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The Los Angeles Lakers' reported interest in Chicago Bulls center Nikola Vučević and Washington Wizards center Jonas Valančiūnas may be waning, according to Lakers insider Jovan Buha.

Buha said he heard amid the Lakers' trade for Dorian Finney-Smith that the team had "cooled on" Valančiūnas and were "not being as high" on Vučević (1:00:00 mark of the video below.)

Valančiūnas has been tied to the Lakers since at least June, when ESPN's Dave McMenamin reported LeBron James would be willing to take a pay cut in order for the Lakers to add "an established big man to play alongside Davis such as Jonas Valančiūnas."

Instead, Valančiūnas ended up signing a three-year deal worth an average annual value of $10 million with the Wizards in July.

Although he has been an effective bench player in Washington, Valančiūnas struggled during the team's recent visit to Los Angeles, when he put up eight points on 4-of-6 shooting from the field last Tuesday against James and the Lakers.

The cost of trading for Valančiūnas, which could potentially involve sending Gabe Vincent the other way, could be preventing the Lakers from completing a trade for him, according to Buha.

"I think Gabe is more valuable than JV, and you potentially have to give up assets, like Gabe and two seconds. I think the Lakers lose that trade, to be honest," Buha said.

The Lakers have also been tied to Vučević amid Davis' repeated statements that he wants to play at power forward alongside a traditional big at the 5.

NBA insider Marc Stein reported Monday that the Lakers were "not expected to join the hunt" for Vučević because of both his trade price and cap hit. Per Stein:

Adding Vučević would be very pricey for the Lakers beyond Chicago's desire to extract a first-round pick in return; absorbing the $21.5 million owed to Vučević in 2025-26 is daunting financially for a team that projects to have Davis and LeBron James taking up two-thirds of next season's salary cap and has strained to stay below the second apron this season.

The Lakers sit fifth in the West with a 26-18 record as the trade deadline approaches. The team may still look to make another addition in order to stay in one of the conference's top six spots down the stretch. But after securing some breathing room beneath the second apron with the Finney-Smith trade, per ESPN's Bobby Marks, Lakers leadership is likely to be cautious about how much salary they take on as they look to avoid the play-in round.

Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders reportedly left a strong impression on NFL talent evaluators at the East-West Shrine Bowl last week.

According to ESPN's Matt Miller, sources said Sanders was "fantastic" in team interviews, adding that he was "confident, funny and comfortable, and he showed teams how much he loves the game of football while also expressing his willingness to work hard to be great at it."

Sanders, who is the son of University of Colorado head football coach and Pro Football Hall of Fame cornerback Deion Sanders, did not participate in Shrine Bowl practices or the game itself, opting to instead focus on meeting with NFL teams.

When Deion took the head coaching job at Colorado, Shedeur went with him from Jackson State to Boulder, and he went on to play two seasons for the Buffaloes.

Colorado went just 4-8 in Shedeur's first season at quarterback, but he impressed by completing 69.3 percent of his passes for 3,230 yards, 27 touchdowns and three interceptions.

Sanders and the Buffs took a big leap forward in 2024, though, as they finished 9-4, which was their best mark since going 10-4 in 2016.

By virtue of completing 74.0 percent of his passing attempts for 4,134 yards, 37 touchdowns and 10 picks, Sanders was named the Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year and he finished eighth in the Heisman Trophy voting.

Sanders is very much in the discussion to be the first quarterback off the board in the 2025 NFL draft and perhaps even the No. 1 overall pick.

Miami's Cam Ward and Sanders appear to be clearly above the other quarterbacks in the class, with the BR NFL Scouting Department ranking Ward as the No. 1 QB and No. 6 overall player, and Sanders as the No. 2 QB and No. 16 overall player on its latest big board.

While Colorado wide receiver and cornerback Travis Hunter and Penn State pass-rusher Abdul Carter may be better overall prospects than Ward and Sanders, quarterback is the most important position, which could push them to the top of the draft.

The Tennessee Titans, Cleveland Browns and New York Giants own the top three picks, and they all desperately need a quarterback. The same can be said for the Las Vegas Raiders at No. 6 overall.

Miller expressed his belief that the Raiders are the floor for Sanders, as it would be difficult for Vegas to pass up on the opportunity to take a potential franchise quarterback in Sanders if he is available.

The 2025 NFL Scouting Combine will take place in Indianapolis from Feb. 29 through March 3, and while it is unclear if Sanders will throw or take part in any drills, he will have a chance to speak to teams once again and perhaps improve his chances of being a top pick even more.

Looking to become the first team to win three consecutive Super Bowls, the Kansas City Chiefs showed off the jerseys they will wear against the Philadelphia Eagles on Feb. 9 with a hype video and series of pictures.

As the designated road team, the Chiefs will wear their white jerseys with the Super Bowl 59 patch on the right side of the chest.

Threads for SBLIX. pic.twitter.com/l3QLZr6BS2

— Kansas City Chiefs (@Chiefs) January 28, 2025

Super Bowl jerseys are set. pic.twitter.com/HiwQ5HLwZP

— Kansas City Chiefs (@Chiefs) January 28, 2025

The Chiefs have become so synonymous with the Super Bowl that they might as well just play the entire season with the patch on their jerseys.

This will mark the second time that Kansas City has worn its white jerseys in the Super Bowl since 2019. The only other time was two years ago when the Chiefs and Eagles played for the first time.

The Chiefs won that game 38-35 on Harrison Butker's 27-yard field goal with eight seconds remaining. Of course, the field goal was set up by a holding penalty by Eagles cornerback James Bradberry against Juju Smith-Schuster on a third-and-8.

If you are a superstitious person, the Chiefs' playoff losses since Patrick Mahomes became their starting quarterback in 2018 came when they were wearing red jerseys. They lost at home in the AFC Championship Game to the New England Patriots (2018) and Cincinnati Bengals (2021), then lost to the Tampa Bay Buccaneeers in Super Bowl 55 (2020).

As always seems to be the case, Mahomes has the Chiefs playing their best football at the right time. They scored more than 30 points in a game for the first time all season in the AFC Championship Game win over the Buffalo Bills.

The Eagles could present them with a unique challenge because of how dominant they are on the ground. Saquon Barkley already has the seventh-most rushing yards ever in a single postseason (442).

Philadelphia's 55-point outburst against the Washington Commanders in the NFC Championship Game set a new NFL record for most points by a team in a conference title game.

The last team to score at least 50 points in a playoff game was the Chiefs in 2019. They went on to win the Super Bowl.

We will find out which team has more answers when the Chiefs and Eagles meet to determine the champion of the 2024 NFL season at the Caesars Superdome on Feb. 9.

The Phoenix Suns' pursuit of Jimmy Butler could be hurt by the size of the trade market for Bradley Beal, according to ESPN's Brian Windhorst.

Windhorst reported on ESPN's SportsCenter that the Miami Heat are "really, really trying to make" a Butler trade happen.

"And I know that you could have said that any time in the last four or five weeks, but in talking to people who are involved in these talks, I think the Heat's prices have come down. What they're willing to accept in trade has widened, and I think that's going to bring some more teams that we're previously sitting on the sideline to the table," Windhorst said.

Windhorst continued: "Obviously, the Phoenix Suns have tried to get this done for weeks. They have tried three, four, five-team machinations. They have not been able to overcome the fact that what they've really got to trade is Bradley Beal, who has a no-trade clause and not a very big market.

"And so now I do believe this is going to bring in some other teams. We could see some surprising moves in this in this little battle in the next couple of days."

The Heat announced Monday that Butler would be suspended indefinitely, and for at least five games, after walking out of practice earlier that day. The team described Butler's actions as "intentionally withholding services."

According to ESPN's Shams Charania, Butler left practice after being told he was losing his spot in the starting lineup to Haywood Highsmith going forward.

The suspension means that Butler will not play for the Heat before the trade deadline while Miami looks to move him and his $48.8 million cap hit.

In order to acquire Butler, the Suns could move out Beal's $50.2 million hit in order to acquire him— but only if they can find another team willing to take on Beal's contract for potentially two more seasons after this one.

Beal is signed for the 2025-26 campaign at $53.7 million, with a $57.1 million player option for 2026-27 and a no-trade clause.

The Athletic's Fred Katz reported last week that Beal "would consider waiving his no-trade clause for the right destination." The Athletic's Sam Amick reported earlier this month that Butler wants to go to the Suns, but the Heat don't want to take on Beal's contract, so the Suns may need to find a third team to take on Beal in order to facilitate a trade.

Weeks later, the Suns are left in the same situation. The countdown has now shrunk to just over a week for Phoenix to find a match for Beal and end the ongoing stalemate between Butler and the Heat.

Even though Dalton Knecht has cooled off after a hot start to this season, the Los Angeles Lakers rookie still has solid trade value around the NBA if the team were to explore a deal prior to the Feb. 6 deadline.

On the latest episode of his YouTube show (starts at 51:10 mark), The Athletic's Jovan Buha explained the value for Knecht is "lower" now than it was earlier this season when people in the NBA were talking about him potentially being worth two first-round picks, but there's not a sense his market has "soured" at this point.

Buha did note the quality of the first-round picks the Lakers might have gotten for Knecht earlier in the season was unknown.

Knecht looked like he was going to be the favorite for Rookie of the Year with how he started the 2024-25 campaign. The 23-year-old averaged 12.2 points on 43.9 percent three-point shooting in his first 19 games.

That stretch included back-to-back games with 27 points against the New Orleans Pelicans and 37 points against the Utah Jazz. He tied the NBA single-game rookie record with nine threes in the Jazz game.

Since Dec. 1, though, Knecht has looked like a rookie finding his footing in the NBA. He's averaging 6.8 points on 41.3 percent shooting (24.1 percent from three) in 25 appearances.

After starting 11 of 13 games between Nov. 15-Dec. 8, head coach JJ Redick dropped Knecht from the opening lineup starting on Dec. 13 against the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Knecht's calling card in the 2024 draft was his shotmaking ability after he increased his three-point success rate every year he was in college, topping out at 39.7 percent on 6.5 attempts at Tennessee in 2023-24.

There's been no indication thus far that Knecht is going to become available in the next nine days before the trade deadline. B/R's Eric Pincus reported on Jan. 6 the Lakers have shown "no interest" in moving Knecht during the season.

Things could always change if the right player comes along. Knecht is an older rookie after playing three seasons in college, but he's got up to three more years on his rookie contract following the 2024-25 campaign.

Knecht's ability to develop his shooting touch while also showing some of the attacking style that made him such an effective college player will determine what his ultimate ceiling in the NBA is going to be.

LeBron James is a fan of Rutgers freshman guard Dylan Harper.

"I've been watching him for quite a while," James said Monday about the son of former Chicago Bulls star Ron Harper (h/t Brandon 'Scoop B' Robinson.) "He calls me unc, I call him nephew."

The Los Angeles Lakers star continued: "Special kid, special talent. He's going to be really good in this league."

Lakers All-Star LeBron James tells me that he rocks with @RutgersMBB star @dy1anharper and thinks that Harper will be special in the NBA: "Special kid, special talent. He's gonna be really good in this league, comes from a great family....Me, Harp and his pops go back a while,… pic.twitter.com/UadESiPQFz

— 👑 Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson (@ScoopB) January 28, 2025

"Comes from a great family, obviously. Me and Harp, his pops, go back, a while back," James said. "So, I'm excited for what he's doing right now at Rutgers, and what he's going to continue to do in the future."

Harper is averaging 18.6 points, 4.8 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 1.1 steals through 19 games at Rutgers. He sits at No. 2 in the latest 2025 NBA Mock Draft by Bleacher Report's Jonathan Wasserman.

Wasserman wrote about Harper in his latest mock:

Harper has made a strong impression this season with how well he's able to get to spots and finish in traffic. He's been lethal so far from off the ball in catch-and-shoot situations, and despite underwhelming pull-up percentages, he's demonstrated enough shotmaking capability for an 18-year-old to keep scouts' hopeful.

Lottery teams will ultimately view Harper as a scoring lead guard whose creativity and gravity should result in sufficient playmaking for an offense's primary ball-handler.

Harper even impressed when most recently sitting out most of the second half of a Saturday loss to Michigan State.

Rutgers head coach Steve Pikiell said after the game that Harper was dealing with an ankle sprain suffered earlier that week (h/t NJ.com's Brian Fonseca.)

But both Pikiell and Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo praised Harper for the 13 minutes he recorded in the the loss.

"He's tough as nails. I'm proud of him," Pikiell said, per Fonseca. "He was in that training room, lived there practically for a couple days. I honestly did not think he was going to play. He said 'let me give it a whirl' and he gave us 13 minutes. That says a lot about him."

"That kid is a hell of a player," Izzo said, per Fonseca. "Your quarterback is your quarterback. He makes all the other players better."

Rutgers forward Ace Bailey, who is listed at No. 3 in Wasserman's latest draft, has also lived up to the hype during his freshman season.

That hasn't been enough to put the Scarlet Knights on track for the NCAA Tournament. Rutgers is currently 10-10 overall and 3-6 in the Big Ten.

Harper potentially being injured will make it even more difficult to improve those records. Rutgers will hope for him to return soon as possible for the sake of their tournament hopes, while Harper will look to solidify his standing as a top option behind Duke standout Cooper Flagg down the stretch of his freshman season.

Bleacher Report catches you up on the latest news from the WWE Universe.

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Latest on Cena's Absence from WWE TV

John Cena's absence from WWE programming ahead of Saturday's Royal Rumble is reportedly due to the fact that he has had some acting commitments to fulfill.

According to PWInsider.com (h/t Steve Carrier of Ringside News), Cena has been in Budapest, Hungary, filming for the movie Matchbox, which based on the popular Matchbox car toy line.

Cena appeared on the debut episode of Raw on Netflix a few weeks ago to announce his entry into the 2025 men's Royal Rumble match, but he has not been featured on any WWE shows since then.

However, since Friday night's episode of SmackDown is in the Royal Rumble host city of Indianapolis, it seems possible that Cena could resurface on that show one night before the Rumble itself.

Last year, Cena announced that 2025 would be his final year as an active, in-ring wrestler, noting that he would be competing in his final Royal Rumble and WrestleMania this year.

While Cena will still work on some outside projects, every indication is that he will be seen more regularly on WWE programming in 2025 than he has been in quite some time.

In addition to Royal Rumble, Cena is being advertised for Elimination Chamber and WrestleMania 41 as well, so fans will have plenty of opportunities to see him in the coming months.

Given his announcement that he wants to become a record-break, 17-time world champion, Cena is considered one of the top contenders to win the men's Royal Rumble match on Saturday.

If he pulls off the feat, it will tie Cena with "Stone Cold" Steve Austin for the most career Rumble match wins with three.

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Details on Grace Reportedly Signing with WWE

WWE reportedly may be positioning Jordynne Grace to appear in the women's Royal Rumble match on Saturday.

Fightful's Sean Ross Sapp reported Monday that Grace officially signed with WWE, just eight days after her final TNA match at Genesis.

Per PWInsider.com (h/t Sean Rueter of Cageside Seats), Grace arrived in Orlando, Florida, at the WWE Performance Center right after Genesis, and it is believed she worked out a multi-year contract with the company while there.

PWInsider.com added that sources indicated Grace will be in Indianapolis this weekend, which suggests there is a strong chance she will be part of the women's Royal Rumble match.

Grace, 28, made her WWE debut last year in the 2024 women's Royal Rumble match as a surprise entrant.

At the time, Grace was the TNA Knockouts world champion, and she turned in a highly impressive performance, which may have put her on the radar as a future signee for WWE.

In the months that followed, WWE and TNA entered into a working relationship, which allowed Grace to make multiple appearances in NXT, including challenging Roxanne Perez for the NXT Women's Championship at Battleground in June.

Based on Grace's previous experience in WWE and the hype surrounding her arrival as a member of the roster, she may be a strong dark-horse pick to win the Rumble and earn a title match at WrestleMania.

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Styles, Asuka and Kai WWE Injury Updates

There is a great deal of uncertainty surrounding the status of a few injured WWE Superstars as it relates to the Royal Rumble on Saturday.

According to PWInsider.com (h/t Steve Carrier), AJ Styles will be in Indianapolis this weekend, and WWE is hopeful he will be cleared from a Lisfranc foot injury in time to compete in the men's Royal Rumble match.

Per Fightful Select (h/t Carrier), creative pitches have been made for Asuka's in-ring return, including a tag team match that didn't ultimately happen.

Asuka has been out of action since May after she and Kairi Sane dropped the WWE Women's Tag Team Championships to Bianca Belair and Jade Cargill, as she seemingly underwent surgery on her knee.

Fightful noted that it isn't yet known if Asuka will be in the women's Royal Rumble match, although it seems plausible if creative is discussing her return.

Asuka's fellow Damage CTRL member, Dakota Kai, suffered a concussion on last week's episode of Raw, according to PWInsider.com (h/t Carrier).

The reported injury occurred on the Jan. 20 edition of Raw during a tag team match that saw Kai and Iyo Sky beat Pure Fusion Collective's Shayna Baszler and Zoey Stark.

Per PWInsider.com, it is believed she suffered the injury while taking a bump off of a missile dropkick, and she was not present for this week's Raw.

If Kai did indeed suffer a concussion, her status for the women's Royal Rumble match on Saturday is very much in doubt.

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New York Jets owner Woody Johnson is taking accountability for how things have gone for the organization in recent years under his stewardship.

Speaking to reporters on Monday, Johnson admitted "I have to be a better owner" for the Jets to reach the level of success they hope to achieve.

"I'm trying to be better," he said. "And I do self scout, and a lot of people scout for me. … I think I did it today by introducing the two leaders of this team, the second is to — I've got to have patience. I've got to let them evolve in these positions, which I think they will. I think it'll be quick, but I think they'll evolve."

Monday marked a significant date for the franchise because it was the introductory press conference for new general manager Darren Mougey and head coach Aaron Glenn.

One of the big decisions that Johnson made two years ago was acquiring Aaron Rodgers in a trade with the Green Bay Packers. Now, Rodgers' future in New York is very much up in the air.

Johnson did note he would not do anything to influence whatever decision Mougey and Glenn make regarding Rodgers.

"They've got to take a look at how the team's composed and what they think they need and put all that together," Johnson said. "No, I'm not going to voice my opinion. That's up to them."

Johnson's tenure as Jets owner, which began in 2000, has left a lot to be desired. They've frequently been in a state of dysfunction on and off the field, resulting in them holding the longest playoff drought of any team in the four major North American men's pro sports leagues.

The best thing an owner of any sports team can do is get out of the way and let the football people make the decisions. You'll still get the glory if your team is successful because almost always the first person to be presented with the Lombardi Trophy at the Super Bowl is the owner.

It will be tough-sledding for the Jets to end their playoff drought in 2025 with the Buffalo Bills likely to still be very good and the New England Patriots presumably improving around Drake Maye with new head coach Mike Vrabel.

If Johnson empowers Mougey and Glenn to do their jobs without fear of someone looking over their shoulders, the Jets could improve on their 5-12 record from this season.

After suspending Jimmy Butler for the third time this month on Monday, the Miami Heat are ramping up their efforts to move on from the disgruntled start.

Appearing on the Tuesday morning episode of SportsCenter, ESPN's Brian Windhorst explained the Heat are "really, really trying" to get a trade done by dropping their asking price for Butler:

"The Heat are really, really trying to make this happen. And I know that you could have said that any time in the last four or five weeks, but in talking to people who are involved in these talks, I think the Heat's prices have come down. What they're willing to accept in trade has widened, and I think that's going to bring some more teams that we're previously sitting on the sideline to the table. Obviously, the Phoenix Suns have tried to get this done for weeks. They have tried three, four, five-team machinations. They have not been able to overcome the fact that what they've really got to trade is Bradley Beal, who has a no-trade clause and not a very big market. And so now I do believe this is going to bring in some other teams. We could see some surprising moves in this in this little battle in the next couple of days."

Per Barry Jackson and Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald, the Heat are "determined not to take back sizable contracts that run past next season." If they were asked to take back a significant contract that runs beyond the 2025-26 season, they want to be "compensated with a draft pick or two."

According to Yahoo Sports' Kevin O'Connor, the Golden State Warriors are among the teams reconsidering their pursuit of Butler:

Sources: The Warriors are one of several teams back in the mix for Jimmy Butler now that the Heat have lowered their asking price.

— Kevin O'Connor (@KevinOConnorNBA) January 28, 2025

Butler was suspended indefinitely and for no fewer than five games by the Heat on Monday. The six-time All-Star was due to return from a two-game suspension for their game against the Orlando Magic, but ESPN's Shams Charania reported he walked out of their morning shootaround after being told he was being replaced in the starting lineup by Haywood Highsmith.

A suspension of at least five games will keep Butler out of the Heat lineup through Feb. 5. They have an off day on Feb. 6, which is also the date of the NBA trade deadline.

The Suns have been cited as Butler's preferred destination, which likely means any deal would have to involved at least three teams because Phoenix doesn't have the draft capital or ability to do a one-for-one trade unless Bradley Beal waives his no-trade clause.

Given how toxic things appear to have gotten between Butler and the Heat, it's probably in the team's best interest to simply move on and take whatever they can get. They did overcome a 14-point deficit to defeat the Magic 125-119 in double-overtime on Monday.

The Heat have climbed up to sixth in the Eastern Conference with a 23-22 record. Butler has played just five games since Dec. 21. He's averaging 17.0 points, 5.2 rebounds and 4.8 assists per game in 25 starts.