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🏀 LeBron Bought Another Sports Team!

🏀 LeBron Bought Another Sports Team!

Chris Lesiak
September 30, 2022

LeBron adds surprising pro sports team to portfolio, Celtics players in the dark around Udoka suspension, and Deandre Ayton still hasn't spoken to Monty Williams?!

Have a great weekend!

LEBRON JAMES

LeBron Adds Surprising Pro Sports Team to Portfolio

LeBron James and longtime business partner Maverick Carter, alongside Draymond Green and Kevin Love, have invested in a professional pickleball team. Major League Pickleball is a relatively new sport, having only debuted in 2021, but it’s rapidly growing.

Originally, the league consisted of eight teams but will feature twelve this upcoming season and then sixteen in 2023. While professional Pickleball doesn’t have quite the glamor of some of James’ other pro sports investments, including the Boston Red Sox, Liverpool FC, the Pittsburgh Penguins, and RFK Racing; James’s track record in the space is a telling sign that Pickleball is for real.

James might be the biggest name in the pro-Pickleball space, but he’s far from the only high-profile celeb to join the ownership ranks. Other owners include Drew Brees, Gary Vaynerchuk, and the co-owner of the Milwaukee Bucks, Marc Lasry.

CELTICS

Celtics Players in the Dark Around Udoka Suspension

Ime Udoka’s suspension was a significant topic of conversation at Celtics media day, but by all accounts, the players don’t know much more than the average fan at home.

Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, and Marcus Smart were all asked about the situation, and while they didn't duck the questions outright, it was clear they didn't feel comfortable speaking about it; without knowing the full scope of the story.

Tatum said: “You read the statement, you watch the press conference; apparently there are a lot of things they can’t speak about. I’m kind of in the same boat. I don’t know. It’s hard for me to answer if things were handled in the right way or they weren’t. … I just don’t know.”

Smart also expressed a desire to know more about the situation but noted that while it would be nice to be in the know, these are people’s private lives, and the Celtics shouldn’t be obligated to share. The Celtics still have all the talent necessary to be a real contender in the East, but things are going to take time to get back to a new normal. As interim coach Mazzulla said: “You can’t rush healing.”

PHOENIX SUNS

Deandre Ayton Still Hasn't Spoken to Monty Williams?!

The Suns may not have wasted much time matching Deandre Ayton’s offer sheet this summer, but the fractured relationship between the organization and its young center appears far from mended.

In case you need a refresher, Ayton played last season without receiving a max contract extension. Tensions were a little high all year and culminated when Ayton was benched by Monty Williams early into the third quarter of the Suns' disastrous Game 7 against the Mavericks, after only attempting five field goals. The two also visibly exchanged barbs at each other on the sideline.

Fast forward five months later and countless trade rumors and Ayton revealed that he still hasn’t spoken to his head coach! Keep in mind Ayton has been working out at the Suns' facilities for weeks now, so there have been plenty of opportunities. It's pretty clear from his interviews that Ayton is not happy with the organization, and it wouldn't be surprising to see him moved once he's eligible to be traded this January.