NBA Player News

Gibson became an unrestricted free agent Tuesday after his second 10-day contract with the Knicks expired, Keith Smith of Spotrac.com reports.

If the Knicks are interested in retaining Gibson coming out of the All-Star break, he would need to be signed to a rest-of-season contract now that his pair of 10-day deals have lapsed. Though head coach Tom Thibodeau has a long-term working relationship with Gibson and values the 38-year-old as a locker-room presence, the Knicks may not have much of a need for Gibson if starting center Isaiah Hartenstein (Achilles) is ready to play Thursday in Philadelphia.

Bolden agreed to a 10-day deal with the Hornets on Tuesday, Shams Charania of The Athletic reports.

The Hornets will bring Bolden on the 15-man roster after a productive stretch of action in the G League with the Wisconsin Herd, with whom he's averaged 17.0 points, 13.8 rebounds and 1.7 blocks during the team's six-game winning streak. Bolden -- who began the campaign as one of the Bucks' three two-way players but appeared in just two NBA contests -- is averaging 13.3 points (on 55.4 percent shooting from the field), 7.7 boards, 1.6 blocks and 1.5 assists in 25.0 minutes per game over 31 appearances overall for the Herd this season. While he's with Charlotte, Bolden could challenge Nathan Mensah for the third-string role at center behind Nick Richards and Grant Williams.

Adebayo will start at center in place of Joel Embiid (knee) for the Eastern Conference All-Star team in Sunday's game, Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald reports.

Adebayo is playing in his third All-Star Game on Sunday after averaging 20.2 points, 10.7 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 1.1 steals and 1.0 blocks in 34.6 minutes so far in 2023-24. However, a long-term knee injury to Embiid will allow Adebayo to make his first All-Star Game start.

The Trail Blazers converted Reath's two-way contract into a three-year, standard NBA contract Friday, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reports.

Despite his status as a two-way player, Reath had spent most of the 2023-24 season with the Trail Blazers as the top backup to Deandre Ayton. The rookie is averaging 8.9 points, 3.8 rebounds, 1.4 three-pointers, 1.1 assists, 0.5 steals and 0.5 blocks in 17.4 minutes per game in 40 appearances (11 starts) this season.

Coach Tom Thibodeau said Friday that Hartenstein (Achilles) is expected to return to action after the All-Star break, Stefan Bondy of the New York Post reports.

Hartenstein missed the Knicks' last three contests due to left Achilles tendinopathy. However, it appears the 25-year-old big man will target Feb. 22 against Philadelphia as a return date.

Lopez chipped in 14 points (5-14 FG, 2-9 3Pt, 2-2 FT), 11 rebounds, two assists, four blocks and two steals across 35 minutes during Thursday's 113-110 loss to the Grizzlies.

Lopez often has a soft touch around the rim and can make it rain from three-point range, but neither was the case Thursday, as he needed 14 shots to score 14 points while struggling badly from three-point range. The veteran big man still salvaged his fantasy stat line due to his solid contributions in peripheral stats, including his 15th game with four or more blocks this season. Lopez enters the All-Star break with averages of 13.7 points, 6.3 rebounds, 2.2 blocks and 2.0 assists per game since the beginning of January.

Ayton fouled out of Thursday's 128-91 loss to the Timberwolves after recording two points (1-5 FG), four rebounds, three assists, one block and three steals over 20 minutes.

Portland gave up on Ayton early as he failed to gain traction opposite Rudy Gobert. The former finished with only 20 minutes of court time, which was his lowest minute total of the season. Duop Reath and Ibou Badji took over, but Ayton's job is safe despite Thursday's result.

Jemison will start at center in Thursday's game against the Bucks.

After sitting out Wednesday's win over the Rockets while the Grizzlies managed his active games total as a two-way player, Jemison will get an opportunity to start in the Grizzlies' final game before the All-Star break with Jaren Jackson (quadricep) out of commission. Jemison will be making his third start of the season, with his most recent one coming back on Feb. 6 against the Knicks.

Reed amassed 18 points (7-12 FG, 1-1 3Pt, 3-3 FT), 12 rebounds, two assists and one block over 39 minutes during Wednesday's 109-104 loss to Miami.

Reed continues to produce on the glass since entering the starting lineup with Joel Embiid (knee) out of action. Over his last last five starts, Reed is averaging 12.2 points, 9.6 rebounds and 1.4 blocks over 30.4 minutes per game.

Adebayo had 23 points (9-14 FG, 5-5 FT), 13 rebounds, four assists and two steals in 39 minutes during Wednesday's 109-104 win over the 76ers.

Adebayo co-led with Tyler Herro in the scoring category, but the former made his presence felt on both ends of the floor with two steals and 10 defensive boards. Adebayo has now registered 30 double-doubles for the season, one shy of his mark from 2022-23. He's averaging 18.4 points, 11.1 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 1.4 steals on 56.3 percent shooting in February.