Tag: draftkings

Jason Tatum and Matthew Tkachuk were high school friends, now they’re both champions jason,tatum,and,matthew,tkachuk,were,high,school,friends,now,they,re,both,champions,sbnation,com,front-page,nba,nhl,draftkings

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The Florida Panthers are Stanley Cup Champions, winning a hard-fought Game 7 against the Oilers to win their first title in team history. It comes just after the Boston Celtics won the NBA Championship — and at the center of both teams is a remarkable bond between friends.

Jason Tatum of the Celtics and Matthew Tkachuk of the Panthers are long-time friends, going back to their days at Chaminade Prep School in the suburbs of St. Louis. Tatum, a promising basketball player befriended Tkachuk, who wanted to follow in his father’s footsteps into the NHL (Matthew is the son of the legendary Keith Tkachuk).

The two spent time together, pushing each other, even making goofy videos together — as this assignment Tatum made for school stars Tkachuk briefly.

Tkachuk was drafted by the Flames with the 6th pick in the 2016 NHL Draft, Tatum was picked by the Celtics with the 3rd pick in 2017. Now less than a decade later they’ve both won titles in the same year.

Simply amazing.

Did Don Draper invent Grimace in 1971 to help the Mets in 2024? An investigation did,don,draper,invent,grimace,in,to,help,the,mets,in,an,investigation,sbnation,com,front-page,mlb,draftkings

Did Don Draper invent Grimace in 1971 to help the
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The Mets were a hapless mess of an organization until Grimace came into their lives. The husky blob of unknown density arrived at Citi Field to throw out the first pitch on June 12, and since the team has gone 9-and-2 — now in legitimate striking distance of grabbing a wild card.

Everyone has wondered how the hell Grimace has been able to turn the Mets around. More importantly: Why Grimace? What if I told you that this was a plan 53-years in the making, all set into motion by Don Draper of Mad Men fame in an effort to help his beloved team win before his 100th birthday?

Don Draper is a die-hard Mets fan

This is established throughout Mad Men. The Mets are a fundamental piece of Don’s identity, which establishes him as a modern man who has no particular reverence for the past, which is why he supports the upstart Metropolitans over the historic and vaunted Yankees.

A Mets pennant is a proudly displayed part of Don’s office, and remains a feature of the show until late in the series. The last we see Don’s allegiance to the Mets he finds the pennant under an old desk, electing to throw it out — but as we’ll come to realize it’s a love that never dies.

mets

There are some Mad Men spoilers coming up, but at this point the finale was in 2015. You’ve had more than enough time to watch Mad Men.

Don Draper, Coca-Cola, and Grimace

The series finale of Mad Men left with Don finally finding the inner-peace that alluded him throughout the series. More importantly to the tale of Grimace and the Mets, it establishes that Don came up with the groundbreaking “Buy the world a Coke” campaign, which reshaped advertising in 1971, and is one of the most influential commercials of all time.

This tells us that Don was back on top in 1971. He didn’t leave the ad game, but instead rose like a phoenix to deliver the best work of his life after getting his own like in order. Now, it’s not difficult to imagine that after reshaping Coca-Cola he wouldn’t have landed another massive account to guide them into the future: McDonald’s.

When was Grimace created? You guessed it… 1971. The same year as the Coca-Cola campaign. But this goes so much deeper.

Debuting as “The Evil Grimace,” the initial portrayal of Grimace was as an evil entity who stole all the cups from McDonald’s to prevent children from getting … you guessed it: Coke.

See, Grimace was the part of Don’s psyche he left behind. The negative energy that he jettisoned. If the new, enlightened Don Draper wants to buy the world a Coke, the old Draper wanted to horde all the cups to himself and prevent the world from having Coca-Cola.

Don created “The Evil Grimace” to be the precise counterpoint to the last image we have of him from Mad Men — smiling. Then, in 1972 Grimace is re-introduced as Ronald’s best friend, and not a bad guy anymore. This was Don telling the world that he had changed. That he was different. That he was a happy, contributing member of society.

There are more hints of Draper’s involvement in McDonald’s too

Draper creates Grimace in 1971 and continues to work on the McDonald’s account, pulling more and more examples from his own life into the ad campaigns.

  • Hamburglar is a manifestation of Peggy Olson, created in 1971. With red hair and prominent teeth, Draper posits that Hamburglar is both mischievous and lovable, while also stealing the literal heart of out McDonald’s by taking their hamburgers. This is a metaphor for how Peggy ripped Don’s heart out, and he never recovered.
  • The Fry Kids from 1972 represent Don’s children.
  • Birdie is introduced in 1980, named after Don’s nickname for his ex-wife Betty. The full name “Birdie, the early bird” is a scathing critique of Betty’s self-absorption and his resentment at how self-reliant his children needed to be to support their mother’s life of sloth.
  • Mayor McCheese represents Bert Cooper, while Officer Big Mac is Roger Sterling — for obvious reasons.

How do the Mets fit into all this?

The number 100 is key to all of this. Don, despite being such a die-hard Mets fan, endured four consecutive 100-loss seasons from 1962-to-1965. When Draper was in his prime, the Mets were disgustingly awful — and yet he remained a fan.

Draper’s beloved team finally managed to win in 1969, but at that point Don was too far in the depths of despair and alcoholism to truly enjoy it. By the time he got his life back on track (and created Grimace) in 1971, the Mets had firmly become a middling team, which was present for most of his life.

There was only one World Series that Don truly got to enjoy in 1986. This coincided with Grimace’s rise to popularity, in which Grimace’s universe was expanded to highlight his family. It’s here that Draper, now aged 61 is coming to terms with his own mortality and wanting to wind down his advertising career by showing that family is important.

The “Grimace Shake” unveiled by McDonald’s on June 12, 2023 to commemorate the character’s birthday means inherently that the shake is there to celebrate Don’s birthday. HE. IS. GRIMACE. The two are one in the same.

Fast-forward to 2024

It is established in Mad Men that Draper was born in 1925, and we now know his full birthday is June 12, 1925. This is significant because 2024 is the last season the Mets can win the World Series before Don turns 100, a chance to exorcise the memories of those horrible 100-loss season where it all began, a chance to experience some sporting joy before he shifts off this mortal coil.

Don calls in a favor. He tells McDonald’s to dispatch Grimace to the Mets. Don is too old and frail to make it to Queens in person, but Grimace will be his spiritual medium to help the team in their time of need.

Grimace throws out the pitch on June 12, 2024 — Don’s 99th birthday. He witnesses as the team begins to turn it around and become relevant once more. The man who bought the world a Coke has now thrown the Mets a bone.

As an inside joke both McDonald’s at the Mets poke fun at Don’s womanizing past by having Grimace hit on Mrs. Met, and post it on social media.

Don Draper created Grimace as an extension of himself, and now Grimace is helping the Mets achieve what was previously thought impossible. It’s all because of one advertising executive and his checkered past.

Olympic poop protest postponed after politicians cancel swim in feces-filled Seine olympic,poop,protest,postponed,after,politicians,cancel,swim,in,feces,filled,seine,sbnation,com,front-page,olympics,draftkings

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Thousands of French citizens planning to poop in the River Seine had their plans flushed down the toilet after it was announced that president Emmanuel Macron and Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo would not swim in the river as they had previously announced, citing “political reasons.”

Officials didn’t expand on the decision, instead loosely saying the swim would happen “eventually.” Many suspect the decision was prompted by online plans to poop in the Siene with scientific precision, which would have ensured floaters hit the politicians right as they planned to dive into the river on Sunday at noon.

Citizens are irate at the astronomical amount of money which is being spent to clean up the Seine with plans to use the iconic river as the venue for open water swimming at the Olympics. The Seine, which has long been connected to the Paris sewerage system, has been too polluted to swim in for over 100 years.

Organizers of the Paris games wanted to showcase the river in 2024, and have since embarked on a cleanup campaign which has cost over 1 billion euros. However, scientific testing has shown that efforts have barely put a dent in the cleanliness of the river — which is still full of human excrement, garbage, and debris.

Protesters saw their chance when Macron and Hidalgo announced they would swim in the Siene to prove the water is safe for the games. Plans began circulating online for a mass-pooping event, complete with maps and water-flow measurements to pinpoint exactly where people would need to poop, and when to ensure their feces would make contact with the politicians at the time of their swim.

Those hopes were dashed Friday when officials called off the event. The Seine still contains dangerously high levels of bacteria, which are almost guaranteed to make athletes sick if they spend extended periods in the river. Now officials are in a race against time to ensure the water meets standards by July 30, which appears to be an impossibility based on the amount of pollution left to clean up.

That job only gets more difficult if people plan to poop in the river more.

NBA Draft: 60 best players, ranked for 2024 class nba,draft,best,players,ranked,for,class,sbnation,com,front-page,nba,nba-draft,draftkings

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The 2024 NBA Draft feels like the weakest class to enter the league in a decade. You have to go back to 2013 for the last time a draft had such a distinct lack of starpower at the top, but that class also offers offers some valuable lessons for this one. Anthony Bennett was a shocking No. 1 overall pick to the Cleveland Cavaliers back then, and he turned into a monumental bust. At the same time, there were still two future Hall of Famers lurking after the lottery (Giannis Antetokounmpo and Rudy Gobert) and plenty of solid pros scattered throughout.

Even bad drafts have good players, and this one will, too. It’s just going to be extremely difficult to identify the eventual best player in the class with the No. 1 overall pick, because no one can agree on who that player is this year. Before we delve into our final rankings, here are a few notes about my draft philosophy as someone who has been on the beat since about 2013.

I put the most value into how good a player can be in his prime years. I don’t really care if I’m wrong, because unlike NBA GMs, I face no consequences for it. For that reason, I tend to prefer players with higher ceilings than more certain floors. I typically go for players with elite physical tools, because it gives them more outs for success … but I have a habit of falling for super-skilled smaller guards, too. I put more value into shot creation than any other skill. I try to give the benefit of the doubt to players with a strong feel for the game. I value off-ball defensive impact greatly. I always look at advanced metrics like BPM and enjoy checking out different draft models, but typically rely more on my own eye test and gut check.

I released my first big board for this class the day after the 2023 draft. So much has changed since then. Here are our final top-60 player ranking for the 2024 NBA Draft.

2024 NBA Draft board

Rank Tier Player From Position Age
Rank Tier Player From Position Age
1 1 Nikola Topic Serbia G Born 2005
2 1 Alex Sarr France C/F Born 2005
3 1 Ron Holland G League Ignite F Born 2005
4 2 Reed Sheppard Kentucky G Freshman
5 2 Rob Dillingham Kentucky G Freshman
6 2 Matas Buzelis G League Ignite F Born 2004
7 2 Isaiah Collier USC G Freshman
8 2 Donovan Clingan UConn C Sophomore
9 2 Devin Carter Providence G Junior
10 2 Zaccharie Risacher France F Born 2005
11 2 Stephon Castle UConn G Freshman
12 3 Tyler Smith G League Ignite F Born 2004
13 3 Kel’el Ware Indiana C Sophomore
14 3 Cody Williams Colorado F Freshman
15 3 Tidjane Salaun France F Born 2005
16 3 Kyle Filipowski Duke C Sophomore
17 3 Yves Missi Baylor C Freshman
18 3 Dalton Knecht Tennessee F Senior
19 3 Zach Edey Purdue C Senior
20 3 Jared McCain Duke G Freshman
21 3 DaRon Holmes II Dayton F/C Junior
22 3 Ja’Kobe Walter Baylor F Freshman
23 3 Jaylon Tyson Cal G Junior
24 3 Bub Carrington Pitt G Freshman
25 4 Tristan da Silva Colorado F Senior
26 4 Pacome Dadiet France F Born 2005
27 4 Kevin McCullar Kansas G/F Senior
28 4 KJ Simpson Colorado G Junior
29 4 Johnny Furphy Kansas F Freshman
30 4 Ryan Dunn Virginia F Sophomore
31 4 Terrence Shannon Jr. Illinois G/F Senior
32 4 Jamal Shead Houston G Senior
33 4 Adem Bona UCLA C Sophomore
34 4 Ajay Mitchell UC Santa Barbara G Junior
35 5 Tyler Kolek Marquette G Senior
36 5 Kyshawn George Miami F Freshman
37 5 N’Faly Dante Oregon C Senior
38 5 Bobi Klintman Sweden F Born 2003
39 5 Judah Mintz Syracuse G Sophomore
40 5 Juan Nunez Spain G Born 2004
41 5 Keshad Johnson Arizona F Senior
42 5 Dillon Jones Weber State G Junior
43 5 Melvin Ajinca France G Born 2004
44 5 Jaylen Wells Washington State F Junior
45 5 Nikola Djurisic Serbia F Born 2004
46 5 Isaiah Crawford Louisiana Tech F Senior
47 5 Jonathan Mogbo San Francisco F Senior
48 5 Cam Christie Minnesota G Freshman
49 5 Harrison Ingram North Carolina F Junior
50 5 Baylor Scheierman Creighton F Senior
51 5 Ulrich Chomche Cameroon C/F Born 2005
52 6 Oso Ighodaro Marquette C Senior
53 6 Anton Watson Gonzaga C/F Senior
54 6 Tristen Newton UConn G Senior
55 6 Reece Beekman Virginia G Senior
56 6 Bronny James USC G Freshman
57 6 Antonio Reeves Kentucky G Senior
58 6 Justin Edwards Kentucky F Freshman
59 6 AJ Johnson Illawarra Hawks G Born 2005
60 6 Jalen Bridges Baylor F Senior

Tier 1: All-Star upside if things break right

1. Nikola Topic, G, Red Stars (Serbia)

Topic first emerged as the top player in our board in Dec. during a torrid start to the season for Mega in the Adriatic League. Since then, he changed teams and suffered two knee injuries, the latest of which resulted in a torn ACL. This is the least confident I’ve ever felt about ranking a player No. 1 overall in a draft class, but ultimately Topic’s polish at an extremely young age (he turns 19 years in August) and upside as a potential on-ball engine won out.

The main appeal for Topic is his shot creation potential, his positional size as a 6’6 point guard, and his undeniable production going against grown men. Topic is a downhill attacking guard who can burn defenders off the dribble with his tremendous burst going to the basket. While he lacks vertical explosion (he finished with zero dunks this season), he’s an extremely crafty finisher who used long strides and extension finishes to convert his rim opportunities efficiently all season. He’s at his best operating out of the pick-and-roll, where he can leverage the threat of his own scoring to open up passing lanes to teammates.

In 13 games with Mega, Topic averaged 18.6 points, 6.9 assists, 3.7 rebounds per game on terrific 62.9 percent true shooting. He got to the foul line a lot (and made 87.8 percent of his free throws), posted an impressive assist-to-turnover ratio, and finished with an “excellent” grade on pick-and-roll ball handling, isolations, and transition opportunities, according to Synergy Sports.

There’s still considerable downside here. Topic is not a good three-point shooter at the moment, and will face teams going under every screen early in his career. He tends to drift a bit when he doesn’t have the ball in the halfcourt. He shows poor technique and effectiveness defensively. It’s fair to wonder how a player so reliant on his burst will look coming off a torn ACL.

Still, Topic put up fantastic numbers as an 18-year-old in a solid pro league, and has a rare ability to generate easy baskets with his speed as a ball handler. His combination of scoring and playmaking as a downhill guard feels like the clearest pathway in this class to All-Star potential if everything breaks right.

2. Alex Sarr, C/F, Perth Wildcats (France)

Sarr has the best physical tools in this class as an athletic 7’1 big man with a 7’4 wingspan. He has the potential for elite defensive versatility as a big man who can protect the rim from the backline, or switch screens and stick with smaller perimeter players. Sarr can fly in the open floor, or soar above the rim to finish plays on both sides of the ball. While his offense remains a work in progress, he’s shown some tantalizing flashes as a ball handler and shooter. Sarr can be frustrating to watch at times because he doesn’t play with much force offensively, he’s not a plus passer, and he tends to give up opportunities on the glass. Will he shoot it well enough long-term to be an NBA four? Will he rebound it well enough to play center? The offensive upside here comes if Sarr’s three-point shot develops, or his body blows up and he’s able to start running over guys. Even with questions about his offensive role, Sarr’s ground coverage and explosion is a rare combination at 7’1 and gives him real star equity long-term as a play finisher.

3. Ron Holland, F, G League Ignite

Read my profile on Holland here. I’m betting on Holland’s ability to make winning plays when he’s not overmatched in a primary creation role like he was for the Ignite. His athleticism, slashing, defensive motor, passing touch, and transition scoring should all translate well to the league. He will obviously have to improve his jump shot, and I wish he was a little bigger to play the four. While his G League numbers were underwhelming, the fact that he was able to learn what it’s like to carry such a huge usage rate at a young age should be beneficial for his long-term development. Still only 18 years old on draft day, Holland is one of the few players in this class to have star upside with his physical tools, pedigree, and hustle.

Tier 2: Potential high-end complementary players

4. Reed Sheppard, G, Kentucky: Sheppard is tiny and doesn’t offer a ton of on-ball creation upside, but he’s such a good shooter and has a special ability to force turnovers defensively. He’d be at this best filling in the cracks for a team with length and athleticism around him, allowing him to tap into his shot versatility and maximize spacing. Sheppard will get physically overpowered defensively in certain matchups, but he has incredible hands to generate turnovers and is excellent kickstarting the break with outlet passes. He’s going to be below the size and athleticism thresholds for most NBA guards, but if he can continue the elite three-point stroke he showed at Kentucky (52.1 percent from deep on 144 attempts), he should bring enough to the table to be an elite complementary piece.

5. Rob Dillingham, G, Kentucky: Dillingham is dangerously small at 6’1 barefoot with a 6’3 wingspan, and will be the lightest player in the NBA next season after weighing in at 164 pounds at the combine. You need to be enormously skilled to thrive in the NBA at that size, and I believe Dillingham meets the criteria. The Kentucky freshman is one of the great shooters in this draft class, able to rip deep pull-ups off the dribble or relocate off-the-ball for backbreaking catch-and-shoot threes. He hit 44.4 percent of his 144 attempts this season, and knocked them down on every action possible. Dillingham also has a case as the best ball handler in this class, able to link together moves to keep his defender off balance while attacking. He has awesome vision as a passer, and looks comfortable throwing everything from lobs to skips to pocket passes to the roll man. His inability to play through any contact is a big concern, but the shot-making and playmaking here is too thrilling to discount.

6. Matas Buzelis, F, G League Ignite: Buzelis is simply going to have to shoot it better from three than he did with the G League Ignite (26.1 percent from three on 115 attempts in 34 games) to be successful in the NBA, but track record as a shooter at lower levels inspires some confidence that could happen. Having a reliable spot-up jumper would unlock the rest of Buzelis’ offensive game. It’s rare to find forwards this big (6’8.75 with a 6’10 wingspan) who can attack off the bounce with creativity and make plays for themselves and others. Buzelis also showed a surprising amount of defensive toughness at the rim (64 blocks in 34 games) despite a skinny frame. This ranking could look bad if the shot doesn’t come around, but the ideal version of Buzelis is type of well-rounded forward every team covets.

7. Isaiah Collier, G, USC: Collier entered the cycle as a potential top-3 pick, but quickly lost momentum during a slow start for USC. There was less attention on his hot close to the season, but it deserves the same consideration. Collier is simply one of the best shot-creation bets in this class as a strong and fast downhill guard with the requisite passing vision. At 6’2.5 barefoot, Collier has a burly 205-pound frame which he uses to put consistent pressure on the rim. He finished well at the rim (61.7 percent) with nearly 74 percent of those looks being self-created (without an assist). He got himself in trouble with turnovers for much of the season, partially because his passes too ambitious, partially because USC didn’t have the spacing or lob threats to maximize his vision. Collier’s biggest swing skill is definitely his jump shot: he made 33.8 percent of his 80 attempts on the year. For a player who gets to the line a ton, he should probably start working on his free throws, too, because he only hit 67 percent from the charity stripe. If Collier can develop any kind of shot — even from mid-range — his speedy, bully ball game could still have serious pro upside.

8. Donovan Clingan, C, UConn: It’s hard to grasp just how huge Clingan is. At 7’1.75 barefoot with a 7’6.75 wingspan and 280 pound frame, he would have been one of the NBA’s tallest, longest, and heaviest players last season. Clingan was the rock on back-to-back national championship teams at UConn, and his game has an easy translation to the NBA as a rim protector. While he’ll mostly have to play drop coverage, his length and shot-blocking instincts give him a chance to be one of the league’s top paint deterrents. The offense could be a bit worrisome to me, despite the impressive playmaking chops and sparkling 63.7 true shooting percentage he posted this year. Clingan just doesn’t get much pop off the ground as a leaper, and his finishes will get much tougher against more athletic NBA defenders. I also find it concerning that Clingan played less than half the available minutes for UConn on the season, and only played over 30 minutes four times in his sophomore year. Clingan feels safer than other prospects for his size and easy role translation, but his scoring and conditioning issues give me some pause with a top pick.

9. Devin Carter, G, Providence: Carter took a superstar leap in his junior season at Providence by adding improved three-point shooting and paint finishing to his already tenacious defensive ability. Carter Carter went from hitting 29.9 percent of his threes as a sophomore to 37.7 this past season while nearly doubling his number of attempts. He confidently stepped into pull-ups when the defense went under screens, and quickly relocated for spot-ups when he was off-the-ball. Carter’s improved stroke opened up the rest of his offense, and his added craft as a driver (he noted he started playing off two-feet more to model his game after Jalen Brunson after a suggestion from the coaching staff) helped him finish an impressive 65 percent of his shots at the rim. Carter’s best attribute is his defense. Carter has length (6’8.75 wingspan) and explosive leaping ability (42-inch max vertical) that helps him play so much bigger than his size. His 26 dunks this season are a shocking number for a guard who measured 6’2 barefoot. The catch with Carter is he’ll turn 23 years old during his rookie season, and is already the same age as someone like Jalen Green who has three NBA seasons already under his belt. Still, Carter’s fantastic defense and improved shooting stroke earmarks him as a disruptive guard who would thrive next to a bigger initiator.

10. Zaccharie Risacher, F, JL Bourg (France): Risacher just doesn’t have enough shot creation upside to go higher than this to me, but it does feel like he has a high floor as an off-ball wing who can space the floor. At 6’8.5 barefoot with a 6’9.5 wingspan, Risacher played a big role in the top French pro league, and had some of his best games of the year deep in the playoffs. He hit 38.7 percent of his threes on 238 attempts this season, usually getting up three or four attempts per game. In addition to the shooting, Risacher looks like a good defensive forward, but it feels like he defends guards better than wings. Is he capable of defending someone like Jayson Tatum a few years from now in a playoff series? If not, it’s hard to see why he’s in the mix for No. 1 overall given that he’s not someone you ask to take the ball and create offense.

11. Stephon Castle, G, UConn: Forget the noise about Castle viewing himself as a long-term point guard: right now, he’s perfectly suited as a defensive stopper who is more of a connective wing offensively. At 6’5.5 barefoot with a 6’9 wingspan and strong 210-pound frame, Castle is a physical guard who wins loose balls and rebounds and can play through contact on both ends. His three-point shot is just very bad right now (26.7 percent on 75 attempts), so a team will have to get creative how to use him offensively (as a short-roll playmaker, in the dunker’s spot, etc.) early in his career. Castle’s size and physicality stands out even with a broken jumper, and if he ever fixes it, this could be one of the better players in this class.

Tier 3: Players with a pathway to success, but with more risk

12. Tyler Smith, F, G League Ignite: Smith was just about the only player on the Ignite who surpassed expectations this year. A 6’9 forward with a 7’1 wingspan, Smith is a classic stretch four whose biggest value will come from his shooting and spacing. He hit 36 percent of his threes on 161 attempts for the year. Smith also gets off the floor pretty quickly for a big man, and had 58 dunks as a powerful inside finisher. His ball handling is too limited to create off the dribble, and his defense is an adventure at this point. He’ll need to shoot it at a high level to return this type of a value, but he’s worth a chance as a tall, athletic marksman with deep range.

13. Kel’el Ware, C, Indiana: Ware is oozing with talent, and it’s something of a gift and a curse for him. At 6’11.75 barefoot with a 7’4.5 wingspan, Ware is a huge center with tantalizing athleticism and a nice shooting stroke. He has an easy translation as a rim roller who can slam home dunks on offense (he had 63 dunks this season) and block shots in drop coverage defensively. The upside here comes if Ware’s shot continues to develop after he hit 42 percent of his threes on low volume (40 attempts in 30 games) this year. So what’s the catch? Ware is so talented that he often leaves you wanting more. He’s long been a player said to have a low motor dating back to his freshman year Oregon, and there are times on tape when it feels like he could have grabbed a rebound or blocked a shot but didn’t. He’s not a plus passer, and isn’t someone who should be tasked with decision-making on offense. Ware’s combination of physical tools and shooting potential is still so rare that teams are going to be kicking themselves for passing on him if it all comes together.

16. Kyle Filipowski, C, Duke: Filipowski isn’t the biggest or most explosive center, but he has a case as the most skilled big in the class offensively. The Duke sophomore is a pick-and-pop threat who can also act as a passing hub in the halfcourt. He made 34.8 percent of his threes on 112 attempts this season, and finished with an impressive 18.4 percent assist rate. His defense is likely going to be a problem because he’s not very long (6’10.50’ wingspan) and he can’t really jump, but his playmaking and shot-making is valuable in a league always looking for stretch bigs.

18. Dalton Knecht, F, Tennessee: Knecht is the best story in the draft, emerging as a potential lottery pick after a winding journey that included two seasons of JUCO ball and two years at Northern Colorado before his superstar turn at Tennessee this past season. He has an easy translation to the NBA as an off-ball shooter and scorer who can stroke it from deep and attack the rim with some athleticism. I’m lower on Knecht because I’m highly skeptical of his defense, and can’t get over the fact that he turns 24 years old at the end of his rookie year. Still, a team that needs a wing with real shooting versatility and enough juice to finish above the rim when he gets a clear lane will probably take him much higher than this.

19. Zach Edey, C, Purdue: Read my big breakdown of Edey’s pro potential here. His unprecedented size, scoring touch, offensive rebounding, and motor gives him a sliver of star upside at this point in the draft. I just don’t know how he defends an opposing big who can shoot, or a speedy guard on a spaced floor. I’d have him higher if I felt better about him as a processor and passer.

Tier 4 bets

21. DaRon Holmes II, C/F, Dayton: Holmes was one of the very best players in college basketball as a junior for Dayton, unleashing a new dimension of his game by adding offensive skills on the perimeter. Holmes has always an impressive roll man, dunker’s spot finisher, and rim protector with the Flyers. This past season, he improved as a shooter (38.6 percent from three on 83 attempts), ball handler, and passer. Teams will wonder if Holmes is big enough to play the five in the NBA (he measured 6’8.75 barefoot with a 7’1 wingspan) or skilled enough to play the four. That might be overthinking it. He’s just a really good player with legit size who can find a way to make an impact regardless of his role.

25. Bub Carrington, G, Pittsburgh: Carington is a tall (6’3.75 barefoot with a 6’8 wingspan), extremely young (turns 19 a month after the draft) guard with an innate ability to take and make pull-up jumpers. He wasn’t always an efficient scorer (53 percent true shooting), but Carrington’s ability to create his own shot and cash difficult pull-ups is trait that defines star guards. It might take some time, but Carrington’s upside is worth betting on in a weak class.

26. Pacome Dadiet, F, Ulm (France): Dadiet is a super young French young (turns 19 in late July) with an intriguing combination of positional size, athleticism, and shooting touch. Measuring at 6’7.5 barefoot with a 6’9 wingspan, Dadiet hit 39 percent of his threes, a high percentage of two-pointers, and showed a good motor to get rebounds and steals. It might take a few years before he’s ready for the NBA, but the tools are there.

4 NBA Draft sleepers worth targeting

28. KJ Simpson, G, Colorado: Simpson was one of the best guards in college basketball by any measure as a junior for Colorado. He’s a quick and dynamic lead ball handler who can blow past his defender off the dribble, hit a tough floater or mid-range pull-up, or generate free throw attempts at the rim. Best of all, Simpson is a high-volume three-point sniper, hitting 43 percent of 181 attempts on the season. Simpson plays bigger than his size and posted impressive defensive rebound rates and steal rates this season. It’s hard to make it in the league as a guard who measured 6’0.25 barefoot, but Simpson is skilled enough to have a chance.

32. Jamal Shead, G, Houston: Shead an absolute menace defensively. The Houston senior consistently makes multiple efforts on possessions to get over screens, break up passing lanes, and press up on opposing ball handlers with tight, physical coverage. His 4.3 percent steal rate and 2 percent block rate this season are impressive numbers for a guard who measured 6-foot without shoes. Shead also took on the biggest offensive load of his career this season, and answered the challenge by becoming a fantastic college distributor and capable volume scorer. His jump shot and his size are major questions, but Shead’s motor and IQ are too impressive to bet against.

33. Adem Bona, C, UCLA: Bona is an explosive athlete with length who makes plays above the rim on both ends of the floor. The UCLA sophomore was a monster finisher at the rim this year (76 percent) by running the floor hard and getting off the ground quickly as a leaper. He posted the highest standing vertical leap at the combine (35 inches), and was among the top performers in max vertical (40 inches), too. Putting up those numbers at 243 pounds with a 7’3.5 wingspan is undeniably impressive. Bona is definitely short for an NBA center (6’8.5 barefoot) and he doesn’t have any perimeter skill offensively, but his length, strength, hustle, and elite leaping are worth consideration as an energy big off the bench.

37. N’Faly Dante, C, Oregon: Dante has the size and strength to fit on an NBA court as a play finisher right now. He measured at 6’ 10 barefoot with a 7’6 wingspan at 260 pounds. He made 69.5 percent of his field goals exclusively hammering home inside feeds created by his teammates. He has to play a relatively narrow role and will turn 23 years old at the start of the season, Dante’s tools, touch, and production shouldn’t be discounted.

Klay Thompson, Warriors appear headed for divorce in NBA free agency klay,thompson,warriors,appear,headed,for,divorce,in,nba,free,agency,sbnation,com,front-page,nba,nba-free-agency,draftkings

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Klay Thompson spent this past season fighting against father time as he played out the final year of his contract with the Golden State Warriors. Thompson still shot the ball well from three-point range (38.7 percent), but it was clear he lost a step in terms of his effectiveness at both ends of the floor.

As the Warriors missed the 2024 NBA Playoffs, speculation about Thompson’s future in free agency became even more intense. With the negotiating window now open between players and their incumbent teams, it’s looking more and more like Thompson and the Warriors are heading for a split.

The Warriors do not have an offer on the table to Thompson right now ahead of NBA free agency, according to Anthony Slater of The Athletic. Talks between the Warriors and Thompson are being described as “frozen,” likely leading to the 34-year-old testing the open market for the first time in his career.

Thompson reportedly turned down a two-year, $48 million extension from the Warriors last summer, according to NBA insider Shams Charania. That deal is apparently no longer on the table from Golden State, and it’s possible Thompson won’t see that type of money from any other suitor given the lack of teams with cap space this summer.

Right now, only the Pistons, Magic, 76ers, Jazz, Spurs, and Thunder appear to have a pathway to substantial cap space. Thompson would be a good theoretical fit for a couple of those teams, but only if they decide he’s worth their investment over younger free agents. Orlando has been rumored to have interest in Thompson, but the club reportedly only wants to offer two-year deals to free agents, per Jake Fischer of Yahoo! Sports. That wasn’t good enough for Thompson a year ago, but at this point he may have no other choice.

The Magic could also choose to spend their money on Nuggets free agent Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, according to Fischer. KCP is a few years younger than Thompson, shot the ball better from the outside the last few seasons, and has a superior defensive reputation at this point in his career.

Thompson has spend his entire career with the Warriors since being selected with the No. 11 overall pick by the franchise back in 2012. He has won four championships playing alongside Stephen Curry and Draymond Green.

It would feel so wrong to see Thompson in another uniform, but it sure looks like that’s the way it’s headed. NBA free agency opens up on June 30.

Gardner Minshew’s chaotic Raiders photoshoot keeps getting better with every picture gardner,minshew,s,chaotic,raiders,photoshoot,keeps,getting,better,with,every,picture,sbnation,com,front-page,nfl,draftkings

Gardner Minshews chaotic Raiders photoshoot keeps getting better with every
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It’s been a long, long time since the Raiders had swagger at their quarterback position — but no fans expected this kind of swag from Gardner Minshew. It’s photo week around the NFL, and when the studio lights came on the QB didn’t disappoint.

This shoot had a little of everything. Well, it’s more like it had a lot of one, specific, dirtbag (but in a charming way) kind of thing.

Superhero Gardner Minshew ready to save the Las Vegas Raiders from mediocrity

Uncle Rico Gardner Minshew, who I’m pretty sure can throw a football over a mountain if he wanted to

2

Pro Wrestler Garnder Minshew who is ready to go one-on-one with The Undertaker in a steel cage

3

The Gardner Minshew who got called to school for a conference with the principal because you and your friends got caught smoking cigarettes under the bleachers during fourth period

4

Is it just me or does the entire NFL just feel more fun this year? Around the league teams are letting players be themselves more, and throwing aside the stuffy, boring sanitized normality and letting players be their brilliant, weird selves.

2024 Summer Olympics: Team USA track and field qualifiers, explained summer,olympics,team,usa,track,and,field,qualifiers,explained,sbnation,com,front-page,olympics,summer-olympics,olympic-track-and-field,draftkings,dot-com-grid-coverage

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The United States track and field team is often described as the world’s toughest to make, and for good reason. No country has amassed more Olympic track and field medals (827), and the US outpaces the next six countries on the all-time list combined (819).

There are so many talented athletes, but only a select few are allowed to compete at major global championships. For the fifth consecutive time, Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon will host the unforgiving USA Olympic Track and Field Trials. Let’s take a closer look at the qualification and selection process for Paris 2024.

How many athletes can qualify in each discipline?

A maximum of only three athletes are allowed per country. Unlike the World Athletics Championships, which offers “wild card” berths to incumbent world champions (creating a fourth slot for countries), there are no byes into the Olympics.

World and Olympic champions and prohibitive gold medal favorites are not spared if they have an off-day at the worst possible time. In 2021, 800-meter world champion Donavan Brazier finished last in the USA finals and did not make the trip to Tokyo. Women’s 100 meters hurdles star Keni Harrison, widely expected to win the 2016 Rio Olympic trials, only finished sixth and missed the team. Two weeks later, she would set a new world record, but it was a mere consolation.

This is also as good a time as any to remind casual track followers that for sprints (100-400 meters), it only takes one false start for a runner to be disqualified from the race.

How many qualifying rounds are there?

All sprint and middle distance (800-1,500 meters) races have three rounds of qualification (Round 1, semifinals, final), whereas long distance (3,000-10,000 meters and race walks) have either two rounds or a direct final.

Olympic qualifying rounds by discipline

Round 1, Semifinals, Final Round 1, Final Final Only
Round 1, Semifinals, Final Round 1, Final Final Only
100 meters* 3,000 meters steeplechase 10,000 meters
100 meter hurdles (women)* 5,000 meters 20 km race walk
110 meter hurdles (men)* 50 km race walk
200 meters
400 meters
400 meter hurdles
800 meters
1,500 meters

* – Semifinals and final are contested on the same day.

All field events have one qualifying round and a final, the decathlon and heptathlon don’t have qualifying rounds, and marathon runners already had separate qualifiers in February.

Is it possible to still finish in the top-3 and not qualify?

Yes. This is where it gets a little complicated for a small percentage of American athletes. Similar to swimming, there are minimum times (or distances for field athletes) that must be met within an Olympic qualifying window. The window for athletes competing in any individual event (except the 10,000 meters, marathon, and race walks) is July 1, 2023 to June 30, 2024.

For example, the women’s 5,000 meters Olympic standard is 14:52.00. NCAA champion Parker Valby narrowly missed the standard by 0.2 seconds at this month’s NCAA Outdoor Championships. Not only must Valby finish in the top-3 at trials, she also must run at least 14:52.00 to guarantee her spot on the team. And unlike regular track meets, championship competitions do not have pacemakers and wave-light technology to help guide runners to a specific time.

Without the qualifying standard, the last-ditch effort is placing high enough in the World Athletics rankings system, which is too complicated to explain even in an explainer post. The final rankings list will be published on July 7.

Here’s the simplified way to clinch a Team USA Olympic berth:

AND

  • Have the Olympic qualifying standard

OR

  • Achieve a high enough world rankings placement

This will most likely only affect competitors in disciplines where the Americans have traditionally weaker depth, such as the long-distance races and a handful of field events. Otherwise this won’t be a storyline for, say, any of the sprints.

What happens if someone finishes in a qualifying position but isn’t selected for the Olympics?

The next highest-placed athlete goes in their place, provided they also have the qualifying standard or a high enough world ranking.

When Sha’Carri Richardson was controversially suspended following a positive marijuana test ahead of the 2020 Olympics, fourth-placed Jenna Prandini replaced her. In the women’s high jump, neither Inika McPherson nor Nicole Green achieved the qualifying standard and didn’t have a high enough world ranking. They were replaced by fourth-placed Rachel McCoy and Tynita Butts-Townsend, who had the requisite ranking despite not making the final.

The 2016 men’s 20 km race walk team, however, sent no entrants to Rio after none of the top three finishers met the standard or ranking.

How do the relay teams qualify?

New to the Olympics is the use of the World Athletics Relays as a qualifying competition for major championships. At this year’s championship in The Bahamas, the American men’s and women’s 4×100 and 4×400 teams all qualified, as did the mixed (two men, two women) 4×400 meters squad. A total of 14 countries in each discipline needed to finish in the top-2 in either the qualifying heats or the repechage rounds to qualify for Paris.

How are the relay participants decided?

Per USA Track and Field guidelines, three of the five competitors for each relay team must be athletes who are entered in their corresponding individual event (e.g. Noah Lyles is entered in the individual 100 meters and therefore will be part of the 4×100 relay team). One reserve/alternate athlete can also be named. The other two selections are made at the discretion of the USATF committee, which includes “medical or exceptional circumstances” for a waiver request to be granted.

This is why it’s common (at least for Team USA) to have relay runners who did not compete in the individual event. Athing Mu, who won the 800 meters in Tokyo, joined the women’s 4x400m relay team and picked up another gold.

It’s worth keeping an eye on the relay selection pool this year for the men’s 4×400 meters, as there’s a possibility that Noah Lyles could be picked despite not being entered in the 400 at Olympic trials and scarcely running the 400 throughout his career. His indoor relay inclusion was already meant with some divided opinion.

Team USA trials run from Friday, June 21 through Sunday, June 30 on NBC, USA, and Peacock. The track and field portion of the Olympics commences on August 1 and ends on August 11.

An NFL ‘QB salary cap’ is the owners’ dumbest idea yet an,nfl,qb,salary,cap,is,the,owners,dumbest,idea,yet,sbnation,com,front-page,nfl,nfl-free-agency,draftkings

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NFL owners are growing increasingly concerned about mammoth quarterback salaries, and reports indicate there have been some exploratory discussions on how to manage the spending.

Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network said on The Rich Eisen Show Wednesday that some owners have met about the possibility of installing a QB salary cap, which would limit the percentage of the cap which would be spent on a signal caller. Pelissero went on to say that the conversation right now is a non-starter, because so many teams have already paid their passers and don’t want to be hemmed in, but the fact this topic is being broached shows there could be some discussion on it in the future.

It’s a tricky subject to really address properly. On the one hand every player should be allowed to get whatever the free market allows them to, but there is a football reality to this as well. With such a mammoth chunk of a team’s cap being allocated to the QB position, it’s resulted in salaries plummeting at a variety of other positions, most notably at running back and safety, where players haven’t seen remotely the same raises in their compensation as other positions.

As it stands there are 11 quarterbacks in the NFL who account for over 20 percent of their respective team’s cap space this season. Meanwhile the highest-paid defensive player (T.J. Watt) accounts for 15 percent of the Steelers cap, with the vast majority of top-tier players falling in the 8-12 percent range. The owners would hold that if quarterback salaries were capped, let’s say for argument at 17.5 percent of the cap — that every other position would see more pay as a result. In addition, it would incentivize teams to pay better money for backup quarterbacks, which would ensure a more competitive team, should the starter be injured.

There is one huge problem with trying to initiate this kind of position-specific cap: It’s not in the CBA.

The NFL and NFLPA signed their most recent CBA in 2020, and it runs through the 2030 season. If owners wanted to change QB compensation to be a percentage of the total cap it would require an amendment to the collective bargaining agreement, which is something the NFLPA simply wouldn’t allow. Traditionally the union has pushed back on any and all cap-based compensation. The concern is that this would become a slippery slope for the league to implement cap-based spending for every position.

This is something nobody should want, because it would lead to league-wide homogenization. To keep football interesting we have to have some teams willing to overspend on offense vs. defense, and vice versa. If every team spent the same way then it would simply become a battle of the best markets and who drafted better, with little strategic wiggle room.

However, there exists a wrinkle to all this which Pro Football Talk is reporting on. Their sources say that NFL owners wouldn’t seek to codify percentage-based QB spending in the CBA, but rather make it an “unwritten rule” among teams.

“As we’ve heard it, it wouldn’t be an official, separate cap. It would be an unofficial, off-the-books (and, more importantly, off the CBA) arrangement pursuant to which teams would refuse to go above a certain level. All teams. Which would make it pointless for, say, Dak Prescott to force his way to the open market. The best deal he’d get from the Cowboys would be the same as the best deal he’d get from someone else. (It would be like a max contract in the NBA.)”

IT’S COLLUSION!

I’d refuse to believe NFL owners were this dumb, except that time and time again they’ve shown us that they are this dumb. If any conversations have taken place about how to pay quarterbacks amongst owners, and there’s a tacit agreement to keep pay down — then they are colluding against players, and the NFLPA by extension.

This isn’t some cute little idea to fool around with. It’s a blatant breach of the 2020-2030 CBA that could have profound implications. Not only would it be a breach of contract, but if there’s collusion on player compensation the NFLPA has the right to terminate the agreement immediately, which could lead to a prolonged lockout.

Section 2. Termination Due To Collusion:
(a) If at any time the conditions of Article 17, Section 16(a), (b), or (c) are satisfied, the NFLPA shall have the right to terminate this Agreement. To execute such termination, the NFLPA shall serve upon the NFL written notice of termination within thirty days after the System Arbitrator’s decision finding the requisite conditions becomes final. The parties agree, however, that such termination shall be stayed if any party appeals such finding to the Appeals Panel, and to seek expedited review from the Appeals Panel.

If conversations took place about circumventing the CBA to install a “QB cap,” then it’s created a mammoth problem for the NFL. Especially with Dak Prescott’s extension on the horizon, with a team that is in salary cap hell, it will warrant a massive investigation into the negotiations process by the NFLPA if it drags out. There were already rumors of collusion taking place in 2023 with Lamar Jackson, but if sources are telling Pro Football Talk that there could be work to suppress salaries then it opens up an entirely new can of worms.

Keep an eye on this story as it evolves, because there are some mammoth implications that take this well beyond simple talks of putting in a QB pay scale.

NBA players joining Kendrick Lamar to dance to Drake diss track is probably the worst moment of Aubrey’s life nba,players,joining,kendrick,lamar,to,dance,to,drake,diss,track,is,probably,the,worst,moment,of,aubrey,s,life,sbnation,com,front-page,nba,draftkings

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Drake may never recover from this.

Kendrick Lamar through one of the greatest televised concerts of all-time on Wednesday night during Juneteenth in a show that featured so many West Coast icons. Los Angeles natives Russell Westbrook and DeMar Derozan came out on stage singing and dancing to all FIVE renditions of Lamar’s lyrical Kamehameha diss track ‘Not Like Us,’ directed at Drake.

‘The Pop Out’, hosted by Kendrick Lamar and every West Coast rapper seemingly on Earth, was less a concert and more a victory lap, putting people on to West Coast rappers while giving Lamar the time to go through his entire setlist of songs that include direct or shaded shots at Drake. It was a moment, an event that put the West Coast right in front of everyone in the world.

It was also a chance for West Coast icons such as Westbrook and Derozan to show up and show out in their home. Getting DeRozan there felt like a given, because of Lamar’s line in ‘Not Like Us’: “I’m glad DeRoz came home, y’all didn’t deserve him neither, from Alondra down to Central n**** better not speak on Serena.” DeRoz is obviously DeRozan, who was traded out of Toronto in the Kawhi Leonard deal, but is known as an icon with the Raptors. However, he’s even more known for being from Compton, a West Coast dude at heart. Getting him up on the stage when Lamar called all of the West Coast icons and rappers up to the stage was an awesome moment, as well as getting Westbrook up there.

Russ looked like he was having the time of his life. He looked like he was having more fun up on stage than he was at any time with the Clippers this season.

While Westbrook and DeRozan are obviously big hits to Drake’s rep in the NBA (which he very deeply cares about), neither of them will equal the final NBA player spotted at The Pop Out on Wednesday.

Take the L out of Certified Lover Boy, it’s Certified OVER Boy.

This is the greatest victory lap of all time, and getting all the NBA players out there was just another chance to dance on the grave.

Baltimore Ravens’ new alternate helmets are awesome baltimore,ravens,new,alternate,helmets,are,awesome,sbnation,com,front-page,nfl,draftkings

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The teams wearing purple have been cooking this offseason when it comes to new colorways and helmets. First the Minnesota Vikings revealed their icy white jerseys, now the Baltimore Ravens unveiled a new alternate helmet they’ll wear with their purple jerseys, and they look AWESOME.

These helmets are super cool. I think the logo is actually pretty fun despite the ClipArt-ish look to it, but the true star of the show is the gold on the helmet mixed with the purple. Like, that’s unbelievably cool and it works so well together. The gold stripes going down the helmet help to highlight the gold face mask is super dope, and it ties in the gold on the numbers as well.

The Ravens haven’t unveiled when these helmets will be worn, but best believe that when they do wear them for the first time I’ll be there no matter what.