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Philadelphia 76ers forward Richaun Holmes has been diagnosed with a non-displaced fracture in the radial bone of his left wrist. The injury occurred at the 1:37 mark in the third quarter of Friday night’s game vs. Boston.
He will be re-evaluated in approximately three weeks.
The Milwaukee Bucks have requested waivers on Kendall Marshall.
Marshall, 26, originally signed with the Bucks on Sept. 21. He appeared in three preseason games and averaged 1.0 point and 3.7 assists per contest.
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The Toronto Raptors have signed guard Norman Powell to a multi-year contract extension.
“Norm is a young, athletic and versatile player who has worked extremely hard to improve each season,” said Raptors President Masai Ujiri. “We view Norm as a significant part of our team going forward.”
According to ESPN.com, the deal is a four-year, $42 million contract with a player option on the fourth year.
In two seasons with the Raptors, Powell is averaging 7.3 points, 2.2 rebounds and 16.7 minutes in 125 career games (42 starts). He has shot .351 (92-262) from three-point range. In 27 career playoff contests, Powell owns averages of 6.4 points, 2.0 rebounds and 16.0 minutes.
Powell, 6-4, 215 pounds, was selected by Milwaukee with the 46th overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft. The Raptors acquired him on draft night from the Bucks along with a protected future first-round pick in exchange for guard Greivis Vasquez.
Powell posted averages of 8.4 points, 2.2 rebounds and 18.0 minutes in 76 appearances last season. He scored in double figures 31 times, including six games with 20-or-more points. Powell led the bench in scoring 13 times (second most on the team). In 18 starts, he averaged 15.6 points, 3.7 rebounds and 31.9 minutes; and reached double digits in scoring 17 times.
During his rookie season, Powell averaged 5.6 points, 2.3 rebounds and 14.8 minutes in 49 outings (24 starts). He was named Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month for April, leading all Eastern Conference rookies averaging 15.3 points in eight games. Powell set career highs with 30 points and nine rebounds, along with a career high-tying five assists April 13 at Brooklyn.
Powell played for seasons (2011-15) at UCLA, averaging 9.8 points, 3.0 rebounds and 25.2 minutes in 141 career games. He played in three consecutive NCAA Tournaments (2013-15) and made back-to-back Sweet 16 appearances (2014-15). Powell was named first-team All-Pac 12 and was an Honourable Mention selection on the All-Pac 12 Defensive Team as a senior.
There are lots of minor injuries suffered in each NBA preseason. But it’s not a great sign when an injury is the same thing that hit a player during summer league. Still seems like no big deal for now, but here’s the NY Post reporting:
Frank Ntilikina will sit out his second straight preseason game — Sunday against the Nets — and is still considered day-to-day with a knee bruise, but the 19-year-old said he could return to action Monday night against the Rockets.
Ntilikina, who missed all of summer league because of the same injury, said he isn’t concerned the issue will linger much longer.
“It’s going to be all right,” Ntilikina said. “I’m feeling better, better than [Friday]. I did a lot of treatment on my knee. … This is a very long season, 82 games, so doing stupid things, trying to play even if my knee is not all right is not smart. So, it would be best for me be to be healthy and to be ready for the whole season.”
Last night, Phoenix Suns forward T.J. Warren received sutures for a laceration on his head. By NBA policy, he was evaluated for a concussion and was not placed into the concussion protocol.
This afternoon, he was re-evaluated by Team Physician Dr. Tom Fiel in Phoenix and it was confirmed he will not be placed in the concussion protocol.
His status is day-to-day.
The Toronto Raptors have waived center Kennedy Meeks, guard Andy Rautins and forward Kyle Wiltjer.
Rautins and Wiltjer both appeared in three preseason games while Meeks made his lone appearance October 4 against the Los Angeles Clippers in Hawaii.
Toronto’s roster now stands at 17 players.
The Utah Jazz have waived guard/forward Taylor Braun.
Braun (6-7, 210, North Dakota State) appeared in two preseason games for the Jazz, averaging 2.0 points, connecting on 4-of-4 free throws in 2.0 minutes per contest.
Prior to signing with Utah, Braun played with ratiopharm Ulm of the German Bundesliga, where he averaged 8.0 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.6 assists in 53 games (50 starts) during the 2016-17 season.
The 6-7 guard/forward originally signed with the Jazz on Sep. 26.
Following the move, Utah’s roster now stands at 19 players.
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Dallas Mavericks guard Seth Curry will be out indefinitely after being diagnosed with a stress reaction of his left tibia.
No timetable has been set for his return and he will be reevaluated weekly.
According to the Dallas Morning News, “Curry was one of the Mavericks’ best players after entering the starting lineup last season in January. He averaged 12.8 points and shot 42.5 percent from 3-point range.”
The Phoenix Suns have released the statement below following last night’s passing of Suns legend and Basketball Hall of Famer, Connie Hawkins.
“’The Hawk’ revolutionized the game and remains to this day an icon of the sport and one of basketball’s great innovators. His unique combination of size, grace and athleticism was well ahead of its time and his signature style of play is now a hallmark of the modern game.
A flip of the coin changed the Suns’ fortunes and he helped put Phoenix on the map as the city’s first professional sports superstar. Rightfully, he became the first Suns player inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame and his No. 42 hangs in the rafters at Talking Stick Resort Arena as part of our Ring of Honor.
Connie’s passion for the game was only matched by his desire to give back to the Phoenix community, a role which he played proudly as a Suns community ambassador, spreading warmth and kindness to everyone he encountered. We will miss Hawk dearly. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family and friends as we mourn the passing of a true Suns legend.”
The Los Angeles Lakers have hired Jason Rosenfeld as Director of Basketball Analytics.
Rosenfeld and his basketball analytics department will work closely with the basketball operations staff, as well as the coaching and training staffs, to incorporate statistical analysis and quantitative strategy into the day-to-day operations of each front office department.
Most recently with the NBA league office, Rosenfeld was hired as the Director of Basketball Analytics in 2014 and was tasked with developing new statistics to better evaluate players (ex. hustle stats), as well as assisting teams with their analytics efforts in both business and basketball operations. Rosenfeld’s analytics department also supported rule and policy changes by the Competition Committee and Board of Governors to improve game flow, successfully advocating for a rule change to diminish deliberate fouling in 2016.
Prior to joining the league office, Rosenfeld served as Director of Basketball Analytics for the Charlotte Hornets for two seasons, and worked in the front office of the Yao Ming-owned Shanghai Sharks of the CBA from 2009-10.
Rosenfeld graduated from Harvard University with a degree in Statistics, while minoring in East Asian Studies, and is fluent in Mandarin Chinese.