Jose Altuve had the worst whiff of the season against Shohei Ohtani
Jose Altuve may want to avoid social media for the next day or so.
The Houston Astros icon got clowned on Tuesday for one of the worst swings and misses of his career against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Daikin Park in Houston, Texas. To make matters worse for the Astros star, his miserable strikeout came against Shohei Ohtani, which has understandably drawn even more eyeballs to the moment.
With a pair of Astros runners at the corners and two outs in the bottom of the 5th inning, Altuve swung at a 1-2 sweeper outside that was in the dirt in the opposite batter’s box. Check out the play for yourself.
lmao pic.twitter.com/HTncVyHmxt
— Blake Harris (@BlakeHHarris) May 6, 2026
The jokes quickly began flying at Altuve’s expense.
Shohei got Altuve swinging at a ball in another county pic.twitter.com/4dEHrmHxtL
— Talkin' Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) May 6, 2026
Altuve missed this Shohei Ohtani Sweeper by 2 Altuves. pic.twitter.com/UeMozHShqL
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) May 6, 2026
THIS PITCH WAS ALMOST A FULL ALTUVE OUTSIDE pic.twitter.com/ZmhHeQIqGy
— Codify (@CodifyBaseball) May 6, 2026
The location of the pitch on MLB.com was almost comical. Even if you extended the strike zone threefold, it would have still been called a ball outside.
Shohei Ohtani got Jose Altuve to swing at this pitch pic.twitter.com/tDDGFWnE5a
— Mike Petriello (@mike_petriello) May 6, 2026
Ohtani pitched a gem on Tuesday, allowing just four hits and a pair of earned runs across 7.0 innings. The Dodgers’ two-way star has arguably been the best pitcher in baseball so far this season.
Shohei sports a sub-1.00 ERA across six starts this season. But as has been the case all season, Ohtani got minimal run support on Tuesday in a 2-1 loss to the Astros. The Dodgers have gone 2-4 in games Ohtani has started this season.
Astros star Carlos Correa suffers ‘serious’ injury
The Houston Astros may have to soldier on without Carlos Correa for the foreseeable future.
Correa was a late scratch for Tuesday’s contest, which the Astros won 2-1 at Daikin Park in Houston, Texas. He reportedly suffered a “serious” left ankle injury before the Astros’ game Tuesday against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
According to The Athletic’s Chandler Rome, Correa sustained the injury during pregame batting practice. He is slated to visit a foot specialist on Wednesday morning to “determine the exact diagnosis and severity of the injury.”
Through 32 games this season, Correa has hit .279 at the plate with 3 home runs and a .787 OPS. His 16 RBIs rank fourth on the team.
It’s the second significant injury in two days suffered by an Astros player during batting practice. Houston catcher Yainer Diaz strained his oblique during Monday’s batting practice, which manager Joe Espada believes will keep him out “for a while.”
Correa and Diaz join an already crowded Astros injured list that already includes shortstop Jeremy Pena, ace Hunter Brown, and closer Josh Hader.
Correa had a pair of $300 million contracts voided in 2022 due to concerns surrounding his right ankle. It’s the left one that’s bothering him this time around.
Chris Finch calls out referees for giving Victor Wembanyama an unfair advantage
Chris Finch wants every official and the entire NBA world to be more discerning when it comes to Victor Wembanyama’s blocks.
The Minnesota Timberwolves head coach was critical of the officiating during his team’s 104-102 Game 1 win over the San Antonio Spurs in Game 1 of their Western Conference semifinals matchup. Wembanyama blocked an NBA-record 12 shots in the contest, including three in the opening minutes at Frost Bank Center in San Antonio, Texas.
The Timberwolves had reason to argue that a good chunk of those blocks were actually goaltending violations. On the eve of Game 2, Finch spoke out on the matter.
“When we looked at them, at least four of them were goaltending. Maybe even a fifth,” Finch told reporters. “To me, it’s a little alarming that none of them were called. Here’s a generational shot-blocker who’s 7-foot-6 who goes after everything, and there’s no heightened awareness that these blocks could be goaltends?
“I mean, the third possession of the game was a goaltend — and it was a clean, obvious one. So let’s just say there were four. That’s eight points. You know the value of eight points in an NBA game? Massive.
“That’s also 33 percent of his blocks were goaltending, uncalled. If I were to give you a 33 percent raise, you’d like that, right? That’s a huge number.”
Finch wasn’t just complaining to rant about Game 1. On a deeper level, his comments were more about changing the officiating POV for the rest of the series.
In directing awareness toward Wembanyama’s blocks as potential goaltends, referees will be looking more intently at such plays in the games to come. Finch also had a similar criticism during his postgame press conference on Monday night, and fans were siding with the T-Wolves coach.
It’s tough for referees to call goaltends on Wembanyama exactly because of his being a once-in-a-lifetime defensive force. He blocks shots at angles and heights referees could never fathom from anyone else, which adds complexity to the block vs. goaltending call in a playoff series involving Wemby.
In directing awareness toward Wembanyama’s blocks as potential goaltends, referees will be looking more intently at such plays in the games to come.
Finch also had a similar criticism during his postgame press conference on Monday night, and fans were siding with the T-Wolves coach.
Fans furious over NBC’s ’embarrassing’ decision on NBA playoff broadcast
NBC is taking some serious flak for its questionable scheduling decision for the start of the NBA conference semifinals.
The broadcasting giant got the assignment on a pair of series openers on Tuesday for the Detroit Pistons-Cleveland Cavaliers and the Oklahoma City Thunder-Los Angeles Lakers series. With only eight teams remaining in the NBA postseason field, fans expect to get treated to back-to-back conference semis matchups every day.
However, NBC scheduled about an hour overlap between the Pistons-Cavs game (7 p.m. ET tipoff) and the Thunder-Lakers game (8:30 p.m. ET tipoff). With no other games on the slate, fans were fuming about not being able to watch the games one after the other.
NBC overlapping these playoff games really pissing me off dawg THERES ONLY 2 GAMES A NIGHT NOW
— A ✩ (@adryanashton) May 6, 2026
This nbc coverage of the nba playoffs is terrible
— cre8flow.the (@cre8flow) May 6, 2026
2 games on tv at same time
I knew when tnt lost the contract fans were getting screwed
I think @peacock @NBCSports @NBA need to explain why they chose to overlap the only 2 NBA playoff games that are on today? Lakers/Thunder could have been pushed an hour.
— Doctor Sunshine (@doc_sunshineMD) May 6, 2026
No concern for the viewers. Blatant disregard for those with genuine interest in both series. Ridiculous
Many felt like it was a money grab, given that anyone hoping to catch both games live and in their entirety would have needed a Peacock subscription.
The NBA letting NBC air games simultaneously so that you’re forced to subscribe to Peacock if you want to catch the beginning of the 2nd game is lame.
— Jamal (@FinesseBucket) May 6, 2026
It is SO embarrassing that an NBA playoffs second round game is exclusively on Peacock.
— Jack Goods (@GoodsOnSports) May 6, 2026
There may have been some underlying reason as to why Tuesday’s games in particular overlapped. All the currently scheduled games beyond Tuesday have 2.5-hour gaps between starts.
Without any real explanation, it’s not surprising fans felt like they were being hosed by some corporate agreement between Adam Silver and the bigwig executives at NBC.
Last month, NBC also drew heat for a glaring error made during its broadcast of Game 2 of the first-round series between the New York Knicks and Atlanta Hawks.
Shohei Ohtani got the most embarrassing swing-and-miss from Jose Altuve
Jose Altuve haters were eating good on Tuesday night.
Altuve and the Houston Astros played Tuesday at home against Shohei Ohtani and the Los Angeles Dodgers. In the fifth inning at Daikin Park in Houston, Texas, Altuve ended up producing one of the most humiliating moments of his entire career.
Batting against the Dodgers superstar Ohtani, Altuve went down in the count 1-2 with runners on the corners and two outs. Ohtani ended up throwing Altuve a two-strike waste pitch … well, at least until Altuve swung at it.
The reigning NL MVP Ohtani clearly pulled a 89-mph sweeper, and the pitch ended up nowhere even remotely close to the strike zone. But somehow, Altuve was completely fooled and fanned at the pitch from another zip code for an inning-ending strikeout.
Here is the embarrassing video.
Shohei Ohtani made Altuve look SILLY to get out of the jam pic.twitter.com/CxFAk5Z74u
— B/R Walk-Off (@BRWalkoff) May 6, 2026
Altuve used to regularly face Ohtani in the AL West back when Ohtani was still a member of the Los Angeles Angels. But during Tuesday’s game, Altuve looked no better than an eight-year-old with an inflatable bat swinging at that awful pitch.
In the end though, the Astros got the last laugh by earning a 2-1 win after the Dodgers offered no run support to Ohtani (only scoring once in the eighth inning after Ohtani had thrown his final pitch). But Ohtani, who struck out eight over his seven innings of work, is still looking like a frontrunner for the NL Cy Young Award. As a bonus on Tuesday, he got to make Altuve look even more overmatched than he did during his brief stint as an outfielder.
Masai Ujiri has great message for Mavericks fans still hurting from Luka Doncic trade
Masai Ujiri knows what he’s getting into as the next team president of the Dallas Mavericks.
News broke on Monday that the Mavs were hiring Ujiri to replace disgraced executive Nico Harrison, who remains public enemy No. 1 in Dallas for orchestrating the trade that sent Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers.
During his introductory press conference on Tuesday, Ujiri spoke candidly about taking over following the ill-fated trade that left so many Mavs fans scarred. He went back to his African roots to send a message to a fan base needing hope for the future.
“I want to be very respectful to everybody here, and yes, there’s a healing process with that. Luka’s a future Hall of Famer. That’s the past,” Ujiri told reporters.
“In Africa, we say when kings go, kings come. And a king went, and we have a little prince here that we’re gonna turn into a king.”
That “little prince” Ujiri is referring to is, of course, Cooper Flagg. The 19-year-old bears the weight of the entire franchise on his shoulders.
Ujiri served as the Toronto Raptors’ top executive from 2013 to 2025, with his crowning moment being the team’s 2019 championship run. Ujiri made the move to acquire Kawhi Leonard, whose one year with the team resulted in Toronto’s title run.
Ujiri has made some questionable moves (or non-moves) since Leonard departed, with the team failing to reach similar heights up until his exit. There were reportedly concerns that Ujiri had spread himself too thin with his other ventures.
In Dallas, Ujiri gets a new chance to build something from the ground up.
Lakers’ Jarred Vanderbilt suffers gruesome finger injury in Game 1 vs. Thunder
Jarred Vanderbilt had quite a painful moment during Tuesday’s series opener.
The Los Angeles Lakers met the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday for Game 1 of their second-round playoff series. During the second quarter at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, Okla., the Lakers forward Vanderbilt leapt high to try to contest a dunk by Thunder big man Chet Holmgren.
Vanderbilt was not able to get there in time, but he did manage to pick up an ugly-looking finger injury in the process. The 27-year-old Vanderbilt slammed his pinky finger into the side of the backboard and appeared to suffer a gruesome dislocation.
Here is the video of the play.
— Follow: @PurpGoldLakers (@PGMediaaa) May 6, 2026
The NBC broadcast also showed players on the Thunder bench reacting with visible disgust to Vanderbilt’s injury.
Look at the Thunders reaction to Vando’s injury. pic.twitter.com/KknAV1Yg2e
— Showtime Luka (@showtimeluka) May 6, 2026
Vanderbilt left the game and did not return during the first half. While Vanderbilt, who is in his fourth season with the Lakers, is a defense-first player who shoots lefty anyway, he definitely has a reputation for being injury-prone. Now Vanderbilt’s latest injury in Game 1 of the Thunder series had to be especially frustrating, particularly given his personal history with OKC.
Notable update emerges on Joe Mazzulla’s future after playoff choke
The Boston Celtics still have more screenings of “The Town” in their future.
Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla is expected to remain in his position despite the team’s playoff choke, Adam Himmelsbach of the Boston Globe reported this week. Himmelsbach notes that Mazzulla will likely be named NBA Coach of the Year in the coming days as well.
Mazzulla, 37, just completed his fourth season as the head coach of the Celtics after taking over for the fired Ime Udoka in 2022. He has gone a scorching 238-90 (.726) overall in Boston and also guided the Celtics to the 2024 NBA championship.
Meanwhile, this past regular season marked some of Mazzulla’s best work yet. Despite being without Jayson Tatum for most of the year and trading the likes of Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis before the season even began, Boston went a stunning 56-26 and secured the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference.
Of course, the wheels then fell off the bus for the Celtics in the postseason. They blew a 3-1 lead to the No. 7 seed Philadelphia 76ers and ended up bowing out in the very first round (after some questionable decisions down the stretch by Mazzulla).
One could obviously argue that this was always going to be a bridge year for Boston and that they overachieved and created unrealistic expectations for themselves with their impressive regular season. Celtics management appears to feel the same way and will likely be giving another chance to Mazzulla (and his highly unusual personality).
James Harden gets a technical foul for shoving Duncan Robinson in Game 1
James Harden and Duncan Robinson were two unexpected combatants during Tuesday’s game.
Harden and the Cleveland Cavaliers played Robinson and the Detroit Pistons in Game 1 of their second-round playoff series. In the fourth quarter at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, Mich., the Pistons sharpshooter Robinson hit a basket off a drive and was fouled by Cleveland’s Donovan Mitchell in the process.
The “and-1” sequence got Robinson hyped up, and he let out a roar and got into the face of the Cavaliers star Harden, who was standing nearby. In response, Harden gave Robinson a shove.
Here is the video.
Duncan Robinson and James Harden pic.twitter.com/82ItTdnUBu
— Fullcourtpass (@Fullcourtpass) May 6, 2026
Harden was given a technical foul for the shove, and Robinson surprisingly got a technical foul as well (possibly for initiating the incident). As such, the two Ts offset, and Robinson just got his one free throw from the “and-1,” which he went on to miss.
The former MVP Harden has had an up-and-down postseason for the Cavaliers. He averaged 20.6 points and 6.1 assists per game during his team’s first-round series against the Raptors but was badly inefficient at times and also produced a very bizarre moment during Sunday’s Game 7.
Report: Giannis Antetokounmpo’s brothers are turning off 1 interested team
One interested suitor apparently does not want the entire Antetokounmpo clan.
The Brooklyn Nets are hesitant to trade for Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo because of his brothers, NBA reporter Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson said this week on “The Big Shot Bob Podcast.” Robinson noted that the Nets do not want to use roster spots on Antetokounmpo’s brothers Thanasis and Alex.
Additionally, Robinson said that, though Brooklyn has the assets to swing a trade for the ex-MVP Antetokounmpo, they would not meet Antetokounmpo’s wish of bringing his brothers along with him. You can see Robinson’s full remarks at the link here (beginning at the 24:45 mark).
Antetokounmpo’s older brother Thanasis has been a mainstay in Milwaukee over the last several years. He has spent six total seasons with the Bucks since 2019 and was a part of their 2021 NBA championship team (though Thanasis does not have the best reputation as an NBA-caliber player).
Meanwhile, Antetokounmpo’s younger brother Alex also spent the 2025-26 season with the Bucks. That meant that roughly 17 percent of Milwaukee’s available roster spots (including two-way players) were used up on members of the Antetokounmpo family.
The Nets, who went 20-62 this season, have been linked to a possible trade for The Greek Freak for some time now. But with roster spots holding particular value for rebuilding teams when it comes to depth, veteran mentors, and player development, Antetokounmpo’s brothers could end up making Brooklyn’s entire pursuit a non-starter.
Jaylen Brown gets big discipline from the NBA for criticizing referees
Jaylen Brown has managed to get fined despite his season being over.
The NBA announced on Tuesday that they are fining the Boston Celtics star Brown a sum of $50,000. In the league’s release, they said Brown issued a “public criticism of the officiating” during “a livestream on May 3.”
Brown and the Celtics just lost their first-round playoff series to the Philadelphia 76ers over the weekend. In the wake of the loss, Brown slammed 76ers star Joel Embiid for flopping.
During a livestream on Twitch, Brown said that “flopping has ruined our game” and hinted the referees were letting Embiid get away with constant flops. Brown also later went on to say that the referees had “an agenda” against him (see the full video of his remarks here).
For context, the former NBA MVP Embiid missed the first three games of the Celtics series as he recovered from an emergency appendectomy. But Embiid played in the final four games, averaging 25.2 points on 9.2 total free throw attempts per game to help the 76ers rally from a 3-1 deficit to win the series.
As for Brown, he had a breakout year as the No. 1 option for the Celtics and averaged 28.7 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 5.1 assists per game during the regular season. But Brown was upset with the officiating for most of the year and already got fined by the league a few months ago after a similar rant. Now Brown is getting fined again at two times the standard NBA fine of $25,000 for public officiating criticisms (likely with his status as a repeat offender factored in).
JJ Redick had five words about Lakers’ struggles against the Thunder
The Los Angeles Lakers and Oklahoma City Thunder begin their Western Conference playoffs semifinals series on Tuesday at the Paycom Center in Oklahoma.
The No. 1 seed Thunder swept the Phoenix Suns in four games, and the No. 4 seed Lakers got past the No. 5 seed Houston Rockets in six games.
Unfortunately, the Lakers went 0-4 against the Thunder in the regular season, and LA head coach JJ Redick had a five-word assessment about the play against OKC.
“We sucked against this team,” Redick said.
JJ Redick on their 4 regular-season matchups against the Thunder: “We sucked against this team.” pic.twitter.com/zeKaEItNsM
— Clemente Almanza (@CAlmanza1007) May 5, 2026
Here were the scores from the four matchups this season:
- November 12: Thunder win, 121-92
- February 9: Thunder win 119-110
- April 2: Thunder win 139-96
- April 7: Thunder win 123-87
Three of the four losses for the Lakers came via double-digits and in games where they scored less than 100 points, so Redick’s assessment was right on point.
The Lakers have been without Luka Doncic for the entire first-round series, although Austin Reaves was able to return for the final two games against Houston.
Still, the Thunder won the first three games against the Suns by double digits, including a 35-point blowout win in Game 1, so the defending NBA champions have a lot of momentum entering this series.
Game 1 and Game 2 are in Oklahoma City before the series shifts to LA.
Reds rookie made a surprising change during hitless skid
Cincinnati Reds rookie Sal Stewart just won the National League Rookie of the Month award for March and April after a strong start to 2026.
However, Stewart began the month of May hitless in the first three games before snapping a 0-for-19 skid with a single in the first inning of Monday’s game against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field.
On Tuesday, Stewart hopped on MLB Network and discussed the award, and he also revealed he shaved his facial hair in hopes of snapping the cold streak.
“I was over there searching for a hit,” Stewart said.
Sal Stewart shaved his facial hair because he's struggling at the plate in his last 8 games:
— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) May 5, 2026
"I was over there searching for a hit." 🤣 pic.twitter.com/0wDcYjQC1k
The Reds lost the game 5-4 and Stewart had just the one hit, but it was his first base knock since the calendar turned to May.
On April 25, Stewart had three hits and five RBI with a home run in the game against the Detroit Tigers, and that outburst brought his batting average to .303.
However, he dropped all the way down to .252 entering Tuesday, so it was quite the skid for Stewart after a hot start to the season.
Stewart has hit nine home runs with 29 RBI, which is good for second in baseball, and he is hoping the facial hair change can help turn things around for him at the plate.
Pirates manager, pitcher suspended by MLB
The Pittsburgh Pirates will play on Tuesday night without manager Don Kelly.
Kelley received a one-game suspension, while pitcher Chris Devenski received three, which was later reduced to two, for the actions in Saturday’s game against the Cincinnati Reds.
Devenski intentionally threw at Sal Stewart after the Pirates pitcher was upset about Stewart’s late timeout call.
Chris Devenski has been suspended for two games for this ejection during Saturday's game. He will begin serving his suspension tonight.
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) May 5, 2026
Pirates manager Don Kelly will serve his one-game suspension tonight.pic.twitter.com/7sK2oPokT8
The umpires huddled and then decided to toss Devenski from the game, which brought Kelly out of the dugout, leading to the Pirates manager also being thrown out of the game.
Kelly also cussed out umpires at the end of April in a game against the St. Louis Cardinals, so the Pirates manager has been involved with plenty of altercations this season.
The Pirates ended up winning the game 17-7 in Pittsburgh, so this sequence didn’t have an impact on the final score whatsoever.
After the game, Devenski insisted he didn’t intentionally throw at Stewart.
“Going hard to start an at-bat. I know the guy likes to dive over [the plate]. Just trying to execute my pitch there, and I think he took it the wrong way,” Devenski said, via Jason Mackey of MLB.com. “It is what it is. Hey, I’m not going to back down from anything, either.”
Pirates bench coach Kristopher Negrón will take over manager duties on Tuesday night against the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Cardinals coach breaks silence on Aaron Rodgers rumors
The Pittsburgh Steelers have been waiting a long time to see what the future holds for veteran quarterback Aaron Rodgers.
As of now, Rodgers has yet to make a decision, and rumors have swirled that the Arizona Cardinals could be an option for the veteran if he doesn’t return to Pittsburgh.
CBS Sports insider John Breech named the Cardinals as a landing spot if Rodgers doesn’t return, but nothing has materialized just yet.
On Tuesday, new Cardinals head coach Mike LaFleur hopped on “The Jim Rome Show” and was asked if the team was interested in Rodgers.
“Honestly, Jim, right now we’re focused on the guys that we got coming in,” LaFleur said. “We got a room that we’re excited to work with, and that’s solely where my focus is.”
Are the Cardinals interested in Aaron Rodgers??
— Jim Rome (@jimrome) May 5, 2026
I asked new head coach Mike LaFleur. pic.twitter.com/bLccj397gE
Earlier on Tuesday morning, new Cardinals wide receiver Kendrick Bourne made a public recruiting pitch to Rodgers on X, which picked up the rumors even more.
@AaronRodgers12 Come on we waiting on you 👀😁
— Kendrick Bourne Poly (@KendrickBourne_) May 5, 2026
The Cardinals selected Carson Beck in the third round of the 2026 NFL Draft and signed Gardner Minshew to compete for the job with Jacoby Brissett.
The Cardinals also hired Nathaniel Hackett as the new offensive coordinator, and he spent time with Rodgers in Green Bay.
And, LaFleur is the brother of Packers coach Matt LaFleur, so there are some connections to Rodgers and the staff in the desert.
At this rate, nobody knows what Rodgers is thinking, but the Cardinals coach didn’t give much intel into whether or not he is an option to sign there.
Tigers’ Triple-A manager abruptly fired under unclear circumstances
The Detroit Tigers’ Triple-A team, the Toledo Mud Hens, now has a new manager in a surprising turn of events.
The Tigers announced on Tuesday that Gabe Alvarez was fired, with the only explanation being for a “violation of club policy.” Mike Hessman has been named the interim manager for Toledo.
Statement from Tigers:
— Chris McCosky (@cmccosky) May 5, 2026
"We have terminated the contract of Gabe Alvarez as the manager of Triple A Toledo due to a violation of club policy. Mike Hessman will serve as interim manager. We will have no further comment."
Alvarez began his run as the Mud Hens manager at the start of the 2025 season, and the Mud Hens are 17-16 entering Tuesday.
However, the franchise insists that the move is not based on the team’s performance but rather on a policy, with no further details provided.
Gabe Alvarez being fired at Toledo has blindsided everyone. Had nothing to do with the team's performance, but rather, "a violation of club policy." It's as internal as internal gets with the Tigers. Upsetting news. Alvarez had been strong at Erie and Toledo and looked like a…
— Lynn Henning (@Lynn_Henning) May 5, 2026
Lynn Henning also added that the situation was “internal” and is being “heavily secreted” for the time being.
No evidence yet that there was anything of a police nature — DUI, domestic violence, etc. — with respect to Gabe Alvarez's dismissal as Triple-A Toledo manager. All indications at this hour are that the situation was internal and that it is being heavily secreted.
— Lynn Henning (@Lynn_Henning) May 5, 2026
Hessman has been a member of the Tigers’ farm system since 2016 and has been the Mud Hens’ hitting coach since 2023.
Rich Paul claims LeBron James has cost him clients
Rich Paul claimed in a new episode of his podcast that his Klutch Sports agency has lost potential clients because of its association with LeBron James.
In the latest episode of Paul’s “Game Over” podcast, James’ longtime agent claimed that many of the Lakers star’s peers are happy to see him lose and root against him in the playoffs. Paul contrasted this to the muted reaction when Nikola Jokic’s Denver Nuggets were knocked out of the playoffs in the first round.
Paul went a step further and said there is so much negativity toward James around the NBA that it cost Klutch Sports clients in the past.
“I feel the effects of it, because I’ve had NBA current players, and former players, involve themselves in a recruiting process with a kid — it’s not their son — and purposely push a kid to a different agency because of their disdain for LeBron, and I’m his guy,” Paul said, via Brendon Kleen of Awful Announcing. “So I know what happens.”
To be clear, James certainly receives plenty of unwarranted criticism and needless shots. On the other hand, it’s hard to believe that there is such hostility toward James that it has actually cost Paul clients. James is still perhaps the most popular player in the league, and Klutch counts the likes of Anthony Davis and Draymond Green as clients. Anthony Edwards and Trae Young have also previously been part of Klutch before ultimately departing. There have even been reports recently indicating that Paul was trying to land Giannis Antetokounmpo as well.
Whether it is true or not that Paul has lost clients because of James, he has still done very well for himself and those he represents. The association with James has undoubtedly helped him more than it has hurt him.
Stefon Diggs found not guilty in battery case
Stefon Diggs has been found not guilty by a jury on charges of felony strangulation and misdemeanor assault and battery.
The jury found Diggs not guilty on all counts in Dedham District Court on Tuesday following a trial. Diggs did not offer much of a reaction as the verdict was read out in court.
Free agent WR Stefon Diggs has been found not guilty of assault, battery, and strangulation of his former chef. pic.twitter.com/UtcEA28X8x
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) May 5, 2026
Diggs’ former live-in chef had accused him of assaulting her last December after she confronted him about money owed to her. The former New England Patriots wide receiver was alleged to have slapped and choked the woman, which Diggs categorically denied.
Diggs’ accuser testified during the trial and alleged that she and Diggs had a sexual relationship before she became his chef. She was admonished by a judge for evading questions put to her by Diggs’ legal team.
The 32-year-old wide receiver remains a free agent after the Patriots let him go in a cost-cutting move. Few teams have been linked to him to this point even though he had 85 catches for 1,013 yards and four touchdowns for New England last season.
Cowboys still sound uncertain about George Pickens’ future
The Dallas Cowboys remain adamant that they will not trade wide receiver George Pickens. Whether they see him at mandatory minicamp, however, remains an open question.
In an appearance on Mad Dog Radio Tuesday, Cowboys vice president Stephen Jones maintained that the team has “zero interest” in trading Pickens after using the franchise tag on the wide receiver. Jones admitted, however, that while the Cowboys expect Pickens at mandatory minicamp, they have yet to be told definitively whether he will be there or not.
“Certainly, that’s what we expect. I mean, anytime a player signs a contract and the expectations, as we hold for all of our players, is when you sign up and you’re under contract then you’re expected to do what your teammates are doing,” Jones said. “And certainly, you know, go back to Dak (Prescott), I know (Pickens) is working with Dak and those type of things, but at the end of the day, you know, we will see how this thing plays out.”
Cowboys EVP Stephen Jones today on @MadDogRadio again said they have “zero interest” in trading George Pickens.
— Jon Machota (@jonmachota) May 5, 2026
Jones also said they have not been told if Pickens will be at all mandatory portions of the offseason program.
“Certainly, that’s what we expect. I mean, anytime a…
It remains unclear if Pickens has even signed the franchise tag yet. Initial reports suggested he would, but as of last weekend, it had not yet happened.
The Cowboys broke off long-term contract talks with Pickens back in April, a decision that seemed to be accepted by both sides. Now it sounds like the Cowboys aren’t sure if that is the case, adding a bit of uncertainty to the situation.
Pickens caught 93 passes for 1,429 yards and nine touchdowns for Dallas last season and established himself as a vital part of the team’s offense.
Jason Kidd not guaranteed to return as Mavericks coach
New Dallas Mavericks team president Masai Ujiri gave Jason Kidd some reason to sweat on Tuesday.
Ujiri was introduced as the new Mavericks president, and one of the topics he was asked to address was Kidd’s future as head coach. Interestingly, Ujiri chose not to make a clear statement about Kidd’s future.
Ujiri said he plans to look at the franchise from top to bottom before making any major decisions, and refused to completely commit to Kidd going forward. He added, however, that he kept George Karl and Dwane Casey in place when taking over Denver and Toronto, respectively.
Asked again about Kidd’s status, Ujiri says he needs to go through a process before making decisions about Kidd’s future and other matters but points out he kept George Karl and Dwane Casey in place in Denver and Toronto after taking over the front office with those teams. https://t.co/5WkZDpatpG
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) May 5, 2026
Ujiri’s reassurances regarding Karl and Casey might not make Kidd feel better. Ujiri did keep Karl through his entire Nuggets tenure and initially signed Casey to a contract extension with Toronto. He later fired Casey in 2018, however, just after Casey was named Coach of the Year.
The good news for Kidd is ownership likes him so much that he got some buzz to be named GM himself before Ujiri was hired. On the other hand, one has to wonder if the Mavericks would bring in a well-respected figure like Ujiri if they were not prepared to let him make his own personnel decisions. There is no reason to think Kidd’s job is in imminent danger, but until Ujiri clearly states that he will be staying, things might be a bit tense for him.
Kidd would probably land another job quickly if he were dismissed, based on the interest he has received in recent seasons. He is 205-205 since joining the Mavericks with an NBA Finals appearance to his name.
