Good morning. The Kings are actually a gang of tall 4-year-olds.
That and more FUN and HAPPY notes in Tuesday’s NBA newsletter.
Good morning. Let’s ... oh, you know what? How about YOU basketball? I’m done. You know what? Go basketball yourself.
I’m sorry. That was rude. It’s just that --
SNAKE IN THE GRASS: George Karl is pushing to get DeMarcus Cousins traded, reports Adrian Wojnarowski. The legendary coach has been organizing other players and the front office to all push for a Cousins trade, he says, and word has gotten back to Cousins. Obviously, Cousins is not a fan of that strategy!
The report opened the floodgates, including a Cousins tweet depicting a snake between two emoji that could be considered grasses. This is actually an amazing callback to the “Melodrama” that Karl was involved with in Denver. Jason Jones reported that Cousins and Karl haven’t spoken since April when the season ended. So if the coach hasn’t talked to his very best player in months and is working to get him traded ... what’s that say about the coach?
Woj also reports that the Kings are looking at moving Rudy Gay, their second best player. Sound strategy, bros. The path to winning is through getting rid of your few good players, surely.
WHATEVER. HERE ARE 179 FREE AGENTS, RANKED: I ranked all 179 NBA free agents. Graham MacAree made the list super fly. Check it out! Share it with friends. Bookmark it.
A SPECIAL COMMENT ON JOE INGLES: I ranked Joe Ingles No. 178. No decision drew more criticism than that. (I had prepared for much more vigorous debate about Kevin Love over Draymond Green, Brandon Knight over Goran Dragic and Paul Pierce being so low, in reality.) On review, I did rank Ingles too low. He was a decent role player on a surprisingly decent Jazz team down the stretch. His late-season shooting was much better, and he’s only 27. I believe Utah owes its success more to Rudy Gobert and Derrick Favors, but let’s give credit where it’s due. Ingles should have been closer to the 80s or 90s than the bottom.
THE DANNY FERRY REVIVAL TOUR: Now that he’s left the Hawks, Danny Ferry is seeking to assure everyone he just made a mistake and isn’t a bad person or anything you’d think about a person who said what Ferry said about Luol Deng. Here’s his interview with Ramona Shelburne and his self-defense in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
MOCK DRAFT! See where Kevin O’Connor slots the prospects with a few days until the draft. There’s also a revised DraftExpress mock.
BLOGGER MOCK DRAFT! SB Nation’s team bloggers are doing a massive mock draft with trades and whatnot.
NO SARIC FOR YOU: Dario Saric, a 2014 Sixers lottery pick, will remain in Turkey for at least more season.
MEET JUSTISE WINSLOW: Neat interview from Yaron Weitzman.
FRANK THE KNICK FRANK THE KNICK: IT’S HAPPENING.
THANK GOODNESS: The WNBA has put a stop to Isiah Thomas’ bid to become a partial owner of the New York Liberty. That bid should never have begun.
IT’S NICE TO WANT THINGS, ISN’T IT? Before the grass was cut, the Lakers were leaking reports that they are trying to trade for Boogie Cousins.
LET’S CHECK IN ON PHIL JACKSON: Great long profile by Howard Beck.
QUEEN CITY 2017: Charlotte will host the 2017 All-Star Weekend.
Happy Tuesday, I guess. Don’t mow the lawn without boots on.
