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He struggled visibly with the injury during a 41-ball 24, as Pakistan crashed to a 60-run defeat. Fakhar was distraught in the dressing room after the dismissal and, given the uncertainty surrounding his arrival into the side, and that he turns 35 in April, the fact that it could've been his last game for Pakistan was not lost.
But talking to PCB digital, Fakhar confirmed he is not going anywhere. "I heard about this [retirement rumours] a lot and even my friends messaged me about it, but there's nothing to it," Fakhar said. "The ODI format is my favourite format. Yes with my thyroid, there was a thing that I could take more time getting back into it. But I want to play T20s, ODIs, even Tests again. As far as my comeback is concerned, I spoke to the doctor and I can start playing cricket again within the month."
Fakhar had not played international cricket since the 2024 T20 World Cup last June in the USA and West Indies, where Pakistan were eliminated in the group stage. He last played an ODI in the 2023 ODI World Cup, another event where Pakistan exited before the knockout stages.
In the run-up to this tournament, however, he'd been left out of Pakistan's central contracts. And he had also been issued a show-cause notice after a tweet he put out last September criticising the decision to drop Babar Azam from the Test side. Later, when chairman Mohsin Naqvi organised a "connection camp" to get senior players to air their views, Fakhar was among the most outspoken, singling out a senior official for particularly trenchant criticism.
That would seem to be in the past for now, with Fakhar committing to a return with Pakistan. "The doctor has advised me that I can start training again in three weeks. So I think I should be back to playing cricket in a month's time."
Pakistan had already lost Saim Ayub to injury before the tournament and the subsequent loss of Fakhar was a double whammy that coach Aaqib Javed identified as one of the pivotal reasons for their poor showing. Fakhar has a career strike rate of nearly 94 in ODIs and was clear about the way to play in the modern game.
"The biggest thing is the situation. If you are chasing 150-200 runs you go in with a different mindset and if you are chasing 350, you have a different mindset. But strike rate does matter, especially these days. And you have to play risky cricket. Cricket has become so fast-scoring, all teams come with that plan. If you take risks, you can score runs, although yes, you can also lose your wicket doing that."
Pakistan won't take Bangladesh pacers lightly, Aaqib Javed says
Pakistan have by far the longer and more-varied pace-bowling tradition. But don't count out the Bangladesh bowlers on Thursday.
In fact, given Jasprit Bumrah is almost inarguably the best white-ball bowler in the world (though he is not playing this tournament), and Sri Lanka also has a pace battery that runs deeper than ever (though they are not playing in this tournament), this is the closest thing to a fast-bowling golden age South Asia has ever had.
Bangladesh have four big options. The tallest, fastest, and youngest option is Nahid Rana. They have the experienced Taskin Ahmed, who has rejuvenated his game over the past several years. Mustafizur Rahman brings the left-arm angle and variety. And Tanzim Hasan has control and hustle.
This is likely the best seam-bowling unit Bangladesh have ever brought to a tournament, though their batters have scored too few runs to really give them a chance of imposing themselves. Perhaps, rain allowing, that can change on Thursday. Opposition coach Javed is certainly not taking Bangladesh's quicks lightly.
In fact, they had already been good in Rawalpindi last year, though in a Test match. The seamers had collectively taken seven wickets in a Bangladesh win.
"I watched Bangladesh fast bowlers bowling against Pakistan here, and the way they bowled in West Indies, and I think they have very skilful fast bowlers," Javed said. "Especially Nahid Rana. He's got height and he's got pace. Taskin is a very skilful bowler. Another one is Mustafiz, who is very experienced and he's got all the varieties. I'm glad even the Bangladeshi fast bowlers are coming good."
Bangladesh assistant coach Mohammad Salahuddin agreed that Bangladesh's seam stocks were strong. Some of this is down to the country having switched to the Dukes ball in their first-class cricket over the last few seasons. The Dukes ball has a prouder seam that tends to last longer through the innings, which encourages fast bowling. Salahuddin was excited about the prospect of more Bangladesh quicks coming through the system into international cricket.
"We now have plenty of fast bowlers in Bangladesh who can perform at the international level," he said. "We have youngsters coming up too. It is a good sign that our fast bowlers can dominate teams in these flat tracks. I feel Taskin, Rana and Mustafiz is our best bowling attack. They are learning but hopefully one day they will dominate world cricket."
Though Bangladesh, like Pakistan, have lost both matches so far and are out of the tournament, Salahuddin said there was plenty to be gained from the encounter.
"It is definitely a dead rubber since there's no consequence for either team. But we are here to play a tournament, and this is our last match, so we want to see the players do well. We have plenty of room for improvement so we don't want to repeat the mistakes from the previous matches. I think every match is important for the players. It might be a turning point for a particular player or even our team. This might be the end of this tournament but the players have a future ahead of them."
Andrew Fidel Fernando is a senior writer at ESPNcricinfo. @afidelf
Zadran 177, Omarzai five-wicket haul knock England out
Afghanistan 325 for 7 (Zadran 177, Omarzai 41, Archer 3-64) beat England 317 (Root 120, Omarzai 5-58) by eight runs
The politicians hadn't wanted this game to go ahead, but who could have wished to deny the scenes of raw euphoria that unfolded in Lahore, as Afghanistan completed the double they had set in motion at the 2023 World Cup and dumped England out of the Champions Trophy in a wildly undulating, anxious scramble for glory.
After Afghanistan had opted to bat first, Jofra Archer's three-wicket powerplay onslaught should by rights have settled the contest there and then. And yet, from 37 for 3 in the ninth over, Zadran and his captain Hashmatullah Shahidi focussed solely on survival until the point that their 103-run fourth-wicket stand had, almost imperceptibly, transformed itself into a platform for a thrillingly smooth acceleration.
Ultimately Afghanistan's scorecard told the exact tale of their innings. Three single-figure scores at the top - for a combined total of 14 runs from 28 balls - then a trio of 40s, at ever increasing tempos, from Shahidi, Omarzai and the forty-something himself, Mohammad Nabi, whose 24-ball onslaught was a typically ageless display from a player who has been on every step of this Afghanistan journey, right from their exploratory tour of England as a de facto club side way back in 2006.
And then, underpinning it all, a performance of rare majesty from Zadran, whose sixth hundred in 35 ODI innings was not only the highest by an Afghan in the format, but the best in Champions Trophy history, trumping the 165 that Ben Duckett had posted against Australia in the previous fixture at Lahore.
It was a controlled explosion of an innings, and one of the most impressive ODI performances that can ever have been compiled. Zadran showed the tenacity to hang tough while England's quicks were dominating the early exchanges, but after reaching his first fifty from 65 balls, he marched through to his hundred from 41 more, then clattered along at a near 200 strike-rate thereafter.
By the time he holed out to square leg at the start of the 50th over, Zadran had worked his way so smoothly through the gears that England had been left with scarcely any agency in their predicament. This was summed up when Wood, who had already spent 38 minutes off the field after his left knee gave way midway through his fourth over, was forced to leave the field once again, this time for good and with two overs of his allocation unused.
It had been a typically masochistic effort from Wood, whose willingness to bust a gut for the cause has never been in doubt. But England's desperation to get him back into the fray there epitomised their threadbare resources. In a throwback to the sort of bit-part tactics that dominated ODI cricket in the 1980s and 1990s, Joe Root and Liam Livingstone had been charged with cobbling together 12 overs between them. But when, with nowhere else to turn, Root's offspin was served up to the hard-swinging Nabi, two massive leg-side sixes ensued in a 23-run 47th over.
Not even Archer could stem the tide. He'd already been crashed for a six and three fours by Zadran, now in overdrive, who then launched a slower ball in Archer's final over over long-on to seize Duckett's record.
England's target of 326 was daunting but not insurmountable, as they themselves had discovered on this same ground on Saturday night, when their own hefty total of 351 for 8 had been hunted down by Australia with 15 balls to spare. And yet, it was close to double the sort of target that England might at one stage had envisioned.
The scoreboard pressure was quickly brought to bear. Phil Salt started with a confident thump for four that telegraphed the trueness of the surface, but then lost his off bail as he tried to pull a skiddy length ball from Omarzai. And though Jamie Smith is undoubtedly a name for the future, it's debatable whether he is the No.3 for the present. Certainly his dismissal was guileless in the extreme: a no-look gallop at the irrepressible Nabi, who skidded his offbreak through a touch quicker, to claim a wicket with the first ball of his spell for the third ODI in a row.
Where there was Root, there was hope, as he and Duckett set about rebuilding the innings much as they had done from an identical starting point against Australia. But after what ought to have been a costly drop from Shahidi at mid-off, when Duckett had 29, Rashid Khan stepped up with a skiddier full length, and sent his man on his way via DRS, just nine runs later.
The errors thereafter came with wearying inevitability. Harry Brook looked a million dollars for his first 20 balls, then got caught in two minds as he popped a tame return catch to Nabi for 25, whereupon Buttler - a player whose form seems so overwhelmingly dominated by his mindset - barely survived his first 12 runs before finally landing a slap for six to seemingly ignite his stay. But then, after one more slog-sweep for six off Nabi, Buttler was undone by Omarzai's energetic lengths, as he spliced a pull straight to midwicket for 38.
Now it was all on Root. For the first 90-odd balls of his innings, England's anchorman might as well have been on a serene stroll in Iqbal Park, with his innings scarcely deviating from a run-a-ball tempo. But then, after reaching his 50 from 50 and his hundred from 98, he felt the early onset of cramp, and with 58 still required from six overs, he inverted his stance into a Buttler-style ramp, and pinged his only six over the keeper's head.
But it was too much to ask for Root to walk the innings home. He kept looking for the angles, and found one final sublime deflection for four through backward square, but at the precise moment at which Afghanistan's own innings had gone into overdrive, he attempted a flick over deep third off another skidder Omarzai lifter, and was sent on his way via a scuff of the gloves to the keeper.
Jamie Overton seemed to have got the memo with the long-levered finish that he had so long promised but rarely delivered, but having brought the chase within reach with 32 from 28 balls, he attempted another takedown and found long-on with 17 still needed. And though Jofra Archer seemed to be riding his luck with an under-edge for four and a sprawling reprieve at deep cover, he was unable to close it out either. Thirteen from eight was needed when he flung his hands through an Omarzai slower ball, for Nabi in the deep to make no mistake.
Minutes later, it was all done and dusted. Afghanistan march onto what could have been another politically charged showdown with Australia, with a place in the semi-finals at stake, having already crushed the hopes of their new favourite tournament bunnies. Irrespective of the situation in their homeland, a remarkable set of players have once again epitomised the hope and escapism in tough times that only sport can provide.
Andrew Miller is UK editor of ESPNcricinfo. @miller_cricket
Sources: Packers would listen to Alexander offers
One way or another, it appears that two-time All-Pro cornerback Jaire Alexander and the Green Bay Packers are headed for a split.
General manager Brian Gutekunst was noncommittal about Alexander's future when he spoke to reporters Tuesday at the NFL scouting combine in Indianapolis, but sources confirmed Wednesday that the team is willing to listen to trade offers.
NFL Network reported the Packers already have had trade conversations about Alexander.
"We've never really allowed agents to go out and talk to teams," Gutekunst told reporters at the combine. "I think that's kind of [one of the] ones that probably happens anyway. And Jaire's got a great agent. If we ever went down that route, I think it would be very easy to work with him and his team. I don't really expect that, but we've never really done that.
"I think it's something that if we were going to trade a player, we would do that and it would be the conversation between me and the other team."
Alexander, 28, has played in only seven games each of the past two seasons because of various injuries and a one-game suspension for conduct detrimental to the team. He underwent knee surgery to repair a PCL injury late in the season and would not have been able to return even if the Packers had made the Super Bowl, Gutekunst said.
He is expected to make a full recovery and be ready to play this coming season.
The 2018 first-round pick has two years remaining on a four-year, $84 million contract that, at the time, made him the highest-paid cornerback in the NFL. However, that deal contains no more guaranteed money. Any team that traded for him could also renegotiate the terms that currently call for him to be paid $17.5 million in 2025 and $19.5 million in 2026.
The Packers would pick up $6.8 million in salary cap space if they traded him early this offseason. They could pick up more cap space if they released him with a post-June 1 designation.
There have been strong indications since late last season that Alexander's time in Green Bay could be over. Multiple team sources have privately expressed their frustration with Alexander's inability to stay healthy and/or play through injuries.
Alexander declined to speak with reporters on the last day of media availability at the end of the season, saying he had "nothing good to say" and that he did not know if he would be back with the team in 2025.
"We'll see; we're working through that," Gutekunst said Tuesday when asked if Alexander will be on the team this coming season. "He certainly could be, but I think we'll work through that as we go. We've got to get him out there now. I think obviously we've talked about there's been a lot of frustration on his part. He wants to be out there badly, and not being able to be out there at his best has frustrated him, and that has frustrated our football team, too, because we're better with him. But we'll see."
Dolphins, Vikings get top grades in NFLPA survey
INDIANAPOLIS -- For the second year in a row, the Miami Dolphins and Minnesota Vikings earned top marks in the NFL Players Association's annual survey evaluating workplace environment.
Overall, grades improved in the union's latest survey, which was released Wednesday, with a 41% increase in areas earning an A-minus or higher and a 51% decrease in areas earning a D-plus or below.
The average grades of the bottom five teams -- Steelers, Jets, Browns, Patriots and Cardinals -- increased from a D-plus in 2024 to a C-minus in 2025.
"We really like the players to have a voice on their facilities, their working conditions, their likes, dislikes," NFLPA executive director Lloyd Howell said. "... The report card really provided an opportunity to see the entire landscape. One of the objectives was to inform our guys, and we're well on our way to doing a better job with that. Number two was to effect change. Just in my short tenure of being executive director, I've seen new locker rooms, new weight rooms, addressing family situations in terms of childcare. It's not universal, but certainly got the attention of the front office, the owners, coaches, trainers, and the like.
"... I think what initially may have seemed as a shame campaign, it's really how do we improve the working conditions for our guys. And it effects improvement."
In its third year conducting the leaguewide report card, the NFLPA received responses from 77% of its membership -- or 1,695 players, averaging 52 responses per team. All players, including practice squad members, were eligible to participate in the report card. Surveys were conducted between Aug. 26 and Nov. 20.
Former NFLPA president and current chief strategy officer for the union J.C. Tretter said the report cards are important vehicles for players to give meaningful feedback to their teams while preserving anonymity. While demographics of the players are collected, names are not.
"I think it's a very rare person or player that is going to walk upstairs to their owner's office and say, 'This place is a dump,'" Tretter said. "You're not going to find that person very often -- they have other things to worry about. So I think the importance of this survey is it allows players to share their feedback in a way that they're protected as well."
After the Dolphins and Vikings -- two mainstays at the top of the rankings -- the Falcons, Raiders and the Chargers rounded out the top five, respectively. All three teams made significant jumps to land in the top five, but the Chargers made the biggest improvement in the rankings, rising from 30th in 2024 to fifth in 2025. The Falcons moved from 25th to third.
A significant factor in those rises, Tretter said, was the team's new practice facilities.
But there were other factors to the overall grade improvement for each team, and other teams made significant jumps without making major structural upgrades to their facilities. Tretter stressed that teams didn't necessarily have to spend millions to improve their workplace.
"That is definitely an easy way to move up," he said of building new facilities. "... They're also tangible changes they made outside of that, too. [The NFLPA] has been clear from the beginning on two things: one, this is not solely 'knock down walls in buildings.'
"There are softer issues -- when it comes to treatment of families, when it comes to travel, when it comes to staffing -- that make major differences for players. Yes, the physical facilities do too. There's multiple ways of solving your issues. The Chargers were one where the facilities were their major issue and they fixed it. And then you see the major jump that happens from there."
The Washington Commanders, who were ranked 32nd in the past two report cards, jumped to No. 11 in their second year since the ownership group headed by Josh Harris acquired the team from Dan Snyder. Players still cited concerns about their aging locker room and practice facility, but team grades for treatment of families, food and dining and head coach surged.
The ownership ranking for Washington also jumped from 18th to eighth.
"What's impressive about that is it really shows the point of this project -- where if you take the Commanders' facility, it's still the same facility," Tretter said. "[Harris] didn't knock down walls. He didn't rebuild it. He didn't do anything. He made changes in staffing. He made changes in what players had been asking for, kind of the softer skills areas of the facility, and he changed the culture there and you could feel that when you went there and you did the team visit."
The biggest improvement, players cited, was the hiring of head coach Dan Quinn, who was ranked as the top head coach in the survey.
"I think oftentimes when people think of me, it's culture and I want to make sure culture and environment are so much different," Quinn said Wednesday. "Environment is upbeat and I see the world in that way from a positive outlook, but culture is how we get down every day and that's the identity of our team or behaviors or habits. And so I wanted to make sure that type of identity and team, you could do that, but it would have to be through the team."
Quinn wasn't the only newcomer to earn top marks in the head coach category. Atlanta's Raheem Morris ranked No. 2. They were two of six head coaches to receive an A-plus in the category along with Minnesota's Kevin O'Connell, Kansas City's Andy Reid, Detroit's Dan Campbell and Miami's Mike McDaniel.
Every Falcons player surveyed said Morris was efficient with their time, and they said he was "highly receptive" to locker room feedback.
The lowest grades given to head coaches was a C given to a trio of coaches: Cleveland's Kevin Stefanski, Jacksonville's Doug Pederson and Chicago's Matt Eberflus. Both Pederson and Eberflus were fired.
Browns players said they felt Stefanski was "moderately receptive" to locker room feedback on the team's needs and ranked him 30 out of 32 head coaches. And 67% of Browns players felt Stefanski was efficient with their time, ranking him 29 out of 32.
Among the changes in this year's survey were two additional questions about ownership. Not only did the NFLPA ask players about their perception of ownership's willingness to invest in facilities, but they also surveyed players on ownership's positive contribution to team culture and commitment to building a competitive team.
Three owners received an A-plus in the ratings: Miami's Stephen Ross, Minnesota's Zygi Wilf and Atlanta's Arthur Blank.
Five owners received composite ownership grades of a D or worse: Pittsburgh's Art Rooney II, New England's Robert Kraft, Arizona's Michael Bidwell, Carolina's David Tepper and the Jets' Woody Johnson.
For the Steelers, who ranked 28th overall, a significant issue with ownership was Rooney's perceived willingness to invest in facilities. Players gave him an average rating of 6.00 out of 10 in the category, ranking him 30 out of 32 NFL owners.
But, Tretter noted, some owners, including Rooney, appeared more receptive to making changes this time than after receiving feedback from the previous two report cards.
"He's a very conservative guy," Howell said of Rooney. "I get the impression that he's opening up right now. It's probably not as big as changes I would like, but I think he's definitely listening to it. I know the GM is, so Omar [Khan] is like 'Hey, OK, what else can we do? What else can we do?' So, I mean, that's progress, right?"
Bad report card: Woody gets F from Jets players
New York Jets owner Woody Johnson, heavily criticized by fans and media for a bitterly disappointing 2024 season, took another big hit Wednesday.
This time, it came from his own players.
The NFL Players Association released its annual team report cards, a survey of 1,695 players who graded their respective teams in various categories. Jets players sent a loud message to Johnson, giving ownership an F -- the only team in the league to do so.
The Jets' overall ranking, based on grades in 11 categories, was 29th -- a drop from 21st in 2023.
Regarding Johnson, the NFLPA said the players "cite perceived top leadership issues, with some describing issues as 'top-down problems.'" It notes how the Jets' ownership grade dropped from B- to F, with Johnson receiving the lowest score for contributing to a positive team culture.
The NFLPA report card was critical of the Jets' approach in most areas.
"Rather than addressing concerns, players believed that management responded to feedback by making conditions worse," the NFLPA said.
Specifically, the NFLPA said the Jets cut the food budget after the food program received low grades from 2023. The NFLPA also said the Jets didn't retain their longtime dietitian, "previously their highest-rated staff member." That dietician was hired by the Kansas City Chiefs, who saw an uptick in their food program and dietitian grades.
"Unsurprisingly, when asked what needs the most improvement, players overwhelmingly point to the food program, although they are complimentary of their new dietitian," the NFLPA said.
Johnson, 77, put himself in the spotlight last fall by firing coach Robert Saleh and general manager Joe Douglas during the season -- the first time in 25 years of ownership that he made such moves in-season.
The decision to replace Saleh with defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich backfired, as the Jets lost nine of 12 games to finish 5-12. Johnson also got more involved in personnel decisions, which chafed some in the organization, sources said.
Interestingly, the players graded "head coach" a B, though that ranked only 25th.
For his part, Johnson, the owner since 2000, acknowledged he must improve.
"Absolutely, I have to look in the mirror, and I have to be a better owner," Johnson said last month at the introductory news conference for coach Aaron Glenn and general manager Darren Mougey. "And I'm trying to be better."
Wolves reach 2-yr. deal with Clark, to add Hyland
The Minnesota Timberwolves are shoring up their roster ahead of the stretch run, converting two-way guard Jaylen Clark to a standard contract while planning to pick up notable free agent guard Bones Hyland.
The Timberwolves have agreed to a fully guaranteed, two-year deal with Clark, the 6-foot-4 swingman who has showcased tremendous energy over the past month, his agent Todd Ramasar of Life Sports Agency told ESPN on Wednesday.
After converting Clark on Thursday, the Timberwolves will sign Hyland, a 2021 first-round pick, to a two-way deal, agent Austin Walton of NEXT Sports told ESPN. The move reunites Hyland with Timberwolves president Tim Connelly, who selected him No. 26 overall in Denver, where he was a two-time Rising Star selection.
Clark fully entered the Timberwolves' rotation on Jan. 29, and he has averaged 6.9 points and 1.7 rebounds in 11 February games while shooting 47.4% from the field and 44% from 3-point land. He's scored in double figures in three games, with 17, 14 and 11 points.
Clark has held opponents to 41% shooting as the contesting defender this season, according to ESPN Research, and drew the Shai Gilgeous-Alexander assignment this month, guarding him for 70 matchups.
The Timberwolves' second-round pick in 2023, Clark missed the 2023-24 campaign due to a torn Achilles tendon but has made a tremendous recovery to become a member of the team this season.
Hyland, 24, is in his fourth NBA campaign and has averaged 7.2 points on a career-best 39% from 3-point range in 11.1 minutes a night over 20 games for the LA Clippers this season. He was sent to the Atlanta Hawks as part of the Terance Mann-Bogdan Bogdanovic deal at the trade deadline and was subsequently waived.
According to ESPN Research, Hyland ranks in the top five in steals per 36 minutes this season among players to play 200+ minutes. He has also averaged 17.7 points in three games where he played at least 20 minutes this season.
Hyland spent nearly two years in Denver before joining the Clippers in February 2023.
Luka Dončić and a trade that could change NBA history
NICO HARRISON WORE the kind of suit no one could miss. Electric blue is probably the best way to describe it. And for 10 minutes, the Dallas Mavericks general manager stood at midcourt, 15 feet away from the generational superstar he'd traded to the Los Angeles Lakers a little over three weeks ago, and let himself be seen.
If Luka Dončić had anything to say to the executive who had upended his career -- and the NBA -- with one of the most shocking trades in league history, this was the moment.
Thousands of fans and media members were already inside Crypto.com Arena on Tuesday night, bearing witness to the scene. The vast majority of them pulled out cellphones to document it. Dončić on the Lakers' side of the court, going through his pregame warmups. Harrison at midcourt, leaning against the scorer's table.
Dončić did not look up or acknowledge Harrison once. Not during warmups. Not during the game, when Harrison sat right behind the Mavericks' bench. And not after the game, when he was asked about it.
"I didn't see him," Dončić said with derision that would've made Don Draper proud.
The most game-changing trade in NBA history was a public and private repudiation of one of the best players in the world -- of his work habits, of the culture he reportedly sets, of his future as a top player in basketball. Those close to him say he has alternated between shock, sadness and anger in the weeks since the trade. Every day that he goes home to the Los Angeles hotel he's living in with his fiancée and young daughter is a reminder of how much his life has been upended.
This trade is a defining moment for everyone involved -- for the Mavericks, for Harrison, for the Lakers -- but especially for Dončić. What happens over the next 26 regular-season games will begin to shape their legacies and the league for the next generation.
"Great ones have been traded," Mavericks coach Jason Kidd said before the game. "When you look at others that have been traded, they keep moving on. Yes, you're going to be mad. Everyone's human. ... But you can be traded or you could be cut. How you respond after that is what everybody wants to see, and I truly believe Luka's going to be fine."
Still, even Dončić admitted he has never experienced rejection like this before.
"The closure is going to take a while, I think," Dončić said after the Lakers' 107-99 win. "It's not ideal."
THAT PROCESS HIT its first milestone Tuesday night.
"I'm glad this game is over," Dončić said. "There was a lot of emotions. But we go little by little, and every day is better."
For Dončić, facing the Mavericks was an opportunity to face the people and organization that had spurned him. For the Lakers, it was an opportunity to embrace and support their new star at a difficult moment.
"I think the best teacher in life is experience," LeBron said. "When you first start off you're not great, but that's your aspiration, that's your goal. You want to become great, but you have to go through adverse moments."
For Harrison and Kidd, whom Dončić also pointedly did not acknowledge or embrace, it was a moment to stand behind the decision and take whatever scorn or response Dončić had for them.
On this night, Dončić chose to ignore them and anyone else who could be regarded as culpable for trading him. He would let his play speak for him: a 19-point, 15-rebound, 12-assist triple-double, his first as a Laker.
"I'm just glad it's over, honestly," Dončić said. "It was just so weird, the moments. Felt like I didn't know what I was doing."
Kyrie Irving has stayed in touch with Dončić since the trade, checking on his emotional state more than anything. He feels protective of Dončić.
"I don't think he expected the change, and I think that's probably what leads to him feeling his emotions even more so in a deeper way," Irving said. "Rejection, I think that's a strong word ... but sometimes it can feel like that.
"You got to go through your process of grieving. Grieving ... is not a word we use in NBA circles -- it's like, 'Just be tough, bro.' Everybody expects you to turn over the next page and get over it. The reality is, man, we're human too."
Eventually, Dončić will either move forward -- or he won't. Those close to him are working to help him do so sooner rather than later.
HOURS BEFORE TIPOFF Tuesday night, Nike posted an ad in which a purple Regera changes its No. 77 license plates from Texas to California plates. The soundtrack is George Strait's hit "All My Ex's Live In Texas." The tagline is "Full Tank, No Mercy." Nike also used Tuesday's stage to roll out a new ad campaign for the release of his Luka 4s.
Before the game, that purple Regera pulled up outside of Crypto.com Arena to complete the spectacle.
This kind of rollout would only happen in Los Angeles, and after the trade, the stage was set for a massive Hollywood debut.
Dončić has already begun to signal he will eventually embrace all that comes along with the stage in the NBA's glamour market. First, by donating $500,000 for wildfire recovery in Los Angeles. Then, Tuesday, by buying up a parking lot across the arena and offering free parking for fans on a first-come, first-served basis.
These are early, positive signs that Dončić's future is in Los Angeles, even though he has the ability to become a free agent in 2026 and is no longer eligible to sign the massive five-year, $345 million supermax contract he could have received in Dallas. The Lakers can offer him a four-year, $229 million extension this summer, or, like other teams, a five-year, $296 million contract next summer.
Yes, the franchise will have to surround him with talent, a task the Mavericks struggled for five years to achieve and one that will only get harder when James eventually retires. And yes, the quickness with which he and James build their partnership on and off the court matters.
Every game is a microcosm of the pressure and challenge of integrating two such similar players, and the unique type of basketball brilliance this partnership can create. There are times when James and Dončić seem to be taking turns initiating the offense, much like James' early days with Dwyane Wade in Miami. Then there are times when they look like they've been playing a two-man game for a decade.
There are stretches, like the fourth quarter of a loss to Charlotte last week, when Dončić looked like a defensive liability and out of shape -- confirmation of the criticisms the NBA world heard after the trade. And then there have been games, such as Sunday's win over the Denver Nuggets, when Dončić has looked like the best player in the world, one who can conjure magic on the court and lift a franchise to a championship.
Former Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, who sat courtside in a pair of Luka 1 shoes to Tuesday's game, took in the absurdity of the moment.
Each time Dončić touched the ball, Cuban made a show of booing him. At one point, Dončić turned to Cuban, smiled and said, "Shut up, Mark."
But when asked by ESPN's Tim MacMahon what it was like to root against Dončić, Cuban said, "I hated it."
Brewers' Bukauskas (lat) likely to miss season
PHOENIX -- Milwaukee Brewers pitcher J.B. Bukauskas is expected to miss the entire season because of lat surgery, the latest injury-related setback for a former first-round draft pick.
The 28-year-old Bukauskas missed most of the 2024 season with a lat injury as well. The right-hander went 0-0 with a 1.50 ERA in six relief appearances with Milwaukee and had a 0-0 record with a 1.80 ERA in six outings with Triple-A Nashville.
Bukauskas is 2-2 with a 5.04 ERA in 33 career appearances, all in relief. The Houston Astros selected him out of North Carolina with the 15th overall pick in the 2017 draft.
Astros' Altuve set for spring training debut in LF
Houston Astros star Jose Altuve will make his spring training debut Friday -- and he'll do it in left field, manager Joe Espada told reporters Wednesday.
Following the offseason trade of All-Star outfielder Kyle Tucker to the Chicago Cubs, the Astros have an opening in left field -- and Altuve, a career second baseman, has said he will play anywhere on the field that he's needed.
Altuve, who turns 35 in May, has played 1,766 games at second base and two at shortstop, never manning the outfield during his 14 seasons in the majors. A nine-time All-Star and former American League MVP, he won the Gold Glove at second base in 2015.
Altuve's defensive stats at second base have slipped in recent seasons, however. In the past three seasons, he has registered a minus-15 defensive runs saved and two campaigns of minus-13.
The seven-time Silver Slugger hasn't dropped off offensively, though. The three-time AL batting champion has averages of .300, .311 and .295 during that span.
Espada told reporters Tuesday that Altuve is doing well in his transition to left field.
"He's actually been pretty good out there," Espada said. "One thing, it's practice and we can control the environment and the volume, but once the game starts he'll be tested and we'll get a better read of where he's at. Right now, the attitude is exactly what we're expecting and the work has been pretty good."
Mauricio Dubon currently sits atop the depth chart at second base, but he is being challenged by Brendan Rodgers and Luis Guillorme.
The Astros will face the St. Louis Cardinals on Friday in West Palm Beach, Fla.
Field Level Media contributed to this report.
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