Bulls finally getting healthier

Bulls finally getting healthier

Derrick Rose remains out, the 44-29 Chicago Bulls, who recently clinched a spot in the 2015 NBA playoffs, are finally getting healthier. Here’s ESPN Chicago reporting:

The Chicago Bulls are getting healthy at seemingly the right time of the season.

Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau doesn’t want to hear about that, though.

“I don’t get wrapped up in the talk,” Thibodeau said after practice on Friday. “I want to see performance. I want to see the work go into it. I know how you win. We have to be more concerned with the process of how we’re approaching it and are we putting the work in to give ourselves the best chance possible. Talk is talk. I want to see action.”

Some of the optimism surrounding the Bulls is based on action, especially in the case of Jimmy Butler. He scored 23 points on 7-of-8 shooting Wednesday in his second game back after missing three weeks because of an elbow injury.

Forward Taj Gibson is also slowly getting back into form after missing nearly a month with a left ankle injury.

Kevin Durant will have bone graft, out for 4-6 more months

Kevin Durant will have bone graft, out for 4-6 more months

Kevin Durant will have bone graft, out for 4-6 more months

The Oklahoma City Thunder released the following statement on behalf of Thunder Executive Vice President and General Manager Sam Presti regarding Kevin Durant:

“As we communicated last week, Kevin was going to use this time to engage in consultation and evaluation regarding the persistent soreness in his right foot at this stage of his rehabilitation. As part of this process, Kevin and Thunder personnel traveled to two additional specialists this past week; Dr. Martin O’Malley in New York City and Dr. James Nunley at Duke University. These in-person consults were designed to further supplement the previous evaluations of Dr. Bob Anderson. Several conference calls and discussions amongst the specialist team concluded that, while the majority of the soreness in Kevin’s foot was related to continued inflammation of the cuboid bone and would subside with rest, the evaluation process also determined that the Jones fracture of the fifth metatarsal, which had shown significant healing previously, was now demonstrating signs of regression.

With the focus of this process being aimed entirely on Kevin’s long term health and stability, it was the consensus of the specialists team, in addition to a collective decision by Kevin, his representation and the Thunder, that to address the setback of the fracture site, a bone graft procedure would be the most proactive and recommended approach. The bone graft is the standard procedure for the five to eight percent of Jones fracture surgeries that do not initially have success or experience setbacks sometime within the recovery period. While everyone is disappointed that Kevin falls into that group, we are encouraged that the bone graft procedure has historically demonstrated long-term health and stability.

Dr. O’Malley will perform the bone graft surgery early next week in New York. He has extensive bone grafting experience amongst athletes and has been consulting on the case throughout. Kevin will miss the remainder of the 2014-15 season and is expected to return to basketball activities in the next four to six months.”

Nets sign Earl Clark to 10-day contract

Nets sign Earl Clark to 10-day contract

Nets sign Earl Clark to 10-day contract

The Brooklyn Nets have signed forward Earl Clark to a 10-day contract, Nets General Manager Billy King announced today.

Clark (6’10”, 234) is a five-year NBA veteran who was originally selected with the 14th pick of the first round of the 2009 NBA Draft by the Phoenix Suns. Clark, 27, has seen action with the Suns (2009-10), Orlando Magic (2010-12), Los Angeles Lakers (2012-13), Cleveland Cavaliers (2013-14) and New York Knicks (2014). In 251 career games (54 starts), Clark has averaged 4.4 points on 40.4 percent shooting, including 33.1 percent from three-point range, and 3.0 rebounds in 14.1 minutes per game. His most productive season came with the Lakers in 2012-13, when Clark recorded career-highs for games played (59), starts (36), points per game (7.3), rebounds per game (5.5), assists per game (1.1) and minutes per game (23.1). The Plainfield, N.J. native has also appeared in 13 playoff games (one start) with the Suns, Magic and Lakers, posting career playoff averages of 3.1 points and 3.9 rebounds in 14.5 minutes per game. Most recently, Clark appeared in 19 games with the Shandong Flaming Bulls of the Chinese Basketball Association during the 2014-15 season, where he averaged 26.7 points and 10.3 rebounds in 32.9 minutes per game.

Prior to his NBA career, Clark spent three years at Louisville, where he helped lead the Cardinals to a Big East title and their first-ever No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament in his third and final season (2008-09). In 104 career collegiate games, Clark averaged 10.6 points and 7.0 rebounds in 26.7 minutes per game.

Wizards sign Will Bynum to 10-day contract, waive Toure` Murry

Wizards sign Will Bynum to 10-day contract, waive Toure’ Murry

Wizards sign Will Bynum to 10-day contract

Washington Wizards President Ernie Grunfeld announced today that the team has signed guard Will Bynum to a 10-day contract. The team has also waived Toure’ Murry.

Bynum (6-0, 185) has played seven seasons with Golden State and Detroit appearing in 353 career regular season games while averaging 8.2 points, 3.3 assists and 1.6 assists in 18.5 minutes per game. Undrafted out of Georgia Tech in 2005, Bynum enjoyed his best season in 2009-10 for the Detroit Pistons when he averaged career highs with 10.0 points and 4.5 assists per game. Bynum appeared in 30 games this season for the Guangdong Southern Tigers of the Chinese Basketball Association where he averaged 22.3 points, 7.1 assists and 3.6 rebounds while shooting .564 from the field.

Murry appeared in three games for the Wizards and averaged 1.5 points in 4.3 minutes per game.

Jazz sign forward Chris Johnson to multi-year deal

The Utah Jazz announced today that the team has signed forward Chris Johnson to a multi-year contract.

Johnson re-joins the team following a 10-day contract with the Jazz from Jan. 28 through Feb. 6, during which time he appeared in two games and averaged 7.0 points, 1.5 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.5 steals in 19.0 minutes per game.

The 24-year-old Johnson (6-6, 201, Dayton) most recently spent a pair of 10-day contracts with the Milwaukee Bucks (March 6-26), seeing action in eight contests and averaging 3.9 points and 1.4 rebounds in 16.0 minutes.  He began the 2014-15 with the Philadelphia 76ers, where he averaged 6.0 points, 2.9 rebounds and 1.0 steals in 20.8 minutes in nine games (two starts) before being waived on Nov. 15.  For the season, Johnson has played in a total of 19 games (two starts) and averages 5.2 points, 2.1 rebounds, 0.6 assists and 0.9 steals in 18.6 minutes per game.

For his NBA career, Johnson has spent portions of three seasons with the Jazz, Bucks and 76ers (2014-15), Boston Celtics (2013-14) and Memphis Grizzlies (2012-13), appearing in 67 NBA games (two starts) and owns averages of 5.6 points and 2.2 rebounds in 18.6 minutes per game.

Prior to being called up by the Jazz and becoming the 15th D-League Call-Up in team history (fourth this season), Johnson had also appeared in 14 games for the Rio Grande Valley Vipers of the NBA Development League in 2014-15 and was selected as a 2014 NBA D-League All-Star and named to the 2015 NBA D-League Showcase Second Team.  Following his 10-day with the Jazz, Johnson returned to the Vipers for two additional games, and appeared in a total of 16 D-League games (all starts) this season, averaging 20.6 points, 5.9 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.6 steals in 34.6 minutes per contest. He scored in double figures on 15 occasions and recorded 20-plus points in 10 games, including one 30-point contest.  Johnson has appeared in 75 games (58 starts) for Rio Grande Valley over three seasons and owns averages of 15.1 points, 5.2 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.6 steals in 31.3 minutes.

A native of Columbus, Ohio, Johnson played four seasons at Dayton (2008-12).  He earned Atlantic 10 All-Championship Team honors following his junior season and was the 2010 Atlantic 10 Most Improved Player recipient.  He was not selected in the 2012 NBA Draft.

Jazz waive Ian Clark

The Utah Jazz announced today that the team has waived guard Ian Clark.  Following the move, the Jazz roster now stands at 14 players.

Clark (6-3, 180, Belmont) appeared in 23 games as a reserve this season for the Jazz, averaging 1.9 points in 7.0 minutes per game.  He also appeared in seven games (six starts) while on assignment with the Jazz’s exclusively owned and operated NBA Development League team, the Idaho Stampede, where he averaged 14.0 points, 2.3 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.1 steals in 32.0 minutes per contest.  The second-year guard appeared in a total of 46 games over two seasons with the Jazz, owning a career scoring average of 2.4 points in 7.2 minutes per game after originally joining Utah as an undrafted rookie free agent on July 29, 2013.

Sixers putting up some wins lately

Sixers putting up some wins lately

The Philadelphia 76ers are 18-54 in this season of rebuild, but have played decent basketball lately and put up some wins. But challenging opponents are ahead. Here’s the Philadelphia Inquirer reporting:

The 76ers know the real tests are coming.

They’ve won five of their last 10 games, but one of those wins came against an Atlanta Hawks squad that rested three starters. The other four victories were vs. opponents that had a combined winning percentage of .328 heading into Thursday’s games.

The Sixers (18-54) have made dramatic improvements since opening the season with 17 consecutive losses. But the upcoming games against the Los Angeles Clippers and Cleveland Cavaliers will be a true barometer of how far they’ve come.

The Clippers (47-25), who have won five straight and come to the Wells Fargo Center on Friday night, might be the Sixers’ easier matchup. On Sunday, they’ll face a Cavaliers squad (47-26) than has won 10 of its last 12 games.

Nuggets: Darrell Arthur dealing with lingering injury

Darrell Arthur dealing with lingering injury

Here’s the Denver Post reporting on the 27-45 Nuggets and forward Darrell Arthur, who is averaging 6.6 points in 17.0 minutes per game as a reserve:

Nuggets: Darrell Arthur dealing with lingering injury

Darrell Arthur feels today — and everyday — as if it was Feb. 25.

The problem: He feels it in his strained right calf, which has given him problems ever since he sustained an injury that day against Phoenix. And it is making the end of his season with the Nuggets a daily struggle, not only to play but make it through a game. And then be able to bounce back for the following game.

“I’ve been sore for about a month,” Arthur said. “The only thing that’s going to help is time. Time and treatment.”

It is an all-too familiar feeling for Arthur, who endured constant nagging injuries and pain late last season due to a left hip strain and then a knee sprain.

Jazz sign Jack Cooley to multi-year contract

Utah Jazz sign Jack Cooley to multi-year contract

Jazz sign Jack Cooley to multi-year contract

The Utah Jazz announced today that team has signed forward Jack Cooley to a multi-year contract.

Cooley signed his most recent 10-day contract with the Jazz on March 16 and has appeared in six Jazz games, averaging 1.7 points in 4.3 minutes per contest.

When the Jazz signed him from the NBA Development League’s Idaho Stampede, Cooley (6-9, 246, Notre Dame) was averaging 16.8 points, 12.5 rebounds, 1.1 assists and 1.3 blocks in 30.8 minutes per contest in 20 games. On March 13, Cooley set a new D-League single-game record by grabbing 29 rebounds vs. Los Angeles D-Fenders, adding 27 points while going 11-of-14 from the floor (78.6 percent). Over his final three games, Cooley averaged 22.7 points on 65.9 percent shooting (27-of-41) and 22.7 rebounds per game with the Stampede. He recorded 13 double-doubles, including four straight since returning to the D-League. He scored in double figures on 17 occasions and recorded 20-plus points in six games.

Cooley also attended 2014 training camp with the Jazz, averaging 3.5 points and 3.0 rebounds in 5.8 minutes in two preseason games before being waived on Oct. 22.

A native of Glenview, Ill., Cooley played four seasons at Notre Dame (2009-13).

Derrick Rose expects to return sometime this season

Derrick Rose expects to return sometime this season

Derrick Rose expects to return sometime this season

We’ve been through this before. Nevertheless, we must remain positive-minded. Or not. Whatever you want. Here’s the Chicago Tribune reporting the latest on injured Bulls point guard D-Rose:

Bulls guard Derrick Rose said he expects to be cleared for contact either this week or next and remains confident he’ll return from arthroscopic right knee surgery this season.

“Oh yeah, I’m not worried about that,” Rose said. “I’m feeling good. I’m trying to do all the right things. Put all the positives in the bag and just try to go with it. It’s something that I’ve been doing for a long time. Rehab is definitely a grind. But I’m getting used to it.”

Rose had a small piece of his right meniscus removed on Feb. 27. The Bulls estimated his return to action at four to six weeks. Friday marks four weeks since the surgery.