NBA Bubble Update: Jrue Holiday to donate his salary to start a social justice fund, Doncic can't stop making H-O-R-S-E shots
The NBA is scheduled to restart on 30th July at Disney World Orlando and the 22 teams still in championship contention have all settled into life at the bubble. On Day 9 of bubble life, we saw practices from most teams, the celebration of Damian Lillard's 30th birthday and another NBA star pledging money to social causes.
Jrue Holiday, whose NBA contract is worth $131.8 million over 5 seasons, has pledged his remaining salary from this season to a variety of social causes including black-owned businesses. The total amount could measure up to $5.3 million, which is a huge chunk of his earnings for the season when you factor in the amount that would go into him paying taxes.
The 30-year-old, who's in the prime form of his life, will be aiming to make the playoffs and probably face the LA Lakers in the first round. He'll be aided by the likes of All Star Brandon Ingram, #2 pick in the 2017 NBA draft Lonzo Ball and #1 pick in the 2019 NBA draft Zion Williamson - not to mention sharpshooter JJ Redick.
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Earlier this week, we brought you a couple of updates on Luka Doncic and how he's been honing his H-O-R-S-E skills. The 21-year-old is now scaling new heights at the game, as he demonstrated with his latest unbelievable trick shot.
Doncic, who was in the NBA's MVP conversation at the start of the season before injuries forced him out of it, is already acclaimed as one of the NBA's most skilled players. This kind of footage only serves to deepen that impression, given that his penchant for the spectacular is also carried over to real NBA games.
Among other NBA bubble news, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope revealed in an interview that he would, like teammates LeBron James and Anthony Davis, be wearing his surname on the back of his jersey.
The 24-year-old will be expected to play an increased role in the Lakers' rotation given Avery Bradley's unavailability. During the 20 regular season games missed by Bradley, the Lakers went 17-3 with KCP in the starting lineup, so it can't be much of an adjustment issue for them.
Meanwhile, Doc Rivers had jokes for everyone when asked about his opinion on the anonymous hotline that has been set up to report bubble rule violations:
“I turned in LeBron yesterday, I’m turning in Gregg Popovich today. By the end of it, we’ll be the last team here.”
It's safe to say that the 2008 NBA championship winning head coach feels in a good place in the city where he started his NBA coaching career.
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