Ethiopia‘s army chief of staff was shot while trying to thwart an attempted coup on Saturday in a federal state north of the capital Addis Ababa, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said.
Speaking on state television late on Saturday, Abiy said General Seare Mekonnen was one of several casualties.
But his press secretary, Billene Seyoum, told Reuters news agency later that it was unclear whether General Seare had been killed or wounded.
“He was shot by people who are close to him,” Abiy said.
The prime minister said the general had been trying to prevent plotters carrying out a coup in Amhara state, one of Ethiopia’s nine federal states.
The US embassy issued alerts about reported gunfire in the capital, Addis Ababa, and violence around Amhara’s main city, Bahir Dar.
Since coming to power last year, Abiy has tried to spearhead political reforms, to open up the once isolated, security-obsessed country of 100 million people on the Horn of Africa.
Abiy has released political prisoners, removed bans on political parties and prosecuted officials accused of gross human rights abuses, but his government is battling mounting violence.
Ethnic bloodshed – long held in check by the state’s iron grip – has flared up in many areas, including Amhara, where the regional government was led by Ambachew Mekonnen.
According to Abiy, regional government officials were in a meeting when a coup attempt occurred.
“There are a few people who were killed while others were injured,” Abiy said.
A regional television broadcaster affiliated with the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), a member of Abiy’s coalition, reported Seare had been killed, alongside another senior military official, Gize Abera.
The US Embassy said on Saturday that it was aware of reports of gunfire in Addis Ababa, though Reuters could not confirm those reports.
“Chief of Mission personnel are advised to shelter in place,” the Embassy said on its website.
Early on Sunday, Brigadier General Tefera Mamo, the head of special forces in Amhara, told state television that “most of the people who attempted the coup have been arrested, although there are a few still at large.”
Residents in Amhara’s capital Bahir Dar said late on Saturday there was gunfire in some neighbourhoods and some roads had been closed off.
Ethiopia is due to hold a national parliamentary election next year. Several opposition groups have called for the polls to be held on time despite the unrest and displacement.
The United States men’s national team was on edge against Trinidad and Tobago until Aaron Long headed home a cross from Christian Pulisic in the 41st minute on Saturday at FirstEnergy Stadium in Cleveland.
It proved to be the spark plug, as the U.S. finally found an offensive rhythm in the second half and defeated Trinidad and Tobago 6-0 to advance to the knockout stage of the 2019 Gold Cup and avenge its 2017 loss that kept the team out of the 2018 World Cup.
Long’s first goal—he notched a brace in the 90th minute—buried an otherwise underwhelming performance from the American side in the first half.
FOX Soccer @FOXSoccer
USA TAKE THE LEAD!
Pulisic sets up Aaron Long who heads it home and puts the USMNT on #GoldCup2019 https://t.co/m9qINBZvxl
The header came up big for the U.S. again in the 66th minute when Nick Lima headed a cross toward Gyasi Zardes, who tapped it home. Zardes completed the brace in the 69th minute after Pulisic set him up at the top of the box.
And then Pulisic added a goal of his own to his two assists in the 73rd minute.
The goal fest continues in the second half for the @USMNT! #GoldCup2019 https://t.co/2swNrbbl0q
The U.S. did well to generate more chances in the second half. One of the Americans’ best looks came when Weston McKennie threaded a perfectly timed through ball to Paul Arriola, whose shot landed just wide.
FOX Soccer @FOXSoccer
Just wide!
Weston McKennie sends a perfect pass into the path of Paul Arriola who puts it just wide of the net. https://t.co/1x77AjhyyM
While that particular play was fruitless in this game, it illustrates the type of passing attack the U.S. needs to sustain throughout a full 90 minutes if it wants to have a chance against stronger competition in the knockout stages.
More specifically, Pulisic’s increased involvement and production in this game compared to the opener against Guyana is paramount for the U.S. moving forward:
Taylor Twellman @TaylorTwellman
Pulisic putting on an absolute clinic in the 2nd half. His movement off the ball, his decision making in final 3rd situations to open the game, and his pressure on the ball are all things that make him so good and so important to #USMNT.
Another encouraging development in the second half for Gregg Berhalter’s squad was Jordan Morris, who clocked his first Gold Cup minutes when he replaced Tyler Boyd in the 61st minute. Morris contributed two assists and provided reliable depth for an injury-riddled side.
Ives Galarcep @SoccerByIves
Can’t forget about Long. who had the all-around game that provided a reminder of why he is going to be so important to the #USMNT ‘s hopes of winning the Gold Cup.
As a whole, the U.S. looked much crisper in the attack than it did against Guyana. The final game of group play against Panama, which defeated Trinidad 2-0 in its opener and Guyana 4-2 earlier Saturday, should be the next step in building a cohesive game from start to finish ahead of the quarterfinals and beyond.
What’s Next?
The U.S. will finish Group D play against Panama, while Trinidad and Tobago will wrap up against Guyana. Both matches are set for Wednesday at Children’s Mercy Park in Kansas City, Kansas.
Former Vice President Joe Biden has cultivated a wide network of support in South Carolina, whose first-in-the-South primary will provide critical test of candidates’ support among black voters. | Sean Rayford/Getty Images
Even in the early state where he enjoys solid support, the former veep is called to account for two recent missteps.
COLUMBIA, S.C. — For two days in South Carolina, Joe Biden sought refuge in a state he likens to a second home.
But even his large lead in early polls here couldn’t insulate him from the angst surrounding his comments about segregationists, or the reemergenceof an older controversy — his changing views on abortion.
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Biden, speaking at a Planned Parenthood forum two weeks after reversing his opposition to federal funding for most abortions — an early flashpoint in the 2020 presidential campaign — was confronted by a moderator: “There are some voters who may have concerns about your overall support for sexual and reproductive health, just given your mixed record.”
Biden, while disputing his record on reproductive rights was “mixed,” responded, “Let me explain what happened.”
He then pledged to work to enshrine into federal law the Supreme Court decision upholding abortion rights in Roe v. Wade.
So it was Biden left South Carolina, his early state firewall, still trying to repair the damage done from two missteps that are likely to surface yet again next week during the campaign’s first debates. Together, the episodes are serving as a reminder that significant elements of the former vice president’s record — and the political era that birthed him — have fallen out of step with whole swaths of the Democratic Party today.
“He still has support among a demographic that is older and more familiar with him,” said Gilda Cobb-Hunter, an influential South Carolina state lawmaker who, in a private meeting with Biden and black leaders Friday, urged Biden to apologize for his remarks about segregationists. “But for newer voters … there are questions about his apparent failure to just apologize and move on.”
Biden has cultivated a wide network of support in South Carolina, whose first-in-the-South primary will provide critical test of candidates’ support among black voters. Democrats here know Biden from his years of campaigning — and vacationing — in a state where he delivered eulogies 16 years apart for both Republican Sen. Strom Thurmond and Democratic Sen. Fritz Hollings.
On the eve of Saturday’s Planned Parenthood forum and a state Democratic Party convention across the street, Biden’s campaign announced endorsements from nearly a dozen current and former South Carolina mayors. Biden said it seems “like I’ve lived in South Carolina for a long time.”
His supporters hoisted “Biden” signs onto mechanical lifts in the state’s capital city. And as he spoke at the convention Saturday, he told a sea of Democrats he has “never been more optimistic about this country.”
“We ought to pick our heads up,” Biden said.
He called for ending private prisons and mandatory minimum sentences, and for requiring treatment in jail for people suffering from addiction. The crowd roared when he said he would work to decriminalize marijuana and “automatically expunge records for those who have been convicted.”
Biden’s campaign said that by July, it expects to have 35 staffers on the ground in South Carolina, with two more state offices opening that month.
But while Biden remains the early front-runner in South Carolina, as in other states, his opponents were moving over the weekend to seize an opening here.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who is gaining momentum nationally, has more than 30 staffers in South Carolina, according to her campaign. Sen. Bernie Sanders, who was drubbed by Hillary Clinton by more than 47 percentage points in South Carolina in the 2016 primary, now has 35 staffers in the state.
Sen. Cory Booker, making his eighth visit to the state, scheduled events at a church and a barber shop on Saturday to coincide with the convention. Former Rep. Beto O’Rourke of Texas has drawn large crowds, and Sen. Kamala Harris recently secured a significant endorsement from Richland County’s Bernice Scott and her “Reckoning Crew” of activists.
When Harris arrived at the convention hall on Saturday, she was joined by a drum line, paused to dance to its beat and said, “I fully intend to win.”
“My premise is that a lot of the Biden support that’s showing up on polls is name recognition, and the same with Sanders,” said the Rev. Leah Daughtry, a longtime Democratic operative who served as CEO of the 2008 and 2016 Democratic National Convention committees. “But as Elizabeth and Buttigieg and Kamala, as people are getting to know them and see them more often, that’s where some of the shifts are happening.”
Though Biden’s competitors were no longer going out of their way to criticize him, they did not hesitate to between appearances at the Planned Parenthood forum and the convention.
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand told reporters, “I don’t think it should be so hard to apologize.” Nina Turner, a former Ohio state senator who is co-chairing Sen. Bernie Sanders’ campaign, said Biden failed to demonstrate “cultural competency.” And Boyd Brown, a former South Carolina lawmaker and former Democratic National Committee member who has helped O’Rourke in the state, said, “If you’re going to run for president in this day and age, you’ve got to answer for past sins.”
“I don’t know if we need people who work well with segregationists to be the standard bearer of our party these days,” he said. “Maybe it’s time to turn that page.”
In an interview on Saturday with the Rev. Al Sharpton on MSNBC on a set on the convention floor, Biden said his remarks at a New York fundraiser about his ability to work even with two segregationists, the late Sens. James Eastland of Mississippi and Herman Talmadge of Georgia, were misconstrued.
The mere fact that the elements of Biden’s record under scrutiny stretch back decades — to the Hyde Amendment, first enacted in the 1970s, and two segregationist senators, both dead — was indicative of a broader disconnect felt by some Democrats to the 76-year-old’s campaign.
“Joe Biden’s been my hero in a lot of ways,” said Andrew Feldman, a Democratic strategist in Washington. “But the recent missteps are unforced errors that create openings for Democrats to question if he is still in touch with today’s priorities. I do think that when you start quoting senators who were in office in the ‘70s and ‘80s, that reinforces that.”
Feldman added, “I don’t think it is any secret that many people think his messaging isn’t as tight as the others.”
Nolan D. McCaskill and Alex Thompson contributed to this report.
Former Boston Red Sox star David Ortiz has been moved out of the intensive care unit at Massachusetts General Hospital and is in “good condition,” the club announced Saturday.
Ortiz was shot in the back in the Dominican Republic on June 9.
According to Hoy‘s Dionisio Soldevila and ESPN’s Marly Rivera, Ortiz was “okay” after undergoing a six-hour surgery on June 9. ESPN.com reported doctors had to remove part of the former slugger’s intestines, colon and gallbladder during the operation. He also suffered liver damage.
Ortiz remained in the ICU as he continued to recover, though he was transferred from the Dominican Republic to Boston on June 10 to receive further treatment.
Tiffany Ortiz, David’s wife, said Tuesday that her husband had been upgraded to “good” condition as he “continues to make progress.”
Meanwhile, law enforcement is still working on piecing together information in the case.
Police in the Dominican Republic said early on, per ESPN’s Jeff Passan, that the shooting was not part of an attempted robbery. According to CNN’s Patrick Oppmann, Angela Barajas and Nicole Chavez, officials later said that the 43-year-old Ortiz was involved in a case of mistaken identity in a murder-for-hire plot.
Martin Jose Adames Alcantara of the Associated Press (h/t Boston.com) reported on Tuesday that 11 people have been arrested in connection to the shooting.
Sudanese protest leaders have said they have accepted the creation of a civilian-majority governing body for a political transition in Sudan as proposed by an Ethiopian envoy.
The compromise blueprint suggests the creation of a 15-member governing body that would install a civilian administration – comprising eight civilians and seven members of the military, they said on Saturday, as cited by AFP news agency.
“We think that our acceptance of the proposal is a major leap towards meeting the goals of the revolution, which are freedom, peace and justice,” protest leader Babiker Faisal told reporters in a brief statement, according to AFP.
“It will put the country on the right track to create the transitional period that would usher in sustainable democracy.”
The ruling Transitional Military Council (TMC) has yet to give its decision on the Ethiopian proposal.
Dispute
The ruling generals and the leaders of the protest movement have been involved in a dispute for weeks over the form of the country’s transitional government.
Of the eight civilians, seven will come from the umbrella protest movement, the Alliance for Freedom and Change (AFC), another protest leader Amjad Farid had told AFP earlier on Saturday.
Ethiopia has stepped up its efforts to resolve the political crisis in Sudan since the deadly June 3 dispersal of a long-running protest camp outside army headquarters in Khartoum
Sudan has been wracked by tensions between protest leaders and generals, who seized power after removing president Omar al-Bashir in April amid massive street demonstrations, and the situation was exacerbated after the crackdown that killed dozens and wounded hundreds.
Sudanese doctors linked to the protest movement said more than 118 people were killed in the June 3 raid, while the TMC has said 61 people were killed.
Witnesses said the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) carried out the violence.
The crackdown came after talks between protest leaders and the generals failed to reach an agreement on the composition of a new ruling body and who should lead it – a civilian or soldier.
Days after the raid, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed led mediation efforts between the two sides.
In previous talks before the crackdown, protest leaders and the generals had agreed on a three-year transition period and to form a 300-member parliament, with two-thirds of legislators coming from the protest movement.
The generals have denied ordering the sit-in broken up, insisting they authorised only a limited operation to clear drug dealers from around the camp.
‘Trust shaken’
Marwa Gibril, a Sudanese human rights activist, told Al Jazeera that the protesters remain optimistic that the transitional government will be led by civilians.
“People will be very sceptical about this deal,” she said. “Trust from the people towards the Transitional Military Council has been shaken after the attack, but there remains some optimism that we would like to move forwards.
“The situation now is at a standstill and I don’t think anyone would like to see the current situation continue. We would like to see a transition to civil rule.
“I think the international community exerted huge pressure on the transitional military council, but more importantly, the Sudanese people through a continuation of the peaceful demonstration, as well as civil disobedience, forced the transitional military council to come back to the table.”
US President Donald Trump has said he is delaying a nationwide sweep to deport people living in the US illegally as he seeks compromise with Democratic leaders on immigration issues.
He said in a tweet Saturday he would delay for two weeks to give lawmakers time to discuss border solutions.
The move came after US House of Representatives’ Speaker Nancy Pelosi called Trump on Friday asking him to call off the operation.
Three administration officials told The Associated Press news agency the operation had been canceled because details had leaked in the media and officer safety could be jeopardised.
The officials were not authorised to speak publicly on the operation and spoke on condition of anonymity.
The operation was expected to begin Sunday and would have targeted people with final orders of removal, including families whose immigration cases had been fast-tracked by judges.
Trump earlier this week tweeted that an operation was upcoming and said the agency would begin to remove “millions” of people.
Pelosi, the top Democrat in Congress, had urged religious leaders earlier on Saturday to pressure Trump to cancel the raids which were expected to target families in up to 10 US cities on Sunday.
Pelosi said in a release the expected raids would “inject terror into our communities” and tear families apart.
“The President’s action makes no distinction between a status violation and committing a serious crime,” Pelosi said, urging faith-based and other leaders to convey to Trump the value of US refugee resettlement programs.
Trump, a Republican, told reporters on Saturday before heading to the Camp David presidential retreat that the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency was focused on getting the transnational street gang MS-13 out of the US.
When he later announced a delay in the raids, he said if no compromise with Democrats was reached, “Deportations start!”
Pelosi responded to Trump’s announcement with her own tweet, saying: “Mr. President, delay is welcome. Time is needed for comprehensive immigration reform. Families belong together.”
Targeting up to 2,000 families
Many asylum seekers from Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador cite gang violence driven largely by groups like MS-13 as the reason they come to the US for refuge.
Mark Morgan, acting director of ICE, said this week his agency would target for deportation families that have received a removal order from a US immigration court.
An operation was slated to launch on Sunday and expected to target up to 2,000 families facing deportation orders in as many as 10 US cities, including Houston, Chicago, Miami and Los Angeles, the Washington Post reported on Friday.
Trump wrote on Twitter earlier on Saturday that ICE will apprehend people who have run from the law.
“These are people that are supposed to go back to their home country,” Trump wrote.
Lawmakers are mulling whether to give $4.6bn in emergency funding to help border agencies struggling to manage a growing number of migrants crossing the border. The measure passed committee on a 30-1 vote.
The bipartisan vote likely means that the Senate will take the lead in writing the legislation, which needs to pass into law before the House and Senate leave for vacation next week.
The cancellation was another signal of the administration’s difficulty managing the border crisis.
The number of people crossing the US-Mexico border has risen dramatically under Trump, despite his tough rhetoric and hardline policies.
Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports reported the news, adding Washington and Parker have mutual interest in working out a new deal.
Parker joined the Wiz ahead of the trade deadline in February as part of a deal with the Chicago Bulls that also brought Bobby Portis and a future second-round pick to Washington in exchange for Otto Porter Jr.
The 24-year-old Chicago native is still trying to live up to the hype that followed him after he was selected by the Milwaukee Bucks with the second overall pick in the 2014 draft.
He averaged 15.0 points, 7.2 rebounds and 2.7 assists while shooting 52.3 percent from the field across 25 appearances off the bench after his trade to Washington.
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Parker ranked 29th among power forwards in player efficiency rating and 70th at the position in ESPN’s Real Plus-Minus with negative ratings both offensively and defensively during the 2018-19 season.
Although his numbers remained middling after the deal to the Wizards, the Duke product said in April he had started to find a comfort zone in D.C.
“It’s [going] really well, to tell you the truth, just because I always have something to prove each and every game,” Parker told reporters. “If the opportunity is given, I try to embrace it. You know that’s pretty much the story of my career. If the opportunity is given to me, I try to use it to the best of my ability and it just feels real good that I get some leverage to be human, too.”
All told, Parker has finished four of his five seasons with a negative Box Plus-Minus, per Basketball Reference.
Even though he provided an offensive spark off the bench for the Wizards at times during the second half, his overall impact is average at best. In turn, the front office decided the $20 million it would have committed to him for next year can be better utilized elsewhere.
Meanwhile, Parker will have a chance to hit the open market in search of another fresh start and a chance to showcase sustained development during his sixth NBA season.
As difficult as this may be to believe, the NBA‘s free-agency period hasn’t officially started yet.
Pay no attention to the rumors, reports and social media speculation behind the curtain. These teams and players aren’t even talking to each other yet (*wink*).
But that won’t stop us from breaking down this loaded class nearly two weeks before July 1. The implications this summer are massive. So, there’s just no way to get too far out in front.
And, as if there wasn’t already enough intrigue based on the names alone, the injuries of Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson in the Finals have made things even wilder.
And it’s in the interest of wildness that we write to you today. You’ll get your predictions for specifically where these guys are going elsewhere; here, the goal is to find the dark horse.
For all the top free agents who have at least a decent chance of leaving, what’s one team that’s maybe a little unexpected but still makes plenty of sense?
To determine who those top free agents are, NBA Math’s #CrystalBasketball will lend a hand. There, a panel of 14 analysts graded everyone’s 2018-19 season on a 1-12 scale. Those grades were then averaged to determine a final ranking.
If you take the top 10 free agents or potential free agents from that ranking, you get: Kevin Durant, Kawhi Leonard, Kyrie Irving, Kemba Walker, Jimmy Butler, Klay Thompson, Al Horford, Nikola Vucevic, Khris Middleton and Tobias Harris.
Now, let’s trim that a bit.
The Athletic’s Jordan Brenner reported that one Western Conference executive told him Middleton is “going back” on a five-year, near-max deal. And Mark Medina of the Mercury News relayed Thompson’s father’s thoughts on his free agency. “Klay will be back,” Mychal Thompson said.
That leaves us with a couple bigs (Vucevic and Horford), a couple Philadelphia 76ers (Butler and Harris), Kemba, Kyrie, Kawhi and KD.
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Claudio Cruz/Associated Press
The Minnesota Timberwolves are the only team with a worse winning percentage than the Sacramento Kings since the start of the 2006-07 season. And yet, Sacramento is a logical destination for either Vucevic or Horford.
The Kings have one of the league’s most intriguing young backcourts in De’Aaron Fox and Buddy Hield.
Among players his age (21) or younger this past season, Fox was seventh in points per game, second in assists per game and tied for sixth with Jamal Murray in offensive box plus/minus.
Hield was one of five players who averaged 20-plus points and shot at least 40 percent from three. The other four were Stephen Curry, Thompson, Irving and Karl-Anthony Towns.
And Sacramento’s upside doesn’t end there. Bogdan Bogdanovic has shown some point forward ability. And Marvin Bagley III could be a 20-and-10 guy at either big position. He just needs to figure out the intricacies of NBA defense.
Oh, and Sacramento just happens to have an estimated $62.6 million in cap space, according to Yahoo’s Keith Smith.
The Drive 1140’s Carmichael Dave may be right when he says, “The Sacramento Kings have the best combination of cap space and young talent in the entire league.”
And that brings us back to Vuc and Horford.
Willie Cauley-Stein may certainly fit that cap space/young talent combo, but the aforementioned free agents offer both immediate upgrades and a little veteran presence for a playoff push.
Either one could fill the sort of steadying role Paul Millsap has for the rising Denver Nuggets over the last two seasons. Not to mention how well their actual skills fit.
Both can create and distribute from the high or low post. Even some top-of-the-key facilitation is in play. Both shoot well enough to invert the floor and open up space for Fox’s drives and Bagley’s touches inside.
But what’s the appeal for the players? Well, there’s obviously money. Few teams may be able to justify paying a big max or near-max money in this market. Go up and down the list of teams and see how many you can identify that would spend $25-plus million on a center.
And again, this is a young core that just finished ninth in the loaded West last season. It’s only going to get better over the next few years. There are certainly worse situations to which an All-Star big could hitch his wagon.
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Mary Altaffer/Associated Press
Let’s get this out of the way first: The 76ers can keep Butler and Harris.
“Absolutely,” general manager Elton Brand said in February when asked if Philly would re-sign both, per Sixers Wire’s Moke Hamilton. “I’ve gotten all assurances from the managing partners that we can bring them back and sign them for what we need to sign them for.”
And the Sixers should probably explore that possibility. Last season, Philly was plus-16.0 points per 100 possessions (98th percentile) when those two shared the floor with franchise cornerstone Joel Embiid, according to Cleaning the Glass. It’s just that it’s a mighty expensive possibility.
“So, *if* the Sixers can get JJ Redick back on a deal starting at $10M, they can max Tobias and Jimmy and still have the full non-taxpayer [mid-level exception] if they renounce all of their other FAs,” Bleacher Report’s Bryan Toporek tweeted.
But doing that and filling out the rest of the roster with minimum contracts and the players they already have on rookie contracts sends Philly well into luxury-tax territory.
Brand said ownership was willing to go there but things would get exponentially more expensive down the line. Ben Simmons will be up for an extension soon. And the repeater tax is looming.
So, with that explanation (plus the knowledge that the players might leave regardless of what Philly wants to do) setting the stage, let’s get to those dark-horse destinations.
With eight years of service behind them, Butler and Harris are both qualified for a starting max salary worth 30 percent of the projected $109 million cap. That works out to $32.7 million.
The Indiana Pacers are an intriguing young team that could fit either. And, according to Yahoo’s Keith Smith, Indiana can get to nearly $60 million in space. That’s more than enough to sign Butler or Harris to a deal starting at $32.7 million and Ricky Rubio, who the Pacers are reportedly after.
Suddenly, Indiana would have an imposing core that included Rubio, Myles Turner, Domantas Sabonis, Victor Oladipo and Harris/Butler.
Now, this possibility feels far more real when applied to Harris. Butler may be looking for a bigger market. In that case, would he be enough to satisfy New York Knicks fans in the event they don’t get KD?
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Chuck Burton/Associated Press
It’s hard to imagine Kemba Walker leaving the Charlotte Hornets. Here are a few categories in which he’s the franchise’s all-time leader:
Minutes
Field goals
Threes
Free throws
Points
Win shares
Wins over replacement player
There’s an argument to be made that Kemba’s the greatest player in Hornets history. Letting him go after eight seasons would sting.
But in those eight years, Charlotte has only made the playoffs in the weaker conference twice. And he’s qualified for a supermax contract that would have a starting salary of $38.2 million with the possibility for annual eight-percent raises over five years, though he’s said he’s willing to take less to stay.
How much less remains a mystery.
Even if you pay Kemba around $30 million a year for five years, you have a diminutive point guard taking up a huge chunk of your cap space well into his 30s.
There’s an argument for pivoting away from the franchise’s best player.
If they did, the Boston Celtics might be an interesting destination for Walker.
Kyrie Irving is gone. Kemba can approximate much of what he did on the floor while providing the opposite of what he did off it. Maybe some healthy locker-room chemistry gets Boston back on track with the hype it had before 2018-19.
Walker obviously doesn’t solve the Celtics’ other problem, though. Figuring out Al Horford’s replacement at center is critical. And a core of Walker, Marcus Smart, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown could attract some good ones.
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Jae C. Hong/Associated Press
Kyrie’s free agency is becoming as difficult to decipher as his Instagram posts or flat-earth dissertations.
Less than a year ago, he committed to Boston at a fan event. That notion took a beating over the course of the season. Then, just ahead of the draft, Irving signing with the Nets started to feel like a foregone conclusion. At least for a while.
“The Post has reported the Nets’ dream offseason is pairing Kevin Durant with Kyrie Irving, and sources say that hasn’t changed,” The New York Post‘s Brian Lewis reported. “The question is if they can’t land Durant, do they still want Irving? Especially if they have to lose D’Angelo Russell — their own 23-year-old homegrown All-Star — to get him?”
Imagine Kyrie dumping the Celtics only to turn around and have the Nets tell him, “Nah, we’ll pass.”
Yeah, it’s not easy. Still, we’re now in a world where that might happen. And in that world, Irving is suddenly in limbo.
The Lakers are another team that is naturally brought up in connection to Kyrie, but who knows if they’ll be able to get to the cap space they need to sign him to a max?
If other options dry up, the Phoenix Suns are an interesting destination. The problem is that it might take a salary dump to fit the $32.7 million max starting salary Kyrie’s qualified for.
On Friday, Tyler Johnson exercised his $19.25 million player option, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Phoenix would probably have to attach some significant sweeteners to salary dump that contract. And the list of teams that might help the Suns on that front probably isn’t long.
But a core of Kyrie, Devin Booker, Mikal Bridges and Deandre Ayton would have plenty of long-term potential.
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Ben Margot/Associated Press
Free agency feels wildly unpredictable this summer. And the embodiment of that unpredictably may well be Kawhi.
“Interesting segment from [Ryen] Russillo on SVP’s SportsCenter earlier on Kawhi: basically said in talking to a bunch of different teams around the league, everyone is telling him no one knows anything about what he’s going to do,” Forum Blue & Gold’s Darius Soriano tweeted. “That there’s simply no information out there at all.”
After leading the Toronto Raptors to their first title in his first season in The North, you have to think they’re in play, even if it’s a short-term deal that allows him to re-enter free agency in 2021, when he has 10 years of service and is qualified for a 35-percent max.
Kawhi’s hometown Los Angeles Clippers have long been rumored as a leading possibility.
And on Thursday, the Knicks, Nets and 76ers suddenly became possibilities.
“The Clippers and Raptors are certainly at the front of the line for him,” Adrian Wojnarowski said during ESPN’s broadcast of the draft (h/t The Athletic’s Rob Lopez). “I’m told that Leonard may very well take visits in free agency, meetings at least, with the Knicks, the 76ers, possibly, even the Nets, in addition to the Clippers.”
One team that would make a lot of sense for Leonard that hasn’t been mentioned is the Dallas Mavericks. Dallas checks the boxes of warm weather, big media market, no state income tax, potential max salary available and a promising young core.
Kawhi flanked by Luka Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis is a trio that could cause problems for the league for years.
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Marcio Jose Sanchez/Associated Press
The summer of 2019 was going to be bananas, regardless of what happened with KD. His Finals injury made things even more difficult to forecast.
The situation has led to talk of a creative sign-and-trade possibility we’ve never seen before.
Brian Windhorst explained on ESPN’s The Jump that Golden State has contemplated signing Durant to the five-year max he can’t get anywhere else, allowing him to rehab there for a year before trading him next summer.
The benefit for KD is obvious. He’s likely not playing next year anyway. So, he’s still under contract for four years when he joins his new team, and he makes an extra $57 million over the life of the deal.
For the Warriors, they garner goodwill among players around the league and get assets in return for Durant next summer, rather than having him leave for nothing right now.
So, if we assume this is what Durant and Golden State are going to do, we can defer the search for a dark-horse destination to 2020.
Sure, the Knicks will have RJ Barrett and other assets to send to the Warriors. And back to the whole “garner goodwill” thing, Golden State will likely honor his wishes if he throws preferred destinations out there.
But let’s get wild to close this thing out.
Suppose Derrick White and Lonnie Walker IV both look great next season and Luka Samanic shows flashes of a modern 5 who can hit threes, attack closeouts and defend a little bit.
Trading Durant into the cap space the San Antonio Spurs can create by waiving the last year of LaMarcus Aldridge‘s deal (guaranteed for only $7 million in 2020-21) for those three and draft picks could restock Golden State’s cupboard.
KD then gets to lead the Spurs through Gregg Popovich’s twilight.
Oh, and San Antonio is closer to Austin, where Durant went to college, than the other two Texas teams.
Russia says it will suspend Georgian air companies from flying in its territory from July 8, a day after President Vladimir Putin banned Russian flights to Georgia citing security concerns.
The move on Saturday followed an outbreak of unrest in Georgia’s capital, Tbilisi, triggered on Thursday by a Russian legislator’s address in the former Soviet nation’s parliament.
“The reason for this suspension is the necessity to ensure a sufficient level of air security and arrears” owed by Georgian companies, a statement by the Kremlin said.
On Friday, Putin signed a decree banning Russian airlines from flying to Georgia, saying the ban was to “ensure Russia’s national security and protect Russian nationals from criminal and other unlawful activities”.
The Kremlin also recommended travel companies stop selling holiday packages to Georgia and advised Russian tourists visiting the country to return home.
In Tbilisi, hundreds of people demonstrated before the Georgian parliament for a third straight day on Saturday, though their numbers were visibly smaller than the tens of thousands who had protested in previous days.
TV footage showed protesters peacefully calling for Interior Minister Giorgi Gakharia to quit, saying he should take responsibility for heavy-handed police action during Thursday’s demonstrations.
The clashes between police and protesters injured at least 240 people on Thursday, including two reported to have lost eyes when police fired rubber bullets to try to disperse protesters, who had been attempting to storm the parliament building.
The crowds had been calling for the chairman of the parliament, Irakli Kobakhidze, to resign.
He was held responsible for a controversial visit by a Russian delegation, including the legislator Sergey Gavrilov, who addressed an assembly of MPs from Orthodox Christian countries from the seat of the speaker.
Kobakhidze responded by quitting his job on Friday.
A large but more orderly protest was held on Friday, with demonstrators denouncing the government as overly friendly to Russia and calling for a snap parliamentary election.
Anti-Russian sentiments run high in Georgia as Russian troops occupy about 20 percent of the Georgian territory, including breakaway regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, since the break-up of the Soviet Union in the 1990s.
Moscow has suspended flights to Georgia before – during a spike in tensions in October 2006 and in August 2008 following the outbreak of a five-day war over Abkhazia and South Ossetia.
Following the conflict, Russia recognised the independence of both separatist regions.
Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili called Russia “an enemy and occupier” and suggested Moscow had helped trigger the protests, while the Kremlin on Friday blamed radical Georgian politicians for what it called “an anti-Russian provocation”.
The United States has revealed a proposal to create a $50bn global investment fund for the Palestinians and neighbouring Arab states, designed to be the economic engine of the long-awaited US Middle East peace plan.
The plan was posted on the White House website on Saturday, two days ahead of a US-led workshop in Bahrain where the economic portion of the so-called “deal of the century” is set to be discussed.
The Manama conference is taking place despite opposition from the Palestinians, who will not attend.
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on Saturday rejected the economic plan and the US peace effort, which is led by US President Donald Trump’s senior adviser Jared Kushner.
“The economic situation should not be discussed before the political one,” Abbas said on Saturday. “As long as there is no political solution, we do not deal with any economic solution.”
‘Less controversial’
Speaking to Reuters news agency, Kushner, who is also Trump‘s son-in-law, said the economy first approach was “necessary” to break up from the political side as it would be “less controversial”.
“Let’s let people study it, give feedback,” he said. “Let’s try to finalise if we can all agree on what that could look like in the event of a peace agreement.”
Fundamental political issues such as the occupation of Palestinian territories, the right of return for refugees and their descendants (of which roughly five million live in refugee camps in neighbouring Arab countries) and border sovereignty were not mentioned in the plan.
Instead, the economic scheme included 179 infrastructure and business projects, a billion-dollar investment to build up the Palestinians’ tourism sector, and a $5bn transportation corridor to connect the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
More than half of the $50bn would be spent in the economically troubled Palestinian territories over 10 years while the rest would be split between Egypt, Lebanon and Jordan, according to the plan.
Some of the projects would take place in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula, where investments could benefit Palestinians living in adjacent Gaza, a crowded and impoverished coastal enclave blockaded by Israel and Egypt for 12 years.
According to Kushner, the 10-year plan “would create a million jobs in the West Bank and Gaza.”
“It would take their unemployment rate from about 30 percent to the single digits,” he said. “It would reduce their poverty rate by half, if it’s implemented correctly.”
His comments drew the ire of Hanan Ashrawi, a member of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) executive committee.
“First lift the siege of Gaza, stop the Israeli theft of our land, resources and funds, give us our freedom of movement and control over our borders, airspace, territorial waters etc,” she said in a post on Twitter.
“Then watch us build a vibrant prosperous economy as a free and sovereign people.”
In Gaza, Hamas official Ismail Rudwan also rejected Kushner’s proposals.
“We reject the ‘deal of the century’ and all its dimensions, the economic, the political and the security dimensions,” Rudwan told Reuters.
“The issue of our Palestinian people is a nationalistic issue, it is the issue of a people who are seeking to be free from occupation. Palestine isn’t for sale, and it is not an issue for bargaining. Palestine is a sacred land and there is no option for the occupation except to leave,” he said.
Regional tensions
Several Gulf Arab states, including Saudi Arabia, will also participate in the Bahrain workshop. Their presence, some US officials say privately, appears intended in part to curry favour with Trump as he takes a hard line against Iran, those countries’ regional arch foe.
The Trump administration also hopes that the wealthy Gulf states and private investors would foot much of the bill.
The White House said it decided against inviting the Israeli government because the Palestinian Authority would not be there, making do instead with a small Israeli business delegation.
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