Los Angeles Clippers guard Patrick Beverley expects the NBA will return in July regardless of what anyone not named LeBron James has to say.
Jayne Kamin-Oncea / Getty Images
"Hoopers say what y’all want. If @KingJames said he hooping. We all hooping. Not Personal only BUSINESS?????? ?? #StayWoke ✊?✊?✊?," he wrote on Twitter, Sunday.
The NBA is set to return on July 30 in Orlando, Florida 22 teams; however, many players have voiced their disapproval of the league returning so soon. Kyrie Irving, in particular, has been a prominent voice in opposition to the return time-frame. “I don’t support going into Orlando. I’m not with the systematic racism and the bullshit. Something smells a little fishy," Irving told The Athletic, this week.
On the other hand, LeBron James is among the players who reportedly disagree with Irving. The thinking here is that the players could use their earnings to donate to the Black Lives Matter movement.
Houston Rocket guard Austin Rivers explained this point view, Saturday, saying "Us coming back would put money in all of our (NBA players) pockets. With this money, you could help out even more people and continue to give more importantly your time and energy towards the BLM movement. Which I'm 100% on board with. Because change needs to happen and injustice has been going on too long."
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Austin Rivers Explains Why Kyrie Irving Is Wrong About The NBA’s Return
Austin Rivers responds to Kyrie Irving in regard to the resumption of the 2019-20 NBA season.
Houston Rockets guard Austin Rivers has responded to Brooklyn Nets guard Kyrie Irving, who says the return of the NBA would negatively affect the Black Lives Matter movement. Rivers says he doesn't see the correlation.
Takashi Aoyama / Getty Images
"Us coming back would put money in all of our (NBA players) pockets," Rivers continued. "With this money, you could help out even more people and continue to give more importantly your time and energy towards the BLM movement. Which I'm 100% on board with. Because change needs to happen and injustice has been going on too long."
"I love Kyrie's passion towards helping this movement," Rivers continued. "It's admirable and inspiring. I'm with it ... but not at the cost of the whole NBA and players' careers. We can do both. We can play and we can help change the way black lives are lived. I think we have [to]! But canceling and boycotting [a] return doesn't do that in my opinion. Guys want to play and provide and help change!!!!"
Reports have surfaced that Irving is against the NBA resuming. He told The Athletic, "“I’m not with the systematic racism and the bullshit. Something smells a little fishy.”
Former NBA player Stephen Jackson has also expressed his disapproval of the league returning in July.
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Austin Rivers Argues Against Kyrie Irving’s NBA Reboot Boycott
Austin Rivers had a plethora of points refuting Kyrie Irving's hypothesis.
Kyrie Irving has been making headlines over the last couple of days thanks to his NBA boycott efforts. Last night, Irving hosted a Zoom call with over 200 players, calling for many to take a stand against the league. With all of the protests going on right now, Irving doesn't think it is appropriate for players to be heading back to the court. Instead, Irving believes their energy should be on trying to create social change. The Brooklyn Nets star sees the return of basketball as a distraction from what is truly important and is hoping players realize that.
Today, Austin Rivers issued a lengthy argument against what Irving is preaching. As you can see in the tweet below, Rivers believes players can play basketball while advocating for social change at the same time. Rivers also notes that not every player makes as much as Kyrie and that not playing could hurt them financially.
From there, Rivers also explained the ramifications a boycott could have on the CBA. If games aren't played, the league won't make its TV revenues which will ultimately lead to a massive reduction in the salary cap. Knowing Kyrie's history, we would be the first to speak up against a reduction in salaries, so Rivers most certainly makes a great point.
As of right now, there is definitely a divide amongst the players and only time will tell whether or not it works itself out.
Doc Rivers Thinks LeBron James Could Have Been An NFL GOAT
Doc Rivers had some strong thoughts on LeBron James as an athlete.
LeBron James is a monster of an athlete in the NBA but it's also important to note that while in high school, he was a pretty solid wide receiver. In fact, there were some Division One schools in the NCAA that were willing to give James a scholarship. Of course, he decided to forego school entirely and jumped right into the NBA where he hasn't looked back since.
During a conversation with his NBA player son Austin, Los Angeles Clippers head coach Doc Rivers spoke about LeBron and his place in the game of basketball. Rivers explained that he thinks LeBron is the greatest athlete in NBA history and that if he had played football, he could have been one of the best players in that league, as well.
“Michael was a super athlete, so was Kobe, so was Kawhi,” Rivers said. “I don't know that there's ever been an athlete like LeBron James in our league. I really believe if LeBron James had have played football, he may have been the greatest football player ever, at whatever position.”
There have been some pretty dominant wide receivers over the years so it would be interesting to see how LeBron would have stacked up. With his height and strength, he definitely could have gone far.
Austin Rivers Divulges NBA’s Proposal For Return To Action
The NBA is currently on hold due to the Coronavirus but it seems like they have a plan.
Austin Rivers has been sitting at home with absolutely nothing to do, just like every other NBA player out there. It's a sad state of affairs for pretty well everyone as we are currently dealing with this Coronavirus crisis. Many players have been taking to Instagram Live as a way to connect with their fans and Rivers is no different. Yesterday, Rivers went on Live where he had a lot to say about the state of the NBA and what their plans are for when the league comes back.
According to reporter Justin Russo, Rivers noted that the NBA plans to have every team stationed in Las Vegas where they are looking at playing in the Thomas and Mack Center which just so happens to have two courts. The league would let every team have two practices before playing out a short slate of regular-season games.
Perhaps the most interesting part of the plan is that the league would make it so that the first two rounds are only best-of-three instead of seven. This would make everything go a lot quicker while also making the games count for a lot more.
These are certainly wild propositions but we are living in much wilder times, so it makes sense.
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