8:42 pm: Wells has a broken right wrist, ESPN’s Shams Charania tweets. The Grizzlies rookie is able to move his extremities and will continue to receive medical care.
8:19 pm: Grizzlies rookie forward Jaylen Wells was taken off the court on a stretcher on Tuesday after a hard fall while getting fouled on a dunk late in the first half at Charlotte, according to ESPN.
Wells was fouled from behind on Hornets guard KJ Simpson and landed face first on the court. Upon an official review, Simpson was assessed a Flagrant 2 foul, resulting in an automatic ejection.
Fred Wells, Jaylen’s father, posted on Twitter that “Jaylen is awake and alert. Wanted 2 know the score! Swollen wrist. Face, jaw and back pain. About to get X-ray and CT.”
Wells, drafted with the No. 39 pick, has been one of the league’s most accomplished rookies this season. He quickly emerged as a starter, averaging 10.5 points, 3.4 rebounds and 1.7 assists in just over 26.1 minutes while appearing in every game. He’s also one of the Grizzlies’ top perimeter defenders.
If Wells has to miss some time, it could seriously hamper Memphis in the postseason. The Grizzlies are currently tied with three other teams with a 46-32 record and are trying to avoid the play-in tournament. It’s been a tumultuous time as of late for the team, which recently fired head coach Taylor Jenkins.
Vince Williams Jr. figures to absorb a majority of Wells’ minutes if he’s sidelined, with John Konchar also getting a bump in playing time.
That’s f’ed up
KJ Simpson Should be suspended
Wish nba was like hockey and Simpson could get hit after that dirty play.
ROY if not then it’s rigged for special treatment
Unfortunate turn of events, Wells leaked out and the Simpson kid tried to make a play, but was just too late as Wells already high up for the dunk ……. from the videos I saw, I don’t think there was anything malicious, intentional.
When you go up you are vulnerable. Have to go strong and sure. Another tough break for Grizz. Wells is solid and was a great pick. Get well
Simpson should get suspended and the play sucks but you can also tell there was no ill intent. Didn’t forcibly take Wells down with his arms, looked like he tried to avoid Wells, and immediately checked on him as soon as he realized Wells was hurt. Just a young guy fighting to prove his place in the league and came in too hot on the play. In the alternate universe where Simpson avoids the contact on the play, the effort on the play is what you want to see in spite of the losing season and score of the game.
Top defender ? I see defense as a question, but I have missed a lot of games this season. Am I reading this right ?
He’s been guarding teams best wing players most/all year if I’m not mistaken.
Do y’all really believe Simpson should be suspended or are y’all just saying it because someone got hurt on the play? It’s very unfortunate and we hope for a speedy record but Simpson did not do anything malicious. I’m honestly surprised he was ejected.
Ejection was definitely warranted as its not a basketball play…while he didn’t do anything malicious or with ill intent he undercut a guy who was in midair without even making a play on the ball.
Imo the fact that you can tell he didn’t mean to should lessen the punishment. Unfortunately it’s a bit of a scapegoat situation where you need to levy some sort of punishment, outside of an ejection, to deter other teams/players from doing the same. You set the line now to prevent other teams from seeing how much they can get away with. Even if its just a one game suspension, that at least sets the standard for the minimum punishment.
Rookie of the year. He deserves it more than Castle
Always sad to see a starter on a playoff-bound team get hurt by someone on a bottom 3 crap team right before the playoffs. There was no reason to run into Wells from behind down by double digits (score was 60-44) – he wasn’t even going for a block.
My sincere best wishes for a full recovery!
Is his head fine?
KJ definitely did not intend to hurt Wells and people saying he did are being dense. It looked like he was just sprinting back as hard as he could contest the layup, then had to stutter-step slightly because his teammate Mark Williams got in his way, which threw off his balance and into Wells’ backside. It was an unfortunate accident. He could have let up and conceded the layup, but he obviously thought he had a play on the ball.