No word on Irving's return to Nets after he misses 3 games

NEW YORK (AP) -- The timing of Kyrie Irving's return to the Brooklyn Nets remains unknown, with coach Steve Nash saying Monday he had no update on the point guard's status. The Nets listed Irving as out for their game Tuesday against Denver, which will be the fourth straight he misses for personal reasons. Nash has said it's a private matter and has refused to discuss Irving's absence in detail. He did say that he believed Irving was tested for the coronavirus on Sunday, though he wasn't sure about Monday. Whether Irving has continued to be tested during his time away could determine how quickly he would be eligible to play upon his return. The Nets have lost two of their three games without Irving. Kevin Durant missed two of them because of the NBA's health and safety protocols for COVID-19 before returning Sunday in a 129-116 loss to Oklahoma City. Basketball stat collect from isports API, for more details please visit www.isportsapi.com .

Manchester United trio Paul Pogba, Victor Lindelof and Luke Shaw suffer injury setbacks ahead of cruch week

Paul Pogba, Victor Lindelof and Luke Shaw missed Manchester United’s FA Cup third round tie with Watford through injury, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has confirmed. The trio played no part in United's win at Old Trafford on Saturday evening, having all started in the EFL Cup semi-final defeat to Manchester City three days earlier. Solskjaer made nine changes against Watford, naming Bruno Fernandes, Harry Maguire and Marcus Rashford on the substitutes bench among others, though Pogba, Lindelof and Shaw were not included in the matchday squad. The United manager confirmed that all three were missing through injury in his post-match press conference, though was optimistic about Eric Bailly after the defender was forced off during the first half. Bailly was substituted for Maguire after a collision with goalkeeper Dean Henderson left him dazed and requiring assistance to leave the pitch. Solskjaer did not know the full extent of Bailly's problem but believed the issue to be with the 26-year-old's neck and did not suspect that Bailly suffered concussion. "He got a good whack," he said. "I don't think it's concussion, hopefully a muscle injury and we'll have to check it tomorrow. Fingers crossed he won't be out for too long." After the final whistle, Bailly confirmed his injury was only minor. "Good job by the team to advance in the FA Cup. I am OK, it was just a knock," he tweeted. Football stat collect from isports API, for more details please visit www.isportsapi.com .

Steve Nash has texted with Kyrie Irving, whose status for Sunday's Nets game is unknown

Nets guard Kyrie Irving missed the team's game on Thursday against the Philadelphia 76ers and did not travel for Friday's game on the road against the Memphis Grizzlies due to personal reasons. Head coach Steve Nash told reporters on Friday that he has texted with Irving and would like to keep the details of that conversation private. "I'm just going to keep it between us," Nash said. Nash would go on to say that Irving's status for Sunday's game against the Oklahoma City Thunder is to be determined. Basketball stat collect from isports API, for more details please visit www.isportsapi.com .

When traded, will Harden make sacrifices to win? Not every team executive is sold.

James Harden‘s push to get traded out of Houston remains in a holding pattern as he and the Rockets wait for the market to turn and catch up with their demands. While the focus has been on when and where Harden gets traded, Howard Beck at Sports Illustrated said the real question is will Harden make the sacrifices needed to win a ring in his new home? Plenty of team executives are not convinced (part of what is slowing the trade market for him). “I don’t think he is,” says a veteran executive with an Eastern Conference team. “James is like Allen Iverson: He wants to win his way and put up historical numbers while he’s winning. I would never question their desire to win, but they all want to win on their terms.” A Western Conference exec echoed those doubts, saying, “It’s hard for me to envision him playing any other way,” although he added, “I’m not sure if that’s him or the Rockets” insisting on that style. Harden is unquestionably one of the great scorers the game has ever seen, a three-time league scoring champ and MVP who has averaged more than 30 points a game the past three seasons, and is at 33 a night so far this season. He can get to the rim, drain a step-back three, has a full range of moves, and is generally one of the league’s hardest covers. However, getting to lift the Larry O’Brien Trophy requires more than moves. Winning a ring means being willing to up touches and points for the team’s greater good — just ask Kevin Durant (when he was in Golden State) or Dwyane Wade in Miami or any of the Duncan-era Spurs stars (and the list goes on and on). Harden has played one way, in total control, for the past eight years in Houston, running off a series of high-profile teammates in the process. Whenever and wherever he gets traded, Harden will undoubtedly say all the right things about putting the team first and wanting to win more than anything. But will he give up touches to Durant and Kyrie Irving in Brooklyn?Feed Joel Embiid in the post in crunch time in Philadelphia? Play nice with Jayson Tatum in Boston? Actions will speak louder than words. Basketball stat collect from isports API, for more details please visit www.isportsapi.com .

Rumor: Nets cooled on Harden trade in part because of Mike D’Antoni

James Harden has added teams to the mix, but his original trade demand was to go to Brooklyn. Those talks have gone nowhere, at least in part because Houston wanted more than a trade package built around Caris LeVert and Jarrett Allen (and maybe Spencer Dinwiddie). The other side of that coin — or the Nets’ spin on the talks — is they have cooled on the Harden trade idea due to Harden’s former coach Mike D’Antoni weighing in. That and seeing the potential to contend with what they have in house. At least that is what The Ringer’s founder said on his flagship podcast, the Bill Simmons Podcast (hat tip to Clutch Points). “I heard that Brooklyn cooled of on Harden and one reason was D’Antoni, they were like ‘were good, lets keep what we have here, Harden presents some problems,’” Simmons said. We don’t know Simmons’ source, so take this with a grain of salt. This could be Brooklyn leaking something to save face: “They don’t want our guy? Well, we didn’t want him anyway.” There also could be some truth to all of it: Houston may not love LeVert, and the Nets may want to wait to see what they have. While Brooklyn is off to a 3-3 start, it has looked like an unstoppable contender at points this young season. While the Nets have some defensive questions to answer (and Harden doesn’t really help with that), they look like a team that can challenge Milwaukee and anyone else at the top of the East come the playoffs. Trading for Harden radically changes the team dynamic; the Nets may want to see how the team they have looks over a stretch of ground before deciding on Harden either way. Harden’s trade demand remains in a holding pattern — he’s playing well for the Rockets, but Houston is still demanding a huge trade package for the former MVP and no other team is stepping up to meet that. The Rockets plan to wait the market out, and that will take a little time. Basketball stat collect from isports API, for more details please visit www.isportsapi.com .

Stephen Curry vents amid Warriors season that already looks lost: 'We need to win — immediately'

This isn’t how this season was supposed to go. On the heels of a campaign lost to injury and exodus, 2020-21 was supposed to mark a return to relevance for the Golden State Warriors. Another championship contender in the Bay, old-school Splash Brothers style. But like so much else in 2020, those plans went up in smoke, thanks largely to the offseason Achilles tear suffered by Klay Thompson. It’s a devastating setback that will cost him a second straight season after losing 2019-20 to a torn ACL. Warriors blown out again Two games into the season against a pair of the East’s top teams and the Warriors look a lot closer to the lottery than they do a return to championship form. Golden State followed up Thursday’s blowout loss to the Brooklyn Nets with a Christmas Day dud against the Milwaukee Bucks, a 138-99 setback that suggests the Warriors aren’t ready to compete in a loaded Western Conference. Stephen Curry, the two-time MVP and only mainstay on the floor from Golden State’s championship heyday, is frustrated. Steph vents “We need to win,” Curry told reporters after Friday’s loss. “Immediately.” So what do the Warriors need to fix what’s ailing them? “I don't know,” Curry continued. “We just have to focus more on what we're trying to do. Sometimes when you miss shots, you tend to force and press and not think. “Our group's collective IQ has to get a lot better in those moments where you're not making shots.” Gone from the Warriors’ 2019 Finals core are Thompson and Kevin Durant, who looks very much like an MVP contender with the Nets in his first games back from his own crushing injury. They’re obviously not walking through the door. Draymond Green has also been missing, sitting the 0-2 start with what’s being reported as a minor foot injury. He’s expected to return soon, possibly for Sunday’s game against the Chicago Bulls. New Warriors core not cutting it In their place are Andrew Wiggins, Kelly Oubre Jr. and rookie James Wiseman. With a nod to Wiseman’s more than promising start, this is a core that’s failed to live up to expectations through two games, much less fill the shoes of their All-NBA predecessors. Wiggins was acquired last season to help fill the massive void on the wing left by the departed Durant while ensuring that Golden State would get a long-term return on their investment in D’Angelo Russell. The former No. 1 overall pick, of course, was never expected to replace Durant. But he was supposed to be better than this. Wiggins followed up his 4-of-16 effort on opening night with another disaster from the field on Friday. He tallied 12 points against the Bucks on 6-of-18 shooting, including misses on all four of his 3-point attempts. Oubre has somehow been worse. Acquired this offseason after the Thompson injury, the former Phoenix Sun scored three points on Christmas on 1-of-10 shooting from the field. He missed all five of his 3-point attempts. Friday’s game followed up a 3-of-14 effort against the Nets. A Splash Brother, he is not. There is a bright spot for Golden State Wiseman has provided the beacon of hope in this slow Warriors start. The rookie center is averaging 18.5 points, seven rebounds and 1.5 blocks in his brief NBA tenure while connecting 4 of 5 3-point attempts. It’s the inside-out game the Warriors banked on when making the athletic 7-footer the No. 2 pick in the draft. But a rookie center showing upside isn’t enough to make Golden State competitive, especially when Curry doesn’t resemble his former form. The Warriors sharpshooter is connecting on just 34.2% of his field-goal attempts, a rate that’s weighed down by a 4-of-20 effort from 3-point distance in two games. There’s surely better to come from Curry, who missed all but five games last season with a broken hand. Oubre and Wiggins are likewise bound to improve. How could they not? But even then, it’s hard to envision this version of the Warriors mounting any sort of threat in the West. Basketball stat collect from isports API, for more details please visit www.isportsapi.com .

Messi 'always had the dream' to play in US, could leave Barcelona for free in 2021

Messi 'always had the dream' to play in US, could leave Barcelona for free originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington Lionel Messi said he "has always had the dream" of playing in the United States in a 90-minute interview with Spanish journalist Jordi Evolve broadcasted on Telemundo on Sunday. “I've always had the dream of playing in another league, in the United States," Messi said. "Maybe it will happen, it doesn't have to be right away. Today I am just focused on these next six months.” Messi had a public fallout with Barcelona this past summer, even requesting to leave but former president Josep Bartomeu refused. Messi was consistent with what he's said since deciding to stay in Barcelona this season, saying he didn't want to take the club to court even if multiple lawyers told him he would've won. Instead, Messi can now negotiate a free transfer once the January transfer window opens up, as the 33-year-old is in the last year of his contract and is free to negotiate terms with other clubs in the final six months of his deal if he doesn't sign a contract extension with Barcelona before then. Messi has won the Ballon d'Or awarded to the best player on the planet a record six times and tied Pele's record for the most goals scored with a single club with his 647th last week. Widely regarded as one of the best players of all time, the Argentine would immediately raise the profile of Major League Soccer to new heights. D.C. United has really only ever acquired one mega-star in Wayne Rooney, and isn't considered one of the favorites to land the generational talent should he decide to play in the MLS one day. Teams with bigger budgets like the LA Galaxy, where Messi could go Hollywood and steal the nation's soccer spotlight, or even David Beckham's Inter Miami, where he could join up with fellow Argentine Gonzalo Higuain. Because Messi's exuberant wages go far beyond those of typical "designated players" in MLS, the league could offer Messi what they gave Beckham -- a discounted rate at owning an expansion club. Messi's unsettled sentiments expressed after crashing out of the Champions League at the end of last season has only carried on to this season, as he admitted “Barca is a great club that is not today in the place where it should be.” Barcelona are in fifth place and have dropped 15 piotns through 14 La Liga games, their worst start to a season since Messi's debut season in 2007. Even so, Messi has started 17 of Barcelona's 20 games across all competitions despite a quick turnaround offseason and leads the team in scoring with 10 goals. Football stat collect from isports API, for more details please visit www.isportsapi.com .