Jedd Pagaduan Articles - Page 125

The New York Knicks, once again, are in the middle of plenty of trade rumors. Such is the life for a playoff team in the NBA that hasn’t yet mortgaged their future assets in a blockbuster trade. The Knicks own all of their future first-rounders, and they also have a few young players, such as […]

The Dallas Mavericks have had a busy offseason thus far, eager to wipe away the stench of their terrible collapse to end the 2022-23 season. They maximized the 10th overall pick of the 2023 NBA Draft, essentially acquiring Dereck Lively II (12th pick), Richaun Holmes, and Olivier Maxence-Prosper for the pick they tanked for last […]

The Miami Heat organization has become famous over the years for unearthing diamonds in the rough, whether late in the draft or plucking overlooked talent on the undrafted market. The organization’s ability to identify talent is elite, with Gabe Vincent, Max Strus, and Duncan Robinson playing huge roles in their run to the NBA Finals […]

It hasn’t been a month since the Denver Nuggets defeated the Miami Heat, 94-89, in Game 5 of the 2023 NBA Finals to secure their first championship and yet here they are, having to look forward to the following season already. In fact, the 2023 NBA Summer League may be more crucial to the Nuggets’ […]

The Oklahoma City Thunder’s selection of Jalen and Jaylin Williams during the 2022 NBA Draft spawned a lot of confusion for fans at first. But as time passed by, the two slowly but surely made their marks as the Thunder surpassed expectations during the 2022-23 season. J-Dub emerged as one of the best rookies of […]

The Orlando Magic’s rebuild is coming along nicely. After years of treading water with a Nikola Vucevic-led core, the Magic are now on the precipice of turning it around thanks to the rapid development of Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner. The Magic have drafted well in recent years as well, taking the likes of Cole […]

As it is, the San Antonio Spurs will be coming out of the 2023 offseason as one of its biggest winners, simply by virtue of winning the Victor Wembanyama sweepstakes. Drafting Wembanyama alone guarantees a much better on-court product for the Spurs next season (barring any injuries, of course), but with another year under their […]

The Portland Trail Blazers lived in denial for about three seasons, but now reality is starting to set in. Damian Lillard, despite being as loyal as he could have been over the past few seasons, has finally requested a trade, specifically to the Miami Heat, most likely bringing an end to his 11-year stay in […]

The Miami Heat franchise is always one that aims to swing for the fences. And now there may not be an easier pitch for them to knock out of the park than a Damian Lillard trade, as the Portland Trail Blazers star not only requested a trade from the franchise he’s called home since 2012, […]

The Orlando Magic are building themselves a nice, young core, which especially bodes well for the team as they may not be too far away from playoff contention. With the likes of Paolo Banchero, Franz Wagner, Markelle Fultz, and Wendell Carter Jr. leading the way, the Magic may be a dark-horse contender to make the […]

There’s considerable uncertainty surrounding the Philadelphia 76ers’ future in light of James Harden’s trade request. Harden’s partnership with reigning MVP Joel Embiid looked like one that would bear fruit. But instead, the Harden-Embiid partnership may not even last two full seasons, further complicating the Sixers’ quest to build a championship-winning squad around the reigning MVP, […]

Despite more than seven years having elapsed since Kevin Durant made the bombshell decision to leave the Oklahoma City Thunder for the team that beat them in that year’s playoffs, the Golden State Warriors, it seems like there’s still no love lost between the two parties. And it certainly seems like the Thunder youngsters have […]

The Dallas Mavericks began their offseason on the right foot. They were able to use the 10th pick of the 2023 NBA Draft — the pick they tanked the final games of the 2022-23 season for — to dump Davis Bertans’ contract for the low cost of moving down two spots in the draft. In […]

The Minnesota Timberwolves may have jumped the gun when they traded away a boatload of assets, including nascent rim protector Walker Kessler, to the Utah Jazz for Rudy Gobert. Trading for Gobert, in a vacuum, was not the problem. Gobert is a generational defensive player after all. But when arguably the team’s best player (Karl-Anthony […]

The Los Angeles Clippers aren’t exactly in the best position regarding finances. They even had to let Eric Gordon — a quality player who started 16 games for the team (including the playoffs) — go just to save around $110 million in luxury tax payments. But it’s clear that the Clippers organization remains hell-bent on […]

The San Antonio Spurs may have begun their 2023 NBA Summer League run without the services of the first overall pick of the 2023 NBA Draft, Victor Wembanyama, but it did not matter, as they made light work of the Charlotte Hornets anyway, taking a 98-77 win to kick off the California Classic. Even arguably […]

The Charlotte Hornets franchise isn’t in the best of spots from a PR perspective at the moment, but their on-court product should benefit from the decisions they have made over the past month or so. Drafting Brandon Miller with the second overall pick of the 2023 NBA Draft should give LaMelo Ball a talented running […]

It may be too early to declare the San Antonio Spurs a threat to challenge for a playoff spot next season, but they are well on their way to building one of the scariest young cores in the NBA. Drafting Victor Wembanyama with the first overall pick of the 2023 NBA Draft sets up the […]

When a middling team gives up a first-round pick in a midseason trade for a player whose contract will be expiring in a few months’ time, re-signing them in free agency becomes a must. And that’s exactly what the Toronto Raptors did when they agreed with Jakob Poeltl on a four-year, $80 million deal that […]

The Oklahoma City Thunder are on a rapid ascent. Not only are they well set up for the future due to their impressive war chest of future first-round picks, but they are also boasting arguably the most impressive young core in the NBA. First-team All-NBA selection Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is only 24 years old, while the […]

The Washington Wizards may be headed for a full-scale roster teardown, but that doesn’t mean that they’ll deliberately be putting as terrible of a product on the court as they could. Bringing back Kyle Kuzma on a four-year, $102 million contract certainly signifies that the Wizards, at the very least, would want to keep assets […]

It’s shaping up to be an offseason of goodbyes for the Philadelphia 76ers. Not only is James Harden likely to don another uniform to begin the 2023-24 season, the Sixers also bid farewell to Georges Niang, Shake Milton, and Jalen McDaniels, three players who were major parts of the rotation this past campaign. And it […]

The Indiana Pacers entered the 2023 NBA free agency as a team to watch out for given their abundance in cap space (they could have had even more room had they traded away certain players). Before free agency officially began, they dealt away Chris Duarte to the Sacramento Kings, clearing even more space as they […]

The USMNT is on an upward trajectory. That much is clear. Even without the presences of their biggest stars, such as Christian Pulisic, Folarin Balogun, and Weston McKennie, the USMNT still made quick work of their opposition on the Concacaf Gold Cup on Sunday night, thrashing Trinidad and Tobago 6-0 thanks to yet another marvelous […]

The Portland Trail Blazers traded for Jerami Grant during the 2022 offseason with the intention of convincing Damian Lillard that the franchise is serious about competing for a championship. While the Blazers weren’t particularly close, missing out on the playoffs after punting on the end of the season yet again, they remained adamant about wanting […]

The Philadelphia 76ers are at a crossroads. With James Harden opting into his contract for the 2023-24 season with the intention of requesting a trade, there’s a possibility that Joel Embiid, the reigning NBA MVP, could soon ask out from the Sixers as well if he feels as if there’s a stronger chance of him […]

Klay Thompson has been an instrumental part of the Golden State Warriors dynasty, that much is certain. But as the Warriors know all too well, keeping a championship-level core together is an expensive endeavor. They even had to trade away Jordan Poole for Chris Paul with the intention of cutting future costs in mind. Soon […]

At first glance, the Golden State Warriors don’t look like the ideal on-court fit for Chris Paul, as much of a seasoned veteran as he may be. The Warriors’ offensive system doesn’t exactly rely on a single player commandeering the offense. They love to swing the ball, with players in constant motion maximizing the game-breaking […]

The Golden State Warriors appear intent to go all-in on winning another championship next season, if their Jordan Poole for Chris Paul trade was any indication. But will the Warriors decide to do the unthinkable and shop yet another player many thought would be a huge part of the post-Stephen Curry iteration of the Dubs […]

The New York Yankees are riding high at the moment. Not only did Domingo German toss a perfect game against the Oakland Athletics on Wednesday night, they have now won five straight games, keeping them right in the thick of the tight American League playoff race at the halfway point of the season. However, given […]

The San Antonio Spurs have a bright future ahead of them. Not only did they draft Victor Wembanyama with the first overall pick of the 2023 NBA Draft, but they also have a young core boasting the likes of Keldon Johnson, Devin Vassell, Jeremy Sochan, and Malaki Branham to round out the roster. To top […]

Austin Reaves has emerged from a beloved rotation piece to one of the Los Angeles Lakers’ most important players. Reaves’ crafty ballhandling as well as his penchant for drawing fouls has made him such a valuable part of the Lakers’ offense — just in time for his foray into free agency. But keeping him may […]

Golden State Warriors shooting guard Klay Thompson is one of the best shooters of all time. That fact pretty much cannot be disputed. However, marksmanship on the basketball court does not exactly translate seamlessly to other sports. Thompson certainly had to learn that the hard (if funny) way during his and Stephen Curry’s The Match […]

New York Yankees starting pitcher Domingo German made history by throwing just the 24th perfect game in MLB history, blanking the Oakland A’s, 11-0, on Wednesday night. While German’s baseball achievement is worth celebrating given how rare perfect games are, some fans are not able to separate the art from the artist — perhaps for […]

New York Yankees starting pitcher Domingo German has done it, becoming just the 22nd player in the modern baseball era and the fourth in franchise history to throw a perfect game with an all-around evisceration of the Oakland Athletics on Wednesday night. German, who entered the night coming off two consecutive rough starts, allowing 15 […]

The Oklahoma City Thunder blew past expectations during the 2022-23 season. For a team that was projected to win around 20 games, the Thunder almost made the playoffs due in large part to a major breakout campaign from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. And now, it seems like the Thunder are ready to take the next step, especially […]

For much of the 2022-23 season, the Los Angeles Lakers roster was crying out for a game-changing defensive presence. And in February, they finally got their man, acquiring Jarred Vanderbilt (along with D’Angelo Russell and Malik Beasley) for Russell Westbrook’s huge expiring contract. Beyond Vanderbilt’s defensive versatility and presence on the glass, what made the […]

It was a sad day for the American football world on Tuesday night when Ryan Mallett, a quarterback who played for seven years in the NFL, passed away after a drowning incident in Florida. Mallett was only 35 years old, making this tragedy an even more excruciating heartbreak. The entire footballing world, as a result, […]

The Los Angeles Clippers know that building a contending team around Kawhi Leonard and Paul George is a race against time. In fact, there have been rumblings about a potential pivot from the Clippers, with George’s name even reportedly landing on the trade block. But it definitely seems like the Clippers will be riding out […]