The HoopsHype Weekly: NBA players and owners are giving back during coronavirus outbreak
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NBA WORLD GIVING BACK: The NBA family is doing their best to help out during the coronavirus pandemic, donating financially and through other means to help people get by during their times of need.
From Mark Cuban, Luka Doncic and Dwight Powell donating $500,000 to a hospital in Texas, to Steph and Ayesha Curry starting a fundraising effort of $200,000 with the proceeds going to Feeding America (as well as donating $1 million to help feed kids who rely on school meals to eat), to Steve Ballmer pledging $1 million to community groups in L.A. to fight the ripple effects of the outbreak, efforts are going on all around the Association to give back when people are hurting the most.
That’s just a few of the donations going on in the NBA world, too; to see dozens more, just click here.
ONE LESS FREE AGENT? Andre Drummond could hit free agency this offseason, but based on his latest comments where he says he loves it in Cleveland, it seems like he might be staying put.
NO LONGER DISCONTENT? Kevin Love was a very likely trade candidate at one point, but with John Beilein gone and JB Bickerstaff coaching in his place, Love looks happier and might no longer want to be moved.
TOP PROSPECTS DECLARING: Without an NCAA Tournament to worry about this year, top draft prospects are starting to declare earlier than usual. Among them so far: potential No. 1 pick Anthony Edwards, ACC Player of the Year Tre Jones (younger brother of Tyus) and lottery prospect Isaac Okoro.
RETURN TO NORMALCY: With the curve flattened in China, foreign players are starting to return to the country for the proposed mid-April re-launch of the CBA season. Jeremy Lin, one of those players, said on Instagram: The world needs basketball now more than ever. He’s right; the distraction sure would be nice.
BACK IN TIME: We revisit the 1996 NBA Draft, considered one of the greatest ever, and re-draft players based on where we believe they should have gone.
We also took a look at the 1997 NBA Draft to re-draft; Tim Duncan still went No. 1, though, for obvious reasons.
WINNERS ONLY: We ranked the 20 players with the best winning percentages in league history (with a minimum of at least 250 games played). For the second year in a row, Kawhi Leonard remains at No. 1.
FRESH POD: Bleacher Report’s Eric Pincus joins our podcast to discuss how the NBA stoppage might affect the salary cap, and now long the league might feel the ripple effects of this abrupt suspension of play.
BRIGHT SIDE: The league suspending play unquestionable sucks for fans, but to turn a negative into a positive, the NBA could use the work stoppage to experiment a bit with things like the schedule, playoff play-in games and more.
SNEAKER FREE AGENCY: Our own Alex Kennedy released Part 2 of his four-part series breaking down what sneaker free agency is like for players, this time taking an in-depth look at negotiations.