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Bulls guard Cameron Payne underwent surgery on his right foot (5th metatarsal) on Wednesday, September 6. Dr. Johnny Lin of Midwest Orthopaedics at Rush performed the surgery.
Payne will remain in a splint for the next 7-10 days followed by a boot for 6-8 weeks.
He is expected to make a full return in 3-4 months.
Cavs guard Isaiah Thomas is still recovering from his hip injury, and the healing process will delay the start of play for his new team. Here’s ESPN.com reporting:
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While introducing their acquisitions from the summer’s blockbuster trade, the Cleveland Cavaliers were reluctant to discuss Isaiah Thomas’ health during a news conference Thursday.
“To be fair to Isaiah, we’re not going to address any specifics on his hip injury,” general manager Koby Altman said. “We’re also not going to put a timetable on it.”
Altman added: “We’re not going to rush it, at all.”
Altman intercepted a question directed to Thomas about his health and tried to steer the proceedings away from the subject, declaring, “This is not going to turn into the Isaiah Thomas hip press conference.”
While Altman was careful not to put any expectations on a return date, Cavs coach Tyronn Lue revealed that Thomas will miss the start of the season. That would mean the All-Star point guard still has at least five to six weeks of rehab ahead of him before he suits up for Cleveland. Altman said Cleveland will lean on free-agent signees Derrick Rose and Jose Calderon while Thomas is out.
Here’s the New York Post reporting on the Brooklyn Nets, who may find themselves with a new owner — though the entire process may span a few years:
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Brooklyn Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov is ready for a long goodbye.
The Russian billionaire, unable to sell a minority stake in the money-losing NBA franchise, now plans to off-load a controlling stake in the team, two sources close to the situation told The Post.
However, Prokhorov is hoping to sell the Nets in a two-part process, the sources said. First, the 52-year-old will look to sell a minority piece of the team — but give the buyer the right to buy the entire team in a short period of time — say three years, the sources said.
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The Orlando Magic have re-signed free agent forward Damjan Rudez (pronunciation: DAHM-yahn ROO dezh), President of Basketball Operations Jeff Weltman announced today.
Rudež (#3, 6’10”, 228, 6/17/86) appeared in 45 games last season with the Magic, averaging 1.8 ppg. in 7.0 minpg. Not drafted by an NBA franchise, he has played in 146 career NBA regular season games (two starts) with Indiana, Minnesota and Orlando (2014-17), averaging 3.3 ppg. in 11.2 minpg., while shooting .373 (106-284) from three-point range. Rudež is a former member of the Croatian Senior National Team.
Orlando’s roster now stands at 19 players.
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The Indiana Pacers announced Thursday they have signed 6-8 forward DeQuan Jones and 6-5 guard Trey McKinney-Jones to contracts.
DeQuan Jones was undrafted out of the University of Miami in 2012 and played with the Orlando Magic in 2012-13. He played with Reno in the NBA G League one season and has played internationally the last three seasons.
Trey McKinney-Jones also played at the University of Miami and was undrafted in 2013. He has had three stints with the Fort Wayne Mad Ants of the NBA G League while also playing internationally the last three seasons.
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The Milwaukee Bucks have signed free agent guard James Young to a training camp contract.
Young, 22, was the 17th overall selection in the 2014 NBA Draft by the Boston Celtics. He played in 89 games over three seasons with Boston and averaged 2.3 points and 1.1 rebounds per contest. In two seasons (2014-16) with the Maine Red Claws of the NBA G League, Young averaged 18.7 points, 5.4 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.3 steals while shooting 40.6 percent from three-point distance.
Originally from Flint, Mich., Young played one season at the University of Kentucky and averaged 14.3 points, 4.3 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game.
The Atlanta Hawks have signed Josh Magette to a two-way contract, and has also signed Tyler Cavanaugh, it was announced today by General Manager and Head of Basketball Operations Travis Schlenk.
A 6’1 guard, Magette (ma-JET) spent time during the 2016 preseason with the Hawks and was part of the team’s NBA Summer League roster in 2017.
Last season, Magette started 50 games for the Los Angeles D-Fenders of the NBA G League, averaging 15.8 points, 9.4 assists, 4.5 rebounds and 1.5 steals in 35.3 minutes. He led the G League in assists per game for the second straight season, and was named Second Team All-G League.
Magette played in 45 games (all starts) in 2015-16 with D-Fenders, averaging 11.5 points, 9.1 assists, 4.5 rebounds and 2.5 steals in 38.0 minutes, leading the G League in both assists and steals per game.
He also has played professionally with Koroivos (Greece) and Landstede (Netherlands).
A native of Hoover, AL (Spain Park HS), Magette played four years at Alabama-Huntsville, where he was Gulf South Conference co-Player of the Year as a senior in 2012. He will wear jersey No. 11.
The 2017-18 season will mark the first year of two-way contracts in the NBA. Only players with four-or-fewer years of NBA experience are permitted to sign two-way contracts. Per league rules, teams are allowed to have up to two two-way players on their roster at any given time, in addition to their 15-man regular season roster. A two-way player for the Hawks will primarily play for the team’s NBA G League affiliate (the Erie BayHawks) but can spend up to 45 days with Atlanta, not including any time prior to the start of Erie’s training camp and at the conclusion of their season.
Cavanaugh was also a member of the Hawks’ Summer League team, competing in Las Vegas this past July.
He spent his first two college seasons at Wake Forest before transferring to George Washington. As a graduate student at GW last season, he appeared in 35 games (all starts), leading the team in points (18.3), rebounds (8.4), free throws made (173) and attempted (204) in 32.2 minutes (.448 FG%, .409 3FG%, .848 FT%). He was named to the A-10 All-Conference Second Team and the All-Academic Team.
The 6’9 Cavanaugh started 38 games in 2015-16 and put in 16.8 points, 7.6 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 30.4 minutes (.505 FG%, .417 3FG%, .827 FT%), leading the Colonials to the National Invitational Tournament (NIT) title, earning Most Outstanding Player honors. He averaged 8.8 points and 3.8 rebounds in 21.2 minutes in 33 games as a sophomore at Wake Forest, and tallied 5.0 points and 2.5 rebounds in 16.7 minutes as a freshman in 31 contests. He will wear No. 34.
The Atlanta Hawks have signed Quinn Cook, it was announced today by General Manager and Head of Basketball Operations Travis Schlenk.
Cook split time last season, his rookie year in the NBA, between the Dallas Mavericks (five games) and New Orleans Pelicans (nine games), averaging 5.6 points and 1.9 assists in 13.4 minutes (.500 FG%, .423 3FG%).
He appeared in 82 games (75 starts) between 2015-17 with the Canton Charge of the NBA G League, and averaged 22.6 points, 6.0 assists, 4.0 rebounds and 1.2 steals in 36.0 minutes (.371 FG%, .377 3FG%, .882 FT%). The 2016 G League Rookie of the Year, Cook is a two-time G League All-Star, was named First Team All-G League in 2017 and Third Team in 2016. He was also the league’s All-Star Game MVP last season.
The 6’2 guard played four years (2011-15) for Duke University, and as a senior, put in 16.0 points, 3.3 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.0 steals in 35.9 minutes, earning Second Team All-America honors from Sporting News in helping lead the Blue Devils to the National Championship.
Cook is a native of Washington, DC and attended DeMatha Catholic High School in Hyattsville, MD before transferring to Oak Hill Academy in Mouth of Wilson, VA. He will wear jersey No. 4.
The Miami HEAT announced today that they have signed guard Larry Drew II.
Earlier this month, Drew II won a gold medal as a member of the United States team at the 2017 FIBA AmeriCup. He appeared in five games and averaged 4.6 points, 5.0 assists, 2.0 rebounds, 1.00 steals and 19.4 minutes while shooting 52.9 percent from the floor.
During the 2016-17 season, Drew II played in 10 games (one start) as a member of the Sioux Falls Skyforce and averaged 8.1 points, 5.9 assists, 2.7 rebounds and 23.5 minutes while shooting 47.7 percent from the floor, 40 percent from three-point range and 71.4 percent from the foul line. He also played internationally in Lithuania with BC Neptūnas during the 2016-17 season and in Puerto Rico with the Pirates de Quebradillas. Drew II saw action in 21 games with BC Neptūnas in Lithuanian Basketball League play and averaged 8.2 points, 5.6 assists, 3.0 rebounds, 1.05 steals and 25.2 minutes. In Basketball Champions League play with BC Neptūnas, he appeared in 14 games and averaged 9.2 points, 5.3 assists, 2.4 rebounds, 1.00 steals and 23.6 minutes. In six games with the Pirates de Quebradillas of the Puerto Rico-BSN (Baloncesto Superior Nacional) he averaged 7.7 points, 5.2 assists, 1.5 rebounds and 22.7 minutes.
In 96 career NBA G League games, all with Sioux Falls, Drew II has averaged 10.8 points, 7.8 assists, 3.4 rebounds, 1.48 steals and 33.6 minutes while shooting 47.6 percent from the floor, 41.6 percent from three-point range and 71.4 percent from the foul line. Drew II, who was a member of the Skyforce’s 2015-16 NBA G League championship team, holds the NBA G League single-game assist record with 23 in a win over the Rio Grande Valley Vipers on Dec. 25, 2014.
Drew II has previously been in training camp with the HEAT in both 2013 and 2014. His lone NBA regular season experience came during the 2014-15 season when he appeared in 12 games (one start) with the Philadelphia 76ers and averaged 3.8 points, 3.7 assists, 1.2 rebounds and 18.3 minutes.
Here’s the South Florida Sun Sentinel reporting on the Miami Heat’s G League affiliate team, who were forced by Mother Nature to postpone their upcoming open tryouts:
Miami Heat’s open tryouts for their developmental-league affiliate, the NBA G League Sioux Falls Skyforce, have been postponed from Sunday until Sept. 24 due to the uncertainly of Hurricane Irma.
The tryouts scheduled for Sept. 16 in Sioux Falls will continue to be held as scheduled.
Both tryout sessions will come in front of Skyforce coaches and Heat officials, with potential invitations to follow to the Skyforce’s training camp in October.