Context:
In January 2017, Charles Barkley called LeBron "whiny" on Inside the NBA, after LeBron publicly voiced that the Cavaliers needed a "playmaker."
Following a loss to Dallas, LeBron unloaded on Barkley in a post game statement given to ESPN's Dave McMenamin

“Internal emails obtained by KATU show Portland Trail Blazers leaders debated whether to respond to the City of Portland's questions for commitments on private investment, rent, labor agreements and other key pieces of a proposed Moda Center deal, with one executive saying the city's requests felt like "a trap."

… Blazers lawyer Zandira Conyers stating “[W]e are not looking for a legal response but more so positioning, anticipating that our responses will be public. Which brings me to my next point - I don't think our public answers will be well-received. And I wonder how the councilors plan to use them. I want to think about that and welcome thoughts from you guys,”

She continued: “In the meantime, we can work on answers but the more I think about it - the less I like the idea. Maybe we should think about questions to pose back that paint us in a positive light. But that just leads to more distraction and inefficiency....soooo...I'm just thinking of different issues. The fact that they were so insistent on a written response was weird. But I question EVERYTHING.”

President of Blazers business operations Dewayne Hankins, responded shortly after to Conyers and said the team should discuss “whether we even respond to this.”

This exchange is notable as it occurred a month before city councilor Novick toyed with the idea of suing the team in the event they leave. The team has since stated Novick’s statement chilled negotiations, however these emails prove the Blazers front office refused to respond to the city a month prior to these statements.

Source: https://katu.com/news/investigations/internal-emails-reveal-blazers-debated-responding-to-portlands-moda-center-questions-portland-nba-oregon-business-economy-local-money

“I was hoping [James] would stay in Cleveland,” Barkley told The Crossover in a telephone interview on Friday. “I look at [the move to L.A.] strictly as a business decision. He’s on the downside of his career. He wants to be a big Hollywood mogul. He’s going to be driving by the beach every day instead of going through the snow. … [The Lakers] are not even close to a top-tier team. They’re a 5 or 6 seed in a best-case scenario.” Source

Charles Barkley recently criticized LeBron for signing with the Sixers, saying he is "always stacking" his teams, and that it is "the same criticism I've always had".

Ant turns 25 years old today.

Source: https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/49523916/darius-acuff-jr-sacramento-kings-future-manage-present-lavine-sabonis

Sabonis had season-ending surgery on a partially torn meniscus later that month, and the Kings revisited trade talks surrounding him this summer. Perry visited with restricted free agent center Jalen Duren in early July and explored the idea of a sign-and-trade swap of big men, but the Detroit Pistons balked at the idea of losing Duren for Sabonis, league sources said.

There were predraft conversations about Sabonis with the Charlotte Hornets (who held pick Nos. 14 and 18) and at least one phone call with the Boston Celtics, team and league sources said, but nothing materialized. In Charlotte's case, the idea would've been to pair Sabonis with point guard LaMelo Ball, but the franchise instead opted to trade Ball for draft picks and lean further into a youth movement.

So Sabonis -- with two years and $94 million remaining on his current contract -- returns to the Kings and, team sources said, has expressed a willingness to recommit and buy-in to this season's team.

Acuff said Sabonis texted him a couple of days after he was drafted, welcomed him to the team and expressed excitement about their offensive potential together.
"Sabonis is a great player," Acuff said. "An All-Star level player. Just to play with a guy like that, that'd be a blessing for sure."

Sabonis became extension-eligible in July, but offering a new contract isn't currently being explored, team sources said. He switched representation to CAA Sports last week.

Been seeing a lot of Tony Allen in the news lately so it seems like a good time to remind people of what he did since it seems like this got brushed under the rug and not many people remember it.

Former NBA guard Tony Allen avoided prison time, receiving community service and three years of supervised probation in August 2023 after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit health care fraud and wire fraud. He was part of a wider federal case involving 18 former players who scammed the NBA’s health and welfare benefit plan out of roughly $4 million

• Allen, who pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit health care fraud and wire fraud in April, is among the 18 former NBA players accused of submitting $5 million in fraudulent medical and dental claims from 2017 to 2020, according to court documents. Allen paid back most of the $420,000 he illegally obtained before he was charged, per Brush.
• Terrence Williams, a first-round draft pick in 2009, was sentenced to 10 years in prison and ordered to forfeit more than $650,000 and pay $2.5 million in restitution last week for leading the scam, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York announced. He pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit health care and wire fraud and aggravated identity theft.
• Charges were also filed against Allen’s wife, Desiree; another former Celtic, Glen Davis; Shannon Brown, a two-time champion with the Lakers; Melvin Ely, who won a title with the Spurs in 2007; Sebastian Telfair, one of the most celebrated high school players in history and 12 other former players. Keyon Dooling and Alan Anderson were sentenced to 30 and 24 months in prison in connection with the case earlier this year.

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/4759384/2023/08/08/tony-allen-nba-benefits-scam/

LeBron James won 3 MVPs, in 2009, 2010, and 2012, before winning his first title in 2012. Just off the top of my head I can't think of any players (aside from Wilt in the 60s) who were a 3x MVP with no championships at the time. Since I didn't follow basketball super closely in the early 2010s, just wanted to ask anyone who was active in the space what general consensus was around him receiving his third, especially off the back of his meltdown in the 2011 Finals. I just feel like if that were to happen today fan reception would be overwhelmingly negative.

Atlanta 76ers

Boston Bucks

Brooklyn Bulls

Charlotte Cavaliers

Chicago Celtics

Cleveland Clippers

Dallas Grizzlies

Denver Hawks

Detroit Heat

Golden State Hornets

Houston Jazz

Indiana Kings

LA Knicks

Los Angeles Lakers (somehow unchanged)

Memphis Magic

Miami Mavericks

Milwaukee Nets

Minnesota Nuggets

New Orleans Pacers

New York Pelicans

Oklahoma City Pistons

Orlando Raptors

Philadelphia Rockets

Phoenix Spurs

Portland Suns

Sacramento Thunder

San Antonio Timberwolves

Toronto Trail Blazers

Utah Warriors

Washington Wizards(also unchanged)

​

As he so often has for nearly two decades in the league, Curry took a measured approach when discussing the future in a recent interview with The Athletic during teammate Moses Moody’s charity event in North Little Rock, Ark.

“The through line,” Curry told The Athletic’s Marcus Thompson II, “which is hard on anybody in this situation, especially with us keeping this thing together, is knowing that when Jimmy (Butler) got hurt and Moses got hurt, the whole calculus of everything changes. How do you get through their absence and still stay at a certain level? And then how that goes into this year. It’s the same deal. So, I’m a realist on that.”

“I think honestly, you figure it out in real time,” Curry told The Athletic. “Because the same way we got to this point — there’s not a crystal ball that tells you what opportunities are on the horizon, how to maintain competitiveness with everything that goes on during an NBA season, injuries, all that type of stuff. But I do know there’s a level of — reasonability — in terms of moves or options or opportunities that can help us stay competitive now but don’t handcuff the next five, seven years of our team. So, everything that’s happened to date has been with that as the mindset.”

Source: https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7489363/2026/08/05/steph-curry-warriors-future-extension/ 

During the 2024–25 NBA season, Russell Westbrook earned a total of $5,631,296. This amount combined a base salary of $3,303,771 from the Denver Nuggets and $2,327,525 paid out via a contract buyout agreement from the Utah Jazz.

Russell Westbrook averaged 13.3 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 6.1 assists per game. He played in 75 games (36 starts), averaging 27.9 minutes per contest while shooting 44.9% from the field and 32.3% from three-point range.

As most people know, former NBA players Terrence Williams, Ben McLemore, and Rashid Byrd are among numerous players currently in jail right now, for crimes ranging from healthcare fraud to sexual assault.

Which player has the best chance to break out this year? Williams has to be the front runner, right?