Grizzlies big man Brandan Wright says that he expects to miss six to eight weeks after a knee surgery he’s scheduled to undergo Thursday, Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports tweets. This confirms an earlier report by Chris Vernon of 92.9 FM. Memphis GM Chris Wallace, discussing Wright’s scheduled surgery, said, “There is a need to do the procedure at this time. We tried the rest and rehab route,” Ronald Tillery of The Commercial Appeal relays (Twitter links). Tillery also notes that the team had believed that Wright, prior to his latest diagnosis, was merely suffering from tendinitis and was “soft” for sitting out.
Here’s more from out West:
- Nuggets swingman Mike Miller had considered retirement after the 2011/12 season, but the veteran says that he feels rejuvenated and may continue his playing career for longer than expected, Chris Tomasson of The Denver Post writes. “If my body feels the way it is right now, I want to play a couple of more years for sure,“ Miller told Tomasson. “I never would have believed [in 2012] that I’d still be playing now,” Miller added.
- Despite competing with each other for minutes, Suns centers Tyson Chandler and Alex Len work well together, Matt Petersen of NBA.com writes. “Those guys have a great relationship,” GM Ryan McDonough said. “They’re two of the most unselfish guys we have on the team. I’m not really as concerned about that. It’s a nice luxury for us and the coaches that they can go with whoever’s playing better, especially if somebody is either in foul trouble or has an off night.”
- Mavs power forward Dirk Nowitzki says he wasn’t surprised that Monta Ellis opted out of his deal after last season in order to become an unrestricted free agent, Candace Buckner of The Indianapolis Star tweets. “I mean, you figure since he had two good years for us and he’s [30 years old] now … you figure he’s going to get out and sign one more deal,” Nowitzki said. “I’m happy for him. He signed a four-year deal, got some good money, obviously. He is on a very good team in Indiana that is playing well, well-coached and well-run. I’m happy for him.“
I thought Wright was a great under-the-radar addition, an athletic complement to Gasol and Randolph on that front line. The knee has kept that from happening. Tough break for Memphis.
I would love to see Mike Miller back in Miami. He would be a great fit. Hopefully when buy outs happen, that will end up happening. We could really use a shooter on the wing, and Mike Miller is more than that, even at this late stage of his career, and he obviously knows our system and is a favorite of the remaining guys in the lockerroom, specifically Dwyane Wade