This is For The Win’s daily newsletter, The Morning Win. Did a friend recommend or forward this to you? If so, subscribe here. Have feedback? Leave your questions, comments and concerns through this brief reader survey! Now, here’s Mike Sykes.
Good morning, Winners! Welcome back to the Morning Win. Thanks so much for reading this morning. We appreciate you giving us a bit of your time today.
I remember what it was like when Kendrick Lamar dropped “Meet the Grahams.”
That was the moment the beef between him and Drake ended. It wasn’t even that the song was great — it was just about how cold and calculated it was.
Drake dropped his “Family Matters” diss at 11:00 p.m. on Friday night and had everyone thinking he’d just cooked Kendrick. An hour later, Kendrick drops a YouTube link. The first thing you hear are those piano chords and then, the next thing you know, Kendrick Lamar is reading Drake for filth. Drake could never recover.
READ MORE: Ranking the songs from the Kendrick Lamar vs. Drake beef
That’s what it felt like seeing Adrian Wojnarowski report that the Lakers were preparing a Godfather offer for UConn’s Dan Hurley to make him the team’s next head coach.
Woj woke up on demon time this morning. He’s been silent on the Lakers’ coaching search for days, just letting things brew. Meanwhile, Shams Charania has been driving the JJ Redick news, saying the ESPN color commentator is a lock for the job. I wrote about it here yesterday.
Then, here comes Woj with details on the “accelerating” Hurley news with conversations expected to “escalate” in the coming days. Y’all know how the NBA Insider Speak goes — those are fighting words now.
Woj vs. Shams is the NBA media version of Kendrick vs. Drake. Woj put Shams on his first tour, basically! They’ve been battling for scoops ever since they separated. Usually, though, the battle is about who gets the story first.
Here, they kind of have two different stories. Somebody is right and somebody is wrong. It’s one of those “This town ain’t big enough for the both of us” situations.
To be fair to everyone here, a head coaching search is almost always a developing situation. Someone can be in the lead for a job and not necessarily be the ideal candidate for that team. Sometimes, other candidates come out of nowhere. That could easily be the case here with Redick and Hurley.
Hurley’s clearly a much better candidate with, ya know, actual head coaching experience! He doesn’t just talk about his ideas on podcasts — he’s executed them before. That probably makes him the ideal candidate for the job.
So Charania doesn’t necessarily have to be wrong here. He even explained how he got to where he did on Redick while confirming the Hurley news over at The Athletic. Redick was the first candidate to get a face-to-face meeting with the team. By all accounts, LA seriously considered him for the job and certainly still could if this Hurley move falls through (which is possible, by the way).
But hey, man. We’re going to get these jokes off one way or another. Somebody drop the NBA Insider version of “Not Like Us,” please. These virtual streets need it.
A’ja Wilson is your way-too-early WNBA M’VP
I mean, honestly, could it be anyone else at this point?
I know Napheesa Collier is having a fantastic season and the Lynx are 7-2 right now. Breanna Stewart is also having a great year with the Liberty. DeWanna Bonner and Alyssa Thomas are also playing incredibly well for the undefeated Connecticut Sun.
But it can’t be anybody else but A’ja right now. She’s carrying like no one has ever carried before.
Wilson finished with 36 points, 14 rebounds, six steals, two assists and a block against the Stars on Wednesday. She became the first player in WNBA history ever to have at least 35 points, 10 rebounds and five steals in a game, per ESPN.
A'ja Wilson is the first player in WNBA history with 35 points, 10 rebounds and 5 steals in a game 😮🔥 pic.twitter.com/CLnJNBC0c4
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) June 6, 2024
Like I said, nobody is carrying the way that she’s carrying right now.
It’s still early in the season and the Aces aren’t on the same tear as last season. It’s entirely possible this could change. But if she keeps this play up? It’ll be hard to center the conversation around anyone else but her.
RELATED: A’ja Wilson has taken Aces’ rookie Kate Martin under her wing
Who will Sean Payton throw under the bus this time?
Another year, another quarterback for Sean Payton to scapegoat after what will probably be another mediocre season in Denver.
According to DraftKings odds, Bo Nix is the favorite to become the Broncos’ starting quarterback this year. Our Robert Zeglinski said that also makes him the favorite to be thrown under the bus by Payton next year.
“Maybe Nix surprises everyone and keeps the Broncos afloat as a playoff contender in a stacked AFC. Crazier things have happened. But that scenario doesn’t feel all that feasible.
When push comes to shove, if Nix struggles — which is understandable because he’s a rookie on an awful team — rest assured that Payton will waste no time throwing him to the wolves in the interest of self-preservation. In that case, it won’t really work because the other options are Jarrett Stidham (gross) and Zach Wilson (yes, he’s still in the league).”
Best of luck, Bo Nix. And the rest of that QB room, too. You’re going to need it.
Quick hits: Why Dan Hurley makes sense in LA … New Vikings unis … and more
— Our Bryan Kalbrosky says a potential Hurley hire makes more sense for Bronny than he does LeBron James. I couldn’t agree more.
— Here’s Christian D’Andrea on the Vikings’ new crispy “Winter Warrior” uniforms.
— We’ve got a quick look back on the Celtics and Mavericks regular season matchup before the NBA Finals start tonight.
— Here’s Cory Woodroof with more on the most electric arm in baseball.
— Shohei Ohtani gave Paul Skenes is welcome to the Majors moment with this stunning homer.
— Here’s Robert Zeglinski with three shrewd decisions that got the Mavs to the NBA Finals
That’s a wrap, folks! Thanks for reading! Have a fantastic Thursday. Talk more tomorrow! Peace.
-Sykes ✌️
