JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Buccaneers offensive coordinator Liam Coen told the team Thursday night that he was leaving to become coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars, a source told ESPN's Jenna Laine.

The two sides verbally reached agreement on a contract overnight, sources told ESPN's Jeremy Fowler.

The decision capped a two-day saga in which Coen pulled himself from consideration for the Jaguars job, then agreed to a contract extension with the Buccaneers that would have made him the NFL's highest-paid coordinator, and then changed his mind after Jacksonville reached out to ask him to reconsider after it parted ways with general manager Trent Baalke on Wednesday afternoon.

Coen traveled to Jacksonville on Thursday afternoon and met with owner Shad Khan and interim general manager Ethan Waugh. A source told Laine that Coen reached out to Tampa Bay coach Todd Bowles earlier Thursday night to tell him about his renewed interest in the Jaguars' job, but Coen did not speak with anyone else in the Bucs' front office.

The Jaguars had interviewed Las Vegas Raiders defensive coordinator Patrick Graham earlier Thursday and were scheduled to have an in-person interview with former New York Jets coach Robert Saleh on Friday.

A league source said they hoped to reengage with Coen after the exit of Baalke -- their GM since 2021 -- but were prepared to expand the search into next week if Coen declined.

An unwillingness to work with Baalke instead of a GM of his choice was a factor -- but not the main one -- in Coen's initial decision to pull himself from consideration, the source said.

Coen was one of 10 candidates the Jaguars interviewed, with the sides first speaking virtually Jan. 15. He will be the eighth head coach in franchise history and replace Doug Pederson, whom Khan fired Jan. 6 after three seasons.

Coen, 39, will become the fourth-youngest active head coach in the NFL, behind only the Seattle Seahawks' Mike Macdonald (37), Chicago Bears' Ben Johnson (38) and Los Angeles Rams' Sean McVay (38).

Coen has spent 15 seasons as an assistant coach, including 10 at the college level. He spent four seasons with the Rams under McVay as an assistant wide receivers coach (two years), assistant quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator (2022), and then this past season with the Buccaneers under Bowles.

Coen was hired by Tampa Bay to replace Dave Canales, who left the Bucs to become coach of the Carolina Panthers. That reunited Coen with Baker Mayfield -- whom Coen had coached with the Rams in 2022 -- and the two put together one of the best offenses in Bucs history.

Mayfield's passer rating of 106.8 was a franchise record, and the Bucs were the only team in the NFL to rank in the top five in passing yards per game (250.4) and rushing yards per game (149.2). The Bucs ranked in the top five in total offense (399.6 yards per game), scoring (29.5 points per game), rushing, passing, third-down conversions (a league-high 50.9%) and red zone efficiency (66.7%).

In addition, Mayfield set career highs in passing yards (4,500), passing touchdowns (41) and completion percentage (71.4%) -- ranking in the top three in the NFL in each of those categories.

The Rams' offense struggled in 2022 because quarterback Matthew Stafford sat out eight games because of a concussion and spinal cord contusion. Los Angeles started four quarterbacks that season: Stafford (nine games), Mayfield (four), John Wolford (three) and Bryce Perkins (one) and finished last in total offense (280.5 yards per game) and 27th in scoring (18.1 points per game), rushing (97.7 yards per game), and passing (182.8 yards per game).

Coen spent 10 seasons as a college assistant, including two separate stints as Kentucky's offensive coordinator (2021, 2023).

This was a critical hire for Khan because he's trying to find long-term stability for franchise quarterback Trevor Lawrence. Lawrence will be on his third full-time coach and fourth playcaller in five seasons in the NFL.

The Jaguars went 4-13 in 2024, the 10th time in Khan's 13 seasons as owner his team has posted double-digit losses.

MELBOURNE, Australia -- Twenty-four-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic retired from his Australian Open semifinal match against Alexander Zverev on Friday afternoon, unable to continue because of a muscle tear in his left leg.

After Zverev had secured a marathon 81-minute first set in a tiebreak, Djokovic, who was playing with heavy strapping on his left thigh, walked gingerly to the net and shook hands with the world No. 2, conceding the match and confirming Zverev's place in Sunday's final.

The capacity crowd at Rod Laver Arena booed Djokovic as he headed for the exit, and he responded by flashing two thumbs-up.

"I did everything I possibly can to manage the muscle tear that I had," a dejected Djokovic told reporters minutes after stepping off the court. "Medications and the strap and the physio work helped to some extent today, [but] towards the end of that first set I just started feeling more and more pain. It was getting worse and worse. It was just too much to handle for me at the moment.

"I knew even if I won the first set it was going to be a huge uphill battle for me to stay physically fit enough to stay with him in the rallies for another, god knows, two, three, four hours. I don't think I had that, unfortunately, today in the tank. Unfortunate ending, but I tried."

Zverev, 27, who will play in his first Australian Open final and face defending champion Jannik Sinner, addressed the booing fans and defended Djokovic in his on-court interview.

"The very first thing I want to say is, please, guys, don't boo a player when he goes out with injury," Zverev said. "I know that everybody paid for tickets and wants to see hopefully a five-set match. He has won this tournament with an abdominal tear, won this tournament with a hamstring injury. So please show some respect."

Djokovic, 37, who was seeking a record-extending 11th title at Melbourne Park, suffered the injury during his quarterfinal win against world No. 3 Carlos Alcaraz earlier in the week.

Friday's retirement marks the second time in the past 12 months Djokovic has been forced out of a Grand Slam through injury. At last year's French Open he withdrew from his quarterfinal against Casper Ruud with a knee issue.

"It is true that, you know, getting injured quite a bit the last few years. I don't know what exactly is the reason for that," Djokovic said. "It's not like I'm worrying approaching every Grand Slam now whether I'm going to get injured or not, but statistics are against me, in a way, in the last couple of years.

"I'll keep striving to win more Slams and as long as I feel that I want to put up with all of this, I'll be around."

Djokovic will now have the injury investigated further to determine how long he will be sidelined.

"When I go back home to Europe I will get together with the medical team and my physios and try to understand what we can do and the quickest way to recover and get back on track," he said. "I still have Doha tournament in a few weeks' time that is scheduled. Whether I'm going to play that or not, it really does depend on how quickly I recover. It just depends on the muscle and how it responds to the treatment."

MILWAUKEE -- Despite being grounded in New Orleans all week by a historic winter storm, which postponed one game and prevented the Bucks from even being able to practice, they arrived in Milwaukee a little more than two hours before they were set to play Thursday night.

And despite the unusual travel day, the Bucks rallied from a 15-point first-quarter deficit to dominate the Miami Heat in a 125-96 victory, Milwaukee's fifth win in a row to cap off one of the more difficult travel experiences of the NBA season.

"Just a strange, long couple of days," Bucks coach Doc Rivers said Thursday night.

The Bucks arrived in New Orleans on Monday ahead of the snowstorm in hopes of playing Wednesday night. However, a foot of snow got dumped on the Big Easy, shutting down several major roads with minimal snow clearing equipment on hand.

That left the Bucks stuck in their hotel for three days while Tuesday's practice and Wednesday morning's shootaround were canceled before the NBA elected to postpone Wednesday's game.

Players searched for ways to pass the time. At one point, Giannis Antetokounmpo found a ballroom where he could dribble a ball around. Damian Lillard said he started watching several Netflix shows in between workouts. Bobby Portis organized a card game in his room Tuesday night.

"It felt like it was COVID all over again," Portis said Thursday night with a laugh. "We were just in the room just chilling."

Already facing the prospect of rescheduling one game against the Pelicans during a second half of the season loaded with back-to-backs, the Bucks did not want to postpone against the Heat and have to make up a second game.

Players wanted to play if they made it back to Milwaukee in time, and with an hour delay on the start time for the game, they were ready to do so. Rivers called on the players to summon their old high school travel basketball days from AAU, when teams would get off the bus and go play.

Both Lillard and Antetokounmpo delivered a clear message as the team prepared to bus to the airport in New Orleans: no excuses.

"As a leader of the team, you got to let the team know off the rip, we not doing that," said Lillard, who had 29 points and 11 assists and finished one rebound shy of his first Bucks triple-double. "We not having excuses. I don't care about the flight, I don't care. We've been in a hotel. ... Ain't going to be no excuses tonight, you got to go out here and jump on them like we've been doing. And no excuses if something goes wrong, we can't be looking at it as a crutch or nothing like that."

Still, the Heat jumped out to an early lead over the Bucks after what Antetokounmpo called a "sloppy" first 10 minutes of the team searching for a rhythm after not playing all week. But despite falling behind 20-5, the Bucks bounced back quickly, leading going into halftime 71-55.

Antetokounmpo, who finished with a 25-point triple-double, said he was proud of the fight his team had, but also downplayed the so-called tough travel conditions with some perspective.

"The only difference is that we had to take a flight," Antetokounmpo said. "At the end of the day, if you could call this adversity, I think the team responded very well facing this adversity that we had to take a flight for two hours before the game."

However, the travel doesn't stop for Milwaukee. The Bucks are scheduled to fly again Friday morning for the start of a four-game West Coast road swing, beginning Saturday in Los Angeles against the Clippers.

"How crazy is that?" Antetokounmpo said. "It's insane. Yeah. Go back home, spend one or two hours with your family and after that you got to wake up, get ready, pack your bags, and 9:30, be in the airport. Get ready for these four games in seven days."

Anthony Davis believes the Los Angeles Lakers are just a couple of players away from being a title contender. He hopes one of the additions the team adds before the Feb. 6 trade deadline is a center.

"I think we need another big," Davis told ESPN's Shams Charania this week. "I feel like I've always been at my best when I've been the 4, having a big out there."

Davis and fellow Lakers star LeBron James have expressed that they want the franchise to make moves to contend for a title, sources told Charania earlier this week. The Lakers, who are 24-18 after Thursday night's 117-96 win over the Boston Celtics, are just 1 games ahead of the seventh-place Dallas Mavericks and a guaranteed playoff spot, and James said following Sunday night's blowout loss to the LA Clippers that the team doesn't have "room for error" with the way the roster is currently constructed.

"We have to play perfect basketball," James said after the defeat.

The Lakers won the championship in 2020 with what Davis called "the perfect construction" of a team. In addition to good shooters and defensive players, Davis pointed to the team's size, which allowed him to play what he feels is his natural position of power forward.

"We know it worked when we won a championship with JaVale [McGee] and Dwight [Howard] at the 5 and I'm at the 4," he told Charania.

Davis leads the Lakers with 25.7 points and 11.9 rebounds per game, comparable to his averages of 26.1 points and 9.3 rebounds during the 2020 title season. But the Lakers have gotten meaningful minutes from only one true center -- 7-footer Jaxson Hayes, who is averaging 5.3 points and 3.9 rebounds in 20 games.

Davis hopes the team will do something about that in the next couple of weeks.

"We feel like we are right there, you know, as far as the team and everything like that," Davis told Charania. "[James] and I are like very, very motivated to win another championship."

BARELY A MONTH into his first season with the Miami Heat, LeBron James' supernova trajectory, from the No. 1 pick in 2003 to a Cinderella run to the 2007 Finals to two NBA MVPs, had stalled.

The Heat were hovering around .500, a far cry from the juggernaut James had infamously promised when he rattled off the bevy of titles they would win in announcing his and Chris Bosh's arrival, forming a Big Three with Dwyane Wade that was supposed to turn the league on its axis.

But he wasn't just losing. He was lonely. His then-girlfriend and now wife, Savannah, and their two boys, Bronny and Bryce, were still living in Cleveland, some 1,300 miles away. His jerseys were being burned across Northeast Ohio. For the first time in his career, he was a villain, a heel.

He was staying at the Four Seasons, but as swanky as his suite was, no thread count on the sheets or pristine view of Biscayne Bay would change the fact that James was living in a hotel, not a home.

His mind was spiraling. His decision just a few months earlier to leave the Cleveland Cavaliers, the franchise that drafted him as a teenager to play just 45 minutes from his hometown in Akron, Ohio already felt like the wrong one.

He picked up the phone and dialed someone he knew would answer -- someone who for nearly a decade had done so: his longtime confidant, Randy Mims.

"I'm coming over," James told him. "I need to talk to you."

It was just after 3 in the morning.

Mims hardly had enough time to throw on clothes as James made the 10-minute drive from his hotel to Mims' place in nearby Coconut Grove. When Mims emerged from his front door, he found a burgundy Bentley Arnage in the driveway. James, just 25 at the time, had parked himself on the hood. He was crying.

"I'm not sure I'm doing this right," James said. "I'm not sure I made the right decision to come here."

Mims approached him. He didn't bring up how he'd moved away from his wife and family to Florida for a job with the Heat that hadn't materialized. He didn't mention being jarred from his sleep either. He offered encouragement, asked him questions.

He wasn't talking to "The Chosen One." He was consoling a friend, a kid who used to borrow Mims' polo uniforms when he sold pagers at Cingular Wireless and wear them to St. Vincent-St. Mary to pass the high school's dress code.

"You got this, man," Mims told James. "We're going to figure this whole thing out. I get it. It's a little new for you."

Mims knew exactly what to say.

"It was just a lot of s--- that was just going on in my head," James told ESPN of that night. "I was still young. ... I was questioning myself. I know I probably startled the f--- out of him at like three o'clock, four o'clock in the morning. I pulled up and I told him to come outside and I literally sat on the hood of my car. He came out and we just talked things through."

Maverick Carter, who was a high school teammate of James' and now heads up his entertainment company, Uninterrupted, says the late-night visit was a pivot point in James' career.

"Those are massive moments when you can seek someone you admire, someone you appreciate their words, and someone who's enough of a good human being, but a realist to help you realize, 'OK, how do I handle this?'" Carter told ESPN. "We've all been through things in our life, and if you are around someone who gives bad advice or handles it wrong or thinks about themselves in those moments, it can go really bad for someone."

James remembers that night -- and agrees: "I needed him in that moment and he came through for me."

Says Mims: "The rest is history. From there, he took off. We never had them conversations again."

Fifteen years have passed. James has made it to nine more NBA Finals, including eight in a row from 2011 to 2018. He has won four championships, four Finals MVPs, two more league MVPs and passed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the NBA's all-time leading scorer. He turned 40 last month and was serenaded "Happy Birthday" by the four Los Angeles Lakers rookies, including his son, Bronny -- the first father-son duo to share the court in the sport. He signed a lifetime deal with Nike in 2015, and his net worth swelled over $1 billion in 2022, according to Forbes.

And Mims has been there for all of it.

He's the chief of staff, the hub connecting the various ventures in James' vast portfolio, now in his third decade as the man behind The Man.

Damon Jones, James' former teammate, calls Mims "the orchestrator." He makes sure James has access to a strong Wi-Fi signal and has a constant supply of his favorite indulgence, chocolate chip cookies with vanilla ice cream, when they travel. He carries a portable speaker to set the mood with music when James and their crew get a chance to relax in whatever corner of the world in which they find themselves. He coordinates and often attends the appointments that make it onto James' schedule, maintaining relationships with C-suite executives and juggling demands from James' innumerable brand partnerships.

While Carter and Rich Paul, James' longtime friend who now acts as his agent and the CEO of Klutch Sports Group, have carved out public personas of their own, Mims has remained purposefully behind the scenes. As James' career has surged, Mims has become one of the most important people in basketball, a do-it-all fixer who keeps the NBA's biggest superstar on task.

"Listen, you can win with anybody. That's not what separates you or people. It's, who can you lose with? And in LeBron's most vulnerable times, Randy's not there trying to make it about him," Paul said. "Randy's not there feeding him bulls--- information. He's not there trying to take advantage of his vulnerability. He's there to be a rock. He's there to be a sounding board. He's also there to give pushback when LeBron's wrong.

"What person stays with the athlete for 22 years? Zero," Paul added. "And what athlete stays relevant for 22 years? Not just relevant, at the top?

"Randy's been his co-pilot for 22 years."

GOOGLE RANDY MIMS and what populates identifies him as a 49-year-old "TV personality."

But long before Mims came up with the idea for "The Shop," an Emmy-winning sports and pop culture talk show in a barbershop-style setting, he was sitting in a real barber chair in Akron, getting a cut from his barber, Ricky Garrett.

Garrett's brother, Eddie Jackson, was dating a woman in North Akron: Gloria James, whose son, LeBron, was a high school freshman at the time.

"We were having a small talk one day, and he's like, 'What are you doing tonight? ... I'm going to see LeBron play,'" Mims recalled Garrett saying. "'He's playing basketball at St. V. He's one of the best players in the city. Actually, in the country.' I'm like, 'Really?'"

Mims, then 25, was living back in his hometown of West Akron after studying marketing at the University of Akron. He didn't finish his degree but still climbed the cellphone ladder, hopping from one provider to the next.

He joined Garrett for the game.

"Maverick was playing on the team, too," Mims said. "And obviously they killed, they won. ... That was the year they won the state championship together."

Mims kept attending games, and through Jackson, got to know James. He'd take James out to eat -- Outback Steakhouse was a staple -- and a bond was formed.

Before James' senior season, Jackson was convicted of mortgage and mail fraud and sentenced to three years in prison. (Jackson completed his sentence and lives in Ohio. He is no longer connected to James or his organization.)

Around the same time, Mims had gone through a breakup with his live-in girlfriend. Although he loved his parents, he didn't want to move back to his childhood home.

Jackson, who had become a father figure in James' life, went to Mims with a proposal.

"I'm about to go away," Jackson said, according to Mims. "You can just stay at my house. The only stipulation is Bron will come and stay there, hang out with his buddies from time to time. Just make sure you keep an eye over him."

Mims didn't hesitate.

"Me and Randy were pretty much roommates my senior year of high school," James said.

"He had the master bedroom," Mims said of James, "and I had this little ass kid's room." Gloria lived nearby in government housing at the Spring Hill Apartments.

After the season, with the NBA draft only months away and the 18-year-old about to be flush with millions, James called a meeting. At Jackson's dining room table, he gathered with family members, friends and a growing group of business associates and outlined a plan. He sat at the head of the table.

"Bron delegated who was going to be with him," Mims said. "We had a couple people around that he wanted to get rid of, and I think he felt like having this meeting was to seal all the speculation of who was part of the team."

Back at the table, James continued his directive. "This is how it's going to go," he said. "Randy's going to be with me -- every day."

Mims was in -- part of the inner circle.

"It was just a level of comfortability, trust," James says now. "He paid attention to details. He was reliable when I needed him, when I needed things. So, I just felt that. I just felt that he would be perfect to start my journey in this league."

In James' rookie season, he went from sharing the same roof with Mims to sharing the same apartment building -- Reserve Square in downtown Cleveland -- with not only Mims, but Carter and Paul as well. James, Carter and Paul were on the 23rd floor, appropriately enough. Mims was on the 21st.

The partnership was set. Two years later, it was cemented when James, Mims, Carter and Paul created LRMR Ventures (named after LeBron, Randy, Maverick and Rich) to handle his marketing deals.

"It was a scary time because a lot of people were saying we weren't qualified, we weren't going to make it," Mims said. "I remember little excerpts coming out. Someone said LeBron hiring his friends is like hiring a mechanic to do electrical work in your house."

With James entrusting Mims and embarking on his NBA career with the loftiest of aspirations -- to supplant his idol, Michael Jordan, as the greatest basketball player of all time -- Mims sought counsel from the one person he knew would understand the monumental tasks to come: MJ's go-to-guy, George Koehler.

"I was young and pulling at him," Mims recalled "And it was like, 'What can you give me, man? I just need [advice].' Like, 'You got Michael Jordan.'"

Koehler's words served as a lasting lesson.

"It's never about you, bro," Koehler told him. "It's never about you."

AS JAMES' CAREER began, Mims managed all of his basketball-centric needs. "Pregame meals, postgame meals, picking him up from practice," Mims said. "General tasks."

"It was very basic," Paul said of the off-court itinerary Mims managed for James over the first half of his career. "It was: hotel, lobby, gambling in the room, restaurant, club."

James had two corporate partners at the time, Nike and Coca-Cola, and Mims worked with both on a regular basis. As LRMR brought in new deals, it was on Mims to integrate the demands they required into James' daily itinerary. "As LeBron grew, I had to grow too," Mims said. "And the way I grew was making sure everything was efficiently run so that he looked good."

He learned how commercial shoots worked, what brands wanted from James, and what he could do to smooth the process. "All that stuff happened really fast," Mims said. "My job duties grew. Astronomically."

Even when James would hire someone to take over one of Mims' daily tasks -- like a driver to shuttle James to and from practice -- it was Mims' job to interview candidates for the position. "Pretty much everybody has to indirectly deal with me," Mims said.

And he maintained a daily direct line with James -- fulfilling his requests as they came, and perhaps more importantly, anticipating them.

While he learned the job in Cleveland, it was his time in Miami that forced him to adapt even more.

When James was tipping off what remains to this day one of the most consequential basketball games of his career, Mims wasn't even in the building. He was boarding a commercial flight at Boston Logan International Airport back to Miami.

It was Game 6 of the 2012 Eastern Conference finals. After flaming out in the 2011 NBA Finals and blowing a 2-1 series lead to the Dallas Mavericks, the Heat trailed the Boston Celtics 3-2 and needed to win on enemy parquet.

As Mims' responsibilities to James increased as a business partner, the role he served nearly two years earlier in Coconut Grove remained just as vital.

"Maverick and Rich talked to me and were like, 'If it doesn't go our way, when he lands, [you'll] be a familiar face to talk to,'" Mims said.

Mims had to take a commercial flight because he was not welcome on Miami's private charter and wanted to ensure he'd be back in Miami before James arrived. Back in 2010, after Mims says he was being promised a job with the Heat, the same player-liaison gig he'd had with the Cavs, the offer was pulled.

Sources told ESPN that James' camp thought the decision not to employ Mims at the time was a power move by Heat president Pat Riley, his way of letting the eight-year veteran know that the team operates a certain way, and that even a superstar like James would have to fall in line.

A Heat team source who worked for the organization in 2010 disputes that characterization, telling ESPN that it was actually the NBA that blocked Mims' hire after Cavs owner Dan Gilbert, who had ripped James in a public letter after he'd left the Cavaliers, "made a huge stink about it."

A league source told ESPN he did not recall the precise facts surrounding the situation.

As the plane took off, Mims knew where he was heading but not the reality that would be waiting for him.

"At that time, there's no Wi-Fi on the plane," Mims said. "So, I'm sitting in limbo the whole flight, like, what the hell's going on?"

Three-and-a-half hours later, Mims walked off the jet bridge and joined several skycaps around a TV mounted at the end of the terminal. SportsCenter was on.

"I'm like, 'Did we win?'" Mims said. "And one of the guys looks at me and goes, 'Are you serious?' And I'm like, 'What?' He's like, 'Man, LeBron was possessed, bro. He killed!'"

James had scored 45 points in 45 minutes and shot 19-for-26 from the field, with 15 rebounds and 5 assists to force a Game 7. It was a legacy-defining game for James against Boston's vaunted Big Three of Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen, who had beaten him and Cleveland in 2010, prompting his move to Miami.

It was a memorable night for James -- and an illustration of Mims' role and life at the time. For years Mims stayed true to his mission -- to stay behind the scenes -- but it came at a cost.

"I struggled, personally, with health," Mims said. "I was an athlete. And to stay consistent with Bron -- this is going to sound really crazy -- but I was a little afraid to work out. Because I didn't want to get hurt and miss time. ... I saw my friends that were my age and they're tearing Achilles, they're getting hernias. Can you imagine me doing my job on crutches? 'Bron! Wait! Hold on! Grab my bag!'"

In 2013 in Miami, David Alexander, an athletic trainer who owned a gym where James sometimes trained, introduced Mims to Carlos Acevedo. Acevedo was a former associate of Tony Bosch, a biochemist now infamous for providing performance-enhancing drugs to athletes through his South Florida company, Biogenesis. Mims was looking to jump-start his fitness with the purchase of testosterone and a metabolism booster.

A decade later, ESPN published an investigation into Bosch's crimes, and Mims' connection with Alexander and Acevedo was mentioned in the story.

The story stated ESPN had been told by federal authorities that they found nothing to suggest Alexander or Mims provided any PEDs to any athletes. Still, Mims felt exposed, hurt that after nearly two decades of silent partnership, his name appeared in the headlines. That was the real sting.

"I prided myself," Mims said, "in staying out of the way."

WHEN JAMES RETURNED to Cleveland in 2014, Mims went with him, resuming his job with the Cavs as a player liaison.

It was not without reservations. Mims had been scarred by James' departure in 2010, he said, disheartened by the ferocity of hatred that burned from the sports-obsessed city toward their fellow Northeast Ohio native.

"I'll be honest, I was reluctant about going back to Cleveland," Mims said. "I took it personal, and it wasn't even me. But the jerseys being burnt, it was crazy going back home. ... The letter. It just was, this was home and this is how you guys feel? The guy's been here all his life."

A year into their reunion, James and the Cavs were in a fragile state, despite having been to the Finals for the second time in franchise history.

Kevin Love had hurt his shoulder in the first round of the 2015 playoffs against Boston and was sidelined for the rest of the postseason, including the Finals loss to the Golden State Warriors. Now he was a free agent. Between Love, Kyrie Irving and James, it was Love who had made the most sacrifices in forming Cleveland's new Big Three.

Love met with James poolside at The Peninsula Beverly Hills to discuss his impending decision.

"I don't think you really know me," Love told James. It had been a difficult season for Love, but Mims, he said, had made it easier.

"Since day one, we've always had a special relationship and bond," Love said of Mims. "He likes to fly below the radar. So, that's what I love about him. Because I'm the same way."

Love's connection to Mims gave him hope he could bridge the gap with James.

Back at the pool, Love turned to James. "Randy and I have this relationship," Love told him. "Let's get to know each other better."

Love said his message was well received. James told Love he knew the power forward's personality would eventually thrive in Cleveland.

Mims knows his boss' blind spots and will intervene with one of James' teammates if he thinks he can help find a common ground.

"It might be something really simple," Mims said. "Like, 'Every time I pass that guy the ball, he's never ready!' And I may wait a little while and indirectly get in a conversation with the person and be like, 'What's been going on at the house? What you been doing?' And they'll be like, 'Man, my wife, man ... Or, 'We had a baby, the baby's been up all night ...' And I'll hear things that might be helpful. And I'll say, 'Bron, lighten up on him, man. His baby is sick,' or this and that."

Three days later, Love signed a five-year, $110 million contract to remain with the Cavs.

The next season, with the Cavs in crisis again after firing David Blatt 41 games in, new coach Tyronn Lue also turned to Mims.

"When I first took over, the locker room was in shambles," Lue told ESPN. "Guys were going their own separate ways, and Randy was one of the guys that I talked to first. Just saying, 'Hey, listen man, we got to get everybody on the same page and whatever you see or hear, it ain't snitching, but let me know how I can make this environment better.' And he told me step for step, what we needed to do and how guys needed to be treated, how guys needed to be talked to. And it was huge for me."

Five months later, Lue led the Cavaliers to their first NBA championship in 2016.

Mims was vital to their run, James says.

"He's been very instrumental to all of my championship ballclubs that I've been able to win with," he said. "And I have four championships."

After the Game 7 win in Oakland, Mims helped Cavs team leaders organize the parade, from the route it followed to placing players, coaches and their families on their respective floats.

Mims sat on the last one by himself, behind the scenes, surrounded by 1.3 million jubilant fans celebrating the city of Cleveland's first title in 52 years.

ON A CLEAR, brisk Tuesday afternoon in late November, at a restaurant called Mowry & Cotton, a falconer trains a hawk to keep smaller birds from pecking at the plates of patio diners. Inside, Mims sits on a leather-backed chair at a broad, wooden table and handles request after request.

Upstairs in The Phoenecian hotel, James is napping before a game against the Phoenix Suns that night. Mims is staying there too, officially working for the Lakers as their executive administrator -- player programs and logistics.

Another text pings. It's from Dennis Schroder, a former Lakers guard who was recently traded from the Brooklyn Nets to the Golden State Warriors. His team is playing Phoenix after L.A., and he is looking for two tickets for the game that night. Courtside. Mims responds. He's on it.

Halfway through the meal, former Arizona Cardinals All-Pro wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald spots Mims and approaches his table.

"I can still catch it," Fitzgerald says, wrapping Mims in a hug.

"That's all they need!" Mims beams back.

Mims' son, Auston, is a football player. He redshirted his freshman year at the University of Oregon and plays offensive line. "How's your son doing? Is he on the field?" Fitzgerald asks.

"He's not on the field yet," Mims responds. "We're pushing. We're pushing, but it'll happen. He's at the right place for sure."

After they catch up, Fitzgerald heads toward the exit. But before he does, he makes an ask. "Tell LeBron to send me some shoes!"

Mims makes a note in his phone.

Minutes after Fitzgerald leaves, Justin Ishbia -- the brother of Suns owner Mat Ishbia -- approaches. He says he is interested in purchasing the Minnesota Twins and wants to line up some famous Minneapolis sports figures to be involved in the ownership group.

They start brainstorming: Justin Jefferson, Kevin Garnett, Cris Carter, Love, Dave Winfield, Joe Mauer, Randy Moss, Robert Smith. Mims says he will get Ishbia in touch with Garnett, or "Ticket" as he calls him. He and Garnett share a mutual close friend in Lue.

Mims is in his element, bringing people together, expanding the network. He is a plug, known to locate certain things from time to time.

"The amount of things that are on LeBron's plate to deal with, I don't know that everyone can truly appreciate what it is for those guys," said Andy Elisburg, senior vice president of basketball operations and general manager for the Heat. "Not just the stars of the team, but those who are the stars and faces of the league. It is never ending. It really is. And Randy manages that, and does that at a very, very high level."

On another Tuesday afternoon early in the Lakers' season, James is on stage wielding a microphone. He's filming a commercial for DraftKings with comedian Kevin Hart.

Hart rolls as soon as he arrives on the set, announcing, "Nobody look LeBron in the eye!" to the paid extras in the audience, eliciting a genuine cackle from the crowd.

The concept for the spot is simple: James tells rudimentary jokes that are met with hysterical howls from every person in the audience but one: Hart, who is beside himself that James' silly punchlines are landing.

James nails the part, with Hart ably assuming the role as the indignant foil.

Off to the side of the stage, Mims, dressed in a plain white T-shirt, diamond tennis necklace, black Supreme hat and black cargo pants, sips on a chamomile tea.

For this shoot, Mims has coordinated with 14 different people -- a barber, driver, chef, multiple masseuses, a stylist, a publicist, James' house manager and security guards. All of them knew where to be and when.

"Big Rand is the connector," Hart told ESPN. "Big Rand is the one that's saying, 'Hey, they're going to come out, they're going to come f--- with us. We are all going to such and such. Let me make sure you all are good. Hey, I'm going to set y'all up.'"

Including, potentially, future Team USA teams.

Mims was in Paris when James won his third Olympic gold medal with USA Basketball. Grant Hill, the managing director of the USA men's national team, met Mims -- and came away with an idea.

"I get a sense, sort of watching his interaction with LeBron and having worked with LeBron for so long, there's a reliability, maybe a dependability, a steady stability that he brings," Hill told ESPN. "I think, in a way, he brought that for the entire team."

Hill is already making plans to field another gold medal team in the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.

James assured Hill he wouldn't be back. But perhaps Mims will be.

"[Hill] sent me a text message, 'We would love to have you back,'" Mims said. "Then he was like, 'If LeBron does it or not. You could help us.'"

Though James fantasizes about playing his last game and then jetting off to his place in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico to disappear, Mims says it'll never happen.

"Like he's going to ride off into the sunset," Mims says sarcastically. "He's going to be losing his mind. He'll be playing basketball games in the driveway."

Mims knows his longtime companion won't slow down too much. And Mims will still be there.

"My future is his future," Mims said.

"S---, it's still a lot of work to be done," James confirmed. "Listen, it might not be the on-court stuff and dealing with the teams, but I got a lot of s--- to get done.

"So he's going to be there the whole way."

Federal prosecutors recommended a 57-month prison sentence Thursday for Ippei Mizuhara, the former interpreter for Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani, and released an audio recording in which they say he impersonates Ohtani in an attempt to wire money from Ohtani's bank account.

In a separate court filing, Mizuhara's attorney, Michael G. Freedman, said Mizuhara has suffered from a gambling addiction since he was a teenager and asked for an 18-month sentence.

Mizuhara was fired in March 2024 after an ESPN investigation uncovered he had sent millions in wire transfers from Ohtani's account to an illegal bookmaker. He pleaded guilty to bank fraud and filing a false tax return in June, admitting that he stole nearly $17 million from Ohtani to pay off gambling debts to an illegal bookmaker. He is scheduled to be sentenced Feb. 6.

According to the prosecutors' filing, Mizuhara called the bank and impersonated Ohtani on approximately 24 occasions in order to wire money from Ohtani's account. In the recording, which prosecutors said was made Feb. 2, 2022, a bank employee asked Mizuhara to identify himself.

"Who am I speaking with?" the bank employee asked in the recording, which was first obtained by The Athletic.

"Shohei Ohtani," Mizuhara replied.

Mizuhara told the bank employee that he could not log in to online banking. "I tried to make a wire transfer a couple of days ago. They told me that's probably the reason, they transferred me to this number," he said.

After Mizuhara recited a six-digit code she texted him for two-factor authentication, Mizuhara told her he needed to send $200,000 for a car loan.

"What is your relationship to the payee?" the agent asked.

"He's my friend," Mizuhara responded.

"Have you met your friend in person?" she asked.

"Yes, many times," Mizuhara said.

"I just ask because we haven't been able to verify the transaction," the agent said before asking how Mizuhara received the wire information. Mizuhara told her he received it by email but later talked about it with the recipient in person.

"Will there be any future wires to your friend?" the agent asked.

"Possibly," Mizuhara replied.

Prosecutors said the clip had been edited to redact the names of the bank and the person receiving the wires. ESPN reported in May that Mizuhara wired some of the money to the bank account of Ryan Boyajian, an associate of bookmaker Mathew Bowyer.

Prosecutors also recommended Mizuhara pay nearly $17 million in restitution to Ohtani as well as $1.1 million to the IRS.

In his filing, Freedman wrote that Mizuhara started gambling when he was 18 and visited casinos four to five times a week. At 22, he began playing online poker and betting on sports. While working for Ohtani at the Los Angeles Angels, Mizuhara's gambling increased because of poker games hosted by other baseball players in hotel rooms, according to the filing. ESPN previously reported that Mizuhara met Bowyer at a poker game at the team hotel in San Diego in 2021.

Mizuhara placed about 19,000 bets with Bowyer over a two-year period and accumulated over $40 million in debt. Bowyer gave Mizuhara a startup credit of $20,000, Freedman wrote.

Freedman added that Mizuhara has been attending Gamblers Anonymous meetings three times a week.

Prosecutors wrote in a separate filing, however, that a gambling addiction "cannot fully explain defendant's conduct because defendant used the stolen funds for numerous personal expenses that had nothing to do with gambling."

"Ultimately, the government submits, the motivating factor behind defendant's crimes was not a gambling addiction but rather greed," prosecutors wrote.

In a letter also submitted to U.S. District Court Judge John W. Holcomb on Thursday, Mizuhara wrote that he felt like he was on call 24/7 and had almost no time off while working for Ohtani, who he first met while working as an interpreter for the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters in Japan.

"Usually when a Japanese baseball player makes the move to the United States, they would bring over multiple staff members to take care of various tasks such as a driver, trainer, chef, off the field interpreter/support member, etc. but I was the only person Shohei brought along so naturally I had to support him on most of the above mentioned tasks," Mizuhara wrote.

The Angels, Ohtani's first team in the U.S., initially paid Mizuhara $85,000 before increasing his salary to $250,000 in 2022, according to the prosecutors' filing. When he moved to the Dodgers with Ohtani in 2024, his salary grew to $500,000. Ohtani also paid Mizuhara a separate salary and gave him a Porsche Cayenne, the filing states.

In his letter, Mizuhara wrote that Ohtani paid him roughly $2,500 a month from October to January and $125 to $130 a month from February to September. Mizuhara said he struggled to make ends meet because he had to live near Ohtani in California, pay for his wife's travel between the U.S. and Japan, and rent accommodations while traveling with Ohtani to Japan in the offseason.

"All of these extra expenses were taking a huge toll on me and I was living paycheck to paycheck, I would have to borrow money from family and friends some months to make ends meet," Mizuhara wrote.

Mizuhara added that his wife, Naomi, also helped support Ohtani. She cooked him meals, watched his dog and helped him with broken nails he suffered while pitching.

"She truly supported both Shohei and I to the best of her abilities throughout the years and she never complained through all of this as she knew my priority was to support Shohei to the best of my ability," Mizuhara wrote.

Naomi told the judge in a separate letter that Mizuhara is her "only family" after recently losing her parents and other family members, as well as their family dog. Unable to obtain a green card until 2023, she described becoming "emotionally unstable" and developed hearing loss and alopecia areata due to stress.

"I deeply regret not being able to support him or notice his struggles during that time," she wrote.

At the end of his letter, Mizuhara asked for mercy from the judge and apologized to Ohtani.

"Lastly, I truly admire Shohei as a baseball player and a human being and I was committed to devote my life so Shohei can be the best version of himself on the field," Mizuhara wrote. "I want to say I am truly sorry for violating his trust in me."

With Roki Sasaki, Tanner Scott and Anthony Santander coming off the board recently, MLB free agency has entered the homestretch -- but there are still plenty of big moves to come in the final month before spring training arrives.

Where will the top remaining free agents, including Pete Alonso and Alex Bregman, land? Will we see more blockbuster trades? And will the Toronto Blue Jays and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. reach an extension to avoid the star hitting free agency after the 2025 season?

We asked our MLB experts to go out on a limb and make a bold prediction for how this action-packed winter will wrap up.

Free agency

Jorge Castillo: Pete Alonso will re-sign with the New York Mets.

Alonso, a beloved homegrown star in Queens, remains a free agent. The Mets, with money to burn, could still use another right-handed-hitting slugger. A reunion seems almost too obvious. Add the fact that both sides are open to a three-year deal with opt-outs, according to a source, and it's a matter of only believing it won't happen when Alonso signs on the dotted line to play elsewhere.

Yes, the Mets have recently started spending money elsewhere (Jesse Winker and A.J. Minter). Yes, they could slide Mark Vientos across the diamond and give the third baseman job to Brett Baty, Ronny Mauricio or Luisangel Acuña. Yes, Alonso is a first baseman on the wrong side of 30 with defensive limitations and little value on the basepaths. But Alonso is one of the most prolific home run hitters in baseball since debuting in 2019. He has proved he can thrive in New York City. Put him behind Juan Soto, which would give him more fastballs to devour, and Alonso will remain one of the most productive power hitters in the majors for the next three seasons.

The Mets have had a great winter, but the Dodgers have created a super team with the Philadelphia Phillies, Atlanta Braves, Arizona Diamondbacks and the San Diego Padres also fighting for National League supremacy. The competition is stiff. Maybe negotiations between the two sides have burned the bridge to a deal. But it wouldn't take much to build another one and make it happen.

David Schoenfield: Alex Bregman to ... the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Why should the Dodgers stop now? If Bregman can't find the big deal he wants, the Dodgers might be a surprise fit. Max Muncy is a free agent after 2025 and prone to strikeouts. Hyeseong Kim's bat projects as more of a utility infielder than a starting second baseman. Bregman can shift between second and third in 2025 and then replace Muncy in 2026. Too much money even for the Dodgers? Not really. Between Muncy, Chris Taylor, Michael Conforto and Miguel Rojas, the Dodgers have $49.5 million coming off the books after this season (and the pitching staff is set for years).

Bradford Doolittle: Bregman will sign with the Detroit Tigers.

There are lots of reasons why this makes sense, with the exception being positional fit since Detroit added another infielder in Gleyber Torres. Nevertheless, the Tigers have the payroll space to add Bregman and his positional versatility gives the team a lot of leeway in how to use him for the duration of the contract. He could start at any of the infield spots, and Detroit could move players around Torres to make a number of configurations work. Bregman would be the perfect veteran presence for a young team at the outset of a new window of winning. His history with manager A.J. Hinch gives him a comfort zone. Bregman has to end up somewhere and this makes the most sense to me.

Trades

Alden Gonzalez: The San Diego Padres will make a blockbuster deal.

It was less than four months ago that the Padres had the Dodgers on the ropes in the NL Division Series, needing only a victory at home to eliminate L.A. once more. Since then, Padres general manager A.J. Preller has watched his hated rivals not only defeat arguably the most well-rounded team he has ever assembled but win the World Series and then proceed to sign practically every player they want -- including Sasaki, the Japanese phenom Preller coveted most. As for Preller himself? January is almost over, and he has yet to add to his major league roster.

There's no chance that continues. And because the free agent class has dwindled significantly and money remains tight in San Diego, look for Preller to swing a big trade before spring training -- the type we have seen from him often. Holes remain in the Padres' rotation and throughout their lineup. Dylan Cease, Robert Suarez, Luis Arraez and Jake Cronenworth can all be had, and the guess here is that at least one of those four will go. Preller has stood pat for far too long. It won't continue.

Jesse Rogers: The Boston Red Sox will trade for Nolan Arenado.

After exhausting attempts to sign Bregman, the Red Sox pivot to Arenado as the St. Louis Cardinals start to exhibit a bit of desperation with the season approaching. The fit in St. Louis just isn't right anymore and everyone knows it. The Cardinals aren't concerned with money owed to Arenado, so they're willing to pick up a portion of it because they want quality prospects in return. Boston can deliver that.

Eric Karabell: Arenado will be traded to the Seattle Mariners.

The Cardinals have made it clear they must move on from Arenado to install Nolan Gorman at third base. We heard rumors of the Red Sox, Blue Jays and other teams interested. We haven't heard about the Mariners, but all they have done is sign utility man Donovan Solano. The Arenado of old might never return -- at the plate, at least -- but the Cardinals seem so desperate, watch them handle the bulk of his contract and leave Mariners GM Jerry Dipoto with little choice. Arenado is coming off one of his worst seasons, but this Mariners lineup could use even league average hitters at this point.

Vlad Jr.'s future in Toronto

Paul Hembekides: Vladimir Guerrero Jr. will turn down a $400 million extension with the Blue Jays.

Feb. 18. That is Toronto's first full-squad workout, and more importantly, the self-imposed deadline for extension talks between Vlad Jr. and the organization.

Guerrero, who turns 26 on March 16, is entering his walk year at an opportune time -- he slashed .323/.396/.544 (166 OPS+) in 2024, which propelled him to a sixth-place American League MVP finish. The Blue Jays must pay up to retain their homegrown star -- they'll offer him a $400 million extension within the next month, but he'll reject their overtures and chase free agency instead.

Kiley McDaniel: Toronto will reach an extension with Guerrero.

It's obviously easier to predict something won't happen -- such as Vlad Jr. looking to test the market next winter or holding out for a better offer from Toronto -- than predicting a deal being struck. That said, Toronto needs to make a big move, and after Shohei Ohtani, Soto and Sasaki weren't that move, the heat is on.

Extending Vlad Jr. is the move the Jays can make as their headline move of the offseason. The longer they wait, the more likely it is that a team with a different economic reality jumps in next winter to top what Toronto can exclusively offer now. The price is a question -- I'd think to start at Rafael Devers' 10-year, $313.5 million extension from two years ago and adjust for inflation. Regardless, it's an AAV the Jays can stomach -- and it's a franchise move they need to make as soon as possible.

Off-the-field drama

Buster Olney: Players will start to complain about having to play in a minor league park.

Remember how last year the quality of the uniforms suddenly became a really big deal, and we started to hear a lot from players about that? Well, at some point in the next two months, the fact that the Athletics will be playing in a minor league park is going to become a thing. Players will soon be face-to-face with the reality that they'll be playing in Sacramento -- in a park with one-third the capacity of a stadium like Tropicana Field, with an average July temperature of 95 degrees -- and the commentary will begin and roll all the way through the regular season. As with the uniforms: It'll be a disgrace.