Month: February 2021

Rockets guard Victor Oladipo reportedly turned down a two-year, $45.2 million maximum contract extension that would’ve kept him in Houston, according to ESPN. The deal was the highest the team could offer prior to the offseason.

Oladipo is expected to pursue a long-term deal following this season.

Carmen Mandato / Getty Images

At 28-years-old, Oladipo is averaging 18.9 points, 4.9 rebounds and 4.8 assists in his 13 games with the Rockets this season. He was traded to Houston as a part of the four-team deal that sent James Harden to the Brooklyn Nets.

Since the blockbuster deal, the Rockets are just 1-12.

The Rockets also acquired John Wall from the Washington Wizards earlier in the year. Wall recently reflected on the deal saying that he deserved more honesty and respect from his former organization:

I felt like I deserved the honesty and respect because I’ve been there for 10 years. I’ve been through the bad times, when we had s****y teams and when we had good teams in D.C. I never turned my back on the organization. I played through damn near every injury that a lot of people wouldn’t have played through. I played through broken hands in the playoffs. I think I did everything I could and gave everything I had, heart and soul to the organization on and off the court.

Oladipo is in the final year of a four-year, $85 million contract. The Rockets could consider trying to trade the star guard prior to the deadline on March 25th.

[Via]

Daniel Kaluuya gave a shoutout to the late Nipsey Hussle while accepting his Golden Globe award for “Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role” for his role as Fred Hampton in the film Judas and the Black Messiah.

“Man, this took out on me. I gave everything,” he said of the role. “Like the great Nipsey Hussle says, ‘We’re here to give until we’re empty.’ And I gave everything.”

Christopher Polk / Getty Images

Kaluuya’s speech and the Golden Globes kicked off with technical difficulties but they were eventually able to get it under control.

Judas and the Black Messiah follows FBI informant William O’Neal as he infiltrates the Illinois chapter of the Black Panther Party to gain information on Fred Hampton.

“And I couldn’t give it to a more noble man. That is Fred Hampton and I hope generations after this can see how brilliant he fought, how brilliantly he spoke and how brilliantly he loved,” he continued before adding that the character helped him “grow as a man.”

Nipsey Hussle appeared alongside ASAP Rocky, Jay-Z, and more who were featured on the soundtrack to the film.

Judas and the Black Messiah is streaming now on HBO Max.

[Via]

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has released a statement responding to recent accusations of sexual harassment, admitting that he can be “playful and make jokes” at work, but reaffirmed that he had no wrong intentions and is sorry to anyone who “misinterpreted” his actions “as an unwanted flirtation.”

“At work sometimes I think I am being playful and make jokes that I think are funny. I do, on occasion, tease people in what I think is a good natured way,” he admits in the statement. “I do it in public and in private.”

David Dee Delgado / Getty Images

He continues: “You have seen me do it at briefings hundreds of times. I have teased people about their personal lives, their relationships, about getting married or not getting married. I mean no offense and only attempt to add some levity and banter to what is a very serious business.”

The new statement comes after a second former staffer came forward to accuse the Governor of sexual harassment in the workplace. Charlotte Bennett, who worked for Cuomo in 2020 detailed his misconduct in a new story published on Medium, earlier this weekend.

“I acknowledge some of the things I have said have been misinterpreted as an unwanted flirtation. To the extent anyone felt that way, I am truly sorry about that,” Cuomo concluded.

[Via]

The Game took his shot with LeToya Luckett, Saturday night, during D’Angelo’s appearance on Verzuz by tagging her in the chat.

“@letoyaluckett heard your single & your song on…,” he confidently wrote.

Luckett has yet to respond, but she did announce that she’s getting a divorce from her ex-husband Tommicus Walker, last month.

“After very prayerful consideration, Tommicus and I have decided to get a divorce,” Luckett wrote on social media. “It is my deepest desire for us to be loving co-parents and keep a peaceful environment out of respect for our children.”

Jemal Countess / Getty Images

The couple’s divorce came amidst rumors of Walker having a secret family. He promptly denied the reports.

“The devil is busy and will not win. Please pray for my family and especially my wife while she’s pregnant. This too shall pass. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate,” he said at the time.

The former couple welcomed their son, Tysun Wolf Walker, on September 14, 2020.

Earlier this weekend, The Game was accused of scamming a number of rappers out of thousands of dollars for a fake advertisement. The former G-Unit member is alleged to have been DMing rappers on Instagram expressing interest in working with them but releases the tracks on a backup SoundCloud profile rather than his main account.

[Via]

Iconic producers Swizz Beatz and Timbaland, who launched Verzuz together last year, went live on Instagram, Saturday night, following D’Angelo’s appearance on the show and admitted that the R&B legend was originally scheduled to compete against Maxwell. The show would’ve been in the traditional Verzuz format, and taken place on Valentine’s Day, but the plans fell through. Instead, the event was touted as “D’Angelo & Friends” and featured appearances from Method Man, Redman, and H.E.R.

Slaven Vlasic / Getty Images

“That didn’t work out…the fact that D’Angelo was still ready to go…and motivated, we had to celebrate him…no matter who was on stage with him,” Swizz said. “We had to celebrate that king because, as you can see, those songs that he played tonight, man, that’s real music and this is celebrational stage…and we couldn’t play around with him. We had to let him get his garden because he showed up and showed out.”

Check out D’Angelo’s unqiue Verzuz performance here.

Recently, Timbaland revealed that the two legendary producers have not seen each other in person since the series began: “Fun fact me & @therealswizzz haven’t seen each other in person since Verzuz started,” he wrote on Instagram, earlier this week.

[Via]

Infamous conservative political consultant Roger Stone was seen at the Conservative Political Action Committee in Orlando, Saturday, dancing with a pro-Donald Trump Florida rap artist known as “Forgiato Blow.” Video of the incident has gone viral on social media and features Blow rapping about the election being stolen, the siege on the Capitol on January 6th, and more.

“Trump 2021, yeah he had it in the bag. I just got a call from General Flynn, yeah he told me the facts. Democrats, you gonna tell me how you feelin’ about that,” Blow can be heard rapping on the track.

Joe Raedle / Getty Images

He continues: “Fed did a sweep. Patriots be pulling up, knocking on the Capitol. Yeah, you know the feds did a sweep though,” the lyrics said. “Patriots pulling up knocking on the Capitol”.

The performance is met with cheers from a nearby crowd as Stone attempts to dance along to the song.

Former President Donald Trump later made an appearance during CPAC to speak about his ambitions of running again in the future and remaining with the Republican Party.

“It is far from being over. We will be victorious and America will be stronger and greater than ever before,” Trump said. “I may even decide to beat them for a third time.”

[Via]

Conway The Machine has fans on the edge of the seats after retweeting a rumor that he, Eminem, and The Alchemist have a collaborative project in the works. After retweeting the report, he followed up in the replies by adding “I’m just here for the comments.”

“POSSIBLE PROJECT IN COLLABORATION BETWEEN EMINEM, CONWAY AND ALCHEMIST CAN BE ON THE WAY, NOTHING CONFIRMED UNTIL THE MOMENT!!!,” the tweet reads.

Zachary Mazur/FilmMagic/Getty Images

Conway, who signed with Eminem’s Shady Records in 2017, recently revealed that he’s no longer affiliated with the label. He disclosed the news in an interview on The Joe Budden Podcast in November 2020.

“I’m off Shady. I’m actually a free agent. It feels great,” he told Budden. “Who Made The Sunshine was it. I already spoke to Paul [Rosenberg]. Everything’s good. Like, everything’s signed, sealed and delivered I have my paperwork, like I’m off Shady.”

He also added that, despite rumors of animosity within Griselda, there are no hard feelings:

I’m one of those type of dudes I’m not no public talkin’ n-gga. That’s just how I move. It’s like sayin’ me and Benny or me and Conway or Conway and Benny or whoever, we might have a disagreement, but the world will never know. We still gonna be brothers and cousins. It’s the same way even with business, because at the end of the day, this a big world. Even if somebody else is a sucka, I’m never gonna play that sucka role.

[Via]

Former President Donald Trump spoke publically for the first time following his departure from the White House in January, at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Orlando, Florida, Sunday. During his speech, the former President hinted that he is considering another run in 2024.

“It is far from being over. We will be victorious and America will be stronger and greater than ever before,” Trump said before teasing another Presidential campaign. “I may even decide to beat them for a third time.”

Joe Raedle / Getty Images

Trump also shot down any rumors that he would be starting a third party in doing so: “We have the Republican Party. It’s going to unite and be stronger than ever before.”

Additionally, the former President was not shy about his disdain for the Biden administration. Trump labeled President Joe Biden’s first month in office as the worst in modern history:

Joe Biden has had the most disastrous first month of any president in modern history. Already the Biden administration has proven that they are anti-jobs, anti-family, anti-borders, anti-energy, anti-women and anti-science. In just one short month, we have gone from America First to America Last.

Check out the full speech below.

[Via]