HoopsHype.com Rumors

Speaking to the media for the first time since Kobe Bryant tore his left Achilles tendon Friday in Los Angeles, Nets interim coach P.J. Carlesimo came to the defense of Mike D’Antoni Sunday afternoon before the Nets faced the Raptors. “Sure,” Carlesimo said when asked if Bryant’s injury impacted his thought process about playing his stars in the season’s final few games. “But guys get hurt in practice. “It’s an unfortunate thing. I think the bigger thing, the one that really hurts, is late in the game. That’s the one you agonize over. How big a lead is a safe lead, when do you get guys off the floor? … That’s the one you really can’t afford to have people in there when it’s unnecessary. “When you’re playing for a playoff position, and in particular you’re playing a guy that would play 48 minutes if you’d let him, I think there’s been a lot of unfair commentary directed towards Mike. The only way you get Kobe off the floor is if you pull him off the floor.” New York Post

Los Angeles Lakers, Brooklyn Nets, Kobe Bryant, Injury, Coaching, Mike D'Antoni, Injuries, PJ Carlesimo 

Joan Nielsen: The Timberwolves are hoping to schedule an MRI for Chase Budinger for today in Dallas. Twitter @JoanNiesen

Minnesota Timberwolves, Injury, Chase Budinger 

Jonny Flynn is scheduled for surgery in Colorado today to fix that hip that bothered him the end of last season and kept him out of Las Vegas Summer League games. Don't know yet exactly what the nature of the injury is yet, but that 3 to 4 month timeline first reported by YahooSports! last night sounds right. Minneapolis Star-Tribune

Colangelo intoned that Bosh took a long time to return from injury even though he had been medically cleared and that he started thinking ahead to his future to the detriment of the Raptors. “Despite limited swelling and any excessive damage on an MRI, he felt like he needed to sit for six more games ... I’m not even questioning Chris’ injury. I’m telling you he was cleared to play subject to tolerance on his part, and the tolerance just apparently wasn’t there and he chose not to play,” Colangelo said. “The fact that our season was spiralling downward and we were hoping he’d come back sooner and we were also dealing with a few other things at that point ... we were really struggling there.” Toronto Sun

Colangelo went on to elaborate: “Whether he was mentally checked out or just wasn’t quite into it down the stretch, he wasn’t the same guy. I think everybody saw that, but no one wanted to acknowledge it.” “At the same time, I never felt we were quite in the game (in terms of signing Bosh to a new contract). There was too much out there, too much built up for him to take an easy out here, and he decided to do that.” Toronto Sun

Colangelo also said Bosh was hard to build around. “We tried in vain to put pieces around Chris. Different pieces, different styles. It didn’t work out.” “No matter what type of player we brought in, it didn’t seem to have the right mix with him as that centrepiece.” Toronto Sun

Following knee surgery Bryant is letting his body reboot instead of putting it through the usual out of season paces. "The hardest thing for me to do is to do nothing," he said. "I have always got to be working and pushing myself. This summer is really the best training for me -- to do nothing. The body needs rest and the injury has to heal. You have to recharge your body and get ready for next season. So in lots of ways, this is the hardest training for me." USA Today

Rookie point guard Greivis Vasquez didn't have a good showing at the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas. It turns out that the 6-6 player out of Maryland might have somewhat of an excuse. Vasquez is dealing with an ankle injury that the team's doctors are expected to evaluate this week. It is possible that Vasquez might require surgery. Vasquez struggled with running the team's offense and other NBA nuances during summer league play. The Griz remain optimistic about his competitive spirit, ability to score and the size he brings to the position. Memphis Commercial Appeal

The Los Angeles Lakers announced Friday that Kobe Bryant recently had arthroscopic surgery performed on his right knee. The surgery was performed last week and deemed to be a success. Bryant is in the midst of rehab, and a full recovery is expected in time for the Lakers' training camp, which is set to begin on Sept. 25. It is the third time Bryant has had the knee surgically repaired. It was first done in the summer of 2003, and then in the summer of 2006, causing him to miss the FIBA World Championships in Japan as a member of USA Basketball. ESPN.com

The Lakers haven't indicated if Bryant will have surgery on the finger. Bryant is finally starting to show signs of slowing down after playing more than 1,200 games and 45,000 minutes in the regular season and postseason combined in his 14-year career. Bryant sat out nine games last season because of his knee, finger and left ankle injuries, ending his consecutive games played streak at 235 in February, which was the fifth-longest streak among current NBA players at the time. Knee surgery is causing Bryant to miss out on international competition again, as USA Basketball held tryouts this week in preparation for the 2010 FIBA World Championships in Turkey without him. "Kobe needs to rest," said Lakers teammate Lamar Odom, who is expected to make the USA team. ESPN.com

The Lakers are happy to have additional depth at small forward, signing free agent Matt Barnes to a two-year contract Thursday. Unfortunately, the arrival of Barnes in Los Angeles only highlights serious questions surrounding the health of Luke Walton heading into next season. Walton was limited to a career-low 29 games during the 2009-10 regular season because of back problems debilitating enough to require surgery. General manager Mitch Kupchak said Friday that Walton will work through the summer to rehabilitate and build strength in his back but acknowledged the prospect of future surgery still exists, and even that Walton could miss the 2010-11 season. ESPN.com

"Absolutely. It's a possibility," Kupchak said. "It's not your run of the mill type back problem. We don't know where it's going to end up. He's a gamer and he loves to play. He wants to be a part of the team, and he'll do whatever it takes to get back on the court. That's a positive, to have the kind of player that's motivated to get well. That's not always the case." Without Walton available, Kobe Bryant served as the primary backup to Ron Artest at small forward last season. Barnes, a seven-year veteran from UCLA, played 81 games with the Orlando Magic last season, averaging 8.8 points and 5.5 rebounds in 25.9 minutes. Only days before, Barnes was thought to be headed for Toronto, but a sign-and-trade deal with the Magic fell through, again putting him on the market. ESPN.com

Still, there was palpable concern for Walton. "The most important thing is that Luke make the correct decision for his life, not for basketball," he said. "The aging process of a healthy athlete is difficult enough as it is. So we counsel Luke, and our trainers do, to try to keep the big picture in the forefront of any decision. But like most young players they want to play. Sometimes they don't [listen.]" ESPN.com

For the second straight summer, Redd is trying to come back from major knee surgery but this time he apparently won’t even try to re-join the team until February. “We just say February, but there’s not a February date per se,” said Hammond during a press conference to introduce newcomer Jon Brockman. “It could be before or it could be after. I think it’s just somewhat of a targeted date but who knows when that’s going to be? “But at the end of the day, all we’re doing is supporting Michael as he continues to go through this process and supporting him through the re-hab. He knows we’re there for him. I know he’s working as hard as he possibly can to get himself back. There’s no doubt in my mind that he wants to continue his NBA career and he’s got a long road ahead of him to get to that point.” Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel

Hammond emphasized that it was the organization’s responsibility to continue to support Redd as he continues to rehab in his hometown of Columbus, Ohio, and that the Bucks will continue to do so regardless of what the future may hold for him. “You never leave a player out to dry,” said Hammond. “You support him and that’s what we want to do with him and be there for him when he needs us. I know the guy is working extremely hard and it’s tough what he’s going through right now. " People need to understand that too. You talk about Michael and the state of the organization and those sorts of things and I understand it’s discussed. But it’s tough what he’s going through right now. It’s really, really, really hard. Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel

First-round pick Greg Monroe said he wanted to impress the Pistons' brass early. Apparently, he has done so already. Monroe underwent minor surgery to his right foot on an injury that dated to high school, and he should be ready in well enough time for training camp. Doctors advised Monroe to skip summer league, but he refused and played better as summer league progressed. He had 27 points and 14 rebounds in his last outing. Detroit News

Boston Celtics rookie Avery Bradley is walking again after undergoing a scope on his injured left ankle last month and has been working at the team's practice facility in Waltham each day trying to get back on the court as quickly as possible. "I'm just trying to recover," said Bradley, the Texas guard selected at No. 19 in this year's draft. "I'm doing rehab, lifting weights, trying to get back as fast as possible. It's been real good. I'm able to walk now. I'm getting better every single day." ESPN.com

Greg Monroe underwent outpatient surgery on his right foot this morning and will begin rehabilitation immediately, the Detroit Pistons announced today. Monroe, the seventh overall pick in the NBA draft, is expected to resume full basketball activities in three to four weeks. Booth Newspapers

Golden State Warriors forward David Lee will miss the world championships because of a finger injury, USA Basketball managing director Jerry Colangelo told Yahoo! Sports. Lee dislocated the middle finger on his right hand during the first day of Team USA’s minicamp on Tuesday. He is not expected to need surgery, but will be sidelined from four to six weeks. Yahoo! Sports

"We're very disappointed as much for him as for us,'' Colangelo said of Lee, who flew to California to be examined Wednesday morning by Warriors doctors. "He wanted to play right now. He wanted to come back right now but there's no way we would allow him to do that because he's not going to have surgery. And the splint will take care of it. But he has to be in a splint for about six weeks. Because, if he did play and he hit that finger again, that would be surgery. So we're not going to do that.'' FanHouse.com