Here's what I'll be talking about in News from the NBA this week:
The Ben Simmons Saga
The Timberwolves scandal
The Jokic fight
Crypto.com Arena
LeBron vs Stewart
The Ben Simmons saga:
All-star point guard Ben Simmons has demanded a trade from the Philadelphia 76ers. Simmons demanded a trade a while ago and the issue is no one wants Simmons. Simmons' shooting ability and confidence is holding him back. We see those open gym shots of him making 3's but that doesn't represent his play on the court. Simmons can't shoot at all and is scared to shoot layups as shown in the Conference finals, when he passed up a wide open layup. Not only that, but playing in Philadelphia where all the fans expect the best from everyone added to his issues. Simmons has been fined for refusing to go to practice, and has not played due to team suspensions. The Simmons saga is dying down a little bit so there is not a whole lot to cover.
The Timberwolves saga:
The Minnesota Timberwolves were recently fined $250,000 for paid out-of-market workouts over the summer. Basically, the Timberwolves paid players to workout in places like Miami. This fine will go under the Alex Rodriguez part of the ownership, as the Timberwolves go through ownership change in the coming years with Alex Rodriguez and his corporation taking control.
Nikola Jokic vs. Heat:
The Heat and Jokic got into an altercation a few weeks ago, with Jokic pushing Markieff Morris to the ground. On Monday night, they played for the final time this season. There were no major conflicts and it was a pretty normal night.
Crypto.com Arena
The iconic Staples Center has been renamed to the Crypto.com Arena, officially beginning on December 25th. There has been a lot of backlash, as many fans feel it is ruining the heritage.
LeBron vs Stewart
LeBron elbowed Isaiah Stewart in the face and Stewart ran after Lebron and ended up being suspended for fighting. Stewart was bleeding but still tried to get a piece of LeBron. LeBron didn't say too much about it and seems to be letting it blow over.