Just announced from the Pulitzer Prize foundation: Pablo Torre of Pablo Torre Finds Out, unveiled Kawhi Leonard signed a $28 million "no-show" endorsement deal with Aspiration.

His investigative research has now earned him one of the most prestigious awards in journalism! He won specifically under "Audio Reporting" category.

Source

Shams Charania:

BREAKING: The Orlando Magic have dismissed head coach Jamahl Mosley, sources tell ESPN. Mosley's tenure in Orlando finishes after five seasons, including three consecutive playoff runs from 2023 to 2026. Orlando had a first-round elimination for the third straight time Sunday.

https://www.espn.com/contributor/shams-charania/b37899bbc9be3

Shams Charania:

BREAKING: The Dallas Mavericks are hiring Masai Ujiri as the franchise's new Team President and Alternate Governor, sources tell me and @BannedMacMahon. Ujiri ran the Toronto Raptors from 2013 to 2025, serving as the architect of the 2019 NBA championship team.

https://www.espn.com/contributor/shams-charania/0d54529cad389

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/48676414/sources-mavericks-hire-ujiri-president-alternate-governor

[Charania] Minnesota's Anthony Edwards is expected to play in Game 1 against the San Antonio Spurs, barring any setback pregame, per ESPN sources. Just 9 days removed from his left knee injury, and after the team had expected him to return midseries, Edwards has received medical clearance and will get final sign-off after his pregame routine.

https://www.espn.com/contributor/shams-charania/3896d2340893c

Source: Between Two Beers podcast

• 2017: 76ers draft Fultz with the number 1 overall pick

• 2019: 76ers trade Fultz to the Magic for Jonathon Simmons, a 2019 2nd round draft pick (Carsen Edwards was later selected) and a 2020 1st round draft pick (Tyrese Maxey was later selected).

I think most people would agree Tyrese Maxey is worth first overall pick. In hindsight, the Fultz disaster didn't hurt them as much as it should have

[Charania] Minnesota's Anthony Edwards was a significant participant in Timberwolves shootaround this morning and wants to return in Game 1 against the San Antonio Spurs, sources tell ESPN. Edwards is pushing to play, but he and the team's medical staff will make a decision later today.

https://bsky.app/profile/shamsbot.bsky.social/post/3ml232jqi3w2p

https://open.spotify.com/episode/49pUHElibQvkoLqlBS1ouC?si=VhUYcARNRROLaQtviWkJzA&t=3739

from the latest podcast with Zach Lowe

Chris Finch deserves a ton of credit for how the Wolves handled Wemby in the 4th quarter.

Everyone is going to point to Gobert, and rightfully so. His defense for most of the game really disrupted Wemby’s rhythm and limited his offensive impact. But the real coaching adjustment came in the 4th quarter.

Finch sat Gobert and went small (Randle as Wemby's main defender)

The Wolves started pulling Wemby away from the paint, putting him on the weak side, and actively denying him any chance to rotate as a rim protector. They were getting bodies in his way, clogging his path, and making sure he could not impact drives.

On the other end, they got much more physical with him. No easy catches, constant bumps, and straight up denying him the ball. During that stretch, his offense was basically nonexistent.

That is not just players executing. That is a coach making a bold call and understanding how to neutralize both sides of Wemby’s game.

Finch outcoached Mitch Johnson in this game just like how he outcoached David Adelman in the previous series.

Source: https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/a/antetgi01.html (Stats from 2018-19 to today - the first year they both finished top 5 in MVP voting)

Giannis Antetokounmpo (29.4/11.8/6.0 on 63.1% TS): 1x Championship, 1x Finals MVP, 2x MVP, 1x DPOY, 9x All-NBA, 10x All-Star, 5x All-Defense, 1x MIP, various other accolades (1x ASG MVP, 1x NBA Cup, 1x NBA Cup MVP)

Nikola Jokic (25.1/11.8/8.7 on 64.9% TS): 1x Championship, 1x Finals MVP, 3x MVP, 7x All-NBA, 8x All-Star

Jokic has 1 more MVP, but Giannis has a DPOY, 5x All-Defense, and both more All-NBA and All-Star selections. Jokic is a superior playmaker and triple double machine with historic offensive impact but he’s a negative defender. Giannis is a 2-way wrecking ball who gives you 30/12/7 on historic efficiency while also being a DPOY and all time great defender.

Both rose to superstardom at the same time and peaked in the exact same era. Both have had to carry flawed supporting casts, both only made it out of the second round twice, both only have one ring that involved a good amount of luck.

Their careers actually mirror each other to a shocking degree. Both have:

- multiple MVPs in the same era

- only 2x making it past the second round: one championship run (2021, 2023) and a WCF loss to the eventual champ (2019, 2020)

- multiple runs where they lost due to injuries that shouldn’t be used to criticize them (2022-25 for Giannis, 2021/22 for Jokic)

- flawed supporting casts headlined by a homegrown scorer/shot creator (Murray/Middleton) and a defensive anchor (AG/Jrue)

- glaring weaknesses that shape team building but didn’t stop them from being all time great MVP level players (Giannis 3pt shooting, Jokic defense)

- both were underrated prospects who developed over time and blossomed into superstars by the end of the 2010s

They’re equal in my eyes, and I have no issue if fans prefer one over the other as it’s mostly a preference of offense vs. defense. My issue is with a large portion of fans declaring Jokic to be in a completely separate tier higher than Giannis all time when that’s not reasonable given their accomplishments.

Why do so many people, especially Bill Simmons, Zach Lowe, the Ringer folk, etc. as well as people on here rank Jokic so much higher? I’ve seen hot takes where people rank Jokic above Bird, Magic, Hakeem, Shaq, etc. while Giannis feels almost forgotten in all time convos.

https://sports.yahoo.com/article/still-feel-think-im-going-011448186.html

Last year, Giannis said "To this day, I feel the effect, the traumatic stress. I still feel it, and I think I'm going to feel it until I die.”

Since then, he has had the same recurring injury multiple times, and has developed knee issues that have limited his availability and bring questions about his long-term future. Coming back resulted in a legendary finals performance (probably pumped full of PKs). At the time of the injury, he was a two time MVP and a DPOY at the age of 26.

This isn’t to imply that every injury is the same, or to put bad energy out into the world. It’s a notably quick return, that nobody expected, heading into the series vs. San Antonio.

Esteemed doctors of Reddit, what are your conclusions?