CHiICAGO — His voice reeking with contempt, coach Chot Reyes addressed the rumors of Bol Bol’s supposed departure from TNT.
“I don’t know where that came from,” he told me in a telephone interview on Monday night.
All he knows is that the whispers are nowhere near the truth.
SOURCES SAY Magnolia had a shot at signing Bol Bol for this much
Barring an unforeseen event such as, God-forbid, an injury, the 7-foot-3 attraction is there for the long haul.
“We have no plans of bringing in a new import. We have no backup plan. We are sticking with Bol,” Reyes stressed.
NO DEAL.
JaVale McGee, a three-time NBA champion who played 18 years in the league, is being incessantly linked to the telecommunications franchise.
The fascination toward the former Los Angeles Laker is understandable.
McGee is 7-feet and 270 lbs. Even at age 38 he’s still nimble, hyperactive. But a union with TNT ain’t happening.
“We have no ties with MCGee, haven’t met or spoken to him regarding this conference, and we knew he signed in China,” Reyes said.
McGee inked a mid-season deal with the Beijing Ducks of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) last February, making him unavailable elsewhere.
The main grievance against Bol around social media is his perceived disinterest in coming back down on defense.
BOL'S 'SINS.'
But the Facebook reels that highlight such timidity are selectively spliced and do not depict Bol’s total defensive effort in games that typically have over 90 possessions in 48 minutes.
Another “issue” is Bol’s anemic 1.6 assists per game, an output that is caused by missed TNT shots where Bol’s passes don’t turn into dimes.
TNT is ranked 13th in assists per at 16.6 through 10 games. The Tropang 5G are fourth in total field goals made at 45.2 percent but they are 12th in 3-point shooting accuracy at 28’5 percent.
In a 106-94 loss to Magnolia on Tuesday, Bol had a conference-high 53 points with 13 rebounds and six blocks.
TNT dropped to 6-5 in the standings and losing grip of a twice-to-beat advantage in the quarterfinals.
Bol is the cure, not the problem, at TNT.
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