Category: News

Earlier this week, Lil Wayne teased a “very special” announcement. There was a lot of speculation that it might have something to do with the Super Bowl, and in a way, it does. But more importantly, the “Don’t Cry” rapper may have revealed when Tha Carter VI is coming out.

Lil Wayne stars in a Cetaphil commercial that shows him dealing with sensitive situations. It’s a sly acknowledgment to his disappointment over not being selected as the halftime performer for Super Bowl LIX, which is being held in his hometown of New Orleans, Louisiana. Throughout the ad, there’s references to 6-6-25 — it even ends with a sign on a door that reads, “Do Not Disturb Til’ 06-06-25 Carter VI.” If that means what it seems like it does, The Carter VI is dropping on June 6, 2025, a Friday.

“What attracted me to this project was the chance to flip the script,” Wayne said about starring in the ad. “Showing a sensitive side isn’t a weakness — it’s a power. There’s nothing more real than turning those types of moments into a display of strength. This campaign made perfect sense to me. The world knew I was disappointed, but what they didn’t know was that it made me determined to deliver something way bigger.”

You can watch the commercial (which will air exclusively in New Orleans on Super Bowl Sunday) above.

Bob Myers has been at ESPN for a couple of years now and while his presence on NBA Countdown and calling games hasn’t been groundbreaking by any stretch, the former Warriors GM is legitimately great during the big transaction periods of the NBA calendar — namely the trade deadline and free agency.

He not only has insight into how these deals get done that very few that do television can explain to viewers, but he also still has a ton of connections and intel into talks and things that happen — or almost happen. The challenge, of course, as someone who has that much information is what you tell the public and what you do not, and on Thursday’s trade deadline special, Myers let something slip that was not yet public knowledge that I don’t think he meant to have become breaking news.

The discussion turned to the top teams in the West and how teams in the middle of the standings don’t feel particularly threatened by the Grizzlies, Rockets, and even Thunder, as they’re all unproven in the playoffs. Myers was explaining that the Grizzlies seem to understand that themselves, which is why they tried to make a deal for Jimmy Butler and Kevin Durant. That second part was not something that had been previously reported, which Brian Windhorst couldn’t help but note on air.

We knew there were other teams calling about Durant, including on Thursday, but didn’t know what teams. While the Grizzlies make sense as one of those teams given their effort to get Butler, we did not have that confirmed by anyone in the know until Myers’ little slip. This isn’t disastrous — and if anything it offers a glimpse into how much we don’t know that’s going on behind the scenes that some of these guys do — but it was a funny moment as Windy chuckled about it some as the master of knowing things and not sharing all of the information.

The Atlanta Hawks were very quiet for the first four days of deadline week while the rest of the league was going crazy with big trades. That was a bit surprising as the Hawks were expected to be some of the biggest sellers, but in the final two hours before the deadline, Atlanta got to work.

After trading De’Andre Hunter to the Cavaliers for Caris LeVert, Georges Niang, and three second round picks, the Hawks turned around and shipped Bogdan Bogdanovic to the Clippers along with three second round picks for Terance Mann and Bones Hyland, per Shams Charania.

Clippers get: Bogdan Bogdanovic, three second round picks
Hawks get: Terance Mann, Bones Hyland

Bogdanovic has only played 24 games this season due to injury and is having the worst shooting season of his career (30.1 percent from three), but the Clippers will hope he can regain his form in L.A. as he has been a highly reliable bench scorer for much of his career. Mann is also having a down year, as the 28-year-old is averaging 6.0 points and 2.9 rebounds per game coming off the bench in L.A., and the Clippers will hope for a Bogdanovic resurgence while also getting off Mann’s long-term money.

The Hawks acquire Mann as something of a hopeful Hunter replacement, just for $10 million less per year as he has three more years and $47 million remaining on his deal. The Hawks cannot go fully into a rebuild as their pick this year is owned by the Spurs, so it does make some sense for them to look to bring in some help for the rest of the season. Having to spend three seconds to move off Bogdanovic is tough, but where they sold high on Hunter in the midst of a career-year, they had to sell low on Bogdanovic in his worst season. Atlanta still has some moves to make both to get under the tax (always a priority for the Hawks) and to get down to 15 players on the roster, as they currently are at 17 after the Hunter and Bogdanovic deals. On cue, they attached a second to Cody Zeller to send to Houston to get below the tax, but still have to create a roster spot.

Thailand is where it’s at for Hollywood these days. Not only did Peter Sutherland have his cover blown there in The Night Agent‘s most recent season for Netflix, but that’s where Alien: Earth filmed the imminent arrival of a Xenomorph for FX. Now, Thailand is the place where The White Lotus (after visiting Hawaii and Sicily) will engage in more murder and mystery for for Mike White’s HBO series that Alexandra Daddario declared to be a dream job.

This season will emphasize death a bit more than usual, too, after White was very up front about his initial plans for the season being “a satirical and funny look at death and Eastern religion and spirituality.” Additionally, this was also projected by White to be a “longer, bigger, crazier” season than usual, it’s sweet to see that that first adjective is already coming true.

How Many Episodes Will Be In The White Lotus Season 3?

Eight. That’s up from the first season (six episodes) and the second (seven episodes), so expect even more lurid behavior from this season’s resort guests. And given that Patrick Schwarzenegger ^^^ has a knack for dying in shows (The Terminal List, Gen V), his character had better watch his back.

Jennifer Coolidge, of course, will not return this season after her character was the unfortunate one in Sicily. This year, Natasha Rothwell will be the connecting thread in reprising her first season role of spa worker Belinda.

The White Lotus‘ third season also stars Leslie Bibb, Carrie Coon, Michelle Monaghan, Jason Isaacs, Parker Posey, Sarah Catherine Hook, Sam Nivola, Walton Goggins, and Aimee Lou Wood. Look forward to them on Feb. 16.

Drake just launched his Anita Max Win Tour in Australia earlier this week. Aside from playing his hits on stage, he’s giving his fans down under another gift: inside scoops about what he has coming up next.

At his second Australian show, on February 5, Drake teased his long-awaited collaborative album with PartyNextDoor. Then, he continued (find the video here):

“You know, eventually when the time is right, Drizzy Drake alone by himself is gonna have to have a one-on-one talk to y’all. When the time is right, I’ll be back with another album: a one-on-one conversation with y’all that you need to hear.”

During his first Australian show, Drake began by walking out wearing a hoodie covered in fake bullet holes as his song “Over My Dead Body” played. At the end of the night, he addressed the crowd by saying, “My name is Drake. I started doing music in 2008. I come all the way from Toronto, Canada. The year is now 2025, and no matter what, Drizzy Drake is very much alive and that’s all thanks to you. I love you.”

He also wrote on Instagram after the first show, “They thought einstein was lying & shakespeare was barely rhyming & edison wasn’t lit despite what he was designing. So how can I give af what they say about my stars aligning.”

Super Bowl commercials are no longer released during, well, the Super Bowl. For years, they’ve popped up online days ahead of the game, which is both good and bad. Good: the more ads you’ve already seen, the more opportunities you have to get a drink or use the bathroom. Bad: it was fun to watch “The Force” at the same time as millions of other people.

But something tells me even if you check out Mountain Dew’s Super Bowl LIX commercial now, you won’t be able to look away on Sunday.

The ad begins with Becky G being offered a tropical lime-flavored Mountain Dew Baja Blast in her kitchen. After taking a sip, the Grammy winner is transported into an island paradise where she sees a herd of seals, including one who looks a lot like Seal. “Baby, I compare it to a kiss from a lime on the bay / Ooh, the more I think of it, it’s strange I’m a seal,” the seal Seal sings to the tune of “Kiss From A Rose” from the Batman Forever soundtrack. “My flippers can’t hold Mountain Dew / It slips right on through, what a shame.”

As Becky G puts it, “Well, this is the weirdest thing I’ve ever seen.”

Watch the full-length version of the Mountain Dew commercial above.

It’s not often the top teams make a significant trade at the deadline, especially teams with 41-10 record, but the Cleveland Cavaliers are determined to learn lessons from the past and build a team that can contend for a title. That meant consolidating some of their wing depth into a player they think is an upgrade for the postseason rotation, and on Thursday the Cavaliers acquired De’Andre Hunter from the Hawks for Caris LeVert and Georges Niang (plus picks), per Shams Charania.

Cavaliers get: De’Andre Hunter
Hawks get: Caris LeVert, Georges Niang, three second round picks, two pick swaps

Hunter is in the midst of a career year for the Hawks as their sixth-man, averaging 19.0 points and 3.9 rebounds per game on 46.1/39.3/85.8 shooting splits. After spending the last two-plus seasons in trade rumors, Hunter finally gets moved and lands on the team with the East’s best record, where they will hope he provides them with the two-way wing they’ve been desperately searching for to complement their star quartet. If Hunter’s shooting improvement from the last two years sustains, he figures to be a very solid fit for the Cavs, but it’ll be interesting to see how they deploy him. He’s excelled in a sixth-man role in Atlanta this year, and Cleveland will have to figure out if he fits best in their starting group or if they should start Max Strus and have Hunter be first off the bench.

For the Hawks, they finally move off a player they’ve been long discussing in trade talks, and while they don’t get the first round pick back they hoped, they do get three seconds and a couple swaps (albeit ones that are unlikely to convey given the apparent stability in Cleveland). They also create some financial flexibility, which they care deeply about in Atlanta, by bringing in LeVert’s expiring and Niang with just one more year on his contract.

The Phoenix Suns have been part of trade rumors for months, as they were the longtime preferred destination of Jimmy Butler. The problem for the Suns was the guy they wanted to trade, Bradley Beal, has a no-trade clause and did not want to move again, putting them back at square one.

After a lot of buzz regarding a Kevin Durant to the Warriors deal (that may have brought them Butler), Durant seemingly shut that down by making it clear he had no interest in a reunion with Golden State. The Warriors and Heat then cut the Suns out of talks and worked out a deal themselves to send Butler to Golden State and Andrew Wiggins to Miami. That left Phoenix without a clear path to an upgrade, but as their shellacking at the hands of the Thunder on Wednesday night proved, they desperately needed one.

On Thursday, the Suns finally found a trade to make, turning Jusuf Nurkic and their 2026 first round pick (which they could trade after turning a future first into three firsts in a trade with the Jazz) into Cody Martin and a bit more from the Hornets, per Shams Charania.

Suns get: Cody Martin, Vasilije Micic, 2026 second round pick
Hornets get: Jusuf Nurkic, 2026 first round pick

Martin is averaging 7.8 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 2.3 assists per game for the Hornets this season. A couple days after his twin brother Caleb was traded from Philly to Dallas, Cody now also is on the move to a Western Conference team fighting for Play-In position. Nurkic has completely fallen out of the rotation in Phoenix and heads to a Charlotte team that is focused on ping-pong balls at the moment. There is a big role for Nurkic if he wants to play out the year and try to build his value back up after Charlotte has been active this year in trading away bigs for draft assets, sending Nick Richards to Phoenix earlier this season and flipping Mark Williams to the Lakers on Wednesday night. The first round pick they received is Phoenix’s 2026 first, but three teams (Washington, Orlando, Memphis) have swap rights to that pick, so the Hornets will receive the worst of those four teams’ picks in 2026.

Kendrick Lamar’s big day is coming up, as his February 9 Super Bowl Halftime Show approaches. Ahead of that, it’s customary for the halftime performer to sit down for a press conference interview, and Lamar’s was today (February 6). During it, he discussed the mindset behind his beef with Drake.

He explained:

“My intent, I think from day one, was to always keep the nature of it as a sport. I don’t care how muthaf*ckers look at it as far as, like… a collaborative effort. That’s cool, too, but I love when artists grit their teeth. I still watch battle raps, I still watch Smack/URL, from Murda Mook to Lux to Tay Roc, my bro Daylyt… This always been the core definition of who I am, and it’s been that way since day one. […]

What I will say about this year: It was more from a space where I think a lot of people was putting rap to the back, and you didn’t see that: You didn’t see that grit, you didn’t see that bite anymore. So I always took that in consideration.”

He also addressed “Not Like Us” recently winning five Grammys, saying, “I just think about the culture, really. It’s always definitely first, I’m not even bullsh*tting with you. When people talk about rap, man, the conversations I hear, they think it’s just rap and it’s not an actual art form. So when you put records like that at the forefront, it reminds people it’s more than just something that came 50 years ago. […] [People] kind of belittle it, so I love to see it get that kind of recognition.”

Check out the full press conference here.

As is usually the case with top teams, the Oklahoma City Thunder have had a quiet trade deadline week while the rest of the league descends into chaos around them. Sam Presti has gotten his fix of acquiring more second round picks with a swap with the Hornets and taking on Daniel Theis from the Pelicans to help them duck the tax, but the West’s current top seed is, understandably, looking to keep things together.

While the Thunder have ample ammunition to make a big move, there’s no real reason to when you are 40-9 and the vibes are as good as they have been in Oklahoma City. That could change this summer if they have another early exit from the postseason, but for now they’re happy to ride the positivity and give this young group a shot at a title run. While they don’t figure to make any significant deadline trades, they are getting a big boost on deadline week in the form of Chet Holmgren’s return to the lineup, as he was removed from the injury report ahead of their game on Friday against the Raptors and announced he was back on social media.

Holmgren has missed the last three months with a fractured hip he suffered in a hard fall against the Warriors in early November. Without him, the Thunder have continued ripping through the NBA, but for this team to be a legitimate championship contender, they’ll need Holmgren in the lineup.

Prior to his injury, Holmgren was averaging 16.4 points, 8.7 rebounds, and 2.6 blocks per game on 50.5/37.8/77.6 shooting splits — all very similar averages to his standout rookie campaign. Now he returns to the Thunder lineup and will play with Isaiah Hartenstein for the first time, as their big free agent signing this summer was out with an injury to start the season and didn’t return until after Holmgren was hurt. It’s never as easy as just plugging a guy in and adding his stats to what you already have, but Holmgren unquestionably elevates the Thunder’s ceiling. There may be an adjustment period needed for them to figure out exactly how to play together, but it’s not hard to see how all of the pieces in OKC can complement each other.

On offense, Holmgren’s ability to shoot and space the floor along with Hartenstein’s passing ability as a high-post hub, figure to give them plenty of space to work as a two-big lineup. On defense, they will create major problems for opponents trying to get to the rim, but Mark Daigneault’s task will be figuring out exactly how to deploy them and what coverages they work best in with regards to switching, blitzing, dropping, and more. OKC will likely experiment with different things in that two-big lineup for the next couple months with an eye on knowing their strengths come playoff time, where they hope to be healthy and make a Finals run.