NBA NOTEBOOK: Yao has surgery, might miss season
Published 9:37 pm Friday, July 16, 2010
HOUSTON — Rockets center Yao Ming will have surgery on his broken left foot next week and the team said Friday that the seven-time All-Star may not be available until the 2010-11 season.
The 7-foot-6 Yao chose a surgery that will involve a bone graft to promote bone regeneration, the team said. He’s also hoping to reduce the arch in the foot by realigning and restructuring the bones.
The team would not say definitively if Yao would miss all of next season.
“While no timetable has been set for his return to action, Yao is expected to be available for the team’s training camp in 2010,” the Rockets said. That camp is in October.
The decision for surgery was expected. The Rockets applied for a disabled player exception from the NBA a few weeks ago, betting that their center will miss next season as he recovers. The NBA agreed that Yao’s return is unlikely and approved the request, freeing up about $5.7 million that the Rockets used to sign free agent Trevor Ariza from the Lakers.
Houston has also scrambled to find a center since free agency began and this week acquired 6-foot-11 David Andersen in a trade with Atlanta.
Yao has been consulting with doctors since late June, when the Rockets said he would be out indefinitely. He suffered a hairline fracture in the foot in a playoff game on May 3 and the team initially said Yao would miss only 8-12 weeks. When doctors re-examined the injury about seven weeks later, they discovered that the injury had not healed and amended the prognosis.
Dr. Tom Clanton, the Rockets’ team doctor, will perform the surgery. He said Cleveland Cavaliers center Zydrunas Ilgauskas had a similar procedure in 2001 that allowed him to return to action.
“This combination of procedures should not only allow healing of his navicular stress fracture, but also improve the mechanics of his foot to reduce the stress on that bone and give him the best long-term prognosis,” Clanton said in a statement.
John Huizinga, Yao’s agent, did not immediately return a phone message.
Clippers trade Randolph to Memphis for Richardson
LOS ANGELES — The Clippers have traded leading scorer Zach Randolph to Memphis in exchange for Quentin Richardson.
The deal was announced Friday.
Richardson averaged 10.2 points and 4.4 rebounds in 72 games with the New York Knicks last season. He’s returning to the Clippers, where he played from 2000-04 after being drafted by the team out of DePaul.
The 29-year-old guard-forward was acquired by Memphis on June 25 in exchange for Darko Milicic. Richardson originally left Los Angeles as a free agent and went to Phoenix, where he played one season before joining the Knicks.
Randolph was acquired in a trade with the Knicks in November 2008. The forward averaged 20.8 points and 10.1 rebounds in 50 games for the Clippers last season.
But he had a rocky season off the court, including his father’s death in March.
Randolph was suspended for two games by the team after being arrested for investigation of drunken driving in April. He was suspended for two games for punching a Phoenix player in February.
In 2003 while with the Portland Trail Blazers, Randolph was arrested after an officer noticed the smell of marijuana coming from his vehicle.
Jazz keep Paul Millsap
SALT LAKE CITY — Paul Millsap is staying with the Utah Jazz.
The Jazz on Friday matched the Portland Trail Blazers’ $32 million offer for the restricted free agent, keeping Millsap in Utah with a new four-year deal.
Portland frontloaded the offer with a guarantee of $10.3 million up front and the Jazz were willing to pay up to keep Millsap, a second-round surprise in the 2006 draft.
Utah had seven days to match the offer and made the division rival Trail Blazers wait the full week before Friday’s announcement.
Thunder waives Earl Watson
OKLAHOMA CITY — The Oklahoma City Thunder have waived guard Earl Watson.
Watson, an eight-year NBA veteran, appeared in 68 games and started in 18 with Oklahoma City this past season and averaged 6.6 points, 5.8 assists and 2.7 rebounds in 26.1 minutes per contest.
Watson, a 6-1 guard out of UCLA, holds career averages of 7.3 points, 4.6 assists, 2.2 rebounds in 597 career games with the Oklahoma City Thunder, the Denver Nuggets, the Memphis Grizzlies and the Seattle Supersonics.
Watson’s waiver was announced Friday by Sam Presti, the Thunder’s executive vice president and general manager.
