NBA rookies picked their class’s best shooter, athlete, defender and more.
They also, as this video shows, answered the real tough questions.
Props to Bobby Portis for a low-key great response.
(hat tip: James Herbert of CBSSports.com)
LeBron James dunks on Astros, Rob Manfred in Tweet
Nick Cammett/Diamond Images/Getty Images
Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred has had a rough couple of weeks.
And now he’s been dunked on by LeBron James.
Bet he didn’t see that coming. LeBron took to Twitter to stand in solidarity with MLB players (well, not the players on the Astros, but the rest of them) in the wake of the Houston Astros cheating scandal.
Listen I know I don’t play baseball but I am in Sports and I know if someone cheated me out of winning the title and I found out about it I would be F*^king irate! I mean like uncontrollable about what I would/could do! Listen here baseball commissioner listen to your…..
— LeBron James (@KingJames) February 18, 2020
players speaking today about how disgusted, mad, hurt, broken, etc etc about this. Literally the ball(⚾️) is in your court(or should I say field) and you need to fix this for the sake of Sports! #JustMyThoughtsComingFromASportsJunkieRegardlessMyOwnSportIPlay
— LeBron James (@KingJames) February 18, 2020
First things first: Tighten up your hashtags, LeBron. That’s too long.
LeBron’s frustration follows a long list of MLB players who have spoken out with a similar sentiment: Mike Trout, Cody Bellinger, and Aaron Judge, to name a few.
Manfred came down hard on the Astros, but was it hard enough? He suspended GM Jeff Luhnow and manager A.J. Hinch for a year without pay, and the team subsequently fired both of them. Manfred fined the Astros $5 million, and took away their first- and second-round draft picks for the next two drafts.
The Astros apologized, but without seeming terribly apologetic. Manford could strip the Astros of their titles, but the NCAA did that to Louisville and did anyone actually notice?
I appreciate LeBron’s outrage, and I don’t doubt his sincerity. However, if you think the NBA is on some moral high ground and some organizations wouldn’t cheat to win, I have this Nigerian prince who has a business proposition I want you to meet.
Kyrie Irving reportedly re-aggravates right shoulder, to see specialist
Mike Stobe/Getty Images
Kyrie Irving missed 26 games this season with shoulder bursitis, but rather than have surgery he got a cortisone shot eight weeks ago and was able to return to the court for nine games. Eventually, a knee issue sidelined him.
Now he has re-aggravated that shoulder and, once again, will see a specialist, Nets coach Kenny Atkinson told the media on Tuesday.
Kyrie Irving, who was not at practice today, has re-aggregated the right shoulder that caused him to miss 26 games earlier this season, Kenny Atkinson said. He is going to see a specialist this week.
— Malika Andrews (@malika_andrews) February 18, 2020
When I asked Kenny Atkinson if he was concerned the #Nets have seen the last of Kyrie Irving, he wouldn’t go there; just said the shoulder has been acting up and they need more information.
— Brian Lewis (@NYPost_Lewis) February 18, 2020
Irving's injury is best described as a deterioration in the shoulder. When he discussed his return in late December, Irving acknowledged that he took a cortisone shot at the time in hopes of avoiding surgery. The reality is that he has been playing with on and off discomfort
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) February 19, 2020
There are no details on if there is a specific moment the re-aggravation happened. Irving had been trying to avoid surgery, but that could be back on the table. Irving and the Nets may take a few weeks to make their decision on a next step.
Atkinson may not go there but the rest of us can — it would be a surprise to see Irving back this season. At this point, the smart play is to let Spencer Dinwiddie run the offense the rest of the way, play hard and see what happens in the playoffs, then return next season with a healthy Irving and Kevin Durant.
Irving has played in just 20 games this season, but without him the Nets are still the seven seed in the East at 25-28.
Coach John Beilein reportedly to leave Cavaliers, walk away from remaining contract
David Liam Kyle/NBAE via Getty Images
The Cavaliers brought in Michigan coach John Beilein to install his motion offense, to develop young players, and to build a culture that could win big in Cleveland.
None of that happened. The Cavaliers are 14-40, they have the worst net rating in the league and are bottom seven in both offense and defense, their young talent — players such as Collin Sexton and Darius Garland — are not developing, and the Cavs’ players have clashed with Beilein and each other, and the team abandoned Beilein’s motion offense less than a month into the season. It’s been rough.
Now he’s going to walk away, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic.
Sources: Cavaliers, John Beilein in advanced talks about parting ways by Wednesday — and Beilein walking away from remainder of his contract.
Story with @ByJasonLloyd on @TheAthleticNBA: https://t.co/P3jYz5RGrt
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) February 18, 2020
The Cavaliers return to practice Wednesday and it is likely J.B. Bickerstaff — a former NBA head coach in Houston and Memphis, and the lead assistant on Beilein’s staff — will take over as head coach. Whether that is for just the remainder of this season, or beyond, remains to be seen.
Bickerstaff would be the fourth Cavaliers coach in less than two seasons since LeBron James left the organization.
Beilein struggled to adapt to the NBA coaching style — the lack of practices, the losing, the fact that good NBA players have more organizational power than the coach, and that he couldn’t treat those players the way he did his college players. He was unable to relate to players, and his relationship with them became an issue when he reportedly said they were “no longer playing like thugs” during a film session. Those NBA players were not giving a college coach the benefit of the doubt, he had to prove himself to them. He didn’t. At age 67, Beilein wasn’t able to adapt to the NBA game.
He was in the first year of a five-year contract worth more than $4 million a season (the last year of that was a team option). Beilein is unhappy enough to leave that money on the table to walk away. He could return to college coaching as soon as next season if he wanted, there would be a long line of universities interested.
Hiring Beilein is a big miss for GM Koby Altman (the first GM owner Dan Gilbert gave a second contract to; Gilbert pushed good GMs like David Griffen out the door). The revolving door of coaches is not the sign of a strong and stable organization. The Cavaliers need to develop a culture and they need a new coach who can deliver that.
Pistons reach buyout with Reggie Jackson, he’s headed to Clippers
Duane Burleson/Getty Images
Reggie Jackson came to Detroit to be the outside to Andre Drummond‘s inside. That never panned out, in part due to a rash of injuries to Jackson that kept a lot over a couple of those seasons.
Drummond has been traded to Cleveland, and with that it was time for the Pistons to move on from Jackson as well. That has happened, the Pistons and Jackson have agreed to a buyout.
OFFICIAL: The Pistons and Reggie Jackson have reached an agreement to buy out the veteran guard’s contract and the Pistons have requested waivers on Jackson.
We wish you all the best, @Reggie_Jackson! pic.twitter.com/jPxS1NdsCu
— Detroit Pistons (@DetroitPistons) February 18, 2020
Once Jackson clears waivers, he is headed to the Clippers reports Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.
Guard Reggie Jackson has agreed to a contract buyout with the Detroit Pistons and plans to sign with the Los Angeles Clippers upon clearing waivers, league sources tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 18, 2020
Jackson has only played in 14 games this season due to injury but has averaged 14.9 points and 5.1 assists a game when he has played, plus is shooting 37.8 percent from three. Jackson is making $18 million this season, the final year of a five-year, $80 million contract he inked back in 2015. He is a free agent this summer.
Why the Clippers? They are contenders, and Jackson is friends with Paul George.
The Clippers get two things out of this. First, they get a third point guard who can spell Patrick Beverley 10-12 minutes a night down the stretch (and fill in if Beverley suffers an injury). Second, the Clippers keep a playmaking guard away from the Lakers.
Detroit saves a little money and takes another step to clear the roster for a rebuild. They have Derrick Rose and Brandon Knight at the point guard spot, don’t be surprised if they call up a few guys from the G-League to see if they can find a longer-term option.