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Prime, NBC, and ESPN would be “compelled” to talk to James, say my sources. “That’s a meeting you have to take just to see what he wants to do,” said one executive who declined to be named. But ESPN might have the toughest recruitment given the bad blood between James and Smith. James physically confronted Smith in March over comments about his son Bronny. Smith told Rolling Stone there’s still hard-feelings. “I don’t like him, and he don’t like me,” said Smith. Other factors are at work here, too. Flanagan tells me Tom Brady’s monster, 10-year, $375 million deal to call NFL games for Fox Sports has effectively reset the industry. It also opened the eyes of some superstars about the lucrative opportunity in sports media. Even the GOAT himself—Michael Jordan—is coming to TV as a “special contributor” to NBC’s NBA coverage this season (However, a source told FOS that reports of MJ’s $40 million annual payday are false).
TV viewership, always sky-high for Clark’s games, probably will take a hit as well. In the 2024 regular season, of the 23 WNBA games to reach at least 1 million viewers, 20 of them featured Clark. According to Fox Sports, Clark’s games averaged 1.178 million viewers; all other games averaged 394,000. This is why 40 of the 44 Fever games are on national TV this year, the most of any team in the league.
Kevin Durant blasts former NFL players for their NBA hot takes
Kevin Durant is tired of former NFL players' hot takes about NBA players and teams on sports TV debate shows. The Phoenix Suns star posted a scathing message on X in reaction to Fox Sports analyst Emmanuel Acho's comments on a May 15 episode of The Facility about Jayson Tatum of the defending champion Boston Celtics. Acho said that 2024 NBA Finals MVP Jaylen Brown is a better leader in Boston than his fellow All-Star Tatum.
"The city of Cleveland has really won me over," Mitchell told FOX Sports. "I really enjoy being there. It feels like home. That's my biggest thing. Basketball is going to be basketball. But you spend most of your time there and I feel like it's home. It feels safe. I feel like I'm at peace. And that's truly one of the biggest things for me."
Bronny James on LeBron James: 'However long he can come back for, it's always a pleasure being around him'
As LeBron contemplates his future, with a $52.6 million player option looming, Bronny made it clear he wants his father to return for another season as his teammate. "Yeah, for sure," Bronny told FOX Sports. "However long he can come back for, it's always a pleasure being around him. He's locked in. The stuff he does for his body and the preparation and stuff like that, I want to take full advantage of it."
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When Bronny and LeBron James became the first father-son duo in NBA history, their relationship took on a different dimension. "It's a blessing," Bronny told FOX Sports. "Being able to learn from him, not only as a player, but as a dad. It's a different type of relationship. I try to take full advantage of it because it's something that a lot of people can't have. It was an amazing experience for me. And I'm looking forward to learning more from him, if he's still here or not, either way. But I'm just looking forward to it."
"Keeping my head down and working," Bronny told FOX Sports. "Working is a distraction from everything. I love just coming into the gym and working and talking to my coaches and watching film. All of the stuff that can help me get better every day. It's a distraction from all of that stuff. So, just going to continue to do that and see where it takes me. It's going good so far."
To Bronny, LeBron is simply dad, even though he's not allowed to call him that on the court. And all he wants is to show him, along with the rest of the world, one simple thing. "That I belong," Bronny told FOX Sports. "That's all I've been trying to prove."
Norman Powell on his 'addition by subtraction' comment about Paul George: There's no hate or shots being taken
Melissa Rohlin: Norman Powell has been one of the biggest surprises in the NBA this season. His controversial “addition by subtraction” comment about Paul George? “There’s no hate or any shots being taken,” he told FOX Sports. “It was just, this is my opportunity and my time."
Nick Wright is having a tough time wrapping his head around the hypothetical, but the FOX Sports talking head can’t ignore what he’s heard from league sources who believe the potential blockbuster trade is on the table. “I’m really interested in where he is going to go next year. There’s odd Boston talk with Durant that I don’t totally understand. That’s a weird one,” Wright said Tuesday on “First Things First.” ” … I’m not Brian Windhorst — I’m not putting my fingers up. But I will say, two totally unrelated people, both of whom have reputations for knowing things people don’t know, have said to me, ‘Watch out for Durant to Boston.’ I don’t know even the pieces that would work and it feels a lot like what Durant got killed for with Golden State. So, it doesn’t make sense, but I’ve heard that twice now.”
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Devin Booker: 'I've been on teams with less talent that found ways to get more wins'
"Talent only gets you so far," Booker told FOX Sports. "I've been on teams with less talent that found ways to get more wins. It's just the little things. What people always say, the details of the game. Although it sounds like we should know that at this part of our careers, it's just something you need to form and develop and learn through trial and error.
When asked if he believes he could be traded too, he pointed to the fact that no one is safe, something that was driven home to everyone in the NBA when the Dallas Mavericks sent Luka Doncic – a 26-year-old who is considered a top-three player in the league – to the Los Angeles Lakers in February. "Look at the situation that got Luka here," Booker told FOX Sports. "I understand that it's a business. I've been around a long time. The Luka one is probably the craziest trade we've seen. But the game just keeps going."
When Booker was asked if he gets the respect he deserves, he shrugged. "From the people that I respect," Booker told FOX Sports. "I wouldn't want it any other way. Social media, they can do what they want. When you're getting claimed that by two Hall of Famers, [including] one, [who's] arguably the best player to ever live, it means a lot. I developed a good relationship with all those guys through the summer at the Olympics. The respect is real. I can feel it when they talk to me."
Devin Booker on Suns' struggles this season: Talent only gets you so far
It's confounding that the Suns are in this position considering they have a coach with championship experience in Budenholzer, a two-time champion and two-time Finals MVP in Durant and seven All-Star appearances between Booker (four) and Beal (three). So, seriously, what's the problem? "Talent only gets you so far," Devin Booker told FOX Sports. "I've been on teams with less talent that found ways to get more wins. It's just the little things. What people always say, the details of the game. Although it sounds like we should know that at this part of our careers, it's just something you need to form and develop and learn through trial and error.
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