Sports Buzz: Cavaliers Willing to Deal Andrew Wiggins for Kevin Love
Plus, Bill Russell OK after fainting during speech.
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Cavs Include No. 1 Pick Andrew Wiggins in Kevin Love Trade Talks - Just this past weekend, new Cleveland Cavaliers coach David Blatt reassured No. 1 draft pick Andrew Wiggins that the team didn’t have any intentions of trading him. That changed on Thursday, after LeBron James reportedly expressed interest in playing with Kevin Love, even allegedly reaching out to the Minnesota Timberwolves All-Star power forward. Now, the Cavs are willing to include Wiggins in a deal for Love to form a new Big Three of King James, Love and Kyrie Irving. (Photo: Mike Stobe/Getty Images)
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Bill Russell OK After Fainting During Speech - Hall of Famer Bill Russell was hospitalized as a precaution Thursday after feeling faint during a speech engagement in Nevada. A Boston Celtics rep later told ESPN that the center is "feeling better." Russell, 80, won 11 championships and bore the name of the NBA Finals MVP trophy given to Kawhi Leonard of the San Antonio Spurs this past season. (Photo: Jared Wickerham/Getty Images)
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Roy Jones Jr. to Return to Ring at 45 - He can’t be serious. Except for the fact that he is. Roy Jones Jr., at the age of 45, has told ESPN that he will fight 39-year-old Courtney Fry on July 26 in Latvia. "I know he'll give it all he got, which is what I want from any opponent," Jones told ESPN. "I want to go out and do my thing and take what I've been doing in the gym to the boxing ring." (Photo: Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
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Carlos Boozer to Join Lakers - Fresh off the Chicago Bulls placing him on their amnesty waivers, Carlos Boozer was scooped up by the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday, ESPN reported. The Lakers won the rights to Boozer with a $3.25 million bid, but according to NBA rules, the Bulls must still play the remaining $13.6 million owed to Boozer in the final year of his contract, though it won’t count against them for salary-cap and luxury-tax purposes. Boozer averaged 13.7 points and 8.3 rebounds in 76 games for the Bulls last season. (Photo: Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)
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Eric Bledsoe Rejects $48 Million Offer From Suns - Eric Bledsoe is playing hard to get. Bledsoe turned down a four-year, $48 million contract from the Phoenix Suns, asking for a max deal of $80 million over five years instead, ESPN reported. Bledsoe averaged 17.7 points, 5.5 assists and 4.7 rebounds last season. Will the Suns let him walk or give the guard what he wants? (Photo: Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
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Chicago, Los Angeles Finalists to Host 2015 NFL Draft - NFL commissioner Roger Goodell told the media Thursday that the league has narrowed its list of cities that can host the 2015 NFL Draft to Los Angeles and Chicago. "We had 12 cities that were interested," Goodell told ESPN. "We felt the best thing to do was focus on the three cities, because they had such a tremendous interest. There are very attractive aspects to each of those cities. Because we don't have the appropriate dates in May [in New York], our focus is completely on Los Angeles and Chicago.” (Photo: Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
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NBA Lottery May Change Format - According to Grantland, the NBA has submitted a proposal for reform of its current draft lottery to promote a more balanced system, one that would strongly deter teams from trying to tank their season. The proposed changes include creating a weighting system that would give at least the four worst teams an equal 11 percent chance of winning the No. 1 overall pick. That would make NBA franchises think twice of tanking their games as there wouldn't be any advantage. Currently, the worst team has a 25 percent chance of landing the first pick and the second-worst squad has 19.9 percent. The proposal also calls for the first picks to use the ping-pong-ball sytem, increasing it from the current three. As of now, there's no telling if and when these reforms will be made. (Photo: Mike Stobe/Getty Images)
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Adam Silver Can't Guarantee Sterling Out By Season's Start - As hard as he has been trying, NBA commissioner Adam Silver cannot guarantee Donald Sterling being out of the league before the 2014-15 season begins. According toESPN, the reason for that is because Silver is still waiting on the Sterlings' case—between Donald Sterling and estranged wife Shelly Sterling—to end. Currently the case, to decide if Shelly properly followed the Sterling Family Trust in selling the Los Angeles Clippers to ex-Microsoft CEOSteve Ballmer for $2 billion, has been recessed till July 21. That means Silver and the NBA must wait for that decision, before the league's Board of Governors can approve the sale to Ballmer and effectively extract Sterling as owner. "It's difficult to say anything with certainty in a situation like this," Silver said of ...
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Richard Sherman, Seattle Seahawks Celebrate ESPYs Win - Big night for Richard Sherman and the Seattle Seahawks at the 2014 ESPYs on Wednesday night. Sherman won the award for Best Breakthrough Athlete, before joining his Legion of Boom fraternity on stage to accept the Best Team award. Kevin Durant took home the award for Best Male Athlete. (Photo: Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
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Kawhi Leonard Skips World Cup of Basketball to Rest Body - After winning the NBA Finals MVP, Kawhi Leonard was a sure shot to make the U.S. basketball team and participate in the World Cup of Basketball tournament late August in Spain. However, Leonard chose to skip consideration for the team altogether to rest his body, something he said he learned is needed after watching teammates like Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili struggle with their health after playing for their respective national teams and Spurs. "I went through those two seasons going down to June 20," Leonard told the San Antonio Express-News of playing in back-to-back NBA Finals now. "That's tough on your body to keep going. I'm just learning from Tony and Manu Ginobili, just going into that offseason and playing so hard and then coming back and their bodi...
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Erik Spoelstra Describes Madness Following LeBron's Departure - So how does Heat coach Erik Spoelstra describe the scene last Friday when LeBron James left Miami to return to the Cleveland Cavaliers? "Probably, we were all in Pat's office about five minutes just to collect ourselves and then from there it was madness," Spoelstra said, as reported by CBS Sports. "The board was right there. So we said we better get to work and we didn't leave until after 1 in the morning. We were talking to agents, trying to talk our guys, texting our guys and no one was getting back to us. There were two or three hours of a lot of uneasiness. We had no idea." Of course, things changed as the Heat re-signed Chris Bosh, landed Luol Deng, and also extended Dwyane Wade's contract since that time. (Photo: Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
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Arian Foster Supports Andre Johnson - Andre Johnson wants to be traded from the Houston Texans and longtime teammate Arian Foster is backing him up. "He is Houston," the Texans running back told Local 2 news in Houston of the wide receiver, as reported by ESPN. "I remember when I had my little run where I had like two back-to-back great seasons. I felt like this city loves me; they love me here. Everywhere I go, this is still Dre's city. I don't care if James Harden is walking around, Dwight Howard, whatever. This is Andre Johnson's city. He is Houston." (Photo: Bob Levey/Getty Images)
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Dwyane Wade, Heat Agree to New Deal - Just as Carmelo Anthony stayed true to his New York roots and LeBron James went back to his home state of Ohio, Dwyane Wade loves being in Miami. The shooting guard and three-time NBA champion proved that by signing a two-year, $31.1 million extension with the Heat on Tuesday, tweeting, “Home Is Where The Heart Is… My Home, My City, My House..#HeatLifer.” Sources told ESPN that Wade took an $11 million cut on the deal that he opted out of for $42 million. "I am proud to have spent every single day of my career as a member of the Miami Heat and to have brought three championship titles to this great city," Wade said in a statement released to the media. Wade only played 54 regular-season games, but averaged 19 points, 4.7 assists, and 4.5 rebounds per game. The Heat also re-signed forward Udonis Haslem to a two-year deal worth $5.6 mi...
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Derek Jeter Plays Final All-Star Game, American League Wins - Derek Jeter received a raucous ovation from the crowd at Minnesota’s Target Field and then proceeded to let his bat do the talking during his final MLB All-Star Game on Tuesday night. Jeter went 2-for-2 at the plate, leading off in the first inning with a double to right field, before adding a single in the third inning. When Jeter was replaced at the start of the fourth inning, the crowd once again showered him with applause as he proceeded to embrace his American League teammates. Though the night was all about the 40-year-old New York Yankees captain, Los Angeles Angels center fielder Mike Trout won MVP honors for hitting a tie-breaking triple and a go-ahead double to lead the AL to a 5-3 win over the National League. (Photo: Elsa/Getty Images)
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Report: Stephenson Signs Three-Year, $27 Million Deal With Hornets - Michael Jordan must have liked what he saw in Lance Stephenson. The Charlotte Hornets owner offered the Indiana Pacers shooting guard a three-year, $27 million deal that Stephenson reportedly signed on Wednesday morning. Pacers president Larry Bird can’t be pleased with the news, considering Stephenson not only left Indiana’s five-year, $44 million contract on the table, but he took less with Bird’s former rival Jordan. (Photo: Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)
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Warriors Won't Trade Thompson as Part of Love Deal - Why do trade talks between the Golden State Warriors and Minnesota Timberwolves for All-Star Kevin Love keep stalling? According to ESPN, the Warriors refuse to include shooting guard Klay Thompson in their package of David Lee, Harrison Barnes, and a first-round draft pick in exchange for Love and Kevin Martin. If Golden State doesn’t relent, it runs the risk of possibly losing Love to the Cleveland Cavaliers, considering he said that he was “intrigued” by the idea of playing alongside LeBron James and that he would commit to Cleveland. (Photos from left: Christian Petersen/Getty Images, Doug Pensinger/Getty Images)
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Saints Re-Sign Jimmy Graham - Jimmy Graham wanted to be recognized as a wide receiver to leverage a more lucrative contract from the New Orleans Saints. However, in the end, the Pro Bowl tight end received a four-year, $40 million deal with $21 million guaranteed, according to ESPN on Tuesday. “It's official I'm bleeding black and gold this morning! Thank you WhoDatNation for all the support,” Graham tweeted out to the masses Tuesday. Graham, a favorite target of Saints quarterback Drew Brees, had 86 receptions for 1,215 yards and 16 touchdowns in the 2013 NFL season. (Photo: Jeff Gross/Getty Images)
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Mike Miller Takes Less, Signs With Cavaliers - LeBron James can be a convincing guy. According to ESPN, King James successfully persuaded friend and former teammate Mike Miller to take a two-year, $5.5 million deal with the Cleveland Cavaliers. The veteran small forward did just that, leaving behind a three-year, $12 million offer from the Denver Nuggets in the process. Miller has a player option at the end of the 2014-15 season that he can exercise. Ray Allen may just be James's next target.(Photos from left: Christian Petersen/Getty Images,Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
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Punter Sues Minnesota Vikings for Making Anti-Gay Remarks - Ex-Minnesota Vikings punter Chris Kluwe plans to sue his former team, alleging that they refused to release the results of a six-month independent investigation into his claims that special-teams coordinator Mike Priefer made anti-gay remarks during the 2012 season, ESPN is reporting. Kluwe says his strong stance for same-sex marriages was one of the reasons the Vikings cut him in May 2013. "At this point, we have no choice but to file a lawsuit against the Vikings," Kluwe's attorney, Clayton Halunen, told ESPN. "In that lawsuit, the very first thing we will get in the course of discovery will be the investigation report, and to the extent we're able, we will make that public."(Photo: Hannah Foslien/Getty Images)
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MLB Aims to Eliminate Smokeless Tobacco Use - After Tony Gwynn's death last month was connected to years of tobacco use, the MLB wants to educate players on the dangers of smokeless tobacco use. That being said, the MLB doesn't advocate an outright ban, opting to let players understand the health risks involved and letting them make their own decision instead. "We give the players the opportunity to make the decision they're going to make against the backdrop of it being legal," MLB Players Association executive director Tony Clark told ESPN on Tuesday before the All-Star Game. "At the end of the day, we don't condone it and they know we don't condone it."(Photo: Rich Schultz/Getty Images)
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Kevin Durant, Rose, Love Headline US Team for World Cup - This U.S. basketball team is young and downright scary on paper. On Monday, according to the Associated Press, the U.S. team selected 19 players for its men’s basketball roster for the World Cup of Basketball tournament in Spain late August. The roster is headlined by All-Stars such as Kevin Durant, Kevin Love and Derrick Rose, who coach Mike Krzyzewski hopes is healthy enough to join the team. Other players selected include James Harden, Anthony Davis, DeMar Derozan, Chandler Parsons, Kyrie Irving, Blake Griffin, Paul George, Damian Lillard, Gordon Hayward, DeMarcus Cousins, Bradley Beal, Kenneth Faried, Kyle Korver, Andre Drummond, and the Golden State Warriors’ back court of Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson. USA Basketball chairman Jerry Colangelo told the AP that the roster could be trimmed to 15 players after the team’s...
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LeBron James Returns to Bring $500 Million to Cleveland - Just what does LeBron James’s return to the Cavaliers mean to the local economy of Cleveland and Northeast Ohio? Well, the Akron Beacon Journal reports $500 million a year in additional ticket sales and spending. According to Ohio’s Cuyahoga County Fiscal Office, James’s return will generate $215 million from games alone, considering ticket sales and attendance will rise drastically. Other calculations include $170 million in fans’ spending at games plus an additional 500 jobs supported by the Cavaliers. All this gives "Welcome home, King James" an entirely new meaning.(Photo: John Locher/AP Photo)
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Mayweather Challenges Maidana to Bet Purse - Floyd Mayweather and Marcos Maidana began their five-city promotional tour Monday in New York City to hype their upcoming September 13 welterweight championship rematch at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. During the opening stop of the run, Mayweather challenged Maidana to bet his purse on the results of the fight. Maidana retorted by saying he would accept that challenge if the champ let him wear the gloves he wanted. In their first fight this past May, Mayweather strongly opposed Maidana wearing heavier gloves and officials made the challenger wear lighter ones. The gloves issue is currently unresolved heading into the rematch. Mayweather promises he has amped up his strength conditioning, expecting dirty tactics from the rugged Maidana. “That’s the only thing that sets him apart,” Mayweather told the New York Daily News of Ma...
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Cleveland Browns Owner's Company to Pay $92 Million Fine - One NFL owner’s pockets just took a hit. According to CNN Money, the Cleveland Browns' owner Jimmy Haslam’s truck stop company has agreed to pay $92 million in a settlement with the federal government. That’s because the Knoxville, Tennessee-based Pilot Flying J was accused of skimming millions of dollars worth of diesel fuel rebates that were owed to customers. This settlement stems from a joint investigation by the IRS and the FBI into Pilot's dealings. "We, as a company, look forward to putting this whole unfortunate episode behind us, continuing our efforts to rectify the damage done, regaining our customers' trust, and getting on with our business," Haslam said in a statement, reported by CNN Money. Being that the company’s annual revenue is $30 billion, this settlement doesn’t seem like it will have any aff...
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Parsons "Offended" by Rockets Free Agency Treatment - Chandler Parsons is excited to be a member of the Dallas Mavericks. The budding star of a small forward just wished that his former team, the Houston Rockets, had more belief in him. "Honestly, I was offended by the whole process," Parsons told Yahoo Sports on Monday about how he feels Houston overlooked him and then failed to match his offer sheet. "They publicly said that they were going out looking for a third star when I thought they had one right in front of them. I guess that's just how they viewed me as a player. I don't think I've scratched the surface of where I can be as a player and I think I'm ready for that role.” Parsons, who averaged career-highs of 16.6 points, 5.5 rebounds and four assists this past season, signed a three-year, $46 million offer sheet with the Mavericks last week that t...
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Carmelo Anthony Gave Knicks $6 Million Discount - During the 2013-14 NBA season, Carmelo Anthony vowed to take a pay cut to allow the New York Knicks some financial flexibility. In turn, Knicks president Phil Jackson said he would hold the All-Star forward to his word. Well, after Melo re-signed with the Knicks for a reported $122-$123 million, that discount figures to be $6 million, according to the New York Post. Maybe it's not as much as Jackson wanted or expected, but it's something nonetheless. Melo officially re-signed with the Knicks on Sunday.(Photo: Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images)
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Cespedes Wins Second Straight Home Run Derby Title - For the first time in 15 years, when Ken Griffey Jr. won the Home Run Derby back-to-back in 1998 and 1999, the MLB has a repeat winner. Oakland Athletics outfielder Yoenis Cespedes slugged his way past Cincinnati Reds Todd Frazier 9-1 in the final round Monday night to come away with repeat Home Run Derby titles. Cespedes’s homers included a 452-foot moon shot that wound up on the third deck of Minnesota’s Target Field. (Photo: Elsa/Getty Images)
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Hernandez, Wainwright to Start All-Star Game - The MLB All-Star Game will pit Seattle Mariners Felix Hernandez, representing the American League, up against St. Louis Cardinals Adam Wainwright of the National League. Hernandez, 11-2 with a 2.12 ERA, becomes the first Venezuelan pitcher to start for the All-Stars. Meanwhile, Wainwright, 12-4 with a 1.83 ERA, is making his first All-Star start. (Photos from Left: Ezra Shaw/Getty Images, Jeff Curry/Getty Images)
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LeBron James’s Deal Two Years, $42 Million - Fresh off his huge homecoming announcement Friday, LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers have agreed to a two-year $42.1 million deal over the weekend, ESPN is reporting. Why only two years? Well, in the 2016-17 season, a new NBA television deal is expected to create a bump up in value of maximum contracts. In addition, ESPN reports that there’s uncertainty with the collective bargaining agreement starting in 2017 and James wants to keep his long-term options open. (Photo: PacificCoastNews.com)
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Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh React to LeBron James Leaving Heat - They were part of the Miami Heat’s Big Three for four years. So, what do Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade think about LeBron James leaving the Heat to return to the Cleveland Cavaliers? “LeBron made the right decision for himself and his family because home is where your heart is,” Wade told ESPN. “I know this was not an easy decision to make and I support him in returning to his roots.” Bosh expressed a similar sentiment. "We're all making decisions to make ourselves happy and our families happy," Bosh told ESPN fresh off signing a five-year, $118 million deal to remain with the Heat this past weekend. "That doesn't take away what we've done together and the special bond that we created and the special bond that we have and just all the memories that we had together.” Furthermore, Bosh is looking to lead a team...
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Coach Says Cavs Won’t Trade Wiggins - Shortly after LeBron James announced Friday that he’d be returning to the Cleveland Cavaliers, rumors of the Cavs trading No. 1 draft pick Andrew Wiggins surfaced. Well, first-year Cavaliers coach David Blatt has made it clear that the organization doesn’t have any intention of trading their prized rookie. "There's no reason or cause for worry on his part because Andrew's not going anywhere, as far as I know and as far as the club has expressed," Blatt told reporters over the weekend during a Cavs Summer League practice in Las Vegas, as reported by ESPN. (Photo: Mike Stobe/Getty Images)
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Luol Deng Joins Miami Heat - There’s no replacing LeBron James. But if you’re the Miami Heat, you’re happy to get a small forward like Luol Deng. Miami signed Deng to a two-year $20 million deal with a player option after this upcoming 2014-15 NBA season. Deng, 29, averaged 16 points and 5.7 rebounds per game this past season for the Cleveland Cavaliers and is a two-time NBA All-Star.(Photo: Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)
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Rockets Let Parsons Play for Mavericks - Houston…we have a problem. The Houston Rockets declined to match the three-year, $46 million offer sheet that Chandler Parsons signed with the Dallas Mavericks last week. Parsons is now officially a member of the Mavs. "I really appreciate the opportunity Houston gave me and I had three great years there," Parsons told ESPN. "But I am really excited for the next chapter of my career in Dallas — to play with one of the greatest players in Dirk [Nowitzki] and a terrific owner in Mark Cuban." The Rockets responded by signing free agent Trevor Ariza from the Washington Wizards. Parsons enjoyed the best season of his NBA career this past year, posting career-highs in points (16.6), rebounds (5.5) and assists (4.0) per game. (Photo: Steve Dykes/Getty Images)
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Paul Pierce Joins Wizards - The Truth is Washington, D.C.-bound. Paul Pierce left the Brooklyn Nets over the weekend to sign a two-year, $11 million deal with the Washington Wizards. The veteran shooting guard and future Hall of Famer tweeted, “Obama, J Wall here I come” Sunday, to which Washington point guard John Wall responded: “Welcome the truth @paulpierce34 to DC…#wizkids!!” (Photo: Claus Andersen/Getty Images)
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DEA Quietly Investigating NFL - As if the NFL concussion settlement wasn’t a bad enough hit on Commissioner Roger Goodell and the league, now comes more disturbing news. According to a New York Daily News exclusive, the Drug Enforcement Administration has silently “launched an investigation into the abuse of prescription medication in NFL locker rooms.” “They want to find out who provided and distributed the drugs to football players,” one source told the newspaper. Hall of Fame defensive end Richard Dent told the Daily News that he played eight games with a broken foot and that the pain-numbing medication he took left him with nerve damage. There's bound to be much more on this soon. (Photo: Andrew Burton/Getty Images)
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Ravens Jimmy Smith Cited by Police - The Baltimore Ravens just can’t stay out of trouble during this offseason. Ravens cornerback Jimmy Smith became the fifth Baltimore player this off-season to find himself in legal drama after he was cited by police Saturday. According to the Associated Press, cops were called to a restaurant in Towson, Maryland, because a woman had reportedly passed out in the bathroom. When police arrived at the scene they found Smith with her and she was vomiting. When they asked Smith to leave the bathroom, he didn’t follow orders and was slapped with a citation. Smith joins other teammates, running backs Ray Rice and Lorenzo Taliaferro, offensive tackle Jah Reid, and wideout Thompson Deonte, as Ravens who were either arrested or cited by police this off-season. (Photo: Rob Carr/Getty Images)