After playing for one season in his native Russia, former Nashville Predators draft pick Egor Afanasyev may be back stateside in 2025-26.
The 24-year-old, whose deal with CSKA Moscow of the KHL was mutually terminated after the 2024-25 season, is now eligible to return to North America and sign with the San Jose Sharks. The Predators traded Afanasyev to San Jose last offseason when he became a restricted free agent, so his rights are still owned by the Sharks.
The Predators selected Afanasyev in the second round (No. 45 overall) in the 2019 NHL Draft, and he spent three years in Nashville's system. A steady performer for the AHL's Milwaukee Admirals, he had 54 points (27 goals, 27 assists) in 56 games in 2023-24. However, Afanasyev wasn't able to put it together at the NHL level, scoring just one goal in 19 games for the Predators.
Afanasyev's season in Moscow wasn't overly impressive, as he notched just seven goals and 14 assists through 53 games. He became an impact player in the postseason, however, recording four points in six playoff games.
If Anasyev does decide to give it another go with San Jose, he will be waiver-eligible if he doesn't secure a spot on the Sharks' roster.
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This is the second straight postseason that Indiana and Minnesota, two title-less franchises, have reached the conference finals. Meanwhile, New York is making its first appearance in the round since 2000 and OKC its first appearance since 2016.
The East Finals feature a rematch from the second round of last year’s playoffs when the Pacers overcame a 3-2 series deficit against the Knicks, winning Game 7 at Madison Square Garden. Indiana rolled through the first two rounds of this postseason, bouncing both the No. 5 Milwaukee Bucks and the top-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers in five games.
While the East’s top two seeds have been eliminated, the NBA-best Thunder are still standing. After sweeping the No. 8 Memphis Grizzlies, OKC was put to the test in Round 2. A showdown of the top two MVP candidates in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Nikola Jokic went to the distance, with the Thunder taking the decisive Game 7 over the No. 4 Denver Nuggets in blowout fashion. The Thunder haven’t won a title since relocating to OKC, with the franchise’s lone championship coming in 1979.
This is the second straight postseason that Indiana and Minnesota, two title-less franchises, have reached the conference finals. Meanwhile, New York is making its first appearance in the round since 2000 and OKC its first appearance since 2016.
The East Finals feature a rematch from the second round of last year’s playoffs when the Pacers overcame a 3-2 series deficit against the Knicks, winning Game 7 at Madison Square Garden. Indiana rolled through the first two rounds of this postseason, bouncing both the No. 5 Milwaukee Bucks and the top-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers in five games.
While the East’s top two seeds have been eliminated, the NBA-best Thunder are still standing. After sweeping the No. 8 Memphis Grizzlies, OKC was put to the test in Round 2. A showdown of the top two MVP candidates in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Nikola Jokic went to the distance, with the Thunder taking the decisive Game 7 over the No. 4 Denver Nuggets in blowout fashion. The Thunder haven’t won a title since relocating to OKC, with the franchise’s lone championship coming in 1979.
SAN FRANCISCO – Even as younger teams become NBA adults capable of toppling them, the Warriors remain emphatically committed to three veterans who will enter next season averaging 36.4 years of age.
This is a naked attempt to defy NBA history, which is unkind to aging stars. The Warriors are attempting to do it only because Stephen Curry is a hoops unicorn.
“Here’s what I know: We have Steph Curry on our team, who’s one of the greatest players of all time,” coach Steve Kerr said on Friday.
Curry will be 38 years old when the 2026 NBA playoffs begin. Jimmy Butler III turns 36 in September, and Draymond Green will turn 36 next March. No team with such an aging core has won an NBA championship.
“We’re at the point now where you’ve got to have an eye to the future down the road,” general manager Mike Dunleavy said. “But this league is year to year, and especially with the guys that we have, our focus is mostly 90 percent on next season.”
This approach is a one-year pursuit. The last ride, as coined by Curry when Butler was acquired in February, is postponed until the 2025-26 season. The 2026-27 season is on the books, but Dunleavy’s “90 percent” remark removes it from the current equation.
“How do we make this group better? That can come in myriad ways,” Dunleavy said.
It begins with discovering supporting players capable of generating offense. The most reliable such player on Golden State’s current roster is Jonathan Kuminga, a gifted athlete whose spectacular moments don’t always offset his general impact. He’ll be a restricted free agent in June, and there will be outside interest. Remember this that as much as CEO Joe Lacob likes Kuminga, he loves winning in May and June.
It was abundantly evident during the postseason that the Warriors need a lot more shooting/scoring and a bit more size, in that order. Once Curry went down with a strained hamstring in Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals, the offense was reduced to Buddy Hield’s fickle shot and not much else.
“But you could see, when Steph went out, the lack of shooting was an issue,” Kerr conceded. “And that impacted Draymond, it impacted Jimmy, impacted JK. Those are things that we have to figure out for sure.”
Figuring it out requires making shooters/scorers a priority, which is not something the Warriors have done in recent years. The biggest blown opportunity was 2018, when they selected Jacob Evans when Jalen Brunson, De’Anthony Melton and Gary Trent Jr. were still on the board.
It was 14 years ago that the Warriors last drafted an NBA-level shooter, and Klay Thompson was essential to four title teams before leaving for the Dallas Mavericks last summer. Dunleavy brought in Hield, a logical move insofar as he has similar skills.
Meanwhile, so many shooters have populated rosters across the NBA that most teams space the floor with at least four. Some, like the Eastern Conference finalist Indiana Pacers and defending champion Boston Celtics, are deep enough to play five-out, with everyone a threat from deep.
In a starting lineup featuring Butler and Green, who can make 3-pointers but don’t stretch a defense, the Warriors can play no more than three such threats. This is another perk of having Curry. It’s also another example of Golden State’s defiance, this one about the current trend rather than league history.
“It’s playing to your strengths, right?” Dunleavy said. “There are multiple ways to skin a cat. I think people complain about the homogeneousness of the NBA, so to speak, where everybody’s spacing is out and playing high pick-and-roll and shooting a bunch of threes and all that.
“I like that we can do things differently, obviously with Steph, he’s such a unique player and creates so much gravity. But Jimmy and Draymond are unique in their own rights. Jimmy’s ability to get to the line, it’s a highly efficient way to score and get to the basket and those things. We’ve got ways to be a really good offense, but it’s just maybe not as traditional in 2025 as some of these other clubs.”
Which is fine – if someone can score effectively from multiple levels. The last Warriors draft pick with that quality was Jordan Poole, selected in 2019. Essential to the team’s success in the 2022 playoffs that ended with a championship, he was traded to the Washington Wizards two years ago and has not been replaced. Poole at his best could replicate some of what makes Curry special – and was even quicker off the dribble.
It’s not a coincidence that the Warriors reached the top when Curry had a sidekick who was capable of scaring defenses with shooting/scoring. So, it’s reasonable to put that need at the top of the offseason list.
“The biggest thing, who we’re trying to acquire or draft or sign, is how much does that player make us better,” Dunleavy said. “And from there, what all are we giving up? We’re good giving up whatever it takes.”
This offseason amounts to a roll of the dice for 2025-26. The Warriors know their core is exceptional but needs a better supporting cast. It’s up to the front office to find that. And, yes, Kuminga might be the chip in such a deal.
Winning a championship around Curry/Butler/Green will require a superb addition, or at least two very good ones.
The relatively old 2014 Spurs won it all with 38-year-old Tim Duncan, 36-year-old Manu Ginobili and 32-year-old Tony Parker.
But they had 22-year-old Kawhi Leonard, who was voted NBA Finals MVP.
A 22-year-old Kawhi Leonard is not walking through the Chase Center doors.
Vanney given extension despite brutal start to season
Galaxy have gone 13 straight games without a win
Countering speculation that Los Angeles Galaxy head coach Greg Vanney might be relieved of his duties following a brutal start to the season, the club instead signed the 50-year-old to a contract extension.
According to the Athletic, Vanney’s extension is for three years through the 2028 season and will make him one of the highest-paid coaches in MLS – highest among those who don’t also have sporting director duties. The actual financial terms were not reported.
Colt Keith (1B/2B Tigers) - Rostered in 19% of Yahoo leagues
It’s already been quite the up-and-down season for Keith. He found out with the Gleyber Torres signing in December that he was going to be playing first base this year, and he seemed a little stronger this spring, pounding a couple of balls harder than anything he hit in the majors last year or in Triple-A in 2023. Then he found himself back at second base just three games into the season because of an injury to Torres. Meanwhile, he got off to a bizarre start at the plate in which he seemed afraid to swing the bat. Through nine games, he was 4-for-23 with 12 walks. Torres returned, and Keith’s playing time dwindled; he sat out four out of five games at one point, and it seemed like a stint in Triple-A might be in the offing. Instead, Keith got back into the lineup, slugged his first homer on Apr. 30 and has since hit .316/.395/.658 with four homers and just six strikeouts in 43 plate appearances.
The early season passivity seems mostly gone for Keith now. His average exit velocity this month is 88.9 mph, putting him on track for the best month of his career. He came in at 84.5 mph in April, easily his worst mark since debuting at the beginning of last year. He’s probably not going to keep up his homer pace of the last couple of weeks, but he’ll keep adding more singles and doubles. Statcast thinks he’s been particularly unlucky in that regard; he’s hitting .222 and slugging .361 this season, but Statcast gives him a .270 xBA and a .466 xSLG.
The lack of home run and steal potential here caps Keith’s fantasy upside, but he’s hitting third for a Tigers team that’s currently scoring a whole bunch of runs. His playing time against lefties remains a bit iffy, but that will change with consistent production, and there’s really no reason Keith can’t produce consistently. He makes ample contact, he hits line drives and he uses all fields. With his middle-infield eligibility intact, there’s enough here to help fantasy teams.
Zebby Matthews (SP Twins) - Rostered in 20% of Yahoo leagues
This time, it’s actually happening. The Twins surprisingly picked David Festa over Matthews for the rotation when Pablo López got hurt last month, but it’ll be Matthews getting his shot now after Simeon Woods Richardson was demoted to Triple-A. He’s slated to make his season debut Sunday against the Brewers after going 4-1 with a 1.93 ERA and a 38/9 K/BB over 32 2/3 innings in seven starts for St. Paul.
Matthews opened up in Triple-A despite looking like one of the Twins’ top five starters this spring. To be fair, he was pretty well shelled in his major league debut last year, going 1-4 with a 6.69 ERA in nine starts, but even then, he had a 43/11 K/BB in 37 2/3 innings. His fastball velocity is currently about 1.5 mph better than it was in the second half of last year, putting him at 96.5 mph on average. His cutter is up around 92 mph, making it a better weapon against lefties, and his slider will get him strikeouts against righties.
The big problem for Matthews last season was the home run ball. He’s been an above average groundball pitcher in the minors, but that wasn’t the case in his first tour of the American League. One imagines he’ll fare better now with a little more velocity in the tank. Never one to walk many batters, he should have a strong WHIP even if he doesn’t excel in terms of ERA, and there’s a good chance he’ll be a useful mixed-league starter right out of the gate here.
Matt Shaw (3B Cubs) - Rostered in 18% of Yahoo leagues
It’s not going to be long before Shaw gets his second chance with the Cubs. After homering twice Thursday, the 23-year-old is batting .344/.440/.641 with four homers and five steals in his last 17 games for Triple-A Iowa, and it’s not like anyone has stepped up in his absence. Jon Berti is currently getting most of the starts at third for the Cubs, and he’s batting .222/.282/.250 in 78 plate appearances.
While Shaw’s first major league stint wasn’t very impressive, he doesn’t need to be the Cubs’ savior. He’s not the most consistent power threat, but he’s a fine all-around hitter. He doesn’t often chase bad pitches, and he drives fastballs and breaking balls alike. It’d be nice if pulled balls over the fence more frequently, but that’s coming. In the meantime, he should hit for a decent enough average and give the Cubs an OBP boost at the bottom of the lineup.
What makes Shaw particularly intriguing in fantasy leagues is his basstealing ability. He didn’t attempt any steals in his 18 major league games at the beginning of the season, but he’s 5-for-5 since returning to Triple-A. He was 31-for-42 in his 121 minor league games last season. Even though he’s unlikely to approach that kind of pace in the majors, just a handful of steals can make the difference in whether a guy is worth using in shallow leagues. Shaw should be when his next opportunity comes.
Waiver Wire Quick Hits
- As many injuries as they’ve dealt with, it’s a little crazy that the Brewers still haven’t found room for Jacob Misiorowski in their rotation, but that’s going to have to change soon. The 23-year-old has been the best pitcher in the International League, going 3-0 with a 1.46 ERA and a 59/19 K/BB in 49 1/3 innings, and he just hit 103 mph in his last outing Thursday. The command probably isn’t there for him to pitch deep into games in the majors, but he’s definitely earned a look.
- The Phillies have four games in Coors and three in Sacramento next week. Meanwhile, Max Kepler and Brandon Marsh are rostered in five and three percent of Yahoo leagues, respectively. They both make for excellent one-week additions.
CHICAGO — The Chicago Cubs have agreed to a minor league contract with Kenta Maeda, giving the struggling right-hander another chance to regain his form.
Cubs manager Craig Counsell confirmed the deal before Friday’s game against the White Sox.
The 37-year-old Maeda had a 7.88 ERA in seven relief appearances for Detroit before he was designated for assignment on May 1. He went 3-7 with a 6.09 ERA in 17 starts and 12 relief appearances in his first year with the Tigers after agreeing to a $24 million, two-year contract in November 2023.
“I think it’s a player that you got to have a constant conversation with, and see where we can maybe make some adjustments and see where he’s at,” Counsell said.
Maeda made his major league debut with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2016, going 16-11 with a 3.48 ERA in 32 starts. He went 6-1 with a 2.70 ERA in 11 starts for Minnesota during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, finishing second in AL Cy Young Award balloting.
Maeda, who missed the 2022 season because of Tommy John surgery, is 68-56 with a 4.20 ERA in 226 major league games, including 172 starts.
The NL Central-leading Cubs have three key starting pitchers on the injured list. Shota Imanaga has a mild left hamstring strain, and Javier Assad has an oblique issue. Justin Steele is out for the rest of the season with an elbow injury.
Imanaga got hurt during a 4-0 loss at Milwaukee on May 4. Counsell said the team wants to get through this weekend before laying out a plan for Imanaga’s return.
“For now, we’re just continuing to throw,” Counsell said. “He’s kind of having a high day, a medium day, a low day throwing, but continuing to throw every day on that kind of rotational cycle.”
The Cubs also are playing without left fielder Ian Happ, who is on the 10-day IL with a left oblique strain. The three-time Gold Glove winner got hurt on a swing last week.
“I think tomorrow is kind of a bigger day to see where we’re at with Ian, because obviously we have to progress towards hitting if we’re talking about (activating him on) Tuesday,” Counsell said.
Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw is set to make his first start of the year on Saturday against the Angels in what will be his 18th season with the team. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
Last year could have been a storybook ending.
Had Clayton Kershaw been healthy, he likely would have been part of the Dodgers’ postseason rotation. He would have given them badly needed innings during their run to a World Series championship. And, in Year 17 of his future Hall of Fame career, he could have ridden off into the sunset, having little else to prove after playing an integral role on two championship teams.
“Yeah, if I was able to be a part of last year’s run and win a World Series and get to go out like that, that would have been really cool,” Kershaw said recently, contemplating what might have been if only he was available to pitch last October. “But I wasn’t. And it was still really fun to be part of. But it made it easier to want to come back, for sure.”
Back again, Kershaw is set to make his season debut for the Dodgers on Saturday after spending the first two months of the campaign recovering from offseason surgeries to address toe and knee injuries that sidelined him for the team’s title-winning trek through the playoffs last year.
Unlike previous offseasons, when the now 37-year-old Kershaw seemed to give retirement more serious thought, the three-time Cy Young Award winner made his mind up quickly last fall. Even before the Dodgers won their second championship in the last five years, he knew he wanted to pitch in 2025. After making just seven starts in 2024 with a 4.50 ERA, and missing the stretch run of the season when his long bothersome toe injury finally became too much, he didn’t want his career to end with him as a spectator, able only to cheer from the dugout as the Dodgers went on to win the World Series without him.
“For me, just getting back out on the mound is a big first step,” Kershaw said, ahead of what will be his first big-league outing since Aug. 30 of last year. “And then it's the rest of the season, obviously. But just making it through Saturday and getting back out there is what I've thought about so far."
To get to this point, the 18-year veteran had to endure a grueling offseason.
Days after the Dodgers’ World Series parade, Kershaw had two surgical operations: One on his left knee, where he had suffered a torn meniscus; and another on his left foot to address arthritis, a bone spur on his big toe and, most seriously, a ruptured plantar plate.
“If someone asked me, ‘What all did they do to your foot?’ I don’t know if I can answer all the way, but I know it’s not been fun,” Kershaw said, underscoring the complicated nature of a foot surgery, in particular, that he noted “only one or two baseball players” have had before.
“This one was painful,” he added, contrasting it to the relatively straightforward shoulder procedure he had the previous offseason. “It was like, ‘Oh, this is what people talk about when they talk about bad surgeries.’”
The worst part was the recovery, with Kershaw spending the better part of the next two months on crutches or in a walking boot.
“Trying to be on crutches and have four kids, it’s not easy,” he said. “Your offseason is supposed to be like, where you’re around and get to help more. And those first six weeks, I wasn’t much help. So it’s kind of a helpless feeling. And I don’t sit still well in general. So it was a hard process.”
Still, Kershaw’s commitment to come back never wavered. He was into a throwing program by the start of spring training. He began a minor-league rehab stint in the middle of April. And he posted a 2.57 ERA in five rehab starts, feeling he’d “turned the corner” with his foot over the last couple outings.
“Those last few rehab starts, I was more concerned about throwing well and getting guys out than I was [about] how my foot felt or anything like that,” he said. “So I think that was a good sign for me physically. And now, it's just a process of figuring out how to get guys out consistently again and perform. That's a much better place to be than seeing if you're hurt."
Exactly how Kershaw will fare back in the big leagues is an unknown. During his rehab stint, his fastball sat in the upper-80 mph range, a few ticks down from the already diminished velocity he’d had in recent seasons. He struck out only 16 batters in 21 innings, relying more on command and an ability to induce soft contact to navigate his way through starts.
On the other hand, Kershaw’s arm is as healthy as it’s been in years, now 17 months removed from his 2023 shoulder surgery. Even without eye-popping stuff last year, he proved to be competitive, owning a 3.72 ERA before leaving his Aug. 30 start early when his toe flared up. And simply having him back in the rotation will come as a boon for the Dodgers, who have been shorthanded recently with fellow starters Blake Snell, Tyler Glasnow and Roki Sasaki all nursing shoulder injuries.
“It's a big shot in the arm,” manager Dave Roberts said. “Clayton has worked really hard to get healthy, and the bar is high for him, you know. He doesn't want to just come back to be active. He wants to come back and help us win baseball games and be good. And so I know he's excited to contribute.”
In a break from his typically stoic facade, that excitement was evident from Kershaw all week. Except when reflecting upon the departure of teammate and close friend Austin Barnes, Kershaw was smiling almost everywhere he went around the ballpark in recent days. “Is that unusual?” he deadpanned when a reporter noted the observation Thursday. He also downplayed his pursuit of 3,000 career strikeouts — he is just 32 Ks away from becoming the 20th member of the illustrious statistical club — in favor of amplifying the gratitude he felt about simply pitching in the majors once again.
“I think when you haven't done something for a long time, and you realize that you miss it — you miss competing, you miss being a part of the team and contributing — there's a lot of gratitude and gratefulness to get back to that point,” Kershaw said. “I definitely feel that. Now, if I go out there and don't pitch good, it's gonna go away real fast. So there's a performance aspect of it, too. But I think for now, sitting on the other side of it, just super excited and grateful to get to go back out there again."
When asked if he ever planned on hanging it up, Kershaw then laughed.
"Somebody will tell me to retire at some point, I'm sure,” he said.
But, after finishing last season injured and grinding through a long rehab this winter, that point is not now, not yet.
Eighteen years later, Kershaw still feels he has more to give.
“At the end of the day, you just want to be a contributing factor to the Dodgers,” he said. “You don't want to just be on the sidelines. So I'm excited to get back to that."
Everything about the Washington Capitals in 2024-25 was a feel-good story. Until, of course, they ran into the buzzsaw known as the Carolina Hurricanes in the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs.
It was an enormous missed opportunity for the Capitals, who almost certainly will not have the confluence of great mojo they experienced this season ever again.
The off-season moves made by then-GM Brian MacLellan all worked out wonderfully, and almost every player on the roster had a career year. Alex Ovechkin chased, and passed, Wayne Gretzky's goal-scoring record, which brought a focus on both the Capitals and the NHL.
But what now? Logic would suggest that there's no way all those players are going to outperform their career numbers again. Some might, but not all of them. A regression looks to be in the cards here. The only question is how dramatic and quick it is.
SAN FRANCISCO – Before my question was even complete, Warriors coach Steve Kerr already had his answer.
Draymond Green is 35 years old. He just finished his 13th season. The incredibly unique defensive star has conquered giants and taken down the beasts of the NBA. But one man can only take so much.
Kerr is not comfortable with Green continuing to be his everyday starting center.
“I don’t want to start next season with Draymond as our starting five,” Kerr said Friday. “I think it’s doable for the last 30 games like we did this year, but you see the toll it takes on him. He’s talked about it too.”
At his exit interview media availability the day prior, Green joked he is the center of the future for the Warriors. It was said in jest, but it also might be his reality.
The way the Warriors currently are constructed with Steph Curry, Jimmy Butler and Green as their core and everything having to fit around them, Green is their best center. He almost strictly played the position once Butler arrived in mid-February. Whether Green wants to admit it or not, his body wore down in the end.
There weren’t a plethora of injuries that came out from Green’s grueling job. The miles, though, they caught up.
Irrational confidence is a strength of Green’s. It’s partly how he went from a second-round draft pick to a future Hall of Famer. Green plays defense with eyes in the back of his head, popping out of his ears and growing from his forehead. He sees everything, including the gluttony of big men he has to deal with.
“I think when you look around the league, yeah, guys are big,” Green said Thursday. “[Nikola Jokic], [Alperen] Sengun, [Ivica] Zubac, a healthy Joel [Embiid], yeah. But I don’t back down from anyone, and if that’s what our organization decides to do, I’ll be right here ready to go. And if they decide that they want to go with one of the 5s on the roster, great. If they decide they want to go after someone, great.
“You know me. I’m always in favor of what’s best for this organization. I can always see past myself when it comes to this organization.”
The season started with training camp in Hawaii where Green said he’s best with a center next to him, and Kerr was in agreement. Trayce Jackson-Davis served as the Warriors’ starting center alongside Green in 18 of the first 19 games. He took a seat for a few games, was back into the starting five and then essentially was all the way out of the rotation from the end of January to the rest of the season, until he started the final three games of the 2025 NBA playoffs.
Rookie Quinten Post was expected to spend the majority of the season in the G League, but his readiness as a 25-year-old who spent five years in college gave him a real role sooner than expected.
The combination of the two checks the box of who an ideal center is in the same frontcourt as Green and Butler in the eyes of general manager Mike Dunleavy.
“One way or another on the offensive end, that player has got to be able to finish, whether it’s at the rim or shooting a three,” Dunleavy said. “We need, with the way Draymond and Jimmy can create and generally play near the rim, having somebody that they can finish near the rim or make a shot, it’s going to be important in that situation.”
Jackson-Davis is built to be a rim-running lob threat who can protect the basket defensively. He also struggled finishing far too often early in the season. Post is the Warriors’ tallest player at 7 feet and was one of their deadliest shooters from long distance. While playing 16.3 minutes per game, Post averaged 4.3 3-point attempts at a 40.8-percent clip.
Kevon Looney for the second straight offseason is set to be a free agent. He’s one of Kerr’s favorite and most trusted players ever, and Dunleavy says he’d love to have him back.
Size, as Dunleavy said Friday, has been a “buzz word” around the Warriors for years. Their small-ball lineups changed the game. It’s a copy-cat league and teams began to catch up. Plus, there clearly has been a shift to skilled big men.
Now, 7-footers are roaming the hardwood and launching threes like they think their last name is Curry. The Warriors need positional size across the board: At center, in the frontcourt, on the wing and in the backcourt.
Jackson-Davis will be entering his third season, and Post his second. They have shown promise with much different play styles, but whoever the Warriors add will have to fit the timeline of Curry, Green and Butler, who all are in their late 30s and signed through the 2026-27 season.
“We’re at the point now where you’ve got to have an eye to the future down the road,” Dunleavy said. “But this league is year to year, and especially with the guys that we have, our focus is mostly 90 percent on next season. How do we make this group better? That can come in a myriad of ways.
“I would love to get guys in their pre-prime or prime where they’re going to have more years when Steph and Draymond and Jimmy are gone, but at the same time, if we have to get a bunch of 33-year-olds or 35-year-olds that we think can really help us win a championship, that is the goal, and we will do that, cost permitting.”
Old and small isn’t going to work. Players in between the ages of the Big Three and youngsters like Jackson-Davis and Post are required. The two-timeline plan didn’t bring another title, Curry did, as well as Green and Klay Thompson.
But that 2022 title team also had players like Otto Porter Jr. and Nemanja Bjelica who brought shooting and size at 28 and 33 years old, respectively, and Andrew Wiggins and Jordan Poole as bridge players who can contribute to 16 playoff wins and the taxing 82-game season.
Dunleavy will have to strike a balance of size and age up and down the roster. The only question that needs answering is how he can maximize the years of Curry, Green and Butler. A couple of big guys of their own can be a giant first step in shaping the next iteration of these Warriors.
Former Dodgers shortstop Rafael Furcal turned himself in at the Broward County (Fla.) jail Wednesday and was released on bail the same day. (Gus Ruelas / Associated Press)
Former Dodgers shortstop Rafael Furcal was arrested this week after he allegedly threw rocks at and injured another man last month in a Publix parking lot in Sunrise, Fla.
Charges were filed Monday against Furcal for the second-degree felonies of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and throwing a deadly missile into an occupied vehicle. On Wednesday, Furcal turned himself in at the Broward County jail and was released on bail the same day.
The Sunrise Police Department's investigation into the incident remains active.
According to the arrest affidavit, which was viewed by The Times, the incident took place in the afternoon of April 28 after Furcal and his accuser — a man whose name was redacted from the affidavit — nearly collided while driving their pickup trucks outside the grocery store.
Furcal allegedly got out of his truck and threw rocks and a plastic water bottle at the accuser's vehicle while the man was still inside it, but "didn't cause any substantial damage," the affidavit said.
After the accuser got out of his truck to confront him, the affidavit said, Furcal threw a rock "the size of a small palm" at the other man, who used his left hand to block it. The accuser then chased Furcal and "hit him a couple of times with his fists," the affidavit said, before the former MLB player "ran back to his truck and fled the scene."
Furcal told Z101 Digital on Thursday that he threw the rock at his accuser after the man had attacked him with a knife. The affidavit does not mention the alleged knife attack. The former Dodgers player also said he turned himself in after visiting with his son at college and was back home with his family.
Days later, the accuser told Det. Jason Jolicoeur that his hand needed five stitches where it was allegedly hit by the rock and that he also had "extensive bruising on the right side of his body and his left arm." He added that Furcal pointed out that the accuser was bleeding before leaving the scene.
A witness provided Furcal's license plate number, Jolicoeur wrote. After Jolicoeur identified Furcal through law enforcement databases, the detective wrote, the accuser positively identified Furcal as the suspect in a photo lineup.
Jolicoeur also noted that Furcal "made no attempt during or after the incident to contact Law Enforcement to report what occurred."
A three-time All Star, Furcal played six seasons with the Atlanta Braves before signing with the Dodgers as a free agent before the 2006 season. He remained in Los Angeles until being traded to St. Louis in July 2011, then won the World Series with the Cardinals that October.
He played his final MLB season, with the Miami Marlins, in 2014.
Crystal Palace midfielder on the hype in his early career, ‘shit’ VAR and embarrassment of the 2019 FA Cup final
Chat over. Will Hughes strolls across the car park to get some photographs taken. As it happens, the man emerging from the gym at that very moment is the Crystal Palace midfield-partner whose praises Hughes has just been lavishly exalting.
“Just added about £20m to your fee in that interview,” Hughes shouts at Adam Wharton as they pass. “You can have half,” Wharton retorts. All delivered with a knowing smile, for this is the Palace of Oliver Glasner, where – as Hughes puts it – “there’s egos, but good egos”. No arrogance, none of the blame culture he sees elsewhere. “You watch other teams and hands are in the air, there’s moaning,” he says. “But I honestly don’t see any of that here.”
It’s the week of the FA Cup final and there’s a frisson in the air. But Hughes is happy to talk about anything and everything: the good, the bad, the ridiculous. What the first trophy of his career would mean. How a wispy teenage No 10 turned into one of the Premier League’s toughest, most reliable midfielders. Why VAR is “shit”. Whether he was ever as good as everyone said he was. Why he doesn’t really watch football.
Three of the Power Five conferences reported a decrease in revenue during the 2024 fiscal year, according to SEC, Big 12 and Pac-12 federal tax records.
SAN FRANCISCO – After getting bounced from the NBA playoffs earlier in the week, the Warriors immediately changed direction and started making plans for the offseason.
While maybe not the most important decision facing general manager Mike Dunleavy and coach Steve Kerr, a significant summer storyline is what to do with Jonathan Kuminga.
The No. 7 overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft, Kuminga will be a restricted free agent in the offseason and is likely to garner some attention from rest of the league after a high-profile showing in Golden State’s Western Conference semfinals loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves.
He has the freedom to sign with any of the 29 other NBA teams, although the Warriors have the option to match any offer to keep Kuminga.
Dunleavy sounded optimistic about getting a new contract done but stopped shy of saying it’s a done deal.
“We will look at everything,” Dunleavy said Friday at Chase Center. “It’s hard to know two days after the season’s over where it’s all headed. I know where I see him as a player. I know how it can work with him here. I know how we can work with him better.
“But in terms of guessing how it’s all going to play out or what the contract might look like, I’d be totally guessing at this point to conjecture on anything”
Kuminga didn’t have much of a presence his first two seasons in the NBA, and many around the league began to question his worth.
That talk started changing last season when Kuminga became a regular starter and had career-high averages in scoring (16.1), rebounds (4.8) and shooting percentage (52.9).
The 2024-25 NBA season was more of a bittersweet campaign in a lot of ways . Kuminga averaged 15.3 points with 4.6 rebounds, and was much more aggressive attacking the rim and shooting behind the arc despite missing more than a month due to an ankle injury.
He also had to adjust to the arrival of Jimmy Butler before the Feb. 6 NBA trade deadline. That cut Kuminga’s minutes and forced him to accept a backup role. The situation lingered most of the season, forcing Kerr to continually mix and match his lineups.
Kerr envisions Kuminga playing more with Golden State’s star players if he comes back.
“If JK comes back we will, for sure, spend the early part of the season playing him with Jimmy, Draymond [Green] and Steph [Curry]. To me that would be a no-brainer,” Kerr said. “We did not have the luxury of just experimenting and giving that more of a runway. If JK comes back next year we have to look at that for sure.”
Kuminga’s up-and-down wavering stock soared in the playoffs after Curry limped out of Game 1 against the Timberwolves with a hamstring injury.
Without Curry, the Warriors were desperate for scoring. Kuminga answered the call effectively, proving his value while averaging 20.8 points a night against the Wolves.
Kuminga’s postseason surge was a welcomed sight, but it wasn’t enough to prevent the Warriors from getting eliminated from the playoffs.
With all that swirling in the background, the Warriors are staring at the possibility of seeing Kuminga’s growth continue — but in different jersey.
“I thought he had a really good year,” Kerr said. “He was really coming into his own before he got hurt. When he came back he was not in rhythm. He was not the same player he was when he got hurt. That put kind of a little bit of an obstacle in our way as we’re trying to get to the playoffs and advance in the playoffs. It felt [like] square peg, round hole for us. So we went away from JK as part of the rotation and he handled it really well.
“For him to stay ready, stay positive and then get his chance … played well in these last four games of the Minnesota series, speaks highly of JK and his approach. All in all, he’s a guy who’s got a lot of talent and ability. Still growing, still raw in many ways.”
Dunleavy would prefer that growth continue with Golden State, although reports surfaced early this week that the Warriors are actively seeking a sign-and-trade.
“As far as bringing him back next season I think it’s something that we’re very interested in doing,” Dunleavy said. “When I look at things that JK does well in terms of getting to the rim, finishing, getting fouled, these are things we greatly need. We know he can bring those things to the table. It’s not hypothetical, it’s not a guy in the draft that we think can do it. He’s shown for four years he can do that, so for that reason we’ll try to bring him back.
“It’s a two-way street in terms of getting a new contract and all that. We’ll see where that goes.”
No one likes to wait, least of all hockey players. The Edmonton Oilers will have a breather while the Winnipeg Jets and Dallas Stars duke it out to determine who will play Edmonton.
Knoblauch said he won’t be available early on in the series, but he did say that he should return in the middle of the third round.
Mattias Ekholm
Ekholm has been injured for a while now, and his prognosis has been poor. Now, the Oilers appear to be getting some good news regarding his situation.
Knoblauch said that Ekholm would not be available for Games 1 or 2. He’s optimistic that Ekholm will return in the third round and describes him as “day-to-day.”
If the Oilers could get Pickard and Ekholm back for Game 3 or 4 of the third round, that would be a huge morale boost for the team. If not, they can keep trucking along with the current roster.
After all, they did finish off the Golden Knights without them.
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