By Matt Moore

The news did not get better for the Kings Thursday night after the firing of Paul Westphal. Starting center Chuck Hayes went down with a separated shoulder in the second quarter against Milwaukee. From the Sacramento Bee: 

Kings forward/center Chuck Hayes left tonight's game against the Milwaukee Bucks in the second quarter with a dislocated left shoulder.

Hayes was injured extending his arm and colliding with Bucks center Drew Gooden.

Hayes stayed down on the court for a few minutes before leaving the court with medical staff.

via Kings Blog and Q&A: Chuck Hayes leaves game with dislocated left shoulder.

Hayes is just weeks removed from having a contract offer initially nullified by the Kings because of a heart condition. A second opinion from the Cleveland Clinic cleared him to play. 

Posted by Ben Golliver. 

On, then off, and now back on again. One of the NBA's scariest stories in recent memory reportedly just found a happy ending. 

The Sacramento Kings have reportedly agreed to sign center Chuck Hayes to a 4-year contract less than one week after a previous deal was voided when the team announced he failed his physical. SI.com and Yahoo Sports report the new deal is worth $22 million over four years.

The Kings confirmed later Thursday night that the team had "an agreement in principle" with Hayes on "a multi-year contract" but did not disclose the details. 

Last week, the Kings and Hayes agreed to terms on a 4-year deal reportedly worth $21 million. On Monday, Kings president Geoff Petrie announced that "in one of the most heartbreaking moments" of his career he had to void the deal because Hayes could not get medical clearance. Reports in Sacramento indicated that a heart condition was the cause of the deal snag.

On Thursday morning, Ken Berger of CBSSports.com reported that Hayes had received clearance on his heart from the world-renowned Cleveland Clinic. That news paved the way for his agent to re-open free agency talks. The Kings, who were unable to re-sign center Samuel Dalembert, were obviously still interested in Hayes, who they had originally managed to pry away from the Houston Rockets. 

Hayes, 28, is a 6-year NBA veteran known as an undersized big man with a major motor. His career averages: 4.4 points and 5.8 rebounds in 424 NBA games.

Hayes will join a Sacramento frontline that also includes DeMarcus Cousins, Jason Thompson, Donte Greene, and J.J. Hickson.

Posted by Ben Golliver. 

Sacramento Kings president Geoff Petrie announced in a brief statement on Monday that free agent center Chuck Hayes, signed last week to a contract worth a reported $21 million over four years, will not join the team this season for medical reasons.

"This morning, in one of the most heartbreaking moments of my professional or personal life, Chuck Hayes was notified that he failed his physical exam with the Sacramento Kings," Petrie's statement read. "Subsequent to that, the contract signed on December 9th has been voided. At Chuck’s request, we will have no further comment at this time."

The Sacramento Bee reported earlier this week that Hayes was undergoing tests on his heart after a stress test revealed an undisclosed abnormality.

Hayes, 28, is a 6-year NBA veteran who spent his entire career, until this offseason, playing for the Houston Rockets. An undersized center with a major motor, Hayes has posted career averages of 4.4 points and 5.8 rebounds in 424 NBA games. He was expected to get major minutes in Sacramento as part of a frontline that also includes DeMarcus Cousins, J.J. Hickson, Jason Thompson and Travis Outlaw.

The Boston Celtics announced last weekend that forward Jeff Green did not pass his physical and will undergo open heart surgery that will force him to miss the entire 2011-2012 season.

Houston Rockets center Yao Ming discusses the progress of his rehabilitation from a foot injury and his desire to come back to the court. Posted byBen Golliver.

Back in December, Houston Rockets center Yao Ming suffered a stress fracture of his ankle that required season-ending surgery and threatened to end his career.

On Thursday, Yao met with media members to provide an update on his progress and to make it clear he is working towards a comeback to the court. NBA.com has video of his comments.

"I've been doing well," Yao told reporters. "Once in awhile, seeing the doctors, checking to see how things are going. I'm happy about the progress and [I'm going to] try to make it back. They said I probably need another 10 weeks before I can start running on the court. That's as far as I know."

Later, he added, "I still have very limited workouts. I cannot walk with my full weight." 

Yao, a free agent this summer, said he was unable to give a firm estimate on when he might return to the court and hadn't yet thought about his future, which may or may not come with the Rockets. "Right now it's more focused on my injury. About the future, it all depends on this foot." He did say that he enjoys playing in Houston. "I like it here. I'm used to playing here. I'm really, really comfortable."

He also said it was too early to tell whether he would be the same player he has been in the past. "The foot will tell me how much I can get back," Yao said. Asked whether he would be disappointed if wasn't able to play again, Yao said: "That's a sad question, first of all. If there's a possibility that I'm not going to come back to play, I'm going to tell myself I already did everything I can."

Asked when a decision about his future might come, Yao said, "After the lockout, I guess." He then caught himself and laughed, "We're not allowed to talk about this."

As Yao was only able to appear in five games this season, the Rockets have made due with a small frontline that includes Luis Scola, Chuck Hayes and Jordan Hill. Houston also traded for project center Hasheem Thabeet at the deadline, but Rockets coach Rick Adelman has expressed concern about Thabeet's role going forward given his lack of experience. Meanwhile, the 33-33 Rockets are in the basement of the Southwest Division and on pace to miss the playoffs for the second straight season.

In other words, the Rockets still badly need a center. However, they need one now and may not be able to wait indefinitely to check on Yao's progress. Persistent injuries have kept Yao from the court for major portions of four of the last five seasons and it may be time for the Rockets to go a different direction. Yao was rumored to be on the block prior to the trade deadline, as his massive $17.7 million expiring contract could have allowed a rebuilding team to shed long-term salary committments. 

The Rockets didn't move him, however, so his future, and his future in Houston, remains up in the air.

Reserve center out 2-4 weeks with moderate to severe ankle sprain.
Posted by Matt Moore


Chuck Hayes took a bad fall in practice, bad enough to require a wheelchair Thursday. It was later announced that Hayes has a moderate to severe sprain of his right ankle and is out for 2-4 weeks.  Which means the Rockets are pretty much doomed down low. 

The Rockets are already without Yao Ming, obviously. Brad Miller can't put in long minutes at his age. Which means that Jordan Hill will be getting significant time at center. Which is not good for, oh, what's the word? Winning. 

The Rockets brought in a tremendous amount of front court help this year in order to have depth behind Ming. But now for two weeks, the Rockets won't have the stout defensive reserve center or their starting center who is out for the year.  For a team that hasn't been nearly good enough defensively all year, that's pretty terrible news. 

So along with the Magic, Knicks, and Suns, the Rockets are also looking for a good center. We are having serious problems with defensive big man depth.

Houston Rockets center Yao Ming has suffered a stress fracture in his left ankle and is out indefinitely. Posted by Ben Golliver.  The Houston Rockets have informed the media via press release that Yao Ming, the team's franchise center, who missed all of last season due to injury and has missed significant playing time this season as well, has suffered a stress fracture in his left ankle, and is out indefinitely.

An MRI performed today on Rockets center Yao Ming revealed a stress fracture of the Medial Malleolus in his left ankle. The fracture, which is related to his previous injury of the Tarsal Navicular bone, presented itself during the course of his current rehabilitation program. There is no timetable for his return at this time.

The team will have no additional comment at this time. Information regarding his treatment program will be made available at a later date.

The Houston Chronicle speculates on Twitter that Yao's future as a professional is now up in the air, both this year and beyond. "Wondering now if he'll ever return ... Yao said the obvious in summer. If can't stay healthy, can't keep playing. Is it over?," tweets the paper's Rockets beat writer, Jonathan Feigen.  This is season-crippling news for the Rockets, who are already in the Southwest Division's basement at 10-15.  Yao, one of the league's most productive and dominant big men when healthy, has struggled to stay on the court since he missed just two games combined in his first three NBA seasons. Aside from a strong 2008-2009 season, which led to a nice playoff run for the Rockets, Yao has not played more than 60 games in a season, and he missed all of the 2009-2010 season with a hairline fracture in his left foot. Yao appeared in just five games this season, before ankle and leg injuries began to dog him again. He averaged 10.2 points, 5.4 rebounds and 1.6 blocks in 18.2 minutes per game, and was placed on a strict playing time limit.  Without Yao, the Rockets will continue to make due with a frontcourt rotation that includes big men Luis Scola, Brad Miller, Chuck Hayes and Jordan Hill.  Yao, at age 30, is in the final year of his contract, making $17.6 million this season. Given his uncertain health, that contract could become a trade chip for the Rockets, who have been linked in a number of trade talks. Even if Yao completes the season without being moved, the Rockets will have a decision to make on his future with the team. Yao's persistent injuries have left the team in limbo the last few seasons, and made for a trip to the draft lottery last season and potentially a similar trip this season. Yao will also have a decision: Does he still want to continue playing basketball? Perhaps it's time for both parties move on. 

Report says Dampier will sign with Rockets. Posted by Matt Moore

Our long national ... apathy may finally be over. Hoopsworld is reporting that Erick Dampier has made his decision, many moons after "The Decision", and will join the Houston Rockets as a backup center. The Rockets are at 15 players, so there will have to be cut to make room for him, likely Ishmael Smith. Smith may wind up in the Rockets' D-League affiliate Rio Grande Valley Vipers who they use quite a bit.

Dampier makes for a valuable addition to the Rockets. Against the Lakers, when they had a center with size in, they flourished. Those players went out due to minute restrictions or endurance, and production dropped. They need that size, despite having an absolute plethora of bigs. Dampier gives them elite size to combat their opponents' bigger lineups. He's slow, old, and never been a great scorer, but he does his job and does it well. In limited minutes, he could pack a big punch for Houston, who has struggled in rebounding through their first two games.

Dampier had been pursued by Toronto, Portland, Phoenix and Milwaukee, with heavy talks of him signing with all three. But Dampier took his time, or those teams pursued other options, and so now Houston will bring him in and slide Chuck Hayes to backup power forward. The race for size in the Western Conference continues.

Houston Rockets forward Chuck Hayes has suffered an ankle injury that will keep him until opening night. Posted by Ben Golliver.  Sam Amick of AOL Fanhouse reports on Twitter that Houston Rockets forward Chuck Hayes has suffered an ankle injury that will keep him out of the Rockets' final two preseason games.  Those two games are a Texas two-step, as Houston travels to San Antonio to face the Spurs Thursday night and to Dallas to take on the Mavericks on Friday night. Marc Spears reports on Twitter that it is a "mild to moderate sprain" so one would expect Hayes will be ready to go on opening night. The Rockets open the regular season in Los Angeles to face the Lakers on Oct. 26. Hayes had played in all six of Houston's preseason games to date, and had averaged 6.0 points and 5.0 rebounds in 21.7 minutes per game. The Rockets have been spreading around the minutes during the preseason, in part because franchise center Yao Ming is on a strict minute limit. Indeed, Jason Friedman of Rockets.com reports on Twitter that coach Rick Adelman plans to hold Ming out of Thursday's game against the Spurs.  This should be a good chance for some of Houston's younger players, like second-year power forward Jordan Hill or rookie forward Patrick Patterson, to see some more court time in Hayes's absence.