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Report: Michael Porter Jr. Pain-Free After Second Back Surgery
Denver Nuggets rookie Michael Porter Jr. said he’s pain-free after a second surgery on his back, and the 14th overall pick in the 2018 draft is hoping to be on the court near the start of the 2018-19 season.
Porter told ESPN on Sunday at the NBA’s annual rookie photo shoot that, “I finally feel, like, good,” and he is hoping to be ready for game action around the time the season tips in mid-October.
Porter underwent a microdiscectomy in November 2017 that repaired one of two bulging disks in his back. He underwent a second spinal surgery in July, and the Nuggets did not announce a timetable for his return to basketball activities.
“[Doctors originally] only thought one of [the bulging disks] was symptomatic,” said Porter. “They went in and fixed that one. Turns out that both were symptomatic. So my first surgery helped a lot but didn’t fix the entire problem. Now that they did this one, I’ve got no pain or anything. I’m excited.”
Source: Chris Forsberg of ESPN
The NBA suspended its season mid-March after Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert tested positive for COVID-19. A timetable to return isn’t clear as the COVID-19 pandemic continues its rapid spread throughout the United States and the world.
On that note, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst provided the latest thinking inside the league, citing increased pessimism the NBA can resume the 2019-20 campaign:
“The talks between the players union and the league this week, I’ve talked to both sides of this issue, and it is clear that the NBA is angling to set up a deal that enables them to shut the season down.
“Now they don’t have to do that yet, and the way they’re negotiating they’re leaving themselves an option either way, but they’re not having talks about how to restart the league, they’re having financial talks about what would happen if the season shuts down, and I think there is a significant amount of pessimism right now.”
The Chicago Bulls have embarked on a formal search process to hire a new top executive with full authority on basketball decisions, sources told ESPN.
Among the Bulls’ initial plans will be to seek permission to interview Denver Nuggets general manager Arturas Karnisovas and Toronto GM Bobby Webster, among other candidates, sources told ESPN.
Chicago ownership has discussed the plan with executive VP of basketball operations John Paxson and GM Gar Forman, sources said. Paxson is likely to continue in an advisory role with the franchise; there are expected to be more ownership conversations with Forman about his future, too, sources said.
Source: Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN
Kobe Bryant, Tim Duncan and Kevin Garnett will be inducted into the Naismith Basketball @Hoophall Class of 2020, sources tell @TheAthleticNBA @Stadium. Formal announcements will be made on Saturday.
Kobe Bryant, Tim Duncan and Kevin Garnett will be inducted into the Naismith Basketball @Hoophall Class of 2020, sources tell @TheAthleticNBA @Stadium. Formal announcements will be made on Saturday.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) April 3, 2020
Source: Shams Charania on Twitter
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