Here are Sunday’s G League assignments and recalls from across the NBA:
Thunder swingman Andre Roberson has suffered another setback in his recovery from knee surgery, a team spokesperson said today, per Royce Young of ESPN.com (Twitter links). As Young relays, Roberson experienced discomfort after landing from a jump, and an MRI revealed that he had suffered a small avulsion fracture in his knee. He’ll be re-evaluated in six weeks.
While Roberson’s latest setback is discouraging, it doesn’t entirely reset his timetable, Young notes. The 26-year-old had been progressing toward a return, but was still a ways off from making his 2018/19 debut anyway. In six weeks, the Thunder should have a better sense of when exactly he might be ready get back on the court, says Young.
It has been an unfortunate run of bad luck for Roberson, who missed a good chunk of the 2017/18 campaign, including the playoffs, due to the knee injury he initially suffered back in January. Even after he underwent another procedure in May, there was a hope that he’d be ready for the start of this season, but he sustained at least one setback in the fall that pushed back his recovery timetable. Today’s news comes on the heels of a report that his rehab was on “a really good track.”
The Thunder have played well in Roberson’s absence this season, getting off to a 13-7 start. Still, they won’t be at their best until they have their top perimeter defender back in the lineup, so they’ll hope the former first-round pick is able to make it back for the second half of 2018/19.
Thunder swingman Andre Roberson is on “a really good track” in his rehab from left knee surgery, Erik Horne of The Oklahoman writes. Roberson underwent the arthroscopic surgery in May to relieve inflammation.
“I’m sure for him there are some days he’s sorer than others,” coach Billy Donovan said on Roberson’s rehab. “But overall, he just continues to progress and get better.
“You guys have seen him out here. He’s cutting, he’s moving. He’s been on a really good track.”
Roberson participated in defensive drills on Thursday, according to Horne, and his conditioning drills have been ramped up in the past month. He’s expected to be re-evaluated in the coming weeks for a potential return.
When healthy, Roberson is a top-tier defensive wing with years of experience playing alongside All-Star Russell Westbrook. The Thunder hold a 13-7 record and the No. 4 seed in the West this season without Roberson, who’s expected to return to the starting lineup at some point this year.
There’s more from the Northwest Division tonight:
A nice surprise for the Thunder during their recent stretch of strong play has been the development from Jerami Grant, especially as he entered a new role in the starting lineup. As Maddie Lee writes for NewsOK, Grant is thriving as a starter and the team has benefited from his presence in the lineup.
Every week, Hoops Rumors takes a closer look at players who will be free agents or could become free agents next offseason. We examine if their stock is rising or falling due to performance and other factors. This week, we turn our attention to the Northwest Division:
Isaiah Thomas, Nuggets, 29, PG (Down) – Signed to a one-year, $2MM deal in 2018
Thomas hoped to revive his career as a high-scoring sixth man for one of the league’s up-and-coming teams. Instead, Thomas has yet to make his Denver debut. Thomas continues to struggle with hip issues and there’s no timetable for his return. Just a couple of years removed from being a candidate for the league’s Most Valuable Player award, Thomas has a cloudy future. It’s more likely he’ll be forced into early retirement than ever approaching his former level of excellence and that would be a shame.
Derrick Rose, Timberwolves, 30, PG (Up) – Signed to a one-year, $2.39MM deal in 2018
Seriously, did anyone think Rose would have another 25-point outing in his career, let alone twice as many points? Rose’s 50-point explosion against Utah on Halloween was a shocker and he’s remained a steady offensive threat since that blast from the past. He’s averaging 22.0 PPG and 4.0 APG over his last eight games. Once thought to be on the verge of retirement, Rose clearly still has a lot left in the tank. He’ll be getting a substantial raise in the open market if he keeps this up.
Abdel Nader, Thunder, 25, SF (Down) – Signed to a three-year, $4.16MM deal in 2017
The Celtics were about to cut Nader loose this summer until the Thunder came calling with a trade offer. The 2016 second-round pick has a non-guaranteed contract and he hasn’t done anything to convince Oklahoma City to keep him around after this season. Nader hasn’t been able to break into the wing rotation, playing a total of just 15 minutes. Nader will probably be looking for another fresh start in July.
Seth Curry, Trail Blazers, 28, PG (Down) — Signed to a one-year, $2.795MM deal in 2018
Curry left Dallas with the hope of reestablishing his value after missing all of last season with stress fracture in his lower left leg. It hasn’t started off the way Curry envisioned. He wasn’t effective in a backup role (6.09 PER) before missing the last four games with a knee injury. There’s still hope for Curry to turn things around and fill the role that Shabazz Napier played last season. The way it’s going now, he’ll be scrounging for another one-year deal next summer.
Ricky Rubio, Jazz, 28, PG (Down) – Signed to a four-year, $55MM deal in 2015
The Jazz have been one of the league’s most disappointing teams during the first quarter of the season. The team’s starting point guard is partly to blame. Rubio, who is making nearly $15MM in his walk year, is shooting 37.3% from the field and over the last six games he’s averaging four assists while making 2.5 turnovers per game. Rubio needed to adjust his game when the team drafted dynamic creator Donovan Mitchell and right now, their backcourt pairing still seems a bit awkward. It’ll interesting to see if the Jazz look to move Rubio before the trade deadline to shake things up.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Thunder rookie Hamidou Diallo was taken off the court on a stretcher on Wednesday night after suffering a scary fall, but he appears to have avoided a major injury (link via ESPN’s Royce Young). The Thunder announced this afternoon that Diallo sustained a left ankle sprain and will be re-evaluated in seven to 10 days (Twitter link via Brett Dawson of The Athletic).
Diallo, who has played regular minutes off the bench for Oklahoma City during his first NBA season, landed awkwardly after going up for a defensive rebound during the fourth quarter of Wednesday’s win over Golden State.
There was initially a fear that Diallo’s injury was severe – possibly a broken leg – but X-rays performed at the arena were negative, per Young. The 20-year-old had a boot on his left foot after the game and was using crutches, but was in good spirits after having avoided a major injury.
Although Diallo’s injury could have been worse, the Thunder may still find themselves short-handed on the wing when they resume play after today’s Thanksgiving holiday. With Diallo and Andre Roberson sidelined, Oklahoma City will have to see if Alex Abrines and Terrance Ferguson are ready to go. Abrines has misses the club’s last three games with an illness, and Ferguson suffered a left ankle sprain of his own during the first quarter of Wednesday’s contest.
Timberwolves power forward Anthony Tolliver is disappointed about getting benched but vows not to be a distraction, he told Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic. Tolliver, who signed a one-year, $5MM+ contract to essentially replace Nemanja Bjelica in the rotation, had his first DNP of the season on Wednesday against New Orleans.
“Obviously it’s not what I came here for, but it’s been one game,” the Timberwolves forward said. “It’s a long season. Just figuring out where my value lies and go from there.”
Tolliver wasn’t notified by Timberwolves coach Tom Thibodeau that he would sit out. But he added that “you won’t see me complaining about anything.” Tolliver is averaging just 5.6 PPG and 2.8 RPG in 19.1 MPG, though he hasn’t gotten a lot of shots up (Twitter links here).
We have more from the Northwest Division:
Here are Monday’s assignments and recalls from around the NBA:
Here are Sunday’s assignments and recalls from around the NBA: