SAN ANTONIO, TX - JUNE 5: Victor Wembanyama #1 of the San Antonio Spurs goes up for a block during the game against the New York Knicks during Game Two of the 2026 NBA Finals on June 5, 2026 at Frost Bank Center in San Antonio, Texas. 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 Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images
There’s not much question that Victor Wembanyama is the future of the NBA, but at the end of the day, he’s also a skinny 22-year-old, and most young players have a lot to learn. Wembanyama, for all his freakish talent, is no exception to this.
He’s a brilliant talent, but he also made a devastating turnover down the stretch, then missed a last-second shot that would have still won the game.
As we’ve seen often during the playoffs, former Blue Devil Mason Plumlee got a DNP from the Spurs. And with New York on a 13-game playoff win streak, and the series shifting to NYC, the odds of him getting a ring in what may be his final season are dropping fast.
Jun 5, 2026; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Roki Sasaki (11) pitches during the third inning against the Los Angeles Angels at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images | Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images
Roki Sasaki did not figure in the decision on Friday night, through no fault of his own as he struck out his MLB-high 10 Angels in seven scoreless frames. The right-hander has allowed five total runs (four earned) over 24 1/3 innings in his last four starts, with 29 strikeouts against only five walks.
You might have seen after Sasaki’s seventh inning on Friday, he was seen in the dugout smiling and laughing in a long conversation with Dodgers strength and conditioning coach Travis Smith. Maddie Lee at the Los Angeles Times wrote about Sasaki’s maturity in his second major league season, as well as his relationship with Smith and the coaching staff:
“This year, especially, I feel like we’re focusing on talking about game plan and sequencing, because I feel healthy right now,” Sasaki said. “Last year I got hurt, so I’m thinking about my mechanics, all that stuff. So this is a big difference right now.”
Jay Jaffe earlier in the week at FanGraphs looked at Sasaki’s strong May performance, and dug into the details. “Sasaki’s better command and reconfigured repertoire have made for a most welcome development.” Jaffe wrote.
After Wednesday’s win in Arizona, during which Ohtani allowed two hits and a walk in six scoreless innings and also reached base five times while batting, catcher Will Smith said, “He’s the best player that’s ever walked this earth,” per Katie Woo at The Athletic.
(Original Caption) Reds-Braves. Cincinnati: Braves owner Ted Turner gives some over the dugout advice to his field general, Eddie Haas, before his Atlanta team took the field against Cincinnati, April 30. Atlanta won the game, 8-4.
Yesterday, it was reported that Eddie Haas, former Atlanta Braves manager – and long-time member of the organization – passed away on June 4 at 91.
Eddie has had a brief MLB career, debuting with the Chicago Cubs in 1957 and then playing in 41 games with the Milwaukee Braves across the 1958 and 1960 seasons. The outfielder hit his only career home run with the Braves in 1960. He twice played with the organization in the minors, including the last three seasons of his playing career, ending in 1964 at age 29 playing for the Braves’ Triple-A affiliate in Denver.
Haas transitioned to coaching after his playing career ended and debuted as manager with the Braves organization in 1966 in Yakima Valley. He’d managed each season in the Braves organization until 1973 when he transition to minor league hitting instructor. He joined Atlanta’s major league staff in 1974 and spent four seasons with the big league club before returning the minor league managerial ranks in 1978.
Haas would take over as manager at Triple-A Richmond in 1981 where he would manage until midway through the 1984 season when he returned to the big leagues, joining manager Joe Torre’s staff. After Torre was dismissed following the ‘84 season, the organization named the then 50-year-old Haas as Torre’s replacement.
Haas would spend only 121 games at the helm of Atlanta, going 50-71, before being relieved of his duties by Bobby Wine.
Haas would remain in the game as a scout, joining the Montreal Expos organization in 1986 where he’s stay through 1994 before joining the Boston Red Sox in 1995 where he’d work until retiring after the 2003 season.
Bill Shanks was the first to report the news of Haas’ passing, which was first covered on The Feed.
MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN - JUNE 04: Jung Hoo Lee #51 of the San Francisco Giants up to bat against the Milwaukee Brewers at American Family Field on June 04, 2026 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Photo by John Fisher/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Good morning, baseball fans!
Another week of San Francisco Giants baseball comes to a close this weekend, which means it’s time to make our picks for Player of the Week!
It should come as absolutely no surprise that my pick for this week is Jung Hoo Lee! As of the time I am writing this, Lee has a 12-game hit streak going, and he’s racked up 20 in the last seven games alone. I’m always a huge fan of Lee, but this last couple of weeks have made me even more of one. I’m still kicking myself for not buying his jersey while I was at the park this year.
Who is your pick for Player of the Week?
What time do the Giants play today?
The Giants continue their series against the Chicago Cubs this morning at 11:20 a.m. PT.
SCOTTSDALE, AZ - FEBRUARY 20: Colorado Rockies outfielder, Zac Veen walks back to the dugout after striking out during the first 2026 spring training game at Salt River Field at Talking Stick in Scottsdale, Arizona on February 20, 2026. The Arizona Diamondbacks went onto beat the Colorado Rockies 3-2. (Photo by RJ Sangosti/MediaNews Group/The Denver Post via Getty Images) | Denver Post via Getty Images
Zac Veen (No. 9 PuRP) was the player I hoped would be my favorite Rockie by now.
Hope can be an unfair thing to put on a prospect. Prospects are projections, not guarantees. Their timelines are rarely clean, and prospects should not become stand-ins for what we wish our baseball team was.
But fans do this anyway.
I did it with Veen.
And it was easy. The Rockies drafted him ninth overall in the 2020 MLB Draft as a first-round talent out of high school, and the tools flashed enough during his early minor-league days to make the hype feel reasonable.
There were warning signs, too: High-velocity fastballs, chase, and injuries all complicated the path. But for a franchise desperate for anything resembling a future, Veen became an easy place to put that hope.
Spring training 2025 put the hype on full display, bat flips and all. The disappointment when Veen did not break camp with the Rockies was real, but he went to Triple-A, kept hitting, and quickly got the call.
Veen hit .118/.189/.235 with a .424 OPS and a 37.8% strikeout rate across 37 plate appearances, and the pitch-level shape was not much kinder. Fastballs beat him, breaking stuff neutralized him, and pitchers had a clear path through the zone. Veen was soon optioned back, and while he finished the year with a measured rebound in Albuquerque, the timeline had split from the dream.
By the end of 2025, Veen was no longer the same prospect.
Spring 2026 showed he was not the same person either.
Physically, Veen looked almost unrecognizable. This was not the same wiry kid. He showed up built out. The energy was still there, but the body was different: thicker, stronger, and more physically mature.
If spring 2025 was about hype, spring 2026 was about transformation. And the unseen transformation mattered more.
“Definitely one of the bigger, main things was sobering up,” said Veen. “I had a pretty big substance abuse problem for a few years. But I’m completely clean and sober.
“There were times last year where it was out of hand. Coming home in the offseason, I had to look in the mirror and make some adjustments. And I definitely got closer to God, and it made me want to be the best version of myself in every aspect.”
Scouting reports describe the machine. Stats show the output. But they cannot show what it means to look in the mirror and decide something has to change.
For a little while, the baseball gave that change some joy.
Then the momentum was stopped by another injury. Veen landed on the 10-day IL on March 25 with a right knee contusion, went on a rehab assignment on March 31, and was activated and optioned to Triple-A on April 4.
The Rockies have not handed him anything. The new body, the honesty, the spring moment — all of it has to become baseball evidence.
And now, Veen is giving us reason to pay attention to the baseball again.
The present-tense case
Across 192 at-bats in Triple-A this year, Veen is hitting .318/.416/.489 with an .927 OPS, seven home runs, and 37 RBI. If the season ended today, his .505 slugging percentage would be his highest since 2021 with Fresno. Veen also has 13 stolen bases, second on the team.
The PCL and Albuquerque always demand some skepticism, but his overall line still grades out at a 122 wRC+, and he is hitting .360/.452/.562 with a 1.014 OPS away from Isotopes Park.
Against lefties, Veen is hitting .318/.396/.529 with a .925 OPS. Against righties, the slugging is lighter, but the on-base skill is carrying the profile at .318/.440/.486 with a .926 OPS.
For a left-handed corner outfielder, handling lefties creates a cleaner path to starts instead of protected usage.
But the surface line is not the most interesting part.
The real case is in the underlying shape: improved approach, more walks, and evidence that the fastball question is becoming less glaring.
Profile repair, not power breakout
Veen is not simply bigger now and therefore hitting the ball harder. His average exit velocity is roughly the same, and his 2025 Triple-A contact quality was stronger in several places: a .393 xSLG last year compared to .368 this year, and a 47.9% hard-hit rate compared to 43.4%.
The difference is the offensive shape. The walk rate has nearly doubled from 8.4% to 15.5%, the OBP has jumped from .359 to .422, and the strikeout and whiff rates have stayed in the same range. He is getting to a better line without needing every improvement to come from raw contact quality.
May showed the adjustment
May was the eye-opener outside the strike zone.
Veen saw more pitches outside the zone in May than he did in April and swung at far fewer of them. That was the adjustment: stop helping pitchers, force more pitches into the zone, and let the strength and athleticism play from better counts.
The results moved with it. As the strikeout rate dropped and the walk rate climbed, the production followed: Veen went from a .353 OBP and .393 slugging percentage in April to a .495 OBP and .617 slugging percentage in May.
Over the past two weeks, Veen has swung at 55% of the pitches he has seen, and there has been regression in the approach. He is still producing, hitting .444 with a .714 slugging percentage to start June, but a hot streak is not the same thing as development fully holding.
The approach gains need to show up more consistently because big-league pitchers already know how to beat him — even if there is progress there, too.
The fastball question
Veen’s first major-league look gave pitchers a clear plan, which makes the Triple-A fastball data meaningful.
The fastball data is encouraging because the worst version of the problem has started to recede. In 2024, Veen was underwater against four-seamers across the board, with a .274 xwOBA, .158 xBA, and 25.5% whiff rate. The contact quality started to recover in 2025, but the approach remained aggressive: he swung at four-seamers 51.2% of the time.
This year looks more like a hitter choosing better fastballs to attack. That swing rate has dropped to 43.9%, while the .354 xwOBA and .279 xBA are both his best marks of the three-year sample. The whiff rate has also fallen to 19.7%. The .371 xSLG is not as loud as last year’s .437, so seeing that slugging return toward 2025 levels would be a logical next step if the improved discipline holds.
If the fastball progress is the green light, the slider remains the warning label. Veen is still swinging at sliders 60.6% of the time, with a .200 xBA and 36.0% whiff rate against the pitch in 2026. That gives big-league pitchers a clear place to test him.
Veen’s 21.8% Triple-A strikeout rate is playable, but Triple-A strikeout rates usually climb in the majors. Based on the typical FanGraphs translation, his rough major-league expectation is closer to 26–27%.
Still workable, but the margin gets thinner. The walks have to come with it, the power has to show up, and the chase cannot balloon.
That is the line between progress and arrival.
The development is showing up in the right places: better decisions, better fastball results, more walks, and usable production. Veen is doing enough damage to start making another major-league look feel realistic.
The old version did not arrive on schedule. This one might.
Different timeline, different hope
The baseball case is stronger than it has been in a while, but this is where I keep coming back to Veen’s words.
He talked about looking in the mirror, making adjustments, getting closer to God, and wanting to become the best version of himself. None of that fixes chase rate. None of it guarantees another big-league role.
But the person matters.
Getting sober is hard. Not being sober is harder.
I know.
And maybe that is why the hope feels different now. The old hope was mine. It was about the player I wanted Veen to become for the Rockies.
Now the hope feels different. It is less something I am putting on him and more something I want for him.
I want Veen to feel hopeful about himself — not just about another call-up or a role with the Rockies, but about the life he is building.
The baseball still matters, and it is interesting again. But maybe the best part is that baseball no longer has to carry the whole story.
The Albuquerque Isotopes (33-28) got strong pitching performances but lost 1-0 to the Salt Lake Bees (31-29).
Blake Adams was excellent despite taking the loss. The right-hander allowed one run on three hits over five innings, walking one and striking out nine on 86 pitches. His only walk came in the first inning, and that runner scored on Josh Lowe’s RBI double for the game’s only run. Mason Green followed with 2 1/3 scoreless innings and three strikeouts, keeping Albuquerque within one.
Zac Veen (No. 9 PuRP) was the standout on offense, going 3-for-4 with two singles and his second triple of the season. The triple came off a 95.6 mph fastball and left the bat at 109.8 mph. Drew Avans added two singles and Vimael Machín had the other hit, but the Isotopes could not turn the traffic into runs, going 0-for-12 with runners in scoring position and leaving nine on base.
Albuquerque had more hits, more stolen bases, fewer errors, and one fewer strikeout than Salt Lake, but the one run was enough. Isotopes pitchers also walked four batters, one more than the Bees, and the first of those walks came around to score.
The Hartford Yard Goats (29-24) scored six runs in the ninth inning to beat the Portland Sea Dogs (28-26), 8-7.
GJ Hill carried the offense. He went 2-for-4 with two home runs, four RBI, and two runs scored. His solo shot in the second gave Hartford a 2-0 lead, and his three-run homer in the ninth cut Portland’s lead to 7-5. Hill is now hitting .220 with a .738 OPS, seven home runs, and 24 RBI.
Bryant Betancourt finished the comeback with a two-out, bases-clearing double in the ninth to put Hartford in front. It was his 12th double of the season, and he is now hitting .257 with an .810 OPS and 33 RBI. The Yard Goats had only five hits but drew 11 walks and turned their biggest chance into the deciding inning.
The game nearly got away from Hartford in the sixth, when Griffin Herring (No. 10 PuRP) allowed all seven Portland runs while recording just two outs. His ERA jumped to 14.85 after the outing. The bullpen recovered from there, with Cade Denton throwing 2 1/3 scoreless innings with three strikeouts and Andrew Baker striking out the side in the ninth for his fourth save. Baker now owns a 2.57 ERA.
The Spokane Indians (23-32) piled up 13 hits and went 6-for-14 with runners in scoring position in a 12-5 win over the Hillsboro Hops (24-31).
Robert Calaz (No. 6 PuRP) led the offense, going 3-for-4 with a double, three RBI, two runs, a walk, and his eighth stolen base of the season. He is now hitting .262 with a .729 OPS. Jack O’Dowd also had a big night, going 2-for-5 with his fourth home run, two RBI, and two runs scored. O’Dowd is hitting .412 with a 1.245 OPS.
Max Belyeu (No. 15 PuRP) added the biggest swing of the sixth inning with a two-run homer, his fifth of the season, and finished with three RBI. Roynier Hernandez went 2-for-5 with his fourth homer and is now hitting .306 with a .827 OPS. Alan Espinal also reached four times, going 2-for-2 with two walks, two RBI, and a stolen base.
Jackson Cox (No. 16 PuRP) got the win after striking out 11 over five innings. He allowed four runs, three earned, on seven hits, did not walk a batter, and has a 4.23 ERA on the season. Austin Emener handled the final four innings for his first save, allowing one run with two strikeouts. Spokane pitchers struck out 13 and did not issue a walk.
The Fresno Grizzlies (29-26) gave up seven runs in the fifth inning and lost 9-4 to the Lake Elsinore Storm (32-23).
Marcos Herrera took the loss after allowing nine runs on 11 hits over 4.2 innings. He walked four, struck out four, gave up two home runs, and his ERA rose to 9.28. Bryson Van Sickle kept the game from getting further out of hand, throwing 4.1 scoreless innings with one walk and one strikeout. He lowered his ERA to 2.84.
Carlos Renzullo had the biggest swing for Fresno, going 2-for-3 with his fourth double of the season and three RBI. He is now hitting .280 with a .725 OPS. Roldy Brito (No. 11 PuRP) went 2-for-4 with his 15th double and two runs scored, pushing his average to .332 with an .883 OPS. Tanner Thach added a hit and is hitting .357 with a 1.008 OPS.
Fresno had eight hits and went 2-for-5 with runners in scoring position, but Lake Elsinore had 14 hits, two homers, and 26 total bases. The fifth inning decided it.
On MLB.com, Thomas Harding explains the scoring change that took a home run away from Rockies rookie TJ Rumfield and turned it into a four-base error on Jo Adell. It is a tough break for Rumfield, who now has seven homers instead of eight, but the play gives him a pretty strange story about the homer he had for three days before MLB took it off the board.
In a Rockies On SI piece, Laura Lambert looks at the state of Colorado’s pitching staff as Ryan Feltner returns from the IL and Jimmy Herget and Victor Vodnik move closer to rehab outings. The article does not frame the Rockies as suddenly fixed, but it does point to a little more stability with Feltner returning to a decimated rotation and bullpen reinforcements on the way.
On Arizona Diamondbacks On SI, Alex D’Agostino looks at five possible left-handed bats Arizona could consider if it buys at the deadline, including Rockies first basemen TJ Rumfield and Troy Johnston. The piece notes both would fit the Diamondbacks’ need for a first base/DH bat, while also acknowledging the complication of trying to make an intra-division trade with Colorado.
I could post more PCA stories (and I probably did too many), but after I went through and posted the supportive and the mixed stories about his play, I came across a couple of closed-minded, well, fellows, who were looking for a new target for the shooting range. One guy’s title was “The rollercoaster Pete Crow-Armstrong experience is becoming far too much for Cubs.” He was below the “mixed” line, but only because his title was harsher than what he wrote. I do think that he either didn’t absorb what was happening or totally missed it with this short paragraph: “Even with the heroics on Thursday, PCA needs to reminded that he can’t give up on the play the way that he did once he realized the fly ball landed behind him. There’s no excuse, that was a bad look for Crow-Armstrong. Not the first he has had this season.”
Yes, PCA stood there in one spot, but he didn’t give up on the play. Running the video back few times, Happ and Suzuki were even with PCA at full speed, and as fast as he is, I don’t think he could have run them down in the next 60-70 feet. Plus, you don’t want three hands reaching for the ball. So, I think this author was “reaching’” in an attempt to match his tough-guy title.
“Athletics slugger Shea Langeliers hit one deep to center, and PCA could track the ball. Instead, he stood with open arms in the field trying to locate it. To make things worse, the ball landed way behind him.“ 1) Hopefully the first phrase was a typo because he couldn’t track the ball, or he would have made the catch. 2) I’m not an authority or a coach, but I was under the impression the main thing to do (other than scream ”I lost it!!!“ in front of 40,000 fans) is to hold your arms out in a non-waving position to signal to the other outfielders that he’s in trouble — that’s how Happ and Suzuki got the jump on getting to the ball. I mean, he could have dropped to the ground in a fetal position and waited out the play.
Here’s more: “MLB fans never hesitated to troll the slugger for his mistake.”
“How do Cubs fans still defend this bum?” one fan asked.
“Bro completely lost the ball in the lights and just stood there like it was someone else’s problem. Brutal,” wrote another fan.
“Then he just stares at it like a kid in t-ball,” another fan commented.
That’s only part of the comments IN the story. It doesn’t seem professional to use several comments by trolls to support your weak story. So it is a rather empty article without clear or original thought.
I’m sorry — I don’t think I’m here to critique other writers’ stories in detail, but I couldn’t let these two go as regular links below.
In much better news, I went to the Dodgers-Diamondbacks game Thursday night. Folks, you know how bad Dansby Swanson has looked at the plate? That is nothing compared to what I saw from Kyle Tucker — off-balance swings, weak contact on bad pitches, taking strikes. Beyond clueless. Dave Roberts seems to be one the nicest guys in baseball, but for him to say this about Tucker, “I think that it speaks to his toughness and fight to still try to perform,” Roberts said. “But it still wasn’t right, as far as not even close to being locked in.” That was almost a public flogging compared to his usual upbeat comments. TUCKER. LOOKS. BAD. That simple.
And I got a walk-off, too — Ketel Marte HR inside the foul pole. And that collision between little Vargas and the brick wall of Muncy? THAT was brutal. And no, I’m not becoming a D-Backs fan — I’m just passing the time until the Cubs come to town.
*means autoplay on, (directions to remove for Firefox and Chrome). {$} means paywall. {$} means limited views. Italics are often used on this page as sarcasm font. The powers that be have enabled real sarcasm font in the comments.
— Marquee Sports Network (@WatchMarquee) June 5, 2026
Kevin Druley (Deadspin): Pete Crow-Armstrong’s Redemption Could Be Exactly What Chicago Cubs Needed. ““In the past I might have dwelt on that, and that always ends up affecting how you go about the rest of your day,” Crow-Armstrong said. “People having my back, me not hiding from the next at-bat, yeah, I’m growing up a little bit and I’m proud of that, but I’ve got to keep it going for the rest of the year.”“
Shaan Donahue (Just Baseball): Who Is Pete Crow-Armstrong as a Hitter? “It’s time to dive into the ever-fascinating Pete Crow-Armstrong and figure out exactly who he is as a hitter.”
Brett Taylor (Bleacher Nation): Jed Hoyer Reminds Us of the Other Major Consideration for Major Trades at the Deadline. “The World Series odds are such a driving force when it comes to doing harm to the future of your organization (which is, by definition, what these trades are: some level of long-term damage in exchange for near-term help).”
Jed Hoyer on trade deadline aggressiveness: “Your World Series odds are probably going to be correlated to your odds of getting a bye and getting a bye is such a big deal…A lot of that aggressiveness is based on that ability to get the bye.” 1/2
Even though a wild card-ish team could desperately need him more than a 1st place team, it's the one in first that might land him. In other words, the Cubs need to get moving up the standings if they want to add in a big way! 3/3
Matt Sullivan (Sporting News): Cubs urged to pay whatever price it takes to acquire Tarik Skubal. “ESPN’s Jeff Passan is urging the Cubs to acquire Skubal for whatever price the Detroit Tigers ask for. It would be a bold move, but for the Cubs, with a struggling rotation, Skubal is just what they need to become a legitimate World Series contender.”
Joey Mistretta (Clutch Points): Cubs’ perfect trade offer for Red Sox’s Aroldis Chapman. “Breaking down the perfect trade proposal the Chicago Cubs could offer the Boston Red Sox for star reliever Aroldis Chapman.” (**Uh-no.**)
Jared Wyllys (Allchgo.com): Cubs’ skid won’t end until offense comes back to life. “Though the pitching staff has suffered myriad injuries, none of that matters all that much when the team isn’t scoring runs. In May, the Cubs ranked 27th in OPS, with or without runners in scoring position.”
Alex Bregman pushed back on the idea that seeing more breaking balls has led to his slow start to 2026, via @sahadevsharma.
“I really don’t think bat speed has anything to do with it. I think mechanics are everything, to be honest… I don’t really think the pitch type matters… pic.twitter.com/9WRQgoqnxX
— Baseball Is Dead (@baseballisdead_) June 2, 2026
Tyler Courtney (LastWordOnSports.com): How Two Returning Starters Could Strengthen the Cubs Rotation. “This has linked Chicago to potential trades for starters, but if these veterans could return at a strong level, then they may be able to keep some of their top prospects.”
Brett Taylor (Bleacher Nation): A Certain Power-Hitting Cubs Prospect is Up to Number 67 in Baseball. “Josiah Hartshorn’s breakout this year has been so impressive – so complete – that I think it’s useful to highlight the REALLY WILD stuff when it happens, even if it keeps happening.”
Food For Thought:
Samuel McClain (April 15, 1943 – June 15, 2015), better known as Mighty Sam early in his career, and later billed as Mighty Sam McClain, was an American soul blues singer and songwriter. He was born in Monroe, Louisiana.[2] As a five-year-old, he began singing in his mother’s Gospel Church. McClain left home when he was thirteen and followed local R&B guitarist, Little Melvin Underwood through the Chitlin’ Circuit, first as his valet and then as lead vocalist himself at 15.
While singing at the 506 Club in Pensacola, Florida, he was introduced to the record producer and DJ, Papa Don Schroeder and in 1966, McClain recorded a cover version of Patsy Cline’s “Sweet Dreams”. Several recording sessions at Muscle Shoals produced the further singles. For 15 years, first in Nashville, Tennessee, then in New Orleans, McClain worked at menial jobs. McClain toured and recorded in Japan in 1989.
That’s at least three hours south of me. A friend saw one two hours to the northeast. Maybe they are closing in!
Please be reminded that Cub Tracks and Bleed Cubbie Blue do not necessarily endorse the content of articles, podcasts, or videos that are linked to in this series.
Not how the rest of the team’s internal organizational restructuring will pan out.
Austin Reaves will decline his $14.9 million player option and become an unrestricted free agent. NBAE via Getty Images
Not even whether LeBron James will return for a 24th NBA season, and whether he’ll play for the Lakers for a ninth season — a decision that will have significant league-wide ramifications.
Reports have stated that Reaves — an expected unrestricted free agent once he declines his $14.9 million player option — wants a maximum contract worth $239 million across five seasons ($47.8 million average annual salary) and is not willing to take a hometown discount.
If the Lakers aren’t willing to go that high, they must explain to Reaves the reasoning if it means building a title-winning roster around him and Luka Doncic.
By comparison, the maximum contract another team could pay Reaves is $178 million over four seasons ($44.5 million average annual salary).
The Lakers want Reaves back. As they should after he’s proved to be an All-Star — and borderline All-NBA — caliber player.
And Reaves wants to return to the only NBA he’s known for the first five seasons of his NBA career.
In this sense, the sides are on the same page.
Where they may differ is the Lakers wanting to pay Reaves the least amount of money to bring him back to the franchise, looking to maximize their financial flexibility and optionality. And Reaves’ representatives, understandably, will negotiate for the most amount of money Reaves, 28, can make as he enters the prime of his career with his best chance of what will likely be the largest contract of his career.
If Reaves, or his representatives, not only want but demand the max deal they can get from the Lakers, the franchise without hesitation should pay it.
At face value, a $239 million contract for a player who hasn’t made an All-Star or All-NBA team may be difficult to fathom.
Reaves’ maximum salary for 2026-27 of approximately $41.2 million would make him around the top 36 to 40 players in the league. NBAE via Getty Images
Reaves’ maximum salary for 2026-27 of approximately $41.2 million would make him somewhere around the 36th- to 40th-highest-paid player in the league for next season.
That salary would be in the same ballpark of Thunder wing Jalen Williams ($41.2 million), Thunder big man Chet Holmgren and Magic forward Paolo Banchero, a tad above Nets forward Michael Porter Jr. ($40.8 million) and a little below Clippers guard Darius Garland ($42.2 million), Grizzlies guard Ja Morant and Pelicans forward Zion Williamson.
Reaves isn’t better than all of these players. But he’s better than a fair amount of them.
He ranked 30th in actual estimated plus-minus (EPM) for 2025-26 according to Dunks & Threes. And he was one of 20 players to average at least 23 points, five assists and four rebounds in 2025-26.
Download The California Post App, follow us on social, and subscribe to our newsletters
And before the multiple calf injuries that slowed down his season, Reaves was averaging 27.8 points, 6.7 assists and 5.6 rebounds.
There’s also the Doncic factor, and the reality that Reaves has proved to be a good fit alongside the Lakers superstar.
The Lakers outscored opponents by an elite margin of nine points per 100 possessions in 2025-26 when Doncic and Reaves shared the floor, up from 7.7 points per 100 possessions in 2024-25. Doncic’s history with Jalen Brunson and Kyrie Irving when with the Mavericks showed that putting him alongside another talented perimeter creator is a formula proven to work.
And Reaves has shown he’s that caliber of player.
He isn’t a perfect player. He has to be more durable after playing a career-low 51 games in 2025-26, and having back-to-back playoff runs impacted by injuries. Max players aren’t judged by what they do during the regular season, but more so in the playoffs, where Reaves’ catch-and-shoot 3-point shooting has dipped three consecutive years.
And Reaves has shown he’s that caliber of player. AP
But the Lakers can’t risk losing a player the caliber of Reaves for nothing. Especially not while they have Doncic, who’s in the prime of his career and ready to contend for championship now. Losing his co-star would be a backward step during a period the Lakers can’t afford to do so.
If Reaves and his representatives are willing to sign a contract with the Lakers for an annual salary that’s less than the maximum Reaves can receive, the franchise should consider that a gift. Especially after Reaves has been significantly underpaid for the last four seasons.
Yes, the significant pay raise for Reaves will make building a championship caliber roster around him and Doncic more challenging. But that’s the reality and challenge franchises sign up for when they have high-caliber players on their roster.
“[Reaves] started his journey here as a Laker and has made it very clear to us that he wants his journey to continue as a Laker,” Lakers president of basketball operations/general manager Rob Pelinka said after the season. “And we feel the same way. We want his odyssey to continue to unfold in the Purple and Gold. There’s rules and timing to all of that but I think both sides have made it abundantly clear that we want to work something out where he continues his prolific career here.”
And if the Lakers truly feel the way Pelinka says they do, they’ll pay Reaves — what he wants and what he’s worth.
ORLANDO, FL - FEBRUARY 8: Cedric Ceballos #23 of the Phoenix Suns in interviewed after winning the 1992 NBA All-Star Slam Dunk Contest at Orlando Arena on February 8, 1992 in Orlando, 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 1992 NBAE (Photo by Jon Soohoo/NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images
Once upon a time, we were desperate for story ideas. The COVID-19 pandemic had taken hold, there were no sports to watch, and everyone was trying to figure out how to fill the void. It was in the middle of that landscape that I began writing for Bright Side of the Sun. My first article was published only days before the entire NBA shut down.
As we navigated those strange times, I came up with an idea for an article. What if I took the game of Six Degrees of Separation with Kevin Bacon and applied it to an NBA player? Naturally, I chose Cedric Ceballos. Why? Because he exists in the middle of NBA history, which unlocks doors to the past and doors to the present. I also was a big Ceballos fan when he was a Sun, so why not?
Now, I fully understand that Cedric isn’t the true NBA equivalent. Somebody like Vince Carter or Jeff Green would probably be a better choice given the number of teams they played for and the sheer volume of teammates they accumulated throughout their careers. But this was a Suns site. I thought it would be fun. And fun it was.
Now here we are, six seasons later, and that article still sticks with me. Partly because it was fun. Partly because it was funny. Mostly because I enjoy the research. Clearly, I’m a nerd. I enjoy wandering down the endless tunnels that Basketball Reference provides, clicking from player to player and finding connections that I never knew existed.
So once again, we’re going to give this a shot. Six Degrees of Separation with Cedric Ceballos. As a reminder of the rules I established more than half a decade ago, here’s how this works. I will note that I removed some rules. It’s down to whether or not they played together or were traded for each other. Being coached by a similar person no longer counts:
Rule 1: Teammates
You can only count players who played together. Example: Yuta Tubuse played in 4 career NBA games, all for the Suns. I can use any Suns player he played with in those games, but I cannot use any of his opponents.
Rule 2: Transactions
Any player can be linked to another player via a transaction they shared. Example: Gani Lawal, who appeared in just 2 NBA minutes, was a future 2010 draft pick who was part of the Jared Dudley and Jason Richardson for Raja Bell, Boris Diaw, and Sean Singletary trade. Therefore, he is linked to those players.
Rule 3: You have 6 moves
That’s the name of the game. Six moves or fewer is a win. Do it in seven and don’t talk to me.
And of course, it wouldn’t be any fun if I were the one choosing which players to connect to Cedric Ceballos. That would be too easy. So I put out a call to arms, asking the Twitter community to provide me with some random dudes from NBA history.
It was a rocky start. I guess when you’re plugged into Suns’ Twitter, I should expect that everyone is going to try to find an obscure Suns player. Shannon Brown? Too easy. Negele Knight? Obscure, sure, but a teammate of Ceballos in Phoenix. They played 140 games with each other!
Some of the names were familiar. Some of them sent me down rabbit holes I never expected to travel. A few had me staring at Basketball Reference pages, wondering how on earth I was going to connect the dots. Which is exactly the point. Half the fun of this exercise is seeing where the journey takes you. The destination matters, sure. But the path to get there is where things get interesting.
So with a fresh list of random NBA names in hand, it’s time to see how many degrees of separation stand between them and Cedric Ceballos.
All right, let’s start easy. After all, it’s two members of the Phoenix Suns, right?
The easiest way to attack this is to look at the roster from Marcus Banks’s rookie season and Cedric Ceballos’s final season. The two never overlapped in the NBA, so that felt like the logical starting point.
Banks entered the league after being selected 13th overall in the 2003 NBA Draft out of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. His rights, along with those of Kendrick Perkins, were traded to the Boston Celtics in exchange for Troy Bell and Dahntay Jones. As a result, Banks spent his rookie season in Boston, appearing in 81 games off the bench for a Celtics team that finished 36-46.
As for Ceballos, his final season came in 2000-01 with the Miami Heat. It’s always fun to go back and look at some of the names on those old rosters. Bruce Bowen was in his fourth NBA season. A.C. Green was there. So were Eddie House, Eddie Jones, Anthony Mason, and, of course, Dan Majerle.
But none of those names is the key. The connector is Ricky Davis.
MIAMI – NOVEMBER 1: Ricky Davis #31 of the Miami Heat celebrates after hitting a three-pointer against the Detroit Pistons at American Airlines Arena November 1, 2007 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 2007 NBAE (Photo by Doug Benc/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Davis was in his second NBA season during that final year of Ceballos’s career. Originally selected 21st overall by the Charlotte Hornets in 1998, he landed in Miami two years later and shared the court with Ceballos during that final campaign. The following season, Davis was traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers, where he spent two seasons before being dealt to the Celtics in December of 2003.
And there it is.
Step 1: Marcus Banks to Ricky Davis
Both Marcus Banks and Ricky Davis spent 2.5 seasons together with the Boston Celtics. Interestingly enough, both were traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves in January of 2006.
For Davis, Banks was a significant teammate. The two appeared in 213 games together, which ranks as the second-most games Ricky Davis played alongside any teammate during his NBA career. The same is true in reverse. Of all the players Banks shared the court with throughout his career, Davis ranks second in total games played together.
Step 2: Ricky Davis to Cedric Ceballos
As noted above, Davis spent part of the 2000-01 season with the Miami Heat, which was the final NBA season for Cedric Ceballos. The overlap was brief. Very brief. Davis and Ceballos appeared in only four games together. Fortunately, four games are still four games, and according to the highly scientific rules established for this exercise more than half a decade ago, that absolutely counts.
Which means we’ve successfully connected Marcus Banks to Cedric Ceballos in just two degrees of separation.
All right, here’s one that’s a little more difficult. Because I had absolutely no idea who Luigi Datome was. So well played, Bruce. Well played.
What I learned is that Datome was a 6’8” small forward who didn’t play his first NBA game until 2013, joining the Detroit Pistons at age 26. Over his two-year NBA career, he appeared in a grand total of 55 games, 37 with Detroit.
Then came the trade. When the Isaiah Thomas deal sent Thomas from the Phoenix Suns to the Boston Celtics, Datome was included as part of the package heading to Boston in a three-team deal. Ah, that’s why Bruce picked him. Because Bruce is a Boston guy.
BOSTON, MA – MARCH 1: Luigi Datome #70 of the Boston Celtics poses for a portrait before the game against the Golden state Warriors on March 1, 2015 at the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. 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 2015 NBAE (Photo by Steve Babineau/NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images
So naturally, the next step is diving into that 2014-15 Celtics roster to see if we can find a path. And right away, one name jumps off the page. Gerald Wallace. Wallace was in his 13th NBA season at the time, and the moment I saw his name, I knew I had my starting point.
Now the question becomes where that path leads next.
Step 1: Luigi Datome to Gerald Wallace
I could have gone in a few different directions here.
There were other names on that roster. Other players who bounced around the league and would have made for an easy connection. Jeff Green was on that Celtics team, and Jeff Green is basically the holy grail for this exercise. The man has played 18 seasons for 11 different franchises. But where’s the fun in that?
Instead, I went with Gerald Wallace. Wallace entered the league in 2001 after being selected 25th overall by the Sacramento Kings. His stint in Sacramento isn’t what interests me, however. It’s the one that began in 2004-05 with the Charlotte Bobcats.
Step 2: Gerald Wallace to Eddie House
Ah, the Bobcats. Remember that team? Remember that logo? Those uniforms? It’s been more than 20 years since the Bobcats existed, and thank goodness for that. If you weren’t around back then, you missed some truly questionable fashion choices and some equally questionable basketball.
But who else was on that 2004-05 Charlotte roster? Our old friend Eddie House. Most Suns fans remember House for his electric 2005-06 season in Phoenix, when he finished 13th in Sixth Man of the Year voting and routinely came off the bench throwing gasoline on the fire. When Eddie got hot, the entire arena knew it.
As I mentioned earlier in this article, however, Eddie House and Cedric Ceballos already have a connection.
Step 3: Eddie House to Cedric Ceballos
That’s right. We return once again to Cedric’s final season in the NBA. The 2000-01 season happened to be the rookie campaign for Eddie House. After being selected 37th overall out of Arizona State University in the 2000 NBA Draft by the Miami Heat, House landed on the same roster that featured Cedric Ceballos during the final stop of Ced’s NBA career.
And just like that, we’ve connected Gigi Datome to Cedric Ceballos in three degrees of separation. Not bad for a guy I had never heard of 20 minutes ago.
Okay, I like this one. It still lives in the Suns’ universe, but we’re going way back. All the way back to a player the Phoenix Suns selected in the 1969 NBA Draft. Neal Walk.
Walk, a center out of the University of Florida, was essentially the consolation prize. He’s the player Phoenix ended up with after calling heads in the coin flip that ultimately gave the Milwaukee Bucks the right to draft Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who at the time was still known as Lew Alcindor. But hey, he had a magnificent beard.
MILWAUKEE, WI – MARCH 11: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar #33 of the Milwaukee Bucks handles the ball against Neal Walk #41 of the Phoenix Suns on March 11, 1974 at the MECCA Arena in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 1974 NBAE (Photo by Vernon Biever/NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images
Walk spent 4.5 seasons with the Suns, averaging 14.7 points and 8.9 rebounds per game. He was a solid player. A productive player. It’s also safe to say Phoenix lost that coin flip. After all, Lew Alcindor became Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and there’s a strong argument that he’s the third greatest player in NBA history.
Walk remained with the Suns until 1974, when he was traded, along with a second-round pick, to the New Orleans Jazz for three players and a first-round pick. That pick eventually changed hands and was used by the Buffalo Braves to select Adrian Dantley out of the University of Notre Dame. Another Hall of Famer. Because apparently this story wasn’t finished torturing Suns fans.
But there’s my starting point. Walk spent only one season with the Jazz, appearing in 34 games. And during that lone season, he shared the court with E. C. Coleman. That’s where the trail begins.
Step 1: Neal Walk to E.C. Coleman
E.C. Coleman was a power forward out of Houston Baptist University who was selected in the third round of the 1973 NBA Draft by the Houston Rockets. Yes, there used to be more than two rounds, even though the league was smaller. He was a Rocket for a couple of years, but when the New Orleans Jazz entered the NBA in 1974, they selected Coleman in the expansion draft.
LANDOVER, MD – CIRCA 1976: E.C. Coleman #12 of the New Orleans Jazz looks on against the Washington Bullets during an NBA basketball game circa 1976 at the Capital Centre in Landover, Maryland. Coleman played for the Jazz from 1974-77. (Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images) | Getty Images
It turned out to be a solid pick. Coleman spent three seasons with the Jazz and eventually earned All-Defensive First Team honors in 1976-77. The season that interests us, however, is 1974-75. That Jazz team was rough. They opened the year with an 11-game losing streak and started the season 3-34 before finally putting together a two-game winning streak. They ultimately finished 23-59, but it was during that season that Coleman and Neal Walk shared the court.
Coleman eventually entered free agency and signed with the Golden State Warriors in 1977. After being waived in 1978, he returned to Houston and played 6 games for the Rockets. Six games that, for most people, wouldn’t matter. For this exercise, those six games are everything.
Step 2: E.C. Coleman to Moses Malone
During those six games in Houston, Coleman played alongside Moses Malone. Not a bad teammate to stumble across.
It was Malone’s third NBA season after beginning his professional career in the ABA, and 1978-79 became a landmark year for him. He appeared in all 82 games, averaging 24.8 points and 17.6 rebounds per contest. The accolades piled up. All Star. All NBA First Team. All Defensive Second Team. And most importantly, MVP.
Malone remained with Houston for three more seasons, winning another MVP award in 1982 before being traded to the Philadelphia 76ers for Caldwell Jones and a 1983 first-round pick. And once he arrived in Philadelphia, the next connection practically made itself.
Step 3: Moses Malone to Julius Erving
The 1982-83 season brought together Moses Malone and Julius Erving, better known as Dr. J. Talk about a duo. Malone won MVP that season. Dr. J finished fifth in MVP voting. Both earned All-NBA First Team honors as the 76ers rolled through the league.
Basketball: NBA Finals: (L-R) NBA commissioner Larry O'Brien, Philadelphia 76ers Moses Malone (2), coach Billy Cunningham, Julius Erving (6) and owner Harold Katz in locker room after winning game and series vs Los Angeles Lakers at The Forum. Game 4. Inglewood, CA 5/31/1983 CREDIT Peter Read Miller (Photo by Peter Read Miller /Sports Illustrated via Getty Images) (Set Number: X28564 TK1 R7 F1 )
Erving had begun his professional career in the ABA and entered the NBA in 1976 at age 26. He would spend 11 seasons in the NBA and eventually become one of the most influential and celebrated players in basketball history.
At this point, the next connection feels almost inevitable. We’re talking about the Philadelphia 76ers in the mid 1980s. That means we’re talking about Sir Charles.
Step 4: Julius Erving to Charles Barkley
Charles Barkley, drafted 5th overall in the 1985 Draft, and Julius Erving appeared in 226 games together. The pair went 130-66 during the regular season, although postseason success proved harder to find. They went 16-14 in the playoffs during their shared time in Philadelphia.
Of course, the Eastern Conference wasn’t exactly welcoming. This was the era of Larry Bird and the Boston Celtics.The era of Isiah Thomas and the Detroit Pistons. The beginning of the era of Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls. There were heavyweights everywhere.
Philadelphia captured its championship in 1983 before Barkley arrived, and despite all of Charles’s greatness, he never got another crack at a title with the 76ers. That opportunity would come later when he moved out west to the Valley of the Sun.
Step 5: Charles Barkley to Cedric Ceballos
And now we’ve arrived at the destination. A journey spanning decades, from Neal Walk’s era in the early late 60s to 1992, when Charles Barkley arrived in Phoenix, and Cedric Ceballos was entering his third NBA season out of California State University, Fullerton.
Ced was a star on the rise. Honestly, I’ll go to my grave believing that if he had been healthy during that NBA Finals run, Barkley might have a championship ring and Suns fans might feel a little differently about the franchise’s history. Instead, we’re left wondering what could have been.
What we do know is that Barkley and Ceballos appeared in 131 games together. And with that, Neal Walk is connected to Cedric Ceballos in five degrees of separation.
That’s enough for this session, isn’t it? We got a little history lesson. We exercised parts of our basketball brains that probably haven’t been used in quite some time. And along the way, we managed to connect a handful of seemingly random players to Cedric Ceballos.
That’s the beauty of this exercise. It sends you wandering through decades of NBA history, stumbling across forgotten franchises, forgotten players, strange trades, and connections that you never would have considered otherwise. And honestly, I enjoy every minute of it.
So who knows? Maybe I’ll continue accepting the challenges thrown my way and keep this experiment going as the summer rolls on. There are certainly enough random names out there to keep me occupied. For now, though, I think these three examples prove the point. No matter how obscure the player, no matter how far back in NBA history you go, no matter how impossible the challenge initially appears. You can connect just about anyone who has ever played in the NBA to Cedric Ceballos.
And if you can’t?
Well, then I probably haven’t spent enough time on Basketball Reference yet.
SAN ANTONIO, TX - JUNE 5: Karl-Anthony Towns #32 of the New York Knicks, Victor Wembanyama #1 of the San Antonio Spurs and Jalen Brunson #11 of the New York Knicks look on during Game Two of the 2026 NBA Finals on June 5, 2026 at Frost Bank Center in San Antonio, Texas. 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 Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images
For a while now, I thought I was watching a very specific kind of story. An underdog with tenacity. A chosen one on the rise. An ascension. A coming-of-age. A fairy tale, maybe. The details were always a little hazy, but the protagonist was never in question. It was the Spurs. It just felt right. Every moment had meaning. Every setback only served the cause. The signs were everywhere if you knew how to read them. Our time had come. Our story was happening in real time, right in front of our eyes.
Somewhere in the third quarter, down fourteen, I started to wonder if I’d maybe wandered into the wrong theater.
I felt like I was drowning. Every Spurs possession was happening at warp speed. Shots went up quick and bounced out. Layups lipped out. Drives sputtered. The ball found its way into Knick hands before I could even process what was happening, and then suddenly everything was headed the other way.
These Knicks possessions, though. Those were like getting punched in slow motion. Just haymaker after haymaker and, sure, you could see every one coming but your arms were moving through molasses. There’s nothing to be done except to just sit there and take it. Then everything speeds up again and you’re dizzy from that last punch but, oops, another three just rattled out and the Knicks are headed back up the court again.
I was exhausted. I was dizzy. And I was starting to get the distinct impression that, in whatever version of this story I thought I was watching, this is not how it was supposed to go.
Much to my chagrin, I could not stop focusing on the Knicks fans in the crowd. They were making me insane. Not, like, a little annoyed. Insane. Seriously, every time a bunch of blue and orange hands went up after another bucket, it was like a galactic five-year-old found a bruise on my arm and just kept poking it. I felt like I was in my living room trying to grieve the demise of an old friend and a bunch of drunk guys were screaming BING BONG KNICKS IN FOUR BABY directly into my ear canal.
Get out of our house, you absolute ghouls.
I know. I know. It wasn’t really about them. Whatever. It’s just that it felt unfair in the specific way that life feels really unfair sometimes, when something wrong is happening right in front of you and there’s no one to appeal to and no rule being broken and it’s just happening. Why? Because.
But here’s the thing. I was so busy being mad at them for acting like they belonged there that I didn’t stop to consider why they were so sure they did.
Maybe they knew something I didn’t.
I turned the sound off with around 11 minutes left in the game. A tried and true tactic I’ve used for as long as I can remember when Sports has gotten a little too real for my taste. Something about the silence makes it seem more palatable. Like I can finally breathe and think for a second. Sometimes it’s just nice not to have to listen to Richard Jefferson anymore.
Wembanyama hit a three. That wasn’t going to fool me though. No sir. This whole game had been defined by the Spurs getting purchase on a cliff face before immediately tumbling back down a few feet and starting over. Castle got in for a pretty good dunk. Wemby blocked Hart. Their shots weren’t really falling anymore, but this wasn’t real. This was just the death rattle.
Harper with a bucket.
I’m telling you, watching this play out in silence was surreal. I obviously wasn’t going to turn the sound back on and mess with whatever favor I’d earned with the gods to inspire the run. Still, it was as if I was standing on the other side of the glass watching all of this happen to someone else. I wanted to scream or shout or bang on the window, but all I could do was stare. Mouth agape. Silently trying to will something into existence just by wanting it enough.
Our crowd was going nuts. The Knicks fans were, finally, mercifully, joining me in a silent vigil.
The score was tied. Three minutes left. Were they actually going to do this? They’d spent all night searching for answers and had they now, against all odds, finally found some? Victor took two steps, covered about a hundred feet of ground, and laid it in. The Spurs were winning. They were winning this game. Winning this series. Potentially never going to lose again.
Maybe this was our story after all. It’s wins all the way down, baby!
Wembanyama grabbing that board off the Brunson miss with 12 seconds left was the first time I actually let myself believe they were going to pull this off. The two best players on the court had just stared each other down, one on one, and Vic had prevailed. We were going to go back up, score, and dance off into the night. The story had been written. Our fate had been sealed. The stars were aligned.
Fate, it turns out, has a pretty funny sense of humor.
Before the game, Wembanyama was asked in French about this team’s habit of finding solutions only after running into problems. As usual, the frankness of his assessment kind of caught me off guard.
“We’re kind of like spoiled kids,” he said. “For some of us, it’s our first season and we’re already in the Finals. We don’t fully realize it yet. And to me, the team that appreciates the position we’re in the most will be the one that wins.”
Two games in, the Knicks look like they know exactly where they are.
How could they not? This is a franchise that has spent the better part of three decades being a punchline. Draft picks that didn’t pan out. Superstars that chose somewhere else. Stars that arrived and immediately got hurt. An owner who, at times, seemed to be actively working against his own team.
Last year, this group got within two wins of this exact moment and then Tyrese Haliburton and the Pacers ripped their hearts out.
Twenty-seven years of almost and now here they are, back in San Antonio. In the Finals. In our building. Their fans look deliriously happy and their players look like they’re on a mission from God. They all look like they’ve been waiting their whole lives for this moment.
Maybe this is the story we’ve really been watching all along.
It could be as simple as that.
Takeaways
I’m willing to live in a world where I’m being too cynical about all this. The Spurs found something in that fourth quarter that looked real, and crazier things have happened. That said, down 0-2 heading to a Garden that is going to be absolutely feral is a lot. It’s not impossible. It’s just a lot. It’s….yeah, a lot.
Victor looked absolutely gassed all game. Right up until he didn’t! Still, I feel like I’ve seen him miss a ton of shots he normally makes in this series and it’s for sure a little disconcerting. The biggest thing the fourth quarter showed is that this Spurs team is invincible when Wemby is looking invincible. When he’s not, well, they get pretty vincible all of a sudden. This is something that somehow continues to seem profound even though we’ve been learning it over and over again for about three years now.
The Luke Kornet rebound off the missed Brunson free throw is an all-time moment that is going to be lost to history and I am furious about it. They put him in to do exactly one thing and he did it. He reached into a tangle of legs and limbs and came out with the basketball, somehow without stepping out of bounds. It was as stunning a play as his chase-down block in the OKC series. It deserved a better ending. Alas.
Part of me thinks Fox should have taken that last shot. I can’t fully explain it. It just felt like that was going to be his moment. That’s why we brought him here. Everyone in the building knew Wemby was getting the ball, so why not shock the world? He had the shot, didn’t he? I’ll never know because I refuse to watch that sequence again, but in my heart I think he had it.
Feels bad, y’all. Feels real bad right now.
Spurs in 7.
WWL Post Game Press Conference
Have you ever actually walked into the wrong theater for a movie?
No, that seems borderline impossible. I did used to like, double dip at the theater all the time back in the day when there was nothing else really going on. It felt like once you’d given your ticket to the guy up front you really could just hang out back there in the bowels of a Regal Cinemas for days on end.
So you’d just watch multiple movies?
Sure, or just like, a double feature or something.
What was your best double feature?
My favorite one, for sure, was a combination of Mission Impossible 2 followed by Shanghai Noon. Cinema! I was a man of culture. I’ve never felt more artistically fulfilled.
You really don’t want to keep talking about that Spurs game do you?
TORONTO, CANADA - JUNE 5: Adley Rutschman #35 of the Baltimore Orioles celebrates his two-RBI double against the Toronto Blue Jays during the ninth inning of an MLB game at the Rogers Centre on June 5, 2026 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Mark Blinch/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Good morning Birdland,
There was a whole lot of goodness in the Orioles 13-3 beatdown of the Blue Jays on Friday night, and perhaps just one small (for now) thing to worry about.
First, the good news. The Orioles looked amazing, even if it took a little while for the offense to get it going.
Adley Rutschman’s solo homer in the first inning is all they could muster against Blue Jays starter Trey Yesavage through the game’s first five innings. But they caught fire in the sixth, plating five runs and putting the game out of reach for a Blue Jays lineup that got shut down in the second half of the evening.
Rutschman was the star, going a perfect 4-for-4 with the homer, two doubles, and five runs driven in. His season totals are looking mighty fine after that performance. But he didn’t do it all alone. Coby Mayo hit a two-run dong. Jeremiah Jackson entered as a pinch hitter and had two hits and two RBI. Colton Cowser had two more hits and made a nice throw from right field. Gunnar Henderson reached base twice, scored two runs, and put pressure on the defense with his speed. It was just a really impressive group effort up and down the lineup.
The pitching was also good! Brandon Young got the win, tossing 6.1 innings and allowing three runs on seven hits, no walks, and four strikeouts. Then, the trio of Grant Wolfram, Yennier Cano, and Anthony Nunez combined for 2.2 shutout innings to close out the win.
The only thing we really need to be worried about is Samuel Basallo. He was the DH in this one, but exited early due to “right abdominal discomfort.” O’s manager Craig Albernaz described the decision to remove Basallo as “precautionary,” and that they will know more on Saturday. Sam Huff is already with the team as a member of the taxi squad, though he would need to be added to the 40-man roster if he is needed.
Losing Basallo for any amount of time would hurt. The rookie has been such an impactful part of their offense. He has also allowed Rutschman to get out from behind the plate more frequently, either as the DH or on the bench. Upending that balance could have some negative downstream effects. Fingers crossed this ends up being a day-to-day thing.
Links
Orioles injury updates and some mailbag questions | Roch Kubatko We got some positive injury updates this week. Chris Bassitt should be OK to make his next start. Ryan Helsley is set for a rehab stint next week. Dylan Beavers is hitting in the cage. And Dean Kremer is running and throwing live batting practice. Getting the team healthier would be a big boost!
The Draft is just over 5 weeks away! Here’s the latest mock | MLB.com The Orioles have the seventh overall pick in this year’s draft, which makes things a bit more interesting. Clearly, you can get good players deeper than that. Look no further than Henderson. But the draft is most exciting in the top half of the first round. Here are a bunch of names to get familiar with.
Orioles birthdays
Is it your birthday? Happy birthday!
The late Merv Rettenmund (b. 1943, d., 2024) was born on this day. The outfielder spent six seasons in Baltimore during the club’s Golden Age from 1968-73. He put together three different seasons with bWARs of 4.2 or better, with his standout campaign coming in 1971. That got him some down ballot MVP votes, finishing in 19th place for the award.
This day in O’s history
1993 – Cal Ripken Jr’s consecutive games played streak nearly comes to an end when his spikes get stuck in the grass and twist his knee. Although his knee will be badly swollen the next day, he plays anyway.
2010 – The Orioles beat the Red Sox 4-3 in 11 innings, ending a ten-game losing stream and giving interim manager Juan Samuel his first victory at the helm.
2012 – The Orioles beat the Red Sox 2-1 to retake sole possession of first place in the AL East.
JUPITER, FLORIDA - MARCH 19, 2026: Tanner Franklin #43 of the St. Louis Cardinals throws a pitch during the fourth inning of a spring training Spring Breakout game against the Washington Nationals at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium on March 19, 2026 in Jupiter, Florida. (Photo by Nick Cammett/Diamond Images via Getty Images) | Diamond Images/Getty Images
Chaim Bloom and the Cardinals front office have spent the last year feverishly adding as much pitching talent to the farm system as possible. As ORSTLcardsfan noted in his article yesterday, this has been a “re-stock the pitching pipeline” year.
I think most of us were happy with the pitchers and types of pitchers brought into the organization, but have the results followed the supposed increase in talented arms?
There are a couple of ways I want to do this. First, by looking at the team level statistics for each of the full-season clubs and how they are trending year over year relative to their respective leagues. The second is by looking at which individual prospects have taken major steps forward or back this season. I will keep the individual pitcher updates to a minimum since Gabe has covered that recently here for the upper minors and here for the lower minors.
Put simply: is the pitching pipeline actually getting better?
Team Statistics Overview
For the team level statistics, I am focusing on age, K%, BB%, and HR%. The average age is weighted by the number of plate appearances against. Yhoiker Fajardo’s 183 batters faced in High-A as a 19-year-old have a greater impact on the team’s average age than former teammate Aaron Holiday’s 56 batters faced as a 26-year-old.
There has been an explosion of home runs at the three lowest levels of the minor leagues, so I also looked at leaguewide statistics. I think this is helpful because it gives some context on the performances of the Cardinals pitchers (and hitters, for that matter), but also gives us a more consistent baseline to evaluate against.
Changes in Prospect Grades
I am highlighting players that, in my opinion, have significantly changed their prospect grade based on their performance this year. My intent was to be very conservative about moving players since we are still relatively early on in the year. For example, Leonel Sequera has a 9.07 ERA and has given up 12 home runs through his first 43.2 innings pitched. Obviously this is a horrible stat line, but he also showed improved velocity in spring training, moved up a level, and is running a 16.4% K-BB% as a 20-year-old in High-A. I consider him to be holding steady with his preseason expectations/grade.
For injured players, I am delineating between players who were injured entering the year and those who have had injuries since the start of spring training. So, Cooper Hjerpe’s prospect grade has not changed since the start of the year, but Ixan Henderson and Frank Elissalt are trending down.
I am not saying this is the right or only methodology, but I am trying to measure progress relative to our offseason expectations and that is the best I could come up with.
Finally, I am including the FanGraphs preseason ranking for each prospect for reference. I don’t agree with their list completely, but it is a solid reference point. Now, on to Memphis!
Memphis Redbirds
The first section in the table shows the year-over-year changes to the age, K%, BB%, and HR% for the International League as a whole. The second section of the table shows the Cardinals-specific performance in 2025 and 2026. Finally, the Cardinals vs. League section shows the Cardinals staff performance relative to the league year-over-year. The scores are scaled so that 100 is average and higher is better. So, the Cardinals Age score of 104 indicates that their average pitcher is 4% younger than the International League as a whole.
Overall, the Redbirds have improved in every metric. The average age of the pitching staff has decreased from 27 to 26.3, which is fourth youngest in the 20-team league. Strikeouts, walks, and home runs have all gone from just below league average to above.
Prospects holding steady
Quinn Matthews (10), Brycen Mautz (17), Hancel Rincon (18), Pete Hansen (19), Luis Gastelum (31), Skylar Hales (38)
Prospect injured list
Tekoah Roby (12), Sem Robberse (22)
Prospects trending up
Max Rajcic (NR) has transitioned from starting to relieving quite nicely. As a relief-only arm, he is probably not a top-30 prospect in their system, but he now looks like an actual major leaguer. Cade Winquest (NR) counts as trending up simply by virtue of being returned from the Yankees after being made their first Rule 5 selection since 2011. Winquest was ranked as the Yankees 12th-best prospect by FanGraphs, and based on his 40 FV grade, would have ranked between 23-33 on the Cardinals offseason list. Anyway, getting an arm like Winquest back in the system was a great break. He is pitching in relief now, but still throwing five or six pitches, so if everything breaks right, he could follow the Kyle Leahy path to the rotation.
Prospects trending down
Tink Hence (11) has moved to a relief role and suffered a big drop in velocity and results out of the Memphis bullpen. After a stint on the development list, Hence at least showed better stuff in his return to Memphis.
Good to see Tink Hence's velocity back up in his return from the FCL.
Still, Hence may fall out of updated top-30 Cardinals lists and is still taking up a spot on the 40-man roster. Never count a pitcher with Hence’s talent out, but he is running out of time.
Ixan Henderson (16) is still working his way back from an arm injury that surfaced in spring training. He is apparently still on track to pitch in July or August, but the injury timing was quite unfortunate following his breakout 2025. The Matt Pushard (43) era ended after seven magical innings in St. Louis. The Rule 5 draftee was returned to Miami.
Springfield Cardinals
Home runs in the Texas League are up almost 40%! This is encouraging context for a star-studded rotation. The Springfield staff as a whole is not quite matching up to the historically effective 2025 team, but it is still above average and is significantly younger.
Prospects holding steady
Liam Doyle (2), Jurrangelo Cijntje (5), Chen-Wei Lin (15), Austin Love (32), Braden Davis (36)
Prospect injured list
Brandon Clarke (6), Cooper Hjerpe (21)
Prospects trending up
Mason Molina (41) was the least heralded member of the Springfield rotation to start the year, but has been the best starter in terms of ERA and FIP. He came into the year as a lottery ticket (acquired in the Phil Maton trade) that likely profiled as a bullpen arm. Molina showed off a devastating fastball in spring training and now looks like he might profile as a backend starter. He is easily a top-30 prospect in the organization for me.
Prospects trending Down
FanGraphs always includes relief pitchers with great arms like Randel Clemente (45) on their prospect lists. Clemente was not a real prospect coming into the season, in my opinion. He is still walking almost a batter per inning. He is striking out 40% of hitters, so he will probably keep getting chances, but the control is just not clicking.
Peoria Chiefs
To one-up the Texas League, Midwest League home runs are up more than 50% with around a 2% increase in both K% and BB%. Peoria’s staff has the highest home run per batter faced in the league, but has improved strikeout and walk rates. It will be worth following to see if the bloated home run totals are still partially a small sample-size issue, or if the trend continues.
Prospects holding steady
Leonel Sequera (28), Blake Aita (35)
Prospects trending up
Tanner Franklin (24) is probably the biggest up arrow guy in the Cardinals system. Keith Law ranked him as the 25th-best prospect in baseball at the Athletic. While this feels a little aggressive, he is poised to start joining other top 100 lists if he keeps up his current pace a bit longer. Yhoiker Fajardo (33) is one of six 19-year-olds to pitch in High-A this year.He has the 11th-best K-BB% (minimum 40 IP) of any pitcher in the minor leagues at 25%. Fajardo has struggled with the home run ball, like everyone in Peoria, but he could be making a run at top 100 prospect lists by year’s end as well. Jacob Odle (NR) is the biggest arrow up pitching prospect in the system that was unranked entering the season. He has just one High-A start but terrorized the Florida State League with a wicked fastball averaging 97.1 MPH and 17.5 inches of induced vertical break (IVB). For reference, Chase Burns is the only qualified starting pitcher in MLB to throw harder (98 MPH) with more IVB (18.7). Odle has less than 100 professional innings pitched and is already 22, but he is officially on the prospect watchlist.
Prospects trending down
Nate Dohm (34) was acquired in the Ryan Helsley trade and was one of the more popular picks to break out this year. As a former reliever with great stuff, he was in a similar category as Tanner Franklin entering the year. Unfortunately, he has battled command and only been able to get through 24 innings in nine appearances. I am not ready to write him off, but he is trending in the wrong direction. Jose Davila (37) has barely pitched this year and Frank Elissalt (42) has not appeared at all. Despite the low ranking, Elissalt has a lot of fans in the prospect-watching community thanks to a nasty fastball, but he is still working his way back from a hip injury suffered in spring training.
Palm Beach Cardinals
Florida State League home runs are up 37%, right in line with the Palm Beach team’s year-over-year increase. Strikeout rates in the league have jumped almost 3%, which makes the Cardinals increase look a bit less impressive. The Palm Beach roster is light on prospects relative to the other teams in the system, but Brian Holiday is a non-ranked name to watch that has just joined the club after returning from his Tommy John rehab.
Prospects holding steady
Cade Crossland (23), Jack Martinez (39), Ethan Young (40)
Prospects trending down
Yordy Herrera (44) is in the same category for me as Clemente, but I am including him for completeness of the FanGraphs list. He is still in Low-A and not getting results.
Conclusion
So, where does that leave us? At the team level, every level except Palm Beach has gotten younger. All four teams are striking out between 3%-11% more than the league average. Three of the four teams have improved their walk rate relative to the league, with Springfield being the exception. Peoria’s staff has been a weird outlier on the home run front, but the other staffs are above average in that department as well. To me, the younger staffs and improved strikeout rates are encouraging signs that the talent level within the system is rising.
When looking at individual players trending up vs. trending down, I think the signs are encouraging as well. Franklin and Fajardo are both taking major steps forward. Odle is one of the most exciting out-of-nowhere arms I can remember in quite some time. Mason Molina could be a back-end starter and getting Cade Winquest back in the system was a nice bonus. These developments more than offset the continued struggles of Hence, the injuries to Ixan Henderson and Frank Elissalt, and the poor start by Nate Dohm.
Cooper Hjerpe made his first rehab appearance on Friday night in the complex league. How Hjerpe, Henderson, and Clarke pitch in the second half will have a huge impact on the pitching picture going into 2027, but based on what we’ve seen so far, Bloom’s plan is trending in the right direction.
A Long Islander went viral this week for predicting the Knicks’ NBA Finals run in his 2020 high school yearbook.
Evan Pfeufer of Kings Park shared a photo Thursday of his quote in Smithtown High School West’s yearbook, “Knicks in 6. 2026 NBA Finals” — and it racked up more than 5 million views in one day.
Evan Pfeufer predicted the Knicks’ 2026 NBA Finals run in his 2020 high school yearbook. Courtesy of Evan Pfeufer
The now-23-year-old told The Post how he decided on the very specific prediction.
“It’s so simple. Knicks in six 2026 rhymes so incredibly well,” he said.
The Knicks superfan recalled his parents’ disappointment when he showed them the book six years ago.
“It was so funny, my parents were like, ‘Evan, why?’ Why would you do this?'” he said.
Now, they are reconsidering, and likening their son to a modern-day Nostradamus.
“My dad is questioning if I’m a human or not,” he said.
“It’s so simple. Knicks in six 2026 rhymes so incredibly well,” Pfeufer told The Post. Courtesy of Evan Pfeufer
Pfeufer, whose impressive high school resume included serving as an officer in the Business Honor Society, purposely chose not to include any of his accomplishments on his yearbook page in order for his Knicks quote to stand out.
“They gave us an option, and I said, ‘No, I just want this,'” he recalled.
“Hand over Bible, I purposely didn’t put my honor societies and all the stuff I got because I was like, ‘What if this actually happens? Everybody else has this long a– quote with all their achievements, and me, I would get it right.'”
As it started looking like his 2020 prediction could actually come to fruition, he texted his childhood friend a photo of the yearbook page
“And I was like, ‘Imagine if this happens,'” he said.
Pfeufer’s classmates urged him to share a photo of his yearbook prediction on a larger social media platform. Courtesy of Evan Pfeufer
He then posted it on his private Snapchat page and his friends encouraged him to share it on a larger platform, so he submitted it to the sports Instagram account Overtime, which boasts 10.4 million followers, and it “instantly” went viral.
Pfeufer, who graduated from Adelphi University and now works as a sales rep, is hoping the post grabs the attention of the Knicks.
“My friend said, ‘If the Knicks don’t get you to one of the games or something, I would be livid,'” he said.
“I don’t expect anything, I’m just a guy with a prediction, but it would be pretty cool.”
Staten Islander Matt McAllister has a Mount Rushmore of Knicks greats inked across his back — including current MVP Jalen Brunson.
And when McAllister took his shirt off to reveal the jaw-dropping tattoo to Brunson himself, the captain was stunned.
Matt McAllister’s Mount Rushmore of Knicks legends was drawn by artist Tom Sanford and inked by Sonja Elise at Bullseye Tattoos on Staten Island. Courtesy of Matt McAllister
“He seems like he’s a guy of very little words . . . but he was like, ‘Oh, that’s hard,'” McAllister, 34, told The Post.
“Then he said, ‘But Rushmore’s only got four.’
“So I told him I had to add an extra just for him.”
Then shocked star guard Josh Hart “pulled out his phone. He’s like, ‘I gotta take a photo of this. Holy s–t!'”
McAllister presented the over-the-top tat — also featuring legends John Starks, Walt Frazier, Patrick Ewing and Carmelo Anthony — to Brunson and Hart in September at a meet-and-greet for the duo’s Roommates Block Party.
McAllister said the idea for the All-Star artwork came last season when the Knicks finished 51-31, but lost to the Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference Finals — a round short of the NBA Finals.
Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart were stunned to see the jaw-dropping ink. Courtesy of Matt McAllister
“After that run we had last year, I was like, ‘Wow, this is really monumental. Let me think of a monument that I can honor everybody with.'”
The tat cost $9,000 and took 36 hours over six sessions to make. MSG was there to capture it for a commercial.
“I might only see this once in my lifetime again. I have no regrets,” he said.
Knicks superfans Nolan Parr, Ray Rosado and Mirko Falzone all opted for giant leg tattoos of the team’s captain. Nolan Parr, Ray Rosado, Mirko Falzone
Other Knicks superfans have opted for leg tattoos of the “King of New York.”
Ray Rosado, a native of Yonkers, got a $1,350 leg tattoo of Brunson two days after the Knicks lost the 2025 Eastern Conference Finals, “because I had a feeling they would go to the finals this year,” he said.
His tattoo artist warned him against the very permanent decision.
“He said, ‘You know, if you get it and they don’t go to the finals, it’s going to still be on your body,'” Rosado recalled.
Rosado chose the image of Brunson praying during Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals last year, which he got inked by his tattoo artist, Chico. Courtesy of Ray Rosado
Rosado, 33, a teacher at New Rochelle High School — whose students alerted him when his tattoo went viral — explained why he chose the photo of Captain Clutch praying during Game 1 of last year’s conference finals.
“I’m not really religious myself, but I felt that was the moment to symbolize that great things are coming your way. You just have to wait for that moment. And that’s all that Brunson has been talking about this year, that the job’s not finished yet,” he said.
Parr got Brunson’s signature move inked by tattoo artist Josh Glasser last month. Courtesy of Nolan Parr
Nolan Parr of Queens got inked on May 23, two days before the Knicks swept the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference Finals to make it to the final round.
The native of Red Hook in Dutchess County, NY — who went with a $800 tattoo of the three-time NBA All-Star doing his signature thumb-and-index finger move — has been a fan since he’s “been in diapers.”
“Because my father was a diehard Knicks fan from back in the day. So it’s always the classic, ‘Who’s better Clyde or Jalen,’ between me and him,” Parr, 32, said.
Falzone’s leg tattoo took artist Mirko Ponti 20 hours more than two days to complete. Courtesy of Mirko Falzone
Mirko Falzone of Bergamo, Italy, has never even been to a Knicks game, but in October, decided to get a huge tattoo of Brunson’s face on his leg, along with a smaller full-body image of the MVP on the court in his No. 11 jersey.
Falzone, 32, was always a fan of the NBA, but wasn’t watching regularly until Brunson joined the roster in 2022, and since Italy is ahead of New York by six hours, he’s been waking up at 2 a.m. to catch him playing.
“When Jalen Brunson arrived to New York, my passion came back,” he said. “And the desire to stay awake during the night here in Italy to watch the games.”
But in Italy, most have no clue who’s on his leg.
“Everyone here only knows LeBron James, Wembanyama,” he said, laughing. “Someone asked if it was Travis Scott.”
PHOENIX, ARIZONA - JUNE 01: Nolan Arenado #28 of the Arizona Diamondbacks rounds the bases after hitting a solo home run against the Los Angeles Dodgers during the seventh inning at Chase Field on June 01, 2026 in Phoenix, Arizona. (Photo by Norm Hall/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Red Sox probably shouldn’t be buying with this roster, but if they choose to, there’s a mystery for us to pick apart.
ESPN’s Buster Olney reported on the “Just Baseball” podcast that the Red Sox were actively seeking a right-handed bat to upgrade the offense, even at the expense of taking on a bad contract to do so.
Should that really be the case when Boston probably has a few bad contracts to offload on its own end (i.e. Masataka Yoshida, etc.)? No, especially since this team still wouldn’t have enough to magically craft a postseason path.
Nonetheless, for whatever motives the front office has, should the group pursue a bat that fits that description, here are five names to consider.
NOLAN ARENADO – Diamondbacks
Arizona just acquired Arenado in the offseason, but never say never to another transaction months later.
The Red Sox were constantly linked to the third baseman two offseasons ago before they signed Alex Bregman early in spring training. The 35-year-old is under contract through the end of the 2027 season and he’s been fairly serviceable with an OPS just under .800 with his new team.
MATT CHAPMAN – Giants
The Red Sox traded a hefty contract to San Francisco with Rafael Devers last summer. Will the Giants celebrate the anniversary by returning the favor?
Chapman makes $25 million annually through the 2030 season, giving Boston a new staple at third base if the team moves on from the concept of Caleb Durbin filling that stop. Unlike Arenado, Chapman has been brutal this season with a .652 in his age-33 season with regression over the last two years in San Francisco.
MIKE TROUT – Angels
Rumors from 98.5 The Sports Hub went crazy about this last month. It WILL NOT happen, but we’ll throw it in here to be fun.
ISAAC PAREDES – Astros
Paredes swirled through the rumor mill in connection to Boston all offseason before the Durbin trade that sent Kyle Harrison to the Milwaukee Brewers. The Astros are terrible and could revisit the idea.
KETEL MARTE – Diamondbacks
Easily the most dynamic bat discussed in the Red Sox realm last winter, he’s a switch-hitter that instantly elevates the unit. This move would clearly be for beyond 2026 and require young pitching going back to Arizona.
Worth it now to start building a functioning offense for 2027?
BUFFALO, NY -- On May 29, the New York Islanders announced that they had hired Jay McKee to be the first-ever head coach of the Hamilton Hammers, the club's newest AHL affiliate.
McKee, who played 802 NHL games, has spent the last three seasons coaching the OHL's Brantford Bulldogs.
Top draft prospect Caleb Malhotra, the son of former NHLer and recently named Vancouver Canucks head coach Manny Malhotra, played this past season for McKee and had glowing things to say about the newest member of the Islanders organization.
"I learned a lot," Malhotra said at the 2026 NHL Combine. "He's extremely composed as a coach, very intelligent, and very detail-oriented. So, I mean, he expected so much from us. We had a very good team there, and we had to prove it night in and night out that we were detail-oriented. So, learning from him on how to approach the game and what to take out of video work and how to apply it to your game...that was a big thing this year."
The Bridgeport Islanders, under the tutelage of Rocky Thompson, took massive strides after years of seeing prospects take steps back.
Thompson was a player's coach through and through but knew what he had to do to get players to play to the best of their abilities at a consistent rate and also keep themselves level-headed through adversity.
Because of his great work, Rocky was elevated to Pete DeBoer's NHL coaching staff.
When the Islanders were looking for Rocky's replacement, they needed to bring in someone who could build on the groundwork Rocky had just laid.
From all accounts, it sounds like McKee, who was a finalist for the Bellville Senators head coaching gig, is a slam-dunk hire at a critical time for the Islanders' growing prospect pool.
