Good morning, have some Kevin Love-Glen Taylor slapfight
That and much more in Thursday’s packed NBA newsletter.
Good morning. Let’s basketball.
TWO DAYS: Competitive basketball for real is back on Saturday at the 2014 FIBA World Cup begins. Team USA vs. Finland, a team that got into the tournament largely because Angry Birds agreed to buy ads during the tournament. Can’t wait.
John Schuhmann unleashed all of the on-off numbers from Team USA’s four exhibitions. Anthony Davis is good.
BARBOSA! Leandro Barbosa is joining the Warriors. It was always meant to be. Meanwhile, the Heat grabbed Shannon Brown.
TAYLOR’S LAMENT, DAY 2: The blowback from Timberwolves franchisee Glen Taylor’s comments on Kevin Love continued. Love told Taylor to worry about his own team’s players. I wrote about Minnesota’s long-term mediocrity and what role Taylor plays in it. Dan Rubenstein explained why it’s fun to watch bitter franchisees.
I also enjoyed Colin McGowan’s aggressive take at VICE Sports and Ben Golliver’s SI.com critique of Taylor’s critique of Love. Brian Windhorst’s explanation as to why Love isn’t immediately signing an extension was also quite good.
DOC GOT PAID: Doc Rivers has signed an extension with the Clippers through 2019, and it will reportedly pay him more than $10 million per season. Steve Ballmer’s just tossing money around like he has a lot of it or something.
SPEAKING OF THE CLIPPERS ... They sent Jared Dudley to the Bucks for basically nothing. Milwaukee is going to try to make the playoffs, isn’t it?
FOR TWO SWEET MINUTES ... Hasheem Thabeet was a teammate of Joel Embiid. The Sixers helped the Thunder out with a luxury tax issue, trading for Thabeet. But then they waived him immediately. Poor ‘Sheem.
THE PAUL GEORGE MEMORIAL SPACE IN FRONT OF THE STANCHION: The NBA is expanding the empty area around the stanchion to prevent more player injuries. Smart and responsible.
SHOE WARS: netw3rk on Under Armour plugging into the real to fight Nike. The Sports Fan Journal has 11 writers weighing in on the Kevin Durant endorsement battle.
WELL, THAT’S A SHOCKER: Larry Drew was not happy with the way the Bucks treated him in L’Affair Kidd.
THIS IS AN OUTRAGE. Arcade Fire’s Win Butler: “I’ve been trying to get in the All-Star Weekend celebrity game for years now, but for some reason I don’t count as a celebrity. I have the skill set to be in it so I don’t know.” Let the public pressure campaign start now.
THE MORE YOU KNOW: Hello Kitty is not a cat. Frankly, this is as big as the David Chase proclamation.
Happy Thursday. The next GMIB will be in your face on Monday. Be sure to check out our FIBA World Cup #content over the weekend, beginning with Friday previews.
