The Phoenix Suns were the third team in the blockbuster Damian Lillard trade between the Milwaukee Bucks and Portland Trail Blazers.

The Suns offloaded Deandre Ayton in exchange for Jusuf Nurkic, Grayson Allen, Nassir Little, and Keon Johnson.

While Ayton was the former No. 1 overall pick of the 2018 NBA Draft, his relationship with the Suns had deteriorated beyond repair over the last few seasons.

Keeping that in mind, NBA analyst Rachel Nichols believes that the Suns ultimately got better after trading away Ayton, via “Undisputed” on Twitter.

“Big picture, they got better. It’s enough to bump them up in the Western Conference, and the Ayton situation became untenable for them,” Nichols said.

Did the Suns improve after the Damian Lillard trade?

“Big picture, they got better. It’s enough to bump them up in the Western Conference and the Ayton situation became untenable for them.” — @Rachel__Nichols pic.twitter.com/FB0na4n0Gi

— UNDISPUTED (@undisputed) September 28, 2023

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At first sight, it may seem like the Suns are losers in this trade.

But in hindsight, they got rid of a disgruntled star and increased the depth of the roster.

Moreover, it’s not as if the Suns will have a problem scoring at will in the 2023-24 season.

They have Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, and Bradley Beal to take care of that department.

As for defense, Nurkic will be the primary center for the Suns next season.

Last season, Nurkic put up 13.3 points, 9.1 rebounds, and 2.9 assists per game, but fans should expect his scoring output to go down.

But on a positive note, Nurkic can focus on being an elite defender for the Suns throughout the season.

The only downside to trading for Nurkic is his health issues over the past few seasons.

In fact, Nurkic hasn’t played more than 56 games in the last four seasons.

If he fails to stay healthy throughout the season, it will hinder the Suns’ aspirations of winning the NBA championship.

The post Rachel Nichols Talks Suns’ Status After Blockbuster Trade appeared first on The Cold Wire.

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Last season was a disaster for the Las Vegas Raiders, as their Super Bowl dreams evaporated into a 6-11 finish, which resulted in them missing the playoffs.

With a 1-2 record so far this season, it’s looking like 2023 may not be an improvement by any means over what took place last season.

The Raiders will be heading south to take on the Los Angeles Chargers, their historic AFC West rivals, this Sunday, and they could be without two of their most important players.

Starting quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo and defensive end Maxx Crosby are questionable for Week 4, per ProFootballTalk.

Jimmy Garoppolo, Maxx Crosby questionable for Sunday. https://t.co/4NJeMCLQAC

— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) September 29, 2023

The Raiders acquired Garoppolo during the offseason after deciding to part ways with Derek Carr, who had been their starter under center dating back to his rookie season in 2014.

Garoppolo has always been a steady hand, but so far this season he has thrown six interceptions against five touchdown passes while posting a dismal 81.4 passer rating.

Meanwhile, Crosby has made the Pro Bowl in each of the last two seasons, and last year he had 12.5 sacks while leading the NFL with 22 tackles for loss.

Crosby is one of the game’s better pass rushers, and with Chandler Jones already out due to personal reasons, Las Vegas’ defense could be seriously compromised.

Jones had recently gone on a social media tirade against the organization, and on Friday, he was reportedly arrested in Las Vegas.

𝗨𝗽𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗲: #Raiders DE Chandler Jones was arrested after stealing items from outside of his ex-girlfriend's house, per @LasVegasLocally https://t.co/tNS7a1Q325

Jones then proceeded to burn them in his backyard, and then sending her videos during while doing it.

Jones was… https://t.co/exrRW928ES pic.twitter.com/aMZHSAsZFY

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— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) September 29, 2023

Pretty soon, the Raiders could start to see their chances of returning to the playoffs slip between their fingers unless they manage to string together some wins.

The post 2 Key Raiders Are Questionable For Sunday appeared first on The Cold Wire.

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On Thursday, MLB fans saw one of the most egregious calls in recent history.

Philadelphia Phillies slugger Bryce Harper appeared to check his swing on a 3-2 count, but he wasn’t really close to crossing the plane and actually swinging the bat.

It was ball four and Harper was prepared to go to first base.

However, the chief umpire asked the third base umpire if Harper had swung, and he said he did.

The third base umpire was Ángel Hernández, who has some history with the Phillies.

Harper was furious and went to third base to confront Hernández.

He had to be stopped by his third base coach and even threw his helmet to the stands in anger.

He was ejected.

After the game, reporters talked to him about the play and Harper offered a revealing, yet hilarious chat he had with Hernández.

Bryce: "(Ángel Hernández) just told me if I saw the replay that I would know that I was wrong."
Interviewer: "I take it you've seen the replay…?"
Bryce: "I didn't need to see the replay." pic.twitter.com/N0LWIkPcQs

— Codify (@CodifyBaseball) September 29, 2023

In case you missed it, here is the replay:

Bryce Harper lost it on Angel Hernandez after this check swing call pic.twitter.com/JLPpoNLWJy

— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) September 28, 2023

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That’s a ball for every person on planet Earth, except for Hernández of course.

As Harper stated, we can all reach that conclusion without the need of a replay.

In fact, watching the replay makes matters much, much worse for the veteran umpire.

The Phillies have already locked up one of the Wild Card spots in the National League, in large part thanks to Harper’s brilliant play.

On Thursday, however, he had to see how the most controversial umpire in MLB directly affected his team again.

The post Bryce Harper Offers His Take On Awful Angel Hernandez Mistake appeared first on The Cold Wire.

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