The Utah Jazz have dropped their fourth-straight game after tonight’s loss against the Golden State Warriors. The final score was 140-124.
As is the case most nights, Utah struggled tremendously on defense. Utah allowed Golden State to attempt 54 attempts from behind the arc, with the Warriors connecting on 43% of them. Sure, the Warriors lead the league in three-point attempts per game at 44.6, but the sheer number of open looks Utah allowed was astounding. The final score reflected those easy looks – it’s nearly impossible to win an NBA game when you give up 140 points. The Jazz can waive goodbye any aspirations of competing next season if this core defends this poorly, Walker Kessler healthy or not.
On a positive note, Ace Bailey has continued his impressive offensive play. He finished the night with 19 points, seven rebounds, four assists, two steals, and one block. After failing to make much of an impact on the game outside scoring against the Los Angeles Clippers, Bailey made a great effort to crash the glass, find his teammates, and use his length to his advantage on defense. It is a disappointment that Bailey won’t get an opportunity to play during All-Star Weekend, but his development is promising.
Importantly, it seems the Jazz have heard the complaints about the in-arena audio. For the first time this season, it appears that there were moments without loud music and pumped-in crowed noise:
By the way: at least in this first quarter, the Jazz have way turned down the music and aren't doing it on every single possession. You can hear the crowd now and that's a very good thing!
Hopefully this is a trend moving forward. Utah’s in-arena experience continues to be fairly lackluster. Eliminating the random high-hat soundtracks blaring in the background of every other possession is a step towards improving it.
The Jazz will face off against the Brooklyn Nets at home on Friday, January 30th before staring a five-game roadtrip.
In the latest Stein Line, Marc Stein reveals the Utah Jazz will be active this trade season, but it’s not likely to be for a big name.
From Marc Stein:
With various teams hard-capped at the first apron or just trying to remain below that threshold — or out of the luxury tax altogether — there’s a growing belief leaguewide that we’ll see Brooklyn, Charlotte and Utah play facilitator in a few of these more complicated frameworks. Sources say that the Nets, Hornets and Jazz have all been reiterating to teams in ongoing conversations that they are willing to help grease trades in exchange for draft capital.
This makes a lot of sense for the Jazz. Utah is not interested in improving this season, but it has a lot of expiring veteran contracts that could be used to make a trade happen. It’s also interesting to hear the Jazz are interested in more draft capital. The fact is, you can never have too many picks, and you never know when the later pick in the draft becomes the player you need. For example, Taylor Hendricks, drafted at #9, has not been as good as Keyonte George, who was drafted at #16. But it’s also not just drafting that picks can help with. Draft picks are the trade currency of the NBA and are becoming more and more valuable. Because the CBA is so strict, having young players on the roster makes it easier to make your contracts work, and it’s making those picks that much more valuable.
If Utah can somehow trade off more of its veteran players and bring on more picks, it could be an extremely successful trade deadline.
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — John Blackwell scored 23 points, including Wisconsin's last seven points in the final minute, and the Badgers rallied to defeat short-handed Minnesota 67-63 on Wednesday night.
Wisconsin trailed by 18 points at halftime against a Golden Gophers team missing leading scorer Cade Tyson, who was out with an ankle injury. Six players were unavailable due to injury and only seven players saw action for Minnesota.
Nick Boyd's jumper gave Wisconsin a 51-50 lead with 6 1/2 minutes remaining, the Badgers' first lead since it was 3-0. There were six lead changes in the next 5 1/2 minutes, the last coming when Blackwell made two free throws for a 62-61 lead with one minute remaining.
Jack Janicki blocked Isaac Asuma's 3-point try with 45 seconds left and Blackwell drained a 3-pointer for a 65-61 lead with 19 seconds remaining. Minnesota's Grayson Grove dunked a rebound with nine seconds left to make it 65-63 then Blackwell finished off the win with two free throws.
Boyd scored 21 points for Wisconsin (15-6, 7-3 Big Ten).
Bobby Durkin scored 20 points, Asuma 16 and Langston Reynolds 12 for Minnesota (10-11, 3-7), which has lost six straight.
After trailing 35-17 and making only one two-point shot in the first half, Wisconsin scored the first 10 points of the second half and extended the run to 15-2 through the first eight minutes.
A four-point play by Braeden Carrington got Wisconsin within 50-49 with seven minutes remaining. The Badgers had outscored Minnesota 32-15 at that point of the second half.
CORAL GABLES, Fla. (AP) — Malik Reneau scored 20 points, Tre Donaldson added 18, and Miami pulled away inside the final seven minutes to beat Stanford 79-70 on Wednesday night.
Miami used an 11-2 run to tie it at 51-all with 9:35 to play. About two minutes later, Dante Allen's 3-pointer sparked another 11-2 surge that gave the Hurricanes a 67-58 advantage with 2:46 remaining before they sealed it from the free-throw line.
Shelton Henderson and Tru Washington added 12 points apiece for Miami (17-4, 6-2 Atlantic Coast Conference), which has won consecutive games since a two-game skid ended a 10-game win streak.
Ebuka Okorie scored 19 points and Benny Gealer added 17 to lead Stanford (14-7, 3-5). Ryan Agarwal chipped in with 11 points and AJ Rohosy scored 10.
Okorie scored 11 points and Agarwal added nine to help give Stanford a 40-35 halftime advantage. The Cardinal hit 7 of 14 from distance and shot 52% (16 of 31). Donaldson and Reneau scored 13 points apiece in the first half for the Hurricanes.
Miami made half of its 28 field goals after the break while Stanford shot 35.5% (11 of 31) from the floor.
CLEVELAND — The Lakers avoided a potential disaster when star guard Luka Dončić returned to Wednesday night’s matchup against the Cavaliers late in the first quarter after taking a scary fall into the stands just a few minutes into the game.
But what they didn’t avoid was another double-digit loss in LeBron James’ return to northeast Ohio, with uncertainty about his NBA future beyond this season.
The Lakers were blown out by the Cavaliers 129-99 at Rocket Arena during a game in which James uncharacteristically struggled in front of a crowd showering him with adoration throughout the evening.
LeBron James drives to the basket during the game against the Cleveland Cavaliers on January 28, 2026. NBAE via Getty ImagesLebron James throws chalk in the air before the game against the Cleveland Cavaliers on January 28, 2026. NBAE via Getty Images
Dončić finished with 29 points, six assists and five rebounds after returning, but the Cavaliers outscored the Lakers 72-44 in the second half, including 42-22 in the third, for their fifth consecutive win.
James finished with 11 points on 3-of-10 shooting to go with six turnovers, five assists and three rebounds.
The only time the Cleveland crowd cheered louder than it did for James?
When his son and teammate, Bronny James, scored eight points in the fourth quarter – a dunk and a pair of 3-pointers – during garbage time when the Cavaliers had full control.
Cleveland Cavaliers forward Dean Wade tries to get past Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James. David Richard-Imagn Images
What does it mean?
The Lakers will have to wait even longer to go on a three-game winning streak – something they’ve done once since the end of November.
They also dropped to 28-18 on the season, maintaining their No. 5 spot in the Western Conference standings and 3-2 on the “Grammy” trip.
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Jarrett Allen, center, fights for control of the ball with Los Angeles Lakers forward Jake LaRavia. AP
Turning point
There were two distinct moments Wednesday: when the Cavaliers took control of the game, and when they grabbed it by the throat, ensuring the Lakers were going to suffer another double-digit loss.
The first happened immediately after halftime, when the Cavaliers outscored the Lakers 19-10 in the opening few minutes of the third quarter to take a 76-65 lead after making seven of their first eight shots, including four 3-pointers.
The Cavaliers still had the game under control after calling timeout at the 4:29 mark of the quarter after a James layup in transition cut the Lakers’ deficit to 82-70.
Rui Hachimura, who went scoreless in 18 minutes after missing all seven of his shot attempts, passed up a corner 3 attempt and turned over the ball on the Lakers’ first possession after the timeout. That led to a De’Andre Hunter layup in transition that started a 17-7 Cleveland run to close the quarter, with the Cavaliers leading 99-77 starting the fourth.
LeBron James drives to the basket during the game against the Cleveland Cavaliers on January 28, 2026. NBAE via Getty Images
MVP: Jaylon Tyson
The second-year wing continued his strong season, finishing with 20 points, six rebounds and six assists in 29 minutes.
He was also the recipient of a couple of offensive fouls against James, who struggled to get into a rhythm for most of Wednesday.
Stat of the game: 28.1%
After having one of their best shooting games of the season in Monday’s win over the Bulls in Chicago, the Lakers followed it with one of their worst.
They knocked down just nine of their 32 3s against the Cavaliers, including 5 of 18 in the second half.
Dončić (3 of 8 on 3s) and Gabe Vincent (11 points; 3 of 4 on 3s) were the only Lakers to knock down a shot from beyond the arc until Bronny James made a pull-up 3 with 2:53 left.
Dalton Knecht made a late 3 in garbage time before the younger James made another 3, leading to loud cheers from the Cleveland crowd.
Bronny James dunks the ball during the game against the Cleveland Cavaliers on January 28, 2026. NBAE via Getty Images
Up next
The Lakers’ trip will continue with a matchup against the Wizards on Friday.
It’ll be their second-to-last city of the trip before playing two games in New York, with matchups against the Knicks on Sunday and Nets on Tuesday, respectively.
The New York Rangers’ 5-2 loss to the New York Islanders on Wednesday night was overshadowed by news that proceeded to come out before the game even starting.
Just about an hour before puck drop at UBS Arena, word came out that Artemi Panarin would be held out of the lineup due to roster management, and he won’t play in any games before the Olympic break, beginning on Feb. 5.
Everybody has known that it was just a matter of time before Panarin gets traded, as Rangers president and general manager Chris Drury reportedly held an individual meeting with Panarin shortly before releasing a letter outlining the team’s intentions to retool, and informed him that the Rangers do not plan to re-sign him past this season and will look to trade him to anywhere he wishes to go.
However, Panarin had remained in the lineup leading up to Wednesday, and it appears as if the decision to hold him out was made just hours before the game, to the surprise of many of the players.
“Yeah it was a little weird, with how it happened later in the day and he’s not here,” Vincent Trocheck said of Panarin’s absence. “It’s a weird feeling. Obviously, like I said before, we know what a situation like this brings, and for me personally, it being a guy like Bread, who I’ve become extremely close with over the last four years and was lucky enough to play with, it's been a huge blessing for me. I've learned a ton from him. Yeah, it's tough whether it's a game day or not a game day.”
Although Panarin hasn’t officially been traded yet, Wednesday night felt like the closing of a chapter for the Rangers organization, a chapter that started in 2019 when the Rangers signed Panarin to a 7-year, $81 million contract.
In all likelihood, the 34-year-old has played his last game in a Blueshirts sweater.
In 482 games with the Rangers, Panarin has recorded 205 goals, 402 assists, and 607 points, while also helping lead the team to the Eastern Conference Final twice.
“Bread is a terrific player and a great teammate,” Mike Sullivan said. “He's one of the best Rangers of his generation. He's not an easy guy to replace when he’s not in the lineup, but everybody understands it, and we're going to control what we can.”
Panarin was not the first and likely won’t be the last player to be yanked out of the lineup due to roster management.
Just 48 hours ago, Carson Soucy was scratched from Monday’s matchup against the Boston Bruins, and by the end of the night, he was traded to the Islanders.
Over the past year and a half, we’ve seen the dismantling of the Rangers’ core. Now up until the March 6th NHL Trade Deadline, we’ll see the continuation of this teardown, with players falling like dominoes, getting taken away piece by piece in an effort to go through with the retool plan outlined by Drury in his Jan. 16th letter.
Drury’s warning to fans that they may have to say “goodbye to players that have brought us and our fans great moments over the years” is being put into action.
The reality of the situation is staring every player directly in the face and looming over the team like a dark cloud.
“You can't look at it like that,” Trocheck said about whether he’s trying to savor every moment with this team before being broken up. “You can't go about your day being scared of what's going to happen next. You got to, like you said, embrace every moment that you have together, and love everybody in this locker room and cherish every second that we have together, every time we're on the ice together.”
The Colorado Avalanche are facing off against the Ottawa Senators for the second time this season, though it wasn't as pretty as their last matchup's 8-2 victory. It was not a good game from the Avalanche one bit. Outshot, out-chanced, and it shows with a 5-2 loss.
Period 1
Just under two minutes into the first period, Sam Malinski tries to clear the puck but sends it over the glass and is called for a delay of game penalty. The Avalanche would easily kill the penalty. Though 10 minutes into the first period, the shots on goal are 6-2 Senators, which is a great sign for how the Senators came out, but a telling sign of a slow and sluggish start for the Avalanche.
It also shows just how poor their puck control has been, too many mistakes leading to turnovers, and how they have helped the Senators set up in the offensive zone. Taylor Makar is called for hooking, but the Avalanche penalty kill stands strong and kills it off, ending the first period tied.
Period 2
Nick Cousins is able to sneak behind the defense and receives a great pass from Artem Zub, and beats MacKenzie Blackwood with a nifty backhand shot. Scary moment when Martin Necas tries to check Zub on the boards but misses, and he leads awkwardly with his elbow and is down on the ice for a bit.
He can get up and skate down the tunnel on his own, but thankfully, he is back just a couple of minutes later. Artturi Lehkonen is called for hooking, but the Senators fail to capitalize on the power play for the third time.
Blackwood robs Brady Tkatchuck with a shot from the slot. It’s really been him, and the Avalanche penalty kill that's kept this game a one-goal game for so long. It's Parker Kelly who finds a loose puck and rips a shot past Reimer to tie it up, 1-1. His 11th goal sets a career high in points (20).
Just 15 seconds later, Ridly Greig beats Keaton Middleton as he receives a great stretch pass from Tyler Kleven and rifles it top shelf, 2-1. Blackwood was in a weird place between playing it and not playing it, and Greig’s shot really beat him to the punch, not making a decision quickly enough.
Just eight shots on goal for the Avalanche after two periods, which is a season low through 40 minutes. The last season low was 16 SOG against the Vancouver Canucks on Nov. 9 and the Nashville Predators on Nov.22
Period 3
Claude Giroux on the 2-on-1 picks his corner, this time top left, and rips it past Blackwood to make it 3-1. Valeri Nichushkin makes it 3-2 with a slick positional play from Jack Drury, allowing him to find Nichushkin all alone in front with a nice backhand shot.
The Avalanche would look much better controlling the puck and getting shots on net, but just can’t get anything else to go. Blackwood would be pulled twice, but Tkatchuk and Tim Stutzle would make it 4-2 and 5-2 to end the game.
The Avalanche are back in action tomorrow (Jan. 29) in a back-to-back game against the Montreal Canadiens, wearing the Quebec Nordiques jersey.
Wednesday evening was just another game for the Minnesota Timberwolves where their opponents, the Dallas Mavericks, were missing the majority of their rotation players. The number one overall pick, Cooper Flagg, was out for just the fourth game of the season. Joining him on the sidelines was Kyrie Irving, Anthony Davis, Klay Thompson, Derek Lively, and a handful of others.
This was going to be a high risk, low reward game.
Would it surprise you if I told you that Minnesota came out of the gates fumbling the ball all over the place? How about them giving up a ton of offensive rebounds and second chance opportunities to Dallas? Yeah, I didn’t think so. It was the Mavericks total lack of talent on the floor that allowed the Wolves stay even. Anthony Edwards was particularly quiet on the floor early, matching his recent performance off the court.
Julius Randle was playing in his hometown of Dallas with his mother in attendance. Perhaps her presence gave Randle the motivation to carry Minnesota on the offensive end. He chipped in 10 of his game-high 31 points in the opening quarter.
The game started to lean in the Wolves favor as we got a glimpse into the potential future of the Wolves frontcourt. To deal with their early rebounding woes, Chris Finch subbed in rookie Joan Beringer to pair with Naz Reid. Both immediately injected energy into game. Reid had a quick seven-point burst. Beringer contributed to five more points by rim running and crashing the flash. We even got a Reid to Beringer lob!
A double-digit Minnesota lead was briefly sliced down due to an incessant fouling problem. Luckily, the zombie Mavericks couldn’t even muster up 50 points in the first half, giftwrapping the Wolves a 10-point lead at the half. Sadly, Minnesota came out of the tunnel with about the same energy they had in the first half. Jaden McDaniels quickly picked up his fourth foul while Edwards continued to display poor body language on the defensive end.
What was missing from those two seemed to available in spades from Donte DiVincenzo. Big Ragu was all over the court, even after picking up a season-high tying four steals in the first half alone. He nearly detonated a Slam Ball-esque one-handed jam over Daniel Gafford, and then seconds later almost converted on an all heart full court sprint in transition.
The Wolves mostly sat at a comfortable 13 to 16 point lead in the third quarter, at times allowing the Mavericks to slice it down to nine. However, easy buckets for Edwards (Who later showed he did have a voice, picking up a technical foul for complaining) and more vintage Randle bully ball kept the home team at bay. Beringer continued to provide a glance at the crystal ball, violently swatting away a Caleb Martin layup attempt, then finishing the third quarter off with a buzzer-beating putback.
Minnesota held a 17-point lead heading into the final stanza which never diminished to single-digits again.
As mentioned at the start of this recap, it was going to be a low reward game. Randle raised the floor on the offensive end. The French towers buoyed the defensive end. Reid popped off against second and third stringers. DiVincenzo brought the invaluable intangibles. Bones Hyland continued to show some extra pop off the bench that Finch has been so desperately searching for. Even Mike Conley did some things!
All of that more than balanced out a slow night by McDaniels and (another) relatively muted night from Edwards.
If you don’t have social media, the Wolves have moved up to the sixth seed in the Western Conference and are just about one to two games back from homecourt advantage in the postseason.
Box Score
Up Next
The Wolves hop on a quick flight to visit the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder on Thursday, January 29 at 8:30 pm CT. The last time these two teams clashed, we got an epic finish. Catch this one on Prime Video.
Another game against a quality team equals another blowout loss for the Lakers. In defeats, the Lakers have continued to have the same problems and they were exposed once again in Cleveland.
LA struggled to slow down the Cavaliers’ offense, and in the third quarter, they got outscored by 20, which essentially ended the game. Points in the paint were also a problem as they lost that battle 60-48.
Barring a trade, the 2025-26 Lakers are what they are at this point. And, it appears that’s a team that’s a player or two away from being a player or two away from being an elite squad.
So, let’s dive into the loss. As always, grades are based on expectations for each player. A “B” grade represents the average performance for that player.
The Cavs gave LeBron a tribute before the game that moved him to tears. That was touching to see, and with so much uncertainty about his future, it’s clear he’s soaking it all in.
LeBron James was stirred to tears during the Cleveland Cavaliers tribute video to him in the 1st half tonight (via @NBA) pic.twitter.com/AJ2ZQqr20V
Once play began, LeBron was subpar. He had far too many turnovers and struggled from the field, going 3-10. James tried to tough it out and played in the fourth despite appearing to have hurt his ankle, but the game was far out of reach.
Hopefully, this loss won’t also include a significant injury to James that forces him to miss time. LeBron can only miss one more game if he wants to remain eligible for NBA awards.
This game was all about what LaRavia didn’t do. He had zero rebounds and failed to hit a 3-point shot. Perhaps when Austin Reaves returns, he can go back to the bench where the variance of his performances will hurt the Lakers less.
On paper, Ayton had a good game. He was perfect from the field, scoring 10 points in 19 minutes. But when you watch the game, you see mediocre defense and a player who couldn’t impose his will on either end of the floor.
Luka avoided disaster in the opening quarter when he slipped due to the Cavs’ floor being raised. He exited the game for a moment but was able to return.
Lakers head coach JJ Redick said the elevated floor was a “safety hazard” and that sounds about right.
Dončić continued to play, but it did appear like his ankle was bothering him the rest of the way.
Vincent played well in this game and was a bright spot in this loss. That’s not saying much, nor does it change his role on the Lakers, but it was nice to see him make some baskets.
This was an awful performance from Hachimura. Hopefully, this is just a bump in the road because he looked like he was finding his groove over the last couple of games.
Considering that Timme barely reached double-digit minutes and most of that came during garbage time, there isn’t much to learn from his play in this game.
Grade: C-
Bronny James, Maxi Kleber, Dalton Knecht
This trio only got garbage time action. The Cavs fans liked watching Bronny score.
Pittsburgh Penguins defensive prospect Emil Pieniniemi has been called up from the ECHL to the AHL.
The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins announced on Tuesday that Pieniniemi has been promoted to them from the ECHL's Wheeling Nailers. He had compiled two goals and four points in 10 games with the Nailers prior to being called up.
— Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (@WBSPenguins) January 27, 2026
Pieniniemi was suspended by the Penguins' organization after he failed to report to Wheeling at the start of the season. He even returned to Finland during his suspension before agreeing to report to Wheeling in December. Once he reported to Wheeling, his suspension was lifted.
After playing well for the Nailers, he'll now get his shot in the AHL with a team that is second in the Atlantic Division.
Pieniniemi was drafted by the Penguins in the third round of the 2023 NHL Draft. He spent the 2024-25 season with the OHL's Kingston Frontenacs, finishing with 10 goals and 60 points in 60 games.
The Colorado Rockies made a number of roster moves on Wednesday within the span of two hours, and Skyler Timmins did a marvelous job of keeping up with them:
At 2pm, Paul DePodesta hopped on Zoom with the media to answer questions about the moves and what they mean for the future of the organization.
On the decision to trade Angel Chivilli
I wouldn’t say we necessarily wanted to [trade Chivilli], because he obviously has a terrific arm, he’s still very young, he did miss a lot of bats. I think there are a lot of things about Angel that are really attractive. We weren’t anxious to move him, but we did feel like our bullpen is a real area of depth, and there have been clubs asking about a number of our bullpen arms throughout the course of the last couple months. And ultimately, this was a deal that seemed to fit and seemed to come together for us. It wasn’t a situation where we were looking to move him by any stretch, there was just enough interest, and I found a deal that ultimately made sense. But we were dealing from an area of strength where we could then bolster our position player club going forward.
On TJ Rumfield
We think he’s a solid defender at first base to go along with the bat. He’s been a very productive hitter the last two years in Triple-A as a 24 and 25-year-old. I think he’s got really good bat-to-ball skills. He has some emerging power. But he’s a guy that can manipulate the barrel pretty well, and as a consequence, has hit for average along with some of that juice. So we think he’s a nice combination of skills and is very capable at first base.
On the decision to DFA Yanquiel Fernández
It’s hard, to be honest with you. We’re now certainly at a point where we feel like every time we make a move, we’re losing someone we like or potentially losing someone we like. And that was certainly the case with Yanquiel. He’s been a good prospect and got a chance to get his feet we at the major league level last year. He has some power, so it’s hard.
I think at this point we felt like we did have some depth outfield-wise, especially with the left-hand hitting outfielders. We now have a group in the big leagues that we feel pretty good about. We also have a handful of guys on the 40-man who maybe haven’t yet gotten a lot of time in the big leagues, or even any time at all with, like, Sterlin Thompson. So it really came do to that where, if we lose someone, in what part of the roster can we afford that? And right now, I think that left hand-hitting outfielder spot was where we were just a little heavy.
On Edouard Julien
I think we’re certainly intrigued by the bat. I think he had a really, really good track record, even going back to the time when he was in High-A, Double-A, Triple-A into his rookie season. He’s produced at the major league level at different times. The last couple of years, he hasn’t had as consistent of opportunities that he had that rookie year, but we like the versatility. He can play first, he can play second, and we like that left-handed bat against right-handed pitching. So we think there are probably some different ways that we can use it.
On Pierson Ohl
I think he could do a little bit of both (opening and relieving). He’s also started in the minor league, and his mix is a little different, depending on whether or not he was starting or relieving. But he’s a very, very good strike thrower. He does have some good pitches in his arsenal to keep hitters off balance. Principally, he has the changeup but he also has a feel for a handful of other pitches. So I think philosophically, he fits with us really well and could pitch in a multitude of roles for us.
On the left-handedness of the recent trades
I think there were some struggles last year against right-handed pitching in general. And obviously, you’re going to see more right-handers than left-handers, so I think it certainly was a focus for us as we went through the offseason to make sure we had a few more weapons from the left side, if possible.
On creating roster competition and positional flexibility
I think what we’re really trying to do is create, I think, really healthy competition on our roster [with these moves]. Now, most of the players we have acquired do have a good amount of versatility. I think there are lots of different ways that the pieces can fit, and I think that’s really what we’re looking for.
And I think we’re also going into the idea that the roster is going to be fluid through the course of the year. We all know that we’ll have injuries, we’ll have players that maybe don’t perform the way you expected them to, etc. and I think these players having versatility just makes our roster a little bit more robust. So we may not be done adding — we’ll see — but we did want to make sure that we had healthy competition at a handful of these different spots and then different ways to put the puzzle together.
I don’t think we’re going to be taking positions away from any guys who are capable of playing. In fact, it may actually be the opposite. This spring, you may see some guys playing some positions that maybe they haven’t played as much in the past, just to see if we can’t increase their versatility.”
On a common thread
There are certain things we want to be able to do as a team. I think we know it’s really hard to get all of those attributes in a single player. But as a team collectively, we want to be able to do a lot of different things. We know we need to get on base more; we know we need to chase less; we’d like to hit for some more power; we want to be able to run the bases more effectively and have that be more of a weapon on our team.
So trying to accomplish all these things at once, again, is really hard to do with just one player. But I think each of the players that we’ve acquired have pieces that have elements of those goals, and we’ll bring those to our team as a whole.
On continued player development
Last week, we had our summit in Denver with all of our baseball personnel. And one of the real themes of that was that development never stops, and I think Schaeff and his entire staff at the major-league level are committed to continue to develop guys, even at the major-league level. That’s something that we’re going to be focused on, not just this year, but I think going forward in the organization and really sort of bring that into the development that the players have already had in the minor leagues. But there’s not doubt we think that there are heights yet to be reached for all these players, not just the ones we’ve just acquired, but even for the players we’ve already had on our roster.
On acquiring another starting pitcher
We continue to engage on finding even more pitching, largely starters, because we feel like we’ve got pretty good depth in our bullpen, but we’re looking at all different avenues. So far this offseason, we’ve traded for folks, we’ve claimed players, we’ve signed free agents, and I think we’re still actively looking through all of those avenues for additional starting pitching.
On Charlie Condon and the future
We love Charlie, and I think we’re very excited to have him. With all these moves, I think back to probably 25 years ago or so when I was with Oakland and we were in spring training and we were adding one more player, and there was some concern about how he was going to fit. And I remember Billy [Beane] at one point saying, ‘Do we finally have too many good players? Is that the point we’ve reached? We have too many?’
Obviously, we’re not there yet. We’re going to keep adding talent to this roster, but in no way are we not believing in the young guys we have. We have a lot of really good young players that are in Double-A and Triple-A, and there’s no doubt in my mind that they’re going to earn their opportunities on this team. And once they do, they’ll have long runways with us.
As we keep saying, the Rockies have a vision. They seem to have a clear idea of how they want to construct their roster and the things they’re looking for in players.
It’s also a breath of fresh air to hear from Paul DePodesta as often as he’s been available.
What are your thoughts on the Rockies’ roster moves? Do you think they’ll make more? Let us know in the comments!
He returned to Cleveland — next to the city where he was born, the team he spent his first seven seasons in the NBA with — then returned and won a ring. He is the hometown hero, and they welcomed him back with a tribute video.
All season long, the conventional wisdom in league circles has been that LeBron will play one more season, kind of a farewell tour, but it will not be with the Lakers. A return to Cleveland has always been speculated as one of the most likely final stops in LeBron's unparalleled career.
Cleveland "would gladly welcome James back this summer if he wanted to return," ESPN Dave McMenamin reported on Wednesday, just before this homecoming game. This is a Cavaliers team poised to contend again next season in the East, it would be him leaving on a high note.
Could we see LeBron in the wine and gold one more time? He was not about to walk down that road Wednesday night.
"I don't know what the future holds," LeBron James said. "I'm just trying to live in the moment."
LeBron echoed what he always says, that he and his family will discuss his future after the season ends. He doesn't know if this season, his 23rd in the NBA at age 41, will be his last.
Just don't be surprised if the ultimate outcome is LeBron James back in Cleveland for one more campaign.
Another decision-making moment is coming up for the Nashville Predators.
Losing four of their last five, most recently in overtime to the Boston Bruins, 3-2, on Tuesday, the Predators are slowly slipping out of the Western Conference Wild Card race.
With the Olympic break approaching, league play will pause for two weeks, giving general managers time to thoroughly analyze their rosters ahead of the March 6 NHL Trade Deadline.
Nearly every single Predators player has had a rumor about them getting traded. From Ryan O'Reilly to Nick Blakenburg, there been an argument for why every player should go.
A little over a month from the trade deadline, here is a realistic look at the Predators' situation and what could happen.
What we know
Jun 28, 2023; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; Nashville Predators incoming general manager Barry Trotz announces the twenty fourth pick in round one of the 2023 NHL Draft at Bridgestone Arena. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-Imagn Images
According to PuckPedia, the Predators have around $27.8 million to spend at the NHL trade deadline, more than enough to make some big moves.
Six players have no-movement clauses, which means they cannot be traded or sent to the minors unless the Predators have player approval:
Filip Forsberg ($8.85 million AAV), Steven Stamkos ($8 million AAV), Jonathan Marchessault ($5.5 million AAV), Roman Josi ($9.059 AAV), Brady Skjei ($7 million AAV) and Juuse Saros ($7.740 AAV).
Two players are currently being bought out:
Matt Duchene ($6.55 million this year, then $1.55 million AAV from 2026-27 to 2028-29) and Kyle Turris ($2 million AAV until 2027-28).
The Predators have retained salary on two players:
Colton Sissions ($1.428 million for the 2025-26 season) and Mattias Ekholm ($250,000 for the 2025-26 season).
Other notable details include Erik Haula (six-team no-trade list), Matthew Wood and Fedor Svechkov (both on ELCs and two-way contracts). Tyson Jost, Adam Wilsby and Ozzy Weisblatt are all on two-way contracts.
As for free agents, the following players will be UFA's after this season: Michael Bunting, Erik Haula, Cole Smith, Michael McCarron, Tyson Jost, Andreas Englund, and Nick Blakenburg.
Fedor Svechkov and Justin Barron will be restricted free agents.
General Manager Barry Trotz had been candid, saying on 102.5 The Game on Tuesday that "everything has to be on the table."
Trading Ryan O'Reilly or Steven Stamkos
Nov 26, 2025; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Nashville Predators center Ryan O'Reilly (90) celebrates his goal with center Steven Stamkos (91) during the third period against the Detroit Red Wings at Little Caesars Arena. Mandatory Credit: Tim Fuller-Imagn Images
O'Reilly: 3rd year of a 4-year, $18 million ($4.50 AAV)
Stamkos: 2nd year of 4-year, $32 million ($8 million AAV) with a No-Trade Clause
One of the biggest trade talks around the league has been about O'Reilly and Stamkos, specifically at the beginning of the year, and it's now flaring up again.
O'Reilly carried the Predators through the first quarter of the season and has been their most consistent player all year, recording 51 points (18 goals, 33 assists) in 52 games.
Stamkos had a slow start to the season, sparking up conversation that the future Hall of Famer may want to leave Nashville for a contender in his final few years in the league. Since then, his game has picked up, recording 38 points (25 goals, 13 assists) in 52 games.
O'Reilly has been asked about a trade before, earlier in the year, and he said he has not been open to those conversations, adding that he "wants to be part of the solution" in Nashville.
Trotz also said the Predators would need to get a high-caliber player in return if they were to trade O'Reilly. Seemingly, Nashville doesn't want just draft picks for O'Reilly.
As for Stamkos, it's about whether he wants to go. If he's set on staying in Nashville, any sort of trade talk is done.
Into the next step of who could be potential suitors to take on an AAV of $8 million or $4.50 million?
When talking about the most appealing places for O'Reilly or Stamkos to go, it looks like Detroit or San Jose.
The Sharks have a $8.960 million in deadline cap space, ahead of the Wild Card curve Nashville is chasing and at least 3 steps ahead in the rebuild process, with an extremely bright future.
O'Reilly would be a good fit in adding another veteran leader to a beaming, young Sharks team. However, they are currently projected to be about a million above the cap by the end of the season.
The Red Wings have $59.449 million of deadline cap space and are expected to have $13 million by the end of the season. Detroit is battling Tampa Bay for the top spot in the Atlantic Division and is seemingly rounding a corner, ready to be a consistent player contender again.
Who could the Predators get for O'Reilly?
Jan 10, 2026; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; Nashville Predators center Ryan O'Reilly (90) skates with the puck against the Chicago Blackhawks during the third period at Bridgestone Arena. Mandatory Credit: Steve Roberts-Imagn Images
So what could the Predators get in return if they were to trade, hypothetically, with the Red Wings or Sharks?
Jeff Skinner's No-Trade Clause expires at the end of January and is currently in a 1-year, $3 million contract.
He has 13 points in 32 games, so he does not have the high impact as O'Reilly, but he is a veteran piece that could fill the role. Skinner also has a eight team no trade list through the end of the season.
Tyler Toffoli would be another option, in the second year of a 4-year, $24 million contract, with 35 points in 51 games, but he has a no-trade clause and seemingly has no interest in leaving San Jose.
The Sharks could package deal it, but Trotz said that they want a 1-for-1 return if O'Reilly is traded.
On the Detroit side of things, the trade the Predators would likely want is O'Reilly for Lucas Raymond. He's a young winger with 58 points in 52 games and has no contract protection until the 2028-29 season, which comes as a 10-team no-trade list.
He has a much pricier contract than O'Reilly's, at 8 years and $64.6 million, with an $8.08 annual hit. Nashville would truly need to bundle to get this done, and it'd be a hard sell to Detroit.
It's unlikely to happen, but these are the kinds of trades Nashville wants for shipping O'Reilly, and likely more if Stamkos leaves.
The Edmonton Oilers are another team that's been rumored to land O'Reilly. They have only $425,000 in deadline space, but as we know, teams aren't afraid to go over that cap.
This isn't as appealing to Nashville as the Oilers have seven forwards tied down by no-movement clauses.
The only trade that would be likely for what the Predators want for O'Reilly is if they package him in order to land Evan Bouchard, who has 56 points in 54 games as a defenseman.
That'd also be a massive cap hit at a 4-year, $42 million contract with a $10.5 million annual hit.
This trade situation may seem a bit "out there," but the Predators are asking a lot for O'Reilly. If he's gone, they don't want a production fall off or having to wait to draft a player of his potential caliber.
Likely trade deadline situations
Dec 15, 2025; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; St. Louis Blues goaltender Joel Hofer (30) defends the net against Nashville Predators left wing Michael Bunting (58) and left wing Erik Haula (56) during the first period at Enterprise Center. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images
Michael Bunting, F: Final year of 3-year, $13.5 million deal with $4.5 million AAV
Erik Haula, C: Final year of 3-year, $9.45 million deal with $3.15 million AAV, 6 team no-trade list
Nick Blakenburg, D: Final year of a 2-year of $1.55 million deal with $775,000 AAV
Michael McCarron, C: Final year of 2-year, $1.8 million deal with $900,000 AAV
Cole Smith, F: Final year of 2 year, $2 million contract with a $1 million AAV
Nick Perbix, D: First year of 2-year, $5.5 million contract with $2.75 million AAV
The Predators have a handful of guys who are playing well, nearing the end of their contracts, and don't cost a ton that they can use in the market.
The biggest being Michael Bunting, who has had a massive uptick in production this season, recording 29 points (12 goals, 17 assists) in 52 games. He has been a significant boost in Nashville's bottom six and could slide into the same role on any team.
Erik Haula, who had a slow start to the year, is another bottom-six player who could give any team some good depth. He has 25 points (eight goals, 17 assists) in 52 games, nine of which have come on the power play.
Haula's veteran presence and Olympic experience are huge assets for any team's bottom six and would be a massive addition to a second power-play unit. His only limitation is a six-team no-trade list.
Blakenburg has proven to be a valuable asset on the Predators' second and third pairings this season, tallying 21 points in 42 games. Standing at just 5-foot-9-inches, Blakenburg has proven to be a critical depth piece.
Then there's guys the Predators likely want to offload. Michael McCarron and Cole Smith have played a specific role on the fourth line, but haven't added much depth to the lineup.
McCarron has nine points in 51 games and 67 penalty minutes and Smith has eight points in 33 games and 25 penalty minutes. While their role as aggressors is important, Nashville needs scoring depth.
Nick Perbix is another player who has been underperforming and could be on the move. He has eight points in 49 games and a plus/minus of -12. His contract is a little big, but he could find another team.
The Predators are likely not looking to trade too many picks, but this is what they have in stock.
As for who the Predators can bring in or what they'll bring in, it'll likely be a supplimental bottom six player and a few draft picks.
Nashville has needed support down the middle and needs more depth on the blue line. Getting guys who can log solid minutes and create plays will help the Predators make the jump into the playoffs.
Going the other way, bringing in a bunch of draft picks could help Nashville strike big with their 2026 and 2027 classes. Nashville already has 11 picks in this year's and next year's draft classes. The talent pool could easily be much deeper.
LeBron James’ latest return to Cleveland proved to be an emotional one.
James was honored with a tribute video during the Cavaliers’ 129-99 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday night, and it appeared to bring him to tears.
The four-time MVP was clearly emotional while on the bench as Cleveland showed the video on the screens at Rocket Arena. Among the highlights shown during the video was his playoff game against the Detroit Pistons in 2007, when he scored 25 straight points.
“... Obviously, with the moment they put up there with the Detroit game and looking up in the rafters and seeing our championship banner, it was a lot of reflecting for sure,” James said during his postgame media availability.
James also said that "being present" led to the outpouring of emotion.
James finished the game with 11 points, five assists and three rebounds in 27 minutes of play. He shot 3-for-10 from the field and was 0-for-3 from the 3-point line. He also had six turnovers.
While he largely struggled, the game still had plenty of highlights for James. One of them was having his mother, Gloria, in attendance for the game.
“My mom got to watch her son and her grandson play in the NBA at the same time,” James said.
James' son, Bronny James, also plays for the Lakers and he finished the game with eight points in eight minutes of play and had a highlight dunk late in the game. He went 3-for-3 from the field and 2-for-2 from the 3-point line.
