Category: NBA News Blog

NBA news blog

Kevin Durant injury update: isolated MCL sprain of the right knee

Brooklyn Nets forward Kevin Durant has been diagnosed with an isolated MCL sprain of the right knee. The injury occurred during the third quarter of last night’s game at Miami.

Durant will be reevaluated in two weeks.

Durant has recorded averages of 29.7 points (sixth in the league), 6.7 rebounds, 5.3 assists and 1.5 blocks (ninth in the league) in 36.0 minutes per game (12th in the league), while shooting a career-high 55.9 percent from the field, 37.6 percent from 3-point range and a career-best and league-leading 93.4 percent from the free-throw line.

Among the players in the league’s top 10 in points per game, Durant has registered the highest field goal percentage and the fewest shots per game (18.8), and he is one of just two players in the league to rank in the top 10 in both points per game and blocks per game.

Durant ranks second in field goals made (410), third in total points scored (1,158), tied for sixth in blocks (58) and eighth in free throws made (267).

In addition to shooting a career-high 62.2 percent from 2-point range, Durant is in the midst of an incredible season-long midrange performance, shooting a career-best 57.1 percent, which also represents the best midrange field goal percentage in a season among all players with at least 200 attempts across the last 25 seasons.

He is tied for the league lead in 25-point games (32) and leads the league in 25-point games while shooting 50.0 percent or better from the field (25), which is only three games shy of matching a single season Nets record in the category.

Durant has also continued his climb up the NBA’s all-time scoring list, passing Alex English, Vince Carter, Kevin Garnett, John Havlicek, Paul Pierce, Tim Duncan and Dominique Wilkins this season to vault from 22nd to 14th place with 26,684 career points.

Twice-honored as the Eastern Conference Player of the Week this season, Durant has led Brooklyn to a 27-13 record, good for the second-best record in the league.

Kings sign PJ Dozier to a 10-day contract

The Sacramento Kings have signed PJ Dozier to a 10-day contract.

The 6-6/205, 26-year-old Dozier had been playing for the Iowa Wolves, the Minnesota Timberwolves G-League affiliate, where he averaged 18.0 points, 8.7 rebounds and 4.3 assists in 36.8 minutes per game in the regular season.

Dozier has played in 105 regular season NBA games and 12 NBA playoff games.

The Columbia, South Carolina, native played for the Denver Nuggets from 2019-2022. He played two years of college basketball at the University of South Carolina, helping the Gamecocks reach the national semifinals in 2017.

Spurs sign Gorgui Dieng to a 10-day contract

The San Antonio Spurs yesterday (Sunday) signed center Gorgui Dieng to a 10-day contract.

Dieng, 6-10/265, started this season with the Spurs, appearing in 13 games and averaging 4.1 points, 3.2 rebounds and 2.0 assists in 11.6 minutes before being waived on Jan. 5. The 10-year NBA veteran has played in 610 total games and holds career averages of 7.4 points, 5.7 rebounds and 1.3 assists in 20.4 minutes with Minnesota, Memphis, Atlanta and San Antonio. The native of Senegal was originally selected in the first round of the 2013 NBA Draft (21st overall) by the Utah Jazz and before being dealt to the Timberwolves on draft night.

Dieng will wear No. 41 for the Silver and Black. The Spurs roster now stands at 17 players.

Eastbay is shutting down

Via NPR.org:

Growing up in the 1990s, I was obsessed with the Eastbay catalog. I’d spend hours and hours poring over the latest issue, like a detective combing through mounds of evidence.

I’d closely examine the newest sneakers worn by my favorite athletes – Ken Griffey Jr, Shaquille O’Neal, Deion Sanders – circling my favorite ones.

To me, it was like the Sears catalog, only a lot hipper.

So I was especially bummed out when Eastbay’s parent company, Foot Locker, announced that it would be winding down the brand as part of a company consolidation and ending the catalog.

The last issue has already been sent out, but in its heyday, Eastbay was the place to check out the latest sneakers and sports apparel.

Raptors sign Joe Wieskamp to a 10-day contract

The Toronto Raptors have signed guard-forward Joe Wieskamp to a 10-day contract.

Wieskamp, 6-foot-6, 205 pounds, is averaging 17.0 points, 6.0 rebounds and 29.4 minutes in 13 games (two regular season/11 Showcase Cup) with the Wisconsin Herd in the NBA G League this season. He is shooting .494 (79-160) from the field, .402 (33-82) from three-point range and .769 (20-26) from the free throw line. Wieskamp has scored in double figures in 12-of-13 games played, 20+ points three times, and posted two double-doubles. He recorded a season-high 30 points Nov. 5 at Windy City.

A native of Muscatine, Iowa, Wieskamp was picked 41st overall in the 2021 NBA Draft by San Antonio. He appeared in 29 contests for the Spurs last season, averaging 2.1 points and 7.1 minutes. Wieskamp also played 28 games with the Austin Spurs in the NBA G League last year, averaging 15.3 points and 3.8 rebounds.

Prior to being drafted, Wieskamp spent three collegiate seasons at Iowa (2018-21), where he was named All-Big Ten Second Team as a junior. He was also voted to the All-Big Ten Freshman Team in 2019.

Kings waive Chima Moneke

The Sacramento Kings yesterday (Friday) waived forward Chima Moneke.

The Kings are 20-17 this season, which is the 5th best record in the Western conference.

Their leading scorers so far in 2022-23 are De’Aaron Fox at 23.9 PPG, Domantas Sabonis at 18.7 PPG, and Kevin Huerter at 15.9 PPG.

The Kings roster now stands at 16 players, including two Two-Way players.

Lakers sign Sterling Brown to a 10-day contract

The Los Angeles Lakers have signed forward Sterling Brown to a 10-day contract.

Brown (6’5”, 219) has appeared in 264 games (29 starts) across five seasons with Dallas (2021-22), Houston (2020-21) and Milwaukee (2017-20), averaging 5.4 points (.364 3P%), 3.3 rebounds and 1.0 assists in 16.8 minutes. He has played in 24 career playoff games (five starts) for the Mavericks and Bucks, averaging 2.6 points and 1.7 rebounds in 8.5 minutes per game.

Most recently, the 27-year-old appeared in four games (all starts) for the Raptors 905 of the NBA G League this season, averaging 11.3 points, 7.5 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 1.5 steals and 1.0 blocks in 32.2 minutes per game, while shooting 38.1 percent from 3-point range.

The five-year NBA veteran was selected 46th overall in the second round of the 2017 NBA Draft after a four-year collegiate career at SMU (2013-17).

Mavericks waive Kemba Walker

The Dallas Mavericks have waived guard Kemba Walker.

Walker (6-0, 184) signed with the Mavericks on Nov. 29, 2022, and played in nine games (1 start) for Dallas with averages of 8.0 points, 1.8 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 16.0 minutes per game. In his start at Cleveland on Dec. 17, 2022, Walker scored a season-high 32 points with five rebounds and seven assists.

Per the Dallas Morning News, “a Mavericks person with knowledge of the situation cited the development of rookie Jaden Hardy and play of McKinley Wright the IV as part of the decision to waive Walker.”

Pistons center Marvin Bagley III out after hand surgery

Pistons center Marvin Bagley III underwent successful surgery yesterday (Thursday) to repair a fracture of the third and fourth metacarpals in his right hand.

Bagley suffered the injury at the 6:57 mark of the second quarter at Portland on January 2.

The surgery was performed by Dr. Michelle Carlson at Hospital for Special Surgery in New York, in consultation with team orthopedic surgeon Dr. Bill Moutzouros of Henry Ford Health.

Bagley will be reevaluated in approximately six weeks.