“Watching him play on tape and then watching him play the last few games — Kenny Smith just said it — his ability to shoot, put it on the dribble, and I didn’t know he could pass the ball like he can. “If you got the No. 1 pick in the draft — I love my kid at Auburn (Jabari Smith); I love Mr. Chet Holmgren — but this dude better be the No. 1 pick in the NBA Draft.”
"Watching him play on tape and then watching him play t…
August 13, 2022 | 1:15 pm EDT Update
LeBron James vs. Stephen Curry, Warriors-Lakers scheduled for opening night of NBA season
Shams Charania: Scheduled for the NBA’s 2022-23 opening night and ring ceremony on TNT: Lakers at Warriors, Oct. 18, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium .
After speaking with children during the Jr. Celtics camp, Grant Williams was asked how he felt about the trade rumors involving Brown. Williams responded by talking about the business side of the NBA while also praising Brown’s mindset and value as a player.
“I feel like Jaylen Brown is mature in his mindset, and he knows that. I talk to him, texted him, reach out of as often as I can. It’s one of those things. It’s the league. It’s a business. It’s one of those things that you can’t be discouraged by because we love JB. It also shows how valuable he is.”
Filmmaker Antoine Fuqua’s connections to the Los Angeles Lakers are via his hometown of Pittsburgh. Norm Nixon played college basketball at Duquesne University before becoming a first-round pick of the Lakers in 1977, and Fuqua was a fan of his play at point guard. But doesn’t every fan have a story of loyalty to a favorite team? That doesn’t make Fuqua unique, but he was charged with directing a project on the Lakers and creating something unique, which isn’t easy given the proliferation of Laker-related content on and off the court just in 2022. “The goal was to really keep the focus on the family,” Fuqua said.
That meant a heavy emphasis on the late Dr. Jerry Buss and his children in “Legacy: The True Story of the LA Lakers,” a 10-part docuseries that premieres Monday on Hulu. Buss, who died in February 2013, earned the reputation as perhaps the best team owner in modern-day sports. Long before the likes of Mark Cuban were seen as blurring the line between ownership and players, Buss was befriending a young Magic Johnson, which did not go over well for some accustomed to a different player/team owner dynamic.
Jim Buss had his turn being in charge, and the Lakers struggled. Jeanie Buss, now team president and controlling owner, became the first woman in the NBA to be the owner of a championship team in 2020. Who is in charge, how they became in charge and the stories of the siblings trying to figure out where they fit in sports — or if they even wanted to be in sports — are layers to the story told. “Obviously, the family drama that happened in the process of success, that was important, as well,” Fuqua said. “But the most important thing to me was the family aspect of it. That’s the part I don’t believe I’ve ever seen from the mouths of the family.”
August 13, 2022 | 2:04 am EDT Update
Kevin Durant, James Harden back on good terms
ClutchPoints: “From what I’m told, the two former teammates are back on good terms now despite [James] Harden forcing his way out of Brooklyn.” @ramonashelburne on the Sixers’ reported interest in trading for Kevin Durant.
Grant Williams addresses Jaylen Brown trade rumors
After speaking with children during the Jr. Celtics camp, Grant Williams was asked how he felt about the trade rumors involving Brown. Williams responded by talking about the business side of the NBA while also praising Brown’s mindset and value as a player. “I feel like JB is mature in his mindset, and he knows that. I talk to him, texted him, reach out of as often as I can. It’s one of those things. It’s the league. It’s a business. It’s one of those things that you can’t be discouraged by because we love JB. It also shows how valuable he is.”
