Would this be cooler if Timberwolves were in playoffs?
Game of Thrones style!
The Direwolves are coming. #ForTheThrone pic.twitter.com/xSIZZtp4tt
— Direwolves (@Timberwolves) April 9, 2019
Panel:
First Half
Monologue: Blaming Luke Walton won’t solve Lakers problems
You can even go bet on it. They have odds on Luke’s employment posted in Las Vegas
What do Lakers need from a head coach next season?
“They need to have a coach that has a cohesion with the front office” – Shelburne
“Luke Walton and Magic haven’t spoken for weeks. That’s a problem. You need to have an alignment between coach and front office, at least organizationally because their needs to be a trust there” – Shelburne
“It’s insane, even if you’re going to fire the guy tomorrow, that they haven’t spoken in weeks. How did you run a team and not speak to your coach? That’s ridiclous” – Elhassan
“Two things: Has to have buy in from the front office and the LeBron thing is very important that it’s someone he respects” – Elhassan
Nichols:
How will Lonzo’s off-court drama impact his play next season? (Signed with CAA per Ramona Shelburne/ESPN)
More of this story can be read here
Shelburne:
“Let’s see how distant Lonzo and his dad are. The question going forward is: Are they going to do the brand together?” – Shelburne
“The fact that Lonzo went first on this is really interesting to me because I thought it was all going to come together. Him making this move on his own was a pretty significant development” – Shelburne
“The question is about his play: It’s a guy who can’t stay healthy” – Elhassan
“He’s a lot better than people give him credit for” – Elhassan
April 9, 1999 – Vince Carter finishing the alley-oop reverse jam vs the New Jersey Nets!
It’s a Make or Miss League, Pat Beverley!
Anyway…
Speculation; Is the Bobi and Tobi show heading to the big screen?!
#BadBoysForLife 👀 pic.twitter.com/Oeq4VeQMXw
— Tobias Harris (@tobias31) April 8, 2019
Silence; Like the response from Dame?
His response:
When they don’t call shit for the whole game u gotta sell it 🤷🏽♂️… and there was contact oh well https://t.co/gTrvQebnJe
— Damian Lillard (@Dame_Lillard) April 9, 2019
Trends; Is J. Cole joining PUMA?
Stability; Think Zion will rip down any rims in the NBA?
Today at the Brodie Recreation Center, caution tape and a "ZION WAS HERE…" sign appeared on the same backboard that Zion Williamson nearly brought down in a pickup game last week:https://t.co/eUZN0rsdM6 pic.twitter.com/bu4IaquB2z
— Duke Basketball (@dukebasketball) April 8, 2019
“In an arena, no. In practice arenas, yes” – Shelburne
Moving on…
Bonuses at stake as regular season nears close
Per Front Office Insider Bobby Marks:
Heat’s Kelly Olynyk: He could lose out on nearly $500,000 if the Pistons edge Miami out of the playoffs
Raptors’ Kyle Lowry: When the postseason starts, he could make an extra $500,000 with a Conference Finals appearance and an additional $1M if the Raptors win the title
Rockets’ Clint Capela: In the next few weeks could make $1M off a Conference Finals appearance
Nuggets’ Nikola Jokic: Could earn over $800,000 if they win two playoff rounds
Has KAT done enough to make All-NBA this season?
Could earn an extra $30M plus!
Nichols on why the media votes:
“I don’t want to have the power to decide whether this young man gets 30 million or not. That’s on the people who play them, not for me. Having said that, I don’t think he’ll be on it. I think Jokic, Embiid and Gobert will be on there because for me, I reward the winning” – Elhassan
Second Half
The debut of…
Joe Lacob on KD’s free agency: “I honestly don’t even think about it” (Via Tim Kawakami/The Athletic)
“I actually believe that Joe Lacob feels that their case to Kevin Durant is what they’ve done for the past 3 years. Do I believe he’s not thinking about it? No. They are at the stage now where it’s going to get so expensive to keep that team together” – Shelburne
“They’ve thought about it and moved on past it. You can’t make a better sales pitch than what they’ve done since he’s been there in terms of being a first class organization, winning, bringing in people who are about the right things” – Elhassan
Joakim Noah: “I’m more proud of this year than I was when I was an All-Star” (Via Zach Lowe/ESPN)
Nichols:
“It didn’t come easy for him but he had not failed on a very public way. When you fail and then bring yourself back up, you know exactly how far and how hard that was to get there” – Shelburne
“To get back to somewhere where he’s productive and liked and wanted, that means a lot. But a lot of the distaste about him that he must have felt was a lot about the contract [he signed with the Knicks]” – Elhassan
Kawhi calls Heatles best team he’s faced
“The Warriors is the best team he’s ever played. He didn’t beat the Warriors, he beat the Heat” – Shelburne
“This is classic NBA player talk. The context of this quote was in response was when they asked him about Dwyane Wade. It’s true. It catapulted him from being a glorified Danny Green to one of the best players in the league. That Heatles team, as great as they were, they weren’t as deep and they weren’t as dominating and definitely didn’t have a style play that was as unguardable as the Golden State Warriors” – Elhassan
Should BS or Real Talk be a continuing game on The Jump?
“Thank You, Dwyane Wade” by Dan Le Batard
.@DwyaneWade’s legacy is bigger than basketball. Watch how we surprised him in honor of his #OneLastDance. #ThisBudsFor3 pic.twitter.com/naFsONpRjN
— Budweiser (@budweiserusa) April 9, 2019
Gameday With NBA Referees: An all-access look at gameday with 24-year veteran official James Capers and fellow crew members Mitchell Ervin and Tony Brown. pic.twitter.com/i2YF9UOhvG
— NBA Official (@NBAOfficial) April 9, 2019
Think refs are setting the tone for playoffs?
“I don’t know if it’s playoff related. I do think it’s a reaction to those types of incidents. There’s been a lot of public complanining in the interest of transparency and responding to everyone, the officials have to do something” – Shelburne
“We appreciate our refs in the NBA. They do a fantastic job” – Nichols
“We have the best officials in sports” – Elhassan
April 9, 1997 – Karl Malone (Jazz) with the nasty dunk on Corie Blount of the Lakers!
BS or Real Talk?
Mike Malone on resting players Sunday: “We’re not trying to avoid anyone” (Via The Athletic/Nick Kosmider)
BS or Real Talk?
Elhassan:
Shelburne:
“They need homecourt advantage”
No Thanks
Giannis declined a role in ‘Space Jam 2’? (Via Malika Andrews/ESPN)
Says that filming would have cost him two weeks of his workouts
“I don’t like being Hollywood” – Antetokounmpo
“No. It’s not a mistake. This is not something he wants to pursue” – Elhassan
“Space Jam is LeBron’s movie” – Shelburne
Class of 2019
Congrats to Naismith HOF class of 2019!
Introducing the #19HoopClass!
Al Attles
Carl Braun
Chuck Cooper
Vlade Divac
Bill Fitch
Bobby Jones
Sidney Moncrief
Jack Sikma
Teresa Weatherspoon
Paul Westphal
Wayland Baptist Flying Queens
Tennessee A&I (1957-59) pic.twitter.com/URStZc6U0j— NBA (@NBA) April 6, 2019
Which team needs final East playoff spot most?
Hornets, Heat or Pistons
“Pistons need this more than anybody because this is a team that has really fallen off the map in the last couple of weeks. They thought they were in. This would be a pretty big failure if they fall out at the end here” – Shelburne
🚨AT THE BUZZER!!!🚨
👇#NBATwitter #TheJump #LakeShow https://t.co/NrfbdJGSQH
— NBA The Jump Fanpage (@NBATheJumpFP) April 9, 2019
Are you guys working with the NSA? How do you track who we are speaking with? I am nervous https://t.co/iOnEhL5vpx
— Daryl Morey (@dmorey) April 9, 2019
