Hoops Rumors

Heat forward Jimmy Butler will miss his third straight game in Indiana on Friday as he continues to recover from a right ankle sprain, per Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel. Butler, who sustained the injury in the first quarter of last Friday’s loss in Denver, did not practice on Thursday. While the Heat will be playing without their six-time All-Star, they expect … [Read more...] about Injury Notes: Butler, Kyrie, Nets, S. Barnes, O. Robinson

The NBA intends to close its Global Academy in Australia and its Latin America Academy in Mexico at the end of their respective seasons, reports Jonathan Givony of ESPN. As Givony explains, the league’s intent is to reallocate more resources to “larger, non-traditional basketball countries” that don’t have strong existing infrastructure. The league will focus on markets that … [Read more...] about And-Ones: NBA Academies, Free Agents, M. James, More

Immanuel Quickley has endured an unfortunate string of injuries and another one has cropped up. The Raptors guard has been diagnosed with a partial UCL tear in his left elbow, Blake Murphy of Sportsnet tweets. He’ll be reevaluated next week. As Michael Grange of Sportnet notes (Twitter link), Quickley missed all of training camp and four preseason games with a thumb sprain. He … [Read more...] about Raptors Notes: Quickley, Rajakovic, Agbaji

Norman Powell played for the Raptors from 2015-21. The veteran forward is enjoying the best start of his career with the Clippers this season, averaging 25.5 points per game. Toronto traded him for Gary Trent Jr. and now Powell, 31, has emerged as an offensive force, while Trent is no longer on the Toronto roster. “I’ve always had the confidence in myself and the belief that … [Read more...] about Atlantic Notes: Powell, Quickley, Brown, Simmons

Injuries have forced RJ Barrett to take on a larger role in the Raptors‘ offense, and he has responded by putting up the best numbers of his career, notes Michael Pina of The Ringer. Through six games, Barrett is averaging career highs with 25.7 points and 7.0 assists as the absences of Scottie Barnes and Immanuel Quickley have required him to handle the ball more often. Pina … [Read more...] about RJ Barrett Off To Career-Best Start; Immanuel Quickley Nears Return