A number of players who have been traded at the trade deadline or during the NBA season spoke to Alex Kennedy of HoopsHype about the experience, with Cavaliers wing Iman Shumpert providing some of the more interesting quotes. As Shumpert explains, he was injured when he was sent to Cleveland by the Knicks, and had mixed feelings about the move.
“I just remember the feeling [sucked],” Shumpert said. “It was like, ‘Ah, I’m hurt, we’ve lost a bunch of games in a row and then I’m traded.’ Then, shortly after we walk in and we get to playing with the Cavs, we go on a long winning streak. I kept thinking back to my old teammates like, ‘Damn, I was hurt and we were losing. Now I come here and I’m playing well and the energy is great.’ I just felt like they kind of grabbed me out of hell. And every game was being showcased on TV and we’re winning. It was just crazy. I was happy, but I felt bad too.”
Here are a few more odds and ends from across the league:
- As first reported by Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical (via Twitter), former NBA star Julius Erving has committed to coaching a team in the BIG3 this summer, the league confirmed in a press release. Erving will join Gary Payton, George Gervin, Clyde Drexler, and others as BIG3 coaches. Check out our comprehensive players/coaches list for the full breakdown.
- Former NBA wing P.J. Hairston, who was in camp with the Rockets last fall, has been suspended for five NBADL games for violating the D-League’s anti-drug policy, according to a press release. Hairston is currently playing for the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, Houston’s affiliate.
- In other D-League news, former NBA power forward Cory Jefferson has left the Austin Spurs to play in the Philippines, tweets Chris Reichert of The Step Back. International basketball journalist David Pick adds (via Twitter) that Jefferson, who is signing with the Alaska Aces, has multiple Euroleague offers for the 2017/18 season.
- Keith Smith of RealGM takes an early look at the market for rookie-scale extensions this coming offseason, making his predictions on which players will get new deals before they reach restricted free agency. As I outlined last week, a few of this year’s key rookie-scale extension negotiations will be complicated by major injuries.
Dr.J!