Category: Basketball

Xavier Cooks opts out of deal with Sydney Kings

Brandon King

From nbl.com.au : Sydney Kings young-gun Xavier Cooks has exercised his right to opt out of the remaining year of his contract. In light of the recent agreement between the NBL and the Australian Basketball Players’ Association which saw pay cuts of up to 50 percent for the 2020-21 season, a deadline of May 4 was set for players to declare their intention to explore opportunities overseas. Cooks joined the Kings fifteen games into the NBL20 season after recovering from a knee injury he suffered while representing Australia in preparation…

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The Last Dance episode 3&4 : Reaction

Brandon King

I finally had a chance to catch episodes 3 and 4 of The Last Dance docu-series. Although it was quite enthralling, as it felt like I had just sat down in my recliner and the next thing I know , the credit were rolling for episode 4, it was not with out fault. What I liked: The Phil Jackson episode The Phil Jackson portion of the evening was masterfully done. A sizeable chunk of today’s younger basketball fan probably did not know that not only did he play in the…

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COVIDSAFE Application has support of NBL

Brandon King

From nbl.com.au: The Hungry Jack’s National Basketball League has thrown its support behind the Federal Government’s COVIDSafe app. NBL Owner and Executive Chairman Larry Kestelman said: “The Government is a doing a great job to help lead the Australian community back from this terrible virus. “The COVIDSafe app is a very important initiative to help track cases of the virus in Australia and prevent community transmission. “We would encourage all basketball fans to download it and help in the fight against COVID-19 as everything we can do will also help…

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Perth’s Bryce Cotton opts out of contract

Brandon King

From nbl.com.au : Reigning MVP and Grand Final MVP Bryce Cotton has announced that he will test the market as per the terms of the NBL’s agreement with the Players Association. Perth will retain Cotton’s NBL rights should he return to the competition in NBL21. Cotton announced his decision on Instagram.

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Aaron Gordon drops track about his slam dunk contest robbery

Brandon King

Two-time uncrowned NBA Slam Dunk Aaron Gordon released track talking about the no Vaseline treatment he received once again at the dunk contest. Despite getting perfect scores on all of his dunks, Gordon lost to the Miami Heat’s Derrick Jones Jr in a dunk-off that went too long and had recently retired NBA and Heat legend and future first ballot HOFer Dwyane Wade playing the role of the idiot Russian judge and gave Gordon a ridiculously low score on his last dunk. Was Gordon truly shafted in this year’s Slam…

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Some NBA practice facilities will re-open May 1

Brandon King

From Bleacher Report: The NBA is reportedly set to allow some of its teams to open practice facilities to players beginning May 1. According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the teams that will be allowed to open the facilities will be those located in cities and states that have eased their stay-at-home orders. Wojnarowski added that the facilities will open for individual workouts on a voluntary basis. However, group workouts will still be prohibited. The NBA also reportedly plans to work with teams in markets more heavily impacted by the coronavirus to come up with…

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Injuries got in the way of Mitch Creek’s NBA return

Brandon King

By Liam Santamaria. A late-season knee injury and the COVID-19 pandemic robbed South East Melbourne Phoenix star Mitch Creek of a return to the NBA earlier this year. As the 2019-20 NBL season was drawing to a close, Creek and his management were in advanced talks with a Western Conference NBA team whom the versatile forward was preparing to join before injury struck. Creek revealed last week that he was set to fly to the U.S. the day after South East Melbourne’s final regular season game. Speaking with NBL great…

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NBL looking forward to 2020-21

Brandon King

From nbl.com.au: NBL Owner and Executive Chairman Larry Kestelman says the league is going “absolutely full steam ahead” to stage the 2020-21 season. The COVID-19 pandemic has stopped the sporting world, raising questions on what NBL21 will look like. But Kestelman told SEN’s Dwayne World: “We’re absolutely full steam ahead to get a season up and running. “I think for everyone the last four to six weeks feels like a big blur. We’re slowly coming out of the haze and absolutely starting to plan for what’s possible, what’s not and different…

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Draymond Green says Warriors would have bested Raptors with healthy KD

Brandon King

In an appearance on the All the Smoke show with former NBAers Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson, Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green said that had Kevin Durant been healthy, the Toronto Raptors “wouldn’t have stood a chance” in the NBA Finals. He said the first quarter of Game 5 of the Finals, the only one that Durant played in before snapping his Achilles’ tendon, confirmed this to him. “Once we got Kevin, we were f–king unstoppable. Even losing last year, Kevin don’t get hurt—you seen the game he came…

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36ers name Conner Henry as head coach

Brandon King

From nbl.com.au: The Adelaide 36ers have announced the appointment of Conner Henry as its new Head Coach for the next three years. Conner Henry’s appointment was the culmination of a comprehensive local and international search by the club. He joins the 36ers after previous positions including Assistant Coach of Orlando Magic and Head coach of the NBA D-League’s Fort Wayne Mad Ants where he won a Championship and was awarded Coach of the Year. Conner Henry had a standout career as a player, at the University of California, Santa Barbara,…

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