DALLAS, TX - DECEMBER 7: Jason Robertson #21 of the Dallas Stars handles the puck against Sidney Crosby #87 of the Pittsburgh Penguins at the American Airlines Center on December 7, 2025 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Glenn James/NHLI via Getty Images) | NHLI via Getty Images
Kyle Dubas often talks about urgency and wanting to push the Penguins towards being as strong as they can be now and in the future. Somehow wrangling three-time 40+ goal scorer Jason Robertson out of Dallas would be the biggest and best move Dubas could make, provided he could pull it off.
Some late evening chatter: – Belief Sabres inquired about Knies – Penguins, Blackhawks, Mammoth among other teams interested in Robertson – Teams calling Flames on Frost, Whitecloud – Oilers have discussed Nurse talks, and goalie search today – Some teams curious about DeBrincat
Any tidbit is nice enough this time of year, and which team wouldn’t be at least somewhat ‘interested’ in a player the caliber of Robertson? To a degree that should apply to just about any and everyone.
An item that gives pause is think about the amount of reported interest that the Penguins had in any of the following names prior to their trade acquisition: Egor Chinakhov, Sam Girard, Connor Dewar, Stuart Skinner, Elmer Soderblom, Arturs Silovs, heck even yesterday’s pick up of Hendrix Lapierre. The answer is zero, almost every trade the Pens have made recently has come with little early forewarning or a build up of expectations via reports getting out to the media. Conversely, plenty of players linked to the Penguins in the rumor mill have not ended up with completed transactions (though the protracted saga of Erik Karlsson back in 2023 is one example).
So take that’s for what it’s worth.
There’s other areas of concern about the reality of dealing for Robertson. Namely two big issues. One: does he even want to make a long-term contract in Pittsburgh? Two: what does Dallas want in a trade?
Starting with the last part first, Dallas is still in control of the situation. They apparently can’t get Robertson to agree to a contract themselves, but the Stars hold all the cards for now. What is a rival team going to do, send an offer sheet that would require four unprotected first round picks to sign him away? Not likely. First things first, if a team wants Robertson, they are going to have to give Dallas enough value to have them sign off on it, and it’s going to have to be a lot. The Stars are a club that recently gave up two first round picks and a quality youngster in Logan Stankoven to acquire Mikko Rantanen just last year, they’re well aware of the price of operating in this area. Their manager Jim Nill didn’t win the NHL’s GM of the year award three years in a row from 2022-25 due to making foolish moves.
Second, Robertson’s signability has to be in question. The Seattle Kraken reportedly did offer the Stars enough value (believed to include the seventh overall pick in tonight’s draft) but Robertson turned down the Kraken’s contract offer of approximately $15 million over eight years. Saying no to about $120 million makes a major statement – at that point this isn’t a money motivated case and his next spot will have to do with career aspirations. Whether or not Robertson thinks he could accomplish those goals with the Pens and an almost 39-year old Sidney Crosby is questionable at best. There’s a reason why every big player is open to going to the same teams like Florida and Vegas, and it’s not all because of nice weather, low taxes and being left alone by fans/media — can’t remember too many players that wanted to be traded to the Panthers 10 or 15 years ago when all the other factors were still the same besides their on-ice irrelevance. Players today, more than ever, are tending to angle themselves towards joining a team where they think they have a very good chance to win the next Stanley Cup. That isn’t seen as Seattle, and Pittsburgh is a lot more Seattle than they are Vegas/Florida.
So, all that to say, Robertson to the Penguins is a fun dream but doesn’t line up to make a lot of sense. The Pens probably aren’t moving the needle that much by offering, say, Rickard Rakell, the 22nd pick tonight, a first round pick in 2027 and other modest chips like second round picks and B-level prospects. Robertson rebuking Seattle’s massive contract shows it’ll be an uphill climb to earn his signature for a franchise with a mid-level outlook for championship contention in the short-term. Most names that get tied to Pittsburgh these days end up being rumors that fall short of the finish line, and the moves that do get made have tended to come out of nowhere with no warning or lead up.
Add it all up and while it wouldn’t hurt to make the attempt (or hope one is made), it’s probably not something that will end up happening for a myriad of reasons. It doesn’t hurt to try but file this one as very skeptical at best.
ATLANTA, GEORGIA - MARCH 30: Jaylen Brown #7 of the Boston Celtics reacts against the Atlanta Hawks during a game at State Farm Arena on March 30, 2026 in Atlanta, Georgia. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Brown is coming off arguably the best season of his career, where he earned Second-Team All-NBA honors for powering the Celtics to 56 wins despite top teammate Jayson Tatum missing most of the season. The Celtics apparently think they need to go in a new direction after a first-round playoff exit, and Brown’s age and contract might also have something to do with it. Brown turns 30 years old in October, and he has three years, $183 million left on his deal.
It feels like the Celtics are motivated to trade Brown, and there should be a robust market for his services. Here are six fake trade ideas to get Brown to a different home.
The Celtics reportedly want a big man in return for Brown. Would Donovan Clingan be good enough to suffice? Clingan is much younger and cheaper at 22 years old with two years left on his rookie contract. He’s one of the best young rim protectors in the game, but he doesn’t have a lot of offensive utility outside of crushing the glass, and he hasn’t been able to handle a heavy minutes load dating back to his college career. Grant feels like a bad contract, but he could give the Celtics some of what they’re losing in Brown in the short term. I kind of like this trade.
Houston Rockets
Celtics get: Alperen Sengun, Dorian Finney-Smith
Rockets get: Jaylen Brown
There aren’t many bigs better than Alperen Sengun who could potentially be attainable this offseason. Sengun is already a proven scorer as he enters his age-24 season, and he’s started to make some strides as an outside shooter and defender. Sengun is also on a very team-friendly contract for the next four seasons. This trade would also reunite Brown with his former coach Ime Udoka. Houston probably has to include a first-round pick here, but I’d like this deal a lot for Boston if the Rockets were willing to play ball.
Cleveland Cavaliers
Celtics get: Evan Mobley, Max Strus
Cavs get: Jaylen Brown, Baylor Scheierman
The Celtics would do this trade yesterday if Cleveland would accept it. I’m thinking the Cavs say no here. Mobley hasn’t really taken an offensive leap like I thought he would the last two seasons, but he remains one of the best and most versatile 7-foot defenders in the league. Mobley just turned 25 years old, and I’m still not ready to rule out him taking an offensive leap one day. If the Cavs think Jarrett Allen can hang as the lone big on the floor, this trade would make some sense, but I just don’t think Cleveland wants to trade Mobley yet.
Washington Wizards
Celtics get: Anthony Davis, Tre Johnson, 2031 first-round pick
Wizards get: Jaylen Brown
Anthony Davis is still one of the better bigs in the world … when he’s healthy enough to play. Davis is 33 years old, and his contract is similar to Brown’s but one year shorter. The Wizards also include last year’s No. 6 overall pick Tre Johnson in the deal. Johnson is a wicked shooter off the ball who would likely feel at home in Joe Mazzulla’s system. Let’s throw in a future first-round pick, too. The Wizards already have No. 1 overall pick A.J. Dybantsa, and probably don’t want a similar, older player in Brown. Still, Washington is clearly trying to win now after the ridiculous Trae Young extension, and this could be a good value play with Davis’ constant injury issues.
I was super high on Khaman Maluach entering the 2025 NBA Draft, but he had a very quiet rookie season. If the Celtics believed in Maluach’s future, this would be the type of high risk, high reward move that could set up Boston well for its next era. Dillon Brooks could immediately slot into Brown’s role on the wing, and Jalen Green adds some volatile offensive firepower with two years remaining on his deal. Throw in a 2033 first-round pick, and I feel like this is a somewhat realistic match, although it’s probably not enough for the Celtics.
New Orleans Pelicans
Celtics get: Trey Murphy III, Derik Queen, Dejounte Murray
Pelicans get: Jaylen Brown
This trade gets the Celtics a young big man with real upside plus one of the best wing shooters in the league. Trey Murphy is a coveted offseason trade target for a lot of teams because of his off-ball scoring, and he would be a nice get in any potential Brown trade. Derik Queen is a young big man with on-ball creation potential and three years left on his rookie deal even if he’s a poor defender right now. Dejounte Murray is included to match salaries, and he was a good player at his peak who might finally be fully healthy next season. I’m not sure if New Orleans would be willing to include Queen after mortgaging their future to get him a year ago, but I think it makes some sense for both sides.
LOS ANGELES, CA - JULY 11: Steve Nash is introduced to the Los Angeles Lakers by General Manager Mitch Kupchak during a press conference on July 11, 2012 at Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory copyright notice: Copyright NBAE 2012 (Photo by Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images
Welcome back to The Butterfly Effect! Last week, we discussed the Stephon Marbury and Anfernee Hardaway trade to the New York Knicks in 2004 and how it opened up the cap space for the Phoenix Suns to re-sign Steve Nash. That signing, of course, would lead to the Suns beginning one of their greatest eras in franchise history.
That was the beginning of the Steve Nash era. This week, I want to talk about the end. In 2012, the Phoenix Suns traded Steve Nash to the Los Angeles Lakers as part of a sign-and-trade. Now, I believe that all pictures of Nash in a Lakers jersey should be burned, and we should all pretend it never happened. Today, though, we aren’t discussing #13 moving on to LA; we are discussing what the Lakers sent back to the Suns.
Seriously, though, look at this picture and tell me with a straight face that it doesn’t make you sick.
Before we get started, I have one more thing to add. One of my favorite comments last week was from Bright Side reader Zenzino, who said:
“That’s kind of a stretch to attribute the Nash signing to the Marbury/Hardaway trade. Why stop there? Everything is interconnected to some degree.”
Zenzino’s comment at the end is especially important. Everything is indeed interconnected to some degree. In fact, that is a portion of the thesis of this series. This week, we want to find out what names are linked to Nash that we might not have thought of before.
Furthermore, that interconnectedness will require us to make an amendment to the rules of the game this week:
Subsequent trades count. If Player A was traded to Phoenix, played there for 2 years, and was traded again, that second trade is included in our analysis.
We go until there is nothing left. The transaction chain continues until a player is waived or leaves in free agency
All pieces returned will be analyzed. If the Suns received two players and one pick in the deal, we analyze the entire transaction tree of each asset.
Partials count. If a player is received in a trade, then is flipped alongside two other players in a second trade, the full amount back in that second trade will be counted with the “(Partial)” title.
There is no real way to quantify the percentage of value that any one piece has in a trade, so this is how we will compromise. This way a player does not get full credit for value that they did not provide in a trade.
Amendment: Partials of partials will not be discussed. This week, you will see Ryan Anderson (Partial). The Suns received Ryan Anderson when they traded away Player X (Partial). We will count what Anderson did on the Suns, but not what the Suns received when they eventually traded him away. The asset dilution is such that if you go back far enough, almost the entire Suns Roster is a result of some trade or another. This keeps us focused on what the Suns got specifically for the player we are discussing, without diluting our analysis too much.
If a trade tree has reached a point of too much dilution, I will stop counting players towards our end total.
Transaction tree branches will be listed in chronological order so that we can analyze the story that was being told by the transaction timeline.
July 11, 2012
Phoenix Suns Trade:
Steve Nash
Los Angeles Lakers Trade:
2013 1st round pick (Nemanja Nedovic)
2018 1st round pick (Mikal Bridges)
2013 2nd round pick (Alex Oriakhi)
2014 2nd round pick (Johnny O’Bryant)
That’s right, folks. The Phoenix Suns traded Steve Nash for Mikal Bridges. This would have ended up being a great trade for Phoenix off of the back of that pick alone, had they kept it. But, they did not. In fact, Phoenix did not end up drafting and keeping any of these picks. All three of the picks that did not go on to be Mikal Bridges were selected by the Suns, but traded before they could ever suit up in purple and orange. The Bridges pick was traded years before Mikal would even be eligible for the draft.
Let’s see where each of these four branches leads us.
July 27, 2012
As part of a three-team trade with the Minnesota Timberwolves and the New Orleans Hornets:
Phoenix Suns trade:
Johnny O’Bryant
Robin Lopez
Hakim Warrik
Phoenix Suns receive:
Wesley Johnson
Jerome Dyson
Brad Miller
2016 2nd round pick (Rade Zagorac)
2017 2nd round pick (Semi Ojeleye)
The Johnny O’Bryant trade tree is the one we start with. It is also the one with the least interesting branches. In reality, O’Bryant did not bring in much, if any, value to this trade. This was mostly a trade for restricted free agent Robin Lopez, who was at that point a mediocre backup big who could eat up 10-12 minutes per game for a team.
Jerome Dyson and Brad Miller were waived after the trade went through and the two seconds were shipped out later for 40 games of Brandan Wright, who then left in free agency. Because of O’Bryant’s low value in this partial trade, we aren’t going to count Brandan Wright’s games in our final total.
The one player the Suns did get in this trade that contributed at least a little on the court is Wesley Johnson. Johnson played 50 games for Phoenix and poured in a few points and a few rebounds.
This trade isn’t all that notable. Let’s move on to our next branch.
June 27, 2013
Phoenix Suns trade:
Nemanja Nedovic
Golden State Warriors trade:
Archie Goodwin
Malcolm Lee
I want to start with Malcolm Lee. Lee would go on to be traded by the Suns in October of 2013. He was one part of a package with Marcin Gortat, Shannon Brown, and Kendall Marshall that brought back Emeka Okafor and a 2014 1st round pick that went on to become Tyler Ennis. While Ennis himself only played eight games for the Suns, remember his name. It will come up again before we are done.
That said, Lee was waived after this trade. The Wizards were trading for Gortat, not Lee. We aren’t going to count Okafor or Ennis towards our final totals.
Archie Goodwin, on the other hand, played 150 games for the Suns across three seasons before being cut in October of 2016.
This ends the first two branches of the Steve Nash trade tree. I am glad these two trades were up first. The O’Bryant and Nedovic picks brought back the Suns by far the worst returns out of the four. So far, our totals tracker looks like this:
July 12, 2014
Phoenix Suns trade:
Alex Oriakhi
Sacramento Kings trade:
Isaiah Thomas
This is a trade that the world should be shocked by. Isaiah Thomas had already been a 20 ppg scorer for Sacramento when they traded him for a 6’ 9” PF that spent four years in college and never made the leap to the NBA.
In 2014-2015, Isaiah Thomas would achieve a second-place finish for Sixth Man of the Year. In 2016-2017 he finished fifth in MVP voting. A truly remarkable career for one of the biggest underdogs in NBA history.
Of course, none of those accolades were achieved in Phoenix, as IT was traded to Boston just 46 games into his Phoenix Suns career. As it turns out, three-point guard lineups don’t work very well.
For all intents and purposes, the Oriakhi trade tree has become the Isaiah Thomas trade tree. So, let’s see what else we find.
February 19, 2015
As part of a three-team trade between the Phoenix Suns, Boston Celtics, and Detroit Pistons:
Phoenix Suns trade:
Isaiah Thomas
Phoenix Suns receive:
Marcus Thornton
2016 1st round pick (Skal Labissiere)
Marcus Thornton did very little for the Suns. He played a whopping nine games for Phoenix before moving on in free agency. But, the 2016 1st round pick was very important because on draft night in 2016, the Suns pulled off another trade.
June 23, 2016
Phoenix Suns trade:
Skal Labissiere
Bogdan Bogdanovic
Georgios Papagiannis
2020 2nd round pick (Xavier Tillman)
Sacramento Kings trade:
Marquese Chriss
That’s right! There is a direct chain between Steve Nash and Marquese Chriss.
Draft night 2016, what a disaster for the Phoenix Suns. Phoenix used two top-10 picks on power forwards and neither of them worked out for Phoenix. One year later they would blow it again, drafting Josh Jackson with another top-5 pick. Imagine if the Suns had landed these picks. Some combination of three of Domantas Sabonis, Jamal Murray, De’Aaron Fox, Lauri Markannen or Jakob Poetl could have been theirs next to Devin Booker. Instead, we got Booker next to Bender, Chriss, and Jackson. The quartet (sometimes including Tyler Ulis) was christened “The Timeline.”
But I digress, we aren’t here to discuss what could have been. We are here to discuss what actually was, which was bad. How bad? Let me remind you of this lowlight:
In the moment, I was upset that Chriss clearly just had a temper tantrum after he missed a dunk basically uncontested. Now that Rubio has since played for the Suns and been one of my all-time favorites, I am furious that Chriss had the nerve to push our beautiful bubble point guard.
For now, let’s end the Isaiah Thomas trade tree here. We will come back to it, but there is more information you need first, which comes from our final branch.
With just two trades left to discuss, here is where we stand now:
February 19th, 2015
We go back one year before the Suns drafted Chriss for our penultimate trade.
Phoenix Suns trade:
2018 1st round pick (Mikal Bridges)
Tyler Ennis
Miles Plumlee
Milwaukee Bucks trade:
Brandon Knight
Kendall Marshall
The Mikal Bridges pick combines with Tyler Ennis and Miles Plumlee to bring in one of the bigger disasters of the 2010s for the Phoenix Suns, Brandon Knight.
Kendall Marshall, who the Suns traded away to the Wizards earlier, comes back in this trade but is waived immediately after.
Brandon Knight wasn’t bad for the Suns. He averaged 15 points across 117 games for Phoenix. The problem was that Knight got in the way of Devin Booker. With Eric Bledsoe already on the team, the Suns found themselves, once again, with three starting guards.
Unfortunately, Knight was also on a big contract at the time, making him hard to move. Eventually, the Suns did dump him in our last trade of the day.
August 31, 2018
Phoenix Suns trade:
Brandon Knight
Marquese Chriss
Houston Rockets trade:
Ryan Anderson
De’Anthony Melton
Who remembers being excited about Ryan Anderson? I remember being excited about Ryan Anderson. Unfortunately, he was a massive disappointment for the Suns.
This trade did, however, give the Suns an opportunity to get rid of their two biggest problems in Brandon Knight and Marquese Chriss.
This is where we are going to stop counting our partials through the trade tree. From here, the values of the players that can be linked back to Steve Nash are too diluted.
It is interesting to note, however, that if you continue following down the path that this trade tree sends you, you will eventually find yourself face-to-face with Royce O’Neale and the current Phoenix Suns roster.
Final Tracker
And so, the final tally for on-court value returned for Steve Nash looks like this.
This might be a hot take, but I think the Suns did all right with this return. Did they get any stars? No, they didn’t. But Nash was 38 years old when he went to the Lakers in this sign-and-trade. That isn’t the sort of deal where the old team gets a lot back.
What they did get back was a collection of role players and some assets that went towards acquiring a top-10 pick. They also got a look at Isaiah Thomas, but then traded him away right before he became an all-star.
What have we learned? The transaction log is wildly interconnected. You never know what some small, seemingly meaningless transaction could turn into. The portion of the transaction that netted the Suns both Isaiah Thomas and some of the pieces to go out and get Marquese Chriss was the second round pick that became Alex Oriakhi.
With the draft rapidly approaching, the Suns may be making seemingly minor moves here or there. Don’t underestimate what those moves could someday become.
Feb 14, 2026; Santa Clara, California, USA; Gonzaga Bulldogs guard Tyon Grant-Foster (7) dribbles against Santa Clara Broncos forward Allen Graves (right) during the second half at Leavey Center. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images | Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images
The Toronto Raptors’ first round draft pick was shocking because of just how predictable it was.
Allen Graves is not only viewed extremely favourably from an analytics standpoint, but is the archetypical Toronto Raptors player: a defensively minded forward who plays well on both sides of the ball. A one and done college player, the West Coast Conference Freshman of the Year and Sixth Man of the Year is a decorated forward who when stacked with Scottie Barnes and Collin Murray-Boyles, could be a part of a group that – while too short to be a Trio of Towers – could have serious lockdown impact.
But, it seems that the fans might need some time to come around to the rookie.
In this FanDuel sponsored survey, a whopping 50% of Raptors HQ readers polled looked upon the pick as a bad move for the Raptors, with less than a quarter of people answering that they saw it as an above-average pick.
This likely reflects less on an assessment of Graves’ skills, but rather, subverted expectations that led to short-term disappointment. Creator @5starsportz on TikTokn exemplifies this, with his video about the Raptors passing on guard Labaron Philon Jr. reaching more than 30,000 views and nearly 7000 likes at the time of writing.
Philon Jr. was mocked at falling to 19, but was ultimately passed on by the Raptors in favour of Graves. This came as a shock to many fans, who identified guard play and a new centre as major priorities for the team to address with the draft. Still, the Raptors are betting on what’s worked for them in the past. Collin Murray-Boyles is in some respects a variant of the Scottie Barnes archetype, and was seen a superfluous pick at a position the Raptors already had a guy at. I think what has been underdiscussed is how cool it would be to have 3 guys who can play even half as well as Scottie Barnes.
Ultimately, I believe that the Raptors’ front office should be trusted with their decision. The draft is far from the only way to build up a team, and many of Toronto’s most important pieces have joined the team as trades. There are other ways to address the deficiencies of this team, and while taking a great centre or guard in the draft could have worked, searching for an upgrade or backup at either of the positions could be done just as easily in another way.
Graves will be the one who has to cash the cheque with his play that the Raptors wrote with their pick, however. But, if the forward remains tenacious on both ends of the ball and plays his role well, I see no reason why the Louisianian couldn’t flourish here in Toronto.
PHOENIX, ARIZONA - APRIL 14: Mark Williams #15 of the Phoenix Suns during the first half of an NBA play-in tournament game at Mortgage Matchup Center on April 14, 2026 in Phoenix, Arizona. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) | Getty Images
You may remember that in 2025, Charlotte tried to trade Mark Williams to the Los Angeles Lakers, but they canceled the trade after a physical uncovered some problems they had not been aware of. Later that year, he was successfully traded to the Phoenix Suns, where he is now teammates with fellow Brotherhood members Grayson Allen and Khaman Maluach.
Williams and Maluach give Phoenix a tough pair of big men inside. Maluach is probably the future for the Suns, but Williams is still just 24 and has a lot to offer.
Last season, he averaged 11.7 ppg, 8.0 rebounds, an assist, and a shade under a block.
Whatever health issues he had are apparently behind him, as Phoenix plans to retain him, offering a three-year extension for $38 million.
However, with Maluach and Oso Ighodaro both developing, at some point the Suns may have to move one of their three bigs, and as of now, Williams, with a larger contract might be the logical candidate when the younger guys are ready.
The Boston Celtics didn’t end up sending Jaylen Brown to the Milwaukee Bucks for Giannis Antetokounmpo, but trade rumors still surround the 2024 NBA Finals MVP.
Boston reportedly remains “actively engaged” in trade discussions regarding Brown. C’s president of basketball operations Brad Stevens addressed the talk of a potential Brown trade after Round 1 of the NBA Draft on Wednesday, and he didn’t deny the rumors.
“Jaylen Brown is a big part of us,” Stevens said. “I’m never going to predict the future. Every indication, everything I think about, over the last few years, has been building around those guys. You never know. But at the same time, the one thing I want to make very clear is how valued he’s always been. He’s been amazing. He’s been an amazing teammate and a great person to be around.”
You can stay up to date on all Jaylen Brown-related rumors with our tracker below:
Friday, June 26: Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic reports that the “Celtics asked Wolves for Rudy Gobert, Naz Reid, and similar pick compensation that went to Charlotte” in a potential Brown trade before Minnesota acquired LaMelo Ball instead.
Friday, June 26: ESPN’s Shams Charania reports that the Celtics “in some cases” are asking for at least four first-round picks for Jaylen Brown.
"In some cases, the Celtics have asked for at least four first-round picks for Jaylen Brown." @ShamsCharania on a potential Jaylen Brown trade 👀 pic.twitter.com/seGNQWJBBX
Friday, June 26: The Stein Line’s Marc Stein and Jake Fischer report that they’ve “been advised not to rule out” the Pistons parting ways with restricted free agent big man Jalen Duren in a sign-and-trade exchange for Brown.
Wednesday, June 24: ESPN’s Shams Charania reiterated on Day 2 of the NBA Draft that the Celtics remain “actively engaged” in trade talks regarding Brown.
Reporting for ESPN NBA Draft show on the Boston Celtics actively engaged in trade talks surrounding Jaylen Brown: pic.twitter.com/pQtHp1zJNm
On this day 70 years ago, Jack Harshman (second from right) authored a complete-game win that kept his White Sox teammates happy, as the team had just won its ninth straight. | (Photo by Mark Rucker/Transcendental Graphics, Getty Images)
1916 In a game in Cleveland, the White Sox became the first team to ever have names sewn on to the backs of the uniforms. Knowing who was playing didn’t help them, though; they were shut out, 2-0, on the afternoon. (The White Sox returned to the idea of names on the back of road uniforms in 1960 — and this time the practice stuck.)
In the same game, Cleveland players wore numbers pinned to their sleeves, becoming the first players in the 20th century to do so. Each player’s number connoted their position on the diamond.
1956 Jack Harshman gave up a run by his fifth batter of a game hosting Boston — and then shut the Red Sox down scoreless on just one more hit the rest of the way, gaining his fifth win of the season and giving the White Sox their ninth straight victory. A two-run double by Luis Aparicio in the bottom of the second put the South Siders on top for good, 3-1, in a game they’d win, 4-1.
The victory pushed the White Sox to 37-22, in second place in the AL and 1 1/2 games out of first.
1960 Boston played a football game at Comiskey Park in Chicago to cap off a doubleheader — but lost to the White Sox, 21-7. The two-touchdown win completed a sweep for the White Sox, who won the opener, 4-3. The Pale Hose scored in every inning but the fifth — understandable, given that they exhausted themselves with an 11-run fourth inning. Leading the 22-hit barrage was Sherm Lollar (4-for-5, double, three RBIs, got on base a fifth time with a HBP), while Jim Landis, Gene Freese and Al Smith each chipped in two. Every White Sox starter had at least one hit, including starting pitcher Early Wynn, who went 1-for-5 and benefited from 21 runs of support in his complete game victory!
Despite the onslaught, the defending pennant-winners were still scuffling, at 36-30 and in fourth place in the AL. However, this sweep came at the start of an 18-7 run that pushed the White Sox back into first place.
1964 In a doubleheader opener, White Sox right fielder Mike Hershberger spoiled Minnesota starter Gerry Arrigo’s no-hit bit with a leadoff single in the ninth inning. The White Sox lose, 2-0, but take the nightcap, 9-4
Arrigo would finish his major league career with five games on the South Side, in 1970.
1977 Rod Carew went 4-for-5 with a double, homer and six RBIs in a 19-12 mauling of the White Sox on Jersey Day in front of 46,463 at Metropolitan Stadium in Minneapolis, raising his batting average from .396 to .403.
The future Hall-of-Famer would push his batting average to as high as .411 (on July 1) and remain better than .400 until July 10, but ultimately fell short of the .300 mark, settling at .388 on the season. It was the sixth AL batting title of seven in Carew’s career, and his best-ever batting average, helping him earn a majors-high 9.7 WAR and the 1977 AL MVP.
1983 White Sox slugger Greg “The Bull” Luzinski belted the first of his three rooftop home runs at Comiskey Park, becoming the first player to ever hit that many in a single season. Luzinski powered a pitch from Minnesota’s Brian Oelkers over the roof in left-center field, scoring Tom Paciorek. The shot came in the third inning of a game the Sox won, 9-7.
1986 It was the best trade in the short career of GM Ken Harrelson, sending catcher Scott Bradley to the Mariners for a player to be named later — and on July 1, that player was revealed as outfielder Iván Calderon.
Calderon hit 28 home runs in 1987, and would be a key for the Sox in their spectacular 1990 campaign both at bat and in the field — leading the team that year with 74 RBIs, as the Sox stunned baseball by winning 94 games.
Calderon was traded to the Expos as part of the Tim Raines deal in December 1990,before coming back for nine games late in the 1993 season. To make room for Calderon’s second stint on the South Side, the Sox traded away reliever Donn Pall.
2010 The White Sox beat the Cubs, 3-2, to run their winning streak to 11 games in a row.
The streak started on June 15, and saw the Sox blitz National League clubs during the interleague portion of the schedule. They took three from Pittsburgh, three from Washington, three from Atlanta and two from the Cubs. During the streak they outscored opponents, 51-24, with three shutouts. The 11 straight wins remain tied for the sixth-longest streak in White Sox history, and capped off a 15-of-16 run for the clus.
It was the 15th time in franchise history the Sox had a double-digit win streak, and the first since they won 10 at the end of 1981 and into 1982.
In an odd coincidence, the only other 15-1 homestand in franchise history (1961) saw its final win one day earlier than this, on June 25.
2015 In yanking the fourth pitch of the game deep and out to right field, Adam Eaton became just the second White Sox hitter to club leadoff home runs in consecutive games. It was Eaton’s only hit in an eventual 5-4 win over the Tigers. The White Sox had won Eaton’s first leadoff homer game, 8-7 in 10 innings, also against Detroit.
Thirteen years earlier, Kenny Lofton became the first White Sox hitter to accomplish this feat, clubbing leadoff dingers on July 18-19, 2002. The homers were Lofton’s only two hits in the game, both losses for the White Sox, to Kansas City and Baltimore. Just nine days later, Lofton was dealt to San Francisco.
The Post’s Mollie Walker and Ethan Sears predict who the Rangers and Islanders will select Friday in the first round of the NHL draft:
Rangers
No. 5
With Chase Reid unavailable, the Rangers will take Keaton Verhoeff out of the University of North Dakota.
Keaton Verhoeff attends the 2026 NHL Draft Top Prospects Media Availability on June 25, 2026 at the New Era Cap World Headquarters in Buffalo. NHLI via Getty Images
No. 26
If a big-bodied center like Brooks Rogowski is still on the board, the Rangers will pounce.
— Mollie Walker
Islanders
No. 13
6-foot-5 winger Ethan Belchetz isn’t the best skater in the draft, but has the shot, the hockey sense and the physicality to suggest the Islanders won’t pass him up if he’s still on the board.
Ethan Belchetz plays a shot at the 2026 NHL Draft Top Prospects Golf Outing on June 25, 2026 in Buffalo NHLI via Getty Images
A Michigan State commit who played last year with the OHL’s Windsor Spitfires, Belchetz has the sort of profile the Islanders could use in their system.
That said, it wouldn’t be a shock if Mathieu Darche chose to move his pick, should the chance arise.
The Detroit Tigers officially reached the halfway mark of the 2026 regular-season schedule on Thursday night after dropping the opener of a four-game home series with the Houston Astros, 2-1. Troy Melton looked sharp, recording a career high six strikeouts, but the offense went AWOL until a solo homer in the ninth by Dillon Dingler.
AJ Hinch’s squad looks to even things up on Friday night behind right-hander Keider Montero, who continues to be a steady presence in the rotation for the Olde English D. The 25-year-old’s last outing against the Chicago White Sox was no exception, allowing three runs on six hits (one home run) while issuing zero walks for the second straight game and striking out three over seven innings in what eventually resulted in a 5-4 win in extras.
Montero saw the Astros a couple of outings ago in his only relief appearance of the season. It did not go well, though, as he surrendered a pair of runs (one earned) on two hits and no walks while striking out two over 1 1/3 innings to earn his fifth loss of the 2026 campaign.
Up against him for Houston is fellow righty Spencer Arrighetti, who has also been an important presence on the Astros’ pitching staff this year. However, the 26-year-old has struggled in June to the tune of a 6.95 ERA but a less offensive 4.42 FIP stretching across his last four games and 22 innings of work. He missed the Tigers when they were in town last week, so this will be his first appearance against them this year.
Here is how those two righties match up on Friday night at Comerica Park.
Detroit Tigers (34-47) vs. Houston Astros (40-43)
Time (ET): 6:40 p.m. Place: Comerica Park, Detroit, Michigan SB Nation Site:The Crawfish Boxes Media: Detroit SportsNet, MLB.TV, Tigers Radio Network
Game 82: RHP Keider Montero (3-5, 3.68 ERA) vs. RHP Spencer Arrighetti (7-3, 3.13 ERA)
Happy birthday to Rodney Myers, and a mighty host of others.
Today in baseball history, in 1960 – At Forbes Field, Cubs rookie Ron Santo, making his major league debut, leads Chicago to a sweep of the first-place Pirates. Santo is 3 for 7 and drives in five runs as the Cubs win, 7-5 and 7-6, and other stories as well.
Today in baseball history:
1938 – Carl Hubbell wins his 200th game, as the Giants beat the visiting Cubs, 5-1, and stretch their lead over the second-place Reds to two games.
1961 – At Los Angeles’s Wrigley Field, Yogi Berra collects his 2,000th career hit, all as a Bronx Bomber. To celebrate the achievement a huge cake is rolled out.
1966 – Ron Santo singles in the first and his next time up is struck in the face by a Jack Fisher pitch that fractures his cheek. Before Santo’s at bat, the Mets’Ron Hunt and the Cubs’ Adolfo Phillips had both been hit by pitches. Santo will be operated on the following day but will return to action in a week. The injury ends his consecutive game streak at 390, but his hitting streak continues.
1970 – Frank Robinson belts two successive grand slams during a 12-2 Oriole romp over the Senators, just the seventh major leaguer to ever accomplish the feat. They will be Robby’s only grand slams for the O’s.
1977 – On Jersey Day in Minnesota, every fan receives a jersey with #29 on it, Rod Carew‘s number. Carew responds by going 4 for 5, scoring four runs, and raising his average to .403. One of the hits is a grand slam and he will hit another slam on July 4th.
1987 – You gotta give him credit for trying. Paul Noce of the Cubs ties a major-league record (tied 11 days ago) in the third inning by twice being thrown out trying to steal. A dropped ball leaves him safe at second base after he is caught, then he is thrown out trying to steal third. Pittsburgh beats Greg Maddux and the Cubs, 5-2. Maddux will finish 6-14, his last losing season until 2005.
1994Kirby Puckett passes Rod Carew with his 2,088 hit as the Twins’ top hit leader.
2003 – Edgar Martinez, who already holds the Mariners’ all-time records for games played, at-bats, hits, doubles, total bases, extra-base hits, walks and runs scored, passes Ken Griffey Jr.‘s mark for team career RBIs. His two-run homer in the Mariners’ 10-6 victory over the Angels gives the All-Stardesignated hitter 1,153 RBIs – one more than Junior.
1894 – Karl Benz of Germany receives US patent for gasoline-driven auto.
1927 – The Cyclone roller coaster opens on Coney Island.
1959 – Ingemar Johansson of Sweden floors Floyd Patterson seven times in the third round in NYC to win the world heavyweight boxing title.
1963 – US President John F. Kennedy gives his famous “Ich bin ein Berliner” (intended to mean “I am a Berliner”, but may actually mean “I am a doughnut”) speech in West Berlin.
1974 – The Universal Product Code (UPC) is scanned for the first time to sell a package of Wrigley’s chewing gum at Marsh Supermarket in Troy, Ohio.
1977 – Elvis Presley appears in concert at Market Square Arena in Indianapolis, Indiana; unknowingly the last performance of his career.
2018 – Hello Kitty bullet train unveiled by the West Japan Railway.
2024 – European Space Agency creates Lego ‘space bricks’ by 3D printing Lego out of meteorite dust, part of a project to learn how to build a base on the Moon.
Sep 10, 2024; San Francisco, California, USA; General view of the helmet used by the Milwaukee Brewers before the start of the first inning against the San Francisco Giants at Oracle Park. Mandatory Credit: Stan Szeto-Imagn Images | Stan Szeto-Imagn Images
Greetings, Brew Crew Ball community. The Brewers dropped their first two games in Atlanta over the weekend, but they bounced back nicely to win the series finale before sweeping the Reds in Cincinnati to extend their division lead. After a well-deserved off day yesterday, they’re now set to begin an 18-game gauntlet over the next 17 days leading into the All-Star break, including series against all four of their division rivals. This could very well be the most important stretch of the season when we look back in late September.
Feel free to use this thread to chat about (almost) anything you want: video games, food, movies, non-baseball sports, the Brewers, you name it. As long as it’s appropriate and is allowed by our moderators, it’s fair game here.
PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA - APRIL 1: Justin Crawford #2 of the Philadelphia Phillies celebrates with Bryce Harper #3 after hitting a walk-off single in the bottom of the tenth inning against the Washington Nationals at Citizens Bank Park on April 1, 2026 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Phillies defeated the Nationals 6-5. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Phillies are heading to Queens for the first time this season. There, they will find a reeling Mets squad that would surely love to rattle off a few victories over their hated foe as a mood-lifter. They will also find some really, really good Chinese food. I had a plate of rice rolls there that I’m still thinking about. Anyway, onto the links.
Jose Ramos of the Binghamton Rumble Ponies is present before a Minor League Baseball game at TD Bank Ballpark in Bridgewater, United States, on June 13, 2026. (Photo by Dan Squicciarini/NurPhoto via Getty Images) | NurPhoto via Getty Images
Big offensive day for the Rumble Ponies. Homers for Jose Ramos and Nick Lorusso carried the day, and a four-hit day from the aptly named Nick Lucky at the bottom of the lineup helped out. The pitching was poor, but take the wins you can get.
Homers from Mitch Voit and Davierson Gutierrez weren’t enough to overcome a disastrous pitching performance from Noah Hall. Brooklyn is off to a second half start unfortunately reminiscent of the first half.
St. Lucie staged a late comeback, scoring one in the eighth and two in the ninth to tie the game at six. Branny De Oleo had the game tying hit, driving in two with a single. Unfortunately, Miguel Mejias served up a home run to Quentin Young in the bottom half, and St. Lucie lost in walkoff fashion.
ANAHEIM, CALIFORNIA - JUNE 24: Colton Cowser #17 and Samuel Basallo #29 of the Baltimore Orioles talk during the fifth inning against the Los Angeles Angels at Angel Stadium of Anaheim on June 24, 2026 in Anaheim, California. (Photo by Orlando Ramirez/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Hello, friends.
The grind resumes. The Orioles are back at it tonight. Anything could happen. That’s the frustrating thing about these guys. They are really, genuinely capable of playing some good baseball. They have won quite a few games that could be real, signature wins, if only they had won a few more non-signature wins too. Just ordinary, relatively uninteresting wins, like Wednesday’s series finale could have been, if not for, you know, everything that happened late in the game.
Instead, just past the halfway point of the season, just about a month and a week until the trade deadline, they find themselves towards the back end of the muddled pack of AL Wild Card contenders. The third wild card spot is still held by a below-.500 team this deep into the season. The Orioles are not out of it, no matter how much games like the ones they played against the Angels can make it feel that way. It’s just that changing their fortunes is going to require doing something we haven’t seen them do: Playing sustained good baseball. For a whole lot of reasons, they have proven incapable of this.
I think that for a number of those reasons, the cake was baked over the offseason with the decisions that Mike Elias made in constructing the roster. He thought this group of relievers would be good enough to get by. He thought that the defense would be good enough to get by. Each of these things is proving to not be the case and there’s not much he can do about them now. That spray can of potpourri can only affect so much square footage at a time.
Should Elias lose his job for these errors? If this thing doesn’t improve by season’s end, I think that he should. He has not been able to sustain a good baseball team. After the 2024 season ended with another postseason disappointment, there were obvious problems to address. The team didn’t address them sufficiently heading into 2025, and it hasn’t sufficiently addressed 2025’s problems heading into 2026 either.
Although the baseball way is “three strikes and you’re out,” I don’t think that applies to general managers or presidents of baseball operations. Two strikes and you’re out is good enough by my reckoning there. We are looking at Elias’s second strike. If I was the billionaire with authority to make the decisions, I wouldn’t give him another chance, if he doesn’t pull off the mid-season pivot here.
One thing I would be quite interested to know about the Orioles is how they spent their off day yesterday. There’s stuff it sure seems like they could use some work on! We’ve probably all at some point in our lives encountered something spiritually similar to a punitive “one person on the team screwed up, so the whole team runs laps.” I don’t need the Orioles to run laps or wind sprints as punishment. I just want to know if they’re doing useful drills to reinforce the correct response to situations that they have recently screwed up.
If they are doing this, we sure aren’t seeing the results yet. I don’t think that’s totally because of guys playing out of position. Some of it is. But stuff like “cover first base on a ground ball” ought to be basic for pitchers and first basemen and Keegan Akin and Pete Alonso between the two of them couldn’t manage it during one of Wednesday’s crucial plays. Alonso took more firm post-game ownership of his mistake there than Akin did. I don’t know what they should do about that. I guess they don’t know either.
The Nationals await for three games starting tonight. Hopefully the version of Trevor Rogers who most recently pitched seven shutout innings against the Dodgers is the one who takes the field tonight. It’s a 7:05 start for the Friday night game.
Magic in the booth: Kevin Brown makes mark with Orioles (Press Box Online) An excellent feature profile on Kevin Brown, my honorary cousin, who is genuinely one of the game’s great broadcasters. He is a delight every night he is on the call.
Birthdays and Orioles anniversaries
Today in 1970, Frank Robinson hit two grand slams during a 12-2 win over the then-Senators. He was just the seventh major league player to ever accomplish this in the same game. These turned out to be his only grand slams for the team.
There are a few former Orioles who were born on this day. They are: 2022-23 pitcher Austin Voth, 2007-08 infielder Luis Hernández, 1987 pitcher Mike Griffin, and 1960 outfielder Gene Green.
Is today your birthday? Happy birthday to you! Your birthday buddies for today include: Civil War general and probably-not-inventor of baseball Abner Doubleday (1819), WW2 Marine Corps legend Chesty Puller (1898), pro football Hall of Famer Shannon Sharpe (1968), actors Chris O’Donnell and Nick Offerman (1970), actress Aubrey Plaza (1984), and singer-songwriter Ariana Grande (1993).
On this day in history…
In 1917, the first American soldiers arrived in France to join the conflict we now know as World War I. They would see combat within two weeks.
In 1945, the 50 Allied nations signed the charter for the United Nations in San Francisco.
In 1963, President John F. Kennedy delivered the famous “Ich bin ein Berliner” speech. The remarks, made shortly after East Germany had put up the Berlin Wall, reinforced American support for the democratic West Germany.
In 1974, the first barcode was scanned at a grocery store in Ohio. This first use of a Universal Product Code sold a package of Wrigley gum.
**
And that’s the way it is in Birdland on June 26. Have a safe Friday. Go O’s!
Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders:W, 6-4 at Indianapolis Indians
2B Marco Luciano 0-5, 2 K RF Yanquiel Fernández 1-4, 1 R, 1 K DH Garrett Martin 1-3, 1 R, 1 BB, 1 K 3B Tyler Hardman 2-4, 2 HR, 4 RBI, 2 R — 100 career home runs, 18 this year 1B Ernesto Martinez Jr. 1-4, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 1 R C Payton Henry 0-3, 1 K LF Kenedy Corona 0-4, 2 K CF Duke Ellis 2-4, 1 R, 1 SB SS Jonathan Ornelas 1-4, 1 RBI, throwing error
Dom Hamel 5 IP, 3 R, 2 ER, 4 H, 5 BB, 4 K (win) Danny Watson 1 IP, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K (hold) Angel Chivilli 1 IP, 0 R, 1 H (hold) Will Brian 0.2 IP, 1 R, 3 BB, 2 K (hold) Carlos Lagrange 1.1 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 2 K (save) — first career save as his transition to the bullpen continues to go well
Double-A Somerset Patriots:L, 1-2 at New Hampshire Fisher Cats
DH Jackson Castillo 1-4, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 1 R, 1 SB CF Jace Avina 0-4, 3 K RF DJ Gladney 0-4, 4 K 1B Nicholas Torres 1-4, 1 K 3B Coby Morales 1-4, 1 2B, 1 K C Manuel Palencia 1-2, 1 BB LF Josh Moylan 0-3, 2 K SS Kevin Verde 0-3, 3 K 2B Connor McGinnis 0-2, 1 K
Jack Cebert 5.2 IP, 2 R, 4 H, 6 K (loss) Kelly Austin 1.1 IP, 0 R, 1 K Ben Grable 1 IP, 0 R, 1 H
Jack Cebert (@Yankees No. 25 Prospect) retired the final 12 batters he faced in his eighth Double-A start! 🤩
High-A Hudson Valley Renegades:L, 5-6 (11) at Bowling Green Hot Rods
SS Kaeden Kent 2-6, 1 2B, 1 RBI, 1 R, 2 K DH Core Jackson 1-6, 1 K RF Wilson Rodriguez 2-4, 1 HR, 1 2B, 3 RBI, 1 R, 1 K — two-run homer in the 10th briefly gave the ‘Gades the lead 1B Kyle West 1-5, 1 K 3B Roderick Arias 2-5, 2 K 2B Enmanuel Tejeda 1-5, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 2 R C Josue Gonzalez 2-5, 2 K, 1 SB, throwing error CF Camden Troyer 1-4, 1 2B, 1 R, 1 BB LF Luis Durango 1-3 PH Eric Genther 1-1 PR-LF Robbie Burnett 0-0, 1 BB
Allen Facundo 5.2 IP, 1 R, 5 H, 2 BB, 10 K — third double-digit strikeout outing of his season Thomas Balboni Jr. 1.1 IP, 1 R, 1 H Luis Velasquez 1 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 1 K Wilmy Sanchez 1 IP, 2 R, 1 ER, 1 H, 1 K Jack Sokol 1 IP, 2 R, 0 ER, 1 H, 1 BB, 1 K (loss, blown save)
