Sixers coach Nick Nurse told reporters he doesn’t have any reason to doubt Kelly Oubre‘s version of an accident over the weekend that left him a broken rib, writes Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. Oubre said he was walking near his residence Saturday night when he was struck in the chest by the driver’s-side mirror of a vehicle that was making a turn. A police spokesperson said Wednesday that surveillance footage of the area hasn’t shown the accident, and the investigation is ongoing.
“Listen, I don’t think it’s very fair to him to say that he’s made up some story,” Nurse said after Wednesday’s game. “I just don’t. I’m going to believe him at his word. He’s one of our players, and we’re going to stand behind him. So am I.”
Medics treated Oubre at the scene, and he was taken to Thomas Jefferson University hospital for injuries to his rib, hip and leg before being released Saturday night. Police Sgt. Eric Gripp told Pompey that Oubre isn’t being accused of anything, but police still haven’t been able to verify his version of events. Nurse said he would only become concerned if law enforcement were to determine that Oubre’s story isn’t true.
“Listen, like I said before, I believe Kelly at his word,” Nurse added. “I don’t have any other conversations or anything right now to comment on. I’m concentrating on this game. If some more evidence or anything else comes to light, we will handle it when it comes to light.”
There’s more from Philadelphia:
- Jaden Springer was kept on the bench in three of the Sixers’ last four games, but he looked like a rotation player on Wednesday, Pompey adds in a separate story. The third-year guard hit 4-of-5 shots from the field and was a team-best +20 for the night. “It was really coming in and trying to make an impact,” Springer said, “like staying aggressive. I know my defense is going to be there. But I was trying to show a little more on offense, just showing I can help on both.”
- The Sixers have been mentioned as a potential suitor for Zach LaVine, but Marc Stein writes in his latest Substack column that the Bulls guard is unlikely to wind up in Philadelphia. Stein cites a recent interview in which Sixers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey said he’s looking for his next major addition to be another play-maker who is “pretty solid on both ends,” and Stein notes that description doesn’t fit LaVine.
- Appearing on The Bill Simmons Podcast this week (hat tip to Bleacher Report), former Sixers coach Doc Rivers said Tyrese Maxey is a much better fit as the lead ball-handler alongside Joel Embiid than James Harden was. “Tyrese, you knew this was going to happen,” Rivers said. “I said that he was going to have a breakout year. Now, I did say it with the knowledge that I felt James wasn’t going to be there. I wouldn’t have made that prediction the other way because he wouldn’t have the ball in his hands.”
Shams Charania of The Athletic 
In its press release (
In that scenario, the player’s incoming value for the receiving team for matching purposes is determined by averaging his current-year salary and the salaries in each year of his new extension. His current team, on the other hand, simply treats his current-year salary as the outgoing figure for matching purposes.