free-agency Page 6 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

July 1 Can't Get Here Soon Enough

The Lakers Are Really Going For it

The Lakers have cleared the decks. They’ve stripped away every player from the roster who they do not view as central to their next championship push. It turns out the list of remaining players is hilariously small and remarkably expensive, and before filling out the margins the Lakers very much ho...

Kevin Durant Will Be A Free Agent

Kevin Durant has declined the one-year player option on his contract with the Golden State Warriors, which would have paid him $31.5 million next season. He’ll be an unrestricted free agent next week. ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski first reported the news on Twitter....

Get Excited For Free Agency, A Delightful Graveyard Of Best-Laid Plans

According to Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer, who got his number from someone else, there is around $474 million in available cap space to be flung about the NBA this summer, more than the last two seasons combined, and his conclusion from the resultant analysis is that the most important thing a team ...

Report: Oh God Yes, The Toxic Rockets Are Pursuing Jimmy Butler

If there’s one thing a top-heavy Western Conference contender built on the ball-dominant shot-creation of two ornery superstars locked in an “unsalvageable” personality conflict needs, it is an infusion of noted mature adult in the room and agreeable teammate Jimmy Butler. Thankfully, that is exactl...

LeBron And The Lakers Are Reportedly Interested In Signing J.R. Smith

To err is human; to forgive, divine....

KawhiWatch: Kawhi Leonard Enjoys Baseball Game, Proving He'll Stay In Toronto

Kawhi Leonard is the prize of this summer’s NBA free agency bonanza, and the reigning Finals MVP will be courted by a bevy of teams starting July 1, all of whom will do all they can to prostrate themselves as his feet. When we checked in with Leonard yesterday, he was making a run on cardboard boxe...

KawhiWatch: Kawhi Leonard Definitely Packing Up For Los Angeles

The Finals are all wrapped up. Kawhi Leonard spent a postseason making his case as the best player in the universe, and now his contractual duties in Toronto are complete. The draft is almost over with, too, and with it all the mind-numbing long-term speculation about various teenagers, which means...

The NHL Offseason Is Off To A Roaring, Boring Start

This right here is why the National Hockey League doesn’t get it. Erik Karlsson just signed a record-setting eight-year deal worth more than $11 million per year with the San Jose Sharks without any fuss or muss. Deal framed, talked about, signed. Couldn’t be easier....

Erik Karlsson's Megadeal Means The End Of Something In San Jose

Erik Karlsson’s first season in San Jose was a mixed bag. The superstar d-man put up 0.85 points per game, but he was hurt all year, and was in and out of the lineup late in the season, including in the playoffs. If the Sharks didn’t get the best display of exactly what their team looks like with hi...

What Does Kawhi Leonard Want?

The first domino in a pivotal and unpredictable summer has fallen, with the Lakers trading for Anthony Davis for, basically, what they were offering six months ago. It’s a big deal and it reshapes the West and in light of Golden State’s disastrous Finals, makes the Lakers the favorites. For now. Tha...

Hey, Look At That, Dallas Keuchel Has Landed With The Braves

Former Astros ace Dallas Keuchel was the last man standing from the grueling free agency winter of hell that followed the 2018 season. Craig Kimbrel, the other glaringly overqualified but evidently unemployable pitcher, landed with the Cubs Wednesday night; Thursday night, at last, Keuchel scored a ...

Was Kyrie Irving At The Club With Nets Reserve Alan Williams? [Update]

Soon-to-be free agent Kyrie Irving was on Manhattan’s Upper East Side yesterday, if you accept the word (and image) of a local real estate developer....

Craig Kimbrel Finally Lands A Job, Joins Cubs

It took all the way until June 5, but finally, finally, one of the handful of best closers in baseball has landed a job. Per Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, Craig Kimbrel has reached an agreement to join the NL Central-leading Chicago Cubs on a multiyear deal:...

Can’t Everyone Just Stop Hollering At Phil Kessel While He’s Tryin’ To Watch The Teevee?

With the long NHL offseason here and no more hockey being played at all*, a young fan’s fancy turns, of course, to trade drama. This year’s downright biblical playoffs mean lots of teams are likely to be in the mix this summer—Columbus is about to lose high-value Russians faster than Petrograd afte...

Report: The Clippers Remain The Most Desperate Suitor In The Kawhi Leonard Sweepstakes

In keeping with his longstanding policy of having absolutely nothing interesting to say about anything, ever, Kawhi Leonard has offered very little indication of where he might prefer to sign his next long-term contract, following the conclusion of these playoffs. There’s been talk of Kawhi preferri...

Here's A Fun Activity To Do While Your Team Doesn't Sign Dallas Keuchel Or Craig Kimbrel

When Sunday, June 2, turns to Monday, June 3, the 30 Major League Baseball teams that declined to sign 2015 American League Cy Young Award winner Dallas Keuchel and seven-time All-Star closer Craig Kimbrel as free agents last winter will simultaneously lose their last and best remaining excuse for n...

Baseball Owners Want An International Draft Because They Want Absolute Control

For North America’s amateur baseball players, be they generational talents like Mike Trout or organizational filler like Mike Fish, the road to the majors begins in the same place: with Major League Baseball’s amateur draft. There is no such system in place for international players, at least not ye...

Report: Pretty Much Everyone Is Sure Kevin Durant Is Heading To The Knicks

ESPN’s Ian Begley published a story today about the state of the New York Knicks on the eve of a potentially pivotal summer for the franchise. The Knicks, of course, spent last season as a big sad joke, and even though recent Knicks history has been a procession of failed seasons followed by disappo...

How Russell Wilson's Megadeal Allows NFL Owners To Keep Winning

The conventional wisdom on Russell Wilson’s record-setting contract extension is that it’s a win for both sides. Wilson is now the NFL’s highest-paid player, and he secured strong guarantees, the largest signing bonus in history, and significant early cash flow ......