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.

Sonny Vaccaro and LeBron James. Photo Credit: New York Post

Sneaker industry executive Sonny Vaccaro Discussed Lenny Cooke & LeBron James’ 2001 ABCD Camp Matchup with Brandon ‘Scoop B’ Robinson on Scoop B Radio Press Play Below To Listen!

Over the last twenty years, AAU basketball has become just as important as the organized game itself. Sneaker companies, coaches and recruiters all get a glimpse into the future of the game.

One of the most elite programs to step foot in was the now-defunct ABCD camp.

From 1994-2006 ABCD Camp was THE show at Teaneck, New Jersey’s Fairleigh Dickinson College. You name ‘em they played in it: Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Rashard Lewis, Kenyon Martin, Kevin Garnett, Sebastian Telfair, Charlie Villanueva.

That picture floating around with a younger Kevin Love and an even younger Isaiah Thomas, now team Cleveland Cavaliers teammates; yup, it happened at ABCD Camp.

Sonny Vaccaro, a former sneaker executive with all three of the major sneaker brands: Nike, Adidas was the braintrust behind that camp.

Vaccaro most notably got Michael Jordan to sign with Nike and signed Tracy McGrady and Kobe Bryant to Adidas deals. Vaccaro also challenged the NBA’s one-and-done rule by advising Brandon Jennings to play overseas in Italy for a year before declaring for the NBA Draft.

Vaccaro historically signed LeBron James to a $90 million deal with Nike before even playing his first NBA game.

Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary’s LeBron James heads up the court Thursday, March 13, 2003, against Tallmadge during a state high school regional tournament game in Toledo, Ohio. (AP Photo/J.D. Pooley)

Speaking of James, the world became familiar of him at Vaccaro’s ABCD Camp in 2001. LeBron wasn’t even the headliner; it was Lenny Cooke, a Brooklyn native by way of Northern Valley High School in Old Tappan, New Jersey.” I think that Jay Z might have been in attendance,” Sonny Vaccaro told me on Scoop B Radio.

“What you had was a mystical appearance of this kid from Ohio who had not yet broken into the national scene. The only camp LeBron had gone to was ABCD camp and Lenny was the reigning number one high school player in America and sort of magnified himself by being this very mysterious kid also.”

Cooke averaged 25 points, hauled in 10 rebounds, two steals and two blocks per game in his junior year at Northern Valley High School with high school scouts ranking him ahead of retired NBA forward Amar’e Stoudemire, James and the Oklahoma City Thunder’s Carmelo Anthony.

In the closing seconds of the game, Cooke’s team had the lead and possession of the basketball. James stole the ball from Cooke, scored on a fast break and won the game. That play introduced the world to the Akron, Ohio baller who was later featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated with the cover titled, ‘The Chosen One.’  “The funny this about it is that it wasn’t like Lenny did bad,” said Sonny Vaccaro. “But LeBron just won the game.”

James would enter the NBA Draft in 2003 and win three NBA championships.

While speaking at Philadelphia’s Mount Olivet Tabernacle Baptist Church with Rev. Andre L. Price last year, Cooke says that not showing up for team workouts hindered his draft stock. “My kids like LeBron James now,” said Cooke.

“He’s earned everything he’s gotten and taken advantage of every opportunity he’s been given. How can I be mad at him? He built his brand the right way!”“That game didn’t single-handedly mean anything other than it was played in New York at a summertime camp and a lot of people saw it,” said Vaccaro.

Added Vaccaro:

“Lenny was over-confident and had the New York bravado and LeBron was LeBron and he probably didn’t care who he was playing against other than the name and that sort of carried over into his life. LeBron has taken everything that has come his way since that night and today and hopefully for a lot more of playing basketball. LeBron took everything more serious than Lenny Cooke and I think if you play the game, it didn’t begin that night but what it did was dramatize the reign of LeBron and the eventual downfall of Lenny Cooke.”

Lenny Cooke and Carmelo Anthony battling for a rebound at Sonny Vaccaro’s ABCD basketball camp in Teaneck, New Jersey. Phto Credit: New York Daily News

Cooke would declare for the 2002 NBA Draft and went undrafted. An NBA career would never materialize and he’d later play in the Rucker Park league, NBDL and USBL. He’d also play overseas in China and the Philippines.

Cooke has recently found his niche: coaching. Cooke coaches high school basketball in Atlantic City, New Jersey and travels across the country mentoring kids and speaking on panels at swanky locations like Microsoft.

Cooke recently weighed in on the NBA’s one and done rule stating that a player must be 19 years old or one year removed from their high school’s graduating class.

“I mean I disagree a little bit,” Cooke told me on Scoop B Radio.

“If you’re just going for one year, it ain’t really benefitting you. You’re still a child. I mean, at the end of the day, one year’s not going to [do anything]. If you get hurt, then you’re done.”

A subject of a 93-minute documentary, called “Lenny Cooke,” the film documents his high school career. The film was directed by brothers Josh and Bennie Safdie and executive produced by New York Knicks forward, Joakim Noah. “It is easy to tell stories about your success,” Joakim Noah told me.

“But extremely courageous to do the same with your failures,”

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The post Sonny Vaccaro On LeBron James & Lenny Cooke At ABCD Camp: “It wasn’t like Lenny did bad, but LeBron just won the game” appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

The Golden State Warriors hold a 3-1 lead over the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2017 NBA Finals. Photo Credit: The Huffington Post

The Cleveland Cavaliers avoided a sweep in the NBA Finals Friday night, beating the Golden State Warriors 137 -116. The Cavs handed the Golden State Warriors their first loss of the postseason and the Warriors still hold a 3-1 lead in the series.

With the NBA Finals prolongoing to a game 5 after the heroics of the Cavaliers’ Kyrie Irving’s 40 points and LeBron James’ triple double in game 4, the scene shifts back to Oakland, where the Warriors won the first two games of the series.

Cleveland Cavaliers guard Kyrie Irving, his dad, Drederick Irving & sports and entertainment journalist Brandon ‘Scoop B’ Robinson. Photo Credit: Will Robertson

Earlier this week, I checked in with DJ Tarzan and Cliff Po on the Henny & Redbull Podcast, to talk about the NBA Finals, LeBron James’ Michael Jordan comparisons and more.

Check Out The Conversation With RESPECT Magazine’s Brandon ‘Scoop B’ Robinson and The Henny & Redbull Podcast.

The NBA Finals resumes Monday with Game 5 in Oakland.

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Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors will face reigning NBA champions, Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2017 NBA Finals. Photo Credit: Sporting News

The third time is the charm. LeBron James, Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving’s Cleveland Cavaliers will take on a very potent Golden State Warriors that boasts All Stars Draymond Green, Klay Thompson, Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry.

Game 1 begins tonight at Oracle Arena in Oakland.

On record, I have the Cleveland Cavaliers winning the 2017 NBA Finals in 6 games. I chatted with CNN’s Mico Halili prior to Game 1 at Oracle Arena.

“I’ve got the Cavs in 6.” – @ScoopB of Scoop B Radio on the NBA Finals. pic.twitter.com/P52a7X531Z

— Mico Halili (@micohalili) June 1, 2017

Hear more of my NBA Finals commentary on CBS Sports Radio’s “After Hours” with Amy Lawrence

Check out Brandon ‘Scoop B’ Robinson’s commentary on CNN on the Cleveland Cavaliers: 

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The post Scoop B: Cleveland Cavaliers Will Win 2017 NBA Finals in 6 Games appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

CBS Radio’s After Hours host, Amy Lawrence and RESPECT Magazine’s managing editor and columnist Brandon ‘Scoop B’ Robinson. Photo Provided By: CBS Sports Radio

When you talk about one of the best in the business, CBS Sports Radio’s Amy Lawrence is right up there! Host of After Hours of Amy Lawrence has been the ma’aam for a long time!

Play-by-play and color commentary, talk radio, television and more for over 15 years in markets like Oklahoma City, OK, Providence, RI, Rochester, NY, Lebanon, NH and more, yup she’s got you covered.

It was an honor to appear on the Concord, NH native’s radio show on Monday morning to not only talk about the Cleveland Cavaliers and Golden State Warriors’ NBA Finals matchup that begins later this week, but to also discuss my early days in radio with the Nets and the origins of Scoop B Radio whose contents were stored in a Timberland box full of interview tapes.

Check Out Amy Lawrence’s segment and chat with RESPECT Mag’s Brandon ‘Scoop B’ Robinson

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The post Scoop B: Check out My Chat NBA Finals Chat With CBS Sports Radio’s “After Hours With Amy Lawrence” appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.