Kings
Keegan Murray looks ready to rejoin the mix. Jason Anderson of the Sacramento Bee reports the Kings expect their fourth-year forward to make his season debut on Thursday in Memphis, with Saturday in Denver as the backup option.
Murray was sent to the G League on Monday to get a full-contact practice in with Stockton, and he’s been cleared for 5-on-5 work. He’s set to meet the big club in Oklahoma City on Wednesday.
It’s been five weeks since Murray had surgery on a torn UCL in his left thumb, an injury he suffered in the preseason. The original timeline was four-to-six weeks, so this update tracks.
The Kings badly need him. Murray is their best defender, and without him, the roster’s lack of forward depth has been exposed.
Sacramento has fallen to 3-11, second-worst in the West, and the $140 million extension he signed in July looks a lot more “sensible,” as Yossi Gozlan put it, when you consider how much they’ve missed him.
Spurs
San Antonio’s injury list keeps growing. Reigning Rookie of the Year Stephon Castle has been diagnosed with a left hip flexor strain after an MRI on Monday.
ESPN’s Shams Charania reports he’ll be reevaluated in one-to-two weeks.
Castle had been off to a fantastic start — 18.4 points, 7.8 assists, 6.3 rebounds and 1.8 steals on 50 percent shooting — before leaving Sunday’s game against Sacramento.
He now joins Victor Wembanyama (calf strain) and Dylan Harper (calf strain) on the sideline. Point guard Jordan McLaughlin is also expected to miss time following a right hamstring strain suffered in a workout.
The silver lining is San Antonio’s depth at point guard, and De’Aaron Fox has carried them since returning from a hamstring issue of his own.
He’s averaging 26 points and 10.5 assists over his last two games and appears to be settling in more than ever.
NBA Draft
Kansas guard Darryn Peterson leads the way in ESPN’s first 2026 mock draft from Jeremy Woo. Peterson began his high school career at Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy, the same Akron area that produced LeBron James.
BYU’s AJ Dybantsa sits at No. 2, followed by Duke’s Cameron Boozer, Tennessee’s Nate Ament and UNC’s Caleb Wilson rounding out the top five.
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