Kings Forward Chimezie Metu Has Fractured Wrist
8:44pm: Metu will be re-evaluated in four weeks, according to a team press release.
5:09pm: Kings forward Chimezie Metu has a fractured wrist and will be sidelined for several weeks, Jason Anderson of the Sacramento Bee reports.
The injury occurred on what Kings coach Luke Walton deemed a “dangerous play” by Grizzlies center Jonas Valanciunas on Sunday.
Metu continued to experience soreness after going through pregame warmups for Monday’s game against the Nets. An X-ray afterward revealed a right wrist fracture.
He’ll be examined by a hand specialist to determine his recovery timeline, Anderson adds.
After Metu dunked during the fourth quarter on Sunday, he hung from the rim with Valanciunas standing beneath him. Valanciunas appeared to pull Metu down by his left leg, according to Anderson, causing him to crash to the floor. Metu extended his right hand to break his fall.
Valanciunas was given a technical foul on the play for unsportsmanlike conduct, but not a flagrant foul.
Metu is on a two-way contract with the Kings. A 2018 second-round pick of the Spurs, Metu has appeared in 11 games for the Kings this season. He’s averaging 3.4 PPG and 2.1 RPG in 6.5 MPG.
Mitchell Robinson Undergoes Hand Surgery
Knicks center Mitchell Robinson underwent surgery on Tuesday to repair a fracture in his right hand, the team’s PR department tweets.
The procedure was performed at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York. He’ll be re-evaluated after the All-Star break, the statement adds. Robinson is expected to miss four to six weeks.
Robinson suffered the fracture of the fourth metacarpal against Washington on Friday night. He was injured when his hand banged Julius Randle‘s elbow as he attempted to block Rui Hachimura‘s shot late in the second quarter.
He’s averaging 8.4 PPG, 8.4 RPG and 1.5 BPG in 28.8 MPG. The 2018 second-round pick is one of the lowest-paid starters in the league at $1.66MM. The team holds a $1.82MM option on his contract for next season.
With Robinson sidelined, Nerlens Noel and Taj Gibson will get the bulk of the minutes at the center spot. New York has defeated Houston and Atlanta since Robinson went on the shelf.
Rockets Waive Ray Spalding
The Rockets are waiving forward Ray Spalding, Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle tweets.
Spalding suffered an Achilles injury in his second game with the team on Monday, when he logged 10 minutes against Washington.
The Rockets signed Spalding to a two-way contract on Friday.
Spalding, the 56th overall pick in the 2018 draft, spent time with the Mavericks and Suns as a rookie in 2018/19, then joined the Hawks for training camp in 2019 before being waived and claimed by Houston. After being cut again, he later signed a two-way contract with the Hornets.
He got off to a strong start with the Rio Grande Valley Vipers in the NBAGL bubble last week, averaging 18.5 PPG and 13.0 RPG in his first two games (27.5 MPG).
D’Angelo Russell To Undergo Left Knee Procedure
Timberwolves guard D’Angelo Russell will have arthroscopic surgery on his left knee to remove a loose body, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski tweets. Russell is expected to be sidelined for four to six weeks, Wojnarowski adds.
It’s another big blow to a struggling team that has dealt with injuries and illness this season.
Russell last played on February 8, when he lasted just six minutes against the Mavericks before leaving with what was described as left leg soreness. He also missed a game this month due to right quad soreness.
Russell is averaging 19.3 PPG and 5.1 APG for a club that has won just seven of 27 games. Without him, Malik Beasley, Ricky Rubio and Jordan McLaughlin will get the bulk of the minutes at the guard spots.
After being drafted by the Lakers with the No. 2 pick in 2015, Russell was shipped to the Nets in the summer of 2017. He became an All-Star for Brooklyn in 2019 but wound up with the Warriors on a four-year, $117MM maximum contract sign-and-trade that summer.
He was traded last February, along with Jacob Evans and Omari Spellman, to Minnesota in exchange for Andrew Wiggins and two future draft picks.
As The Athletic’s Jon Krawczynski tweets, Russell and Karl-Anthony Towns have only played five games together since the trade.
Cole Anthony Sidelined Until After All-Star Break
Magic rookie guard Cole Anthony has a non-displaced fracture of his right first rib and will not return before the All-Star break, according to a team press release.
Anthony suffered the injury a week ago against Portland. Beyond the prognosis that he can’t play until after the March 7 All-Star game, there is no timetable for his return. It will depend upon how he responds to treatment. He was originally diagnosed with a shoulder strain.
Anthony, the 15th overall pick in last year’s draft, is averaging 11.0 PPG and 3.8 APG in 26.7 MPG. He’s started 17 of 25 games, entering the lineup when Markelle Fultz suffered a season-ending knee injury.
Anthony averaged 15 PPG and 5.5 APG in the four games prior to playing 14 minutes against the Trail Blazers. Michael Carter-Williams has taken over most of the point guard duties in his absence, with newly-signed two-way player Chasson Randle expected to assume a backup role following Frank Mason‘s injury and subsequent release.
Ryan Broekhoff Signs With Australian Team
Former Mavericks wing Ryan Broekhoff has returned to his home country to resume his career. Broekhoff has signed with the South East Melbourne Phoenix, Hoops Rumors’ JD Shaw tweets.
Broekhoff spent most of the last two seasons with the Mavericks, averaging 4.0 PPG in 10.7 MPG over 59 career games. He was waived last February when Dallas signed Michael Kidd-Gilchrist.
The 30-year-old signed with the Sixers prior to the summer restart but bowed out after his wife contracted the coronavirus. He participated in Philadelphia’s training camp prior to this season but was released in mid-December.
Broekhoff spent the first few years of his career with Besiktas in Turkey and Lokomotiv Kuban in Russia.
Community Shootaround: Griffin, Drummond
Just two years ago, Blake Griffin and Andre Drummond were the stars on a Pistons team that made the playoffs.
Griffin carried Detroit that season, averaging 24.5 PPG, 7.5 RPG and 5.4 APG, while his frontcourt partner averaged 17.3 PPG and a league-best 15.6 RPG.
Their careers remain on a parallel course but in a different way – both players have mutually agreed with their teams to sit out until a trade or a buyout can be arranged.
Griffin’s presence on the roster became an awkward situation for the Pistons, who are in full rebuild mode. Ideally, they’ll find a playoff contender willing to take Griffin off their hands. It will be an extremely tough sell, considering Griffin has lost his explosion after multiple knee surgeries and his max contract runs through next season, including a $39MM player option.
Most likely, the Pistons and Griffin will agree to a buyout and allow Griffin to hook onto a team that needs help at power forward.
Detroit practically gave Drummond away to the Cavaliers last season, rather than risk having him opt it and hamstring its rebuilding efforts.
Drummond will be headed to unrestricted free agency this offseason, making him somewhat easier to trade than Griffin.
When Cleveland acquired Jarrett Allen in the James Harden multi-team blockbuster, the four-time rebounding champion became a very expendable part. The key will be matching up salaries comparable to the $28.75MM that Drummond is making this season.
That brings us to our topic of the day: Where do you think Blake Griffin and Andre Drummond will wind up playing the remainder of the season?
Please take to the comments section to weigh in. We look forward to your input.
Cavs Notes: Drummond, Trade Partners, Defense, Love
The Cavaliers would prefer not to take bad contracts with multiple years remaining in a potential Andre Drummond deal. However, they’re open-minded to that possibility if an asset is included that would justify a restricted future cap, Chris Fedor of the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports. The front office would otherwise like to protect cap space with extensions for Collin Sexton and Jarrett Allen on the horizon.
Cleveland has received calls on Drummond, as well as Allen and JaVale McGee, but it is not interested in dealing Allen. Fedor explores potential trade partners for Drummond and what those deals could include.
We have more on the Cavaliers:
- Spencer Davies of Basketball News also speculates where Drummond, an impending unrestricted free agent after the season, could be dealt. The Raptors, Mavericks, Knicks and Kings could be among the teams in the mix if a trade is completed, while the Nets would be the front-runner if Drummond winds up on the buyout market.
- Drummond didn’t play on Sunday, but that didn’t solve any problems as the Cavaliers lost for the ninth time in 10 games. They were overwhelmed by a Clippers team playing without stars Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, demonstrating that the team’s issues go far deeper than Drummond, Fedor writes. The Cavs’ overall effort has been lacking, especially at the defensive end. “I think defensively we need to be better,” Cedi Osman said. “I mean, it’s just not enough, especially against these types of teams. We have to play harder.”
- Kevin Love has been making progress from the right calf strain that has kept him out since December 27 and coach J.B. Bickerstaff said the team could desperately use his veteran presence and scoring prowess, Fedor notes in a separate story. “There’s times in games when you can see ‘This is where Kevin would help us’ or ‘This is where he would help settle us in. I know right now he’d get a foul because we’re in the bonus.’ There’s those moments where you see,” Bickerstaff said.
Sixers Seeking Point Guard Depth
The Sixers are in the market for a point guard, with the Pistons’ Delon Wright and Thunder‘s George Hill among the players the team has inquired about, Jason Dumas of Bleacher Report tweets.
The current options behind Ben Simmons include combo guards Shake Milton (currently dealing with an ankle sprain) and rookie Tyrese Maxey. Another point guard option would allow the team to have multiple ball-handlers on the floor for extended stretches.
Wright has played well for the rebuilding Pistons, who acquired him in a trade with Dallas during the offseason. He began the season as their starting shooting guard, then slid over to the point when rookie Killian Hayes injured his hip. Wright is averaging 10.4 PPG, 4.9 APG, 4.7 RPG and 1.4 SPG in 29.1 MPG. He’s making $9MM this season and $8.5MM next season in the final year of his contract.
Philadelphia’s interest in Hill is a little more surprising, considering that he’s expected to miss at least the remainder of this month after undergoing a surgical procedure on his right thumb. He’s started 14 games this season for the Thunder, averaging 11.8 PPG and 3.1 APG. What would make Hill more attractive from a trading standpoint is that his $10MM salary for next season is only guaranteed for approximately $1.28MM.
Projected Top-10 Pick Jalen Johnson Cuts College Season Short
6:52pm: Johnson has declared for the 2021 draft, according to a Duke University release.
5:55pm: Duke freshman forward and projected lottery pick Jalen Johnson has opted out for the remainder of the college basketball season, Jacob Polacheck and Adam Zagoria of ZagsBlog.com report.
The 6’9” Johnson is currently ranked No. 6 on ESPN’s Best Available list for this year’s draft and is the top-ranked small forward. ESPN’s Mike Schmitz writes that Johnson has an impressive combination of strength and explosiveness, and is an extremely versatile defender.
The one-and-done prospect has appeared in 13 games this season, including eight starts, with averages of 11.2 PPG, 6.1 RPG, 2.2 APG, 1.2 BPG and 1.2 SPG in 21.4 MPG. He missed three games with a foot injury.
Johnson cleaned out his locker on Monday morning, according to ZagsBlog’s sources. Duke’s unusually ordinary season — the Blue Devils are 8-8 overall — and Johnson’s declining minutes may have contributed to his decision.
Johnson had a monster game against Pittsburgh last month — 24 points, 16 rebounds, seven assists and four blocks — but his playing time had dropped dramatically in recent games. He played only 15 minutes against Notre Dame on Tuesday and eight minutes against North Carolina State on Saturday.