BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS - JULY 12: Jonathan Lucroy #12 of the Boston Red Sox warms up before an intrasquad game during Summer Workouts at Fenway Park on July 12, 2020 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images) | Getty Images
With Curtis Mead hitting the IL with a potentially season-ending broken wrist, he’s joining a small group of hitters who played only a single game for the Boston Red Sox. Granted, Mead is expected to return for the 2027 season (if not later this year, possibly). But with Marcelo Mayer, Franklin Arias, and other trade options all available this winter, plus a looming lockout, it’s always possible this is it for Mead and future plans send him to another city. 39 position players are on the one-game wonder list for the Red Sox. The below isn’t a complete list, but here are some highlights.
2026
Amazingly, Mead isn’t even the first one-game player of the 2026 season for the Red Sox. That would be be Brett Harris. Remember him? Acquired from the Athletics back on July 1. He had a very memorable 0-2 game. He might yet play in another, but for now, he’s on the list.
2020
He was a two-time All-Star. He was a catcher and first baseman. He hit 108 home runs in his career. He’s Jonathan Lucroy! Lucroy finished fourth in NL MVP voting back in 2014 but by the time he arrived on the Red Sox for his one game he was a shell of that player.
2018
Tony Renda received a World Series ring for his one game of work. A 27-year-old, he appeared in only one game and didn’t even get a plate appearance. But he did score a run. The rest of his career was 32 games with the Reds in 2016.
2010
Do you remember Angel Sánchez? He spent time with the Royals, Red Sox, Astros, and White Sox between 2006 and 2013. He actually pulled off being a one-game wonder twice: once with each color Sox.
2006
Another catcher, Corky Miller appeared for Boston in one game against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. The starting pitcher for the Sox that day? Jason Johnson. He went 0-4 with a strikeout.
2004
One of the many guys on the roster during the World Series year, Earl Snyder went 1-4. He also appeared for Cleveland in 2002 for 18 games. He signed with Tampa just long enough to have Baseball Reference use that picture for his profile.
1999
Steve Lomasney was born in Melrose and drafted out of Peabody Veterans Memorial High School in 1995 (5th round), a local kid. Also in that round? Doug Mientkiewicz. Lomasney’s one game with the Red Sox — the final game of the 1999 season — was the only MLB game he would ever play. He’s nearly a real life Moonlight Graham, though he got to the plate twice, striking out both times.
1981
After 1999 we have to go all the way to 1981 for the next guy: John Lickert, who played one game on September 18, 1981 against the Yankees. He came in to catch the ninth inning replacing a pinch hitter. Jerry Remy played that day too.
1972
Vic Correll (another catcher) got his major league start as a one-off. He’d go on to play 409 games with the Braves and Reds. Correll would go 2-4 with a run and an RBI!
1952
Hal Bevan played in 1 game in 1952 for Boston, 8 for the Philadelphia A’s, 3 for the Royals in 1955, and 3 more for the Reds in 1961.
1920
Ray Grimes would go 1-4 with a walk before playing 147 games for the Cubs the following year. He had 432 more games after starting his career in Boston.
1901
The first ever to do it for Boston (the Americans at the time), Jack Slattery was a catcher and first baseman from Boston. Born in 1878 he’d go 1-3 with a walk and an RBI. The Americans roster that day against the Milwaukee Brewers featured Hall of Famer Jimmy Collins and, of course, was played at the Huntington Avenue Grounds before Fenway Park was even a dream.
A hypothetical: Joel Embiid plucks the board off the glass. What happens next?
He quickly turns and flings a pass ahead to LeBron James, who has already started bolting down the right flank on the break.
James may be 41, but he remains strong and powerful, so he glides past the first line of defense. But when help crashes in on him, James skips the ball across the floor to Tyrese Maxey.
Maxey pump fakes, but the defense closes in on him, too, so he waits for Embiid to catch up and settle at the top of the key. Maxey tosses Embiid the ball before slashing immediately to the paint on a give-and-go.
Embiid returns to Maxey, who is met at the basket by a rim protector, so Maxey contorts in mid-air, zipping a pass to Jaylen Brown near the right baseline for a corner 3.
For these new Philadelphia 76ers, now with Brown and James in the fold, their offensive portfolio has just expanded significantly. After Philadelphia was swept in the conference semifinals by the eventual NBA champion Knicks, it became clear the roster needed aggressive reshaping to contend with the NBA’s best.
All that said, what will their offense actually look like? And who will handle the ball?
Realistically, the 76ers won’t need to have one primary ball-handler, given that each of Maxey, James, Brown and (to a lesser extent) Edgecombe can initiate offense. The reality is the Sixers should have a much more fluid offense with multiple ball-handlers, because when teams boast different players with the ability to create, it leads to tremendous offensive versatility.
Primary ball-handling duties, however, should fall to James and Maxey.
At this point in his career, soon to begin his record 24th season in the NBA, the thing James does best is distribute. In fact, some of the more awkward moments on the floor last season with the Lakers were when Los Angeles opted to have Luka Dončić dominate the ball.
James wields exceptional court vision and anticipation and has an encyclopedic archive of sets and offensive actions. It may take some time for him to assimilate, but his ball-handling should unlock easier offense for everyone. It’s the best natural fit for him.
Over the past couple of seasons, out of necessity, Maxey had been miscast somewhat as a shoot-first point guard. Philadelphia contended with several injuries, and substandard roster management left the team devoid of a true play-making distributor at point guard. Maxey filled in, and starred in the role, leading the team in assists the past three seasons.
Yet, while Maxey can handle and create, he’s most naturally a three-level scoring guard who excels off the ball, particularly on backdoor cuts and give-and-gos.
Now with James and Brown (though mostly James), there won’t be as much of a burden on Maxey to be the sole initiator on offense.
The other thing that’s safe to expect from these new-look Sixers: they’ll destabilize defenses in transition and will turn defense into offense.
Last season, the top three players in the NBA in converted transition field goals were Maxey (171), Brown (167) and James (164).
The league leaders in total fastbreak points were Maxey (382) and James (343); with 253, Brown ranked 10th.
Pairing all three together suddenly gives Philadelphia immense adaptability with how it attacks teams in transition.
And while flexibility and fluid shot creation should rule the day in coach Nick Nurse’s offense, players will still have to buy in and adapt their roles to make it work.
The player who’ll need to tweak his game most is Brown. Last season, Brown’s best in his career, he ranked third in the NBA in usage (35.1), which measures the rate of a team’s plays that a specific player completes when on the court.
Much of that was because Jayson Tatum was sidelined most of the year with his Achilles tendon recovery, though Brown has plenty of experience playing with another high-usage star.
Still, Embiid (33.6; sixth) and Maxey (28.6; 22nd) also were high-usage players last season. Brown will have to keep finding ways to move without the ball, cut to the basket and find soft gaps in defenses for perimeter shots. Where Brown struggled somewhat was turnovers (3.6 per game) and bouts of inefficiency. Playing alongside James and Maxey, however, Brown won’t need to create for himself anymore; he can let the ball find him.
This, to be sure, is a good problem to have. Teams can never have too many playmakers on the court, and Philadelphia now boasts a starting lineup that averaged a combined 27 assists per game.
Expect the ball to move around freely. Expect a dramatic improvement from last year’s offensive rating (114.3; 16th). Philadelphia’s defense, however, might need some work.
VENICE, FLORIDA - MARCH 16, 2025: Luis Guanipa #72 of the Atlanta Braves bats during the fifth inning of a spring training Spring Breakout game against the Detroit Tigers at CoolToday Park on March 16, 2025 in Venice, Florida. (Photo by George Kubas/Diamond Images via Getty Images) | Diamond Images/Getty Images
18. Ethan Bagwell – RHP
How he got to the Braves: 2024 6th round pick (#191 overall)
In a farm system full of intriguing young arms, Bagwell continues to fly under the radar despite putting up excellent numbers to begin his career.
Last season, Bagwell made a total of 10 starts with Augusta after dealing with an injury that sidelined him for a majority of the first half of the year. In those starts, he tossed 50 innings of 2.88 ERA ball while holding opponents to a .198 average. While the baseline numbers were solid, Bagwell’s strikeout numbers left something to be desired as he only managed 30 strikeouts in those 50 frames.
In 2026, however, Bagwell has seen his strikeout rate jump while also keeping his impressive walk rate in check as well.
Bagwell made 13 starts for Augusta before being promoted to Rome, where he made his first high-A start on July 1 in which he tossed six scoreless innings, striking out six and walking one in the process.
In 17 starts between Augusta and Rome, Bagwell is currently sporting a 2.72 ERA to go along with an FIP of 3.45. His strikeout rate is up to 24.7 percent, while his walk rate has climbed but is still at a manageable 7.3% on the year.
Overall, Bagwell has had great success, primarily with his fastball which has solid late life to it and works well, especially up in the zone. Bagwell currently carries a chase rate of 34.71 percent — which places him in the 89th percentile amongst all minor league arms.
As for the rest of this season, Bagwell will likely remain with Rome to conclude the 2026 campaign. He will most likely open up 2027 with Columbus — assuming the rest of the season continues on the current trajectory — with his sights set on Gwinnett or even the big league club later on in the season.
17. Isaiah Drake – OF
How he got to the Braves: 2023 5th round pick (#162 overall)
Isaiah Drake has faced an up-and-down path to becoming one of the system’s top prospects, but has gained momentum with two successive seasons of offensive success thanks to his ability to adapt his game to the professional level. Coming in as a young-for-his-class prep pick in the 2023 MLB draft Drake was a highly-touted player, but one who came with immense risk and talent that was expected to tap into. Drake has the athletic prowess to be a player who can hit for average to above-average power, but came into professional ball as a slap hitter and has struggled at times to shed that moniker. Drake has spent the last three seasons overhauling his approach and his swing and it has led to improved results, including a career-high 12 home runs in only 68 games this season. Drake’s been limited due to injury and hasn’t played since late June, but was on the path to continue his upward trajectory thanks to the improvements in his power output. During his approach and swing transition Drake suffered through a stretch of awful baseball in which he still wasn’t hitting for power and was striking out 35% of the time in A-ball, but this did not last long. Still, these early troubles soured many on Drake and he has spent the last two seasons rebuilding the diminished hype. He cut his strikeouts down to 22% in 2025 while improving his power output, and even with his ballooning home runs totals has managed a 25.6% strikeout rate in High-A this season. He is still young for the level and hitting at an above average clip, and though his hit tool is still his biggest question Drake has shown the ability to impact the game at all levels and has displayed an aptitude for learning and adjusting.
Drake’s calling card on the field is his speed, and it leads to great results on both sides of the ball. He is a problem on the basepaths and stole 46 bases at a 78% clip in 2025. He is a clear center fielder with the potential to be above average at the position, though he has played all around the outfield and displayed great instincts and route running. His swing changes have made all of the difference for him on the offensive side of the ball. He shortened his path to the ball and is doing a better job of keeping his front side closed, and instead of shooting line drives and ground balls the other way he has improved his pull rates and his fly ball rates. He is a bit aggressive on breaking balls out of the zone and does chase and strikeout too often, though he is still working to improve what was a far more aggressive and detrimental approach a couple of seasons ago. Drake is not likely to reach a superstar ceiling, but as a pure athlete he is one of the best in the entire system and the sky is the limit for him. He is slowly but surely closing the holes in his game that have limited him in the past and seems to be on the path to getting to the big leagues at a normal pace. He has the chance to be a do-it-all outfielder who fits as a regular in a big league lineup, though there is a best case scenario that sees him as an all-star type player.
How he got to the Braves: 2024 15th round pick (#461 overall)
While Eric Hartman is garnering most of the attention among the loaded Rome outfield — and rightfully so, given how historic his season has been thus far — Carey has more than held his own in high-A.
Carey made his system debut in 2025, playing in 117 games with Augusta, posting a slash line of .258/.330/.345 to go along with four homers and 63 RBI. He also flashed his speed, swiping 17 bases in that span as well.
In 2026, Carey had a brief stint with the FCL squad before jumping straight up to high-A Rome, where he has spent the bulk of his season. Across 183 at-bats with the Emperors, Carey has continued to demonstrate an above-average feel for the strike zone, while also seeing his gap-to-gap power increase as well.
In 48 games, which admittedly is a smaller sample size comparatively speaking, Carey has posted a line of .268/.333/.459. He has also hit six homers and driven in 34 runs as well.
Carey will most likely never be more than a 10-15 homer type of guy, but his decision-making when it comes to balls and strikes could lend itself to a touch more power on occasion.
Currently, Carey is carrying a Z-swing % — which calculates how often a batter swings at pitches in the strike zone — of 77.48 percent, which places him in the elite 95th percentile in the MiLB. It’s that type of swing decisions and judgement at the plate that should allow Carey to develop into at least an average bat with the potential for a little bit of pop as well.
As for the rest of this season, it’s highly likely that Carey will remain with Rome to finish out the season with his sights set on Columbus for 2027. The Braves will likely take it slower with Carey to make sure he isn’t rushed and they don’t ruin his sense of discipline at the plate by pushing him along too quickly.
How he got to the Braves: 2024 3rd round pick (#99 overall)
Standing at a mammoth 6’7” and weighing over 250 pounds, Luke Sinnard is every bit imposing on the mound as you can imagine. He was drafted as a surprisingly polished pitcher out of the University of Indiana with an intriguing pitch mix. He burst onto the scene in 2025 with seven overwhelming starts for the Augusta GreenJackets where he had a 0.92 ERA before he was promoted to Rome to finish out the season. Luke was then sent to the Arizona Fall League, seemingly to get more innings as he missed some time because of injury. All he did was have one of the lowest ERA’s amongst in the league and created a lot of buzz heading into the offseason.
2026 hasn’t treated Luke great as he has missed a lot of time due to injury abdominal strain during Spring Training, and then again in June. On the season he’s made a total of seven starts, including a rehab start, and has shoved – a 2.16 ERA, .193 batting average against, 0.92 WHIP, with a 11.88 K/9, and 2.16 BB/9 rate. He gets it done by leveraging a five pitch mix that he uses surprisingly equally. He has a four-seam fastball that sits between 93-95 MPH, a two-seam fastball that’s between 92-94, a very tight slider with -.4” horizontal break and 6” vertical break, curveball with very good depth, and a low spinning splitter. He’s capable of throwing all of them in the zone, which gives him considerable upside. The only question remains – can he withstand a full season? So far across two seasons he has compiled a total of 97.1 innings so with his recent return from the injured list hopefully he can finally put the injuries behind him.
Chalk up another strong @MLBazFallLeague outing for Luke Sinnard, who fanned five over three scoreless frames for Glendale.
How he got to the Braves: 2026 PPI pick (#26 overall)
To say Carter Beck was one of, if not the biggest, surprises of the first round of the MLB Draft earlier this month would not be an overreaction.
A centerfielder with the Indiana State Sycamores, Beck posted an OPS of 1.083 across 57 games for the Sycamores, which competes in the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC). Beck tallied 16 homers, 17 doubles and drove in 59 runs while also swiping an even dozen bases in his final season for Indiana State.
Beck was taken as sort of an under slot type of guy in order for the Braves to have money left to sign some high-potential prep arms later in the draft.
However, that’s not to say Beck can’t live up to his high draft selection, as he possesses an incredibly tantalizing toolset that could catapult him up this list once he gets in some professional reps.
The biggest question mark for Beck is: how will he fare against professional pitching, which is a significant step above what he faced in the MVC? He has the tools to jump up our rankings, but until we see how he performs as a pro, there are too many question marks to rank him higher at the moment.
Defensively, Beck has the potential to stay in centerfield, as he has the athleticism to stick and is very gritty and not afraid to try and make the tough plays.
It will be interesting to see where Beck starts his pro career once he’s assigned. He will most likely begin with Augusta with a chance to fast-track to Rome given his age (21) and college experience, if all goes according to plan.
Indiana State CF Carter Beck is such a fun prospect. Competition makes eval weird, but: 114.8 maxEV, 4% Z-Miss vs 92+, reverse splits, 12.3% BB – 11.6% K, dominated sliders, solid launch profile (I’d want some more AirPull), can run, rangy in CF, will do anything to make a play. pic.twitter.com/C46BiyL9eR
How he got to the Braves: 2023 International Free Agent
Luis Guanipa hits the mark in every way except one, and the glaring flaw in his profile is the one that has kept him for being one of the best prospects in all of baseball. After being the Braves biggest international signee in 2023 there was a ton of pressure on Guanipa to perform, and in his time with the DSL and the Complex League Braves he lived up to the billing. When he got to A-ball as a 19-year old it came with a fair amount of buzz, but things quickly fell off for him after that. Two issues arose. One — Guanipa couldn’t stay healthy. He played only 35 games in Augusta in 2025, and his performance was up-and-down at best with his power production not nearly meeting expectations. Then there was his approach, which has been a sore spot in his profile since that he hasn’t done a whole lot to address. 2026 has fortunately been a major resurgence for Guanipa. His power is through the roof and he is finally pulling the ball in the air, showing some of the elite traits that made him a borderline top 100 talent a couple of seasons ago. He has elite contact ability and can adjust to reach any pitch in the strike zone, and overall his OPS has jumped from 97 in 2025 to 117 this season.
Guanipa’s contact ability is impressive. He has elite bat speed and does a great job of adjusting to hit pitches throughout the zone, and it is rare for him to be beat anywhere in the strike zone. He can get to fastballs up and breaking balls away, and has shown the ability to take pitches out away from him and smoke them the opposite way for singles and doubles. If a pitcher makes a mistake and comes in on Guanipa he can get his bat around as well as anyone, and will turn and mash balls down the left field line for home runs. After having seven home runs in his previous three seasons Guanipa has 11 in 88 games, and there is even more raw power for him to tap into with him hitting 25 at his peak not being out of the question. Injuries previously limited his impact on the basepaths, but in 2026 he is an incredible 36-for-41 on stolen base attempts. In the field he has the potential to be a plus center fielder and always finds a way to get to balls in the gap. There are two offensive problems that limit Guanipa from being a sure-fire top prospect in this system. He has done a ton of work to his swing since joining the professional ranks, but his tendency to fly open and swing off balance limits his impact on pitches away from his body. It also makes him susceptible to swinging over pitches and hitting ground balls, though he has mitigated that in 2026. He still needs to be hitting the ball in the air more to make the most of his power, but the biggest issue is that he just can’t lay off of anything outside of the zone. Guanipa is an outlier free-swinger and it is noticeably negatively impacting his game. He is a good enough contact hitter to avoid ballooning his strikeout totals, but he is often making weak contact on bad pitches and does not draw enough walks to hold a high on base percentage. He has an extremely high swing rate on pitches in the strike zone and goes into few deep counts, with many of the bad chases in his profile coming in favorable spots or with a couple of strikes to spare. Guanipa has the ceiling to be an impact player, but the swing decisions he makes are hard to work around and will keep him from even being an MLB-quality starter if they don’t improve. Guanipa has top 100 pure talent and is certainly trending upwards, but without a major reset to his approach he is always going to leave some of that talent on the table.
SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS - MAY 12: Anthony Edwards #5 of the Minnesota Timberwolves warms up before Game Five of the Second Round of the NBA Western Conference Playoffs against the San Antonio Spurs at Frost Bank Center on May 12, 2026 in San Antonio, Texas. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Alex Slitz/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Minnesota Timberwolves fans spent most of July waiting for somebody to walk through the door and fix things.
We refreshed the timeline. We ran forensic analysis on Instagram emoji choices We talked ourselves into believing that a 41-year-old, four-time MVP would chose to spend the last act of his career in Minneapolis. For a few weeks there, it felt real. Anthony Edwards and LaMelo Ball were making recruiting calls. Hope, that dangerous little houseguest, put its feet up on the coffee table.
Then one Shams Charania tweet ended the Minnesota dream. LeBron James signed with the Philadelphia 76ers. And just like that, the whole elaborate fantasy was over.
It stung. Then it stopped stinging. And somewhere in the quiet afterward, a thing clicked that should have been obvious from the jump: the answer was never going to be a signing.
The answer already plays here.
The Reflex
You have to understand where the instinct comes from, because it isn’t stupidity. It’s scar tissue.
Minnesota’s entire emotional operating system was built around departure. Kevin Garnett had to leave for Boston to get his ring. He was the best player this franchise ever had, and his banner went up in a different building. Kevin Love wanted out and got out. Karl-Anthony Towns, the guy we watched grow up, ended up winning his title somewhere else too. For thirty-seven years, the lesson Wolves fans absorbed was that greatness is something that departs via moving truck. So of course we chased LeBron. Chasing LeBron was the reflex, the deep, conditioned belief that the last piece of the puzzle has to come from outside.
Which is exactly why we almost missed the actual story sitting in plain sight.
Look Who Was Working the Phones
Here’s the detail that reframes the entire summer: the recruitment wasn’t the front office cold-calling a legend and hoping. According to Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic, Anthony Edwards was directly involved, on the phone with LeBron himself, doing the pitch.
And the way he did it tells you everything. As the story went, Ant told James, joking (but only barely), that if he didn’t make a decision soon, he’d tear his head off. When LeBron laughed and asked what happened if he signed somewhere else, Edwards said he’d tear his head off on the court instead. Read that back slowly. That is not a young player nervously auditioning for a savior. That is an alpha dog casually informing a top-two-ever talent that he’d be welcome as help. Help on a team that already has an owner, and the owner is number five. It’s Rocky calling out Apollo, except this Rocky is convinced he already owns the belt.
That’s the leap nobody circled on the calendar. Not a stat line. A posture. Edwards spent this offseason recruiting instead of being recruited, and the tone was less “please come save us” and more “come get on, or get run over.” The kid who used to eat Popeyes and giggle his way through media availability is now the guy telling future Hall of Famers where the bar is.
The Numbers Behind the Swagger
The swagger would be insufferable if it weren’t earned. It’s earned.
Edwards put up 28.8 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 3.7 assists a night while shooting 39.9 percent from three. He’s entering his seventh season. Seven years is the window where the truly special ones stop being “a star with a ceiling” and simply become the ceiling. The new practice photos have people dusting off the Jordan comparisons again, and sure, that’s the offseason content machine doing its thing, but you don’t get compared to that guy for being ordinary in July. You get compared to him because there’s something in the film that keeps daring you to say it out loud.
The point isn’t that Edwards is already the best player alive. The point is that the Timberwolves’ path forward was never a free-agent addition sitting on top of him. It was him.
Let’s Not Pretend
Now, let’s not pretend the doubt is unreasonable, because it isn’t.
One man does not win a title alone. The graveyard of great scorers who never got a ring could fill a mid-size arena. The Wolves fell to the eventual Western Conference champion Spurs in six games this spring. It was the first time since 2023 that Minnesota didn’t reach the conference finals, which is its own gut-punch after two straight trips. The LaMelo Ball trade is a genuine gamble, a bet that could go sideways. Shipping out Naz Reid and Julius Randle left a power forward hole you could park a Zamboni in. And the money is terrifying: $215.8 million already committed for next season, with Edwards ($48.9M), Ball ($40.8M), and Rudy Gobert ($36.5M) eating most of it. There is no cavalry coming, because the credit card is maxed and the statement’s already past due.
All of that is true. Every word.
And every word of it is why the answer has to be Ant.
The Case
When you can’t buy the last piece, you have to grow it. That’s not cope. That’s the blueprint the teams that actually broke through all used. Dallas didn’t sign its way to a title; it waited on Dirk Nowitzki to turn into the most unguardable version of himself and then handed him the keys. Milwaukee didn’t import a finisher on top of Giannis; it let Giannis become the finisher. The franchises that finally cashed in weren’t the ones who found a savior on the open market. They were the ones whose homegrown superstar decided, in year six or seven, that “good enough to contend” was an insult.
The LaMelo trade fits that theory, it doesn’t contradict it. You don’t deal for a high-usage, ball-dominant guard to replace your best player. You do it to weaponize his gravity, to give Edwards a co-star whose job is to make the defense pick a poison. The gamble only pays off if Ant is exactly what we think he is. Everything Minnesota did this summer, the trade included, is a wager placed on number five. Which means the whole offseason quietly answered its own question. The Wolves already told you who they think the answer is. They just did it with a transaction sheet instead of a press release.
LeBron in Philadelphia doesn’t shrink Minnesota’s ceiling. It just removes the last excuse. There’s no veteran messiah to defer to now, no “once we add one more guy” asterisk to hide behind. It’s Ant’s team, Ant’s number, Ant’s leap or Ant’s disappointment.
He got married this summer, got the fresh cut, showed up to camp dressed like he had a board meeting to run. Take the hint. This is a man arranging his life around the idea that this is the year the leap becomes the point.
So Here We Are
The savior isn’t driving up I-94. He never was. He’s already in the building. He’s the one who was working the phones, the one telling four-time MVPs where the line is. The Timberwolves spent a summer looking outside for the thing they’ve had all along, and the search ending is the best thing that could’ve happened, because now there’s nowhere left to look but at him.
Chief executive says fans don’t care about technology
Season may finish in Europe due to war in Middle East
Stefano Domenicali has issued a stout rebuttal to critics of Formula One’s current regulations, claiming most fans are enjoying the sport more than ever and are unconcerned by driver complaints.
The Formula One chief executive also confirmed that this season finale would be staged in Europe if the last two grands prix, in Qatar and Abu Dhabi, are called off due to the Middle East war.
Next up are the Buffalo Sabres, another Atlantic rival that had some big losses this summer. Like Ottawa a year earlier, the Sabres finally broke their playoff drought this past season, although Buffalo's was the longest in NHL history at 14 years.
Not only did they break the drought, they won the division. But not by much.
Steve Warne and Gregg Kennedy discuss who might fill out the top six in Ottawa this fall.
Senators Offseason Summary
The Senators' offseason turned on a dime when captain Brady Tkachuk requested a trade and was eventually sent to Florida for the ninth and 25th picks in the 2026 draft, a 2027 second-rounder and a 2029 first-round pick.
GM Steve Staios then flipped the ninth pick to San Jose for William Eklund and prospects Kasper Halttunen and Brandon Svoboda.
Ottawa also acquired Andre Burakovsky and goalie Samuel Ersson, while re-signing Claude Giroux, Nick Cousins, Jordan Spence and Leevi Merilainen.
The biggest question remains whether Eklund and Burakovsky can replace enough of Tkachuk's offence.
Let's compare that with Buffalo's offseason.
Sabres Trades: Subtractions
Like Ottawa, Buffalo's biggest offseason departure was one of its most important forwards.
Alex Tuch, the Sabres' third-leading scorer, was dealt to Washington in a sign-and-trade after agreeing to an eight-year, $84 million extension. Buffalo received bottom-six forward David Kämpf and a 2027 third-round pick.
The Sabres also traded defenseman Bowen Byram and rugged forward Jordan Greenway to Chicago for the fourth and 45th picks in the 2026 NHL Draft and 6-foot-8 defenseman Louis Crevier.
Also gone is Michael Kesselring to San Jose as part of a deal to move up from 27th to 20th in the first round.
Goaltender Devon Levi, the former Carleton Place Canadian, was sent to Edmonton along with a 2028 seventh-round pick for a 2028 third-rounder.
All told, that's a decent amount of NHL talent heading out the door. And they weren't particularly well replaced...
Sabres Additions
The Sabres flipped the 45th pick and prospect Anton Wahlberg to Anaheim for 22-year-old defenseman Olen Zellweger.
Zellweger should immediately help replace some of the mobility and offence lost with Byram, while Crevier gives Buffalo another young right-shot defenseman.
Free agency was relatively quiet. Buffalo re-signed Zellweger, and also brought back veteran Conor Sheary and Sens UFA defenseman Dennis Gilbert.
The Sabres also signed Zach Benson, Peyton Krebs, amd Beck Malenstyn to long term extensions.
Buffalo also built for the future, using the fourth overall pick acquired from Chicago to select defenseman Daxon Rudolph and the No. 20 pick to select centre Ilia Morozov.
Who Had The Better Offseason?
Both teams lost an important winger. Ottawa lost Tkachuk while Buffalo lost Tuch.
But the Sabres also bid farewell to Byram, Greenway, Kesselring, and Levi.
There's plenty to like about Buffalo's return. Zellweger is already an NHL player with considerable upside, while the fourth overall pick could eventually become a major piece.
But much of that return is geared toward the future. The Sens' response was a little more focused on the present.
Staios turned the ninth pick into Eklund, a 23-year-old established NHL forward who immediately steps into the top six. Burakovsky provides another offensive option and Ersson gives Ottawa a new partner for Linus Ullmark. And 21-year-old winger Kasper Halttunen, acquired with Eklund, is a compelling prospect who might be ready for an NHL look later in the season.
The Senators also retained Giroux, Cousins and Spence, keeping several important pieces of last year's team in place.
Offseason edge: Senators
Who's Better Right Now?
Buffalo finished ahead of Ottawa last season and still has plenty of talent.
Tage Thompson remains as big and elite as ever, while Josh Norris, Zach Benson, Jack Quinn, Josh Doan, Jason Zucker, and Ryan McLeod fill out a strong group of forwards.
Rasmus Dahlin and Owen Power, both former first overall picks, remain the foundation of an excellent blue line.
Ottawa counters with Tim Stützle, Drake Batherson, Dylan Cozens, Shane Pinto, Giroux and newcomers Eklund and Burakovsky up front, with Thomas Chabot, Jake Sanderson and Spence on defence and Ullmark in goal.
Also keep in mind that Ottawa's goaltending, injury luck and off-ice drama would be hard-pressed to be worse than they were last season, and the Senators still made the playoffs with 99 points.
Buffalo earned the right to enter this comparison with an advantage after finishing ahead of Ottawa last season.
But after what happened this summer, that advantage may have disappeared.
Better team right now? The Senators. But not by much.
The Pittsburgh Penguins have made multiple moves this off-season, but they should be open to making more. After losing Ryan Shea in free agency to the Edmonton Oilers and trading Parker Wotherspoon to the Vegas Golden Knights, it is clear that the Penguins could use another left-shot defenseman.
Because of this, let's look at two potential defenseman trade targets for the Penguins to consider.
Alexander Nikishin, Carolina Hurricanes
With Alexander Nikishin being a 24-year-old defenseman with great upside, he is exactly the kind of defenseman who a retooling team like the Penguins should make a serious push for. He just had a strong rookie season with the Hurricanes, posting 11 goals, 33 points, and a plus-18 rating in 81 games. The potential for him to become a high-impact defenseman in the NHL is there, so he is a blueliner the Penguins should consider making a serious push for.
Morgan Rielly, Toronto Maple Leafs
If the Penguins want to add another veteran defenseman, Maple Leafs blueliner Morgan Rielly could be worth taking a gamble on. The 32-year-old defenseman has been the subject of trade rumors throughout this off-season and would be a nice addition to the Penguins' left side if acquired. However, he has a full no-movement clause, so he would need to approve any potential trade. In 78 games last season for Toronto, he posted 11 goals and 36 points.
When looking at the Buffalo Sabres' current roster, it is fair to wonder if they could look to bring in a player to training camp on a professional tryout (PTO) agreement.
One remaining UFA who could be worth taking a look at on a PTO for the Sabres is forward Jonathan Drouin.
Drouin was bought out by the Blues earlier this off-season after a tough 2025-26 season. In 64 games split between the New York Islanders and Blues, he posted four goals, 20 assists, and 24 points.
While Drouin struggled offensively last season, his previous seasons indicate that he could potentially bounce back if he landed another chance.
Just back during the 2024-25 season with the Colorado Avalanche, Drouin posted 11 goals, 26 assists, and 37 points in 43 games. This was after he scored 19 goals and set career highs with 37 assists and 56 points in 79 games for the Avalanche during the 2023-24 season. With this, he has had some recent offensive success.
With the Sabres needing more forwards, it could make sense of them to take a gamble on Drouin with a PTO. It would come with zero risk, and they could simply release him from his PTO if the fit isn't there.
In 671 career NHL games, Drouin has recorded 111 goals, 287 assists, and 398 points.
DALLAS, TX - JUNE 29: The Dallas Mavericks Introduce Dusty May as Head Coach Press Conference on June 29, 2026 in Dallas, Texas. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2026 NBAE (Photo by Glenn James/NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images
The Dallas Mavericks are going into the season with a projected starting lineup of Kyrie Irving, Max Christie, Cooper Flagg, PJ Washington and Dereck Lively II.
While this should be the starting five for the first game of the season (barring injury), it might not be how the Mavs finish the year.
“This starting five could look very different by the 2027 trade deadline, or even the start of the 2026-27 season.
A 34-year-old Irving coming off a torn ACL doesn’t fit a franchise now built around the 19-year-old Flagg. Washington, 27, is on the borderline as well and could be shopped to a contender to create more opportunities for No. 9 overall pick Morez Johnson Jr,“ Bleacher Report contributor Greg Swartz wrote.
“For now, this is the Mavs’ most likely outcome as they hope the 22-year-old Lively can return from foot surgery after playing just seven games last season.”
The Mavs will start Kyrie Irving and Cooper Flagg as long as they are on the roster, but other players can be swapped in and out.
Christy is expected to be the starting shooting guard, but there are opportunities for former No. 1 overall pick Zaccharie Risacher and Naji Marshall to take his spot if they feel that it is a better group for Dallas.
While Washington has a strong grasp on the starting power forward spot, Risacher, Santi Aldama or rookie Morez Johnson Jr. could get some looks in the first unit. Aldama could also slide in at center to take over for Lively, as well as Daniel Gafford.
Ultimately, the Mavs have several different configurations Dusty May can work with, which makes things exciting for the upcoming season.
Mavs Moneyball community, how do you think the team should start in the upcoming season? Drop your potential lineups in the comments section below.
‘Everyone looks at all opportunities,’ says Australian
He is sceptical new Test coach can work with McCullum
Justin Langer says he has had no contact from the England and Wales Cricket Board about coaching the men’s Test team, and expressed scepticism over whether the proposed structure of having the new red-ball coach operate alongside their predecessor, Brendon McCullum, who remains in charge of the white-ball sides, can work.
The 55-year-old, who played 105 Tests for Australia and coached them between 2018 and 2022, was an early frontrunner for the England job after McCullum was sacked this month. But preliminary interviews have now been held with the candidates favoured by Rob Key, the ECB’s managing director of men’s cricket.
OKLAHOMA CITY, OK - MAY 26: Carter Bryant #11 of the San Antonio Spurs dunks the ball during the game against the Oklahoma City Thunder during Game Five of the NBA Western Conference Finals on May 26, 2026 at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2026 NBAE (Photo by Joe Murphy/NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images
Welcome to Pounding the Rock’s 2025-26 player reviews! The series will look at the players who finished the season with the San Antonio Spurs on guaranteed contracts and who played consequential minutes and/or a vital role (so no two-way players because we hardly saw them this year, no players who were traded away, and none of the deep bench centers, since they were both irrelevant and are now all gone).
Contract Status: 3-year, rookie contract (team option for 2027-28 and 2028-29)
Age: 20
It wasn’t a guarantee that Carter Bryant would be a contributor for the San Antonio Spurs in his rookie season. The fourteenth-overall-pick in the 2025 NBA Draft entered a talented wing room with veterans like Harrison Barnes, Julian Champagnie, Devin Vassell and Keldon Johnson taking up a large share of the minutes. Bryant had to earn his way into the rotation. His usage was sporadic early in the season as Mitch Johnson tried to get a feel for his roster. But slowly, as the season went on, Bryant got more opportunities and a longer leash, becoming a legitimate contributor late in the season and a factor in the playoffs.
It wasn’t always smooth sailing for Bryant. He missed so many dunks early in the year that his veteran teammates threatened to shave his head. He looked lost at times off the ball defensively, and made some silly rookie mistakes with the ball in his hands. But something clicked after Bryant played a single game for the Austin Spurs on January 9th (he had 15 points, 5 rebounds, and 2 blocks in a win). When he returned to the NBA team, he looked confident and more deliberate with his decision-making. He used his strength and athleticism to make impact plays on defense and stopped forcing so much on offense. His playing time increased as a result.
Over the course of the season, Bryant showed glimpses of what he could be: a two-way wing who wins defensively with his superior size, athleticism and strength, and an offense cutter who can hit the occasional three-pointer. He plays with an extremely high motor and a level of aggression that’s pretty rare for a player of his age. His eagerness comes with its downsides as well, as Bryant would sometimes find himself out of position or foul while trying to stop an opposing player.
That weakness was put on display in the NBA playoffs, where players like Anthony Edwards and Jalen Brunson exposed Bryant defensively. Without adding much on the offensive end, Bryant was left with a sparkplug energy role off the bench that sometimes hurt the Spurs more than it helped them in the postseason.
Playoff woes aside, it’s hard not to see Bryant’s rookie season as a success. He carved out a role for himself on an NBA Finals team, and showed promise of being a long-term piece of San Antonio’s core. His numbers won’t blow you away, but he looked worthy of a lottery pick in a stacked 2025 class. He developed so much over the course of just one season. It would be foolish to doubt he can’t get better from here.
Looking ahead
Bryant should continue to factor into San Antonio’s rotation next season, if not earn more minutes. Even with the addition of Tobias Harris, Bryant still has a role as a rangy defensive wing who can potentially play some small-ball five. With Harris joining, Julian Champagnie can probably go back to playing more of an off-ball wing role rather than a stretch four alongside Victor Wembanyama in the starting lineup, leaving some minutes to be had for Bryant as the backup forward. He’ll be fighting Keldon Johnson and Harrison Barnes for that spot.
Bryant will likely come into the season next year as the Spurs’ second-best perimeter defender behind Stephon Castle. That fact alone should earn him minutes. San Antonio will need to see him improve on the offensive end. Bryant needs to knock down open threes and learn how to attack a closeout. He showed signs of doing both in the NBA Summer League this year. He doesn’t need to be able to “cook” defenders off the bounce, just score on straight-line drives when the defense overcommits. But first, he has to shoot better than 33.5% from three to make defenses respect him outside of the paint.
I am particularly excited about Bryant’s future. Guys with his size, motor, and athleticism don’t grow on trees. His shot looks sound, and we’ve seen it go in when he’s on a roll. He could develop into the key three-and-D wing that San Antonio needs next to Wembanyama and its star guards. We’ll need to see him make steps toward becoming that player in his sophomore season.
Top performance
17 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists while shooting 5-6 from deep, providing an offensive spark in a game without Victor Wembanyama and Stephon Castle.
The Pittsburgh Penguins should be open to bringing in a player or two to training on a professional tryout (PTO) agreement.
When looking at the remaining UFAs at this point in the off-season, Carson Soucy is an interesting defenseman who could be worth taking a gamble on with a PTO for the Penguins.
With the Penguins' left side not having the strongest depth, a player like Soucy would have the potential to be an interesting addition to their group if he earned a contract for the season. When playing at his best, the 32-year-old defenseman can be a solid bottom-pairing defenseman due to his steady defensive play and physicality.
Soucy split this past season between the New York Rangers and New York Islanders, where he recorded five goals, 12 points, 91 blocks, and 105 hits. This was after he had four goals, 13 points, 106 blocks, and 115 hits in 75 games split between the Vancouver Canucks and Rangers during the 2024-25 season.
Overall, with the Penguins needing more defensive depth, there would be no harm in them taking a look at Soucy on a PTO. He could work on their bottom pairing or as an extra defenseman for the Penguins if signed.
For many NHL players, Winnipeg is a quick stop along their professional hockey-playing journey. But for Michael Hutchinson, it became his home.
The former Winnipeg Jets goaltender announced his retirement this week, bringing to a close an 11-season NHL career, to which he spent time with six different big league organizations. While his playing days took him across North America and eventually overseas, Hutchinson's roots remained firmly planted in Manitoba.
Photo by Jerome Miron/USA Today
After signing with the Jets organization in 2013, Hutchinson quickly became a fan favourite, starring with the St. John's IceCaps before earning a full-time NHL opportunity. He enjoyed his best season in 2014-15, posting a 21-10-5 record with a 2.38 goals-against average and .914 save percentage in relief of Ondrei Pavelec. His play helped Winnipeg return to the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time since the franchise relocated from Atlanta.
The Barrie, ON. product would appear in 102 games for the Jets over parts of five seasons before later spending time with the Florida Panthers, Toronto Maple Leafs, Colorado Avalanche, Columbus Blue Jackets and Detroit Red Wings. He finished his NHL career with just another 52 games played, for a total of 154 NHL games before spending his final professional season with Sai Pa in Finland's Liiga.
Yet for many Manitobans, Hutchinson has become much more than just a former Jets goaltender.
His wife, Jenna Hutchinson, is the co-founder of Jenna Rae Cakes - an immensely popular Winnipeg bakery that she launched alongside her twin sister, Ashley Kosowan. What began as a single bakery has grown into one of Manitoba's best-known local businesses, with multiple locations across the city and a national following.
The couple also chose Winnipeg as their permanent home base despite Hutchinson's career taking them to several NHL cities. In a feature for House & Home on their custom-built home, Jenna described Winnipeg as the place they would always return to, while Michael spoke about finally having a place to call his own after years of moving from team to team.
That connection to the province has only strengthened since his playing days with the Jets, with Hutchinson frequently returning to Winnipeg during the offseason and remaining a familiar face around the city. Recently, he and Jenna attended Adam Lowry's wedding this July.
The Jets recently posted online, congratulating Hutchinson on his retirement, adding they "can't wait to see you at the Alumni Game" - a fitting next chapter for a player whose impact in Winnipeg extended well beyond the crease.
Oh, and not to mention, Hutchinson now runs a local goaltending school (@HutchinsonGoaltending) to which he serves as the lead instructor in Winnipeg.
Over a decade of success and a lifetime to go - the now 36-year-old family man has chosen to remain in the place where he spent the longest stretch and found the most success in his career: Winnipeg.
It’s been a rough couple of months to be a Celtics fan.
Boston fumbled away a 3-1 lead in Round 1 against Philadelphia, spoiling what had otherwise been a highly enjoyable 2025-26 season. The Knicks won a championship and haven’t stopped parading around in the aftermath. The Celtics traded former Finals MVP Jaylen Brown to a division rival, and those Sixers signed LeBron James in the aftermath to create a potential super team. The East as a whole looks as good on paper as it has in decades.
The duck boats that flowed through downtown Boston just two years ago now feels like two lifetimes ago.
You’ve got two choices, though. You can sit here and wallow in self-pity. Or you can accept that what’s done is done, and move on. We all ran the emotional gamut and navigated the stages of grief that are inevitable when trading a franchise pillar. Some got through it quicker than others. Now it’s time to shift the focus from what happened to what comes next.
This is us channeling our inner Veronica Vaughn. We’re dragging any Billy Madison-looking Celtics fans into the pool and trying to roust you from July’s pity party. I believe in you, Billy (Chisholm). And Brad, too.
Here are four reasons to be optimistic about what comes next for the Celtics:
MVP season loading?
Roster construction and money allocation in the apron era played a major role in Boston’s decision to pivot away from Brown, but we thought it was telling that when Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens discussed the trade, he almost immediately pointed to having such a high percentage of usage tied up in two superstars.
Brown finished 36.1 percent of Boston’s possessions during his floor time last season. That wasn’t just a career high, it was the 18th-highest single-season mark in NBA history since usage tracking began in 1978, per Basketball Reference. It was the highest mark in Celtics history and well north of the previous top usage rate set by Isaiah Thomas (33.8 percent) during his magical 2016-17 season.
Maybe Brown would have happily downshifted his usage with a healthier Jayson Tatum on the court this season. Maybe the advanced metrics that showed Boston performed better with Brown off the court in each of the last four seasons would have stabilized. But the Celtics evidently weren’t waiting to find out.
What’s clear now, while the team plots the next iteration of its roster, is that Tatum is going to shoulder the offensive load for the 2026-27 season and probably beyond. If the Celtics were to outkick the downsized expectations amid the departure of Brown, then Tatum is going to thrust himself directly into the same MVP conversation that Brown lingered in last season.
Brian Fluharty-Imagn Images
Jayson Tatum could be in for a huge 2026-27 season as the sole focal point of the Celtics offense.
This will be the first time that Tatum has been the sole focal point of the Celtics’ offense. There will be instances where he needs to use that attention to create opportunities for teammates. But Tatum is going to finish a lot of possessions. And his stat line could soar because of it.
Tatum already owns the Celtics’ record for single-season scoring average from the 2022-23 season, when he averaged 30.1 points to go along with 8.8 rebounds and 4.6 assists over 36.9 minutes per game. He finished fourth in MVP voting that year.
Tatum’s rebounding was off the charts after his return last season (10 rebounds per game in 16 regular-season appearances). He’s averaged a career-best 8.2 assists per 100 possessions in each of his last two seasons. It’s not hard to imagine a particularly glitzy stat line next season.
In much the same way that Brown thrived as the focal point last year and earned heavy MVP chatter when Boston bested outsider expectations, it feels like Tatum will have the chance to do the same this year. Maybe Victor Wembanyama will simply have a stranglehold on the award moving forward — with Nikola Jokic and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander unlikely to cede their spots at the top of balloting as well. But Tatum will be in the conversation with plenty of possessions available to state his case.
In a big country
Overshadowed by all the Brown drama, the Celtics shored up maybe their biggest area of need last season by signing center Mitchell Robinson. It also created a void for a primary rival by signing away the Knicks’ longest-tenured player and a key piece of their championship bench.
Robinson is a glass-cleaning, country music-loving machine who will turn a whole bunch of Boston’s missed 3-pointers into the second-chance opportunities that Joe Mazzulla so dearly covets. Robinson corralled 21.2 percent of his team’s missed shots last season. That wasn’t just the highest mark in the NBA, it was nearly six percent higher than the next closest player with 1,000+ minutes played (Donovan Clingan, 15.3 percent).
The Celtics know full well how valuable Robinson can be. Mazzulla routinely deployed a Hack-a-Mitch strategy in hopes that New York would take Robinson off the court due to his free-throw woes. Opposing teams will do the same against Boston this year, but Robinson’s impact is undeniable if he stays on the court.
The Knicks’ offensive rebound rate spiked by 9.8 percent per 100 possessions during Mitchell’s floor time last season. He corralled 31.9 percent of his own misses. His kickouts created some of the most efficient looks that New York got last season.
Can Robinson stay on the floor — both in terms of health and teams targeting his free-throw shooting weakness? That’s a major question for a player who averaged just 19.6 minutes per game over 60 appearances last season, and missed 116 games over the previous two campaigns.
But his ability to impact winning when he’s on the court is undeniable. He’ll add much-needed depth to a spot that got exposed as Boston fumbled away that 3-1 series lead against the Sixers. His impact could greatly outkick the 9.1 percent of the cap he signed for while inking a 3-year, $47 million deal with Boston.
Kick the player development team into overdrive
Maybe the biggest storyline from last season was the way many of Boston’s youngest players thrived in elevated roles. From Neemias Queta and Payton Pritchard shuffling into starter spots, to recent draftees like Baylor Scheierman, Hugo Gonzalez, and Jordan Walsh all thriving in elevated minutes at various points throughout the 2025-26 campaign, to Luka Garza carving out a role after barely playing at two previous stops, it’s clear the Celtics can maximize their young talent.
Now all those players need to make another leap — or at least find the sort of consistency that the best players in the league bring on a night-to-night basis.
Sure, it would help if Derrick White finds his shot after a rough offensive season. But Pritchard will get every opportunity to be the No. 2 scoring option on the team. Can he eliminate some of the variance in his output, especially when the 3-point shot defies him? His numbers when sharing the floor with Tatum are particularly intriguing.
Can Neemias Queta avoid the sort of foul trouble that forced him off the court too often in the postseason? How many of Boston’s wings will make the sort of leap that makes it easy for Mazzulla to pencil them in for heightened minutes each night?
One thing that could help: The addition of veteran point guard Mike Conley. While Conley’s on-court role might be limited in his age-39 season, he brings 37,588 minutes of regular-season experience. He’s played in 120 playoff games.
To put it another way: Celtics rookie Chris Cenac Jr. was four months old when Conley Jr. was drafted in June 2007. His ability to guide young players could certainly aid Boston’s young nucleus.
The Celtics need to continue to nurture and develop from within.
In Brad We Trust: Optionality and clean books
Look, no one is going to hang a banner for resetting repeater penalties. Or creating optionality. But navigating the second apron and creating windows for increased spending certainly matters in this new apron era. The Celtics are putting themselves in a position to be opportunistic while much of the league is steamrolling towards a reckoning that Boston has already started navigating.
Stevens talked a lot about that optionality in the aftermath of the Brown trade. It’s not fun having to wait for the next shoe to drop, but all the pain points the Celtics have endured the past two summers — from the departures of core championship pieces like Kristaps Porzingis, Al Horford, Jrue Holiday, and Luke Kornet last year; to the shocking Brown trade — have positioned the team to be aggressive with roster construction moving forward.
The next disgruntled NBA star is only a news cycle away. Maybe Denver implodes under the weight of the second apron. Is Anthony Edwards going to stay happy in Minnesota with LaMelo Ball added to the mix? Stars get moved every season, and yet we never stop being surprised when it happens.
The Celtics have the parts to at least get in on the conversation for any players that become available. The team can be judicious in hunting the next star it yearns to pair with Tatum. Maybe the team prioritizes depth and tries to find high-value players on mid-tier salaries to put around Tatum.
Stevens has quietly been locking up depth pieces on team-friendly deals. Queta (four years, $60 million) got a big extension, and Pritchard could soon sign a three-year, $67 million extension. The Celtics inked both Ron Harper Jr. and Jordan Walsh to long-term deals. Neither that duo, nor recent draftees Baylor Scheierman and Hugo Gonzalez will earn more than 3 percent of the cap through their current pacts.
The Celtics need to maximize their optionality. They need to be willing to spend when free of the repeater shackles next summer. But they’ve created more pathways than previously existed through their often painful maneuvering over the past two summers.
Stevens has thrust himself into a harsh spotlight by trading Brown. There’s going to be pressure to hit a home run on whatever big move comes next. Patience is in short supply in these parts. But Stevens has to show that the Brown trade, painful as it was, was a necessary step in getting the Celtics back to a spot where they can truly compete for a title.
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA - MAY 15: Anthony Edwards #5 of the Minnesota Timberwolves looks on against the San Antonio Spurs in the second quarter in Game Six of the Second Round of the NBA Western Conference Playoffs at Target Center on May 15, 2026 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by David Berding/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Minnesota Timberwolves are going into the upcoming season with a new starting lineup to boast after making a pair of offseason trades.
Ayo Dosunmu, Anthony Edwards, LaMelo Ball, Jaden McDaniels and Rudy Gobert are projected to start for the Wolves, which Bleacher Report writer Greg Swartz places at No. 12 in his starting lineup rankings.
“There’s perhaps no greater positional need from any team than the Minnesota Timberwolves have for a starting power forward right now,” Swartz wrote.
“After trading away both Julius Randle and Naz Reid, the Wolves are looking at a small lineup with the 185-pound McDaniels playing the four unless further roster moves are made. Ball takes over the starting point guard duties in Minnesota and Dosunmu, though undersized, has played his share of small forward in the past for a guard-heavy Chicago Bulls team. The Wolves still need a real power forward who won’t be blown over by a stiff breeze before the season begins.“
In this perspective lineup, the Wolves are essentially running with three guards: Ball, Edwards, and Dosunmu. Ball stands 6-7, which will give him the opportunity to defend more wings, but he won’t be a wing on the offensive end of the floor.
The Wolves could swap out Dosunmu and have him come off the bench, but there isn’t necessarily a strong option off the bench that would give Minnesota the size they need.
Until they make a trade for another forward, the Wolves are better off sticking with this quintet.
Canis Hoopus community, do you think the Wolves are too small in the starting lineup? Let us know in the comments section below.
Brian Fluharty-Imagn Images