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Injury Notes: Stoudemire, Wizards, Lowry

November 20th, 2012 at 9:51pm CST by Sean Highkin

In the early goings of the 2012/13 season, several high-profile players have sustained injuries. Here are the latest updates on some of these players:

Mike Woodson told ESPNNewYork.com that Amar'e Stoudemire is still expected to return to the Knicks in mid-December. Woodson would not say whether Stoudemire will start.
Nene said last week that he was roughly three weeks away from returning to the Wizards, but it's possible he makes his season debut at some point this week, says Michael Lee of the Washington Post. Lee notes that John Wall is making progress as well.
Kyle Lowry returned to the Raptors Tuesday night following an ankle injury, although Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun writes that he looked rusty.
Bobcats guard Gerald Henderson tells Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer that he's a week away from returning from a foot injury.

Injury Updates: Wall, Billups, Gordon

November 7th, 2012 at 9:00pm CST by Chuck Myron

We don't normally report on injuries at Hoops Rumors, but when a star player goes down for a lengthy absence or the injury otherwise figures to have an impact on a team's personnel decisions, we pass along that news. Tonight we have a few updates on key figures who'll be out for a while.

Wizards point guard John Wall was supposed to miss around eight weeks with an injury to his left patella, but now Wall says there's no target date for his return, reports Michael Lee of The Washington Post.
Clippers coach Vinny Del Negro was hopeful last month that Chauncey Billups could return from his torn left Achilles tendon sometime in November, but Billups doesn't think he'll recover quite so quickly, saying on ESPN's NBA Countdown this evening that he hopes to be back about a month from now, as Arash Markazi of ESPNLosAngeles writes.
The Hornets confirmed Eric Gordon's four-to-six-week prognosis, and announced that he'll head to Los Angeles for "more personalized and intensive" rehabilitation on his troublesome right knee. John Reid of The Times-Picayune has details.

Wizards Exercise Options On Six Players

October 19th, 2012 at 12:47pm CST by Luke Adams

The Wizards completed a major chunk of bookkeeping today, exercising 2013/14 options for six players, according to a press release from the team. John Wall, Kevin Seraphin, Trevor Booker, and Jordan Crawford had their fourth-year options picked up, while Jan Vesely and Chris Singleton had their third-year options exercised.

"We have been able to bring in and develop this core group of talented, mature young players over the last several years, and we’re pleased to have them all signed through next season," said Wizards president Ernie Grunfeld in a statement. "Combining them with the veterans we’ve added gives us a solid foundation that can be competitive now while allowing us to continue to build towards future success."

Wall will earn a salary of about $7.46MM in 2013/14, while the other five players range from about $1.62MM (Singleton) to $3.34MM (Vesely). Wall, Seraphin, Booker, and Crawford will now be eligible for restricted free agency in the summer of 2014, unless they're extended next summer. The Wizards will have an additional year of control (2014/15) for Vesely and Singleton.

Check out Hoops Rumors' option tracker to keep tabs on which rookie-scale players have had their 2013/14 options picked up so far this offseason.

John Wall Out Eight Weeks With Patella Injury

September 28th, 2012 at 12:26pm CST by Luke Adams

The Wizards officially announced today that John Wall will be out of action for about eight weeks while he recovers from a patella injury. The team's press release described Wall's diagnosis as the "early stages of a stress injury to his left patella," noting that surgery won't be required for the former first overall pick.

The injury, which figures to keep Wall sidelined for training camp, the preseason, and the first few weeks of the regular season, comes at a poor time for the third-year player. While it's still a lock that the Wizards will exercise his fourth-year option by October 31st, the upcoming season was expected to be a crucial one for Wall, who will be eligible for a contract extension next summer.

"Your third year is a key year," Wall said to the media, including Michael Lee of the Washington Post, earlier today. "It makes or breaks you, what you’re going to be in this league. This is a big year for me."

Although Wall's injury isn't expected to linger too far into the regular season, it may force the Wizards to invite another point guard to training camp. Currently, the team only has Shelvin Mack and A.J. Price under contract as Wall's backups. Nonetheless, GM Ernie Grunfeld doesn't sound like he's expecting to make any major changes as a result of Wall's setback.

"We're all disappointed for John after how hard he worked this summer and how excited he was to begin training camp, but we feel fortunate that we caught the injury early and that he will be able to return with the vast majority of the season still in front of us," said Grunfeld. "In the meantime, we're confident that the versatility and depth of our team will help us move forward and continue the positive momentum that we've seen over the past several months."

Wizards Owner Talks Blatche, Wall, Roster

July 20th, 2012 at 1:34pm CST by Luke Adams

Wizards owner Ted Leonsis sat down with Washington Post columnist Mike Wise earlier this week to discuss a number of topics related to his team's offseason and its recent acquisitions. Leonsis provided a number of interesting quotes on the Wizards' roster decisions, so let's dive right in and check out the highlights….

On the decision to amnesty Andray Blatche:

"I [was] torn. I believe people should have second and third chances. On the other hand, I don’t know where he fits now in this lineup. On the other hand, he [was] the last remaining touchpoint from the previous teams. That’s what [was] being discussed and weighed…. I’m not afraid of amnestying him and paying him the money. We have turned the entire lineup in one and three-quarters seasons. We shouldn’t forget Gilbert [Arenas] played here John Wall’s rookie season until he traded himself to Orlando."

On whether Leonsis recognizes Blatche's contract extension was a mistake:

Yes — we made a mistake. Although the NBA has had close to $250MM of amnestied players to date. Sometimes you get a chance to take a mulligan under the new rules and that is what we did."

On when a star player might want to come to Washington in free agency:

"I think when we can establish we’re a perennial playoff team and when we have one or two young stars — real, legitimate stars. Everyone knows that John Wall is a burgeoning star…. I think most people in the league feel this year, next year that John has the opportunity, if he improves, to be a real star player…. I view it as my part of my mission as an owner to create an environment, fan base and player development system that allows him to be a star. I think it’s a two-way street. You can’t put the onus on just the player. You have to surround him with the right people, have the right coaches."

On the expectations for the coming season:

"I won’t be happy with our plan if we’re back in the lottery…. If we just miss making a playoff spot, no, the world is not going to end. If we’re picking third because we have the second-worst record, no, I will not be happy…. We’ve turned over the roster, turned over the coaching staff. We’ve have good drafts. We took the second-highest-paid player in the league — I think one of the bloggers calculated he averaged $23K per minute — and replaced him with two players that will play big minutes who each averaged 10-15 points a game. We were getting zero from Rashard [Lewis]."

On how the team's roster is different after this year's trades:

"Culturally, every one of these guys is a good guy. It’s a big change. And no one is playing for a contract. I don’t think Nick [Young] and JaVale [McGee] were bad people. But they wanted stats. I understand that, relate and get it. But they weren’t playing as a team. You saw at the end of the year with Nene, who already got his big contract, right. So stats weren’t important to him. The little things were important to him."

Team USA Olympic Roster Updates: Thursday

May 3rd, 2012 at 5:38pm CST by Luke Adams

5:38pm: In a statement released to the media, USA Basketball chairman Jerry Colangelo has announced that James Harden and Anthony Davis will be added to Team USA's preliminary Olympic roster.

12:31pm: James Harden will likely be added to Team USA's preliminary Olympic roster, according to Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today.

10:36am: With the 2012 London Olympics less than three months away, Jerry Colangelo and Team USA are inviting new partipants to the U.S. select team. Michael Lee of the Washington Post reports that John Wall has received an invite for the select team, while Kyrie Irving will also be invited, according to the Cleveland Plain Dealer (via Twitter).

Members of the select team aren't considered finalists for the London roster, but will scrimmage against the Olympic team and will be part of the player pool for future international competition. According to Ailene Voisin of the Sacramento Bee, DeMarcus Cousins will also be invited to join the select squad.

Given the recent injuries to members of the Olympic player pool, including Dwight Howard and LaMarcus Aldridge, Colangelo has said one or two big men could be added to the list of finalists. Anthony Davis is rumored to be one of those additions.

John Wall On Wizards’ Season, Needs, Future

April 27th, 2012 at 8:49am CST by Luke Adams

Although it was a disappointing overall season for the Wizards, the team ended on a high note, winning its final six games without compromising its lottery odds. As the season came to an end this week, John Wall spoke to Chris Tomasson of FOX Sports Florida and Michael Lee of the Washington Post about the year and what the future looks like for Wall and the Wizards. Here are a few of the highlights from the interviews:

On the Wizards' midseason roster upheaval:

"For some guys, it was contract year, wasn’t serious with the basketball as I think they should’ve been and with them being traded to veteran teams, it helped them. We didn’t have any veterans to get on them, they was the veterans. Now they are with veteran teams doing better and we’re doing better."

On the post-trade Wizards:

"This year, really, after the trade, it felt like it was my third year. It was a whole totally different team and we started playing totally different, to be honest. No disrespect to any guys we had before, but everything changed. We were more serious in the locker room, more serious on the court, unselfish play, everybody played together and just wanted to win."

On what the team needs to add:

"I think another veteran big man, another wing player and maybe a two guard. Another strong two guard. And that's it."

On the odds of eventually signing an extension with Washington:

"I like being here, but you let the future hold its own. When the time comes, you see what the best situation is for you."

Odds & Ends: Vujacic, Lee, Love, Wall

April 25th, 2012 at 9:37pm CST by Michael Pina

In a tweet, ESPN.com's Marc Stein says that the Raptors have no interest in former Net and Laker, Sasha Vujacic. Here are the rest of the evening's updates:

The Warriors shut forward David Lee down with what they called a groin injury earlier this month. At the time, the team was well out of the playoff picture, and the Warriors' main goal down the stretch was to lose as many games as possible in order to try and get their first round draft pick back from the Jazz. Lee's injury was treated as a convenient way to tank games, and the announcement was viewed with a skeptic eye by many. Now it appears Lee will have surger on Thursday to repair a torn abdominal muscle, according to the team.
MercuryNews.com's Marcus Thompson II breaks down what the Warriors need to do if they want to keep their first round draft pick.
Stephen Curry underwent successful surgery on his ankles today. He's expected to be ready for action in 3-4 months, NBA.com's David Aldridge reports in a tweet.
The Plain Dealer's Bill Livingston points out the significance of what a third MVP for LeBron James would mean.
Even before Dwight Howard and LaMarcus Aldridge suffered injuries that will prevent them from participating in this summer's Olympic games, there was a strong chance Kevin Love would make the 12-man roster. The Timberwolves forward feels more confident than ever before that he'll make the team, according to TwinCities.com's Ray Richardson.
Kobe Bryant fully expects the Lakers to win the title, writes ESPNLosAngeles.com's Dave McMenamin.
John Wall spoke to his friend Kevin Durant about what it took to turn one of the league's worst teams into one of the best, writes FoxSportsFlorida.com's Chris Tomasson.
The Timberwolves will receive the Jazz's first round draft pick now that Utah is heading to the playoffs, according to the StarTribune's Kent Youngblood.

Odds & Ends: Grizzlies, Nuggets, Wall, Warriors

March 12th, 2012 at 4:35pm CST by Luke Adams

A day after losing to the Lakers, the Celtics return to the Staples Center to face the Clippers and try earn one win in Los Angeles. That contest figures to be the highlight of an evening schedule that also includes the Bobcats and Hornets squaring off in a battle of Conference cellar-dwellers. While we wait for the first of tonight's seven games to tip off, let's round up a few odds and ends:

The Grizzlies have been active in trade talks, but haven't been discussing their primary players, reports Bill Ingram of HoopsWorld.
Zach Lowe of SI.com hears that the Nuggets are being "very quiet" as the trade deadline nears (Twitter link).
The Wizards' only untouchable player, John Wall talked to Michael Lee of the Washington Post about the team, trade options, and his performance.
The Monta Ellis vs. Stephen Curry could finally come to an end for the Warriors this week, writes Tim Kawakami of the San Jose Mercury News. Meanwhile, Matt Steinmetz of CSNBayArea.com looks at some centers the Warriors are reportedly pursuing this week.
Scott Schroeder of Ridiculous Upside examines some D-League players who could benefit from deadline deals and earn NBA contracts in the coming weeks.
The Clippers have recalled Travis Leslie from the Bakersfield Jam, as Arash Markazi of ESPN Los Angeles writes. Leslie had been assigned to the team's D-League affiliate on March 2nd.