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August 2nd, 2017

Welcome to our special Wednesday edition of The Grip, because our lead designer got wasted on Monday night and tapped out early.

THE PLAYERS' TRIBUNE VS. UNINTERRUPTED ISOLD VS. NEW

It finally feels like the offseason has arrived. With the exception of Kyrie “Flat Earth” Irving, most free agents have been courted and most blockbuster trades have been executed. If you’ve already forgot who went where, here’s a complete list of 2017 offseason transactions.

One player-driven platform is so 2017, the other would have loved the 1970s 

The year is 2031. The slow, painful and inevitable death of the American newspaper has finally run its course. Donald Trump is 85 and in the 14th year of his dictatorship. The New York Times, carved on stone in a remote upstate location, has shouted its final rebellious shout.

Fade to black.

And then, hope. It’s still 2031. The NBA is still alive and the internet is still available to the rich and untaxed. LeBron James Jr., now 26, has announced his decision to leave what used to be Cleveland for the Los Angeles Lakers, a super team run by Vice Dictator Vladimir Putin.

But how does LeBron Junior announce it? That’s right. It’s a 2,500 word masterpiece posted on The Players’ Tribune, explaining that his coastal move is more about an escape than a dislike of the former Cleveland.

Just like that, there’s a light on the horizon. The Players’ Tribune has saved newspapers, has saved free speech and has saved the 1900s’ most noble industry.

Just kidding. To all of that, hopefully.

The point: The Players’ Tribune, or, more specifically, its idea to announce free agent decisions via ghost-written articles, is outsourced and frequently inauthentic. Gordon Hayward getting scooped, then making us wait hours on America’s birthday, is dumb.

But TPT’s idea -- a platform for the athlete to skip the middle-man and report his/her own news -- is not so dumb. (There are also some longform articles on the website, like this one, actually worth reading.)

Enter: Uninterrupted, a LeBron James-launched site for athletes to video-broadcast literally anything they want, including, yes, free agent signings. Cue John Wall:

Now, what’s the more digestible, 21st century-friendly way? An article that takes 200 words to make a point (like this one), or Wall’s endearing 30-second video?

It’s got to be a video, right?

It’s 2017. Social media has pillaged the news cycle the way we knew it even 10 years ago. Young people want to see you, the athlete. Not you, the deadline-disregarding scribe.

Chances are, Uninterrupted will be pumping out content in 2031. Even if each video is prefaced by 15 seconds of Trump propaganda. By 2031, all The Players’ Tribune ghost writers will have been laid off. Or jailed.

One player-driven platform is so 2017, the otherwould have loved the 1970s 

The year is 2031. The slow, painful and inevitable death of the American newspaper has finally run its course. Donald Trump is 85 and in the 14th year of his dictatorship. The New York Times, carved on stone in a remote upstate location, has shouted its final rebellious shout.

Fade to black.

And then, hope. It’s still 2031. The NBA is still alive and the internet is still available to the rich and untaxed. LeBron James Jr., now 26, has announced his decision to leave what used to be Cleveland for the Los Angeles Lakers, a super team run by Vice Dictator Vladimir Putin.

But how does LeBron Junior announce it? That’s right. It’s a 2,500 word masterpiece posted on The Players’ Tribune, explaining that his coastal move is more about an escape than a dislike of the former Cleveland.

Just like that, there’s a light on the horizon. The Players’ Tribune has saved newspapers, has saved free speech and has saved the 1900s’ most noble industry.

Just kidding. To all of that, hopefully.

The point: The Players’ Tribune, or, more specifically, its idea to announce free agent decisions via ghost-written articles, is outsourced and frequently inauthentic. Gordon Hayward getting scooped, then making us wait hours on America’s birthday, is dumb.

But TPT’s idea -- a platform for the athlete to skip the middle-man and report his/her own news -- is not so dumb. (There are also some longform articles on the website, like this one, actually worth reading.)

Enter: Uninterrupted, a LeBron James-launched site for athletes to video-broadcast literally anything they want, including, yes, free agent signings. Cue John Wall:

Now, what’s the more digestible, 21st century-friendly way? An article that takes 200 words to make a point (like this one), or Wall’s endearing 30-second video?

It’s got to be a video, right?

It’s 2017. Social media has pillaged the news cycle the way we knew it even 10 years ago. Young people want to see you, the athlete. Not you, the deadline-disregarding scribe.

Chances are, Uninterrupted will be pumping out content in 2031. Even if each video is prefaced by 15 seconds of Trump propaganda. By 2031, all The Players’ Tribune ghost writers will have been laid off. Or jailed.

KYRIE AND CURRY HUNG OUT AND PROBABLY JUST RIPPED ON LEBRON THE WHOLE TIME

Have you seen the weird video of Steph Curry mocking LeBron’s workout video while Kyrie Irving bobs in and out of the video, snickering all the while? Well, here it is.

The whole thing seems a little like a Mean Girls scene, only if Regina George was tall, handsome, black and had an iPhone with Twitter on it.

Obviously, this isn’t anything hugely offensive, but in this time of sub-internet posting, those two must have known and performed as if every sports blog in the world would write about the short clip. And that LeBron would see it.  

It’s Day 9 since Brian Windhorst reported Irving’s trade request. Nothing’s happened, and the Cavs, LeBron and Irving seem to be floating in a bizzarro purgatory world.It’s important to remember that Cleveland doesn’t have to do anything, but a trade seems far more likely than not at this point. If and when it does happen, the schedule makers better immediately match Cleveland and Kyrie’s new team up on Christmas.Or perhaps this is all a hoax and both Cleveland stars are cool, like The Ringer suggests.

QUICK HITS

• So, Mr. KD, do you think LeBron James is better than you? “Na.”

• Want some insight on the Gordon Hayward leaks? The Celtic star joins Woj’s pod to recount.

• A few middle-school kids legitimately believe the earth is flat because, you know, Kyrie said so.

• Michael Jordan finally acknowledged LaVar Ball’s existence. He said he’d beat him with one leg.

• Giannis 14-Letter-Last-Name thinks he can win MVP this season. Maybe not ‘17-’18, but soon.

CONCRETE READS

• Deadspin’s Chris Thompson accurately calls out Stephen A. Smith, who, in a perpetual effort to stay relevant, used a probably-fake-news tactic about a report involving LeBron wanting to “beat Kyrie’s ass.” And it worked. [Tap Here]

• Jay Bilas, the former Duke player turned very-entertaining ESPN analyst, is not going to win a pulitzer for his writing, but he gets his point across with this column: LaVar Ball sucks. [Tap Here]

A TIMELESS WATCH

Game 6 of the 1998 NBA Finals is on YouTube in high quality. An intense game to top off a great series. [Watch here]

#throwbackeveryday

August 2, 2005: Five teams agreed on a trade that involved 13 players, the largest transaction in league history, both in teams, players and, presumably, headaches by general managers. Antoine Walker and Jason Williams highlighted the ordeal, going to Miami to held the Heat win a title.