Pacers President of Basketball Operations Larry Bird issued a statement via press release regarding the injury to Paul George last night. Bird said, “Our first thoughts are with Paul and his family. It is way too early to speculate on his return as the No. 1 priority for everyone will be his recovery. Our initial discussions with our doctors and the doctors in Las Vegas have us very optimistic. We are hopeful at some point next week Paul will return to Indianapolis to continue his recovery. There is no question about the impact this will have on our team but our goal is to be as strong-willed and determined as Paul will be in coming back. Our franchise has had setbacks in its history but has demonstrated the ability to recover.”
Here’s more on George and the Central Division:
- NBA Commissioner Adam Silver released a statement on George’s injury via NBA.com, Silver said, “It was difficult to watch the injury that Paul George sustained tonight while representing his country. The thoughts and prayers of all of us at the NBA are with Paul and his family.”
- With the horrific injury suffered by George there will be many who think that star players should cease their participation with Team USA, but Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News disagrees. Sefko is against legislation banning players to take part, and believes it should still be left up to each individual player to decide if they wish to play in FIBA events.
- Out of all the moves the Pistons made this off season, the one that might pay off the most is bringing in Caron Butler, writes Kirkland Crawford of the Detroit Free Press. Crawford believes that in addition to his outside shooting, Butler will bring a toughness and strong work ethic to the team.
- Derrick Rose has changed his stance on the reports regarding a potential rift between he and Bulls management, writes Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times. Rose acknowledged speaking to Chicago’s chairman Jerry Reinsdorf by phone after the story broke and also said, “He [Reinsdorf] told me don’t worry about it, just stay focused and, like I said, it’s the past. It’s funny just hearing so many stories about what’s going on, and they’re coming out of, like, kind of nowhere, so it’s funny to hear about them, but it’s nothing that’s going on.’’