Inside Hoops – Page 650 – NBA Blog

Pacers waive Rodney Stuckey

The Indiana Pacers have requested waivers on injured 6-5 guard Rodney Stuckey.

Stuckey appeared in 39 games off the bench for Indiana this season while averaging 7.2 points, 2.2 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game.

In a recent injury report, the Pacers said Stuckey will be out for the next 4-6 weeks. The 2017 NBA playoffs begin in around 2.5 weeks.

In his three seasons with the Pacers, Stuckey recorded averages of 10.1 points, 2.5 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game over 168 appearances.

“We want to thank Rodney for his commitment to our franchise in his three years with the Pacers,” said Pacers President of Basketball Operations Larry Bird. “He was a positive influence not only to our team but also in the community. We wish him nothing but the best in the future.”

The Pacers’ roster now stands at 14 players.

Mavericks sign Jarrod Uthoff to multi-year contract

The Dallas Mavericks have signed rookie forward Jarrod Uthoff to a multi-year contract.

Uthoff (6-9, 220) originally signed a 10-day contract with the Mavericks on March 9 and then a second 10-day deal with the team on March 19.

The 6-9 forward has seen action in two games for the Mavericks this year and has logged a total of 5 minutes. He has also appeared in two games (both starts) for the Mavericks’ D-League affiliate Texas Legends in 2016-17, averaging 16.5 points, 8.5 rebounds and 2.0 assists in 32.6 minutes.

Uthoff went undrafted in the 2016 NBA Draft and signed as a rookie free agent with the Toronto Raptors. He appeared in one preseason game for the Raptors before being waived on Oct. 22. He was acquired by the Raptors 905 of the NBA Development League on Oct. 30 and was traded the Fort Wayne Mad Ants on Jan. 27.

In a combined 37 D-League games (nine starts) with the 905, Mad Ants and Legends this season, Uthoff averaged 11.1 points, 6.4 rebounds and 1.6 assists in 24.4 minutes.

The Cedar Rapids, Iowa native played collegiately at the University of Iowa. As a senior, he earned First Team All-Big Ten and Second Team All-America honors while averaging 18.9 points, 6.3 rebounds, 1.1 assists and 2.6 blocks.

Pacers: Rodney Stuckey and Al Jefferson injured

Here are the latest Indiana Pacers injuries:

Rodney Stuckey has a left patellar tendon strain and is expected to miss four to six weeks. He sustained the injury in Sunday night’s victory over Philadelphia.

Al Jefferson will miss at least two weeks with a sprained left ankle. He will be reevaluated at that time. He sustained the injury in Sunday’s win over Philadelphia.

Glenn Robinson III remains out with a left calf strain and will be reevaluated late next week.

Paul Millsap injury update

After visiting Dr. James Andrews of the Andrews Sports Medicine and Orthopaedic Center in Pensacola, Florida and conferring with Dr. Kyle Hammond and Dr. Kenneth Mautner of the Emory Orthopaedics & Spine Center, Atlanta Hawks forward Paul Millsap has been diagnosed with left knee synovitis and has undergone a non-surgical procedure at Emory. He will be listed as out for the next three games and his status will be updated as appropriate.

State of Jazz in home stretch of season

As the playoff race intensifies, here’s the Salt Lake Tribune reporting on the Jazz:

With a little over two weeks remaining in the regular season, Utah’s playoff positioning continues to be fluid. The Jazz have been mostly in the fourth spot since the All-Star break. But that reality — and the home-floor advantage that comes with it — is tenuous at best.

The Clippers have an easier remaining schedule than the Jazz, and Saturday’s win over Utah gives Los Angeles the tiebreaker, should the two teams finish with identical records.

But heading into Monday night’s home matchup against the New Orleans Pelicans, the Jazz are frankly less worried about playoff positioning, and more worried about simply getting back to playing good basketball.

“Everyone wants to talk about the playoffs, but honestly we just have to get back to who we are,” Utah shooting guard Rodney Hood said. “We have to get back to playing well regardless. If we can do that, we’ll be fine.”

Gonzaga reaches Final Four

All throughout this college basketball season, the doubters persisted. Yes, the Gonzaga Bulldogs were bulldozing their way through the competition, beating the likes of Arizona, Florida, Iowa State — and Saint Mary’s three times. But there were also games against Quinnipiac, Bryant and Mississippi Valley State — not to mention playing in the unheralded West Coast Conference.

This wasn’t the first time the Bulldogs entered the NCAA tournament with a flashy record (32-1 on Selection Sunday). And this was far from the first time Gonzaga had a team thought to be capable of making the Final Four, only to keep falling short. Why should this team be any different?

Saturday, the Zags forcefully proved they were with an 83-59 thumping of Xavier in the West Region final, a win that gave the program its first trip to the Final Four. It was a win that came courtesy of a disparate cast of characters: Mark Few, the dapper, mild-mannered coach who had presided over the program’s ascent into national consciousness; Przemek Karnowski, a burly, bearded center from Poland; Nigel Williams-Goss, Jordan Mathews and Johnathan Williams, transfers from Washington, California and Missouri respectively; and Zach Collins, a highly touted freshman expected to be a first-round pick in June’s NBA draft.

— Washington Post

Joakim Noah screws up, gets 20-game NBA suspension

Here’s the New York Daily News reporting on center Joakim Noah, whose first season with a Knicks was largely a lost one:

This is a message preached to all of the highest-level athletes, because these men and women are subject to random pee tests the way we’re subject to speed traps on the turnpike: know what you’re putting in your body.

Joakim Noah didn’t and now he’s forced to ingest a 20-game suspension with over $2 million in lost salary.

To assume the best of Noah now is also to assume he independently bought something over the counter without knowledge it contained an offending substance called “Selective Androgen Receptor Modulator LGD-4033.” According to anti-doping experts, it falls in the same class as anabolic agents, providing effects similar to steroids — to recover from injury or to build muscle mass. Athletes these days are supplied the supplements they need by team trainers and doctors. So it’s an unnecessary mistake from Noah no matter how you slice it.

Nets sign Archie Goodwin to second 10-day contract

The Brooklyn Nets have signed Archie Goodwin to a second 10-day contract.

Goodwin was originally signed by the Nets on March 15 and has appeared in four games for Brooklyn, averaging 9.0 points, 2.5 rebounds and 2.8 assists in 13.4 minutes per game while shooting .650 (13-of-20) from the field and scoring in double figures three times.

In 157 games in four NBA seasons with Brooklyn, New Orleans and Phoenix, Goodwin has recorded averages of 6.2 points, 2.0 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 14.4 minutes per game.

Goodwin was selected with the 29th overall pick in the first round of the 2013 NBA Draft by the Oklahoma City Thunder before being traded to the Suns via Golden State on draft night. He spent one year at the University of Kentucky, earning SEC All-Freshman team honors.

Joakim Noah suspended 20 games

Knicks center Joakim Noah has been suspended without pay for twenty games for violating the terms of the NBA/NBPA Anti-Drug Program by testing positive for Selective Androgen Receptor Modulator LGD-4033, it was announced today by the NBA.

Noah’s’ suspension will begin with the first NBA regular season or playoff game for which he is eligible and physically able to play.

New Timberwolves logo coming April 11

The Minnesota Timberwolves begin a new chapter in their franchise history by unveiling a new team logo as part of Fan Appreciation Night at Target Center on Tuesday, April 11. The Wolves will conclude the home portion of their regular season schedule that evening by hosting the Oklahoma City Thunder at 7 p.m.

The logo will be unveiled during a special halftime show and all fans in attendance will receive a commemorative t-shirt with the new identity featured.

While the new identity won’t fully take effect until the 2017-18 season, the unveiling marks only the fourth identity in the franchise’s 28-year history. The announcement is also the beginning of an eventful summer as the Wolves brand continues to evolve. There will be several future announcements regarding the unveiling of the new team uniforms, new court designs and additional events throughout the coming months.

“We are incredibly excited to share the new logo with our fans. This is but the first of many changes that fans will see that reflect our growing relevancy at home and abroad,” said Timberwolves CEO Ethan Casson. “These are exciting times for our state and our franchise, and this new logo embodies the hunger, drive and passion that will define us in this new era of Timberwolves basketball.”