Kyrie Irving returned to the Cleveland Cavaliers against the New Orleans Hornets on Sunday night after missing eight games with a strained left shoulder.

There was speculation Irving would miss the rest of the season after injuring the shoulder March 10 against the Toronto Raptors.

"It wasn't so much what I noticed but it was the way he was moving, the way he said he felt," coach Byron Scott said. "He has to trust me. If I don't think he looks right, if I don't think he's moving well, then I'll take him out."

Kobe Bryant has been playing through a bone spur in his left foot for years, all without publicizing the injury and its challenges.

Bryant could have surgery in the offseason to remove the bone spur, but he never did have surgery on the mangled right pinky finger in 2008 or the arthritic right index finger in 2010.

"The thing I'm most proud of is being able to play for so many years and still be playing at a very, very high level," Bryant said. "That's the thing that I'm most proud of."

Bryant tweaked the bone spur in Thursday's Los Angeles Lakers loss to the Milwaukee Bucks.

MILWAUKEE – With Derrick Rose working hard to recover from his torn ACL, Ronnie Brewer believes the Chicago Bulls made a mistake by leaking that the 2011 NBA MVP has been medically cleared to return.

“I felt it was unfortunate the [Bulls] released that Derrick was cleared to play,” Brewer told RealGM on Saturday night. “It’s a process and that’s a dramatic injury. If you’re not 110 percent mentally there and you still have thoughts and regrets about the injury, you’re not going to be playing at a high level. Until you can do that, he’s still not cleared in my opinion.”

Rose has made clear he could sit out the entire season after undergoing knee surgery last May, and a major issue he’s dealt with is being fully confident mentally. In Brewer’s mind, the mental facet is just critical as the physical one – no matter if Rose wants to return in a limited part or his old superstar role.

“I think it’s as important mental as it is physical,” Brewer said. “[The injury] happened on a freak play: Him coming down the lane, doing the play he’s done a thousand times. Whenever he’s comfortable doing the things he was used to doing, that’s when he’ll jump out there.”

As far as when Rose will return, Brewer doesn’t think anyone around the Bulls knows, but he was adamant it should come when only his former teammate is ready.

“I don’t think anybody really knows,” Brewer said. “I don’t think the doctors know. I don’t think any of the players know. Whatever it is, I don’t think he should rush back and not be confident to play, because if you’re not playing with confidence then everything goes out the window.”

Steve Kerr agreed with the Phoenix Suns' decision not to extend a maximum contract offer to A’mare Stoudemire.

“Yeah, I was on board with it,” said Kerr, the former general manager of the Suns.

The Suns’ medical staff believed Stoudemire was a medical risk not worth taking.

“What I remember is our orthopedic surgeon Tom Carter saying that generally after six to eight years after a player has a microfracture there could be problems,” Kerr said. “We calculated he had a couple of good years left and that the back end of the contract could be a problem.

“You never know for sure but you go with your experts and in this case it was Dr. Carter.”

Kevin Love's shooting hand won't be re-evaluated until sometime next week, but Minnesota Timberwolves coach Rick Adelman is still hoping to see him on the court this season.

Love has said that he'd like to play again this year.

"I'd love to see him get out there and play," Adelman said. "He certainly would help us. And we'd get to see guys play together who haven't played together all year. I think it would be [enough time]: Have him on the floor and put guys together. It will effect our rotation again, but it's a nice effect to have."

The Los Angeles Lakers have listed him as probable for Saturday's game against the Sacramento Kings, but Kobe Bryant is expected to play.

He is dealing with a bone spur in his left foot.

Bryant left the Bradley Center using a crutch Thursday following Los Angeles' 113-103 loss to Milwaukee. He has been bothered by the bone spur for several games, and received treatment in Sacramento on Friday.

The Detroit Pistons will have Andre Drummond back for Friday night's game against the Toronto Raptors.

Drummond, who has missed the last 22 games while recovering from a stress fracture in his fifth lumbar vertebra, will be in the starting lineup.

Jason Maxiell will move to the bench so the rookie can make his first career start.

Ty Lawson is out with a plantar fascia tear in his right heel and will not have to undergo surgery, the Denver Nuggets announced on Friday.

Lawson suffered the injury on March 19 against the Oklahoma City Thunder and missed three of the Nuggets' next four games. Further exams on Thursday revealed a tear.

The Nuggets call Lawson day-to-day.

Lawson, who leads the Nuggets in scoring and assists, is improving in his recovery and will maintain his current treatment.

Enes Kanter suffered a dislocated shoulder and will be out indefinitely.

Kanter averaged 7.3 points and 4.4 rebounds in only 15.6 minutes this season.

"I thought he was making great strides," Tyrone Corbin said. "His game was really coming around — where and how to use what he has. His quickness at times. His brute strength at times. His jump shot. His feel for defense is getting better."

Kevin Garnett is still dealing with the inflammation in his left foot that has caused him to miss the past three games, but Boston Celtics president Danny Ainge believes that the original estimated two-week absence should be "more than sufficient time" for the injury to heal.

"It's much better today than it was yesterday and I think he just could use some rest," Ainge said. "On top of that, KG has just little nicks, bumps and bruises that could use some healing time. He's got a sore calf muscle as well. It's just good for him to take some time off and get fresh. But the biggest concern right now is the inflammation in his foot."

Ainge said he was unsure if Garnett could play right now if he had to, emphasizing rest is the best thing at this time.

"What we're doing is we're doing what we think is best for KG's long-term health, and what's best for the team," Ainge said. "Usually it goes hand-in-hand, what's best for the player, and his future, is usually what's best for the team as well. But I don't know if KG could play tonight if tonight was a Game 7 of the NBA Finals. My guess is he probably could. But I don't know how good he would be. He does have a little bit of a limp, but it doesn't matter. Right now, it's best for him not to play on it and aggravate it."