Rumors

Pat McAfee: "The reality is we're watching the end of a relationship between LeBron James and the Lakers.. The end is near however you wanna slice it.. Whether he retires at the end of the season or if he signs somewhere else as a free agent"

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Pat McAfee: "These conversations between Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Bucks have been happening since May.. Recently these conversations about his future have only intensified" ~ Shams Charania

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Pat McAfee: "The frustration that Giannis Antetokounmpo has is at an all time high.. I've been hearing for months that the writing is on the wall for Giannis and the Bucks.. It's just how do they get there and when do they get there" ~ Shams Charania

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Pat McAfee: "Giannis Antetokounmpo has made it very clear that he wants to compete for championships.. That isn't what has transpired in Milwaukee this season.. The Bucks and Giannis have major decisions to make the next two weeks" ~ @ShamsCharania

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Pat McAfee: "This is now reaching different levels.. This situation between Giannis and the Bucks was a lot more sheltered in the offseason" -- Shams Charania

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This week, NBA commissioner Adam Silver sounded a wee bit responsible in telling Pat McAfee he had asked the NBA’s gambling partners to “pull back some of the prop bets” for lower paid players. If they do, it’d be removing a teaspoon from the ocean. Almost 20 years ago on TrueHoop I interviewed one of the smartest economists in the world. Justin Wolfers also happens to be a former bookie, who has thought deeply about sports gambling. His take: prop bets and point spreads make cheating too easy. You can corrupt a player or coach merely by getting them to do things that mean nothing to athletes and coaches, like fake an injury in the second quarter or place a call about someone not starting. The economic incentives are misaligned: I can tell you something I care little about in exchange for money I care a lot about. Wolfers’ recommendation: legalize gambling on wins and losses only. His guess is that coaches and players have genuine passion for those things, and would be very tough to corrupt.

TrueHoop

ESPN's Pat McAfee asked Silver if the NBA could consider moving its games on Christmas Eve and give way to the NFL on Christmas Day. Silver was candid with his response. “No, we're not (playing) on Christmas Eve, that's a traditional day off in the NBA. That's the trade-off, right? Guys are home on Christmas Eve, and they play on Christmas, and the NFL has joined us. We got more competition,” said the 63-year-old commissioner with a smile. When McAfee tried to push his idea further, Silver stayed firm. “There's no plan to do it at the moment,” stressed Silver, who took the helm of the NBA in 2014.

Clutch Points

Stephen A. Smith: "You got cats out there, and they go at NBA players and stuff like that. Like—you bring up LeBron. You ever see LeBron go at the white boy? Let’s call it what it is." "You ever see him do that? You saw him come at me. The closest you’ve ever seen him come to doing something like that was when he called out Brian Windhorst." "And what you calling out Brian Windhorst for? The man has covered you since junior high school. He’s praised you repeatedly. And you used the Pat McAfee situation to go at him?"

YouTube

Pat McAfee: "The Celtics haven't ruled out Jayson Tatum for the season and they're cautiously optimistic.. He has a goal in mind that he wants to play this season and we'll see if he gets there" @ShamsCharania #PMSLive

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Rick Carlisle: He [Tyrese Haliburton] is completely in on it — WWE, that is. It’s interesting to me, the whole culture of it. I think it's amazing what those guys and women do, how they throw their bodies around, the drama... I have great respect for that industry. I’m not as invested as him, but I’ve learned a lot.” “Pat McAfee has been such a great advocate for the Pacers. His presence at games — he gets on the mic and fires up the crowd in the fourth quarters — it's helped us win way more games than it’s caused us to lose. We need Pat McAfee doing what he’s doing.”

YouTube

Asked about James this time, Smith hinted at prior attempts by James to come at him but refused to re-engage. However, Smith took particular note of James’ decision to choose a fellow ESPNer, Pat McAfee, for his sitdown. That interview notably aired on the network directly following Smith’s First Take. “All I would say is people don’t know the things that have happened behind the scenes,” Smith said. “Things that have been said, who they’ve been said to. The kind of things that have been engaged in in an effort to hurt me, along with contemporaries and others.” “There’s a lot of sh*t that I don’t say. And there’s a reason that I feel the way that I do. And the last straw was him approaching me and turning the Bronny thing into something about me attacking somebody’s family, when it was him I was talking about. Not Bronny. And then to go on The Pat McAfee Show, which comes directly on after my show. On the channel that I work on. To insult me. Now, people can get into all kind of components that go into it and all that other stuff. I have nothing to say.”

Awful Announcing

Stephen A. Smith: He is, in my mind, the second greatest player in the history of basketball, who is a four-time champion, a four-time league MVP. He's been an incredible ambassador for the game of basketball. His respect has been earned, not given, and nobody can deny that. But that's the basketball player, not the man. And all I would say is people don't know the things that have happened behind the scenes, things that have been said, who they've been said to, the kind of things that have been engaged in in an effort to hurt me along with contemporaries and others. There's a lot of that I know that I don't say, and there's a reason that I feel the way that I do. And the last straw was him approaching me and turning the Bronny thing into something about me attacking somebody's family when it was him I was talking about, not Bronny. And then to go on a Pat McAfee show, which comes directly on after my show on the channel that I work on to insult me.

YouTube

Pat McAfee: RED PANDA UPDATE We just got sent a statement from The 🐐’s team. “Thank you very much to all NBA, WNBA, Universities, media individuals and her ever supporting fans for your kindness and concern. Last night at Lynx/Fever she took a fall at the very beginning of the show, due to left paddle of her unicycle was damaged during transit, her left wrist was severely fractured at the same spot for the 2nd time. She was at the hospital for 11 hours last night. Greta and Sheridan, from Minnesota Lynx, stayed with her at the hospital the entire night for her procedure. She is very grateful. She is on her way home now and the Doctors in Minneapolis have recommended that as soon as she gets home, she meet with an orthopedic surgeon for the 2nd part of repair. Red panda, wants me to Thank all of you for the kind wishes and support, it means the world to her. She much appreciates from her heart the support she is receiving. We’ll keep you all posted” 🗣 WE LOVE YOU RED PANDA

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Pat McAfee: RED PANDA UPDATE We just got sent a statement from The 🐐’s team. “Thank you very much to all NBA, WNBA, Universities, media individuals and her ever supporting fans for your kindness and concern. Last night at Lynx/Fever she took a fall at the very beginning of the show, due to left paddle of her unicycle was damaged during transit, her left wrist was severely fractured at the same spot for the 2nd time. She was at the hospital for 11 hours last night. Hilton and Greta, from Minnesota Lynx, stayed with her at the hospital the entire night for her procedure. She is very grateful. She is on her way home now and the Doctors in Minneapolis have recommended that as soon as she gets home, she meet with an orthopedic surgeon for the 2nd part of repair. Red panda, wants me to Thank all of you for the kind wishes and support, it means the world to her. She much appreciates from her heart the support she is receiving. We’ll keep you all posted” 🗣 WE LOVE YOU RED PANDA

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