If you missed any of this past week’s biggest headlines from around the NBA, we’ve got you covered with our Week in Review. Below are some of the most noteworthy stories from the last seven days:
Rockets starting center and All-Star candidate Clint Capela will be out of action for the next four to six weeks after undergoing successful surgery to repair a torn ligament in his right thumb. At the time of the injury, the Rockets still had an opening on their 15-man roster, but have since signed swingman James Nunnally to a 10-day contract, as noted below. Last night, it was reported that veteran big man Kenneth Faried will sign with the Rockets as a stopgap for Capela after reaching a buyout agreement with the Nets. It remains to be seen whether the Rockets will wait for Nunnally’s 10-day deal to be completed or trade or waive Carmelo Anthony to create the requisite room on the 15-man roster for Faried.
Turkish prosecutors are seeking an international arrest warrant for, and extradition of, Knicks center Enes Kanter, after accusing him of membership in a terror organization. Prosecutors are reportedly citing Kanter’s ties to Turkish exile Muhammed Fethullah Gulen, the man blamed for a failed coup against Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in 2016. Specifically, Kanter is being accusing of providing financial support to Gulen. Understandably, Kanter did not travel with the Knicks to London this week for their game against the Wizards due to concerns about his safety.
The NBA announced there was no violation of the Collective Bargaining Agreement when the Cavaliers signed and subsequently released Patrick McCaw. The NBA could have levied fines or lost-draft-pick penalties on the Cavs if there was evidence of wrongdoing, like testimony that the team signed McCaw solely to free him from his restricted free agency with the Warriors with no plans on keeping him. But, given their injury-ravaged roster, the Cavs had a clear motive for signing McCaw. And given his poor audition for the team, Cleveland also had an obvious motive for moving on from him.
Celtics All-Star point guard Kyrie Irving called former teammate LeBron James to apologize for resisting criticism and not fully appreciating James’ leadership during their time in Cleveland. Irving’s comments came just a few days after he publicly expressed frustration with some of his younger teammates, and while he acknowledged that he made a mistake by calling out his teammates in the press, his admission of his call to James seems to ironically imply that he views his teammates as resisting his criticism and not fully appreciating his leadership.
Here are 11 more notable NBA headlines from the last week:
- Mavericks veteran guard J.J. Barea suffered a torn right Achilles and will miss the remainder of the 2018/19 season after undergoing surgery. Dallas applied for and obtained a disabled player exception as a result.
- The Pistons signed guards Isaiah Whitehead and Kalin Lucas to two-way contracts after waiving both Keenan Evans and Zach Lofton.
- The Sixers signed veteran swingman Corey Brewer to a 10-day contract.
- Heat guard Dion Waiters is not happy with his limited playing time upon his return form injury.
- The Cavaliers signed point guard Cameron Payne to a second 10-day deal.
- Bulls rookie big man Wendell Carter Jr. will be sidelined for 8-12 weeks after suffering ligament damage in his left thumb.
- The Rockets signed former Timberwolves’ swingman James Nunnally to a 10-day contract.
- The Suns signed veteran forward Quincy Acy to a second 10-day contract.
- Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich is undecided as to whether he will coach beyond 2018/19 season.
- After it was originally reported that the Mavericks were ramping up trade discussions for point guard Dennis Smith Jr., the team now reportedly hopes to reconcile with the second-year point guard. Smith has not requested a trade.
- The Kings are interested in potentially trading for both Hawks point guard Jeremy Lin (link) and Mavs forward Harrison Barnes (link).
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.