👋 Good morning!

Shocker: The NHL’s draft decentralization completely flopped.

From awkward virtual interviews to league commissioner Gary Bettman’s strange TED Talk explaining the new format, it’s no wonder the first round broadcast lasted four-and-a-half hours.

Kudos for trying something new, I suppose.

But it’s best we go back to the old way and pretend this never happened.

At least the Blackhawks made it somewhat worthwhile, trading back into the first for a third selection on Friday.

For those counting at home, that makes 11 first-round picks for GM Kyle Davidson in four drafts.

– Patrick Norton

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Ball Out.

The Lonzo Ball era of Chicago Bulls basketball is officially over. The Bulls traded the point guard to the Cleveland Cavaliers for Isaac Okoro in a one-for-one deal on Saturday morning.

Ball, 27, joined the Bulls in free agency in 2021 on a four-year deal, but only played 35 games in his first season with the team before missing the next two seasons entirely with a left knee injury that required several surgeries.

Ball returned to the court for the Bulls this past season, playing 35 games while battling a wrist injury and managing his playing time on his extensively surgically-repaired knee.

In February, the Bulls signed Ball to a two-year extension set to kick in next season, including a club option for the second year, worth $10 million per year.
Over 70 games played, Ball averaged 10.3 points, 4.2 assists, and 4.4 rebounds per contest. He also posted a career-high shooting percentage and three-point success rate in the 2021-22 season, both at 42.3%.
Okoro, 24, is a five-year veteran, drafted by the Cavs one pick after the Bulls selected Patrick Williams fourth overall in 2021. However, he posted career lows in starts and minutes per game last season.

As a result of his diminished role, Okoro finished the 2024-25 season averaging just 6.1 points and 2.4 rebounds per game.

The ex-Auburn Tiger has two seasons left on a three-year contract, with each of the next two years guaranteed. Okoro is owed $11 million next season and $11.8 million the following year.

I guess you could call that a trade.

I liked Will Gottlieb’s take on the deal in Saturday’s CHGO Bulls emergency pod: Sure, the Bulls’ front office is deserving of plenty of criticism, especially in this case, for their wayward process.

However, Okoro is another young player with experience that can help, while Lonzo Ball’s health made him a perpetual question mark.

That’s a great point.

But after last year’s one-for-one Josh Giddey-for-Alex Caruso deal, you’d think EVP Arturas Karnisovas and GM Marc Eversley might learn from their mistakes and require some form of draft compensation in these trades.

Nope.

GO DEEPER: Will Gottlieb’s untethered thoughts on the trade.

⚾️ LAST DAY TO ENTER ⚾️

Rate & CHGO are giving away a pair of tickets to the Rate Club for Cubs-Sox at Rate Field on July 26th.

All you have to do to enter is download the Rate app and follow the directions at:

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No purchase necessary—just good vibes & great seats!

FEE FI FO FUM: Size matters to Kyle Davidson, who, over the weekend, selected an eight-man draft class averaging 6 feet 3.6 inches in height.

In the end, top forward Michael Misa was off the board before the Blackhawks were on the clock with the third pick. Instead, Davidson opted for Swedish centerman Anton Frondell.

Fun fact about the Blackhawks’ third first-rounder, Mason West: He’s planning to head back to Edina High School in Minnesota for his senior year this fall to…play quarterback for the varsity football team.

FULL CLASS ANALYSIS: Mario Tirabassi & Jay Zawaski shared their thoughts on the Blackhawks’ new prospects

BONA FIDE TRADE CHIP: Cut loose from the Texas Rangers’ organization in May, Adrian Houser is one of baseball’s best storylines this year, plain and simple.

Houser, 32, lowered his season ERA to 1.90 on Saturday thanks to seven scoreless innings against the San Francisco Giants, in which he allowed only four hits and struck out five.

Rookie reliever Grant Taylor pitched the eighth and ninth innings for the White Sox, completing an impressive six-out save en route to the Sox’s 1-0 victory.

On Sunday, before taking the series finale against the Giants, the Sox added Luis Robert Jr. to the 10-day IL, retroactive to June 26, with a left hamstring strain.

The team said they’ll make a corresponding move ahead of Tuesday's game against the Dodgers in Los Angeles.

Robert Jr’s season has been nothing short of a disaster, with the centerfielder batting well under the Mendoza Line. He was slashing .111/.200/.333 in his last ten games before suffering the injury.

JUNE SWOON: It’s probably an okay sign that a bad month for the Cubs meant finishing June with a 13-13 record. But the Cubs haven’t won a series versus a team above .500 since winning two out of three games against the Brewers in the first week of May.

And suddenly, Milwaukee is only two games behind the Cubs in the NL Central.

The Cubs desperately need help in the starting rotation and on the bench. Perhaps the Arizona Diamondbacks can be of some assistance.

But USA Today’s Bob Nightengale mentioned for the second time in a week that the Cubs have been in contact with the Pittsburgh Pirates about RHP Mitch Keller.