Portland Trail Blazers Rumors

And-Ones: First-Time All-Stars, Adubato, BAL, Wood, More

November 7th, 2025 at 5:33pm CST by Rory Maher

As ESPN’s Kevin Pelton writes, there has been an average of between five and six first-time All-Stars over the past five years, including six first-time honorees last season. Pelton lists 10 players who have a shot at making their first mid-season exhibition game in 2025/26 based on their strong starts.

The All-Star format will be different again this year, Pelton notes, with two eight-player teams from the United States and one eight-player international group competing in a round-robin tournament. Trail Blazers forward Deni Avdija (Israel) and Bulls guard Josh Giddey (Australia) are among the international candidates on Pelton’s list, with Lakers guard Austin Reaves and Hawks forward Jalen Johnson among the first-time American candidates.

Reaves will miss his third straight game on Saturday in Atlanta due to a right groin strain, tweets Dan Woike of The Athletic.

Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

Former NBA assistant and head coach Richie Adubato has passed away at age 87, per Jason Beede of The Orlando Sentinel. Adubato’s NBA coaching career spanned two decades, spending time with Detroit, New York, Dallas, Cleveland and Orlando. The New Jersey native also coached the WNBA’s New York Liberty and Washington Mystics, Beede adds, and was a radio analyst for the Magic from 2005-20. Our condolences go out to Adubato’s friends and family.
The Basketball Africa League has largely been run as a tournament over the past several years, but NBA deputy commissioner Mark Tatum tells Marc J. Spears of Andscape that the BAL will eventually have 12 teams and permanent franchises, though when that will happen is still to be determined. Spears hears there will likely be 10 permanent franchises down the line, with the other two spots going to annual at-large qualifying teams.
Former NBA big man Christian Wood reportedly fired three gunshots at the ground to scare away three men who broke into a Los Angeles home he was inside on Wednesday, according to Alex Valdes of The Athletic. The LAPD told The Athletic that no property was taken in the incident, and the suspects fled the scene after being confronted. Wood, a 30-year-old forward/center, was waived by the Lakers in February 2025, but hasn’t played in a game since February 2024 due to a knee injury.
A variety of former NBA figures have migrated to the college basketball scene over the past year because of the introduction of NIL deals and the transfer portal. Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Substack link) takes a deep dive on the topic, writing that universities have pursued NBA talent due to their skills and expertise in navigating a variety of different job responsibilities that previously weren’t needed at the college level. “The trend will only continue to accelerate,” said Wes Wilcox, who left his post as assistant GM for the Kings late last season to become GM of the Utah Utes. “The number of colleges looking toward the NBA to help in this space is only going to rise.”

Blake Wesley Undergoes Foot Surgery, Out 8-12 Weeks

November 5th, 2025 at 10:01pm CST by Eli Cohen

Blake Wesley underwent successful surgery on Wednesday to address a fractured fifth metatarsal bone in his right foot, the Trail Blazers announced in a press release. He will begin rehabbing right away and is expected to miss eight-to-12 weeks.

Wesley had initially been ruled out “indefinitely” following the announcement of his broken bone. This timeline would put his earliest return date somewhere around the end of 2025, with his absence more likely to extend into 2026.

Wesley had been playing some of the best basketball of his career in his first six games with the Blazers, serving as one of the team’s primary backcourt options off the bench with Scoot Henderson sidelined due to a hamstring injury.

Wesley signed a one-year, fully guaranteed deal with Portland this summer after averaging 4.3 points and 2.4 assists in 14.3 minutes per game across three seasons with the Spurs. He was traded from San Antonio to Washington and then bought out with the Wizards before joining the Blazers.

With Wesley and Henderson sidelined and Damian Lillard out for the season, the Blazers turned to a pair of two-way players in Sidy Cissoko and rookie Caleb Love to provide backcourt depth in their last game against the Lakers.

Blake Wesley Out Indefinitely With Broken Bone In Foot

November 2nd, 2025 at 8:01pm CST by Eli Cohen

Trail Blazers guard Blake Wesley has suffered a fracture to the fifth metatarsal bone in his right foot and is out indefinitely, according to the team. The Blazers added that Wesley’s recovery timeline will be determined at a later date.

Wesley signed a one-year deal with the Trail Blazers this summer. With Scoot Henderson out due to a hamstring tear, the former Spur has played in each of Portland’s first six games, averaging career highs in points (6.0), rebounds (2.3), assists (3.2), steals (1.7) in 16.3 minutes per night.

The 25th overall pick in the 2022 draft, Wesley played the first three seasons of his career with San Antonio before being traded to Washington this offseason. He was subsequently bought out by the Wizards and signed with the Blazers as a free agent.

With Wesley out, rookie Caleb Love could be in line for additional playing time. The undrafted guard has appeared in two games for Portland, averaging 5.0 points and 2.5 assists in 9.5 minutes per contest.

In addition to missing Wesley and Henderson, the Blazers are playing without Damian Lillard, who will spend the entire 2025/26 season recovering from an Achilles tear.

Injury Notes: Ball, Clifford, Wesley, Dosunmu, More

November 2nd, 2025 at 2:11pm CST by Rory Maher

Barring an unexpected development, Hornets star LaMelo Ball will miss his first game of the season on Sunday, having been listed as doubtful for the matchup against Utah (Twitter links via the Hornets). Rookie center Ryan Kalkbrenner may miss the game as well — he’s questionable to suit up for personal reasons.

Ball has dealt with numerous ankle injuries over the past years. The 24-year-old point guard’s injury designation is right ankle impingement.

It’s the second of a back-to-back for the Hornets, who dropped their third straight game on Saturday vs. Minnesota.

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

After missing four games with a right hamstring strain, rookie wing Nique Clifford was able to return to action in Saturday’s two-point win in Milwaukee, as first reported by Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee. While Clifford’s traditional stats were very modest (three rebounds and one block), the Kings outscored the Bucks by eight points during his 16 minutes on the court. Veteran guard Malik Monk (personal reasons) missed the game, tweets Sean Cunningham of NBC Sacramento.
Trail Blazers guard Blake Wesley was forced out of Friday’s win over Denver after sustaining a right foot injury, the team announced (Twitter link). It’s unclear if Wesley, an offseason free agent addition, will miss additional time as a result of the injury. Third-year wing Kris Murray saw a significant uptick in playing time with Matisse Thybulle (thumb surgery) and Wesley out.
Ayo Dosunmu is off to a terrific start this season, averaging 16.2 points, 3.2 assists and 3.0 rebounds on .577/.476/.846 shooting through five games (26.2 minutes per contest). Unfortunately, the Bulls guard suffered a left quad contusion in Friday’s victory against the Knicks and is questionable for Sunday’s rematch in New York, as Joel Lorenzi of The Athletic relays (via Twitter). Dosunmu is playing on an expiring $7.5MM contract and will be an unrestricted free agent in 2026 unless he signs a veteran extension.

Blazers’ Thybulle Undergoes Thumb Surgery, Out 4-6 Weeks

October 31st, 2025 at 7:13pm CST by Rory Maher

Trail Blazers wing Matisse Thybulle underwent surgery on Friday morning to repair a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his left thumb and will be reevaluated in four-to-six weeks, the team announced (via Twitter).

According to the Blazers, Thybulle sustained the thumb injury during Wednesday’s game in Utah. The 28-year-old had an MRI on Thursday, which revealed the UCL tear.

It’s a tough blow for the guard/forward, who is now in his seventh NBA season. Thybulle is on an expiring $11.5MM contract and will be an unrestricted free agent next summer unless he signs a veteran extension before the league year ends on June 30, 2026.

After playing at least 65 games in each of his first five seasons, Thybulle was limited to just 15 contests in ’24/25 due to knee and ankle injuries. The former first-round pick, who was selected 20th overall in 2019, is mostly known for his athleticism and top-tier defense, having been named to a pair of All-Defensive teams (in 2021 and 2022).

In four appearances this fall, Thybulle has averaged 5.0 points and 2.5 steals in just 12.3 minutes per game. It’s a very small sample size (49 minutes), but Portland has been much better when Thybulle is on the court (+21.0 net rating) than when he’s not playing (+1.8).

On a more positive note, oft-injured center Robert Williams will make his season debut on Friday versus Denver, interim head coach Tiago Splitter told reporters, including Sean Highkin of The Rose Garden Report (Twitter link). Williams had been listed as questionable to suit up.

Third-year wings Kris Murray and Rayan Rupert are candidates for more playing time while Thybulle recovers from thumb surgery.

Northwest Notes: Jazz, K. George, Wolves, R. Williams, A. Mitchell

October 31st, 2025 at 11:29am CST by Luke Adams

New Jazz president of basketball operations Austin Ainge vowed back in June at his introductory press conference that the team wouldn’t tank in 2025/26 like it did last year. We’re just four games into the season, but so far the team is backing up that assertion, as Andy Larsen of The Salt Lake Tribune writes.

The 2-2 Jazz have won games against the Clippers and Suns, while their losses against Sacramento and Portland came by a combined total of three points. Keyonte George‘s play has been one of the more notable developments of the first two weeks of the season, Larsen notes — the third-year point guard is averaging 22.3 points and 9.3 assists per game through his first four outings.

“I credit, you know, (CEO) Danny (Ainge), (general manager Justin Zanik), Austin, (head coach) Will (Hardy),” George said when asked about his maturation this season. “My exit interview, it was pretty blunt. … It basically was about — you know, ‘It’s time to grow up.'”

George has still struggled with his three-point shot (22.2%) and turnovers (4.3 per game) in the early going, but Larsen describes his defensive effort as “night and day” compared to last season and notes that the 21-year-old is prioritizing setting up teammates instead of seeking out his own shot.

“Put the ball in our play-makers’ hands,” George said in describing his approach. “Whether it’s Lauri (Markkanen), Walker (Kessler), Brice (Sensabaugh), or anybody. And then that’s when I can go get a layup every now and then, or make an open shot.”

We have more from around the Northwest:

The Timberwolves‘ typically stout defense has faltered early on this season, ranking 24th in the NBA through Thursday’s games. Minnesota is just 2-3 so far and has a 119.5 defensive rating after finishing sixth at 110.8 last season. As Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic relays, head coach Chris Finch has challenged his “All-Defensive guys” – Jaden McDaniels and Rudy Gobert – to do a better job of setting the tone on that end of the court. “Jaden’s gotta be better at the point of attack, into his guy a little bit more,” Finch said. “Rudy’s gotta challenge more stuff at the rim.”
Trail Blazers center Robert Williams, who has yet to make his season debut, has been upgraded to questionable for Friday’s game vs. Denver, the team announced (Twitter link). Williams, who has been plagued by knee issues throughout his career, was limited to just 20 games last season and didn’t play during the preseason.
After missing most of the second half of his rookie season due to toe surgery, Thunder guard Ajay Mitchell signed a three-year, $8.7MM contract in July that includes a team option on the third year. Mitchell, who has averaged 18.5 points per game in his first six appearances off the bench this fall, has already outplayed that contract, suggests ESPN’s Bobby Marks. That team-friendly deal should benefit Oklahoma City significantly during the next couple seasons as extensions for Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren take effect and the club enters tax-apron territory.

Latest On Chauncey Billups

October 30th, 2025 at 8:42pm CST by Rory Maher

Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups has been placed on unpaid leave by the NBA after being arrested as part of a federal investigation into an illegal poker operation with ties to the mafia.

According to Sam Amick of The Athletic, Billups has hired renowned defense attorney Marc Mukasey to represent him.

As Amick writes, Mukasey is a former prosecutor from New York who is well-known for taking on high-profile white-collar cases, including acting as an attorney in recent years for U.S. President Donald Trump. Mukasey is the son of former U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey, Amick adds.

Billups was arraigned last week in federal court on one count of wire-fraud conspiracy and one count of money-laundering conspiracy. His next next court date is November 24 in Brooklyn, New York.

The attorney who represented Billups at last week’s arraignment in Portland said the 49-year-old disputes the charges.

Former NBA big man Tiago Splitter is serving as Portland’s interim head coach while Billups’ legal situation plays out.

Here’s more on Billups:

While he wasn’t charged or named in the separate but related illegal sports betting case that resulted in the arrest of Terry Rozier, Billups fits the description of Co-Conspirator 8, who allegedly tipped of Eric “Spook” Earnest that the Blazers would go into tank mode ahead of a game on March 24, 2023. Carson Kessler and Nathan Fenno of The Athletic take a look at how Billups may have gotten to know Earnest, who is one of three people indicted in both cases. As the authors note, the 53-year-old Earnest had multiple extended stints in prison after pleading guilty to or being found guilty of various felony charges in unrelated legal cases.
People around the Blazers and the league have been stunned by Billups’ indictment, writes Ramona Shelburne of ESPN. One such person is Billups’ former head coach with the Pistons, Larry Brown, who has been texting the Hall-of-Fame guard nearly every day over the past week. “He would be one of the last people I would think about involving himself with bad people,” Brown told ESPN. “If you talked to anybody that was involved with Chauncey, that spent time with him and knew his family, knew his kids, I think they’d be saying the same thing.” An unnamed associate whom Shelburne describes as close to Billups said they “didn’t even know” Billups gambled and that they’re concerned for the coach’s well being. “The thing that scares me for Chauncey is that he’s dealing with these mob guys,” the person said. “If this is true, if he set people up. … It could get nasty.”
Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue refers to Billups as his best friend and the two have known each other since they were teenagers. Lue says he has spoken to Billups since he was indicted, as Shelburne relays. “When you’ve known somebody so long, you can just tell by their voice — if he’s OK,” Lue said. “Like I said, he’s confident in what’s going on. The toughest part just for him, just like his family going through with his daughters. But other than that, he’s really confident about the situation. So just hearing his voice, I can just see that he’s OK. So that was good to hear.”

Terry Rozier, Chauncey Billups Won’t Be Paid While On Leave

October 29th, 2025 at 3:08pm CST by Luke Adams

3:08 pm: The National Basketball Players Association has put out the following statement in response to the NBA’s decision to withhold Rozier’s salary, according to ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Twitter link):

“While we are in agreement with the league that upholding the integrity of the game is of the utmost importance, their decision to place Terry on leave without pay is counter to the presumption of innocence and inconsistent with the terms of our Collective Bargaining Agreement,” an NBPA spokesperson said. “We plan to challenge their decision via the proper channels.”

12:30 pm: Reynolds clarifies (via Twitter) that Rozier’s withheld salary will be placed in an interest-bearing account rather than in escrow.

11:40 am: Heat guard Terry Rozier won’t receive his NBA salary while on leave after being arrested on federal charges related to an illegal betting scheme, reports Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press.

Confirming Reynolds’ report, ESPN’s Shams Charania says those pay checks will be held in escrow, pending the outcome of the FBI’s cases.

Charania adds that Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups – who was arrested in a separate but related illegal gambling case – also isn’t being paid.

Rozier has a cap hit of roughly $26.6MM this season. As Bobby Marks of ESPN tweets, the veteran guard would have received his first of 24 twice-monthly $1,110,126 pay checks later this week. If he’s eventually cleared and permitted to play in the NBA again, he would receive his full withheld salary, a source tells Reynolds.

Although Rozier isn’t being paid, the NBA also isn’t awarding the Heat any immediate cap or luxury tax relief, according to Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel (Twitter links). Winderman hears that discussions about the Heat’s cap situation are ongoing, with Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald (Twitter link) confirming that there’s still a scenario in which the team could be granted some “special” relief even without the league voiding Rozier’s contract.

The Heat are currently operating right up against the luxury tax line and don’t have room to sign a 15th man in free agency without going into the tax.

Federal investigators have accused Rozier of providing inside information about his health to a friend – who sold it to bettors – and pulling himself from a March 2023 game (while he was a member of the Hornets) so that several “under” prop bets would hit. He left that game early, citing a foot injury and didn’t play for the rest of the 2022/23 season.

ESPN’s Paula Lavigne and David Purdum reported on Tuesday that Rozier faced an $8,218,211 tax lien from the Internal Revenue Service later in 2023. However, Rozier’s attorney Jim Trusty told ESPN that his client actually owed the IRS a fraction of that amount.

“Terry never owed anyone $8 million,” Trusty said. “He owed $9,000 of the total $8 million in taxes from 2021, and it has been paid. We just need the IRS to help remove the now-defunct lien.”

Trusty made an appearance on Fox News on Tuesday to further defend his client, as Jackson and Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald detail, transcribing that interview. Trusty didn’t dispute the idea that Rozier told a friend about his health back in March 2023, but described it as “a situation where a friend took information and ran with it. According to Trusty, the then-Hornets guard never shared information about his availability for the purposes of illegal betting.

“I think the prosecution basically knows it, but they liked the idea of having him as a trophy in this case to kind of mirror the bigger case with Chauncey Billups,” Trusty said. “And I hope over time they will start to realize maybe a little bit of buyer’s remorse. They bit off more than they can chew.

“This is an innocent guy who’s getting completely screwed, to use some legal vernacular, in terms of his career. It’s an 11-year vet. He’s played 1,000 games. They’re latching onto a game where the NBA literally cleared him two years ago and trying to suggest that somehow they know better and that they know he was a conspirator, as opposed to just somebody who had a hurt foot.”

Blazers Notes: Williams, Splitter, Avdija, Holiday

October 28th, 2025 at 6:21pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Trail Blazers center Robert Williams was assigned to the G League’s Rip City Remix for conditioning purposes, the team’s PR department tweets. Williams is working his way back from a knee injury.

Health issues have limited Williams to 26 total outings since he was traded to Portland two years ago. He underwent arthroscopic surgery on his left knee back in March.

Williams will try to work his way into the rotation upon his return. He’ll be an unrestricted free agent after the season and could be a valuable trade piece prior to this year’s deadline.

We have more on the Trail Blazers:

Interim coach Tiago Splitter is the first Brazilian-born head coach in NBA history. It’s a matter of pride for Splitter, who has replaced Chauncey Billups after Billups was shockingly arrested by the FBI following the team’s season opener. and placed on indefinite leave by the league. “It’s an honor, to be honest,” Splitter said, per Kurt Helin of NBC Sports. “You know, coming from Brazil is really, you know, a soccer country where basketball is growing, but it’s not there yet. And a lot of people follow me in Brazil and proud of just this accomplishment.”
The Blazers have gone 2-1 since Splitter took over, including a 14-point win over the Lakers on Monday. Deni Avdija has led the team in scoring in all three games. “He knows how to talk to us. He knows how to prepare us,” Avdija said of Splitter, per Mark Medina of RG.org. “His basketball knowledge is very good. Other than that, I don’t want to get into that (the coaching situation) too much.”
The team’s scoring limitations will define its ceiling, according to Sean Highkin of The Rose Garden Report. The Blazers shot 37% in a loss to the Clippers but bounced back to knock down 45.6% of their shots against the Lakers. They’re shooting 33.8 percent from deep and that could be a season-long issue. “I think our offense will definitely catch up to our defense,” Jrue Holiday said. “There’s been times where we get a bit stagnant, but it could be because we’re playing so hard on the defensive end. But I really enjoy our offense. The way we move the ball, the way we get each other involved, it’s not just one person doing everything. Everybody gets involved. That’s how I like my basketball.”
Yossi Gozlan of The Third Apron (Substack link) examines Shaedon Sharpe‘s four-year extension as well as Toumani Camara‘s four-year extension and what moves the front office might have in store in the near future, including a potential extension for Avdija.

Trail Blazers’ G League Team Acquires Dillon Jones

October 27th, 2025 at 1:46pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Rip City Remix, the Trail Blazers’ G League affiliate, acquired 2024 NBA first-round pick Dillon Jones from the South Bay Lakers for two future first-round picks and the rights to Will Richardson, Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress reports (Twitter link).

Jones was the No. 1 pick in the G League draft, which was held on Saturday.

The 23-year-old small forward was drafted out of Weber State by Oklahoma City with the 26th pick last summer. He appeared in 54 games as a rookie, but only played 10.2 minutes per night and averaged 2.5 points, 2.2 rebounds and 1.1 assists.

The Thunder traded Jones to Washington in June to clear a spot on their roster. The Wizards waived him prior to their season opener and still owe him $2,753,280 for the remainder of the season, as he went unclaimed.

The decision by the Remix to acquire Jones could potentially mean that the Trail Blazers are interested in adding him to their roster in some capacity. However, they would have to make a corresponding move, since they have a full 15-man roster and all three of their two-way spots are filled.