Up Next

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.
- DeMar DeRozen is about to get his paper, signing a five-year, $139 million contract to stick around with the Toronto Raptors.
- Joakim Noah and the New York Knicks are closing in a four-year deal (sorry, Knicks fans) at $18 million per season.
- Nicolas Batum agreed to stay with the Charlotte Hornets on a five-year, $120 million pact.
- Andre Drummond and the Detroit Pistons are close to signing the big man to a five-year max deal.
- The Washington Wizards and Bradley Beal are close on a five-year, $130 million agreement.
- And finally, the Los Angeles Lakers agreed to give Timofey Mozgov so much money the internet damn near broke. We’ll get to it.
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.
But the mavs had all the momentum, they said… pic.twitter.com/3n4qdeE3LV
— Coinye West (@CNOTEZ) July 1, 2016
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:
.@TimHortons CFL Must-See: Duron Carter made an unbelievable TD catch and took his celebration to the Ottawa bench pic.twitter.com/ziLesWggjU
— TSN (@TSN_Sports) July 1, 2016
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.
Ok, this is because the hit knocked him out and he had no idea where he was walking, right? https://t.co/HdvUNWjSrT
— 15 – Guillermo XI (@MrBill11) July 1, 2016
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.
The # of millions the Lakers are about to pay Mozgov per year (16) is higher than the total points he scored during the 2016 playoffs (15)
— Rob Perez (@World_Wide_Wob) July 1, 2016
Using today's new Mozgovian math, if all things are relative, LeBron should make a shade under $59.9 quintillion next season.
— Tim Reynolds (@ByTimReynolds) July 1, 2016
Timofey Mozgov's guaranteed money ($64M)from the Lakers is more than Ben Roethlisberger and A.J. Green make combined.
(via @paul_hembo)
— Jason Romano (@JasonRomano) July 1, 2016
$4,065: Money Lakers have agreed to pay Timofey Mozgov PER IN GAME MINUTE over next four seasons.
— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) July 1, 2016
Lakers signing Timofey Mozgov to 4-year, $65M deal…https://t.co/TMez644x9Y
— Aaron Dodson (@aardodson) July 1, 2016
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
In roughly 45 minutes… #NBAFreeAgency pic.twitter.com/bzHjPNlUyK
— Michael Lee (@MrMichaelLee) July 1, 2016
#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
Bae: come over
Me: cant
Bae: were doing a 2017 NFL mock draft and my parents arent home
Me: pic.twitter.com/bxPbvNmy1I— PFTCommenter (@PFTCommenter) June 30, 2016