Gary Payton II reportedly near deal with Washington Wizards

By Kurt HelinDec 21, 2019, 9:00 PM EST

Adam Pantozzi/NBAE via Getty Images

LAS VEGAS — The G-League Showcase was created as a chance for general managers and team scouts to see a lot of players in a few days, guys who could be called up later in the season or signed to 10-day contracts. The advent of the two-way contract cut into that, there are fewer guys plucked from the G-League mid-season.

Gary Payton II may be the exception, the South Bay Laker — who had 21 points and 11 rebounds in his first Showcase game Thursday — is close to a deal with the Wizards, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic.

G League guard Gary Payton II is close to a contract with the Washington Wizards, league sources tell @TheAthleticNBA @Stadium. Payton didn’t play in Showcase game today in Las Vegas.

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) December 21, 2019

Washington, without John Wall for the season, has relied on Isaiah Thomas and Ish Smith at the point.

Payton is averaging 21.4 points and 6.8 assists per game this season, but he does not space the floor as a shooter. Payton played in three games for Washington last season and before that had stints with the Bucks and Lakers.

Because of all the injuries to their roster, the Wizards have applied for a “hardship waiver” that lets them have a 16th roster spot. Payton would go into that slot.

Wizards won’t have to waive anyone to sign Payton. They have applied for & expect to receive a hardship exception, which allows them to have 16 players because of their injury issues. Teams can receive hardship when 4+ guys are injured, have missed 3+ games & will miss more time https://t.co/lroN6BramB

— Fred Katz (@FredKatz) December 21, 2019

Once enough players come back that the Wizards are no longer eligible for hardship, they will have to cut someone. It doesn’t have to be Payton. They just have to make sure they roster is back to 15 players. https://t.co/9xRUx42Wvr

— Fred Katz (@FredKatz) December 21, 2019

PBT Podcast: Timberwolves without KAT, get Luka some help

By Kurt HelinDec 1, 2022, 1:58 PM EST

Minnesota has stumbled out of the gate this season, and now they will be without Karl-Anthony Towns for around a month with a calf strain. Just how much trouble are the Timberwolves in?

Corey Robinson from NBC Sports and myself discuss that and then get into Giannis Antetokounmpo‘s Team USA vs. Team World matchup — does Evan Fournier get the world team in trouble? Who guards whom?

From there, it’s time for Corey’s Jukebox and some New Orleans jazz for Zion Williamson. Some Mavericks’ talk follows that — Dallas has put a big load on the shoulders of Luka Doncic, and while he’s playing like an MVP it’s a long-term concern for the Mavericks and their fans.

You can always watch the video of some of the podcast above, or listen to the entire podcast below, listen and subscribe via iTunes at ApplePodcasts.com/PBTonNBC, subscribe via the fantastic Stitcher app, check us out on Google Play, or anywhere else you get your podcasts.

We want your questions for future podcasts, and your comments, so please feel free to email us at PBTpodcast@gmail.com.

LeBron calls out reporters for asking him about Kyrie Irving but not Jerry Jones

By Kurt HelinDec 1, 2022, 12:37 PM EST

Adam Pantozzi/NBAE via Getty Images

Within days of Kyrie Irving being suspended by the Nets in the wake of a Tweet promoting an antisemitic film (and his initial refusal to apologize for it), Irving’s former teammate LeBron James was asked about it. He had to deal with the controversy, saying, “I don’t condone any hate to any kind. To any race.”

At the end of his press conference Wednesday night after the Lakers beat the Trail Blazers, LeBron scolded the assembled press for not asking him about the 1957 photo that surfaced of Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones outside North Little Rock High School while white students protested the integration of the school when they had been quick to ask about Irving.

LeBron James questions the media and shares his thoughts on the Jerry Jones 1957 photo. pic.twitter.com/xbW9LyLicQ

— Spectrum SportsNet (@SpectrumSN) December 1, 2022

“When I watched Kyrie talk, and he says, `I know who I am, but I want to keep the same energy when we’re talking about my people and the things they’ve been through,’ and that Jerry Jones photo is one of those moments that our people, Black people, have been through in America. And I feel like as a Black man, as a Black athlete, someone with power and with a platform, when we do something wrong or something that people don’t agree with, it’s on every single tabloid, every single news coverage. It’s on the bottom ticker. It’s asked about every single day.

“But it seems like to me that the whole Jerry Jones situation, the photo, and I know it was years and years ago, and we all make mistakes, I get it. It seems like it’s just been buried under, like, `Oh, it happened. OK. We just move on.’ And I was just kind of disappointed that I haven’t received that question from you guys.”

Analysis: A 1957 photo of Jerry Jones reminds us how recent America’s past ishttps://t.co/rp437vTV9e

— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) December 1, 2022

Irving and LeBron were teammates in Cleveland and won a ring together, there was a direct connection (plus Irving had been linked to the Lakers in trade rumors over the summer).

However, there was a connection between LeBron and the Cowboys as well. LeBron was for many years a very public Cowboys fan (despite growing up in Browns territory). It came up as recently as October, when LeBron was on Instagram Live promoting his HBO show with Maverick Carter “The Shop” and he said he had stopped rooting for the Cowboys in the wake of Colin Kaepernick’s peaceful protests, “There’s just a lot of things that were going on when guys were kneeling. Guys were having freedom of speech and wanting to do it in a very peaceful manner…. The organization was like, ‘If you do that around here, then you will never play for this franchise again.’ I just didn’t think that was appropriate.”

When asked about the photo, Jones said he was a curious 14-year-old who was watching and didn’t understand the magnitude of the moment or situation.

Watch Russell Westbrook drain two buzzer-beaters against Blazers

By Kurt HelinDec 1, 2022, 12:04 PM EST

The Portland Trail Blazers had to know it was not their night when Russell Westbrook knocked down a buzzer-beating step-back 3-pointer just before the half.

Russ beats the clock on a stepback trey 🚨

📺: (@SpectrumSN) pic.twitter.com/lhuCO3APrn

— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) December 1, 2022

Westbrook wasn’t done, he had one more buzzer-beater in him at the end of the third.

That's two buzzer beaters from Russ this game for those counting at home. pic.twitter.com/XUywlhlShi

— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) December 1, 2022

Westbrook wasn’t the only guy in the building draining half-courters — for the second-straight game a Laker fan knocked down a half-court shot, this time to win $25,000.

ANOTHER half court shot 🤯@MGMRewards | Big Shot Jackpot pic.twitter.com/4z4X9lBvVd

— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) December 1, 2022

It was a good night all around for the Lakers and their fans at home against the shorthanded Trail Blazers. They got 31 points from LeBron James, plus 27 points and 12 boards from Anthony Davis. Austin Reaves added in 22, and the Lakers took control in the third and cruised in for a needed win.

NBA plans for 2023-24 include in-season tournament (if approved)

Associated PressDec 1, 2022, 9:40 AM EST

Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images

The NBA is planning for the inaugural version of its in-season tournament – should it become reality – to begin early next season, according to a memo sent to teams.

If the tournament is approved, 80 regular-season games for each team would be announced in August, with two more games set to be scheduled depending on which eight teams make the tournament’s knockout stage. Those games would be added in-season to the schedule.

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver has pushed for the past several years for the in-season event to be added. Talks have gone on about it since at least 2016, and in 2019 the league even created a proposal in which teams would play eight divisional games in the group stage, followed by quarterfinals for the top eight clubs and then semifinals and finals at a neutral site in December.

That evidently remains the footprint. Teams, in Wednesday’s memo, were told to plan for tournament quarterfinal games in early December 2023 – again, the caveat being that the event has yet to be approved.

“It’s something that I remain excited about,” Silver said in September. “I think it continues to be an opportunity within the current footprint of our season to create some more meaningful games, games of consequence, during an otherwise long regular season. … I think fans might really ultimately enjoy another competition during the season, some sort of cup competition. Certainly not rising to the level of the Larry O’Brien Trophy, yet something else significant to play for.”

Silver has often compared the notion of an in-season tournament to what is commonly seen in European soccer.

“It’s all about fan interest,” Denver coach Michael Malone said Wednesday night. “I know they do this a lot in soccer around the world, these in-season tournaments. I don’t know how it’s going to work, the details of it. But if it’s good for the game and the league supports it, obviously all 30 teams and all 30 head coaches will be on board as well. ”

The scheduling process for next season starts with teams telling the league what dates their home arena is available. The NBA wants that list by Dec. 9; the process continues for the next several months.

Wednesday’s memo included clarity on several key dates for the 2023-24 season. Training camps will begin on Tuesday, Oct. 3 for most teams, except those participating in overseas preseason games; they can open camp on Saturday, Sept. 30.

The season begins Oct. 24 and ends April 14, 2024. The play-in tournament will be April 16-19, 2024, and that means that season’s playoffs would begin on April 20.

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