Kyrie Irving Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Injury Updates: Curry, Martin, Kyrie, Celtics, Harris, Lyles, Hornets

November 15th, 2023 at 4:46pm CST by Luke Adams

The Warriors will be without Stephen Curry (knee) for at least one more game. The team announced in a press release (via Twitter) that Curry won’t play on Thursday vs. Oklahoma City.

However, the Warriors’ official statement confirmed that an MRI on Curry’s sore right knee showed no structural damage, which is what head coach Steve Kerr told reporters on Tuesday. The plan is for the 35-year-old to be reevaluated later in the week, according to the club.

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

After missing the last 10 games due to left knee tendinosis, Heat forward Caleb Martin has been listed as available for Thursday’s game vs. Brooklyn, per Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. Martin hasn’t played since Miami’s regular season opener, but will rejoin a team riding a six-game winning streak.
Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving, who was originally listed as questionable, will miss Wednesday’s game in Washington due to a sprained left foot, head coach Jason Kidd told reporters, including Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News (Twitter links). “Left foot is bothering him, sore,” Kidd said. “We’re just not taking any chances.”
The Celtics will be without a pair of key starters for their Wednesday showdown with Philadelphia. The team has ruled out Jaylen Brown (illness) and Kristaps Porzingis (right knee contusion), tweets Malika Andrews of ESPN.
Magic wing Gary Harris, who has missed the last five games due to a right groin strain, is listed as available for Wednesday’s game vs. Chicago, notes Dan Savage of OrlandoMagic.com (Twitter link). Harris averaged 18.6 minutes per game in Orlando’s first four contests this season before getting hurt in the fifth.
Kings forward Trey Lyles has been cleared to resume basketball activities, sources tell Sean Cunningham of Fox 40 Sacramento (Twitter link). Lyles hasn’t played yet this season due to a left calf strain and will require a reconditioning period before being activated.
Hornets forwards Gordon Hayward (hamstring) and Brandon Miller (ankle) both missed Tuesday’s game, but head coach Steve Clifford doesn’t sound concerned about either injury, writes Rod Boone of The Charlotte Observer. Clifford said the team was being cautious with both players – especially Hayward, whose hamstring could turn into a “four-to-six” week injury by not playing it safe – and that he’s hopeful both will be back in action on Friday.

Southwest Notes: Irving, Mavs, Adams, Murphy

November 9th, 2023 at 11:06pm CST by Rory Maher

Kyrie Irving is known for being mercurial, but he seems pleased with his new role on the Mavericks, writes Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News (subscriber link). It’s a small sample size (six games), but Irving has been acting as more of a facilitator and secondary play-maker alongside Luka Doncic, with the 31-year-old averaging a career-high 7.3 assists and 18.2 shots per game, his fewest attempts since 2017/18.

“I feel like that’s kind of a cop-out,” Irving said of emphasizing individual statistics. “The focus is really on our team wins, our team camaraderie — and how do I make sure I get the best out of my teammates every single night, despite what I’m doing out there scoring-wise.”

Here’s more from the Southwest:

The Mavericks are off to a strong start, currently sitting at 6-2. However, one of their weaknesses was exposed in Wednesday’s loss to Toronto with rookie center Dereck Lively sidelined due to an illness, according to Townsend (subscriber-only). Dallas was obliterated down low, outscored by 32 in the paint and outrebounded by 12. “We were soft in the interior, in the paint,” Irving said. “When you have your head coach (Jason Kidd) calling you soft, you’ve got to take that personally and take that as a challenge.” As impressive as Lively has been at times, it’s unreasonable to expect a 19-year-old with limited experience to be the primary anchor of a top-end defense, and the Mavs will need to figure out how to control the paint when he’s unavailable, Townsend writes.
Steven Adams underwent successful surgery on Thursday to repair his right posterior ligament and is expected to make a full recovery prior to next season, the Grizzlies announced (via Twitter). The team’s starting center will unfortunately miss the entire 2023/24 season.
Will Guillory of The Athletic (Twitter link) provides an injury update on Pelicans wing Trey Murphy, who is recovering from meniscus surgery on his left knee. According to Guillory, Murphy has been running prior to games, playing 1-on-1 against assistant coaches and is making good progress, but he’s still “at least a few weeks away” from returning to action.

Injury Notes: Kyrie, Thunder, Mann, Lyles

November 3rd, 2023 at 3:00pm CST by Luke Adams

After missing the last two games due to a sprained left foot, Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving has been upgraded to available for Friday’s game vs. the Nuggets, as first reported by Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

The Mavericks are the only undefeated team left in the Western Conference, but will face a tough matchup in their first in-season tournament game tonight as they visit the defending champions in the altitude of Denver, so they’ll be happy to have Irving back in their lineup.

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

There’s good and bad news on the injury front for the Thunder. Center Jaylin Williams will be available for the first time this season on Friday after having been sidelined with a right hamstring strain. However, star guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is among the team’s unavailable players vs. Golden State due to a left knee sprain (Twitter links via Rylan Stiles of Locked on Thunder).
Clippers guard/forward Terance Mann, who has yet to play this season due to what the team is calling a sprained left ankle, said in a YouTube video that he “overstretched” a muscle or “maybe tore it a little” (hat tip to Andrew Greif of The Los Angeles Times). Mann added that there’s no timeline for his return and he’s still focused on trying to reduce the swelling in the ankle.
The Kings have ruled out forward Trey Lyles for at least two more games, the team announced today (Twitter link via Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee). Lyles, hampered by a left calf strain, has yet to suit up for Sacramento this season.

Injury Notes: Zion, Ingram, Kyrie, Kleber, Nets

November 2nd, 2023 at 4:24pm CST by Rory Maher

While he technically isn’t injured, Pelicans forward Zion Williamson will miss Thursday’s game against Detroit — which is the second game of a back-to-back — due to rest, per Jim Eichenhofer of Pelicans.com.

Williamson, who missed the entire 2021/22 season with a foot injury and was limited to 29 games last season due to hamstring issues, is averaging 21.5 points, 6.8 rebounds and 4.0 assists through four games (30.8 minutes) for the 3-1 Pelicans.

New Orleans’ other star forward, Brandon Ingram, is also on the injury report, having been listed as questionable with right knee tendinitis. Head coach Willie Green said Ingram underwent an MRI a few days ago, but there was no structural damage in his knee, according to Christian Clark of NOLA.com. The 26-year-old has missed the past two games and is considered day-to-day.

Here are a few more injury notes:

Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving, who has missed the past two games with a left foot sprain, is questionable for Friday’s matchup against Denver, tweets Vinny Benedetto of The Denver Gazette. Big man Maxi Kleber (right small toe dislocation) is also questionable. In an interview with Grant Afseth of DallasBasketball.com, Irving recently discussed a number of topics, including his injury, the team’s 4-0 start, and more.
Nets center Nic Claxton has been ruled out of Friday’s matchup with Chicago as he continues to deal with a left ankle sprain, as Brian Lewis of The New York Post relays (via Twitter). On a more positive note, guards Spencer Dinwiddie (left ankle sprain) and Dennis Smith Jr. (left hip contusion) are listed as questionable — both players were sidelined for Wednesday’s victory in Miami.
Nets first-round pick Dariq Whitehead has progressed to 5-on-5 work with the team’s G League affiliate in Long Island, a person familiar with the matter tells Net Income of NetsDaily. Whitehead is recovering from offseason foot surgery and was playing 2-on-2 with teammates and coaches early last week.

Kyrie Irving: Trade Request Out Of Brooklyn Was “Best Decision Of My Career”

October 27th, 2023 at 10:03am CST by Luke Adams

Ahead of Friday’s game vs. Brooklyn, his first as a member of the Mavericks, Kyrie Irving said that asking the Nets to trade him last season was “the best decision of my career,” according to Brian Lewis and Dan Martin of The New York Post.

“I was never on bad terms with the organization,” Irving told reporters on Thursday. “I just think there was a lot of chaos and noise, as usual, from the media. I’m not going to blame you guys or anything, but nobody really knew what was going on behind the scenes. I’m sure that people have their sources they go to [about] what was going on and what really happened.

“… But for me, it was the best decision of my career to ask for a trade. I knew I needed peace of mind.”

Irving, who joined the Nets along with Kevin Durant as a free agent in 2019, had a tumultuous stint with the franchise. He missed 142 of Brooklyn’s 298 total regular season and playoff games during his tenure with the team due to injuries, personal reasons, a refusal to adhere to New York City’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate, and a suspension related to promoting an antisemitic film.

“It was rough all the way around,” Irving said. “After COVID and after the situations that took place there, there were circumstances that were either in my control or out of my control. And I didn’t want to play the blame game.”

Irving’s inconsistent availability due to his refusal to get vaccinated was reportedly one factor that caused James Harden to sour on playing for the Nets. After Harden requested and received a trade out of Brooklyn in 2022, Durant and Irving eventually followed suit and were both moved a year later, at the 2023 trade deadline.

Irving’s first couple months as a Maverick didn’t go according to plan, as Dallas went just 9-18 following his arrival, including 7-13 in games he played. However, the Mavs reaffirmed their belief in the backcourt duo of Irving and Luka Doncic by re-signing Kyrie to a three-year contract worth at least $120MM in July. The former Nets guard sounds happy to be in Dallas.

“Brooklyn should have just released me, and it would’ve made things a lot easier on everybody,” Irving said with a laugh when a reporter pointed out how much differently Texas handled COVID-19 than New York did. “But, [that’s] 20/20 hindsight.”

Luka Doncic Out For Preseason Finale With Mild Calf Strain

October 16th, 2023 at 2:00pm CST by Rory Maher

Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd told reporters on Monday, including Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News, that star guard Luka Doncic underwent an MRI last week that revealed a mild left calf strain.

Doncic will miss the Mavs’ preseason finale on Friday and “will be reevaluated later this week,” Kidd said. Veteran NBA reporter Marc Stein hears the Mavs are “optimistic” that the four-time All-Star will be available for the team’s regular season opener on October 25 at San Antonio (Twitter link).

Kidd also gave an update on Doncic’s star backcourt mate, Kyrie Irving, who has been dealing with left groin soreness that caused him to miss two of the team’s three preseason games overseas. Irving was a full practice participant on Monday and “we’ll see how he feels tomorrow and we’ll go from there,” Kidd said (Twitter video link via Townsend).

Doncic sustained the mild calf strain while practicing early last week in Spain, which is why he only played five minutes against his former European club, Real Madrid. He downplayed the severity of the injury after the Mavs lost the game, but has been limited to riding a stationary bike and spot shooting of late, Kidd added.

It’s an unfortunate set of circumstances for Dallas, as the team reshaped its roster this offseason around Doncic and Irving, but the Mavs have barely been able to see how the new pieces fit together. After they traded for Irving in February, both he and Doncic dealt with injuries down the stretch — they only played 16 games together, going 5-11 in those contests.

Doncic made his fourth consecutive All-NBA First Team appearance in 2022/23, once again putting up incredible numbers, but he played through a nagging left thigh injury at the end of the season that lingered into the summer and impacted him during the World Cup. It’s unclear if the two injuries are connected, though it’s noteworthy that they’ve both affected his left leg.

As Townsend writes, this at least the second left calf strain of Doncic’s career — the 24-year-old missed three games in the Mavs’ first-round playoff series against Utah in ’21/22 after sustaining the injury in the regular season finale. Dallas won the series and reached the Western Conference Finals that season, ultimately losing to the Warriors, who won the championship.

Southwest Notes: Sochan, Kyrie, Lively, Chandler, Rockets

October 13th, 2023 at 2:04pm CST by Luke Adams

No Spurs frontcourt player has appeared in all 82 games in a season since DeJuan Blair did it in 2009/10, according to Tom Orsborn of The San Antonio Express-News (subscription required). Second-year forward Jeremy Sochan, who welcomed the NBA’s declaration that its data doesn’t support load management, is hoping to end that streak.

“I think it should be a culture of playing every game that you can, and if your body is not 100%, then I understand,” Sochan said, per Orsborn. “But if you are fit and healthy, I don’t see why not playing 82 games or as many games as you can play.”

Appearing in all 82 games in 2023/24 would represent a major step forward for Sochan, who was limited to 56 contests as rookie due in large part to quad and knee issues.

Here are a few more notes from around the Southwest:

While his Mavericks backcourt mate Luka Doncic placed fourth overall in ESPN’s annual rankings of the NBA’s top players, Kyrie Irving isn’t putting much stock in the decisions made by ESPN’s panel, which ranked him 34th. “Rankings don’t mean a damn thing in the league, especially not from ESPN or any of these other media platforms,” Irving wrote in an Instagram comment (hat tip to The Dallas Morning News). “Majority of the analysts are not credible sources in my eyes and I don’t respect them or their opinions.”
Former Mavericks big man Tyson Chandler is working with rookie Dereck Lively II, referring to the young center as a “little brother,” according to Brad Towsend of The Dallas Morning News. Lively is welcoming the mentorship of Chandler, who is back for a third year as a part-time assistant in Dallas. “At first I wasn’t really familiar with Tyson’s game, until I started to do my homework,” Lively said. “Then I realized, ‘Wow, we really do play the same.’ We have the same demeanor. He’s 40-something and he has the same energy as me. We kind of reflect off of one another, you know?”
While the Rockets are hoping that veteran additions like Fred VanVleet and Dillon Brooks help the team take a step forward this season, they’re also counting on reaping the benefits of “trading” the rookie versions of Jabari Smith Jr. and Tari Eason for more seasoned second-year versions of those players, says Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle (subscription required). “They had an opportunity last year to play through mistakes and I think they’re obviously going to take a natural step,” head coach Ime Udoka said of the duo. “They’ve shown that.”

Mavs Notes: Doncic, Preseason, Holmes, Powell, THJ

October 11th, 2023 at 11:16am CST by Luke Adams

Ahead of the Mavericks‘ exhibition game against Real Madrid on Tuesday, the team told Bally Sports Southwest that Luka Doncic would be limited to about five minutes of playing time due to a left calf strain. According to Marc Stein (Twitter link), Doncic “desperately” wanted to play more than that against his old team in Spain, but the Mavs opted to be “ultra-cautious” with its franchise player.

After the game, Dallas’ third consecutive preseason loss, Doncic told reporters that the injury is “nothing serious.” Still, as Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News writes, the Mavs are returning home from their three-game trip to Abu Dhabi and Spain with more questions than answers — due to Doncic’s calf injury and a groin strain for Kyrie Irving, the team hasn’t gotten to see its star backcourt play together much and hasn’t been able to assess how its new role players fit alongside Luka and Kyrie.

The Mavericks have more than a week off before they play their final preseason game on October 20, so the hope is that they’ll have a healthier roster by that point and will be able to get a longer look at their lineup before the regular season tips off.

Here’s more on the Mavs:

Because the Mavericks were permitted to start training camp three days early due to their international trip, they’ll be required to have three non-practice days upon returning to Dallas on Thursday, Dwain Price writes at Mavs.com. While players can complete individual workouts, the team won’t have a full practice again until Monday.
Richaun Holmes ended up with the Mavericks this offseason as part of a salary-dump trade that sent a first-round pick along with him from Sacramento to Dallas. However, Holmes should get a chance to vie for rotation minutes and he’s looking forward to being part of a franchise he has long admired, according to Price. “I think this has always been a place or organization that I’ve loved since I was a basketball fan coming up,” Holmes said. “So, to actually be here and see this place and see the Dirk (Nowitzki) statue outside, it’s truly amazing.”
Long-tenured Mavericks Dwight Powell and Tim Hardaway Jr. had great success as a three-man unit with Doncic last season, according to Tim Cato of The Athletic, who notes that lineups featuring that trio outscored opponents by 11 points per 100 possessions. Still, in order for Dallas to take its next step toward legitimate contention, the team will likely need to eventually find upgrades on Powell and Hardaway, as Cato details.

Southwest Notes: Wembanyama, Holmgren, Liddell, Borrego, Irving

October 9th, 2023 at 5:20pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Spurs and Thunder will match up in Oklahoma City on Monday night. It will mark the first meeting between this year’s top pick, Victor Wembanyama, and 2022’s No. 2 pick Chet Holmgren, Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express News notes. It could be the beginning of a rivalry between two highly-touted bigs.

Both players are looking forward to getting it started.

“There’s an eagerness and an excitement for sure,” Holmgren said.

“Chet Holmgren, he’s a really good player,” Wembanyama said. “He is part of the great players of this generation, I would say.”

We have more from the Southwest Division:

E.J. Liddell had his rookie season delayed by a devastating right knee injury in July 2022. The Pelicans forward, who was on a two-way deal last season, received a three-year contract after a strong Summer League showing this July. He’s eager to show what he can do in regular season action. “I’m like a freshman again,” Liddell told Christian Clark of the New Orleans Times Picayune. “It’s my rookie year. Having fun right now. Wherever that leads me, it leads me.”
Former Hornets coach James Borrego is in charge of the Pelicans‘ offense this season. Head coach Willie Green, one of Borrego’s former players in Orlando, anticipates Borrego’s schemes will upgrade the attack, Clark writes in a separate story. “I don’t think it’s going to be a big overhaul,” Green said. “It’s just a matter of tweaks and adjustments that we feel can make us a better team. We want to play fast offensively. It’s no secret. I said it last year. We want to put teams on their heels. We want to get out and run.”
Kyrie Irving is dealing with left groin soreness and he’ll sit out the Mavericks’ exhibition game against Real Madrid in Spain on Tuesday, Marc Stein of The Stein Line tweets.

Mavericks Notes: Green, Doncic, Kidd, Kyrie, Curry

September 29th, 2023 at 10:54pm CST by Rory Maher

Fourth-year wing Josh Green is entering the final year of his rookie contract with the Mavericks. The former first-round pick is eligible for a rookie scale extension until October 23, which is the day before the regular season begins.

Marc Stein reported last month that the Mavericks had opened extension talks with Green, but an agreement has yet to be reached.

Speaking to the media on Friday, Green said he hopes to reach a long-term deal, as Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News relays.

“At the end of the day, I know I want to be here,” Green said. “I’m going to work as if I’m going to be here for a long time. I want to be able to win in Dallas; I want to be in Dallas.

“Whatever their decision is their decision, but at the end of the day I’ve got the same goal every single day and that’s to be the best teammate and the best player I can be for the team.”

If Green doesn’t sign an extension, he’ll be eligible for restricted free agency next summer.

Here’s more on the Mavs:

Star Luka Doncic said he’s still not exactly sure what’s wrong with his nagging thigh injury, which bothered him last season and lingered into this summer’s World Cup. “It’s better, but we still have some appointments,” Doncic said, per Townsend of The Dallas Morning News. “So when we get the clear ‘What is it?,’ we’ll let you guys know.” When asked if he would be a full participant in training camp, which started Wednesday because the team is traveling overseas, Doncic said he might speak to the trainer about skipping “some stuff” due to two-a-days. However, according to Townsend, head coach Jason Kidd expected Doncic to be present for everything, despite being less than 100%. “And so the topic of getting him stronger, and getting him close to 100% before the first game is the goal,” Kidd said. “And so to answer the second part, yes, he will participate in two-a-days.”
Doncic also said he’s looking forward to building more chemistry with Kyrie Irving, who re-signed with Dallas this offseason after being acquired at the February trade deadline, writes Tim MacMahon of ESPN. “I mean better for sure,” Doncic said. “He came in the middle of the season last year, and we didn’t have much time. We went straight to playing games. It takes time to do chemistry, especially on the court, so we didn’t have the whole training camp and then I mean the preseason too. So I think it’s going to be way better.”
Speaking of Irving, he discussed why he decided to return to the Mavs in free agency, MacMahon writes in another article for ESPN. “It wasn’t too difficult of a process,” said Irving, who signed a three-year, $120MM+ deal. “Had Dallas as No. 1 on my list. Obviously I looked elsewhere — salary cap opportunities, where I could fit in with other guys around the league — but there just wasn’t much space. And me being 31 now, I had to have a different vantage point, and I felt like I could not just settle here but be happy to come back here and be welcomed back with a warm embrace.”
Veteran sharpshooter Seth Curry, who signed a two-year, $8MM deal with the Mavs in free agency, is also happy to be back in Dallas, per Eddie Sefko of Mavs.com. This is Curry’s third stint with the team. “A lot of potential, a lot of talent – top to bottom, a lot of guys that can play,” he said. “It’s about putting it together. Offensively, we should have one of the best rosters in the league. It’s about getting timely stops on defense.”