Brook Lopez Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Injury Updates: Ball, LaVine, Nader, Collins, Lopez, Carter

January 19th, 2022 at 8:02pm CST by Arthur Hill

Lonzo Ball and Zach LaVine will both miss the Bulls‘ upcoming three-game road trip so they can receive treatment for knee injuries, writes Rob Schaefer of NBC Sports Chicago. Coach Billy Donovan updated their conditions in a media session before tonight’s game, saying the team’s first treatment plan for Ball’s knee was unsuccessful.

Ball, who was sent back to Chicago before Monday’s contest in Memphis, had his diagnosis changed from soreness in the knee to a bone contusion. Donovan said a timetable for his return won’t be set until the medical staff sees how he responds to the new treatments, adding that doctors haven’t considered the possibility of surgery yet.

“I think the biggest thing right now is what are the steps that we can do to get him back and get him healthy,” Donovan said. “I haven’t gotten into any detail with them (doctors) about that other than, hey, we’ll try this treatment, we’ll try this therapy, see how it goes, and then whatever the next step is that will be. But I haven’t been told what any next steps are gonna be.”

LaVine, who hasn’t played since leaving last Wednesday’s game in the first quarter, is responding to therapy for pain in his left knee, Donovan added. There’s no timeline for LaVine’s return either, but Donovan said he has been shooting free throws and doing strength training.

There’s more injury news to pass along:

Suns forward Abdel Nader is making progress after missing the last 28 games with an injury to his right knee, but it will be a while before he can play again, tweets Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic. “He’s starting to ramp up,” coach Monty Williams said. “He hasn’t done any 1-on-1, 2-on-2, 3-on-3. So he’s still a ways away.”
Spurs center Zach Collins is getting closer to making his season debut after playing in the G League Monday, according to Tom Orsborn of The San Antonio Express News (Twitter link). Collins expects to play another G League game Friday, and coach Gregg Popovich said there’s not a definite time when he’ll be called up.
The Bucks haven’t set a timetable for center Brook Lopez to return after having back surgery in early December, tweets Jim Owczarski of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “We felt positive when we had the surgery,” coach Mike Budenholzer said. “All the reports coming out of it, the hopes and the expectations. So nothing’s changed, nothing’s new. … This is all kind of to some degree what we expected, planned and we’ll continue to monitor and see how he progresses.”
Magic center Wendell Carter Jr. missed his seventh straight game tonight with soreness in his left hamstring, but acting head coach Jesse Mermuys said he’s “very close” to returning, tweets Khobi Price of The Orlando Sentinel.

Central Notes: Lyles, Olynyk, Lopez, Caruso

January 18th, 2022 at 8:33pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Veteran Pistons big man Trey Lyles appears to be maximizing his time with his new team, writes James L. Edwards III of The Athletic. Edwards takes a look at how Lyles, a former lottery pick out of Kentucky, has reinvented himself as a role player with a lottery-bound Detroit club. Lyles discussed his struggles with mental health during his early NBA tenure.

“My first couple years, if my confidence was down, I’d be out there and wouldn’t shoot the ball,” Lyles said. “Over the years, I’ve tried to improve my mental ability to bounce back… I’ve done a lot of work in the offseason on my mental state of mind. Just being confident in who I am as a player is huge.”

Lyles signed a two-year, $5.1MM contract with the club during the 2021 offseason, and has spent most of his on-court time at center.

“[Therapy] has helped me out a lot,” Lyles, still just 26, reflected. “I have a tendency to get in my head. I just want to go out and use my muscle memory. Therapy has helped me in a variety of ways.”

Lyles is averaging 9.6 PPG, 4.7 RPG, and 1.2 APG across 39 games with the Pistons thus far.

There’s more out of the Central Division:

Injured center Kelly Olynyk is excited to return to the court for the Pistons soon, writes Rod Beard of the Detroit News. An MCL sprain has limited Olynyk to just 10 healthy games with his new team. The 6’11” big man has returned to basketball activities during the last few weeks and expects to rejoin the Pistons on the hardwood at some point during the team’s current four-game road trip. “It’s a long process and you can’t cheat any of the steps,” Olynyk said, per Beard. “You just miss it. You miss competing, miss being with the team, all that kind of stuff, especially in today’s world.”
Bucks center Brook Lopez has resumed on-court workouts at Milwaukee’s practice facility, writes Jim Owczarski of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Lopez, 33, has been recovering from a back surgery that has limited him to just a single game of availability this season for the reigning champs.
Injured Bulls reserve combo guard Alex Caruso has proven in his absence how valuable he is to the club, posits Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times. Chicago’s defense ranks 24th during the team’s last 13 games without Caruso. The 27-year-old out of Texas A&M, one of the Bulls’ best defenders, is expected to rejoin the club at some point this week.

Bucks Notes: Tucker, Lopez, Cousins

December 3rd, 2021 at 12:39pm CST by Arthur Hill

P.J. Tucker didn’t spend much time in Milwaukee, but he became a fan favorite while helping the Bucks capture their first NBA title in 50 years, writes Jim Owczarski of The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. Acquired at the trade deadline, Tucker played a vital role on defense during the team’s playoff run. Even though he signed with the Heat during the offseason, Tucker can expect an enthusiastic reception when he returns to the city Saturday night.

“I’ll always love Milwaukee,” he said. “I’ll love the people of Milwaukee forever. They embraced me so much from day one when I first got there to the day I left; they were always there, they always had my back. That’s not something you get right away. You don’t normally get the trust and the love of the city so fast. It was an amazing experience and journey.”

There’s more Bucks news to pass along:

The organization is optimistic that Brook Lopez will be able to return sometime this season after undergoing back surgery Thursday, a source tells Eric Nehm of The Athletic. Coach Mike Budenholzer declined to speculate about a possible timeline, but said Lopez will start rehab soon and remains in the team’s plans for later in the season. “The feedback, the conversations, the follow-up after this morning was very, very positive, including expecting him to be able to play and be productive,” Budenholzer said on Thursday. “I think the surgery today has been done on multiple basketball players, multiple athletes, multiple sports. Return to play is very, very often successful.”
Veteran center DeMarcus Cousins, who was signed to help fill the void left by Lopez, had a strong debut with seven points and four rebounds in 15 minutes in Wednesday’s win over the Hornets, Nehm adds. Because Thursday’s game was a back-to-back, Cousins was held out for “return to competition reconditioning.” “The guy has been dominant for so many years,” Khris Middleton said. “He’s been on a bad path with the injuries so far, but I’m glad to see him back on the court healthy. I’m definitely excited and I know the rest of the guys are excited to have him on the court with us.”
Cousins is grateful to the Bucks for giving him an opportunity after being out of the league since the end of last season. “It’s always a great feeling to be wanted or appreciated, so when my name is called, I’ll be ready to play,” he said in an interview with Zora Stephenson of NBC Sports (Twitter link).

Brook Lopez Undergoes Back Surgery, Out Indefinitely

December 2nd, 2021 at 1:09pm CST by Luke Adams

Bucks center Brook Lopez underwent successful surgery on his back on Thursday in Los Angeles, the team announced in a press release.

The Bucks didn’t provide a timeline for Lopez’s recovery and return to action, simply stating that he’ll continue to be listed as out and updates on his rehab will be provided “as appropriate.” However, back surgeries typically aren’t procedures that players return from quickly, so it seems safe to assume it’ll be a longer-term absence for the big man.

Lopez, 33, played in Milwaukee’s season opener in October, but has been sidelined since then due to his back ailment. He said last month in an interview with Shams Charania that he was ramping up his activities and thought he was getting closer to a return, so it certainly doesn’t appear that surgery was always the plan.

The Bucks have been leaning primarily on Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bobby Portis to handle the five so far this season. The team also added veteran center DeMarcus Cousins in free agency this week, perhaps with Lopez’s looming surgery in mind.

There’s no indication at this point that Lopez’s back surgery will end his season, but if the injury is ultimately deemed season-ending, the Bucks could apply for a disabled player exception. If approved, it would be worth about $6.65MM, though it’s unclear how motivated Milwaukee would be to use such an exception, since team salary is already well above the tax line.

Central Notes: Cousins, Vucevic, Holiday, Duarte, Hayes

November 29th, 2021 at 8:04pm CST by Dana Gauruder

DeMarcus Cousins won’t be asked to play major minutes for the Bucks, according to Eric Nehm of The Athletic. The veteran center can give them 10-15 minutes a game and help lessen the load on Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bobby Portis, who have been manning the middle while Brook Lopez has been sidelined with a back injury. Cousins agreed on Sunday to sign a non-guaranteed deal.

Cousins took part in a workout led by assistant coach Darvin Ham on Saturday in Las Vegas, Marc Spears of ESPN’s The Undefeated tweets. Bucks assistant GM Milt Newton and VP of Global Scouting Ryan Hoover attended the workout, and Cousins had a phone conversation with coach Mike Budenholzer afterward.

We have more info on the Central Division:

Nikola Vucevic hasn’t looked right since returning from a bout with COVID-19, Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times opines. In his third game back on Saturday, the Bulls big man took only nine shots, scored seven points and committed three turnovers. The Heat paid special attention to him defensively. “I do think he’s getting his footing back under him,” coach Billy Donovan said. Vucevic’s 13.4 PPG are his lowest since his first season with the Magic in 2012/13, Cowley notes.
Justin Holiday has been giving advice to Pacers rookie Chris Duarte about his new bench role, Brendan Rourke of the team’s website writes. “When you’re young, you focus a lot on being the starter and doing stuff like that,” Holiday said. “I’m just trying to give him a different sight of how he can still help. He’s still just as valuable even though he doesn’t have that starting role.” Holiday has been inserted into the starting lineup in place of Duarte.
A four-game layoff to rest a sprained left thumb helped Pistons second-year guard Killian Hayes, Omari Sankofa II of the Detroit Free Press writes. ‘”It was good for him to take it off, he’s feeling much better now,” coach Dwane Casey said of Hayes, who had six points and eight assists in 29 minutes against the Lakers on Sunday. “We’ll see if he can jumpstart it to do it again. He was playing pretty good, especially defensively.”

Injury Notes: Durant, LeBron, J. Brown, Lopez

November 19th, 2021 at 12:17pm CST by Luke Adams

Nets star Kevin Durant has been ruled out of Friday’s game vs. Orlando due to a right shoulder sprain, the team announced this afternoon (Twitter link via Alex Schiffer of The Athletic).

Durant admitted earlier this week that he has been getting some treatment on that shoulder, but he had been able to play through the ailment up until this point. With a pair of off-days coming up after Friday’s game, the Nets will take this opportunity to get their leading scorer some rest over the weekend. I wouldn’t be surprised if Durant is back in action on Monday in Cleveland, though we’ll have to wait for further updates from the team.

Here are a few more injury-related items from around the NBA:

Lakers star LeBron James will be a game-time decision on Friday night in Boston, head coach Frank Vogel said today (Twitter link via Kyle Goon of the Southern California News Group). If James isn’t able to return from his abdominal strain tonight, he’ll likely target Sunday in Detroit for his first game back.
While the Lakers are still waiting to see if LeBron will be available for Friday’s game, the Celtics have already ruled out Jaylen Brown, the team announced today (via Twitter). Brown has been on the shelf since November 4 due to a right hamstring strain.
Bucks center Brook Lopez has been sidelined for a full month due to a back issue, but he tells Shams Charania of The Athletic (video link) that he’s been ramping up and believes he’s nearing a return. Lopez added that he has a “target in my mind” for his return, but didn’t specify a date. I imagine he’d love to suit up against his twin brother Robin Lopez and the Magic on Saturday and/or Monday, though it’s unclear if he’ll be ready to go that soon.

Injury Notes: Brown, Pacers, Raptors, Bucks

October 29th, 2021 at 9:11pm CST by Rory Maher

Celtics All-Star wing Jaylen Brown is dealing with lingering after-effects from contracting COVID-19, writes Tim Bontemps of ESPN.

Brown says it’s taking his body much longer to recover than normal, which is part of the reason he’s had up-and-down performances thus far.

“Like, I feel great. And then it feels like instead of playing one game, it kind of feels like I played three. I’m used to my body responding and recovering a lot faster. I know I just turned 25, but this can’t be what it looks like on the other side,” Brown said Friday.

Head coach Ime Udoka recently said Brown’s inconsistency has been “mind-boggling,” according to Bontemps. Brown agreed, but he’s still not feeling right.

“Ime came and talked to me about it yesterday,” Brown said. “It didn’t bother me. It’s mind-boggling to me too. I was surprised that my body didn’t respond the way it normally responds. I’m usually able to have that zip, that pop, flying up and down the court, but it wasn’t there. I think that was obvious.

“I don’t think he was out of line or anything for that. I gotta be better and get with my medical staff and figure how to get my body to the point where I feel normal. Some days I feel fantastic and then it’s like two, three days, it takes my body too long to feel fantastic again. That’s an issue for me. As I navigate that, we have to still tighten up on the details, tighten up on our defense and find a way to win games. Even though I don’t feel the same on the court, I could still be better in certain areas and detailed in certain areas. That’s more the conversation that we have,” Brown said.

Brown is also suffering from patellar tendinopathy in his left knee, relays Bontemps, which is why he missed a game versus the Rockets on Sunday.

Here are some more injury notes from around the league:

We noted yesterday that Pacers rookie Isaiah Jackson suffered an injury on Wednesday and will be out “a while,” per head coach Rick Carlisle. The team provided an update today in press release, stating that Jackson has a hyperextended left knee and is considered week-to-week.
Caris LeVert missed the game tonight, but he’s close to returning for the Pacers, relays Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files (Twitter link).
Raptors forward Pascal Siakam is progressing from his shoulder injury, but he’s still weeks away from returning, tweets Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca. Grange says the best-case scenario is Siakam might return in mid-November.
In a separate tweet, Grange says that Raptors forward Yuta Watanabe suffered a setback with his calf injury and was unable to practice today.
Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer doesn’t expect Brook Lopez or Jrue Holiday to play this weekend, per Eric Nehm of The Athletic (via Twitter). In a follow-up tweet, Nehm relays that Bobby Portis will miss tomorrow’s game as well (reconditioning).

Bucks Notes: Portis, Bogdanovic, Lopez, Holiday

July 2nd, 2021 at 9:00am CST by Arthur Hill

Nobody knows where Bobby Portis might have been Thursday night if the Bucks‘ offseason attempt to trade for Bogdan Bogdanovic had worked out, but he wouldn’t have been helping Milwaukee move to within a game of the NBA Finals, writes Joe Vardon of The Athletic. With Giannis Antetokounmpo sidelined by a hyperextended left knee, Portis moved into the starting lineup and contributed 22 points and eight rebounds in a Game 5 win over the Hawks.

Signing Portis wasn’t Plan A for the Bucks, who were focused on improving their outside shooting by adding Bogdanovic, a restricted free agent, in a sign-and-trade arrangement. Rumors of that deal with the Kings leaked in mid-November, but it wouldn’t have been legal at the time because it would have involved negotiations before the start of free agency. The NBA launched an investigation and the rumored trade wound up getting scrapped.

General manager Jon Horst landed Portis instead on a two-year contract worth $7.4MM. He brought a physical style to the team as Antetokounmpo’s backup and quickly became a fan favorite.

“Milwaukee’s a tough city,” Portis said. “You know, some people at the start of the season — they were telling us all about the city and how tough it is to live here and things like that, and you know, the city goes through a lot. So, when they see somebody that gives his all and works hard, because it’s a blue-collar city and I’m a blue-collar player, I’m going to make the shots — whether they are going in or not, I still give my all to the team 100 percent, for the name in front of the jersey and they love players like that.”

There’s more on the Bucks:

Portis is getting a chance to shine after being kept on the bench for the final three games of the Nets series. He might have faced an uncertain future if the Bucks had lost to Brooklyn, according to Vincent Goodwill of The Athletic, but now he has a chance to show that he can be part of Milwaukee’s future.
Brook Lopez also responded to Antetokounmpo’s absence with a career-best playoff performance, notes Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today. Lopez posted 33 points and had seven rebounds, four blocks and two steals as Milwaukee turned to the veteran center to take advantage of Atlanta’s lack of size. “That was a great opportunity for him to I think just get the ball a little bit more, try and use him a little bit more and he came through big time,” coach Mike Budenholzer said.
The Bucks have been collecting players who fit well around Antetokounmpo, and that combination worked Thursday night, observes Royce Young of ESPN. One important offseason addition was Jrue Holiday, who was acquired in a trade with the Pelicans. Holiday is an elite defender whose scoring has been inconsistent throughout the playoffs, but he delivered 25 points and 13 assists in Game 5. “I just knew I had to be aggressive. Whatever that means, Giannis being out or not, I knew that I had to be aggressive,” he said.

Bucks Notes: Tucker, Lopez, Antetokounmpo, Coaching Staff

June 20th, 2021 at 1:00pm CST by Arthur Hill

During his years with the Rockets, P.J. Tucker was never able to get past Kevin Durant‘s Warriors teams in the playoffs, writes Brian Windhorst of ESPN. The Bucks acquired Tucker at the trade deadline to match up with elite scorers like Durant, and he finally prevailed over his long-time rival in Milwaukee’s Game 7 victory Saturday night.

The Bucks used several players on Durant during the series, but the primary job belonged to Tucker, his friend and fellow Texas alum. Durant had another incredible performance Saturday with 48 points in 53 minutes, but he air-balled a shot at the end that could have sent the game to a second overtime.

“It’s painful. I’m hurting. That was a battle every single night,” Tucker said. “To be able to finally get over the hump is pretty nice.”

There’s more on the Bucks:

Brook Lopez was determined to make up for a mental error he committed late in the fourth quarter, according to Eric Nehm of The Athletic. Lopez lost track of the shot clock with 8.1 seconds remaining, resulting in a turnover that gave the Nets a chance to tie the game. He responded by blocking a layup attempt by Durant with a minute left in overtime. “After that (shot clock violation) happened, I just took it upon myself,” Lopez said. “I told my teammates, ‘I made a mistake, but let’s go get this.’ I’m gonna fix this, we’re gonna fix this and so it happened, but it was great to see how resilient we were.”
Giannis Antetokounmpo, who is making his second trip to the conference finals, wants to make sure his teammates stay focused on the challenge ahead. After Saturday’s win, he wrote an 8 in the locker room, which is how many more wins the Bucks need to capture a championship, per Marc Berman of The New York Post. “It’s a great feeling,’’ Antetokounmpo said. “I try not to get too high or low. I got emotional a little bit out there. The team really tried their best. Just being able to come to New York and were 0 for 5 here and in Game 7 and everyone’s anxious and nervous and able to execute and trust each other. It was big time. I’m really happy for this team. We’re halfway through. I want everyone to cherish this moment.’’
Bucks assistants Darvin Ham and Charles Lee have been rumored for head coaching opportunities around the league, and Bucks head coach Mike Budenholzer believes they’re ready, tweets Malika Andrews of ESPN. “They’re incredible coaches,” he said.

Central Notes: Lopez, Plumlee, Bjorkgren, Sabonis, Turner

June 5th, 2021 at 10:10am CST by Dana Gauruder

Bucks center Brook Lopez will be facing his former team in the conference semifinals and Nets coach Steve Nash believes he could be a key player in the series, according to Ryan Dunleavy of the New York Post. “He could be one of the wild cards,” Nash said. Lopez, who is signed through the 2022/23 season, averaged 15.8 PPG, 6.8 RPG and 1.3 BPG during the first-round sweep of the Heat.

We have more from the Central Division:

The Pistons raised a lot of eyebrows when they signed Nuggets reserve center Mason Plumlee to a three-year, $24MM+ contract last fall but Plumlee justified it with a productive season, Keith Langlois of Pistons.com writes. Plumlee averaged 10.4 PPG, a career-high 9.3 RPG and 3.6 APG while serving as a post facilitator and setting solid screens. He’ll remain a rotation fixture in his second season with the franchise, Langlois adds.
The Pacers’ offseason appears to be on hold until the front office decides what to do with head coach Nate Bjorkgren, Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files writes. It’s the biggest decision that team president Kevin Pritchard will make to date and he’s pondering all his options.
If the Pacers decide to break up their frontcourt duo of All-Star Domantas Sabonis and Myles Turner, it’s generally assumed the front office will move Turner. Indianapolis Star columnist Gregg Doyel (subscription required) explores a variety of metrics and concludes that it’s not a clear-cut decision.