NBA Rumors Round-Up
NBA Rumors: Jeremy Lin’s Time to Shine
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 HawkinsUpdated10 Oct 2023
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Due to a recurring back injury, Lakers point guard Steve Nash will be out for the season, it was announced today. After consultations with Lakers medical staff, both Nash and the organization believe it is best to focus on rest and rehabilitation at this time.
“Being on the court this season has been my top priority and it is disappointing to not be able to do that right now,” said Nash. “I work very hard to stay healthy and unfortunately my recent setback makes performing at full capacity difficult. I will continue to support my team during this period of rest, and will focus on my long-term health.”
“As disappointed as we are for ourselves and our fans, we’re even more disappointed for Steve,” said Lakers General Manager Mitch Kupchak.
“We know how hard he’s worked the last two years to try to get his body right for the rigors of the NBA, and how badly he wants to play, but unfortunately he simply hasn’t been able to get there up to this point in time. Steve has been a consummate professional, and we greatly appreciate his efforts.”
Via NBA Press Releases
When the Lakers acquired Jeremy Lin from the Houston Rockets this offseason it was largely because they knew they could trust him to handle the bulk of the minutes at the point guard position. After two years of relying on Nash only for his body not to hold up, they knew that they needed to bring in a starting-caliber point guard to back him up.
Nash excelled throughout all of his offseason workouts and was healthy coming into training camp, but it wasn’t before long that his body once again let him down. He was supposed to just miss a couple preseason games, but now his season, and likely his career, are over.
This gives Lin the opportunity to be the unquestioned starting point guard the rest of the season. He doesn’t have to worry about splitting time with anyone or coming off of the bench, the point guard spot now belongs to him. It comes at an ideal time as he is heading into free agency at the end of the season. With such low expectations for the Lakers, Lin should really benefit this offseason financially if he excels and helps them overachieve.
In light of the Nash injury, Ronnie Price becomes a lock to make the Lakers’ roster and serve as Lin’s primary backup.
Orlando Magic guard Victor Oladipo will be out indefinitely after suffering a facial fracture in practice Thursday, General Manager Rob Hennigan announced today.
Oladipo, who was evaluated Thursday afternoon, will undergo a corrective surgical procedure on Saturday. He was injured after taking an inadvertent elbow during a practice drill.
via NBA Press Releases
While the timetable is indefinite, Oladipo is the kind of player that you can safely assume will be back on the early end of his projected timetable, whenever it is set. He’s a fiery competitor who hates being away from the game, so he won’t take any more time than he needs in order to recover. In fact, the bigger concern for the Magic is probably going to be keeping him from pushing himself too much too soon.
While Oladipo is out, look for the Magic to give Ben Gordon the opportunity to play some of his minutes. Rookie point guard Elfrid Payton should also see an increase in his minutes as well.
The Sixers probably will keep Richardson, who is guaranteed $6.6 million, if they can.
The 14th-year veteran is the unquestioned leader of a youthful team. However, he might not play this season because of a left-knee injury that has sidelined him since January 2013.
“I think it’s going to be a challenge,” Brown said of Richardson’s putting on a uniform. “But I really don’t know. I just feel like he’s been out of it for a while, and it’s going to be a really difficult task.”
Via Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer
While the 76ers have shown little interest in keeping veterans around since Sam Hinkie has taken over, Richardson fits perfectly into their plans with a $6.6 million salary and an injury that is likely going to keep him out the rest of the season. They need his salary to help hit the minimum salary requirements, and his veteran leadership on a team void of it is needed as well. If Richardson were able to play, though, it’s very likely that the 76ers would be looking for another home for him. They’re not interested in winning at all this year. They’re purely focused on developing their young talent and getting as high of a draft pick as possible. Their plan may have changed a bit if the NBA reformed the draft lottery as they were expected to this week, but they didn’t, and as a result the 76ers will still benefit more from losses than wins.
