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Wizards forward Andray Blatche underwent successful surgery this evening to repair a fracture of the fifth metatarsal in his right foot. The procedure was performed by Dr. Ed Magur at Sibley Hospital in Washington, D.C.
Blatche is expected to take approximately three months to return to basketball-related activities.
In the 2009-10 NBA season, Blatche for the Wizards averaged 14.1 points and 6.3 rebounds per game.
The AP reports:
Celtics general manager Danny Ainge says top draft pick Avery Bradley will have a “scope” on his left ankle and be sidelined 6-to-8 weeks.
Bradley was selected in the first round, 19th overall, in the NBA draft on Thursday night and was introduced by the Celtics on Friday, along with second-round pick Luke Harangody.
InsideHoops.com quick-take:
Well, at least it’s happening now, and not later on when it would cause Bradley to miss actual NBA games.
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Charlotte Bobcats General Manager Rod Higgins announced today that the team has made a qualifying offer to forward Tyrus Thomas, making him a restricted free agent. The qualifying offer allows the Bobcats to match any offer he receives from another team.
The Bobcats acquired Thomas from Chicago on February 18, 2010, in exchange for Acie Law, Ronald “Flip” Murray and a future first-round draft pick. In 25 games with the Bobcats, Thomas averaged 10.1 points, 6.1 rebounds and 1.5 blocks, while scoring in double figures 14 times. The fourth overall pick in the 2006 NBA Draft, Thomas has appeared in 279 career NBA games with averages of 8.0 points, 5.2 rebounds and 1.4 blocks.
Thomas on Monday received the Jefferson Award as the Outstanding Athlete as a Newcomer in Service and Philanthropy for the work of his non-profit organization, Tyrus Thomas Inc., which focuses on youth outreach, community development and organizational support in cities including his hometown of Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
The Charlotte Bobcats, who became the NBA’s 30th team when they joined the league in 2004-05, finished the 2009-10 season with a franchise-best 44-38 overall record (31-10 at home) and first-ever playoff appearance.
The AP reports:
An Illinois judge has finalized the contentious divorce of Miami Heat star Dwyane Wade, though the messy fight isn’t over.
Cook County Judge Marya Nega announced her widely expected decision during a brief hearing Friday.
Wade says he’s relieved the proceedings from his wife, Siohvaughn, are over.
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The Milwaukee Bucks have acquired guard Chris Douglas-Roberts (6-7, 210) from the New Jersey Nets for a future second round draft pick, General Manager John Hammond announced today. The Nets receive the 2012 second round draft pick that the Bucks acquired from Chicago in the John Salmons trade on February 18, 2010.
After two years in the NBA, Douglas-Roberts has career averages of 7.9 points, 2.2 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game while shooting 44.9 percent from the field. During the 2009-10 season, Douglas-Roberts played 67 games, starting 38, with averages of 9.8 points, 3.0 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 25.8 minutes per game. He shot 44.5 percent from the field and 84.7 percent from the free throw line last season. His 84.7 percent mark from the free throw line ranked 21st in the league last year.
Douglas-Roberts finished his second season in the league with the fourth highest scoring increase amongst sophomore players. He averaged 4.9 points per game as a rookie and improved to 9.8 points in his second season. Only George Hill (+6.7 points per game increase), Brook Lopez (+5.8) and Robin Lopez (+5.3) had higher scoring increases among second year players.
A native of Detroit, MI, Douglas-Roberts, 23, was drafted by the Nets in the second round (40th overall) of the 2008 NBA Draft. He played three seasons at the University of Memphis where he was a consensus First Team All-American and helped lead the Tigers to the national championship game his junior year.
InsideHoops.com quick-take: News of this upcoming trade leaked days ago, so it’s not a surprise. I wonder how CDR feels being given away for a mere future second rounder. He’s probably going to take it personally. He does that, sometimes.
Perry A. Farrell of the Detroit Free Press reports:
Karen Davidson expects the Pistons to be sold by the start of the season.
Davidson made the announcement tonight while Joe Dumars, the Pistons president of basketball operations, was discussing the team’s new draft pick, Greg Monroe.
“You’re going to have a new owner pretty soon,” Davidson said. “Definitely. I’m absolutely encouraged by the interest. This is a major franchise.”
Davidson said the new owners would be in place by next season.
“Yes,” she said. “When’s the first game, late October, right? I would expect so (to be sold by then). It depends how many lawyers get in on it, you know?”
Jerry Tipton of McClatchy Newspapers reports:
Kentucky made NBA Draft history Thursday night when the Orlando Magic picked Daniel Orton with the 29th selection of the first round. That enabled UK to become the first college team to boast five first-round picks in an NBA Draft.
But long before Orton got selected with the next-to-last pick of the first round, another agonizing wait had unfolded.
After John Wall made individual history by becoming the first UK player chosen with an NBA Draft’s first overall pick, and after DeMarcus Cousins went to Sacramento with the fifth pick, Patrick Patterson learned what Tom Petty meant when the rocker sang about the waiting being the hardest part…
No college ever did as well as UK did in this NBA Draft. With Eric Bledsoe going to Oklahoma City with the 18th pick (his rights were reportedly traded to the Los Angeles Clippers), the Cats eclipsed the previous record of four first-rounders shared by North Carolina in 2005, Duke in 1999 and Connecticut in 2006.
The Atlanta Hawks tonight acquired the draft rights to Jordan Crawford (the 27th pick) and Tibor Pleiss (the 31st pick) from the New Jersey Nets, in exchange for the rights to Damion James, who the Hawks selected at the 24th spot in the 2010 NBA Draft. Atlanta subsequently sent the rights to Pleiss to Oklahoma City in exchange for financial considerations.
At the 53rd spot in the second round, the Hawks drafted 6-7 Pape Sy from the Le Havre club in France’s Pro A League.
“We wanted to select the best player available, and we feel like we accomplished that with Jordan Crawford,” said Hawks Executive Vice President/General Manager Rick Sund. “We’re thrilled to acquire a player of Jordan’s caliber. He’s a player we scouted throughout the year, and targeted in the pre-draft process.”
“Jordan is a prolific scorer with deep range, who rose to the occasion for his team in the postseason,” said Hawks Assistant GM/Director of Player Personnel Dave Pendergraft. “He’s a gym rat who loves to play the game, and will give us another player who can play multiple positions and put the ball in the basket.”
Crawford (a 6-4 guard) led Xavier and the Atlantic 10 in scoring last season (20.5 ppg), appearing in 35 games (.462 FG%, .773 FT%). He averaged 29.0 ppg in three contests in the NCAA Tournament, earning a spot on the NCAA Tournament All-West Region Team. He played in 30 games as a freshman at Indiana University (in 2007-08), finishing seventh among Big Ten freshmen in scoring at 9.7 ppg, hitting double-figures 15 times.
The Detroit native played at Communication and Media Arts High School in his hometown, before attending Hargrave Military Academy in Chatham, VA for a year. His brother, Joe, played at University of Kentucky from 2004-08.
Crawford will be available to the Atlanta media when the Hawks commence their rookie camp, which is scheduled to begin on July 9 on the Philips Arena practice court.
“I was impressed with Pape’s workout,” said Hawks coach Larry Drew. “He had a strong desire to come in here and showcase his talent. He’s got a great shot, and the ability to play two positions. We were really hoping he’d be there for us.”
The Los Angeles Clippers acquired the draft rights to University of Kentucky guard Eric Bledsoe from the Oklahoma City Thunder in exchange for a future protected first round draft pick. Originally selected by the Thunder with the 18th pick in the 2010 NBA Draft at the WaMu Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City, Bledsoe joins number eight pick Al-Farouq Aminu as the Clippers second player chosen in the first round of this year’s draft.
Bledsoe, 20, appeared in 37 games for Kentucky in 2009-10, averaging 11.3 points, 2.9 assists and 3.1 rebounds per game in his first college season. A Birmingham, Alabama native, Bledsoe averaged 15.3 points per game and shot 58 percent during the Wildcats NCAA Tournament run and hit on 38 percent from three-point range during the season.
The 6-foot-1 inch, 190 pound guard was named to the Sporting News SEC All-Freshman Team and was named a CollegeInsider.com Freshman All-American. Bledsoe comes to the Clippers in the club’s 14th draft day trade since 1982 and brings toughness and athleticism to the Clippers in addition to a deft long-range shooting touch.
The Minnesota Timberwolves tonight acquired the draft rights to Marquette forward Lazar Hayward, the 30th overall pick, and Serbian forward Nemanja Bjelica, the 35th overall pick, from the Washington Wizards in exchange for the draft rights to Clemson forward Trevor Booker, the 23rd overall pick, and Hamady N’diaye, the 56th overall pick. Additionally, Minnesota selected center Paulao Prestes from Brazil with the 45th overall pick.
Hayward, a 6-6 forward, started 118 of his 138 games at Marquette, averaging 13.5 points and 6.6 rebounds while shooting 45.2 percent from the field and 35.7 percent from behind the arc. The second all-time leading scorer in Marquette history with 1,859 career points, Hayward played in a school-record 138 games and earned Second Team All-Big East and Honorable Mention AP All-American honors as a senior. He was recently named Most Outstanding Player at the 2010 NABC All-Star Game.
Bjelica, a 6-10 forward from Serbia, averaged 9.9 points per game in 20 appearances last season for KK Crvena Zvezda in the Adriatic League, and improved to 20.2 points per game in six appearances in the Serbia A League. He was also the leading rebounder on the silver medal-winning Serbian National Team in Eurobasket 2009 last fall.
Prestes, a 6-11 center, currently plays for CB Murcia in the Spanish ACB League. The native of Brazil averaged 9.2 points and 7.3 rebounds per game in the Spanish ACB league this season while shooting 57.4 percent from the field. On a per minute basis, Prestes is the top rebounder in his league.
Earlier tonight, the Wolves selected Syracuse forward Wesley Johnson with the 4th overall pick in the draft. Minnesota also acquired Portland Trail Blazers guard/forward Martell Webster in exchange for forward Ryan Gomes and the draft rights to Luke Babbitt.