NBA Rumors: Anthony Edwards wants to become first NBA-NFL crossover star
Anthony Edwards grew up as a multi-sport athlete. He was a top RB at one point, but as he told SB Nation's Ricky O'Donnell, he thought basketball looked like more fun.
"I could have been a professional football player. I was really good. I was the No. 1 running back in the country at 9 or 10. I stopped playing because I seen my brothers playing basketball. I thought it looked more fun."
Here is the video proof of Edwards absolutely destroying 10U football.
Edwards turned his focus 100 percent toward basketball in high school and eventually became the top recruit (and No. 1 NBA Draft pick) in the 2019-20 season. He spent one year with the Georgia Bulldogs, his hometown team, before jumping to the pros. The Minnesota Timberwolves selected in the springy swingman and have to feel good about their investment. Right now, the No. 1 seed Wolves are riding an MVP-like season from Edwards, who is averaging 26.1 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 5.1 assists on .467/.389/.847 splits.
It's clear Edwards can and will be successful in professional basketball, he still dreams of football — and maybe one day playing in the NFL.
"I think I might be the first one [to play in the NBA and NFL]," he told Marco Summers on the 'Open Thoughts' podcast.
Edwards went on to clarify that his NBA success still comes first.
"As a team, Minnesota organization, we want to win a championship. After that, we'll figure that out."
It's hard to imagine Edwards (or any player) taking the financial risk inherent in switching sports. He hasn't focused full-time on football in a decade, so there's no guarantee an NFL team would even want Edwards.
That said, freakish 6-foot-5 athletes of Edwards' caliber aren't all that common in NFL circles. There's a reason LeBron James has always teased his tight end upside and we all believed him. It's hard to imagine Edwards' strength, speed, coordination and hops not translating to something in the football sphere, even at the very highest level.
The Wolves don't have to panic about Edwards jumping ship any time soon, but maybe if he wins a championship and becomes satisfied later in his NBA career, Edwards starts to explore the feasibility of NFL stardom.
NBA Rumors: Anthony Davis calls out Lakers' poor shooting early in games
The Los Angeles Lakers haven't won a first quarter against an above-.500 team all season. While finishing games is generally more important than starting games, it's never ideal to dig a hole in every. single. game.
Anthony Davis addressed the Lakers' early-game struggles following their 104-101 loss to the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday. The Lakers outscored the Mavs 30-13 in the fourth quarter and still didn't win, the perfect summation of their season to date.
Here's a simple summation of Davis' comments: the Lakers have to hit open shots, and they can't let misses impact their effort in other areas of the game.
Davis stresses the open shots Los Angeles is missing. The Lakers as a team are shooting 37.3 percent on wide-open 3s (defender 6+ feet away), which ranks 21st in the NBA. On open 3s (4-6 feet), the Lakers are shooting 32.3 percent, which lands 24th in the association. That about sums it up. The Lakers are a poor 3-point shooting team (34.3 percent, 26th in the NBA), which tends to really muck up the offense. That's especially true early in games, before a rhythm has been established.
The Lakers are 9-7, in large part due to the heroic, MVP-adjacent efforts of LeBron James and the elite defense of Anthony Davis. Still, it's hard to feel great about the Lakers as a top-tier title contender with their current shooting woes and the concerns tied to their flimsy supporting cast.
NBA Rumors: Heat not interested in trade for Bulls' Zach LaVine
Zach LaVine has become something of a public malcontent with the Chicago Bulls, who continue to plummet in the NBA standings. At 5-11, Chicago is about ready to punt on its season and, finally, its core. The future of DeMar DeRozan and Nikola Vucevic appears a bit more uncertain, but it's clear LaVine is available for trade.
According to Darnell Mayberry of The Athletic, the Bulls are expected to wait until Dec. 15 — when contracts signed in the offseason become movable — to deal LaVine. Patience is key for any general manager and fanbase in these situations. The Bulls want to squeeze maximum value out of LaVine, and it's not like keeping him on the roster is damaging their lottery odds at the moment.
LaVine is expected to have suitors, and he should. Even at the beginning of a "down" season, LaVine is averaging 21.3 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 3.3 assists on .431/.339/.872 splits. He's in a minor funk, perhaps due to his very obvious unhappiness, but LaVine can score the ball efficiently from all three levels and he's a talented secondary creator. A number of contenders would get better with him on the roster.
One team not expected to engage in LaVine talks, however, is the Miami Heat, according to Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald.
"But a person in close contact with the Heat front office said Miami has not been pursuing a trade for him, at least as of now. (I would be surprised if that changes.) And that's a sensible decision, because of several reasons including future flexibility, finances and duplication with Tyler Herro's skill set. (The Heat isn't interested in trading Herro for LaVine."
It's hard to argue with Miami's thinking here. That's the tricky part for Chicago in general — LaVine profiles as a worse version of ideal trade targets for a lot of teams. Why trade for LaVine now when Donovan Mitchell might become available in the summer? Why trade for LaVine when a young guard like Tyler Herro for the Heat, or Tyrese Maxey for the Philadelphia 76ers is tearing it up in a comparable role?
Chicago will have to find a team in need of perimeter offense that is willing to stomach the remaining four years and $178 million on LaVine's contract. He's due to make just south of $49 million in 2026-27, his age-31 season. He's not old by NBA standards, but LaVine is heavily reliant on athleticism and injuries have been a real concern after multiple knee problems.
The public consensus on LaVine has swung way too far negative — he's absolutely better than Tyler Herro in a vacuum — but it's hard to get excited about that contract, especially given the Bulls' complete inability to mount a winner centered on LaVine.
The Heat have the pieces to get in the mix for LaVine after missing out on Damian Lillard, but he's clearly not a player Pat Riley is interested in.