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#pounditThursday, March 28, 2024

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Lakers to explore acquiring this star PG during offseason?

Rob Pelinka

The Los Angeles Lakers are in danger of not advancing past the first round of the playoffs, as their series with the Phoenix Suns is tied at 2-2 and Anthony Davis could miss Game 5 with a groin injury. If the defending champions are unable to make a deep run, we could see some serious changes to their roster this offseason.

Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report spoke with several NBA executives about the challenges the Lakers will face in the next several months. The majority of their salary cap is currently dedicated to Anthony Davis and LeBron James, and injuries to those two superstars this season were a reminder of how much L.A. could use a third star. Is Kyle Lowry a veteran who could play that role?

Dennis Schroder is set to become a free agent this offseason. The point guard already turned down a four-year, $84 million extension offer from the Lakers when they acquired him via trade last year. There have been reports that Schroder is unhappy with his role in L.A. and wants to sign with a team that will allow him to to be “the guy.”

As Fischer notes, that could present the Lakers with an opportunity to work out a sign-and-trade. However, Lowry is also set to become a free agent, so the Toronto Raptors would have work out a sign-and-trade with him as well to get him to L.A. It’s unclear if Schroder would have interest in playing for the Raptors, and he would obviously need to agree to the sign portion of the sign-and-trade.

Lowry is 35, but he still averaged 17.2 points, 7.3 assists and 5.4 rebounds per game on a bad Raptors team this season. He’s the type of veteran who could certainly help the Lakers, and they were one of several teams that pursued him earlier this year. They could resume those talks with Toronto this offseason, but the situation is much more complicated now.

Lakers view Andre Drummond as part of long-term future?

Andre Drummond

Andre Drummond has sometimes seemed like a square peg in a round hole for the Los Angeles Lakers since joining them late in the season, but the organization appears committed to making it work.

In an appearance on “The Lowe Post” podcast, ESPN’s Dave McMenamin revealed that the Lakers are committed to Drummond, and interpreted his continued presence in the lineup as a signal that the center fits into their plans beyond this season.

“They’ve been so committed to him being the ceremonial starter,” McMenamin said. “And obviously he gets more than just ceremonial minutes. That seems to be something that is important to Drummond, which makes it important to the Lakers’ front office because they have signaled to everyone listening that this isn’t just a half a season buyout market rental. Andre Drummond is part of the future moving forward with this franchise.”

Drummond isn’t the main guy with the Lakers, which has been a significant adjustment for him. He averaged a modest 11.9 points per game in 21 regular season games to go with 10.2 rebounds per game as he adjusted to playing alongside LeBron James and Anthony Davis. It sounds like whether he’s comfortable in this role or whether he wants to seek a bigger one elsewhere will actually matter significantly to the Lakers’ future.

Chad Johnson left massive tip with funny message at James Harden’s restaurant

Chad Johnson

Chad Johnson is known for being a generous tipper, and the former NFL receiver was at it again on Sunday night. Only this time, his random act of kindness included a challenge for Brooklyn Nets star James Harden.

Johnson ate at Harden’s “Thirteen” restaurant in Houston and left a $1,300 tip on a bill that was just over $100. In the process of making the waitstaff’s night, Johnson also called out Harden for supposedly being afraid to play him in a “FIFA” video game match.

Johnson doubled down in a separate tweet on Monday and said Harden has been ducking him for years.

We’ve seen Johnson leave big tips for football reasons in the past, but this might be the first time his generosity has been intertwined with a FIFA challenge.

Kevin Durant responds to Glen Davis threatening Kyrie Irving over logo stomp

Kevin Durant

Kevin Garnett is not the only former Boston Celtics player who was upset over Kyrie Irving stomping on the team’s midcourt logo on Sunday night. Glen “Big Baby” Davis also condemned the move, though he took things a step further than K.G.

Following the Brooklyn Nets’ win over the Celtics in Game 4, Irving intentionally stepped on the Celtics’ midcourt logo and dragged his foot across the mascot’s face (video here). Garnett took to Instagram on Monday to criticize Irving over the stunt, and Davis agreed with his former teammate.

Davis responded to Garnett’s criticism in an Instagram comment and warned Irving that he should “keep the s— basketball before somebody get hurt in real life.” That drew a reaction from Kevin Durant, who posted a bunch of laughing emojis and a short message. The exchange was edited by LBS for profanity:

Davis and Garnett were both part of the 2008 Celtics team that won an NBA title.

What Irving did was immature and classless. That said, it’s obviously absurd for Davis to say “somebody might get hurt” over it in real life. This isn’t the first time we have seen the former NBA big man take an Instagram comment too far.

Garnett is right that Irving’s logo stomp did not receive enough backlash on a night where a fan was arrested for throwing something at the Nets star. But what Davis said about the stunt is just as childish as the stunt itself.

Video: Twins’ Rob Refsnyder smashed into outfield wall while tracking home run

Rob Refsnyder wall

Playing center field in the major leagues is hard. If you need evidence of that, just check out Minnesota Twins emergency center fielder Rob Refsnyder.

Refsnyder, an infielder by trade, has been playing center for the Twins in place of the injured Byron Buxton. Refsnyder came into Monday hitting .348, so the Twins were willing to make some defensive sacrifices to keep his hot bat in the lineup.

With that in mind, Refsnyder isn’t really familiar with the ins and outs of playing center, especially in visiting ballparks. That explains why he completely ate it tracking this home run ball off the bat of Orioles first baseman Ryan Mountcastle at Camden Yards in Baltimore.

Refsnyder appeared fine and stayed in the game, so it’s okay to chuckle a little. That said, this is what the warning track is for. It’s also why you often see outfielders keep an arm out as they’re chasing a fly ball so they can know how close they are to the wall before they run into it like this. Refsnyder is totally new to the position, as Monday marked just his 14th MLB appearance in center, with all of them coming in 2021. These things don’t come quite as naturally to him as they probably should.

Plenty of natural outfielders have crashed into walls and come away from it worse than Refsnyder did. Plus, it’s not as if the play cost Minnesota a run or anything — or at least not one that wouldn’t have scored otherwise. Hopefully he can have a sense of humor about it.

NFL already eyeing 18-game schedule in next few years?

Roger Goodell

The NFL schedule will expand to 17 games in 2021, but it sounds like further expansion of the league calendar is only a matter of time.

NBC’s Peter King wrote in Monday’s “Football Morning in America” that most observers believe an 18-game schedule is on its way, possibly even by 2025 or 2026. Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk echoed that sentiment, putting an over-under date on 2030.

As you may recall, 18 games was the original target set by NFL owners when they began efforts to expand the regular season. When players balked at that, owners compromised and dropped to the 17-game format — still largely unpopular with players, but more acceptable than the alternative.

For the NFL, more games means more money and more interest in the league. Players likely won’t be happy, but the league may be betting on the expansion to 17 games going smoothly and making the players more open to further expansion of the regular season. That said, some compromise will likely be necessary, possibly involving further reduction or even elimination of the preseason. Players may request some other things as well, as this has been a major issue from their standpoint that they could seek changes to.

Report: Bears will hold open competition between Justin Fields, Andy Dalton

Justin Fields

The Chicago Bears immediately proclaimed Andy Dalton to be their starting quarterback after they signed him in free agency this offseason, but that was likely before they expected to be in a position to draft Justin Fields. Now, it sounds like the rookie has just as much of a chance as the veteran at landing the starting job.

ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler said on “Get Up!” Monday that Fields will have a chance to beat out Dalton this summer.

“Now, if Fields is just undeniable over the next three to four months in training camp, they’re not going to just sit him just for fun or posterity just to play the veteran,” Fowler said, via Bleacher Report’s Tyler Conway. “So they’re going to give him the best chance, but they’re OK sitting Fields if Dalton has a good grasp on the job and they feel like they can win with him. So, they believe they’re going to be better regardless. It just depends on whether Fields is ready Week 1.”

No one would blame the Bears for starting Fields in Week 1 if he outplays Dalton in training camp. The team probably just shouldn’t have been so quick to give Dalton the title of “QB1,” which is something they were ruthlessly mocked for on social media.

Bears head coach Matt Nagy said after the draft that the team will take things slow with Fields. That still applies, and Chicago is comfortable heading into the 2021 season with Dalton under center.

There is no official “QB1” at the moment, however. The Bears may have felt they had a clear-cut starter a few months ago, but the situation looks a lot different now.

Naomi Osaka withdraws from French Open over media boycott ‘distraction’

Naomi Osaka

Naomi Osaka announced Monday that she is withdrawing from the French Open after her decision to boycott the media became a “distraction.”

In a statement released to Twitter, Osaka said her decision to withdraw is to allow people to focus on the tennis at Roland Garros. She added that her “timing was not ideal and my message could have been clearer” in her refusal to speak to the media, and apologized to the “cool journalists” she had disappointed.

Osaka also explained that she has suffered “long bouts of depression” since the 2018 US Open, adding that speaking to the media gives her “huge waves of anxiety.” Her announcement of a boycott was partly meant to highlight what she called “outdated” media rules, and that she wanted to eventually work with the WTA to work on changes. She concluded by saying she plans to take some time away from the court for the time being.

Osaka had been threatened with disqualification for refusing to attend mandatory media events, which only seemed to cause her to dig in further on her stance. The American had played and won her first round match against Patricia Maria Tig on Sunday, and would have faced Romanian Ana Bogdan on Wednesday had she remained in the field.

Kevin Garnett rips Kyrie Irving for disrespecting Celtics’ logo

Kyrie Irving Celtics logo

A lot has been made of the Boston Celtics fan who was arrested for throwing a water bottle at Kyrie Irving on Sunday night, but Kevin Garnett believes a classless act that was committed by the Brooklyn Nets star is not receiving enough attention.

Before a fan threw a water bottle at Irving as the point guard was heading to the locker room, Kyrie went out of his way to step on the Celtics’ midcourt logo at TD Garden and drag his foot across it. You can see the video here.

Garnett shared a message about that stunt in his Instagram story on Monday. He said he doesn’t understand why many people are ignoring and called it “not coo on no level.”

Garnett said “all of us need to be better,” which was likely his way of making it clear he is not defending the fan who threw the water bottle. That fan is being dealt with accordingly, as he has been banned from TD Garden and is facing a felony charge.

Irving’s logo stomp was another issue altogether. It was a childish act toward his former team. It was also extremely hypocritical coming from a player who is constantly ridiculing people for their behavior and thinks he’s a model of maturity.

Garnett is one of the most beloved players in Celtics history, so it’s no surprise he defended his former team. He reminded us of how much the franchise means to him when he recently shared the one regret from his career.

Anthony Davis groin injury update: Lakers star unlikely to play in Game 5

Anthony Davis Lakers

Anthony Davis left the Los Angeles Lakers’ loss to the Phoenix Suns on Sunday with a groin injury, and it sounds like the ailment will keep him out for at least one more game.

Davis is unlikely to play in Game 5 against the Phoenix Suns on Tuesday night, Shams Charania of The Athletic reports. He is considered day-to-day, but Charania notes that there is optimism about his status going forward.

Game 5 is extremely important for the Lakers, as Phoenix’s win on Sunday tied the series at 2-2. If the Lakers lose on Tuesday night, they’ll be forced to win both Game 6 and Game 7, which will be in Phoenix.

Davis, who has also been dealing with a knee injury, scored 34 points in each of the Lakers’ wins in the series. The team struggled when he was sidelined during the regular season, and his importance can’t be overstated.