Fear is a great motivator, and the Los Angeles Lakers’ fear of agitating their star drove the franchise’s biggest offseason decision so far: firing Head Coach Darvin Ham. However, they didn’t make the move to appease LeBron James. It was instead to placate Anthony Davis, who The Athletic’s Sam Amick says Davis is the “future of the Lakers” and may have dethroned James as the Lakers’ top priority. That includes going into this offseason. “I think we are guilty sometimes of … focusing too much on LeBron and not enough on AD,” Amick said on “The Rich Eisen Show” on May 17. “Like when they chose t ..read more

For the first time in almost 20 years, the New York Knicks are hosting a Game 7 at Madison Square Garden. But whether or not that will feature OG Anunoby remains up in the air. After losing Game 6 to the Indiana Pacers, Knicks’ head coach Tom Thibodeau was asked about Anunoby’s chances to return for Game 7. “Whatever medical says,” he told reporters postgame. And when asked to elaborate on what the medical staff is saying, Thibodeau simply responded “day-to-day.” Anunoby, who’s been out since Game 2 of the series, is dealing with a left hamstring strain. He’s averaging 16.4 points, 6.8 rebound ..read more

Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton has long regretted missing out on quarterback Patrick Mahomes in the 2017 draft. Payton even referenced that moment in explaining the Broncos’ decision to select Bo Nix with the No. 12 overall pick in the 2024 draft. How serious was the then-New Orleans Saints head coach about making the move? Enough to tell his franchise passer, Drew Brees, that they were considering doing do mere hours before the draft began. “Look, I know that Sean Payton wanted to draft Patrick Mahomes back in 2017,” Brees said, per Fox Sports’ Scott Thompson on May 17. “Had Mahomes be ..read more

Against the very team he threw the Baltimore Orioles‘ last no-hitter, pitcher John Means earned his first home win since 2021 over the Seattle Mariners. He threw 4 strikeouts in 6 innings, leaving the game with Baltimore up 5-2. Means told reporters after the win what it meant to get back in the win column in front of the crowd at Camden Yards. “It’s incredible to see Camden Yards like this,” Means told said postgame on May 17. “This is such a special place. These are such special people. To see this crowd now compared to what it was in April 2021, it’s good to see.” It’s the third start of th ..read more

The San Francisco Giants’ injury situation keeps getting worse. The Giants announced on May 17 that center fielder Jung Hoo Lee will miss the rest of the season with a dislocated left shoulder. He was injured on May 12 when he slammed into the center-field fence while trying to catch a drive by the Cincinnati Reds’ Jeimer Candelario in a game at Oracle Park in San Francisco. Lee, placed on the 10-day injured list on May 13, is expected to have surgery in the next few weeks. The Giants signed Lee to a six-year, $113-million contract as a free agent during the offseason after he starred in the K ..read more

Minnesota Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards’ latest post-game press conference has reminded many fans of the confidence and strong mentality of Michael Jordan when he expletively confirmed that he did tell a Denver Nuggets locker room staff right after Game 5 that they would be back in Mile High for Game 7. In the post-game conference right after the Wolves decimated the defending champion by 45 points, 115-75, the young Wolves star did not mince any word in confirming to reporters when asked if he did leave a Nuggets staff some parting words following their Game 5 loss in Denver. “Hell yeah ..read more

Chicago Bulls executive vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas is eyeing changes for his roster, making his strongest statements against the current core group he previously staunchly defended. Back-to-back years without a postseason appearance could have Karnisovas ready for drastic measures. Karnisovas cited his previous creativity in crafting this group, suggesting it could happen again. The Bulls have limited means to upgrade their roster in terms of draft capital and mid-tier contracts to package together. So the Bulls might be limited to one needle-moving trade or a p ..read more

Patrick Beverley sang the Boston Celtics praises on his podcast. He voiced his admiration for how “completely locked in” the Celtics have been in the postseason, which he pointed out goes beyond Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. On the May 15 episode of “The Pat Bev Podcast With Rone,” he also shouted the other impactful Celtics. “The Derrick Whites, the Al Horfords, the Jrue Holidays, the Payton Pritchards, the guys that are coming in, and the guys that are playing. I mean, they are making that impact. (Sam) Hauser’s coming in with impact. They’re locked in from top to bottom. They’re well-coac ..read more

Former Notre Dame head coach Lou Holtz stands by Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker‘s head-turning commencement speech. “Thank you @buttkicker7  for standing strong in your faith values,” Holtz wrote on X, formerly Twitter on May 16. “Your commencement speech at Benedictine College showed courage and conviction and I admire that. Don’t give in.” Butker, who played college football at Georgia Tech, spoke at the Catholic college’s commencement on May 11 where he urged the graduates to live their faith lives in the world. He also expressed counter-cultural views on families, poli ..read more

Whether you like it or not, the New York Jets are going to be heavily featured in prime time. Gang Green has six of them in total on the initial 2024 schedule with a pair of Thursday Night Football games, a pair of Monday Night Football games, and a pair of Sunday Night Football games. Sauce Gardner was asked about the massive national spotlight on his team during a sit-down interview with Jets reporter Caroline Hendershot. “We always ready,” Gardner told Hendershot. “We always going to be ourselves, we are always going to have the same identity, we are not going to change anything just becaus ..read more