Grading the Lakers" moves in the Jim Buss era (Spoiler alert: It"s not a passing grade)

Should the Lakers trade for Carmelo Anthony? | THE HERD

grading some of the lakers key moves since Jim Buss took control of basketball operations after his father, Jerry Buss, died in February2013.

2013

June 27: Drafted Ryan Kelly in the 2nd round (48th pick) of the 2013 NBA draft. Kelly averaged 6.5 points in three seasons with the Lakers. He was waived by Atlanta last month. Grade: D

July 10: Signed Jordan Farmar to a one-year, $1.1-million deal, and he played in 41 games, averaging a little over 10 points. Grade: C

July 11: Signed Nick Young. In four seasons with the team, Young has received almost $17 million and has averaged 13.3 points. Grade: C

July 12: Signed Chris Kaman. He got $3.2 million, they got 39 games from him. Grade: D

2014

Feb. 19: Traded Steve Blake to the Golden State Warriors for Kent Bazemore and MarShon Brooks. Bazemore and Brooks finished out the season with the team and either went elsewhere (Bazemore) or is out of the league (Brooks). Grade: D

June 26: Drafted Julius Randle in the 1st round (7th pick) of the 2014 NBA draft. Missed almost all his first season with an injury. Has been more productive than most of the players in his draft class.Grade: B

June 27: Sent cash to the Washington Wizards for Jordan Clarkson. Has been a solid contributor with the team. Grade: B

July 15: Traded Sergei Lishouk to the Houston Rockets for Jeremy Lin and a 2015 1st round draft pick (Larry Nance Jr.). Lin didnt do much with the Lakers, but Nance is one of the few players on the team who remembers to play defense, so this grade could get better in the future. Grade: C

July 23: Signed Jordan Hill to a multiyear contract. They gave him $16.1 million. He gave them less than 10 points per game and a lot of turnovers. Grade: D

July 23: Signed Ed Davis. Another in a seemingly endless list of players who were signed and left no apparent impact on the team. Grade: D

July 26: Signed Xavier Henry. This is getting monotonous. Sign player, throw him out there for a season or two, cut him loose and hes out of the league. Grade: D

July 28: Hired Byron Scott as coach. Did as much to damage the progress of young people since Fagin in Oliver Twist. Grade: F

Dec. 28: Claimed Tarik Black on waivers. They are paying him $6 million this season and getting six points a game. Grade: D

2015

June 25: Drafted DAngelo Russell in the 1st round (2nd pick) of the 2015 NBA draft. Russell has star potential. Grade: B

June 25: Drafted Larry Nance Jr. in the 1st round (27th pick) of the 2015 NBA draft. Grade: B

June 25: Drafted Anthony Brown in the 2nd round (34th pick) of the 2015 NBA draft. Has played 40 games in the NBA since being drafted. Grade: F

July 9: Signed Brandon Bass. At least Bass is now the Clippers problem. Grade: D

July 9: Signed Lou Williams. You cant complain about this one. Grade: B

July 9: Traded a future 2nd-round pick to the Indiana Pacers for Roy Hibbert. Or as fans liked to call him, Slow Roy. Grade: F

Sept. 24: Signed Metta World Peace. Have his mentoring skills really been worth $3 million? Grade: D

2016

April 29: Hired Luke Walton as coach. He seemed like the second coming, but things have changed since then. Its still too soon to really judge him. Grade: C

June 23: Drafted Brandon Ingram in the 1st round (2nd pick) of the 2016 NBA draft. Much too soon to give him a fair grade. Grade: Incomplete.

June 23: Drafted Ivica Zubac in the 2nd round (32nd pick) of the 2016 NBA draft. Grade: Incomplete.

July 7: Signed Luol Deng to a four-year, $72-million deal. So far, one of the worst deals in Lakers history. Grade: F

July 7: Traded Ater Majok to the Chicago Bulls for Jose Calderon, a 2018 2nd round draft pick and a 2019 2nd round draft pick. Majok has played overseas for the last five years. Calderon is just a guy to fill the roster.

Grade: C

July 8: Signed Timofey Mozgov to a four-year, $64-million deal. This signing and the Deng deal had to be what put Jeanie Buss over the edge and led to her calling Magic Johnson. Grade: F

Source: http://www.latimes.com/sports/lakers/la-sp-lakers-buss-transactions-20170221-story.html

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7 Things You Never Knew About The Life And Death Of Malcolm X

Malcolm X - The House Negro and the Field Negro

Fifty-two years ago today, Malcolm X was killed while deliveringa speech at the Audubon Ballroom in Harlem.

The shooting of the then 39-year-old took the life of a complicated and legendary figure who had been going through a transition period in life.

After years of helping promote the ideals of the National of Islam, Malcolm had a falling out with the group. Shortly after that falling out, his assassination occurred, creating suspicion that the two were linked.

In between, however, a couple of keyevents happened in Malcolms life that often get lost.

Here are a few:

He was terrorized by the Klan during childhood.

Malcolm Littles family had unfortunately been the target of multiple attacks by a Ku Klux Klan sub group, known as the Black Legion.

At one of Littles homes, the Klan had smashed his familys windows; a different home was burned down altogether. Malcolms father disappeared after leaving the home late one night, and wasrun over, amid suspicion that the Klan was behind the attack yet again.

And, as History.com details, Malcolm oncesaid his uncle was the victim of a lynching.

The FBI obsessed overhim.

Under infamous Director J. Edgar Hoover, the FBI watched Malcolm X like a hawk, and as CNN mentions, there are two key details that illustrate just how much they kept tabs on Omaha native.

During a 1954 meeting in which only 12 members, including Malcolm, were present, the FBI was still able to get an informant to report back to it, CNN writes.

By 1964, Hoover had sent a message to his New York, ordering something be done about Malcolm X.

A year later, he was shot dead amid speculation that the bureau knew about the plot to kill him and still did not intervene.

His tone on separatism softened before death.

Malcolm was noted to have been softening some of the stances he had so aggressively stood for earlier in his life. One example?

Before his death, Malcolm wrote to New York Times reportedM. S. Handler, per the New Yorker,

Some of my very dearest friends are Christians, Jews, Buddhists, Hindus, agnostics, and even atheistssome are capitalists, socialists, conservatives, extremists . . . some are even Uncle Tomssome are black, brown, red, yellow and some are even white.

Here, Malcolm shows his rhetoric on separatismchanged and he showed more understanding of the idea of integration.

He was killed right before unveiling a new political program.

Malcolm X was on the verge of taking on new political initiatives in 1965.

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On the day he was killed, he was supposed to reveal a program that would have worked increase voter registration, organized efforts against police brutality and an appeal to the United Nations to condemn the United States for human rights violations, The Guardian details.

That Malcolm was interested in voter registration is worth noting, as his concern for blacks participation in the electoral process was a concern thatdeveloped later in his life.

At the time of his death, Malcolm had no specific philosophy.

For many, Malcolm Xs was defined by his aggressive, by-any-means-necessary persona. But the black history icon was also defined by the constant evolution he went through in life.

His last stage of development saw him separate from the Nation of Islam. He drifted into a space that left him without a specific movementto get behind.

The famed journalist Alex Haley quoted him as saying,

Im man enough to tell you that I cant put my finger on exactly what my philosophy is now, but Im flexible.

According to the New Yorker, that statement came just three days before his death.

Malcolms own security failed to protect him.

CNN notes there was an unusual lack of police presence at the Audubon Ballroom on that fatal Sunday afternoon in 1965, particularly considering the size of the event Malcolm was speaking at.

Still, Malcolm had his own security staff, but they had been of little help. The staff did not conduct searches of audience members before entering, reportedly at Malcolms request, CNN says.

Even more strange, however, his security had not jumped to his defense once shooter began attacking, according to CNN.

Before he died, he reportedly scheduleda meeting with mlk.

malcolm was schedule to meet Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. just two days after the fatal shooting in Harlem. Thats according to James Cone, the author ofMartin & Malcolm & America: A Dream or a Nightmare.

Cone relayed that information to journalist Terry Pristin, who wrote about Malcolm in the LA Times back in 1992.

Pristin had been writing in lieu of Spike Lees biopic, Malcolm X, which was released in the same year.

Subscribe to Elite Daily"s official newsletter, The Edge, for more stories you don"t want to miss.

Source: http://elitedaily.com/life/culture/7-things-never-knew-life-death-malcolm-x/1799197/

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Meet Brenda Hawkins: She"s a retired teacher, ranch owner and Russell Westbrook"s biggest fan

Inside The NBA - Russell Westbrook, & James Harden Interview | Kevin Durant Interview

Brenda Hawkins" family and friends have joked that if Russell Westbrook ever goes missing, they"ll tell police to start the search with her.

There"s no bigger Russ fanatic.

She has replicas of every jersey the Thunder superstar has worn. She has copies of dozens of magazine covers he"s graced, including one from, of all things, a rural electric cooperative. She has bobbleheads and fatheads, paintings and posters.

Standing in The Russell Room in her Mesta Park home, she admits her love is extreme.

But she claims accomplices.

They buy me stuff, she says of those close to her, but then they turn around and go, You"re 60 years old. That room looks like a teenager"s room."

She laughs.

These days, she is hardly alone in her rah-rah for Russ. All-Star Weekend has been something of a celebration of Westbrook. The triple-doubles. The outrageous plays. The success sans Kevin Durant. Even though Westbrook won"t be starting the All-Star Game, it wouldn"t surprise anyone if he won his third consecutive All-Star MVP anyway.

Whatever happens Sunday and beyond won"t change how Brenda Hawkins feels about Russell Westbrook. That"s because he did more than capture her heart.

He saved her.

*

Brenda Hawkins and her husband, Terry, always loved basketball. For years, they had season tickets at Oklahoma State, their alma mater, but Eddie Sutton"s departure also led to theirs.

When the Hornets arrived in Oklahoma City, Brenda and Terry bought season tickets immediately. They loved the games, the entertainment, the excitement, and they were sad to be without basketball when the team returned to New Orleans in the spring of 2007.

Then a few months later, on Nov. 23, 2007, they suffered a personal loss.

Their son, Andrew, died.

He was only a few months out of college. Like his mom and dad, he"d graduated from OSU. He was working at Bank of Oklahoma and making plans to start law school. He was engaged to be married. Even though he had epilepsy, he had managed it and never let it slow him down.

The seizure that killed him was as unexpected as it was devastating.

Brenda and Terry grieved. So did their daughter Haley. Eventually, they had to resume daily duties, so Terry, a lawyer, went back to work at Phillips Murrah and Haley, a registered nurse, returned to her shifts at Integris. But Brenda who was retired after 22 years as a special education teacher and several more years as a court-appointed special advocate for children found the adjustment more difficult.

They went to work, she said, but I just kind of reverted.

The family owns a ranch near Mountain View in southwest Oklahoma, and Brenda spent many days there. That"s where Andrew is buried, and she would go to his grave and sit alone for hours.

I knew I was getting depressed, she said. I couldn"t help it. It was almost like somebody is pulling you somewhere. You just lose who you are.

She had been by her dad"s side as he battled depression late in his life, and she knew she didn"t want to take medicine for her depression. She worried she might have to take antidepressants for the rest of her life. Andrew wasn"t coming back, after all.

Eventually, she asked for help.

In 2008, she started seeing a grief counselor. The sessions helped, and yet, as summer turned to fall, Brenda still felt like she was in a fog. When she and Terry started going to Thunder games of course they"d bought season tickets when the team came to town she sat there in The Peake but wasn"t really there.

It"s like an out-of-body experience, she said. You"re trying to be involved.

And yet, she didn"t really see or feel or care.

Then, she began to notice Westbrook. He was just a rookie coming off the bench at first, but even when he was still Earl Watson"s backup, there was something about his energy and passion that caught Brenda"s attention.

Watching him play made her happy.

Admittedly, being happy made her feel guilty. How could she feel good when Andrew was gone? How could she be joyful when her kid wasn"t here anymore?

With the help of her counselor, Brenda realized that having a passion, a hobby, a diversion was good. Having something she could look forward to was even better.

Going to Thunder games and watching Russell Westbrook were a life saver.

I could start to feel, Brenda said.

She latched on and has never let go.

*

Brenda Hawkins" Russell Westbrook collection started with jerseys. Even though she wears the same blue one to games No. 0 and WESTBROOK on it of course she wanted every jersey he"s worn. The alternate ones. The Christmas game ones. The All-Star ones.

Then she went after trading cards.

Collecting baseball cards had been one of the things she and Andrew did together. They made special trips to add to their collection. They stood in long lines to get autographs.

So when Westbrook held his first basketball camp for kids, Brenda not only took a bunch of kids from the southwest part of the state she got to know them when she was a teacher or a court advocate for children but she also took several framed cards for Westbrook. She got to know his parents, his brother, and yes, Westbrook himself.

He was so thankful to her.

When he started popping up on magazine covers, she thought it would be nice to frame them, too. She did some for herself, but she figured he might also want them.

Brenda knows that he has the means to do all this for himself, but when she was teaching, she was forever helping someone with something. After she retired, she"d turned that attention fully to Andrew and Haley. For example, she made sure to have all of Andrew"s certificates and honors framed.

So when he got an office ... she said, her voice trailing off and her eyes misting up.

Andrew"s death left Brenda with a need to do for someone else. She gives lots of time and energy and resources to kids in the southwest corner of the state, not only taking some to basketball camp every summer but also providing a ski trip each winter, but she still has time for Westbrook.

It"s not for my Andrew, she said, but it"s for somebody that appreciates it.

*

Brenda Hawkins took to Russell Westbrook because of the way he played basketball, but the more she"s learned about how he lives his life, the more she loves him.

She lights up when she talks about the reading rooms that his foundation has funded at local low-performing elementary schools. She loves that he doesn"t just give to causes but is personally involved and engaged in the projects. She appreciates how tight he is with his family and doting he is on his wife, Nina.

Yes, Westbrook has some personality quirks and Brenda is totally OK with that.

She had a younger brother who had Down syndrome, and then she spent two decades teaching special ed and coaching Special Olympics.

Different, she has long said, is good.

And so, Brenda Hawkins proudly hoots and hollers and hoists a Westbrook fathead during games at The Peake. She sits only a few rows off the floor opposite the visitor"s bench, and she knows that some people around her in their high-dollar seats are probably rolling their eyes at her.

She doesn"t care.

Russell Westbrook made her happy again.

Jenni Carlson: Jenni can be reached at (405) 475-4125 or jcarlson@oklahoman.com. Like her at facebook.com/JenniCarlsonOK, follow her at twitter.com/jennicarlson_ok or view her personality page at newsok.com/jennicarlson.

Source: http://newsok.com/article/5538631

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Shocking moment openly gay boxer Yusaf Mack confronts man making homophobic comments and beats him b****y ...

Yusaf Mack On Doing Gay Film, Daughter Said to Kill Himself

The fight for equal rights turned physical in a Philadelphia barber shop earlier this week when openly gay boxer yusaf mack decided to stand up to a man who had been attacking him online.

Video of the incident, which occurred at the LA Clippers barber shop, shows Mack swinging at a man named Hector Echevarria who had been reportedly been posting comments about him which were derogatory and homophobic.

Hector is seen lying on the ground and cowering for cover, than at one point attempting to stand up, which Mack, 37, reacts to by slugging him in the face and sending him back to the floor.

At the end of the fight, which lasted approximately 30 seconds, Mack grabs a jar full of barber"s tools and smashes them on Hector"s head.

Scroll down for video

Comes out swinging:Yusef Mack beat Hector Echevarria (above)after the man repeatedly made homophobic comments about the openly gay boxer online

Fighting back:He then pummeled Hector with punches until he was cowering on the ground and his face b****y

Some close to the victim wrote on social media that he may have broken his ankle during the fight against Mack, a retired boxer who was outed because of his second career as an adult actor in gay films.

Photos from after the incident show Hector sitting on the floor with an orange towel covering his head and multiple cuts on his face.

He was also complaining about pain in his leg.

The fight did little to stop his attacks on Mack however, and he was posting on social media once again shortly after the fight, which took place last week.

"I rather have a video of some beating me up then a video of someone seeing me take a d*** up my a** any day," wrote Hector.

He also stated that he and Mack would fight again, seemingly undaunted by the result in their first meeting.

That was followed by more homophobic messages and comments on his Facebook page, which he then made private.

Mack meanwhile has been keeping a low profile, and it is unclear if police plan on pressing charges in the incident.

One person who was present at the fight and appeared to have no connection to either man stated that Hector"s head was actually in the sink when the fight began, and was surprised by the sneak attack.

Hector has been busy hiding his comments across social media, also making his twitter account private on Monday.

Mack meanwhile has said he has no issue taking on Hector in a rematch of the fight, which was first reported by TMZ.

The father-of-10 came out after first lying in an interview and claiming to have been drugged and raped when someone identified him as an actor in the adult film.

He claimed that he remembered nothing from the night he made the film, which features him having s*x with two men, and woke up on a train with $4,500 and no idea where he had been.

The champ:Hector made his social media accounts private, but did write after the fight he would rather have that on film than getting a "d*** up my a**" (Mack above in 2012)

Changes:Mack was a newly engaged father of ten when he came out as gay in 2015 after being spotted in an same-s*x adult film (above)

The p**n company threatened to sue after he made that claim, and he soon backtracked on his statement with an apology.

"This is an issued public apology from my heart. I want to address a few situations with the first being the false claims I made about being drugged during the (DawgPoundUSA.com) film," said Mack.

"I have never spoke negatively about the company that produced the film although the claim to have been given a drug by someone during set was a lie.

"I was completely aware and fully conscious during the film."

He also apologized to his fiancee at the time, who he split with after coming out, and his children.

Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4243998/Openly-gay-boxer-Yusaf-Mack-fights-homophobe.html

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"Flip or Flop" star Christina El Moussa speaks out about split, future of HGTV show

Christina El Moussa speaks out for the first time since her split from Tarek El Moussa

"Flip or Flop" host Christina El Moussa said she is doing "really, really good" and continuing to film her hit HGTV show with her estranged husband, Tarek El Moussa, as the couple goes through a high-profile divorce.

"Theres a lot of false stories and a lot of hype, but in the end were just normal, nice people who just want to be the best parents and coworkers that we can be, Moussa, 33, said today on Good Morning America.

Tarek El Moussa filed for divorce from his wife of seven years last month.

El Moussa said she and Tarek will continue to work together on-air while divorcing behind the scenes. They are currently filming season 7 of "Flip or Flop."

"We have so much fun on set and we look forward to continuing the show," said El Moussa. "We met at work so we worked together before we ever started dating."

"Its our normal," she said of her working situation with Tarek, with whom she also runs a seminar company. the el moussas appeared smiling alongside each other at a speaking engagement at the 2017 Investor Summit in Las Vegas earlier this month.

The former couple have two young children, an 18-month old son and 6-year-old daughter. Together they overcame infertility and Tarek"s battle with thyroid cancer during their marriage.

"Our kids are transitioning well," said El Moussa. "Tarek and I are friends and we have a lot of support from our family."

The El Moussas first addressed their split last December, telling ABC News in a statement at the time that they had experienced "challenges in their marriage." The estranged couple also confirmed that police had come to their home last year "in an abundance of caution," but added, "there was no violence and no charges were filed."

ABC News corroborated that information with local police.

HGTV, the network that has aired "Flip or Flop" since 2013, said in December that no production changes have been made to the show"s schedule.

"We admire and appreciate Tarek and Christina"s great work on "Flip or Flop." When it comes to matters related to their own family, we respect their privacy and honor any decision that works best for them and their children," the network said previously in a statement. "HGTV is currently airing episodes of "Flip or Flop" and the series will continue production as scheduled.

El Moussa said she is also at work on a book that will document "things Ive gone through and whats really helped me cope."

"I get so many nice messages from people that have gone through similar situations and just the positive outreach, its really helped me get through this," she said of fans" support.

Source: http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/flip-flop-star-christina-el-moussa-speaks-split/story?id%3D45617708

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As Travis Browne"s downward spiral continues, a new heavyweight contender emerges

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The Morning Brief: HR McMaster, David Cassidy and Alex Trebek

General H. R. McMaster Known For Speaking Truth To Power | Rachel Maddow | MSNBC

Good morning. These are todays top stories:

Trump names new National Security Adviser

President Donald Trump has tapped Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster, a respected career Army officer, to be his National Security Adviser. McMaster replaces Michael Flynn, who was forced to resign amid revelations that he misled Vice President Mike Pence over conversations he had with a Russian ambassador. Here"s what to know about mcmaster.

5 dead after plane crashes into Australian mall

Five people were killed after a small plane they were flying in crashed into a shopping mall in Australia. Officials said four American tourists and the Australian pilot died. There were no other reported injuries.

Not My Presidents Day rallies draw thousands

Thousands of people in major cities across the country rallied on Presidents Day in a protest they dubbed Not My Presidents Day in opposition of Trump. The demonstrations took place in New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, Atlanta, Washington, D.C. and Portland, Oregon.

David Cassidy reveals he has dementia

Singer and actor David Cassidy, who starred in the 1970s American sitcom The Partridge Family, said he is battling dementia. I was in denial, but a part of me always knew this was coming, the 66-year-old told PEOPLE.

Also:

More than 70 bodies of migrants washed ashore in Libya.

Controversial Breitbart News editor Milo Yiannopoulos said his book deal was canceled after apparent comments he made about pedophilia surfaced online.

Some millennials are almost as wealthy as those in Generation X, according to a new study.

Many people were amused by Alex Trebek rapping Drake and Kanye West lyrics on Jeopardy!

The Morning Brief is published Mondays through Fridays. Email Morning Brief writer Melissa Chan at melissa.chan@time.com.

Source: http://time.com/4676666/david-cassidy-alex-trebek-hr-mcmaster/

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