The first few days of the week have been eventful. It began with news in the midwest that the Milwaukee Bucks had fired their head coach and future Hall of Famer, Jason Kidd.  

Kidd went 139-152 during his 3 ½ year tenure as coach of the Bucks. During his tenure in Milwaukee, Kidd guided the team to two NBA Playoff appearances.

But that wasn’t enough to keep Bucks brass happy. Upon his firing, the Bucks were an eighth seed with a 23-22 record despite the pretty consistent play from their All-Star Giannis Antetokounmpo and recent trade with the Phoenix Suns which shipped speedy guard Eric Bledsoe to Fear The Deer nation.

Speaking of Antetokounmpo, ESPN’s Ramon Shelburne reported that the Greek Freak offered to take his grievances to Bucks management and fight Kidd’s firing. Giannis loves his coach and didn’t want to see him go.

But, business is business, right?

Jason Kidd tells ESPN that Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo called him about 15 minutes before Kidd was officially notified he’d been fired by the Bucks and offered to help save his job.

— Ramona Shelburne (@ramonashelburne) January 23, 2018

Joe Prunty took over as the Bucks’ interim head coach. He and the Bucks got a win Monday night against the Phoenix Suns.

Prunty is no stranger to hoops, comes highly recommended and is another disciple from San Antonio Spurs head coach, Gregg Popovich’s coaching tree. Prunty began as a video coordinator with San Antonio before becoming an advance scout and assistant coach for nine seasons, beginning in 1996.

Speaking of San Antonio, they’ve made headlines in the last 48 hours. A multitude of NBA league sources indicate that Spurs forward, Kawhi Leonard and his reps are disconnected from the Spurs organization.

Last Wednesday, the Spurs announced that Kawhi Leonard would be out of action for an “indefinite period of time” as he’s been dealing with a lingering quad injury that has burdened him since the NBA Playoffs last year.

Leonard’s right quadriceps tendinopathy recovery has carried over into this season, causing the one time NBA Finals MVP to miss the first 27 games of the season.

Retired NBA vet and ESPN analyst Jalen Rose told ESPN’s First Take yesterday that Leonard doesn’t want to be in San Antonio.

According to Rose, Leonard wants out because the Spurs have been ‘unable to attract elite-level, all-NBA-caliber free agents to come play with him.’

Added Rose:

“Players talk about wanting to win and wanting to be a champion, but ultimately they want to do it on their own terms,” Rose said. “And when you go to San Antonio, guess who is the CEO of that organization? Gregg Popovich. It’s going to be his way.”

Before the Spurs’ 114-102  home win over the Cleveland Cavaliers last night, Popovich rebuffed confusion or the Spurs being a soap opera. “Some people wrote some articles. I understand it, but soap opera? It’s a soap opera if we talk about it every day, I guess,” Popovich said.

“I don’t get it. We won’t talk about it. There’s nothing to talk about other than what we’ve already said.”

As for the Cavs, the Oklahoma City Thunder scored 148 points on them on Saturday without Kevin Love who called out sick.

That got folks talking. Was Love really sick? Some of Love’s teammates reportedly called Love out in a team meeting.

Cleveland is 3-7 in their last 10 games. During their last 10, Isaiah Thomas has returned from injury, J.R. Smith has struggled, the talk of LeBron James leaving at seasons end has resurfaced along with the debates on whether Cavs head coach Ty Lue should lose his job.

Mind you, the Cavs currently hold a 27-19 record and are sitting in third place in the NBA’s Eastern Conference.

Ashley Nevel says it best

The Cavs will get it together. Don’t push the panic button just yet!

Kemba Walker is apparently on the trading block. A Bronx, New York native, a return home as a member of the New York Knicks is what anybody from the 5-boroughs would want.

The Milwaukee Bucks were reportedly in preliminary talks before the Kidd firing and the usual suspects, teams in the NBA Finals hunt like the San Antonio Spurs and Cleveland Cavaliers have made calls.

“Kemba Walker is a player that can come to a team and score you points. If he came off the bench he could be a Lou Williams Jr. He can help a team win.” @ScoopB has high praise for the @hornets point guard. Which team should go out there and make a trade for the UConn alum?

— Bud and the Manchild (@Budandmanchild) January 23, 2018

ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski says that Charlotte has been encouraging teams to make offers and appears eager to discuss attaching Walker to a larger trade in which another team would take on one of the Hornets’ several less desirable contracts.

Not so fast; Hornets majority owner, Michael Jordan is not trading him unless he’s shipped out for something really good.

“It’s not like we are shopping him,” said Jordan.

“We would not just give him up. I love Kemba Walker. I would not trade him for anything but an All-Star player.”

Walker would be a nice addition to any team. He can score in volume and will be a scorer for hire like the Los Angeles Clippers’ Lou Williams and Minnesota Timberwolves’ Jamal Crawford.

Be on the lookout for where he goes next!

RESPECT Magazine’s Brandon ‘Scoop B’ Robinson checking out Bangkok, Thailand’s Temple of the Reclining Buddha at Wat Pho . Photo Credit: @Scoop_B Instagram.

Check out all of my commentary on the going ons of the NBA on Syracuse, NY’s Bud and the Manchild by pressing play at the top!

While on Bud & the Manchild, I also discussed my recent 15-day vacation to Thailand where I visited the Temple of the Reclining Buddha.

If you’re a Street Fighter 2 fan, Sagat’s battle stage is in front of the Temple of the Reclining Buddha, which is located at Wat Pho.

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The post Scoop B: Milwaukee Bucks, Jason Kidd part ways, Cavs, Spurs & Kawhi Leonard drama & a trip to Thailand appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

Above The Rim Podcast’s Justlin Lee welcomes Brandon ‘Scoop B’ Robinson to the taping of his show in Brooklyn, New York. Photo Credit: Fred Ennette Scoop Vision Media

If you want scholarly hoops talks mixed with pop culture and conversation about hoops from the past and present, Justin Lee is your guy! The Above The Rim Podcast, recorded in the great borough of Brooklyn is the scene of the crime, and Lee, better known to the hoops world as Jus Blaze holds court on his weekly podcast which analyzes the NBA landscape while also featuring guests giving their opinions.

I appeared on episode 11 of Above The Rim Podcast and discussed round 1 of the 2017 NBA Playoffs, Clyde Drexler, Larry Johnson and the Charlotte Hornets and the New York Knicks and Phil Jackson’s growing Carmelo Anthony saga. We also discussed Lance Stephenson’s return to the Indiana Pacers and the notion that Paul George may be the second best player in the NBA’s Eastern Conference behind LeBron James. Is a New Jersey Nets’ Jason Kidd in his prime better than the Oklahoma City’s Russell Westbrook? Can the Toronto Raptors and the Boston Celtics ever rise out of the Cleveland Cavaliers’ shadow? Are the Atlanta Hawks with the combo of Paul Millsap and Dwight Howard competitive enough? Will the Los Angeles Clippers’ Chris Paul and Blake Griffin finally get over the Western Conference Playoffs doldrums?

Oh yeah there’s also Joe Johnson talk!! 

You’ll love the conversation! Above The Rim Podcast is surely an NBA Podcast for the everyday fan!

Check It Out Below! 

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The post Scoop B: Talking Hoops, Catching Up With Justin Lee & Above The Rim Podcast appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

Retired NBA veteran J.R. Reid had a lengthy career in the NBA. With stints with the San Antonio Spurs, Charlotte Hornets, New York Knicks, Los Angeles Lakers and Milwaukee Buck. Drafted 5th overall by the Hornets in the 1989 NBA Draft, Reid, a product of Virginia Beach, VA came as advertised after a stellar high school career after being named Gatorade and USA TODAY’s player of the year out of Kempsville High School. He’d later be an All-American under Dean Smith at the University of North Carolina.

What’s always been cool about Reid is his journey and who he’s been around in locker rooms during his NBA career. He was teammates with 16 year NBA vet Dell Curry and would watch Dell’s son’s, Seth and Stephen grow as children. The boys are now all grown up, Seth is a guard playing for the Dallas Mavericks and Stephen is the Golden State Warriors star point guard.

Reid knew back then that Dell’s kids were special.“Steph was shooting that thing at nine,” Reid told me in an interview last year.

“He was putting the work in. You can tell. When a little kid has form, you can tell. The NBA now, you see so many former NBA players’ kids now playing. It’s a lifestyle. These kids are around this lifestyle. They see the dedication…these kids are already ahead of the game. We loved him…Steph was always tagging along. He was just a source of entertainment for us.”

Speaking of second generation ball players. Reid was a member of the Los Angeles Lakers during the 1999 season and was teammates with the now retired Kobe Bryant. Reid knew back then that Bryant was growing into a special player. “Kobe was a great teammate,” said Reid.

“We tried to get him to shoot some craps with us in the back. We started cracking jokes. Kobe was put together differently than a lot of other guys. I might be reading some stock stuff, computers, car stuff and Kobe is over there reading about the art of war. He’s trying to be a mental assassin.”

Reid served as a mentor to Kobe through parts of that season as per the advice of Jerry West, the guy who drafted Bryant. What’s significant about that is that Reid has always been a mentor of sorts and wise beyond his years. How do I know? Back in 1997 I chronicled Reid when he was a member of the Charlotte Hornets during my days hosting Nets Slammin’ Planet on the now defunct 620 AM One-On-One Sports here in New York City. He was recently a subject in the Scoop B Radio time capsule series. Give it a listen below.

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The post J.R. Reid On Young Kobe: “Trying To Be A Mental Assassin” appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

Scott Burrell was the 20th pick in the 1993 NBA draft by the Charlotte Hornets. Burrell also had the distinction of being drafted by two MLB teams First the Seattle Mariners while in high school and then the Toronto Blue Jays after his freshman year of college.

Burrell was a recent feature on the Scoop B Radio Podcast. The podcast, a time capsule from 1999, features Burrell discussing life after the Chicago Bulls with me.

Burrell ultimately ended up sticking with hoops and he’s probably happy that he did. He played collegiately at UCONN and in 1998 he’d team up with Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen and Dennis Rodman and ultimately won an NBA Championship with the Chicago Bulls.

Currently the head men’s basketball coach at division two Southern Connecticut State University in New Haven Connecticut, Burrell’s team is  12-4, with an 8-1 record in their conference.

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The post Scott Burrell Talks Seattle Mariners, Toronto Blue Jays & Winning Championship With Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen & Dennis Rodman appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

B.J. Armstrong became a three time NBA champion during the 90s while playing point guard for the Chicago Bulls alongside Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen and Horace Grant.

Years later he’s still leading the charge in hoops, but now on the business side. Armstrong represents Draymond Green, Derrick Rose and Donatas Motiejunas in negotiating player contracts.

Being a former player, Armstrong has a perspective that current players want to hear. That said, the Scoop B Radio Podcast team dug into the archives and found an interview from the 90’s with Armstong and Respect Mag’s Brandon ‘Scoop B’ Robinson during Armstrong’s playing days with the Charlotte Hornets.

Check It Out

What’s cooler is how he brought LeBron James down to Earth after he won his third championship after the Cavs defeated the Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals. He was tired of James being compared to Michael Jordan so he spoke his mind. Armstrong believes that James has to adopt the mentality that comparing himself to any other player, including Jordan, is an insult.

“This is to LeBron James: If you want to be the best, get rid of the comparisons,” Armstrong told Fox Sports’ Chris Broussard over the summer. “Get rid of all the comparisons that are out there. That’s what Michael Jordan did. Jordan realized that in order to be the best, you had to get rid of all the comparisons.

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The post Former Chicago Bull & Champion B.J. Armstrong Still Directing Traffic For Stars In NBA appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

Kendall Gill had a 15-year career in the NBA. Gill averaged 13 points, four rebounds and a shade under 2 steals while suiting up for the Seattle Sonics, Charlotte Hornets, New Jersey Nets, Miami Heat, Minnesota Timberwolves, Chicago Bulls and the Milwaukee Bucks.

Honestly, Gill’s best career came in the 1999 season where he was the NBA’s steals leader, averaging 2.68 per game. In that season, he locked down all types of players from Kobe Bryant, Vince Carter, Grant Hill, Allen Iverson, Alan Houston and Larry Johnson.

Gill was a man on a mission that year, for real. He took joy in guarding players from positions 1-3 and he sometimes even guarded tweeners like now retired power forward, Kevin Garnett, who later was his teammate with the T-Wolves.

”If I asked Kendall to play power forward, he would do it,” former Nets coach John Calipari once said about Gill after practice. ”Look at him. He is still at it.”

Gill relished in playing against a young Kobe Bryant. “Kobe didn’t reinvent the wheel,” Gill told me in a recent interview. “He studied a lot of what Michael did and put a little bit of his own spin in it and became one of the greatest players that played the game. You can’t argue with that. Then when he leaves the game with 61, I mean who does that? He really put a stamp on his legacy when he did that.”

Gill’s name surfaced recently when former NBA coach George Karl released his book, Furious George: My Forty Years Surviving NBA Divas, Clueless GMs, and Poor Shot Selection.

The book garnered much attention presumably because of the excerpts detailing his relationship with his former players, J.R. Smith of the Cleveland Cavaliers, Knicks forward Carmelo Anthony and retired NBA player Kenyon Martin. Karl also included Gill. Karl said that Gill was a bad teammate. Gill played for him in Seattle from 1993-95.  “I was always a good teammate,” Gill told CBS Sports Radio’s Tiki and Tierney. “Always, always played within my team. As a matter of fact, George Karl himself said I was too unselfish to become a superstar. He told me that. And now, what you’re telling me – that he said I was a bad teammate – I take that personally. You can ask anybody that I’ve ever played with. Was I selfish? I was never any of those things. For him to come out and say that about me is simply wrong.”

As a member of the press, I’ve always had good dealings with Kendall Gill. Retrospectively my Scoop B Radio series chronicles some of my best interviews done from past and present. Kendall Gill made the cut. He always talked reverently about Muhammad Ali and Walter Payton being his role models growing up and enjoying reading Neale Donald Walsch’s Conversations with God book.

On a slow news Monday, take a listen.

Check out Kendall Gill and Brandon ‘Scoop B’ Robinson on Scoop B Radio

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The post Scoop B: Catching Up With The NBA’s Unselfish Player, Kendall Gill appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

Scoop B Radio pulled another throwback from the vault on Labor Day.

We chatted with retired NBA veteran, Matt Geiger. Drafted 42nd in the 1992 NBA Draft by the Miami Heat out of Georgia Tech, Geiger played for ten years for the Heat, Charlotte Hornets and Philadelphia 76ers. He averaged 9.2 points and 5.7 rebounds for his career.

Check Out Matt Geiger on Scoop B Radio

Hey, did you know that Geiger famously once refused to waive the $1.2 million annual trade kicker for the final four seasons of his six-year, $47 million contact, which stopped a trade that the Sixers had in place which would have shipped Allen Iverson to the Detroit Pistons. What a save for the Philly faithful, because the next season, the Sixers would become NBA Eastern Conference Champions, Iverson was the league MVP and the Sixers would face the Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant-led Los Angeles Lakers in the 2001 NBA Finals.

By the way, for those basketball heads keeping score at home, that proposed trade per ESPN’s Marc Stein  went like this

Eddie Jones, Glen Rice, Jerome Williams and Dale Ellis were Philly-bound; Iverson and Geiger headed to Detroit; Jerry Stackhouse, Christian Laettner and Travis Knight routed to Charlotte; and Anthony Mason, Toni Kukoc and Todd Fuller dispatched to the LA Lakers.

Now a real estate investor, Matt lets us know about: being a Southpark fan, his favorite food, how to learn from making mistakes and so much more.

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The post Scoop B Radio: Chatting With Retired NBA Center Matt Geiger appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.