NBA News Roundup: LA Lakers won’t be contenders next season according to former NBA sharpshooter, Philadelphia 76ers were forced to choose between two of their stars, and more | May 11, 2022
Despite the NBA Playoffs being in the middle of its second-round matchups, there is no shortage of NBA news. Multiple rumors are coming from teams that are in the hunt for a championship and from teams that are at home.
The LA Lakers continue their search for a new head coach as they hope to become championship contenders again next season. Meanwhile, the likes of Joel Embiid and Ja Morant have made NBA news headlines due to injuries.
The Utah Jazz's defensive stalwart Rudy Gobert has also clapped back at haters on Twitter.
With that said, here is the latest NBA news Roundup for May 11th, 2022, brought to you by Sportskeeda.
JJ Redick believes the LA Lakers will not be contenders next season irrespective of the head coach they hire
One of the biggest NBA news updates this season was the LA Lakers parting ways with head coach Frank Vogel. The franchise is now searching for his replacement. Candidates have included Quin Snyder and Darvin Ham, among others.
However, according to former NBA sharpshooter JJ Redick, the Lakers will not be in contention next year regardless of who the head coach is. He doesn't believe the roster's current construction can contend. Redick said:
"The Lakers are not contending next season, that’s not gonna happen. And we broke down all the different trade scenarios last week. They’re not gonna be a contender.
"They’re pretty much stuck next year.… There’s no way this core group, those three guys, with their lack of draft picks, with no real money in free agency. They’re not in contention next year. Doesn’t matter who the coach is."
The Philadelphia 76ers were forced to choose between Jimmy Butler and Ben Simmons
The Philadelphia 76ers had a decision to make between Ben Simmons and Jimmy Butler as both could not co-exist on the same team. Both players need the ball in their hands to influence the game.
According to Ramona Shelburne of ESPN, the 76ers chose Simmons over Butler due to the fact that he was younger and had a higher ceiling. Shelburne said:
"Both needed the ball in their hands, which pitted them against each other. Eventually it got to the point the organization felt it needed to choose between them, according to team sources, and it chose Simmons.
"He was younger, and at the time, seemed to have a higher ceiling. He was also still on a rookie-scale deal, and not due for a massive free-agent contract. Plenty of organizations would've done the same."
Jimmy Butler's play in this series is a reminder of what the Philadelphia 76ers could have been espn.com/nba/story/_/id…
Joel Embiid airs his frustration about not winning the MVP this season
With this week's biggest NBA news being Nikola Jokic's announcement as this season's MVP, Joel Embiid aired his frustration at not winning the prestigious award. The race between the two was tight until the very end. Embiid said:
"I wonder what else I have to do to win it, and to me, it's like, at this point it's like, it's whatever. It's all about focusing, not that I wasn't focused on the bigger picture, but you know, it's really time to really put all my energy into the bigger picture, which is to win the whole thing."
Embiid and the 76ers are on the brink of elimination from the postseason this year as they are down 3-2 going into Game 6 at Philly.
Whatever.
Joel Embiid is 𝙤𝙪𝙧 MVP.
Let's go get the real hardware. https://t.co/3CFLM8Zz8L
Ja Morant likely to miss the rest of the playoffs
An incident involving Golden State Warriors star Jordan Poole and Memphis Grizzlies star Ja Morant resulted in the latter being forced out of Game 3. The latest NBA news suggests that Morant might miss the rest of the postseason due to this altercation.
The Grizzlies announced that their superstar is doubtful for the rest of the playoffs due to a bone bruise he sustained in Game 3. An MRI revealed the extent of the damage, but is expected to make a full recovery.
Today the @memgrizz announced the following medical update: https://t.co/szmKeTFdHa
Rudy Gobert claps back at Skip Bayless
Utah Jazz's defensive star Rudy Gobert has made NBA news for hitting back at reporters and pundits, especially Skip Bayless. The Jazz star has been the subject of comparisons with former LA Lakers superstar Shaquille O'Neal.
Bayless, like others, has ridiculed this comparison and said that Shaq would destroy Gobert. Gobert took to Twitter and said:
"Would u speak to me that way if you were standing in front of me @RealSkipBayless? I’m cool with the constant disrespect and opinions about who i am as a player and i CHOOSE to let these things slide but it seems like people are getting way to comfortable..."
Would u speak to me that way if you were standing in front of me @RealSkipBayless ?🤔 I’m cool with the constant disrespect and opinions about who i am as a player and i CHOOSE to let these things slide but it seems like people are getting way to comfortable... twitter.com/undisputed/sta…