The Magic were scheduled to practice Saturday and would have benefited from the work, especially considering their recent roster turnover. But the team had to cancel the session due to health and safety protocols after the positive test for Clifford. He has received his first vaccination shot and is asymptomatic and the team is hoping for a false negative, league sources indicated.
The Magic were scheduled to practice Saturday and would…
September 28, 2021 | 6:12 pm EDT Update
76ers still hoping Ben Simmons will return to the team
Things can change fast, but league sources don’t sense that a deal is anywhere close right now. The Sixers still hope Simmons will return to the team so they can experiment with his role, or increase his value and help create more trade possibilities. On media day, Morey compared the Simmons situation to that of Aaron Rodgers, who threatened to leave the Green Bay Packers but ended up returning for one more season. The Sixers hope Simmons will choose to do the same.
Six weeks ago, a Sixers contingent including Doc Rivers, executives Daryl Morey and Elton Brand, and owner Josh Harris flew to Los Angeles hoping to convince Ben Simmons to return to Philadelphia for training camp, or at least gain clarity on why he wants out. But sources with knowledge of the meeting say Simmons, who was accompanied by his agent, Rich Paul, gave no clear reason for why he demanded to be traded earlier in the offseason.
League sources say the primary motivation for Klutch Sports’ aggressive holdout is to steer him to a team built around him on offense. No matter the roster makeup in Philly, he will only ever be no. 2 as long as Embiid is healthy.
To the opinionated Charles Oakley, the Knicks carry questions into their second season under Tom Thibodeau. And that starts with Julius Randle. “I always said they haven’t had a star player since Carmelo. Now they got a star,” Oakley told the Daily News. “But there’s a lot of teams that got stars, so can that star get to the next level? I don’t know. Can he win seven games more than last year? Was last year fool’s gold? You don’t want to go back to 7th and 8th seed when you were at 4.”
Only about five months ago – as the Knicks were surging toward the fourth seed – Oakley labeled Randle better than Zion Williamson. But after Randle’s playoff dud against the Hawks, Oakley seemed to carry more skepticism. “They don’t have one guy who you could put the ball in their hands,” he said. “I don’t know if they have that kind of All-Star. They have an All-Star, but what kind of All-Star? Are you an A, B, C. There are stages of All-Stars.”
Oakley is always comfortable voicing his opinions, especially on the Knicks, but was speaking Tuesday because of his expanding portfolio. In addition to his memoir being released early next year (‘The Last Enforcer’), Oakley is hosting a streaming show premiering Oct. 7. The show, entitled “Chopping it Up with Charles Oakley,” is based on the Knicks legend’s second passion — cooking. The premise is Oakley prepares a meal requested by a celebrity guest — (he teased former NBAers Dominique Wilkens, Stephen Jackson, Jim Jackson and Steve Smith, along with actresses LisaRaye McCoy and Jazmin Lewis) — and they spark up a conversation. The show, produced by the For Us By Us Network, will stream on FOX Soul.
September 28, 2021 | 5:59 pm EDT Update
Dennis Schroeder: I never had Lakers extension offer in front of me
The deal the Lakers offered, which was reportedly worth nearly $84 million, eclipsed the comparatively paltry $5.9 taxpayer mid-level exception Schröder took to sign for a season with Brad Stevens and the Celtics. So what happened? According to Schröder, the situation is complicated. “The Lakers told us we are not talking during the season, and at the end of the day, I never had that contract in front of me,” Schröder told reporters at Celtics media day. “That’s one thing. But they wanted to talk and at the end of the day, me and my agent decided not to sign their contract.”
