Injury Notes: Rush, Davis, Turkoglu
A few injury notes from around the league on Friday night.
- Brandon Rush suffered what appears to be a serious knee injury in the first quarter of the Warriors' game against the Grizzlies.
- In his second game in the NBA, top overall pick Anthony Davis left with a possible concussion. He will be tested, and it's unclear whether he will miss games (AP link via ESPN.com).
- Magic forward Hedo Turkoglu broke his hand in the Magic's season-opening 102-89 win over the Nuggets. It would appear that rookie Moe Harkless, acquired in the Dwight Howard trade, will replace him in the rotation.
Poll: Most Impressive Rookie
Through three days of the NBA season, most of the heavily hyped rookies have made their debuts. In particular, five have had standout first games as pros: New Orleans' No. 1 overall pick Anthony Davis, Washington's No. 3 overall pick Bradley Beal, Cleveland's No. 4 overall pick Dion Waiters, Portland's No. 6 overall pick Damian Lillard, and Toronto's Jonas Valanciunas, drafted in 2011. Charlotte's Michael Kidd-Gilchrist makes his debut tonight.
Which of the five rookies who have made an impact so far have impressed you the most?
Which Rookie Has Been Most Impressive?
-
Damian Lillard 51% (436)
-
Jonas Valanciunas 20% (172)
-
Anthony Davis 13% (110)
-
Dion Waiters 13% (109)
-
Bradley Beal 4% (31)
Total votes: 858
Eric Gordon Has Not Requested Trade
4:05pm: Gordon tells Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports that he saw a doctor in Chicago who believes the 23-year-old can return from his knee injury in four to six weeks (Twitter link). No further surgery should be required, according to Gordon (Twitter link via Spears).
2:52pm: Berger's piece, linked below, suggested that additional surgery hadn't been ruled out for Gordon's knee, and an ESPN.com report from Chris Broussard and Marc Stein this afternoon echoes that sentiment. According to Broussard and Stein, microfracture surgery has been presented as a possible solution for Gordon, though no decisions have been made yet. Gordon is scheduled to meet with a knee specialist this weekend, with a recovery plan likely finalized at some point early next week.
9:40am: As he continues to sit out with a knee injury of undetermined severity, Eric Gordon clarified last night that he's committed to the Hornets. And according to Ken Berger of CBS Sports, that indeed seems to be the case. Neither Gordon nor his agent have requested a trade from the Hornets, reports Berger.
When discussing Gordon's knee issue, both the player and the team have made vague, seemingly contradictory statements, leading to speculation that the 23-year-old is still upset with the team for matching an offer sheet he signed with the Suns this summer. However, as Gordon suggested last night, Berger hears no indication from his sources that the shooting guard's goal is to get out of New Orleans.
It's possible that Gordon and his agent recognize that requesting a trade now would be futile anyway, since the Indiana product can't be dealt until January 15th. But for now, it appears that Gordon is fine with remaining a Hornet, and will simply work toward getting his knee healthy and returning to the court.
Eric Gordon Says He’s Committed To Hornets
Hornets fans received some bad news when it was announced that star guard Eric Gordon would be out for an undetermined period of time thanks to damage in his right knee. It also didn't help that GM Dell Demps was somewhat vague about Gordon's condition this week, leading to speculation that Gordon was less-than-thrilled with the organization after a tumultuous summer. However, the diminutive guard made an effort to put those concerns to rest this afternoon, writes Jimmy Smith of The Times-Picayune.
"This is a great city and a great organization and I definitely want to be a part of it. But being a part of it, for me, is about playing. What's (keeping) me from playing is having this injury. I'll just go on from there," Gordon said.
Over the summer, Gordon inked a four-year, $58MM offer sheet from the Suns and publicly worked to convince New Orleans not to match the offer. Even though the guard felt that "his heart" was with Phoenix at the time, the Hornets predictably matched the offer sheet to avoid losing a marquee player without any return. While Gordon clearly did not want to return to the Hornets this summer, the 23-year-old doesn't sound like a player who is angling for a way out of New Orleans.
Western Notes: Meeks, Tinsley, Roy, Blazers
The NBA released its annual report on the growing international presence on its rosters, noting the Spurs have a record eight players from overseas, notes Art Garcia of Fox Sports Southwest, and that includes players from Australia, Brazil, Canada, France and the U.S. Virgin Islands, as HoopsWorld's Alex Kennedy points out (Twitter links). The Timberwolves have five of the league's international players from four different countries, according to the team (Twitter link). As the league continues to attract talent from around the world, here's what's going on around the Western Conference.
- Jodie Meeks couldn't be more content with his decision to sign with the Lakers, even though the Wizards and Bucks offered him more money this summer, Kennedy reports.
- In the same piece, Kennedy also checks in with Jamaal Tinsley, whose deal with the Jazz is non-guaranteed, as we learned last night. The backup point guard is enthusiastic about Utah's veteran offseason additions, but Brad Rock of the Deseret News believes the team's younger players are the key.
- Ray Richardson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press looks at how the Timberwolves plan to use Brandon Roy this season, noting that the plan is for him to see 30 to 32 minutes per game, down from his career 35.6 MPG average.
- The Blazers hired Chris McGowan as team president last night, but he'll take a hands-off approach to the basketball operations side of the franchise, reports Mike Tokito of The Oregonian.
- No. 1 overall pick Anthony Davis is set to make his debut for the Hornets on Wednesday against the Spurs, and Davis believes he gained much from going against Duncan as the Hornets conducted voluntary scrimmages against the Spurs in the summer, writes John Reid of The Times-Picayune.
- The focus is on the present in Memphis, where Grizzlies GM Chris Wallace largely stood pat over the summer with a roster on the fringes of contention amid the ownership transfer from Michael Heisley to Robert Pera, as Ronald Tillery of the Memphis Commercial Appeal examines.
Hornets Pick Up Option On Greivis Vasquez
The Hornets have exercised their 2013/14 option on Greivis Vasquez, according to John Reid of the Times Picayune. However, Reid confirms that the team will not pick up '13/14 options for Al-Farouq Aminu or Xavier Henry.
All three players are heading into their third seasons, meaning the Hornets had to decide on their respective fourth-year options. Vasquez, who figures to see increased playing time this season with Jarrett Jack having been traded to Golden State, will earn about $1.19MM this season and $2.15MM in 2013/14.
Aminu would have been in line for a $3.75MM salary next season, while Henry would have earned $3.2MM. Instead, both players will become unrestricted free agents at the end of this season. According to Reid, the Hornets may still be interested in re-signing both players, but want to keep their options open when it comes to cap space.
Warriors, Jazz, Others Discussed James Harden
10:56am: Suns president Lon Babby confirmed to Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic that Phoenix had been engaged with the Thunder in trade talks for Harden, though he says that no proposal ever gained serious traction.
"We were engaged in discussions on numerous occasions," Babby said. "We most recently met in person when we played them [on October 19th]. At the end of the day, there wasn’t a deal that was workable for both sides."
8:53am: According to Zach Lowe of Grantland.com, Thunder GM Sam Presti had at least "semi-serious" trade conversations involving James Harden with a number of teams before eventually accepting the Rockets' offer. Lowe says the Warriors, Jazz, Wizards, and Raptors were among the teams that Presti spoke to before sending Harden to Houston. We heard yesterday that the Suns also pursued a trade for Harden.
The Thunder were seeking a sure-thing player who was still in the first year or two of his rookie deal, according to Lowe. That means Presti figures to have inquired on players like Klay Thompson, Derrick Favors, Enes Kanter, Bradley Beal, and Jonas Valanciunas. Lowe adds that the Thunder GM likely started the process by reaching out to the Hornets about Anthony Davis, though I imagine that conversation didn't last too long.
Here are a few more Harden-related links, as reactions continue to pour in on one of the year's most surprising trades:
- Berry Tramel of the Oklahoman reports that the Thunder made a last-ditch offer to Harden on Friday, proposing a four-year, $53MM extension. The team gave him a one-hour window to accept it, telling him that if he turned it down, he'd be traded to Houston. According to Tramel's sources, Harden said he needed three days to make a decision, but because the Rockets wanted time to negotiate an extension before Wednesday's deadline, Presti stuck to the one-hour window.
- The pieces the Thunder acquired for Harden are the same sort of assets the team used to initially build itself into a perennial contender, opines Darnell Mayberry of the Oklahoman.
- Members of the Spurs, a team the Thunder eliminated from the playoffs earlier this year, were surprised by the deal, as Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News writes. "It's kind of weird to look at OKC and think of them without their Big Three," Danny Green said. "Things are different. Obviously they're still going to be a good team."
Hornets Waive Alabi, Wright
John Reid of the Times-Picayune reports that the New Orleans Hornets have released center Solomon Alabi and guard Chris Wright. These moves bring the Hornets' roster down to 14, which means it appears their regular-season roster is set barring a late signing.
Alabi played briefly for the Toronto Raptors last season but spent most of the year in the D-League. Wright played in Turkey last season. Both were signed by New Orleans prior to training camp.
Odds & Ends: Spurs, Thunder, Cavaliers, Deng
Darnell Mayberry of NewsOK lists Daniel Orton, DeAndre Liggins, Andy Rautins, and Hollis Thompson as the four Thunder hopefuls looking to earn the team's final roster spot. While he believes that Liggins has the best chance considering the bulk of minutes he's played during the pre-season, Mayberry also considers Orton as a strong candidate because of his potential. He adds that a popular idea would be for Oklahoma City to waive or trade a guaranteed contract in order to keep both Liggins and Orton, although such a possibility seems unlikely at this point. With that aside, you can find more of tonight's miscellaneous links below:
- Former Memphis Tiger Wesley Witherspoon believes that being around the veteran leadership in San Antonio would be a great place to start his career if he makes the team (Jason Smith of The Memphis Edge reports). On another note, Mike Monroe of Spurs Nation writes that Spurs forward Kawhi Leonard isn't worried about his pre-season shooting slump affecting his shot once the regular season starts.
- Fran Blinebury of NBA.com explains why it would be prudent for Oklahoma City to wait on a possible extension for James Harden, most notably to see if he can remain healthy this season and maintain a high level of play.
- Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio says that the Cavaliers are expected to send recently-signed D'Aundray Brown to the D-League, even though he would still take up a spot on the team's official season roster. He also speculates that three roster cuts are likely to be decided from a group that includes Jeremy Pargo, Kevin Jones, Luke Harangody, and Micheal Eric.
- Although Luol Deng dealt with a torn ligament in his left wrist last season and ultimately decided against surgery during the summer, the Bulls forward now feels confident enough to play at a high level and said that he hasn't been feeling any pain (Nick Friedell of ESPN Chicago reports).
- Sean Deveney of the Sporting News explains some of the biggest responsibilities that current deputy commissioner Adam Silver will have once he is set to replace David Stern, including television contract negotiations, collective bargaining, European expansion, and development of the D-League.
- Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution engaged in a Q&A with Hawks forward Josh Smith about his expectations this season and the challenges he anticipates for the team. In a separate article, Daniel Christian of Sheridan Hoops discusses five reasons to be optimistic about Atlanta this year.
- Jim Eichenhofer of Hornets.com talks briefly about New Orleans' confidence in the versatility and scoring ability of Hornets rookie Austin Rivers.
Southwest Rumors: Martin, Spurs, Aminu, Miller
Four of the five Southwest Division teams are in action tonight, including the Hornets and Rockets, who square off in New Orleans. There's plenty of news out of the division tonight, so let's get right to it.
- The Spurs have had interest in Kenyon Martin in the past, tweets Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News, who wonders whether the team may have interest in signing him later this season. Martin continues to hold out for more than the veteran's minimum.
- Of the two players the Spurs waived Tuesday, McDonald thinks Derrick Brown was a more surprising cut than Eddy Curry (Twitter link).
- The Hornets have a week left to decide whether to pick up the fourth-year option on Al-Farouq Aminu's rookie deal, but the eighth pick in the 2010 draft appears unlikely to begin the season as the team's starting small forward, tweets John Reid of The Times-Picayune. Lance Thomas, with the team on a non-guaranteed deal, is starting over Aminu for the second straight game.
- Darius Miller, unlike other second-round draft selections, has a guaranteed deal for this season, and Hornets coach Monty Williams cites his maturity from four seasons of college ball as reason why he's pleased with this year's 46th overall pick, as Jim Eichenhofer of Hornets.com tweets.
- Elton Brand feels he has a lot to prove after he was amnestied by the Sixers last season, and wants to do so by fitting into the team concept with the Mavericks, as The Associated Press reports (via the Dallas Morning News). "I don't think there's too many teams with more cap space than right here," Brand said of the Mavs. "So if you want to audition, play right and play the right way."