Category: Sports News

Following the re-signing of Mark Williams, the center position felt like one of the few areas where the Phoenix Suns possessed legitimate depth, and with it, a developmental buffer. 

You had Williams, an experienced starting center who also carried a lengthy injury history. With him in the starting lineup, third-year center Oso Ighodaro could comfortably slot in behind him on the depth chart. And with Williams likely missing time, whether due to injury or scheduled rest (especially on the second night of back-to-backs), second-year big man Khaman Maluach would also have opportunities to get some reps. There was no need to rush Maluach’s development. The Suns could bring him along on their own timeline, allowing him to grow at a pace they felt was appropriate.

But the news that Williams would miss a significant amount of time following surgery to repair a torn labrum in his shoulder changed that equation. Suddenly, Maluach’s developmental timeline accelerated, and the overall depth of the Phoenix Suns at center took a substantial hit.

Now, one game into the regular season, that depth is already being tested. Per Suns insider Duane Rankin, Oso Ighodaro will be out Saturday night against the Golden State Warriors with an oblique injury.

Ighodaro exited Wednesday’s season opener against the Portland Trail Blazers before the conclusion of the first half and did not return. With confirmation that he’ll miss Saturday’s game, the question becomes how much additional time he might be sidelined.

Oblique injuries can be particularly difficult to navigate, as is the case with many injuries that affect movement on the basketball court. Look at Orlando’s Paolo Banchero, who suffered an oblique injury early in the 2024–25 season. His initial recovery timeline was six weeks, but he ultimately returned 11 weeks later.

There are three varying grades of oblique injuries:

We don’t yet know the severity of Ighodaro’s injury, but the circumstances certainly provide cause for concern. If he misses any significant amount of time, the team is in quite a pickle. Right now, the Suns’ center room consists of Khaman Maluach and newly acquired two-way players Duop Reath and Drew Timme. That’s it.

However, following the decision to waive Haywood Highsmith before the start of the regular season, Phoenix has one open roster spot. They could go shopping on the market for assistance, given that they have $4.4 million of flexibility under the second apron (which they are hard-capped at).

Who is out there? Let’s look.

Dwight Powell

I’ll start with 35-year-old Dwight Powell, who brings 13 years of NBA experience, nearly all of it with the Dallas Mavericks. Across 768 career games, primarily in a backup role, Powell has averaged 6.5 points and 4.2 rebounds. He’s not going to stretch the floor, as he’s a career 29.4% three-point shooter, but he did post a career-high 15.1% rebounding percentage last season with Dallas. And the Suns? They could use some of that rebounding. This doesn’t project to be a dominating rebounding team, and quite frankly, you’ll need all of the assistance you can get.

The Mavericks waived Powell this offseason after giving him an Exhibit 10 opportunity to stay with the team as they pivot toward prioritizing youth at center, making him an option who could provide Phoenix with much-needed depth and rebounding off the bench.

His rim protection would be welcomed, as his overall defensive talent is rated in the 83rd percentile by B-Ball Index, with an A- grade.

From Mavs Moneyball’s Ben Zajdel on Dwight Powell last season:

Having a player like Powell around can help. A player who’s seen everything, has a personality that’s uplifting, and is generally a good hang can keep a bad season from turning into a disaster. Things in Dallas could have turned toxic quickly this year, and for the most part, the team was drama-free. Powell was a part of that, and it’s something NBA teams value.

Kelly Olynyk

If you want to talk about players with a high motor who would fit the culture Phoenix is trying to establish, you’d be hard-pressed to find somebody who fits that profile better than Kelly Olynyk. Olyknk has made a career out of being a hustle player, the shot of energy off of the bench that might not put up statistical dominance, but affects those around him with his motor.

His 13-year career has spanned eight franchises, most recently with the San Antonio Spurs, where he appeared in 42 games as a backup last season. Throughout his career, Olynyk has averaged 9.8 points and 5 rebounds, and he can knock down the occasional three-pointer as well, shooting 36.9% from deep on 3 attempts per game.

While his athleticism has begun to decline with age, at 7 feet tall and 240 pounds, Olynyk brings size, experience, and an established work ethic that could serve the Suns well given their current circumstances.

He’s not as analytically effective as Dwight Powell, but he is someone who can assist in crashing the boards (you see a theme here for me? Johnny wants rebounds), especially on the offensive end. If he’s your second-team center, extra opportunities would be appreciated.

Bismack Biyombo

What am I doing here? Just looking at all of the backup bigs the Spurs let go this offseason? Well, yeah. They had a trio of veterans behind Wemby and opted to move on. And since the Suns are in a bind, we could use them.

I’m normally not big on retreads, but when you look at the list of available centers, you’re bound to come across a few former members of the Phoenix Suns. Mason Plumlee is available (another former Spur), as is Drew Eubanks. But if I were picking somebody from that pile, it would be Bismack Biyombo.

We know him from his two seasons in Phoenix, where he appeared in 97 games, starting 17, and averaged 4.9 points and 4.4 rebounds.

We also know he can’t space the floor in any capacity, and his push shot leaves plenty to be desired. But if you need somebody who can come off the bench and provide a physical presence on the glass, even at 6-foot-8, Biyombo is capable of doing exactly that.

After all, he averaged 10.8 rebounds per 36 minutes and possesses a career rebounding percentage of 16.7%. I wouldn’t mind having him back around, knowing that his impact is primarily one-dimensional.

Jonas Valanciunas

The last guy on my list might be the most intriguing, and that’s 15-year veteran big man Jonas Valancuinas. The Big V who has bounced all over the NBA but never into the Valley of the Sun.

If you’re looking for a big body, this is your guy. At 6’11” and 265 pounds, Valanciunas brings a physical presence and a skill set that could help the Suns in several areas. He can knock down a midrange jumper, finish around the basket, and isn’t afraid to get his hands dirty fighting for rebounds.

After all, across 14 NBA seasons, he’s averaged 12.8 points and 9.0 rebounds. His rebounding percentage? 20.7%!

The Suns are a team that certainly lacks size, and Valanciunas provides exactly that. He ranks in the 7th percentile for defensive rebounding talent but in the 94th percentile for offensive rebounding talent.

He’s strictly an interior player at this stage of his career. He can’t defend the perimeter effectively, nor can he stretch the floor offensively. But if rebounding is a priority, which I firmly believe it should be for this team, Valančiūnas is somebody the Suns should absolutely pursue.

Big V is currently playing in the EuroLeague for Zalgiris in the Lithuanian Basketball League, playing in his home country on a two-year, $5.5 million contract.

The Rest

Here’s a list of everybody else who is available on the free agent market:

• Tony Bradley
• Drew Eubanks
• Christian Koloko
• Kevin Love
• Josh Oduro
• Lachlan Olbrich
• Mason Plumlee
• Olivier Sarr
• Oscar Tshiebwe

My guess is that the Suns will ultimately lean on Duop Reath and Drew Timme as they await further clarity on the severity of Oso Ighodaro’s injury. But the flexibility is there if they decide to explore other options. What do you think? Should the Suns stand pat? Or, after just one game into the new season, should they go out and add some much needed flexbility.

Jayson Tatum explained where his relationship with former teammate Jaylen Brown stands.

“I don’t have any animosity or beef or ill will toward him,” Tatum said after the Celtics’ 107-103 win over the Knicks on Friday. “The frustrating part is, since he’s not on the Celtics anymore, the narrative or conversations haven’t been enough about what we accomplished, all the games we won, winning the championship, how we’ve grown together, right?”

Tatum’s comments on his relationship with Brown stem from a social media interaction between the two superstars earlier in the week.

Brown posted a blue hat — a symbol for “cap,” the slang definition of someone telling a lie — in an Instagram comment section to a video of Tatum saying on his YouTube channel that he was “just as much caught off guard as the rest of the world” by Brown’s trade to the 76ers this summer.

Brown and Tatum spent the previous eight seasons together in Boston.

Brown was drafted by the Celtics in 2016, and Tatum was selected a year later in 2017.

The wing duo won a championship together in 2024 against the Mavericks, with Brown earning Finals MVP, and also made it to the NBA Finals in 2022 — along with five conference finals appearances.

The two were able to combine for eight All-Star appearances and five All-NBA selections during their time in Boston.

“This ain’t no f–king Shaq and Kobe,” Tatum said, referring to the issues between Hall of Fame teammates Shaquille O’Neal and the late Kobe Bryant that occurred during their eight years together on the Lakers. “There’s no beef. It’s not about that. It should be more praise. I understand drama gets clicks and views, but I’m not really into that. I’m not blaming everybody for how they feel. Everybody is entitled to their own feelings, and we all go through different things in our lives.”

The first matchup between the two will be on Nov. 10 at Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia.  

“I’ve seen all these things about ‘Get your popcorn ready when they play’ — like this ain’t no f–king boxing match, it’s basketball,” Tatum said. “I hate the conversation, the narrative around it. There’s not enough communication, and a conversation will solve or put out a lot of fires.”

Tatum’s 36 points, nine rebounds and seven assists in Friday’s win marked his best performance since Game 4 of the Eastern Conference semifinals two years ago against the Knicks.

He scored 42 before rupturing his right Achilles, an injury that forced him to miss most of last season. 

With Tatum on the sidelines, Brown carried the Celtics to 56 wins and the second seed in the East.

Tatum returned for the final 16 regular-season contests and played in six games in Boston’s first-round series against Philadelphia, missing Game 7 with a left knee injury.

The Celtics lost the series after building a 3-1 lead.

SAN FRANCISCO — An hour or so after the Warriors’ collapse Friday night, Yaxel Lendeborg stood at his locker and swapped out his white No. 1 jersey for a blue throwback No. 4.

Dug out of his childhood closet by his mom, it was already an appropriate homage for a Michigan man trading in one shade of blue for another. Then, Lendeborg went on to have a game that no Warriors rookie had had since the guy whose name was on the back of that jersey.

“This is the jersey I’ve been wearing since I was a kid on the basketball court,” Lendeborg told reporters in the locker room following Golden State’s 111-108 loss to the Grizzlies. “Chris Webber, Michigan legend. Warrior legend. Had to represent, you know?”

Lendeborg did more than represent.

Although he got the short end of his first NBA showdown with fellow rookie forward Cameron Boozer, Lendeborg matched the No. 3 overall pick with 13 rebounds and six assists to go with 18 points — the first Warriors rookie since Webber to put up such a line in one game.

Only two Warriors, period, in the past six seasons have stuffed the stat sheet to the degree that Lendeborg did in just his second professional game. Steph Curry went for 23, 13 and 13 back in 2021. And Brandin Podziemski notched 18, 15 and nine this past February.

That’s it.

However, Lendeborg was also responsible for six of the Warriors’ 19 turnovers.

“He’s gonna get better and better,” coach Steve Kerr said. “He just has to get used to the NBA. … He’s putting himself in some risky spots that he won’t be doing a few weeks from now.”

After going back and forth with Luka Doncic in his NBA debut, Lendeborg kept it more lowkey in his first game in front of the home fans. He said this summer that he would have any matchup with Boozer, whose Duke team he beat for the national championship, circled on his calendar.

“I always want to have a good game against anybody in my draft class, try to outperform them. Today I didn’t,” Lendeborg said. “But every game I’m definitely gonna try to take that personally, try to win my matchup and ultimately win the game for the team. 

“I didn’t do both today, but I’ll win it next time.”

Boozer operated at will and finished with 25 points, seven more than Lendeborg — one off the difference in their draft positions. His spinning shot in the lane over Podziemski with 20 seconds left gave the Grizzlies their first lead since late in the third quarter, 108-106.

Lendeborg, meanwhile, is still seeking his first NBA win.

“He played a great game today,” Lendeborg said. “It was a fun matchup. Didn’t really get to guard each other much. He took advantage of the matchup when I was on him and did a great job. Props to him.”

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For Matisse Thybulle, one of the “coolest” things about this current Lakers team has been having “so many defensive-minded players”. 

The types of players who’ll stack a hustle play on top of another play, creating an advantage and energy for the team as a whole. 

That’s how the veteran wing saw things play out during the Lakers’ win over the Clippers on Friday night at Crypto.com Arena.

And he credited Collin Sexton, who made his Lakers debut during the victory, with providing the team with that jolt. 

“I felt like it immediately,” Thybulle said. “He just invigorated the game with more energy.”

Sexton’s first minutes of the season after sitting out the preseason and the regular-season opening win over the Warriors on Wednesday came when he subbed in for Austin Reaves with 3:52 left in the first quarter.

Eleven seconds later, the veteran guard stripped Clippers guard Darius Garland of the ball during his drive into the paint, leading to a steal for the Lakers after Luka Doncic dove on the floor to corral the ball.

“He’s a pest,” Reaves said. “He feeds off the energy, he loves doing the little things and plays the game the right way. He’ll have a big impact [on] what we’re trying to do.”

The former Alabama guard carried that energy into the second quarter.

“He has a really intense way about him that I think will be really good for our group and guys will feed off that,” coach JJ Redick said.

With the Lakers down 44-38 early in the quarter, his perimeter defensive pressure against Kris Dunn forced the Clippers to eat up 10 seconds of the shot clock before Dunn passed the ball to rookie guard Keaton Wagler.

Wagler tried forcing a pass to Brook Lopez on the low block while Ziaire Williams was in front of him, but the ball floated over the 7-foot-1 center’s head and Reaves grabbed the steal.

But the errant Clippers’ possession started with Sexton hounding Dunn even though he didn’t get credited in the box score for the play.

In addition to his three steals, the 6-foot-3 guard also had five points and two assists in 16 minutes.

“Ziaire and I talk about it a lot: That’s what we try to do for them,” Thybulle said. “Even as people who try to do that, to see someone else doing it, it gives us even more energy. It’s just one of those things that when everyone else is doing it, you don’t want to be the guy to not be. It’s almost like when you’re working out in practice and like everyone’s making shots in a row, you don’t want to be the one to miss it and mess it up. Defensively, you can have a similar thing, which is effort and energy.”

Sexton brought an abundance of both in the Lakers’ second win of the season.

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Looks like the Lakers got their franchise center. 

They needed a bastion down low. They listened to Luka Dončić when he said he wanted Walker Kessler. Rob Pelinka gambled everything to get him. 

In his first two games?

Kessler is making Doncic look like a skilled scout. And he’s making Pelinka look like a man with good job security. 

The 7-foot-1 center, whom the Lakers acquired over the summer in a sign-and-trade deal with the Jazz, had 22 points on 10-for-14 shooting, eight rebounds, three assists, six blocked shots and three steals in the Lakers’ 125-117 win over the Clippers on Friday. 

He had the highest plus-minus (+18) of anyone on the court. 

That followed a 26-point performance on 12-for-12 shooting, nine rebounds, one assist and two blocked shots in his regular-season Laker debut against the Warriors on Wednesday.

This is who the Lakers wanted. This is who they needed. This is who could turn them into contenders. 

Everyone knew the Lakers’ offense was going to be incredible behind Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves. But last season, the Lakers ranked 20th in defensive efficiency. They desperately needed to improve.

So, the Lakers gave the Jazz two first-round picks and two first-round pick swaps to acquire the 25-year-old Kessler, signing him to a four-year, $130 million deal. 

It was a risk. 

It meant they wouldn’t have any tradable first-round draft picks for the next seven years. It meant Kessler would make or break this Laker team. 

So far, so great. 

In his debut against the Warriors, he was the first Laker since Wilt Chamberlain to shoot 12-for-12 in a game. And against the Clippers, he became the eighth Laker to record six blocks and three steals in a game, according to Stathead.

“He’s a fantastic basketball player and I think he’ll continue to get better,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said. “I mean, that was one of the reasons that we wanted him and he was so appealing to us was because of his age and feeling like the fit with our two stars was really good. And [he’s] someone that can continue to grow and become just a fantastic player in the NBA.”

Kessler only played in five games last season after suffering a torn left labrum that required surgery. After missing an entire season of his prime, there were a lot of questions.

What’s his ceiling? Is he going to live up to expectations? Was he really worth the enormous price the Lakers paid for him?

Memories are short in the NBA, especially when a player misses 77 games. But Kessler is silencing his doubters.

“Oh, it’s so much fun,” Kessler said of being back on the court. “It’s so much fun. It was definitely a tougher year for me. But God is faithful. And just to be here now, I’m just so thankful. So thankful for this opportunity. So thankful to be healthy. Just very, very thankful.”

The Lakers need Kessler to develop into an All-Defensive-type player. They need him to complete their Big 3 alongside Doncic and Reaves. They need him to be a force. 

He’s checking those boxes.

After the score was knotted at 64-64 at halftime, Kessler took over in the third quarter with his defense, helping the Lakers lead by as much as 14 points in the period. 

“It just felt like Walker was everywhere in that third,” Redick said. “…There were multiple times [in the game] where it felt like they had a layup and he either came over and blocked the shot or created an altered shot.”

Kessler’s next game will meld his future with his past as the Lakers travel to Utah to face the Jazz. 

For Kessler, it’s a return to where he spent the first four seasons of his career. 

“I’m so excited to compete against those guys,” he said. “Coach [Will] Hardy does a great job with that franchise and my past teammates are really talented, really competitive. So I think it’s going to be a very competitive game and I’m just excited to go compete.”

But for the Lakers, it’s a reminder of how far they’ve come.

They emptied their treasure trove for Kessler.

And so far, every pick they gave Utah was worth who they got in return.

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