Fighting Owls

Nassir Little spoke to Alex Kennedy about his development, his breakout season, Neil Olshey's firing, Portland's struggles and more.

Q&A: Nassir Little on Blazers' struggles, his development, GM change

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) &mdash; No team in the NBA has a longer active streak of postseason appearances than the Portland Trail Blazers, who have gotten there in each of the last eight seasons.
That wasn&rsquo;t enough to save Terry Stotts, and Portland will have a new coach next season.
The Trail Blazers and Stotts parted ways Friday, ending a nine-year run that saw the team good enough to get to the playoffs &mdash; but not good enough to get past the first round in four of the last five seasons.
&ldquo;I have the utmost respect for Terry and what he has accomplished these past nine seasons,&rdquo; Blazers President Neil Olshey said. &ldquo;This was a difficult decision on both a personal and professional level but it&rsquo;s in the best interest of the franchise to move in another direction.
&ldquo;Terry will always hold a special place in the Trail Blazer family and the Portland community. We relied on the integrity, professionalism and consistency he brought to the job every day and we wish he and Jan nothing but the best.&rdquo;
It was being termed as a mutual decision. The move was made one day after Portland&rsquo;s season ended with a six-game, first-round ouster at the hands of the Denver Nuggets, a defeat that had Blazers guard Damian Lillard taking to social media after the game to indicate his frustration.
&ldquo;Just like at the end of every year, we are all evaluated,&rdquo; Stotts said after the season finale against Denver and as speculation about his status immediately started to grow. &ldquo;We will see what happens.&rdquo;
It didn't take long to get an answer.
Stotts, 63, was the NBA's fourth longest-tenured coach in his current job behind only San Antonio's Gregg Popovich, Miami's Erik Spoelstra and Dallas' Rick Carlisle. He went 402-318 in his nine regular seasons in Portland, with the eight playoff berths, and led the team to the Western Conference finals in 2019 &mdash; where the Blazers were swept by Golden State.
Well-liked throughout the league, Stotts was an assistant under Carlisle with the Mavericks for four years before taking over the Blazers. One of his most memorable seasons in Portland came in 2015-16, when the Blazers overachieved and went to the conference semifinals &mdash; despite losing starters LaMarcus Aldridge, Nic Batum, Wesley Matthews and Robin Lopez in the offseason.
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
Rumors about Stotts' future with the Blazers began swirling last month, but the team's elimination by Denver sealed his fate. He had one year left on his contract in Portland.
Among the possible candidates that Portland may consider: Los Angeles Lakers assistant (and former Brooklyn and Milwaukee head coach) Jason Kidd, and ESPN analyst Jeff Van Gundy &mdash; whose last NBA coaching gig was with Houston in 2007.
&ldquo;He should (be at) the top of everybody&rsquo;s list who has an opening in the NBA," Lakers coach Frank Vogel said of Kidd earlier Friday, hours before Stotts' fate became known.
The new coach, whoever it is, will certainly be lured by the chance to work with one of the game's dynamic scorers in Lillard.
But Lillard fueled speculation about his own future in Portland following the elimination loss to the Nuggets. He posted a photo of himself in street clothes at the Moda Center. The caption that he added quoted the late rapper and activist Nipsey Hussle.
&ldquo;How long should I stay dedicated?&rdquo; he wrote. &ldquo;How long til opportunity meet preparation?&rdquo;
If he stays, Lillard will no doubt have input into who the Blazers choose to be their new coach.
Portland finished the regular season 42-30 and earned the sixth seed in the Western Conference. The team was riding momentum, having won 10 of its final 12 regular-season games.
The Blazers were also healthy, with both big man Jusuf Nurkic and guard CJ McCollum back from extended absences because of injuries.
But once again, the playoff trip was brief.
Lillard averaged a league-best 34.3 points and 10.2 assists in the playoffs, after averaging 28.8 points and 7.5 assists during the regular season.
He had 55 points, including a playoff record 12 3-pointers and 10 assists in Game 5 against the Nuggets, but Portland still lost, 147-140 in double overtime.
&ldquo;We've got to keep fighting, keep working and keep coming back to battle,&rdquo; Lillard said. "Regardless of how it ended, we are always going to have our heads held high, have class. They won, congratulations to them, but it&rsquo;s back to the drawing board to us."
A four-time All-Star, Lillard just wrapped up his ninth NBA season. The closest he's come to a title was that quick trip to the West finals in 2019.
&ldquo;We didn&rsquo;t win a championship, so obviously where we are now isn&rsquo;t good enough,&rdquo; he said.
Nurkic, who averaged 11.5 points and nine rebounds but missed time with a fractured right wrist, has one year left on his contract &mdash; but only $4 million is guaranteed. He didn't sound committed to returning next season, explaining it had to be the &ldquo;right situation.&rdquo;
But when asked what the right situation would be, Nurkic replied: &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know. But it&rsquo;s not this.&rdquo;
McCollum, Lillard's backcourt teammate, averaged 21.3 points this season, his best since joining the league in 2013. But he missed games with a fractured foot.
Ten-time All-Star Carmelo Anthony, who filled a key role off the bench for Portland this season, will be an unrestricted free agent, along with Enes Kanter. Norman Powell has a player option for next season.
Stotts said he was proud of what Portland was able to accomplish, given the injuries and disruptions caused by the coronavirus.
&ldquo;What we did with CJ and Nurk missing games, I was proud of that,&rdquo; Stotts said. &ldquo;At the end of the season, to do what we did was pretty impressive."
In the end, it just wasn't impressive enough.
___
AP Basketball Writer Tim Reynolds in Miami contributed to this report.
___
More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

The Portland Trail Blazers and Terry Stotts parted ways on Friday, ending a nine-year run.

Neil Olshey discusses 'difficult decision' to part ways with Terry Stotts

With five conference tournament finals capping a wild week of men's college hoops, Sunday afternoon officially marked the end of the 2022-23 men's college basketball regular season, which means only one thing: March Madness is upon us.
Princeton (Ivy), Virginia Commonwealth (A-10), Alabama (SEC), Purdue (Big Ten) and Memphis (AAC) punched their official ticket to the men's 2023 NCAA Tournament to round out the group of 32 receiving an automatic bid.
Those teams joined: Vermont (America East), Duke (ACC), Kennesaw State (ASUN), Texas (Big 12), Marquette (Big East), Montana State (Big Sky), UNC Asheville (Big South), UC Santa Barbara (Big West), College of Charleston (CAA), Florida Atlantic (C-USA), Northern Kentucky (Horizon), Iona (MAAC), Kent State (MAC), Howard (MEAC), Drake (Missouri Valley), San Diego State (Mountain West), Fairleigh Dickinson (Northeast), Southeast Missouri State (Ohio Valley), Arizona (Pac-12), Colgate (Patriot), Furman (Southern), Texas A&amp;M Corpus Christi (Southland), Texas Southern (SWAC), Oral Roberts (Summit), Louisiana (Sun Belt), Gonzaga (WCC), Grand Canyon (WAC).
The selection committee revealed at 6 p.m. that the No. 1 overall seed is Alabama. The other three top seeds are Houston, Kansas and Purdue.
The First Four in Dayton will consist of a 16-seed matchup between Texas A&amp;M Corpus Christi and Southeast Missouri State plus an 11-seed matchup between Mississippi State and Pittsburgh. In the other two games, there will be a 16-seed matchup between Texas Southern and Fairleigh Dickinson and an 11-seed matchup between Arizona State and Nevada.
Who else was invited to join The Big Dance on the road to the Final Four in Houston?
Following Selection Sunday, here is the official field of 68 in the men's 2023 NCAA Tournament:
South Region
(1) Alabama Crimson Tide vs. (16) Texas A&amp;M Corpus Christi Islanders/Southeast Missouri State Redhawks
(8) Maryland Terrapins vs. (9) West Virginia Mountaineers
(5) San Diego State Aztecs vs. (12) College of Charleston Cougars
(4) Virginia Cavaliers vs. (13) Furman Palladins
(6) Creighton Blue Jays vs. (11) NC State Wolfpack
(3) Baylor Bears vs. (14) UC Santa Barbara Gauchos
(7) Missouri Tigers vs. (10) Utah State Aggies
(2) Arizona Wildcats vs. (15) Princeton Tigers
Midwest Region
(1) Houston Cougars vs. (16) Northern Kentucky Norse
(8) Iowa Hawkeyes vs. (9) Auburn Tigers
(5) Miami Hurricanes vs. (12) Drake Bulldogs
(4) Indiana Hoosiers vs. (13) Kent State Golden Flashes
(6) Iowa State Cyclones vs. (11) Mississippi State Bulldogs/Pittsburgh Panthers
(3) Xavier Musketeers vs. (14) Kennesaw State Owls
(7) Texas A&amp;M Aggies vs. (10) Penn State Nittany Lions
(2) Texas Longhorns vs. (15) Colgate Raiders
West Region
(1) Kansas Jayhawks vs. (16) Howard Bison
(8) Arkansas Razorbacks vs. (9) Illinois Fighting Illini
(5) Saint Mary's Gaels vs. (12) VCU Rams
(4) UConn Huskies vs. (13) Iona Gaels
(6) TCU Horned Frogs vs. (11) Arizona State Sun Devils/Nevada Wolfpack
(3) Gonzaga Bulldogs vs. (14) Grand Canyon Antelopes
(7) Northwestern Wildcats vs. (10) Boise State Broncos
(2) UCLA Bruins vs. (15) UNC Asheville Bulldogs
East Region
(1) Purdue Boilermakers vs. (16) Texas Southern Tigers/Fairleigh Dickinson Knights
(8) Memphis Tigers vs. (9) Florida Atlantic Owls
(5) Duke Blue Devils vs. (12) Oral Roberts Golden Eagles
(4) Tennessee Volunteers vs. (13) Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns
(6) Kentucky Wildcats vs. (11) Providence Friars
(3) Kansas State Wildcats vs. (14) Montana State Bobcats
(7) Michigan State Spartans vs. (10) USC Trojans
(2) Marquette Golden Eagles vs. (15) Vermont Catamounts
THE BRACKET
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
THE BRACKET 🙌<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MarchMadness?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#MarchMadness</a> <a href="https://t.co/HZYnwD3s3x">pic.twitter.com/HZYnwD3s3x</a>
&mdash; NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) <a href="https://twitter.com/MarchMadnessMBB/status/1635049575483580416?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 12, 2023</a>
<script src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>
</blockquote>

An overview of the official men's 2023 NCAA Tournament schedule and March Madness matchups on the road to Houston.

2023 NCAA Tournament: Men's field of 68 teams announced

SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) &mdash; Olivia Miles had 21 points and eight rebounds for No. 7 Notre Dame, and UConn star Azzi Fudd was injured in a collision with a teammate as the Fighting Irish handed the third-ranked Huskies their first loss of the season, 74-60 on Sunday.
Fudd, who came in averaging 24.0 points per game, exited in the final minute of the first quarter following a collision with teammate Aaliyah Edwards. She returned midway through the second period to play four minutes, but sat the rest of the day, going scoreless on two shots over 13 minutes.
Maddy Westbeld added a season-high 17 points and nine rebounds for Notre Dame (7-1), which bounced back from a 74-72 loss to No. 20 Maryland three days earlier.
Lou Lopez Senechal led UConn (6-1) with 21 points. Edwards added 14.
No. 2 STANFORD 84, No. 23 GONZAGA 63
STANFORD, Calif. (AP) &mdash; Cameron Brink had 14 points and a season-high 16 rebounds and Brooke Demetre made five 3s and scored 17 points, leading Stanford past Gonzaga.
The Cardinal (10-1) have now won five straight games after falling to top-ranked South Carolina in overtime on Nov. 20.
Hannah Jump hit four 3s and scored 14 points and Haley Jones had 12 points for Stanford.
Short-handed Gonzaga (7-2), limited to seven players because of illness and injuries, had won three in a row.
No. 4 OHIO STATE 82, RUTGERS 70
PISCATAWAY, N.J. (AP) &mdash; Rebeka Mikulasikova scored a career-high 31 points and Taylor Mikesell added 30 to help Ohio State beat Rutgers, a day that the Scarlet Knights honored former coach C. Vivian Stringer.
The school dedicated the court to Stringer, who retired after last season.
Buoyed by the return of their Hall of Fame coach, Rutgers played its best game of the season against a ranked opponent. Ohio State (8-0) jumped out to a 20-6 lead after one quarter, but the Scarlet Knights (4-6) wouldn&rsquo;t go away.
They were down 18 near the end of the half before Kaylene Smikle hit a 3-pointer just before the buzzer to get within 43-28. Rutgers continued that momentum in the second half and made it 53-45 with 3:25 left in the third quarter.
Mikulasikova and Mikesell then scored the next six points for Ohio State to restore the double-digit advantage, and Rutgers couldn&rsquo;t recover.
Smikle led Rutgers with 21 points.
No. 5 INDIANA 65, ILLINOIS 61
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) &mdash; Mackenzie Holmes scored 23 points, including a go-ahead layup with 37 seconds left, and Indiana got past Illinois in their Big Ten opener.
Indiana (9-0) had not trailed in the second half of any game this season before going back and forth in the closing minutes with Illinois (3-7).
Makira Cook scored 33 points to lead the Illini.
The Hoosiers were coming off an 87-63 win over No. 6 North Carolina.
No. 9 VIRGINIA TECH 59, TENNESSEE 56
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) &mdash; Kayana Traylor scored 18 points and Virginia Tech held off Tennessee in a Jimmy V Women&rsquo;s Classic matchup.
Jordan Horston led Tennesssee (4-5) with 26 points and 11 rebounds, but missed a pair of late shots that would&rsquo;ve tied it.
Trailing 58-56 with 3 seconds left, Horston was off on a jumper. Down three with 1.1 seconds remaining, her 3-point try from the top of the key bounced off.
Cayla King scored 11 points and Georgia Amoore and D&rsquo;asia Gregg each had 10 for the Hokies (8-0).
Tennessee played without leading scorer and rebounder Rickea Jackson, who was absent because of a coach&rsquo;s decision.
No. 10 IOWA 102, WISCONSIN 71
MADISON, Wis. (AP) &mdash; Caitlin Clark had 22 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists for her seventh career triple-double to break the Big Ten record in Iowa&rsquo;s win over Wisconsin.
Clark surpassed the record of six career triple-doubles set by former Iowa player Samantha Logic, who achieved the feat from 2012-2015.
Iowa (6-3) stopped a two-game skid and beat the Badgers (3-7) for the 26th straight time.
No. 11 LSU 85, TULANE 72
NEW ORLEANS (AP) &mdash; Angel Reese scored 21 points and had 10 rebounds and Jasmine Carson scored 21 and LSU beat Tulane.
The Tigers (9-0) are off to their best since winning their first nine in the 2009-10 season.
LSU led 27-20 in a first quarter in which it made 11 of 16 shots and Tulane 9 for 17. The Tigers extended their lead to 40-27 at halftime before the Green Wave unloaded with a 30-point third in which it shot 12 for 16 including 6 for 7 from 3-point range. Dynah Jones scored 16 of her team-high 25 points for Tulane in the quarter and the Green Wave closed to 61-58.
Reese made 1 of 2 foul shots for the Tigers and Kahia Warmsley responded with a layup for Tulane to get it within two, but LaDazhia Williams made a layup and Carson a 3 and LSU kept Tulane at bay from there. Reese made two foul shots with 5:01 left to extend the lead to 73-62.
Marta Galic scored 21 points for Tulane.
ST. JOHN&rsquo;S 66, No. 13 CREIGHTON 62
NEW YORK (AP) &mdash; Jayla Everett scored 20 points and St. John&rsquo;s remained unbeaten by handing Creighton its first loss.
The Red Storm had a 47-32 lead in the middle of the third quarter before the Bluejays got it down to a one-possession deficit in the final 90 seconds.
After Emma Ronsiek&rsquo;s basket pulled Creighton within 61-59 with 1:27 to play, the Bluejays had a possession to tie or take the lead but couldn&rsquo;t score.
Kadaj Bailey and Unique Drake had 13 points apiece for St. John&rsquo;s (8-0, 2-0 Big East Conference).
Lauren Jensen scored 21 points for the Bluejays (7-1, 2-1) but couldn&rsquo;t get the tying jumper to fall with 13 seconds to go.
No. 14 ARIZONA 77, NEW MEXICO 60
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) &mdash; Jade Loville made 10 of 13 shots, including a career-best six 3-pointers, and scored 27 points to lead Arizona to a win over New Mexico.
Shaina Pellington added 19 points for the Wildcats (7-0), who had their lowest output of the year and won by less than 20 for only the second time this season.
Paula Reus scored 14 points for the Lobos (4-4).
No. 17 MICHIGAN 77, NORTHWESTERN 66
ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) &mdash; Emily Kiser and Laila Phelia scored 18 points each and Michigan shut down Northwestern with an 8-0 run in the fourth quarter.
Leigha Brown added 10 points and 11 assists for Michigan (9-0), which won its Big Ten opener.
Jillian Brown had 17 points, five rebounds, four assists and three steals for Northwestern (4-4, 0-1 Big Ten). Caileigh Walsh had 12 points and four blocks, and Sydney Wood scored 10 points.
MIDDLE TENNESSEE 67, No. 18 LOUISVILLE 49
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. (AP) &mdash; Savannah Wheeler had 23 points, six rebounds and five assists, Courtney Whitson added 16 points and 10 rebounds and Middle Tennessee beat cold-shooting Louisville.
Middle Tennessee (5-2) won its first home game against a ranked opponent since the Lady Raiders beat No. 6 Kentucky 70-58 on December 28, 2011.
Kseniya Malashka added 15 points for Middle Tennessee (5-2).
Olivia Cochran scored a season-high 14 points for Louisville (5-4).
NEBRASKA 90, No. 20 MARYLAND 67
COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) &mdash; Jaz Shelley scored 29 points, Nebraska dominated the second half and the Cornhuskers surprised Maryland in the Big Ten Conference opener for both teams.
Allison Weidner had 13 points and 15 rebounds for Nebraska (6-3). Isabelle Bourne had 18 points and Alexis Markowski added 14. Shelley had six 3-pointers, five assists and three steals.
Two free throws from Diamond Miller drew Maryland (7-3) to within 77-67 points with 4:03 remaining, but the Terrapins would not score again while Nebraska scored 13.
No. 21 BAYLOR 79, HOUSTON CHRISTIAN 35
WACO, Texas (AP) &mdash; Freshman guard Bella Fontleroy came off the bench to score 17 points and grab 11 rebounds and Baylor romped to a victory over Houston Christian.
Fontleroy sank 6 of 10 shots with three 3-pointers for the Lady Bears (6-2) and notched her first double-double. Jaden Owens added 14 points and six assists. Kendra Gillispie scored 10 on 5-of-6 shooting.
Marilyn Nzoiwu was the lone bright spot for the Huskies (3-4). She finished with 13 points and five rebounds, sinking 6 of 9 shots from the floor. Her teammates made 8 of 40 shots, including 2 of 15 from beyond the arc.
The Lady Bears played a fifth straight game without injured leading scorer Aijha Blackwell.
No. 22 TEXAS 92, SOUTHERN 43
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) &mdash; Shaylee Gonzales scored 22 points, Sonya Morris added 20 points, and Texas routed Southern.
Aaliyah Moore scored 11 points and DeYona Gaston had 10 for the Longhorns (4-4). Rori Harmon had nine points and 10 rebounds.
Freshman guard Sirviva Legions led the Jaguars (2-5) with 13 points off the bench.
The Longhorns rolled to a 29-10 lead through the first quarter after making 10 of 14 shots. They scored 11 points off seven Southern turnovers. Texas went on to lead 46-16 at halftime.
SETON HALL 82, No. 24 MARQUETTE 78
SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. (AP) &mdash; Lauren Park-Lane scored 17 of her 31 points in the fourth quarter, Sidney Cooks added 23 and Seton Hall knocked off Marquette.
Kae Satterfield added 12 points for Seton Hall (6-4, 2-0 Big East Conference), which has won four straight. The Pirates last beat a ranked team, No. 24 DePaul, in January 2019.
Chloe Marotta scored 30 points and had 12 rebounds for the Golden Eagles (7-2, 1-1). Jordan King added 14 points and Liz Karlen had 12 points and nine rebounds.
No. 25 VILLANOVA 79, PROVIDENCE 54
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) &mdash; Maddy Seigrist scored 20 of her 29 points in the first half and grabbed nine rebounds to lead Villanova past Providence.
Seigrist was 12-of-18 shooting, including 4 of 6 from 3-point range. The Wildcats (7-2, 1-1 Big East Conference) made 12 of 28 behind the arc and shot 52% overall (33 of 63). Lucy Olsen added 14 points and Bella Runyan 10.
Janai Crooms led the Friars (6-4, 0-2) with 16 points and 10 rebounds.

A recap of Sunday's women's college basketball slate features a top-10 battle.

Notre Dame tops UConn as Azzi Fudd gets hurt

MIAMI (AP) &mdash; The arena where the Miami Heat play will soon have a new name, after the team and Miami-Dade County decided Friday to terminate their relationship with FTX on the same day <a href="https://apnews.com/article/ftx-crypto-bankruptcy-filing-ed0f06c5db468e285f58af2d8766b51a" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the cryptocurrency exchange filed for bankruptcy</a>.
The building had been called FTX Arena since June 2021, and a 19-year, $135 million sponsorship agreement between FTX and the county was just getting started.
In a joint statement Friday night, Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava and the Heat said the news regarding FTX was &ldquo;extremely disappointing.&rdquo;
&ldquo;Miami-Dade County and the Miami Heat are immediately taking action to terminate our business relationships with FTX, and we will be working together to find a new naming rights partner for the arena,&rdquo; the statement read.
FTX entered into a number of sports-related deals, including with Mercedes for Formula One racing and a sponsorship deal with Major League Baseball &mdash; whose umpires wear the company&rsquo;s logo. <a href="https://apnews.com/article/sports-business-auto-racing-formula-one-e328e64d7931d2b8e9b8715e2c2ec616" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Earlier Friday, Mercedes said it would immediately remove FTX logos from its Formula One cars</a>.
Some of the top athletes in the world also had FTX deals, including <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uymLJoKFlW8" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady</a> and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gsy2N-XI04o" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry</a>.
Miami-Dade County, which owns the arena and negotiated the naming rights deal, struck the agreement with FTX in March 2021. The name of the building changed from AmericanAirlines Arena to FTX Arena three months later.
The Heat were to receive $2 million a year as part of the deal. Most of the rest &mdash; roughly $90 million over the lifetime of the agreement &mdash; was to be paid to the county, the vast majority of it earmarked toward fighting gun violence and poverty.
FTX filed for bankruptcy protection on Friday, ending a disastrous few days for what had been the third-largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world when the week began. The company&rsquo;s CEO and founder, Sam Bankman-Fried, has resigned.
The embattled cryptocurrency exchange, short billions of dollars, sought bankruptcy protection after the exchange experienced the crypto equivalent of a bank run.

The Miami Heat have terminated their relationship with FTX after the cryptocurrency exchange filed for bankruptcy.

Miami Heat's home arena will get new name after FTX collapse

After a year in which the NBA fraternity was more politically involved than ever, several key figures are speaking out about what has transpired in Georgia.
Last month, state lawmakers overhauled existing election protocols with the passage of a controversial law that includes restrictions that some activists say are reminiscent of the Jim-Crow era.
Supporters of the law have argued that the changes will&nbsp;<a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/airline-news/2021/03/31/georgia-election-law-delta-ceo-calls-new-voting-rules-unacceptable/4823216001/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">restore voters' confidence</a>&nbsp;in the election process and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2021/04/06/mitch-mcconnell-threatens-corporations-over-georgia-voting-law/7103439002/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">make elections more secure</a>. However, civil-rights advocates say that the restrictions are <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2021/04/10/georgia-new-voting-law-explained/7133587002/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">aimed at voter suppression</a>, and Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr agrees.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s bullsh**,&rdquo; Kerr told BasketballNews.com in a phone interview. &ldquo;In the past, it was whether you could count how many beans are in a bowl or a literacy test. Now, it is more sophisticated and subtle. [It's a new way of saying], &lsquo;Let&rsquo;s keep black people away from the polls.&rsquo; It&rsquo;s obvious, and now that I&rsquo;m talking about it, I&rsquo;m all worked up about it.&rdquo;
Over the last year, many NBA figures have tried to affect change with their words and actions, including Kerr, Philadelphia 76ers head coach Doc Rivers, former Atlanta Hawks head coach Lloyd Pierce, Phoenix Suns point guard Chris Paul and Denver Nuggets forward Paul Millsap among others. Pierce encouraged Georgians to vote and even <a href="https://www.ajc.com/sports/atlanta-hawks/after-bad-primary-experience-many-vote-early-at-state-farm-arena/DQY4JNCNNZFJPHO36IOBEUOI44/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">volunteered as a poll worker</a> at State Farm Arena in Atlanta. Millsap owns a 44,000-square-foot training facility in Georgia&rsquo;s DeKalb County, and he turned it into an early polling location where 15,237 Georgia residents voted, according to <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2020/12/03/nba-wnba-turnout-georgia-primary/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Washington Post</a>.
&ldquo;The new laws in Georgia are not about fraud; they are about turnout,&rdquo; Kerr said. &ldquo;There is no evidence of fraud. This is all about turnout.&rdquo;
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
Basketball Hall-of-Famer and Turner Sports analyst Charles Barkley echoed this sentiment.
&ldquo;I go to Atlanta every week, so I see this stuff,&rdquo; Barkley told BasketballNews.com in a phone interview. &nbsp;&ldquo;And when you think about it, it&rsquo;s crazy: John Lewis died not that long ago, and he was fighting for voting rights in the black community 60 years ago. Now, it&rsquo;s 2021 and we&rsquo;re still fighting the same fight.&rdquo;
Pierce has not said much publicly since being dismissed by the Hawks on March 1, 2021. But when he heard that BasketballNews.com wanted to speak with him about what is happening in Georgia, he opened up.
&ldquo;I am still working with Doc and the Black Male Voter Project,&rdquo; said Pierce, who&rsquo;s a member of the National Basketball Social Justice Coalition and chairman of the nine-member NBA Coaches for Racial Justice committee. &ldquo;The year 2020 taught us that the confrontation of reality is necessary. You have to confront it, and it is not a quick fix.
&ldquo;Last summer, when the other teams were in the bubble, this became a mandate from the league and the other teams: Become aggressive. So from there, we did a lot of work pertaining to voter registration groups, LeBron&rsquo;s &lsquo;More Than a Vote&rsquo; campaign, along with NBA coaches, football players, baseball players and other athletes.&rdquo;
<img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/lloo_lg.jpg" alt="" width="649" height="407" />
&ldquo;More Than a Vote,&rdquo; a voting rights group that was launched by Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dqFz0r71cOg">ran ads</a> in Georgia to promote voting, provided rides to the polls and more.
&ldquo;The Voting Rights Act of 1965 made it easier to vote. This bill makes it harder,&rdquo; Pierce added. &ldquo;It is a reaction to losing, and it&rsquo;s targeted at specific groups. The people standing in long lines to vote in Fulton County are people of color, and this bill bans bringing elderly people a bottle of water.&rdquo;
<a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2021/04/10/georgia-new-voting-law-explained/7133587002/">According to USA Today</a>, Senate Bill 202 was signed by Gov. Brian Kemp on March 31. Certain provisions will go into effect on July&nbsp;1:
<ul>
<li>Special ballots will be created for nonpartisan elections.</li>
<li>Ballots must be printed in black and white ink on security paper.</li>
<li>A cutoff date of 11 days before a primary, general election or runoff election&nbsp;for mail-in ballot applications.</li>
<li>A deadline for the issuance of absentee ballots at least 25 days before a federal primary, general election or special election or 22 days before a municipal general election or primary.</li>
<li>A Georgia state driver's license number, ID card number, date of birth and&nbsp;the last four digits of a social security number or another approved form of identification must be printed on the outside of an absentee ballot.</li>
<li>New conditions for rejecting absentee ballots if certain requirements are not met.</li>
</ul>
Offering money and gifts &ndash; including food or drink &ndash; to a voter is prohibited, but poll officers are permitted to distribute materials encouraging voter participation as required by law and may also make self-service water available to voters.
Michele Roberts, executive director of the National Basketball Players Association, noted that &ldquo;the legislation that passed is god awful, but thanks to the work by those who pushed back, some (though not all) of the more offensive provisions were removed, e.g. [banning] 'souls to the polls.'"
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
The election reforms came after U.S. President Joe Biden defeated Donald Trump by 11,779 votes in Georgia in last year's general election. Democrats Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff also won two Senate runoff elections in January, which gave control of the U.S. Senate to the Democratic Party.
Biden called the law &ldquo;un-American&rdquo; and described it as a "blatant attack on the Constitution and good conscience." Trump also slammed the bill, but he deemed the measure &ldquo;too weak.&rdquo;
What has happened since has made America more divided instead of united.
As a practical matter, Kemp&rsquo;s signature has undone all the work that Pierce and other NBA figures put in with the assistance of Stacey Abrams, a Democratic Party leader in Georgia who knew how to make the necessary changes to open up more voting stations and polling places in minority neighborhoods. Bill 202 called for a reduction in ballot drop boxes and other changes that would have the heaviest impact in the state&rsquo;s largest counties, including Fulton County (which includes the city of Atlanta), where people wanted in line for several hours to vote.
The solution?
&ldquo;There needs to be a new plan,&rdquo; Pierce says, &ldquo;so that people are not afraid to vote as an act of protest.&rdquo;

Steve Kerr, Lloyd Pierce, Charles Barkley and Michele Roberts are pushing back against Georgia's new voting law.

Kerr, Barkley, Pierce among NBA figures speaking out against Georgia's voting law

After the Los Angeles Lakers' victory over the Memphis Grizzlies on Tuesday night, LeBron James tweeted out his interest in putting together an ownership group to purchase the WNBA's Atlanta Dream.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Think I&rsquo;m gone put together an ownership group for the The Dream. Whose in? <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BlackVotesMatter?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#BlackVotesMatter</a>✊🏾 <a href="https://t.co/9wclgdED2w">pic.twitter.com/9wclgdED2w</a>
&mdash; LeBron James (@KingJames) <a href="https://twitter.com/KingJames/status/1346690058066272256?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 6, 2021</a></blockquote>

<script src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>

This is an interesting development following a historic day in Georgia, as the Senate will reportedly flip majority control to the Democrats. For quite some time, WNBA players have been leading the charge to vote and stand against social and racial injustice.
The Dream is currently owned by Kelly Loeffler (R), the incumbent Senator in Georgia who reportedly lost today's special runoff election against Raphael Warnock (D). Atlanta's players campaigned for Warnock and publicly criticized Loeffler, especially after she spoke out against the Black Lives Matter movement.&nbsp;
Back in July, Atlanta's players (as well as players from other WNBA teams) showed up to their respective games wearing "Vote Warnock" shirts, which helped the campaign raise more than $200,000 in two days.
"When we realized what our owner was doing and how she was kind of using us and the Black Lives Matter movement for her political gain, we felt like we didn't want to feel kind of lost as the pawns in this," Dream forward Elizabeth Williams <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/04/sports/basketball/wnba-dream-loeffler-warnock.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told The New York Times</a>.
Loeffler became co-owner of the Dream in 2010, and she reportedly owns 49 percent of the team. The WNBA Players' Association has supported the players' stance that Loeffler should be removed as owner.
However, WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert has said that she won't force Loeffler to sell.
"We are not going to force her to sell her current ownership," Engelbert said <a href="https://youtu.be/rVaI_-G8Nd0" target="_blank" rel="noopener">on CNN in July.</a>&nbsp;"She's not a current Governor [on the Board of Governor] and she's not involved in the day-to-day. We are aware that there are interested parties that want to purchase the team."
It sounds like James (or any other interested party) would only be able to take over the Dream if Loeffler decides to sell the franchise.&nbsp;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
We are <a href="https://twitter.com/WNBA?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@wnba</a> players, but like the late great John Lewis said, we are also ordinary people with extraordinary vision. <a href="https://twitter.com/ReverendWarnock?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ReverendWarnock</a> has spent his life fighting for the people and we need him in Washington. Join the movement for a better Georgia at <a href="https://t.co/yoJkjDeYy7">https://t.co/yoJkjDeYy7</a> <a href="https://t.co/IwK6xRqTIJ">pic.twitter.com/IwK6xRqTIJ</a>
&mdash; Sue Bird (@S10Bird) <a href="https://twitter.com/S10Bird/status/1290799743652835329?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 5, 2020</a></blockquote>

<script src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>

Still, it's interesting to hear that James wants to assemble a potential ownership group, and perhaps Loeffler would be willing to sell if the right offer comes along.
James could put together a lucrative bid, as he's earned $310,110,980 from his past NBA contracts alone (and he's poised to earn an additional $124,875,098 from the Lakers over the next three years). He's also the NBA's highest-paid player when it comes to endorsements. <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/kurtbadenhausen/2019/10/23/the-nbas-highest-paid-players-2019-20-lebron-james-scores-record-92-million/?utm_source=TWITTER&amp;utm_medium=social&amp;utm_content=2763997863&amp;utm_campaign=sprinklrSportsMoneyTwitter&amp;sh=5f2ecaebdae6" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Forbes estimates</a> that he earns roughly $55 million annually from his deals with companies like Nike, Coca-Cola, Beats by Dre, Blaze Pizza, NBA 2K and Walmart among others.
This is a situation worth monitoring. Politics aside, getting James more involved with the WNBA (especially as a co-owner) would be incredible for the league.

<script src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>


<script src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script>

LeBron James said that he wants to purchase the WNBA's Atlanta Dream, which is currently owned by Kelly Loeffler.

LeBron James wants to purchase the WNBA's Atlanta Dream?

Nekias Duncan looks ahead to how the five teams in the Northwest Division will fare in the upcoming NBA season.

2020-21 NBA Season Preview: Northwest Division

Throughout the entire NBA and WNBA restart in the bubble, player after player has verbalized the importance of arresting the officers who killed Breonna Taylor. They wore shirts with her name and redirected all questions during their media sessions to the importance of this case. Coaches discussed it during their press conferences and called for justice too.&nbsp;
L.A. Clippers forward Paul George <a href="https://twitter.com/bengolliver/status/1286051772998586374?s=21" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told reporters</a> that he would not answer any basketball questions and would only address questions specifically involving the Breonna Taylor case.&nbsp;Denver Nuggets forward Jerami Grant <a href="https://youtu.be/MdKBh8czLdw" target="_blank" rel="noopener">did the same</a>.
Nuggets guard Jamal Murray wore a tribute to Breonna Taylor and George Floyd on his sneakers.&nbsp;
&ldquo;In life, you find things that hold value to you - things to fight for,&rdquo; Murray told TNT during the first round of the playoffs. &ldquo;We found something worth fighting for as an NBA, as a collective unit. I use these shoes as a symbol to keep fighting. These shoes give me life. Even though these people are gone, they help me find strength.&rdquo;
<img src="https://basketballnews-media.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/images/story/body/Tayl_lg.jpg" alt="" width="787" height="AUTO" />
Nuggets head coach Mike Malone told reporters: &ldquo;I just put myself in Breonna Taylor&rsquo;s boyfriend&rsquo;s shoes. I&rsquo;m in my apartment, wherever I am living. Somebody breaks into my house at 2 or 3 in the morning. I am going to feel like somebody should not be there. &hellip; I know we&rsquo;ve been using our platform down here to try to bring about education and a voice in a lot of players on our team, especially speaking out on justice for Breonna Taylor. We have not gotten that justice. That&rsquo;s a shame. Hopefully that will change at some point.&rdquo;
The Breonna Taylor case was on the hearts and minds of just about everyone in the bubble, and players and coaches were using their platforms to make sure the world knew about this case as well.
Then, the moment finally arrived that a verdict was given.&nbsp;
The decision was announced on Wednesday that a Louisville grand jury would indict officer Brett Hankison on three felony charges of wanton endangerment in the killing of Taylor. So, for those who don&rsquo;t know, that means the cop was charged not for firing the bullets that took the life of Breonna Taylor, but rather for the bullets that missed and endangered people in other apartments.&nbsp;
And, as one would imagine, this news hit the entire NBA world hard.&nbsp;
Los Angeles Lakers guard Danny Green told reporters on Wednesday that LeBron James texted the grand jury&rsquo;s findings to the entire team as they were preparing to have a team meeting between Games 3 and 4 of the Western Conference Finals.&nbsp;LeBron took to Twitter to comment:
<img src="https://basketballnews-media.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/images/story/body/bron222222_lg.jpg" alt="" width="500" height="AUTO" />
On Thursday night, after the Lakers&rsquo; win against Denver that put Los Angeles up 3-1 in the series, James told reporters, &ldquo;We want justice, no matter how long it takes. We lost a beautiful woman in Breonna. I have a daughter at home and a wife and a Mom and thinking about if they were gunned down&hellip; it&rsquo;s a tragedy. Our hearts are with that family.&rdquo;&nbsp;
&ldquo;I wasn&rsquo;t surprised,&rdquo; Boston Celtics wing Jaylen Brown <a href="https://twitter.com/espn/status/1308998798782476290?s=21">added</a>. &ldquo;I think that this society &mdash; the way it was built &mdash; its intentions was to never protect and serve people of color initially.&ldquo;
Many other players took to Twitter to vent such as <a href="https://twitter.com/boogiecousins/status/1308841443998433280?s=21">DeMarcus Cousins</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/jcrossover/status/1308830980820676608?s=21">Jamal Crawford</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/isaiahthomas/status/1308838617008218112?s=21">Isaiah Thomas</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/monstatrezz/status/1308834656058511360?s=21">Montrezl Harrell</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/lexiekiah_4/status/1308850095593598976?s=21">Lexie Brown</a> of the Minnesota Lynx, <a href="https://twitter.com/t_hawk21/status/1308826732733100034?s=21">Tianna Hawkins</a> of the Washington Mystics, <a href="https://twitter.com/layshiac/status/1308827159067205632?s=21">Layshia Clarendon</a> of the New York Liberty and many others.
The collective NBA and WNBA family was heartbroken at yet another instance of the justice system failing to value a Black life. NBA games ironically resumed with the words Black Lives Matter painted on the court, but absent from reality. In fact, Michael Vick&rsquo;s dogs received more justice than Breonna Taylor.
Then came Shaquille O&rsquo;Neal and Charles Barkley&rsquo;s comments on TNT&rsquo;s &ldquo;Inside The NBA&rdquo; on Thursday night.&nbsp;
Barkley <a href="https://twitter.com/gifdsports/status/1309288231167561728?s=21">proclaimed live on air</a> that you can't put the Breonna Taylor case in the same sentence as the death of George Floyd or Ahmaud Arbery because her boyfriend shot at the police. He are his exact words:
"I don't think this one was like George Floyd or Ahmaud Arbery and things like that," Barkley said. "I feel sad that this young lady lost her life. I think this one was &mdash; the no-knock warrant is something we need to get rid of &hellip; across the board. But I am worried to lump all these situations in together.
&ldquo;And I just feel bad that the young lady lost her life. But we do have to take into account that her boyfriend shot at the cops and shot a cop. So like I say, even though I am really sorry she lost her life, I don't think that we can put this in the same situation as George Floyd or Ahmaud Arbery. I just don't believe that."
Shaq weighed in and said, "I have to agree with Charles, this one is sort of lumped in. You have to get a warrant signed and some states do allow no-knock warrants. And everyone was asking for murder charges. When you talk about murder, you have to show intent. A homicide occurred and we're sorry a homicide occurred. When you have a warrant signed by the judge, you are doing your job, and I would imagine that you would fire back."
Barkley <a href="https://twitter.com/gifdsports/status/1309289936315715584?s=21">went on to say</a>, "Who are Black people supposed to call, Ghostbusters, when we have crime in our neighborhood? We need to stop the defund or abolish the police crap."
It would be nice if these two respected and beloved commentators would fact-check their positions before they used their incredible platform to give out inaccurate information. Their entire exchange is incredibly inaccurate and it would take two articles to break down the misinformation they spewed, but here are a few points of contention:
1. Barkley, when describing why the Breonna Talylor case differs from other cases he mentioned, simply says &ldquo;because he shot at the police&rdquo; without providing any context. 
According to the testimony of Breonna Taylor&rsquo;s boyfriend, Kenneth Walker: &ldquo;Walker told investigators he heard banging at the door and assumed it was Taylor's ex-boyfriend, Jamarcus Glover. Taylor, who had awoken, shouted, &lsquo;Who is it?&rsquo; but Walker said there was no response. He said he and Taylor scrambled to get dressed and that he grabbed his gun, which his attorney has said he legally owns. He said both he and Taylor were yelling, &lsquo;Who is it?&rsquo; but received no response. As they made their way toward the front door, Walker said, the door flew off its hinges. &lsquo;So I just let off one shot,&rsquo; he said. &lsquo;I still can't see who it is or anything.&rsquo;" 
This is very different than saying, &ldquo;He shot at the cops first.&rdquo; Now, I&rsquo;m not expecting Charles Barkley to go into this level of detail during his &ldquo;Inside The NBA&rdquo; segment, but if he is going to comment on this, he has to at least give proper context.&nbsp;
2. Barkley repeats the often-expressed false narrative of &ldquo;defund&rdquo; and &ldquo;abolish&rdquo; being synonyms. Again, if he is going to comment on this, he needs to be fully educated on the subject or at least the English language. The fact is &ldquo;defund the police&rdquo; means &ldquo;reallocating or redirecting funding away from the police department to other government agencies funded by the local municipality.&rdquo; That&rsquo;s it. So, the police are responsible for areas they are trained to be responsible for. For example, issues involving mental health can be left to people trained to handle mental-health challenges.&nbsp;
Dr. Rashawn Ray, a Professor of Sociology and Executive Director of the Lab for Applied Social Science Research (LASSR) at the University of Maryland, College Park, recently explained in detail what defunding the police actually means in an article titled &ldquo;What does defund the police mean and does it have merit&rdquo; (which <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/blog/fixgov/2020/06/19/what-does-defund-the-police-mean-and-does-it-have-merit/">you can read in full here</a>).
&ldquo;Advocates for the defund movement like Phillip McHarris and Thenjiwe McHarris argue that <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/30/opinion/george-floyd-police-funding.html?referringSource=articleShare">shifting funding to social services</a> that can improve things such as mental health, addiction, and homelessness is a better use of taxpayer money,&rdquo; he writes. &ldquo;This approach further enhances the push to decriminalize and destigmatize people with mental-health conditions and addiction problems.&rdquo;
Again, I&rsquo;m not expecting Barkley to go into this level of detail during his &ldquo;Inside The NBA&rdquo; segment. But if he is going to comment on this, he needs to be well-informed of the facts.&nbsp;
The NBA and its players hold the entire crew of TNT's "Inside The NBA&rdquo; in high regard. They have become must-see TV for the majority of NBA players and fans. And I, for one, am all for the exchange of different opinions and discussions and debates. That&rsquo;s not the issue here.&nbsp;
But giving an accurate and factual portrayal when discussing a topic that is near and dear to the entire NBA world should be a requirement given the platform that O&rsquo;Neal and Barkley have. Spewing false narratives and giving inaccurate information and drawing conclusions based on those inaccuracies is not only irresponsible but disrespectful to Breonna Taylor, her loved ones, activists fighting for justice, NBA players who took up her cause and everyone else involved.&nbsp;

NBA veteran Etan Thomas vents about the misinformed comments from Shaquille O'Neal and Charles Barkley on Breonna Taylor's death.

Southern Connecticut State Fighting Owls