‘Time traveling’ NBA predictor banned from social media after leaking top trades and behind-the-scenes free agency info
FREE agency always provides NBA fans with stunning plot twists and unforgettable dramas that accompany the league's biggest stars in their offseason moves.
This year, the contract negotiation period brought a mysterious NBA insider who broke major free-agent news before the most knowledgeable reporters – as if knowing the secrets of time travel.
A Twitter user named The Amateur NBA Analyst, who posts as @droppingdimes20, started attracting attention in the weeks leading up to the start of the 2023 free agency on June 30.
First, they foretold that the Washington Wizards would trade Bradley Beal to the Phoenix Suns even before Adrian Wojnarowski or Shams Charania got the scoop.
Over a month before the 2023 NBA Draft, the mystifying insider also predicted Cam Whitmore would fall down the board despite the Villanova standout being projected as a top-five pick.
The user wreaked havoc on Twitter earlier this week, claiming that James Harden would pick up his $35.6million player option and then seek a trade out of the Philadelphia 76ers.
READ MORE ON THE NBA
And they did that around 24 hours before Woj and Shams confirmed his prediction on Thursday.
The insider then poked fun at the two NBA insiders.
"Why you @espn paying @wojespn $7million? We out here," one of their tweets read.
They also wrote: "Should I put Woj and Shams in their place?!?"
Most read in Basketball
But the Twitter user later added: "I’m just having fun on Twitter with Woj and Shams. No harm no foul. It’s supposed to be fun."
The account gained tens of thousands of followers after mainstream media broke the Harden news.
And the insider's emergence left fans befuddled – particularly as their Twitter profile would be repeatedly deactivated and re-activated in the following hours, adding to the mystery.
One tweeted: "This guy fs was created by a higher power and didn’t exist a week ago all to correct some balance in the universe."
Another added: "I got notifications on for Shams, Woj, and The Amateur NBA Analyst."
"I trust everything droppingdimes20 says if they’re trying to silence him this badly."
The Twitter user wrote they used to work in the NBA and for a big sports agency.
"Just know agents talk and words spread. That’s how I know," they added.
Read More on The US Sun
NBA fans will have further chances to put the insider to the test as they have claimed that the Atlanta Hawks are shopping Clint Capela and De'Andre Hunter.
They also suggested Karl Anthony-Towns "might get traded" to the Phoenix Suns or Dallas Mavericks.