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NBA notebook: Spurs' Leonard expected out for season

[February 22, 2018] San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said Wednesday he would be surprised if star forward Kawhi Leonard returns this season.

Leonard, hindered by tendinopathy in his right quadriceps, made his season debut Dec. 12 but played only nine games. The Spurs announced Jan. 17 that he would be out indefinitely.

"We've got to move on," Popovich told reporters Wednesday at the NBA team's practice. "The team has to realize that this is who we are, this is who we have. ... Wishing and hoping doesn't do anybody any good."

Popovich did not say the team was officially ruling the two-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year out for the remainder of the season.

--Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban has been fined $600,000 for "public statements detrimental to the NBA," the league announced following Cuban's comments about tanking to improve draft position.

On the "House Call with Dr. J" podcast on Monday, Cuban said he recently sat down with several of the team's players to explain why the best option for this year was not winning. The Mavericks are 18-40 at the All-Star break

--Cuban told ESPN on Wednesday that he is solely responsible for keeping former Mavericks.com reporter Earl K. Sneed on staff after two separate domestic violence incidents.

Sneed was fired this week shortly before Sports Illustrated published an investigative article about a culture of misogyny and predatory sexual behavior in the Mavericks' organization, an article that detailed two domestic incidents involving Sneed.

"I want to be clear, I'm not putting the blame on anybody else," Cuban told ESPN. "It came down to my final decision that I made."

--Cleveland Cavaliers power forward Kevin Love says he is about a month away from returning to the court after fracturing his left hand last month.

Love, 29, sustained the injury Jan. 30. He did not require surgery and was expected to miss eight weeks while rehabbing. The five-time All-Star underwent surgery on the same hand in October 2009.

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"I'm probably about two weeks out from getting this movable cast off for good, and then from there about a few weeks after that before I get back," Love told NBCSports.com on Tuesday. "So I have a good amount of time, about a month."

--When asked Wednesday about a potential proposal to change the NBA's playoff-seeding format, Cavaliers forward LeBron James said he would prefer to keep the approach the league has always used.

"I would disagree with that," James told reporters. "I think our league has been built the right way as far as when it comes to the postseason."

NBA commissioner Adam Silver confirmed on Saturday that the league is considering the possibility of playoff reseeding, where the top eight teams from each conference would earn playoff berths and would then be seeded 1-16 based on overall record.

--The Phoenix Suns signed guard Shaquille Harrison to a 10-day contract, calling him up from the Northern Arizona Suns of the NBA G League.

Harrison, 24, will be making his NBA debut when he first appears for the Suns. In 36 games with Northern Arizona this season, he averaged 11.0 points, shooting 46.4 percent from the field, 4.7 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.9 steals (10th in G League).

To make room on the roster, Phoenix released guard Josh Gray. He first signed a 10-day contract with the Suns on Feb. 2 and averaged 6.4 points, 2.4 assists and 1.6 steals in 17.2 minutes over five games.

--Field Level Media

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