Instead, continued poor performances have left his postseason roster chances in doubt.
A day after the team’s $69 million closer suffered his latest setback during a triple-A rehab assignment –– allowing five runs in ⅔ of an inning while giving up two hits, three walks and hitting one batter –– manager Dave Roberts made no guarantees about the three-time All-Star’s place on the club’s potential postseason roster, marking the latest disappointing twist in his disastrous debut season with the team.
“He needs to pitch better,” Roberts said, while announcing that Díaz will make at least one more minor-league appearance on Wednesday in his ongoing rehab stint. “It hasn’t been good.”
Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Edwin Diaz warms up prior to the game against the Washington Nationals at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, California, on Friday, September 4, 2026. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters ConnectLos Angeles Dodgers President of Baseball Operations Andrew Friedman talks with Edwin Diaz prior to the game against the Washington Nationals on Friday, September 4, 2026, at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, California. Getty Images
That became even more true a few hours later, when the Dodgers suffered their latest health-related surprise by putting hard-throwing reliever Edgardo Henriquez on the injured list with low back discomfort.
That move will rule Henriquez out for the rest of the regular season, since the minimum 15-day stint will extend past the team’s finale. And while the severity of his issue wasn’t immediately clear –– nor was his potential postseason availability –– it only adds to the headache the Dodgers are facing in the bullpen, where Henriquez had helped compensate for Díaz’s absence by posting a 2.85 ERA in 61 appearances.
Edgardo Henriquez of the Los Angeles Dodgers reacts after striking out CJ Abrams of the Washington Nationals in the ninth inning for a save at Dodger Stadium on Sunday, September 6, 2026, in Los Angeles, California. Getty Images
For now, the Dodgers find themselves suddenly short on trustworthy right-handed relief depth. Blake Treinen, Evan Phillips and Brock Stewart represent their most experienced options, but each have battled injuries and inconsistency throughout the season.
In the meantime, getting something out of Díaz only figures to become more paramount.
“I think the world of him. And the [back of the] baseball card looks great,” Roberts said. “But it’s like, where we’re at, there’s got to be something for us to be able to hang our hat on. And he knows that.”
Díaz has made only 16 appearances with the Dodgers this year because of loose bodies in his elbow (which required a surgical procedure in April that sidelined him for three months) and a neck inflammation problem (which landed him back on the IL last month).
And even when he has pitched, his performances have been shockingly ineffective, with the 32-year-old suffering an 11.85 ERA and only seven successful saves in 11 attempts.
Los Angeles Dodgers relief pitcher Edwin Diaz throws under the watchful eye of manager Dave Roberts Friday, February 13, 2026, at Camelback Ranch Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. Diaz is a former relief pitcher for the New York Mets. JASON SZENES FOR CA POST
Instead, he has battled more command problems, walking seven batters in his four appearances. He hasn’t limited damage, letting Sunday’s outing spiral out of control by plunking one batter with the bases loaded before walking another.
And on Monday, Roberts gave an ominous answer when asked about his chances of making the postseason roster, despite the mounting issues the team is facing elsewhere in the bullpen.
“Yeah,” he said when asked if the marquee offseason signing could be left off the team. “I mean, we have to go with our best pitchers, as far as performance, talent, all that stuff. So my bet is that he will be [on it]. But again, there’s got to be some kind of evidence or something for us, again, to sort of bet on.”
ANAHEIM, CALIFORNIA - AUGUST 5, 2023. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images) | Getty Images
As awful as yesterday’s game was—the torture only exacerbated by it being a brutally long game—there’s reason for optimism today. The Mariners are 5-3 in games after getting walked off. Maybe that doesn’t strike you as a sterling record, but it compares quite favorably to how other teams have fared after being walked off by the Mariners: 3-8 (as in, the Mariners have won 8). In addition, those five Mariner wins after getting walked off have included some of the best games of the year, including Hancock’s 7 innings and 8 Ks in Houston, Laz’s debut, and Saturday’s historic 19-1 win.
The Mariners attempt to bounce back today will require overcoming Reid Detmers, who, despite being an Angel, is having a phenomenal year. He’s in the top 20 in WAR, whether you’re going by FanGraphs, Baseball Reference, or Baseball Prospectus. He’s basically keeping all the gains he made from last year’s temporary conversion to a releiver. His wipeout pitch is his slider, which breaks so much that it’s practically an 86-mph curveball, except that he’s got a legit curve too that drops an impossible 68 inches. He’s one of the many recent positive developments for Anahiem that are, like, not ideal.
Michael Arroyo gets rewarded for his multi-hit day Saturday and three walks yesterday with another start this evening.
Kade Day and Cole In The Graphic Day on the same day. It’s like it’s my birthday.
Still with the Mike Trout.
Game Info
First pitch: 6:38 PDT TV: Mariners TV Radio: Old Reliable
Fun Fact
The Roberto Clemente Award nominees were announced today. Anaheim’s is shortstop Zach Neto. Combined with the A’s Zack Gelof, this is the first time I could find with multiple nominees names Zach/Zack. Seeing how mad people get about my self-indulgent inclusion of this as a fun fact is really just my way of deterimining how many people actually read the previews.
Of all the parts of the 2026 season that went sideways for the Mets, perhaps the most predictable was Luis Robert Jr. having another injury-filled season after being acquired from the White Sox in the offseason.
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And while Pete Alonso was treated as a conquering hero in his return to Citi Field on Monday with the Orioles, the injured Robert, not surprisingly, fell far under the radar.
Robert’s brief Mets tenure included a carefully planned schedule designed to help him avoid the leg injuries that affected him the previous two seasons in Chicago, followed by a rocky first month of the regular season.
A nearly three-month absence due to lumbar spine disc herniation followed.
When he finally began to produce, putting up an OPS of 1.061 in an 18-game stretch in August, A.J. Ewing had already established himself as the everyday center fielder.
Robert — on the IL again with Baltimore after being claimed off waivers in a move that saved the Mets $5 million — said there was regret with how his brief tenure in Queens worked out.
“It was difficult,” Robert said through an interpreter about his time with the Mets, during which he appeared in just 58 games. “We had the talent to be a playoff team and get where we wanted to, but injuries and other stuff happened and it didn’t turn out that way.”
Instead, the Mets sold at the Aug. 3 trade deadline — although they couldn’t find a taker for the high-priced and injury-prone Robert.
Baltimore Orioles’ Luis Robert Jr. reacts after striking out against Colorado Rockies relief pitcher Jimmy Herget to end the top of the seventh inning of a baseball game on Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2026, in Denver. AP Photo/David ZalubowskiNew York Mets center fielder Luis Robert Jr. celebrates in the dugout after hitting a two-run home run against the Chicago White Sox during the third inning at Rate Field in Chicago, Illinois, on Saturday, August 22, 2026. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
His prolonged absence, coupled with a lack of production, helped lead to Ewing’s emergence in center, which the Mets hope will serve as a silver lining as they look to the future.
“I wanted to be able to return from my injury sooner and then when I didn’t get traded [at the deadline],” Robert said, “I wanted to contribute as much as possible and stay healthy.’’
The Mets, though, had enough of the experiment and placed him on waivers Aug. 31. He was picked up by the Orioles.
“What happened, happened,’’ Robert said of the move. “You can’t control that.”
After just three games with Baltimore, Robert landed back on the IL with left hamstring discomfort.
“It’s not what I wanted to happen, but I think I’ll be back,” Robert said.
LAS VEGAS, NV - JULY 15: Tarris Reed Jr. #10 of the San Antonio Spurs blocks the shot of Matt Cleveland #99 of the Utah Jazz during the game on July 15, 2026 at the Cox Pavilion in Las Vegas, Nevada. 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 Mike Kirschbaum/NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images
Once again, the San Antonio Spurs come into a new NBA season with a lot of new blood. They have a whopping four (4) new rookies, including two first-round picks and two second-round picks on two-way contracts.
The two rookies getting the most hype are Tarris Reed Jr. and Jayden Quaintance, who were both selected at the end of the first round. Quaintance is coming off knee surgery that will likely keep him out of the lineup to start the season. His status will be something to monitor as the season progresses. If he can play at the end of the season, he could be a lightning rod off the bench, providing athleticism, defense and size on the interior.
Reed Jr. gives them the third big man that San Antonio desperately needed last season. If Victor Wembanyama or Luke Kornet need to miss time, or if the Spurs simply need another look, Reed Jr. could fill in. With his combination of size and physicality, he could earn his way into the rotation by providing some energy off the bench.
Brown and Gillespie are likely to provide insurance at the end of the roster, but don’t forget that San Antonio has gotten important performances from two-way players in the past, like David Jones-Garcia or Dominick Barlow.
Which rookie will give San Antonio the most this season? Vote in the poll below, and we will come back later in the week with the results.
The Mets got their biggest crowd at Citi Field on Monday since July 25 against the Dodgers for all the wrong reasons, as just about everyone in the stands was there for the same reason: to cheer Pete Alonso.
Before the game and each of his plate appearances in Baltimore’s 2-1 win, Alonso received a raucous ovation.
“It was awesome,’’ Alonso said. “It was much appreciated.’’
And while this day was almost certainly never going to be an easy one for the Mets, with Alonso’s name etched in the team’s history before he was allowed to depart as a free agent for Baltimore in the offseason, it was made more difficult by what’s happened since he left.
The first baseman’s long-awaited return was marked not only by the numerous “Pete Alonso” chants and a sea of his old No. 20 Mets jerseys, but also a loud “Fire Stearns” chorus, as the masses made their displeasure regarding president of baseball operations David Stearns known as loudly as they have all year.
Asked about the fanbase’s anger regarding the team letting him leave, Alonso said, “I take it as they appreciate what I brought to the field and the pride of giving everything I have every single night. The years of effort and performance.”
What’s made Alonso’s absence even more glaring than perhaps the Mets had anticipated is the fact that as the ever-durable slugger made yet another start at first base — he’s been in the lineup for every game this season, as is usually the case — the Mets have gone through seven players to try to replace him thanks in part to Jorge Polanco’s injury-filled season.
As much as the 35 homers and 100 RBIs have defined Alonso’s year, so have his 151 games played. And his .863 OPS dwarfed the .685 mark Mets first basemen have put up this season, tied for the third worst in the majors.
Orioles first baseman Pete Alonso acknowledges the fans cheers while at bat for the first time since leaving the New York Mets. JASON SZENES FOR NEW YORK POST
No one on the Mets can say they haven’t missed a game. That reliability and production are just parts of Alonso’s game the team has missed in this lost season.
Lindor called Alonso “one of the most beloved players to come through here.”
But even the shortstop didn’t foresee the dropoff being so great without Alonso.
Baltimore Orioles first baseman Pete Alonso (25) and New York Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor (12) chat during the first inning of a game at Citi Field in Queens, NY, on Monday, Sept. 14, 2026. Robert Sabo for NY Post
“We thought the guys we acquired were gonna help us win games,’’ Lindor said. “We just haven’t performed our best.”
And Alonso, for the most part, has.
Despite going 0-for-3 with a walk on Monday, he still has some of the best numbers in the majors. And he made a bid for his 300th career homer with a long foul ball down the left field line in the third.
Pete Alonso honored with video tribute and standing ovation ahead of return to Citi Field. pic.twitter.com/EGUdIx0ZIG
“My job is to play, and I want to do whatever I can for my team to help win the game,’’ Alonso said. “For me, I love playing. I relish every opportunity I get to go out and put the uniform on. It’s a special opportunity to play baseball for a job. I take pride in it.”
“I didn’t want to mess up a good thing,’’ Alonso said of why he was willing to act quickly when the Orioles came knocking with a five-year, $155 million contract offer.
Orioles first baseman Pete Alonso greets New York Mets owner Steve Cohen during batting practice at Citi Field. JASON SZENES FOR NEW YORK POST
As for the Mets and their willingness to let him go, Alonso said, “I respect their decision. The guys running the team, it’s their prerogative to do whatever they think is best. I respect it professionally. At the same time, I’m so stoked to be an Oriole. I feel very, very fortunate to be here. I feel very fortunate to play all those years I had with the Mets. Two things can be true.”
He recalled his favorite memory as a Met as the homer in the 2024 wild-card series in Milwaukee, but acknowledged the rough times in Queens, as well.
Baltimore Orioles first baseman Pete Alonso (center) high-fives teammate Gunnar Henderson at the end of the game against the New York Mets on Monday, September 14, 2026, at Citi Field in Queens, New York. Henderson hit the game-winning home run. JASON SZENES FOR NEW YORK POST
As for this year’s disappointing Mets team, Alonso said, “I know there’s so much talent over there. I’ve been part of teams with a lot of talent that didn’t get it done. … You can have all the talent and then injuries [happen] or things are not clicking. It’s baseball. You hate to say that, but it happens. You can’t necessarily predict things and have things work out in a perfect manner.”
That’s putting it mildly.
And while Alonso’s bat helped get the Orioles back into the wild-card race last month, they are three games out of the final spot with four teams to pass.
But for a night, he had reason to look back fondly on his days with the Mets.
“New York is always gonna feel like some kind of homecoming,’’ Alonso said. “New York will always be a special place for my family.”
England white-ball coach Brendon McCullum says he hopes to Kevin Pietersen will “challenge” him, as the former English great begins his role as a batting consultant.
Kawhi Leonard walks off the court at the Intuit Dome for the last time as a Clipper following the team's season-ending loss to the Golden State Warriors on April 15. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
Along with Kawhi Leonard, the Clippers should send the Toronto Raptors a fruit basket and a thank you card.
Because what was already a steal when the teams first agreed to the trade in June now looks like an absolute lifesaver. Paddles for the life raft so the Clippers can change directions and make better decisions — hopefully with better decision-makers.
First, the Clippers had to move on from Leonard, who reportedly will go back to Toronto for a package that includes Brandon Ingram and Gradey Dick, unprotected first-round picks in 2031 and 2033, a 2027 first-round pick swap and two second-round selections.
It’s a defibrillator of a deal. One that could keep the Clippers afloat after the NBA hammered them for all the salary-cap-circumventing they apparently did for Leonard, an oft-injured, 35-year-old who flopped even before the NBA blew the whistle on millions of dollars in off-the-books, no-show endorsements.
With the trade finally completed after the Raptors paused it on July 9 as they awaited the results of the NBA’s investigation, and Clippers owner Steve Ballmer announcing Sunday he will accept the league’s historically steep punishment without further protest, Clippers fans can finally exhale.
Forget the fines and suspensions, most hurtful to fans is the league stripping the Clippers of five first-round draft picks, from 2029 through 2033.
A death sentence? Darn near would be, if not for the Raptors, those suckers — er, that one team whose fans still associate positive feelings with Kawhi.
Remember, Leonard won an NBA title with Toronto in 2019. That was the season before he seemingly started milking the Clippers, who also traded five first-round picks and future league MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to the Oklahoma City Thunder for Paul George — to meet the demands of a guy who wouldn’t lead the Clippers to even one NBA Finals appearance.
At present, the Clippers will have Ingram, Darius Garland, Rui Hachimura and No. 5 pick Keaton Wagler on a Tyronn Lue-coached team. They’ll be a competitive regular-season team, as usual.
And the Clippers could have cap room going into the 2027 or 2028 offseasons — not that big stars avail themselves in free agency anymore. These days, the goal is to get traded, retain Bird rights and maximize earnings. If not for Toronto’s first-round picks, the Clippers would have little draft capital to use in trades for impact players.
Now they have some, even if it’s only enough to pursue trades for the disgruntled, the redundant, the overpaid.
The Clippers could offer to take those sorts of players off teams’ hands — if they include future draft assets as sweeteners. Even if it takes the Clippers holding their nose and restocking, there are ways forward, and having the Raptors’ two first-rounders in their pocket will help.
It’s all so Clippers, to have lined up this move that will keep them afloat, just treading water.
Fifteen consecutive seasons of .500 or better ball, y’all! Someone, raise a banner.
The Clippers still don’t have an actual championship banner to decorate the Intuit Dome — and pursuing a title will be harder now, of course.
Lawrence Frank, the Clippers' president of business operations, speaks during a news conference in July 2019. (Ringo H.W. Chiu / Associated Press)
But it will be impossible if the Clippers don’t reset in a meaningful way, if they don’t replace Lawrence Frank, their president of basketball operations, who was among the Clippers’ executives punished by the NBA, with someone with better taste in stars.
Frank is a master of the margins, but the Clippers need a lead executive who can spot it — greatness, not just on the court, but in the locker room, in the community. Someone who will steer Ballmer toward not only elite basketball talent, but players who offer the whole package: leadership, competitiveness, desire, rootability.
The New York Knicks recognized all that in Jalen Brunson. They didn’t care that Becky Hammon and many more of us were skeptical about the prospects of a team that decided to build around a 6-foot-2 guard. And now, look. Brunson just led the Knicks to a championship.
The Clippers were so desperate for a star to pick them, they didn’t pick up on the fact that they already had a budding superstar in their midst. Gilgeous-Alexander played his rookie season with the Clippers and checked all the boxes Leonard wouldn’t. After they traded him to OKC, he worked and blossomed, becoming one of the NBA’s coolest competitors, a two-time league MVP, the undisputed leader of a championship team.
Well, ideally, the professionals being paid to make personnel decisions.
Leonard hadn’t been the leader of either of his San Antonio Spurs or Raptors championship teams. He’d had an angsty breakup with the Spurs. He had a flashing-red injury history. He certainly did not have the personality to siphon any fans from a LeBron James-led Lakers team. And he came apparently asking for way too much!
The Clippers went all-in anyway, and they’ve had nothing but grief to show for it.
Grief and, now, Toronto’s two first-round picks. The question is who will use them, and how?
NEW YORK, NY - SEPTEMBER 09: Tomoyuki Sugano #11 of the Colorado Rockies pitches during the game between the Colorado Rockies and the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium on Wednesday, September 9, 2026 in New York, New York. (Photo by Michael Urakami/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
With a seven-game losing streak and having gone 5-20 in their last 25 games, the Rockies are struggling to close out the 2026 season on any kind of positive note. At 55-94, Colorado is also running out of time to avoid 100 losses as it would need to win eight of its remaining 13 games to do so.
After being swept by the New York Yankees and Detroit Tigers on the road, the good news is that the Rockies start a 10-game homestand, their final one of the year, tonight. The bad news is that the first series is against the San Diego Padres, who have beaten the Rockies in eight out of nine matchups this season.
The Rockies lone win against San Diego came at Coors Field on April 22 when Colorado won 8-3. Tomoyuki Sugano (菅野 智之) earned the win after giving up one run on five hits with four strikeouts and one walk in 5.2 innings. Luckily for the Rockies, Sugano (12-9, 5.30 ERA) will be on the mound tonight in game one of the four-game series.
Sugano has struggled in his last seven games, going 1-5 with a 7.71 ERA. His last victory came against Arizona on Aug. 11 when he gave up two solo homers as the only runs in a six-inning performance.
Casey Mize (5-9, 3.70 ERA) will be on the mound for San Diego (81-68), which is currently holding onto the final Wild Card spot in the National League. Opposite of the Rockies, the Padres enter the series riding a seven-game winning streak, including back-t0-back sweeps of the Washington Nationals and San Francisco Giants.
Mize, the No. 1 pick in the 2018 MLB Draft, was traded to San Diego from Detroit on Aug. 3. In his first seven games with the Padres, the righty has gone 1-3 with a 6.34 ERA.
First Pitch: 6:40 p.m. MDT
TV: Rockies.TV
Radio: KHOW 630 AM and 103.5 HD2 KOA Sister Station for Rockies Radio Network (Denver Broncos play the Kansas City Chiefs in Monday Night Football on 850/94.1 FM; KNRV 1150 AM (Spanish)
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA - SEPTEMBER 13: Ethan Salas #8 of the San Diego Padres hits a triple in the top of the fourth inning against the San Francisco Giants at Oracle Park on September 13, 2026 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images) | Getty Images
San Diego Padres (81-68) at Colorado Rockies (55-94), September 14, 2026, 5:40 p.m. PST
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Some experts suggest Clippers owner Steve Ballmer began building goodwill by apologizing to fans and accepting NBA sanctions on Sunday night. (Jerod Harris / Getty Images )
Clippers owner Steve Ballmer and his staff had spent the last 12 months loudly insisting they’d done nothing wrong.
The podcast “Pablo Torre Finds Out” first raised questions about payments star forward Kawhi Leonard received from Aspiration Partners without doing any endorsement work to benefit the company on Sept. 3, 2025. The NBA responded by starting an investigation.
In its findings — released Sept. 2 — an independent law firm reported “a pattern of misconduct and multiple significant rules violations” that benefited Leonard, who received $66 million in cash and equity from four companies through agreements facilitated by Ballmer and team executives at the request of Leonard’s uncle and then-agent. Those deals violated the league salary cap, which limits how much teams can pay players. The cap is $164.961 million for the coming season.
The Clippers released two statements that same day, protesting the finding and the stiffest sanctions in NBA history, including a $30-million fine and the loss of five future first-round draft picks. In addition, Ballmer, 69, was banned from all league activities for the next year.
After immediately calling the NBA’s investigation “biased” and vowing to “vigorously challenge these findings and penalties through every avenue available to us,” the Clippers were silent for 11 days.
“I accept responsibility as principal owner,” Ballmer said in a three-paragraph, 172-word statement released by the team. “We are committing to put this chapter behind us. We have communicated to the NBA that we are complying with the penalties assessed by the league, have paid the fine, and are moving forward.”
Mark Francis, an associate teaching professor in sports business at the University of Oregon, said Ballmer’s decision to change course was a smart one — since fighting the penalties would only serve to prolong the scandal in the media, damaging the goodwill Ballmer has built up since buying the team in 2014.
“It’s the right thing to do,” he said. “We’re living in times where people don’t take accountability any more and I was actually impressed that he came out with that.
“Once they acknowledge fault, show some remorse, those kinds of things, then sometimes the penalties will be reduced.”
Daniel Durbin, director of the USC Annenberg Institute of Sports Media and Society, agreed, saying the original pushback “was all lawyer speak” while the decision to accept the penalties was prudent.
“It is a pretty stiff penalty. You’ve got a problem, just pay it off and get rid of it,” Durbin said. “And in a certain respect, Ballmer can pay this and move on. So it may well be for him … it’s not worth it to keep fighting, keep wasting money on that.”
Bloomberg estimates Ballmer’s net worth at $173 billion, making the former Microsoft chief executive the world’s ninth-richest person. He earns $1.2 billion annually from his Microsoft stock dividends alone.
In addition to the loss of draft picks and the fine and suspension levied on Ballmer, the NBA suspended Gillian Zucker, the Clippers president of business operations, for one year without pay and suspended Lawrence Frank, the team’s president of basketball operations, for six months without pay.
Leonard, a seven-time all-star forward and Southern California native, was traded back to the Toronto Raptors this summer. He agreed to pay a $700,000 fine for his role in the Clippers saga and did not contest the sanctions leveled against him but issued a statement of his own in which he placed the blame squarely on the Clippers.
“I accept full responsibility for lapses in judgment by people within my inner circle and regret the distraction this situation has caused the fans and my family,” the statement read. “I entered into my contract with the Clippers as well as the agreements in question in good faith, fully committed to fulfilling my obligations and with no knowledge of any intent on anyone’s part to circumvent the salary cap.”
The Raptors temporarily froze the Leonard trade after the NBA announced Toronto would inherit any penalties assessed to Leonard following its investigation. With Ballmer accepting the NBA penalties, the trade is now moving forward and the Clippers will receive All-Star forward Brandon Ingram, shooting guard Gradey Dick, two first-round draft picks, a pick swap and two second-round picks, building blocks that could help the franchise move forward amid the penalties.
Ballmer’s capitulation may actually be seen as a positive to some Clippers fans, Durbin suggested.
“What did he confess to? Trying to kind of work around the rules to make the Clippers a championship team,” he said. “There’s a certain sense in which to Clippers fans the entire brouhaha is proof that he’s trying really hard. So while yes, he did break the rules … saying that you broke some rules to try to make your team a championship team is not in and of itself something that’s going to drive away the fan base.”
“It’s not a good thing,” Durbin added. “It’s an admission that maybe he went too far. … And he was willing to pay to try to make the team better.”
Francis isn’t so sure.
“I think that’s a stretch,” he said. “To violate the payroll system they have, it’s a serious offense. The owners are the ones that have pushed for these cost controls and they have to live up to them.”
The question now becomes can the Clippers actually become better as they deal with the penalties.
L.A.’s No. 2 NBA team, well behind the Lakers in popularity and success, the Clippers have finished higher than fourth in the Pacific Division standings just once since Ballmer’s first season as owner in 2014-15 and have reached the conference finals only once. The team finished 10th in the division last season, missing the postseason, and it hasn’t advanced beyond the first round of the NBA playoffs since 2021.
But the Lakers are in transition under new ownership and are without LeBron James for the first time since 2018, leaving the Clippers with a narrow window to win over new fans.
“They have to be able to threaten to be a championship team before you can say that they can take advantage of this moment,” Durbin said. “There’s the opportunity theoretically, but it’s really more about how smart they are on the draft picks, how smart they are on building the team.”
Times Sports Editor Iliana Limón Romero and staff writer Mirjam Swanson contributed to this report.
While the fate of some Philadelphia Flyers prospects is already sealed in terms of where they'll play in the 2026-27 season, many of the top dogs will have plenty of opportunities to earn themselves an NHL roster spot. Training camp hasn't officially started yet, but for them it has.
Not every young Flyers prospect with something to prove is at rookie camp this week. For example, players like Hunter McDonald and David Jiricek, who aren't established NHLers, were left off the rookie camp roster.
Conversely, Denver Barkey, Alex Bump, and Porter Martone are all on the ice having to prove themselves, with each player dressing for at least one of the two Rookie Series games against the New York Rangers over the weekend.
But, even when we remove McDonald, Jiricek, Barkey, Bump, and Martone from the equation, the Flyers still have a healthy amount of competition.
On defense, Oliver Bonk and Ty Murchison will be working to make their argument for an NHL roster spot, having to compete with the likes of McDonald, Jiricek, and veteran newcomer Simon Benoit for a place on the Flyers.
By the time training camp starts on Thursday, their strong work in rookie camp this week could be a feather in their caps; the process of making a strong impression is already in motion.
"We were pretty direct in the first meeting that we had for rookie camp, is that their camp is starting now. So with the new makeup of how the training camps are now in the NHL, there's not a whole lot of time to make an impression. So, for the rookies and the guys that are coming into main camp, they got to be ready to go right from the start of this camp," Lehigh Valley Phantoms head coach John Snowden said after practice Monday with an exclamatory two-hand tap at the podium.
Bump, Barkey, Martone, Noah Powell, Cole Knuble, Devin Kaplan, Riley Thompson, Jett Luchanko, Maksim Sokolovskii, Spencer Gill, Jackson Edward, Bonk, and Murchison are the skaters participating in rookie camp who are also listed on the main training camp roster.
On Tuesday morning, they'll take the ice for their last rookie camp session. Wednesday is a team day off, and Thursday is go time.
In the eyes of Snowden and the Flyers, everything those players have done in the building over the last week can work against them or in their favor when it's time to make the important decisions.
"The message [Riley Armstrong] started our rookie camp with, and I've reiterated throughout the whole camp and our staff has reiterated throughout the whole camp, is like, you don't have time to wait around right now. You gotta go, and you gotta hit the ground running. You can't ease your way into these rookie games," Snowden continued.
"Like I said, this is their training camp. It started now. You just got to keep pushing them to make sure they understand that every single time you touch the ice, every single time you walk into the building, it's going to matter. So, make sure you carry yourself the right way, you train the right way, you practice the right way, you play the right way every single time, because everything you do when you walk into this building, it's gonna matter."
Message sent, message received for the Flyers, who have seen players like Powell, Barkey, Knuble, and Bonk crank up the intensity and speed of their play this weekend.
Powell, in particular, played with ferocity against the Rangers, standing out in a different way from the scorer types like Bump and Martone.
And he'll be one of many players with their eyes on the NHL prize when training camp kicks off in a few days.
ST LOUIS, MISSOURI - AUGUST 28: Quinn Mathews #60 of the St. Louis Cardinals delivers a pitch against the Pittsburgh Pirates in the first inning at Busch Stadium on August 28, 2026 in St Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The St. Louis Cardinals begin a 3-game series against the San Francisco Giants Monday night at Busch Stadium. Quinn Mathews takes the mound for the Cardinals while the Giants will start RHP Landen Roupp. First pitch is scheduled for 6:45pm central time and the game broadcast will be available via Cardinals.tv.
While Australia has a massive year of Test cricket ahead, in just over a year the Aussies will also be tasked with defending the World Cup title they won in stunning fashion in India in 2023.
MEMPHIS, TN - MARCH 18: Draymond Green #23 of the Golden State Warriors handles the ball during the game against the Memphis Grizzlies on March 18, 2023 at FedExForum in Memphis, Tennessee. 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 2023 NBAE (Photo by Joe Murphy/NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images
The summer of 2023 was a pivotal one for the Golden State Warriors. After a volatile season started with Draymond Green punching Jordan Poole during a preseason practice, the team’s title defense ended with a second-round playoff loss. Poole and Wiggins got contract extensions in the wake of the championship, while Green did not, despite holding a player option for 2023-24. The Warriors ended up severing one branch of their two timelines, shipping Poole and 2022 draft picks Ryan Rollins and Patrick Baldwin, Jr. out of town and adding Chris Paul.
Eventually, the team also gave Green a four-year contract worth $100M, but not without some drama in the negotiations. According to Green, he was ready to join Golden State’s rivals and try his hand and whooping that trick in Memphis before the Dubs upped their offer.
Draymond reflects on the negotiations when he almost left the Warriors and went to the Grizzlies
"In negotiations, you wanna have another team, you have to sometimes make it real to the team that, 'hey you got something else'… I called the Warriors and said 'Yo I'm gonna go to… pic.twitter.com/jJkZowrUCR
Was it a negotiating ploy? Green claims he wasn’t bluffing, and that the Grizzlies had offered $10M more than the Warriors’ original offer. He did need to get his old team to participate in a sign-and-trade to get that extra money, and that’s when the Warriors raised their offer, while also reportedly “moving the goalposts” in trade talks with the Grizzlies, according to Green.
It’s not clear what the Grizzlies would have done to make the money work in such a deal, or when the sign-and-trade talks happened. Memphis eventually traded for Marcus Smart and jettisoned Green’s arch-enemy Dillon Brooks and Green came back to the Warriors for almost the exact same money and years as his previous deal.
The fit in Memphis would have made a lot of sense. Green may have antagonized the fans of Memphis over the years, but he could have complemented Jaren Jackson, Jr. well, essentially playing center defensively so Jackson could roam, block shots, and continue not to get any rebounds. Though Draymond has never been specifically suspended for grit or for grinding, he does have the lunch pail/bully ball/regular bullying attitude that the classic Zach Randolph-Mike Conley-Tony Allen-Marc Gasol Grizzlies teams embraced.
Green’s foray into free agency was similar to what happened with Andre Iguodala in the summer of 2017. Iguodala met with the Houston Rockets, another team the Warriors had recently beaten in the playoffs, and eventually got the Warriors to up their offer to three years and $48M before he came back. Two years later, they’d sacrifice a future first-round pick (which eventually became Bub Carrington) to dump Iggy on the Grizzlies, where he never reported and kicked off a weird one-sided feud from Brooks and his teammates.
Iguodala knew exactly what he was doing, however. After he held out for most of the season, the Grizzlies traded Iguodala to the Miami Heat, who tacked on an extra year to Iguodala’s contract for $15M. He went to his sixth straight NBA Finals that fall and came back to the Warriors in 2021 in time to make it seven Finals in eight years (and four rings). Now he has a venture capital firm, after being an early investor in companies like Zoom, Allbirds, and Casper mattresses.
Would Green’s presence have helped the Grizzlies? They fell off a cliff in 2023-24 thanks to a massive suspension for Ja Morant and injuries to almost the entire roster, including Smart, Desmond Bane, and Steven Adams. Maybe Green could have punched Morant every time he talked about waving a gun around?
Ultimately, Green used the same technique in negotiating with the Warriors that he does in guarding much larger centers in the paint: Leverage. The Grizzlies, the Warriors, and the world of podcasting were never the same.
ST. LOUIS, MO - MARCH 26: An exterior view of the ballpark prior to the game between the Tampa Bay Rays and the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium on Thursday, March 26, 2026 in St. Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Daniel Shirey/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
The San Francisco Giants head to Missouri today to begin a three-game series against the St. Louis Cardinals.
Taking the mound for the Giants will be right-hander Landen Roupp, who enters today’s game with a 4.00 ERA, 3.74 FIP, with 139 strikeouts to 72 walks in 150.2 innings pitched. His last start was in the Giants’ 2-1 win over the Cardinals last Tuesday, in which he allowed just two hits with two strikeouts and four walks in six innings.
He’ll be facing off against Cardinals left-hander Quinn Mathews, who enters today’s game with a 4.11 ERA, 4.02 FIP, with 28 strikeouts to 14 walks in 30.2 innings pitched. His last start was also in last Tuesday’s game against the Giants, in which he allowed two runs on five hits with four strikeouts and two walks in six innings.
