Monday was a happy day for some, ominous for many others.
Some big news broke early in the day about the status of Derrick Rose and Kobe Bryant. The news on Rose was worse than expected, while some may consider the good news for Bryant not so good. See what all the ruckus was about below.
DERRICK ROSE OUT FOR THE SEASON:
After undergoing successful knee surgery to repair a torn meniscus, the Chicago Bulls declared that Rose would miss the remainder of the season. The point guard chose the option to let his meniscus heal rather than cutting it out, which would shorten the recovery time to a few weeks but cause more long-term issues. Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today has details:
Chicago Bulls point guard Derrick Rose will miss the rest of the 2013-14 season after having surgery Monday to repair a torn medial meniscus in his right knee.
The timetable on Rose’s absence indicates he had the meniscus repaired and reattached and not removed or partially removed. Reparation is the preferred surgical option, but rehabilitation and recovery takes longer. The meniscus acts as a cushion for knee bones, and without, the chance of early arthritis and other problems increase.
“You want to save what’s there. My guess is that you want to prolong the longevity of the career,” orthopedic surgeon Alexis Colvin told USA TODAY Sports.
For those wondering if Rose will ever be the same again, there is no reason to assume otherwise. Yes, this is a painful blow for the guard and it will be time consuming to rehab once again, but the injury is not one that limits a player the way more devastating injuries like a torn ACL or Achilles heel does.
Unfortunately for the Bulls, the bad news didn’t stop there. Here is the latest update on Jimmy Butler’s toe injury, from K.C. Johnson of Chicago Tribune:
Hits keep coming: Jimmy Butler tells team web site he still can’t put full weight on his right foot, which remains swollen/in walking boot.
KOBE BRYANT SIGNS HUGE TWO-YEAR DEAL:
Kobe Bryant said no negotiating was involved when he signed a mega two-year deal with the Los Angeles Lakers, from Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports:
Between his signature on a two-year, $48.5 million contract extension and a cross-country flight to the East Coast on Monday, Kobe Bryant was left befuddled and bemused by those who declared him greedy and uncaring about chasing championships.
“This was easy,” Bryant told Yahoo Sports on Monday night. “This wasn’t a negotiation. The Lakers made their offer with cap and building a great team in mind while still taking care of me as a player.
“I simply agreed to the offer.”
Carmelo Anthony shared his thoughts on the big signing. Of course, nothing but positive reinforcement from the forward, from Marc Berman of NY Post: “What was it 40 [million a year]? They got off easy. It’s Kobe, man. They did a good deed to him. He’s been there his whole career. Obviously, he’ll bow out there. They did him right. It worked out for both parties.’’
If you’re one of the many who were upset by the size of Bryant’s contract, you’ll want to see the logic behind Jim Buss’ decision, from Ramona Shelburne of ESPN Los Angeles: “This wasn’t something I decided to do; this wasn’t something [general manager] Mitch Kupchak decided to do. This was a Buss family decision,” Lakers executive vice president of player personnel Jim Buss told ESPNLosAngeles.com on Monday night, after the team inked Bryant to a two-year, $48.5 million extension. “We made him the highest-paid player in the NBA because we felt like it was the right thing to do. This wasn’t about what somebody else would pay him or outbidding anyone for him. “This was to continue his legacy [with the Lakers], our legacy of loyalty to our iconic players.”… “Loyalty is one of the values our dad instilled in us,” he said. “It’s how he ran the Lakers and how we aspire to continue to run the Lakers. It’s what our fans and iconic players deserve.”… “He doesn’t have to prove to us one thing,” Buss said. “He’s proven everything to us over the last 17 years. We’ve seen what he’s done with broken fingers and torn ligaments. There’s no stopping the guy. We have 100 percent faith in him.”
QUOTE OF THE DAY:
After another dreadful loss against the Portland Trail Blazers, Amare Stoudemire spoke on the New York Knicks’ biggest issue: lack of ball movement. Here is his huge rant, from knicksnow.com:
“Move the ball. Start playing with one another. Until we figure that part out, there are going to be a lot of nights like this.”
“It’s hard for any player to get into a good rhythm when the ball don’t move. I’ve been playing my entire career where the ball moves and everybody end up having a career year. When the ball don’t move, guys can’t get into a rhythm. They don’t touch the ball often enough to get into a rhythm, and it makes it tough for the rest of the teammates to have fun out there. Right now, we’re not having fun. The ball’s not moving. The way we’re playing, one pass, one shot. Teams that move the ball wins, teams that don’t lose. It’s pretty simple.
“My frustration level is at an all-time high at this point. I worked my butt off to get in top shape to be able to compete at a high level. To work that hard and to be losing at this point, it’s not a great feeling.”
RAJON RONDO UPDATE:
Not all updates about injured players were bad, as the latest on Rondo is that he may be close to 100 percent, according to Baxter Holmes of Boston Globe:
NBA source: “Rondo looking pretty close to 100% in warmups — playing pretty hard against MarShon 1-on-1, dunking, etc.”
STRANGE SET OF ACCOMPLISHMENTS:
On Monday, LaMarcus Aldridge was named NBA Player of the Week for averaging 22.5 points, 10.5 rebounds and 1.8 blocks and helping his team win all four games. About 15 minutes later, the league handed him a $45,000 fine for his involvement in the scuffle between Andrew Bogut and Mo Williams during Saturday’s contest between the Portland Trail Blazers and Golden State Warriors.
NBA UNVEILS GROUNDBREAKING BOX SCORES:
The folks over at NBA.com are doing everything in their power to make the site a must-visit destination for all things NBA. Check out the latest addition in their box scores:
The National Basketball Association (NBA) and SAP AG (NYSE: SAP) today announced NBA.com/Stats – the official NBA statistical destination powered by the SAP HANA® real-time platform – has unveiled groundbreaking video box scores. The new feature, which links video to statistics in the box score, makes the NBA the first major U.S. professional sports league to provide all fans with access to video box scores.
Along with the innovative video box scores, NBA.com/Stats has launched video within team and player pages, shooting charts, play-by-play section, and other statistics. The new video integration, which further demonstrates SAP’s powerful analytics capabilities, will include the current NBA season and the entire 2012-13 season.
OTHER NEWS FROM AROUND THE LEAGUE: