With the Memphis Grizzlies slated to play two games across Germany and England this week, star point guard Ja Morant plans to meet with key members of his camp in Europe in response to recent trade speculation, sources told Yahoo Sports.
Last Friday, the Grizzlies reportedly made Morant available in trade talks. The reported decision deeply disappointed Morant and his camp, according to a well-placed source close to the situation. The 26-year-old, who has been deeply invested in the city of Memphis and its fan base, hasn’t asked for a trade, sources said, but is essentially backed into a corner with the trade deadline less than a month away.
“Live with it,” Morant bluntly told reporters in Berlin on Wednesday of his reaction to reports of his potential departure.
Morant, along with his business team — led by Phil Morant, Ja’s uncle, who takes lead on most of his day-to-day affairs — will discuss important next steps for the seventh-year pro.
While there is a collective understanding that Morant’s value is the lowest it’s ever been — a combination of the diluted point guard market, his injury and suspension history, and his offensive decline — his camp is determined to find the best solution through due diligence.
There are teams with varying levels of interest in Morant — Minnesota, Sacramento and Milwaukee to name a few — but Miami has quickly emerged as an attractive option to Morant and his camp in recent days, sources said.
The Heat have historically been regarded as one of the NBA’s most detail-oriented and structured organizations, a major aspect of development that appeals to Morant, who has missed 34 games due to various suspensions. Morant also has a deep respect for Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra, who also runs Team USA; Morant desires to represent his country in the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. Miami’s veteran presence is an additional selling point and something Morant craves.
Additionally, Morant, with three years and $125 million remaining on his current deal, is hopeful of securing a max extension by next summer, sources said.
In the interim, Morant is aiming to return to 100% after missing time with a calf injury.
“We are not in the business of commenting on random internet reports,” head coach Tuomas Iisalo told reporters in Germany on Tuesday. “He’s progressing in the practices. He’s already able to do a lot of the parts of practice, so looking good to progress [toward playing].”
Morant, who last played on Jan. 2 in Los Angeles, has appeared in just 18 games this season, averaging 19 points (his fewest since his rookie season) and 7.6 assists per game, while putting up career-lows in 3-point and effective field-goal percentage.
While in Europe, Morant also plans to spend time with Levallois Metropolitans, a third-division French basketball team which Morant acquired a significant ownership stake through his media and investment firm Catch12 last month.
Memphis, which has lost six of its past eight games, sits in 10th place in the Western Conference with a 17-22 record.
LeBron James wants Los Angeles Lakers fans to know he’s not pulling any strings behind the scenes. After nearly posting a historic triple-double Tuesday, James addressed comments his agent, Rich Paul, made during an episode of his podcast.
During that episode, Paul suggested the Lakers trade Austin Reaves to the Memphis Grizzlies in exchange for Jaren Jackson Jr. Given Reaves’ status as a fan favorite, and the fact that he’s one of James’ current teammates, James felt compelled to let people know he had nothing to do with Paul’s suggestion, per ESPN.
“I think you all know by now, Rich is his own man and what Rich says is not a direct reflection of me and how I feel,” James told ESPN on his way out of Crypto.com Arena. “And I hope people know that. I hope people know that and if they’re not sensible to know that, then I don’t know what to tell them.”
During the “Game Over with Max Kellerman and Rich Paul” show, Paul proposed a detailed trade offer that he believes would get the deal done. He explained that the move would give the Lakers a young big man to pair with Luka Dončić going forward, and would free up the Lakers from having to commit so much money to their backcourt. Reaves is eligible for a five-year, $241 million max contract extension this summer.
Reaves has missed time due to a calf injury, but he’s been excellent when on the court this season. In 23 games, Reaves is averaging a career-high 26.6 points, 6.3 assists and 5.2 rebounds. Jackson is a two-time All-Star and previous contender for the Defensive Player of the Year award.
Following Tuesday’s game, James also went out of his way to say his relationship with Reaves is still in a good place after Paul’s suggestion.
“AR knows how I feel about him,” James told ESPN. “All you got to do is look at us on the bench. Me and AR talk every single day. So, AR knows how I feel about him and I hope AR — or his camp — don’t look at me and think this is words from me are coming through Rich.
“Rich has his perspective of what he sees, I have my perspective. I’m a grown man, he’s a grown man and I think people should realize that grown men can say whatever the f— they want to say and it shouldn’t reflect somebody else is saying it.”
One of Reaves’ agents, Reggie Berry of AMR Agency, reportedly approached Paul at the Lakers game Tuesday night to discuss Paul’s trade proposal, per ESPN. The pair talked for more than five minutes.
After Tuesday’s 141-116 win over the Atlanta Hawks, the Lakers sit at 24-14, good for fifth place in the Western Conference. While the team looks like a contender, its defensive ability has been questioned by some — including head coach JJ Redick.
Jackson could help solve that issue and give the Lakers more help at a weaker position. While a Reaves-for-Jackson swap makes some sense from that angle, James wants fans to know the idea didn’t come from him.
LeBron James was questionable for the Los Angeles Lakers with foot and back injuries on Tuesday, and there was some doubt he would play given that he hasn’t played both legs of a back-to-back all season.
So naturally he played and nearly posted the first triple-double by a 41-year-old in the history of the NBA. The Lakers star totaled 31 points on 12-of-20 shooting with 12 assists and 9 rebounds in a 141-116 blowout of the Atlanta Hawks.
The win snapped a three-game losing streak for the Lakers, and a three-game winning streak for the Hawks.
The oldest player to post a triple-double in NBA history remains Karl Malone at 40 years, 127 days. James has the next 15 games on the list, but hasn’t posted one since Feb. 1 of last year, which was the 122nd of his career. At 41 years, 14 days old, he will take the record if he ever accomplishes the feat again.
“He’s gonna do everything he possibly can to play in his 23rd year. It’s remarkable. His competitive stamina is off the charts. We didn’t expect him to be able to play.”
James rising to play might also have something to do with the fact that he is exactly one missed game away from not being award eligible this season, which would snap his unprecedented 22-year All-NBA streak. He missed the Lakers’ first 14 games due to sciatica, and has sat out legs of three back-to-backs since his debut. Just last week, he was telling reporters he was TBD for every back-to-back left on the Lakers’ schedule.
Alongside James’ near-triple-double was a 27-point, 12-assist night from Luka Dončić and a 17-point, 18-rebound performance from Deandre Ayton. Every Lakers starter scored in double figures, and collectively accomplished something never before seen in NBA history despite the absence of Austin Reaves.
Tonight the @Lakers‘ starting lineup combined for:
After a close first quarter, the game steadily progressed into a blowout. The Lakers were up 21 points at halftime and led by double-digits for the entire second half.
The win improves the Lakers’ record to 24-14, still good for fifth in the Western Conference. They’re only 9-10 since Dec. 1, though, and are still under pressure to fully right the ship with a soft stretch of schedule ahead of them.
With a few months to go before the 2026 World Baseball Classic, Team USA’s roster is taking shape. After commitments from stars such as Aaron Judge and Paul Skenes, Minnesota Twins outfielder Byron Buxton and Toronto Blue Jays infielder Ernie Clement became the latest players to join the squad.
They will join a star-studded group which also includes, Bryce Harper, Bobby Witt Jr. and Cal Raleigh, among many others.
With 24 players committed to the roster, here’s how things are shaping up for Team USA in the 2026 World Baseball Classic
Team USA roster for the 2026 World Baseball Classic
Team USA position players
C – Cal Raleigh, Seattle Mariners
C – Will Smith, Los Angeles Dodgers
1B – Bryce Harper, Philadelphia Phillies
2B – Brice Turang, Milwaukee Brewers
3B – Gunnar Henderson, Baltimore Orioles
SS – Bobby Witt Jr., Kansas City Royals
INF – Ernie Clement, Toronto Blue Jays
OF – Aaron Judge, New York Yankees
OF – Corbin Carroll, Arizona Diamondbacks
OF – Pete Crow-Armstrong, Chicago Cubs
OF – Byron Buxton, Minnesota Twins
DH – Kyle Schwarber, Philadelphia Phillies
Team USA pitchers
SP – Tarik Skubal, Detroit Tigers
SP – Paul Skenes, Pittsburgh Pirates
SP – Joe Ryan, Minnesota Twins
SP – Logan Webb, San Francisco Giants
SP – Nolan McLean, New York Mets
SP – Clay Holmes, New York Mets
SP – Matthew Boyd, Chicago Cubs
RP – Mason Miller, San Diego Padres
RP – Griffin Jax, Tampa Bay Rays
RP – Garrett Whitlock, Boston Red Sox
RP – Garrett Cleavinger, Tampa Bay Rays
RP – David Bednar, Pittsburgh Pirates
The 2026 World Baseball Classic will begin March 5 and run through March 17. Team USA will be looking for redemption after falling to Shohei Ohtani and Team Japan in the final back in 2023.
The Brooklyn Nets have 52 jersey numbers worn by over 600 different players over the course of their history since the franchise was founded in 1967 as a charter member of the American Basketball Association (ABA), when the team was known as the “New Jersey Americans”.
Since then, that league has been absorbed by the NBA with the team that would later become the New York Nets and New Jersey Nets before settling on the name by which they are known today, bringing their rich player and jersey history with them to the league of today.
To commemorate the players who played for the Nets over the decades wearing those 52 different jersey numbers, Nets Wire is covering the entire history of the franchise’s jersey numbers and the players who sported them since the founding of the team.
And for today’s article, we will continue with the first of 14 people to wear the No. 40 jersey, Art Heyman. After ending his college career at Duke, Heyman was picked up with the first overall selection of the 1963 NBA Draft by the New York Knicks.
The New York City native played the first two seasons of his pro career with New York. He also played for the (then) Cincinnati Royals (now, Sacramento Kings), Philadelphia 76ers, and in other leagues before he signed with the ABA’s (then) New Jersey Americans (now, Brooklyn Nets) in 1967. His stay with the team lasted until he was traded to the (defunct) Pittsburgh Pipers that same year.
During his time suiting up for the Nets, Heyman wore only jersey No. 40 and put up 13.8 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 1.9 assists per game.
All stats and data courtesy of Basketball Reference.
The Houston Rockets have had players donning a total of 52 different jersey numbers (and have one not part of any numerical series for Houston assistant coach and general manager Carroll Dawson) since their founding at the start of the 1967-68 season, worn by just under 500 players in the course of Rockets history.
To honor all of the the players who wore those numbers over the decades, Rockets Wire is covering the entire history of jersey numbers and the players who wore them since the founding of the team all those years ago right up to the present day.
With seven of those jerseys now retired to honor some of the greatest Rockets of all time to wear those jerseys, there is a lot of history to cover.
And for today’s article, we will continue with the eighth of 18 players who wore the No. 5, wing alum James Anderson. After ending his college career at Oklahoma State, Anderson was picked up with the 20th overall selection of the 2010 NBA Draft by the San Antonio Spurs.
The Junction City, Arkansas native played parts of the first three seasons of his pro career with San Antonio before he signed with Houston in early 2013. His stay with the team lasted until the offseason.
During his time suiting up for the Rockets, Anderson wore only jersey No. 9 and put up 4.0 points, 2.0 rebounds, and 1.1 assists per game.
All stats and data courtesy of Basketball Reference.
The transfer portal giveth, and the transfer portal taketh away. In what increasingly resembles NFL free agency, the portal now commands more attention than National Signing Day or even the early signing period. Love it or hate it, it isn’t going anywhere—and every program in the country feels its impact.
As the window begins to close, several players are locking in their new homes for the 2026 season. On Tuesday, former Texas A&M redshirt freshman edge Dealyn Evans became the latest Aggie to find a fresh start, opting to join a familiar foe in the SEC.
According to On3Sports’ Hayes Fawcett, Evans will head to Mississippi State for the 2026 campaign and will arrive in Starkville with three years of eligibility remaining. The former three‑star prospect stayed through the coaching transition in College Station and continued to show encouraging flashes. There was a realistic path for him to carve out a larger role in the rotation next fall.
However, with a change at defensive line coach and the ever‑shifting landscape of the portal, Evans may feel the time is right for a fresh start—and a clearer opportunity to grow his role elsewhere.
You can view the announcement below
BREAKING: Texas A&M DL Dealyn Evans has Committed to Mississippi State, he tells @On3
The 6’5 310 DL will have 3 years of eligibility remaining
The NCAA football transfer portal opened Jan. 2 and runs through Jan. 16.
Contact/Follow us @AggiesWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Texas A&M news, notes and opinions. Follow Jarrett Johnson on X: @whosnextsports1.
Bell and Tomlin spent five seasons together before the former Steelers running back forced his way out of Pittsburgh following his holdout during the 2018 season.
Whether you love him or hate him, Tomlin’s departure no doubt leaves far more questions than answers as the Steelers look to find their next head coach — one that hopefully leads us Pittsburgh out of the long-playoff drought they’ve found themselves in.
Less than 24 hours after the team’s latest embarrassing playoff exit, the Steelers find themselves at the dawn of a new era. After 19 years at the helm, Mike Tomlin announced Tuesday that he is stepping down as the head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers. This puts the organization in rarely explored territory. Think about this context: The Beatles broke up in April of 1970; this will only be the third head coaching search the team has conducted since then.
While I won’t pretend to have any inside sources on who Art Rooney II might be favoring for the job, we can certainly take a look at some of the names that have been floated in the coaching carousel and make some educated guesses.
Staying in house?
Listen, I don’t like this any more than you do, but I’m trying to be thorough with this list. Offensive coordinator Arthur Smith has an interview scheduled with the Tennessee Titans on Wednesday, so there is at least some interest in NFL circles in giving Smith a second crack at a head coaching gig.
If Rooney were to name Smith his next head coach, it would clearly be a play at maintaining some semblance of continuity. While that would be the exact opposite of my priorities if I were in charge of the team — I’m all for as much change as the team can muster — Art Rooney has been fairly reluctant to rock the boat as owner.
Smith’s isn’t exactly anything I’d be dying to retain, but the Steelers finished 15th in points per game and 16th in EPA per play this season. Considering the lack of receiving talent on the team, and Aaron Rodgers’ propensity to live in the short, quick game, one could make the argument that Smith did fairly well with an unusual roster construction and quarterback limitations.
I am not making that argument, however. Smith was an improvement from former playcaller Matt Canada, but after leading three NFL offenses, Smith appears to be a coordinator who raises an offense’s floor but still has a relatively limited ceiling. We can argue about whether Tomlin, Smith, or Rodgers deserves the most blame for Pittsburgh’s anemic passing attack, but that’s losing the forest for the trees. Smith has led three NFL offenses in his career, and frustrating personnel utilization and spotty passing attacks were present for all three of the Titans, Falcons, and Steelers. Smith’s 2020 Titans team managed to finish fourth in PPG and third in EPA/play, but he’s never come close to those heights again in his five other seasons as a playcaller.
I expect the Steelers to conduct their due diligence and give Smith an interview, but I would be extremely opposed to retaining him.
Any offensive gurus?
Somewhere, in an alternate reality, the Steelers faced the music a year sooner and accepted the Chicago Bears’ trade offer for Mike Tomlin in January 2025. In that dimension, perhaps they were able to convince offensive guru Ben Johnson to come to Pittsburgh. Alas, that’s not the world we’re living in.
This 2026 coaching carousel doesn’t quite have the same firepower for teams looking to employ an offensive wunderkind. Many of the best options are retreads who come with their own baggage, or up-and-coming coaches with short resumes.
Mike McDaniel is one intriguing option. McDaniel’s Dolphins in 2022 and 2023 were some of the most explosive and exciting in the league. A member of the ever-expanding Shanahan coaching tree, McDaniel’s offenses highlighted the speed of his skill position players while featuring a strong running game and a passing game that accented the strengths of quarterback Tua Tagovailoa while hiding some of his limitations. That was less effective over the past two seasons, but I still believe McDaniel to be one of the more brilliant offensive minds in the league.
Elsewhere, the Packers have yet to move on from Matt LaFleur, but with rumblings of discontent coming out of Green Bay, the Steelers should certainly monitor that situation. LaFleur is another branch of the Shanahan coaching tree, and in seven seasons as a head coach, he’s accumulated 76 wins and a .654 winning percentage. There’s concern about his record in the playoffs (3-6), but LaFleur is a young coach who I wouldn’t write off just yet.
Kevin Stefanski is another playcaller with a decent reputation who is suddenly looking for a job. It’s hard to fully judge him after Browns’ ownership saddled him with DeShaun Watson and his team-sinking contract, but NFL circles seem to still consider him a top hire this cycle. He’d come with built-in knowledge and experience against the Steelers’ AFC rivals, and his preferred running game designs would seemingly fit in well with the Steelers’ personnel. Still, it would feel weird to bring in a coach fired by the lowly Browns after winning just eight games the past two seasons. Plus, Stefanski’s work with rookies Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders this season doesn’t inspire a ton of confidence in his ability to develop the types of quarterbacks the Steelers might be forced to deploy in the immediate future.
Other names include:
Mike McCarthy — A Pittsburgh native with a Super Bowl ring and two prior head coaching gigs. I would be against this hire, as McCarthy has seemingly struggled to adapt to recent innovations in the league, but we’re trying to be thorough, remember?
Kliff Kingsbury — a name I’d be much more sold on as an OC hire than a head coach. Kingsbury’s run game designs remain one of the best in the league. His time with Arizona has me questioning his ability as the top man, but his work with Washington’s offense rehabbed his reputation significantly.
Joe Brady — Brady has worked well with an elite quarterback (Joe Burrow at LSU, Josh Allen in Buffalo), but would he have the same success in Pittsburgh, where there are no easy answers for who will be the quarterback in 2026? Brady was less successful during his time in Carolina, but as a disciple of Sean Payton, he might be able to get the best from a Steelers’ offense whose best players play running back and tight end.
Klint Kubiak — If you hadn’t noticed, coaches with ties to the Shanahan offensive system are all the rage in the NFL, and Kubiak is the son of Gary Kubiak, the coach who designed this offensive system with Mike Shanahan back in the ’90s. Kubiak started hot in New Orleans in 2024 before roster limitations sank their season. This year, he was the playcaller for the NFC’s top-seeded Seattle Seahawks. Is he ready to be a head coach? Anyone’s guess, but his wide zone, play-action-heavy offense would be a fit with Pittsburgh’s offensive personnel.
Klayton Adams — Adams was a first-year OC in Dallas this year, and previously was an offensive line coach for Arizona and Indianapolis. That NFL journey has given him influences like Frank Reich and Schottenheimer. Adams was a co-offensive coordinator with the Colts and was in charge of designing the Cardinals’ running game in 2023-24. Dallas’ run game was reinvigorated this season with him in-house, and Arizona’s fell apart.
Grant Udinski — It’s hard to parse out how much credit to give an offensive coordinator hired by an offensive-minded head coach, but Udinski was the offensive coordinator this season for the Jaguars and head coach Liam Coen. This Jaguars staff helped Trevor Lawrence produce what was easily his best season as a pro. Coen comes from the Sean McVay coaching tree, which is just another prominent branch of the Shanahan tree. At just 29 years old, Udinski probably isn’t ready for the top job just yet, but the Steelers gambled on a green coach with only one season as an NFL coordinator with their last head coaching hire.
Defensive coaches
While I get the appeal to hire a coach with an offensive background, the truth is that many of those coaches I listed in the previous section are considered to be a year or two away from being ready. Many of the names listed as the top available coaches in this hiring cycle come from a defensive background. The Steelers need new ideas on both sides of the ball, so they should limit their search to just offensive schemers. The best hire will be able to maximize their own expertise and find quality coaches to assist in the areas where they are lacking.
Jesse Minter is one of the top names I’d be monitoring for the Steelers. Minter is young, but he comes from the Harbaugh coaching ecosystem and helped generate top defenses at Michigan, as well as assisting in a culture shift with the Chargers. Time with the Ravens also had him rubbing elbows with Mike Macdonald, one of the most brilliant defensive minds in the NFL presently. The Chargers just fell out of the playoffs, but their defense had potential league MVP Drake Maye looking lost for most of the game. Minter has seen what a professional operation looks like, and I’d be intrigued to see what ideas he could bring to Pittsburgh. Plus, it would be nice to keep him off the Baltimore sidelines.
Another name being linked to the Steelers is Rams’ DC Chris Shula. The grandson of legendary coach Don Shula, Shula has 11 years of NFL experience, including the past two seasons as defensive coordinator for the Rams. Shula got the most out of a Rams defense that was expected to heavily regress after the departures of Aaron Donald and Jalen Ramsey. The Rams have not invested heavily in cornerbacks since letting Ramsey walk; instead, they’ve made the most of young players without pristine NFL pedigrees, which could pair well with a Steelers organization that hasn’t drafted a first-round corner since taking Artie Burns in 2016. Another potential perk of hiring Shula? He’s plugged into the McVay coaching tree, meaning he’d likely have the connections to bring in an offensive coordinator with experience in that system.
Brian Flores didn’t have a successful tenure in Miami — and is still in a legal battle regarding his firing there — but after rehabbing his image for a year in Pittsburgh, he’s gone on to become one of the most respected defensive schemers in the NFL. Time will tell if Flores has matured enough to handle the pressures of the top job better than he allegedly did in Miami, but a return to Pittsburgh would make a ton of sense for an organization that is already familiar with him.
Other names could include:
Aden Durde — Durde worked as a defensive line coach in Dallas before becoming Mike MacDonald’s DC in Seattle. Seattle’s defense has been one of the three best units in the league this year, and Durde would likely have some scheme influence from his time with MacDonald.
Lou Anarumo — A former division rival, Anarumo has a reputation for being a mad scientist on defense. A huge part of the Bengals’ Super Bowl run a few years back, the main appeal of Anarumo is his willingness to create unique defensive game plans on a week-to-week basis to best match up with that week’s opponent.
Matt Burke — a disciple of Jim Schwartz and DeMeco Ryans — Burke’s Texans defense just finished demolishing the Steelers in the playoffs. Burke doesn’t have a ton of experience — he took over play-calling duties in Week 4 of this season — but he’s sure to have left quite the impression in Pittsburgh this past weekend.
Vance Joseph — He struggled as the top man in Denver, but Joseph has headed strong defenses at every stop he’s made in the NFL. That includes a unique return to a Denver team that fired him just five years prior to his return as DC. Has working under Sean Payton better prepared him to handle the duties of a head coach this time around?
Robert Saleh — Saleh was never able to get a decent offense together during his time with the Jets, but New York’s defense fell off once he was ousted. Meanwhile, the Niners have played admirably this year, despite being decimated by injuries on all three levels of the defense, including stars Nick Bosa and Fred Warner. If he could attract a quality offensive coordinator, could he get the Steelers’ defense playing hard-nosed, swarming defense again?
What about the college ranks?
I won’t spend too much time discussing college coaches, simply because there is only one whose name I’ve seen with any momentum in the media: Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman.
Freeman seems to fit the temperament and mold that Pittsburgh covets, and he’s led Notre Dame to a 43-12 record since taking over at Notre Dame amid a tumultuous exit of the previous head coach. Still, reports seem to indicate that Freeman isn’t going anywhere. Adam Schefter is reporting Freeman is staying put, but speculation still persists after Notre Dame suddenly scheduled a press conference for him on Wednesday.
I will also note that Notre Dame’s decision to withdraw from a bowl game after being left out of the College Football Playoff gave me “the ick,” but it’s unclear if that decision was more influenced by Freeman or his athletic director.
What do you think about these candidates? Is there anyone I left out that you’d consider? Let us know who you’d hire in the comments!
Ballentine writes that the cost would be a third-round pick and a conditional fourth-round pick.
“The Steelers proved they have the roster and coaching to get into the playoffs with a baseline of competent quarterback play,” Ballentine writes. “Aaron Rodgers (44.1) was just 23rd in Total QBR, and Pittsburgh still won the AFC North. Murray has surpassed that mark in every season of his career. Pittsburgh has valued remaining relevant, and this is a move that keeps them competitive in the AFC North. Murray’s price has likely taken a hit after playing just five games and carrying $36.8 million in guarantees in 2026. Assuming Rodgers retires, Murray might be the best veteran quarterback available on the trade market. A trade in which they give up a Day 2 pick this year and a conditional pick that appreciates if Murray stays healthy could land them their next veteran quarterback.”
The Steelers could choose to address QB in the draft, but the 2026 class took a major downturn compared to its expectations at the start of the season.
Would Pittsburgh want Ty Simpson out of Alabama in the middle of the first round? He certainly wouldn’t be a guaranteed savior.
Murray has flaws, but he’s also proven he can perform at the NFL level. Maybe he’d be worth the shot.
