September 26 News and Rumors Recap: Pachulia, Pekovic, McLemore and etc.

Injuries continue to pile up before the start of the season.

NEWS
Explanation: Zaza Pazhulia admitted that he gave up a significant amount of money to have his best shot for a championship. He also said that he is going all in this year!

- Chasing a title will never be a mistake because that is the penultimate goal of basketball. Golden State was lucky to find a quality bigman like Zaza who averaged 8.6 points, 9.4 rebounds and 1.7 assists last season.

Taken down: Nikola Pekovic will not play in the upcoming season, the owner of the Minnesota Timberwolves reveals. He is suffering from a sore ankle and an Anchilles tendon injury. 

- The Timberwolves will be able to handle that with their refilled center depth. Cole Aldrich and Jordan Hill are viable back-ups for Karl Anthony Towns. On the other hand, I feel bad for Nikola. I hope he gets fully healed this season to have an opportunity of reviving his career next season. 

Preparation: Andre Drummond said that he shed 20 pounds in this offseason because he wants another rebounding title. 
- Detroit fans should get a little bit worried with this one. Rebounding is a vital part of the game but Andre has all the tools to be more than an elite rebounder. It will be a big let down if he doesn't develop his offensive game.

FREE-AGENCY

Loyalty: Los Angeles Lakers will bring back Metta World Peace for next season. Last season, he played for 35 games and averaged 5.0 points and 2.5 rebounds in 13.4 minutes.

- Peace is not yet a shoo-in for the in-season roster of the Lakers. Lakers has guaranteed more than 15 contracts which means they will need to make a cut to go down to maximum of 15. Nevertheless, MWP will bring leadership and toughness to this young team.
Grade: B

TRADE RUMOR
Moving on: Ben McLemore is available

According to some journalists around Sacramento, Ben has been available for the past few months. Some people has put him to the bust list but he is still 23. In his three years in the league, he averaged 9.7 points, 2.7 rebounds and 34.6% 3FG. I think, there are some teams who offered for him already and I will not be shock if the Kings is overvaluing him.