Kentucky Wildcats Quickies: NBA Free Agency Edition

Good morning, Big Blue Nation. Yesterday kicked off the NBA free agency season. The biggest fish in the pool is, of course, Lebron James. James declined his option to stay with the Cleveland Cavaliers and will test the waters.

But he’s not the only big time player on the market. This time of year in the NBA is almost as fun as the regular season as we watch teams shuffle their rosters and players adapt to new situations.

Tweet of the Day

It’s June and look at how hard they’re going at each other. Buckle up.

Joel Embiid has quite the confident personality.

There’s your soccer update.

Quickies

Mitch Barnhart gets a raise | Lexington Herald Leader- I think the raise is well deserved. Every single program at Kentucky has improved since Barnhart took the job. He turned a basketball school into a well rounded athletic machine.

Keldon Johnson is Kentucky’s best draft prospect | Cats Pause- Right now Keldon Johnson is the only UK player in the lottery. By the end of the season he will be joined by EJ Montgomery and Ashton Hagans.

Drake roasts Rick Pitino, UofL on new album | Courier-Journal- I’m not into rap like I used to be but I at least pay attention to the big news. Drake’s new album dropping was a significant event on Thursday night. And the most newsworthy lyrics came at the expense of Pitino and his scandal ridden tenure at UofL.

UK will experience ticket price hikes | UK Athletics- This is not a decision made by the folks at UK but rather the government. Here are the nuts and bolts:

• The new sales tax goes into effect on July 1, 2018.
• This change will affect all season and single-game tickets. Single-game football tickets, inclusive of the sales tax, will go on sale July 3 at Ticketmaster.com.
• Payments and purchases made prior to July 1 will not be affected.

Reid Travis wants to be a first round draft pick | Cats Pause- The reason he came to Kentucky is quite clear: Travis wants to hear his name called in the first round of the NBA draft. I think he came to the right place.

UofL fans and players celebrate championship that never happened | Courier-Journal- There was a big celebration in downtown Louisville yesterday as players and fans congregated to celebrate a tainted title that the NCAA does not recognize. The biggest story is that Chane Behannan was at the event even though he has been exiled from the program.

Also: HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Wenyen Gabriel in Sacramento summer league | UK Athletics- Gabriel will join former teammates De’Aaron Fox and Bam Adebayo in the summer league which will start on July 2nd.

LaGerald Vick returning to Kansas | ESPN- Better late than never, right? Vick withdrew his name from the NBA Draft but didn’t announce his return to Kansas until yesterday. The Jayhawks and the Wildcats are your definitive #1 and #2 teams. The game in Rupp will be electric.

Warriors will make a run at DeAndre Jordan | CBS- FOR THE LOVE OF GOD SOMEBODY STOP THE WARRIORS! I DON’T CARE IF LEBRON JAMES FORMS A SUPER TEAM AS LONG AS HE BEATS GOLDEN STATE.

TUMS to provide heartburn medicine to Cavs fans if Lebron signs elsewhere | Sporting News- They will need a lifetime supply because the Cavs will be awful if James does indeed choose another team. Like historically bad.