Michigan NBA Update: Caris LeVert Returns!

Caris LeVert has had an emotional rollercoaster of a year.

The Nets guard sprinted out of the gates by scoring at least 19 points in nine of his first 11 games. He was backing up preseason hype touting him as the alpha dog in Brooklyn.

The start came to a screeching halt when he dislocated his right ankle on Nov. 12. The footage looked gruesome, while teammates and fans appeared devastated. He fortunately didn't require surgery.

88 days later, he hit the court against the Chicago Bulls to a rousing ovation at Barclays Center.

In 15 minutes of game action, he scored 11 points (5-of-11 shooting), dished out four assists and tallied a career-high five steals. While the Nets lost the game, the organization is breathing a huge sigh of relief for their star’s return.

“It’s encouraging that he’s still going up with a lot of confidence,” center Jarrett Allen said to Greg Logan of Newsday. “He’s not letting the injury hold him back...It’s amazing seeing him back out there. He’s coming back to his old self. He’s still not totally there, but you saw a glimpse of it.”

“If you want to talk about driven and a purpose, the way Caris attacked his rehab was phenomenal,” Nets general manager Sean Marks said. “Credit to the performance team and [assistant coach] Jacque Vaughn, specifically, who was really with him through this whole thing. The performance team did an amazing job, and honestly, it was led by Caris.”

On the year, the former Wolverine is averaging 17.9 points, 3.7 assists and 4.1 boards a night.

If LeVert has had a rollercoaster season, Nik Stauskas finally finished a wild week.

According to Chris Fedor of Advance Ohio, the Cleveland Cavaliers signed him to a rest of the season deal. This is his fifth move in seven days. To summarize:

The sixth-year player from Canada is scoring 6.1 points a game, and is connecting on 34 percent of his threes.

His former Michigan teammates Tim Hardaway, Jr. and Trey Burke also have a new home. The pair left the New York Knicks for the Dallas Mavericks, and are already making noise.

Hardaway reached double-digits in each of his three games last week. He racked up 24 points on 9-of-18 shots in a 102-101 victory over Portland Sunday.

He also notched a pair of 12-point efforts — first Wednesday in a win over the Charlotte Hornets and then Friday in a loss to the Milwaukee Bucks.

Burke worked his way into the lineup against the Bucks, needing just nine shots to tally 18 points. He filled the stat sheet with five assists, five boards and two steals, as well.

He chipped in eight points in the close win over Portland.

Both Hardaway (18.9) and Burke (11.5) average double figures, and now play for a team with an outside shot at a playoff berth.

Other Notes

• Laker rookie Moe Wagner saw extended action in two blowout losses on the East Coast. Sunday, he drained a triple in a 143-120 defeat at Philadelphia. Tuesday at Indianapolis, he hit both of his shots to post five points in a 136-94 rout.

He made social media waves...for this:

• Detroit Pistons wing Glenn Robinson III returned Sunday after nursing a hamstring issue for a few weeks. He mustered five points and three boards in 14 minutes in a decisive win over the Knicks.
• Milwaukee forward D.J. Wilson totaled 19 points in four games last week — three of them victories for the Eastern Conference-leading Bucks. He also recorded 21 rebounds, boosting his season average to five a game.
• Miami Heat guard Duncan Robinson was promoted from the G-League, and saw a five-minute shift in a Friday loss to the Sacramento Kings. He made his only shot to finish with two points.