Noel to sign 10-day deal with Nets
Former Knick Nerlens Noel is signing a 10day contract with the Nets, according to his agent, George Langberg. The center completed a buyout with the Pistons this week after appearing in 14 games with the team.
The Nets are bringing in Noel to add size off the bench. The team relies on Nic Claxton, who was considered to be a dark-horse candidate for Defensive Player of the Year this season, but doesn’t have any other center on the roster besides Day’Ron Sharpe.
Noel averages 7.2 points and 6.1 rebounds in his career, but only averaged 2.3 points and 2.6 rebounds with the Pistons. The Nets will be the center’s sixth team in his nine-year career.
The 76ers selected Noel with the sixth overall pick in the 2013 draft. He was sidelined his first season due to a knee injury but started 71 games following year and made the 2014-15 All-Rookie Team.
BEN BACK WOES
An MRI revealed Ben Simmons has inflammation in his back, coach Jacque Vaughn said.
Simmons was sidelined for the sixth straight game Sunday due to knee soreness, but it appears the former All-Star is now dealing with a back injury as well. Simmons has been hampered with injuries this season and the MRI results leave his return in question. The team hasn’t disclosed any timetable for a return.
“So, we’ll see what that looks like, you know, kind of day by day, but that’s what we’re managing, along with trying to strengthen that knee,” Vaughn said.
Simmons hasn’t played since the Feb. 15 victory against the Heat. The team continues to label him day-to-day as the former Rookie of the Year rehabs his back and knee.
GIANNIS LOSES BOGUS TRIPLE-DOUBLE
Giannis Antetokounmpo said he stole a triple-double. The NBA took it back.
The league adjusted the statistics from the Milwaukee-Washington game Sunday night and erased Antetokounmpo’s final rebound, the one that would have given him a triple-double.
He grabbed a defensive rebound with nine seconds left, knowing that left him one rebound short of 10. He hustled the ball downcourt, got near the rim the Bucks were shooting at, hesitated for a moment before throwing the ball intentionally into the bottom of the rim and catching it.
“Kind of stole one,” Antetokounmpo said Sunday night.
On-site statisticians credited him with a missed shot and a 10th rebound from that play. The NBA removed the last rebound Monday.
Milwaukee won, 117-111. Antetokounmpo finished, officially, with 23 points, 13 assists and nine rebounds. The adjustment dropped his rebound average from 11.94 per game to 11.92 — but his shooting percentage, with the missed “shot” erased, improved from .538 to .539.