Killian Hayes Out At Least Eight More Weeks
The right hip subluxation that has sidelined Pistons rookie lottery selection Killian Hayes since January 4 will keep him off the court for at least the next eight weeks, the club announced today in a press release. Detroit will re-evaluate the 19-year-old point guard and determine a return timeline after that period.
When he first incurred the injury, Hayes was originally projected to miss about four to six weeks should a specialist determine he would not require surgery.
The silver lining to this extended absence, however, is that Hayes will apparently not require a surgical procedure to address the injury, per David Aldridge of The Athletic (via Twitter).
Veteran point guards Derrick Rose and Delon Wright will continue to soak up most of Hayes’ minutes as the rookie continues to recover. Third-year point guard Frank Jackson may get additional run. Forwards Jerami Grant and Blake Griffin will be relied upon for supplemental ball-handling.
Across his first seven NBA games, Hayes especially struggled on offense. He sported an underwhelming slash line of .277/.250/.500.
NBA Announces 11 New Cases In Latest Round Of COVID-19 Testing
Eleven of 502 NBA players have recorded positive test results for the novel coronavirus COVID-19 during the last week since the league’s last announcement on January 13, the NBPA tweeted today in a new statement.
Per the NBA and NBPA, players who test positive or have been discovered to have been in close contact with someone who later tested positive are quarantining per the league’s guidelines.
Last week, the league found positive results for 16 of 497 players tested. The NBA has now announced 90 confirmed positive tests since players reported for training camp in early December, though some who tested positive during the preseason may have been camp invitees who have since been cut.
NBA Postponing Wednesday’s Blazers/Grizzlies Game
The game between the Trail Blazers and Grizzlies scheduled to be played in Portland on Wednesday is being postponed due to COVID-19 contact tracing, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter).
The Grizzlies, who last played on Monday night vs. Phoenix, are the team being affected by the contact tracing protocols, per Wojnarowski (Twitter link). The NBA, in officially announcing the postponement, confirmed that Memphis doesn’t have the league-mandated minimum of eight players available.
As of Monday, Jonas Valanciunas was the only Grizzlies player who was ruled out due to the league’s health and safety protocols — it’s not clear if today’s contact tracing is related to the veteran center, or if members of the team have had possible close contact with someone else who tested positive for the coronavirus.
The Blazers and Grizzlies are scheduled to play again in Portland on Friday, so unless the NBA’s contact tracing investigation resolves quickly, that game may be in danger of being pushed back as well.
This is the 16th NBA game so far during the 2020/21 season to be postponed. The full list can be found right here.
Jusuf Nurkic Undergoes Wrist Surgery
Trail Blazers center Jusuf Nurkic underwent surgery on Tuesday to repair a fracture in his right wrist, according to a team press release.
Nurkic will wear a splint for four weeks and be re-evaluated in six weeks. The timeline offered by the team suggests that the snakebit Portland big man will not return until March at the earliest.
The procedure was performed by Dr. Steven Shin at the Cedars-Sinai Kerlan-Jobe Institute in Los Angeles.
Nurkic suffered his latest major injury during the fourth quarter of Thursday’s game against the Pacers while attempting to block a shot.
He missed nearly the entire 2019/20 season due to a major leg injury suffered late in the previous season. Nurkic is averaging 9.8 PPG, 7.7 RPG, and 2.8 APG in 12 games (23.3 MPG) this season. He enjoyed a career year, averaged 15.6 PPG, 10.4 RPG and 3.2 APG, in 2018/19 before fracturing his left leg.
Nurkic has a partially guaranteed base salary of $12MM next season. The Trail Blazers will have to decide whether to give him a full guarantee this summer.
Enes Kanter started in his place on Monday against San Antonio with Harry Giles backing him up. The Trail Blazers have a spot open on the 15-man roster as well as a two-way slot to add another big man if they wish. According to ESPN’s Bobby Marks, they are $1.87MM below the luxury tax line (Twitter link).
Raptors Waive Alex Len
The Raptors have waived veteran center Alex Len, the team announced today in a press release. The transaction opens up a spot on Toronto’s roster, leaving the club with 14 players on standard contracts and a pair on two-way deals.
The fifth overall pick in the 2013 draft, Len had only played in seven of the Raptors’ 13 games so far this season, and was averaging 2.3 PPG in 10.9 MPG — both marks were his lowest since his rookie season. With Chris Boucher enjoying a breakout year and Aron Baynes also in the mix, Len was third on the depth chart at center.
Although Len hadn’t been playing regular minutes for the Raptors as of late, it’s still a somewhat unexpected move, since he signed a guaranteed contract with the team in free agency less than two months ago.
The 27-year-old recently missed multiple games for personal reasons and was listed as out due to the NBA’s health and safety protocols on Monday, but there has been no indication that his release was related to his recent absence.
Len’s $2.258MM salary will remain on Toronto’s cap unless he’s claimed on waivers, which seems unlikely. Assuming he clears waivers, he’ll become an unrestricted free agent on Thursday afternoon and will be eligible to sign with any team.
The Raptors, meanwhile, won’t be required to fill their open roster spot, but could eventually use it to sign a veteran free agent, to accommodate a trade, or to promote two-way player Yuta Watanabe to the 15-man roster.
Kyrie Irving Practices With Nets, Expected To Play Wednesday
Nets guard Kyrie Irving, who hasn’t appeared in a game since January 5, returned to practice on Tuesday and is expected to be back in action on Wednesday when Brooklyn takes on the Cavaliers, head coach Steve Nash told reporters today (Twitter link via Ian Begley of SNY.tv).
Irving was required to quarantine for several days after violating the NBA’s health and safety protocols, and more recently has been going through workouts in an effort to get his conditioning level back to 100%. Before that, he had been away from the team on personal leave.
Asked today about his absence, the star point guard declined to go into much detail, telling the media – including Malika Andrews of ESPN (Twitter link) – that he’s had “a lot of family and personal stuff” going on during the last two weeks.
“I’m happy to be back, I’m happy to be with these guys,” Irving said, per Adam Zagoria of Forbes (Twitter link). “I addressed the team and ready to move on.”
Irving also apologized to the fans he disappointed by not playing, explaining that he “just needed a pause,” according to Andrews (Twitter link). He added that he’s excited about joining the Nets’ new-look lineup alongside James Harden, and is looking forward to letting his “game speak for itself.”
Assuming Irving returns to the court on Wednesday, it’ll be the first time we see Brooklyn’s new Big Three (Irving, Harden, and Kevin Durant) in action, as well as the first time Kyrie has played a game in Cleveland since October 17, 2017, as Marc Stein of The New York Times notes (Twitter link). A longtime Cavalier, Irving played in his first game for the Celtics on that date over three years ago.
Myles Turner Has Avulsion Fracture In Right Hand
1:06pm: The Pacers have issued an update on Turner, confirming in a press release that he has sustained an avulsion fracture in his right hand. However, the big man won’t require surgery and is being considered day-to-day for now.
While we still don’t know exactly when Turner will be back on the court, it sounds like he won’t miss much – if any – time. Head coach Nate Bjorkgren said that Turner participated in practice today, as J. Michael of The Indianapolis Star tweets.
As a point of reference, when Gordon Hayward suffered a similar injury during the preseason, he was good to go for the Hornets’ regular season opener just over a week later.
10:34am: Pacers center Myles Turner has been diagnosed with a slight fracture in his right hand and will be re-evaluated in the coming days, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). It’s not yet clear how much time he’ll miss.
Turner suffered the injury last Thursday in a game in Portland against the Trail Blazers. It appeared to happen on a dunk attempt with about five minutes left in the fourth quarter, as Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files relays (video link). Turner was subsequently ruled out for Indiana’s game on Sunday vs. the Clippers.
Turner, 24, was off to a strong start this season, averaging 12.4 PPG, 6.8 RPG, 1.5 SPG, and a league-leading 4.2 BPG in 12 games (31.7 MPG). In his absence, Doug McDermott slid into the Pacers’ starting lineup on Sunday.
If Turner is forced to miss an extended period, he’ll become Indiana’s third key rotation player who is expected to remain on the shelf for the foreseeable future — T.J. Warren (foot surgery) and Caris LeVert (small mass in his kidney) have been ruled out indefinitely. On the plus side, Jeremy Lamb is reportedly close to making his season debut after being sidelined since last February as he recovers from an ACL tear.
CJ McCollum Out At Least Four Weeks With Foot Injury
JANUARY 19: Further testing on McCollum’s foot injury revealed a small hairline fracture to the lateral cuneiform, the Blazers announced late on Monday night (Twitter link). According to the club, the standout guard will wear a walking boot and will be re-evaluated in four weeks.
McCollum is the third key Portland rotation player to be sidelined with a multi-week injury, joining Jusuf Nurkic and Zach Collins. The increasing number of absences may put more pressure on the Blazers to make use of one of their open roster spots.
JANUARY 18: Trail Blazers guard CJ McCollum, who left Saturday’s win over Atlanta due to a left foot sprain, will be re-evaluated in one week, head coach Terry Stotts said today (link via Casey Holdahl of Blazers.com).
McCollum remained in the locker room at halftime on Saturday after appearing to suffer the injury in the first quarter when Hawks center Clint Capela landed on his foot following a layup attempt. Rodney Hood was moved into the starting lineup for today’s game vs. San Antonio to replace the Blazers’ second-leading scorer.
If McCollum remains sidelined for a week, he’d also miss two games against the Grizzlies (Wednesday and Friday) and one against the Knicks (Sunday). While there’s no guarantee he’ll be ready to go next week, it doesn’t sound like the injury will result in a long-term absence for McCollum.
Hood, Gary Trent Jr. and Anfernee Simons are the other most obvious candidates to see some extra minutes for Portland until McCollum gets healthy. The club also has a pair of open roster spots (one standard and one two-way), but there has been no indication that any signings are imminent.
Wizards’ COVID-19 Problems Worsen As Another Player Tests Positive
The Wizards’ COVID-19 issues continue to mount, as a seventh player and a staff member have now tested positive, Ava Wallace of the Washington Post tweets.
On Friday, Washington GM Tommy Sheppard confirmed that six players had tested positive for the virus and three others were under health and safety protocols.
However, there is some room for optimism. The team could practice again as soon as Wednesday, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski tweets. That’s because some of the players currently under health and safety protocols could soon be cleared to return, he adds.
The lack of available players has forced the NBA to postpone five consecutive Wizards games. Earlier on Monday, the league announced the Wizards’ game on Wednesday against the Hornets would be moved to a later date. They also officially waived center Anžejs Pasečņiks, though it’s unknown whether he was one of the players on the COVID-19 list.
The Wizards started to bring players who have tested negative and cleared contact tracing protocols into the practice facility for one-on-zero workouts Sunday, Fred Katz of The Athletic tweets. They haven’t been together in a group setting since their last game a week ago.
NBA Postpones Wednesday’s Wizards/Hornets Game
The Wizards‘ coronavirus outbreak continues to force postponements, with the NBA announcing today that Wednesday’s game in Charlotte between the Wizards and Hornets won’t take place as scheduled. It’s the fifth consecutive Washington game that has been postponed.
General manager Tommy Sheppard confirmed over the weekend that the Wizards have had six players test positive for the coronavirus, with three more players tied up in the NBA’s health and safety protocols for contact tracing purposes.
It’s not clear whether or not Anžejs Pasečņiks – who has since been waived – was one of the affected players. Either way though, with Thomas Bryant out for the season due to a torn ACL, Washington doesn’t have the league-required minimum of eight players available for games.
The team hasn’t played since last Monday, when it recorded a 128-107 win over Phoenix. The next game on the Wizards’ schedule is a Friday contest in Milwaukee — we’ll have to wait to see if it can be played as scheduled.
The NBA has now had to postpone 15 games on this season’s schedule. The full list can be found right here.