Injuries
Joel Embiid will miss the next two games vs. the Nets and Hornets with a left mid foot sprain.
Mike Conley's injury is being called a popliteus strain. He's out at least two weeks. He's averaged 10.2 points and 7.9 assists per game during this campaign.
Ja Morant is week to week with a left ankle sprain. 28.6 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 7.1 assists so far during the 2023 campaign.
Tyrese Maxey suffered a small bone fracture in his left foot, per Woj. Maxey will be sidelined at least 3-4 weeks, and he injured it during Friday's win over the Bucks.
Kevin Love suffered a right thumb hairline fracture, which will be a evaluated day to day. Love is obviously a key part of Cleveland's depth, averaging 11.3 points, 7.4 rebounds, and 2.6 assists. Robin Lopez could receive more minutes.
Zion definitely thinks he will be able to play on Monday vs. Golden State. Williamson has aeraged 23.5 points and 6.4 rebounds, shooting 50 percent from three on the year.
Cade Cunningham is expected to be out indefinitely with a stress fracture in his injured shin. He's mulling his options pertaining to surgery. There is fear there is chronic pain, and Cunningham wants to avoid surgery. Worse case scenario, the Pistons franchise player misses an extended period. The Pistons, after a multigame skid, are currently at the bottom of the standings. Cunningham has averaged 19.9 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 6.0 assists with .415|.279|.837 shooting splits on the year.
Damian Lillard will miss hopefully "just a game or two" with a right calf, according to Andscape's Marc J. Spears. Suffered a right calf strain in a different area. Update: Lillard is out 1-2 weeks with a Grade 1 calf strain.
Paul George doesn't expect to play Monday night. His injury isn't believed to be serious according to Tyronn Lue. He has officially been ruled out as of Monday.
Leonard will manage his knee, keep his minutes in the 25 minute range.
Mike Conley left Saturday's game with a knee issue. It was non contact, and Conley said he felt his knee lock. He was limping in the locker room, the limp was mostly gone by the time he got to the team plane. The team is undergoing an MRI to see the extent of the injury, he could be out for a while. Talen Horton Tucker actually finished Saturday's game at point guard; his decision making has been considered improved.
Mitchell Robinson returned yesterday for the Knicks. Before his return, Jericho Sims had been playing well as oen of the main bigs. Thibodeau: “Yeah, the athleticism, great feet. Gives you the opportunity to switch more [on the defensive end. Very good playmaker on short rolls. We still haven’t seen it in the games, but we’ve seen it in practice. He’s got a real good feel for it.”
Cam Reddish will sit out with a right groin injury after defending Steph. Quentin Grimes could be elevated to a starting role.
Russell Westbrook suffered a right thumb injury, will have it reevaluated on Monday. left the arena with a wrap on his hand.
LeBron James has missed4 straight games with a left groin strain.
Caris LeVert suffered a left ankle injury last game.
Bradley Beal suffered a knee to the quad and did not return.
Gregg Popovich missed the Spurs' last game with an illness. Nothing serious, Brett Brown coached the Spurs throughout the game.
Spencer Dinwiddie dislocated his left shoulder late in Sunday's game. He doesn't think the injury is too serious. Elsewhere in Dallas, Maxi Kleber remains sidelined with a lower back contusion, but there's optimism he can return soon, according to Brad Townsend. Jason Kidd said h hopes Kleber can resume practicing Tuesday and join the team for the upcoming road trip.
Steph, Klay, and Dray are out for tonight's game. Wiggins and Looney have been ruled questionable.
Duncan Robinson is out against Minnesota.
Caris LeVert and Dean Wade are out tonight against Atlanta. Kevin Love is questionable.
The Bucks assigned Khris Middleton and Wesley Matthews to the Wisconsin Herd.
Nic Claxton is off of the injury report for Tuesday's matchup against the Sixers.
Dwight Howard, playing in Taiwan, will likely be out two weeks with knee discomfort. Howard had a monster debut.
There is a chance Jimmy could return on Wednesday or Friday for the Heat.
Jason Anderson: The Memphis Grizzlies are listing Ja Morant (ankle) as doubtful vs. the Sacramento Kings on Tuesday. Desmond Bane (toe), Danny Green (knee) and Ziaire Williams (knee) are out
Deandre Hunter is out.
Marcus Smart may sit games this season to minimize his ankle swelling. No structural issue.
WCJ is out tonight against the Pacers.
Bazley, Mann, and Joe will all play tonight.
Contracts/Roster Moves:
The Heat likely can't make a signing without becoming a taxpaying team, as they are $200,000 below the threshold.
Eric Bledsoe officially signed with the Shanghai Sharks Saturday. NBA vet.
Washington is signing G League guard Devon Dotson on a two-way contract. Jordan Shackel, who has played spraingly for Washington (2 game, 3.0 minutes per) will be waived, allowing Jordan Goodwin to remain. Dotson could help take on the minutes of several reserve guards; Monte Morris and Delon Wright are nursing injuries.
Dragan Bender is looking for an NBA return after a serious knee injury. He's shown interest in playing for Eurobasket (one of the best leagues in the world) and the NBA.
The Grizzlies assigned Xavier Tillman Sr. to the Memphis Hustle tonight vs. Birmingham. Will be recalled afterwards.
Frank Mason signed with the Lebanese team Beriut Club for the 2022-23 season.
Another Taiwan singing: Jeff Ayres signed with the Taoyuan Pilots, via Alberto de Roa.
Misc.
Christian Wood has voiced frustration with his inconsistent playing time, after playing 17 minutes on the bench Sunday, including just a couple minutes in the fourth courter, according to Callie Kaplan.
The Heat are relying on a zone defense to compensate for lack of talent due to injuries.
Anthony Davis' lack of touches has been a key focus on the Lakers so far, he's been dominant since last Saturday's film session.
Javale McGee is taking his benching positively, Dallas team sources report. Though the Mavs promised McGee would start, after 7 games McGee struggled in the role and has been moved to the bench.
Warriors held a team meeting Friday to address the uncertain circumstances. Led to a W, Draymond led the motivation coming back.
On Friday the Spurs announced Televisa Univision will be the team's Spanish language broadcast partner for the rest of the 2022-23 season, according to Gabriel Romero of the San Antonio express news. This makes the Spurs the only team in the NBA to have a dedicated Spanish language broadcast partner. First game was on Saturday.
Dwight Howard debuted in Taiwan with a monster game, with 38 points, 25 rebounds, and 9 assists in front of 15,000 fans. The Taoyaun Leopards came from behind and topped New Taipei.
The NBA scout community lost a great personnel man in Ron Stewart. Died at 72. RIP.
Robert Covington is out from the rotation, and Ty Lue is thanking him for making the sacrifices. Prior to this benching, Covington averaged 3.6 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 0.9 assists per game on .367|.333|.875 shooting splits.
Sneaker free agent De'Aaron Fox played in last game in the Curry Flotros, according to Nick DePaula.
Luka Doncic will officially represent Slovenia next summer at the FIBA World Cup, according to Johnny Askounis.
Kyrie Irving has indicated he may file a grievance relating to his suspension.
Fox and Haliburton were named Western/Eastern Conference players of the week.
Trades
Grayson Allen has been discussed in talks for Jae Crowder. According to Brian Windhorst, the Suns don't necessarily want Grayson Allen, and there's been attempts to bring in a third team, which could be difficult to execute.
Cedi Osman has been discussed in trades for Jae Crowder. His salary is matching and will decrease next year, which could be appealing to teams. His playing time has fluctuated.
The Knicks refuse to attach a first round pick to move Evan Fournier at the moment. Fournier recently fell out of the rotation.
Nerlens Noel and Alec Burks are trade candidates to watch; Noel isn't expected to finish the season with Detroit, per Hoopshype.
Josh Richardson has recently generated interest.
Charlotte, after rookie scale extension discussions, is expected to shop PJ Washington.
Bogdan Bogdanovic is believed to be an expendable asset from the Hawks' view.
Many executives believe the Celtics won't make many moves, unless they use Danilo Gallinari as a trade filler.
The Lakers offered a lotto protected first round pick and Russell Westbrook for Josh Richardson and Doug McDermott. The Spurs wanted an unprotected pick for taking on Westbrook's salary with the expectation he'd be waived, per Michael Scotto of Hoopshype.
The Kings are not dicussing any deals entailing Harrison Barnes, according to James Han. They are looking to build chemistry with this group of players. Barnes has averaged 11.6 points and 5.5 rebounds this season, but only on .439|.255|.836 shooting splits. They may try to trade Richaun Holmes though.
Teams expressing trade interest in Mattise Thybulle.
The Jazz' interest in John Collins has well been documented, but team sources have said that Conley's contract would have to be part of a major deal and his contributions to team chemistry as a vet would be tough to replace. ShooterMcGrady on the Jazz' interest in Collins: "dont really see the vision, especially if we gotta trade conley. if we trade our guys, I want players that can improve or picks, I put up with the winning but it CANNOT lead to us becoming buyers in the trade market.
Some executives believe the Lakers will stand pat with Russ if he continues to thrive off the bench.
According to Marc Stein, a John Collins trade is coming. Momentum is building on all sides to follow through on a trade deal. John Gambadoro, a Phoenix based radio host, said the Suns are NOT interested in John Collins, interesting development. Collins has had an underwhelming year next to the Dejounte/Trae backcourt, averaging 12.4 points, 7.9 rebounds on .494|.234|.921 shooting splits.
Atlanta still remains a Crowder destination, per Marc Stein. If the Suns don't want Collins, a three team trade could be executed. Crowder buzz is going down.
The Jazz seem much more likely to extend Jordan Clarkson BEFORE they consider trading him, according to Marc Stein. The 30 year old is averaging 18.6 points and 4.6 assists per game.
Teams don't see value in trading for Kyrie Irving; his name isn't coming up in many trade discussions, even for the Lakers.
The Lakers reportedly turned down a first round pick from the Lakers for THT last season.
Miles McBride is believed to be available with NY's logjam at PG.
Minnesota is reportedly not listening to offers for Jaden McDaniels, and views him as a core piece.