Damian Lillard may be at the center of trade rumors linking him to the Los Angeles Lakers, but general manager Neil Olshey doesn't seem inclined to put his superstar point guard up for sale. "As much as I love LeBron [James], he doesn't get to pick his teammates," Olshey told Peter Socotch of NBC Sports Northwest. "That's not how it works. This isn't the world of sending a couple of texts out and see who wants to run with us..." But according to Stephen A. Smith of ESPN (h/t NESN's Dakota Randall), Lillard would be "open to leaving, even though he loves being in Portland."
Paul George scored 20 points, and the Thunder beat the Houston Rockets 98-80 on Thursday night for their seventh straight victory. Westbrook missed his second game in a row with a sprained left ankle, and the Thunder have won both. Oklahoma City held Cleveland to 37 percent shooting in a 95-86 victory Wednesday night, then limited Houston to 38 percent shooting on Thursday.
Andre Drummond narrowly missed a second straight 20-20 game with 22 points and 17 rebounds, and the Detroit Pistons beat the New York Knicks 115-109 on Saturday for their fourth straight victory.
LeBron James scored in double digits in his 867th straight game, breaking the record he shared with Michael Jordan, and the Cleveland Cavaliers rallied to beat the New Orleans Hornets 107-102 on Friday night to avoid slipping in the standings.
Boston Celtics All-Star point guard Kyrie Irving is expected to miss three to six weeks after undergoing surgery Saturday to remove a tension wire in his left knee, the team announced. That timetable might allow Irving to return as early as Boston's first-round playoff series, but it seemingly rules out a return during the regular season. "The wire was originally placed as part of the surgical repair of a fractured patella sustained during the 2015 NBA Finals," the Celtics said in a release. "While removal of the wire should relieve irritation it was causing in Irving's patellar tendon, the fractured patella has fully healed and Irving's knee has been found to be completely structurally sound." Irving sought second opinions this week after soreness in his left knee failed to dissipate with extended rest. After being forced out of a loss to the Pacers earlier this month, Irving said he hoped to avoid surgery, but the Celtics announced Friday that he would undergo a "minimally invasive" procedure.