NBA News Wire
Cavs’ Irving suffers ankle injury
Jeff Hawkins is an award-winning sportswriter with more than four decades in the industry (print and digital media). A freelance writer/stay-at-home dad since 2008, Hawkins started his career with newspaper stints in Michigan, North Carolina, Florida, Upstate New York and Illinois, where he earned the 2004 APSE first-place award for column writing (under 40,000 circulation). As a beat writer, he covered NASCAR Winston Cup events at NHIS (1999-2003), the NHL's Chicago Blackhawks (2003-06) and the NFL's Carolina Panthers (2011-12). Hawkins penned four youth sports books, including a Michael Jordan biography. Hawkins' main hobbies include mountain bike riding, 5k trail runs at the Whitewater Center in Charlotte, N.C., and live music.
All posts by Jeff HawkinsUpdated15 Oct 2021
Point guard Kyrie Irving suffered a right ankle injury during practice before the Cleveland Cavaliers traveled to Brazil for their preseason game with the Miami Heat, ESPN.com reported Wednesday.
Irving was wearing a walking boot on his right foot while sightseeing with teammates in Rio de Janeiro on Wednesday.
According to ESPN, Irving had X-rays taken and underwent an MRI on Tuesday before the team charter left. Both tests were negative. He is considered day-to-day and his status for Saturday’s preseason game is uncertain.
Irving has missed 49 games with injuries over the past three seasons. He led the Cavs with 16 points in their first preseason game last weekend against Maccabi Tel Aviv.
The Cavs signed Irving to a contract extension during the offseason. The extension is reported to be a max contract allowed under the collective bargaining agreement at five years and $95 million. The new deal begins next year and will run through the 2019-20 season. Irving had one year remaining on his contract.
Irving was the first overall pick in the 2011 draft by the Cavs and has career averages of 20.7 points, 3.7 rebounds, 5.8 assists and 1.4 steals in 33.7 minutes through 181 games with the team. In 2013-14, he averaged 20.8 points, 3.6 rebounds, 6.1 assists and 1.5 steals in 35.2 minutes per game.
