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What Had Happened Was

What Had Happened Was: 6/30/16

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    Oklahoma City Thunder v Golden State Warriors – Game Seven
    Kevin Durant #35 of the Oklahoma City Thunder stands on the court in Game Seven of the Western Conference Finals against the Golden State Warriors during the 2016 NBA Playoffs at ORACLE Arena on May 30, 2016 in Oakland, California. Ezra Shaw/Getty Images
    By Ryan Cortes Rhiannon Walker

    GAME. BLOUSES.

    Happy beginning of NBA free agency rumors, everyone. That doesn’t really have a dope ring to it, but dope things are about to happen. Kevin Durant, for example, is meeting with the Oklahoma City Thunder today, the Los Angeles Clippers and Golden State Warriors on Friday, the San Antonio Spurs and Boston Celtics on Saturday and the Miami Heat on Sunday.

    It’s time. To get paiiiiiiiid, that is.

    Just ask 31-year-old big man Joakim Noah. He is expected to return to his hometown (and to his former teammate Derrick Rose) on a deal with the New York Knicks that will start at $18 million per season, according to Tim Bontemps of The Washington Post. Noah, though, is coming off a couple of rough seasons. He played in just 29 games this past season after dislocating his shoulder and requiring surgery in January. The year before, he put up 7.2 points and 6.4 boards on 44.5 percent shooting, the worst of his career to that point.

    So what’s been the reaction? Love and congratulations on getting that paper? Adulation and admiration for a man trying to prove the doubters wrong? Nah. Oh, man. Hate, hate, hate, hate, hate.

    https://twitter.com/MajorSlander/status/748456759191277568

    Don’t let them get to you, Joakim. Just remind them. At least you’re not living there.

    https://vine.co/v/e7InMquup6w

    SOCIAL STATUS

    You don’t want no problems, big fella. If you’re going to tell an NBA player he’s not as good as another player, then you’d better check yourself for that one-on-one match.

    Case in point: what the Boston Celtics Jaylen Brown did to a kid at the team’s camp after being told that Ben Simmons is a better player. Honestly, Brown didn’t have to wait so long to finish him. The guard looks like a cat mercilessly playing with its dinner before killing it.

    BLESSINGS!

    FOR THE CULTURE

    Reuters wrote an *exclusive* story on how Trump supporters are more likely to view African-Americans negatively. … thank you, Captain Obvious. Ya don’t say?

    Remember how Brock Turner, the man who raped a fellow Stanford University student, was given a six-month jail sentence for that crime? Would y’all believe that a Hispanic man who did the same thing was given three years in prison by the same judge?

    Paulette Leaphart, a breast cancer survivor who was featured in Beyoncé’s Lemonade, completed her walk from Biloxi, Mississippi, to Washington, D.C. The journey started on April 30, and ended on her 50th birthday and 1,034 miles later on June 27.

    Sarah Lewis edited Aperture magazine and discusses how she became devoted to photography of the black experience.

    TOP THREE TWEETS

    Every morning we’ll hit you here with the best of what we saw on social media the previous night. Why? Why not?

    1. HEAT CHECK

    2. THIS IS IRONIC

    3. WHOSE MAN IS THIS?

    #ICYMI

    President Barack Obama’s national security adviser Susan Rice sat down with our man Michael Fletcher to talk diversity, sports, night fears and more:

    I just grew up in an environment where sports were encouraged and valued. I grew up playing basketball on neighborhood courts. I had a brother who’s almost two years younger than I am, a very good athlete, and he and I played everything together from football and basketball and tennis. My dad was quite a good tennis player, and he got us out on the courts early in our childhood, hitting the ball and sending us to get some real instruction. So it’s always been part of my upbringing. I was fortunate to go to an all-girls high school, where even back in the ’70s and ’80s, they valued women’s sports. I had some excellent coaches and the opportunity to play on some really fun teams that molded my … competitive nature and my desire to work collaboratively in teams, my readiness to throw an elbow and receive one when necessary.

    Who were your sports heroes?

    I would say, quite honestly, growing up, some of the most powerful women tennis players. Martina Navratilova, Billie Jean King. Later in life, I’ve admired enormously the Williams sisters as just incredible athletes who took the game in each of their times to a different level and showed what the strength of a woman’s body can be when fully harnessed. The other thing is, I was a serious football fan growing up, and I confess to being, as a young person, a great devotee of the Washington Redskins. My enthusiasm has waned in recent years, but the teams of Larry Brown, and Charley Harraway, and Sonny Jurgensen were big deals for me growing up.

    PICTURE PERFECT

    Ryan Cortes is a staff writer for The Undefeated. Lemon pepper his wings.

    Rhiannon Walker is an associate editor at The Undefeated. She is a drinker of Sassy Cow Creamery chocolate milk, an owner of an extensive Disney VHS collection, and she might have a heart attack if Frank Ocean doesn't drop his second album.

    This Story Tagged: What Had Happened Was Jaylen Brown New York Knicks Denzel Valentine Joakim Noah