LeBron James has opened up his long-awaited I Promise School in Akron, Ohio. The native superstar described the opening as one of the greatest, if not the greatest, accomplishments in his life.
The school year at the I Promise School will be longer than a normal one while dialing in on kids who might have fallen behind their peers academically. There are available services for students who are enduring stress from home financial issues as well as separate programs to keep themselves occupied and out of trouble.
There is also job placement assistance for the families of I Promise School students and a food bank to aid parents. Every student will also receive a bicycle, as LeBron credits using his childhood bike as a means of keeping himself safe.
In its inaugural year, the I Promise School will teach roughly 240 third and fourth-graders. By the year 2022, up to 1,000 students in grades 1-8 will be in attendance. The multi-million dollar facilities are top-notch, with excellent resources and 35 community partners.
The entrance to the school features over 100 pairs of game-worn shoes from the Akron native, and there are several magnificent murals throughout its halls that preach the same message of hard work, respect and dedication.
James called it a “bittersweet moment”, considering next year he is moving out to Los Angeles to become a member of the Lakers. On the contrary the 33-year old, 4-time NBA Most Valuable Player will never forget his roots as he wants “every kid to be inspired”.
The USA Basketball Mini Camp was underway in Las Vegas and the stars were out on full display. Some of the players withdrawn from the minicamp but it still was an amazing turnout. One of the players that stood out the most in the USA Basketball Mini-Camp was Oklahoma City SF Paul George. Paul George had his knee scoped earlier in the summer and was on the court for the first time in full contact. Paul didn’t look like he missed a beat and actually looked a lot more comfortable with his jump shot. Paul George was giving his all out there and loved the fact of competing against the worlds greatest athletes like Kevin Durant, James Harden, and Russell Westbrook to name a few. The fact that he was able to show his full arsenal at the camp with his shot-making ability, defense, and also showed no signs of fatigue or pain in that knee is huge. Russell Westbrook was at the camp as well and looked extremely fit and bigger on the court. Westbrook looked to be in rare form on the 1st day USA Basketball and was able to get involved with different drills. Russell was hitting jumpers and finding teammates in the right spot to get things going for the players he was teamed up with. Both Russell Westbrook and Paul George looked happy and were having fun while interacting with the other players. It was a beautiful sight to see both Westbrook/George cracking jokes especially after him signing with OKC for 4 years earlier in the month. Both Thunder players looked good and were displaying their chemistry for all of the media to see.
One of the surprises at USA Basketball was Carmelo Anthony who showed up and greeted his old teammates, Russell Westbrook and Paul George. Melo was laughing with his teammates as they were hugging and joking around. Melo expressed that OKC was rushed and he repeated that they all felt that they could have won the title. There was nothing awkward about Melo being there as he was greeted by many players and coaches. USA Basketball brought everyone together and that’s all that matters because even KD & Russ were having fun. The media paints this picture of Russ and KD never getting back on good terms but what everyone found out is that time heals all. If there was a beef or problem that is long gone as both were joking and looked back to being Thunder Buddies. Kevin Durant was on the record for saying that OKC is home and the way he was interacting with Russ and PG it felt that way. Kevin Durant was in MVP of the Finals form as he didn’t miss anything whether it was in the 1 on 1 games that he won or the actual drills KD was unstoppable. Kevin Durant beat Paul George, Khris Middleton, Devin Booker, Victor Oladipo, and Myles Turner in the 1 on 1 games. It was all fun and games during the drills but KD turned into EasyMoneySniper extremely fast and didn’t take it easy on them. Kevin Durant was looking like a 7″0 shooting guard out there against the other competition.
Another player that looked really good out there was James Harden who’s been motivated to get back to the Western Conference Finals to revenge that Game 7 loss to the Warriors. James Harden was making shots and was looking like a true floor general during the team drills. James Harden was thriving off of all the tough play and was loving playing with Westbrook and Durant again.
DeMar DeRozan was able to play with his Head Coach Gregg Popovich watching for the first time. Both Coach Pop and DeMar looked happy and that’s all that matters. Now DeRozan has a chance to flourish under a coach that has stability and also a coach that will demand greatness out of him and his skillset. DeMar was all smiles at USA Basketball and was engaged in some serious competition against Devin Booker who also looked really good out there with the rest of the players. Both Booker and DeRozan exchanged in several shooting battles and both were nothing but net.
Overall this final roster will be special when everyone is healthy and ready to go. Players like Anthony Davis, Kyrie Irving, Mike Conley, and Isaiah Thomas watched the minicamp on the sidelines but still were active in huddles. Those type of players show true leadership and they will continue to help this country/team moving forward.
As first confirmed by Adrian Wojnarowski, the Spurs traded away Danny Green and star forward Kawhi Leonard to the Raptors in exchange for four-time All-Star DeMar DeRozan, Jakob Poeltl, and a protected 2019 first-round pick.
The Leonard drama had been raging for months on end and although he is no longer a member of the Spurs, he apparently still wasn’t too happy about his new landing spot. It was first reported that he did not want to play for the Raptors at all, which was then updated that he was “warming up” to the idea of playing for a championship contender (or at least a Conference Finals contender).
Toronto’s General Manager Masai Ujiri managed to trade away their star player (despite telling DeRozan that he wasn’t going to be traded) AND fire the reigning Coach of the Year in a span of 2 months. What Ujiri did with DeMar DeRozan is not necessarily fair, but what makes the whole thing worse is the fact that Kawhi doesn’t even necessarily want to be there. Ujiri’s choices seem awfully drastic for a team that just won a franchise-record 59 regular season games, good for the Eastern Conference #1 seed.
By reading all of the information above, it would seem as if only the Spurs really made out in this deal, which is not necessarily true when everything gets broken down. So with that being said, who won this trade?
The answer is both teams.
We’ll start with the positives for the Raptors. The benefits for San Antonio are endless, so those will be addressed at the end. Toronto has been a better-than-average team for several years now, with DeRozan and Kyle Lowry leading the way. Unfortunately, they’ve never been good enough, and haven’t found themselves in the Finals. Kawhi is stronger than DeRozan in almost every way, but there’s one massive downside… he might just be a one-year rental.
Kawhi still has his sights set on playing in Los Angeles, whether it be for the Lakers or Clippers. All of Toronto better get to work and try to make the two-time Defensive Player of the Year feel right at home. The Raptors need to show their faith in him and really give him the best possible situation there, or else he might be gone for literally nothing.
On another note, Danny Green (despite being 31 years old), is a very good player. He is an excellent 3-and-D guy that is seasoned and capable of picking up any slack. Green has rolled with Kawhi for years, and they have proven that they can work together for the team’s common good.
If Kawhi likes the city and likes new head coach Nick Nurse’s style, then he might remain there for the duration of his prime. This would prove to be the ultimate win for Toronto, and maybe Ujiri wouldn’t look so crazy after all.
San Antonio really has no cons at all in this deal, except if you count the fact that their next supposed franchise cornerstone found a way out without handling the situation professionally. That’s all in the past though, so R.C. Buford can only look forward with a smile on his face.
DeMar DeRozan is loyal, a leader, and arguably a superstar. He can score the ball, step up in big situations, and has proven himself before. The team still won 47 games without Kawhi playing for most of the 2017-2018 season, so giving LaMarcus Aldridge another high-caliber player to work with should make things normal again in Texas.
Jakob Poeltl is a strong, young talent that will learn from the veteran bigs that the Spurs already have. Pau Gasol is 38 years old, so Poeltl will be the perfect fit for when he calls it quits. The draft pick they received could turn into something good, and it probably will considering how well the franchise has always developed players.
Next season marks a new era for both of those teams, and the Spurs’ will undoubtedly last for years to come. For the Raptors, it’s a little different. It all depends on how badly they want to keep Kawhi in town.
This past season the Oklahoma City put together a big 3 of Russell Westbrook, Paul George, and Carmelo Anthony. The experiment didn’t work out the way OKC wanted it with the team exiting the playoffs in the first round. Following the season during exit interviews, Carmelo Anthony made it clear that he didn’t want to come off the bench again heading into the 2018-2019 season. The Thunder felt that Carmelo would have been great off the bench with the emergence of Jerami Grant in the playoffs. Once Carmelo Anthony opted into his 28 million dollars for the 2018-2019 season the Thunder needed to figure out how to make both sides happy. The Thunder could of went with the buyout option or stretched his contract to save money on the salary cap but they found a trade.
FULL TRADE:
OKC receives: Dennis Schroder (19.4 PPG), Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot (5.8 PPG)
Atlanta receives: Carmelo Anthony (16.2 PPG), Justin Anderson (6.2 PPG), Protected 2022 First Rounder
Philly receives: Mike Muscala (7.6 PPG)
This is a huge move for the Oklahoma City Thunder as they save money and get a quality asset in Dennis Schroder who’s only 24 years old. Earlier this year Schroder had a career-high 41 points against the Utah Jazz. The Thunder get Schroder for 3 years and if it doesn’t work out can use him as a trading piece moving forward. This can be perfect for the Thunder and that second unit adding a player on the rise like Dennis and Timothé to the mix. Dennis can play with and off of Russell Westbrook which gives them the flexibility to have more options in the backcourt.
Dennis brings high IQ and someone that can run with Russell Westbrook and Paul George while being able to create/assist toward shots. The Thunder were in the process of waiving Carmelo but instead, Sam Presti was able to pull off this brilliant move and bring in playmaking ability with youth. Timothé will be able to knock down shots and has the potential to grow into a player on the team that can make a huge impact. The Thunder definitely won this trade and were able to gain All-Star like talent for Carmelo Anthony. Check out both of the newest Thunder players highlights below.
Follow @SneakerReporter on all social media platforms.
Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images, Steven Branscombe-USA TODAY Sports
The San Antonio Spurs have agreed to trade Kawhi Leonard to the Toronto Raptors for DeMar DeRozan. The news was first reported by ESPN’s Adrian Wojnawowski and Chris Haynes. Danny Green will also be joining Leonard on the trip up north while Toronto will be sending Jakob Poeltl, as well as a protected 2019 first round pick along with DeRozan.
The trade marks the end of a long road for the Spurs and their back and forth battle to retain Leonard. They didn’t really get anywhere by trying to communicate with him so they made the best of the situation and are getting an all-star player in DeRozan in return, where as they could have lost Leonard for nothing next summer in free agency. That same pending free agency is what makes the move somewhat surprising for the Raptors.
It is widely assumed that Leonard will have no desire to stay in Toronto long term and if he walks away next summer, this deal will look very bad for the Raptors. According to Wojnarowski, neither player is excited about the news and DeRozan made that obvious with his Instagram story.
Basketball wise the move makes great sense for the Spurs, who have DeRozan locked up for three more years at around $83 million dollars left on his deal. Once he gets passed the hurt feelings, DeRozan may actually wind up being happy with his new destination but the same will not be said for Leonard and the Raptors. For this upcoming season the deal may be a win for the Raptors but they are taking a very big long term gamble.
More details will be updated as they become available.
The school year at the I Promise School will be longer than a normal one while dialing in on kids who might have fallen behind their peers academically. There are available services for students who are enduring stress from home financial issues as well as separate programs to keep themselves occupied and out of trouble.
