GIBBI, Today

Aug 03, 2025

Stories:

On Saturday, Dončić agreed to a three-year, $165 million contract extension with the Lakers on the first day he was eligible to do so. The deal comes with a player option in 2028. The news was first reported by ESPN
The Lakers acquired Dončić from Dallas in February in one of the most stunning trades in NBA history, dealing Anthony Davis, Max Christie, and a 2029 first-round pick. The trade cost Dončić a five-year, $345 million extension with the Mavericks, hence the decision to move him
The player option is important in Dončić’s next contract because it will line up with when he hits 10 years of NBA service time, making him eligible for a projected record five-year, $417 million deal. Dončić will likely decline the player option to sign the max contract
GIBBI View: Two days ago I wrote here that Doncic was eligible to sign for $229 million extension, but Doncic decided to signs for a lower extension to bring better players and increase the possibilities to win a championship so this is a great news; remember that in June, Buss family decided to sell Lakers to Mark Walker, so this is a great news because it looks that Mr. Walker will invest heavily to win a championship

Tonight at 22:30 ET on Dignity Health Sports Park (Carson, California)
LA Galaxy defeated Xolos 5-2 in Game 1
Cruz Azul lost against Seattle 7-0 in Game 1
My Prediction:
- LA Galaxy win by 2 goals difference
GIBBI View: Before the Leagues Cup started I was so exciting because I thought that Cruz Azul was going to qualify to quaterfinals, but after the disastrous game against Seattle Cruz Azul is eliminated and it’s nothing in game but the honor; Galaxy won easily against Xolos and need another win to increase the possibilities to qualify to quaterfinals; about the last game, I think that it was a bad day for Cruz Azul but it could “mark” the players and head coach, so Cruz Azul need to rest starting players and focus in Liga MX tournament

YouTube has started testing a new collaboration feature, similar to Instagram's and TikTok's. A Google employee explained on YouTube Help that it will allow creators to add collaborators to a video so that they can be recommended to each other's audiences
The test is only available to a small group of creators for now, but it sounds like YouTube has plans to expand its availability in the future. Lindsey Gamble, an influencer marketing consultant and advisor, has posted a screenshot showing how the experimental feature works on Threads
On Instagram and TikTok, the creator who uploads the content will have to invite another account as a collaborator, who'll then have to approve the invitation. That'll most likely be the case here, as well, in order to ensure that creators don't randomly add other users to their videos
GIBBI View: I’ve written here in several newsletter that social media platfoms copy each other to bring more customers and increase their revenues, so let’s see if this new feature is going to help YouTube

A Boston-based group led by Celtics minority owner Steve Pagliuca has reached a record deal valued at $325 million to buy the Connecticut Sun from the Mohegan Tribe and move the team to Boston by 2027
The news was first reported by The Boston Globe. The Globe also reported that the deal includes a future $100 million commitment for a practice facility. Though Pagliuca plans to move the team to Boston, the WNBA says no such move has been approved yet
The sale, pending approval by the WNBA’s board of governors, could land the team in Boston by 2027, sooner than some of the WNBA’s planned expansion teams will launch
GIBBI View: Interesting news, because remember that Steve Pagliuca wanted to buy Boston Celtics, and according to him he had presented the best offer, but Grousbeck family, Celtics’ owners, decided to sell it to Bill Chisholm; interesting that Pagliuca has decided to buy and relocate a WNBA team instead to buy a new WNBA expansion team

Adam Silver, Real Madrid meet to discuss NBA’s Europe League Venture (The Athletic)

NBA commissioner Adam Silver and his chief deputies met with leaders from Spanish conglomerate Real Madrid on Thursday in Paris about the possibility of the club signing on with Silver’s planned European league
Thursday’s meeting is part of a series of similar discussions Silver, NBA deputy commissioner Mark Tatum and the league’s European and Middle East director George Aivazoglou are having in Europe this week with potential investors and teams for the NBA Europe league Silver is pursuing
Silver’s new venture could include 16 teams with deep-pocketed investors, some defectors from the EuroLeague and new franchises in major markets like Paris and London
GIBBI View: This new potential league would be a competition against EuroLeague, so I see very difficult that basketball players decide to move on to this new NBA Europe League, so maybe they would have to make a partnership with EuroLeague to make it a reality, and I see like a competition to G League but let’s see

GIBBI