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Free agency begins July 1st and there is speculation on where certain players will go. Among the players in the spotlight:

Gordon Hayward; currently with the Utah Jazz but may explore a move to Boston, Miami.

Blake Griffin: currently with the Los Angeles Clippers but could look at Boston, Miami or Phoenix. According to the Clipper’s Executive VP, “We look at (Griffin) as Clipper royalty,” but you never know what will happen.

Kyle Lowry: widely believed to be staying in Toronto.

Andre Iguodala: the Golden State Warriors want to keep him, but he’ll be courted by many teams.

TENNIS

Venus Williams was involved in a fatal car accident on June 9th, and according to the police report was found guilty. She was not under the influence of any drugs or alcohol and was reportedly only driving at 5mph through an intersection where traffic slowed down and she hit the victim’s car. The victim’s husband suffered head trauma and died 14 days later. The crash is still under investigation.

FOOTBALL

During an interview on ESPN, Hall of Fame quarterback Brett Favre mentioned he might like to get back into the game by becoming a coach or general manager. Favre said he won’t make any commitments until his daughter graduates college.

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Chris Paul is leaving the Clippers and will be joining James Harden next season on the Houston Rockets. As a 32 year old nine-time All Star, Paul entered free agency wanting to win a championship and, according to reports, orchestrated his trade to the Rockets. This move could be a game changer for the Rockets!

After winning a championship, Steph Curry looked forward to playing golf in the off-season. In August, his shots will count as he’s entered in a tournament in California called Web.com. He said, “When I found out I was getting a sponsor exemption, I had a lot of emotions because I love to play golf; it’s a passion of mine. I’m looking forward to hopefully not embarrassing myself, but mostly having a lot of fun and hopefully raising a lot of money for the foundation. … I’m going to try to keep it in the fairway.”. If Curry ranks in the top 25 at the end of the tournament, he’ll get his PGA card, but that’s pretty unlikely as better golfers than Curry haven’t come close.

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After some very heated and public disputes the New York Knicks and team President Phil Jackson decided to part ways. Much of the friction between Jackson and team owner, James Dolan, had to do with whether or not the team would buy-out Carmelo Anthony’s remaining 2 year $54 million contract and whether they would trade their star Kristaps Porzingis. The team was clearly in disarray, so Jackson leaving could be a good thing to get the Knicks back on track.

Free agency begins on July 1st and rumors are flying. One of the biggest targets seems to be the Warriors Andre Iguodala. According to ESPN’s Chris Hayes, there are at  least 7  teams interested in him.

“Andre Iguodala has become the foremost target in an attempt to weaken the Golden State Warriors’ chokehold on the NBA, league sources have told ESPN. The Minnesota Timberwolves, San Antonio Spurs, LA Clippers, Philadelphia 76ers, Orlando Magic, Brooklyn Nets and Utah Jazz are among the teams interested in the 2015 NBA Finals MVP. It is not yet known if Iguodala will take meetings.”

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The first ever NBA awards show debuted last night, and the most anticipated award of the evening was for most valuable player. In a landslide vote, Oklahoma City Thunder’s, Russell Westbrook took the prize. This season was memorable for Westbrook, as he was only the second player ever to average a triple-double. Westbrook was emotional during his acceptance speech and graciously thanked everyone around him including his family,  his team, and God. Without you guys, I don’t know where I would be,” Westbrook said. “I can’t be standing here without your support, your sacrifice. Starting with my parents”. A few of the other highlights of the night:

Defensive Player of the Year: Draymond Green (Golden State Warriors)

Most Improved Player: Giannis Antetokounmpo (Milwaukee Bucks)
Rookie of the Year: Malcolm Brogdon (Milwaukee Bucks)

Sixth Man Award: Eric Gordon (Houston Rockets)

Rookie of the Year: Malcolm Brogdon (Milwaukee Bucks)

Coach of the Year:  Mike D’Antoni (Houston Rockets)

Check out Taylor Swifts‘ funny congratulations video to Westbrook on his big win.

TENNIS

John McEnroe has been in hot water the last few days for his comments in an NPR interview about Serena Williams. McEnroe said Serena was the “best female player ever — no question.” He was then asked why he qualified it as just “female” where he replied,  “if she played the men’s circuit she’d be like 700 in the world.” In a follow up interview,  McEnroe refused to apologize but did mention his comments were unnecessary.  Asked what he’d be ranked if he played right now, he lightheartedly said he’d be ranked 1,200.

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Rapper turned actor Ice Cube ventured into the world of basketball with his new 3-on-3 summer basketball league, called Big3, comprised of former NBA players. The format is unusual with games played to 60 points (but at team has to win by 2). The 10 game season can be seen Monday nights on Fox and culminates on August 26th with a championship in Las Vegas. The players are vying for a percentage of revenue based on their team’s standing at the end of the season. For all the rules, check out Ice Cube’s animated video.

Tune in Monday night the 26th at 9:00 pm est on TNT for the much anticipated NBA Awards show. After an action packed season, we’ll finally find out who gets the accolades for MVP, Rookie of the Year, Sixth Man etc. The NBA used to unceremoniously announce their season winners during the playoffs, but now they’ve decided to host a live star-studded  event to entertain their growing legion of fans. Here are some of the finalists:

MVP: Russell Westbrook, Kawhi Leonard, James Harden
Coach of the Year: Mike D’Antoni, Gregg Popovich, Erik Spoelstra
Rookie of the Year: Malcolm Brogdon, Joel Embiid, Dario Saric
Most Improved Player: Giannis Antetokounmpo, Rudy Gobert, Nikola Jokic
Defensive Player of the Year: Rudy Gobert, Draymond Green, Kawhi Leonard
Sixth Man: Andre Iguodala, Eric Gordon, Lou Williams

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The NBA draft took place Thursday night, and the first two picks went off as expected. The Philadelphia 76ers chose Washington’s Markelle Fultz with the #1 pick, the Los Angeles Lakers grabbed UCLA’s Lonzo Ball with pick #2, and the Boston Celtics selected Duke’s Jayson Tatum at number 3. With Phoenix taking Kansas’ Josh Jackson and the Sacramento Kings picking up Kentucky’s De’Aaron Fox at #4 and #5 respectively, the 2017 draft marked the first time in NBA history the top 5 spots went to college freshmen. For the rest of the draft, click here.

The big trade of the day went to the Minnesota Timberwolves who landed Jimmy Butler from the Chicago Bulls and a #16 pick in exchange for Kris Dunn, Zach LaVine and a #7 pick.

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The NBA draft is tonight with the Philadelphia 76ers owning the first pick. It’s been widely reported they will take Washington’s Markelle Fultz. All eyes will then be on Lonzo Ball (and his controversial dad LaVar) who will likely get picked picked #2 by the Los Angeles Lakers.

The Cleveland Cavaliers made news this week by firing their GM David Griffin. According to reports, former NBA star Chauncey Billups has recently been offered the job of head of basketball operations. In addition to the front office disarray surrounding the team, rumors are flying about LeBron James either heading to the Los Angeles Lakers or LA Clippers when he becomes a free agent next summer.

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Expect lots of action prior to tomorrow night’s NBA draft. One such development is the New York Knicks are discussing offers to trade their center Kristaps Porzingis. In other trade news, Dwight Howard is leaving the Atlanta Hawks (his third team in 3 seasons) and heading to the Charlotte Hornets. And, the LA Lakers are expected to send D’Angelo Russell and Timofey Mozgov to the Brooklyn Nets for Brook Lopez and the 27th pick in tomorrow’s draft. Expect much more drama before Thursday night.

Former Hall of Famer, Dennis Rodman, traveled to North Korea again in hopes his trip will open a door for Donald Trump. Members of the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation are disgusted by Rodman’s praise of Kim Jong-un (North Korea’s brutal dictator) and have started a petition for the NBA to remove Rodman from the Hall of Fame. Rodman has called the dictator his “friend for life”. According to the petition, “Individuals that praise murderers have no place being idolized by America’s youth or in any Hall of Fame in the United States”. No word yet on what the Hall of fame intends to do.

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The Cleveland Cavaliers are making headlines this week for some interesting developments. After only 3 seasons, the team decided to part ways with GM David Griffin. Griffin brought the Cavs to three consecutive NBA Finals (and their first Championship in 2016), so the move is widely considered bizarre.

LeBron James tweeted his disappointment in the move saying, “If no one appreciated you Griff I did, and hopefully all the people of Cleveland!” Speaking of LeBron, rumors are flying that the new Clippers’ consultant, Jerry West, will try and lure LeBron to LA when he becomes a free agent next summer.

NBA Finals MVP, Kevin Durant, appears to be prioritizing winning by signaling he’ll opt out of his player option but will re-sign with the team in order to free up money for players like Andre Iguodala, Zaza Pachulia and Shaun Livingston. By giving up the big payday this year, KD is expected to sign a longterm deal after next season. Steph Curry is also a free agent and could sign a 5 year $207 million dollar deal, the largest in NBA history.

GOLF

Brooks Koepka won his first major championship this weekend by winning the US Open.  At 27 years old, Koepka finished 16 under par to edge out a close field and take home the $2.16 million earnings.

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The Boston Celtics shook things up this weekend by announcing they were trading their #1 pick in the upcoming draft to the Philadelphia 76ers (who have the #3 pick). The Sixers are expected to use their #1 pick for University of Washington Guard Markelle Fultz. The draft takes place Thursday the 22nd, 7 pm ET.

In other trade news, Indiana Pacers Paul George reportedly told the team he will leave in 2018 to become a free agent and will play instead for the Los Angeles Lakers. According to Yahoo Sports’ Adrian Wojnarowski, “George can sign a four-year deal worth as much as $130 million with Los Angeles next year. George is a Southern California native and playing for the Lakers would represent a homecoming for him. George plans to play out the 2017-18 season with Indiana, but wants to give the organization the chance to plan appropriately for its future – which George told the team won’t include him”. If George does go to the Lakers in 2018, the team should be in good shape as they’re expected to use their #2 pick in this year’s draft for Lonzo Ball.