Category: Sports News

The Phoenix Suns have numerous decisions ahead of them this upcoming offseason, including multiple restricted free agents, unrestricted free agents, and players with trade value. The following series will examine those decisions as our writing team presents both a point and a counterpoint for each.

Grayson Allen arrived in Phoenix right before the 2023 season in that three-team deal involving Deandre Ayton, Jusuf Nurkic, Nassir Little, and Toumani Camara. He has been a steady force, whether off the bench or in a starting role, for Phoenix over the past three seasons; he’s fit right in like a glove.

Grayson has been a low-maintenance role player who has more to his game than you’d think once you get a closer look. He is not “just” a shooter. He is a legitimate athletic downhill threat and secondary playmaker.

Allen missed 32 games, but even with a down year relative to his three-point shooting, he showcased why he is one of the best value contracts on the team, posting career highs in scoring and assists.

Expanded Role, Not Regression

Let’s address the elephant in the room right away. Allen’s 2025-26 season naturally leaves you a bit cautious. Missing 32 games and watching his usually lethal three-point efficiency dip to 34.9% (alongside a 40.3% overall field-goal percentage) are some yellow flags of caution to monitor. That said, he did average a career-high in PPG (16.5), APG (3.8), and 3PFGA (8.9) this season.

The increase in volume, along with a couple of rough shooting stretches and injury woes, is more than likely the culprit for the dip in efficiency. In his expanded role, the volume was there, the aggressiveness was there, and the defense remained mostly steady. On a guard-heavy roster where every single contract matters, a down year from your premium floor-spacer triggers concern; that’s only fair.

Let’s not forget he dropped a career-high 42 points to go with a franchise-best 10 three pointers in a win over the Pelicans in November!

Grayson Allen is an easy player to take for granted. Plenty of teams could use an efficient floor-spacing guard that competes on both ends and makes the right play more often than not. He is athletic and has excellent footwork and deceleration skills on the move.

3 Reasons the Suns should keep him

With the Suns’ sudden influx of guard depth, it is incredibly easy to fall into the trap of viewing Allen as expendable. But trading away a high-IQ, plug-and-play volume shooter just to balance out a positional spreadsheet is how good teams accidentally slide back into mediocrity.

1. Perimeter Gravity + Downhill threat

Even in a self-described “down” shooting year, Allen still canned 3.1 triples a night. Opposing coaching staffs don’t look at his season percentage on a scouting report and decide to leave him open; they respect the quick release and the proven history.

When Devin Booker is hunting paint touches or running the offense, the floor geometry completely changes depending on whether Allen is standing on the wing. His gravity is far more than a luxury. It’s a necessity. And he can aggressively attack closeouts and put the ball on the deck. As mentioned above, he is not just a shooter.

2. Every Contender Wants This Exact Archetype

The modern NBA is defined by premium wing depth. Teams are constantly scouring the market, desperate to find players who can hit open shots, execute extra passes, and defend multiple perimeter positions without demanding heavy usage.

Grayson Allen is exactly what every contending front office is searching for. Having that piece already in-house is a massive competitive advantage.

3. The 11% Cap Bargain

Grayson Allen is still on a relatively friendly contract heading into next season at $18.1 million, which accounts for roughly 11% of the salary cap. He holds a player option for $19.4 million the following year. In an era where the second apron and tightening financial restrictions can paralyze a front office, having a highly productive asset locked in at roughly 11% of the cap is an incredibly team-friendly, movable contract sitting right in a mid-tier sweet spot.

And for that same reason, it’s why he’s come up in potential trade talks, which I’m not against if the RIGHT deal comes along that addresses their weaknesses. Trading him just to trade him is a mistake.

Closing Thought

Guard depth is a position of strength, not a flaw that requires a panicked correction. Unless a landscape-altering frontcourt piece becomes available via a consolidated package, keeping Allen’s spacing, elite perimeter gravity, contract flexibility, and competitive fire in the Valley is the smartest path forward.

If the perfect deal comes along that moves the needle, I’m okay dealing from a position of strength. Otherwise, let’s welcome Grasyon back to the Valley with open arms.

Mitchell Robinson plans to reveal a whole new version of himself.

“Last post before I delete this app,” Robinson wrote on Facebook on Thursday afternoon, just a few hours before Game 2. “I finally have changed my number for many reason [sic] … as I fight through and keep fighting in this playoffs run my focus have to go to another level. This is the start of a new chapter in my life. Love and will miss y’all … Mitch out.”

Robinson has never been shy in letting his thoughts be known on social media.

He has opened up about his mental health and at times complained about his role in the Knicks offense.

On the lighter side, he constantly posts pictures and videos of his trucks.

It’s also hurt his wallet.

Both he and the Hawks’ Dyson Daniels were fined by the NBA for their roles in a heated fracas during Game 6 of their first-round series earlier this postseason.

But Robinson was docked $50,000 — twice the penalty Daniels received — because of a vulgar video shared afterward as an Instagram story.

After such an emotional Game 1, did the coaching staff have to talk about settling down and being ready again for Game 2?

“We have a veteran group,” coach Mike Brown said. “Any time you’re in the playoffs, you obviously need a little bit of talent, you need a little bit of luck and then you need skill. All those things came to play for us coming back from [22] points down with that little bit of time to go. I think our guys understand that we got away with one and we don’t want to put ourselves in that position again because Cleveland is a great team, they’re well coached and they have great players on that team. They’re not gonna let that opportunity slip through their hands again.

“We’ve talked about that but not necessarily about the emotional part.”

The Knicks were not in their normal home uniforms for Game 2 on Thursday night, instead wearing their Statement Edition jerseys.

Game 1 was fun, I guess. Let’s see what pain this one brings.

Share your thoughts as the game unfolds. If you aren’t a member of the community, sign up so you can talk to your fellow Cavalier fans and make your voice heard!

Go Cavs!

If you have children and they watch WWE, you know who Danhausen is.

In case you don’t, he is a professional wrestler who has gained fame for “cursing” opponents. He records copious amounts of YouTube videos in character, which you can view here.

Danhausen debuted back at WWE’s Elimination Chamber Premium Live Event. Since then, he has quickly risen to be the number 2 merchandise seller in the company.

He then went on to ‘curse’ Stephen A. Smith, and the Knicks promptly went down 2-1 to the Atlanta Hawks in the NBA playoffs. A Knicks fan bought a Cameo, which is a way for fans to pay for celebrities to create custom videos, to uncurse the Knicks and curse the Hawks.

He did it for the “human monies,” and now the Knicks haven’t lost, including in a game they were down 22 in the 4th quarter.

Anytime you can pair WWE with BBN, it probably means a successful business venture.

So, when Kentucky announced it would be pairing with Danhausen to create a new collaboration, the internet went into a frenzy.

Now, it may not mean a lot to some of you, and that’s okay. But if you are a wrestling fan, the shirt has already had a couple of restocks today, which means it is selling fast. See the design and get yours below. It comes as WWE SmackDown is live tomorrow night at Rupp Arena; you can get tickets for that here.

Maybe we can all get together and pay for a reversal of the Kentucky injury curse. It certainly can’t hurt.

The Eastern Conference Finals resume tonight at Madison Square Garden with the Knicks holding a 1-0 series lead after Tuesday’s astonishing comeback victory over Cleveland. Donovan “Spida” Mitchell remains fully capable of carrying Cleveland for stretches, but the Cavs were totally gassed late in Game 1, particularly James Harden, who shot terribly, committed a half-dozen turnovers, and was hunted by Jalen Brunson in crunch time. Tonight, Cleveland will either dig deep and come back with a big swing or roll over like dogs. (We predict some version of the former.)

Tip off is at 8 PM EST on ESPN. This is your game thread. This is Fear the Sword. Please don’t post large photos, GIFs, or links to illegal streams in the thread. Be cool and enjoy the ride. And go Knicks!

We’re deep into the NBA playoffs, and one former Husky hooper is still playing meaningful basketball.

Stephon Castle and the San Antonio Spurs are in the Western Conference Finals for the first time since 2017. Castle has been the number-two option behind the breakout megastar Victor Wembanyama. Castle is doing a little bit of everything this postseason, averaging 16.7 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 7.4 assists per game while providing some highlight-reel dunks, including one over Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in their Game 1 win that included a staredown.

As well as he has been playing overall, his turnover numbers in the first two games of the Western Conference Finals have been less than ideal, totaling 20, the most by a player over two postseason games in NBA history. After the Spurs mounted a late comeback in Game 2, Castle threw the ball directly out of bounds, which was the nail in the coffin for San Antonio.

Game 2 also saw one of the best dunks in recent memory. Midway through the second quarter, Wembyanyama fed the ball to Castle, who had an open lane to the rim. The 6 ‘6 guard drove the lane and levitated over the 7-foot Isaish Hartenstein, who had no chance at blocking the dunk. Even Wembyanyama couldn’t believe how thunderous the jam was.

Castle and the Spurs are even at 1 game apiece heading into a crucial game 3 back in San Antonio Friday night. Castle’s key for victory? Hold onto the ball and hit long-range shots. So far he’s 2-for-12 from the three-point range over the first two games. Castle hit his threes in the Minnesota series, going 5-for-7 in the closeout Game 6. Most importantly, the turnovers were the result in over half of the teams in the department. If they played the defending champs close in both games, the Spurs shouldn’t be alarmed. They have a great chance of finishing the series in six games.

Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals are tonight. The Cleveland Cavaliers are at New York Knicks. Watch starting at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN.

Enjoy the game!

After exiting Game 2 early in the second half following an awkward fall, Spurs rookie guard Dylan Harper is listed as questionable for Game 3 in San Antonio with a sore adductor. The play occurred when he collided with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander while going for a lay-up and came down awkwardly on his leg. While obviously not ideal, it’s a much better diagnosis than a hamstring pull, which was the fear after he appeared to grab it after the play.

The status of questionable suggests MRI’s were negative, and while it doesn’t confirm he will play tomorrow, it’s a brighter outlook than some may have feared. Adding to the awkwardness, he appeared ready to return as he jogged back from the locker room, only for someone to tell him to go back. That could also be a good sign.

As has been the case for both games so far in this series, De’Aaron Fox remains questionable with a high ankle sprain suffered in Game 5 against the Timberwolves when Ayo Dusunmo rolled into his legs while diving for a loose ball. Fox played in Game 6 but re-aggravated the injury and did not participate in Game 1 vs. the Thunder, which the Spurs won in double overtime. While Mitch Johnson has been adamant that he would play if he could, the win had many speculating that it bought him an extra game off. Related or not, he was ruled out of Game 2 about an hour before tip-off. Both Fox and Harper’s returns will likely depend on pain tolerance.

In other injury related news, Thunder star Jalen Williams has been ruled as day-to-day after he re-aggravated the same hamstring that had kept him out of the first two rounds of the playoffs. He only played seven minutes last night before exiting after playing 37 minutes in Game 1, which was his first game in a month.

While the Thunder have been used to not having Williams for much of this season, the same can’t be said for the Spurs. While Fox, Harper and Stephon Castle all missed time here and there, they’re used it having at least two of the three, and the Spurs need at least one of them to give Castle some relief from ball-handling duties. While his scoring has been on point in this series, he has struggled holding onto the ball with 20 turnovers so far. If both Fox and Harper can’t go, expect to see some relief minutes from Jordan McLaughlin.

This series had all the makings of an instant classic coming in and has lived up to the hype through the first two games, so it would be a shame if more injuries were to spoil it in any way. Despite last night’s loss, the Spurs still hold home court advantage heading into Game 3 in San Antonio after stealing Game 1.