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This is an article version of the CBS Sports HQ AM Newsletter, the ultimate guide to every day in sports. You can sign up to get it in your inbox every weekday morning here.
🏀 Good morning to all, but especially to …
PAIGE BUECKERS, THE DALLAS WINGS AND THE REST OF THE WNBA DRAFTEES
Paige Bueckers has a new home, and the Wings have a new face of the franchise. Dallas took the UConn star first overall in Monday’s WNBA Draft (full results here) and earned the easiest grade Jack Maloney had to give: “A+.”
- Maloney: “Bueckers has long been the projected No. 1 pick, and now it has finally become a reality. The 6-foot guard is a savant on the offensive end, where she scores efficiently at all three levels (she was a few made free throws away from a 50/40/90 season) and knows how to put her teammates in positions to succeed. Bueckers is a franchise-changing talent, both on and off the court, and the Wings’ present and future just got a whole lot more exciting.”
Jack graded every first-round pick, and while Bueckers to Dallas was the only “A+,” seven of the 12 first-round selections were in the “A” range.
Looking at the three-round draft as a whole, there was a major international presence, one of Jack’s biggest winners.
- Maloney: “Dominique Malonga went No. 2 overall to the Storm, which made her the highest-drafted French player in a traditional draft. … A few picks later, Malonga’s club team teammate, Justė Jocytė (Lithuania), went No. 5 to the Valkyries to become the expansion franchise’s first-ever draft pick. Then, the Sky selected Ajša Sivka (Slovenia) at No. 10. That trio tied the record for the most international picks in the top-10 of a draft. And that number doesn’t even count Georgia Amoore (Australia), who went No. 6 to the Mystics, because she played college ball in the States.”
Also of note? Hailey Van Lith will reunite with Angel Reese in Chicago.
😄 Honorable mentions
🏀 And not such a good morning for …
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THE PHOENIX SUNS
Another hyped-but-fruitless season of Suns basketball is over, and so, too, perhaps is the era as a whole. Phoenix fired Mike Budenholzer on Monday, meaning the franchise will be looking for its fourth coach since Mat Ishbia became owner in 2023.
The team that coach will inherit will look quite different from the past several iterations. After seeing several suitors emerge at the trade deadline before ultimately standing pat, the Suns are set to move on from Kevin Durant as well as Bradley Beal, whose tenure in Phoenix was a disappointment.
But that may not be all: Sam Quinn says it’s time to trade Devin Booker, too.
- Quinn: “Generally, it takes a top-five player, perhaps even a top-three player, to win a championship. Booker is … probably in the top 20? Maybe in the top 15? Certainly not in the top 10. If he’s the second-best player on a deep and versatile roster, you’re probably ready to contend. … So the idea here is probably to pair Booker with someone as good or better than him while absolutely nailing the margins. … Executing this plan, under the absolute best of circumstances, will take several years. More likely, it just isn’t plausible given the asset limitations we’ve covered.”
If this is it for Durant in Phoenix, the Suns’ postseason ledger with him is first-round exit in 2023, second-round exit in 2024, missed playoffs in 2025. A reset is much-needed, but it’s still a bitter pill to swallow.
Elsewhere …
😬 Not so honorable mentions
🏀 NBA individual award picks, grades for every team
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The Play-In Tournament begins tonight, but before we get there, our experts have made their picks for the individual awards and handed out team grades (East here, West here).
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is the clear MVP favorite, though he only got four of seven votes in our poll, with Nikola Jokić capturing the other three.
The most diverse race was Defensive Player of the Year, in which Ivica Zubac, Evan Mobley, Amen Thompson and Draymond Green all garnered at least one vote.
As for team grades, two teams in the East and two teams in the West got an “A+.”
- Cavaliers — “The Cavaliers are hoping this team can go a bit further than that LeBron James-led team did, and they have every right to think they can. Donovan Mitchell has molded his game perfectly to fit this team, allowing his teammates to shoulder more offensive responsibility.”
- Pistons — “Cade Cunningham is an All-Star. Malik Beasley is a Sixth Man of the Year candidate. Tobias Harris and Tim Hardaway Jr. have been the positive veteran scorers this team has needed for some time.”
- Clippers — “Relative to expectations, the Clippers had one of the best years in the entire NBA. … James Harden had a resurgent campaign, while Kawhi Leonard slowly morphed back into the basketball assassin we’ve come to appreciate over the last decade-plus.”
- Thunder — “The Thunder just had the second-best net rating in NBA history. … If the Thunder aren’t getting an ‘A+’ I’m not sure who could.”
⚽ UEFA Champions League: Can Aston Villa or Borussia Dortmund come back?
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UEFA Champions League history is littered with great comebacks, and in the second legs of this year’s quarterfinals, Aston Villa, Borussia Dortmund and Real Madrid have chances to join that list. Today, Aston Villa looks to overcome a 3-1 deficit against PSG (preview), and Borussia Dortmund looks to come back from 4-0 down against Barcelona (preview).
With all due respect to Borussia Dortmund, we’ll mark the Villans as the more likely of the two. They led PSG early and, well, a two-goal deficit is easier to overcome than a four-goal deficit. In our expert predictions, Francesco Porzio says …
- Porzio: “Aston Villa 2, PSG 2 – Despite last week’s result, Unai Emery’s team showed they have the potential to create chances and score against the French team, but it shouldn’t be enough to finish the comeback as Villa have to score three goals to overturn the first leg’s result. In case of the unexpected comeback, they will face the winner of the match between Real Madrid and Arsenal that will take place on Wednesday.”
Here are the keys to today’s and tomorrow’s games, which you can stream, as always, on Paramount+.
🏈 Best 150 players in college football, plus transfer portal primer
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Spring on the college football calendar used to be defined by optimism, excitement surrounding intrasquad scrimmages and continued team-building.
It still can be those things, but it now looks a little different, too. Spring games are going the way of the dodo, and the biggest storyline right now is Nico Iamaleava‘s shocking departure from Tennessee days before the spring transfer portal window opens.
Somehow, we have to balance the new with the old and to help with that, Blake Brockermeyer’s top 150 college football players has arrived. Last year, he had Hunter No. 1, and he went on to win the Heisman Trophy. This year, the top spot belongs to …
- Brockermeyer: “1. Jeremiah Smith, WR, Ohio State — I’m expecting a bigger, faster, stronger version of the best true freshman receiver of our lifetime. Smith is a matchup nightmare who can dominate the contested catches and make the one-handed grabs in his sleep. He snatched 57 balls for 934 yards and 10 touchdowns and was Ohio State’s go-to receiver even with the talented, NFL-bound Emeka Egbuka on the field.”
Yeah, it’s hard to argue with that.
Iamaleava comes in 150th — yes, the last spot — on Blake’s list, and he explains the reason for the fall. Iamaleava is the face of the spring transfer portal window (though there was another big add Monday night) and the wild NIL world.
His departure leaves Tennessee in need of a quarterback, and Chris Hummer examined needs for every top-10 team during the spring window.
📺 What we’re watching Tuesday
⚽ Borussia Dortmund vs. Barcelona, 3 p.m. on Paramount+
⚽ Aston Villa vs. PSG, 3 p.m. on Paramount+
⚾ Guardians at Orioles, 7:05 p.m. on TBS
🏀 Play-In Tournament: Hawks at Magic, 7:30 p.m. on TNT/truTV
🏒 Panthers at Lightning, 7:30 p.m. on ESPN
🏀 Play-In Tournament: Grizzlies at Warriors, 10 p.m. on TNT/truTV
🏒 Kings at Kraken, 10:30 p.m. on ESPN
