Tag: Adrian Wojnarowski

Rick Pitino Just Got Canned by Louisville and This Might be the End of the Road for Him

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Rick Pitino just got shitcanned by Louisville and it seems like this might be the end of the line for the controversial coach. Just one scandal after the next. There was the scandal with him banging the chick in the restaurant, the stripper parties that he threw an assistant coach under the bus for, and now this pay to play scandal. Guy is cooked. I think the term “lack of institutional oversight” gets thrown around a lot these days, but Pitino has that shit in spades.

 

And now Woj is tweeting out that Pitino had been putting out feelers on potential NBA jobs the past couple of years and there is “no interest.”

Ouch. College coaches always know when they’re in too deep and shits about to implode so thats when they start looking around. You think Pete Carroll just conveniently decided to take the Seattle Seahawks job right before the NCAA came down on USC for all the Reggie Bush sanctions? No way.

So now Pitino is out at Louisville after another massive scandal, there’s no interest from the NBA, and I’m sure he’ll have some kind of imposed multi-year suspension from coaching by the NCAA when this is all said and done. Theres no way another major school takes a shot on him potentially sinking their program too. Maybe we wind up seeing Pitino coaching Southern Connecticut or something down the line on the Isiah Thomas type comeback trail. I’d be remiss to not end this blog with the most Pitino-y Pitino moment of all time.

Dwyane Wade Close to Signing with the Cavs, Which Can Only Mean One Thing

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ESPN – Twelve-time NBA All-Star guard Dwyane Wade is nearing a commitment to sign with the Cleveland Cavaliers and could finalize his decision as soon as Wednesday, league sources told ESPN.Wade, who agreed to a contract buyout with Chicago, will clear waivers on Wednesday and become an unrestricted free agent. Wade has been intrigued by the idea of rejoining LeBron James on the Cavaliers. Wade and James are longtime friends and won two championships and made four trips to the NBA Finals as teammates on with the Miami Heat.

THE BANANA BOAT IS GETTING BACK TOGETHER!

When LeBron was at the peak of his powers no one, save for Tim Duncan, could stop him. That Miami Heat team is one of the most dominant teams we’ve seen in a long time, which people are quick to forget because of how dominant the Warriors have become since LeBron left Miami. Its like every move villain ever. One falls and another pops up to take its place. So Bron Bron is calling in the reinforcements. He’s getting the Banana Boat back together. When times were simpler and LeBron was bullying teams en route to back to back championships. Back then Super Teams were fun because he was on the best one. Unfortunately Chris Paul is already in Houston, but maybe with 2/3 Banana Boat power levels LeBron and D-Wade can do some damage.

PS – How awesome must it be to be so fucking rich that you negotiate a buyout of your GUARANTEED $23 million salary to go play with your buddies for 10% of that and not even bat an eye. Goddamn.

“Wade, 35, is eligible to sign a one-year, $2.3 million veterans minimum contract with the Cavaliers…Wade gave back $8 million of his $23.8 million 2017-18 salary to reach a buyout agreement, league sources said.”

Introducing The 300s Sports Journalist Power Rankings

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Sports Journalist Power Rankings? This needs to happen plain and simple. I’m sure pro athletes, for all the money and fame they have, are sick of a lot of shit. Primarily dumpy white dudes in their fifties deciding which players are the best and the worst.

 

YES, give it to me CJ. But in the meantime, lets take a crack ourselves. I present, The 300s Sports Journalist Power Rankings.

No. 1 – Adam Schefter: The perennial GOAT at the position, has remained at the height of his powers for several seasons now and we see no slowing down in sight. What he lacks in pure height, Schefter makes up for in tenacity and tweeting speed.

No. 2 – Adrian Wojnarowksi: How many writers can claim to have truly added their mark to the English language? Wojnarowski has done just that with the creation of “Woj Bombs” to categorize his breaking news tweets. While currently residing at No. 2 in our annual power rankings, we predict a battle for the top spot with Schefter as early as next season.

No. 3 – Jay Glazer: His stock has only been on the rise since a recurring role on HBO’s Ballers. Glazer lacks the lateral quickness to cover multiple sports, but is an alpha dog where the NFL is concerned.

No. 4 – Buster Olney: The thinking man’s ideal player. Olney is always one step ahead of his competition and has used that skill set to reach the top of the profession.

No. 5 – Stephen A. Smith: One of the bad boys of the league, Smith excels in his instigator role. But as a well rounded player Screamin Stephen A. is still well tapped in around NBA circles, landing him the No. 5 spot on our Power Rankings.

No. 6 – Al Michaels: A fan favorite for not only his well versed play by play, but his late game not-so-subtle references to gambling odds, spreads and over/unders being blown.

No. 7 – Bill Simmons: While leaving the worldwide leader forced him to make the Sophie’s Choice of axing his baby in Grantland, Simmons is still one of the most powerful names in sports journalism. With a heavy hitter umbrella of podcasts, Simmons is looking to bring The Ringer to a similar prominence. Bonus points: Getting Ben Affleck to go apeshit defending Tom Brady on his HBO show.

No. 8 – Peter Gammons: Gammons is still a productive player, a savvy veteran leaning on reputation alone to get the job done, but as an aging former all-star his days atop the power rankings are likely limited.

No. 9 – Matthew Berry: The definition of a role player on a championship winning team. Berry sticks to Fantasy Football, but he does it better than anyone else in the league. As a role player or a 6th man off the bench Berry provides immense value.

No. 10 – Skip Bayless: The closest thing to Lance Stephenson in the realm of sports writers. A player who’s sole job is to irritate the competition, Bayless is unmatched, which is why he closes out our Top 10.

 

How’d we do? Tweet us who you think should’ve made the list @The300sBoston

Gordon Hayward Joins the Celtics and #WycFireworks are ON!

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Holy hell what a start to Free Agency. Blake Griffin as a potential Celtics target was already off the table before I even had a buzz on Friday night. And then the Pacers flipped out and dealt Paul George to the Thunder for peanuts. So before I went to bed on Friday night I was already rattled and blogging in a panic as the Celtics had firmly placed all of their eggs in the Gordon Hayward basket. If Danny didn’t land Hayward then the Celtics were basically smoked.

Then comes the 4th of July and its reported that Hayward is a Celtic! Wait, nope actually Hayward hadn’t signed with anyone yet!

Was he having second thoughts about leaving Utah? Was he pissed off the news leaked before he could talk with the Jazz? Did that fucking snake Pat Riley swoop in and steal Hayward at the 11th hour? Nah, turns out he was just checking his Players Tribune article for AP style and hadn’t hit publish yet.

Burn those #20 jerseys Jazz fans because ya boy is officially shipping up to Boston.

Isaiah Thomas. Al Horford. Gordon Hayward. Avery Bradley/Marcus Smart. Ante Zizic (?)
Is that a team that can beat the Golden State Warriors? Probably not. Is that a team that can beat LeBron and his suddenly on the verge of imploding Cavs? Definitely. And thats all you can ask for. Lets get to the fucking Finals and cross that Warriors bridge when we get there. The fact that Danny has landed two legitimate All-Star max contract players in back to back offseasons without having to trade any of our top picks is a fucking feat and he should be commended for it.

BUT, as the Wolf once famously put it:


As Felger likes to say, this team may very well be the Bridgies, the team that gets you to the team that wins a title when all your young guys grow up. And that may be true, but I’d much rather have a Bridgies team thats going to the Finals and competing for titles WHILE YOU’RE STILL GETTING BETTER AND STILL BUILDING. The future is bright in Boston. The future is bright and it is green. #WycFireworks for everyone.

PS – All of this excitement was dampened a bit because we had to say goodbye to the one and only Kelly “Maple Jordan” Olynyk. C’s had to renounce his rights to make cap space. Don’t cry because its over, smile because it happened.

The NBA Offseason is the Offseason We Deserve

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The NBA Offseason is a goddamn rollercoaster of emotions and its the only thing keeping me entertained until football starts up again. We got Chris Paul to the Rockets, Paul George and Gordon Hayward possibly to the Celtics, Carmelo Anthony trying to get a buyout from the Knicks, the Porzingis trade rumors, the Celtics trading the No. 1 overall pick, the Lavar Big Baller Brand bullshit, and not to mention Phil Jackson getting shitcanned by the Knicks.

The NBA offseason is literally overflowing with storylines and gives us the juice we need. It beats the hell out of every other sport’s offseason where big moves are few and far between.

I don’t really care to get into every team in the NBA’s salary cap situation because that is a goddamn rabbit hole. So I know half these teams either don’t have the cap space or the assets to bring in max guys, but now we got teams like the Rockets reportedly trying to bring in Paul George. Ya know, the same Paul George that the Celtics are trying to trade for and pair with Hayward, IT, and Horford.

Basically all the reports are saying that the Celtics need to wait until the start of free agency to sign Gordon Hayward before they can (or would even want to) trade for George. So I guess I’ll just sit here with my dick in my hand until July 1st.

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Rapid Reaction to the Celtics Draft Night: #WycFireworks Postponed (Again)

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So after all the hype, the rumors, and the Woj Bombs I think a lot of people were expecting the Celtics to make a trade Thursday night, but ultimately they stood pat and drafted their guy Jayson Tatum at No. 3. Again.

Look I fully admit I’m not a college basketball expert so I wasn’t going nuts over who they should draft. It sounds like Tatum will be a good fit, a guy who can get to the basket and create offense on his own, which is exactly what the Celtics need.

But, now we’re hearing rumors about the Celtics STILL being in on a potential Paul George trade.

All I’m saying is, the last 3 years have been full of trade speculation and Wyc shouting from the rooftops to expect fireworks.

Well, I don’t know how much more of the “Celtics are in on player X” I can take. First it was Jimmy Butler (who got traded to Minny last night), then it was Paul George, then it was Kristaps Porzingis. In years past it was Kevin Love and Carmelo Anthony. Now everyone’s already got Gordon Hayward penciled into the starting 5 next season, despite the fact that he’d have to eat like $30-$40 million dollars to leave Utah. Its a merry go round and I’ve been on it way too long. I’ll keep my Woj notifications on, but I refuse to get hyped for anything until Woj tells me its happening. Anthony Davis is not walking through that door.

The NBA Offseason is the Best in Sports and its Not Even Close

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The amount of juice the NBA has provided since the season ended last week is just insane. Its been more entertaining than the NBA playoffs and even more so than the Finals. The NBA offseason is hands down the best in sports as GM’s continue to look around the league, see teams like Golden State, and just say fuck it lets reload.

In the immortal words of Ricky Bobby: “If you ain’t first, you’re last.”

I think that needs to be the new slogan of the NBA. If you’re not Golden State then your franchise might as well punt on the next 3-5 years. It sounds like a joke, BUT THATS WHAT TEAMS ARE DOING. Sure, there are teams like the Celtics who are technically within striking distance so I applaud Trader Danny’s efforts to improve this team as long as it does so without mortgaging the future. But even LeBron and the Cavs, the team thats been to the NBA Finals the last 3 years IN A ROW, seem to be panicking. Cleveland has been in talks for all the big names like Paul George and Jimmy Butler all sandwiched around kicking their own GM to the bricks.

As much as it sucks there is a goddamn Super Team standing between the Celtics and a title, I’m glad it at least gives the rest of the league the motivation to either completely blow things up and rebuild or just stockpile as many assets and big name players as possible.

It’s like the Elite Four at the end of Victory Road in Pokemon. An absolute nightmare to deal with so don’t even both walking down the road if you’re not ready. Level up, get your shit together and then go after the top dogs.

So yesterday we had Woj Bomb after Woj Bomb. Paul George told the Pacers after next season he’s out so now they’re looking to get whatever they can for PG-13. The Knicks are listening to offers for 21-year old stud Kristaps Porzingis and the Celtics are one of the teams in talks with NY. Jimmy Butler saying he’d rather not play in Cleveland so the C’s are still in on that rumor too. Dwight Howard got traded, minutes after dropping some fire jokes about NBA trades on his own Twitter account.

Then we got the Lakers trading D’Angelo Russell, the Clippers looking to deal DeAndre Jordan, all while we still have the NBA fucking Draft on Thursday night. God knows how many more trades there will be and how much more hot, hot heat Woj is going to be dropping on Twitter.

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The only one drooling more than me right now is probably Ainge. No sleep til Brooklyn.

Are the Celtics in on a Trade for Kristaps Porzingis?

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So just about an hour ago, Adrian Wojnarowski tweeted out this bombshell about the Knicks and Kristaps Porzingis.

Confirming what every Knicks fan wakes up in a cold sweat worrying about every night; Phil Jackson might actually trade Porzingis. The only bright spot for that dumpster fire of a franchise is coincidentally the only good move the Zen Master has made since taking over the Knicks. And now Woj puts it out there that the Knicks aren’t ruling out dealing him. Man, if I’m a Knicks I’m probably just putting on my Carmelo Jersey and jumping off the fucking George Washington Bridge.

But that brings me back to the Celtics, who have been stockpiling assets for years, basically just waiting for a young stud to become available.

And after Danny traded the No. 1 overall pick the other night (whether you agree with the logic or not), everyone in the media seemed to agree that this looked like the first step in a series of moves Danny would make. There’s a sense of waiting for the other shoe to drop.

Is Porzingis that other shoe? Talk about a great fit for the Celtics if its true. The C’s need size. Porzingis is 7’3″. The guy is a goddamn giraffe. They also need big men who can shoot to really thrive in Brad Steven’s system. Last year KP averaged 18.1 points per game, shot 45% from the field, and 35.7% from behind the arc. Check, check and check.

Honestly, who the fuck knows what Trader Danny is ever really thinking. Does anyone doubt Danny Ainge could pull one over on this guy though?

But, I do know one thing. I am anxiously awaiting a Woj Bomb dropping. Notifications. On.

Theres Nothing Crueler in This World Than Waiting for a Woj Bomb

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ainge-hoarder
So as everyone already knows, Isaiah Thomas set the internet on fire tonight with this tweet:

Maybe that means the next big Celtics trade is imminent? Or maybe it means Isaiah’s kids got a hold of his phone? Or maybe IT just wants to watch the world burn. But the last time Isaiah tweeted out the cryptic eye balls emoji the Celtics signed their biggest free agent ever.

So who the hell knows, but now I’m checking my phone every 30 seconds like a goddamn junkie waiting for a call from his dealer. Need my fix from Woj. Drop the Woj bomb, Adrian. Drop it.