Is Scottie Pippen Throwing Shade At Michael Jordan?

 

Scottie Pippen is preparing to tell his side of the story following his dissatisfaction with Michael Jordan's docu-series, The Last Dance. In an Instagram post promoting his upcoming memoir, UNGUARDED, the six-time NBA champion claimed he would tell "stories I've kept to myself for years."

Scottie Pippen’s Terrible Bulls Contract

 

Chicago managed to lock him down long-term at a bargain-basement price.

But how? And how did they get away with it for so long?

TWUM Hottest Sports Moments

At "The Wrap-Up Magazine" Everyone loves some type of sport from time to time. Some of the hottest sports news, scores, rumors, fantasy games, and more can be found here. This is the latest in national and local sports news covering rumors of all kinds.

 The +Cleveland Cavaliers has just fired their coach +Mike Brown. Brown was fired for the second time in four years by owner Dan Gilbert, who last April brought back the only coach to get the Cavs to the NBA Finals but then dismissed him after the team failed to make the playoffs...More CLICK HERE

 In the final installment of All Access: Mayweather vs. Maidana, follow both fighters backstage and witness the aftermath of an epic battle. This is the Epilogue visual video...More CLICK HERE

 Damian Lillard of the +Portland Trail Blazers hit a buzzer beater over the +Houston Rockets. Damian Lillard drained the incredible three with 0.9 seconds left to send Portland to the 2nd round over Houston. Visit nba.com/video for more highlights...More CLICK HERE

 The +UConn Huskies has taken the national championship for college basketball. In a game featuring the highest combined seeds in the history of the national championship game, the Connecticut Huskies defeated the Kentucky Wildcats 60-54 at AT&T Stadium in North Texas to win the school’s fourth NCAA title...More CLICK HERE

 Former Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer won a frenetic bidding war for ownership of the Los Angeles Clippers, with his $2-billion offer setting a record price for an NBA team, The Times has learned. Ballmer, who was chief executive of Microsoft for 14 years, was chosen over competitors that included Los Angeles-based investors Tony Ressler and Steve Karsh and a group that included David Geffen and executives from the Guggenheim Group, the Chicago-based owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers...More CLICK HERE

 Cleveland Cavaliers star member +Andrew Bynum has been suspended for conduct detrimental to the team. Andrew Bynum’s rocky season has continued, as the center has been suspended by the Cleveland Cavaliers...More CLICK HERE

 In Arlington, Texas, the +Oakland Raiders gave up control of the game late in the first half and saw the Dallas Cowboys dominate the second half of a 31-24 Thanksgiving Day loss...More CLICK HERE

 The +New York Knicks has been named the most valuable NBA Franchise. Forbes released its annual list of richest NBA teams, and the Knicks come in first at $1.4 billion. New York is one of three teams in the league that are worth over a billion dollars, with the runners-up on the list being the Los Angeles Lakers ($1.35 billion) and Chicago Bulls ($1 billion). The top five of the list is rounded out by the Boston Celtics ($875 million) and Brooklyn Nets ($780 million)...More CLICK HERE

 The Kings rocketed off the bench and gathered for a huge group hug near the Rangers’ net before the handshake line and the Stanley Cup ceremony featuring captain Dustin Brown’s second chance to take the 35-pound silver trophy from Commissioner Gary Bettman...More CLICK HERE

 Germany became World Cup champion for the fourth time on Sunday night, and the first European team in history to clinch soccer’s greatest prize on South American soil. It did so courtesy of a winner deep into extra time from substitute Mario Gotze, who displayed a brilliant piece of skill to decide a contest of outstanding quality...More CLICK HERE

 Micheal Jordan anniversary for his final +NBA championship games is today. The +Chicago Bulls with coach +Phil Jackson were the best of all times thus far. Today marks the 15th anniversary of one of the greatest shots in NBA history. In Game 6 of the 1998 NBA Finals...More CLICK HERE

Michael Jordan's 6th Game Anniversary

+Micheal Jordan anniversary for his final +NBA championship games is today. The +Chicago Bulls with coach +Phil Jackson were the best of all times thus far. Today marks the 15th anniversary of one of the greatest shots in NBA history. In Game 6 of the 1998 NBA Finals.

Michael Jordan crossed over on Byron Russell and hit the game-winning shot in Game 6. With the clock running out, Jordan crossed over Bryon Russell and hit the game-wining shot with 5.2 seconds left to give the Chicago Bulls the 87-86 win.

Chance the Rapper Has Raised Millions To Help Build Chicago

During a special appearance at Harold Washington Cultural Center on Friday, Chance the Rapper announced that his Social Works organization has raised $2.2 million for an arts initiative at Chicago Public Schools.

“Quality education for public schools is the most important investment a community can make,” the Grammy-winning rapper told a crowd students and supporters at the event, where he channeled the late Steve Jobs, donning a black turtle neck, faded jeans, and his trademark “3” hat.

Principals are reportedly committed to new initiatives like dance studios for ballet, hip-hop, and modern dance classes, design laboratories, sculpting, and pottery courses, remodeling auditoriums, and fixing existing art supplies.

Chance donated $1 million the $2.2 million in March. Shortly afterwards, he announced that the Chicago Bulls donated another $1 million towards the cause, helping him launch the Chance Arts & Literature Fund.

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Scottie Pippen Sickest Dunk Compilation

 

No matter how well he played or how important he was to the team, Scottie Pippen was underappreciated because of his status on the Bulls. Even as Chicago's No. 2 Pippen averaged over 16 points, Jordan would get most of the credit.

Dwayne Wade Traded To Miami Heat

ESPN announced today in a three-team deal that Wade is being traded from the Cleveland Cavaliers to the Miami Heat. The shooting guard spent 13 years playing for the Heat. He then played for the Chicago Bulls in 2016 before heading to Cleveland with Lebron James.

Shaquille O’Neal And Allen Iverson Nominated For The Hall of Fame

The larger-than-life 7-foot-1 big man and the ultra-quick 6-0 point guard lead the 10-member Class of 2016, which was announced Monday. Much like during their playing careers, there was no stopping Shaquille O’Neal and Allen Iverson when it came to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

O’Neal won four NBA championships and an MVP award and is in the league’s top 10 in career scoring. Iverson won four scoring titles and was the league’s MVP in 2001, when his 48-point performance for the Philadelphia 76ers in Game 1 of the NBA Finals handed O’Neal’s Los Angeles Lakers their only loss of the most dominant postseason in NBA history.

Iverson and O’Neal will be enshrined along with Michigan State coach Tom Izzo, former Houston Rockets center Yao Ming, former WNBA star Sheryl Swoopes and Chicago Bulls owner Jerry Reinsdorf. Longtime NBA referee Darrell Garretson, coach John McLendon and former stars Zelmo Beaty and Cumberland Posey will be enshrined posthumously.

O’Neal is one of four players to win three Finals MVP awards, joining Michael Jordan (6), Tim Duncan (3) and Magic Johnson (3). He was one vote shy in 1999-2000 of becoming the first unanimous MVP in NBA history as Iverson received the only other first-place vote.

Izzo has reached seven Final Fours and earned 524 career victories since becoming the head coach at Michigan State in 1995. In 2000 he guided the Spartans to the NCAA national championship with an 89-76 win over Florida.

Ming, the No. 1 overall pick by the Rockets in 2002, didn’t have the numbers of some other great centers, but he bridged a path for the NBA to China. The third Chinese player in league history was an eight-time All-Star before injuries shortened his career, as he missed 159 out of a possible 164 games in the last two years in the NBA. Ming was a first-team all-rookie in the 2002-03 season. In his first game against O’Neal, he blocked his first three shot attempts in the first three minutes of the game.

Swoopes was the first player signed by the WNBA. She went on to win three MVP awards and four championships in the league, but it was her 47-point performance in leading Texas Tech to the 1993 NCAA championship that many think of first when talking about one of the greats of women’s basketball.

Most Valuable NBA Franchise

The +New York Knicks has been named the most valuable NBA Franchise. Forbes released its annual list of richest NBA teams, and the Knicks come in first at $1.4 billion. New York is one of three teams in the league that are worth over a billion dollars, with the runners-up on the list being the Los Angeles Lakers ($1.35 billion) and Chicago Bulls ($1 billion). The top five of the list is rounded out by the Boston Celtics ($875 million) and Brooklyn Nets ($780 million).

A major part of the profitability of the Knicks and Lakers is their television revenue. In addition to being massively popular global brands, both teams essentially control their own television networks, the Knicks’ MSG and the Lakers’ Time Warner Cable SportsNet. Forbes reported that the Lakers have the richest local television agreement in the NBA, worth $3.6 billion over 20 years.

Coming in last on the list are the Milwaukee Bucks, worth an estimated $405 million, well below the league average of $634 million. The two-time defending NBA champions, the Miami Heat, are the seventh-most profitable team in the league at $770 million, and the team with the current best record in the league, the Indiana Pacers, come in at No. 22, with a $475 million total value.

LeBron James Talks New Deal With Nike

The +Cleveland Cavaliers team member +LeBron James has just sing a big +SportScheck with +Nike for a lifetime. Nike has signed Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James to a lifetime deal in what one source familiar with the negotiations said is the largest single-athlete guarantee in company history.

“We can confirm that we have agreed to a lifetime relationship with LeBron that provides significant value to our business, brand and shareholders,” Nike said in a statement. “We have already built a strong LeBron business over the past 12 years, and we see the potential for this to continue to grow throughout his playing career and beyond.”

A company spokesperson would not say how much Nike paid. It is believed to be the first lifetime deal in the shoe and apparel company’s 44-year history.

“I’m very humble, man,” James said to reporters after Monday’s practice. “It’s been an unbelievable time for myself and my family, and I’m just grateful that Nike and [Nike founder] Phil Knight and everyone over there just believed in a skinny-old, skinny 18-year-old kid from Akron, Ohio, and I’m happy to be a part of such a great company.”

A source close to the deal told ESPN that it easily surpasses the 10-year, $300 million deal Oklahoma City Thunder forward Kevin Durant signed with the world’s largest shoe and apparel brand last summer.

“LeBron and I have been in love and obsessed with Nike since we were kids,” Maverick Carter, James’ business partner, said Monday. “Having built a totally innovative global business with them has truly been a dream come true. We are so excited to be taking the business to an entirely new level. For LeBron, he’s thrilled to know he’s a Nike guy for life.”

James commented on his affinity for the brand, how important his first Nike deal was and what the new agreement means to him.

“It meant a lot to me even when I signed my first deal just to be with Nike, and it means even more that they’ve given me this,” James said. “It’s like I said, very humbling and grateful, and I’m going to continue to do my job and represent the brand the best way I can, like I know how. Hopefully, people see that.”

Carter will manage the deal, which was negotiated by Main Street Advisors’ Paul Wachter, who also negotiated the deal for John Henry to buy the Red Sox in 2002 and represented Beats By Dre in its $3 billion sale to Apple last May.

Although other companies have negotiated lifetime deals — Adidas has structured them with Chicago Bulls point guard Derrick Rose and soccer great David Beckham, while Reebok has a lifetime deal with former Philadelphia 76ers point guard Allen Iverson — Nike has never announced a lifetime deal before.

New YEEZY Basketball Shoe Banned

Kanye West is expected to debut his first-ever Yeezy basketball sneaker on the feet of Adidas athletes during the upcoming NBA season. But the league office would ban the current version of the sneaker on court because of its gleaming, reflective-material heel, according to industry sources.

While the monochromatic sneakers won’t violate the league’s footwear color restrictions, the issue is the reflective “3M” heel panel, which the NBA would find potentially distracting for both in-arena spectators and television viewers.

Carmelo Anthony faced a similar issue with the metallic chrome heel of his Jordan M10 signature sneakers while playing for the New York Knicks. He later wore an updated version with a matte paint finish.

Players are no longer required to wear shoes matching their team’s uniform colors, but the league still has an approval process for new silhouettes from brands in advance of the season.

According to Christopher Arena, the NBA’s vice president of identity, outfitting and equipment, companies will typically submit sneakers for the first half of the season by early August, with shoes scheduled to be worn after the All-Star break required for approval by early December.

While the league office has yet to receive and formally review the new Yeezy basketball shoe in person, the version shared online by West would not be permitted on court as is, according to a source. Alternative versions of the sneaker that don’t incorporate the reflective material would likely be approved.

The league has banned or issued warnings for several sneakers in its history, most famously Michael Jordan’s black and red Nike Air Jordan 1 sneaker in 1985. Nike almost instantly turned the buzz around the Bulls star’s banished debut sneakers into a marketing campaign, vaulting the signature series into rare air and sparking the dawn of collectible-sneaker culture. Three decades later, the Jordan Brand has become its own fully fledged subsidiary of the Nike Inc. company, with annual revenues topping $3 billion.

In a recent post on his @KanyeWest Instagram, the Chicago native explained that his Yeezy basketball shoe has been in development for over three years and undergone nearly 300 sample updates.

The new model is expected to finally make its much-anticipated debut during the 2018-19 season, with Adidas non-signature athletes like Donovan Mitchell, Brandon Ingram, John Wall, Kelly Oubre Jr. and Nick Young potentially wearing the shoe in early 2019. Retail release dates and a finalized price point have yet to be determined.

Earlier Monday, during an interview with paparazzi in Los Angeles, West discussed his long-term vision for his collaborative brand with Adidas and his eventual goal to bring the manufacturing of his sneaker line stateside.

“The Yeezys will be made in America,” he said. “We’re putting a factory in Chicago.”

Phil Jackson Signs With Knicks

The +New York Knicks has chosen +Phil Jackson as their head coach. Phil Jackson signed on to become president of the New York Knicks after a lunch meeting with team officials. Todd Musburger, Jackson’s Chicago-based agent, was in Los Angeles to finalize the contract with Jackson and Knicks officials, according to sources. Jackson’s deal is expected to pay him $12 million a year.

Jackson, who has won a record 11 NBA championships as coach of the Lakers and Bulls and two as a Knicks player, likely will spend significant time in New York but also retain his time in Los Angeles. Jackson will take over the running of the Knicks’ basketball operations department from president and general manager Steve Mills. A source said earlier this week that Mills will remain an integral part of the organization.

While there was significant interest in bringing him back to the Lakers in some capacity, it never reached a level where Jackson’s representatives were formally contacted, as it was clear to all involved that the Lakers would not offer a role that offered nearly as much power as the Knicks did.