John Wall Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Odds & Ends: Seattle, Finley, Heisley, Arenas

January 17th, 2013 at 3:52pm CST by Luke Adams

Addressing the media in London today, commissioner David Stern didn't share many new details about a possible sale of the Sacramento Kings, but he did confirm that the NBA hasn't been informed of any sale agreement with Chris Hansen's Seattle group, according to Ryan Lillis of the Sacramento Bee. As Stern watches the Knicks and Pistons play at the O2 Arena, let's round up a few more odds and ends from around the NBA:

Following up on his piece yesterday in which he argued the NBA should give Seattle an expansion team rather than moving the Kings, Tom Ziller of SBNation.com addresses the arguments against expansion.
Michael Finley's agent has been in touch with 5-10 NBA teams that have expressed some level of interest in his client, Finley tells BasketUSA.com (link via Sportando). It's not clear how serious any of that interest is, but it seems Finley is still attempting to make an NBA comeback.
Although he says he hasn't had any conversations with team owners who may be interested in selling, former Grizzlies owner Michael Heisley has expressed some interest in buying another NBA team, writes Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today. "At least some people around the NBA know I am interested," Heisley said. "David Stern called me and asked if that was the case, and told him, 'Yeah.'"
Gilbert Arenas will explore his NBA options upon returning from China this season, but suggests that he may play in the CBA again next year, according to a Hupu.com report (translation via HoopsHype).
In their latest Insider-only draft preview piece on ESPN.com, Chad Ford and Jay Bilas discuss the current frontrunner to be picked first overall in June.
In another Insider-only piece, ESPN.com's Chris Broussard talks to executives and scouts about John Wall's current stock.

Eastern Notes: Bucks, Nets, Cavs, Oden

January 13th, 2013 at 4:13pm CST by Sean Highkin

The latest news and notes from around the Eastern Conference on Sunday afternoon:

Raptors head coach Dwane Casey tells Charles F. Gardner of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel that he is not surprised that Scott Skiles was fired by the Bucks, noting the heavy turnover among coaches in recent years.
Wes Szafran of the South Jersey Times writes that P.J. Carlesimo has done an excellent job since replacing Avery Johnson as head coach of the Nets.
Cavs owner Dan Gilbert told fans to be patient with the team's rebuild in a recent television interview. Bob Finnan of the News-Herald has quotes.
Mary Schmitt Boyer of the Plain Dealer writes that Greg Oden deserves a chance to rehabilitate his NBA career, comparing his injury-plagued early years to those of former Cavs center Zydrunas Ilgauskas, who was able to put together a productive NBA career.
Michael Lee of the Washington Post wonders if top overall draft picks are cursed, citing the recent injuries to John Wall and Kyrie Irving.
Ryan Anderson tells Fred Kerber of the New York Post that the Dwight Howard drama was a distraction for the Magic players last season.

Odds & Ends: LeBron, Wall, Pacers, Rose

January 11th, 2013 at 10:55pm CST by Sean Highkin

The latest news and notes from around the NBA on Friday evening:

Nuggets coach George Karl told Chris Tomasson of Fox Sports Florida that he wouldn't be surprised to see LeBron James return to the Cavaliers in the future.
John Wall will return to action for the Wizards on Saturday.
Mike Wells of the Indianapolis Star writes that chemistry has trumped star power for the Pacers this season.
Teddy Greenstein of the Chicago Tribune reports that Derrick Rose is not rushing his rehab from knee surgery and doesn't know when he will return to the Bulls.
Bill Oram of the Salt Lake Tribune talks to Hawks teammates Devin Harris and Kyle Korver about their time playing for the Jazz.

Odds & Ends: Wall, Felton, Raptors, Harden

December 26th, 2012 at 11:15pm CST by Chuck Myron

A pair of teams at opposite ends of the standings received news about their point guards that conflicts with the way their seasons have gone so far. John Wall told Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports that he's targeting sometime next month for his return to the Wizards from a left patella injury that's kept him out all season. Raymond Felton of the Knicks, meanwhile, told reporters, including Marc Berman of the New York Post (Twitter link), that he'll likely have surgery on his broken right pinkie finger that will keep him out four to six weeks. While we don't normally cover injuries at Hoops Rumors, we do so when an absence could have an effect on personnel moves, and there's news on a couple more guys whose health could signal change.

Raptors officials said that center Jonas Valanciunas will miss the next four to six weeks with a broken ring finger on his right hand, as Doug Smith of the Toronto Star notes, which might complicate matters if the team intends to trade Andrea Bargnani anytime soon while remaining competitive this season. With Bargnani still recovering from a torn elbow ligament, Aaron Gray has become a starter.
Smith also writes that coach Dwane Casey has decided he'll keep Jose Calderon in the starting lineup even when Kyle Lowry returns from a torn right triceps muscle. Calderon has long been a trade candidate, but the team could dangle Lowry instead, as we heard earlier today.
The Timberwolves had contact with the Thunder about acquiring James Harden, but Minnesota was rebuffed, tweets Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN. It's unclear how far talks got, but it's no surprise that the Wolves at least made an inquiry, as just about every team surely did this summer while Oklahoma City stared down the dilemma over whether to grant Harden an extension.
The numbers show top pick Anthony Davis has played more efficiently than any other 2012 lottery selection, and he credits some of that success to the mentorship of Ryan Anderson, as Jim Eichenhofer of Hornets.com tweets.

Latest On John Wall

December 17th, 2012 at 2:15pm CST by Sean Highkin

John Wall addressed media Monday after the Washington Wizards' morning practice in Miami. He revealed for the first time that he had a stress fracture in his knee in addition to cartelige problems. Amin Vafa of Bullets Forever has a full transcript of his comments, where he discussed his injury, rehab, and the state of the Wizards.

On whether he has a timetable to return:

No, no timetable. Basically, I just got to see how this shot goes, and see if I can get back to ramping it up without having any problems or pain or soreness.

On being cautious:

So, that's the 50-50 chance you got. I mean, you never know how it's going to go. You just hope it heals the right way, and I think I've been doing the right things I'm supposed to do: just rest, do my exercises, try to stay in shape as best as possible without going out there and injuring myself and hurting myself for the rest of my career. I want to be out there playing basketball with my teammates, but I just want to make sure I'm fully healthy.

On the Wizards' current struggles:

I still understand that things happen for a reason. I just feel like God is testing me to see how strong I am mentally, and it's tough for me because I want to be out there and play. It's tough watching basketball when you can't play. I don't really know what to say.

Odds & Ends: Knicks, Harden, Terry, Draft

December 12th, 2012 at 10:57pm CST by Sean Highkin

The latest news and notes from around the NBA on Wednesday night:

Al Iannazzone of Newsday.com writes that Mike Woodson has been more successful at coaching Carmelo Anthony than Mike D'Antoni was.
James Harden was indifferent in his reaction to reports that the Wizards had rejected an offer from the Thunder to send him to Washington.
Jason Terry did not rule out a return to the Mavericks later in his career, writes Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com.
ESPN.com's Chad Ford took a variety of questions from fans relating to the 2013 NBA Draft in a live chat.
SNY.com's Adam Zagoria reports that Jabari Parker, the second-rated prospect of the 2014 Draft, is down to Duke and Michigan State in his choice of colleges.
Chris Broussard of ESPN.com reports that John Wall will have his knee re-examined on Friday.
Sam Amico of FoxSportsOhio.com writes that youth is not an excuse for the Cavs' poor play.
D.J. Augustin has been a disappointment since signing with the Pacers this summer.
Sean Michael Meager of the Oregonian has an interview with Trail Blazers rookie Will Barton about his recent D-League assignment and the adjustment from college to the NBA.
Brandon Jennings was perhaps the best player up for a rookie-scale extension who didn't get one, but he's drawing comparisons to Chris Paul and Mike Conley from Bucks coach Scott Skiles for his play this season, as Charles F. Gardner of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel documents.
Stephen Curry is feeling happy with his level of play this season and is not disappointed with his contract extension, he tells Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports.

Injury Notes: Stoudemire, Wizards, Lowry

November 20th, 2012 at 9:51pm CST by Sean Highkin

In the early goings of the 2012/13 season, several high-profile players have sustained injuries. Here are the latest updates on some of these players:

Mike Woodson told ESPNNewYork.com that Amar'e Stoudemire is still expected to return to the Knicks in mid-December. Woodson would not say whether Stoudemire will start.
Nene said last week that he was roughly three weeks away from returning to the Wizards, but it's possible he makes his season debut at some point this week, says Michael Lee of the Washington Post. Lee notes that John Wall is making progress as well.
Kyle Lowry returned to the Raptors Tuesday night following an ankle injury, although Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun writes that he looked rusty.
Bobcats guard Gerald Henderson tells Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer that he's a week away from returning from a foot injury.

Injury Updates: Wall, Billups, Gordon

November 7th, 2012 at 9:00pm CST by Chuck Myron

We don't normally report on injuries at Hoops Rumors, but when a star player goes down for a lengthy absence or the injury otherwise figures to have an impact on a team's personnel decisions, we pass along that news. Tonight we have a few updates on key figures who'll be out for a while.

Wizards point guard John Wall was supposed to miss around eight weeks with an injury to his left patella, but now Wall says there's no target date for his return, reports Michael Lee of The Washington Post.
Clippers coach Vinny Del Negro was hopeful last month that Chauncey Billups could return from his torn left Achilles tendon sometime in November, but Billups doesn't think he'll recover quite so quickly, saying on ESPN's NBA Countdown this evening that he hopes to be back about a month from now, as Arash Markazi of ESPNLosAngeles writes.
The Hornets confirmed Eric Gordon's four-to-six-week prognosis, and announced that he'll head to Los Angeles for "more personalized and intensive" rehabilitation on his troublesome right knee. John Reid of The Times-Picayune has details.

Wizards Exercise Options On Six Players

October 19th, 2012 at 12:47pm CST by Luke Adams

The Wizards completed a major chunk of bookkeeping today, exercising 2013/14 options for six players, according to a press release from the team. John Wall, Kevin Seraphin, Trevor Booker, and Jordan Crawford had their fourth-year options picked up, while Jan Vesely and Chris Singleton had their third-year options exercised.

"We have been able to bring in and develop this core group of talented, mature young players over the last several years, and we’re pleased to have them all signed through next season," said Wizards president Ernie Grunfeld in a statement. "Combining them with the veterans we’ve added gives us a solid foundation that can be competitive now while allowing us to continue to build towards future success."

Wall will earn a salary of about $7.46MM in 2013/14, while the other five players range from about $1.62MM (Singleton) to $3.34MM (Vesely). Wall, Seraphin, Booker, and Crawford will now be eligible for restricted free agency in the summer of 2014, unless they're extended next summer. The Wizards will have an additional year of control (2014/15) for Vesely and Singleton.

Check out Hoops Rumors' option tracker to keep tabs on which rookie-scale players have had their 2013/14 options picked up so far this offseason.

John Wall Out Eight Weeks With Patella Injury

September 28th, 2012 at 12:26pm CST by Luke Adams

The Wizards officially announced today that John Wall will be out of action for about eight weeks while he recovers from a patella injury. The team's press release described Wall's diagnosis as the "early stages of a stress injury to his left patella," noting that surgery won't be required for the former first overall pick.

The injury, which figures to keep Wall sidelined for training camp, the preseason, and the first few weeks of the regular season, comes at a poor time for the third-year player. While it's still a lock that the Wizards will exercise his fourth-year option by October 31st, the upcoming season was expected to be a crucial one for Wall, who will be eligible for a contract extension next summer.

"Your third year is a key year," Wall said to the media, including Michael Lee of the Washington Post, earlier today. "It makes or breaks you, what you’re going to be in this league. This is a big year for me."

Although Wall's injury isn't expected to linger too far into the regular season, it may force the Wizards to invite another point guard to training camp. Currently, the team only has Shelvin Mack and A.J. Price under contract as Wall's backups. Nonetheless, GM Ernie Grunfeld doesn't sound like he's expecting to make any major changes as a result of Wall's setback.

"We're all disappointed for John after how hard he worked this summer and how excited he was to begin training camp, but we feel fortunate that we caught the injury early and that he will be able to return with the vast majority of the season still in front of us," said Grunfeld. "In the meantime, we're confident that the versatility and depth of our team will help us move forward and continue the positive momentum that we've seen over the past several months."