Page 26 - Florida Sentinel 8-25-17

Sports
Cavaliers Make Their
Evan Turner Thinks The ‘Cavs Came Out Big’ After Kyrie Irving- Isaiah Thomas Trade
EVAN TURNER
The Celtics traded their beloved point guard Isaiah Thomas to Cleveland on Tuesday night in a blockbuster deal with the Cavaliers.
While Thomas has yet to comment on the move, a for- mer teammate spoke out in support of the two-time NBA All-Star.
Evan Turner, who played two seasons in Boston, tweeted: “Damn dog, my guy I.T. Deserve better. I under- stand it’s a business but that dude did a lot for the organiza- tion. Only going to get better!”
The forward proceed to share his thoughts on Twitter and appeared to indicate that he believes Cleveland got the better end of the deal.
Ankle Injury Could Sideline Giants' Odell Beckham, Jr. For Opener
ODELL BECKHAM JR. Odell Beckham Jr.'s
ankle injury could potentially keep the New York Giants wide receiver out of the sea- son opener.
The Giants open their sea- son on the road on Sept. 10 against the Dallas Cowboys.
It's "not out of the question he could miss a week or two of the regular season," ac- cording to one source.
Beckham left Monday night's game against the Cleveland Browns after tak- ing a hard hit to the left leg from Browns cornerback Briean Boddy-Calhoun. An X-ray during the game was negative. He underwent an MRI on Tuesday that con- firmed a sprained ankle.
LeBron James Tweeted
Mark On Offseason By
His Appreciation For Kyrie
Moving Irving For Thomas
Irving After Celtics Trade
If Game 4 of the 2017 NBA Finals turns out to be Kyrie Irving's last game in the city of Cleveland playing for the Cavaliers -- after LeBron James' return, you can't re- ally rule anything out, after all -- it will be a tantalizing re- minder of just what the Cleve- land Cavaliers said goodbye to when they traded him to the Boston Celtics on Tuesday.
The deal settled upon, nearly a month to the day since Koby Altman was named the team's general manager, satisfied Cleveland's short- and long-term goals of staying a championship con- tender in the now while saving for a rainy day in the future that could come pouring down in the summer of 2018 should James leave as a free agent.
Out goes Irving and in comes Isaiah Thomas --
LeBron James and Kyrie Irving reportedly have been at odds since the lat- ter requested a trade last month, but James tweeted out his appreciation for his now former teammate Tuesday
KYRIE IRVING AND ISAIAH THOMAS
three years older and six inches shorter than Irving, to be sure. Yet, Thomas is com- ing off his finest season as a pro, in which he averaged 28.9 points and 5.9 assists on 37.9 percent shooting from 3- point territory (all in line with Irving's averages) while at- tempting nearly twice as many free throws per game than the guy picked 59 slots ahead of him back in 2011 (8.5 for Thomas; 4.6 for Irving).
night. LEBRON JAMES AND KYRIE IRVING
James retweeted
an account that posted a video referencing Cavaliers fans burning the superstar’s jersey when he left town – but instead of lighting Irv- ing’s jersey on fire in the video, a hand places a thank- you note.
“Special talent/guy! Noth-
ing but respect and what a ride it was our 3 years to- gether Young Gode,” James tweeted.
In their years playing to- gether, James and Irving went to three straight NBA Finals and won one. What a ride, indeed.
Kyrie Irving To Wear
Hank Aaron Says Colin Kaepernick 'Getting A Raw Deal';NAACP Seeks Goodell Meeting Over QB
HANK AARON AND COLIN KAEPERNICK
No. 11 With Celtics After
Trade From Cavaliers
The Boston Celtics an- nounced Wednesday that newly acquired guard Kyrie Irving will wear No. 11 next season.
A reporter tweeted a photo of Irving in his new jer-
sey.OnTuesday,Bostondealt guard Isaiah Thomas, for- ward Jae Crowder, center Ante Zizic and the Brooklyn Nets' 2018 unprotected first- round pick to the Cleveland Cavaliers for Irving.
Throughout his six-year tenure with the Cavs, Irving wore No. 2. He has history with the No. 11, though, as he wore it at St. Patrick High School in Elizabeth, New Jer- sey.
By trading for Irving, the Celtics added a four-time All- Star, a former NBA cham- pion and a player who is coming off his most produc- tive NBA campaign, as he av- eraged a career-high 25.2 points per game last season.
A source reported in July that Irving asked for a trade in an effort to emerge from LeBron James' shadow.
He will have that opportu- nity in Boston while still playing alongside some All- Star-caliber players, such as
KYRIE IRVING Gordon Hayward and Al
Horford.
The Celtics gave up a ton
to land Irving, including an All-Star guard, a strong de- fensive forward, a promising big-man prospect and a pick that could be near the top of the 2018 draft.
Boston now has just four holdovers on its roster from a team that earned the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Confer- ence and reached the Eastern Conference Finals last sea- son.
Baseball legend Hank Aaron and the NAACP have weighed in on the fate of un- signed quarterback Colin Kaepernick.
Aaron, in an online video published Wednesday by AllThatTV, said he thinks Kaepernick is "getting a raw deal" and called on an NFL team to give the outspo- ken quarterback "a chance to do his thing."
Later Wednesday, the NAACP said that it is seeking a meeting with Roger Goodell to discuss Kaeper- nick, writing in a letter to the NFL commissioner that it is "no sheer coincidence" that the former San Francisco 49ers quarterback remains unsigned.
Derrick Johnson -- the NAACP's interim president and CEO -- says "no player should be victimized and dis- criminated against because of his exercise of free speech."
Kaepernick became a controversial figure last year
after he refused to stand for the national anthem in what he called a protest against op- pression of people of color. He opted out of his contract in March and became a free agent.
The Baltimore Ravens and Seattle Seahawks both have looked into signing Kaeper- nick this offseason.
Aaron, who faced racial prejudice when he broke Babe Ruth's all-time home run record in 1974, specifi- cally mentioned the Ravens - - his favorite team -- and general manager Ozzie Newsome.
"[Kaepernick] has gone to all these camps, I suppose, and nobody seems to think he stands a chance to be a No. 1 [quarterback]," Aaron told interviewer Roland S. Mar- tin. "Here's a man, a young player, that almost carried a team to a championship, to a Super Bowl. I think some- body needs to give this man a chance."
PAGE 16-A FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY FRIDAY, AUGUST 25, 2017