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Damian Lillard vows that his career didn’t end on Sunday night, when he fell to the court due to a non-contact injury that was diagnosed as a left Achilles tear.
While the Bucks star guard and longtime All-Star could miss all of next season, he has no plans to call it quits. Lillard expressed his feelings to head coach Doc Rivers on Tuesday, ESPN’s Shams Charania reports.
“He said two things, which I love,” Rivers said. “The first one, he just said, ‘I can’t believe I’m here.’ Then the second one is ‘I’m not going out this way.’ I can guarantee you he won’t, and that’s what I meant about his resolve.”
Milwaukee’s season ended in stunning fashion on Tuesday night, as it squandered a seven-point lead late in overtime and lost to Indiana, 119-118. The Pacers won the series, 4-1. Another early postseason flameout, coupled with Lillard’s injury, will lead to endless speculation about Giannis Antetokounmpo‘s future.
Lillard, who turns 35 in July, can’t control that. He’s instead focused on his lengthy rehab process.
“It’s amazing,” Rivers said. “He’s already talking about his return and being better and being ready. We had a long talk about that today as well.”
Lillard’s injury occurred in his third game back from a blood clot in his right calf, which sidelined him for more than a month. He’s due to make an estimated $54,126,380 next season and holds an option projected at $58,456,490 for the 2026-27 season.
More must-reads:
- Watch: Pacers, Tyrese Haliburton eliminate the Bucks in OT
- First-round loss could mark the end of an era in Milwaukee
- The '30 points-per-game NBA seasons' quiz
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Surprising update emerges about Jayson Tatum’s recovery
Jayson Tatum may be giving a glimmer of hope right now to the Boston Celtics. The Celtics star Tatum, who is currently recovering from a torn Achilles tendon, was reportedly moving well while working out at Chris Paul’s CP3 Elite Camp in Las Vegas, Nevada, this week (per Heavy.com’s Steve Bulpett). Bulpett adds that the possibility of Tatum rejoining the Celtics late in the 2025-26 regular season has not been ruled out at this point. “He was moving really well,” an unnamed NBA scout was quoted as saying about Tatum. “There might have been a slight limp or something, but the surprising thing to me is that he didn’t have a boot for any of it. I’m no doctor, but I’ve seen guys coming back from Achilles’ tears, and he looked way ahead. I was kind of shocked to see how well he was moving.” You can read Bulpett’s full report about the Tatum situation here. The six-time All-Star Tatum suffered an Achilles rupture during the second round of the playoffs against the New York Knicks in mid-May (video here). That means he is still only about two-and-a-half months removed from the injury and subsequent surgery. Achilles tears generally take about nine to 12 months to recover from, which would put Tatum around mid-February of next year at the absolute earliest. But it is certainly encouraging that he is already working out with a boot, and it should also help that Tatum is still only 27 years old as he embarks on his rehab. Of course, Tatum’s return to the floor will also be influenced by how the Celtics perform next season. Boston parted ways with some prominent players this offseason in an apparent effort to punt on the 2025-26 campaign and create financial flexibility. Thus, they obviously won’t push Tatum to an early return if the season is already a lost cause.
Five biggest losers from the 2025 MLB trade deadline
The 2025 Major League Baseball trade deadline was 6 p.m. ET on Thursday. Some teams managed to get better in either a short-term or long-term outlook. Other teams did not. We've already gone over the five biggest winners, which featured some surprising teams. Here we are focusing on the five teams that were the biggest losers. Minnesota Twins The good news for Twins fans is the team did not trade outfielder Byron Buxton or starting pitcher Joe Ryan. The bad news for Twins fans is the team traded pretty much everybody else. The worst news is the Twins have pretty much sabotaged any goodwill the team had built up in recent years, including their 2023 trip to the American League Division Series. Since then the Twins collapsed late last season, did very little in the offseason and then completely gutted the roster over the past two weeks, including a straight salary-dump trade of Carlos Correa to the Houston Astros, his former team. This is going to be a long, slow climb back to the top. Pittsburgh Pirates The Pirates had a chance to have a potentially impactful trade deadline with some intriguing trade chips in what had become a seller's market. They ended up trading closer David Bednar, third baseman Ke'Bryan Hayes, starting pitcher Bailey Falter and relief pitcher Caleb Ferguson. They held on to pending free agents Isiah Kiner-Falefa, Tommy Pham and Andrew Heaney. What's so baffling about the trades they did make is that they gave up useful, productive players with years of team control still remaining, did not get a single highly-ranked prospect back in return and kept the players that are going to leave for nothing. The only winner here is owner Bob Nutting's bank account for all of the money he saved in the future by dumping Hayes' contract and potential arbitration years from Bednar and Falter. Chicago Cubs After paying a steep price to get outfielder Kyle Tucker in the offseason everybody in Chicago knew the clock was ticking on the Cubs to build a winner around him. He is a free agent after this season and seems determined to hit the open market for the highest bidder. Even though the Cubs have emerged as a contender, it was pretty clear as the season has gone on that they needed at least one more starting pitcher. They did not get one, and instead only added a utility infielder (Willi Castro) and reliever Taylor Rogers. While so many teams around them in the NL managed to get better, it's an underwhelming deadline performance for a team that should be going all in. Atlanta Braves It's not that the Braves did anything poor at the trade deadline that makes them losers. It's that they didn't do ... anything. At least not anything that they needed to do. None of their pending free agents were moved, no significant changes were made to a team going nowhere this season and the only move they did make was a marginal trade involving Rafael Montero. That is extremely underwhelming. Boston Red Sox The Red Sox were rumored to be in the market for a significant starting pitcher, including Minnesota's Joe Ryan. They did not make that sort of splash move, and instead added Steven Matz and Dustin May. For a team trying to hang in the American League playoff race, that is not really exciting. They also paid a steep price to get May, giving up one of the top prospects — outfielder James Tibbs III — they acquired in the Rafael Devers trade to the San Francisco Giants.
Steelers Spark Crazy Trade Rumors After Cowboys' Micah Parsons' Prior Comments Resurface
Khan has openly said he will never pass up the chance to explore opportunities that could improve the team. On Friday, news broke that Parsons requested a trade out of Dallas. While the possibility of landing Parsons remains a long shot, this request provides Khan with a rare window to investigate whether there’s a way to bring one of the league’s most dominant pass rushers to Pittsburgh. Earlier in February 2025, Parsons spoke with former Steelers cornerback turned analyst Bryant McFadden about the Steelers. During the conversation, McFadden joked that the Steelers logo would look good on Parsons. Parsons responded playfully, saying he would love to play for Mike Tomlin, adding fuel to the speculation that a move to Pittsburgh might not be completely out of the question. "Nah, I rock with the Steelers," Parsons said. "I said if I ever return home it was going to be Pittsburgh. I mess with Mike Tomlin the long way." It’s no secret that Tomlin is one of the most popular head coaches in the NFL. Many players have expressed a strong desire to play for him, and that reputation has sometimes helped the Steelers attract top talent. A prime example of this is when the Steelers convinced four-time league MVP Aaron Rodgers to join the team, a move that energized the fanbase and boosted expectations. The idea of Parsons lining up alongside TJ Watt and the rest of Pittsburgh’s elite defense is both thrilling and intimidating. While it remains a very far-fetched possibility, Parsons’ recent comments about wanting to play for the Steelers have sparked excitement among fans. These remarks, made in 2025, add fuel to the speculation that a trade could be in the cards, even if the odds are slim. Parsons, who grew up in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, shared a message on social media Friday explaining what really led to his trade request. If Parsons has any influence over his next destination, and if Khan can work his magic, the Steelers might just have a slim but real chance to pull off a trade. Landing Parsons would instantly make Pittsburgh’s defense one of the most fearsome in NFL history, though it remains an ambitious long shot. Steelers Chances Of Trading For Micah Parsons Are Low While the thought of Parsons playing in the black and gold for the 2025 season is certainly exciting, the logistics would be very complex, though not impossible. Parsons is clearly unhappy with the Cowboys, and Jerry Jones has not helped their chances of keeping him satisfied. He officially wants out, and now is the time for Khan to see if there’s any logical way to pull off a crazy trade.
'I see a clear role for him' — Vikings HC Kevin O'Connell speaks highly of new defender who's having a great training camp
The cornerback position for the Minnesota Vikings has seen a lot of questions over the last few months. Arguably the biggest one is whether or not the Vikings added enough talent to really make the Super Bowl run. Through the first week and a half of training camp, it looks to be the right decision by the Vikings. Their depth at cornerback has been really impressive, leaving a lot more confidence in the cornerback group than we had previously. The biggest standout has been Jeff Okudah, which was a fascinating addition in real time. During his press conference on Friday, head coach Kevin O'Connell was asked about Okudah's performance in training camp, and he also raved about him. "You guys probably felt it. I mean, when he gets up and presses, you know, at that line of scrimmage and wins that early fight in the down, you don't see him lose very much, you know, when he gets his hands on people. I think I've been probably surprised. I actually got a chance to spend some time with him many years ago, at Ohio State, went for the pro day. A friend of mine, who happens to be the coordinator up in Green Bay now, was the coordinator there, and I got to spend some time with Jeff. And just remember thinking to myself, This guy is going to be a top-five pick. I mean, felt like he was as tall as I was, you know, big, strong, fast, and then he was and we're very fortunate to have him. I see a clear role for him. Not all corners in our defense play the same spots, play the same roles, so to think that we're going to have him in a role we feel pretty strongly about, it's great to see him take it and run with it early on, because I think he's had a phenomenal camp. And I hope you know that'd be a good question for Flo [Brian Flores]. You probably asked him already, but I know flow in my dialog about Jeff has been really positive early on." The line from O'Connell talking about how they see a clear role for him resonates hard here. The Vikings have done a good job in putting players in position to be successful. Okudah's role is likely going to be similar to what Shaquill Griffin's was last year. The biggest difference between Okudah and Griffin? The former can run with really fast wide receivers. Will Okudah end up being a quality starter for the Vikings? That remains to be seen, but it's certainly possible, especially with how well the coaching staff is talking about him.
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