Paul Pierce: I'd rather guard LeBron James or Kobe Bryant before Carmelo Anthony

Carmelo Anthony has come on as an executive producer of “The Harder They Come,” a new stage musical that is about to finish a sold-out run at New York’s Public Theater. In addition, Anthony’s long-time business partner Asani Swann, who co-founded the basketball star’s production company Creative 7, will also serve as an executive producer on the show. -via Variety.com / April 7, 2023

Clutch Points: “I want you go back and find your roots. Go back and find why you love playing the game… There’s Melo, Cousins at home, Dwight. There’s n— at home that could be in the league. If your heart ain’t in it, it is what it is.” Kevin Garnett on Ben Simmons 🗣 pic.twitter.com/wxsVoRdsHn -via Twitter @ClutchPointsApp / April 2, 2023

Michael Scotto: J.R. Smith discussed his time with the Knicks, Carmelo Anthony’s free agency, winning a title in Cleveland, the LeBron James meme, Kevin Durant joining the Warriors, George Karl, his upcoming four-part docuseries, and more on the HoopsHype podcast. George Karl: Uniquely talented athlete. Will stay above the line 😆 -via Twitter @CoachKarl22 / March 30, 2023

Brady Hawk: Udonis Haslem said he was going over scenarios for this game all night last night: “Thought about how Kobe went out, think he had 60. I was like hell nah, can’t do that.” “Thought about D-Wade having the triple double. I was like hell nah, can’t do that.” -via Twitter @BradyHawk305 / April 9, 2023

For Kobe Bryant, the Los Angeles Lakers great known as “The Black Mamba” — and the co-founder and CEO of Mamba Sports Academy, where the girls learned to work on their games and dream their dreams — a light purple and black poppy. “It’s just really therapeutic,” says Emily Eadie, 16, who curated the floral arrangement. The photo apps on their phones remain loaded with images of those practices and tournament victories, holiday gatherings and beach parties. They have filled scrapbooks and photo albums that never get dusty because they’re flipped through so often. “Mamba 8,” their black-and-white wristbands all read, as the flowers are strewn in the sea. -via Washington Post / April 9, 2023

Every year they gather at the jetty here, teenage girls in matching black hoodies, their toes clinging to the edge of the rocks as the Pacific crashes into the shore below. They cling to each other, too, crying quiet tears into each other’s shoulders as they toss eight flowers apiece into the ocean. “Everything we do is for the eight,” Amalia Holguin says of their mantra, which, naturally, is also now a hashtag: #4The8. Since Jan. 26, 2020, it’s a bond these eight girls have shouldered as much as they’ve shared. On that date each year, when the sun begins to set, they remember what was lost when a helicopter plunged to the ground and one of the most famous basketball players in the world died alongside their best friends, their friends’ parents and another coach. The flowers leave their hands, and they again become teammates, and family, in time. -via Washington Post / April 7, 2023

The National Basketball Association (NBA) and National Basketball Players Association today jointly announced that LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers secured the top spots on the NBA’s Most Popular Jersey and Team Merchandise lists. Results are based on NBAStore.com sales for the second half of the 2022-23 regular season. -via NBA.com / April 12, 2023

NBA: The NBA’s top-selling jerseys list… based on http://NBAStore.com sales from the second half of the 2022-23 season! -via Twitter / April 12, 2023

NBA on ESPN: LeBron James will face off against his 23rd different team in the playoffs. That passes Derek Fisher for most all time. pic.twitter.com/ytEWx8Mk3I -via Twitter @ESPNNBA / April 12, 2023

NBA Central: Paul Pierce says Richard Jefferson is the most overrated player he’s ever played against (Via @IAMATHLETEpod ) pic.twitter.com/gQjtDGp05M -via Twitter @TheNBACentral / April 12, 2023

Here’s the transcript of that part. “I got fired for what? I got fired for having some entertainment. I’m playing cards, [it’s] my boy’s birthday, there’s girls dancing, and we’re blowing some trees. What did I do wrong?” -via Awful Announcing / April 11, 2023

Pierce also talked about getting a call from ESPN management about the video. “She’s like ‘yeah, we’re doing an investigation. Could you tell us what happened?’ And I’m like ‘you didn’t see it?’ I was just hanging out, playing cards. It wasn’t my house. It was self-explanatory, you know what I’m sayin? There were some girls dancing, and I had some OG. It’s legal. I didn’t do nothing illegal. But you know, at the end of the day, it’s Disney, and they have a morals clause, and they just said it was immoral.” -via Awful Announcing / April 11, 2023