Jedd Pagaduan Articles - Page 71

Most rookies struggle with making the jump from the amateurs to the professional level. After all, the game is faster, and there are more schemes and notes for them to digest. This is why NBA players rarely peak in their first year in the Association. Nonetheless, for the Los Angeles Lakers, however, they are hoping […]

The NBA In-Season Tournament is back for its second year under a different branding — the NBA Cup. The association is clearly taking pages out of international football leagues’ playbook, and this makes sense to drum up even more anticipation as the NBA tries to incentive teams to engage in some highly-competitive battles early on […]

The NBA In-Season Tournament was a rousing success in its first season. Now called the NBA Cup, the special courts and jerseys established a special aura within the competition, and this tournament gave way to some of the most competitive regular season basketball we have seen in quite some time thanks to the trophy and […]

Despite being the 55th overall pick of the 2024 NBA Draft, Bronny James has been subject to the most media coverage among his peers during the Summer League thanks to him being the son of one of the greatest players of all time, Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James. Everything Bronny does — good or […]

The MLB trade deadline is creeping up closer and closer, and plenty of trades will surely go down with the Wild Card picture being so bunched up in both leagues. For the New York Yankees, the past month or so hasn’t exactly gone according to plan. They’ve lost control of the AL East division lead […]

The break-up between Klay Thompson and Golden State Warriors may be painful, as it will be a jarring sight to look at Thompson donning a Dallas Mavericks uniform after 13 years with the Dubs, but this parting of ways was very much inevitable and necessary. But no one should ever let Thompson’s departure sully the […]

The Las Vegas Aces may have suffered a 93-85 loss to the Chicago Sky on Tuesday night, but let that not distract anyone from the continued greatness of A’ja Wilson. Wilson, in a losing effort, put up 28 points and 14 rebounds as she continues the hot streak that has been bolstering her claim as […]

There is no disputing that LeBron James has had one of the greatest careers, not just for any basketball player, but for any professional athlete that has graced this world. The Los Angeles Lakers star has been at the top of the sport for over 21 years now, and he doesn’t seem to be slowing […]

It has been a bit of an eventful offseason for the Denver Nuggets, but not in an ideal way. They lost one of the pillars of their championship team, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, after he chose to sign with the Orlando Magic in free agency, while DaRon Holmes II, the impressive big man the Nuggets had high […]

Jalen Brunson turned some heads around the league when he decided to sign a four-year, $156.5 million contract extension, essentially eschewing the opportunity to sign a five-year, $269 maximum contract with the New York Knicks had he decided to wait a year, opt out of his contract, and re-sign. This is an unequivocal win for […]

Boston Celtics star Jaylen Brown made waves when he expressed his disappoint over being passed up on for a Team USA call-up in the aftermath of Kawhi Leonard’s withdrawal from the team. However, Brown’s discontent over how things shook up for himself wasn’t taken too kindly by some fans. After all, it seemed as though […]

It looked as though everything was going smoothly for Kawhi Leonard and Team USA in their bid to bag home the gold medal in the 2024 Paris Olympics. However, last week, both Team USA and the Los Angeles Clippers deemed that it was in Leonard’s best interest for him not to suit up for the […]

The Chicago Bulls have finally bitten the bullet and pivoted towards a head-on youth movement. They traded away Alex Caruso for Josh Giddey earlier in the offseason, and they dealt DeMar DeRozan to the Sacramento Kings in a sign-and-trade for two second-round picks — disappointing given how much they could have gotten had they traded […]

Suffice to say, this offseason is shaping up to be a less-than-ideal one for the 2023 NBA champion Denver Nuggets. Not only did they lose Kentavious Caldwell-Pope in free agency after the 3-and-D wing signed a three-year, $66 million deal with the Orlando Magic, they also lost 2024 first-round pick DaRon Holmes II to a […]

The Chicago Bulls didn’t exactly please their fans with the way they have conducted their offseason to this point. Their reluctance in selling their veterans at peak value cost them dearly, with the Bulls trading away Alex Caruso for Josh Giddey straight up while losing DeMar DeRozan for two second-round picks in a sign-and-trade. The […]

The Indiana Pacers surpassed any and all expectations of them during the 2023-24 season, making it all the way to the Eastern Conference Finals and even putting up a solid fight against the eventual champion Boston Celtics, contrary to what a sweep would say. In the process, it has been a bit easy to forget […]

The top free agents are off the board now that two weeks have passed since the 2024 NBA free agency period began. This, however, is not to say that there aren’t quality players who are still searching for a home for the upcoming season. In particular, teams would be remiss not to float Tyus Jones […]

One of the main subplots revolving around the Los Angeles Lakers’ offseason to this point was their search for the team’s new head coach. Darvin Ham got the ax following a first-round exit for the Lakers against the Denver Nuggets, and since then, it became clear that the franchise was setting its sights on naming […]

The Team USA ramp-up process for the 2024 Paris Olympics isn’t only a chance for stars such as LeBron James, Stephen Curry, and Kevin Durant to dazzle the world with the team-up of a lifetime. After all, those players, as great as they may be, won’t be playing the game of basketball for a living […]

The New Orleans Pelicans had built up hope with how well they were playing in the middle of the 2023-24 season that it became all the more frustrating when their season turned sour in the end once more. Zion Williamson’s injury in the play-in tournament contest against the Los Angeles Lakers ground their contending aspirations […]

The Golden State Warriors are in the middle of one of their most pivotal offseasons in years. This offseason feels like a sliding doors moment of sorts, where their decision on whether or not to go all-in and make the most out of the remaining elite seasons of Stephen Curry’s career will affect how their […]

The Los Angeles Lakers may have had a very quiet offseason, as they have mostly stood pat with the same roster that only got them as far as the first round of the 2024 NBA playoffs. Nonetheless, the Lakers can still be proud that they came away as one of the winners of the 2024 […]

It has been a busy past few days for Boston Celtics star Jaylen Brown. Following Kawhi Leonard’s withdrawal from Team USA’s 2024 Paris Olympics roster, Brown became a popular suggestion to take the Los Angeles Clippers star’s spot. However, Team USA management decided to enlist the services of Derrick White instead, sparking a wave of […]

Is the sun setting on the Golden State Warriors dynasty? Some would argue that the sun has already set on them. But as long as Stephen Curry is on the team and playing at an All-Star level, the onus is on the Warriors front office to put together a winning team as they look to […]

During the first day of the 2024 NBA Draft, it looked like the Denver Nuggets were going to sort out their business in a timely manner, as it was reported that they are “working towards” an agreement with star guard Jamal Murray on a four-year, $209 million extension. Murray is currently entering the final year […]

The 2024 offseason could have been a total disaster for the Los Angeles Clippers; the Paul George trade was already a huge loss now that Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has emerged as a legitimate MVP-caliber player, but that 2019 deal would go down as one of the all-time worst now that George has departed the team after […]

The Miami Heat are always in trade discussions whenever a star-caliber player becomes available in the trade market. But now, they have their own housekeeping matters to attend to, with Jimmy Butler having only two years left on his deal — with the final year being a player option which means that the Heat are […]

There is plenty of excitement surrounding Team USA and its bid to reclaim international basketball superiority by winning the gold medal in the 2024 Paris Olympics. After all, future Hall of Famers Stephen Curry and LeBron James, who have had plenty of battles in the NBA Finals in the past, are teaming up in a […]

With the Team USA men’s basketball team kicking off their bid for the gold medal in the 2024 Paris Olympics with a slew of exhibition games, starting with one against Team Canada on Wednesday night, they had to move quickly in the aftermath of Kawhi Leonard’s withdrawal from the team. The committee quickly decided on […]

The 12-man roster Team USA will be deploying for the 2024 Paris Olympics appeared to be set. However, on Wednesday morning, it was announced that Kawhi Leonard won’t be able to suit up for the national team amid ongoing concerns regarding the knee issues that have plagued him over the past four years. It’s not […]

The New York Knicks have assembled a roster that is worthy of challenging the Boston Celtics for Eastern Conference supremacy. The Knicks brought in Mikal Bridges in a blockbuster trade with the Brooklyn Nets and re-signed OG Anunoby, giving them two of the best perimeter defenders in the league. However, these moves came at the […]

Klay Thompson is past his prime. That much is clear. But the Dallas Mavericks clearly saw a ton of value in Thompson to the point of making him their top priority in free agency, signing him to a three-year, $50 million deal to presumably slot in as the team’s starter at the small forward position. […]

The Golden State Warriors had a few crucial decisions to make prior to the month of July; for one, they had to come up with the assets to try and entice the Los Angeles Clippers in a potential Paul George trade. When that didn’t work, the Warriors decided to waive Chris Paul before his $30 […]

Following another disappointing season marred by injury troubles and an early exit from championship contention, it seemed as though the New Orleans Pelicans were going to take drastic measures amid a vote of no confidence in their current core. One of the more likely steps the Pelicans were going to take was to trade away […]

It’s not quite clear yet which direction the Utah Jazz will be taking as their front office looks to build the next great iteration of the team. This unpredictability makes them one of the more interesting teams to monitor in the trade market. While Lauri Markkanen continues to be the apple of many teams’ eyes, […]

Steve Kerr’s first year as the head coach of Team USA did not go according to plan. They finished in fourth during their 2023 FIBA World Cup run in Manila, which, suffice to say, is a huge disappointment, as it’s always gold medal or bust for the most stacked basketball nation in the world. With […]

The New York Yankees went off to a scorching hot start to the 2024 season, erasing memories of their disappointing 2023 campaign in the process. However, the past few weeks haven’t exactly gone according to plan for the team in pinstripes. They have crashed back to reality, and their 5-3 loss to the Tampa Bay […]

After two seasons of wandering aimlessly, the Chicago Bulls are pivoting towards a rebuild. They moved Alex Caruso to the Oklahoma City Thunder in exchange for Josh Giddey, adding a young guard who averaged 17-8-6 in his sophomore season, and then this proved to be the final straw for DeMar DeRozan, who angled for an […]

Chris Sale is back to being one of the best starting pitchers in the MLB in his first season with the Atlanta Braves. Sale, in fact, made the All-Star Game roster thanks in large part to his 2.71 ERA across 16 starts (99.2 innings pitched). However, the Braves’ decision to scratch Sale from his scheduled […]