Atlanta, GA
BREAKING: Potential Atlanta Hawks Trade Target Dealt to Oklahoma City In Offseason’s First Blockbuster Trade
While it was just rumors and speculation, two-time all defensive guard Alex Caruso had been rumored as a potential trade target for the Atlanta Hawks this offseason. Now, Caruso is being dealt to the Oklahoma City Thunder in the offseason’s first blockbuster trade. ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski dropped a bombshell trade just minutes ago that sends Caruso to the Thunder for Josh Giddey.
BREAKING: The Chicago Bulls are trading two-time All-Defensive guard Alex Caruso to the Oklahoma City Thunder for guard Josh Giddey, sources tell ESPN. pic.twitter.com/V3t12MA3Uo
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 20, 2024
Here is what else Wojnarowski had to say about the trade:
“The trade delivers the Thunder one of the league’s most coveted role players, a 30-year old guard who GM Sam Presti has long pursued for the Western Conference’s No. 1 seed. Caruso’s arrival could be seen as an addition comparable to the Golden State Warriors acquisition of Andre Iguodala in 2013. Both were 30 years old.
The Bulls have been determined to find a playmaker to replace Lonzo Ball, and Giddey , 21, comes with an All-Star potential that would unlikely be realized with the Thunder because of the playmaking starpower who surrounded him. The Bulls will offer him an opportunity to have the ball in his hands and so much more freedom pass and score.
Caruso is entering the final year of his deal and becomes eligible for a four-year, approximately $80M extension exactly six months from the date of this trade. The Thunder made the trade with the hope to have Caruso as an integral player for the long-term.”
This is obviously massive news across the league, as it gives the Thunder a huge piece to try and go win a championship this season while the Bulls get a young player in return. While there were no real reports linking Caruso to the Hawks, it was easy to see him as a potential fit next to Trae Young, as a point-of-attack defender (something Atlanta sorely needs) and a good three-point shooter. Caruso could make a weak defense better, but now he will hope to make a really good defense the best in the league.
Bleacher Report analyst Grant Hughes listed Caruso as the top “ambitious” trade candidate for the Hawks this offseason:
“The Atlanta Hawks seem likely to bust up the Trae Young-Dejounte Murray backcourt, but it’s unclear which of the two guards is likeliest to go. If it’s Murray who winds up leaving via trade, Atlanta should focus on supporting Young with the best defensive running mate possible.
That sounds like Alex Caruso, an All-Defensive honoree in each of the last two seasons.
Caruso’s current team, the Chicago Bulls, already have Coby White in place as their point guard. That means a Murray-for-Caruso swap wouldn’t make sense. Atlanta could send Murray to a destination in greater need of his services and reroute some of the assets to the Bulls in a package for the star stopper.
No guard who logged at least 25 games last season posted a higher Defensive Estimated Plus/Minus than Caruso, who rates as one of the rare backcourt players whose impact approaches that of the typically more valuable paint-protecting big man. His ability to disrupt at the point of attack, blow up screening actions and force opposing ball-handlers away from their spots can change the outcome of entire games.
Murray overlapped more than expected with Young, and the Hawks didn’t look nearly different enough after adding him at the 2023 trade deadline. Caruso would bring a more fundamental change to Atlanta’s makeup, adding an element of predatory defense that simply hasn’t been there.”
Now that Caruso is off the board, the Hawks will have to look elsewhere.
Atlanta, GA
Former Alabama prep star, Atlanta Braves outfielder dead at age 67
The funeral service for former Atlanta Braves outfielder Albert Hall is scheduled for 11 a.m. CST Monday at New Mount Zion Baptist Church in Birmingham.
Hall died on Tuesday at age 67.
On Sept. 23, 1987, Hall became the first player to hit for the cycle in an Atlanta Braves uniform and the first for the franchise since Bill Collins did so for the Boston Braves on Oct. 6, 1910. Twenty-one years after Hall’s feat, Mark Kotsay became the second Atlanta player to hit for the cycle on Aug. 14, 2008.
In Atlanta’s 5-4 victory over the Houston Astros, Hall led off the bottom of the first with a single and the bottom of the fifth with a double off Jim Deshaies. In the sixth, Hall hit a solo home run off Deshaies to tie the score at 4-4. Hall started the bottom of the ninth with a triple off reliever Dave Smith and ended the game by scoring on a wild pitch.
A speedy outfielder who stole 455 bases in the minor leagues, Hall went from Jones Valley High School in Birmingham to professional baseball when Atlanta selected him in the sixth round of the 1977 draft.
After hitting .308 and stealing 60 bases for the Southern League’s Savannah Braves in 1981, Hall made his MLB debut on Sept. 12, 1981, as a pinch-runner for catcher Bruce Benedict in the 10th inning of Atlanta’s 5-4 victory over the San Diego Padres.
From 1981 through 1988, Hall played in 375 games for the Braves before completing his MLB career with 20 games with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1989.
Hall posted a career batting average of .251 with a .328 on-base average and .335 slugging percentage. He had 125 runs, 202 hits, 37 doubles, eight triples, five home runs, 53 RBIs and 67 stolen bases in the big leagues.
Hall’s best season game in 1987, when he hit .284 and stole 33 bases in 92 games for Atlanta.
Hall appeared in minor-league games each season from 1977 through 1989, except in 1984 and 1987, when he spent the campaigns completely with Atlanta.
In 946 minor-league games, Hall hit .282 with a .376 on-base average and .372 slugging percentage. In 1980, Hall stole 100 bases for the Carolina League’s Durham Bulls.
After Monday’s service, burial will be at Elmwood Cemetery and Mausoleum in Birmingham.
Atlanta, GA
College football player found dead in Atlanta house fire
A college football player from Georgia was found dead in a house fire in suburban Atlanta, authorities confirmed earlier this week.
Izaiah Taylor, an offensive lineman for Georgia Military College, was staying at his grandfather’s house in Stone Mountain when the home erupted into flames around 1 p.m. EST on Monday, per WAGA-TV.
Taylor’s grandfather, Gregory Edwards, said that he was not at the home when he was notified about the blaze.
“Well, I got a call from my neighbor. Said there was smoke coming out of the home, and I immediately left work and headed to the house,” Edwards said.
According to WXIA-TV, flames had already engulfed the residence by the time first responders arrived, and Taylor, 21, was pronounced dead at the scene.
“There was no hesitation in going in and searching for the victim,” DeKalb County Fire Captain Jaeson Daniels said. “We got here, and we were able to establish a water supply. And again, receiving that information from one of the nearby residents stating that there was some water inside, we actually went right in and performed a search and luckily found him pretty quick, but unfortunately he was deceased. Once we found him.”
Taylor transferred to the junior college, located in Milledgeville, ahead of this past season after playing for Liberty University in 2024.
“Georgia Military College is deeply saddened by the loss of one of our students, Izaiah Taylor,” the college said in a statement on Tuesday. “Our hearts are with Izaiah’s family, friends, classmates, and all those who knew and loved him.”
Investigators are still determining the cause of the fire, WRDW-TV reported.
Edwards got emotional when talking about his grandson, calling him “a gentle giant.”
“He was one of the kindest people you would have ever known. He wasn’t a bully,” Edwards said. “He was a good boy. He didn’t deserve this.”
“What can I say? I mean, that’s not an easy pill to swallow. You know, you don’t bury your grandchildren,” he added.
Atlanta, GA
Christmas 2025 Best Spent In This GA Town, Analysts Say
ATLANTA, GA — Metro Atlanta residents may have a merry time celebrating Christmas this year as a new survey has named the Georgia town the best place to observe the jolly holiday across the U.S.
WalletHub awarded Atlanta with the moniker in a ranking released Tuesday after analysts examined 100 cities to determine the best places to celebrate Christmas.
With an overall score of 63.36, Atlanta beat out major national cities, including Las Vegas and New York City.
At No. 1, here’s how Atlanta’s ranking broke down:
- Traditions and Fun: 8
- Observance: 30
- Generosity: 16
- Shopping: 6
- Costs: 39
No other Georgia cities made the U.S. ranking.
“Atlanta is the best city for Christmas celebrations this year, with plenty of stores to help you prepare for the holiday, including an extremely high number of bakeries, holiday decoration shops and card shops per capita,” WalletHub experts said.
“Atlanta is also one of the best cities when it comes to the prevalence of affordable restaurants rated at least 4.5 stars if you want to eat out for the holiday (or want a break from cooking afterward). It has the 10th-most Christmas tree farms per capita, too. In addition, Atlanta residents get very excited about Christmas, searching Google for terms relating to the holiday more frequently than people in most other cities. The giving spirit can also be felt by Atlanta residents and visitors alike, as the city has the ninth-highest percentage of people who donate clothing to charity, along with the 13th-most online donations per capita.”
There are a plethora of options in Atlanta to celebrate Christmas, which is observed annually on Dec. 25.
Patch has compiled a few you may want to add to your calendar:
Here are the top 10 best Christmas towns, per WalletHub:
- Atlanta, Georgia
- San Francisco, California
- Seattle, Washington
- Orlando, Florida
- Las Vegas, Nevada
- St. Louis, Missouri
- Miami, Florida
- Pittsburg, Pennsylvania
- New Orleans, Louisiana
- Cincinnati, Ohio
,>
See WalletHub’s full methodology.
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