Viral News Drift

Ben Margot/Associated Press LOS ANGELES — The first night of NBA free agency overflowed with blockbuster deals. One by one, top names came off the board like  Kyrie Irving , Kemba Walker, Kevin Durant and Jimmy Butler (assuming the sign-and-trade to Miami eventually goes through ). Not a peep out of Los Angeles on the Lakers. Word that D’Angelo Russell would sign (via trade) with the Golden State Warriors erased the Lakers’ backup plan. At this point, it’s Kawhi Leonard or nothing. The Lakers are playing a high-stakes game of poker. They could have tried to go all-in on Russell or any of the other big names, but they held their cards, hoping that Leonard will choose to leave the defending NBA champion Toronto Raptors for Los Angeles. And not just L.A., but the Lakers. Not to the Clippers, the other local team that is in the very same boat. The Clippers hoped to pair another star free agent with Leonard but didn’t get a commitment from Durant, Butler or Al Horford . The L...

Mark J. Terrill/Associated Press Seconds after free agency began Sunday evening, Kevin Durant made official what had been reported an hour earlier after gaining momentum for the past week: He and Kyrie Irving will, in fact, team up in New York, as had been rumored for the better part of a year. The curveball is the team. A s first reported by ESPN’s   Adrian Wojnarowski , the two superstars will be joining the Brooklyn Nets , not the New York Knicks . It was the counterintuitive choice based on all the noise that’s been circulating around the NBA for the last year. But it was ultimately the one that made the most sense for the next chapter Durant wants to write. Durant had been linked to the Knicks for most of this past season. For months, Golden State Warriors staffers had operated under the assumption that he was gone this summer. The notion that he would be suiting up at Madison Square Garden next year appeared to be as much of a foregone conclusion in behind-the-s...

Brian Babineau/Getty Images The Golden State Warriors are close to acquiring point guard D’Angelo Russell in a sign-and-trade with the Brooklyn Nets , according to Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium. Golden State would also receive Treveon Graham and Shabazz Napier , per Charania. According to  ESPN’s  Adrian Wojnarowski , Russell will sign for $117 million over four years. Wojnarowski  also reported the Warriors traded  Andre Iguodala to the Memphis Grizzlies in part to accommodate Russell’s contract. The move comes on the same day Kevin Durant agreed to a four-year, $164 million deal with the Nets, per Wojnarowski . Kyrie Irving is on his way to Brooklyn along with Durant, which meant Russell would be on the move at some point during free agency. Russell took his game to a new level this season, averaging  21.1 points and 7.0 assists while earning his first All-Star selection.  He stayed healthy (81 appearances) and became a le...

David Zalubowski/Associated Press Derrick Favors is headed to the New Orleans Pelicans as part of a trade with the Utah Jazz , per Tony Jones of The Athletic. Jones added the Jazz will receive draft picks in exchange for the deal. Favors has $16.9 million remaining on his deal for 2019-20, but the money was not guaranteed until July 6, per Spotrac . The Jazz could have kept him, but they ran out of cap space after agreeing to a four-year, $73 million deal with  Bojan Bogdanovic, per Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN. Bobby Marks of ESPN reported the team would have to trade or waive Favors in order to work out the deal. By completing a trade, Utah was at least able to bring back assets in exchange for the talented player.  Favors has spent the past eight seasons with the Jazz. The New Jersey Nets selected him with the third overall pick in the 2010 NBA draft, but he appeared in just 56 games for the organization before getting dealt to Utah in the blockbuster Deron...

Michael Conroy/Associated Press Al Horford is reportedly joining the third team of his career. The Philadelphia 76ers agreed to a four-year, $109 million deal with the big man Sunday, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN. “Horford’s agent tried to do a deal in Boston, but the money was significantly less than the Philly deal,” Wojnarowski said on ESPN’s The Jump . Wojnarowski reported June 18 that Horford declined the $30.1 million player option on his contract for the 2019-20 campaign to become an unrestricted free agent instead of returning to the Boston Celtics . The move turned heads, especially considering Horford rejected such a financial windfall while he is likely on the back end of his career, but Wojnarowski noted there was still “motivation” on both sides to sign a long-term contract that could give the front office financial flexibility. However, Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald reported Horford stopped discussing a three-year deal with the Celtics an...

David Zalubowski/Associated Press Julius Randle has agreed to sign a three-year, $63   million deal with the New York Knicks , according to his agents, Aaron Mintz and Steve Heumann.   Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN shared the confirmation from Randle’s agents. He declined his player option, which was part of the  two-year, $18 million deal  he signed with New Orleans  after the Los Angeles Lakers renounced his rights.   “If you ask every [ NBA ] player if they had their dream scenario, their dream scenario is everyone just wants to be wanted,” Randle told The Undefeated’s  Marc J. Spears  in September 2018. “For me talking to New Orleans, they wanted me. I was a part of their future.” Fast-forward to now, and it’s clear the Knicks wanted him. In four seasons with Los Angeles, the 2014 seventh overall pick topped out at 16.1 points per game. All Randle did in his lone season in New Orleans was post a career-high 21.4 points wh...

Anti-government protesters in Hong Kong blocked key roads early Monday morning as part of a mass planned pro-democracy rally on the anniversary of the city’s handover to China. The semi-autonomous Chinese territory has seen historic protests in recent weeks over a controversial extradition bill that would allow suspects to be sent to mainland China to face trial. More than a million protesters took to the streets of the city twice last month calling for the bill to be scrapped permanently. Pro-China Chief Execuitve Carrie Lam was forced to shelve the controversial bill last month due to the public backlash but the protesters are demanding her resignation as well as dropping of charges against demonstrators arrested in recent weeks. Tensions spiked once more in the financial hub as dawn rose on Monday after small groups of mainly young, masked protesters seized three key thoroughfares, deploying metal and plastic barriers to block the way. Rows of riot police with helmets and ...