NBA guard Jaden Ivey and his wife, Caitlyn, put up a united front after he claimed she wasn't answering his texts following his release from the Bulls last month due to conduct for conduct detrimental to the team.
NBA guard Jaden Ivey and his wife, Caitlyn, put up a united front after he claimed she wasn’t answering his texts following his release from the Bulls last month due to conduct detrimental to the team.
The pair shared a joint Instagram post on Monday, including a smiling photo together with Ivey’s arm around her, and a bible verse.
“Whoso findeth a wife findeth a good thing, And obtaineth favour of the LORD,” the caption reads, quoting the bible verse, Proverbs 18:22 KJV.
NBA guard Jaden Ivey and his wife, Caitlyn. Instagram/Jaden Ivey
“Thank you Jesus for saving us. Thank you for your mercy and goodness towards us.”
It comes after Ivey made claims about his household following his release — which came after he posted a video rant online about religion and made anti-gay remarks.
“My wife in here, and she not even texting me,” Ivey said in a live stream video after his release. “Those who are around me, those who are my family members betraying [me] because of what I spoke. The truth.
“Betraying me. Saying that I’m losing my mind. Saying that I’m crazy. … Those are my own household. All because of the Gospel. All because I said the truth.”
Taking to her social media, Caitlyn denied abandoning her husband amid the fallout from his controversy.
“If you know me you know I have never once abandoned that man through all the trials.. and I still haven’t now,” she wrote in an Instagram Story post. “There is obviously a lot going on, so leave your conspiracies and your guesses to yourselves.”
Jaden Ivey #31 of the Chicago Bulls attempts a dunk against Cameron Johnson #23 of the Denver Nuggets during the second quarter at the United Center on February 7, 2026 in Chicago, Illinois. Getty Images
Caitlyn also shared hateful messages she had received after the NBA player claimed she had cut him off.
Ivey and his wife, who met at Purdue University, have three children: son Noah, 3, daughter Shiloh, 2, and son Isaiah, 13 months.
Ivey, who was limited to 30 games last season due to injury, missed the start of this season before being dealt from Detroit to Chicago.
Last month, the Bulls shut him down for the season because of a sore left knee.
One such idea is the thought the tournament shouldn't expand 70-plus teams, one that is imminently going to be broken. As reported on April 28, March Madness is on the final runway to add eight teams for a grand total of 76, expanding for the first time since 2011 when the First Four was added to make it 68 from 65. The change will be made for both men's and women's basketball, with a formal announcement anticipated in May.
The move, to take hold in 2027, continues the NCAA's trend of expansion in its biggest sports. Football moved from four teams to 12 beginning in 2024, and there has been more conversation around expansion since. For college basketball, however, the motivations are slightly different. In theory, the expansion should favor mid-majors rather than the Big Ten and the SEC as football does. After all, conference commissioners and NCAA president Charlie Baker have stumped for the accessibility an expanded field would bring.
"And so, from my point of view, the more teams we can get into the tournament and make it work logistically and mathematically, the better," Baker said in February, per ESPN. "It gives more kids the opportunity to experience that."
But does that logic hold water? Oklahoma is a perennial fringe case, whereas Auburn vs Miami (Ohio) was one of the most hotly contested one-to-one topics last season. On the women's side, the difference is even more stark, where the top-heavy nature of the tournament creates huge disparities in early rounds. No. 16 Harvard defeated No. 1 Stanford in 1998, whereas No. 10 Virginia made a run this year that included a win over No. 2 Iowa. But there needs to be consistent competition to make the changes worthwhile.
With that in mind, here's a look at how the brackets would have shaken out in 2026 had this format been adopted. Assume the first 68 seeds would have remained the same. Here are the eight teams who would have gotten in for men's and women's.
2026 men's teams to get in with 76-team NCAA Tournament
Four of the eight teams who would get in under the new format are already known. No. 69 Oklahoma, No. 70 Auburn, No. 71 San Diego State, and No. 72 Indiana would all get in. Seton Hall and New Mexico would ostensibly be next on the list. Virginia Tech would be another fringe case, with Stanford rounding out the field. That would make Cincinnati the biggest question mark on the list, and team No. 77. Cincinnati, of course, had fired coach Wes Miller leading into Selection Sunday. But the butterfly effect of a 76-team field is drastic, so we're going assume all things equal here.
This would create four No. 12 play-in games, two No. 15s, and four No. 16s. 12 seeds would be relegated to 13-seeds. Notably, the only non-power adds would be San Diego State and New Mexico, two teams with recent success. When access is brought up, it is brought up for at-large power schools for the most part.
2026 women's teams to get in with 76-team NCAA Tournament
The first four out on the women's side were BYU, North Dakota State, Mississippi State, and Stanford, setting half of that field.
Texas A&M is almost undoubtedly in in this format, despite a sub-.500 conference record. Utah is another likely addition, alongside Kansas and Indiana.
That makes Indiana the biggest winner across the board, but again, outside of North Dakota State it is named teams getting the nod.
While Unai Emery’s side are hoping to right past wrongs, their opponents are a serious threat under Vítor Pereira
It is eight years since Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest played out a Championship classic, a topsy-turvy 5-5 draw at Villa Park in which Tammy Abraham got four goals. John McGinn was also in the Villa side and Matty Cash scored to earn Forest a 3-2 lead with 22 minutes on the clock, before more drama ensued. Forest were reduced to 10 men but Lewis Grabban, who played for Villa the previous season, struck the final goal to earn a point.
It is the first top-flight meeting between the teams this millennium; however, that goes some way to telling the story of these sides, particularly Villa’s stealth. It was three and a half years ago, a couple of weeks before Unai Emery took the reins at Villa, and a glance at the teamsheet speaks volumes for the stability that has underpinned his success. Eight of Villa’s starting XI for that 1-1 draw could start against Forest on Thursday, when the Midlands clubs meet at the City Ground for the first instalment of an enticing all-Premier League Europa League semi-final. While there have been plenty of all-English finals, it is the first major European semi-final between English sides since Manchester United overcame Arsenal in the Champions League in 2009.
For the last 41 seasons, the NBA has conducted a draft lottery to determine which non-playoff team will receive the No. 1 overall pick. From 1985 to 1989, all non-playoff teams had the same odds to win the top pick, but in 1990, the league adopted a weighted draft lottery where the worse your record is, the better chance you have of getting the top pick.
The odds for the worst team have shifted over the years — 16.7% from 1990-1993, 25% from 1993-2019, and 14% from 2019-now — but have been consistent in one aspect: the worse your record is, the higher chance you have of securing one of the top picks, but according to ESPN’s Shams Charania, that may soon change.
The NBA disclosed to its 30 teams Tuesday that it intends to bring forth a rule change at the league’s upcoming Board of Governors meeting in late May. The memo outlined a drastic new draft lottery system that aims to discourage tanking by penalizing the league’s worst teams.
The proposal, which the NBA calls the ‘3-2-1 lottery’, lays out a draft lottery where there are three tiers of team and each team receives a different number of ping pong balls for the league’s drawing.
3: The fourth through 10th worst teams will have the best odds to receive the No. 1 overall pick because they will receive three ping pong balls each.
2: The three worst teams, as well as the 9 and 10 seeds from each conference, will receive two ping pong balls each.
1: the loser of the 7-8 play-in game from each conference will receive one ping pong ball.
Perhaps the most severe part of the new proposal is the new floor for these teams. In the current system, the league’s worst team has a 14% chance to win the lottery, but can fall no lower than fifth overall. The second-worst team can fall no lower than sixth.
In this world, the league’s three worst teams don’t just have a worse shot at getting the No. 1 pick, their floor drops — significantly. The league’s three worst teams could pick as low as 12th in this system.
Now, there’s a lot to unpack here. For starters, the rules for this draft lottery are ridiculously complicated. I’m at 430 words in this article and I’ve barely scratched the surface. The league will need to do a better job of explaining exactly what this system is and, more importantly, why such a drastic change was needed.
But make no mistake: a drastic change is very much needed. The proposal has been met with a lot of backlash, but I think it’s a step in the right direction.
The NBA has always publicly denounced tanking, but we’ve watched it happen frequently over the years. We watched Philadelphia “Trust the Process” for years as the team and its fans suffered through three straight 60-loss seasons, including an abysmal 10-72 2015-2016 campaign.
But NBA teams have taken a darker turn in recent years, and I think the NBA is right to be worried about the message it sends to its fans. This year, an NBA-record eight teams — a whopping 32% of the league — finished with a winning percentage below .333. Eight teams lost at least 55 games this season. Five teams lost at least 60.
Utah and Washington were two glaring examples that league sources often brought up throughout the season. The Jazz, despite trading three first round picks and talented prospects for Memphis’ Jaren Jackson Jr., chose to tank at the end of the season and sometimes in blatant fashion.
Jackson played just three games following the trade, but played in 45 contests pre-All Star break. Utah decided the big man needed surgery on his left knee less than three weeks after unloading a war chest to trade for him. The Jazz also sat All-Star Lauri Markkanen for the last two months of the season with a “hip injury.”
Before these injuries appeared, the Jazz had already shown they had little interest of winning games with the pair this season. Utah was fined half a million dollars by the league after it benched Jackson and Markkanen down the stretch of a close game on Feb. 7, a game the Jazz lost after Orlando “overcame” a 17-point deficit.
Washington also traded for All-Stars at the deadline, netting Trae Young and Anthony Davis, but played the two a combined five games post-trade deadline before shutting both down with apparent injuries.
The league also fined Indiana $100,000 for benching three players it deemed were healthy enough to play in a Feb. 3 game against — you probably guessed it — the Utah Jazz.
The Pacers “lost” that night, 131-122, in Indianapolis.
The league’s commissioner, Adam Silver, has publicly commented on tanking a lot this season and said in March that fixing tanking was his top priority and furthered that stance in a call with the league’s competition commitee recently.
“”We should have a system where you should hate to lose,“ he said. ”It shouldn’t be a badge of honor. Losing should be uncomfortable.”
I fully agree. The flattened odds are a good first step to tell the teams in this league that losing is, in fact, bad, and you should avoid doing it at all costs. The NBA is a product at the end of the day and watching a third of the league not care about its success for a third of the season is very bad for that product.
Fans pay to go to these games to watch their team’s best players compete on the basketball court and these maneuvers by all of the league’s tanking teams send a clear middle finger to the league and its mission.
The NBA needs to find a simpler long-term solution — no one wants a draft lottery that needs 400 words and a two-minute clip from Shams to explain — but its goals and purpose behind this proposal are good and will improve the NBA’s product significantly.
I truly believe basketball is the best sport in the world, and I believe that because of the great athletes that have come through the game. From Wilt Chamberlain to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to Magic Johnson to Larry Bird to Michael Jordan to LeBron James and everyone in between, the stars are what make the league what it is.
Watching those stars get benched in the name of future success spits in the face of what these legends built. If your team is “winning too many games” with your All-Stars playing, then maybe you should shift your focus from playing the draft lottery for the ninth time in a decade and maybe try trading for a player that can help you be better this year.
Also, you don’t need a top pick in the draft to draft a culture-shifting player. The league’s soon-to-be back-to-back MVP, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, was the 11th pick in the 2018 draft. Nikola Jokic was selected 41st. Jalen Brunson fell to the second round. Donovan Mitchell was taken 13th.
Obviously, I’m not saying that improved draft position has no effect on the caliber of player you get — most of the league’s all-time greats were high draft picks after all — but if you have a competent GM and front office, you can find good players later in the draft.
And if you have a bad GM, none of this matters anyway because he’ll just trade your franchise player you took No. 3 overall to the league’s biggest market in the middle of the night.
I kid, I kid (it will always haunt me) but the bigger point stands. Tanking to get a top draft pick will only get you so far. You need a system in place to sustain success, and if you don’t have that, getting a top draft pick does little to actually solve that problem.
I applaud the commissioner for taking a serious approach to the biggest problem facing his league and I hope the Board of Governors will approve some version of this proposal when it meets May 28.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - APRIL 28: Jadakiss and Fat Joe attend Game Five of the Eastern Conference First Round NBA Playoffs between the New York Knicks and the Atlanta Hawks at Madison Square Garden on April 28, 2026 in New York City. The Knicks won 126-97. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images) | Getty Images
No matter your prediction, it’s always the same story…
Knicks in Six.
Here’s the latest from MSG.
Mike Brown on the team's response to adversity:
"You've got to go through some adversity throughout the course of the year to see what you're made of as a group… our guys have been through a lot, there's nothing that will deter the group" pic.twitter.com/2qBvXcLyIU
“The thing about him, he’s a great screen setter. He has a really good change of pace where he slips and stuff like that which can cause confusion.”
On Anunoby and Towns on the glass:
“KAT and OG were monsters. The two of them, they were phenomenal – it was huge for us to be able to keep them off the glass and out of transition.”
On moving Brunson offensively:
“We’re just trying to move him around as much as we can so they can’t catch a rhythm with him. We want him to be aggressive and the biggest thing for us is to keep trying to find ways to move him around, because he’s impactful whenever he’s in the action.”
On sticking with his starters:
“Those guys have won a lot of games.”
On Towns’ impact of late:
“It’s been pretty good, you know. You gotta give KAT a lot of credit, he’s trying to rebound, trying to be up in the pick-and-roll. When he switches onto a small, he’s trying to sit down. He just has to keep pushing himself, including transition, like all of us. So we can be impactful and/or effective on that end of the floor.”
On the Game 5 win:
“We played a good game. I’m sure Atlanta feels they can play better. We know they can play better.”
On Brunson’s fourth quarter:
“Phenomenal, especially in that fourth quarter. He does it all for us.”
On the Knicks’ paint game:
“I love it. Our guys have to continue trying to take what’s available. And right now for us, it’s finishing in the paint.”
On the team’s resilience after going down 2-1:
“They’re resilient. We talked about it throughout the course of the year, you gotta go through some adversity throughout the course of the year to see what you’re made of as a group, see how you’re gonna respond. You just gotta keep fighting. Our guys have been through a lot so far this year and they continue to go through it. They’ve been through it as a group. There is nothing that will deter the group. They’re a veteran group that knows what they want and how to get it no matter what’s in front of them.”
On Brunson’s composure:
“Comes from his mom, his mom has got a lot of patience. Real sharp lady, hear that Rick?”
Q: "It looked like in the 4th quarter CJ might have kicked you in the [crotch] again?"
“It was just important for us to come out the way we did, regardless of who was doing the scoring or whatever. I think just us being on a string on both sides of the ball helped us. We were locked in mentally, the way we were playing. There’s still lot of things we can do better and not have lapses. I think our mentality locking into the game is something that we need to continue to have.
“I think it’s just constant adjustments and a constant chess game. You see what move they make and you come back with a different move.”
On the Knicks’ first-round bounceback:
“It’s been a multitude of things. I think we have picked it up as a unit. I also think they’ve gotten a lot of looks and we were lucky when they were missing. But just us being on the same page on both sides of the ball has been a factor.”
On his fourth-quarter play:
“The ball went in, but I was just happy that we were able to keep the lead and play well with it. They are a team that is capable of going on runs, as we know from earlier in the series, so I like how we played to keep the lead.”
On McBride’s impact in the first-round series:
“He’s been playing great. To be able to use him in certain actions and play off-ball and obviously his shooting capability, the way he plays defense and everything, he does a lot for our team. So, I think regardless of who’s on the floor, he’s gonna do a lot of great things.”
On the Madison Square Garden faithful:
“It’s really cool seeing them, the support they give us and everything, seeing them before and after the games. It’s always cool seeing former players come back and seeing how energetic they can get is cool. There’s no place like this place.”
On team unity:
“We’re tied together all on a string. Whenever something falls apart, we’re there for each other.”
On using Towns as an offensive hub:
“It’s another dimension that we’ve been able to do. KAT’s been making great decisions. I think us, playing off-ball, the screens that we’re setting, the pace that we’re cutting, has helped him with that. And also KAT has the ability to go by his defender. There’s a lot of things we can do off of that.”
"I feel like everybody's locked in…defense isn't one guy's job, it's the whole team so when the whole team's is locked in.. then we're not missing a beat, it just feels good"
“Try to make his job as easy as possible, as well the rest of the teammates out there. Anytime I’m on the floor, I try to make everybody’s lives easier, whether that’s on the defensive or offensive end. Just bringing whatever I have, whatever my talents are, whatever I see in the game, and do it.”
On sharing the backcourt with Brunson:
“We’ve done it before and previous seasons, in the playoffs past. It’s just whatever I see in the game, try to get in it and if it’s working, keep going back to it.”
On Brunson’s footwork:
“It’s elite. Those Villanova pivots, step-throughs. It’s been elite since he’s been in college. I was watching him. It’s something that smaller guards [have to do]. He’s just worked at it, worked at it. He plays with such high confidence and he performs at such a high level, it just gets better and better.”
On the Knicks’ improved defense:
“I think we’re really just communicating and being physical at a high level. I feel like everybody’s locked in. Defense isn’t one guy’s job, it’s the whole team, so when the whole team’s locked in, when guys coming off the bench, we’re locked in and we’re not missing a beat, it just feels good.”
Shoutout KAT who despite his viral Gatorade obsession removed the bottles from the table when his captain––who is sponsored by a competitor–-sat down 🤣 pic.twitter.com/wB816KrQW3
“The hardest game to win is the one that can end a team’s season.”
On his playmaker role:
“I feel like passing’s been my thing since I came into the league. Sometimes the scoring gets more noticed than the passing. But I’m glad I have the opportunity to show what I can do, passing-wise. I’ve just got to continue to stay disciplined, continue to make the right play, regardless if it’s the scoring play or the hockey assist.”
On impacting winning first and foremost:
“I’m always just thinking about impacting winning. As long as I can do that every single day I step on the court, I just think about that. How can I help my teammates be the best version of themselves with my game, and do whatever it takes to help our team be in a position to win. As long as I do that every single night, I’m happy with the man I see in the mirror.”
On Brunson’s level:
“He’s been one of the best point guards and players in the NBA, so I don’t know if I was the reason for that. When I watch the tape, and hopefully I can come back [Wednesday] when we watch the film and say I helped him be who he’s always been.”
On OG Anunoby:
“He’s one of the best two-way players in the NBA. This series has been great for him to show the world on a big stage something that we always thought he was. When you have someone like that who is that good offensively and even better defensively, weirdly enough, it’s special. I believe he’s going to be First Team All-Defense, and he deserves it.”
“I think it just gives us life. Gives energy to the basketball.”
On the Game 6 mindset:
“Confidence is built with work. For us, we understand what the situation is, toughest game to win is the one that ends a team’s season.”
On Gatorade:
“I’m not even gonna touch the Gatorade. I lied, I lied… I’m thirsty, bro.”
“We get stops and we get rolling. Once we get our defense rolling, the offense is going to take care of itself. We know we can score the ball at a very high level. We need to get stops. And that’s what we try to do.”
On the MSG chants:
“It’s amazing. Can’t really put it into words. I’ve always got a Knicks jersey on and I always think about that, like this is crazy. But it’s a good feeling. Excited to be in the city that I’m from to compete for a championship.”
On staying ready and delivering in the last two games:
“It’s just part of the business: stay ready. Whatever the team needs. We’re a really good team. They communicated with how it was gonna go. Just stay ready, that’s what I did mentally.
“My teammates found me. I was open and then I made the shots today.”
On the Knicks’ bench:
“We know how good the bench is and how good the team is. We go out there and be ourselves and try to boost the energy. Whatever the team needs, the bench tries to provide that.”
On the nature of the playoffs:
“It’s the playoffs. Every little detail counts. We have to stay focused and keep the main thing the main thing.”
On Brunson’s footwork:
“That boy can probably dance, right? I don’t know. He got twinkle toes. You think you stopped him, and he creates another move, I guess.”
“He’s just a force. Defensively, offensively. He’s got a lot more in his bag than I thought, being on the outside. But now, being his teammate, being able to watch him play, I know he does a lot of things offensively that I didn’t notice being on the opposite side. Him rebounding, him being a force defensively, him knocking down timely shots. He’s a special player.”
On leaving and reentering Mike Brown’s rotation:
“[Being out of the rotation is] definitely challenging, but I’ve been in the league for 12 years. I know how it goes. Just continue to stay ready. There’s a locker room of young guys and other people, watching me and seeing how I react to those things. Set an example for that. Continue to stay locked in with my team and organization. Just waiting for my opportunity to go out there and play. Everybody setting that example and having everybody ready is big for the team.”
On the Knicks’ toughness:
“We’re all tough-minded. We love challenges. We continue to hold each other up. This team has been resilient all year. It’s not going to be smooth. Continue to lean on each and continue to fight one through 15.”
Franz Wagner is not expected to play on Wednesday night when his Orlando Magic have the chance to close out the Detroit Pistons in their first-round series.
Officially (as of this writing), Wagner is still listed as "questionable" with a right calf strain. However, signs point to him missing the game. For one, he attended but did not participate in the team's morning shootaround, reports Josh Robbins of The Athletic. Also, Paolo Banchero told reporters the team was preparing as if Wagner would ot play, reports Jason Beede of the Orlando Sentinel.
Wagner underwent an MRI after leaving Game 4 of the series in the fourth quarter and has been diagnosed with a calf strain. Orlando didn't miss a beat in that game thanks to the play of Jamal Cain off the bench, but big-picture, the Magic need Wagner.
So far this series, Wagner is averaging 16.8 points, 5.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game, shootin 33.3% from 3-point range. He had 19 points in Game 4 before having to leave.
No. 8 seed Orlando is up 3-1 on No. 1 seed Detroit and is looking to make history, with three chances to close out the series. Their first chance is Wednesday night in Detroit, where the Pistons likely will come out playing with urgency and desperation.
MILWAUKEE, WI - APRIL 5: Ousmane Dieng #21 and Kyle Kuzma #18 of the Milwaukee Bucks high five during the game against the Memphis Grizzlies on April 5, 2026 at Fiserv Forum Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2026 NBAE (Photo by Gary Dineen/NBAE via Getty Images). | NBAE via Getty Images
We continue our pop quiz series with the Bucks’ non-Giannis forward corps. Only one of these guys played a full season with the Bucks, but all arguably exceeded expectations given how low those were due to prior underperformance or injury. Let’s first review their years before the questions.
After three-plus years buried on the Thunder’s bench, expectations weren’t exactly high for the former 11th overall pick (drafted a spot ahead of Jalen Williams!), but there was initial interest surrounding Dieng among fans. Was he not playing because he was too young? Or because he wasn’t very good? OKC had plenty of better wings during his time there, and it’s not as if they were that much older than him at 20–21 years old. So skepticism existed alongside the intrigue.
That quickly turned into real optimism after his first two games in Milwaukee’s rotation, when he combined for 36 points, 14 boards, six assists, and four blocks while shooting nearly 60% from the field (8/14) from deep against the Magic and his former team. From there, he was a regular fixture down the stretch, and though his production wasn’t like that every night, he was in double figures more often than not. Pretty dependable 12/5/5 guy from March onward too. He even set a new career-high with 36 points (plus 10 dimes) against Houston on April Fool’s Day. All in all, someone with the makings of a productive rotation player, a floor he may have already reached. The ceiling may not be all that high, but definitely a great start to his time as Buck.
Now for someone who didn’t have a great start to his Bucks tenure. Before the season, there was probably no Buck that fans were lower on than Kuz, thanks to an absolute dud of a series against the Pacers. But he put together a year reminiscent of his Laker years, when he also wasn’t a primary scoring option, unlike when he was a Wizard. Giannis’ injuries thrust him into a starting role more often than was probably hoped, but he had some very nice evenings when filling in (26 against Dallas and Charlotte in November, 31 against Boston in December, 31 against Chicago in February, 33 against Phoenix in March) for Antetokounmpo. Nothing sticks out positively or negatively for Kuzma this year, which is probably all you can ask for at this point in his career.
TP also had a terrible series last spring, so not everyone was keen on his return for another go-around. But Milwaukee was starved for wing talent to begin the year, and he was off to a solid start as they won five of their first seven games, shooting the ball excellently. Unfortunately, he went down with a neck injury and required surgery, keeping him out for over four months. The Bucks even applied—and reportedly received—a disabled player exception for him, which was ultimately unused since he was able to return to the floor on March 10. From then on, he was his usual self, shooting the ball very well with decent defense. He even scored in double digits each of the Bucks’ final six contests while receiving starter’s minutes. Moreover, it was just good to see Prince back on the court after a procedure that hampered a few other guys’ careers significantly.
Tantalising totals
(1) Before Dieng’s career-best 36 in Houston, how many times in his career did he ever score over 20?
Click to reveal answer
Twice: 22 as a rookie and 21 against the Bucks last season.
(2) Believe it or not, but Kuzma established a new career-high this season in which major category, obliterating his previous best?
Click to reveal answer
Field goal percentage at 49.2%, surpassing his 46.3% from 2023–24.
(3) True or false: Prince had more double-doubles in 2024–25 than 2025–26.
Click to reveal answer
False, he had just one last season and two this season.
Atypically advanced
(1) When Kuzma was on the floor, did the Bucks’ assist percentage rise or fall?
Click to reveal answer
It rose, though only from 62.4% to 64.3%.
(2) Did Prince have a better net rating last year or this year?
Click to reveal answer
This year: the Bucks were four points per 100 possessions better when he played this year, and last year they were 6.9 points per 100 worse when he was on the floor as compared to off.
Obscure optics
(1) When Dieng started, did his three-point percentage increase or decrease relative to when he came off the bench, and by how much?
Click to reveal answer
As a starter: 29.5% As a reserve: 41.5% Nearly 12%!
How did you fare? Share your score in the comments, and don’t forget to drop your thoughts along with it—which stat stands out?
WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 06: NBA Commissioner Adam Silver attends a roundtable discussion on college sports in the East Room of the White House on March 06, 2026 in Washington, DC. The Trump administration held the roundtable titled "Saving College Sports" with leaders from the Power Four conferences, media executives and former coaches. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Adam Silver heard the outcry over tanking ahead of a loaded 2026 NBA Draft and was determined to find a solution. The league has now settled on its preferred system of lottery reform, and it essentially reduces the distribution of top young talent entering the league to complete randomness.
The three worst teams in the league are in the “relegation zone,” which means they lose ping-pong balls.
Teams that finish 4th through 10th in the reverse standings get three lottery balls in the drawing.
Teams in the “relegation zone” get two lottery balls, and can’t fall further than the 12th pick
“The Nos. 9 and 10 play-in seeds in each conference receive two lottery balls each, and the losers of the 7-8 play-in games receive one lottery ball each.”
The lottery is expanded from 14 to 16 teams.
Under the current system, lottery balls are only drawn for the top-4 picks. Now, the first 16 spots in the draft will be up for grabs in the drawing.
Teams can’t land the No. 1 pick in back-to-back years, and they can’t pick in the top-5 three times in a row.
Got all that? Probably not, because it’s pretty complicated. When Adam Silver was weighing multiple options to reform the NBA Draft lottery last month, I wrote “in rushing to find a medicine to cure tanking, the NBA risks giving itself bigger problems from the side effects.” While this system likely will curb tanking to some extent, it opens up a ton of new problems for the league.
It’s pretty wild that Silver rushed this system through so hastily with it slated to take effect for the 2027 NBA Draft. Teams already made long-term roster decisions based on the incentives of the old rules. The Chicago Bulls traded Ayo Dosunmu and Coby White at the deadline after years of floundering in mediocrity to increase their chances at finding a star. This system rewards mediocrity. It would have been nice if Chicago actually knew the rules before making its February deals. The Memphis Grizzlies traded away Jaren Jackson Jr. and Desmond Bane because they felt like they couldn’t get out of the middle of the Western Conference standings. Would Memphis had made the same decisions if they knew the lottery format would change like this?
It’s no surprise the league is giving itself the option to opt out of this plan after the 2029 NBA Draft, per Charania’s report. This lottery format feels like an extremely slippery slope for a few reasons. Let’s get into it.
The new lottery system kills hope for diehard fans of bad teams
Teams had the ability to go from worst-to-first under the current lottery system despite the fact that the worst team in the league literally never won the lottery since the last round of reform went into effect in 2019. The Detroit Pistons, San Antonio Spurs, Oklahoma City Thunder, and Minnesota Timberwolves all made the worst-to-first jump in the 2020s.
Those are all small market teams who used the draft to land their franchise player. They still had to get lucky to land the top pick. It’s just going to require way more luck for bad teams to get good under this system.
The risk of this system is that it creates a permanent NBA underclass. Now the worst team in the league can fall to the 12th pick. Given how rarely good players change hands in free agency these days (more on that later), it feels like bad teams could get stuck in a cycle of being bad for a long, long time.
If teams can’t sell wins, they need to sell hope. What hope would fans of bad teams have now knowing they could fall out of the top-10 in the draft? The risk here is that diehard fans of bad teams just choose to give up because there’s no path forward.
Lottery reform feels like it should be coupled with free agency changes
How are bad teams supposed to get good players if they can’t do it through the draft? Free agency and trades are the only other options, but the prospect of bad teams overpaying free agents to land them only offers more downside, especially in this more punitive CBA.
It feels like the league needs more good young players to hit free agency if it doesn’t want teams to tank for the draft. One idea I saw elsewhere that I liked was eliminating restricted free agency. Under the current system, the Pistons still have the ability to match any contract offer to Jalen Duren even after failing to reach an extension with him. What if Duren was just an unrestricted free agent this year, and could be had for any team?
Something like that would open up more avenues for talent acquisition outside of the draft. For now, it feels like bad teams that don’t get lottery luck are simply screwed.
The NBA already killed free agency. Will these changes kill trades, too?
Silver heard the outcry over Kevin Durant signing with the Golden State Warriors, and essentially made rule changes that kept superstars away from free agency. The last true superstar to change teams in free agency was Kawhi Leonard signing with the Los Angeles Clippers in 2019. Since then, the biggest player to change teams in free agency is … washed Paul George in 2024?
The NBA gets a lot of attention from offseason player movement. I wonder if these changes will make teams more reluctant to trade their future first-round picks, thus diminishing the trade market, too.
First-round picks are the currency of trades. A team that was around .500 was more incentivized to trade a future first because it had a lower probability of turning into a premium pick. Now that’s been flipped on its head.
This is all pretty speculative for now, but it’s something to monitor. This new lottery system will have unintended consequences, and it would be a net-loss for the NBA if it resulted in fewer trades.
Tanking will still happen under these lottery rules, just in different ways
This lottery system should curb tanking, but it won’t eliminate it entirely. If the goal of these changes is to preserve the sanctity of March and April games, I’m not sure that’s going to happen.
Let’s say a team enters the All-Star break in 10th place in their conference. They might not want to risk losing a ping pong ball by making the 7/8 play-in game, so they will still rest players as long as they have a big enough cushion not to finish in the bottom-3. The sweet spot in this reform is the 4-10 range. Given how often injuries play a factor in team performance — and given how many significant injuries there are in the modern game — it feels likely a team can still rest players/try to lose on purpose from an organizational perspective and still enter the lottery sitting pretty.
Tanking was never the NBA’s biggest problem anyway
Adam Silver is a reactionary. He reads online criticism, and he acts quickly. My complaint with rushing through this tanking reform is that fans of teams that are tanking aren’t the ones doing the complaining. It’s usually coming from football fans after the Super Bowl who will just find another way to criticize the NBA even if tanking was solved.
The NBA’s biggest issue is that the regular season lacks anything resembling meaningful stakes. Silver thinks that these lottery reforms will fix that problem, but I’m extremely dubious. If the NBA wants to give the regular season more stakes, it needs to reduce the number of games. Play every team twice and call it a season. Once the NBA adds its two expansion teams in Las Vegas and Seattle, that would create a 62-game schedule. It gives the players more rest in between games, and cancels a lot of the end of season games where tanking tomfoolery is happening.
The point of the draft is to give the worst teams the best young players. The NBA apparently doesn’t see it that way, and they’re instead leaving it all up to chance.
On my first spin, the Miami Heat drew the No. 1 pick and the Washington Wizards fell to 12th. Is that the type of system the NBA really wants?
The biggest winner of these lottery changes feel like … the Oklahoma City Thunder. Check out all of the future first-round picks OKC owns here. Now their future picks coming from the Nuggets and their swap rights with the Clippers could be even more valuable, as those teams likely wouldn’t have been near the bottom of the standings, but could be in the middle ground that is now more fruitful.
Given how much randomness is in this new system, I find myself far more open to just killing the draft entirely starting in 2030. Give every team a rookie exception they can offer top players. Let teams with cap space offer them more money beyond that. It would make sense if a bad team has more open cap space and could hypothetically offer the next Cooper Flagg a max deal out of college. If Flagg prefers to sign with his childhood favorite Boston Celtics instead, so be it.
The NBA is opening up a whole new can of worms with this lottery system, and the people it hurts the most are loyal fans of hopeless franchises. The NBA really does not want a world where those people check out of the league entirely. I feel like it could happen after these changes.
The home team is 4-0 between the Toronto Raptors and Cleveland Cavaliers. Toronto tied up the series with two straight home wins in Games 3 and 4. The series turns to Cleveland for Game 5 as the Cavaliers plan to keep the home team winning streak alive.
The Cavaliers are second in offensive net rating at home compared to 12th on the road in this series. Donovan Mitchell averaged 31.0 points per game at home and in wins versus 17.5 on the road and in losses. Cleveland will have to improve its assist to turnover ratio, which has ranked bottom three in the NBA during the playoffs.
Toronto won a thriller in Game 4 behind 23 points apiece from Brandon Ingram and Scottie Barnes. Despite shooting 4-of-30 from three (13%) and 32% from the field (31/97), the Raptors were able to squeeze out a 93-89 win. However, Toronto has lost four of its last five road playoff games ahead of Game 5 in Cleveland.
Let’s take a closer look at tonight’s matchup and take into consideration lineups, injuries, and other factors affecting the line and total.
We’ve got all the info and analysis you need to know ahead of the game, including the latest info on how to catch tipoff, odds courtesy of DraftKings recent team performance, player stats, and of course, our predictions, picks best bets for the game from our modeling tools and staff of experts.
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Game Details and How to Watch Live: Raptors vs. Cavaliers
Date: Wednesday, April 29, 2026
Time: 7:40 PM EST
Site: Rocket Arena
City: Cleveland, OH
Network/Streaming: ESPN
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Game Odds: Cavaliers vs. Raptors
The latest odds as of Wednesday courtesy of DraftKings:
Moneyline: Cleveland Cavaliers (-380), Toronto Raptors (+300)
Spread: Cavaliers -8.5
Total: 218.5 points
This game spread opened with Cleveland favored by 9 points and the Game Total set at 215.5.
Be sure to check out DraftKings for all the latest game odds & player props for every matchup this week on the NBA schedule!
Expected Starting Lineups: Cavaliers vs. Raptors
Toronto Raptors
PG Ja’Kobe Walter
SG Brandon Ingram
SF RJ Barrett
PF Scottie Barnes
SF Jakob Poeltl
Cleveland Cavaliers
PG James Harden
SG Donovan Mitchell
SF Dean Wade
PF Evan Mobley
C Jarrett Allen
Injury Report: Raptors vs. Cavaliers
Toronto Raptors
Immanuel Quickley (hamstring) has been declared OUT of for the remainder of the first round series
Cleveland Cavaliers
None
Important stats, trends and insights: Raptors vs. Cavaliers
Cleveland is the second-worst in the NBA ATS at 35-51
Cleveland is 44-42 to the Under
Cleveland is 18-25, which is the second-worst ATS mark at home
Cleveland is 25-18 to the Under at home
Toronto is 52-34 to the Under, ranking tied for third-best
Toronto is 28-15 to the Under as the road team, which leads the NBA
Toronto is 44-42 ATS and 21-22 ATS as the road team
Rotoworld Best Bet
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Our model calculates projections around each moneyline, spread and over/under bet for every game on the NBA calendar based on data points like recent performance, head-to-head player matchups, trends information and projected game totals.
Once the model is finished running, we put its projections next to the latest betting lines for the game to arrive at a relative confidence level for each wager.
Here are the best bets our model is projecting for Wednesday’s Raptors and Cavaliers’ game:
Moneyline: Rotoworld Bet is leaning toward a play on the Cavaliers Moneyline
Spread: Rotoworld Bet is leaning towards a play on the Cavaliers -8.5 ATS
Total: Rotoworld Bet is leaning towards a play on the Game Total UNDER 218.5
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New York Islanders goaltender Ilya Sorokin (29-24-2, 2.68 GAA, .906 SV%, 7 SO) has been named a 2026 Vezina Trophy finalist, the National Hockey League has announced.
He will be battling against Boston Bruins' Jeremy Swayman (31-18-4, 2.71 GAA, .908 SV%, 2 SO) and Tampa Bay Lightning's Andrei Vasilevskiy (39-15-4, 2.31 GAA, .912 SV%, 2 SO).
#NHL announces that #Isles Ilya Sorokin is a Vezina finalist, along with #NHLBruins Jeremy Swayman & #GoBolts Andrei Vasilevskiy.
Per the Islanders release: "Sorokin led the NHL with seven shutouts, while posting a 29-24-2 record, a .906 save percentage and a 2.68 goals-against average over 55 games (54 starts) in his sixth NHL season. His save percentage ranked sixth and his goals-against average was seventh among goalies with at least 50 appearances. Among all netminders, Sorokin also led in road wins (18), ranked eighth in saves (1,386), ninth in shots against (1,530), tied for ninth in wins (29) and games played (55), and 10th in minutes (3,226). He also paced all goalies in high-danger saves (452) and high-danger save percentage (.864).
"The Mezhdurechensk, RUS native went 15-5-0 when facing more than 30 shots, including a franchise-record setting streak of 13-0-0 in such games to start the season. His 15 wins in that scenario also led the NHL. He turned aside 44 shots on January 6, the most saves by any NHL goalie in a shutout this season. The performance marked his 26th career shutout, breaking the Islanders' all-time shutout record that had stood for nearly 50 years. His seven shutouts also tied for the most by an Islander in a single season."
According to MoneyPuck.com, Sorokin's 25.3 Goals Saved Above Expected ranked third to Swayman's 28.8. Washington Capitals goaltender Logan Thompson led the league with a 29.3 GSAE.
Sorokin has never won the Vezina. He was the Vezina runner-up in 2022-23, after posting a 31-22-7 record with a 2.34 GAA and a .924 SV%, adding a league-leading six shutouts.
Following the season, we asked Sorokin about what it would mean for him to win the Vezina.
"It's not something to discuss now. There's no chance," Sorokin said the night after the Islanders' season came to an end. "And I never think about this. I think about making the playoffs, and that didn't happen this year. But I think I had a good season, maybe ended a little bit, it went down, but in total, the guys played well. We have a good group here, good, great young guys and great veterans."
Vasilevskiy is the favorite but you never know how these things play out.
New York Knicks fans have already started trash-talking their potential Round 2 opponent, but they seem to be forgetting there’s still at least one more game against the Atlanta Hawks.
My Knicks vs. Hawks predictions aren't punching New York’s ticket just yet. Even with Karl-Anthony Towns stuffing the stat sheet, Atlanta could fight to see another day, especially if C.J. McCollum regains his form at State Farm Arena.
Here are my best NBA picks for Thursday, April 30.
Our best Knicks vs Hawks SGP for Game 6
SGP leg #1: Hawks +2
The Atlanta Hawks looked bad in their Game 5 beatdown. With their backs against the wall, the Hawks return home, where they’ve been a tough team all year.
Meanwhile, the New York Knicks haven’t had the same success shooting on the road and have been a poor bet when laying points away from home, going 10-19 ATS as road chalk this season.
SGP leg #2: Karl-Anthony Towns Over 22.5 points + assists
Karl-Anthony Towns scored a quick 14 points in the opening half of Game 5, then cruised to the finish line, adding just two more over the final two quarters of the blowout.
The 7-footer not only has a scoring edge against the smaller Hawks, but he’s been a conduit for New York’s schemes, setting up his teammates for easy looks from the high post.
KAT has dished out 16 total assists over the past two contests.
SGP leg #3: C.J. McCollum Over 2.5 threes
C.J. McCollum knocked down nine triples in the first three games of this series before going cold from deep, shooting 0-for-6 from beyond the arc over the last two outings.
He’s also a noticeably better shooter at home, converting at a 40% clip compared to 34% on the road.
Player projections lean toward C.J. sinking three triples in a must-win matchup for the Hawks.
Get Jason Logan's full breakdown of this game, including his best bet, plus the latest NBA odds, injuries, and betting trends, in his Knicks vs Hawks predictions for Game 6.
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In less than a week, hockey fans across the globe will tune in to the NHL Draft Lottery.
That’s when we’ll find out the order of the first half of the first round of 2026 NHL Entry Draft, which takes place on June 26 and 27 at KeyBank Center in Buffalo.
Thanks to an injury-laden season like none the franchise had ever seen, the back-to-back defending Stanley Cup Champion Florida Panthers find themselves in the Lottery mix.
Florida finished the season with the eighth-worst record in the league.
That means the Panthers first-round selection will either be first, second, eighth, ninth or tenth, depending how the two Lottery draws go.
If Florida wins either of the draws – there is one for the first overall pick and one for the second pick – they’ll move up and select there. According to the NHL, Florida has a 6.0% chance of moving up from eighth to first.
If a team behind the Panthers wins either draw, they would move up and bump Florida back one spot to ninth. If two teams behind the Panthers each win one of the draws, that would bump the Cats back two spots, and they would pick tenth.
This year’s NHL Draft Lottery is set for Tuesday, May 5 and will be broadcast live from the NHL Network studios in Secaucus, New Jersey.
Looking back over the past 30 years of the NHL Draft Lottery (the first lottery draw was held in 1995), the Panthers have some limited history with the league’s ping pong balls.
Be warned, though…it’s not much, and it starts a bit frustratingly.
In 2002, the Panthers won the NHL Draft Lottery, moving up from the third-worst record.
Fast forward two months to the 2002 NHL Draft and the Panthers decided to trade down, swapping picks with Columbus, who had the third overall pick, in exchange for “future considerations” which were that Florida would have the right to swap picks again with the Blue Jackets the following year if they so desired. That didn’t happen, and we’ll get into why in a moment.
Columbus ended up taking Rick Nash first overall while the Panthers selected Jay Bouwmeester with the third pick.
The following season, Florida finished with the fourth-worst record while Columbus finished third-worst, but for the second straight year, the Panthers ended up winning the Draft Lottery.
That meant those “future considerations” would not be needed, as the Panthers would be keeping their 2003 top pick instead of swapping with Columbus.
Once again, the Panthers decided to shop their shiny new first overall selection.
This time, they swapped picks with the Pittsburgh Penguins, again moving down from one to three.
Pittsburgh took goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury and the Panthers snagged Nathan Horton.
Perhaps learning from the previous year, Florida also acquired a player (Mikael Samuelsson) and a second-round pick (55th overall, Stefan Meyer) in the trade, while sending Pittsburgh a third-round pick (73rd overall, Daniel Carcillo).
So yeah, the hindsight view says the Panthers could have just kept their picks, selected Nash and Fleury, and who knows what may have happened.
Perhaps ‘the dark ages’ of Panthers hockey, where the team went 12 years between postseason appearances and 26 years between playoff series’ wins, would not have been a thing.
But alas, let’s move on.
It wasn’t for another 11 years that the Panthers would find themselves back in the Draft Lottery spotlight.
When the dust settled on the 2013-14 season, Florida finished with the second-worst record in the NHL, ahead of only the lowly Buffalo Sabres.
Then came the Draft Lottery, which saw the Panthers leapfrog Buffalo and slide into the top pick.
This time, Florida hung onto their selection and took defenseman Aaron Ekblad first overall.
It was a decision that has panned out nicely for the Panthers, as Ekblad has become a cornerstone player for the franchise and a big part in Florida’s current championship pedigree.
We’ll have to wait and see whether the Lottery gods once again smile on the Panthers when the ping pong balls are let loose next Tuesday in Secaucus.
While that would be amazing for Florida and their prospects of remaining a Stanley Cup contender for years to come, the rest of the league would likely have some not-so-nice thoughts about the development.
Photo caption: Jun 27, 2014; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Aaron Ekblad puts on a team jersey after being selected as the number one overall pick to the Florida Panthers in the first round of the 2014 NHL Draft at Wells Fargo Center. (Bill Streicher-Imagn Images)
WASHINGTON, DC - APRIL 23: Carlos Carrasco #59 of the Atlanta Braves pitches against the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park on April 23, 2026 in Washington, DC. (Photo by G Fiume/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Congratulations are apparently in order for Dylan Lee and his family, as he’s been reinstated from the paternity list after missing Tuesday’s Braves win over the Tigers. Of course, there’s got to be a corresponding move and as it turns out, Didier Fuentes isn’t going straight down. Instead, Carlos Carrasco’s time with the Braves big league squad is over as he’s been designated for assignment by the Braves.
Carlos Carrasco was called up initially after Dylan Dodd ended up going to the IL with a back ailment. He tossed a grand total of one inning during his latest big-league stint with the Braves. It was a scoreless inning where Carrasco retired the Nationals in order to finish off Washington and push the Braves over the line for a series win. Outside of that, Carrasco hadn’t really figured into the plans and now he’s going to go into the DFA cycle like schyoo mentioned in the Feed post above.
I’d say that it’s very likely that Carrasco will pass through waivers and assuming he doesn’t elect free agency, he’ll be back with Gwinnett. It’s a much-lower stakes situation here than with Martín Pérez’s DFA journey but it’s still one where you hope that Carlos Carrasco (or any player, really) can land on their feet no matter what happens. Either way, don’t be shocked if Carrasco ends up back with Gwinnett once this process runs its course.
Apr 28, 2026; Dallas, Texas, USA; The Minnesota Wild celebrate the win over the Dallas Stars in game five of the first round of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs at American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images
Jerome Miron/Jerome Miron-Imagn Images
DALLAS — Mats Zuccarello and the Minnesota Wild now are in the position that they try to be in every season in the NHL playoffs.
Things feel a bit different now, with the Wild going home for Game 6 with a chance to eliminate the Dallas Stars and advance to the second round for the first time since 2015.
“I think it’s important just to stay calm. You know, don’t overthink it,” said Zuccarello, the 16-year NHL veteran in his seventh season with the Wild. “Don’t read whatever you guys (media) say about we haven’t gotten out of the first round in a couple of years. Just calm and collected.”
Zuccarello scored the first goal less than four minutes into Game 5 in Dallas, which was the 38-year-old top-line forward’s return from a three-game absence with an upper-body injury. The Wild, in their 12th playoff appearance over 14 seasons, went on to a 4-2 win for a 3-2 series lead.
The only other time Minnesota ever has had a 3-2 series lead was that first round in 2015, when they beat St. Louis in six games. The Wild since have lost nine consecutive playoff series, including to Dallas in 2016 and 2023.
“We’ve got to just look to control our emotions in Game 6 and in front of our home crowd, a place where we had a good feeling leaving last time,” said forward Marcus Foligno said, who is in his ninth season. “I think it’s a little bit different. I think we have a lot of leadership and guys that are experienced. ... It’s a close group but a really hard working group and a confident one right now.”
Wild captain Jared Spurgeon and fellow defenseman Jonas Brodin are the only two current players who have taken part in a postseason series victory in Minnesota. Spurgeon then was a 25-year-old in his fifth of his 16 NHL seasons — all with the same team. Brodin’s status is uncertain for the potential clincher at home after leaving Game 5 with a lower-body injury.
If Minnesota can’t wrap up the powerhouse first-round series at home, where it won Game 4 in overtime, a deciding Game 7 would be in Dallas.
The series winner will advance to play well-rested top-seeded Central Division foe Colorado, which finished off a sweep of its first-round series against the Los Angeles Kings.
Kirill Kaprizov had two assists, two days after his 29th birthday, before an empty-net goal with two minutes left. His second goal in this series was the 17th playoff goal of his career, breaking a tie with Zach Parise for the most in franchise history. His ninth career multipoint playoff game also surpassed Parise.
Matt Boldy, the 25-year-old budding standout, had the tiebreaking power-play goal in the final minute of the second period after having one taken away because of a goalie interference challenge at the end of the first.
Jesper Wallstedt, their 23-year-old rookie who has started every game in net over Filip Gustavsson in this series, had 20 saves in Game 5. He has allowed only three goals against the Stars in five-on-five situations, with neither coming that way.
“We’re very confident of where we’re at. ... Now we get to bring the series home,” Wallstedt said. “I’ve never played in a game of that type of magnitude. I’m very excited. I’m looking forward to it so much.”
The Chicago Blackhawks have some decisions to make this offseason. If they want to take that next step and compete for a playoff spot in the Western Conference, it would not necessarily be surprising if they looked to make some upgrades to their group.
Due to this, in a recent article for The Athletic, Scott Powers urged the Blackhawks to add a top-four defenseman and a top-six forward this offseason.
The idea of the Blackhawks adding a top-four defenseman is an interesting one. They have several promising young blueliners on their roster who will be competing for spots on the NHL roster next season. While this is the case, it also could be beneficial for the Blackhawks to add a proven top-four NHL defenseman.
When it comes to adding a top-six forward, Powers argued that the Blackhawks should bring one in if Roman Kantserov does not sign his entry-level contract with Chicago this offseason and if they don't land either Gavin McKenna or Ivar Stenberg in the draft.
The Blackhawks need to give Connor Bedard more help on his wings, so it would make a lot of sense for the Blackhawks to add a proven top-six winger. As for their blueline, it is already crowded, but adding a top-four defenseman could be worth it if it is a player who would help them out significantly.
Nevertheless, it will be interesting to see if the Blackhawks address these needs during the summer from here.
