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Former Milwaukee Bucks head coach Mike Budenholzer had completed just one year of his five-year, $50-million deal following the 2024-25 season, but with the Phoenix Suns having missed the Play-in Tournament with a record of 36-46, Coach Bud was fired nonetheless. There will be plenty of blame to go around in the Valley, but how much of it lies at the feet of the head coach that was supposed to bring championship pedigree to an underperforming organization? Stephen A. Smith weighed in on just how much criticism Budenholzer deserves.
Mike Budenholzer Fired By the Phoenix Suns After 1 Season
While Mike Budenholzer’s last year in Milwaukee was defined by a league-leading 58 wins and an a Giannis Antetokounmpo-led squad that many felt were championship favorites, his last days were defined by a sluggish team languishing in the first round, losing to the 8-seed Miami Heat in five games as Antetokounmpo sat on the bench due to injury. Budenholzer was fired after the series and was out of the NBA until 2024.
Joining the Phoenix Suns, one of the Western Conference’s many potent teams, Budenholzer had the opportunity to coach a big three in Devin Booker, Kevin Durant, and Bradley Beal. Budenholzer was taking over a team that, despite winning 49 games the previous season, was swept in the first round by the Minnesota Timberwolves. Owner Matt Ishbia felt that the former Bucks head man was the answer to their postseason performance problems.
Yet Budenholzer never coached a single playoff game for the team. After a disastrous 36-46 season that does not reflect the amount of talent on the roster, Budenholzer was fired after just one season.
Stephen A Smith Defends Mike Budenholzer
Stephen A. Smith was asked on First Take just how much blame various members of the Suns deserve, including Budenholzer, Ishbia, and Durant. Smith wasted no time in getting down to his answer.
“98% of their problems, falls on ownership and the decisions that they have made.”
Smith pointed to rash coaching hires as one of the aforementioned decisions. Budenholzer’s predecessor Frank Vogel was also only given one season and was fired after their playoff meltdown last year. Vogel and Budenholzer’s times in Phoenix are quite comparable. Both former NBA champion head coaches were brought in to make an immediate difference, and when they failed to show results in their first season, were quickly shown the door.
While Budenholzer has certainly had his detractors this season, it seems both the media and the fans both have many other people to point to first. Bradley Beal has been called one of the worst contracts in the NBA and is commonly clowned by fans for his no-trade clause hamstringing the team from making a progressive trade. Stephen A. Smith allocated his remaining 2% of the blame to Durant, partly due to his inability to lead the team in the locker room but also for continuing to deny that there was a problem within the team.
Budenholzer will be one of the higher-profile names on the head coaching market this next season, and the former champion with the Milwaukee Bucks could look to pick up his career with a new team, perhaps one with a less volatile front office.
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Boston Celtics Announce Trade For 22-Year-Old Guard
RJ Luis Jr. played his college basketball at Massachusetts and St John's. He finished last year with averages of 18.2 points, 7.2 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.4 steals per contest while shooting 43.9% from the field and 33.6% from the three-point range in 35 games. On Wednesday night, the Boston Celtics officially announced that they had traded for Luis Jr. Via The Boston Celtics: "We have traded Georges Niang and two future second-round picks to the Utah Jazz for RJ Luis Jr" Luis Jr. had signed a two-way deal with the Utah Jazz after going unselected in the 2025 NBA Draft. Via Jake Fischer of The Stein Line: "The two second-round picks Boston is sending Utah as part of the Georges Niang-for-RJ Luis Jr. trade are the 2027 most favorable between the Celtics/Magic, and the 2031 most favorable between the Celtics/Cavaliers, per source." While Luis Jr. is an intriguing prospect, the Celtics made the move to get off of Niang's contract. Via Yossi Gozlan of Third Apron Podcast: "The Boston Celtics reduce their payroll and luxury tax by a total of $50 million by trading Georges Niang. They’re now just $1.7 million above the first apron and $9.4 million above the luxury tax line. They also create a $8.2 million trade exception." The Celtics won the 2024 NBA Championship over the Dallas Mavericks. They then lost to Jalen Brunson and the New York Knicks in the second round of the 2025 NBA playoffs (in six games).
Blue Jays demolish MLB records with eye-popping Coors Field performance
DENVER — There's nothing like coming to Coors Field to fix what ails you. Just ask the Toronto Blue Jays. Losers of six of eight games before arriving in Denver, the Blue Jays posted an MLB-record 63 hits in a three-game series while easily sweeping a road series from the Colorado Rockies. By totaling 25 hits on Monday night, 14 on Tuesday and 24 in Wednesday's matinee, the Blue Jays set a new MLB standard for offensive prowess. Toronto passed the MLB record of 62 hits in a three-game series, set by the Boston Red Sox in a June 7-9, 1950 matchup against the St. Louis Browns. As part of the hit parade, Toronto smashed 13 home runs, the most ever surrendered by the Rockies in a three-game set. Included in that barrage were three hits by Bo Bichette, including a three-run shot on Wednesday afternoon that got the Blue Jays rolling in the third inning. Kyle Freeland, Wednesday's starter for Colorado, allowed seven hits in his 4.2 innings of work. That was the fewest amount of hits given up by a Rockies starter against Toronto, as Rockies starter Tanner Gordon allowed 11 in 2.2 frames on Monday, while Anthony Molina surrendered nine in 5.0 innings on Tuesday. "We need to pitch with confidence as starting pitchers. We need to command the baseball better in general," said Rockies interim manager Warren Schaeffer as his team slipped to 30-84 on the season. "We have to put hitters away when we have that opportunity." That was something Colorado couldn't do against the Blue Jays on Wednesday, as their first six runs of a 20-1 blowout win came with two outs in the frame. Wednesday's offensive explosion helped Toronto outscore the Rockies, 45-6, in the series. That run differential was the second-most in MLB's modern era and the most runs scored by an MLB team in a three-game series since the 2019 Chicago Cubs scored 47 runs against the Pittsburgh Pirates from Sept. 13-15, 2019. In all, the 45 runs, 63 hits and 13 home runs allowed in the series were each the most allowed by Colorado pitchers in a three-game set in franchise history. How bad did it get for Colorado at the end of the series? Down 12-1 entering the ninth inning on Wednesday, the Rockies put catcher Austin Nola on the mound for his first-ever pitching appearance. He was nothing like his younger brother, Philadelphia Phillies ace Aaron Nola, as he promptly gave up four consecutive doubles, including RBI shots from Bichette and Vladimir Guerrero Jr., as part of eight hits and eight runs posted by the Blue Jays against him. "It hurts when you get beat that bad for three games," Nola said. "We can compete with anybody. I know we can. We're all Major League players, so it definitely hurts. We're going to have to flush this one and get back out there on Friday in Arizona and have a new competitive attitude." All quotations obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.
Jerry Jones takes another jab at Micah Parsons over contract stalemate
The Dallas Cowboys have a big problem on their hands right now. Micah Parsons has formally requested to be traded, and he took to social media to vent his concerns and frustration with his contract extension situation. However, team owner Jerry Jones isn't ready to budge. If anything, the controversial business mogul doesn't sound too worried about that. Talking to the media, he implied that he had already shaken hands on an extension with Parsons, so he just has to wait now: "I bought the Dallas Cowboys with a handshake," Jones said, per The Athletic's Jon Machota. "It took about 30 seconds. I gave the number, shook hands, the details we worked out later." Jones, one of the most successful businessmen of his generation, pretty much stated that he wouldn't change the way he does business. "Just so you understand the way that I communicate with people that I negotiate with. Let's leave it at that," Jones continued. "There's is no question that in the case of a player contract, you have to have it in writing. All parties do. We have a contract in writing, yet we're still talking about renegotiating, so so much for that." Parsons has every right to feel frustrated. He's one of the best pass-rushers in the game, and he's the youngest in the short list of superstars at the position. The Cowboys have a long history of dragging out negotiations for as long as they can, and that's usually rubbed their players the wrong way. Parsons is still under contract, and the Cowboys can technically wait to give him an extension because the market isn't likely to go any higher after T.J. Watt already got a deal done. But sometimes, it's not just about money, and these power struggles are terrible for team morale.
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Oilers' new signing ranked among NHL's worst contracts
Despite boasting a core of elite contracts that include Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and Zach Hyman, the Edmonton Oilers saw their overall contract value rankings take a hit in a recent article by The Athletic. Dom Luszczyszyn looks at every team and its contract situations each season. The Oilers ranked 8th overall, but that dropped them down the standings, largely due to the new eight-year, $3.9 million AAV deal handed to forward Trent Frederic. In a recent analysis evaluating NHL contract efficiency, Frederic’s deal earned a D-grade — one of the lowest marks handed out — alongside the much-maligned Darnell Nurse contract. He was signed to the new deal this offseason after arriving to the Oilers via a trade at the deadline. Injured, but in the lineup for the playoffs, he wasn’t exactly the most effective forward. The Oilers believe he has a lot more to give and GM Stan Bowman bet on the forward. Frederic’s extension, which carries a modest annual cap hit but stretches through 2033, is projected to offer just a +20.1% positive value while delivering a -$15.2 million total surplus over its duration. Frederic’s ranking is particularly glaring when placed next to the six A-grade contracts on the Oilers’ books. No other forward has a grade lower than a C. The team also has four different A-grades, an A for McDavid and an A+ for Draisaitl. Combined with team-friendly deals for stars like McDavid and Draisaitl, Edmonton remains one of the league’s most efficient teams in terms of contract value. Will the Oilers shed either of these bad contracts? According to this ranking, Frederic and Nurse deals are two glaring liabilities. Don’t expect the Oilers to move off either contract anytime soon. Bowman said of the Frederic deal: “…he’s a very unique player with the skillset that he has. He’s a big guy, he’s a physical player, he’s not afraid. He’s got that intimidation factor where he’ll go to the other team’s bench and challenge anybody, like stop messing around with our group. That’s something that I find, you either have that or you don’t. … And he’s scored, you know, he scored what, 18 goals twice in a row at a fairly young, younger age. So I think he’s got the game in him. And I think when you add all that up, it comes down to he’s a very unique player. It’s not like if we passed on Frederic, we’ll just go get so-and-so, who’s maybe a little different, but the same type of player. Not a lot of guys like that out there. They just aren’t anymore.” As for Nurse, there was talk that the Oilers approached him and others about their no-move clauses, and Nurse declined to waive his. The hope is that he elevates his game, and with the rising salary cap, his deal doesn’t look like such an albatross. With several key contracts set to expire soon — including McDavid’s — and questions lingering around term for others, the Oilers need to be cautious with long-term commitments. As it stands, the Frederic deal is a warning sign that not every extension is created equal, even on a Cup-contending roster.
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