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NBA free agency has slowed down. Even the trade chatter surrounding Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving has mellowed. However, Ja Morant drew some attention with his comments about Michael Jordan.
The NBA 2K23 Summer League provides some summer interest. The Orlando Magic have decided to shut down Paolo Banchero ahead of their matchup with Chet Holmgren of the OKC Thunder. Nevertheless, stars from the past and present continue to visit Las Vegas, looking to the league's future.
Here is the latest NBA news roundup for July 12 brought to you by Sportskeeda.
Tyrese Haliburton still loves Sacramento, not the Kings
Tyrese Haliburton was shockingly traded by the Sacramento Kings to the Indiana Pacers last season at the deadline. Haliburton spent just a season and a half in Sacramento, but he has nothing but love for the Kings fanbase. However, he cannot say the same about the Kings' organization.
The 22-year-old guard was in Las Vegas to watch the Summer League. He caught up with Sean Cunningham of Fox40 (h/t NBC Sports) to talk about the Kings and Pacers.
Here are Haliburton's thoughts on his former team when Cunningham asked if he still loves Kings fans:
"Oh, for sure. With the fans, forever. That's not a question. My feeling toward the organization and the fans are completely different. It is what it is."
His thoughts on the Pacers:
"They love me in Indy so it's really exciting. We got a lot of youth, we're just young and growing … It's not going to always be pretty, but we're going to figure it out. For myself, it's the best you'll ever see me. We're working really hard and I'm really looking forward to this season."
Ja Morant confident about beating Michael Jordan
Memphis Grizzlies superstar Ja Morant is not short on confidence. Morant is so confident about his ability that he thinks he can beat Michael Jordan during his era.
In an interview with Bleacher Report's Taylor Rooks, Morant spoke about "cooking" Jordan one-on-one. The former Rookie of the Year praised "His Airness" before making his comments.
"I wish I played in his generation," Morant said. "I heard he was, like how high he go about the game, just that mindset. I would have liked to play against him. I would have cooked him, too. Nobody got more confidence than 12."
Morant is confident he won't back down against anyone in any sport. He even challenged Lionel Messi to score against him.
"I'll say nobody gonna beat me one-on-one or anything," Morant said. "I don't care what it is, what sports it is, soccer. Who's the best player in soccer? Come on, we can play ... I wanna be the goalie. Somebody set it up."
Social media reacts to Richard Jefferson officiating a Summer League game
Former NBA player Richard Jefferson stepped on the court on Monday for the first time since he retired in 2018. Jefferson came in as a referee between the New York Knicks and Portland Trail Blazers in the second quarter of the Summer League game.
Jefferson attended five one-and-a-half-hour sessions in Las Vegas to prepare for his officiating debut. However, the one-time champ blew his first call as a referee. He called an out-of-bounds rule wrong, causing plenty of Twitter reactions.
Jefferson spoke to the New York Post after the game to discuss his experience. He certainly had fun doing it while praising officials for their job on the court.
"Part of the reason why I agreed to do it is because I had such a tremendous amount of respect for the officials," Jefferson said. "I understand how important they are to our game.
"So for me to get the opportunity to come out here and just run around a little bit and learn, it's intense. Anybody that wants to criticize the officials just go referee a high school game first and then you might look at it a little differently" Jefferson said.
Here's a video highlighting RJ's officiating debut.
Orlando Magic shut down Paolo Banchero for rest of the Summer League
The top pick from this year's draft, Paolo Banchero, had a strong Summer League debut against the Houston Rockets. Banchero finished with 17 points, four rebounds and six assists to lead the Orlando Magic to a 91-77 win. He followed it up with a fantastic performance in the double-overtime win over the Sacramento Kings.
Banchero stuffed the stat sheet with 23 points, six rebounds, six assists, four steals and two blocks. However, the Magic have shut down their young prospect for the remainder of the Summer League. The team also gave RJ Hampton and Admiral Schofield the rest of the tournament off.
The Duke product is not injured, and the Magic want to allow other players to shine. Orlando defied expectations on draft night when they took Banchero with the first pick. The 20-year-old rookie looked polished and mature in two games in Las Vegas.
NBA 2K23 Summer League results for Day 6
With Paolo Banchero sitting down for the remainder of the NBA Summer League, all eyes are now on Chet Holmgren and Jabari Smith. Holmgren had 16 points, ten rebounds and two blocks in the OKC Thunder's 84-81 win against the Orlando Magic.
Meanwhile, Smith put up 19 points, nine rebounds and two steals to lead the Houston Rockets to a win over the San Antonio Spurs. Here are the results from Day 6 of the NBA 2K23 Summer League.
- New Orleans Pelicans def. Atlanta Hawks (101-73)
- Houston Rockets def. San Antonio Spurs (97-84)
- Boston Celtics def. Milwaukee Bucks (111-109)
- OKC Thunder def. Orlando Magic (84-81)
- Utah Jazz def. Dallas Mavericks (83-82)
- Portland Trail Blazers def. New York Knicks (88-77)
