Four Players Ejected From Pistons-Hornets Game After Fight
Moussa Diabate and Miles Bridges of the Hornets and Jalen Duren and Isaiah Stewart of the Pistons were ejected after a fight broke out in the third quarter of Monday’s game in Charlotte, writes Steve Reed of The Associated Press.
Diabate and Duren appeared to be jawing at each other before the ball was inbounded with 7:13 remaining in the period (YouTube link via ESPN). After a little extracurricular activity between the two big men, Duren received the inbound pass, drove into the lane, and was fouled hard by Diabate. The two players appeared to butt heads, then Duren pushed Diabate in the face, igniting a fight that lasted more than 30 seconds.
Bridges shoved Duren with two hands, and Diabate was furious, rushing after and attempting to punch Duren. His punch didn’t connect as he was held by back Tobias Harris, but Diabate continued to pursue Duren, who slowly walked away along the baseline.
The incident seemed like it could have ended at that point, but then Bridges and Duren appeared to exchange words, and Bridges approached Duren and threw a left-handed punch. Duren responded with a right that didn’t connect.
Stewart, who was on the bench at the time, rushed onto the court to confront Bridges, who threw another punch. A brief and chaotic tussle ensued, with Stewart appearing to have Bridges in a headlock at one point, before the players were separated.
The incident marred a highly anticipated matchup between the Pistons, the top seed in the East, and the Hornets, who entered the game as the league’s hottest team, having won nine straight. Detroit wound up winning by six points.
Stewart left the bench, which typically results in an automatic suspension, and he has also been suspended multiple other times for fighting. ESPN’s Bobby Marks expects Detroit’s backup big man to receive a harsh penalty for his actions on Monday (Twitter link).
“Duren and Stew consider themselves to be brothers,” Pistons head coach J.B. Bickerstaff said after the game (Twitter video link via Omari Sankofa II of The Detroit Free Press). “If you run two guys at one guy and you’ve already crossed the line, human instinct tells him to protect his little brother.”
Investor Group Wants To Join Cuban In Attempt To Buy Back Mavericks
An unidentified Dallas investor group is interested in partnering with former owner Mark Cuban in attempt to buy back the Mavericks, Marc Stein reports at The Stein Line (Substack link).
As Stein writes, Cuban was the majority owner of the Mavericks for 23-and-a-half seasons until he sold the team to the Dumont and Adelson families in 2023. Cuban still holds a 27% stake in the Mavericks, but the Dumont and Adelson families have the option to buy another 20% of Cuban’s shares within the next year if they so choose, according to Stein.
It’s unclear if the two families have any interest in selling the team so soon after they purchased it. A source close to team governor Patrick Dumont told The Stein Line that “the family remains excited about the future of the franchise and the Cooper Flagg era.”
Cuban, who has been acting as an unofficial adviser to Dumont since former president of basketball operations Nico Harrison was fired in November, declined to comment when reached by Stein.
Cuban claimed at the time he sold the team that he would remain the top decision-maker in the basketball operations department, Stein notes. However, that turned out to be inaccurate, and Cuban was reportedly pushed out of the team’s inner circle by Harrison.
Harrison’s stunning and incredibly unpopular decision last year to trade franchise player Luka Doncic to the Lakers for Anthony Davis, Max Christie and a 2029 first-round pick eventually resulted in his ouster. Matt Riccardi and Michael Finley have been operating as the team’s co-general managers, and orchestrated last week’s deadline deal which sent Davis to Washington.
Although Harrison often drew the brunt of fans’ ire, his dismissal hasn’t entirely quelled the unrest in Dallas, Stein adds. Dumont recently received mild boos when he was sitting courtside during Mark Aguirre‘s jersey retirement on January 29 (YouTube link).
Jimmy Butler Undergoes Successful ACL Reconstruction Surgery
Warriors forward Jimmy Butler underwent successful right knee surgery in Los Angeles on Monday, the team announced in a press release (Twitter link).
The 36-year-old tore the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in his right knee in a January 19 game against Miami. The surgery was a reconstruction of the ACL.
Butler, who will miss the remainder of 2025/26, is expected to make a full recovery, per the Warriors. The next update on his status will come “early next season.”
Butler suffered the injury when he landed awkwardly on his right knee after being bumped in the air while catching a pass from Brandin Podziemski (Twitter video link via NBC Sports Bay Area). Butler was fouled on the play by Davion Mitchell, who attempted to disrupt the pass.
A five-time All-NBA member, Butler led the Heat to the NBA Finals in 2020 and 2023 and a trip to the Eastern Conference finals in 2022. In 38 games (31.1 minutes per contest) with the Warriors this season, he averaged 20.0 points, 5.6 rebounds, 4.9 assists and 1.4 steals on .519/.376/.864 shooting.
Butler is on a maximum-salary contract which runs through next season. He will earn $56.8MM in ’26/27.
Jayson Tatum Practicing With Maine Celtics On Monday
Star forward Jayson Tatum has been assigned to the G League to go through portions of Monday’s practice with the Maine Celtics, the NBA club announced (Twitter link).
Tatum, who has been doing controlled 5-on-5 work with coaches, will be immediately recalled after practice, per the Celtics. Rookies Hugo Gonzalez and Amari Williams will also practice with Maine today.
It’s the latest sign that Tatum is progressing well in his recovery from a torn Achilles tendon. He sustained the injury in May during Boston’s second-round playoff loss to New York.
Tatum, 27, made his fourth consecutive first-team All-NBA appearance in 2024/25 and finished fourth in MVP voting. The 27-year-old combo forward averaged 26.8 points, 8.7 rebounds, 6.0 assists and 1.1 steals on .452/.343/.814 shooting in 72 games (36.4 minutes per contest).
President of basketball operations Brad Stevens discussed Tatum’s recovery on Friday, per Brian Robb of MassLive.com.
“He’s hit a lot of the thresholds,” Stevens said. “He’s doing more and more and will continue to do more and more. He’s still got a ways to go.”
Stevens also said Tatum wouldn’t return to action until he has been fully cleared by the relevant parties. For his part, Tatum said at the end of last month that he was uncertain about whether or not he would play this season.
Suns Expected To Waive Cole Anthony
The Suns are expected to waive Cole Anthony, according to John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 (Twitter link).
Phoenix acquired the sixth-year guard in a three-team trade last week. It was a salary-dump move for the the Suns, who have several guards on their roster.
Anthony has yet to report to the team and may not end up doing so; head coach Jordan Ott said on Saturday that the two sides were still working through the situation.
“I think they’re still determining that. Working through that as we speak,” Ott said.
The 15th overall pick in the 2020 draft, Anthony spent his first five NBA seasons with Orlando, averaging 12.5 points, 4.3 rebounds and 3.8 assists on .419/.345/.847 shooting in 320 games (24.8 minutes per contest). However, his minutes have declined over the past few years and he was traded to Memphis in the offseason as part of the Desmond Bane blockbuster.
Anthony reached a buyout agreement with the Grizzlies and signed a one-year, minimum-salary contract with the Bucks. He averaged 6.7 PPG, 2.5 RPG and 3.5 APG on .424/.306/.615 shooting in a career-low 15.1 minutes per game in 35 appearances with Milwaukee this season.
Anthony is still just 25 years old and has been productive in the past, though he’s never been the most efficient scorer (his true shooting percentage is a career-low 48.3% in 2025/26). Teams looking for backup ball-handling help might give him a look if and when he officially parts ways with Phoenix.
Stephon Castle, Jalen Johnson Named Players Of The Week
Spurs guard Stephon Castle has been named the Western Conference Player of the Week and Hawks forward Jalen Johnson has won the award in the East, the NBA announced today (Twitter links). Week 16 of the 2025/26 season covered games played from February 2-8.
Castle, the reigning Rookie of the Year, helped San Antonio go 3-0 last week. The 21-year-old filled the stat sheet, averaging 24.0 points, 7.3 rebounds, 7.3 assists, 3.0 steals and 1.0 block in just 26.7 minutes per game, with a shooting line of .630/.364/.769.
As Michael C. Wright of ESPN.com details, Castle’s week was highlighted by a phenomenal performance in Saturday’s victory vs. Dallas. The former UConn standout scored a career-high 40 points (on 15-of-19 shooting, or 78.9%), grabbed a season-high 12 rebounds, dished out 12 assists, and swiped three steals in 32 minutes.
Castle became the youngest player in NBA history with a 40-12-12 stat line (the record was previously held by Oscar Robertson), per Wright, and the second player in league history to register a 40-point triple-double while shooting at least 75.0% from the field, joining Wilt Chamberlain, who accomplished the feat three times. And it all came on the one-year anniversary of when he set his previous career high with 33 points.
“I don’t know, something about this day,” Castle said, smiling. “Having a game like this, it’s definitely a dream come true. It felt good just to be out there feeling comfortable with every shot that I took and [got to] see them go in.”
As for Johnson, the 2026 All-Star continued his standout season last week, averaging 27.3 PPG, 12.0 RPG, 11.3 APG and 1.0 SPG on .544/.294/.750 shooting in three games (Atlanta went 2-1 in those contests). Johnson recorded a pair of triple-doubles from Feb. 2-8, raising his season total to 10, the most in the East and second-most in the NBA, only trailing Nikola Jokic (18).
No other player has ever recorded 10 triple-doubles in their entire Hawks career, let alone in a single season, per the team. It was the second weekly honor for the fifth-year forward, who also won Player of the Week in November.
According to the NBA, the other nominees in the West were Trail Blazers teammates Donovan Clingan and Jerami Grant, Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard, Pelicans forward Trey Murphy III, and Castle’s teammate Victor Wembanyama. Scottie Barnes (Raptors), Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns of the Knicks, Tyrese Maxey and Joel Embiid of the Sixers, Donovan Mitchell (Cavaliers), and Ryan Rollins (Bucks) were nominated in the East.
Pacers’ Johnny Furphy Out For Season With Torn ACL
4:05 pm: Indiana has formally announced Furphy’s injury in a press release.
3:44 pm: Pacers swingman Johnny Furphy underwent an MRI on Monday which revealed a torn ACL in his right knee, league sources tell Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link).
Tony East of Circle City Spin confirms the news (via Twitter).
The 35th overall pick in the 2024 draft, Furphy suffered the injury during Sunday’s loss in Toronto when he landed awkwardly after a dunk (YouTube link). The second-year guard/forward immediately grabbed at his right knee and was clearly in a tremendous amount of pain. The entire team gathered around him and it was evident he may have sustained a significant injury.
It’s a tough blow for Furphy, who had started 21 of Indiana’s past 22 games. The 21-year-old put up fairly modest stats in his second season, averaging 5.1 points, 4.4 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 35 appearances (18.4 minutes per game), with a shooting line of .470/.324/.486. However, he’s a plus rebounder for a wing, plays solid defense, and doesn’t need the ball in his hands to be effective.
The Pacers, who have dealt with numerous injuries this season, are high on Furphy, a native of Australia who played his college ball at Kansas, Scotto adds.
In addition to missing the remainder of the 2025/26 campaign, Furphy will likely miss a good portion of next season as well. Moritz Wagner and Grant Williams returned to action in January after tearing their ACLs during the ’24/25 season, and both players missed 12-plus months (Williams tore his meniscus and other ligaments as well).
Furphy will earn a guaranteed $2.3MM next season. The Pacers hold a $2.5MM team option on his contract for ’27/28.
Pistons Promote Daniss Jenkins, Waive Dario Saric
February 9: The moves are official, according to a team press release.
February 8: The Pistons are converting Daniss Jenkins from a two-way contract to a two-year standard deal using a portion of their bi-annual exception, reports Shams Charania of ESPN.
Jenkins will receive a two-year, $8MM contract, league sources tell Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link). His salary will represent the largest single-season sum a two-way player has ever received on a conversion, Scotto notes.
The second-year guard’s new contract will feature a team option for 2026/27, Charania adds.
To make room on their standard roster, the Pistons are expected to waive veteran forward/center Dario Saric, sources tell Brett Siegel of ClutchPoints (Twitter link). Hunter Patterson of The Athletic confirms Saric will be the odd man out (Twitter link).
Jenkins will now be eligible to play for the rest of the regular season and the playoffs. Two-way players are not playoff-eligible.
Pistons head of basketball operations Trajan Langdon said prior to Friday’s game that the team planned to promote Jenkins this weekend. Jenkins reached his 50-game active limit on Friday evening in the blowout victory over New York.
Jenkins reportedly turned down a two-year, minimum-salary contract offer near the end of January, which turned out to be the right call. The 24-year-old point guard recently told Omari Sankofa II of The Detroit Free Press that he was motivated by going undrafted out of St. John’s in 2024.
“If I’m being honest, and everybody knows I’m a very humble guy, but in college, most of these dudes that got drafted, what was the difference between me and them?” he said. “What? You tell me, what was the difference? For me, going undrafted is insanity to me, literally insanity, and that burns inside of me every single day.”
In 42 games this season (16.8 minutes per contest), Jenkins has averaged 8.2 points, 3.3 assists, 1.8 rebounds and 0.9 steals on .430/.391/.800 shooting. He has been Detroit’s primary backup behind Cade Cunningham for much of 2025/26.
The bi-annual exception, as its name suggests, is only available to teams once every two years. Detroit will not have access to the exception in ’26/27.
Saric is earning a guaranteed $5,426,400 this season, but most of that total was already paid by Sacramento, which traded him to Chicago on February 1. The Bulls sent him to the Pistons a couple days later in the deal that saw Kevin Huerter land in Detroit and Jaden Ivey in Chicago.
Saric, 31, only appeared in five games in 2025/26 after playing in 16 contests with Denver last season.
Cam Thomas Signs With Bucks
9:20 pm: Thomas has officially signed with the Bucks, per a press release from the team. It’s a minimum-salary deal, according to ESPN’s Bobby Marks at Sports Business Classroom, which means Milwaukee will carry a rest-of-season cap hit of $844,607.
4:37 pm: Thomas confirmed his decision to sign with the Bucks in a statement to Spears (Twitter link).
“I picked Milwaukee because they wanted me and they told me they’ve been interested for years now,” Thomas said. “So, it’s good to have this opportunity come to fruition. And I’m just hoping to meet everybody, get to know everybody and contribute as soon as possible.”
Thomas’ contract with Milwaukee will cover the remainder of the season, reports Eric Nehm of The Athletic.
4:02 pm: Free agent guard Cam Thomas has reached a contract agreement with the Bucks, agent Tony Ronzone tells Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link).
Thomas was waived by the Nets on Thursday evening after he wasn’t traded prior to the deadline. He was hoping he would be released if he wasn’t included in a deal so he could pick his next team.
“Super excited ready to actually help and contribute to another team,” Thomas told Marc J. Spears of Andscape. “My next team is getting elite scoring, good play-making and a good combo guard.”
Michael Scotto of HoopsHype linked Thomas to the Bucks multiple times leading up to the deadline. The Cavaliers also expressed trade interest in Thomas, according to Scotto, who reports (via Twitter) that the deal would have included Lonzo Ball and second-round draft compensation. The Cavs instead traded a pair of second-rounders to Utah take on Ball’s $10MM salary.
Thomas, 24, led the Nets in scoring during the 2023/24 and 2024/25 seasons. However, he was limited to just 25 games last season due to a left hamstring injury, which he strained again in early November. He wound up missing 20 consecutive games as a result of that injury.
Although Thomas is an undeniably talented scorer, he isn’t the most efficient offensive player, and his game isn’t very well-rounded. In 24 games this season, he has averaged 15.6 points, 3.1 assists and 1.8 rebounds on .399/.325/.843 shooting splits.
Milwaukee has an opening on its 15-man standard roster and won’t have to waive anyone to add Thomas. The Bucks also have an open two-way spot.
Wizards GM Expects Anthony Davis To Return This Season
NBA insider Chris Haynes recently reported that Anthony Davis, who was traded from Dallas to Washington last week, was expected miss the remainder of the 2025/26 campaign to recover from hand and groin injuries. Citing a league source, The Athletic confirmed that the Wizards big man was unlikely to play again this season.
However, general manager Will Dawkins said on Sunday that he anticipates Davis making his Wizards debut this season, though a return timeline won’t be established until the All-Star break (Twitter video link via Bijan Todd of Monumental Sports Network).
“The plan for AD right now is to go back to Dallas and finish his rehab,” Dawkins said. “He has a really good team down there. Our doctors met with them, and our medical staff’s going to go down with him. So we want to keep that good thing going that he has.
“During All-Star break, he takes another visit for a doctor. And that’s a big appointment for us to kind of see where his progress is at. And after that, after (the) All-Star break, he’ll return to D.C. and be here with the team.”
According to David Aldridge and Josh Robbins of The Athletic, Dawkins said the Wizards think Trae Young (another trade acquisition) and Davis will help the team be more competitive next season.
“AD is a special player, a special talent,” Dawkins said. “He, obviously, opens up so much on offense because he demands double teams. He can score in different areas. Defensively, he’s been an anchor, rebounder, rim protector when you have him at the four (and) Alex (Sarr) at the five, protecting the paint. (With) Bilal (Coulibaly), Kyshawn (George), Jamir (Watkins), some of our elite wing defenders out there, we want to be long, we want to be athletic, we want to be able to protect the paint better than we have.”
Dawkins also provided an injury update on Young, per Ian Nicholas Quillen of The Associated Press. The four-time All-Star, who has yet to play for the Wizards after dealing with a right knee sprain and quad contusion with the Hawks, will be reevaluated during the break.
“He’s still working on the court,” Dawkins said. “He started doing 1-on-0, he started doing a little bit of more 2-on-2 type actions. … He’s trending in a positive direction.”