This is an article version of the CBS Sports HQ AM Newsletter, the ultimate guide to every day in sports. You can sign up to get it in your inbox every weekday morning here.
Good morning to everyone but especially to…
THE NBA DRAFTEES
A no-brainer at No. 1. A debate finally settled at No. 2. Surprises. Trades. And by the end of it all, 58 dreams come true.
The NBA Draft has come and gone, and a new crop of players is ready to make its mark. Here’s more on the top of the class:
Our Adam Finkelstein graded every single first-round pick, and while there were plenty of “A” grades, Wembanyama was only “A+.”
As for an “A+” story, our James Herbert was in the building to witness the culmination of Olivier-Maxence Prosper’s remarkable rise — he went 24th to the Kings and was traded to the Mavericks — after being on the fringes of the draft conversation a month ago. This is some truly awesome stuff.
The Mavericks, who also traded down to move Davis Bertans‘ sizable contract and still nabbed Dereck Lively II, were one of the night’s biggest winners, writes our Sam Quinn. As for biggest losers? There was one very surprising slide.
- Quinn: “Cam Whitmore seemed as though he had a chance to be picked as high as No. 4 overall. … Whitmore ultimately tumbled all the way out of the lottery and landed at No. 20 overall, costing himself roughly $14 million… Had he gone one or two picks earlier, this fall would have at least gotten him to a contender. Had he wound up with Miami or Golden State at picks No. 18 or 19, for instance, their team cultures would have been better-positioned to help him make the most of his talent. Instead, he lands on a Rockets team that has seen its young players develop poor on-court habits during its rebuild.”
The money aspect is one thing, and maybe Houston doesn’t have a great player development track record. But here’s the great thing about the draft: Now that it’s over, it’s up to the players. Whitmore can go prove every team that passed on him wrong. He, just like all of the draftees, has a chance to show it’s not where you’re drafted, but what you do once you’re drafted.
Here’s more:
Honorable mentions
Not so honorable mentions
- Are we really getting a fight between Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk? Really?
- Things went from bad to worse for Yankees starter Domingo Germán.
- The Rays benched Wander Franco so he can handle his “frustrations” from a recent slump. Then, ace Shane McClanahan (back) left his start early.
- LSU football vacated 37 wins — rendering Les Miles ineligible for the Hall of Fame — and was put on probation for three years.
- Former LSU men’s basketball coach Will Wade, meanwhile, got hit with a 10-game suspension. He’s currently at McNeese State.
Chris Paul has spent much of his career trying to overcome the Warriors. Now, he’s joining them.
The Wizards are dealing the future Hall-of-Fame point guard to Golden State in Washington’s fourth major trade this week. Here are the full terms:
- Warriors receive: Chris Paul
- Wizards receive: Jordan Poole, top 20-protected 1st-round pick in 2030, 2nd-round pick in 2027
It’s Paul’s third team this week alone — he was traded from Phoenix to Washington in the Bradley Beal deal Sunday — and his sixth team overall. This one might give him his last best chance to win a ring, the biggest thing missing from his resume, writes our Bill Reiter.
- Paul, 38, has faced now-teammate Stephen Curry 55 times, his third-most common opponent behind Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili. That includes three playoff series: Paul’s Clippers beat Curry’s Warriors in 2014, but Curry’s Warriors bested Paul’s Rockets in 2018 and 2019.
- Paul averaged a career-low 13.9 points last season on 44% shooting, his second-worst number in the last decade.
- Like so many other seasons, Paul’s year ended in postseason disappointment: He suffered a groin injury in Game 2 of the conference semifinals against the Nuggets and didn’t return as the Suns lost in six games.
Poole, 24, experienced his own roller-coaster year. After being a huge part of the Warriors’ 2022 title, Poole got paid, got punched in the face by Draymond Green (who, it’s worth noting, didn’t get paid and will enter free agency) and then struggled mightily this past season. Here’s our Colin Ward-Henninger on Poole’s rise and fall with Golden State.
Given the questions surrounding both Poole and Paul — and the very different teams they’re joining — both teams got the same mark in Sam Quinn’s trade grades.
LSU walks off Wake Forest, advances to College World Series Finals ⚾
It was billed as an all-time pitcher’s duel, and it absolutely was that… and then some. And then a lot, actually.
But one swing of the bat in extra innings provided all of the runs and sent LSU to the College World Series Finals with a 2-0 win over Wake Forest.
- Tommy White, appropriately nicknamed “Tanks,” launched a two-run home run in the bottom of the 11th inning to walk it off.
- LSU’s Paul Skenes pitched eight scoreless innings, allowing just two hits and one walk compared to nine strikeouts over 120 pitches. No moment was bigger than in the eighth inning with one out and runners on first and third. First baseman Tre’ Morgan made a great play on a bunt and got Justin Johnson at home to keep it scoreless. Skenes has a 1.69 ERA this season.
- On the other side, Rhett Lowder was similarly outstanding for the Demon Deacons, tossing seven scoreless innings. He finishes the season with a 1.88 ERA.
- Skenes and Lowder are both top-15 prospects in the upcoming MLB Draft, according to our R.J. Anderson. They go second and seventh, respectively, in R.J.’s latest mock draft.
LSU will face Florida in the best-of-three championship series. They have not met this season.
Ranking NFL triplets: Who’s number one? 🏈
We started from the bottom, stopped in the middle, and now we’re here: the top six skill-position triplets in the NFL, as voted upon by our NFL experts.
Though the Chiefs have the No. 1 quarterback in Patrick Mahomes, they’re second in our rankings behind…
- Dubin: “1. Cincinnati Bengals: QB: Joe Burrow RB: Joe Mixon WR: Ja’Marr Chase — I have a feeling the perceived difference between Mixon and Isiah Pacheco is what ultimately landed the Bengals in first — even if Mixon was seemingly on the verge of being cut for a portion of this offseason. Burrow and Chase are basically a big play waiting to happen, and the work the entire offense did last year to counteract top-down defenses taking away the deep ball will help them deep into the future.”
The Chiefs and Bengals were separated by just one vote, and I think I would give a slight lean toward Kansas City, but it’s certainly close. Until someone figures out how to stop the Mahomes-Travis Kelce connection, and until someone at least gets in the same stratosphere as Mahomes, they’re No. 1 for me.
What we’re watching this weekend 📺
Saturday
⚾ Cubs vs. Cardinals, 1:10 p.m. on FOX
⚾ Astros at Dodgers, 7:15 p.m. on FOX
🏀 Fever at Aces, 9 p.m. on NBA TV
⚽ USMNT vs. Jamaica, 10 p.m. on FS1
Sunday
⚾ Cubs vs. Cardinals, 10 a.m. on ESPN
🏀 Wings at Sparks, 3 p.m. on ABC
⚾ Astros at Dodgers, 7 p.m. on ESPN
Go to Source
Author: Zachary Pereles
June 23, 2023 | 9:52 am
