Page 14 - Florida Sentinel 6-25-19

Sports
Sixers In Danger
Kobe Bryant, Wife Vanessa Pay Tribute To Kobe With Newest Daughter’s Name
David Ortiz Moved Out Of Intensive Care
Of Losing Both
Tobias Harris And
David Ortiz’s condition continues to improve roughly three weeks after he was shot in the Dominican Republic.
In a statement released by Ortiz’s wife Tiffany through the Boston Red Sox, it was an- nounced that Ortiz has been moved out of the ICU and re- mains in good condition as he continues his recovery from the shooting.
The news on Ortiz’s health continues to be excel-
Jimmy Butler
The Philadelphia 76ers are faced with the prospect of having to retain both Tobias Harris and Jimmy Butler as free agents this offseason, but they may not even be able to keep either.
Bleacher Report’s
Howard Beck said this week on The Full 48 podcast that he has heard chatter that the 76ers may lose both Harris and Butler to free agency, and that the core of the team had “strange dy- namics” when matched to- gether.
“I have heard some very strong rumblings this week that the Sixers are gonna lose one—and maybe even both— of Tobias Harris and Jimmy Butler,” Beck said.
“Take it with all due grains of salt, we’re talking about this still on June 21, but I would not be surprised
VANESSA AND KOBE BRYANT
Kobe Bryant and his wife Vanessa welcomed their fourth daughter into the world this week, and the latest mem- ber of the Bryant clan shares a name with her dad.
Vanessa Bryant an- nounced on Instagram Friday that Capri Kobe Bryant was born the day before.
“Our baby girl is here!!!! Capri Kobe Bryant. So thankful for our newest baby blessing. 6/20/19,” Vanessa wrote.
Kobe and Vanessa have four kids together, and all four are girls. They are apparently open to trying for a fifth child in hopes of having a boy, but one of Kobe’s daughter can al- ready give the future Hall of Famer a run for his money on the basketball court. Retire- ment is treating Kobe well so far.
Celtics Made Al Horford
A ‘Healthy’ Four-Year Offer
DAVID ORTIZ
lent. Despite the frightening attack, he appears to be pro- gressing and on the road to re- covery.
TOBIAS HARRIS AND JIMMY BUTLER
if Jimmy Butler and/or Tobias Harris go else- where. The Sixers just have some strange dynamics with that group.”
Butler will draw huge in- terest, not just from Philadelphia. The reality is that both will be among the most in-demand players in free agency, and Philadel- phia will be facing a major battle to keep them.
Finally Rid Themselves
Cavs Expected To
Of J. R. Smith
Kevin Durant
The next couple of days should leave J. R. Smith of the Cleveland Cavaliers sitting on pins and needles with most expecting him to finally be waived by June 30. If the Cavs do not waive him on the said date, the 33-year-old will be owed $15.68 million next NBA season.
The former NBA champion was being offered to multiple teams last season but nothing transpired -- apparently most avoiding the contract tied up to him.
Of course, the Cavs are still hoping to get some interest from other teams on Smith even if the chances of that happening are not so bright. From the looks of it, they will
J. R. SMITH
wait until the end of the month before doing the in- evitable - something that could give the 18th overall pick of the 2004 NBA Draft a big sigh of relief. He has been in- active since November 2018 with most ballclubs opting to wait and avoid adding more fi- nancial woes to their team salaries.
Wonders If
Warriors Misled
Zion Williamson
Him About Injury
Reveals What Advice He
Kevin Durant has yet to say anything publicly about the way the Golden State Warriors handled his calf in- jury, and that may be be- cause he is still trying to figure out whether or not he feels the appropriate course of action was taken.
In a recent appearance on 95.7 The Game, NBA re- porter Ric Bucher said Du- rant is “not really happy with how things went down” in regard to his torn Achilles. Bucher said he was told Durant is still unsure if he was misled about being able to suffer a more significant injury by playing before his calf was 100 percent healed.
“There’s an element of, ‘Was I misled as far as injur- ing myself coming back and playing and having a cata-
Would Like From LeBron
KEVIN DURANT
strophic injury like this com- ing off a calf strain?'” Bucher said. “We don’t know, definitively, exactly what was said, how much was said, how much he was aware of that, but I can tell you that people in the KD camp, people are running for cover because they don’t want to be holding the bag on who led him astray.”
AL HORFORD
If the Boston Celtics end up losing Al Horford in free agency next month, it may have more to do with the makeup of their team than it does with money.
Horford informed the Celtics this week that he will not opt into the final season and $30.1 million left on his contract. The initial belief was that he planned to return to Boston on a more team- friendly deal, but a more recent report claimed he plans to leave. According to ESPN’s Jackie MacMullan, the Celtics have made Horford a respectable four-year offer to re-sign with them.
Zion Williamson has more hype surrounding him than any top overall draft pick since LeBron James, and his game has also been fre- quently compared to Le- Bron’s. It only makes sense, then, for Williamson to seek advice from the man who is supposed to eventually pass him the NBA torch.
LeBron has offered to share some wisdom with Williamson, and the 18- year-old said after he was drafted by the New Orleans Pelicans on Thursday night that he is very open to listen- ing. He also shared some spe- cific questions he might ask LeBron.
In addition to having natu- ral-born talent, James is one
ZION WILLIAMSON
of the hardest workers in the history of the NBA. Williamson could do a lot worse than trying to model his game and work ethic after Le- Bron’s.
The way Williamson re- acted after being drafted on Thursday appears to prove he has remained humble despite all the hype, and that should only help his career.
PAGE 14 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY TUESDAY, JUNE 25, 2019