We are within a month of pitchers and catchers reporting which means, the equipment truck is making its annual trek to Goodyear, Arizona. The truck departs today, signaling spring’s prompt arrival better than any groundhog.
To kick things off, José Ramírez will be signing his shiny new contract extension at Progressive today.
Now to some good news today, the #Guardians will officially announce the José Ramírez contract extension tomorrow at Progressive Field with the superstar third baseman, team owner Paul Dolan, President of Baseball Operations Chris Antonetti and Spanish Interpreter Agustin Rivero.
Grady Sizemore, first base coach for the Minnesota Twins did an interview on the Inside Twins podcast.
After being traded to the Colorado Rockies just before the start of the 2025 season, it looks like Tyler Freeman is hoping to develop into a leader on the field and in the clubhouse for the Rockies.
Around the League:
NBC is reportedly striking a deal with Clayton Kershaw for MLB coverage.
The Colorado Rockies haven’t exactly had a quiet off-season. They hired an entirely new front office and coaching staff as the organization begins their much needed modernization and rebuild efforts. They’ve signed two veteran free agents in Michael Lorenzen and Willi Castro to Major League deals, acquired Jake McCarthy from the Arizona Diamondbacks, brought on a full new class of young international free agents, and made a smattering of minor league deals.
However, it’s always felt like—with a crowded outfield and further roster evaluation needed—there had to be more coming.
Then, on Wednesday, the Rockies suddenly had one of their busiest days of the off-season.
The 25-year-old has a solid glove and turned in a strong season with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, slashing .285/.378/.447 with 31 doubles, one triple, and 16 home runs. He can also draw walks regularly, doing so at a 11.9% clip compared to his 18.4% strikeout rate.
“We’re going to keep adding talent to this roster, but in no way are we not believing in the young guys we have,” DePodesta said. “I think we have a lot of really good young players that are in Double-A and Triple-A, and there’s no doubt in my mind that they’re going to earn their opportunities on this team. And once they do, they’ll have long runways with us.”
However, those long runways don’t necessarily apply to everyone. We have already seen the Rockies part ways with young players prospects this off-season. In addition to the Chivilli trade, the Rockies also dealt prospect pitcher Josh Grosz to the Arizona Diamondbacks and designated a player once believed to be the team’s catcher of the future in Drew Romo for assignment.
Later in the day, the Rockies added outfielder Yanquiel Fernández to that list by designating him for assignment. Once ranked as high as the Rockies’ no. 3 organizational prospect per MLB Pipeline, Fernández made his Major League debut in 2025. He slashed .225/.265/.348 with four home runs over 138 at-bats as both a right fielder and designated hitter. Fernández, despite having just turned 23, is now potentially out of the Rockies organization entirely after getting his first cup of coffee.
“We’re certainly at the point where we feel like every time we make a move we’re losing someone we like, or potentially losing someone we like, and that certainly was the case with Yanquiel,” DePodesta explained. “We now have a group in the big leagues that we feel pretty good about. We also have a handful of guys on the 40-man who haven’t yet gotten a lot of time in the big leagues, or even any time right now, like Sterlin Thompson. Guys that we like and guys that we think have a chance to help us.”
While DePodesta had plenty of praise for Fernández and Chivilli, his new front office’s decisions would indicate that this team isn’t as high on it’s current stock of youth and prospects as the Rockies of the past—especially when it comes to position players.
This would seem to be substantiated by moves today and throughout the off-season. While DePodesta says he believes the youth will earn their spots, his focus has been on bringing in competition and creating fluidity on the roster.
“I think what we’re really trying to do is create really healthy competition on our roster,” he said. “Most of the players we have acquired do have a good amount of versatility. I think there are lots of different ways that the pieces can fit, and I think that’s really what we’re looking for.”
Willi Castro—now officially signed to the roster—can play all over the field and create competition for younger players like Kyle Karros at third base and Adael Amador at second. Both he and Jake McCarthy’s outfield versatility creates competition for the aforementioned Thompson, the beleaguered Zac Veen, and other outfield prospects. Fernández ended up being the odd man out because—despite his strong arm and power bat—he lacked the flexibility of other outfielders on the roster. With his poor speed and defense, he was anchored exclusively to right field or as a designated hitter.
New first baseman TJ Rumfield represents another potential option for the Rockies in a first base group that has surprisingly become quite crowded alongside Blaine Crim, Troy Johnston—who can also play corner outfield—, and current top prospect Charlie Condon.
Julien, 26, was once a top prospect of the Twins organization and can play both first and second base. However, the Rockies also like him for another trend we have seen in their acquisitions: getting on base and batted ball skills. More Rockies on base means more runs to be driven in.
While Julien is coming off two down years, in 2023 and throughout his minor league career he has hit well against right-handed pitching and getting on base. He has a whopping .427 career on-base percentage in the minors, while carrying a solid enough .336 Major League OBP and a 13% walk rate.
The Rockies also believe that Julien—along with Castro and McCarthy—can have bounce-back seasons after losing a step in 2025.
“I think we feel really strongly about all their capabilities. Also. I think the underlying fundamentals of their performance have stayed reasonably consistent. So we think we have a chance to build on that foundation and get them back to,or maybe even exceed, where they were.”
With all of these roster moves, the Rockies are already showing a different approach to the off-season compared to the previous front office. There may also be more moves yet to come.
“We may not be done adding. Well, we’ll see…” DePodesta said. “But we did want to make sure that we had healthy competition at a handful of these different spots and then different ways to put the puzzle together.”
The rosters for the World Baseball Classic are taking shape, and one of the newest members of the Rockies will be a part of it. Puerto Rican super utilityman Willi Castro will suit up for his first World Baseball Classic appearance alongside Nolan Arenado for Team Puerto Rico.
Our friends over at Twinkie Town discuss the trade of Edouard Julien and Pierson Ohl from their perspective. They see Julien as a reclamation project for the Rockies and have some concerns about his defense.
There are a few more signing rumors out there, but we’ll wait for confirmation. The Dylan Carlson deal is done. More pitching and infield help (Gabe Klobosits, Karson Simas) may be on the way. We, um, await developments.
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Brian Kelder (North Side Baseball*): What is the Point of Tyler Austin? “The slugging first baseman is intriguing, but will he play often enough to justify his roster spot?”
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We’re here to talk about the one thing on everybody’s minds: who is going to be the Milwaukee Brewers’ backup catcher when the 2026 season starts?
There was a bit of news on this front on Tuesday, when the Brewers—after rumors swirled for some time—signed the Chicago Cubs’ 2025 backup, Reese McGuire. The wrinkle here is that McGuire was not signed to a major league deal; he instead received a minor league deal with an invite to spring training.
McGuire, who turns 31 early in spring training, is still probably the best bet to open the season as the backup catcher, but since he is not yet on the 40-man roster and doesn’t have a guaranteed deal means that we cannot take that for granted.
Whoever the team’s backup catcher is may not have much of a role. William Contreras plays as often as any catcher in the league, and he’s one of the best at the position, so Milwaukee’s backups in recent years haven’t had a whole lot to do.
Let’s take a quick look across Milwaukee’s catching landscape to see who could be in the running here.
Reese McGuire
As mentioned, McGuire makes the most sense. Of all the catchers that we currently know will be in major league camp with the Brewers, McGuire is the only one other than Contreras who has ever played in a major league game. That seems notable.
Harrison did a good job running down McGuire’s bona fides yesterday, but a quick review: McGuire was the 14th overall pick out of high school in 2013, and worked his way onto top-100 prospect lists within the next couple of years. But McGuire’s bat didn’t develop like some hoped, and it wasn’t exactly an “event” when he made his major-league debut with the Blue Jays late in the 2018 season.
McGuire spent most of 2019 in the minors, but he had an encouraging, brief 30-game run in the big leagues in which he hit .299/.346/.526 and clobbered five homers. That good offense turned out to be a mirage, though; after he struggled through the shortened 2020 season, McGuire settled in as a low-offense, solid-defense backstop in 2021, a season in which he played more games than any other Blue Jay catcher but eventually got a bit crowded out by the dependable Danny Jansen and the emerging Alejandro Kirk.
With both Kirk and Jansen playing well, Toronto broke up their catching trio by trading McGuire to the White Sox at the end of spring training in 2022. Chicago didn’t have as much invested in McGuire as the team that drafted him did, so after a rough season they cut bait and shipped him to Boston at the trade deadline. McGuire actually had a magical partial season with the Red Sox: in 36 games after the deadline, he hit .337/.377/.500. That magic didn’t last, though, and he spent the next two seasons playing rather poorly backing up Connor Wong.
McGuire became a free agent after the 2024 season. He signed with the Cubs in January but didn’t make the major league team out of spring training. But when Miguel Amaya strained an oblique in late May, the Cubs re-signed McGuire, and he was with them through the end of the season. In total, he played 44 games in 2025. He hit for a low average and walked only four times in 140 plate appearances (!) but did hit for power: nine homers put his slugging all the way at .444 despite a .245 OBP. That power bump was probably an outlier; through his first seven seasons, McGuire had an isolated power number of just .113, which shot up to .218 in his small sample with the Cubs.
McGuire’s profile is of a guy who features good-enough defense who can obviously run into one at the right moment, but his offensive production will likely be bad; in eight major league seasons covering just under 1,200 plate appearances, he holds an 84 OPS+ and an on-base percentage of just .293.
If McGuire doesn’t make the Brewers out of spring training, he has no minor league options yet, so he would need to be designated for assignment or traded.
Jeferson Quero
The only non-Contreras catcher on the 40-man right now is former mega-prospect Jeferson Quero, who finished last season at Triple-A Nashville. You’re all familiar with the Quero story, so I won’t spend much time on it: Quero ranked in the top 40 of all three major prospect rankings heading into the 2024 season, but he suffered a torn labrum in the very first game of the 2024 season, which cost him the whole year.
Crucially, it may also have cost him the weapon that set him apart as a catching prospect: his throwing arm. Quero was one of the best players in all of professional baseball at catching base stealers in 2023, but the early returns after Quero returned from his long injury journey last June were, at best, discouraging. At worst, it showed that the tool that was always the first thing mentioned in Quero scouting reports is no longer something that is going to help him.
There’s certainly a chance that with more time elapsed since the injury, Quero recovers some of his arm strength in 2026. And it’s not like that was the only thing that people liked about him; scouting reports laud his receiving and his work with pitchers, and he projects as a capable, if not good, hitter.
Still, Quero is unlikely to start the season as the team’s backup catcher even if the Brewers think he is ready, because that’s not how the Brewers act with their top prospects. Keeping him in the minor leagues for a month or two delays his service clock, which is something that Milwaukee has done with its other big prospects in recent years.
If I were guessing who finishes the season as the Brewers’ backup catcher, I might choose Quero, but I doubt we’ll see him on Opening Day.
Ramón Rodríguez or Matt Wood
Rodríguez and Wood are notable because they were on a list of Brewer minor leaguers invited to major-league camp recently. Wood, who turns 25 on the same day that McGuire turns 31, was a fourth-round pick in 2022 and has worked his way up to Double-A Biloxi, where he performed well at the plate in 2025.
Rodríguez was drafted by the Dodgers way back in 2016, and caught on with the Brewers as a minor league free agent in 2024. He played just 21 games in 2025, but he raked for the Shuckers in those 21 games, in which he hit .359/.457/.484. Rodríguez is a career .262/.335/.380 hitter in nine minor league seasons and reached Triple A when he was in Baltimore’s system but has never made the majors.
Neither Rodríguez or Wood likely factors into Milwaukee’s plans at the major league level, at least for now. But they’ll be working with the pitching staff during spring training, and one of them will likely start the season at Triple-A Nashville.
Any others?
Last season, Jorge Alfaro played 82 games with Triple-A Nashville, and Eric Haase played 19 after accepting an assignment there after the Brewers acquired Jansen at the trade deadline. Nick Kahle was another player who got some time behind the plate at the highest level of the Brewers’ minor league system.
Alfaro is gone: he signed a minor league deal with the Royals earlier this month. Haase, likewise, reportedly agreed to a minor league contract with San Francisco a couple of weeks ago. Kahle, as far as I can tell, is not under contract. Another player hypothetically in the mix is another guy with an early-May birthday, Darrien Miller, who is still in the Brewers’ system; he was a ninth-round draft pick in 2019 and has played the entirety of his last two seasons at Double-A Biloxi. But his progress has stalled; at the plate, Miller can take a walk but he can’t do much else—he hit .192/.381/.329 last season and hasn’t hit above .228 in a full-season league since graduating from Low-A in 2021.
The likely outcome
The names have changed, but I have long held the belief that Quero is going to be in Milwaukee as soon as the team is sure they’ve delayed his clock. I thought at first that the logical “first backup” was Eric Haase, who has served in that role before and knows Milwaukee’s pitchers, but McGuire makes a lot of sense here too. My official prediction is that, assuming health all around, McGuire makes the Brewers out of spring training, and is designated for assignment (or traded, or both) sometime in May or June when Quero makes his major league debut.
A few things could change that prediction, though: someone could get hurt; McGuire could continue hitting bombs like he did last year and prove himself a worthy, solid offensive option; or Quero could struggle in the minors.
If Contreras gets hurt, the Brewers likely call up Quero and make him the everyday catcher, though he’d likely split time with McGuire. If Quero or McGuire gets hurt, then the other is the backup. If Quero struggles, he likely just stays in the minors and McGuire continues as the backup. Hopefully everyone stays healthy and productive, and things work out for everyone.
Last year, on July 31st, the New York Yankees traded prospects Roc Riggio and Ben Shields to the Colorado Rockies in exchange for right-handed reliever Jake Bird, who had a 3.49 FIP to that point, albeit with a 4.73 ERA, in 53.1 innings. Unfortunately, he imploded upon reaching the Bronx, and just three outings were enough to see him optioned to Scranton after surrendering seven runs (six earned) in just two innings of work.
His walk rate was a respectable 9.7 percent in the Rocky Mountains, but he just couldn’t throw strikes and get himself in favorable counts in the Bronx. He paid the price with bases on balls and a couple of home runs, too, even if he did strike out four. Then in Scranton, Bird did a better job preventing the long ball, conceding just one in 15.2 frames, but control issues persisted as he put up a disappointing 16.7 percent walk rate. His 6.32 ERA in Triple-A didn’t paint a particularly encouraging picture about his prospects for 2026.
It appears, however, that the offseason has really come in handy for Bird, not just to perform a complete mental reset after a few rocky months upon landing in New York, but to actually attack his weaknesses. Speaking on the YES Network, Yankees pitching coach Matt Blake discussed some of the things Bird has been working on these last few months with his eye on winning a spot in the bullpen.
While David Bednar, Camilo Doval, Fernando Cruz, and others are exciting and talented, the Yanks’ bullpen just isn’t as powerful as it used to be, so having an in-form Bird would be a breath of fresh air.
“I think the biggest thing was trusting his stuff in the zone. (It) has really big shape: big sweeper, big breaking ball. The pitches are moving a lot. So, we got to get him in the zone at a higher rate and limit the walks,” Blake explained. With the Rockies, Bird’s Zone%, or the percentage of pitches throw in the zone, was 57. The number fell to 53 percent with the Yankees in MLB, and 50.5 percent in Triple-A.
It comes down to confidence and execution. In 2025 as a whole, Bird had success with his sweeper (33.8 percent whiff rate, .258 xwOBA) and curveball (38 percent, .158 xwOBA.) He had some bad luck with the former, which had a .338 wOBA in contrast to that solid xwOBA. But they are both good, usable pitches. Swing-and-miss pitches, even.
Luck aside, Bird can be a useful pitcher if he is throwing his breaking stuff for strikes. Since they have a lot of natural movement, trying to get creative with the corners and nibbling might be counterproductive and lead to a lot of balls. And balls lead to hitters’ counts. And, well, hitter counts lead to what we saw in pinstripes this year.
This is a glimpse of what the Yankees can have in Bird if he manages to find himself in favorable counts:
Starting at-bats on the right foot is also crucial for Bird. In Colorado, he threw a first-pitch strike 60.6 percent of the time. That fell to 50 percent with the Yankees, and even though the sample size is tiny, the number was a horrible 44.4 percent in his short stint in Scranton, per Sports Info Solutions.
Blake talked about how Bird struggled to show his best version in his short Yankees stint, but warned that he has had a really good offseason. The pitching coach said the righty has also been working on some adjustments on his sinker to somewhat “limit some of the contact quality.”
Combining his stats with the Rockies and Yankees, it’s safe to say his sinker was inequivocally and unquestionably rocked last year, with a .420 wOBA and a .414 xwOBA. That’s definitely a problem when you throw the pitch a third of the time. Any improvements he can make regarding this particular offering, whether it comes in movement, velocity, or sequencing/usage, will immediately make his stat line look better.
While it’s safe to say that Bird’s 2025 with the Yankees was a disaster both in the majors and in Triple-A, there is a lot of room to improve and also a need for solid relievers who can miss bats. If he can show his Rockies version, the right-hander should have a chance to lock up a spot and slowly earn high-leverage work.
As mentioned in few other profiles, a part of the Detroit Tigers draft strategy under Scott Harris has been tilted toward allocating their bonus pool to lure prep talent from their college commitments. The corollary to that strategy is finding inexpensive college players who have some major league potential and trying to develop them into role players while hoping someone has a Kerry Carpenter level breakout along the way.
Most of these have been speedy, light hitting types, but while Pepperdine infielder John Peck played shortstop in college, he’s more interesting for the fact that he packs enough raw power at the plate to eventually be an impactful major league hitter. Like most college players who sign for close to the minimum, Peck, who got an extra $62,500 over the minimum from the Tigers in the seventh round of the 2023 amateur draft, has a lot of risk in his game, but there’s at least a chance he could put it all together in time.
While Peck has continued to play shortstop in High-A ball and will likely continue to get plenty of reps there in Double-A next season, he likely profiles best at second base, where he should be average. He has enough arm strength to play on the left side of the infield, and that should translate to playing a solid third base as well. He has pretty good hands, but his range limits him a little as a shortstop. He’s seen time at all three positions in his two full professional seasons since draft day. It’s not out of the question that he could play some shortstop at the big league level eventually, giving him plenty of versatility if he can conquer some swing and miss issues and a tendency to put the ball on the ground too much.
In his full season 2024 debut, Peck showed solid plate discipline in Single-A Lakeland, but then struggled in his first look at High-A, striking out quite a bit. He battled some minor injuries throughout the season, and his high hands setup, pre-pitch movement, and pronounced leg kick left him a little too vulnerable to more advanced pitching. He had a distinct tendency to fly open toward third base, opening him up too early and struggling with breaking stuff moving away from him.
In 2025, he took some steps to get his hands in a better position at pitch release and trimmed down his leg kick. Those were positive developments, and his swing decisions improved somewhat as well as he went on to a pretty good season for the West Michigan Whitecaps. He carried that into a solid month with the Erie SeaWolves late in the season. However, there’s still plenty of swing and miss and only modest success driving the ball in the air more often. He does make plenty of hard contact, spraying line drives and ground balls from line to line. If he can adjust a little more and change his batted ball profile, things will get much more interesting.
Peck is unlikely to become a low strikeout, high walk type of hitter, but there’s enough power in his solidly built 6’0” frame to rack up more homers and extra base hits if he can start handling breaking stuff better and driving the ball in the air more often. His splits are typically pretty even, though he defied them a bit by hitting 9 of his 11 home runs in 2025 against right-handed pitching. There’s a chance that Peck continues settling into the swing adjustments and everything comes together for him. In that case, the Tigers might have a 15-20 HR hitting, right-handed infielder who posts decent on-base percentages, but can play all over the diamond. That would be a pretty valuable platoon asset at least.
Peck was only 20 on draft day, so despite the fact that he’s got two full years of pro ball under his belt, he won’t be 24 until July. If he can handle the jump and put togehter a good Double-A season this year while adding more hard hit fly balls to his profile, he’ll be tracking like a future platoon infielder. His power potential, balanced splits, and defensive game give him a higher ceiling than some at this level, but it’s still a longshot that he hits his way to the major leagues in a regular role.
The 2026 NBA trade deadline will have a hard time topping its predecessor. Last year’s Luka Doncic-for-Anthony Davis bombshell was an all-time trade deadline moment, and there were a bunch of notable deals after it, with De’Aaron Fox, Jimmy Butler, and Brandon Ingram among the players who were sent to new homes. There’s potential for more fireworks this year, but no one really knows what to expect just yet.
This feels like a seller’s market. There’s a pretty clear pack of 3-4 championship contenders, and then a handful of other teams on the outside edge of the title picture. The Oklahoma City Thunder don’t feel like a runaway favorite anymore, the Denver Nuggets still need to be worried about Aaron Gordon’s lower-body injuries, and the San Antonio Spurs still haven’t let a playoff game in the Victor Wembanyama era, let alone a series. That’s just the West: the East is so much more wide open, with the Detroit Pistons, New York Knicks, and Boston Celtics leading the pack, each of them saddled with their own potential fatal flaws.
With the Feb. 5 trade deadline rapidly approach, here’s 30 players who could be moved.
What would Mavs want back? Salary relief, a first-round pick, a promising young player.
3. Karl-Anthony Towns, C/F, New York Knicks
Why would he be traded? The Knicks are desperate to make the most of their championship window in the East in a down year for the conference. New York’s two best players might not be able to play together in games that matter. Towns probably won’t get traded at the deadline, but the probability that he’s traded will rise significantly this summer if the Knicks fail to make the 2026 NBA Finals.
What would Knicks want back? Giannis. Or assets that help them land their next star.
4. Domantas Sabonis, C, Sacramento Kings
Why would he be traded? The Kings need to blow it up badly. There’s no scenario where Sabonis is on the next good Kings team.
What would Kings want back? A first-round pick and/or a promising young player.
5. Michael Porter Jr., F, Brooklyn Nets
Why would he be traded? Porter Jr. has had an All-Star caliber season in his first year away from Denver, and the Brooklyn would be selling high on him now as it continues to go back into its rebuild.
What would Nets want back? Two first-round picks, or one pick and one interesting young player.
What would Grizzlies want back? A first-round pick and an interesting young player.
7. Coby White, G, Chicago Bulls
Why would he be traded? He’s an expiring contract, and the Bulls might want to get something for him now instead of entering a bidding war in free agency.
What would Bulls want back? A first round pick, an interesting young player, and expiring salary.
8. Kristaps Porzingis, C, Atlanta Hawks
Why would he be traded? He’s an expiring contract, and he can’t stay healthy.
What would Hawks want back? Salary relief and draft compensation
9. Ayo Dosunmu, G, Chicago Bulls
Why would he be traded? He’s an expiring contract, and the fact that he’s playing the best ball of his career offers Chicago the chance to finally sell high on a player.
What would Bulls want back? A first-round pick or an interesting young player and multiple seconds.
10. Zach LaVine, G, Sacramento Kings
Why would he be traded? The Kings need to blow it up, and LaVine needs a fresh start after spending his entire career with bad teams. He’s certainly opting in to the final year of his contract for $48.9 million, but then he’s off the books after next season. Can we finally get this guy to a contender?
What would Kings want back? Anything.
11. Tobias Harris, F, Detroit Pistons
Why would he be traded? If the Pistons want to make a big move to improve their chances at coming out of the East, Harris a large expiring salary to grease the wheels.
What would Pistons want back? A starting four or a starting-caliber guard to aid the NBA Finals push.
12. Goga Bitadze, C, Orlando Magic
Why would he be traded? An advanced stats star with two more playoff runs left on his cheap contract, Orlando could try to trade its backup center for future assets that could help them build.
What would Magic want back? Draft picks or a promising young player.
13. Bennedict Mathurin, G, Indiana Pacers
Why would he be traded? He’s set to be a restricted free agent, and he’s never really fit into the Pacers’ long-term vision.
What would Pacers want back? Picks and potentially a young big man.
14. Daniel Gafford, C, Dallas Mavericks
Why would he be traded? The Mavs need to prioritize their future over their present, and they already have a gifted young center on the roster in Dereck Lively II.
What would Mavs want back? Future draft assets and cap flexibility.
15. Naji Marshall, F, Dallas Mavericks
Why would he be traded? He has two playoff runs left on a team-friendly contract, and he could bring in a solid return.
What would Mavs want back? Future draft assets or a promising young player.
16. Rui Hachimura, F, Los Angeles Lakers
Why would he be traded? He’s an expiring contract, and the Lakers might want to get something for him now if he’s not part of their long-term vision around Luka Doncic.
What would Lakers want back? Future draft assets or a young player.
17. Grant Williams, F, Charlote Hornets
Why would he be traded? The Hornets are a year away from a playoff run in the East, and Williams will have some appeal as a 3-and-D veteran with two playoff runs left on his contract.
What would Hornets want back? Future draft assets and expiring salary.
18. Keon Ellis, G, Sacramento Kings
Why would he be traded? The Kings need to be rebuilt from the ground up.
What would Kings want back? Future draft picks.
19. Anfernee Simons, G, Boston Celtics
Why would he be traded? The Celtics are trying to duck the luxury tax, and he’s the biggest salary on the cap sheet that they could justify cutting ahead of the potential return of Jayson Tatum.
What would Celtics want back? A small enough salary to get them out of the tax.
20. Bobby Portis, F, Milwaukee Bucks
Why would he be traded? The Bucks are ready to tank, trade Giannis, and tear the whole thing down.
What would Bucks want back? Future draft assets and/or interesting young players.
21. Rob Dillingham, G, Minnesota Timberwolves
Why would he be traded? The Wolves need to upgrade at point guard next to Anthony Edwards, and their bold swing for Dillingham during the 2024 draft just hasn’t paid off. Dillingham still can’t crack head coach Chris Finch’s rotation, and it’s time to find a lead guard who can.
What would Wolvevs want back? A starting-caliber point guard.
22. DeMar DeRozan, G, Sacramento Kings
Why would he be traded? Because he’s on the Kings ahead of their liquidation sale.
What would Kings want back? Second-round draft assets and expiring salary.
23. Jusuf Nurkic, C, Utah Jazz
Why would he be traded? This is probably the final year of the Utah’s tank, and a veteran like Nurkic is an obvious player to free. He’s not in his physical prime anymore, but Nurkic can still crash the offensive glass at an elite level at a time when it feels more important than ever.
What would Jazz want back? Second-round draft compensation.
24. Jordan Poole, G, New Orleans Pelicans
Why would he be traded? The Pelicans have no use for the final year of his deal at $34 million.
What would Pelicans want back? Second-round draft compensation.
25. Gradey Dick, G/F, Toronto Raptors
Why would he be traded? As part of a package for an impact center or another ball handler.
What would Raptors want back? An impact center or another ball handler.
26. Dalton Knecht, F, Los Angeles Lakers
Why would he be traded? He’s demanded a trade! I repeat: Dalton Knecht has demanded a trade!
What would Lakers want back? Second-round draft compensation or a better defensive player.
27. Kyle Kuzma, F, Milwaukee Bucks
Why would he be traded? The Bucks are ready to tear it down as they weigh offers for Giannis Antetokounmpo.
What would Bucks want back? All of the picks if Kuzma goes out in a Giannis deal, also salary relief.
Why would he be traded? The Wolves are firmly in their championship window, and Shannon hasn’t been able to crack the rotation even after Nickeil Alexander-Walker left in free agency.
What would Wolves want back?
29. Jeremy Sochan, F, San Antonio Spurs
Why would he be traded? He’s out of the rotation, and out of time in San Antonio has he approaches restricted free agency.
What would Spurs want back? Second-round draft capital
30. Jakob Poeltl, C, Toronto Raptors
Why would he be traded? He has one of the least team-friendly contracts in the NBA, and he’s always hurt.
What would Raptors want back? Just getting off his deal would be a miracle.
MUNICH (AP) — Germany midfielder Leon Goretzka says U.S. President Donald Trump “has managed to make us feel not only German, but also European.”
Goretzka, who plays club soccer for Bayern Munich, in an interview with Die Zeit newspaper published on Wednesday, spoke about the World Cup being hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico, and he suggested Germany and other European teams will be the favorites.
“Others have caught up but in the most important game in the world we’re still ahead of every continent,” Goretzka said. “Far from being left behind, Europe will show everyone what’s what on the field.”
The countdown to the June 11-July 19 tournament has drawn calls for a boycott. Oke Göttlich, the president of Bundesliga club St. Pauli and one of the German federation’s 10 vice presidents, last week said the time had come to “ seriously consider and discuss this.”
"I’m aware of the political debates,” Goretzka said. “Still, I expect it to be a great tournament. It will advance football there and convince many people that it’s a fantastic game.”
Germany has been drawn in World Cup Group E with Ivory Coast, Curaçao and Ecuador.
The Pittsburgh Pirates have been busy this offseason in both free agency and the trade market.
The team signed designated hitter Ryan O’Hearn and traded for Tampa Bay Rays infielder Brandon Lowe, improving their offense. However, they have been slated for another big trade. Bleacher Report writer Kerry Miller suggested a trade that would send right-handed pitcher Jared Jones to the Houston Astros for infielder Isaac Paredes.
“Jones was electric when he first arrived in the majors in 2024, but he missed all of 2025 following UCL surgery. Would the Pirates be willing to give up his future in order to add another quality bat today? Paredes could be the final piece that actually makes Pittsburgh’s lineup reasonably formidable,” Miller wrote.
Paredes could play third base for the Pirates, filling in a hole that was occupied by Ke’Bryan Hayes last season before he was traded to the Cincinnati Reds. As of now, it looks like Jared Triolo will spend most of the time at the hot corner, but the team could use an upgrade when it comes to a bat at the position.
Paredes played in 102 games for the Astros last season, batting .254 and hitting 20 home runs en route to his second consecutive All-Star appearance. The Astros may look to trade him because they have a surplus of infielders and a need for starting pitching. It’s why they made a trade earlier in the offseason with the Pirates to get Mike Burrows to add to their rotation.
The Astros could look for another piece in Jones while the Pirates get a necessary offensive addition in Paredes.
BD community, what do you think of this potential trade? Chime off in the comments section below.
The teams went goal for goal in the first period to end the 1st tied at 1. Winnipeg would score 3 goals in a row in the 2nd period, before Jesper Bratt scored his 12th of the season to bring the Devils to within 2 heading into the final period. The Captain scored his 17th goal of the season late in the 3rd period, but by that point, it was too little too late.
Jake Allen did another one of his spot on Markstrom impressions, letting up 4 goals on 26 shots, and the Devils showed yet again, that they are really not a good team.
Last Predators Game
On Tuesday night, the Predators lost to the Boston Bruins, 3-2. Boston jumped out to a 2-0 lead with goals in the first and second periods, before Nashville scored late in the 2nd period to make it 2-1. Nashville scored again, midway through the 3rd period to send the game to OT, where David Pastrnak won the game in OT for the Bruins.
Like the Devils, (and Winnipeg) the Predators are another team that is struggling this season, playing basically .500 level hockey. Or, as I like to call it, not good enough. Like the Devils, Nashville has also lost their last 2 games in a row. One of these teams will break their losing streak tonight.
Considering he has started 11 of the last 13 games for Nashville, I would expect Juuse Saros to play tonight. Though, if there is any team in the NHL to get your backup goalie a win against, it’s the Devils. Maybe Justus Annunen will get some ice time tonight in a rare start. It doesn’t get any easier for a goalie than facing the Devils offense!
Injuries, Roster for Tonight, Yada, Yada, Yada.
Ondrej Palat won’t be playing ever again for the Devils, so at least we can stop talking about whether the Devils should bench him or not.
Luke Hughes is not due to be back any time soon. Cody Glass left the game in the 2nd period on Tuesday and did not return. Hopefully he is back in action tonight against Nashville. However, based on a post from Amanda Stein from Tuesday, it doesn’t look promising for his return tonight.
Glass wanted to try to play at the end of the second; but being so close to the end of the period Keefe elected not to play him.
Wanted to give it a go, but ultimately in the second intermission did not feel well enough to play.
Considering Jake Allen has only started back to back games 3 times, going back to November, I would expect Jacob “I’m not an NHL goalie any longer” Markstrom to get the start tonight.
Grimace’s Prediction and 2025-2026 Record Tracker
Grimace dipped his toes back in the water recently in making another prediction and like the Devils, came up short. Like them, he is a .500 level predictor. Not. Good. Enough.
Grimace’s 2025-2026 Season Prediction record currently stands at 12-11-0.
Your Take
The big news in Devils land is the Palat trade. He may be a winner, and a great teammate, but his time here had run its course. Honestly, other than the game 7 assist against the Rangers, I can’t think of any other memorable plays involving him in his time here. The way this season is going, he has a better chance with the Islanders anyway, and I wish him good luck. Feel free to leave your thoughts and comments below and thanks for reading!
In a shameless bit of non hockey related self promotion (approved by Chris – thanks Chris), I wanted to plug my brand new podcast on here, if any of you are interested in listening. We have a light hearted, fun discussion about any movies, music or video games mostly from the 1980s and 1990s. Please feel free to listen to us on any of the formats below and any feedback is welcome (positive and negative). Also, please follow us and subscribe, even if you think we stink. 🙂
Isn’t it funny how much things can change in a relatively short amount of time?
It wasn’t that long ago when the Florida Panthers were struggling to come up with any kind of consistent success when playing away from home.
Lately, it’s been quite the opposite.
Over the past several weeks, all but two of the Panthers most recent 11 games have come outside of South Florida.
Not to worry, though, as the Cats enter play on Thursday having won six of their past seven games on the road, including all three on last week’s trip that featured stops in Winnipeg, Minnesota and Chicago.
Now the Panthers will look to make it four straight road wins when they visit the St. Louis Blues.
The Blues started the month with a pair of wins and were just one game below .500 when the wheels started falling off.
Since Jan. 7, St. Louis has lost eight of their 10 games, including each of the past five.
Entering play Thursday, there is only one team in the NHL that has fewer points in the standings than the Blues’ 47, and that’s the Vancouver Canucks with 39.
Florida, meanwhile, still has a bit of work to do if they want to climb back into a playoff spot.
Currently, the Cats are six points behind the Montreal Canadiens and Boston Bruins, who hold the two Eastern Conference Wild Card spots, and the Buffalo Sabres, who sits third in the Atlantic Division, all with 65 points.
Florida has two games in hand on Boston, one on Montreal and the same amount of games played as Buffalo.
One thing that may help the Panthers pick up two points on Thursday would be a big night from star forward Matthew Tkachuk.
It’s been ten days since Tkachuk made his season debut last Monday against San Jose. During that time he’s racked up three assists, 11 shots on goal, eight penalty minutes and a minus-3 on-ice rating while averaging 18:37 of playing time.
Perhaps returning to his hometown will provide a nice boost for the gritty forward.
It's certainly worked in the past.
During his career, Tkachuk has played 15 games back in St. Louis.
He’s accumulated an impressive nine goals and 26 points when playing in the Blues’ barn, but he’s really taken it up a notch in the three visits since joining the Panthers.
Before he was traded to Florida, Tkachuk had four goals and 17 points in 12 games in St. Louis.
Not bad at all.
In the three games he’s played in St. Louis while wearing a Panthers sweater, Tkachuk has an eye-popping five goals and nine points.
Needless to say, if you’re into hockey props, it may be a good night to lean on ol’ Chucky.
Here are the Panthers projected lines and pairings for Thursday’s matchup with the Blues:
Carter Verhaeghe – Evan Rodrigues – Sam Reinhart
Mackie Samoskevich – Sam Bennett – Matthew Tkachuk
Photo caption: Feb 6, 2025; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; Florida Panthers left wing Matthew Tkachuk (19) looks on during the first period against the St. Louis Blues at Enterprise Center. (Jeff Curry-Imagn Images)
It’s really, really hard to think about spring as everyone in the tri-state area continues to dig out from massive amounts of snow, but the Phillies equipment trucks will be setting out for Clearwater on Tuesday. Soon enough we’ll have some real news to share and discuss rather than whatever passes for news in this dead zone.
The Rockies made a pair of trades yesterday, sending reliever Angel Chivilli to the Yankees and acquiring infielder Edouard Julien and reliever Pierson Ohl in a deal with the Twins.
There are now 56 days remaining until Orioles Opening Day, which is to say, real baseball will be back exactly eight weeks from today. That’s fun! Or will it be fun? I guess that’s up to the team that disappointed us last year. Only eleven days remain before WBC-participating pitchers and catchers are in camp.
We are close enough to the start of spring training that it’s getting increasingly weird that the top remaining free agent starting pitcher, Framber Valdez, has not signed. We can only guess what the holdup is. My suspicion is teams are refusing to budge beyond four-year offers, perhaps even three-year offers, and he’s hoping somebody will blink before camps open up.
Teams are probably waiting for him to blink as well. Lately, these sorts of situations have had a tendency to resolve with the player getting a shorter, high-AAV contract that allows for an opt-out by the player after only a year, or maybe two years. That doesn’t mean that’s what will happen with Valdez, but that’s the pattern. Something like a three-year, $100 million contract where he can dip out after this season and look for another guaranteed year or two, now removed from having a qualifying offer attached to signing him and perhaps, in his mind, having proven he’s still a high-end pitcher even though he’s headed for his mid-30s.
Other starting pitchers remain out there as well. Zac Gallen is another free agent who will cost a draft pick to sign. That might be a big problem for a guy who had a 4.86 ERA in 2025. If I was Gallen, I might have taken the QO offered by Arizona in a year and tried again for 2027. Guys like Chris Bassitt and Lucas Giolito are also still out there. You can never have enough starting pitching, and yet all of these people haven’t found teams yet. There are various questions around each player that probably answer why they haven’t gotten the money or years they hoped to get yet.
Unless there’s some injury to an Orioles starting pitcher that we don’t know about – which isn’t impossible – I don’t really think it makes much sense to commit an eight-figure annual salary like Gallen, Bassitt, or Giolito will command in order to shore up the back end of the rotation. Maybe Zach Eflin is going to be a month delayed or something. That’s fine. I’ll take my chances with Tyler Wells for that long and then with Dean Kremer as the #5. Pay the money for Valdez at the top or don’t bother. We got enough of those bad mid-tier signings in the Dan Duquette era.
Orioles stuff you might have missed
With new outlook, Henderson eager for new season with new faces (Orioles.com) Gunnar Henderson getting himself back into 7+ win territory is as much a part of the 2026 Orioles formula for success as anything else. He’s feeling good for now, which probably doesn’t mean anything but at least is nice to hear.
There are a pair of former Orioles with birthdays today. They are: 2013 two-game pitcher Jair Jurrjens, and 1985-88 pitcher John Habyan. Today is Habyan’s 62nd birthday, so an extra happy birthday to him.
Is today your birthday? Happy birthday to you! Your birthday buddies for today include: Revolutionary pamphlet writer Thomas Paine (1737), 25th president William McKinley (1843), playwright Anton Chekhov (1860), Ramones drummer Tommy Ramone (1949), and TV personality Oprah Winfrey (1954).
On this day in history…
In 1845, Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Raven” was first published in a New York newspaper.
In 1907, Charles Curtis took office as a US Senator from Kansas. In the process, he became the first Native American to hold any Senate seat. (This also happened on the 46th anniversary of Kansas’s admission as a state.)
In 1936, the first Baseball Hall of Fame class was announced. The first five Hall of Famers were: Ty Cobb, Walter Johnson, Christy Mathewson, Babe Ruth, and Honus Wagner.
A random Orioles trivia question
I received a book of Orioles trivia for Christmas. I’ll ask a question in this space each time it’s my turn until I run out of questions or forget. The book has multiple choice answers, but I’m not giving you those because for most questions it would be too easy. Today’s question:
Who was the first opponent that the Orioles played at Memorial Stadium in 1954?
**
And that’s the way it is in Birdland on January 29. Have a safe Thursday.
Who:Chicago Blackhawks (21-23-9, 51 points, 6th place Central Division) @ Pittsburgh Penguins (26-14-11, 63 points, 2nd place Metropolitan Division)
When: 7:00 p.m. eastern
How to Watch: Locally broadcast on Sportsnet Pittsburgh and CHSN in the local markets, streaming on ESPN+
Pens’ Path Ahead: It’s a week-long sprint to the Olympic break finish line for the Pens. They’ll stay at home on Saturday to see the Rangers in a 3:30pm game, then Ottawa comes to the ‘Burgh on Monday night. After that, the Pens quickly jet over to a game against the Islanders on Tuesday night and stay in the Empire State for a tilt with Buffao on Thursday heading into the three-week break.
Opponent Track: Chicago fell 4-3 in a shootout on Tuesday night in their last game, extending their current losing streak to three games (0-1-2). Their last five games have been very tight ones: a 2-0 win over Winnipeg last Monday (sealed with an ENG), then a pair of shootout games (winning against Carolina followed by losing to Tampa). On Sunday they did suffer a 5-1 loss to Florida (but even that was 3-1 late until an ENG and last minute goal) and the last shootout game against Minnesota. Down to the wire types of games decided very late for the most part, Chicago has been able to manage a 2-1-2 record to show for it.
Season Series: The Penguins put a 7-3 beating on the Blackhawks in Chicago on December 28th in the first game back from the break to get their current strong run of play going, tonight will be the final PIT/CHI game of the season.
Hidden Stat: Good luck to the power plays tonight. Since Christmas, Chicago is second in the NHL with a 90.5% success rate on their PK. The Penguins are just behind them at 90.0%. A key to success has been staying out of the penalty box in the first place, Chicago has only been shorthanded 2.47 times per game in this stretch (6th best in NHL) which has helped them to allow only four goals in their last 17 games playing shorthanded.
Hidden Stat 2.0: The Penguins have points in 17 of their 23 games against Western Conference Opponents this season (11-6-6), courtesy of Pens PR.
Getting to know the Blackhawks
Projected lines
FORWARDS
Frank Nazar – Connor Bedard – Teuvo Teravainen
Ryan Greene – Oliver Moore – Andre Burakovsky
Tyler Bertuzzi – Jason Dickinson – Ilya Mikheyev
Ryan Donato – Nick Foligno – Landon Slaggert
DEFENSEMEN
Alex Vlasic / Louis Crevier
Wyatt Kaiser / Artyom Levshunov
Matt Grzelcyk / Connor Murphy
Goalies: Spencer Knight and Arvid Soderblom
Potential scratches: Sam Lafferty, Colton Dach
Injured Reserve: Shea Weber, Ryan Ellis
Chicago plays again tomorrow night at home against Columbus, they might have a decision to make in net accordingly. Knight has started six of their last eight games.
The Blackhawks certainly qualify as one of the youngest teams, 11 of the 22 players on the active roster are under 25 years old, including the majority of their current top-six forwards, the entirety of their top-4 defenders and a budding starting goalie. Foligno and Murphy are the only 31+ players around, and they don’t have huge on ice roles.
Always a chuckle to see an actual Hall of Famer still on a team’s payroll as the contract winds out. This is the final season of Weber’s massive 14-year contract that Philadelphia tried to sign him to in 2012 but was matched by Nashville.
Bertuzzi is having an interesting season. It stands out in memory how much he was goal hanging and playing behind the defense looking for breakaways against the Penguins last month. His defensive impact is among the worst in the league, his finishing and scoring is near the very top. It might not be his intention but he looked like a guy just trying to pad his own personal stats. Might be something to keep an eye on tonight, at the very least Bertuzzi is cheating a lot to generate offense, which I guess you get some leeway with when a lot of goals are going in.
Is Kevin Korchinski the next Ty Smith? Both made the NHL super early, then didn’t stick. In a perfect world and for Chicago’s development they would need former first round picks like Korchinski and Sam Rinzel to start becoming NHL regulars now in their draft+4 seasons. A rebuild will struggle to launch without pieces like that growing. On the plus side, 2024 second overall pick Artyom Levshunov has lived up to his draft placement so far.
The trade of Seth Jones for Knight and a 2026 first rounder looks mighty good for the Blackhawks these days (didn’t work out so poorly for Florida, either) with the Panthers dabbling around the middle of the standings so far this season. The best part for Chicago is Knight running with the opportunity to be a quality option in net, the Blackhawks will eat a $2.5 million penalty for retaining a piece of Jones’s cap hit but that looks well worth it at this point.
Key to the game: Pittsburgh taking advantage of Chicago’s 5v5 struggles
Chicago has managed to paper over some bad results lately to the tun of a decent 7-5-2 record in calendar 2026 despite a horrible process ranking them at the bottom of the NHL in the new year. That record was boosted winning five of six games towards the beginning of January, including impressive wins over Dallas and Vegas and later some results with a victory over Carolina (shootout) and a shootout loss to Tampa. Chicago is living proof that in today’s NHL a team can truly get any result on any given night, illustrated by the Hawks also losing to Calgary this month.
The stingy PK mentioned above is a big factor in how Chicago has been able to string together some results despite a terrible 5v5 goal share and process behind it since the turn of the year. This should play into the Pens’ hands, Pittsburgh is out-scoring the opposition by a combined 50-26 at even strength since Christmas. The table should be set for them to keep that train rolling around against an opponent that is exceptionally weak in that area.
One other positive takeaway from that graphic about the Penguins is that their recent play doesn’t feature an unsustainable PDO-aided turn (which fellow 2026 standouts like Buffalo, Utah, Boston and Detroit can’t say as easily).
And now for the Pens
Projected lines
FORWARDS
Anthony Mantha – Sidney Crosby – Rickard Rakell
Egor Chinakhov – Tommy Novak – Evgeni Malkin
Kevin Hayes – Ben Kindel – Justin Brazeau
Connor Dewar – Blake Lizotte – Noel Acciari
DEFENSEMEN
Parker Wotherspoon / Erik Karlsson
Brett Kulak / Kris Letang
Ilya Solovyov / Ryan Shea
Goalies: Arturs Silovs and Stuart Skinner
Potential Scratches: Bryan Rust (serving the first game of his three-game suspension), Connor Clifton
IR: Ryan Graves, Filip Hallander, Caleb Jones, Jack St. Ivany
We’ll take a stab at the lines, the league-mandated absence of Rust will be one the Pens have to navigate over the next few games. Unlike going on the IR, Rust must still be kept on the 23-player roster during his suspension. That shouldn’t handcuff the team thanks to St. Ivany going on IR to open up a spot for a call-up, if they wanted to make one. Unless that news comes out today, it looks like Hayes will be back in the lineup as the only other available forward on the NHL roster currently, unless the team looks to go with 11 forwards and seven defenseman, because..
Penguins presumably will get their first look at their most recent trade addition of Solovyov tonight, based on practice indications from Tuesday. So they could use Rust’s open spot in the lineup to dress Clifton and roll with 11 forwards if they so choose, we’ll have to see at morning skate today if Hayes or Clifton’s late participation suggests which one will be scratched. (Or, potentially both could be if the team does make that call-up from the AHL). Lots of potential scenarios to play out there.
Interesting week for the Penguins. They flew home from Vancouver on Monday, had one of the season’s longest practices of well over an hour on Tuesday (plus the annual charity gala at night), an off day yesterday and now will try to hit the ground running with five games over the next eight nights.
Now that Skinner has started in three of the last four games, does the team go back to him tonight? It would make sense based on the scheduling. Play Skinner tonight and then Silovs on Saturday afternoon and Skinner would have plenty of time to get ready to play again for two out of the final three games next week.
Then again, Silovs hasn’t played in a full week now since his last action of a strong game against Edmonton, so it wouldn’t be a bad choice to get him back in there either. Any decision by the coaches looks like a good one when both goalies are playing well.
Skinner, by the way, is a 5-0-0 lifetime against the Blackhawks with a 1.98 goals against and a .925 save percentage.
The whole second line have active three-game point streaks; Malkin (3G+2A) Novak (1G+3A) and Chinakhov (2G+1A). Ryan Shea (3A) also has points in three-straight games.
Los Angeles Lakers guard Bronny James (9) goes up for a dunk in the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Cleveland Cavaliers in Cleveland, Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki) (Sue Ogrocki / Associated Press)
He hears it in nearly every arena the Lakers enter.
“We want Bronny. We want Bronny.”
But on Monday night in Cleveland’s Rocket Arena, where the familiar chant reached arena-filling decibels, it felt different. It felt like home.
Bronny James provided some of the few Lakers highlights in the team’s worst loss of the year — a 129-99 drubbing by the Cleveland Cavaliers on Monday — to turn an emotional homecoming for his father into a happy return for the 21-year-old. James scored eight points with two rebounds, an assist and a steal. He knocked down two three pointers and slammed a one-handed transition dunk to elicit a roar from the crowd that welcomed back a son they watched grow up.
Laker Bronny James #9 of the Los Angeles Lakers shakes hands with the Cavliers' Larry Nance Jr. Wednesday. (Jason Miller / Getty Images)
“I was just excited to go out there and play,” James said. “I’m always ready to go out and play, whether that’s when the entire arena is saying ‘We want Bronny‘ or no one is. I was just really, really grateful that they put me in at that time and I was able to go out and get a few buckets.”
With the Lakers trailing by 20 by the third quarter, the chants for James started early. “We want Bronny” chants occur at nearly every Lakers game, almost turning the young guard’s playing time into a sideshow instead of much-needed opportunities for a developing player trying to find his footing in the NBA.
James hadn’t played in a game since Jan. 18 and hadn’t scored since Jan. 12. But he got on the scoreboard in thrilling fashion Wednesday night, tipping away a crosscourt pass and taking the ball in transition for a dunk that left even his dad nodding approval from the bench.
“He handles all of it so well,” said guard Gabe Vincent, who called Bronny “a light” in the Lakers’ otherwise forgettable blowout. “It's incredible. His maturity through it all is incredible. … It's great to see him have a moment like that.”
The former USC guard who also scored his first NBA points in Cleveland as a rookie last year has bounced between the Lakers and the team’s G League affiliate this year as he hopes to make strides as a shooter and on-ball defender while “building up his tolerance for being in elite shape,” coach JJ Redick said. James has had some promising moments, especially when the Lakers were short-handed earlier this season, showing quicker decision making and increased confidence shooting the ball.
Monday was just the second time in his career that he made two threes in a game.
“He's as level headed and just as normal of a 21-year-old as I've ever been around,” Redick said.
When the Lakers got to the arena Monday, James was welcomed home by a childhood photo of him on a screen outside the visiting locker room. It showed him on stage in 2016 during the Cavaliers’ championship celebration wearing a championship hat and white T-shirt, holding up one finger.
LeBron James glanced at the championship banner from that team before the game Monday, fueling the intense emotions of what could be his last game in his hometown against the team that launched his NBA dreams in 2003.
The Cavaliers, wearing navy blue throwback uniforms, showed a tribute video for LeBron James during the first quarter, highlighting James’ takeover of Game 5 of the 2007 Eastern Conference Finals in which he scored 25 consecutive points. Bronny was 3 years old at the time. Almost two decades later, he remembered all the afternoons he spent at the Cavaliers arena after school.
“It’s literally my entire life,” Bronny said of the city of Cleveland. “So just really appreciative of all the people that show some love. I just remember being a kid and being here pretty much every day after school. It’s a bunch of nostalgia coming back and being here.”
The James family was prepared for the occasion. LeBron scanned the arena before the game to find his mother in a suite. She once watched him begin his career in this very arena, now she was watching both her son and her grandson play in the same game. After saying it out loud, the elder James struggled to process 5 idea.
“I don't even know how to even, like, wrap that all in one in my brain,” LeBron James said. “It’s so weird and so cool and so surreal. My mom gets to watch her son and her grandson play in the NBA at the same time.”
Gloria James waited in the hallway outside the Lakers locker room to take photos with her son and then her grandson. Bronny was the last Laker out of the arena, stopping to take dozens of photos with family members dressed in purple and gold Lakers jerseys. His grandmother told him to “act right.” He promised to oblige.
