By JOSH HELLER
Staff Writer
1. NBA Trade Deadline Full of Peaks and Valleys
Last Wednesday, the NBA hit their trade deadline, and while the league had its fair share of interesting and notable deals, this year’s deadline proved to be a bit more boring than years’ past.
The biggest deal of the deadline no doubt came a few days before the deadline, when the Kings finally did what many thought they would do eventually: trade DeMarcus Cousins.
Cousins was traded to New Orleans along with Omri Casspi (who has a foot injury and has since the trade been waived) in exchange for Buddy Hield, Tyreke Evans, Langston Galloway (who was also waived), a top-three protected 2017 first-round pick, and a 2017 second-round pick.
Reports not that long ago suggested Cousins and the Kings were planning on a long-term extension, and were happy with their situation, but it since then went downhill.
Now, Cousins looks to be a part of one of the best frontcourts in the league, alongside fellow star Anthony Davis.
Besides the Cousins deal, other big moves include Nerlens Noel going to Dallas for Andrew Bogut, Justin Anderson, and a top-18 protected pick in 2017, as well as Taj Gibson, Doug McDermott, and a 2018 second-rounder moving to Oklahoma City for Cameron Payne, Anthony Morrow, and Joffrey Lauvergne.
There will plenty of other smaller moves, such as P.J. Tucker moving to Toronto and Ersan Ilyasova going to the Hawks, but this was a trade deadline full of a couple blockbuster moves, and countless rumors that didn’t pan out.
The Celtics were one team discussed to trade for a star like Jimmy Butler and Paul George, but they both stayed put, and the Celtics stood pat.
This trade deadline was nothing compared to the last two years, but that doesn’t mean that many NBA fans, including myself, weren’t glued to their Twitter timelines.
2. Jets Release Mangold
Not long after releasing fellow Jets’ offensive lineman Breno Giacomini, the team released longtime center Nick Mangold.
Mangold, 33, was drafted in the first round back in 2006. Mangold started in the 2006 season opener, and that started a streak of 82 consecutive regular season starts. Mangold then missed two games in 2011 with an ankle sprain, and he then made 59 more starts in a row before his next game missed.
In his 11 seasons in New York, Mangold was a seven-time Pro Bowler. Per NFL.com, Mangold is not retiring after his release.
Mangold’s 2017 cap hit was set to be just over $9 million, which is quite possibly the main reason for his release.
3. Oklahoma Quarterback Mayfield Arrested
Early Saturday morning, Oklahoma quarterback and Heisman finalist Baker Mayfield was arrested in Arkansas for public intoxication, disorderly conduct, resisting and fleeing arrest.
Per the police report reported by many major news outlets, the incident occurred at nearly 3 a.m., when an officer was called to a domestic situation.
When they arrived, Mayfield told the officer he was trying to break up a fight going on, and the officer asked Mayfield to stay put so he could give a statement. The officer told Mayfield to stay put, and Mayfield then started “causing a scene,” and tried to get away. As Mayfield ran away, the officer had to tackle the quarterback to the ground, and Mayfield refused to place his hands behind his back.
Mayfield, who lost the Heisman trophy to Louisville quarterback Lamar Jackson, is the second Oklahoma star to face public criticism, as his running back Joe Mixon was captured on video assaulting a female student in 2014 (Mixon was recently banned from the NFL Combine).
Mayfield is expected to return to Oklahoma for the 2017, while Mixon could be taken with a late-round pick.
4. Five Canucks Show Mumps Symptoms
Prior to Saturday’s game against the San Jose Sharks, the Vancouver Canucks announced that five of their players were showing mumps symptoms, and would miss the game.
On Friday afternoon, the Canucks released a statement that young defenseman Troy Stetcher had a confirmed case of the mumps, while fellow defensemen Chris Tanev, Nikita Tryamkin, and forwards Mike Chaput and Markus Granlund were showing symptoms. The Canucks had to call up four players from their AHL affiliate in Utica to fill their spots.
The team said they worked with Vancouver health officials, and quarantined those who showed symptoms.
Back in 2014 and early 2015, dozens of players across the league were diagnosed with a case of the mumps, an epidemic that started with a confirmed case of Keith Ballard in Minnesota. Joakim Lindstrom and Jori Lehtera of the Blues were reported to be dealing with mumps-like symptoms before Ballard, but this was never confirmed.
Saturday’s Canucks game against the Sharks saw four players with nine games of experience combined. The Canucks went on to fall to the Sharks 4-1.
5. Simmons Will Not Play this Season
After missing all of 2016-17 to this point, Ben Simmons, the first-overall pick in this past draft, will not play at all this season for the 76ers.
The announcement came from Philadelphia general manager Bryan Colangelo after Simmons underwent a CT scan on his foot, after he participated in 76ers’ practice drills over the past few weeks. Simmons fractured his foot back in September.
Colangelo told reporters that he doesn’t believe there’s enough time for Simmons to get back into game condition before the end of the season, and the team didn’t want to risk a re-fracture.
Simmons, 20, was initially expected to miss three months following his foot surgery.
He is so far on the same path as superstar rookie-teammate Joel Embiid, who missed the 2014-15 and 2015-16 seasons with a foot injury. Simmons is expected to be a top competitor for next year’s rookie of the year award.
