Hoops Rumors

Heat forward Jimmy Butler is expected to practice on Tuesday and return to action on Wednesday against the Pelicans, the Miami Herald’s Anthony Chiang reports. Butler has missed the last five games after battling a flu-like illness. Miami president Pat Riley issued a statement last week that he wasn’t going to trade Butler, who holds a $52.4MM player option on next year’s … [Read more...] about Southeast Notes: Butler, Love, Mann, Champagnie

The Hornets thought they were moving past their injury woes two weeks ago when LaMelo Ball, Miles Bridges, Brandon Miller and Mark Williams were in the lineup together for the first time in nearly 12 months, writes Roderick Boone of The Charlotte Observer. However, that quartet didn’t last a full game, and the injuries have continued ever since. Ball, Miller and Cody Martin … [Read more...] about Southeast Notes: Hornets, Mann, Hawks, Nance, Brogdon

Jimmy Butler was in the spotlight quite a bit on Thursday but he won’t be on the court tonight when the Heat play in Orlando. He’s listed as out due to return to competition reconditioning, Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald tweets. He’s expected to rejoin the team on Friday when it prepares for Saturday’s road game against the Hawks. Heat president of basketball operations Pat … [Read more...] about Southeast Notes: Butler, Banchero, Coulibaly, Sarr, Wong, Miller

After getting off to a decent 4-5 start this season, the Hornets have plummeted down the standings over the past month-and-a-half. Monday’s loss to Houston, Charlotte’s 13th in its last 14 games, dropped the team to 7-22 on the season and inspired a players-only closed-door meeting after the game, according to Roderick Boone of The Charlotte Observer. “I feel like we … [Read more...] about Southeast Notes: Hornets, Miller, Smith, Christopher, Risacher

De’Andre Hunter is playing like a Sixth Man of the Year candidate, providing the Hawks with a scoring punch off the bench, Lauren Williams of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution writes. Through 17 outings, Hunter’s 19.8 points per game and 45.3% shooting from beyond the arc are both career highs. “He’s definitely in the running for Sixth Man of the Year, especially if you keep … [Read more...] about Southeast Notes: Hunter, Young, Williams, Butler, Jaquez