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8.30.2017

ISAIAH THOMAS SPEAKS

AND GUESS WHO GOT THE INTERVIEW? 

Isaiah Thomas gave an interview for the first time since being traded last week. It was, of course, to ESPN scoopmaster Adrian Wojdbsbvuoeibew, with the basic message being this: I’M FINE, STOP ASKING.

(Apparently, he isn’t hauled up in a dark room Olga Pataki style, listening to opera and throwing darts at Danny Ainge’s face while posting his Cambridge Condo on Zillow.)

This all comes on the same day that the Cavaliers agreed to stop all that crazy talk, withdrawing the demand that Boston must throw in another major asset to make it all work. Can’t blame them for trying; that’s how the Celtics got their 2017 pick swap. It seems Thomas, Kyrie Irving and everyone else involved will soon be taken out of purgatory. Here are a few of his quotes: 

On his hip injury: 

"There's never been an indication that I wouldn't be back, and there's never been an indication that this is something messing up my career. Maybe I am not going to be back as soon this season as everyone wants me to be, but I'm going to be back, and I'm going to be the same player again. No doctor has told me anything different than that." 

On contact with Cleveland: 

"I don't know what [the organization] is doing. It's out of my control. I just want to talk about what I can control, and I know that this [hip] won't be a problem into the future." 

Either Woj didn’t press for Boston-related questions or Thomas wasn’t trying to answer any of them, but that’s the brunt of the article.

Isaiah, here’s what one of our mothers told us when one of our professional Scrabble dreams didn’t work out: Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened.

CAN SOMEONE GET GERALD GREEN A GODDAMN BOAT?

MAYBE THE NBA REALLY DOES CARE 

As Hurricane Harvey continues its rip through Houston, top athletes and owners alike have come together to help the city.

• Houston native Gerald Green took action by driving around in his truck and rallying for help through social media (even though he “don’t ever IG live,” he “don’t IG for SHIT”).

• Bradley Beal and John Wall, who have no direct ties to the city, are spearheading an effort to donate money by working their personal network of superstars.

• Rockets owner Leslie Alexander donated $10 million to the flood relief and plans on opening up the Toyota Center to shelter displaced families.

NBA athletes have a history of being generous first responders to their cities. After watching Katrina cripple New Orleans in ‘05, the NBA organized a fundraiser game that was essentially a non-profit edition of the All-Star Game. After tornadoes ripped through OKC in 2013, Kevin Durant subtly donated $1 Million to the cause.The NBA plugs us to death with “NBA Cares” commercials about helping local communities, but it’s refreshing to see them put their money where their mouth is. P.S. No, this isn’t NBA PR writing, but if the NBA wants to pay us to write PR we’ll sell out faster than you can type G-O-O-D C-O-N-T-E-N-T.

QUICK HITS

• Vegas spat out guesstimates for every team’s win total this season. They aren’t big Chicago fans. They also don’t think much of the #NetsPick.

• Media company Lionsgate is making a feature film from Pepsi’s Uncle Drew commercials. And you think you’ve seen it all.

• For no apparent reason, the NBA made a really long mixtape of LeBron James’ best plays. It’s, uh, it’s pretty sweet. Watch here.

• Knicks gon’ Knick.

• Have you scrolled through Kevin Durant’s Twitter lately? He responds to everyone. We want to Tweet at him from our account but we’re a little bit embarrassed because our following lacks a following. More on that later in our new #ShamelessPlug section.

CONCRETE READS 

• SI’s Seerat Sohi revisits the backstory behind the 1954 addition of the shot clock. Also in the article, “This past season, the league’s average pace, at 96.4 possessions per game, surpassed those [7 seconds or less] Suns by a half a possession.” [Tap here]

• While the old superstars were investing in real estate or fast food, these young, modern eight-to-ten-figure athletes are putting their money in the hands of Silicon Valley. So far, it’s paying off. [Tap here]

• We’ve been on a Barkley kick lately, so here’s an intense 1989 profile of Chuck from the long-gone PhillySport Magazine, reprinted by our friends at The Stacks. [Tap Here]

CONCRETE PODS

• It’s the offseason. Zach Lowe is on vacation. Brian Windhorst is getting divorced. We refuse to endorse a Bill Simmons pod for like the ninth week in a row. Find your own damn pod.

• Just kidding, here’s a good one with Yahoo’s Chris Mannix and Brad Stevens.

SHAMELESS PLUG

We read somewhere that social media is huge. Huge. So we made a Twitter. WE JUST MADE IT SO DON’T JUDGE OUR #RATIO. Follow here.

#throwbackeveryday

August 30, 1997: Cynthia Cooper dropped 25 and the Houston Comets defeated the New York Liberty, 65-61, to win the first ever WNBA title.