Reporting Articles - Page 445

At the NBA draft, players instantly earn labels from the media. Players can be the perfect selection, a steal, or they can view prospects as the wrong pick. It’s the first of many narratives to come. Many times the evaluation of rookies is inaccurate. The job of an NBA analyst can be challenging. Each year […]

Players have to earn respect in the NBA. If they aren’t respected, they will be a target opposing teams pick on. Since he was a rookie, Indiana Pacers big man Myles Turner has received a ton of respect from peers; from the media, not as much as he believes he deserves. In a recent interview […]

LeBron James knows that Indiana Pacers star Myles Turner is one of the best shot blockers in the NBA. The 25-year-old has led the league in blocks twice during his six-year career. Out of 921 career blocks, a block from Turner’s rookie year stands out the most. In an exclusive interview with ClutchPoints, Myles Turner […]

Indiana Pacers center Myles Turner led the NBA in blocks for the second time this season. With a career-high 3.4 blocks per game. He’s one of the league’s most prominent defenders, but he’s only looked at as a rim protector. In an exclusive interview with ClutchPoints, Turner opened up about being overlooked defensively. Not only […]

Michael Porter Jr. has always been compared to Kevin Durant even before he was drafted by the Denver Nuggets in 2018. After all, given their size and ability to score in virtually anywhere on the court, the similarities may have its merit. Moreover, prior to his draft, MPJ said that he sees his playing style […]

The Portland Trail Blazers added another journeyman on Tuesday, signing Quinn Cook to a non-guaranteed contract, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic. Free agent guard Quinn Cook is signing a non-guaranteed deal with the Portland Trail Blazers, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium. — Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) September 21, 2021 Though the disclosure of Cook’s deal […]

Official preparations for the 2021-22 season begin in less than a week, and Ben Simmons seems no closer to moving on from the Philadelphia 76ers despite his best efforts to force a trade. The disgruntled three-time All-Star, in fact, reportedly has no plans to budge from his longtime stance of refusing to report to his […]

Jusuf Nurkic, entering a crucial contract year that could double as Damian Lillard’s swan song with the Trail Blazers, isn’t feeling the pressure as 2021-22 fast approaches. The seven-year veteran has never looked forward to an NBA season more than he has this one, in fact, despite an immediate future in Portland that seemed uncertain […]

Denver Nuggets forward Michael Porter Jr. knows his goals very well heading to the 2021-22 season: an All-Star berth and the Larry O’Brien trophy to pair with it. However, he understands that to achieve both things, he really has to step up his game. “My goal is definitely to be an All-Star this year. But […]

Denver Nuggets rising star Michael Porter Jr. has proven himself to be an elite scorer on the court. However, he wants everybody to know he’s more than just that. He wants his voice to be heard. He wants people to converse and talk about topics they often avoid. That is why he started his “Curious […]

The Los Angeles Lakers did not make a selection in the 2021 NBA Draft. Instead, they traded their lone pick — No. 22 overall — to the Washington Wizards in the package for Russell Westbrook (Washington flipped the pick to the Indiana Pacers). Yet, the Lakers didn’t come away from the draft empty-handed. Los Angeles […]

From one GOAT to another: Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James took to Twitter on Monday to give an early welcome to Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady ahead of, remarkably, the QB’s first-ever trip to L.A. to play an NFL game. Yessir!! The 🐐 coming to town! — LeBron James (@KingJames) September 20, 2021 […]

The Charlotte Hornets have a lot to be optimistic about moving forward. LaMelo Ball is coming back for what should be a second stellar year in the league, they drafted nice young players who fit the scheme, and they added savvy veterans. Terry Rozier also committed to the Hornets for the long haul, so it […]

Magic Johnson remains impressed by his own accomplishments with the Los Angeles Lakers. LeBron James’ trophy case isn’t too shabby, either. On Sunday, Johnson and James met up at SoFi Stadium, where they were in attendance to watch the Los Angeles Chargers‘ home opener against LeBron’s other favorite NFL team, the Dallas Cowboys. As Johnson pointed […]

The Houston Rockets are in the process of finding a new home for veteran guard John Wall. Wall is only one year removed from an Achilles injury and has one of the most exorbitant contracts in basketball. This will make it very difficult for the Rockets to find a trade partner. However, there is one […]

Neil Olshey clearly took it as a source of pride. Carmelo Anthony, without a job for more than a year when the injury-ravaged Portland Trail Blazers signed him in November 2019, re-upped before last season despite knowing he’d be moved to the bench—the same gut-check demotion that previously left him out of the league in […]

The non-saga between semi-retired point guard Darren Collison and the Los Angeles Lakers continues to ramble on. Earlier this week, Anthony Slater of The Athletic reported that Collison — who hasn’t appeared in an NBA game since 2019 — is holding out hope for an invite to Lakers training camp, which begins on Sept. 28. […]

The Los Angeles Clippers and legend Jerry West broke ground on their new arena, which is scheduled to open in time for the 2024-25 season. Intuit Dome, which will be the arena’s name, will have a number of state of the art features by the time it opens. None, however, will be bigger than the […]

ESPN released its NBA Finals and individual awards predictions for the 2021-22 season on Thursday, with familiar marquee teams and players dominating the voting. The “worldwide leader’s” expert panel picked the juggernaut Brooklyn Nets to hoist the Larry O’Brien Trophy, Kevin Durant to win his second MVP and Rudy Gobert to be named Defensive Player […]

The LA Clippers will break ground on their brand new stadium today. The Inglewood-based arena is expected to be ready for the 2024-25 season, and will be named the Intuit Dome, the Los Angeles Clippers and Intuit Inc. announced today. Intuit, a global technology platform that makes TurboTax, QuickBooks, Credit Karma, and Mint, will be […]

The most controversial and perhaps consequential offseason in Portland Trail Blazers history is firmly in the rearview mirror. Portland tips off training camp in less than two weeks, opens exhibition action on Oct. 4 and is just more than a month away from hosting the Sacramento Kings in the season opener — a game that […]

The Charlotte Hornets have done a lot over the 2021 offseason to build up their roster to compete, adding talented rookies like James Bouknight and Kai Jones while acquiring veterans in Kelly Oubre Jr. and Ish Smith. It doesn’t seem like much to the average NBA fan, but these moves will be helpful. Alongside LaMelo […]

The Los Angeles Lakers overhauled their roster this offseason, with the exceptions of LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and Talen Horton-Tucker. However, as wild as their summer was, the moves surrounding the Lakers’ coaching and training staffs were equivalently mysterious. On the heels of the Lakers’ formalizing the additions of assistant coaches David Fizdale and John […]

The Los Angeles Lakers formally announced the addition of four major contributors to their 2021-22 team on Wednesday. In a press release, the team made official the two newest members of Frank Vogel’s coaching staff: David Fizdale and John Lucas III. Both moves were previously reported but not formalized. The Lakers also announced the hiring […]

The 2021-22 Los Angeles Lakers roster is, finally, nearly complete. Remarkably, after the departure of Marc Gasol, LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and Talen Horton-Tucker look like they’ll be the only returning pieces from last season, barring a belated re-signing of Wesley Matthews (which would be smart, by the way). Los Angeles is the oldest and […]

Carmelo Anthony did not expect his good friend LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers to come calling. Once they did, his reason for signing with the Lakers (on the veteran’s minimum) boiled down to one simple notion: “Winning.” Anthony discussed his offseason decision on Yahoo’s Chris Haynes’ “Posted Up” podcast. Anthony revealed to Haynes […]

Here’s a name out of the past: The Los Angeles Lakers will host veteran big Kenneth Faried for a workout later this week, according to The Athletic’s Jovan Buha. Faried’s last NBA appearance came in Game 6 of the Western Conference semifinals in April of 2019, as a member of the Houston Rockets. Faried split […]

Now that DeAndre Jordan has signed with the Los Angeles Lakers and Marc Gasol has been traded to the Memphis Grizzlies, the Lakers have two open roster spots following a blockbuster summer of turnover. The Lakers will keep one spot open for a buyout candidate. Not only does that provide flexibility, but the money owed to […]

The NBA draft is when dreams come true–when players realize that all their hard work has finally paid off. Athletes can take care of the family members who’ve helped them along the way, and it’s the beginning of a long journey that will create memories that will last a lifetime. In an exclusive interview with […]

Marc Gasol could have helped the 2021-22 Los Angeles Lakers. However, Gasol’s relationship with the Lakers organization — the one that drafted him in 2007 and for which his brother starred — soured after the Andre Drummond signing, culminating in the veteran being traded to the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday. He’ll negotiate a buyout and […]

The Los Angeles Lakers have traded Marc Gasol to the Memphis Grizzlies, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Gasol will work with Memphis on a release, which will allow the three-time All-Star to return to Spain, thus presumably ending a stellar 13-year NBA career — the first 10+ of which came in Memphis. The Lakers will […]

Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James is dishing another assist, this one in collaboration with Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett and Ladder Sports supplements. Prior to the opening kickoff of Week 1 of the 2021 NFL season between the Dallas Cowboys and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, ESPN’s Adam Schefter shared a brief video on Twitter […]

The Los Angeles Lakers formally signed and introduced center DeAndre Jordan on Thursday. Jordan — the latest former NBA All-Star to join the Lakers on the veteran’s minimum — conducted a virtual press conference and spoke about teaming up with LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and Russell Westbrook. Jordan spent the first 10 seasons of his […]

It’s hard to clown Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James‘ skills on the basketball court, but his skills on the mic are fair game.  Following the high-profile releases of Drake’s Certified Lover Boy and Kanye West’s Donda this month, the Lakers forward — currently yachting around Italy like Magic Johnson (my bar) — has, as […]

The Charlotte Hornets made a few interesting moves during this offseason in the NBA draft and free agency. Still, a few Hornets trades should be on the horizon, but more on that in a second. Bringing in one of the better scorers in the draft in James Bouknight and a talented rim runner in Kai […]

Ben Simmons has decided he wants to move on from the Philadelphia 76ers and find a new place to play in the upcoming season. Simmons is only 25 and is already a two-time All-Star, checking a number of boxes as a player thanks to his playmaking and elite defense. Of course, Simmons’ offensive shortcomings as […]

All NBA teams start the season with lofty goals and aspirations. Some franchises are thinking championships, while some are building for the future. One thing they all have in common is problems and concerns. Some organizations deal with more dilemmas than others, and here are the three concerns the Golden State Warriors have entering the […]

With a number of stars changing teams this past offseason, there’s a newfound excitement ahead of the 2021-22 NBA season. Most notably, Russell Westbrook joined the Los Angeles Lakers, Kyle Lowry joined the Miami Heat and DeMar DeRozan joined the Chicago Bulls, but Kawhi Leonard elected to remain with Paul George and the Los Angeles […]

The most devastating injury in basketball is the torn Achilles. It has claimed the careers of several NBA players and severely altered the careers of others. When the Houston Rockets originally acquired John Wall, they took back a first-round pick for their troubles — implicitly admitting that Russell Westbrook was the more valuable player. Wall […]