February 17, 2022

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Today is Michael Jordan’s 59th birthday. The GOAT probably won’t come out of retirement again, but the Bulls are doing fine without him as the No. 1 seed in the East.

Why Would Juan Soto Turn Down a $350M Extension?

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Juan Soto turned down a 13-year, $350 million contract with the Nationals prior to the MLB lockout.

Given his sky-high potential, even the third-highest total contract in baseball would be nowhere near what he’s worth — and super-agent Scott Boras knows it. In terms of AAV, Soto would only rank 17th ($26.9M).

If the 23-year-old can keep up his tremendous production, he could command the first $500 million contract in MLB history when he’s a free agent in 2024.

Soto is the sixth player in MLB history to finish second in both Rookie of the Year (2018) and MVP (2021) voting.During the shortened 2020 season, he led the majors in batting average (.351) and OPS (1.185).His career position-player WAR (17.6) is the highest of anyone who has been in the league for four seasons or fewer — including Ronald Acuna Jr. (14.9) and Fernando Tatis Jr. (13.6).

Tatis set the market for young superstars with the 14-year, $340 million deal he signed last offseason — likely a bargain for the Padres in the long run. Acuna, meanwhile, got “only” an eight-year, $100 million contract from the Braves after winning the 2018 ROY.

Assuming there is a 2022 season, Soto can increase his leverage by winning National League MVP — he’s currently the co-favorite with Tatis (both +350*).

The Golden Knights’ Creative Cap Strategy for Jack Eichel

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On Wednesday, Jack Eichel made his highly anticipated debut with the Golden Knights, immediately stepping in as the No. 1 center — and featuring on the top power-play unit — in a 2-0 loss to the Avalanche.

Eichel, one of the NHL’s top young stars, was acquired in a trade with the Sabres on Nov. 4 while recovering from a neck injury — but Vegas used some creative cap circumvention to make room for the 25-year-old on the roster, placing captain Mark Stone on LTIR.

The Knights could follow the formula of last season’s Lightning, who kept Nikita Kucherov on LTIR for the entire regular season before activating him for the postseason — when there’s no cap limit.

Eichel signed an eight-year, $80M contract extension with the Sabres in 2017, which carries an AAV of $10 million (T11th in the NHL).Stone ($9.5M AAV) has been playing with a back injury.Vegas can keep Stone on LTIR until the postseason, or use the March 21 trade deadline to free space elsewhere under the $81.5M cap.

Eichel can provide an immediate boost: Vegas is the NHL’s 10th scoring offense (3.22 goals per game) but ranks just 20th on the power play (19.2%).

And ultimately, saving Stone for the playoffs could be as inspiring a move as Tampa’s — the Bolts rode Kucherov to a second consecutive Stanley Cup.

The Knights are three points back of the first-place Flames in the Pacific but are currently tied with the Maple Leafs for the fourth-best title odds (+800*).

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Josh Giddey Breakout Continues in OKC Thunder’s ‘Process’

Alonzo Adams-USA TODAY Sports/Design: John Regula

Oklahoma City GM Sam Presti went full rebuild after a 2020 first-round playoff exit, trading superstars for promising young talent and a stockpile of draft picks.

The Thunder (18-40) continue to lose, but it’s part of their version of a “Process” led by cornerstones Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (22.7 PPG) and breakout rookie Josh Giddey (No. 6 overall).

On Wednesday night, the 19-year-old Giddey joined Oscar Robertson as the only rookies in NBA history to record three straight triple-doubles — and tied Luka Doncic for most triple-doubles by a teenager.

OKC has 38 draft picks over the next six years — and plenty of cap space to build for the future.

OKC’s $80.2 million payroll is by far the lowest in the NBA — $36.1 million below the Grizzlies.Kemba Walker ($26.2M) is the team’s highest-paid player — and isn’t even on the team.Giddey (four years, $27.2M) is eligible for a rookie extension in 2025.As the other young star, Gilgeous-Alexander’s $5.5 million salary turns into $29.8 million next season to start his five-year, $172 million contract.

It all started in Nov. 2020: OKC traded Chris Paul to the Suns for four role players and a 2022 first-round pick. Presti flipped three players for eight picks. One month later, he unloaded Paul George for Gilgeous-Alexander, Danilo Gallinari, and five first-rounders.

OKC is in good hands — Giddey now has the fourth-best odds to win Rookie of the Year (+1100*) — but it could take a while before they’re a postseason threat.

Making Headlines

Rob Schumacher-USA TODAY Sports/Design: John Regula

Olympics: Canada defeated the United States 3-2 in the women’s hockey gold-medal game; Canada has won four of the six gold-medal meetings between the teams since the sport was introduced in 1998 (2002, ’10, ’14, and ’22).

MLB: The MLBPA and MLB met for 15 minutes on Thursday and failed to reach an agreement. Spring Training games were supposed to begin in nine days.

NCAAF: Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh re-signed for five years with a base salary of $7.5 million; Harbaugh interviewed for the Minnesota Vikings HC job on Feb. 2.

NBA: Anthony Davis will be out at least two weeks after spraining his right ankle against the Jazz on Wednesday; the eight-time All-Star has already missed 21 games this season.

Today's Action

NHL

10:38 PM

Canucks (-115) at Sharks (-105)

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NBA

07:10 PM

Heat (-200) at Hornets (+170)

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NHL

08:38 PM

Blue Jackets (+115) at Blackhawks (-135)

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*All times are EST unless otherwise noted.

*Odds/lines subject to change. T&Cs apply. See [[link removed]] for details.

Written by Doug Greenberg [[link removed]], Chris Kuc [[link removed]], Anthony Puccio [[link removed]]

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