On Monday, the Nets became the latest superteam to start their summer vacation early.

Brooklyn’s plan to trade draft picks for three stars — Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, and Ben Simmons (after James Harden’s expensive flop) — and pay them a combined 63% of the payroll resulted in a first-round sweep at the hands of the Celtics.

It looks to be an NBA-wide trend. 

In the West, the Lakers’ Big Three (LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Russell Westbrook) accounted for 73.4% of the team’s salary, while the Clippers’ duo of Kawhi Leonard and Paul George ate up 48%. Both teams missed the postseason entirely.

• Nets ($174.8M, 2nd in payroll): just seven playoff wins since Durant and Irving joined in 2019.
• Clippers ($167.8M, 3rd): Leonard’s injured knee forced two consecutive early postseason exits before this season’s play-in elimination.
• Lakers ($164.4M, 4th): missed the play-in and fired head coach Frank Vogel.

While injuries are the common denominator, the severe lack of depth and flexibility meant none of the three could compete for long without their stars. 

Meanwhile, teams with lower budgets — the Celtics ($138M), Heat ($140.8M), Suns ($136.5M), and Grizzlies ($117.3M) — have impressed by balancing star power and continuity.

The upshot: This was the first season in NBA history that the top two preseason Finals favorites (Nets +230; Lakers +425) did not at least reach the second round.

Walker Buehler continues to prove he’s one of the best starters in baseball — while boosting his leverage for the next pitching megadeal.

Buehler tossed the first complete game of the MLB season in the Dodgers’ 4-0 win over the Diamondbacks, allowing no runs, no walks, and just three hits while striking out 10.

The 27-year-old has momentum after a dominant 2021 campaign that saw him post career bests in wins (16), ERA (2.47), and WAR (6.6), make his second All-Star game, and finish fourth in NL Cy Young voting.

Given the recent market for pitchers and Los Angeles’ penchant for handing out big contracts, Buehler could be in line for a massive payday sooner than later.

• Buehler avoided his first two years of arbitration by signing a two-year, $8M contract prior to the 2021 season.
• The Dodgers have the highest 2022 payroll ($290.6M).
• Gerrit Cole set the market for massive pitcher contracts in December 2019 when he signed a record nine-year, $324M contract with the Yankees at age 29.

Having now made his first Opening Day start, it’s possible that Buehler has already supplanted Clayton Kershaw — who’s playing on a one-year, $17 million pact — as L.A.’s ace.

If so, the Dodgers would be wise to invest in Buehler before he’s tempted by the market in 2025.

Phil Mickelson’s career may be in limbo in the wake of his controversial comments regarding the breakaway Saudi-based LIV Golf Invitational Series, but he’s keeping his options open.

On Monday, the six-time major winner released a statement via his agent announcing his registration to defend his PGA Championship next month and play in June’s U.S. Open — but he also filed for a release from the Tour to play in June’s inaugural LIV tournament in London. 

His Tour season is already a wash: He hasn’t played an event since January, has made only $140,608 this season, and is outside the top 200 in the FedEx Cup standings. 

Now, the 51-year-old’s best bet to add to his legacy and career earnings could be to focus on majors while enjoying the LIV’s weaker competition and bigger purses. 

• The LIV tournaments will feature only 48 players — excluding many of the Tour’s best — on 12 four-man teams across eight events.
• The first seven events each have a $20M individual purse and distribute $5M among the top three teams. 
• Event winners take home $4M, the top three on the season share a $30M bonus, and the team championship has a $50M purse.
• The PGA Tour’s largest payday is The Players ($3.6M), and the FedEx Cup winner receives an $18M bonus.

He hasn’t indicated when he’ll return to the course, and his reputation and earning power have already taken a hit, losing several sponsors in the aftermath of his Saudi comments, including Amstel Light, KPMG, and Workday.

Mickelson has made $95 million over his career.