Heading into the 2026 NHL Draft and then Free Agency, many Calgary Flames fans are discussing which direction the 2026-27 team will head and whether they can collectively take a step forward in their rebuild.
At the moment, the Flames have four free agents, Ryan Lomberg, Victor Olofsson, Jake Bean, and John Beecher (RFA), who may or may not be with the team next season. According to PuckPedia, General Manager Craig Conroy has roughly $22.7 million in cap space, giving him plenty of room to swing a deal to boost the lineup or trade a veteran like Blake Coleman or Jonathan Huberdeau.
Although it is way too early to talk about the end of Dustin Wolf's contract or when Yegor Sharangovich's contract comes off the books, it is interesting to see who Calgary has committed to on long-term deals.
Possible Free Agents in 2027
At the conclusion of the final season at the Saddledome, several players may or may not still be in the lineup for that last game, including Ryan Strome ($5 million), Morgan Frost ($4.38 million), Adam Klapka ($1.25 million), Joel Hanley ($1.75 million), Brayden Pachal ($1.19 million), Yan Kuznetsov ($954k), and Coleman ($4.9 million).
Among the future free agents, Coleman's name ranks among the top 25 on most NHL trade boards, as many await to see whether the Flames work on an extension or opt to trade one of their veteran leaders.
If all the previous names depart the organization, Calgary could reallocate possible $20 million in savings to lock up prospects or acquire younger talent on team-friendly deals.
Whose Sticking Around in 2028?
Although the summer of 2028 is two years away, the Flames may be a completely different franchise, with only nine contracts on the books. Those deals include Huberdeau ($10.5 million), Matt Coronato ($6.5 million), Sharangovich ($5.75 million), Martin Pospisil ($2.5 million), Kevin Bahl ($5.35 million), Olli Määttä ($3.5 million), Zach Whitecloud ($2.75 million), Zayne Parekh ($954k), and Wolf ($7.5 million)
Many of the team's core will still be under contract at the conclusion of the first season at Scotia Place, including Coronato, Pospisil, Bahl, Parekh, and Wolf. But the question then will be, which prospects have stepped up and earned a spot in the Flames lineup, and which veterans could be interested in playing in Southern Alberta in the league's newest arena.
Credit: Sergei Belski-Imagn Images
Meanwhile, Parekh will enter the final year of his entry-level deal. If he turns into the team's best defenseman, he could be in line for a significant pay increase, one that could rival Huberdeau's salary. In addition, 2028 also marks the end of captain Mikael Backlund's current deal, meaning the longest tenured Flames player could hang'em up instead of seeking a new start with another team. Finally, that summer will also be the end of Connor Zary's entry-level deal, and it will be interesting to see whether he blossoms into the player the Flames hope for or becomes trade bait for someone else.
2028 and Beyond
Ahead of the 2029-30 season, the Flames will have five contracts still guaranteed as of today, including Huberdeau, Coronato, Sharangovich, Bahl, and Wolf. In 2030, Sharangovich's deal runs out, followed by Huberdeau and Bahl in 2031, Coronato in 2032, and Wolf in 2033.
During the recent CBA renegotiation, the NHLPA and NHL agreed that teams can re-sign their own free agents for up to seven seasons and free agents for up to six seasons. By that point, which current Flames prospect will be in line for a max deal, or could a high-profile player like Cale Makar come home in a free agency blockbuster?
As mentioned before, thinking about roster construction for 2028 and beyond is a little far-fetched, since the 2026 NHL Draft hasn't taken place yet. However, the moves Conroy makes today could go a long way toward shaping the roster at the end of the decade, a point when long-suffering Flames fans would hope their team is contending.
Will the Flames be a playoff team in 2028? Which prospects are you hoping to be NHL regulars by that time? Let us know in the comments.
CHICAGO, IL - MAY 10: Morez Johnson Jr., Yaxel Lendeborg, Aday Mara pose for a picture during the 2026 NBA Draft Lottery on May 10, 2026 at Navy Pier in Chicago, Illinois. 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 Jeff Haynes/NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images
There’s no doubt the 2025-2026 Michigan Wolverines had a successful season. For some, what feels like the bow on top of the story is watching the former players realize their dreams and get drafted into the NBA.
Michigan has three players who are likely do be drafted in the lottery of next week’s NBA Draft. What team would you like to see draft Yaxel Lendeborg, Aday Mara and Morez Johnson Jr.?
Your author is a Detroit Pistons fan who would gladly take any of the three. However, with Detroit picking at No. 21, it’s unlikely any of them will become available barring a trade. Most mock drafts have all three players in the top half of the first round, but the Pistons could certainly use any of them.
Lendeborg would provide a scoring punch to complement Cade Cunningham while not needing to be ball dominant. Johnson could replace Tobias Harris in time and grow into the starting 4 for the team. Even Mara would provide excellent insurance should Detroit not retain Jalen Duren or trade away Isaiah Stewart.
If we take the home team out of the equation, there are still several excellent spots the former Wolverines could end up in.
Mara is one of the best passing center prospects the NBA has seen in years. It would be fun to watch him in Steve Kerr’s offense in Golden State. Similarly, Mara would be an excellent bench option for the Denver Nuggets. While he’s certainly no Jokic, Denver’s entire scheme revolves around its big men being able to pass the ball. Even a team such as the Memphis Grizzlies would be an intriguing fit for Mara since they have slashers up and down their roster.
For Johnson, the San Antonio Spurs would be the dream scenario in my eyes. He could be the bruising, rebound-first big man who could help keep Victor Wembanyama clean. Johnson also screams “Miami Heat culture” to me when it comes to the intangibles.
Lendeborg has become a bit of a lightning rod in NBA Draft circles. His stock has slipped slightly thanks to a nagging injury, as well as his age. He is one of the most “plug-and-play” prospects in this draft, but the NBA loves upside. Lendeborg is likely closer to his ceiling already than many of the other projected lottery picks. However, I would love to see him be taken by a team like the Spurs as well.
The most common location for Lendeborg in NBA mocks drafts, by far, is the Oklahoma City Thunder. As a team in win-now mode, taking an experienced, high-floor player like Lendeborg makes a ton of sense. However, as a fan, I don’t want to see him be corrupted by the Thunder players and their flopping factory.
Where do you want to see Mara, Johnson and Lendeborg get drafted? Which do you think will go off the board first? Is there a chance any slip to Detroit at No. 21? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - JUNE 18: Adley Rutschman #35 of the Baltimore Orioles reacts after being hit in the head during the ninth inning against the Seattle Mariners at T-Mobile Park on June 18, 2026 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Jack Compton/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across the MLB. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Orioles fans and fans across the country. Sign up here to participate in the weekly emailed surveys.
The Orioles remain tantalizingly close in the AL Wild Card race despite multiple games per week where they look like they should be headed for more like 100 losses. They have been good enough just often enough to stay in it, even though there are many days where it does not feel this way.
There are another 30 or so games to be played before the trade deadline. The Orioles roughly 20-13 to be above .500 by the time the deadline arrives. They will probably seem to still be in the race and make the case to be buyers (or at least not sellers) as long as they can manage at least 17-16 between now and then.
The big question is: Can they do that? I surveyed Orioles fans this week to see where people think this will all shake out. These were the results:
As I said when I posted this survey, I was fairly sure more people would say sellers than not, and really I was just curious about the percentage. That’s roughly two-thirds thinking the team is headed for selling, whatever that might look like. That’s a strong majority.
It’s not hard to understand why. We get reminded of why regularly and are in the middle of one of those stretches right now, with the team having lost four of five games while scoring a combined 11 runs in those games. They’ve wasted pretty good starts from Trevor Rogers, Brandon Young, and Shane Baz in this little stretch. The Orioles are going to have to find a higher gear that we haven’t seen them have for nearly two full years now. It’s a bummer. Hopefully they surprise us like roughly one-third of you think that they will.
Jun 18, 2026; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; New York Mets left fielder Juan Soto (22) celebrates win against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images | Eric Hartline-Imagn Images
Your 2026 New York Mets: It Sucks
“It sucks. It felt like you let the team down. The team has been playing really well the last couple of weeks, too. Definitely a blow to me; it sucks.” -Tobias Myers [New York Post]
Wow, the Knicks, that was awesome. Now to take a big sip of orange juice and see what the Mets have been up to since the NBA playoffs started in mid-April…
“My first time out there on a big-league mound in a little while, I just couldn’t gather it all together in that big inning.” -Kodai Senga [New York Post]
“I think command was my main issue overall — just not locating well, getting behind hitters. It’s tough to face major league hitters when you are behind most of the time. It’s something we have already kind of looked at a little bit. We’re going to dig deeper and get to work.” -Tobias Myers [New York Post]
You know things are going great when we’re got some canned ‘we’re banged up and need guys to step up’ quotes…
“Guys will continue to get opportunities and guys will need to step up. We have got a lot of guys in there that are more than capable, and we need those guys to step up, especially right now when we’re banged up.” -Carlos Mendoza [New York Post]
…as well as ‘we needed a win’ in the middle of June quote…
“I don’t know about satisfying, but it felt good. We needed to come out here and win a game.” -Bo Bichette [MLB]
…and a healthy mix of, I don’t know, but quotes where you start with some silver lining and pivot with a hard ‘BUT’ in the middle of your statement ala the Stephen A Smith Tweet…
“I have had some ups and downs so far, but it feels great [regarding his personal season numbers]. I definitely would love to be in a different spot as a team, but I want to help as much as I can to bring them back up.” -Juan Soto [New York Post]
/Stephen A Smith voice/BUT!
“Throughout the year when we get the quality [starting pitching], those guys are going to give us a chance: the offense and the bullpen but we need to be better. We need more from them. We expect more from them and they know that.” -Carlos Mendoza [New York Post]
/Stephen A Smith voice/BUT!
“The first three batters of the game, not ideal what you want to see right away. A couple of walks and then the three-run homer … [Senga] found his sweeper and the slider, but they got him early on there.” -Carlos Mendoza [New York Post]
This quote doesn’t quite fit the ‘Stephen A Smith BUT’ model BUT; Mendoza is starting to really read to me as getting to the Jerry Manuel level of providing quotes that are fodder for a pre-written narrative for the beat reporters as like a nice treat so they’ll be nice to him and help his job security (not saying he shouldn’t do that).
Cool man, it’s really insightful to acknowledge Juan Soto is a ‘really good player’ but he’s not trying to do too much.
“This is a guy that is more than capable of carrying a team, but he’s not trying to do too much. He’s going to continue to take his walks, he’s going to hit the ball hard, he’s a really good player.” -Carlos Mendoza [New York Post]
Along those lines, totally could be true, but I still don’t quite know who is continuing to push the beat writer’s narrative that Soto and Lindor don’t like each other; is it one of them, or their PR team, or someone within the Mets, or just the writers needing easy articles to write
“[Lindor’s] defense and his bat, he’s elite. He’s one of the best defensive players in the game and I think he’s going to help a lot.” -Juan Soto [New York Post]
Nolan McLean continues to remind me of R.A. Dickey and Jacob deGrom as being must watch starts on a dismal team
“Man, that was excellent. [Nolan McLean] dominated that lineup.” -Carlos Mendoza [MLB]
“Awesome. He was attacking with every pitch, and obviously, he’s got what, five-plus pitches? When he’s doing that, he’s pretty good.” -Bo Bichette [MLB]
“I wouldn’t say I put any more pressure or responsibility on myself. Every time I go out there, I’m trying to win a baseball game. I think if everybody’s trying to do that and we’re all pulling the same rope, good things will happen.” -Nolan McLean [MLB]
From your lips to Dickey’s ears
“I think that’s contagious, too. Hopefully, what Nolan did today, now we got Sean [Manaea] tomorrow and Freddy and some of the other guys, we need them to step up. They’re more than capable. So, trust those guys. They’re going to go on a run here.” -Carlos Mendoza [MLB]
あなたのその言葉が神様に届きますように
“As long as I can prepare the way I should prepare between outings, I should be able to be effective.” -Kodai Senga [New York Post]
This week in the Rangers Reacts survey, we asked which Texas Rangers player was most deserving of an All Star berth.
The voting was fairly close at the top:
Jacob Latz, who is tied for 6th in the American League in saves and is sporting a 1.62 ERA and a 1.5 bWAR, received a plurality of the vote, at 40%. Latz was just a little ahead of Josh Jung, who has been one of the few bright spots offensively for the Rangers this season, slashing .301/.358/.451 with a 1.5 bWAR. Jung received 32% of the vote.
Ezequiel Duran, who is second in the All Star balloting for second base, received 17% of the vote. He’s played all over the field this year while slashing .278/.331/.435, and has a 1.6 bWAR.
Jacob deGrom, last year’s lone representative, is currently leading the Rangers in bWAR, at 1.7. He received 9% of the vote.
New addition Brandon Nimmo, slashing .256/.327/.404 with a 1.3 bWAR on the year, got just 1% of the vote.
In the national vote, folks were asked who should be blamed if there’s a lock out.
The fact that 42% of respondents would blame the players for a lockout — not a strike, but a lockout, a work stoppage that is the result of owners refusing to let operations and games happen rather than players refusing to play — illustrates how well owners have manipulated public opinion.
39% of folks think the Dodgers will win the World Series. Kinda surprised it is that low.
The Milwaukee Brewers (45-27) take on the Atlanta Braves (46-27) in the first game of a three-game series between divisional leaders with almost identical records. Milwaukee is favored with a -186 moneyline compared to Atlanta's +154. Starting pitchers are scheduled to be Jacob Misiorowski for Milwaukee, with a 1.34 ERA, and Martín Pérez for Atlanta, with a 2.90 ERA.
Alvarez not only carries an elite rating against Bibee but also owns 100% arsenal coverage across the entire pitch mix, per Batters-Box. Not to mention, when having an elite rating, he leaves the yard nearly 22% of the time.
Bibee has been horrible against left-handed bats this season. As of late, over the last 60 lefties faced, he is allowing 45.2% hard contact, a 21.4% barrel rate, while hitters are elevating the ball 64.2% of the time. Those hitters have produced a .460 xBA, .944 xSLG, and .461 xwOBA during that stretch.
The Astros slugger's most recent numbers only pile on to the reasoning. In his last 30 plate appearances against right-handed pitching, he owns a .444 batting average, .852 slugging percentage, and a 1.352 OPS, while producing nearly 60% hard contact and a 27.3% barrel rate.
The Rays starter brings a poorly rated matchup ISO, hard contact, and strikeout percentage into today's matchup. He has been allowing plenty of hard contact and high-quality contact. At home against left-handed hitters, opponents are lifting the ball nearly 71% of the time.
Over his last 60 lefties faced, they are producing a 9.8% barrel rate while elevating the baseball 61% of the time. Those hitters also hold a .409 xBA, .591 xSLG, and .363 xwOBA.
Wood is having a career year, and the recent underlying numbers are borderline diabolical. Over his last 30 at-bats versus right-handed pitching, he is posting a .360 batting average, .680 slugging, and 1.113 OPS, with a 50% hard hit rate and 11.1% barrel rate.
For an extra safety blanket, do not be afraid to sprinkle the double on all of these guys, too. A missed home run is likely a double.
Time: 7:10p.m. ET
Where to watch: RAYS, NATS
Colby Marchio's 2026 Transparency Record
HR picks: 60-200-15, +20.20 units
Today’s HR parlay
Eric Burleson
Bet Now +8087
Yordan Alvarez
James Wood
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We are starting a new series here in the lab. Before we really get started I should run through the customary disclaimers and legalese. I am not advocating making any additions at the trade deadline. In fact, if you have been reading my work regularly you know I’ve argued for the exact opposite. However, when you are in school they teach you how to be a successful debater. A successful debater and persuasive writer can argue both sides of the argument.
If you ignore what the Astros record is and if you only look at where they sit in the standings then you would have to believe they are in the hunt for a playoff berth. They sit four games behind the Mariners for the division lead and are in a similar position in the wild card chase. To be sure, there are plenty of teams in between them on both counts, but they are in striking distance and have played better baseball in May and June.
You could also point out that they were decimated by injuries early in the season and most of those important pieces are back into the fold. You can also look at the likes of Colton Gordon, Hayden Wesneski, and Ronel Blanco coming off long term injuries in July or August. So, make no mistake. I am not arguing for any of these scenarios. However, the premise is that the Astros are financially and organizationally able to make one significant addition this season. They only sit below the tax threshold by a few million and their minor league system is fairly bare.
So, what we are doing in this series is making the case for one area of the ball club to add to, We will continue this into next week because there are definitely multiple holes to fill. The question for us and for the Astros is which hole is the most significant? Today, we start with the starting rotation. We could really get bogged down in the numbers, but we will look at ERA and three popular ERA estimators in xERA, fielding independent pitching (FIP), and xFIP. The x is based on Statcast’s estimates of what it would be based on the quality of contact. First, let’s start with the Astros starters. We will include Lance McCullers Jr. and Cristian Javier because they could theoretically come back.
ERA
xERA
FIP
xFIP
Hunter Brown
1.10
2.17
1.81
2.63
Spencer Arrighetti
2.57
4.53
3.51
4.73
Peter Lambert
3.23
3.51
3.81
4.48
Mike Burrows
5.86
4.61
5.69
4.68
Tatsuya Imai
6.43
4.89
5.24
4.57
Kai-Wai Teng
4.31
4.41
4.88
4.10
Lance McCullers Jr
6.86
4.49
5.06
4.14
Cristian Javier
12.54
7.31
8.56
8.17
On a long enough timeline, the survival rate drops to zero. I have mentioned “magical thinking” before. How we look at Spencer Arrighetti is a perfect example. He could be a guy that got hot at the right time when this team was desperate for any port in a storm. That has tremendous value, but his recent outings show he is probably not THAT pitcher over the long-term. The expected ERA numbers show the lag there. Eventually, the expected numbers and actual numbers will intersect.
The magical thinking comes in when fans and analysts point out that guys like Burrows and Imai look like they will bouce back, but just assume that guys like Arrighetti and Teng will keep on trucking. We are seeing that both Arrighetti and Teng have reached the end of their hot streaks and are beginning to regress to the mean. There’s a couple of things they can do without making a trade to improve their lot in life, but the bottom line is that Peter Lambert is the second best starter on this team and we have to ask ourselves if that looks like a competitive rotation.
The first thing they can do is make sure McCullers and Javier get nowhere near a major league mound. McCullers’ numbers are actually somewhat promising in that the predicted ERAs are better than his actual ERA, but they still aren’t the stuff that makes up a playoff rotation. Javier probably shouldn’t be a starter in any rotation. He probably has one more rehab outing before they need to make some major decisions. Putting him back in the rotation is likely a firable offense.
The second thing that they should strongly consider is transferring Teng back to the bullpen. He has a 5.77 ERA in eight starts, but a 1.80 ERA in 13 relief appearances. Dana Brown robbed him from San Francisco largely because he had similar blowups when they used him as a starter. Give him a pat on the back and thank him for stabilizing the ship when it was threatening to capsize. Still, this team needs to use guys in their best roles. Even if you make these two moves you have a rotation of Brown, Lambert, Arrighetti, Imai, and Burrows.
If we look at the baseball landscape, there are three starting pitchers that are widely considered as available, are in the last year of their contract, and would fit underneath the tax threshold. There is obviously a couple more that would surpass that. At this point, I am just introducing possibilities and not advocating individually for any of them.
I should note that Alcantara leads the National League in innings pitched. He is on pace to eclipse 200 innings and I don’t have to tell anyone how rare that is. If this move is made in July when more than half of the season is complete then his salary fits underneath the tax threshold. Essentially, this becomes similar to picking up Yusei Kikuchi and given his free agent status it probably ends up costing a similar price.
The good news is that Ryan is actually cheaper financially than Alcantara. The bad news is that he would be considerably more expensive in terms of prospect capital. I am almost certain that an Xavier Nayens or Kevin Alvarez would be involved in such a deal and that is a horrible price for a rental. He is a grade above a Kikuchi, so he would be really nice in a playoff series, but absolutely cost prohibitive in the winter.
Holy regression Batman! That statcast ERA looks awful. Most of it tied to a very low strikeout rate. However, when you consider his home environment, these numbers don’t look half bad. He was 10-10 with a 4.64 ERA the previous season in Baltimore. He projects as an end of the rotation arm. The Astros seem to have plenty of those. The question is if the pitching lab sees something they think they can unlock.
Putting it all together
Ryan and Alcantara look like upgrades over what you currently have. There are a number of wild cards to consider here. For one, we don’t know which teams may suddenly want to sell in late July. The American League in particular is pretty muddy as we sit here in June. Secondly, we don’t know if Jim Crane is willing to go over the threshold for anyone. There are also creative deals where money could go the other way to offset an expensive pitcher. These are all possibilities. However, given these three options, is anything particularly exciting you as an Astros fan?
DETROIT, MICHIGAN - MAY 18: Slade Cecconi #44 of the Cleveland Guardians celebrates after picking off Riley Greene (not in the image) #31 of the Detroit Tigers during the bottom of the fourth inning at Comerica Park on May 18, 2026 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Nic Antaya/Getty Images) | Getty Images
It’s time to get annoyed with the Astros’ short left-field porch.
The Guardians are 40-35 with a -7 run differential, 23rd in wRC+ with 93, 10th in baserunning runs above average at 2.2, 10th in Defense at -6.4, eighth in starting pitching ERA at 3.86 (4.17 FIP), and 11th in bullpen ERA at 3.66 (3.66 FIP).
The Astros are 35-41 with a -41 run differential, 12th in MLB with a 103 wRC+, 22nd in baserunning runs above average at -2.4, 16th in Defense at -10.1, 29th in starting pitcher ERA at 5.00 (4.83 FIP), and 25th in bullpen ERA at 4.72 (4.78 FIP).
You’re gonna need to score some runs to beat the Astros. You should be able to take advantage of a poor pitching staff to do it. Please do so, Guardians.
Matchups: Game One, Friday, 8:10PM ET, Tanner Bibee 3.96 ERA (4.69 FIP) vs. Tatsuya Imai, RHP 6.43 ERA (5.24 FIP) Game Two, Saturday, 7:15PM ET Joey Cantillo 4.38 ERA (4.76 FIP) vs. Spencer Arrighetti, RHP 2.57 ERA (3.81 FIP) Game Three, Sunday, 2:10PM ET Slade Cecconi 4.60 ERA (4.33 FIP) vs. Kai-Wei Teng, RHP 4.31 ERA (4.88 FIP)
It’s all about not letting Yordan Alvarez (190 wRC+) and Christian Walker (121 wRC+) – who kills Cleveland – beat you this series. The rest of the lineup is manageble. So, let’s get some hits with runners in scoring position and go take this series. DO NOT LET YORDAN BEAT YOU!!!
Many years ago, I got jumped. Didn’t end well. Concussion. Contusions. Fractured wrist. A thumbprint on my neck, where one of them choked me.
I’ve revisited the scene since. The first time I got all tingly and jumpy. Less and less ever since. It doesn’t hit the way it used to. Sometimes you can measure how from you’ve healed from a trauma by returning to the scene of the crime.
The New York Knicks are 2026 NBA champions, something that would’ve sounded unbelievable as recently as two or three years ago because of where the Knicks were two to three years to five to 10 to 15 before then. I continue to struggle to find words that can capture the feelings I’m feeling this glorious spring. So how about some numbers? Maybe that’s the best way to measure just how far the Knicks came to get where they stand today, as champions of the world (whose owner already promised to pull the plug on the roster. You can lead a horse’s ass to the sparkling waters of the promised land, but you can’t stop him from assing).
First of all, to appreciate just how good the Knicks are now, some context about before. (And if you’re interested, we did run a mailbag yesterday. But between the Knick parade and the capitalist illogic that demands every writer here published eight pieces a day, a lotta good tracks get lost in the shuffle. So click here if you missed it)
RELATIVE RATINGS
The Knicks have rarely been good, historically. Even being 76 games over .500 the past five seasons, the franchise is still 113 games under, all-time. In 1950-51, the first year the NBA tracked relative offensive and defensive rating, the Knicks, led by Vince Boryla, Harry Gallatin and Dick McGuire, finished second in relative offensive rating at 2.9. The only team ahead of them: the then-champion Rochester Royals, led by Bob Davies and a young point guard — name of William “Red” Holzman.
That 2.9 was a level no Knick team could pass until 1989, Rick Pitino’s Bomb Squad. The highest relative offensive rating for any Knick team, ever? The 2013 anomaly, at 5.2. And that’s more of an anomaly than you may think: other than 2013, no Knick team from 1951 to 2024 ever reached the 4-point mark. In 2025, they did it again. In 2026, they did it again.
Rarer still than the Knicks being good anywhere has been the Knicks being good on both ends. Go back to 1952-53 for another mark that stood the test of time: that season ,the Knicks had an offensive rating of 3.0 and a defensive rating of -2.5 (the lower the defensive rating, the better). Guess what? From 1954 to 2025, the Knicks never again put up such strong ratings on both sides of the ball. In 2026, those numbers were 4.0 and -2.5 — greatest in club history.
WINS
Willis Reed retired in 1974, marking the official end of the Knick Golden Age. Patrick Ewing led what I suppose must now be called the Bronze Age, with the Brunson years the new Silver Age. Ewing’s dominant decade-plus drove the Knicks’ longest continuous run of contention. Interestingly, if you subtract the Ewing years from the post-Reed years, that leaves 33 seasons (Brunson’s draft number, Ewing’s jersey number and Dillon Jones’, too). In the first 29 of those seasons, the Knicks won 47-plus games four times. In each of Brunson’s four years in New York, they’ve won at least 47 games.
How big a jump is that? A quick rundown of some of the tripe ball we were forced to swallow over the last 20 years:
The 2006 Knicks began the season losing their first five games. That year they had two five-game losing streaks, two six-game losing streaks, a seven-, a nine- and a 10-game losing streak. Their 23-59 record was their worst in 20 seasons.
Two years later, the Knicks lost five straight three times, plus seven and eight games twice each, tying the ’06 squad with 23 wins. The last time a Knick team won fewer, Willis Reed was a phys. ed. major at Grambling State.
Ahh, 2015 — the first year I covered the Knicks all season. And what a season! Would you believe opening 4-10 with a seven-game losing streak was the high point of the campaign?? It was! That’s what happens in a season a team has separate losing streaks of five, seven, eight, nine, 10 and 16 games. New York dropped 26 of 27 at one point; in a totally separate part of the season, they lost 16 of 18. How bad were those Knicks? You could remove the 1-26 and 2-16 stretches and they’d STILL have a losing record. That’s one way to finish 17-65, setting a new franchise low for wins.
The 2016 Knicks were 22-22 and dreaming of a playoff spot. Losing 12 of 13 en route to a 10-28 finish sunk those dreams.
The 2017 Knicks began the year 16-13. They then lost nine of ten games and 33 of 44.
The 2018 Knicks also started 16-13. They went on to lose 32 of their last 40 contests.
The 2019 Knicks tied the 2015 squad as the worst ever, thanks to a pair of five-game losing streaks, a pair of sixes, a pair of eights and an 18-game losing streak I admit I somehow do not remember. Even though I probably recapped most of those games.
In 2020, David Fizdale had the Knicks on pace for an even worse finish, before he was canned and replaced by Mike Miller. Weekend Dad brought the stability Absent Father never could: in the COVID-shortened season, the Knicks played 66 games, going 4-18 until Fiz got sacked, 8-14 in Miller’s first 22 games and 9-13 after. That’s still a 50-loss pace under Miller, but after Fizdale had them on a 15-67 track, 50 Ls woulda been a stone groove.
TODAY’S TEAM
More good news.
The Knicks are good. Really good. Quite good, actually. I mean, you already knew that. From the championship, natch. From winning 15 of their last 16, or tearing through the playoffs at a 70-win pace. From this team being so lovable that not even the owner’s third turd in the punch bowl in less than two weeks has killed the buzz (1) inconveniencing millions of people to force President Pedo on the masses, in a very “forceful” gesture by a man whose BFFs all seem to be sex criminals and who has himself been charged with rape and convicted of sexual harassment; 2) complaining about the mayor and the NYPD restricting watch parties around MSG as an inconvenience to the fans, the same fans he didn’t give a shit about when President Pedo did the same 48 hours earlier; 3) waiting for the literal DAY OF THE FUCKING CHAMPIONSHIP PARADE to announce the hundreds of millions in property tax exemptions he’s enjoyed the past 25 years won’t compel him to raise the payroll for a title defense AND that he’s dragging the team to President Pedo’s White House, somewhere no NBA team has gone before).
I could give you numbers that show how awesome the Knicks have become. Here, lemme share one that’s kinda my fave.
18 current players have scored 60-plus points in an NBA game. Two of them are Knicks, Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns. Only three other teams have two players who’ve scored that many: the Cavs (Donovan Mitchell, James Harden), the Mavs (Kyrie Irving, Klay Thompson) and the Lakers (Luka, LeBron; if LeBron and Austin Reaves re-sign, the Lakers would be the only team with three players who’ve scored 50-plus). I can tell without looking it up that no Knick ever scored 40 points in a game alongside Patrick Ewing (I know John Starks’ career-high was 39). But wait! There’s more.
All five Knick starters have scored 40-plus in a game, with four doing so as Knicks (Josh Hart’s career-high 44 came for Portland back in 2022). Know how many other teams can say that? None — with some asterisks.
The Heat, oddly, are close, and would qualify if Jamie Jaquez Jr. were their fifth starter. But Davion Mitchell is, so no dice. Four Cavs starters can count to cuarenta, but not Max Strus. Wanna real wild horsie? The Kings’ five most frequent starters last year don’t make the grade, but their top-5 in minutes per game do: Keegan Murray, Zach LaVine, Demar DeRozan, Domantas Sabonis and Russell Westbrook.
But the Heat suck. The Cavs are posers. The Kings, long the Knicks’ closest reflection, are now blessedly a funhouse mirror distortion of the truth, and no more. The Knicks are really, really good. You already knew that. But maybe now you know better just how really, really good they really are.
On this day 75 years ago, Bud Stewart played a key role in the upstart White Sox splitting a doubleheader in Yankee Stadium in front of 60,441. | (Photo by The Stanley Weston Archive/Getty Images)
1884 Ill-fated hurler and inventor of the knuckleball, Eddie Cicotte, was born, in Springwells, Mich. Cicotte made his MLB debut in 1905 and was up for good as a major-leaguer in 1908. Four years later, he was swapped to Chicago and saw his career take off. Cicotte’s 11.9 WAR to lead the greatest White Sox team in history in 1917 led all of baseball and stands in a tie for 36th-best all-time and second-best in White Sox annals.
While he couldn’t have known it then, Cicotte’s popularization of the knuckleball ushered in a tradition of knuckleballers on the South Side, from Hoyt Wilhelm to Eddie Fisher to Wilbur Wood and even briefly to Charlie Hough.
Of course, Cicotte consorted with gamblers and famously was a fixer of the 1919 Black Sox World Series. The righty was banned from baseball for 95 years, and despite Hall-worthy statistics has so far been kept out of Cooperstown.
1912 Don Gutteridge, at 109-172 the owner of the fifth-worst record among White Sox managers tenured for at least one full season, was born in Pittsburg, Kan. He played for 12 years in the majors as an infielder clearly valued for his knowledge of the game and ability to fill a role as opposed to his prowess between the lines (1.4 total WAR over 1,151 games).
Gutteridge had bad fortune on the South Side as skipper in at least three ways:
He wasn’t White Sox manager by choice, returning to the White Sox organization only after the surprising return of Al Lopez as manager in 1968 and being forced into the job after Lopez resigned in 1969
By taking over as an interim manager 17 games into the season, he was neither prepared to manage in the majors nor establish himself as the leader of the club
The late-1960s White Sox were severely lacking in talent (over four seasons as a manager in the organization’s minors, his clubs finished with a winning record every year
Gutteridge was nonetheless as associated with the record 17 straight winning seasons the White Sox ran off in the 1950s and 1960s, on the MLB coaching staff (mostly as first-base coach) from 1955-66.
After retiring from baseball, Gutteridge returned to Pittsburg, which honored him ever June 19 with “Don Gutteridge Day”. He died there in 2008, at 96, and at that time he was one of the 10 oldest living major league baseball players, the oldest living former manager or coach, the last surviving member of the St. Louis Cardinals “Gas House Gang,” and the last living member of the St. Louis Browns to appear in a World Series.
1926 The Sox celebrated Eddie Collins Day at Comiskey Park. Collinswould be admitted into the Hall of Fame in 1939 and was one of the finest second baseman in major league history. He played 12 seasons with the White Sox and is the only member of the 3,000-hit club to get that milestone safety in a White Sox uniform.
1941 Joe DiMaggio went 3-for-3 with a home run in a 7-2 loss to New York at Yankee Stadium. It was the 32nd game of his eventual 56-game hitting streak, with the streak now the 14th-longest of all time, tied with Harry Heilmann of the Detroit Tigers.
DiMaggio had started his hit streak about a month earlier, on May 15, against the Eddie Smith and the White Sox. At this point, eight of the 32 games Joltin’ Joe had hit safely in had come against the South Siders. In a month, DiMaggio would hit safely in games 52-55 of the streak in Chicago, before seeing it snapped two games after leaving town, vs. Cleveland.
All told, six White Sox pitchers were victimized by DiMaggio’s streak, with Smithand Thornton Lee both getting touched over three games, for four total hits. Johnny Rigney also extended DiMaggio’s streak by three games, and three hits in total.
1951 The White Sox split a doubleheader at Yankee Stadium in front of 60,441 fans (ranking among the Top 20-attended games in White Sox history), maintaining their 3 1⁄2-game lead in the American League.
The Sox dropped the opener, 11-9, despite rallying to tie after falling behind, 5-0, in the first inning. In the nightcap, the White Sox took a 4-3 lead on Bud Stewart’s three-run homer in the eighth, and after the Yankees fought back for one, tallied the eventual game-winner on Bob Dillinger’s double in the ninth.
The White Sox would fall out of first for good in July and finish the season in fourth place, 17 games back. But their 81-73-1 record represented their first winning season in eight years — and more importantly, kicked off a string of 17 straight winning seasons on the South Side.
1977 Wilbur Wood threw his last good game for the White Sox in throwing eight innings of one-run ball in beating the A’s, 2-1, in the first game of a doubleheader at Comiskey Park. But the real star that afternoon was first baseman Lamar Johnson, who did everything in this contest. Johnson’s three hits (and two home runs) were the only Sox hits in the opener. He also sang the National Anthem beforehand!
The Sox also won the nightcap 5-1, with Lamar adding a hit and scoring a run.
2009 Levi Maxwell of the White Sox High-A affiliate Winston-Salem Dash threw a seven-inning no-hitter in a doubleheader opener against the Wilmington Blue Rocks. It was the first no-hitter in the Carolina League in three years, and the first for the Dash since 2001. Maxwell ended up as the Carolina League Pitcher of the Week for his achievement.
However, it was a bright spot in an otherwise rough season. Maxwell finished 2009 at 4-15 (4.54 ERA) after going 15-5 a year earlier for the Low-A Kannapolis Intimidators. In true Joe Cowley fashion, Maxwell retired (or was released) at season’s end.
(The manager of that Intimidators club in 2009? None other than future White Sox third base coach Joe McEwing.)
2015 In a game against the Texas Rangers at U.S. Cellular Field, Chris Sale recorded his fifth consecutive game with at least 12 strikeouts, as he fanned 14 Texas hitters. That tied him with Pedro Martinez and Randy Johnson as the only pitchers in baseball history to accomplish that. Sale’s streak began on May 28, and in those five starts he struck out a total of 65 hitters.
He got a no-decision in this game, though, as Texas scored two runs in the ninth inning with two outs and stole a 2-1 win.
Connor Ungar probably wasn't thinking about Grant Fuhr when he signed his contract with the Edmonton Oilers.
He was probably thinking about how far he'd come.
From Calgary to Brock University. From U Sports to the ECHL. From being largely ignored to becoming one of the better stories in the Oilers' system. Yesterday, all that work resulted in a one-year contract and another step toward what every young goalie dreams about.
An NHL crease.
Good for him.
But the thing is, being a goaltending prospect in Edmonton isn't quite like being one anywhere else. Around these parts, goalies are less developed than they are debated. Every rough outing becomes a referendum while every hot streak sparks a round of "maybe he's the answer."
And everybody wants an answer; they've wanted one for decades.
Curtis Joseph left. Tommy Salo broke hearts. Dwayne Roloson came close. Cam Talbot had his moments. Mikko Koskinen was alternately loved and blamed. Mike Smith somehow became both cult hero and lightning rod. Stuart Skinner experienced the full emotional roller coaster, and now Tristan Jarry and Connor Ingram find themselves carrying the latest version of the NHL's least enjoyable group project.
So yah, there was something amusing about the reaction to Ungar's signing.
Oil Country has developed a habit over the years. Every time a new goalie emerges, somebody starts wondering whether this is finally the one.
As if the position itself can be solved.
The funny thing is, maybe Ungar has a chance.
His path hasn't exactly been conventional, but unconventional isn't necessarily bad when it comes to goaltenders. Tim Thomas was nearly 31 before becoming a full-time NHL player. Adin Hill bounced around before helping Vegas win a Stanley Cup. Logan Thompson wasn't drafted at all. Goalies are strange creatures.
Nobody handed him anything. He wasn't a first-round pick. He wasn't even a draft pick. Every level he's reached has been earned. And after putting together strong numbers in Bakersfield, he's done enough to convince the organization that he's worth another look.
Twenty-four years old isn't old for a goalie, but it's not young either. He hasn't played an NHL game, and other names are ahead of him. Fans should expect setbacks, because that's what happens.
Some nights you're the future. Some nights people are wondering if you'll ever make it.
Just ask Stuart Skinner.
The Oilers themselves seem to understand this better now than they once did. Instead of rushing prospects and declaring them saviours, they're trying to build depth.
The truth is, nobody knows whether Connor Ungar will become a starting NHL goaltender. Nobody knows whether he'll spend ten years in the league or ten years riding buses in the minors.
While a lot has been written and said about how Kent Hughes will be looking to improve the Montreal Canadiens over the summer, it must be remembered that he’ll also have to deal with a few expiring contracts. Joe Veleno, Kirby Dach, Zachary Bolduc, and Arber Xhekaj will all be RFAs at the end of June.
The easiest case to deal with will likely be Bolduc. The 23-year-old has just completed his ELC, and while he’s proven to be a promising young player, it feels like we’ve only just scratched the surface. In 78 regular-season games, Bolduc has put up 30 points, including 12 goals. In 2024-25 with the St. Louis Blues, he gathered 36 points and 19 goals, but 12 of his goals came on the power play. With the central division team, he had a plus-20 differential, but finished with a minus-6 with the Canadiens this past season.
That’s not regression, that’s needing some time to adapt to a new way to play the game, the Martin St-Louis way. It’s a game that relies on reads and reactions rather than an established system, a man-on-man defensive system, which takes time to understand and process. If the youngster looked lost in defensive coverage early in the season, that happened a lot less in the later stages of the year.
While he averaged 1:36 of power play time per game, that was with the Canadiens’ less successful second unit, not with the big guns, so to speak, so it’s not all that surprising that his man-advantage production dropped from 12 points with the Blues to just six with the Habs.
Clearly, Bolduc has more to show, and that’s why he won’t be signing a long-term deal. Just like Dach and Alex Newhook, he’ll have to sign a bridge deal, which will allow the Canadiens to see what he can do as he develops as a hockey player under St-Louis’ tutelage. The former signed a four-year deal with a $3,362,500 million cap hit coming off a 26-point season in 70 games with the Chicago Blackhawks, while the latter had a four-year pact with a $2.9 million cap hit coming off a 30-point season in 82 games with the Colorado Avalanche. Both were former first-round picks, just like Bolduc. Dach went third overall, while Newhook was 16th overall, and Bolduc was 17th overall at the 2021 draft.
Bolduc’s last ELC year was quite similar to Dach and Newhook’s, so it’s highly likely that Hughes will follow the same blueprint with the Trois-Rivieres native. Given the fact that the salary cap will be going up for the next few seasons, his cap hit is likely to be higher than what Dach and Newhook had, but he really shouldn’t be all that expensive. He’ll likely come in somewhere between $3.5 and $3.75 million, since the GM will no doubt use his tried and tested recipe to sign his player to a team-friendly contract, giving himself as much cap flexibility as possible moving forward.
If you were to make a list of the most important baseball players, Lou Gehrig would rank quite high on the list. For one, he would also rank quite highly on the best players of all time list, but his importance goes beyond that. His famous iron man streak, its end, and Gehrig’s subsequent battle with ALS takes him to a level of recognition that goes past him being a Hall of Fame player. While it’s becoming less common as the disease has gained more and more notoriety over the years, but it’s not entirely uncommon to hear ALS referred to as “Lou Gehrig’s Disease.”
Today happens to be the “Iron Horse’s” birthday, so in his honor let’s take a look back at the legendary player, who means so much more than what he did on the field.
Henry Louis “Lou” Gehrig Born: June 19, 1903 (New York, NY) Died: June 2, 1941 (New York, NY) Yankees Tenure: 1923-39
Gehrig was born in 1903 in the place in which he would become famous: New York City. His parents, Heinrich and Christina, were German immigrants who had three other children, but none outside of Lou lived past toddlerhood. Gehrig grew up speaking German at home, and even later formed a bond with Babe Ruth — also of German ancestry — by speaking to each other in the language. While he was growing up, Christina Gehrig was mostly the main breadwinner of the family, working as a maid, as Heinrich often struggled with alcoholism and epilepsy. Lou would often help his mother with her work and the two had a very close bond, with him calling her his “best pal.”
As you might expect as the child of immigrant parents from a place where baseball isn’t much of a thing, Gehrig’s parents weren’t initially thrilled with Lou’s love of baseball, which he formed at an early age. However, it quickly became clear that Gehrig was very, very good at the game. After his high school won the New York City championship, they were invited to take on the Chicago champions at the stadium now known as Wrigley Field. During the game, Gehrig hit a grand slam clear out of the stadium, which would’ve been an impressive feat for a major leaguer, never mind a high schooler.
Despite his baseball skill, Gehrig’s parents still hoped for him to get into business or another field, so he enrolled at Columbia University, where his mother worked at a fraternity house. He still had an eye on athletics, though, as he also played on the college’s baseball and football teams. In one 1923 game, Gehrig struck out 17 Williams College batters as a pitcher. That caught people’s eye, including that of legendary Yankee scout Paul Krichell.
After attending further games, Krichell came away even more impressed by Gehrig’s hitting and excitedly told Yankees GM Ed Barrow that he had found the “next Babe Ruth.” Despite his parent’s earlier reluctance, the money offered by the Yankees proved to be too much to not accept and he signed with the team on April 30, 1923.
In his first two years after signing with the Yankees, Gehrig played just 23 games combined across 1923 and ‘24. Despite that, he showed plenty of potential in his sparse chances, putting up a 209 OPS+ in 42 plate appearances. He also spent some time in the minors with the Hartford Senators, where he also opened eyes with 61 homers in 193 games. His talent was evident, and he was subject of poaching attempts. In 1924, Rochester of the International League tried to get him when the Yankees acquired Fred Merkle of “Merkle’s Boner” fame. However, his shot was on the horizon, and he took it by both hands.
In a moment that now lives in fame, Gehrig was given the start at first base on June 2, 1925. That day, Wally Pipp, a star of the 1923 World Series champions and a Yankee great in his own right, was given the day off. The legend is that he came that day with a headache and Huggins told him to just take the day off and rest. There’s also a line of thinking that, as the Yankees were struggling a bit in ‘25, Huggins decided to just get a look at a still-young Gehrig. Whatever the reason, the only people that day it didn’t work out for were Pipp and the rest of the league. Gehrig went 3-for-5 with a double on June 2nd. He wouldn’t leave the Yankees’ lineup again until 1939.
Huggins stuck with Gehrig for the rest of 1925, and the youngster repaid that faith with a very good season. The Yankees sold Pipp to the Reds the following offseason, confirming that the first base job was Gehrig’s. Gehrig improved in 1926, and then improved even more in 1927, as part of the dominant “Murderers’ Row” team. The 1927 championship was Gehrig’s second as he had been around for ‘23, but it was the first in which he was a regular, and would be the second of his seven in total.
From 1926-38, Gehrig was probably the second best player in all of baseball, behind only his teammate, Babe Ruth. Over the course of those 13 seasons in particular, he hit .343/.452/.640, with 472 home runs, 1913 RBI (cracking the 100+ mark every year), with a 182 OPS+ and 110.1 rWAR. In addition to 1927, the Yankees went on to win titles in 1928, 1932, 1936, 1937, and 1938. With the exception of the final one when he would’ve been in the early stages of his battle with ALS, Gehrig would’ve been the running for Series MVP had the award existed at the time.
The feats just kept on coming for Larrupin’ Lou. On June 3, 1932, he accomplished something that not even Ruth did, swatting four homers in the same game against the Philadelphia Athletics at Shibe Park. He was just the third player to do and the first in American League history. No other Yankee has done it in the 84 years since then; in fact, it’s only been 18 other times by players on any team.
Also famously, he never took a day off. From taking over the first base job in 1925 until early 1939, Gehrig played every single day, for a streak totaling 2,130. It shattered the previous record of consecutive games played and would take another legend in Cal Ripken Jr. to come along and break it. The fact that all the wear and tear that would’ve come with that streak never really affected his stats is also insanely remarkable.
The final full year of that dominant stretch was 1938, when Gehrig first started to notice that something was off. His stats for that season still ended up at an excellent level for a normal player, but a bit below Gehrig’s usual. He didn’t seem to have quite the power that he once had, noting “I see the ball all right and take a proper cut and seem to connect like I want to, but somehow the ball doesn’t seem to take the proper zoom.”
While Gehrig spent the following winter trying to exercise and regain his strength, the opposite was happening. Upon reporting to spring training, he was struggling even worse than he had the prior year, and even collapsed in the clubhouse on a couple occasions. Upon the beginning of the 1939 campaign, Gehrig went just 4-for-28 at the plate, and looked noticeably slower in the field and running the bases. On May 2nd, he went to manager Joe McCarthy and asked for a day off, the first in over a decade.
As he continued to sit out, Gehrig kept traveling with the Yankees, but the rest wasn’t changing anything. That eventually led to him checking into the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota, still searching for some sort of answer. The one he got wasn’t good. Gehrig was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis — then a relatively unknown condition but an absolutely devastating one. A return to the baseball field was out of the question, and ALS would likely take his life within a matter of years.
After the revelation that he would have to retire, the Yankees announced a Lou Gehrig Appreciation Day would be held on July 4, 1939. The event brought many dignitaries and former teammates out, including Ruth, even though the two had gone through a falling-out in prior years.
The ceremonies were held in between games of a doubleheader that day. After numerous speeches, Gehrig himself was invited to the microphone. While you can probably recite the most famous line by heart, in its echo-y, crackly recorded form, Gehrig said so much more than that on that day, and all of it is worth reading:
For the past two weeks you have been reading about a bad break. Yet today I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth. I have been in ballparks for seventeen years and have never received anything but kindness and encouragement from you fans.
When you look around, wouldn’t you consider it a privilege to associate yourself with such a fine looking men as they’re standing in uniform in this ballpark today? Sure, I’m lucky. Who wouldn’t consider it an honor to have known Jacob Ruppert? Also, the builder of baseball’s greatest empire, Ed Barrow? To have spent six years with that wonderful little fellow, Miller Huggins? Then to have spent the next nine years with that outstanding leader, that smart student of psychology, the best manager in baseball today, Joe McCarthy? Sure, I’m lucky.
When the New York Giants, a team you would give your right arm to beat, and vice versa, sends you a gift — that’s something. When everybody down to the groundskeepers and those boys in white coats remember you with trophies — that’s something. When you have a wonderful mother-in-law who takes sides with you in squabbles with her own daughter — that’s something. When you have a father and a mother who work all their lives so you can have an education and build your body — it’s a blessing. When you have a wife who has been a tower of strength and shown more courage than you dreamed existed — that’s the finest I know.
So I close in saying that I might have been given a bad break, but I’ve got an awful lot to live for. Thank you.
After the festivities of that day, Gehrig retired back to his Bronx home with his wife, Eleanor, who he had met in Chicago back during the 1932 World Series. Mayor Fiorello La Guardia appointed him to a term as a New York City Parole Commissioner, which he performed for the remainder of his life. Said life sadly only lasted a little while longer. On June 2, 1941, Gehrig passed away just a few weeks shy of his 38th birthday, an age at which plenty of players are still on the field.
Following his death, Eleanor Gehrig devoted the rest of her life to ALS research and never remarried. A regular to Yankees Old-Timers’ Day, she did everything she could to keep his memory alive until her own passing in 1984. She said of Lou, “I would not have traded two minutes of the joy and grief with that man for two decades of anything with another.”
Just as a player, Lou Gehrig is an unquestionable Yankees and baseball icon. However, he also means so much more than that in many ways.
See more of the “Yankees Birthday of the Day” series here.
MIAMI, FL - NOVEMBER 29: Tyler Herro #14 of the Miami Heat dribbles the ball during the game against the Detroit Pistons on November 29, 2025 at Kaseya Center in Miami, Florida. 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 2025 NBAE (Photo by Issac Baldizon/NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images
The Detroit Pistons have made clear that their shopping list this season involves shooting, self-creation, and ball-handling. They are viewed as critical ingredients as the team looks at a hopeful long-term future around a core of Cade Cunningham, Ausar Thompson, and Jalen Duren.
Knowing what you need is one thing. Obtaining what you need is several orders of magnitude more difficult. However, one of the biggest potential deals on the horizon could net the Pistons exactly what they are looking for, if you choose to believe recent reports.
The Pistons are rumored to be a potential third team in any deal that sends Giannis Antetokounmpo from the Milwaukee Bucks to the Miami Heat, with Detroit getting Tyler Herro in return, according to the plugged-in Marc Stein.
Stein also writes of potential alternatives and additions that are piquing Detroit’s interest:
The Pistons, I’m told, should be monitored as a potential third-team facilitator in a Giannis Antetokounmpo-to-Miami trade … with Tyler Herro ultimately landing in Detroit.
The Eastern Conference’s lone 60-win team this season is known to be eager to add shooting around Cade Cunningham and is believed to be aggressively exploring its options in the marketplace beyond two oft-cited trade targets who would be much harder to acquire than Herro: Dallas’ Kyrie Irving and New Orleans’ Trey Murphy III.
Other players regarded as potentially available and said to interest Detroit include Charlotte’s Coby White, Oklahoma City’s Isaiah Joe and possibly even Sacramento’s Zach LaVine now that LaVine is heading into the final year of a massive contract with a $49 million player option that carries a June 29 deadline to be activated.
Herro has some limitations, but he checks every box Detroit is looking for offensively.
Tyler Herro the Playmaker
He’s just 26 years old and stands at 6-foot-5, fitting neatly into Detroit’s preference for a bigger lineup on a timeline that matches Cunningham.
He’s graduated to a 60% true shooting percentage the past two seasons, and it’s not because he’s limited to catch-and-shoot opportunities.
In his All-Star season of 2024-25, he got to the line nearly 24% of the time, had a usage rate of 28%, shot 56% on twos, and 37.5% on threes. He was in the top quarter of the league as a scorer off of handoffs, cuts, off screens, spot-ups, and on putbacks. He can function as a high-volume movement shooter. He has also averaged better than 4 assists per season for his career, including a career-high 5.5 in his All-Star season.
Tyler Herro’s Defensive Limitations
Those limitations, though, should be seriously considered. He’s missed 89 games the past three seasons, including playing in just 11 of Miami’s first 56 games in his most recent campaign. He’s physically limited as a defender, and in the playoffs an opposing team would certainly look to attack that weakness.
The Pistons need to weigh any defensive limitations against the offense the team is so clearly lacking. The fact that the team is also reportedly interested in Coby White, Isaiah Joe and especially Zach LaVine as options tells you everything about how much they are willing to add a minus defender in a hope to turbo charge its offense.
The Cost of Tyler Herro
The hardest question to answer is what it would cost for Detroit to insert themselves into any three-team trade for Antetokounmpo. It’s widely assumed players like Herro, Ka’lel Ware and Nikola Jovic would be sent out in the deal.
Being the third team lowers the cost for Detroit a bit because the two primary teams are obviously motivated to get a deal done. The Milwaukee Bucks are looking to rebuild, so what would they want with a Tyler Herro anyway?
Well, the new lottery odds might complicate those matters a little bit. With extremely flat lottery odds plus an incentive not to be one of the three worst teams in the league means Milwaukee doesn’t need to strip down the entire roster for parts. They don’t need Herro, but they could keep him around, make him the No. 1 option and try to flip him at the deadline.
If Detroit wants him, they will have to surrender some real value for him. Recall the cost the Cleveland Cavaliers paid to poach Jarrett Allen from the Brooklyn Nets in the three-team deal with the Rockets as part of the James Harden trade. Cleveland sent first-round and second-round picks in the deal along with Dante Exum to get Jarrett Allen, Taurean Prince and the rights to a never NBA player. At the time, Allen was just 22 years old and had never made an All-Star team.
It feels like a deal that nets Detroit Herro would start at some combination of Caris LeVert AND Duncan Robinson OR Isaiah Stewart, plus a first-round pick.
How that stacks to comparative costs for a better player such as Trey Murphy or a worse, more affordable player like Zach LaVine, is the prism we need to eye these trades in.
It seems clear, though, that the Pistons have their sights set on a very particular set of skills, and they are the ones the fan base agrees Detroit is lacking. Should be an interesting offseason.
Which player would you most want to add considering roster impact and cost?
Alec Burleson
Yordan Alvarez
James Wood
