NBA notebook: Hawks’ Schroder could face felony battery charges

The DeKalb County (Ga.) District Attorney’s office is recommending Atlanta Hawks guard Dennis Schroder face felony aggravated battery charges stemming from an incident in September, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported Tuesday.

The newspaper cited court records as the source of the possible upgrade in the charge, which was initially misdemeanor battery after the incident at a hookah bar in the Atlanta suburb of Brookhaven, where Schroder lives.

Police responded around 2 a.m. ET on Sept. 29 and say there is video showing Schroder “initiate contact” with the victim and that all four people arrested struck the victim with both their hands and feet.

The victim sustained “serious damage” to his knee and leg, including a torn anterior cruciate ligament and torn meniscus, and will require multiple surgeries and extensive rehabilitation, according to the report.

–Trail Blazers swingman Evan Turner was fined $10,000 for making an inappropriate gesture on the playing court during Portland’s Sunday game against the Oklahoma City Thunder, the NBA announced.

Turner made the gesture with 4:17 left in the third quarter after he came to the aid of teammate Ed Davis during an incident that also involved Oklahoma City’s Russell Westbrook and Terrance Ferguson.

Pushing and shoving was involved, and all four players were issued technical fouls, which come with a $2,000 fine. Turner pushed the 19-year-old Ferguson during the unrest and later had regrets and said he would pay Ferguson’s fine.

–Heat coach Erik Spoelstra returned to the sideline for Miami’s game against the Cleveland Cavaliers after missing one game for the birth of his son.

Spoelstra was away during the Heat’s 113-107 loss to the Indiana Pacers on Sunday. It was the first game he missed in his 10-season tenure with Miami. Assistant coach Dan Craig served as head coach in his place.

–LiAngelo Ball submitted the early-entry paperwork to enter the 2018 NBA Draft, his agent, Harrison Gaines, told Yahoo Sports.

Ball, 19, has been playing professionally for Vytautas in Lithuania this season after being suspended indefinitely by UCLA following a shoplifting incident in China last year.

His younger brother, 16-year-old LaMelo, and father LaVar have been overseas with him. Older brother Lonzo, the No. 2 pick in last year’s draft, is the starting point guard for the Los Angeles Lakers.

–Arizona Wildcats guard Rawle Alkins will hire an agent and enter the 2018 NBA Draft, he announced on Twitter.

Hiring an agent would bring an end to Alkins’ NCAA eligibility, preventing him from pulling his name from the draft pool and returning to school if he wished to do so before the April 10 deadline. Alkins, 20, averaged 13.1 points, 4.8 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game as a sophomore in 2017.

–Field Level Media