Ginobili has stress fracture of right leg
SAN ANTONIO — The San Antonio Spurs said Manu Ginobili has a stress fracture of the lower fibula of his right leg.
The injury could knock the key reserve for the NBA champion Spurs out of the upcoming World Cup of Basketball, where he was scheduled to play for Argentina.
The tournament starts at the end of August in Spain. Ginobili wrote Tuesday on his Facebook page that his availability will depend on how he feels in about three weeks, but that he remains optimistic.
It’s unclear when Ginobili was injured. He averaged 14.4 points in the NBA Finals, when the Spurs beat Miami in five games to give Ginobili his fourth championship.
Kaman reportedly agrees to deal with Blazers
PORTLAND, Ore. — Free agent center Chris Kaman has agreed to a two-year deal with the Portland Trail Blazers.
A person with knowledge of the negotiations confirmed the agreement, which cannot be formally announced until new contracts are finalized July 10. The deal, worth a reported $9.8 million, was first reported Thursday night by Yahoo! Sports.
Kaman confirmed the deal with a post on his official Twitter account.
The burley 7-foot center has averaged 11.7 points, 7.9 rebounds and 1.4 blocks over an 11-year NBA career. He is expected to back up Robin Lopez with the Blazers.
He spent last season with the Los Angeles Lakers, averaging 10.4 points and 5.9 rebounds, but was limited to a career-low 18.7 minutes in 39 games. He struggled late in the season with injuries.
Mirotic to leave Spanish team, talk with Bulls
CHICAGO — The international man of mystery finally could be unveiled.
Spanish website HoopsHype.com reported Friday morning that Nikola Mirotic has chosen to leave Real Madrid and pay his buyout of roughly $3 million. Per league rules, the Bulls are able to pay up to $600,000 of that buyout, with anything over getting charged to their salary cap.
That’s a salary cap that they were hoping to preserve for Carmelo Anthony. But with reports that the Knicks and Lakers both have offered Anthony a maximum contract, the Bulls already started moving to a contingency plan with Thursday’s meeting in Los Angeles with Pau Gasol.
Adding Mirotic could be another step. However, a source familiar with the Mirotic talks cautioned that they were not finalized and still in the negotiations stage.
The Bulls swung a major draft-day trade in 2011 to acquire the rights to the 6-foot-10-inch Mirotic, who has blossomed into one of the best players in Europe. He averaged 12.4 points and 4.6 rebounds in Euroleague play last season but reportedly had issues with his coach in Spanish Cup play recently.
By wire sources