Tag: Shams Charania

Karl-Anthony Towns’ knee injury made Shams and Woj disagree about how much time he’ll miss

Reporters dramatically disagree about how long KAT will miss with his injury.

Minnesota Timberwolves star Karl-Anthony Towns has reportedly suffered a left meniscus injury, which is awful news for the big man.

Towns was named a Western Conference All-Star this season after he missed a large chunk of the last season due to injury. He has played an integral role on the Timberwolves, currently tied for the best record in the West and the second-best record in the NBA.

According to The Athletic’s Shams Charania, Towns was diagnosed with a torn meniscus in his left knee. Charania reported that the Minnesota star is out indefinitely.

Charania then reported that Towns “has been gathering second opinions on the injury” over the past 24 hours.

According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, meanwhile, it “remains unclear” how much time Towns will miss due to the meniscus injury. In fact, per Woj, we don’t yet know if the Timberwolves star will miss any time at all.

Here is more from Woj (via ESPN):

“Karl-Anthony Towns has suffered a left meniscus injury, and doctors are evaluating whether that will require the Minnesota Timberwolves All-Star to miss a significant period of time, sources told ESPN on Thursday morning.

Towns is undergoing further evaluation to determine whether an immediate procedure is required, or whether there are rehab options that could return him to Minnesota’s lineup in the more immediate future, sources said.

A decision is expected soon, sources said.”

So to summarize, Charania’s reporting is that Towns is out indefinitely while Wojnarowski’s reporting is that the big could return in the “more immediate future” for the Timberwolves.

That is a bit confusing, of course, because Wojnarowski and Charania are considered the two most trusted basketball news-breakers in the industry.

The two reporters were also formerly coworkers at Yahoo Sports, where Woj was a mentor for Shams before the two became rivals. So it is especially interesting to see these two end up with such wildly different reports about how much time Towns will miss.

In reality, doctors have likely not yet determined the right treatment plan for the former No. 1 overall pick. But until then, this is a wildly important update for Minnesota’s title hopes.

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Report: OKC Thunder waive Aleksej Pokusevski

Report: OKC Thunder waive Aleksej Pokusevski.

The Oklahoma City Thunder have waived fourth-year forward Aleksej Pokusevski, per The Athletic’s Shams Charania.

This transaction isn’t too shocking. Pokusevski has been outside of the Thunder’s rotation for the entire season. After not being signed to an extension this past offseason, it was evident his time in OKC was coming to an end.

The 22-year-old struggled to gain consistency with the Thunder. Viewed as a long-term project, Pokusevski never panned out. Even when he looked like a solid rotation player, a fractured leg halted any momentum he gathered last season.

In four seasons, Pokusevski averaged 7.5 points on 38.7% shooting, 4.7 rebounds and two assists. He shot 29.9% from 3 on 3.5 attempts. The Thunder now have a vacant roster spot.

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Shams Charania: OKC Thunder could add veteran backup big at trade deadline

Shams Charania: OKC Thunder could add a veteran backup big at trade deadline.

The NBA trade deadline is less than a week away, which means the Oklahoma City Thunder will enter the anticipated day as buyers for the first time in several.

The Thunder (34-15) are in striking distance for the playoffs’ first seed and will almost certainly participate in the playoffs for the first time since 2020. While OKC likely will not make a massive change, it can upgrade its depth.

The biggest area of weakness for the Thunder is their rebounding. OKC is one of the worst rebounding teams in the league, ranking 28th in rebounding rate and 26th in rebounds per game.

Not having a traditional backup center on the roster likely plays a role in this, which means a backup big could be the type of player the Thunder target.

The Athletic’s NBA insider, Shams Charania, lends credence to this theory in a recent podcast appearance.

“I think everyone thinks the Thunder are in the market to use all their draft picks to go get a high-name, high-end player. I don’t think the Thunder’s trade deadline priority is getting a top-tier player,” Charania told Kenny Beecham on The Kenny Beecham Podcast. “I think they want to see this core. … They are deep, now the one thing they could use is size. I have heard that they are a team that will at least look into veteran big-man play. Now, who that is? We will see.”

This shouldn’t be a massive shocker. Under Thunder general manager Sam Presti, OKC has historically added help to contending rosters. This season fits under that. A backup big could provide the experience and size the Thunder desperately need.

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NBA fans were baffled when CNN Sports (of all outlets) reported that the Bucks hired Doc Rivers

This whole saga is incredibly bizarre!

After the Milwaukee Bucks suddenly fired head coach Adrian Griffin, NBA champion Doc Rivers emerged as a leading candidate to replace him.

Despite the winning record in Milwaukee, Griffin’s departure wasn’t exactly shocking. Rivers, who was the head coach of the Philadelphia 76ers until last season, makes plenty of sense as his successor. Rivers was already serving as an “informal consultant” for the team, per The Athletic.

What baffled everyone, however, is that the first outlet credited with breaking the news was CNN Sports. Even though CNN is a trusted news outlet, it isn’t a desk known for its sports department.

So what exactly happened here? How did basketball insiders like Adrian Wojnarowski (currently Rivers’ colleague at ESPN) and Shams Charania get scooped by an outlet that doesn’t have much of a sports presence?

During a broadcast of NBA on TNT, host Adam Lefkoe relayed that CNN Sports was reporting that Doc Rivers was accepting the head coaching gig with Milwaukee.

Jamal Crawford, the longtime NBA player who is now an analyst on the show, immediately asked Lefkoe to confirm that the outlet was indeed CNN. How is this possible? Others had the same question. Here is more from Awful Announcing:

“This Doc Rivers report is the first time CNN Sports has been mentioned as a thing in literally decades. CNN Sports Tonight, the highlight show alternative to SportsCenter from Turner, hasn’t aired since 2001. CNN was linked with the Sports Illustrated brand before the platform was taken over by Bleacher Report sports content in 2013. In fact, all of Warner Bros. Discovery’s sports branding had transitioned to Bleacher Report in the last several years before it literally just rebranded to TNT Sports earlier this month.”

A.J. Perez of Front Office Sports later reported, however, that the news was fully vetted by CNN before it was passed along to TNT.

It is important to note that CNN and TNT are both owned by the same parent company, Warner Bros. Discovery. But at the time of the broadcast, there was nothing on the CNN Sports website that mentioned Rivers.

Perez was told this was likely due to CNN’s coverage of the GOP primary in New Hampshire.

As noted on Twitter/X by New York Times reporter Kevin Draper, a CNN Sports correspondent named Coy Wire appeared on NBA TV (also owned by Warner Bros. Discovery) to confirm that Rivers was hired by Milwaukee.

Draper added that he was also told by a CNN spokesperson that all of the reporting went through their “editorial process” at the network.

Later in the night, CNN Sports eventually published a story that credited “a source with knowledge of the conversations” but the reporting had no byline.

But this was far from the end of the story and the confusion continued.

Chris Haynes, who is widely considered the network’s top basketball insider and news breaker at NBA on TNT and Bleacher Report (which is also owned by Warner Bros. Discovery) refuted the report.

He claimed there is “no agreement” yet in place for Rivers to take over as the head coach of the Bucks. Bill Reiter of CBS Sports also reported that there is no agreement in place.

So what exactly happened here? Was this a giant miscommunication or was CNN Sports the first publication to break this news? Basketball fans had a lot of questions.

Kay Adams took away Shams Charania’s phone during her show and he’s never looked more stressed

You just know he was STRESSED.

If there’s one thing we know about The Athletic’s NBA newsbreaker Shams Charania, it’s that he cannot be without his phone.

It’s been reported that he spends upwards of 17-plus hours per day on his phone because he does not want a competitor to beat him to a scoop. He’s even shared a screenshot of his screen time, which had him averaging 19 hours per day during NBA free agency.

Not even joking: If you take away Shams’ phone, you’re taking away a sense of security for him. He needs that phone. So, during Thursday’s edition of Up & Adams, we saw Charania at his absolute peak stress level when Kay Adams suddenly took away his phone.

He couldn’t believe it.

Charania was looking around as if he needed someone to help him and tried to smile through the most stressful 10 seconds of his career. Adams knew what that was doing to Charania too. Those precious seconds are all it takes for Woj to scoop him on a potential James Harden trade.

Fans thought that the exchange was hilarious even if Shams was STRESSED.

Jalen Green on his Rockets goals: ‘If you win, everything will take care of itself’

“I do feel like [the All-Star jump] is going to happen,” #Rockets guard Jalen Green tells Shams Charania. “If you win, everything will take care of itself.”

In a new interview with Shams Charania, NBA insider for Stadium and The Athletic, Houston Rockets guard Jalen Green outlined a few priorities entering his third professional season.

“I do feel like (the All-Star jump) is going to happen,” Green told Charania. “If you win, everything will take care of itself.”

Averaging 22.1 points per game, Green was the top scorer on the 2022-23 Rockets, and he also led all second-year players from the 2021 draft class. But Green’s efficiency was middling, and Houston’s 22-60 record was tied for the second-worst mark in the league.

As such, that’s a clear point of emphasis for Green and the Rockets under new head coach Ime Udoka. It also helps he will have new veteran teammates such as Fred VanVleet and Dillon Brooks to potentially help carry the load while offering useful guidance.

Here’s a look at some of the key highlights and takeaways from Charania’s exclusive interview, which premiered Thursday morning.

Report: Former Thunder Usman Garuba signs two-way deal with Warriors

Usman Garuba joins his fourth team of the offseason as a two-way addition by the Warriors.

The Golden State Warriors signed former Oklahoma City Thunder center Usman Garuba to a two-way deal, per The Athletic’s Shams Charania.

Garuba’s stay with the Thunder was short. He was part of a multiplayer trade with the Atlanta Hawks in July. His OKC tenure lasted a little more than a month as the Thunder waived him in late August.

The 2021 first-round pick now joins his fourth team of the offseason by signing a two-way deal with the Warriors. He spent his first two seasons with the Houston Rockets, averaging 2.8 points and 3.9 rebounds.

Garuba’s former teammate, TyTy Washington Jr., was also part of the Hawks trade after both spent a year in Houston together. After a brief summer league stint, Washington Jr.’s time with the Thunder also came to a quick end when they waived him in August.

Washington Jr. signed a two-way deal with the Milwaukee Bucks.

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Report: Former Thunder TyTy Washington Jr. signs two-way deal with Bucks

The former Thunder guard has found a new home.

TyTy Washington Jr. joined his fourth team this offseason when he signed a two-way deal with the Milwaukee Bucks, per The Athletic’s Shams Charania. This comes 11 days after the Oklahoma City Thunder waived him.

The Thunder acquired Washington Jr. from the Atlanta Hawks in a multi-player trade.

Washington Jr. played for the Thunder late in the summer league after being a last-second addition to the roster. It was his only appearance for OKC.

The 21-year-old was drafted 29th in the first round of the 2022 NBA draft. He spent his rookie season with the Houston Rockets, with whom he averaged 4.7 points and 1.5 assists in 31 games.

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Report: OKC Thunder bring back Lindy Waters III on two-way deal

Lindy Waters III will enter his third season with the Thunder.

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The Oklahoma City Thunder made an addition to the roster, signing guard Lindy Waters III to a two-way deal, per The Athletics’ Shams Charania.

Waters III returns to OKC after his $1.9 million team option for the 2023-24 season was declined in June. He returns to his two-way status after he signed a standard deal in February.

This means Waters III will play for the Thunder for a third consecutive season. He initially signed as a two-way player during the 2021-22 season after he went undrafted in the 2020 NBA draft.

In two seasons, Waters III averaged 6.3 points on 39.9% shooting and 2.2 rebounds. He also shot 35.6% from 3 on 4.7 attempts.

Two of OKC’s three two-way spots are now filled. Second-round rookie Keyontae Johnson is the other two-way player on the roster.

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Shams Charania on his journey from fan of the league to NBA insider

Shams sat down with the hosts of the “Through the Wire” to break down his journey to one of the top names in sports media.

NBA insider Shams Charania was not always the news breaker he is today in the league. Long before he became a journalist, Charania grew up as a Chicago Bulls fan, following the franchise in the Ben Gordon and Derrick Rose era before pursuing a career in sports journalism.

As is so often the case in that line of work, he became less of a fan and more focused on the stories he covered as he pursued his career. Despite the common misconception that New York City or Los Angeles are necessary home bases to start a career in sports media, Shams chose to stay in his hometown of Chicago, finding it a perfect balance between the hustle of New York and the laid-back vibe of L.A.

The Athletic journalist sat down with the hosts of the “Through the Wire” podcast to break down his journey to one of the top names in sports media and more in a recent interview.

Check out the clip embedded above to hear it in full!

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

YouTube: https://bit.ly/3F9DvjQ

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