Did Drake redeem infamous airball with this shot?
“The championship redeemed himself” – Elhassan
Panels:
Second Half Only:
First Half
Rachel Nichols’ one-on-one conversation with new Lakers star, Anthony Davis!
Highlights:
On what it feels like to officially be a Laker:
“It’s different. Something that I’m excited about. But it sounds weird, for sure” – Davis
On whether he’s ever been in a room where he’s surrounded by NBA titles:
“Not until now. That’s motivation right there” – Davis
On making a trade demand during the season instead of waiting until the summer:
“I knew I wasn’t gonna sign an extension and that my time in New Orleans was definitely coming to an end” – Davis
On whether he would do anything differently:
“No. I wish I did it the way I did it. I’m a person who’s very upfront and honest” – Davis
On taking control his own life:
“I allowed people to tell me what to do & advise me to do this or that. And now, by me being able to take control of my career, any decision that I make, I can sleep at night” – Davis
On how being a father makes him think differently:
“Anything I do is not just about me. It’s about her, as well” – Davis
On why he wanted to play with LeBron:
“Playing alongside one of the future Hall of Famers in LeBron makes it a lot easier. I know it’s gonna come with the territory, but at the end of the day, I focus on the end goal [a title]” – Davis
On how he was involved recruiting Kawhi to the Lakers:
“He’s not a big recruiter guy, that’s what I heard. I would send him texts every now and then, but then just be like, ‘Is this too much?'” – Davis
On how often he, Rob Pelinka and LeBron talked with each other during free agency:
“All the time. It was, like, every 30 to 45 minutes, Rob would be callin’ me” – Davis
On whether he’s worried that the Lakers are setting the bar too high:
“No. We have a standard, and that is it. Especially for me as a player. If I don’t win the championship, then that season was not a success” – Davis
On whether he’ll be a pillar of the Lakers for years to come:
“I’m just focused on this season. I don’t know what’s going to happen. I have one year here, so I’m gonna make the best of this year. When that time comes around in the summer, around mid-June after we just had a parade, and I need a couple days to think, then we can talk about that” – Davis
Was the juice worth the squeeze for AD to join Lakers?
“It’s mildly unsettling that he’ll be there for a year” – Windhorst
“The problem is: This specific franchise has a very recent memory of something like this happening. Dwight Howard [in 2012-13]” – Elhassan
“Just hope it’s a good year for the Lakers. For AD, it was absolutely worth it for him. For the Lakers: trading all of those assets that to me is going to be the definition. He absolutely has to re-sign on a long-term deal. Also, this roster has got to bear fruit. They have sacrificed their flexibility to add in the future. This pairing has to work and the guys they signed has to work” – Windhorst
“Davis is going to be a free agent next summer no matter what happens” – Windhorst
“He has to stay [beyond next season]” – Elhassan
“Despite trading for AD, the Lakers still have work to do. The work is not done. It is an ongoing process” – Elhassan
July 15, 2007 – Kevin Durant (Seattle Sonics) with the monster one-handed finish off a dime from a teammate in summer league!
Is Jaxson Hayes’ athleticism the story of summer league?
Most disrespectful move on defender?
So, he bounced a self lob to himself behind the defenders back?! It gets crazy at @AEBLHOOPS!! @Lo_Tatted #252 #HoopState pic.twitter.com/JnvbTWFcnu
— BucketReel.com (@BucketReel) July 14, 2019
“The James Harden cross you over and then look at you before shooting is way more disrespectful” – Elhassan
Did you know Svi (Pistons) had this in his game?
Full name: Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk
At what point did Miles Bridges decide on windmill?
Let’s…
Nassir Little with a 2-handed poster dunk:
Jaxson Hayes makes defender regret charge attempt:
Zion rips ball away from Knox, throws it down:
Moving on…
Coach K: Zion should have never played in summer league
Said the same thing brotha
— Donovan Mitchell (@spidadmitchell) July 14, 2019
Second Half
“I’ll put our roster up against anybody” – Davis
Agree with AD on Lakers roster?
Arnovitz:
“They did a good job filling out players that fit with AD and LeBron. However, a lot of these guys that they’re counting on to shoot are not coming off good shooting years. I agree with him, but the problem is that’s an underdog’s mentality and they’re going be an underdog against some of these teams which is not what I think they wanted to be” – Windhorst
“Offensively, they’ll be fine because the fit is there. Together, defensively, I’m not so sure. There’s a tremendous amount of pressure on him to erase a lot of mistakes out there” – Elhassan
AD sitting out world cup a big deal?
Per The Athletic, confirmed by ESPN; Sources also say that Davis has not ruled out playing in the 2020 Olympics (Per Ramona Shelburne and Dave McMenamin)
“I was surprised he was on the team in the first place considering he knew he was probably going to relocate. He’s played for Team USA in the past. This makes some sense” – Windhorst
“AD is entering the last year of his contract, got to lock it down. But Ben Simmons not playing for Australia is a bigger deal. Australia needs him” – Elhassan
Arnovitz:
Are Lakers done hiring coaches yet?
“They got a nice staff rounded out. My question is: Does Frank Vogel get any say in who gets to be on his staff? It seems like the Lakers have taken the decision-making process out of Frank’s hands” – Elhassan
“This has been an issue in the past with LeBron gravitating to assistants he feels more comfortable with. This is not set up great for Frank Vogel” – Windhorst
“I do like this staff. But the elephant in the room is: Does Vogel trust these guys?” – Arnovitz
Does Westbrook trade put more pressure on D’Antoni?
D’Antoni on how he will adjust with the new superstar duo, via The Woj Pod:
“Paradoxically, it does the exact opposite. Nobody actually thinks D’Antoni is the guy that’s going to make this happen. This is a pretty reasonable situation to expect some decent success from that team and that coach”- Yates
Windhorst & Elhassan:
Who will sacrifice more: Harden or Westbrook?
“Westbrook is the one who’s going to have to sacrifice. He’s the lesser player” – Windhorst
“If Westbrook is going to be effective at all, these triple doubles have to count for something in terms of distribution. Harden, as a better shooter in this situation, is going to have to step back because Westbrook can’t function at all in the same way without the ball” – Yates
“I’m going to put the ball in the hands of the lesser shooter. Harden is way better than Westbrook” – Elhassan
Will “fresh start” help Lonzo meet expectations?
“When we talk about expectations, you got to talk about health. Aaron Nelson and that medical staff that’s coming in there is top notch. Hopefully that’s going to help him stay on the floor. Beyond that, Alvin Gentry’s system fits exactly how he wants to play” – Elhassan
“The Pelicans viewed him as the centerpiece of this deal. They feel like he’s an undervalued player that was knocked down by a situation and knocked down by injury. They think that he can be really good” – Windhorst
“He has a new family to work with and I’m excited to see who this man is going to be and this player” – Yates
“He’s an elite rebounder for a guard. That needs to be brought out” – Windhorst
Ben Simmons agrees to 5-year/$170M extension with Sixers
“They got to believe he can be more than a playmaker” – Windhorst
“Even if he never develops a jump shot, he’s still an incredible player” – Elhassan
