- Grizzlies forward Santi Aldama is posting career-best averages of 12.7 PPG, 6.7 RPG and 2.8 APG ahead of restricted free agency this summer. In an interview with Grant Afseth of Sportskeeda, the Spanish big man said he has worked to add muscle to his frame and credited the team’s offensive system — and his own improvement — for his output thus far in 2024/25. “The way that we move the ball, just getting more opportunities to actually make some plays,” Aldama told Afseth. “I think that’s, that’s been big, and I think the natural growth. I’m still super young, so I feel like every year, I’m just getting better.”
Grizzlies forward/center Jaren Jackson Jr. will be available to play on Friday in a showdown vs. the East-leading Cavaliers, the team announced today (Twitter link).
As William Guillory of The Athletic tweets, head coach Taylor Jenkins initially told reporters that Jackson, who has missed the past five games due to an ankle sprain, would be a game-time decision. The big man went through his pregame warmups without any setbacks, clearing the way for him to return to action.
Jackson was initially said to be “week-to-week” as a result of his sprained ankle, so the fact that he’s back just 10 days after that announcement is good news for the Grizzlies, who are battling for playoff position. The club is currently No. 2 in the Western Conference at 42-24.
While the Grizzlies played well during Jackson’s absence, winning four of five games, they’ll certainly be happy to have their leading scorer and defensive anchor back in the lineup. Memphis has a +9.0 net rating this season when the 25-year-old is on the court compared to a +1.4 mark when he’s not.
Jackson’s return also bodes well for his award eligibility. He needs to play at least 20 minutes in seven more games to meet the 65-game minimum and qualify for All-NBA and Defensive Player of the Year consideration. He’s considered a strong candidate for both awards, either of which would make him eligible for a super-max contract extension this offseason.
There are no indications that the Mavericks are seriously considering shutting down Anthony Davis, Dereck Lively II or Daniel Gafford for the rest of the season, according to Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News. If any or all of the three currently injured big men are able to return while the Mavericks are mathematically in the play-in/postseason hunt, they’ll play, says Townsend.
A recent report suggested that it might be in Dallas’ best interest to preserve those players for the long run due to Kyrie Irving‘s season-ending injury and the team’s unfavorable spot in the standings.
“We know how good we can be when everyone’s healthy,” guard Dante Exum said. “But that’s one of the big things about the NBA: timing. Timing is everything. Runs and staying healthy during the season and going into playoffs, that’s a big part, and it’s something that we’re gonna have to figure out, quick.”
Davis is dealing with an adductor strain and Lively is recovering from a stress fracture. Both players, as we wrote, are on track to make their returns before the end of the season, if that’s the path the organization and players agree to. Gafford is recovering from an MCL sprain. His original six-week recovery timeline would have him back toward the end of March or the beginning of April, but there’s a sense he might be a little further off.
We have more injury notes from around the league:
- Jaren Jackson Jr. appears to be be nearing a return for the Grizzlies, as he was upgraded to questionable for Friday’s game against the Cavaliers, according to Damichael Cole of Memphis Commercial Appeal. The Grizzlies have gone 4-1 without Jackson, but his return will be a welcome one for a team with aspirations of competing for a title. Jackson has been considered week-to-week due to an ankle sprain.
- Domantas Sabonis hasn’t suited up for the Kings since March 1, but he was upgraded to questionable ahead of the team’s Thursday game against the Warriors, according to Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee (Twitter link). Sabonis, who is dealing with a hamstring injury, was ruled out just before the game, tweets Anderson. But the fact that his injury status was upgraded at all is a signal that his return should be just around the corner.
- Lakers center Jaxson Hayes and forward Rui Hachimura left the team’s road trip to return to L.A. alongside LeBron James for health reasons, Dave McMenamin of ESPN tweets. Both Hayes and Hachimura are battling knee injuries. They, along with James, are considered day-to-day, according to McMenamin. We previously wrote about James’ injury here.
- Sixers guard Lonnie Walker IV was diagnosed with a concussion on Thursday morning, according to PHLY Sports’ Kyle Neubeck (Twitter link). Walker hit his head on the court on Wednesday against Toronto and entered the NBA’s concussion protocol. He’ll be evaluated daily moving forward.
Duke forward Cooper Flagg, the projected No. 1 pick of the 2025 draft, sustained a left ankle injury after corralling a rebound and landing on an opponent’s foot in the first half on Thursday vs. Georgia Tech (YouTube link via ESPN).
Flagg was eventually helped to the locker room with the assistance of teammates, and while he was later ruled out for the remainder of the contest, he was at least able to return to the bench to cheer on the comeback victory.
“He sprained his ankle,” head coach Jon Scheyer said (Twitter link via Adam Zagoria of Zagsblog.com). “X-rays were negative, which is great. We just have to understand there’s going to be swelling and to see how he recovers and how he goes from there.”
In their latest 2025 mock draft for ESPN.com, Jonathan Givony and Jeremy Woo (Insider link) unsurprisingly have Flagg going first overall (to Washington). Two other Blue Devils — center Khaman Maluach and wing Kon Knueppel — also go in the lottery, coming off the board with back-to-back picks (seventh and eighth overall, respectively).
UConn’s Liam McNeeley is the final lottery pick of ESPN’s mock, going 14th to Atlanta (via Sacramento), while South East Melbourne forward Malique Lewis is the last player selected at No. 59 (Cleveland). Lewis, who spent last season in the G League with the Mexico City Capitanes, grew up in Trinidad and Tobago.
Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:
- Killian Hayes has rejoined the Long Island Nets following a 10-day contract with Brooklyn, the G League team announced today in a press release. The former lottery pick averaged 9.0 points, 5.2 assists and 3.0 rebounds in six games with Brooklyn from February 20 – March 1. He has spent most of ’24/25 with Long Island.
- Veteran NBA big man Frank Kaminsky is no longer on the Raptors 905 roster, according to Blake Murphy of Sportsnet.ca, who points out (via Twitter) that the former Wisconsin star has been battling a knee injury and recently announced he and his wife are expecting a child. Kaminsky, who spent last season in Serbia, last played in the NBA with Houston in ’22/23. The 31-year-old appeared in 23 regular season games with Toronto’s NBAGL affiliate in ’24/25, averaging 12.9 PPG, 6.0 RPG and 4.1 APG on .483/.349/.769 shooting in 26.8 MPG.
- ESPN’s Brian Windhorst takes a look at some of the NBA’s most unbreakable records. Some records are season-long (Wilt Chamberlain for multiple statistics in ’61/62), some are career-long (Moses Malone‘s 6,731 offensive rebounds), and some are for a single game.
- Zach Harper of The Athletic checks in on the underwhelming Rookie of the Year race. Harper currently has Grizzlies wing Jaylen Wells as his top choice for the award, followed by Spurs guard Stephon Castle and Wells’ teammate Zach Edey.
The Grizzlies have signed forward Lamar Stevens for the remainder of the 2024/25 season, the team announced today in a press release (via Twitter).
Stevens just spent the past 20 days with Memphis on a pair of back-to-back 10-day contracts. The 27-year-old has appeared in six games this season with the Grizzlies, averaging 4.0 points and 3.0 rebounds in 9.9 minutes per contest.
Prior to his promotion, Stevens had been playing in the G League with the Motor City Cruise. In 29 combined games for Detroit’s NBAGL affiliate in ’24/25, Stevens averaged 17.8 points, 7.7 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 1.1 steals and 1.4 blocks in 34.0 minutes, with a shooting slash line of .438/.328/.744.
A five-year veteran, Stevens got his NBA start with Cleveland after going undrafted out of Penn State in 2020. He spent his first three seasons with the Cavs, then played for the Celtics and Grizzlies last season.
While the Grizzlies elected not to re-sign Stevens in the 2024 offseason, clearly they still like his game, since he’s back to conclude ’24/25. He’ll provide energy, toughness and solid defense off the bench for a team hoping to make a deep playoff run.
Stevens will continue to occupy the 15th spot on the Grizzlies’ standard roster, which is now full.
North Dakota junior Treysen Eaglestaff will enter the NCAA’s transfer portal while testing the NBA draft waters, agent George S. Langberg tells Jonathan Givony of ESPN (Twitter link).
Eaglestaff wasn’t included in Givony’s most recent top-100 list of prospects for the 2025 draft, but he had a strong season as a scorer for the Fighting Hawks in 2024/25, averaging 18.9 points per game on 416/.359/.794 shooting in 33 outings.
Eaglestaff’s scoring average was buoyed by some massive performances, including a 51-point outburst in the quarterfinals of the Summit League tournament against South Dakota State last Friday. The 6’6″ shooting guard also put up 40 points in a loss to Alabama on December 18. He knocked down a career-high eight three-pointers in both of those games.
Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:
- There may be too many hurdles to clear to make it actually happen, but after Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving expressed interest in playing for the Australian national team at the 2028 Olympics, Hawks guard Dyson Daniels is fully on board with the idea, per Grant Afseth of RG.org. “Oh yeah, I love it. I love it,” Daniels said. “I know he wants to do it. We want him to come play for us. There’s a lot of stuff that has to get cleared for him to come play, but we welcome him with open arms. He’s a brother. He’s an Australian.” Irving has Australian citizenship, but he previously played for Team USA in international competitions, so both USA Basketball and FIBA would need to sign off for him to play for the Boomers.
- In a pair of stories for The Athletic, one panel of NBA writers debates which player is most deserving of this season’s MVP award, while another panel takes a closer look at an uninspiring race for the No. 10 spot in the Eastern Conference. While a recent three-game winning streak for the Bulls has put them in prime position for a play-in spot, the general consensus on the MVP race is that it remains too close to call between Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Nikola Jokic.
- Elsewhere at the Athletic, draft expert Sam Vecenie has updated his rookie rankings for the 2024/25 class, placing a pair of Grizzlies – Jaylen Wells and Zach Edey – in his top three, sandwiching Spurs guard Stephon Castle at No. 2. First overall pick Zaccharie Risacher of the Hawks and Heat big man Kel’el Ware round out Vecenie’s top five.
- It has been five years since the NBA shut down its 2019/20 season due to COVID-19. In an extensive oral history, Baxter Holmes and Tim MacMahon of ESPN revisit that period, sharing a number of interesting behind-the-scenes details on how the league came to its decision and how teams and players reacted.
Jae’Sean Tate only played the final 2:27 of the Rockets‘ win over Orlando on Monday, but it was a big night for the veteran forward. As Bobby Marks of ESPN tweets, Tate earned a $500K bonus as a result of Houston’s victory.
Tate’s contract includes language that assures him of that bonus if the Rockets win at least 40 regular season games, and Monday’s win was their 40th of the season. Since Houston finished last season with a 41-41 record, the bonus had been considered “likely” and was already incorporated into Tate’s cap hit, so the fact that he earned it again won’t affect Houston’s cap situation.
Here’s more from around the Southwest:
- Grizzlies rookie Cam Spencer had the best game of his young career on Monday, scoring a season-high 16 points in 20 minutes to help Memphis eke out a win over Phoenix and talking trash to Suns star Kevin Durant along the way, as Damichael Cole of The Memphis Commercial Appeal details.“He’s psycho,” teammate Ja Morant told Grind City Media in his post-game interview. “But I love it though.” Morant added that he planned cover the $2,000 fine that will accompany the technical foul Spencer received following his interaction with Durant.
- With just eight healthy players available on Monday, including one (Caleb Martin) on a minutes restriction and none over 6’8″, the Mavericks were still able to pull out a win over San Antonio, pushing their lead over Phoenix for the No. 10 seed in the West back to 2.5 games. “High school, that’s what it feels like sometimes, because we’re so small,” Klay Thompson said, per Eddie Sefko of Mavs.com. “But we got a lot of heart. So, heart over height, you know?”
- Rod Walker of NOLA.com argues that the Pelicans are doing their fans a disservice by sitting star forward Zion Williamson in New Orleans in instances where they have back-to-back sets consisting of one road game and one home game. While Walker’s argument is understandable, it’s worth noting that the NBA’s player participation policy, which applies this season to Williamson, discourages teams from resting players on the road.
It’s been a frustrating season for Grizzlies guard Ja Morant, but he turned in a vintage performance in Friday’s win over Dallas, writes Tim MacMahon of ESPN. Morant capped off a 31-point night by scoring 11 points in the final 6:15 to help Memphis pull away. It marked a rare high point in a season where Morant said he hasn’t felt like himself “at all.”
“A little bit of Ja, the old Ja,” he said. “Yeah, so it was nice to see some baskets go down. Obviously, it’s kind of what I’m used to.”
Morant is averaging 20.9 points per game, but MacMahon points out that he’s shooting just 43.1% from the field and 28.4% from three-point range while fighting through a series of injuries. He missed eight games in November due to a right hip subluxation and associated pelvic strains after taking contact in mid-air while trying to finish an alley-oop. In December, he ran into a hard screen and suffered an AC joint sprain in his right shoulder, which was surgically repaired last winter.
He has only been available for 39 of Memphis’ 63 games so far.
“Fouls, getting hurt, that plays a lot,” Morant said. “Makes you move different, makes you think different. But I’m out there, so just try to find a way.”
There’s more from the Southwest Division:
- Following Friday’s game, Morant expressed get-well wishes to Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving, who suffered a season-ending ACL tear Monday night, per Rashad Miller of Dallas Hoops Journal. Morant revealed that during the lowest points of his career, Irving reached out to him to provide support and advice. “That relationship kind of just hit different,” Morant said. “In a time where pretty much the whole world is talking down on you, and you have somebody to lift you up. He has always been that guy for me.”
- Irving is defending Mavericks coach Jason Kidd against complaints that an oversized workload led to the ACL injury, relays Mike Curtis of The Dallas Morning News. On his Instagram account (Twitter link), Irving posted a photo of the play where he got hurt while trying to split two defenders, along with the caption “Too many minutes??? Or did I get knocked off balance?”
- Two-way point guard Brandon Williams was outstanding on Friday, scoring 31 points in 34 minutes to help the Mavericks stay close, Curtis adds in a separate story. Kidd indicated that Williams will continue to be given chances to succeed. “He’s fighting to get a job and he’s got a great opportunity to get an NBA contract and not be on a two-way,” Kidd said. “That’s our job is to hopefully put him in a position to do that, here or somewhere else.”
- Rockets guard Fred VanVleet has missed 15 of the past 16 games due to right ankle issues, but coach Ime Udoka expects him back soon, according to Sam Warren of The Houston Chronicle. Udoka told reporters that VanVleet should be able to return on Monday against Orlando or Wednesday against Phoenix. He sat out 11 games with an ankle strain, then aggravated it when he stepped on an official’s foot in his first game back. Udoka said VanVleet has been “getting some good work in,” and his return date will depend on his pain tolerance.
De’Aaron Fox has been playing this season with a dislocated left pinky finger, according to Mike Monroe of The Athletic, who says that the Spurs guard is expected to undergo surgery sooner or later to address the injury. With San Antonio falling out of play-in contention, that procedure could even happen before the end of the season so that the recovery process doesn’t extend too far into the offseason, Monroe notes.
“Oh, obviously, for me and (general manager Brian Wright), we’ve talked about the surgery thing,” Fox said. “At some point, I’m going to have to get it, but we’ll see where we are before that comes.”
Speaking to reporters on Friday in Sacramento after a loss to his former team, Fox pointed to March 17 as a possible date for the procedure, according to Tom Orsborn of The San Antonio Express-News (Twitter link). The Spurs will be in Los Angeles at that time for a rescheduled game vs. the Lakers and Fox said he’ll have the injury evaluated by a specialist in L.A. during that trip.
“The surgery may or may not happen that day,” he said.
Here’s more from around the Southwest:
- Veteran center Steven Adams has served as a backup to Rockets starter Alperen Sengun for most of the season, but the two big men shared the court for seven minutes against New Orleans on Thursday and Houston outscored the Pelicans 23-5 during that time, per Danielle Lerner of The Houston Chronicle (subscription required). “It’s good because it’s something new,” Adams said after the win. “It’s just engaging. Also, a lot of my career has been spent that way as well, playing double-big lineup anyway. It’s just good, just figuring it out and I feel like we play with each other pretty well, just gravitate the defense. In a sort of way it’s a different look, so I think it’s a pretty useful tool going forward.”
- In a Rockets-centric mailbag for The Athletic, Kelly Iko takes a look at Houston’s cap situation going forward, explains why Cam Whitmore is out of the rotation, and considers what the team’s optimal starting lineup would look like. Even though Amen Thompson has thrived in the starting five, Iko thinks it might benefit the Rockets as a whole to move him back to the bench, with Jabari Smith reclaiming his starting spot.
- Santi Aldama returned to action on Friday for the Grizzlies following a two-game absence due to a right calf strain and Jaren Jackson Jr., who has missed two games with a left ankle sprain, might not be too far behind him. According to Chris Herrington of The Daily Memphian (Twitter link), Jackson was on the floor for the team’s shootaround on Friday morning, dribbling and getting up shots. The team said on Tuesday that the big man is considered “week to week.”
- Although Mavericks assistant Alex Jenson has accepted the head coaching job at the University of Utah, he’ll finish out the season in Dallas before officially transitioning into that new position with the Utes, he tells NBA insider Marc Stein (Twitter link).
Caleb Martin is close to making his Mavericks debut. He was upgraded to questionable for Dallas’ Friday game against the Grizzlies, according to The Dallas Morning News’ Mike Curtis (Twitter link). Martin hasn’t played since Jan. 10, when he was a member of the Sixers.
The Mavericks acquired Martin at the trade deadline in exchange for Quentin Grimes. It was an interesting move in the wake of the Luka Doncic trade, as the Mavs sent out the younger Grimes – set to hit restricted free agency this summer – and acquired the 29-year-old Martin in the first of a four-year, $35MM deal.
However, Martin hasn’t played for the shorthanded Mavericks as he works his way back from a hip strain. In 31 games with Philadelphia, he averaged 9.1 points and 4.4 rebounds while shooting 43.5% from the floor and 37.9% from three.
The return of Martin would be more than welcome news for the Mavericks. Heading into its matchup with Memphis, Dallas only has eight players fully available.
We have more injury notes from around the league:
- Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert has missed the last nine games due to a lower back injury. He was upgraded to questionable for the team’s Friday game against the Heat, according to team PR (Twitter link). Gobert is averaging 11.0 points and 10.4 rebounds this season.
- Jaren Jackson Jr., who is currently week-to-week with an ankle sprain, wasn’t in a walking boot and was moving around well on the Grizzlies‘ bench, according to Michael Wallace of Grizzlies.com (Twitter link). While nothing is confirmed, those are good signs for the star big man to be back on the shorter end of that timetable.
- Kings guard Malik Monk is day-to-day with a right toe sprain, according to the Kings (Twitter link via Andscape’s Marc J. Spears). He’s out for at least Sacramento’s game against the Spurs on Friday and will be evaluated on a daily basis afterward.
- J.B. Bickerstaff said Ausar Thompson is no longer on a minutes restriction, according to Omari Sankofa II of the Detroit Free Press (Twitter link). The young Pistons forward has improved his conditioning in recent weeks. “(Monday’s game vs.) Utah was the first time he reached 30 minutes in a game, and doing it in a high altitude shows how far he’s come,” Bickerstaff said.
- The Heat have been down multiple starters and rotation players during the past two games due to injuries and illnesses. However, according to Barry Jackson and Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald, they should be getting reinforcements soon. Tyler Herro, Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Andrew Wiggins were all upgraded to questionable for Friday’s matchup against the Wolves. Kel’el Ware remains out and Alec Burks was downgraded to questionable. The Heat have assigned Josh Christopher to the G League, which may be a sign that the team expects to have more players available on Friday.