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Dwyane Wade will be limited early in training camp

Dwayne Wade will be limited early in training camp

Dwyane Wade Injury Update

Miami Heat guard Dwyane Wade’s participation will be limited at least during the first week of training camp because of his offseason knee surgery.

Camp begins Saturday at AmericanAirlines Arena, and the team’s preseason media day will be held Friday.

Heat coach Erik Spoelstra met with reporters Thursday to discuss a wide range of topics, including the statuses of Wade and Mike Miller, who each finished the team’s championship run with injuries.

Wade, who played with pain and swelling in his knee throughout the playoffs, underwent surgery on his left knee July 9 – forcing him to miss the Olympics. Miller, who was limited by a sore back for most of the postseason, has undergone rehabilitation throughout the offseason.

— Reported by Joseph Goodman of the Miami Herald

Spurs add Derrick Brown, Josh Powell, Tyler Wilkerson and Wesley Witherspoon to training camp

The San Antonio Spurs today announced the addition of four players to their 2012-13 training camp roster.

The Spurs current roster stands at 18 players, and includes the additions of forwards Derrick Brown, Josh Powell, Tyler Wilkerson and Wesley Witherspoon.

Brown (6-8, 233) spent the 2011-12 season playing for the Charlotte Bobcats. He appeared in 65 games, averaging 8.1 points and 3.6 rebounds in 22.2 minutes while shooting .518 (212-409) from the field. A three-year NBA veteran, Brown was selected by the Bobcats with 40th overall pick in the 2009 NBA Draft. Midway through the 2010-11 season he was traded to the New York Knicks. For his career, Brown has appeared in 171 games, averaging 5.2 points and 2.4 rebounds in 14.9 minutes.

Powell (6-9, 240) spent the past season playing in China, Switzerland and most recently in Puerto Rico with the Guayama Wizards. In 14 games with the Wizards, he averaged 16.1 points, 9.2 rebounds and 1.3 blocks. A six-year NBA veteran, Powell last played in the NBA with the Atlanta Hawks during the 2010-11 season, averaging 4.1 points and 2.5 rebounds in 12.1 minutes. Powell won two NBA Championships with the L.A. Lakers in 2009 and 2010. He’s also seen action with the Dallas Mavericks (2005-06), Indiana Pacers (2006-07), Golden State Warriors (2006-07) and L.A. Clippers (2007-08). For his career, Powell’s appeared in 315 NBA games, averaging 3.9 points and 2.9 rebounds in 12.5 minutes.

Wilkerson was on the Spurs 2012 Vegas Summer League team. He appeared in four games, averaging 9.3 points and 5.0 rebounds in 20.8 minutes while shooting .750 (15-20) from the field. A 6-8, 240 pound forward out of Marshall University, Wilkerson spent the past two seasons playing for Maccabi Haifa in Israel. Last season he appeared in 20 games, averaging 16.6 points, 6.7 rebounds and 1.0 assist in 28 minutes. Wilkerson was also a member of the Spurs 2010 Summer League team, where he averaged 11.0 points, 6.6 rebounds and 1.9 steals in 24.1 minutes in five games.

Witherspoon (6-9, 212) is coming off his senior year at the University of Memphis where he helped lead the Tigers to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. In four seasons with the Tigers, Witherspoon appeared in 121 games, averaging 8.2 points and 3.7 rebounds in 21.0 minutes. As a junior he was named to the All-Conference USA third team and was the Conference USA Sixth Man of the Year in 2008-09.

Ricky Rubio hopes to return by December or early January

Timberwolves point guard Ricky Rubio, recovering from a major knee injury, said he does not have a timetable for when he’ll be able to play this season but was hopeful of being ready by “December or early January.”

“I don’t want to say a time, because I don’t want to rush it,” Rubio said Thursday, Sept. 27, to a group of reporters outside the Timberwolves practice facility at Target Center. “I want to be ready whenever it is. It depends on how my knee goes.”

The Spanish native suffered tears to his anterior cruciate ligament and medial collateral ligament in his left knee after colliding with Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant in the final seconds of a March 9 game at Target Center.

— Reported by Ray Richardson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press

Michael Jordan attends Scottie Pippen birthday party

Chicago Bulls legend Michael Jordan surprised his former teammate Scottie Pippen for Pippen’s 47th birthday party Monday night. Pippen’s wife, Larsa, planned the secret bash at Chicago hot spot Sunda. Bulls family, including team president Michael Reinsdorf and his wife, Nancy, NBA power broker William “World Wide Wes” Wesley, Antoine Walker, Ahmad Rashad, and new Bulls recruit and Chicago native Nazr Mohammed gathered to celebrate at the club with Pippen.

— Reported by the New York Post

Tyson Chandler says Rasheed Wallace would help Knicks

Count Tyson Chandler among those who think Rasheed Wallace has something left.

After taking the last two seasons off, Wallace worked out at the Knicks practice facility, and is considering signing with the team. And after seeing him work out, Chandler thinks Wallace can help.

“He looked good,’’ Chandler said Wednesday at a charity event featuring his photography, including pictures of former Knicks Jeremy Lin and Landry Fields.. “Rasheed can be a great addition to us.”

Despite his extended break from the NBA, with Wallace’s last game action coming with Boston in the 2010 Finals, Chandler said Wallace still has skills that can help the Knicks.

— Reported by Tim Bontemps of the New York Post

Nick Young never expected to be a 76er

Upon becoming an unrestricted free agent last summer, Young admitted Wednesday to being “shocked” at ending up in Philadelphia.

A phone call and subsequent chat with Doug Collins early in the free agency period gave the Sixers the inside track with Young.

Collins sealed the deal by meeting with Young’s parents a few days later.

“He sat down and talked to my dad and mom. Once my mom started raving about him, it was pretty much a wrap right there,” said Young, smiling.

Young officially signed a one-year, $6 million contract July 12.

— Reported by Tom Moore of Philly Burbs

Unclear if Clippers will keep coach Vinny Del Negro long-term

In May, the Clippers picked up the option on Del Negro’s contract, giving him a third season as coach for about $2 million. Still, Del Negro, 46, enters the new season in the final year of his contract.

Sitting in his office Wednesday afternoon, Del Negro leaned back in his chair and said of his situation: “I think there’s always pressure, but I think that’s a position that you want to be in.

“My goal coming here was to help change the environment, change the culture and change the direction of the organization.”

Last season the Clippers went 40-26 in the regular season and Del Negro took them to the second round of the playoffs for just the second time since the franchise moved to Los Angeles in 1984.

All signs point to Del Negro’s leading the Clippers to back-to-back playoff appearances. If that happens, it will be for just the second time during the 32 years Donald Sterling will have owned the team. The Clippers last reached the postseason in consecutive years in 1992 and 1993 when Larry Brown was coach.

— Reported by Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times

Bulls invite Kyrylo Fesenko to training camp

The Chicago Bulls have invited veteran center Kyrylo Fesenko to training camp on a non-guaranteed contract, according to sources close to the situation.

Sources told ESPN.com that Fesenko is on course to sign with the Bulls by week’s end after working out for team officials this week.

Chicago has been searching for an established big man willing to come to training camp on a non-guaranteed deal because league rules prevent the hard-capped Bulls from handing out any guaranteed deals heading into the season.

— Reported by Marc Stein of ESPN.com

Grizzlies forward Darrell Arthur injures leg

The Memphis Grizzlies today announced that forward Darrell Arthur sustained a small, non-displaced fracture in the head of the fibula in his left leg during a recent workout while preparing for training camp.

The injury was diagnosed by team physician Dr. Fred Azar after Arthur underwent a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) at the Campbell Clinic earlier this week.

The 24-year-old is being treated by the team’s athletic training staff and will be evaluated on a weekly basis by Dr. Azar. He will return to action in an estimated 4-6 weeks but could return earlier if symptom-free.

In other news, center Hamed Haddadi will return to full action without any restrictions after an eight-week rehabilitation following right thumb surgery.

Pacers forward Danny Granger to be limited at start of training camp

Forward Danny Granger, the team’s leading scorer the past five seasons, will be limited some at the start of training camp after an issue with his left knee, which happened while working out in Los Angeles late in the summer, caused him to get an injection in it. Granger’s at the fieldhouse working out with the rest of his teammates daily, but the Pacers, who don’t believe it’s a major issue, plan to take it easy with him early on and allow him to use the preseason to work on his conditioning. Granger’s expected to play in some of the preseason games.

I ran into forward David West in the building and immediately noticed that he spent a lot of time in the offseason toning up his upper body.

— Reported by Mike Wells of the Indianapolis Star (Blog)