All while LeBron James’ first flirtation with retirement came as a surprise to many Los Angeles staffers, league sources told Yahoo Sports. Alas, there’s widespread skepticism that James will truly hang up his signature sneakers before a two-year, $97 million contract extension has yet to begin.
Source: Jake Fischer @ Yahoo! Sports
Pat McAfee: “LeBron James played the last few months of the season with a torn tendon in his foot that could need surgery this summer.. He’s gonna take the next couple months to get reenergized and I fully expect him to play next season” ~ @ShamsCharania #PMSLive
Source: Twitter
Jrue Holiday: I play defense to go against the best players, no matter what position or however it may be. While I was in it, I was hot. I’m getting my ass busted. And then he [Butler] started talking s*** in the last game. And that’s what competitors do and Jimmy is the ultimate competitor. But you hate losing. I hate losing. […] A lot of plays Jimmy Butler made, there was nothing that I could do. There’s nothing that anybody could do. It didn’t matter if it was Brook on him, if it was LeBron James or Michael Jordan on him. Читать дальше...
Jrue Holiday: I play defense to go against the best players, no matter what position or however it may be. While I was in it, I was hot. I’m getting my ass busted. And then he [Butler] started talking s*** in the last game. And that’s what competitors do and Jimmy is the ultimate competitor. But you hate losing. I hate losing. […] A lot of plays Jimmy Butler made, there was nothing that I could do. There’s nothing that anybody could do. It didn’t matter if it was Brook on him, if it was LeBron James or Michael Jordan on him. Читать дальше...
Shams Charania: Development: Miami’s Gabe Vincent is listed out for Game 5 vs. Boston tonight with an ankle sprain.
Source: Twitter @ShamsCharania
Michael Scotto: In talking with Knicks brass in the front office, they value his toughness and his ability to stay on the court. He’s played 71 or more games in three consecutive seasons and been an All-Star two of the past three seasons, which is something I think is notable in the load management era.
Source: Michael Scotto @ HoopsHype
As such, it comes as no surprise that the pitchforks have come out, and despite all that he did to try and carry the Lakers in this series, LeBron has unsurprisingly taken a lot of blame for LA’s failures this season. Just ask former Lakers big man Kwame Brown, who had more than a few unsavory things to say about the NBA’s all-time leading scorer: “If I had a LeBron James jersey, I’d be burning it right now,” Brown said. “If I had a LeBron James jersey it would be on fire right now. … I must say, the bust is upset. Читать дальше...
Brandon ‘Scoop B’ Robinson: Mainstream sneaker companies that have gauged interest in Dallas Mavs PG Kyrie Irving more recently include Adidas & Puma sneaker industry sources tell @BallySports . Irving indicated on IG Live today that he will make an announcement on a new shoe deal soon. Li-Ning is not being considered, I’m told. Irving and Nike parted ways this past winter.
Source: Twitter
Malcolm Brogdon has been playing through a partial tear in the tendon coming out of his right elbow that leads into his forearm, team sources told The Athletic. Brogdon suffered the injury in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals, according to the sources, who were granted anonymity because they were not authorized to speak on the record. The Celtics guard was initially dealing with golfer’s elbow soreness during the second-round series against Philadelphia, but an MRI after Game 1 against... Читать дальше...
Stefan Bondy: Going back to the Karl-Anthony Towns stuff, that rumor has been out there for a long time. I had heard unequivocally that Tom Thibodeau would have no problem coaching Towns again. That was maybe two years ago, so things could’ve changed. Ian Begley: From what I’ve heard from a couple of people in touch with them, they felt the temperature was a little down on the interest in Towns compared to where it was very early on in the Leon Rose tenure.
Source: Michael Scotto @ HoopsHype
Michael Scotto: The Knicks are going to have to make a decision on Immanuel Quickley if they’re going to extend him or put him as part of a bigger trade package? He’s certainly increased his trade value after being a finalist for the Sixth Man of the Year award. In talking with people around the league, this is what I’ve gathered as far as looking at his value. At worst, his floor would be four years, $80 million. Then, you’re getting into a conversation of, to make sense for Quickley, is it in the four-year, $100 range? Читать дальше...
Michael Scotto: I previously touched on it a little bit in one of my intel pieces on HoopsHype that executives I have spoken to think he gets somewhere in the $15-18 million annual salary. If I had to guesstimate where I think it’s ultimately going to go, I could see Hart getting a little bit higher towards the $18 million a year mark because of the way the cap is going up. Tom Thibodeau loves him. He’s a CAA guy. At the NBA Draft Combine in Chicago, the buzz from the Knicks, rival executives... Читать дальше...
Michael Scotto: When I was in Chicago for the NBA Draft Combine, some executives were wondering how much gas he still has in the tank? He’s got a huge number looking ahead towards next season, a team option for $15.6 million. That’s a lot of money for a guy who was seldomly used. You’d imagine the Knicks would decline that option. In my opinion, I think the Chicago Bulls make a ton of sense for Derrick Rose in free agency. It would be a nice homecoming for him towards the end of his career. We... Читать дальше...
HoopsHype’s Michael Scotto, SNY’s Ian Begley, and New York Daily News Knicks beat writer Stefan Bondy share new intel surrounding the futures of Julius Randle and RJ Barrett, Josh Hart’s free agency, a potential extension for Immanuel Quickley, Derrick Rose’s future, Tom Thibodeau, and more on the latest HoopsHype podcast episode.
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“You know the Olympics are in Paris in 2024,” Victor Wembanyama tells Giberné. “And there could be no more perfect occasion for me to win my first title with the French national team.” Wembanyama smiles. “My goal,” he says, “is to beat Team USA in the final.”
Source: Sam Borden @ ESPN
If James Harden and the Philadelphia 76ers are reunited next year, it might require the star point guard taking less than a max deal yet again. “The 76ers have not shown an appetite to pay Harden the max; that’s why they asked him to take a pay cut last year,” ESPN’s Brian Windhorst reported on Wednesday’s Pardon The Interruption. “… The Sixers are not really motivated to pay him that max salary if they don’t think anybody else is going to do it.”
Source: Timothy Rapp @ Bleacher Report
The Los Angeles Lakers already had much to contemplate after the team’s Western Conference Finals sweep (4-0) to the Denver Nuggets, but LeBron James hinting at retirement was an interesting curveball. Few around the league expect him to shut it down with two years left on his contract at roughly $97.6 million, but James has the means to walk away from the game if so motivated. “He’ll suit up next year,” one Western Conference executive said. “He just changed the conversation. Now we’re not talking... Читать дальше...
Draymond Green: By the way, for all of y’all out there that were like, ‘Aw man the Lakers lost and Draymond won’t do a podcast,’ I play for the Golden State Warriors. Some of you people are so pathetic, and like the beliefs you allow yourself to believe, and I can absolutely understand why life don’t be so great. Because of the beliefs you allow to enter your mind about someone else, really is a reflection of what you believe and think of yourself and how you operate and think.
Source: YouTube
Austin Reaves is expected to draw interest and potential offer sheets from several teams with cap space this summer, according to multiple team and league sources not authorized to speak publicly about the situation. Other teams can offer Reaves a contract up to four years and a projected $98.7 million, but the Lakers can match those offers.
Source: Jovan Buha @ The Athletic
He was able to run, but he was not able to hide. NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal, after eluding process servers for months, finally has received a summons and complaint in the class action filed against him and other celebrities (including Tom Brady) over the collapse of FTX. Attorney Adam Moskowitz tells PFT that O’Neal was served on Tuesday night, during the Heat-Celtics NBA game that O’Neal was working for TNT. Coincidentally, the arena where the game was played previously was named FTX Center, before the company imploded. Читать дальше...