The Rush: LeBron says he’ll let front office do its thing, but do we believe him?
The 2022 WNBA Draft is in the books and Kentucky’s Rhyne Howard went No. 1 overall to the Atlanta Dream a week after the team traded two picks to the Washington Mystics for the first overall selection. Fifth overall pick Nyara Sabally joined the New York Liberty and games against the Dallas Wings are about to be intense because that’s where Nyara’s sister, Satou, makes her living. Over in the NBA, the Los Angeles Lakers fired head coach Frank Vogel, and LeBron James said he loves playing with Russell Westbrook, but won’t get involved in front office decisions regarding the point guard. PLUS: The NBA fashion scene is runner up, based on the WNBA Draft Day fits!
Video Transcript
- With the first pick in the 2022 WNBA draft, the Atlanta Dream select Rhyne Howard from the University of Kentucky.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
JARED QUAY: Last night, the WNBA welcomed a whole new group of young future superstars to the league with the 2022 WNBA draft, Rhyne Howard from Kentucky with number one overall to the Atlanta Dream. Here's how badly Atlanta wanted Rhyne on their roster. The Dream traded for the top pick last week, sending their third overall and 14th pick in the second round to the Mystic. So clearly, Atlanta was dreaming of the Kentucky star well in advance. The only thing that may be better than going number one is playing against your big sis in the big leagues.
- What does this mean to you to be going to the WNBA and joining your sister, such an unusual feat?
NYARA SABALLY: I mean, it feels amazing. This has been a dream ever since I can remember. I mean, sharing the court with Satou. I mean, playing against her is going to be a lot of fun. I can't wait.
JARED QUAY: That was number five pick Nyara Sabally, who reunites with her Oregon teammate Sabrina Ionescu on the New York Liberty. But Nyara faced off against another former Oregon teammate, her sister, Satou, who plays for the Dallas Wings. I love seeing future superstars find out where they're going to be going. But I really love seeing what they're going to wear on the big day even more. And let me tell you, this year, they did not disappoint in the style department.
- You better work. Cover girl. Work it, girl. [INAUDIBLE]. Do your thing on the runway.
JARED QUAY: Forget the NBA fashion scene. The WNBA is about to be lit. While the future is bright for those soon to be WNBA stars, the same can't be said for the Los Angeles Lakers. A day after Woj dropped one of his trademark Twitter bombs saying that Head Coach Frank Vogel will be fired, the tweet prophecy came true. Rob Lowe's doppelganger, AKA, Lakers GM Rob Pelinka, announced that the team had parted ways with Vogel after three seasons.
ROB PELINKA: And we had a conversation about how this is just an inflection point where he goes from being the leader of the Lakers to part of our legacy, and especially our championship legacy.
JARED QUAY: Well, when you put it like that, getting fired don't sound so bad. But let's be honest here for a second. The whole world knows LeBron James was coaching that team, not Vogel. In fact, no NBA coach other than Eric Spoelstra has survived the coaching LeBron. But King James doesn't want people to know that. In fact LeBron says everything is just dandy, especially around Lakers point guard Russell Westbrook. Speaking with reporters on Monday, LeBron praised his teammate's competitive spirit and durability.
However, Westbrook himself may not have the fondest memories of the season.
- LeBron and AD were very clear with, let Russ be Russ. We heard that a lot.
RUSSELL WESTBROOK: Yeah, but that wasn't true.
- That's what I was going to say. I mean--
RUSSELL WESTBROOK: Let's be honest.
JARED QUAY: Damn. Something don't match up quite right in this one. With Vogel out, it remains to be seen what the team would do with Russell. But LeBron emphasized that--
LEBRON JAMES: I'm not going to sit here and make decisions for the front office.
JARED QUAY: That was the funniest thing I've ever heard. The only thing LeBron loves more than unofficially coaching his team is playing shadow GM and pressuring the front office to move for guys he wants. He's like, yo, man. How come you give Moses Malone a call, man? Hey, man. Let's see if Bill Russell still got something, man. I mean, he used to be really good. He might still be good for us.
