Cleveland Cavaliers point guard Kyrie Irving and shooting guard Dion Waiters met the media together on Monday to talk about the alleged "rift" between the two. There have been rumors of discontent in the Cavaliers locker room all season, and the latest controversy involved Irving, Waiters and Cleveland Browns wide receiver Josh Gordon. Irving and Waiters, standing side-by-side, downplayed the entire thing, with Irving saying that they are "the best of friends," via Mary Schmitt Boyer of the Cleveland Plain Dealer.
NBA news roundup: Kyrie Irving, Dion Waiters address ‘rift’
The Cavs’ young backcourt stood together on Monday, and the Bulls added a familiar face. Also, Xavier Henry will have two surgeries on Friday, Tony Parker will miss at least two games and the 2014 Hall of Fame class is set.
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Added Waiters, “On behalf of [Irving], myself, I just think we’ve been in so much media this year, and it’s not fair to either of us.
”I just think, man, throughout this whole year with us two not liking each other, it’s total BS. We’ve been friends before we even made the NBA, before any of this. I just think y’all saying we don’t like playing with one another ...
“Yeah, we still need to learn certain things. But I think at the end of the day, we’re genuinely friends. I love him as a friend, teammate, everything. I just want everybody to know that. I don’t hate this guy. I’m pretty sure he don’t hate me. I know he don’t hate me. I hope he don’t hate me. Rome wasn’t built in one day. We’re still young. We’re still planning to stay together. We’re still working. As long as we’ve got great communication down, it’s fine.”
Waiters also said that he played pool with Gordon over the weekend, put the receiver in touch with Irving and “everything’s cool now.” I suppose that’ll settle things down for the time being.
In two seasons together, Irving and Waiters have struggled to gel on the court. Neither is an effective defender at this stage of his career, and each of them is better with the ball in his hands than without it. As Waiters said, they are young, but regardless of them appearing as a united front in front of the microphones and cameras there’s no guarantee that they will end up sticking together. Cleveland’s had a nightmarish season relative to expectations, and it’s uncertain who will be running the front office this time next month.
Brewer signs with Bulls
As expected for a few days, the Chicago Bulls signed defensive-minded swingman Ronnie Brewer for the remainder of the season on Monday.
Brewer was previously a member of the Bulls from 2010 to 2012, so he is more than familiar with head coach Tom Thibodeau's system. He played for the Houston Rockets earlier this year, but was waived in February. He will be available to suit up in the postseason for Chicago.
The Bulls might also sign free agent point guard Mike James, who they waived a few months ago, and "possibly a third player," according to the Chicago Tribune's K.C. Johnson.
Brewer appears rather happy to be back:
Lakers' Henry to have surgery
Los Angeles Lakers guard Xavier Henry, who has been injured virtually all season, will have surgery on both his wrist and his knee later this week, the team announced on Monday:
.@XavierHenry will have surgery Friday to repair a torn ligament in his left wrist as well as arthroscopic surgery on his right knee.
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) April 7, 2014 The Lakers shut Henry down for the rest of the season last week. He averaged 10 points in 21 minutes per game this year, appearing in 43 contests. It was the best season of his career, even though it was marred by injuries and losing. A free agent at the conclusion of the season, Henry told RealGM at the beginning of the month that he’d like to return to the Lakers next year.
The 2014 Hall of Fame class will include Alonzo Mourning, Mitch Richmond, Nolan Richardson, Gary Williams and Immaculata University's early-1970s championship teams, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame announced on Monday.
Zo had dinner last night wih the inductees. Table included Zo, his son Tre, Phil Knight, and David Stern. Wow.
— Hardwood Paroxysm (@HPbasketball) April 7, 2014 The group will join five direct elect members announced in February, including David Stern and Nat Clifton. For induction, they required 18 of 24 votes from the Hall’s Honors Committee. Tim Hardaway, Spencer Haywood and Kevin Johnson were among those who missed the cut.
Parker day-to-day
San Antonio Spurs point guard Tony Parker will miss the next two games and then he'll be day-to-day due to a sprain in his back, the team announced on Monday:
Injury report: Tony Parker underwent an MRI exam earlier today in San Antonio which revealed a sprained facet joint, left side.
— San Antonio Spurs (@spurs) April 7, 2014 Injury report: Parker will not travel with the team on its upcoming road trip and will be listed as day-to-day following Thursday’s game.
— San Antonio Spurs (@spurs) April 7, 2014 Parker played nine minutes in the Spurs' 112-92 win over the Memphis Grizzlies on Sunday and then left the game. The team initially said he was dealing with back spasms after he took a hard fall on a drive.
San Antonio will hit the road to play the Minnesota Timberwolves on Tuesday and the Dallas Mavericks on Thursday without its All-Star point guard. The Spurs will host the Phoenix Suns on Friday.
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