Good morning. Let’s basketball.
We’re only a month away from the NBA preseason!
Good morning. We have that and more in Friday’s NBA newsletter.
JABARI: Ricky O’Donnell went to Pick-up for Peace in Chicago on Friday, and writes that Jabari Parker is the positive role model the city needs right now. It’s really wonderful to see Parker pick up this mantle.
THE NEW STABILITY: In 2010 and 2011, 20 percent of the league’s teams were sold. From 2012 to 2015, another 20 percent of the league’s teams changed hands. Yet now not a single franchise is on the market. Is this stability good for the NBA, and what poses a challenge to it going forward?
WHY IS LANCE STEPHENSON STILL UNSIGNED? He’s just, uh, blowing in the wind ...
STATE OF THE BLOCKBUSTER: Kevin O’Connor looks at what it would take for a few superstars to get traded.
PROBLEMS INHERENT AND OTHERWISE: Kate Crawford withholds judgment on the Mavericks’ women-only “learn about basketball” event, despite rampant advance criticism from others. I agree with Kate that by segregating this event it may actually give some women an opportunity to actually engage with the sport without defending themselves from the advances of men who treat every moment as a pick-up opportunity. But it’s all in the execution.
THE LAST MAJOR FLAG PROTEST IN SPORTS: The Undefeated’s Jesse Washington caught up with Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf, who still isn’t standing for the anthem.
INTERESTING: How to legalize sports betting.
SHOUT OUT TO KEVIN SERAPHIN! Two-year deal with the Pacers.
THE FLAG: J.A. Adande on a photo that represents another, different black opinion on the flag. And my man Ezekiel Kweku on the history of the flag as black protest art.
INSIDE INSIDE STUFF: Nice profile of Kristin Ledlow, who is very good at her job.
YOU DON’T KNOW: Really powerful essay from WNBA player Jayne Appel-Marinelli on what it’s like to grow up around someone with schizophrenia.
CHUCK & SAGES: Craig Sager had his third marrow transplant on Wednesday. His wife had come down with a bad cold, so she couldn’t be by his side. So it was Charles Barkley, Sager’s TNT teammate, to the rescue. Despite recently having hip surgery and being under strict no-travel orders, Barkley flew to Houston to surprise Sager in the hospital. Chuck is not perfect, but he’s a great friend, isn’t he?
Be excellent to each other. See you Monday.
See More:
