Kyrie Irving Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Injury Notes: Mavs, Rockets, Wemby, Kawhi, Huerter

December 29th, 2023 at 10:31pm CST by Rory Maher

It’s been three weeks since Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving sustained a heel contusion that has sidelined him ever since, writes Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News. Irving has missed the past 12 games, and he’s doubtful for Saturday’s contest against Golden State.

Doubtful typically means the player won’t suit up, but in Irving’s case, it’s actually an upgrade — he’s been listed as out every previous game since November 8, when the injury occurred. Fellow star guard Luka Doncic, who missed Thursday’s game against the Wolves with left quad soreness, is questionable, Townsend adds.

The Mavs got off to a strong start to the season and are still 18-14, but they’re just 2-5 over their past seven games, Townsend notes, and getting whole again would be a welcome sight for the team, especially with Doncic carrying such a heavy workload this month.

“We still have some injuries, so we’ve got to keep it together,” Doncic said. “Everybody’s got to stay together and keep the next-man-up mentality.”

Here are some more injury notes from around the NBA:

The Rockets were down two starters — Dillon Brooks (oblique) and Jabari Smith (left ankle sprain) — on Friday against Philadelphia, and head coach Ime Udoka was vague in describing a possible return timeline for the two forwards, per Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle. “Not exact dates, but hopefully it is a shorter-term thing, two or three games possibly,” Udoka said. “Don’t want to give exact. About a week or so.” However, Udoka added that oblique injuries “can be tricky” to recover from, so Brooks’ timeline is particularly hazy.
Spurs big man Victor Wembanyama, the No. 1 overall pick of this year’s draft, will be on a minutes restriction for a couple weeks until he undergoes another MRI, head coach Gregg Popovich told reporters, including Andrew Lopez of ESPN. Wembanyama suffered a right ankle sprain when he stepped on a ball boy’s foot during warmups last Saturday against Dallas.
Head coach Tyronn Lue previously stated that Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard practiced for “a little bit” on Thursday, but he clarified on Friday that Leonard had a post-practice workout and hasn’t been cleared to resume practicing, according to Andrew Greif of The Los Angeles Times (Twitter links). Lue added that Leonard aggravated an old hip contusion that he sustained earlier this month and had played through. He missed his fourth straight game on Friday.
Kings sharpshooter Kevin Huerter suffered a left hand injury in the first half of Friday’s game vs. Atlanta and was later ruled out, tweets James Ham of TheKingsBeat.com. It’s unclear if the injury is related to the left finger sprain that caused Huerter to miss his lone game of the 2023/24 season back in November.

Southwest Notes: Brooks, Lively, Irving, Rice

December 17th, 2023 at 7:17pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Dillon Brooks was determined to beat his former team. The Rockets wing got his wish as they downed the Grizzlies on Friday night, 103-96, with Brooks scoring 26 points in 40 minutes.

“He had 24 of his 26 after the half. He stepped it up offensively,” Rockets head cach Ime Udoka told Kelly Iko of The Athletic and other media members. “He hit a big shot late, but his aggressiveness and scoring was needed in the second half. It felt like the group galvanized around him.”

Brooks’ career with Memphis ended on a sour note, but Houston wanted his edgy attitude and defensive prowess enough to sign him to a four-year, $86MM contract in free agency.

“It’s a lot of emotion. A lot of things I’ve been holding in and just wanted to release for this time,” he said. “It just felt good with my people in the arena, watching me play. It just felt good.”

We have more from the Southwest Division:

Mavericks rookie center Dereck Lively sprained his left ankle against Portland on Saturday night. He’s in a walking boot and won’t play against Denver on Monday, according to Brad Townsend of the Dallas Morning News (Twitter links). Lively has started in 22 of 23 games.
Mavericks star guard Kyrie Irving will also miss Monday’s contest, Townsend adds in another tweet. He’s been out since Dec. 8 due to a right heel contusion.
The Spurs’ NBA G League team in Austin has acquired the rights to undrafted rookie guard Sir’Jabari Rice, Tom Orsborn of the San Antonio Express-News tweets. He was on a two-way deal until being placed on waivers Thursday to make room for guard David Duke Jr. Rice didn’t appear in an NBA game before being waived.

Mavs Notes: Exum, Supporting Cast, Luka, Kyrie

December 14th, 2023 at 12:37pm CST by Rory Maher

In his first injury-plagued NBA stint, former No. 5 overall pick Dante Exum was not known for his shooting prowess. However, the Australian guard/forward had an impressive turnaround in his percentages over the past couple seasons in Europe, and after signing with the Mavericks over the summer, Exum is starting to make teams pay for leaving him open.

Exum started the 2023/24 season slowly, as he wasn’t a regular part of Dallas’ rotation. Over his first 17 games, he was just 5-of-22 (22.7%) beyond the arc. But he’s been increasingly earning the team’s trust due to his timely cutting, connective passing and defense, which has led to a jump in playing time (injuries have also been a factor).

As Eddie Sefko of Mavs.com writes, Exum was scorching hot in Tuesday’s victory over the Lakers, finishing with season highs of 26 points and 36 minutes. He was extremely efficient, going 8-of-10 from the floor, including 7-of-9 from deep. Seven made three-pointers was a career-high for the 28-year-old.

It’s an admittedly very small sample size, but Exum is averaging 21.7 points, 4.7 rebounds, 5.3 assists and 1.0 steal on .639/.667/.750 shooting over the past three games, all victories (34.7 minutes). If he continues lighting it up, his $3MM contract for ’23/24 will look like a bargain (his $3.15MM salary for ’24/25 is non-guaranteed).

Here’s more on the Mavs:

There’s no question that Luka Doncic is the driving force behind the team’s third-ranked offense, but the supporting cast also deserves praise for the Mavs’ 15-8 start, according to Tim Cato of The Athletic, who says offseason additions Exum, Dereck Lively, Grant Williams and Derrick Jones Jr. have all provided solid contributions in ’23/24. The team’s depth is much improved from last season’s 38-win campaign, Cato writes.
Tuesday’s victory over L.A. was the second of a back-to-back for Dallas, which beat Memphis on Monday. With Kyrie Irving (foot), Josh Green (elbow) and Maxi Kleber (toe) all injured, Doncic has been tasked with an extremely heavy workload, playing 44 minutes on Monday followed by 43 on Tuesday. Following the latest win, Doncic, who was listed as questionable leading into the contest with a lower back contusion, said he was surprised he was able to suit up. “I don’t know how I played,” Doncic said, per Tim MacMahon of ESPN. “I slept very little today. Everything hurts. I’m getting old, man, but we got two back-to-back wins, which is amazing, especially against a team like the Lakers. So I’m really proud of these guys.”
Irving is wearing a protective boot and using crutches after sustaining a right heel contusion on Friday, MacMahon tweets. Head coach Jason Kidd said there’s still no firm timetable for Irving’s return.

Injury Notes: Thompson, Edwards, McDaniels, Hunter, Irving, Markkanen, Kessler, Little

December 10th, 2023 at 9:50pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Amen Thompson, the fourth pick of the draft, will return to action on Monday. He’s no longer listed on the Rockets’ injury report.

Thompson will jump right back into the rotation when his team faces San Antonio, Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle reports. He’s been out since Nov. 1 due to a right ankle sprain.

“The plan is to incorporate him back into the lineup,” head coach Ime Udoka said. “Obviously, we have guys playing well, so we have to find minutes and opportunity there, and we’ll tweak our rotation some once we get him in with certain groups.”

We have more injury-related news with 13 games on Monday’s schedule:

Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards is listed as questionable against New Orleans due to a right hip pointer. Forward Jaden McDaniels (right ankle sprain), who hasn’t played since Nov. 20, is also listed as questionable, the team’s PR department tweets.
Hawks forward De’Andre Hunter (right quad tendon soreness) is listed as questionable against Denver, Lauren Williams of the Atlanta Journal Constitution tweets. He played 37 minutes against Philadelphia on Friday.
Kyrie Irving (right heel contusion) and Josh Green (right elbow sprain) are among the Mavericks players listed as out for their game against Memphis, Damichael Cole of the Memphis Commercial Appeal tweets.
The Jazz will be missing two key frontcourt players when they face Oklahoma City. Forward Lauri Markkanen (left hamstring strain) and center Walker Kessler (right foot soreness) won’t play, Joel Lorenzi of The Oklahoman tweets.
The Suns’ Nassir Little has an orbital fracture and is in the NBA’s concussion protocol, Gerald Bourguet of PHNX Sports tweets. Phoenix hosts Golden State on Tuesday.

Kyrie Irving Escapes Serious Injury

December 9th, 2023 at 5:15pm CST by Arthur Hill

5:15 pm: The Mavericks confirmed (via Twitter) that Irving has a right heel contusion and has returned to Dallas for treatment. No timetable has been set for him to resume playing.

5:04 pm: Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving suffered a heel contusion in Friday’s night game at Portland, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic. He’s beginning treatment for the injury, and there’s no word on how long he might be sidelined.

According to an ESPN report, Irving was injured on a drive to the basket late in the first half. He fell to the floor after contact, and teammate Dwight Powell landed on him while chasing a loose ball.

Irving stayed on the court for several minutes, but was able to shoot two free throws before leaving the game. The team later announced that he wouldn’t return.

Mavericks officials are relieved that an MRI taken today showed that Irving’s injury is “just a bruise,” according to Tim MacMahon of ESPN (Twitter link). He adds that Irving has been dealing with soreness in his foot since the start of the season.

Irving didn’t travel with the team for Monday’s game at Memphis, a source tells Marc Stein (Twitter link). The team hasn’t made an official announcement about Irving’s status, but he’s expected to miss at least that game.

Irving has been an important component to the early-season success for Dallas, which is third in the West at 13-8. Through 17 games, he is averaging 23.0 points, 3.9 rebounds and 5.2 assists while shooting 47.1% from the field and 38.4% from three-point range.

Southwest Notes: Irving, Lofton Jr., Murphy, Eason

December 9th, 2023 at 9:52am CST by Dana Gauruder

Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving suffered a right foot injury on Friday when teammate Dwight Powell landed on him. Coach Jason Kidd said he’ll know more on Saturday about the extent of the injury, according to ESPN.

Dante Exum picked up the slack with 23 points, seven assists and six rebounds in a victory over Portland.

“One of the biggest things with our team is our next man up mentality,” Exum told Eddie Sefko of Mavs.com. “You see that right now with me as an example. We have (a lot of players) down. And the guys have been able to step up. Hopefully, he (Irving) is not out for too long, but we have a deep roster that’s willing and ready to step up.”

We have more from the Southwest Division:

Kenneth Lofton Jr. has shed 20 pounds in the past three weeks, he told Damichael Cole of the Memphis Commercial Appeal. Lofton has played sparingly for the Grizzlies this season despite frontcourt injuries. He’s hoping his improved conditioning will lead to a bigger role. “My mental has been good,” he said. “I’m just pretty much waiting on my time, working off the court and getting better at my strengths. Really just focusing on myself.” He needs to show more, as his $2.02MM salary for next season is not guaranteed.
When the Pelicans executed a trade three days before the 2021 draft, Trey Murphy knew the organization was interested in selecting him. In a multi-player trade, New Orleans gave up the 10th pick and received the 17th pick. However, Murphy wasn’t sure if he’d go a little higher. “I knew for sure once they moved back from 10 to 17, they are making a move with the intent of drafting me at 17,” Murphy told Christian Clark of the New Orleans Times-Picayune. “I knew my draft range was around 14 to 17. That was my range. I was either going to go 14 to the Warriors or go 16 to Oklahoma City at the time. It ended up changing to Houston (in a draft-night trade). One of those three teams.”
Second-year forward Tari Eason has endeared himself to Rockets coach Ime Udoka due to his versatility, according to Kelly Iko of The Athletic. “Metric-wise or analytic-wise, he’s off the charts for all of those reasons. He defends, can shoot the ball and do some different things with his offensive rebounding, loose balls. Where other guys might touch their hands and lose it, he gets every one of those,” Udoka said. “Just makes the right plays over and over. We’re happy that his minutes are starting to go up. We can play him a little bit more here and there and we understand how impactful he is for us.”

Nets Notes: Claxton, Finney-Smith, Thomas, Whitehead, Irving

November 27th, 2023 at 8:57am CST by Arthur Hill

After missing eight games earlier this season with a high left ankle sprain, Nets center Nic Claxton twisted the ankle again Saturday night, writes Brian Lewis of The New York Post. The injury happened late in the first quarter against Miami, and Claxton was able to walk to the locker room without assistance. He returned before the first half ended, but was held out of Sunday’s game.

Claxton was originally listed as probable for Sunday, but was downgraded to questionable before being ruled out less than an hour before tip-off. As he did during Claxton’s prolonged absence, coach Jacque Vaughn opted for a small-ball lineup with Dorian Finney-Smith getting the start in the middle. The 6’7″ forward has become a valuable long-distance threat for Brooklyn, ranking fourth in shooting percentage among players with at least 90 three-point attempts, and Vaughn is urging Finney-Smith to keep seeking his shots no matter what position he’s playing.

“He’s going to get opportunities, and hopefully we unleashed that mentally when I said to him ‘Shoot eight threes, bro. Go ahead, shoot them. We want you to shoot them, we believe in you. You’ve done it in the past,’” Vaughn said. “The last three, five years he was 40-something percent on corner 3s. … So he has the résumé behind it and we want to encourage him to keep shooting.”

There’s more from Brooklyn:

The Nets are hoping to get some practice time for Cam Thomas, who missed his eighth straight game Sunday with a sprained ankle, Lewis adds, but a crowded schedule is preventing the team from having any official practice days. Vaughn indicated that he might have to get creative with Thomas, who would rank ninth in the league scoring race at 26.9 PPG if he had played enough to qualify. “Yeah, you didn’t participate in shootaround or whatever we had this walk-through [Sunday, Monday’s] an off day, so that kind of puts him in a tough position for us to schedule an actual practice for him,” Vaughn said. “So hopefully we’ll get to a point where we can simulate some things with some video guys and also with some G-League guys maybe in this week coming up.”
First-round picks Dariq Whitehead and Noah Clowney were thrilled to make their NBA debuts late in Saturday’s game, Lewis states in a separate story. “I feel like a healthy Dariq Whitehead can be very special,” said Whitehead, who missed Summer League and training camp after foot surgery. “So just knowing that if I get my feet under me, get everything right in terms of the other problems that come with it — shin splints, and stuff like that — then I think I’ll be 100% fine, ready to go. I’ve definitely been feeling great.”
After Kevin Durant talked about his Nets experience over the weekend, Kyrie Irving offered his perspective on what went wrong in Brooklyn. In a video posted by Clippers beat writer Tomer Azarly, Irving said, “It’s kind of like the girl that got away. … Looking back, you got a great bad wife, kids and you’re like, ‘Tss.’ I don’t wanna second guess it, I don’t wanna get in trouble with my wife. I’m not thinking about nobody else, baby.”

Texas Notes: Holmes, Mavs, Rockets, Sochan

November 26th, 2023 at 6:40pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Mavericks reserve center Richaun Holmes, playing over Dwight Powell with rookie starter Dereck Lively II hurt, made an impact in his first real rotation minutes this year, writes Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News. Lively is dealing with a lower back contusion.

Across 23 minutes in a 104-101 win over the Lakers, Holmes notched 10 rebounds, four points and a block. The 6’10” big man had suited up for a total of 30 minutes across the last five games he had played for Dallas.

“I’m prepared to do whatever the team needs,” Holmes said. “Hopefully Dereck gets back quick. He’s young. It feels like he’s already bouncing around after a hard fall like that, like he’s feeling pretty good… So hopefully he doesn’t miss too much time, but whatever the team needs, I’ll be ready.”

Holmes, 30, currently has two years and $24.9MM remaining on his current contract. He holds a player option for next season.

There’s more out of the Lone Star State:

The Mavericks’ 107-88 blowout loss to the Clippers last night serves as further evidence that the club needs more out of its non-All-Star players, Townsend writes in another piece. Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving were the only Dallas players who connected on their field goal tries until 19 minutes into the game. John Hollinger of The Athletic tweets another damning stat about the Mavs’ supporting cast Saturday, noting that, prior to head coach Jason Kidd putting in subs with the game out of hand in the fourth quarter, only two Mavericks buckets were not scored or assisted by the club’s backcourt stars.
The 8-6 Rockets have enjoyed an ascendant start to their 2023/24 season, and it all started on the defensive side of the floor. Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle details how Houston has developed the league’s top-ranked defense so far this year. A big hallmark of the Rockets’ approach is avoiding help defense except in the case of major mismatches, and being open to switching everywhere.
Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich has seen strides in Jeremy Sochan‘s development as a play-maker after shifting him to a full-time point guard role this season, writes Tom Orsborn of The San Antonio Express-News. “He’s got to embrace it, and I think he was a little nervous about it … because it was so new to him,” Popovich said. “And I don’t think he understood, or maybe I didn’t do a good enough job of relaying to him, all the responsibilities therein.” As a rookie out of Baylor in 2022/23, the 6’9″ Sochan had served as San Antonio’s starting power forward.

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.