Inside Hoops – Page 1196 – NBA Blog

Marc Gasol injured with MCL sprain in his left knee

The Memphis Grizzlies announced today that center Marc Gasol underwent a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), which revealed a MCL sprain in his left knee. He will be out indefinitely and no surgery will be required.

Gasol (7-1, 265), who sustained the injury in the second quarter last night against San Antonio, was evaluated at the Campbell Clinic today by team physician Dr. Fred Azar.

The reigning NBA Defensive Player of the Year, Gasol ranked second on the Grizzlies in scoring, rebounding and assists and led the team in blocks entering the game against the Spurs. The 2012 All-Star and 2012-13 Second Team All-NBA center has missed just four games dating back to the start of the 2010-11 season, playing and starting in 239 of a possible 243 regular season contests.

Kevin Garnett has good things to say about the Timberwolves

The Brooklyn Nets are in Minnesota, where they will play the Timberwolves tonight. Here’s the Minneapolis Star Tribune blog:

Kevin Garnett says good things about Timberwolves

Garnett had nice things to say about the Wolves, calling Ricky Rubio and Kevin Love one of the best 1-2 punches in the league. He called the Wolves “electrifying.’’

“They play with a real fast pace,” Garnett said. “Kevin Love is in an unbelievable groove…. They’re playing with a lot of confidence. And trying to slow any of these guys down is going to be a task for all of us tonight.’’

But Garnett deflected any questions about where he is at in his career. When asked if he has contemplated retirement after this season, he said, “Next question.” A question about whether he could see a scenario in which he finished his career in a Wolves uniform got the same response.

Indeed, Garnett said, he is not thinking much about the past or the future. He’s worried about the present. Namely, trying to get the Nets back on track. “You deal with reality,” he said. “You deal with the current (situation). I don’t think outside of whatever I’m doing at the time. And the focus needs to be (there). ‘’

Clippers may want Lamar Odom, Chris Wilcox

Every team can use some experienced veterans at the end of the bench. Here’s ESPN.com on who the Los Angeles Clippers may want for added frontcourt depth:

Lamar Odom remains the leading candidate to be signed by the Los Angeles Clippers to fill the opening they have in their frontcourt rotation.

By far.

But there’s at least one other known name on the Clippers’ list behind Odom in terms of potential in-season signees: Chris Wilcox.

Sources close to the situation say that Wilcox, who Clippers coach Doc Rivers knows well after their time together in Boston, is in L.A.’s thoughts as a fallback options should it ultimately decide to pass on bringing back Odom.

Lakers recall Ryan Kelly and Elias Harris from D-League

Ryan Kelly and Elias Harris have been recalled from the Los Angeles D-Fenders to the Los Angeles Lakers, it was announced today.

Kelly and Harris have both appeared twice for the Lakers this season. Kelly has recorded six points and two rebounds in his seven minutes of action and Harris has posted a rebound, an assist and a steal in his 11 minutes. They will both rejoin the Lakers for tomorrow night’s game versus the Golden State Warriors.

Billy Hunter claims Kobe Bryant meddled in NBA lockout negotiations

Here’s the Los Angeles Times blog reporting on some alleged details of that horrible thing called the NBA Lockout:

Former NBA players’ union executive director Billy Hunter has claimed that Lakers star Kobe Bryant and agent Rob Pelinka, acting on behalf of union president Derek Fisher, meddled with his efforts to end the 2011 lockout.

In a Los Angeles Superior Court filing Thursday that is part of his wrongful-termination lawsuit, Hunter stated that he received a call from Bryant and Pelinka the night before he was scheduled to meet with league officials in October 2011. According to Hunter, the player and his agent told him to agree to a 50-50 split of basketball-related income.

“On the phone call, Bryant told me to agree to the new CBA [collective bargaining agreement] at a 50-50 share of BRI, saying, ‘I know that tomorrow is a big day. You can put this thing to bed. Do the deal,’ and also telling me, ‘I got your back,’ ” Hunter said in the court filing. “What Bryant and Pelinka were telling me is that a 50-50 deal had already been completed behind my back.”

Clippers forward Matt Barnes out at least two weeks with eye injury

The Los Angeles Clippers today announced that forward Matt Barnes suffered a retinal tear in his left eye on Monday, Nov. 18 against the Memphis Grizzlies. Barnes will undergo a surgical procedure to repair the retina and is expected to miss a minimum of two weeks.

Barnes has appeared in eight games this season and is averaging 5.9 points, 4.3 rebounds and 1.6 assists in 20.0 minutes per game.

Kings assign guard Ray McCallum to D-League

The Sacramento Kings have assigned rookie guard Ray McCallum to the team’s NBA Development League affiliate, the Reno Bighorns, it was announced today by General Manager Pete D’Alessandro.

McCallum, selected in the second round (36th overall) of the 2013 NBA Draft, has not seen action in the Kings’ 11 games this season. He averaged 3.8 points, 1.0 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 1.20 steals and 12.2 minutes per game in five games off the bench for the Kings in the preseason. He is reunited with former Kings training camp players Brandon Heath, DeQuan Jones and Trent Lockett.

The Bighorns open the 2013-14 season with back-to-back games at Sioux Falls on Friday (November 22) and Saturday (November 23).

Chris Bosh continues to hit 3-pointers

Here’s the South Florida Sun Sentinel on the Miami Heat offense sometimes including Chris Bosh out on the perimeter, where he is able to operate with success:

Bosh has made a 3-pointer in each of the past three games, 3 of 5 from beyond the arc in those three, the ball whipping around to him just as it has been to the Heat’s 3-point specialists.

“The ball will find him, in open areas, in open gaps,” Spoelstra said. “We use the term all the time, ‘The ball will find energy.’ And when he’s playing with that type of energy, the ball will find him.

“We’re not running necessarily plays for him. But you see him moving into open areas and he’s very skilled when he gets in those sweet spots of his.”

Just as Bosh is moving, so is the ball.

Bulls guard Jimmy Butler likely out until December

Here’s the Chicago Sun-Times with more on Jimmy Butler’s recent injury:

The Bulls announced Wednesday that shooting guard Jimmy Butler stayed behind in Chicago because of turf toe on his right big toe.

He was listed as week-to-week, but coach Tom Thibodeau didn’t want to start throwing timetables around.

“I don’t even want to speculate,’’ said Thibodeau, whose team begins a six-game road trip Thursday against the Nuggets. “He has to get the swelling out first.’’

The best-case scenario would be for Butler to be re-evaluated next week after the game against the Pistons and be ready for the Nov. 30 game against the Cavaliers, the last stop on the road trip, but he likely won’t play until at least a week or two into December.

Philadelphia 76ers waive Kwame Brown and Darius Morris, sign Elliot Williams and Lorenzo Brown

The Philadelphia 76ers today announced that they have signed free agent guards Elliot Williams and Lorenzo Brown.

Williams (6-5, 190) was an early entry candidate for the 2010 NBA Draft following his sophomore season at Memphis and was selected with the 22nd overall pick by Portland. He played his freshman season at Duke. Williams appeared in 24 games for the Trail Blazers in 2011-12 and saw action in six games for Cleveland this preseason.

Brown (6-5, 186) was an early entry candidate for the 2013 NBA Draft following his junior season at N.C. State and was selected with the 52nd overall pick by Minnesota. He participated for the Timberwolves in both the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas and in the preseason. Brown started 95 of his 101 games played with the Wolfpack and was named Second Team All-ACC as a junior and Third Team as a sophomore.

In a related move, the Sixers have waived Kwame Brown and Darius Morris.