Yesterday in Sports 06 25 26

Hey, I'm Chris Horvidell and this is Yesterday in Sports. The show that gets you caught up on the biggest things that happened yesterday, why they mattered, and what you need to know before pretending you watched every second of it. Here we go. Welcome to Yesterday in Sports, I'm Chris Horvidell and we've got a busy one today, leading off with Austin Reeves landing a record-setting deal with the Lakers, Detroit Lions cornerback Terry and Arnold facing serious charges in Florida, and NBA coaches pushing back over Mike Inouye's unusual contract situation in Portland. At the end of the show, we're also going to have a little bit to say about NordVPN. More on that later. We'll start in Los Angeles, where Austin Reeves is getting paid in a pretty historic way. Reeves is reportedly set to re-sign with the Lakers on a four-year, $185 million maximum contract with a player option for the 29-30 season. ESPN reported it's the richest contract ever for an undrafted player. An absolutely wild arc for Reeves, who goes undrafted in 2021, earned rotation minutes almost right away, became a real playoff pressure player, and now he's a part of the Lakers core next to Luka Doncic. But it makes sense. The numbers make it make sense. Reeves averaged a career-high 23.3 points, 5.5 assists, and 4.3 rebounds last season in 51 games. He missed time with a calf and oblique injury, but when he played, he gave the Lakers scoring, secondary creation, and late-clock decision-making. It's exactly the kind of skillset teams pay for right now, especially when it comes with postseason trust and market-tested composure. Now to a very different NBA contract story because the Micah Norrie situation in Portland has turned into a bigger coaching market conversation, and NBA head coaches are furious. Norrie, the former Timberwolves assistant, is getting his first NBA head coaching opportunity with the Trailblazers. The concern around the league is the contract structure. Reportedly one guaranteed year, team options for two and three, a below-market base salary, and incentives tied to performance. J.B. Bickerstaff, the president of the National Basketball Coaches Association, called it a slap in the face to coaching value. And the point here isn't that Norrie shouldn't take the job. The coaches see this as precedent-setting. If a first-time head coach takes a deal with very little guaranteed security, that affects assistant coach value, future first-time candidates, staff compensation, and even locker room authority. A coach trying to build a staff and hold players accountable needs organizational backing. If ownership can treat a head coach almost like a year-to-year rental, coaches around the league are going to push back. And they should. Chris Finch, who worked with Norrie in Minnesota, defended Norrie's decision and framed it as a guy betting on himself. That is fair too. These jobs are rare, but that's why this story matters. Security and precedent are colliding in a very public way. Now to the NFL where Detroit Lions cornerback Terry and Arnold is facing a serious legal situation in Florida. Arnold turned himself in to authorities in Tampa after being charged in connection with an alleged February kidnapping and robbery. Authorities say Arnold is accused of being the primary conspirator in an incident where three males in their late teens were allegedly held at gunpoint, beaten, pistol whipped, and robbed. According to police and prosecutors, the alleged attack was connected to Arnold's belief that the victims had stolen more than $250,000 worth of cash and valuables from an Airbnb he was using. AP reported that authorities later determined that belief was false. Arnold faces eight felony charges including kidnapping and armed robbery related to these counts. His representative has denied the allegations and argued the case relies on testimony from people with credibility issues and criminal exposure of their own. The Lions say they're aware of the situation but won't comment further while the legal situation plays out. It's worth pointing out this situation is very new and some of these details are still a little bit up in the air. From a football perspective, this is a major development. Arnold is 23 and expected to be a major piece of Detroit's secondary after entering the league as a first round pick in 2024. But right now the most important thing is the legal process. These are allegations, not convictions, and the case now moves forward through the courts. Depending on how it develops, the NFL's personal code of conduct policy could also become part of the story. Let's get back to the NBA draft where round two gave us an unusual mix of upside bets, older college production, draft and stash possibilities, and teams trying to find value at the margins. Houston opened the second round by taking Ohio State guard Bruce Thornton at 31. Thornton was Ohio State's all-time leading scorer, averaging 19.9 points, 5.1 rebounds and 3.9 assists as a senior. That's not the flashiest profile, but he's a grown-up guard with real responsibility minutes. Memphis followed at 32 with BYU guard Richie Saunders, who averaged 18 points and shot 37.6% from three on nearly seven attempts a game. Minnesota landed Duke wing Isaiah Evans at 33, a nice upside swing for a team that can afford to develop a scorer with real juice. There were also a few very interesting pick movements, including Atlanta moving up for North Carolina center Henry Vassar, Washington acquiring Felix Akpara at 46 in a three-team deal, and Dallas buying into the late second round for Russian guard Vyacheslav Eschenko. That's why round two always matters. You're usually not finding instant stars, but you can develop cheap depth, stash value, and occasionally grab the guy who everybody looks back on and wonders, how did he fall that far? To the WNBA, where the second return of all-star voting came out and Indiana continues to drive the conversation. Aaliyah Ballston led all players with 683,996 votes, Kaitlyn Clark is second at 675,10, and Asia Wilson is third at 659,057, followed by Paige Beckers and Brianna Stewart. The top five tells the story of the league right now. Ballston and Clark represent Indiana's huge fan base and the Fever's relevance. Wilson is still the standard, averaging 25.1 points in 2.1 blocks. Beckers is already producing like a star. At 19.3 points and 6.1 assists, Stewart remains one of the league's most complete players, scoring 19.4 and ranking among the rebounding leaders at 8.8 per game. The all-star game is July 25th at the United Center in Chicago. Fan voting runs through June 27th, and fans count for 50% of the starter vote, with players and media each counting for 25%. Now to the World Cup, where Mexico closed group play with a statement. Mexico beat Chechya 3-0 at the Azteca, finishing the group stage with three wins from three and no goals allowed. Mateo Chavez, Julian Quiones, and Alvaro Fidalgo scored, while 17-year-old Gilberto Mora became the youngest World Cup starter since 2022 while helping to create the second goal. Chechya is out, and Mexico goes into the knockout rounds with real momentum. For a host nation, that matters. Pressure can get heavy fast, but Mexico has looked composed, clean defensively, and comfortable in the spotlight. Canada had a tougher day, losing 2-1 to Switzerland in Vancouver, but still advancing to the knockout round for the first time in World Cup history. Switzerland won Group B on goals from Ruben Vargas and 20-year-old Yoan Manzambi. Promise David scored for Canada in the 76th minute, and Canada pushed late but couldn't find the equalizer. The results mean Canada moves on, but loses the chance to stay in Vancouver for the next match. Let's hit the NHL really quick, too, because Washington made a major move. The Capitals acquired Alex Tuck from Buffalo in a sign-and-trade, with Tuck agreeing to an 8-year, $84 million contract extension. He had 33 goals and 33 assists last year, and he's hit 33 goals in three of the last four years. For Washington, it's Saez finishing in a top-six winger who helps them stay aggressive when they want to keep reshaping at the end of the Alex Ovechkin era. And I'll tell you, this last bit literally just changed. We were going to do a rumor about Lomelo Ball potentially being traded, but Lomelo Ball has just been traded. Choms Charania reporting the Charlotte Hornets are trading guard Lomelo Ball and Josh Green to the Minnesota Timberwolves for Nas Reed, a 20-33 unprotected first-round pick, three first-round pick swaps, which will come in 28, 29, and 30, and three second-round draft picks. The 24-year-old ball averaged 20.1 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 7.1 assists last season while playing just 28 minutes a game due to load management issues. He gives Minnesota an electric backcourt partner to star guard Anthony Edwards, but one that needs to be managed carefully. This happened fast. News came out last night that Ball was potentially available, and now he's been traded. This is obviously an incredibly talented player with size, passing, creativity, and pull-up scoring. The questions are the durability, the fit, and the price. Minnesota gives up a lot, but gets an absolute star in return. Honestly, this is a good place to bring NordVPN back in because this is the kind of sports day where you're jumping from legal documents to draft boards to trade reports to international match coverage, and the internet gets really messy. NordVPN is one of those simple things I like having run in the background because it makes me being online feel cleaner and more secure while I'm trying to sort out what's real, what's reported, and what's just noise. I'm Chris Horwadel, and this has been today's show about what happened yesterday. And today. Today. We'll see you tomorrow.