He got the last brick in Portland, being around stars like Damian Lillard, Carmelo Anthony, CJ McCollum, the former head coach Terry Stotts, and the GM Neil Olshey. Portland made the NBA playoffs for eight consecutive seasons. For the first time, Hezonja played in a winning organization. “It was amazing there. I believe Dame is one of the best, if not the best, leaders out there in the league. I was looking at Dame very closely. And I was so happy that they brought Melo, even if he played in front of me. But I really didn’t care. When he practiced, I literally stared at him. I was so annoying. I was calling him for dinners, lunch. I think he hates me, honestly,” Hezonja laughs. “But I was always with Dame, always keeping an eye on those Hall of Fame type of players. I learned so much from them.”
He got the last brick in Portland, being around stars l…
May 26, 2022 | 7:21 pm EDT Update
Otto Porter remains out for Warriors
CJ Holmes: Warriors forward Otto Porter Jr. (left foot soreness) won’t play tonight in Game 5, per Steve Kerr.
Jordan Poole is a Milwaukee native making a name for himself with the Golden State Warriors. On the cuffs of reaching his first NBA Finals before turning 23-years-old in June, no one is less surprised by this success than mom and dad. “I always knew he was going to be here. I always knew, someway, somehow, that he was going to be here,” says Anthony Poole, Jordan’s father, and former AAU coach.
“He will work all day in the gym. I mean, personally growing up, he’s like ‘dad, can we go to the gym and work out?’ And we would be there two hours a night or three hours a night. He will stay in the gym and he’s a perfectionist when he wants to work on his craft. So, seeing him there now, yeah,” says Anthony.
Jordan isn’t the only 414-product pushing Golden State to another NBA Finals. Big brother, Kevon Looney is right there with him. “Kevon is a great guy and you saw the other day, Looney had a great game and Jordan was so happy for him. And behind the scenes, Jordan was just waiting for him to be done with his interview, it was just mad love. You know, it’s another Milwaukee guy,” says Anthony.
Blazers to be auctioned in the next months?
Paul Allen died in October 2018. His luxury yachts and some real estate holdings have already been liquidated. But the fate of his NBA and NFL franchises still hang in the balance. Insiders expect the Blazers to be positioned for auction in the next 6-18 months. The Seahawks could follow shortly after, but sources say Jody Allen may be wrangling to keep a piece of the NFL franchise.
A sitting team president of an NBA franchise told me it’s unlikely that the league’s owners would allow the Trail Blazers to relocate to Seattle after a potential sale. “That’s a no-go,” he said. The prevailing sentiment is that Seattle and Las Vegas have already been unofficially earmarked for NBA expansion and the current owners would prefer to avoid cannibalizing what would be a windfall of $6 billion in combined expansion fees.
A number of potential ownership groups have been rumored to be interested in pursuing the Trail Blazers. Among the names that I have heard as possible majority owners: Oracle Corporation co-founder Larry Ellison, philanthropist MacKenzie Scott and Laurene Powell-Jobs. Ellison has unsuccessfully attempted to buy NBA teams on three occasions. Scott is the ex-wife of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. Powell-Jobs, the widow of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, is an executive and businesswoman.
May 26, 2022 | 6:49 pm EDT Update
Tomas Satoransky on free agency: Both Europe and the NBA are in play
Lukas Kuba: Tomas Satoransky when asked about the interest from Barcelona: “I won’t officially comment on anything yet, all I can say is that both Europe and the NBA are in play.” Says it’s obviously an important decision. “I’m leaving myself more time for the final decision.”
