Love didn’t see any friction with Wade
LOS ANGELES — Cleveland Cavaliers forward Kevin Love responded to a report that Dwyane Wade was critical of him and often challenged Cavs coach Tyronn Lue.
According to Cleveland.com, it was Wade who was responsible for verbal attacks on Love. Love brushed aside the allegations when asked about it during Saturday’s NBA AllStar availability.
“If there was a lot of friction, I didn’t see it,” Love said. “I know guys were pissed when we were losing during the time that it happened … I know a lot of guys were upset with the way things were going. I felt like when we were winning, we were rolling, you always see it.”
Wade has yet to comment publicly about the report. Love chalked it up to the Cavaliers being under constant scrutiny. The report also said Wade was a co-conspirator of a teamonly meeting last month during a losing streak and that he was the first to get upset about Love leaving the team with an illness and not practicing the next day.
“This is my fourth year in Cleveland,” Love said. “I think there were a number of guys that used Ty Lue as a sounding board and wanted to bounce ideas off him and D-Wade happened to be one of those guys.”
Ellington eliminated early
Heat guard Wayne Ellington was eliminated in the first round of the NBA 3-contest Saturday night at Staples Center.
Ellington scored 17 points on his first attempt, but only the top three scorers advanced to the second.
Ellington was knocked out of the competition when Golden State Warriors forward Klay Thompson made a two-point ball on his last attempt to reach 19 points.
Ray Allen a Hall of Fame finalist
Former Heat guard Ray Allen is one step closer to receiving a spot in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
On Saturday, he was announced among the 13 finalists for the honor. Allen spent two of his 18 NBA seasons with the Heat, helping them win one championship. He is most known for hitting a 3-pointer with 5.2 seconds left that forced overtime in Game 6 of the 2013 NBA Finals against the San Antonio Spurs. The Heat won in overtime and went on to capture their second straight title.
A 10-time All-Star, Allen also won a championship with the Boston Celtics in 2008. He is the NBA career leader in 3-point field goals made (2,973) and is ranked sixth on the all-time freethrow percentage list (.894).
The 2018 Hall of Fame class will be announced on Saturday, March 31 in San Antonio before to the NCAA Men’s Final Four.
The other 12 finalists are Grant Hill, Jason Kidd, Steve Nash, Katie Smith, Tina Thompson, Maurice Cheeks, Charles “Lefty” Driesell, referee Hugh Evans, Kim Mulkey, Rudy Tomjanovich, Chris Webber and Wayland Baptist University.
LeBron responds to Fox News host
LeBron James admitted he laughed when he first heard it.
Then he realized just how damaging the comments were. It took him a few moments before getting upset about the remarks made by Fox News Channel host Laura Ingraham regarding athletes speaking on politics.
It was the first time James answered questions about Ingraham’s comments made earlier this week. In an interview with ESPN, James said President Donald Trump doesn’t “give a [expletive] about people. Ingraham responded by saying James should “shut up and dribble.”
“We’re back to everything I’ve been talking about over the last few years,” James said during Saturday’s NBA All-Star media availability. “It lets me know that everything I’ve been saying has been correct, for her to have that type of reaction. But we will definitely not shut up and dribble. I will definitely not do that. I mean too much to society. I mean too much to the youth. I meant too much to so many kids who feel like they don’t have a way out and need someone to help lead them out of the situation they’re in.”
Heat staffer earns award
On Saturday, Heat vice president of player personnel Chad Kammerer was presented with the 2018 Jerry Colangelo Award. The honor is given for character and leadership in basketball and beyond.
Kammerer has been part of the organization for 27 years, joining the team as a scout.