It was reported yesterday that Wizards rookie guard Bradley Beal will be shut down for the rest of the season due to a stress injury to his right fibula. However, word has surfaced today that Beal might still be playing had he not tried to play hurt. More from J. Michael of Comcast Sportsnet: “Looking back, should he have tried to play through injuries to both ankles? “Should I have?” Beal said rhetorically. “No. But I was going to play regardless because I’m a hard-headed kid. That’s just how I am. I’m always competitive. I always want to play.””
- Like Beal, Michael Lee of the Washington Post is reporting that Emeka Okafor and Trevor Ariza will be back next season and will not opt-out of their contracts at the end of the season: “The Wizards fully expected that Emeka Okafor and Trevor Ariza would be under contract through the 2013-14 season when they acquired them last June from the New Orleans Hornets in exchange for Rashard Lewis’s expiring contract. Okafor and Ariza have early-termination options in their contracts for next season, but both confirmed this week their intentions to finish out their respective deals.”
In an incredible feature on Terrance Williams, newly acquired by the Boston Celtics, Comcast Sportsnet’s Jessica Camerato takes a deep look at the long journey Williams has ventured upon on and off the court: “To say Williams had a childhood would be using the term loosely. He grew up fast, faster than he should have had to, but he faced circumstances that left him with no choice but to become the man of the house at an early age. Williams uses the word “father” very specifically. He has no memories of Edgar, who served time in prison and was murdered the day he was released. Williams was only a child.”
“I don’t remember anything,” Williams said. “The only image I really have is when he was in jail and I was taking him some shoes with my mom for him to have. I can’t tell you any stories of, ‘Oh I remember this one time playing at the park.’ I’ve always in the past tried to remember – it’s the hardest thing to do. You can’t have a memory of something that you don’t think ever happened. So to me, I didn’t have a father. I had a dad, I had somebody that birthed me. But it’s just blank.”
- There may be something other than rookie sensation Damian Lillard to look forward to in Portland, according to Chris Haynes of Comcast Sportsnet: “Portland Trail Blazers President Chris McGowan has informed CSNNW.com that he will make it known at an April 18 NBA Board of Governors meeting in New York, that he has every intention of preparing a bid to bring NBA All-Star Weekend to the city of Portland.”