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The HoopsHype Daily: One of the biggest blockbuster trades ever is about to go down

On Tuesday, New York fired team president Steve Mills after five years on the job, while Rockets were the focal point of a four-team trade.

ROCKETS HEADLINE DEAL: The Houston Rockets agreed to a major trade late last night, one that involved 12 total players and four teams. If the deal goes down as agreed upon, it will be the third-largest trade ever based on number of players, and the largest since 2005-06 when the Heat acquired Antoine Walker, James Posey and Jason Williams.

The trade, as agreed upon on Tuesday night, breaks down as follows:

Atlanta gets: Clint Capela, Nenê
Denver gets: Shabazz Napier, Noah Vonleh, Keita Bates-Diop, Gerald Green, Houston’s first-round pick
Houston gets: Robert Covington, Jordan Bell, Atlanta 2nd round
Minnesota gets: Malik Beasley, Juan Hernangomez, Jarred Vanderbilt, Evan Turner, Nets 2020 first-round pick (lottery protected)

Atlanta acquires the center they badly coveted, Denver acquires some decent bench pieces and a major draft asset, Houston gets an elite 3-and-D wing and a serviceable backup big man with playoff experience and the Wolves get draft capital and solid young role players.

MILLS OUT IN NEW YORK: After five fruitless years as Knicks team president, Steve Mills was surprisingly fired yesterday, just days ahead of the 2020 trade deadline. Rather than get rid of him over the offseason after the team’s failures to land a marquee free agent despite having loads of cap space and a major market to pitch them, New York waiting until now to make such a huge change at the top of their front office is so very Knicks.

For now, New York’s front office will be led by general manager Scott Perry, Mills’ right-hand man for the last three years, but the Knicks have higher hopes for who could run the basketball operation. Their top target continues to be Raptors team president Masai Ujiri, but that would require New York sending out as many as two first-round draft picks, per a report, something the Knicks might be hesitant to agree to. Besides Ujiri, the Knicks reportedly could follow the Warriors/Lakers model and hire a big-name agent, though that would be a good bit riskier than Ujiri.

💼 For your perusal, here’s a ranking of the top NBA agents based on client income.

LATEST TRADE SCUTTLE: The trade rumors continue to roll in on deadline week, so let’s get right into the nitty-gritty. (For a closer look at every single reliable piece of scuttle over the past few days, check out our full Trade Rumors page.)

The D’Angelo Russell smoke isn’t going away, but the latest reports indicate talks between Golden State and Minnesota have fallen apart. We’ll see if that changes today or tomorrow.

It looks like Kevin Love is staying put in Cleveland, as many have previously speculated since his contract is an albatross and the Cavs don’t want to be forced to give up an asset in an attempt to move their former All-Star big man.

The Knicks have explored a Kyle Kuzma trade. It’s almost as if New York forgot they signed four power forwards last summer and feel like they need more.

Then again, one of those power forwards, Marcus Morris, is now on the block after Mills’ firing. He won’t have a shortage of suitors among contenders.

Tristan Thompson wants out of Cleveland, a reverse in course from earlier scuttle that he was perhaps interested in an extension with the Cavs.

THE WORD ON RUSSELL: We talked to various league executives to see what they perceive to be D’Angelo Russell’s trade value, and where they think he could end up if he does get traded.

ALL-STAR SNUB: Bradley Beal has the highest scoring average (29.2) of an All-Star snub ever. The modern NBA’s high pace might have something to do with that, but even so, that’s crazy.

UPCOMING FESTIVITIES: The NBA announced the respective fields for the upcoming skills challenge, dunk contest and three-point shootout, and there’s some pretty fun first-time challengers. The league also made changes to some of those contests’ formats, which should make them even more exciting.

MORE AWARDS: LeBron James surprisingly beat out Damian Lillard for Player of the Month out West (the first Laker to win the award since Kobe) while Giannis won the award in the East.

FOR A GREAT CAUSE: The scorecard from the evening Kobe Bryant dropped 81 points, autographed by the fallen legend himself, is going up for auction, with the proceeds going to the crash victims’ families.

TWO IMPORTANT ROLES: Hornets head coach James Borrego is doing his best to balance being an NBA head coach and being a father, and he’s doing a pretty great job of it.

WHAT A JOURNEY: The Athletic details how Kenny Atkinson arrived to where he’s at, and the journey includes being an assistant coach in France prior to reaching the NBA.

SALARY QUIZ: WHO’S THIS NBA PLAYER? 🤔

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The HoopsHype Daily: Warriors may end up moving D’Angelo Russell after all

Russell is being chased by multiple teams, Iguodala might not return this season if he doesn’t get dealt and more of the latest rumors.

RUSSELL ON THE MOVE AFTER ALL? The original belief was that the Warriors, who will certainly be sellers, were set to hold onto All-Star guard D’Angelo Russell and trade him over the summer after they’ve had time to evaluate him for a full season. As it turns out, however, that might not necessarily be set in stone, as it was reported Monday that Golden State is listening to pitches for their talented young ball-handler, with a few teams registering interest.

One of those teams is obvious; the Timberwolves have long been rumored to badly covet Russell, not just for his obvious talent level and their huge need in the backcourt, but because of his friendship with Karl-Anthony Towns, who’s experiencing a rough season in Minnesota, and not due to his own contributions.

But another team popped up as having interest in Russell, one that we hadn’t heard about on this front before, and that was the Knicks. Some of the players that were mentioned as heading back to Golden State in a theoretical swap for Russell were Bobby Portis and Frank Ntilikina, both of who could be solid role players on an elite team, which the Warriors believe they’ll be next season.

MORE TRADE SCUTTLE: The rumors are running rampant now with the trade deadline under three days away. Here’s just some of the latest. (For more, you can check out our Trade Rumors page.)

The Suns and Pistons are engaged in serious talks for a trade centered around Luke Kennard, as part of a proposed deal that would see Detroit land Phoenix’s first-round pick and some decent young pieces. It appears the full rebuild is about to be on in Detroit.

Clint Capela continues to be shopped by the Rockets, and the Celtics popped up as a surprise potential suitor, along with the Hawks, who seem like the odds-on favorites to land him, and the Nets.

Andre Iguodala is prepared to sit out the entire season if the Grizzlies can’t trade him to one of his preferred suitors. Ja Morant and Dillon Brooks don’t care too much for Iguodala at the moment, it would appear.

The Wizards want to improve at the deadline so as to show Bradley Beal they’re serious about turning things around, and one player they are reportedly targeting is Tristan Thompson. He’d be interesting there, setting strong picks for Beal and John Wall and finishing out of the pick-and-roll.

Charlotte and New York have had talks centered around big man Julius Randle, and Malik Monk and Terry Rozier have been discussed as part of those negotiations.

The Heat are eyeing Danilo Gallinari, who would help them improve immediately without jeopardizing their all-important 2021 max cap space.

HOTTEST NAMES ON THE MARKET: We rank the five players who have appeared most in our trade rumors page over the past week, including Andre Drummond and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist.

WE GOT SHAMS: In the latest HoopsHype podcast, our own Alex Kennedy is joined by The Athletic’s Shams Charania to discuss some of the latest trade scuttle he’s hearing. He drops a couple of tidbits in there that he hasn’t tweeted and haven’t been reported elsewhere, so it’s a must-listen.

SILVER SPEAKS: NBA commissioner Adam Silver discusses how the league coped with the losses of Kobe and David Stern, improving relations between the NBA and China and the upcoming All-Star Game.

FUTURE COACH? John Wall has spent a ton of time rehabbing over the past 13 months, but he hasn’t let it go to waste. Wall is using his time off to sharpen his basketball mind, and he hopes he can use this experience to become a coach or front-office member in his post-playing career.

HEROIC LEGEND: Manu Ginobili further solidified his status as an absolute legend by saving a grandmother who had fallen at the beach while trying to climb a sand dune. From killing bats to saving grandmas, there’s nothing Manu can’t do.

RAGS TO RICHES: A dude who spent over a decade playing semi-professional basketball and eventually gave up on his dream of reaching the NBA following a failed tryout with the Knicks in 2016 turned to fashion, and has now become a successful jeans designer.

NOT ALL ON HIM: First-year Cavs head coach John Beilein has caught a ton of flak this season, some of it deserved, but rookie guard Darius Garland says Cleveland’s failures aren’t all Beilein’s fault, and it has to fall on the players to do better.

OOPS: Spurs big man Jakob Poeltl checked into last night’s San Antonio game – like, legitimately got on the court – without his jersey on. It was hilarious.

SALARY QUIZ: WHO’S THIS NBA PLAYER? 🤔

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The HoopsHype Daily: Clint Capela is being shopped by Houston, and more NBA trade rumors

The Rockets are offering Capela to a few teams in hopes of landing a wing. Besides that, we have a slew of other fresh trade rumors on deadline week.

CAPELA BEING SHOPPED? Rockets big man Clint Capela, averaging 13.9 points and 13.8 rebounds this season on 62.9 percent shooting, has been a major part of Houston’s success over the past four seasons. So it was a bit surprising when, in the middle of the Super Bowl, Woj dropped a bomb on us, as he is apt to do, regarding the Rockets and Capela. Houston is shopping their starting center to teams in the East – like Atlanta, for one – in hopes of flipping him for draft assets they could then use to acquire a strong wing player.

Capela is currently in Year-2 of a five-year, $90 million contract, so whoever acquires him is making a big-time commitment and losing a lot of future cap flexibility. At the same time, Capela is one of the better starting centers in the league – extremely productive, capable of blocking shots on defense and producing terror out of the pick-and-roll. (He and Trae Young would be a nasty tandem in those types of sets.) Capela could very well be worth the price.

MORE TRADE SCUTTLE: As we enter trade-deadline week, the rumors are starting to get hot and heavy.

The Timberwolves’ asking price for Robert Covington, which we had heard to be quite high, is reportedly two first-rounders. That’s… ludicrous. Regardless, Houston and Philadelphia are at the front of the line in the sweepstakes for the talented 3-and-D forward.

Golden State is listening to pitches for D’Angelo Russell, even though many thought they’d wait until the summer to trade him. Could be a smart move for the Warriors, as the Timberwolves have been desperate to land the All-Star guard for a while.

The Clippers are looking around for wing depth, even though they have Kawhi Leonard, Paul George and Moe Harkless manning those spots.

Dennis Smith Jr. is drawing interest from the Timberwolves and Magic. Smith is a solid buy-low candidate right now.

The Mavs, who lack wing depth, have kicked the tires on Michael Kidd-Gilchrist and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson.

KOBE TRIBUTES CONTINUE: From the Super Bowl to the Australian Open, the tributes to fallen legend Kobe Bryant continue.

What’s more, Jason Terry, who was supposed to coach against Gianna Bryant’s team the day of the accident, talks about how awful that entire ordeal was from his perspective. And Dirk Nowitzki says he’ll never get over the fact that we lost Kobe. He’s not the only one.

ALL-STAR VOTING: With the release of All-Star player and fan votes every, we get a good glimpse of which players are more popular among their peers as opposed to others. We put together a research on the matter, and, well, Klay Thompson doesn’t get much love from other players for some reason.

Oh, also, we ranked the players with the most All-Star fan votes in league history. Needless to say, LeBron is a very popular guy.

PATH TO STARDOM: It was far from an easy journey for Brandon Ingram to go from coveted trade piece to legit All-Star, but he pulled it off, and he deserves a lot of credit for that, as do the Pelicans for putting him in the position to excel.

BUYER’S REMORSE: Al Horford’s fit with Philadelphia has been an awkward one, as he should probably be a full-time center at this point in his career, which is impossible while sharing the floor with Joel Embiid. The Sixers are still trying to figure it out with their big offseason signing.

MOMENTOUS OCCASION: San Diego State retired Kawhi Leonard’s jersey over the weekend, in what was a nice ceremony that was attended by what looked like most of the Clippers’ entire organization.

DISGRUNTLED BIG MAN: Karl-Anthony Towns was not pleased whatsoever with not being named an All-Star this year, saying that he’s used to be disrespected since entering the league.

Maybe it has something to do with the fact that you haven’t won a game since November, KAT.

CAVS IN DISARRAY: The Cavaliers have been losing a lot lately, and first-year head coach John Beilein has run out of answers. The constant trade rumors surrounding Kevin Love and Tristan Thompson certainly haven’t helped matters.

CRISIS AVERTED: The Nets may have avoided disaster with regards to Kyrie Irving’s knee injury. The team announced he’d be out for at least one week with a medial ligament sprain to his knee.

SALARY QUIZ: WHO’S THIS NBA PLAYER? 🤔

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The HoopsHype Daily: Victor Oladipo channels Black Mamba in first game back in over a year

DIPO BACK: Prior to the final minute of last night’s game between Indiana and Chicago, Victor Oladipo had been going through a forgettable return from injury, shooting 1-for-7 from the floor and scoring just six points. Then, with 13 seconds …

DIPO BACK: Prior to the final minute of last night’s game between Indiana and Chicago, Victor Oladipo had been going through a forgettable return from injury, shooting 1-for-7 from the floor and scoring just six points. Then, with 13 seconds remaining and Indiana down by three, Oladipo caught the ball on the wing with a defender near him, and after a brief hesitation, the All-Star guard rose up and attempted a deep three-pointer to tie the game. Nothing but net.

The Pacers would go on to win the contest 115-106, and afterwards, Oladipo discussed his game-tying shot, emotionally telling Fox Sports Indiana that he used his Mamba Mentality on that audacious jumper, and that he dedicated the three-pointer to Kobe Bryant, Gigi and the other victims of Sunday’s tragic accident. Oladipo’s courage on that crucial look definitely resembled Kobe’s, as the former Laker rarely let a rough shooting night deter him from attempting a clutch jumper. Oladipo didn’t either.

Indiana, now 31-17 on the season and sitting fifth in the East, is about to get a major boost from Oladipo’s return, as his shot-making prowess and defensive chops are going to make the Pacers even tougher.

KOBE TRIBUTE: Kobe’s late wife, Vanessa Bryant, made her first public comments since the tragic accident, thanking everyone for the support that has been sent their family’s way and discussing how devastating the entire ordeal has been.

Additionally, Lakers assistant coach Phil Handy talked about his relationship with Kobe and what it was like training Gianna and her teammates, among a lot of other Kobe-related topics.

Finally, multiple players are changing their jersey numbers away from No. 8 and No. 24 to honor the fallen legend. Here are all the ones we know of so far.

Oh, and it doesn’t look like the league will budge on making Kobe the NBA’s new logo.

LOWERED PROJECTIONS: Woj reported late last night the league is telling teams that their projected future salary cap figures are likely to decrease, though by how much remains unclear. That may have to do with Daryl Morey’s now-infamous China tweet prior to the season, which cost the NBA their foothold in a massive market.

The NBA’s current salary cap is $109.1 million, with the 2021-22 salary cap projected to be at around $116 million, so we’ll have to wait and see how much that figure lessens. Depending on the decrease, that could change teams’ attitudes at this year’s trade deadline.

LATEST TRADE SCUTTLE: Speaking of the trade deadline, we got a few new rumors to discuss yesterday.

The Grizzlies remain confident they will get value in return for Andre Iguodala in a trade, and won’t have to buy out the veteran swingman.

The market on Andre Drummond has ground to a halt, likely due to the Pistons’ high demands. That could change as we get closer to the deadline, though.

Houston will be active in the trade market for a player who can carve out a role on their team, and their 2020 first-round pick could be up for grabs.

BEEF BREAKDOWN: The pettiness between Damian Lillard and Russell Westbrook has been well-documented, particularly when the duo got double-technicals after the trash talk went on a little too long in a recent game. However, Lillard says it’s nothing but respect between him and the former league MVP; they’re both just really competitive.

ANOTHER BANNER NIGHT: Not only did the Knicks get blown out 127-106 by the Grizzlies at home last night, they got into an ugly fight in the game’s waning moments, heard fans chant “sell the team” at owner James Dolan, followed that up with Marcus Morris telling collected media that Jae Crowder is “woman-like” for flopping too much and then didn’t even provide Memphis with working showers in the locker room.

Pretty embarrassing night in New York City.

MVP RANKINGS: We’ve ranked the Top 10 players in the 2019-20 MVP race, with Giannis maintaining his firm grasp on the No. 1 spot and Ben Simmons joining the elite ranks for the first time.

MATCHING GREATNESS: Bucks co-owner Marc Lasry spoke to Michael Jordan when their two teams were in Paris last week, telling His Airness that he feels like Milwaukee can match the Bulls’ record for regular-season dominance this year. Jordan told him to focus on winning a championship instead. Solid advice, to be honest.

DRAFT WATCH: Elite 2020 draft prospect LaMelo Ball has returned to the United States in order to continue rehabbing his foot injury. Our aggregate mock draft has Ball as this year’s No. 2 prospect.

Shaq, Charles Barkley, Dwyane Wade and Jerry West pay beautiful tribute to Kobe Bryant

SOLEMN THOUGHTS: For the first time since the tragic accident that took Kobe Bryant’s life, along with those of eight other people, it was a Tuesday night, meaning it was time for the NBA on TNT, one of the most important basketball shows in the …

SOLEMN THOUGHTS: For the first time since the tragic accident that took Kobe Bryant’s life, along with those of eight other people, it was a Tuesday night, meaning it was time for the NBA on TNT, one of the most important basketball shows in the history of the sport. And, as only they could, they paid their respects to the fallen star with beautiful words and thoughtful anecdotes.

Shaq was in tears, saying that he felt like he lost a little brother and how he regrets not talking to Kobe more when he had the chance. Dwyane Wade, also emotional, talked about wanting only one player’s respect during his days in the NBA – respect from Kobe. Jerry West, who joined the usual TNT crew, said it was the saddest day of his life, with the only moment that could come close was when he lost a brother in the Korean War.

Hearing those legends discuss their old friend was therapeutic and helped us with the healing process as much as it helped them.

HONORING KOBE: Various players are taking it upon themselves to unofficially retire Kobe’s No. 8 and No. 24 jerseys by changing their numbers. Among those switching jersey numbers: Spencer Dinwiddie, Terrence Ross and Maurice Harkless.

KD SPEAKS: Kevin Durant gave his first public comments on the loss of Kobe.

LATEST TRADE SCUTTLE: We saw a few new trade rumors hit the airwaves recently.

Portland is open to hearing offers for Hassan Whiteside, who is posting big numbers yet again this season, although, as is usually the case with him, they aren’t really impacting winning.

Sacramento might reconcile things with backup big man Dewayne Dedmon, which makes sense considering he’s owed $40 million and very few teams, if any, will be willing to take that onto their payroll.

Woj cautions it might be a slow trade deadline, as there aren’t many big-name players being discussed among teams at the moment.

SMALL-MARKET MONSTERS: The Indiana Pacers recently gave our Alex Kennedy a behind-the-scenes look at their organization, giving him access to their executives, players and coaches. President Kevin Pritchard and GM Chad Buchanan discuss how they created their culture, the unique challenges that come with running a small-market team, their much-maligned Paul George trade and more.

MVP RACE: We rank the Top-10 players of the 2019-20 MVP race, where Giannis continues to hold a commanding lead and Ben Simmons makes a first-time appearance.

TWO MAJOR RETURNS: After missing a few weeks of action due to a hand injury, Joel Embiid made his return last night, dropping 24 points while wearing a No. 24 Embiid jersey to honor Kobe.

Today, Victor Oladipo is set to make his season debut for the Pacers when they face the Bulls. The All-Star shooting guard will be on a minute restriction and come off the bench at least until the All-Star break.

JAMS: Ever wonder what some of your favorite NBA players listen to when they’re shooting around and preparing for games? You’re in luck, because The Athletic has you covered.

AGGREGATE MOCK DRAFT: We take a look at what some of the top NBA Draft prognosticators are saying regarding the 2020 class. Anthony Edwards remains the consensus choice for top pick, but everything behind that is a mess.

TURMOIL IN MINNESOTA: The Timberwolves have lost 10 games in a row, including an embarrassing Monday night defeat where they didn’t just blow a 27-point lead to Sacramento (not exactly world-beaters in their own right), they blew a 17-point lead with under three minutes remaining. Obviously, tensions are quite high at the moment in Minnesota, including with their most-important player, Karl-Anthony Towns.

TOUGH TO SCORE ON: Ben Simmons and Matisse Thybulle have formed an insane defensive partnership, one that has given Philadelphia the league’s No. 2 defense over their last 10 games.

SEARCH FOR A THIEF: Police are looking for a man who is accused of stealing $500,000 worth of jewelry from Allen Iverson, who was holding said jewelry in one backpack.

SALARY QUIZ: WHO’S THIS NBA PLAYER? 🤔

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The HoopsHype Daily: The outpouring of love for Kobe Bryant and his family continues

As the memorials and support for Kobe and his family continue, we know it’s going to take an impossibly long time to get past this tragedy.

Cutthroat competitor. Demanding teammate. Incredible father and family man. Champion. Visionary. Icon.

All words that can be used to describe Kobe Bryant, even if they don’t come remotely close to fully encompassing the player and person the 41-year-old was in life.

On Monday, the tributes for Bryant and his daughter Gianna continued, from current and former players to fans to the biggest names in entertainment, it was easy to see: We’re all still hurting. And that feeling won’t even start subsiding for a long time.

There were the first public comments from LeBron James on the tragic happening. There was the UConn women’s basketball team honoring Gianna Bryant with flowers and a jersey made just for her. There was Jimmy Fallon opening his show with a beautiful tribute to the fallen shooting guard. There was Buddy Hield, who wears No. 24 in honor of Kobe, exploding for a career-high 42 points on 24 shots in a huge comeback road win for the Kings, who happen to be an old Lakers nemesis from Kobe’s glory years. And there were more tributes pouring in from all over the world, from New York City to as far out as the Philippines, too.

We’re all still hurting.

And that especially rings true in Los Angeles, the city Kobe dominated for 20 years while donning the purple and gold, where it was announced that tonight’s previously much-anticipated matchup between the Lakers and Clippers would be postponed until a later date, which was undoubtedly the right decision to make.

NBA:Staples Center-Kobe Bryant Tribute
Jan 27, 2020; Los Angeles, California, USA; Fans gather at LA Live, across the street from Staples Center, to pay tribute to Kobe Bryant who was killed in a helicopter crash Jan 26, 2020. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

There’s just no way the players and coaches on either team, the front-office employees or the fans of L.A. would be ready for what would have been such a heavy basketball game.

We’re all still hurting.

And that particularly rings true for Kobe’s former teammates, such as Maurice Evans, who spent a little over a season (from 2006-07 to 2007-08) on the wing alongside the future Hall-of-Famer. Evans joined Alex Kennedy on the HoopsHype podcast yesterday to celebrate the life of Kobe and share some of his favorite anecdotes from his time as a Laker. Lamar Odom, famous for his contributions to back-to-back Lakers title runs alongside Kobe, spoke lovingly about his old teammate on Instagram.

Lou Williams and Nick Young, who were Lakers alongside Kobe in his final season, provided us with slight comedic relief, at least for a moment, when they shared this hilarious story about Bryant taking away his teammates’ Kobe sneakers and throwing them in the trash because they were too soft to wear them following a blowout loss to the Blazers.

Former playoff foes, like Allen Iverson and Scottie Pippen, likewise shared their heartfelt thoughts on Kobe yesterday, the former on social media and the latter on multiple television appearances. Iverson, in particular, sounds devastated. Another former postseason opponent of Kobe’s, Chris Paul, missed his first game of the season last night as he continues to grieve the loss of his friend. Luka Doncic did play in the contest Paul missed but called it the most difficult game he’s ever had to take part in.

We’re all still hurting.

And that includes all of us, the basketball fanatics who grew up watching Kobe dominate the NBA throughout the late ’90s, ’00s and ’10s, and want to know: Why? How could this happen to someone who we all felt was immortal? Who we all admired so much? Who had so much left to give, as a businessman, a filmmaker and, most importantly, as a father and husband?

Details remain scarce as the investigation is just in the early stages, but we do know the helicopter pilot received permission to fly that ill-fated morning trip, even despite foggy conditions and worse-than-normal visibility. For all the talk of the weather that day, however, authorities say they’re looking into many factors beyond just the conditions, including the helicopter’s maintenance history and the pilot’s records. Authorities are also asking the public for help by sending in pictures taken the morning of accident that depict what the weather was like at the time the helicopter was in the sky.

Knowing the truth of why the horrible, tragic incident took place could give us some sense of closure, even if it won’t change anything.

We’re all still hurting.

And that’s all right. We will be for a while.

Remembering the man, the myth, the legend Kobe Bryant

The world is in shock right now after the death of Kobe Bryant , who passed away along with his daughter, Gianna, and seven other passengers in a helicopter crash. As we all mourn and process this devastating news, many people are sharing their …

The world is in shock right now after the death of Kobe Bryant, who passed away along with his daughter, Gianna, and seven other passengers in a helicopter crash. As we all mourn and process this devastating news, many people are sharing their favorite Kobe stories. Having grown up idolizing Bryant, I’ll always cherish the handful of interactions I had with him.

When I was 17 years old, I had the opportunity to interview Bryant in Orlando during an After-School All-Stars charity event (after emailing his publicist more times than I’m proud to admit). He accepted a key to the city of Orlando and spoke with hundreds of children about the importance of academic success and chasing their dreams. I’d only ever seen Bryant on television, so the thought of meeting him and talking to him one-on-one was incredibly nerve-wracking.

However, when Bryant arrived, he was extraordinarily friendly and gracious. He gave thoughtful answers and was so kind, even though I was just a teenager and there were a million more important things he could’ve done with his time. Whoever said “never meet your heroes” clearly wasn’t talking about Kobe. It was sweet watching this on-court assassin interact with young children too. They went nuts when he emerged from the Amway Arena tunnel and after joking with them for a bit, he spoke about the importance of education and chasing your dreams. The kids were captivated, hanging on his every word. After the event, he told me that he felt blessed to be in a position where he could have such a significant impact on the youth.

It’s not an exaggeration to say that Kobe is the reason that I fell in love with basketball (as is the case with many in my generation). We bought his shoes, wore his jersey and had posters of him covering our walls. Kobe was the player that we pretended to be, whether we were playing pick-up with friends or hurling objects across the room into a trash can. As a sportswriter, you’re supposed to be objective and play it cool around athletes. Typically, that’s not hard; after all, players are just people too. But Bryant always seemed like a larger-than-life figure to me.

Kobe randomly followed me on Twitter in April of 2018. It was one of those moments that would’ve had 12-year-old me losing my mind. After DMing back and forth, Kobe agreed to join me as a guest on The HoopsHype Podcast. For 30 minutes, we talked about his playing days, life after basketball, off-court endeavors and much more. Once again, he was so friendly. He offered tremendous insight and told hilarious stories. More than anything, I’m grateful that it gave me the opportunity to thank Bryant for being so nice to me when I was a starstruck teenager.

Kobe inspired countless people to pick up a basketball, including many of the NBA’s current players. Even if you aren’t a Kobe fan, it’s very possible that Bryant is your favorite player’s favorite player.

During Kobe’s playing days, I loved to ask rookies about their first match-up against Bryant. They often talked about how intimidating he was, and how he was just as unstoppable as they’d imagined. For many players, sharing the court with Kobe was their welcome-to-the-NBA moment and something they’ll never forget. Many players would talk about how he could beat you in so many different ways. “His counter-moves have counter-moves,” Courtney Lee once told me. That’s because he spent countless hours in the gym, perfecting his craft. Kobe’s insane work ethic, tenacity and desire to be great are a huge part of his legacy.

There are many stories about Kobe’s work ethic and how he was always looking for ways to improve. In order to gain an edge on the court, he did things like study Bruce Lee’s style of martial arts (Jeet Kune Do), take tap-dancing lessons, learn how sharks hunt their prey and adjust his leadership style based on how composer John Williams conducted his orchestra. His unconventional methods clearly worked, as he won five championships, scored the fourth-most points in NBA history and solidified himself as one of the sport’s all-time greats. Bryant’s relentless approach also led to incredible success away from basketball, launching Granity Studios and winning an Oscar in 2018 for his animated short film “Dear Basketball.”

Kobe may have the largest, most passionate fan-base of any player in NBA history. There’s no question that he had a profound impact on millions of people – as evidenced by the mass devastation when this gut-wrenching news broke. After a tragedy of this magnitude, it’s hard to find any silver linings. With that said, I’m glad that Kobe was showered with love and adoration during his retirement tour in 2016. Sometimes, we don’t celebrate our legends until they’re gone; fortunately, that wasn’t the case with Kobe. That didn’t make yesterday – or today, for that matter – any easier, but at least Kobe knew just how beloved he was and how many people he impacted. Most of all, his daughters, who were the center of his universe.

Still, this doesn’t feel real. I can’t believe that I’m writing these words and talking about Kobe in the past tense. Our thoughts and prayers are with his wife, Vanessa, and his daughters, Natalia, Bianka and Capri. I can’t imagine what they’re going through right now, mourning the sudden loss of two family members. Kobe’s passing was hard enough to stomach, but learning that two 13-year-olds (Gianna and one of her teammates) were on board makes this story all the more heartbreaking.

Rest in Peace to one of the NBA’s all-time greats and a terrific father, Kobe Bryant.

Rest in Peace to an incredible young woman who was taken from us too soon, Gianna Maria-Onore Bryant.

Rest in Peace to the seven others who perished (including John Altobelli, Keri Altobelli and Alyssa Altobelli), whose lives are just as important and whose families are just as devastated today.

Let this be a reminder to cherish our loved ones and never take life for granted.

The HoopsHype Daily: Trae Young earns All-Star starter honors (controversially)

Trae Young’s play and stats indicate he deserved to be an All-Star, but it’s still a bit rare for a player on such a bad team to be a starter.

RARE ALL-STAR OCCURRENCE: Prior to this season, only seven players in league history received All-Star honors despite playing for teams that would go on to win under 20 percent of their games that campaign. Among them: 1952-53 Neil Johnston (12-57 Warriors), 1967-68 Don Kojis (15-67 Rockets), 1968-69 Gail Goodrich and Dick Van Arsdale (16-66 Suns), 1970-71 John Johnson (15-67 Cavs), 1972-73 John Block (9-73 Sixers) and 2007-08 Dwyane Wade (15-67 Heat). Which is what makes the fact that Trae Young was named an All-Star starter yesterday a bit historic, in its own way. Young’s Hawks this season are 11-34, a 24.4 percent win percentage, and the second-worst record in the NBA this year.

Even so, it’s hard to fault Young for Atlanta’s record considering the plethora of injuries that have impacted them this year. What’s more, with Young on the floor, the Hawks are so much better than when he sits, proving his ridiculous raw statistics – 29.2 points, 4.7 rebounds and 8.6 assists on 44.7/37.3/83.9 shooting splits – are far from empty. Also, for what it’s worth, Young’s numbers outpace Wade’s for the year he made the All-Star Game while playing for a tanking Heat team, so there’s that to take into account, too.

Young wasn’t the only player to be named to his first All-Star roster yesterday. Dallas’ Luka Doncic and Toronto’s Pascal Siakam also received the distinction for the first time in their careers, with the latter beating out Jimmy Butler for the honor, who many thought could have been a frontcourt starter in the East this season.

Other fun first-time All-Star notes: Doncic became the youngest international player ever to be selected, and is the youngest All-Star starter since LeBron James back in 2005. Solid honors for the burgeoning Slovenian superstar.

LATEST TRADE SCUTTLE: Another day and another batch of trade rumors as we approach the 2020 deadline.

The frontcourt-needy Clippers have Thaddeus Young on their radar, according to multiple reports. For more on potential Los Angeles trade targets and candidates, as well as their biggest needs, click here.

Contenders are still holding out hope the Knicks reverse course on their decision to keep Marcus Morris this season.

Minnesota’s Karl-Anthony Towns and Milwaukee’s Eric Bledsoe have been deemed basically untouchable by their respective general managers.

CHOPPY WATERS: Things are a bit dicey for the Clippers behind the scenes at the moment, as the team is having trouble figuring out who their leader is due to the quiet natures of Kawhi Leonard and Paul George. Kawhi’s load management stuff has also reportedly caused some issues.

Patrick Beverley and Patrick Patterson have vehemently denied the report, by the way.

A NEW ROLE: Jae Crowder is used to suiting up for playoff-caliber teams, which might not the case this season as a member of the Grizzlies. Even so, he’s happy and bought into his role as a leader for the rebuilding, fun and young team in Memphis.

POPULAR OWNER SOUNDS OFF: Mark Cuban goes off on a variety of fascinating topics, including nearly trading for Kobe Bryant and Paul Pierce, the sham of the Olympics and much more.

HEIGHTENED ACCURACY: NBA teams used to give favorable treatment to their players when they suited up at home and dished out passes that even remotely looked like assists. That trend has ended, though, as teams now are giving much more accurate assist numbers to their home players.

WILLING TO HELP: Zach LaVine wouldn’t mind having a say with the Bulls’ decision-making on the trade market. A lot of players would probably love to have that power, too.

A NEAR-TRADE: The Heat and Kings nearly agreed upon a trade that would have sent Trevor Ariza to Miami before Portland stepped in and acquired him. Ariza’s 3-and-D prowess would have helped the Heat out, especially with Justise Winslow injured.

AMAZING ACCOMPLISHMENT: An NBA super-fan has gone to 29 out of the league’s 30 arenas, all within the last 30 days with just one more to go, in order to get on the Jumbotron at each stop. So far, his mission has been a success.

REBRANDING: The Knicks are hiring the same firm that helped make over the Nets, in order to get a makeover of their own. Maybe that will lead to players accepting boat-loads of cash to play for them.

DRAWING EYEBALLS: Zion’s debut pulled big-time ratings, which would explain how the Pelicans ended up with so many national TV games this year. The kid is going to be a big-time draw for the league.

CONTINUED BAD LUCK: The porous injury luck continues for the Sixers, who will now be without starting guard Josh Richardson for at least two-to-three weeks with a strained hamstring.

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The HoopsHype Daily: Zion is here, and he’s making the Pelicans a must-watch team for the rest of the year

THE DEBUT: Zion Williamson looked like he was set to have a pretty forgettable debut, looking mostly tentative and passive instead of aggressive and assertive in the opening three quarters of his first career game. Then came the fourth, when Zion …

THE DEBUT: Zion Williamson looked like he was set to have a pretty forgettable debut, looking mostly tentative and passive instead of aggressive and assertive in the opening three quarters of his first career game. Then came the fourth, when Zion reminded everyone why he was last summer’s No. 1 overall pick by putting on an absolute show. Williamson scored 17 straight points midway through the fourth quarter, bringing the Pelicans all the way back from a big hole to briefly take the lead against San Antonio before Alvin Gentry was forced to pull him for the final 5:23 of the game.

The final result of the contest didn’t really matter (the Pelicans lost); what’s going to be remembered most about last night will be that it was the first time Zion took over a game and had basketball fans everywhere, from inside the Smoothie King Center to watching along on their televisions and laptops all over the world, truly captivated. The most fun part of all that? Zion’s going to do it again, possibly as soon as in his next game.

As far as where the supersized wing’s debut ranks among other super-hyped debuts, Zion’s 22-point, 7-rebound, 3-assist, 4-triple performance falls short of LeBron James’ 25/9/4 stat line in his first game, as well as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s 29/12/6 debut, but those guys weren’t forced into action halfway through their rookie seasons due to injury, so Williamson deserves the benefit of the doubt a bit here.

For more on Zion’s thrilling debut, click here for the latest HoopsHype podcast, where our own Alex Kennedy and Cody Taylor break down the performance.

LATEST TRADE SCUTTLE: A slew of fresh trade rumors inundated the internet yesterday.

The Sixers are focused Kings guard Bogdan Bogdanovic and Wolves forward Robert Covington as potential trade targets. However, a report out of Sacramento says that the Kings are planning to hold onto Bogdanovic this season and will attempt to negotiate a long-term deal with him this summer.

Teams continue to show interest in Alec Burks, who’s having a very solid season for the Warriors.

Although they’ll be without Dwight Powell for the rest of the season and need another big man, the Mavericks still aren’t interested in Detroit All-Star Andre Drummond. Dallas, instead, could look towards Marcus Morris or Tristan Thompson to fill the gap.

HOME AWAY FROM HOME: We researched which teams have the strongest home-court advantages; Denver and Utah came out on top, which is probably due to the high altitudes of those cities.

MVP RANKINGS: Our MVP rankings series continues with Giannis Antetokounmpo holding steady at No. 1 and Kawhi Leonard creeping towards the top half of the list.

BIG MAN HUNTING: With Dwight Powell out for the season, the Mavs are going to need another big man. Enter Joakim Noah, who is reportedly drawing interest from Dallas. Noah last played in the NBA for the Grizzlies in 2018-19, where he averaged 7.1 points and 5.7 rebounds in under 17 minutes per game.

LET HIM FLY: Miami’s Derrick Jones Jr. is joining Dwight Howard in the 2020 dunk contest. It won’t be his first appearance in the All-Star contest, but with more experience under his belt, Jones could put on a show.

A RETURN NEAR? Jusuf Nurkic participated in a full practice yesterday for the Blazers, indicating the talented big man could be nearing a possible return. With Portland chasing the West’s final playoff spot, getting Nurkic back could prove massive.

NFL TO NBA: Arizona legend and Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald is buying a minority stake in the Phoenix Suns, making him the second active NFL player to be a part-owner of an NBA team, joining Aaron Rodgers on the list.

COUNT THE MONEY: When asked if he would be willing to waive the final year of his country, which will pay him $44.2 million in 2021-22, in order to facilitate a trade to a contender, Chris Paul replied, “no chance.” Smart man.

DIFFERENT MENTALITY: Dwyane Wade says you need to be wired differently to truly thrive as a member of the Miami Heat. Jimmy Butler agrees, telling ESPN he’s loving life in South Florida, particularly the fact that he can keep things real with members of the organization without anyone taking things personally.

NO PROBLEM: Lou Williams knows Los Angeles will always be a Lakers town, and he and his Clippers teammates are perfectly fine with that. They like being the underdogs.

EURO-BOUND: The second-toughest basketball competition in the world is the Euroleague, and for the first time in his career, Amare Stoudemire will experience that first-hand. He signed with Maccabi Tel Aviv.

INSIDE-OUT: Goran Dragic used to be known as a streaky outside shooter who would punish opponents with hard drives to the basket. Now that’s entering his mid-30s, however, he’s adjusted his game to become more of a three-point marksmen, and the results have paid off wonderfully for both he and his team.

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The HoopsHype Daily: David Stern’s memorial was yesterday, and NBA legends spoke highly of the commissioner

The NBA world was rocked when Stern passed away a few weeks ago. Yesterday, at the former commissioner’s memorial, many paid their respects.

ONE LAST GOODBYE: A memorial for the life of David Stern was held on Tuesday, and the turnout was a who’s who of NBA legends, current employees and the departed commissioner’s friends and family. Just a few of the big names who attended were Magic Johnson, Bill Russell, Michael Jordan, Oscar Robertson, Hakeem Olajuwon and Yao Ming.

It was a chance for many to pay their final respects to Stern, and Magic didn’t take that for granted, as the Hall-of-Fame ball-handler spoke beautifully of the man he referred to as his angel. Johnson credited Stern for saving his life by letting him play in the 1992 All-Star Game after his AIDS diagnosis, at a time when so little was known about the awful disease.

Former NBA employee and current Warriors president Rick Welts also spoke glowingly of Stern, telling a touching story about Stern donating money to the memory of a former partner of Welts’, who passed away from AIDS in 1994 and had a scholarship fund set up in his name by Welts. The Golden State front-office member says he and Stern never even talked about the donation.

His legacy may be complicated, but there’s no doubt Stern touch a lot of lives in a very positive way. He will be missed.

LATEST TRADE SCUTTLE: Tuesday brought a new batch of trade rumors.

The Warriors will be active sellers at the deadline, and Alec Burks, who’s posting a very solid season so far, is their likeliest trade candidate.

Following a strong spell of play and with the impending return of Zion Williamson, the Pelicans have pulled back on trade talks, including those involving Jrue Holiday and JJ Redick.

Unlike last season, Kyle Kuzma isn’t focusing on the trade talks that continue to surround him. Smart decision by the young forward.

BRUTAL INJURY: Dwight Powell reportedly suffered a torn achilles last night, an injury that will force him to miss the rest of the season. Horrific news for the underrated 28-year-old big man.

RETURN IMMINENT: Zion Williamson is so excited to return on Wednesday that he says he might not be able to sleep the night before the game. For the Pelicans’s sake, let’s all hope he does get some rest, because we’ve already seen what happens when he’s tired during games.

SUPPORT SYSTEM: Many were touched by the video of Delonte West that was circulating on social media yesterday. Jameer Nelson, Danny Ainge and Mark Cuban have been in communication with West since his troubles started, and they all badly want to help him get back on his feet. 

ALWAYS ADAPTING: Fascinating film breakdown here of the ever-evolving Bucks offense, which remains elite despite the difficulty their best player, Giannis Antetokounmpo, has shooting the basketball.

ABANDONED JUMPER: James Harden has made just nine of his last 51 three-point attempts, including a brutal 1-for-17 performance from the outside on Monday. Harden responded by having an intense shootaround immediately after the Rockets’ loss to Oklahoma City that night.

TIGHT LIPPED: If you were wondering why it seems like we’re getting fewer and fewer enlightening/introspective/hilarious player quotes recently, it’s because teams are having fewer shootarounds than ever, prioritizing rest for their players instead. That means less time in front of the media for players, and, unfortunately, fewer quotes for all of us.

THANKS BUT THAT’S ENOUGH: Alex Caruso has enjoyed seeing his name receive so many All-Star votes this year, but he’s glad this saga is almost over so the deserving players can get the attention they deserve.

EARLY STRUGGLES: This season, the Clippers have learned that building a super team is far from easy, from the load management to greatly heightened expectations to learning to play alongside one another.

ALREADY A GREAT: Bradley Beal recently passed Wes Unseld to become the Wizards’ second all-time leading scorer, trailing just backcourt mate John Wall. Beal is honored to have his name sharing the history books with so many Wizards and Bullets greats.

LOSING A FATHER: Nicolas Batum’s first memory is of his father collapsing on a basketball court and eventually passing away at the way-too-young age of 30. His father’s demise not only led to a lifetime of Batum worrying that the same would happen to him at 30, but it also got Nic red-flagged prior to the draft and almost forced him to not get selected in 2008.

GO-TO MEAL: A steakhouse in Dallas called Nick & Sam’s has become the top restaurant choice for various visiting teams and players, including both the Warriors and Doc Rivers himself. Here’s the story of how that came to be, featuring a whole lot of Dirk.

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