Daily Dunks: 7/27-8/2/15

                                                   (Credit: Andy Melton. Click here for source). 

Here is my Daily Dunks page for July 27, 2015 through August 2, 2015. Throughout the week this page will be updated with news from across the NBA until a new Daily Dunks page is created for the following week.

Monday's NBA Daily Dunks: 

#1. The Celtics officially re-signed Jae Crowder (Click here for details).

#2. The Heat waived forward Henry "Bill" Walker (Click here for details).

#3. The Cavaliers re-signed Matthew Dellavedova (Click here for details).

#4. The Warriors officially traded David Lee to the Celtics for Gerald Wallace (Click here for details).

#5. James Ennis has restructured his contract with the Heat such that they don't have to guarantee his contract until opening night (Click here for details).

#6. Kobe Bryant will likely play some power forward for the Lakers this season (Click here for details).

#7. The Heat traded guard Zoran Dragic to the Celtics. The Celtics will waive Dragic (Click here for details).

#8. The Warriors signed guard Ian Clark (Click here for details).

#9. The Hornets signed guard Elliot Williams for training camp (Click here for details).

#10. Former Warriors center Ognjen Kuzmic has signed in Greece with Panathinaikos B.C. (Click here for details).

Tuesday's NBA Daily Dunks: 

#1. The Nuggets have officially signed center Nikola Jokic to a multi-year deal (Click here for details).

#2. The Pelicans have officially signed center Kendrick Perkins (Click here for details).

#3. Hawks head coach Mike Budenholzer has plead guilty to the DUI he committed before last season (Click here for details).

#4. Fenerbahce Ülker of the Euroleague will play a couple of preseason games in the USA against NBA teams (Click here for details).

#5. Thunder power forward Serge Ibaka is not yet cleared to play (Click here for details)

#6. The Heat signed second round pick Josh Richardson (Click here for details).

#7. There was a rumor going around that Nicolas Batum wanted to play in Toronto with the Raptors. Batum has dismissed it (Click here for details).

#8. Warriors head coach Steve Kerr is undergoing back surgery. He should be fine by training camp (Click here for details).

#9. The Wisconsin State Assembly has passed the Bucks arena deal (Click here for details).

#10. Karl-Anthony Towns wants Kevin Garnett to teach him how to be a champion. Towns also had a 4.0 GPA at Kentucky (Click here and here for details).

Tuesday's WNBA Final Scores: 

Fever 75 Sun 73. Mercury 89 Sky 87 (OT). Fever forward Tamika Catchings had 15 points and became #2 all-time on the WNBA's scoring list.

Wednesday's NBA Daily Dunks: 

#1. The Raptors have hired three new assistant coaches including Jerry Stackhouse (Click here for details).

#2. The Warriors have announced their coaching staff for this season (Click here for details).

#3. The Kings waived forward Eric Moreland (Click here for details).

#4. The Bucks officially signed small forward Chris Copeland (Click here for details).

#5. The Rockets signed center Chuck Hayes to a one-year veteran minimum deal (Click here for details).

#6. The Timberwolves signed point guard Andre Miller to a one-year contract for the veteran's minimum (Click here for details).

#7. The 76ers have signed second round pick Richaun Holmes (Click here for details).

#8. The Knicks, Lakers, and Wizards are interested in Kevin Seraphin (Click here for details).

#9. Lindsay Whalen and Maya Moore combined for 51 points for the Lynx.

#10. In her season debut, Los Angeles Sparks forward Candace Parker had 12 points, 7 rebounds, and 9 assists.

Wednesday's WNBA Final Scores: 

Mystics 87 Storm 74. Fever 84 Liberty 72. Lynx 82 Sparks 76. Stars 102 Dream 85.

Thursday's NBA Daily Dunks: 

#1. The Trail Blazers waived center Brendan Haywood (Click here for details).

#2. The Mavericks signed center Salah Mejri (Click here for details).

#3. The Knicks waived guard Ricky Ledo (Click here for details).

#4. Earl Watson is officially an assistant coach on the Suns (Click here for details).

#5. The Knicks re-signed power forward Lou Amundson to a one-year contract (Click here for details).

#6. The Knicks have officially signed their first round draft picks Kristaps Porzingis and Jerian Grant (Click here for details).

#7. Hawks forward Mike Scott has been arrested on drug charges (Click here for details).

#8. Clippers forward Josh Smith clarifies his "harder on me" comments (Click here for details).

#9. Flip Saunders says Kevin Garnett will be a starter for the Timberwolves (Click here for details).

#10. The Thunder have signed 2014 draft pick Josh Huestis to a four-year rookie scale contract (Click here for details).

Thursday's WNBA Final Scores: 

Mercury 78 Shock 66. Mercury forward DeWanna Bonner had 24 points and 9 rebounds.

Friday's NBA Daily Dunks: 

#1. The Warriors traded Gerald Wallace to the 76ers for Jason Thompson (Click here for details).

#2. The Kings hired hall of famer Nancy Lieberman and others as assistant coaches (Click here for details).

#3. The Pelicans waived guard Toney Douglas (Click here for details).

#4. Small forward Jeremy Evans has officially signed with the Mavericks (Click here for details).

#5. The Knicks have signed guard Sasha Vujacic to a one-year, $1.35M deal (Click here for details).

#6. Small forward J.P. Tokoto from North Carolina plans to join the 76ers for training camp (Click here for details).

#7. The Kings are interested in reuniting with Hedo Turkoglu (Click here for details).

#8. Pacers forward Jordan Hill has been arrested for speeding and reckless driving (Click here for details).

#9. Allen Crabbe's contract with the Trail Blazers will be guaranteed for next season (Click here for details).

#10. Danilo Gallinari has officially signed his contract extension with the Nuggets (Click here for details).

Friday's WNBA Final Scores: 

Sun 67 Storm 66. Lynx 86 Dream 70. Mystics 88 Stars 53. Sparks 88 Sky 77.

Saturday's NBA Daily Dunks: 

#1. Mavericks first round pick Justin Anderson has signed his rookie contract (Click here for details).

#2. The Clippers waived forward Jordan Hamilton (Click here for details).

#3. In the NBA Africa Game, Hakeem Olajuwon and Dikembe Mutombo played. Hakeem hit a shot (Click here for footage and details).

#4. Bulls point guard Derrick Rose is uncertain about whether or not to attend Team USA minicamp (Click here for details).

#5. The Nuggets waived forward Kostas Papanikolaou (Click here for details).

#6. Clippers point guard Chris Paul will attend Team USA minicamp (Click here for details).

#7. The Pacers plan to purchase the Fort Wayne Mad Ants to make them their single-affilate D-League team (Click here for details).

#8. Rockets center Dwight Howard will attend Team USA minicamp (Click here for details).

#9. The Hawks hired Michael Blackstone as assistant GM and made a couple of other front office changes (Click here for details).

#10. The NBAPA will file a grievance over the Kings' voiding of Luc Richard Mbah a Moute's contract (Click here for details).

Saturday's WNBA Final Scores: 

Lynx 86 Shock 80. Lynx small forward Maya Moore had 20 points.

Saturday's NBA Africa Game results: 

Team World 101 Team Africa 97. Wizards shooting guard Bradley Beal led Team World with 18 points.

Sunday's NBA Daily Dunks: 

#1. The Magic have guaranteed center Dewayne Dedmon's contract for the 2015-16 season (Click here for details).

#2. Due to Nikola Pekovic's health, Karl-Anthony Towns or Gorgui Dieng likely starts in the front court for the Timberwolves with Kevin Garnett (Click here for details).

#3. 76ers center Jahlil Okafor hopes to win rookie of the year (Click here for details).

#4. Former NBA all-star Bob Kauffman has died at the age of 69 (Click here for details).

#5. By waving Ricky Ledo, the Knicks are expected to sign Thanasis Antetokounmpo (Click here for details).

#6. Jordan McRae will join the 76ers for training camp (Click here for details).

#7. Becky Hammon has joined the New York Liberty's ring of honor (Click here for details).

Sunday's WNBA Final Scores: 

Liberty 78 Storm 62. Mercury 71 Dream 68. Sparks 80 Stars 78. Fever 83 Sun 70. Sky 71 Mystics 68. Sky forward Elena Delle Donne had 22 points and 7 rebounds.

---Ben Parker: follow me on twitter @nba_lord and like my Facebook page NBA Lord Nation for NBA and other basketball related news 

Wednesday Windmill: When it comes to breaking barriers and fighting intolerance, the NBA leads the way while the NFL fails

25 years ago, male professional sports in the United States was solely dominated by heterosexual men. Anybody who didn't fit that description was said to be a scarcity in locker rooms, on the sidelines, and in the press box. While people who weren't heterosexual men were still involved in male professional sports, they weren't really noticed or recognized. They were in the shadows with their silhouettes invisible. 

Nobody knew who these people were and nor did anybody really care to know. People wanted to believe that everybody involved in leagues such as the NFL and NBA were the same and should be the same. I.e. Only heterosexual men should be involved in these leagues. The role of women and members of the LGBT community in these leagues wasn't even though about since it was falsely assumed that when it came to male professional sports, people in those demographics had other interests. 

                                             (credit: cbssports.com)

Thankfully, as time has gone on, we have finally seen barriers be broken. Last season, Jason Collins came out as a gay man and was welcomed on an NBA team as a member of the Brooklyn Nets while just a few months later, Michael Sam was drafted by the St. Louis Rams of the NFL after announcing that he too was gay. 

                                               (credit: startribune.com)

                                           

In addition, we saw Becky Hammon become the first woman to be hired as a full-time assistant coach in the NBA when the San Antonio Spurs hired her earlier this week. NBA fans and NFL fans alike are seeing a more diverse group of people become involved in their favorite sports, and whether they like it or not, they're going to have to deal with the fact that times are changing, and that they are changing for the better. 

Out of all the four major pro sports leagues in the United States, the NBA has by far been the league that has done the best at breaking barriers for people of all walks of life with the other leagues (especially the NFL) still having a lot further ways to go. 

When Jason Collins came out as gay, he was welcomed by the NBA; when a woman had all the qualifications to be an assistant coach on an NBA team, she was hired; when an owner recognized that the name of his team could make other people feel uncomfortable (Washington Bullets), he changed it; and when it was revealed that an owner had intense feelings of hatred for people of other races, he was punished to the fullest extent and banned from the league by the NBA's commissioner Adam Silver. 

                                                 (credit: sports.yahoo.com)

In contrast, the NFL has seen a team cut a player who was trying to promote gay rights, an owner who defends the racist name of his franchise, and a player only get a two game suspension for knocking his fiancé unconscious in an elevator. The only bright spot for the NFL when it comes to breaking barriers is Michael Sam coming out as gay. Every other opportunity for progress and breaking barriers has resulted in the NFL falling flat on its face to the point that Keith Olbermann is rightfully calling for the resignation of its commissioner Roger Goodell. 

 While the NBA isn't perfect and has made its share of mistakes over the years (E.g. players punching fans), it is still leading the way when it comes to fighting against intolerance and every other kind of moral indecency that might exist within its walls. Hopefully the other major pro leagues in the US will take notice and look for ways to improve when it comes to being progressive and inclusive of all people. Especially the NFL. 

---Ben Parker: follow me on twitter @nba_lord