The message, initially written in Slovenian and later translated into English, emphasized that being a father to his two daughters is his top priority. Doncic explained that over the past eight months, it has been challenging to spend time with them as he works toward a joint custody agreement with his ex-fiancée, Anamaria Goltes. The couple shares a three-year-old daughter, Gabriela, and a five-month-old daughter, Olivia.
“I love my daughters more than anything, and they will always come first in my life. As I continue working toward joint custody of my daughters, I have been forced to make a difficult decision between traveling and playing for the Slovenian national team and being with my daughters this summer,” Doncic wrote in the post. “Unfortunately, it has been made extremely difficult for me to see them over the past eight months.”
Luka Dončić shares on his Instagram story that he will not play for the Slovenian national team this summer: pic.twitter.com/nLyNnzpY6J
BOSTON, MA - MAY 21: The scoreboard in the bleacher seats displays tonight's interleague matchup on May 21, 2011 at Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts. Tonight the Chicago Cubs and the Boston Red Sox are wearing replica uniforms from 1918. Before this series, the two teams haven't played at Fenway Park since the 1918 World Series. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Happy Tuesday, Red Sox Nation. The Red Sox start a three-game series with the Philadelphia Phillies today. It marks the fifth National League opponent the Red Sox have played over the first month of the season. The balanced schedule has been around for a few years now, with fewer divisional games and everyone playing everyone, but it still doesn’t feel quite right to me. So, I’m wondering, how do you feel about the balanced schedule? Do you wish we still played Baltimore 19 times, or whatever it was?
Talk about whatever you want, and be good to one another.
BRISTOL, CT - NOVEMBER 18: NBA Draft Analyst, Mike Schmitz looks at his phone during the 2020 NBA Draft on November 18, 2020 in Bristol, Connecticut at ESPN Headquarters. 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 2020 NBAE (Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images
Now, with the Mavericks landing the No. 9 overall pick in the upcoming NBA Draft after Sunday’s Draft Lottery, we turn our eyes toward some of the moves he had a hand in as assistant GM for the Portland Trail Blazers and some of his hotter takes on incoming NBA talent during his time analyzing the draft for DraftExpress and ESPN.
This year’s draft is full of electrifying, potentially franchise-shifting talent at the top, but there are tiers. It’s levels to this shit, as a wise man once said. The Mavs will not be operating on the tippy top level if they keep the ninth pick and select from the leftovers after the top two tiers are all but gutted. It is, on its face, a disappointing result given the season Mavericks fans just endured.
As Ujiri himself said in a recent sit-down interview with Mavericks Chief Comms Officer Gina Miller, “[The NBA Draft Lottery is] a moment where we’re all human beings. You feel it. You know what the odds are, but you still feel like you are the one [to move up].”
And when it doesn’t happen, like for the Raptors in 2025 or for the Mavs this year, you may find yourself kicking rocks with your head hung low on a lonesome stretch of highway as a tumbleweed drifts by.
But at the very least, there are smart people in charge now. They are formulating a plan. These are people who have an actual vision; they’re not manufacturing one for spin after dropping a nuke on the thing you love.
So here are some of Schmitz’ Greatest Hits. Play these on repeat as you wonder how the Mavericks deal with the 2026 offseason.
The first-round draft results from that year are pure comedy with the benefit of eight years’ hindsight. The great debate for many was Ayton or Dončić at No. 1, which has proven over the last eight years to be a complete laugher.
Schmitz called Dončić a “unicorn.” He called the Mavericks the “clear winner” of the draft after all the cards were turned in. He referred to Dončić as a “historic” prospect with unparalleled skill, basketball IQ, and winning experience for his age. He heard the criticism of Dončić’s athleticism and tried to convince the masses that it didn’t matter.
He was 100% right. The deceleration move that Dončić befuddled better athlete after better athlete with has been mimicked and copy-catted to death in the years since.
The 2020 NBA Draft
Morning after draft hot takes:
-LaMelo will be the best player to come out of this draft
Schmitz’s soothsaying after the 2020 NBA Draft should be a case study for talent evaluation. He nailed it all in the above post on what was then Twitter (ah, simpler times), save for underselling Anthony Edwards and Franz Wagner a little bit.
LaMelo Ball has proven out. Deni Avdija has proven out, and Schmitz’s hand in bringing Avdija to the Trail Blazers will be covered later. Okongwu has proven out, fresh off a season where he averaged 15.2 points and nearly eight rebounds a game. The Tyrese Haliburton nod was downright psychic. The specificity with which he described Tyrese Maxey’s potential may be the most impressive item on his list, and these last two citations should encourage Mavs fans the most. Picking from a less-than-optimal spot, Schmitz can spot the dog among more highly touted also-rans.
This unique talent could also serve Dallas well at the 30th pick.
Early Wembanyama adopter
Schmitz is such an international talent geek, it’s delicious. Mavs fans in particular, what with the team’s penchant for going and getting great players from overseas, should be salivating at the thought of his finger anywhere near the trigger.
He was among the earliest adopters of one Victor Wembanyama, releasing the following assessment in 2020, three years before The Alien was drafted by the San Antonio Spurs: “The prototypical NBA center is shrinking as the league gets smaller. But Wembanyama is different. Not only does he put a lid on the rim like Rudy Gobert, he also shows the floor-spacing potential of a young Kristaps Porzingis, with a far better handle and passing feel.”
Wembanyama was just 16 at the time Schmitz wrote that. It’s a bit harder to miss Wembanyama, what with his singular frame and skillset, but Schmitz still gets points for being one of the first to recognize the paradigm shifting nature of his potential arrival on the scene.
Spot-on assessment of Jalen Williams
Really enjoyed breaking down film with Jalen Williams. Impressive feel for the game with a really unique trajectory. Undersized PG in high school. Was only 6-3 when he arrived at Santa Clara. Now one of the biggest sleepers in the draft at 6-6 with length and a refined skill set. pic.twitter.com/79UT3K0DjA
Schmitz called Jalen Williams the steal of the 2022 draft a month before the picks were in.
“Easy to see him generating substantial 1st round buzz during the pre-draft process,” Schmitz said of the 6-foot-6 prospect with a 7-foot-2 wingspan. He did exactly that and has since proven to, indeed, be the steal of that draft class.
He just seems to have a track record for being in on guys who go on to over-achieve. Schmitz is a seeker. He’ll find you a dude.
Bringing Avdija and Camara to Portland
As then-assistant GM, Schmitz theoretically had at least some input into the trade that netted the Blazers Avdija’s services in exchange for Malcolm Brogdon, the 14th pick in the 2024 draft (which ended up being Bub Carrington), a 2029 first-round pick and two second-rounders. This was highway robbery.
Avdija’s jump in production during the 2025-26 season is something many predicted after a couple of seasons playing in Washington. Many Mavericks fans and analysts wished the team could have put together a package for Avdija rather than Daniel Gafford on deadline day in 2024. But Schmitz not only predicted Avdija’s ascension years earlier, he was also part of the team that put together a package to fleece the poor Wizards of the prospect he knew was about to arrive. Chess moves.
A year earlier, following Damian Lillard’s request for a trade after 11 seasons in Portland, Schmitz & Co. were still able to command a substantial haul when the Trail Blazers obliged him. They did not, in retrospect, get held over a barrel in the process. They got Deandre Ayton, Jrue Holliday and Toumani Camara, who was considered at the time something of a throw-in piece but has since developed into one of the best defensive stoppers in the league. He was a second-team All-Defensive Team selection a year ago after being drafted 52nd overall in 2023.
The Yang Hansen of it all
Schmitz’s detractors will point to his role in trading for Yang Hansen, whom the Memphis Grizzlies selected with the 16th pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, as evidence that he takes too many risks on international prospects that he likes over surer shots on the draft board. Schmitz was suspended for two weeks without pay by the NBA in April after the team self-reported that Schmitz and his fellow co-general manager, Sergio Oliva, made illegal contact with Yang in 2023, two years before the youngster from China was eventually drafted by the team. The NBA also fined the Blazers $100,000 for that self-reported violation.
That deal may well go down as a mistake, but the Blazers also secured a first-round pick and two second-rounders in the deal. The jury is still out on Yang, who is just 20, by the way. The concern here is that the Mavericks don’t have a bunch of draft capital to experiment with in the next few years. They don’t fully own their first-rounders in either the 2027 or 2028 drafts.
Now that we know where the Mavs stand in the draft order, visions of trade scenarios like Yang-for-Coward will no doubt begin to dance in our collective heads? What could the Mavericks get for, say, P.J. Washington and No. 9? How far could the Mavs move up if they found someone interested in Dereck Lively II and the ninth pick?
The onus is on Ujiri and Schmitz to get it right this year. Good thing they’ve both shown a talent for wheeling, dealing and making the pieces fit.
Since Matvei Michkov ended the season a healthy scratch, he'll be all the talk this offseason, and that is going to open up some sore wounds for Philadelphia Flyers fans.
This conversation has, of course, resurfaced again, even after things went mostly well under John Tortorella, and later Brad Shaw, last season.
The Flyers fanbase has been divided into two splinter cells: one that thinks head coach Rick Tocchet is right to bench an underperforming, out-of-shape Michkov, and one that thinks the Flyers botched this whole operation and gave the player little opportunity to perform in a meaningful role.
In reality, both sides are, to an extent, right in both cases.
NHL insider Elliotte Friedman, who has no skin in this game, took to his "32 Thoughts" podcast to dish on Michkov and the Flyers, expertly playing both sides and making sense of it all.
He also indirectly cautioned the Flyers against trading Michkov, even invoking the despised Cutter Gauthier as an example of why it just can't happen again.
"Look what happened with Cutter Gauthier. . . just look at Gauthier's natural gifts. It's really hard to let two players walk like that in a short period of time," Friedman said.
"Gauthier was a really good pick by Philadelphia that didn't work out. And Michkov, I still say, was a really good pick by the Flyers. I just don't think you can give up that easily. If I'm [Danny Briere], I'm saying 'We have to find a way to make this better.' . . . You would have to show me a trade that really made sense for me to do this."
The Flyers obviously need a good center, and a young one, at that, but no team with a good center at Michkov's age is going to pony one up for him after this debacle.
And for the Flyers, taking a draft pick and/or other futures for Michkov from a team like the San Jose Sharks or Chicago Blackhawks doesn't make sense.
They just made the playoffs, and using a pick on a player who could be three years away from being a contributor at the expense of a back-to-back 20-goal, 50-point player strays from that progress.
"I would say to Tocchet, 'You can't find guys like this.' If we're going to move on from him, we better be sure. Better be sure, that there is absolutely no chance it works out here for him," Friedman continued.
"I would also say to Michkov, 'I am not going to trade you.' So, your best answer, whatever you're not delivering, you have to change that, too."
Some things we can safely assume Michkov has not delivered, at least for Tocchet, is a consistent forechecking presence and more frequent skating. It's not Michkov's style, especially offensively, but that is what the coach wants.
At the same time, this is now two seasons and counting of the Flyers trying to pivot Michkov off the things that made him the seventh pick three years ago. The creativity, the risk-taking, opportunism, offensive puck touches.
Friedman and co-host Kyle Bukauskas went on to discuss the training camp out-of-shape stuff that has been beaten like a dead horse, and yeah, the player has to work on that. Everyone can benefit from improved conditioning and added speed.
We saw what Bobby Brink did over the last few seasons, and it turned him from a bubble player to an important one.
Michkov is already important, so the next step is... elite?
At the end of the day, there are a lot of moving parts here, and there doesn't appear to be any motivation from either side for a Michkov trade.
Like Friedman says, get everyone together and figure it out, because nobody's going anywhere after the success the Flyers had as a team this season.
And Friedman's opinion matters. He's plugged in with front offices, agents, and all kinds of staffers, so he knows how the league works, why it works, and how the situation is viewed.
The Flyers have taken a beating from the public all season long over the Michkov stuff, and the perpetuated noise around them is asking them to quash it for good.
The Montreal Canadiens have outscored the Buffalo Sabres 11-3 in the last two games and taken a 2-1 series lead. While that will have given Martin St-Louis’ men plenty of confidence, they must be careful not to be overly confident, as this series is far from over. If Tage Thompson and co. can get a win in Game 4, they will be right back in this series and will regain home-ice advantage. If the Habs get the win, though, they will have the all-important 3-1 commanding win and push the Sabres to the brink of elimination. Given the fact that the Carolina Hurricanes are already through to the Conference Final, both teams should want to win as quickly as possible.
In league history, the team with a 2-1 lead has won the series 69% of the time (399-180). What’s even more interesting for Habs’ fans, though, is the fact that when the Sabres are trailing 2-1 in a series, they have a 0-14 record and a 0-3 record when the series started at home. Meanwhile, when the Canadiens lead a series 2-1, they have a 40-11 record, meaning they’ve won over 78% of the time. When the series started on the road, though, that record goes down to 11-6, which is still a .647 winning percentage.
The Canadiens had an optional skate on Tuesday, and only a few players opted to take to the ice: Brendan Gallagher, Oliver Kapanen, Patrik Laine, Alex Newhook, Joe Veleno, Lane Hutson, Jayden Struble, Jacob Fowler, and Samuel Montembeault. In other words, only three players who are in the active lineup joined the reserves on the ice: Newhook (who has five goals in the last four games), Veleno, and Hutson.
As for the Sabres, they were supposed to hold a full practice, but they canceled it. Speaking to the media, Lindy Ruff explained that they didn’t practice in between games at all during the series against the Boston Bruins and that they had already made one exception in the Montreal series, so they decided to revert to the original plan: rest in between games and just have a simple morning skate.
Asked about the possibility of changing his goaltender to provide a spark in his team, the experienced bench boss stuck with what he had said on Sunday night, praising Alex Lyon, but he did say that he would have liked to change a couple of blueliners and forwards on Sunday, but that he didn’t have that option.
Sounds like we’ll have another Lyon vs. Jakub Dobes duel in Game 4. Puck drop is set for 7:00 PM at the Bell Centre, and you can catch it on CBC, TVAS, SN, and ESPN. Kelly Sutherland and TJ Luxmore will be officiating, while Julien Fournier and Matt MacPherson will be the linemen. Expect another electric night at the Bell Center, as fans will no doubt have read about the Sabres being unable to communicate in Game 3 due to the noise.
PITTSBURGH - MAY 12: The Montreal Canadiens and Pittsburgh Penguins get set for a faceoff late in the third period of what was the final game played in the Mellon Arena in Game Seven of the Eastern Conference Semifinals during the 2010 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Mellon Arena on May 12, 2010 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The Canadiens defeated the Penguins 5-2 to win the series 4-3 and advance to the Conference Finals. (Photo by Dave Sandford/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Sixteen years ago today, the Pittsburgh Penguins were blown out in a Game 7 against the Montreal Canadiens, losing the final game in the storied history of the Mellon Arena.
The Penguins were the defending Stanley Cup champions and made their way to the second round of the playoffs after beating the Ottawa Senators in six games.
Pittsburgh jumped out to a 1-0 series lead against Montreal and quickly learned the Canadiens would not be going quietly with P.K. Subban making national headlines and Jaroslav Halak being a brick wall in the net.
The Penguins and Canadiens traded wins through six games as Mellon Arena would host the deciding game of the series.
With all the excitement in the air of the building, it was just as quickly let out as Brian Gionta scored a power play goal for Montreal just 32 seconds into the game.
Dominic Moore doubled the Canadiens’ lead in the first period, but the second period was when the wheels fell off.
Noted Penguins killer Mike Cammalleri scored his 12th goal of the playoffs and then Travis Moen scored a backbreaking shorthanded goal to make it 4-0 a short time later.
The Penguins would get on the board with two goals and a sign of life, but it was too little, too late.
Just like that, Penguins fans had to say goodbye to the Mellon Arena.
BALTIMORE, MARYLAND - MAY 11: Coby Mayo #16 of the Baltimore Orioles celebrates in the dugout with teammates after hitting a three run home run against the New York Yankees during the seventh inning at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on May 11, 2026 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Happy Tuesday, Camden Chatters!
It’s an especially happy Tuesday because the Orioles last night with a comeback win against the Yankees to start the three-game series out on the right foot.
For much of the game, it didn’t look like it would be a happy ending. Through six innings, the Orioles had no hits off of Yankees starter Ryan Weathers. Brandon Young hadn’t pitched poorly, but his two runs allowed looked like they might hold up for New York.
It all unraveled in the seventh inning, when Adley Rutschman broke up the no-no with a ground ball single, Tyler O’Neill worked a walk, and Coby Mayo launched the kind of home run we all imagined from him when he was a prospect. You can get the full details on the win in Alex Church’s game recap.
Let’s talk about Coby Mayo for a minute. Mayo was not in the original lineup for last night’s game. He was added as the DH not long before the game started when Samuel Basallo was pulled with a sore knee. Mayo struck out in his first at-bat, but worked a walk in the fifth inning before his seventh-inning home run was hit deep into the left field stands. What a night for Coby!
Another maligned Oriole, Tyler O’Neill, also had a few big contributions last night. With one out and Rutschman on second base, O’Neill worked the count full. He fouled off three straight 3-2 pitches before taking ball four on the ninth pitch of the at-bat. We haven’t seen many ABs like that from O’Neill this year. O’Neill also made a nice diving play to catch an Aaron Judge line drive early in the game, then made a leaping catch at the wall in the top of the ninth.
Are the Orioles a fundamentally better team after last night’s win? Of course not. Should we expect that Mayo and O’Neill will turn it around and lead this team back into a playoff position? Probably not. But it sure was nice to see them contribute to a team win, and it was nice to see the Orioles have some fight in them to come back after being held down by a tough starting pitcher for many innings.
Now the Orioles have two chances to get a series win against the Yankees. Tonight, they face righty Will Warren. The one little problem is that there is no one to start for the Orioles. It would have been Cade Povich’s turn in the rotation, but he is on the injured list. If Trevor Rogers comes off of the IL without making a rehab start, it could be him.
Is today your birthday? Happy birthday! You have four Orioles birthday buddies, including Joe Nolan (75). Nolan had an 11-season MLB career, the last four of which were with the Orioles from 1982-85. In 216 games, Nolan hit .249/.313/.374 as a backup catcher.
Also born on this day in history are former Orioles Terrin Vavra (29), Evan Meek (43), and Kevin Bass (67).
On this day in 2023, Cedric Mullins hit for the cycle as the Orioles beat the Pirates, 6-3. He started the game with a flyout, then got four hits to end the game. His bottom-of-the-8th home run was an Earl Weaver Special to seal the cycle. Relive the magic! That triple was incredible. Cedric is so fast.
Boston, MA - May 6: Boston Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens speaks at the team's end-of-season press conference on May 6, 2026. (Photo by David L. Ryan/The Boston Globe via Getty Images) | Boston Globe via Getty Images
So not much happened in official Celtics news last week. Brad Stevens gave a press conference which, while not quite promising the Wyc Grousbeckian “fireworks” of 2014 that never quite materialized, suggested that the team would be looking to address shortcomings that revealed themselves in the playoff series against Philadelphia.
On the CelticsBlog Slack, there were a host of Jaylen Brown trade scenarios pitched, along with trade scenarios for Derrick White and Sam Hauser. Jayson Tatum even made a surprise appearance.
And I had to ask myself, “Is this what other fanbases do?”
Because I didn’t particularly enjoy it.
Barring injury, the Celtics have been consistent Eastern Conference contenders for almost ten straight years now. They’ve been to the Finals twice, have won once, and have been the most consistently good team in the NBA since Danny Ainge made the widely panned moves to draft Brown and Tatum in back-to-back years.
In short, we have been spoiled. We have been very, very spoiled.
LOS ANGELES, CA – JANUARY 24: Jaylen Brown #7 of the Boston Celtics and Jayson Tatum #0 of the Boston Celtics warmup before the game against the LA Clippers on January 24, 2018 at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, California. 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 2018 NBAE (Photo by Adam Pantozzi/NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images
A long summer stretches out before us, with very little to engage our attention as fans. Shoot. We couldn’t even get excited about the lottery, and with the fourth best record in the league, draft chatter is going to be hard to get into, at least for me, because the farther down the draft you go, the harder it is to rank players.
There may be a consensus #1, but there is never a consensus 27th pick, and basically the predictions at this section of the draft are white noise. This is the part of the draft where I tend to think that ‘character counts,’ and that comes down to interviews and one-on-one sessions that draft predicters aren’t part of.
For example, the Celtics apparently saw something in Baylor Scheierman that suggested he would be a far better defender than writers who focused primarily on clips of his role and style of play at Creighton for their evaluations. That ‘something’ didn’t show up on film from a program where Scheierman was asked to do very little on the defensive end of the court.
So I can’t really get into draft predictions.
Boston, MA – March 12: Boston Celtics PG Derrick White contests a shot by Oklahoma City Thunder SG Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in the second half. (Photo by Erin Clark/The Boston Globe via Getty Images) | Boston Globe via Getty Images
The rest of the playoffs are a rather flavorless affair for me as well. Perhaps that’s a knock against me as a basketball fan. To be sure, if my Dad were still around, he’d still be watching, and my younger brothers are both still watching, but even the most amazing plays sort of stop at the back of my eyeballs when I’m watching other teams. I can appreciate good offense and good defense up to a point, but it just doesn’t move me the way watching the Celtics does.
Plus, I really don’t like the Thunder. They’ve taken the place of the Warriors as a team to dislike because of their combination of dirty play and favorable whistles. The difference is that they’ve basically ratcheted the whole thing up to eleven. Lu Dort is…well, let’s just say that he makes Draymond Green look like St. Francis of Assisi, and SGA’s whistle is not to be believed at this point in time.
As Celtics fans, we’re on the outside looking in at both sources of entertainment at this point in the season.
It’s an odd place to be.
As I said earlier, we’ve been spoiled.
Boston’s management has been rock solid—they’ve made moves when moves are necessary, they’ve drafted exceptionally well, and they’ve given us plenty to get excited about.
I’m confident that they know what they’re doing, that they—along with Mazzulla—have a pretty good idea what went wrong against Philadelphia, and they’ll find the right combination of patience and action to move the team forward for next season.
But in the meantime, we as fans have to choose between building castles in the air and twiddling our thumbs. We can either cook up crazy trade scenarios that never really pan out, or we can dive deep into the middle of this year’s draft class to see if we can suss out which player the Celtics are likely to land on with their pick, or we can basically mark time until the draft, free agency, and the summer league give us something concrete to talk about.
The C’s might make a couple trades around the draft, but the reality is that the league year ends on June 30, and the team is so dang close to the tax line that any moves they make will have to be very tightly constrained in terms of salary, and in any case, the draft is still six weeks away.
One of the weirder aspects of the abrupt end to this season is that when it comes to improving the team, we’re now talking about trading guys that we spent the past eight months cheering on.
It was a bit understandable last season when the salary cap situation meant that the C’s were going to have to part ways with a lot of money.
It’s another thing when you’re looking at a guy who deserved legit MVP consideration for what he did for the team and saying, “Yeah, but can we get Giannis if we trade him?”
This is where I have to wonder what it’s like for fans of other NBA teams that get caught in this limbo.
Do they really spend months speculating on roster moves that don’t happen and draft picks that don’t get made?
It all seems rather strange to me. Like, how do you go from rooting for Jaylen Brown to shopping him for Giannis and then, when that doesn’t pan out, back to rooting for him next season?
Perhaps I’m too wedded to the concrete, and I need to spend more time using my imagination—perhaps that’s the key to being a fan of a team that isn’t regularly a contender. Perhaps you have to have the ability to imagine your team being a contender because, in reality, they don’t have much of a shot.
That might be my problem.
I haven’t had to imagine the Celtics being contenders. They’ve just been contenders, period.
Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo, cheering on the team he's coaching in the Celebrity All-Star Game at the Kia Forum in February, might not be the best fit in the future for the Lakers. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
I get it, you’re still thinking about the Lakers getting swept by the Oklahoma City Thunder in the second round of the playoffs.
It was a valiant fight to the end, Monday’s season-ending 115-110 loss. A thriller for naught.
But now we’ve finally reached the big, beautiful offseason the Lakers have been teasing for months. This pivotal moment that’s had them hoarding assets and fencing off their financial flexibility. All but paralyzed by possibility.
Even after jogging in place all this time, they’ve finally caught up with the can they kicked down the road: All indications are that the Milwaukee Bucks’ superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo is about to hit the trade market.
And the Lakers — loaded with trade ammunition and cap space and forever wishing on star players — are going to be expected to make a play.
For months, they’ve been signaling as if with a searchlight how much they covet the 6-foot-11 Greek forward. So, of course, they’re going to take a run at the two-time NBA MVP, 10-time All-Star, 2021 NBA champion who will earn about $58 million next season, when the 31-year-old will expect a massive, multi-year extension.
They should run the other direction.
The Lakers have stockpiled cap space and picks — as of draft night, they’ll have 2026, 2031 and 2033 first-rounders to offer — like they’re doomsayers outfitting a bunker. If they fill all that available cap space with Antetokounmpo’s salary, they won’t be using it on LeBron James or Rui Hachimura. The Lakers likely also will have to empty their cupboard of those first-round picks.
And, yes, it would be a disaster to dedicate all of that to an aging Antetokounmpo instead of doing the work to build a suitable army of role players to take on OKC’s corps — and to orbit Doncic, the guy who the Lakers already brought in to save the days ahead.
But, wait, you say, this is the Lakers. This is stars shine here.
Sure, but what does L.A. love most? Winners.
Lakers guard Austin Reaves questions an official about a call during Game 4 against the Thunder on Monday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
You know what constitutes a winning formula in today’s NBA?
Depth. Athleticism. Versatility. Optionality. Think, the 2019-2020 Lakers.
You know what doesn’t win?
Imbalanced rosters. Top-heavy teams. All your dang eggs in one basket. The misfit Russell Westbrook Lakers. These 2026 three-or-D Lakers. And certainly not a flimsy, clunky Luka Doncic-and-Antetokounmpo Lakers.
Sure, those guys are great players. They could figure it out.
But would it be an optimum use of their respective talents?
Everyone knows to get the best out of a Luka-led team, you surround him with shooters — and Antetokounmpo is 28.5% from deep for his career. But Hachimura — proven playoff riser and certified laser — is a 51.6% three-point shooter in the postseason; the better more-gifted player isn’t necessarily the better fit.
Because everyone also knows Antetokounmpo is at his best when he’s barreling toward the rim with the ball in his hands — during which time Doncic is going to be doing what? Standing in the corner, arguing with the refs?
The last time they waited to catch the big fish, he didn’t bite. Fortuitously. They missed out on injury-prone Kawhi Leonard, who chose the Clippers before the 2019-20 season and left the Lakers to scramble to assemble … a championship roster.
Around James and Anthony Davis — who, fun fact, made just $27 million that season before agreeing to a historic and more cumbersome three-year extension — the Lakers had shooters who could defend, like Danny Green. And defenders who could shoot, like Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Alex Caruso. Length all over the court. Athleticism in the post: JaVale McGee and Dwight Howard who could play with or for AD.
It’s the blueprint OKC has been using, the same one the Lakers discarded to go big-name hunting, bringing aboard Westbrook by trading away Caldwell-Pope, Kyle Kuzma, Montrezl Harrell and a No. 22 pick.
Talk about a brick.
Milwaukee fired coach Doc Rivers and might be trading superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo this offseason. (Jeffrey Phelps / Associated Press)
Similar story in Milwaukee, where Antetokounmpo’s Bucks went all in for Damian Lillard and have nothing but failure to show for it.
So if — or, well, when — the Lakers go in mad pursuit of Giannis, I will have questions.
I’ll question why the Bucks would have the appetite to send another singular, single-name talent to L.A. after Kareem Abdul-Jabbar came and won five championships here.
I’ll question whether Giannis wants to be in L.A., our “superficial” city, as he called it.
I’ll question why the Lakers would invest so heavily on an aging, oft-injured star whose game is predicated on athleticism and not the out-of-this-world basketball IQ like 41-year-old LeBron.
And, yes, I’ll question the fit and the function and whether the Lakers have fully missed what’s been happening around them — and to them.
CLEVELAND, OHIO - MAY 09: Donovan Mitchell #45 of the Cleveland Cavaliers celebrates after a basket against the Detroit Pistons during the first quarter in Game Three of the Second Round of the NBA Eastern Conference Playoffs at Rocket Arena on May 09, 2026 in Cleveland, Ohio. 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 Jason Miller/Getty Images) | Getty Images
CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Cavaliers’ Game 4 win over the Detroit Pistons to even the series confirmed Koby Altman’s vision for the team when he made the blockbuster trade that brought James Harden to town in February.
“It’s hard being the number one option on a championship-level team,” Altman said right after the trade deadline. “The good news for him is he has another number one option right next to him.”
For the second game in a row, the Cavs showed the value of having two guys who can comfortably shift into the number one role.
There’s a trust between Mitchell and Harden that you don’t always see with superstar teammates.
Mitchell has reiterated during this playoff run that he’s more than happy to get out of the way if Harden has it going.
“With the way they’re guarding me, it’s kind of like four on four in a sense,” Mitchell said after Game 3. “They’re not leaving me so he can create the way he can. He gets in the paint, there’s no help.”
Mitchell willingly ceded control of the offense out of the gate, just as he did down the stretch on Saturday. Harden scored or assisted on Cleveland’s first 11 points, which helped them avoid digging a hole at the start of the game, as they did in their previous three games.
That was much needed on a night Mitchell struggled to get anything going early when he tried to. He compiled just four points on 1-8 shooting in the first half. Despite the strong overall start, the Cavs found themselves down by four at the break.
Mitchell determines the ceiling of this team. We’ve seen this repeatedly throughout the playoffs. The Cavs barely scraped by a Toronto Raptors team that they were far more skilled than, partially because they contained Mitchell.
“Toronto was unique in how they sold out on taking him (Mitchell), and James away,” Cavs’ head coach Kenny Atkinson said before Game 4. “Detroit has a little more comfort in their base defense and what they do.”
Mitchell made a compelling argument that the Pistons should shift out of their base defense.
Mitchell’s game is predicated on getting into the paint. He scored the first five points of the third quarter by getting to his floater in the lane, finding a rhythm he wasn’t able to discover in the first half. And once he gets the defense on its back foot, the outside shot opens up.
A three off a Harden assist, a pull-up triple, and then a step-back with his foot on the line took Mitchell’s strong start to the quarter into the stretch that essentially ended the game.
This all led to a 22-0 run for the Cavs that saw them turn a four-point deficit into an 18-point advantage. Mitchell provided 15 of those 22 points during that span.
In total, Mitchell poured in 21 points on 8-9 shooting in the third quarter alone. That mark tied him with LeBron James and Kyrie Irving for the most in a quarter for a Cavalier in the postseason.
Anytime your name is mentioned with those two, you’re in pretty good company.
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That impressive third-quarter run was only possible because of Cleveland’s defense, specifically Evan Mobley’s.
The reigning Defensive Player of the Year reminded everyone how impactful he can be, as he registered five blocks and three steals in what his head coach called possibly the best game he’s seen from him defensively.
Mobley has done a great job of controlling the paint and making life difficult for Detroit’s All-Star center, Jalen Duren.
This was another tough outing in what has been a rocky road for Duren. He was limited to just eight points and two rebounds on Monday.
Both Mobley and Jarrett Allen have done a good job of not ceding offensive ground to Duren. They’ve contained him in the pick-and-roll and have been physical with him when he’s gotten the ball on the block.
Limiting Duren has forced more of the scoring burden onto Cunningham’s shoulders. He wasn’t able to carry it like he needed to on a day when Cleveland’s backcourt had it going.
The Cavaliers won the possession game. They had five fewer turnovers and five more points off opponent giveaways. Additionally, they won the second-chance points battle by five.
Detroit’s two wins have come off dominating both categories. The Cavs have done a much better job of cleaning this up since the series shifted to Cleveland.
Mitchell didn’t stop with an impressive third quarter.
The onslaught continued in the fourth until he put up 43 points. His 39-second-half points tie a league record for the most points scored in a half of a playoff game.
“He’s electric,” Pistons head coach J.B. Bickerstaff said afterward. “You let him get going, we know what he’s capable of. He hit some tough shots, but that’s what he does.”
Part of Mitchell’s effectiveness came from his ability to get to the line. He attempted 15 free throws while the Pistons as a group took just 12. That is something Bickerstaff took issue with, calling the free-throw disparity “unacceptable.”
“Ever since coming to Cleveland, the whistle has changed,” Bickerstaff said. “There’s no way that one guy on their team shoots more free throws than our team. We’re not a settle team. We’re not a jump shooting team. We drive the ball, attack the paint. … It’s frustrating, but we can’t allow that to be the reason why [we lost]. Because we didn’t play well enough or to the best of our capabilities.”
“You can control what you can control,” Mitchell said. “And I can control getting downhill. Like I told y’all, I can’t say something about not getting calls and then shoot jump shots.”
Cleveland’s backcourt has done a good job of finding ways to be impactful at the same time.
Even though Harden didn’t have the same scoring numbers in the second half as he had in the first, he still was orchestrating the offense with 11 assists and finished with 25 points.
The current duo has struck a balance that Mitchell and Darius Garland weren’t able to discover.
One of the common criticisms of the Mitchell and Garland backcourt was that only one of them could be at the top of their game at a time. Something about their styles didn’t mesh as cleanly as it should’ve. While it’s true the pairing disproved some of those concerns last regular season, they were never able to actually do so in the playoffs.
Conversely, Harden and Mitchell have already shown numerous times this postseason run that they can, due to the quick chemistry they’ve developed in just three months.
“You have to learn to play together with somebody like that,” Jarrett Allen said about the current backcourt. “You have to learn how to share the ball and co-exist with two excellent players on your side. I feel like every single game, they learn something different about each other. They’re willing to take a step back and let the other one shine…it’s incredible to watch.”
The Cavs have defended their home court and have evened the series at two. Now, they need to find a way to steal at least one game in Detroit — a place they’ve melted late in the first two games.
So what’s it going to take to get it done in Game 5?
“Everything,” Mitchell said. “It’s been a hostile environment. We need each other. We’ve had two good games to build off of. … It’s going to be a lot of fun. I know we’re ready for the challenge.”
For the first time in five years, the Houston Rockets had no direct stakes in the NBA Draft Lottery.
Sure, indirectly, they’re affected by the Brooklyn Nets’ pick slipping to sixth. Rockets fans will be rooting against the Nets throughout 2026-27. Even if the league flattens the draft odds, a bleaker future for the Nets means a brighter one for the Rockets.
The Nets will likely take whoever the fifth-overall Clippers pass on between Keaton Wagler and Darius Acuff Jr. They’re both fine prospects, but they’re not on the level of an AJ Dybansta, who FanDuel has as the favorite to be taken by the Wizards (number one) at -550. Even being positioned to take Dybansta (or Cameron Boozer, or Darryn Peterson, or Caleb Wilson) would have made the Nets a more attractive destination for win-now veterans looking for a new home.
So, the Rockets did benefit from the draft. Still, it was a foreign feeling for the lottery to shake out without the Rockets’ name being called. For context, here’s the full lottery order:
Washington Wizards
Utah Jazz
Memphis Grizzlies
Chicago Bulls
Los Angeles Clippers (via Pacers)
Brooklyn Nets
Sacramento Kings
Atlanta Hawks (via Pelicans)
Dallas Mavericks
Milwaukee Bucks
Golden State Warriors
Oklahoma City Thunder
Miami Heat
Charlotte Hornets
If you’re a pessimist, there’s a negative to be found here. The Grizzlies are likely to walk away with Boozer, and if not, they’ll land Peterson. That means there will be another team in the Rockets’ division with a young player who’d arguably be the Rockets’ crown jewel.
Moreover, the Jazz are suddenly positioned at least as well as Houston. The Clippers got exceedingly lucky here. The Western Conference is an arms race, and the Rockets had better hope they get some weapons via the Nets next summer.
In the meantime, they can still add some intriguing young players.
Rockets set to draft in second round
The Rockets have a pair of second-rounders, with the 39th and 53rd overall picks.
Does that amount to much? History says no. Still, if Rafael Stone is crafty, he can make some hay here. If there’s a guy he especially likes, he could try to package these picks to move up in the second round.
Let’s be honest: This is a side quest. The Rockets are exceedingly unlikely to bring in a franchise-altering talent in this class. Walking away with a solid role player would be a tremendous win.
People come to Los Angeles with big dreams. Some want to make it as Hollywood actors. Others dream of a record deal and music fame. And there’s those who aspire to drink green juice while wearing oversized sunglasses and attend the third-through-seventh inning of a Dodger game at Chavez Ravine while pitching a reality show.
The San Francisco Giants had more humble dreams: To get double-digit hits for the third time in four games and continue their 2026 dominance over the defending world champions. They did that and more Monday night, notching 12 hits and six walks in a 9-3 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers.
You know it’s a big hit when the NBCS account breaks out a reference to a 30-year-old Will Smith album! Willy Adames went 2-for-5 with three RBIs, one of five Men In Black and Orange with a multi-hit game Monday night. Rafael Devers got jiggy wit his fifth home run, scored three runs, and reached base four times. Every member of the starting lineup had either a hit or an RBI, truly the mark of an offense that keeps the roof blazin’.
All this on a night where the Giants had two runners thrown out at home, Jesus Rodriguez got his first career stolen base, and Shohei Ohtani went 0-for-5.
Matt Gage (3-1) picked up the win after relieving Trevor McDonald (5.1 IP, 9H, 3R, 2BB, 4K) in the 6th inning, after a Max Muncy home run and a Teoscar Hernandez single chased him from the game. Gage retired all five Dodgers he faced, mowing down the heart of the lineup. Maybe Ohtani and Kyle Tucker could settle for some deferred hits?
McDonald got hit hardest in the 4th inning, when the Dodgers led off the inning with four straight singles, all off of sinkers. The Giants escaped down only 2-1 thanks to an Adames-to-Arraez-to-Schmidt double play.
The Giants countered with three straight singles off lefty Alex Vesia (1-1) from Jung Hoo Lee, Luis Arraez, and Casey Schmidt, who reached base four times Monday. Devers drew a seven-pitch, bases-loaded walk to give the Giants a 4-3 lead before “Big Willy Style” drove in Arraez and Schmidt, just the two of them.
Devers started the scoring with a second-inning homer off starter Rory Sasaki, who had one of his better outings of the season by giving up three runs and six hits and striking out five. Like his walk, this came on a 3-2 pitch, the 8th pitch of the at-bat. Devers nearly fouled out on the previous pitch, but Hernandez got distracted by a Dodgers official holding a folding chair. One pitch later, he made Sasaki and the chair-wielding man pay.
Devers missed on a bases-loaded opportunity in the 3rd, where the Giants loaded the bases in unusual fashion. Rodriguez drew a walk and then stole second when Lee struck out, swinging and missing so badly he threw his bat down the first-base line. He went to third on an Arraez single but didn’t score after Sasaki beaned Schmidt and Sasaki retired Devers and Heliot Ramos.
In the 6th, the Giants showed off some excellent baserunning and some less excellent baserunning. Schmidt singled and took third on a Devers single, with Devers hustling to second when the throw went to third. Ramos followed with a two-run double down the line.
In a very Heliot Ramos sequence, he went to third on a deep fly ball, then got thrown out at home by roughly 20 feet on a Matt Chapman groundout.
Was that the only Giant thrown out at the plate? Heavens no. Harrison Bader doubled in the 8th and made it to third on a delayed start when Rodriguez grounded out to Muncy and Freddie Freeman’s throw back to third went high. One pitch later, Lee grounded to first and Bader was tagged out in a rundown.
The Giants got some insurance in the 8th inning when Schmidt walked and stole second (two steals in one game?!?). An intentional walk to Devers was followed by an unintentional walk to Ramos, an Adames single, and another walk, this time to Chapman.
The Giants rounded out the scoring with an RBI groundout from Rodriguez. Poor Lee was the second Giant hit in the game, but at least he only got nailed by a curveball. That made four walks and a hit batsmen in one inning from Wyatt Mills, who may not be long for the Dodgers roster.
The bullpen went 3.2 innings and only gave up a single, with Keaton Winn and JT Brubaker closing it out. The Dodgers have lost three straight, the Giants have won three out of four, and the Giants’ big hitters are mostly hitting again. That’s what we call a Hollywood Echo Park ending!
ESPN: Adding injury to the insult of getting swept in Milwaukee this weekend, José Caballero hurt his finger in the series finale. “There is definitely some concern,” opined Aaron Boone Monday when asked, and the shortstop was out of the starting lineup Monday, though he pinch-ran in the ninth and got caught stealing to seal a Yankee loss. Cabby will have tests done Tuesday as he will see a hand specialist in New York City and could undergo an MRI. Everyone’s fingers will be crossed for Caballero, who’s played a solid shortstop in the first quarter of the season, while providing a little bit of pop with the bat and terrorizing opponents on the basepaths with 13 stolen bases.
MLB | Casey Drottar: The Yanks’ weekend callup of Spencer Jones has enabled him to reconnect with a former minor league teammate. Jones and Ben Rice hadn’t seen each other since spring training and Jones made a point to meet up with Rice as soon as he could. It wasn’t all motivated by friendship, however. “I told Ben this morning I’m going to be attached to his hip today,” Jones remarked, knowing he was going to take advantage of the opportunity to pick his friend’s brain on adjusting to the big leagues.
MLB | Jon Schwartz: Austin Wells has struggled at the plate so far this season after a lackluster 2025 offensively, but that has not affected his defense. Schwartz examines Wells’ routine preparing the Yankees’ pitching staff for games, while highlighting the leaps Wells has made defensively, especially considering there were questions about whether Wells would ever be good enough behind the plate to stay at the position in the majors. Meanwhile, his stature as a leader continues to evolve. “He’s very involved,” [Cam] Schlittler says. “For someone who’s young, that can really make an impact.”
X | Bryan Hoch: Led with injury news, finish with injury news. Designated hitter Giancarlo Stanton has been out for a while with a strained right calf. Monday, he was due to undergo some testing to see how the healing process is going. Throughout, Stanton has been able to hit, but not run. Manager Aaron Boone remarked Monday there is optimism that Big G will be able to begin running this week.
CLEVELAND, OHIO - NOVEMBER 17: Giannis Antetokounmpo #34 of the Milwaukee Bucks looks on during the first half against the Cleveland Cavaliers at Rocket Arena on November 17, 2025 in Cleveland, Ohio. 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 Nick Cammett/Getty Images) | Getty Images
As if the stress of a playoff series was not enough, the Cleveland Cavaliers’ front office is bracing for potential changes if things go south over the next few games. One of those changes may involve the highest-profile player in the rumor mill, Giannis Antetokounmpo.
According to ESPN’s Shams Charania, the Milwaukee Bucks (whose owner is Cleveland Browns owner Jimmy Haslem) are listening to offers for Antetokounmpo with just six weeks from the NBA Draft. The Bucks will have numerous offers made for Antetokounmpo’s services, with several of those coming from teams that had interest in him at the previous trade deadline. The Cavs are one of those teams, based on Charania’s report.
The caveat to this is that offers from those teams will likely hinge on playoff performance. Charania says the Minnesota Timberwolves, Boston Celtics, New York Knicks, Los Angeles Lakers, and the Cavs represent the teams that had called about Antetokounmpo a few months ago and would be prepared to do so again this summer. ESPN reported last October that Antetokounmpo desired to play for the Knicks, but that appeared to fizzle.
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Milwaukee is reportedly seeking a young blue-chip prospect and/or multiple draft picks, something that only a handful of those aforementioned teams can do. For example, the Lakers would have to get creative with their picks and salary to outdo the Knicks and Cavs, who both have the assets to meet what the Bucks want. New York can send almost anything but Jalen Brunson, while the Cavs could dangle Evan Mobley and draft picks and swaps.
Then the question becomes if the Cavs should push every last chip into the middle to try and win a championship. Moving on from Mobley is the most all-in the Cavs could get, even after sending out Darius Garland last year for a player a decade older — but more ready to win immediately. That gets magnified even more when the Cavs would also likely have to include two first-round picks and at least one pick swap. Suddenly, things are not only win-now, but the Cavs are mortgaging the future too.
Unless the Cavs are constructing something bigger — say, James Harden and Donovan Mitchell with Antetokounmpo and LeBron James for his farewell tour — the front office is taking on a huge risk by potentially trading Mobley and the rest of their picks into the 2030s. That will make a lot of fans uneasy to see the Cavs swing so hard for the fence, but another early playoff exit that doesn’t yield a trip to the Eastern Conference Finals may be the final straw of failure. If the Cavs lose to a team led by their former head coach (and scapegoat) J.B Bickerstaff, someone they fired for being unable to get over the hump, it may be enough to send owner Dan Gilbert into a frenzy to fix the most expensive mess in the league.
Now things can’t, and won’t, be all bad if the Cavs acquire Antetokounmpo and add him to a core of Mitchell and Harden (never mind James, who is a big if). In fact, it would likely make the Cavs the team to beat in the Eastern Conference. Antetokounmpo, who is still one of the three best players in the league, would have a dynamic scoring backcourt to rely on, and his front-court mate in Jarrett Allen, who would make the paint uninhabitable on defense. The Cavs would be a force on both sides of the ball and one of the most-watched teams in the league. Of course, they would also be a league villain — especially if James dons the wine and gold one last time.
Northampton and Bath were well beaten over the weekend: will Leicester or Exeter force themselves into the top two?
There are small but significant moments in every league campaign. Until the weekend it was widely assumed that Northampton and Bath, the two frontrunners in the English Prem, were all but nailed on for home semi-finals and, by extension, would almost certainly meet in the grand final at Allianz Stadium in Twickenham on 20 June.
That could still happen but, suddenly, others are entering the chat. Not only did Saints and Bath lose at the weekend but both were well beaten, 41-17 by Leicester and 35-12 by Exeter respectively. Bath, including their Champions Cup semi-final in Bordeaux, have lost three games on the trot. Northampton were not so much batted aside by the Tigers as unceremoniously flattened.
