Sixers Coach Brett Brown Makes It Clear They Are Targeting Lebron In Free Agency

Sixers Coach Brett Brown Makes It Clear They Are Targeting Lebron In Free Agency

NBA

by | May 12, 2018 | NBA

Brett Brown is not shy in admitting he knows his team needs an all-star caliber player to add to the current roster to really make them a championship contender.

Brown told Derek Bodner of The Athletic “I think another high level free-agent is required [to win a championship]. I think we have the ability to attract one.”

There is no doubt the Sixers are more than capable of attracting some big name players nowadays. After trusting the process for years, it finally paid off with not only making the playoffs, but also advancing to the second round. Not too mention having guys like Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid, whose talents alone can attract other stars.

In previous years, hearing Lebron’s name come up in free agency with the Sixers would be a joking matter. Success changes things however and now it’s something that is a distinct possibility. That’s something not lost on Brown, who when pressed for what player they want to get this summer kept it simple. “We don’t have to turn this into calculus. It’s quite clear.”

Of course, the Sixers are far from the only team with hopes of attracting Lebron for next season but they have definitely put themselves in a position for it to be more than just a dream.

Written by @IamJoeSports

May 12, 2018 No Comments
Vegas Casino Owned By Tilman Fertitta Already Paying Out For Warriors Win

Vegas Casino Owned By Tilman Fertitta Already Paying Out For Warriors Win

NBA

by | May 12, 2018 | NBA

In an odd twist of fate, Tilman Fertitta, who owns both the Houston Rockets and the Golden Nugget Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, is watching one of his investments cost him money on the other. That’s because the sportsbook inside the Golden Nugget is already paying out for the Warriors winning the Western Conference before the series even begins.

Fertitta purchased the Rockets back in September of 2017 for $2.2 billion dollars. He had already owned the Golden Nugget so when he became owner of the Rockets as well, the sportsbook made the decision to remove the team from all NBA futures bets to avoid any potential conflicts. According to ESPN’s David Purdum, they also removed the team from the possibility of “finishing best” in the West and the NBA Finals.

That means since the Rockets weren’t available to be bet on, the Warriors have technically already “finished best” in the Western Conference and people who placed those bets can already come collect their winnings, even if they were to wind up losing the series.

“We’ve already graded [the Warriors] a winner,” Golden Nugget sportsbook manager Aaron Kessler said. “Bring your ticket and you’ll get paid.”

What’s worse for Fertitta is if the Rockets defeat the Warriors, the same thing will apply for the Finals. Since nobody was able to bet the Rockets would “finish best” in the Finals, that means anyone who had bet the Celtics or Cavs winner would automatically win their Finals bet as well.

According to Kessler, despite the potential of large payouts, it won’t make or break them. “It would be decent handle in a slow month, but it’s not going to kills us if we don’t book The Finals. We’d still have baseball, and we still have the [Vegas Golden] Knights.”

This isn’t the first time a Vegas casino stopped taking bets on an NBA team due to possible conflicts. Back in 2006, Caesars Palace stopped taking bets on Boston Celtics games when casino executive, Gary Loveman, took an ownership stake in the team.

Written by @IamJoeSports

May 12, 2018 No Comments
Toronto Raptors Fire Dwane Casey After Setting Franchise Record For Wins

Toronto Raptors Fire Dwane Casey After Setting Franchise Record For Wins

Featured

by | May 11, 2018 | Featured, NBA

The Toronto Raptors have announced they are firing coach Dwane Casey, according to Adrian Wojnarowski. The Raptors decided to make the move despite Casey just setting a franchise record with 59 wins and being a candidate for coach of the year. This feels mostly like an overreaction to being swept by Lebron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers more than anything else.

It’s really hard to defend a team firing a coach who is coming off a record setting year. The Raptors won 59 games this season and their record improved in six of the seven seasons that Casey was coach. Granted, the season didn’t end how they wanted but it’s also really hard to blame Casey for the way the team played against the Cavs. It never really looked as if the Cavs were necessarily the better team. It more so looked like a team in the Raptors who were in fear of one player and were mentally defeated long before the series ended.

You have to wonder who the Raptors feel they can hire who will come in and get more from the current team. Do they believe they will find a coach who can win 60+ games and get the franchise to the NBA Finals? Those things happening next season are very doubtful, regardless of who is the next coach is. Reports say both Mike Budenholzer and Jerry Stackhouse will get serious consideration.

For Casey personally, there is no doubt he won’t be unemployed for long. Expect him to get offers rather soon to coach elsewhere next season and deservedly so.

Written by @IamJoeSports

May 11, 2018 No Comments
Joel Embiid Compares Himself & Ben Simmons To Kevin Durant & Russell Westbrook

Joel Embiid Compares Himself & Ben Simmons To Kevin Durant & Russell Westbrook

Featured

by | May 10, 2018 | Featured, NBA

The Philadelphia 76ers were the trendy pick to make it to the Eastern Conference Finals and some folks even had them making it all the way to the NBA Finals. The Sixers had a hell of a season and won more games than anyone had expected but nevertheless, reality came crashing down on them on Wednesday night, as the Boston Celtics eliminated them, ending the series in five games.

The series with the Celtics exposed some things that the Sixers will need to fix and focus on moving forward but there is no doubt the future is extremely bright in the city of brotherly love. It’s a confidence that is not lost on their best players, Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons. In fact, right after the season ending loss, Embiid was comparing the Sixers potential to that of a young Oklahoma City Thunder that struggled at first with Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, before turning into a powerhouse franchise.

“Me and Ben have a lot of room to grow”, Embiid said to reporters after the game. “I was thinking about it, just looking at what KD and Westbrook, what they did their first season together. I think they only won 28 games or something like that. Looking at what we did, we’ve got a bright future.”

Fans in Philly would clearly love if Embiid & Simmons can wind up having careers the likes of Durant & Westbrook, except for the whole not being able to keep them together thing. Regardless, Embiid does have a great point about what young talent can morph into.

He went on to share that Simmons came up to him after the game and let him know they will win multiple championships together.  “At the end of the game (Simmons) came up to me and showed me his hands and was like, ‘There’s gonna be a lot of rings on these.’ I was like, ‘For sure.’”

This season may not have ended how the players and fans in Philly had hoped but this should only be the start of many years of deep postseason runs and championship potential to come.

Written By @IamJoeSports

Via NBC Sports

 

 

 

 

May 10, 2018 No Comments
Victor Oladipo Writes A Heartfelt Letter To Young Fan Fighting Leukemia

Victor Oladipo Writes A Heartfelt Letter To Young Fan Fighting Leukemia

NBA

by | May 10, 2018 | NBA

Image result for victor oladipo april 2018

By now I’m sure you have all heard the story about Victor Oladipo sending a text to his trainer just minutes after being eliminated from the NBA playoffs by the Cleveland Cavaliers. His “When do we start?” message to the trainer showed that despite just losing, he wasn’t looking forward to taking any time off or making summer travel plans. He was ready to get right back into it but as we have since found out, he also had time to take care of even more important matters.

Oladipo found out about a young Pacers fan who was having a much tougher time in life than just dealing with the loss of a basketball game. Cameron Kirk, a 10 year old Pacers fan, who was diagnosed with Leukemia on April 16th and has been getting chemotherapy treatment since, was thrilled when he received his letter from Oladipo, which encouraged him to stay strong.

Hey Cameron!

I recently heard about your battle with Leukemia, and I just wanted to encourage you to stay strong! I know this is a scary and very frustrating time right now, but you must believe in yourself and everyone around you that is helping you through this time.

May God give you the strength, comfort, and special blessings that you need as you face each new day. No matter the road you are given, remember to never give up. You never know what God has planned for your life.

I wish you all the best through your treatment and encourage you to keep a positive attitude and listen to your doctors, nurses, and parents — they are there to help you win this battle! All my teammates and I are #CameronStrong.

All the best,
Victor Oladipo
#4
Indiana Pacers

For Cameron’s mother, Carrie, who has had to see her son get weaker and pale with all the treatments, it was an overwhelmingly heartfelt moment.

“I won’t tell you what he said about LeBron,” she said with a laugh. “Cameron has just been very thankful that Victor would take the time to do this during the playoffs. He’s a very quiet kid, especially with what’s been going on.

“He just paused for a moment, and had this huge grin on his face. You could just tell.”

Something like this can go a long way to keeping a young child’s spirits up and letting them know that people out there really care about their well being. Just another reason to be a fan of Oladipo for doing class things like this.

Cameron, we are all rooting for you.

Written By @IamJoeSports

h/t IndyStar

May 10, 2018 No Comments