When Michael Hage was drafted 21st overall by the Montreal Canadiens at the 2024 draft, he was listed as a 6-foot-1 and 188-pound center. A year later, after playing a year in the NCAA at the University of Michigan, he has put on a couple of pounds, and according to The Gazette’s Stu Cowan, the prospect will be hitting the gym hard this Summer under the supervision of the Michigan strength coach.
The Canadiens realized in the playoffs that they needed more size up front, and they have big hopes for the 19-year-old, and if he pans out, he would slot in behind Nick Suzuki in the Habs’ center depth chart.
Hage’s first season with the Wolverines was a successful one; he posted 34 points in 33 games and was named the rookie of the year in the Big 10. Cohan spoke to Rob Rassey, Michigan’s associate coach, who told him he believes Hage will be a different player come next season, given all the work he’s been putting in the gym.
Rassey also believes Hage has top-six potential in the NHL, although he warns it won’t happen overnight, meaning the Canadiens will need to be patient. This is why it could make sense for the Habs to explore signing a veteran second-line center on the free agent market.
If the Canadiens are in a hurry, however, Hage could be an attractive piece to add to a trade for a second-line center, Mason McTavish, anyone? Although the fact that the Anaheim Ducks just traded Trevor Zegras to the Philadelphia Flyers may make them less likely to move another pivot, since that’s what they were using Zegras as.
With the draft fast approaching, though, don’t expect the trade rumours to die down around the Canadiens. Kent Hughes was active in his first three drafts, and there’s no reason to believe this one will be any different.
Photo credit: Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images
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Brad Stevens and the Boston Celtics currently own the 28th and 32nd overall picks in the 2025 NBA Draft. But what if they’re enticed by a prospect who may not fall to the end of the first round?
If the C’s have their sights set on a specific player, they could package those two picks in a deal to move up the draft board. This is the route college basketball analyst Jeff Goodman would take if he were Stevens, and he has a certain prospect in mind.
“I think you keep it, you see if you’re Brad in the early 20s, can you package both of those — 28 and 32 — and move up if there’s a guy that’s sliding that you really like. To me, a guy like that is Cedric Coward,” Goodman said on NBC Sports Boston’s latest episode of The Off C’season.
“He’s the guy that, to me, is the most intriguing. Played two years at Eastern Washington in the Big Sky, transferred to Washington State this year. Followed his coach David Riley, only played six games, got hurt. Was set to go to Duke this season to be one of the best transfers in the country, but he’s gonna be a first-round pick, so he stayed in the draft.
“But he’s a 6-foot-6 3-and-D guy who, to me, he’s athletic, he can shoot it, he can guard, he’s mature. He’s a guy that I think I would roll the dice on if he’s there at 28 or in the early 20s and you can trade both picks and move up and get him.”
As Goodman notes, Coward is expected to land anywhere from the late lottery to the mid-20s in the first round. There is some uncertainty surrounding the 21-year-old guard as teams haven’t seen much of him over the last year.
So, why is Goodman so high on Coward heading into the draft?
“To me, that mystery. That intrigue. And that’s what Cedric Coward has,” Goodman added. “In addition to what I said before, which is the versatility, the ability to guard, the ability to shoot the ball, the maturity. In the interview process, I talked to NBA guys, they were absolutely blown away by Cedric Coward and how he can probably go into any locker room and fit in any sort of position of need for these teams. His versatility is probably what’s gonna get him somewhere I think in the 20 range at the end of the day.
“But again, for Cedric Coward, he could go late lottery. It wouldn’t shock me. He could also slide to 25, and that’s where if he does slide, Brad Stevens, you’ve got two picks here that you can move up.”
Coward averaged 11.8 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 1.9 assists while shooting 59.5 percent from the floor (38.8 percent from 3) over 72 games across three collegiate seasons. In his last full season with Eastern Washington in 2023-24, he averaged 15.4 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 1.7 assists while shooting 56.5 percent from the field to finish with Big Sky First Team All-Conference honors.
Six games into his 2024-25 campaign with Washington State, Coward suffered a season-ending shoulder injury. He was the Cougars’ leading scorer with 17.7 points per game at the time.
Coward is undoubtedly a compelling trade-up target for the Celtics, but there should also be some solid options if they stand pat at Nos. 28 and 32. Creighton big man Ryan Kalkbrenner and Stanford 7-footer Maxime Raynaud have been linked to Boston in multiple mock drafts, and there are plenty more potential fits where that came from.
The 2025 NBA Draft is set to begin Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET.
Watch the full episode of The Off C’season with Goodman, Chris Forsberg, Kevin O’Connor, and Tom Giles below:
OKLAHOMA CITY — We said it about the Milwaukee Bucks in 2021. We said it about the Denver Nuggets two years ago. We said it about the Boston Celtics last year.
We're saying it about the Oklahoma City Thunder now — this looks like the start of a dynasty.
They also realize what a mountain that is to climb.
"You're not guaranteed anything in the league," Alex Caruso said, soaked in champagne after the Thunder win. "I think that's the biggest thing that happens year to year that people forget about. Any moment your team can change with a trade, with an injury, with something that's out of your control. To be able to get to the pinnacle of this sport and win it is nothing short of extraordinary. To think that you can just walk in and do it every single year is a little bit naïve.
"Rest assured, we'll show up day one next year ready to get better and ready to chase this again."
What makes Oklahoma City different from the other "failed" dynasties is the team's youth — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is just entering his prime at age 26, and he's one of their older rotation players. The only key rotation player 30 or older is Alex Caruso (and they tease him about his age). Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren are still on their rookie contracts (both can and will be offered massive extensions this summer, but those would not kick in until the summer of 2026).
"We definitely still have room to grow," Gilgeous-Alexander said. "That's the fun part of this. So many of us can still get better. There's not very many of us on the team that are 'in our prime' or even close to it. We have a lot to grow, individually and as a group. I'm excited for the future of this team. This is a great start, for sure."
The NBA tax aprons come for everyone and the Thunder will be no exception. While they can largely run back this core roster next season, the year after that, it will be challenging to retain free agents such as Isaiah Hartenstein and Lu Dort, who will have plenty of suitors on the open market.
That's where the fact that Thunder president Sam Presti has hoarded draft picks in trades — 11 first-round picks between now and 2030 — is so critical, the Thunder can use them to replenish the roster or trade for other players.
The other secret sauce to this potential dynasty? These players genuinely like each other and want to succeed together.
"I think the most impressive part is the group that did it. Our togetherness on and off the court, like how much fun we have, it made it so much easier," Gilgeous-Alexander said. "It made it feel like we were just kids playing basketball. It was so fun."
What would be fun is another ring, but the past seven years have shown how hard that will be to get.
Maria Taylor has officially been named NBC Sports' lead studio host for the NBA and WNBA. Coverage of the NBA tips off this October on NBC and Peacock. Taylor will host NBC Sports’ NBA studio programs on Sunday and Tuesday nights alongside analysts Carmelo Anthony and Vince Carter.
Additionally, when NBC Sports’ coverage of the women’s league begins in the spring of 2026, Taylor will host select WNBA games on NBC and Peacock.
“I’m deeply honored to be part of NBC Sports’ incredible legacy covering the NBA and to return to the game that first captured my heart, women’s basketball,” said Taylor.
“To know that I’ll spend the next five years with my NBC family telling the stories of the Super Bowl, the Olympics, the NBA Playoffs, and the WNBA Finals is more than a dream come true -- it’s a full-circle moment.”
Taylor has already anchored many of NBC Sports’ biggest events. Since 2022, she has been the lead host -- and first full-time female host -- of Football Night in America, the most-watched studio show in sports.
Taylor also served as a host for the Tokyo, Beijing, and Paris Olympics — earning a Sports Emmy as part of NBCUniversal’s coverage of the 2024 Paris Olympics. Her hosting credits also include Big Ten College Countdown, NBC Sports’ primetime college football studio program; Roland-Garros semifinals and finals; and more.
Taylor has prior experience working on the NBA having hosted ESPN NBA Countdown playoffs and Finals coverage in recent years. A former Division I volleyball and basketball player at the University of Georgia, she also hosted College Gameday as well as the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament selection show and Final Four coverage during her time at ESPN.
In July 2024, NBCUniversal and the NBA announced an 11-year agreement to present NBA and WNBA regular-season and playoff basketball games across numerous platforms beginning with the 2025-26 season. Peacock will livestream exclusive national Monday night games, while NBC/Peacock will present national coverage of regional doubleheaders on Tuesday nights.
NBC Sports will launch Sunday Night Basketball in 2026 across NBC and Peacock, providing NBA fans with three consecutive nights of national coverage across NBCUniversal platforms during the second half of the regular season. For more information on the agreement, click here.
Here’s everything to know about NBA on NBC in the upcoming season:
When does NBA on NBC start?
NBA on NBC will be back beginning in the 2025-26 NBA season. An exact date for the first broadcast is TBD.
When does the 2025-26 NBA season start?
The 2025-26 season, the 80th in league history, has a regular-season start date of Tuesday, Oct. 21.
What is NBC’s history with the NBA?
The NBA and NBC had their first partnership from 1954 to 1962, before returning in 1990 to 2002 amid Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls‘ dynasty. NBC is part of the new media rights deal with the NBA that will last for 11 years, including games being streamed on Peacock.
Here’s a list of the commentators and former NBA stars who have joined NBC Sports’ broadcasting team thus far:
Play-by-play: Mike Tirico, Noah Eagle
Color analysts: Jamal Crawford, Reggie Miller
Studio host: Maria Taylor
Studio analysts: Carmelo Anthony, Vince Carter
Special contributor: Michael Jordan
Who will broadcast NBA games in 2025-26?
Along with NBA on NBC and Peacock in the new media rights deal, ESPN and ABC will continue its coverage of the league while Amazon Prime Video will be starting its new streaming partnership.
Note: answers provided from this interview were originally given in Swedish and translated via Google.
The 2025–26 season will be a big one for Vancouver Canucks forward Elias Pettersson. After a lacklustre 2024–25 season in which he scored 15 goals and 30 assists in 64 games, all eyes are on him for a big rebound. Drafted fifth overall by Vancouver in the 2017 NHL Draft, Pettersson’s pick surprised many who believed the team would take players such as Cody Glass or Gabriel Vilardi. As one of six current Canucks who have spent at least five seasons with the organization, Pettersson is only third to Thatcher Demko and Brock Boeser in terms of tenure. At the start of his career, fans heralded him as a hero. After only a single season, it’s looking more and more like they’re beginning to turn on him. Even with the negativity swirling within the fanbase, Pettersson insists that it’s about the highs, not the lows.
“I only see it as positive,” he told Uffe Bodin in an interview originally done in Swedish for HockeySverige. “It’s a city that’s passionate about hockey. It’s hockey in Canada and it doesn’t get any better.”
Negativity can come with Canadian NHL markets, as many have seen the intense fandom of Toronto Maple Leafs and Edmonton Oilers fans during their respective playoff runs. It’s something that can occasionally deter some players or prevent them from re-signing with a team.
“It depends on how you look at it, of course,” Pettersson said. “Sure, you get recognized, but you get recognized because you play ice hockey and you live your childhood dream. I take it with a kick in the heels. I had idols when I grew up so I just try to be as good and happy as I can. It’s not always me every day, but you get recognized because you play hockey so it’s a good problem.”
With the scrutiny that can come from all sorts of off-ice places, guidance from veterans can be essential. Pettersson reflected on the impact of the Swedish veterans in the locker room when he first joined the Canucks. During this interview, Pettersson went out of his way to make sure that former starting goaltender Jacob Markström was mentioned.
“Very important. Partly because they set the standard for me but also because I moved to the other side of the world. It was of course a very big step, but I felt at home thanks to the Swedes on the team.”
Pettersson and the Canucks haven’t seen Vancouver’s fanbase at its peak quite yet, though they came close after falling one win short of the 2024 Stanley Cup Western Conference Finals. During Pettersson’s only other playoff run, fans were unable to attend games due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite not quite hitting the level of the 2011 Stanley Cup run’s crowds, Pettersson was quick to compliment the fans’ postseason energy.
“When we played in the playoffs last year, it was the absolute coolest thing I’ve ever experienced,” he said. “Between games you saw cars driving around with Canucks flags. It’s hard to explain, but it’s incredibly cool.”
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But, it seems “The Big Dumper” might be paying a bit of attention to the Giants’ starting rotation.
The Gold Glove backstop recently was asked by Chris Henderson to name his active starting rotation that he’d like to catch, and sure enough, a pair of current Giants made the list.
“I’ll go Logan Webb as one of them,” Raleigh said as he named San Francisco’s ace first.
Cal Raleigh names five active pitchers that he'd like to catch, no teammates allowed:
Logan Webb Chris Sale Tyler Glasnow Justin Verlander Zack Wheeler
He then followed with the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Tyler Glasnow and the Atlanta Braves’ Chris Sale before touching on another Giants pitcher and former ace Justin Verlander.
“I mean, I know he’s a little older but, I think, Verlander still, to me, he’s a tough AB,” said Raleigh.
He rounded out his rotation with a former Giant, now Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Zach Wheeler
“I left a lot of guys out that could easily be on that list, but those are guys that I think would be pretty fun,” said Raleigh.
Raleigh has become one of the best catchers in the majors this season with his powerful bat. Pair that with the Gold Glove he won in 2024, and all five of these pitchers probably would welcome him as their battery mate.
Shohei Ohtani pitched the first inning of Sunday's game against the Washington Nationals, throwing 18 pitches and striking out two. (Luke Johnson / Los Angeles Times)
For so long, the biggest question surrounding Shohei Ohtani’s future as a pitcher was simple.
When, after a second career Tommy John surgery, would he finally get back on the mound? When, after a year and a half of exclusively hitting, would he be able to resume two-way duties?
Both times, he left his teammates and coaches in astonished amazement, giving them their first up-close glimpse of his dual-role skillset.
“I've seen [him throw] bullpens and lives and simulated games, or whatever,” manager Dave Roberts said Sunday. “But to kind of watch it in real time, to go from the mound to the on-deck circle and then go to the batter's box, it’s pretty remarkable. And he's just handling it the right way. He's just unflappable."
What comes next, however, remains shrouded in some uncertainty.
Now that Ohtani is again pitching in live-game action, new questions are lingering about where his build-up will go from here.
"It's going to be a gradual process,” Ohtani said through interpreter Will Ireton on Sunday. “I want to see improvements with the quality of the pitches that I'm throwing, and then also increasing the amount of pitches. So it's going to be gradual."
It was no surprise that, in Ohtani’s return to pitching on June 16, he was limited to only one inning. It was a trade-off he and the team made to get him back into a real game sooner, agreeing to give him a live start even if they knew it wouldn’t extend past one inning.
Entering Ohtani’s second start on Sunday afternoon, however, the thinking was that the right-hander could be ready to push into the second — that, to eventually get stretched out for full-length starts, he would begin building up his workload by adding another inning each time out.
The way Ohtani pitched Sunday certainly warranted a second inning.
After giving up two hits and one run over a 28-pitch outing against the San Diego Padres six days prior, he collected two strikeouts in a scoreless 18-pitch inning against the Washington Nationals, his only baserunner reaching on a dropped pop fly by shortstop Mookie Betts.
"Overall, I was able to relax much better compared to my last outing,” Ohtani said. "The way my body moves when I pitch, it's something that I worked on with the pitching coaches and I felt a lot better this time."
However, in the top of the second, Ohtani was once again replaced on the rubber. Despite his improved execution and efficiency, it turned out he and the team had made a predetermined decision not to push him for a second inning quite yet.
"That was the original plan,” Ohtani said of being removed after the first.
“Going into today's game,” Roberts added, “we felt really comfortable with one."
It hammered home the reality of what lies ahead for Ohtani; the cautious, methodical and, as Roberts also described it, "gradual" pace with which the team will handle his pitching workload for the time being.
"I think that it's more of just trying to get the foundation, the building blocks as he's [pitching and] taking at-bats,” Roberts said. “[We are] erring on the side of caution … There's no sense in rushing it right now."
As Ohtani returns to pitching, there are new factors the Dodgers will have to monitor in his all-around performance.
Already, the reigning MVP has cut down on his base-stealing while ramping up as a pitcher: After swiping 11 bags in his first 50 games, he hasn’t even attempted a steal since throwing his first live batting practice session on May 25.
His place in the leadoff spot could be altered on days he pitches as well, with Roberts leaving open the possibility of moving him down in the batting order to give him more time to transition from pitcher to hitter (at least in the first inning of home games, when he currently has to hustle from the mound to the plate after the top half of the frame).
Then, there is perhaps the biggest question: Whether the burden of pitching will affect Ohtani’s all-important production with the bat?
That dynamic came under scrutiny this week, after Ohtani went just two for 19 in the five games following his first pitching start.
"I don't think that's a fatigue thing," Roberts insisted Sunday morning. "But we'll manage it. I can only take him at his word, and the swing speed and all the stuff we sort of track is still in line."
Ohtani did snap that slump after his inning on the mound Sunday, finishing the day with a three-run triple in the seventh and two-run home run in the eighth.
“I do feel like I do have to work on some things,” Ohtani said. “But at the same time, I do feel like I can perform better, even better than I used to be able to perform at."
All of this is to say, while Ohtani has mastered his two-way role before (twice winning American League MVP while doing it with the Angels), the Dodgers are taking nothing for granted about his pitching comeback right now.
Before they begin adding to his pitching workload, they want to make sure they’ve accounted for any unintended side effects.
“All these conversations we have with him, obviously,” Roberts said. “He's understanding of where he's at, where we're at, and appreciating the fact that as time goes on, we'll get to a certain point.”
Before Sunday’s game, Roberts didn’t even commit to fully stretching out Ohtani like a traditional starter by the second half of the season.
“That’s kind of TBD,” he said when asked when Ohtani might be fully built-up for normal-length starts. “I think we’re always gonna be cautious. So I don’t even know what that’s going to look like, to be ‘fully built-up.’ I don’t think anyone knows what that looks like. Because it’s not a normal starting pitcher. So to say six [innings] and 90 [pitches], I don’t even know if we’ll get to that point.”
Could that mean using Ohtani as only a glorified opener for the rest of this season? Or stretching him out only if a currently shorthanded rotation doesn’t eventually get healthy?
Time will have to tell on those questions, with neither the Dodgers nor Ohtani ready to commit to any answers until they see how he continues to respond to his return to two-way duties.
“As we build more of a foundation, there will be some latitude," Roberts said. "I think that we're still gathering [information]. But again, once we ramp up more, it might be a different conversation."
Jesse
Puljujärvi is currently playing in the
AHL’s Calder Cup
finals. On Sunday, he scored an overtime goal in Game 5 keep his
Charlotte Checkers alive against the Abbotsford Canucks.
There are still one or two AHL games to go. After that, according
to Swiss media outlet Blick, his next stop will be
Switzerland. The Blickarticle
is behind a paywall, but Finnish newspaper Helsing Sanomathas
reported some of its contents, and states that that
Puljujärvi has
already signed a contract with a Swiss club for next season.
While his exact destination is less clear, the article states that
it’s rumored to be HC Lugano. Lugano, which
has already signed Connor Carrick and Rasmus
Kupari this off-season,
is rebuilding its roster after a disappointing season.
When Puljujärvi was waived by the
Pittsburgh
Penguins in February to terminate his contract “by mutual
agreement” ahead of the international transfer deadline, it was
widely expected that he’d end up in Europe. Switzerland was one of
his rumored destinations at that time, as was Kärpät
Oulu, his hometown club in Finland. However,
he surprisingly signed with the Florida
Panthers instead.
Puljujärvi only
played 31 NHL games this season – 26 with Pittsburgh and five with
Florida, scoring four goals and adding six assists. He had 26 points
in 26 AHL regular-season games split between Wilkes-Barre/Scranton
and Charlotte, and has 11 points in 17 playoff games through Sunday.
Puljujärvi was
chosen fourth overall by the Edmonton
Oilers in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft. He has 128 points in 387
career NHL regular-season games, and six points in 27 playoff games.
In June 2023, he
underwent double hip surgery and missed half of the following season.
Sunday night’s game averaged 16.53 million on ABC and ESPN+ according to preliminary ratings data from Nielsen. The audience peaked at 19.28 million during the second half (9:45-10 p.m. EDT).
It is the first time since Toronto wrapped up its title in Game 6 against Golden State in 2019 (18.34 million) that the finals have had an audience over 16 million. The last Game 7, when Cleveland beat Golden State in 2016, averaged 31.02 million.
The seven-game series averaged 10.27 million, down from the 11.31 million average for Boston’s victory over Dallas in five games last year.
The seven games were the most-watched television broadcasts since the first week of May.
ESPN and ABC averaged 6.12 million for the 34 games they carried during the playoffs, a 10% increase over last year.
Sunday night’s game averaged 16.53 million on ABC and ESPN+ according to preliminary ratings data from Nielsen. The audience peaked at 19.28 million during the second half (9:45-10 p.m. EDT).
It is the first time since Toronto wrapped up its title in Game 6 against Golden State in 2019 (18.34 million) that the finals have had an audience over 16 million. The last Game 7, when Cleveland beat Golden State in 2016, averaged 31.02 million.
The seven-game series averaged 10.27 million, down from the 11.31 million average for Boston’s victory over Dallas in five games last year.
The seven games were the most-watched television broadcasts since the first week of May.
ESPN and ABC averaged 6.12 million for the 34 games they carried during the playoffs, a 10% increase over last year.
On Monday, the Anaheim Ducks traded Trevor Zegras to the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for Ryan Pohling, a 2025 second-round pick (45th overall), and a 2026 fourth-round pick.
Zegras’ time in Anaheim was electric from the first time he stepped onto the ice wearing a Ducks sweater. Still, a strenuous contract negotiation and two injury-riddled seasons later, Zegras is a member of the Flyers.
Here’s a timeline of Zegras’ tenure as a member of the Anaheim Ducks:
2019 Draft
The Ducks select Trevor Zegras with the ninth overall pick in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft.
2019-20 Season
Zegras plays his freshman season at Boston University, scoring 36 points (11-25=36) in 33 games.
He represents the United States at the 2020 World Junior Championship, scoring nine points (all assists) in five games.
Zegras signs his ELC on March 27, 2020
2020-21 Season
Zegras again represents the United States at the 2021 World Junior Championship, winning a gold medal and tournament MVP honors with a whopping 18 points (7-11=18) in seven games.
He joins the San Diego Gulls following World Juniors and scores nine points (4-5=9) in eight games.
He’s called up to the Ducks for his NHL debut and scores seven points (1-6=7) in 17 games before rejoining the Gulls in a reported transaction to move him back to his natural center position.
He scores 12 points (6-6=12) in his next nine AHL games and is recalled to the NHL.
He finishes the regular season with six points (2-4=6) in his next seven NHL games and is returned to the AHL for their playoffs, where he scores three points (1-2=3) in three games.
2021-22 Season
Zegras electrifies in his first full NHL season, his rookie campaign, becoming a human highlight reel, earning an invite to the NHL All-Star Game as a guest in the shootout competition and a spot as a co-cover athlete on EA Sports’ “NHL 23” video game.
He was the runner-up for the Calder Trophy, totalling 61 points (23-38=61) in 75 games.
2022-23 Season
Zegras leads the Ducks in scoring in his sophomore season, the Ducks' worst season in franchise history, with 65 points (23-42=65) in 81 games.
2023 Offseason
Zegras is an RFA, as his ELC expires. A publicly difficult negotiation plays out well into the Ducks’ notably intense 2023 training camp, Greg Cronin’s first as head coach after his hiring in June.
He signs a three-year bridge deal that carries an AAV of $5.75 million on Oct 2, 2023, and sustains a groin injury attempting to catch up to speed halfway through camp.
2023-24 Season
Zegras attempts to play through injury early in the season while rounding out his two-way game, but is forced out of the lineup to recover after only producing three points (1-2=3) in 12 games.
He returns to the lineup in late December and tallies five points (3-2=5) in eight games before sustaining a broken ankle.
During his absence, the Ducks trade Jamie Drysdale and a 2025 second-round pick to the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for Cutter Gauthier. Zegras’ name pops up on trade boards due to speculation, citing the aforementioned contract negotiation and a potential stylistic mismatch between him and Ducks general manager Pat Verbeek.
He returns in late March and finishes the season with a total of 15 points (6-9=15) in 31 games, including eight points (2-6=8) in his final eight games.
After the season, he represents the United States at the World Championships, disappointingly scoring three points (1-2=3) in eight games.
2024-25 Season
Zegras and the Ducks get off to a slow start to the season, but his play is praised by Cronin and Verbeek for his commitment to both sides of the puck and in all three zones.
He tears his meniscus in early December and ultimately misses 25 games due to injury in 2024-25. He finishes the year with a total of 32 points (12-20=32) in 57 games.
2025 Offseason
Zegras is traded to Philadelphia.
Conclusion
The decline in Zegras’ production and value can be traced back to his contract negotiations in the summer of 2023. A coach was hired who demanded a different level of commitment to defense than Zegras had been accustomed to and capable of. Despite his best efforts, he was never able to deliver what was asked, and in trying to accomplish it, his offensive game and his body took significant hits.
Zegras will look to recover his production displayed early in his career, as he’s still one of the most deceptive, creative, and offensively gifted players in the NHL.
The club also called up outfielder Travis Jankowski from Triple-A Syracuse.
To make room on the 26-man roster, infielder Luisangel Acuña and right-handed reliever Tyler Zuber were optioned to Syracuse.
With the above moves, it means Mark Vientos' activation from the IL will not be coming on Monday.
Vientos has been on a rehab assignment with Triple-A Syracuse. And the logical move when Vientos returns is for the Mets to demote Ronny Mauricio to Syracuse.
Mauricio, who came up when Vientos hit the IL, has been largely overmatched at the plate -- hitting .180/.241/.320 with 18 strikeouts in 54 plate appearances.
When it comes to Acuña, he largely struggled at the plate during his time in the majors this season, and had mainly served as a pinch-runner and defensive replacement lately.
With the speedy Jankowski up instead, the Mets can use him in that pinch-running role and also have him as an extra outfielder.
SAN FRANCISCO – If Warriors general manager Mike Dunleavy and his lieutenants in the front office have their way, their roster will look significantly different by mid-July.
The rescue mission begins this week with the 2025 NBA Draft, followed next week by free agency, which Dunleavy indicates will be crucial. After evaluating the Warriors and observing the NBA playoffs, Dunleavy on Monday offered a glimpse of the team’s offseason goals.
“It just is [borne] out that defense is still really important,” he said at Chase Center. “And then, the offensive end, to be able to have space on the floor to combat these defenses.”
Defense first. And then offense.
The postseason provided the Warriors with a different reply to a question they had answered with resounding confidence after completing the regular season with the best defense in the NBA:
When is the No. 1 defense in the league not good enough?
When it gets demolished in the playoffs.
After posting a league-best 109 defensive rating over the final nine weeks of the regular season, the Warriors expressed belief that their defense would position them for a deep playoff run. Maybe even carry them to the NBA Finals.
But after a seven-game series victory over the Houston Rockets in the first round, the Warriors beat the Minnesota Timberwolves in Game 1 of Western Conference semifinals and then lost four in a row, looking profoundly overmatched without Stephen Curry.
The Timberwolves averaged 114.8 points per game in their four wins. Their offensive rating was 116.9, with an effective-field-goal percentage of 60.4 and an absurd 63.1 true-shooting percentage. Minnesota’s offense was so clinically effective that it nullified its propensity for turnovers.
That same offense ran aground in the conference finals against the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Timberwolves posted an offensive rating of 111.7 and took an appreciable dip in effective-field-goal (54.3) and true-shooting (57.5) percentages. The Thunder feasted on Minnesota turnovers.
So how do the Warriors, painfully aware of the data, retool their roster this summer and became a contender in one of the most competitive conferences in NBA history? Do they address the inconsistent point-of-attack defense? Do they chase a big man with rim-protection credentials?
The top of Dunleavy’s priority list is written in blood.
“I feel like that’s a big debate throughout the league right now,” Dunleavy said. “Generally, the rim protection is more valuable. At least that’s the way guys are paid, and guys are sought-after in trades.
“But if you ask any coach, point of attack is pretty important. Being able to control the ball handling and these pick-and-rolls.”
Golden State’s best point-of-attack defender, Gary Payton II, was not as effective as he has been in the past. Brandin Podziemski is overmatched in that role. Moses Moody is solid but doesn’t have the quicks. Buddy Hield and Curry, by design, prioritize offense.
OKC has Lu Dort and Alex Caruso, Minnesota has Jaden McDaniels and Houston has Amen Thompson. These players are factors in these teams lining up as the top three in the West. Which is why every other team in the West is chasing perimeter defense, either in the draft or from a free-agent market that offers little beyond Amir Coffey, Keon Ellis or Davion Mitchell.
Another factor is that the top-tier teams in the West also have rim protection behind their POA defense. Chet Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein clog the middle for the Thunder, Rudy Gobert for the Timberwolves and Alperen Şengun (he’s improving and he’s only 22) and Steven Adams for the Rockets.
The Warriors have in Trayce Jackson-Davis a solid but not elite rim protector. Draymond Green, still 6-foot-6 but now 35 years old, is overtaxed in that role. Quinten Post stands 7 feet but does not offer that dimension.
The list of free-agent big men includes Brook Lopez and Al Horford, who might be too expensive, along with Clint Capela and the wild card that is Ben Simmons. Any of them would provide a boost.
The Rockets, behind Şengun and Adams, had success in the paint against Golden State. The Timberwolves prevailed behind Julius Randle’s post-ups and the three-level scoring of Anthony Edwards. The Warriors are not alone in having no answer for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Hartenstein-Holmgren combo.
So, they search for POA defenders and rim protectors. They search this week, next week and perhaps beyond because it’s essential to be a threat in the West.
“Both are really important,” Dunleavy said. “With having a guy on our team like Draymond, we’re elite with a guy like that, and I think we can be better on the ball. I don’t want to say that means it’s more important on the ball for us. I would say both are extremely important, and we’ll look to handle both those in free agency.”
The Warriors are early in an important week, knowing that next week shapes up as being vastly more significant. They know the task, and the hard part is days away.
The NBA season ended less than 24 hours ago, but there is no offseason for sports television transactions.
Maria Taylor has been named NBC Sports’ lead NBA and WNBA studio host for the company’s upcoming NBA coverage on NBC and Peacock, an industry source briefed on the move said Monday. NBC Sports will make the news official later Monday.
Taylor will host NBA studio shows on Sunday and Tuesday nights as part of a group that includes Carmelo Anthony and Vince Carter. Taylor will also host select WNBA games on NBC and Peacock when the company begins airing the WNBA in the spring of 2026. (NBC will air the 2026 WNBA semifinals and Finals.)
Along with her new assignments, Taylor signed a multiyear contract extension with the company that will have her working at NBC Sports’ properties deep into the 2020s, the source said.
Neither the NBA and women’s basketball are new terrain for Taylor. During her seven years at ESPN, she hosted NBA Finals coverage, the company’s NBA Countdown show and NCAA Women’s Tournament coverage. She failed to reach a contract extension with ESPN in 2021 and, upon the conclusion of her ESPN deal, she joined NBC Sports.
Both Amazon and NBCUniversal have been acquiring and assigning on-air talent for their upcoming NBA coverage following the NBA renewing its partnership with ESPN/ABC and forming new agreements with NBCU and Amazon as part of a combined $77 billion deal which starts with the 2025-26 season and runs through the 2035-36 season.
As part of the new rights deal, NBC and Peacock will present national coverage of regional doubleheaders on Tuesday nights beginning in October. Upon the conclusion of “Sunday Night Football,” NBC Sports will launchSunday Night Basketball across NBC and Peacock, debuting Feb. 1. Peacock will also livestream exclusive national Monday night games starting this fall.
The company will air six conference finals, the NBA All-Star Game and All-Star Saturday night as part of its NBA deal.
“We hope to have a fantastic studio show and studio talent around what we see as the game of the week and we will use our team appearances working closely with the NBA on making it the best matchup that we possibly can have at that point of the season,” NBC Sports president Rick Cordella previously told . “We’ve obviously had a lot of success on ‘Sunday Night Football.’ I’d love to say someone had a eureka moment coming up with the idea for ‘Sunday Night Basketball’ but I think it was just natural to us at NBC Sports that this would be a franchise we wanted to create outside of football season. Certainly we have a (broadcast) window open there (after the NFL season). We pitched it to the NBA and it’s an easy to understand concept.”
As far as game coverage, NBC Sports hired Jamal Crawford and Reggie Miller as game analysts to join play-by-play hosts Mike Tirico and Noah Eagle. During NBCUniversal’s upfront presentation to advertisers at Radio City Music Hall in New York City last May, the company announced that Michael Jordan would serve in a “special contributor” role. They also hired coordinating producer Frank DiGraci, who helped make the YES Network the gold standard for NBA regional broadcasts.
The NBA season ended less than 24 hours ago, but there is no offseason for sports television transactions.