Pacific Notes: Porzingis, Dunleavy, I. Jackson, Fleming
Warriors center Kristaps Porzingis is optimistic he’ll be able to play more often to close the 2025/26 season, writes Anthony Slater of ESPN. After missing six games because of an illness, the Latvian big man returned to action on Saturday against Oklahoma City, finishing with nine points, five rebounds, five assists and a block in 23 minutes.
“I believe I will be healthy now,” Porzingis said. “This is what I really feel. Not to sell anything because I’ve been in and out, out again. But this time, I really feel this is it.”
Porzingis’ health issues date back to last season with the Celtics when he contracted a virus. He told The Athletic prior to this season that he was eventually diagnosed with postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS). The malady, combined with injury issues, limited him to 17 games with the Hawks before he was traded to Golden State last month.
“Especially getting traded somewhere else, I wanted to get out there as soon as possible,” Porzingis said. “Sitting out a couple games was stinging me a little bit. Today was OK. Feeling a little heavy, shot not in a good rhythm yet.”
As Slater notes, head coach Steve Kerr caused a stir last week when he said he was told Porzingis didn’t have POTS, calling it “misinformation.” Kerr later called it a “stupid mistake” to talk about Porzingis’ health.
“It wasn’t ideal,” Porzingis said of Kerr’s mix-up. “Because it put something out again, so people start talking again. I told Steve it was OK. I know he didn’t mean anything, didn’t want to create hype around my health. He just said what he knew at the moment.”
Veteran foward/center Draymond Green complimented Porzingis after Saturday’s loss, tweets Nick Friedell of The Athletic.
“The game’s a lot easier when he’s on the floor,” Green said.
Here’s more from the Pacific:
- Appearing on 95.7 FM’s Willard and Dibs show, Warriors general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. explained his rationale for acquiring Porzingis, as Will Simonds of NBC Sports Bay Area relays. “I think the thought process for us on the trade was the opportunity to get a player of his quality, who, when healthy, is pretty good, pretty unique,” Dunleavy said in part. “Like, what he can do on the defensive end, what he can do on the offensive end. And then we had to calculate what we thought the ability and the chances of him being healthy and playing a bunch for us. We felt pretty good about that. We still do.” Porzingis is expected to play on Tuesday against Chicago after sitting out Monday’s loss at Utah.
- Clippers big man Isaiah Jackson is getting an opportunity to play after Yanic Konan Niederhauser was ruled out for the season due to a foot injury, per Janis Carr of The Orange County Register. Head coach Tyronn Lue was pleased with Jackson’s performance after Saturday’s road victory in Memphis, when the the 24-year-old had 12 points, 12 rebounds, two steals and a block in 25 minutes. “Just how he plays hard. He plays hard and competes,” Lue said of Jackson, whom the Clippers acquired last month in a trade with Indiana. “He’s a guy that can switch and guard the basketball, offensive rebound, runs the floor, and can get behind the defense on pick-and-rolls. Tonight, like I said, it was just a game for him, and we needed his athleticism and his ability to switch. He did a good job for us.”
- Suns forward Rasheer Fleming hasn’t played much as a rookie this season, but the 31st overall pick in last year’s draft capitalized on his opportunity during Sunday’s win over Charlotte, according to Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic. Fleming had a career-high 16 points on 6-of-8 shooting in a career-high 23 minutes off the bench. “It was super impressive,” star guard Devin Booker said. “Just the willingness to wait for his moment and seize it. He’s still all ears and he still wants to learn more. He’s got a big effect on winning basketball games.“
Injury Notes: Prince, Collins, Pacers, Goodwin
Bucks forward Taurean Prince has been upgraded to questionable ahead of Tuesday’s matchup with Phoenix, tweets Eric Nehm of The Athletic.
It’s a surprising development, as Prince has been out since November after undergoing surgery to address a herniated disk in his neck. The Bucks applied for a disabled player exception in the wake of Prince’s injury, and NBA doctors determined he was more likely than not to be out through June 15, because Milwaukee was granted the DPE, per Eric Pincus of Sports Business Classroom.
While it’s unlikely the Bucks will use the $1,651,887 disabled player exception they received for Prince anyway, it’s worth noting that they would forfeit it if he’s active tomorrow. Incidentally, Tuesday is also the deadline for teams to use DPEs.
According to Nehm (Twitter link), Prince has been working out regularly on the court after practices and prior to games since he returned to the team following the surgery. The 31-year-old sent out a tweet indicating that he’s close to playing again.
Prince, a 10-year veteran, last played on November 4, Milwaukee’s eighth game of the season. He holds $3.8MM player option for 2026/27.
Here are a few more injury updates from around the NBA:
- The Clippers expect John Collins to remain sidelined this week as he continues to deal with a neck strain, per Mark Medina (Twitter link). Collins, who last played on March 1, missed his fifth straight game on Monday. The 28-year-old power forward has done some on-court work, Medina adds. Collins will be a free agent this summer.
- The Pacers will be without All-Star forward Pascal Siakam (right knee sprain) and backup point guard T.J. McConnell (right hamstring soreness) on Tuesday against Sacramento, the team announced (via Twitter). Starting point guard Andrew Nembhard is unlikely to suit up as well, having been listed as doubtful due to lower back and neck soreness.
- Suns guard Jordan Goodwin has been upgraded to questionable for Tuesday’s game at Milwaukee, according to Gerald Bourguet of Suns After Dark (Twitter link). Goodwin, a tenacious rebounder and defender, has missed Phoenix’s last seven games due to a left calf strain. Grayson Allen (right knee injury management) is also questionable for the Suns.
Heat’s Pelle Larsson Reaches Starter Criteria
Heat wing Pelle Larsson made his 41st start of the season on Sunday, which means he has met the starter criteria ahead of potential restricted free agency, tweets Bobby Marks of ESPN.
If a player starts at least 41 games or logs at least 2,000 minutes in the season before he reaches restricted free agency – or averages 41 starts or 2,000 minutes during the two seasons prior to free agency – it increases the value of his qualifying offer, as we explain in more detail in a glossary entry.
Miami holds a $2.3MM team option on Larsson for 2026/27. If the team declines it to make him a restricted free agent, the value of Larrson’s qualifying offer would now be $5.91MM, as opposed to $2.66MM.
However, as our Luke Adams wrote a couple weeks ago in a Front Office article, Larsson is only in his second NBA season, so there’s little incentive for the Heat to decline his minimum-salary team option for ’26/27.
If he plays out his full contract, Larsson will still be eligible for restricted free agency next summer, since he’ll only have three years of NBA service at that time. So the Heat can deal with his next contract at that point, or at least negotiate an extension during the ’26/27 league year after they exercise that affordable option.
The 44th overall pick in the 2024 draft, Larsson has emerged as a solid rotation player for Miami in year two, making 54 appearances and averaging 10.4 points, 3.4 rebounds and 3.4 assists (against 1.2 turnovers) in 25.1 minutes per game. His shooting slash line is .487/.324/.779.
Seth Curry To Return Monday For Warriors
Veteran guard Seth Curry will be active for Monday’s matchup at Utah, Warriors head coach Steve Kerr confirmed before the game (Twitter link via Nick Friedell of The Athletic).
Curry has been out for a little over three months due to sciatic nerve irritation (sciatica) on his left side. He has been upgraded to available on tonight’s injury report after previously being listed as probable.
A 12-year veteran, Curry has been limited to two games with Golden State since he re-signed with the club on December 1. The 35-year-old spent training camp and the preseason with the Warriors but was waived ahead of the 2025/26 regular season because his veteran’s minimum salary couldn’t fit under the team’s second-apron hard cap at the time.
Curry appeared in two games with the Warriors prior to the injury. The 35-year-old had 14 points (on 6-of-7 shooting), two rebounds, two assists and a steal in 18 minutes in his debut on December 2, then had zero points (on 0-of-2 shooting), two rebounds, one assist and one steal in 14 minutes on Dec. 4. He hasn’t played since.
The 6’1″ combo guard is the younger brother of Warriors superstar Stephen Curry, but the two have yet to play a game together this season, notes Kevin Borba of NBC Sports Bay Area. The elder curry continues to be sidelined with a right knee injury.
Moses Moody (right wrist sprain) and Will Richard (right ankle sprain) remain out Monday for Golden State. Veteran big men Al Horford (left toe injury management) and Kristaps Porzingis (illness management) are out as well, but Kerr is optimistic they’ll both be available for Tuesday’s home game vs. Chicago, per Friedell.
Disabled Player Exceptions For 2025/26 Expire On Tuesday
A series of disabled player exceptions granted to teams earlier in the 2025/26 season will expire on Tuesday if they go unused. The annual deadline to use a disabled player exception is March 10.
We go into more detail on who qualifies for disabled player exceptions and how exactly they work in our glossary entry on the subject. But essentially, if a team has a player suffer a season-ending injury prior to January 15, the exception gives that team the opportunity to add an injury replacement by either signing a player to a one-year contract, trading for a player in the final year of his contract, or placing a waiver claim on a player in the final year of his contract.
Here are the teams whose DPEs will expire if they aren’t used on by the end of the day on Tuesday, per Eric Pincus of Sports Business Classroom:
- Chicago Bulls: $2,714,760 (Noa Essengue) (story)
- Dallas Mavericks: $2,626,680 (Dereck Lively II) (story)
- Houston Rockets: $12,500,000 (Fred VanVleet) (story)
- Indiana Pacers: $14,104,000 (Tyrese Haliburton) (story)
- Los Angeles Clippers: $2,677,000 (Bradley Beal) (story)
- Milwaukee Bucks: $1,651,887 (Taurean Prince) (story)
- Oklahoma City Thunder: $2,327,520 (Thomas Sorber) (story)
- Washington Wizards: $1,769,880 (Cam Whitmore) (story)
The Mavericks were granted a second disabled player exception worth $1,148,137 for Dante Exum‘s season-ending knee injury, but forfeited it when they dealt Exum to Washington at the trade deadline.
Since the trade deadline has passed and the only player currently on waivers has a major knee injury, there’s essentially just one way left for teams with disabled player exceptions to use them: signing a free agent. However, that seems unlikely, given that there are no free agents on the buyout market who would warrant a contract worth more than the veteran’s minimum.
In other words, these exceptions will, in all likelihood, expire on Tuesday without being used. Assuming that happens, no team will have used a disabled player exception this season.
Disabled player exceptions have never been used with much frequency, but the fact that mid-level and bi-annual exceptions can now be used to acquire players via trade or waiver claim has further reduced their importance. This is the second season the mid-level and bi-annual exceptions could be utilized in that manner.
And-Ones: Extensions, Draft Sleepers, Edwards, Partizan
In a subscriber-only story for The Third Apron, Yossi Gozlan takes a look at 11 players around the NBA who are currently eligible for veteran contract extensions.
According to Gozlan, Spurs wing Julian Champagnie has been a complete bargain on his current deal and should be in line for a considerable raise. San Antonio holds a $3MM team option on Champagnie for 2026/27, which the team would have to decline to extend him.
As Gozlan writes, the maximum the 24-year-old could receive on an extension would be $87MM over four years. Gozlan suggests a four-year deal in the $75-76MM range could be a reasonable compromise for both sides.
Gozlan also projects extensions for Spurs forward Harrison Barnes (two years, $24MM) and Jazz center Jusuf Nurkic (exact same structure), among others.
Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:
- John Hollinger of The Athletic lists nine of his favorite sleepers ahead of the 2026 draft. Hollinger acknowledges that some of the players on his list, including Santa Clara forward Allen Graves and Stanford guard Ebuka Okorie, may decide to return for another college season in 2026/27. A couple other sleepers Hollinger mentions (Corey Camper and Emanuel Sharp) will be automatically draft-eligible, as they’re both fifth-year seniors.
- Former NBA big man Jesse Edwards, who spent last season on a two-way deal with the Timberwolves, is in advanced talks with Spanish club Baskonia about a rest-of-season contract, reports Donatas Urbonas of BasketNews.com. The Dutch center spent 2025/26 in Australia with Melbourne United, averaging 13.5 PPG, 8.5 RPG and 1.1 BPG in 35 games (22.4 MPG).
- In an extensive interview with Milun Nesovic of Serbian outlet Meridian Sport, Partizan Belgrade president Ostoja Mijailovic discussed a number of current and former NBA players, as Eurohoops and Sportando relay. The Sixers were limited to offering Partizan $875K as part of a buyout for Cameron Payne, yet the EuroLeague club received $1.75MM in that agreement. According to Mijailovic, the remaining $875K came from Payne himself. Mijailovic confirmed Partizan forward Isaac Bonga received NBA interest last month, but the team had the option to decline the $875K it was offered and did so because it values him. However, the former second-round pick could be on the move this summer, as Partizan will no longer have the option to decline a buyout offer for Bonga once ’25/26 ends.
- Mijailovic also expressed regret for the lucrative deals given to Jabari Parker and Shake Milton, and said the team remains fond of Dante Exum, who was waived by Washington last month after being traded by Dallas. Exum hasn’t played at all this season due to a knee injury. “It is certainly our desire to bring back players who left a mark at Partizan and who can help the team on the court,” Mijailovic said, per Eurohoops. “Exum is one of the players we all adored, and we still adore him.”
Nets Decide Not To Re-Sign Grant Nelson
The Nets decided not to give Grant Nelson a second 10-day contract after his first expired on Sunday night, league sources tell Brian Lewis of The New York Post.
In 35 combined minutes across four games with the Nets, Nelson compiled 17 points, six rebounds, five assists, five blocks and one steal while shooting 5-of-9 from the field (55.6%) and 7-of-10 from the foul line (70.0%). He also had six personal fouls and four turnovers.
The former North Dakota State and Alabama forward’s best game came against Cleveland on March 1, when he had 11 points, four rebounds, three blocks and a steal in 20 minutes.
Lewis is surprised Brooklyn declined to re-sign Nelson, as the 23-year-old showcased impressive “mobility and defensive energy.” Head coach Jordi Fernandez praised Nelson prior to Saturday’s game, though he acknowledged his future was up in the air.
“[He’s] a very good basketball player. Everything he does, he does it well,” Fernandez said. “He doesn’t over-dribble or try to do too much. Everything is efficient. His size is great. He’s a multi-positional defender, very good play-maker, fast. All of those things have been very good. It translates to this level. Obviously right now we have one more game and then after that we’ll have to discuss and see what the next move going forward is.”
Nelson spent most of his rookie season in the G League with the Nets’ affiliate team in Long Island, which still controls his NBAGL rights. But he’s now an NBA free agent.
The Nets now have an opening on their standard roster, and Lewis suggests Chaney Johnson could be a name to watch. Johnson, who is on a two-way contract, has yet to appear in a game for Brooklyn, but has played well with Long Island, Lewis notes.
If they choose to go that route, the Nets would have until the final day of the regular season (April 12) to convert Johnson to a standard contract, though they’d be unable to back-fill his two-way spot — the deadline to sign a player to a two-way contract was March 4.
Jazz Waive Vince Williams Jr.
4:14 pm: Williams has officially been waived, the Jazz confirmed in a press release.
1:11 pm: The Jazz are waiving injured guard Vince Williams Jr., Kevin Reynolds of the Salt Lake Tribune reports.
Williams suffered an ACL tear in his left knee in a game against the Rockets on Feb. 23, just his sixth game with his new team. In addition to ending Williams’ 2025/26 season, the injury is also likely to keep him sidelined for a significant chunk of ’26/27.
The 47th overall pick in the 2022 draft, Williams was acquired by Utah from Memphis last month along with Jaren Jackson Jr. and two other players. In six games with the Jazz, Williams averaged 4.7 points, 3.2 rebounds and 2.7 assists per night. The former Toledo guard played in 34 games with the Grizzlies prior to being traded, averaging 8.0 PPG, 4.4 APG and 4.0 RPG in 21.6 MPG.
Williams has a $2.3MM contract this season. The Jazz held a $2.5MM team option on his contract for 2026/27, which will automatically be declined if he clears waivers.
Utah chose to open up a roster spot due to a wave of injuries. Jackson, Jusuf Nurkic and Walker Kessler had already been declared out for the season and Lauri Markkanen is sidelined with a hip injury.
The Jazz will now have 13 players on their standard roster, plus Mo Bamba, who is on a 10-day deal.
Nets’ Egor Dëmin Done For Season Due To Foot Injury
Nets guard Egor Dëmin will miss the remainder of the 2025/26 season due to increased plantar fasciitis in his left foot, the team announced in a press release (Twitter link via Brian Lewis of The New York Post).
The Russian rookie is expected to resume basketball activities early in the offseason and be a full participant in the team’s summer development program, per the Nets.
Dëmin played one college season at BYU prior to being selected No. 8 overall in last year’s draft. The 6’8″ guard was viewed as a long-term developmental prospect after averaging 10.6 points, 5.5 assists, 3.9 rebounds and 1.2 steals on .412/.272/.695 shooting in 33 appearances (27.5 minutes per game) with the Cougars last season.
In 52 games with Brooklyn in 2025/26, Dëmin averaged 10.3 PPG, 3.3 APG and 3.2 RPG in 25.2 MPG. The 20-year-old drastically improved from three-point range (38.5%) and the free throw line (81.3%) compared to his freshman year, though he didn’t draw many fouls (1.3 FTA) and struggled to convert inside the arc (43.3% on 2.4 attempts per game).
Dëmin missed most of training camp and the preseason while rehabilitating from a plantar fascia tear in his left foot. He had missed Brooklyn’s last four games after feeling more pain in his foot.
“He’s struggled with plantar fasciitis, and the soreness has increased lately,” head coach Jordi Fernandez said last week. “So we’re being cautious and trying to figure out what’s the best way for him moving forward.”
Fellow rookie guards Nolan Traore and Ben Saraf are candidates for more playing time with Dëmin sidelined.
Victor Wembanyama, Tyler Herro Named Players Of Week
Spurs big man Victor Wembanyama and Heat guard Tyler Herro have been named the Western and Eastern Conference Players of the Week, respectively, according to the league (Twitter links). The weekly award covers games played from March 2-8.
Wembanyama averaged 26.0 points, 10.5 rebounds and 4.8 blocks per game as San Antonio went 4-0 last week. It’s the second weekly award this season for the former No. 1 overall pick and the third of his career.
The Player of the Week honor continues an impressive run of award recognition for Wembanyama, who last week was named the Western Conference’s Player of the Month and Defensive Player of the Month for February.
Herro averaged 26.3 points and 5.5 rebounds per game while shooting 51.7 percent from three-point range as Miami also went 4-0 last week. This marks Herro’s second career Player of the Week award and his first of the season. He has been limited to just 20 appearances so far due to injuries but has been highly productive when available, averaging 22.1 PPG on .500/.402/.917 shooting.
Devin Booker (Suns), Luka Dončić (Lakers), Anthony Edwards (Timberwolves), Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Thunder), Jrue Holiday (Trail Blazers) and Kawhi Leonard (Clippers) were the other nominees from the Western Conference. Bam Adebayo (Heat), Paolo Banchero (Magic), Jalen Johnson (Hawks) and Karl-Anthony Towns (Knicks) were also nominated in the East.