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Mär 4 '19
LAS VEGAS -- Carmelo Anthony wants more than a better U. Authentic Nike Shoes Cheap .S. basketball team leading into the Olympics.He wants a better U.S.Anthony wants an end to the gun violence, the killing of blacks and the targeting of police, and right now his quest for that seems bigger than his desire for would what be a record third gold medal.Its unfortunate, its sad, Anthony said Monday. You cant really put into words whats going on throughout the whole country, throughout the whole world. For us as a country, we have to stand united. We have to come together.The New York Knicks forward has spoken out more and more lately, challenging fellow athletes to do the same. Hes taken his message to Instagram and the ESPY Awards , and if he wants a real forum, there arent too many bigger spotlights than the Olympics.Will he take his message all the way to the medal podium?We always say that the timing could not have been any better for us as a country, having a chance to come together and being united, Anthony said, then go over there on the biggest stage you can possibly play on and have that voice and represent something that is bigger than us as players.For now, the U.S. doesnt plan to wait for Rio. Details are still being finalized, but Anthony, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver and U.S. coach Mike Krzyzewski have hinted at plans for some kind of community forum in conjunction with the league when the Americans head to Los Angeles following camp to play an exhibition game against China.I think it can be great. When we talk about `united thats what we keep talking about, U.S. forward Draymond Green said. Obviously we saw a lot of guys speak out about guys getting in front of this thing, and coming together right now with the opportunity to possibly win a gold medal and try to lead the charge with whats going on in the country. I think it could be really special.Anthony isnt just a celebrity posting politically correct messages on social media accounts. He marched with protesters in his hometown of Baltimore last year following the death of Freddie Gray in police custody, took part with NBA players in an ad campaign to stop gun violence.And none of that changed anything.In recent weeks alone there were black men killed by police in Louisiana and Minnesota, followed by attacks on officers in Dallas and Baton Rouge. Anthony eventually was moved to write his lengthy Instagram post, and later a plea for involvement in a piece for The Guardian , where he talked about the opportunity his teammates have to make a stand during the Olympics.Im kind of a guy who likes speaking behind closed doors. I dont like taking credit, Anthony said. I really like talking to guys one on one. Any of my colleagues will tell you Ive had that voice. They always came to me for that type of advice. But now is an opportunity to get it out there. Its a very sensitive time for us.He wasnt planning on going to the ESPY Awards until a conversation with close friends and former Olympic teammates LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Paul, leading to their powerful opening to ESPNs awards show last week.What they did at the ESPYs was unbelievable and we applaud these guys, Krzyzewski said.Those players were set for life financially two contracts ago, let alone what theyll sign for this summer and next. Some members of this Olympic team are still waiting on their big endorsement dollars, and speaking out about a cause can come with a cost.Even Michael Jordan was famously unwilling to take it as a player, but Anthony -- who endorses Jordans sneaker line -- wont hear that excuse anymore.At the end of the day, the tragedies thats happening, it affects people, Anthony said. Were athletes, but at the end of the day were human beings, so were affected by all of that. We have families that are in some of those cities.Anthony said he doesnt have any solutions for the current problems and isnt sure anyone else does. Nor is he sure what the next steps are, but he knows he has helped spark conversation in recent weeks, and his teammates know they need to help continue it.Thats our job, U.S. guard DeMar DeRozan said. A lot of people look up to us. Were an inspiration to a lot of people. So for us to share a positive light and try to make things better, as a collective group of guys, thats our duty to do that.---Freelance writer Willie Ramirez contributed to this report.---Follow Brian Mahoney on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/Briancmahoney Nike Clearance Store. The International Olympic Committee released the official list of bid cities on Friday after the deadline for applications had passed. The candidates -- all previously announced in their own countries -- are: Almaty, Kazakhstan; Beijing; Krakow, Poland; Lviv, Ukraine; Oslo, Norway; and Stockholm. Wholesale Nike Shoes For Sale . Nine days before the opening ceremony, organizing committee chief Dmitry Chernyshenko said Wednesday that Sochi is "fully ready" and will deliver safe, friendly and well-run games that defy the grim reports that have overshadowed preparations. http://www.cheapnikeshoeschina.com/ . A statement from the worlds top-ranked player says all checks "were satisfactory and showed positive evolution" regarding the injury, which contributed to his loss to Stanislas Wawrinka in the final in Melbourne. Im gonna level with you.Youre bound to be disappointed.Set up. Knocked down. Bamboozled. Overhyped. Underwhelmed. Left sputtering in a numerical ditch.The phrase rookie fantasy performance is practically an oxymoron.Every autumn, we fantasy enthusiasts open our arms to the promise of the new. And by the end of every spring? Were left with maybe one or two rookies at most who were worth the expenditure of even a midround pick.Anthony Davis and Damian Lillard? As 2012 rookies, both ended up barely returning seventh-round value. The Class of Tankapalooza 2013 spat out Michael Carter-Williams and Victor Oladipo; both were worth about an eighth-round pick. The class we were all waiting for? 2014? Just managed to eke out a pair of solid 10th-rounders in Andrew Wiggins and Nikola Mirotic.And those campaigns were the success stories of their respective classes. The imaginary ROYs.But we keep coming back. Hope is restored. We live to forget. Because were always looking for fresh numbers. Shiny new statistical portfolios. We crave the getting in on the ground floor.We keep coming back because every now and then ... you get a Karl-Anthony Towns. A Kristaps Porzingis. Or a Nikola Jokic. And all three arrived in one season.Last seasons rookie class was the best in my many (many) years of fantasy basketball analysis. We saw three rookies outperform Wiggins and Jabari Parkers sophomore seasons.Towns authored one of the great fantasy rookie campaigns in the history of everything, spinning a midround ADP into a top-10 return. Porzingis (who I did recommend around this time last year, lest you forget) finished in the top 50. Jokic closed out strong to finish at 55th on the Player Rater. Even DAngelo Russell managed to clock in at 100th on the rater.Just keep in mind that THAT IS NEVER GOING TO HAPPEN AGAIN.Rookie performance is all about volume. Usage. Minutes. Possession. Field goal attempts. And blocks. (Especially blocks. Fun fact: NBA players tend to peak in blocks per game in the first couple years of their careers. If youre looking for rookie upside in one category, start there.)And if said high-volume rookie adds a dash of efficiency? Said rookie becomes fantasy basketball rookie of the year.When youre figuring out which one or two rookies are worth more than an end-game pick, start with which newly minted millionaires might be in line for 25-28 MPG come Halloween.Today, we begin our predictive listing of the rookies with a heavy heart. Because were going to have to wait for about half a season -- if not until 2017 -- before we get to enjoy Ben Simmons and all of his out-of-position assist production. But if you take a look at which rookie is on top of this list, youll see that Simmons injury begets opportunity ...1. Dario Saric, PF, Philadelphia 76ersSaric is the opening starting power forward for a no-expectation NBA franchise. Thats all you basically need to know before considering Saric in the 10th round.Hes a Euro-rookie, as in hes over 20 and sports a portfolio of high-level international experience. He has the potential to deliver a Jokic-esque, diversified, a little of everything stat line.With Simmons on the shelf, another 5-9 minutes per game just fell in Sarics lap. More importantly, to start, Saric can start at his natural position of power forward.Even more importantly, Saric is a 76er. The Process is forever in process. With apologies to Jerryd Bayless (who just injured his wrist, by the way), Saric isnt surrounded by a surplus of playmakers with game-changing upside. Saric has a golden opportunity to become a key cog from opening tip, opening night.(Postscript, I wrote this before Sarics latest look at me preseason performance last night against the Wizards. If you want to get him cheap, move up your leagues draft date.)2. Buddy Hield, SG, New Orleans PelicansLike Saric, Hield isnt exactly a kid. Hes a rarity. A 22-year-old NBA rookie with four years of NCAA experience plus top-three fantasy upside.Hields sudden senior year leap (in which he suddenly became a 25 PPG guy) had some pigeon-holing him as a late-blooming one-year wonder. That Hield was bound for NBA rookie disappointment. Then on cue, Hield displayed difficulty finding his handle and shot in summer league (summer league FG%: 32.7 percent).July blunted any momentum Hield had built to enter the season as New Orleans starting SG. It looked like Hield would be behind ETwaun Moore for the immediate future. (And I really like ETwaun Moore. I think hes a decent sleeper.)But now its October. And Hield has been on a preseason binge. To date, Hield is averaging 18.5 points and 2.5 3-pointers per preseason game. Suddenly, hes shooting nearly 60 percent from the floor. And yes, its only two preseason games. But preseason can be a heckuva lot more determinative toward fantasy performance than summer league.Sans Jrue Holiday and Tyreke EEvans, the Pelicans are in need of some early-season backcourt assistance. Discount Nike Shoes. Hield has an opportunity to make everyone forget his summer league in a royal flash. Moores NBA experience still gives him the edge to begin the season as the starting SG. But Hield could shoot his way into 25 MPG from the get-go. If he gets the minutes, and gets hot, Hield could very well play his way past Saric.3. Kris Dunn, PG, Minnesota TimberwolvesHeres another 22-year-old rookie entering the league with a ton of big-game polish.Unlike Hield, Dunn went bonkers in his (concussion-shortened) summer league stint. But unlike Hield, Dunn may have to wait before breaking the 25-MPG barrier as a point guard. The Timberwolves still have Ricky Rubio (for now ... Rubio is one of the NBAs most trade-rumor-heavy employees).Unless Rubio is dealt, Dunn may have to look elsewhere to garner enough minutes to be truly fantasy-worthy. (Also, Tyus Jones is still around, and he could peel off just enough minutes at PG to further hurt Dunns fantasy prospects.)But Dunn has the ability to slide over to shooting guard. Dunn is the kind of tough-minded player new (and very tough-minded) coach Tom Thibodeau covets. The question is whether Dunn can shoot consistently enough from deep (37.2 percent in 2015-16) to warrant starting consideration over Zach LaVine.I dont know if Dunn does enough to start ahead of LaVine. But knowing Thibodeaus (non-fantasy friendly) history, its easy to envision him giving Dunn every opportunity to earn 28-30 MPG. Momentum tends to power rookie campaigns. Keep an eye on Dunn the next couple of weeks to see if he builds a case to pass LaVine.4. Brandon Ingram, SF, Los Angeles LakersComing off the draft, I was all kinds of excited over Ingrams fantasy ROY prospects. Ingram already had an NBA-ready 3-point shot. In 2015-16, the Lakers were one of the NBAs thinnest teams at small forward. Kevin Durant comps were getting thrown (somewhat irresponsibly) all over El Segundo. A Kobe-free rotation means plenty of usage rate to reapportion.That rarest of NBA rookie roles -- an opening-night starting job -- was easy to envision. Even if Ingram didnt turn 19 until Sept. 2. (Of course, living in Los Angeles, I heard enough Durants definitely coming here delusions to occasionally wonder if any minutes would be available at SF.)Then the Lakers up and improbably blew some cap space on the oft-injured, but otherwise reliable Luol Deng. And while its easy to see Deng playing at the 3 and 4 for Luke Walton, its hard to see how Ingram gets above 25 MPG before Thanksgiving.Except of course if Deng gets hurt. And while I hate predicting who is and isnt going to get injured ... Luol Deng is always injured. The only question is if hes too injured to stay on the court.Like Saric, Ingram is a high-upside rookie playing in a low-expectation, veteran-poor environment. Ingrams also playing for a new coach (Luke Walton) with a sparkling offensive pedigree. As opposed to Byron Scott, Walton isnt averse to giving his young players more minutes to grow.Waltons preseason quotes all point toward Ingram steadily building a larger role, sooner than later. But in terms of getting an entire season of decent fantasy production from Ingram, I doubt hes worth more than an endgame flier.5. Joel Embiid, C, Philadelphia 76ersRemember what I said earlier regarding rookies and blocks? Here they come. Embiid has finally arrived and is operating in a reasonable ambulatory fashion.And I mean finally. We rookie enthusiasts have been waiting a long, long time for Embiid. Now after two years on the shelf, hes finally on the court. Embiid hasnt played much the past two seasons, but he has been drool-worthy in short bursts.Unlike most rookie big men, Embiid boasts a perimeter game to go with his low-post production. He has 2.5 block-per-game potential. Statswise, Embiid has a lot of indicators pointing toward a fantasy ROY-type of campaign.Thats until you allow reality to set in. Coming off major injuries and surgeries, the 76ers will be (justifiably) slow to allow Embiid to play in back-to-back games. Hell likely be on a minutes restriction. Oh, and the 76ers already have two first-rounders in their frontcourt in Jahlil Okafor and Nerlens Noel. And while Okafor and Noel seem to be involved in two trade rumors a day, it will be hard to see Embiid starting until somebody is dealt.6. Ben Simmons, PF, Philadelphia 76ersListing Simmons sixth has nothing to do with his eventual fantasy upside. Its easy to envision him as a potential fantasy elite. But its just as easy to envision Simmons sitting out an entire season. Coming off Embiids foot problems, the 76ers will approach Simmons recovery with an appropriate amount of caution. ' ' '
