(The Sports Xchange) – Philadelphia 76ers guard Markelle Fultz, the No. 1 overall pick in this year NBA draft, is off to a slow start and his agent claims it is because of a shoulder injury.
Raymond Brothers, who represents Fultz, said Fultz had fluid drained from his right shoulder and plans to visit a specialist.
“Markelle had a shoulder injury and fluid drained out of the back of his shoulder,” Brothers told ESPN.
“He literally cannot raise up his arms to shoot the basketball. He decided to try and fight through the pain to help the team. He has a great attitude. We are committed to finding a solution to get Markelle back to 100 percent.”
Fultz has played in each of Philadelphia’s four games and is averaging 6.0 points on 9-of-27 shooting.
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Phoenix Suns rookie forward Josh Jackson was fined $35,000 by the NBA for directing inappropriate language toward a fan.
The incident occurred with 6:10 remaining in Phoenix’s 130-88 loss at the Los Angeles Clippers on Saturday. Jackson also was cited for making a menacing gesture on the playing court, which appeared to an imaginary gun gesture toward a fan who was heckling him.
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Utah Jazz forward Joe Ingles became the fifth player to be fined in the first week of the regular season when he was handed a $15,000 penalty for an incident with Oklahoma City Thunder center Steven Adams.
With 8:53 left in the third quarter of Utah’s 96-87 win on Saturday, Ingles hit Adams in the groin area as Oklahoma City forward Paul George committed a turnover near the paint.
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Atlanta Hawks swingman DeAndre’ Bembry underwent wrist surgery and will be sidelined four to six weeks, the team announced.
Bembry fractured his right wrist during last Wednesday’s game against the Dallas Mavericks. He had six points and six rebounds in 18 minutes before exiting.
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The Denver Nuggets announced that reserve forward Juancho Hernangomez was diagnosed with mononucleosis and will not travel on their four-game road trip.
Symptoms of the virus include fatigue, sore throat and fever and typically last four to six weeks.
Hernangomez, 22, entered this season as the primary backup to Wilson Chandler at small forward. He has played just 13 minutes this season and has yet to score.
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The Los Angeles Lakers announced they picked up the options on forwards Brandon Ingram and Larry Nance Jr. through the 2018-19 season.
Teams have until Oct. 31 to pick up options on rookie contracts and both players now have guaranteed salaries through next season. Ingram will make $5.75 million, while Nance will make $2.27 million.
In Los Angeles’ first three games, Ingram is averaging 14.7 points and three rebounds. Nance is averaging 11.3 points and seven rebounds.
