Month: October 2023

The Jazz weren’t expected to be as competitive as they were last season after trading away Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell, but with an All-Star breakout from Lauri Markkanen, solid play from veterans like Jordan Clarkson that remained on the roster, and young players like Walker Kessler performing over expectations, they remained in the Play-In hunt until late in the season when they shut things down.

Utah traded a number of important veterans at the deadline last year and steadily slid out of the Play-In, and enter this season with fairly modest expectations. Still, for a team many thought would be starting over completely last year, they seem to be operating like a team that isn’t planning on a particularly long rebuild if they can avoid it. This summer saw them buy low on the trade market and continue adding through the Draft, as they hope to stay fairly competitive and, eventually, cash in on their immense amount of draft capital. Here we’ll grade out their offseason moves as they look to see if Markkanen and company can stay on a positive trend from last season.

Draft: B+

The Jazz took advantage of their significant draft capital to add three first round rookies to their roster. Taylor Hendricks, Keyontae George, and Brice Sensabaugh all join the Jazz roster this season, as they continue shifting their focus towards adding youth. Hendricks, the ninth overall pick out of UCF, is the headliner of the group, as he was a favorite of many draft evaluators including our Brad Rowland, who gave the Jazz an A- for their selection of the forward on Draft night.

Utah is in an interesting phase with a ton of picks, both this year and in the future, to complement a young roster that is still rebuilding. Scouts are split on Hendricks’ overall upside, but he brings definite intrigue as a defender and floor spacer with size. He projects as a potentially devastating role player that can fit just about anywhere.

While Hendricks figures to be part of the rotation early, George and Sensabaugh provide scoring upside off the bench with some development needed elsewhere. The Jazz got a B- and B for those picks respectively.

Utah has the freedom of three picks, and George is an intriguing player from an upside standpoint. He was a consensus top-10 guy coming out of high school and, while Baylor didn’t go perfectly, he can score and make shots off the bounce. He also has strong craft off the bounce, though George isn’t an elite athlete and could struggle on defense.

There are some injury and defensive concerns with Sensabaugh, but he is a bucket. He is a fantastic shooter that could average buckets of points in the right situation. He doesn’t offer much else right now, but this late in the draft, the value is strong.

Overall, this year’s Draft provided the Jazz with the kinds of young players with upside they’re seeking at this point of the build, and they earned pretty high marks for their efforts.

Free Agency/Contract Extensions: B-

With three first round picks joining the roster, the Jazz weren’t particularly active on the free agent market, but did ink Jordan Clarkson to a new three-year, $55 million extension after he picked up his player option. Clarkson has become a fan favorite in Utah and has steadily evolved into a reliable perimeter scorer (20.8 points per game last year) capable of creating for himself, while also becoming a better overall player in the process. For a team without a lot of veterans signed long-term, keeping Clarkson gives them a veteran presence who has ties to the playoff teams of the past and brings both on court production and off court guidance for their young squad.

Trades: A-

The Jazz made one of the best potential value adds in the NBA this summer, trading Rudy Gay and a second round pick to the Hawks for John Collins. Collins is coming off of a down year in Atlanta amid his third straight year of trade rumors, particularly struggling with his previously reliable jump shot while being asked to space the floor for the Hakws. Regaining his form there will be important to his long-term value, but Collins is an underrated defender and an excellent roll-man and the Jazz now have some very interesting big combinations they can roll with. How the starting lineup fares with an expected trio of Markkanen, Collins, and Kessler remains to be seen (and questions about their fit together is the only reason this is an A- rather than an A), but staggering that group by pairing Collins and Kelly Olynyk seems, on paper, like a terrific fit for maximizing Collins’ skillset.

Like many teams at their stage of a rebuild, the Jazz spent this summer being patient and staying the course. They’ll want to see another year with Markkanen as the star, how the rest of the young roster fills in the gaps around him, and how their very large frontcourt fares before making any further major moves. The veterans on the roster will be potential trade targets for playoff contenders at the deadline, as was the case last year. Long-term, the Jazz are in position to nab someone on the trade market to make a big upgrade, but will want to evaluate the roster as is for now before deciding where exactly that addition will be.

In a new episode of Travis Kelce’s New Heights podcast, the Kansas City Chiefs star and his brother, fellow NFL player Jason Kelce, had a conversation about Taylor Swift’s second public appearance at his games. For those who haven’t heard, Swift has been rumored to be dating Travis.

Specifically, Jason asked if Travis were to take away his feelings for Taylor, whether he thought the NFL was overdoing it when it came to the coverage of her.

“I think it’s fun when they show who all is at the game,” Travis responded. “I think it brings a little bit more to the atmosphere, brings a little more to what you’re watching. But at the same time I think they’re overdoing it a little bit for sure, especially my situation. I think they’re just trying to have fun with it.”

Jason then went on to say that the NFL probably isn’t used to celebrities coming. “Basketball has it figured out,” he told Travis. “You show them once let them know they’re there, maybe after a touchdown get a little clip of it, but you can’t be overboard with it. People are there to watch the game, right?”

Travis answered with, “Yeah and they’re not there to get thrown on TV.”

Swift, who appeared at the last two Chiefs games, brought some friends like Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds, Hugh Jackman, and more with her to the recent match at MetLife Stadium. While some have been wondering if the two were dating or was to promote the NFL, it seems the sports organization is just heavily promoting it just because it’s her.

After the Ahsoka finale dropped on Disney+, Star Wars fans rushed to social media to pay tribute to the late actor Ray Stevenson who brought the show a much-needed air of gravitas with his portrayal of fallen Jedi Baylan Skoll.

Stevenson passed away in May while filming Cassino in Ischia in Italy, which prompted an outpouring of tributes thanks to his performances in Thor, Rome, Punisher: War Zone, and more recently, RRR. The actor is now a beloved figure in the world of Star Wars, and his name dominated the Trending Topics on Twitter as fans devoured the Ahsoka finale.

As Baylan Skoll, Stevenson cut an imposing figure as the stoic and seemingly immovable Jedi. From his very first scene, he was a force to be reckoned with, but also instantly compelling thanks to his delicate balance between light and dark. While technically operating as a mercenary to retrieve Grand Admiral Thrawn and restore the Empire, Baylan’s goal were more lofty as he sought an ancient power that could rebuild the galaxy into something far greater than endless wars. Or so he believed.

Unfortunately, Stevenson won’t be around to see Baylan reach his goal. The actor’s final scene showed his character standing on top of a broken, but very noteworthy set of statues, as he looks off to a beam of light in the distance. Baylan finding the power that’s been calling to him will have to wait until next season. However, the scene still hit hard with Star Wars fans as they realized this would be the last time they’d see Stevenson’s Jedi performance.

You can see some of the reactions below:

Ahsoka Season 1 is available for streaming on Disney+.

Selena Gomez is clearing the air and she’s letting fans know that she has nothing but love for one of her fellow pop stars.

Back in June, fans noticed that Gomez appeared to unfollow “Dance The Night” hitmaker Dua Lipa. Soon after, rumors began to swirl that the two were feuding.

In a recent interview, Gomez addressed these rumors, clarifying exactly what happened.

Do Selena Gomez and Dua Lipa have beef?

In an interview with Fast Company, in which Gomez breaks down her makeup company Rare Beauty, as well as her relationship with the internet and social media, she revealed that her unfollowing of Lipa was simply an accident.

“I was just cleaning up some of my Instagram,” Gomez said. “Then somebody called me and was like, ‘What happened with Dua?!’”

Gomez has long been open about her love-hate relationship with social media, and has used it as a platform to discuss mental health. Elsewhere in the interview, she shared her thoughts on the idea of an offline life.

“All I would say is, ‘Every choice you make is yours. At the end of the day, you have to be proud of it. If it ends up being a mistake, it’s your mistake to learn from. Take a lesson from that. Does it make you feel good? Does it not? Evaluate and get to know yourself as much as you can.’ But I would never say don’t do something, because I don’t live with regrets,” Gomez said.

Dua Lipa is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Rachel Zegler wants Barstool bros to speak never about Taylor Swift again.

Earlier this week, after the “Anti-Hero” singer appeared at her second Kansas City Chiefs game to cheer on rumored boyfriend Travis Kelce, Barstool Sports podcaster @BarstoolBigCat, whose real name is Dan Katz, wrote on X, “If Taylor Swift is going to be taking over our Sunday’s I’m going to need to see a sex tape. These are my demands.” He also shared a clip from his show, Pardon My Take, where he said, “If Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift release a sex video, I’ll consummate this relationship and be like, ‘Fine.’ Until I see some d*ck in vagina. P in V, otherwise it’s not real. I want to see insertion.”

Weird stuff! Weird, and as Zegler pointed out, nothing new.

“It’s not news that the media is particularly (and unwarrantedly) cruel to taylor swift but the way men feel entitled to speak about women, their bodies, and their sex lives needs to be seriously evaluated,” the West Side Story actress wrote on X. She added, “Seeing a lot of ‘it’s a joke’ but you’ve got to understand that since the beginning of time ‘you can’t take a joke’ has been synonymous with ‘let me say a horrible thing about women without suffering the consequences’ — we’re sick and tired! it’s never been funny! get a life!”

In other words:

(Via EW)

Jimmy Kimmel got his revenge for Donald Trump branding late night hosts as “True LOSERS!!!” Stephen Colbert didn’t ignore that garbage, but he had more fun while roasting Trump’s ongoing New York fraud trial. More specifically, Colbert called out how a massive order of fast food was seen being carted in by the Secret Service and other staffers.

At least six grocery-sized bags of burgers and fries were among the haul. And this wasn’t the good old days where Chris Christie was among the manservants doing Trump’s bidding, but Trump surely dug in nonetheless. The ex-president also famously served a fast food spread to the Clemson Tigers football team, and there was zero ambiguity about who ordered this food.

Yep, Trump can still manage to enjoy his favorites while his business empire crumbles around him, and Stephen Colbert couldn’t resist mixing things up with a classic courtroom thriller. A much quoted A Few Good Men scene between Tom Cruise and Jack Nicholson got edited into the fray to imagine what it would be like if Colonel Jessup had also consumed fast food before reentering an open court room.

Let’s just say that Cruise’s Lt. Daniel Kaffee did not appreciate the gassy gesture, and what materialized wasn’t pretty. Order in the court!

Donald Glover has faced recent rumors that his time in music as Childish Gambino is over. Over the past few years, Glover has focused more on television, with his work on shows like Atlanta and Swarm.

In 2017, he had also said that he would retire his stage name after his next album. The record then dropped in 2020, and he changed his mind.

Because of this, fans have stuff on the way to still look forward to — as he discussed his future as Gambino in a new interview with Complex.

“I feel like it’ll be clear sooner rather than later,” Glover shared. “It’d be better for people to just tune in, I suppose. But I’m trying harder to not be cryptic. Tyler [The Creator] is always, like, ‘You’re so cryptic.’ But I’m like, ‘I’m really not.’ I just like suspense, I guess. I think it makes stuff better. But that’s just me.”

He also referenced Cam’ron as a relatable figure, with the two both continuing with music because they’re nice, not for the money. “I don’t think I’d ever stop, because of like…” he added. “I always liked it because I liked it. I never did it because it was like, man, this is a good way to get put on or something. I like the feeling of it. I do this because I’m nice. In a certain way, I think that makes me old school.”

Back in January, he also confirmed to E! News at the Golden Globes that he was in the studio working on new music.

Here’s hoping we get to see what Glover has planned for his Childish Gambino project soon.

Donald Trump welcomed back the late-night shows the only way he knows how: by trashing them on social media.

“Now that the ‘strike’ is over, the talentless, low rated CREEPS of Late Night Television are back. I knew there was a reason I didn’t want to see it settled — True LOSERS!!!” the frequently-arrested former president posted on Truth Social. In another post, Trump called them “not at all funny.” One of those “low rated CREEPS,” Jimmy Kimmel, fired back at Trump on Tuesday.

“This from a man who is such a loser, he buried his ex-wife on a golf course just so he can continue to cheat on her,” the host joked during his Jimmy Kimmel Live monologue. “I love that with everything he’s got going on ― running for president, 91 felony charges, a $250 million fraud trial ― he still finds time to watch his favorite late-night shows and tantrum about them.”

Kimmel doesn’t entirely disagree with Trump, however. “In fairness, you can’t really argue with him. The man really does know talentless loser creeps. In fact, he fathered two of them,” he said, while the camera cut to a video of Eric and Donald Trump Jr.

You can watch the Jimmy Kimmel Live clip above.

Snoop Dogg is the sort of figure that even non-smokers would light up with, just to say they’ve smoked weed with Snoop. Ed Sheeran found himself in that situation earlier this year and he discussed it on a new episode of the Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend podcast.

Sheeran noted that he was introduced to Snoop through mutual friend Russell Crowe and that the two met backstage after a Sheeran performance in Melbourne, Australia. Sheeran continued (as NME notes), “I don’t really smoke at all, but I was in the dressing room and they were just like blunt for blunt for blunt for blunt. I was like, ‘I guess at some point during the night, I have to, just to say I smoked with Snoop Dogg.’ He was like, ‘Do you want some?’ So I have a bit and I was like, ‘I don’t feel too bad, this is good.’ Then I have a bit more, and then I have a bit more, and then I have a bit more. I just remember looking at him and being like, ‘I can’t see right now.’”

Snoop actually shared a brief video of the encounter on Instagram back in March:

Listen to the full episode below.

Ed Sheeran is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Britney Spears’ long-awaited memoir, titled The Woman In Me, is coming soon, with a scheduled release date of October 24. Before that book has even hit shelves, though, it appears Spears is looking ahead: In an Instagram post shared yesterday (October 3), Spears seemingly indicated that she’s already started work on a second part of the book.

Spears shared a video of herself and others on a tropical vacation, flying over blue water and riding horses after they touched down. The post’s caption reads, Riding ‘n writing !!! All I’m doing at the moment … volume 2 coming after 1 !!! #TheWomanInMe.”

The Woman In Me website reads, “In June 2021, the whole world was listening as Britney Spears spoke in open court. The impact of sharing her voice — her truth — was undeniable, and it changed the course of her life and the lives of countless others. The Woman In Me reveals for the first time her incredible journey — and the strength at the core of one of the greatest performers in pop music history. Written with remarkable candor and humor, Spears’s groundbreaking book illuminates the enduring power of music and love — and the importance of a woman telling her own story, on her own terms, at last.”