After the Yankees slowed him down over the past week as he dealt with mid-back/left lat inflammation, Schlittler completed a bullpen session that, with a positive recovery, should put him back on track in his buildup to start the regular season on time.
“Again, something we weren’t overly concerned about,” manager Aaron Boone said. “Just being where we are on the calendar, just wanted to make sure it didn’t turn into something bigger.
“Everything went well and accordingly, so keep moving forward.”
Cam Schlittler, throwing during a spring training workout earlier this month, had a successful bullpen session on Tuesday after being held a couple of days for a back issue the youngster called “insignificant.” Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post
Schlittler had been ahead of some other pitchers in his throwing progression before the Yankees decided to keep him off the mound for a few days.
The expectation was that he should only need one or two bullpen sessions before he could resume facing hitters.
Clark resigned Tuesday after an internal investigation found an inappropriate relationship with his sister-in-law, The Post’s Joel Sherman reported.
“Not ideal timing is all I know,” Stanton said, referring to the looming labor battle when the current CBA expires Dec. 1.
Elmer Rodriguez will start the Yankees’ Grapefruit League opener Friday against the Orioles in Sarasota, Fla.
The top pitching prospect has been built up early because he is leaving camp to pitch for Puerto Rico in the WBCat the beginning of March.
Fellow top prospect Carlos Lagrange is expected to start the Yankees’ home opener Saturday against the Tigers.
Luis Gil threw three innings of live batting practice, building his pitch count up to 42. … Ryan McMahon, who sat out Monday’s workouts due to flu-like symptoms, returned to the field Tuesday. … The Yankees made their first cuts of the spring, reassigning RHP Alexander Cornielle and C Abrahan Gutierrez to minor league camp. They now have 70 players in big league camp.
Kris Bryant’s ongoing back issues are affecting far more than just his baseball availability.
The Rockies’ third baseman, on the 60-day injured list with a degenerative back condition, described daily pain so severe that it can be “hard to grab the toothpaste in front of me.”
“Any time my feet hit the ground, I feel like I could probably fall over,” the 2016 National League MVP told reporters Tuesday at Salt River Fields in Scottsdale, Ariz., according to The Denver Post. “It’s unfortunate and obviously not how I want this to go. I’m here to figure things out and find out if there is a way to get better.
Kris Bryant has dealt with a myriad of injuries since joining the Rockies. USA TODAY Sports
“It’s not easy waking up in pain every day, but now we are here. I’m just trying to determine the next step with the training staff and doctors.”
The four-time All-Star has endured 10 separate injured list stints with the Rockies, limiting him to 170 out of a possible 648 games over four seasons.
Bryant owns a disappointing .244/.324/.370 slash line with 17 home runs and 61 RBIs in the Mile High City.
Last season, Bryant’s lumbar degenerative disc disease kept him to just 11 games; an injury that he now says feels like “being electrocuted in my whole body.”
“I could never have expected this or seen this coming,” he added. “And now that I’m dealing with it, I wouldn’t wish this on my worst enemy. It’s miserable.”
#Rockies Kris Bryant talked to media this morning here in Scottsdale. Here he talks about pain and next steps. pic.twitter.com/CWa8H9bR5J
Rockies manager Warren Schaeffer said the organization “supports” Bryant as he attempts to get healthy, but recognizes the reality that, at this stage, he “can’t play baseball.”
“We have to prepare like he’s not going to play,” Schaeffer said. “That’s just the way we have to go about it, hoping that he has a recovery and a breakthrough. But was of now, his back really, really hurts. It’s a real thing. He just can’t play baseball.”
At one point, Bryant — who began his career with the Cubs — seemed to be on the fast track to a Hall of Fame career.
Kris Bryant heads to first base after drawing a walk with the bases loaded to force in a run during the Rockies’ win over the Padres on July 14, 2022, in Denver. AP
He won the Rookie of the Year award in 2015 before capturing NL MVP honors the following year while leading the Cubs to the franchise’s first World Series in 108 years.
Bryant remained a potent offensive player for the next five seasons, including a brief run with the Giants after a midseason trade in 2021.
While Bryant said he’s weighing the long-term implications of living with a serious back injury, he has not allowed retirement to cross his mind — yet.
“I’m not going to dive deep into that. I don’t want to misspeak,” Bryant said. “I haven’t read the reports. My focus is just to find stuff that will help me wake up, hopefully, in a little less pain than the day before.”
TAMPA, FLORIDA - FEBRUARY 17: Aaron Judge #99 and Giancarlo Stanton #27 of the New York Yankees converse during team workouts at George M. Steinbrenner Field on February 17, 2026 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) | Getty Images
New York Post | Greg Joyce: Aaron Judge’s barking elbow was a major concern for the Yankees last summer, with the ailment costing the captain some time and production in July and August. But after the season, team doctors told Judge he wouldn’t require surgery, and Judge says his elbow is now fully good to go. “It’s feeling great,” Judge said on Monday. “Haven’t had any issues so far. I think we’re ready to go. I’m throwing out there confident”.
New York Daily News | Gary Phillips: It wasn’t too long ago that the Yankees were known for their super bullpens. A decade ago they trotted out the trio of Aroldis Chapman, Andrew Miller, and Dellin Betances, and a few years later they added big signings like Zack Britton and Adam Ottavino to the mix. These days, though, the Yankees don’t spend on top dollar relief pitchers, preferring to stock the bullpen with a mix of trade acquisitions and lower-profile upside arms. Brian Cashman says it’s not team policy to avoid top relievers on the free agent makers, but the proof is in the pudding: the Yankees haven’t made a significant free agent relief signing since giving $27 million to Ottavino seven years ago.
FanGraphs | Eric Longenhagen: We’ve got another Top 100 prospect list for your perusal, this time from FanGraphs. Konnor Griffin comes in at number one, the Pirates infielder solidifying himself as the best prospect in the sport. As for the Yankees, it’s the same story we’ve heard across the board this offseason, as there’s some really exciting premium talent at the top of the farm system, but a lack of depth after that. George Lombard Jr. is unsurprisingly the top-ranked Yankee, though Longenhagen and Co. are a bit lower on him than some other prospect hounds, putting Lombard at 49. Elmer Rodríguez, Dax Kilby, and Carlos Lagrange follow Lombard in short order.
SNY | Tom Hanslin: A small but important injury update here, as Cam Schlittler threw a bullpen session yesterday. The right-hander was dealing with a back inflammation last week when he reported to camp and had been throwing off flat ground, so it’s good to see that he’s right back throwing off a mound just a few days later. “Went good. Something we weren’t overly concerned about, just being where we are in the calendar,” Aaron Boone said. “Just wanted to make sure it didn’t turn into something bigger. Everything went well, accordingly.”
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP) — Elliot Cadeau scored 14 of his 17 points in the second half Tuesday night, and Aday Mara added 10 points and 11 rebounds to send No. 1 Michigan past No. 7 Purdue 91-80.
Trey McKinney, Yaxel Lendeborg and L.J. Cason each had 13 points for the Wolverines, who won their 11th straight and took a big step toward capturing their first outright Big Ten regular-season title in five years.
It was the 7-foot-3 Mara’s early tone-setting presence that helped the Wolverines turn the tables on Purdue’s usually dominant front line as two-time national player of the year Zach Edey watched from the second row. Mara made each of his first four shots on the way to a 10-point, eight-rebound first half. He spent most of the second half in foul trouble, finishing 4 of 6 from the field as Michigan had a 39-31 rebounding advantage.
Trey Kaufman-Renn scored a season high 27 points to lead Boilermakers on a night most of his teammates struggled. Braden Smith added 20 points as the Boilermakers (21-5, 11-4) had their four-game winning streak end. They now trail Michigan by 3 1/2 games in the league race.
Michigan took control quickly by using an early 13-0 spurt to take a 23-10 lead. A 14-4 scoring flurry gave Michigan a comfortable 44-22 cushion with 4:23 left in the first half, forcing Purdue to futilely play catchup the rest of the night.
IOWA 57, NO. 9 NEBRASKA 52
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Bennett Stirtz scored 25 points and Cooper Koch added 10 as Iowa overcame a cold-shooting second half to defeat Nebraska.
Iowa (19-7, 9-6 Big Ten) won despite not making a field goal over the final 4:59. The Hawkeyes were 7 of 28 from the field in the second half, including 3 for 13 on 3-pointers.
Nebraska (22-4, 11-4), which has lost four of six, wasn’t much better. The Cornhuskers went 9 of 23 from the field, including 2 for 12 on 3s, and missed eight of their last 11 shots, going through an 11 1/2-minute stretch with just one basket.
Stirtz scored 10 of Iowa’s final 14 points. His jumper with 5:38 left gave the Hawkeyes a 47-45 lead, then he added a step-back 3 only 40 seconds later.
Iowa was coming off back-to-back losses last week to Maryland and Purdue after a six-game winning streak.
Pryce Sandfort, making his first appearance at Iowa since transferring after last season, led the Cornhuskers with 13 points. Sandfort was booed and taunted by Iowa’s student section throughout the game, but hit two 3-pointers to become Nebraska’s single-season leader with 90.
Jamarques Lawrence added 11 points for Nebraska.
NO. 12 FLORIDA 76, SOUTH CAROLINA 62
GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Alex Condon had 20 points and 10 rebounds, Rueben Chinyelu also notched a double-double and Florida handled South Carolina for the second time in three weeks.
Chinyelu finished with 15 points and 17 boards for his 16th double-double of the season. The Gators won their sixth consecutive game and improved to 11-1 since losing at Missouri to open Southeastern Conference play.
This one was much closer than the previous meeting, a 47-point blowout in Columbia, South Carolina, in late January.
Still, the Gamecocks (11-14, 2-11 SEC) trailed by 10 points early and never mounted much of a threat in Gainesville, where Florida improved to 12-1 this season.
It was lopsided enough that 7-foot-9 walk-on center Olivier Rioux played the final minute after the home crowd chanted for him.
The best rebounding team in the country dominated inside, with Florida (20-6, 11-2) mounting a 47-30 rebounding advantage and outscoring South Carolina 44-28 in the paint.
Thomas Haugh added 10 points for Florida, which is trying to win the SEC’s regular season for the first time since 2014 and stay in the Sunshine State to open the NCAA Tournament in Tampa.
South Carolina leading scorer Meechie Johnson, who had 10 points in the first meeting, led the Gamecocks with 22 this time around.
NO. 15 MICHIGAN STATE 82 UCLA 59
EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Jeremy Fears Jr. had 16 points and 10 assists, leading Michigan State to a victory over UCLA.
The Spartans (21-5, 11-4 Big Ten) bounced back with a strong performance after losing three of four games and falling five spots in the AP Top 25 this week.
The Bruins (17-9, 9-6) have lost two straight games after winning five of six.
UCLA forward Tyler Bilodeau scored 22 points but didn’t have much help. None of his teammates were in double figures until Skyy Clark made some late shots to finish with 12 points.
Fears made three 3-pointers in the first half and Michigan State took a 43-23 lead into the break. He finished with four 3s, a career high.
The Spartans were 8 of 14 from beyond the arc in the opening period and finished with a season-high 14 3-pointers on 27 attempts.
Coen Carr also scored 16 points for Michigan State. Carson Cooper had 12 and freshman Jordan Scott added 11. Jaxon Kohler provided nine points and 10 rebounds.
NC STATE 82, NO. 16 NORTH CAROLINA 58
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Quadir Copeland scored 20 points while N.C. State held North Carolina to 31.7% shooting in a rivalry win.
Freshman Matt Able added 19 points for the Wolfpack (19-8, 10-4 Atlantic Coast Conference), who desperately needed this win to regroup after a 41-point loss at Louisville and a final-minute collapse in a home loss to Miami. And that had pushed Will Wade’s first N.C. State team onto shakier footing when it came to securing its ticket to March Madness.
But N.C. State pressed the attack all night against an injury-depleted rival, backed by a boisterous crowd. The Wolfpack shot 53.1% to build a 16-point halftime lead and never looked back.
By the end, N.C. State had its biggest margin of victory in the series since a 28-point win (85-57) in February 1962, according to College Basketball Reference.
Copeland added six rebounds and seven assists. Darrion Williams added 13 points on a night when he had a scary first-half fall that required stitches, coming after he hit his face on the court and trainers needed multiple towels to tend to the bleeding near his left eyebrow.
RHODE ISLAND 81, NO. 18 SAINT LOUIS 76
KINGSTON, R.I. (AP) — Jonah Hinton made nine 3-pointers and scored 29 points as Rhode Island upset Saint Louis, snapping the Billikens’ 18-game winning streak.
Robbie Avila led Saint Louis (24-2, 12-1 Atlantic 10) with 21 points and Dion Brown added 19. The Billikens committed 18 turnovers and trailed for 36 minutes.
The 18-game run had marked the second-longest active winning streak in the country, and the program’s longest since the 2013-14 squad won a school-record 19 games in a row.
Down 79-76 after URI’s Myles Corey made both free throws with 26.3 seconds remaining, Saint Louis had two chances to tie but Avila and Ishan Sharma each missed from beyond the arc. Tyler Cochran wrapped it up for the Rams (15-11, 6-7) by sinking two free throws with 13.6 seconds left.
Corey had 15 points and was 11 of 11 from the foul line. Cochran scored 11.
SMU 95, NO. 21 LOUISVILLE 85
DALLAS (AP) — Jaron Pierre Jr. scored 25 points and Boopie Miller had 23 points with nine assists as SMU beat Louisville, ending the Cardinals’ five-game winning streak.
SMU (18-8, 7-6 Atlantic Coast Conference) went ahead to stay on Miller’s short floater in the lane with 6:19 left that broke a 76-all tie. That was the second of six consecutive made field goals by the Mustangs, including a pair of 3-pointers by Corey Washington, who finished with 18 points.
Miller’s alley-oop pass to Pierre for a dunk with 1:49 remaining pushed the lead to 91-83 and sent the already-loud Moody Coliseum crowd into a real frenzy.
It was the Mustangs’ second win at home over a ranked ACC opponent this season, and could be significant in their push to reach their first NCAA Tournament since 2017. They beat then-No. 12 North Carolina 97-83 on Jan. 3, which was their first victory over a Top 25 opponent under second-year coach Andy Enfield.
Standout freshman Mikel Brown Jr. had 29 points for Louisville (19-6, 8-5), whose winning streak started with an 88-74 home win over SMU on Jan. 31. J’Vonne Hadley had 14 points and nine rebounds, while Ryan Conwell scored 12.
NO. 22 MIAMI (OHIO) 86, UMASS 77
AMHERST, Mass. (AP) — Miami of Ohio won its 26th straight game to remain the last unbeaten team in Division 1, defeating UMass thanks to 23 points from Peter Suder.
Luke Skaljac had 16 points and seven assists for Miami (26-0, 13-0 Mid-American Conference). Leonardo Bettiol scored 18 points with nine rebounds, Isaiah Placide scored 19 and Danny Carbuccia had 15 for UMass (15-12, 6-8).
Miami led by eight points with 14 minutes left before UMass scored seven straight to make it a one-point game and then added a 5-0 run to take a 62-60 lead. It was tied for the final time at 68-68 when Placide banked in a 3-pointer at the shot clock buzzer, leaving defender Eian Elmer shrugging in disbelief.
But Elmer answered with a 3 for Miami, then Suder hit a layup after a UMass turnover to give the RedHawks a five-point lead.
UMass never got any closer than three points after that.
OHIO STATE 86, NO. 24 WISCONSIN 69
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Bruce Thornton scored 27 points and Devin Royal added 25 for Ohio State as the Buckeyes knocked off Wisconsin.
Ohio State (17-9, 9-6 Big Ten) beat a ranked team for the first time in seven tries this season.
Braeden Carrington made five 3-pointers in the second half and led the Badgers with 20 points while Nick Boyd and John Blackwell each had 14 points.
Wisconsin (18-8, 10-5) entered as one of the hottest teams in the Big Ten, having beaten then-No. 8 Illinois and then-No. 10 Michigan State last week, but the Badgers couldn’t overcome a first half in which they shot 40% from the floor.
Ohio State shot 51.7% in the first half, including going 6 for 13 from 3-point range, to build a 38-26 lead at the break. The Buckeyes were 11 for 21 from behind the arc for the game.
New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson drives down court as Sacramento Kings guard Russell Westbrook gives chase. JASON SZENES/ NY POST
But when he hits free agency again — which he can if he doesn’t take his player option for 2028-29 — he will be eligible for a max contract of five years and projected to be worth a little over $417 million.
He hopes the Knicks play ball.
“If I’m thinking about playing well to make sure I get paid, that could mess with me,” Brunson told Vanity Fair. “I play best when I have a free mind, and that did that for me. A lot of people say I sacrificed for the team. One hundred percent I sacrificed for the team. But most importantly, I made sure my family and I are taken care of. … Obviously we’d love for them to do right by me. I think anyone would. I feel like I sacrificed.”
New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson reacts after hitting a 3-point shot in the first half at Madison Square Garden in New York, New York, Tuesday, January 27, 2026. JASON SZENES/ NY POST
An All-Star in three straight seasons, Brunson, 29, has continued to play at a high level this year. He’s averaged 27 points (on 47 percent shooting) with 6.1 assists and 3.3 rebounds per contest. In what’s been a streaky, topsy-turvy year for the Knicks, they’re still firmly in the thick of the Eastern Conference race, sitting in third place with a 35-20 record, six games back of the Pistons for first.
The 29-year-old Brunson, however, said earlier in February that he isn’t concerned so much about regular-season results come the spring and summer months.
“I don’t look at regular-season games as a barometer because, come playoffs, it’s a different basketball game,” Brunson told reporters. “Especially when you talk about a seven-game series. I’ve been with different teams that went to the Finals or played deep in the playoffs that lost the season series to teams and still won in the playoffs.”
MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) — P.J. Haggerty scored 34 points, Nate Johnson added a career-high 33, and Kansas State cruised past Baylor 90-74 on Tuesday night in the debut of Wildcats' interim head coach Matthew Driscoll.
K-State (11-15, 2-11 Big 12) never trailed and held a double-digit lead for most of the second half to end a six-game skid. Driscoll replaced previous head coach Jerome Tang, who was fired Sunday night after four season at the helm.
Johnson’s layup gave the Wildcats a 21-point lead with 10:39 remaining. He surpassed his previous career-best 31 points with a dunk with 1:37 remaining.
Haggerty shot 15 of 23 overall. Johnson was 11-of-16 shooting and made five of the Wildcats' eight 3-pointers. Johnson also had nine assists and matched a career-high with six steals.
Isaac Williams IV scored 16 points to lead Baylor (13-13, 3-10), which has lost four straight. Tounde Yessoufou added 14 point for the Bears. Cameron Carr chipped in with 12 points and Dan Skillings Jr. scored 11. The Bears made just three of their 24 3-point attempts.
Johnson made four 3s and scored 16 points, and Haggerty added 13 points to help K-State build a 41-34 halftime advantage. The Wildcats shot 5 of 11 from long range while Baylor missed 11 of 12 attempts from beyond the arc.
Williams' layup pulled the Bears to 66-57 with 8:20 left but they didn't get closer.
Up next
Baylor hosts Arizona State on Saturday.
K-State is on the road Saturday to face No. 13 Texas Tech.
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Dailyn Swain scored 21 points and grabbed 10 rebounds and Matas Vokietaitas recorded a double-double and Texas held off gutty LSU for an 88-85 win on Tuesday night.
Vokietaitas scored 17 points and grabbed 10 rebounds. Tramon Mark and Jordan Pope each scored 18 for a Texas squad which shot 56% (29 of 52). The Longhorns' 23-of-34 performance from the foul line helped keep the Tigers alive.
Pope, Swain and Mark were each in double figures with 11, 11 and 10 points respectively before halftime after which Texas appeared poised to runaway with it.
In his return from a knee injury, Max Mackinnon came off the bench to score 21 of his 29 points in the second half for LSU. Marquel Sutton scored 19 points, Mike Nwoko 15 and Jalen Reece 14 for LSU.
Pope's jumper with 32 seconds left made it 87-82 to help seal the win. The basket occurred after Nwoko missed a floater in the lane which would've reduced the Tigers' deficit to a point. Pope missed two foul shots with 1:16 left.
The Longhorns (17-9, 8-5 SEC) led 30-25 with 5:17 left before outscoring LSU 18-8 before halftime and led 48-33 at intermission.
LSU (14-12, 2-11) rallied, however, and managed to get within four points on two occasions at the midway point of the second half.
Texas has won five straight conference matchups for the first time since 2021.
Marred by injury all season, LSU has lost four straight and 11 of 13.
LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) — Blue Cain scored 20 points, Jeremiah Wilkinson added 19 points off the bench and Georgia beat Kentucky 86-78 on Tuesday night for its first win at Rupp Arena since 2009.
Georgia (18-8, 6-7 SEC) had lost 12 straight at Kentucky since a 90-85 victory on March 4, 2009.
Cain made two free throws with 4:05 remaining for a 78-69 lead following a Flagrant 1 foul. But the Bulldogs turned it over on the ensuing inbounds play and Otega Oweh raced the other way for a fast-break dunk while being fouled. His free throw cut Kentucky’s deficit to six.
Marcus Millender answered with a long 3-pointer for Georgia to make it 81-72 with 3:33 remaining. The Bulldogs did not score again until Somtochukwu Cyril grabbed an offensive rebound and banked in a shot in the paint with 44.3 seconds left for an 83-78 lead.
Denzel Aberdeen made Kentucky’s last field goal of the game with 3:03 left before the Wildcats missed five straight.
Cyril and Millender each had 14 points for Georgia, which had lost five of its last six overall.
Oweh led Kentucky (17-9, 8-5) with 28 points. Collin Chandler added 18 points on a career-high six 3s and Aberdeen scored 14. The Wildcats entered allowing an average of 65 points per game.
Wilkinson made a 3-pointer with two seconds left in the first half to give Georgia a 39-34 lead at halftime. Cain and Cyril combined for 17 points on 6-of-8 shooting.
Up next
Georgia: Returns home to play Texas on Saturday.
Kentucky: Goes on the road to play Auburn on Saturday.
Sean Marks 10-year tenure as GM of the Brooklyn Nets may be most easily understood through a series of snippets from the NetsDaily archives:
June 30, 2019 … 5:13 p.m. ET … The Clean Sweep
In a coup with few historic precedents, the Brooklyn Nets will sign Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and DeAndre Jordan in the next few weeks becoming the big winners of free agency 2019…
Sources: Durant will sign a 4-year, $164M deal with the Nets; Irving will sign 4-years, $141M.
February 9, 2023, 1:34 a.m. ET … End of the Big Three….
The inability of the Nets to capitalize on their signings of KD and Kyrie — and the subsequent trade for James Harden — now becomes a managerial failure of the first order with first Harden, then Irving and finally Durant asking out.
“This is the greatest failure in NBA history,” said Zach Lowe on NBA Today without exaggeration. One league source told NetsDaily Wednesday that a housecleaning is likely to follow at HSS Training Center this off-season.
June 25, 2024, 10:46 p.m. ET … Rebuild!
NetsWorld turned upside down.
Mikal Bridges, the centerpiece of the Brooklyn Nets trade of Kevin Durant a year and a half ago, has been traded to the New York Knicks in one of two monster moves that has sent Brooklyn into a full rebuild. In the other, the Nets and the Houston Rockets executed a swap of picks that will bring two of the Nets trade assets from the James Harden trade back to Brooklyn. adding to the rebuild.
The trades are the latest in a series of moves that have taken the Nets from being the odds-on NBA championship favorite in 2021-22 to a team whose short-term future looks bleak.
Up, down, up again?
It’s tempting to recount a long list of successes and failures over the decade, but why? The Nets success, failure, even identity are tied to Sean Marks, his skills, his personality. He has been the Nets, for good or bad. That is undeniable after a decade in the job in the NBA … maybe in most jobs. He has gone from having been personally and emotionally thanked on the concourses of Barclays Center to having some of those same fans demand his firing on social media and having pundits literally laugh at his draft choices on national TV. At present, there is no indication — none— that his relationship with Joe Tsai, the principal owner, is anything but solid. His contract, whose terms have never been publicly discussed, appears to have one more season to run after this one. Think continuity, continuity, continuity. Joe Tsai does.
It’s also tempting to grade the tenure, or grade where the Nets stand currently, maybe even grade each transaction, then add it all up. Not much value there either. Everyone from fans to pundits knows what happened (see above) and their opinions aren’t going to change. It’s clickbait to be discussed and forgotten. Besides, there are plenty of pundits who have and continue to grade Marks.
Just this morning, Sam Quinn of CBS Sports did his semi-annual rankings of NBA front offices, apparently unaware of the anniversary. He ranked Marks and the Nets at No. 15. That put them just behind the Miami Heat (Pat Riley) and just ahead of the Detroit Pistons (Trajan Langdon, his former acolyte!) Like many who believe in Marks, both inside and outside the organization, Quinn’s analysis is somewhat defensive.
The Nets are the team I most consistently find myself defending in arguments about these rankings. A lot of the criticism Brooklyn’s front office gets is unfair. Sean Marks took over a team without control over its first-round picks, built it into a championship favorite, and then watched it fall apart because of a pandemic. I’m not punishing a general manager for COVID, and if I were to punish general managers over abrupt James Harden trade requests, we’d be dinging a huge chunk of this list. Besides, they’ve rebounded quite nicely.
And Rick Carlisle, as good a head coach as there is in the NBA right now, had kind words for the Nets future just last week.
“They do a great job of developing young players here. Jordi’s been really top of the heap with what they’ve done the last couple of years. [Nolan] Traore’s gonna keep getting better. [Egor] Dëmin’s getting better. Their young bigs have progressed a lot over the last couple of years. The future here is very bright.”
That’s better than any pundit’s take!
What it ALL means is that GMs, including Marks, are judged on one thing: “what have you done for me lately?” and “lately” in the context of multi-year rebuild is very very subjective. The Nets are tanking or “playing the probabilities” as some might say and it shows in the (losing) record. On the other hand, Marks & co. have followed the time-honored rebuilding path — acquire good young players and draft picks, optimize cap space and otherwise be patient just as he did in the first rebuild in hopes of getting back to the promised land. And never, ever, minimize luck, good or bad.
Brian Lewis recently interviewed Yankees’ GM Brian Cashman, one of Marks’ biggest supporters (and a GM with similar longevity and legions of fans who think he too has stayed too long.) He advised fans to think about what Marks has done once already, believing he can do it again.
“Process is something that is important, but doesn’t guarantee ultimate outcomes,” Cashman told The Post. “Sean has proven he can build a winner. He’s done that. Ultimately they didn’t get to the promised land with the championship, but he did everything lined up to put himself and put themselves in a position to do so. And I know he’s capable of doing that again.
“That’s what he’s going through right now in the fact that Joe Tsai — one of the brightest minds of our generation — sees the talent in Sean to stay invested in [him] to lead that operation. I think it’ll pay off for him in the end, and pay off for the Brooklyn Nets, because Sean is someone that you’d rather have on your team than put in the open market for somebody else to benefit from.”
In our own discussions, we heard that last line more than once from professionals much of what Lewis heard from Cashman and others. He’s very smart and has a record better than most when it’s all added up, but there are others who take more tempered approach. Smart yes but at the same time subject to big mistakes brought on by hubris is one criticism.
The Nets, said one, have had a general tendency to hang on to players too long, often have too high an asking price. Then, those players “fuck up the locker room” before being traded on the cheap or cut. That list is long, but can be repeated by any Nets fans who’s worn black-and-white and felt black-and-blue: Ben Simmons, Spencer Dinwiddie, James Harden, Cam Thomas and of course, Kyrie Irving. (No we are not re-litigating Kyrie’s exit.)
That he said has let to volatility and plain old-fashioned chaos, something players like to avoid.
On the other hand, said the same source, the Nets — Marks and Tsai — know what to do when the big decision arrives, arguing they can “kill” at the right moment, noting what they got for Kevin Durant and Mikal Bridges, trades that ultimately led to a haul of more than 10 draft picks and some ancillary assets.
It’s all part of the way Marks looks at things, say those who know him: don’t dwell on the failures or successes. Move on. He is not one to replay his failings over and over in his head. These are sunk costs. And he doesn’t care that someone, whether Brian Windhorst or Bill Simmons or Jake Fischer, doesn’t like what he did. He has a thick skin and an ability to shut out what he dismissively calls “noise.”
“One thing I really appreciate about him is he never looks back” Irina Pavlova, the Mikhail Prokhorov executive ran the Nets and led the search committee that recommended him, told Lewis. “Once something’s gone, ‘Boom. What’s next?’ He builds from there, which is great, especially for a team like the Nets where there’s something going wrong all the time.”
Indeed, Marks understands it is a business, something he learned as a player, toiling for seven NBA clubs and one in Poland. He in fact holds the NBA record for fewest minutes — less that 10 per game — in a career lasting 10 years or longer. He’s also worked with two of the most successful businessmen ever, ones who earned their fortunes in the cut-throat post-Communist Russia and still-Communist but wild west economically China. He’s not a babe in the woods.
He is charismatic, helped by that daunting 7-foot visage, but often hubris has taken over, say critics. He may not be a dictator but he knows what he wants is a common refrain … and a big part of that is loyalty.
Historically, his selection of head coaches, arguably the most impactful decision any GM ever makes, has been the weakest lines on his resume’. At this point, it seems like Marks has finally found his coach. It seems everyone from owner to fans to players to competitors believe that Jordi Fernandez is the real deal. Hiring him was another one of those “killer” moves the league source described. Multiple teams had interviewed Fernandez but decided for whatever reason, passed But before he hired Fernandez, Marks record was not so good, the thinnest entry on his resume’.
He chose a development expert in Kenny Atkinson, who did his primary job but then was dumped. The official press release back in 2020 said the departure was by mutual agreement but by the time Atkinson returned to the head coaching job in Cleveland last year he made it very clear that he was “fired” and that it still stung. He said he was told that he lost his job because didn’t match what the Nets wanted in the treatment of “superstars.” Steve Nash, who Marks had long wanted in some capacity before hiring him to replace Atkinson, was a valiant attempt to match a superstar coach with a superstar team, but one of those superstars let it be known he wanted Nash — and Marks — fired and the x’s and o’s? Well, that was an issue. Jacque Vaughn, on the other hand, is seen in less positive terms. Much less positive.
Indeed one big issue, intimately related to those coaching issues, was his and the organization’s willingness to do the bidding of those superstars. Kyrie didn’t think the team needed a coach. He or KD could do it, he said. KD wanted Ime Udoka even after he had been suspended by his previous employer for harassment. Durant also didn’t like a lot of the supporting roster, didn’t like how the roster was constructed. Harden remained out of shape virtually the entire time he was on the roster, his attention devoted more to strip clubs than weight rooms. Among each other, there always seemed an uneasy truce.
A lot of that has been seemingly been rectified in public actions. There’s plenty of evidence that they are going for the homegrown, high character player. It’s not just lip service. The historic five first rounders spoke to that, their youth, their character, their willingness to make things work. Marks & co. apparently learned their lesson. No need to call about Ja Morant! No more short term fixes. No more chances.
As B.J. Johnson, Marks No. 2 said in the SCOUT docu-series produced by the Nets internal media, “A lot of work went into what Brooklyn is going to be in the future. Regardless of who comes in here, we’re not going to change. They’ve got to adjust to us. Overall, that’s what it’s about here.”
More than a subtle admission that the previous plan — go for it all, spend wildly, throw together the best of the best and hope for a ring — wasn’t the right choice. They will have to find a superstar or superstars to bring them back into contention. Maybe it’s whoever they get lucky enough to get in the lottery come May 10. Maybe it’s someone who is attracted by the progress they see in the young kids and Jordi Fernandez and of course, there’s always the bright lights and big city of New York. If you can make it here … you know the rest.
Overall, the current report card is mixed, but generally positive as Carlisle alluded. Lessons get learned.
The development operation is seen as a solid, better than most. One league source discussing one of the Net recent pick-ups told ND that the player may not have shown much with his previous team “but he has a chance with Nets development staff.”
The performance team retains a very good reputation as well despite a lot of turnover, essentially four performance directors in four years and some recent drama. The medical team is staffed by the Hospital for Special Surgery. None better. The scouting staff is reportedly the largest in the NBA and Marks just recently added the Oklahoma City Thunder’s director of scouting. That can’t hurt. Its success of course will take some time to define.
The “soft science” part of the staff — analytics, capology, etc. — is also seen in a positive light, but again there’s been turnover. There are some rising stars like Kory Jones and Kyle Hines. Both are nominally assistant GMs for Long Island but play bigger roles than that, Jones in Brooklyn’s basketball operations, Hines in scouting and development. Makar Gevorkian is the capologist who’s helped Marks through some of the team’s bigger moves.
Now, the big challenge for the Nets GM: the next 10 years. Whether he’s around or not, his imprint is going to on this team, his team for a long time. Brooklyn is now younger after the deadline than they were before and they were the youngest in the league by a not insignificant margin. Their draft pick in June will also be a teenager. But for all the preparation, it’s time to execute. As one league source told NetsDaily, the right draft choice alone could mean the difference of years.
Every indication is that the rebuild portion of the team’s overall strategy is now nearing an end. Now, it’s build rather than rebuild. Expect aggressive moves across the board.
As we have repeated ad infinitum, they have every possible asset needed to be aggressive, the 33 draft picks (10 first rounders and 20 second rounders that can be traded whenever they want,) perhaps $50 million in cap space and as Sam Quinn noted, an owner willing to spend. It should be noted, as Bloomberg News did, that about half of Tsai’s net worth is now sports-related and the Brooklyn Nets are the centerpiece. He wants to win. He will accept no less.
Feb 1965; Unknown location, USA; FILE PHOTO; North Carolina guard Doug Moe (35) in action during the 1965 season. Mandatory Credit: Malcolm Emmons-USA TODAY Sports
Malcolm Emmons/Malcolm Emmons-USA TODAY Sports
DENVER — Doug Moe, an ABA original who gained fame over a rumpled, irreverent and sometimes R-rated decade as coach of the Denver Nuggets in the 1980s, died Tuesday. He was 87.
Moe’s son, David, notified several of the coach’s friends that his father had died after a long bout with cancer, Ron Zappolo, a longtime Denver TV personality and good friend of Moe’s, told The Associated Press.
The Nuggets, in a social media post, called Moe “a one-of-a-kind leader and person who spearheaded one of the most successful and exciting decades in Nuggets history.”
Moe went 628-529 over 15 seasons as a head coach, including stints with the San Antonio Spurs and Philadelphia 76ers. He never won a title — his most memorable run coming in 1985 when his best Denver team fell to the Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference finals. He was the NBA Coach of the Year in 1988.
More than for wins and losses, Moe will be remembered for his motion offense and for the equally entertaining shows he put on while prowling the bench during his coaching days.
His Denver teams led the league in scoring over five straight seasons in the early ‘80s, and he rarely ran a set play.
He called the people he liked the most “stiffs,” (or worse) and used more colorful language to drive points home to some of his favorite foils — Kiki VanDeWeghe, Danny Schayes and Bill Hanzlik stood out.
The coach stalked the sidelines in one of his well-worn sports coats, usually without a tie (he had a small stash of “emergency suits” in his closet for bigger events), his hair a mess and his overtaxed voice barely at a croak by the end of most games.
The Nuggets bench, along with the 10 rows behind it, was no place for children, but within hours, Moe would be at the bar or coffee shop hanging with many of those same players he’d excoriated, often himself wondering where that foul-mouthed man on the sideline had come from.
“Sometimes I think I have a Jekyll-and-Hyde personality. I clown around a lot before and after a game, but once a game starts, my emotions just take over,” Moe said in a 1983 interview with The New York Times.
Years before John Elway arrived, Moe was Denver’s biggest sports personality. Zappolo, the sportscaster, said there was a sweet teddy bear behind the game-day bluster.
“I don’t know if there’s ever been a more important sports figure in Denver, not only because of how successful he was, but how colorful he was and how kind he was,” Zappolo said. “There are a lot of people walking around today who feel like they were Doug’s best friend.”
A legend in Brooklyn and North Carolina before a pro career in the ABA
Douglas Edwin Moe was born Sept. 21, 1938, in Brooklyn, New York. As a teen he became well-known in New York basketball circles, where he would sometimes head to gyms using fake names to play on teams he wouldn’t otherwise be eligible for.
He paired with good friend Larry Brown at North Carolina, where as a 6-foot-5 small forward he twice earned All-America honors. But Moe’s college career was terminated early because of a point-shaving scandal for which he received $75 to fly to a meeting; he refused to throw games.
After a few years in Europe, Moe again became a package deal with Brown, as they winded their way through the new and fledgling ABA. Moe was a three-time All-Star over a five-year career that ended early because of his perpetually ailing knees.
His playing days done, he teamed again with Brown, working as his assistant with the Carolina Cougars, and then with the Nuggets toward the end of the franchise’s ABA days.
Moe insisted he never wanted a head coaching job — didn’t want to work that hard — but Brown coaxed him into taking a job in San Antonio. With the help of George Gervin, Moe won the division twice and made one conference final in four seasons with the Spurs.
Moe’s next stop was Denver, where he took over after another of his Carolina buddies, Donnie Walsh, got fired in 1980. The ensuing 10 seasons marked a golden era for the Nuggets, who played in rainbow uniforms and rewrote record books but never climbed out from the shadows of the Lakers and Celtics dynasties of the era.
Moe coached the top-scoring duo in NBA history and in its highest-scoring game
Alex English and VanDeWeghe finished 1-2 in scoring in the 1982-83 season, a feat no teammates have accomplished since. The Nuggets lost a 186-184 game to the Pistons in 1983 that remains the highest-scoring game in NBA history. Moe won 432 games with the Nuggets, and the franchise retired that number, with Moe’s name attached.
It took more than 30 years after Moe retired and moved back to San Antonio for the Nuggets to break through and become NBA champions.
Oddly enough, one of Moe’s most colorful coaching coups came at the expense of the Nuggets on the last day of the 1977-78 season when he was with the Spurs. In an early game, Denver, coached by Brown at the time, fed David Thompson on the way to a 73-point outburst against Detroit that briefly put him ahead of Gervin in a neck-and-neck battle for the scoring title.
So, that night, Moe told the Spurs to get out of “Ice’s” way. Gervin scored 63 against the Jazz to win the title by .07.
Moe’s coaching peak, however, came with the Nuggets, where his teams got considerably better when Fat Lever and Calvin Natt came via a trade in 1984. But both were injured during that 1985 conference final against the Lakers. The Nuggets dropped the last three games in a 4-1 series loss, and Moe never got closer.
Though the focus of the Nuggets was offense, Moe spent ample time preaching defense — insisting it, not the team’s scoring ability, would make the difference between winning and losing.
Once, incensed at the lack of effort during a blowout loss at Portland, he commanded his team to stop trying on defense and to let the Blazers make layups at will over the final minutes to set the franchise scoring record for a single game. That earned him a fine and suspension, only weeks after he was fined for throwing water on an official.
For the most part, though, Moe made a career out of not taking himself too seriously — a wryly wrinkled counterbalance to the slicked-down Pat Riley and the Laker Showtime teams that dominated the NBA’s Western Conference over the decade.
Moe even punctuated one of his lowest moments — his firing by the Nuggets in 1990 — by wearing a Hawaiian shirt and popping open champagne at the news conference while his wife, whom he called “Big Jane,” looked on. A day to celebrate, he insisted, because he would now be getting paid to do nothing.
Moe finished his head coaching career with an unsuccessful stint in Philadelphia that lasted less than a season before returning to Denver in supporting roles, including a return to the bench as George Karl’s assistant.
“Because I’m stupid, or something like that,” Moe said when asked to explain why he was coaching again.
Far from it.
And despite his insistence that he did little more than throw a ball out there, there was a well-honed, much-practiced method behind what looked like the madness of his always-in-overdrive passing game.
“There will never be another sports figure like Doug Moe,” Zappolo said. “He really was one of a kind.”
Lachie Neale has what boxers call “ring geometry” – an intrinsic, spatial understanding of safe spots and danger zones. He has fast feet that can dance, decelerate and drive out of a stoppage. But all the things that make him such a magnificent footballer – his timing, judgment, diligence and ability to extricate himself from trouble were apparently absent in his private life. A Lions grand final hero in September, he was tabloid fodder by Christmas.
What follows isn’t some sermon from the puritanical pulpit. I’m more interested in the media’s willingness to cross lines they wouldn’t have once dared, and our voracious appetite for these stories. If the mainstream media had pursued these scandals in the 1970s, 80s and 90s, the printing presses would have short-circuited. If our best sportspeople had been at the mercy of the British press in that same era, their careers would have gone the way of their marriages.
CORAL GABLES, Fla. (AP) — Tre Donaldson scored Miami's last 15 points and finished with 32 to lead the Hurricanes to a 67-66 victory over Virginia Tech on Tuesday night.
Donaldson made a pair of free throws to pull Miami within 57-54 with 7:36 remaining, and his 3-pointer with 6:50 left sparked a 7-0 personal surge to give the Hurricanes a 61-59 lead with 4:40 left. The Hokies scored six straight points capped by Tobi Lawal’s dunk for a 65-61 advantage.
Donaldson hit a jumper and tied it 66-all with a 3-pointer with 1:18 left. He then made the first of two free-throw attempts with 12 seconds to go before Ben Hammond missed a jumper at the buzzer.
Donaldson shot 13 of 24 and made three of the Hurricanes' four 3s. Dante Allen scored 10 points for Miami (21-5, 10-3 Atlantic Coast Conference), which has won four straight and six of its last seven games.
Amani Hansberry scored 16 to lead Virginia Tech (17-10, 6-8). Jailen Bedford scored 12 points and Hammond 10. The Hokies have lost four of their last five games.
Virginia Tech shot 50% in each half and were 8 of 20 (40%) from long range but just 2 of 3 from the line. Miami was 9-of-13 shooting from the line.
Virginia Tech made 5 of 11 from 3 for a 34-31 halftime lead.
New York Mets Third Baseman Brett Baty fields grounders at first base during Spring Training at Clover Field, Sunday, Feb. 15, 2026, in Port St. Lucie, FL.
PORT ST. LUCIE — Brett Baty’s right hamstring discomfort is reason enough for the Mets to limit his early spring training activity.
For now, that will mean withholding Baty from the early exhibition games and waiting before giving him reps in right field, a position he is adding this season in his shift to a utility role.
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Baty’s hamstring discomfort emerged about two weeks ago, according to manager Carlos Mendoza, during offseason workouts.
“He went through the physical and he is fine,” Mendoza said Tuesday. “He’s taking ground balls, he’s doing pretty much everything, but before we put him out there in the outfield, especially, we have time.”
Baty isn’t the only player who will be restricted early. Mendoza said Luis Robert Jr., given his history of lower-body injuries, won’t play in the early exhibition games.
Francisco Alvarez, who played banged up down the stretch last season, will also be withheld from the early exhibition games. All will continue to participate in full-squad workouts.
New York Mets Third Baseman Brett Baty fields grounders at first base during Spring Training at Clover Field, Sunday, Feb. 15, 2026, in Port St. Lucie, FL. Corey Sipkin for the NY POST
Brandon Waddell will receive the starting pitching assignment for Saturday’s Grapefruit League opener against the Marlins at Clover Park, according to Mendoza.
The lefty Waddell served as a swingman last season, pitching to a 3.45 ERA in 11 appearances for the team.
New York Mets Brandon Waddell throws a pitch during the fifth inning when the New York Mets played the Miami Marlins Sunday, August 31, 2025 at Citi Field in Queens, NY. Robert Sabo for NY Post
Mendoza discounted the notion that Juan Soto is more comfortable this year in spring training than a year ago, when he first arrived to the Mets.
“I see the same guy that we saw last year,” Mendoza said. “We saw a lot of smiles and how much fun they were having in the dugout.
Rising star Oliver Peake was struck on the helmet and retired hurt in a concerning blow on day three of Victoria’s Sheffield Shield clash with Western Australia at the WACA.
Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark is just getting started in her professional basketball career, but if there's one thing that might make her consider giving it all up is saying no baked goods.
Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James revealed during an episode on his podcast, "Mind the Game," that he gave up eating chocolate chip cookies and drinking wine in the first two months of the season as he returned from a sciatic nerve injury.
