u/CazOnReddit

Source:

https://marcstein.substack.com/p/the-latest-late-night-nba-intel-b71

>League observers are wondering aloud if the Clippers are holding off on the trade or even “considering something even more drastic” to spite Kawhi Leonard for accepting the league’s punishment rather than pursuing an appeal

If true, it's very stupid on LA's part but very believable that they would be this level of petty. This is the franchise that just let Bradley Beal of all people wear Chris Paul's number and didn't even let him ride out his final season with them. Ironically, that trade saw CP3 become a Raptor ever so briefly.

This is also ignoring that the Raptors pausing the trade potentially spared the Clippers losing another 2 additional picks should the Kawhi trade go through without alterations.

Source: https://bleacherreport.com/articles/25497828-nba-nike-reveal-new-warmup-practice-travel-gear-all-30-teams-photos-2026-27-season

>The NBA and Nike unveiled new warmup, practice and travel gear for all 30 teams to use during the 2026-27 season in photos posted Wednesday on X.

>The "NBA Standard Issue Collection" primarily features oversized team logos on hoodies, pants, t-shirts and shorts.

>The designs will also be incorporated in the NBA's "Specter Edition" alternate uniforms, which have yet to be revealed.

>The NBA announced Wednesday that the alternates will be given to teams that have history tracing back to the "earliest chapters of the NBA" including the Sacramento Kings, Detroit Pistons, Atlanta Hawks, Golden State Warriors, New York Knicks, Philadelphia 76ers, Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics.

Source: https://www.thestar.com/sports/raptors/why-the-raptors-won-t-renegotiate-the-kawhi-leonard-trade-even-as-the-deal-drags-on/article\_f05b16f4-186d-49f5-9215-418ce5bd3578.html

>Consider: Last Wednesday, the Clippers were hit with the harshest penalties for cap circumvention in NBA history, penalties that included suspensions to the owner Steve Ballmer and president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank. Take into consider the tremors that sent through the franchise (What’s the organization chart look like now? Who reports to who?) and then add in the practical factor of who would even take part in a trade call with the league office and Raptors. Can you see that taking a day or two work out? Toss in the Labour Day weekend and that’s another three days gone by.

>Maybe the call gets done sometime Tuesday, maybe it’s Wednesday: That’s still only a week from when the penalties were levied and that’s not very long at all, is it?

>Why don’t the Raptors try to change the agreement and screw over the Clippers even more? Why wouldn’t the Raptors try to claw back one of the draft picks or change the years or alter the format of the transaction? Sure, we can all understand that trying to get an edge on a sports adversary is the goal of every executive. Raptors general manager Bobby Webster wants to “win” every trade but reneging on an agreed-to transaction, for whatever reason, is not how honourable men operate. Webster is, above all, a man of honour. How’s he going to look every other GM in the eye and say “we have a deal” if he walks away from this one? Is it worth the hit to his well-earned reputation earned over more than 20 years in the league? It isn’t to me.

>The Clippers? They aren’t in a place of “demanding” changes to the deal, they need to start restocking the draft cupboard and this is a good first step.

Source: https://bleacherreport.com/articles/25495899-new-kawhi-leonard-rumors-raptors-contract-extension-after-clippers-investigation-punishment

>While the NBA announced significant penalties for both the Los Angeles Clippers and Kawhi Leonard on Wednesday, the team reportedly still plans on trading the seven-time All-Star to the Toronto Raptors.

...

>"As of right now, both sides—the Clippers and Raptors—are moving forward as if the trade is going to happen," ESPN's Shams Charania reported Thursday during an appearance on The Pat McAfee Show. "… Both sides have already spoken Wednesday night and have the intention of moving forward here with this trade.

>"... The expectation is there will be an extension here to come with Kawhi Leonard."

...

>An extension with Leonard would be a logical next step for the Raptors considering the 2026-27 campaign is set to be the final one on his deal.

Whether or not the deal is renegotiated in any capacity, all signs point to Kawhi returning to Toronto.

Rookie Flau’jae Johnson was pick #50. She's been having a perfectly good rookie season in her own right but still, Sykes was having an amazing season her first major injury this year.

Context: The late great Dolly Parton will be remembered for many things. Among the towering legacy she has left is the demonstrable impact she's had on child literacy and encouraging kids to love reading.

The Imagination Library was founded in 1995 by the Dollywood Foundation, inspired by her father being unable to read or write and building off Parton and the Dollywood Foundation's previous philanthropy with the Buddy Program, the Imagination Library was most notable for its gifting program whereby children are ensured to receive a quality, age appropriate book in the mail once a month from birth until age 5. Since its inception, the Imagination Library has expanded in the U.S., Canada, Ireland and Australia. Notably, the program has worked with various indigenous people & nations including Native American communities in the United States, as well as First Nations & Métis in Canada to include works by Indigenous creators as a form of cultural preservation, providing quality reading material to some of the most underserved people across North America (Source: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/dolly-parton-s-foundation-sending-books-to-first-nations-1.1868612).

According to the library's website, 1 in 7 children in the U.S. received a book in the mail from the program while mailing over 2 million books a month globally. To date, it has gifted over 300 million books including braille and bilingual books worldwide.

Rest in peace to the late, great Ms. Parton.

Pierre Trudeau is Canada's most quotable Prime Minister, full stop. If you've ever heard the expression about how living next to the U.S. is like "sleeping next to an elephant", that's attributed to him (Source: https://www.cbc.ca/player/play/video/1.4735178) - and he's got plenty of other sharp-witted, on the fly responses under his belt from his very long time as Prime Minister of Canada.

One of those quick-witted replies? So Richard Nixon, the infamous antisemitic president with whom the elder Trudeau had a relationship that could be charitably described as...prickly, once called Pierre Elliott "a pompous egghead" and "an asshole" in private. Like a lot of remarks Nixon made in private, his comments about Pierre got out because of his genius idea to record it. Famously, when Pierre was asked about these now public comments, replied that "I have been called worse things by better people".

Source - https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/just-released-1971-recording-captures-talks-between-nixon-pompous-trudeau-1.755465