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If the Lakers have lacked an edge in the early part of the 2023-24 NBA season, there is one way the team probably could fix it: Trade for a former Laker. It’s only November and the Lakers rumor mill is not in full swing but still, one executive mentioned L.A. as a possible suitor for Bulls guard Alex Caruso, who helped the team to the 2020 NBA championship won in the Orlando bubble. Alex Caruso was a key member of that team’s bench, but left the Lakers for the Bulls on a four-year, $37 millio…
3 months ago
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Heading into Tuesday’s trade deadline, one of the most closely watched players around the NFL in terms of rumors was Carolina star pass rusher Brian Burns and it turns out, that included the 49ers. With the Panthers standing at 1-6 and looking primed for a rebuild, Burns was a much-rumored target and the 49ers called to inquire about him. But, according to ESPN insider Adam Schefter, all such inquiries were rebuffed by the Panthers, who are hopeful of coming to a long-term contract agreement…
3 months ago
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It is understandable that Packers quarterback Jordan Love, after another woeful performance from his offense, is feeling a little sheepish when he crosses paths with any of the team’s defensive players. Entering Week 8, the Packers were middle-of-the-pack defensively, allowing 2,028 yards this season (16th in the NFL), while the offense had gained just 1,739 yards (26th). As the Packers left the field following the 24-10 home loss to the Vikings on Sunday, Love was side-by-side with star d…
3 months ago
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When it came to defending the objectively poor decision to start veteran Brian Hoyer ahead of rookie (and preseason sensation) Aidan O’Connell on Sunday in Chicago, Raiders coach Josh McDaniels’ explanation on the subject was not his finest moment. “It’s not the preseason anymore,” McDaniels said. “You know what I mean?” https://twitter.com/jasrifootball/status/1716196982966915270 Sigh. Indeed, it is not the preseason, though the production the team got from Hoyer was remarkably similar…
3 months ago
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Sour grapes? Well, maybe. But come on, what 23-year-old multimillionaire would not rather be spending his days and nights in Miami instead of Portland, Oregon? Tyler Herro is a 23-year-old multimillionaire who was, quite famously, offered to the Portland Trail Blazers over the summer as the main cog in a Damian Lillard trade. Portland GM Joe Cronin did not want Herro, however and with Miami unwilling to adjust its offer, the Blazers instead dealt Lillard to Milwaukee. We all know that. Her…
4 months ago
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As much as it would please Heat fans, the chances of a reunion with point guard Goran Dragic in Miami, on the heels of the team bringing back Josh Richardson this summer, remain pretty slim. In fact, if Miami were to scrap its plans to sign a developmental player with its 14th, and likely final, roster spot, there’s a stronger chance they could look at former star point guard John Wall than another go-round with Dragic. That’s the word from longtime Heat beat writer Ira Winderman, who answere…
4 months ago
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Much was expected out of Jets tackle Mekhi Becton when he was selected by New York with the 11th overall pick in 2020 NFL draft. And the 49ers should take notice. A fractured kneecap in Becton’s surgically repaired right knee — one that he lashed out at the Jets organization for causing — kept that from happening. Becton played one game between his rookie season and this season, both because of injury and poor conditioning. Now, Becton is healthy again and back in the Jets’ starting group.…
4 months ago
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From the Cowboys perspective, it was not the performance they were looking for, not on a Sunday night stage against the 49ers, the team that had eliminated them in the last two postseasons. For quarterback Dak Prescott, it was further evidence that the 49ers are his kryptonite and that the Cowboys remain paper tigers. Prescott went 14-for-24 passing for 153 yards in a brutal 42-10 blowout for the Cowboys, one that featured three especially poor Prescott INTs. “[We] didn’t see it coming,” P…
4 months ago
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As dreary as the 2023 regular season has been to date, the Patriots are sitting on a pile of long-term hope as they attempt to configure the current roster into an NFL winner—that pile is $80 million worth of cap space that comes available next offseason, according to Spotrac. But that money does not help the team much now … not unless it gets creative with players who can’t really afford to be paid by their current teams, for whatever reason. One guy who leads the way on that front is Caroli…
4 months ago
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It was obvious that, for Patriots quarterback Mac Jones, last season was a disaster. Trying to work within an offense built by Joe Judge and Matt Patricia—two guys who are decidedly not offensive coordinators—did not do much to accentuate Jones’ strengths, and the results showed as he took a step backward after an All-Pro rookie season. But did that 2022 season really leave a permanent scar on Jones? Were things really that bad? According to former NFL quarterback Robert Griffin III, now a…
4 months ago
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Brock Purdy is still a relatively new 49ers phenomenon, and he has not quite earned the respect of everyone around the league. That makes some sense. He was, after all, the final player chosen in the 2022 NFL draft, and he does have just 12 starts to his credit. Sure, he’s 11-1 in those starts, but perhaps that’s not so difficult when you have one of the best wide receiver combos in the league (Deebo Samuels and Brandon Aiyuk), one of the best tight ends (George Kittle), the best full back (K…
4 months ago
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Week 4 is behind us and the Patriots, after showing some promise to start the season despite two losses in their first three games, looked absolutely dreadful during their trip to Dallas, punctuated by a 38-3 loss to the Cowboys. Given what a bummer the team was last year, when they wrapped up with an 8-9 record, and given how difficult the upcoming schedule still in, the Patriots are poised to finish with a losing record in back-to-back year for the first time since 1992-93. Some affectiona…
4 months ago
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Coming out of a rough Week 4 loss to the Lions, the Packers have plenty of time to look ahead to their next opponent, another bright-lights game but this time with an added twist: For the first time, Green Bay will face off against star wide receiver Davante Adams, whose Raiders are struggling at 1-3 but who remains among the best wide receivers in the game. That is a challenge for defensive coordinator Joe Berry. Asked about seeing Adams in Week 5, he first smirked and said, “Socially? Or …”…
4 months ago
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Talk about a humbling offseason. Heck, even before that, it was a humbling finish to the 2022-23 season in general. That’s because not only did Heat wing Tyler Herro watch Miami flourish in the playoffs after he got hurt in the postseason opener, but he then spent the summer being put through the wringer of the NBA’s trade-rumor mill. And no one was more prominent on it than Herro. Sure, the guy who was the trade headliner this summer, All-Star guard Damian Lillard, got the bulk of the att…
4 months ago
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Maybe Richard Sherman just wants to give a helping hand to his old team, the one he helped to Super Bowl LIV back in 2019, when he was tabbed for his sixth Pro Bowl appearance of his illustrious career. Maybe he still has some affection for his old coach, Kyle Shanahan of the 49ers, or maybe his old defensive coordinator in San Francisco, Robert Saleh, now the head coach of the Jets. But in a video he made for Volume Sports, Sherman, a former star cornerback and now a commentator for Amazon’s…
4 months ago
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When Sixers team president Daryl Morey prepared to take the podium for the 76ers’ media day on Monday, it was already known that there had been no progress on mending fences with the team’s annual offseason headache, this time in the form of disgruntled guard James Harden. Morey attempted to get that out of the way from the get-go. “He’s not here today,” Morey said. “He continues to seek a trade and we’re working with his representation to resolve that in the best way for the 76ers and hopefu…
4 months ago
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It was an interesting introduction into the NBA for Heat rookie Jaime Jaquez Jr. the UCLA star chosen by Miami with the 18th pick in this year’s draft. Not long after he was picked, speculation about a trade for Damian Lillard began to churn and, in the process, Jaquez’s name came up as a potential chip to be sent to Portland. It made sense. The Blazers wanted young assets and draft picks in a Holiday package, and Jaquez counts as a very young asset. But it should be noted: At no point did th…
4 months ago
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Sour grapes? Well, that does seem possible. After all, the Miami Heat were, for much of the offseason, the lone bidder in the sweepstakes to acquire Damian Lillard, the Blazers star who had requested a trade from the team in July, but who had gone through the entire summer without a true suitor. Until this month, the Heat were the only team to make a confirmed offer for Lillard, whose agent made the mistake of admitting that Miami was the only place Lillard wanted to be. The Blazers rejected…
4 months ago
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There are a few things that NFL coaches don’t want to deal with much when it comes to questions from the media. One is decisions from the past. The other is hypotheticals. So when a question came in to coach Kyle Shanahan after the 49ers pulled away late from the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday, he had to pause. The question was both a hypothetical and a past decision. “Can you imagine what it would be like if you didn’t get (Christian) McCaffrey?” Shanahan’s answer: “No. Don’t ever say that.”…
4 months ago
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As if the 49ers needed more offensive weapons in their arsenal, they’ve managed add to their impressive array of skill-position players this season with seventh-round pick Ronnie Bell, who broke through with two catches in the Week 3 win over the Giants, including a touchdown on his first reception. It’s clear the 49ers think highly of Bell, who was a seventh-round pick out of Michigan in the draft, chosen with the 253rd pick (out of 259). But Bell’s emergence has come while the 49ers have ha…
4 months ago
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What a difference a week makes. Or, in this case, four days. In Week 3, Packers coach Matt LaFleur giddily came bounding into the postgame media session following the stunning comeback win over the Saints, talking about dreams and pride. On Thursday night he came into his postgame press conference, having led what looked like an utterly unprepared young group on national television to a 34-20 drubbing at the hands of the Lions, and was bitter, churlish and petty. The highlight (lowlight?)…
4 months ago
