Month: February 2024

Dejounte Murray‘s name has popped up frequently in trade rumors during the 2023-24 season. The Atlanta Hawks are underperforming, Murray’s fit alongside Trae Young is a clunky one, and he’s about to start a 4-year deal that is rather palatable for teams that could use help in the backcourt over the next few years.

As such, there have been near-constant rumblings about what the future holds for Murray, but on Thursday with less than 15 minutes before the trade deadline, we learned that Murray isn’t going anywhere. Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reported that, despite their efforts to put a trade together, Murray will stay in Atlanta going forward.

Murray spent the first five years of his career as a member of the San Antonio Spurs, where he earned an All-Star berth in 2022 and established himself as one of the premier guard defenders in the NBA. Atlanta paid a hefty price to acquire him that following offseason, as the team parted ways with a trio of first-round picks and a pick swap, along with veteran forward Danilo Gallinari.

It’s unclear how high Atlanta’s asking price was to move Murray, but no matter what it was, no one was able to meet it. Now, Murray will remain a Hawk, where he is averaging 21.4 points, 5.2 assists, and 5.1 rebounds per game for the Hawks on 46.6/37.0/83.4 shootings splits this season.

Abbott Elementary Season 3 premiered on Wednesday evening, but fans of the hit ABC sitcom were hit with an unusual circumstance: The show picked up five months into the school year, which has not been the cast for previous seasons. Fortunately, creator and star Quinta Brunson stopped by Jimmy Kimmel Live! that same night to explain why Season 3 had to make some changes to its timeline.

“Abbott is a show where we try to go by the school calendar,” Brunson told Kimmel via The Hollywood Reporter. “We start in September, along with teachers, and we like to stick with that calendar. This year, we had to make some adjustments so we got creative, so to say why we’re starting in February instead of September.”

This season will also have a shorter number of episodes, which Brunson doesn’t mind.

“I’m not mad at it right now,” she quipped to Kimmel. “Twenty two was a lot.. but it’s fun! Everybody has fun, right? But you know, 14 has been great.”

As for the reason behind the time jump and the shortened season, that would be the dual writers and actors strikes that delayed projects all across Hollywood. Brunson supported both efforts, but was happy to get back to work on Season 3 once the strikes were resolved.

Back in October 2013, she told Deadline that it was “inspiring” to “build something that was both grounded, and for this premiere, splashy enough to bring people back at the same time.”

(Via The Hollywood Reporter)

East High School alum Zac Efron recently starred in The Iron Claw as a member of the iconic Von Erich wrestling family, and we all know that he has an impressive history portraying sports legends, so his role was unsurprisingly praised by critics and fans alike. And Adele.

But Efron recently expressed that it’s not easy to act as an athlete due to all of the long and exhausting takes, which is why the experience of making The Iron Claw was “jarring” for the actor. They clearly don’t have those Wildcat uniforms on hand anymore.

“One of the jarring moments that I wasn’t expecting was when the wrestling stops, or there’s a cut, or in between setups or takes – you’ve just got to stand there with a whole crowd around, in your underwear,” he told Metro. “And there’s nothing really going on,” he added. Some would argue that Efron walking around in his underwear isn’t “nothing” but that’s neither here nor there.

Efron was taken aback by the scene, which he admitted was difficult for him (and his hands). “That’s a different kind of feeling. I’ve never experienced that one before,” Efron added. “You just kind of gotta… like, where do you put your hands? On your hips? You can’t help – there are people everywhere, you can’t look up and have somebody not looking back at you! So that was a bit unnatural,” he said.

Even though it might be “unnatural,” Efron’s half-naked body has inspired many other actors, so he’s doing something right.

(Via People)

The Dallas Mavericks came into the trade deadline as one of the teams expected to be active in searching for ways to upgrade their depth, as they clearly needed more on their roster to contend in the West. One particular area of need was at backup center, as rookie Dereck Lively II has been tremendous, but beyond him things got a bit shaky in Dallas’ frontcourt.

On Thursday morning, the Mavs addressed that need by acquiring Daniel Gafford from the Wizards in a deal that will send Richaun Holmes back to Washington, with Adrian Wojnarowski first bringing word a deal was near.

However, Dallas had to find the requisite draft compensation to fulfill Washington’s demands, per Marc Stein, so the deal took a bit of time to complete.

Eventually, Dallas was able to get the second-worst of OKC’s four first round picks this year (either the Thunder’s or the Clippers) to send to Washington for Gafford, per Stein and David Aldridge.

The Mavs also added P.J. Washington for Grant Williams, Seth Curry, and a future first ahead of the deadline, giving them a pair of frontcourt upgrades after punting on Williams half a season into his four-year deal.

Gafford is averaging 10.9 points, 8.0 rebounds, and 2.2 blocks per game this season for the Wizards, and he fits a similar mold to Lively in being a big who isn’t one that’s going to create anything on offense himself but is a very good play finisher. That’s the archetype needed alongside Luka Doncic (and Kyrie Irving) and Gafford figures to give Dallas another solid pick-and-roll big on offense and rim protection on defense, which they desperately needed.

The Wizards, meanwhile, add a first round pick in their continued efforts to rebuild with Gafford not a player who fit on their timeline.

We get you ready for Super Bowl LVIII with a look at the our favorite prop bets for the game.

The Toronto Raptors and Brooklyn Nets agreed to a point guard swap ahead of the trade deadline on Thursday, with Dennis Schroder and Thaddeus Young making their way to Brooklyn and Spencer Dinwiddie heading to Toronto. For a brief moment, it looked like Schroder wouldn’t be the only Dennis on the move, as Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN tweeted out that Dennis Smith Jr. would head to Toronto.

There was just one problem: Smith wasn’t actually getting traded. Woj, who is usually very quick to fix these sorts of mistakes and did so here, clarified that only one Dennis was on the move in this one.

It was a pretty funny moment, in part because the Raptors would probably love to have a guy as good on the defensive floor as the former top-10 pick who has turned himself into one of the best man-to-man defenders in all of basketball. What made it even funnier: Smith, like all of us, saw this, and had a pretty great reaction to briefly thinking he was going to move north of the border.

Instead, Smith will get to chill out at home without having to worry too much (for now) about moving, which makes all of this a moment that everyone can laugh at.

Barbie fans will be in for a real treat this summer. One year after the film caused a frenzy in movie theaters across the globe, Mattel announced that Barbie The Movie: In Concert is taking place at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles on July 27.

Throughout a giant LED screening of the movie, there will be a live accompaniment from The Barbie Land Sinfonietta, Executive Producer and Orchestrator Macy Schmidt’s all-women and majority women-of-color orchestra, who will play the film’s score.

“Audiences of all ages flocked to theaters last summer to celebrate the joy of the Barbie movie together,” Josh Silverman, Mattel’s Chief Franchise Officer, shared in a statement. “Now fans have the opportunity to further celebrate Barbie with an unforgettable live musical experience, led by an incredibly talented all-women orchestra.”

“We’re honored to announce Barbie The Movie: In Concert in partnership with the world-famous Hollywood Bowl and Mattel,” Schmidt, a Tony-winning producer and conductor, added. “There’s nothing quite like the energy of the Bowl, and to bring the world-class women musicians of the Barbie Land Sinfonietta to such an iconic venue feels like a perfect match.”

Right now, subscription packages to attend are up for sale and start at $430. Single tickets will go on sale on May 7. More information about the Barbie Hollywood Bowl event can be found here.

NBA Trade Deadline Day always features a flurry of information being distributed on Twitter, with fake accounts lurking to try and catch unsuspecting fans thirsty for trade news. That’s why, typically, fans have to set up notifications for trusted newsbreakers like Woj, Shams, Stein, Haynes, and the like for deadline day not to get duped and also to get trade information first.

However, on occasion, a deal gets done that someone else is able to beat the big guys to, and in the case of Patrick Beverley’s trade from Philadelphia to Milwaukee, it was Beverley himself who broke the news on his podcast’s account.

Shortly after, Woj and Shams hopped in to provide details, as Cam Payne will go back to Philly along with a 2027 second round pick.

The Bucks looking to add a defensive guard is unsurprising given they’ve been one of the league’s worst defensive teams this year, largely due to a porous perimeter defense. Swapping Payne for Beverley will certainly give them a tone-setter on that end in the backcourt, and will give Doc Rivers some different lineup options off the bench to try and piece together better defensive units. The Sixers give up some defense for a bit more offensive pop in Payne, while adding a second round pick in the process, as they continue to beef up their roster even with Joel Embiid out for awhile. Earlier in the day they traded for Buddy Hield, giving them an elite three-point threat in the backcourt.

Earlier this month, Hulu (which is owned by Disney) sent out an email to customers warning them that the platform would start cracking down on password sharing. The ominous message warned users that if their accounts are being used “outside of the household” they could see their subscription limited or outright terminated.

It was slightly scary stuff but an industry standard at this point after Netflix took a similar approach last year. However, the plan actually worked for Netflix as the platform saw an increase in subscribers and/or additional revenue by charging extra for password sharing. Disney+ would now like some of that action.

Via Variety:

On Wednesday’s call with investors, Disney CFO Hugh Johnston said, “As it relates to the opportunity we see on paid sharing, beginning this summer Disney+ accounts suspected of improper sharing will be presented with new capabilities to allow their borrowers to start their own subscriptions.” Later in 2024, he said, Disney+ account holders who want to allow access to individuals outside their household will be able to add them to their accounts for an additional fee.

However, before Disney+ starts making it easier for password-sharers to start their new accounts, or have the primary account holder pay an extra free for sharing, the streamer will first start cracking down on the practice altogether starting March 14.

(Via Variety)

During her ongoing tiff with Megan Thee Stallion, Nicki Minaj notably took a detour into conspiracy theorizing that Jay-Z and his company, Roc Nation, were sabotaging her career. This picked up a thread from a conspiracy that Tory Lanez propagated, that Roc Nation supposedly paid off the judge and jury in his assault case for shooting Meg in 2020.

The latest artist to blame Jay and the Roc for their troubles is former collaborator M.I.A., who took her complaints to Twitter for an ALL CAPS rant that began with her accusing Joe Biden (personally?) of holding up her visa application to come to the US. “BIDEN WON’T LET ME SEE MY CHILD,” she said, alongside a screenshot of an email specifically explaining why she can’t get a new visa due to past behavior. She also demonstrated how very little she pays attention to American politics, following up with, “I HAVE TO WAIT TILL A REPUBLICAN WINS. WOW.” Yeah. Okay. The “concentration camps at the border are perfectly fine” party. Sure.

M.I.A.’s rant continued as she accused her child’s caretakers of being convicted sex traffickers (again, not how that works), and blamed her visa application rejection on speaking out against genocide (again, not how that works — First Amendment people never seem to know what it’s for). She then made the claim that Jay-Z — who indirectly managed her career through Roc Nation — was paid off by the founder of the NXIVM cult. She also claimed after asking Jay for help gaining custody of her child, her domicile was invaded and her computers were stolen.

She eventually lapsed into old talking points about vaccines (again, there NO PROOF that vaccines endanger kids any more than the actually diseases they prevent do, what with things like smallpox, yellow fever, tetanus, and more all being LIFE THREATENING). This is par for the course for someone who has been accused of making other controversial statements.

We live in the era of “alternative facts” and “fake news” so people will believe what they want, but someone here is baiting a libel charge, and if Jay-Z is really as powerful as everyone seems to think (he almost assuredly isn’t), you’d hope they would learn to stop poking the bear. In all likelihood, they call him out because he makes a convenient scapegoat as an unrepentant capitalist who also wants to be a revolutionary with a much higher profile than the people they’re really mad at.