Chicago’s Luol Deng will miss his second straight game: “”It’s still tight,” coach Tom Thibodeau said of Deng’s injury. “It’s better, a lot better; both guys are a lot better. They’re close but not quite there yet … we’ll see where it is [Wednesday].” Butler, who suffered his injury in a Nov. 18 game against the Charlotte Bobcats, said he was about “80 [percent]” and was able to run and jump and just started changing directions again on the court. However, he did not sound optimistic regarding his chances for Wednesday’s game against the New York Knicks. “I don’t know,” Butler said. “I feel good, though. I think I still have a little bit of a ways to go. But we’re definitely moving in the right direction. I’m moving a lot better, jumping off of it better, so we’ll just see every day that I wake up how I’m feeling.””
Chemistry issues led to the Rudy Gay trade: “Ujiri termed the deletion of Gay’s $19.3-million 2014-15 contract option a “long-term” move and said the uncertainty of not knowing whether Gay would opt out (even though it seems unthinkable he would, given how poorly he’s played this season) made his job more difficult. “That option was tough on our part. It’s a tough place to be where you can’t go to Rudy and say: ‘Hey, we need to talk about the future.’ That option really put us in a tough position to plan. I would say flexibility long-term,” Ujiri said. He added that he’d continue to keep a close eye on the new cast of characters and decide what further moves need to be made. He wouldn’t admit to being in teardown mode, but that’s what’s happening here. “I don’t think it’s fair to say that. I think in some way, we can build. We can build for the future. I think we didn’t come here (to) just tear everything down. I think we’re giving everything a fair shot, and we will continue to,” said the reigning NBA executive of the year.”
Take a look inside the strange world of being traded in the NBA: “The reality can be quite different. In today’s NBA, convoluted salary cap rules make trades a little more interesting. Typically, trades involve a couple of principles and then a bunch of guys who get thrown in to make the salaries balance. Often a player will get traded for no other reason than he makes the right amount of money. I was traded 3 times in my career, once for cash, once for a draft pick, and once for a salary slot. And believe me, nothing kills your ego more than being traded for a salary slot! My first team was the Utah Jazz. This was before Stockton and Malone. We were bad, played in a small arena, and more fans rooted for the other team than they did for us. Still we had a terrific bunch of guys and it was a great place to develop.”
Bradley Beal has been cleared for basketball activities: “Wizards guard Bradley Beal has been cleared to increase basketball activities after a follow-up MRI exam showed improvement in the stress injury to his right fibula. Beal, who has missed the last six games prior to tonight, has averaged 20.6 points, 4.2 rebounds and 3.5 assists in 40.2 minutes over 13 games for the Wizards this season. Wizards forward Al Harrington underwent a diagnostic arthroscopy and lavage procedure this evening to clean out loose particles in his right knee. He will miss the next four weeks and then be re-evaluated. The procedure was performed by Dr. Richard Steadman in Vail, Colorado. Harrington has averaged 7.9 points and 1.4 rebounds 18.6 minutes over seven games for the Wizards this season.”
Ben Baroff is a basketball journalist who blogs for SheridanHoops.com. Follow him on Twitter here.