NBA Player News

Lively (foot) has been ruled out for Friday's exhibition against the Hawks.

Lively, who is recovering from foot surgery he underwent back in December, will wind up missing all four of Dallas' preseason games. Given that there hasn't been any reporting of Lively ramping up his workload, it seems there's a real chance he won't be ready for the start of the 2026-27 season.

Aldama (knee) won't play in Friday's preseason game against the Hawks.

Aldama hasn't played during the preseason due to a knee injury. While he's trending favorably toward a return, it's unknown if he will be ready to go when the Mavericks begin the regular season against the Rockets on Wednesday. If not, that should mean more minutes for rookie Morez Johnson, Naji Marshall and Zaccharie Risacher.

Richards won't start Friday's preseason game against the Magic, Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel reports.

Richards will slide to the second unit after starting Miami's past two games. The Heat will go with a starting five of Davion Mitchell, Klay Thompson, Andrew Wiggins, Bobby Portis and Nikola Jovic in the absences of Giannis Antetokounmpo (rest) and Bam Adebayo (groin).

Kelley (calf) will play in Friday's preseason game against the Magic, Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel reports.

Kelley is set to play in Miami's preseason finale. He's competing for a spot on the Heat's regular-season roster.

Poeltl (rest) has been ruled out for Friday's preseason game against the Pistons, Omari Sankofa II of the Detroit Free Press reports.

Poeltl will get the night off in the second half of this back-to-back set, though he should be good to go for Wednesday's regular-season opener against Chicago. With the big man out Friday, Trayce Jackson-Davis will likely see increased burn.

Vucevic (rest) isn't listed on the injury report for Friday's preseason matchup with Miami.

Vucevic got the night off during Tuesday's victory over the Cavaliers, though the big man will return to action in Orlando's preseason finale. The veteran center is in line to compete for minutes with Goga Bitadze behind Wendell Carter in the 2026-27 campaign.

Embiid (rest) will play in Friday's preseason finale against Boston, Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe reports.

Embiid was held out of Saturday's game against Boston for maintenance and there is no injury to report. He will get some final reps Friday ahead of Opening Night.

Kornet (rest) is available for Friday's preseason game against the Kings, Matt Guzman of SI.com reports.

Kornet will play in the Spurs' preseason finale after getting the night off Wednesday. After averaging 6.5 points, 6.1 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.0 blocks in 21.0 minutes per contest over 68 regular-season appearances (25 starts) in 2025-26, the big man is once again expected to operate as Victor Wembanyama's primary backup.

The Thunder maintain that Mara is cleared to play in the NBA despite a contract dispute with his former Spanish club, Basket Zaragoza, Marc Stein of The Stein Line reports.

Basket Zaragoza contends that Mara remains under contract, but Oklahoma City says the NBA has advised the organization that no clearance from the Spanish team is necessary because the rookie center spent the past three years playing college basketball in the United States. The Thunder appear confident in Mara's eligibility, though the disagreement with his former club remains unresolved. There is currently no indication that the dispute will prevent him from playing in the NBA.

Drummond closed with 14 points (6-7 FG, 2-5 FT), eight rebounds, four assists and one block in 15 minutes during Thursday's 122-120 preseason win over the Raptors.

Drummond put together his best preseason performance for his new team, falling just two rebounds short of a double-double. Although he is well and truly into the backend of his career, Drummond still offers plenty when it comes to per-minute rebounding numbers. He is slated to be the primary backup behind Karl-Anthony Towns, a role that should yield anywhere between 14 and 18 minutes per game. Barring any unforeseen injuries to Towns, Drummond will only hold value as a spot-streamer for anyone needing a quick bump in boards.