Cooper Flagg, Kon Knueppel Named December’s Rookies Of The Month
For a second consecutive month, former Duke teammates Cooper Flagg and Kon Knueppel have been named the NBA’s Rookies of the Month for the Western Conference and Eastern Conference, respectively, the league announced today (Twitter link).
Flagg, this year’s No. 1 overall pick, averaged 23.5 points, 6.2 rebounds, 4.8 assists, 1.2 blocks, and 1.0 steal in 35.5 minutes per game in 13 outings this past month for the Mavericks, making 51.6% of his shots from the floor and 80.8% from the free throw line.
While Dallas still hasn’t looked like a playoff team – the Mavs went 6-7 in December – Flagg is showing why he was the consensus top prospect in the 2025 draft class and is considered one of the best rookies to enter the NBA in the past decade. He’s the NBA’s youngest player, having turned 19 on December 21.
Although Flagg has taken over as the betting favorite in the Rookie of the Year race, that’s through no fault of Knueppel, who showed no signs of slowing down after his hot start to the season. In 12 games in December, the Hornets sharpshooter averaged 20.8 PPG, 4.7 APG, and 4.2 APG, with an outstanding .500/.462/.903 shooting line.
Only Donovan Mitchell and Stephen Curry have made more three-pointers so far this season than Knueppel, who knocked down 4.0 per game in December and now has 117 on the season.
Grizzlies forward Cedric Coward, Spurs guard Dylan Harper, Mavericks guard Ryan Nembhard, Pelicans big man Derik Queen, and Kings center Maxime Raynaud were also nominated for the Western Conference Rookie of the Month award, while Nets guard Egor Demin, Sixers guard VJ Edgecombe, and Wizards guard Tre Johnson were nominated in the East (Twitter link).
Bucks, Pistons, Warriors Among Potential MPJ Suitors
As we relayed in a Front Office article earlier on Thursday, Nets forward Michael Porter Jr. is an intriguing trade candidate ahead of the February 5 deadline. Just six months after essentially being treated as a salary dump by Denver, Porter has rebuilt his value with an outstanding first season in Brooklyn — he’s averaging career highs of 25.8 PPG, 7.5 RPG and 3.3 APG through 26 games, with an excellent .496/.410/812 shooting line.
“At worst he’s returned to neutral value, which is a major development,” one veteran NBA executive recently told Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Substack link).
Brooklyn has been taking incoming calls on Porter but the team doesn’t appear to be actively trying to move him, Fischer writes. Several people around the league familiar with the Nets’ thinking believe they will be aggressive in trying to accelerate their rebuild next offseason if they land a top pick in the 2026 draft, according to Fischer, who suggests the team might have a fairly high asking price to consider trading Porter mid-season.
Confirming a recent report from Sam Amick of The Athletic, Fischer says the Bucks are one team monitoring Porter’s situation as they look for roster upgrades around Giannis Antetokounmpo. Assuming he plays well in his return from a torn Achilles tendon, which is expected to occur in January, Pelicans guard Dejounte Murray is another player the Bucks could pursue in the coming weeks, multiple sources tell Fischer.
Although the Pistons have not yet called the Nets about Porter, they’re considered a potential suitor for the 27-year-old, Fischer reports. Detroit is my favorite theoretical landing spot for Porter, as he would provide a secondary scorer and top-tier shooter alongside Cade Cunningham. As Fischer writes, the Pistons aren’t expected to make an all-in move for Anthony Davis or Lauri Markkanen, but Porter makes less money than either of those players and likely wouldn’t cost as much to acquire as Markkanen.
The Warriors have considered making a run at Porter, sources tell Fischer, and head coach Steve Kerr praised the 6’10” forward after Monday’s game in Brooklyn. But a two-team deal between the Nets and Warriors appears unlikely right now, per Fischer, as Brooklyn doesn’t seem high on Jonathan Kuminga, whose outgoing salary would be necessary for matching purposes.
While it’s unclear if they’ll be buyers or sellers and they aren’t expected to pick a direction until closer to the deadline, the Bulls are another possible suitor for Porter, according to Fischer, who says Chicago was in serious talks to acquire the former lottery pick from Denver last year for Zach LaVine. Obviously the trade didn’t occur and LaVine is no longer a Bull, but it shows Chicago’s front office has an affinity for Porter.
The Hawks and Sixers are two other teams who expressed interest in Porter when he was still a Nugget, but neither club seems to be targeting him this season, Fischer adds.
Jonas Valanciunas Out At Least Four Weeks With Calf Strain
Nuggets center Jonas Valanciunas will be reevaluated in four weeks after being diagnosed with a right calf strain, sources tell Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link).
The Nuggets formally confirmed the news in a press release (Twitter link).
Valanciunas suffered the injury in the third quarter of Wednesday’s win at Toronto. The Lithuanian big man was making his first start of the season in place of superstar Nikola Jokic, who is also out at least four weeks due to a left knee injury.
It’s yet another tough blow for the Nuggets, who were playing without four starters on Wednesday and will now be without their primary backup center for several weeks.
Valanciunas, 33, has been quite durable throughout his lengthy NBA career, appearing in 70-plus regular season contests in nine of his 13 years in the league heading into 2025/26. That has been particularly true in the past few seasons — he played 81 games in ’24/25, 82 in ’23/24, and 79 in ’22/23.
Denver acquired Valanciunas over the summer in an offseason trade with Sacramento. He’s playing just 13.3 minutes per game — a career low — but has been productive in his limited time on the court, averaging 8.5 points and 4.7 rebounds in 33 appearances.
Peyton Watson, DaRon Holmes II and Zeke Nnaji are among the Nuggets who could receive more frontcourt minutes amid the wave of injuries.
Spurs’ Wembanyama Out Friday, Considered Day-To-Day
Victor Wembanyama underwent an MRI on Thursday which confirmed the Spurs‘ star center did not suffer any ligament damage to his hyperextended left knee, reports Michael C. Wright of ESPN.
Wembanyama sustained the injury early in the fourth quarter of Wednesday’s two-point victory over New York.
The French big man has been ruled out of Friday’s game at Indianapolis, as he didn’t travel with the team. However, Wembanyama may not be out long — Wright hears the former No. 1 overall pick will be listed as questionable for Saturday’s contest vs. Portland and is considered day-to-day.
Wembanyama, whose official injury designation is left knee soreness, is hoping to return to action within the next week, per Jared Weiss of The Athletic (Twitter link).
Friday will mark Wembanyama’s 13th absence of the season after he previously missed time with a calf strain. On Thursday night, Maxime Aubin of French outlet L’Équipe asked Wembanyama for his thoughts regarding the 65-game rule for players to qualify for major postseason awards (Twitter link).
“I don’t dislike that rule,” Wembanyama replied. “And yes, of course it’s in my mind, even if it’s not the first thing I think about. But I also know the Spurs’ medical staff will do their job regardless of that. That’s what we expect from them, and they’re very good at staying objective.”
Starting wing Devin Vassell will also be out Friday, tweets Tom Orsborn of The San Antonio Express-News. Vassell is expected to miss multiple games with a left adductor strain.
Scott Perry Hopes To Turn Kings Into ‘Sustainable Winner’
The results haven’t been encouraging in Scott Perry‘s first season as general manager of the Kings, but he remains focused on building “sustainable” long-term success, he said in an interview with Marc J. Spears of Andscape.
Perry, who was hired to run the team in April, discusses numerous topics in the lengthy exchange, including his approach to the upcoming trade deadline. Sacramento owns the second-worst record in the Western Conference at 8-25 and has several veteran players who could interest other teams, such as DeMar DeRozan, Zach LaVine, Malik Monk, Russell Westbrook and Dennis Schröder. Perry plans to listen to offers over the next five weeks, but he hasn’t determined that certain players will definitely be moved.
“I’m always going to work the phones,” he said. “I’m always going try to figure out how we can improve the team, both short and long term, if possible. But I want to be prudent and opportunistic in doing that. I’m not somebody who does things out of panic. So, it’s got to make sense for us. So, we’ll see.
“But obviously we know we’re far from a finished product, so we’ve got to be open to getting better. And this is one of the vehicles that you have at your disposal in trying to get better. It’s seeing that there’s a trade that makes sense and fits for not only you, but it’s got to fit for the other team or teams that you’re involved with.”
Perry recognized when he took the job that it wouldn’t be easy to transform a franchise that has only made one playoff appearance since 2007. That came in 2023, and the Kings have been trending downward ever since. They’re currently on pace for the worst record in franchise history, but Perry made it clear that he’s not looking for a “quick fix” to salvage this season at the expense of the future.
“I was hired to build a sustainable winner,” he said. “So, I’m sure there’s an anomaly somewhere, but I don’t know of many quote-unquote quick fixes that turn into being sustainable. And my vision, which is shared by top to bottom ownership and everybody in the building, is to build a sustainable winner. I think that takes a little more time than quick fixes. You got to make appropriate decisions in that at least give you the best chance to lay a foundation to grow into something that’s sustainable. And so that’s what we’re at.
“… What is a quick fix? It’s probably for that season or maybe one other season. But hopefully, my goal and vision is to get to the point that once you become a playoff team you can stay there for a while. And that’s when you get your chance to sustain it.”
Perry admits he’s still in the “evaluation stage” with the franchise as he tries to decide which players to keep. Amid the losing, one positive has been the performance of the team’s rookies. Second-round pick Maxime Raynaud has been a pleasant surprise, especially since moving into the starting lineup after center Domantas Sabonis was sidelined with a meniscus injury. First-round selection Nique Clifford is getting regular rotation minutes, and Dylan Cardwell has been a valuable big man off the bench on a two-way contract.
Perry calls all three rookies “very hard workers” with “very good basketball IQs” and indicated that they’re the type of players he wants to build around.
He also discussed the decision to give Keegan Murray a five-year, $140MM rookie-scale extension in October. Murray hasn’t posted outstanding numbers during his first three-plus NBA seasons, but Perry views him as another building block for the future.
“Another tremendously hard worker, high character guy,” Perry said. “In this league, you can’t have too many 6-8, 6-9 versatile players. The guy has shot the three-point ball at a high clip since coming to the league, even though his numbers are down this year. He missed the first month of the season and is taking a little while to get his rhythm back, too. We’re matching him up with everybody on the other end, but that’s a tribute to his defensive versatility. So, here’s a guy that we put on point guards and we put on centers and all positions in between and he doesn’t flinch. He takes on those assignments. That’s invaluable.
“When you talk about build a team, he’s young, he’s 25 years old. So now we’re coming into the window of hopefully what’s going to be the prime of his career. I see him as being a very important part of establishing that sustainable winning. You need high character, versatile two-way players – as many as you can get. He was here and he liked it here and it’s been good to work with him.”
Victor Wembanyama Leaves Game Early, Avoids Major Injury
Victor Wembanyama suffered a hyperextended left knee in the Spurs‘ win over the Knicks on Wednesday night, reports ESPN’s Shams Charania (via Twitter). However, according to Charania, initial tests suggested that no major injury had been sustained.
“I’m feeling good, just sore. I’m confident,” Wembanyama said, per Tom Orsborn of the San Antonio Express-News (Twitter link). “I was close to coming back into the game. They had to hold me back…It was just a hyperextension. It should be a minimal.”
The Spurs’ star bumped knees with Knicks big man Karl-Anthony Towns in the fourth quarter while fighting for a rebound and landed awkwardly, staying on the ground for several moments before the Spurs committed an intentional foul to stop play. Wembanyama immediately exited the game and headed to the locker room.
Wembanyama reportedly told fans “I’ll be back” when he left the court (Twitter link via Stefan Bondy of the New York Post), but when he returned, he was wearing slippers, per James L. Edwards III of The Athletic (Twitter link).
The Spurs were able to come back and register a 134-132 victory despite not having their superstar center — they’ll now await a more specific diagnosis.
This was just the third start for the Frenchman since mid-November. He missed 12 games due to a calf strain, then came off the bench for the next seven games, including against the Knicks in the NBA Cup championship, in order to work his way back into competitive shape.
Hornets’ Plumlee Undergoes Groin Surgery, Out At Least Six Weeks
Mason Plumlee will be reevaluated in six weeks, according to the Hornets, who announced today in a press release that the veteran center has undergone surgery to address a right groin injury.
That timeline suggests Plumlee will miss at least Charlotte’s next 22 games, and there’s no guarantee he’ll be ready to return at the six-week mark (February 11).
A 2013 first-round pick who has made 874 career regular season appearances since entering the NBA, Plumlee signed a one-year, minimum-salary contract with the Hornets over the summer and has provided depth in the middle behind young centers Ryan Kalkbrenner and Moussa Diabate. In 14 outings for Charlotte, the 35-year-old has averaged 1.9 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 1.1 assists in 8.9 minutes per game.
Given how well Kalkbrenner and Diabate have played this season, Plumlee’s injury shouldn’t have a significant impact on the Hornets’ rotation. However, Kalkbrenner is dealing with his own health issue, having been ruled out for a fifth straight game on Wednesday due to a left elbow sprain. As a result, newly signed two-way player PJ Hall has been getting minutes as Charlotte’s backup center behind Diabate.
While Plumlee faces an extended absence, Kalkbrenner remains on the shelf, and Miles Bridges (right ankle sprain) will be inactive for Wednesday’s game vs. Golden State, the Hornets did share some positive injury news earlier today, announcing that standout rookie Kon Knueppel will be available on Wednesday after missing Monday’s game due to a sprained ankle (Twitter links).
Bulls’ Josh Giddey To Miss Multiple Weeks With Hamstring Strain
Bulls starting point guard Josh Giddey has a left hamstring strain and will miss at least a few weeks, ESPN’s Shams Charania tweets. Joel Lorenzi of The Athletic confirms through the team’s PR department that the injury, initially diagnosed as hamstring tightness, is a strain (Twitter link).
Giddey, acquired from Oklahoma City prior to last season, has been enjoying a career year with averages of 19.2 points, 9.0 assists and 8.9 rebounds in 29 games. He leads the Bulls in all three statistical categories, so his loss — even for a few weeks — could have a huge impact on their season and approach to the trade deadline.
Chicago had won five straight before losing its last two games to fall to 15-17. The Bulls are currently in ninth place in the East, which would put them in the play-in tournament.
It’s been a painful week injury-wise as Coby White re-injured his right calf on Monday and Zach Collins suffered a toe injury. That duo is also expected to miss multiple games.
Giddey was one of several restricted free agents on the market during the offseason who endured lengthy negotiations. It worked out in the long run as he signed a four-year, $100MM deal heading into training camp.
Without their starting backcourt, the Bulls will have to rely on Tre Jones, Ayo Dosunmu, Kevin Huerter and Jevon Carter to get them through the upcoming weeks.
If the Bulls chose to go into sell mode before the trade deadline, they’ll have multiple expiring contracts to dangle. Nikola Vucevic, Collins, Huerter, White, Dosunmu and Carter all fit into that category.
NCAA: Players Who Signed NBA Contracts Won’t Be Granted Eligibility
Although the NCAA has granted four years of college eligibility to 2023 second-round pick James Nnaji, who recently enrolled at Baylor, players who have signed NBA contracts will remain ineligible to play college basketball, NCAA president Charlie Baker announced on Tuesday in a statement (Twitter link).
Baker’s statement provides some clarity on the NCAA’s stance amid reports that college programs were reaching out to players with NBA experience, including former Mavericks two-way player Jazian Gortman and current Bulls two-way player Trentyn Flowers.
“The NCAA has not and will not grant eligibility to any prospective or returning student-athletes who have signed an NBA contract (including a two-way contract),” Baker said. “As schools are increasingly recruiting individuals with international league experience, the NCAA is exercising discretion in applying the ‘actual and necessary expenses’ bylaw to ensure that prospective student-athletes with experience in American basketball leagues are not at a disadvantage compared to their international counterparts. Rules have long permitted schools to enroll and play individuals with no prior collegiate experience midyear.
“While the NCAA has prevailed on the vast majority of eligibility-related lawsuits, recent outlier decisions enjoining the NCAA on a nationwide basis from enforcing rules that have been on the books for decades — without even having a trial — are wildly destabilizing. I will be working with DI leaders in the weeks ahead to protect college basketball from these misguided attempts to destroy this American institution.”
It has become increasingly common in recent years for international prospects to come stateside and join NCAA programs after playing professionally in Europe. Players with G League experience, such as Thierry Darlan, have also been granted college eligibility. However, up until last week, a player who had been selected in the NBA draft hadn’t been awarded NCAA eligibility.
Although Nnaji was the 31st overall pick in the 2023 draft, he never signed an NBA contract, having continued to play in Europe as a draft-and-stash prospect. After initially acquiring his rights from Detroit in a draft-night trade, the Hornets later sent Nnaji to the Knicks in the three-team Karl-Anthony Towns blockbuster last fall. New York still holds Nnaji’s NBA rights now that he’s a Baylor Bear.
Unlike Nnaji, Gortman and Flowers weren’t selected by an NBA team when they were draft-eligible, but both players have signed contracts with NBA teams and appeared in NBA games since going undrafted. As a result, Baker’s statement today suggests that neither Gortman nor Flowers would be granted NCAA eligibility, even though they’ve never played college basketball.
While the NCAA has made its stance known, that doesn’t mean the matter is settled. Gortman reportedly isn’t interested in enrolling in a college program, and Flowers may ultimately opt against it too, but at some point a player with NBA experience could challenge the NCAA’s eligibility rules, and there’s no guarantee the NCAA would prevail in a lawsuit.
Nikola Jokic Out At Least Four Weeks With Knee Injury
Nuggets center Nikola Jokic will be reevaluated in four weeks after being diagnosed with a hyperextension of his left knee, the team announced today (Twitter link).
Jokic injured his knee during Monday’s game against Miami. On Tuesday, Đorđe Matić of Meridian Sport, an outlet based in Jokic’s home country of Serbia, reported that the big man had hyperextended his knee but appeared to have avoided a more serious injury. The update from the club confirms as much.
Although the absence projects to be the longest of Jokic’s NBA career, the Nuggets are breathing a sigh of relief, according to Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link), since testing confirmed that the three-time MVP’s knee ligaments are intact.
Still, there’s no guarantee that Jokic will be able to return at the four-week mark when he’s reevaluated. Brett Siegel of ClutchPoints (Twitter link) suggests the 30-year-old could end up missing closer to six weeks.
The Nuggets’ depth will be tested in a major way during that time. The team was already down three starters, with Aaron Gordon (hamstring), Christian Braun (ankle), and Cameron Johnson (knee) all on the shelf. With Jokic now out too, guard Jamal Murray is the only opening-night starter still standing.
Head coach David Adelman said over the weekend that Gordon and Braun have a chance to return during the Nuggets’ current road trip, which runs through January 7 (Twitter link via Katy Winge of Altitude TV). Until then, Murray figures to be joined in the starting five by Peyton Watson, Spencer Jones, Tim Hardaway Jr., and Jonas Valanciunas.
The Nuggets are off to a 22-10 start this season and are well positioned in the Western Conference postseason picture at the moment, but they don’t have a ton of room for error as they attempt to hang onto a guaranteed (ie. top-six) playoff seed. The No. 6 Timberwolves currently trail Denver by just a game-and-a-half, while the No. 7 Suns are three games back of the Nuggets.
Although Jokic and the Nuggets will be more concerned about their record and their position in the standings, it’s also worth noting that this injury could cost the superstar center his award eligibility this season. In order to meet the 65-game requirement and qualify for end-of-season awards, Jokic can’t miss more than 17 games — Denver will play 18 times between now and the end of January.
If Jokic isn’t award-eligible, his streak of seven consecutive All-NBA appearances would come to an end, as would a stretch of five straight years in the top two in Most Valuable Player voting.
Jokic has been putting up historic numbers so far this season, averaging a career-high 29.6 points per game while leading the NBA with 12.2 rebounds and 11.0 assists per contest. His shooting line is an outrageous .605/.435/.853 and the Nuggets have a +12.3 net rating when he’s on the court, compared to a -6.3 mark when he’s not.