The AllStar is proud to present The Daily Swish, a digest of what’s shaking and baking in your favorite basketball league. This is the place to help you start your day (or end it) with notable newsy nuggets from around the association.
NBA basketball is back, albeit in preseason form. Andrew Wiggins and Ben Simmons continue to dominate discussions but there’s good news for Warriors fans.
Making Headlines
Andrew Wiggins decided to get his Covid jabs and can now play in all games. Wiggins had previously stated, “Back is definitely against the wall, but I’m just going to keep fighting for what I believe.” The vaccination saves him from having to cough up $350,000 for every home game he misses.
The Ben Simmons trade saga continues to drag on with the Philadelphia 76ers. The team is withholding an $8.25 million payment to Simmons in an escrow account, from which they will be deducting his future fines. Apparently six teams are still inquiring about acquiring Simmons’ services. They include the Minnesota Timberwolves, Indiana Pacers and Cleveland Cavaliers.
Ex-Timberwolves guard Lazar Hayward Jr is making waves in Hawaii. The former player allegedly uploaded fake Covid vaccine documents in order to avoid 10 days of quarantine. Hayward Jr is back in Los Angeles as the police investigate the case.
#What’sTrending
It appears Kyrie Irving is already having an impact on new teammate Paul Millsap.
Nobody is talking about how Victor Oladipo took the biggest hit of the summer.
Apparently Otto Porter Jr amplifies the Warriors’ already dangerous line up of long-range bombers.
Best of r/NBA
LeBron James has constantly used his platform to bring attention to social issues. His silence on vaccinations however has irked Celtics big man Enes Kanter. Kanter finds it “ridiculous” that LeBron seemingly decided to shut up and dribble, and NBA reddit appears to agree with him.
A vaccinated Andrew Wiggins is drawing upvotes on NBA reddit. u/walterdog12 suggests the financial protocols was a driving force, “Looks like he did his research and realized how much money he was set to lose.”
Dwight Howard has to make two blocks before attempting a three-point shot, apparently an order from LeBron James. Howard claims he’ll try to get nine blocks every game.
Performance of the Night
Cameron Thomas: 21 points (7-14 FG, 1-3 3PT), 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 block
The Nets rookie came off the bench in Brooklyn’s pre-season matchup against the LA Lakers to score a game-high 21 points in 22 minutes. The Summer League co-MVP unveiled his offensive arsenal with several challenging shots off the dribble.
Play of the Day
Talen Horton-Tucker was cleared for takeoff early on against the Nets. Incidentally, Brooklyn won 123-97.