Kyrie Irving Feels He Will Return Within Week
Kyrie Irving has missed nearly two months with a right shoulder injury but the point guard could be close to a return. Irving practiced today and he hopes to return within the next week, Malika Andrews of ESPN.com relays.
“We just see where we end up in the next few days,” Irving said. “Realistically, we will re-evaluate tomorrow. See how I feel tomorrow. Then go Saturday — probably another practice.”
Irving participated in 5-on-5 drills and had no limitations other than his shoulder rehab.“Hopefully, I get some game reps in addition to practice probably in the next week or so, it could be less than that but I’ll give myself a week,” Irving said.
It’s not clear whether the Nets’ medical staff agrees with Irving’s projection. On Wednesday, the 27-year-old told reporters that the cortisone shot he received in his shoulder was working and called it a “great stepping stone to work my way to getting back on the floor.”
Nets Sign Justin Anderson To 10-Day Contract
The Nets have officially signed free agent wing Justin Anderson to a 10-day contract, the club announced today in a press release. No corresponding roster move was required, as Brooklyn recently waived David Nwaba to open up a spot on its 15-man squad.
Anderson, the 21st overall pick in the 2015 draft, had spent this season so far with the Raptors 905, Toronto’s G League affiliate. He averaged 21.2 PPG and 6.9 RPG with a .484/.343/.762 shooting line in 13 NBAGL games (33.5 MPG), earning an NBA audition with the Nets.
Anderson, who has appeared in 216 total regular season games, last played in the NBA for Atlanta in 2018/19, recording 3.7 PPG in 48 games (9.6 MPG) for the Hawks. He signed a training camp deal with the Wizards in the fall, but didn’t make Washington’s regular-season roster.
We first heard last Thursday that Anderson would receive a 10-day deal from Brooklyn, but NBA teams weren’t permitted to begin signing those contracts until Sunday. The Nets waited one additional day in order to maximize their 10-day window with Anderson — the team will play six times during his 10-day stint, which ends on January 15.
The Nets now have a full roster, with 15 standard contracts and a pair of players on two-way contracts. The club has made a series of roster moves in recent days, releasing Nwaba and two-way player Henry Ellenson and replacing them with Anderson and new two-way player Chris Chiozza.
Atlantic Notes: LeVert, Irving, Siakam, Gasol, Leonard
Nets guard Caris LeVert made his highly-anticipated return against the Raptors on Saturday night, seeing his first in-game action with the team since November 10.
LeVert, who had missed the last 24 games after undergoing surgery to address ligament damage in his thumb, finished with 13 points on 5-for-7 shooting off the bench despite being on a minutes restriction.
“I felt pretty good out there. Obviously we wanted to get a win, but just me personally, I felt pretty good,” LeVert said, as relayed by Brian Lewis of the New York Post.
LeVert is widely considered as one of the most talented players on the Nets when healthy, and it’s possible he’ll rejoin the team’s starting lineup in the coming weeks. He averaged 13.7 points, 3.8 rebounds and 3.9 assists per game in 40 contests last season.
“Just adds one of our best players to the lineup quite honestly,” head coach Kenny Atkinson said of LeVert’s return. “A dynamic player, athleticism, quickness, speed. A guy that knows our system too. It’s not like some guy we signed out of the blue. I feel comfortable once he gets his rhythm. He knows what we’re doing on both sides of the ball so that’s a big comfort level.”
The Nets have been plagued with injuries to start the season, playing without Kevin Durant (torn Achilles’ rehab), Kyrie Irving (right shoulder; 11 games played), LeVert and others. Brooklyn owns the seventh-best record in the East at 16-18.
Here are some other notes from the Atlantic Division tonight:
- Alex Schiffer of The Athletic details what we know about Kyrie Irving‘s lingering right shoulder injury, which has forced the six-time All-Star to miss the past 23 games. Irving recently received a cortisone shot for the shoulder impingement, opting to go this route instead of having arthroscopic surgery — for now. “I’m in a better place now that it’s been some significant time,” Irving said. “I tried to go without any anti-inflammatories, which is why it took so long. Now I’m at a place where the next step was to either get a cortisone shot or get surgery. So that was the ultimatum I was fixed with. So now I’m just doing the best I can to live off this cortisone and move forward if I need surgery in the future.”
- Raptors big men Pascal Siakam (groin) and Marc Gasol (hamstring) still aren’t close to returning to action, head coach Nick Nurse said, as relayed by Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca (Twitter link). “I would still say, if I was guessing, the order of comeback would probably be Matt [Thomas] and Norm [Powell], Marc and then lastly Pascal if that’s the case,” Nurse said. “But I think we’re still, I mean, we’re still a ways away with Marc and Pascal. I think Norm and Matt are in the front-view mirror, let’s put it that way.”
- Kawhi Leonard said he never considered joining the Knicks in free agency and denied scheduling a meeting with the team, Ian Begley of SNY.tv writes. “I never said I was considering going to the Knicks. Everybody knew where I wanted to go once I requested the trade so I don’t know where that came from,” Leonard said. New York lost out on Kawhi, who signed with the Clippers, as well as Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant, who signed with the Nets. The Knicks claimed they pulled out of a scheduled meeting with Leonard.
Two-Way Player Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot Nearing 45-Day Limit With Nets
- Nets wing Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot is getting close to reaching the 45-day limit two-way players can spend with an NBA team, the New York Post’s Brian Lewis hears from YES Network and Fox Sports television analyst Sarah Kustok (Twitter link). The Nets will have to make a determination on whether or not they convert Luwawu-Cabarrot to a standard NBA contract. In 12 games with Brooklyn, Luwawu-Cabarrot has averaged 4.9 PPG and 2.2 RPG, while shooting 76.5% from the free-throw line and 37% from deep.
Nets Sign Chris Chiozza To Two-Way Contract
JANUARY 4: Chiozza has been signed to a two-way contract, the Nets announced in a press release.
JANUARY 3: After being waived by the Wizards in December, point guard Chris Chiozza is expected to sign with the Nets, reports Ben Standig of The Athletic (via Twitter).
Brooklyn is shaking up the back of its roster this week, having already released injured swingman David Nwaba, with two-way player Henry Ellenson expected to follow him to waivers. Those moves opened up one spot on the 15-man roster and one two-way contract slot. With Justin Anderson reportedly set to sign a 10-day contract, the Nets and Chiozza may be on track for a two-way deal, though that remains unclear.
Chiozza, 24, has appeared in a total of 17 NBA games for Houston and Washington since going undrafted in 2018, having spent most of the last season-and-a-half in the G League. The former Florida Gator has struggled with his efficiency this season in 10 games (31.1 MPG) for the Capital City Go-Go, averaging 10.8 PPG on .333/.328/1.000 shooting. However, he has contributed in other ways, recording 6.4 APG and 2.7 SPG.
The Nets’ backcourt depth has been hit hard by injuries this season. Kyrie Irving and Caris LeVert have been sidelined since mid-November and Garrett Temple currently day-to-day with a knee issue. The club is on track to get LeVert back on Saturday though, and Chiozza and Anderson should provide added depth.
Kyrie Irving Gets Cortisone Shot, Hopes To Avoid Shoulder Surgery
Kyrie Irving is taking steps to avoid surgery on his injured right shoulder, tweets Brian Lewis of The New York Post.
Talking to reporters today for the first time since Nov. 14, Irving said he got a cortisone shot on Christmas Eve and the team plans to see how he responds after about two months (Twitter link). Irving admitted he has considered an arthroscopic procedure on the shoulder, but is hesitant because it would sideline him for three to four months.
Irving consulted with a shoulder specialist in Phoenix before opting for the shot (Twitter link), adding, “There was some bursitis in there that was impacting me.” (Twitter link). He has missed 22 games since suffering the injury, which the Nets are calling a shoulder impingement, in a November 4 game against the Pelicans.
Irving believes he’s “doing a lot better” since the shot, although he is still struggling to lift his shoulder when he shoots jumpers, relays Malika Andrews of ESPN (Twitter link).
The Nets looked like huge winners on the first day of free agency when they signed Irving, Kevin Durant and DeAndre Jordan. With Durant sidelined for the season, they were counting on Irving to emerge as the team leader. He has averaged 28.5 points, 5.4 rebounds and 7.2 assists, but has been limited to 11 games.
New York Notes: Robinson, Irving, Nwaba, Ellenson, Payton
The past two seasons, one of the few bright spots on the Knicks‘ roster has been athletic center, Mitchell Robinson. As an elite shot-blocker and rebounder who has developing scoring ability, Robinson has cemented himself as a key part of New York’s future.
Offseason acquisition and NBA veteran Taj Gibson has taken on the role of mentor for the 21-year-old big man. In Gibson’s opinion, Robinson possesses talent that could make him an NBA All-Star, Marc Berman of the New York Post writes.
“This guy, a lot of players don’t have a niche. A lot of them don’t know where to start,” he said. “A lot of guys just come in and think it’s all about scoring and not defense. A lot of players are lost in the sauce with that. With Mitch, he already knows what he has to do. He’s a starting center and all he has to do is grow. If he pushes himself like he’s doing, he’ll be an All-Star. He doesn’t know how good he is.”
Check out more news from New York’s basketball teams:
- Nets point guard Kyrie Irving will miss out on two additional bonuses, worth $125K each, for failing to play in at least 60 games this season, ESPN’s Bobby Marks notes (Twitter link). This brings the total money in incentives lost to $375K for the mercurial Brooklyn guard. We detailed Irving’s eight $125K incentives, totaling $1MM, right here.
- Injuries and other roster needs forced the Nets to part with injured guard David Nwaba and Henry Ellenson in recent days. As Brian Lewis of the New York Post writes, Brooklyn is currently exploring options to upgrade the roster. “Obviously with all our injuries, we need the roster spot. We’re in discussions to see who we bring in,” head coach Kenny Atkinson said.
- It was a life-changing and busy day for Knicks point guard Elfrid Payton, Marc Berman of the New York Post writes. After his girlfriend gave birth to their son on Friday morning, Payton flew to Phoenix for the Knicks’ evening tilt against the Suns. Payton finished with 15 points, six assists and five rebounds.
Nets Waive Forward Henry Ellenson
5:32pm: The Nets have officially waived Ellenson, according to a team press release.
1:01pm: The Nets‘ series of roster moves will include waiving two-way player Henry Ellenson, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wonjarowski, who tweets that Brooklyn may use its newly-opened two-way slot to add a backcourt piece.
As we relayed on Thursday, the Nets are also making changes to their 15-man roster, waiving injured swingman David Nwaba and signing G League wing Justin Anderson to a 10-day contract to replace him.
Ellenson, a former 18th overall pick, has been one of Brooklyn’s two-way players this season, alongside Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot. While TLC has gotten the opportunity to play a rotation role, Ellenson appeared in just five games at the NBA level, logging 15 total minutes. The big man has spent most of the season with the Long Island Nets, averaging 18.3 PPG and 9.5 RPG in 11 NBAGL games (28.6 MPG).
January 15 is the deadline for teams to sign players to two-way contracts, so the Nets figure to fill their open spot by then. If Brooklyn wants to promote Luwawu-Cabarrot to the 15-man roster, the team could end up adding a pair of new two-way players.
Nets Waive David Nwaba, Will Sign Justin Anderson
JANUARY 3: The Nets have officially waived Nwaba, the team announced today in a press release.
JANUARY 2: Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium reports (Twitter link) that the Nets will be waiving swingman David Nwaba, who has been ruled out for the season with a torn Achilles tendon.
Bobby Marks of ESPN notes (via Twitter) that Nwaba has a cap hit of $1.7MM for the 2019/20 season, but his non-guaranteed salary in 2020/21 will not impact Brooklyn’s salary cap next year. The team still has an $839,000 disabled player exception even after waiving Nwaba.
[RELATED: 2019/20 NBA Disabled Player Exceptions]
Since going undrafted in 2016, Nwaba has managed to carve out a small niche for himself as an athletic wing defender. Returning to the league after one of the most devastating injuries an NBA player can suffer will be no small feat.
In Nwaba’s stead, Brooklyn will ink G League wing Justin Anderson, currently on the Raptors 905, to a 10-day contract, Charania tweets. Anderson, the No. 21 pick by Dallas in 2015, has a career slash line of 5.3 PPG/2.6 RPG/0.7 APG in 13.2 MPG. He has played for the Mavericks, Sixers and Hawks.
Teams can begin signing players to 10-day contracts as of this Sunday.
Caris LeVert Expected To Return Saturday
Injured Nets swingman Caris LeVert is expected to suit up for Brooklyn for a Saturday game against the Raptors, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reports.
LeVert has missed the last seven weeks with a right thumb injury that required surgery. The 25-year-old Michigan alum signed a three-year, $52MM extension with the club this summer.
The 16-17 Nets, currently the No. 7 seed in the Eastern Conference, are reeling after a four-game slump. LeVert (16.8 PPG) and Kyrie Irving (28.5 PPG), two of the team’s three top scorers, have both been out since mid-November.
In his nine healthy games for the Nets this season, LeVert has made contributions beyond his scoring. He is averaging 5.0 RPG and 4.0 APG, while shooting 36.1% of his 4.0 three-point attempts a night. LeVert fell to the No. 20 pick in the 2016 NBA draft in part due to injury concerns. The athletic, 6’6″ wing has played in just 177 of a possible 279 games in his pro career thus far.