On Tuesday, the AHL announced that former Philadelphia Flyers forward Jakob Pelletier was named the AHL Player of the Year, putting the exclamation point on the best pro season of his career thus far.
Pelletier, still just 25 years old, erupted for 28 goals, 49 assists, and 77 points in 62 games for the AHL Syracuse Crunch this season, establishing new career-highs across the board while leading the entire league in scoring, making him an easy choice for AHL Player of the Year.
In four Calder Cup playoff games, Pelletier added a goal and four assists, and he got to play in five NHL games for the Tampa Bay Lightning this season as well.
The 2019 first-round pick was let go by the Flyers last offseason after a short stint in Philadelphia that saw him score three goals, five assists, and eight points in 25 games in place of the traded Joel Farabee and Morgan Frost, playing in a limited role for then-Flyers coaches John Tortorella and Brad Shaw.
Free to sign with any NHL team after not receiving a qualifying offer from the Flyers, Pelletier inked a three-year pact with the Lightning, giving the perennial Stanley Cup contenders some depth and some young upside - two things they badly needed.
The 5-foot-9 winger could have had a role to play in Philadelphia with the Flyers again this season when Tyson Foerster missed time with two different injuries, but Denver Barkey and Alex Bump stepped up in their first professional seasons instead.
At the same time, though, given that Pelletier played almost exclusively in the AHL again this season, we can point to a weak Lehigh Valley Phantoms team that probably could have used some upgrades.
For instance, journeyman Lane Pederson finished as the Phantoms' leading scorer with 23 goals, 25 assists, and 48 points in 63 games, while Pelletier trumped that total with just his 49 assists.
Also consider that Anthony Richard, the team's second-highest scorer, just left for Switzerland, and Bump and Barkey, seventh and 14th, respectively, on the team in scoring, graduated to the NHL.
Alexis Gendron, who was traded to the Boston Bruins organization midseason, had a modest 10 goals, 12 assists, and 22 points himself.
That's all to say that the Flyers lost a lot of firepower over the course of the season, which culminated in an early end to the year for prospects like Oliver Bonk, David Jiricek, Hunter McDonald, Aleksei Kolosov, Carson Bjarnason, Jack Berglund, and Cole Knuble.
In the end, Pelletier bet on himself and signed elsewhere, and now he's a bonafide AHL star, at the very least.
If I put “LeBron James” in quotes, at least half of you can hear the meme I’m referencing. The King is The King for a reason, after all.
But with the NBA’s Conference Finals featuring a new generation of stars, and superstars, we’re getting an idea of how the Hobby is reacting to the passing of the torch. If the eBay search bar is any indication of who’s heating up, who’s hot, and who just helped someone retire, there are few players more valuable than the one and only Victor Wembanyama.
Fresh off of his 41-point, 24-rebound, 3-block masterpiece in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals, a winning performance that handed the Oklahoma City Thunder their first loss of the entire postseason (!), the hobby has responded accordingly to Wemby’s otherworldlyness: On May 18, “Victor Wembanyama” was searched for more than 5,300 times per hour on eBay.
While the Alien is leading the charge, he’s somehow not the most-searched player on eBay this postseason. Take a look at the data provided by eBay below:
The Playoff Search Leaderboard
From the start of the NBA Playoffs (April 18) through May 17, the top-five most-searched NBA players on eBay are:
Cooper Flagg: This year’s #1 draft pick…whose Dallas Mavericks haven’t played a single playoff game this season after finishing with just 26 wins. That’s what winning ROY will do for you.
Victor Wembanyama: He’s got next, and all 29 other teams should be terrified.
LeBron James: The Lakers’ run ended early, thanks in part to Luka Doncic’s injury, but The King’s gravitational pull on the hobby did not.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: The reigning, and now back-to-back, MVP, who just put up a real stinker in Game 1 against Wemby, and will be looking for redemption in Game 2.
Anthony Edwards: The Ant-Man might not’ve been able to get it done against the Spurs, but his playoff performances further bolstered Minny’s hope for the future.
On the team side, the San Antonio Spurs led the league in eBay searches from May 1-17, with the Detroit Pistons (shoutout Cade and them) and the New York Knicks (my goodness, Brunson) rounding out the top three.
The Moments That Moved the Market
Sometimes a stat line is louder than a series, and it appears that a few stellar playoff performances sent search bars into orbit:
April 25: Ayo Dosunmu’s 43 off the bench in the Wolves’ 112-96 Game 4 win over the Nuggets spiked searches for the new Minnesota guard more than 25x the prior week’s daily average, the biggest single-game spike of the postseason.
April 30: OG Anunoby’s 29 points that helped closed the door on the Raptors in Round 1’s Game 6 cranked his eBay traffic up 180% vs. the prior week.
May 17: Donovan Mitchell dragging the Cavaliers past the #1-seed Pistons and into the Eastern Conference Finals pushed Spida’s search rate 80% above his prior-week average.
May 17: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s second straight MVP more than doubled (+100%) his daily search rate vs. the week before, on the same night Wemby led his team to victory over the Thunder.
Read the Search Bar
The clear takeaway is that the hobby is chasing moments more than anything else. A 40-20 outburst in San Antonio, a closeout-game 29 in Toronto, a 43-bomb off the bench in Denver, every one of them moved the eBay needle. The names that help their teams win in the playoffs win the hobby, and with the NBA Finals just a few weeks away, we could see cards from Wemby, Brunson, Spida, and Shai reach insane new heights.
In the meantime, make sure to use Mantel’s SLAM score to monitor the liquidity of your collection throughout the Playoffs.
Who are you buying ahead of the NBA Championship? Let us know on Mantel.
The San Antonio Spurs stole Game 1 of the Western Conference finals against the Oklahoma City Thunder in clutch fashion, without perhaps their most clutch player.
De'Aaron Fox didn't suit up in Game 1, missing the contest with right ankle soreness. That didn't slow the Spurs down, as they leaned on superstar Victor Wembanyama, who put on a playoff performance for the ages with 41 points, 24 rebounds, and 3 blocks as he led San Antonio to a 122-115 double-overtime victory.
The Spurs will need Wembanyama to have a repeat performance and continued additional contributions from guys like Stephon Castle, Devin Vassell and Julian Champagnie. Because, for the second straight game, the Spurs will be without Fox.
According to the league's 7:45 p.m. ET injury report, Fox is out for Game 2 versus the Thunder with right ankle soreness. Tip-off is at 8:30 p.m. ET.
"Pretty (much) status quo moving forward, I believe. Regardless of if he plays the games or not, this will be just kind of the world we live in," the coach said of the All-Star guard being listed as questionable.
Fox has played 11 postseason games through the first two rounds for San Antonio. He's averaged 18.6 points, 3.8 rebounds and 6.2 assists on 48.6% field goal shooting.
OKLAHOMA CITY, OK - MAY 18: Victor Wembanyama #1 of the San Antonio Spurs goes up for the rebound during the game against the Oklahoma City Thunder during Game One of the NBA Western Conference Finals on May 18, 2026 at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2026 NBAE (Photo by Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images
Welcome to the Game Thread. Veterans of the Game Thread know how we do things around here, but for all you newbies we have a few rules. Our community guidelines apply and basically say be cool, no personal attacks, don’t troll and don’t swear too much. The rule against trolling also applies to members of this site that visit other fan sites, especially sites of the opposing team. Be polite and don’t insult your hosts.
I just don’t have words to describe what happened in Game 1. Well, I actually did, because I wrote the final score article for that game that was published shortly after it ended, but words just don’t do the experience of having watched the game justice. Seeing greatness develop in front of your eyes is something so rare and pure that it can bring a pure joy that’s ineffable and indescribable. I’ve had more important things happen to me in my life, but the intensity of watching an athlete transcend our expectations of what a human can do is a pure joy to watch, and the miracle of sports is that you can feel like you’re a part of it by just being a fan. It’s not often that a single person can lift an entire city, but we saw that happen on Monday night when Wembanyama hit the miracle shot that tied the game late in the first overtime, a shot that made the improbable victory possible.
It’s almost unfair that there’s another game so soon, a little less than 48 hours after the double overtime classic that put the Spurs up 1-0 over the Thunder. There are a lot of factors that might explain why OKC was in position to lose Game 1: They had a lot of rust after their first and second round sweeps over inferior competition, they were adjusting to a lineup change with JDub returning from injury, and mostly because nobody on the Thunder played particularly well besides Alex Caruso, who played the game of his life in the loss. Perhaps the real reason could be that the young Spurs were better prepared mentally and physically by a rugged first two rounds of the playoffs, the leadership of their young coach, and the confidence and swagger of the best player in the world, Victor Wembanyama, along with a supporting cast that were perfectly prepared to perform under pressure.
The Spurs have a chance to press the advantage tonight and open up an almost insurmountable 2-0 lead before going home for two games in the Frost Bank Center. The Spurs team has to be tired tonight, with Wembanyama logging almost 50 minutes and Harper and Castle not far behind, while the Thunder is more rested because they relied on a deeper roster. De’Aaron Fox is listed as questionable on the injury report with right ankle soreness, which is the same status he had before Monday’s game before he was ruled out. Hopefully he can return tonight at full strength to give the marathon players from Monday a little more rest. Carter Bryant did a great job defending Shai Gilgeous-Alexander on Monday, and he could get even more run tonight. Lindy Waters III has only played in garbage time in the playoffs, but he’s got a deadly shot, and he could do well against his former team tonight. I look forward to Mitch Johnson adding some more wrinkles to the plan as the Spurs aren’t satisfied with one win in OKC and try to keep the pressure on. LETS GO SPURS!
Game Prediction:
Tonight’s game goes to an incredible 6 overtimes, with Wembanyama logging over 60 minutes and scoring 65 points as the Spurs win 154-153 with after all of the Thunder starters foul out. Tomorrow, there will be an epidemic of Spurs flu, as many Texas establishments will have to curtail business when most of their staff calls in sick.
San Antonio Spurs at Oklahoma Thunder, Conference Championship Round, Game 2 May 20, 2026 | 7:30 PM CT Streaming: Peacock TV: NBC Reminder: It is against site policy to post links to illegal streams in the comments.
GLENDALE, ARIZONA - MARCH 16: Justin Wrobleski #70 of the Los Angeles Dodgers throws on the field prior to a Spring Training game against the Milwaukee Brewers at Camelback Ranch on March 16, 2026 in Glendale, Arizona. (Photo by Brandon Sloter/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Dodgers go from playing one recent postseason opponent to battling another recent playoff foe, heading from San Diego to play the Brewers beginning Friday night in Milwaukee, in a rematch of last year’s National League Championship Series.
In 2025 the Dodgers and Brewers faced off in two different times. They played two series over two weeks surrounding the All-Star break, and Milwaukee swept all six games, winning by a combined score of 31-16. Then came the NLCS when Dodgers pitching was on a heater, holding the Brewers to exactly one run in all four games. Los Angeles only scored 15 total runs in the series, but that was enough for a pennant-winning sweep.
Justin Wrobleski gets the ball in the series opener on Friday night, rookie right-hander Logan Henderson on the mound for Milwaukee making his 10th major league start.
NEW YORK (AP) — Dallas' Cooper Flagg, Charlotte's Kon Knueppel and Philadelphia's VJ Edgecombe were unanimous first-team selections for the NBA's All-Rookie team, which was unveiled Wednesday night.
Also making first-team All-Rookie: San Antonio's Dylan Harper and Memphis' Cedric Coward. Harper also appeared on all 100 ballots, with 93 first-team nods and seven second-team votes.
Those five players were also the only ones to get votes in the Rookie of the Year balloting, where Flagg edged Knueppel for top honors.
The All-Rookie second team included New Orleans' Jeremiah Fears and Derik Queen, Utah's Ace Bailey, Sacramento's Maxime Reynaud and Toronto's Collin Murray-Boyles.
The NBA will announce the All-Defensive team on Friday and the All-NBA team on Sunday, with Coach of the Year set to be announced Tuesday.
It's the offseason for most NBA teams, where everything means something — but a lot of the time, nothing at all. However, that's not going to stop conversation and cease speculation about player movement and team transactions.
It's a running joke that every player is rumored to be on the Lakers' radar, but after the Luka Doncic-Anthony Davis trade in February 2025, it's almost seems as if nothing is off the table and anything can happen.
So, when restricted free agent Peyton Watson appeared at the Lakers practice facility for Klutch Sports Pro Day workouts, speculation among fans began, hoping the 23-year-old might sign with the purple and gold.
Welcome to Ball Arena! Stay tuned for all of the action!
First Period
The Avalanche dictated the pace of play for the early going of the opening period. Although there weren't a ton of shots on goal, we saw several players get involved in the physical side of the game early.
At the 6:27 mark, Wedgewood came up with an outstanding save on a 2-on-1 rush before Tomas Hertl tried to fire in the rebound from his knees, but missed the net.
On the subsequent faceoff, Nathan MacKinnon won the draw, but Devon Toews mishandled the puck behind the net resulting in a turnover to Jack Eichel, who was turned away by Wedgewood on a pair of shots before the puck was cleared.
Colorado killed a penalty after Brent Burns was sent to the box for hooking Vegas forward Brandon Saad at 9:02.
With 4:45 to go in the period, Logan O'Connor received a pass just past the red line and penetrated the Golden Knights defensive zone before putting on the brakes and firing a wrister, but it dinged off the left post, and the game remained at a 0-0 deadlock.
At the end of one, the game remained scoreless, and both teams accrued 10 shots on goal.
SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA - MAY 19: Alex Call #12 of the Los Angeles Dodgers scores a run ahead of the tag by Freddy Fermin #54 of the San Diego Padres during the ninth inning at Petco Park on May 19, 2026 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Orlando Ramirez/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Los Angeles Dodgers (30-19) at San Diego Padres (29-19), May 20, 2026, 5:40 p.m. PST
Watch: Padres.TV
Location: Petco Park – San Diego, Calif.
Listen: 97.3 The Fan
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The addition of some thump in the offseason hasn’t helped the Orioles avoid a dud early this season.
And one of their television broadcasters put his feelings about the state of the last-place team on full display after Baltimore’s third straight loss to the rival Rays on Wednesday afternoon.
MASN analyst Ben McDonald used the postgame show after a 5-3 loss — one in which the Orioles allowed four runs in the bottom of the eighth inning — to discuss what he believes is wrong with the team.
In short, he couldn’t care less about any expected stats or analytics, but that at the end of the day, the team is 21-29 and in the basement of the American League East.
Shane Baz f the Baltimore Orioles walks back to the dugout in the middle of the third inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field on May 20, 2026 in St Petersburg, Florida. Getty Images
“We can talk about analytics and what could happen and what should happen if you hit the ball hard. But I don’t care if you hit the ball hard. Like, I don’t care if you hit it hard and you hit it to somebody. You’re out. I don’t care how hard you throw ball four. I don’t care what your spin rate was on your breaking ball if you bounce it three feet in front of home plate. I don’t care,” McDonald said, via the Baltimore Banner.
“What I care about is, do you make plays? Do you make pitches? Do you get hits when it matters? And that’s what the Orioles are struggling to do right now. They are struggling to complete ball games. They are struggling to have all phases of the game go right at the same time. That’s where the struggle is. So, all this nonsense is eyewash to me about all this analytical stuff. You either do or you don’t. And right now, the Orioles don’t. They are not doing it and they’re not playing well right now. That’s the bottom line.”
Alonso, who went deep Wednesday, now has nine homers through May 20, but his .744 OPS is well below his career norms and over 100 points lower than his total (.871) from last year in New York. Baz had one of his best starts of the year on Wednesday (six innings, one run), but has a 4.87 ERA and 1.45 WHIP this year.
As a team, the Orioles offense ranks 18th in OPS (.700) while the pitching staff is 26th in ERA (4.97).
Baltimore Orioles first baseman Pete Alonso (25) returns to the dugout after driving in a run and being caught in a rundown during the third inning against the New York Yankees at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Mitch Stringer-Imagn Images
In the three-game sweep at the hands of the Rays, the Orioles were outscored 25-10. Manager Craig Albernaz didn’t mince words about the latest loss.
“It’s a big-time gut punch, for sure,” Albernaz told reporters after Baltimore lost for the fifth time in six games.
The latest defeat was particularly crushing after the Orioles brought a 3-1 lead into the eighth before reliever Anthony Nunez imploded, allowing four earned runs to score. Closer Ryan Helsley is out with an elbow injury.
McDonald said he doesn’t even know what the Orioles’ next move is.
“They are having trouble finishing ball games. Where do they go from here?” the analyst said. “I can’t tell you where they go from here. I don’t know where the Orioles go from here other than that they have to start playing more consistent baseball. That’s the bottom line.”
Roughly 60 days into the MLB season, the Dodgers still look like the team baseball expected them to be. They remain near the top of the National League standings, project as a World Series favorite, and continue operating with one of the deepest rosters in baseball.
But beneath the standings, another market has been moving just as aggressively.
Inside the sports card world, the Dodgers are no longer functioning as one team. They are multiple collectible economies operating simultaneously. Some players are accelerating rapidly. Some are flattening despite elite production. Some are being repriced downward because uncertainty became visible. Others have evolved into historical assets that now trade more on legacy and scarcity than week-to-week statistics.
That distinction matters because baseball and sports card markets reward different things. Baseball rewards wins. The card market rewards belief, visibility, and future demand.
Shohei Ohtani’s market has moved beyond the traditional superstar cycle.
His offensive production remains elite, but the larger shift has come from the possibility of meaningful pitching innings returning later this season. Once Cy Young conversations re-entered the picture, collectors stopped evaluating Ohtani as simply the best hitter in baseball and started evaluating the possibility of another historically unprecedented two-way season.
That distinction changes the market entirely.
An MVP-caliber hitter is valuable. An MVP-caliber hitter who can simultaneously compete for Cy Young consideration becomes historically scarce. Ohtani’s OPS, power production, and hard-hit profile continue reinforcing elite offensive consistency, but the card market is reacting less to the baseline numbers themselves and more to the expanding ceiling around them.
That change is visible directly in pricing behavior. Ohtani’s market has risen more than 53% over the last 90 days, with demand concentrating into BBM rookies, Japanese-exclusive releases, low-population PSA 10s, and high-end autos. His buyer pool has also expanded globally, pulling in traditional collectors, Japanese buyers, and alternative asset participants simultaneously.
The market is no longer pricing short-term production alone. It is pricing historical significance.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Roki Sasaki Are Moving in Opposite Directions
Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s market has spent the first two months of the season moving from projection toward validation.
Entering the year, collectors were still pricing upside tied to his transition from Japan to MLB. But despite stretches of early ERA volatility, Yamamoto’s strikeout-to-walk profile, command metrics, and pitch efficiency remained strong beneath the surface. Just as importantly, the Dodgers continued treating him like a frontline postseason arm, signaling organizational trust before the broader market fully caught up.
That combination matters because the card market tends to follow visible role stability almost as much as raw production. Once collectors believe a player’s role is secure, confidence begins consolidating into fewer, more liquid assets.
His market has responded accordingly, climbing roughly 27% as demand concentrates into PSA 10 rookies, Topps Chrome parallels, and autograph formats.
Roki Sasaki’s market has moved in the opposite direction.
Sasaki entered the season carrying one of the most aggressively priced projection markets in baseball. Velocity, strikeout upside, and international hype created enormous demand before sustained MLB production had fully materialized. But uneven command, fluctuating velocity consistency, and workload caution introduced visible instability into what had previously been a pure upside narrative.
His market has fallen roughly 18% during the same stretch the broader baseball card market rose more than 12%.
That divergence reveals one of the central realities of modern sports card pricing: the market loves projection while uncertainty remains abstract. Once instability becomes measurable instead of theoretical, repricing happens quickly.
Andy Pages and Hyeseong Kim Show How Visibility Creates Demand
The Dodgers have also produced one of the clearest examples of how opportunity converts into card market demand.
Andy Pages has become one of the fastest-rising baseball card markets in the sport, with prices climbing more than 70% over the last 90 days. Increased lineup trust, improving offensive production, and everyday at-bats pushed him into national visibility, but the market move started before the highlights became constant.
The signals appeared earlier through playing time, lineup confidence, and improving production quality. The narrative formed afterward.
That sequencing sits at the center of how modern sports card markets operate. Visibility accelerates once performance becomes easy for the broader market to recognize and simplify.
Hyeseong Kim represents a similar dynamic. Mookie Betts landing on the injured list created immediate opportunity on baseball’s most visible roster, accelerating Kim’s relevance almost overnight. Increased playing time, defensive versatility, and growing visibility helped push his market higher as Korean collector demand expanded alongside mainstream hobby attention.
Performance created the opening. Exposure amplified the demand.
Mookie Betts Illustrates the Problem With Established Greatness
Mookie Betts presents the opposite dynamic.
Despite recently returning from the injured list, his market has remained relatively flat compared to other Dodgers stars. That is not because the market doubts him. It is because the market already fully understands him.
His greatness is efficiently priced.
Championship pedigree, Hall of Fame trajectory, elite production, and long-term consistency are already embedded into his market structure. There is very little discovery left. Modern sports card markets reward acceleration more aggressively than stability because emerging narratives create urgency while established greatness creates consistency.
For Betts’ market to materially accelerate again, it likely requires another MVP-level stretch, postseason dominance, or historically significant milestones. Sustained excellence alone rarely creates explosive repricing once a player becomes fully understood.
Blake Snell and Edwin Díaz Reflect the Volatility of Pitcher Markets
Pitchers continue to operate at a structural disadvantage inside the sports card market.
Blake Snell’s injuries and interrupted workload softened demand because pitcher markets rely heavily on continuity and visibility to maintain momentum. Edwin Díaz reflects a different version of the same issue. Despite elite stretches as a closer and a massive contract, his hobby market has remained relatively thin outside a handful of recognizable releases like Topps Heritage. Recent controversy tied to cockfighting allegations in Puerto Rico only complicated the narrative further.
Even elite pitchers often struggle to sustain hitter-level demand because they generate fewer culturally dominant moments, carry greater injury volatility, and rely more heavily on sustained performance to maintain visibility.
What the Dodgers Reveal About the Modern Sports Card Market
The Dodgers are not simply one of baseball’s best rosters. They are one of the clearest real-time demonstrations of how modern sports card markets actually function.
Inside one team, the market is simultaneously pricing historical legacy, breakout acceleration, international demand, uncertainty, narrative momentum, and long-term preservation.
Shohei Ohtani trades like a global historical asset. Yoshinobu Yamamoto is moving from projection toward validation. Roki Sasaki shows how quickly uncertainty can reprice upside. Andy Pages and Hyeseong Kim demonstrate how visibility accelerates demand. Mookie Betts reflects the ceiling of established greatness, where consistency matters less than new narrative momentum.
The standings measure wins. The card market measures future attention.
That difference explains why some players rise faster than their statistics suggest, while others remain flat despite elite production. The market is not reacting to performance alone. It is reacting to how performance gets interpreted, amplified, and believed.
For the Dodgers, the opportunity is obvious. Another postseason run, continued growth from Pages and Kim, and full validation from Yamamoto could push multiple segments of the Dodgers card market substantially higher by October.
But the risks are equally visible. Pitching volatility, injuries, workload concerns, and the pressure of sustaining expectations over a full season can quickly reshape both narrative and demand.
Sixty days into the season, the Dodgers are still winning games.
The card market is now trying to determine which players, and which assets tied to them, will still look undervalued by the time October arrives.
What team should we look at next. Let us know on Mantel.
ST LOUIS, MISSOURI - MAY 2: Michael McGreevy #36 of the St. Louis Cardinals delivers against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Busch Stadium on May 2, 2026 in St Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Jeff Le/Getty Images) | Getty Images
It’s game 2 of the St. Louis Cardinals barrage of games against NL Central rivals Wednesday as Michael McGreevy will try to dominate the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Bucs will counter with Carmen Mlodzinski on the mound for Pittsburgh. First pitch scheduled for 6:45pm at Busch Stadium and game viewable on Cardinals.tv.
Dallas Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving during a 2024 game.
NBA teams appear to smell blood in the water and are circling the Mavericks.
ESPN NBA insider Shams Charania reported during an appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show” on Wednesday that “multiple contenders” are “monitoring” Kyrie Irving’s status with the Mavs after Jason Kidd was ousted as head coach Tuesday.
Charania suggested the Mavericks seemed to be moving on from those brought in under former majority owner Mark Cuban.
General manager Nico Harrison was fired in November, Luka Dončić was traded to the Lakers in a highly controversial deal last season and Kidd was let go this week, leaving Irving as the last major piece from the Cuban era.
"The only Mark Cuban guy left on the Mavericks is Kyrie Irving..
Dallas Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving during a 2024 game. Corey Sipkin for the NY POST
“We’ve seen Patrick Dumont, the owner, essentially flush away anyone that was even around the Mark Cuban regime,” Charania said. “Nico Harrison, Jason Kidd they were all brought in by Mark Cuban. Luka Dončić, a Mark Cuban guy. The only Mark Cuban guy left on that team right now is Kyrie Irving. Kyrie Irving is a generational player, a generational talent. Masai Ujiri did his press conference today and he said we want to see Kyrie Irving and Cooper Flagg on the court together.
“But there’s no question, there’s multiple contenders around the NBA that are very much monitoring what Kyrie Irving’s future is right now with the Mavericks. Whether it’s the summer, whether it’s into the season, that’s all going to play out over the course of the year.”
Irving, 34, did not play a single minute for Dallas in 2025-26 due to a torn left ACL he suffered late in the previous season. Hope that the NBA star would be able to play in the second half of the 2025-26 campaign disappeared when the Mavs and Irving’s agent announced in February that he was done for the year.
Ex-Mavericks coach Jason Kidd talking with Kyrie Irving during a 2024 game. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post
Irving can be a game-changer when he’s on the court and healthy, and his future in Dallas is certainly going to be one that rival teams monitor.
Irving has plenty of accomplishments next to his name, which include Rookie of the Year, nine All-Star nods and an NBA championship.
Kawhi Leonard is entering the final year of a three-year, $149.51 million contract extension with the Los Angeles Clippers, potentially making him an unrestricted free agent next summer. For the 2026-27 season, Leonard is owed $50.3 million.
Leonard, 34, is coming off a season where he appeared in 65 games and averaged 27.9 points on 50.5% field goal shooting, 38.7% 3-point shooting and 89.2% on free throws. The Clippers finished the season 42-40, good enough for a No. 9 seed, but were eliminated in the NBA Play-In Tournament by the Golden State Warriors.
Looming around the Clippers-Leonard era is the NBA's ongoing investigation into allegations that LA and owner Steve Ballmer allegedly facilitated a $28 million "no-show" endorsement deal for Leonard with Aspiration, a now-bankrupt sustainability company, in an effort to circumvent the NBA salary cap.
The team denied those allegations in a September 2025 statement and maintained their stance in a second statement, accusing Aspiration of engaging in "fraudulent activity."
“There is nothing unusual or untoward about team sponsors doing endorsement deals with players on the same team,” the second statement reads. “Neither Steve nor the Clippers organization had any oversight of Kawhi’s independent endorsement agreement with Aspiration. To say otherwise is flat-out wrong.”
The Clippers now find themselves in an interesting position to make a decision on whether they are still in "win-now" mode or if its time to consider rebuilding their roster.
LA made a blockbuster splash trade just before the trade deadline this season, shipping James Harden to the Cleveland Cavaliers for Darius Garland, who just turned 26. They also sent Ivica Zubac and Kobe Brown to the Indiana Pacers in exchange for Bennedict Mathurin, Isaiah Jackson, two first-round picks (2026 and 2029), and a second-round pick. The 2026 pick turned out to be the No. 5 overall pick.
The Clippers can decide to package that No. 5 pick in a trade to bring in either another superstar or key pieces to surround Leonard. But they can also go another route and bring in one of the draft's top prospects, which could signal they could move off of Leonard and could put him on the trade market.
If Leonard is dealt from the Clippers, it would mean the end of an era that began in 2019. Leonard signed with the Clippers after leading the Toronto Raptors to a NBA championship where he was named Finals MVP.
In seven seasons in LA, he helped lead the team to the playoffs five times, including the franchise's first conference finals appearance in 2021. But since then, the Clippers have been eliminated in the first round or missed the playoffs altogether.
When on the floor, Leonard is as dynamic as anyone in the league. He shows up on both sides of the ball. There would be many suitors across the league that would give the Clippers a call.
There's a distinct list of teams that Leonard would fit in with if he was traded from the Clippers. No matter where Leonard could go, he would have to agree to an extension with that team for the trade to work. Here are the teams that should get in the sweepstakes for Leonard, if there is one.
Los Angeles Lakers
Rumor has it that Leonard was leaning towards becoming a Laker in 2019, but opted for the other LA team instead. Leonard, a Los Angeles-native, was adamant years ago about wanting to play basketball close to home. After the semi-failed experiment with the Clippers, a cross over to the purple and gold with Luka Doncic could be a breath of fresh air for Leonard. If that happened, championship expectations would continue to drive conversations, though there would be some decisions to be made about Austin Reaves, LeBron James and Rui Hachimura.
Golden State Warriors
It's not sunny, Southern California, but it is still the West Coast. Pairing Leonard with Stephen Curry would give the Warriors a defensive presence who is on the level of Draymond Green, while simultaneously providing them another scorer and go-to option in late-game situations. The Warriors are trying to hang on to their No. 11 pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, but that would have to be the first asset the Clips target if Golden State was serious about a potential trade. With Leonard expecting $50 million, the wonder is whether the Warriors have the cache to make it happen. One player who made the case? Green on his podcast.
Toronto Raptors
It's a reunion. This would be cool not just for a homecoming sense, but because the Raptors are currently constructed to be a Leonard-type player away from being a team contending for the Eastern Conference championship. This season, Toronto dropped a hard-fought, seven-game first-round series to the Cavaliers. There isn't any speculation of a Leonard return to T-Dot, but it could be the perfect closing chapter to a future Hall of Fame career.
Detroit Pistons
With the Pistons recent playoff elimination, their flaws were on national display — specifically missing another guy who can get his own shot and make plays for others. The Detroit offense looked lethargic when the Cavaliers keyed in on Cade Cunningham. Adding someone of Leonard's caliber will fill that void tremendously. Not only that, he fits within the mold of Detroit's style of play. He's physical, thrives defensively and is no pushover. Detroit might be a little too far from home for Leonard, but the fit basketball-wise is nearly perfect.
Miami Heat
There are questions that the Heat need to answer, one of which is whether they will get back to their identity and represent Heat culture. Bringing in Leonard answers those questions. It would give them a consistent inside-outside game to pair Leonard with Bam Adebayo. Not to mention, he would team up with former Clippers teammate Norman Powell again. The Heat are made up of guys who aren't afraid to get scrappy and Leonard is the same, despite his quiet demeanor.
Sacramento Kings
A long shot? Yes. However, as long as the Kings hang on to the No. 7 pick in the draft, they have a little leverage in the trade, especially if a rebuild is the direction the Clippers are headed. Sacramento has been known as basketball purgatory, but there are incentives for Leonard: the board man could get paid, he can be a short flight from home and he would not have to deal with the pressure of championship expectations. The Kings are in the midst of their own rebuild so Leonard may not fit the timeline, but owner Vivek Ranadivé has a fascination with big-name players, so don't count Sac out.
Flyers Trade Target: Devon LeviThe Philadelphia Flyers can buy low on a goalie prospect with potential and trade for Devon Levi, who is on his way off the Buffalo Sabres.
