Kevin Love will miss an extended period of time due to a re-fracture of his hand, from The AP: “Kahn is ramping up conversations with other teams to see if there might be a trade to be made to supplement an injury-plagued team that remains hopeful about making the playoffs this season. “I certainly think he’ll be out for a number of weeks,” Kahn said after practice on Monday. “But because we don’t have anything else definitive yet, I can’t say precisely what that means. But a number of weeks is a number of weeks, and yes it’s important for us to try to figure out if there’s something we can do to help alleviate his loss.” Love missed the first three weeks of the season after breaking his hand during the preseason. He didn’t need surgery for that injury, and it’s still unknown if he will need it this time around.”
Iman Shumpert may be very close to returning for the Knicks, according to Al Iannazzone of Newsday: “When my knee was swelled up, I think I had doubts,” Shumpert said. “But now I can sort of feel myself getting back to where I was. Of course, I’m not going to be exactly what I was; I won’t be peaking or anything. I know that with time and with work, I’ll get back to where I was and even more.” Shumpert’s knee has to be tested before he’s cleared for five-on-five contact. That could be this week, but how many practices he’ll need before he can play in games is uncertain. Though Shumpert is antsy to return, he said he will follow the doctors’ orders. “I feel like I can do pretty much everything,” he said. “But that’s why you’ve got to listen to the doctors because I’m just young and I just want to play. So part of it is me just being competitive and wanting to play. But we’re going to read the data and make sure everything is OK. If I feel any pain, I’m not going to do no more.”
- Ben Gordon called his time with the Pistons a failure, from Vincent Goodwill of The Detroit News: “Yeah, because when I came here, it was — is — a great, storied organization,” he said. “I had visions of going to the playoffs and things of that nature. “We didn’t make it while I was here and that was disappointing to me. We had the talent, but for some reason we were never able to reach that goal of being one of the better teams in the East.”… “I’ve thought about that and I think about it a lot,” Gordon said. “It’s a lot of different reasons but it’s just things with anything in life you try to learn from. You learn from your failures and try to get better.”
The suspended Royce White apparently wants the Rockets to sign something they’re not even allowed to sign, from Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today: “According to a person familiar with the situation, White wants the NBA, the National Basketball Players Association, the Rockets and himself to sign a document detailing his wishes for the mental health protocol, and White has told the Rockets he won’t show up for work until all parties sign the document. The person spoke to USA TODAY Sports on the condition of anonymity because the document was supposed to remain confidential. The person added that such agreements are banned under the terms of the collective bargaining agreement. According to the uniform player contract detailed in the CBA, “no amendments to the form of the Uniform Player Contract provided for by Section 1 of this Article shall be permitted,” and if a team or player agree on such an amendment, “such Contract or subsequent amendment, as the case may be, shall be disapproved by the Commissioner, and consequently, rendered null and void.”
Rajon Rondo was suspended for making contact with an official, from Ben Golliver of SI: “With 3:19 remaining in the third quarter of Boston’s 89-81 victory, Rondo was called for an offensive foul as he attacked the paint in transition, looking to get up a short jump shot. Rondo appeared to use his right arm to stave off Hawks forward Josh Smith, who went stumbling backward after the contact, which occurred as both players were running back on the break. After he was called for the offensive foul, Rondo walked slowly over to referee Rodney Mott and lightly bumped Mott’s left shoulder with his chest as he calmly disputed the call. Rondo was not assessed a technical foul for the bump during the game. Rondo must sit out the Celtics’ game against the Knicks in New York on Monday night. He is earning $11 million this season; the one-game suspension without pay will cost him $100,000.”
- Not so surprisingly, Celtics analyst Tommy Heinsohn was quite upset about the matter:
- Danny Ferry was also penalized for his inappropriate behavior after the game against the Celtics, from the NBAPR:
Omri Casspi wants out of Cleveland, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports: “Dropped out of the Cleveland Cavaliers’ rotation, forward Omri Casspi, the NBA’s first Israeli-born player, has requested a trade, league sources told Yahoo! Sports. Casspi has shown significant flashes of promise in his young career, but he has become an afterthought for the struggling Cavaliers since missing five games with gastroenteritis in December. Cavaliers general manager Chris Grant has been making calls on possible deals for Casspi, but nothing has materialized. The request for a trade was made through Casspi’s representatives with Creative Arts Agency (CAA), sources said. Cleveland officials privately insist that no such request was made, but multiple league sources with knowledge say that CAA recently made the request.”
Frank Vogel signed a contract extension with the Pacers, from RealGM: “This is a good deal for Frank and the franchise,” said Pacers President of Basketball Operations Donnie Walsh. “Frank has done a great job turning our team around since he became coach and deserves the chance to continue the work he and his staff have started.” Vogel has compiled 62-38 record through 100 games coached in the NBA, swiftly impacting the culture around the Pacers…. “I’m honored that Donnie, Kevin (General Manager Pritchard) and Mr. Simon (owner Herb Simon) have such belief and faith in me to be their coach in the foreseeable future,” Vogel said in a statement. “We’ve established a great connection with our community the last two years, both on and off the court and I look forward to continuing that.”
- The Heat may have interest in Chris Anderson, from Wojnarowski: “In its exploration to sign a big man, the Miami Heat will work out ex-Denver Nuggets center Chris Andersen, league sources told Yahoo! Sports. Andersen, famously known as “The Birdman,” arrived in Miami on Monday for a physical and workouts over the next two days with the defending NBA champions, sources said. Heat president Pat Riley has been scouring the landscape to bolster a foundering frontcourt bench and appears to be intrigued with the possibility of discovering how much Andersen, 34, has left in his game. The Heat released center Josh Harrellson on Monday and now have two open roster spots.”
J.R. Smith is focused on becoming an All-Star, from Marc Berman of New York Post: “My eyes are on being an All-Star, honestly,’’ Smith told The Post late Thursday after the Knicks hammered the mighty Spurs. “I’m not focusing on Sixth Man. Sixth Man is more long-term, honestly, end of the year. My individual goal right now is All-Star, then I’ll think about the Sixth Man. I’m trying to be that All-Star coming off the bench for my team.’’ Smith was devastated when coach Mike Woodson told him during training camp he envisioned him coming off the bench. It is rare for a bench player to be viewed as an All-Star, but Smith’s season has been eye-opening. Smith is not on the All-Star ballot. All-Star fan voting to select the starters ends Jan. 14. The coaches have until Jan. 24 to submit their ballots.”
Andrew Bynum is feeling better and nearing a return to basketball activities, according to Dei Lynam of CSN Philly: “It is going well,” Bynum said. “I am feeling a lot less pain, progressing on the treadmill. I will start running soon so it is going pretty good.”… “I come in, I get on the treadmill for 20 minutes. Right now it is all walking, a fast-paced walk,” Bynum explained. “Then I get on the bike and do a bunch of leg stuff with no weights, just all body-weight stuff, just trying to get that cartilage to grind up more and then the better I feel, the more we add.”… “It has taken a long time but everything the doctor has said has been right so he said just take your time and the pain will go down, so I am pretty sure I will be back,” Bynum said, unwilling to give a timetable but optimistic he will don a Sixers uniform this season. There is no basketball activity yet — standstill shooting and running on the treadmill are “coming soon” Bynum said.”