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The Memphis Grizzlies were one of the NBA's biggest disappointments this season. Despite cruising as the No. 2 seed for much of the year, a late-season collapse led to Memphis falling into the Play-In Tournament and being swept in the opening round.
As they look to make offseason moves, the Grizzlies are among the many teams linked to Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo. At the end of last month, Bleacher Report's Dan Favale named Memphis a team that could make a "surprise push" for Antetokounmpo.
As they weigh the possibility of making a run at Antetokounmpo, the Grizzlies could be in danger of losing one of their most important frontcourt players.
In his latest for The Stein Line , NBA Insider Jake Fischer revealed the Detroit Pistons could be a threat to lure Santi Aldama from Memphis.
"I’ve also heard that the Grizzlies and other teams believe the Pistons could emerge as a possible threat to pursue restricted free agent Santi Aldama as well," Fischer reported
The Pistons don't have a lot of cap space, but they have enough to go after some of the better free agents this offseason. Like anyone in their shoes, Detroit wants to spend their money wisely to address their biggest needs.
Draft discussion, trade talk, free agency forecasts …. just an A+ assemblage of Sunday around-the-league NBA notes from @JakeLFischer.
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) June 8, 2025
Everything happening away from the Finals (and in the Finals background) in one place: https://t.co/MrjXkQ0UsY pic.twitter.com/9w1AtUNdef
Fischer clarified that Aldama is expected to stay with the Grizzlies, but the Pistons' interest in him may stem from their desire to add a player of his archetype.
"Make no mistake: Most NBA teams are projecting Turner, Reid and Aldama to all return to their incumbent teams," he wrote. "Yet it’s still instructive to learn that a good bit of Detroit’s due diligence has focused on an adding a sweet-shooting 7-footer to J.B. Bickerstaff’s rotation, The Pistons don’t currently have any."
Aldama will be a restricted free agent this offseason. Pending any surprises, he'll be back with Memphis for the 2025-26 season. However, the Pistons may sign him to an expensive offer sheet to make the Grizzlies pay up for him to match.
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The 'Scoring leaders by NBA franchise' quiz
Happy birthday to the late Los Angeles Lakers and NBA legend Kobe Bryant! Originally drafted by the Charlotte Hornets out of high school in 1996, he was traded on draft night to the Lakers for big man Vlade Divac. Bryant gave the Lakers 20 seasons, making 18 All-Star teams, 15 All-NBA nods, five NBA titles, two scoring titles, two Finals MVP awards and one regular season MVP. Which brings us to today's quiz. When Bryant retired after the 2015-16 season -- going out with a historic 60 points (on 50 shots from the field). With that being said, how many of the all-time leading scorers for every NBA franchise can you name in five minutes? Good luck! Did you like this quiz? Are there any quizzes you’d like to see us make in the future? Let us know your thoughts at quizzes@yardbarker.com, and make sure to subscribe to our Quiz of the Day Newsletter for daily quizzes sent right to your email!
Jets coaches try to calm situation in wake of Justin Fields' comments
According to Josh Alper of Pro Football Talk, New York Jets starting quarterback Justin Fields did not throw a pass that traveled 10 yards in the air during his two preseason appearances. Some have voiced concerns about the Jets' passing attack with Fields in the lineup, but he insisted while speaking with reporters on Tuesday that he's "fine with taking eight-yard completions every play." On Wednesday, Jets offensive coordinator Tanner Engstrand addressed Fields' comment. "He's going to play the play the way the defense allows him to play it," Engstrand said about Fields, per Zack Rosenblatt of The Athletic. "So if they're going to allow him to take a shot down the field, he's going to take it. If they don't allow him, he's going to check the ball down, and we'll move on to the next play. We're all good with that." Fields completed just one of five passes for four yards in the Jets' 31-12 loss to the New York Giants on Saturday. According to Fox Sports, he connected on four of nine pass attempts for 46 yards across his first two preseason appearances of the summer. Despite such lackluster numbers, first-year Jets head coach Aaron Glenn suggested on Tuesday that he is ignoring "the noise that happens on the outside" regarding the team's passing offense. On Wednesday, Jets passing game coordinator Scott Turner praised Fields for knowing when to take a checkdown and when to challenge an opposing defense. "I think you've seen a lot of quarterbacks in this league, Josh Allen pops into mind, who really cut down his turnovers last year and won MVP by not always trying to make the big huge play, but make the right play. Justin has done a nice job with that," Turner said. ESPN stats show that Fields averaged 6.9 yards per pass attempt over six starts and 10 appearances with the Pittsburgh Steelers last season. Per Pro Football Reference, 22 qualified quarterbacks had a better yards per pass attempt average for the 2024 campaign. Dan Graziano of ESPN noted Wednesday that the $10M guaranteed that the Jets owe Fields for 2026 "won't prevent them from" looking for an upgrade at the position next year if he doesn't make "a major leap as a passer." It's still early into this experiment, but there's no sign that such a leap is coming anytime soon.
Charles Barkley Drops Truth Bomb On LeBron James’ Potential Move Away From Lakers
Charles Barkley is known for saying the cold, hard truth when it comes to analyzing the game of basketball. If he thinks you’re good, or even if he thinks you’re bad, he’s going to say something about it, and he’s not going to hold back. He did no different upon analyzing the current state of the Los Angeles Lakers and their relationship with LeBron James, professing that it’s not his team anymore. The Lakers and LeBron are like a match made in heaven. He’s the biggest star in the sport, and the team is the most popular brand in the sport. They just go together hand in hand, and it makes sense. But if you know Barkley, you know that he hates talking about the Lakers right now. Mainly because he thinks that they aren’t good enough to be worthy of being talked about so much. He’ll regularly sandbag segments in recent seasons where his show, NBA on TNT, will talk about them. Barkley did no different when talking about the Lakers in his most recent interview, pointing out that the team hasn’t been successful in quite a while. “LeBron is going to have to move on at some point. I mean, it is what it is. You know, he’s been there, even though he’s been putting up good numbers; they haven’t been successful in probably 4 years,” Barkley pointed out on The BetMGM Network. It’s not like the Hall of Famer said anything that was non-factsaual. The Lakers struggled mightily before this past season. Ever since winning the bubble championship in 2020, they’ve had two coaching changes and only made it out of the first round of the playoffs once. That all changed this past year when Luka Doncic was traded to the team at the deadline. The Lakers never looked back after the acquisition, going on a winning record and taking their division crown for the first time since ‘20. Even though they were bounced in the first round yet again, they promptly locked up Luka, and good times should be ahead for the franchise. That’s when Barkley dropped the hard-hitting truth for Lakers fans, professing that Luka is the new franchise centerpiece. “It’s probably already Luka’s team now. You don’t sign, trade for Luka Doncic, give him all that money, and it’s not his team,” Barkley said. Chuck is completely right. Luka seems to be LA’s new go-to guy for the time being. That doesn’t mean that LeBron isn’t a key piece of the team that they will need to succeed. But it does mean that he won’t be the face of a franchise for the first time in his career. Is LeBron hampering the Lakers, though? He is on the books for $52 million as the team’s highest-paid player. But it’s really hard to say that The King would ever drag down a roster because of his contract. At the end of the day, he’s one of the GOATs, and he’s worth it. However, one thing is for sure: LeBron is far past his prime, and the Lakers need to set realistic goals for the upcoming season. It would be great to have a storybook ending to his time in LA, going on a title run. But it’s hard to envision that happening. Albeit a few new faces, the Lakers are bringing back a lot of their roster from last year. Even though they won the Pacific division, the Minnesota Timberwolves humbled them in the first round of the playoffs. So, it’s going to take a major turnaround to get over the first-round hump. Barkley also mentioned that other teams in the West got better. Especially, the Houston Rockets and the Denver Nuggets. Plus, the OKC Thunder are still a menacing presence, and the Timberwolves are also still looming. We’ll see if LeBron and Luka can make magic together and defy all expectations. But as of now, Barkley is right. The Lakers feel like a 45-win team that will be battling to avoid the play-in tournament. That doesn’t mean that The King isn’t worth the money, though, as he gives them the best shot at competing for a title. It just means that there might be other, more interesting teams to talk about.
Green Bay Packers: Malik Willis Gets Incredible Take From Matt LaFleur After Seahawks Game
The preseason portion of their preparation for the 2025 NFL season is finally over for the Green Bay Packers. On Saturday, backup quarterback Malik Willis and company concluded their preseason campaign by eking out a 20-7 victory at home over the visiting Seattle Seahawks at Lambeau Field. Willis overcame a blunder in the first series of the contest and finished the game with 50 receiving yards and a touchdown on 3-of-6 pass completions. He threw an errant pass in the first quarter that was intercepted by Seahawks defensive back Ty Okada, but rebounded by leading a touchdown drive in the next Green Bay possession. Willis, who is entering his second season with the Packers, passed for a one-yard touchdown to wide receiver Romeo Doubs to complete a successful 14-play drive in the opening period. Willis earns praise from Matt LaFleur after Green Bay Packers win vs. Seahawks The 26-year-old quarterback was among those given a special shoutout by Packers head coach Matt LaFleur after the win against Seattle. LaFleur showed his support for Willis despite the quarterback’s early-game miscue. “We’ve got a lot of confidence in Malik. I think he’s just scratching the surface of what he can become,” LaFleur told reporters in the postgame press conference (h/t Rob Demovsky of ESPN). The Packers dominated both sides of the ball versus Seattle. The Seahawks outgained Green Bay with 253 total yards, the Packers went 6-for-18 on third downs and converted both chances in the red zone. Willis’ pick was Green Bay’s only turnover of the contest, while the Seahawks gave the ball away four times. The next time the Packers take the field, it will be on Sept. 7, when they host the Detroit Lions in Week 1 of the 2025 NFL regular season.
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