Lakers Notes: LeBron, Doncic, Ayton, Bronny
LeBron James‘ future beyond this season, whether with the Lakers or elsewhere, has been a subject of speculation in recent months. And much of that speculation has centered on a specific hypothetical, according to ESPN’s Tim MacMahon, who says there is widespread talk about James returning to the Cavaliers for a final reunion with his hometown team.
“I don’t know if LeBron knows what he’s going to do,” MacMahon said on NBA Today (YouTube link; hat tip to RealGM. “I certainly don’t know what he’s going to do. I know what the rampant speculation is around the league and that is this summer there’s going to be a reunion and potentially a retirement tour for the ages back home again with the Cleveland Cavaliers next year.”
While the financial realities of adding James could be complicated for the Cavs, he would fit a positional need, as Cleveland has long struggled to find a permanent wing starter to play between Donovan Mitchell and Evan Mobley.
James has also been linked to the Warriors and Knicks, though other teams would surely have interest if he became available on the free agent market.
We have more from the Lakers:
- James added another record to his collection on Thursday, becoming the oldest player in NBA history to record a triple-double, writes ESPN’s Dave McMenamin. The record had previously been held by Karl Malone, who was 40 years and 127 days old when he accomplished the feat. James was 41 years and 44 days old on Thursday as he put together a 28-point, 12-assist, 10-rebound performance to lead Los Angeles to a 124-104 victory over the Mavs. “To be able to do it and get the win is, that means more to me than anything,” James said. “But I’m very blessed to play this game, play it at a high level.”
- Luka Doncic was traded to the Lakers just over a year ago, a move that has had massive implications for the franchise — notably, switching from a team built around James’ timeline to one built around Doncic’s, writes Kevin Pelton for ESPN. As Pelton notes, this year’s record of 33-21 is not dissimilar to the team’s record last year, when they were 32-19 after winning the first game of the Doncic era. But while the team’s record and the Slovenian star’s statistical production might not be vastly different from their pre-trade levels, L.A.’s team-building approach has shifted to be more future-facing. After previously being very aggressive to put complementary pieces around James, the team has chosen not to send out first-round picks since the voided Mark Williams deal collapsed, Pelton points out. The Lakers are prioritizing flexibility, and will head into the 2026/27 season with just four players on guaranteed deals: Doncic, Dalton Knecht, Jake LaRavia, and Jarred Vanderbilt, though Deandre Ayton, Marcus Smart, and Austin Reaves hold player options.
- Doncic remains day-t0-day for the Lakers with a left hamstring injury, Benjamin Royer writes for the OC Register. “He’s progressed really good,” coach JJ Redick said of the decision to sit him on Thursday’s game against the Mavericks. “I think part of him, you know, wanted to push to get back part of the break, but, you know, we just got to be cautious with the soft tissue injuries … We all feel comfortable with the decision to hold him out and should be good to go post-All-Star (break).” Redick declined to comment on whether Doncic needed to check off certain recovery boxes before he could suit up for Sunday’s festivities, but Marc Stein reports that the star guard is expected to play a short stint (Twitter link).
- Ayton underwent imaging due to the lingering right knee soreness that has caused him to miss the last two games, reports Dan Woike of The Athletic (Twitter link). The tests came back clean and the Lakers are hopeful that the time off will allow the veteran center to recover and return to play following the All-Star break, per Woike.
- Bronny James‘ counting stats might not look wildly different in year two than they did in his rookie season, but he can feel his own growth when he’s on the court, Royer notes in a separate story. “(I) feel different. Feel way more comfortable,” Bronny said. “My teammates believe in me, my coaches believe in me. That’s all I’ve wanted. It’s just good to get out there and take advantage of the minutes I get.” The younger James had his best game of the season on Tuesday, recording 12 points and six assists in 25 minutes and even taking some matchups against Victor Wembanyama that impressed Redick. “In terms of the physicality we wanted on defense, he had two really good possessions in the first half against Wemby,” Redick said. While his shot has been much more efficient this season, James knows that if he wants to carve out a role on this Lakers team, it will start on the defensive end.
Dillon Brooks To Serve One-Game Suspension
Suns forward Dillon Brooks has been suspended one game without pay for receiving his 16th technical foul, according to the league office.
Under NBA rules, a player or coach is automatically suspended without pay for one game once he receives his 16th technical foul during a regular season. For every two additional technical fouls received during that regular season, the player or coach will be automatically suspended without pay for an additional game.
Brooks received his most recent technical foul with 6:37 remaining in the second quarter of the Suns’ 136-109 loss to the Thunder on Wednesday. Brooks will serve his suspension Feb. 19 when the Suns play at San Antonio in their first game after the All-Star break.
The Lakers’ Luka Doncic (13), the Pistons’ Isaiah Stewart (12) and the Warriors’ Draymond Green (11) are the other players in double digits in technicals this season. Stewart is currently serving a seven-game suspension for his participation in the Pistons-Hornets brawl this week.
Players’ technical foul counts reset when the postseason begins.
Doncic-Backed Group To Buy Italian Team With Eye On NBA Europe
An investor group that features Lakers star Luka Doncic and is headed by former Mavericks general manager Donnie Nelson has a preliminary agreement in place to buy the Italian basketball team Vanoli Basket Cremona, Joe Vardon, Sam Amick, and Mike Vorkunov confirm in a report for The Athletic.
While the club currently plays in Cremona, which is in northern Italy, the long-term plan is to move it to Rome and to have it become one of the license holders in the NBA’s new European league, according to The Athletic.
As Vardon, Amick, and Vorkunov explain, any team that joins NBA Europe must also play in a domestic league, and Vanoli Basket is a license holder in Italy’s top league, Liga Basket Seria A. There’s currently no top-division team based in Rome, but the NBA has its eye on the city as one of the permanent homes for NBA Europe.
Besides Rome, commissioner Adam Silver also views Milan (Italy), London and Manchester (UK), Paris and Lyon (France), Madrid and Barcelona (Spain), Berlin and Munich (Germany), Athens (Greece), and Istanbul (Turkey) as potential homes for the 12 licensed teams in NBA Europe. The goal is to launch the league in the fall of 2027.
It’s unclear what percentage of Vanoli Basket Doncic would hold once the sale is finalized. While the NBA’s most recent Collective Bargaining Agreement set limits for the stake that an NBA player can hold in a WNBA franchise, no such limits are currently in place for teams in NBA Europe, which remains a work in progress.
According to The Athletic, Doncic won’t be the only current NBA player who is an investor in a team likely to join the European league. Rockets star Kevin Durant holds a minority stake in the soccer club Paris Saint-German, which is expected to create a basketball team for NBA Europe. Former NBA guard Tony Parker, meanwhile, owns ASVEL Basket, which is based near Lyon and will likely become part of the NBA’s European venture.
While investing guidelines for NBA players may still need to be established, NBA Europe team owners won’t be permitted to hold a share of an NBA franchise greater than 5%, per Vardon, Amick, and Vorkunov. The reasoning is that NBA team owners will already be stakeholders in the European league, so if they were to control NBA Europe teams as well, there would be potential conflicts of interest and concerns related to “double-dipping.”
La Gazzetta Dello Sport, an Italian news outlet, reported that former Mavericks star Dirk Nowitzki was also part of Nelson’s group alongside Doncic, but a spokesperson for Nowitzki told NBA insider Marc Stein (Twitter link) that’s inaccurate.
Injury Notes: Furphy, Zubac, Giannis, CMB, Luka, Thiero
Second-year Pacers wing Johnny Furphy may have suffered a significant right leg injury in Sunday’s loss at Toronto, tweets Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files. Furphy landed awkwardly after converting a dunk and immediately went down in a great deal of pain while grabbing at his leg (YouTube link).
The 21-year-old was initially helped off the floor with assistance and then was taken to the tunnel in a wheelchair. Furphy was formally ruled out for the remainder of the game with what the team called right leg soreness (Twitter link).
“We’re not sure on Furphy’s situation. He’ll get testing tomorrow in New York and we’ll see where things are,” head coach Rick Carlisle said after the game (Twitter link via Tony East of Circle City Spin).
The 35th overall pick in the 2024 draft, Furphy has become a rotation mainstay in his second season, averaging 5.2 points and 4.4 rebounds on .466/.324/.486 shooting through 34 games, including 20 starts (18.5 minutes per contest).
We have more injury updates from around the NBA:
- Carlisle suggested on Friday that trade acquisition Ivica Zubac may not make his Pacers debut until after the All-Star break, writes Jamal Collier of ESPN. The former Clippers center is still dealing with the lingering effects of a Grade 2 ankle sprain he sustained in December and Carlisle said the team wants the injury fully heal. “It’s kind of yo-yo’d a little bit,” Carlisle said. “My understanding from talking to him is that there’s still something there that’s not quite right. We’re not going to put him out there until he’s really ready. … He’s a guy that has played 94 or 95 percent of his games through his career and I’m presuming that’s because he’s always raring to go through things. That’s not going to be an option here.”
- The Bucks have no plans to shut down Giannis Antetokounmpo for the rest of the season and the two-time MVP is close to returning from a right calf strain, head coach Doc Rivers said on Friday (story via Collier of ESPN). “He’s going to play when he’s healthy,” Rivers said. “We just got to make sure he’s healthy. He’s getting close. He’s working out. He looks good. So I would say hopefully sooner than later.”
- Raptors forward/center Collin Murray-Boyles exited Sunday’s game early after aggravating a left thumb injury, according to Blake Murphy of Sportsnet.ca (Twitter links). The rookie big man’s injured digit was hit during the game and he is considered day-to-day, Murphy adds.
- Lakers star Luka Doncic will miss his second straight game on Monday due to a left hamstring strain, tweets Dan Woike of The Athletic. There’s reportedly optimism that the soft-tissue injury isn’t serious. Adou Thiero, who has been out since the end of December because of sprained MCL, was assigned to the G League for a practice on Sunday, according to Dave McMenamin of ESPN, who reports (via Twitter) that the rookie forward went through a full contact stay-ready game last week.
L.A. Notes: Leonard, Knecht, Highsmith, Giannis, Doncic, Kleber
Kawhi Leonard offered a diplomatic response regarding the Clippers’ trade deadline moves, which included trading James Harden and Ivica Zubac, beat writer Joey Linn tweets.
“Just trying to get younger. We came in the year with the oldest team,” Leonard said. “It makes sense for them to try to get some assets and try to build for the future. It’s a big class coming in 2027, hopefully. They gotta do what’s best for them…. I thought we were tracking well the last six weeks. Everybody has human nature.
“It’s a complete turnaround from what I thought we could potentially do. Not saying we were contenders, but we thought we could make some noise or mess someone’s season up. Now the tides changed. We’ll get back into it, hopefully after All-Star.”
Leonard is signed through next season. Does he want to want to stay in the organization? Leonard sidestepped that question.
“Yeah, I mean right now I’m not thinking of anything else but trying to finish this season off. And that’s the main goal,” he said.
Here’s more on the Los Angeles teams:
- Numerous teams contacted the Clippers regarding a potential Leonard trade but none of the talks reached the serious stage, Chris Haynes said on NBA on Prime (Twitter link). However, Haynes hears that Leonard’s camp is not in any rush to initiate extension talks with the Clippers. That could be revisited this summer and Haynes anticipates Leonard will either pursue that extension or he’ll be dealt.
- Dalton Knecht was aggressively shopped by the Lakers prior to the trade deadline, Dan Woike of The Athletic reports. The Lakers are also one of the teams currently interested in Haywood Highsmith and possibly Cam Thomas after both players were waived by Brooklyn. Regardless of how the Lakers fill out their roster this season, they are in a position to pursue a Giannis Antetokounmpo deal this summer, Woike notes. The team will have three first-round picks available on draft night to make their best offer, as well as more cap space than any other competitive team.
- Lakers star Luka Doncic will sit out today’s game against Golden State due to a left hamstring strain, according to ESPN’s Dave McMenamin. There’s some optimism that Doncic is not dealing with a major issue with his hamstring, McMenamin adds. He was injured during Thursday’s game against Philadelphia.
- Little-used Lakers big man Maxi Kleber contributed four points, four rebounds, four assists and three steals in Thursday’s win over the Sixers. His teammates appreciate the veteran’s professionalism. “The ultimate professional,” guard Marcus Smart said, per Benjamin Royer of the Orange County Register. “There’s a reason why Maxi is still in this league, still playing and there’s a reason why he’s on this team with us. There’s a reason why we celebrate him the way we do.” Kleber will be an unrestricted free agent after the season.
Luka Doncic To Undergo MRI On Left Hamstring Injury
February 6: Doncic will undergo an MRI on his left hamstring on Friday, head coach JJ Redick confirmed after Thursday’s victory, per ESPN’s Dave McMenamin.
“Yeah, he felt some soreness in his hamstring, so he didn’t feel like it was good enough to go back in,” Redick said. “Neither did (our) medical (staff), so we held him out. And he’ll get some imaging. I mean, too early to say if there’s an injury, but just had a sore hamstring.”
February 5: Lakers star Luka Doncic experience left leg soreness in Thursday’s game vs. Philadelphia and has been ruled out for the remainder of the contest, the team announced (Twitter link via ESPN’s Dave McMenamin).
According to Jovan Buha (Twitter link), the Slovenian guard was grabbing at his hamstring for a couple of possessions prior to leaving the court. He was also holding his hamstring when he went to the locker room with 3:03 remaining in the second quarter, tweets Brad Turner of The Los Angeles Times.
Obviously, any type of hamstring injury is very concerning for an athlete. The Lakers will be hoping Doncic’s soreness is simply that and not a strain, which would likely sideline him for multiple weeks.
Doncic, 26, has missed eight games to this point in 2025/26. Through 41 appearances, the NBA’s leading scorer has averaged 33.4 points, 8.7 assists, 7.9 rebounds and 1.5 steals in 36.0 minutes per game. His shooting slash line is .475/.348/.779.
Austin Reaves is currently on a minutes restriction in his second game back from a calf strain, but he’s a candidate for more on-ball responsibilities if Doncic misses additional time. LeBron James and trade addition Luke Kennard are among the other Lakers who could receive more usage depending on the severity of Doncic’s injury.
Team Rosters For All-Star Game Revealed
The rosters for the three-team 2026 All-Star Game were revealed by the NBA on Tuesday night (Twitter link).
The USA Stars, coached by the Pistons’ J.B. Bickerstaff, will be made up of the following eight players:
Scottie Barnes- Devin Booker
- Cade Cunningham
- Jalen Duren
- Anthony Edwards
- Chet Holmgren
- Jalen Johnson
- Tyrese Maxey
The USA Stripes, coached by the Spurs’ Mitch Johnson, will have the following roster:
- Jaylen Brown
- Jalen Brunson
- Stephen Curry
- Kevin Durant
- LeBron James
- Kawhi Leonard
- Donovan Mitchell
- Norman Powell
The World team, coached by the Raptors’ Darko Rajakovic, will feature these nine players:
- Giannis Antetokounmpo
- Luka Doncic
- Deni Avdija
- Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
- Nikola Jokic
- Jamal Murray
- Pascal Siakam
- Karl-Anthony Towns
- Victor Wembanyama
The U.S. All-Stars were assigned to teams based on age, with the younger group placed on USA Stars and the older group placed on USA Stripes. Team World is composed of international players.
The format for the Feb. 15 event consists of a round-robin mini-tournament with four 12-minute games. The matchups are as follows:
- Game 1: USA Stars vs. World
- Game 2: USA Stripes vs. winning team of Game 1
- Game 3: USA Stripes vs. losing team of Game 1
- Game 4: Championship (top two teams from round-robin play)
If all three teams finish 1-1 after the round-robin games, the first tiebreaker will be point differential across each team’s two games.
Luka Doncic, Jaylen Brown Named Players Of The Month
Lakers guard Luka Doncic has been named the NBA’s Player of the Month for the Western Conference, while Celtics wing Jaylen Brown has won the award in the East, the league announced today (Twitter link).
The Lakers were 9-6 in games Doncic played in January, and the All-Star guard increased his league-leading scoring average by racking up 34.0 points per game in those 15 outings. He posted a shooting line of .506/.392/.747 for the month while also contributing 9.1 assists, 7.2 rebounds, and 1.5 steals per night.
Doncic had four 30-point triple-doubles in January, capped by a 37-point, 13-assist, 11-rebound outing in Washington to wrap up the month last Friday. It’s the sixth Player of the Month award of his career and his first since he became a Laker almost exactly one year ago.
Brown’s career year continued in January as he led the Celtics to a 9-5 record in the 14 games he played, averaging 29.2 PPG, 7.9 RPG, and 4.6 APG. The 29-year-old matched a career high by scoring 50 points in a win over the Clippers on January 3, then had a 27-point triple-double in a double-overtime victory in Brooklyn on Jan. 23.
While his teammate Jayson Tatum has racked up five Player of the Month awards over the course of his career, this is the first time Brown has earned the honor.
Brown beat out fellow nominees Bam Adebayo and Norman Powell of the Heat, Knicks guard Jalen Brunson, Pistons guard Cade Cunningham, Sixers center Joel Embiid, Hornets forward Brandon Miller, Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell, and Pacers forward Pascal Siakam for the January award, per the NBA (Twitter link).
The other Western Conference nominees were Trail Blazers forward Deni Avdija, Rockets forward Kevin Durant, Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards, Mavericks rookie Cooper Flagg, Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard, and Nuggets guard Jamal Murray.
Pacific Notes: Harden, Clips, Luka, Kuminga, Suns
Several members of the Clippers expressed surprise after Monday’s loss to Philadelphia that Los Angeles native James Harden is looking to find a new team, writes Tony Jones of The Athletic. The Cavaliers are reportedly interested in Harden and have discussed a trade that would send Darius Garland to the Clippers, but only if they receive draft compensation in return.
“Of course I’m surprised to hear the news,” Kawhi Leonard said. “But he’s got to do what is best for him. I respect his decision, or whoever’s decision it was, and that’s it. At the end of the day, he’s still going to be my boy. He’s still going to be my brother.”
While Harden is certainly no stranger to trade requests, having asked out of Houston, Brooklyn, Philadelphia and now L.A. over the past five years, these circumstances feel different, according to Jones, since the Clippers have been on a roll lately, going 17-4 over their past 21 games even after dropping Monday’s contest.
On the other hand, Harden reportedly wants to sign a new two-year contract in the summer and the Clippers have long been rumored to be focused on preserving their cap flexibility for the 2027 offseason. So the matter may not be very complicated, even if it caught his teammates off guard.
“It was shocking,” John Collins said (Twitter video link via Joey Linn). “Hell yeah [it would be disappointing to see him traded]. It would be a shock for me and for the team. And what we’ve been able to do. Our season turned around. Definitely something different, something out of left field.”
“We have to go out and be professionals and do our jobs,” head coach Tyronn Lue said, per Jones. “James means a lot to our team. You guys have seen it for the last three years. He means a lot.”
We have more from around the Pacific:
- Luka Doncic expressed confidence in the Lakers‘ direction following Sunday’s loss at New York, according to Dan Woike of The Athletic. “I think we’re in a good spot,” the superstar guard said. “Obviously, got some work to do. But I think today we obviously missed a lot of good looks, but I think we have a great group.” Sunday marked the one-year anniversary of the stunning blockbuster trade that sent Doncic from Dallas to L.A. Although the Lakers have been linked to some members of the Mavericks this season, sources who spoke to Woike were extremely skeptical about the two teams engaging in discussions that would make the Lakers better after all the backlash the Mavs have received in the last year.
- Assuming he’s still on the team past Thursday’s trade deadline, Jonathan Kuminga will be part of the Warriors‘ rotation once he recovers from his left knee bone bruise, head coach Steve Kerr said Monday on 95.7 The Game’s “Willard and Dibs” show (hat tip to Lauren Johnson of NBC Sports Bay Area). “We’ve always gotten along well, and there’s never been any issues on that front. It’s really been more about playing time and the door is wide open for him with these injuries,” Kerr said of Kuminga. “I hope we get him back and I hope he can continue to play like he did in those couple games when he got back in the rotation, he was really good.”
- Michael Scotto of HoopsHype recently spoke to Suns center Mark Williams, an impending restricted free agent, and guard Collin Gillespie, who will be an unrestricted free agent. “I don’t really think about it that much,” Gillespie said of his contract situation. “I try not to think about it. Obviously, I love where I’m at. I love this team and the organization. We’ll see what happens at the end of the year, but I just try to go out there and play my best basketball and play winning basketball to do whatever helps the team win.” Some executives predicted that Gillespie’s market in free agency could be in the range of $10-15MM per year, according to Scotto, who said Phoenix wants to retain the former Villanova standout.
Dillon Brooks, Brandon Miller Earn Player Of Week Honors
Suns forward Dillon Brooks and Hornets forward Brandon Miller have been named the Western and Eastern Conference Players of the Week, respectively, according to the league (Twitter links).
Brooks led his team to a 3-1 record during the week of January 26 to February 1 while averaging 28.8 points per game on 54.5 percent shooting from three-point range. He also averaged 4.5 rebounds and 2.8 assists during those four contests, which included victories by double-digits over the Pistons and Cavaliers.
Miller averaged 26.3 points in just 29.8 minutes per game as the Hornets enjoyed a 4-0 week capped by a win over San Antonio The third-year wing shot 50 percent from three-point range, grabbed 5.8 rebounds per game, and made all 25 of his free throw attempts en route to his first ever Player of the Week award.
Besides being named Player of the Week for the first time in their respective careers, Brooks and Miller are each became the first player from his team to earn the honor this season.
Brooks beat out a handful of stars for the weekly awards. Luka Doncic (Lakers), Kevin Durant (Rockets), Anthony Edwards (Timberwolves), Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Thunder) and Kawhi Leonard (Clippers) were the other Western Conference nominees.
Jarrett Allen (Cavaliers), OG Anunoby and Josh Hart (Knicks), Cade Cunningham (Pistons), Joel Embiid (Sixers) and Aaron Nesmith (Pacers) were also nominated in the East.