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Kyrie Irving is set to be an unrestricted free agent this summer, and despite his considerable talents no one is quite sure what market will be out there for him.

The Dallas Mavericks are the one team we know will be trying hard to sign Irving, simply because they gave up so much to land him at the trade deadline back in February. Outside of Dallas, it’s not abundantly clear what teams will have interest in giving Kyrie the kind of long-term, big money deal he’s seeking. One of the teams expected to be in the mix was the Los Angeles Lakers, who have been connected to Irving for the last year as both he and LeBron James seem very open to a reunion, but with L.A. apparently focused on bringing back the likes of Austin Reaves and some of their other free agents, they won’t have the money to extend Irving a significant deal.

That apparently hasn’t ended Kyrie’s quest to play with LeBron again, and after James made eyebrow raising comments about his future after the Lakers’ loss in the Western Conference Finals, Irving has reportedly tried to convince LeBron to try and make a move to join him in Dallas, per Shams Charania and Chris Haynes.

If your first instinct here is to laugh, you are not alone. That has been the general response from everyone to seeing these reports.

How the Mavs would convince the Lakers to trade LeBron James to them without sending either of Kyrie or Luka Doncic back is beyond me. This is the best package Dallas could offer to make it work financially (and it could only happen on or after Draft night).

That certainly doesn’t seem like a deal the Lakers would be jumping to make, but we’ve seen crazy things happen before. Having this out there a month before free agency opens is going to lead to some very funny conversations and arguments on sports talk television and radio, so congrats to them for having something to talk about beyond the Finals. It’s also incredible how both Haynes and Charania got this nugget of info at the exact same time, and I’ll let you, the reader, try to figure out how and why that might happen at this very moment in time in the midst of the NBA Finals.

According to a new report Facebook founder and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg was allegedly knocked unconscious during a Jiu-Jitsu match last month, prompting the referee to halt the competition. The alleged knock out was recently reported in The New York Times, and Zuckerberg is apparently not thrilled. Not only is he personally denying he was unconscious, but so is his coach and the full weight of Meta’s seven billion dollar empire.

Via The Daily Beast:

“At no point during the competition was Mark knocked unconscious,” Elana Widmann, a spokesperson for Meta, said in an email to The Daily Beast. “That never happened.”

Widmann also claimed a Meta spokesperson attending the competition and witnessed an exchange in which the referee “apologized to Mark and his coach after the match for prematurely calling the match.”

The Times reported that the referee called the match after Zuckerberg was reportedly knocked unconscious by a chokehold, to the point the were the Meta CEO was allegedly snoring. However, both Zuckerberg and his coach disputed that claim and personally contacted the writer of the Times profile, Joe Bernstein, to say that actually Zuckerberg was just grunting.

“They both insisted that Mr. Zuckerberg had *not* lost consciousness, and the coach said that the referee had mistaken his effortful grunting for snores,” Bernstein tweeted in an update.

Zuckerberg allegedly being knocked out is a markedly different story than what Joe Rogan gushed about last month. The podcaster called the Meta CEO a “f*cking savage” following reports that Zuckerberg scored a gold medal in his first match. There was no mention of a dispute over Zuckerberg possibly being unconscious or just grunting really hard.

(Via The Daily Beast)

Hope is a dangerous thing, and so is The Shawshank Redemption being #1 on the IMDb Top 250 Movies list since… forever? It feels that way, at least, with The Godfather and The Dark Knight right behind it. The list needs a shake up — like on Letterboxd, which has a new highest-rated movie ever.

“Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is officially the highest rated film of all-time on Letterboxd,” the social media platform for film buffs tweeted. It’s the fifth film to achieve the honor, following The Godfather, Parasite, Come and See, and Everything Everywhere All at Once. Paddington 2 was robbed.

The only movies to appear in the top 10 on both the Letterboxd and IMDb lists? The Godfather, The Godfather Part II, and 12 Angry Men. (Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is #15 on IMDb.) Paddington 2 was robbed, again.

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is a hit among critics (95 percent Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes) and at the box office. The animated masterpiece grossed $120.5 million this weekend, which is the second biggest opening weekend of the year. “Overseas, Across the Spider-Verse added $88.1 million to its haul, giving it a grand total worldwide weekend of $208.5 million, Sony Pictures’ biggest animated opening of all time,” Entertainment Weekly reports.

If (when?) Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse drops out of the #1 position on Letterboxd, it better not go lower than #11: that’s where The Shawshank Redemption is.

If I Can’t Have Love, I Want Power was “the most ambitious project Halsey’s done to date,” according to Uproxx’s review of the August 2021 album. It’s also Halsey’s most recent project, and they revived one of its tracks, “Lilith,” for Blizzard Entertainment’s Diablo IV video game.

Halsey performed “Lilith” at The Game Awards 2022 last December, a big reveal of their impending collaboration with the highly anticipated game. Today, June 5, she and BTS’ Suga sweetened the imminent release with all-encompassing, cinematic video for “Lilith (Diablo IV Anthem).”

Per press release, the Henry Hobson-directed video was partially filmed in Cambrai, France’s Chapelle Des Jésuites, “where Blizzard had filled the ceiling with paintings and a 160-foot mural inspired by the game.”

The three-minute visual begins with a hooded Halsey entering the church alone. They’re ready for war, striding confidently despite being struck by various spears. Suga lends an extra layer of mystique.

“You get too caught up in the moment / You can’t call it love if you show it,” he sings softly while isolated in an all-red room. “We just f*ck things up / Yeah, I noticed.”

According to Blizzard’s official website, Lilith is a central character in Diablo IV:

“Seeking refuge from the eternal conflict between the High Heavens and the Burning Hells, Inarius and Lilith formed Sanctuary and gave life to the Nephalem with the Stolen Worldstone. Fearing for the destruction of her hybrid offspring, Lilith led a violent, protective act to protect the Nephalem; ultimately leading Inarius to turn his back on her, banishing her to the abyss, becoming enemies henceforth. Lilith’s return ushers in an age of darkness and misery. What fate awaits?”

Halsey is just as invested as any other Diablo IV player.

“I’m thrilled that I get to collab with Suga of BTS on a reimagined version of ‘Lilith’ for the Diablo IV anthem,” Halsey said in a statement. “Having spent countless hours in Sanctuary with my family, I’m here as both a fan and collaborator. Plus, I’ve always wanted to do a concept with Suga with this type of dark mythology. Hopefully, fans of Diablo, Suga, and myself will love Lilith’s embrace.”

Last month, Halsey updated fans on Tumblr about entering “album mode” and asking for patience.

“It will pay off in the long run,” she wrote, in part. “This feels like my debut all over again, in some ways. Your love and support have carried me through a time where I thought maybe I only had a few albums left in me, but I know now that there are so many more than I could have ever dreamed. Anyways, I love you. Down the rabbit hole I go.”

Around the same time, Halsey was a surprise guest at Suga’s headlining concert at Kia Forum in Los Angeles. They performed “Suga’s Interlude” together for the first time, and Halsey later posted about how special the moment was to be on stage with Suga, their “twin.”

Watch Halsey and Suga united once again for the “Lilith (Diablo IV Anthem)” above, and check out the imagery below.

Diablo IV is out 6/7 via Blizzard Entertainment. Find more information here.

As the seventh Mission: Impossible film (now known as Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One) traipsed around Europe as it bounced from country to country looking for safe harbors to film during the pandemic, rumors began spreading of Tom Cruise doing what he does best: Jumping off insanely high objects.

This time around, the actor had reportedly launched a motorcycle off of a cliff, and sure enough, the trailer for Dead Reckoning Part One featured the insane stunt. There was no denying that was Cruise literally flying through the air. It’s exactly the kind of stunt that Cruise is known for, and according to a new report, it was the first scene he filmed for the movie.

“Doing that on Day One gave us all the time in the world to understand why he [Ethan Hunt] was doing what he was doing,” director Christopher McQuarrie told Empire. “If we sat around and tried to figure out these movies the old-fashioned way, you’d never find it, simply because it’s such a living, breathing thing.”

As for Cruise, well, he wasn’t about to let a global outbreak stop him from hurling his body from a cliff at breakneck speed.

“It’s never the easy road,” Cruise said. “I have a responsibility to audiences, the studio, my crew, my cast and the industry. We can’t compromise just because all of these things happened. I can’t compromise the storytelling.”

Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One jumps into theaters on July 12.

(Via Empire)

Today, Danny Brown and Childish Gambino are among the most respected names in hip-hop. But back in the early 2010s, when both were first getting their starts in the music business, things were much different, as Gambino (aka Donald Glover) pointed out earlier this year. Danny recently reflected on his and Donald’s bumpy starts on his podcast with guest Redveil, recalling a joint tour that he says went horribly for them both after they collaborated on Glover’s Royalty track “Toxic.”

“I remember when I first did [‘Toxic’], people weren’t really f*cking with Childish Gambino like that around that time,” he reminisced. “‘Cause I remember when he asked me to go on that tour. My manager at the time was like, ‘You sure you wanna do this?’ I’m like, ‘Hell yeah, f*ck that. I’m tryna get on the road.’ Which was, I will say — that was one of the worst tours I ever played. They hated my guts every night; I was getting booed offstage. I remember I was crying one night, crying crocodile tears like a little bitch, sitting in some diner. We had some hoes with us and everything. I ain’t even wanna deal with the b*tches, man. I’m like, ‘They hate me, man. This sh*t sucks. I’m really trash.’”

He’s since gained some perspective thanks to having a little more distance from the traumatic events of his past. “When I look at it, man, our music was so different,” he elaborated. “I was coming from a whole different perspective than what he was coming on. But then when I got in the studio, I’m like, ‘Oh no, this n**** is dope.’ So I would say, more than anything, I’ve been impressed by people that I didn’t really think were like that. He’s just an all-around talented motherf*cker in that sense, and I be jealous of them motherf*ckers, too. I call them ‘art school kids.’ Like, this motherf*cker can really do anything; why you wanna rap?! This all I got! This all I know how to do!”

Danny Brown is likely to have better luck on his next joint tour with Jpegmafia this summer. He also recently addressed getting sober, which has done wonders for lots of his artist peers.

And Just Like That… will soon return for a second season on June 22. This time around, the show will actually follow up on the seemingly futile tease of the season finale, which showed Carrie texting with “Samantha” and setting up a meeting for drinks. This kind-of felt disingenuous, especially concerning Cattrall’s outspoken history of not being interested in the SATC franchise anymore, along with the feud being acknowledged as “painful” by Sarah Jessica Parker. And so, it seemed destined that Samantha Jones would only be present in spirit for this revival, and we’d have to make do with being amused by Che Diaz for awhile.

Still, the show was putting it into SATC lore that Sam and Carrie were burying the hatchet. Add the wrinkle of Netflix’s revelation of releasing their own Cattrall show, Glamorous, on June 22, too. Yet then word surfaced that Cattrall would actually return for an AJLT Season 2 cameo. This sounded potentially exciting to viewers, but there’s a catch — Cattrall only filmed one scene (as initially reported by Variety), and she did so without interacting with any other cast members. Over the weekend, Evan Handler (who portrays Charlotte’s husband, Harry) confirmed that this is the case, and he didn’t know about the cameo until, like, last week either. Yet he supports it, via PEOPLE:

“I think it is great. I do … Apparently, [her cameo] was shot in the garage somewhere with no contact with anybody, so the only place I have to welcome her is into my living room when it airs on television,” he quipped.

As for when he found out Cattrall was returning to the SATC-verse, Handler — who portrays character Harry Goldenblatt — told PEOPLE, “I learned it the same day you did.”

That’s not exactly a va-va-voom Samantha return, but we’ll see how things go. Hopefully, this mystery scene doesn’t involve any exercise equipment.

(Via PEOPLE & Variety)

Here we go again. Cardi B has spoken before about how much she dislikes being pitted against “every new female rapper” but that won’t stop fans from looking for signs of friction every chance they get. The latest opportunity came with Cardi’s set at Hot 97 Summer Jam this weekend, where one of Cardi’s background graphics caught fans’ attention and has them thinking that Cardi’s latest target is “Boy’s A Liar” rapper Ice Spice.

During Cardi’s set, she set up her performance of “Tomorrow 2” with a clip from Annie while an illustrated caricature of the red-headed orphan appeared on the screen behind her. Fans seeing this image online decided that this was somehow a reference to Ice Spice because the rapper’s look — which usually consists of bright orange curls styled into an afro — has become so iconic in such a short amount of time. This led to an avalanche of tweets accusing Cardi of spoofing Ice Spice’s look — although, inarguably, Annie did it first.

Of course, it should be noted that the fans driving this particular narrative seemingly all come from a specific fan base (rhymes with “carbs”), while others — including, apparently, the person who created the graphic in the first place, called it out as ridiculous. A video of Cardi defending Ice Spice recently also surfaced as evidence she wouldn’t feel the need to shade the new rap it-girl, even though she recently collaborated with Cardi’s ostensible rival.

Incidentally, Cardi’s verse on “Tomorrow 2” contains a nod to Ice Spice’s breakout hit “Munch,” which Cardi also considered remixing, although she decided later not to put the song out. But Cardi herself went on Instagram Live shortly after her performance to lay the speculation to rest. “Cut the bullsh*t, please,” she said. “Get the mop. Y’all being too messy and y’all being annoying.”

Cardi B is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Here we go again. Cardi B has spoken before about how much she dislikes being pitted against “every new female rapper” but that won’t stop fans from looking for signs of friction every chance they get. The latest opportunity came with Cardi’s set at Hot 97 Summer Jam this weekend, where one of Cardi’s background graphics caught fans’ attention and has them thinking that Cardi’s latest target is “Boy’s A Liar” rapper Ice Spice.

During Cardi’s set, she set up her performance of “Tomorrow 2” with a clip from Annie while an illustrated caricature of the red-headed orphan appeared on the screen behind her. Fans seeing this image online decided that this was somehow a reference to Ice Spice because the rapper’s look — which usually consists of bright orange curls styled into an afro — has become so iconic in such a short amount of time. This led to an avalanche of tweets accusing Cardi of spoofing Ice Spice’s look — although, inarguably, Annie did it first.

Of course, it should be noted that the fans driving this particular narrative seemingly all come from a specific fan base (rhymes with “carbs”), while others — including, apparently, the person who created the graphic in the first place, called it out as ridiculous. A video of Cardi defending Ice Spice recently also surfaced as evidence she wouldn’t feel the need to shade the new rap it-girl, even though she recently collaborated with Cardi’s ostensible rival.

Incidentally, Cardi’s verse on “Tomorrow 2” contains a nod to Ice Spice’s breakout hit “Munch,” which Cardi also considered remixing, although she decided later not to put the song out. But Cardi herself went on Instagram Live shortly after her performance to lay the speculation to rest. “Cut the bullsh*t, please,” she said. “Get the mop. Y’all being too messy and y’all being annoying.”

Cardi B is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Keeping up with new music can be exhausting, even impossible. From the weekly album releases to standalone singles dropping on a daily basis, the amount of music is so vast it’s easy for something to slip through the cracks. Even following along with the Uproxx recommendations on a daily basis can be a lot to ask, so every Monday we’re offering up this rundown of the best new music this week.

This week saw an emotional comeback for Foo Fighters and two of the biggest pop icons of their respective generations meet up. Yeah, it was a great week for new music. Check out the highlights below.

For more music recommendations, check out our Listen To This section, as well as our Indie Mixtape and Pop Life newsletters.

Foo Fighters — “The Teacher”

Foo Fighters have been through a lot over the past year-plus following the death of Taylor Hawkins, but they’ve charged back with their new album, But Here We Are. “The Teacher” is a particularly vulnerable track, a mournful tune that ends with Dave Grohl repeatedly roaring, “Goodbye.”

Latto — “Put It On Da Floor Again” Feat. Cardi B

It’s been over five years since Cardi B’s first and only album, 2018’s Invasion Of Privacy. She’s kept plenty busy since then, though, including with features like on Latto’s “Put It On Da Floor” remix. Cardi made sure to shout out LSU on her new verse, and the university in turn made sure to extend an invite to the rapper.

The Weeknd, Madonna, and Playboi Carti — “Popular”

The Weeknd’s controversial HBO series The Idol isn’t performing well on Rotten Tomatoes, but at least there’s new music, like last week’s “Popular” from The Weeknd, Madonna, and Playboi Carti. There’s good news if you like this: If The Weeknd gets his way, there will be a whole collaborative album with him and Madonna.

Kid Cudi — “Porsche Topless”

Cudi takes fan feedback seriously: He teased a single, fans were vocal about how little they liked it, so Cudi pivoted and dropped a different new song instead. The single he actually released is “Porsche Topless,” an upbeat tune on which Cudi is vocal about how grateful he is for all his blessings.

Ed Sheeran — “A Beautiful Game”

What may have been the final episode of Ted Lasso (although it seems like nobody’s really too sure about that) featured some Ed Sheeran. He wrote a new song for the show, “A Beautiful Game,” which touches on the show’s recurring themes of teamwork and positivity.

Dominic Fike — “Mona Lisa”

Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse is fantastic, and so too is the roster of talent that Metro Boomin brought together for the soundtrack. On the deluxe version, Dominic Fike offers “Mona Lisa,” a smooth tune that starts acoustic before settling into a head-nodding groove.

Karol G — “Watati” Feat. Aldo Ranks

Speaking of big-time movie soundtracks, Barbie is equally star-studded. While the full OST isn’t out until July, Karol G and Aldo Ranks’ “Watati” is here now and it’s a lively reggaeton tune that somehow brings even more color to an already-vibrant Barbie universe.

Burna Boy — “Sittin’ On Top Of The World”

Burna Boy is clearly a Brandy fan, as he sampled her and Mase’s 1998 collaboration “Top Of The World” on his latest, “Sittin’ On Top Of The World.” Naturally, the song has a bit of a throwback vibe, but Burna did a good job at modernizing it for his self-laudatory new track.

Toosii and Future — “Favorite Song Toxic Version”

Earlier this year, Toosii dropped “Favorite Song,” the biggest hit of his career: It’s his first single to chart on the Billboard Hot 100 chart (at No. 5, no less). To celebrate, he delivered a new “toxic” version of the track featuring Future, who stays true to the updated moniker by reflecting on a toxic relationship in his verse.

Baby Keem and Kendrick Lamar — “The Hillbillies”

Bon Iver has a rich history of hip-hop collaborations (well, pretty much just some songs with Kanye West). Anyway, now there’s some newness on that front, as Baby Keem and Kendrick Lamar sampled his “PDLIF” on their latest, “The Hillbillies,” a rapid-fire and relentless track that gets an atmospheric boost from the sample.

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