Beyond the sorry state of the Chicago Bulls, the league at large has found itself in an interesting place this past week.
When it comes to on-court stuff, the Atlanta Hawks’ 2025-26 season has reached the borderline-disaster stage. Away from the hardwood, the college hoops world has tried to find a way to quell concerns about “professionals” returning to the amateur ranks, while the NBA continues trying to fix a problem that may not really exist.
Here’s the latest scuttlebutt around the NBA.
Hawks Looking to Trade Trae Young, Zaccharie Risacher?
Yes, the Bulls beat the Hawks twice, in Atlanta, over three days earlier this month. Given that the matchups were both all-offense, no-defense semi-embarrassments between two thoroughly mid squads, this wasn’t a total shock.
The revamped Hawks were expecting to compete for a deep playoff run heading into 2025-26, but at 15-19 they may not even make the play-in tournament.
At this stage of the year, though, the Hawks have reached the exact same nadir Chicago discovered a few weeks back. Atlanta is on a seven-game losing skid, and has tumbled to the Eastern Conference’s No. 10 seed.
Chatter has reached a boiling point that the Hawks might be looking to move on not just from Trae Young (per ESPN’s Tim MacMahon on the must-listen podcast “The Hoop Collective”), but also the No. 1 pick from the 2024 NBA Draft, small forward Zaccharie Risacher, reports Marc Stein of The Stein Line. Ditching the 27-year-old Young, whose defense is atrocious and whose offense may take away from the talents of likely first-year All-Star forward Jalen Johnson, makes sense. But losing the 20-year-old Risacher — a talented prospect and 2025 All-Rookie Teamer under team control for the long-term future — doesn’t make much sense at this stage.
NCAA Clarifies College Eligibility for NBA Draftees
After the NCAA recently awarded former No. 31 draft pick Zeke Nnaji four years of college eligibility to play ball at Baylor, NCAA president Charlie Baker tried to clarify where the organization is drawing the line when it comes to former NBA draft selections.
“The NCAA has not and will not grant eligibility to any prospective or returning student-athletes who have signed an NBA contract (including a two-way contract),” Baker said in a statement. “As schools are increasingly recruiting individuals with international league experience, the NCAA is exercising discretion in applying the actual and necessary expenses bylaw to ensure that prospective student-athletes with experience in American basketball leagues are not at a disadvantage compared to their international counterparts. Rules have long permitted schools to enroll and play individuals with no prior collegiate experience midyear.
“While the NCAA has prevailed on the vast majority of eligibility-related lawsuits, recent outlier decisions enjoining the NCAA on a nationwide basis from enforcing rules that have been on the books for decades — without even having a trial — are wildly destabilizing. I will be working with DI leaders in the weeks ahead to protect college basketball from these misguided attempts to destroy this American institution.”
So that’s the line. If a player has actually suited up in college, he’s not allowed to return to play basketball. Does that mean, say, LeBron James could play for USC once he finally leaves the league? Technically, yes. And let’s all hope it happens.
NBA Threatens To Counter “Tanking” Shenanigans Yet Again
The NBA has threatened to make some drastic changes to its anti-tanking policies yet again for some reason, per Shams Charania of ESPN.
Adam Silver and co. are looking to address an issue that really isn’t much of an issue anymore, in this writer’s opinion. The last time the league made significant alterations regarding its approach to the draft, it “flattened” the odds teams have in the lottery, which helps teams with semi-competent records to lap clubs with horrific finishes. This has happened twice in the last two seasons, when the Hawks and San Antonio Spurs nabbed top-two selections. You could argue this has titled things in the wrong direction.
It’s pretty clear what the NBA’s biggest problem is: star players sitting out too many games, especially late in the year as clubs jockey for playoff health or, yes, draft positioning. How can this be fixed? Fewer NBA games, fewer back-to-back slates, and no preseason.
The League’s Christmas Slate Was A Surprise Smash
According to the NBA public relations staff’s official X account, the league’s Christmas Day games represented their most-watched slate on the holiday over the last 15 years — aside from 2011-12, which tipped off on Christmas due to a lockout. The 47 million folks who took in the action via ESPN and ABC represent a massive 45 percent uptick over the audience last year.
The NBA delivered its most-watched Christmas Day in 15 years. More than 47 million people in the U.S. watched the NBA on Christmas Day across Disney networks – up 45% vs. last year.(Excludes the 2011-12 season which started on Christmas Day.) pic.twitter.com/evgUQjlYWp
— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) December 31, 2025From a fan enjoyment perspective, there were only two blowouts among these generally solid squads — and both were intriguing. The San Antonio Spurs flummoxed the Oklahoma City Thunder for a third victory against the reigning champs this month, 117-102. The Houston Rockets obliterated the Los Angeles Lakers, 119-96, exposing LA’s massive athleticism shortage.
Among the close games, we were treated to a New York Knicks rally from a 17-point deficit against the Cleveland Cavaliers, as questions swirl about 2025 Coach of the Year Kenny Atkinson’s competence and the fit of the Cavaliers’ stars. Even missing a quality traditional starting center, the Golden State Warriors still survived the center-heavy Dallas Mavericks, 126-116.
Before he hyperextended his knee and derailed his campaign for a possible fourth MVP award, Denver Nuggets superstar center Nikola Jokic submitted a 56-point, 16-rebound, 15-assist masterpiece in a 142-138 overtime comeback nailbiter against the Minnesota Timberwolves in the late game.
Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn ImagesInjury Updates Around The League
As we alluded to earlier, Jokic suffered a left knee hyperextension while playing the Miami Heat on Dec. 29. The Nuggets announced that the 6-foot-11 superstar will be out for at least the next four weeks, essentially dashing his hopes of awards hardware. With key starters Aaron Gordon, Christian Bruan, and Cameron Johnson all hurt, too, Denver could struggle to stay out of the play-in tournament bracket this spring. Charlotte Hornets reserve center Mason Plumlee has gone under the knife to address a right groin issue, and is expected to be reassessed in six weeks, per a team press statement. Plumlee, who is somehow already 35, is effectively Charlotte’s third-string center, behind younger pieces Ryan Kalkbrenner and Moussa Diabate. All-Defensive Team Orlando Magic guard Jalen Suggs is rejoining the squad for its New Year’s Eve clash against the lowly Indiana Pacers, per a Magic press release. The 6-foot-5 Gonzaga product has been on the shelf since Dec. 13 with a left hip contusion. Orlando has gone 13-8 with its best perimeter stopper available, and just 5-7 when he sits. © Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn ImagesOdds & Ends
2025-26 Kawhi Leonard is looking like 2018-19 Kawhi Leonard right now. While powering LA to a surprise five-game win streak, the 34-year-old has been averaging 37.8 points on .527/.465/.962 shooting splits, 8.8 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 2.8 steals and 1.4 blocks. Granted, the Clippers just walloped one of the worst teams in the league, the 8-25 Sacramento Kings, by 41 points on Tuesday night and beat a very injured Los Angeles Lakers club, 103-88, on Dec. 20. Beyond those two bookends, the Clippers also took down several legitimate, relatively healthy foes — the 20-10 Houston Rockets, the frisky 14-19 Portland Trail Blazers, and the 25-8 Detroit Pistons — by double digits, too. Is this just a blip or an actual, positive trend? It might be a bit of both. But if you think Kawhi Leonard will actually be healthy and survive any kind of extended postseason run, I’ve got a bridge to sell you.Hence then, the article about around the nba atlanta fire sale ncaa return rules tanking tweaks christmas ratings more was published today ( ) and is available on Bleacher Nation ( Middle East ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
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