Nets: Dzanan Musa out with shoulder injury

Brooklyn Nets guard/forward Dzanan Musa on Monday was diagnosed with a left shoulder subluxation after sustaining the injury during Sunday’s Long Island Nets game. Musa will begin rehabilitation immediately, and updates regarding his status will be issued as appropriate.

Musa has played in 16 games for Brooklyn’s NBA G League affiliate, the Long Island Nets, while on assignment this season, recording averages of a team-high 20.1 points with 7.1 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.1 steals in 32.4 minutes per contest. He’s also appeared in seven games for Brooklyn this season, averaging 1.7 points in 3.7 minutes per game.

Wizards trade Kelly Oubre, Austin Rivers to Suns for Trevor Ariza

The Phoenix Suns completed a trade with the Washington Wizards today, acquiring forward Kelly Oubre Jr. (pronounced OOH-bray) and guard Austin Rivers in exchange for forward Trevor Ariza.

“Trevor has been one of the most effective, efficient and versatile players at his position for over a decade,” said Wizards President Ernie Grunfeld. “We are obviously very familiar with the leadership and experience he brings as one of the league’s most respected professionals and look forward to welcoming him back to the team.”

Ariza (6-8, 215) returns to Washington for a second stint with the Wizards. He averaged 12.3 points, 5.6 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.5 steals while shooting .393 from three-point range with the team from 2012-2014, helping the team advance to the second round of the playoffs in 2013-14. The 15-year veteran has averaged 10.5 points, 4.8 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.5 steals while shooting .353 from three-point range in 968 career games (667 starts) over 15 seasons with Phoenix, Houston, Washington, New Orleans, the L.A. Lakers, Orlando and New York. He has averaged 9.9 points, 5.6 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.5 steals in 26 games (all starts) with the Suns this season.

Over the past 10 seasons (entering the 2018-19 season), Ariza had 1,304 three-pointers and 30.5 defensive win shares (estimate of number of wins contributed by a player due to his defense), joining LeBron James and Kevin Durant as the only players to post those numbers. He has also averaged at least 2.0 three-pointers and 1.5 steals in each of the past five seasons (coming into the 2018-19 season), joining Stephen Curry and James Harden as the only players to do so. Dating back to 2008-09, Ariza has the third-most steals (1,245) in the NBA behind only Chris Paul and Russell Westbrook and he joins Harden and Westbrook as the only players with at least 4,000 points, 2,000 rebounds, 800 assists and 600 steals since 2013.

Ariza brings extensive playoff experience to the Wizards, averaging 10.3 points, 5.0 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.4 steals while shooting .367 from three-point range in 102 postseason contests (90 starts). He helped lead the Lakers to the 2009 NBA championship, averaging 11.3 points, 4.2 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.3 steals while shooting .476 from three-point range in 23 games (all starts) and helped lead the Rockets to the Western Conference Finals in both 2015 and 2018, starting all 34 games in those combined playoff runs.

Oubre, a 6-7, 205-pound forward, is in his fourth NBA season and posting career highs by scoring 12.9 points per game and shooting 43.3 percent from the field this season. He has played particularly well of late, scoring at least 20 points in three of his last six games and averaging 17.7 points (51.4 FG%, 40.7 3FG%, 79.2 FT%) over this six-game stretch. Oubre scored a season-high 23 points last Monday at Indiana then scored 20 last Wednesday vs. Boston, giving him consecutive 20-point games for the first time in his career.

For his career, the 23-year-old has averaged 8.2 points, 3.5 rebounds and 0.8 steals in 252 games (32 starts) all with the Wizards. He has also appeared in 18 career playoff games, averaging 7.0 points in 18.4 minutes. Over the last two seasons, Oubre is averaging 12.1 points, 4.5 rebounds, 1.5 three-pointers and 1.0 steals while shooting 81.4 percent from the free throw line in 110 games.

The left-hander was initially the 15th overall pick of the 2015 NBA Draft by Atlanta before being traded to Washington on draft night. He played one season at the University of Kansas and was named to the Big 12 All-Newcomer Team after averaging 9.3 points and 5.0 rebounds while helping the Jayhawks to a Big 12 regular season title. A native of New Orleans, prior to the Wizards’ games at the Pelicans in each of the past two seasons Oubre has presented 10 high school students from the New Orleans area with scholarships.

“We commend Kelly on the growth and development he showed within our system to become a solid rotation player as well as the work he did in the D.C. community during his time as a Wizard,” said Grunfeld. “We also appreciate Austin’s contributions during his brief time with us and wish them both the best as they continue their careers.”

Rivers, a 6-4, 200-pound guard, is in his seventh NBA season and averaging 7.2 points, 2.4 rebounds and 2.0 assists in 29 games with the Wizards this season. For his career, the 26-year-old has averaged 9.3 points, 2.4 assists and 2.1 rebounds in 437 games (132 starts) with the New Orleans Hornets/Pelicans, Clippers and Wizards. Initially the 10th overall pick in the 2012 NBA Draft by New Orleans, Rivers played one season at Duke University where he averaged 15.5 points.

Rockets waive Zhou Qi

The Houston Rockets have waived forward/center Zhou Qi.

Zhou Qi (7-1, 210) was the 43rd overall pick by Houston in the 2016 NBA Draft. He joined the Rockets in 2017-18 and had a career-high 4 blocks in the season finale at Sacramento. Zhou Qi spent the majority of the past two seasons playing for the Rockets single-affiliation G League partner Rio Grande Valley with career averages of 11.2 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 2.1 blocks while shooting 51.3% from the floor.

In 2016-17, Zhou Qi led the Xinjiang Flying Tigers of the Chinese Basketball Association to their first ever championship and was named Defensive Player of the Year. Zhou Qi is also a member of the Chinese Senior National Team and competed in the 2016 Olympics.

Nuggets sign Brandon Goodwin, waive DeVaughn Akoon-Purcell

The Denver Nuggets have signed guard Brandon Goodwin to a two-way contract and have waived guard/forward DeVaughn Akoon-Purcell.

Goodwin, 6-2, 180, was previously signed by Denver on Nov. 29 with the injury hardship relief exception granted by the NBA. He has yet to appear in an NBA game, but has played in 10 games this season for the Memphis Hustle of the NBA G League and averaged 23.3 points, 5.2 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 1.70 steals on 52.0% shooting.

The Norcross, GA native went undrafted in the 2018 NBA Draft after spending his first two years of college at the University of Central Florida and his final two seasons at Florida Gulf Coast University. Goodwin was named the 2018 Atlantic Sun Player of the Year, was an AP All-American Honorable Mention in 2018 and named Atlantic Sun First Team All-Conference in both 2017 and 2018.

Akoon-Purcell, 6-5, 200, was a member of the Denver Nuggets 2018 Las Vegas Summer League Entry and signed a two-way contract with the Nuggets heading into this season. He appeared in seven games with Denver, averaging 1.0 points in 3.1 minutes per game. He has appeared in two games for the Delaware Blue Coats of the NBA G League, averaging 24.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 2.00 steals in 29.0 minutes per game.

Myles Turner fined for gesture towards spectator stands

Indiana Pacers center/forward Myles Turner has been fined $15,000 for making an inappropriate gesture toward the spectator stands, it was announced today by Kiki VanDeWeghe, Executive Vice President, Basketball Operations.

The incident occurred with 3:21 remaining in the second quarter of the Pacers’ 113-101 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers on Dec. 14 at Wells Fargo Center.

After the game, Myles tweeted an apology towards Philly fans.

Heat now 9th in Eastern conference

The Heat are 12-16, which through Friday’s games puts them at 9th in the Eastern conference. While expectations for the squad were limited this season, more was expected. Here’s the South Florida Sun Sentinel reporting on the team as they wrap up an extended road trip:

Dwyane Wade said after the Miami Heat’s embarrassing Wednesday night loss to the Utah Jazz that a team goes into a six-game road trip just looking to go 3-3.

Fast forward to a resilient effort in a 100-97 win against the Memphis Grizzlies and the Heat have clinched that after also starting with wins against the Phoenix Suns and Los Angeles Clippers.

They face the Pelicans in New Orleans on Sunday with an opportunity to come away with a winning record on the trip.

“It just gets us back on the right foot, and hopefully we have a chance to end this road trip on the right foot, as well,” said Kelly Olynyk after the win Friday in which he had 18 points, five rebounds and five assists and hit four 3-pointers. “For us to come together, especially after that tough loss against Utah, and know what we’re made of and play our game, execute our game, execute a game plan and go into a tough Western Conference team’s building and get a win.”

Full article

Timberwolves keep losing conference games on road

Here’s the Minneapolis Star Tribune reporting on Timberwolves, who are having a very good season as long as they aren’t on the road playing against another Western conference team:

The latest Timberwolves road trip out West hasn’t quite taken on the horror show feel of the last one, which ended 0-5 and resulted in Jimmy Butler finally being traded.

But the trip now sits at 0-3 after a 141-130 loss to Sacramento on Wednesday and perhaps feels even more disappointing than that last awful stretch if only because the Wolves had generated great optimism by going 9-3 since the trade and seemingly had discovered a winning combination centered around defense that might lead to better road results.

Spanning both iterations of the Wolves — pre- and post-Butler — this team is now 0-10 in conference games on the road. There are a lot of ways to define a 13-15 season-to-date, but that’s as good as any. Winning on the road is tough, but even marginally better results would have a major impact.

Full article

On the Thunder rotation

The 17-9 Thunder are having a very good season, but like all teams, precise rotation patterns can always use an adjustment. Here’s the Oklahoman reporting:

Out of a timeout midway through the third quarter Wednesday, Thunder coach Billy Donovan finally went to Patrick Patterson at power forward. It was telling that he didn’t go to him earlier.

Less than two minutes into the third quarter, Jerami Grant had picked up his fifth foul, but Donovan instead went to Dennis Schroder, opting to play small by sliding Paul George to power forward. Nothing the Thunder was doing was working against the Pelicans’ front line in a 118-114 loss, so why not go the opposite way?

“It impacted us but it really didn’t make a difference up front who we had out there,” Donovan said of Grant’s foul trouble.

“Jerami is an important player and certainly I’d like to have him out there, but I thought their frontcourt impacted the game around the basket regardless of who we had out there.”

Full article

Jonas Valanciunas out after thumb surgery

 

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After suffering a dislocation of his left thumb in the December 12 game at Golden State, Raptors center Jonas Valanciunas underwent surgery at Stanford Medical Center in Palo Alto, California. His thumb was relocated and damage caused by the dislocation was repaired. The surgery was performed by Dr. Jeffrey Yao, a specialist in hand, wrist and elbow surgery.

Valanciunas will wear a cast for four weeks. His condition will then be updated as appropriate.

The injury occurred in the second quarter of Wednesday’s victory at Golden State. Valanciunas is averaging 12.8 points, 7.2 rebounds and 18.8 minutes in 30 games (10 starts) this season. He has led the team in rebounding 11 times, and recorded five double-doubles.

According to the Toronto Star, “The Raptors have survived other absences: they are 7-1 in games Kawhi Leonard has sat out, and they have been without Norm Powell since the first week of November. In this case, they will move backup big man Greg Monroe into a far more substantial role. While the Raptors created a feel-good story by calling up Canadian centre Chris Boucher from the G League to fill the roster spot, the rail-thin backup can’t be expected to play any significant role. That leaves Monroe, the 28-year-old veteran on a one-year deal, to assume a key position behind now presumptive starter Serge Ibaka.”