Category: Sports

Minnesota Vikings right tackle Brian O’Neill suffered a sprained MCL in his team’s loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday in Dublin, sources told ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler.

O’Neill, a two-time Pro Bowl selection, could miss time, putting the team’s patchwork offensive line in a more precarious position.

Starting center Ryan Kelly also departed Sunday’s game with a concussion, his second this season and at least the fifth of his NFL career.

The Vikings were already playing without left guard Donovan Jackson, who had surgery last week on his left wrist. In the process, the Steelers sacked Vikings quarterback Carson Wentz six times, hit him a total of 14 times and pressured him at a 32% rate. Two of his passes were batted at the line of scrimmage and intercepted, and he also committed a key intentional grounding penalty under duress to derail the Vikings’ final possession in the 24-21 loss.

Swing tackle Justin Skule, who started the first two games of the season at left tackle while Christian Darrisaw completed his recovery from a 2024 knee injury, replaced O’Neill on the right side Sunday while Michael Jurgens, a seventh-round draft pick in 2024, replaced Kelly at center. Blake Brandel played in place of Jackson.

The Vikings (2-2) will play the Cleveland Browns (1-3) in London this Sunday at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

ESPN’s Kevin Seifert contributed to this report.

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Miami Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill was carted off the field Monday night with what the team fears is a dislocated left knee, a source told ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

Hill was being taken to a local hospital for further evaluation. If the injury is confirmed, it would be season-ending.

The injury happened against the New York Jets early in the third quarter, when Hill caught a 10-yard pass from quarterback Tua Tagovailoa to convert a third down. His left leg was twisted under him as he was tackled out of bounds.

The cart came onto the field immediately, and an air cast was placed on Hill’s leg. He smiled and waved to the crowd as the cart was driven away.

The Dolphins’ leading receiver, Hill has missed just one game in his four seasons in Miami, in 2023. He was off to a strong start Monday night with 67 receiving yards on six catches.

If Hill, 31, is out for the season, Jaylen Waddle becomes the Dolphins’ de facto No. 1 receiver — but the team would need someone to step into Waddle’s former role. Second-year receiver Malik Washington would be the prime candidate, and Miami also signed Nick Westbrook-Ikhine this offseason.

The Dolphins could also utilize non-wideouts for production in the passing game. Tight end Darren Waller made his season debut Monday and caught two touchdown passes, and running back De’Von Achane leads all NFL running backs in receptions and receiving yards since the start of last season.

Hill has 11,363 receiving yards since entering the NFL in 2017, the most in the league over that span. He also has 819 catches, fourth most in the league since 2017 behind only Davante Adams (886), Travis Kelce (880) and Stefon Diggs (824). Hill’s 83 touchdown catches are third most in the NFL since 2017. Adams has 102 TD catches, and Mike Evans has 91.

Information from The Associated Press was included in this report.

The French Open will retain human line judges for 2026, making it an exception among tennis’ Grand Slams as others will use electronic line calling.

The French Tennis Federation (FFT) confirmed the decision in a statement, in which it said it “will continue to show off the excellence of French umpiring, which is recognised across the world”, according to vice president Lionel Ollinger.

Roland Garros remains the only Grand Slam to not implement electronic line calling.

“We are a federation where umpires and line judges work every day and, I say this with all humility, we are the best country for providing officials on the tour,” said FFT president Gilles Moretton.

“We take pride in this, we have a strong training system. We are a benchmark and we want to stay that way.

“The federation’s will is to keep line judges as long as possible; right now, the players are driving the train. If one day they unanimously say: ‘We won’t play without the machine,’ we’ll see… But I believe we have a bright future ahead to preserve this officiating pyramid.”

At the 2025 edition of the tournament, 404 match officials were present, including 284 French representatives from all French leagues.

Wimbledon adopted electronic line calling (ELC) in 2025, leaving the French Open as the last of the four tennis majors to use humans to adjudicate whether a ball has landed in or out.

Instead, officials rely on marks left by players’ shots on the Roland Garros clay.

The line judges make an initial decision, before the chair umpire verifies any contentious ball marks at the players’ request.

Aryna Sabalenka and Alexander Zverev have used their phones to take photos of marks during the European clay-court swing earlier this year.

The Australian Open adopted ELC in 2021, while the US Open adopted it in 2022 after using it on some courts in 2020.

ELC at Wimbledon

Wimbledon removed line judges earlier this year with All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC) chief executive Sally Bolton describing the move as “inevitable”.

But Emma Raducanu and Jack Draper were among the players to question the use of electronic line-calling in the tournament this summer.

Raducanu said: “It’s kind of disappointing that the calls can be so wrong, but for the most part they’ve been OK. I’ve had a few in my other matches, too, that have been very wrong. Hopefully they can fix that.”

The former US Open champion went on to admit she did not trust the technology.

“No, I don’t,” she added. “I think the other players would say the same thing, there were some pretty dodgy ones but what can you do?”

Draper also queried the performance of the technology in its debut year at Wimbledon, suggesting calls were missed during his second-round defeat to Marin Cilic.

“I don’t think it’s 100 per cent accurate in all honesty,” he said. “A couple of the ones today, it showed a mark on the court.

“There’s no way the chalk would have showed that. I guess it cannot be 100 per cent accurate – it’s millimetres.”

Swiss player Belinda Bencic echoed the uncertainty over the system and pointed towards a common outlook among players in the locker room.

“I also don’t trust it,” she said earlier in the week. “Of course, you feel a little bit stupid questioning an electronic line call, but of course it always depends how it’s installed and how accurate it is.

“It’s not only me, you know. I feel like I’m watching other matches too, and I see players like saying the exact same thing, complaining. Or even on TV, you can see clearly some balls are out or long or something.

“We players talk about it and I think most of us have the same opinion.”

System malfunction during Pavlyuchenkova win

The most controversial moment of the Grand Slam was when a system malfunction resulted in the technology being switched off for a game during Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova’s victory over Britain’s Sonay Kartal.

Only did it become apparent that the system had not been working when a shot from Kartal clearly landed beyond the baseline without being ruled out, denying a bemused Pavlyuchenkova a 5-4 lead in the first set.

Umpire Nico Helwerth instead brought the game to a halt and insisted the point should be replayed, paving the way to Kartal breaking her opponent’s serve for a 5-4 advantage.

“You took the game away from me… they stole the game from me. They stole it,” said Pavlyuchenkova upon returning to her chair.

Fortunately for Pavlyuchenkova the incident did not prove costly as she went on to beat Kartal 7-6 6-4.

Watch the ATP and WTA Tour, live on Sky Sports or stream with NOW and the Sky Sports app, giving Sky Sports customers access to over 50 per cent more live sport this year at no extra cost. Find out more here.

Week 4 of the 2025 NFL season delivered nail-biters that turned into comebacks, blowouts, the first tie of the year — and even a rookie quarterback making his first start. No matter the box score, several players across the league stood out.

But only one player can be “him.”

Ahead of this week’s “Monday Night Football” doubleheader featuring a matchup between the New York Jets and Miami Dolphins followed by the Cincinnati Bengals facing off against the Denver Broncos, it’s time to decide who earned the honor Sunday.

This week’s nominees for ESPN’s “Himmy” Award are:

Already made up your mind? Cast your vote below. Need a refresher first? Keep reading for each candidate’s case, then make it official.

ESPN Research contributed to this story.

Stats to know: 31-of-40, 319 yards, 3 TDs; 1 carry, 2 yards, 1 TD

Micah Parsons‘ hyped return to Dallas set the stage for the Cowboys’ matchup against the Green Bay Packers on “Sunday Night Football.” And Prescott put on a show at AT&T Stadium.

He completed 77.5% of his passes for three touchdowns, added a rushing score and passed Troy Aikman as the franchise’s all-time completions leader with No. 2,901. He hit eight different targets, led by George Pickens with eight catches for 134 yards and two scores, yet the Cowboys and Packers finished knotted at 40-40 in Dallas’ first tie since 1969. To start overtime, Prescott memorably escaped Parsons’ rush and dropped a 34-yard dime to Jalen Tolbert to the Green Bay 5, but the deadlock held.

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Stats to know: 5 receptions, 126 yards, 1 TD

The first-year Steeler shined against the Minnesota Vikings at Dublin’s Croke Park, delivering his best outing since joining the team. Metcalf notched his first 100-yard game with Pittsburgh and piled up 122 yards before halftime — the most he has had in any half during his seven-year career.

His biggest play was an 80-yard catch-and-run touchdown where Aaron Rodgers hit him on a crossing route, and Metcalf sped past Viking safety Theo Jackson to put the Steelers up 14-3 early in the second quarter.

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Stats to know: 13-of-20, 100 yards, 1 TD; 10 carries, 54 yards, 1 TD

Dart jump-started the Giants with a rushing touchdown on their opening drive — coincidentally against the chargers and Justin Herbert, the last quarterback to do it in a debut back in Week 2 of 2020.

The Giants rookie added a passing score and cleared 50 rushing yards, joining Tim Tebow to become just the second player since 2000 to post a passing touchdown, rushing TD and 50 rush yards in a first start. Dart also delivered New York’s first win of the season and the league’s first instance since 2008 of a team 0-3 or worse getting its first win over an undefeated opponent.

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Stats to know: 13 receptions, 170 yards, 1 TD

Nacua rolled into Week 4 as the NFL’s receiving leader and torched the Indianapolis Colts for 170 more yards. He’s up to 42 receptions and 503 yards, which comfortably leads the league. The catches match his former teammate Cooper Kupp (2022) and Michael Thomas (2018) for the most through four games in NFL history.

Sunday marked Nacua’s sixth career outing of 150-plus receiving yards (including playoffs), which trails only Justin Jefferson (8) and Randy Moss (7) through a player’s first three seasons. Keeping his current pace for 17 games would land Nacua well past the NFL single-season records of 149 receptions and 1,964 yards.

SEC Network host Paul Finebaum said Monday that he would consider leaving ESPN to run for the U.S. Senate, representing Alabama.

The 70-year-old Finebaum said during a recent interview with Outkick that he’d run as a Republican to fill the seat vacated by former Auburn football coach Tommy Tuberville, who has said he’ll run for Alabama governor in the 2026 elections. Tuberville’s current Senate term ends in 2027.

The qualifying deadline to run for Senate is Jan. 26, 2026. Finebaum said he would likely have to leave his hosting and analyst duties if he decided to run. He told Outkick he’d make a decision within the next 30-45 days.

Finebaum said he hadn’t seriously considered politics, but the assassination of Charlie Kirk was the impetus to give a run at politics further thought. He noted that he had received a “text” from “one or two people in Washington” gauging his interest in politics.

“[It was] something I never thought about before,” Finebaum told Outkick.

Finebaum is currently registered as a Republican in North Carolina, where he works for the SEC Network. He told Outkick he recently moved to Alabama, where he hosted a radio show for years, and would re-register there.

Finebaum hosted radio shows in Alabama for almost 30 years before joining ESPN and the SEC Network. He started his media career as a newspaper writer and columnist.

“Alabama has always been the place I’ve felt the most welcome, that I’ve cared the most about the people,” he said. “I’ve spoken to people from Alabama for 35 years, and I feel there is a connection that is hard to explain.”

Gary Anderson will face Raymond van Barneveld in a blockbuster opening round of the World Grand Prix Darts with Luke Littler to face rising Dutch star Gian van Veen.

Dutch icon Van Barneveld, who sealed his qualification in last-gasp fashion at the European Tour event in Basel, faces an intriguing clash against fellow veteran Anderson in a battle of the former finalists.

The 2025 World Grand Prix will take place at Leicester’s Mattioli Arena from October 6-12, as reigning champion Mike De Decker bids to retain the double-start title.

De Decker toppled Humphries to celebrate glory 12 months ago, and the Belgian No 1 will begin his bid for back-to-back titles against 2018 runner-up Peter Wright.

Humphries claimed the double-start crown in 2023, and the world No 1 will open his title challenge against 2022 runner-up Aspinall in arguably the tie of the round.

World Champion Littler and World Youth Champion Van Veen also renew their rivalry, as two of the sport’s most exciting stars go head-to-head for a place in round two.

Six-time champion Michael van Gerwen goes up against 2020 runner-up Dirk van Duijvenbode in an all-Dutch encounter with Van Gerwen aiming to build on his World Series Finals triumph earlier this month.

Dave Chisnall is one of several high-profile absentees at this year’s World Grand Prix, with 2023 World Champion Michael Smith and last year’s semi-finalist Dimitri Van den Bergh also missing out.

World Grand Prix Draw

(1) Luke Humphries vs Nathan Aspinall
(16) Martin Schindler vs Krzysztof Ratajski
(8) Chris Dobey vs Cameron Menzies
(9) Rob Cross vs Wessel Nijman
(4) Stephen Bunting vs Niko Springer
(13) Danny Noppert vs Jermaine Wattimena
(5) James Wade vs Joe Cullen
(12) Gary Anderson vs Raymond van Barneveld
(2) Luke Littler vs Gian van Veen
(15) Peter Wright vs Mike De Decker
(7) Gerwyn Price vs Ryan Searle
(10) Josh Rock vs Ryan Joyce
(3) Michael van Gerwen vs Dirk van Duijvenbode
(14) Ross Smith vs Daryl Gurney
(6) Jonny Clayton vs Andrew Gilding
(11) Damon Heta vs Luke Woodhouse

Schedule of Play
Monday October 6 (6pm)
(9) Rob Cross vs Wessel Nijman
(16) Martin Schindler vs Krzysztof Ratajski
(8) Chris Dobey vs Cameron Menzies
(5) James Wade vs Joe Cullen
(13) Danny Noppert vs Jermaine Wattimena
(1) Luke Humphries vs Nathan Aspinall
(12) Gary Anderson vs Raymond van Barneveld
(4) Stephen Bunting vs Niko Springer

Tuesday October 7 (6pm)
(11) Damon Heta vs Luke Woodhouse
(14) Ross Smith vs Daryl Gurney
(6) Jonny Clayton vs Andrew Gilding
(7) Gerwyn Price vs Ryan Searle
(2) Luke Littler vs Gian van Veen
(3) Michael van Gerwen vs Dirk van Duijvenbode
(15) Peter Wright vs Mike De Decker
(10) Josh Rock vs Ryan Joyce

Wednesday October 8 (7pm)
4x Second Round matches

Thursday October 9 (7pm)
4x Second Round matches

Friday October 10 (7pm)
Quarter-Finals

Saturday October 11 (8pm)
Semi-Finals

Sunday October 12 (8pm)
Final

What event is next on Sky Sports?

The 2025 BoyleSports World Grand Prix will take place at the Mattioli Arena, Leicester, from October 6-12, as 32 of the world’s top stars compete in one of the sport’s most prestigious tournaments.

Michael van Gerwen and Luke Humphries are set to be joined by world champion Luke Littler in headlining this year’s field.

Mike De Decker sensationally stormed to his first Premier Event title at last year’s event.

Sky Sports will once again be the home of the World Cup of Darts, World Matchplay, World Grand Prix, Grand Slam of Darts and more! Stream darts and more top sport with NOW

The Baltimore Ravens find themselves in unfamiliar, worrying territory. After Sunday’s 37-20 blowout loss to the Chiefs, the Ravens are starting the 2025 season at 1-3 for the first time since 2015. It’s just the fourth time in the Lamar Jackson era that the Ravens have gone 1-3 over any four-game span with their star quarterback in the lineup. And through four games, they have allowed 133 points, the most they’ve allowed over any four-game span in John Harbaugh’s 18-year run as the team’s coach.

It isn’t all gloom and doom on paper. There’s no shame in losing games to the Bills, Lions and Chiefs, whom everyone picks to be among the best teams in the NFL at the end of the season. The Ravens will feel unlucky that they blew a late lead to Buffalo, specifically. The Bills needed to have a fourth-down pass carom off one receiver’s fingertips and into the arms of Keon Coleman to help fuel their fourth-quarter comeback. And while the Ravens are 1-3, they’ve scored 131 points through four games, the second most for any team with a losing record through its first four contests of a season in NFL history.

In reality, things feel worse. The Ravens let a winnable game slip through their hands in Buffalo. Slippery hands have suddenly become a problem for star back Derrick Henry, who has three fumbles in four games. Baltimore has played a tough schedule, but it couldn’t stop the Bills or Lions with the game on the line. And on Sunday, facing a Chiefs team that was enduring its own mini crisis to start the season, the Ravens simply looked overmatched. The 37-20 final score flattered Baltimore, who needed a 71-yard touchdown run from backup halfback Justice Hill in the fourth quarter to avoid the second loss of 20 points or more in Jackson’s career.

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By the end of the game, Jackson was sidelined by a hamstring injury, too. And he wasn’t the only Baltimore player missing. As we start to break down what has gone wrong for the Ravens during this slow start, injuries are the natural place to begin the conversation. Something that the Ravens managed to avoid in 2024 has come back to bite them in spectacularly difficult fashion so far in 2025.

What’s wrong with one of the league’s perennial contenders? And can those problems be fixed in time for the Ravens to get back into the hunt for the AFC North, let alone a potential trip to the Super Bowl? Let’s dive in.

Jump to:
Injuries on defense
Inconsistency on offense
What’s next for the Ravens?

Injuries have melted the defense

Every fan has written off a frustrating loss or a disappointing season from one of their favorite teams to injuries. While it might be just as valid, almost nobody considers things from the opposite perspective. When was the last time you heard anyone credit their team for being remarkably healthy over a great season?

The Ravens weren’t just healthy in 2024. They were a historical outlier of health. By the FTN Fantasy’s adjusted games lost metric, the Ravens were both the healthiest team of 2024 and the third-healthiest team of the past 14 seasons. They were the healthiest offense and the healthiest defense in the league. They were your friend who gets up and goes to yoga and Pilates and does an hour of cardio before you even roll out of bed sort of healthy.

Adjusted games lost is weighted toward the value of starters over backups who are less likely to play. And last season, the Ravens’ starters were around and available. If we consider their base grouping on offense to be 12 personnel (1 RB, 2 TEs, 2 WRs), the 2024 Ravens had their 11 starters miss just one regular-season game — when Isaiah Likely sat out a November tilt with a hamstring issue. Their other key playmakers, their five starting offensive linemen and Jackson all made it through the entire year without missing a single game to injury.

It’s more difficult to pick out their 11 preferred starters on defense since the Ravens made more wholesale changes on that side of the ball because of performance, but I’d land on six games not at full strength. Cornerback Nate Wiggins was sidelined for three games, while linebacker Roquan Smith, edge rusher Kyle Van Noy and cornerback Marlon Humphrey each missed one.

On Sunday, the Ravens were down six starters in the same game on the defensive side of the ball by the end. They came into the contest without Van Noy (who hasn’t played since Week 2 because of a hamstring injury), star defensive tackle Nnamdi Madubuike (placed on injured reserve this week with a concerning neck injury) and nose tackle Travis Jones (sidelined with a knee issue). This doesn’t include corner Jaire Alexander, who was benched after getting torched in the opener against the Bills and hasn’t played since, even though he would be in the mix to contribute when healthy.

During the game, things got worse. Smith left the game with a hamstring issue in the second quarter and did not return. Humphrey was also sidelined before halftime (calf). Wiggins made it to the fourth quarter before being carted to the locker room after suffering an elbow injury in a collision with Chiefs running back Isiah Pacheco. That’s six starters, four of whom were Pro Bowlers last season.

And as a result, the Ravens gave snaps to a lot of players who aren’t Pro Bowlers in this game. I don’t want to take anything away from the Chiefs, who put on their best offensive performance of the season by a comfortable margin on Sunday. But the Ravens gave starter snaps to 36-year-old John Jenkins and 34-year-old Brent Urban up front. Chidobe Awuzie, who might have been Baltimore’s fourth cornerback on the depth chart if things went as planned this season, was virtually an every-down player Sunday.

CJ Okoye, a player from the international pathway program making his NFL debut, was on the field for 23 snaps. There were regular snaps for players like Jake Hummel, Keyon Martin and T.J. Tampa, too, who would either be inactive or strictly special teams contributors when everyone’s available. The Ravens pride themselves on developing talent and bringing players through their system, but it’s one thing to do that at one or two spots in the lineup and another to do it with most of your starting lineup on the sideline.

Awuzie was found lacking in a couple of spots against the Chiefs, including in coverage on a touchdown pass to Hollywood Brown, but the defenders who were getting picked on for the Ravens were their rookies up the middle. Teddye Buchanan has stepped in as the primary middle linebacker next to Smith, while first-round pick Malaki Starks has been an every-down player at safety. In an ideal world, the Ravens wouldn’t be relying on those guys in key roles in September of their rookie years.

The Chiefs worked on Buchanan in the red zone. They hit Pacheco for a touchdown in the flat on a play where the rookie linebacker was distracted by backfield movement and was two steps too slow to get out in coverage. Buchanan and Martin both ended up covering a crossing route on another score, leaving Tyquan Thornton to run a seam past Buchanan for an 11-yard touchdown. Buchanan also missed a tackle on Brashard Smith in the flat for a 17-yard gain.

Starks has had issues against the run. On Xavier Worthy‘s 35-yard end-around in the second quarter, Starks couldn’t locate the football until it was way too late and had drifted inside, leaving a clear path for Worthy and his convoy to get outside. Last week, Starks was the last line of defense as the free safety on David Montgomery‘s 72-yard run and couldn’t make a tackle on the veteran back. Later, when Montgomery scored from 31 yards out, Starks was again the free safety and never even got close to the ball carrier.

Mike Green, the team’s second-round pick on the edge, also has zero sacks and two quarterback knockdowns on 119 defensive snaps this season. I’m not drawing long-term conclusions about any of these guys; remember that Kyle Hamilton had rough moments early in his rookie year and became a superstar at safety. But the Ravens are relying on the rookies while they also play some combination of veteran journeymen and practice-squad talent because of the injuries.

Nobody could have anticipated that the Ravens would be this beat up on defense so early in the season, but there’s a reason they’re getting rookies in the lineup so quickly and leaning on players at the end of their careers: This team has had to adjust to a new roster-building paradigm after signing Jackson to a five-year, $260 million deal in 2023. Obviously, the Jackson deal has been great for the Ravens given the two-time MVP’s play, but any big quarterback contract is going to impact how a team constructs the rest of its roster.

Jackson was making an average of $2.4 million during the four years of his rookie deal and then $23 million in 2022. In 2023, while the Ravens gave Jackson a massive bonus as part of his new deal, Jackson’s cap hit was still only $22.2 million. While GM Eric DeCosta has structured that deal to keep the cap hits relatively low before an obvious restructure point next spring, Jackson is taking home $42.8 million in cash and has a $43.5 million cap hit this year, the latter representing the fourth-largest figure of any QB.

In addition, the Ravens have also signed Madubuike, Smith and Hamilton to significant extensions since 2023, with the latter two becoming the highest-paid players at their respective positions. They brought back Ronnie Stanley and have Humphrey and Mark Andrews playing toward the end of their second contracts. Odafe Oweh‘s playing out his fifth-year option at $13.2 million. This is a very top-heavy team relative to what the Ravens were working with when Jackson was on his rookie deal or as recently as 2023. When a top-heavy team stays healthy, you typically have a great season. When it suffers injuries, there’s not as much to fall back on.

And as such, the Ravens haven’t been able to flesh out the back half of their roster as much as they might like, with nobody joining them in free agency for more than $5 million. They had to move on from Marcus Williams after he was benched last year, but Starks was their immediate replacement with no significant veteran addition at safety. Ar’Darius Washington, who took over for Williams last year, has been sidelined all season after tearing his Achilles in May.

At cornerback, the Ravens let Brandon Stephens leave in free agency and signed Awuzie and Alexander — both coming off injury-hit seasons in 2023 and 2024 — for a combined $5.3 million. They let Patrick Queen leave in free agency after extending Smith, and while that might have been a financially prudent move, the spot next to the All-Pro linebacker hasn’t been filled effectively or consistently.

In turn, the Ravens rank 30th in the NFL in EPA per play allowed. EPA isn’t opponent-adjusted, but QBR is, and the Ravens rank 27th against the pass by that metric. Opposing teams are converting 75% of their red zone trips into touchdowns, a sea change for a team that allowed offenses to convert only 48% of those possessions into touchdowns between 2023 and 2024 (best in the league). And the only team that has allowed more plays of 20 or more yards to opposing offenses than the Ravens is the Cowboys.

Without Madubuike and Van Noy, the Ravens are down their top two pass rushers. The only player on the team who has a sack besides Madubuike is Tavius Robinson, who picked up a coverage sack during Sunday’s loss. Defensive coordinator Zach Orr has needed to turn the blitz rate up over the past two weeks, with a team that blitzed just under 21% of the time last season now sending extra rushers more than 37% of the time against the Lions and Chiefs.

On 45 blitz dropbacks this season, the Ravens have produced zero sacks. (They did force a Joe Flacco interception with a blitz, though.) Patrick Mahomes didn’t have much trouble when the Ravens blitzed him Sunday, going 8-of-13 for 91 yards and a touchdown pass. And when the Ravens didn’t blitz, the weakened pass rush was hopeless, managing to pressure Mahomes only five times on 25 dropbacks.

On top of that, things just don’t look like they’re being communicated well. On Worthy’s 37-yard catch in the first quarter, Humphrey came across the field with the young receiver in motion, hinting that he would be in man coverage. At the snap, Humphrey took a step toward the line like he was blitzing from deep in the slot, stopped, bumped into Worthy and then watched the Chiefs receiver run past him for a long completion. The Chiefs also picked up a third-down conversion in the red zone on a play where the Ravens were frantically signaling to each other before the snap and then simply didn’t cover Brashard Smith in the flat, allowing an easy first down.

Of course, the Ravens struggled last year before turning things around, too. That involved hiring Dean Pees as an adviser to the 33-year-old Orr, who was a first-time defensive playcaller. It also involved benching or cutting players like Williams, Eddie Jackson and Trenton Simpson while moving Hamilton into a full-time free safety role. There isn’t the same sort of depth or alternatives available to the Ravens this time around. The guys who would be filling in are already in the lineup.

The get-right spot for the Ravens might come next week, when they play a Texans offense that was flailing for the first three weeks of the season before showing signs of life in a shutout victory over the Titans. (Even in that 26-0 win, though, Houston allowed Jeffery Simmons to have one of the fastest sacks you’ll ever see.) The schedule gets easier after this brutal start to the season, but the Ravens come into every season expecting to compete with the likes of the Bills, Chiefs and Lions. They don’t have the sort of defense that can hold up against anyone right now, let alone those Super Bowl contenders.

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The offense is inconsistent

I mentioned that the Ravens are off to an explosive start on offense, despite the poor record. Jackson & Co. scored 41 points against the Bills, 34 against the Browns and 30 against the Lions (though some of those 30 came on a touchdown when behind by multiple scores with 29 seconds left). The offense understandably slowed down against the Chiefs on a day where Jackson left injured in the third quarter, but the two-time MVP had mustered only 13 points before leaving the game, with Hill’s 71-yard scamper coming with Cooper Rush in the lineup.

Last year’s Ravens were obviously spectacular running the football, as the combination of Henry, Jackson and a healthy offensive line delivered remarkable results. Baltimore led the league in rushing yards and averaged 5.8 yards per carry, the best mark posted by any team in a single season since 1948. They were explosive, efficient and deadly in the red zone.

When Henry rolled off runs for 30, 46 and 49 yards in Week 1 against the Bills, it looked like the Ravens were on that same track again in 2025. And since then, there has usually been an explosive run or two per game. Henry had a 28-yarder in the first quarter against the Lions. Jackson had a 17-yarder before leaving against the Chiefs, while Hill came in late for that 71-yard touchdown.

The Ravens are averaging 6.2 yards per carry, which is even better than their 2024 mark. They have 19 gains of 10 or more yards and have turned 22% of their rush attempts into double-digit gains. All of those figures lead the NFL. By yardage measures, the Ravens are dominating on the ground. And by EPA per rush attempt, the Ravens are sixth in the league — even with Henry’s three fumbles weighing things down.

Last season, though, the Ravens were second in the league when they ran the ball per NFL Next Gen Stats’ success rate, which measures how often a team stays on schedule by generating positive EPA. (Other versions of success rate use a percentage of the yards needed to pick up a first down as the baseline for succeeding, like gaining 40% of the remaining yards needed for a first down or touchdown on first down, 60% on second down or 100% on third/fourth downs.) Only the Commanders were more consistently keeping themselves on schedule to score with their run plays.

This year, even while they average more than six yards per carry, the Ravens are 28th in success rate when they run the ball. Take Jackson out of the mix, and their running backs are 30th in success rate. There are still explosive plays, which are great, but outside of those one or two big runs per game, the Ravens are getting shut down when they run.

I understand why that might sound dumb — any team is going to look bad when you strip out their best plays — but it speaks to how boom-and-bust the Ravens’ run game is right now. Last season, they were getting the big plays from Jackson and Henry and the consistent 4- or 5-yard gains that sustain an offense from drive to drive. This year, it has just been the big runs, and when those come on only one or two drives per game, it leaves a lot of moments where the offense isn’t being spurred forward on the ground.

What that means in practice is that the Ravens are putting more on Jackson’s shoulders later in each series. Between 2023 and 2024, when Jackson won an MVP award and came close to nabbing a second, the average third down for the Ravens came with 7 yards to go, which was roughly middle of the pack. About 45% of the third downs the Ravens faced came with 7 or more yards to go.

This season, Baltimore’s average third down is coming with 8 full yards to go, which is the fourth-longest average distance in the NFL. That might not sound like much difference, but it hints at more of the third-and-longs that make life so difficult for even the best quarterbacks. The Ravens have had 7 or more yards to go on 55% of their third downs this season, the fifth-highest rate for any offense. They’ve converted 33% of their third-and-longs, which is above the league average, but that’s still not a place any offense wants to live consistently.

Jackson’s traditional metrics as a passer are mostly excellent, but there is one issue that has crept up unexpectedly this season. One of the ways in which Jackson and Josh Allen have grown into two of the most devastating and valuable QBs in the game has been by combining high-efficiency scrambling with excellent traditional quarterback play and avoiding negative plays in the process. Allen didn’t have his best day Sunday against the Saints, but he threw just six interceptions last season and had a sub-3% sack rate. If you’re a walking explosive play and you never go backward, it’s really hard to stop you on offense.

Jackson, meanwhile, took a major step forward in avoiding negative plays in 2024. He threw just four interceptions all season, and after a 7.4% sack rate over his career before 2024, he dropped that down to 4.6% last season. A high sack rate always seemed to be one of the trade-offs for the magic Jackson was capable of creating outside structure as he extended plays, but he was playing at a high enough level to even take that out of his game a year ago.

After taking 23 sacks all season, though, Jackson has already been brought down for 15 in 2025. Only Cam Ward has been sacked more, and the Titans’ rookie has dropped back 30 more times than his Ravens counterpart. Jackson’s 12.6% sack rate is the worst figure in the league. Those sacks are all negative plays, and while they’re better than interceptions, some of them can be drive-destroying.

Ten of those sacks have come over the past two weeks. There isn’t one lone issue to blame, although it was quite clear that the Ravens weren’t confident in their ability to block Aidan Hutchinson in Week 3. Jackson has taken a few coverage sacks when nothing has come open, even after he scrambles for a few seconds. The Lions gave the Ravens trouble with some three-man rushes with a fourth player serving as a spy on Jackson — an echo of the “Odd Mirror” looks we’ve seen spread around college football in an attempt to influence where mobile QBs go and having a person in place to stop them once they get there. Jackson has also been a little less shifty in moments over the past two games, and as good as he can be at eluding pressure, nobody is perfect.

While Jackson has been lights-out against the blitz through three games, Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo had more success Sunday. Jackson went 3-of-5 against the blitz for 22 yards with an interception on a play where Nick Bolton added onto a rush and Jackson threw up a 50-50 ball to Andrews, which was picked by Leo Chenal. Another blitz where the Chiefs showed zone before the snap and then played Cover 0 with six men pressuring forced a throw out of bounds on fourth-and-1. Those don’t go down as sacks, but they’re obviously hugely negative plays.

It didn’t help that the Ravens were without Stanley for most of the day, as the starting left tackle left after the first quarter with ankle issues. He was questionable coming into the game with ankle trouble. Patrick Ricard, Baltimore’s starting fullback, also missed his fourth consecutive game with a calf concern. However, Likely did make his season debut after recovering from foot surgery.

With the Ravens either scoring quickly on an explosive play or struggling to move the ball, the average Baltimore drive consists of only 4.9 plays, tied with Cincinnati for the fewest in the NFL. That puts more pressure on the defense, which has faced a league-high 286 snaps this season. It’s too simplistic to say that the added snaps have led to more injuries for the Ravens’ defense, but it’s undeniable that the workload is leading to more replacement-level players seeing meaningful snaps on the defensive side of the ball.

The Ravens also haven’t been able to punch the ball in as well. Last season, the Ravens converted a league-high 74.2% of their red zone possessions into touchdowns. While it’s only a 13-possession sample, that figure is down to 53.8% so far this year, which is tied for 19th with the Cardinals. Red zone performance can be flaky from year-to-year, but Henry’s teams in Tennessee had been outliers in short yardage, and he kept that up in his first year with Baltimore. This should be a strength for the Ravens, but they’ve gone 4-of-9 (44.4%) in the red zone during their three losses this season.

The Ravens don’t have an exclusively boom-and-bust offense, but they do have a very inconsistent attack right now. There are too many negative plays in the way of fumbles, sacks and runs that don’t keep the offense on schedule, leading to difficult third-and-long scenarios. Jackson and his teammates have been capable of the spectacular this year and shown as much, but last season’s Ravens were far more consistently impactful on offense.

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Can the issues be fixed?

I think so. Playing lesser competition will help. The Ravens project to face the league’s eighth-easiest schedule from here on out, which will go a long way to making their lives easier. Harbaugh suggested after Sunday’s loss that none of the injuries was season-ending, which means that the Ravens should be able to get their key players back in the weeks to come. Of course, there aren’t any guarantees that the guys who are healthy now will stay healthy for the rest of the season.

This is probably the point, though, where Ravens fans have to recalibrate their expectations. Per ESPN’s Football Power Index, the Ravens have a 2.5% chance of finishing with the top seed in the AFC after Sunday’s loss, down from a conference-high 20.4% before the season began. In addition to being three games behind the Bills, the Ravens would lose any head-to-head tiebreaker against the Bills or Chiefs after losing to both in September.

On the other hand, the AFC North still feels wide open. The Steelers are 3-1, but they’ve struggled badly on defense and needed some spectacular turnover timing to beat the Jets and Patriots this season. The Bengals are 2-1 and won’t have Joe Burrow (toe) for months to come, and the 1-3 Browns are more feisty than good. The two games against the Steelers won’t come until December, and the Ravens should have more of their stars back before then.

Could the Ravens vanquish their division rivals, squeak into the postseason and then beat the best teams in the conference on the road? Worked out just fine for them in 2012, when a 10-6 Ravens team beat the Broncos and Patriots on the road before topping the 49ers in New Orleans for Harbaugh’s first Super Bowl as a head coach. I never want to count the Ravens out, but they have to get better — and get healthier — if they want to finally get over their postseason hump.

NBA free agency is underway, and teams are adding stars and making moves to fill their rosters for the 2025-26 season.

Among the most impactful signings so far: Myles Turner leaving the defending Eastern Conference champion Indiana Pacers for the Milwaukee Bucks; max extensions for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jaren Jackson Jr.; James Harden‘s new two-year deal with the LA Clippers; and the $52.6 million player option for LeBron James with the Los Angeles Lakers.

As more deals get reported, we’re grading the moves and examining what each means for next season and beyond.

Jump to a deal:
Booker’s max extension | Ayton to Lakers
Turner chooses Bucks | SGA’s supermax
Grizzlies max Jackson | LeBron’s opt-in
Finney-Smith to Rockets | Harden’s new deal
MORE: Trade grades | Offseason news, buz

Sept. 28: Warriors, Horford agree to terms

Grade: A-

Finally. Horford signing with the Warriors was rumored from the start of free agency nearly three months ago and became obvious once the other possible suitors quickly utilized their exceptions to fill frontcourt needs.

Golden State delayed formally agreeing on a contract all summer to maintain flexibility pending the outcome of Jonathan Kuminga‘s seemingly endless restricted free agency. Depending on where Kuminga’s contract came in, the Warriors could have structured Horford’s contract — which will hard cap them at the second apron by using their taxpayer midlevel exception — slightly differently.

Let’s come back to the financial implications of Horford’s deal and start by discussing the basketball fit. Even before the Warriors added Jimmy Butler at the February trade deadline, frontcourt shooting was Golden State’s biggest need.

With Draymond Green an iffy shooter at this stage of his career (32.5% on 3s during the regular season, 27% in the playoffs) and Butler (1.9 attempts per game from long distance) a reluctant one, the Warriors badly need everyone else on the court with them to stretch the floor. (That has been part of the issue with Kuminga, who shot a career-worst 30.5% on 3s last season.)

That limitation resulted in Golden State coach Steve Kerr settling on a tiny lineup to close the regular season with no player taller than the 6-foot-7 Butler. Green plays much bigger than his listed height (6-foot-6), certainly, but the best Warriors “small-ball” units featured more size alongside him in the frontcourt than we saw last season.

Enter the 6-foot-9 Horford, who remains an archetype of versatility in his late 30s. (Horford turned 39 in June and will be 40 by the conclusion of the 2026 NBA Finals.) Horford shot just 36% on 3s last season, but that came on the heels of hitting better than 40% beyond the arc in each of the previous two campaigns. And Horford remains capable of defending on the perimeter better than most centers two decades younger.

To keep him healthy for long playoff runs, the Celtics carefully managed Horford’s minutes. He last played both ends of a back-to-back set in March 2022 and was limited to 28 minutes per game despite Boston playing much of last season without starting center Kristaps Porzingis. Golden State will want to operate in a similar fashion, making it important for young reserves Trayce Jackson-Davis and Quinten Post to help alleviate the 82-game load.

Come the postseason, the Warriors have unparalleled playoff experience. After 2021, last year’s NBA Finals were the second since 2014 that didn’t feature Golden State (which still boasts Green and Stephen Curry from their dynasty run), Butler or Horford. All four rank among the top 10 active players in playoff minutes.

How much Kuminga makes this season is limited by apron restrictions. If they fill out the roster with expected minimum signings of Seth Curry, De’Anthony Melton and Gary Payton II, that leaves the Warriors some $24 million to spend on Kuminga while staying clear of the second apron.

Signing other free agents to deals with player options such as Horford’s would reduce that maximum starting offer slightly because they would count at their full salary rather than the veteran’s minimum. But Golden State has more than enough money to make a fair offer to Kuminga on a multiyear deal that would also be highly tradeable.

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Sept. 9: Bulls, Giddey agree to terms, end contract stalemate

Grade: B-

Giddey is the second of the four key restricted free agents whose negotiations lingered well into the offseason to re-sign with his team, and the first to strike a long-term deal after Cam Thomas accepted the Brooklyn Nets‘ qualifying offer.

Compared with Thomas, Giddey had far more leverage on his side. Chicago gave up key contributor Alex Caruso to get Giddey from the Oklahoma City Thunder last summer, and Giddey’s loftier qualifying offer ($11-plus million) made playing out this season a more viable threat if the Bulls deal wasn’t for more than $20 million per year.

In that scenario, Giddey would have needed only to sign a three-year contract for $23 million per year as an unrestricted free agent next summer in order to be equally well off. Given that concern, Chicago was probably right to increase Giddey’s offer to the point where he was willing to pass on the qualifying offer.

After all, Giddey did make strides in his first season with the Bulls, shooting a career-high 38% on 3s to address what had been his biggest offensive shortcoming. Given the keys to Chicago’s offense, Giddey nearly averaged a triple-double with 21.2 PPG, 10.7 RPG and 9.3 APG after the All-Star break. His shooting during that span (46% on 3s) is surely unsustainable, but Giddey is too often treated as a finished product at age 22.

This contract takes Giddey into his prime years, giving it a chance to age well for the Bulls. Based on the way players at his position develop in their 20s, we’ve seen that happen with a number of rookie extensions for point guards that were initially panned.

Although this deal isn’t technically an extension, it’s in line with the $112 million over four years Trey Murphy III got from the New Orleans Pelicans last October ahead of restricted free agency. And both Jalen Johnson and Jalen Suggs (five years, $150-ish million) got $5 million per year more, reflecting their more complete two-way contributions.

The difference will be important to Chicago next summer, when the Bulls could clear max cap space to build around a core of Giddey, free agent Coby White (who will have a modest $24.5 million cap hold) and 2024 lottery pick Matas Buzelis.

It’s certainly not clear at this point that any of those players, or rookie Noa Essengue, can be the best player on a contending team. But compared to where Chicago was a couple of years ago — fighting for a play-in spot with a core of players in their 30s — at least it represents a direction.

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Sept. 3: Mavericks, Washington agree to an extension

Grade: Pass (extensions graded on a pass/fail scale)

Extending Washington completes a Dallas offseason in which its decisions make much more sense individually than as a collective plan.

As with center Daniel Gafford, who was acquired at the 2024 trade deadline with Washington and struck an extension of his own earlier this offseason, this deal should be good value. Given that Washington will be 28 next summer, when he would have become an unrestricted free agent, it’s possible he could have easily commanded $25 million a year.

Since joining the Mavericks, Washington has established himself as one of the NBA’s most versatile forwards. He can defend in the post or on the wing, shot a career-high 38% on 3s last season and presents a threat putting the ball on the ground when opponents close out too hard to him on the perimeter.

The only issue is some of that versatility is wasted in Dallas’ overstuffed frontcourt. With Anthony Davis at power forward, Washington won’t toggle between the two forward spots as frequently as before the Luka Doncic trade. Instead, the Mavericks will need him to potentially start at small forward and serve as their primary perimeter stopper.

I don’t think Washington would have been the right choice, but Dallas would have been better off trading one of its five starting-caliber frontcourt options, only four of whom at most can start together. (Even that scenario means using No. 1 pick Cooper Flagg as a nominal shooting guard and pushing Klay Thompson‘s floor spacing to the second unit, itself overstuffed with shooting guards.)

Although Gafford’s extension was structured so he could still be traded this offseason, Washington’s deal assures he’ll be with the Mavericks for the entire 2025-26 campaign. Because Washington is adding four years and getting the largest possible value, including 8% annual raises, he won’t be trade-eligible for six months — a period that extends beyond the 2026 trade deadline.

Trades will be Dallas’ only realistic option for shaking up the roster in the near future. Extending Washington means all 12 Mavericks making at least $5 million this season are under contract through 2026-27, with only one option in that group (a player option for newcomer D’Angelo Russell). That gives Dallas a minimum of $210 million in committed salary for that season, already enough to push the Mavericks north of the projected first apron.

We’ve seen Dallas have to maneuver to avoid a hard cap at the second apron this season, waiving forward Olivier-Maxence Prosper last week and stretching his salary in order to finalize a minimum contract to re-sign guard Dante Exum. The Mavericks’ hefty payroll might require similar moves at the margins next summer, too.

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Aug. 14: Bucks, Coffey agree to one-year deal

Grade: B+

For all the understandable hand-wringing over the Bucks’ lack of depth at guard after they waived injured Damian Lillard to stretch his remaining salary, that wasn’t the position that held Milwaukee back after Lillard went down in the first round of last season’s playoffs.

Instead, the Bucks had the hardest time getting production from their small forwards in a five-game loss to the Indiana Pacers. Midseason pickup Kyle Kuzma and Taurean Prince, who started together on the wing to begin the series, averaged a combined 10.8 points on 14-of-45 shooting before giving way to the smaller wing duo of AJ Green and Gary Trent Jr. — both shooting guards, by trade.

Yet Milwaukee had done nothing to address small forward this offseason until now, bringing back Prince on a two-year deal with a player option for 2026-27. Frankly, I’d rather have Coffey, who averaged a career-high 24.3 minutes last season for the LA Clippers while shooting 41% on 3s.

There are reasons Coffey languished in free agency until mid-August. He’s strictly a role player, with a career 15% usage rate, and one of the league’s worst rebounders at forward. But both of those shortcomings also apply to Prince (12.5% usage rate last season), and Coffey is more than three years younger.

Ultimately, Coffey probably isn’t the answer for the Bucks at small forward either. If they’re in the playoff mix, expect Milwaukee to address the position via trade. Still, Coffey is an inexpensive option for the Bucks to improve their depth.

The loser here might be former UConn champion Andre Jackson Jr. Milwaukee had 14 players under guaranteed contract, plus Jackson, whose salary is $800,000 guaranteed through opening night. Now, the Bucks probably will have to eat a guaranteed deal to keep Jackson, who started 43 games last season before logging only five minutes in the playoffs.

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Grade: A

The Celtics made a pair of related deals Tuesday, trading Georges Niang to the Utah Jazz with two second-round picks in exchange for rookie RJ Luis Jr., who’s on a two-way contract. Essentially, Boucher replaces Niang on the roster, a move that saves about $6 million in salary and more than an additional $30 million in luxury taxes.

As a backup forward, Boucher could be an upgrade on Niang. I had him ranked No. 22 among free agents this summer. Just two other unrestricted free agents from the top 25 remain unsigned: Malik Beasley, who is the subject of a federal investigation into gambling charges, and Al Horford.

With Horford expected to join the Golden State Warriors after they figure out a new contract for restricted free agent Jonathan Kuminga, Boucher was the best player realistically available. He shot 36% on 3s and 63% on 2s last season, producing elite efficiency and also proving capable of defending on the wing in big second-unit lineups.

In Boston, I’d expect Boucher to serve as a power forward, helping space the floor for the Celtics’ non-shooting centers (Neemias Queta and Xavier Tillman) and providing supplemental rim protection alongside Luka Garza.

It’s a bummer that Massachusetts native Niang won’t get a homecoming, but the financial incentive to move on was too significant for Boston. Pairing this with the three-team trade that netted Niang, the Celtics have now completely shed Kristaps Porzingis‘ $30.7 million at the cost of the second-round picks.

It’s possible Boston could avoid the luxury tax entirely this season. Cutting the remaining $11.7 million in payroll would require dealing a second player alongside backup forward Sam Hauser ($10 million salary) or dealing Anfernee Simons ($27.7 million) for someone making less money.

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Grade: Pass (extensions graded on a pass/fail scale)

Much has changed since the Spurs acquired Fox in what might have been the biggest trade of this year’s deadline had Luka Doncic not overshadowed everything else. After losing Victor Wembanyama to deep vein thrombosis following just five games with Fox, San Antonio ended up in the lottery and moved up to No. 2, drafting Rutgers point guard Dylan Harper.

Harper’s arrival clouds Fox’s future with the Spurs. Neither of the two lefties is maximized playing off the ball because of their iffy outside shooting. Fox has shot 35% on catch-and-shoot 3-point attempts over the past five seasons, putting him in the 27th percentile among players with at least 250 attempts in that span according to GeniusIQ. Harper, meanwhile, shot 33% from 3-point range in his lone college season and 1-of-8 in two NBA summer league appearances.

If Harper develops as San Antonio reasonably expects, the Spurs will have a decision to make at point guard within two to three years, making the trade value of Fox’s contract an atypically important part of the calculus here.

Extending Fox is probably preferable to trying to trade him now on an expiring contract. San Antonio was willing to give up multiple first-round picks for Fox in large part because he signaled a willingness to extend with the Spurs by making them his favored landing spot. The Sacramento Kings, under no obligation to send Fox where he wanted to go, presumably got weaker offers from teams that viewed him as primarily a short-term option.

Wait too long, however, and San Antonio could see Fox’s value decline because of this contract. A 30% max is already rich for Fox, who has only been an All-Star once, when he also made the All-NBA third team in 2022-23 after leading the Kings to the playoffs for the first time in 17 years.

Worse yet, Fox’s skill set isn’t one that has aged well historically. Quickness has been key to Fox’s emergence as one of the NBA’s better point guards at 6-foot-3 without elite shooting. Players who scored as most similar based on my SCHOENE projection system from previous generations, led by Monta Ellis and Steve Francis, fell out of the league quickly in their 30s.

Expecting that kind of outcome for Fox is unrealistic given the way that NBA offense has evolved to create more space for guards to operate and the potential he could become a league-average 3-point shooter. Fox did shoot 37% on 3s in 2023-24 at high volume (7.8 attempts per game) before declining to 31% last season — worse than his career average.

Still, by the end of this contract — which takes him through age 32 — Fox is more likely to be an average starting point guard than an elite one. In the NBA’s apron era, we’ve seen similar contract mismatches make players difficult if not impossible to trade.

Unlike other teams who hand out extensions in part due to the impossibility of replacing the talent, the Spurs did have a plausible alternative path thanks to $50-plus million in potential 2026 cap space. At the same time, it’s arguable that Fox would have been the best prime free agent available, and San Antonio wouldn’t have the option of rolling over the cap space to 2027 because Wembanyama will be on a max extension by then.

As a result, this was probably an extension worth doing for the Spurs, even if Fox is more likely their point guard for right now rather than the long term. The other thing that has changed for San Antonio since February is that future Hall of Fame point guard Chris Paul, who started alongside Fox, has decamped for a return to the LA Clippers.

Fox will go into training camp with the ball in his hands and time to develop chemistry with Wembanyama that the Spurs hope gets them back to the playoffs this season. And if that happens, having both Fox and Harper can be a positive dilemma for San Antonio.

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Grade: Pass (extensions graded on a pass/fail scale)

Part of the reason the Lakers were perfectly positioned to take Doncic from the Dallas Mavericks six months ago was that they could be relatively certain he wouldn’t depart as an unrestricted free agent in summer 2026. Lakers exceptionalism remains alive and well.

The Lakers reportedly used Doncic’s potential to leave to help keep their remaining first-round picks out of the trade package. Still, it quickly became evident that even if he preferred to stay in Dallas, Doncic was willing to sign up beyond the remaining full season on his contract.

Because of restrictions on extensions signed just before or after a trade, Doncic had to wait until Friday to make it official, but his willingness to help the Lakers recruit free agents this offseason had already signaled the inevitability of this outcome.

The lone drama here was how Doncic might structure his new contract. Signing a three-year extension with a player option for 2028-29 ideally positions Doncic to make up for the money he lost when the Mavericks traded him.

Had he remained in Dallas and signed a supermax extension, Doncic could have bumped his salary up to 35% of the cap (a projected $57.9 million) in 2026-27, having already qualified with back-to-back All-NBA appearances in 2022-23 and 2023-24.

Because the supermax is not available to players who change teams after their rookie contracts conclude, Doncic is now limited to 30% of the cap or a 5% raise for 2026-27, whichever is greater. If the salary cap comes in as projected for 2026-27, Doncic will only slightly improve on his existing $49 million player option.

The big payday could come in 2028-29, when Doncic will have achieved 10 seasons of experience and can get to the 35% starting salary either as an unrestricted free agent or by signing another extension in August 2027. By then, the Lakers’ roster should look very different.

Doncic is the only player under contract for more than $15 million beyond this season. Carrying that cap flexibility to summer 2027 would require significant sacrifices beyond just LeBron James. The Lakers could probably re-sign Austin Reaves, who can become an unrestricted free agent next offseason, but they will have difficult choices to face with Rui Hachimura and Deandre Ayton should Ayton decline an $8.1 million player option.

There are still challenges ahead for the Lakers as they continue digging out from under the mistakes made in the wake of the 2020 championship, but the most important piece is in place for the Lakers. In Doncic, the Lakers have their superstar for the future.

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Grade: Pass (extensions graded on a pass/fail scale)

There’s a lot of context to consider with a Bridges extension, but let’s start with this question: Would Bridges have gotten an offer like this as an unrestricted free agent next summer? The answer seems right between yes and no.

A year ago, the question might have been whether Bridges’ maximum allowed extension ($156 million over the same four years) would be enough to get him to sign. Bridges certainly didn’t have a bad first season with the Knicks. After a slow start, he got to league average on 3s and shot 59% inside the arc, way up from two seasons as a primary offensive option with the Brooklyn Nets.

Still, Bridges wasn’t quite the difference-making player New York hoped when giving up five first-round picks and a swap to get him from the Nets, particularly at the defensive end of the court. Bridges helped the Knicks break through and reach the conference finals for the first time in a quarter-century by upsetting the Boston Celtics, but was outshined by the Indiana Pacers‘ 3-and-D role players in that series.

Depending on how many other veteran extensions we see, and how many other teams have cap space, it’s possible Bridges could have been a target next summer. He’d certainly fit the Detroit Pistons in the spot currently occupied by the older Tobias Harris, for example, and the Pistons could realistically create sufficient cap space to make a similar offer.

At the same time, this contract will kick in when Bridges is 30 and looks more like the third- or fourth-best player on a good team than a top-two option. Once upon a time, that distinction made less of a difference in terms of contracts. For a Knicks team that is likely headed toward the second apron, it could be crucial.

With Bridges’ extension, New York now has about $206 million committed to nine players for 2026-27, including a player option for newcomer Guerschon Yabusele. Retaining center Mitchell Robinson, currently set to be an unrestricted free agent, and filling out the roster would almost undoubtedly take the Knicks into the second apron — projected at $222 million.

For a large-market team like New York, paying the kind of high tax bill associated with a second-apron salary is tolerable for two years. By 2028-29, when Josh Hart and Karl-Anthony Towns are off their current contracts, staying in the second apron would become prohibitively costly — potentially moving the Knicks’ first-round pick to the end of the round.

Given New York’s financial situation, Bridges would have been nearly impossible to replace with a similar talent had he left as an unrestricted free agent. Acquiring and keeping his Villanova teammate was also surely part of the equation in Jalen Brunson taking a below-market extension last summer that is the only reason the Knicks haven’t already reached the second apron.

Taking Brunson’s deal in particular into consideration, this was probably a deal worth making for New York. But the Knicks are taking on risk by entering into it a year ahead of time.

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Grade: A

This reunion, bringing Paul back to where he starred for six seasons from 2011 to 2017, figures to work for both sides so long as he enters it knowing what to expect.

As a free agent last summer, Paul prioritized playing time. He signed with the San Antonio Spurs and ended up starting all 82 games, becoming the first player to complete a full schedule in his 20th NBA season or later.

Joining the Clippers in the likely role of backing up former Houston Rockets teammate James Harden, Paul doesn’t figure to start this time around. The partnership between Harden and Paul, which got the Rockets within a game of the NBA Finals in their first season, ended unhappily a year later. But now, both players are at different stages of their careers — perhaps the last chapter for each of them.

Adding Paul is the latest example of the Clippers managing their age and the injury history of star Kawhi Leonard by simply loading up on enough proven contributors that coach Ty Lue should be able to find a workable rotation throughout the regular season.

When healthy, the Clippers go 11 deep with players who averaged at least 17 MPG last season. All four Clippers newcomers — Paul (28.0), Bradley Beal (32.1), John Collins (30.5) and Brook Lopez (31.8) easily surpassed that mark, while they lost just two players (Norman Powell at 32.6 and unsigned free agent Amir Coffey at 24.3) who played so much.

That could lead to some unhappy players in the playoffs if the Clippers get there healthy, but absences throughout the regular season should mean enough minutes to go around. And going at least two deep at every position — five deep in the backcourt, where Paul, Bogdan Bogdanovic and Kris Dunn all figure to come off the bench behind Beal and Harden — should keep Lue from having to play Harden and Leonard as much as he did in a seven-game loss to the Denver Nuggets in this past season’s first round.

I’m not sure that brings the Clippers any closer to winning a Western Conference where the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder bring back their entire rotation, the Nuggets have upgraded their depth, and the Houston Rockets have added Kevin Durant.

Still, the Clippers look like they’ve improved, too. And they’ve done so while keeping an eye on the future with short-term contracts that will allow the Clippers to pivot toward cap space as soon as next summer.

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Grade: B

After splitting their non-taxpayer midlevel exception between center Deandre Ayton and forward Jake LaRavia, the Lakers still had their biannual exception available to offer Smart more than the veteran’s minimum as part of a buyout deal that will get him out of the final season of his contract with the Washington Wizards.

Essentially, Smart will replace Jordan Goodwin and Shake Milton, two Lakers guards on non-guaranteed contracts who they will have to waive to make room for Smart under a hard cap at the lower luxury tax apron. (Milton’s $3 million salary was set to guarantee Sunday, per ESPN’s Bobby Marks.)

Although Goodwin and Milton played rotation roles at times in the second half of last season, neither could stay on the court as JJ Redick relied more heavily on his starters in the opening round of the playoffs against the Minnesota Timberwolves. Goodwin played 31 minutes in the series and Milton just four. Given Smart’s history, including 108 career playoff games with the Boston Celtics and 2022 Defensive Player of the Year honors, he has a better chance of earning Redick’s trust and improving the team’s shaky perimeter depth.

The big question is what Smart the Lakers are getting. He struggled during the first half of last season with the Memphis Grizzlies, shooting just 36% before the Grizzlies moved him to Washington at the deadline for expiring contracts.

Smart played just 39 games during two seasons in Memphis after dealing with multiple injuries and failing to make the same impact at either end as he did with the Celtics. Smart’s physical style of play has allowed him to defend far bigger opponents despite being 6-foot-3.

During 15 appearances with the Wizards, Smart did look revitalized before being shut down late in the season. He’s 31, and although Smart has never been a good 3-point shooter (32% career), his volume of attempts (5.9 per 36 minutes) means defenses have to pay somewhat more attention to him than they did Goodwin. After shooting 38% on a small sample of 3s during the regular season, Goodwin did not make any in the playoffs.

I would have preferred De’Anthony Melton in a 3-and-D role for the Lakers’ backcourt. If Melton is headed elsewhere — he’s been linked to rejoining the Golden State Warriors after ACL surgery ended his brief Warriors stint last season — then bringing in Smart at a bargain deal is a reasonable plan B for Los Angeles.

Adding Smart will reduce the Lakers’ flexibility to add salary during the season. With 14 players under contract, they’ll be barely $1 million away from their hard cap. The Lakers won’t be able to fill their final NBA roster spot until January at the earliest and will be challenged to make trades that bring back more salary than they send out.

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Grade: A-

Lillard’s return to Portland is a feel-good ending to an unhappy chapter with the Milwaukee Bucks that culminated in an Achilles injury and Lillard’s release with two years remaining on his contract.

Given the opportunity to pick his destination as a free agent for the first time in his career, Lillard opted to go back to where he starred over his first 11 NBA seasons and where his family and children still reside.

In basketball terms, Lillard will be an interesting fit for a Blazers team that found a new identity without him during the second half of last season. Portland acquired Toumani Camara as part of the Lillard deal and turned the players and picks acquired from that trade into Deni Avdija, the two leading contributors to the Blazers going 23-18 in the second half of last season.

Now, Portland has both Jrue Holiday (part of the return for Lillard, traded to the Boston Celtics days later and then reacquired this summer for Anfernee Simons) and Lillard along with the young talent those trades produced — with more Milwaukee first-round picks and swaps still to convey.

Given the timing of his left Achilles rupture in late April, it’s unlikely Lillard will play a significant role for the Blazers this season. No NBA player since JJ Barea in 2019 has returned from an Achilles rupture faster than 10½ months after the injury, a timetable that would put Lillard back in mid-March at the earliest.

Still, after striking a buyout with center Deandre Ayton — another part of the Lillard deal — on the eve of free agency, Portland could afford to use its non-taxpayer midlevel exception to pay Lillard on top of his $54 million guaranteed salary from the Bucks without going into the tax. This deal is really about having Lillard back for 2026-27, when a healthy version would have potentially commanded more than the $14 million the Blazers will pay him.

By then, Portland should have a better idea of how its backcourt shakes out. The Simons trade should create more on-ball opportunities for Scoot Henderson during his third season, while the Blazers will know how much Holiday has left in the tank and the long-term future of shooting guard Shaedon Sharpe. Sharpe can be a restricted free agent next summer if he doesn’t agree to an extension before the start of this season.

There’s still work for Portland to do, particularly if the team wants to be a player in free agency next summer. With Lillard’s salary on the books, plus a $25.2 million cap hold for Sharpe, the Blazers might be better off staying over the cap as things stand. If Portland can get out of the final two years of veteran forward Jerami Grant‘s contract, however, it’s possible the Blazers could open cap space for a run at another contributor.

Give Lillard credit for negotiating a favorable deal. If Lillard comes back at a high level in 2026-27, a player option for the final season of this contract will allow him to collect more money the following season, when he’s no longer being paid by Milwaukee. And after going to a destination that wasn’t his initial target in the 2023 trade, Lillard got a no-trade clause, joining LeBron James as the only players in the league with one after Bradley Beal’s was extinguished when he agreed to a buyout with the Phoenix Suns on Wednesday.

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Grade: B+

The Clippers have finally completed the second step in the plan we anticipated when they traded starting shooting guard Norman Powell to the Miami Heat last week in a deal that netted forward/center John Collins.

With an open position in their lineup alongside James Harden in the backcourt, the Clippers became an obvious landing spot for Beal whenever he completed a buyout agreement with the Phoenix Suns.

Powell was the better player last season, providing stronger efficiency on higher usage than Beal, who finished second in the league in scoring as recently as 2020-21 but transitioned to a complementary role in Phoenix. One surprising stat: Powell, who is coming off a career year, is a month older than Beal.

Still, I can get why the Clippers preferred having both Beal and Collins to Powell and whoever else they could have added using the remainder of their non-taxpayer midlevel exception, even if it cost them a second-round pick (sent to the Utah Jazz in the trade) to make that exchange.

Although he’s no longer an All-Star, Beal’s skill set scales down well. More of a volume 3-point shooter during his high-scoring days with the Washington Wizards, Beal hit 41% of his 3s during two seasons with the Suns. And with his role on offense diminished, Beal put more of his energy toward creating for others and defense, two important factors for the Clippers.

Specifically, Beal’s most important benefit to the Clippers seems to be leading a second-unit backcourt alongside Bogdan Bogdanovic with Harden on the bench. Without a traditional point guard behind Harden at the moment — though Chris Paul remains an unrestricted free agent — the Clippers appear headed toward having Beal and Bogdanovic fill that role by committee.

Though the idea of Beal as a starting point guard lost its luster in Phoenix, he and Bogdanovic should provide sufficient playmaking against second units.

Presumably, the Clippers will at least begin the season accomplishing that goal by staggering Beal’s minutes with Harden’s after they start together in the backcourt. It’s hard to see Beal signing up for a return to the bench after unhappily playing that role during the second half of last season.

Come the playoffs, assuming the Clippers get there in a loaded Western Conference, Ty Lue’s decisions on which players to start could become more complicated. Starting Collins alongside Ivica Zubac in the frontcourt might be the Clippers’ best option, but that would leave Kawhi Leonard as the team’s primary wing defender, a role the Clippers probably want to take off his plate as much as possible to keep Leonard fresh for offense. Kris Dunn or Derrick Jones Jr. might fit better starting on the wing than Beal in that scenario.

At this point, we’ll consider that a good problem. The Clippers have an 82-game regular season to get through, and their depth will be important given the amount of time Beal — who last played more than 53 games in the shortened 2020-21 campaign — and Leonard tend to miss.

Adding Beal at a max salary, particularly given the complication of his no-trade clause, proved a net negative for the Suns. The story is different now that the Clippers are getting him at a wildly different price point, with a player option giving Beal the chance to make up the money he gave back in a buyout or potentially even come out ahead if he plays well this season.

It’s worth addressing the Phoenix side of the equation. To some degree, the Suns might have benefited from the NBA rule limiting how much dead salary teams can have on their books after completing a waive-and-stretch. That meant Beal had to agree to reduce his guaranteed salary by nearly $14 million at a minimum for a legal buyout of this type, putting a floor on negotiations.

Like the Milwaukee Bucks with Damian Lillard, the Suns will have Beal’s salary on their books for five years if they agree to stretch it, with the upside of possibly getting out of the luxury tax altogether, per ESPN’s Bobby Marks.

Before we see how Phoenix responds, I wouldn’t take this as an indication that owner Mat Ishbia is retrenching on spending along the lines of what we saw with Mikhail Prokhorov in Brooklyn after the Nets’ trade for Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce went bust.

After all, the limitations on teams spending over the second luxury tax apron in the new collective bargaining agreement mean there are basketball benefits to the Suns reducing their payroll by stretching Beal’s salary. In fact, they could use the $5.7 million taxpayer midlevel exception now, though it’s unclear there are any free agents remaining that would sign up for that but not the veteran’s minimum.

Getting out of the second apron will allow Phoenix to aggregate salaries in trades and mean the Suns will have access to their non-taxpayer midlevel exception next summer if they lose center Mark Williams as a restricted free agent or he re-signs for his qualifying offer.

I’m still not sure stretching Beal’s salary will prove better for the Suns on the court in the long term than just riding out his remaining two seasons, but given how unpleasant his time in Phoenix seemed for both sides, I understand the desire to simply move on.

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July 10: Thunder extend Williams on a five-year deal

Grade: Pass (extensions graded on a pass/fail scale)

The third and presumably final max rookie extension for a 2022 first-round pick essentially split the difference between the first two.

Like Paolo Banchero of the Orlando Magic, the other 2022 first-rounder to make an All-Star Game, Williams received 30% max criteria in his deal that will increase its value to a maximum of a projected $287 million if he makes All-NBA first team this season or is voted MVP or Defensive Player of the Year.

Given Williams was an All-NBA third-team pick last season at age 23, the Thunder should certainly prepare as if he’ll make more than the 25% max teammate Chet Holmgren will get on his max extension, agreed to Wednesday.

As with Holmgren, Williams did not get the player option that Banchero secured in his extension. That’s especially important as Oklahoma City plans well into the future. Williams wouldn’t begin a potential supermax extension — or hit unrestricted free agency — until 2031-32 at the earliest.

Given Williams has accomplished more through three seasons than Banchero, including averaging 23.6 points in the NBA Finals, he certainly had a case for securing a player option.

From a big-picture standpoint, the Thunder now have both Holmgren and Williams under contract through 2030-31 and MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander signed through 2029-30 (with a player option for 2030-31) after he completed his own supermax extension last week.

The size of those contracts, which guarantee the three players approximately 85% of the salary cap when Gilgeous-Alexander’s deal begins in 2027-28, will present challenges to Oklahoma City maintaining its depth. But the Thunder have been planning for that moment since before drafting Holmgren and Williams and have the financial flexibility and draft picks to ensure continued contention throughout their stars’ prime years.

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Grade: Fail (extensions graded pass/fail)

This extension adds two years to Booker’s contract, which already runs through 2027-28, starting at the maximum 35% of the cap when it’s set in the summer of 2028. Currently, that’s estimated at $70 million, which could be the largest salary in the NBA depending on how much the cap grows from the 2026-27 season, when Shai Gilgeous-Alexander begins a supermax extension.

It doesn’t take advanced statistical projections to suggest that Booker will probably not merit a $70 million-plus salary. Despite playing 75 games last season, his most since 2016-17, Booker was neither chosen an All-Star nor to an All-NBA team. He’s made All-NBA just twice in his career and only received MVP votes once. (That came in 2021-22, when Booker finished fourth in the voting and was chosen for the All-NBA first team.)

During his prime, Booker has been more like a top 25 NBA player than a top 10 one. And while he should still be an All-Star contender by the time this extension kicks in, shortly before his 32nd birthday, it’s more likely that Booker will be a complementary piece than the centerpiece the Suns have made him.

It’s understandable that Phoenix would value a star player who wants to be there after the Suns traded Kevin Durant and as they consider a buyout for Bradley Beal. Booker has played his entire career in Phoenix and was the most important catalyst as the Suns went from 10 consecutive seasons in the lottery to the 2021 NBA Finals. Yes, Chris Paul was key to that season, but Paul likely would not have come to Phoenix without the promise Booker showed.

Still, Booker’s loyalty didn’t translate into any kind of discount, and the Suns are taking a considerable risk by agreeing to this extension with so much time remaining on Booker’s current contract.

One key question in evaluating any extension is whether a player will have more trade value after striking the deal. In this case, because Booker will get the maximum raise between the two seasons of the deal, he won’t be tradeable for six months. The question is more a hypothetical one. I suspect Booker would have more value to other teams on his current contract.

Certainly, Phoenix hopes that question is moot and the team can rebuild a contender around him. In the event the Suns’ missing draft picks and a potential stretch of Beal’s contract doom them to remain in the lottery, either Booker’s commitment to The Valley or his trade value might be tested before this extension even begins.

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Grade: Pass (extensions graded on pass/fail)

Compared with the other two max rookie extensions we expect from the 2022 first round — one for Paolo Banchero reported Monday and one yet to be completed with Holmgren’s Thunder teammate Jalen Williams — this was a bit less of a no-brainer.

From a performance standpoint, Holmgren has met expectations since being drafted No. 2 behind Banchero. He finished second to Victor Wembanyama in Rookie of the Year voting and was one of three double-figure scorers for Oklahoma City during the team’s championship run.

Given Holmgren’s ability to impact a game at both ends with his 37% career 3-point shooting and 2.3 blocks per game, there’s a case to be made that he has been more effective on a per-minute basis than Banchero despite not being named to an All-Star team.

Yet durability remains a concern with Holmgren, who has missed extended periods due to a pair of rare, serious injuries — a Lisfranc fracture that sidelined him his entire first NBA season and a hip fracture in November. He has played just 114 regular-season games, compared with 198 for Banchero and 215 for Williams.

Nobody knows Holmgren’s medicals better than the Thunder, however, and given their record as a front office, I’m inclined to believe them that his fluke injuries don’t tell us anything about his health going forward despite any concerns about his thin frame.

Although Holmgren got the max, the Thunder held the line in other areas. Holmgren did not get a player option like Banchero, and even if he reaches 30% max criteria by winning MVP or Defensive Player of the Year or making an All-NBA team, Holmgren’s extension will start at 25% of the cap. By contrast, Banchero could reach the full 30% max, projected at $287 million.

As Oklahoma City prepares for a financial future that includes a supermax extension struck last week with MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander plus a coming extension for Williams, those wins on the edges could be crucial. At the same time, Holmgren is assured life-changing money no matter what happens with his health, making this deal a win-win.

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Grade: Pass (extensions graded on pass/fail)

That sound you just heard is the Oklahoma City Thunder‘s front office yelling in frustration about Banchero becoming the first player to get an option in a max rookie extension since Luka Doncic and Trae Young both did in 2021. That precedent could be relevant as the Thunder negotiate with the two other 2022 first-round picks likely to get max extensions: Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams.

There are, generally speaking, two points of negotiation on what ESPN’s Brian Windhorst has termed the “fun” max for players concluding their rookie contracts.

One is eligibility for 30% max criteria that boost the starting value of the extension from the typical 25% to as high as 30% if the player earns All-NBA honors, MVP or Defensive Player of the Year. Banchero also received this in his new deal.

The other negotiating point is a player option, and teams have held the line there since Doncic and Young. Anthony Edwards didn’t get one coming off making the All-Star team in his third season. Nor did Ja Morant, the most accomplished player at the same stage of his career since Doncic and Young, after Morant made the All-NBA second team in Year 3.

Certainly, Banchero is a promising young player in his own right. The No. 1 draft pick in 2022, he made his All-Star debut at age 21 and improved his statistical output last season. An oblique tear in October prevented Banchero from making a run at becoming the first player since Doncic with multiple All-Star appearances in his first three seasons.

Still, there’s a gap between Doncic — an All-NBA first-team pick in his second and third campaigns — and Banchero, who has yet to finish in the top 20 in All-NBA voting. (He wasn’t eligible last season following the injury.)

I’m surprised the Magic weren’t able to lean on the recent track record to strike a deal without a player option, which could allow Banchero to escalate his salary to the supermax a year earlier, if he qualifies, or potentially become an unrestricted free agent in 2030 near his peak at age 27.

That follows Orlando giving Franz Wagner a max extension last summer, before he’d earned corresponding accolades. Wagner probably would have merited a max offer sheet as a restricted free agent this offseason, though the Brooklyn Nets were the only team that could plausibly make such an offer.

In the wake of Banchero joining No. 3 pick Jabari Smith Jr. as the second player drafted in the 2022 first round to strike an extension, it’s worth watching the Thunder’s duo of Holmgren (drafted between Banchero and Smith) and Williams. No. 12 pick Williams is the other All-Star from the 2022 draft, and his play as Oklahoma City won the NBA championship gives him a strong case for a player option on his own max deal.

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Grade: B+

After agreeing to a buyout with the Portland Trail Blazers, Ayton seemed like a fit for the Lakers, and not just because of the symmetry of pairing the No. 1 pick of the 2018 draft with No. 3 pick Luka Doncic. (No. 2 pick Marvin Bagley III is a free agent if the Lakers want to complete the trio.)

At nearly 27 years old, Ayton is substantially younger than the Lakers’ other center options using the non-taxpayer midlevel exception. Realistically, the Lakers were looking at 39-year-old Al Horford or 37-year-old Brook Lopez, with Luke Kornet (soon to be 30) as the other candidate.

If things work out, Ayton could be a long-term option for the Lakers in the way the veterans are not while also supplying more of a lob threat for Doncic in the pick-and-roll. We saw with Jaxson Hayes last season how powerful vertical spacing can be in the context of a Lakers offense with Doncic, LeBron James and Austin Reaves as pick-and-roll ball handlers. Hayes shot 74% after the All-Star break, averaging 13.4 points per 36 minutes — up from 11.8 before break.

But the rest of Hayes’ skill set wasn’t starter caliber, which explains why he quickly fell out of coach J.J. Redick’s rotation during the opening round of the playoffs. Hayes did not reach 10 minutes in any game against the Minnesota Timberwolves and was a DNP-CD in the deciding Game 5.

Ayton was one of the NBA’s most prolific pick-and-roll finishers during his time with the Phoenix Suns, ranking third in points scored as a screen setter in both 2021-22 and 2022-23, according to GeniusIQ tracking. Ayton hasn’t been nearly as effective running pick-and-roll with the Blazers’ ball handlers and weaker spacing the past two seasons, shooting just 58% on resulting shot attempts as compared to 62% over his last three years in Phoenix.

Although Ayton is only a marginal upgrade over Hayes as a rim protector, his superior size makes Ayton a better defensive rebounder. That should keep Ayton on the court against playoff-caliber opposition.

By splitting the non-taxpayer midlevel exception between Ayton and Jake LaRavia, the Lakers have gone from five players Redick trusted during the playoffs — a group that included Dorian Finney-Smith, who left for the Houston Rockets as an unrestricted free agent — to hopefully six. Going beyond that number will depend on the development of the Lakers’ young talent, most notably Dalton Knecht, and in-season moves.

James’ decision to exercise his $52.6 million player option rather than potentially re-signing for the $54.1 million maximum salary for players with 10-plus years of experience leaves the Lakers with some wiggle room below the lower luxury-tax apron, which will serve as a hard cap for them because they used the non-taxpayer midlevel. If the Lakers keep 14 players on their roster and waive Shake Milton, whose $3 million salary is non-guaranteed, they can add about $5 million in salary via trade or the biannual exception.

Depending on what James thinks of Ayton, those moves might not be sufficient to convince him the Lakers have built a championship-caliber roster after losing in the first round. The Lakers have their 2031 first-round pick or potential swaps in 2026, 2028, 2030 and 2032 that could turn the expiring contracts of Maxi Kleber and Gabe Vincent into significant contributors — the kind of win-now move James would surely prefer they make in his age-41 season.

Without knowing exactly what’s on the table for the Lakers, I think signing Ayton is the right call for now. He increases their playoff ceiling if accepting a buyout from Portland and signing for a small fraction of his previous max salary gets Ayton to buy in to a degree we haven’t seen since he helped the Suns to the 2021 Finals.

Meanwhile, waiting will give the Lakers more information about what they need and who might become available by the trade deadline. If the Lakers put their unprotected pick and swaps on the table, they should be able to add a starting-caliber player at that point.

Of course, I’m not the person the Lakers need to convince. Nor is James, no matter how many statements he and agent Rich Paul release. The real pivot point for the Lakers’ offseason will be Doncic’s decision on signing an extension ahead of what could be the final season of his contract. Doncic is eligible for an extension starting Aug. 2, and that’s when we’ll really be able to grade the Lakers.

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Grades

Mann: B-
Dinwiddie: B

When the Hornets acquired Collin Sexton from the Utah Jazz on Sunday, I wrote that Sexton’s addition addressed a Charlotte need for playmaking with LaMelo Ball on the bench. After bringing back Mann and adding Dinwiddie, the Hornets appear insistent on ensuring that issue never comes up this season.

A season-ending injury to Mann in November was a big factor in that weakness. In 13 games before experiencing disc irritation that eventually required surgery, Mann averaged 14.1 PPG in just 24.5 MPG off the bench. That was fueled in part by 40% 3-point shooting, which Charlotte can’t necessarily expect to continue. Mann has shot 35% over his four-year career.

Despite that quibble, there’s reason to believe Mann can carve out a key role as a bench scorer. He had a nice 28-game run for the Hornets as a starter after being acquired from the Oklahoma City Thunder at the 2024 trade deadline while shooting a more modest 36% on 3s. Mann averaged 5.2 APG in that role, an encouraging sign of his ability to create for others.

A first-round pick by the Thunder in 2021, Mann is still just 24. As long as he stays healthy, Mann should have more development in front of him.

The Luka Doncic trade and Kyrie Irving‘s ACL tear thrust Dinwiddie into an unexpectedly large role with the Dallas Mavericks last season. He started 30 games and played 2,000-plus minutes for the third consecutive season. That role surely overexposed Dinwiddie, who fell out of the team’s rotation for the play-in.

As a fifth guard in Charlotte, Dinwiddie is overqualified to serve as injury insurance. Adding him does create a roster jam for the Hornets, who had 10 players under guaranteed contract including Mann, plus four draft picks and three players on non-guaranteed deals.

Charlotte could waive Pat Connaughton after acquiring him from the Milwaukee Bucks in a salary-related deal, while the Hornets might also move on from Josh Okogie‘s non-guaranteed $7.75 million deal.

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Grade: B-

For multiple reasons, this is the most truly shocking development in NBA free agency perhaps since Paul George was traded to the LA Clippers in 2019, convincing Kawhi Leonard to simultaneously sign with the Clippers weeks after winning MVP of the NBA Finals.

Turner seemed like a lock to re-sign with the Indiana Pacers, having started Game 7 of the NBA Finals for them nine days ago. Meanwhile, the Bucks’ ambitions in free agency seemed much more modest after an opening day of free agency that suggested they would stay over the cap and use the non-taxpayer midlevel exception to replace departed starter Brook Lopez.

With two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo monitoring their offseason to evaluate his future in Milwaukee, the Bucks thought far bigger. Bigger in part as the biggest waive and stretch in NBA history involving Damian Lillard, whose entire $112.6 million extension that begins today will be stretched over five seasons, sitting on Milwaukee’s cap sheet for $22.5 million through 2029-30.

That move alone isn’t enough to create the cap room necessary for the Bucks to sign Turner to this deal. Milwaukee subsequently agreed to a trade sending Pat Connaughton to the Charlotte Hornets with draft picks for Vasilije Micic. If Milwaukee can agree to a buyout with Micic, whose interest in returning to Europe was reported during last season, that should make up the difference.

In many ways, Turner is like a younger version of Lopez, whose signing helped kick-start this era of Bucks contention. Having a center who can both protect the rim and take that responsibility off Antetokounmpo’s plate and stretch the floor for him on offense is the ideal scenario for Milwaukee. Besides Lopez, who is 37, the only other center in free agency who fills both of those roles is Al Horford — who is two years older than Lopez.

That made Turner, 29, the only real option for the Bucks to pair with Antetokounmpo through the rest of what they hope will be the remainder of his prime spent in Milwaukee. Turner is coming off the best 3-point season of his career, having averaged 2.2 per game at a 40% clip, and his career 36% accuracy is a tad better than what Lopez shot over his entire seven seasons with the Bucks.

Turner’s defensive upside isn’t quite as high as Lopez’s. He topped out at fifth in Defensive Player of the Year voting, where Lopez was second in 2022-23. But Turner was often asked to serve as the only rim protector for the Pacers before Pascal Siakam‘s arrival. He has never played with a secondary defender as strong as Antetokounmpo. And opponents shot slightly better against the slowing Lopez inside five feet last year, per GeniusIQ tracking on NBA Advanced Stats, than they did against Turner.

Certainly, the contrast between Lopez and Turner was on full display when the two centers met in the first round of the playoffs. Turner averaged 16.8 PPG and 2.2 BPG as Indiana won the series in five games, part of a strong postseason run. Lopez totaled just eight points and one block in the final three games against the Pacers, yielding his starting job to backup Bobby Portis for what proved to be Lopez’s final game in Milwaukee.

That said, Lopez wasn’t the only reason, or even the primary reason, the Bucks lost that series. Their starting wing duo of Kyle Kuzma and Taurean Prince was invisible against Indiana, combining for 35 points on 14-of-45 shooting. Milwaukee hasn’t yet done anything to address that weakness.

If the Bucks are as serious about contending as this move suggests, it’s imperative that they use their remaining draft assets (an unprotected 2032 first-round pick, plus a swap in 2031 or re-swapping picks that either the New Orleans Pelicans or Portland Trail Blazers can swap) to upgrade from Kuzma. Cam Johnson, perhaps the cleanest replacement, is already off the board after a trade agreed to Monday sent him to the Denver Nuggets.

Failing that, while I credit Milwaukee for creativity and boldness of this move, I’m not sure the Bucks are much closer to championship contention. Waiving Lillard takes away the upside of him potentially returning from an Achilles rupture in the playoffs to play at a high level. Turner, the third option at best in the Pacers’ offense, is now the only player besides Antetokounmpo on the roster who averaged even 15 points last season.

If Antetokounmpo decides at some point he’s ready to move on from Milwaukee, the good news is Turner should have more trade value on this contract than Lillard would have making the max. The downside is the Bucks’ eventual rebuild will be saddled by not controlling their own draft picks and by the cap hit for the Lillard stretch. Milwaukee might not be able to stretch players making appreciable salary for the next five years because of the CBA rule that limits teams to 15% of the current cap as dead salary after a stretch is completed.

The news is worse for the Pacers, who lost a key contributor to their Finals run in his late prime. Indiana should now be able to use the full $14.1 million non-taxpayer midlevel to replace Turner without pushing into the luxury tax, whereas matching this offer to Turner would have required the Pacers to trade one of their rotation players to avoid the tax.

Still, if ever there was a time for a small-market team like Indiana to pay the tax, it’s coming off getting within one win of a championship. Tyrese Haliburton‘s Achilles rupture in Game 7 of the NBA Finals changes expectations for the Pacers next season, but Turner would have remained a valuable starter beyond Haliburton’s return to full strength in 2026-27.

Already, center depth was one of Indiana’s biggest needs after two backups (Isaiah Jackson and James Wiseman) suffered Achilles ruptures during the 2024-25 regular season. The Pacers alternated journeymen Thomas Bryant (an unrestricted free agent) and Tony Bradley (whose team option was exercised) in the playoffs. So there’s no replacement for Turner on the roster in the short or long term.

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Grade: Pass (extensions graded on pass/fail)

The NBA added the so-called “supermax” designated veteran extension to the 2017 collective bargaining agreement in large part because of Kevin Durant leaving the Thunder for the Golden State Warriors in 2016, so it’s fitting Oklahoma City now benefits from being able to use the supermax with another MVP.

Back then, restrictive rules around raises in extensions and the salary-cap jump precipitated by new national TV deals made a Durant extension unrealistic even had he preferred to stay with the Thunder. The situation is dramatically different now, meaning the only question was whether Gilgeous-Alexander would sign the supermax this summer or wait until next year when he could have added a fifth year to his contract.

In an ideal world, Gilgeous-Alexander might have taken slightly less than the full 35% of the cap that a supermax extension allows as a starting point. (The actual value of the contract, currently projected at $285 million by ESPN’s Bobby Marks, won’t be known until the salary cap is set for the 2027-28 season.)

Gilgeous-Alexander has earned every penny of the supermax, certainly, and Oklahoma City is more prepared than any team in NBA history has been for its stars to get raises. In addition to Gilgeous-Alexander, Thunder All-Star Jalen Williams and starter Chet Holmgren are eligible for rookie extensions this summer that will kick in for 2026-27.

Knowing these contracts were coming, Oklahoma City has been looking ahead for years with team options and contracts that decrease on an annual basis, giving the Thunder the flexibility to shed salary without needing to pay for the privilege. And the unprecedented stockpile of first-round picks Oklahoma City accumulated during its rebuild means the team will continue incorporating cheaper contributors to replace parts of the 2025 champions and stay in contention throughout Gilgeous-Alexander’s prime years.

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Grades

Harris grade: C
Sims grade: B-

After Tuesday’s stunning pair of moves — waiving Damian Lillard and stretching his salary to make room to sign center Myles Turner — the Bucks continued filling out their roster later in the day.

At this point, Harris is a bigger name than he is as a contributor. Harris averaged just 14.8 minutes on an Orlando Magic team desperate for perimeter production last season and scored just 3.0 points. A regular starter as recently as the 2023-24 season, Harris could sop up bench minutes in a 3-and-D role but doesn’t really fill a need for Milwaukee.

If anything, shooting guard is probably the strongest part of the Bucks’ depth chart outside of power forward. Milwaukee agreed to re-sign Gary Trent Jr. Monday and still has sharpshooter AJ Green, two of the five players coach Doc Rivers trusted by the end of the Bucks’ first-round series against the Indiana Pacers. Green and Trent combined for 14 3-pointers and 52 points in Game 5.

Sims, acquired midseason from the New York Knicks, also featured in the rotation ahead of Brook Lopez. Sims gave Milwaukee some good minutes during Bobby Portis‘ NBA suspension and is a reliable third center.

The biggest quibble here is how many player options the Bucks are handing out this summer. Trent, Kevin Porter Jr. and Taurean Prince also got so-called “one-plus-one deals” with a player option for 2026-27.

Several teams got burned by player options they handed out in the summer of 2023, which saddled them with underperformers clogging up roster spots. Milwaukee risks the same issue, and I’m not sure Harris and Sims are better enough than the alternative choices to merit getting player options.

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Grade: B

Yabusele was a rare bright spot in the Philadelphia 76ers‘ lost season. Back in the NBA for the first time since 2019 after starring for the French national team in the Olympics, Yabusele started 43 games on a minimum contract and averaged 11.0 points and 5.6 rebounds.

With the Sixers pushing the luxury tax before re-signing restricted free agent Quentin Grimes, Yabusele was expendable in free agency. Enter the Knicks, who will add him to a frontcourt rotation of Josh Hart, Mitchell Robinson and Karl-Anthony Towns.

Stretched as a center in place of Joel Embiid for Philadelphia because he’s not a rim protector at all (0.5 blocks per 36 minutes), Yabusele should fit better in New York. We saw during the Eastern Conference finals against the Indiana Pacers the benefit to the Knicks of playing with more size in the frontcourt than the 6-foot-4 Hart provides.

At 6-foot-8, Yabusele is a happy medium between Hart and playing Robinson and Towns together. And a Towns-Yabusele frontcourt will give New York five-out spacing. Yabusele hit 38% from 3-point range last season, attempting more than five 3s per 36 minutes.

Utilizing the taxpayer midlevel exception to sign Yabusele will require some creative cap management from the Knicks. New York is pushing right up against the resulting hard cap at the second luxury tax apron and will likely take advantage of second-round picks counting less against the aprons in its first two seasons than other players signed for the minimum.

As a result, the Knicks might be done maneuvering this summer barring a trade, with Yabusele and Jordan Clarkson as the veteran newcomers to the team that reached last year’s conference finals. In a wide-open East, any boost they provide could make the difference for New York. And Yabusele is young enough at 29 to be a long-term option for the Knicks, who won’t likely have access to their midlevel exception next summer if they extend the contract of forward Mikal Bridges and push into the second apron.

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Grade: A-

Clearly, these are no longer Calvin Booth’s Nuggets. Hardaway was precisely the sort of veteran Booth preferred not to add to Denver’s bench as GM, wanting those minutes given to recent draft picks Julian Strawther and Peyton Watson — much to the dismay of former coach Michael Malone.

Hardaway started all of his 77 games last season for the Detroit Pistons and averaged 31.3 minutes in the playoffs. Hardaway’s role in Detroit’s turnaround was overrated but apparently other NBA teams weren’t moved, freeing the Nuggets to add him at a bargain price. Along with fellow free agent Bruce Brown and trade addition Jonas Valanciunas, Hardaway strengthens what’s now looking like a deep Denver bench.

As a volume 3-point shooter (2.2 per game last season, his fewest since 2016-17 but surpassed only by Jamal Murray and former Nugget Michael Porter Jr. among Denver players), Hardaway most clearly competes with Strawther. The 2023 first-round pick played just 88 minutes in the 2025 playoffs.

If new Denver coach David Adelman couldn’t trust Strawther in the playoffs, when the Nuggets’ rotation shrunk to seven players at times, better to bring in someone Adelman will play. With 14 players now under contract, Denver seems just about finished with a makeover that has strengthened its chances of knocking off the Oklahoma City Thunder next spring.

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Grades

Poeltl: Fail (extensions graded on pass/fail)
Mamukelashvili: B+

Since sending what became the No. 8 pick of the 2024 draft to get Poeltl at the 2023 trade deadline, the Raptors have consistently valued him like an above-average starting center. Toronto re-signed Poeltl to a four-year, $78 million contract the following summer and is now giving him nearly the largest possible raise off that contract.

Technically, Poeltl could have added $88.5 million on a three-year extension after exercising a $19.5 million player option for 2026-27. This deal pays him nearly but not quite that amount, adding $84.5 million in new money for the total of $104 million after this season.

The Raptors can point to Poeltl’s adjusted plus-minus impact as evidence of his value. According to xRAPM, from the co-creator of ESPN’s Real Plus-Minus (Jerry Engelmann), Poeltl rates 2.2 points per 100 possessions better than league average, putting him in the 89th percentile leaguewide.

There are two problems with applying that rating to Poeltl’s extension. The first is it’s unlikely the rest of the league values Poeltl as highly, so it’s certainly possible Toronto could have gotten him back as an unrestricted free agent next summer (or in 2027) for less money and it’s unlikely the Raptors would have been outbid.

The second concern is how Poeltl will age. He’ll be 32 when this extension kicks in for the 2027-28 season and 34 by the end of it. Already, Poeltl’s rim protection hasn’t rated as well since rejoining Toronto as it did with the San Antonio Spurs. Opponents have hit better than 60% of attempts inside the restricted area with Poeltl as the primary defender over the past three seasons, per GeniusIQ tracking, as compared to 53.5% in 2020-21 and 56% in 2021-22.

From a bigger-picture standpoint, the Raptors continue to invest in a core that hasn’t yet proved capable of making the playoffs. Poeltl gives Toronto four starters under contract for a combined $145 million in 2027-28, and granting that one of them (Brandon Ingram, acquired at the trade deadline) has yet to make his Raptors debut, it’s far from clear that this group is good enough to contend in the East.

Given that context and the lack of urgency to extend Poeltl, I would have waited. This exact deal would not have been possible once the season started, but if Poeltl was willing to exercise his player option, Toronto could have executed an identical contract before the start of free agency next summer. In signing a deal that won’t kick in for two years, I think the Raptors are taking on too much risk for too little reward.

I’m much higher on the Mamukelashvili signing. He averaged 20.4 points per 36 minutes for the Spurs last season, including a 34-point outburst on 13-of-14 shooting against the New York Knicks in March. Mamukelashvili shooting 37% on a reasonable sample of 3-point attempts (161) was encouraging, since he has long been accurate inside the arc.

If Mamukelashvili can shoot, I particularly like the idea of pairing him with either Jonathan Mogbo or Collin Murray-Boyles in second-unit frontcourts. Both supply the defensive playmaking that is a weakness for Mamukelashvili. For the cost, this is a worthwhile flier for Toronto.

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Grade: C-

New Sacramento GM Scott Perry seemed to signal the Kings’ pursuit of a point guard when he called the lack of a traditional playmaker an “obvious need” during his introduction to local media. Although that statement is hard to dispute, I’m not convinced playmaking was actually Sacramento’s biggest shortcoming.

After the Kings reshuffled their roster by trading De’Aaron Fox to the San Antonio Spurs in a three-team deal that netted Zach LaVine as a replacement, they essentially filled point guard by committee. LaVine and nominal small forward DeMar DeRozan are capable ball handlers, as are guards Keon Ellis and Malik Monk.

After the All-Star break, Sacramento did rank 25th in the NBA in assist rate. Then again, that’s not necessarily such a bad thing. The 64-win Cleveland Cavaliers were one spot behind the Kings, while the LA Clippers (who went 19-9 after the break) were one spot ahead. Overall, Sacramento’s 12th-ranked offense after the break was less of a factor in the team’s 12-15 finish to end up in the play-in than rating 22nd in defensive rating over that span.

To some degree, Schroder could help there. He’s capable of providing full-court pressure on opposing ball handlers. Still, the 6-foot-1 Schroder makes the Kings even smaller on the perimeter, and he’s certainly a downgrade defensively as compared to Ellis.

Offensively, Schroder has always been better cast as a playmaker off the bench than as a starter. His value has fluctuated in large part with his 3-point percentage. Schroder shot 38.5% during 2019-20, when he averaged 18.9 points and finished second in Sixth Man of the Year voting, but he hasn’t reached that height over a full season while playing for seven teams in five years — not counting two separate stints with the Los Angeles Lakers.

Schroder was at his best starting last season with the Brooklyn Nets, where he hit 39% of 3s and averaged 18.4 points and 6.6 rebounds. Schroder fit like oil and water with the remaining Splash Brother after a December trade to the Golden State Warriors, shooting 37.5% in 24 games for the Warriors before being sent to the Detroit Pistons in the Jimmy Butler III trade. Schroder played an important bench role for Detroit, averaging 12.5 points in the Pistons’ hard-fought first-round loss to the New York Knicks.

Whether Schroder fills the right need for Sacramento, the other question is handing out a three-year contract to a player who will turn 32 in September. Given how important Schroder’s quickness is to his playmaking, any drop-off should be a major concern.

Signing Schroder to this contract necessitated the Kings making the trade reported Tuesday sending backup center Jonas Valanciunas to the Denver Nuggets for Dario Saric, a clear downgrade in terms of on-court production justified only by Saric’s smaller salary. Based on that cost, I undoubtedly would have preferred offering Tyus Jones a deal similar to the one he signed with the Orlando Magic for one year and $7 million.

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Grades

Jackson: Pass (extensions graded on pass/fail)
Aldama: B-

As part of what already has been a busy offseason and presumably isn’t finished yet, the Grizzlies struck a pair of new deals with current players in the opening hours of free agency.

Getting Jackson signed was the more pressing business for Memphis. Based on Jackson’s existing $23.4 million salary in the final season of his contract, the Grizzlies could add a maximum of $147 million over four years on an extension after he fell short of qualifying for a supermax extension as a player with All-NBA honors. (Jackson was 17th in the voting, 13 points shy of making the third team.)

Using cap space to renegotiate Jackson’s 2025-26 salary upward allowed Memphis to make a more competitive extension offer. This structure presumably adds $10 million to Jackson’s current contract, allowing his starting salary to bump up to $46 million or so in 2026-27. That’s still shy of the max Jackson could have made as an unrestricted free agent next summer ($50 million, based on the NBA’s updated projection of a 7% cap increase), but getting more money now helps make up that difference.

All told, Jackson is adding $217 million in new money, as compared to the projected $219 million other teams could have offered on a four-max in 2026 free agency. Locking in the security of a massive deal now in a place Jackson wants to play is probably worth the modest difference.

From the Grizzlies’ perspective, this is still a huge win. They take the potential of Jackson leaving in free agency off the table, as well as the possibility of him qualifying for the supermax by making All-NBA next season. Creating cap space by moving Marcus Smart for expiring contracts at the trade deadline did cost Memphis a first-round pick, but I’d say that gamble paid off.

Technically, the Grizzlies don’t yet have the cap room necessary to complete this deal. ESPN’s Shams Charania reported that Memphis does not need to make a trade, suggesting the team will waive players and stretch its salary if no deal materializes before then. Doing so with reserve forward John Konchar wouldn’t create quite enough space, so the Grizzlies are probably looking at letting newly acquired guard Cole Anthony go. If stretched, Anthony would count $5.2 million against Memphis’ cap through 2029-30.

Trading a player or stretching their salary is necessary to allow the Grizzlies to retain full Bird rights for Aldama, who averaged career highs in points (12.5), rebounds (6.4) and assists (2.9) per game in the final season of his rookie contract. Still just 24, Aldama figures to remain a key part of Memphis’ rotation through the life of his contract.

Given the limited amount of cap space available this summer and Aldama’s modest qualifying offer ($5.9 million), it’s possible the Grizzlies could have squeezed him more on this deal. Aldama will make far more than the $44 million that is the most other teams could have offered over this span using the non-taxpayer midlevel exception.

The upside for Memphis is getting to structure Aldama’s contract in a favorable manner. I’d guess his contract will start at its highest point before descending, allowing the Grizzlies to stuff as much salary as possible on their books for this season. Memphis is nowhere near the luxury-tax line and has plenty of flexibility to use its $8.8 million room exception to add a contributor. The Grizzlies have been linked to Cleveland Cavaliers guard Ty Jerome, an unrestricted free agent.

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Grades

Alexander-Walker: A-
Kennard: B

The market for Alexander-Walker, already likely to be robust, surely benefited from the way the postseason played out. Having multiple point-of-attack defenders proved crucial in the late rounds of the playoffs because of the way teams utilized full-court, on-ball pressure. And if those defenders can make 3s, all the better.

Alexander-Walker also helped his own cause with a strong series against the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference finals, combining for 52 points in Games 2, 3 and 4 on 19-of-32 shooting. Those performances helped assure Alexander-Walker would be out of Minnesota’s price range unless the Timberwolves were willing to let either Naz Reid or Julius Randle walk, making Alexander-Walker gettable as well as coveted.

Ultimately, the Hawks utilized the $25 million trade exception they created in last summer’s Dejounte Murray trade to offer Alexander-Walker ever so slightly more than the non-taxpayer midlevel exception, which topped out at $60.6 million over four years. Per ESPN’s Shams Charania, Atlanta will send a Cleveland 2027 second-round draft pick and cash to Minnesota to complete the deal.

That continues a strong offseason for the Hawks under first-year general manager Onsi Saleh. Atlanta previously added Kristaps Porzingis in a three-team trade that has yet to have officially been completed, as well as a valuable 2026 first-round pick in a draft-night deal.

Alexander-Walker slides into the rotation spot vacated by Caris LeVert, who agreed Monday to sign with the Detroit Pistons on a similar two-year deal. Alexander-Walker is four years younger, making him a better fit for Atlanta’s timetable. He also is capable of playing some point guard alongside Dyson Daniels, giving the Hawks a fearsome defensive backcourt when starter Trae Young is on the bench.

Later Monday, Atlanta continued building its depth by adding Kennard on a one-year deal for $11 million. A 44% career 3-point shooter, Kennard led the league in accuracy in both 2021-22 and 2022-23. The Hawks now go four deep in the backcourt and are probably close to complete with their offseason moves.

Before the dust settles, it’s tough to say exactly where Atlanta ranks in the Eastern Conference. If Porzingis can stay on the court for most of the season, however, the Hawks look well-positioned to avoid the play-in tournament for the first time since reaching the 2021 East finals. And although the San Antonio Spurs own swap rights on Atlanta’s first-round pick, the draft-night trade gives the Hawks a chance at lottery luck, too.

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Grade: A

While we were all thinking about Lopez signing with the other Los Angeles team, he also makes a lot of sense for the Clippers, particularly on a contract that’s appropriate for a backup center.

For all their vaunted depth, the Clippers struggled last season when starter Ivica Zubac was on the bench. Lineups without Zubac were outscored by 5.5 points per 100 possessions, according to Cleaning the Glass, ranking in the 22nd percentile leaguewide in offensive rating.

Compared with Mo Bamba, Zubac’s backup to start 2024-25, Lopez is a far more credible shooting threat. “Splash Mountain” has made at least 130 3-pointers during each of the past three seasons. Lopez also is an occasional post-up threat against switches, something the Clippers could utilize given Zubac posted up more often than any player besides Nikola Jokic last season, per GeniusIQ tracking.

Lopez will be an upgrade at the defensive end too, giving the Clippers 48 minutes of quality rim protection. Opponents shot 59% on attempts inside 5 feet with Lopez as a primary defender, per GeniusIQ tracking on NBA Advanced Stats, not far off the 57% they shot against Zubac.

The only concern here is that Lopez is 37. Given his strengths — size and shooting — tend to age better than any other skills, I’m not worried about a two-year contract for Lopez. Whatever aging risk exists is justified by the reward of getting a player who started all 80 games last season for less than $10 million per year.

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Grades

Porter: B
Prince: C
Trent: A

Having already agreed to a new deal with free agent Bobby Portis on Sunday, the Bucks brought back three more rotation players — all of them coming off minimum contracts — at modest prices Monday.

Porter got the biggest raise after averaging 14.3 PPG and 4.7 APG in the 13 games after Damian Lillard was sidelined because of deep vein thrombosis at the end of the regular season. With Lillard expected to miss all of 2025-26 after an Achilles rupture, Porter projects as Milwaukee’s starting point guard.

Porter’s talent is unquestionable. He played last season at the minimum after spending 2023-24 out of the league following a plea deal on assault and harassment charges stemming from a September 2023 incident.

Porter had struggled to score efficiently before landing with the Bucks at the trade deadline in February. His 41% 3-point shooting the rest of the way isn’t likely sustainable, but his career-best 53% accuracy inside the arc might be legit. Milwaukee using the biannual exception for his deal was a necessary part of the team’s offseason plans.

Like Porter, Trent was important in the Bucks’ first-round series with the Indiana Pacers, topping 30 points twice in five games. For Milwaukee to get Trent back using non-Bird rights (a 20% raise off his minimum salary) is a huge win. Trent, meanwhile, will establish early Bird rights if he declines a 2026-27 player option.

Prince was one of the noncontributors pushed out of the rotation against Indiana. After starting 73 games during the regular season, Prince played just 22 minutes over the last three games of the series after scoring a combined six points in Games 1 and 2. In that context, I’m a little surprised Prince earned a two-year deal with a player option. That means he’ll count on the cap at his actual $3.3 million salary rather than the $2.3 million veteran’s minimum.

From a bigger-picture standpoint, the question is where the Bucks are heading by bringing back their 2025 playoff rotation minus departed Brook Lopez. Milwaukee has enough room under the lower luxury tax apron to use its $14.1 million non-taxpayer midlevel exception to sign a replacement for Lopez, with Deandre Ayton a reasonable target. But none of this makes up for the loss of Lillard, let alone improves on a Bucks team that hasn’t won a playoff series since 2022.

There are still opportunities for Milwaukee to make trades. Barring something stunning, however, the Bucks look no closer to competing for a championship.

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Grade: B+

On the surface, the Spurs signing a center when they already have Victor Wembanyama seems nonsensical, but adding Kornet is reasonable on multiple levels.

The biggest long-term need for San Antonio is probably a combo forward who can shoot, handle the ball and defend multiple positions. Alas, if that player existed in free agency, he surely would be out of the Spurs’ price range. The realistic option for San Antonio was more likely Guerschon Yabusele, Wembanyama’s teammate on the French national team.

At center, the Spurs could shop closer to the top of the market. Kornet was prominent on the list ESPN’s Zach Kram compiled Monday of underrated free agents. Advanced metrics have consistently shown Kornet making a major impact with his rim protection and high-percentage finishing.

Since taking the 3-pointer out of his game, Kornet has shot 68% over the past three seasons. Meanwhile, as Kram highlighted, opponents shot just 52% against Kornet within 5 feet, according to GeniusIQ tracking on NBA Advanced Stats, putting him in the top 10 alongside Wembanyama among players who defended at least 100 such attempts.

Adding Kornet addresses San Antonio’s biggest weakness last season: defending with Wembanyama on the bench. The Spurs’ defensive rating ranked in the 73rd percentile with Wembanyama on the court and dropped to the 9th percentile without him. Improving that weakness is the fastest way for San Antonio to reach the playoffs.

Beyond that, I suspect Kornet should play with Wembanyama at times, too. The Spurs ditched playing Wembanyama as a power forward last season after they struggled with him next to Zach Collins as a rookie. Per my analysis of lineup data from NBA Advanced Stats, Wembanyama played exclusively at center in 2024-25.

Still, I think it’s worth revisiting with a better center option and more shot creation around them. Double-big lineups were effective for several teams last season and are worth exploring for San Antonio.

Even if Kornet is strictly a backup center, I’d rather have him on this deal than nearly all the older big men who agreed to similar contracts Monday or the more defensively challenged players who re-signed over the weekend (Bobby Portis and Naz Reid). The Spurs can maximize Kornet’s long-term value by starting his contract at its highest point and descending it, meaning a lower salary when Wembanyama is off his rookie deal and the luxury tax becomes a concern.

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June 30: Nuggets agree to deal with Brown

Grade: B+

A reunion between Brown and the Nuggets was one of the more obvious free agent fits. Neither side has done as well since Brown’s season in Denver resulted in an NBA championship.

An unrestricted free agent that summer, Brown cashed in with a two-year, $45 million deal from the Indiana Pacers that the Nuggets couldn’t match. The deal paid off for the Pacers, who flipped Brown as part of their trade for Pascal Siakam, but Brown has seen his production dip in the past two seasons. A 36% 3-point shooter in Denver, Brown has hit just 33% the past two seasons, and his accuracy dipped inside the arc last season, too.

It’s possible that defending bigger opponents could be taking a toll on the 6-foot-4 Brown, who will turn 29 this summer. There’s a track record of players who are undersized for their position — Brown has often played forward, and occasionally even power forward during his time with the Brooklyn Nets earlier in his career — aging early as they lose the quickness needed to compensate.

Alternatively, the Nuggets are surely hoping Brown just needs to get back to the ball movement that a Nikola Jokic-led offense provides. Brown’s ability to cut and read the game fit well with Jokic. The price is also right.

Per league sources, Denver signed Brown for the veteran’s minimum, leaving the Nuggets free to use part of their non-taxpayer midlevel exception on another player after agreeing to trade Michael Porter Jr. for Cameron Johnson on Monday.

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June 30: Pistons land LeVert and Reed in separate deals

• Detroit Pistons agreed to a reported two-year, $29 million contract with guard Caris LeVert; agreed to re-sign center Paul Reed to a reported two-year, $11 million contract

Grades

LeVert: B-
Reed: B

The Pistons had to be stunned by the news Sunday that Malik Beasley is under investigation by the United States District Attorney’s office on allegations of gambling related to NBA games and prop bets. Per ESPN’s Shams Charania, the Pistons were discussing a new three-year, $42 million contract for Beasley after he finished as the runner-up for the Sixth Man of the Year Award after he signed a one-year deal.

Detroit pivoted to LeVert, who also has been among the league’s top reserve guards in recent seasons. LeVert averaged 14.0 PPG and 5.1 APG in 2023-24 with the Cleveland Cavaliers before his playing time declined last season due to Ty Jerome‘s emergence.

LeVert is a shooting downgrade compared with Beasley. LeVert is a career 34.5% 3-point shooter, albeit an improved one during his time in Cleveland (36%). LeVert will provide more ballhandling and on-ball defense, important skills that probably aren’t as valuable as Beasley’s shooting to a Pistons team that will presumably use Jaden Ivey in a reserve role next season.

Detroit might not have a good option with Beasley unavailable. Nickeil Alexander-Walker, who landed with the Atlanta Hawks on Monday — essentially replacing LeVert — was probably the best alternative, but winning a bidding war for him might have required the Pistons to use cap space. Detroit can sign LeVert using the non-taxpayer midlevel exception, enabling the Pistons to re-sign starting wing Tim Hardaway Jr. using Bird rights.

Additionally, Detroit is bringing back Reed, who served as the Pistons’ backup center for much of last season. Reed’s active defense makes him a reliable option in that role, and the price is reasonable for a team that is nowhere near the luxury tax.

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Grade: D+

This move, which seemed logical a few weeks ago, was a surprise after the Rockets also extended backup center Steven Adams‘ contract. Adams and Capela seemed like an either/or proposition for Houston because the two players don’t offer positional versatility, though starting center Alperen Sengun moved to power forward alongside Adams in the playoffs.

The upside is that the Rockets can manage the minutes of both players. Adams did not typically see action in both ends of back-to-back games last season, and Capela averaged just 21.4 MPG — his fewest since emerging as a starter in Houston nearly a decade ago.

Adding Capela likely ensures that the Rockets will pay the luxury tax this season, the latest sign they’re going for it after adding Kevin Durant via trade rather than trying to delay the start of paying repeater taxes toward the primes for Sengun and Amen Thompson. Capela’s contract will likely push Houston to the edge of a hard cap at the lower luxury tax apron, limiting the team’s flexibility to add salary midseason.

The bigger issues with paying two backup centers will come later, when more of the Rockets’ young players are on extensions. Houston might try to add salary before it gets more difficult because of apron restrictions, but that logic would make more sense with younger players than Adams and Capela, who both are more likely to hold their value.

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Grade: B+

Jones quietly excelled in 18 games for the Bulls after being included in the trade that sent De’Aaron Fox to San Antonio and Zach LaVine to Sacramento. Jones averaged 11.5 PPG and 4.9 APG for Chicago, shooting 57% overall, 11-of-22 on 3s and 88% on free throws. This three-year deal takes Jones, 25, through his prime years.

Jones has provided quality minutes as a starter with the Spurs, including 65 games in 2022-23. Still, this deal pays him much more like the backup he will likely be — and not even at the top of the market, which is north of $10 million annually.

One note to watch is how the Bulls handle the structure of this contract. Barring a max deal for restricted free agent Josh Giddey, Chicago isn’t close to the luxury tax this season and has cap space aspirations next summer. It might be best for the Bulls to start Jones’ contract high (around $8.2 million) and have it descend for 2026-27 to maximize their room, then go up again in 2027-28.

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Grade: B-

After agreeing to a buyout with the Utah Jazz, Clarkson will reportedly sign with the Knicks once he clears waivers. It has been a while since Clarkson has been on a contending team. He has stuck around as a veteran presence as the Jazz began rebuilding over the past three seasons.

Even when Clarkson won the Sixth Man award in 2020-21, he was never an efficient scorer. He has continued to score with a true shooting percentage slightly lower than league average, and it will be interesting to see whether that improves playing alongside better creators in New York.

But Clarkson is not a good shooter on the kinds of spot-up opportunities he’s likely to get with the Knicks. Over the past three seasons, Clarkson has made 34% of catch-and-shoot 3s, according to GeniusIQ tracking, putting him in the 13th percentile among players with at least 250 attempts in that span.

But the price is right. After the buyout, New York will surely pay Clarkson a small fraction of the $14.3 million he was set to make in Utah.

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Grade: A-

I had Jerome at the top of the tier of low-end starters and quality reserves available in free agency this summer, ranking him 15th overall. Jerome was a finalist for Sixth Man of the Year with the Cleveland Cavaliers, finishing third in the voting after averaging a career-high 12.5 points per game while shooting 52% from the field and 44% on 3s. For the Grizzlies to get him using their room midlevel exception is a coup.

Admittedly, some of the luster came off Jerome’s campaign during an ugly series against the Indiana Pacers. He shot a combined 2-for-22 in Games 2 and 3 as the Pacers upset the Cavaliers, while also becoming a target for Indiana on defense. Still, Jerome making less than $10 million per year is an overcorrection.

Jerome’s market was hurt in part by Cleveland’s tax situation. Already over the second luxury-tax apron entering free agency, the Cavaliers couldn’t bring back both Jerome and Sam Merrill without paying an exorbitant tax bill. Cleveland ended up with Merrill, who will make slightly less annually on a four-year deal.

The Grizzlies need depth at point guard because of the time Ja Morant tends to miss, and with Cole Anthony reportedly headed elsewhere to create cap space, Jerome and Scotty Pippen Jr. give Memphis plenty of cover. Jerome also can play shooting guard, where the Grizzlies traded starter Desmond Bane in a deal that returned forward Kentavious Caldwell-Pope.

Deep benches have been a hallmark of the Grizzlies in recent years. Adding Jerome should help ensure that continues.

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Grade: D

Though it’s early in the New Orleans Pelicans tenure of executive vice president of basketball operations Joe Dumars and senior vice president of basketball operations Troy Weaver, familiar patterns from their separate stints with the Detroit Pistons are emerging.

In particular, like the Pistons under Weaver, the Pelicans have stockpiled centers without regard to maximizing value. Days after giving up a valuable first-round pick (the better of those from New Orleans and the Milwaukee Bucks next year) to move up to the No. 13 spot and draft Maryland center Derik Queen, the Pelicans made Looney their marquee addition of free agency.

It’s undoubtedly true that center was a weakness for New Orleans, which utilized rookies Yves Missi and Karlo Matkovic at the position most of this past season. Only the Phoenix Suns‘ center rotation rated worse by my wins above replacement player (WARP) metric. However, Missi and Matkovic showed progress, and at the respective ages of 21 and 24, they figure to improve.

Now, the Pelicans have spent much of their limited resources addressing center without finding a clear upgrade. Looney is a reliable veteran with championship experience, but he averaged just 15 minutes per game last season for the Golden State Warriors. Looney made more sense as a minimum signing than for a substantial portion of the non-taxpayer midlevel exception. He also is a non-shooter, making Looney a difficult fit next to Zion Williamson in the frontcourt.

Dipping into the non-tax midlevel means New Orleans is now hard-capped at the lower luxury tax apron. It was unlikely the Pelicans would push into the tax anyway, having never before paid it, but that leaves them with just $5 million in wiggle room to fill a remaining roster spot and make moves during the season. For the right addition, that restriction would have made sense. I don’t think Looney was the correct target for New Orleans.

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Grade: B+

After upgrading at shooting guard by dealing four first-round picks for Desmond Bane, the Magic addressed their point guard spot too, signing the veteran Jones to a one-year deal. Jones projects as part of Orlando’s second unit alongside 2023 lottery pick Anthony Black while playing a similar role to the one Cory Joseph played last season.

Compared with Joseph, who ended up starting all five Magic playoff games after starter Jalen Suggs was injured, Jones is more of an offensive threat. Granted, that bar is set low. Joseph had a 13% usage rate and averaged just 4.2 assists per 36 minutes as something of a caretaker point guard for Orlando, which relied on forwards Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner for playmaking.

Jones brings better 3-point shooting (38% career) and shot creation, meaning the Magic will be in better hands if Suggs again misses time. Jones started 124 games over the past two seasons, though he probably is better suited for a high-end backup role.

Having sacrificed money in favor of a starting job on a one-year, minimum deal with the Phoenix Suns last summer, Jones is getting paid more this time around — nearly double the veterans minimum. Paying him $7 million using the non-taxpayer midlevel exception will take Orlando into the luxury tax, though the Magic still have enough room under the lower tax apron (about $7.5 million) to use more of the exception to fill out the roster if needed.

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Grade: A

The Rockets adding one of the best free agents to change teams after dealing for Kevin Durant to begin the offseason reminds me of summer 2017.

That year, Houston added Chris Paul via opt-in and trade and structured the deal to have the non-taxpayer midlevel exception available to sign P.J. Tucker — like Finney-Smith, an experienced 3-and-D role player. Tucker ended up starting as the Rockets won 65 games and took the defending champion Golden State Warriors to seven games in the conference finals.

Finney-Smith helps Houston fill the void left by trading defensive stopper Dillon Brooks to the Phoenix Suns in the Durant deal. As compared to Brooks, whose three most frequent half-court matchups defensively included a center (Victor Wembanyama) and a point guard (Shai Gilgeous-Alexander) according to GeniusIQ tracking, Finney-Smith isn’t quite as versatile.

At this stage of his career, having Finney-Smith guard forwards is probably preferable to putting him on quicker guards. The Rockets can supplement Finney-Smith with All-Defensive first-team pick Amen Thompson, who proved to be one of the NBA’s best point-of-attack defenders last season.

Offensively, Finney-Smith fits better alongside Durant than Brooks would have in a different construction of the trade. With shot creation at four positions in the starting five (Durant, Thompson, All-Star center Alperen Sengun and point guard Fred VanVleet), Houston primarily needs floor spacing from the fifth spot in the lineup. Finney-Smith, a 38% 3-point shooter over the past six seasons who hit 41% beyond the arc last season, provides more of that than Brooks. Although Brooks shot a career-high 40% on 3s in 2024-25, he’s at 35.5% for his career.

There is some risk here that a four-year contract for Finney-Smith becomes a negative value by the end. That didn’t prove the case with Tucker, who ended up helping the Milwaukee Bucks to the 2021 title in the final season of his four-year deal. Still, locking in more guaranteed money helps explain why Finney-Smith declined a 2025-26 player option for $15.4 million that would have paid more than his new average salary.

On the plus side, the Rockets getting Finney-Smith for less than the entire value of the non-taxpayer midlevel exception could make it easier for them to avoid paying the luxury tax this season. If Finney-Smith’s contract features 5% raises, Houston should end up about $3 million over the tax line, meaning moving Cam Whitmore or multiple minimum contracts midseason could allow the Rockets to dodge the tax.

Whether Houston pays the tax is trivial this year but could have important implications down the road in terms of starting the clock on the repeater tax.

For now, adding Finney-Smith gives the Rockets a rock-solid top seven that also includes forwards Jabari Smith Jr. (who struck a five-year rookie extension on Sunday) and Tari Eason. Houston supplements that group with center Steven Adams, a key contributor in double-big lineups in the playoffs and recent first-round picks Whitmore and Reed Sheppard. The Rockets also intend to re-sign their own free agents in Jeff Green, Aaron Holiday and Jae’Sean Tate, per ESPN’s Shams Charania.

All of that means Houston appears to have pulled off the rare feat of upgrading star talent with Durant while not sacrificing any depth. The Rockets are ideally suited to handle any time Durant will likely miss during the regular season and still rack up wins. So long as the Oklahoma City Thunder are healthy, the defending champs are rightfully the favorites to win it all again. As in 2018, however, I think Houston is the biggest threat to a repeat title for the Thunder.

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Grade: B+

I like LaRavia as a target for the Lakers, with the important caveat that they still must figure out who starts at center.

A first-round pick by the Memphis Grizzlies in 2022, he saw the team decline his rookie contract option for 2025-26 before the start of last season. Subsequently, LaRavia enjoyed the best season of his career, shooting 42% on 3-pointers and boosting his true shooting percentage from .538 his first two years to .591.

Although the Grizzlies traded LaRavia to the Sacramento Kings at the deadline, the declined option continued to restrict the Kings’ ability to re-sign him. Sacramento was able to offer a maximum of $5.6 million, the value of that option, to LaRavia this season. The Lakers more or less matched that salary on a two-year deal.

For the Lakers, the best part of adding LaRavia is his age. At 23, he is still coming into his own as a contributor; and if this is a straight two-year deal, the Lakers would be able to re-sign him using early Bird rights in the summer of 2027, when he’ll be 25.

Based on LaRavia’s age and production, my SCHOENE projection system has him forecast just outside the top 20 free agents. If that’s remotely accurate, $6 million per year should be a bargain. Because LaRavia’s contract is too big for the biannual exception, it likely will have to come out of the Lakers’ $14.1 million non-taxpayer midlevel exception. That leaves the Lakers with about $8 million to spend, most likely on a center.

Splitting the midlevel would help the Lakers’ depth more than committing it all to a single player, which would leave them with the same number of reliable rotation players after seeing Dorian Finney-Smith strike an agreement with the Houston Rockets earlier Monday.

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Grade: B+

From a value standpoint, it’s hard to argue this move. Russell made an average of $18 million over the past two seasons and was on a max deal before that. Russell actually will make less in 2025-26 on this contract, which utilizes the taxpayer midlevel exception, than he did in the last year of his rookie deal.

Of course, Russell’s salary trending the wrong direction also reflects the difficulty of finding the right fit for his skill set. Russell is a high-volume shot creator (24% usage last season) who only scored with high efficiency during two seasons with the Los Angeles Lakers. Russell isn’t effective playing primarily off the ball and no longer fits on a rebuilding team at age 29.

All of that made Dallas an ideal destination. The Mavericks sputtered in the play-in tournament in part because they lacked an initiator with Kyrie Irving sidelined after a left ACL tear that should keep him out much of the 2025-26 campaign. Dallas started lineups with no true point guard down the stretch, relying on forward Naji Marshall to bring up the ball.

The Mavericks certainly weren’t going to do better in terms of pedigree than Russell, armed only with their taxpayer midlevel. (To even utilize that, Dallas had to agree to a multiyear deal with Irving that pays him less than a player option would have for 2025-26.) If the Mavericks catch Russell on one of the hot stretches he enjoyed with the Lakers, this could prove an enormous bargain.

At the same time, there’s always an expiration date with Russell. His limitations were exposed during two playoff runs with the Lakers, as Russell shot just 31% on 3s and was targeted defensively. The ideal scenario for Dallas is probably Russell carrying the team through the regular season before Irving returns in time for a playoff run.

If Russell is able to rebuild his value, he’ll likely decline a 2026-27 player option in favor of a stronger market in free agency while the Mavs move forward with Irving. So, there’s a chance this is a mutually beneficial short-term marriage.

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Grade: A

Both sides got a little something out of Batum declining his $4.9 million player option in favor of re-signing with the Clippers. Batum gets a slight raise this season, the 20% maximum the Clippers could offer using non-Bird rights without having to dip into their non-taxpayer midlevel exception.

Meanwhile, the Clippers get a team option on Batum for 2026-27 that will give them some flexibility with how to handle next summer. The Clippers could have cap space if James Harden declines his 2026-27 player option. Alternatively, if the Clippers stay over the cap, they could exercise Batum’s salary and use him as matching salary in a trade.

Most likely, that would happen only if Batum decided to retire and got a golden parachute from the Clippers. He’ll turn 37 in December but remains a key reserve who averaged 24.6 MPG for the Clippers in their seven-game first-round series against the Denver Nuggets. Batum’s experience, shooting ability and defensive versatility will be valuable right up to when he calls it a career.

The Clippers now have all eight players who saw at least 50 minutes of action against Denver under contract and will be filling in around them, presumably with another ball handler or a backup center.

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Grade: B-

The Clippers and Harden struck a creative contract, but I’m surprised he commanded a raise in this free agent market, even coming off an All-NBA season.

The 2025-26 player option on the contract Harden signed as an unrestricted free agent last summer was scheduled to pay him $36.3 million. Only the Brooklyn Nets have the cap space to make Harden that kind of offer without a sign-and-trade deal, and a return to Brooklyn seemed implausible for any number of reasons.

Not only will Harden instead make a minimum of $39 million this season (assuming maximum 8% raises), but he also gets the benefit of an unorthodox player option for 2026-27. Per ESPN’s Shams Charania, the player option is partially guaranteed, making the second season something of a mutual option.

To make that legal, Harden’s 2025-26 salary must be guaranteed for the same percentage. Presumably, that salary will fully guarantee days or weeks after the contract is signed, similar to the deal J.R. Smith signed with the Cleveland Cavaliers in September 2015. The player option also gives Harden the right to approve any trade this season.

As with Smith, who declined his option after the Cavaliers won the 2016 title, the partial guarantee probably won’t ultimately matter. Assuming Harden stays healthy and plays well during his age-36 season, either the Clippers will guarantee his 2026-27 salary or Harden will decline the player option and head into free agency next summer when more teams have cap space. A serious injury seems to be the only way Harden would exercise the option and be waived next summer.

The upside is that giving Harden a raise doesn’t really take anything off the table for the Clippers. With 12 players under contract, including Drew Eubanks and Jordan Miller on non-guaranteed deals, the Clippers are about $22 million below the lower luxury tax apron. That allowed them to re-sign forward Nicolas Batum after he declined a $4.9 million player option and still use their $14.1 million non-taxpayer midlevel exception.

The Clippers should be able to add another contributor using the midlevel exception, perhaps either another ball handler or a more experienced backup center after the team drafted Yanic Konan Niederhauser with the No. 30 pick.

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Grade: Pass (extensions graded on pass/fail)

Smith is the first 2022 first-round pick to agree on a rookie contract extension. As ESPN’s Bobby Marks noted, that’s unusual because max extensions like we expect to see for Orlando Magic forward Paolo Banchero and the Oklahoma City Thunder‘s duo of Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams (barring discounts) are typically the quickest extensions to get done.

Per Marks, Isaiah Stewart‘s deal with the Detroit Pistons on July 11, 2023 — five days after the conclusion of the negotiating moratorium period — was the earliest non-max rookie extension in recent memory. The Rockets and Smith got a deal done before the moratorium period has even begun.

For Smith, this locks in life-changing money ahead of a season where his role is uncertain. A starter for the first 188 games he played for Houston, Smith lost his job to Amen Thompson while he was sidelined for over a month by a broken bone in his right hand. Even in 18 games as a reserve last season, Smith averaged 28 minutes per game. (He actually scored more off the bench by virtue of stronger efficiency.)

With the Rockets’ deal for Kevin Durant and their ability to utilize the non-taxpayer midlevel exception, it’s unclear what role Smith might play this season. He could fill the open spot in the starting lineup or get squeezed if Houston adds another forward in free agency. Either way, at 22, Smith is an important part of the Rockets’ post-Durant future. We’ve yet to see Smith prove to be the kind of shot creator in the NBA that he was during the single season at Auburn which made him the No. 3 pick by Houston. In fact, his usage rate has dropped all three seasons to a career-low 16%. But Smith’s combination of ability to space the floor (36% from 3-point range on almost six attempts per 36 minutes) and defensive versatility at 6-foot-11 gives him a floor of key rotation player on a contender.

The upside scenario is Smith continues his development and makes this contract a bargain for the Rockets. Smith is younger than more than a third of the players drafted this week, including first-round picks Walter Clayton Jr., Nique Clifford and Yanic Konan Niederhauser. This extension pays Smith less annually than Trey Murphy, who signed the most comparable extension last year (four years, $112 million).

The way Houston negotiated hard on Alperen Sengun‘s extension in particular has facilitated strengthening a contending core this season. The Rockets should have their non-taxpayer midlevel exception available to add to this group after dealing two starters (Dillon Brooks and Jalen Green) for Durant.

This extension didn’t take nearly as long as ones for Green and Sengun, which were signed just before the deadline. Still, it could be similarly beneficial for Houston.

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Grade: B

Essentially, this contract functions as a two-year, $69 million extension for Randle on top of his $31 million player option for 2025-26. In fact, based on maximum possible 8% raises, Randle’s cap hit may come out almost identical to that figure.

Getting Randle signed for three years gives Minnesota cost certainty about this core. The Timberwolves project right around the 2026-27 luxury-tax line without starting point guard Mike Conley Jr. under contract and will have more breathing room by 2027-28, when Donte DiVincenzo‘s contract expires and the cap figures to increase faster than year-to-year raises.

For now, Minnesota is probably just about done with its 2025-26 roster, which surely won’t include hotly coveted unrestricted free agent Nickeil Alexander-Walker. After getting new contracts done with their other two key free agents, Randle and Naz Reid, Minnesota has just enough room to fill out the roster with minimum contracts — possibly team options for forward Josh Minott and center Luka Garza — and stay below the second apron.

Because the Timberwolves will be closer to the tax line with Rudy Gobert‘s salary decreasing in the first year of an extension, their tax bill will be more modest this season. Minnesota figures to start the season paying $20-30 million in taxes, with the ability to reduce that by trading away players at the end of the roster midseason.

Compared to the Reid contract, I like the value better here for the Timberwolves. Randle is a two-time All-Star who played at that level over the first two rounds of the playoffs before a disappointing series against the Oklahoma City Thunder in the conference finals. Randle didn’t likely have a market at this level in free agency this summer but could have done better a year from now when many more teams will have cap space.

Making this a new contract rather than an extension allows the two sides to wipe out the incentives in Randle’s current contract, meaning he’s assured his full cap hit and unlikely incentives no longer affect Minnesota with regard to the luxury-tax apron.

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Grade: N/A

At surface level, the explanation from ESPN’s Shams Charania that James is exercising his 2025-26 player option while simultaneously contemplating his future with the Lakers is difficult to understand. If James might want to play elsewhere, why not become a free agent?

Because this year’s market is largely devoid of cap space, the rebuilding Brooklyn Nets are the only team that could offer James anything approaching his $54.1 million max salary as a free agent. If James is somehow to change teams this summer, it will almost certainly be by trade.

A sign-and-trade would be possible if James were to decline his option, but that possibility is complicated by the fact that a team receiving a player via sign-and-trade is automatically hard-capped at the lower luxury-tax apron, limiting its moves to build out the roster. An opt-in and trade isn’t subject to the same restrictions.

For example, hypothetically the Golden State Warriors could now trade Jimmy Butler III (starting a max extension) to the Lakers for James and Bronny James and neither team would face a hard cap of any kind, allowing the Warriors to re-sign restricted free agent Jonathan Kuminga.

Setting James’ cap number does clarify the Lakers’ options in free agency. Essentially, the team will be choosing between re-signing forward Dorian Finney-Smith (who plans to decline a $15.4 million player option in favor of a longer contract, per Charania) and using the $14.1 million non-taxpayer midlevel exception, presumably on a starting center. Going the latter route would hard-cap the Lakers at the lower apron and allow them to safely fill out the roster with minimum contracts while keeping a little wiggle room for in-season trades.

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June 29: Portis back to Bucks on three-year deal

Grade: C-

Portis had to decide Sunday on a $13.4 million player option for 2025-26. Instead, he’ll sign a new contract that should pay him a similar amount this season with two additional years at $30-plus million.

I’m surprised the market was that high on Portis, who was a finalist for the Sixth Man award in both 2022-23 and 2023-24 but has never rated that well by advanced stats. Portis was not nearly as efficient a scorer last season, when his accuracy on both 2s (51%) and 3s (36.5%) was his lowest since signing with Milwaukee in 2020. Additionally, Portis missed nearly the entire second half due to a 25-game suspension for violating the NBA’s anti-drug policy.

To Portis’ credit, he became coach Doc Rivers’ most trusted option at center by the end of the Bucks’ first-round loss to the Indiana Pacers. Portis played 44 minutes in Game 5, which went to overtime, and had a double-double of 14 points (albeit on 6-of-18 shooting) and 10 rebounds. With Brook Lopez an unrestricted free agent, Portis could be Milwaukee’s starting center next year.

Though Portis’ contract would be on the cheap side for a veteran starter, I suspect playing that role would expose him defensively. Opponents shot 69% on attempts inside 5 feet with Portis as a primary defender, per GeniusIQ tracking on NBA Advanced Stats, putting him in the bottom 25 among all players who defended at least three such shots per game. By contrast, opponents hit just 59% of those attempts against Lopez.

I’m also skeptical of how well Portis will hold his value over the life of this contract. He turned 30 in February and will be 33 by the final season of the deal, another player option. The quickness that has been a strength for Portis when defended by centers might not remain an advantage much longer.

Every dollar counts for the Bucks, who are $27.5 million below the first luxury tax apron with nine players under contract, including non-guaranteed salaries for AJ Green, Andre Jackson Jr. and Chris Livingston. If Milwaukee wants to use its non-taxpayer midlevel exception to re-sign unrestricted free agents Kevin Porter Jr. and/or Gary Trent Jr., it will have a difficult time re-signing Lopez due to the resulting hard cap.

If Portis wanted to exercise his player option, I would have welcomed him back and considered an extension down the road. Failing that, I probably would have preferred to let Portis test the market and focus on re-signing Lopez.

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Grade: B+

This deal is the latest example of the Thunder trying to manage their contracts to spend as much money now to have more flexibility down the road when extensions kick in for starters Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams. Those deals are the remaining business for the defending champs, whose roster is full.

Because Oklahoma City held a $2.2 million team option for Jaylin Williams’ 2025-26 salary, this essentially functions as a two-year extension for $22 million. By declining the team option and starting the contract now, the Thunder can maximize the amount of the total salary Williams gets this season.

Starting the deal at its highest point and declining from there would leave Oklahoma City just under the luxury-tax threshold after Saturday’s trade sending 2024 first-round pick Dillon Jones to the Washington Wizards to clear a roster spot and save money. That presumes the Thunder pick up a $3 million team option on guard Ajay Mitchell, who is in a different situation because he will still be a restricted free agent next summer. Williams would have been unrestricted.

Although Williams wasn’t part of the Thunder’s rotation during the last two rounds of the playoffs, he has become a reliable option at center who took on an important role with starters Isaiah Hartenstein and Holmgren unavailable during much of the regular season.

Williams posted three triple-doubles in nine starts, averaging 10.0 points, 8.0 rebounds and 4.9 assists. He could become a rotation fixture down the road if Oklahoma City has to move on from Hartenstein, whose $28.5 million 2026-27 salary is a team option, for financial reasons.

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Grade: B

By virtue of reaching 2,000 minutes played last season and achieving “starter criteria,” Mitchell was in a strong negotiating position as a restricted free agent.

Because of starter criteria, Mitchell’s qualifying offer was $9.4 million — second highest among restricted free agents, after Josh Giddey of the Chicago Bulls. Even if no market developed for Mitchell, playing 2025-26 for the qualifying offer and becoming an unrestricted free agent next summer was a legitimate possibility.

Instead, the two sides agreed on a deal that guarantees Mitchell more money but keeps him under contract for two years, which also means he can be included in a trade without having to consent.

Mitchell could still be a bargain if he keeps shooting like he did after joining the Heat at the trade deadline. Previously a 34% career 3-point shooter, Mitchell shot 45% from deep with Miami and 7-of-14 in the playoffs, earning a starting role and averaging 31.6 minutes per game after the trade.

Nicknamed “Off Night” for his effect on opposing guards, Mitchell has always been an elite point-of-attack defender, but his lack of offense limited him to a reserve role during three seasons with the Sacramento Kings, who traded him to reduce salary this time a year ago.

I’m hesitant to read too much into a sample of around 100 3-point attempts, but we’ve seen the Heat work wonders with non-shooters in the past. This deal gives Miami a couple more years to figure out whether Mitchell’s progress is legit and whether he can be a starting guard going forward.

With Mitchell re-signed, the Heat are nearing the lower luxury-tax apron but still have the ability to go under the tax line by waiving forward Duncan Robinson. Presuming Robinson doesn’t exercise an early termination option to test free agency, he’ll be under contract for $19.9 million. However, just $9.9 million of Robinson’s 2026-27 salary is guaranteed.

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Grade: B

After totaling just 350 minutes over his first three NBA seasons played with three different teams, Merrill has become an important fixture on Cleveland’s outstanding bench units of the past two seasons.

Always a premier shooter, Merrill has hit 39% of his career 3-point attempts and pushed his volume with the Cavaliers: 11.9 attempts per 36 minutes in 2023-24 and 9.5 last season. A better defender than he appears based on physical tools, Merrill maintained a key spot in the rotation with Darius Garland sidelined to start Cleveland’s second-round playoff loss to the Indiana Pacers — up until a neck strain sidelined him for the deciding Game 5.

Previously on a minimum contract, Merrill had earned a big raise. Given the Cavaliers were $10 million over the second luxury tax apron after Saturday’s deal for Lonzo Ball with just 10 players under NBA contract, that surely meant choosing between Merrill and fellow bargain reserve Ty Jerome.

In all likelihood, Merrill’s contract will come in lower than Jerome’s. This deal starts around $8.5 million with maximum 8% raises, putting it around the value of the room midlevel exception and far less than the non-taxpayer midlevel exception that could be Jerome’s market.

Going out four years with Merrill could have some risk. Because he was drafted at age 24 after serving a Latter-day Saints mission prior to his career at Utah State, Merrill recently turned 29 and this deal takes him well into his 30s. Merrill’s shooting ability is unlikely to wane but his defense might become an issue at some point.

With Cleveland’s second-apron limitations, replacing Merrill would have been difficult, and the team can plan for a two-year window of big spending before retrenching when several contracts expire after the 2026-27 campaign. In that context, signing Merrill for a smaller starting salary but a larger total amount probably made sense for the Cavaliers.

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Grade: C-

In what looked like a difficult market for free agents, Reid found leverage to get an incredibly favorable contract.

The Timberwolves now face a challenge to also re-sign starting forward Julius Randle (who, like Reid, holds a player option for 2025-26) and reserve guard Nickeil Alexander-Walker. Minnesota must make some choices about who to value, which started with paying Reid like a starting-caliber player over the span of his new contract.

That’s interesting because only one other team (the Brooklyn Nets) could make a similar offer to Reid, and because there’s not a clear path to him becoming a starter in the short term if the Timberwolves bring back Randle.

Unless the Nets were interested, Reid’s market would presumably have been at the $14.1 million non-taxpayer midlevel exception. That would have carried a max value of $60.6 million over four years, far less than Minnesota offered. Reid also had the option of exercising his $15 million player option for 2025-26 and taking his chances next summer, which should have been viewed as a good outcome by the Timberwolves.

Assuming max 8% raises, Reid’s salary for next season will bump up to $21.6 million. That leaves Minnesota about $33 million shy of the second luxury tax apron, including team options for forward Josh Minott and center Luka Garza. That could be enough to bring back Randle, whose 2025-26 option would carry a $31 million cap hit. Retaining Randle and Alexander-Walker, who should have a market near or at the non-tax midlevel, now seems impossible, barring a trade.

I understand the Timberwolves prioritizing the two big men after drafting guards Rob Dillingham and Terrence Shannon Jr. in last year’s first round. Minnesota also has 2023 second-round pick Jaylen Clark, who flashed at the defensive end in his rookie season after missing all of 2023-24 due to injury.

Additionally, the Timberwolves are paying Reid through his prime years. He’ll turn 26 in August and will be 30 at the end of this five-year contract. Still, I’m not convinced Reid is a starting-caliber player despite winning the Sixth Man award in 2023-24.

A bench role suits Reid because of his defensive limitations, which were exposed by playing center more last season after Minnesota traded Karl-Anthony Towns. Lineups with Reid at center allowed a 116.3 defensive rating last season, per Cleaning the Glass, as compared to 103.0 when he played power forward. That’s worth keeping in mind if you’re projecting Reid as Rudy Gobert‘s eventual replacement at center.

The advent of the second apron, plus steeper penalties for teams with large luxury tax bills, means overpaying key contributors is more costly than ever. Although Reid has been an indispensable part of the Timberwolves teams that have reached the past two conference finals, paying him like a starter is going to force them to sacrifice down the line. Given the market, I think Minnesota should have done better with this contract.

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Grade: A

This deal, which will replace a $44.9 million team option the Rockets held for VanVleet in 2025-26, is some combination of Houston using its leverage well and/or being willing to spend even bigger in the future.

It’s certainly true that VanVleet would have had a tough time beating this offer on the open market. Only the Brooklyn Nets could even legally do so using cap space, meaning the Rockets’ participation in a sign-and-trade would have been necessary for VanVleet to get more than the non-taxpayer midlevel exception to play for a contender as an unrestricted free agent.

Still, the same will be true for virtually any free agent of note, and it’s unlikely other teams will get this kind of bargain. Consider that VanVleet will make less next season than Kyrie Irving, who will start the year rehabbing an ACL tear. Yes, Irving had the leverage of a player option for 2025-26 on his contract, but he still added more new money ($76 million over the two years beyond 2025-26) than VanVleet.

It’s possible VanVleet could make up the difference now that he holds a player option for 2026-27. Houston is currently hard-capped at the second luxury-tax apron by virtue of aggregating salaries in the Kevin Durant trade. That restriction may not exist a year from now, which would allow the Rockets to potentially re-sign VanVleet to a bigger, longer deal in a summer where other teams will have ample cap space to pursue him.

For the time being, getting VanVleet around $20 million less than his option sets Houston up to have access to its non-taxpayer midlevel exception. In a market where only the Nets will likely have more to offer, that makes the Rockets a player for a big-time free agent to complement Durant and their young core.

Nickeil Alexander-Walker is the most obvious Houston target who would fit into a playoff rotation on the perimeter, having played that role for the Minnesota Timberwolves in back-to-back conference finals runs. Gary Trent Jr.’s shooting is another fit, while Ty Jerome would be a good value but might be duplicative of what the Rockets hope 2024 No. 3 pick Reed Sheppard will become.

Wherever Houston lands, the ability to access the full midlevel should help Houston replace the slight depth lost in the Durant trade and strengthen the Rockets as championship contenders.

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Grade: B+

Irving had until the end of the day Tuesday to decide on a $43 million player option for 2025-26. Instead of exercising it, he declined it and will sign this extension, effectively adding two years and $76 million to his contract.

The Mavericks had a degree of leverage because the Brooklyn Nets‘ trade on Tuesday potentially means no other team could offer Irving as much money in free agency. (In practice, the rebuilding Nets bringing Irving back three years after dealing him to Dallas might be politely termed a long shot.)

At the same time, Irving could have picked up his option and targeted free agency next year, when it’s possible he could have gotten a contract worth more annually — and certainly a longer one. This seems like a fair compromise.

Reducing Irving’s starting salary to around $37 million has important implications for the Mavericks this summer. That leaves them about $7 million from the second luxury-tax apron with 13 players under contract, not counting a team option for backup point guard Brandon Williams.

Had Irving picked up his option, Dallas would likely have been limited to offering minimum contracts, barring a money-saving trade. Now, the Mavericks could have access to the taxpayer midlevel to sign a ball handler as a free agent and fill the void left by Irving, who will be out much of 2025-26 after suffering an ACL tear in March.

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Grade: Pass (extensions for non-free agents graded on a pass/fail basis)

The most interesting element of this extension is the timing. Conventional wisdom had it that Gafford could be a trade candidate this summer, given the Mavericks’ crowded depth chart at center, where younger Dereck Lively II is the team’s starter of the future and starting power forward Anthony Davis is also capable of — and perhaps best suited for — playing the 5.

There’s little question that Gafford merits a raise coming off the best season of his NBA career. Having excelled defensively in a platoon with Lively as Dallas reached the 2024 NBA Finals, Gafford got a chance to play extended minutes between when Lively went down with a stress fracture in his right ankle in January and his own knee sprain in February.

During 11 full games in that span, Gafford averaged 15.0 PPG on 67% shooting, 10.3 RPG and 3.6 BPG, the last of which would have threatened Victor Wembanyama (3.8 BPG) for tops in the NBA. Typically just a finisher on offense, Gafford even created in the post with the team battling multiple injuries. His 52 post-ups last season was a career high, per GeniusIQ tracking, although Gafford’s efficiency on those plays wasn’t especially strong.

Besides the limitations on Gafford’s role with the Mavericks, a trade now also makes sense because this could be the peak of his performance. Gafford will be 27 in October, and while his size won’t fade, Gafford might not remain such a strong above-the-rim threat as he nears his 30s.

Based on those factors, it was important for Dallas to craft an extension with a maximum 20% raise in 2026-27 (a starting salary of $17.3 million) and 5% annual raises that fits restrictions on extend-and-trade deals. By virtue of apparently staying within that, the Mavericks can trade Gafford as soon as he signs the extension — or, hypothetically, even before then.

Having Gafford under contract an additional three seasons shouldn’t hurt his trade value at all. This extension pays him barely more than the expected 2026-27 non-taxpayer midlevel exception of $15.5 million, and Gafford has easily outpaced that in terms of value thus far. From his perspective, locking in his deal a year ahead of time does take injury risk off the table. So I’d consider this move a win-win.

The next question is which teams could be in the market for Gafford. He’s an obvious fit for the Los Angeles Lakers, having demonstrated his comfort running pick-and-rolls with Luka Doncic, but that idea seems triggering for already aggrieved Dallas fans. Gafford would be a sensible target for the guard-heavy Phoenix Suns, though finding workable matching salary is a challenge unless the Suns get under the second apron.

If the New Orleans Pelicans aren’t convinced Yves Missi is a starting-caliber center at this stage of his development, Gafford would be a huge offensive upgrade. I’d also consider a return to Gafford’s original team, the Chicago Bulls, and the San Antonio Spurs as wild-card possibilities.

Of course, the Mavericks may just hold on to Gafford. After all, they spent much of the second half of last season with none of their three starting-caliber centers healthy, so there is value in having depth at the position. And it would be challenging for another would-be contender to offer the perimeter help Dallas seeks, meaning a Gafford trade would most likely need to involve at least three teams.

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Grade: B

We’re off and running on the 2025 offseason with games still to play in the NBA Finals. Teams aren’t allowed to negotiate new contracts with their own free agents until the day after the Finals end, but they can strike extensions with eligible players in the last year of their contracts at any point up to June 30.

Acquired by the Rockets at the 2024 trade deadline while still recovering from season-ending PCL surgery, Adams initially served as a veteran mentor on a young team and a backup to All-Star center Alperen Sengun. His role expanded considerably in the playoffs, when lineups featuring both Adams and Sengun unexpectedly became key to Houston taking the Golden State Warriors the distance after falling behind 3-1 in the series.

Whether alongside Sengun or as the team’s lone center, Adams reached a level in the playoffs that we haven’t seen since early in his career. Adams blocked 1.9 shots per 36 minutes, surpassing his best regular-season mark (1.7). And his 60% shooting was way up from 55% during the 2024-25 regular season. My wins above replacement player metric rated Adams the team’s fourth-most valuable player in the series, ahead of starters Dillon Brooks and Jalen Green.

Given that the size and strength that make Adams a dominant offensive rebounder aren’t going anywhere, the kind of agility we saw against the Warriors will make him a valuable player for the Rockets as long as he stays healthy.

Before the PCL injury that cost him the 2023 playoffs and all of 2023-24, Adams had been remarkably durable, playing 76 of 82 games in 2021-22. And Houston will surely be careful with Adams’ workload. Although Adams was cleared to play both ends of back-to-back games midway through last season, the Rockets continued to give him one of the games off because of how he recovers after playing the night before.

Bringing back Adams on a contract in the $13 million range — a little less than the $14.1 million non-taxpayer midlevel that is the most other teams could have realistically offered — does push Houston into the luxury tax if the team exercises Fred VanVleet‘s $44.9 million team option. And even if the Rockets waive two players with non-guaranteed deals (Jock Landale, at $8 million, and Nate Williams at the minimum), they’d edge over the lower luxury tax apron by filling out the roster in that scenario.

Alternatively, Houston could decline the option and try to bring back VanVleet at a smaller starting salary on a longer-term deal that would guarantee him more money at age 31. That decision could be influenced by what other moves the Rockets have cooking. Their tax situation makes it seem unlikely Houston will add a free agent making more than the $5.7 million taxpayer midlevel, but the Rockets could make more substantial moves via trade.

Per ESPN’s Bobby Marks, Houston has until June 29 to decide on VanVleet’s player option. Barring a blockbuster trade, VanVleet will almost certainly be back, meaning Adams’ new contract gives the Rockets a chance to return the entire core that claimed the No. 2 seed in the West.

Another defeat for Manchester United, more inevitable and raucous debate about whether Ruben Amorim is the right man for the job.

The noise from outside the club is growing, but within the Old Trafford halls of power, the United bosses remain steadfastly patient with the Portuguese head coach. Albeit with mounting frustration on all sides at the team’s inconsistency.

Amorim himself has repeated his assertion that he is not concerned about the possibility of being sacked, but he knows results have to improve significantly – and quickly – if he is to stay in the job.

Sky Sports News understands Amorim retains the backing of United’s minority shareholder Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who is desperate to give his first managerial appointment a full season to prove himself, with his own players, after more than £200m was spent in the summer transfer window.

Despite reports to the contrary, sources are adamant the bosses are not lining up a list of replacements. The club, under its new INEOS stewardship, is determined to take a long-term view in all the decisions it takes – about player recruitment, facilities and the coaching staff – and so will not make any knee-jerk reaction to individual defeats.

The trouble for Amorim is that results have been persistently poor since he took over, and the optimism-inducing win over Chelsea has been followed up with a chastening 3-1 defeat against Brentford. United have taken 34 points from his 33 games in charge, and have yet to muster back-to-back wins in his 11 months at the helm.

United are not actively looking for their next manager. Nevertheless, every football club has contingency plans in place should they lose the head coach, in whatever circumstances, and it would be naive to think United will not have specific targets in mind if, for example, Amorim chose to resign.

He said in August following the Carabao Cup humiliation at the hands of Grimsby Town that “sometimes I want to quit”. But he also said at the time “sometimes I want to stay for 20 years”.

At Old Trafford and Carrington, there are no murmurings for managerial change. But ultimately, it comes down to the decision of one man: Sir Jim. And his current levels of patience will not sustain indefinitely.

Meanwhile, the club legends are lining up to voice their dismay – Wayne Rooney says he has “no faith” that Amorim can turn things around. Gary Neville says for the first time, he is worried the players are “really doubting the system”.

Crystal Palace are proving that Amorim’s chosen formation can be successful. Oliver Glasner has used a consistent 3-4-2-1 shape, and has delivered the FA Cup and Community Shield already, with this team having just beaten the champions.

Palace’s achievements are an example of how it could work for United, but also a reminder of how poorly the team is doing by comparison. Palace are flying high in third spot in the Premier League. United are 14th.

It is still very early in the season, we are only six league matches in. But Amorim desperately needs his system to start paying dividends. And there is growing doubt about some of his decision-making.

Against Brentford when United were chasing the game, the head coach changed his back five, in either personnel or position, six times. Mason Mount only came on in the 81st minute, but he played two different positions in what was left of the match – No 10 and left wing-back – a move that Neville called “unforgivable”.

No timescale has been set for Amorim to get it right. There is no deadline in terms of games, or set target in terms of wins. And yet there is a growing sense that United’s next game – Sunderland at Old Trafford on Saturday – has the feeling of being a must-win for the home side.

With the international break straight afterwards and a two-week gap in club football, if that one were to end badly, then the clamour for Amorim’s removal would only grow, and Ratcliffe’s determination to stick with his man would be severely tested.

Man Utd’s mental block pre-dates Amorim

Sky Sports News reporter Danyal Khan:

Ruben Amorim is incredibly honest but also accurate when he reflects on and analyses his Manchester United side before and after games.

So with the lack of European and Carabao Cup football, it is truly puzzling why United aren’t able to address those flaws and show consistency with a full week to prepare on the training ground.

Even more so, after they showed such grit and determination to beat Chelsea the weekend before only for it to evaporate at Brentford.

The struggle for momentum pre-dates Amorim. United have not won back-to-back Premier League games in the same season since May 2024.

The mental block in the squad is a problem he has inherited and one he continues to try to address.

He has spoken about how he hoped the arrivals of Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo would alleviate that burden. But, despite some positive moments, it seems those old scars remain.

Amorim has not yet shown the body of work at United that shows the required consistency is on the way. He would be the first to acknowledge that.

Since his appointment, Amorim has picked up only 34 points in 33 Premier League games, a truly staggering statistic that nobody can hide from.

One wonders how long the United leadership will allow this form to continue when you consider Amorim’s predecessor, Erik ten Hag, was only given nine games last season before he was sacked.

Man Utd’s next five fixtures

• Oct 4: Sunderland (H)
• Oct 19: Liverpool (A) – live on Sky Sports
• Oct 25: Brighton (H) – live on Sky Sports
• Nov 1: Nottm Forest (A)
• Nov 8: Tottenham (A)

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — This might be the ultimate test of patience for Carolina Panthers owner David Tepper.

Sunday’s 42-13 loss to the New England Patriots was a complete team failure, so much that coach Dave Canales took full responsibility for the collapse that left Carolina with a 1-3 record.

“When it happens in all phases, I’m the common denominator,” Canales said after falling to 6-15 since Tepper hired him during the 2024 offseason.

All the promise the Panthers showed a week earlier in a 30-0 victory over the Atlanta Falcons disappeared in about the time it took New England’s Marcus Jones to return a punt 87 yards for a first-quarter touchdown and 7-6 lead.

From there it was an avalanche of bad plays that had the Patriots (2-2) leading 42-6 before a late Panthers touchdown by rookie tight end Mitchell Evans.

It was so bad that Canales, who has taken responsibility for losses in the past, was particularly hard on himself.

“I have to make sure I’m pushing the guys in the right way,” he said. “I have to evaluate what we’re doing, how we’re working, how we’re preparing our guys. I felt confident about that part, but we’re not getting the results.”

Tepper has to evaluate whether the blame falls on Canales and members of his staff, and whether it’s worth making a change. In 2021, the in-season fall guy was offensive coordinator Joe Brady, who was fired after a 5-7 start to the season. Brady went on to become a successful offensive coordinator with the Buffalo Bills.

The last time Tepper felt a change was needed at the top during the season was 2023 when he moved on from veteran coach Frank Reich after a 1-10 start to his first year at Carolina.

In 2022, he fired Matt Rhule with a 1-4 record in his third season, finishing 11-27 overall. Prior to that he fired Ron Rivera at 5-7 in 2019 a year after going 7-9 in Tepper’s first season as the owner.

That was three head coaches in five seasons.

Tepper, however, stuck with Canales after a 5-12 record last season as a rookie head coach. There never was an indication of making a change.

But if the Panthers can’t get on track, it’s fair to wonder how much patience Tepper will show with his coach and staff.

“I have to look at that myself. Are we putting our guys in the best situation to be successful in every phase?” Canales said. “I have to make sure that we have those conversations and keep progressing our football forward.”

The Panthers’ special teams unit gave up 167 punt returns yards to Jones, resulting in one touchdown and almost a second, had he not been tripped up by punter Sam Martin.

That’s the seventh most punt return yards in a game allowed by one player in the past 25 seasons.

This all happened a week after Carolina looked like one of the better special team units in the NFL.

The defense that shut out the Falcons last week allowed quarterback Drake Maye to go 14-of-17 for 203 yards and two touchdowns, plus a rushing score.

Carolina quarterback Bryce Young didn’t have a turnover for the second straight week, but he was off target much of the day, particularly as it pertained to rookie receiver Tetairoa McMillan (3 catches, 8 targets, 40 yards).

But as badly as Panthers players performed, none blamed Canales.

“It’s on me,” Young said. “It’s on everybody in that locker room. We talked about that after. We all take accountability. We all have to look in the mirror. We all have to understand what we can do better. It’s definitely not on one person. It’s all of us that have to be better.”

Cornerback Jaycee Horn agreed.

“He can’t come out there and play,” he said of Canales. “We’ve got to be ready to play all three phases, and we [weren’t]. We had a great week of practice. That don’t mean you’re gonna play good on Sunday. You gotta show up and do it.

“And that’s not on him.”

The upcoming schedule is favorable for Carolina to fix things. The Panthers host the struggling Miami Dolphins (0-3) and Dallas Cowboys (1-2-1) before going to New York to face the Jets (0-3).

So what might change? It won’t be the playcaller. Canales says he’s not giving that up.

“I believe I’m the right person to be able to push our concepts and our schemes forward,” he added.

Canales also said he’s not planning “right now” to make any changes to his staff.

That’s why this will test Tepper’s patience. If he truly believes the organization is being built the right way, he’ll leave things alone.

That’s what former Carolina owner Jerry Richardson did after a 1-3 start to the 2013 season. That team won eight straight and 11 of it’s last 12.

But the Panthers showed no signs Sunday that a turnaround like that is possible.

“To me, this game is about consistency,” Canales said. “Can we consistently play good football? Today was not that. That’s something we have to look at and make sure we’re taking the right steps forward.”

Struggling Manchester United could be set for a change of manager, with Xavi, Gareth Southgate, Oliver Glasner, Fabian Hurzeler and Andoni Iraola all linked to replace Ruben Amorim, while Saudi Pro League clubs are once again targeting Manchester City midfielder Bernardo Silva. Join us for the latest transfer news and rumors from around the globe.

Transfers homepage | Done deals | Men’s grades | Women’s grades

TOP STORIES

– West Ham hire Nuno after Potter sacking
– Amorim “not concerned” over Man United future
– Sources: Man City close to agreeing to new deal for Savinho

TRENDING RUMORS

– Former Barcelona manager Xavi would be interested in joining Manchester United if they choose to replace beleaguered boss Ruben Amorim, says Fabrizio Romano. United’s minority owner Jim Ratcliffe is considering a change as Amorim has returned just 33 points from his 34 games in charge and is facing fresh pressure following United’s 3-1 defeat to Brentford on Saturday. TalkSPORT claims that United are in contact with former England boss Gareth Southgate and are also monitoring Crystal Palace manager Oliver Glasner and Bournemouth boss Andoni Iraola, while The Sun adds Brighton’s Fabian Hurzeler to the list. Amorim has previously stated that he won’t leave United of his own accord, which means United could face having to part with £12 million to relieve him of his duties.

– Saudi Pro League clubs are once again targeting Manchester City midfielder Bernardo Silva in the hopes of persuading the 31-year-old to head to the Middle East on a four-year deal, according to TalkSPORT. The Portugal international, who has started four of City’s six Premier League matches this season, made it clear he wasn’t prepared to leave Manchester in the year leading up to the 2026 World Cup when he refused a £700,000-a-week contract at Al Hilal earlier this summer. However, Al Ahli and Al Qadsiah are both interested in bringing the midfielder to Saudi next year, with Al Nassr also contemplating a move if they fail to land preferred target Bruno Fernandes from Manchester United.

– Newcastle United are planning to offer midfielder Bruno Guimarães a new contract in the hope they can fend off interest from Manchester City, who in turn may turn their attentions to Paris Saint-Germain‘s João Neves, according to Football Insider. Newcastle are determined to keep hold of the 27-year-old Brazilian after having lost striker Alexander Isak to Liverpool in the summer, and so will look to extend his deal beyond 2028. City made a formal approach to sign Guimaeres in the summer but City boss Pep Guardiola will now target Neves as he looks to strengthen his midfield options next season.

– Manchester United and Chelsea are both eyeing a move for Juventus forward Dusan Vlahovic after the Italian club suggested he could be available in the January transfer window, according to Gazzetta dello Sport. The Serbia international has been looking to leave since new contract talks turned sour last season, and the Bianconeri are now hoping to recoup a fee in January before his deal runs out at the end of the season. Vlahovic, 25, is available to sign a pre-contract agreement with any non-Italian club from January.

EXPERT TAKE

OTHER RUMORS

– Manchester City are mulling over a move for Bayern Munich’s 22-year-old midfielder Aleksander Pavlovic. City boss Pep Guardiola sees the German as a long-term successor for Rodri. (Caught Offside)

– Arsenal are scouting Real Betis midfielder Pablo Garcia, Hoffenheim defender Bazoumana Toure, and Eintracht Frankfurt winger Bahoya. (GMS)

– Inter Milan are hoping to make defender Manuel Akanji‘s loan move from Manchester City a permanent one in the summer of 2026. Inter have been extremely pleased with the 30 year old and have set aside €15m to secure the deal. (Fabrizio Romano)

– AC Milan have started talks with Fikayo Tomori’s representatives over a contract extension. The 27 year old is already tied to the club until 2027, but the Rossoneri are happy with the center back’s form and want him to commit his future to the Serie A league leaders. (Fabrizio Romano)

– Liverpool and Everton are among the clubs tracking Genk’s 17-year-old attacking midfielder Konstantinos Karetsas. Newcastle United, Sunderland and Bournemouth are also eyeing plotting a potential £20m move in January. (Ekrem Konur)

– Flamengo forward Wallace Yan is a target for Crystal Palace, Wolves, Napoli and Monaco. The 20 year old has a release clause of €60m, but it’s believed a lower fee could be negotiated. (Ekrem Konur)

– Roma goalkeeper Mile Svilar has been one of the star performers in Serie A this season, and the Giallorossi are looking to tie him down to a longer contract to prevent advances from the Premier League. The 26 year old has been offered a new deal until 2030 worth €40m a season. (Calciomercato)

LOS ANGELES — Bad Bunny will bring his Latin trap and reggaeton swagger to the NFL’s biggest stage next year: The Grammy winner will headline the Apple Music Super Bowl halftime show in Northern California.

The NFL, Apple Music and Roc Nation announced Sunday that Bad Bunny will lead the halftime festivities from Levi’s Stadium on Feb. 8 in Santa Clara, California.

The Puerto Rican superstar’s selection comes amid another career-defining run. He’s fresh off a historic Puerto Rico residency this month that drew more than half a million fans and is leading all nominees at the Latin Grammys in November. He has become one of the world’s most-streamed artists with albums such as “Un Verano Sin Ti,” an all-Spanish-language LP.

Bad Bunny will host “Saturday Night Live” on Oct. 4.

“What I’m feeling goes beyond myself,” Bad Bunny said in a statement. “It’s for those who came before me and ran countless yards so I could come in and score a touchdown… this is for my people, my culture, and our history. Ve y dile a tu abuela, que seremos el HALFTIME SHOW DEL SUPER BOWL.”

Roc Nation founder Jay-Z said in a statement that what Bad Bunny has “done and continues to do for Puerto Rico is truly inspiring. We are honored to have him on the world’s biggest stage.”

The 31-year-old artist born Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio has won three Grammys and 12 Latin Grammys. He has become a global ambassador for Latin music, starred in films such as “Bullet Train,” “Caught Stealing” and “Happy Gilmore 2,” and collaborated with top fashion houses. He’ll enter the Latin Grammys as the leading nominee with 12, dethroning producer and songwriter Édgar Barrera.

Roc Nation and Emmy-winning producer Jesse Collins will serve as co-executive producers of the halftime show. Hamish Hamilton will serve as director.

“We know his dynamic performances, creative vision, and deep connection with fans will deliver the kind of unforgettable experience we’ve come to expect from this iconic cultural moment,” said Jon Barker, SVP of Global Event Production for the NFL.

Last year, Kendrick Lamar shined with guest SZA in New Orleans, setting the record for the most-watched Super Bowl halftime show with 133.5 million viewers. His performance surpassed the audience for Michael Jackson’s 1993 show.

“His music has not only broken records but has elevated Latin music to the center of pop culture, and we are thrilled to once again partner with the NFL and Roc Nation to deliver this historic performance to millions of fans worldwide,” said Oliver Schusser, the vice president of Apple Music and Beats. “We know this show will be unforgettable.”

Sky Sports will remain the home of the Big Bash League (BBL), extending its partnership for a further four years.

As the inaugural broadcaster of the BBL, the four-year agreement will see Sky Sports air the tournament across December 2025 and January 2026.

Most of the matches will be played in the mornings, featuring familiar faces with the likes of Sam Billings, Jamie Overton and Chris Jordan in the men’s competition, and Nat Sciver-Brunt, Sophie Ecclestone, and Heather Knight in the women’s edition.

The 2024-25 edition was the most-watched BBL season under the current broadcast rights holders, while the average attendance of 22,076 last summer was the highest per match since 2017-18 and is the second highest among all Australian sports leagues.

Mitchell Owen smashed a scintillating 39-ball century to lead Hobart Hurricanes to their maiden Big Bash League title earlier this year.

In the women’s competition, West Indies all-rounder Hayley Matthews led Melbourne Renegades to victory over the Brisbane Heat in the final.

“We’re really excited that the Big Bash Leagues will remain a key part of our comprehensive cricket offering on Sky Sports, bringing world-class T20 action to our audiences during the winter,” said Bryan Henderson MBE, Sky Sports Director of Cricket and NFL.

“This four-year extension means we can commit to showcasing one of the most entertaining tournaments in the global cricket calendar, at a time when both the men’s and women’s competitions are going from strength to strength.”

Cricket Australia EGM Legal and Business Affairs, Kate Ingber, added: “This latest agreement with Sky Sports helps us ensure the WBBL and BBL will continue to grow its global audience, entrenching its long-held reputation as one of the world’s premier T20 tournaments.”

Watch the 2025/26 Big Bash League live on Sky Sports across December and January.

Week 4 of the 2025 NFL season kicked off Thursday night with an exciting matchup between the Seahawks and the Cardinals. Arizona tied the score at 20 with 28 seconds left in the fourth quarter, but Seattle drove down for a game-winning, 52-yard field goal by Jason Myers as time expired.

Sunday’s action kicked off in Dublin, Ireland, as the Steelers beat the Vikings 24-21 in the second international game of the season. Back in the United States, the Patriots and Falcons bounced back from Week 3 losses with victories over the Panthers and Commanders, respectively. Giants rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart shocked the Chargers in his debut, handing them their first loss of the season.

In the late window Sunday, the Rams ended the Colts’ hot start with two interceptions off quarterback Daniel Jones (both by Los Angeles cornerback Kam Curl). The Chiefs dominated against the Ravens, though quarterback Lamar Jackson left in the third quarter with a hamstring injury. And the Bears blocked a field goal in the final minute of play for a one-point win over the Raiders.

On Sunday night, the Green Bay Packers tied the Dallas Cowboys in an overtime thriller, as Micah Parsons returned to Dallas.

Our NFL Nation reporters reacted to all the action, answering lingering questions coming out of each game and detailing everything else you need to know for every team. Let’s get to it.

Jump to:
CHI-LV | BAL-KC | JAX-SF
IND-LAR | PHI-TB | NO-BUF
LAC-NYG | CLE-DET | TEN-HOU
CAR-NE | WSH-ATL | GB-DAL
MIN-PIT | SEA-ARI

Catch up on the action: Box score | Recap

Packers

What do the Packers need to fix during their bye week? The list is longer than it probably should be for such an early season bye after starting 2-1-1. The offensive line needs to get left guard Aaron Banks (groin) and right tackle Zach Tom (oblique) back after the break. Special teams coordinator Rich Bisaccia needs to fix the protection on place kicks after getting another one blocked. All of a sudden, they couldn’t pressure the quarterback on a consistent basis even with Micah Parsons getting a sack in overtime. And perhaps most importantly, they need to figure out a way to close out games. Who knows what this tie will mean down the road, but the Packers blew fourth-quarter leads in back-to-back games for the first time since Weeks 14-15 of the 2010 season against the Lions and Patriots. This after they blew a double-digit lead with four minutes to play last week against the Browns.

Trend to watch: The Packers couldn’t pressure quarteback Dak Prescott until late in the game, and when they did, it didn’t seem to affect him. He was pressured on only five of 24 dropbacks through three quarters, and while they ended up pressuring him on 14 of 41 dropbcks (34%), including four by Parsons, he was not rattled. He completed 10 of 13 passes for 121 yards and six first downs when pressured. — Rob Demovsky

Next game: vs. Bengals (Oct. 12, 4:25 p.m. ET)

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Cowboys

Is there reason for hope in Dallas? Nobody wants to hear that right now, especially with the defense beaten up for a third straight game. The Cowboys have played two games against two of the best teams in the NFC. They lost by four points in the opener to the Philadelphia Eagles and they tied the Packers. Without question, the defense is culpable. Again. The Cowboys could not hold leads at the end of regulation or overtime. But if — and it might be a big “if” given the state of things — the Cowboys can find consistency, they have winnable games the next two weeks against the New York Jets (0-3) and Carolina Panthers (1-3). Parsons was mostly an afterthought in his return. The Cowboys have players coming back from injury. But they can’t afford ill-timed penalties (Sam Williams face mask; Marist Liufau unnecessary roughness), missed tackles and continue to give up the number of big plays they have been. This is the Cowboys’ first tie since 1969.

Most surprising performance: Prescott was near perfect. Statistically, he has had better games, but he was playing without his best playmaker, wide receiver CeeDee Lamb, who has a high ankle sprain. He was without two offensive linemen, right guard Tyler Booker (ankle) and center Cooper Beebe (foot). And he was facing a top Green Bay defense. He threw for three touchdowns, including a 28-yarder to wide receiver George Pickens with 43 seconds left in regulation. He ran for a third, his first of the season and the 30th of his career. He completed more than 70% of his passes for the second straight game and did what he could do to keep the Cowboys in the game. — Todd Archer

Next game: at Jets (Sunday, 1 p.m. ET)

Catch up on the action: Box score | Recap

Bears

What adjustments do the Bears need to make during their Week 5 bye? The Bears’ defense came away with three interceptions, a critical red zone stop and gifted the offense multiple opportunities that they didn’t capitalize on until late. During the bye, coach Ben Johnson and his staff will have to find solutions to the struggles in the run game (2 rushing yards in the first half) and pre-snap penalties. A 2-2 record after the first month of the season is a solid place to be, but Johnson will be irked by how many points his team left off the board.

Trend to watch: Before the season, Johnson hinted that the Bears would not hesitate to make a switch at left tackle if the position reflected a weak link along the offensive line. Left tackle Braxton Jones, who entered Week 3 with 43 career starts, was replaced by guard Theo Benedet late in the second quarter, a move that could be permanent. Benedet was starting in place of Darnell Wright (elbow) at right tackle and once he slid over to left, rookie Ozzy Trapilo played his first NFL snaps at the position.

Best quote from the locker room: “It’s an incredible win and that’s just a testament to the team we have. I think we stacked a good week of practice and we kind of got this quote-unquote monkey off our back that we’re not the ‘same old Bears’, we’re different,” said cornerback Josh Blackwell, who blocked the 54-yard field goal attempt to end the game.— Courtney Cronin

Next game: at Commanders (Oct. 13, 8:15 p.m. ET)

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Raiders

Is it time to worry about QB Geno Smith? The Smith experience hasn’t gone as expected. He threw three interceptions, with two resulting in points for Chicago. His first pick helped set up a field goal in the first quarter. Later, Smith was picked off by cornerback Tyrique Stevenson, leading to Bears quarterback Caleb Williams completing a touchdown pass to wide receiver Rome Odunze. Smith was given a chance to ice the game, but his throw to wide receiver Dont’e Thornton Jr. was slightly underthrown, resulting in an incompletion and a field goal. Smith’s turnover issues should be a cause for concern moving forward.

Key stat to know: Running back Ashton Jeanty became the first Raiders rookie with three touchdowns in a game since Bo Jackson (1987). He is also the fifth player age 21 or younger to have a three-touchdown game in the past decade, joining De’Von Achane, Ja’Marr Chase, Saquon Barkley and Ezekiel Elliott. Jeanty had 21 carries for 138 total yards, two receiving touchdowns and a rushing score. — Ryan McFadden

Next game: at Colts (Sunday, 1 p.m. ET)

Catch up on the action: Box score | Recap

Chiefs

Did Xavier Worthy’s return unlock the Chiefs’ offense? For one game at least, the answer was an emphatic yes. Worthy’s speed and presence created several advantageous matchups for quarterback Patrick Mahomes, who put together an excellent performance. The speedy receiver ignited the offense with a career-high 83 receiving yards. With Worthy on the field, Mahomes was still able to spread around his targets, completing a pass to nine teammates. Another reason the Chiefs had so much success was because of the Ravens’ defensive injuries. The more revealing test will be next week against the Jaguars, who are 3-1.

Most surprising performance: Unlike the rest of his teammates, defensive tackle Chris Jones woke up Sunday in his home state of Mississippi. He spent Saturday with his family to attend the funeral of his aunt. Jones’ flight to Kansas City landed at 2:40 p.m. and he arrived at the stadium less than 30 minutes before kickoff. He started the game and his impact was still quite sizable. He pressured Jackson early, stuffed running back Derrick Henry on a short-yardage play and won most one-on-one matchups. — Nate Taylor

Next game: at Jaguars (Oct. 6, 8:15 p.m. ET)

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Ravens

Is the Ravens’ season over at 1-3? It’s definitely teetering. The Ravens have been 1-3 in only two previous seasons (2005 and 2015) and they failed to reach the postseason each time. There is always hope with quarterback Lamar Jackson, who has led Baltimore to the playoffs in all five seasons that he has finished, but he left in the third quarter because of a hamstring injury. The biggest hurdle for the Ravens is a reeling defense, which has given up 133 points — the most in the first four games of a season in franchise history. To make matters worse, middle linebacker Roquan Smith (hamstring) and cornerbacks Nate Wiggins (elbow) and Marlon Humphrey (calf) left the game because of injuries and didn’t return. That means Baltimore is currently without seven defensive starters because of injuries.

Key stat to know: The Ravens are 7-11 (including the playoffs) when Jackson turns the ball over multiple times. After no turnovers in the first three games, Jackson threw an interception and then fumbled when he ran into center Tyler Linderbaum. The last time Baltimore won when Jackson had multiple turnovers was the 2023 season opener against the Texans. Sunday also marked the first time since 2021 that Jackson lost a game by more than one score.

Best quote from the locker room: Ravens safety Kyle Hamilton on the Ravens’ 1-3 start: “I just want to apologize to the fans. The product that we’re putting on the field right now is not up to par with what the Ravens have been in the past and recent past. We’re trying our best to correct it, but obviously something’s wrong.”— Jamison Hensley

Next game: vs. Texans (Sunday, 1 p.m. ET)

Catch up on the action: Box score | Recap

Jaguars

Is the Jaguars’ defense for real? It’s unrealistic to expect the defense to force three (or more) turnovers game after game, yet the Jags have done it for four consecutive weeks. The 13 takeaways they’ve had lead the league and are the most in the first four games of a season in franchise history. And they’re also doing it at critical times: safety Antonio Johnson‘s interception (off a pass deflected by defensive end Josh Hines-Allen) to seal the victory over Houston last week and linebacker Foyesade Oluokun‘s fumble recovery (forced by defensive tackle Arik Armstead) late in game against the 49ers. Though the turnovers might decrease, the fact that the defense is coming up big in clutch moments is a sign the unit could be legit.

Trend to watch: Injuries hit hard Sunday, with eight starters or key reserves leaving the game at one point or another. Defensive end Travon Walker (wrist) and safety Eric Murray (neck) did not return. Those would be critical losses if they turn out to be long-term absences. Not having Walker would allow teams to concentrate on stopping Hines-Allen. Murray has been praised for his on-field communication and settling down a secondary that had trouble with big plays last season. — Mike DiRocco

Next game: vs. Chiefs (Oct. 6, 8:15 p.m. ET)

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49ers

After a bad loss, are the 49ers as good as their 3-1 record? Though the Niners escaped with wins in the first three weeks, Sunday’s loss revealed a lot of warts that have been bubbling under the surface. Four turnovers on offense, none on defense, red zone woes on both sides, poorly timed penalties and continued special teams struggles all contributed to the Niners’ worst performance of the season. Without star defensive end Nick Bosa, it’s understandable that the defense would take a step back, but the offense didn’t pick up any slack against Jacksonville. And the special teams gave up an 87-yard punt return for a touchdown. The next two games — against the Rams and Bucs — should offer more definitive evidence on who these Niners really are.

Trend to watch: Despite a slow start, the 49ers insist their running game is close to breaking through. But Sunday offered more evidence that it’s not really taking off. San Francisco averaged just 3.5 yards per carry, and it’s the third straight game they’ve been outrushed by their opponent. As of Sunday night, the 49ers rank 31st in the NFL in yards per carry (3.3).

Best quote from the locker room: Trent Williams on how he feels about the 3-1 start and if the Niners feel like a 3-1 team: “What does a 3-1 team feel like? I mean, we’ve got 17 games, so four weeks in, it don’t matter. We’ve got a Thursday night game. We’ve got a big divisional rival. That’s all we’re focused on. The record will speak for itself at the end of the year.” — Nick Wagoner

Next game: at Rams (Thursday, 8:15 p.m. ET)

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Rams

Is Puka Nacua the best wide receiver in the NFL right now? With 42 catches for 503 yards this season, he’s sure playing like one of the best. Against the Colts, Nacua had 13 catches for 170 yards, furthering his NFL lead in both categories. He also caught a touchdown pass to tie the score. Nacua has been consistent and a focal point of this offense. On Sunday, he became only the second player in NFL history to have 40 receptions for 500 yards in his team’s first four games, according to ESPN Research.

Trend to watch: The Rams again struggled on third down, going 4-of-12 (33%). When talking about the Rams’ third-down issues in their Week 3 loss to the Eagles, offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur said “there were a few things that were a tick off and that’s what happens.” Though the Rams won their first two games against teams who now have a combined 1-7 record, they’ve realized they need to find more consistency on offense against good teams.

Best quote from the locker room: When asked about Tutu Atwell‘s role in the Rams’ offense in the week leading up to the game, coach Sean McVay said although Atwell had only one catch, the 2021 second-round pick had done “everything that has been asked” and “his time is going to come.” His time came in a big way against the Colts, when he caught the game-winning 88-yard touchdown pass with less than two minutes to go. “I almost cried, to be honest with you,” Davante Adams said. “As hard as he works and as much as he does for this team, you can only be excited for him and real happy for him when he can make a play like that.” — Sarah Barshop

Next game: vs. 49ers (Thursday, 8:15 p.m. ET)

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Colts

What did this game reveal about the Colts’ defense? Indianapolis had one of its best pass-rush performances of the season, but the game was marred by a woeful pass defense and some big lapses in the running game. The Colts gave up 462 total yards, their most since Week 5 of last season. Meanwhile, the personnel in the secondary is becoming troublesome given the injuries to cornerbacks Kenny Moore II (Achilles) and Jaylon Jones (injured reserve). Even the signing of veteran cornerback Mike Hilton last week didn’t mitigate Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford‘s huge day (29-for-41, 375 yards, 3 TDs).

Biggest hole in the game plan: Cornerback Xavien Howard was no match for Nacua, something the Colts should have anticipated coming into the game. Nacua repeatedly beat Howard on in-breaking routes, getting inside position on the veteran who was a late addition in the preseason after a year out of football in 2024. If Moore’s injury lingers, the Colts will need to consider a lineup change.

Best quote from the locker room: WR Adonai Mitchell on his would-be 75-yard touchdown reception in the third quarter, a play on which he fumbled the ball out of the end zone, giving possession to the Rams. “It was a matter of losing focus and [it’s] just a play that can’t happen. Just unacceptable. I just got to be better for the team and for the organization.” — Stephen Holder

Next game: vs. Raiders (Sunday, 1 p.m. ET)

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Eagles

How did the Eagles almost let that one slip away? The Bucs cut into Philly’s 24-3 lead thanks in large part to touchdown passes of 77 and 72 yards by Bucs quarterback Baker Mayfield, marking the two longest plays against the Eagles’ defense since Vic Fangio became defensive coordinator, per ESPN Research. Add that to an Eagles offense that went largely quiet — they had five three-and-outs in the second half — and you have a recipe for a near meltdown. The defense came up with some big plays late to keep the Eagles undefeated.

What to make of the QB performance: Quarterback Jalen Hurts looked like he had fully overcome his struggles against Bucs coach Todd Bowles, going 8-of-9 for 56 yards and two touchdowns against the blitz in the first half to help stake the Eagles to a sizable lead. The tide changed in the second half, however, as Hurts went 0-for-8 while the Bucs mounted their comeback. — Tim McManus

Next game: vs. Broncos (Sunday, 1 p.m. ET)

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Buccaneers

Why couldn’t the Bucs come back this time? There’s certainly no quit in this group, but they continue to have costly early mistakes. The defense surrendered two touchdowns on shovel passes to Eagles tight end Dallas Goedert in the first half, on top of a blocked punt returned for a touchdown to fall into a 21-point deficit. Yet somehow, those plays, plus running back Bucky Irving‘s fumble and Mayfield’s fourth-quarter pick, didn’t put the game out of reach. Bowles cut back on the blitzes that Hurts had carved up in the first half, holding him to 0-for-8 in the second. They fought back with touchdown receptions by wide receiver Emeka Egbuka and Irving — each of which covered 70-plus yards. And once again, Mayfield used his legs to keep things alive.

Biggest hole in the game plan: Last week, it was a blocked field goal returned for a touchdown in the fourth quarter. This week, it was a blocked punt returned for a score — the second blocked punt the Bucs have allowed this season. No other team in the league has more than one. Punter Riley Dixon also shanked a punt for 18 yards. There’s work to do for this group, though kicker Chase McLaughlin‘s 65-yard field goal — one yard off the league record and the longest outdoor kick in league history — was impressive. — Jenna Laine

Next game: at Seahawks (Sunday, 4:05 p.m. ET)

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Bills

How concerning is the Bills’ sloppiness? The Bills came into this game with 10 days of rest, but it didn’t show in the performance. There were a season-high 11 penalties, allowing the Saints to start four drives in Buffalo territory, and both the offense and defense stalled out midgame. New Orleans got a lot of help from Buffalo’s missed tackles, which is an area the Bills need to correct. Once again, Buffalo pulled out the win in the fourth quarter, but the issues that stood out, especially on defense, will be a priority to clean up.

Key stat to know: Running back James Cook broke the franchise record for consecutive regular-season games with a touchdown (eight). Cook continues to be a highlight, recording over 100 rushing yards for a third straight game (117 yards) and playing a large role in the team going 4-0 for the first time since 2020.

Best quote from the locker room: Cook was asked after the game if his role will increase with his strong performances. “I’m the star running back, why [wouldn’t it]… you know?… I’m the star running back, so it’s gonna happen,” he said. — Alaina Getzenberg

Next game: vs. Patriots (Sunday, 8:20 p.m. ET)

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Saints

Is this a turning point for the Saints? Some of the Saints’ usual issues still showed up — they gave up big plays and had a key special teams penalty that snuffed out any chances of a comeback. But overall, the Saints played much better than they have been this season against a very good Bills team. They cut down on the penalties, showed improvement in all three phases and also showcased young players such as Jonas Sanker and Kendre Miller. It was a big turnaround from last week’s blowout loss. The Saints haven’t been able to win a game yet, but they face the 1-3 Giants and a rookie quarterback at home next week, giving them hope to get out of their winless slump.

Most surprising performance: Running back Kendre Miller. Miller had 65 rushing yards against the Bills, the second-most in his career. He also had his first touchdown of the season and a third-down conversion. Miller played in only six games last year, so this game could represent an upward trend for his usage.

Best quote from the locker room: Saints defensive end Cameron Jordan was asked if he felt like the team bounced back after its blowout loss to the Seahawks last week. “Losing is not bouncing back,” he said. “At the end of the day, it’s the same feeling. We’ve just got to find a way to get in the Dub column, gah-lee.” — Katherine Terrell

Next game: vs. Giants (Sunday, 1 p.m. ET)

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Giants

What’s next for Jaxson Dart and the Giants without Malik Nabers? It appears Dart and the Giants will have to move forward without Nabers. The early fear is the star receiver tore the ACL in his right knee, according to a source. An MRI is scheduled for Monday. But Dart managed to do good things in his first career start, and the Giants’ offense looked different with his ability to run. Dart went 13-of-20 for 111 yards with a touchdown. He ran for another 54 yards and a score. They’ll continue to use his legs to create offense without Nabers.

Key stat to know: Five QB hits by edge rusher Abdul Carter. The rookie had the best game of his young career. He was constantly in the Chargers’ backfield, hitting quarterback Justin Herbert. But this year’s No. 3 draft pick wasn’t alone. Brian Burns had four QB hits and a sack. The Giants’ edge rushers — Carter, Burns and Kayvon Thibodeaux — combined for 20 pressures, per NFL Next Gen Stats. Domination. — Jordan Raanan

Next game: at Saints (Sunday, 1 p.m. ET)

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Chargers

What does this Chargers offense look like if Joe Alt is out for an extended time? If Alt does miss multiple weeks, the Chargers might have to consider bringing an additional lineman to compete for the left tackle spot or move right tackle Trey Pipkins III to protect Herbert’s blind side. Alt’s replacement, Austin Deculus, struggled mightily Sunday. According to NFL Next Gen Stats, he allowed six pressures on 36 pass blocking snaps — no other lineman allowed more than four. Before looking for help via trade or free agency, the Chargers could elevate practice squad tackles David Sharpe and Foster Sarell to the active roster.

Trend to watch: Omarion Hampton‘s emergence. After enjoying the best game of his career in Week 3, the rookie running back followed it up with an even better one against the Giants. He finished with a career-high 128 rushing yards, a touchdown and 37 receiving yards. Hampton’s best highlight was a 54-yard rushing touchdown in the third quarter; it was the longest rushing touchdown by a rookie in franchise history. — Kris Rhim

Next game: vs. Commanders (Sunday, 4:25 p.m. ET)

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Lions

How does the Lions’ offense improve from here on out? Detroit’s explosive offense knew it would face a difficult test against the Browns’ defensive front, but it passed the test with ease. The Lions registered 277 yards of total offense, which was their fewest since their Week 1 loss at Green Bay, but they controlled the game despite struggling to get a consistent run game going. Lions running back Jahmyr Gibbs logged 91 of Detroit’s 109 rushing yards on 15 carries and scored a touchdown, while David Montgomery struggled with nine carries for 12 yards. Wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown also scored two touchdowns. Montgomery, a Cincinnati native, should be more of a factor next week in his return to his hometown to face the Bengals.

Biggest hole in the game plan: Matching up against one of the NFL’s stingiest run defenses, Lions quarterback Jared Goff attempted to air it out with wide receiver Jameson Williams, his top deep ball threat, but the connection wasn’t there early on. Williams was targeted by Goff eight times, but was able to connect only twice; Williams also had a crucial drop that could have been a huge gain at 6:17 in the second quarter. Goff also threw an interception to Browns cornerback Denzel Ward while trying to hit Williams on a deep pass in the third quarter. Williams also lost 3 yards on an end-around carry in the fourth quarter. — Eric Woodyard

Next game: at Bengals (Sunday, 4:25 p.m. ET)

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Browns

How much longer can the Browns stick with Browns QB Joe Flacco? Flacco threw a pair of first-half interceptions and lost a fumble in the second half, increasing his season total to a league-high eight giveaways. All the turnovers haven’t been Flacco’s fault, but they contributed to 17 points for the Lions and have been at the center of Cleveland’s 1-3 start. Flacco’s six interceptions are the most by a Browns quarterback through the first four games of a season since Baker Mayfield‘s six in 2019.

Biggest hole in the game plan: The Browns didn’t give their backup tackles help against Lions edge rusher Aidan Hutchinson. Cleveland left Cornelius Lucas, filling in for injured right tackle Jack Conklin, alone for all 17 of his matchups with Hutchinson, per NFL Next Gen Stats. Hutchinson made Cleveland pay, recording two sacks and five pressures when matched up against Lucas. — Daniel Oyefusi

Next game: vs. Vikings in London, United Kingdom (Sunday, 9:30 a.m. ET)

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Texans

Is Woody Marks positioning himself to take over the RB1 role? Against the Titans, the rookie had a career day. He had career-highs in carries (17), overall touches (21), offensive snaps (41), receiving yards (50) and touchdowns (2). Marks outperformed starting running back Nick Chubb (11 carries for 47 yards) and got a bulk of the snaps and carries.

Turning point: Quarterback C.J. Stroud found wideout Nico Collins for a 37-yard gain on second-and-33. At this point in the game, the score was 6-0 with 4:06 remaining in the third quarter. But after Stroud found Collins down the sidelines, the Texans scored touchdowns on three straight drives. — DJ Bien-Aime

Next game: at Ravens (Sunday, 1 p.m. ET)

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Titans

Where do the Titans go from here? This team is a disaster four weeks in. There is no rhythm on offense, and the defense continues to wear down at the end. This was the fourth consecutive game in which Tennessee allowed an explosive run to the end zone that was littered with missed tackles. The offense has gone without a touchdown in two of its four games, and kicker Joey Slye missed two field goals. It’s hard to imagine things getting any worse for the Titans. But back-to-back road trips to the West Coast, followed by former coach Mike Vrabel and the Patriots at home, could spell disaster.

Stat to know: This was the first time the Titans were shut out in the first half under coach Brian Callahan. It was their first shutout in a game since Oct. 13, 2019, when they lost 16-0 to the Broncos. They had only been shut out twice in franchise history before Sunday. Neither team made it to the red zone until the fourth quarter. — Turron Davenport

Next game: at Cardinals (Sunday, 4:05 p.m. ET)

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Patriots

Have the Patriots found their new running back snap distribution? One week after Rhamondre Stevenson lost two fumbles and backup Antonio Gibson lost one, the Patriots altered the snaps played by running backs by lessening Stevenson’s workload with more of an even split. At halftime, Stevenson still led the way with 11 snaps, followed closely by TreVeyon Henderson‘s 10 and Gibson’s five. The Patriots held a 28-6 lead at that point. Patriots running backs didn’t lose any fumbles this week, which could foreshadow a similar approach with snaps moving forward.

Turning point: Cornerback Marcus Jones‘ 87-yard punt return for a touchdown in the first quarter changed everything. The Patriots had another slow start on defense by giving up an early touchdown, then went three-and-out on offense; that left no energy in Gillette Stadium. Jones’ catch was impressive, as he broke an initial tackle, took off up the left side and then cut back in the middle to cap it off. His 167 punt return yards are the most by a Patriots player in a game in franchise history.

Best quote from the locker room: “I’m pretty ruthless back there,” Jones said of his decision to forgo a fair catch on his 87-yard punt return for a touchdown. — Mike Reiss

Next game: at Bills (Sunday, 8:20 p.m. ET)

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Panthers

What happened to the chemistry between QB Bryce Young and WR Tetairoa McMillan? They had an almost magical chemistry all offseason and through Week 2. But it has been off since. Before this game became embarrassing, Young missed an open McMillan down the left side. And he later missed the rookie with room to run down the right side. McMillan had three catches for 40 yards before Andy Dalton replaced Young. The offense needs that magic to keep pace.

Most surprising performance: Carolina’s special teams unit. First, there was a missed PAT. Then, an 87-yard punt return allowed for a touchdown. Then, a badly missed 55-yard FG attempt. Then, a 61-yard punt return that almost went for a touchdown. The special teams group that was spectacular in last week’s 30-0 victory were dreadful Sunday.

Best quote from the locker room: Panthers coach Dave Canales took complete ownership of the loss because it was such a complete team fail. “When it happens in all phases, I’m the common denominator, and I have to take responsibility for that,” he said. Players defended Canales and said the blame is on them to perform, but the coach repeatedly said “I’m the common denominator.” — David Newton

Next game: vs. Dolphins (Sunday, 1 p.m. ET)

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Falcons

Was this the real Falcons offense all along? Running back Bijan Robinson had a career-high 181 yards from scrimmage. Quarterback Michael Penix Jr. threw his first touchdown passes this season to a wide receiver (Drake London) and tight end (Kyle Pitts Sr.). Even running back Tyler Allgeier got in on the action with a rushing touchdown. After being shut out by the Panthers last week, firing wide receivers coach Ike Hilliard and moving offensive coordinator Zac Robinson down to the field, the Falcons came out firing in an encouraging win.

What to make of the QB performance: Penix hit London in stride on a deep shot in the second quarter that went for 43 yards, the longest pass play to a wide receiver of the season for the Falcons. That’s the kind of throw and performance — more than 300 yards passing — Atlanta expected out of Penix when it drafted him at No. 8 in 2024. — Marc Raimondi

Next game: vs. Bills (Oct. 13, 7:15 p.m. ET)

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Commanders

Was this just a bad game by the defense, or reason to be concerned? With the offense banged up, the Commanders needed their defense to play well. Instead, the Falcons gained 15 or more yards on 10 plays and had a season-high 436 yards overall. Washington’s coverage continues to have issues when teams use motion, leading to confusion and a free target. The problem is the big plays have been allowed all season. Washington’s inconsistency against the pass — it had allowed 20 pass plays of 15 yards or more, tied for 27th entering the game — will be the team’s undoing if that doesn’t get fixed.

What to make of the QB performance: The Commanders lack explosion minus quarterback Jayden Daniels and injured receivers Terry McLaurin and Noah Brown. The result was backup quarterback Marcus Mariota‘s most pedestrian outing since signing with Washington ahead of last season. He threw for 156 yards and had one ill-advised deep ball picked off, but did manage a total of two touchdowns. Had Washington’s defense helped Sunday, that might have been good enough. There is hope that Daniels will return for Week 5, but it remains to be seen if McLaurin and Brown will do the same. — John Keim

Next game: at Chargers (Sunday, 4:25 p.m. ET)

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Steelers

Is this version of the Steelers’ defense here to stay? The Steelers’ defense put together its best showing of the season, collecting six sacks and 10 tackles for loss against QB Carson Wentz. The return of S DeShon Elliott was crucial in thwarting RB Jordan Mason and the rushing attack, and Elliott also came up with a big second-quarter interception. LB T.J. Watt dramatically affected the game, too, with a third-quarter interception when he deflected the ball at the line of scrimmage and grabbed it out of the air. Even DT Keeanu Benton, who had a tough start to the season, got two sacks. Big plays still came back to bite the defense late, as Jordan Addison‘s 81-yard catch-and-run set up Jalen Nailor‘s late fourth-quarter touchdown.

Most surprising performance: With starting running back Jaylen Warren a surprise inactive with a knee injury, the already woeful Steelers’ run game seemed dead on arrival at Croke Park. But veteran Kenneth Gainwell quickly revived it with two touchdowns, averaging 5.2 yards on 19 carries for 99 yards to go with six catches for 35 yards. The Steelers also used OL Spencer Anderson and TE Darnell Washington as extra blockers to help unlock the run game. — Brooke Pryor

Next game: at Browns (Oct. 12, 1 p.m. ET)

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Vikings

Where does the Vikings’ offense go from here? The Vikings showed some life with two fourth-quarter touchdowns, but by the end of Sunday’s game, they were playing with more backup offensive linemen (three) than starters (two). And their results reflected it, with Wentz taking six sacks and facing pressure for most of the game. From a personnel perspective, there aren’t many reinforcements on the way. QB J.J. McCarthy (ankle) has missed two consecutive weeks of practice, making his return in Week 4 a long shot. Left guard Donovan Jackson (wrist) is going to miss at least one more game, and it’s difficult to project either right tackle Brian O’Neill (knee) or center Ryan Kelly (concussion) to be ready.

What to make of the QB performance: It was hard not to compare the Vikings’ struggling offense with the Steelers’ offense, quarterbacked by Aaron Rodgers, whom the Vikings decided against signing during the offseason. Rodgers’ nearly perfect afternoon (18-of-22, 200 yards) came mostly on the kind of timing-based, quick-pass offense that would work well for a team like the Vikings, who have protection issues. Instead, the Vikings were left with Wentz, whom the Vikings signed last month as a backup for McCarthy. — Kevin Seifert

Next game: vs. Browns in London, United Kingdom (Sunday, 9:30 a.m. ET)

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Seahawks

Where does Jaxon Smith-Njigba rank among the best receivers in football? Smith-Njigba got off to the best three-game start in franchise history with 323 receiving yards — second most in the NFL this season to that point. It took him a while to get going against Arizona on Thursday, but he finished with four catches for 79 yards, including a 22-yarder that set up the Seahawk’s winning field goal. Smith-Njigba, who also rushed for 11 rushing, was Seattle’s best receiver last season, even with DK Metcalf still in the fold. Now, Smith-Njigba has a case to be among the best in football.

What to make of the QB performance: Sam Darnold has been getting it done with his arm and his legs. In this contest, his poise on key drives was a factor, as well. In addition to the throw to Smith-Njigba that set up the winning kick, Darnold (18-of-26, 242 yards, one TD) threw a dime to his No. 1 receiver on the previous drive for 36 yards. Late in the first half, Darnold scrambled and hit rookie tight end Elijah Arroyo for 32 yards; on the next play, he found an open swath of turf and ran for 24 yards. That drive ended with a touchdown that put Seattle up 14-3 at halftime. — Brady Henderson

Next game: vs. Buccaneers (Sunday, 4:05 p.m. ET)

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Cardinals

How do the Cardinals fix their offense? It won’t be easy or quick, but the Cardinals need to address a few issues to their offense: how to get the entire scheme and key players in a rhythm early; how to reduce the number of plays that are losses, no gain or gains of a yard or two; and how to complete “got to have it” plays on third down and in the red zone. If they can improve in those three areas, Arizona’s offense will look more like the one that scored two touchdowns in the fourth quarter against Seattle.

What to make of the QB performance: Kyler Murray did what he could with what he had available to him, finishing with his lowest adjusted QBR this season (27.8). Both of his interceptions were on throws to Marvin Harrison Jr., and the wide receiver was likely more at fault for each of them. However, after going 1-of-5 when targeting Harrison in the first half, the duo was 5-of-5 for 58 yards and a touchdown in the second half. Murray finished 27-of-41 passing for 200 yards. — Josh Weinfuss

Next game: vs. Titans (Sunday, 4:05 p.m. ET)