Warriors’ Green set to return soon?
Golden State coach Steve Kerr didn’t confirm a report Thursday that suspended forward Draymond Green is expected to return to the team’s facility soon, while noting that giving Green space away from the team is important for both parties. ESPN reported that Green is “expected to return” to the Warriors’ facility in the next few days. “I don’t know that,” Kerr said. “Apparently someone else does, but I don’t.” Green was suspended indefinitely by the NBA three weeks ago after he was ejected for hitting Suns center Jusuf Nurkic in the face while the two were jostling for position.
Giannis, LeBron top stars
Milwaukee's Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Lakers’ LeBron James are the early leaders in fan voting for next month's All-Star Game, the NBA said. Antetokounmpo had 2,171,812 votes to lead all Eastern Conference frontcourt players, and James had 2,008,645 votes to lead all Western Conference frontcourt players. James is looking for a record 20th All-Star selection; he is tied with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for the most in league history with 19. He and Antetokounmpo were the leaders in fan voting last season as well. Celtics star Jayson Tatum is among the frontcourt leders in the East.
Cavs’ Rubio, 33, is retiring
Veteran guard Ricky Rubio, who stepped away from his playing career — and the Cavaliers — this season to concentrate on his mental health, said his NBA career is over. The 33year-old Rubio posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, that he’s “doing much better and getting better every day” but that his NBA career “has come to an end.”
NBA fines Nets $100,000
The NBA fined the Nets $100,000, marking the first time a team was sanctioned for violating the league's player participation policy that went into effect this season. The Nets held out four rotation players — starters Spencer Dinwiddie, Nic Claxton and Cam Johnson, along with key reserve Dorian Finney-Smith — in what became a 144-122 loss to the Bucks Dec. 27. Three of the players Brooklyn started that night logged 12 minutes or less.