Gina Mizell: James Jones kicks off his presser by sayin…

More on Devin Booker Injury

Duane Rankin: Looking at Devin Booker, he's not wearing wraps on his injured right hand. Maybe that's just because he's not shooting or in a practice, but that can be see as another sign of progress. #Suns
“As you guys know he did have the injury late last year,” McDonough said, referring to a lingering issue for Booker during the end of the 2017-18 season for which he missed the final 12 games. “There were no symptoms over the summer. The hand died down, it calmed down a little bit, it looked good, there was nothing structurally wrong with it.”
The GM went on to explain that in recent weeks, the Suns have had members of their NBA roster in the gym for workouts and pickup games. That’s when the swelling happened. “Just in one of those games, the hand swelled up,” he said. “There was no trauma that we could see — it wasn’t like he hit it or jammed it or anything stood out unusually while he was playing. The hand just swelled up.”

http://twitter.com/_anthonynash/status/1039980697304399872
Harrison Wind: Suns say Devin Booker will be out approximately six weeks after surgery to repair an injury to the fifth metacarpophalangeal joint in his right hand. If that timetable holds up, he’ll barely miss the Nuggets’ home opener vs Phoenix on Oct. 20.
Gambadoro reports Booker will miss at least four weeks. The bothersome right hand injury lingered for Booker throughout the end of the 2017-18 season after he jammed it in practice on March 14, a day before the team’s game against the Utah Jazz. Booker went on to play and shot 3-of-18. From that point on, Booker was required to wear a splint until his condition improved and he missed the last 12 games of the season.
Phoenix Suns shooting guard Devin Booker will undergo hand surgery on Monday and is out indefinitely, reports 98.7 FM Arizona’s Sports Station’s John Gambadoro. Booker will have the surgery in Los Angeles and is likely to miss the start of training camp.
Scott Bordow: Sounds like Devin Booker, TJ Warren, Elfrid Payton, Len all out. Triano expects same lineup as he had against Golden State

http://twitter.com/Suns/status/978364251726258176
Scott Bordow: Update from Suns: Team still hasn't heard from NBA regarding possible suspensions tonight. Booker said he doesn't know if he'll be able to play. Golden State without Durant, Curry, Thompson, McCaw and Cassipi
Chuck Cooperstein: Per Triano: @Devin Booker will play vs Mavs. 9:30 tip @1033fmESPN. Best offensive player in NBA no one talks about.
Scott Bordow: Triano to me: "Tell your daily fantasy players they probably shouldn't play Booker" tonight. So there you go. Good chance, though, that Booker returns on the 26th, assuming he comes out of tomorrow's practice without any issues
Scott Bordow: Triano said "it makes sense" for the Suns to be cautious with Booker. Lot will depend on how he responds to Sunday's practice.
Michael Gallagher: Suns general manager Ryan McDonough said Devin Booker has been doing work on the Versa-Climber, but hasn't really done any on-court work yet. Hopeful to get on-court work next week & return to games around Christmas.
Scott Bordow: Just got off phone with Ryan McDonough. He said Suns hoping to get Booker back before Dec. 29 game against Sacramento. Could be Dec. 26 against Memphis. But McDonough said Booker will have to practice first, see how his body responds before playing
Booker thought it was a cramp at first, but when he tried to move, he could not. "People said I was doing the 'Mannequin Challenge,'" Booker said. "I don't ever want to be carried off the court. Anything in my power, if I could have walked off I would have walked off. We had to resume the game, so my big fellas helped me out."
Gerald Bourguet: Also, for those who were curious, Devin Booker walked into the presser. Slowly, but he's walking. No crutches or wheelchair. Also says no Paul Pierce jokes from teammates yet. #SunsVsWizards

http://twitter.com/sbordow/status/938239671116611584
Doug Haller: Suns update: Guard Devin Booker is out for tonight's game at Atlanta. Earl Watson said he aggravated ankle vs Boston.
Phoenix guard Devin Booker is sitting out Sunday's game against the Detroit Pistons because of a sore right ankle. The Suns are also without guard Ronnie Price (left leg), guard Leandro Barbosa (illness) and forward Dragan Bender (right ankle).
Storyline: Devin Booker Injury
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May 31, 2023 | 5:53 am EDT Update

Scott Perry, Knicks parting ways

Scott Perry arrived as the Knicks’ general manager in 2017, tasked with bringing stability to a franchise in turmoil. He achieved that, settling the waters and bridging the gap as a new front office took hold around him. But with his contract running out shortly, Newsday has learned that Perry is not returning. A source confirmed that Perry will move on when his contract expires this summer. The legacy will be stability and success in an organization that had rarely seen it for two decades.
Brown is entering the final campaign of the four-year, $106 million extension he signed in 2019. There has been a train of thought that Brown’s supermax eligibility could ultimately be what keeps him in a Celtics uniform because of the money he’d be passing up if he left. It’s roughly $100 million more than the standard maximum extension he could sign with the Celtics or another team, and $40 million more than the standard maximum contract Boston, could re-sign him to in 2024.
The Celtics will almost certainly be taxpayers in 2024-25 if Jaylen Brown signs his supermax extension. That means if they remain taxpayers in 2023-24 as well, then they will enter the repeater tax starting in 2025-26. That will significantly raise their tax rates and that is also the first season tax rates will rise sharply starting at the third tax level (roughly $11 million over the tax line). The exact payroll they had for 2022-23 would equate to a $64 million higher tax penalty in 2025-26.
It goes without saying that alarm bells on Brown’s future will ring if he doesn’t extend with the Celtics this summer. But it seems like a strong likelihood that Boston will have both Brown and Jayson Tatum under contract for a long time. Speaking of which, Tatum also became supermax eligible by earning All-NBA honors this season. His is projected at five years, $295 million, but he can’t sign it until the 2024 offseason.
Pincus recently appeared on 105.3 The Fan to discuss his reporting about the Mavs. When describing the “buzz” he’s heard about a possible “handshake deal” for the Mavs and Irving, Pincus made clear that it’s not based on something he’s heard directly from either the team or player’s representation. Rather, it’s something that people around the NBA have mentioned. “I was at the NBA combine and spoke to a lot of different people, and so, I wouldn’t want to put out, like these are — it’s not the Mavericks. It’s not, Kyrie or his people saying there’s a deal done,” Pincus said. “There’s just the general buzz around the NBA that when they made the [midseason trade] that they pretty much had an understanding that they would keep Kyrie Irving and pay him to stay.”
“I wouldn’t think in anything with Kyrie and I know that the Mavericks can’t actually negotiate numbers, but teams tend to work around the rules without breaking them. And maybe they break ’em in spirit, but they stay within the lines,” Pincus said. “So I wouldn’t think that the Mavs have done anything untoward. I’m just saying, there’s a reasonable likelihood that at least according to the people I speak to, that Kyrie will will be back.”

Draymond Green would have picked Caleb Martin over Jimmy Butler for East Finals MVP

“Jimmy actually finished with 28-6-7, had a much better game today than he’s had the past three and Jimmy is their guy. We know that. Never taking anything away from Jimmy. Congrats to him on the award.” Green made it clear that he had immense respect for Butler’s contributions to the Heat, acknowledging that none of their success would have been possible without the star player. However, he argued that Martin’s consistent performance across the board deserved recognition. “If I had a vote, I personally was voting for Caleb Martin for MVP,” Green stated. “I think he was extremely consistent across the board. I think he was really good across the board.”