Liberty Links: Ben Simmons throws shade at Lonzo Ball in Instagram comments

War of words between Sixers and Balls reaches Battle of Footwear Brands - The 700 Level

Ben Simmons hasn't been shy about dissing Lonzo Ball and the Ball family at-large. Both Simmons and Joel Embiid shot off a few Draft Night tweets about the Balls last month. The new chapter of this saga takes place on Instagram. Ball wore a pair of Nike Kobe A.D. sneakers in the Lakers' Summer League game against the Sixers last two nights ago, eschewing the infamous Big Baller Brand ZO2s. LeBron James, a Nike athlete represented by Klutch Sports, like Simmons, noticed:

Simmons definitely found that funny:

I can't wait to see what happens next between the Sixers and the Balls. How about a Christmas Day game?

The Cavs Are Standing Idle, and It Might Cost Them LeBron James - The Ringer

The Cavaliers are falling prey to what did in the Heat at the end of LeBron's tenure in Miami:

For as much fun as this offseason has been, the NBA still seems headed for Cavs vs. Warriors IV in the Finals, and the gap between the two teams hasn’t gotten any smaller this offseason. If anything, it has increased. Not only will Kevin Durant be much more comfortable in his second season in the Bay, they added two more elite 3-point shooters in Omri Casspi and Nick Young, as well as a promising young big man in Jordan Bell. The Warriors are raising the bar, while the Cavs are standing still. LeBron has already won a championship in Cleveland, so there’s nothing holding him there if he doesn’t think the Cavs give him the best shot at winning. He’s a 32-year-old who has played 14 seasons in the NBA and sees his basketball mortality in front of him. He doesn’t have any time to waste, and that’s all Cleveland is doing right now.

LeBron should be looking for a new team next offseason. He should definitely stay in the East, as it's the weaker of the two conferences. He'll be 33 years old. Maybe he should surround himself with a nucleus of young, talented players? LeBron might be worried about the pounding he's taking physically as he's forced to play minutes at the four and the five as the league trends smaller. Maybe playing alongside a two-way center who opponents can't go small against would prolong his career?

Maybe he'd like to live in Rittenhouse Square?

John Collins Is the Folk Hero of Summer League - The Ringer

John Collins is a player who didn't receive much discussion here at Liberty Ballers during the pre-draft process due to the glut of big men on the Sixers' roster, but he's putting on a show in Summer League currently:

John Collins is the summer league star you never knew you needed.

In four games of summer league, Collins has gone from a solid late-first-round pick to a member of the pantheon. What pantheon? That of “guy with a generic name who plays (played) on the Hawks and can ball out.” Please welcome him into this prestigious group, Joe Johnson and Josh Smith.

DeMarcus Cousins, Kristaps Porzingis, Kyle Lowry added to NBA Africa Game - ESPN

This game has pretty talented rosters:

DeMarcus Cousins of the New Orleans Pelicans, Kyle Lowry of the Toronto Raptors and Kristaps Porzingis of the New York Knicks will play for Team World in the NBA Africa Game.

Dirk Nowitzki and Kemba Walker had already been chosen as captains for Team World. The squad includes Portland's CJ McCollum, Detroit's Andre Drummond, Boston's Jaylen Brown, Denver's Wilson Chandler, New York's Courtney Lee and Leandro Barbosa, who most recently played with Phoenix.

Luol Deng and Thabo Sefolosha are the Team Africa captains. Also on the team are Bismack Biyombo, Clint Capela, Gorgui Dieng, Joel Embiid(injured, will not play), Serge Ibaka, Luc Mbah a Moute, Salah Mejri, Emmanuel Mudiay, Victor Oladipo and Dennis Schroder.

I can't imagine the uproar that would occur if Embiid actually played in an exhibition game that's outside the United States.