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Los Angeles Lakers forward/center Pau Gasol, who injured his right foot in Tuesday’s game against the Nets in Brooklyn, returned to Los Angeles from Boston this morning where he was examined by foot specialist Dr. Kenneth Jung.
Jung’s diagnosis confirmed that Gasol has a tear of the plantar fascia in his right foot. Gasol is expected to be out a minimum of 6-8 weeks.
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He still hopes to return in mid to late March. But he’s not going to rush himself. Love was asked, again, if he came back too soon from his broken hand the first time. And while he said no, he at least suggested that maybe the breaks didn’t heal properly the first time. “Because, at the time I broke it, I was 10 weeks out (from the initial fractures),” Love said. “So I gave it enough time to heal. … But now that it’s fixed it feels great, and I can continue to progress.”
Love said the season has been frustrating, given his high expectations coming off the Olympics and the team’s high hopes entering the season. When asked what there was left in the season to salvage, here’s what he said: “I think coach (Rick Adelman) mentioned it today,” he said. “That we can’t look at making the playoffs right now. We can just look at our next game and our next practice and what we can do to get better every single day. Even though myself, and Chase (Budinger) and Brandon (Roy) and (Andrei Kirilenko) are out right now, we can still look at getting back on the court and getting better.”
— Reported by Kent Youngblood of the Minneapolis Star Tribune (Blog)
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James Harden of the Rockets and Russell Westbrook of the Oklahoma City Thunder will be the coaches of the Sprint NBA All-Star Celebrity Game. The event will be at 7 p.m. Feb. 15 at the George R. Brown Convention Center. Assistant coaches will be singer/actress Queen Latifah and TV personality Samantha Harris.
The celebrity game is a highlight of the NBA All-Star Weekend, which kicks off Feb. 14 and culminates with the 62nd NBA All-Star Game on Feb. 17.
The celebrity teams will include Kevin Hart and Nick Cannon of “Real Husbands of Hollywood” Grammy winning singer Ne-Yo, singer/actor Trey Songz, Olympic gold medalist Usain Bolt, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, rapper Common, ABC News correspondent John Schriffen EPNS host Ryen Russillo and Terrence Jenkins of “E! News.”
— Reported by Syd Kearney of the Houston Chronicle (Blog)
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Chicago Bulls center Joakim Noah said he will play Thursday against the Denver Nuggets after missing the past three games because of plantar fasciitis in his right foot.
A first-time All-Star, Noah dealt went through all of the Bulls’ practice on Wednesday.
“I felt pretty good,” he said before Thursday morning’s shootaround. “I’ll be all right.”
— Reported by Nick Friedell of ESPN Chicago
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The Philadelphia 76ers announced today that they have signed guard Jeremy Pargo to a 10-day contract. Additionally, the second 10-day contract guard Shelvin Mack signed on January 28 has expired. Pargo will wear #0.
Pargo (6-2, 219) was not selected in the 2009 NBA Draft and played overseas until signing as a free agent with Memphis prior to the start of last season. He appeared in 44 games with five starts for the Grizzlies in 2011-12 and was traded to Cleveland on July 25, 2012.
The Gonzaga product saw action in 25 games with 11 starts for Cleveland this season, averaging 7.8 points, 2.6 assists and 1.3 rebounds in 17.9 minutes per game. He was waived by the Cavaliers on January 22 in conjunction with Cleveland’s trade with Memphis.
Pargo took advantage of an injury to Cleveland’s All-Star guard Kyrie Irving earlier this season and averaged 14.5 points and 4.4 assists over an 11-game span from November 21 through December 8. Pargo scored 20-plus points three times during that stretch, including a career-high 28 points against Philadelphia on November 21.
In 69 career games with 16 starts, Pargo is averaging 4.7 points, 1.7 assists and 1.0 rebounds in 12.6 minutes per game. His older brother, Jannero, is currently playing for the Atlanta Hawks.
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With one more procedural move, the Sacramento Kings took another step toward Seattle.
NBA Commissioner David Stern said Wednesday night that the Seattle group led by Chris Hansen and Steve Ballmer, which recently reached an agreement to purchase the Kings, has formally filed for relocation with the league.
Stern spoke in Minneapolis before the Timberwolves hosted San Antonio. He called the Seattle group ”very strong,” and said the appropriate committees have been convened to look over the proposed sale of the Kings and the prospective move.
Stern said the relocation proposal calls for the team to play in KeyArena for ”two years, possibly three,” while a new arena in Seattle is being built.
”We have had submitted a signed agreement to have the team sold to a very strong group from Seattle,” Stern said. ”We have received an application to have the team moved from Sacramento to Seattle.”
The deadline for teams to file for relocation is March 1. It’s been expected that the Hansen/Ballmer group would file to move the team, but Stern’s comments were the first time that decision had been verified. The filing for relocation is just another step, but big in the efforts to bring professional basketball back to Seattle for the 2013-14 season.
— Reported by Tim Booth of the Associated Press
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Los Angeles Lakers forward/center Pau Gasol had an MRI test today in Boston on his right foot, which he injured in last night’s game in Brooklyn. Results of the MRI showed that Gasol has a tear of the plantar fascia.
The MRI test will be sent to team doctors in Los Angeles for analysis and Gasol will fly to Los Angeles tomorrow, where he will be examined by team doctor Steve Lombardo and foot specialist Dr. Kenneth Jung. A further update including a time estimate for Gasol’s return will be issued at the conclusion of the examination.
According to the Los Angeles Times, “The plantar fascia is located in the arch of the foot, and Gasol has been bothered throughout this season by painful swelling in the same area, called plantar fasciitis. He aggravated the foot earlier in Tuesday’s game and said he later felt a pop in it after jumping to block the shot of Nets center Brook Lopez with 4:23 to play. Gasol stayed down on the court for several seconds and remained in the game after a 20-second timeout but started limping while trying to run and headed for the locker room. He needed crutches after the game to leave the locker room. Gasol will meet with Lakers doctor Steven Lombardo and foot specialist Kenneth Jung on Thursday.”
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Los Angeles Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak has told Dwight Howard he will not be traded before the Feb. 21 trade deadline, according to league sources.
Kupchak recently told Newsday the same thing, saying: “We will not trade Dwight Howard.” Sources say Kupchak has told Howard several times that he has no intention of trading him.
There have been rumblings for the past month that the Lakers are considering moving Howard out of fear that he might leave as a free agent after the season. Despite their concerns, the Lakers have not directly asked Howard whether he plans to stay or go in free agency, according to sources.
Sources have told ESPNLosAngeles.com’s Ramona Shelburne that the Lakers are “very confident” Howard will remain with the team this summer.
Howard has steadfastly refused to reveal his plans for this summer, and sources say he truly does not know what he will do. The sources add that he definitely will not ask to be traded.
— Reported by Chris Broussard of ESPN.com
The San Antonio Spurs today announced that they have recalled center Aron Baynes from the Austin Toros of the NBA Development League.
Baynes appeared in two games for the Toros after being assigned to Austin on Feb. 1. He averaged 18.0 points and 9.0 rebounds in 27.5 minutes in his first D-League assignment.
Signed by the Spurs on January 23, Baynes has appeared in two games for the Silver and Black, averaging 3.5 points and 4.5 rebounds in 9.5 minutes.
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Scottsdale police say Phoenix Suns forward Michael Beasley was cited last month on suspicion of speeding, driving on a suspended Arizona license and driving without a vehicle license plate or registration.
The Suns issued a statement Monday saying they discussed the matter with Beasley ”and at this time do not believe any further action by the club is warranted.”
A police report said Beasley was stopped Jan. 25 on suspicion of driving 71 mph in a 45 mph zone.
— Reported by the Associated Press