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The Oklahoma City Thunder has assigned forward Josh Huestis to the Oklahoma City Blue of the NBA Development League, it was announced today by Executive Vice President and General Manager Sam Presti.
Huestis has appeared in seven games (all starts) for the Blue this season, averaging 10.1 points, 5.0 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 1.57 blocks in 32.7 minutes per game.
He is expected to be in uniform tonight when the Blue hosts the Santa Cruz Warriors at the Cox Convention Center at 7 p.m.
Wizards guard Bradley Beal has been diagnosed with the beginnings of a stress reaction in his lower right fibula. He will miss the next two weeks and then be re-evaluated. The injury was initially diagnosed following an MRI yesterday and confirmed today after further testing.
Beal has appeared in 17 games for Washington this season, averaging 19.8 points, 4.7 rebounds and 3.2 assists in 36.5 minutes per game.
The Memphis Grizzlies visit the Miami Heat Sunday (6 p.m. ET), and the matchup brings Grizzlies backup guard Mario Chalmers (averaging a career-high 11.1 ppg this season) back to Miami and the arena he used to call home. Expect love for Chalmers from fans. As for players? Here’s the South Florida Sun Sentinel reporting:
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Chris Bosh plans to keep it simple.
“I’ll probably yell at him during the game for old-time’s sake,” he said.
Dwyane Wade also envisions a basic welcome.
“I’m taking him into the post,” he said. “He going to foul me.”
Both laughed, mostly because of the countless times that Mario Chalmers made them smile.
At a time when both teams are struggling to gain their footing, Sunday’s game between the Miami Heat and Memphis Grizzlies at AmericanAirlines Arena will be about more than the moment.
It will be about the moments Chalmers helped create for the Heat, especially during that run to four consecutive NBA Finals and two NBA championships.
Saturday night in Houston the Rockets (just 11-12 this season) host Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers (an NBA second-worst 3-20). Unless something crazy happens, this will be Kobe Bryant’s final season in the league. Here’s the Houston Chronicle reporting:
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“Obviously, we know the game is extra hyped because of Bean,” Rockets guard James Harden said. “We still have to go out and win the game and focus on what we have to do.
“He’s somebody I watched growing up since I was little. This is his 20th year. I’m just 26 years old. He’s been playing a long time. Obviously, you definitely want to win the game. That competitive nature, going against him, no matter how old he is, he still has the competitive nature. He still wants to go out there and compete at a high level. I’ll definitely take advantage of it and cherish it.
“He’s a legend, not just here but every arena you go to on the road, games are sold out, ticket prices are going up to see a legend in his last year.”
The Chicago Bulls are 12-8 and getting a modest 13.4 points and 5.7 assists per game from Derrick Rose this season. Here’s the Chicago Sun-Times with the latest D-Rose update:
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Derrick Rose cut his hair. Has he cut his mask?
At the Bulls’ shootaround before Saturday night’s game against the New Orleans Pelicans, Rose was showing off a new do. Gone was the look he’s shown off all season, and in was a haircut similar to what he wore during his 2010-11 MVP campaign.
Perhaps of more importance could be the status of Rose’s mask that he’s worn to protect the left orbital bone he broke during training camp. He forgot to wear it during the second half of Thursday’s game against the Los Angeles Clippers but has the option of ditching it for good, and left open the possibility following the win.
But if he has made a call, the Bulls don’t know.
Wonder which music LeBron James listens to before games? Here’s ESPN Cleveland reporting:
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The Cleveland Cavaliers’ pregame locker room is noisier this season than it was last season.
LeBron James has taken to turning on his portable speakers from Beats by Dre, a company he endorses, and playing tunes as he and his teammates stretch out and put on their uniforms.
Only it’s not the music that’s the noisy part. It’s the debates that the music sparks. The ribbing usually centers between two people: James and Jared Cunningham. While James picks the songs, Cunningham picks on the songs…
James’ playlist features artists such as Kanye West, Jay-Z, OutKast, Jadakiss, Lupe Fiasco and sometimes even Cleveland’s own Bone Thugs-N-Harmony. Cunningham, meanwhile, prefers performers such as Ty Dolla $ign, Migos, Young Thug and Yo Gotti.
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Sacramento Kings guard Rajon Rondo has been suspended one game without pay for directing a derogatory and offensive term towards a game official and not leaving the court in a timely manner upon his ejection, it was announced today by Kiki VanDeWeghe, Executive Vice President, Basketball Operations.
The incident, for which Rondo was assessed two technical fouls and ejected, occurred with 6:30 remaining in the third quarter of Sacramento’s 114-97 loss to the Boston Celtics on Thursday, Dec. 3 at Mexico City Arena in Mexico City.
Rondo is having a very good season as a new member of the 9-15 Kings. He’s averaging 12.6 points, 6.9 rebounds and 11.0 assists per game and providing an entertaining spark to the squad.
Here’s ESPN.com reporting some very sad news about a well-known, talented former NBA player:
John “Hot Rod” Williams, one of the NBA’s best sixth men in the 1980s and ’90s, has died of cancer at his home near Sorrento, Louisiana. He was 53.
Williams’ agent Mark Bartelstein confirmed his death Friday.
Williams, a 6-11 power forward, played 13 seasons in the NBA but was best known for being a standout with the Cleveland Cavaliers from 1986 to 1995. The news stunned former teammates and executives who had been encouraged when Williams came through an earlier cancer diagnosis this year.
“It’s devastating,” said Wayne Embry, the Cavs general manager from 1986-99. “He was a hard worker and a great player but I liked him more as a person than a basketball player.”
The Cleveland Cavaliers are 14-7 this season, which through Thursday’s games is the 3rd best record in the league. And they’ve accomplished this without their starting backcourt of Kyrie Irving and Iman Shumpert. The squad is about to get healthier, as reported by the Akron Beacon Journal:
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Iman Shumpert will be active tonight and is likely to make his season debut against the Orlando Magic.
Shumpert still needed to go through the morning shootaround and pregame warm-ups, but all parties (speaking before shootaround) sounded optimistic.
“If we go through shootaround and everything is straight,” Shumpert said, “I’m going to try to give it a go.”
Added coach David Blatt: “We’re hopeful he can get out there.”
A legend of basketball has passed away. Here’s the New York Times reporting:
Dolph Schayes, the New York University basketball star out of the Bronx who went on to gain acclaim as a Hall of Fame forward and one of the greatest players of his time with the old Syracuse Nationals, died on Thursday in Syracuse. He was 87.
His son Danny, a former N.B.A. center and forward, said the cause was cancer.
Playing for 16 professional seasons, Dolph Schayes was among the N.B.A.’s leading scorers, best known for his two-handed set shots at a time when jump-shooting came into vogue, and was a top rebounder. The NBA Encyclopedia called him “a bridge between the old game and the new one.”
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver’s statement regarding the passing of Dolph Schayes
“Dolph Schayes was one of the most influential figures in NBA history. He helped the NBA grow from its earliest days, emerging as one of the game’s first stars and displaying the kind of passion for competition and commitment to excellence that has come to define our league. Dolph was an NBA champion, a Hall of Fame player and a distinguished NBA coach and executive, as well as a proud father who relished the success of his four children, including the NBA career of his son Danny. Our thoughts and prayers are with the Schayes family during this difficult time.”
Statement from the Philadelphia 76ers
“We are deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Dolph Schayes, a pioneer and iconic member of the Philadelphia 76ers organization and one of the greatest players ever to play the game of basketball,” said Sixers Chief Executive Officer Scott O’Neil. “Dolph was an integral part of the foundation on which this franchise was built – first in Syracuse and later in Philadelphia. He will be fondly remembered for the legacy he not only created on the court, but the way he represented the game off the court.
“On behalf of our entire organization, we would like to express our deepest sympathies to the entire Schayes family during this very difficult time.”