With the NBA Playoffs now just five weeks away, the Los Angeles Lakers are still awaiting the return of their injured superstars, LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
The defending champions will have to wait a while longer to get both James and Davis back, although they are holding up better than expected without their dynamic duo.
Meanwhile, the Golden State Warriors’ prized rookie looks set to miss the remainder of the season with a knee injury, and the Minnesota Timberwolves are finally about to get sold.
Read on below as SBOTOP breaks down all the biggest pieces of news surrounding the NBA.
LeBron James, Anthony Davis could both be back in 3 weeks
The Los Angeles Lakers could finally be getting their superstar tandem of LeBron James and Anthony Davis back relatively soon.
According to a report by ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, Davis could be back in action in the next 10-14 days pending a re-evaluation this week. Similarly, James is on track to return in three weeks.
Davis has been sidelined since Valentine’s Day with a calf injury, while James suffered a high ankle sprain which has kept him out for the last three weeks.
The Lakers are currently 33-20, fifth in the Western Conference, and 5-6 in their last 11 games without both James and Davis in the line-up. And they picked up arguably their biggest win of the season the other day as they blew out the Brooklyn Nets, 126-101.
Andre Drummond, who recently returned from a toe injury, led eight Lakers in double figures with 20 points and 11 rebounds. New signing Ben McLemore also had 17 points on 5-of-10 shooting on 3-pointers off the Lakers bench.
Warriors’ rookie Wiseman likely out for season
The Warriors’ NBA 2021 odds of making it back to the playoffs this season have received a major blow with the likely loss of rookie big man James Wiseman for the rest of the season due to a torn meniscus in his right knee.
Wiseman suffered the injury in the second quarter of the Warriors’ game against the Houston Rockets, which Golden State won 125-109 on the back of 38 points from Stephen Curry.
Wiseman, the No. 2 overall pick in this year’s draft, was averaging 11.6 points and 5.9 rebounds in 21.8 minutes over 38 games during his rookie season.
The loss of Wiseman will leave the Warriors shorthanded in the frontcourt with only Juan Toscano-Anderson left to back up Draymond Green and Kevon Looney. Second-year forward Eric Paschall has already missed the last few games with a hip strain.
The Warriors are 25-28 and are currently holding on to the 10th and final place for the Western Conference play-in tournament. However, they are just one game ahead of the New Orleans Pelicans.
Nets add another player to the team
The Brooklyn Nets are not done building their team. Despite adding veteran big men Blake Griffin and LaMarcus Aldridge in the buyout market, the Nets have now added forward Alize Johnson to a multi-year contract worth $4.1 million.
Johnson, 24, impressed the Nets with his performances during his two 10-day contracts. He played six games, averaging 7.8 points and 5.8 rebounds in 13.3 minutes. With the Nets significantly shorthanded, Johnson made NBA 2021 highlights by scoring 23 points with 15 rebounds in his debut against the Utah Jazz on March 25th.
Johnson is unlikely to play a major role in the Nets’ rotation, especially with Kevin Durant back to play most of the minutes at forward. But Johnson should at least get some playing time while providing depth for the remainder of the regular season.
Minnesota Timberwolves nearing $1.5 billion sale
Former baseball superstar Alex Rodriguez and billionaire Marc Lore are finalising a deal to buy the Minnesota Timberwolves franchise from majority owner Glen Taylor for a reported price of around $1.5 billion.
The deal will see Taylor continue to hold full control of the team for two years, with Rodriguez and Lore set to take over in 2023.
“We look forward to entering this phase of the process with Glen Taylor,” Rodriguez and Lore said in a joint statement on Saturday. “Our respect for him and the legacy he has built lays an amazing foundation for what is to come. We are excited by the prospect of getting to know the Timberwolves organization.”
Rodriguez and Lore will inherit a struggling Timberwolves franchise that is currently dead-last in the NBA with a record of 14-40 and will miss the playoffs for the 16th time in 17 seasons.
The Timberwolves have a promising young core led by All-Star Karl-Anthony Towns and this year’s No. 1 overall pick Anthony Edwards, but they have some way to go to become a legitimate playoff contender again.
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