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Good morning! Be a Cinderella today, just with different shoes.
While You Were Sleeping: The Lakers make history … and might be good
It was a moment we expected, but didn’t know for sure would happen last night: LeBron James and Bronny James played in a regular season game together, becoming the first father-son duo to do so in NBA history. It was a very cool moment, no matter how you feel about the younger James’ NBA credentials.
Even cooler was the Lakers’ performance in a 110-103 win over the Timberwolves, Western Conference finalists last season. The elder James was great; Anthony Davis was better, with 36 points and 16 rebounds. Davis looked like an MVP. (Bronny played three minutes, grabbing a rebound.) If they can maintain anything close to this form, the West may be even more competitive than we thought.
Moving on:
Trades? The Rams stir up the NFL trade deadline
The NFL trade deadline will probably never be as ballyhooed as its siblings in the NBA, MLB and NHL. But two weeks out, this year’s edition has plenty of potential. The NFL contender pool is deep — as is its stable of disappointing teams.
Buyers and sellers galore. Yesterday, our NFL staff made recommendations for all 32 teams, but there are two possibilities I want to discuss — and first, the related breaking news from yesterday:
- The 2-4 Rams are selling. Or so it seems. The Athletic reported the team is reaching out to contenders about the possibility of acquiring star wide receiver Cooper Kupp, a massive sign of what L.A. thinks about this season and beyond. See our full report here. I imagine the Chiefs are first in line. And maybe the Buccaneers too. More on that later.
- The Panthers’ fire sale. The team may be awful, but there is plenty of tradable talent on the roster. Miles Sanders, Diontae Johnson, Adam Thielen, Jadeveon Clowney, Jaycee Horn and Xavier Woods could all be dealt to better teams. Imagine leaving a 1-6 team and joining the Super Bowl race.
- The Jets. Our staff says they should buy and sell, but when to give up on this season? New York has two more games between now and the deadline. Do you trade for even more offensive help? Jettison wide receiver Mike Williams and see what happens? Or, if the team is 2-7 at the time, do you start a painful rebuild early? Pressure abounds.
Read the full list here to see what your team should do. I wish you well in the transactions to come.
News to Know
Valenzuela dead at 63
Dodgers legend Fernando Valenzuela died yesterday at 63 years old, the team announced. The 1981 Cy Young winner became an icon in Los Angeles during his playing career, and continued his status as a Spanish broadcaster for the team before stepping away recently for health reasons. Read his obituary here.
Game 5 sets a record
The deciding game of the WNBA Finals drew 2.15 million viewers, per ESPN, making it the highest-rated WNBA Finals game in 25 years, up 115 percent over last season’s title-clincher. Even more impressive was its Sunday slot, making it the largest WNBA audience to ever have NFL competition on the airwaves. This just speaks to the growth of the entire women’s game. More details here.
More news
Up Next: Tank your Flagg
For the NBA teams that played last night, the future is very much now. By my count, 14 or 15 NBA teams have legitimate hopes of a deep playoff run, which leaves half the league either hoping for a surprise run or … tanking.Â
Two things to know:Â
- Tanking isn’t as attractive anymore due to the NBA’s recent rule change, which decreases the lottery odds of the worst teams. It has helped create more parity across the league. No longer can you just trash a full season and assume you’re getting a top-three pick.
- And yet, the next draft class will still encourage tanking. It’s that good, led by Duke’s Cooper Flagg, who was named preseason first-team All-America before he plays a minute of college hoops. Flagg is the most-hyped college player since Zion Williamson. The rest of the prospective draft class is deep, too.Â
Possible tank operations this season: Detroit, Washington, Charlotte, Brooklyn and maybe even Chicago and Utah. Something to keep an eye on.Â
Duke opens its season Sunday against Arizona State. Get ready to watch some tank tape.
Watch and Listen
đź“ş Soccer: Bayern Munich at FC Barcelona
3 p.m. ET on Paramount+
A mammoth Champions League matchup to start your viewing day, and it should be the toughest match for both in the league stage. Delicious.Â
đź“ş NBA: Suns at Clippers
10 p.m. ET on ESPN
With Kawhi Leonard out, the Clips are suddenly in a dangerous limbo. The sparkling, new arena debuts tonight with little star power outside of 35-year-old James Harden suiting up for the home team. And, as Zach Harper noted in yesterday’s Bounce, if the Clippers somehow win the lottery this year — a real possibility — they’d have to give the No. 1 pick to Oklahoma City, currently a favorite to win the West. Love the opening-day vibes.
Get tickets to games like these here.
🎧 Don’t miss “The NBA Daily” again this morning as basketball gets in full swing. Their analysis of a wild opening night was great. Listen here.
Pulse Picks
Describing Boise State’s Ashton Jeanty as a “Cinderella in a steel-toe boot” should be enough to want to read this story, but let me add that it’s the best Jeanty profile you’ll read. Click.Â
Yes, Indiana has a better chance of making the Playoff than Alabama. Austin Mock explained why in our latest CFP Stock Watch.Â
I loved our series yesterday on how each World Series team was built. Chad Jennings detailed how L.A. hit gold at every turn, while the Yankees’ climb was long, tough and lucky.Â
Make sure to read Jake Ciely’s Week 8 fantasy football waiver wire recommendations before it’s too late.Â
How has Rangers winger Artemi Panarin become a superstar at 32? Scouts broke down his shocking rise yesterday to Arthur Staple.Â
Most-clicked in the newsletter yesterday: Our first annual NHL front office rankings.
Most-read on the website yesterday: The latest NFL Power Rankings, where we don’t know what to do with the Packers.
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(Top photo: Harry How / Getty Images)
