NBA Southeast

Orlando Magic guard Markelle Fultz fractured his left big toe during a preseason workout, but he won't require surgery, according to Khobi Price of the Orlando Sentinel (h/t Hoops Hype).

Fultz will miss the team's training camp, which begins Tuesday.

The 24-year-old is currently in a walking boot, and his return will be based on how his injury responds to rest and rehabilitation.

Injuries remain a major story for Fultz, who has played just 26 games combined in the last two seasons due to a torn ACL suffered in January 2021. He returned last February, appearing in 18 games while seeing limited minutes mostly off the bench.

The guard averaged 10.8 points, 5.5 assists and 1.1 steals per game during this stretch.

Fultz also dealt with shoulder injuries earlier in his career and has only topped 20 games in a season once since being drafted No. 1 overall by the Philadelphia 76ers in 2017.

There was plenty of upside on display during his lone healthy season in 2019-20, with the point guard averaging 12.1 points and 5.1 assists while helping the Magic reach the playoffs. He was rewarded with a three-year extension that runs through 2023-24.

Another injury now raises questions about Fultz's durability, which could also keep the Magic shorthanded entering 2022-23.

Cole Anthony and Jalen Suggs will remain the top options in the backcourt, but depth could be a concern until Fultz is back to full strength.

When Kyle Kuzma was traded from the Los Angeles Lakers to the Washington Wizards in August 2021, some fans of the Purple and Gold were hard on the 27-year-old, and the narratives surrounding his exit from the franchise put him in a "dark place."

"How people perceived me ... it kind of hurt me a little bit," Kuzma told reporters Friday.

Kuzma's comments come after John Wall, a former Wizard, detailed his mental health struggles in a Players' Tribune essay titled, "I'm Still Here." Other NBA players, including DeMar DeRozan and Kevin Love, have also been vocal about their mental health.

The Brooklyn Nets selected Kuzma 27th overall in the 2017 NBA draft. They traded him and Brook Lopez to the Lakers on June 22, 2017, in exchange for D'Angelo Russell and Timofey Mozgov.

Kuzma spent the first four years of his career in L.A. and played an important role off the bench for the Lakers during their run to the NBA Finals in 2020. In 61 regular-season games, he averaged 12.8 points, 4.5 rebounds and 1.3 assists while shooting 43.6 percent from the floor and 31.6 percent from deep.

In 21 playoff games, he averaged 10 points and 3.1 rebounds while shooting 43 percent from the floor and 31.3 percent from deep as the Lakers went on to win the title.

His best season with the Purple and Gold came in 2018-19, when he averaged 18.7 points, 4.5 rebounds and 1.3 assists in 70 games, including 68 starts, while shooting 45.6 percent from the floor and 30.3 percent from deep.

From 2017-19, Kuzma saw much more time in the starting lineup as Anthony Davis didn't join the franchise and take over his position until 2019-20.

Now in Washington, Kuzma has been a key piece in the starting rotation and has revived his career. In 66 games last season, all starts, he averaged 17.1 points, 8.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists while shooting 45.2 percent from the floor and 34.1 percent from deep.

In March, he alluded to his time in Washington being better than his time in Los Angeles, via The Athletic's Josh Robbins:

"It's been a great change of pace for me, a change of scenery. I did as much as I (could) to maximize [myself] when I was with my former team, with changing my role every single year for the betterment of the team and trying to fit in with great players. But here, it’s been a lot different, because I don't necessarily have to do that. My role has changed here. If you think about the first 25 games, I was in a different type of role than I am now: more scoring and just doing more things with the ball. It's just great to be in a situation where I can just be myself and do what I do, and not dummy myself down.

"It's great, because I'm not looking over my shoulder. Every time I'm making a mistake, I'm not looking at my head coach. I can focus on the game. Obviously, I don't want to make mistakes. But that's a part of it when you're growing. I'm 26, but I'm really growing."

Entering his second year with the Wizards, Kuzma has the opportunity to continue forging his own path out of the shadow of Davis and LeBron James. He may even see one of his best seasons yet alongside Bradley Beal and Kristaps Porzingis.

After languishing as part of a middling Washington Wizards team last season, Kyle Kuzma is ready to get back to the postseason.

"It’s all about getting to the playoffs. That’s my mindset," Kuzma told Complex's Mike DeStefano of his goals for next season. "The NBA’s always better when you can win. We probably had one of the more talented teams that Wizard fans and the DMV’s seen in recent years and we have to figure it out, take that leap, and start playing winning basketball. That’s the most important thing that we have to do."

Kuzma had perhaps the best individual season of his career in 2021-22, averaging 17.1 points, 8.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists. His success did not translate to wins for the Wizards, who finished 35-47 and were eight games removed from even reaching the play-in.

An extended injury absence from Bradley Beal did not help matters, but this was a largely middling group of veterans performing almost exactly to their talent level.

Washington took a big swing at the deadline to acquire Kristaps Porzingis, and the impact of that deal may be felt this season. If Porzingis can find the two-way form he's lost in recent seasons amid knee issues and Beal resumes playing like an All-NBA star, it's reasonable to expect the Wizards to compete for a low-end playoff spot.

That said, there's not much meat beyond a first-round exit on the bone here.

Washington Wizards forward Kyle Kuzma has not been shy about displaying his sense of fashion in recent years, and it landed him a spot walking the runway during Puma's show at New York Fashion Week.

Kuzma wore a unique all-black outfit that included a top, a hoodie and a jacket that he wore around his waist and went down to his feet.

While the 6'9" forward took to Instagram to express his excitement over his collaboration with Puma, NBA twitter wasn't as kind and trolled Kuzma over his attire:

Would Kuz have been more useful to the Lakers in this outfit than nvm https://t.co/VV75jZ6HwB

— Anthony F. Irwin (@AnthonyIrwinLA) September 14, 2022

I'm dying. https://t.co/bHJTCvvgQ3

— Andy Bailey (@AndrewDBailey) September 14, 2022

https://twitter.com/AmNotEvan/status/1570180733360037889

https://twitter.com/iam_johnw/status/1570171220628480000

😂😂 too much money to be dressing like dis https://t.co/LCxejge3Bv

— U N C ⛽️ (@UncTheBeast_06) September 14, 2022

Kuzma famously wore an oversized pink sweater to a game during early last season, which drew a ton of jokes from his NBA peers.

The 27-year-old appears poised to show off a few more interesting looks during the 2022-23 season.

The Miami Heat did not make any significant acquisitions via free agency or the trade market this summer, but it appears they are confident two of their new, lesser additions will succeed in 2022-23.

Miami has "privately expressed confidence" 2022 first-round pick Nikola Jovic and two-way player Darius Days, according to Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.

The Heat was linked to both Donovan Mitchell and Kevin Durant throughout the summer, but the Utah Jazz traded Mitchell to the Cleveland Cavaliers and Durant rescinded his trade request to remain with the Brooklyn Nets.

Miami selected Jovic with the 27th overall pick in the 2022 NBA draft out of Serbia. He's pretty far down the team's current depth chart, but he could prove to be a solid player off the bench this year.

Days, meanwhile, went undrafted in 2022. He spent four years playing college basketball at LSU and should be a solid option behind Bam Adebayo and Dewayne Dedmon.

The Los Angeles Lakers have made all of the efforts to publicly back Russell Westbrook this offseason, but it's hard to ignore that a change of scenery would probably be best for both the player and organization.

And one team that might actually be a fit for Westbrook at this stage of his career is the Miami Heat.

"It makes sense," an Eastern Conference executive told Fox Sports' Ric Bucher. "Miami believes they can rehabilitate anyone."

Bucher wrote that "team executives and scouts could only come up with one potential landing spot" for Westbrook, and it was the Heat. He noted team president Pat Riley "has a history of cultivating fiery competitive players, from Alonzo Mourning to Brian Grant to Jimmy Butler."

But the same stylistic clashes Westbrook has faced with Los Angeles would be present with Miami.

Butler and Bam Adebayo spend a fair amount of time on the ball, much like LeBron James. Westbrook has traditionally been a ball-dominant point guard and offers little off the ball given his woeful perimeter shooting (29.8 percent from three last season, 30.5 percent in his career).

Miami also loves to bang on about its culture of hard work and defensive engagement. Westbrook's effort has never been called into question, at least on the offensive side of the ball, but his defensive intensity could be described as wavering.

And what would a trade even look like? The Heat could deal Kyle Lowry and Duncan Robinson to make the money work, but surely they'd want more than just Westbrook in return unless they've stopped believing in both players. (Robinson play just 12.2 minutes per game in the playoffs last season, so it's feasible the Heat would be comfortable moving on from him.)

And while the 36-year-old Lowry has struggled with injuries in recent years, his defensive willingness and ability to play off the ball (37.7 percent from three last season, 36.8 in his career) make him a much more natural fit with the Heat.

Plus, even if Miami believes it could get the most out of Westbrook, he would still have to acknowledge that his style needs to change so he can best fit on a contending team.

"It is not what he has left, it is how he will accept that he is not the player that he was," an Eastern Conference scout told Bucher. "It's similar to Carmelo [Anthony]. I'm not sure Russ has the awareness to accept a lesser role."

Something has to give. If Westbrook stays with Los Angeles, his best role may be coming off the bench, as the newly acquired Patrick Beverley is a more natural fit at guard alongside James and Anthony Davis.

"It's hard to see him as anything but a backup for the Lakers," a Western Conference scout told Bucher. "It's hard for him to play with [Davis] and LeBron. It might be OK if they let him go with the second unit. He has to play the only way he knows how unless he can miraculously learn to shoot."

Westbrook, however, has already bristled at such a role.

A change of scenery might afford him the opportunity to keep the role he's played throughout his career. But it's hard to find a landing spot for him with that in mind. The Heat certainly don't feel like a natural match, however much they might believe in the transformative powers of their oft-discussed culture.

Stephen Curry said there's only one NBA team he'd like to play for if his tenure with the Golden State Warriors ever came to an end: the Charlotte Hornets.

Curry, who played high school basketball at Charlotte Christian School, made the declaration while receiving the key to the city of Charlotte on Thursday (via Andrei de Guzman of TalkBasket).

The four-time NBA champion reiterated his commitment to the Warriors, saying he's always wanted to "finish my career at Golden State because of how much it means, and the experiences and teammates and the journey we've been [on]," before discussing Charlotte.

"Everybody asks me, 'You wanna play one year for the Hornets and come back?' … I am not breaking any news right now, I'm not making any promises," Curry said. "All I would say is if there was a team that I did want to play for that was not named the Warriors, that would be it."

Along with his previous time in North Carolina, there are a few other reasons the future Hall of Famer could be interested in landing with the Hornets.

First, his father Dell played 10 seasons with the franchise (1988-98) during his own playing career, a move that happened shortly after Steph was born in Ohio in March 1988 while his dad was suiting up for the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Second, NBA legend Michael Jordan is the majority owner of the Hornets. Curry recently explained how he tries to use the same leadership techniques as MJ did during his dynastic run with the Chicago Bulls in the 1990s:

Steph brought up a MJ quote from The Last Dance doc when asked about his own personal leadership style. “He(Michael Jordan) never asked anybody on his team or in the organization to do anything that he wouldn’t do himself.” 🐐🐐 pic.twitter.com/8IBNUDMEKA

— TheWarriorsTalk (@TheWarriorsTalk) August 31, 2022

Yet, despite the connections to Charlotte, it's hard to imagine Curry moving on from the Warriors.

He's built a special environment in Golden State alongside longtime teammates Klay Thompson and Draymond Green, and it would be quite fitting if they play another handful of years together before walking off into the sunset.

Of course, the same thing was said about the San Antonio Spurs' legendary trio of Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili, but sometimes the off-ramp of a decorated career can get complicated.

Parker ultimately left San Antonio in 2018. Where did he play his final season? In Charlotte with the Hornets.

Former Miami Heat forward Markieff Morris and the Brooklyn Nets agreed to a one-year contract on Tuesday, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium.

The news comes as little surprise after Chris Milholen of Nets Daily reported last week that the two sides had mutual interest.

Morris initially joined the Heat on a one-year deal ahead of the 2021-22 season following a year-and-a-half with the Los Angeles Lakers. He appeared in just 17 regular-season games for the franchise after suffering a whiplash injury on a shove from Denver Nuggets star Nikola Jokic during a game in November.

The 32-year-old was sidelined until March because of the ailment, and he finished the regular season averaging 7.6 points, 2.6 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 17 games.

Morris also only appeared in one playoff game for the Heat. Head coach Erik Spoelstra sat him in favor of P.J. Tucker and a number of other players. The decision to bench the veteran wasn't a surprise after the team found so much success without him during the regular season.

Morris began his career with the Phoenix Suns after being selected 13th overall in the 2011 draft. He spent four-and-a-half seasons with the franchise before being traded to the Washington Wizards during the 2015-16 season.

The Kansas product has bounced around the NBA after spending just two full seasons with the Wizards. Since 2018-19, he has played for the Oklahoma City Thunder, Detroit Pistons, Lakers and Heat.

Morris is far from the player he once was, but he'll be a solid bench player for the Nets, who spent the latter half of the offseason searching for a backup center.

Nic Claxton will spend the majority of the time on the floor alongside Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and Ben Simmons, but Morris will still be called upon to play important minutes. In addition to playing center, he could also see time as the team's power forward behind Durant and Royce O'Neal.

Despite his tour around the league, it's no surprise the Nets decided to bring him aboard for the upcoming season. He has been a contributor on every team he's played for over his lengthy career, and there's no reason to believe he can't produce in 2022-23.

Victor Oladipo believes he's one of the best players in the world.

The Miami Heat are reportedly going to give him a chance to prove it next season.

Joe Vardon of The Athletic reported Oladipo's role is set to "expand exponentially" in the aftermath of P.J. Tucker leaving for the Philadelphia 76ers in free agency.

Oladipo was widely expected to leave Miami this summer before surprisingly returning on a two-year, $18.2 million contract that includes a player option for the 2023-24 campaign.

The two-time All-Star has appeared in only 60 games since suffering a ruptured quad tendon in his knee in January 2019. He was limited to nine regular-season games with the Heat in 2021-22 as he recovered from another surgery on the same quad tendon, averaging 12.4 points, 3.5 assists and 2.9 rebounds.

While Oladipo was part of Miami's run to the Eastern Conference Finals, he struggled mightily to find a consistent rhythm in the pressure-packed playoff atmosphere. The 30-year-old shot just 36.8 percent from the floor and closed the conference finals out with three straight single-digit scoring performances as the Boston Celtics advanced to the Finals.

Despite myriad injury issues over the last three seasons, Oladipo's confidence in himself has not been shaken.

"I'm one of the best players in the world. Period. I think that my injury has kind of built a misconception of who I am as a player," Oladipo said this month on Vince Carter's podcast The VC Show.

Oladipo also said his recent issues were caused by a "messed up" surgery, and he's feeling back to his former All-Star self. His career peaked during the 2017-18 season, as he averaged 23.1 points, 5.2 rebounds and 4.3 assists while leading the NBA with 2.4 steals per game.

The Miami Heat must look in a new direction after Kevin Durant agreed to "move forward" with the Brooklyn Nets on Tuesday.

Miami had been one of the "most serious threats" to land Durant along with the Toronto Raptors and Boston Celtics following the superstar's trade request in June, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic. The Heat had been unwilling to meet the Nets' asking price, however, and the window to acquire the four-time scoring champion has apparently closed.

No other available players can make the same type of impact as Durant, but there are still ways for Miami to upgrade the roster with these targets.

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Donovan Mitchell, SG

If the Heat still want to add a star, Donovan Mitchell is the next best option after Durant.

The New York Knicks have consistently been linked with the Utah Jazz guard, while Charania named the Charlotte Hornets and Washington Wizards as interested teams, but none have been able to match Utah's asking price.

Miami could beat the other packages by offering Tyler Herro, who won the league's Sixth Man of the Year award last season.

Zach Lowe of ESPN reported the Heat were "still trying and can never be counted out" regarding deals for either Durant and Mitchell. With only one of those still available, the team could become even more aggressive on the trade market.

Losing Herro could hurt, but Mitchell is an even better offensive weapon who averaged 25.9 points per game last year, his fifth straight season with at least 20 ppg. His all-around play helped him set a career high with 7.2 win shares in 2021-22, 34th in the NBA, per Basketball Reference. Herro's 3.8 win shares was also a personal best, yet ranked just 123rd in the league.

Adding the three-time All-Star could be enough to get Miami over the top toward a championship after losing in the Eastern Conference Finals last season.

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John Collins, PF

Even if the Heat aren't able to land a star, they can still add a difference-maker to the rotation.

Lowe reported (h/t RealGM) that Miami showed interest in John Collins and might "revisit" those talks.

The Atlanta Hawks haven't been shy about putting Collins on the trade block, including him in an offer for Durant. They were also "engaged" with several teams about a trade in June, per Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated, which indicates it might not take much to pry him away.

Collins' scoring has declined in each of the past two years, but he averaged 16.2 points and 7.8 rebounds in 2021-22 and is still just 24 years old. The 6'9" forward has made 37.6 percent of three-pointers in his career and would fit perfectly with the Heat's efficient outside shooting.

Though he's not the defender that P.J. Tucker was, he would provide a bigger offensive impact next to Bam Adebayo.

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Myles Turner, C

Another player who has been constantly included trade rumors, Myles Turner likely won't want to stay with the Indiana Pacers during their rebuild.

ESPN's Brian Windhorst reported in July there was a "good chance he's not going to be a Pacer next year."

With the Heat, Turner could play for a contender and form an intriguing complement in the frontcourt with Adebayo.

Turner is more of a rim-protector, twice leading the NBA in blocks per game while finishing last season with 2.8 per game. He is also a quality outside shooter, averaging 1.5 made threes per game in 2021-22.

Adebayo and Turner might both be called a "center," but their roles wouldn't overlap on either end of the court, and a trade could certainly strengthen the team ahead of 2022-23.

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LaMarcus Aldridge, C

Any trade would force the Heat to give up something, which might not be a smart plan for a team that is already a top contender to win a title. They finished first in the Eastern Conference during the regular season last year and only lost in Game 7 of the conference finals after an injury-riddled playoff run.

The team could instead look for incremental changes from the remaining free-agent pool to help get over the top.

LaMarcus Aldridge could be the best option available, even at 37 years old entering his 17th NBA season.

The veteran averaged 12.9 points, 5.5 rebounds and 1.0 blocks per game with the Nets last season, mostly coming off the bench. He remains a solid defender who can provide a boost offensively with the second unit.

Miami already has plenty of veteran leadership from Jimmy Butler, Kyle Lowry and even Udonis Haslem, but adding one more proven player in the locker room can't hurt.