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Should Sabres Hang Onto Veteran Goalie Next Season?

James Reimer (Timothy T. Ludwig, USA TODAY Sports)

The Buffalo Sabres had problems with their defense this season -- and part of the blame for that is the play of their goalies. We've wrote recently about the need for the netminding to improve, but one question that hasn't been addressed yet is the future of veteran goalie James Reimer. The 37-year-old was Buffalo's best goalie late in the season, but he's a UFA this summer and could choose to retire.

If he doesn't, though, Reimer could get some interest from a team seeking goaltending depth -- and that team could be the Sabres. Reimer's 10-8-2 record, .899 save percentage and 2.90 Goals-Against Average this season weren't bad at all when you consider how poor Buffalo's defensive efforts were in front of him.

If he does return to the NHL next year, Reimer isn't going to break the bank with his salary. He earned an even $1-million this season, and he may come back on the veteran's minimum salary -- if he thought he was joining a team that gave him a good chance to make the playoffs. Is that team the Sabres? It's obviously good that Reimer knows Buffalo's organization and coaching staff, but the Sabres might be competing for Reimer's services, and that means they'd need to give Reimer an honest chance to earn playing time.

Reimer is renowned as a great teammate and calming influence, and on a Sabres team that will have all sorts of pressure to improve next year, having Reimer around might make as much sense for the dressing room as it does for the ice.

Goaltending Improvement Must Be Key For Sabres Next SeasonGoaltending Improvement Must Be Key For Sabres Next SeasonIt's no secret that, as is true in many sports, defense wins championships in hockey, but it underscores the importance of goaltending when it comes to which teams succeed in the Stanley Cup playoffs. And a quick look at a couple key numbers only confirms it in the current post-season.

Reimer's experience -- he's played 525 regular-season games -- is valuable for any team that wants a low-cost veteran voice on the roster. He may choose to finish his career with the Sabres, but if he doesn't, don't be surprHiised to see him sign on with another NHL team. His pedigree makes him a viable choice for a team seeking depth and veteran knowhow, and in a thin UFA goalie market, Reimer could move on from Buffalo and land in a different NHL city.

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Dallas Nabs No. 1 Pick in Cooper Flagg-Led 2025 NBA Draft

A tumultuous NBA season in Dallas took an upward swing Monday evening when the Mavericks, with just a 1.8% change of winning the NBA Draft Lottery, landed a shot at redemption.

San Antonio and Philadelphia round out the top three picks, with each having had a 6% and 10.5% chance at number one, respectively. They’ll likely have no shot at consensus number one, Cooper Flagg.

Unless the Mavericks defy expectations and pick someone else, Flagg will come to the team with a level of hype few players have ever matched, including his fellow Duke alum and 2019 top pick Zion Williamson – who was the New Orleans Pelicans’ representative for this year’s lottery – and French phenom Victor Wembanyama, who went to the San Antonio Spurs in 2023. Free agent Giannis Antetokounmpo looms on the market and San Antonio now has ample capital.

While his high school classmates may have relaxed in their last summer before college, Flagg was working out with the U.S. men’s basketball team in its preparation for the Paris Games, becoming the first college player (and first teenager) added to the Select Team since 2013.

Flagg also signed an NIL deal with New Balance, which has a factory 25 miles from his hometown of Newport, Maine. Flagg will presumably become the first top overall NBA Draft pick ever for the brand, which boasts established stars such as Kawhi Leonard, Jamal Murray and Tyrese Maxey as endorsers.

The 6’9” forward proceeded to have a stellar season at Duke, leading the Blue Devils to the Final Four before the team lost to Houston. Flagg averaged 19.1 points, 7.5 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 1.4 blocks and 1.4 steals over 37 games. He elevated his draft stock even higher during the NCAA Tournament, averaging 21 points, 7.6 rebounds, five assists and two blocks through five games.

Flagg was the just the fourth freshman to win the Wooden Award as the nation’s top player in men’s college basketball, alongside Williamson, Anthony Davis and Kevin Durant. He also took home the ACC Player of the Year and ACC Rookie of the Year honors, becoming the fourth player (and fourth Duke Blue Devil) to win both conference honors in the same season.

Prior to the stunning trade of Luka Doncic at the February trade deadline, the Mavs were set for 30 national TV appearances in the just completed regular season. The presumptive selection of Flagg may keep the team at the top of the pack when it comes to national TV games, especially as the NBA’s new media deal kicks in with ESPN/ABC, NBC, Peacock and Amazon’s Prime Video.

When the Spurs won the lottery and drafted Wembanyama in 2023, their national TV appearances leaped from a single game in 2022-23 to 11 games the following season.

The Utah Jazz, Washington Wizards and Charlotte Hornets each had the best odds of winning the top pick at 14.1%. Right outside of the top three teams were the New Orleans Pelicans at 12.5%, the Philadelphia 76ers at 10.5% and the Brooklyn Nets at 9%.

The chance that a team with lower odds than the top three favorites would land the top pick was not a small one. Last year, the Atlanta Hawks, who had the 10th-worst record in 2023-24, had just a 3% chance at the lottery when ping-pong balls bounced their way last spring.

Dallas’ win marks the sixth time since the lottery began in 1985 that a team with less than a 4% chance won the rights to the top pick.

While Flagg is the unquestioned prize of the upcoming draft, the 2025 draft class does not lack for tantalizing prospects. Rutgers guard Dylan Harper has often come up in mock drafts as the consensus second-overall pick, and his teammate Ace Bailey and Baylor’s V.J. Edgecombe have garnered plenty of attention themselves.

Although NIL has changed the draft pools for the NBA for a few years, this may be the first draft class where those changes are truly evident. Outside of the expected one-and-done freshman prospects and upperclassmen who took advantage of the NCAA’s expanded eligibility since the COVID-19 pandemic, there are few sophomore and junior players on the radar of scouts and executives.

The league recently announced that there were 106 early entry candidates for the June draft, the lowest number since 91 players declared early in 2015. Since 2021 when the NCAA allowed players to make money from NIL deals, the early entry pool has dropped each year from an all-time high of 353 players to less than one-third of that total in 2025.

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Why apologetic Draymond felt like ‘coward' after Warriors' Game 3 loss

Why apologetic Draymond felt like ‘coward' after Warriors' Game 3 loss originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

After the Warriors dropped Game 4 of their Western Conference semifinals series against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday, Draymond Green still had his mind on his actions from Saturday.

Golden State’s veteran forward fouled out of his team’s Game 3 loss and apologized to reporters Monday for failing to speak to them in the aftermath.

“Before I start, I want to apologize to y’all,” Green told the media before starting his press conference after the Warriors’ 117-110 loss in Game 4 at Chase Center. “I didn’t talk the other day. I was quite a bit frustrated and very careful of — didn’t want to get myself fined, but more so say something and make it sound like an excuse.

“We struggle and lose, and I didn’t come up here and talk, and I felt like a coward when I got home. So I wanted to apologize to y’all for that.”

With four minutes and 38 seconds left in the Warriors’ eventual 102-97 loss on Saturday, Green collected his sixth and final personal foul with Golden State trailing by two points.

The 2024-25 NBA Defensive Player of the Year finalist had tallied just two points, two rebounds and four assists up to that point, and his foul trouble kept him from making much of an impact as the Timberwolves attacked the rim.

While some of the calls on Green were questionable according to his Warriors teammates and coach Steve Kerr, it’s evident the 35-year-old didn’t want to blame the referees for his struggles in Game 3.

Green’s less-than-stellar night on Saturday came one game after he faced racially charged comments from Timberwolves fans in Minnesota — an incident that caused the team to open up an investigation when one fan was ejected from Target Center for violating the NBA Fan Code of Conduct, per the Timberwolves, and another left the arena on his own accord.

After that game, during which Green received a technical foul for hitting Wolves big man Naz Reid in the face, the Warriors star gave a passionate statement declaring he’s “not an angry Black man” and that there is an “agenda” trying to paint him as such.

When asked about his post-Game 2 comments after Monday’s loss, where Green improved to score 14 points with seven rebounds and two assists, he made it clear he has turned the page.

“I’ve moved on,” Green told reporters.

Green never has been one to shy away from accountability after all the ups and downs he has experienced throughout his career. His apology on Monday was just another example of that, even if it came a couple of days later.

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Steve Kerr avoids hypothetical about Steph Curry possibly playing in Game 5

Steve Kerr avoids hypothetical about Steph Curry possibly playing in Game 5 originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

Steph Curry has missed the Warriors’ last three Western Conference semifinals games against the Minnesota Timberwolves, and if he misses another, Golden State’s season might end Wednesday.

Which is why everyone is wondering if Curry might push to play at Target Center.

Asked after the Warriors’ Game 4 loss if Curry would be allowed to play Wednesday if he told the medical staff he’s good to go, coach Steve Kerr danced around the hypothetical question.

“When are we giving the update?” Kerr asked, looking at Warriors PR personnel. “Wednesday, we’ll have an update.”

Curry sustained a Grade 1 left hamstring strain in the first half of the Warriors’ Game 1 win over the Timberwolves. When his MRI results were announced, Golden State said the 37-year-old would be re-evaluated on May 14, the same day as Game 5.

Typically, re-evaluations lead to more time missed, so it’s unlikely Curry is ready to go Wednesday.

But longtime running mate Draymond Green shed light on the work Curry is doing to get back on the court before it’s too late.

“When you’re competing for championships, or trying to, the most important thing you can have on your side is health,” Green told reporters after Monday’s 117-110 loss. “You start getting a month, two and a half months longer into this already long season, and injuries are more likely to happen, so you try to do all that you can to prevent that. I send my love to [Jayson Tatum]. Never wish any injury on anybody; hoping that it’s not what everyone thinks it is. Such a great young talent in this league. Does everything the right way. So, hate to see him go down.

“As far as Steph, he’s working his tail off every day. You know, he’s in here eight, nine hours a day, working, doing what he can to try to get back. So, you know, his morale is great. Obviously, nobody’s excited right now, but he’s working to get back. That’s all you can do it at this point.”

Curry hasn’t spoken to the assembled media since May 8, but he talked to Andscape’s Marc J. Spears after Monday’s loss and tempered expectations that he might play Wednesday.

ESPN’s Shams Charania reported last week and reiterated Monday that a possible Game 6, scheduled for Sunday, May 18, is the earliest Curry could return.

Curry is itching to return, knowing that the Warriors’ season is hanging in the balance. But all signs point to the four-time NBA champion sitting out another game.

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Alex de Minaur progresses despite distraction of aerial display at Italian Open

  • Australia’s No 1 regains focus to beat Hugo Dellien 6-4, 6-4
  • De Minaur will play 12th-seeded Tommy Paul in last 16 in Rome

An overhead in tennis normally means being lobbed but it was a different aerial intervention that troubled Alex de Minaur in Rome.

The Australian No 1 was progressing well towards the last 16 despite the distraction of an unwell spectator when his match with Bolivian qualifier Hugo Dellien was interrupted by a flypast by the Italian Air Force’s acrobatic team, the Frecce Tricolori (Tricolour arrows).

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Nets awarded eighth overall pick in 2025 NBA Draft Lottery

The Nets have been awarded the eighth pick in the 2025 NBA Draft Lottery.

This was their first time participating in the lottery since they landed the third overall pick in the 2010 NBA Draft -- which they ultimately used on big man Derrick Favors out of Georgia Tech.

Brooklyn entered the night with just a 9.0 percent chance of winning this year's lottery and the opportunity to select Duke star Cooper Flagg after finishing with the sixth-worst record in the league.

Instead, the eighth selection will headline their four first-rounders this year. As part of the Mikal Bridges deal with the Knicks they also have the 19th, 26th and 27th picks as well as the 36th pick coming in the second round.

It'll be interesting to see if GM Sean Marks keeps all of these picks for the rebuilding club or looks to package some of them in a deal for a superstar such as Giannis Antetokounmpo, who is said to be "open-minded" about leaving Milwaukee.

Some of the players in recent mock drafts around Brooklyn's pick include Duke's Kon Knueppel, Oklahoma's Jeremiah Fears, and Texas' Tre Johnson.

This year's draft takes place on June 25 and 26 at Barclays Center.

Here's how the rest of the lottery shaped out:

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Players, fans react to Tatum's scary leg injury in Game 4 vs. Knicks

Players, fans react to Tatum's scary leg injury in Game 4 vs. Knicks originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

The Boston Celtics lost a pivotal Game 4 to the New York Knicks on Monday night to fall into a 3-1 series hole. Even worse, they may have lost their superstar for an extended period.

Jayson Tatum went down with an apparent lower right leg injury during the fourth quarter of Game 4 at Madison Square Garden. He stayed on the floor writhing in pain before Celtics trainers helped him into the locker room. He did not put any weight on his right leg and was helped into a wheelchair.

While Tatum’s status remains unclear, the outlook doesn’t look ideal. As the NBA world speculates about the injury’s severity, players on both teams, other athletes, and fans are sharing their stunned, empathetic reactions to one of the game’s biggest stars going down.

Knicks star Jalen Brunson immediately addressed Tatum’s injury during his postgame press conference.

“Prayers out to JT, man,” he said. “I just wanted to say that, first and foremost. Thoughts and prayers with him. Just praying for the best.”

Mitchell Robinson also shared his reaction immediately after the game.

“I’ve been dealing with injuries my whole career. You don’t want to see a guy go through stuff like that,” Robinson said.

Josh Hart shared similar sentiments.

“Hate that it happened. The NBA is a brotherhood, praying for him,” he said.

Karl-Anthony Towns joined his Knicks teammates in sending well-wishes to Tatum.

“I’ve been in a situation like that with my calf,” Towns said, per CLNS’ Bobby Manning. “If you saw, I just walked up, obviously respectful of his space. I just put my head down and prayed to my mother, prayed to God to put protection over him and comfort, whatever the injury may be. I hope it’s minor.”

Celtics veteran big man Al Horford has his longtime teammate on his mind after the defeat.

“The loss is the loss. More importantly it’s just Tatum that I’m worried about,” he said. “Just making sure I’m here for him. That’s my priority.”

Tatum’s co-star Jaylen Brown was at a loss for words.

“It’s tough,” he said. “Not really a lot to say.”

Tatum will get an MRI on Tuesday, according to Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla. The C’s will almost certainly be without him with their backs against the wall in Wednesday’s do-or-die Game 5.

Here’s how other noteworthy personalities reacted to Tatum’s injury:

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Knicks defeat Celtics to move within one win of Eastern Conference Finals

Knicks defeat Celtics to move within one win of Eastern Conference Finals originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

Jalen Brunson had 39 points and 12 assists, and the New York Knicks moved a win away from their first Eastern Conference finals appearance in 25 years and pushed the defending champion Boston Celtics to the brink of elimination with a 121-113 victory Monday night in Game 4.

The Celtics will have to make the NBA’s 14th comeback from a 3-1 deficit to extend their title reign and may have to do it without All-Star Jayson Tatum, who was carried off the court with a right leg injury with 2:58 left.

Mikal Bridges and Karl-Anthony Towns each added 23 points and OG Anunoby bounced back from two poor performances by scoring 20 for the Knicks, who can win the series Wednesday night at Boston. If not, they would come back to Madison Square Garden to try to do it Friday night.

Tatum scored 42 points, his high in these playoffs, before he was hurt when the Celtics turned the ball over and his leg gave out as he tried to lunge forward toward the loose ball.

The Knicks had taken control just before that in front of a delirious crowd of fans who haven’t seen them play in the conference finals since they lost to Indiana in 2000.

Nobody has come from 3-1 down since Denver did it twice in 2020 at the Walt Disney World resort. It hasn’t happened when a team had to win a true road game since Cleveland rallied past Golden State in the 2016 NBA Finals.

After leading by at least 20 points in the first three games — but blowing the first two of them in Boston — the Celtics had another double-digit lead less than five minutes into this game.

They led 62-51 at halftime, but the Knicks played their starters the entire way in a desperate third quarter in which they outscored the Celtics 37-23 to set up a thrilling final period.

Tatum’s three-point play tied it for the final time at 102-all before Anunoby hit a 3-pointer and the Knicks later put it away for good with an 11-0 burst that made it 116-104.

Derrick White made six 3-pointers and scored 23 points for the Celtics. Jaylen Brown had 20.

“We have to turn that page quickly and do our first job, which is win on Wednesday. That’s the mindset,” Celtics veteran Al Horford said. “As a group, we just have to rally together because obviously we’ve lost our leader, the guy that gets us going.”

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Rockets reportedly interested in Antetokounmpo, but not so much trades for Booker, Durant, Zion

It's a big summer in Houston.

This is a 52-win Rockets team that took a big step forward this season behind an entertaining and athletic young core led by Alperen Sengun, Amem Thompson and Jalen Green. Houston had the fourth-ranked defense in the league, but the playoffs highlighted how much this team needs an elite bucket getter to spark their half-court offense. Houston has the picks and young players available to assemble a blockbuster trade to get that player.

Just don't expect it to be the Suns' Kevin Durant or Devin Booker, and the same is true of the Pelicans' Zion Williamson, reports Kelly Iko and Sam Amick of The Athletic.

While Durant is widely seen as the most attainable of that group, and he is known to be very interested in playing in Houston, team sources said the Rockets still have significant reservations about that possible partnership, in large part, because Durant's age (36) would be so out of sync with their younger timeline. It's worth noting that previous talks between the teams about Durant, team sources said, were initiated by the Suns.

The Rockets have previously held serious interest in the Suns' Devin Booker, but team sources said that is no longer the case. Not only do team officials still have faith in Jalen Green, who is five years younger than Booker and $66 million cheaper over the next three seasons, but also Booker's struggles last season shifted the thinking on this front. As for Williamson, who has spent the majority of his first six seasons falling short of expectations while experiencing health issues along the way, team sources said the Rockets see him as too risky.

Durant to Houston is not completely off the table, but it's only happening if the trade is a complete steal for the Rockets, league sources told NBC Sports. As for Booker, the Rockets may have soured on him slightly, but the Suns have also made it clear from the highest levels of the organization that he is not available. That may have something to do with the Rockets' stance.

Which leaves Giannis Antetokounmpo, who will sit down with the Milwaukee Bucks front office in the coming weeks and discuss his and the team's future. He reportedly is open to considering a trade, the first time he has been truly serious about that in his 12-year NBA career.

The Rockets are certainly interested, according to the report, but know the price to land the 30-year-old two-time MVP would be high in terms of players and picks (and one of those players likely would be Sengun, who is not a natural fit next to Antetokounmpo). That said, if Antetokounmpo hits the market, the Rockets will jump into the mix and could put together an offer that would be hard for Milwaukee to turn down.

With all those moving parts, the Rockets and Fred VanVleet agreed to push back the date Houston has to decide on his $44.9 million team option to June 29 — after the draft and close enough to the start of free agency that Houston will have a much better read on the Antetokounmpo situation, as well as other free agents. VanVleet has said he wants to return to the Rockets, and they want him back, but at the right price, and he could be the veteran ball handler not brought back (or sent somewhere else) in a massive trade.

While the Rockets will be at the heart of the offseason trade rumors, GM Raphael Stone has made it clear he would be perfectly happy to run it back with the 52-win team from this season and see how big a step forward they take after this year's experiences. Don't be shocked if that is the ultimate outcome.

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First Giants win still evades Verlander in loss to D-backs

First Giants win still evades Verlander in loss to D-backs originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

SAN FRANCISCO — Justin Verlander probably is tired of being asked about it. And for good reason.

For the fifth time this season, the 42-year-old pitched well enough to earn his first win in a Giants uniform. And for the fifth time this season, he was denied the decision.

After nine starts, Verlander (262 career wins) still sits 38 wins away from the exclusive 300-win club. Now in his 20th MLB season, the three-time Cy Young Award winner is running out of time to notch Ws, and his team isn’t doing him any favors.

Verlander (L, 6 IP, 9 H, 2 ER, BB, 5 K) once again pitched well in the Giants’ 2-1 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks on Monday at Oracle Park, and once again, local media found themselves asking San Francisco manager Bob Melvin a similar version of a question he’s been asked a handful of times already this season.

“Again, it’s about losing the game,” Melvin said when asked how frustrating it was not to reward Verlander with a win. “I think it’s just when you keep pitching well, literally it was just two balls off of [Corbin] Carroll’s bat. Other than that, he pitched into the seventh inning, so he’s given us quality starts the last four times or so.”

Verlander did surrender nine hits, so he wasn’t his sharpest, but two of those hits, solo home runs off the bat of Carroll in the third and fifth innings, were enough to earn an “L” next to his name.

That’s typically not the case for a starting pitcher who surrenders two or fewer runs over six innings of work, but for Verlander, that’s how the cookie, or the Giants’ lineup, has crumbled for him.

“It’s one of the tough things about being a starting pitcher, you know? You want to win baseball games,” Verlander said postgame. “You have the exact same outing and you win, you feel really good when you go home, versus this one you don’t feel nearly as good.”

Despite not recording a win himself, Verlander has been able to celebrate team wins (May 6 vs. Chicago, April 9 vs. Cincinnati, April 4 vs. Seattle) after some of his outings. That first winning decision, though, will feel different. Even if his routine afterward remains the same, regardless of a win or a loss.

“Go home, watch a TV show, have a glass of wine,” Verlander said of his post-start routine. “Get ready for tomorrow. Come in early, start getting ready for my next start.”

Pitcher wins, for the majority of fans, and even players, hold very little value in the year 2025. And for good reason. For Verlander, however, that’s not the case.

All he can do moving forward is give his team a chance to win. Which he’s done time and time again this season. Eventually they will reward him.

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Has a city with an NBA and WNBA team won the draft lottery in the same year?

Has a city with an NBA and WNBA team won the draft lottery in the same year? originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

Dallas basketball has the potential to be set up for the foreseeable future.

The 2025 NBA Draft Lottery delivered a twist, predictable or not, that saw the three worst teams in the league — the Utah Jazz, Charlotte Hornets and Washington Wizards — not rewarded for their failures.

Instead, the San Antonio Spurs, Philadelphia 76ers and Dallas Mavericks surpassed them to form the top three. In the end, Dallas landed the first pick and the chance to take Duke star prospect Cooper Flagg, a versatile forward who can change any team for the better.

The Mavericks’ luck — conspiracy theories and all — timed well with its WNBA counterpart. The Dallas Wings had also won the draft lottery earlier in the year, putting them in pole position to take UConn star Paige Bueckers, which they did.

Following the NBA and WNBA lotteries, Dallas is set to be the second city to draft first overall in the same year. Of course, the Mavericks could still trade the pick, but that won’t be known until late June when the draft is held.

In 2003, the Cleveland Cavaliers and Cleveland Rockers became the first. The Cavs infamously took LeBron James, while the Rockers selected LaToya Thomas before folding operations the season after due to ownership issues.

The Mavericks endured a turbulent year full of injuries, but the main story involved Luka Doncic. Before the February trade deadline, Doncic was stunningly dealt to the Los Angeles Lakers for Anthony Davis, Max Christie and a 2029 first-round pick.

Dallas fans understandably had all sorts of feelings — sadness, anger, anguish and insert any other emotion here. Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison held multiple press conferences — publicly and privately — to attempt to justify his decision.

Mavericks fans rightfully didn’t want to hear it after losing a drafted star they fell in love with, off the heels of an NBA Finals run, among other memories.

But Harrison now has the opportunity to take Flagg and form an intriguing trio with Anthony Davis, Kyrie Irving and more if the rest of the roster is filled out properly and health isn’t as unfavorable.

Whether Harrison is ever vindicated for the trade is unknown. Perhaps it could be if he’s still in the front office and Flagg helps deliver a championship.

Bueckers has the same opportunity on the women’s side, as the Wings are seeking a fourth championship having been on a drought since 2008. Their other two wins include 2003 and 2006.

Not many cities have the luxury of a young men’s and women’s basketball star embarking on parallel journeys. But after the seasons both the Wings and Mavericks had, at least the future is bright.