Frank Kaminsky Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Injury Notes: Washington, Ball, Thybulle, Kaminsky

March 16th, 2025 at 10:12am CST by Rory Maher

Mavericks forward P.J. Washington is not listed on the injury report ahead of Sunday’s game vs. Philadelphia, so he appears on track to return after missing the past seven games with a right ankle sprain, tweets Christian Clark of The Athletic.

It’s certainly welcome news for Dallas, which has been absolutely devastated by injuries over the past several weeks. Even with Washington back, the Mavs will still be shorthanded, as Kyrie Irving (torn ACL), Olivier Maxence-Prosper (shoulder surgery), Dante Exum (broken hand), Anthony Davis (left adductor strain), Dereck Lively (right ankle stress fracture) and Daniel Gafford (right knee sprain) are out.

Jaden Hardy is doubtful for Sunday’s game as he continues to deal with a right ankle sprain, while Kai Jones (left quad strain) and Caleb Martin (left hip strain) are questionable. Brandon Williams, who is on a two-way deal, is probable with left hamstring tightness, per the league’s official injury report.

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

Bulls guard Lonzo Ball missed 15 games earlier in 2024/25 due to a right wrist injury. He reinjured the wrist at the end of February, causing him to miss the past seven games, and he’ll likely miss at least five more, as he didn’t travel with the team during its West Coast trip, writes Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times. “I haven’t heard anything about him being shut down,” head coach Billy Donovan said Saturday. “I think what he’s doing right now is just trying to get himself back to playing. Doctors aren’t saying, ‘Hey, listen, you gotta sit out.’ It’s just when he feels that he can do things on the court that he’s comfortable with. Like he can’t shoot right now, hasn’t been able to do that . . . passing and dribbling. Until that subsides, then he’ll be out, but I think he, in my conversations with him, it’s been everything to try to get back to playing. No one has said to me from above, ‘Hey, this goes on a little longer, we’re going to have him shut down.’ I have not heard that.”
Trail Blazers wing Matisse Thybulle underwent a procedure in October, just before the start of the regular season, to address inflammation in his right knee. It wasn’t supposed to sideline him for a significant period, but he sustained a bad right ankle sprain in late November during his ramp-up process, which set back his recovery. “I’ve talked to so many people about it now, and the overarching sentiment is that with ankle sprains this bad, sometimes it’s better to just break it than to sprain it,” Thybulle said, per Sean Highkin of The Rose Garden Report (Substack link). “Because the recovery time with all the ligaments that were torn takes so long. With a bone, it can just heal back up and it’s just as strong. It was a whole process. And then to have it happen in conjunction with a different injury … You start with the knee, and then hurt the ankle as bad as I did, and have those things be married as one giant injury to be dealt with. It made it quite the process.” Thybulle was technically active for the first time this season on Wednesday vs. New York, but he didn’t end up playing. Head coach Chauncey Billups said the two-time All-Defensive member’s role is up in the air for the final 15 games of ’24/25, according to Highkin.
Former NBA big man Frank Kaminsky, who spent training camp with Phoenix last fall before being cut, will miss the remainder of the NBA G League season, reports Blake Murphy of Sportsnet.ca (Twitter link). Kaminsky, who had been playing for the Raptors 905 until recently, is set to undergo arthroscopic surgery on his right knee.

And-Ones: Flagg, 2025 Draft, Hayes, Kaminsky, Records, RoY

March 13th, 2025 at 4:43pm CST by Rory Maher

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.

Frank Kaminsky Expected To Join Raptors 905

December 14th, 2024 at 1:05pm CST by Rory Maher

Free agent big man Frank Kaminsky has decided to enter the NBA G League player pool in advance of next week’s NBAGL Winter Showcase in Orlando, according to NBA insider Marc Stein, who reports (via Twitter) that the former Wisconsin star is expected join the Raptors 905, Toronto’s affiliate.

A former lottery pick (No. 9 overall in 2015), Kaminsky is an eight-year veteran who dealt with a knee injury in his last couple NBA seasons. Kaminsky, whose most recent NBA stint came in 2022/23 with Houston, spent last season in Serbia with Partizan Belgrade.

The 31-year-old signed a training camp contract with Phoenix this fall, earning praise during the preseason from head coach Mike Budenholzer. However, the Suns have the most expensive roster in the league, and chose to waive Kaminsky — and all the other players vying for the 15th standard spot — before the ’24/25 campaign began, likely due to the exorbitant luxury tax penalty for someone who was unlikely to receive minutes.

Instead of immediately entering the G League or heading back to Europe, Kaminsky decided to join Team USA’s roster for a couple of AmeriCup qualifying games in November, viewing it as an opportunity to show NBA teams he could still contribute. Robert Covington and Keita Bates-Diop were among the other notable veterans who suited up for the Americans.

According to Blake Murphy of Sportsnet.ca (Twitter link), the Raptors 905 have a high waiver priority, and while Kaminsky will likely be a short-term addition, he’ll still help the team “immensely” on offense right now. As Murphy observes, 10-day contracts begin in January, so the veteran forward/center will certainly be hoping to make a good impression.

Every season, veteran free agents who don’t make rosters in the fall choose to audition for NBA teams by playing in the Winter Showcase, which will take place in Orlando next week. Guard Devonte’ Graham signed with the South Bay Lakers on Friday.

And-Ones: Silas, Covington, Efficient Shooters, WBD, 2025 FAs

November 29th, 2024 at 8:55pm CST by Luke Adams

Stephen Silas was an NBA assistant for two decades from 2000-20, spending time in Charlotte, New Orleans, Cleveland, Golden State, and Dallas, establishing himself as a legitimate head coaching candidate and eventually being hired by Houston to fill that role.

However, Silas’ three-year stint with the Rockets didn’t go well. His .250 winning percentage (on a 59-177 record) is the worst in NBA history among 168 coaches with at least 200 games under their belts. His next stop wasn’t any better, as he spent the 2023/24 season as an assistant to Monty Williams on the 14-68 Pistons. Having been let go along with Williams this past offseason, Silas is coaching Team USA’s AmeriCup qualifying roster as he resets following a challenging few years.

“I’ve been enjoying the family time, and it’s important because, like, obviously my dad (former NBA player and coach Paul Silas) passed a couple years ago, and now I have a daughter who is a senior in high school, and I can actually go to the parent-teacher conferences and be there when she comes home and be there for homecoming and stuff like that,” Silas said, according to Joe Vardon of The Athletic. “It is really cool at a time that I probably needed to have after three years in Houston, one year in Detroit which wasn’t very successful. Kind of like take a step back, enjoy the fam’, do the USA thing. It’s really cathartic for me.”

As Vardon writes, a successful stint with USA Basketball could revitalize Silas’ stock and help him earn a new NBA role in 2025. Some of his players, such as Robert Covington and Frank Kaminsky, are also viewing their time with Team USA not just as an opportunity to represent their country but as a chance to show NBA teams they’re still capable of contributing.

“This is a great opportunity just to show people that I’m healthy,” Covington said. “I’ve got four or five years left of basketball in me.”

Here are more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

Mike Shearer of HoopsHype takes a look at 12 players who have significantly increased their shooting efficiency so far this season. As Shearer cautions, there’s no guarantee those players will maintain their efficiency spikes all season, but there are some interesting names on this list, including a handful who will be eligible for rookie scale extensions next summer (Christian Braun, Ochai Agbaji, and Bennedict Mathurin) and trade candidates like Nets teammates Cameron Johnson and Dorian Finney-Smith.
Warner Bros. Discovery – the parent company of TNT Sports – has been sued by investors who claim the company mischaracterized the impact that losing its NBA rights beginning in 2025 would have on its business. Winston Cho of The Hollywood Reporter has the story.
Danny Leroux of The Athletic looks ahead to next summer and previews the top players in the NBA’s 2025 free agent class, starting with stars like LeBron James, Kyrie Irving, Jimmy Butler, Brandon Ingram, and James Harden. Leroux also singles out Pacers center Myles Turner as a fascinating free agent to watch, since he has a coveted skill set for a big man and will be very much in his prime when he reaches the open market at age 29.

Team USA Roster Announced For AmeriCup Qualifying Tournament

November 13th, 2024 at 8:38pm CST by Arthur Hill

Twelve players have been selected to represent Team USA in the next phase of the AmeriCup Qualifying Tournament, USA Basketball announced in a press release. All 12 have at least some NBA experience, and seven have represented the U.S. in the past.

One of the most notable names is Robert Covington, an 11-year veteran who remains a free agent after spending last season with the Clippers and Sixers. This is the first USA Basketball experience for the 33-year-old forward.

Also on the team is big man Frank Kaminsky, who was with the Suns during training camp but was waived before the start of the season. Kaminsky was hoping to return to the NBA after playing for Partizan Belgrade in Serbia last season.

Veteran forward Keita Bates-Diop, who was waived by the Timberwolves before the season began, is another prominent name on the roster. Bates-Diop divided last season between the Suns and Nets.

Rounding out the team are Henry Ellenson, Dusty Hannahs, Nate Hinton, Jahmi’us Ramsey, Chasson Randle, Javonte Smart, David Stockton, Paul Watson and Malik Williams.

Team USA will play two games in Washington, D.C., hosting Puerto Rico on November 22 and the Bahamas on November 25. Training camp will begin Friday and will run through November 21.

Former Rockets head coach Stephen Silas will coach the team during competition windows in November and February. His assistants will include Patrick Ewing and Keith Smart.

The Americans went 1-1 in the first window, splitting their games with Cuba. They will travel to Puerto Rico and the Bahamas in February.

The qualifying rounds involve 16 teams that are divided into four groups of four teams each. Each team plays the other members of its group twice, with the top three from each group qualifying for the FIBA Men’s AmeriCup tournament, which will take place August 23-31 2025, in Managua, Nicaragua.

The qualifying games can be viewed for free by setting up an account on Courtside 1891.

Suns Cut Frank Kaminsky

October 19th, 2024 at 4:11pm CST by Luke Adams

The Suns have placed veteran big man Frank Kaminsky on waivers, league sources tell Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link). Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic first reported (via Twitter) that Kaminsky wouldn’t make Phoenix’s opening night roster.

An eight-year veteran who has appeared in 413 regular season games, Kaminsky has a solid career résumé that includes averages of 8.8 points and 3.8 rebounds in 19.8 minutes per game, along with a three-point rate of 34.9% on 3.0 attempts per contest.

However, he was out of the NBA last season, which he spent in Serbia with Partizan Belgrade. On top of that, hanging onto him would cost the Suns exponentially more in projected tax penalties beyond his minimum-salary contract, so he was considered more of a luxury than a necessity.

It’s worth noting that Kaminsky’s training camp contract included Exhibit 10 language, which suggests he may be open to the idea of reporting to the Valley Suns and trying to earn another shot in the NBA by impressing at the G League level.

Having already waived their other non-guaranteed players, the Suns are now carrying 14 players on standard contracts and three on two-way deals, so their roster looks ready for the regular season.

Pacific Notes: Kaminsky, Suns, Watson, Kawhi, Kings

October 15th, 2024 at 11:34am CST by Luke Adams

It’s unclear whether or not the Suns will carry a 15th man on their standard roster to start the season, since doing so will cost them exponentially more in tax penalties beyond the player’s minimum salary. If Phoenix does carry a full roster, big man Frank Kaminsky looks like the favorite to be that 15th man, notes Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic. The Suns waived two other camp invitees – Mamadi Diakite and Moses Wood – on Monday.

“He’s a veteran, smart, a lot of things we want to be about,” head coach Mike Budenholzer said of Kaminsky. “Having Frank in camp has been great and those will be the hard decisions with (Suns CEO Josh Bartelstein and general manager James Jones) and the front office. We’ve got to sit down and put everything together and make good, hard decisions.”

Kaminsky’s minimum-salary contract is non-guaranteed, so if the Suns do decide to hang onto him beyond the preseason, they’d essentially be paying him by the day. However, they’d also be increasing their projected tax bill each day he remains on the roster. That projected bill is already worth north of $185MM based on the team’s current financial commitments.

Here’s more from around the Pacific:

Phoenix’s G League affiliate, the Valley Suns, completed a trade on Monday, acquiring Paul Watson‘s returning rights from the Austin Spurs in exchange for the rights to Lindell Wigginton and Matt Lewis (Twitter link). Wigginton and Lewis are both playing overseas this fall, so the deal appears mostly about funneling Watson to the Suns’ NBAGL roster.
Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard won’t play at all during the preseason, head coach Tyronn Lue confirmed on Monday, per Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN. Leonard, who dealt with inflammation in his right knee at the end of last season and during the offseason, has yet to take part in contact drills and is working on strengthening the knee. His status for the team’s regular season opener next Wednesday vs. Phoenix remains up in the air.
Breaking down the reported trade agreement that will send Jalen McDaniels to San Antonio, Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee wonders if the Kings might be setting up another deal by creating additional financial flexibility in their deal with the Spurs. The trade will move Sacramento about $5.8MM below the luxury tax line, with 13 players on standard contracts.

Pacific Notes: DeRozan, Kings, Curry, Warriors, Kaminsky

October 13th, 2024 at 2:55pm CST by Rory Maher

The Kings dropped their second straight preseason game to Golden State on Friday, but they came away encouraged by their performance, particularly the play of the starting five, according to Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee. Point guard De’Aaron Fox is pleased by how seamlessly DeMar DeRozan has fit in.

“It definitely feels natural right now,” Fox said of playing with DeRozan. “Obviously, we have someone else who can really post up and create their own shot, but he’s also still creating for others and making our jobs easier, so I feel like there are no hiccups. Right now we’re not running much. We’re just running our flow offense and I think it’s looked good.”

DeRozan, who was acquired from Chicago over the summer in a three-team sign-and-trade, concurred with Fox’s assessment.

“It’s comfortable,” DeRozan said. “Now, it’s just about getting that consistent rhythm, and the more we play, the more opportunities we get, the easier it becomes.”

Here’s more from the Pacific:

In other Kings news, a league source tells Anderson that Malik Monk will be active on Sunday vs. Portland after missing Friday’s contest due to personal reasons (Twitter link). Monk re-signed with Sacramento on a four-year, $78MM contract as a free agent.
Warriors star Stephen Curry sustained a jammed right index finger in the second quarter of Friday’s victory and was held out for the remainder of the game, but he was able to go throughout his typical post-game workout, as Anthony Slater of The Athletic relays (Twitter links). Curry underwent an X-ray, which came back negative, and he’s considered day-to-day.
Warriors forward Andrew Wiggins was sidelined by an illness during training camp and will miss his fourth straight preseason game on Sunday vs. Detroit. However, the former No. 1 overall pick has recovered from the unspecified illness and is expected to suit up for Tuesday’s contest vs. the Lakers, head coach Steve Kerr told reporters, including Monte Poole of NBC Sports Bay Area (Twitter link).
Kerr continues to experiment with the Warriors‘ starting lineup in preseason, Slater notes (Twitter video link). On Friday, Kerr went with a small-ball approach, with Curry, Gary Payton II, Moses Moody, Kyle Anderson and Draymond Green as the starting five. While they’re taking a “game-by-game” approach right now, in part due to Wiggins’ absence, Kerr downplayed the possibility of that continuing into the regular season. “We want a starting lineup to form, and to establish some continuity, for sure,” he said.
Frank Kaminsky is on a non-guaranteed training camp deal with the Suns and is vying for the 15th spot on their standard roster. Even if he’s waived before the season begins, the veteran big man is thankful to have another NBA opportunity after dealing with a knee injury and playing in Serbia last season. “I’m just going with it,” Kaminsky told Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic. “Whatever happens, happens. I’m in the position I wanted to be after getting healthy and playing overseas last year. Just grateful for this opportunity. Whatever happens, happens.”

Pacific Notes: Jones, Suns, Kaminsky, Kawhi, Porter, Lakers

September 27th, 2024 at 2:03pm CST by Luke Adams

Although he had made 94 starts across eight NBA seasons prior to 2023/24, last season was Tyus Jones‘ first as a full-timer in that role — he started all 66 games he played for the Wizards. That sample size is good enough for new Suns head coach Mike Budenholzer, who tells Steve Aschburner of NBA.com that Jones has “established himself as a great starting point guard in our league” and that the plan is for the veteran to be in Phoenix’s starting five to open the 2024/25 season.

“When you put him out there with Kevin (Durant), Brad (Beal), Book (Devin Booker) and Nurk (Jusuf Nurkic), we feel like we’ve got a strong starting five,” Budenholzer said, confirming what he expects his initial starting group to look like. “And a really strong bench behind them.

“Tyus can help us play faster. He’s great with the kick-aheads, he’s great with getting teammates involved in transition. But then also in the half-court. He’s a guy who has always been a high assists guy, low turnovers. He can get us organized. Everyone talks about how much talent we have. Hopefully he can put them in positions to be their best.”

Here’s more from around the Pacific:

Frank Kaminsky‘s new non-guaranteed deal with the Suns offers him no assurances for the regular season, but he’s still excited to be back with the organization after having worked out at the team’s practice facility in recent weeks, he tells Gerald Bourguet of PHNX Sports. “I love it here,” the veteran big man said. “There’s no other way I can describe it. There’s just such a level of love and comfort that I have living here, being here. I’ve built a nice community here, have great friends — everything here is set up well for me. And that’s why when the camp deal started getting talked about, it’s the one I wanted, just because I love being here.”
This week’s revelation that Kawhi Leonard underwent another knee procedure in the offseason and will be limited in training camp is an ominous one for the Clippers, but president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank attempted to downplay concerns about the star forward’s status, writes Anthony De Leon of The Los Angeles Times. “It’s almost gone,” Frank said of the swelling in Leonard’s knee. “He wants to participate in everything during training camp, but we’re going to hold him back from drill work and really focus on strengthening.” The goal, Frank added, is “to get him to 100% so he can have a great season, not just this year, but for many years.”
New Clippers guard Kevin Porter Jr. will be allowed to take part in team activities during training camp while the NBA continues to investigate the domestic incident that occurred last September, tweets Law Murray of The Athletic. Porter reached a plea agreement of a third-degree reckless assault misdemeanor in January, but wasn’t in the NBA at that time and may still face a suspension from the league.
Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report reads between the lines of Rob Pelinka‘s and JJ Redick‘s comments to reporters at the Lakers‘ pre-camp press conference on Wednesday, sharing 10 observations about what the team’s head of basketball operations and new head coach had to say.

Suns Cut Tyrese Samuel, Jaden Shackelford

September 26th, 2024 at 7:48pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

The Suns have waived forward Tyrese Samuel and guard Jaden Shackelford ahead of training camp, per the NBA’s official transaction log.

Both players had been on Exhibit 10 training camp deals with Phoenix.

Samuel went undrafted out of Florida this summer. The 6’10” All-SEC honoree averaged 13.9 points, 7.4 rebounds, 1.9 assists, 1.1 assists and 1.1 blocks per game while connecting on 56.4% of his looks from the floor and 56.2% of his free throw attempts.

After going undrafted out of Alabama, the 23-year-old Shackelford has spent the last two seasons in the G League as a member of the Thunder’s NBAGL affiliate, the Oklahoma City Blue. Last year, he recorded averages of 14.3 PPG, 3.2 RPG, and 3.0 APG on .379/.356/.733 shooting across 50 Showcase Cup and regular season games.

Both players seem likely to end up with the Suns’ NBAGL squad, the Valley Suns, who acquired Shackelford’s rights in a trade earlier this month. Should Samuel and Shackelford stick with Phoenix’s G League team for at least 60 days, they will each be eligible for a bonus worth as much as $77.5K.

The Suns also confirmed that they have officially signed power forward/center Mamadi Diakite and center Frank Kaminsky, whose deals were previously reported. Phoenix has one opening on its projected 15-man standard roster. Gerald Bourguet of PHNX Sports tweets that Diakite, Kaminsky and previously confirmed training camp signee Moses Wood are all slated to compete for it.