Memphis Grizzlies point guard Ja Morant is one of the NBA’s most electrifying athletes. He is a blur with the ball. As he rises, there is no telling how he will score, only that it requires a great deal of contortion.
There is no telling how he will land, either. He has missed 190 games in his seven-year career and played more than 63 games in a season just once, his rookie year, when he missed a handful of games to injury. He has missed time in three of his four playoff appearances, all but one of which ended in the first round.
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Morant has also been banned from the team on multiple occasions. He was twice suspended during the 2023-24 campaign for flashing guns on Instagram live videos, and he served a one-game suspension earlier this season for conduct detrimental to the team after allegedly challenging his coaches both publicly and privately.
When first-year Grizzlies head coach Tuomas Iisalo challenged Morant’s “leadership and effort” following a 117-112 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on Oct. 31, he reportedly “responded in a tone deemed inappropriate and dismissive.” The two-time All-Star told reporters, “According to [the coaching staff], probably don’t play me, honestly. That’s basically what the message was. It’s cool.”
All of which is to say: The Grizzlies have faced a considerable conundrum. On one hand, Morant is a franchise cornerstone, one of the few potential faces of the league, and he has won 60% of his games, so long as Jaren Jackson Jr. is at his side. On the other, how do you trust him to fulfill his commitment to the team?
Surely, the Grizzlies would entertain serious offers, if only to avoid more headaches, but how will the rest of the NBA respond to his availability? Every other team knows the injury and attitude issues that have led to his undependability.
At the same time, every other team knows Morant’s contract situation. He is owed $42 million next season and $45 million for the 2027-28 campaign — about 25% of the salary cap going forward, or a fairly affordable figure. He is eligible for a massive contract extension at season’s end, when it is unclear if the Grizzlies will offer him one, and has been since June, per Substack insider Marc Stein. Sharks will circle.
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Which team would be willing to take the risk?
“Many would be interested,” a league source recently said.
The Rockets and Timberwolves are both in need of a point guard. Would the Suns want to pair Morant with Devin Booker to forge one of the league’s most formidable backcourts? Might the Brooklyn Nets want their first building block for the next iteration of their super-team strategy? Countless teams find themselves in similar situations.
So, the interest could be widespread, if the Grizzlies ultimately decide that, while Morant may still be an All-NBA talent, he might not be one again for Memphis.
Lagway has “long intended to take a full repertory of visits before making his decision,” ESPN’s Pete Thamel reported on Friday. Thamel reported that Ole Miss — whose star quarterback, Trinidad Chambliss, has so far been denied another season of eligibility — could be in the mix for Lagway.
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Lagway visited Baylor on Tuesday and was spotted attending a Baylor basketball game with Bears football coach Dave Aranda. A day later, Rivals reported Lagway had committed to Baylor.
Lagway, considered the top quarterback in the 2024 class, turned in a strong freshman season with the Gators. After starting the year on the bench, Lagway was pushed into the starting lineup following an injury to Graham Mertz.
Lagway threw for 456 yards and three scores in his first start, and then led Florida to a 6-1 record down the stretch, taking down multiple ranked opponents before beating Tulane in a bowl game.
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That strong finish led to heightened expectations for both Lagway and Florida entering the 2025 season. Florida opened the year ranked No. 15 in the AP poll, and then rose to No. 13 after taking down LIU to kick off the season. But a loss to South Florida the following week dropped Florida out of the top-25.
That proved to be a harbinger of what was to come. Florida finished the year 4-8 and failed to jump back into the top-25 the rest of the way. Head coach Billy Napier failed to make it through the season, and was fired in October.
Lagway, 20, played a significant role in the team’s demise. After being limited by shoulder issues last offseason, Lagway didn’t play up to expectations as a sophomore, finishing the year with just 16 touchdowns and 14 interceptions in 12 games.
Given his immense potential — and his freshman-year performance — Lagway would be a significant addition for Baylor, which is coming off a 5-7 season. The team managed that record despite a strong performance from senior quarterback Sawyer Robertson, who threw for 3,681 yards and 31 touchdowns in his final year with the school. Playing in the same offense could help Lagway regain his former promise after a down year in 2025.
Lagway has plenty of familiarity with Baylor. His father attended the school and played for the Bears in the 90s.
Prior to meeting with Baylor, Lagway visited both Florida State and Virginia, per Rivals.
The Hawks dealt their biggest star in exchange for guards CJ McCollum and Corey Kispert. And, so, the first domino ahead of the league’s Feb. 5 trade deadline fell during a Hawks home game, perhaps ironically against the New Orleans Pelicans, who, according to NBA insider Chris Haynes, aren’t trending toward any trade of that kind.
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In fact, per Haynes, the Pelicans are telling teams that Zion Williamson, Trey Murphy III, Herb Jones as well as 2025 first-rounders Derik Queen and Jeremiah Fears will remain in New Orleans beyond the deadline.
The 8-31 Pelicans have the second-worst record in the NBA. They fired head coach Willie Green in November, 12 games into his fifth season at the helm. James Borrego, former head coach of the Charlotte Hornets and associate head coach on Green’s staff, took Green’s place in an interim role.
Currently, the team is suffering through a nine-game skid, crashing back to Earth after a five-game win streak provided a glimpse of holiday hope last month.
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New Orleans clinging to Queen and Fears wouldn’t be surprising. For one, they’re promising rookies.
Queen is averaging 12.9 points per game, and the 21-year-old center has gone for 20 or more on eight occasions. Along the way, the Maryland product has tallied seven double-doubles and a 33-10-10 triple-double versus the San Antonio Spurs on Dec. 8. Fears, a 19-year-old guard from Oklahoma, is averaging 14.2 points per game on 43.3% shooting. He’s got eight 20-point games of his own.
Not only are they young and entertaining, but they’re also players picked by first-year Pelicans president of basketball operations Joe Dumars.
Dumars inherited the other three players on the list Haynes reported.
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Williamson headlines that group.
The two-time All-Star forward is still only 25 years old. If there’s a time to sell high on him, it’s probably now. The often-injured Williamson has played in 13 straight games. He’s started the past six, averaging 24.5 points, 6.2 rebounds and 1 steal per game while shooting 61.6% from the field in that span.
He’s healthy at the moment, and his contract is non-guaranteed for the next two seasons.
The thought was that the Pelicans could be aggressive at the deadline, moving veteran starters, such as Williamson, to regain assets.
New Orleans owes its 2026 first-round pick to the Hawks after going up to get Queen in last year’s draft. The franchise doesn’t have a second-round pick until the 2030 draft.
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And yet, per Haynes’ report, it appears the Pelicans could be sticking with their core past the deadline.
Anthony Davis, or at least the in-a-vacuum, hypothetical idea of him, has fascinated many a front office for over a decade.
A 6-foot-10 behemoth, equal parts force and finesse, with three-level shot-making ability and enough defensive prowess to construct an entire scheme around his skill set. A matchup nightmare at either power forward or center. A coaching staff’s dream. A general manager’s vision.
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In reality, however, what Davis was and what he currently is, are two very different things. For starters, the “floor spacing big” phenomenon that took the league by storm never truly caught on with Davis, a career 29% 3-point shooter attempting less than two treys a game today. And for all the obsession over what Davis brings when he’s on the floor, the when is more often the operative word. Outside of the 2023-24 season where Davis appeared in 76(!) games, his recent availability percentage by year is 45, 62, 68, 48 and 43. This week provided another reminder of his fragility: Davis reportedly suffered ligament damage in his left hand during Thursday night’s Mavericks loss and could miss ‘a number of months’ if surgery is required.
Still, Davis is a breathtaking player when he suits up, even languishing on a 14-24 Mavs team clearly pivoting in Cooper Flagg’s direction. Consider this: Over Davis’ last 11 starts in which he logged at least 30 minutes (dating back to Dec. 1), he averaged 24.5 points, 12.5 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.6 blocks per game.
Players who put up 25 and 10, health be damned, aren’t just walking the NBA streets. Only Nikola Jokić and Giannis Antetokounmpo — two former MVPs and champions — are producing at those aforementioned benchmarks this season, per NBA.com tracking data. Juxtaposed with his rim protection — opponents are shooting just 54.1% at the rim when Davis is the nearest defender and nearly 10% better when he’s off the floor, a top-15 differential among players that defend at least five such shots per game — and you understand why the allure still exists.
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The Atlanta Hawks, according to rival executives and multiple agents, have been enamored with Davis for a while, even prior to trading Trae Young. And, following Young’s departure, they planned to keep him firmly on their radar before the Feb. 5 trade deadline in an attempt to pair him alongside breakout star Jalen Johnson in an uber-athletic, menacing two-way frontcourt. The severity of Davis’ latest injury could obviously chill his trade market.
Still, squint hard enough, and you can see etchings of what Hawks general manager Onsi Saleh is attempting to construct. The Hawks, according to conversations with rival executives, agents and former players, are unsure of the long-term prospects of Onyeka Okongwu and Mo Gueye at center from a contention standpoint. Atlanta is an average defensive team (16th in defensive rating, per Cleaning the Glass), but a core featuring Dyson Daniels, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Johnson and Davis has enough versatility and optionality to rewrite a narrative that would have been otherwise impossible with Young as the centerpiece.
Even regardless of Davis’ health, some obstacles would still need to be cleared. The 32-year-old is earning $54 million this season, with an additional $120 million owed over the next two years (a whopping $62.8 million player option in 2027-28) when Davis will be 34 years old. His albatross AAV is enough of a hurdle to get past, but the bulk of conversations have centered around veteran Kristaps Porziņģis, a $30 million absence-prone player now relegated to reserve status in Atlanta.
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There’s also the question of what Davis’ leaguewide interest truly is, what the Mavericks are seeking in a potential return and any middle ground that exists. League sources have previously identified the Toronto Raptors as another team that would entertain a Davis addition — at the right price — but this isn’t the sweepstakes from a few years ago. The combination of price tag, injury history and age have watered down Davis’ market. Dallas is currently $1.3 million below the second apron and, with hopes of gaining more flexibility, is believed to be open to moving veterans ahead of the deadline.
One must also ponder what Davis, still with three years left on his current deal, is hoping to achieve in the interim. Naturally, the 10-time All-Star will hope to secure at least one more multiyear deal in his career. In a similar vein to Young, Davis’ appeal increases if there is an openness to inking an extension at a much more palatable price.
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There’s no need for the Hawks, for as much as they desire Davis, to drive their own price up for an asset with limited interest. Atlanta could mirror Houston’s strategy in securing forward Kevin Durant, standing firm in their offer and refusing to relent, ultimately forcing Dallas to meet it in the middle. There’s also the undeniable Door No. 2 that exists that deems Davis’ recent injury woes too steep of a hill to climb, forcing the Hawks’ brass to look elsewhere for upgrades.
We have a jam-packed episode of The Dunker Spot coming your way!
Nekias Duncan and Steve Jones break down all angles of the Trae Young-to-Washington trade: how will he fit, who will he help, what does he have to prove, and what his situation says about the state of small guards in the NBA. We also explore how CJ McCollum and Corey Kispert, for however long they’re in Atlanta, can boost the Hawks — and if the Hawks should make other moves.
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From there, the guys discuss the breakout season of Anthony Edwards and where he slots into the MVP discussion and the second round of All-Star voting (welcome to the top 20, Scottie Barnes and Cooper Flagg).
Finally, the guys discuss the upcoming slate of Unrivaled games — with Nekias providing some insight from his time in Miami.
If you ever have NBA or WNBA questions, email us at dunkerspot@yahoo.com.
1:00 — Trae Young to the Wizards
22:50 — CJ McCollum, Corey Kispert to the Hawks
33:27 — Anthony Edwards is leveling up
50:56 — Second All-Star voting returns
57:54 — Unrivaled practice takeaways + weekend preview
JANUARY 7: Trae Young #11 of the Atlanta Hawks signs autographs prior to a game against the New Orleans Pelicans at State Farm Arena on January 7, 2026 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Todd Kirkland/Getty Images)
While four of the top free-agent hitters remain unsigned, stuck in a high-stakes staring contest involving multiple parties and priorities, there’s also a second tier of position players still available on the open market as spring training approaches. Look farther down our Top 50 free-agent rankings, and you’ll find several hitters who have played meaningful roles for contending teams in recent seasons, including an accomplished field general in J.T. Realmuto (No. 23), a prolific power hitter in Eugenio Suárez (No. 24), a rare right-handed-hitting outfielder in Harrison Bader (No. 30) and a consummate superutilityman in Willi Castro (No. 35).
Within this tier of bats expected to land major-league deals without breaking the bank, by far the most fascinating case is Luis Arráez (No. 26). An ultra-brief elevator pitch for Arráez — “three-time batting champion who turns just 29 in April” — would certainly seem to be compelling. But Arráez’s severe lack of value added beyond his contact-hitting superpower and the fact that he is coming off his worst season in the majors have clearly left teams wary of investing in him as a free agent.
At the outset of the offseason, industry projections for Arráez’s contract were almost universally conservative, with MLB Trade Rumors, FanGraphs, The Athletic and ESPN all forecasting two-year deals ranging from $17 million to $30 million in total, a modest commitment for a player with some of Arráez’s accolades. The fact that he has remained on the market with virtually zero buzz about potential suitors suggests that it’s unlikely these forecasts will end up missing the mark by much.
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Timing is everything in free agency, and it’s impossible to deny that Arráez arrived on the open market at the nadir of his value league-wide. As a result, perhaps he will opt for a one-year pillow contract that enables him to reenter the market immediately after a chance to reestablish himself as the valuable contact savant he was a few years ago.
In 2025, Arráez’s unparalleled ability to put the bat on the ball somehow leveled up further, as evidenced by his microscopic 3.1% strikeout rate, the lowest we’ve seen from a qualified hitter since Tony Gwynn in 1995. But he got worse by nearly every other offensive measure, resulting in a career-low wRC+ of 104, a sharp decline from the 131 mark that ranked top-20 in MLB across 2022 and 2023. That’s still technically an above-average offensive line, but in tandem with poor defense at mostly first base, it amounted to just 0.9 fWAR across 154 games, which ranked 125th out of 145 qualified position players.
Arráez didn’t even rank in the top 10 in the category he has dominated for years, with his .292 batting average also a career low.
Adding to the poor perception of Arráez’s performance was the role he was asked to play in San Diego as its primary No. 2 hitter. The 2-hole has increasingly become the spot in the batting order reserved for an offense’s best overall hitter, with teams prioritizing getting their best bats as many plate appearances as possible while maintaining the opportunity for those at-bats to come with runners on base. That means Arráez delivered his worst season while making the majority of his starts in this critical spot in the batting order: His .710 OPS when batting second ranked 18th among 18 hitters who received at least 300 plate appearances in that spot in 2025.
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Of course, no matter where Arráez slots into the batting order, his output at the plate in 2025 was simply far below what most teams would deem a crucial cog in the lineup. At his best in Minnesota and Miami, Arráez demonstrated just enough power and patience to ensure that his overall slash line wasn’t strictly supported by a bloated batting average. In San Diego, Arráez’s approach has turned hyper-aggressive, with very few walks mixed in, and even his modest underlying slugging potential evaporated, with his already low barrel and hard-hit rates plummeting to depths that only he occupies.
Troubling trends aside, Arráez’s relative youth suggests that it might be premature to think he has no chance of restoring his value. If he can return to the more nuanced approach that made his unique, high-contact profile more palatable earlier in his career, whichever team signs him could reap significant benefits on a contract that isn’t expected to be hefty.
Can Luis Arráez get back to being the valuable contact savant he was a few years ago?
(Mallory Bielecki/Yahoo Sports)
Beyond his unique batting profile, projecting a fit for Arráez in free agency is dependent on clubs’ interpretation of him as a defender, which has evolved throughout his career. As a prospect coming up in the Twins’ system, Arráez bounced around the infield, primarily playing second base but also spending time at shortstop and third, with some cameos in left field. That distribution initially continued once he arrived in the majors in 2019, but eventually, he shed the shortstop and outfield responsibilities and added first base to his repertoire.
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In his first All-Star campaign in 2022, Arráez spent the majority of his reps at first base, and his blossoming bat earned 34 starts at DH. Then he was traded to Miami, and he returned to his prior post as the every-day second baseman in 2023, hitting a whopping .354 — the highest mark in MLB since Josh Hamilton hit .359 in 2010 — and finishing eighth in NL MVP voting. Traded again early in the 2024 season, this time to San Diego, Arráez’s time in the middle infield dwindled, as he made just 16 starts at the keystone over his two seasons as a Padre, instead logging 112 starts at first base and 74 as the designated hitter.
This trajectory — and the consistently poor metrics he has posted at first and second because of his poor range — makes Arráez’s defensive outlook cloudy at best. Viewed more generously, the fact that he has extensive experience in the majors at multiple positions makes it difficult to sentence him to full-time DH duty before he has even turned 30. To be fair, the best version of Arráez, the hitter, is arguably worth every-day at-bats at DH, even if the slugging output isn’t what’s usually associated with the role. But in all likelihood, because it has become ultra-rare for teams to commit the DH spot to one individual, the team that signs Arráez will have some level of comfort with him getting playing time in the field.
So which teams could fit Arráez on their rosters — and in their budgets — before Opening Day? Perhaps one of Arráez’s former teams will seek a reunion, with all three of Minnesota, San Diego and Miami a bat or two short as things stand. The Giants could use a regular DH in the event that top prospect Bryce Eldridge isn’t ready, and second base remains a glaring weakness in their infield.
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In Milwaukee, Arráez could be an interesting left-handed complement at first base to Andrew Vaughn, and he’d maybe snag some DH starts when Christian Yelich plays the outfield, but the Brewers likely value defense too much to target him. If Mike Trout can handle the outfield with any amount of frequency, the Angels — who badly need left-handed hitters — could offer Arráez regular at-bats at DH and perhaps second base. Or Arráez might want to restore his value on a rebuilding team with guaranteed at-bats available, in which case Washington and Colorado could be decent fits. Go hit .400 at Coors Field, Luis!
With so many unknowns, we could speculate on Arráez landing spots all day. And if the cost ends up being as moderate as projected, a wide swath of teams could be realistic suitors. But no matter where Arráez lands, his fit on his new roster promises to be a fascinating spring training storyline to watch. And whether he can get back to being a legitimately productive player — not just a one-trick pony — will go a long way in determining how satisfied both sides will be with his contract.
The path forward for Koepka and the PGA Tour is unclear. The organization has indicated in the past that a return from LIV would require a player to sit out at least a year after his last non-sanctioned event. Because LIV’s final 2025 event ended on Aug. 25, that would mean Koepka would be effectively banned from the tour until this September.
However, that might not be set in stone. ESPN reports the tour will start its reinstatement and disciplinary process, which will include “thoughtful input from the board, including player directors.”
“They’ve made the money but they’ve paid their consequence when you talk about their reputation and some of the things that they’ve lost by going over there,” McIlroy said. “If it made the overall tour stronger to have Bryson DeChambeau back and whoever else, I would be OK with it. But, it’s not just me, and I recognize that not everyone’s in my position. It would be up to the collective group of PGA Tour members to make that decision.”
Whatever decision is made, Koepka remains eligible to play in the four majors this year by virtue of his 2023 PGA Championship. He can also play in the DP World Tour.
Brooks Koepka wants back into the PGA Tour. (Photo by Jan Kruger/Getty Images)
(Jan Kruger via Getty Images)
Koepka was among the several big names to leave the PGA Tour for LIV Golf three years ago, including Bryson DeChambeau, Dustin Johnson, Jon Rahm and Phil Mickelson. Among that group, he was clearly the one most regretting his lucrative decision.
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Going back to the 2023 Masters, he was lamenting losing the ability to regularly compete with golf’s top competitors and dropping lines like, “It is what it is. It’s the situation we’ve got right now, so I can’t do anything about it. I just go play.” Last year, he responded to Fred Couples reporting his interest in a PGA Tour return by saying, “I’ve got a contract obligation out here to fulfill, and then we’ll see what happens.”
Koepka’s time with LIV has caused him to drop to 244th in the Official World Golf Ranking and his performance in majors, once his calling card, has dropped off as well. He won the PGA Championship in 2023, but hasn’t finished in the top 10 in the 10 majors since then. In 2025, he missed the cut at three of the four majors.
Koepka officially left LIV in December, which the league described as an amicable split and him “prioritizing the needs of his family and staying closer to home.”
The length of Davis’ recovery will depend on the second opinion he receives. There’s a real chance the 10-time All-Star will be sidelined through the NBA’s Feb. 5 trade deadline and potentially beyond that day if surgery is required, per Charania.
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Even if the 32-year-old Davis doesn’t have a procedure done, he’s expected to miss at least six weeks, according to ESPN’s report. The Mavs later confirmed there was ligament damage in Davis’ hand and said they were evaluating their medical options.
While Dončić has become the face of the franchise Davis won a championship with during the 2020 season, Davis has had a turbulent experience with the Mavericks.
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The big man has appeared in just 29 regular-season games, as well as two play-in games, since infamous Dallas general manager Nico Harrison acquired him last February.
Following the trade, the former No. 1 overall pick was healing up from an abdominal injury. He hurried back and instantly starred with a dominant first half on Feb. 8 against the Houston Rockets, but an adductor strain related to the injury he was recovering from spoiled his night.
Injuries have been a thorn in Davis’ side throughout his career, which started with New Orleans in 2012, continued in Los Angeles and has practically gone dormant in Dallas.
Davis is due $58.5 million next season, per ESPN, which reported that he has a player option for $62.8 million in 2027-28.
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The Miami Dolphins have agreed to terms to hire Jon-Eric Sullivan as the franchise’s new general manager, they announced Friday.
Sullivan has served as the vice president of player personnel of the Green Bay Packers since 2022. He will replace Chris Grier, who parted ways with the Dolphins in October after serving in the organization since 2000.
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The 50-year-old Sullivan grew up in football as his father, Jerry, coached in college and the NFL for nearly 40 years, including spending the 2004 season as the Dolphins’ wide receivers coach.
The younger Sullivan, who was part of the GM interview circuit last offseason and spoke with the Las Vegas Raiders, New York Jets and Tennessee Titans, has only worked for the Packers. He began as an intern in 2003 and worked his way up through the scouting department before being promoted to VP of player personnel.
Sullivan’s first big task will be to find a replacement for head coach Mike McDaniel, who was fired on Thursday after four seasons in charge. He’ll then have to figure out what to do with quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, who will be entering the second year of an extension next season and will account for a $56.4 million salary cap hit.
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Free agency will be important this offseason after the Dolphins finished 7-10 and in third place in the AFC East, missing out on the postseason for the seventh time in nine seasons. They are currently scheduled to select No. 11 overall in April’s NFL Draft.
