Jon Krawczynski: Alex Rodriguez on a potential Wolves rebrand: “We’ve done a lot of work in the background. I think our fan base is going to be very, very excited. … Bringing back some of the history of the KG days is something we’re very aware is important to our fan base.”
Source: Bluesky
In July, Las Vegas is the capital of the NBA world. From the most recent No. 1 pick to undrafted free agents looking for a training camp invite, hundreds of players are competing in the Summer League. Per our Global Rating metric, here are the best so far.
Thursday’s Lakers-Mavericks NBA Summer League game, which marked the NBA debut of #1 pick Cooper Flagg, averaged 955,000 viewers on ESPN — marking the fourth-largest Summer League audience ever on the ESPN networks. The Mavericks’ win, which peaked with 1.12 million viewers, trails only Hornets-Spurs in 2023 (Victor Wembanyama’s debut: 1.39M), Pelicans-Knicks in 2019 (Zion Williamson’s debut: 1.61M) and Celtics-Lakers in 2017 (1.1M).
Source: Sports Media Watch
Tony East: Myles Turner: “Ultimately, it was about just staying competitive… I saw a chance to remain competitive here.”
Source: Bluesky
According to NBA insider Shams Charania of ESPN, LeBron James feels that the Los Angeles Lakers “are more in a futuristic mindset.” James, 40, wants to compete for a championship next season, but the Lakers haven’t made any title-making moves this offseason.
Source: Dallas Hoops Journal
Dionysis Aravantinos: Panathinaikos’ owner Dimitris Giannakopoulos on Jonas Valanciunas: “We want to sign him, he wants to join us, if his team doesn’t say ‘yes’, what can we do?” (Via Instagram Live)
Source: Twitter @AravantinosDA
Shams Charnia: Free agent center Isaiah Jackson has agreed to a three-year, $21 million deal to return to the Indiana Pacers, CAA’s Drew Morrison and Sam Rose tell ESPN. Pacers are excited about Jackson’s development, return, and now lock in a young member of their core.
Source: x.com
The other thing that matters: neither the Mavericks nor Cooper Flagg sounded concerned about his debut. Summer League performances rarely foreshadow NBA excellence or failure. But one important Mavericks figure saw a positive development as he observed Flagg’s shots clank off the rim. “You kind of have to think of the Kobe Bryant arc,” former Mavericks majority owner Mark Cuban told a small group of reporters. “It took him some time to get it right. I don’t want to curse him by comparing him to Kobe because they’re not the same. Читать дальше...
Do you ever feel bad after a poster? Blake Griffin: No. Host: You never felt bad one time? Blake Griffin: Never. Host: What if a guy’s wife was there? Blake Griffin: She shouldn’t have been there. Host: What if his mom just died or something? Blake Griffin: Well, that’s sad. Yeah. But I don’t feel bad for the dunk. I feel bad that he just lost the matriarch of his family. Host: What if he cried, hypothetically? Has someone ever cried? Blake Griffin: I don’t know, but Kendrick Perkins deleted his Twitter after I dunked on him. Читать дальше...
