Shams Charania: Sources: The NBA is planning for Draft …
January 28, 2021 | 5:20 am EST Update
“I think it’s a really good team that they’ve put together,” James said of the 76ers. “Give a lot of credit to [general manager] Elton Brand and the things that they’re doing here. Obviously, Doc has always won pretty much wherever he’s been. We’ll see as the season goes on. There’s going to be a lot of teams in the Eastern Conference playing championship basketball down the stretch. I know they believe that they’re one of those teams.”
Derek Bodner: Joel Embiid on LeBron’s flagrant foul: “That’s a very dangerous play. I guarantee if that was me I would have probably been ejected from the game.”
In an effort to combat the piling up of games due to postponements caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the NBA on Wednesday said it will adjust the existing schedule to avoid having to fill in too many games during the second half of the season. To do so, the NBA will do two things: reschedule games that have already been postponed, where possible, between now and the league’s scheduled midseason break in early March; and reschedule games to the second half of the season — which has yet to be announced — in order to squeeze in more games where possible in the first half.
John Clark: Sixers president Daryl Morey on @espn on Sixers expectations 👀 “I think we’re pretty championship or bust” “Doc Rivers has won a title. I haven’t gotten there yet. I think we have a very good chance”
Tegna wants a bigger piece of the podcast action: The TV station group announced the acquisition of Locked On Podcast Network, which produces some 160 daily shows for teams across the U.S.’s four major pro sports leagues and more than 30 colleges. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Tegna said it will finance the acquisition through cash on hand, noting that the acquisition is not expected to materially affect its 2021 financial results. Park City, Utah-based Locked On will remain a standalone business within Tegna, expanding its podcast footprint alongside digital content studio Vault Studios and individual Tegna stations’ podcasting efforts.
Locked On Podcast Network was founded in June 2016 by David Locke, the radio voice of the Utah Jazz. In its only outside funding, the company announced in November 2019 that it raised $750,000 from investors including Bruce Gordon, former Disney Interactive Media Group CFO; podcast investor Podfund; and Utah-based private-equity firm Summit Capital.
With his annual draft guide garnering notoriety, O’Connor had suitors trying to land him for a full-time position. But when The Ringer, a sports and pop culture website founded by Bill Simmons, reached out in July 2016, O’Connor wasn’t about to pass up the opportunity. “I had a couple options at the moment and that was great, but then The Ringer came calling. I was like, ‘Oh my goodness. This is an opportunity of a lifetime,’” O’Connor said.
