According to Houston Rockets’ head coach Ime Udoka, with Dorian Finney-Smith still recovering from offseason ankle surgery, he is set to miss the season opener on October 21st. They will be facing the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Udoka said he has no timetable of when the 32-year-old will be back, as they will be cautious and not rushing him back into the swing of things.

“No, probably not,” Ime Udoka said when asked if Finney-Smith would be ready for the opener.

Finney-Smith recently signed a four-year, $53 million contract with Houston earlier in the summer.

According to the Dallas Mavericks, center Daniel Gafford has suffered a sprained ankle and will be out for the next two-to-three weeks.

He suffered the injury during the opening practice of training camp on Tuesday. Dallas’ regular season begins on October 22nd, where they take on the San Antonio Spurs.

Last season, fans saw the 27-year-old miss the final two months due to a Grade 3 sprain of the MCL.

In 57 games, Gafford averaged 12.3 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 1.4 assists.

According to ESPN’s Shams Charania, like the Al Horford scenario, two players have verbally committed to playing for the Golden State Warriors.

Golden State got confirmation from Gary Payton II and De’Anthony Melton that they both will be on the Warriors’ roster for the upcoming season. This is shortly after Horford committed to a multi-year deal.

Payton will be returning to the Warriors for his sixth-straight season, with Melton returning for his second season. His first run didn’t go so well due to him tearing his ACL mid-November.

These signings will be official once the Jonathan Kuminga situation is resolved. The deadline for Kuminga to sign his qualifying offer is October 1st.