NBA Blog – NBA Basketball Blog
NBA Blog: The NBA basketball news blog section of Inside Hoops
Trail Blazers blog – Portland Trail Blazers basketball blog
An MRI conducted on Portland Trail Blazers forward Ish Wainright revealed an MCL sprain in the left knee.
Wainright is expected to miss 4-6 weeks.
Per the Oregonian, “Wainright, 29, claimed off waivers last month, has appeared in two games for the Blazers this season. He has also played with the Rip City Remix.”
Trail Blazers center Robert Williams III yesterday underwent right knee surgery today to reconstruct a torn ligament in his right knee after he sustained a patellar dislocation on November 5th vs. Memphis.
The surgery was performed by Dr. Walt Lowe at Memorial Hermann Surgery Center in Houston, TX.
Williams is expected to make a full recovery for the 2024-25 season.
An MRI conducted on Trail Blazers rookie Scoot Henderson revealed bone bruising in addition to the right ankle sprain.
A return to play timeline of an additional 2-3 weeks will be taken for further resolution of the bruising.
Per the Oregonian, “the loss of Henderson led to Malcolm Brogdon entering the starting lineup, but he injured his hamstring Wednesday at Sacramento. The Blazers responded by signing Skylar Mays to a standard NBA contract and using his vacated two-way slot to sign guard Jamaree Bouyea.”
Portland Trail Blazers center Robert Williams III injured his right knee during Sunday’s game vs. Memphis. After consultation, it has been determined that Williams will undergo surgery to repair ligament damage.
Williams is expected to miss the remainder of the 2023-24 season.
Injuries have derailed much of his still-young NBA career.
Per the Oregonian, “in Williams, 26, the Blazers landed a high-end backup center to Deandre Ayton, brought in from Phoenix. Losing Williams dramatically thins the Blazers’ depth behind Ayton.”
Portland Trail Blazers guard Anfernee Simons injured his right thumb during Wednesday’s game at LA Clippers.
A subsequent MRI conducted Thursday evening revealed a tear of the ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) of the right thumb.
Simons is set to have surgery and is expected to miss 4-6 weeks.
Per the Oregonian: “Expected to be the team’s leading scorer this season following the departure of Damian Lillard, Simons scored 18 points to go along with four assists in the Blazers’ 123-111 loss the the Clippers.”
The Portland Trail Blazers yesterday signed center Duop Reath to a two-way contract.
The team have also requested waivers on center Ibou Badji.
During the 2023 Preseason, Reath appeared in four games and averaged 7.8 points (47.6% FG, 33.3% 3-PT, 72.7% FT), 4.2 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 16.2 minutes per game for the Trail Blazers. Reath participated in 2023 Las Vegas Summer League with the Portland Trail Blazers where he averaged 13.0 points and 7.4 rebounds in five games.
In April of 2023, the LSU alum signed with Al Riyadi Beirut of Lebanon and in 10 games, he posted 21.4 points, 9.9 rebounds, 1.1 assists and 2.5 blocks in 32 minutes per game. Reath was also a member of the 2020 Australian National Team along with fellow Trail Blazers teammate Matisse Thybulle as they earned a bronze medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
The Portland Trail Blazers have converted the contract of guard Justin Minaya to a two-way contract.
Minaya appeared in four games during the 2022-23 season for the Trail Blazers and averaged 4.3 points, 3.8 rebounds, 1.0 assists in 22.3 minutes per game. Prior to joining the Trail Blazers, Minaya played in 27 games (25 starts) for the Mexico City Capitanes of the NBA G League, recording averages of 12.7 points (48.7% FG, 33.9% 3PT), 4.4 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 2.1 steals and 35.1 minutes during the 2022-23 season.
The Trail Blazers have also requested waivers on forward John Butler Jr., center George Conditt, forward Kevin Knox II and center Duop Reath.
The Portland Trail Blazers have claimed forward Ish Wainright off waivers.
During the 2022-23 season, Wainright appeared in 60 games (two starts) and averaged 4.2 points (37.0% FG, 32.9% 3-PT, 83.9% FT), 2.3 rebounds, 0.9 assists and 15.3 minutes per game for the Phoenix Suns. In two seasons, Wainright appeared in 105 games (two starts) and holds career averages of 3.4 points (37.8% FG, 32.8% 3-PT, 76.7% FT), 1.8 rebounds, 0.6 assists, 0.6 steals in 12.1 minutes per game for the Suns from 2021-23.
The Portland Trail Blazers have exercised the 2024-25 team option on the Rookie Scale contract of guard Shaedon Sharpe.
The Blazers selected Sharpe with the seventh overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft. During his rookie season, Sharpe averaged 9.9 points (47.2% FG, 36.0% 3-PT, 71.4% FT), 3.0 rebounds, 1.2 assists, and 0.5 steals in 22.2 minutes per game in 80 games (15 starts).
The Portland Trail Blazers have signed center George Conditt.
And in two subsequent moves, the Trail Blazers requested waivers on guards Malachi Smith and Antoine Davis.
Conditt, who stands 6 feet 11 and weighs 234 pounds, spent the 2022–23 season playing for Promitheas Patras of the Greek Basket League as well as Gigantes de Carolina of the Baloncesto Superior Nacional league in Puerto Rico.
Conditt, a Chicago native, played four years of college basketball at Iowa State, where he averaged 9.8 points (56.4% FG, 64.1% FT), 3.5 rebounds, 0.8 assists, 1.1 blocks, and 14.5 minutes per game over 117 games (36 starts).