#d” King the franchise’s 22-year-

[chop4255]

Joey King Closes a Chapter of Her Life

In hindsight, it’s somewhat of a miracle that “The Kissing Booth 3” got made in the first place. Not because the 2018 “The Kissing Booth” was initially a stand-alone film — before the summery rom-com, about a high schooler who falls for herbest friend’s brother, became an unexpected hit on Netflix.And not because of the pandemic;this final chapter was shot earlier, in 2019, at the same time as “The Kissing Booth 2.” With workdays that included wrestling in massive inflatable sumo suits, shooting a montage at a water park and racing go-karts inMario Kart-like costumes, it’s remarkable that Joey King and her colleagues, who had a ball in the process, were able to focus enough to get the job done. “If you put us in a room and you expect us to get much done that’s productive, it’s going to be hard,” King, the franchise’s 22-year-old star, said in a video call. “We’re like 12-year-old boys.”ค���ชิโนThe Kissing Booth 3,’ Joey King Closes a Chapter of Her Life

[higuchimon]

[fanfic] Extra Training

"Where are you going?"  Ryouga wanted to know.  Iris tucked her D-Gazer into her pocket, checked on her deck, and shrugged.

"To the movies with Haruto,"  she told him.  Like she did every weekend.  It was something to do that wasn't dueling - not that she disliked dueling, there wasn't really any way that she could, not with having grown up in a household of duelists.  But it wasn't the be-all and end-all of her existence, and she only carried the deck around because Vector would start handing out knives if she didn't. 

Not that Iris had anything against knives, either, but the way Ryouga and Rio both stared at Vector when he offered her extra lessons told her quickly they didn't need to know how good she was with them, even without Vector's help.  Uncle Michael gave her sword-fighting lessons every weekend after all.  Edged weapons were as useful a tool as a dueling deck, and one that most people were less likely to think an eighteen year old might use against them.

Iris far preferred to handle her own problems.  The last time she'd complained about someone being annoying, everyone in the family plus a few extras - such as Uncles Michael, Thomas, and Chris, as well as Uncle Yuuma and Uncle Kaito, came down on the offender like the proverbial ton of bricks.  It took months> for anyone to ever talk to her again at school.

At least she didn't have to worry about that with Haruto.  They all liked Haruto and he knew how not to get on their bad sides.  Plus, he'd learned more than a few things that his brother didn't know about, so he kept her secrets about what she could do that her elders didn't know.

And he was a fantastic sparring partner.

Ryouga regarded her thoughtfully, then nodded.  "Enjoy yourself,"  was all he said.  Iris knew what that meant - don't murder someone without one heck of a good reason.  She was fine with that.  Rio had taught her what a good reason was.  So far she hadn't had to kill anyone and she didn't really want to.  She liked learning dueling and fighting for reasons aside from blood-lust, no matter what Vector swore by. 

So she headed out of the mansion and to the center of town, where Haruto sat outside of Heartland Tower and waited for her, kicking his feel lazily in a fountain.  She vaguely remembered that he'd been a bit sickly and weak when they were children.  Most of that had been before she'd come to this world, so she'd heard of it mostly as stories from Ryouga and Uncle Kaito, or from Haruto himself.  When she'd first met him, he'd been getting better, and she'd helped him improve over the years.

Now one couldn't tell that he'd ever been at risk of dying at all.  He leaped to his feet as soon as he caught sight of her and waved, eyes bright with joy.

"Ready?"  He wanted to know as she drew closer.  Iris smiled; she did enjoy spending time with him.  And she enjoyed what they were about to do just as much.  Maybe even a bit more.

"Ready."  She nodded, one hand dropping down to where she kept her duel disk - and the little secret hidden inside the same pocket.  Haruto nodded as well, and the two of them headed off.  Both of them knew very well that Omoid - oldest offspring of Obomi and Orbital 7 - followed them.  Omoid followed Haruto anywhere he went and did anything he could in order to help him. 

Haruto had had to do a little reprogramming as he got older to make sure Omoid kept certain things he and Iris did a secret, but as long as they came home without any major injuries, most things could be hidden from the eye of elder siblings.  Iris did wonder how much Uncle Kaito really knew.  He didn't seem like the type of person who would easily be deceived. Yet if he did know what they did - not every lesson they had from Uncle Michael was sanctioned - he said nothing at all about it.

They arrived at the Arclight mansion relatively quickly.  This wasn't their original home, or so Iris had been told.  They moved to Heartland on a regular basis a few years earlier and set up residence.  That was fine with her.  She liked spending time with all of them.

Though she wasn't ever going to forget the day that Uncle Thomas and Uncle Vector both ended up baby-sitting her at the same time.  Three fire trucks, five police cars, and she still didn't know how they'd avoided being arrested.  Ryouga didn't like to talk about it.

Michael welcomed them there as soon as they entered, guiding them to the familiar sparring grounds. 

"It's just us today,"  he told them.  "Chris is working with Kaito and Mizael helping out Father."  His lips twitched.  "I'm not quite certain where Thomas is, though.

That was fine with Iris, and apparently Haruto to.  She'd known about them being busy anyway.  She slipped her duel disk out, flipped open the hidden slot in the back, and her sword hilt dropped into her hand. 

"I'm ready for training!"  She declared, and Haruto matched her motions with his own.  Michael chuckled.

"I didn't expect anything less," he told them, and the three of them settled down to the business of sparring together.  Iris snapped the hilt, hitting the hidden button, and the blade itself unfolded.  This was new technology, spurred on by various companies in the city, and Michael had given each of them one of these as a surprise present.  It certainly made keeping these lessons secret from the rest of the family a lot easier.

She took the lead, approaching quickly, and striking.  They didn't often work with live steel first, but Michael's point of view on the matter was that one, they needed to use it as often as possible, and two, they needed to be careful. Using wooden or foam bats wouldn't teach caution. He knew how to take care of virtually any injury they could inflict on each other, and after five years of learning, they both knew how not to hurt the other.  Michael promised that they would be able to hurt other people if the time ever came.

Iris wasn't so sure if she wanted that, but she also knew the first lesson he'd taught her - never to pick up a weapon of any kind, be it a sword or a duel disk, unless you were both willing and capable of using it.  The Numbers War was long over, but who knew when something else might happen and she might be one of those called to arms.  Better to be ready and never need it, than need it and not be able to do anything.  Ryouga and Rio absolutely agreed on that, at least.

So she sparred and she learned, and Haruto fought her with all of his strength.  She pushed back, struck down carefully, judging her strength and where she aimed, and pushed him back.  He twisted his blade, making an attempt to disarm her, and she stepped back, getting out of the clinch and taking a different angle for her counterattack.  As time ticked by, Iris could not contain the pure joy that came from being able to do this at all.

She remembered her life in the past very clearly, and how she'd died.  She might not want to attack other people, but she would always want to be able to defend herself.  That was one of the reasons her clothes were specially made to be just shy of being actual armor.  Ryouga had insisted on that after they'd all come back from the trip to the Astral-Barian World.  She'd never been there, but she kind of wanted to, one of these days.

Metal clattered against metal, ringing loudly, but they could still hear Michael's firm voice instructing them on what to do.  Eventually he called a halt - both of them dripped sweat, and Iris wanted something to drink.  She slipped her sword's blade back into the hilt and started to turn around for the exit.

In the exit there stood Ryouga.  No, not Ryouga - Nasch. Her king.  His eyes stern and his lips not smiling at all.  Iris swallowed and essayed a smile of her own.

"This isn't a movie,"  he said quietly.  "This is very much not a movie."

"I know."  Iris agreed.  It wasn't as if she could argue that.  She would keep the secret, but he clearly already knew it.  She'd never been able to argue with him when he looked at her like that.  She worried at her lip, then mentally shrugged.  "It's just extra lessons, that's all."

Nasch nodded faintly.  "How long have you been doing this?"

"A while now,"  she answered.  Neither Haruto or Michael said anything else.  She suspected Michael was a little annoyed, if only because Nasch had entered without - she guessed - asking permission. 

"I can guess."  He crossed his arms, regarding her thoughtfully.  "Have you been hurt?"

"Nothing bad."  Iris shrugged.  "I can hold my own.  We're good at this."

His eyes softened ever so lightly and she began to breathe easily.  Or at least easier. "I noticed.  Did you relay think I believed you were going to the movies?  That you like them that much?"

Iris ducked her head.  "I hoped?"  Didn't most teenagers go to movies with friends?   She didn't think she was that out of touch.  Sure, she didn't have that many friends at school she could open up to, but she'd heard them all talking about movies and going on dates.  She did like movies, but going to see them every week just seemed boring.  She would have far preferred going to the ocean or up to the mountains.  The few times she'd hung out with Yamikawa at the Duel Lodge had been very instructive. 

"I think it's going to be a couple of weeks before you do this again,"  he told her quietly.  "And if you want to do it again, then I want to know about it before you go.  Understand?"

"Got it."  Iris knew she was getting off easy.  Ryouga nodded slightly before he looked at Haruto.  "Kaito's probably going to say the same thing to you."

"Kaito-sama already knows,"  Omoid piped up. "I told him after their firsts unofficial lesson."

Haruto blinked.  "I thought I reprogrammed you so you wouldn't do that."

"You did."  Kaito stepped up next to Nasch.  "I reprogrammed him back." 

Iris could see the pride in Kaito's eyes regardless of his words.  Whatever else he felt, he was glad Haruto could do these things.  If Kaito had really objected, then they would have known it long before this.

Ryouga gestured to her, and she started over.  She knew that she wasn't going to be seriously grounded - he'd let up on the punishments and let her make her own mistakes for a while now.  He wouldn't be that upset about extra lessons.  If anything, what had to have upset him was that she'd not told him the truth.  He'd get over it. 

Just to prove it, she glanced over to Michael and to Haruto.  "I'll see you next week,"  she addressed Michael first, then Haruto.  "Tomorrow?"

"Sure,"  Haruto agreed calmly, with Michael nodded.  He was clearly having trouble keeping himself from laughing.  Kaito and Ryouga both snorted, but Iris knew what they sounded like when they were upset, and this wasn't it.  Everything was fine. 

Together they all headed out.  Iris couldn't have been more satisfied with what happened.  She'd had a great workout and she didn't have to hide her extra trips from the others anymore.  She'd more or less wanted to tell them from the beginning; events just hadn't fallen out that way.  Being older did come with some advantages. 

Ryouga still made her wear her helmet on the way home. 

The End

Notes: One day I might write more about Omoid and Haruto. You really think Kaito wouldn’t have one of those little bots assigned to keep an eye on his brother?

Ryouga was probably a lot angrier than he let on, but Iris is eighteen. She can make her own decisions, and Rio probably lectured him on that. Maybe I will write that side piece eventually.

[theyearoftheking]

Book Eighty: Later

“...but grownups have a tough time believing, and I’ll tell you why. When they find out as kids that Santa Claus is a fake and Goldilocks isn’t a real girl and the Easter Bunny is bullshit- just three examples, I could give more- it makes a complex and they stop believing in anything they can’t see for themselves.” 

Later has been sitting on my desk for several weeks, waiting for me to extol its virtues. Every time I’ve had a few minutes to blog, I’ve come up with a million other things to do. Oh, dishes? Yeah, better get those washed. We’re out of protein balls? Better make another batch. Oof, reallllly gotta get that laundry folded... sorry blog! 

I’m not an idiot: I know I’ve been avoiding this blog because I’m bad at closure, and even worse at goodbyes. Not that this is the end... Steve’s next book is due to be published on August 3rd. And I’m sure there will be more books after that. But this is the semi-colon on what has been a very long and fulfilling project. 

I have read several non-Steve books since finishing Later. I’ve read Midnight Sun by Stephanie Meyer. I was a huge Twilight (book, not movie) fan, and was really looking forward to coming back to an old, familiar series. But it was painfully long to read, and the world has moved on since Twilight. Since then we’ve had Fifty Shades, and all kinds of other romance tropes spawned by the Twilight franchise, and it’s almost quaint in its innocence. 

I’ve also read The Perfect Marriage by Jeneva Rose. I’ll share my abridged Goodreads review with y’all: “Sometimes a book is so bad, it’s good. That’s exactly what The Perfect Marriage is. I lost count of the number of sharks this book jumped...This book was bananas. Like, super ripe, starting to smell bananas.” 

And finally, I’m halfway through The Witch Elm by Tana French. This book might spoil me for anything else I read this year. Tana French is an absolute queen when it comes to setting, atmosphere and impending dread/doom. And in case you don’t believe she’s a queen, here’s Steve testifying to it. 

So, that’s what I’ve been up to since Later. Oh, you want a review on Later? I suppose I can oblige. This is the third Hard Case Crime novel Steve has written; the first two were The Colorado Kid and Joyland. And I’d plop this one right in the middle of those two: I liked it more than Kid, but less than Joyland. Because... sentimental reasons. 

Jamie Conklin has been able to see dead people since he was a little kid. He has horrible memories of seeing a bike rider that was hit by a car when he was small. And he was able to help his neighbor find his wife’s missing wedding ring, with a little help from her spirit. But his mom wants him to keep his talents a secret; until she needs him to bust out his skills to save her career. But his mom isn’t the only one that takes advantage of him. His mom’s old girlfriend, Liz, a disgraced police officer needs Jamie’s help with a bust that could set her up for life. 

It’s a fast read, with plenty of suspense and enough supernatural elements to remind you this book isn’t all hard-boiled fiction, it’s also a Steve book. But in case you forgot, there was also a Shawshank prison reference. My favorite part of the book was when Jamie cited the Constant Reader mantra, “Books are a uniquely portable form of magic...” I’d recommend this as a beach read for any upcoming vacations you might have. And when you’re done, pass it along to a friend. 

Total Wisconsin Mentions: 48

Total Dark Tower References: 76

Book Grade: B+

Rebecca’s Definitive Ranking of Stephen King Books

Doctor Sleep: A+

The Talisman: A+

Wizard and Glass: A+

11/22/63: A+

Mr. Mercedes: A+

End of Watch: A+

Under the Dome: A+

Needful Things: A+

On Writing: A+

The Green Mile: A+

Hearts in Atlantis: A+

Full Dark, No Stars: A+

The Outsider: A+

The Bazaar of Bad Dreams: A+

If It Bleeds: A+

Just After Sunset: A+

Rose Madder: A+

Misery: A+

Different Seasons: A+

It: A+

Four Past Midnight: A+

Stephen King Goes to the Movies: A+

The Shining: A-

The Stand: A-

Finders Keepers: A-

Bag of Bones: A-

Duma Key: A-

Black House: A-

The Institute: A-

The Wastelands: A-

The Drawing of the Three: A-

The Dark Tower: A-

Dolores Claiborne: A-

Blaze: B+

Hard Listening: B+

Revival: B+

Nightmares in the Sky: B+

The Dark Half: B+

Joyland: B+

Skeleton Crew: B+

The Dead Zone: B+

Nightmares & Dreamscapes: B+

Wolves of the Calla: B+

‘Salem’s Lot: B+

Song of Susannah: B+

Carrie: B+

Creepshow: B+

Later: B+

From a Buick 8: B

The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon: B

Sleeping Beauties: B-

The Colorado Kid: B-

Storm of the Century: B-

Everything’s Eventual: B-

Cycle of the Werewolf: B-

The Wind Through the Keyhole: B-

Danse Macabre: B-

The Running Man: C+

Cell: C+

Thinner: C+

Dark Visions: C+

The Eyes of the Dragon: C+

The Long Walk: C+

The Gunslinger: C+

Pet Sematary: C+

Firestarter: C+

Rage: C

Desperation: C-

Insomnia: C-

Cujo: C-

Nightshift: C-

Faithful: D

Gerald’s Game: D

Roadwork: D

Lisey’s Story: D

Christine: D

Dreamcatcher: D

The Regulators: D

The Tommyknockers D

So, this is it until August. I’ll try to pop in with the occasional book update or movie review. But I fear we’re nearing the tower, dear readers. 

Until next time, Long Days & Pleasant Nights,

 Rebecca

[adamgaskell]

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[yayodancing]

Just know, if WLR really does drop on Christmas, it will be the album of the year.

Edit: I told y’all

1. Playboi Carti - Stop Breathing

2. Headie One - Only You Freestyle (feat. Drake)

3. Roddy Rich - The Box

4. Drake - Pain 1993 (feat. Playboi Carti)

5. Lil Uzi Vert - Prices

6. The Weeknd - After Hours

7. 21 Savage - Glock In My Lap

8. Travis Scott - Franchise (remix) (feat. Future, Young Thug & MIA)

9. 645AR - Yoga

10. Young Thug - Out West (feat. Travis Scott)

11. Thundercat - Dragonball Durag

12. Zack Fox - Stick! (Feat. Fabo)

13. Lil Yachty - Flex Up (feat. Playboi Carti & Future)

14. King Krule - Stoned Again

15. Childish Gambino - 19.10

16. Baby Keem - Hooligan

17. Lil Baby - We Paid (feat. 42 Dugg)

18. Tame Impala - Is It True

19. Young Nudy - No Comprende

20. Don Tolliver - Cardigan

21. Slowthai - Enemy

22. Yves Tumor - Kerosene

23. Future & Lil Uzi Vert - That’s It

24. 03 Greedo - Bands In Da Basement (feat. Chief Keef)

25. Freddie Gibbs - God Is Perfect

26. Sleepy Hallow - Deep End Freestyle

27. StaySolidRocky - Party Girl Remix (feat. Lil Uzi Vert)

28. Sahbabbi - Purple Umbrella

29. Gunna - Blindfold (feat. Lil Baby)

30. Tisakorean - Did You Know (WiFi Password)

31. Lil Tecca - Dolly (feat. Lil Uzi Vert)

32. Partynextdoor - Loyal (feat. Drake)

33. Kid Cudi - Heaven on Earth

34. King Von - Gleesh Place

35. Chief Keef - Bang Bang

36. Frank Ocean - Cayendo

37. Future - Rockstar Chainz

38. Blood Orange - Call Me (feat. Park Hye Jin)

39. Nav - Yung Wheezy (feat. Gunna)

40. YN Jay - Coochie

41. Guapdad 4000 - Platinum Falcon

42. James Blake - Before

43. J Balvin - Rojo

44. Kenny Mason - PTSD

45. Meekz - Like Me

46. Pop Smoke - Yea Yea

47. Userdeleted_95 - Dark Mode

48. 42 Dugg - Palm Angels In the Sky

49. Juice WRLD - Blood On My Jesus

50. Internet Money - Lemonade (feat. Don Tolliver, Nav & Gunna)

51. Benny the Butcher - 3:30 in Houston

52. Rod Wave - Rags 2 Riches (remix) (feat. Lil Baby)

53. Bad Bunny - Safaera (feat. Jowel & Randy and Nengo Flow)

54. The 1975 - If You’re Too Shy (Let Me Know)

55. DaBaby - Practice

56. Lil Keed - Wavy (remix) (feat. Travis Scott)

57. Kanye West - Wash Us In The Blood (feat. Travis Scott)

58. Jackboy - Like a Million (feat. Kodak Black)

59. Ty $ Sign - Ego Death (feat. Kanye West & FKA Twigs)

60. Hoodrich Pablo Juan - Tu Can Sam

61. Cardi B - WAP (feat. Megan Thee Stallion)

62. Sada Baby - Whole Lotta Choppas

63. Drakeo The Ruler - Ion Rap Beef (feat. Earl Sweatshirt & 03 Greedo)

64. BIGBABYGUCCI - Rest In Peace Miss Rose

65. Lil Gnarr - Perc 300 (feat. Germ)

66. Kodak Black - Dummy Green

67. City Girls - Pussy Talk (feat. Doja Cat)

68. Boldy James - Scrape the Bowl (feat. Benny the Butcher)

69. Mulatto - Muwop (feat. Gucci Mane)

70. Lil Eazyyy - Onna Comeup

71. DDG - Moonwalkin in Calabasas (feat. Blueface)

72. Monsta - Spazzin (feat. Young Dro)

73. Billie Eilish - Therefore I Am

74. Marshmello - Baggin (feat. 42 Dugg)

75. Rahli - Clip Hangin (feat. Lil STL)

76. Jojo - Reanimator (feat. Yves Tumor)

77. Special Interest - Disco III

78. Grimes - 4AEM

79. Sech - La Luz (feat. J Balvin)

80. Gucci Mane - Nasty (feat. 21 Savage & Young Nudy)

81. M Huncho - Indulge (feat. D Block Europe)

82. Juicy J - Gah Damn High (feat. Lex Luger & Wiz Khalifa)

83. Masego - Mystery Lady (feat. Don Tolliver)

84. Father - Risotto

85. Money Man - 24 (feat. Lil Baby)

86. Duke Deuce - Crunk Ain’t Dead (Remix) (feat. Lil Jon, Juicy J & Project Pat)

87. Mac Miller - That’s On Me

88. Megan Thee Stallion - Savage

89. Westside Gunn - Allah Sent Me (feat. Benny & Conway)

90. Brent Faiyaz - Fuck The World (Summer in London)

91. 070 Shake - The Pines

92. Stunna 4 Vegas - Do Dat (feat. DaBaby & Lil Baby)

93. Z Money - Cold Cuts

94. Flatbush Zombies - Afterlife

95. Tokyo’s Revenge - GOODMORNINGTOKYO!

96. Sheff G - Tip Toe (feat. Sleepy Hallow)

97. Ovrkast. - Two Minute Bars (feat. Mavi)

98. SAINt Jhn - Smack DVD (feat. Kanye West)

99. JPEGMafia - Rough 7 (feat. Tommy Genesis)

100. Mario Judah - Die Very Rough

1. Playboi Carti - Whole Lotta Red

2. Lil Uzi Vert - Eternal Atake/LUV Vs The World 2

3. The Weeknd - After Hours

4. Yves Tumor - Heaven To A Tortured Mind

5. King Krule - Man Alive!

6. Drake - Dark Lane Demo Tapes

7. 21 Savage & Metro Boomin - Savage Mode 2

8. Tame Impala - The Slow Rush

9. Thundercat - It Is What It Is

10. Don Toliver - Heaven or Hell

11. Gunna - Wunna

12. Lil Baby - My Turn

13. Kid Cudi - Man on the Moon III: The Chosen

14. Sahbabbi - Barnacles

15. Mario Judah - Whole Lotta Red

[martinnecas]

Quick Guide | Carolina Hurricanes: Meet The Team - Opening Night 2019-20

New season means a new quick guide to the roster 

2018-19 season

This took me a couple of days to put together so please appreciate it

Want to know how to pronounce a players name? 

Click this link!

*All gifs made by me* 

Forwards: 

☞ Sebastian Aho™️ #20

Yes there is another “Sebastian Aho” from Sweden but he’s usually in the AHL (Bridgeport/Islanders)

Born: July 26, 1997 (22 years old/Leo) from Rauma, Finland

6′0, Centre, 35th overall CAR 2015

Nicknames: Fishy, Seabass, Sepe, Sebu

He’s the face of this franchise and the only player on this team that the Canadian media knows about

Is being held against his will in Raleigh because he wants to play for Montreal if you don’t know the actual story MTL sent him an offer sheet that he signed because he wanted the money and knew Carolina could pay it, but you know how Habs twitter can be.

Possibly the messiest Hurricane 

Who’s my daddy?! 

Spirit animal is a lion, hear him roar

Avid coffee drinker

Baby face

Painted a picture of his cat one time

☞ Ryan Dzingel #18 

Born: March 9, 1992 (27 years old/Pisces) from Wheaton, Illinois

6′0, Centre, 204th overall OTT 2011

Nicknames: Zinger, Dizzy, Dzingel Bells, D-pingel

Played with the Ohio State Buckeyes for 3 seasons, recorded the first hat trick in Big Ten history against Xichigan

Traded to CBJ Feb ‘19, signed with CAR as a free agent summer ‘19 

Might need glasses, he squints like that ^ a lot 

Golfs... A L O T 

Wants to produce for the team so he can stay here in Raleigh and make it his home ♥︎

Jeep guy 

Looks uncomfortably similar to Tripp Tracy 

UNC fan 

☞ Warren Foegele #13

Born: April 1, 1996 (23 years old/Aries) from Markham, Ontario 

6′2, Left Wing, 67th overall CAR 2014

Nicknames: Foegs, Foegdaddy 

Best friends with Andrei Svechnikov and Dougie Hamilton

Duke fan 

Accidentally broke Osh*e’s collarbone but TJ and C*p fans will claim he tried to murder him

Spirit animal is a tiger, also hear him roar

Very easily scared 

Duke fan

☞ Erik Haula #56

Born: March 23, 1991(28 years old/Aries) from Pori, Finland

6′0, Left Wing, 181st overall 2009 MIN

Nicknames: Hauls, Haulsy  

Moved to Minnesota in 2008 to play hockey in boarding school

Played for the University Of Minnesota Gophers for 3 seasons

Signed with MIN in 2013, was picked up by the VGK in 2017 as a free agent in the Expansion Draft, then traded to CAR summer of 2019 (for Nic Roy & draft pick)

Suffered a pretty bad knee injury in the 2018-19 season 

CAKE 

Got married this past summer ♥︎

Currently living in Calvin de Haan’s old house 

☞ Jordan Martinook (A) #48

Born: July 25, 1992 (27 years old/Leo) from Brandon, Manitoba

6′0, Left Wing, 58th overall 2012 PHX

Nicknames: Marty, Marty Man, Marty Party 

Signed with PHX/ARI in 2012, traded to CAR in 2018 (for Krüger)

Raw chaotic dad energy 

Doesn’t like corndogs and has a very high pitched scream

His wife gave birth to their first son last season before he got his downstairs fixed in the offseason

LETS GO SVECH

Spirit animal is a dolphin because he has a great impression 

There is so much more I want to put on here but you should really just follow his Twitter 

☞ Brock McGinn #23

Born: February 2, 1994 (25 years old/Aquarius) from Fergus, Ontario

6′0, Left Wing, 47th overall 2012 CAR

Nicknames: Ginner, Brock McWinn, McPing, the new Mr. Game Seven (that one is kind of a joke though), Big Cock Brock 

Single handedly defeated evil not only once but twice on April 24th, 2019, earning him the nicknames “Brock McWinn” and the new “Mr. Game Seven”

Has two brothers who also play professionally; Jamie (NHL) and Tye (AHL) McGinn

Co Owner of the Roanoke Rail Road Dawgs with his brothers and father

His daddy is Bob

Has a high probability of burning his whole house down 

Used to be a fighter, but he didn’t fight anyone last season 

Thor

Was 3rd in the league with most MsS Post (10) in the 2017-18 season earning him the nickname Brock McPing 

☞ Martin Nečas #88

Born: January 15, 1999 (20 years old/Capricorn) from Nove Mesto na Morave, Czech Rebublic

6′2, 12th overall 2017 CAR, “He plays, like, Centre”

Nicknames: Neči, Marty, Nacho, Marto 

Your 2019-20 ****** ****** winner 

He’s here to fix out PP units, quote me on that

Little hockey stick chain ^ 

Is known for falling while scoring 

Is it avocado or avocaydo?

Hidden talent: Belly dancing 

Almost killed the entire team with a golf club last season  

Don’t mess with him

Just won the Calder Cup with the Checkers :) 

☞ Nino Niederreiter #21

Born: September 8, 1992 (27 years old/Virgo) from Chur, Switzerland

6′0, Right Wing, 5th overall 2010 NYI

Nicknames: El Nino

Was the highest drafted Swizz born player until Hischer in 2017 

Signed to the Islanders in 2010, traded to Minnesota in 2013, then traded to Carolina in January 2019 (for Rask)

Was about to take a nap when he was traded

Just when canes fans almost lost hope, Nino showed up and saved our season

When he came to Carolina, someone gave him sweet tea and he really liked it

Was voted best dressed by a couple teammates

Loves the surge

Supports women’s hockey

☞ Jordan Staal (C) #11

Born: September 10, 1988 (31 years ago/Virgo) from Thunder Bay, Ontario

6′4, Centre, 2nd overall 2006 PIT

Nicknames: Stallsy, Jordad, Gronk

Arrested at his brother’s bachelor party

Won the Stanley Cup with the Penguins in 2009 

Jordan is the youngest out of the other brothers (Eric, Marc) in the league (NHL) 3rd brother is the youngest and is now a coach 

Signed with PIT in 2006, traded to CAR in 2012 (for 8th overall pick, Brandon Sutter and Brian Dumoulin)

Named Captain in the 2017-18 season, became Alternative Captain in 2018-19, is now Captain again in 2019-20 

Great at dad jokes 

☞ Andrei Svechnikov #37

Born: March 26, 2000 (19 years old/Aries) from Barnaul, Russia

6′2, Right Wing, 2nd overall 2018 CAR

Nicknames: Svech, Mother Russia 

Svech is ready

“Just win every game” 

Wears #37 because that’s what his brother, Evgeny Svechnikov (DET), wears

Russia = Cold, Raleigh = Hot

Apparently his biggest talent outside of hockey is… magic? 

Best friends with Warren Foegele and Dougie Hamilton

Likes to shovel the ice during practice 

Me?

Terrible at golf..

.. I mean like really bad  

☞ Teuvo Teräväinen #86

Born: September 11, 1994 (25 years old/Virgo) from Helsinki, Finland

5′11, Left Wing, 18th overall 2012 CHI 

Nicknames: Turbo, Teukka

Shortest Hurricane 

Began with CHI in 2014, traded to CAR in 2016 (along with Bickell for 2nd round pick)

Won the cup with CHI in 2015 (Along with van Riemsdyk)

Has the worst sense of smell ever

I mean come on.. pumpkin? toothpaste? 

I could keep going with this I don't know what’s wrong with his nose

Most likely the messiest Hurricane 

Would dump Sebastian on the side of the road after 100km 

Gets scared REALLY easily

His sisters plays hockey over in Finland (and is pretty good at it too) 

☞ Lucas Wallmark #71

Born: September 5, 1995 (24 years old/Virgo) from Umea, Sweden

6′0, Centre, 97th overall 2014 CAR

Nicknames: Wally

My daddy!?

His spirit animal is… a horse? 

^ He enjoys watching horse racing

*Straight face* “Snacks!? Candy!?” 

Deal with it

Showed up to a U12 and U18 team practice to work on skills with kids 

Owns a pug named Lovis

Defense 

☞ Joel Edmundson #6

Born: June 28, 1993 (26 years old/Cancer) Brandon, Manitoba

6′4, 46th overall 2011 STL

Nicknames: Crop Top King, Eddy

Won the cup in 2019 with STL and partied in a crop top 

True Canadian, ate poutine out of the cup

Traded in September 2019 to CAR (along with Bokk for Faulk and draft pick)

Going to strengthen our PK I promise 

Finally, an enforcer 

Forgot to take his skate guards off during his CAR preseason debut in front of 18,000 people 

Is a barbie girl, living in a barbie world 

☞ Haydn Fleury #4

Born: July 8, 1996 (23 years old/Cancer) from Carlyle, Saskatchewan 

6′3, 7th overall 2014 CAR

Nicknames: Fleurs 

Beat his little brother Cale (MTL) during his NHL debut 

Best friends with Trevor van Riemsdyk

Has the cutest dog named Kobe

Won the Calder Cup along with Nečas :)

If you want to giggle watch this 

Has the worst witch cackle you will ever hear 

Apparently the best golfer on the team

Big Duke fan

☞ Jake Gardiner #51

Born: July 4, 1990 (29 years old/Cancer) from Minnetonka, Minnesota 

6′2, 17th overall 2008 ANA

Nicknames: Gards 

Played for the University of Wisconsin for 3 seasons 

Traded to TOR in 2011, signed as a free agent to CAR in summer 2019

Has the cutest baby 

Denied several offers from other teams mtl to play with us instead 

Hands down had the best Halloween costume two years ago

☞ Dougie Hamilton #19

Born: June 17, 1993 (26 years old/Gemini) from Toronto, Ontario

6′6, 9th overall 2011 BOS

Nicknames: D-Ham, Doug the Thug, well his real name is Douglas so I guess Dougie is technically a nickname

Tallest Hurricane 

Both of his parents are Olympians, brother also plays professional hockey 

Started with BOS in 2012, traded to CGY in 2015, then traded to CAR in 2018 (Last remaining player from the huge Hamilton, Ferland & Fox for Lindholm and Hanifin trade)

Best friends with Andrei Svechnikov and Warren Foegele 

Porche guy 

Grew out a mullet because his hair salon couldn’t take him as a walk in

Jack Edwards complained that he was wearing a number retired from the Whalers so he taped a 6 over the 1 in 19 to make 69

Goes to children's hospitals dressed as woman characters 

Lowkey shootout king

Floss

Another Duke fan

Wears the same blazer to every road game

☞ Brett Pesce #22

Born: November 15, 1994 (24 years old/Scorpio) from Tarrytown, New York

6′3, 66th overall 2013 CAR

Nicknames: Pesh 

“I play defense bro”

Played for the University of New Hampshire for 3 seasons (2 of those seasons with van Riemsdyk)

Pretty ^

Wears 22 for his dad 

He’ll break your ankles

Fortnite squad

Brought his wonderful brother on the mentors trip

Allergic to cats

☞ Jaccob Slavin (A) #74

Born: May 1, 1994 (25 years old/Taurus) from Denver, Colorado

6′3, 120th overall 2012 CAR

Nicknames: Slav-o

The second ‘c’ stands for captain

Faith and family

Played for Colorado College for two seasons 

Adopted a beautiful baby girl with his beautiful wife

Has an instagram for his two dogs

His daddy is “Robert” 

Not afraid of snakes at all 

☞ Trevor van Riemsdyk #57

Born: July 24, 1991 (28 years old/Leo) from Middletown, New Jersey

6′2, Undrafted 

Nicknames: TVR, Riems

Agreed to terms with CHI in 2014 

Won the cup with CHI in 2015 (along with Teräväinen)

Was picked up by the VGK in the 2017 expansion draft 

The next day traded to CAR (for 2nd round pick)

James van Riemsdyk (PHI) is his older brother 

Played with the University of New Hampshire for 3 seasons (2 of those seasons with Pesce) 

He’s too tired to be scared 

March Madness

Best friends with Haydn Fleury 

Pride representative for the team 

Goalies 

☞ Petr Mrázek #34

Born: February 14, 1992 (27 years old/Aquarius) from Ostrava, Czech Republic

6′1, 141st overall 2010 DET

Nicknames: Mrazzle Dazzle, St. Petr

Moved to Ottawa at age 17 

Signed with DET in 2014

Was HUGE for them during the 2015 playoff run

Traded to PHI in Feb ‘18, signed as a free agent with CAR in July ‘18

Stylish 

He had custom hats made for every player on the team

Always has Peter Griffin in his helmet design 

Signature move: Poke Check  

☞ James Reimer #47

Born: March 15, 1988 (31 years old/Pisces) from Morweena, Manitoba

6′2, 99th overall 2006 TOR

Nicknames: Optimus Reim, The Statue, Reims

Debuted with TOR in 2010, traded to SJS Feb ‘16

Signed with FLA as a free agent summer ‘16, traded to CAR summer ‘19 (for Darling and a 2020 6th round pick)

Has two kids 

Really good swimmer

You may recognize this famous goalie meme, that’s right, that's him

Optimus Reim helmet art

He looks so much like Weston from Love Island USA 

Honorable Mention

☞ Julien Gauthier #44

I’m including him because everyone expected him to make the team as he did phenomenal in the preseason (playing all 6 games) but due to cap space (and our horrid pp units), he was sent back down.

Born: October 15, 1997 (turning 22/Libra) from Pointe-aux-Trembles, Quebec

6′4, Right Wing, 21st overall 2016 CAR

Nicknames: Goat, Gauths, Jules

Big boy

Bilingual (French/English)

Cute accent

His uncle played 554 games in the NHL (Denis Gauthier) 

Both his father and grandfather were professional bodybuilders

That explains his muscles

The best thighs in the league (not up for debate) 

Also won the Calder Cup this past season with Haydn Fleury and Martin Nečas

Head Coach

☞ Rod Brind’Amour #17

Roderick Jean Brind’Amour

Born: August 9, 1970 (age 49 years/Leo) from Ottawa, Canada

6′1, Centre, 9th overall 1988 STL

Nicknames: Rod the Bod, RBA 

Played with Michigan State for one season

Started with STL in the playoffs of ‘88, traded to PHI in ‘91, traded to CAR in 2000

Captain of the 2006 CAR Stanley Cup winning team

Played 20 seasons, 1,484(GP) 452(G) 732(A) 1,184(P)

Became head coach for the 2018-19 season

First year as HC broke the team’s 9 year playoff drought and brought them all the way to the ECF

Is known for his extreme workouts

Still in better shape than 98% of the league

Could very well still lace up and play better than 80% of the league 

Lives rent free in W*lson’s and Reirden’s heads

Gives the best post-game speeches

President & General Manager

☞ Don Waddell

I really just wanted an excuse to put this gif in here 

Coached the 1998 DET Stanley Cup winning team 

Named Pres. & GM of CAR in May ‘18

Owner

☞ Tom Dundon 

Lives rent free is Habs fans minds

Estimated net worth is $1.1 billion?

Majority owner of TopGolf (55%)

Chairman of the Alliance of American Football

Purchased 52% of CAR in January 2018 for $420million

Likes to hang around team/fan events 

Stays in the same hotel as me lol

[3w-writer-with-wings]

1, 5, 6, 10, 17, 19, 22, 23, and 34 for the yugioh meme?

1)  Favourite Yu-Gi-Oh! series

This is like asking me which out of my six children should survive while the other five die XD. I love all the series since they all have both pros and cons, and they all have interesting characters and stories, but I guess ARC V will always have a special place in my heart since it got me back in Yugioh fandom (I stopped after 5Ds for a while several years ago). VRAINS is currently my favourite series plotwise since it continues to surprise me and keeps me hyped every single week.

5)  Favourite opening/ending

For the opening, it’s a tie between second and fifth ARC V opening. “Burn” has an incredibly upbeat melody that makes me smile every time I listen to it. ���Light of Hope” on the other hand tells a story of how there is despair but smiles will be there to make it go away. I’m rather torn between choosing either of them since they are both really nice endings. As for ending - “Close to You”, 4th ending from 5Ds. I first started watching 5Ds in English dub but once I caught up with it, I was too curious what is going to happen next so I started watching Japanese dub from that point on and that was probably the smartest decision ever. I got to see “Close to You” not only as the first Yugioh Japanese ending but the very first anime ending ever. I loved every single moment of it, of all the characters just chilling around the city, then meeting up, watching the sunrise and then riding D-Wheels with their dragons! It is an ending that is beyond perfect and really emphasises the bonds and friendship between all Signers. 

6)  Favourite character

If you had asked me this question before Takeru showed up, I would’ve probably blurted out the names of several characters and say how I love them all, but Takeru is a special case. You see, he is a character that I loved before he even officially appeared XD. I’m following the news, cast lists and summaries, so when Takeru showed up for the first time in an anime magazine (like a month before his official anime appearance), I fell in love with everything about him. Both his human self and avatar had all the right colours and designs that fit his personality well, his backstory was intriguing, I was already looking forward to seeing another Lost Child and out of all possible voices, he got to be voiced by one and only Kaji Yuuki (who is among my Top 3 anime voice actors!). Then he showed up in the new opening and ending and him being friendly and cosy with Yusaku was just plain adorable! I had no idea what his role was going to be but from that point it was clear - Yusaku is getting a new friend! And was his entrance perfect - lightning, fire tornado and then him! 10/10 Burner of Souls! Not only was he righteously hyped up, but he also continues to be amazing and I have a feeling his character will get even more development!    

10)  Favourite Duel Monster

It’s hard to pick a single monster, but I love every single card in Johan’s deck aka. Crystal/Gem Beast archetype. The designs are simple but so well executed and out of all of them, it’s hard to pick just one. I love their story, the legend and just the fact how much they all care about Johan, trying to reach out to him when Yubel possessed him. A big plus is also the fact how much personality they all have and they are always there to help up Johan.

17)  Have you ever cried over YGO and why?

You should’ve rather ask me when I didn’t lol. But yeah in every spinoff there was a moment that I actually cried. In original series there were two moments, when Yugi duelled Atem in the fourth season, letting him defeat him and then fading away in his arms and the Ceremonial duel when Yugi stumbled on his knees and cried, I cried with him cuz I also didn’t want Atem to go. Then in GX, it was basically whenever Judai would show vulnerability, cuz really, I hated his guts and his goofy overpowered persona. But then when he lost Johan, when he was afraid of Yubel, when he succumbed to the power of Supreme King and the entire season 4 when he was battling with depression - to see someone so cheerful becoming a mere shell of himself was so darn sad. 5Ds started darker but nothing could prepare me for two scenes, Yusei nearly dying, being afraid to duel and then watching his friend die in his arms and then losing another friend for real (Bruno! :’( ). Zexal made me cry a weird mixture of happy and sad tears whenever Yuma and Astral did something. When Astral sacrificed himself for Yuma I don’t know when I cried more - when Yuma watched Astral die or Yuma suffering from major depression for the next few episodes. But that scene when he got reunited with Astral was that more powerful because of it and their relationship is truly the purest of them all. ARC V, spinoff all about smiles was probably one of the saddest series, not just because of many sad moments throughout the whole thing aka. Yuto dying in Yuya’s arms for real, Yugo losing Rin, Yuya losing Yuzu, the fate of other Bracelet Girls and Yu-Boys and the overall ending, but also how inconclusive the ending felt. I kinda get the point was to show the realism of war, how not everyone can get a happy ending but it could still be executed better. Then there’s VRAINS…. *sighs* where do I even start with this….

VRAINS truly took the plotline seriously and doesn’t seem like it’s going to back down. It is like the writing staff put together a medley of the saddest moments in Yu-Gi-Oh! and were like, “Let’s make it sadder!”. From the fact that mere six-year-old children were tortured so badly, that Ryoken was so messed up by his father, that all Lost Children are still suffering in one way or another, that SOL practically killed a living being and all the drama that it’s going on between Yusaku and Kusanagi right now. Last week’s episode had me nearly tear up and for tomorrow I will most definitely cry. It’s just so painful to see someone so desperate to save their own family, to attack someone they were all set to protect just a few episodes ago… And VRAINS isn’t even over yet. I thought nothing could top Earth’s death scene, but from the looks of it, tomorrow will be getting a dose of the most painful feels.

19)  Least favourite series

It’s a tie between GX and the first series if I had to choose one. GX has a rather monotone first half when there is some stuff going on, but it’s really episodic and easily forgotten. While there were some interesting episodes, the rest was just one giant filler that tried to deliver too much nostalgia from the first series instead of developing on its own. And speaking of the first series - I know the card game wasn’t as developed at the time so tons of duels made absolutely no sense. Then it was only Yugi, Kaiba and Joey having the development and extremely long duels that were starting to feel off and annoying to watch. But overall - I know that was the very first series and the spinoff, so it was obvious it wouldn’t be perfect. What I truly love about Yu-Gi-Oh! is that it’s a franchise that continues to grow with every single spin-off, even if they’re becoming less relevant they are still getting stronger storywise.

22)  Least favourite character

This little brat is a perfect representation of how to create the most annoying character. Everything about him screams “annoying, useless and awful”. It would be completely fine if he was an episodic villain, but noooo for some reason writing staff was like, “hey let’s make this dude into Yuma’s friend”. I get it, Yuma can make friends easily, but for the love of God, why him?! Yuma has enough friends already, why bring this brat into his group? Tokunosuke has literally no purpose to be here but to cause trouble or be a plot device to bring Yuma trouble. Okay, I was fine with that one time that he got Yuma into trouble and Yuma still forgave him, but why the hell did they have a need to repeat that three more times? I feel the same way about Kotori - she has no basic purpose but to be moral support or act as a damsel in distress.ZEXAL had way too many characters and out of them all, they picked the most useless ones for major roles. 

23)  NOTP

Canon datastormshipping. I think I made it clear why I dislike it in two posts already, but I guess I could sum it up for the third time. In canon verse they are two unstable people who bring out the worst of each other. They rarely interact, their ideologies are vastly different and they are in a way obsessed with each other in a very unhealthy way. If the two of them dated it would most likely result in a very toxic relationship which would only worsen up their already broken mental states. Again, I greatly dislike this ship in canon verse (in anime up to episode 92) and my opinion could change by the end of VRAINS. I still like the fanfics and fanarts that depict “what if” scenarios where their relationship could work (I’m actually writing one at the moment and I have plans to write one where I focus on their relationship in detail), but canon shipping just feels off and dysfunctional.

34)  If you met Kazuki Takahashi, what would you say to him?

First of all, I would thank him for coming up with those amazing characters and plotlines. I still love the original manga and season 0 the most since it had so much creativity with different games, but I can see it keep getting included more with new summoning methods and unique stories. Then I would most likely present him my idea for the 7th series and its protagonist. From the start of the series, there wasn’t much about card game production or who designs them. We got some info on how Pegasus discovered Millenium Items and the tablet with Egyptian Gods and in GX it showed Hayato working as a card game designer. I would love to see a protagonist who loves games just like Yugi and wishes to create more, so he strives to become the best card game designer. He is not that keen on playing the game since he prefers to make the cards more, but when he creates a particular card(kinda like how Takato created Guilmon in Digimon Tamers) he is pulled into an adventure where he must find other cards that contain powerful Duel Monsters spirits and he has to lock them back into their cards. I would also love to have a protagonist that can talk with spirits again since while Judai had adorable interactions with Winged Kuriboh and Neo Spacians, it was still largely brushed aside and not that much explored. So yeah please make the next protagonist into a card game designer, it will be unique and open to so many interesting plotlines and potentials. 

[nbatrades]

Miami Heat Move Up In Draft; Acquire Shabazz Napier

On June 27th, 2014, the Miami Heat traded the draft rights of P.J. Hairston and Semaj Christon, a 2019 second round draft pick (Jaylen Nowell) and cash considerations to the Charlotte Hornets for the draft rights of Shabazz Napier.

When the King tells you to do something, you do it or so the story went, when one LeBron James caused a stir on Twitter. The multi-time NBA MVP, made his feelings known that Shabazz Napier was the steal of the 2014 NBA Draft and his favorite player in the 2014 draft class. 

No way u take another PG in the lottery before Napier.

— LeBron James (@KingJames)

April 8, 2014

My favorite player in the draft! #Napier

— LeBron James (@KingJames)

June 27, 2014

Napier was a two-time NCAA champion and was fresh off a season that saw him nominated as NCAA Final Four Most Outstanding Player after leading the UConn Huskies to a National Championship.

In a coincidence — or not depending on what you read — the Miami Heat were focused on taking Napier in the draft, but faced a tough road to acquiring Napier with the 26th pick in the draft. Knowing that there was a possibility of a rival team taking Napier, the Heat braintrust of Pat Riley and co. scoured the league for a chance to move up the draft. The problem was that Miami’s infatuation with Napier was public, damaging their leverage in any trade.

Eventually, the Heat found the Charlotte Hornets who were willing to move down in the draft to acquire a shooter in P.J. Hairston. Charlotte had the 24th overall selection and drafted Napier for Miami. For the deed, the Heat sent the Hornets their 26th pick as well as two second rounders in 2014 and 2019.

Hairston was a promising talent with a checkered past. A former University of North Carolina Tar Heel, Hairston had been suspended by the NCAA after he was arrested on a drug charge at a traffic stop in 2013. The car that Hairston drove was under the name of felon Haydn Patrick "Fats" Thomas. 

The NCAA suspended Hairston — who led the team in scoring during the 2012-13 season — and North Carolina refused to apply for reinstatement. With no other options, Hairston turned to the NBA’s D-League, where he played for the Texas Legends during the 2013-14 season in what would have been his junior season in college. He played well, averaging 21.8 PPG while shooting nearly 36% from three in 26 games.

Charlotte had a need for perimeter shooting and Hairston fit the bill leading to his arrival as Charlotte’s second pick of the draft behind Indiana University’s Noah Vonleh.

Miami had hoped to keep LeBron James, but the former MVP decided to return home to join the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Heat were forced to pivot and rebuild on the fly. Though stars Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh committed to stay, James’ departure left a massive hole in Miami’s lineup.

Entering his first basketball action, Napier joined Miami for 2014 Summer League. Playing for both Heat Summer League entries in Orlando and Las Vegas, Napier saw action in nine games. Napier had a rough performance, scoring 9.7 PPG on 27.5% shooting while having 3.8 assists per game versus 4.2 turnovers per game.

In a post-Lebron world, Miami got off to a 5-2 start after seven games. Injuries would derail their season. Wade missed 20 games and Bosh missed nearly half of the year after being diagnosed with a blood clot on his lung. Without Bosh in the latter half of the season damaged Miami’s playoff hopes as the team missed out on the playoffs by one game with a 37-45 record.

Napier had an inconsistent rookie season. Though he had a spot in Miami’s rotation through the first 20 games, his playing time was a rollercoaster ride. Napier even spent time in the NBA's Developmental League with the Sioux Fall Skyforce, averaging 19.5 PPG on 41.9% from the field, 5.0 RPG and 3.8 APG in four games.

Napier’s season ended early, as he had surgery for a sports hernia. He ended up with 5.1 PPG, 2.2 RPG, 2.5 APG and 0.8 SPG in 51 games (10 starts) and 19.8 MPG.

After his inconsistent rookie campaign, Napier played on the Heat’s 2015 Summer League entries in Las Vegas and Orlando. Nappier appeared in one game in Orlando where he recorded 14 points, four rebounds and six assists in a little over 17 minutes. In Vegas, Napier made appearances in three games and struggled, averaging 18.0 PPG on 34.9% shooting, 3.0 RPG and 4.0 APG in 25.1 MPG.

Soon after Summer League, the Miami dealt Napier to the Orlando Magic for a conditional second round pick in 2016. Looking to avoid the luxury tax, Miami also had the goal of keeping roster space open for guards Tyler Johnson and Josh Richardson. Trading Napier for future considerations enabled the Heat to save $4.5 million in salary and luxury tax savings.

After the Hornets acquired Semaj Christon on draft night, they dealt his draft rights on the same day to the Oklahoma City Thunder for cash considerations.

It didn’t take long for Hairston to have another off the court issue. He was charged with assault and battery after getting into an altercation with a high school basketball player at the Durham YMCA.

Seen as a quality shooter, Hairston struggled in Charlotte’s Summer League appearance in Las Vegas. Hairston put up 18.3 PPG, but shot just 33% from the field and 34% from beyond the three-point line.

After adding Pacers guard Lance Stephenson in free agency, the Hornets were expected to build upon the previous season that saw them make the playoffs for the first time in four years. Charlotte went 4-15 in their first 19 games. The team was 10-24 when they went on a 12-3 run to wind up seventh in the East with a 22-27 record. 

After 61 games, the Hornets were still seventh with a 28-33 mark. Their playoff hopes would come crashing down with a 5-16 finish that brought the team down to 33-49. Though Charlotte had managed to put together a solid, top-five defense, their offense was not up to task, finishing third-worst in offensive efficiency. A major problem was outside shooting for Charlotte. The team finished worst in the league in three-point shooting percentage (31.8%).

Hairston had some minor injuries, but for parts of the season found himself outside of Charlotte’s rotation. When he did play, Hairston was a mess, jacking up long distance threes regularly while converting on a very low rate (30.1%). This was a problem considering Charlotte brought Hairston in to space the floor and keep the defense honest. On defense, Hairston wasn’t much better. He failed many times to stick with his man and had a penchant for falling asleep off the ball.

Hairston also displayed immaturity, failing to adhere to the responsibilities of an NBA player. He was benched one night for missing a weight training session and benched another for missing a practice. Overall, Hairston appeared in 45 games during his rookie season and amassed 5.6 PPG, 2.0 RPG, 0.5 APG and 0.5 SPG in 15.3 MPG.

Going back to the drawing board, the Hornets got rid of Stephenson and acquired forward Nicolas Batum in separate trades. The franchise also picked up point guard Jeremy Lin in free agency and drafted big man Frank Kaminsky.

Hairston continued to find his name in the news. He was cited for speeding, driving with a revoked license, driving left of center and driving on expired tags. Hairston made five appearances in Orlando for Charlotte’s Summer League team. The 6′6″ wing produced 12.2 PPG, but was inefficient, shooting 29% from three and 33% overall.

Before the start of the 2015-16 season, the Hornets chose to decline Hairston’s team option for the 2016-17 season. This made the guard an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2016. Inconsistent play and behavior on and off the court were cited as major reasons for Charlotte choosing to decline the option.

Hairston was given a chance for some playing time after starter Michael Kidd-Gilchrist suffered a torn labrum in his left shoulder. With Kidd-Gilchrist out for the foreseeable future, Hairston started the first 43 games that he appeared in. Hairston made noticeable improvements defensively after the Hornets gave him the directive to focus specifically on guarding the top perimeter options of the opposition. Charlotte did well early on with Hairston on the floor as a starter, going 14-8 in their first 22 games.

Still, Hairston could not find his shot. He had a 31.1% three-point percentage after his 43 starts and shot just 36.3% overall. After Kidd-Gilchrist returned from injury, Hairston was benched. Before the trade deadline, Hairston was dealt to the Memphis Grizzlies in a three-team deal involving the Miami Heat. The trade sent Courtney Lee to Charlotte via Memphis. Charlotte was 27-26 at the time of the trade and looking to make a playoff push.

Hairston finished his time in Charlotte failing to provide the perimeter shot that he was touted for coming into the league. He appeared in 93 games, averaging 5.8 PPG, 2.4 RPG, 0.5 APG and 0.5 SPG. The Carolina product shot 34% from the field, 31% from three and 83% from the charity stripe in that time.

The 2019 second rounder that Charlotte acquired from Miami was dealt in February of 2015 by the Hornets to the Minnesota Timberwolves in a deal centered around Mo Williams. The pick ended up in the 43rd spot of the 2019 draft. The Wolves used the selection on University of Washington guard Jaylen Nowell.

Shabazz Napier on if he would have any impact on bringing LeBron James back to Miami (via Sun Sentinel):

“I don’t know if I’m bringing him back [to Miami]. I would love it. Me and LeBron’s relationship, he’s a great guy. I’ve been to his camps. Me and him chatted a few times at his camps.”

On his role when he starts in Miami:

“There’s always opportunity to do something great, and no matter if I was going to slide in as a starter or come off the bench, I’m still going to work hard. I’m going to compete. That’s who I am.”

On his mentality starting new in the NBA:

“The first thing that jumps off is the winning attitude. That’s one of the biggest things. When you compete at that high level, you want to win every single game. That winning attitude comes in the first day you arrive at that camp. On the first day you arrive to that organization, you want to work, and you want to prove that you can get back there.”

On having a chip on his shoulder (via ESPN):

“No, the chip never leaves my shoulder. It will never leave my shoulder. That’s what makes me who I am. And I was saying that not to belittle any other point guards. There’s a reason why they’re here. But I was just saying that because that’s who I am. I wouldn’t be Shabazz Napier if I wouldn’t have said that. I believe it, and I’m going to prove it.

“What I always learned was that whatever you put in is what you’re going to get out. If I don’t put in the work, it's not going to show. So there’s always a chip on my shoulder to prove to myself that I'm the best, and to do that, I’ve got to work hard.”

If he thinks LeBron will come back:

“I would hope so. He’s one of the best players in the world. So if me going there helps him come back, it just betters our chances of being a complete team.”

On a conversation he had with Pat Riley after a workout (via Miami Herald):

"[Riley] was just giving me a lot of advice about the NBA, and adjustments and understanding that when you come into this league, you’ve got to work at this to be the best, and that’s exactly what I want to be. He never sugarcoated anything. He just said you have to be ready to work at every opportunity whether I was with them or not. It was definitely something I cherished and appreciated. It was kind of buzzing around that I wasn’t going to last that long [in the draft], but he wanted to tell me the right things, and I was really appreciative of that.”

P.J. Hairston on what he told Hornets management about the off the court mistakes he made while in college (News & Observer via Charlotte Observer):

“There was nobody else to blame. I put myself in that situation, and I had to pay the consequence. It was up to me to turn it all around – that I was able to overcome what’s happened in the last 12 months.”

On playing in the D-League after he was banned from the NCAA:

“The D-League wasn’t my choice, but when I was there it was, ‘OK, this is your job now.’ I wasn’t playing against boys now; I was playing against men. I think that’s huge in getting me prepared for the NBA – playing against guys just as strong, just as athletic, just as quick as me.”

How he tightened up on the group of people that hang around him:

“I now have a smaller circle (of acquaintances), and I keep my family in that smaller circle.”

On his defense:

“I’m not a bad defender, but there are things I need to work on. On-the-ball defense is probably my weakest thing. But it’s not something I can’t fix.”

Miami Heat president of basketball operations Pat Riley on Shabazz Napier (via Heat.com):

“Shabazz Napier is a winner, he’s a two-time NCAA champion and he’s one of the elite players in college basketball. We feel very fortunate we were able to acquire him and we feel like he fits in extremely well. He has a high motor, high basketball IQ, is a great shooter and has great character.”

How Napier fits in coach Erik Spoelstra’s system (via Miami Herald):

“We’re very fortunate to have drafted Shabazz, and we feel very excited about him and what he can bring. He’s a two-time champion, high-motor guy, character guy, very quick, can shoot the ball, so he’s got a lot of qualities that fit with what [coach] Erik [Spoelstra] wants to do.”

How it was difficult to acquire Napier due to rivals knowing of Miami’s interest in the point guard:

“It’s very difficult when everyone knows you’re zeroing in on somebody.”

What the process is like trying to move up in the draft (via Palm Beach Post):

“It’s fun. It’s moving quick. You’ve got five guys working the phones and Adam (Simon) and Chet (Kammerer) and Erik (Spoelstra) and Andy (Elisburg) and Micky (Arison) and Nick (Arison) and everybody’s in this room talking to everybody on the phone. You feel like you’re on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange at that particular time. Plus people are asking for this and asking for that — two first-round picks. It’s pretty exciting at that time. That’s what the draft is about for a lot of people. But we wanted this player, and the closer we got to our pick, I fell more in love with him. So you don’t want to get left at the altar.”

On picking so late in the first round of the draft:

“When you’re picking 26th, you never know what’s going to be there for that standpoint. So from that standpoint, we feel very good about adding [Napier] to the roster.”

On Napier competing with backup point guard Norris Cole for minutes:

“He’s going to compete just like Norris. They’re both cut out of the same cloth. Mario [Chalmers] is a free agent, so we’ve got to deal with that, so we’ll have some depth there at that position.”

On Napier’s competitive mindset (via ESPN):

“He’s a very competitive person, and I think competitive without a huge ego, too. He’s a winner. He’s talented and he’s skilled. You just have to watch him play the game and you can see the competitive level we all like.”

On questions of whether Heat forward LeBron James’ interest in Napier influenced the Heat’s decision in drafting the point guard:

“I know LeBron tweeted something out in the NCAA [tournament] about him. Why not. If LeBron and I have the same taste in talent, so be it. But he didn’t call me on the phone, or he didn’t make a point to me about it.”

Charlotte Hornets general manager Rich Cho on acquiring P.J. Hairston (via Hornets.com):

“When we made the trade to move back a couple of spots, with all the intel we acquired, we felt that P.J. would be there at 26, so we got some additional assets. P.J. was one of the best shooters in the draft. We followed him for a long time and did a lot of background work on him. He had a great year in the D-League in Texas and is a guy that really fills a need for us. Another thing we wanted to come away with in the draft was shooting, and he provides that for us in a big way.”

On his confidence that Hairston would be available at the 26th spot of the draft (via Hornets.com):

“We were pretty confident. We felt that Miami — when they called us to trade up — wanted Napier from all the background work that we had done. The next pick, Houston, we felt that they weren’t going to take P.J. We felt like moving back two spots would be beneficial. We could pick up a couple of assets.”

On being aware of some of Hairston’s prior off the court troubles:

“We’re aware of all the issues. We had a good interview with him, he came here a couple times to work out and we're comfortable with the situation.”

Hornets head coach Steve Clifford on drafting Hairston despite concerns off the court (News & Observer via Charlotte Observer):

“There are concerns always when there have been things in the past, but we did a ton of intel on all of these guys. Not one guy making one call. If we weren’t comfortable he can be a dependable, efficient NBA player, we wouldn’t have taken him so high.”

On Hairston’s defense:

“That’s not his strength yet, but he certainly has toughness and physicality and instincts. So there’s no reason why he can’t be a good defender.”

Hairston’s coach at North Carolina Roy Williams on Hairston joining the Hornets (via Charlotte Observer):

“I am happy that he will still play in state and for another Tar Heel, Michael Jordan. Life has given him another opportunity and he will take great advantage of that chance.”

Related Tweets:

Miami! Joining the #Framily- just got my @Samsung tab from @Sprint! http://t.co/ETAG7w4KFF

— Shabazz Napier (@ShabazzNapier)

June 27, 2014

Image Credit:

P.J. Hairston via Sam Sharpe/USA Today Sports

Shabazz Napier via Getty Images/Mike Ehrmann

[chop4255]

The Kissing Booth 3,’ Joey King Closes a Chapter of Her Life

In hindsight, it’s somewhat of a miracle that “The Kissing Booth 3” got made in the first place. Not because the 2018 “The Kissing Booth” was initially a stand-alone film — before the summery rom-com, about a high schooler who falls for herbest friend’s brother, became an unexpected hit on Netflix.And not because of the pandemic;this final chapter was shot earlier, in 2019, at the same time as “The Kissing Booth 2.” With workdays that included wrestling in massive inflatable sumo suits, shooting a montage at a water park and racing go-karts inMario Kart-like costumes, it’s remarkable that Joey King and her colleagues, who had a ball in the process, were able to focus enough to get the job done. “If you put us in a room and you expect us to get much done that’s productive, it’s going to be hard,” King, the franchise’s 22-year-old star, said in a video call. “We’re like 12-year-old boys.”คาชิโน

[weekendwarriorblog]

The Weekend Warrior 8/6/21 - THE SUICIDE SQUAD, FANTASIA FILM FESTIVAL, VIVO, ANNETTE, AILEY, NEW YORK ASIAN FILM FESTIVAL, JOHN AND THE HOLE, and More

After a week with three new wide releases and others coming up in August with three and even four (!), it’s kind of nice to get a “quieter” week with only one wide release, plus it's one that I’ve already reviewed. Yay!

With that in mind, that allows me to start things off with two film festivals that are near and dear to my heart, the first being the 25th annual installment of the Fantasia International Film Festival, which runs from this Thursday, August 5 through August 25. That’s three weeks, which is sort of the norm, although it will be a festival that blends virtual with in-person screenings making it a true hybrid festival. Personally, I would love to be up in Montreal for some of the in-person screenings, as they tend to be quite rousing and rowdy events -- and that will include an early preview of James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad this Thursday -- but I will have to settle for the fest’s vast screener library inste ad. Not that I’ve actually had time to watch much as I watched my entire weekend and free time slip away in order to watch and write about other things, but there’s some good stuff.

For instance, they’ll be premiering Donnie Yen’s new movie, Raging Fire, directed by Bennie Chan, next Tuesday, a few days before it gets a theatrical release across North America. (Its International Premiere is actually taking place at the New York Asian Film Festival, which you can read more about below.) Fantasia will also have the World Premiere for Rueben Martell’s Don’t Say Its Name, a horror movie featuring indigenous talent both in front of and behind the camera. Let Me Make You a Martyr filmmaker returns with his new crime-thriller Ida Red, starring Joshua Hartnett, Frank Grillo and Melissa Leo.

This year’s Fantasia is going to close with The Great Yokai War - Guardians, the sequel to Takashi Miike’s The Great Yokai War which opened Fantasia way back in 2006. In fact, Miike has probably been one of Fantasia’s most consistent guests, having many movies playing at the festival that never get released in the United States in any form.

It’s going to be an interesting mix of in-person screenings and on-demand virtual ones, and as in the past, it’s almost impossible to see everything. I think my only issue with Fantasia is that there are so many great genre films played there every year that it’s very hard to figure out which ones to watch when you’re not actually there on the ground.

And then closer to home in New York, another personal favorite, the New York Asian Film Festival is celebrating its 20th anniversary in a combination of virtual and in-person screenings running between Friday, August 6 and August 22. Sure, there can be a bit of overlap between the NYAFF and Fantasia, particularly in the Asian content, but there are also a few distinct things, like the festival’s opening night film, Escape from Mogadishu from South Korea’s Ryoo Seung-wan, which covers the same Somali civil war as Ridley Scott’s Black Hawk Down but from another perspective. It will also be released in theaters this Friday. Chinese actor Chan King Long’s directorial debut, Hand Rolled Cigarette, will also premiere this Friday, as will Aimee Long’s directorial debut, A Shot Through the Wall, both of them debuting at the Walter Reade Theatre (the latter on Sunday).

And there’s just a slew of virtual screenings of some of the latest and most recent Asian films, many of which will never get any sort of release in the United States. That is probably the best aspect of the NYAFF, because while there are many filmmakers like Park Chan-wook and Bong Joon-ho, who will eventually break out here, many of the biggest Asian filmmakers first got their start with movies at NYAFF. That’s why those interested in international cinema should definitely be giving the NYAFF some of their time and money every year, since it’s such a terrific discovery festival… plus it’s also a lot of fun. I’m half tempted to go up to see some of the in-person screenings myself, this weekend.

I’ve never attended Geena Davis’ 2021 Bentonville Film Festival, but thanks to it also going semi-virtual or hybrid, I’ll have a chance to see a few movies I might not have otherwise. There are a few great films by women directors that have already played at other festivals and will be released soon, such as Sian Heder’s Sundance award-winning Coda (which opens next week!) and Natalia Morales’ Language Lessons, both excellent films that have played festivals this year. Other films I’ve seen and liked that are playing Bentonville, including the Van Jones doc, The First Step, and the comedy, 7 Days.

I’m also interested in the World Premiere of The Disappearance of Mrs. Wu, directed by Anna Chi; Waikiki, Christopher Kahunakana’s feature debut about a Native Hawaiian hula dancer trying to escape an abusive boyfriend; Edson Jean’s Ludi; and Andrew and Joe Erwin’s doc, The Jesus Music, which looks at Christian Music. Bentonville tends to be another great discovery festival. This is obvious when I look at winners from past festivals like Yellow Rose and The Garden Left Behind.

As mentioned above, there’s only one new wide release, and it’s James Gunn’s THE SUICIDE SQUAD (Warner Bros.), a semi-sequel to the 2016 blockbuster Suicide Squad directed by David Ayer that includes a few of the original actors but a few not of others, although it’s still the same general principle, only done in a far more comedic way. Got it?

In case you missed all that (or the original movie), The Suicide Squad is based on the DC Comics superteam, of sorts, made up of DC villains who are seen as expendable as they’re sent on missions by Amanda Waller (played again by Viola Davis). If they fail or try to escape, their heads get blown up by explosives planted at the base of their skull. Fun, huh?

The original movie opened with an amazing $133 million and grossed $325 million In North America alone and another $422 million overseas, although reviews were less than kind and the fans, maybe a little less kinder. Sure, some people liked parts of it, but there were other parts that were just a disaster, so the movie grossing over $300 million was astounding (similar to the “Transformers” movies, in fact.)

Along comes James Gunn, freshly fired from the third Guardians of the Galaxy, which he will be doing next…. After a Christmas Special next year, and a Peacemaker HBO spin-off from this movie that hasn’t even been released yet. Warners snapped up Mr. Gunn, hoping that he could do for their property what he did for Guardians. While this may not be the most important IP in their drawer but has already proven to make enough money that you couldn’t just leave it in there forever. Fortunately, Gunn convinced Warner Bros. to let him make the R-rated Suicide Squad movie that the first one should have been and without the reins of a PG-13 Disney-released movie, Gunn could go absolutely nuts, and he did.

Some might be worried about WIll Smith not being in the sequel, because let’s face it, Big Willie is indeed an A-list star with a wide variety of fans of different ages, creeds, and colors. The fact that Will Smith could help turn an Aladdin movie directed by Guy Ritchie into a significant hit for Disney, well, that shows his power.

Even without Smith, Margot Robbie returns as Harley Quinn, who was last seen in last year’s Birds of Prey, a movie that was expected to do a lot better than its $33 million opening last February, before it got completely hobbled by the rise of COVID in March. It ended up grossing just $200 million worldwide, less than half of that in North America, and it might have put a damper on DC doing another R-rated superhero movie… except The Suicide Squad was well under way. Also back is Joel Kinnaman as Col. Rick Flag, a regular in the comics, and a decent actor but not someone anyone could seriously consider a box office draw. Other than Suicide Squad, Kinnaman has starred in quite a few bombs including a Robocop remake that tanked with $58.6 million domestic (it did better overseas), and then Run All Night, directed by Jaume Collet-Sera of last week’s Jungle Cruise, which made half that amount.

More importantly, the movie introduces a lot of new characters, including Idris Elba as Bloodsport, replacing Will Smith’s Deadshot, which might seem like a bit of a stepdown considering that Smith may be one of the top A-list stars on the planet, while Elba is popular but nowhere on the same level. Hey, it’s truth. Granted, Elba played Heimdall in Marvel’s Thor and a bunch of his sequels, and he’s provided his voice in quite a few Disney hits, while also appearing in a few odds and ends in terms of genre films like Guillermo del Toro’s Pacific Rim (which hit the $100 million mark) and Ridley Scott’s Prometheus, which did a little better. Still, Elba has created quite a fanbase around him for shows like Luther and The Wire, and his role in The Suicide Squad should help him line up more leading roles in bigger movies. I wouldn’t expect him to play James Bond but he’ll be around a long time.

After that, there’s sometimes-wrestler John Cena as Peacemaker, another less-than-known DC character, but Cena also brings his fanbase (sort of) from wrestling, to which he’s returning for WWW SummerSlam in a few weeks. Cena hasn’t necessarily made huge waves on the big screen, although we can’t forget that he was just in F9: The Fast Saga, the latest in the unstoppable franchise that’s one of the biggest movies of the pandemic year. He also starred in Paramount’s Bumblebee, adding to his franchise cred. As mentioned above, Cena already has warranted his own HBO Max series, so obviously, someone at Warner Media felt he was doing something right.

Other key roles include Sylvester Stallone voicing King Shark, David Dastmalchian from Ant-Man playing “Polka Dot Man” (about as D-list a DC character you can possibly get but used hilariously in the movie), as well as Ratcatcher 2, played by Daniella Melchior, not be confused with her father, Ratcatcher 1. Oh, and of course, Viola Davis, the Oscar-winning goddess who should have won another Oscar for Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, but no, I’m not bitter that it screwed up my oscar pool. There’s a lot of other actors, many from Gunn’s other films like Mike Rooker, brother Sean Gunn, and Nathan Fillian, and if they were in the movie for very long, I would consider them something to consider, though their presences does insure that this is indeed a James Gunn movie.

As has been the case quite a bit since I revived this column to discuss box office, we have to take two things into account, one being COVID and the fears surrounding it that have kept many otherwise sane people away from movie theaters. Also, The Suicide Squad will be premiering concurrently on HBO Max, so anyone who has the WM streamer could literally just turn it on Friday and watch the movie for no extra charge beyond whatever they pay per month. Unlike other movies that had this kind of release, Warners is allowing theaters to play the movie for Thursday night previews, so there’s a lot of money that can be made there (and all weekend) from those who choose to see it in theaters. (Honestly, I have no idea why anyone would want to watch this movie, especially it’s absolutely enormous last act, on a computer or television, but welcome to 2021. Whine whine whine.)

I was ready to go north of $60 million on this one because it seems like the kind of movie that could get people back out into theaters, especially when you realize how much the original movie made and how the idea of heroes whose heads can be blown up at any moment (and in that case, the R-rating helps). Then I remembered Birds of Prey and how that came out pre-COVID and couldn’t even open over $40 million, so I had to lower my expectations, although I still think this will fare very well even with HBO Max and COVID in play, so I’m going with somewhere in the mid-$50 million range.

You can read my review of The Suicide Squad over at Below the Line.

This is how I see the Top 10 playing out at the box office:

1. The Suicide Squad (Warner Bros.) - $55 million N/A

2. Jungle Cruise (Walt Disney Pictures) - $17.5 million -50%

3. Black Widow (Marvel/Disney) - $3.6 million -45%

4. Stillwater (Focus) - $3.1 million -40%

5. Old (Universal) - $3 million -56%

6. The Green Knight (A24) - $2.8 million -58%

7. Snake Eyes (Paramount/MGM/Skydance) - $2.1 million -52%

8. Space Jam: A New Legacy (Warner Bros.) - $2 million -53%

9. F9: The Fast Saga (Universal) - $1.5 million -45%

10. Escape Room: Tournament of Champions (Sony) - $1.3 million -42%

Hitting Netflix on Friday is the animated musical, VIVO (Netflix), which was produced by Sony Pictures Animation but then sold to Netflix rather than trying to make it work in theaters. Directed by Kirk DeMico (The Croods) and Brandon Jeffords, in features the voice of Lin-Manuel Miranda as the voice of the title character, an organ grinder’s monkey in Havana, Cuba with his organ grinder Andrés, voiced by Juan de Marcos González (Buena Vista Social Club), who desires to be reunited with his long-separated love Marta (voiced by Gloria Estefan), who went off to fame and fortune as a singer because Andrés didn’t want to express his feelings for her in fear of her giving up her singing career. Vivo ends up in Miami and decides to try to find Marta and reconnect the lovebirds.

Just really catchy numbers written by Lin-Manuel Miranda, so if you like his work from In the Heights and Hamilton and Moana, etc. etc, then there are more songs he wrote, which he sings… mostly in the body of an animated monkey. The story itself isn’t particularly great, as the movie takes what would be a unique and novel setting i.e Cuba and introduces a number of animated movie stereotypes, including the weird girl Gabby (Ynairaly Simo), who gets increasingly more annoying as the film goes on.

In general, I loved most of the songs and the musical production (other than Gabby’s theme, which I was not crazy about), more than the story or the actual animation. Because Vivo is a monkey, there’s a weird section of the film that talks about vaccines and quarantines, probably written before the pandemic, which just makes it that much weirder.

Vivo has some decent emotional beats and terrific songs, but otherwise, it seems very cookie-cutter in terms of the storytelling. It’ll be just fine for kids, but adults may have trouble staying very interested.

Speaking of musicals, the rock opera ANNETTE (Amazon), written by, and with music and songs from Russell and Ron Mae AKA Sparks, will hit theaters this Friday in advance of its debut on Amazon Prime Video on August 20. Directed by Leos Carax (Holy Motors), the movie stars Adam Driver and Marion Cotillard as stand-up comic Henry McHenry and opera singer Ann, respectively, who get married and have a baby girl named Annette, who is actually a puppet that sings. (I did warn you that this is from Sparks and Leos Carax, right?)

Annette is exactly what anyone should expect from this collaboration between the quirky L.A. avant-rock duo and the French auteur, even if you believe the FFS song that “Collaborations Don’t Work” -- which you would know not to be true if you went to see Edgar Wright’s documentary, The Sparks Brothers, as I recommended last month! But instead of dubbing this a musical, it’s gotta be called for what it actually is… a ROCK OPERA. Annette reminded me a lot of ‘70s musical movies like Tommy and Godspell, where you knew there must have been some drug use involved (cause it was the ‘70s).

Driver’s stage performances are definitely some of the aspects that will divide audiences, because he veers from being an outrageous shock comic (think a mopeyer Sam Kinnison) to just being an insane and abusive jerk who drives even his devout fans away. The two extended sequences show Driver at his most emotive, but he’s also the kind of character that could push the movie’s audiences away as effectively as he does his fans. On the other hand, Cotillard is absolutely brilliant, even if she isn’t singing her own opera, as is Simon Helberg -- yes, that guy from The Big Bang Theory -- as her piano accompanist who later becomes a conductor, and then more.

The movie’s mood constantly shifts gears and direction, although it never is quite funny enough to be considered “comedy,” and if one really needed to categorize it, it would be placed in the realm of dark thriller… with music.

One thing that Sparks fans should know is that this is not a movie full of new Sparks songs, even if it is full of Sparks music. In other words, other than a couple actual songs -- like the opening overture -- there isn’t much of the music that might work separately or out of content with the movie or the story. Like in opera, almost everything is sung with very little spoken dialogue persé, and this was clearly a decision.

I’m not quite sure Annette will find either Sparks or Carax many new fans -- I definitely liked it more than Holy Motors, that’s for sure -- but for many, it’s going to be a strange experience to get through and maybe one they won’t necessarily need to see in theaters.

I finally got around to watching Jamila Wignot’s documentary, AILEY (NEON), which has been playing in theaters in New York the past few weeks and is expanding to other areas this Friday. Of course, the film is about legendary New York choreographer Alvin Ailey, whose work spanned six decades before his death in 1989 but not before he helped many dancers and other choreographers beak it into the contemporary dance scene.

It’s a little weird writing about this movie now, because just two weeks ago, I was writing about another dance doc called, Can You Bring It: Bill T. Jones and D-Man in the Waters, about another specific work by a choreographer and the message it was sharing about AIDS. In fact, Jones also appears in this doc talking about the influence and assistance Ailey gave him earlier in his own career.

Ailey is a much more straight-forward portrait doc about Ailey’s life and career, and because of that, I didn’t enjoy it nearly as much as Can You Bring It, but the two movies actually end up acting as nice companion pieces to each other despite being made by different filmmakers in different environments.

Lucy Walker’s documentary BRING YOUR OWN BRIGADE (CBSN) will play in theaters starting Friday and then on Paramount Plus and CBSN starting August 20. It looks at the 2017 fires that absolutely destroyed Paradise, California, and unlike Ron Howard’s Rebuilding Paradise, this is as much about the fire and how it affected people as the aftermath and figuring out how to rebuild. I thought it was pretty good, although it’s tough to

Incidentally, I wrote about and reviewed Edson Oda‘s NINE DAYS (Sony Pictures Classics) last week, but it’s going to expand into a few hundred more theaters this weekend, as well.

Legendary character actor Udo Kier stars in Todd Stephens’ SWAN SONG (Magnolia Pictures), which premiered at the SXSW Film Festival back in March, and I quite enjoyed it. It will get a limited theatrical release this weekend and then will be released digitally. In this comedy, Kier plays Pat Pitsenbarger, a flamboyant hairdresser who escapes from his Ohio nursing home in order to grant a former client her dying wish of having him design her hairstyle. Also starring Jennifer Coolidge, it will be in theaters this Friday and On Demand August 13, and hopefully I can write more about it next week, because I did quite like it but didn’t have time for another viewing.

Another movie from Sundance that’s finally hitting theaters (and digital) this Friday is Pascual Sisto’s JOHN AND THE HOLE (IFC Films), written by Nicolás Giacobone, who wrote Alejandro Iñárritu’s Birdman and Biutiful. It stars Charlie Shotwell as the title character, John, who traps his family in a bunker that he finds in the woods behind their home. I wish I could tell you that there’s more to the movie than that or that it offers something riveting or thought-provoking or something unforgettable, but I’d be lying. It’s not good.

It stars Michael C. Hall as John’s father and Jennifer Ehle as his mother, but Shotwell plays such a bland character that I just had a hard time finding anything that could really maintain my interest. The characters were boring, the writing was bland (which says a lot about how great a director Innaritu is), and there was just nothing I could glom onto. In that sense, the movie reminded me a bit of the first time I saw M. Night Shyamalan’s Unbreakable in terms of all the boring conversations that dragged that movie down, and this has a similar issue.

There’s just no way around declaring that there really wasn’t very much that I liked about this movie, and honestly, the fact I tried to watch it a THIRD time after my first two attempts tell me that I’ve done more than my share of trying. It’s just not a good movie.

Unfortunately, my schedule this week got derailed quite tragically, so there were a few other foreign films I hoped to get to but just didn’t have the time…

From Korea (via the New York Asian Festival, as mentioned above) is Ryoo Seung-wan’s Korean war thriller, ESCAPE FROM MOGADISHU (Well GO USA), as the movie is in Korean, but it’s about two Korean war correspondents caught up in the Somali war.

From Uruguay, Maxi Contenti’s THE LAST MATINEE is about an audience attending the last showing of a horror film in a downtown cinema that’s terrorized by a murderer killing them off one by one. (This is actually my kind of jam so I’ll try to watch and write something about it once I do. I just ran out of time this week.)

From Afghanistan comes Mariam Ghani’s doc WHAT WE LEFT UNFINISHED (Dekanalog), which takes a look at the state-funded filmmaking program during the country’s Communist era with a bunch of writers, actors and filmmakers talking about five unfinished and unedited projects made between 1978 and 1991.

The Film Forum in New York City is starting another film series (or rather, continuing it from when it started before COVID in March 2020) called “The Woman Behind Hitchcock,” starting this Friday, which is fairly self-explanatory, but it should be a great series with a lot of rare films being shown.

Also hitting Apple TV+ this Friday are the first few episodes of Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s MR. CORMAN, in which he stars as the title character, produces, directs and writes a bunch of the episodes. In it, he plays an elementary school teacher in L.A., who is trying to come to terms with a lot of portions of his life. I’ve seen about half the episodes in the first season, and it’s quite a different show than anything else out there. I’ll have an interview with the Cinematographer, Jarod Presant, over at Below the Line later today.

A few movies that I just didn’t get to this week, include: THE MACALUSO SISTERS (Glass Half Full) MATERNA (Utopia) FIREBOYS NIGHTDRIVE (Dark Sky Films)

Next week, it’s August 13, and we have three new wide releases! (See what I mean?) We get Ryan Reynold’s Free Guy, the horror sequel Don’t Breathe 2, and the Aretha Franklin biopic, Respect.

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CANTLON: NHL DRAFT DAY 2 SUMMARY AND NEWS

BY: Gerry Cantlon, Howlings HARTFORD, CT - The bulk of the selections in the NHL Draft come on day two. Due to the pandemic, the sample size for current video and seeing players in-person is much smaller. Therefore, there were far fewer than normal games played. In some cases, no games were played at all. College players had a much shorter-than-usual schedule. Most schools had conference-only matchups, except for a few schools that managed to get in a few non-conference meetings. In Canadian junior hockey, only the QMJHL was able to play a division-only schedule, albeit an interrupted one. The WHL played just 25 divisional games while over in the OHL. They didn't play at all. Meanwhile, in the United States, the highest junior league, the tier-1 USHL, played a 54-game schedule, with many players that weren't selected, but that should have been. The breakdown of the final draft numbers is a bit surprising. In the major junior category, the WHL had 31 players selected. The QMJHL saw 24 drafted. The inactive OHL saw 22 of its players chosen, the same for the USHL. Finally, the tier-2 NAHL had one picked. Outside of the three studs from Michigan taken in the first five picks, two (2) other collegiate players were taken in the remainder of the draft. There were 91 players selected from Europe. ASSESSING WHO TO SELECT In terms of the ever-critical development picture, so many scouts were making assessments on year-old games or based their opinions on an incomplete '20-'21 season, with video as their only guide. Players have grown physically and mentally, but their in-game reps and in-person scouting assessments were critically lacking. Like New York Rangers first-round pick Brennan Othermann, who holds dual citizenship in Europe (Switzerland), and Chase Stillman, the grandson of former New Haven Nighthawk and Ranger, ninth round (154th overall) 1975 draft choice, Bud Stefanski, took a chance. Instead, they played in Denmark as they sought a less affected COVID country and giving themselves a heightened chance of being scouted. Scouts were put to the test this draft to fill organizational needs with hidden gems that nobody else had found. As a result, the dice were tossed all over NHL Draft rooms. MORROW GOES IN ROUND TWO The town of Darien is becoming a CT hockey hotbed of late. First, goalie Spencer Knight was drafted. He now skates for the Florida Panthers. Then, when the Carolina Hurricanes made their second pick (40th overall), they chose the right-handed shooting defenseman, Scott Morrow. Steve Morrow, his father, was drafted by the Flyers as a tenth-round pick in the 1987 Draft (209th overall). He had a brief minor-league pro career with the Hershey Bears (AHL) and the Ft. Worth Texans (CHL). Recently, he coached in the Mid-Fairfield Rangers youth hockey program. He is named after his uncle, Scott, drafted by the Hartford Whalers in the fifth round (95th overall) in the 1988 NHL Draft. He never made it to Hartford but did play for their AHL farm team, the Springfield Indians. He had a ten-year minor league pro career. The younger Morrow has skated the last five years in the Shattuck’s St. Mary’s Sabres program (MNPREP), bypassing public and prep school hockey in the Nutmeg State. Instead, he's heading to play for the defending national champion UMASS-Amherst Minutemen (HE) program coached by Greg Carvel after de-committing from traditional hockey powerhouse, North Dakota (NCHC). Morrow sent a PowerPoint presentation to Shattuck’s-the modern-day version of the handwritten letter, which speaks about his commitment, use of modern technology, and maturity shown at a young age. Morrow was one of four Shattuck’s players drafted this weekend. He played with UCONN’s Artem Schlaine and will be his opponent this upcoming college season. He played two regular season USHL games with the Youngstown (OH) Phantoms, and he was traded twice. First, from Youngstown to the Sioux City (IA) Musketeers and had his rights dealt to the Fargo (ND) Force, he played six playoff games. He was also a 2018 QMJHL draftee of the Val d‘Or Foreurs. MORE SECOND ROUND The last pick of the second round, 64th overall, was Oliver Kapanen, nephew of Whaler favorite, Sami Kapanen, and the cousin of the Penguins' Kasperi. He played for the KalPa U-20 team and is slated to play for KalPa Kuopio (Finland-FEL) this season and is WJC eligible and played for Finland’s U-18 this spring. Sami, a fourth-round Whalers' draftee in 1988, is currently the head coach with HC Lugano (Switzerland-LNA). He played 831 NHL games with Hartford, the Carolina Hurricanes, and the Philadelphia Flyers. His grandfather Hannu played for the 1976 Finnish Olympic team and their World Championship squad. Other notables included the Arizona Coyotes, who were penalized by the NHL for their indiscretion in the NHL Combine process under former GM Jeff Chayka. They lost their first-round pick as a penalty imposed by the NHL took forward Josh Doan from the formidable Chicago Steel (USHL) program. Doan’s father, Shane, is the Coyotes all-time top player in every category for the troubled franchise’s history. He was passed over last year in the 2020 Draft, but a big season paid off. He was a 2017 Kamloops Blazers (WHL) draftee on his father’s team. He will skate for the Arizona St. Sun Devils, an NCAA Division-I independent program with no conference at this time. OTHER PICKS Samuel Helenius, a 6’6 center, was taken by the LA Kings 59th overall. He played for JYP (Finland-FEL) and is WJC eligible and played in the tourney last year. His father Sami was a 6’5 defenseman with 155 NHL games with the Calgary Flames, the Dallas Stars, and the Tampa Bay Lightning. He also played 296 AHL games with Saint John's, Utah, and Hershey, plus 56 IHL games with Las Vegas and Chicago. ROUND THREE With the first pick in the third-round (65th overall), the Rangers chose 6'3, 190-pound center Jayden Grubbe. Last year, he played only five games and was captain of the Red Deer Rebels (WHL), coached by NHL’er Brent Sutter of the famous hockey-playing Sutter family. In his rookie WHL season, he played 59 games with six goals and 23 assists. He has a younger 15-year brother Jordan playing in Alberta bantam hockey. The Rangers' second pick in the third round was another center, Ryder Korczak of the Moose Jaw Warriors (WHL). He played 17 games with three goals and 13 assists but was a minus-11. In 62 games in the 2019-20 season for the Warriors, Korczak had 18 goals and 67 points but was a startling minus-40. His older Kaedan is a member of the Vegas Golden Knights, a second-round draftee who split last year with Kelowna Rockets (WHL) and the Henderson Silver Knights (AHL). His father, Chad, is the general manager of their hometown Yorkton Maulers (SMAAAHL) team. With the 71st pick, the St. Louis Blues took Simon Robertsson, former Wolf Pack/Ranger Bert Robertsson's son. He played with three teams last year Skellefteå AIK (Sweden-SHL), Skellefteå AIK J-20 and Piteå HC (Hockey Ettan). He was sent home from the WJC Finland with a positive COVID test but did play for the WJC U-18 team. He is expected to play for the Skellefteå AIK (SHL and J-20) squads in the fall and remains WJC eligible. ROUND FOUR In the fourth round, the Rangers had three selections. Brody Lamb, taken 104th overall, is a University Minnesota Golden Gophers (Big 10) commit in the fall. He skated for three teams last season.  The Dodge County High School team in Kasson, MN, where, in 24 games, he had 52 goals and 87 points. The second team was a travel team TDS Construction (USSEHL). In 19 games, Lamb had 12 goals and 23 points. He also had ten games with the USHL Green Bay Gamblers, where he had two assists playing for former Beast of New Haven's Pat Miskesch, who is the head coach and GM of the Gamblers. In 53 games total, he had 64 goals and 111 points. He played three playoff games between TDS and Green Bay with one assist. His father, Jeff, played collegiately for the University of Denver Pioneers then in the WCHA and had a brief three-year minor pro career two with the original Maine Mariners (AHL) and his last season with the Phoenix Roadrunners (IHL). FINAL FOURTH-ROUNDER Then three picks later, at 107th, they selected their first European pick of this draft, 6’4 185 lb. 18-year-old LW Kalle Väisänen from TPS Turku U-20 team where he skated in 27 games with nine goals, 21 assists for 30 points and played one game with the U-18 team. He is slated to play for TPS Turku (Finland-FEL) this year and is WJC eligible. His father Markku played in the Finnish league professionally for eight years and coached at various times in four years in the lower levels of Finnish hockey. Then five slots later, at 112th overall, the Rangers' third pick in the round, the team went for a tall goalie and the biggest player in the draft. At 6’8, they chose Talyn Boyko from the Tri-City (WA) Americans (WHL). In his third season, he played 14 games with a 3.02 GAA, .901 save percentage, and had a record of 7-7-0. He turns 19 in October, so he will likely return for the fourth season of junior hockey. Then forward, Ethan Cardwell was taken 121st overall by the San Jose Sharks. He is the nephew of former New Haven Knights (UHL) player Matt Cardwell. He plays with the Barrie Colts (OHL),  but last year laced them up for Surahammers IF (Sweden HockeyEtttan Division-1 third tier) and had 27 points in 18 games and had a team-best plus-10. ROUND FIVE With the 144th overall pick, the Rangers chose forward Jaroslav Chmelar, an 18-year native of the Czech Republic. He played in Finland for the Jokerit U-18/U-20 teams and played for the Czech national J-18 team in the J-18 tournament held in Canada. He stands at 6’4 and weighs 198-pounds. He shoots right-handed. Detroit took Oscar Plandowski, a Selects Academy at South Kent team member, in 2018-19. He played last season for the Charlottetown (PEI) Islanders. His father, Darryl, is the Director of Amateur Scouting for Arizona. From the Saint John Sea Dogs (QMJHL), Cameron MacDonald was selected with the last pick in the round (160th) by the  Standley Cup Champions, the Tampa Bay Lightning.  He also played for the Selects Academy at South Kent Prep program in 2018-19 and out in a game with the CT Jr, Rangers (NCDC) that season. Other interesting players of note who were taken in the round include the Carolina Hurricanes selection of Robert Orr, no relation to the great Robert Gordon Orr, aka Bobby Orr. This Orr playing for former Hartford Wolf Pack assistant coach J.J. Daigneault with the Halifax Mooseheads (QMJHL). The Hurricanes also took Justin Robidas, born in Plano, Texas, and is the son of former NHL’er Stéphane Robidas (937 games). Arizona took Manix Landry, the son of long-time AHL and European player Éric Landry, who had a brief NHL career with the Montreal Canadiens. ROUND SIX Selecting 186th overall, the Edmonton Oilers took Shane LaChance, the son of Bristol-born Scott LaChance. His father was drafted out of BU in the 1st round (4th overall) by the New York Islanders in the 1991 Draft. His uncle Bob LaChance skated for the Bridgeport Sound Tigers (AHL) and Danbury Trashers (UHL). His grandfather is legendary long-time Boston University head coach Jack Parker. LaChance played last year for the Boston Jr. Bruins (NCDC) and is enrolled and has played for Tabor Academy (MAPREP). He is a 2022-23 commit to the Boston University Terriers (HE), to no one's surprise. ROUND SEVEN The Rangers' last draft selection was a defenseman—Hank Kempf from the Muskegon Lumberjacks (USHL), who was taken 208th overall. In 26 games, the 6’2 190-pound rearguard had four goals and 10 points and was a plus-5. He is a Cornell Big Red (ECACHL) commit in the fall. Early in the last round Ryan McCleary, the son of former New Haven Senators and NHL’er Trent McCLeary, was selected 194th by Pittsburgh. McLeary was the fifth-youngest taken at age 17 and the fifth lightest at 154 lbs. TRADES After nine seasons in Columbus with the Blue Jackets, right-wing Cam Arkinson (Riverside/Avon Old Farms) was moved to the Philadelphia Flyers for defenseman Jakub Voracek. NOTES The Rangers announced that defenseman Tony DeAngelo had cleared waivers. His buyout is now complete and his turbulent Rangers career is finished. He is now a free agent. The 6’8 240-pound goalie, Hugo Ollas, a draft pick last year from Sweden, commits to Merrimack College (HE) in the fall. He is WJC eligible. The AHL Henderson Silver Knights will have 61 games next season at their present temporary home of Orleans Arena. They will play their final home games and post-season hockey in their brand-new Dollar Loan Center starting April 2, 2022. The Springfield Thunderbirds had two big signings from the parent St. Louis Blues. First, Australian veteran winger Nathan Walker signed a two-year two-way deal at $750K-NHL/$300K-AHL. The other is a one-year, two-way for winger Nolan Stevens. The deal pays him $700K for play in the NHL and $100K in the AHL. Stevens comes to Springfield, where his AHL Hall of Fame father, John Walker, played for the Springfield Indians. He won a Cader Cup in 1990-91 and is currently an assistant coach with the Dallas Stars. The parent clubs of the Ontario Reign and Tucson Roadrunners conducted an AHL trade. Los Angeles (Reign) sent Cole Hults and Bokondji Imama to the Arizona Coyotes (Roadrunners) for Brayden Burke and Tyler Steenbergen. The Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning signed Gemel Smith to a two-way, two-year deal paying $750K-NHL/$250K-AHL. NHL HOME Read the full article

[junker-town]

NBA mock draft 2021: SB Nation bloggers make picks for their teams

It’s time for the SB Nation NBA mock draft with picks made by our team communities.

The NBA playoffs are over, the Milwaukee Bucks are champions, and it’s officially time to roll into draft season. The 2021 NBA Draft is going down on Thursday, July 29.

Now it’s time for the annual SB Nation NBA mock draft. Each of our NBA team communities made a selection for their club in the first round. Trades were not allowed.

For more draft coverage, check out our top-30 player rankings from Ricky O’Donnell. You can find complete draft coverage from our team communities at our NBA draft hub.

The Detroit Pistons are on the clock with the No. 1 overall pick, and so is our Pistons community Detroit Bad Boys. There isn’t much mystery around the top pick this year.

1. Detroit Pistons - Cade Cunningham, G, Oklahoma State

Cade is not a no-brainer No. 1 pick. The athleticism is a concern and the shooting inside the arc is a red flag. But the skill level is undeniable. He’s a high-level passer, has really good court awareness on the offensive and defensive end and has the height and wingspan to be an impact player on both ends. He is the kind of player who could look way better outside the confines of the NCAA, and if that happens it means he’s a franchise-level talent. On the chances Detroit trades down? Well, you don’t win the lottery and spend your winnings on more lottery tickets. Just take the best player on your board. For me, that’s Cade. — Sean Corp, Detroit Bad Boys

2. Houston Rockets - Jalen Green, G, G League Ignite

Ridiculous high upside, would form a great backcourt alongside Kevin Porter Jr., and Evan Mobley feels slightly redundant with Christian Wood on the roster, so Green is the pick. He has the potential to be a top scorer in the league, and you just can’t pass up on that type of upside with the Rockets light on top-end talent. He’s just 19, so he will need some development, but he’s been playing against grown men in the G-League, so he’s already much further ahead than your typical 19-year-old. — Darren Yuvan, The Dream Shake

3. Cleveland Cavaliers - Evan Mobley, C, USC

Evan Mobley is a no-brainer for the Cavs at No. 3. Some consider him a worthy No. 1 overall pick and someone you can build around going forward. Is there some slight redundancy with him and Jarrett Allen, who is likely to sign a lucrative contract this offseason? Yes. But Cleveland cannot afford to be picky and the right coach and organization can pair Mobley and Allen and build a really solid unit with those two anchoring the frontcourt. Mobley’s upside as a frontcourt playmaker and offensive hub also differentiates from from Allen. Green woulld be in the running too had he not been picked at No. 2. But with the board how it is, Mobley is the eashy pick. — Chris Manning, Fear the Sword

4. Toronto Raptors - Jalen Suggs, G, Gonzaga

To a certain extent, the choice for the Raptors at no. 4, which already represents a significant lucky break for the franchise, is an easy one. In a draft class with four names at the top, and three players rotated through picks 2-4 in various combinations, there really is no wrong choice. In this, given what’s already happened here, the Raptors will happily select Jalen Suggs as their point guard for today — and tomorrow. To be clear, this selection works even if Kyle Lowry returns to the team. And if Lowry leaves, well then, the Raptors get another young talented guard who can run a team and defend like hell — with a listed 6’4” height to boot. That Suggs will be paired with Fred VanVleet and the up-and-coming Malachi Flynn in the Raptors’ backcourt is pure gravy. Like I said, this is all a lucky break for Toronto. Suggs will fit right in with the squad. — Daniel Reynolds, Raptors HQ

5. Orlando Magic - Jonathan Kuminga, F, G League Ignite

I gave Scottie Barnes a long look here (and I think the Magic will as well - high character, length, position versatility). But I also think there would be some redundancy in picking Barnes with Jonathan Isaac and Chuma Okeke already on the roster. Ultimately, I went with Jonathan Kuminga. He’s a huge project, but his size, potential to create offense for himself, and his defensive upside is too much to pass up here. — Aaron Goldstone, Orlando Pinstripe Post

6. Oklahoma City Thunder - Scottie Barnes, F, Florida State

Considering where OKC is at, if they can still get Barnes that would be a win. His stock has been rising recently. If OKC is going to continue to build on Dag’s positionless basketball where all five guys can handle the ball, Barnes fits that mold. Plus he’s arguably the most versatile defender this class and with the NBA becoming more switch heavy, you need a guy who can defend guards, wings & bigs. — Clemente Almanza, Welcome to Loud City

7. Golden State Warriors - Davion Mitchell, G, Baylor

Assuming the Warriors keep their duet of lottery picks, they find themselves in an awkward position: do they try to add high-ceiling prospects who can be core members of the next era of Warriors basketball, or do they aim for more NBA-ready players who can help a championship core maximize on their chances of winning another title in the next two years? Mitchell helps the Warriors put a foot in both pools. He has the ceiling to be a high-quality starter down the road, but at 22 and with strong defensive chops already, can be a contributor immediately. — Brady Klopfer, Golden State of Mind

8. Orlando Magic - Moses Moody, F, Arkansas

I don’t feel great about my pick for Orlando at number five, but I’m a big fan of this selection. Moody is exactly the type of prospect Orlando should be looking to pair alongside their stable of combo-guards and bigs. I love his range shooting upside and defensive potential moving forward. I considered Bouknight here as well, but Moody is a perfect fit and too strong of an option to pass up. — Aaron Goldstone, Orlando Pinstripe Post

9. Sacramento Kings - Jalen Johnson, F, Duke

Admittedly, I was hoping Scottie Barnes fell to No. 9, but Jalen Johnson is as good of a consolation prize as the Kings could ask for. Johnson isn’t as safe as a pick as some of the other players that were still available — most notably Franz Wagner and Josh Giddey — but he arguably has the most star potential of anyone left and if there’s anything Sacramento would welcome in the coming years, it’s a homegrown star; particularly one that fits alongside De’Aaron Fox and Tyrese Haliburton. To me, Johnson fits that bill with his playmaking ability, raw athleticisim and defensive instincts. — Christian Rivas, Sactown Royalty

10. New Orleans Pelicans - Franz Wagner, F, Michigan

If the 10th overall pick is kept, the Pelicans will seek out a versatile rookie who complements their two cornerstones in Brandon Ingram and Zion Williamson. Franz Wagner projects to be an ideal fit, offering in time a valuable 3-and-D component but with upside. Despite spending two years at Michigan, he’ll only turn 20 in August. Additionally, there’s a real chance he develops into an above average playmaker — Wagner finished with a better AST:TOV ratio than many shot creators who will be selected ahead of him in this draft, including Giddey, Green, Cunningham and Suggs. — Oleh Kosel, The Bird Writes

11. Charlotte Hornets - James Bouknight, G, UConn

The Hornets have a glaring need at center, and many fans and pundits expect they’ll target that position with a lottery pick. However, the Hornets spent two second round picks on centers last year, and they may want to use free agency to find a quicker fix. Their wing depth was strained last season, and Malik Monk’s pending free agency won’t help that. Bouknight can immediately shore up the depth at that position while adding some scoring punch on the perimeter. — Jonathan DeLong, At the Hive

12. San Antonio Spurs - Josh Giddey, G, Adelaide 36ers (Australia)

Giddey is the perfect blend of best player available and upside swing. While his lack of range won’t do much to help San Antonio’s abysmal three-point numbers, he’s only 18-years-old and has plenty of time to develop a jumper under legendary shooting coach Chip Engelland. The oversized Australian point guard is one of the best passers in this class, and with DeMar DeRozan possibly on the way out, the Spurs could use another distributor. He won’t lead the Silver and Black to a title anytime soon, but he was a nightly triple-double threat in the increasingly competitive NBL, which turned out productive rookies LaMelo Ball and R. J. Hampton. Should he fall this far, PATFO could be looking at another infamous draft day heist. — Noah Magaro-George, Pounding the Rock

13. Indiana Pacers - Jared Butler, G, Baylor

If the Pacers don’t use the 13th pick to trade down or up or out of the draft in order to bring in another player, they will likely be standing pat with the bulk of their current playing rotation which, when healthy, doesn’t leave a ton of minutes for a rookie, but they still need to look to the future for a point guard or combo forward. I hoped to swing for the fences with Roko Prkacin, an 18-year-old Croation combo forward but after he bailed on the draft, I went with Jared Butler, a strong point guard with good size who can show up on both ends of the floor similar to Jrue Holiday. Butler has health concerns which didn’t hold him back at Baylor and he was recently cleared by the NBA to play. There’s no doubt he can play in the NBA is worth the risk for the Pacers to solidify their backup point guard situation since T.J. McConnell is a free agent and Aaron Holiday has struggled to seize that role over the past couple of years. — Tom Lewis, Indy Cornrows

14. Golden State Warriors - Alperen Şengün, C, Beşiktaş (Turkey)

The Warriors were able to snag an NBA-ready prospect with the No. 7 pick, so now it’s time to swing for someone with more risk but great reward. The Warriors Alen Smailagić experiment failed, and last year’s James Wiseman pick is either disappointing or TBD, depending on who you ask. Sengün has star power — he has a diverse array of low post moves, possesses some divine passing chops for a big man, and won the Turkish SuperLeague MVP at just 18. The Warriors revamped developmental staff, which includes Dejan Milojević, the Serbian national team assistant coach credited with playing a large role in Nikola Jokić’s development, will have a chance to turn Sengrün into the steal of the draft. — Brady Klopfer, Golden State of Mind

15. Washington Wizards - Corey Kispert, F, Gonzaga

The Wizards need to improve their three point shooting given that they were 22nd in the league in accuracy and 29th in threes made last season. Kispert has been one of the nation’s top shooter in each of the last two seasons, shooting over 40 percent and averaging at least two made threes per game and never had a usage rate of above 20 percent until his senior season.. Though Kispert is a little “old” as a four-year player, the Wizards need someone who can make an impact right away at one of their weaknesses. Based on the players available, Kispert will fit their void at the three point line nicely. — Albert Lee, Bullets Forever

16. Oklahoma City Thunder - Keon Johnson, G, Tennessee

He’s super raw, really athletic and we didn’t expect him to fall this far. Johnson might be something special and it’s a swing worth taking. Keon Johnson at 16 is too good of value to pass up on. A high upside guard and wing combo that is worth the risk. Johnson’s elite athleticism was on display when he broke the NBA Combine’s record for vertical leaps at 48 inches. Another added bonus to the pick is that he should be able to help contribute to OKC getting a top pick next draft as well since he’ll need time to develop and refine his skills. — Sarah Dewberry, Welcome to Loud City

17. Memphis Grizzlies - Trey Murphy III, F, Virginia

The Memphis Grizzlies as currently constructed do not need a player that needs to help them right now. They’re one of the deepest rosters in the NBA - they can afford to, for the first time in the Zach Kleiman Era, take a swing at a player who perhaps is not ready made for the rotation of a playoff contender. Enter Trey Murphy III, who despite playing three years of college basketball is still an uncertainty due to his transfer from Rice to UVA. His numbers for the Cavaliers are not other worldly. But he projects to be a very good NBA three point shooter who can create for himself and others off the dribble with 6’9” height. His game has room to grow in several spots. But at #17 overall? You can do a lot worse...especially considering the Grizzlies do not need him to be a contributor immediately. — Joe Mullinax, Grizzly Bear Blues

18. Oklahoma City Thunder - Isaiah Jackson, C, Kentucky

Jackson won’t need many touches and can impact the game in other ways. An athletic big who can develop into a defensive anchor for the team. The Thunder will not to help improve his shooting, but the canvas is basically blank with him at just 19 years of age. At the minimum, he should be a good, rim running big that can rebound and protect the rim. — Sarah Dewberry, Welcome to Loud City

19. New York Knicks - Tre Mann, G, Florida

If the Knicks keep their two first-round picks, they will undoubtedly be looking for some scoring punch. They were a middling offense last season even before all their shooters forgot how to shoot in their first-round defeat to Atlanta. Tre Mann was a premier bucket-getter last season at Florida, and could help mitigate the loss of Alec Burks in free agency. — Joe Flynn, Posting and Toasting

20. Atlanta Hawks - Kai Jones, C, Texas

Atlanta sticks with their ‘best player available’ strategy with the selection of Kai Jones. Jones is a versatile big who some consider a top-10 talent in the draft, and ideally would be part of the Hawks’ frontcourt rotation of the future along with Onyeka Okongwu and John Collins (if he’s resigned later this Summer). Hawks GM Travis Schlenk has shown throughout his tenure that he has little to no interest in drafting for need, so while backup point guard options like Jaden Springer were tempting, it’s difficult to pass on a talent like Jones. — Zach Hood, Peachtree Hoops

21. New York Knicks - Sharife Cooper, G, Auburn

Sharife Cooper may be tiny, but the kid can dish the rock like nobody else in this draft. The freshman from Auburn averaged 8.1 assists in his one year in the SEC. If he can fix his jump shot, he might be the rare undersized PG to make a splash in the modern NBA. And no team needs a PG more the the Knicks. — Joe Flynn, Posting and Toasting

22. Los Angeles Lakers - Usman Garuba, F, Real Madrid (Spain)

I get why Lakers fans would want a 3-point shooter with the No. 22 pick, I do. But the thought of Frank Vogel rolling out a super-switchy, small-ball lineup with Anthony Davis and Usman Garuba in three year’s time was too exciting to not act on. Garuba has the size to play either forward positions, the wingspan to protect the interior and the lateral quickness to guard the perimeter — he has all of the tools to be an elite defender in the NBA. His offense leaves a lot more to be desired — particularly his shooting — but he can put the ball on the floor and make plays for his teammates at a high level, which is a good quality to have for a guy his size. He’s a steal at No. 22 even if he’s not exactly what the Lakers need. — Christian Rivas, Silver Screen and Roll

23. Houston Rockets - Miles McBride, G, West Virginia

Houston needs a backup point guard and McBride should be able to fill that role just fine. This is somewhat of a value pick for the Rockets, as McBride is going in the teens in many mock drafts. He’s an excellent defender and has great scoring ability, though he does need some work running the offense. But that skill set should fit in perfectly off the bench, providing some offensive punch and using his athleticism to defend either guard spot. — Darren Yuvan, The Dream Shake

24. Houston Rockets - JT Thor, F, Auburn

After passing on Evan Mobley earlier in the draft, the Rockets need a big with some potential, and many think Thor has some of the best long-term potential in the draft. A plus athlete and defender, Thor does need some polishing on the offensive side, but also possesses an accurate shot, making him a threat from three, the pick and pop, and is solid at the free throw line. A high energy 4/5 hybrid, Thor is an adept switcher, capable of guarding smaller players, and should earn playing time right away on a rebuilding Rockets squad. — Darren Yuvan, The Dream Shake

25. Los Angeles Clippers - Jaden Springer, G, Tennessee

The Clippers don’t have a lot of first-round picks coming up, so going for the high-upside play this season makes a lot of sense, and Springer is the youngest collegian in the draft. He plays with high energy and makes quick decisions, both of which are hallmarks of Clippers role players, and his forays to the rim should be more successful with L.A.’s spacing. Springer was also a force defensively in college, and his tools should translate. If the Clippers player development staff can fix his shot like they did with Terance Mann, they’ll have a real player. — Sabreena Merchant, Clips Nation

26. Denver Nuggets - Chris Duarte, G, Oregon

The Nuggets break from their mold of selecting younger players in the draft by instead selecting Duarte, a 24-year-old shooting guard who fits their roster well. The Nuggets have multiple point guards they trust, but in the event that Will Barton doesn’t return, the wing position is decidedly thin. Duarte provides an element of 3-and-D potential to a roster that desperately needs it, and adding him to a roster that already features Nikola Jokić, Jamal Murray, and Michael Porter Jr. means he can focus on what he’s best at: shooting and defense. — Ryan Blackburn, Denver Stiffs

27. Brooklyn Nets - Ziaire Williams, F, Stanford

For this pick, if I’m the Nets I’m looking for someone with tons of upside potential who may have fallen on draft night and the only real caveat is that this player is a supreme athlete who can keep up with Brooklyn’s pace. Enter, Ziaire Williams. Williams had a rough freshman season, missing some time due to injuries and when he was on the court he shot pretty pedestrian from the floor. That said, he has late-lottery potential. He’s a great athlete, is very (very) long, and can play on both ends of the floor. The Nets are looking for much immediate help in the draft, which is why they can swing for the fences here with this pick. — Tom Lorenzo, Nets Daily

28. Philadelphia 76ers - Nah’Shon Hyland, G, VCU

In search of players who can score and create off the bounce, the Sixers go with Nah’Shon Hyland, guard out of Virginia Commonwealth University. Hyland shot 39.9 percent from beyond the arc over 331 career attempts at VCU and he has different-area-code range. With shooting chops like that, Hyland could find minutes early in his career as a spark plug off the bench. Hyland’s poor assist-to-turnover ratio would be concerning if the intention were to play him at point guard. But with Tyrese Maxey already on the roster, Hyland makes more sense as a two-guard. The bigger concern surrounding Hyland is his size, standing 6’3” and weighing 165 pounds. He’ll be fast tracked into a training program to bulk up. — Kevin Love, Liberty Ballers

29. Phoenix Suns - Josh Christopher, G, Arizona State

Phoenix takes the best player available on the board and keeps the local product in state. Christopher is a powerful athlete with good size and strength for his position standing at 6’5” and weighing in at 215. The self creation flashes combined with his athletic profile and three-level scoring potential makes him an intruiging prospect for any team in the late-1st round. Phoenix has struggled with shot creation at times when Paul or Booker were sitting, so adding someone that can create for themselves in a low-usage role (to start) off the bench alongside Cam Payne would be more than ideal. — Brandon Duenas, Bright Side of the Sun

30. Utah Jazz - Ayo Dosunmu, G, Illinois

Utah’s loss in the 2nd round showed a fatal flaw in perimiter defense that did them in. This offseason should be spent by the Jazz looking for perimiter defenders that can shoot, something they should have gone after last year. Ayo Dosunmu is a bit of a swing for the fences type pick but he had great measurements in the combine and has proven to be a high level defender in college. He showed signs of good shooting at Illinois also and, if he can shoot the three with consistency in the NBA, Dosunmu could be a nice rotational player for years. — James Hansen, SLC Dunk

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With ‘The Kissing Booth 3,’ Joey King Closes a Chapter of Her Life

In hindsight, it’s somewhat of a miracle that “The Kissing Booth 3” got made in the first place.

Not because the 2018 “The Kissing Booth” was initially a stand-alone film — before the summery rom-com, about a high schooler who falls for herbest friend’s brother, became an unexpected hit on Netflix.And not because of the pandemic;this final chapter was shot earlier, in 2019, at the same time as “The Kissing Booth 2.”

With workdays that included wrestling in massive inflatable sumo suits, shooting a montage at a water park and racing go-karts inMario Kart-like costumes, it’s remarkable that Joey King and her colleagues, who had a ball in the process, were able to focus enough to get the job done.

“If you put us in a room and you expect us to get much done that’s productive, it’s going to be hard,” King, the franchise’s 22-year-old star, said in a video call. “We’re like 12-year-old boys.”คาชิโน

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CANTLON: SEATTLE GETS KRAKEN IN SELECTING A TEAM

BY: Gerry Cantlon, Howlings  HARTFORD, CT - Former Hartford Whaler great and now Seattle Kraken General Manager Ron Francis has designed the first team, and they will skate at the Climate Pledge Arena in October. The NHL put on a show as they announced the draft selection process for the new franchise. On the banks of the Seattle, with Puget Sound as the backdrop, a beautiful summer day saw special guests and Francis announce each selection as to who the first 31 players will be to don both the home and away Seattle jersey. THE PICKS Veteran Mark Giordano of the Calgary Flames was chosen, and there is already talk he will wear the first C in team history. The only major surprise was that Montreal Canadiens' future Hall-of-Famer, goaltender Carey Price, didn’t occur. However, former Hershey Bears standout goalie Vitek Vanecek of the Washington Capitals was taken. The Kraken also selected Yanni Gourde from the two-time and current Stanley Cup champion, Tampa Bay Lightning. The New York Islanders lost forward Jordan Eberle, and the New York Rangers saw the reliable, hard-working Colin Blackwell head out west. CONNECTICUT CONNECTIONS The selections with Connecticut connections include Kurtis MacDermid, who was picked from the Los Angeles Kings. The 6’5, 238lb left-winger will provide the necessary team muscle. MacDermid is the son of former Hartford Whaler, Paul MacDermid. Two-way winger, Calle Jarnkrock, the cousin of former New Haven Nighthawk, Mikael Lindholm, was taken. The Fleury brothers, Cale (Montreal) and Haydn (Anaheim Ducks), were the first brothers taken in the same expansion draft and by the same team in NHL history. They’re just the second set of brothers taken in the 54-year history of the NHL expansion draft. The first pair was West Haven resident Gord Smith and his brother, four-time Stanley Cup-winning goaltender with the Islanders, Billy Smith. FIRST GAME ANNOUNCED The Kraken also announced their first home game on October 23rd against the Vancouver Canucks, creating an instant rival given that Vancouver is a two-and-a-half-hour drive up I-5. The Canadian border remains closed until August 9th. While the event was beautifully staged and the weather cooperated, ESPN2's national broadcast was very flawed. FLAWED BROADCAST There was signal interference that was not corrected during the entire 90-minute show. Host Chris Fowler was poorly prepared, and his lack of hockey knowledge was on display. It would have been a better broadcast had the TV voice of the Kraken, former Hartford Whaler/Carolina Hurricane, and Springfield Indians announcer John Forslund would have been a far better choice to be on the stage with ex-Hartford Wolf Pack/New York Ranger Dominic Moore. Many of the pieces aired during the show's selections, especially the one shot at the Seattle Aquarium, were greatly overproduced.  The pronunciation of many of the names were brutalized by several presenters. Lastly, one of the team's owners, Jerry Bruckheimer, came out without wearing any Kraken gear. Not a good look. Up next for the NHL is the Amateur Draft on Friday at 8 PM. The show will air Round 1 on ESPN2. It will also air on the NHL Network on Saturday starting at 11 AM. OTHER NEWS AND MOVEMENTS Ex-New Haven Nighthawk Mark Morrison, released from the Anaheim Ducks, was named the new head coach for the AHL Manitoba Moose. The Canadiens named their new AHL head coach keeping it in the Canadiens family with the hire of Jean-François Houle, the son of ex-Habs player and GM in the mid-1990s, Réjean Houle, was named the new Laval Rocket head coach. He was an assistant with the Bakersfield Condors for the last three years. The Canadiens named former Springfield Falcon Trevor Letowski, a long-time coach with the Windsor Spitfires (OHL), as their new assistant coach. Former Laval assistant coach, Daniel Jacob, follows former Laval head coach ex-Wolf Pack/Bridgeport Sound Tiger Joël Bouchard to the San Diego Gulls. He also worked for Bouchard at Blainville-Boisbriand (QMJHL). MORE MOVES Several more AHL players sign in Europe. Defenseman Janis Jaks, who played for Houle in Bakersfield, signs with HK Sochi (Russia-KHL). Meanwhile, Nick Baptiste leaves the Texas Stars and signs with Ilves Tampere (Finland-FEL), making 47 AHL’ers who signed contracts to play in Europe. As a result, 22 of the 31 AHL teams have lost at least one player. The Reading Royals (ECHL) are back in action this year. They announced two signings. Former UCONN defenseman David Drake and former Yale Bulldog Frank DiChiara played with the Greenville Swamp Rabbits (ECHL) last season. Drake sat out last year. Grant Jozefek departs Northeastern (HE) and signs with the Worcester Railers (ECHL). That signing makes 24 players from Hockey East to sign pro deals. In addition, 77 Division-I players and 110 total college players from D-I and D-III have signed contracts in North America and Europe. TRANSFERS Junior Aidan Spellacy leaves the canceled Robert Morris University Colonials (AHA) program and heads to the St. Cloud St. Huskies (NCHC). He is the 63rd player to transfer from one school to another. The new Division-III college program, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton King’s College (UCHC), got two commits, Jimmy Drevage (Danbury-NA3HL) and Michael Carducci (CT Jr. Rangers USPHL-Premier). SEATTLE KRAKEN HOME Read the full article

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Redrafting 2020 NBA lottery: Tyrese Haliburton rises

New Post has been published on https://tattlepress.com/sports/redrafting-2020-nba-lottery-tyrese-haliburton-rises/

Redrafting 2020 NBA lottery: Tyrese Haliburton rises

The 2020 draft class was labeled a weak draft class by many experts and surprisingly, 80% of players drafted in the first round saw solid playing time and were productive on NBA rosters this past season. 

Each year, we see a few players break out and play above their draft stock, causing some teams to regret who they drafted. If we could redraft the 2020 class, would Anthony Edwards still go No. 1? Where would James Wiseman fall, and would the 30th pick, Desmond Bane, sneak into the lottery?

After a few players outplayed their draft stock in their rookie seasons, here’s a look at Yahoo Sports’ redraft of the 2020 draft lottery. The 2021 draft lottery is 8:30 p.m. ET Tuesday on ESPN.

Actual pick: Anthony Edwards, Minnesota Timberwolves

Edwards’ draft slot: No. 1, Minnesota Timberwolves

2020-21 stats: 19.3 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 2.9 apg

Some think Edwards was robbed of Rookie of the Year honors since he played the full season and LaMelo Ball was out 21 games with a wrist injury. Despite not winning the top rookie honor, Edwards completely backed his No. 1-pick status this season. Edwards avoided the “rookie wall” and actually played better in the second half of the season, averaging 27 points per game in the month of May (including a 42-point performance May 5). He had one of the best dunks of the year on Toronto Raptors forward Yuta Watanabe and provided endless entertainment in postgame Zooms and media interviews. Edwards’ future is bright on this Timberwolves team as they try to rebuild. He told Yahoo Sports on draft night, “I just want to be the best player to ever play basketball.”

Anthony Edwards dunks over the Blazers’ Robert Covington on March 14, 2021. (Hannah Foslien/Getty Images)

Actual pick: James Wiseman, Golden State Warriors

Ball’s draft slot: No. 3, Charlotte Hornets

2020-21 stats: 15.7 ppg, 5.9 rpg, 6.1 apg

The news of Klay Thompson’s season-ending Achilles injury came one hour before the NBA draft on Nov. 18. That’s not a lot of time to make changes to your draft board, especially if the front office feels confident taking Wiseman at No. 2. After seeing what Ball did this season in Charlotte, Warriors fans can’t help but wonder, “what if?”

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Ball led the entire rookie class in assists (313) and was named the Rookie of the Year, despite missing six weeks with a wrist injury. He delivered amazing highlights night after night and made his teammates better with his phenomenal passing. Ball is the type of player you can’t help but wonder what he would have done as a stand-in Splash Brother playing alongside Steph Curry in Thompson’s absence. No one knows how many more years the big three of Curry, Thompson and Draymond Green have left in them and Ball could have been the future to build around for the Warriors.

Actual pick: LaMelo Ball, Charlotte Hornets

Haliburton’s draft slot: No. 12, Sacramento Kings

2020-21 stats: 13 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 5.3 apg

Haliburton was the steal of the draft at No. 12 to the Kings, and it’s still baffling to see how many teams passed on the 6-foot-5 facilitator out of Iowa State.

“It all worked out perfectly, I’m in the perfect spot. Coach [Luke] Walton called me and just talked to me about playing fast and that he loves my game,” Haliburton said.

He was second in assists out of all the rookies with 309 for the season and second in 3-point field goals made with 121. Haliburton has been a seamless addition in the backcourt to De’Aaron Fox and Buddy Hield. If the Hornets couldn’t have Ball, Haliburton would have been the second-best option. We might not have seen the full-court, underhand passes like we saw from Ball, but Haliburton can be just as deadly in transition and would have been excellent alongside Miles Bridges.

What if Tyrese Haliburton played alongside Miles Bridges? (Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)

Actual pick: Patrick Williams, Chicago Bulls

Williams’ draft slot: No. 4, Chicago Bulls

2020-21 stats: 9.2 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 1.4 apg

Williams was the biggest surprise of the draft and the Bulls front office must have known what they were doing when they took the one-and-done talent out of Florida State as a top-five pick. 

He had one of the most daunting tasks early on in his NBA career when he was assigned to guard LeBron James. Williams left an impression on James who said afterward, “I think he is going to be an exceptional talent. [He has] long arms. He has Kawhi-type of hands that I noticed out on the floor, so I knew I couldn’t play with the ball much. You can tell he is just laser-sharp on just trying to get better and better. I think Chicago has a good one.”

Williams was named to the the 2020-21 NBA All-Rookie second team alongside Isaac Okoro, Immanuel Quickley, Isaiah Stewart and Desmond Bane.

Actual pick: Isaac Okoro, Cleveland Cavaliers

Okoro’s draft slot: No. 5, Cleveland Cavaliers

2020-21 stats: 9.6 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 1.9 apg

Just like the Bulls’ pick at No. 4, the Cavaliers got their pick right in the 2020 draft, too. Okoro might not have been the flashiest player in this draft class but defensively, he got the job done. His only double-double came late in the season in a loss to the Indiana Pacers where he put up 22 points (including three 3-pointers) and grabbed 10 rebounds. If Okoro can get more consistent from 3-point range, the Cavaliers will have a deadly backcourt with Darius Garland, Collin Sexton and Okoro.

Actual pick: Onyeka Okongwu, Atlanta Hawks

Stewart’s draft slot: No. 16, Detroit Pistons

2020-21 stats: 7.9 ppg, 6.7 rpg, 0.9 apg

Stewart led the rookie class in rebounds with 453 and was 31st overall out of the entire NBA. He was one of the most physically ready rookies coming in this season listed at 6-foot-9, 250 pounds and it paid off in a big way when he started to see consistent minutes on a struggling Pistons team.

“For me, I just want to continue to work and build on my game,” Stewart said after an April 16 win over the Thunder where he grabbed 21 rebounds. “That’s the most important thing for me. I watch a lot of film and am just trying to learn from all my mistakes this year and get better.”

Atlanta is in the Eastern Conference finals for the first time since the 2014-15 season. Okongwu has been out for the majority of the season with a foot injury. Everything has worked out so far for the Hawks, but having a healthy player who could contribute right away like Stewart could have helped win some games early on when they went 4-11 in February.

Actual pick: Killian Hayes, Detroit Pistons

Bey’s draft slot: No. 19, Detroit Pistons

2020-21 stats: 12.2 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 1.4 apg

What a season for the 3-and-D guard out of Villanova. Bey was, by far, the best rookie on the Pistons this season. He set the record for most 3-pointers by a rookie in franchise history with 175 made threes, passing Brandon Knight, who made 106. Bey was named to the 2020-21 NBA All-Rookie first team along with Ball, Edwards, Haliburton and Jae’Sean Tate.

Point guard Killian Hayes missed half of the season with a torn hip labrum, and it will forever be a mystery as to why the Pistons took Hayes at No. 7 and passed on Haliburton.

Actual pick: Obi Toppin, New York Knicks

Tate’s draft slot: Undrafted, Houston Rockets

2020-21 stats: 11.3 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 2.5 apg

The 6-foot-4 wing has been one of the biggest surprises of the rookie class after going undrafted and playing for the Sydney Kings in Australia’s NBL last season. Yes, he’s 25 years old and significantly older than the other players in his rookie class, but he’s settling in comfortably in the NBA and proving to have a bright future on this struggling Rockets team.

The Knicks had a bounce-back season in the backcourt with RJ Barrett, Derrick Rose and Immanuel Quickley. Tate would have been just as productive off the bench after proving to be the best rebounding guard in this rookie class, grabbing 374 boards and shooting better than 50% from the field. He was named to the 2020-21 NBA All-Rookie first team and will continue to be a key player as the Rockets start to rebuild in the post-James Harden era.

Jae’Sean Tate was named to the 2020-21 All-Rookie first team. (AP Photo/Tony Dejak)

Actual pick: Deni Avdija, Washington Wizards

Wiseman’s draft slot: No. 2, Golden State Warriors

2020-21 stats: 11.5 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 0.7 apg

There were small glimpses of what Wiseman could be in a couple seasons with the Warriors. Unfortunately, Golden State is in a win-now mode and Wiseman looked a little lost on the court at times. He only played three collegiate games at Memphis and struggled to adjust to the pace at the NBA level.

His upside is still worth investing in with his 7-foot-1 frame and excellent shot-blocking mechanics on defense. There would be room for growth over time with the Wizards. The two stars of the team, Bradley Beal and Russell Westbrook, are both ball-heavy guards and not a lot would be expected of Wiseman offensively. 

Wiseman is rehabbing a meniscus injury and will hopefully bring some presence in the lane with the return of Klay Thompson next season.

Actual pick: Jalen Smith, Phoenix Suns

Pokusevski’s draft slot: No. 17, Oklahoma City Thunder

2020-21 stats: 8.2 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 2.2 apg

The Suns are in the Western Conference finals for the first time since the 2009-10 season and their actual No. 10 pick, Smith, hasn’t been a factor in any of the postseason games. Pokusevski, originally from Serbia, had a slow start to his rookie season, but quickly picked things up for the Thunder toward the end of the season. 

The 7-foot forward can extend his game past the 3-point line, hitting six 3-pointers in his final game against the Los Angeles Clippers. At only 19 years old, Pokusevski could have given solid bench minutes for Deandre Ayton and has a sold pick-and-pop game that would have complemented veteran point guard Chris Paul.

Actual pick: Devin Vassell, San Antonio Spurs

Quickley’s draft slot: No. 25, New York Knicks

2020-21 stats: 11.4 ppg, 2.1 rpg, 2.0 apg

Quickley entered his rookie season and showed off exactly what he had been working on in the eight-month extended time leading up to the draft. His floater in the lane is definitely the best in the rookie class and one of the best shots for a small guard in the league. He exuded confidence early in the season, letting shots fly from all over the court and impacted the game no matter how many minutes he played each night.

Three years ago, he was coming off the bench at Kentucky and averaged only 5.2 points per game. Fast forward to his sophomore season in Lexington where he was the leading scorer in the SEC and then was a first-round draft pick. Quickley is a phenomenal shooter with a high release and would have been an excellent option on the wing alongside Dejounte Murray and Lonnie Walker.

Immanuel Quickley showed off how his floater in the lane is definitely the best in the 2020 rookie class. (Vincent Carchietta/USA TODAY Sports)

Actual pick: Tyrese Haliburton, Sacramento Kings

Bane’s draft slot: No. 30, Memphis Grizzlies

2020-21 stats: 9.2 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 1.7 apg

Bane’s biggest criticisms coming into the 2020 draft were his size and length at the guard position. He’s listed at 6-foot-6, but has a 6-foot-4 wingspan. A lot of teams were worried about how he would defend the perimeter. Well, he did just fine in his first season in Memphis. Bane stole the ball 50 times and was a key rotational player for the Grizzlies during the postseason.

Bane complements Ja Morant and Dillon Brooks well, and he could have had the same impact in Sacramento playing alongside De’Aaron Fox and Buddy Hield. He finished the season shooting 43.2% from 3-point range and averaged less than one turnover per game for the season.

Actual pick: Kira Lewis Jr., New Orleans Pelicans

Anthony’s draft slot: No. 15, Orlando Magic

2020-21 stats: 12.9 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 4.1 apg

Anthony’s role in Orlando expanded immensely once Markelle Fultz went down with a season-ending torn ACL. Anthony rose to the occasion and hit two game-winners in his rookie season and had a season-high 37 points in his last game against the 76ers. 

Anthony is an extremely competitive guard who will have a long career in the NBA. He could have provided support to Lonzo Ball in the backcourt this season, and we would have undoubtedly seen some lobs to Zion Williamson in transition, where Anthony is most dangerous. With reports surfacing that Williamson’s family is unhappy in New Orleans, it’s up to the front office to make some changes and bring in some players who will turn around the franchise and keep their star player happy.

Actual pick: Aaron Nesmith, Boston Celtics

Maxey’s draft slot: No. 21, Philadelphia 76ers

2020-21 stats: 8.0 ppg, 1.7 rpg, 2.0 apg

Maxey was instrumental in the Game 6 win over the Atlanta Hawks that forced the Eastern Conference semifinals series to go the distance. He finished with 16 points and was a +12 coming off the bench. 

The former Kentucky guard was a little up-and-down at times this season, but he finished shooting 46.2% from the field and has a bright future as a shooting guard in the NBA. 

The Celtics took the Vanderbilt sharpshooter, Nesmith, at No. 14, but he struggled in his rookie season, averaging only 4.7 points per game. Maxey’s playmaking ability complements Jayson Tatum, and he might not have the shooting range of Payton Pritchard, but he could end up being a better long-term prospect down the road.

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