Buyout Market Rumors: Anthony, Middleton, Ball, D-Lo, Boucher
Veteran guard Cole Anthony has remained in limbo since being acquired by the Suns at this month’s trade deadline, having continued to hold a spot on Phoenix’s 15-man roster despite being away from the team. Reporting prior to the All-Star break indicated Anthony would likely be waived, but that still hasn’t happened. According to Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic, head coach Jordan Ott suggested on Thursday that the delay may be related to depth concerns in the Suns’ backcourt.
“It’s still the same,” Ott said of Anthony’s situation. “There hasn’t been much change, but we have had injuries and that’s kind of where it’s at. That’s why there hasn’t been much change, but that’s why it’s not completely out. We’ll continue to just stay in touch with his people and move this thing forward.”
Friday is the first of four days off for the Suns, and Devin Booker (hip strain) appears likely to return after that break, either on Tuesday in Sacramento or Thursday vs. Chicago, tweets John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7. If Phoenix is confident in where Booker’s at in his recovery, it’s possible we could see Anthony let go on or before Sunday, which is the final day a player can be waived and retain his playoff eligibility for a new team.
[UPDATE: Anthony has been waived.]
If Anthony is cut, it would open up a spot for the Suns to promote two-way player Jamaree Bouyea to the standard roster. The club could then back-fill Bouyea’s two-way slot before next Wednesday’s deadline for two-way signings.
Here are a few more rumors related to the NBA’s buyout market:
- In addition to Denver, the Spurs are among the teams with interest in Mavericks forward Khris Middleton, according to Brett Siegel of ClutchPoints. Dallas has reportedly given Middleton the option of negotiating a buyout or sticking with the Mavs for the rest of the season — he figures to make that decision within the next 48 hours or so.
- Although the Warriors, Nuggets, and other teams has some interest in Lonzo Ball after he was waived earlier this month, concerns about the guard’s knee dissuaded those potential suitors from moving forward on a deal with the veteran point guard, Siegel reports, adding that nothing is imminent on that front.
- Although D’Angelo Russell wasn’t required to report to the Wizards after being included in the Anthony Davis trade and has been viewed as a potential buyout candidate, there has been little interest around the league in the point guard, per Siegel. Russell’s contract includes a $5.97MM player option for 2026/27 that Washington would probably want to eliminate – or at least significantly reduce – as part of any buyout agreement, whereas D-Lo presumably wouldn’t want to give up that guaranteed money without a favorable deal lined up elsewhere. According to Siegel, Russell could end up simply finishing the season with the Wizards.
- Many league personnel believe Chris Boucher would like to reunite with the Raptors after being waived by Utah earlier this month, but it’s unclear whether Toronto reciprocates that interest, says Siegel.
Raptors Notes: Barrett, Ingram, Shead, Barnes, Dick, Battle
The Raptors blew a double-digit lead en route to Wednesday’s loss to San Antonio and only managed to score 17 points in the fourth quarter. Toronto’s half-court offense has been a major reason why the club is now 4-15 against the teams with the 10 best records in the NBA, per Eric Koreen of The Athletic.
As Koreen writes, RJ Barrett certainly isn’t solely to blame for those half-court struggles, but he hasn’t been helping matters lately. The 25-year-old wing has averaged 14.8 points, 6.1 rebounds and 3.3 assists on .401/.308/.734 shooting in 12 games since he returned from an ankle sprain. His scoring, FG% and 3PT% over that stretch are well below his full-season averages.
Unless Toronto reverses the trend of falling to the league’s top teams and Barrett starts playing better, using Barrett as a primary salary-matching piece could be the team’s best chance at improving in the offseason, says Koreen. Barrett will earn $29.6MM in 2026/27, which is the final year of his contract.
Rival teams didn’t seem interested in the long-term contracts of Immanuel Quickley or Jakob Poeltl ahead of the deadline, Koreen writes, and the only other high-priced player the team might consider using in search of upgrades would be Brandon Ingram. But Ingram makes more money than Barrett, has taken pressure off Scottie Barnes, and holds a $41.9MM player option for ’27/28, Koreen notes.
Here’s more on the Raptors:
- In another story for The Athletic, Koreen details how second-year guard Jamal Shead has become a beloved member of the Raptors not just for his play, but for his leadership as well. General manager Bobby Webster likened Shead to Fred VanVleet, while Shead’s head coach at Houston, Kelvin Sampson, said he was the “best point guard defender I’ve ever coached and he’s also the greatest leader I’ve ever had.” “He’s intense. You can tell he means every word he says,” said LJ Cryer, who lived with Shead during the latter’s senior year with the Cougars. “He’s not gonna let you slack. If he sees you not playing hard, he’s gonna call you out on that. He doesn’t hold his tongue. He practices what he preaches. He picks up the ball full court. He’s hounding guys, diving on the floor, all that. Whenever he’s playing with that intensity, you’ve got to match him. You can’t just have one guy out there playing balls to the wall and the rest of us chilling.”
- Head coach Darko Rajakovic said Barnes was “playing through pain” and “on one leg” in Wednesday’s loss to the Spurs, according to Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca (Twitter link). That was Rajakovic’s rational for why Barnes was resting to open the final period, Lewenberg adds.
- Third-year wing Gradey Dick, the 13th overall pick of the 2023 draft, was out of the rotation entirely on Wednesday, receiving his first DNP-CD in more than two years. Rajakovic discussed it after the game, per Lewenberg (Twitter link), stating that Dick was still adjusting to his role, which is much different than it was over his first two seasons. Jamison Battle may have leapfrogged Dick in the rotation, notes Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca, though the second-year small forward is still playing limited minutes.
Community Shootaround: Who Will Come Out Of The East?
The Pistons have held the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference since early November and have maintained a firm grip on that spot. At 42-14, Detroit has a 4.5-game lead on its next-closest competitor in the conference and has a 10-2 record against the other Eastern teams currently in playoff (ie. top-six) position.
However, there are still questions about the Pistons’ ability to win three consecutive playoff series and represent the Eastern Conference in the 2026 NBA Finals. A relative lack of postseason experience is one potential concern. Detroit’s first-round exit last spring represented the team’s first playoff appearance since 2019 and the only taste of the postseason that young stars like Cade Cunningham and Jalen Duren have gotten so far.
A lack of offensive firepower is another possible red flag for the Pistons. The team leans heavily on Cunningham for scoring and shot creation and lacks reliable play-makers and knock-down shooters alongside him. Detroit ranks 28th in the NBA in three-point makes per game (11.1).
Monday’s loss to San Antonio exposed those flaws and cast a spotlight on Trajan Langdon‘s decision not to be more aggressive at this month’s trade deadline, notes Omari Sankofa II of The Detroit Free Press (subscription required). The Pistons’ only real pre-deadline acquisition was wing Kevin Huerter, who has struggled with his outside shot this season and fallen out of the team’s rotation in the past three games.
If not the Pistons, who else could come out of the East this spring? Well, the Celtics hold the No. 2 seed despite being without Jayson Tatum all season as the All-NBA forward recovers from an Achilles tear. With Jaylen Brown taking on the primary role, Boston has built the best offense in the conference without its usual leading scorer, writes Esfandiar Baraheni of The Athletic, posting a 120.0 offensive rating that exceeds the team’s mark from 2024/25.
Still, there’s no guarantee Tatum will be able to return to action before the end of this season, and the Celtics would miss him more in big postseason moments than they do in a typical regular season game. And even if Tatum does make it back in the coming weeks, is it realistic to expect him to be back to his old self in time for the playoffs after such a lengthy layoff and challenging rehab process?
The Knicks, who have the NBA’s third-best offensive rating, hold the No. 3 spot in the East at 37-22 and are coming off a conference finals appearance in 2025. New York is a good team, but under new head coach Mike Brown, the club has also looked “like a world beater one quarter and a bottom-feeder the next,” according to James L. Edwards III of The Athletic, who suggests we may not know for sure until the playoffs how good the Knicks really are.
Interestingly, none of those three teams are currently the betting favorites to win the East, according to most sportsbooks. That honor belongs to the Cavaliers, who have looked resurgent in recent weeks after a shaky start to the season and have pulled into a tie with the Knicks at 37-22. The Cavs, winners of 13 of their past 15 games, have “renewed confidence” following the deadline acquisition of James Harden, head coach Kenny Atkinson said following his team’s victory over New York on Tuesday (story via Jamal Collier of ESPN).
“We understand we’re a better team,” Atkinson said. “That spirit, that confidence for some strange reason, it makes you play harder, compete harder, compete harder defensively. I felt like we were kind of missing that edge, that belief. I feel like we’re regaining that. A lot of it has to do with who we added in the trade.”
The Cavaliers were widely viewed as a favorite to win the East in the fall after winning 64 regular season games in 2024/25 and being derailed by injuries in the playoffs. Enthusiasm about their ceiling waned as they hovered around .500 through Christmas, but it has been building again as of late. For what it’s worth, the Cavs are also the only one of the East’s projected playoff teams that doesn’t have a losing record against the Pistons so far in ’25/26 — the teams have split their two matchups.
The Raptors, Sixers, Magic, Heat, Hawks, and Hornets are all lurking in the Eastern Conference playoff picture as potential threats.
A Philadelphia team that has Joel Embiid and Paul George wouldn’t be an easy out. The same is true of a fully healthy Orlando squad, though we haven’t seen that very often in the past year or two. Charlotte still has a ways to go to even make the playoffs and would be an underdog in a first-round series, but few teams have been hotter in recent weeks — since January 22, only the Cavs (12-2) and Spurs (11-2) have a better record than the Hornets (12-3).
We want to know what you think. Which team do you expect to represent the East in the NBA Finals this season? Is Tatum’s potential return the wild card that could swing your decision or are there other factors you think will ultimately determine how the postseason plays out in the Eastern Conference?
Head to the comment section below to weigh in with your thoughts!
Raptors Notes: Walter, Mamukelashvili, CMB, Barnes, Poeltl
Ja’Kobe Walter is finding his niche with the Raptors, writes Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca. The 2024 first-round pick was Baylor’s leading scorer in his lone college season, but he recognizes he needs to impact the game on the other end of the court to have a significant NBA role.
“I was always a defender, but I didn’t know I was going to be aiming towards being the main guy,” Walter told Grange. “When I got here, they were telling me that they see the length and tools that I have, and just make sure I use them all the time. When I got to Toronto is when I really started focusing and realizing that I wanted to be the stopper type guy.”
At 6’4″ and 180 pounds, Walter is on the smaller side for a shooting guard, but he has a 6’10” wingspan and is an aggressive on-ball defender, Grange notes. His swing skill will likely be his outside shot — the 21-year-old has converted 35.3% of his three-point attempts this season.
Head coach Darko Rajakovic was complimentary of Walter’s performance following Thursday’s victory in Chicago and said the second-year wing is earning the trust of his coaching staff and teammates.
“I thought he played a very good game. I thought he did an outstanding job defensively. I thought he was in the right spots on offense, took the right shots,” Rajakovic said. “There is a growing confidence inside this group that he’s ready for this challenge.”
Here’s more on the Raptors:
- A bruised rib has Sandro Mamukelashvili in a good deal of pain, but he’s determined to play through the injury because he’s eager to get his first real playoff experience, per Eric Koreen of The Athletic. “I’m mentally blocking it out,” Mamukelashvili said of his injury. “There are no issues. I’m telling myself there is nothing hurting and however many minutes I get, I’ll go out there and play like I’m a hundred percent healthy.” The 26-year-old forward/center technically made the postseason as a rookie with Milwaukee, but he was ineligible to suit up because he was on a two-way contract. Mamukelashvili has been one of the most impactful reserves in the league this season, Koreen writes, averaging 11.4 points, 5.0 rebounds and 1.9 assists on .525/.383/.764 shooting in 55 games (22.5 minutes per contest). The Georgian big man should be in line for a substantial pay raise this summer — he holds a $2.8MM player option for 2026/27 he seems likely to decline.
- Collin Murray-Boyles has similarly been playing through a thumb injury, Koreen adds. The lottery pick is having an impressive rookie season, appearing in 45 games (22.2 MPG) and averaging 8.0 PPG, 5.0 RPG, 2.0 APG, 0.9 SPG and 0.9 BPG while playing solid, switchable defense, according to Koreen. “That’s why I was drafted — to make an impact,” Murray-Boyles said when asked about the rarity of a rookie playing significant minutes for a winning team. “(I) don’t take it lightly.”
- All-Star forward Scottie Barnes was out Sunday for personal reasons, but he’s not on the injury report and is expected to return for Tuesday’s game vs. Oklahoma City, as Blake Murphy of Sportsnet.ca relays (Twitter links). Jakob Poeltl (lower back strain injury management) is out against the Thunder on the front end of a back-to-back — Toronto faces San Antonio on Wednesday.
Projected NBA Taxpayers For 2025/26
While seven NBA teams are still operating in luxury tax territory following the All-Star break, that total has been cut in half since the start of the month.
Prior to an eventful trade deadline week, a total of 14 teams projected to be taxpayers, per Bobby Marks of ESPN (Twitter link) observes, with the 16 non-taxpayers on track to receive about $13.8MM apiece in tax distribution money at that point.
However, the Celtics, Nuggets, Suns, Mavericks, Sixers, Magic, and Raptors all ducked below the tax line with their pre-deadline transactions, while a few other teams remained in the tax but took steps to significantly reduce their end-of-season bills.
Cleveland, for instance, had been projected to pay nearly $164MM in tax penalties, according to Marks. The Cavaliers will likely still have the NBA’s highest tax bill, but their deadline deals reduced their projected payment by more than $95MM, according to Eric Pincus of Sports Business Classroom.
Here are the current projected tax penalties, per Pincus’ data:
- Cleveland Cavaliers: $68.67MM
- Golden State Warriors: $65.67MM *
- New York Knicks: $44.44MM
- Los Angeles Lakers: $22.65MM *
- Houston Rockets: $7.07MM
- Los Angeles Clippers: $6.67MM *
- Minnesota Timberwolves: $5.48MM
Total: $220.65MM
Note: Teams marked with an asterisk are paying repeater tax rates.
These numbers may fluctuate a little before the end of the season. For instance, the Clippers recently increased their projected bill when they promoted Jordan Miller to their standard roster, while the Knicks did the same when they signed Jeremy Sochan. The Warriors, Rockets, and Timberwolves all have open roster spots that they could fill before the end of the season, which would increase their respective tax bills. Various contract incentives that go earned or unearned could also impact the end-of-season tax totals.
Based on the current figures from Pincus, each non-taxpayer is projected to receive a payout of about $4.8MM. That figure is determined by cutting the total league-wide tax penalties in half, then dividing them evenly among the non-taxpaying teams (in this case, 23 clubs).
While it’s no real surprise that that figure is far below the $13.8MM projection from a few weeks ago, it’s worth noting that it’s significantly less than what non-taxpayers received last year. In 2024/25, 10 taxpayers paid a total of $461.21MM in penalties and the 20 non-taxpayers received $11.53MM apiece, according to Pincus.
Assuming these are the seven teams that finish the season in tax territory, the Warriors, Lakers, and Clippers would all be subject to repeater penalties in 2026/27 if they’re taxpayers again next season. Additionally, the Bucks, Celtics, Suns, and Nuggets would pay repeater rates if they’re in the tax in ’26/27, since all four clubs were in the tax for three straight years from 2023-25. They’ll each need to spend one more season as a non-taxpayer in order to reset the repeater clock.
Atlantic Notes: Embiid, Walker, Shamet, Knicks, Raptors
After missing the Sixers‘ last two games prior to the All-Star break due to right knee soreness, center Joel Embiid will remain inactive vs. Atlanta on Thursday, tweets Tim Bontemps of ESPN. While “right knee injury management” is still one of the designations for Embiid on Philadelphia’s injury report, he also experienced some right shin soreness during the All-Star break, according to the team.
Embiid will be reevaluated ahead of the Sixers’ back-to-back set in New Orleans and Minnesota on Saturday and Sunday, so it’s possible he won’t be facing an extended absence. Still, the fact that the big man is out again following a promising stretch in which he appeared in 18 of Philadelphia’s 22 games is a reminder that his health remains a question mark hanging over the club as the second half tips off, writes Tony Jones of The Athletic.
For what it’s worth, head coach Nick Nurse didn’t sound overly concerned when he discussed Embiid’s health after the former MVP took part in Wednesday’s practice.
“He was out there and he looked pretty good,” Nurse said before the 76ers ruled Embiid out for Thursday’s game. “He’s got a meeting shortly with the doctors, and I think we’ll know a little bit more about where he is. But, he was out there a little bit today, and he looked pretty good.”
Here’s more from around the Atlantic:
- Jabari Walker‘s new two-year, minimum-salary contract with the Sixers is partially guaranteed for $250K in 2026/27, tweets Keith Smith of Spotrac. Walker was officially promoted from his two-way deal to Philadelphia’s 15-man roster earlier today.
- Has Landry Shamet been the NBA’s best minimum-salary signing this season? James L. Edwards III of The Athletic suggests that players like Celtics center Neemias Queta and Raptors big man Sandro Mamukelashvili are also in that conversation, but presents the case for the Knicks guard, who has averaged a career-high 9.6 points per game while making 42.2% of his three-pointers.
- James Dolan, the CEO of Madison Square Garden Sports – the parent company of the Knicks and the NHL’s New York Rangers – stated on Wednesday that the company is considering splitting up the two franchises into separate publicly traded companies, per Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic. A source tells Taylor Herzlich of The New York Post that the possibility of separating the two teams isn’t related to a desire to sell either franchise or to take the companies private.
- Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca considers five factors that could determine the Raptors‘ fate for the rest of the season, starting with the health of center Jakob Poeltl, who has been bothered by back issues all year. The trade sending out Ochai Agbaji earlier this month also means there should be more opportunities available for Toronto’s young wings in the coming weeks, Grange notes.
Anthony Edwards Named 2026 All-Star MVP
Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards was named All-Star MVP after his team – the USA Stars – defeated the rival U.S. squad – USA Stripes – 47-21 in the All-Star championship game. It’s Edwards’ first All-Star MVP award and his third All-Star appearance overall.
The first three games of the All-Star game rewarded the choice of format, with all three matchups decided by one possession.
In game one between USA Stars and Team World, Victor Wembanyama (Spurs) set the tone early, recording 14 points and three blocks while his teammate Karl-Anthony Towns (Knicks) contributed 10 points. Edwards led the Stars attack with 13 points, but it was Scottie Barnes (Raptors) who knocked down the game-winning three-pointer, completing a comeback to defeat his head coach, Darko Rajakovic, who was coaching Team World.
After the game, Edwards credited Wembanyama for doing what he said he would and amping up the intensity on the floor for everyone.
Game two between the two American teams also came down to the final shot, as Jaylen Brown (Celtics) led USA Stripes in scoring while Edwards and Cade Cunningham (Pistons) paced USA Stars with 11 points apiece. De’Aaron Fox (Spurs) hit the game-winning three-pointer for the Stars.
In game three, Kawhi Leonard (Clippers) took over for his home crowd, scoring 31 points in 12 minutes on 11-of-13 shooting while Wembanyama kept Team World in it with 19 points of his own. Leonard iced the game with a three-pointer over Towns to take USA Stripes to the championship game in a rematch with USA Stars.
In the fourth and final game, USA Stripes’ older legs appeared worn down by the previous two contests and the younger stars ran out to a 12-1 lead, led by Edwards and Tyrese Maxey (Sixers), who finished with a game-high nine points. They pushed the lead up to 26-9 on an Edwards three-pointer and eventually went on a 15-0 run, as Jalen Brunson (Knicks) and LeBron James (Lakers) were the only players to hit a field goal over the first seven minutes for USA Stripes. Donovan Mitchell (Cavaliers) finished the game with a team-high six points for USA Stripes.
GM Webster Discusses Raptors’ Performance, Barnes, More
Just before the All-Star break, Raptors general manager Bobby Webster sat down for an interview with Eric Koreen of The Athletic. Webster’s conversation with Koreen covers a number of topics and is worth checking out in full for Raptors fans. Here are a few highlights.
On the team’s performance thus far in 2025/26:
“I go back and forth between, ‘We haven’t accomplished anything’ and, ‘It’s OK to enjoy some of the moments along the way.’ Scottie (Barnes) and Brandon (Ingram) being All-Stars is great, having Darko (Rajakovic) coach the World Team, Collin (Murray-Boyles) and Alijah (Martin) (playing in the Rising Stars event), that feels like a moment to recognize it, enjoy it and then get back to work. Those are the two mindsets I’ve vacillated between.”
On Barnes’ growth and opportunities for improvement:
“It’s always different when you draft a player. That’s what we have the benefit of with Scottie. We’ve studied him coming out of college. We drafted him coming out of the Tampa year. He comes here. We have success early. Now you think back to Scottie as a rookie to Scottie now, and the seriousness level on a consistent basis is what stands out. That energy and dynamic play every night really stands out to me and really impacts the winning on the court.
“He’s gonna continue to get better. He’s only 24. I don’t think your prime in the NBA is until 27, 28. Physically, he’ll get stronger. The game will continue to slow down for him. It’s our job to surround him with the right players, to complement him.”
On what it would take for Toronto to make a major win-now trade:
“(The team, conference and league context) all matters. What is the main driver? Seven different champions in the last seven years suggests there isn’t a huge dynasty in the current NBA. You want to be mindful of that. You have to stick to your guns on some of it as far as not overpaying, not chasing it. That’s sort of what I alluded to: We’ve kept our draft picks for a number of years on purpose. When you do go for it, is it a three- or four-pick trade, or do we peel them off one at a time? That’s what we did last time (with the acquisitions of Serge Ibaka and Kawhi Leonard).
“There’s no right way to do it. Do you do it early? Do you do it in the middle? Do you chase late? We’ve looked at all the different builds that resulted in a championship team, and there’s no preferred route other than you have got to get it right. So when you do push them in, when you do consolidate, who is that player? Where is that player in his career? Does that skill set fit with the main guys? If anything, the trades in the past few years show that everything is fungible and you have to keep that flexibility.”
Raptors Waive Chris Paul
The Raptors have waived veteran point guard Chris Paul, the team announced today.
Toronto acquired Paul from the Clippers at last week’s trade deadline in a financially motivated deal. There was never an expectation that CP3 would suit up for the Raptors, so it was just a matter of time before this transaction occurred.
After spending last season in San Antonio and starting all 82 regular season games for the Spurs, Paul sought a team in free agency last offseason that would allow him to stay close to home in Los Angeles. He eventually came to terms with the Clippers on a one-year, minimum-salary agreement.
However, the future Hall-of-Famer’s 21st NBA season didn’t play out as planned. There was reportedly some tension over his limited role and his “abrasive” locker-room presence. With the Clippers off to a dismal start to the season, they announced in early December that they were “parting ways” with Paul, who would remain on the roster but would no longer be around the team.
L.A. didn’t want to waive Paul, since it would mean eating his guaranteed salary and leaving his $2.3MM cap hit on the team’s books, compromising the front office’s ability to make additional moves around the edges of the roster. Eventually, the Clippers got involved in a three-team deadline deal with the Raptors and Nets that allowed them to move off Paul’s minimum-salary contract while Toronto shed Ochai Agbaji‘s expiring $6.4MM salary in order to duck out of luxury tax territory.
Waiving Paul will create an open spot on the Raptors’ 15-man roster, with no urgency to fill it until at least the end of the All-Star break — and perhaps even later than that. Toronto will have the option of perusing the buyout market for a veteran free agent or perhaps elevating a two-way player like Alijah Martin to the standard roster.
As for Paul, he’ll clear waivers on Sunday, but his NBA career will come to an end here. The 40-year-old announced shortly after being waived by Toronto that he has decided to retire. Our full story on that announcement can be found here.
Jakob Poeltl To Return Wednesday
Raptors center Jakob Poeltl will return to the court tonight in his first action since December 21 as the team faces off against the Pistons, Sportsnet’s Blake Murphy notes (via Twitter).
Head coach Darko Rajakovic indicated that Poeltl will be on some form of minutes restriction, though it’s not clear what his limit will be. Toronto has prioritized caution with the back issues that have limited the Austrian big man to just 21 games this season; according to Murphy, Poeltl’s main goal is simply to be loose out there and try to play without thinking about the injury.
The lingering back strain has made it difficult for Poeltl to get a rhythm during the time he’s been on the court. He is playing his fewest minutes since the 2019/20 season and scoring at his lowest rate since 2021/22, though he’s managed to be efficient in his time, posting a career-high 69.1% true shooting percentage.
Rookie big man Collin Murray-Boyles and Sandro Mamukelashvili have split much of the starting center responsibilities in Poeltl’s absence, with Mamukelashvili starting 11 games and Murray-Boyles starting 19, including the last 15 games that he’s suited up for.
Murray-Boyles will miss tonight’s game with a thumb injury, and it’s unconfirmed whether Poeltl will step straight back into the starting lineup.
While returning against the East-leading Pistons is no easy feat, Poeltl will not have to go against Detroit’s physical center tandem of Jalen Duren and Isaiah Stewart, as both will be serving the first games of their respective suspensions for their involvement in Monday’s brawl against the Hornets.