Kawhi Leonard has a partial tear in his left shoulder, according to Spurs coach Gregg Popovich. The Spurs don’t think the injury is too serious, according to ESPN’s Michael C. Wright, and haven’t ruled Leonard out for Thursday night’s game against the Lakers. But a second injury to the team’s All-Star is a cause for alarm. The cause of the tear is still unclear, as is a true timetable for his return.
John Wall has returned to Adidas with a new five-year deal after testing the sneaker free agency market over the last two seasons, according to a report from The Vertical’s Shams Charania.
Wall had been in talks with multiple brands over that period but eventually returned to Adidas, where the brand already launched two signature shoes under Wall’s name. His previous deal expired in Sept. 2015 after the J Wall 2 launched. The All-Star point guard never re-signed despite having a third signature shoe in the works.
It wasn’t too long ago that a Gasol left Memphis.
The eldest Gasol brother, Pau, requested a trade out of the Bluff City as things started to deteriorate. It wasn’t entirely his fault - there were members in the fan base that turned on him, the team’s ownership and direction was in question, and multiple players were either injured or coming off of injury. The organization had a tough decision to make: trade your best player and head down the road of a rebuild, or keep him despite his wish to head out of town.
A visibly frustrated Jimmy Butler is standing in front of his locker. His playoff-bound, star-studded Timberwolves just lost, 98-97, to a Nets team whose most recognizable, healthy face is DeMarre Carroll. Butler doesn’t know where his team’s energy was on Wednesday night, but he knows one thing for sure:
NBA All-Star Game voting starts this week and this feels like an appropriate time to make some early selections. As was the case last year, fans account for 50 percent of the voting, while media and players each count 25 percent. After the starters are selected, the coaches will pick the reserves.
BOSTON -- What if you had a statement game and neither team felt comfortable making one? On the one hand, you had a Celtics team that was feeling refreshed and rejuvenated after a rare break in the schedule. And on the other, you had a Cavaliers squad playing a back-to-back without one of its key players who had only recently returned to the lineup.
NBA TV broadcast a well-publicized one-on-one conversation between legends Magic Johnson and Isiah Thomas on Tuesday. It ended with a touching moment widely shared: Magic forgiving Isiah, his old friend, for hurting him through their 25-year estrangement, and the two embracing.
Isaiah Thomas is set to make his Cavaliers debut Tuesday night, after recovering from a hip injury. He will not play in the Cavs game the following night though, against the team that traded him, in Boston.
That’s why he’s requested the team not play his tribute video, according to the Boston Herald’s Mark Murphy. On Twitter, Thomas explained that he wanted his family at the arena when the video plays.
Anthony Davis signed a five-year contract extension with the Pelicans last season that will keep him in New Orleans until 2021, yet rumors about him potentially being traded are still flying around.
This time, however, it’s Davis adding fuel to the fire. Davis confirmed Pelicans general manager Dell Demps had received calls from the Celtics leading up to last season’s trade deadline, according to a report from ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. However, he said, he was assured by the franchise he wouldn’t be dealt.
