April 2020 Basketball Wiretap

John Wall Says He's '110%' Healthy, Focused On Next Season

May 27, 2020 1:33 AM

John Wall said he was fully recovered after surgery on his left heel and left Achilles tendon in 2018 and 2019.

Wall hasn't played in an NBA game since December 2018.

"I'm 110% I'm healthy. ... I'm itching to get back out there," said Wall.

Wall added that he will not return this season, regardless of how late the schedule goes.

"I'm just focused on getting back out there and watching how Brad [Beal] has developed, how our team has developed. how we have made changes in the organization to prepare ourselves for next season and see what we can do."

ESPN

Tags: John Wall, Washington Wizards, NBA, NBA Injury

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Kevon Looney Undergoes Surgery To Repair Muscle Injury

May 21, 2020 1:10 AM

Kevon Looney underwent surgery on Tuesday to repair a core muscle injury.

Looney is expected to be ready by the start of the 2020-21 season.

Looney averaged 3.4 points and 3.3 rebounds in 20 games last season for the Warriors.

Chris Haynes/Yahoo! Sports

Tags: Kevon Looney, Golden State Warriors, NBA, NBA Injury

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Bojan Bogdanovic To Undergo Season-Ending Wrist Surgery

May 18, 2020 8:22 PM

Bojan Bogdanovic will undergo season-ending surgery on his right wrist.

Bogdanovic is expected to be ready for the start of the 20-21 season.

Bogdanovic suffered the injury in January and played through it. Bogdanovic's discomfort from the injury emerged again during the shutdown and led to the decision not to delay surgery.

The Utah Jazz signed Bogdanovic to a four-year, $73 million deal last summer.

Adrian Wojnarwowski/ESPN

Tags: Bojan Bogdanovic, Utah Jazz, NBA, NBA Injury

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Brett Brown Recalls Ben Simmons 'Vomiting' From Back Pain Earlier In Season

May 16, 2020 11:51 AM

Brett Brown recalled Ben Simmons' struggles after leaving a game against the Milwaukee Bucks in February with back pain, calling the experience “as disturbing a memory as it relates to a player that I can think of.”

Simmons was diagnosed with a lower back impingement.

“He’s lying on his back, he’s vomiting primarily because of pain, and trying to get him back on the plane and build him back up to some level of health where he can play basketball with us again,” said Brown in an hour-long conference call on Friday.

Elton Brand said earlier this month that Simmons will likely be ready if and when the season resumes. 

Brown complimented Simmons' approach to rehabbing his back.

"He’s been outstanding. It could be a little bit of a silver lining of this pandemic, being able to get somebody as important as Ben back into our team.”

Rich Hofmann & Derek Bodner/The Athletic

Tags: Ben Simmons, Philadelphia Sixers, NBA, NBA Injury

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Bruce Brown Fully Recovered Following Thumb Surgery

May 16, 2020 10:24 AM

Bruce Brown said he has recovered after undergoing thumb surgery last month.

Brown added that a ligament was placed onto his thumb bone.

"If the season was to start, I'd be back. I think my time line was like six weeks," said Brown.

Brown is averaging 8.9 points this season.

ESPN

Tags: Bruce Brown, Jr., Detroit Pistons, NBA, NBA Injury

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Ben Simmons Likely Ready To Return From Back Injury

May 5, 2020 4:08 PM

Ben Simmons has been allowed to rehab his back injury at the Philadelphia 76ers' practice facility during the entirety of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Ben and others have been given permission to use our facility," said Elton Brand. "It is essential that they can get the proper equipment to work out and rehab. So that’s where he’s been. He’s been doing that ever since the first week. We were able to get him access there."

Brand believes Simmons would be ready to play if the season resumed.

"We've took our time, we've been methodical and thoughtful about his recovery and rehab, just to make sure, because we weren't in a rush," Brand said. "It's hard to speculate. He's been working hard and I know he'd be close or ready."

Keith Pompey/Philadelphia Daily News

Tags: Ben Simmons, Philadelphia Sixers, NBA, NBA Injury

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Sean Marks: Kevin Durant Will Be '100%' When He Returns To Lineup

May 3, 2020 12:55 PM

Sean Marks said that he doesn't know whether Kevin Durant will play this season if games eventually resume, and that the Brooklyn Nets were never going to push Durant for an early return.

"He knows his body better than anybody. Our performance team and training staff have done a tremendous job getting him to this point, but I just don't know how coming out of this pandemic will affect anybody, let alone Kevin. When you've got enough invested in a player like Kevin, we're never going to push him to come back. When the timing is right, he'll be 100 percent when he gets on the court.    

"I can tell you this though - before the pandemic, he looked like Kevin Durant and that's a good thing," said Marks in an interview with Newshub.

Marks also addressed the current suspension in play, saying that it presented the league with an opportunity to improve itself.

"It's a heck of an opportunity. We're going to take advice from a lot of people, and we'd be doing ourselves and the industry a huge disservice, if we just came back expecting things to be the same."

Grant Chapman/Newshub

Tags: Kevin Durant, Brooklyn Nets, NBA, NBA Injury

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John Wall On Returning From Injury: 'I'm Gonna Be Better Than What I Was Before'

May 3, 2020 1:13 AM

John Wall said he looked forward to returning to the court and that the best of his career was yet to come.

"I'm watching these guys play. Like these young guys, they killing our team and they looking at our bench and stuff. Just know I got those written down in my notes for when I come back when they start next season. I can't wait to see them what I got, what I'm about. But I'm gonna be better than what I was before, and that's the scary part. ... They ain't even get the best of John Wall yet, they just got a clip of him," said Wall on the All the Smoke podcast.

Wall ruptured his Achilles in December of 2018.

Wall also addressed rumors of tension between him and Bradley Beal, saying that they bring the best out of one another.

"They always say, 'Well, they don't like each other. They downgrading each other.' Ain't no John Wall without Bradley Beal. Ain't no Bradley Beal without John Wall. We make each other better. We accommodate each other so well on the court and it works easy for us."

Jack Maloney/CBS Sports

Tags: John Wall, Washington Wizards, NBA, NBA Injury

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