Andrej Stojakovic, the son of former NBA All-Star Peja Stojakovic, is attracting plenty of interest after entering the transfer portal.
Stojakovic is being pursued by multiple blue blood programs, according to Jeff Borzello of ESPN. He has already visited Cal, and has also received interest from Kentucky, North Carolina, and Michigan. Creighton, Washington, USC, and Louisville are also involved.
A former McDonald’s All-American, Stojakovic played his freshman season at Stanford last season, where he averaged 7.8 points and 3.4 rebounds per game. Clearly, he showed enough flashes that top programs are interested in him, especially since he should only get better as he gets older.
Kentucky and North Carolina are certainly the biggest names on the list. The Wildcats are rebuilding under a new head coach, though their ambitions are as high as ever. North Carolina is in better shape thanks to the returning RJ Davis, so if Stojakovic is after a national title, that may be his best choice.
Oct 7, 2023; San Francisco, California, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Chris Paul (3) reacts after a foul is called in favor of the Los Angeles Lakers during the first half at Chase Center. Mandatory Credit: John Hefti-USA TODAY Sports
Chris Paul may have been at the wrong place at the wrong time on Tuesday.
The Golden State Warriors guard Paul was in attendance for Tuesday’s Game 2 between the LA Clippers and the Dallas Mavericks. Paul, who used to play for the Clippers, appeared to be there to support his former team and even posed for a photo with actor and longtime Clippers fan Billy Crystal.
But it was the Mavs who prevailed 96-93 to tie the series at one game apiece. Dallas star Luka Doncic hit a clutch three in the fourth quarter and started talking trash to the Clippers crowd. One photographer, Kiyoshi Mio of USA Today Sports, captured a great shot of the moment. However, many noticed that there was a photobomber in the background — none other than Paul.
Take a look.
Paul reacted in an Instagram comment to his unintentional photobomb.
“Damn!! Can’t watch the game with my son?” Paul wrote along with a laughing emoji.
There was something poetic about Paul being in the background of that shot. He was a symbol of Clippers’ playoff shortcomings during his time with the team (never leading them past the second round) and got a front-row seat to yet another Clippers playoff loss on Tuesday.
Paul is also no stranger to Doncic’s playoff explosions. After all, he was on the receiving end of perhaps the single most famous one when he was a member of the Phoenix Suns in 2022.
Nov 30, 2022; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers coach Darvin Ham at a press conference during the game against the Portland Trail Blazers at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Los Angeles Lakers coach Darvin Ham downplayed any issues stemming from a quote from Anthony Davis that appeared critical of the team.
After the Lakers blew a 20-point lead in Game 2 of their Western Conference first-round series against the Denver Nuggets, Davis told reporters that the Lakers seemingly go through “stretches when we don’t know what we’re doing.” Some took this as an indictment of Ham and his coaching staff.
On Wednesday, Ham said he did not see the comments that way, and suggested Davis was speaking from a place of frustration. He also disagreed with the notion in the first place.
“I think sometimes the plays don’t turn out the way you think they should. The frustration sets in a little bit,” Ham said. “I don’t think it’s, for us, not being organized. I have incredibly talented coaches all along my staff. … We pride ourselves on being highly efficient and organized. I’d just chalk that up to being frustrated. It’s an emotional game, the way it ended, so I’ll agree to disagree on that one.”
Davis probably was frustrated, but since there have been reports that the locker room has not necessarily agreed with Ham’s decision-making this year, it makes for an interesting talking point. There is nothing to suggest that it is a serious issue right now, and indeed, Ham appears likely to be back next year. It will be interesting to see if anything else is said if the Lakers cannot turn the series around after falling down 2-0, though.
The Indiana Pacers are getting some return fire from Bobby Buckets.
Indiana wrestled homecourt advantage away from the Milwaukee Bucks on Tuesday with a 125-108 victory in Game 2 of their first-round series. It was a heated contest that featured several dust-ups, including Milwaukee forward Bobby Portis getting into it with Indiana guards Tyrese Haliburton and Andrew Nembhard.
Haliburton also took a big swipe at Bucks fans after the game, saying that Pacers fans had been louder for regular season games than Bucks fans were for playoff games.
Speaking with the media, Portis then fired back at the Pacers with some harsh remarks.
“I mean, just quite frankly, they’re frontrunners, bro,” said Portis, per Eric Nehm of The Athletic. “Y’all can just tweet that or whatever it is, bro. When the s–t going good, they laughing, clapping, all that. When it’s going bad, they not saying nothing,”
“Guys always feel good when they’re having a good game or hitting shots, everybody,” Portis added. “I think that’s just human nature and basketball. When you making shots, you feeling good. But when the tough going, you can’t get nothing going, it kind of goes the other way. So, yeah, they are supposed to feel really good, of course … But Game 3 on the way Friday.”
Milwaukee, of course, easily won Game 1 of the series last Sunday 109-94. Thus, Portis is wondering why he did not hear much from the Pacers then.
All in all, this is yet another layer to an increasingly heated rivalry between the Bucks and Pacers. When the two teams met during the regular season, we got to see everything from celebrations being mocked to game balls getting stolen.
Feb 13, 2022; Inglewood, CA, USA; Detailed view of a Cincinnati Bengals helmet during Super Bowl LVI at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
A couple of the Bengals’ star players have requested a trade from Cincinnati.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported on Wednesday that both Trey Hendrickson and Tee Higgins have requested trades from the team.
Hendrickson has two years left on the 4-year, $60 million deal he signed in 2021. He is making $15 million this year and $16 million next year, but is seeking more long-term money.
Higgins received a franchise tag from the Bengals that would pay him $21.8 million in 2024 if he were to sign his tender. Higgins has consistently told the Bengals all offseason that he wants a trade.
Cincinnati may not be willing to deal either player before they have to. Hendrickson is under contract for two more seasons, and the Bengals have Higgins’ rights for 2024. The team probably is eyeing a championship run in 2024 and has no desire to weaken their current roster.
But the trade requests from Hendrickson and Higgins are well-timed; they come a day before the first round of the NFL Draft. This may be the players’ way of telling teams around their league to get their offers in to the Bengals as soon as possible.
Hendrickson had a career-best 17.5 sacks last season. The 29-year-old defensive end has made three straight Pro Bowls. Higgins had 42 catches for 656 yards and 5 touchdowns in 12 games last season. The 25-year-old has had a pair of 1,000-yard seasons for Cincinnati during his 4-year career.
Dec 15, 2018; Denver, CO, USA; Former Denver Broncos player Peyton Manning before the game against the Cleveland Browns at Broncos Stadium at Mile High. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports
Zach Wilson has been widely viewed around the NFL as a bust. Peyton Manning seems to think Wilson lacked the stability with the New York Jets that he needed.
Manning joined Denver Sports’ Brandon Stokley and Josh Dover for an interview on Tuesday. He talked about the team’s acquisition of Wilson Monday via a trade. Manning thinks the Broncos will provide Wilson the fresh start and consistent coaching that the young quarterback needs.
“The best way to really screw a young quarterback up is to change coordinators on him every single year, and it drives me crazy,” Manning said.
The Jets had two different offensive coordinators during Wilson’s three seasons.
“Let’s just sort of start over, right? And let’s just let Sean Payton and his staff coach you and kind of start from ground zero, which I think might be just what Zach needs,” Manning said.
“He will get coached hard here by Sean Payton and their staff. It is important for young quarterbacks to be coached hard. He’s obviously very talented.”
Wilson passed for 23 touchdowns and 25 interceptions over 34 regular season games in three seasons with the Jets. He was moved in and out of the lineup and seemed to tire of that. Now he’ll be coached by Payton, who has been known to bring out the most in quarterbacks.
If Payton somehow can coach Wilson into being a consistently good quarterback, it will go down as one of his best coaching jobs yet. We’re not getting ahead of ourselves regarding a possible turnaround.
Jan 1, 2022; Pasadena, CA, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. (18) celebrates after a touchdown in the fourth quarter against the Utah Utes during the 2022 Rose Bowl college football game at the Rose Bowl. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Marvin Harrison Jr. made the somewhat controversial decision to skip pre-draft workouts with teams ahead of the NFL Draft, and he was quite upfront as to why he chose that route.
The standout wide receiver said he chose not to prepare for Ohio State’s pro day or the NFL Combine in part because he did not feel it would be productive. Harrison said he and his father made the decision not because he was confident in where he would be selected, but because he felt that teams in position to draft him were already well aware of his skills.
“Just talking to my dad, we decided what’s best for us: to prepare for the NFL season, not prepare for the combine or pro day or anything like that,” Harrison told Eric Edholm of NFL Media. “So, take our time to do our due diligence. Also resting after the season, getting your body right.
“I’m training to play football, so that’s what we’ve got to do at the end of the day. So we trained to play football instead.”
Harrison’s point is one that some others have made. Being good at drills and posting great measurables can certainly help, but they do not necessarily translate to in-game skill. Harrison proved himself as an elite prospect at Ohio State and clearly felt no need to do more. By the sound of it, his draft stock has not been negatively impacted by his decision.
Harrison should be one of the first names off the board on Thursday, though it is reportedly a question whether he will be the top wide receiver taken.
The vibes in Arizona are definitely not great right now.
The Diamondbacks lost again on Wednesday, falling to the St. Louis Cardinals by the final of 5-1. The end of the game was particularly unsightly as Ketel Marte, who was up to pinch hit, bounced into a 3-6-1 double play to seal it.
Marte, who was last season’s NLCS MVP, gave no effort on the run, jogging up the first-base line as if he was on a Sunday stroll. The Cardinals were slow to turn two but managed to do so successfully on a bang-bang play because of how casually Marte was running.
Take a look at the video.
After their stunning NL pennant win last season, the Diamondbacks have struggled to find consistency in 2024. They have the firepower to win big (with victories of 17-1, 16-1, and 14-1 already under their belt this year). But the Diamondbacks often find themselves getting beaten by the little things and are now just 12-14 on the season overall.
As for Marte, who used to be a double-digit stolen-base threat, he clearly would have been safe if he had run even just an iota harder. While that may not have ultimately mattered in a 5-1 ballgame, it was still a very bad look for a player who had really boosted his reputation last postseason.
Sep 26, 2021; Santa Clara, California, USA; San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk (11) walks on the field before the game against the Green Bay Packers at Levi’s Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports
Amon-Ra St. Brown’s massive new contract with the Detroit Lions is certainly good news for Brandon Aiyuk in his own contractual standoff with the San Francisco 49ers. Aiyuk seems well aware of it, too.
Aiyuk took to his Instagram story after the news of St. Brown’s market-setting contract came through on Wednesday. Aiyuk certainly seemed to be reacting to the news, as he was dancing to music and ended the video by grinning and whooping into the camera.
Aiyuk is slated to make $14 million next year under the final season of his rookie deal. He has made clear that he is looking for a significant raise, and has pulled many of the typical moves that players make when signaling their dissatisfaction with the team they play for.
St. Brown will get $77 million guaranteed and an average of $30 million per year from the Lions. Aiyuk will likely be asking for something similar from the 49ers now that St. Brown’s deal has reset the market.
Devin Booker got to see himself in the stands on Tuesday … albeit not in a very flattering manner.
Booker and the Phoenix Suns fell into an 0-2 hole on Tuesday with a 105-93 loss to the Timberwolves in Minnesota. Adding insult to injury for Booker was the spectacle in the stands from a couple of fans during the Game 2 showdown.
The local Bally Sports broadcast showed a pair of Minnesota fans wearing shirts featuring a crying Booker. Take a look at the hilarious photo.
That is about as unflattering of an image as it gets. Booker has become somewhat of a meme online for his … demonstrative facial expressions when he gets fouled. It looks like the two fans definitely capitalized on that visual.
The four-time All-Star Booker has been mostly invisible to this point of the series, averaging 19.0 points per contest on a rough 40.7 percent from the field and 25.0 percent from three. But the good news for Booker is that the next two games will be in Phoenix, so he won’t have to deal with the Timberwolves fans (whom he already had some prior history with).
