Jazz Sign Mo Bamba To 10-Day Contract
11:50 am: Bamba’s 10-day deal is official, the Jazz confirmed in a press release. It will run through next Saturday (March 7), covering Utah’s next six games.
10:59 am: The Jazz and center Mo Bamba have reached an agreement on a 10-day contract, reports Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link), citing agents Mark Bartelstein and Greer Love.
The sixth overall pick of the 2018 NBA draft, Bamba appeared in a total of 364 regular season games over seven seasons with the Magic, Lakers, Sixers, Clippers, and Pelicans from 2018-25. However, he was unable to secure a guaranteed NBA contract ahead of the 2025/26 season and spent training camp with the Jazz before being waived and reporting to the team’s G League affiliate, the Salt Lake City Stars.
The 27-year-old big man has had a big year with the Stars, averaging 17.0 points, 11.7 rebounds, and 2.5 blocks in 27.7 minutes per game across 22 appearances, with an excellent shooting line of .553/.380/.807.
However, Bamba’s strong G League performance had only earned him a brief stint in the NBA up until this point — he signed a non-guaranteed contract with the Raptors on December 29 to provide frontcourt depth with Jakob Poeltl battling a back issue, but was waived about a week later before his full salary became guaranteed.
Bamba could have a chance to play a more significant role in Utah, where the Jazz’s front line has been hit hard by injuries. Starting center Walker Kessler underwent season-ending shoulder surgery in November and his replacement, Jusuf Nurkic, had a season-ending procedure on his nose earlier this week. Additionally, Jaren Jackson Jr. is done for the season after having a growth in his knee surgically removed, while Lauri Markkanen reportedly suffered an injury in Wednesday’s practice and is still being evaluated.
Bamba will earn $177,064 over the course of his 10-day contract, with Utah taking on a cap hit of $131,970.
Northwest Notes: Bailey, Jazz, Nuggets, Cissoko
Ace Bailey knows that not everyone is a fan of his game or his approach to the 2025 draft. However, coaches and players who know him sing a different tune, Kevin Reynolds writes for the Salt Lake City Tribune.
“If anybody calls about Ace Bailey, I f—ing call back right away,” said Steve Pikiell, Bailey’s coach at Rutgers. “I’ve been coaching 42 years, and he’s as good of a kid I’ve had.”
Pikiell adds that he believed that certain teams that had been heavily scouting Bailey and then fell in the lottery might have helped contribute to some of the negative narratives surrounding him on draft night. According to Reynolds, Bailey has rewarded Utah’s faith in him on an interpersonal level.
“He’s such a great kid, man. Off the court, he’s such a joy. On the court, he’s putting it together,” former teammate Kyle Anderson said. “I didn’t pay attention to the noise during the draft process, but I’m glad to see that really hasn’t surfaced.”
While Bailey has learned to fit into Utah’s locker room, the coaching staff has worked to make sure he plays a role that will benefit him the most long-term.
“We want to help him get through this season and be a way better player than when he started,” coach Will Hardy said. “I’m not pro Ace just bombing away to get stats and clicks.”
The strategy seems to be working, as Bailey has played some of his best basketball of late, averaging 15.0 points and 5.4 rebounds per game since mid-January.
We have more from around the Northwest Division:
- The Jazz were furious about being fined $500K by the NBA, Tony Jones reports for The Athletic, as they believe they were singled out for a widespread practice among tanking teams of resting players in key situations. Jones writes that while Utah has tanked in recent seasons, they had plans to make at least one substantial win-now trade roughly three years ago, but it fell through when the player’s agent informed them that he would rather play elsewhere.
- The Nuggets currently have a disconcerting trend going: they are falling apart in clutch situations, and it only seems to have gotten worse with Nikola Jokic back, Bennett Durando writes for the Denver Post. Denver is 26th in clutch net rating at -9.9, and the number falls to -19.3 when Jokic is playing. Coach David Adelman acknowledged the issue and said he’s looking to add wrinkles to get Jokic and Jamal Murray easier looks while Aaron Gordon is out and not occupying his usual area in the dunker spot. “We’re trying to maintain who we are, playing the two-man game without the things that matter behind it,” Adelman said. “Like, if we play a two-man game with Aaron Gordon, it’s a very different rotation (in help defense) for teams. So you don’t want to scrap something that you know you’re gonna do (in the playoffs), and you’re presupposing that those guys are gonna be out there. … We have to figure out a way to finish games when teams are full-rotating to (Jokic and Murray). Sometimes three guys, sometimes four.” Durando notes that the sample of clutch games with Jokic playing is small, but it can still impact the playoff race.
- The two-year standard contract that Sidy Cissoko recently signed with the Trail Blazers is a minimum-salary deal that’s non-guaranteed in 2026/27, Michael Scotto of HoopsHype notes (via Twitter). In order to promote Cissoko, the Blazers had to waive Rayan Rupert, his best friend on the team, making the move bittersweet, writes Sean Highkin of the Rose Garden Report (subscriber link). “For me, it’s tough because he’s the guy that helped me with everything when I got here. I’ve got a lot of experience with him,” Cissoko said. “We’ve played together since we were 16 or 17.” Cissoko added that the promotion to the standard roster represents a step toward his goal of playing in the NBA for over a decade. “I’ve done great by being myself,” he said. “I’m not going to change because of my contract. It’s the same Sidy. I’m going to play the same way.”
Lauri Markkanen Injured In Practice, Will Undergo MRI
Lauri Markkanen suffered an injury in practice on Wednesday, according to Kevin Reynolds of The Salt Lake Tribune, who hears that the Jazz forward will have his right ankle and right hip evaluated.
Markkanen will undergo an MRI to determine the severity of his injury and to ascertain whether he’ll have to miss time, Reynolds adds. It’s unclear whether the forward is undergoing imaging on his ankle, his hip, or both.
Markkanen, 28, has performed at a near-All-Star level this season when healthy, averaging 26.7 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 2.1 assists in 34.4 minutes per game across 42 outings (all starts). However, after appearing in Utah’s first 22 games, he has played in just 20 of the past 36 contests, missing time here and there due to minor ailments, including a seven-game absence in January as a result of an illness.
The Jazz, who have already ruled out both Jaren Jackson Jr. and Jusuf Nurkic for the season for health reasons, have little incentive to win down the stretch, since they want to make sure they retain their top-eight protected 2026 first-round pick. With that in mind, it would be a surprise if Markkanen doesn’t miss at least a little time due to these ankle and hip issues even if they’re not significant.
Still, the NBA – having already hit the franchise with a $500K fine for how it was managing Markkanen and other players – will likely be keeping a close eye on the Jazz’s handling of their star forward during the final month-and-a-half of the season, so the club would presumably face some scrutiny if it rules him out for the rest of the second half for an injury that turns out to be minor.
Utah’s next two games are at home vs. New Orleans on Thursday and Saturday. After that, the Jazz will host the Nuggets on Monday before heading out on a three-game road trip to Philadelphia, Washington, and Milwaukee.
Jazz’s Vince Williams Jr. Diagnosed With Torn ACL
1:59 pm: After undergoing additional tests, Williams has been diagnosed with an ACL tear in his left knee, reports Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link).
In addition to ending Williams’ 2025/26 season, it’s also likely to keep him sidelined for a significant chunk of ’26/27, given the typical recovery timeline for the injury.
12:22 am: Vince Williams Jr. had to be carried to the locker room during Monday’s loss at Houston and multiple sources who spoke to Sarah Todd of The Deseret News (Bluesky links) believe the Jazz guard sustained a “significant ACL injury” in his left knee.
According to Todd, Williams left the arena on crutches and will undergo an MRI in Salt Lake City on Tuesday.
“It doesn’t look good, we’ll get an MRI,” head coach Will Hardy said.
Williams injured his knee while running back on defense when the Rockets had a fast break. He was bumped by Tari Eason and lost his balance, and his left knee hyperextended inward in a gruesome manner. The video is not for the squeamish (Bluesky link via Todd).
Hardy was upset about the play, which wasn’t called a foul, Todd adds.
“That’s not basketball,” Hardy said.
Eason checked on Williams after the game, Todd reports (via Bluesky), and let Williams know he wasn’t trying to injure him.
The 47th overall pick in the 2022 draft, Williams was acquired by Utah from Memphis earlier this month along with Jaren Jackson Jr. and two other players. Jackson is also out for the season, while Jock Landale was flipped to Atlanta ahead of the trade deadline, so John Konchar is the only player from that trade left standing for the Jazz.
Entering Monday’s game, Williams was averaging 5.4 points, 3.2 rebounds and 3.0 assists in five appearances with Utah (15.2 MPG). The former Toledo guard played in 34 games with the Grizzlies prior to being traded, averaging 8.0 PPG, 4.4 APG and 4.0 RPG in 21.6 MPG.
Williams is in his fourth NBA season and is making $2.3MM this season. The Jazz hold a $2.5MM team option on his contract for 2026/27.
Jazz’s Jusuf Nurkic To Undergo Surgery, Miss Rest Of Season
Jazz center Jusuf Nurkic will undergo a surgical procedure on his nose on Tuesday and will miss the remainder of the season, NBA on Prime insider Chris Haynes reports (via Twitter).
According to Haynes (Twitter link), Nurkic has had issues breathing and sleeping since he broke his nose a few years ago.
Nurkic has appeared in 41 games this season, including 36 starts. The 31-year-old big man averaged 10.9 points, 10.4 rebounds and 4.8 assists in 26.4 minutes per game.
Nurkic hasn’t played since the All-Star break. Earlier in the season, he missed time due to a toe injury and also had several DNP-CDs. He was a prime candidate to be dealt before the Feb. 5 trade deadline due his expiring $19.3MM contract.
The Jazz never found a suitable deal for him, so instead that money will come off their cap and Nurkic will be seeking a new opportunity as an unrestricted free agent. Utah is expected to have significant cap space this offseason to chase free agents and facilitate trades, though the team may also have interest in bringing back Nurkic.
The Jazz raised eyebrows over the summer when they attached a second-round pick to Collin Sexton in a trade with Charlotte for Nurkic, who was coming off a down year. However, the big man played a larger role than anticipated due to Walker Kessler‘s season-ending shoulder injury.
With Nurkic, Kessler, and Jaren Jackson Jr. all out for the rest of the season, Kyle Filipowski, Kevin Love and Oscar Tshiebwe are Utah’s options in the middle.
And-Ones: MVP Race, No. 1 Pick, Peterson, P. Gasol
Reigning Most Valuable Player Shai Gilgeous-Alexander remains the favorite to claim the award again in 2025/26, according to ESPN’s Tim Bontemps, who recently conducted his second MVP straw poll. The Thunder guard was the only player to appear on all 100 ballots and accumulated 930 points.
Injuries to top players have significantly impacted the MVP race this season, Bontemps writes, as multiple contenders for the award may not qualify due to the 65-game rule. Despite being sidelined with an abdominal strain, Gilgeous-Alexander isn’t in imminent danger of not meeting that threshold — he’ll likely have 10 total missed games when he’s reevaluated later this week.
Nuggets center Nikola Jokic remains in second place (700 points), but the gap between the two players has grown since Bontemps’ initial poll in December. That’s largely because the three-time MVP missed 15 games because of a knee injury and can’t have more than two additional absences without becoming ineligible for major postseason awards.
Pistons guard Cade Cunningham (382 points) and Spurs big man Victor Wembanyama (242 points) were the only other players to receive first-place votes. Lakers guard Luka Doncic (177 points) rounds out the top five of Bontemps’ poll.
Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:
- How much would the No. 1 overall pick in the loaded 2026 NBA draft be worth if it were available in an auction? Brian Windhorst of ESPN briefly discussed that topic on the Hoop Collective podcast (hat tip to RealGM). “I was talking to a league executive today and he said to me, this is after Darryn Peterson had 23 points in 18 minutes and after we’ve seen some other top guys have big time games over the last four or five days,” Windhorst said. “… I had an executive tell me that the No. 1 pick this year is worth $100 million. If you gave the opportunity to buy that pick, teams would pay $100 million for it. Keep that in mind when the Jazz were fined $500,000.”
- Although Peterson’s sporadic for Kansas this season has undoubtedly been frustrating for him, the school, and its fans, his health issues are unlikely to have much of an effect on the 19-year-old guard’s standing as a top prospect in the 2026 draft class, per Brendan Marks and Justin Williams of The Athletic. “He’s elite, elite, elite,” one NBA scout told The Athletic. “When he’s fully healthy, the shot-making is on another level. … When it comes down to it, man, if you’ve seen this guy play in high school, and you saw those matchups, like, Darryn is the guy. For sure.”
- Hall of Famer Pau Gasol has been selected by Olympic athletes to represent them on the International Olympic Committee (IOC) board through the 2028 summer games in Los Angeles, according to The Associated Press.
Southwest Notes: JJJ, Iisalo, Fears, Murray, Durant
Jaren Jackson Jr. shares his memories of nearly eight seasons with the Grizzlies and expresses his love to Memphis fans in a first-person piece for The Players’ Tribune. Jackson also relays the experience of finding out he had been traded to the Jazz, saying he knew right away that’s why he was called into general manager Zach Kleiman‘s office.
“It’s funny, though, when the conversation ended I was just awkwardly looking around all confused like John Travolta in Pulp Fiction,” Jackson wrote. “Like, Well, what now? I literally asked him, “Can I go back upstairs and say bye?” Like he was gonna press a button, and the trap door was gonna open up.”
Jackson stated that those final goodbyes were lighthearted, but they represented the end of a significant part of his NBA career. While the relationships may remain, he realized he was seeing his friends as teammates for the final time.
“But one thing I’ll never forget was a moment in the locker room before I left, when everyone was joking around again,” Jackson added. “And it was just so weird because in my head it was like, Wow, this is the last time I’m gonna see this. They were about to leave to get on a plane. It was a wrap. But I was joking around as if I was gonna see them later. I was just laughing, deep down thinking like, ‘Wow, I’m definitely gonna miss y’all boys.’ I didn’t say it in the moment. But I’m saying it now.”
There’s more from the Southwest Division:
- Prior to Saturday’s game, Grizzlies coach Tuomas Iisalo told reporters that his approach to the season hasn’t been affected by the Jackson trade or other personnel moves, per Ira Winderman of The Sun Sentinel (Twitter link). “Well, we’re trying to accomplish a lot,” Iisalo said. “The expectations have not changed. It doesn’t have anything to do with the roster we play. We still expect everybody to give max effort, max focus.”
- It’s been a season filled with growing pains for Jeremiah Fears and the Pelicans, but the rookie guard expresses confidence that better times are ahead in an interview with Sam Yip of HoopsHype. “Being able to lose to understand how to win, I think that’s huge,” Fears said. “We’ve been in a lot of very close games. We just got to learn how to finish. And I think once we learn how to finish, we’ll be really, really good and we’ll end up flipping the switch.”
- The Pelicans are targeting Tuesday against Golden State for Dejounte Murray‘s season debut, according to Rod Walker of NOLA (Twitter link).“I expect him to be there in the next couple games,” interim coach James Borrego said before tonight’s contest. “Hopefully it’s Tuesday night. We’d all be excited for that.”
- Rockets coach Ime Udoka would like to cut back on Kevin Durant‘s minutes, relays Varun Shankar of The Houston Chronicle (Twitter link). Durant is logging 36.7 minutes per game in his first season with the team, and Udoka would prefer to trim that number to 33 or 34.
Jaren Jackson Jr. Undergoes Knee Surgery
Jaren Jackson Jr. underwent successful surgery on Tuesday morning to remove a localized pigmented villonodular synovitis (PVNS) growth in his left knee, the Jazz confirmed today in a press release.
According to the team, which first announced last week that Jackson would be undergoing the procedure, the surgery was performed in Salt Lake City by Dr. Travis Maak, the Jazz’s head orthopedic team physician. The former Defensive Player of the Year will begin the rehabilitation process and will be reevaluated in four weeks, per the club.
Despite the fact that Jackson will be examined in four weeks, Utah previously indicated that he’ll be out for the rest of the season. The expectation is that the big man will be fully healthy for training camp in the fall.
Jackson, 26, was traded from Memphis to Utah at this month’s deadline and appeared in three games for his new team before being shut down, averaging 22.3 points, 4.3 rebounds, 2.7 assists, and 2.0 steals in 24.0 minutes per contest.
The Jazz stated last week that they identified the PVNS growth in Jackson’s knee via MRI during a post-trade physical and determined along with Jackson and his representatives – after consulting multiple medical experts – that surgery was necessary to address the issue.
According to the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, a PVNS growth isn’t cancerous and doesn’t spread to other areas of the body, but PVNS is a progressive disease that can lead to bone damage and arthritis. In most cases, surgery is necessary to remove the damaged joint lining and the growth.
Second-year Jazz forward Cody Williams, who started each of his past 15 games prior to Jackson’s debut, came off the bench while JJJ was active, then returned to the starting five last Thursday in Utah’s final contest before the All-Star break. He’ll likely remain in that starting role with Jackson sidelined.
Jazz Fined $500K By NBA; Pacers Docked $100K
The Jazz have been fined $500K for “conduct detrimental to the league” related to Utah’s games on February 7 (at Orlando) and Feb. 9 (at Miami), the NBA announced today (via Twitter).
Star forwards Lauri Markkanen and Jaren Jackson Jr. sat out the entire fourth quarter of both of those contests, even though the league says they were “otherwise able to continue to play and the outcomes of the games were thereafter in doubt.” Utah was up seven points entering the fourth quarter against Orlando and wound up losing by three; on Monday, the team was up three points entering the final period and won by four.
Jackson, whom the Jazz recently acquired in a trade with Memphis, will undergo season-ending surgery for a growth on his knee over the All-Star break. According to Tony Jones of The Athletic (Twitter link), the Jazz wanted to shut Jackson down when they discovered the issue in his physical, but the former Defensive Player of the Year was “adamant” about his desire to play at least one home game before the procedure.
Kevin O’Connor of Yahoo Sports has heard similarly, stating (via Twitter) that Jackson wanted to play a few games with the Jazz prior to undergoing surgery, which O’Connor calls preventive.
Sources tell Jones that Jackson was on a restriction of 25 minutes, which is one reason why he didn’t play in the fourth quarter of either of those games. Of course, even if that’s true, it doesn’t explain Markkanen’s late-game absence.
Jazz owner Ryan Smith responded to the fine on social media (Twitter link), posting an eye roll emoji along with, “Agree to disagree … Also, we won the game in Miami and got fined? That makes sense …”
The Pacers, meanwhile, were fined $100K for violating the NBA’s player participation policy in relation to Indiana’s game vs. Utah on Feb. 3.
On the second night of a back-to-back, the Pacers didn’t play Pascal Siakam — who is considered a “star” under the terms of the policy — and two other starters (they weren’t specifically named, but the league was likely referencing Andrew Nembhard and Aaron Nesmith). The league claims all three of those players could have suited up.
Alternatively, per the NBA, the Pacers could have sat the players in other games in a way that would have “better promoted compliance with the policy.” The player participation policy discourages teams from sitting several healthy players in the same game of a back-to-back set.
“Overt behavior like this that prioritizes draft position over winning undermines the foundation of NBA competition and we will respond accordingly to any further actions that compromise the integrity of our games,” commissioner Adam Silver said in the press release. “Additionally, we are working with our Competition Committee and Board of Governors to implement further measures to root out this type of conduct.”
Ace Bailey, Bub Carrington, Jahmir Young Added To Rising Stars Event
Jazz forward Ace Bailey, Wizards guard Bub Carrington and Heat guard Jahmir Young have been selected to participate in Friday’s Rising Stars competition as injury replacements, the NBA announced in a series of tweets.
Bailey will replace Mavericks star Cooper Flagg, who is unavailable due to a left midfoot sprain, while Carrington will take the place of his Wizards teammate, Alex Sarr, who is sidelined by a strained hamstring. Young will fill in for Bulls guard Mac McClung, who is out with a right calf injury.
Bailey will be part of Team Melo, coached by Carmelo Anthony, Carrington will be on Team T-Mac, coached by Tracy McGrady, and Young is on Team Austin, coached by Austin Rivers.
Selected with the fifth pick in last year’s draft, Bailey is part of a talented rookie class throughout the league. The 19-year-old has appeared in 48 games, making 37 starts, and is averaging 11.6 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.7 assists in 26.2 minutes per night with .449/.343/.708 shooting numbers.
Carrington, 20, was the 14th pick in the 2024 draft. He hasn’t missed a game in his NBA career and is averaging 10.2 points, 3.5 rebounds and 4.6 assists in his second season with .402/.393/.761 shooting splits.
Young has spent most of the season in the G League and has only appeared in eight games with Miami. The 25-year-old is averaging 26.6 points, 5.1 rebounds and 9.8 assists in 16 regular season games with Sioux Falls.
The Rising Stars event will match three teams consisting of NBA rookies and sophomores, along with a fourth team of G League players. They will compete in a three-game tournament to crown the winner.