logo
Sixers' Quentin Grimes has important message for NBA about the Finals

Sixers' Quentin Grimes has important message for NBA about the Finals

USA Today06-06-2025
Sixers' Quentin Grimes has important message for NBA about the Finals
The NBA Finals got underway on Thursday night as the Indiana Pacers and the Oklahoma City Thunder began a battle to decide the 2025 NBA champions. The stage was set as both teams look to win their franchise's first ever championship and the court was...littered with YouTube TV ads.
There was not much NBA Finals signage other than an imprint of the Larry O'Brien trophy being on the basket stanchion, but that was all. No special Finals script on the court. No specialty added to the Paycom Center to signal that this game means more. This is for the championship and the court appeared to look like it was a random Tuesday night game in January.
Philadelphia 76ers guard Quentin Grimes, as well as the rest of the NBA watching world, took to Twitter to send a message to the league about the lack of finals signage on the court.
Grimes is 100% right. The league has to do something to make the Finals feel as special as it ought to. There needs to be more signage and a change to the court or something in order to take it all to another level as it had been in the past.
As for Grimes' current free agency status, the Sixers will look to bring back the restricted free agent after he performed well in 28 games for Philadelphia. He averaged 21.9 points after the Sixers acquired him from the Dallas Mavericks at the February trade deadline.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

NBA insider gives update on Nets' Cam Thomas' free-agency status
NBA insider gives update on Nets' Cam Thomas' free-agency status

USA Today

time14 minutes ago

  • USA Today

NBA insider gives update on Nets' Cam Thomas' free-agency status

Brooklyn Nets guard Cam Thomas became a restricted free-agent this summer after a 2024-25 season that saw him put forth the best numbers of his four-year NBA career. Thomas hasn't been re-signed by Brooklyn yet and there seems to be a gap between what the former LSU Tiger wants and what the Nets want to pay him. There may be an answer to what's going on. "I think he's going to go back to Brooklyn, I don't think there's any other real suitors out there for him right now," NBA insider Jake Fischer said during a recent livestream for Bleacher Report. Fischer was relaying any information that he had on the restricted free-agents that still haven't been signed by their respective teams and Thomas doesn't seem like he's ready to sign just yet. "Cam Thomas to me seems to be the most likely of all the restricted free agents to take the qualifying offer," Fischer said. "Throughout all of my conversations around his restricted free agency, I have not heard that Brooklyn has offered Cam Thomas anything further than a two-year deal with a team option on the second deal that I don't believe is going much north, if north at all, of the $14.1 million mid-level exception." Thomas, 23, averaged 24.0 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 3.8 assists per game while shooting 43.8% from the field and 34.9% from three-point land last season for the Nets. Part of what could be complicating his restricted free-agency is the fact that he achieved those numbers while playing in a career-low 25 games as he dealt with a troublesome left hamstring that bothered him throughout the season. For someone like Thomas that is reportedly expecting to earn somewhere around$30 million per year on his next contract, this offseason could be tough for a player looking to get paid. Due to the amount of teams that do not have cap space at this point of the summer, Thomas could either take the reported offer from the Nets or play on the $5.99 million qualifying offer depending on what intel he has at the moment.

NBA draft guru Jonathan Givony leaving ESPN, rebuffs offer to stay in stunner
NBA draft guru Jonathan Givony leaving ESPN, rebuffs offer to stay in stunner

New York Post

time44 minutes ago

  • New York Post

NBA draft guru Jonathan Givony leaving ESPN, rebuffs offer to stay in stunner

ESPN is losing more talent. NBA Draft guru Jonathan Givony announced Thursday on social media he was leaving the Worldwide Leader in sports after eight years with the company. Givony explained that he and the company did not see eye-to-eye on his value within ESPN. Advertisement 'My time at ESPN has come to an end. Thanks to everyone, past and present, who helped me grow professionally the past 8 years,' Givony posted to X. Jonathan Givony is leaving ESPN after eight years. NBAE via Getty Images 'Although ESPN offered an extension, we were unable to find alignment on my value to the company. I will continue to analyze the NBA Draft, college, high school, and international basketball, as I have the past 20+ years, at the company I founded, DraftExpress, alongside a fantastic team. See you at the U18 European Championship in Belgrade this weekend!' Advertisement Givony founded Draft Express in 2003 and joined ESPN in 2017. He previously contributed to Grantland, and Sports Illustrated, in addition to his ESPN work. Givony recently reported on Ace Bailey's bizarre NBA Draft slide, where he refused to work out for the 76ers, who were selecting No. 3 overall in this year's draft. Advertisement Bailey ultimately fell to the Utah Jazz with the fifth pick. Givony is an NBA Draft and scouting guru who started scouting service 'Draft Express' in 2003. NBAE via Getty Images The plugged-in draft expert will now ramp up his NBA draft scouting service, and his exit comes while ESPN has undergone a broader shift away from true reporting and analysis and instead focusing on brash personalities with hot takes. Stephen A. Smith recived a $100 million contract with ESPN, Pat McAfee is a major voice for the network and the company even used comedian Shane Gillis for the recent ESPYs.

Heat rewarding summer league standout Myron Gardner with two-way deal. Where the roster stands
Heat rewarding summer league standout Myron Gardner with two-way deal. Where the roster stands

Miami Herald

timean hour ago

  • Miami Herald

Heat rewarding summer league standout Myron Gardner with two-way deal. Where the roster stands

The Miami Heat is rewarding one of the players from its summer league roster with a two-way contract. The Heat plans to sign forward Myron Gardner to a two-way deal after he impressed in summer league, a league source confirmed to the Miami Herald on Friday. The two-way contract is a two-year agreement. After standing out with 14 points on nine field-goal attempts in the Heat's summer league loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on July 6 in the California Classic, Gardner was held out of the first three games of Las Vegas Summer League because of a finger injury. But Gardner (6-foot-6 and 220 pounds) was able to pick up right where he left off when he returned, averaging 17.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, two assists and 2.5 steals per appearance while shooting 11 of 25 (44%) from the field and 6 of 9 (66.7%) on threes during the Heat's final two summer league games in Las Vegas. 'Just the way he assaults the paint,' Heat assistant coach and summer league head coach Eric Glass said when asked what he likes about Gardner's game. 'He's so aggressive, he's so strong going down hill.' Gardner, 24, has spent the last two seasons with the Orlando Magic's G League affiliate after going undrafted in 2023 out of Little Rock. He averaged 10 points, 6.2 rebounds, 1.5 assists and one steal per game while shooting 48.8% from the field and 65 of 184 (35.3%) on threes in 50 games for the Osceola Magic last season. Gardner's most impressive stretch for the Osceola Magic last season came in the playoffs, when he averaged 20.6 points, 8.4 rebounds, two assists, 2.4 steals and 1.4 blocks per appearance while shooting 55.6% from the field and 42.4% on 6.6 three-point attempts per appearance in five postseason games to help lead the team to the G League Finals. Gardner, who is from Detroit, has yet to play in an NBA game. In fact, this two-way contract with the Heat marks the closest that Gardener has been to playing in the NBA, as this is the first two-way or standard NBA deal that he has signed during his career. After committing to Gardner, the Heat now has two of its three two-way contract slots filled. Center Vlad Goldin, who went undrafted this year out of Michigan, is also signed by the Heat to a two-way deal. The Heat's third and final two-way contract spot could go to guard Dru Smith, who has a qualifying offer in place from Miami to return on such a contract. Two-way contracts, which pay half the NBA rookie minimum and do not count toward the salary cap or luxury tax, allow for players to be on their NBA team's active list for as many as 50 regular-season games with other game action having to come in the G League. Two-way deals can be swapped at any time and do not come with playoff eligibility. Following the signing of Gardner, the Heat's preseason roster includes 16 players (including two-way contracts and Exhibit 10 deals). The 14 players signed by the Heat to standard contracts for next season are Bam Adebayo, Tyler Herro, Andrew Wiggins, Terry Rozier, Norman Powell, Davion Mitchell, Simone Fontecchio, Haywood Highsmith, Nikola Jovic, Kel'el Ware, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Kasparas Jakucionis, Pelle Larsson and Keshad Johnson. The two two-way contract players are Gardner and Goldin. The Heat currently doesn't have any players signed to an Exhibit 10 deal, which is essentially an invite to training camp. Exhibit 10 contracts also protect players from being signed by another team. While 18 players (15 on standard contracts and three on two-way contracts) is the regular-season limit, NBA teams are allowed to carry up to 21 players during the offseason and preseason (including up to three two-way contract players). The Heat is scheduled to hold its annual media day on Sept. 29 before opening training camp on Sept. 30 to kick off the 2025-26 season. NEW NUMBERS Highsmith is switching his jersey number from No. 24 to No. 8, with Powell taking No. 24 after being traded to the Heat. Powell has worn No. 24 in each of his first 10 NBA seasons. In addition, Fontecchio will wear No. 0 with the Heat for the first time in his NBA career after wearing No. 16 with the Utah Jazz and No. 19 with the Detroit Pistons during his first three seasons in the league. The Detroit Pistons dealt Fontecchio to the Heat this summer as part of the Duncan Robinson sign-and-trade transaction. Goldin will wear No. 50 for the Heat.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store