Browsing: Young

NASSAU, Bahamas — U.S. Open champion J.J. Spaun converted two of his three eagle chances, Cameron Young shot 30 on the back nine and Hideki Matsuyama was bogey-free, all of them part of another five-way tie for the lead Friday in the Hero World Challenge.

Missing from a share of the lead was Scottie Scheffler, who briefly had the lead to himself.

Scheffler holed an 18-foot eagle putt on the par-5 15th right about the time Young finally cooled off by missing an 8-foot par putt on the 18th. That put Scheffler at 11-under par for a one-shot lead that lasted all of one hole.

He pulled his tee shot on the 16th for the second straight day, this time having to take a penalty shot to get out of a palmetto bush. Then, he misjudged the trajectory of a blind shot and it clipped the top of another palmetto bush, leading to a double bogey.

Akshay Bhatia birdied the 18th for a 68 to join former U.S. Open champion Wyndham Clark (68), Spaun (68), Matsuyama (66) and Young (64).

They were at 10-under 134 at Albany Golf Club, where nearly half of the 20-man field was separated by two shots going into the weekend.

Spaun made only five eagles all season and then seized on the scoring holes. He hit a 3-wood to 3 feet on the par-5 sixth and hit tee shot on the reachable par-4 14th settled 5 feet away, both of them eagles. He narrowly missed a 15-foot eagle putt on the par-5 15th.

That allowed him to recover from a pair of bogeys on the opening four holes.

“Didn’t get a great start, but salvaged a pretty decent round,” Spaun said.

Bhatia, in his final tournament before getting married, saved himself at the end with a nifty par save from short of the 16th green and then a bogey on the par-3 17th when he chipped through the green and into a bunker, blasted out and made a 15-foot putt to keep it from being worse.

He has a new caddie for this week, Joe Greiner, the longtime looper for Max Homa until earlier this year. Bhatia likes that Greiner also swings left-handed and their communication is working.

Scheffler had a 69 and was tied at 9-under 135 with Alex Noren (66) and Sepp Straka (69), with former Albany resident Justin Rose another shot back after a 68.

“I think I did some good things out there. Just a few too many mistakes, but overall still felt pretty good,” Scheffler said.

Billy Horschel had a 68 and was five shots behind. He missed most of this year after hip surgery and is the only player in the 20-man field who has not secured a spot in the Masters. Horschel is at No. 45 in the world ranking – the top 50 at the end of the year get into the Masters – and a solid finish could settle that.

The conventional wisdom holds that Dec. 15 marks the unofficial opening of the NBA trade season, because that’s when many players who signed new contracts or extensions this past summer become eligible to be traded. The reality is that it will be Dec. 19-22 in Orlando — when the NBA G League Winter Showcase takes place — that talks really start to ramp up. It’s when the GMs and front offices of all 30 teams gather together, ostensibly to watch the best G-League players, but it’s an event without fans (just basketball people and some media), and you can watch as certain GMs peel off and start side conversations just 30 feet from the court. It’s where business starts to get done.

Heading into all of that, here are the latest NBA Trade rumors, starting with the biggest name potentially on the board.

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Giannis Antetokounmpo

Antetokounmpo being off the court for 2-4 weeks with a calf strain is not about to slow the trade rumors surrounding him, or the fake trades we are all seeing, after he reportedly restarted talks about his future with the Bucks front office. Here are a few updates.

• Milwaukee may find it hard to land a lot of first-round picks. Antetokounmpo’s performance is not in question, he has been playing at an MVP-level this season. However, he turns 31 on Saturday and is looking for a massive contract extension that will start in the 2027-28 or 2028-29 season, his age-33 or age-34 season (he has a $62.8 million player option for 2027-28). The recent history of teams giving up a massive haul of first-round picks for players entering their mid-30s — even elite players — has them pausing and seriously considering how many picks they would trade for Antetokounmpo. Brian Windhorst of ESPN put it this way on his Hoop Collective Podcast:

“What I’m telling you is that when I talk to executives and these executives are not in trade talks with the Bucks or another for a star player right now, the mood in the NBA right now is not give up four first round picks for anybody … All these teams are worried about getting into apron trouble where they can’t reset their rosters…

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“This is how teams are thinking right now. They’re a little freaked about the aprons. There ain’t going to be no five first round pick trades. I know that we saw those for a while. That’s just not to happen.”

• The Pelicans’ 2026 draft pick could determine where Antetokounmpo lands. Antetokounmpo may have New York at the top of his wish list, but talking to league sources the last 48 hours, three teams come up as being able to put together better offers and may be places Antetokounmpo would be open to: Atlanta, San Antonio and Houston.

Atlanta is the team I hear the most (assuming Antetokounmpo wants to stay in the East). It can make a trade based around Trae Young and recent No. 1 pick Zaccharie Risacher, but the biggest prize would be the Pelicans’ first-round pick in next June’s draft (which Atlanta controls because Joe Dumars traded it away to move up last June and select Derik Queen in a head-shaking move). NBA insider Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report and The Stein Line said he had been told all season there was no way the Hawks were surrendering what could be a very high pick in a deep draft at the top, but then added that landing Antetokounmpo in his prime and just going for it — with a team that has gone 11-7 while Young is out injured and has had a much improved defense — has to have the Atlanta front office rethinking that stance.

• The Oklahoma City factor. While Oklahoma City has the picks and players to make a serious offer for Antetokounmpo if they wanted to, why would they? At 21-1 with a record point differential and a locker room that gets along well, OKC looks like a juggernaut this season.

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OKC’s dominance is something Houston and San Antonio have to take into consideration, as Zach Lowe of The Ringer discussed on his podcast. Do the Spurs look at this season’s Thunder, then look at how young their roster is, and decide to be patient and take their swings at OKC in a couple of years, when their roster is peaking, and the luxury tax is forcing changes to the Thunder? Same thing with Houston, which looks like a contender now, although Kevin Durant being on that team does somewhat change the equation. The bottom line is that both of those teams may look at the big picture and step back.

• The two big questions about an Antetokounmpo trade. In talking to league sources about the trade, two big themes and questions emerged:

1) Will Antetokounmpo (through his agent) actually demand a trade this time? He has danced up to this line but stepped back, not wanting to come off as the bad guy forcing his way out of Milwaukee (a tactic that has worked; the Bucks have upgraded their roster as best they could each time). Yes, Antetokounmpo asked the Bucks to explore a trade with the Knicks last summer, but by the time he did there was no deal to be made. This would be different. It also feels different on Antetokounmpo’s end this time.

2) If Antetokounmpo is available via trade, will the Bucks work with the two-time MVP to get him where he wants to go (presumably New York, although maybe another city or two is on the list), or will they look for the best offer regardless of destination? Antetokounmpo has some leverage because he can be a free agent in the summer of 2027, but plenty of teams would be willing to take the risk on him for a year at the right price.

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Anthony Davis

Davis getting traded feels more like an offseason move than one that happens during the season, especially since the team has looked better of late, winning three straight (games against Oklahoma City and Houston in the coming days are good measuring sticks).

When ESPNâ€s Windhorst was talking about teams not wanting to give up many first-round picks in a trade, that was aimed more at Anthony Davis and the market for him than at Antetokounmpo. Davis is 32, with a history of nagging injuries, and also is up for a contract extension this summer — a potentially massive one — which has teams a little hesitant. Is an aging Davis going to be worth the money he is asking? Windhorst added this on his podcast.

“When I have heard what people are saying Anthony Davis’ trade value is right now, not because of him as a player, to be clear, not because he’s diminished as a player, but because of the idea of paying an injury-prone mid-30s guy $50, $60 million dollars in the apron era is unpalatable.”

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James Harden, Kawhi Leonard

The Clippers have never hit the fact that they are built to pivot in 2027, when everyone except Ivica Zubac comes off the books. However, after a dreadful start to this season, could the Clippers accelerate that timeline by trading James Harden or Kawhi Leonard?

Good luck with that. Especially with Leonard, who is making $50 million this season and is guaranteed the same next season, and comes with a lengthy injury history. Harden, playing like an All-Star at a more reasonable $39.2 million (with a player option for $42 million next season), might be a different story, as Tim Bontemps wrote at ESPN.

“The feedback from league insiders has been that, while a team would take on Harden, it may be more difficult to find a landing spot for Leonard because of his injury and the Aspiration case still ongoing. “James has maybe neutral value,” an East scout said. “Kawhi Leonard has negative value.”

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Trae Young/LaMelo Ball/Ja Morant

This group of point guards is who I am watching most closely heading into the trade deadline, thinking that one of their teams might decide it’s time to make a major pivot and move on if the right deal comes along.

Except that deal is unlikely to materialize, as ESPNâ€s Tim MacMahon and Bobby Marks wrote. They said these comments summed up the prevailing opinion on all three.

“I wouldn’t want any of them,” a Western Conference general manager told ESPN.

“They all might have negative value,” an Eastern Conference executive said.

When we get to next offseason that may change for at least one and maybe all three of them, but don’t bet on a deadline deal.

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“Itâ€s tough, itâ€s stressful, itâ€s completely draining … but I absolutely love what I do,†says Scott Davies, sitting in an empty dressing room waiting for his players to arrive for training. Since 2022, Davies has been the player-manager of Slough Town who, in third from bottom in National League South, are the lowest ranked team left in this seasonâ€s FA Cup.

Some players are stuck in traffic; training was moved forward to teatime to accommodate a local teamâ€s match on the Arbour Park pitch. When the session gets under way in the bucketing rain, the sixth-tier side are sharing the 3G surface with a junior team. “I always thought Iâ€d love to be a manager of a non-league football club and have a job on the side,†says Davies. The 37-year-old has opted out of training himself, instead watching the session from inside, with a tactics board propped up in front of him.

The day before, he is at Aylesbury grammar school to work his other job. Over the course of 45 minutes, he quietens a lecture theatre of sixth-formers with a sobering talk on how a gambling addiction derailed his career as a professional footballer, put a strain on his relationships with friends and family and took him to the verge of ending his own life.

‘I always thought Iâ€d love to be a manager of a non-league football club and have a job on the side.†Scott Davies has been player-manager of Slough since 2022. Photograph: Graeme Robertson/The Guardian

After going into rehab 10 years ago, Davies has not placed a bet since and is now an educator on the dangers of gambling for Epic Risk Management. He talks to the all-boys school of how, when he scored a free-kick against Chelseaâ€s Petr Cech in a pre-season friendly for Reading in 2009, he thought he had made it. But by then, at 21 years old, his betting was out of control.

The talented midfielder, then playing Championship football, was sneaking out of training at the first opportunity to head to the bookmakers, often making up excuses to leave – one day saying that he had a dentist appointment. When asked by his manager, Brendan Rodgers, to call the dentist to prove it, Davies could not and he was not picked by Reading again.

While on loan at Wycombe in League One, Davies thought he was on his way to Leeds. When he saw on Sky Sports News they had signed someone else, he went to the bookmakers and lost £7,000 in one day. When he was at Crawley in League Two, he started gambling on his own matches and would sneak off into a toilet cubicle at half-time to place bets. Then at Oxford United, he would stay up all night to place bets.

Scott Davies attempts to evade the challenge of Mikel John Obi during Readingâ€s 2009 pre-season friendly against Chelsea, in which Davies scored a free-kick. Photograph: Colorsport/Shutterstock

By the age of 26, Daviesâ€s career was in freefall. He dropped three divisions to play for Dunstable Town. His first game was away at Bideford, with the team bus driving past Readingâ€s stadium. “That was a moment of realisation,†Davies says. “I remember looking at the ground as I went past it and thinking: ‘What has happened?†Iâ€m never going to forget that moment.â€

His coach at Dunstable, Tony Fontenelle, is now Daviesâ€s assistant at Slough and the pair have created an environment where their players can talk to them about anything, breaking down the barriers of macho culture that existed when Davies first came through and was afraid to talk to anyone at his club about his addiction.

“We always stress the importance that weâ€re not just managers: weâ€re life coaches, weâ€re counsellors, weâ€re father figures,†he says. “Weâ€ve had lads in this changing room stood here crying, with our arms wrapped around them, having heart-to-hearts, where theyâ€ve been going through something outside of football.â€

While every case is individual, Davies believes young footballers are susceptible to becoming problem gamblers. The money, the spare time, the competitive nature of it, the perceived insider knowledge when it comes to sports betting were all factors that contributed to his addiction. “When you put all of those things together, youâ€ve pretty much got the perfect customer for a bookmaker.â€

In the week leading up to Sundayâ€s second-round tie at home to Macclesfield, Davies is speaking to Ipswich and Aston Villaâ€s under-21 teams. “I do feel like weâ€ve got a duty of care to protect the younger generation, the ones that are coming through, and thatâ€s why I do the job that I do,†he says.

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Balancing his two jobs has not been a problem until now but, while Davies has not put all his eggs in the management basket, you can sense a desire to prove a point. When the previous managers resigned three years ago, the Slough board asked the midfielder if he wanted the job. “I was a bit bamboozled,†he says. “I did my first coaching badge when I was 16. And then I did my next badge when I was 36. I qualified with my Uefa B [licence] this year. I only did it because I became a manager almost overnight.â€

Now settled, married and the father to a 10-month-old daughter, Davies is yet to hang up his boots and is planning to start on his Uefa A licence. “Thereâ€s a lot of regret but the beauty of coming out the other side and moving on to management is that Iâ€m going to right the wrongs of my playing career with what will hopefully be a long, distinguished management career.â€

‘Weâ€re not just managers: weâ€re life coaches, weâ€re counsellors, weâ€re father figures.†Scott Davies hopes to continue breaking down the barriers of macho football culture that existed during his younger years. Photograph: Graeme Robertson/The Guardian

Slough have never reached the third round of the Cup and have already made it through four rounds. Their eight second-round exits are a record for a non-league club. Such is the money involved, drawing a Premier League club in the next round could bring a windfall in seven figures for a team whose squad includes builders, personal trainers and teaching assistants.

The prospect of facing coaches such as Pep Guardiola in the third round is a curious one for Davies. “I donâ€t think there would be any tactics that go with the game. Itâ€s one of those where youâ€d be happy to lose the football match just for the experience. Itâ€s incredible to see the non-league teams that get drawn against some of these giants over the years. You see it and you think: ‘One day, can it be you?â€â€

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The expectation in league circles is that the new front office in Dallas — either the current interim one or whoever takes the job full-time — will explore the trade market for Anthony Davis. One of the names that comes up as a potential landing spot is the Chicago Bulls, sending Davis back to the city where he grew up, ideally to become the two-way big man this improving team needs.

Chicago has had “internal discussions” about a Davis trade, reports Jamal Collier of ESPN — but the Bulls wisely would not give up any of their young core in a deal.

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The Bulls have had internal discussions about how to proceed, including conversations about Dallas Mavericks star Anthony Davis, sources told ESPN, whom they believe could help the team’s porous rim protection and defensive interior … However, team sources said the Bulls will not sacrifice any of their young core to execute such a deal until the team is closer to contention.

“I don’t think going out and chasing X megastar is the way to proceed — at least today,” one source told ESPN.

The Bulls picture their young core as Josh Giddey (23), Coby White (25), Matas Buzelis (21), and, hopefully, rookie Noa Essengue (18), along with whomever they draft in the next couple of years. Isaac Okoro, 24, might fit in that group as well.

Anthony Davis is 32, turning 33 in March, and comes with a history of nagging injuries. What’s more, Davis is making $54.1 million this season, has a guaranteed $58.5 million next season, and will be seeking a contract extension this summer. He does not fit Chicago’s retooling timeline and takes up a lot of cap space for a team where ownership rarely spends into the luxury tax (three times in the past 13 years). First, Davis will have to stay healthy and produce on the court throughout December and into November before any team will even seriously consider a trade.

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Because of his massive salary and the fact that the Mavericks are up against the second apron, where they are hard-capped, constructing any reasonable Davis trade in-season is next to impossible. Chicago could make it work financially with an offer of Nikola Vucevic, Patrick Williams and another player making less (maybe Jevon Carter) plus a pick, but that’s not going to interest Dallas (remember what they gave up to get Davis).

No doubt the Bulls have had internal discussions about Davis, but in the NBA “internal discussions” are nearly meaningless — front offices are always throwing around ideas and thinking through options, even ones they have little to no interest in actually executing. Call it due diligence, but front offices want to think through every reasonable scenario.

If Davis gets traded, it’s far more likely an offseason move. But the rumors are not going to stop until the trade deadline passes.

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A young WWE star has been impressing a lot of people in the company.

Over the last few weeks, Je’Von Evans has been the talk of town in the pro-wrestling industry. Veterans have also been very open about their thoughts on how far Evans can go in his career, with Sheamus even admitting that he was excited to see the NXT star’s future unfold.

In a recent interview on Getting Over: Wrestling Podcast, Ethan Page also spoke highly about Evans. When asked about what the NXT star’s ceiling was in comparison to others, Page said:

Higher than everyone else here. Higher than mine. I mean, that’s, hurts for me to say.”

“He’s just himself. You know and I think that’s one thing that took me so long to figure out is, essentially, just be as genuine as possible. And as much as I hate the kid, he is who he is. No one’s going to change him. And when he performs, that’s as genuine of Je’Von as you are gonna get. So yeah, he has an unlimited ceiling and I hope the WWE has signed him to a 15-year contract. So, I am very excited to see what he does here.”

You can check out the full interview below:

An AEW Star Has Also Praised WWE Talent Je’Von Evans

Je’Von Evans’ fame has reached AEW as well, where Swerve Strickland recently commented on what many are calling the future of WWE.

Speaking on an episode of Insight with Chris Van Vliet, Strickland said that it was perfectly plausible that Evans was better than him.

Itâ€s not an insult to say Jeâ€Von Evans is better than Swerve. I am like yes, he is. At 21 years old he is better than I was at 30.

[CVV: Do you actually believe that?]

Yes. I have more intangibles, â€cause I have learnt those things on the indies. Heâ€s in like, heâ€s in the system now at 21. Ya he is supposed to be [better than me.] He is supposed to be better. Because†who is he watching? He was watching myself. He has told me to my face. Like he has watched me and Leo Rush and guys like that, and he took it to the next level, which is what we did.â€

With many years ahead of him, as things stand, Je’Von Evans’ future will be watched closely by fans and experts alike.

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The Young Bucks have revealed the worst finisher they have ever taken.

During a recent conversation with journalist Adam Glyn, The Young Bucks shared which finisher theyâ€ve taken hurts the most and leaves a mark. Matt Jackson was quick to say that Jurassic Express‘ Countdown to Extinction, a double-team flipping powerbomb, he took at WrestleDream, was the most brutal finisher theyâ€ve ever taken.

Matt Jackson: “The one I just took recently. Iâ€ll tell you right now. The new one, the Jurassic Express one. Oh my God! It was brutal. I took it at the last pay-per-view, and it was lights out. I was okay, but it was like, ‘Whoo, if this wasnâ€t really the finisher, Iâ€m not getting up.â€

Nick Jackson: “Itâ€s like a flipping powerbomb. Anytime your head whiplashes, youâ€re screwed.â€

During the same conversation, The Young Bucks also addressed Chris Jerichoâ€s current status with AEW amid the latterâ€s absence from television.

Nick Jackson stated that Chris Jericho is a founding father of All Elite Wrestling and that heâ€d be happy to see him stay with the company. However, he noted that Jerichoâ€s on a break and is figuring things out on his own.

“Heâ€s a founding father, so of course we want him to stay. Weâ€re not sure where heâ€s at headspace-wise right now, but I know heâ€s on a break. Heâ€s trying to figure it out on his own, and sometimes you gotta let a wrestler like that figure it out on his own.â€

Read More: Ric Flair: Tony Khan Legitimately Cares About Everyone That Works For Him

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November 26, 2025 | Paul Stimpson

Four young England players are set to get some essential experience on the international stage as the Europe Youth Series moves on to Serbia this week.

The quartet are Oliver Glowacki, Ronan Lamont Tierney (pictured above), Lev Sahmurov and Lusio Wen, who will compete in the Under-13 categories.

Glowacki, Sahmurov and Wen have some experience of international competition, having travelled to Hungary earlier this month for the WTT Youth Contender Szombathely, but it is a first international foray for Lamont Tierney – who beat Sahmurov in the Under-13 Boys’ Singles final at the Blackpool 4* at the weekend.

The competition starts with the team event and England have two line-ups. Sahmurov and Wen are England I and have been drawn in Group 1 alongside Spain, Ireland, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Serbia II, Greece II and a composite team from Moldova and Romania.

Glowacki and Lamont Tierney will represent England II and play in Group 2 against Montenegro, Serbia, Croatia, Greece, Spain II and Serbia III.

The team events are played on Wednesday and Thursday and the singles – in which all four boys will also play – gets under way on Friday. The competition finishes on Sunday.

ETTU launched the Europe Youth Series in 2023 to provide high-quality competition for Under-15 and Under-13 players. There are several events around the continent each year. The last time England were represented, in Bosnia-Herzegovina in April, a more experienced squad won four medals across the two age groups.

Results will be updated on this page.

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Draymond Green defends Nick Young after Kenyon Martin’s 2018 NBA title critiques originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

Former NBA guard Nick Young was only on the Warriors for one season, but he helped Golden State win its third title in four years in 2018.

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And though Young often gets some flak on the “Gilâ€s Arena†podcast for his role on that team, Draymond Green wants to make it clear that Young was a key contributor during the Warriors†title run that year.

In Fridayâ€s episode of “The Draymond Green Show,†the Golden State forward issued a rebuttal to clips heâ€s seen featuring former NBA players Kenyon Martin and Rashad McCants, during which they antagonize Young. Green already had responded to Martinâ€s shots directed at Green himself earlier in the same podcast.

“But one thing I want to share with Kenyon Martin and Rashad McCants,†Green explained, “you know, a couple of guys who try to attack Nick Young about his NBA championship, is this. I know you guys donâ€t understand what it means to win an NBA championship. And because of that, you guys attack Nick Young because yâ€all donâ€t know what it takes. So, Iâ€m going to share with you all non-champions what it takes to win an NBA championship.â€

In his 15-year NBA career, Martin reached the NBA Finals twice with the New Jersey Nets but fell short in both attempts. McCants, meanwhile, failed to reach the playoffs during his four-year career.

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“So, in an NBA championship, you have your guys who have to deliver on a roster,†Green continued. “Me, Steph [Curry] and Klay [Thompson], we had to deliver. You had to. And then you have all your guys who play a role. What role players do in the NBA playoffs en route to NBA championships … what I like to call them is swing players, as opposed to role players. I like to call them swing players.

“What do I mean by swing players? Your job as a role player throughout an NBA championship run is — itâ€s easier said than done, but the concept is simple. Your job is to swing one series. And what I mean by that is, you be the piece in one series that swings the series, because we know what Steph is going to do. We know what Klay is going to do. We know what Draymond is going to do. We know what theyâ€re going to bring to the floor. We need one player that weâ€re not necessarily expecting to do X to swing the series.â€

Green went on to highlight Young as the swing player who helped push Golden State over the top in a hard-fought Western Conference Finals that season; the Warriors needed seven games to defeat the Houston Rockets before sweeping the Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA Finals.

“And so when you go look at our championship run that Nick Young was a part of, Nick Young was the swing player in the Houston series,†Green said. “In Games 6 and 7, Nick Young was one of the primary defenders on James Harden. Nick Young hit big threes. He swung the series for us. Guess what? Job done. When you talk about winning a championship, he swung the series. Thatâ€s his job as a role player to swing one series. He did that.

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“So when you guys try to say, ‘His championship doesnâ€t matter, he rode, he just got a ring.†No, he didnâ€t. What he did was swing a series, but because you guys never won a championship, you donâ€t quite understand that concept.â€

As expected, Green didnâ€t pull any punches in his comments defending his former teammate. But as a four-time NBA champion himself, itâ€s hard to argue with anything he said.

Download and follow the Dubs Talk Podcast

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The Youngs Bucks believe that Chris Jericho needs to find his own way.

The AEW Co-founders were recently interviewed by Adam’s Apple. They talked about things such as how they handle creative disagreements, which stars on the current roster they think are underrated and more.

The duo were also asked about the absence of Chris Jericho from AEW TV and his future. Matt Jackson noted that Y2J belongs in the AEW Mt Rushmore, while Nick Jackson claimed that they want the former World Champion to stay with the promotion but they’re not sure what he is planning:

“Heâ€s a founding father, so of course we want him to stay. Weâ€re not sure where heâ€s at head-space-wise right now, but I know heâ€s on a break and trying to figure it out on his own. And sometimes you have to let a wrestler like that figure it out on his own.â€

Chris Jericho has not been seen on AEW TV since April this year, and his prolonged absence has been the cause for all sorts of rumors. Many people believe that the Attitude Era star is on his way back to WWE for the final chapter of his career.

Tony Khan, however, suggested during a recent interview that Jericho’s absence has to do with the company having used up all his contracted dates. You can check out his remarks here.

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Friday was the deadline for teams to tender deals to any players in that camp. Mostly, clubs only non-tender arbitration-eligible players whose projected salaries begin to outstrip their projected production. In some cases, however, clubs will non-tender less experienced players like Young or Kranick because they value the vacant roster spot.

Young, 31, emerged as a left-on-left option for the Mets in 2024 before briefly becoming one of manager Carlos Mendozaâ€s most trusted lefties early this season. But he injured his elbow in April and underwent Tommy John surgery shortly thereafter. Although Young is likely to be ready at some point next season, the Mets added enough lefty depth to their bullpen to make him expendable.

Kranick, 28, avoided Tommy John surgery, instead undergoing a less serious operation to repair an issue with his right flexor tendon. Still, Kranick was out of Minor League options and set to miss time at the beginning of 2026, which is why the Mets moved on from him.

Castillo, 29, has no active injury concerns, but he had been a fringe roster piece throughout 2025.

Taylor, 31, performed well enough in 2024 to earn everyday reps down the stretch and in the postseason, but his production took a significant step back this year. Playing on a $3.025 million contract, Taylor posted a career-low .598 OPS to put his tender status in doubt. He still played top-tier defense in center field, however, while saving some of his best offensive play for the final two weeks of the season.

Taylorâ€s presence also eases some pressure off the Mets to find a center-field stopgap who can play the position until top-ranked prospect Carson Benge (the Mets’ No. 2 prospect and No. 21 in MLB, per MLB Pipeline) is ready. The Mets could hand the keys to center back to Taylor, then either move on to Benge from there, or find a midseason replacement from outside the organization if necessary.

Several of the Mets†other arbitration-eligible players — Francisco Alvarez, David Peterson and Luis Torrens — were all locks to be tendered contracts. But not all of them. Tylor Megill and Reed Garrett, for instance, are both recovering from Tommy John surgery just like Young. But because Megill and Garrett remain under team control beyond 2026, Mets officials estimated that it will be worth paying them to rehab next season in hopes that they can contribute again in 2027 and beyond.

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