Caitlin Clark has announced she will enter the 2024 WNBA draft and forgo her final season of eligibility at Iowa. Clark was eligible to return for a fifth season via the COVID-19 waiver.

Clark is the projected No. 1 pick, which is held by the Indiana Fever.

"While this season is far from over and we have a lot more goals to achieve, it will be my last one at Iowa," Clark wrote. "I am excited to be entering the 2024 WNBA Draft.

"It is impossible for me to fully express my gratitude to everyone who has supported me during my time at Iowa -- my teammates, who made the last four years the best; my coaches, trainers and staff who always let me be me; Hawkeye fans who filled Carver every night; and everyone who came out to support us across the country, especially young kids."

The Fever also owed the No. 1 pick in 2023 when they selected Aliyah Boston.

Clark is averaging 32.2 points and 8.7 assists per game.

The San Antonio Spurs have waived Marcus Morris Sr. after agreeing to a buyout.

San Antonio acquired Morris Sr. on Feb. 8 as part of a three-team trade with the Indiana Pacers and Philadelphia 76ers.

Pat Beverley previously reported that Morris is expected to sign with the Minnesota Timberwolves upon his inevitable buyout.

Joel Embiid spoke to the media for the first time since suffered a knee injury last month and confirmed he hopes to return to game action before the end of the regular season.

"That's the plan," Embiid said after Philadelphia practiced Thursday. "Obviously everything has to go right, as far as getting healthy and being as close as I'm supposed to be. But yeah, that's the plan."

Embiid was the frontrunner for MVP before the injury.

The team announced on Feb. 6 that Embiid had undergone a procedure "to address an injury to the lateral meniscus in his left knee" and that he would be reevaluated in four weeks, which is next Tuesday. 

Embiid said there is no timetable for his return, but he continues to feel good about his rehab.

Klay Thompson is eligible for a four-year contract worth up to $223 million, but he is open to re-signing with the Golden State Warriors on a shorter deal. A source told ESPN's Kendra Andrews that money and lineup status are not driving forces for Thompson.

Thompson could possibly sign a two-year deal this summer to align with the remaining time on the contracts of Stephen Curry and Steve Kerr.

Thompson is making $43 million his season on an expiring contract. When Thompson and the Warriors discussed an extension last summer, talks never progressed to specific dollar amounts and instead a range was presented by the Warriors.

Thompson has been candid about his on-court struggles and a source close to him says his frustrations are more about his own level of play and less about the team itself.

"He feels like he's letting everyone down," the source told ESPN. "He doesn't want to be a drain. He wants to help. He wants to feel valuable."

Thompson recently moved to the bench and responded with one of his best ames of the season. Thompson has shot 45 percent on three-pointers during his first five games as a reserve.

"The thought of him coming off the bench as our flame thrower, it's a pretty powerful weapon," Steve Kerr said.

Thompson, however, was very upset when he was informed of the decision from the Warriors to move him out of the starting lineup. Kerr told ESPN that Thompson initially yelled at him and some of the assistants. Thompson later came back to apologize to the coaches.

"It was not an easy conversation," Kerr said. "This is maybe the hardest part about getting further away from our prime. It's just, after 12 years [of Thompson starting], it wasn't easy.

"And still moving forward, it's not going to be easy. But I told him, 'If you really embrace it, you can help your team win.'"

The Charlotte Hornets are hiring Jeff Peterson as their new head of basketball operations. Peterson replaces Mitch Kupchak, who recently resigned as the Hornets president of basketball operations.

At 35 years old, Peterson will be the NBA's youngest front office leader. He's been working in the Brooklyn Nets front office as an assistant to Sean Marks for the past five years.

Peterson played college basketball at Iowa and Arkansas, before finishing his collegiate career at Florida State. He then held various roles with the Atlanta Hawks front office before joining the Nets in 2019.

The Atlanta Hawks are waiving guard Patty Mills. The Hawks acquired Mills from the Oklahoma City Thunder, after the Thunder had acquired Mills from the Brooklyn Nets in a salary-clearing trade.

In a limited role with Atlanta, Mills has averaged 2.7 points in 10.6 minutes per game across 19 appearances.

With the open roster sport, the Hawks will convert Trent Forrest from his two-way deal to a standard contract. Forrest maximized his allowed 50 NBA games while on his two-way contract recently. He's been ineligible to play since.

Forrest has appeared in 43 games with Atlanta while on two-way contracts each of the last two seasons.

Team USA has ramped up the selection process for this summer's Olympics in Paris. There are 11 players that the United States are counting on playing or are in strong consideration for a roster spot. The initial 11 are:

• Bam Adebayo - Miami Heat
• Devin Booker - Phoenix Suns
• Stephen Curry - Golden State Warriors
• Anthony Davis - Los Angeles Lakers
• Kevin Durant - Phoenix Suns
• Anthony Edwards - Minnesota Timberwolves
• Joel Embiid - Philadelphia 76ers
• Tyrese Haliburton - Indiana Pacers
• Jrue Holiday - Boston Celtics
• LeBron James - Los Angeles Lakers
• Jayson Tatum - Boston Celtics

None of these players are considered absolute locks as of yet. But all 11 are under strong consideration and have mentioned interest in representing Team USA this summer, provided they are healthy enough to play.

Of that group, Booker, Curry, Durant, Embiid, Holiday, James and Tatum are considered to be the United States core group. Edwards and Haliburton are being considered after strong play at last summer's FIBA World Cup. Adebayo and Davis are garnering interest for additional frontcourt depth around Embiid.

Despite Joel Embiid still recovering from surgery to address a torn meniscus, Team USA is counting on the big man for this summer's Olympics in Paris. Embiid is still committed to playing in the games as well.

Embiid chose to represent the United States on the national team level this past fall. Embiid picked the United States over France and his native Cameroon, both of whom he was also eligible to play for.

The Philadelphia 76ers star had surgery in in early February to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee. The Sixers are hopeful that Embiid will return in late March. If he can return and stay healthy through the playoffs, that should open the door for Embiid to join Team USA this summer.

Andrew Wiggins left the Golden State Warriors before the start of their most recent road trip due to a family matter.

The Warriors have no timeline for Wiggins' return, but he will be out for Thursday's game against the Knicks.

“We don’t know. We’ll respect Andrew’s wishes for this to remain private. Personal reasons," said Steve Kerr.

The NBA denied the New York Knicks' protest following a 105-103 loss to the Houston Rockets on February 12.

The game ended with Jalen Brunson being called for a foul on Aaron Holiday with 0.3 seconds left in the fourth, with Holiday hitting two-out-of-three free throws to win the game.

After the game, crew chief Ed Malloy admitted that Brunson should not have been called for a foul.

“Under the standard for NBA game protests, New York was required to demonstrate that there was a misapplication of the official playing rules. As opposed to an error in judgement by game officials. Because the foul call at issue reflected an error in judgement, New York did not demonstrate a misapplication of the playing rules, and the extraordinary remedy of upholding a game protest was not warranted," said the NBA in a statement.