INGLEWOOD, CA - APRIL 15: Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard, #2, walks off the court after their season-ending loss to the Golden State Warriors during an NBA play-in-tournament at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood Wednesday, April 15, 2026. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
With the 2026 NBA Draft in the rearview, the Dallas Mavericks are shifting focus to free agency and trades to refurbish their roster around Cooper Flagg. A number of sources are now reporting that Dallas has not only inquired about the availability of Los Angeles Clippers star Kawhi Leonard, but that the two teams have had discussions about an actual framework for a trade.
The Mavericks have registered interest in Kawhi Leonard, league sources told The Athletic. Masai Ujiri famously traded for Leonard once before.
The rumored transaction would be Dallas sending out P.J. Washington, Klay Thompson and draft capital in exchange for Leonard. Despite Leonard’s age and injury history, and subject to the actual draft capital in question, this is arguably a no-brainer for the Mavericks.
Thompson is 36-years old and came to the team with a desire to play alongside Luka Doncic and to be the finishing piece on a championship contender. Then Nico Harrison happened. Thompson no longer fits the timeline of Flagg and newly drafted rookie Morez Johnson, Jr. as the Mavericks shift to a future-focused approach, as per President Masai Ujiri in his introductory press conference.
Washington is a 27-year old in his prime and is just about to kick off a team-friendly contract extension. He was an integral part of the Mavericks’ run to the NBA Finals in 2024, but was well-served playing alongside Doncic. With all due respect to Washington, he is not the caliber of player Leonard is, and if the team is going to remain wing-heavy, upgrading from Washington to Leonard is a clear benefit from the talent and production standpoints.
The knocks on Leonard are his age (35 years old on Monday) and injury history. While there is simply no sugar-coating the injuries and time missed, Leonard actually played nine more games last year than Washington did. With the exception of 2024-2025, Leonard has played no fewer than 52 games in the past five seasons, including outings of 65 games and 68 games. Leonard would also be a rental. He is an unrestricted free agent following this season, which may be a good thing depending on how you look at it – he could make the Mavs competitive next year, then clear a massive ($50M) contract off the books for next offseason.
There are two major points of curiosity here, however. Ujiri proclaimed the Mavs were thinking about the future and a move like this runs completely contrary to that notion. Leonard, Kyrie Irving and Flagg would be a formidable three-headed monster right now. Further, Dallas has very limited draft capital. They only have a first-round pick in 2027 if it falls into the top two slots (otherwise it goes to the Charlotte Hornets), a 2028 pick swap with the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Los Angeles Lakers 2029 pick. Unless the Clippers are desperate to move off Leonard’s sizable contract and are not demanding much in the way of first round picks, the draft capital part of the equation here is puzzling.
If Dallas and Los Angeles make this move, it adds a brand new and wholly unexpected wrinkle to the Mavericks’ plans. Everyone believed the team would be rebuilding over the next few years, but this move is for right now. It would leave Dallas as an “if” team – that is, if Irving returns to form and Leonard stays healthy, they could be legitimate contenders for the next couple of years.
Check back often as we continue to follow this story here at Mavs Moneyball.
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Leonard has just one year left on his current contract and would make $50.3 million next season. If he does not sign an extension, he will become a free agent in 2027. The 7-time All-Star played in 65 games last season, averaging 27.9 points, 6.4 rebounds and 3.6 assists.
Toronto would serve as familiar territory for Leonard, as he helped lead the franchise to its NBA championship in 2019.
There’s another familiar face from Leonard’s time with the Raptors, who may also be interested in reuniting.
Mavericks president Masai Ujiri could be interested in trading for Leonard. Ujiri traded for Leonard once before, deciding to move on from longtime Raptor DeMar DeRozan in July 2018, when he was president of operations for Toronto.
According to The Athletic, Dallas and Los Angeles have discussed a potential deal that would send the former Finals MVP to the Mavericks in exchange for P.J. Washington, Klay Thompson and draft picks to the Clippers.
Leonard is no stranger to the state of Texas, having spent the first seven years of his professional career with San Antonio, helping the Spurs win the 2014 NBA championship.
If Leonard is traded in the coming days, it would happen while the star player remains under investigation along with Clippers owner Steve Ballmer and Leonard's uncle/advisor Dennis Robertson. All three men were allegedly involved in a “no-show” agreement with a company, Aspiration, to funnel extra compensation to the player as part of a salary cap circumvention.
Clippers' president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank was not willing to comment on any specifics regarding the investigation when speaking to the media on Tuesday, June 23. Frank did state that the investigation has not impacted how the Clippers have conducted business and will "continue to go about our business as normal."
NBA commissioner Adam Silver would be responsible for deciding on any potential discipline after the law firm conducting the investigation delivers its findings to him. Silver indicated in June that the investigation needs to conclude soon.
“The team has to understand what situation they are going to be operating under and so do the other 29 teams,” Silver said.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The Nashville Predators signed forward Jack Drury to a five-year, $22.5 million contract on Sunday night, four days after he was acquired from the Colorado Avalanche.
The 26-year-old Drury had a career-high 10 goals last season and matched his personal best with 27 points while playing in all 82 regular-season games for the Avalanche.
He was acquired by the Predators on Wednesday along with forward Chase Bradley and a third-round pick in the 2029 NHL draft from the Avalanche for forwards Zachary L’Heureux and Fedor Svechkov.
“Jack Drury is a hard-working, reliable, full-sheet of the ice center who can handle the tough assignments while being elite in the faceoff circle,” Predators general manager and president of hockey operations Chris MacFarland said after the trade. “His addition to our forward group bolsters our depth in the middle of the ice, and we’re thrilled to have him.”
Drury established himself as one of the NHL's top faceoff players by winning 58.1% of his draws — the fifth-highest percentage among players who took at least 900 faceoffs last season. He also had three goals and two assists in 13 playoff games while helping the Avalanche reach the Western Conference Final.
Drury is the son of former NHL center Ted Drury and nephew of former NHL center and current New York Rangers general manager Chris Drury. He was a second-round draft pick of Carolina in 2018. When MacFarland was with Colorado as the Avalanche's GM, he acquired Drury from the Hurricanes in 2025.
In 268 career regular-season games, Drury has 30 goals and 52 assists and a 57.1 faceoff percentage.
SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS - JUNE 13: Timothée Chalamet celebrates with Mikal Bridges #25 of the New York Knicks after the victory against the San Antonio Spurs in Game Five of the 2026 NBA Finals at Frost Bank Center on June 13, 2026 in San Antonio, Texas. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Everyone in life is under some sort of pressure.
Whether it’s a massive responsibility in your job, your family, or your education, there’s always something riding on your decisions. That’s a fact of life.
Pressure can be a good thing, it can get the most out of you. As the old saying goes, pressure creates diamond.
But it can also create rubble. Too much pressure and you and everything around you will crumble. It takes a certain type of person to overcome such pressure.
Now imagine the weight of tens of millions of people on your shoulders. A type of pressure only similarly faced by presidents of entire nations. There’s a reason those guys seem to age decades in four to eight years.
When Mikal Bridges was traded to the Knicks for one of the largest draft pick packages in the history of the sport, he became the most intensely-watched non-All-Star in the history of professional sports. For the rest of his career, he’d be tasked with making himself worth all those picks that were given to Brooklyn.
If the Knicks never accomplished their ultimate goals, their failure would forever be linked, fair or not, to giving a king’s ransom for a complimentary starter.
Would he be remembered in Knicks history the same way Eddy Curry, Jerome James, and Andrea Bargnani were if they never got over the hump? I guess we’ll never know.
SAN ANTONIO, TX – JUNE 13: Mikal Bridges #25 of the New York Knicks poses for a portrait after winning Game Five of the 2026 NBA Finals against the San Antonio Spurs on June 13, 2026 at Frost Bank Center in San Antonio, Texas. 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 Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images
Bridges was born on August 30, 1996, in Philadelphia. He grew up in the city, but moved out to the suburbs in Chester County in middle school, eventually attending Great Valley High School in Malvern. A sophomore year growth spurt saw his basketball future come into clearer focus, eventually becoming one of the best players in Southeast Pennsylvania.
As a four-star recruit and a top-100 player in the nation, he chose Villanova over Penn State and Florida. There were three other players in Pennsylvania ranked over him in the Class of 2014; none of them reached the NBA.
At Nova, he did what many players did under Jay Wright; he paid his dues. He redshirted in 2014-15 and emerged as a key bench piece for the eventual national champions the following year, pouring in 11 points to their utter decimation of Oklahoma in the Final Four before logging 15 minutes in the thrilling final against UNC.
As a sophomore, he overhauled his jumpshot and raised his three-point percentage from 30% to 39.5%, joining the starting lineup for good by mid-November due to an injury to Phil Booth. It ultimately led to him winning Big East Defensive Player of the Year. Side-by-side with the likes of Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart, Donte DiVincenzo, and more, the Wildcats were once again contenders to win the whole thing, but were shocked by Wisconsin in the Round of 32. Bridges failed to make a single shot in that game.
Entering his redshirt junior season, he made even more strides as a scorer, serving as a perfect Robin to Brunson’s Batman, averaging 17 points on 43% from behind the arc and being named a Consensus All-American. His best games would come in the biggest moments, dropping 28 on Gonzaga in a neutral-site tournament, 25 in the Big East Championship Game, and 19 in the national championship game, going out as a two-time national champion.
Declaring for the 2018 NBA Draft, Bridges was the top NBA prospect on the team. DiVincenzo snuck into the lottery, and Brunson was reduced to a second-round pick, but Bridges was picked No. 10 overall by his hometown Sixers. His mom still worked for the team. It was the dream of all dream scenarios.
And then he was traded.
After all the emotions poured out with the possibility of staying home, Brett Brown traded him 25 minutes later for Zhaire Smith and a first-round pick. The pick would go on to be part of the Tobias Harris package a year later.
Putting aside how cruel that is from a front office to pull on a city and family’s heartstrings like that after making the pick, it shows the hubris and self-inflicted nature of the Sixers’ failure to build a winner around Joel Embiid. They’ve had so many talented players in their organization and decided to punt all of them for pennies on the dollar.
Jared McCain for scraps because your owner is cheap. Julian Champagnie, so you could have Mac McClung wear a Sixers jersey at the dunk contest. Bridges for a dude who’d be out of the league in three years and an overpaid wing that the city would despise. Oh yeah, they also let Jimmy Butler walk to give that same guy $150 million.
This is a franchise that deserved what they got.
But that’s a story for later. Bridges was now in Phoenix, where he’d soon be groomed as a quality 3-and-D starter around a core of Devin Booker and, soon, Chris Paul. He started out pretty innocently as a low-usage starter/sixth-man who would be the team’s defensive backbone.
The Suns weren’t playing many meaningful games, but it was clear Mikal was a winning player. He was a deflection machine on defense, and his jumper translated in his second season. In the bubble, he was a big part of the Suns’ 8-0 run that put them on the cusp of the postseason.
Bridges took on more responsibility in 2020-21 as a valuable third option behind Paul and Booker, benefitting beautifully from the Point God’s playmaking while being one of the best shooters in basketball. As the Suns evolved into one of the best teams in basketball, he was their heart and soul on both ends.
The Suns ripped through the postseason, with Bridges being tasked with guarding the likes of LeBron James and Paul George on their road to the NBA Finals. With Giannis Antetokounmpo and a determined Bucks team on the other side, Phoenix built a 2-0 lead, with Bridges himself scoring 27 points in one of the best games of his entire career. They could taste it.
But their hubris got the best of them. They got too confident, and the Bucks won the next four games to snatch the championship away from them. Utter heartbreak, but you had confidence they’d be back.
They wouldn’t.
Bridges stagnated offensively in 2021-22, but got to another level defensively. After never making an All-Defensive Team in his career, he took advantage of a weak field to grab second in Defensive Player of the Year voting behind Marcus Smart, but come playoff time, the Suns fell well short of expectations as a 64-win team.
Pressure got to the Suns’ front office midway through the following season. Their core was good, but they felt the desperation. The pressure was on them to get over the hump, so they decided to swing a trade for Kevin Durant at the deadline, shipping Bridges out in a massive package to a suddenly rebuilding Brooklyn.
But instead of falling into a malaise like many who go to a bad situation, Bridges played the best basketball of his career there, averaging 21.2 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 3.4 assists in 109 games across 1.5 seasons for a miserable Nets team, playing every single game to continue his Ironman streak.
Rumors circulated his entire time there of him reuniting with his Nova Brothers in New York. Hart, Brunson, and DiVincenzo had formed a compelling trio on the other side of the city and Bridges separately played with Hart and Brunson separately at the 2023 FIBA World Cup, where he made a tremendous highlight play.
The long-anticipated trade talks soon commenced after the 2023-24 season and culminated while I was on vacation in Italy. I woke up to one of the most stunning trades of my life.
Leon Rose had gone all-in. Bridges was expected to be a supercharged version of what he was in Phoenix. His defense slipped in Brooklyn at the expense of high offensive usage, but the Knicks hoped to find a balance to make him a dangerous two-way option.
With Karl-Anthony Towns suddenly joining the equation in late September, his importance was even larger to cover up for multiple defensive liabilities.
The pressure on him to live up to everything was immediate, which might’ve been why he looked to rework his jumpshot to become the dead-eye shooter he was during the 2021 NBA Finals run. It didn’t work… at all.
He was miserable from three in the preseason and to start the 2024-25 season. Through 17 games, he was shooting a flat 30% on 6.5 attempts a game. You could already hear the whispers behind the scenes as the Knicks struggled with the Celtics and Cavaliers to open the season.
Bridges was able to silence the doubters in late December, with a multi-game stretch of sharp shooting that peaked with a 40-point masterpiece on Christmas against Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs.
But he had a slow January after that and never quite got into a groove offensively. Outside of some massive individual moments to steal two crucial wins late in the season, you never got the game-breaking ability he was once capable of.
His mid-range was as automatic as it gets, and he was one of the best finishers in basketball, but he was constantly underwhelming. Any time you looked around on social media or watched sports programming, it was:
“We traded five first-round picks for this?”
Through the first five games of the Detroit series, the murmurs grew louder. He missed a potential game-tying shot in Game 2, and his inconsistent offense wasn’t helping. But as he has consistently done, he responded with a massive Game 6 to help them move on.
Then, against the Celtics, he had two of the most legendary defensive plays in franchise history to stonewall the defending champions and grab control of the series by the neck. In the same arena, he had a tumultuous team debut, and he had a huge fourth quarter in Game 2 after a terrible start to the game.
It can be argued that Bridges was the MVP of that series, and it temporarily changed the narrative surrounding him. After all, we got him because he’s a 16-game player, not an 82-game player. He didn’t play badly against Indiana in the Eastern Conference Finals, but struggled to contain Tyrese Haliburton after putting Jaylen Brown in a box against Boston.
As the Knicks decided to run back the same core in 2025-26, sans Tom Thibodeau, the pressure only grew stronger. Add some Giannis rumors into the mix, the pressure on Bridges became unfathomable.
“We seriously traded those picks for him when we could’ve waited for Giannis?” “We’re going to waste the entire Brunson era because we traded all our assets for a role player.”
His play in the regular season was just as uneven as it was the previous year. This time, he came out with a rejuvenated jumpshot and was the league’s best corner 3 shooter for several months. He’d have flashes of brilliance, including a 35-point game in a six-point loss to Boston and a hyper-efficient 30-ball in Toronto in January.
But the lows were excruciating. After a strong start to March, he averaged just 10.6 points per game on mediocre shooting in the final 20 games of the regular season. The shouts got louder.
“How much of a sell low would it be if we traded him?” “Could we send him and KAT to Milwaukee for Giannis?”
It didn’t get any better to start the playoffs. Bridges scored 36 points total across the first five games. He once again missed a game-winner in Game 2. When the Knicks fell behind 1-2, the pressure reached an all-time high. He was reportedly in tears after Game 3. It reached a breaking point.
Pressure was creating rubble.
Until Game 6. A nifty 24 points on 12 shots contributed to the historic beatdown in Atlanta and springboarded his dominant run through the rest of the Eastern Conference playoffs.
From Game 6 against Atlanta to Game 3 against Cleveland, he averaged 19.1 points on 69.1/47.6/100 shooting. He was shooting an unfathomable 75% from inside the arc. No matter what, he made big play after big play on both ends of the floor.
In the NBA Finals, he was fairly quiet for much of the series, but showed up in a big way in Game 2 with an efficient 20-6-6 as Brunson struggled, similar to the 2018 NCAA Final.
As the series went on, his defense on Stephon Castle got better and better. In Game 5, he was quite literally the only person other than Brunson who could make a shot. When the captain sat, his longtime friend kept the game from getting out of hand.
By the time the buzzer sounded, all the emotions flooded out. You want to know what it looks like when a lifetime of pressure condensed into two years finally gets released from your shoulders? When the disappointment of the past culminates in the ultimate glory? It looks like this:
In the end, all that pressure created a diamond. It created an NBA champion, freed from the shackles of a trade that would’ve defined him and his career until the day he died if they didn’t ever get it done.
It’s no coincidence that, not long after the buzzer sounded, the usually reserved and PR-trained Bridges went absolutely wild on Instagram Live and at the parade. He reached basketball nirvana. Nothing could bother him now.
As he begins a four-year extension next year, he can do so knowing that his contributions to a champion has forever made that trade worth it and that it’ll no longer define him. Maybe it’ll make the modern-day Ironman play looser and we’ll see another level from him next season.
But that’s for October. Enjoy it, Mikal, you’re an NBA champion.
–
(P&T will be doing player-by-player article tributes over the next few weeks to commemorate the special team that ended our long, half-century nightmare)
Knoxville Smokies infielder Edgar Alvarez (25) celebrates with manager Lance Rymel after hitting a home run during a Minor League Baseball game against Rocket City on April 7, 2026, in Knoxville, Tennessee. | Saul Young/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
Left-hander Drew Pomeranz joined Triple-A Iowa.
Right-hander Kenten Egbert moves from High-A South Bend to Iowa.
We’ve all heard of players on the Des Moines/Chicago Shuttle. Egbert may be the first player ever on the Des Moines/South Bend shuttle.
Kenten Egbert got the start today and it did not go well. Egbert got hammered for eight runs, five earned, on eight hits over 2.2 innings. Egbert walked five and struck out two.
Drew Pomeranz pitched the fourth inning in his Iowa debut. Pomeranz gave up a two-out walk, but nothing else. He struck out two.
Cobin Martin threw three scoreless innings of relief. The only baserunner he allowed was a leadoff walk in the seventh. Martin struck out one.
Catcher Christian Bethancourt pitched two scoreless innings to close out the game.
Scott Kingery hit a solo home run in the third inning, his second of the season. He also finished the top of the third inning for Egbert, getting a groundout on a 36 mile per hour curve ball. So technically, Kingery hit that home run as a pitcher. Kingery was 1 for 4 at the plate.
Left fielder Owen Miller was 2 for 5 with one run scored.
Third baseman James Triantos went 1 for 4 with a walk and two runs batted in.
Starter Koen Moreno went the first four innings and was touched for three runs on four hits. One of the three runs was unearned. Moreno walked two and struck out four.
Erian Rodriguez got the loss after he was banged up for five runs on three hits and three walks over 1.2 innings. Rodriguez also hit a batter. Rodriguez did not strike anyone out.
Third baseman Edgar Alvarez blasted his eighth home run on the year in the fifth inning with two men on. Alvarez went 2 for 5.
Catcher Owen Ayers was a perfect 4 for 4 with a double and a walk. He scored three times.
Center fielder Alex Ramírez went 2 for 5 with an RBI double in the first inning. He also stole a base.
Left fielder Andy Garriola was 2 for 4 with an RBI double and a walk. Garriola also scored a run.
South Bend got a great start from Alfredo Romero, who pitched five innings and allowed no runs on just one hit. Romero struck out five and walked no one.
South Bend were leading 2-0 going into the top of the ninth, but reliever Ethan Bell and Grayson Moore got rocked for a seven-run inning. Bell took the loss, giving up five runs on four walks and one hit over one-third of an inning. Bell had one strikeout.
Center fielder Kane Kepley cranked a solo home run in the sixth inning, his fourth on the campaign. Kepley was 1 for 3 with a walk.
Brody McCullough started this game on a rehab assignment. He went three innings and allowed one run on two hits. McCullough struck out four and walked one.
The Pelicans tied the game back up in the top of the ninth, but Aiden Moffat was summoned out of the bullpen to pitch the bottom of the ninth. Moffat faced three batters and walked all three of them. That meant that Edwardo Melendez came in with the bases loaded and no one out. Melendez gave up a walk-off single to the only batter he faced.
The game was tied in the ninth because third baseman Yahil Melendez hit a two-run home run in the top of the ninth. It was Melendez’s second of the year. He was 1 for 4 with a walk and two runs scored.
Left fielder Edward Vargas went 2 for 3 with a walk and a run scored.
SAN FRANCISCO — It takes a lot for Willy Adames, who played 160 games last year and 161 the year before, to come out of a baseball game.
So with that context, be the judge of just how much discomfort the Giants shortstop was in after going down swinging for the third time Sunday afternoon. He went back to the dugout and never emerged again, instead leaving the sick-as-a-dog Casey Schmitt to take over on defense.
Eli White of the Atlanta Braves steals second base sliding in ahead of the throw to Willy Adames of the San Francisco Giants in the top of the sixth inning at Oracle Park on June 28, 2026. Getty Images
A date with an MRI machine seems more likely for Adames than a return to the starting lineup when the Giants begin their series against the Diamondbacks on Monday.
Adames exited the game after the seventh with lower back spasms.
The issue has been bothering him for some time, dating back close to a week, he said. But after a few days of “grinding,” the ailment caught up to him late in Sunday’s win.
His back locked up on him in his first at-bat, “and it just stayed there,” Adames said.
“In that last at-bat, it just got worse.”
Schmitt, who was a late scratch from Sunday’s lineup with a severe case of the flu going around the Giants’ clubhouse, was forced to enter the game at shortstop.
With the Giants removing Buddy Kennedy from the roster to clear space for Heliot Ramos’ return, Schmitt was the only infielder left for manager Tony Vitello on the bench.
“Going into the cage and telling him he was at shortstop, it was like waking a drunk guy up for a job interview,” Vitello joked. “He didn’t look good.”
Before the game, Vitello acknowledged that the Giants were “a little short-handed probably relative to other teams” on the infield after the pregame roster moves.
That now comes to a head with their starting shortstop potentially down at least in the short term and his only capable backup more focused on pounding fluids than fielding ground balls.
A date with an MRI machine seems more likely for Adames than a return to the starting lineup when the Giants begin their series against the Diamondbacks on Monday. D. Ross Cameron-Imagn Images
Christian Koss, who fractured his left wrist shortly after being demoted to Triple-A Sacramento, could be a “candidate” if the Giants need to add another infielder, Vitello said. It would be a short commute to Chase Field: He has played four rehab games in the Arizona Complex League.
“Probably offensively he’s not going to be in the position that he would want to be or that we would want him in,” Vitello said. “But defensively, he could wake up out of bed and be ready to rock and roll defensively at any of those three spots.
“The biggest thing is to work through what Willy’s got going on and see where he’s at.”
It has been a difficult season for Adames, 30, in more than just his production, which has been below the standards for someone in the second season of a seven-year, $182 million contract.
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If Adames is forced to miss any time, he will already be on pace to play fewer games than either of the previous two seasons. He already missed a game with discomfort in his “knee to hip” area, as Vitello described it, as well as another standard rest day earlier in the year.
“I feel like this year, there’s always been something going on with my body,” Adames said. “It is what it is, there’s always something happening. You just grind it out. … [But] this year has been the worst, I would say, for my body.”
After hitting two home runs last week in the Giants’ doubleheader sweep of the Braves in Atlanta, Adames said he didn’t “feel the best right now.” Soon thereafter, the back issues began.
In 18 games since June 6, Adames has 11 hits and 23 strikeouts in 69 at-bats, a .159 batting average. For the season, his .275 on-base percentage would represent a career low, and his defense at shortstop has been the worst in the majors, according to Statcast’s metric Outs Above Average.
Adames’ struggles are a big reason the Giants’ season has been such a disappointment. Now, as they look to build on their first winning homestand since the end of April, Adames may be forced to watch from the dugout bench.
“It sucks,” Adames said of the unfortunate timing. “Obviously I want to be out there every day. It feels that we’re getting some momentum. That’s why I want to be out there.”
Over the weekend, there was a bunch of news dropping at once as the NHL Draft approached. One piece of news that many have slipped under the radar for many, was former San Jose Sharks defenseman Brent Burns signing a new one-year deal with the Colorado Avalanche.
Burns, 41, was set to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1, but he was able to reach an agreement with Joe Sakic, the Avalanche's president of hockey operations and general manager.
Much like his previous deal with Colorado, Burns' new contract has a low salary but carries a multitude of performance bonuses which are based on his ice time.
According to PuckPedia, Burns' new deal comes with a base salary of $850,000. If he plays 10 games, he receives a $1.15 million bonus and an additional $250,000 for 55, 60, 65, and 70 games played if he's averaged 23 or more minutes per night.
Burns hopes that the 2026-27 season will be the campaign that finally allows him to lift the Stanley Cup, an honor that has eluded him to this point in his career, and there aren't many destinations that would've given him a better chance to do so than Colorado.
TORONTO, CANADA - JUNE 28: Ezequiel Duran #20 and Jake Burger #21 of the Texas Rangers celebrate at the end of their MLB game against the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre on June 28, 2026 in Toronto, Canada. (Photo by Cole Burston/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Rangers 3, Blue Jays 2
Herbie brought his passport.
And I will remind you that every time the Texas Rangers have won the World Series, they have swept a four game series in Toronto that season.
In what has been a recurring theme in this series, Texas took an early lead, had to deal with some bullpen shenanigans late, but still managed to pull it out.
Fun fact…by my count, there were exactly 15 plate appearances in this series where the game was tied. In every other plate appearance in this series, the Blue Jays were trailing.
With one out in the eighth inning of this game, Vlad Guerrero, Jr. lined out, and then Kazuma Okamoto grounded out. Those were the only two plate appearances Jays hitters had in the series when Toronto wasn’t losing.
Kumar Rocker started the game by allowing a pair of singles, and the cries of dismay over Skip Schumaker not going with an opener, as he has in what have been arguably Rocker’s two best outings of the season, could be heard all around.
The Jays only recorded two more hits off of Rocker after that, though, with Rocker ultimately going six shutout innings.
After Rocker got out of the first, the only difficulty he really faced came in the bottom of the fifth. With two outs, Andres Gimenez fisted a single into left, then Corey Seager made a bad throw to first on what should have been an easy 6-3 grounder by George Springer to end the inning. Exacerbating things, Elias Diaz followed that up by throwing behind Gimenez at second during Nathan Lukes’ ensuing plate appearance, but hit him on the helmet with the throw, resulting in the runners being allowed to advance.
Rocker got Lukes swinging to end the inning, however, and had a nice 1-2-3 sixth to end his day.
16 swings and misses for Rocker, including 8 out of 16 swings on his slider. Rocker also got 5 whiffs on 9 swings on his fastball, which normally isn’t a big swing-and-miss pitch for him.
The Rangers needed length from Rocker, since Jakob Junis and Jacob Latz were unavailable after pitching two straight days on Thursday and Friday, Robby Ahlstrom was unavailable after pitching two straight days on Friday and Saturday, and Joe Ross and Peyton Gray were unavailable after throwing 29 and 39 pitches, respectively, on Saturday.
That left Cole Winn, Tyler Alexander (who threw 15 pitches on Saturday), and Winston Santos, who has never pitched in a major league game, available from the pen.
Winn handled the seventh, struck out Gimenez looking, allowed a single to Springer, then gave up a bomb on a hanging slider to Lukes.
At that point, I thought we were facing defeat. And what a vexing defeat it would have been.
Joc Pederson homered to lead off the game, leading to hopes that the Rangers would do damage off of Shane “Big Brown” Bieber, who was making just his second start of the year and who wasn’t effective in his first outing.
Texas loaded the bases with one out against Bieber in the first, but a bad swing decision by Ezequiel Duran on a 2-0 pitch he shouldn’t have swung at led to a 5-2 fielder’s choice for the second out, and Evan Carter struck out swinging to end the inning.
Again, something that has seemed to happen a fair amount in this series.
The Rangers had the bases loaded with one out again in the sixth, and actually got a run home on a Elias Diaz single, but Alejandro Osuna followed it up with a hard hit ball to first that turned into a 3-2-3 GIDP.
The Rangers had some bad luck on balls in play in this game — especially Osuna. Osuna had three balls in play in the game, with xBAs of .470, .470 and .530. They resulted in a pair of double plays and a line out.
The luck dragons owe Osuna one here.
The home plate umpire also seemed to have a particularly bad strike zone, as well, with the Jays successfully challenging four pitches. The Rangers had several pitches that looked challengeable, but after Diaz unsuccessfully challenged a ball call in the bottom of the first, Texas didn’t challenge the rest of the way, no doubt in part wanting to save their lone remaining challenge for a key late game situation.
It had all the hallmarks of a gut punch lost, a game slipping away due to circumstances and misfortune.
And if the Rangers were going to win, they were going to need Winn to get out of the eighth, and then likely have someone throw a scoreless ninth, because the Rangers were unlikely to score off of Jays reliever Louis Varland.
Varland has been the second best reliever in baseball this year (no one is touching Mason Miller, who has an insane 0.37 FIP to go with his 0.79 ERA and 1.21 xERA). Varland took over the closer role in late-April. Coming into the game, he had allowed 4 earned runs on the season, and was sporting an 0.82 ERA, 1.94 xERA and 1.54 FIP.
Varland struck out Alejandro Osuna and Joc Pederson to start the ninth, and with Winston Santos and Tyler Alexander warming, I assumed that Santos was coming into the game unless the Rangers took the lead. Such thought was not encouraging.
But Josh Jung laced a slider down — but not down enough — into the opposite field gap for a double. Jarred Kelenic, the only non-catcher left on the bench after Justin Foscue hit for Evan Carter in the top of the sixth (awfully early, though with one out and two on in a one run game, it was a big spot, but still…) and then Lopez replaced Foscue, pinch ran for Jung.
Sometimes fortune smiles upon you at the most unexpected time.
Such it was here when the first pitch from Varland to Corey Seager went about 55 feet, bounced up and off of Alejandro Kirk, and caromed all the way back to the netting on the base side of home plate. Kelenic, running all the way, made it home easily from second, and the Rangers, unexpectedly, miraculously, had the lead:
Tyler Alexander, summoned to handle a save situation for the second day in a row, had an uneventful ninth.
And just like that, the Texas Rangers swept the series, had a four game winning streak, and guaranteed themselves no worse than a .500 road trip.
When the road trip started, I felt that .500, on three city trip with ten games in ten days, would be a successful road trip. After that, the Rangers would have just 31 road games remaining, compared to 44 home games. Split the road trip, play well on the nine game home stand leading into the All Star Break, and let’s go from there.
With three games in Cleveland coming up now, a .500 road trip would feel like a letdown.
The Rangers are also in sole possession of first place as result of the Mariners losing. This is the first time the Rangers have been in first place since April 25, and the first time they’ve been in sole possession of first place since April 17.
Kumar Rocker touched 96.8 mph with his sinker, averaging 94.5 mph. Cole Winn maxed out at 95.9 mph with his fastball. Tyler Alexander’s fastball topped out at 92.6 mph.
Joc Pederson’s home run was 108.9 mph. Ezequiel Duran had a 106.7 mph single. Jake Burger had a 105.1 mph groundout. Josh Jung had a 104.4 mph single, a 102.0 mph double and a 100.5 mph fly out. Elias Diaz had a 102.2 mph single. Alejandro Osuna hit into a double play on a ball with a 100.8 mph exit velocity.
One of the biggest trades that never happened nearly reshaped the landscape of the 2026 NHL Draft before a single pick was made. According to multiple reports, the Buffalo Sabres presented the Winnipeg Jets with a significant offer for superstar goaltender Connor Hellebuyck heading into Friday night's first round, and the Jets ultimately walked away from the table.
The reported package coming back to Winnipeg was substantial. According to The Fourth Period's Dave Pagnotta, the offer included the fourth overall pick, starting goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, a player believed to be Jack Quinn and at least one additional asset.
Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman added significant weight to the report, noting that the deal had gotten close and that Hellebuyck himself had approved a move to Buffalo. Despite that, Winnipeg general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff was not comfortable pulling the trigger.
David Pagnotta: Re Connor Hellebuyck: The pricetag, just a little bit too high...for Buffalo; it sounded like...the 4th overall pick, UPL, a player who I believe might be Jack Quinn and perhaps another ask - NHL Tonight (6/26)
— NHL Rumour Report (@NHLRumourReport) June 28, 2026
The fourth overall pick would have given the Jets a marquee prospect at the top of a talented draft class. Luukkonen has shown flashes of the talent needed to be an NHL starter. Quinn, if he was indeed the NHL-ready player referenced in the reports, would have been a meaningful addition to the top of Winnipeg's lineup.
Digging a little deeper and Cheveldayoff's hesitation becomes easier to understand. Hellebuyck has been the backbone of everything Winnipeg has built in recent years. The 33-year-old Michigan native is the kind of elite netminder that can single-handedly keep a team in games and has been one of the best in the world at his position for several seasons running.
Replacing him with Luukkonen, a goaltender who has shown volatility and was not even receiving every start for Buffalo during this past postseason, would have been a significant gamble.
The additional pieces, while attractive, also raise questions. Draft picks carry no guarantees, and trading a proven Vezina-caliber goaltender for a collection of assets and a replacement netminder with question marks attached is the kind of move that can look very different depending on how each piece develops.
Cheveldayoff appears to have looked at the full picture and decided that dismantling the most reliable part of his team for a package that carried real risk was not a trade he was willing to make. Whether that decision ages well will depend largely on what the Jets do with Hellebuyck from here and whether he remains committed to the organization long term.
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Warriors' news from @TheSteinLine – Porzingis expected to be back on a new deal before free agency period starts – still interested in LeBron James – expected to pursue names like Jock Landale, Anfernee Simons, Collin Sexton – had interest in Kevin Porter Jr. before he picked up…
LeBron James still is contemplating his future a few days ahead of free agency starting. Corey Sipkin for NY Post
The Warriors’ reported offer would be the lowest offer James has received in free agency and would be the lowest annual salary he’s had since he signed a four-year, $60 million extension with the Cavaliers in 2007.
James is set to enter his 24th NBA season and will turn 42 in late December. Last season, James averaged 20.9 points, 6.1 rebounds and 7.2 assists for the Lakers, who reportedly have not made an offer to the unrestricted free agent.
The Warriors and James have a long history. He played Golden State in four consecutive NBA Finals with the Cavaliers beginning in 2015. The Warriors got the better of James by winning those matchups in 2015, 2017 and 2018.
The Warriors might pursue Collin Sexton and Anfernee Simons (22) in free agency. NBAE via Getty Images
If the Warriors don’t end up landing James and decide to go after Simons or Sexton, it would likely be a battle between the two guards, who became teammates in the middle of last season.
Last season, Simons started with the Celtics but was traded at the NBA deadline to the Bulls. He played a pivotal part in the Celtics’ offense while Boston was without Jayson Tatum for most of the season.
Simons averaged 14.2 points and 2.4 assists per game last season.
Sexton started the season with the Hornets after he was traded by the Jazz.
Sexton saw increased minutes when he landed in Chicago and started averaging more points per game (17.5) and rebounds (2.9).
Coach Billy Slater brings back North Queensland’s Nanai for Game 3
To’o and Kotoni Staggs among four NSW players dropped
North Queensland second-rower Jeremiah Nanai has been recalled to the Maroons side while star winger Brian To’o and second-rower Dylan Lucas are among four players dropped by NSW for the State of Origin decider.
Aerial specialist Nanai has been superb in 11 Origin games for the Maroons and is fresh from a stunning two-try man of the match display for the Cowboys in the 26-12 win over Penrith on Saturday.
ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Josh Lowe’s first career grand slam was all the offense the Los Angeles Angels needed Sunday in a 4-1 victory over the Athletics.
Lowe was 10 for 33 with 27 RBIs with the bases loaded during his six-year career, but had only managed two extra-base hits in those situations prior to going deep off starter Aaron Civale in the second inning.
The center fielder fouled off a pair of 1-2 pitches before sending a high cutter 403 feet to the right-field corner for his first homer since May 20.
Angels starter Sam Aldegheri (3-3) allowed one run and five hits in five innings, striking out four. José Fermin threw two scoreless innings and Samy Natera Jr. got four outs for his first major league save.
Joey Meneses drove in Jeff McNeil with a sacrifice fly in the fifth for the A’s, who finished with six hits. They went 0 for 8 with runners in scoring position and left eight on base overall.
The A’s threatened to cut into the lead after two straight walks to open the eighth, but Ryan Zeferjahn struck out the next two batters before giving way to Natera, who retired Nick Kurtz on a flyball.
Civale (5-5) permitted seven hits in five innings, striking out two. José Suarez tossed two scoreless innings in relief.
Up next
The A’s host the two-time defending World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers for a three-game series beginning Monday night. LHP Gage Jump (3-1, 2.04 ERA) faces LHP Eric Lauer (3-5, 4.87) in the opener.
Angels RHP Ryan Johnson (1-2, 8.84 ERA) starts Monday night in Seattle against RHP George Kirby (6-7, 3.94) to begin a three-game set.
Mookie Betts watches his two-run single in the fifth inning Sunday, the big blow in the Dodgers' three-run rally. (Denis Poroy / Associated Press)
The Dodgers claimed a series win against the San Diego Padres with a 4-2 victory Sunday, widening the gap between division rivals to 10 games.
The Dodgers (54-30), who have the best record in the majors, have won five of the first six games of a three-city trip that ends in Sacramento.
A bounce-back start from right-hander Emmet Sheehan made the Dodgers’ win Sunday possible. He held the Padres to one run, on Manny Machado’s fourth-inning homer, through five innings.
“Maybe being a little more comfortable in my mechanics,” Sheehan said after limiting the Padres to two hits. “But also just the focus in between starts of trying to get a little more execution instead of delivery thoughts. I had seven days, so I got to throw two bullpens this week, which is nice.”
It was the first time Sheehan held an opponent to a single run since May 8, when he threw 4⅔ innings against the Atlanta Braves.
“He just beared down and made pitches when he needed to,” manager Dave Roberts said, “versus feeling it with the mechanics or being uncertain.”
Mookie Betts stayed hot with his bases-loaded, two-run single off Padres starter Michael King to spearhead a three-run rally in the fifth. Betts also singled in the seventh.
Freddie Freeman had an RBI on a nine-pitch walk in the fifth, and Shohei Ohtani drove in the Dodgers’ first run with a single in the third.
“The last six weeks, Shohei’s been out of this world,” Roberts said. “Freddie’s been very consistent all year, and then now we got Mookie this last week on track. So it has been the better part of the season that we haven’t had all three of those guys. You can see it — when those three guys are threats, it just kind of takes a lot of pressure off everybody else.”
Over the three-game series, the Dodgers outscored the Padres 20-12. Here are offensive takeaways from the series:
Tucker ‘grinding’ through
Kyle Tucker hits a two-run home run against the San Diego Padres on Saturday in the Dodgers' 15-3 win. (Orlando Ramirez / Getty Images)
Dodgers right fielder Kyle Tucker never had been through a stretch like this. He entered Sunday with a .719 on-base-plus-slugging percentage, the lowest he’s had 77 games into a season in his career.
“I feel fine coming to the field and everything, it’s just not being as productive as I normally am, or as I want to be, kind of sucks,” Tucker said in a conversation with The Times a couple of weeks ago. “But I’ve just got to come back for the next at-bat, or the next day, and whatever, and just move on.”
Has battling this uncharacteristic slump taught him anything?
“I’d rather not suck,” he said. “But just try and grab through and just whenever anything works or clicks or whatever, just don’t let it go.”
Tucker has had moments this season when it looked like he was heading toward an offensive turnaround.
In mid-April, he homered twice in three games, including a three-hit performance. In early May, he went on a six-game hitting streak. He hit .303 over a nine-game stretch in mid-June. But none led to sustained success.
So, when Tucker logged three hits, including a home run, on Saturday as the Dodgers routed the Padres 15-3, he was cautious in his optimism. Tucker even nitpicked the nine-pitch at-bat that ended in the pull-side homer.
“There were some pitches I swung at earlier in the at-bat that I thought should’ve gotten the job done earlier, just didn’t put a great swing on it,” he said after the game.
Manager Dave Roberts was more enthusiastic about that at-bat.
“He’s handled it well,” Roberts said. “He’s frustrated, certainly. But he hasn’t run from the work. Even [Friday] night after the game, he was hitting in the cage. … You hear the word ‘grind’ a lot, but he’s grinding. It’s good to see him have some success. I just liked that one at-bat tonight where it was just compete. It wasn’t about mechanics. It was about competing and getting the job done.”
On Sunday, Tucker singled in four at-bats.
Edman’s consistency
Tommy Edman hits against the San Diego Padres on Friday. (Derrick Tuskan / Associated Press)
There were times last year when utility player Tommy Edman could look at video of his swing and think, “OK, that doesn’t look like how I want it to look.” But there was only so much he could do in the middle of the season, while playing through nagging ankle issues.
“Part of it is kind of just breaking habits that I built last year,” said Edman, who underwent surgery on his right ankle in the offseason. “Was just getting into some bad movements with the lower body, probably just compensating for the ankle, and hips get out of whack, and that kind of stuff. So I’m hopeful that I’ll just be able to keep this up the rest of the year and just be consistent with it.”
Since returning from the injured list on June 16 to make his season debut, Edman is hitting .333 (11 for 33) with a .405 .on-base percentage. He hit his first triple and second double of the season in the Dodgers’ blowout win Saturday.
“I feel like this is kind of one of the rare times where both swings feel good, both from the right and left,” switch-hitting Edman said after that game. “It’s really tough to maintain both swings over the course of the season, so just happy that I feel that way.”
Betts is back
When Betts went three for four, a triple short of the cycle, in the Dodgers’ series finale in Minnesota last week, he couldn’t put his finger on a cue that had snapped his swing into shape over the last couple of weeks.
“Today, I was able to just find something,” he said then. “I don’t even know really what I found. After the home run the first at bat, I wasn’t sure what I did, but I just kind of stayed there. And I think that was the beauty of it. And not really fully knowing and just kind of going to play kind of let me know my training is paying off.”
It continued playing off. That performance kicked off a three-game homer streak. And by the end of his two-week heater, Betts had raised his OPS from .591 to .737.
By Saturday night, Roberts was ready to declare that Betts was back.
“I say ‘back’ because I just think there’s more intent with him in the batter’s box and a lot less indecisiveness,” Roberts said. “So for me, if he can have that kind of proactive approach, aggressive approach, then everything else is going to take care of itself.”
Betts credited his resurgence to a shift in how he prepares for games. Instead of taking 100 swings in the cage with a specific cue, he’s building up from a blank slate every day.
“I used to have things I would think about that would produce a swing, and now I’m actually just training my body every day,” he said. “So kind of one in the same, but they’re just two completely different ways of going about it. And still trying to get fully used to it, but it’s working, so I’m not changing it.”
SAN ANTONIO, TX - JUNE 3: Devin Vassell #24, Julian Champagnie #30, Victor Wembanyama #1, and Dylan Harper #2 of the San Antonio Spurs huddle up during the game against the New York Knicks during Game One of the 2026 NBA Finals on June 3, 2026 at Frost Bank Center in San Antonio, Texas. 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 Juan Ocampo/NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images
The Spurs added four rookies during the draft. Who are you most excited about, and who, if anyone, did you wish they had drafted instead?
Marilyn Dubinski: As someone who is not a college basketball aficionado, it’s hard to get too high or low on anyone when you’re well outside the lottery for the first time and years and don’t know anything about anyone until they’re Spurs. That being said, I like the approach the Spurs took. They went directly at their most exposed weakness in the first round, which was a lack of size and physicality down low, and even doubled down by trading for a second pick. Jayden Quaintance is a long-term project with his knee but could have the Spurs once again owning the steal of the draft when/if he gets going again. And if not? Tarris Reed is about the best insurance policy they could have asked for. The second round was less exciting, but with the power forward market in both the draft and FA a bit dry, there’s a chance for at least Maliq Brown to show something (but I wouldn’t count on it).
Mark Barrington: I like taking a swing on Quaintance, although he’s not likely to help next season. Tarris Reed looks like he can help this upcoming regular season, although rookies are rarely playoff-ready in their first go (Dylan Harper excepted). As Marilyn mentioned, the Spurs drafted two guys at their biggest position of need. Their lack of an athletic big to take some of the pressure off Wembanyama and give him sufficient rest to be fresh at the end of games was exposed by the Knicks in the finals. These guys will be big helps in the future, but the future is now for the Spurs. I’m worried about JQ’s history of injuries, as the Spurs have had bad luck in the past with drafting injured players who haven’t panned out. A lot of people mention DeJuan Blair, but I can go back a long way and remember James Anderson (foot) and Livio Jean-Charles (knee). I trust that the Spurs have done their homework and they have a high degree of confidence that Jayden will be fully healthy, even if he has to take a redshirt year.
I’m not concerned about the second-round picks. Gillespie could slot in as a replacement for Jordan McLaughlin or Lindy Waters, and Maliq Brown as a development player who could make the rotation if he improves his offense. One or both of them will probably be on a 2-way contract next year, and both of them will play mostly in Austin if they make the team.
Jacob Douglas: Long-term, the idea of at least one of Victor Wembanyama and Quaintance protecting the rim is about as exciting as it gets. San Antonio has the depth to let Quaintance sit for the majority of the season if it needs to give him time to get healthy. Then, they could have one of the most dominant defensive front courts in the NBA.
In the meantime, Reed should be able to log some minutes at center. He gives San Antonio that bruising size they’ve needed alongside Wembanyama for a bit. However, unless they were worried about a team 21-25 selecting Quaintance, I would have liked to see them grab Cameron Carr from Baylor at 20, and then pick Quaintance at 26. Yes, the Spurs need size, but they also need shooting. Carr is a knockdown three-point shooter and a high flyer who could eventually fill out into a 3&D wing. Addressing that and grabbing a big man in the draft would have been a huge win.
Jeje Gomez: I was intrigued by Houston’s Chris Cenan Jr. because of his raw tools, but the Quaintance pick seems like the type of upside swing the team can afford to take. The consensus seems to be that he would have been a lottery talent if he had been healthy, and his Arizona State season backs that up. He could be a special defender who is a decent jumper away from being a two-way force, and the fact that he will be just 18 for a couple more weeks shows that he has plenty of room to grow. Reed is less exciting but seems NBA-ready physically and mentally, as he knows what he is and is happy to just do the non-glamorous jobs.
It was surprising to see the Spurs pick a small guard and a forward who can’t shoot in the second round, since the league is moving away from those archetypes, but maybe that’s why they were available and could prove to be valuable. Either way, it’s always better not to have high expectations for second-rounders, so if they ever contribute, it’d be a bonus.
Free agency is close, and after the draft, the Spurs still haven’t upgraded the power forward spot. Who would you like them to target, or do you think they are set at PF?
Dubinski: As previously mentioned, it’s a pretty dry market. I don’t see LeBron James wanting to leave the state of California (and don’t really desire him, plus likely the only thing that would have drawn him here would have been playing for Pop, and that’s not an option anymore). Beyond him and Draymond Green, whom I also have no interest in, the best options are John Collins and Tobias Harris. And you know what? We’ve been talking about Collins as a potential Spur for at least five years now. Why not just make it happen so we can finally see what we’ve been missing? If the Spurs don’t pursue a power forward, I’m going to assume that their eventual goal is for Wemby to move back to his preferred position of PF, and the stockpiling of centers is to actually see who can play alongside him.
Barrington: I think the Spurs still need help at power forward, but their history in free agency is that they don’t really go for it, as they tend to try to develop players internally. Tarris Reed is more of a center than a power forward, but he might end up doing some twin towers work with Wemby this season, as Victor slides to the forward position. John Collins is interesting, and he’d be a good addition, but it all depends on how much it costs to obtain him.
Douglas: San Antonio can offer roughly $15M and up to four years with the non-taxpayer MLE. They can also trade for a player into that slot. John Collins and Rui Hachimura are the names I’ve seen mentioned most frequently. Collins would provide some vertical spacing as a lob threat and has shot around 40% from three on about three attempts per game over the last two seasons. He’s probably the best fit, but still comes with questions. Can he hold down the paint and guard the perimeter while Wembanyama roams defensively? He isn’t the greatest rebounder either (11.4% rebound rate).
I’d stay away from Hachimura, who would be duplicative with Julian Champagnie. Yes, Hachimura hit 44.3% of his three-pointers, but those looks are typically stand-still catch-and-shoot jumpers, like the ones Champagnie gets. He’s a worse rebounder (only a 6.9% rebound rate) and a worse defender. San Antonio needs a four who can play inside and out, and can do some of the dirty work for Wembanyama inside. Hachimura is not a fit in that regard.
May I present a third door? Are we sure the Spurs want to commit 15M a year to a role player when they have looming contract extensions for Stephon Castle and Dylan Harper? What if they went have someone a little cheaper instead? San Antonio had reported interest in Guerschon Yabusele last offseason. He got back on track in a bigger role with the Chicago Bulls late last year. He’d provide the same level of rebounding as Collins while shooting 38% from three (with the Bulls). He’d be a cheaper option who could do a lot of the things San Antonio needs from a power forward.
Gomez: Rumors about Aaron Gordon being potentially available have me wanting the Spurs to take a big swing, but after getting to the Finals, it’s unlikely they will do anything drastic. I’d settle for them getting Hachimura, Tobias Harris, or Collins, and I’ll add Precious Achiuwa to the list of desirable targets. Achiuwa is not a shooter, but he’s a big forward who can also play as a small ball center in a pinch thanks to his rebounding, and he brought energy to a Kings team that severely lacked it last season. He could do the same for a Spurs team that might get complacent now that it knows it’s elite and will have a target on its back.
If they decide to go for cheaper targets, Kenrich Williams could be interesting. He has playoff experience, can shoot a little, and doesn’t shy away from physicality.
There have been a few high-profile players who seem to be available via trade. Do you think the Spurs should go hard after any of them?
Dubinski: I don’t think so. Jalen Brown is both too combustible and expensive (plus, it seems he wants to be first fiddle, and that’s even less likely here than Boston), and someone like Ja Morant is not a position of need and a hard pass for the Spurs’ system and culture. Plus, any trades for major players would likely require De’Aaron Fox for salary purposes; the Spurs have made it clear they have no intention of trading him, and as Jesus pointed out, it wouldn’t be a good look for them at this juncture. (And for the record, I’m not on the trade Fox bandwagon. I think the results would have been different if his ankle had been healthy. Blame Ayo Dosunmo.)
Barrington: I honestly can’t believe the deal that Minnesota gave up for Julius Randle. He is still a useful player, but they basically swapped the 28th pick for the 33rd to dump Randle’s salary, just so they could overpay Ayo Dosunmo. If the Spurs can find another team having a fire sale on good players because they’re churning the roster, maybe they can take advantage of another team’s cap problems, as they have a pretty decent situation for the next year or two before things start to explode with Wemby and Castle getting their second contracts and Fox’s max kicking in. I just don’t see it happening, but I expect that Brian Wright will be keeping an ear to the ground to listen for signs of other teams having salary cap-induced panic attacks.
Douglas: No, partly because I don’t think San Antonio has assets it should sacrifice to get one of them. Aaron Gordon or Leonard (gulp) would be the perfect fits with this team, but would likely require giving up De’Aaron Fox, Devin Vassell, and/or Keldon Johnson to get them. This offseason shouldn’t be about a major shakeup. It should be about adding pieces around the edges that can maximize a core that made it all the way to the NBA Finals in their first full season playing together. A trade for a star that requires a major sacrifice could either boost them into the stratosphere or kill all of the momentum from last season.
Gomez: The way the Spurs acted at the deadline last season, when they stood pat despite having big expiring contracts, suggests they are happy with their core, so I doubt they are seriously considering making a big move. It’s always good to do the due diligence and check what it would take to land an established star, and there are some exciting names that could make San Antonio better, but I just don’t see a big trade coming, for better or for worse.
SAN DIEGO — One big hit and a bunch of great at-bats.
That’s all the Dodgers needed to take control of a rubber-match 4-2 win over the Padres on Sunday afternoon at Petco Park.
With the score tied entering the top of the fifth inning, and a pivotal midseason series hanging in the balance between National League West rivals, the Dodgers built the kind of big inning they’ve long felt defines their offense.
The Dodgers’ Mookie Betts went 2-for-4 with two RBIs in the 4-2 road victory Sunday against the Padres. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
They stressed Padres ace Michael King with supreme plate discipline. Then they made him pay for the one mistake he left in the zone.
The inning began with three free bases: walks from Alex Freeland and Shohei Ohtani (who had opened the scoring in the third with an RBI single), then a hit-by-pitch of Andy Pages.
After that, former MVPs Freddie Freeman and Mookie Betts came up and exemplified a pair of professional at-bats.
Freeman stayed alive in a nine-pitch battle against King, fouling off one two-strike offering after the next —including one that nearly drilled Betts in the on-deck circle — before finally walking on a changeup that appeared to catch the corner of the zone but wasn’t challenged by either of San Diego’s batterymates.
Betts then stepped in and waited King out for something over the plate. He laid off the first three pitches he saw. He then laced a two-run single to center on a sinker down the middle.
The Dodgers would cling to the lead the rest of the way, getting a five-inning, one-run start out of Emmet Sheehan, then four stressful innings of one-run ball from the bullpen.
There were plenty of chances for the Padres to rally along the way, as they put the tying runners on base in the sixth and eighth and had Fernando Tatis Jr. up as the tying run with one out in the ninth. But they couldn’t replicate what the Dodgers did in the fifth. It underscored the difference in the game, the series and the NL West standings.
The Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani went 1-for-4 with an RBI in the series-clinching victory Sunday in San Diego. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
What it means
The Dodgers’ division lead was in no sort of danger entering this week’s series, even after the Padres trimmed it to eight games with a win in Friday night’s opener.
Granted, there is still half a season to play. And the Padres come to Dodger Stadium next week for a four-game series. But the way the Dodgers are playing — especially against the Padres so far this year –– it’s hard to imagine the division race getting close again.
The Padres’ Fernando Tatis Jr. (left) and Manny Machado celebrate after Machado homered Sunday. AP Photo/Denis Poroy
Who’s hot
California Post baseball columnist Dylan Hernandez covered Betts’ recent hot streak, which included another single Sunday in addition to his two-run knock in the fifth.
So we’ll use this space to focus on Freeland — who has not been swinging the bat well lately (.182 average with only two extra-base hits his last 21 games) but helped get both of the Dodgers’ scoring rallies started Sunday.
In the third, Freeland lined a leadoff single to left field, took second on a Chuckie Robinson sacrifice bunt, then scored on Ohtani’s RBI base hit. In the fifth, he reached again as the leadoff man by drawing a full-count walk off King, marking only the sixth time this month he’d reached safely twice in a game.
The performance came at a good time for the second-year utility man, who could be on the roster bubble with Teoscar Hernández expected back Monday.
It’s more likely that outfielder Ryan Ward gets optioned to make space for Hernández. Still, Freeland offering a reminder of his value should only help his case in this latest roster crunch.
Machado gets checked out after getting hit by a pitch in the fifth inning Sunday against the Dodgers. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Who’s not
Pages is becoming the latest victim of the Dodgers’ two-hole curse. After going hitless in three at-bats on Sunday (he was hit by a pitch in his two other trips to the plate), Pages is now batting just .208 this month, which he has spent entirely in the No. 2 spot of the batting order.
No one who has slotted into the place has seemed to do well this year, with the Dodgers having already bumped Kyle Tucker and Betts down the order.
Up next
The Dodgers will make their first road trip to Sacramento this week, opening a three-game series against the Athletics — who continue to play in the Giants’ Triple-A park — on Monday. Eric Lauer (3-5, 4.87 ERA) will start and not follow an opener, manager Dave Roberts said pregame. Left-handed rookie Gage Jump (3-1, 2.04 ERA) will square off against him.
