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Former Houston Rockets and Los Angeles Lakers head coach Rudy Tomjanovic was named the winner of the 2024 Chuck Daly Lifetime Achievement Award, which is presented by the National Basketball Coaches Association.
Tomjanovic is one of just nine coaches to win back-to-back NBA Championships and was elected into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2020.
“I am honored to receive the Chuck Daly Lifetime Achievement Award,” said Tomjanovich. “I have to admit, I was taken by surprise because I did not know I was in the running for it. I was with my son Trey when I got the call from Rick Carlisle telling me about receiving this great award. Trey saw the expression on my face and the emotion in my eyes.
“As Rick told me about some of the past winners of this award, all coaches that I admired and respected, then explained what principles the award stood for: a coach’s standard of integrity, competitive excellence, and tireless promotion of the game of basketball, I got choked up and humbled. I did not know what to say.”
Tomjanovic, known as ‘Rudy T,’ is most remembered for his time as head coach of the Houston Rockets from 1992-2003, leading them to championships in 1994 and 1995. He was then hired by the Lakers in 2003 to replace Phil Jackson, and had the team on pace to make the playoffs but resigned after just 43 games due to mental and physical exhaustion.
Even still, late Lakers owner Dr. Jerry Buss was among those Tomjanovic thanked upon receiving this honor.
“Afterward, I did cry. They were tears of gratitude for the many people who helped me on my journey through my coaching career. I want to thank owners Charlie Thomas, Leslie Alexander and Jerry Buss for hiring me to coach their teams. I want to thank coaches Del Harris, Bill Fitch and Don Chaney for the opportunity to be an assistant on their staffs and learning from them. I want to thank all my assistant coaches for their hard work and loyalty. They had my complete trust and I consider them family to this day.”
Tomjanovic remains one of the most beloved head coaches the NBA has ever known and is more than deserving of the award. In his 13 seasons as an NBA head coach, Tomjanovic won more than 500 games, finishing below .500 just once.
Dan Hurley turns down Lakers’ $70 million head coach offer
Unfortunately for the current Lakers, they are still without a head coach as Dan Hurley has chosen to remain at UConn for the chance to win a third consecutive NCAA National Championship.
The Lakers reportedly offered Hurley a six-year deal worth $70 million, which would have made him one of the five highest-paid coaches in the NBA, but he turned it down.
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Celtics' moves suggest new guard will be traded — eventually
The Boston Celtics got under the second luxury-tax apron by trading Georges Niang to the Utah Jazz Tuesday. The move also gives them a huge incentive to deal their most expensive new player. The Celtics have dramatically reduced their payroll in the wake of Jayson Tatum's Achilles injury. With their superstar unlikely to play in 2025-26, the Celtics traded away starters Jrue Holiday ($94.4M for three years, plus a $37.2M player option in 2027-28) and Kristaps Porzingis ($30.7M next season). They also let Luke Kornet ($2.8M) leave as a free agent, and Al Horford ($9.5M) is almost certainly gone as well. They received Georges Niang ($8.2M) in the Porzingis deal, but traded him Tuesday for undrafted R.J. Luis Jr., a rookie on a two-way deal. That effectively takes Niang's full salary of their books and gets them under the second luxury-tax apron, freeing them from the penalties and restrictions that go along with second-apron status. According to cap expert Yossi Gozlan, the Celtics have saved a whopping $286M in salary and taxes with their moves. Still, the team can reap a larger long-term reward by dropping below the luxury tax entirely, which requires reducing their payroll by just over $12M more. The Celtics don't seem inclined to trade Jaylen Brown, Derrick White or Payton Pritchard, wanting to keep some core members of their 2024 title team together for Tatum's return. Sam Hauser is on an affordable four-year, $45M deal, but losing his $10M salary wouldn't get them under the tax line. That's why Anfernee Simons, acquired in the Holiday trade, is likely not long for Boston. The 26-year-old guard makes $27.7M in the last year of his contract, making him the perfect trade piece to get Boston under the luxury tax. Not only would getting under the tax line free the Celtics of their tax obligations and save them as much as $40M, but it would make them eligible to share in the money from tax-paying teams. The Celtics would also be able to avoid the dreaded repeater tax penalties, which make every dollar over the luxury-tax number progressively more expensive every year a team stays over the tax line. This doesn't mean Simons is going to be traded this summer. Boston has until the Feb. 5 trade deadline to move Simons, since luxury tax is calculated on the team's total payroll the last day of the season. But given the massive savings they'd get back from losing Simons' salary, it seems inevitable. The Celtics have lost a lot of talent this summer, but they've saved a tremendous amount of money in the process. They might have to attach draft capital to get off Simons' deal, but if he plays well in Boston, he might even bring back something in a trade next season. Tatum's injury threw a huge wrench in the Celtics' plans. If they can use this season to get under the luxury tax, they'll have the flexibility to reload and contend again when their star is back in a year.
Bears receive new stadium pitch from Chicago mayor
It might be too little, too late, but the Chicago Bears received a new pitch from Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson about building the new stadium project in the city. The Bears are moving full steam ahead with the site in Arlington Heights. Mayor Brandon Johnson wants the Chicago Bears in Chicago During an appearance on 670 The Score, Johnson argued that the Bears “belong” to Chicago and wants to keep them in the city for the next 100 years. “Look, the Bears belong in the city of Chicago,” Johnson said on the “Rahimi Harris Show." “And I believe that people know that. There’s a tremendous momentum. As you know, Joe Mansueto with the Fire, we’re talking about hundreds of million dollars to build a new stadium. The 1901 Project on the west side of Chicago, you’re talking about millions of dollars of investments… “We’re on a nice little hot winning streak here. So, my door’s going to remain open. And the hope is that Chicago Bears fans will rally around this moment to challenge all of us to come together to figure out a path to make sure the 100-year history doesn’t end in this moment and we can set ourselves up for the next 100 years.” Johnson points to low crime rates in Chicago Johnson touted declining crime rates as a reason for the Bears to stay in the city. “Homicides are down 32%, shooting victims are down almost 40%,” Johnson said. “We’re seeing unprecedented levels of investment. So, my door still remains open. And perhaps because I am a Cubs fan, I just remain optimistic, no matter what the circumstances are. But they really do belong in the city of Chicago.” Johnson hasn’t had conversations with the Bears in the last two weeks. For now, CEO Kevin Warren and the organization are trying to get enough government support to start building in Arlington Heights as soon as possible. If Warren doesn’t get the help he needs, the Bears could again try to angle for lakefront property in Chicago.
Pedro Martinez Tells Yankees Players To ‘Strap It On’ Amid Skid
The Yankees’ freefall is the headline of baseball right now, so it is not afraid that it has caught the attention of Hall of Famer Pedro Martinez. After New York’s fifth straight loss, a 2-0 defeat to the Rangers Tuesday night, Martinez took to Twitter with a message that felt like a challenge. “It’s hard to believe that the Yankees would be at this stage at this time in the season,” Martinez wrote. “I imagine how NY fans are feeling right now. Strap it on boys! #mlbontbs” The loss continued a brutal stretch for New York, now losers of 19 of its last 27 games. Their once-safe playoff position has become a daily fight. As of Tuesday night, they’re barely hanging on to the final American League Wild Card spot. They are just a half-game ahead of the surging Rangers, and now trailing the Red Sox in the standings. Martinez, once a Yankee nemesis during his Red Sox days, didn’t sound like he was taunting the Bronx crowd this time. It was more disbelief than delight. It was almost a bit of tough love from someone who knows what October baseball is supposed to look like. And he knows it doesn't look like this. Aaron Judge returned from the injured list on Tuesday, but his presence wasn’t enough to turn the tide. He went 0-for-3 with two strikeouts, and afterward told teammates in no uncertain terms that this is on them. He said it was time to look in the mirror. Martinez’s “Strap it on, boys” had a similar tone. There’s still time for the Yankees to turn things around. But if they don’t, you can be sure the rest of baseball—including Pedro—is going to have something to say about it.
Athletics catcher's historic performance part of team's 16-run onslaught against Nationals
The Athletics have not had much to smile about in 2025, but Tuesday night was a totally different story. The Washington Nationals, who had lost five straight coming into the game, had no answer for the offensive onslaught as the Athletics won handily, 16-7. Led by the trio of catcher Shea Langeliers, right fielder Brent Rooker and center fielder JJ Bleday, the Athletics combined for 16 runs, 24 hits and never looked back after a five-run first inning. Langeliers became the first Athletics catcher with a five-hit game since 1972, three of which were for home runs. He got the scoring started for the Athletics in the first inning with this 402-foot shot to center field off Nationals starter MacKenzie Gore. Langeliers' second homer of the night came in the fifth when he hit a 387-footer to left off reliever Orlando Ribalta to give the Athletics a 10-1 lead. He capped his second career three-homer game with a 419-foot home run to center off a 94 mph four-seam fastball from Andry Lara to give the Athletics the 11-3 advantage in the seventh. He joins Travis d'Arnaud, Gary Carter and Johnny Bench as the only catchers with multiple three-home run games, per MLB.com's Sarah Langs. Langeliers is the first player since at least 1900 to have three homers in his first career game starting at leadoff (h/t Elias Sports). This double in the eighth secured the five-hit game for Langeliers. Per Langs (h/t Elias Sports), his 15 total bases are tied for the most by a catcher in a game since at least 1900 with Wes Westrum (1950) and Walker Cooper (1949). According to MLB Stats, Langeliers joins Cal Raleigh, Mike Piazza, Earl Williams and Rudy York as the only catchers to hit 20 or more home runs in three of their first four MLB seasons with a minimum of 50 percent of their games at catcher. The Athletics (50-65) are still last in the AL West and have struggled to find any consistency all season. Despite the struggles, Tuesday night was a needed distraction from that on a historic night at the plate from Langeliers.
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