NBA Blog: The NBA basketball news blog section of Inside Hoops
The Washington Wizards announced today the following injury update for guard Trae Young:
Young reinjured his right quadriceps, sustaining a contusion during the third quarter of the game against Golden State on March 16. Related imaging, due to ongoing back pain, confirmed lower back irritation. Both injuries are being treated conservatively and will not require surgery at this time.
The Orlando Magic have signed forward Jamal Cain, President of Basketball Operations Jeff Weltman announced today.
Cain (6’7”, 207, 3/20/99) originally signed a two-way contract with Orlando on July 25, 2025. He has played in 27 regular season games this season with the Magic, averaging 3.5 ppg. and 1.1 rpg. in 8.0 minpg. Cain has scored in double figures three times, including a season-high 15 points on March 19 @ Charlotte.
Undrafted by an NBA franchise, Cain has appeared in 108 career NBA regular season games (one start) with Miami, New Orleans and Orlando, averaging 4.5 ppg. and 1.9 rpg. in 11.3 minpg. He has also played in 24 career NBA G League regular season games, all with Sioux Falls, averaging 22.7 ppg., 10.0 rpg., 2.9 apg. and 1.67 stlpg. in 36.0 minpg.
After further testing, Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham has been diagnosed with a left lung pneumothorax. Cunningham exited Tuesday’s game vs. the Wizards in the first quarter. He will be re-evaluated in two weeks.
Per ESPN.com, ” sources told ESPN’s Shams Charania that the collapse of Cunningham’s lung is considered mild. There is some optimism that Cunningham will be back in time for the start of the playoffs, which begin on April 18, sources told Charania. “
Brooklyn Nets forward Michael Porter Jr. has been diagnosed with a left hamstring strain following an MRI performed on Wednesday. Porter Jr. is currently listed as out and will be reevaluated in two to three weeks.
In his first season in Brooklyn, Porter Jr. has appeared in 52 games (all starts), averaging a career-high 24.2 points, 7.1 rebounds, a career-high 3.0 assists and a career-high-tying 1.1 steals in 32.5 minutes per game while shooting 46.3 percent from the field, 36.3 percent from 3-point range and 85.9 percent from the free-throw line. He leads the Nets and is tied for 20th in the NBA with 176 3-pointers made this season, which is the most through any player’s first 52 games with the team in franchise history. Porter Jr. has made at least five 3-pointers 16 times, which ranks as the third-most such games in a season in franchise history, and is tied for 14th in the NBA this season with a career-high 14 games of at least 30 points.
The Memphis Grizzlies today announced that guard Scotty Pippen Jr. underwent a successful sesamoidectomy today to address discomfort in his right big toe.
Pippen Jr. will miss the remainder of the 2025-26 season but is expected to make a full recovery in advance of the 2026-27 season.
The Boston Celtics have signed Celtics two-way guard Max Shulga to a standard NBA contract and center/forward Charles Bassey to a 10-day contract.
Shulga (6-4, 210) has appeared in 36 NBA G League games (all starts) for Maine this season, averaging 15.7 points, 4.4 rebounds, 6.7 assists, and 1.6 steals in 33.9 minutes per game. The 23-year-old has scored in double figures in 29 games, including 10 games with 20+ points and two games with 30+ points. Shulga signed a two-way contract with Boston July 30, 2025, and has seen action in three games for Boston this season. A native of Kiev, Ukraine, Shulga was selected with the 57th overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft after appearing in 162 collegiate games (109 starts) across three seasons at Utah State (2020-23) and two at VCU (2023-25).
Bassey (6-10, 235) has appeared in 116 games (three starts) over five NBA seasons with Philadelphia (2021-22), San Antonio (2022-25), Memphis (2025-26), and Philadelphia (2025-26). The 25-year-old rejoins Boston after playing in three games for the Celtics’ 2025 NBA Summer League team, where he averaged 15.3 points, 11.0 rebounds, and 2.0 blocks in 21.3 minutes per game. Bassey holds career averages of 4.3 points and 4.3 rebounds while shooting 62.6 percent from the field since being drafted by Philadelphia with the 53rd overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft. The Nigeria native played collegiately at Western Kentucky, where he was named the Conference USA Defensive Player of the Year twice (2019, 2021) and the Conference USA Player of the Year (2021).
Sacramento Kings center Drew Eubanks has been diagnosed with a torn UCL in his left thumb. Eubanks sustained the injury on Wednesday, March 11 versus the Charlotte Hornets. Eubanks will undergo surgery to repair the injury on Wednesday, March 18.
The Sacramento Kings have signed guard Killian Hayes.
Hayes (6-4, 195) has appeared in 10 games (1 start) for Sacramento this season, averaging 3.8 points and 3.3 assists per game. Earlier this season, he made 19 regular season appearances in the G League for the Cleveland Charge, averaging 22.4 points, 4.1 rebounds, 8.5 assists and 1.7 steals in 32.9 minutes per contest.
Hayes has posted career averages of 7.9 points, 2.9 rebounds, 5.1 assists and 1.1 steals in 25.6 minutes per game in 226 career games (151 starts) over six seasons with Sacramento, Detroit and Brooklyn. He was selected seventh overall in the 2020 NBA Draft by the Pistons after playing for Ratiopharm Ulm of the Basketball Bundesliga League in 2019-20.
The Brooklyn Nets have signed guard Malachi Smith to a 10-day contract.
Smith (6’4”, 205) joins Brooklyn from its NBA G League affiliate, the Long Island Nets. In 39 Tip-Off Tournament and regular season games (18 starts) for Long Island this season, Smith has recorded averages of 14.4 points on 52.0 percent shooting from the field, 42.2 percent shooting from 3-point range and 76.9 percent shooting from the free-throw line, 4.6 rebounds and 5.7 assists in 28.7 minutes per game. The 26-year-old spent the previous two seasons (2023-25) in the NBA G League with the Rip City Remix (2023-24), Wisconsin Herd (2024) and Memphis Hustle (2024-25), logging action in 127 career games. He appeared in 46 games (12 starts) with the Hustle last season, registering averages of 11.4 points on 50.1 percent shooting from the field and 34.7 shooting from 3-point range, 4.2 rebounds and 3.1 assists in 25.3 minutes per contest.
The Belleville, Ill., native went undrafted in the 2023 NBA Draft after spending his final collegiate season (2022-23) at Gonzaga University, where he earned West Coast Conference Sixth Man of the Year honors. Smith also spent two seasons (2020-22) at the University of Tennessee Chattanooga, where he was named Southern Conference Player of the Year as a junior, and one year (2018-19) at Wright State University, where he garnered Horizon League All-Freshman Team honors.
The Memphis Grizzlies today announced the team signed guard DeJon Jarreau to a 10-day contract.
Jarreau (6-5, 185) has appeared in 10 regular season games in two NBA seasons with the Grizzlies and Indiana Pacers and has averaged 4.3 points, 4.9 rebounds and 2.9 assists in 15.1 minutes. He competed in nine games for Memphis during the 2023-24 season.
This season, the 28-year-old has played 19 regular season games (seven starts) for the Grizzlies’ NBA G League affiliate, the Memphis Hustle, and has averaged 15.2 points, 5.1 rebounds and 5.1 assists in 22.7 minutes. He has appeared in 63 career regular season games (31 starts) for the NBA G League’s Hustle, Fort Wayne Mad Ants, Texas Legends and Capital City Go-Go and has recorded 12 double-doubles, including four triple-doubles (all with the Hustle).
The New Orleans native, who joined the Grizzlies for the 2025 preseason, went unselected in the 2021 NBA Draft following his senior year at Houston, where he was named the 2020-21 American Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Year.