Will Sixers release Bryan Colangelo; Lakers Possible Off-Season Moves; JJ Watt our Athlete of the week; Tristan Thompson among most useless Cavaliers, and more

In this episode of What's The 411Sports, hosts Keisha Wilson and Mike McDonald, are talking about the NBA FINALS featuring the three-time NBA Champions, the Golden State Warriors and the Cleveland Cavaliers; Bryan Colangelo's current employment woes with the Philadelphia 76ers; how the eyes of NBA world are on the Los Angeles Lakers’ upcoming offseason moves; JJ Watt, our Athlete of the Week; Brooklyn Nets player, Jeremy Lin, initiates a clap-back at ESPN’s Jalen Rose; the Most Useless Cavaliers, is Tristan Thompson on the list? and more. 

What's The 411Sports, hosts Keisha Wilson and Mike McDonald are also talking about a controversy at OKC Thunder; Kaepernick Update; Derek Jeter stays home, and more!

WHAT’S POPPIN’ PART 1:

The NBA PLAYOFFS are finally here

Q. Let’s talk about what we’ve seen so far and any predictions?

Cowboys cut Dez Bryant

The Dallas Cowboys released Dez Bryant and Bryant took to social media to express his frustrations and love for the Cowboys’ fans. Bryant also expressed his desire to stay in the NFC East.

Q. What are your thoughts on this Dez Bryant situation and do you think he could land in NFC East?

Will Colin Kaepernick get a meeting with the Seattle Seahawks?

The Seattle Seahawks invited NFL free agent quarterback, Colin Kaepernick, in for a workout and upon learning that Kaepernick may not have given up on kneeling for the National Anthem, reportedly Kaepernick’s workout has been postponed.

Q. Let’s dissect this.

QUICK BITES:

• Russell Westbrook clinched a triple-double average for the second consecutive season.
• If his team gets past the San Antonio Spurs, Stephen Curry is reportedly targeting a return for the second round of the NBA playoffs.
• Free agent Mark Sanchez has been suspended without pay for the first four games of the 2018 regular season for violating the NFL policy on performance-enhancing substances.
• Washington Wizards' veteran guard Jodie Meeks suspended for playoffs for a reported drug policy violation
• Sister Jean’s 15 minutes of fame is going into overtime. The Chicago Bulls looked into having Sister Jean rep the Bulls at the NBA Draft!

Quick Question: Adidas wants to sign Colin Kaepernick to an endorsement deal but has held off because the former 49ers quarterback isn’t on an NFL roster.

Q. Do you think this is just talk or could Adidas be sincere?

Poppin’ Part 2

Welcome back to What’s The 411Sports. The Oklahoma City Thunder suspended play-by-play announcer Brian Davis for one game for his offensive on-air comment about Russell Westbrook. During the second quarter of OKC’s last game of the season, Davis blurted out about Westbrook, Is he out of his cotton-picking mind?

Q. Did the Thunder do the right thing in suspending Davis for one game?

Andre Ingram's NBA Dream Comes True

After toiling 10 years in the NBA G-League, Andre Ingram’s number was called to play for the Los Angeles Lakers’ against the Houston Rockets. It was the second to last game of the season and Ingram scored 19 points and three blocks. Postgame, Lakers head coach Luke Walton, presented Ingram with the game ball.

Q. Should the Los Angeles Lakers keep Ingram on its roster? If not, do you think he might get picked up by another team?

NY SPORTS REPORT

New York Yankees

Welcome back to What’s The 411Sports. Former New York Yankees shortstop, and now an owner of the Florida Marlins, Derek Jeter, decided to skip the trip to New York City when the Marlins played the Yankees.

Q. Did Derek Jeter make the right decision?

Jeff Hornacek Gets Fired from New York Knicks

As predicted, the New York Knicks fired head coach Jeff Hornacek and assistant coach, Kurt Rambis.

Q. Lots of names are being floated, who do you think has the best chance?

Brooklyn Nets Get the Sale

Brooklyn Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov has completed the sale of a 49% interest in the Brooklyn Nets to Joe Tsai. Mr. Tsai is executive vice chairman and co-founder of Alibaba Group, a global internet company with businesses in e-commerce, cloud computing, and digital entertainment.

OFF TOPIC:

Now, we’re going off-topic. Cleveland Cavaliers PF/center Tristan Thompson was caught cheating on Khloe Kardashian, who gave birth to their first child on April 11th. According to various reports, the entire Kardashian-Jenner clan was enraged — including Kanye West! In fact, Radar Online is reporting that Kanye was prepared to give Thompson a beat down.

Lakers head coach Luke Walton talks to the media postgame about Brandon Ingram’s return to the lineup

In this portion of Los Angeles Lakers head coach, Luke Walton’s, post-game press conference at the Brooklyn Nets today, Walton talked to the media about Brandon Ingram’s return to the lineup.

Walton explained that he wanted Ingram to be more aggressive, to be more engaged and to put more pressure on the other team’s defense.

“I thought the difference between this time and before when we played him at point, he pushed the ball trying to be more of a traditional point guard and calling plays,” Walton told the media. “Tonight it was more just give me the ball, I’mma fly up the court, let’s play basketball…Not predetermined if he’s going to shoot, not predetermined if he’s going to pass, just see what the defense is doing and make reads.”

Nets point guard Spencer Dinwiddie posts game-high 23 points and rookie center Jarrett Allen scored a career-high 20 points with five rebounds in the loss

The Barclays Center was a sea of Purple and Gold when the Los Angeles Lakers came to town for its match-up with the Brooklyn Nets on Friday night. The crowd was boisterous but respectful as they over-powered Nets fans in cheering the Lakers on to a 102-99 victory. Although the Nets lost, all was not lost for Nets fans as they got to see former stalwart Nets center Brook Lopez for the first time since he was traded to the Lakers. Lopez was the Nets’ rock, the solid foundation that helped keep the team together during the lowest points of the rebuilding years. On Friday night, the Nets management showed its respect for and gratitude to Brook Lopez with a video tribute.

So, on this night, Lopez belonged to both Nets and Lakers’ fans, and he was appreciative.

“It was great,” Lopez said about being embraced by the Lakers and Nets fans. “It was such an awesome moment. That’s the kind of stuff you dream about as a kid and to see that kind of support from both Laker and Nets fans it’s really awe-inspiring. It’s such a fantastic moment. I can’t thank them enough for the continued support.”

It’s easy for an organization to celebrate a solid player like Lopez, particularly when he can take it up a notch to help pull his team over the finish line.

“Brook (Lopez) was great, Lakers head coach Luke Walton told reporters about how Lopez impacted the outcome of the game. “He had a huge block down the stretch. Jarrett Allen was killing us tonight on his rolling. Brook recognized, he got there late and had a big block. He hit those big three’s obviously. When Brooklyn is out there and they have Quincy Acy playing at the center and four shooters running around, it’s challenging to not change your lineup as well. Brook was great tonight. He did a good job. We don’t win that game without him, obviously. He hits some big buckets for us, and like I said he had that big block for us.”

“The second unit did a great job of setting the tone in that fourth quarter,” Walton continued. “Our two biggest keys coming into tonight’s game were taking pride in our individual defense and rebounding. In the first half, our individual defense was awful, which is why Brooklyn had so many points. Second half we started to turn that up a little bit (individual defense). Our rebounding was pretty darn good all night. In the third quarter, we started playing some better defense and to start the fourth quarter our second unit was really engaged and communicating and being aggressive on that end of the court. It set the tone for being able to keep Brooklyn to a low scoring quarter.”

“Credit to Luke and his group, I thought they played a heck of a game,” Nets head coach Kenny Atkinson told the media. “I thought we competed. I thought it was a great basketball game for the fans, for everybody to see and unfortunately we came out on the losing end.”

“I thought they made some shots,” Atkinson continued, as he explained the turning point in the game. “I think our offense got stagnant, really in that fourth. You love the pick-and-roll and I love it and Spencer’s (Dinwiddie) good at it and D’Angelo (Russell), but there are times we’ve got to get off it and move it a little more. So I thought our shot selection was iffy at best, I thought that hurt us and bad shots lead to what they do best, is transition, and they were coming at us in waves. But again, I think they played a heck of a game. ”

“I think they did a great job on the glass and we didn’t match their physicality in the rebounding game,” Dinwiddie said postgame. “They got extra shots and also limited us to one possession a lot of the time.”

To drive Dinwiddie’s point home, the Lakers out-rebounded the Nets 56 – 38.

Although, the Nets bench outscored the Lakers bench 41 – 30, it was Los Angeles’ starters that out-worked the Nets’ starters. Four of the five Lakers starters scored more than 15 points while only two Nets starters scored in double digits. For the Lakers, both Lopez and Julius Randle scored 19 points, while Randle added 12 rebounds to his tally. Brandon Ingram had a triple-double with 16 points, eight boards, and 10 assists; Josh Hart added 15 points and 14 rebounds, while Jordan Clarkson chipped in 11 points off the bench.

For the Nets, Dinwiddie posted a game-high 23 points, a team-high-tying seven rebounds, and a team-high nine assists in 32 minutes. Russell recorded 15 points, four rebounds and, three assists in 24 minutes off the bench. Joe Harris posted 11 points and a team-high-tying seven rebounds in 25 minutes off the bench. Harris has now scored in double figures in 25 games off the bench this season.

Nets rookie Jarrett Allen started and scored a career-high 20 points with five rebounds and a career-high-tying two steals in 24 minutes.

“It’s good to see that I’m progressing at a good level but it’s sad to see us lose,” Allen said regarding his career-high scoring accomplishment.

When asked about battling with former Nets center Brook Lopez, Allen said, “face of the franchise, now I’m here trying to become the face, too, so just going back and forth. It was a good challenge.”

Allen made some inroads, as he outscored and outrebounded Lopez, but time will tell if he will become the face of the Nets franchise.

We’re rooting for you, Jarrett Allen, we’re rooting for you.

Spencer Dinwiddie scores 27 points to help lift the Nets over the 76ers; D’Angelo Russell making great strides since his return from injury

Last night, the Brooklyn Nets (18-33) had a date with the Philadelphia 76ers (24-23) at the Barclays Center. No one I spoke with before the game put the odds in favor of the Nets to win, but win they did. The Nets snapped a four-game losing streak to defeat the striving Philadelphia 76ers featuring Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid, who was just selected to play in the NBA All-Star game, 116-108.

“We’ve got guys with a lot of pride and I think they always seem to bounce back after a tough loss or a poor performance quite honestly,” Nets coach Kenny Atkinson said regarding keys to victory against Philadelphia. “Tonight I thought all the things we talked about pregame, you know we were more competitive, more together, did a good job sharing the ball. I thought the defense in the second half was really the difference. I think we held them to 23 and 20. We put them on the free throw line 20 times in the first half so we limited that. It was really the defense, the story of the game in the second half. And obviously we shot the ball well, that helps.”

Regarding a reason Philadelphia may have struggled against the Nets and other non-playoff-bound teams, Embiid said, “…Maybe we’re too cocky, going into the game thinking that it’s going to be easy. Got to give them a lot of credit, they play hard, they make a lot of threes, they shoot a lot of threes and we didn’t guard them well today. But we gotta do a better job next time.”

The Nets shot .506 (39-of-77) from the field, .406 (13-of-32) from 3-point range and .893 (25-of-28) from the free-throw line. Brooklyn posted nine blocks in tonight’s game (led by two blocks apiece from Jarrett Allen and Quincy Acy), which marked the team’s third-most blocks in a game this season.

In the win, Spencer Dinwiddie had a team-high 27 points, his second-highest scoring game of his career (behind a career-high 31 points on January 8, 2018, vs. Toronto). D’Angelo Russell, who recently returned to the lineup after a six-week injury, scored 22 points and five rebounds in 16 minutes off the bench. In his second start for the Nets, rookie Jarrett Allen put up a career-high-tying 16 points and 12 rebounds; DeMarre Carroll added 15 points and five assists; and Allen Crabbe chipped in 14 points and five rebounds.

Jahlil Okafor, who was recently traded from Philadelphia to the Nets, added eight points and three rebounds in 14 minutes. This was his first time playing against his old teammates.
“It was a lot of fun, just to see all those guys,” Okafor told the media postgame. “You get really used to being with them every day and I haven’t seen them in a month and a half to two months so it was good to see them and obviously we came out with a W so that felt great.”

Like the Nets, four of the five Philadelphia starters scored in double digits with Embiid leading all scorers with 29 points and 14 rebounds; Simmons tallied 24 points and seven assists; JJ Redick scored 20 points, and; Dario Saric added 12 points and six rebounds.

Next up, Philadelphia will face the Miami Heat on Friday, February 2, 2018, while the Brooklyn Nets will meet up with the Los Angeles Lakers at home at the Barclays Center, also on Friday, at 7:30 p.m.

Jerry Jones wants an incentive-based contract for Roger Goodell; Kristaps Porzingas leads Knicks; Deontay Wilder knocks out Bermane Stiverne; and more

Phoenix Suns rally late to defeat the Brooklyn Nets

It was fright night aka Halloween last night and Nets fans at the Barclays Center were fully engaged. Unfortunately, they did not get the treat that they were looking to receive. Instead, it was a trick in the form of a Brooklyn Nets 122-114 loss to the Phoenix Suns.

The Suns led the game during the first half, as the Nets starting unit struggled. During the third quarter, the Nets mounted a comeback scoring 35 points. However, the Suns went on a 20-4 scoring run during the 4th quarter and never looked back.

“Give credit to their (Suns) group that was in there,” said Nets head coach Kenny Atkinson. “They went on a run at the end of the game. They just took over. We didn’t make plays. I thought our shot selection was iffy. I thought our shot selection was iffy all game. I think we set a Nets record for midrange contested jump shots. We have to improve our shot selection and I think that will help our defense, help our spirit.”

''We could do a better job,'' Nets forward Rondae Hollis-Jefferson said. ''I feel like we should definitely make better decisions. At the end of the day, I put the blame on us.''

Although the Nets starters struggled, the second unit provided much-needed momentum at the right times.

“I don’t want to compare the two because I look at the team as a whole, but give credit to our second unit,” Atkinson stated. I thought they all did a good job. I thought Tyler Zeller came in and gave us some really good minutes, but there’s an energy there. They did a good job really getting us back in the game because we weren’t in the game. We talk about the fourth quarter, but I really think they outplayed us. At the end of the day, if we would have pulled it out I don’t think we really would have deserved it.”

In the loss, D’Angelo Russell led all scorers with 33 points, six rebounds, and four assists in 29 minutes. Hollis-Jefferson put in defensive muscle with six of his seven rebounds on the defensive end to go with his 21 points. Other Nets players in double digits were Spencer Dinwiddie with 15 points; DeMarre Carroll added 13 points, five rebounds, and four steals; and Caris LeVert chipped in 11 points.

Top scorers for Phoenix were Devin Booker with 30 points and seven rebounds, followed by Mike James with 24 points and five assists, and TJ  Warren with 20 points and 11 rebounds.

The Nets start their West coast trip with a game against the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday, November 3, 2017. They return to home to the Barclays Center on Tuesday, November 14, 2017.

Sports Illustrated capitalizes off of Colin Kaepernick and omits him from iconic cover photo; Stan Van Gundy wants to eliminate NBA Draft

In this episode of What’s The 411Sports, Keisha Wilson and Mike McDonald, co-hosts of What’s The 411Sports are talking about: Kevin Hart, Sports Illustrated, Colin Kaepernick, Stan Van Gundy, Carmelo Anthony, Odell Beckham Jr., Dwyane Wade, and Rick Pitino.

Our Photo of the Week is a photo of Los Angeles Lakers' players standing arm-in-arm in unity.

Lonzo Ball shows he has skills; Boucek joins Hammon in NBA ranks; Katie Smith has Liberty; Brooklyn Nets lose Lin for season; and; Knicks not winning yet

POPPIN'

Colin Kaepernick Files Grievance Against NFL

As we know, former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick filed a grievance against the NFL citing that NFL owners colluded to keep him out of the NFL for kneeling during the National Anthem.

However, some are saying that this case could be bigger than people realized. Various sources seem to think that not only could he end up getting his job back, but he could end up terminating the NFL Collective Bargaining Agreement ahead of its scheduled 2021 expiration date:

Article 69, Section 2 of the CBA allows for the agreement to be terminated prematurely in the event of proof of collusion.

Under Article 17, Section 16(c) of the CBA, termination can arise from only one incident of collusion involving only one player if there is clear and convincing evidence of a violation.

Jerry Jones Didn’t Stand for National Anthem

It turns out Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones did not stand for the National Anthem during his first Cowboys game as an owner. Jones sat during the anthem with Liz Taylor, which prompted a fan to write this note:

“JEERS: To Jerry Jones and Liz Taylor, who were the only two people at last Sunday’s Cowboys-Redskins game not standing when the national anthem was played.

Riding out in a cart just before the anthem began was bad enough, but sitting while it was played was more than many of us could handle.

Jerry, please note that in Texas, we stand for the national anthem.

P.S.: Tom [Landry] always took off his hat.”

Lonzo Ball Gives Better Show with Game 2

Lonzo Ball had a terrible regular season NBA debut against the L.A. Clippers, but he redeemed himself in his second regular-season NBA game against the Phoenix Suns.

Ball flirted with a triple-double, scoring 29 points, grabbing 11 rebounds, and dishing out nine assists while drilling four or more 3-pointers in the process.

QUICK HITS

• Chris Long of the Philadelphia Eagles is donating entire salary to boost racial equality in education
• ESPN sportscaster Jemele Hill is back from suspension and she’s not mad at ESPN.
• Kevin Durant admits: “A couple years ago, I didn't really know how to play team defense that well. More and more, I'm learning about team defense and making multiple efforts.”
• In separate incidents, Pelicans’ DeMarcus Cousins and Celtics’ Kyrie Irving were both fined $25,000 for coarse language aimed at a fan
• The Sacramento Kings hired Jenny Boucek as assistant player development coach. Boucek is now the second active female assistant coach in the NBA, along with Becky Hammon of the San Antonio Spurs.
• And, the NY Liberty hired Katie Smith to be its new head coach

Shahid “Shan” Khan Goes off on Donald Trump, Again

Speaking to USA Today, Jacksonville Jaguars owner Shad Khan doubles down on his recent critique of Donald Trump overall, Trump’s attacks on people of color, and finally the league. Khan said:

“Let’s get real. The attacks on Muslims, the attacks on minorities, the attacks on Jews.

I think the NFL doesn’t even come close to that on the level of being offensive.

Here, it’s about money, or messing with — trying to soil a league or a brand that he’s jealous of.”

Khan goes on to respond to whether or not he regrets contributing to Trump’s inauguration fund.

“I have no regrets in life. This ugly, toxic side sours the whole experience.”

 NIKE Connect Jerseys Didn’t Hold Up to Rigors of NBA

Nike is in its first year of a jersey deal with the NBA, and on opening night, arguably their biggest endorser — LeBron James — had his Nike jersey split down the middle of his back.

It might be taken as a fluke if it had only happened to LeBron.

However, in a preseason game, half the back of Lakers’ Tyler Ennis’ jersey had come apart.

Photo of the Week

Our Photo of the Week is a photo of LaVar Ball giving his son, Lonzo, some fatherly advice.

NY SPORTS REPORT

Yankees Fans Disappointed In ALCS Outcome

The NY Yankees could not get past the Houston Astros, so no trip to the World Series this season.

The Astros go on to play the Los Angeles Dodgers in the MLB World Series. The first game is in Los Angeles tonight.

The New York Mets Get a New Manager

In the wake of Terry Collins exiting as NY Mets manager to work in the front office, the Mets signed Mickey Calloway as its new manager.

Calloway was a pitching coach for the Cleveland Indians and he received a warm welcome from Mets pitcher Noah Syndergaard.

Calloway comes from a family that reveres baseball, he is named after Mickey Mantle and his brother Casey is named after Casey Stengel.

Brooklyn Nets Guard Jeremy Lin Out for Season

The Brooklyn Nets received another wake-up call during Game 1 of the regular NBA season when team leader Jeremy Lin went down with a ruptured tendon in his right knee. Lin had surgery to repair his ruptured patella tendon and will be out for the rest of the season.

 New York Knicks on a Losing Skid

Last week, we talked about how most NY Knicks fans were trying to reconcile in their minds that the Knicks are in rebuild mode and nothing says rebuild more when your team has yet to win a game.

Thus far, Kristaps Porzingas is performing well as the leader of the team, but the true measurement of leadership is how well Kristaps will be able to hold up under pressure from game losses.

With three consecutive losses so far, many Knicks fans are expressing their sorrow that Carmelo Anthony is no longer with the team. Anthony currently plays for the Oklahoma City Thunder.

OFF TOPIC

D.L. Hughley Names the Three Most Hated Black Men in America

In a TMZ interview at LAX, comedian D.L. HUGHLEY said:

“The three most hated Black men in America are Barack Obama, Colin Kaepernick, and O.J.

And two of them never were accused of murder.

They hate Colin Kaepernick right now more than they hate O.J.”

LeBron James Give his Children a Lesson in Racism

In an interview with GQ magazine, Lebron James said he told his kids about the n-Word incident on their home in Brentwood, California. He used it as a teachable moment telling them:

“When y’all go out in public and y’all start driving or y’all start moving around, be respectful to cops, as much as you can.

When you get pulled over, call your mom or dad, put it on speakerphone, and put your phone underneath the seat. But be respectful the whole time.”

Our Photo of the Week is a photo of Los Angeles Lakers players standing arm-in-arm during the National Anthem