Kyle Kuzma Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Injury Notes: Embiid, Wizards, Raptors, Simmons, Gallinari

March 23rd, 2023 at 7:04pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Sixers All-NBA center Joel Embiid sat out the second half of Philadelphia’ 116-91 blowout victory over the Bulls Wednesday with mild right calf tightness, but he’s expected to suit up for the Sixers’ next game on Friday, per Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer (Twitter link).

While the injury is considered minor, Rich Hoffman of The Athletic suggests it could impact how Philadelphia handles its final 10 games of the 2022/23 season. The Sixers’ other top scorer, point guard James Harden, sat out the win with a sore left Achilles.

Hoffman notes that Philadelphia is prioritizing postseason health over regular season wins down the home stretch, a strategy that could cost the team’s the East’s second seed and home court advantage in the second round of the playoffs should it match up with the Celtics.

“We’ve gone into the playoffs two years in a row with injuries,” head coach Doc Rivers said in a postgame presser. “We all know that you don’t win in the playoffs when your key guys aren’t healthy, period. So, we’re going to do whatever we can to be healthy.”

Here are a few more injury-related notes from around the league:

Wizards power forward Kyle Kuzma and shooting guard Bradley Beal will both miss Washington’s game Friday against the lowly Spurs, reports Josh Robbins of The Athletic (Twitter link). Kuzma is dealing with a sprained right ankle, while the oft-injured Beal is currently grappling with left knee soreness.
Deep-bench Nets big man Ben Simmons is currently only engaging in individual workouts and not yet working out with the team as he continues to rehabilitate his sore left knee, per Brian Lewis of The New York Post (Twitter link). Head coach Jacque Vaughn was noncommittal when he was asked if the team would be able to ramp up Simmons before the end of the regular season.
Raptors forward Scottie Barnes, big man Precious Achiuwa, and shooting guard Gary Trent Jr. did not practice on Thursday and are questionable Friday in a winnable game against the rebuilding Pistons, according to Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca (via Twitter). Grange observes (Twitter link) that Barnes is exercising caution with his ailing left wrist. Achiuwa is dealing with a hamstring injury, while Trent has an elbow ailment.
When Danilo Gallinari tore his ACL six months ago, the injury was considered very likely to end his season. Though it remains a long shot, Chris Forsberg of NBC Sports Boston writes that the Celtics forward continues to keep the door ajar for a potential return for the postseason. “Playoffs, it’s still in my head,” Gallinari said. “A lot of steps that need to be done before you play an actual game. And even maybe after all those steps, you are not ready for a playoff game because when you don’t play the whole season and then be ready to play a playoff game is not easy for anybody, not just body-wise but mentally-wise. But like I said, it might happen. So we’ll see.”

Wizards Notes: Play-In Race, Beal, Kuzma

March 22nd, 2023 at 3:58pm CST by Luke Adams

The Wizards are spiraling at the worst possible time, having lost six of their last seven games as multiple teams around them in the Eastern Conference play-in have heated up. During their recent slump, a two-game lead on the Bulls for the No. 10 seed has turned into a 2.5-game deficit, prompting Bradley Beal to declare that the team must “be better,” per Ava Wallace of The Washington Post.

“We know that. It’s not rocket science. It’s not a secret,” Beal said. “We got — 10 left? We’ve got to push the last 10.”

Second-year sharpshooter Corey Kispert believes the Wizards have made the mistake of “playing to other teams’ games” during their recent slide.

“Cleveland (played more physically than) us — that’s what they do. Tried to go toe-to-toe with (Sacramento) in pace; you’re not going to win that game,” Kispert explained. “And when you try to beat teams that are really, really good at their own games, that doesn’t work out too well. The Magic played really well together, got to their spots, took advantage of mismatches. And we’re trying to find the right formula.”

Here’s more on the Wizards:

The Wizards will be in tough as they try to snap their three-game losing streak on Wednesday. They’re playing on the second night of a back-to-back, are up against the West-leading Nuggets, and will be without their leading scorer. A late addition to the injury report due to left knee soreness, Bradley Beal has been downgraded from questionable to out, according to the team (Twitter link).
Wizards forward Kyle Kuzma will also be unavailable on Wednesday, having been ruled out for a second straight game due to a right ankle sprain (Twitter link). Head coach Wes Unseld Jr. said on Tuesday that he was surprised Kuzma was able to continue playing after suffering the injury on Saturday per Wallace. “He’ll be reevaluated as he progresses — hopefully sooner rather than later,” Unseld said. “But it was a pretty significant sprain.”
Speaking to Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington, Kuzma said he has enjoyed living in D.C. since joining the Wizards. “It’s central and it’s low-key and chill,” he explained. “I love where I live. People are not really bothering me too much. It’s an easy pace of life out here, it’s nice.” While that may be a factor in Kuzma’s free agency decision, the forward, who is expected to turn down a 2023/24 player option this summer, sounds like he’s looking forward to considering all his options. “I have the opportunity to go through that process, go through team pitches and go through the back end of being a free agent and learning and getting to know different people,” he said.

Injury Notes: S. Barnes, Kuzma, J. Johnson, J. Allen

March 21st, 2023 at 1:09pm CST by Luke Adams

An MRI on Scottie Barnes‘ left wrist came back clean, according to Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca (Twitter link). However, the wrist – which the Raptors forward injured during Sunday’s loss in Milwaukee – is still sore and will likely undergo more testing, Lewenberg adds. For now, Barnes is considered day-to-day, and Lewenberg believes he’ll likely be listed as questionable to play on Wednesday vs. Indiana after not practicing on Tuesday.

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

Wizards forward Kyle Kuzma has been ruled out for Tuesday’s contest in Orlando due to a right ankle sprain, tweets Josh Robbins of The Athletic. It will be the third time in the last four games that Washington will be without either Kuzma or Kristaps Porzingis.
Following an MRI, Hawks forward Jalen Johnson was diagnosed with a mild hamstring and groin strain, a league source tells Lauren L. Williams of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Twitter link). According to Williams, Johnson will be reevaluated early next week.
Cavaliers center Jarrett Allen, who has been out for four games due to a right eye contusion, is nearing a return. According to Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com (Twitter link), Allen was a full participant in Monday’s practice and has a chance to play on Tuesday. He’s currently listed as questionable.
After missing four games due to a right ankle sprain, Pacers rookie Bennedict Mathurin returned to action on Monday, as Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star details. Mathurin showed no ill effects following the brief layoff, scoring 18 points on 7-of-10 shooting.

Injury Notes: Nance, Mitchell, Kuzma, LeBron, Suns

March 14th, 2023 at 1:10pm CST by Luke Adams

After missing six games due to a left ankle sprain, Pelicans forward Larry Nance Jr. returned to action on Sunday vs. Portland. However, Nance logged just eight minutes and acknowledged after the game that he isn’t at full strength yet.

“I think it was pretty clear that I’m not 100%,” Nance said, per Christian Clark of NOLA.com. “For me, it’s more about if I can play, you’re going to get what I got at all times. We got a win. I did my job.”

Even though Nance – who has averaged 22.0 minutes per game off the bench this season – couldn’t reclaim his usual rotation role in his first game back, head coach Willie Green appreciates the 30-year-old’s willingness to play through pain with New Orleans in the thick of a playoff race.

“Larry is a leader,” Green said. “He wants to be out there on the floor. He has been talking about it the last three, four days. These guys understand that coming down the stretch, it’s going to be a tight race for the playoffs. He’s trying to get himself ready for the last 14 games. It was huge to have him on the floor. His presence was felt.”

Nance isn’t on the Pelicans’ injury report for Tuesday’s game against the Lakers, so he’ll be available for that one, even if his minutes are once again limited.

Here are a few more injury notes from around the NBA:

The Cavaliers have ruled out Donovan Mitchell (finger sprain injury management) for Tuesday’s contest vs. Charlotte, tweets Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. Starting center Jarrett Allen (right eye contusion) is also unavailable for a second straight game.
Wizards forward Kyle Kuzma has been ruled out for Tuesday’s game against Detroit due to a sore right knee, tweets Josh Robbins of The Athletic. Washington is currently a half-game back of Chicago for the No. 10 spot in the East.
Lakers star LeBron James, who is making his way back from a right foot injury, did his first on-court activity at a Tuesday shootaround, taking a few free throws after he completed his weight lifting and rehab work, according to Dave McMenamin of ESPN (Twitter links).
Suns head coach Monty Williams called it a “good sign” that GM James Jones said Kevin Durant would probably be available now if the playoffs had begun. “With those kind of injuries, you tend to get better every day, and he’s getting around-the-clock treatment,” Williams said of KD (link via Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic). The Suns’ coach added that Landry Shamet‘s return from a right foot injury isn’t imminent: “He’s just been getting up shots. He’s about the same. He’s just getting more treatment. Just trying to figure it out. How can we get back to a place he can get back to a full practice and then progress from there.”

Southeast Notes: Banchero, Ross, Kuzma, Porzingis, Heat

February 20th, 2023 at 1:35pm CST by Rory Maher

Magic forward Paolo Banchero, the No. 1 overall pick of last June’s draft, is looking like a strong favorite to win the Rookie of the Year award, according to Kelly Iko, Eric Nehm and Josh Robbins of The Athletic. The three beat writers for The Athletic all had votes for the award last season.

Robbins points out that Banchero ranks first among rookies in points per game (19.9), fourth in rebounds (6.6) and third in assists (3.6), a sign of his all-around game. The 20-year-old has been in a major shooting slump in February, going 1-of-27 from 3-point range, but many of his rookie peers have gone through peaks and valleys as well.

The three writers would have Indiana’s Bennedict Mathurin second and Utah’s Walker Kessler third on their ballots at the All-Star break.

Here’s more from the Southeast:

Mike Bianchi of The Orlando Sentinel (subscriber link) believes the Magic and Terrence Ross did right by each other. Instead of trading him to a random team for a second-round pick, the Magic bought Ross out and waived him to let him pick his next destination (Phoenix). As Bianchi writes, when the team started rebuilding a couple years ago, Ross was one of the few veterans left on the roster, but instead of publicly complaining or being a distraction he served as a positive mentor for the younger players. Bianchi believes players and agents around the NBA will notice that Orlando treated Ross well after a seven-year stint with the team.
Both Kyle Kuzma and Kristaps Porzingis are having career years in 2022/23 and both players can enter free agency in the summer if they decline their player options (Kuzma has already publicly said he’s going to). What does that mean for the Wizards going forward? Chase Hughes explores that topic for NBC Sports Washington.
The Heat intend to bolster their frontcourt depth by signing Kevin Love and Cody Zeller. Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald reports that Love is expected to receive part of the Heat’s mid-level exception, while Zeller will likely receive a minimum-salary deal for the rest of the season, though the details were still being finalized as of Sunday afternoon.

Injury Updates: Curry Brothers, LeBron, Kuzma, Robinson

February 14th, 2023 at 4:05pm CST by Luke Adams

There’s still no target date for Stephen Curry‘s return from a left leg injury, as he told reporters – including Kendra Andrews of ESPN – on Monday. The Warriors announced last week that Curry would be reevaluated after the All-Star break, but even if that assessment goes well, the former MVP won’t be ready to return to action right away.

“Ligaments can heal in all different types of timelines,” Curry said. “So there’s a window for each checkpoint. After the All-Star break, I will hopefully get back on the court, and then depending on how things go from there, we can key in on a specific date to get back.”

As Anthony Slater of The Athletic writes, the Warriors have a busy schedule out of the All-Star break, with six contests in nine days, so Curry’s missed games could add up quickly if he still needs a week or two to get up to speed after his next reevaluation.

Here are a few more injury updates from around the NBA:

A left adductor strain has kept Nets wing Seth Curry on the shelf for the last five games, but he has been cleared to return on Wednesday vs. Miami, tweets Brian Lewis of The New York Post.
Lakers star LeBron James has missed three straight games with foot and ankle injuries and could get an extra week of rest if he sits out the team’s last game before the All-Star break. However, head coach Darvin Ham said on Monday that “in all likelihood” James will return on Wednesday vs. New Orleans, writes Kyle Goon of The Southern California News Group.
Wizards forward Kyle Kuzma will be back in action on Tuesday night in Portland after missing four consecutive games with a left ankle sprain, per Josh Robbins of The Athletic (Twitter link).
Heat sharpshooter Duncan Robinson, who has been sidelined since January 2 due to finger surgery, appears to be on the verge of returning. He has been upgraded to questionable for Wednesday’s game in Brooklyn, tweets Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel.

Wizards Notes: Goodwin, Trade Deadline, Beal, Kuzma

February 13th, 2023 at 10:45pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Jordan Goodwin is ineligible to play again for the Wizards until his two-way contract is converted to a standard deal, Josh Robbins of The Athletic tweets.

Goodwin has been on the Wizards’ active list for 50 of their games, the league limit for a two-way player. The team must create a spot on its 15-man roster to add Goodwin. Washington should have an opening soon — the club is working on a buyout agreement with Will Barton.

We have more from the Wizards:

After dealing Rui Hachimura to the Lakers, the Wizards were quiet prior to the trade deadline. Bradley Beal is ready to ride out the season with the current group, Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington writes. “Now this is our team,” Beal said. “You can’t make any adjustments now, you’ve gotta ride it out throughout the rest of the year. We’ve got 25-plus left, so we’ve gotta really strap ’em up, lace ’em on, go out and compete.”
Beal has been fined $25K by the league for making contact with a game official, the NBA’s PR department tweets. The incident occurred during the third quarter of Washington’s 127-113 victory over the Pacers on Saturday.
Kyle Kuzma was sidelined on Monday for the fourth straight game with a left ankle sprain, Marc J. Spears of ESPN tweets. Washington is at Golden State to start a three-game road swing before the All-Star break.

Wizards Notes: Quiet Deadline, Kuzma, Jackson, Goodwin

February 11th, 2023 at 6:45am CST by Luke Adams

The Wizards were one of the only NBA teams not to make a trade during the past week, having done their work on the trade market early when they sent Rui Hachimura to the Lakers last month in exchange for Kendrick Nunn and three second-round picks.

As Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington writes, that doesn’t mean the Wizards weren’t taking or making calls in the days leading up to Thursday’s trade deadline. It sounds as if president of basketball operations Tommy Sheppard would have had interest in adding one more forward for depth purposes, but he said he didn’t want to “slap a band-aid” on any of the team’s needs.

“I’d rather address it in the much bigger picture and that’s something for the summer,” Sheppard said.

Sheppard added that he likes what he has with the Wizards’ current group, pointing out that the team has gone 14-9 since opening the season with an 11-20 record.

“To see this team healthy over the last 23 games is, I think, more of the team we believe in than the previous time,” he said. “… When healthy, this team is pretty good.”

Here’s more on the Wizards:

Having not taken on any multiyear salary at the deadline, the Wizards believe they’re in good position to re-sign forward Kyle Kuzma in free agency this summer, Hughes writes in another NBC Sports Washington story. Kuzma was viewed earlier in the season as a possible trade candidate, but the Wizards appear prepared to offer him a long-term deal later this year. “He’s obviously still a Wizard. I’m not kidding when I say this, we try to be very informed before we do any decision,” Sheppard said. “… I felt very confident that if we needed to move him because he expressed it or we needed to move it because we didn’t believe him (about his interest in re-signing), we would have done something. We believe in him and I think he believes in us.”
Josh Robbins of The Athletic considers what the Wizards’ quiet trade deadline means for the team going forward, noting that the front office will have to decide at season’s end whether a roster led by a “big three” of Bradley Beal, Kristaps Porzingis, and Kuzma is capable of contending, since Porzingis and Kuzma will likely be up for new deals. Both have player options for 2023/24, but Kuzma will almost definitely opt out and Porzingis is a strong candidate to do so as well.
Quenton Jackson‘s new two-way contract with Washington covers two seasons, running through 2023/24, Hoops Rumors has learned. That doesn’t necessarily mean Jackson will remain in that two-way slot for all of next season, but the Wizards will have the opportunity to retain him in that spot until the 2024 offseason, if they so choose.
In case you missed it, the Wizards and swingman Will Barton are working on a buyout. As Ava Wallace of The Washington Post tweets, if the team does buy out Barton, it would likely promote Jordan Goodwin from his two-way deal to fill the open roster spot.

Injury Notes: O. Robinson, Williamson, Bagley, Beal

February 8th, 2023 at 10:02am CST by Luke Adams

Heat backup center Orlando Robinson has only missed two games since fracturing his right thumb on January 31 in Cleveland, but the rookie big man is ready to return. Robinson said that he plans to suit up on Wednesday after receiving positive news from a doctor and testing out the thumb in practice, tweets Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald.

The Heat have listed Robinson as probable on their injury report for Wednesday, so it sounds like the team is comfortable having him play. Udonis Haslem and Dewayne Dedmon each spent one game as Miami’s backup center in Robinson’s absence, but Dedmon has since been traded and Haslem will almost certainly remain out of the rotation as long as Robinson’s good to go.

The injury news isn’t all positive for the Heat, however. Victor Oladipo (right ankle sprain) has been ruled out for a third consecutive game, and – as we relayed on Tuesday – Kyle Lowry will miss at least the next three contests due to knee soreness.

Here are a few more injury updates from around the NBA:

Pelicans head coach Willie Green said on Tuesday that he doesn’t think the team will have its opening night starting five available before the All-Star break, per Will Guillory of The Athletic (Twitter link). Currently, four of New Orleans’ five opening night starters are healthy, so Green’s update suggests Zion Williamson (right hamstring strain) won’t be back before All-Star weekend.
Pistons big man Marvin Bagley III has progressed to individual work as he makes his way back from surgery on his right hand, tweets James L. Edwards III of The Athletic. The team announced on January 5 that Bagley would be reevaluated in six weeks, so we can probably expect a more concrete update on his progress sometime late next week.
After missing the team’s last two games, Wizards star Bradley Beal (left foot soreness) practiced on Tuesday and has been upgraded to questionable for Wednesday’s contest vs. Charlotte, tweets Ava Wallace of The Washington Post. Wizards forward Kyle Kuzma (left ankle sprain), also listed as questionable, didn’t take part in Tuesday’s practice.

Wizards Notes: Avdija, Porzingis, Kuzma, Dinwiddie

January 25th, 2023 at 5:12pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Wizards‘ decision to trade Rui Hachimura this week was partly motivated by a desire to create a larger role for Deni Avdija, writes Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington. Avdija was a lottery pick in 2020, and Hughes notes that his importance to the team is greater than ever now that Hachimura is gone.

“When we really looked at what we needed was to get Deni more responsibility, more opportunity to play,” general manager Tommy Sheppard explained in an interview with NBC (Twitter link).

Avdija has started 30 of the 45 games he has played this season, but his numbers aren’t spectacular at 8.1 points, 6.0 rebounds and 2.6 assists per night. Hughes suggests that Avdija may handle the ball more often with Hachimura gone, and he might see more time at power forward than small forward, which could be beneficial given his 27.5% shooting percentage from three-point range. Hughes notes that Avdija attempted just one three-pointer in Tuesday’s win at Dallas, but attacked the basket more frequently and shot a career-high 11 free throws.

There’s more on the Wizards:

The ankle injury that has Kristaps Porzingis out of action for at least the next two weeks comes at a crucial point of the season for the Wizards, Hughes states in a separate story. Porzingis is unlikely to play again before the February 9 trade deadline, and the team is running out of time to determine whether the current roster is good enough to earn a spot in the play-in tournament.
With free agency and the trade deadline both looming, Kyle Kuzma‘s future in Washington is uncertain, but he says in an interview with Josh Robbins of The Athletic that he’d gladly re-sign with the team this summer if he gets the right offer. “They showed me love,” Kuzma said of the Wizards. “They have allowed me to have a platform to show my game and show the league I’m not just a role player. I’m someone that’s arriving right now. That’s the biggest thing for me.”
Mavericks guard Spencer Dinwiddie, who was notably unhappy with the locker room chemistry during his time with the Wizards, took a shot at his former team after Wednesday’s game. “For them, it’s a showcase,” Dinwiddie told Callie Caplan of The Dallas Morning News (Twitter link). “They’re over there trying to get paid, not trying to play winning basketball. For a team that has real aspirations and has an MVP, went to the conference finals last year, we have to be better to a man.” Kuzma took to social media to answer Dinwiddie’s claim after the Wizards narrowly beat the Mavs, tweeting, “The funny thing is they don’t play winning basketball.”