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Earlier this month, a report came out that the Chicago Bulls were “quietly gauging” the trade value of Zach LaVine, the team’s All-Star guard who just finished up the first season of a 5-year max extension that he signed last summer. While it’s unclear just how available LaVine would be in a trade, a new report indicates that those around would like to avoid sending him to one Eastern Conference team.

According to Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News, LaVine’s representation is against him getting moved to the New York Knicks. Bondy’s report largely revolves around the fact that LaVine is represented by Klutch Sports, while the Knicks are run by Leon Rose, a former agent at CAA.

Zach LaVine’s representatives would be against a deal to the Knicks, the Daily News has learned. The Bulls are reportedly gauging interest in the All-Star guard, which prompted speculation that the Knicks — who are strapped with future draft assets — would get involved. But a source said the LaVine camp isn’t interested in dealing with the Knicks, who have a reputation around the league of favoring clients of CAA, the agency that employed Leon Rose before his move to the Knicks front office.

It’s worth noting that this does not mean a LaVine trade to the Knicks is impossible, as his deal doesn’t include any sort of no-trade clause and if the Bulls determine the best package they could get for him would come from New York, they’re free to act how they want. Having said that, it’s fair to wonder if the Knicks would seriously engage with a team and part ways with anything from their war chest of draft capital for a player who isn’t especially interested in playing for them.

The RX is Uproxx Music’s stamp of approval for the best albums, songs, and music stories throughout the year. Inclusion in this category is the highest distinction we can bestow, and signals the most important music being released throughout the year. The RX is the music you need, right now.

Peso Pluma has changed the game for Mexican corridos with his trap-infused twist on the genre. The Mexican superstar is now ready to make regional Mexican music go global with his new album Génesis. On his breakthrough LP, Peso Pluma teams up with his corridos contemporaries like Natanael Cano, Junior H, and his cousin Tito Doble P. He also pushes his sound into a new direction with Puerto Rican rapper Eladio Carrión.

In the past year, Peso Pluma has become one of the most-streamed Latin acts in the world alongside reggaeton stars like Bad Bunny, Feid, and Karol G. In a rarity for regional Mexican music, he has scored countless hits on all-genre Billboard Hot 100 chart, including “Ella Baila Sola” with Eslabon Armado, “Chanel” with Becky G, and “BZRP Music Sessions, Vol. 55” with Bizarrap. Peso Pluma is proving there’s nothing regional about the music from Mexico.

“I’m happy to see how this project has grown in an incredible way in just a few months,” Peso Pluma says about his success. “I’m grateful for all the people who have supported me on this project since the beginning.”

Peso Pluma recently notched another Hot 100 hit with his breakup ballad “Bye” and is currently performing in concerts across the US on his Doble P Tour, which added arena shows due to popular demand. Over Zoom, he caught up with Uproxx about his LP, the big hits, and his thoughts on the future of corridos in our latest Q&A.

How do you feel to be representing regional Mexican music and corridos around the world with your music?

I’m very shocked to see how música Mexicana and corridos have reached such a level that people who didn’t like them at all are now the same people who are asking for corridos in the nightclubs. They’re the same people who are asking for this music everywhere. We’re very grateful that this has become something that’s global.

You made the word “bélico” popular with your corridos. What does that word mean to you?

To me, bélico means chingón [bada*s]. If I can’t use a vulgar word to describe it, I would say it means “flashy” in English. It’s standing out in a way that you like. It’s something that’s aggressive, but in a way that you like. I’m not the first person to do that type of corridos, but thanks to God, it’s been on me to extend this reach of this on a global level. I’m very grateful that now everyone is bélico.

One of the biggest songs in the world right now is “Ella Baila Sola.” What’s the story behind that song with Eslabon Armado?

It’s a very beautiful song that was written by my friend Pedro Tovar. He has his group Eslabon Armado. He invited me to a part of their album Desvelado on that song. Thanks to God it was the song that performed the best on the album. It’s the song that’s racked up all these numbers. I’m very grateful and happy that they had me be a part of this and that everyone has liked it. Now there are remixes of it in all genres. I’m very proud to be Mexican and to raise the Mexican flag high up.

Another big song this year is “BZRP Music Sessions, Vol. 55.” How would you describe the experience of working on a corrido with Bizarrap?

It was an incredible experience. Since I met Biza, we talked [about working together]. He is an incredible person. He’s a man who is very serious about his work. He gives his full attention to what he’s doing. That’s something that I like a lot when I work with artists. I was also very attentive to what the song needed. Above all, he let me offer my ideas and give my opinions about it. Biza is a monster. In terms of the production, he took care of that and made a huge song.

Why did you decide to name your third album Génesis?

I named the album Génesis because it means a new beginning. It’s a new beginning to this new era. Now only for us as a group or as artists, but it’s a new era for the industry. The Mexican industry is starting to break through and we’re the leaders of this [movement]. We’re the leaders that have made this happen, for música Mexicana to be heard everywhere. That’s why I named the album Génesis. It’s the genesis of this story.

On this album, you work with other corridos artists like Natanael Cano, Junior H, Gabito Ballesteros, and Luis R Conriquez. I love how there’s a sense of camaraderie among you guys.

It was very easy [to work with them] because we’re all friends. We all support each other. At different times, we’ve all spoken with each other and said that what we can do as artists who are raising the Mexican flag up high is come together and support each other on different projects. The most important thing is to come together as Mexicans and represent our flag very well. Like how they have collaborated with me, I’ve collaborated with them. I’m on Nata’s album [Nata Montana] that’s coming. We don’t fight over release dates. We don’t fight over who is going to release music first. What’s important is that we’re in this together. We’re all proud to be raising the Mexican flag up high.

You write your songs with your cousin Tito Doble P and he also features on a few of them. What’s the experience like to work on music together?

Making songs with him is something that I do daily. We can be in a hotel writing together the whole night. It’s a part of our lives to write about these cities we pass through, what we see, what we feel, and what we want to put out there. He’s like my brother. I’ve been with him since I started this project. Now I’m very proud to be able to say now he’s coming out as an artist. He released his first single, which is a dembow song [“Dembow Bélico“], and it’s something that’s very different for him. I’m very proud that each person on the Doble P team is finding their own space, their own path, and that’s what we want to do with my record label Doble P Records.

Eladio Carrión made his corrido with you in the song “77.” How did that unique collaboration come together?

It was something that was very different. We’re the first ones to be attracting people from different genres to make music with us. Eladio is someone who is very versatile. He is very talented. You can put on whatever kind of beat and he’ll hop on it. In fact, when I heard his verse, I was shocked about how he can rap to different tempos and different types of music. That’s what’s beautiful about it. It’s a mixture of cultures and genres.

What’s the inspiration behind your song “Lady Gaga” with Gabito Ballesteros and Junior H? Are you a fan of hers?

Yes, I’ve listened to Lady Gaga, but we really named the song that because there’s a verse that says that she wears sunglasses on her face like Lady Gaga. I remember Lady Gaga wore extravagant sunglasses at different types of galas. Like exotic [sunglasses]. It’s an exotic corrido and that’s why we called it “Lady Gaga.”

Some of your fans in the LGBTQ+ community were writing on social media about how they hoped “Lady Gaga” was a song for them and Pride month because it’s named after an LGBTQ+ icon.

Yes, she’s an icon for the LGBTQ+ community. I knew that. I was just talking with my tour manager about how the LGBTQ+ community is very excited about that song, but no, it’s not about the LGBTQ+ community. Well, I’m very happy that everyone is keeping an eye out. However you identify, my music is for everyone. Everyone can listen to my music. It’s a very diverse album that has a mix of cool cultures. The idea of Génesis is to bring everyone together.

What can we expect from you next that you can tell us?

You can expect a lot of fire. A lot of new music. Expect to see me jump into different genres. Expect a lot of very cool collaborations that we have coming soon. We’re excited to release a lot of new music. Expect my tour throughout all the United States.

What do you see for the future of corridos and regional Mexican music?

The future I see for música Mexicana is incredible. In this genre, it’s a genesis that’s just getting started. I believe what’s most interesting is when something gets started, we all have big expectations. I believe we’re all expecting very good numbers. We’re expecting to be received well by the public. It’s only the beginning. Expect everything that’s yet to come. We’re planting a seed for tomorrow’s young artists who are coming up next. The artists are not only Mexican. Now there are Cubans doing corridos. There are Puerto Ricans doing corridos. There are people in Europe listening to corridos. That’s what we hope for with this type of music.

Génesis is out now via Doble P Records. Listen to it here.

Some of the artists mentioned here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Dominic Fike recently announced his sophomore album Sunburn arriving next month. So far, the singles “Dancing In The Courthouse” and “Ant Pile” are out, and now he’s back with “Mama’s Boy.”

At less than three minutes, the track is an off-kilter, sputtering journey that offers an immersive atmosphere. This track also follows the release of “Mona Lisa,” his song for the deluxe version of the Across The Spider-Verse soundtrack.

Shortly after the unveiling of his new record, he’ll be hitting the road on the Don’t Stare At The Sun Tour, which kicks off in Indianapolis and stops by Philadelphia, New York City, Boston, Baltimore, Austin, and more.

Fike is most known for his role as Elliot in Euphoria, though he flaunted his musicianship on the season finale with a five-minute song on an acoustic guitar that left watchers bewildered. “The last year and a half was kind of a rollercoaster, in a weird way,” he said in October. “A lot happened in my personal life, I think. I took a break from music and whatnot. And eventually, I kind of hopped back on … and started working again.”

Listen to “Mama’s Boy” above.

Sunburn is out 7/7 via Columbia. Find more information here.

Stormzy‘s new video for “Toxic Trait” uses art to reflect life, taking references and design cues from modern art museums to depict his struggles for self-improvement. However, he doesn’t sound like he regrets these traits so much as he confronts and accepts them, so let’s just call it “self-effacement” for now. Among the attributes he describes in the new song are an abhorrence for seeing people in the same jewelry (so much so, he’ll stash his away forever), an affinity for cannabis, and an unfortunately large carbon footprint.

Fellow rapper Fredo appears on the second verse does much the same, listing his materialism, ambition, and self-reliance as his own toxic traits (which they can be in excess). “She wanna link up, tell her, ‘Not today,’” he muses. “‘Cause I’m on the block till late (Late), still got this guap to make.” The beat is a skittering drill production crafted by Dave, who recently released a slick joint EP with Central Cee, Split Decision.

“Toxic Trait” is the second single from Stormzy’s upcoming, as-yet-untitled fourth album. It may take a while to arrive; he’s just eight months removed from his third album, This Is What I Mean, which he released in November last year.

Watch Stormzy’s “Toxic Trait” video above.

The Rundown is a weekly column that highlights some of the biggest, weirdest, and most notable events of the week in entertainment. The number of items could vary, as could the subject matter. It will not always make a ton of sense. Some items might not even be about entertainment, to be honest, or from this week. The important thing is that it’s Friday, and we are here to have some fun.

ITEM NUMBER ONE – This is a love story

It’s a little weird to think about how long It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia has been on the air. The first episode aired in August 2005. We are coming up on 20 years of these maniacs on our televisions. A child born the day it premiered will be able to vote in the next election. That’s crazy to me. It’s one thing when cartoons do this (Simpsons, South Park, etc.) because animated characters do not age and recording voiceovers require much less time than actually going to set and getting into wardrobe and filming every scene in every location. But to do this with live-action for almost two decades is… it’s wild.

It also gives them the opportunity to pay off lonnnnng-simmering jokes, which the show did in glorious fashion in the third episode of this season, which aired last Wednesday. And I’ll get to that. But first, a brief trip back in time…

The year is 2009. The Hangover is burning up movie theaters. Beyoncé is singing about single ladies. The Philadelphia Phillies are coming off of a World Series victory, led by second baseman Chase Utley. Always Sunny ran with this in a classic bit where Mac writes a letter to Utley, his favorite player. Here, look.

The text of the letter is important because it is very funny, so let’s go ahead and blockquote it.

Dear Chase, I feel like I can call you Chase because you and me are so much alike. I would love to meet you someday, it would be great to have a catch. I know I can’t throw as fast as you but I think you would be impressed with my speed. I love your hair. You run fast.

Did you have a good relationship with your father? Me neither. These are all things we can talk about and more. I know you have not been getting my letters because I know you would write back if you did, and I hope you write back this time and we get to be good friends. I am sure our relationship would be a real ‘home run.’

Great stuff. Wonderful bit. A classic moment in television comedy.

A few years pass…

The year is now 2013. Miley Cyrus is swinging around on a wrecking ball. Everyone is doing the “I’m the captain now” thing from Captain Phillips. And the Philadelphia Phillies use their little fan mail segment to have some fun.

This, to be clear, is Chase Utley answering Mac’s letter. These words are important, too. Another blockquote.

Dear Mac, I feel like I can call you Mac because you called me Chase. ‘Sorry it took me five years to write back but I am really busy playing a lot of baseball for the Phillies. Thank you for the compliment on my hair. It is my fourth favorite thing after baseball, running fast, and my dad.

I’m sorry your dad doesn’t like you. Maybe you could try being a better son. Meeting you and having a game of catch sounds like a lot of fun but like I said I am really busy playing a lot of baseball for the Phillies.

Great stuff. Another wonderful bit.

A few more years pass…

The year is 2019. Horses are being taken to the old town road. Leonardo DiCaprio is pointing at his television in Quentin Tarantino movies. And Rob McElhenney, who plays Mac, has been invited to catch the first pitch at a Phillies game. Thrown by Chase Utley. They are having a catch.

It’s all happening. Here, look.

And it would be fine if that was where it ended. If the journey came to a close after a full decade with a crowd of South Philly lunatics shouting all around them. That would have been both nice and fitting and fun.

But.

Then Always Sunny came back for its 16th season earlier this month. And in the third episode of that season, well…

Yes. Chase Utley appeared on the show. As himself. With Mac this time. (He actually appeared in an episode back in 2010, too, but Mac was stranded in the woods and never got to meet him, which was also very good.) And Mac repeatedly referred to him as “Mr. Utley,” which was really kind of perfect. Also kind of perfect: Mac held up his phone and played the real fan mail video Chase filmed over a decade ago, just to smash reality and fiction together a little further.

The actual plot here isn’t even that important. I mean, it is, and I strongly recommend you watch the show if only because life is stressful and you deserve nice things, but this one plays even without the specifics, which, for the record, involve curses and monkey paws and all of the other madness that makes this show so good. But yeah, the real story here can be summed up in three bullet points:

• The show paid off a bit that had been brewing for almost 15 damn years
• This made me so happy that I’m still sitting here smiling about it over a week after it aired
• Go Phillies

Oh, also, it gave me this GIF, which I really do enjoy.

I am so proud of everyone involved in making this one happen.

ITEM NUMBER TWO – Apparently my favorite genre of show is “Kaley Cuoco uses binoculars”

Do you guys remember The Flight Attendant? I hope so. That was a fun show. Kaley Cuoco played a boozy party girl who got tangled up in a murder mystery and kind of hallucinated a lot of things, including at one point a giant stuffed teddy bear that was wearing sunglasses and tending bar at an airport lounge. She spent a surprising amount of time looking at things through binoculars. Rosie Perez was in the show and her character went on one of the more chaotic journeys in television history. I wrote about this all a while ago but let’s just copy and paste the Rosie bullet points here…

• She opens the season living in hiding in Iceland with a black market tuna smuggler played by Margaret Cho
• She picks a bunch of mushrooms from a forest, which we later see her mashing up into a fine dust/paste
• You guessed it, they are poisonous hallucinogenic mushrooms
• She is running around dosing people with them to keep her secret and/or investigate other secrets
• Her cover gets blown and she comes back to America using the pseudonym “Hildegard Bouffant”
• She goes hunting for a lockbox she hid in her friend’s strip club, but the friend sold the contents of the room to some strange lady, so Rosie and her stripper friend track her down to a weird trailer in the woods and, yup, you guessed it again, dose the woman with mushroom paste and steal back the lockbox while the woman has a full-on mental collapse on the woods

Which was and is a delight. And something I am pleased to be able to bring up again today thanks to the new Peacock series Based on a True Story, in which Kaley Cuoco plays a scattered real estate agent who is pregnant and in a stale marriage and decides that she and her husband should do a podcast with a charming serial killer. It’s a lot. I’m enjoying it so far as I creep my way through it. But that’s not the point. The point is…

BINOCULARS

AGAIN

KALEY CUOCO LOVES USING BINOCULARS IN WEIRD LITTLE MURDER SHOWS

This is now officially something I am monitoring. I do not know why I am like this. I’m sorry. Kind of.

ITEM NUMBER THREE – Vin Diesel fascinates me

Okay. This is a video Vin Diesel posted on Instagram this week. It’s him and Sung Kang — who plays Han in the Fast & Furious franchise, as if I needed to tell you that — chilling in some luxurious outdoor location with torches around them and Vin is saying… no. Let’s just go ahead and use Vin’s own words here.

“The conversation never stops. 5 am, Cayman Islands. And the world would never realize that we’re here dissecting the mythology of Fast, going over it. Going over all of the feedback from our incredible fans and how much we’re just enjoying being in this creative dojo.

“So much inspiration and time to reflect. And to talk and work out [Fast X: Part 2] and to double check all the aspects that need to be hit, and this kind of scary path that we’re going on for Part 2 for Fast X. We’re done with our press tour and now we have time to go back to building and that’s so much fun. We take it seriously because we know how important it is to all of you.”

A few notes:

• “Creative dojo” is just incredible
• I really do think Vin is under the impression the Fast & Furious movies are a cinematic endeavor on par with the Godfather trilogy
• I like to imagine Sung Kang just wanted to chill and have fun in the Cayman Islands but then Vin told him it was actually a work trip and he got very, very sad

Again, the man fascinates me. I imagine he’s exhausting to hang out with but I will gladly read anything anyone else writes after hanging out with him. That seems like a fair compromise on my part.

ITEM NUMBER FOUR – I have been thinking about this all week

Putting this here just because it has resulted in the creation of a visual that has not left my brain for a few days. It might never leave. It’s too early to tell. It all started when Trent Reznor — yes, the one you are thinking of — said this…

“I heard my daughter, who’s six, singing Dua Lipa the other day. She’s so into it, and it was so cool. Like, this is her music, you know? This is her thing… It really reminded me that the art of writing a well-crafted song. I teared up listening to a Dua Lipa track the other day because it was just a really well-done piece of music, you know? It was clever. It felt good. It’s difficult!”

… and then hopped into the comments of a Stereogum Instagram post about it to clarify exactly which song he was talking about.

Reznor himself responded, commenting, “it was Levitating. Her execution was spot on and when she got to the ‘sugarboo’ line it broke me.”

Okay, here’s what I need you to do…

Picture a sunny Saturday afternoon. You’re walking out of the grocery store, pushing your cart, with bags of groceries piled high and a long baguette sticking out of one of them like you’re a cartoon character who just went to the market. You hear the muffled sounds of a song playing from inside a car, just the thumping of the bass at first, but then… as you get closer… ahhh, yes, you recognize that song. It’s “Levitating” by Dua Lipa. And as you keep moving through the parking lot toward your car, you realize it’s coming from another parking spot in your row. And as you walk by this car, the one bumping a contagious and peppy dance song about young love, which I choose to believe is a jet black SUV, you peek inside the driver’s side window and you see former Nine Inch Nails leading singer Trent Reznor sitting there. By himself. In the car. With the windows rolled up.

And he is

Crying

His

Eyes

Out.

You see why this has been stuck in my head all week now, yes? And it’s probably stuck in yours now, too, right?

Well, I am sorry and/or you are welcome.

ITEM NUMBER FIVE – Honestly, this sounds like a better movie than Avengers

There’s a new Marvel show out called Secret Invasion. It’s got Emilia Clarke and Samuel L. Jackson and… actually, that is the extent of my knowledge about the show Secret Invasion. I only really mention it because I wanted an excuse to share this quote Samuel L. Jackson gave on the press tour about how wild Marvel gets over spoilers. So… yeah. Let’s post the quote!

“I remember when we got ready to do Avengers, someone printed out a copy of my Avengers script that had my watermark on it, and put it online for sale. I was shooting in Canada and Marvel came to Canada. It had been printed in the production office… They found out who it was, dude quit, left the country. They set up a fake buy for the script, dude didn’t show up. It was crazy.”

I’m going to be honest with you. And I’m going to say right up front that I am not a huge comic book guy so my opinion on all of this is colored by that. But…

Yeah. I really think I would rather watch a movie about someone stealing the tightly-guarded script to a massive comic book movie and then navigating the underworld with it while a massive media conglomerate engages in subterfuge to stop him than I would the actual comic book movie the script is for.

That would be fun. A little script heist. Please, for the love of God, someone consider this. Let Shane Black or Danny McBride write it. Let Ryan Gosling steal the script. Get Chris Tucker in there as the studio’s security expert. Have Zendaya play the star of the fake movie the script is for and get her tangled up in it all somehow. These are good ideas. To me. Which is what matters here. Because I am the one typing this paragraph.

Thank you.

READER MAIL

If you have questions about television, movies, food, local news, weather, or whatever you want, shoot them to me on Twitter or at [email protected] (put “RUNDOWN” in the subject line). I am the first writer to ever answer reader mail in a column. Do not look up this last part.

From Paul:

I saw a sign the other day, one of those ones that tells you various weight guidelines for things, like a scale, but the numbers had been erased and so it just said this:

MAX
MINIMUM

And that, thanks to you, caused me to immediately think of a real guy named “Max Minimum.” I picture him with two days of stubble and a cigar and a jaw that makes it look like he chews on rocks all day. This is your brand.

Two notes here:

• I am so happy right now
• I just kind of whisper-shouted “GET ME MAX MINIMUM” into my empty living room

This was a good email.

AND NOW, THE NEWS

To Utah!

National park rangers are trying to figure out who stole reptile track fossils dating back at least 200 million years from land at Capitol Reef National Park, and they credit an astute social media follower for noticing the previously undetected theft.

FOSSIL HEIST

“A visitor commented on (the post) and said they had noticed something was missing from that trackway,” she told KSL.com on Wednesday. “It came from a visitor who is a paleontologist and was familiar with the site.”

After sifting through photos and paleontological records, park officials determined it was taken within the 2017-2018 timeframe..

Okay, just to be clear, I love this guy. Sitting around his house looking at pictures of bones, piecing together a mystery in his kitchen. Imagine how thrilling this must have been for him when he realized what was happening. When he looked at various pictures from various dates and noticed the fossil was missing. Sprinting into his bedroom to tell his wife — whose name is either Sharon or Linda in this scenario — with his laptop in his hands and wildfire in his eyes.

Good for him.

Park officials are hoping someone may have information about the theft or knows who currently has the fossils. They are offering up to a $1,000 reward for information that leads to the prosecution of the responsible party.

I choose to believe this is one of those situations where the person who stole the fossil didn’t ever try to resell it and just has it behind a trick wall in his office so he can admire it while sipping wine after dinner. I hope his cleaning lady uncovers it while dusting and reports him and I hope she uses the $1000 reward to buy herself a nice little spa weekend.

I would watch this movie tonight. Right after the script heist one I suggested earlier. We can make it a franchise. Starring an investigator named Max Minimum. Look at us out here connecting dots on a Friday. We’re doing great.

The Paddington movies have been a salve in trying times, proof that the world has a soul that shines through in the darkest of moments. Fortunately, hope has been renewed once again as Oscar winner Olivia Colman has joined the cast of Paddington in Peru as the woman running the Home for Retired Bears.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the plot hasn’t been revealed beyond knowing that the lovable bear voiced by Ben Whishaw will travel from London back home to Peru. Almost assuredly, Aunt Lucy will be there in the mix of whatever wacky pratfalling hijinks he gets up to. Aunt Lucy showed up in London at the very end of Paddington 2, voiced by Imelda Staunton and cutting a very jovial 100 years old.

The film marks the feature-directing debut of commercial and music video helmer Dougal Wilson, but there’s some heartening continuity with writers Mark Burton, Jon Foster, and Simon Farnaby, who have all been involved to varying degrees with previous Paddington films.

After attracting some legit talent for the first two, snagging Colman is an unsurprising win for the franchise and continues its hot streak of getting prestige actors to get silly in the name of keeping all humans around the world joyous. Obviously, Colman rules, so Paddington in Peru seems on track to rule as well. There was also concern earlier this year that the production wasn’t getting off the ground, so this is a stellar sign that the wheels are turning.

(via The Hollywood Reporter)

The Milwaukee Bucks face a pair of gigantic decisions in free agency this summer. One involves the future of Khris Middleton, as the team’s All-Star wing and the longtime running mate for Giannis Antetokounmpo declined the player option in his contract earlier this week and is going to hit unrestricted free agency.

The other involves Brook Lopez, as the veteran big man is likewise an unrestricted free agent. While Middleton has been the All-Star alongside Antetokounmpo, Lopez’s importance to the Bucks in recent years cannot be overstated, as his ability to shoot and defend at an elite level have been crucial to their success. Unsurprisingly, this means that he is a name that’s attracting interest elsewhere, and during the 2023 NBA Draft, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reported that the Houston Rockets want to bring him on board, going as far as to call the team a “real threat” to sign him.

For a team as young as the Rockets, which selected Overtime Elite’s Amen Thompson with the No. 4 overall pick in the Draft and got a potential steal in Villanova’s Cam Whitmore at No. 20, it would make sense to bring on board a steady veteran hand like Lopez who can provide a calming presence on both ends of the floor. Last season, the 35-year-old averaged 15.9 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 2.5 blocks in 30.4 minutes per game while connecting on 37.4 percent of his attempts from three.

James Cameron, who only made Titanic so he could underwrite his submarining hobby, has weighed in on the Titan submersible tragedy over the past few days. Now that it’s confirmed that the submersible imploded, killing all five passengers inside, Cameron told ABC News that he could see clear parallels with the original launching and sinking of the Titanic.

“Many people in the community were concerned about this sub and even wrote letters to the company saying that what they were doing was too experimental and what they were doing needed to be certified,” Cameron said. “I’m struck by the similarity of the Titanic disaster itself, where the captain was repeatedly warned about ice ahead of his ship and yet he steamed at full speed into an ice field on a moonless night and many died as a result. It’s a very similar tragedy at the exact same site. It’s astonishing and really quite surreal.”

Cameron has long banged the drum for safety in submarining, going above and beyond in caution back in 2012 when he visited the Mariana Trench in the DEEPSEA CHALLENGER sub. At the time, he told National Geographic, “Yeah, of course I’m worried,” Worry is a good thing when you’re an explorer. I think when you’re cavalier, when you take risk for granted—that’s when you’re going to get bitten.”

It turns out he learned some powerful lessons from telling the story of the Titanic.

(via ABC News)

Lindsey Graham has been one of Donald Trump‘s most die-hard supporters for years now. The South Carolina senator can always be counted on for a Fox News appearance where he gets all teary-eyed about whatever consequences the former president is facing this time.

Graham’s deference to Trump is also remarkable considering one of Trump’s biggest detractors in the Republican Party was the late Senator John McCain. Graham and McCain were inseparable friends, so watching Graham latch onto Trump has been a sight to behold.

On Friday’s Morning Joe, host Joe Scarborough went to town on Graham’s seemingly endless displays of cowardice. For a brief moment, Graham actually turned against Trump following the January 6 attack, but then he went running back to the former president after being confronted by MAGA supporters at an airport. When Mika Brzezinski suggested there’s more to it than that, Scarborough wasn’t having it.

Via Raw Story:

“No, it’s not,” Scarborough protested. “Everybody says it is more than that. It’s not. It’s not more than that. They’re not scared of Donald Trump — they’re scared of their base. They’re scared to be leaders. They’re scared to stand up in a town hall meeting and tell people something that people may not want to hear; keep their head down and continue telling them that. They’ll be surprised if they do that, what happens, but they never take that chance.”

Scarborough also revealed that he’s still surprised to see Graham embrace Trump. The Morning Joe host and Graham were in the same freshman class of congressman in 1994, and Scarborough considered Graham to be a “friend of mine.” However, the Morning Joe crew was stunned seeing Graham support Trump when “he wanted his attorney general to arrest Joe Biden and Joe Biden’s family two weeks before the election.”

“Supported him through all of that,” Scarborough said in disbelief.

(Via Raw Story)

During her X-Men and Hunger Games era, a lot was made about Jennifer Lawrence being one of the most “relatable” celebrities. I wasn’t sure whether to believe it (have you been in a TBS sitcom starring a Blue Collar Comedy Tour member — or, y’know, been nominated for an Oscar?), but I do now after watching the actress have a breakdown while tasting hot sauce. Been there.

Lawrence dropped by Hot Ones to discuss her new movie, No Hard Feelings, and Method acting. “I would be nervous to work with somebody who is Method,” she said. “I would have no idea how to talk to them. Do I have to be in character? That would make me nervous. I haven’t seen another [acting] process that I’ve been curious about. You don’t know about them all the time.”

Between anecdotes, she ate chicken wings slathered in hot sauces, including Da Bomb Beyond Insanity. Let’s see how that went.

Celebs… they’re just like us! You can watch the full Hot Ones interview above.

Lawrence also recently spoke to Cameron Diaz, and showed her appreciation for one of the actress’ most underrated comedies. “When my best friend was going through a bad breakup many years ago, she wanted to watch Pride and Prejudice, which is her favorite movie. I was like, ‘Justine, trust me on this one. We’re going to watch The Sweetest Thing, and you’re going to thank me.’ She was so hesitant. I put it on, and it totally fixed her,” she said. Good thing there was no hot sauce involved during the “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing” scene.

(Via Interview)