Michael Jordan meeting Brandon Miller, Scoot Henderson?

League sources confirmed the Pelicans have strong interest in Scoot Henderson, a dynamic point guard whose name is expected to be the second or third called by NBA commissioner Adam Silver on Thursday night. -via New Orleans Times-Picayune / June 18, 2023

As reported here Friday, Portland is widely believed to be telling teams it is willing to package Anfernee Simons with the No. 3 pick in Thursday’s draft for win-now talent to put beside star guard Damian Lillard. The fear in the nation’s capital is what happens if the Trail Blazers are unable to swing a win-now trade. It is only a presumption at this point, but there is legitimate concern percolating for the Wizards’ new front office headed by Michael Winger that Lillard would finally start pushing the Blazers to trade him if Portland ends up drafting 19-year-old Scoot Henderson or 20-year-old Brandon Miller at No. 3. -via marcstein.substack.com / June 17, 2023

The Pelicans might very well decide in these final days leading up to the draft that they can’t bear the thought of trading Zion Williamson just four years into his career. Maybe they will deem the price to truly chase the No. 2 overall pick from Charlotte as just too expensive to pursue no matter how much they love Scoot Henderson … especially if the Hornets, as some believe, would insist on Brandon Ingram as the centerpiece of a trade package in return. As covered here in our Wednesday report, it’s believed that the Hornets are more reluctant to trade Ingram than Williamson at this point. Whatever route New Orleans goes, though, there’s no getting around another key element of Wednesday’s full story below: That rising level of exasperation within the organization regarding Williamson’s ongoing availability issues and overall approach after he appeared in just 114 of a possible 308 regular-season games through his first four seasons. -via marcstein.substack.com / June 17, 2023

Consensus top-three 2023 NBA draft prospect Scoot Henderson is expected to meet with current Charlotte Hornets governor Michael Jordan on Monday in North Carolina, league sources tell B/R. The Hornets announced Friday that Jordan will sell his majority stake in the Hornets but will still maintain a minority ownership share of the team. The Hornets are in the final stages of deliberating who they’ll draft at No. 2 in the 2023 NBA draft on June 22. Henderson and Brandon Miller are under consideration. Charlotte is also weighing trading the pick, as the New Orleans Pelicans are contemplating moving up from No. 14 to get the second overall pick with the hopes of selecting Henderson to be their starting lead guard. -via Bleacher Report / June 16, 2023

Sean Highkin: Alabama forward Brandon Miller is having a solo workout with the Blazers today. -via Twitter @highkin / June 16, 2023

Clutch Points: Players to average 20+ points and 10+ assists in an NBA Finals series: Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, LeBron James, JAMAL MURRAY. ELITE company for the Nuggets’ star point guard 🔥 (via @NBAHistory) pic.twitter.com/fq5cYWTgCH -via Twitter @ClutchPointsApp / June 17, 2023

Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson: LeBron James as a Laker NOT comparable to MJ with the Wizards says Dwyane Wade to @BallySports . “No. I mean, MJ averaged 20 when he came back and he was STILL very good, but LeBron has stayed at a level that we haven’t seen.” Full Interview via @BallySports Herehttp://youtu.be/0KPplLCwfaE More from @DwyaneWade : “And so, the conversations of greatness, he makes it hard and all the older guys before that were like, It’s about Wilt, it’s about Kareem, it’s about these guys… because of his consistency; I mean, he’s averaging 30 points per game in the 20th year in the League! So I’m just happy that I get the opportunity to be part of his greatness in any way I can but we’re all witnesses, right? So we’re going to see where he ends up!” -via Twitter / June 17, 2023

There is no longer any majority African American ownership in a predominately Black NBA with Michael Jordan’s sale of his majority stake in the Charlotte Hornets. Hornets Sports & Entertainment announced Friday that Jordan reached an agreement to sell his majority stake in the NBA franchise to the Buyer Group led by Gabe Plotkin and Rick Schnall. The NBA legend’s sale of the Hornets is subject to the approval of the NBA Board of Governors. Jordan, who served as the Hornets’ chairman, was the only majority African American owner in the NBA. -via Andscape / June 16, 2023