Rumors

Chris Mannix: The Indiana Pacers team plane has landed in Tulsa, a team official told SI. The Pacers plane circled the OKC area before landing in Tulsa to refuel. A tornado warning is in effect in Oklahoma City.

x.com

Collins wrote the essay for Sports Illustrated, which was posted on April 29, 2013. It was the cover story for the magazine’s May 6 print edition. “We knew it was going to be online at 11 a.m. Eastern time,” Collins said. “I was living in Los Angeles at the time. There were people I felt should hear it from me first, so that weekend, there were a lot of phone calls that were being made.”

New York Times

Unlike Wojnarowski, who worked as a beat reporter at local newspapers before becoming an award-winning columnist, and Charania, who started trying to be an insider while still in high school, Fischer began his career hoping to write longform magazine features. “I never wanted to be an insider,” he said. Fischer scored an internship at Sports Illustrated in 2015 and stacked his portfolio with human interest articles. He got coffee with an NBA coach obsessed with Starbucks. He chronicled the rigorous routines that two over-40 players went through to stay on the court near the end of their careers. “I made all these relationships around the NBA by writing these non-threatening stories,” he said.

Nieman Lab

Fans were excited to see Wembanyama face off against Kevin Durant on Thursday night in a matchup that never got to happen. After the Spurs defeated the Suns on Thursday, Durant gave some heartfelt words to Wembanyama. “I’m thinking about Vic. I’m sure the whole basketball world is thinking about it, but somebody like that who has a strong mind … he’s going to put his best foot forward," Durant said. “I don’t even know Vic well enough, but I can just tell.” Durant offered some unexpected advice when it came to what Wembanyama should do during his recovery time. "Go find some more Legos to put together, read some new books and then when it’s time to get back on the court…lock in," Durant said

Sports Illustrated

The show’s core of host Ernie Johnson and analysts Charles Barkley, Shaquille O’Neal, and Kenny Smith will presumably remain intact. But former ESPN president John Skipper said Friday he believes they’ll be joined “at some point” by Stephen A. Smith. Of course, the moment ESPN obtained rights to air the show last month, speculation began Smith might become part of the mix. ESPN content president Burke Magnus recently dispelled that notion. He recently told Sports Illustrated‘s Jimmy Traina that ESPN had “no plans” to add Smith to the show, adding, “We don’t want to change it. We don’t want to interject new talent into it. We don’t want to really do anything to it.”

Awful Announcing

Harden, who is expected to shoulder the offensive load with Kawhi Leonard sidelined, was ecstatic about the new arena. “It's crackin'! It's crackin' in here. Preseason game but just to see the screen and the fans and the lights all around the seats, it's gonna be a good season for us. It's gonna be fun to watch,” Harden told Sports Illustrated's Joey Linn. “Once we get in there a little bit more, get a little bit more comfortable. But I'm just excited about the whole atmosphere in this building. I think the city of L.A. is excited about it as well.”

BasketNews

And while Kerr, also Green's coach with Golden State, already said he felt like an "idiot" for the choice, his outspoken forward offered an opinion on the latest episode of "The Draymond Green Show." “Not playing [Tatum] was wrong,” Green said (h/t SI.com's Kristen Wong). “We all know it was wrong. He should’ve played. He didn’t … What I don’t like about it is, now to me it feels like a covering my tracks, proving a point type of thing to where, oh now Joel [Embiid] is out of the lineup. And then [Saturday], Jrue [Holiday] didn’t play… From the outside looking in, it comes off as, ‘We made a mistake as a coaching staff.’ ”

NBC Sports Bay Area

The release on his jumper is crisp, to the point that talent evaluators agree that at the very least, he’ll be a lethal knockdown shooter. Sports Illustrated wrote that he “sees the floor extremely well for his size and has a natural feel for the game.” With his size and playing style, there are obvious comparisons to Kevin Durant. But Matas Buzelis lists Luka Doncic, Paul George, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander as his favorite players to watch, before dutifully noting, “I don’t really want to be like them. I want to be my own player.”

GQ.com

Hall of Fame NBAer Rick Barry very nearly ended up joining the Boston Celtics late in his playing career according to the man himself in a recent interview with Sports Illustrated’s Eric Jay Santos. “I reached out to them because I wasn’t happy with what was happening in Houston,” related Barry of the contract dispute that would eventually lead to his retirement. But the ball club elected to cut back their roster by one player, which Barry blames for spoiling the possibility. “I was going to play with the Celtics, but they cut the rosters back from 12 to 11 players,” he explained. “I was really looking forward to it.” “I probably could’ve played (for) two (or) three more years,” continued Barry. “It would’ve been great to go play with the Celtics like so many other players did.”

Celtics Wire

Howard Beck: 🧵So, I was among the casualties today at Sports Illustrated (tho working thru Feb. 28). I’m grateful for the 2+ years I had at SI, a magazine I'd revered since childhood, a place I'd aspired to work since the moment I chose to become a journalist. It's truly been an honor.

Twitter

Jeremy Woo: After nearly nine years at Sports Illustrated, I was among those laid off today. It’s the only real job I’ve had, and despite the general descent into chaos you’re witnessing, I’m grateful that most of the time, going to sit and watch basketball never felt like a real job. I feel fortunate to have had the leeway at SI as a young writer to succeed and fail and learn from my mistakes, and to work with a lot of amazing people, only a handful of whom are still there, but I digress. It’s been a great run and I’m excited to figure the next thing out.

Twitter

Although he has sworn that he will never do the dunk contest again, Aaron Gordon recently told SI.com’s Rohan Nadkarni that he would do the dunk contest if he made the All-Star Game.

For The Win

The accolades keep pouring in for Stephen Curry. The Golden State Warriors star on Tuesday morning was named Sports Illustrated’s Sportsperson of the Year. The announcement was made on ABC’s “Good Morning America.” The issue will go on sale Thursday. This is the first time Curry has won the SI award as an individual. He and the rest of the Warriors were named the 2018 Sportsperson of the Year after winning their third title in four years. He joins James, Tom Brady and Tiger Woods as the only multiple winners of the award.

San Francisco Chronicle

Sports Illustrated: KENNY DID SHAQ DIRTY (@NBAonTNT)

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