The injury picture around the NBA is finally starting to shift, with a wave of high-profile returns expected to reshape the 2025/26 season. ESPN’s insider crew sorted the comeback candidates by timetable, and the list is headlined by some familiar names who have already been out for a full season.
Tyrese Haliburton of the Pacers, Damian Lillard of the Trail Blazers, Kyrie Irving of the Mavericks and Fred VanVleet of the Rockets are all projected to be back this fall after season-long absences. Lillard returns to a Portland roster that has undergone major changes, which leaves plenty of questions about how quickly everything will fit. Haliburton and VanVleet are both trying to push their teams back into title conversation, while Irving’s next step is tied to how he meshes with Cooper Flagg on a Mavericks club whose longer-term outlook could make him a major trade name by the deadline.
There is also a second group of players expected to be ready in October if nothing goes off track. That list includes Steven Adams of the Rockets, Dejounte Murray of the Pelicans, Walker Kessler of the Lakers, Joel Embiid of the Sixers, Luka Doncic of the Lakers, Jaren Jackson Jr. of the Jazz, Trae Young of the Wizards and Jalen Williams of the Thunder.
At the other end of the spectrum, Jimmy Butler of the Warriors stands out as the clearest example of a player on a much longer recovery path.
Beyond the NBA injury news, Hall of Famer Mike D’Antoni is set to move into a new role in Italy. According to Alessandro Maggi of Sportando, the American-Italian, who both played and coached in Italy, is poised to join BC Roma’s board of directors. Maggi also reported that former Sixers executive Bryan Colangelo helped facilitate D’Antoni’s return to Italy and is now serving as an ownership advisor to the club while representing the team at Italian Basketball League meetings.
Isaiah Thomas also surfaced in overseas chatter after posting on social media about his interest in playing abroad. Lithuanian club BC Zalgiris responded with a playful invitation for the former Celtics point guard to come experience their in-arena atmosphere, but Kevin Martorano of Sportando reported that there have been no serious talks between Thomas and the team.
And then there’s Nikola Mirotic, whose future may already be reaching a crossroads. Martorano passed along a La Razon report saying the 35-year-old is considering retirement after a season in which he missed significant time for AS Monaco.
Mirotic still has one year left on his deal. The 6-foot-10 stretch-forward spent five NBA seasons from 2014 to 2019, most of them with the Bulls.
In Other News...
Two Overlooked Blazers Picks Helped Define Portlands Best Era
The late-1980s and early-1990s stretch that still stands as the most resonant era in Trail Blazers history was shaped in part by two second-round finds who became far more than afterthoughts on draft night. Jerome Kersey spent 11 years in Portland and was a steady force on the teams that reached the NBA Finals in 1990 and 1992, while Clifford Robinson grew into one of the leagues most versatile contributors after arriving in 1989.
Robinson stayed with the Blazers through 1997, winning Sixth Man of the Year in 1993 and earning an All-Star nod the next season before moving on to several other NBA stops and finishing his career in 2007. Kersey, meanwhile, went on to play for other teams and later added a championship with the San Antonio Spurs, a reminder that Portlands best era was built not just on stars, but on draft value that outperformed every expectation. [Read more 🡒]