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David Lee out with hamstring strain, for two weeks or more
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Golden State Warriors forward David Lee underwent an MRI yesterday that revealed a reaggravated strained left hamstring, the injury that sidelined him for the first three games of the season. He will be re-evaluated in two weeks.
Lee scored six points in his season debut before suffering the injury at the 8:51 mark of the second quarter in Wednesday’s 121-104 win over the Clippers.
The Oklahoma City Thunder has signed free agent guard Ish Smith to a contract pursuant to the NBA’s hardship rule, it was announced today by Executive Vice President and General Manager Sam Presti.
Smith (6-0, 175) spent the 2013-14 season with Phoenix where he averaged 3.7 points, 2.6 assists, 1.8 rebounds and 14.4 minutes in 70 games (one start). An undrafted guard out of Wake Forest, Smith owns career averages of 2.9 points, 2.0 assists, 1.4 rebounds and 11.5 minutes in 191 games (eight starts) with Houston, Memphis, Golden State, Orlando, Milwaukee and Phoenix.
The Utah Jazz got quite a thrill in their home arena last night, courtesy of Gordon Hayward, who nailed a beautiful jumpshot at the buzzer to give his squad a win.
The Cleveland Cavaliers, still working to develop team chemistry, are a serious work in progress right now, but still, any win against a team with LeBron James, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love on their roster is a good one.
Here’s the Deseret news reporting, followed by video of Hayward’s game-winning, buzzer-beating shot:
Sundiata Gaines has some company when it comes to the part of Utah Jazz lore that includes hitting buzzer-beating shots against LeBron James’ teams.
In a moment that encapsulated the Jazz’s better-than-expected play this fall and highlighted the progression of his career, small forward Gordon Hayward lifted the Utah Jazz to one doozy of a 102-100 win over James and the Cleveland Cavaliers with a buzzer-beating dagger.
“This is crazy. We did it for these guys (the fans). This is exciting,” Hayward said on the court in his walk-off interview as spectators screamed and streamers danced from the ceiling. “We are competitors. We fight until the end. We left it all out there tonight.” …
Hayward scored 21 points — matching center Derrick Favors’ offensive output — but none of his seven buckets will be remembered as much as the one that improved Utah to 2-3 while knocking the struggling Cavs down another notch to 1-3.
J.R. Smith suspended one game for striking Glen Rice Jr in groin
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New York Knicks guard J.R. Smith has been suspended one game without pay for striking Washington Wizards guard Glen Rice Jr. in the groin, it was announced today by Rod Thorn, President, Basketball Operations.
The incident occurred with 5:45 remaining in the fourth quarter of Washington’s 98-83 win over New York on Tuesday, Nov. 4, at Madison Square Garden.
Smith will serve his suspension tonight when the Knicks visit the Detroit Pistons at The Palace of Auburn Hills.
To view the play, click on this link.
Sixers announce additions and promotions to basketball operations staff
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The Philadelphia 76ers officially announced today several additions and promotions to the basketball operations staff. Sachin Gupta has been named Vice President of Basketball Operations and Ben Falk has been named Vice President of Basketball Strategy. Vince Rozman has been promoted to Director of Basketball Operations & Scouting Innovation. Phil Jabour (Director of Scouting Development) and Danny Mills (International Scout) join recently promoted Rod Baker as new additions to the Sixers scouting department. NBA veteran Sean Rooks joins the Sixers as Player Development Coach and Philadelphia native Eugene Burroughs will serve as the Sixers Shooting Coach.
Gupta began his NBA career with the Houston Rockets in 2006 as General Manager Daryl Morey’s first hire, laying the foundation for the team’s extensive analytics undertaking. In addition to his responsibilities as an analyst, Gupta also assisted in managing the team’s salary cap during his six-year tenure in Houston. Prior to joining the Rockets, Gupta spent two years at ESPN where he developed the widely popular NBA Trade Machine. Gupta joins the Sixers in a full-time capacity after completing his MBA from Stanford, during which he served as a Sixers consultant.
Falk joins the Sixers after spending the previous four seasons as the Basketball Analytics Manager for the Portland Trail Blazers. While with the Blazers, Falk worked closely with both the front office and coaching staff, leading team efforts in integrating statistics and technology into coaching and management processes. Falk originally hails from Potomac, Maryland, and graduated from the University of Maryland.
Rozman begins his ninth season with the Sixers basketball operations department. Rozman served most recently as Scouting Coordinator prior to this promotion.
Jabour joins the Sixers from the Orlando Magic where he served the past two seasons as a Scout. Jabour previously worked five years in the scouting department of the Houston Rockets and served on the support staff of USA Basketball in 2006.
Mills, an Australian Native and a former player at the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS), was most recently the Video Coordinator of the Bakersfield Jam. Mills brings with him experience in international basketball outside of Australia, having served as an assistant coach in Europe with both Sigma Basket Barcellona and UPEA Orlandina Basket in Italy.
As was recently announced, Philadelphia native and Roman Catholic High School alum Rod Baker was a Sixers call-up from his role as Head Coach of the Delaware 87ers last season. The longtime coach from NCAA, CBA, ABA and the NBDL will join the Sixers full-time as a Scout.
Rooks spent last season as an assistant coach with the Sioux Falls Skyforce of the NBA Development League. Prior to that, Rooks served on three other D-League coaching staffs following his 12-year playing career, including stops with the Lakers, Mavericks, Clippers, Timberwolves, Hornets, and Magic.
Burroughs, a Philadelphia native who played high school basketball at Episcopal Academy, joins the Sixers as Shooting Coach from Marist, where he served as an Assistant Coach. Prior to Marist, Burroughs 18-year coaching career included stops at Penn State, the U.S. Naval Academy, Hofstra, and American University.
Brook Lopez returns for Nets, who beat banged-up Thunder by 31
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Playing at home in Brooklyn, the Nets on Monday destroyed the injury-riddled Oklahoma City Thunder 116-85 and now have a 2-1 record in the 2014-15 season, which began just last Tuesday.
Nets center Brook Lopez has had major injury problems in his career, and was out yet again recently, this time with a relatively minor issue. He played his first game Monday. All went well.
According to ESPN.com, “Lopez (right midfoot sprain), playing in his first regular-season game since Dec. 20, 2013, finished with 18 points, six rebounds and two blocks in 24 minutes, and the Brooklyn Nets rolled to an easy 116-85 victory over the injury-ravaged Oklahoma City Thunder on Monday night in their home opener at Barclays Center.”
More from ESPN.com: “It felt good to be out there with the guys,” Lopez said. “It was a little frustrating personally because I got in some early foul trouble, but our guys kept playing. We were fantastic out there. We were great defensively; there were really no lulls. We moved the ball offensively and got what we wanted. We couldn’t have started off in a better way at home.”
After waiving guard A.J. Price yesterday, Cavs sign Will Cherry
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The Cleveland Cavaliers have signed guard Will Cherry, Cavaliers General Manager David Griffin announced today from Cleveland Clinic Courts.
Cherry becomes the fifth Charge player called up by the Cavaliers in team history.
Last season, Cherry appeared in 18 games (12 starts) with the Canton Charge, the Cavaliers exclusively owned and operated NBA Development League team, averaging 11.6 points, 3.7 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 1.4 steals in 30.3 minutes per game. In three postseason games with the Charge, Cherry averaged 13.3 points on .484 shooting with 5.3 rebounds, 8.3 assists and 2.0 steals in 37.0 minutes per game.
The University of Montana alum played in five preseason games with the Toronto Raptors this season, averaging 3.4 points and 1.6 assists in 13.9 minutes.
Cherry also played for the Cavs summer league team in July and averaged 12.8 points on .521 shooting, 4.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists in five games.
The Cavs roster now stands at 15.
Jimmy Butler confident that his future is with Chicago Bulls
The Chicago Bulls have a good thing going. Good team chemistry, and potential for big things assuming key players stay healthy. A big part of that is shooting guard Jimmy Butler, who didn’t shoot well last season (13.1 ppg on 39.7% FG) but otherwise is a very good all-around player, especially as a defender. He’s a key part of the team. Will he be around in the future? Here’s the Chicago Sun-Times reporting:
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Jimmy Butler not only is “betting on himself.’’ He’s wagering that a new $24 billion television deal will keep him in Chicago.
The Bulls guard and his agent, Happy Walters, walked away from a take-it-or-leave-it offer from the Bulls on Friday. Even with the deadline having passed and Butler officially becoming a restricted free agent in July, the former first-round pick was confident that the sides would reach a deal down the road.
“People say I’m chasing money when that’s not it — yeah, get your mic closer — that’s not it, because I’m going to be in Chicago,’’ Butler said Saturday. “I’m not worried about it. I say that with a smile on my face because I know that for a fact. We’ll resume [negotiations] in July.’’
Cavs waive A.J. Price; roster down to 14 players
The Cleveland Cavaliers (1-1) have waived guard A.J. Price, according to Cavaliers General Manager David Griffin.
Price, thought of as a backup in the league, appeared in six preseason games for the Cavs, averaging 7.2 points and 1.5 assists in 13.3 minutes per game.
According to Marc Spears of Yahoo Sports, the Cavs will use the empty roster spot to sign point guard Will Cherry.
In a surprise, the Cavs, playing at home in Cleveland, dropped their first game of the season to the New York Knicks. They bounced back in their second game against the Bulls in Chicago, squeezing out an overtime win.
Playing with a re-assembled roster featuring star additions LeBron James and Kevin Love, as well as some new bench players, the Cavs will likely continue to be a work in progress as they develop chemistry.
As for today’s roster move, with Price waived the Cavs roster now stands at 14.
Russell Westbrook health update: Surgery on hand complete
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Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook underwent successful surgery today to address a fracture in the second metacarpal in his right hand, Thunder Executive Vice President and General Manager Sam Presti announced.
The procedure was performed by Dr. Thomas Graham with Thunder medical personnel present at the Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, Ohio. Westbrook will be re-evaluated in four weeks, at which time a further update will be provided.
The three-time All-Star scored 38 points to go along with six assists in Wednesday’s opener against the Portland Trail Blazers, before sustaining the injury in the first half of Thursday’s game against the Los Angeles Clippers.