Adam Schefter Broke Some Very Minor NBA News During ‘Sunday Night Football’

In Monday’s Hot Clicks: Adam Schefter encroaches on Woj’s territory, two ridiculous touchdown catches and more.

Schefter did his best Woj impression

While everyone else in the NFL world was busy watching Raiders-Chiefs, Adam Schefter was working his sources for news on the Raptors’ bench.

In the middle of the third quarter, as Patrick Mahomes and the gang were working on a 93-yard touchdown drive, Schefter broke some extremely minor NBA news. The Raptors would be signing former Hawks swingman DeAndre’ Bembry. 

Mini 💣: Former Hawks’ SF DeAndre’ Bembry has agreed to a two-year, $4 million deal with the Toronto Raptors, per sources.

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) November 23, 2020

Schefter's straying from his usual beat did not go unnoticed by his NBA counterpart, Adrian Wojnarowski.  

They're in the NBA, not the CFL.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) November 23, 2020

Though he’s an NFL reporter by trade, it’s not unheard of for Schefter to break some NBA news. In July 2013, he reported that Dwight Howard’s free agency decision was “totally up in the air.” Not the most ground-breaking scoop, but a juicy little rumor at the height of the free-agency frenzy.

Schefter’s ESPN bio describes him as a “diehard NBA fan,” an obsession he told Peter King was sparked by playing $3 daily fantasy games. When Schefter signed a five-year contract extension with ESPN in 2016, the network promised a few NBA sideline reporting assignments as a way to sweeten the deal. Those assignments have been sporadic, but Schefter isn’t such a stranger to NBA fans anymore. 

Perhaps what people found so funny about Schefter's breaking the Bembry news is just how inconsequential it is. Unless you’re an obsessive Atlantic 10 fan or intimately familiar with the bench rotation of one of the worst teams in the NBA, there’s no reason to know who Bembry is. He averaged 6.2 points in 19.4 minutes per game during his four years in Atlanta. Schefter's getting that scoop is like Woj's reporting on the Chiefs signing Alex Okafor. 

It shouldn’t be surprising that Schefter is breaking news outside of his usual beat. Whether it’s the NFL or NBA, reporting is all about knowing the right people. In this case, Bembry is represented by the same agency (CAA) that also represents Schefter. The sports world can be pretty small. 

The best of SI

Bolstering the offensive line needs to be the Bengals’ primary focus after Joe Burrow went down with a torn ACL. ... The defending-champion Lakers are reloading, with Marc Gasol the latest addition to a new-look frontcourt. ... Not to be outdone, the Clippers got a great bargain in Serge Ibaka. ... Auburn’s self-imposed postseason ban might not save the program from the NCAA’s wrath.

Around the sports world

Tua Tagovailoa got benched after struggling vs. the Broncos as the Dolphins’ five-game winning streak was snapped. ... JuJu Smith-Schuster hurt his toe after stepping on a penalty flag, but it doesn’t appear to be serious. ... Bryce Harper and his wife, Kayla, welcomed their second child. ... After 11 weeks, nobody in the NFC East has more than three wins, making it statistically the worst division ever. 

CeeDee Lamb and Adam Thielen made ridiculous touchdown grabs

CeeDee Lamb’s UNREAL TD catch 🤯

(via @NFL)pic.twitter.com/Lz3VQytGO8

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) November 22, 2020

Okay, now that's a 1️⃣0️⃣

📱: https://t.co/EYGyNNxBPN pic.twitter.com/MjSgH95PF3

— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) November 22, 2020

Mahomes led another game-winning drive

GO AHEAD @PatrickMahomes!!!

Mahomes finds @tkelce WIDE OPEN in the end zone. #ChiefsKingdom #KCvsLV | NBC pic.twitter.com/g7KRiPT3B3

— Sunday Night Football on NBC (@SNFonNBC) November 23, 2020

It’s really a shame to see Joe Burrow’s rookie season end like this

Replay of the Joe Burrow injury. Damn. pic.twitter.com/VrJse2Idr6

— Roto Street Journal (@RotoStJournal) November 22, 2020

Joe Burrow and fellow rookie Chase Young sharing a moment as Burrow is carted off. via @GettyImages pic.twitter.com/lMIRFhTt7x

— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) November 22, 2020

Thanks for all the love. Can’t get rid of me that easy. See ya next year✊

— Joey Burrow (@JoeyB) November 22, 2020

Burrow’s tough, though, as evidenced by how he bounced right back from this big blow

No. 1 overall pick Joe Burrow, say hello to No. 2 overall pick Chase Young 😤

(via @NFL)https://t.co/MPjiDwJ62j

— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) November 22, 2020

Nick Chubb’s stiff arm here is almost as brutal as Derrick Henry’s

Nick Chubb MY GOODNESS. #Browns

📺: #PHIvsCLE on FOX
📱: NFL app // Yahoo Sports app: https://t.co/XvGQdBFS2I pic.twitter.com/ycXDeoS2zy

— NFL (@NFL) November 22, 2020

Super Bowl champ Carson Wentz is playing as poorly as anybody else in his lousy division

NFC East life, Week 11pic.twitter.com/7BIS7WYz0a

— Jori Epstein (@JoriEpstein) November 22, 2020

Cam out did himself with this one

Can we talk about Cam Newton's pre-game fit pic.twitter.com/LmhWkGypKg

— FanDuel (@FanDuel) November 22, 2020

And you wonder why they’re winless

#Jets HC Adam Gase said he did not take back play-calling. Dowell tells him the plays, then he tells the QB.

I’m no expert, but that seems like making a situation much more complicated than it has to be but whatever at this point.

— Connor Hughes (@Connor_J_Hughes) November 23, 2020

Even in the slimy world of college football, Dabo Swinney is a uniquely detestable guy

Dabo Swinney is really upset: "This game was not canceled because of COVID. COVID was just an excuse to cancel the game." Says FSU administration forfeited the game. If FSU wants to play Clemson, they can home to Death Valley, he says. Or they can pay for Clemson's travel.

— Grace Raynor (@gmraynor) November 22, 2020

Eye on the ball, Nebraska

Behold the funniest fake punt of the season.

Take a bow, Blake Hayes. pic.twitter.com/kLihqVhttC

— Yahoo Sports College Football (@YahooSportsCFB) November 21, 2020

Too smooth

Assist of the season for Milos Teodosic???? 😳😳😳pic.twitter.com/WpdFUR8bmy

— Emiliano Carchia (@Carchia) November 22, 2020

The Wildcats have a pickpocket

Northwestern's J.R. Pace is out here stealing towels 😂 pic.twitter.com/9kq1ohfgOh

— The Sporting News (@sportingnews) November 21, 2020

Get used to hearing the name Erling Haaland. He scored four goals on Saturday and he’s only 20.

This usually works only in rugby

Not sports

An elephant that fell into a 50-foot well in India was rescued after a 12-hour operation. ... An overturned truck spilled 50,000 pounds of cookie dough onto a California highway. ... A Chinese expedition will collect rocks from the moon for the first time in 40 years.

Somebody took advantage of a post-Halloween sale

The pasta train is fodder for a great heist film

Barilla supplies 22% of pasta & 39% of sauces eaten in Germany -> lockdown requires 2-3 dedicate barilla trains from Parma to Ulm carrying 490 tonnes of pasta, 60 tonnes of sauces and 50 tonnes of pesto. https://t.co/oeFC3MTB22 pic.twitter.com/pbmfmMmuP7

— Adam Tooze (@adam_tooze) November 22, 2020

A good song

Email dan.gartland@si.com with any feedback or follow me on Twitter for approximately one half-decent baseball joke per week. Bookmark this page to see previous editions of Hot Clicks and find the newest edition every day. By popular request I’ve made a Spotify playlist of the music featured here. Visit our Extra Mustard page throughout each day for more offbeat sports stories.