NBA News Blog – Page 485 – NBA Blog

Julyan Stone injured, out 4-6 weeks

Charlotte Hornets guard Julyan Stone has suffered a Grade 2 strain of his left hamstring. The injury occurred in practice on Sunday, Oct. 22 and he did not travel with the team to Milwaukee.

Stone is listed as out for tonight’s game against the Bucks and his expected recovery time is estimated at four to six weeks. Further updates on his status will be provided when available.

Stone, a 6-6 guard and fourth-year player out of Texas-El Paso, appeared in the Hornets first two games and averaged 3.0 points, 2.5 rebounds and 1.0 assists in 9.0 minutes per game. For his career, he has averaged 1.4 points, 1.1 rebounds and 1.1 assists in 49 games with the Denver Nuggets, Toronto Raptors and Hornets. Stone signed with Charlotte as a free agent on Aug. 23, 2017 after playing with Reyer Venezia Mestre of the Lega Basket Serie A in Italy.

Milos Teodosic out with plantar fascia injury

Milos Teodosic out with a plantar fascia injury

Clippers guard Milos Teodosic suffered a plantar fascia injury in his left foot during the second quarter of the Clippers’ game against Phoenix on October 21. Teodosic will be out indefinitely.

Teodosic, 30, has started in two games this season, and has averaged 5.5 points and 4.0 assists in 16.0 minutes. He appeared in four games for the Clippers in the preseason (three starts), and averaged 6.8 points, 5.5 assists and 1.00 steals in 24.9 minutes.

Jonas Valanciunas out with ankle sprain

Raptors center Jonas Valanciunas is out with a sprained left ankle.

Valanciunas travelled with the team on its six-game road trip, which begins Monday against San Antonio.
The injury occurred after Valanciunas landed on the foot of the Philadelphia 76ers’ Dario Saric in the second quarter of Saturday night’s game. He did not return.

His condition will be evaluated on a regular basis.

Kyrie Irving fined by NBA

Boston Celtics guard Kyrie Irving has been fined $25,000 for using inappropriate language when responding to a fan, it was announced today by Kiki VanDeWeghe, Executive Vice President, Basketball Operations.

The incident occurred at halftime of the Celtics’ 102-92 win over the Philadelphia 76ers on Friday, Oct. 20 at Wells Fargo Center.

Suns fire Earl Watson, name Jay Triano interim head coach

The Phoenix Suns have relieved Earl Watson of his duties as head coach. Suns associate head coach Jay Triano will take over as interim head coach.

Watson was originally named interim head coach on February 1, 2016, and then was retained as the 17th head coach in franchise history on April 19, 2016. In parts of three seasons as head coach, Watson’s teams compiled a 33-85 (.280) record.

Triano joined the Suns’ staff as associate head coach in the summer of 2016. Triano had previously served as head coach of the Toronto Raptors from 2008-2011, compiling an 87-142 (.380) record as he was the first Canadian-born head coach in NBA history. In addition to his NBA coaching experience that includes six seasons as an assistant coach with the Raptors and four seasons as an assistant with the Portland Trail Blazers, Triano is head coach of the men’s national team for Canada Basketball.

Pelicans waive Jordan Crawford, sign Jameer Nelson

The New Orleans Pelicans announced today the team has signed guard Jameer Nelson. And in a subsequent move, the Pelicans have waived guard Jordan Crawford.

Nelson, 6-0, 190, most recently played for the Denver Nuggets. In 148 games (59 starts) from 2014-17, Nelson averaged 8.9 points, 4.7 assists and 2.5 rebounds. Last season, Nelson averaged 9.2 points, 5.1 assists and 2.6 rebounds in 27.3 minutes over 75 games for Denver.

A 13-year NBA veteran, Nelson has appeared in 828 career regular season games (639 starts) with Orlando, Dallas, Boston and Denver, holding career averages of 11.7 points, 5.2 assists, 3.0 rebounds and 0.9 steals in 28.4 minutes per game. Additionally, Nelson has appeared in 44 career postseason games, averaging 15.0 points, 4.6 assists, 3.5 rebounds and 0.8 steals. During the 2008-09 season, Nelson helped the Orlando Magic reach the NBA Finals.

Selected 20th overall by Denver in the 2004 NBA Draft out of St. Joseph’s (PA), Nelson was named an All-Star in 2009, averaging a career-best 16.7 points, 5.4 assists, 3.5 rebounds and 1.2 steals per game.

Nelson will be available for New Orleans’ game tonight at the STAPLES Center against the Los Angeles Lakers.

In two games for New Orleans this season, Crawford, 6-4, 195, has averaged 9.0 points, 5.0 assists and 1.0 rebounds in 18.5 minutes.

Raptors waive K.J. McDaniels

The Toronto Raptors have waived forward K.J. McDaniels. McDaniels appeared in three preseason games, totaling six points, five rebounds and two blocks in 24 minutes. He was inactive for the first two games of the regular season. Toronto’s roster now stands at 16 players.

Bucks sign Joel Bolomboy to two-way contract

The Milwaukee Bucks have signed Joel Bolomboy to a Two-Way contract.

Bolomboy, 23, was the 52nd overall pick in the 2016 NBA Draft by the Utah Jazz. He appeared in 12 games with the Jazz in 2016-17 and averaged 1.8 points and 1.4 rebounds per game. The Weber State product also played 24 games for the Salt Lake City Stars of the NBA G League and averaged 16.4 points and 13.2 rebounds per contest.

NBA rules permit teams to have two Two-Way players on their roster at any given time, in addition to their 15-man regular season roster. A Two-Way player for the Bucks will provide services primarily for the team’s G League affiliate – the Wisconsin Herd – but can spend up to 45 days with Milwaukee, not including any time prior to the start of the Herd’s training camp and following the conclusion of the G League regular season.

Bolomboy will wear No. 24 for the Bucks.

Frank Ntilikina twists ankle in practice

We look forward to telling you about how Frank Ntilikina is doing in basketball games, but so far we’re forced to mention him a lot in regard to injuries. And it’s happened again. Hopefully minor. Here’s New York Newsday reporting:

On the eve of the Knicks’ home opener, first-round draft pick Frank Ntilikina had to be helped off the practice court Friday after twisting his left ankle in the final minutes of practice.

Ntilikina writhed in pain at the baseline for several minutes before leaving practice. He later told the Knicks’ staff that he injured the ankle when he changed direction while boxing out for a rebound.

“Looked like I thought he maybe stepped on Willy’s [Hernangomez’s] foot,” coach Jeff Hornacek said shortly after the incident. “He went to box him out and it looked like he stepped on his foot. Hopefully, it’s not too bad.”

Full article

Alexis Ajinca out with knee injury

New Orleans Pelicans center Alexis Ajinca sustained an injury to his knee patellar tendonitis, the team announced today.

Ajinca underwent successful bilateral knee injections yesterday by Pelicans Director of Medical Services/Head Team Physician Dr. Misty Suri and is expected to miss 4-6 weeks.

Fortunately for the Pelicans, they’re super-strong at the center and power forward spots, with DeMarcus Cousins and Anthony Davis as starters. Ajinca is a backup, but will still be missed.