Category: NBA News Blog

NBA news blog

Anthony Davis injury is minor

Good news for the Lakers. Anthony Davis has not suffered a real injury. He’ll be back on the court very soon. Possibly as early as tomorrow. The OC Register reports:

The Lakers announced Wednesday morning that an MRI revealed that Davis had a gluteus maximus contusion – in layman’s terms, a bruised backside. He’s expected to travel with the team for a Friday game against Dallas, where he’s listed as questionable…

The new medical findings mean Davis (27.1 ppg, 9.4 rpg, 2.6 bpg) could play in Dallas on Friday or in Oklahoma City on Saturday. The Lakers are 1-1 in games when Davis hasn’t been available, and they blew out the Knicks 117-87 after Davis left the game Tuesday.

The Lakers have been one of the best teams in the NBA this season, and Anthony Davis has been outstanding, putting up huge stats but also performing as well as anyone in the league on the defensive side of the floor.

Rockets waive forward Gary Clark

The Houston Rockets have waived forward Gary Clark.

Clark was eligible for the 2018 NBA Draft and originally signed with Houston in July of 2018. In two seasons as a Rocket, he appeared in 69 games with two starts, while averaging 12.4 minutes played.

Following his senior season at Cincinnati, Clark was named the American Athletic Conference Player of the Year. He was also the AAC Defensive Player in each of his final two seasons with the Bearcats.

Hawks forward Jabari Parker out with shoulder injury

Atlanta Hawks forward Jabari Parker underwent a non-surgical procedure on his right shoulder earlier today at the Emory Sports Medicine Complex.

He will enter a period of rehabilitation and treatment. The Hawks will re-examine him in two weeks.

According to the Atlanta Journal Constitution, “Parker has struggled with a right shoulder impingement and has missed five of the Hawks’ past six games, though he played a quiet 15 minutes in the Hawks’ loss in Boston on Jan. 3. He has also battled illness and a throat infection.”

The Hawks are 8-29 this season, which through Monday’s games is the worst record in the NBA. Parker is their third leading scorer, averaging 15.0 points, 6.0 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game, on impressive 50.5% shooting from the field. He has started 23 of 32 games played this season.

Pistons forward Blake Griffin out after knee surgery

Detroit Pistons forward Blake Griffin had knee surgery today and will be out for an indefinite period of time.

The team says that Griffin underwent a successful arthroscopic debridement of his left knee.

A six-time All-Star, Griffin is having an extremely disappointing season, averaging 15.5 points, 4.7 rebounds and 3.3 assists per outing.

Here’s the Detroit News reporting:

Griffin has struggled this season, missing the last four games; he last played in the loss San Antonio Spurs on Dec. 28, finishing with 12 points on 3-of-16 shooting — with 3-of-10 on 3-pointers. He missed the remainder of the western trip, including a notable matchup against his former team, the Los Angeles Clippers, on Jan. 2.

Last season, Griffin had the highest production, posting a career-best 24.5 points, along with 7.5 rebounds and 5.4 assists and was voted third-team All-NBA. Following a surgical procedure last summer, Griffin was expecting to return in a similar form, but he had setbacks, causing him to be limited in the preseason and then to miss the first 10 games of the regular season…

Griffin is in the third year of a five-year contract worth $173 million.

The Pistons are 13-24 this season, and face major decisions to make in regard to Andre Drummond, who openly plans to test free agency this summer. It wouldn’t be a surprise if they were to make a huge trade or two in the coming weeks, before February’s trade deadline.

Cavs sign Levi Randolph, waive Alfonzo McKinnie and Tyler Cook

The Cleveland Cavaliers made some moves today, signing guard Levi Randolph to a Two-Way contract, and waiving forwards Alfonzo McKinnie and Tyler Cook.

Randolph (6-6, 210) has played in 20 games (all starts) this season with the Canton Charge, the Cavaliers’ exclusively owned and operated NBA G League team, averaging 15.3 points, 5.5 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.3 steals in 36.0 minutes per game. He originally went undrafted in the 2015 NBA Draft after playing four years collegiately at Alabama, where he averaged 9.9 points, 4.3 rebounds and 1.1 steals in 30.7 minutes per game over 135 career contests (120 starts).

McKinnie (6-8, 215) was claimed off waivers by the Cavaliers on Oct. 21 and played in 23 games for Cleveland this season. Cook (6-9, 255), who was claimed off waivers by the Cavaliers as a Two-Way player on Oct. 19 and had his contract converted into a standard NBA contract on Jan. 3, played in six games for Cleveland this season.

Cavs SG Kevin Porter Jr. out with knee injury

Cleveland Cavaliers shooting guard Kevin Porter Jr. suffered a left knee injury during the team’s home game against the Minnesota Timberwolves last night, and will be re-evaluated in around two weeks.

The exact injury has been diagnoses as a left knee sprain.

Porter will undergo a period of treatment, rehabilitation and evaluation.

An active member of the Cavs rotation this season, Porter is averaging 8.5 points and 3.3 rebounds in 21.8 minutes per game.

The Cavs, with a record of 10-26, are being led in scoring this season by Collin Sexton (18.5 PPG), Kevin Love (16.4 PPG) and Tristan Thompson (12.4 PPG).

Nets sign Justin Anderson to 10-day contract

The Brooklyn Nets signed guard/forward Justin Anderson to a 10-day contract today.

Anderson (6’5”, 231) joins Brooklyn from the Raptors 905 of the NBA G League. In 13 games (all starts) for Raptors 905 this season, Anderson has recorded averages of 21.2 points, 6.8 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.2 steals in 33.6 minutes per contest. Over four NBA seasons with Dallas (2015-17), Philadelphia (2017-18) and Atlanta (2018-19), Anderson has appeared in 216 games and holds career averages of 5.3 points and 2.6 rebounds in 13.2 minutes per game. He also appeared in seven games (all starts) for the Texas Legends of the NBA G League during the 2015-16 season.

The Montross, Va., native was originally selected by Dallas with the 21st pick in the first round of the 2015 NBA Draft following a three-year (2012-15) collegiate career at the University of Virginia. While playing for the Cavaliers, Anderson earned National Basketball Coaches Association All-America Third Team honors and was named to the All-ACC Second Team as a junior. He was also named the ACC Sixth Man of the Year by the Atlantic Coast Sports Media Association as a sophomore.

The Nets roster now stands at 17 players.

Hawks sign forward Paul Watson to 10-day contract

The Atlanta Hawks signed Paul Watson to a 10-day contract today.

The 6’6” forward has started all 13 games this season for the Raptors 905 of the NBA G League, averaging 18.4 points, 7.4 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 34.3 minutes (.533 FG%, .467 3FG%, .706 FT%). He spent the previous two seasons in the G League with the Westchester Knicks, who selected him in the first round (fifth overall) of the 2017 G League Draft.

Watson played four years at Fresno State, where as a senior in 2016-17, he compiled 11.4 points, 5.2 rebounds and 1.3 assists in 32.3 minutes (.414 FG%, .341 3FG%, .679 FT%).

The native of Phoenix, AZ led Paradise Valley High School to the state championship his senior year. He will wear jersey No. 2.

Will the Pistons trade Andre Drummond?

 

 

 

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The Pistons are going nowhere fast this season, and Andre Drummond can opt out of his contract this summer. It will cost Detroit a ton of money to keep him. Naturally, this leads to trade speculation.

Here’s ESPN.com with an update:

Drummond, who has spent his entire eight-year career with the organization, did not hesitate when asked why he would like to stay in Detroit.

“I’m not a quitter, for one,” Drummond said after scoring 14 points and grabbing 18 rebounds in Saturday’s 111-104 win over the Golden State Warriors. “I was never brought up to be a quitter. If I start somewhere, I try to finish there, try to complete the mission, which is to win a championship here. It will never be me that wants to go anywhere … I love being here. I would love to play here the rest of my career.”

The Pistons are 13-23 this season. Drummond is putting up big stats, but Blake Griffin is having a very disappointing season, guards Derrick Rose and Luke Kennard are getting buckets, but there isn’t much else to write home about. The team has tough decisions to make. A rebuild is clearly necessary, and whether it should include Drummond on a massive new contract or not is up for debate.