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Edy Tavares Fractures Hand, Out Indefinitely

May 13th, 2017 at 6:14pm CST by Arthur Hill

Cavaliers backup center Edy Tavares could be lost for the rest of the playoffs after fracturing his right hand during practice, tweets Marc J. Spears of ESPN.com.

The team announced today that Tavares is out indefinitely after the extent of the injury was confirmed through an X-ray and bone scan, relays the Associated Press. The 7’3″ rookie hurt his hand during Thursday’s practice.

Cleveland signed Tavares on the final day of the regular season, and he posted six points and 10 rebounds in his lone game with the team. He didn’t appear in any of the eight playoff games. Tavares also played one game for the Hawks earlier this season and 11 with Atlanta last year.

The 25-year-old represents the Cavs’ most recent late-season attempt to find depth at center. When the organization signed him, it waived former Bucks standout Larry Sanders, who was never able to make an impact in Cleveland and spent much of his time in the D-League. Sanders took over for Andrew Bogut, who was signed after agreeing to a buyout with the Sixers, but was on the court for less than a minute before suffering a fractured left tibia.

Tavares agreed to a multi-year deal with the Cavaliers that is scheduled to pay him more than $1.47MM next season and more than $1.6MM in 2018/19. However, neither season is guaranteed.

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Steve Kerr Attends Warriors Practice

May 13th, 2017 at 5:00pm CST by Arthur Hill

Steve Kerr felt well enough to join the Warriors for today’s practice, writes Chris Haynes of ESPN.com. It marked the first time that some players have seen their head coach in almost two weeks.

Kerr, who is still dealing with the effects of back surgery from 2015, hasn’t coached the team since Game 2 of its first-round series with Portland. He underwent a spinal cord leak procedure last week in an attempt to relieve severe headaches and other symptoms that have lingered since the operation.

“It’s obviously great any time you get to hear his voice, see his face,” Stephen Curry said. “He’s obviously been doing his homework in between. His downtime is to help us get prepared for the series and you know he misses being around the day-to-day routine, the atmosphere, practice and locker rooms and games and all that. So, for him to even just have the energy and ability to be here means a lot. Hopefully, he’s feeling better.”

Kerr helped to conduct today’s practice for the first time since leaving the team, but did not speak to the media afterward, tweets Tim Kawakami of The San Jose Mercury News. Kerr was able to attend a coaches’ meeting on Friday, according to Haynes.

Lead assistant Mike Brown continues to serve as head coach in Kerr’s absence and has a 6-0 record heading into the start of the Western Conference finals on Sunday. The team still isn’t sure if Kerr will be able to return to the bench before the end of the playoffs.

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Draft Combine Notes: Durant, Calipari, Hart, And More

May 13th, 2017 at 3:54pm CST by Joshua Fischman

To Combine or not to Combine? That is the question to which Kevin Durant and John Calipari are now adding their two cents. The Warriors star encourages expected lottery picks to skip the event altogether, writes Chris Haynes of ESPN. Durant expressed his strong feeling that while the Draft Combine can certainly aid lesser-known and lesser-valued players looking to raise their draft stock, those projected to be taken in the lottery should stay home and work on improving their game. Durant remarked how the vast majority of skills for which the Combine tests, including bench press at which he struggled mightily at his event, have little to no impact on how a player will perform on a basketball court.

Kentucky’s head coach said that players should attend the Combine, but that each should skip individual events if he believes it will not boost his draft value, according to Michael Singer of USA Today.

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Week In Review: 5/7/17 – 5/13/17

May 13th, 2017 at 2:52pm CST by Joshua Fischman

With critical offseason decisions already being made and the NBA Draft Lottery a mere days away, we had another busy week in the Association. Here’s our recap of what you need to know for the past seven days:

Transactions

News

Rumors

Draft

Injuries

 

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Hoops Rumors Originals: 5/7/17 – 5/13/17

May 13th, 2017 at 1:22pm CST by Joshua Fischman

Every week, the Hoops Rumors writing team compiles original content to complement our news feed. Here are some of our favorite segments and features from the past seven days:

 

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Leonard Will Play Game 1 Against Warriors

May 13th, 2017 at 12:53pm CST by Joshua Fischman

Gregg Popovich says that small forward Kawhi Leonard will play for the Spurs in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals series against the Warriors on Sunday, reports Melissa Rohlin of MySA.com.

As Rohlin tweets, Leonard was a full participant in Saturday’s practice. After rolling his ankle in Game 5 of the Spurs’ series against the Rockets, the Spurs’ star missed the series’ decisive Game 6, which the Spurs won 114-75.

 

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Southwest Notes: Leonard, Nene, Mavericks

May 13th, 2017 at 12:03pm CST by marksuleymanov

As the Warriors and Spurs prepare to kickoff the Western Conference Finals tomorrow night, San Antonio expects to have Kawhi Leonard in the starting lineup, a source tells ESPN’s Michael C. Wright.

Leonard injured his left ankle on Tuesday and sat out the Spurs’ 39-point decimation of the Rockets in Game 6 on Thursday, which clinched the series win. Jonathon Simmons replaced Leonard and promptly added 18 points in the rout. Now, the Spurs will look to having their superstar player back in the lineup, hoping to utilize his defensive prowess to tame at least one of the Warriors’ three superstars.

In 11 games this postseason, Leonard is averaging 27.8 PPG, 7.7 RPG and shooting 52 percent from the floor.

Here is some more news around the Southwest:

  • The Mavericks are in a unique position this offseason, Bobby Marks of The Vertical writes. Despite having a team primarily built by free agent signings, the team has the chance to strike gold in the NBA Draft as the team holds a top-10 pick. Marks also points to re-signing Nerlens Noel in free agency and the year 2018 — when Dirk Nowitzki‘s $25 million salary comes off the books.
  • Veteran center Nene recently found out he will not need surgery to repair a ruptured groin muscle he suffered in Game 4 of the Western Conference Semifinals, Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle writes. Nene revealed he expects to re-sign with Houston this offseason despite the injury.”Of course I expect (to be back),” Nene said. “That’ll depend on me. I did my job. I just leave it for the coaches, the general manager, my agent. Of course, I’d like to be back. This place, was a blessing for me. They brought me back. They brought the real Nene back. When you’re happy. When you feel good. When you’re engaged, people know you’re work, of course you want to be back.”
  • Feigen also relays that Rockets general manager Daryl Morey feels “it would be normal business” to discuss an extension with center Clint Capela (via Twitter). Caperla averaged 12.6 PPG and 8.1 RPG in 65 contests for Houston.
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Community Shootaround: James Harden’s Endurance

May 13th, 2017 at 11:06am CST by marksuleymanov

After a 39-point loss in Game 6 of the Western Conference Semifinals against the Spurs, Rockets‘ point guard James Harden has been scrutinized for his poor performance in the series-clinching game. Harden posted just 10 points on 2-of-11 shooting with six turnovers, one game after he posted similar totals of 10 points (3-of-11 shooting) and six turnovers in the second half and overtime of a 110-107 loss in Game 5.

Harden enjoyed a historic regular season, averaging  29.1 points, 11.2 assists and 8.1 rebounds per game. He is in the conversation for the Most Valuable Player award with fellow point guard Russell Westbrook, who became the first player since Oscar Robertson to average a triple-double for an entire season. Now, looking back at Harden’s two clunkers, fatigue from a strenuous season may have set in.

Rockets head coach Mike D’Antoni said in his exit interview with reporters, including ESPN’s Tim MacMahon, that perhaps resting Harden more next season will keep him sharper.

“All great players think they can do everything,” D’Antoni said. “Maybe he does need to take a game off here and there. ‘Hey, you’re nicked up a little bit, don’t play, maybe.’ Something to talk about, but that’s also his greatness, too. So it’s hard. It’s very delicate.”

Harden played in 81 regular season games, his third consecutive season of at least 81 games. If Harden’s playoff games over the last three years are added, he has played in 277 total games. Both D’Antoni and general manager Daryl Morey indicated that getting Harden, who turns 28 in August, more rest will be a goal next season.

“The offense will get better,” D’Antoni added.“I can get him off the ball some. I can save his legs a little bit and have more confidence [in other ball handlers]. Pat Beverley can run the team a little bit. We can do different things.”

That leaves a few things to be considered: Was fatigue to blame in Harden’s poor Game 5 and Game 6 outings or was it just a few off nights? Also, does it makes sense for the Rockets to rest him more frequently next season despite his tremendous offensive production?

Share your thoughts on Harden in the comments section below!

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Northwest Notes: Thomas, Rabb, Gobert

May 13th, 2017 at 9:45am CST by marksuleymanov

Isaiah Thomas has gone from last selection in the 2011 NBA Draft to one of the league’s top budding superstars with the Celtics. As he prepares for a Game 7 showdown against the Wizards, stories about Thomas’ unlikely path to stardom continue to circulate and the Timberwolves are the latest team to be connected with the 5’9″ point guard.

As Sam Vecenie of Vice Sports details, Minnesota had interest in selecting Thomas with the 57th pick in the draft (Thomas selected 60th by the Kings) but elected to go with Tanguy Ngombo, a Congolese forward playing in Qatar. Few projected Ngombo to be drafted, leaving a lot of mystery surrounding not just his skills, but his identity. Chaos ensued when it was discovered that Ngombo may not be 21 years old as the team believed.

After speaking to Ngombo, the team realized he was not sure of his age due to restricted access to his passport and no official birth certificate. Eventually, the team rescinded its rights to Ngombo and he continued his career in Qatar while Thomas — after a subpar stints in Sacramento and Phoenix — is a two-time All-Star in Boston.

Here are additional news tidbits in the Northwest:

  • The Trail Blazers are expected to hold a private workout with University of California product Ivan Rabb after the combine, according to ESPN’s Chris Haynes (via Twitter). Rabb, 20, has spent the last two seasons with the Golden Bears; the 6’11” center averaged 14.0 PPG and 10.5 RPG this past season.
  • Speaking of Portland, the team’s president of basketball operations Neil Olshey spoke to Scott Howard-Cooper on NBA TV to discuss the team’s future and possible strategy from the combine. “We’ve been rebuilding the organization based of of Damian Lillard’s timeline, we’ve been lucky enough to be a playoff team in both of those years,” said Olshey (via NBA.com). “It’s whatever the best decision long-term for the franchise is. If that’s three rookies, it’s three rookies. If that’s an aggregation of picks to get an impact player, then that’s what it’ll be.”
  • Jazz center Rudy Gobert told L’Equipe he will not suit up for Team France for the Eurobasket 2017. After suffering an injury during the playoffs, and playing through a full regular season plus the postseason, he would rather prepare for rigors of the 2017/18 campaign.“It was a tough decision for me,” he said. “But my knee injury during the playoffs, the long season in the NBA, the talks with the Jazz: I need to work on my body this summer. I am not leaving the project Team France.”
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Motiejunas Takes Legal Action Against Rockets, League

May 13th, 2017 at 8:20am CST by Austin Kent

MAY 13, 8:20am: Following Deveney’s report, Motiejunas took to social media to refute the story, claiming that he and the Rockets resolved their issues a month ago (via Twitter).

“A month ago we with the NBPA and the Houston Rockets found an agreement and solved everything. There are no court proceedings between us. The information which was published on the media is false.”

However, Deveney claims that the National Basketball Players Association explained the matter between Motiejunas and the Rockets differently, indicating that both sides are still engaged in legal proceedings. Motiejunas and the Rockets were seeking an agreement to resolve this matter, but it’s not clear whether they’ve resolved it already or if a settlement is still being finalized.

MAY 12, 3:50pm: After a tumultuous season in which he bounced around three franchises, Donatas Motiejunas is in the midst of legal action against the Rockets and the NBA, Sean Deveney of the Sporting News reports. Sources tell Deveney that the parties could reach a settlement, possibly within the next week.

Motiejunas, who had played for the Rockets since 2012/13, hit restricted free agency last summer but was unable to come to terms on a contract with them or any other suitors. At the time, Motiejunas refused to sign a qualifying offer and that eventually expired.

The Rockets ultimately presented and then pulled an offer they extended at the beginning of the 2016/17 campaign when a deadline they established came and passed in late November with no commitment from Motiejunas’ camp.

Eventually, the big man signed an offer sheet with the Nets in early December worth $35MM over four years, which the Rockets agreed to match. Houston, however, stripped out some of the incentive bonuses that had been included in the Brooklyn offer, a difference of as much as $2MM says Deveney.

When the Rockets and Motiejunas then agreed upon a reworked deal, the center underwent a physical, the results of which prompted Houston to renounce their rights to him, officially making him an unrestricted free agent.

Despite the unrestricted free agency, Motiejunas was unable to procure another offer from the Nets.

In January, as the smoke cleared, Motiejunas signed a deal with the Pelicans where he averaged 3.4 points per game in 34 contests.

This offseason he’ll be a free agent once more and though he has terminated his relationship with his former agent at the Wasserman Group, he could re-sign with them prior to hitting the market.

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