Kevin Durant is officially out for Game 3, while Klay Thompson was listed as questionable by Golden State coach Steve Kerr for Wednesday’s NBA Finals game against the visiting Toronto Raptors.
Durant (calf) is moving closer to a return from the injury he sustained May 8 against the Houston Rockets in the second round of the playoffs.
“Kevin is going to get on the floor at the practice facility later today,” Kerr said Tuesday. “He did not get on the floor here. He was here for our film session and our treatment. … He’s out for tomorrow but improving.”
Kerr said team trainers will make the call on whether Thompson (left hamstring) can play. Thompson was injured in Sunday’s Game 2 win over the Raptors, which tied the best-of-seven series at 1-1.
–Kawhi Leonard carried the Toronto Raptors to the NBA Finals, but DeMar DeRozan claims the team wouldn’t be there without his years of sacrifice building the groundwork for a title.
DeRozan, an All-Star with the Raptors who was traded in the offseason to the San Antonio Spurs for Leonard in a multi-player swap, told Bleacher Report in a video interview that he should get a bit of credit for Toronto’s climb.
“Honestly, I don’t think I even said this — I probably said it to my own inner circle — but if it wasn’t for all the years and groundwork that I did before then, none of them things would’ve been possible,” said DeRozan, who averaged 21.2 points, 6.0 rebounds and 6.2 assists in his debut season with the Spurs. “Yes, I fought, I sacrificed, I pushed the limits to where I had to be the sacrificial lamb. You just have to sit back and understand, like, you know, you are the reason so many things was even possible.”
–The New Orleans Pelicans reportedly have begun listening to teams interested in acquiring disgruntled star Anthony Davis.
Davis and his agent, Rich Paul, sat down last week with David Griffin, the team’s new executive vice president of basketball operations. The meeting gave Griffin his chance to lay out his vision of the Pelicans’ future with both Davis and presumptive No. 1 draft pick Zion Williamson on board.
But Shams Charania of The Athletic reported that it is unlikely Davis will back down from the trade demand he made in January, and the Pelicans are starting to hear teams out. Davis is due to become a free agent in July 2020.
–The Los Angeles Lakers are adding another former NBA head coach to Frank Vogel’s staff, reportedly hiring former Memphis Grizzlies and Brooklyn Nets coach Lionel Hollins. ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported the hiring, citing league sources.
Hollins, 65, would join Jason Kidd as an assistant coach to Vogel, who landed the Lakers job last month.
Hollins is the winningest coach in Grizzlies history, compiling a 214-201 record with three postseason appearances before parting ways after the 2012-13 season. He replaced Kidd as coach of the Nets and took them to the playoffs in 2014-15, but was let go after a 10-27 start in 2015-16.
–Field Level Media
