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Hawks’ N’Faly Dante Out For Season With Torn ACL

December 23rd, 2025 at 10:06am CST by Luke Adams

Hawks center N’Faly Dante has been diagnosed with a torn ACL in his right knee, the team announced today in a press release. According to the Hawks, Dante will undergo surgery in January and will miss the rest of the 2025/26 season.

Dante suffered the injury while playing for the College Park Skyhawks at the G League’s Winter Showcase last Friday. The 24-year-old fell to the floor after awkwardly twisting his right knee following a rebound and was clearly in significant pain. He reportedly had to be carried off the court.

Dante, who finished the 2024/25 season on a two-way contract with the Rockets, was the NBA’s only restricted free agent to sign an offer sheet during the 2025 offseason. He received a two-way qualifying offer from Houston, then signed a two-year, minimum-salary deal with Atlanta that the Rockets elected not to match.

While Dante’s contract with the Hawks was only partially guaranteed for $85,300, he’ll now be assured of receiving his full salary for the 2025/26 season as a result of this injury. Even if Atlanta waives him prior to the January 7 league-wide salary guarantee deadline, the team will be obligated to pay his salary until he gets healthy or until the end of the season, whichever comes first — based on the Dante’s recovery timeline, the season will wrap up before he’s ready to suit up again.

Dante appeared in just four games for Atlanta and four for College Park this season. Prior to tearing his ACL, he was sidelined for over two weeks while going through the concussion protocol due to a head injury that he sustained while playing for the Skyhawks. Friday’s game was his first one back from that injury.

While the Hawks will have the ability to apply for a disabled player exception for Dante, that exception would be worth just $1,024,247, half of his minimum salary ($2,048,494), so it would be of limited use.

Dante is the third player at the back of Atlanta’s roster to sustain a season-ending injury this month. Two-way forward Jacob Toppin underwent season-ending right shoulder surgery earlier in December and was subsequently waived. Another two-way player, Eli Ndiaye, will also require shoulder surgery in early January. Ndiaye remains under contract with the Hawks for now.

Kings’ Malik Monk On Trade Block

December 23rd, 2025 at 9:53am CST by Luke Adams

The Kings have made guard Malik Monk available via trade, according to NBA insider Chris Haynes (Twitter video link).

Sacramento recently removed Monk from its regular rotation and is said to be open to inquiries on practically anyone on its roster outside of fourth-year forward Keegan Murray and rookie guard Nique Clifford, so Haynes’ report comes as no real surprise. However, it’s confirmation that Monk is among the Kings players who are strong candidates to be on the move ahead of this season’s trade deadline.

Monk, who will turn 28 in February, has been in Sacramento since 2022 and has been a reliable source of scoring and play-making for the team, averaging 15.0 points, 4.6 assists, and 3.0 rebounds in 26.1 minutes per game across 238 total outings as a King. He has posted a .443/.350/.859 shooting line during that time and finished second in Sixth Man of the Year voting in 2024.

However, with the Kings off to a 7-22 start this season, head coach Doug Christie has made some changes in a crowded backcourt rotation, resulting in Monk receiving two DNP-CDs and playing just five total minutes in the team’s past three games.

Guards Russell Westbrook, Dennis Schröder, Keon Ellis, and Clifford have been playing regular minutes for the Kings as of late, with DeMar DeRozan also functioning as a two guard in a bigger starting lineup that features big men Maxime Raynaud and Precious Achiuwa up front.

Monk, who is earning roughly $18.8MM this season, has two more years left on his contract after this one. He’s owed a guaranteed $20.2MM salary in 2026/27 and holds a $21.6MM player option for ’27/28.

While Haynes doesn’t specify exactly what sort of return the Kings would be seeking in a trade for Monk, he says the club is looking to get younger and more athletic. DeRozan and Zach LaVine are also viewed as prime trade candidates in Sacramento, though LaVine’s maximum-salary contract is considered difficult to move.

NBA Weighing Rule Changes To Discourage Tanking

December 23rd, 2025 at 9:14am CST by Luke Adams

The NBA, in the hopes of further discouraging teams from tanking, has begun soliciting input from team owners and general managers on possible rule changes, reports ESPN’s Shams Charania. According to Charania, the league sought feedback on a number of ideas at a Board of Governors meeting last Friday, including:

Eliminating mid-lottery protections on traded picks, so that traded picks could only include either top-four protection or top-14 (or higher) protection.
Prohibiting teams from drafting in the top four in back-to-back years.
Locking lottery positions as of March 1.

As Charania explains, the NBA is looking for ways to discourage teams from “deliberately manipulating” their rosters in an effort to land a higher draft pick or hang onto a protected pick. The league’s goal, Charania says, isn’t to stop young, rebuilding teams from using their normal rotations, but to reduce instances of clubs sitting regular starters and encourage them to remain competitive down the stretch.

Some of the most egregious instances of tanking in recent years have involved teams looking to retain control of traded picks with protections on them. Charania points to the 2023 Mavericks, who owed the Knicks their top-10 protected first-rounder and held out key players in the final games of the season in order to hang onto that pick despite still being in contention for a play-in spot. The first proposed rule described above would be designed to target those cases.

The second proposal would have had an impact on multiple recent drafts if it had been in effect. For instance, the Rockets and Spurs, two of the Western Conference’s most promising up-and-coming teams, drafted in the top four in several consecutive seasons — Houston selected Jalen Green (2021), Jabari Smith Jr. (2022), Amen Thompson (2023), and Reed Sheppard (2024) with top-four picks, while San Antonio did the same with Victor Wembanyama (2023), Stephon Castle (2024), and Dylan Harper (2025).

The third proposal would disincentivize post-March 1 tanking, but wouldn’t necessarily eliminate instances of teams tanking prior to that date.

The NBA is focused on tanking in part because gamblers have allegedly been able to access inside information about lottery-bound teams sitting certain players in recent seasons, Charania notes. Federal investigators say that an unnamed co-conspirator, who matches the description of Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups, told a bettor that several Portland players would miss a game in March 2023 as the team began to tank.

In the wake of that federal probe into illegal gambling that resulted in the arrests of Billups, Heat guard Terry Rozier, and former player and coach Damon Jones, the NBA is attempting to close off avenues for bettors to gain access to and use inside information. The league sent out a memo to teams last week detailing adjustments to the injury reporting process and proposed changes affecting prop bets.

No rule changes aimed at tanking have been approved at this point, but the subject figures to be an ongoing topic of discussion at upcoming Board of Governors meetings.

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Cameron Payne Signs With KK Partizan

December 23rd, 2025 at 8:18am CST by Luke Adams

Free agent point guard Cameron Payne has signed a rest-of-season contract with KK Partizan, the Serbian team announced today in a press release.

A 10-year NBA veteran who was selected with the 14th overall pick of the 2015 draft, Payne has appeared in 477 regular season games for seven teams since debuting a decade ago. In 2024/25, he suited up for the Knicks, playing in 72 games (five starts) and averaging 6.9 points, 2.8 assists, and 1.4 rebounds in 15.1 minutes per night, with a .401/.363/.907 shooting line.

Payne, 31, was in camp with the Pacers this fall, but didn’t play well in the preseason, shooting just 28.6% from the field and registering nearly as many turnovers (six) as assists (seven). He was waived when Indiana set its roster for the regular season and has been a free agent since then.

Marc Stein reported nearly two months ago that KK Partizan, a EuroLeague team based in Belgrade, was showing “serious” interest in Payne, then followed up a few days later to say that the longtime NBA point guard was continuing to seek out opportunities stateside rather than immediately committing to a team overseas.

It seems no favorable NBA opportunities emerged for Payne, who is joining a Partizan team that also reportedly engaged in discussions with free agent sharpshooter Malik Beasley. Payne will become part of a roster that features several other former NBA players, including Jabari Parker, Duane Washington Jr., Isaac Bonga, Bruno Fernando, Sterling Brown, and Nick Calathes.

Warriors Notes: Green, Kerr, Horford, Melton, Richard

December 23rd, 2025 at 7:43am CST by Luke Adams

The Warriors picked up a second straight victory on Monday, beating Orlando by 23 points to get back to .500 (15-15). As Monte Poole of NBC Sports Bay Area writes, Golden State got exactly the kind of tag-team performance it wanted to see from Stephen Curry and Jimmy Butler, who led the team with 26 and 21 points, respectively.

However, the big story of the night was a third-quarter spat between head coach Steve Kerr and Draymond Green. The two men engaged in a heated argument in a team huddle during a timeout (Twitter video link), resulting in Green leaving the court and not playing for the game’s final 20 minutes, as Anthony Slater of ESPN details. Kerr said after the game that he and Green “had it out a little bit” and that it was the forward’s decision to head to the locker room to “cool off.”

“Tempers spilled over, and I thought it was best that I get out of there,” Green confirmed. “I don’t think it was a situation where it was going to get better. It was best to remove myself.”

According to Slater, teammates Butler, Al Horford, and Buddy Hield checked on Green during the third quarter and the former Defensive Player of the Year returned to the bench in the fourth quarter. He remained on the sidelines for the rest of the night, with Kerr explaining to reporters that he didn’t seriously consider reinserting Green into the game.

“No, he wasn’t going back in,” Kerr said. “No. He left. He went back to the locker room. We moved forward, and the guys played great.”

Green’s play has been under a microscope lately due largely to his turnover issues — he committed a combined 13 turnovers in the Warriors’ two most recent losses, and Golden State has been outscored during his time on the court in his past six games (including by five points on Monday).

Still, Kerr said he thought Green played well in the first half vs. Orlando and stressed that the team “needs” the 35-year-old going forward. For his part, Green downplayed the incident and suggested he didn’t think there would be any lingering effects.

“We’ve been at this now for a long time,” Green said. “Sometimes you’re with people for a long time and there’s a level of comfort and s–t happens. We move forward.”

Here’s more on the Warriors:

Horford, who has played just once in the past month as he dealt with sciatica, could be back in action for the Christmas Day game vs. Dallas, Kerr said on Monday (Twitter link via Slater).
Guard De’Anthony Melton has played between 15 and 21 minutes in each of his seven appearances since making his season debut following his recovery from an ACL tear. According to Kerr, Melton could play more than that if needed, but the head coach’s preference would be to keep him in that 20-minute range for now (Twitter link via Slater).
In a profile for The Athletic, Nick Friedell takes a look at rookie Will Richard‘s path to the NBA, detailing how the guard transformed his body in high school and then capped off his college career with a national championship. “He’s a winner,” Butler said of his teammate. “He’s hella smart. But I think the thing that I love the most about Will is his ability to listen. You tell him what to do, to the best of his ability he’s going to do it. … It’s really hard to try to please everybody because you can be told five different things from five different people, and he’s the type of human being that’s going to try to do all five of those things that everybody’s telling him. They could totally contradict each other, but he’s a hellafied listener.”
Kerr remains confident about the Warriors’ ability to contend in the Western Conference despite the team’s up-and-down start to the season, per Friedell. “Look, our goal coming into the season was to be a top-four seed, and I still think it’s well within our reach,” Kerr said on Sunday. “But it can be daunting if you look and you go, ‘Man, we’re five, six games back.’ But we know how fast things can flip if we can take care of our business and find some momentum because everybody else is gonna go through tough stretches too.”

Cavaliers Rumors: Allen, Trade Candidates, Atkinson, J. Bryant

December 22nd, 2025 at 10:49pm CST by Rory Maher

Even after bouncing back with a seven-point win over Charlotte on Monday, the Cavaliers have been one of the more disappointing teams in the NBA to open the 2025/26 campaign, currently holding a 16-14 record after going 64-18 last year. Owner Dan Gilbert is said to be “very unhappy” with the state of affairs in Cleveland, and there’s a rising sense of urgency to turn things around.

Despite the situation looking pretty bleak at the moment, the Cavaliers have reportedly yet to entertain the idea of trading Darius Garland or Jarrett Allen, two members of the “core four.”

On Saturday’s Wine and Gold Talk podcast (YouTube link), Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com said the Cavs appear reluctant to part with Allen for many of the same reasons as Garland — he’s been limited by injuries, is having a down season, and they’d likely get pennies on the dollar if they thought about moving him before the deadline. As with Garland, the Cavs also seem to be higher on Allen than opposing teams, which is another factor that can’t be discounted, per Fedor.

The Pacers, Knicks and Raptors are among the Eastern teams looking for help in the middle, according to Grant Afseth of Dallas Hoops Journal, but the Cavs would have to be blown away to trade Allen to a conference rival.

“[Allen] has a lot of fans around the NBA, but unless the trade package was just irresistible, it’s hard to see the Cavs being willing to help another team in the East,” one source told Afseth. “Keep that in mind.”

Here are a few more rumors regarding the Cavaliers:

On the same podcast, Fedor identified De’Andre Hunter, Max Strus, Lonzo Ball and Dean Wade as a handful of players on mid-sized salaries who could potentially be traded in the coming weeks if Cleveland’s front office decides against a more drastic overhaul. The issue, Fedor continued, is that Strus has yet to play a game as he continues to recover from offseason foot surgery, and Hunter, Ball and Wade are all struggling in 2025/26. Fedor pointed out that Ball ($10MM team option for ’26/27) and Wade ($6MM expiring contract) could be easier to move than Hunter and Strus, as the latter two make more money and have guaranteed deals next season.
Afseth hears from sources that Wade, who has spent his entire seven-year career in Cleveland, is a name to watch in the coming weeks. The 29-year-old is known as a solid defender and decent three-point shooter (36.0% for his career), but he’s converting just 29.0% of his outside looks through 27 games in ’25/26, which is by far the worst mark of his career.
Marc Stein reported on Sunday that Kenny Atkinson could be on the hot seat in the coming weeks unless the Cavs start winning again despite being named Coach of the Year last season. According to Afseth, there have been “internal questions about Atkinson’s leadership,” and if the Cavs do decide to dismiss him, Donovan Mitchell is said to favor Johnnie Bryant taking over as interim coach. Bryant, who is known to have a close relationship with Mitchell, was a finalist for Phoenix’s head coaching job over the summer — that position went to his former colleague Jordan Ott.

Kings Reportedly Among Teams Monitoring Darius Garland

December 22nd, 2025 at 9:47pm CST by Rory Maher

The Cavaliers have reportedly shut down trade inquiries on Darius Garland to this point, but that doesn’t mean rival teams aren’t monitoring his situation in case that stance changes. League sources tell Grant Afseth of DallasHoopsJournal.com that the Kings are among the teams that have been keeping tabs on the two-time All-Star.

It has been reported for months that Sacramento has been looking for a long-term solution at point guard, and Afseth has heard the same. The Timberwolves are another team known to be in the market for a lead ball-handler, Afseth states.

However, it would be difficult for either club to put together a package that would entice Cleveland to part with Garland, per Afseth. It would be particularly tricky for Minnesota and Cleveland to make a deal since both teams are restricted in terms of the moves they can make due to the tax aprons.

According to Afseth, some rival teams have gotten the impression that Garland may prefer to take on a larger role rather than being a secondary or even tertiary offensive option playing alongside Donovan Mitchell and Evan Mobley. Afseth hears opposing teams view Garland as the least risky of the high-profile point guards (Ja Morant, LaMelo Ball, Trae Young) who have popped up in trade rumors in 2025/26.

“Darius is the safest option on the trade market for a team seeking a point guard upgrade,” a source told Afseth. “There are teams who think he can handle more being put on his plate.”

The 25-year-old missed the first seven games of the season following offseason toe surgery and aggravated the turf toe injury shortly after he returned to action, causing him to miss another five contests. He didn’t play anything close to his normal level over his first 12 appearances and seemed to be visibly bothered by the toe issue eight days ago.

Although the Cavs dropped their third straight game on Saturday, Garland had his best performance of the season, erupting for 35 points (on 14-of-27 shooting) and eight assists with Mitchell out due to an illness, writes Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com (subscriber link). Garland has been frustrated by the nagging injury, but he thinks he may have turned a corner.

“I’m getting healthy,” Garland said. “Trying to find my groove. … It’s trying to switch my mind to letting me actually do the things I’m used to doing. It felt good for the first time a couple games ago and tonight see the result.”

Garland had another big game on Monday and was more efficient with Mitchell back in action. In the win over Charlotte, Garland finished with 27 points (on 9-of-15 shooting), 10 assists, five rebounds and two steals in 30 minutes.

On the Wine and Gold Talk podcast following Saturday’s loss (YouTube link), Fedor expressed skepticism about the Cavaliers potentially trading Garland ahead of the February 5 deadline for multiple reasons. Not only does Cleveland appear to value Garland more than other teams, Fedor explained, but the Cavs would likely receive underwhelming offers for him because of his injury and down season to this point.

Bickerstaff To Replace Carlisle As NBCA President

December 22nd, 2025 at 7:40pm CST by Rory Maher

Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle has been president of the National Basketball Coaches Association since 2005, but he’s stepping down at the end of December, writes Ken Powtak of The Associated Press.

Carlisle said he will be replaced by Pistons head coach J.B. Bickerstaff, who was selected by union members. A longtime NBA coach, the 46-year-old Bickerstaff currently serves as the NBCA’s vice president/treasurer.

“I guess now might be a good time to announce, I decided about a year ago that this would be my last year,” Carlisle said Monday night before the Pacers played in Boston. “This is my 20th year. My term will end at the end of this month. We’ve held our elections and the membership has made a tremendous and phenomenal choice to succeed me and that’s going to be J.B. Bickerstaff.”

Carlisle spoke glowingly of Bickerstaff, calling him a “trusted friend,” Powtak adds.

“The job he did in Cleveland, taking that team from the lottery to winning in the playoffs was phenomenal. The job he’s done in Detroit the last year and a half speaks for itself. He’s a great leader and passionate guy for coaches. … I congratulate J.B. This will be a life-changing experience for him. It has been for me.”

Carlisle also said he and the NBCA are trying to help Bickerstaff’s father Bernie be nominated to the Hall of Fame as a contributor, according to Powtak. The elder Bickerstaff was an NBA coach for several decades and is now a senior advisor with the Pistons.

Suns’ Jalen Green To Miss At Least 2-3 More Weeks

December 22nd, 2025 at 6:19pm CST by Rory Maher

While Jalen Green “continues to make good progress” in his recovery from strained right hamstring, he will be out at least two or three more weeks, according to Suns, who announced that the fifth-year guard will be checked out again at that point (Twitter link via Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic).

The hamstring has been an ongoing problem in 2025/26 for Green, who initially suffered a strain early in training camp, then aggravated it during his ramp-up process in mid-October. The 23-year-old sat out the first eight games of the regular season, played 23 minutes in his debut in early November, then aggravated the injury again a couple days later about seven minutes into his second game.

This is the first concrete update from Phoenix on Green since the team said he would be reevaluated in four-to-six weeks on November 11. Head coach Jordan Ott admitted last week that the Suns were playing it “pretty safe” with Green after he multiple setbacks.

Green, who was doing some on-court work last week, had been quite durable over the first four years of his career. He played 67 games as a rookie and 76 in his second year, then appeared in 82 games each of the past two seasons.

Green was traded from Houston to Phoenix over the summer as part of the Kevin Durant mega-deal. He’s earning about $33.6MM in ’25/26 in the first season of a three-year, $105MM rookie scale extension that includes a $36MM player option for the ’27/28 campaign.

Injury Notes: Lakers, Knicks, Daniels, Watson, McConnell

December 22nd, 2025 at 5:33pm CST by Rory Maher

Lakers head coach JJ Redick provided encouraging updates on injured guards Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves on Monday, tweets Khobi Price of The Southern California News Group.

Doncic, who didn’t play in the second half of Saturday’s loss to the Clippers, has a lower left leg contusion and is considered day-to-day. The 26-year-old had the bruised area taped during the portion of Monday’s practice that was open to the media, Price notes.

Reaves was able to go through portions of Monday’s practice and is also considered day-to-day, Redick said. The fifth-year guard has missed the past three games with a left calf strain the team described as mild.

[UPDATE: Doncic is out Tuesday at Phoenix, but Reaves has been upgraded to questionable, the Lakers announced (Twitter link via ESPN’s Dave McMenamin).]

Starting center Deandre Ayton should return to action on Tuesday, according to Price. Ayton won’t be listed on the team’s injury report after sitting out the past two contests due to a sore left elbow.

Here are a few more injury updates from around the NBA:

The Knicks will be shorthanded on Tuesday, as Eastern Conference Player of the Week Jalen Brunson (right ankle injury management), defensive ace OG Anunoby (left ankle soreness) and backup big man Guerschon Yabusele (illness) have all been ruled out ahead of the contest at Minnesota, per Ian Begley of SNY.tv (Twitter link). Brunson missed a couple of games in mid-November due to a right ankle sprain.
Reigning Most Improved Player Dyson Daniels has been ruled out of the Hawks‘ rematch with Chicago on Tuesday due to right hip inflammation, according to Brad Rowland of Locked on Hawks (Twitter link). It will be Daniels’ first absence of the 2025/26 campaign. Reserve forward/center Mouhamed Gueye is also on the injury report, having been listed as questionable with a right shoulder sprain.
Nuggets forward Peyton Watson, who was kneed in between the hip and rib areas last Monday, had a minor setback in terms of the pain he’s experiencing from the injury, head coach David Adelman said ahead of Saturday’s loss to Houston (Twitter link via Vinny Benedetto of The Denver Gazette). While Watson has been out most of the past three games with the right trunk contusion, it doesn’t sound like a long-term issue — Adelman said the former first-round pick had a 50% chance to play Saturday before he was ruled out.
Veteran Pacers guard T.J. McConnell will be sidelined for Monday’s game vs. Boston due to left knee soreness, as Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files relays (via Twitter). McConnell missed the first 10 games of the season with a strained hamstring, but had been active for the past 18 contests heading into Monday.

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