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DeMar DeRozan should avoid Lakers, target Clippers in free agency
According to ESPN's Brian Windhorst, the Los Angeles Lakers are interested in acquiring DeMar DeRozan in free agency. The NBA insider believes he could be among the veteran talents LeBron James would be willing to take a pay cut for.
"I think there's more than three," Windhorst said on the "Brian Windhorst & The Hoop Collective" podcast. "I think DeMar DeRozan is on that list as well. And there may be another one or so."
DeRozan is a Los Angeles native. He is also expected to draw interest from the LA Clippers, who lost Paul George to the Philadelphia 76ers on Monday.
DeRozan would likely find a bigger role with Ty Lue's team. Moving to the Lakers could potentially limit his ability to live in the mid-range due to the lack of floor spacing around James and Anthony Davis.
The Lakers have struggled to add genuine perimeter shooting threats in recent years. DeRozan lives in the mid-range. He would hurt news Lakers coach JJ Redick's spacing rather than help improve it.
However, the Clippers don't have the same issues. DeRozan would be free to play to his strengths at the Intuit Dome and would likely be a secondary or tertiary scoring option.
DeRozan has earned the opportunity to contend for a championship after his tenure with the Chicago Bulls. Despite losing George, the Clippers appear better suited to making a deep postseason run next season. The Lakers have too many question marks hanging over them, including adding a rookie head coach with no experience on the sidelines.
If he has the choice, DeRozan would be better served heading to the Clippers this summer. The Lakers come with too much baggage. He would still get to play in his hometown and compete at the highest level. The only difference is that he wouldn't have the never-ending media cycle that comes with wearing the Purple and Gold.
DeRozan will ultimately make the choice that's best for his career. From the outside looking in, that choice is to team up with Kawhi Leonard and Lue.
More must-reads:
- Clippers agree to two-year deal with versatile forward
- Clippers agree to three-year deal with wing who just played in NBA Finals
- The 'Most points in one NBA postseason' quiz
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Sixers Rookie Reflects on Feud With Indiana Pacers Forward
In a few months, VJ Edgecombe will begin his NBA journey with the Philadelphia 76ers. Despite the fact that he hasn't even played in an official game yet, it appears the rookie guard has already found himself a rival. With basketball being a more global game than ever, Edgecombe has had the chance to compete against a handful of international talents during his journey to the NBA. Following some recent comments, it appears that crossing paths with fellow talents wasn't as great as he had hoped. While speaking with his teammate Paul George, the No. 3 pick opened up on a shocking encounter he had in the past with a fellow young talent on the rise. On Monday, Edgecombe was the latest guest on the Sixers star's "Podcast P" show. During his appearance, he touched on facing off against Indiana Pacers forward Bennedict Mathurin. Instead of offering to take Edgecombe under his wing, he let him know he'd be patiently waiting for them to match up in the NBA. "I was at Euro camp, I won MVP," Edgecombe said. "After all that, Bennedict Mathuring gonna come up to me talking about when you get to league I'm gonna bust ya a**. I'm like alright bro...He didn't even say what's up. He's like yeah I'm a bust ya a**. I'm like damn, where the love at?" Mathruin, a fellow top-ten pick in his own right, nearly came close to capturing a championship with the Pacers last season. Heading into his fourth year in the league, he'll be looking to take a big step forward with Tyrese Haliburton set to miss time due to injury. Seeing as though they're both in the Eastern Conference now, Edgecombe will have more than enough chances to get revenge on Mathurin for his remarks.
Packers starter hits back at Matt LaFleur, calls for 'bus fine'
Matt LaFleur is earning the ire of several of his Green Bay Packers players early in training camp. On Tuesday, LaFleur punished offensive tackle Rasheed Walker for his altercation with defensive end Kingsley Enagbare. However, the most interesting interaction of the day came between LaFleur and tight end Tucker Kraft. Per Matt Schneidman of The Athletic, LaFleur called out Kraft for two questionable fumbles during the first week of practice. Both "fumbles" came after the play was over or when the ball fell out of bounds. "Certainly, we all know what kind of player Tucker Kraft is and can be," LaFleur said. "He can’t allow Evan Williams to reach around and punch a ball out, so it is challenging everybody and hopefully that makes us that much better.” The third-year tight end took issue with LaFleur calling him out in front of the media and blamed the coaching staff for implementing practice rules that made it easy for offensive players to fumble. "I’d say a lot of the times — there’s certain rules you play with in practice, like just letting the defense punch repeatedly," Kraft said. "You’re not allowed to stiff-arm. I guess all I have are excuses. Yes, I am working on not fumbling the ball in practice." Schneidman said Kraft answered the question with a tone of sarcasm. Kraft was frustrated that he couldn't defend the ball by stiff-arming a defender trying to poke the ball from his undefended arm. Kraft acknowledged that during practice, he has to "play by the rules" LaFleur makes and is trying to work on having a "yes sir, no sir" attitude with his head coach. He then made a vague reference about a "bus fine" and accused LaFleur of throwing him under the bus in front of the media. Schneidman believes the tight end might actually be calling for Green Bay to fine LaFleur after his discouraging quote Tuesday morning. "So yes, the Packers’ third-year tight end might be calling for his head coach to be fined — not by the league, of course, but by the team — for what he perceived as throwing him under the bus," Schneidman wrote. "Is Kraft being serious about fining LaFleur? "Probably not. Is he peeved LaFleur called him out? It sure seems like it." LaFleur might do better to have a conversation with Kraft before dragging his name into news conferences with reporters. It's clear Tucker doesn't see eye-to-eye with LaFleur about fumbles. This is a good reminder to those getting overly excited or nervous reading practice reports that what happens at practice should be taken with a grain of salt. Most likely, Tucker is going to be fine.
Vikings UDFA making serious push to not just make the roster, but earn serious playing time after impressive start to training camp
When it comes to the Minnesota Vikings, their biggest issue is currently at cornerback. Right now, Byron Murphy Jr. is the top guy and that's not going to change. He has earned not only the money that comes with being CB1, but his play has earned him the role. Isaiah Rodgers is slotted in as CB2 and Jeff Okudah right now is the CB3 when the Vikings play in nickel packages. After those three, Mekhi Blackmon is the most likely CB4, but one player's performance over the last two days has made a major impact and could make that decision a little bit harder. Dwight McGlothern is standing out in training camp When the Vikings added Dwight McGlothern as an undrafted free agent after the 2024 NFL Draft, he was one of two players they signed who was a top 200 player on Arif Hasan's consensus board. The former Arkansas Razorback had transferred from LSU and showed flashes at both schools. One of the biggest reasons why he was undrafted was due to his size and issues with concussions. He profiled like an intriguing option at outside cornerback, especially with his height and solid linear movement skills. There were some limitations to his game, including the explosive metrics coming in very subpar, but there is a lot to like. Despite being on the active roster all of last season, he didn't play very much, but thrived against the Chicago Bears the first time he got extensive run. Going into training camp, McGlothern was going have a lot of opportunities to earn an improved spot on the roster, including possibly getting into the rotation. The last two training camp practices, McGlothern has made his presence known by getting interceptions on back-to-back days, including this beauty from Tuesday. The best way for a player like McGlothern to make the roster is to make plays to earn opportunities in better spots. Well, McGlothern has done just that, and if he continues to make waves, could find himself in a great spot come September.
Yankees reportedly interested in Pirates left-hander
The Yankees have interest in Pirates left-hander Andrew Heaney, reports Jon Heyman of The New York Post. Heyman adds that the Yankees, and the Mets, have checked in on Joe Ryan of the Twins and MacKenzie Gore of the Nationals. However, he downplays the likelihood of anything coming from those pursuits. Similarly, Heyman mentions that the Yankees reached out to the Pirates about Oneil Cruz but says nothing is likely to come from that either.P The Yankees have been connected to plenty of starting pitchers recently. That includes some potentially notable upgrades like Dylan Cease or Mitch Keller, as well as more back-end types like Chris Paddack, who was traded from the Twins to the Tigers yesterday. Heaney is more in the latter category at this stage of his career. He’s had some tantalizing strikeout stuff in the past but that’s not the case this year. In 107 innings for the Pirates, he has a 4.79 earned run average and a subpar 17.2% strikeout rate. His season got off to a strong start but he’s been in a rough slide lately. Through his first 14 starts, he had a 3.33 ERA, though with a subpar 18.5% strikeout rate. He was getting a bit of help from his .234 batting average on balls in play and 81.8% strand rate. His FIP and SIERA were both 4.44 for that span, suggesting those metrics thought it was a mirage. They were proven correct when Heaney posted an 8.79 ERA over his next six starts. It’s not the most exciting set of numbers but the Yanks might just want a veteran to take the ball every five days. As mentioned, they were interested in Paddack, who has similar numbers to Heaney this year. Paddack posted a 4.95 ERA with a 17.6% strikeout rate before his trade. The Yankees have lost Gerrit Cole and Clarke Schmidt to Tommy John surgery but still have a strong one-two atop the rotation in Max Fried and Carlos Rodón. They have been without Luis Gil all year so far but he’s on the cusp of a return. Will Warren is having a good season on the whole. Adding a vet would allow the Yanks to perhaps move Cam Schlittler back to Triple-A or bump Marcus Stroman to long relief or off the roster. It’s been a rough stretch for the Yankees, as they have fallen into a tight Wild Card race. Entering today, they are only a game and a half ahead of the Rangers, who are the top team not currently in possession of a playoff spot. Heaney wouldn’t be in the club’s planned playoff rotation but he could upgrade the staff for the stretch run. Schlittler has just two big league outings under his belt while Stroman has a 6.08 ERA in his eight starts this year. Heaney shouldn’t cost much in terms of prospect capital and is also making just $5.25M this year. There’s now less than $1.75M of that still to be paid out. Since the Yankees are a third-time competitive balance tax payor and are over the top tier, they face a 110% tax on any additional spending. The Yankees could pursue a more impactful upgrade and it seems like they have looked into the possibility. However, all reports have suggested that a trade of either Gore or Ryan would be a long shot. Both pitchers are affordably controlled for two years after this season, making them very valuable to their respective clubs. It would likely take a massive prospect haul to pry either player loose. It’s basically the same story with Cruz, who is controlled for three seasons after this one.
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