James Harden appears to finally be on his way out of Houston, and DeMarcus Cousins is one Rockets player who will not be sad to see him go.
With reports swirling that Harden is on the verge of being traded, Cousins said Wednesday that the way the former MVP has been acting is “completely unfair” to the rest of the team. He also ripped Harden for the “disrespect” he showed long before he trashed the Rockets franchise following Tuesday night’s loss to the Los Angeles Lakers.
If Cousins is saying that publicly, you can bet his opinion is shared throughout the locker room. He’s also been with the Rockets for less than two months, so it’s noteworthy that he feels that strongly about the situation after such a brief time with the team.
Harden looked like he was loafing during Tuesday night’s loss, and the comments he made after the game made it clear he is done playing for the Rockets. The team then told him to stay home from practice on Wednesday. It appears Harden is on the verge of being traded to one of two teams.
Urban Meyer continues to be linked to the Jacksonville Jaguars head coaching position, and it sounds like their spot atop the NFL Draft order may be a key reason why.
According to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, the Jaguars are still seen as the favorite to land Meyer if he decides to take an NFL coaching job. The Los Angeles Chargers are also involved, as other reports have confirmed. However, there are doubts that the Chargers would be willing to go all-in and grant Meyer the power he would seek.
Fowler also notes a key factor working in Jacksonville’s favorite. Meyer has “long been enamored” with quarterback Trevor Lawrence, who the Jaguars are poised to select with the first overall pick in next April’s draft.
These are the key factors working in Jacksonville’s favor. However, the fact that he hasn’t committed to the job already suggests he’s still having some doubts about taking the position. The Jaguars’ search is really stuck in a holding pattern until he commits one way or the other.
James Harden publicly displayed his frustration with the Houston Rockets following Tuesday night’s loss to the Los Angeles Lakers, and it appears he may finally be successful in forcing a trade.
The Rockets are weighing offers for Harden from the Brooklyn Nets and Philadelphia 76ers, and Shams Charania and Sam Amick of The Athletic report that Houston could be nearing a deal with one of the two teams.
The Rockets have been seeking a package of first-round picks and young talent in return for Harden. According to The Athletic, the Nets have offered all of their four future first-round picks and three future pick swaps in exchange for Harden. That would essentially be wagering their entire future to win now with Harden, which is risky considering Kyrie Irving has been away from the team and no one seems to know when he will return.
Philadelphia may be able to outbid the Nets if they are willing to include Ben Simmons. Sixers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey has a close relationship with Harden from the time Morey spent as general manager of the Rockets, but he has already shot down talk of trading Simmons. Of course, there would be little incentive for Morey to publicly state his willingness to trade one of his best assets.
The Boston Celtics and Toronto Raptors have also expressed interest in Harden, The Athletic reports. There are several other teams that Harden is said to be open to playing for.
Harden has not openly confirmed that he wants a trade, but the comments he made on Tuesday night left little doubt. He’s unhappy with the direction of the 3-6 Rockets and clearly wants out. While it initially seemed like Houston wanted to work things about with the former MVP, that is unlikely to happen.
The Miami Dolphins are committed to Tua Tagovailoa as the team’s starting quarterback in 2021, but they may have to do some selling to some of their players on that front.
Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald spoke to three Dolphins players who felt that guaranteeing Tagovailoa the starting quarterback job was premature, and admitted that they felt he had not shown enough in 2020 to receive such a guarantee.
The players told Salguero that they were unimpressed with Tagovailoa during training camp, and were “caught totally off guard” when he was abruptly named the starter in Week 7. The players even said they questioned whether Tagovailoa had any special skills beyond his accuracy, and one openly admitted to being frustrated when he was told that Tagovailoa would have to play in place of Ryan Fitzpatrick during the season finale against Buffalo.
“We always think next man up no matter what,” the player told Salguero. “But I saw Tua as the next man up because Fitz was better.”
The players made clear they have nothing against Tagovailoa and like him as a person and a teammate, but questioned why the Dolphins were so willing to publicly commit to Tagovailoa as starting quarterback while simultaneously pledging to have competition for every position.
“I don’t know, man, that’s like a puzzle right there,” one player said.
The Dolphins did largely look better on offense with Fitzpatrick under center, and Tagovailoa was getting benched mid-game as late as Week 16. It was quite puzzling to see the Dolphins bench Tagovailoa in key games with playoff implications, only to go right back to him as starter the next week.
It may be that Tagovailoa skepticism is helping fuel trade rumors like this.
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The NBA has already postponed seven games due to COVID-19 issues less than a month into the season, and some are wondering if another bubble situation could become necessary. Orlando Magic star Aaron Gordon would not be opposed to that, but he doesn’t want to do it at Disney World again.
Gordon tweeted on Wednesday that he would be open to another bubble if it were in a tropical location. He’s thinking Hawaii or the Bahamas, and would want wives and girlfriends to be allowed to join.
“It’s starting to get janky … I’d be cool with a bubble if it was in the Bahamas or Hawaii and we got to bring our family/wife or girlfriend,” Gordon wrote.
Of course, many players would disagree with Gordon. LeBron James said this week that he would be strongly opposed to another bubble, and that opinion is shared by many. Even with multiple postponements already, it seems highly unlikely that the NBA will stray from its current plan.
Those who are familiar with Gordon’s girlfriend can understand why he’d be fine with spending several months with her in a tropical bubble.
Kyrie Irving has been away from the Brooklyn Nets since last week for “personal reasons,” and Stephen A. Smith believes the star point guard should consider making the absence permanent.
During Wednesday morning’s edition of ESPN’s “First Take,” Smith called for Irving to retire from the NBA. Smith indicated he believes the only reason Irving hasn’t quit playing is that he wants to collect his paycheck.
“I think Kyrie Irving should retire. I think he should announce his retirement today,” Smith said. “Clearly, you don’t want to play basketball bad enough. … Kyrie Irving has not prioritized basketball. I’m not saying he doesn’t want to play altogether, I’m saying he hasn’t prioritized it. How fair is that to the Brooklyn Nets?”
No one really knows the exact reason Irving has stopped showing up to work. He is clearly in good physical health, however, as he appeared on a politician’s Zoom call on Tuesday night while the Nets were taking on the Denver Nuggets.
On Monday, a video circulated on social media appearing to show Irving indoors at a party with several guests (video here). The Nets and the NBA are investigating the video.
All indications have been that Irving cares more about politics than fulfilling his contractual obligation to the Nets. If he doesn’t want to play basketball anymore, Smith is right — he should retire. There’s no way a player should be able to not show up, give no explanation for his absence, and still collect a check.
JuJu Smith-Schuster was trolled seemingly nonstop as the Pittsburgh Steelers limped toward the end of their season, and that has continued even after they were eliminated from the playoffs.
Cleveland Browns players mocked Smith-Schuster over his dancing antics as they were putting a beating on the Steelers Sunday night. Kareem Hunt has decided to keep that going. On Tuesday, the Browns running back signed a piece of memorabilia for a fan and wrote “Corvette Corvette” and “clapped ’em.”
Smith-Schuster made headlines during the regular season when he broke out his “Corvette Corvette” dance on opposing teams’ logos prior to games. He eventually stopped doing it when he realized it was bringing negative attention to the Steelers, but Browns players still used it to mock him on Sunday. You can see the video here.
Then, after the Steelers lost, rookie wide receiver Chase Claypool still talked trash about the Browns by saying they’re going to get “clapped” by the Kansas City Chiefs in the Divisional Round. That is likely what Hunt was referencing when he wrote “clapped ’em” as part of his autograph.
Smith-Schuster may not have antagonized the Browns with his dancing, but he found another way to give them bulletin-board material leading up to the Wild Card showdown. You can’t blame Hunt and others for refusing to let it go.
The Jacksonville Jaguars are waiting for an answer from Urban Meyer about their head coaching job, and we may be starting to get a better idea of why the three-time national champion has not provided it yet.
Meyer has drawn interest from the Los Angeles Chargers for their head coaching vacancy as well, according to Ian Rapoport and Mike Garafolo of NFL Network. The two sides have spoken, and the Chargers reportedly view Meyer as a candidate.
A recent report claimed Meyer has told his associates he received interest from the Chargers, but many within NFL circles were skeptical. Meyer will likely want roster control if he takes an NFL job, and the belief is that Chargers ownership would be hesitant to give him that much power.
All that aside, you can see why the Chargers job would have appeal. Justin Herbert had an outstanding rookie season and looks like a legitimate NFL starting quarterback. L.A. closed out the year with four straight wins, which is why many were surprised the team fired head coach Anthony Lynn.
Meyer has reportedly not yet seemed overly enthusiastic about the Jaguars job. If the Chargers are considering hiring him, that could help explain why.
Of course, two teams vying for his service (or even the perception of it) would benefit Meyer. He is said to be seeking a massive salary to make the jump to the NFL.
The Philadelphia Eagles struggled through an incredibly disappointing 2020 season that ended with their head coach being fired, and New Orleans Saints coach Sean Payton does not want the media comparing his team to the one that finished with just four wins.
The Saints have made some special teams signings this week to protect themselves from potential COVID-19 issues. Philadelphia did something similar at the start of the 2020 season when they signed Josh McCown to their practice squad. When a reporter mentioned that, Payton was sure to point out that the Saints aren’t trying to do anything like the Eagles.
“Yeah, we’re not looking at the Eagles for any model,” Payton said, via Jeff Duncan of The Athletic.
It’s worth noting that Payton and Doug Pederson are close friends. That may have something to do with why Payton took a shot at the Eagles, who just fired Pederson three years after he led the team to a Super Bowl title.
We should also mention that one of Philly’s four wins this season came against the Saints a month ago, though none of that matters now. New Orleans is preparing to face the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the Divisional Round of the playoffs, while the Eagles’ head coaching search does not appear to be off to a great start.
Payton is known for his petty troll game, among other things. Those who know him won’t be surprised by his Eagles remark.
One of the most disappointing seasons in recent Kentucky basketball history continued on Tuesday night when the Wildcats were blown out by Alabama, and John Calipari received yet another sobering reminder of what it feels like to be the team that gets bullied.
After his team’s 85-65 loss to Alabama, Calipari revealed that a Crimson Tide player talked some smack to him toward the end of the game. Calipari had nothing to say.
The Wildcats are now 4-7 on the season. They had won three straight games entering Tuesday night, but they proved they are nowhere near being a tournament team. The only time Kentucky missed the NCAA Tournament under Calipari was in 2012-13, and they finished 21-12 that season.
Kentucky has plenty of problems this year, but Calipari blames himself for what he perceives to be one of the most significant ones.
