#player-development

#player-development

The Washington Wizards have made it clear since their rebuild began that a major part of the process would be bringing in veteran leaders that could play a pivotal role in the development of their young core. Washington tried their hand at finding veteran mentors by trading for Malcolm Brogdon, signing Jonas Valanciunas, taking on the contracts of veterans like Khris Middleton

With each passing game, AC Milan's decision to bring Massimiliano Allegri back for a second spell looks to be the right one. As Tuttosport (via MilanPress) write this morning, a coach's work is judged by the results he obtains and how he manages to exploit the squad at his disposal. Allegri is ticking both boxes, with Milan top of the table in Serie A, and with every player having played their part to get there.

Yes, Calle Jarnkrok hadn't played in awhile, and it's not ideal for someone making $2.1 million AAV to be sitting out so much, but that's not Robertson's fault. There's no world where Jarnkrok should be getting minutes over Robertson. The tough part is with the way Berube has the lines made up, Robertson got pushed down to the fourth line, and eventually out of the lineup.

Between 2016-17, Lamb connected on 59 home runs. He reached 30 doubles in both seasons and combined for 13 triples. The lefty-hitting infielder posted a .248/.345/.498 slash in more than 1200 plate appearances. Lamb was worth around six to seven wins above replacement over that stretch, and he earned an All-Star selection in 2017. He popped 30 homers and drove in 105 runs in his career season, one of 19 players to reach 30 homers and 100 RBI that year.

There's no doubt that the start of Cam Whitmore's NBA career has been dissapointing. Entering the league as a lottery projected prospect, with the potential to be an elite player in the right situation, the Villanova product seemed like a can't miss pick, especially when he slid to the backhalf of the first round due to a pre-draft injury concern.

If you take away a little bit of a disastrous start - we won one of our first seven - I've really liked the way we've played. Every team gets injuries. For us personally, going back to 2017, I don't remember - even through our Cup runs and all of that - has this happened to us. There is a lot of money sitting in the stands, but it is encouraging to see the young guys who have come in and filled the gaps for us.

Two seasons ago, Eric Garcia arrived at Montilivi on loan from Barcelona, a move that significantly boosted his development while also strengthening Girona's defensive structure. His improvement during that spell earned praise across La Liga and has since been considered a model example of how a young Barça player can grow when given consistent responsibility in a competitive environment. Girona believe that Bernal, still at the early stages of his top-flight career, could benefit in much the same way.

I didn't have any plans going back home over that summer but then as the season got closer, I played with that thought a little bit and just ended up signing there a week before the season started. It was good for me. I got back to my game a lot more to the way I want to play. Now afterwards, I don't regret anything. I think that was a good decision for me.

According to Fabrice Hawkins, Arsenal are pushing hard to get the deal done. However, Chelsea want to sign the player as well. The journalist claims that the player could cost around 50 million at the end of the season. It will be interesting to see if Chelsea can win the race for his signature. They need more creativity and control in the middle of the park, and Bouaddi would be a superb long-term investment for them.

Bilal Coulibaly entered year three with the Washington Wizards with a whole lot to prove and not a lot of time to do it. As Washington continues to build towards the future, time is of the essence as the team looks to evaluate the roster and determine which players can contribute for the long haul. The sophomore leaps of Alex Sarr and Kyshawn George have been the lone encouraging signs for the Wizards to start the season,

This past week has offered Chelsea's Estêvão a glimpse into the often-unforgiving journey to the top of the game. Last Tuesday, the 18-year-old Brazil forward dazzled with a brilliant goal the apotheosis of a sparkling collective performance as Chelsea beat Barcelona 3-0 at Stamford Bridge on a night they announced their UEFA Champions League credentials. Five days later, he was substituted at half-time in the 1-1 draw against Premier League leaders Arsenal having touched the ball just 17 times and wasted two good shooting opportunities.

Cristiano Ronaldo and Thierry Henry are two of the most influential footballers of all time, and now they could be inspirations for an AC Milan star. This season, Rafael Leao's position has changed. He is no longer seen as the winger that previous coaches have stuck to, but rather a striker. Of course, Massimiliano Allegri's hand has been pushed slightly, with a lack of other options.

He feels way more comfortable and he's probably our best player on the wall, just with his ability to get pucks off the yellow and make plays. He's been very good. I also feel like he has less pressure playing on the wing, if that makes sense. Centerman, there's a lot going on defensively, offensively. I think now he's in that spot where he can just rely on his gift and he doesn't have to worry about anything else. I think that helped him.

Deni Avdija, in his sixth NBA season and second with the Portland Trail Blazers, is suddenly a monster. Sunday night he put up a crazy triple-double against the invulnerable Oklahoma City Thunder, in an encouragingly narrow and competitive home loss for the Blazers. Avdija scored 31 points on just 14 shots, pulled down 19 rebounds, dished 10 assists against just a single turnover, and finished plus-four in 37 minutes of floor-time.

The 19-year-old looks like an exciting prospect after recently joining the Magpies from Malaga, but he's struggled to get playing time on loan at Belgian club KVC Westerlo so far this season. According to Cadena SER, it now looks like this will lead Newcastle to cancel his loan there, with Deportivo La Coruna leading the race for his signature. Cordero looks like he could develop into a fine player if given the chance to play regularly and develop,

The New England Patriots have made an unforeseen turnaround in 2025, winning ten of their first twelve games and, to this point, are the top seed in the AFC. The success has largely been due to the development of Drake Maye, whose MVP campaign continues with the most passing yards he's ever had in a game on Sunday against the Bengals.

1. Pat Riley instilling #HEATCulture™ Say what you want about Riley's shortcomings the last few years, but without him laying the bedrock as the culture bearer, this franchise would be a nothingburger. 2. Erik Spoelstra He's the best coach in the NBA, and any team would kill to have him in their building. Instead, he's ours. 3. Dwyane Wade You thought I wasn't going to put Wade at No. 3? You're crazy.