19 games from Domantas Sabonis, 23 from Keegan Murray and 39 from Zach LaVine.
“It would be nice to plug those guys in and have all that,” Christie said. “We didn’t have it, but I can see how all of that would fit because the ability to shoot, the ability to defend and the ability to rebound are absolute musts, and those guys help in all those categories.”
There’s more from Sacramento:
- Perry indicated that he’ll be looking to make changes this summer to a roster that’s filled with expensive veterans, Anderson adds. The Kings currently project to be about $20MM over the luxury tax and nearly $4MM above the second apron. “There are a lot of mechanisms to work around the cap,” Perry said. “I will just say this. From the time I started in this league 23 years ago, my philosophy is never to be a team going into the luxury tax unless we were a roster worth of that, ready to compete for a champion. We’re not there yet, so we have a number of avenues over the next three, four, five months to make sure we’re in compliance with that and also put the very best roster we can out there for next season.”
- The Kings are open to bringing back Russell Westbrook next season, per Tristi Rodriguez of NBC Sports Bay Area. The 37-year-old point guard, who said he’d like to remain with the team, will be a free agent again after signing a one-year deal with Sacramento shortly before the start of the season. He wound up playing 64 games and averaging 15.2 points, 5.4 rebounds and 6.7 assists in 29 minutes per night. “Russell’s always welcome with me,” Perry said. “I loved working with Russell Westbrook this year. I mean, he was phenomenal. I can’t say enough. … Extremely competitive. I wish I had an opportunity to work with Russell earlier in my career as well, because I really like what he stands for. And again, we will keep the lines of communication open and we will see what happens and what’s available for us this offseason.”
- An important offseason decision is looming regarding DeMar DeRozan, notes Bobby Marks of ESPN. DeRozan has been extremely reliable since joining the team in 2024, but the final year of his contract only carries a $10MM guarantee on his $25.7MM salary. Parting with him could be a way to ease the tax concerns. Marks also addresses the need to build a younger roster in a video outlining the Kings’ offseason.
- Christie confirmed that assistant coaches Dipesh Mistry and Jimmy Alapag won’t return next season, relays James Ham of The Kings Beat (Twitter link).
Pacific Notes: Lue, Curry, Jackson, Westbrook, Allen
Clippers coach Tyronn Lue was the head coach of the Cavaliers in three of Cleveland’s matchups with the Warriors in the Finals. He now must face Golden State and Stephen Curry again in the play-in tournament on Wednesday. The losing team in the No. 9 vs. 10 matchup will see its season end.
“I’m sick of it,” Lue said playfully when asked about facing Curry again in the postseason. “He’s just a guy that can explode. He can score 50 if you’re not careful. He only had 24 last game, but he had nine three-point attempts. We can’t let him get that many attempts up from the three-point line. We gotta try to keep him down as much as possible… We gotta be locked in to what we’re trying to do defensively.”
Here’s more from the Pacific Division:
- The Clippers could have big man Isaiah Jackson — out since March 27 due to an ankle injury — available for the play-in game against the Warriors. He played 5-on-5 on Monday and practiced on Tuesday, Law Murray of The Athletic reports, and is listed as questionable (Twitter links). Jackson averaged 8.1 points and 5.2 rebounds in 17.4 minutes per game in 15 appearances off the bench last month.
- Russell Westbrook wouldn’t mind staying put with the Kings, Sean Cunningham of KCRA News tweets. “If I’m welcomed back, then I’ll be back,” Westbrook said. The veteran guard was on a one-year, veteran’s minimum contract this season. Playing for his seventh team, Westbrook, 37, averaged 15.2 points, 6.7 assists and 5.4 rebounds in 64 games.
- Suns wing Grayson Allen isn’t active for Tuesday’s play-in tournament game against Portland due to left hamstring soreness, the team tweets. Allen, who suffered the injury last Friday against the Lakers, averaged 16.5 points per game this season, the fourth-best mark on the team. It’s unclear if he’d be available for a second play-in game this Friday or Game 1 of a playoff series on Sunday.
Injury Notes: Giannis, Cade, Edwards, Kings, K. George, Wade
The National Basketball Players Association seemed to imply in a statement earlier this week that Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo is healthy enough to play, but that’s not the case, according to head coach Doc Rivers. As Eric Nehm of The Athletic relays, Rivers told reporters on Wednesday that Antetokounmpo continues to recover from the left knee hyperextension and bone bruise that have sidelined him since March 15.
“He’s not (healthy),” Rivers said. “He’s progressing. He’s just not healthy. Our focus right now is just getting him healthy. We’re just trying to get Giannis cleared and healthy; that’s our only focus. All the other stuff, we stay above.”
Reporting last week suggested that Antetokounmpo and the Bucks were at odds over whether he should be shut down for the rest of the season, with Milwaukee preferring to take a conservative approach and the two-time MVP pushing to return. The NBPA’s statement suggested that the Bucks are motivated to hold Giannis out of action to potentially improve their draft position, an idea Rivers downplayed.
“We didn’t have a meeting about this (statement from the NBPA),” Rivers said. “We didn’t have one discussion. (General manager) Jon Horst didn’t call me to talk about this, just to show you the concern we have.”
Here are several more injury updates from around the NBA:
- Appearing on NBA Countdown on Wednesday (Twitter video link), ESPN’s Shams Charania provided health updates on Cade Cunningham (collapsed lung) and Anthony Edwards (knee inflammation). According to Charania, the Pistons are optimistic that Cunningham will be able to return in time for the start of the playoffs, while the Timberwolves consider Edwards day-to-day at this point, and he could return as Saturday vs. Detroit or Monday at Dallas.
- Kings forward Keegan Murray, out since February 25 due to a left ankle sprain, is making “good progress” in his return-to-play process and is resuming contact work, the team announced on Wednesday (Twitter link via James Ham of ESPN 1320). The update suggests Sacramento plans on having Murray back before the end of the season. Veteran guard Russell Westbrook, meanwhile, underwent an MRI on his sore right foot and has been diagnosed with joint irritation of the first toe. He’ll remain out, with further updates provided as appropriate, per the Kings.
- The Wizards, who announced on March 4 that forward Kyshawn George had sustained a partial UCL tear in his left elbow and would be reevaluated in three weeks, provided an update right on schedule on Wednesday. According to the team (Twitter link), elbow specialist Dr. Keith Meister confirmed this week that George has a Grade 2 distal UCL tear. The plan is to continue to treat the injury “conservatively” and evaluate the 22-year-old again next Wednesday.
- Cavaliers forward Dean Wade appeared to suffer an ankle injury during warm-ups prior to Wednesday’s contest vs. Miami, per Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com (Twitter links). While Wade was held out of the game, Fedor refers to it as a “precaution,” which suggests the injury probably isn’t serious.
Kings Notes: DeRozan, Westbrook, Cardwell, Hayes
It has been a challenging season for Kings forward DeMar DeRozan, who made it clear at the end of January that he’d prefer to be playing more meaningful games this late in his career. The 36-year-old erupted for a season-high 39 points (on 17-of-22 shooting) in Wednesday’s loss to Charlotte, passing Spurs great Tim Duncan for 18th place on the NBA’s all-time scoring list, writes Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee.
“I don’t take nothing in this game for granted,” said DeRozan, a six-time All-Star in his 17th NBA season. “I never would have imagined coming into the league I would be playing this long, I would have the opportunities I’ve had, I would accomplish things I have.
“Me just being a fan of the game my whole entire life, it’s an honor to be in a position to accomplish any type of goal in this league. It’s crazy to be in that position and I don’t take none of this for granted. I just love playing basketball at the end of the day, and at the end of the day, you look up and things like this happen. It’s definitely cool.”
Here’s more from Sacramento:
- In an interesting story for The Sporting News, Stephen Noh takes a look at “the hidden side” of Russell Westbrook, noting that the veteran Kings guard is often hostile towards the media but is beloved by teammates and widely considered one of the kindest players in the league off the court. Rockets center Clint Capela called the former league MVP the “most genuine superstar” he’s played with. “Very happy person. Very nice guy,” Capela told Noh. “Always smiling, always joking around. I was like, ‘Wow, I never thought that a superstar could also be that great of a guy.'”
- Rookie big man Dylan Cardwell, who has been out since February 11 due to a left ankle sprain, was a full participant in Friday’s practice, writes James Ham of TheKingsBeat.com. Cardwell isn’t on the injury report ahead of Saturday’s contest at the Clippers, which means he should be active after missing 11 straight games.
- Killian Hayes discussed his time with the Kings on Friday, as Sean Cunningham of KCRA News relays (Twitter video link). “It’s a fun group,” Hayes said. “I think we’ve got great chemistry off the court, and on the court, we’ve gotta keep playing hard, keep playing for one another.” The sixth-year guard said he’s trying not to think about his contract situation — his second 10-day deal with Sacramento expires on Saturday night, and the Kings will have to either let him go or sign him to a rest-of-season contract at that point.
Pacers First NBA Team Eliminated From Postseason Contention
The Pacers became the first NBA team formally eliminated from postseason contention after they lost at Sacramento on Tuesday night and Charlotte picked up a victory in Portland, tweets Tony East of Circle City Spin.
Indiana has lost 10 straight games and currently has the worst record in the league at 15-50 (Sacramento improved to 16-50 with the win). Charlotte holds the No. 10 seed in the Eastern Conference at 33-33, and since the Pacers only have 17 games remaining, they have no way to make up the 17.5-game deficit.
As Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star writes (subscription required), the Pacers were up 20 points with 4:58 remaining in the third quarter, but struggled the rest of the way. This is just the 10th time in the past 37 seasons that Indiana won’t make the playoffs.
“Crazy game,” Carlisle said. “End of the third quarter obviously was a big problem for us and their bench just played an unbelievable last 15 minutes of the game. Just tremendous. So you gotta give them a lot of credit. Their shot-making and aggression — all that — was big-time. We had some pretty good looks. They didn’t go in. That was disappointing. We did an awful lot of good things in the first two-and-a-half quarters, but unfortunately the last 18 minutes count.”
The Pacers have been decimated by injuries all season, Dopirak notes. As long as they hold a bottom-three record when 2025/26 ends, they’ll have a 52.1% chance at landing a top-four pick and 14.0% odds for the No. 1 selection. That’s noteworthy, because the 2026 first-round pick they traded to the Clippers for Ivica Zubac is top-four (and 10-30) protected.
The star of the game for the Kings was Devin Carter, who didn’t play at all in the first half, writes Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee. The 2024 lottery pick erupted for 22 points in the fourth quarter, finishing with a career-high 24 points, five rebounds and three assists in only 16 minutes of action.
“It felt great, especially my teammates trusting me, putting the ball in my hands,” Carter said. “They set me up for success, so it felt great.”
Carter admitted it’s been a tough season, as he hasn’t played much in year two. He has only made 27 appearances in 2025/26 and is averaging just 14.3 minutes per game.
“I haven’t been in the rotation much, so I wasn’t expecting too much,” Carter said. “Just trying to put my work in and stay ready.”
Carter has been ruled out of Tuesday’s game vs. Charlotte due to right calf soreness, Anderson tweets. Fellow guards Russell Westbrook (right quad contusion) and Malik Monk (right ankle soreness) will be sidelined as well.
Kings head coach Doug Christie voiced his opposition to tanking prior to Monday’s game, Dopirak adds.
“This is just me personally, I don’t mess with the game,” Christie said. “You do not mess with the game. You let the game do what it’s gonna do. There has to be a respect for the game and how you go about the game and how you play the game. In my opinion, stuff like that scars the players.
“How can I hold you accountable when there was a point where I was like, ‘Eh…’ You know, that’s just me. In many ways, we have to continuously protect our game and make sure that when we lace them up and we go out there, we’re giving our all always.”