June 9, 2025

Chris Paul just let out a secret last week that really isn’t much of a secret. He prefers to live in LA with his family if he’s going to continue his career. Of course that leads everyone to ask the question if the Lakers or Clippers would sign him. Unfortunately, this isn’t 2011, and CP3 isn’t the best point guard in basketball. However, Paul can still be an effective player in the right situation. For the Lakers, it’s more of a question of who do you want: Gabe Vincent or Chris Paul? Let’s assume that Gabe Vincent is packaged in a trade for a center. That means you need a backup point guard. Even though he’s 40 years old, Paul was actually better and more reliable than Gabe Vincent. He also played 82 games. Vincent has knee issues that flare up here and there. If Chris Paul is coming for the minimum, you would absolutely do it. The Clippers on the other hand have more depth and options than the Lakers do, so I don’t see much of a need or place for CP3 on that team. The bottom line though is the Lakers real needs are at center and wing. If there is a place for CP3 then great, but he’s certainly not a need at the moment. But hey, at that point they might as well call Dwayne Wade and Carmelo, and see if they can get the Banana Boat crew together!

To baseball where the Dodgers have been scuffling. They salvaged a game yesterday in their series against the Cardinals thanks to the brilliance of Clayton Kershaw, but they’ve been looking rather average otherwise. The starting pitching hasn’t been there, largely due to injury, and they are far too dependent on their bullpen. You can add Tony Gonsolin to to the pile of injuries as well, and it’s especially concerning because he has elbow discomfort. I don’t see why the Dodgers don’t bring up Bobby Miller and let him start. He’s looked better of late. They are basically down to Yamamoto, May, and Kershaw as their only starters. After that it’s just patchwork bullpen guys and spot starters. The Boys in Blue are clinging to a one game lead in the NL West, and they have a huge week. They’ve got 3 with the Padres, followed by another 3 with the Giants. This is by far the toughest stretch of the season for the team, so it’s a bad time to not have much starting pitching available. Hope the Dodgers are planning on scoring a lot of runs this week.

Then there’s the Angels who aren’t quite good enough or bad enough. Coming into Sunday they were 5-5 in their last 10, 3.5 games out of the last wild card, and 5 games out of 1st in the AL West. The good news is that Mike Trout is playing, and the likes of Zach Neto, Nolan Schanuel, and Logan O’Hopppe are looking very solid. The bad news? There just isn’t enough talent around them to make a dent in the standings, especially in the bullpen and outfield. Perry Minasian went for another dumpster diving move yesterday, picking up LaMonte Wade Jr, who was designated for assignment by the Giants. They also aren’t bad enough right now to be in the hunt for a top draft pick, like they have this year. It’s simply not much to be excited about, other than some cheap ticket prices.

These NCAA NIL rules change every few months. It’s getting as hard to keep up with as news on the tariffs or whatever drama Trump and his admin are creating. The latest is that schools can now pay athletes directly. Up to $20 million. At the same time, NIL deals can still happen, but those deals can now happen with boosters who are working more closely with the Universities. UCLA and Martin Jarmond seem to think this will help the school be more competitive with recruitment. Perhaps, but this landscape is really forever changing. It seems to me that eventually we will end up with a players union and collective bargaining. When that happens, College Football and Basketball will essentially be professional sports.

Just as I told you would happen last week, the NBA Finals ratings are awful. And by awful, I mean the lowest rated in the last quarter century. Casual fans don’t like small markets. They didn’t even know Oklahoma City had a team, and they don’t know who SGA and Tyrese Haliburton are. That’s the problem with not having big markets in the NBA Finals, contrary to what Adam Silver and the owners will tell you. With that being said, real NBA fans have enjoyed the first two games, especially game 1 with Haliburton’s heroics. OKC laid the hammer down last night, but I’m sure the Pacers have to feel good getting a split on the road. I initially thought it would be OKC in 5 games, but we may in fact be in for a longer series.

Meanwhile, the Stanley Cup Final has been outstanding so far through the first two games. The Oilers can truly overwhelm people with their skill. They have done that at times so far in the first two games with the Panthers. Still, the Panthers are gritty team with a lot of depth. This once again feels like a coin flip of a series that is going 7 games. I’m still taking the Panthers by the slimmest of margins.