Diego Vergel de Dios Articles - Page 8

The San Diego Padres made a splash before the 2022 trade deadline by acquiring generational talent Juan Soto. Even without Fernando Tatis Jr. for the whole season, the Padres advanced as far as the NLCS, which was a delightful sight for their fanbase. Thus, the franchise continued adding big names as they signed Xander Bogaerts […]

The Dallas Mavericks acquired the second-biggest star at the trade deadline when they took a massive gamble on star guard Kyrie Irving. He is the second star to be paired with Luka Doncic after the failed experiment with Kristaps Porzingis came to an end last season. Irving is on an expiring contract, but Dallas is […]

The Memphis Grizzlies are the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference with a 35-22 record at the 2023 All-Star break. The Grizzlies were 31-13 at one point, but they lost eight of nine games before rallying with three wins out of four entering the break. Some key injuries have hurt Memphis at times, and […]

The Los Angeles Lakers have been the talk of the town throughout the season despite their subpar record. Some primary reasons would be LeBron James’ chase for the all-time scoring record, the Russell Westbrook situation, and several missed calls by the referees in the clutch. While the Lakers’ 27-32 record is underwhelming, their recent moves […]

The franchise cornerstone and five-time All-Star days are gone for John Wall. After his All-Star season in 2018, his career plummeted drastically. Wall has now been bought out by the Houston Rockets once again after being traded by the Los Angeles Clippers before the trade deadline. The shortened campaign in 2021 was still decent for […]

After the departure of most of the Cleveland Cavaliers’ 2016 championship roster, Kevin Love has long been in the middle of trade talks. Despite the enormous contract, it was inevitable for him to get moved until they restructured their contract with Darius Garland, Evan Mobley, and the rest of the crew. Adding Donovan Mitchell this […]

The Orlando Magic are in the middle of another losing campaign, but there have been some promising developments for the franchise this season. Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner look like two studs who will be the franchise cornerstones for the next 10-12 years. They are still getting the needed reps to become stars in the […]

The Charlotte Hornets are one of the most apparent teams tanking this year, as one of the leading candidates to land French generational big man Victor Wembanyama. Over the past two seasons, the Hornets finished 10th in the Eastern Conference, which rewarded them with two lottery picks. Even if these were lottery selections, the Charlotte […]

The Milwaukee Bucks are one of the best teams in the association, but they get a different spotlight and media attention than the others in their category. Giannis Antetokounmpo is considered by many as the best player in the NBA, and they are on track to embark on a deep playoff run as Khris Middleton […]

The Atlanta Hawks were in the middle of a plethora of trade rumors. John Collins, De’Andre Hunter, and Bogdan Bogdanovic were some of the names mentioned that piqued the interest of numerous teams. Unfortunately, the Hawks decided to stand pat, and the offers of the opposing teams needed to be more satisfactory for Atlanta. The […]

There is no question that the Dallas Mavericks acquired the second-biggest name in this year’s trade deadline Kyrie Irving. He was impressive in his first game in a Mavs uniform as he tallied 24 points against the Los Angeles Clippers in a critical victory a couple of days ago. The current players from the roster […]

The Miami Heat were one Jimmy Butler three-point shot away from advancing to the NBA Finals last season. When a squad is on the cusp of the Finals, the expectation is to execute a couple of ancillary moves to fill some minor holes, but Miami has unraveled a ton this season. Standing at sixth in […]

There is no question that the Phoenix Suns are the overwhelming favorites of the 2023 NBA trade deadline by adding a generational talent in Kevin Durant. The Dallas Mavericks also threw in their chips for a star in Kyrie Irving. But the Los Angeles Lakers are one organization that is an underrated winner these past […]

Kyle Lowry has been one of the most impactful point guards in basketball for the majority of his career. The Miami Heat bet on him retaining that distinction when acquiring Lowry from the Toronto Raptors before last season, hoping he could be the final piece of championship puzzle built around Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo. […]

The San Diego Padres were expected to be a perennial World Series contender after pushing all their chips in to acquire Juan Soto in a trade with the Washington Nationals. Instead of immediately competing for championships, the Padres’ title hopes were marred last season by Fernando Tatis Jr. suddenly getting suspended for 80 games. Tatis will complete […]

The Memphis Grizzlies are back to the similar position they were in last season. The Grizzlies are at 32-19 despite the prolonged absence of Jaren Jackson Jr. and Desmond Bane at one point this season. Steven Adams is expected to miss 3-5 weeks, but Brandon Clarke and Xavier Tillman have been stepping up tremendously. Jackson […]

The Sacramento Kings have the longest playoff drought among the four major North American sports. They have not advanced past the regular season since 2006, but this has been a significant change for the franchise and fanbase from Northern California. Domantas Sabonis has been selected to his third All-Star Game in his first entire season […]

The Philadelphia Phillies surprised the baseball world by defeating the favored St. Louis Cardinals and Atlanta Braves in the postseason. They lost to the Houston Astros in the World Series, which was a tremendous accomplishment for a youthful team. The Phillies were very well-rounded last season, but the front office did not rest on its […]

The St. Louis Cardinals started last season slow, but eventually found their rhythm and pulled away to win the NL Central. The Cardinals ended the 2022 campaign with 93 wins, but lost to the Philadelphia Phillies via a sweep in the NL Wild Card round. The pressure of postseason baseball may have weighed on St. […]

The Houston Astros won their second World Series behind a talented roster headlined by Jose Altuve, Alex Bregman and Justin Verlander, beating the Philadelphia Phillies in six games. The team’s happiness and work continued into the offseason as the front office focused on winning another crown in 2023. Unfortunately, the Astros lost Verlander to the […]

The Utah Jazz may have reached the end of its previous core last season as Donovan Mitchell, Rudy Gobert, Royce O’Neal, and Bojan Bogdanovic were all shipped out in the offseason. The expectation was for the Jazz to accumulate as many draft picks as they could and rebuild their team through the draft. That formula […]

The 2022-2023 NBA season has been full of surprises as some teams like the Toronto Raptors and Phoenix Suns have been abysmal, while organizations like the Sacramento Kings and Indiana Pacers have exceeded expectations and have been intriguing to watch this year. One other team that shows a ton of grit and determination every night […]

The New Orleans Pelicans entered the season with a bang as they had a seven-game winning streak and another five successive wins in December. After their December 30th win over the Philadelphia 76ers, they had a 23-12 record, but they now lost six games in a row as they have dropped to a 26-23 record. […]

The 2023 NBA All-Star Game will be one for the books. The All-Star draft between the East top-vote getter Giannis Antetokounmpo and West top-vote receiver LeBron James will be held a couple of minutes before tip-off, which is an immense change from the last couple of years. This could be a disaster, or it could […]

The Chicago Cubs were big spenders during the MLB offseason, securing some quality talent after a couple of rebuilding seasons. Of course, not all of the acquisitions the Cubs made during the offseason will be surefire home runs. In fact, some of the moves can be considered rather risky.  Among the multitude of new faces […]

The Minnesota Twins acquired one of the biggest stars in March 2022 as Carlos Correa signed a three-year contract with an opt-out clause after the first season. True enough, Correa opted out of the contract, and he signed two separate deals with the San Francisco Giants and the New York Mets before both organizations pulled […]

The Philadelphia Phillies were a couple of wins away from shocking the MLB world by claiming their first World Series crown since 2008. The Phillies barely squeaked through the postseason, but their players took a giant leap in the offseason, which was the crucial difference between them and their opponents. Revelations like Kyle Schwarber, Seranthony […]

The Portland Trail Blazers missed the services of superstar Damian Lillard a ton last season. The speculation was the front would eventually trade all their core pieces and start from scratch with youthful guys like Anfernee Simons and Shaedon Sharpe. However, they did not execute a complete rebuild as it was more of retooling their […]

After John Wall’s two major injuries a couple of years back, the Washington Wizards have not been able to regain their place as one of the legitimate contenders in the Eastern Conference. Bradley Beal has remained the common denominator of this roster, but he has not been the No. 1 guy that is needed for […]

The Utah Jazz moved both Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert in the same offseason, so it was expected for the Jazz to head toward the rebuilding phase. The return package they received for both stars was composed mainly of young assets and draft picks, so the expectation for them was to compete for the top […]

The Dallas Mavericks have been one of the most inconsistent teams this year. Their formula to success does not seem to be sustainable if they want to compete for an NBA championship in the next couple of years. Luka Doncic is on track for another top 5 MVP performance at the very least, but he […]

The Portland Trail Blazers decided to retool their lineup last season by trading CJ McCollum, Norman Powell, and Robert Covington. The Blazers then signed Damian Llllard to an extension, acquired Jerami Grant in a trade, and added Gary Payton II in free agency while also giving Jusuf Nurkic and Anfernee Simons new deals.  Portland began […]

The Minnesota Timberwolves decided to make an enormous splash in the offseason by acquiring French big man Rudy Gobert. It was a shocking move because of the number of players and draft picks Minnesota sent to the Utah Jazz. It has been a rocky ride so far after the blockbuster trade, with the Timberwolves sitting […]

The Indiana Pacers were expected to play out the first half of the season with their current roster and trade their veterans before the Feb. 9 trade deadline. The prediction was for them to compete in the draft lottery for French big man Victor Wembanyama, but they have silenced the doubters and are in position […]

The New Orleans Pelicans are one of the franchises that have been hampered by several injuries to their key guys. Brandon Ingram has played in only 15 games this year, and Zion Williamson is going to miss several weeks because of a hamstring injury, but the Pelicans are still third in the Western Conference. This […]

The Washington Wizards executed an offseason trade that did not catch the attention of many eyeballs as it did not involve any of the big names. The Wizards received both Will Barton and Monte Morris from the Nuggets, but both of them have been performing at a less-than-desirable level so far. Washington is currently the […]

The Indiana Pacers were expected to compete for the services of either Victor Wembanyama or Scott Henderson as NBA pundits believed that the Pacers will eventually tank this season because of the current composition of their roster. That has since been debunked as Tyrese Haliburton has been the leader in catapulting Indiana to the middle […]

The Milwaukee Bucks are coming off a disappointing second-round loss to the Boston Celtics in the 2022 NBA Playoffs, and things haven’t exactly gone smoothly in 2022-23 despite a 27-15 record. The Bucks have been mediocre since a 9-0 start, with Khris Middleton’s ongoing injury problems plaguing them yet again, just like they did against […]

The Chicago Bulls were one of the organizations in the middle of the pack; NBA fans have been split if the Bulls must blow it up or give this iteration another chance to embark on another postseason run. Before losing their last two games, they had a surprising 8-3 record over their last 11 games. […]