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John Cleese totally gets the NFT craze that’s currently gripped asset speculators on the general internet. And while some of those non-fungible tokens like NBA Top Shot or smaller art projects are more affordable, the comedic legend is diving head-first into the craze with a token that will cost you a record-setting amount if you’re feeling like investing. That’s right: John Cleese has a bridge to sell you.

The comedian posted on Twitter about an NFT sale, a picture of the Brooklyn Bridge, that he’s started. And if you haven’t already figured this out, yes he’s absolutely poking fun at the NFT craze that’s seen speculators flood the market for collectables and other digital art they quite literally cannot touch.

The bridge, which is selling on OpenSea until, fittingly, April 1, started at $100 but is currently holding a bid of more than $35,000, which is a lot of money for a poorly drawn bridge made for an extremely tongue-in-cheek joke about an “unknown artist” trying to get his big break selling NFTs.

“I’m not going to tell you my name,” Cleese said in a video. “Because all you need to know about me is that I’m a young, unknown digital artist. Or a collective of artists.”

Cleese, who is 81, says he totally gets what is happening with NFTs and isn’t like those other fuddy-duddys, who think it’s a pyramid scheme.

“Now you and me, we get it. Our parents laugh at non-refundable tokens and cryptic currency,” he said. “‘It can’t go on the wall’ they say. ‘Is the world ending?’ Hardly! This is a cultural moment. A bridge from the past to the future. And a bridge is about trust. As in the saying ‘If you believe that, I’ve got a bridge to sell you.’”

So, yeah, it’s a joke to him. But one that will apparently net him a lot of money once the calendar rolls over to April. Whether the artwork actually holds any value is unclear, but it’s certainly one of the more unique NFT sales we’ve seen so far.

Former First Lady Michelle Obama was clear about who’s had a tougher time dealing with their daughters, Malia, 22, and Sasha, 19, leaving home to go to college.

“Oh, my husband,” she said of former President Barack Obama. “He was weeping and … he still is like, ‘They left me!'” Michelle was totally ready for them to go off to school. “I was like, ‘Kick them out the door,” she joked.

Malia is currently a senior at Harvard and Sasha is a sophomore at the University of Michigan.

However, once the Obamas started getting used to the next phase in their lives, COVID-19 hit and the kids had to move back home and study online.

Now, Michelle has to fight to keep track of her makeup and clothes while Barack simply enjoys his daughters’ company.

Michelle Obama Says Barack Obama Is Having A Tough Time As An Empty Nester

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“It’s like, ‘Get out of my closet!'” she said. “And he’s also a man, so they’re not borrowing his makeup. They’re not stealing his, you know. I can’t find anything with these little women in my house. They’re always sneaking into my room, and I’m like, ‘What are you doing? What are you taking? Put that back!'”

So, once again, Michelle couldn’t wait for her kids to go back to school. “I’m like, ‘When does school get back in session? When can they go back to those dorms?” Michelle said.

Michelle’s perspective on her children is a bit different than her husband’s. She played a more active role in their upbringing because Barack was busy performing the most difficult job in the world. “I spent all my time with them, he was President,” she told Kelly Clarkson.

The Obamas walk their dog, Bo.via Wikimedia Commons

Last year, Michelle told Oprah Winfrey that raising two children in the Washington limelight was no easy task, so sending them off to college was an incredible relief.

“Parenting takes up a lot of emotional space … I put a lot of time and energy into parenting these girls but right now we are trying to make their lives normal — so that means weekends were a pain,” she said.

“We had to worry about what parties they were going to, whether there was alcohol, I had to know who the parents were, so every weekend for me was hard,” Michelle said.

“And they’re gone, thank God,” the “Becoming” author joked.

The fact that Barack Obama has suffered a greater feeling of loss than Michelle after their kids left the nest isn’t a rare thing. Studies show that somewhere between 20 to 25% of parents get Empty Nest Syndrome (ENS), after their kids move out, and it affects men almost as often as women.

People with ENS experience a profound feeling of loss after their children have left the home. It can lead to depression, alcoholism, identity crisis, and marital problems.

One of the best ways for people to overcome the loss of their children at home is to get out and start new projects and the Obamas have excelled at that. Barack just launched a new podcast with Bruce Springsteen called, “Renegades: Born in the USA” and Michelle has a new children’s TV called “Waffles + Mochi.”

Despite an unprecedented year, Jay-Z has been doing very well for himself. The rapper has secured a number of business deals in the last year, including his Tidal deal with Jack Dorsey’s Square. And while Jay-Z’s endeavors have made him a good amount of money, apparently his signature alone is worth a hefty sum as well. A Jay-Z trading card that was signed by the rapper himself just sold for a record-breaking amount of money at an auction.

An autographed Jay-Z “Signs Of Stardom” Topps trading card from 2005 was recently posted for sale on the online auction platform Goldin Auctions. While the card had some initial bids hovering around the $2,000 mark, one buyer was able to up the ante. Closing out the sale, Jay-Z’s trading card was purchased by a fan for a whopping $105,780. The six-figure sale means that it was sold for more money than any other non-sports trading card ever.

Online sports card platform SlabStox first picked up the exciting news on social media. “This is a public service announcement… a Jay-Z Topps Chrome Superfractor RC Auto 1/1 just sold for $105,780 via @goldinauctions. That marks the all-time record for a non-sports/TCG card,” they wrote.

See a photo of Jay-Z’s signed trading card above.

Ready for a mind-blowing quote on how your booze brand can do better with representation and inclusivity?

“If there isn’t enough room, we build a bigger table. There’s always room. The world’s abundant. We’ll just make more room.”

BOOM. Wise words spoken by the CEO of Lobos 1707 Tequila & Mezcal, Dia Simms.

Throughout her storied career, Simms has seen and experienced firsthand the challenges of being a woman of color in leadership. In her previous role, as the president of Combs Enterprises, Simms oversaw brands under Diddy‘s empire, including CÎROC Ultra-Premium Vodka, Blue Flame Agency, AQUAhydrate, Bad Boy Entertainment, Sean John, and Revolt TV. In 2020, she joined Lobos 1707 as CEO.

Launched last year, and founded by actor and businessman Diego Osorio, Lobos 1707 is a luxe tequila and mezcal brand. And while there are many new entries in that market of late, few count LeBron James and his business partner Maverick Carter as early investors. Lobos translates to “wolves” in Spanish and the 1707 crew of Osorio, Simms, James, and the rest of their partners take that name very seriously — nicknaming themselves the wolfpack.

“I feel like a Nat Geo expert now,” Simms says. “Because we’ve actually studied like, ‘what does it mean? How do wolves move? How do they take care of one another?’ They have an alpha female and an alpha male. They actually nurture one another and are highly social, intelligent, and emotionally care for one another, and understand the strength of the community. Each of us is strong in our own ways, but the power together is unshakable and unbreakable.”

Much of that power, on the business side, comes from the Lobos 1707 team’s devotion to matters of diversity and representation. The “bigger table” metaphor runs throughout the brand — where true inclusivity has been a building block of the business from day one. Read more about that emphasis, the tequila itself, and being a woman of color in the spirits industry in my conversation with Simms featured below.

***

You were originally in the Department of Defense. How does someone go from that to the spirits industry? What was the draw?

It wasn’t all that intentional. I had planned to go to law school, originally. So I joined the Department of Defense to be part of what was their procurement program, where they would train you on negotiating and contracts. It was a perfect springboard before going to law school. The best part was I got legit, detailed learning on negotiating, which helps whether I’m arguing over a movie with my husband or negotiating a deal. At some point, frankly, it just was like… it was boring. I was talking to a friend and was like, “I’m completely bored. I want to be a little bit more challenged.” He recommended that I look at going into sales, which, at the time, I was like, “I don’t really want to force things on people. That’s not my thing.”

Long story short, I ended up going into advertising for radio sales, and then I really fell in love with marketing and building brands and launched a marketing company. That’s one of the first introductions for me, over 20 years ago. into spirits — where I started learning about how to build the story of spirits. How do you make sure there’s responsible consumption? It was also my understanding that there weren’t really a lot of women or diverse populations in the industry. Then I did pharma, advertising, and a bunch of other stuff until I came back to working for Combs Enterprises — where I was part of the building and growing this vodka brand from kind of obscurity to a $2 billion brand.

Now I’m just so grateful and thrilled to be CEO of Lobos 1707 Tequila & Mezcal.

Going back to when you were at Combs Enterprises. You were there for nearly 15 years. You also were the first president of the company. So what were some takeaways that you learned from working there? How do you feel like that role helped you grow in your career?

I think the number one takeaway is the importance of ownership. Sean Combs represents the best of the American dream and an understanding of the power of culture that when a brand has a respectful and requited relationship with a population and understands how to be protective of the integrity of artists and celebrate that and not just focus on the consumerism portion of it, you can really make magic together. You can have a successful brand that’s commercially successful, but in a way that still honors the artistry and honors the culture. It doesn’t have to be a zero-sum game.

And too, having a seat at the table. At Lobos, I’m literally here right now at a bigger table than our founder. We always say, if there isn’t enough room, we build a bigger table. It’s part of what I love about being with Lobos 1707 and it’s definitely something I learned very deeply at Combs Enterprises.

There’s always room. The world’s abundant. We’ll just make more room.

Some of my pieces for Uproxx have been about not just inclusivity and representation but about being able to have a seat at the table. With that being said, what are some challenges you face as a woman of color in this industry? How have you overcome those challenges?

So, the challenge is a lack of representation and that’s not unique to the spirits industry. I’ve worked in defense, advertising, pharma, fashion, fragrance, and spirits. At a C-suite level, it’s all predominantly male. It just is what it is, which makes it a challenge if you are singularly representing an entire population. Frankly, I welcome the responsibility and I had a great conversation with a bunch of amazing women yesterday. One of the things we talked about was being the last firsts. It’s all wonderful now — I love celebrating the “first this” and the “first that” — but I can’t wait until there are no more firsts because it becomes commonplace and mundane when I walk into a room and just like women are 50 percent of the population, they’re 50 percent of the leadership suite.

The most challenging thing is how much time is wasted because of people’s conscious and unconscious biases. Some people can’t help themselves with whatever assumption that they have. It takes a full eight or nine minutes and they’ll want to be like, “Oh, wow! Damn, you really bring something to the table. This is a useful conversation.” Now we’ve just wasted all this time because of whatever your preconceived notions are. I’m just coming out to figure out how we can have a great time, have fun, and make some money together. If everybody opens their mind, it saves them time. It saves me time. We have a better relationship moving forward, and we can get to success faster.

There need to be more discussions about this and more action. I feel like the discussions are starting to happen, but there needs to be more action taken towards it. With Lobos 1707, how are you putting the talk into action?

People thought we were kind of crazy to be launching a brand new tequila brand in the middle of a pandemic. Before we even jumped into our sales forecast and our marketing plan, we spent like two months just thinking through who we are, who do we want to hire, and how we are going to represent the brand. So we felt like even from where we work, we have to be intentional about representing the brand because, first of all, consumers now see through the BS, right? Then, we were intentional about the kind of people we hired and who we hired. I’m proud to say, today we’re over 50 percent women and we’re over 60 percent ethnically diverse, and it’s on purpose.

I think the thing that’s most important to be said out loud is — it’s in its very early days — but we’re already showing great commercial success. So it’s not a favor or charitable point of view to say like, “Oh, that’s cool. Let’s be diverse. It’s Black History Month.” No, it’s actually just genuinely good for business. We’ll be the example to show what happens when you have true diversity, not just talk.

I love it! Also, rewinding back, how were you introduced to the opportunity to be the CEO of this company? What was the dialogue that happened before you took on the role?

I got to meet the founder and heard the phenomenal story. Of course, it was exciting that LeBron James was a major investor in it. And the story behind the founder whose family has actually been in this wine and spirits industry for centuries in Spain was something that was interesting to me like, “Okay, this isn’t some made-up brand story, right?” This is this man’s real family’s real legacy. When it’s your family and your name on the line, the level of integrity is just different.

For me, first and foremost, the most interesting thing was going to be what is the liquid? I need to taste it. We have a good formula. We know how to make a brand exciting and to drive them to a brand one time, but if you want somebody to come back twice, it needs to be outstanding and phenomenal. Our tequila and mezcal are a little different than others on the market, they all have a PX (Pedro Ximénez) and go through the process of being finished from an aged barrel. You can taste it in the viscosity and mouthfeel. It is noticeably different. When I tasted the liquor, I was like, “Oh, this is incredible.” Then, on top of that, to our earlier point, the people behind the brand are good, kind, and hardworking people. If you’re going to spend a lot of time at work and you look to your left and your right, you want to be around people that you honor, value, and respect.

What’s your go-to like? Do you drink tequila?

I do. I like a añejo and reposado. I like Blanco too, but I usually use that for cocktails.

We actually skipped straight from the repo to the extra añejo because our repo will stand up against somebody else’s añejo. Instead of a blanco, we start with a joven which is worth trying as well. They’re all terrific.

I can’t wait to try them! My last question pertains to women getting involved in spirits. What advice would you give to women who may not come from a spirits background but want to get a start in the industry?

Be audacious. It’s hard to change something from the outside. I have a very quick story about where my dad grew up. The police were like another gang. It was something to be feared. So growing up, he had a negative experience and history with the police. As he got older and had a chance, his friends were like, “The police are hiring. You should consider it” At that time, he said it was a difficult thing to reconcile because of his background; but he thought to himself, “Well, if I actually want to see a change, then I should become a part of it.” He ended up joining the New York Police Department. Then he ended up actually leading one of the very first task forces with internal affairs on how to train police officers to be respectful in Black and Brown neighborhoods. Now, obviously, there’s work to be done, but I know that he made a change during that time. It was just such a lesson to me that if you want to see something change, the best way is to be a part of it.

So, it’s a difficult industry where a lot of times it’s like, you have to have spirits experience to be in the spirits industry, and it’s like, “How do you get the initial experience?” Any time I can be of service; hit me up on Instagram. Shoot me a direct message. This is incredibly important to me to make sure that there is more representation in the industry. It’s a fun industry. There are some requirements in terms of technical expertise, but there’s no reason that we shouldn’t all have a seat at the table because it makes the industry better.

Season 18 of The Ellen DeGeneres Show started with an apology.

In response to allegations of a toxic workplace, including current and former employees claiming they faced “racism, fear, and intimidation” on the daytime talk show, host Ellen DeGeneres said that she was “so sorry to the people who were affected. I know that I’m in a position of privilege and power. And I realized that with that comes responsibility, and I take responsibility for what happens at my show.” The prospect of watching Ellen grovel for the public’s forgiveness could have been enticing for some, but ratings for the premiere were even with last season — and they have only plummeted since.

The New York Times reports that The Ellen DeGeneres Show is averaging 1.5 million viewers per episode this season, “down from 2.6 million in the same period last year… The show’s loss of more than a million viewers translates to a 43 percent decline, representing a steeper drop than any of its competitors.” Ellen is now well behind former competitors Dr. Phil (3.1 million) and Live: With Kelly and Ryan (2.7 million) and closer to Rachael Ray (1.2 million) and The Steve Wilkos Show (1.1 million):

The loss of viewers includes a 38 percent decline in her core audience, adult women under 54, according to Nielsen. And it appears to have put a dent in the show’s ad revenue. From September to January of the 2019-20 season, Ellen brought in $131 million from advertisers, according to the research firm Kantar. That has fallen to $105 million for the same period in 2020-21, a drop of about 20 percent.

Somewhere out there, Dakota Johnson might be smiling.

(Via the New York Times)

Breeders (FX, 10:00pm) — Martin Freeman’s starring turn in this comedy enters the sophomore season with new parenting challenges. The kids are still pretty much in control of the situation with Ava and Luke growing up fast, and Paul and Ally’s parenting style starting to lose its charm. Meanwhile, Luke’s having issues at school and Ava has unrelated concerns of her own. Expect to soon see these episodes on a Hulu next-day basis.

Bulletproof (CW, 8:00pm) — Bishop and Pike go to prison and make the best of the situation while Arjana and Tanner team up with their case taking an unexpected turn.

Beartown (HBO, 9:00pm) — This Swedish crime drama based upon Fredrik Backman’s bestselling novel, and it follows the domination of a junior ice-hockey team upon a small community after a retired pro hockey player, Peter, relocates to Beartown for a fresh start. This week, Peter’s place with the team is on the line, and he’s facing immense hostility.

Debris (NBC, 10:00pm) — A rainstorm over a Nebraska farm includes much more than meets the eye, and Bryan and Finola are still doing the Mulder and Scully thing.

The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon — Tracee Ellis Ross, Andy Cohen, Aaron Frazer

Late Night With Seth Meyers — Ken Jeong, Eddie Izzard, Griff, Ash Soan

In case you missed these picks from the weekend:

Q: Into the Storm (HBO Max limited series) — You’ve heard all of those wild QAnon conspiracy theories, and this weekend, thia six-part documentary series begins to chronicle the movement’s evolution. Filmmaker Cullen Hoback drives into the rabbit hole to reveal how the mysterious “Q” wields conspiracies as information warfare to manipulate thinking and influence American culture. In the end, this series will touch upon the Internet’s darkest corners and explore how “unfettered free speech” (according to the synopsis) can go to dangerous places.

Waffles + Mochi (Netflix series) — Michelle Freaking Obama stars in this show about two curious puppets, (obviously) Waffles and Mochi, who explore the world through food and culture. This also doubles as an educational series about fresh-ingredient cooking, so learn how to become a chef, along with the puppets and a former first lady. Don’t resist this one! It’s ridiculously charming, and the series travels the globe (by way of the kitchen) to help kids and grown-ups connect with far-flung traditions. From the Miso soup in Japan to spices in Italy and potatoes from the Andes of Peru, the food here might actually be more interesting than the celebrity guests.

Over the summer, Keanu Reeves announced that he’d written his own comic book series, Brzrkr, for Boom! Studios, and while promoting the project, the actor was not shy about his hopes of turning his creation into a live-action film. “I’d love to play Berzerker!” Reeves excitedly told USA Today while talking to the paper from The Matrix 4 set in Berlin. It looks like that day has already arrived.

Less than two weeks after the first issue of Brzrkr hit comic shops in early March and has already sold an impressive 615,000 copies, Netflix has greenlit both a live-action film and an anime series starring Reeves. The projects will reportedly be an “expansion” of the original series that Reeves co-wrote with New York Times bestselling writer Matt Kindt. Via Variety:

“Brzrkr” (pronounced “berserker”) is described as a “brutally epic saga about an immortal warrior’s 80,000 year fight through the ages. The man known only as ‘B’ (Reeves) is half-mortal and half-god, cursed and compelled to violence… even at the sacrifice of his sanity. But after wandering the earth for centuries, B may have finally found a refuge – working for the U.S. government to fight the battles too violent and too dangerous for anyone else. In exchange, B will be granted the one thing he desires – the truth about his endless blood-soaked existence…and how to end it.”

According to Variety, the live-action film will hit first followed by the anime series and is part of an overall first-look deal between Boom! Studios and Netflix.

(Via Variety)

Jang Yeong-Jin, 62, has had a perilous journey to find true love. Growing up in totalitarian North Korea, he had no idea there was any such thing as being homosexual. He thought that he had a medical problem because he wasn’t attracted to his wife.

He got married at 27 and when it came time to consummate the relationship he felt terribly uncomfortable.

“I couldn’t lay a finger on my wife,” he told the BBC. “I went to so many hospitals in North Korea because we thought that I had some sort of physical problem.”

It never occurred to Jang or his family that there could be any other reason for his lack of interest in women. “There is no concept of homosexuality in North Korea,” he says. North Koreans live a communal existence so men frequently hold hands, but it’s just assumed that it’s a sign of close friendship.

“North Korea is a totalitarian society — we have lots of communal life so it’s normal for us,” Jang said.

Kim Seok-Hyang, professor of North Korean studies at Ewha Women’s University in South Korea, has interviewed dozens of defectors and says the concept of homosexuality is unheard of in the totalitarian state.

“When I asked them about homosexuality, they didn’t catch on quickly so I had to explain it to every single person,” Kim told the BBC.

Jang wanted to file for divorce so that he and his unhappy wife could both live freely, but given the country’s draconian family laws, he realized it would be best if he defected to South Korea. In 1996, Jang braved crossing the border, but when he couldn’t make it from China to South Korea, he returned home.

The next year, Jang escaped to South Korea by crawling through the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), making him one of the few people to successfully do so.

In 1998, he was reading an article about his defection in a South Korean newspaper when he came across a review of an American film about two gay men that featured a photo of them kissing.

“When I saw that, I knew right away that I was this kind of person. That’s why I couldn’t like women,” he said. After the revelation, he became a regular in Seoul’s gay bars. Eventually, he met a flight attendant and the two started a relationship. Unfortunately, the man conned Jang out of his life savings.

What it’s like to be gay in North Korea?

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This experience soured Jang on relationships, but in 2020, he met a Korean man living in America on a dating app. After four months, he flew to America to meet him but when he first saw him at the airport he was unimpressed by his casual, American style of dress. “Seeing how he dressed, I assumed he was an ill-mannered and blunt man,” Jang says.

But soon, after many long picnics and bottles of wine, he began to grow on Jang.

“The more I got to know this man, the more I could see that he had a very good character. Although he is eight years younger than me, he is the kind of person who likes to care for others first,” he said.

After two months he proposed to Jang.

The couple hopes to marry later this year.

“I always felt fearful, sad, and lonely when I lived alone. I am a very introverted and sensitive person, but he is an optimistic man, so we are good for each other,” he said.

Anyone who has owned an inkjet printer knows the invention is rife with complications and frustrations. We managed to put a man on the moon five decades ago, but we still can’t create a printer that works like it’s supposed to? Really, humanity?

All we want is to be able to push a button and print the thing. That’s it. So simple. We’ve been carrying complex supercomputers around in our pockets for years. I can send a video to my friend on the other side of the planet in a matter of seconds. I can tell you right now exactly what the weather is like in a tiny town in the Arctic. Printing a damn form in the room I’m sitting in really shouldn’t be this hard.

And how about making it so we don’t have to sell an organ to afford printer ink, please and thank you. Did you know that the cheapest printer ink costs twice as much per ounce as the world’s most expensive champagne? And pricier inks cost upwards of seven times that? It’s literally one of the most expensive liquids on the planet, and it’s not like we’re injecting it into people to save lives. It’s freaking ink. And unless you’re printing things constantly, that liquid gold tends to dry out before you can use it all anyway, making it functionally even more expensive.

Get it together, people. We shouldn’t have to live like this.

You may wonder if printer woes are a distinctly American phenomenon, like some kind of annoying marker of late-stage capitalist dystopia. The pain almost feels purposeful at this point, doesn’t it? Like printers are some sort of sociological experiment designed to test our mettle and weed out the winners from the whiners. Is it the printer, or is it me? Maybe I’m just an idiot.

Or maybe I’m an idealist who thinks putting ink on a page in my own home shouldn’t cause me this much mental angst.

I know I’m not alone in these thoughts because pretty much everyone I’ve talked to about this topic has expressed the same sentiments. And judging by this hilarious viral video from the U.K., our friends across the pond deal with the same kinds of printer woes we do. The only difference is they hemorrhage money in pounds instead of dollars.

Check out this hilarious conversation between writer and comedian Stevie Martin and her printer and see if you can’t relate:

In defense of multi-function printers, I will say that having the photocopy/scan option does come in handy. But do people fax things anymore? I feel like it’s been 20 years since I faxed something, but maybe that’s just me.

The “I can’t print in black and white without blue ink” thing is legit. As are the connectivity and wifi issues. As is finding the model number for the printer. (Whyyyyyy is that so hard?)

But the best part is when the printer says it’s out of paper, Martin says she’s looking at the paper, and the printer says, “Well, I can’t feel it.”

Why are you like this, printers? Why?

I actually solved 95% of my printer woes after years of wasted frustration and money by doing two things:

1) I bought a basic, black-and-white only laser printer. It copies and prints and so far has been far less of a pain than every inkjet printer I’ve ever owned. Laser toner is massively less expensive than inkjet ink, and though laser printers themselves used to be a lot more expensive than inkjet, that’s no longer the case.

2) I use a local print shop for printing things in color. I used to assume this was more expensive than printing at home, but as infrequently as I print things in color, and as frequently as my color cartridges would dry out, I figured out the cost of color printing at home was far higher than paying someone else to print things for me.

But for those who absolutely need an inkjet printer at home, for whatever reason, the struggle is real. You’re not imagining it, you’re not an idiot, and you’re definitely not alone.

(You can find Stevie Martin on Twitter, and if you’d like to buy her a cup of coffee to thank her for the laugh, you can do that here.)

With the NBA trade deadline looming on Thursday, chatter from around the league has begun picking up steam as GMs trade phone calls and discuss potential packages for this week. A number of contenders have needs to fill, but the big movement is likely to be from teams in the middle of the pack fighting for playoff positioning, rather than those with title aspirations right now (although a big move for some teams in the middle could vault them into the conversation).

At the bottom of conferences, teams are trying to evaluate who is going to be a long-term piece and who they should look to sell now to get assets for the future. In Sacramento, they have some players that could interest contenders, most notably Harrison Barnes and possibly Buddy Hield, although the asking price for both is apparently quite high. On Monday, word emerged from Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports that one of their young pieces has also been made available, as the second overall pick from the 2018 NBA Draft, Marvin Bagley III, is on the block as they try to find a team who still believes in the young big man.

The Sacramento Kings have made the No. 2 pick in the 2018 NBA draft available for a trade, with the Kings recently being turned down by the Detroit Pistons, having offered Bagley III for promising rookie Saddiq Bey, league sources told Yahoo Sports.

It’s not surprising that the Pistons would turn down such an offer, as they have plenty of bigs on the roster at present and also have high hopes for Bey as a scorer and shooter. Still, it offers a glimpse into what the Kings are seeking for Bagley, another young player who might fit better with this team as it seems they feel Bagley has run his course in Sacramento. His two and a half years with the Kings have been marred by injuries — he’s currently out with a fractured hand, which further complicates finding a deal for him — and complaints of a lack of consistent playing time, including some very public criticism of the organization from his father. A fresh start would probably be good for Bagley, but it remains to be seen if there’s a team willing to part with a young player of their own to bring him in and provide that opportunity.