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According to NBA insiders Christian Clark, David Aldridge, Sam Amick and Fred Katz of The Athletic, the Dallas Mavericks were “frustrated” that Luka Doncic didn’t travel and rehab his calf injury with the team.
Doncic suffered a serious calf injury on Christmas against the Minnesota Timberwolves. He rehabbed in Dallas with his medical team instead of traveling with the Mavericks on their long road trip.
“Front-office officials tried to communicate with Dončić about a plan to get him back on the court, but discussions between the two sides were spotty,” Clark, Aldridge, Amick and Katz wrote. “Dončić believed he had suffered the calf strain by trying to come back from a previous injury too soon. His group decided it didn’t make sense for him to be with the team. Not only would plane rides invite a possible setback, but he would also be able to maximize his workouts in Dallas rather than going from city to city during the trip. The decision frustrated team executives, according to league sources. And it wasn’t the first time the superstar and the organization had clashed.”
The Mavericks traded Doncic, one of the best players in the NBA, to the Los Angeles Lakers in February.
Dallas general manager Nico Harrison no longer wanted to build around Doncic, who averaged 28.6 points, 8.7 rebounds and 8.3 assists in 422 games with the Mavericks.
“But Harrison had doubts about the wisdom of investing in the 26-year-old Dončić long-term, according to multiple team and league sources, and the decision to skip the trip reiterated what Harrison already believed: The Mavericks would be better off without him,” Clark, Aldridge, Amick and Katz wrote.
Doncic was eligible to sign a five-year, $345 million extension with the Mavericks this offseason, but Harrison didn’t want to pay the star that much money.
The Lakers, who are in third place in the West right now, can offer Doncic a four-year, $229 million extension this offseason, or, like other teams, a five-year, $296 million contract in the offseason of 2026.
More must-reads:
- Lakers get encouraging Luka Doncic injury update
- Hawks move to add big-man depth with Rockets G League standout
- The 'NBA minutes leaders by season' quiz
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Lakers get encouraging Luka Doncic injury update
On Saturday, Luka Doncic suffered an injury during a Slovenian national team warm-up game against Latvia. Doncic is currently preparing for the 2025 FIBA EuroBasket tournament. The injury occurred when one of Doncic's teammates crashed into his legs. Doncic left the court of his own volition and was seen back on the bench shortly after. Nevertheless, Lakers fans could be forgiven for fearing the worst. After all, Rob Pelinka has spent this summer rebuilding the Lakers roster around Doncic. An injury during a warm-up game would have been a disaster. In a Sunday report on X from Marc Stein, it was confirmed that Doncic has avoided injury and is scheduled to practice with the Slovenian team on Monday. "Luka Doncic is scheduled to be back at practice Monday, Slovenia’s basketball federation has announced, with his official status still TBD for Tuesday’s @EuroBasket warmup game at home against Great Britain," Stein reported. Despite the scare, Doncic will undoubtedly continue to play a role for Slovenia throughout the upcoming tournament. He's one of the best players competing in the event and will likely have a significant role in marketing FIBA's European championship to a wider audience, specifically those in North America. Of course, the best way for Doncic to do that is by remaining healthy and putting on a show whenever he steps onto the court. The hope will be that he comes through the tournament unscathed and heads back to Los Angeles ready to enjoy a dominant season with the Lakers. Doncic got lucky in avoiding a serious injury on Saturday. However, the benefits of competing in such a high-level tournament likely outweigh the risks. Doncic and multiple other elite European talents will likely hit the ground running when the new season starts, and that can only be a good thing for the NBA and its early season product.
Vikings GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah's biggest find is ready to take a huge step forward, and it could be huge for Brian Flores' defense
After joint practice on Wednesday between the Minnesota Vikings and New England Patriots, I was asked by some members of the Patriots beat about just one player. "Who's 61? He's a dude." That player is Jalen Redmond, who has quite the story heading into his second season with the Vikings. He was playing in the UFL in the spring of 2024 with the Arlington Renegades. He was a signing the Vikings made on June 18th, 2024, which came after mandatory minicamp. Redmond was the 90th player on the roster and excelled throughout training camp to earn a roster spot. That ability is showing up once again. Jalen Redmond is taking another step forward The signing of Redmond was a massive win for general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and his scouting staff, especially Ryan Grigson, who was given a lot of credit for finding him. "I remember he [Grigson] called me and said, 'I like this guy.' I think it was late May," Adofo-Mensah explained. "You have to ask yourself, what's your standard for bringing people in, because a lot of good players are on teams already, so there's going to be something there that's not perfect, not clean, and earlier he had injuries, so you've got to understand why he's available, but ultimately here's why he might be a good bet. "And you saw the flashes for an interior guy with burst, his run defense kind of jumped out to me. That's the other thing, when you've been together for two or three years, and my history with Grigson before, he knows how to communicate with me, makes a cut-up, knows exactly what we look for." You can see the power and explosiveness in Redmond's game. He rarely gets washed out by the offensive line, and often penetrates the backfield with his ability. Where things have gotten really interesting with Redmons is seeing how good he can be from a short and long-term perspective. Last season, Redmond played in 13 games and flashed in a major way. While he went undrafted out of Oklahoma, it wasn't so much due to talent, but a health issue that kept him from being selected. He certainly looks like a player who should have been selected. Over the course of the season, Redmond got one sack and 6.0 tackles for loss to pair with 18 tackles. His ability to be a penetrating force on the line earned him a starting role at the end of the season, with two starts in his first year with the Vikings. Going into year two, Redmond shouldn't be overlooked. He won't be a starter with the additions of Jonathan Allen and Javon Hargrave, but it shouldn't be much of a surprise if he approaches 500 snaps as a rotational player. His teammates believe he's a stud, something that Jonathan Greenard emphasized last week. "Redmond is a dog," said Greenard after Redmond's great practice on Thursday. "Jalen's been a dog since last year in training camp. I knew he was a dog when he got thrown out of practices last year. So I was like, listen, from that day forward, he got thrown out, he came back in just completely, just dominating. And at that point even to see it during the season and see him continuously build. Now I'm like, man, everybody knows, but when you see, obviously, you bring in two guys like JA [Jonathan Allen] and Grave [Javon Hargrave], you kind of think that he gets put in the wayside, making the same place he was last year, if not more. And that just helps us out to know that it's not gonna drop off whenever those guys get a breather or something like that. If I'm coaching, I'm putting him in." Don't sleep on Redmond going into this season, as he's only getting better.
Green Bay Packers: Matt LaFleur Delivers Dire Update on Running Back Marshawn Lloyd
As is the case heading into training camp every year, the Green Bay Packers, along with every NFL team, hopes that they will get through the preseason schedule unscathed by injury. However, as is the nature of football, injuries do happen and teams/players hope that none of them are too serious. Unfortunately, though, it is not uncommon for teams to lose a player or two (or more) for significant amounts of time in the regular season due to injuries they suffered during training camp. Such was the case last year for two of the Packers’ first three draft picks. First round pick Jordan Morgan missed some significant time before and during the season due to a shoulder injury and only appeared in six games. Third round pick Marshawn Lloyd had an even worse time, missing part of training camp with multiple soft tissues injuries. Then, when he finally returned for Week Two, he hurt his ankle and was placed on the injured list, missing multiple weeks. And if those injuries were not bad enough, right before he was set to come off of the injured list, Lloyd needed to have his appendix removed, ending his season. Green Bay Packers Running Back Marshawn Lloyd Got Injured Again on Saturday The only game in which Lloyd appeared last season, the one in which he injured his ankle, was Green Bay’s Week Two contest with the Indianapolis Colts. In that game, he had six carries for 15 yards. On Saturday, in the Packers’ preseason game against the Colts, Lloyd once again had six carries for 15 yards, though he did have one reception for 33 yards as well. And it was after that long catch that he was pulled from the game with what the team said at the time was hamstring tightness. This was not great news for Green Bay or their fans, as Lloyd had already missed the Packers’ first preseason game with a groin injury. And it sounds like, once again, he will not be healthy to start the season. Green Bay Packers Head Coach Matt LaFleur Says Marshawn Lloyd Will Be Out for a While When Lloyd was pulled from the game, everyone hoped that it was as a precaution and that he would not miss any time. After all, when healthy, he has shown flashes of being the burst runner that the Packers knew they were getting when they made him a top-100 draft pick. But in his press conference today, head coach Matt LaFleur told reporters that Lloyd is going to “miss some time,” which likely means he will not be ready for the season opener (again). This is, of course, not the news anyone wanted, and had many people saying that the second-year running back should see the same soft tissue specialist Christian Watson and Eric Stokes saw to solve their injury issues. But according to Matt Schneidman of The Athletic, he already did: “Lloyd visited the same facility in Madison, Wis., this offseason that helped wide receiver Christian Watson and former Packers cornerback Eric Stokes with their recurring soft-tissue injuries. Yet Lloyd missed this year’s preseason opener after suffering a groin injury in practice and dropped out of Saturday’s game with a hamstring injury.” What this means, of course, is that Lloyd is not doing anything wrong. He has gone, and is going, through a terrible stretch of bad luck when it comes to these injuries. It really is an unfortunate situation.
Kevin Stefanski's Honest Thoughts on Browns Quarterback Room Prior to Roster Cuts
Cleveland Browns quarterback Dillon Gabriel made his NFL debut in the Browns preseason game against the Philadelphia Eagles. The former Oregon Ducks star played the entire first half and went 13/18 passing for 143 yards and one interception in the Browns 22-13 win. The Browns have a a crowded quarterback room and it will be difficult for them to decide who they keep on their 53-man roster. Kevin Stefanski: "Not Realistic" to Keep Every Quarterback Dillon Gabriel, Shedeur Sanders, Joe Flacco, Kenny Pickett, and Tyler Huntley make up the Cleveland Browns quarterback room. Cleveland Browns coach Kevin Stefanski spoke to the media about what he’s seen from them. “I’ve been really, really pleased with that group and how hard they’ve worked, how they’ve pushed each other, and they’re all getting better,” Stefanski said. “You see all moments in practice, you see moments in games where these guys are getting better.” Despite this being the case, it looks like the Browns will have to cut ties with at least one and probably two of them before the regular season gets underway. Each NFL team will have to make their final roster cuts down to 53 on August 26. “I think we’ll let it play out as we get closer to the cut down…Those are all conversations that we are always having, but those are tough decisions,” Stefanski said. “You know I’d like to keep everybody, but not realistic.” The Browns have also yet to name a starting quarterback. However, that announcement will be coming soon. Per ESPN Cleveland, Stefanski will name a starting quarterback in the week’s lead up to the Browns final preseason game against the Los Angeles Rams on Saturday, August 23. Who Will Start Week One? While there is no official decision made at this point, the signs are pointing towards veteran Joe Flacco getting the Week One start when the Browns take on the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday, Sep. 7. Flacco has not yet played in a preseason game, which could signal the Browns have seen enough for him to get the starting nod. The 40-year-old Flacco is a safe pick to be the starter. He has prior experience with Stefanski when he was on the Browns in 2023, helping lead the Browns to the playoffs. Flacco started another handful of games last season with the Indianapolis Colts before signing with the Browns in free agency this offseason. It would be a shocking move if the Browns rolled the dice with one of the rookies. Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders should get the opportunity to play at some point this season, but throwing them into the fire in Week One as mid to late round rookies would be a stunner. Then there is Kenny Pickett and Tyler Huntley. The Browns traded for Pickett, but he has not been healthy for either of the Browns preseason games with a hamstring injury. Huntley was a late signing because of this Pickett injury and has played the second half of both Browns preseason games.
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