Trouble In Paradise and A Secret Draft
This week was filled with drama and intrigue and Swish Weekly is giving it all to you to keep you updated. There was trouble in Cleveland, Washington, and even San Antonio, and the All-Star draft was done, albeit on a private conference call between only the team captains and league officials. #televisethedraft was trending on Twitter and potentially lost in the shuffle was an incredible piece from The Undefeated. We have a great slate of content for you, so let's jump right in.
How the Warriors became the wokest team in pro sports - The Undefeated - Lonnae O'Neal and Marc J. Spears
We start this week off with a piece from the Undefeated that focuses less on basketball and more on culture as a whole and how the Golden State Warriors have transcended that culture. This piece is not simply a "basketball players meddling in culture at large" but rather a definitive look at the way the Warriors have influenced the culture of not only basketball fans, but American human beings in general. Seriously, take the time to read this piece and let the ideas ruminate inside of you.
Sources: Kawhi Leonard's rehab creating chilling effect with team - ESPN - Adrian Wojnarowski and Michael C. Wright
The San Antonio Spurs have long been the gold-standard of consistent success and organizational continuity for a sports franchise. According to ESPN insider Adrian Wojnarowski, this idea could be changing as the Spurs have announced star Kawhi Leonard is now out indefinitely. Reports are that Spurs management and Kawhi Leonard's camps have been at odds and the decision by GM R.C. Buford and President and coach Gregg Popovich has strained an otherwise healthy relationship. The Spurs insist the reports are false and that the relationship between the two has never been better. Could this be Leonard's way of jockeying for more control in the organization or a simple media manufacturing of drama? Who knows.
The Wizards had a players-only meeting, and it apparently didn't go well - The Washington Post - Candace Buckner
We at Swish Weekly often forget that there are outlets other than the big ones that cover basketball, but this piece by the Washington Post's Candace Buckner reminds us that there is great content to be had everywhere. This piece was the first reveal of the players-only meeting the Washington Wizards had earlier. While none of the players truly commented on what was said in the meeting, many mentioned a feeling of discontent and a lack of effectiveness of the meeting. It's hard to know what would have led to such a poor meeting, but losses to sub-.500 teams probably didn't help the case. For the Wizards it comes down to effort and winning basketball games. Nothing else really matters.
http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/22178973/nba-faq-2018-nba-all-star-draft
Rules for the NBA All-Star Draft - ESPN - Brian Windhorst
Let's face it, the change to the NBA's All-Star game is refreshing. The dated East vs. West "rivalry" has died with all of the players cliquing up regardless of conference. Friendships reach far further than conferences and the game was becoming stale and boring. Brian Windhorst puts out a great primer on how the NBA All-Star game and draft will work this year. (Also, it won't be televised...) #TeleviseTheDraft
NBA After-Party - The Ringer - Haley O'Shaughnessy, Justin Verrier, Kevin O'Connor, and Chris Ryan
This episode of The Ringer's NBA After-Party was a perfect cap on many of the stories of early this week. The team talks about the NBA drama with the Cavs, Wizards, and Kawhi Leonard, as well as discussing a slew of potential trades at the deadline. It's obviously longer than your typical written piece, but it deserves some attention and definitely has some great points.
'Damn, This Game Is Long': The Dos and Don'ts of Life on an NBA Bench - Bleacher Report - Yaron Weitzman
This piece by Bleacher Report contributor Yaron Weitzman is amazing. I'm always fascinated by the nuances at play during NBA games. The way guys get along during timeouts, or who chats with whom during warmups. It's absolutely incredible and this article really shows an aspect of the game that most fans never get to see: Bench Dynamics. You'll have to read the piece to get the best out of it, but I highly recommend taking a few minutes to read this. You won't watch a game the same way again.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/wayne-ellington-the-nba-player-who-lives-by-the-three-1516896934
The NBA Player Who Lives By the Three - The Wall Street Journal - Ben Cohen
We don't often find great articles in non-sports heavy publications, but this piece by the Wall Street Journal's Ben Cohen is a great look at the emergence of Wayne Ellington of the Miami Heat. Ellington, who has confirmed he will take place in this year's 3-Point Contest, is having a career year. He's shooting more threes and at a higher clip than some of the best shooters in the league. You'll have to read to find out how it's working.
https://www.theringer.com/nba/2018/1/24/16931166/icymi-20180124
NBA ICYMI: Ben Simmons Has His Beef Pie and Eats It Too - The Ringer - Paolo Uggetti
Ben Simmons clearly didn't take his All-Star snubbing nicely and unfortunately for the Chicago Bulls, they were the first to fall into his path. Simmons put up a triple-double in just 22 minutes. That's just a tiny fraction of the incredible stuff you'll see in this article. Take a quick scan of this article.
The All-Star Teams Have Been Announced:
Team LeBron Starters: LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Kevin Durant, DeMarcus Cousins, Kyrie Irving - Team LeBron Reserves: Bradley Beal, LaMarcus Aldridge, Kevin Love, Russell Westbrook, Victor Oladipo, Kristaps Porzingis, John Wall
Team Stephen Starters: Steph Curry, James Harden, DeMar DeRozan, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Joel Embiid - Team Stephen Reserves: Damian Lillard, Jimmy Butler, Draymond Green, Kyle Lowry, Klay Thompson, Karl-Anthony Towns, Al Horford
We've got so many theories and suspicions about the All-Star draft - ESPN - NBA Insiders
We wanted to close today's newsletter with a piece that contains thoughts from multiple NBA Insiders on the All-Star draft. This year's All-Star game will be unlike any other and the intrigue bar is going to be set extremely high. We're excited to see what this year's game has in store and we think some of these Insider's opinions should get a heavy consideration.
And that wraps up another edition of Swish Weekly. We hope you enjoyed this week's content and are working hard to give you the top NBA related content every week. If you have any suggestions, we would love to hear them so just shoot us an email at swishweekly@gmail.com and we will take your thoughts into consideration. Don't forget to follow us wherever your social media game is strongest, we're @SwishWeekly everywhere!
If you or your friends are interested in signing up to receive Swish Weekly directly to your inbox, sign up here: https://mailchi.mp/dfef9429318a/swish-weekly-signup and never worry about missing a beat.