A video posted to Terry Rozier’s Instagram account on Saturday sparked some trade rumors.
Rozier posted a video on his Instagram Story that showed him talking about someone leaving town. Rozier is narrating the video and his hand is shown holding a suitcase.
“Sometimes you get shipped,” Rozier says in the video.
Rozier very easily could have been talking about the person who was leaving, not himself being traded. But the video led some to ask what was happening.
Rozier was traded last year to Charlotte as part of a sign-and-trade that brought Kemba Walker to Boston. The Hornets’ signing of Gordon Hayward on Saturday has added some financial pressure to the team. They are planning to waive Nic Batum via the stretch provision to create money for Hayward. But they still owe Rozier $18.9 million next season and Cody Zeller $15.4 million. They made LaMelo Ball the No. 3 overall pick as well, creating some questions about a fit with Rozier, another point guard.
But Rozier did welcome Hayward to the Hornets, which was a positive sign.
On the other side, Rozier seemed to show some interest in a possible trade to the Clippers.
There was concern among Los Angeles Lakers fans that Kentavious Caldwell-Pope could end up leaving in free agency, but that did not happen.
KCP is returning to the Lakers on a three-year, $40 million deal, Shams Charania reported on Saturday.
The 27-year-old shooting guard is entering his eighth season in the NBA and originally signed with the Lakers before the 2017-2018 season. He set the stage for Klutch Sports clients to flock to the team, as LeBron James signed with the Lakers a year later.
Caldwell-Pope averaged 9.3 points in 25.5 minutes per game last season and made 38.5 percent of his threes. He averaged 10.7 points per game in the postseason.
Caldwell-Pope was also pursued by the Knicks and other teams in free agency but decided to return to the team with whom he won a championship. The last of the Lakers’ money went to KCP, so they now will have the veteran’s minimum to fill out the remaining spots on their roster.
Cincinnati improved to 8-0 on the season with a 36-33 win over UCF on Saturday, but the end of the game got very interesting.
The Knights were down 36-25 in the fourth quarter but drove for a touchdown and made the 2-point conversion to make it a field goal game with 4:27 left. That gave the ball back to the Bearcats, who were looking to run out the remaining time on the clock.
Cincinnati kept running the ball and running down the clock. They eventually had a 1st-and-goal at the 5 with 1:34 left, and they ended up with a 3rd-and-goal at the 1 with 38 seconds left. They got stuffed again and then faced a 4th-and-goal.
There was a few seconds of differential between the play and game clock, so Cincinnati took a snap on fourth down and looked to run out the final seconds. But they had a big problem — the snap was inaccurate.
All they had to do was waste a few seconds and then kneel on the ball with no time left. Instead, UCF nearly could have recovered the fumble and returned it the other way for a touchdown.
The undefeated Bearcats have Temple and Tulsa left on their schedule. And there is a lot of public pressure to get them to face BYU. We would love to see that happen.
Indiana may have lost to Ohio State 42-35 on Saturday, but that didn’t stop Tom Allen from giving a powerful locker room speech afterwards.
Allen, who is in his fourth season as IU’s head football coach, shared a video on Twitter Saturday of his postgame speech. This guy is so intense he could wake up a corpse.
My goodness.
If that’s what the guy sounds like after a defeat, imagine what he’s like before a game.
The Hoosiers entered Saturday’s game ranked No. 9 in the country and proved they are no joke. They are 4-1 on the season and have shown they can not only beat good teams, but also that they can hang with the best ones.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers still aren’t quite hitting on all cylinders on offense, and Tom Brady has singled out one department in particular.
Brady blamed himself Friday for the team’s lack of big plays through the air. In the last three games, Brady is only 1/13 on pass attempts of 20 yards or more, and he admitted that’s on him to fix.
“It’s definitely something we’ve got to hit,” Brady said, via Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times. “Our guys are doing a great job getting down the field and it’s my job to find them and hit them. You know, if you don’t hit them, they’re just long foul balls and we had a few of those last game.”
The hope was that Brady could make use of the likes of Mike Evans and Chris Godwin and reel off some big plays. That hasn’t really happened yet. He’s averaging a modest 7.1 yards gained per pass attempt, which is an improvement on 2019 but still lower than his peak years with New England.
Brady has also missed some open men, which his coach has not been shy about pointing out.
Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski have teamed up yet again! Treat yourself or a friend with this great Tampa Fiesta shirt. You can buy it here.
Carmelo Anthony liked his time with the Portland Trail Blazers so much, he’s staying for at least another year.
According to Shams Charania of The Athletic, Anthony is finalizing an agreement to return to Portland next season. The Blazers appealed to Anthony for multiple reasons. He wanted to remain loyal to them after they resurrected his career, and he’ll be able to play for a contender where he knows his role.
Anthony started 58 games for Portland last season, averaging 15.4 points per game. It was a remarkable turnaround for a player whose career looked over after he was cut loose by Houston early in the 2018-19 season.
There was some chatter that Anthony might end up back with his hometown team. If the 36-year-old was prioritizing a contender, though, he’s chosen a better situation.
After falling short to the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA Finals, Jimmy Butler has now helped weaken them for next season.
The Athletic’s Sham Charania reported Saturday that the Miami Heat star, along with team president Pat Riley, recruited guard Avery Bradley to leave the Lakers. Bradley agreed to a two-year, $11.6 million deal with Miami.
Though Bradley opted out of the Orlando bubble, his stock is on the rise. A two-time All-Defensive Team selection, Bradley is a physical three-and-D guard who will fit the Heat’s style perfectly. He will also offer them more depth in the backcourt. That was exposed as a weakness for the team when Goran Dragic got hurt in the Finals.
As for Butler, he is having a big positive impact on Miami’s offseason and is doing so by any means necessary.
Rajon Rondo is headed back to the Eastern Conference.
Shams Charania of The Athletic reported Saturday that the veteran point guard has agreed to a two-year, $15 million deal with the Atlanta Hawks.
The 34-year-old Rondo, coming off a championship last season with the Los Angeles Lakers, figures to slot into a role as Trae Young’s backup and mentor. The Hawks also signed guard Kris Dunn earlier this week.
There was some belief Rondo might head to a particular contender instead. However, he now joins an upstart young Hawks team and also gets a nice pay raise from the $2.4 million he made last year.
The Illinois Fighting Illini turned in a rather convincing win over Nebraska on Saturday, and rubbed it in afterwards on Twitter.
The loss dropped the Huskers to 1-3. They were widely credited as one of two schools most aggressive in getting the Big Ten to start its season. The Illinois Twitter account acknowledged that in thanking them for the game.
That’s just plain brutal.
It’s highly doubtful that Nebraska regrets its role in bringing the Big Ten back. Scott Frost would certainly say this is a learning experience for his team, and maybe he’s right. Still, this season has been consistently humiliating for Nebraska. Maybe they’d have been better off not playing.
Rajon Rondo clearly won’t be returning to the Los Angeles Lakers, but there remains some doubt regarding his ultimate destination.
According to Marc Stein of the New York Times, the Atlanta Hawks are still regarded as the frontrunner for the veteran guard. However, the Los Angeles Clippers are still “in the hunt” for Rondo.
One thing seems certain: Rondo’s time with the Lakers is over. In an Instagram post Saturday, he thanked the organization, staff, players, and fans in a goodbye message.
Rondo may prefer the Clippers. They’re closer to contention. However, the Hawks may be willing to offer a bigger payday. At this point, that may make the difference.
