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Knicks backup guard Ron Baker will be out indefinitely after an MRI revealed a shoulder dislocation and torn labrum, the team announced Wednesday.
Baker had played 38 seconds in the Knicks’ 111-95 win over the Nets on Tuesday when he was inadvertently kicked by DeMarre Carroll.
The Clippers are shaking up the entire foundation and future of their franchise, by reportedly agreeing to trade Blake Griffin to the Pistons. Here’s Michigan Live reporting:
They acquired All-Star forward Blake Griffins from the Los Angeles Clippers for a package of players and draft picks, according to various reports.
The Pistons sent foward Tobias Harris, guarfd Avery Bradley, center Bob Marjanovic and a first- and second-round draft pick to the Clippers, ESPN reports. The Clippers also sent Brice Johnson and Willie Reed to Detroit.
According to ESPN, protections on Detroit’s 2018 first-round pick include 1-4 in 2018, 2019 and 2020, and unprotected in 2021.
The Thunder, who this season have relied primarily on defense to get their wins, will be without their main defensive stopper at the guard/forward spot, Andre Roberson, for the remainder of the season. Here’s the Norman Transcript reporting:
Oklahoma City Thunder shooting guard Andre Roberson underwent successful knee surgery Sunday, the team announced. The Thunder expect him to miss the remainder of the 2017-18 season.
Roberson ruptured his left patellar tendon during the third quarter of Saturday’s 121-108 win over the Detroit Pistons. The injury occurred when he planted his left leg awkwardly while trying to jump for an alley-oop from Russell Westbrook. Instead of receiving the ball and finishing the play, he flipped in the air and landed hard on his backside. After a few minutes on the ground with trainers and teammates around him, Roberson left the court on a stretcher.
The Thunder’s defensive stopper missed eight games because of left patellar tendinitis from Dec. 31 to Jan. 17. Rookie wing Terrance Ferguson started in his place during seven of those. Ferguson started once again Sunday against the Philadelphia 76ers. Roberson also received plasma injections in his knee during the offseason.
DeMarcus Cousins has suffered a nasty injury that will end his season.
He’s on the Pelicans, a Western conference team.
So, his replacement on the Team LeBron 2018 NBA All-Star team has to be from the West as well.
Adam Silver has made his decision. It’ll be OKC Thunder forward Paul George.
For more info, read this: Paul George named NBA All-Star game injury replacement for DeMarcus Cousins
Here’s the South Florida Sun Sentinel with some very sad news:
Henry Thomas, arguably the most impactful player agent in the Miami Heat’s 30 seasons, died Saturday in Chicago, with Heat forward Udonis Haslem and former Heat guard Dwyane Wade among those who left their teams to travel to Chicago amid Thomas’ failing health.
Thomas, 64, represented Wade, Haslem, Chris Bosh, Tim Hardaway and several other Heat players, a particularly strong influence with the organization since the arrival of Pat Riley as Heat president in 1995.
The Heat paid tribute with a moment of silence before Saturday’s game against the Charlotte Hornets at AmericanAirlines Arena.
Thomas’ negotiations with the Heat included a unique conditioning-based contract for Hardaway that included regular weigh-ins after the two sides reached an impasse and then several concessions from Wade over the years to accommodate the contracts of other Heat players.
Thomas was a particularly influential presence in the Heat’s formation of the Big Three championship core in 2010, representing both Bosh and Wade at the time, while also part of the agency that represented LeBron James.
And here’s Cleveland.com with more:
Cleveland Cavaliers shooting guard Dwyane Wade stepped away from the team, missing Friday’s win against the Indiana Pacers, to mourn the death of his agent Henry Thomas — a man Wade viewed as a “father figure,” according to sources close to him.
Wade wrote a heartfelt Instagram message about Thomas on Saturday, complete with a picture of the two shortly after Wade was drafted by the Miami Heat in 2003.
“I’m writing this letter to you as I cry both tears of SADNESS and tears of JOY,” Wade said. “I know — i know — I can hear your voice saying, ‘Come on my man. You got this!’ I can picture your face and feel your hugs in so so many moments in my life. Whether it’s you hugging me and saying how proud you are of me or congrats on winning a NBA championship or you hugging me and saying everything’s gonna be alright — we will get thru this. I can’t thank you enough for these last 15 years.”
The Memphis Grizzlies are just 17-31 but are playing decent basketball lately, winning five of their last 10 games. But their journey this season will continue without point guard Mike Conley, who won’t play again until 2017-18.
The Grizzlies announced today that Conley will undergo surgery to smooth a small bone protrusion in his left heel that continues to cause pain and soreness. The team says they expect he’ll a full recovery prior to 2018-19 training camp.
Other Grizzlies Injury News
Chandler Parsons has made progress this week in alleviating soreness in his right knee after overcoming an illness that temporarily slowed his recovery. He remains day-to-day.
JaMychal Green continues to recover from a right ankle sprain and is expected to return within the next week.
James Ennis III continues to recover from a right calf strain and is expected to return within the next week.
The Dallas Mavericks have signed guard Kyle Collinsworth to a second 10-day contract.
Collinsworth (6-6, 210) originally signed a two-way contract with Dallas on Dec. 19 but was waived by the team on Jan. 10 after appearing in four games. He then signed a 10-day contract with the club on Jan. 13.
The former BYU guard has appeared in six games for Dallas this season, averaging 1.8 points and 1.3 rebounds in 11.7 minutes per game. On the final day of his first 10-day contract (Jan. 22), he recorded four points (2-2 FGs), four rebounds, three assists and two steals in Dallas’ 98-75 win over Washington.
Collinsworth has also played in 55 games (34 starts) for the Mavericks’ G-League affiliate, the Texas Legends, over the past two seasons (2016-18). In 19 games (18 starts) for the Legends in 2017-18, he averaged 11.0 points, 8.6 rebounds, 5.2 assists and 1.7 steals in 35.7 minutes per game.
After going undrafted in the 2016 NBA Draft, Collinsworth competed for Dallas at the 2016 NBA Summer League in Las Vegas. He spent the 2016 preseason with the Mavericks before being waived by the team on Oct. 22, 2016.
A native of Provo, Utah, Collinsworth played four years at BYU and averaged 12.2 points, 7.5 rebounds, 5.0 assists, 1.6 steals and 30.9 minutes per game in 140 games. He was a three-time First Team All-WCC selection (2014-16) and set the NCAA career triple-double record with 12.
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Miami Heat guard Dion Waiters underwent surgery yesterday to fix instability in his left ankle. The Heat say that a preexisting navicular bone fracture was also repaired.
Waiters is done for the season.
Waiters this year played in 30 games, as a starter in all 30 games, averaging 14.3 points, 3.8 assists and 2.6 rebounds in 30.6 minutes per outing.
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The Minnesota Timberwolves will host “Flip Saunders Night” at home in Target Center on Thursday, February 15. The visiting team for that game is the Lakers.
That night, the Timberwolves will unveil a permanent banner in Target Center to honor the memory of Flip.
“Flip meant so much to our organization as a coach, but he meant so much more to all of us as a friend,” said Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor. “His impact on our organization and what he meant to the Minnesota basketball community is something that will always be with us. It is appropriate that we honor the man who meant so much to us with of a banner in our home arena that will forever fortify his memory.”
All fans in attendance will receive a Flip Saunders commemorative coin. The back story behind giving a coin is this: One of Flip’s trademarks during his tenure with the Wolves was to create a new team coin each season for players and front office staff, then randomly give them to people he would encounter as a way to include fans on that season’s journey.
“Minnesota has always been our family’s home”, said Debbie Saunders, widow of Flip Saunders. “Flip not only had a passion for the Timberwolves but for basketball in the State of Minnesota. We are incredibly grateful to the Timberwolves for memorializing Flip in such a moving way and having his memory live on inside Target Center forever.”
Saunders compiled an overall record of 427-392 (.521) in 12 seasons covering two different stints with the organization.
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The New Orleans Pelicans today signed DeAndre Liggins to a second 10-day contract.
The 6-foot-6, 209-pound guard, who signed his first Pelicans 10-day contract on January 10, has appeared in just one game with the Pelicans during that first 10-day stretch, putting up four points, one rebound and one assist in 11 minutes.
The Pelicans are 23-21, which is tied for the 7th best record in the Western conference.
There are currently 18 players on the Pelicans’ roster.
Recent Pelicans-related news: The NBA a few days ago announced that Pelicans teammates Anthony Davis and DeMarcus Cousins were named starters for the 2018 NBA All-Star Game, which will take place on Feb. 18 at the STAPLES Center in Los Angeles.