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Suns Reinsert Beal Into Starting Five, Move Jones To Bench

February 22nd, 2025 at 4:02pm CST by Luke Adams

The slumping Suns are making a lineup change for Saturday’s game in Chicago, having announced that Bradley Beal will be reinserted into the starting five, with Tyus Jones moving to the bench (Twitter link).

Beal, who has been coming off the bench since January 4, will start alongside Devin Booker, Kevin Durant, Royce O’Neale, and Nick Richards. It will be the first time this season that Jones will be part of the second unit — he had been previously been available for 54 games and started all of them.

The Suns, who have lost seven of eight games and are just 26-29 on the season, have been searching for the right lineup combinations for much of the year. The team’s most-used five-man group, which featured Jones, Booker, Beal, and Durant alongside recently traded center Jusuf Nurkic, had a net rating of -17.1 in 119 minutes.

A handful of other starting lineups featuring Jones have also struggled to outscore opponents. Jones, Booker, Durant, Richards, and Ryan Dunn have a -4.4 net rating together, while the starting five that the Suns deployed on Thursday coming out of the All-Star break (Jones, Booker, Durant, O’Neale, and Richards) has posted a -23.7 net rating in a small sample size (31 minutes). Saturday’s starting lineup has played just eight minutes together.

John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 (Twitter video link) predicted on Friday that Jones’ time as a starter would soon come to an end, referring to it as “long overdue.” As Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic (Twitter video link) points out, Booker has been functioning more like the point guard in the first unit, with Jones spending more time off the ball.

Still, speaking today to reporters shortly before the club announced its new starting five, head coach Mike Budenholzer defended Jones and his importance to the team.

“He organizes us. He brings leadership, stability,” Budenholzer said, per Rankin. “He’s a point guard. He’s that guy that’s looking to get everybody involved. Has a comfort level with that spot. He’s been good.”

Kings’ Christie Meets With Starters After ‘Unacceptable’ Loss

February 22nd, 2025 at 1:53pm CST by Luke Adams

The Kings‘ post-All-Star push for a playoff spot got off to a rocky start on Friday, as they lost at home by 24 points to a Golden State team that entered the day tied with Sacramento in the Western Conference standings.

Within his recap of the game, Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee noted that Doug Christie took over an hour to come out for his post-game media session, writing that the Kings’ interim head coach had “delivered an impassioned message to his team” during that time. According to NBA insider Chris Haynes (Twitter video link), Christie met with Sacramento’s starters – Domantas Sabonis, DeMar DeRozan, Zach LaVine, Malik Monk, and Keegan Murray – during that time.

“First and foremost, in that meeting, I was told that Christie reiterated how he’s in the fight with them,” Haynes said. “But there were some issues he wanted to address, such as making sure that everyone understood the gravity of the situation right now. He addressed ball security. He talked about how they’ve been compromising on defense. He wanted to make sure everyone was on the same page. He spoke on learning how to communicate with each other, and he challenged his players to challenge each other in a positive way to yield some positive results.”

Speaking to reporters after Friday’s loss, Christie didn’t specifically mention meeting with the starters, but he referred to his team’s effort vs. Golden State as “totally unacceptable.” According to Monk, the Kings’ coach made it clear that “we can’t get punked like that at home” again.

“I get down in a certain way and I expect you guys to represent that,” Christie said of his message to the team, per Anderson. “I know what these fans appreciate and what they want, and I know what our organization wants, and that ain’t it. That ain’t ever going to be it.”

The Kings are still adjusting after making some major roster changes at the trade deadline. De’Aaron Fox, Kevin Huerter, Colby Jones, Alex Len, and Jordan McLaughlin were all dealt during the first week of February, with LaVine, Jonas Valanciunas, and Jake LaRavia added via trade, while Markelle Fultz later signed as a free agent. As Anderson writes, the new-look roster showed some growing pains on Friday by turning the ball over a season-high 24 times and being outscored 38-5 in points off turnovers.

“Twenty-four (turnovers) for 38 points won’t win you a game, I don’t think, anywhere in the world,” Christie said. “… We can keep saying we have a lot of new guys and we’re trying to find our way, but that excuse, no one checks for you in this league like that. People will just run through you and beat the hell out of you, so it doesn’t matter what the excuse is.

“Take care of the basketball, play together, move the rock, and if we do that at a high level, we give ourselves the opportunity to win. We’re not even giving ourselves the opportunity with 24 turnovers for 38 points. It’s just not acceptable. It will never be acceptable. I said that to them man for man.”

The Kings are still in a play-in position in the West — at 28-28, they hold the No. 10 seed in the conference, with a 1.5-game lead over the No. 11 Suns. But after winning one play-in game last season and losing the second, they know how challenging it is to earn a playoff berth from that position and would like to move up in the standings before the end of the season. They have the fifth-hardest remaining schedule, per Tankathon.

“The bottom line is we have to come out and play with a sense of urgency, aggressiveness and physicality,” Christie said. “We have to want to win more than we want to breathe.”

Wizards Sign Jalen McDaniels To 10-Day Contract

February 22nd, 2025 at 11:36am CST by Tristan Tucker

11:36 am: McDaniels’ 10-day contract is official, according to a release from the Wizards. As expected, the team terminated Stevenson’s 10-day deal early in order to open up a roster spot.

8:20 am: The Wizards are signing Jalen McDaniels to a 10-day contract, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania (Twitter link).

In order to make room for McDaniels on the 15-man roster, Michael Scotto of HoopsHype tweets Washington will release Erik Stevenson from his own 10-day deal.

McDaniels, the older brother of the Timberwolves’ Jaden McDaniels, is a five-year NBA veteran. He hasn’t played in the league yet this season, having last suited up for Toronto in 2023/24. He has been playing for Washington’s G League affiliate, averaging 12.9 points, 7.2 rebounds, 1.1 steals and 0.8 blocks per game in 29 outings (26 starts) for the Capital City Go-Go.

The elder McDaniels was the 52nd overall pick in the 2019 draft, spending the first three-and-a-half years of his career with the Hornets. He was then moved to the Sixers at the 2023 deadline in the multi-team trade that saw Josh Hart land with the Knicks and Matisse Thybulle go to Portland.

After that season, McDaniels signed with the Raptors. He played in 50 games for Toronto last year before being traded twice this offseason. In June, the Raptors sent him to Sacramento in a move that netted them Jamal Shead and Davion Mitchell, and the Kings flipped him in October to the Spurs, who waived him.

In 248 NBA appearances (45 starts), McDaniels holds averages of 6.9 PPG, 3.3 RPG and 1.2 APG while shooting 44.9% from the field and 32.2% from three.

The Wizards have been cycling through 10-day contracts since the deadline. They signed Jaylen Nowell on Feb. 8 before ending his 10-day deal early to sign Stevenson on Feb. 17. Now, five days later, they’re set to make another change. Neither Nowell nor Stevenson made an appearance for Washington. Stevenson is averaging 17.1 PPG with a .388 3PT% in the G League this season.

After the moves are official, the Wizards will remain at a full roster, with 15 players on standard contracts and three on two-way pacts.

Evan Mobley Reiterates Belief He Can Become NBA’s Best Player

February 21st, 2025 at 10:35pm CST by Luke Adams

When The Athletic asked 14 players at All-Star weekend who will be the best player in the NBA in five years, Victor Wembanyama earned six votes and no one else received more than one, with a single exception: Evan Mobley. Of course, those two votes for Mobley came from teammate Darius Garland and the Cavaliers big man himself, who replied, “Maybe me or Victor.”

Asked after Thursday’s win over Brooklyn about that claim, Mobley doubled down on it, according to Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com (subscriber link).

“I feel like if you don’t believe in yourself, then how are you going to get there? I just have belief in myself,” Mobley said. “I think I have the capability. I have the size, the stature, the skill set. Why not believe in that? … I feel like I have a lot of potential, so that’s my goal. I’m not focused on getting there today. Just every day, take it day by day.”

Garland didn’t back down from his All-Star weekend comments either.

“We’ve got the belief in him. He has belief in himself,” Garland said. “He has the confidence now. He is going to get better with time. In five years I don’t know where he is going to be. Seven-foot unicorn that’s dribbling and dunking behind his head like that, it’s pretty unusual. He has everything. He has all the tools just to be great. He’s just got to go get it.”

Mobley’s performance so far this season has been a good first step toward super-stardom. Entering Friday’s blowout win over the Knicks, he had averaged 18.5 points, 9.2 rebounds, 3.0 assists, and 1.6 blocks per game through his first 49 outings, with a .567/.374/.760 shooting line. He put up 21 points on 9-of-11 shooting and was a plus-23 in just 25 minutes of action on Friday.

Mobley has been the defensive anchor for a Cavaliers team that ranks first in the Eastern Conference with a 46-10 record. He was named to his first All-Star team this season and figures to receive serious consideration for end-of-season awards like Defensive Player of the Year, Most Improved Player, All-NBA, and All-Defense.

According to Fedor, Donovan Mitchell said that playing alongside Mobley was a major reason why he chose to sign a multiyear contract extension with the Cavs last offseason. Mitchell was happy to see the 23-year-old express confidence in his ability to become one of the NBA’s best players.

“Hell yeah,” Mitchell said. “If you don’t believe in yourself, who will? I firmly believe that he’ll be a top-five player when he continues to get to his prime. He’s close. He’s got to continue to get better and better. He puts in the work. I think the everyday fan may not see it, but we see it. At the end of the day, he’s going to be up there. I have no doubt.

“I’m glad he said it. I’ve been trying to get him to speak on himself publicly. It’s about damn time he finally says something. Now the biggest thing for him is he’s got to go out there and do every night. I know he wants that.”

Bismack Biyombo Re-Signs With Spurs On Second 10-Day Deal

February 21st, 2025 at 12:12pm CST by Rory Maher

After his first 10-day contract expired following Thursday’s victory over Phoenix, veteran center Bismack Biyombo has returned to the Spurs, officially signing a second 10-day deal, the team announced today.

Biyombo, a former lottery pick who is playing for his seventh team in his 14th NBA season, signed his first 10-day deal with San Antonio on February 9. Because the Spurs only had two games before the All-Star break and 10-day contracts must cover a minimum of three games, Biyombo’s deal ran through Feb. 20 — that means it was technically a 12-day contract.

The 32-year-old big man didn’t get any playing in his first game with the Spurs and only played 25 seconds in a loss to Boston just before the break. However, in the wake of Victor Wembanyama‘s season-ending blood clot, Biyombo got the starting nod last night against the Suns, recording eight points (on 4-of-4 shooting), three rebounds and two assists in 16 minutes during the 11-point victory.

Although Biyombo is on the short end for a center at 6’8″, he has an enormous wingspan, typically listed at 7’6″ or 7’7″. A native of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the court Biyombo is known for his strength, toughness, athleticism, rebounding and shot blocking.

Biyombo is also known for his humanitarian work off the court, having donated his entire salary in 2021/22 to build a hospital in his home country. He has built schools and basketball academies through his foundation as well.

Before signing his first deal with San Antonio, Biyombo had been a free agent for all of ’24/25 after spending last season with Memphis and Oklahoma City. But he seems to be above Sandro Mamukelashvili on the frontcourt depth chart, and fellow big man Charles Bassey is currently day-to-day, having missed the past six games with a knee issue.

If the Spurs want to retain Biyombo beyond his second 10-day contract, they’ll have to give him a rest-of-season deal, since players are only eligible to sign two 10-day contracts with the same team in a season.

Biyombo has played in 841 regular season games over the course of his career, starting 352 of those contests. He has averaged 5.1 points, 5.9 rebounds and 1.3 blocks in 19.5 minutes per game in those appearances.

Doc Rivers Defends Bobby Portis In Wake Of Suspension

February 21st, 2025 at 11:59am CST by Arthur Hill

Speaking to reporters before Thursday’s game, Bucks coach Doc Rivers offered a spirited defense of veteran forward Bobby Portis, who was suspended for 25 games earlier in the day for violating the NBA’s drug policy, writes Eric Nehm of The Athletic. Portis’ agent, Mark Bartelstein, explained that his client accidentally took a pain medication called Tramadol, which is banned by the league, when he intended to take Toradol.

“I want to make something clear: Bobby’s not a drug user,” Rivers said. “I hate that it just says that you flunked the drug policy. And so when people read that, the first place they go is the wrong place. This is as big a mistake as can be made, like, it’s a mistake. And, so it bothers me on a lot of levels. Rules are rules, I get it, I get it — but there are also human circumstances and common sense to me.

“Bobby’s not a cheater. And so to me, that’s where we have to try to figure out how to change this a little bit. Because when it’s clear that a guy — Tormazol, Toradol, I don’t even know — when it’s that close and it’s clear, you can tell now from the blood samples, that that was the only time ever, you would think that we could do something less severe. But we have this rule like if you do it, you’re out, and that’s the way it is, so I just feel bad for Bobby, on so many levels.”

Rivers added that the team considered contesting the suspension, but didn’t want to risk losing an appeal and having it delayed. Portis will be eligible to return April 8 and play in the final four games of the regular season.

Portis wasn’t at Thursday’s shootaround, but he will be permitted to practice while he’s suspended, Nehm adds. Rivers said the Bucks are working with the league to see if he’ll be able to travel with the team, although he won’t be allowed in the arena starting two hours before tip-off.

Rivers said along with Portis’ production, the team will miss the strong leadership he provides during games.

“It’s funny, what the people don’t see is there’s certain guys that you need,” Rivers said. “Shootaround (on Thursday) was different. Bobby’s the one guy, he’s the voice (saying), ‘Stop f—ing around in practice.’ And he’s the guy that tells everybody that on our team. And, today, it was me saying that, and it’s just not the same. Let me tell you, Bobby’s voice is bigger and better. Obviously, we miss him on the floor. But I have that saying, ‘You can’t replace a human being.’ You just can’t. And especially one as special as Bobby.”

The Bucks currently have a roster opening, so they could add another player right away. They can also move Portis to the suspended list after five games and sign someone until his suspension expires.

Nehm adds that Portis’ suspension is having an immediate impact on Rivers’ rotation plans. He was hoping to give newly acquired Kyle Kuzma plenty of minutes at small forward, but that’s difficult with Portis unavailable and Giannis Antetokounmpo on a minutes restriction after returning from a calf strain.

“It doesn’t matter too much to me,” Kuzma said. “I’ve always said my entire career, I’m just a basketball player, whether it’s playing the three or the four, coming down the stretch, initiating offense. Basketball is such a positionless game and I’ve been playing the game and all types of positions my whole entire life.”

Grizzlies Sign Lamar Stevens To 10-Day Contract, Waive Johnny Davis

February 21st, 2025 at 11:33am CST by Tristan Tucker

FEBRUARY 21: The moves are official, the Grizzlies announced (via Twitter).

FEBRUARY 20: The Grizzlies are planning to sign forward Lamar Stevens to a 10-day contract, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania. With a full roster and needing to make room, the Grizzlies are waiving Johnny Davis to complete the transaction (Twitter links).

Stevens is a four-year NBA veteran who last suited up for Memphis in 2023/24. He signed an Exhibit 10 contract with the Celtics in September 2023 before ultimately earning a spot on the roster. At the 2024 trade deadline, Boston sent him to Memphis in exchange for Xavier Tillman.

The 27-year-old forward played in 19 games with the Grizzlies last year, making two starts. During that time, he averaged 11.5 points, 5.1 rebounds, 0.9 steals and 0.9 blocks per contest. However, the Grizzlies didn’t re-sign Stevens last summer and he hasn’t been on an NBA roster during the ’24/25 regular season until now.

Stevens did spend training camp with the Pistons in the fall, but was waived at the end of the preseason. He has played 29 games this season with the Motor City Cruise, Detroit’s G League affiliate. In the G League, Stevens has averaged 17.8 points, 7.5 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 1.2 steals and 1.4 blocks per game.

The Penn State product went undrafted in 2020, signing on with the Cavaliers on a two-way contract. He impressed in Cleveland, earning a promotion to a standard deal by the end of his rookie season, then went on to spend three years with the Cavs before being traded to San Antonio in the transaction that brought Max Strus to Cleveland.

As for Davis, the Grizzlies acquired the Wisconsin alum alongside Marvin Bagley III at this month’s deadline in the trade that sent Marcus Smart to Washington. The No. 10 overall pick in 2022, Davis played 112 games with Washington, averaging 3.5 points per game, but didn’t play at all for the Grizzlies before being waived.

According to Charania, Davis is expected to receive some attention as a free agent. The 22-year-old was a high-profile draft prospect in the 2022 class but never broke through in Washington.

Once the pair of moves are completed, the Grizzlies will be back up to a full roster, with 15 players on standard contracts (including Stevens’ 10-day deal) and three players on two-way pacts.

If Stevens’ deal is completed by Friday, he would be eligible for five games with Memphis before his 10-day contract would expire. At that point, he would need to be re-signed to another 10-day deal or the Grizzlies could move on. If he impresses enough to stick around through his maximum of two 10-day deals, the Grizzlies would need to sign him for the rest of the season.

David Roddy Signs Two-Way Deal With Sixers

February 21st, 2025 at 10:56am CST by Arthur Hill

The Sixers have signed David Roddy to a two-way contract, the team announced (via Twitter).

The 6’4″ power forward just completed a 10-day contract with the team that he signed on February 11. He got into only one game during that deal, finishing with four points, five rebounds and two assists in 13 minutes in Thursday night’s loss to Boston.

Roddy fills the two-way slot that opened up when Philadelphia promoted Jared Butler to the 15-man roster last week.

Roddy began the season with Atlanta, but was placed on waivers so the Hawks could complete a two-for-one deal with the Clippers at the trade deadline. Before being released, he appeared in 27 games, averaging 4.5 points, 2.6 rebounds and 1.1 assists in 12.8 minutes per night.

The Sixers selected Roddy with the 23rd pick in 2022, but traded him to Memphis on draft night. He was sent to Phoenix in a three-team deal at the 2024 deadline and then shipped to Atlanta in an offseason trade.

Alex Reese is also expected to sign a two-way contract with Philadelphia, which will have a full roster once that deal is finalized. Jeff Dowtin holds the team’s other two-way slot.

Lonnie Walker Signs Two-Year Deal With Sixers

February 21st, 2025 at 9:57am CST by Luke Adams

February 21: The signing is official, the Sixers announced in a press release.

February 18, 2:46 pm: Walker will exercise the opt-out clause in his contract with Zalgiris Kaunas after all, Langberg tells Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link). According to Charania, the veteran guard has agree to a two-year contract with the Sixers.

While Charania describes it as a $3MM deal, it should be worth a little more than that. Philadelphia only has the ability to offer a minimum-salary contract, but the second year of a minimum offer would come in around $2.94MM.

The amount of Walker’s prorated minimum salary for the rest of this season will depend on when he officially signs. As of today, it would be about $826K, but it will likely take him a little time to gain FIBA clearance.

The second year of Walker’s new contract will be a team option, a source tells Kyle Neubeck of PHLY Sports (Twitter link).

The 76ers currently have a full 15-man standard roster, but their 15th man is David Roddy, whose 10-day contract expires on Thursday night, so Walker figures to take Roddy’s spot on the roster.

Philadelphia will be looking to strike gold in the international market again after signing big man Guerschon Yabusele last summer following his five-year stint in Asia and Europe.

According to Stein (Twitter link), the Sixers’ offer to Walker came in today, just in time for him to take advantage of his Feb. 18 opt-out deadline. The team sought shooting guard insurance with Eric Gordon‘s return from a wrist injury up in the air, Stein adds.

February 18, 10:27 am: The contract that shooting guard Lonnie Walker signed with Zalgiris Kaunas in the fall included a clause that allowed him to opt out up until February 18 in order to return to the NBA.

However, Walker won’t take advantage of that opt-out, agent George S. Langberg tells Marc Stein of The Stein Line (Twitter link). The plan, Stein says, is for Walker to finish the current season in Lithuania and return to the NBA for the 2025/26 season.

Walker has 322 career regular season NBA games under his belt, having spent time with the Spurs, Lakers, and Nets from 2018-24. Last season, he averaged 9.7 points, 2.2 rebounds, and 1.3 assists in 17.4 minutes per game across 58 appearances for Brooklyn, with a shooting line of .423/.384/.763.

The 26-year-old was in camp with the Celtics in October before being cut ahead of the team’s regular season opener.

Multiple reports in recent months have suggested that Walker was drawing interest from NBA teams, including a handful of playoff-caliber clubs. However, it’s unclear whether or not any of those teams made a serious pitch to bring him back stateside.

Walker has averaged 13.6 PPG, 3.2 RPG, and 1.8 APG in 19 EuroLeague games (22.3 MPG) for Zalgiris this season, though his shooting percentages are just 38.7% from the field and 33.1% on three-pointers.

Mark Williams: Time To ‘Move On And Play Basketball’

February 21st, 2025 at 9:00am CST by Arthur Hill

Mark Williams has been through enough dramatic moments this month, and now he wants to focus on helping the Hornets for the rest of the season, writes Roderick Boone of The Charlotte Observer.

The 23-year-old center was traded to the Lakers two weeks ago, reportedly at the request of newly acquired star Luka Doncic, who wanted to be teamed up with an effective lob threat. That deal was rescinded a few days later when L.A.’s team doctors found issues of concern during Williams’ physical.

Williams faced the Lakers when he returned to the court Wednesday night at Staples Center, putting up 10 points and nine rebounds as he reclaimed his starting role. After seeing the course of his career dramatically change twice within a few days, Williams wants to stop talking about the failed trade.

“Yeah, I think it’s, for us, to finish the season strong,” he said. “Just try to have some good games and do a lot of the right stuff on the floor. I think now it’s kind of done. I think now it’s just move on and play basketball.”

Williams’ agent, Jeff Schwartz of Excel Sports Management, issued a statement Thursday questioning the Lakers’ judgment for calling off the deal. Boone notes that Schwartz broke the news to Williams about his failed physical, and Williams expressed thanks for his agent’s support.

“It’s great for Jeff to have my back,” he said, “show his support and show he has the same stance as me and everybody else within my circle. So, for him to make a statement to go out to everybody is huge.”

Equally important, Boone adds, is the reaction of other Hornets players and team officials, who have welcomed Williams back like nothing ever happened. Boone states that Williams built up strong camaraderie within the organization since being drafted in 2022, and there’s “zero difference” in how he’s interacting with everyone now that he’s back in Charlotte.

“Mark is like a brother to us,” Miles Bridges said. “So, we’re just welcoming him back with open arms, letting him know that he’s wanted here. That’s just the biggest thing, just him knowing that he’s got a home here in Charlotte. That’s the biggest thing for us and he’s going to continue to play and give us results.”

Williams, who will be eligible for a rookie scale extension this summer, is presumably back to being part of the Hornets’ foundation for the future. The decision to trade him was more about the return — the Lakers’ unprotected first-round pick in 2031 and the option to swap first-rounders in 2030, along with Dalton Knecht and Cam Reddish — than a desire to part with the young center.

Williams is averaging a career-high 15.3 PPG in his third NBA season, along with 9.6 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.1 blocks per night. He hasn’t attempted a three-point shot throughout his career, but he’s an efficient finisher around the rim, shooting 61.9% in 86 games.

He was held out of Thursday’s game at Denver, but coach Charles Lee explained that it was due to reconditioning on the second night of a back-to back rather than any lingering physical problem.

“Just that long-term view on all of our player health,” Lee said. “He didn’t play a couple of games during that whole trade week and just the transition. And so then having the break, too, we just want to make sure that we’re bringing him back and ramping him up at the right pace so that he can continue to have longevity.”

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