Caris LeVert won’t be taking the court for the Pacers anytime soon, but the team’s newly-acquired guard was in attendance at Tuesday’s practice and spoke to reporters for the first time since being traded from Brooklyn to Indiana.
As Eric Woodyard of ESPN details, LeVert said on Tuesday that he’d been feeling “100% healthy” this season and was surprised when an MRI conducted as part of his physical revealed a small mass on his left kidney.
“In a way, this trade definitely showed and revealed what was going on in my body,” LeVert said. “So I’m definitely looking at it from that side and definitely humbled to know that this trade could’ve possibly saved me in the long run.”
According to LeVert, he and the Pacers are still waiting on some testing results and don’t know yet if the mass is cancerous. The 26-year-old added that while he wants to return to action as soon as possible, he understands it’s important to prioritize his health and to “make sure I live a long life,” so he isn’t yet thinking about when he might be able to play again.
Here’s more from around the Central:
- While Jarrett Allen admitted he was “disappointed” by not getting the chance to continue his career in Brooklyn, he’s excited to be part of the Cavaliers, as Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com relays. “It’s good that they want to invest in me, invest in my improvement and have me be a part of their organization,” Allen said. “I love what the front office is doing. I love how the coaches are teaching us. I can’t wait to play with them.”
- The Pistons won’t have a G League affiliate of their own participating in the revamped 2020/21 season, but they’ll consider using the flexible assignment option to get some of their young players some regular playing time at a lower level, head coach Dwane Casey said on Tuesday, per Omari Sankofa II of The Detroit Free Press. “Right now they’re playing (NBA) games when they should be learning the G League, making mistakes and learning from them in the G League instead of our games,” Casey said of the team’s inexperienced youngsters.
- The jury’s still out on whether Coby White can be the Bulls‘ long-term answer at point guard, writes Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times.