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What Had Happened Was

What Had Happened Was: 7/1/16

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    2016 NBA All-Star Game
    Photo by Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images
    By Ryan Cortes Rhiannon Walker

    GAME. BLOUSES.

    Holy multimillion dollar role player contracts, Batman. NBA free agency kicked off with a bang just after midnight this morning and a few hours later — ta-da — some pieces around the league have been shifted, while others are staying put — just for a lot more dough.

    Now, it should be noted that free agents can’t put pen to paper on any of these deals until July 7. Verbal agreements are largely accurate, but they are still only verbal commitments — just ask Los Angeles Clippers center DeAndre Jordan. There is still much more to come today and throughout this weekend. Free agent big man Hassan Whiteside indicted he would make a decision soon after free agency opened up, but there were nothing but rumors Thursday night. At one point, the Dallas Mavericks were a heavy favorite to land Whiteside. Then it appeared to be Miami.

    At 7:40am Friday, the man decided. He’s staying with the Heat.

    One thing we do know? This is fun. Like, really fun.

    And we haven’t even gotten to Kevin Durant yet.

    SOCIAL STATUS

    If you’re unfamiliar with Duron Carter, he is a wide receiver in the Canadian Football League and the son of NFL Hall of Famer Cris Carter. Duron was a highly coveted prospect in college, playing at Ohio State (2009) and Alabama (2011) before bowing out of both schools with academic issues that left him vulnerable to criticism. Fast forward to Thursday night.

    Duron was playing in a CFL game where he caught a ridiculous touchdown pass. He got decked on the play, the kind of hit the NFL is all too familiar with now, only Duron popped right up after the hit and made his way to the opposing sidelines. Check it out:

    The reaction on Twitter was expected, if not disappointing. People called him “ridiculous,” an “a–hat” and said they had “no respect” for him. But in a climate where the NFL deals with head trauma and concussions and talk of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) on a near weekly basis, we were surprised more people didn’t ask whether Carter’s reaction Thursday night had more to do with being dazed and unaware from a big hit and less to do with bravado and arrogance.

    Even after Carter (accidentally?) bowls over the opposing coach and other enraged players get in his grill and push him, Carter still looks like he doesn’t quite know where he is or why everyone is poking him. Maybe it was just another misguided moment for a guy many would call a “knucklehead.”

    Or maybe it was something else entirely.

    https://twitter.com/ChrisWittyngham/status/748692971030212609

    BLESSINGS!

    This literally says it all, for those who watched the Los Angeles Lakers make Timofey Mozgov the first free agent signed on Friday morning — for four years and $64 MILLION, YO WHAT? Sorry for yelling.

    FOR THE CULTURE

    Per Dow Jones, Apple is trying to buy Tidal from Jay Z.

    Neither the NBA nor the Charlotte Hornets “endorse” the revised version of North Carolina’s House Bill 2 (HB2), which discriminates against transgender people and other member of the LGBTQ community. This is notable, because it’s possible the NBA will pull the All-Star Game out of Charlotte.

    Gymnasts Gabby Douglas and Simone Biles graced the cover of Teen Vogue, and are absolutely stunning.

    For the first time in 69 years, the U.S. men’s national team and Cuba will face off in soccer, with the U.S. traveling to Havana.

    What happens when you get six black chefs at a roundtable? They discuss their legacy on their craft.

    TOP THREE TWEETS

    Every morning we’ll hit you here with the best of what we saw on social media the previous night. Why? Why not?

    1. PRIORITIES

    https://twitter.com/Dloading/status/748747700552687616

    2. MAYBE IT’S MAYBELLINE

    https://twitter.com/steenfox/status/748235839461679104

    3. MAKE IT RAIN

    #ICYMI

    Our brother Jerry Bembry wrote about Kalan Reed of the Tenessee Titans, a man who was picked 253rd in the 2016 draft giving him a special name — “Mr. Irrelevant.”

    He watched the first round on April 28 with family and friends. Nothing. They got together the next day, Friday, for rounds two and three. Nothing. When the draft resumed on Saturday for rounds four through seven, Reed had had enough. He bailed on the family gathering, retreating to another room in his grandmother’s house. “I had to do something to take my mind off the draft,” Reed said. “It was frustrating. I kept having teams call me, and then they wouldn’t pick me. Watching guys go before you — guys you know your stats are better than — that’s tough.”

    PICTURE PERFECT

    Ryan Cortes is a staff writer for The Undefeated. Lemon pepper his wings.

    Rhiannon Walker is an associate editor at The Undefeated. She is a drinker of Sassy Cow Creamery chocolate milk, an owner of an extensive Disney VHS collection, and she might have a heart attack if Frank Ocean doesn't drop his second album.

    This Story Tagged: NBA Timofey Mozgov What Had Happened Was