The Bounce Newsletter 
Happy 59th birthday to Rod Strickland! He’s one of the most underrated point guards in NBA history and still sits 14th in all-time assists. The change of pace, the body control, the hang time, the touch on his finishes, the shoulder fakes, the hesitations, the in-and-out dribble moves. He was a master of his craft and a major influence on the point guards today you love. You should take the time to watch this four-minute YouTube video of his highlights. Or, if you’re a real sicko like me, you can watch this 18-minute video. Either way, it’s the right way to start your Friday. Happy birthday, Rod!
Flagg Day in Vegas
About top pick’s weird but encouraging debut
The line on Cooper Flagg’s first Summer League game isn’t the prettiest. For 31 minutes of play, recording 10 points, six rebounds, four assists, three steals, a block and a turnover doesn’t look too bad. His 5-of-21 shooting (0-of-5 from deep, missed his only free-throw attempt) makes it look a lot rougher. But Summer League isn’t about needing to dominate or having a sexy box score.
It’s mostly about moments and just looking like you know what you’re doing. Flagg definitely tried to give the crowd some moments. He was incredibly aggressive with the ball, forcing the issue quite a bit. The 18-year-old wasn’t shy about anything he tried to do on the floor, and there wasn’t any sense of playing timid at any point. At one point, he even tried to make Christian Koloko famous by attempting a biblical poster dunk that just missed ripping through the rim.
That would have been arguably the biggest highlight in Summer League history if he completed that dunk. Instead, it was just a moment that momentarily sucked the air out of the Thomas & Mack Center in Vegas.
Flagg needs to work on his handle because shot creation is tough at this level (even Summer League) when he doesn’t have strong dribbling. I think that’s a bigger reason for his bad shooting night than his ability to shoot from afar. However, he can really move the ball and made some excellent passes. When he catches the ball in motion, he’s a freight train. And he had a massive block in the fourth quarter to help secure the Summer Mavericks’ victory over Bronny James and the Summer Lakers.
I just wish he’d made that dunk!
Other Vegas Summer League observations (some are nonsense) from Day 1:
- Watching Derik Queen in a short-sleeved undershirt, rather than a long-sleeved one, was unnerving. I’m blaming his seven turnovers on that.
- Nikola Topić runs really oddly. As in, he has a weird gait. It makes me want to believe in him less, but he played well in the second half for the Summer Thunder.
- Terrence Shannon Jr. will replace Nickeil Alexander-Walker for Minnesota.
- Minnesota’s Joan Beringer looks like a monster protecting the rim. He blocked six shots and doesn’t really know what he’s doing yet.
- We got to see four of the Nets’ five first-round picks yesterday. Naturally, they looked bad as Drew Timme looked great.
- Ryan Nembhard is the real deal and will be in the Mavericks’ rotation at some point.
- Cole Swider can flat-out shoot the ball.
- VJ Edgecombe and Dylan Harper both missed their matchup against each other. Leaving right after the Cooper Flagg game was the right move.
The Last 24
Bradley Beal may already have a new home?
🏀 Bealieve it? It looks like Bradley Beal has a home if he’s bought out. He’ll be a Clipper?
🎮 Cover athletes. NBA 2K26 has its cover stars for the latest iteration of the top-selling video game: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Angel Reese and LaMelo Ball.
✍️ Take notes. Caitlin Clark learned some important things from two legends: Michael Jordan and Phil Jackson.
🎙️ Prime announcing. Amazon’s NBA coverage breakdown is here. Kevin Harlan and Brent Barry join them.
👋 No Dunks Live! The best podcast in the game is having a live show in Vegas today. Free admission!
Trading Card Fails
Bronny James joins different Hall of Fame
Over the last few months, I’ve taken a dive back into the world of basketball cards. I started purchasing old 1990-91 and 1995-96 card packs and boxes. It was more about collecting than joining the aggressive world of trying to get cards graded and sold. There are some potentially rare/valuable cards I’ve acquired in these packs, but I don’t have the energy to get them evaluated.
I haven’t jumped deeper into the card-collecting game, where you start going to the modern options with jersey patches and collectibles from in-game uniforms inserted into the cards. I’m more into the nostalgia aspect. But if I was to pursue the former, something like these incredible “fail” card options would certainly do it.
Most cards are supposed to be celebrations of the players, but every once in a while, it doesn’t end up that way. The latest example is a Bronny James card that immediately found its way into the conversation for all-time hilarious trading cards. This is what the card looks like with the jersey insert:
The “leave” is actually part of the stitched message to “leave a legacy” that was on the jersey. But the patch that was cut out didn’t quite convey that. It just asked for his exit. It’s not even the funniest, unflattering trading card option from sports history. There are some great ones in this list, including Jud Buechler, Rich Gannon, Billy Ripken and more.
The award for the most unflattering card goes to Pistons forward Tobias Harris. As you can see, the patch included doesn’t have the kindest scouting report for Harris.
It’s a 2019 card from his time in Philadelphia. The patch is from a Clippers jersey he wore, and the patch they had on the jersey was for bumble, the dating app. I’m not sure it could possibly get funnier than that, but it’s also ridiculous enough that I’m now officially into collecting newer cards with the jersey patches. Happy hunting for these types of mishaps.
Big Money Time
Phoenix, OKC commit to massive payrolls
A few eye-popping contracts were given out this week, and I wanted to touch on those ideas as I’ve talked to some folks around NBA Summer League about the money in the NBA in general.
First, the Suns committed a two-year, $145 million extension to Devin Booker to keep him around. That’s great news for the Suns and their fans. It’s also great news for Booker’s bank account. That’s $72.5 million per season. That’s on top of the $171 million they owe him over the next three seasons before this deal kicks in.
In effect, Booker is secured through the 2029-30 season, but it’s hard to ignore how much of the salary cap this will be. The 28-year-old should be worth it. He was the focal point of a team that made the NBA Finals in 2021, when the shooting guard was just 24 years old. The Suns just have to keep trying to reset their roster and money situation, and that could be difficult to do if they end up waiving and stretching Bradley Beal’s money, which would add around $19 million in dead cap in each of those five seasons. The Suns are trying to do right by Booker, but their approach needs adjustments. They need to carefully plan how to build around him with so much money already eaten up, and nothing about this Suns regime speaks to being careful.
The other big money: the two expected extensions the world champion Thunder just gave out. Remember when they gave Shai Gilgeous-Alexander four years and $285 million? Chet Holmgren is getting a five-year extension that could be worth $250 million total. There are also reports that Jalen Williams is getting a five-year extension off his rookie deal that could be worth $287 million.
OKC’s clock under the second apron and repeater tax penalties is officially ticking. Starting in 2027-28, the Thunder will owe $150 million just to those three players, and it’ll go up every year. On an annual basis, the salary cap is expected to rise anywhere from seven-to-ten percent, but the Thunder will soon start feeling the crunch of those punitive thresholds. They have the assets to potentially navigate it, but the NBA’s Collective Bargaining Agreement wants to break teams like this up.
Dinosaurs Still Rule
“Jurassic World: Rebirth” almost got it right
I am here for all of the Jurassic movies. That’s not to say all of them are good, but ever since Steve Spielberg hit us with the original “Jurassic Park” in 1993, I’ve been dazzled by the movies. I love the concept of the Michael Crichton book with dinosaurs brought into modern times. First, it happens as an amusement park, but eventually, they’re kind of just existing within society by the time the latest edition, “Jurassic World: Rebirth,” graced the silver screens.
I liked all three of the first “Jurassic Park” movies. I like the “Jurassic World” reboot with Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard in 2015. The two movies that came after that? They had their moments. They tried. But they lost the plot too many times.
We just want to see dinosaurs be menaces in modern day. JWR focuses too much on the human element of their story, and it’s been a consistent mistake with the last three movies now. Luckily, “Rebirth” doesn’t lean too much into that. We have three human stories of a money-hungry mercenary (Scarlett Johansson) having a moment of conscience, a dad with his daughters and an aloof boyfriend of the oldest daughter dealing with survival and growth and then another mercenary (Mahershala Ali) dealing with the loss of his child.
When it focuses on just the dinosaurs, the survival of people around dinosaurs and dinosaurs in a world they weren’t made for, it hits.
Is it worth seeing in the theater? Yes, but adjust for 28 minutes of previews.
How was the acting? Who cares? Just give us the dinosaurs!
How were the dinosaurs? Great! Although the final, big dinosaur was kind of ridiculous-looking, as we again deal with hybrid dinos in this one.
Bounce Movie Rating: 7.5/10
Jurassic franchise rankings:
- “Jurassic Park”
- “Jurassic Park 3”
- “Jurassic World”
- “The Lost World: Jurassic Park (2)”
- “Jurassic World: Rebirth”
- “Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom”
- Just staring at a wall
- “Jurassic World: Dominion”
Streaming links in this article are provided by partners of The Athletic. Restrictions may apply. The Athletic maintains full editorial independence. Partners have no control over or input into the reporting or editing process and do not review stories before publication.
(Photo: Candice Ward / USA Today Network via Imagn Images)
