Pascal Siakam Out At Least Two Weeks With Adductor Strain
Raptors star forward Pascal Siakam has been ruled out indefinitely due to a right adductor strain, the team announced today (Twitter link via Blake Murphy of Sportsnet.ca). Siakam will be reevaluated in two weeks, according to the Raptors.
It’s a tough blow for the Raptors and for Siakam, who had been playing some of the best basketball of his career before getting injured in Friday’s loss in Dallas. In his first nine games (35.7 MPG) this season, the 28-year-old was averaging 24.8 points, 9.3 rebounds, and 7.7 assists — all of those marks would be career highs.
Although having Siakam on the shelf will hurt, the Raptors’ depth at forward means they’re well equipped to replace him in the lineup. Scottie Barnes, OG Anunoby, Precious Achiuwa, Chris Boucher, and Otto Porter Jr. are all candidates to see expanded roles.
Additionally, it’s possible that a veteran reserve like Thaddeus Young or Juancho Hernangomez could get a shot at frontcourt rotation minutes in Siakam’s absence.
Toronto has also been missing Fred VanVleet for the last three games due to lower back soreness, though head coach Nick Nurse suggested on Friday that the All-Star point guard is close to returning. VanVleet is listed as questionable to play in Sunday’s game vs. Chicago.
Bradley Beal Enters Health And Safety Protocols
Wizards guard Bradley Beal has entered the NBA’s health and safety protocols, the team announced today in a press release. He has been ruled out for Sunday’s game in Memphis and will have to receive clearance based on the league’s COVID-19 guidelines before returning to action.
Beal is the second star to enter the protocols this weekend, joining three-time Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert.
The league revised its COVID-related protocols over the summer and now requires testing for vaccinated players only when they show symptoms of the virus. Unvaccinated players still must be tested once per week, and players are subject to isolation measures after a positive test.
Beal is vaccinated, per Ava Wallace of The Washington Post (Twitter link). However, he has had some bad health luck so far this season, having also entered the protocols during the preseason due to what turned out to be a false positive test for a case of strep throat, tweets Josh Robbins of The Athletic.
After visiting the Grizzlies tonight, the Wizards head to Charlotte on Monday, then won’t play again until they host Dallas on Thursday.
Nets Set Conditions For Kyrie Irving To Return
Tonight marks the second game of Kyrie Irving‘s suspension, and Vincent Goodwill of Yahoo Sports has learned of the requirements established by the Nets that Irving must meet before he can play again.
Sources tell Goodwill that Irving must go before reporters and provide a verbal apology for sharing a link to an antisemitic film. On Thursday, Irving posted a statement on his Instagram account expressing regret for his actions, but management wants him to apologize in person for promoting the film and to indicate that he understands its message is “harmful and untrue.” Irving must share the apology on social media.
Goodwill’s sources say Irving will also be required to complete whatever sensitivity training the team decides is necessary and to meet with Jewish leaders in the Brooklyn area.
Once those requirements are achieved, Irving will have to sit down with owner Joe Tsai and provide a guarantee that he won’t exhibit any more disruptive behavior for the rest of the season, Goodwill adds. This is the final season of Irving’s four-year contract, and he will be a free agent next summer.
An NBA spokesperson told Goodwill that the league wasn’t aware of all the Nets are asking Irving to do before he can be reinstated. The players union declined to comment, Goodwill adds.
Irving will also be required to participate in antisemitic sensitivity classes and to donate $500K to causes that stand up against hate, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic.
Mitchell Robinson To Miss At Least One Week With Knee Sprain
Center Mitchell Robinson suffered a sprained right knee in Friday’s game, the Knicks announced (via Twitter). His condition will be reevaluated in seven-to-10 days.
Robinson was injured late in the first half against the Sixers. He limped to the locker room and was declared out for the rest of the game.
Robinson has played in all eight games so far and is averaging 6.5 points, 6.4 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per night. He is coming off a relatively healthy season, appearing in 72 games last year after being limited to 31 in 2020/21.
Isaiah Hartenstein, who started the second half Friday night, should see a larger role while Robinson is sidelined. The Knicks also used power forwards Julius Randle and Obi Toppin together against Philadelphia and may employ more of that small-ball lineup until Robinson returns.
Pacers’ Chris Duarte Out 4-6 Weeks With Grade 2 Ankle Sprain
Pacers wing Chris Duarte sustained a Grade 2 ankle sprain in Friday’s victory over Miami and is expected to miss four-to-six weeks of action, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter).
According to Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files (Twitter links), it’s Duarte’s left ankle, and he suffered the injury early on, playing less than five minutes. Duarte was spotted using crutches after the game, which is always an ominous sign.
As Jeff Stotts of InStreetClothes.com tweets, Grade 2 sprains are considered partial tears, which is why Duarte will be sidelined for a pretty significant amount of time. It’s the same injury that LaMelo Ball has been dealing with since preseason. Ball has yet to make his regular season debut in 2022/23, though he’s said to be “extremely close” to returning.
The 13th pick of last year’s draft, Duarte was productive as a rookie for the Pacers in ’21/22, earning a spot on the All-Rookie Second Team after averaging 13.1 PPG, 4.1 RPG, 2.1 APG and 1.0 SPG on .432/.369/.804 shooting in 55 games (39 starts, 28.0 MPG). He’d gotten off to a slower start this season, averaging 10.0 PPG and 2.4 RPG on .406/.351/.917 shooting in eight games (four starts, 21.5 MPG) prior to the injury.
With Duarte sidelined, rookies Bennedict Mathurin and Andrew Nembhard will likely receive more playing time. Third-year wing Aaron Nesmith could receive a bump in minutes as well once he returns from his own foot injury.
Wolves’ Rudy Gobert Enters Health And Safety Protocols
Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert has been ruled out of Saturday’s game against Houston after entering the NBA’s health and safety protocols, Minnesota announced (via Twitter).
According to Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic (Twitter link), Gobert was listed as questionable (illness) for Friday’s loss to Milwaukee, but wound up playing 30 minutes in the game and is now in the protocols, which isn’t a great situation for anyone involved. Gobert was famously the first known NBA player to test positive for COVID-19 in March 2020.
The league revised its COVID-related protocols over the summer and now requires testing for vaccinated players only when they show symptoms of the virus. Unvaccinated players still must be tested once per week. Players are subject to isolation measures after a positive test.
As Chris Hine of The Star Tribune tweets, there is no longer a mandatory quarantine timeline if Gobert tested positive, but he would need to pass the NBA’s testing requirements to be cleared from the protocols. If he doesn’t pass the tests, he can still return to action after 10 days.
The Wolves have had a rocky start to the 2022/23 season after their blockbuster trade to acquire Gobert from Utah in July, currently sitting with a 4-5 record. The three-time Defensive Player of the Year has been his normal productive self individually — he’s averaging 12.6 points, a league-best 13.9 rebounds and 1.6 blocks in nine games (32.2 minutes) — but the starting lineup has struggled offensively.
It was expected that there would be an acclimation period after the Wolves traded two starters in the Gobert deal, and that’s proven to be accurate. Losing Gobert temporarily certainly won’t help, but it’s worth noting that Minnesota started last season slowly and wound up making the playoffs after a second-half surge.
Gregg Popovich Defends Spurs Amid Lawsuit
Longtime Spurs president and head coach Gregg Popovich defended the organization in the wake of the lawsuit filed against Joshua Primo and the team, writes Tom Orsborn of The San Antonio Express-News.
The suit was filed by a sports psychologist formerly employed by the team and contends that Primo exposed himself to her on nine separate occasions during their sessions and that the Spurs did nothing about it after she informed team management.
“I understand your question and your desire to get as many details as you can, but as you also know this is in the hands of lawyers now, and so I can’t go there, and I am not going to go there,” Popovich said. “It is up to them, they are going to talk about it, they are going to argue about it, they are going to go back and forth. That’s what they do. So, while that is going on, I can’t talk about details.”
“But I will say that I stand by the statement that came out yesterday by the Spurs organization with contrast to many of the things that were said at the press conference.”
As Orsborn notes, Popovich is referring to the statement released by Spurs CEO RC Buford, which indicated that the Spurs “disagree with the accuracy of facts, details and timeline presented” in the suit.
“While we would like to share more information, we will allow the legal process to play out,” Buford said. “Our organization remains committed to upholding the highest standards and will continue to live by our values and culture.”
Popovich then “rigorously defended” the way the Spurs have handled the situation, according to Orsborn.
“…Anybody that has observed the Spurs over a very long period of time knows that an accusation like this would be taken very seriously without any doubt whatsoever, no equivocation, the Spurs organization would be on top of it,” Popovich said. “And I am absolutely confident that the men and women on the managerial staff that dealt and are dealing with this did so purposefully, efficiently, promptly and did it with the utmost care for everybody concerned — the accuser, the accused, the people in the organization, to make sure that everybody felt comfortable and safe, and I will just leave my comments at that.”
Tony Buzbee, the attorney representing the psychologist who filed the lawsuit, said on Thursday that he had been in contact with the Bexar County District Attorney’s Office about the possibility of filing criminal charges against Primo for indecent exposure. The Bexar County Sherriff’s department confirmed on Friday that it is investigating Dr. Hillary Cauthen’s accusations, per Orsborn.
“The Bexar County Sheriff’s Office has made contact with the victim involved in the Joshua Primo incident,” a sheriff’s spokesperson said via email. “Preliminary investigation into the allegations is underway.”
Primo is an unrestricted free agent after being waived by the Spurs and is unlikely to catch on with another team anytime soon while the legal process plays out. He was accused of exposing himself to multiple women, though Cauthen is the only accuser who has gone public.
Hornets’ Ball, Rozier, Martin “Extremely Close” To Return
The Hornets have been shorthanded to start the 2022/23 season and currently sit with a 3-5 record entering Friday’s game at Memphis, but reinforcements could be coming soon.
Head coach Steve Clifford said on Friday that LaMelo Ball (Grade 2 left ankle sprain), Terry Rozier (right ankle sprain) and Cody Martin (left quad soreness) are all “extremely close” to returning from their injuries, adding that the team has been cautious so they don’t have any setbacks, as Rod Boone of The Charlotte Observer tweets.
While Clifford’s update was certainly positive, he wouldn’t commit to any of three players participating in Saturday’s game against the Nets or Monday’s game against the Wizards. Still, it appears that their returns are imminent, according to Boone (Twitter link).
Ball was previously ruled out for Friday’s game, and Rozier and Martin were both downgraded from doubtful to out, the Hornets announced (via Twitter). Gordon Hayward is also sidelined with a left shoulder contusion.
The 21-year-old Ball, a former No. 3 overall pick, has missed the entire regular season to this point after suffering the Grade 2 ankle sprain in a preseason game on October 10. A first-time All-Star last season for the Hornets, the point guard will be eligible for a rookie scale extension next offseason after the team picked up his 2023/24 option.
Rozier, typically the team’s other starting guard, has been limited to just two games thus far. He has been very productive when healthy, averaging 23.5 PPG, 7.0 RPG, 8.5 APG and 1.5 BPG in 33.0 MPG.
Martin was injured less than a minute into the season opener after re-signing with the Hornets on a four-year, $31.36MM deal over the summer (the final year is non-guaranteed). Clifford previously called the small forward a “critical player” for Charlotte.
Once all of the Hornets are healthy, guards Dennis Smith Jr. (who has been starting at point guard), James Bouknight and Theo Maledon will almost certainly see their minutes reduced. Having said that, Smith seems like an excellent candidate to remain in the rotation going forward, as he’s played very well through eight games, averaging 12.0 PPG, 4.3 RPG, 6.4 APG and 2.3 SPG on .494/.421/.571 shooting in 30.9 MPG.
Kyrie Irving Apologizes For Sharing Offensive Film
Just hours after the Nets announced that they would be suspending star point guard Kyrie Irving for at least five games without pay for sharing a link to a film filled with extreme antisemitic lies, leaving it up for days, and then struggling to exhibit contrition through a series of contentious media interactions, Irving has now issued a statement on his personal Instagram account, directly apologizing for his recent actions and behavior.
“While doing research on YHWH, I posted a Documentary that contained some false anti-Semitic statements, narratives, and language that were untrue and offensive to the Jewish Race/Religion, and I take full accountability and responsibly for my actions,” Irving wrote. “To All Jewish families and Communities that are hurt and affected from my post, I am deeply sorry to have caused you pain, and I apologize. I initially reacted out of emotion to being unjustly labeled Anti-Semitic, instead of focusing on the healing process of my Jewish Brothers and Sisters that were hurt from the hateful remarks made in the Documentary.”
“I want to clarify any confusion on where I stand fighting against Anti-[semitism] by apologizing for posting the documentary without context and a factual explanation outlining the specific beliefs in the Documentary I agreed with and disagreed with,” Irving continued. “I had no intentions to disrespect any Jewish cultural history regarding the Holocaust or perpetuate any hate. I am learning from this unfortunate event and hope we can find understanding between us all. I am no different than any other human being. I am a seeker of truth and knowledge, and I know who I Am.”
What further actions Brooklyn expects from Irving now remains to be seen. It seems possible that previously rumored conversations with the team’s majority owner Joe Tsai, league commissioner Adam Silver, and perhaps Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt may be required before the 2-6 Nets, who desperately need him on the court, welcome Irving back into the fold. Still, this letter marks an encouraging step for Irving’s eventual return to Brooklyn and the NBA.
Former Spurs Employee Files Lawsuit Against Joshua Primo, Team
A sports psychologist formerly employed by the Spurs has filed a lawsuit against Joshua Primo and the team, contending that Primo exposed himself to her on nine separate occasions during their sessions and that the Spurs did nothing about it after she informed team management, according to reports from Tom Orsborn of The San Antonio Express-News and Tim MacMahon of ESPN.
The Spurs unexpectedly waived Primo last week, and word broke shortly thereafter that he had been accused of exposing himself to multiple women, including a former Spurs employee. That employee, Dr. Hillary Cauthen, became the first accuser to go public on Thursday, alleging that the earliest incident occurred during a counseling session with Primo in December 2021.
Cauthen’s suit indicates she requested a meeting with Spurs management in January 2022 and reported the incident to general manager Brian Wright. However, the club didn’t take any tangible action and Primo continued to expose himself in subsequent sessions, including once in a public setting, according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit states that the Spurs’ legal department didn’t get involved until May, with Cauthen allegedly being told that Primo would continue to participate in all team activities despite her complaints, and that she could work at home if she felt uncomfortable. After more meetings with the Spurs and their legal counsel, Cauthen’s contract expired on August 31 and wasn’t renewed.
Orsborn’s story and a report from Diana Moskovitz of Defector have more information on the timeline of events provided in the lawsuit, which accuses the Spurs of being “willing to tolerate abhorrent conduct” by prized athletes.
Spurs CEO RC Buford issued a statement today indicating that the Spurs “disagree with the accuracy of facts, details and timeline presented” in the suit.
“While we would like to share more information, we will allow the legal process to play out,” Buford said. “Our organization remains committed to upholding the highest standards and will continue to live by our values and culture.”
Meanwhile, Primo’s attorney William J. Briggs, II issued a strong denial of the allegations against his client, referring to Primo as someone who has “suffered a lifetime of trauma and challenges” and accusing Cauthen of fabricating or embellishing her claims.
“Josh Primo never intentionally exposed himself to her or anyone else and was not even aware that his private parts were visible outside of his workout shorts,” Briggs claimed (Twitter link via Shams Charania of The Athletic).
According to Orsborn, attorney Tony Buzbee – who is representing Cauthen – said today that he has been in contact with the Bexar County District Attorney’s Office about the possibility of filing criminal charges against Primo for indecent exposure.
Primo is an unrestricted free agent after being waived by the Spurs and is unlikely to catch on with another team anytime soon while the legal process plays out.