Steve Popper: The latest round of COVID test results from the NBA.
Steve Popper: The latest round of COVID test results fr…
August 5, 2021 | 2:12 am EDT Update
Team USA routs Australia, makes Olympic final once again
Rob Schaefer: Final: USA 97, AUS 78 Americans impressively flip 15-point deficit to 19-point victory to earn spot in gold medal game. Zach LaVine played 17 minutes, notched 9 pts, 3 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl. Another good defensive showing with some loud second-half highlights.
The Sixers could also bring him back and try again if they can’t get a Lillard or a Beal at the moment, but it also appears that maybe Simmons doesn’t want to come back. Per Ramona Shelburne on ESPN’s The Jump: The Sixers are open to bringing him back. In a lot of ways, I think they would prefer that. I think they would prefer to say we don’t want totrade this guy who can win the Defensive Player of the Year, who is a young superstar in the making. Just come back and let’s let’s work on this, but it doesn’t seem like there’s a bridge there that is being walked across by both sides like that. I don’t know if Ben Simmons has that interest right now because things were said afterwards. After the season, Doc Rivers said some things, Joel Embiid said some things. I know there’s been trying to smoothing out of that relationship, but it doesn’t seem like Ben is necessarily interested in that right now.
One of those swings apparently was for Chris Paul — and that gave CP3 the leverage to get a fourth year out of the Suns, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst said on the “Hoop Collective” podcast (hat tip CBS Sports). “Chris Paul, who [New Orleans] offered $100 million from what I understand. It helped convince Phoenix to give him at least [a] partially guaranteed fourth year… I think Chris entertained it for some period of time.”
According to a report, the Los Angeles Lakers declined the opportunity to re-sign Alex Caruso on a team-friendly deal. “I think the Lakers looked at Alex Caruso and said, ‘We’re happy for you, we really appreciate everything you’ve done, we wish we could keep you, but, you know’…he was willing to go back there at three years and $30 million Brian [Windhorst],” said NBA insider Ramona Shelburne during a recent podcast appearance. “He actually gave them that option, even at the end. It’s less than what he signed for in Chicago. But even that was more than they were willing to pay. … That was as far as they were willing to go. They looked at Caruso and said, ‘We can go to $7 million a year, but above that it gets too cost-prohibitive.’”
Sam Amick: I’d heard some stuff going into free agency that, for whatever reason, Alex (Caruso) was not feeling the love from the Lakers, in terms of the communication and the connectivity.
Karl-Anthony Towns: This is some BS! We have to continue to fight the fight!! If you think people with power and/or money can’t be affected by the abuse of power we are seeing from police officers, then you’re highly mistaken. We must protect each other from police brutality!
