sports news update

SI's Chris Mannix calls Atkinson one of the best developmental coaches in the NBA It's been almost two months since Kenny Atkinson was let go in Brooklyn. It is a little bit strange that Atkinson has not found a new home yet, despite the way it ended with the Nets and some potential issues out there with Atkinson coaching stars like Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving - Atkinson is still one of the best developmental coaches in all of basketball and certainly the best available developmental coach on the coaching market.  If you look at some of the teams that could be looking for new head coaches, their rosters seem to fit what Kenny Atkinson brings to the table.  The Chicago Bulls, who recently hired Arturas Karnisova as their top executive. They have got a young roster headlined by Zach LaVine, Lauri Markkanen, Wendell Carter, and Coby White, a promising young guard. A guy like Kenny Atkinson would make a lot of sense in Chicago.  Look across the borough to the New York ...

Craig Ehlo says, "I don’t really remember him during our time wanting to play defense that much." Michael Jordan has no shortage of game-winners in his career highlight reel, and 'The Shot' against Craig Ehlo and the Cavaliers is certainly near the top of the list. Jordan and the Bulls faced off against Cleveland in a decisive Game 5 in the second round of the postseason in 1989. Chicago inbounded the ball in the final possession down one, and Jordan rose up to hit one of the most iconic buzzer beaters in NBA history. The Bulls fell in the next round against the Pistons, but 1989 marked another seminal highlight in young Jordan's career.  Jordan's game-winner was revisited in Episode 3 of ESPN's 'The Last Dance' on April 26. Jordan hit the shot over Cavaliers guard Craig Ehlo, a decision questioned by former teammate Ron Harper in the documentary. “We’re up by one and I said, ‘Coach I got [Jordan],’" Harper said. “Coach tells me, ‘I...

Why do we still need Isiah Thomas to be the villain? History is written by the victors, but also by the editors. Careers are shrunk to a sentence and people whittled into caricatures. We sum up entire wars in a paragraph, so it’s easy to nail down one of history’s best point guards with three words: Isiah Thomas, snake. The problem is not so much with the descriptor itself; the problem is that this has become the only way we talk about Thomas. His list of transgressions—real, imagined, and exaggerated—include: The All-Star Game freeze-out of Michael Jordan; walking off the court after the 1991 Eastern Conference Finals without shaking the victorious Chicago Bulls’ hands ; wrecking the Continental Basketball Association; telling everybody within earshot that Magic Johnson did not contract HIV the way he said he did; convincing the Pistons to trade Adrian Dantley so he could play with his childhood buddy Mark Aguirre; and making a mess of the Knicks. There is enough there for a compe...

James refuted a report that some NBA executives and agents want the league to cancel the rest of the season. The sports world continues to hang in limbo during the coronavirus pandemic, but LeBron James says the NBA is ready to continue the season whenever it's safe to do so. Earlier on Thursday, CNBC reported that some NBA executives and agents want to cancel the rest of the 2019-20 season due to the uncertainty of the pandemic. James refuted the report on Twitter , calling it "absolutely not true." "Saw some reports about execs and agents wanting to cancel season??? That's absolutely not true. Nobody I know saying anything like that. As soon as it's safe we would like to finish our season. I'm ready and our team is ready. Nobody should be canceling anything," James wrote. The NBA became the first league to suspend its season and close practice facilities after Rudy Gobert tested positive for the coronavirus on March 11. Earlier this month...

In today's Traina Thoughts, Jimmy Traina covers "Woj Bomb", a new mini documentary on YouTube that goes behind the scenes with esteemed NBA news breaker Adrian Wojnarowski. In today's Traina Thoughts, Jimmy Traina covers "Woj Bomb", a new mini documentary on YouTube that goes behind the scenes with esteemed NBA news breaker Adrian Wojnarowski. 

Origin stories, Stephen Curry's contract and everything about Kevin Durant's stint in Golden State are some of the things we would want to see in a Warriors "Last Dance" style documentary With apologies to the Heatles, the Golden State Warriors were the team of the 2010s. Three championships in four years, a 73-win season, and a near-threepeat that was derailed by injuries. Stephen Curry became the first unanimous MVP . Joe Lacob said the organization was light years ahead. Kevin Durant arrived ... and then he departed . And the story isn’t even over yet! As long as Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green are healthy, the Warriors will be formidable. But if the Warriors were to be canonized as one of the NBA’s most indelible teams, here’s what we’d want to see in the documentary. The Origin Stories How the Warriors came together itself is a pretty fascinating story. The Dubs were a historically moribund franchise who in some ways lucked into Curry because of the...

SI's Robin Lundberg agrees with James and says as long as the right measures are taken, the NBA should have a proper conclusion to the season. After reports surfaced that executives of the NBA were calling for the season to be canceled during the coronavirus pandemic, Lakers star LeBron James went on twitter to share his dissatisfaction. "Saw some reports about execs and agents wanting to cancel season??? That’s absolutely not true. Nobody I know saying anything like that. As soon as it’s safe we would like to finish our season. I’m ready and our team is ready. Nobody should be canceling anything." SI's Robin Lundberg agrees with James and says as long as the right measures are taken, the NBA should have proper conclusion to the season.

‘The Last Dance’ documentary has everyone captivated as it highlights one of the greatest NBA dynasties. But what if we had the chance to take a in-depth look at another dynasty, specifically, the Golden State Warriors? SI’s Rohan Nadkarni tells Madelyn Burke that much like this iteration of the Bulls documentary, you would have to start with the Warriors history first to understand how bad the team was years ago before lamenting the greatness of this era’s Warriors team. 

How did Adrian Wojnarowski become 'greatest news breaker of all time'? 1 . "He's the greatest news breaker of all time in any sport. To me, it's not even a question." That is longtime NBA writer, Jackie MacMullan, speaking about Adrian Wojnarowski toward the end of a new eight-minute YouTube documentary on the prolific ESPN reporter. With documentaries, long and shot, being all the rage these days, the timing on this one, which gives you a behind-the-scenes look at the man who provides the Twittersphere with his frequent Woj Bombs, is excellent. While Wojnarowski shares wisdom on how he continues to excel at his job (at one point in the show, he says he will watch how NFL colleagues, Adam Schefter and Chris Mortensen, work and listen to them on the phone), various media people share their opinions and tell stories on Woj's work ethic. "One time, I was out in L.A. and I bumped into him in a hotel and we get on the elevator and he had his laptop ...

SI's Chris Mannix shares his thoughts on how a possibly resumed season should pan out With plans in motion to open practice facilities in areas less-affected by the coronavirus pandemic, the NBA is attempting to salvage their season. SI's Chris Mannix shares some of his thoughts on how the remainder of the season should look for playoff contenders and non-playoff contenders alike. 

Jalen Green, Daishen Nix, Isaiah Todd, and whoever else joins the NBA G League pathway program will go beneath one of the more unique microscopes in recent years. If you’ve been living under a rock—or, respectably, avoiding the internet for an indefinite amount of time (hey, who among us)— the NBA G League continues to make significant headway in shaking up basketball’s traditional player development framework. This week, five-star guard Daishen Nix opted to forgo his letter of intent to UCLA and joined the G League’s impressive group of committed players , which includes top recruits Jalen Green and Isaiah Todd . These elite high school prospects will compete as a team, separate from the G League’s affiliate franchises, with the majority of details about the program still forthcoming. What the program will actually look like is a real point of interest right now around the NBA, but the quality of the players the league has landed is substantial , and how well the program fares in...

Moving the 2020 college football season should be a last resort, and we're not close to that point yet. If you want a vivid illustration of the Nobody Knows Anything world in which we all currently reside, just look at the vacillating outlook surrounding the 2020 college football season. Last week there was a surge in opinions that an on-time, on-schedule season is virtually impossible and should be put off until 2021. But this week there was a surge of schools saying they are planning for on-campus classes in the fall semester —including more than a dozen FBS schools. That would seem to heighten the chances of football as semi-usual. So this seems like a good time to look at the calendar. Then look at it again. Now take a deep breath and relax. The calendar still says April, right? Not May, not June, not July. April is not the time to make decisions or declarations about moving the 2020 college football season to the 2021 side of the academic schedule. We may, eventually,...

Over the next few weeks The Crossover will be examining one big-picture question for every NBA team. Today we take a look at the Charlotte Hornets, who were 23–42 when the season was suspended. When Will the Front Office Commit to a Rebuild?  The Hornets are fortunate their owner is only receiving attention for his playing career during Last Dance mania , because Charlotte’s future under Michael Jordan remains as murky as ever. The Hornets appeared ready to move forward in a big way last summer by not offering Kemba Walker a full max contract, paving the way for him to sign with the Celtics. (Though if Charlotte had planned on that strategy for a while, why not try to trade Walker for something during his final season?) Walker’s departure was compounded by the head-scratching move of signing Terry Rozier to a three-year deal soon after. Charlotte was finally getting close to ridding itself of high-priced vets who don’t move the needle, why bring in another one, particularly w...

Even the rotating cast of bench players for the 1990s Bulls were treated like rock stars in public. But they had to work hard for that honor. In January of 1993, NBA veteran Darrell Walker received a call from Bulls general manager Jerry Krause. “Would you be interested in a 10-day contract with us?” Krause asked him. “With you guys, absolutely,” Walker responded. The Pistons had waived the 6’4’’ guard earlier that season and before the Bulls reached out for his services, Walker’s NBA career seemed all but over. He had played nine prior seasons, but was still looking for what had been an elusive first NBA title. What better team to join than the two-time defending champion Chicago Bulls? A first 10-day contract turned into a second 10-day, which turned into a contract for the rest of the season. By June, Walker had won a title. “I was able to be part of the Rolling Stones,” he says of what turned out to be his final NBA season. Beginning in the 1990-91 season, 44 different players ...

The Charlotte Hornets' have been to the NBA playoffs twice in the last seven seasons, most recently in the 2015-16 season. Both seasons ended with the team losing in the first round. For a team that has perennially been on the fringe of the postseason, will the Hornets front office make the decision to do a rebuild? SI’s Rohan Nadkarni tells Madelyn Burke that until Charlotte can find a good mix of young talent they will be stuck in the middle of the pack. 

SI's Ben Pickman got a chance to speak with members from that era who detailed exactly what it was like playing under pressure and the great Michael Jordan. Every great NBA championship team needs solid role players to step up in big moments. The same goes for the Chicago Bulls who dominated basketball in the nineties. SI's Ben Pickman got a chance to speak with members from that era who detailed exactly what it was like playing under pressure and the great Michael Jordan.

SI's Jeremy Woo breaks down Green's skillset and whether he has a chance to succeed on a main roster. Jalen Green's decision to join the NBA's G-League will bring much attention to the developmental program. SI's Jeremy Woo breaks down Green's skillset and whether he has a chance to succeed on a main roster. 

SI's Chris Mannix shares his thoughts on what the NBA's first move towards resuming should be The NBA is certainly eager to get back on the court in some capacity. But there's a groundswell of support among some to have the non-playoff teams effectively call it a season.  Steve Kerr, the head coach of the Golden State Warriors, in a conference call with reporters this week - said Golden State was operating under the assumption that their season was over. And I've talked to a number of different players and coaches from non-playoff teams who have expressed the same thing.  I think if the NBA wants to take a step forward, one of the first things they can do is say to those non-playoff teams, "You're done. Don't worry about it," and go into what Steve Kerr called "off-season mode" and start thinking about next year.  Now, some of those teams may protest that decision. There are teams like the New Orleans Pelicans, which are just on the outs...

Over the next few weeks The Crossover will be examining one big-picture question for every NBA team. Today we take a look at the Atlanta Hawks, who were 20–47 when the season was suspended. How Much Longer Can the Hawks Be Young? In their second season under Lloyd Pierce, the Hawks actually took a small step back compared to Year One. At the moment of the season suspension, Atlanta’s .299 win percentage was worse than the .354 mark it posted in 2019, though obviously are neither flattering. In regards to their long-term outlook, the Hawks are in a slightly tricky spot. The team has capable young players in Trae Young and John Collins. Both have expressed frustration with the constant losing they’ve dealt with since entering the league, but it also remains unclear just how high they can lift a roster as its two best players. Moving forward, regardless of what happens this season, the Hawks need to decide if they want to push their chips closer to the middle of the table. With a rela...

SI's Rohan Nadkarni breaks down the Hawks' current situation Vince Carter is the oldest player on the Atlanta Hawks by a long shot, but with Carter not returning next season- the Hawks need to bring in some veterans to supplement a young and talented squad. Here to break down the Atlanta Hawks' current situation is SI's Rohan Nadkarni.

Which team was more intriguing: The Dream Team or Redeem Team? Dwyane Wade is producing a documentary on the 2008 United States men's Olympic basketball team , better known as the Redeem Team.  And as tends to be the case of late, this is sure to lead to inevitable comparisons between that squad and the original 1992 Dream Team, especially with the hyper focus around Michael Jordan currently due to The Last Dance   and with Isiah Thomas revealing he's still disappointed by his snub . So which star studded roster would have been more fun to cover? Well, there's a case for each. The Dream Team: Michael Jordan. That's a good start. But he was also joined by the legendary Magic Johnson and Larry Bird in the latter stages of their career, and in addition, the ever entertaining Charles Barkley in his absolute prime. Not to mention that group of players deserves a lot of credit for making basketball the global game it is today. The Dream Team has stood the test of time...

With so much talent on both rosters, which team would have been the most interesting to follow on their path to the gold? SI's Ben Pickman and fantasy and gambling analyst Corey Parson make their picks. The 1992 United States men's Olympic basketball team is regarded as one of the greatest teams ever assembled in the history of sports. Led by Michael Jordan, Larry Bird and Magic Johnson, the team took home the gold medal in dominant fashion. In 2008, the men's team did the same with Kobe Bryant, LeBron James and Dwyane Wade. With so much talent on both rosters, which team would have been the most interesting to follow on their path to the gold? SI's Ben Pickman and fantasy and gambling analyst Corey Parson make their picks. 

The lack of group licensing allowed under the NCAA's new name, image and license recommendations would make video games and replica jerseys "unworkable." The NCAA Board of Governors is moving toward allowing student-athletes to be compensated from their  name, image and likeness , but EA's 'NCAA Football' video game is unlikely to make a return.  The NCAA Board of Governors  has moved toward allowing student-athletes to be paid for sponsorships and endorsement deals as early as the 2021-22 academic year. However, the co-chair of that group, Big East commissioner Val Ackerman, said the new guidelines would not allow student-athletes to be represented in video games with school licensing. "It was the group’s conclusion that group licenses, which would combine school trademarks with student-athlete NIL in products like video games, replica jerseys and trading card collections are unworkable in college sports, largely because of the absence of a collect...

If passed, the recommendations could go into effect in the 2021-22 academic year. The NCAA Board of Governors is moving toward allowing student athlete compensation and adopting recommendations from a NIL ( name, image and likeness ) working group to allow student athletes to be paid for sponsorships and endorsement deals as early as the 2021-22 academic year. The NCAA Board of Governors announced their support after a working group proposed the changes at a meeting on Tuesday . The recommendations, if adopted, would allow student athletes to benefit from their name, image and likeness from deals with third parties and businesses. The new rules would go into effect in 2021 if the NCAA passes legislation next January. “Throughout our efforts to enhance support for college athletes, the NCAA has relied upon considerable feedback from and the engagement of our members, including numerous student-athletes, from all three divisions,” Ohio State president Michael V. Drake said...

Air Jordan's acrobatics were awe inspiring but it was his mid-range game that truly separated him. Michael Jordan defied gravity and analytics as Air Jordan could’ve easily been called Mid-Range Michael, though that sounds way less cool. However, for all of his skills, perhaps MJ’s best trait was his ability to score from the toughest parts of the floor. In fact, during "The Last Dance" era he shot nearly 50% from those spots on the court at a rate that hasn’t been equaled since . Which is probably why former mid-range maestro Richard Hamilton recently said MJ told him, “Add that to your game, that’s the hardest play in the game of basketball to guard.” Now, unlike say Jamal Crawford, I don’t mean this as a potshot at analytics.  Even the Houston Rockets of all teams let Chris Paul shoot from there because he could hit them. But the general consensus is those are the shots defenses want to surrender.  Which in Jordan’s day players knew intuitively as well. K...

After Michael Jordan’s iconic 1991 Finals layup, all Mike Wilbon could do was chomp on the reporter next to him. Mike Wilbon takes press row etiquette very seriously A lot of people don’t realize that attending a game as a member of the press can actually be a pretty dull experience. While everyone else in the stadium is going crazy, you’re supposed to be a level-headed recorder of facts. It can be torture. In college, my FCS school upset an FBS team on a Hail Mary and everyone in the press box just calmly took notes. All I could do was put my hands on my head and slowly stand up out of my seat when what I wanted to do was yell.  At least I didn’t do what Michael Wilbon did during the 1991 NBA Finals.  Wilbon recently recounted his experience watching Game 2 of the Bulls-Lakers series in which Michael Jordan dropped 33 points on an incredible 15-of-18 shooting. Jordan put on a show, especially on one drive to the basket in the fourth quarter. He went up strong with his r...

Michael Jordan was known as "His Airness" for his high-flying dunks, but Rip Hamilton says Jordan told him it was all about mid-range. Statistics say mid-range shots are the worst to take, but Robin Lundberg thinks the best NBA players make this no-man's-land their home.

Simone Biles is one of many elite athletes dealing with the psychological impact of the pandemic. Across the sports world, athletes are finding different ways to cope. Simone Biles is alone, thinking. She has been for weeks. “You have those doubts,” says the world’s most decorated gymnast. “Can my body do another year? Can I do another year?” Hunkered down in her home in Houston, she cried when she heard the 2020 Olympics were postponed. Her career was supposed to end in three months, in Tokyo. Now it’ll be another 15, if she decides to compete in 2021. She’ll be 24 then, older than any woman who’s won all-around Olympic gold since 1960. Biles is used to a regimented life, spending seven or eight hours in the gym every day. Now, aside from picking up curbside Sunday-night dinners from her mom and video-chatting with teammates two or three times a week, her greatest sense of routine comes from walking her French bulldog, Lilo, and going grocery shopping. “I knew mentally [social di...