Al Horford Will Not Return For The First Round
Hawks center Al Horford will not be return for his team's first round series against the Celtics, according to the Associated Press. After waffling back and forth earlier this week, conflicting reports had said Horford might be able to come back in time, but today he said there was no chance he'd be ready for the first round. Horford has missed most of the season after having surgery to repair a torn left pectoral muscle.
"I have very, very little strength," he conceded. "The playoffs are intense. The intensity goes way up. I can go in and play with the guys in practice here. I might even be able to play in a regular-season game. But the playoffs are different. The way I play, to be most effective to the team, I’m not at that point yet."
Horford is still hoping to play in the second round if the Hawks advance.
Kyle Lowry Out For Season
Rockets point guard Kyle Lowry has decided to end his season due to a sports hernia and groin injury, according to the Houston Chronicle's Jonathan Feigen. The 26-year-old has had a difficult time assimilating himself with the team since returning from a bacterial infection that kept him out a month after the All-Star break. He will have surgery once the regular season has ended.
Lowry was considered an All-Star snub by many for his stellar all around play early in the season, but he hasn't been the same player since the infection sent him to the hospital in early March. With his backup Goran Dragic, who played unbelievably well after being thrust into the starting lineup, set to hit free agency this offseason, it will be interesting to see which point guard the Rockets front office prefers heading into next year. Lowry ends his sixth season averaging a career best 14.3 PPG, 4.6 RPG, and 1.6 SPG.
Week In Review: 4/16/12 – 4/22/12
A recap of all the NBA's news from the past week.
- After undergoing back surgery, Dwight Howard will miss the rest of the season.
- Bobcats head coach Paul Silas was involved in a physical altercation with forward Tyrus Thomas.
- Sixers guard Lou Williams will exercise his early termination option for next season, making him an unrestricted free agent.
- Given the recent issues he's had with his ankles, Stephen Curry's next contract could come with an injury clause.
- The Cavaliers signed D.J. Kennedy.
- Unrestricted free agent center Marcus Camby says he'd like to stay with the Rockets next season.
- The Celtics signed Sean Williams and waived Jermaine O'Neal.
- The Knicks signed Dan Gadzuric and waived Bill Walker.
- Reported earlier this week, the NBAPA wants Derek Fisher out as president.
- The Jazz re-signed guard Blake Ahearn.
- The Nets re-signed Armon Johnson.
- The Grizzlies signed Lester Hudson.
- Knicks guard J.R. Smith is expected to decline his player option for next season.
- The Hornets signed Darryl Watkins and waived Chris Johnson.
- Gerald Green says he will give the Nets a hometown discount this offseason.
- The Celtics nearly traded Ray Allen to the Grizzlies O.J. Mayo and a first round draft pick.
- The Suns will pursue Jamal Crawford this offseason.
- The Raptors re-signed Ben Uzoh and Alan Anderson.
- The Wizards signed Morris Almond, and waived Roger Mason.
- The Warriors signed Mikki Moore.
Hoops Rumors Originals: 4/16/12 – 4/22/12
Here's a look at all the original content produced by our writers over the past week.
- A recap of our Prospect Profile series.
- Here's a list of current free agents with playoff experience.
- Chuck Myron takes a look at Bradley Beal.
- A recap of our Free Agent Stock Watch series.
- Luke Adams asks if the Nets will have a first round pick in the upcoming draft.
- A helpful overview of "Bird Rights" — what they mean and why they're important.
- Sean Highkin asks which player coming out of the University of Kentucky will have the most successful NBA career.
- Ryan Raroque covers Nate Robinson in our Free Agent Stock Watch series.
- An overview of Early Bird Rights.
- The transcript of our very first Hoops Rumors Live Chat.
- An overview of Non-Bird Rights.
- Zach Links gave us his weekly installment of Hoops Links—great NBA writing from around the internet.
Thunder Will Try To Sign Both Harden, Ibaka
To nobody's surprise, Thunder general manager Sam Presti told Yahoo! Sports' Marc J. Spears that the team would try to sign both James Harden and Serge Ibaka as soon as they're eligibile for extensions, which will be July 1st when free agency officially begins. After Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, the two are regarded as Oklahoma City's best players.
Both Harden and Ibaka will become restricted free agents at the end of next season, and given the team's stature as a small market team that's already signed two players to max deals, it's believed they'll be able to keep only one of them. If Harden chooses not to accept an extension offer and hit free agency in the following offseason, it's expected he'll command as much as $10MM per year, which would seriously limit the Thunder's cap flexibility moving forward.
Serge Ibaka is one of the favorites to win Defensive Player of the Year, and James Harden is the favorite to win Sixth Man of the Year. Both players are only 22-years-old.
NBPA Wants Derek Fisher Out As President
4:44pm: The NBPA confirmed in a series of tweets today that it has asked for Fisher's resignation. Maurice Evans, a member of the executive committe, spoke to Craig Stouffer of the Washington Examiner about the issue, explaining why the executive committee wants Fisher to step down.
"We sent out a letter on behalf of the entire board to Derek, telling Derek that we have appreciated his leadership up until this point, up until the lockout," Evans said. "From the end of the lockout to now, we have been dissatisfied with his actions. There's been a number of actions that have been questionable, and that have lost him the confidence of the board, not the other players, because the other players are not up to speed with what's going on."
2:27pm: Fisher made a brief statement on the issue at the Thunder's shootaround today, saying that he takes his position very seriously and that he's fighting for what's best for the players. Darnell Mayberry of the Oklahoman has the full transcript of Fisher's comments.
12:03pm: Not all the player reps are on board with ousting Fisher. One player rep told Wojnarowski, "Before we let Billy [Hunter] do anything else, I want an audit of this union… A lot of guys feel that way."
11:40am: Hunter is pursuing a call of team player reps today to vote on removing Fisher from his position, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski. Wojnarowski adds (via Twitter) that it's unclear just how much power the player reps have in the decision.
FRIDAY, 10:35am: In a letter to executive committee members, Fisher urged them to live up to their "fiduciary responsibility" and vowed not to resign, according to Ken Berger of CBSSports.com.
"He's lost the confidence of the players and he's not representing our interests," one union member told Berger. "We gave him the courtesy of having the option to resign without letting this thing get messy."
THURSDAY, 10:11pm: Yahoo! Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski is reporting that Billy Hunter, the executive director of the NBA Player's Association, has convinced the union's executive committee to seek the resignation of the organization's president, Derek Fisher.
Reportedly, the main reason for their fallout came when a power struggle occurred after Fisher convinced the executive committee to vote for an independent auditor to look into the union's finances. Hunter then turned around and convinced the committee that an audit wasn't necessary, and that they should instead try to oust Fisher from his position.
Mistrust between the Player's Association's two most public figures was first created during the lockout, when various players were forced to choose which side they trusted. As it stands, Fisher refuses to step down, and has two years left to serve as NBAPA president. Hunter has three-plus years left on his contract.
Grizzlies Sign Lester Hudson
FRIDAY, 3:07pm: The Grizzlies announced the Hudson signing today in a press release. He'll take up the 15th spot on Memphis' roster.
THURSDAY, 10:26pm: Lester Hudson has a verbal agreement to join the Grizzlies for the rest of this season, according to The Commercial Appeal's Ronald Tillery. With Gilbert Arenas recovering from a torn ligament on his shooting hand, the Grizzlies decided to bring Hudson on as for backcourt insurance as the team heads into the playoffs. Hudson, whose most recent 10-day contract expired, is eligible to play in the postseason because he was not waived by the Cavaliers.
This is the 27-year-old Memphis natives second stint with the Grizzlies. Two years ago he appeared in nine games with the team, averaging 4.0 PPG. After Cleveland failed to extend him an offer to sign for the rest of the season, Hudson decided to part ways with the team earlier today.
Dwight Howard Out For Season
Dwight Howard will miss the rest of the 2012 season, including the playoffs and upcoming summer Olympics, upon undergoing surgery Friday morning to repair a herniated disk in his back, the center's agent, Dan Fegan, told ESPN.com's Ric Bucher.
The injury has already forced Howard to miss eight games this season, which is one more than he missed in his first seven seasons combined. His total of 621 games and 22,471 minutes is the most by a center in his first eight seasons in the modern era of the NBA, Bucher writes.
With this news, the Magic are almost surely a one and done team once the playoffs start, but looking at it from a wider angle, how Howard's health holds up after surgery may now slightly alter his stature as one of the NBA's most sought after free agent acquisitions in 2013. According to Howard, doctors have told him he'll be ready to play basketball in four months, in time for next season's training camp. (Twitter link.)
After exercising his player option at this year's trade deadline, the center will remain under contract with the Magic next season, but beyond that remains a mystery. Howard averaged 20.6 PPG and a league leading 14.5 RPG in one of the most tumultuous seasons a player has endured off the court in recent memory.
Trail Blazers Deny They’ve Inquired About Kupchak
In a report by the Associated Press, the Trail Blazers denied having contacted the Lakers about their general manager, Mitch Kupchak. An earlier report suggested that the Blazers were interested in interviewing the Lakers GM for Portland's open position, but so far at least, the Blazers don't seem to have asked permission for an interview.
Portland president Larry Miller said the team will not disclose any specific candidates, but said no person has been interviewed for the position by owner Paul Allen yet. The team is currently under the supervision of interim GM Chad Buchanan, who took over for current Bobcats GM Rich Cho last year. With approximately $25MM in cap space this offseason, the possibility of two lottery picks, a loyal fan base, and a franchise player in LaMarcus Aldridge, being the general manager of the Trail Blazers would appear to be a desirable position, but Allen's unpredictable and unexpected front office personnel decisions in recent years has made the situation quite volatile.
Miller doesn't see it that way. "I think people realize that we're in a good position going into the offseason with the picks that we potentially have, with the cap space that we have. I think it's an attractive situation for somebody. I've gotten no feedback from anyone that people are concerned with where we are. To me, if anything, it's just the opposite."
Odds & Ends: Parker, Collison, Magic
In an article by the Orlando Sentinel's Josh Robbins, Stan Van Gundy explained that the injury to Hedo Turkoglu has caused major defensive issues for the Magic that the team should be able to overcome by the playoffs.
- With Darren Collison suffering from a groin injury that could force him to miss the start of the playoffs, Pacers head coach Frank Vogel isn't sure if Collison will get his starting job back once he returns.
- SI.com's Sam Amick writes about Tony Parker, and how his recent play has gone beyond anybody's greatest expectations.
- FoxSportsOhio.com's Sam Amico does his most recent mock draft.
- Alan Anderson and the Raptors could have a relationship that goes beyond this season.
- Deputy commissioner Adam Silver says that despite the success in attendance and ratings the league has seen with its shortened season, the NBA still prefers an 82-game regular season as opposed to this year's 66.
- Despite the Pistons decision to switch their lineups around in a peculiar way, head coach Lawrence Frank says they aren't tanking games on purpose, according to MLive.com's David Mayo.
- Nate Robinson says he'd love to stay with the Warriors next season and beyond (Twitter link), but isn't getting his hopes up. The guard has played for four teams in the past three years.
- Nuggets forward Danilo Gallinari has had some rough shooting nights in recent games, but as long as his team wins game, he couldn't care less, according to Nuggets.com's Aaron J. Lopez.