The New York Knicks and Sacramento Kings engaged in a four-player trade on Wednesday. New York will receive forwards Travis Outlaw and Quincy Acy from the Kings, while Sacramento will get shooting guard Wayne Ellington and big man Jeremy Tyler in return.

It’s a small, no-name trade in a league that often has massive blockbuster deals, but it’s still an interesting one. Tyler is inexplicably being traded away from the Knicks, who lack great toughness or stability inside after letting center Tyson Chandler walk back to Dallas in free agency. While Tyler was far from a seasoned player, he showed maturation and progress over the past two years. More importantly, he gave the Knicks solid strength and depth down low.

While Tyler was a young big man arguably worth grooming, it could have been a move in the Knicks’ best interest for the short-term. After all, New York did sign centers Samuel Dalembert and Jason Smith in free agency this year, and could have viewed Cole Aldrich as the better long-term prospect to develop over Tyler.

The team had also already been interested in cutting ties with sharpshooter Wayne Ellington by any means necessary, so finding a trade that got him out of New York was probably a win-win. The Knicks were already jammed up on the wings with J.R. Smith, Tim Hardaway Jr., Iman Shumpert and rookie Cleanthony Early residing on the roster.

Oddly enough, New York inherited two more wing players in the process, as Outlaw and Acy are both best suited at small forward. Their presence gives the Knicks five true small forwards, although it’s debatable as to how the actual starting lineup and rotation will look when it comes to the depth chart when the 2014-15 NBA season finally comes around.

It’s also worth pointing out that Phil Jackson and co. are far from done making moves, as well. The Knicks have been rumored to be interested in unloading J.R. Smith, Iman Shumpert and others earlier this summer. Perhaps bringing on some wing depth is a precursor to doing just that.

On Sacramento’s side of things, they get a quality shooter and some wing depth in Ellington, as well as a solid big man to place behind starting center DeMarcus Cousins. Tyler still faces an uphill battle with the Kings, as a crowded frontcourt including Jason Thompson, Reggie Evans, Carl Landry and Derrick Williams could make playing time hard to come by. With that being said, Tyler is probably now the only true center on the roster behind Cousins, giving him a shot at earning limited minutes as the team’s top backup center.

It’s finally happening, and the legend has confirmed it. The Green Bay Packers released a statement on Sunday that they would be announcing some big news on Monday. Long-time Packers quarterback Brett Favre confirmed all the speculation – he’d be returning to Titletown to be inducted to the team’s Hall of Fame and have his #4 jersey retired.

“I’m pleased to announce that I will be returning to Green Bay, Wisconsin in 2015 for induction into the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame and retirement of my jersey,” Favre said in a statement, “It was a tremendous honor to play 16 years for the Green Bay Packers…I’m truly looking forward to celebrating and sharing this special moment with all of the great fans of the Green Bay Packers.”

Many wondered when this day would come – or if it’d come at all – as Favre and the Packers agreed to push his jersey retirement back further and further each year. There was a wide belief that either the Packers or Favre had feared boos among the crowd with his return, but Favre cleared the record in a recent interview, saying that he never feared that at all.

Regardless of the reason for the delay, the time is finally coming in 2015, as all wounds will truly begin to heal as arguably Green Bay’s most deserving player in team history will be inducted into their Hall of Fame and have his #4 jersey officially retired.

Despite spending 16 glorious seasons with the green and gold and leading the Packers to two straight Super Bowls (with one win), Favre arguably tainted his Packer legacy by demanding for a trade following the 2007 season. Favre’s constant waffling on retirement caused GM Ted Thompson to move on with Aaron Rodgers going into the 2008 season, which led to Favre’s infamous remark, “give me my helmet or release me”.

Favre was subsequently traded to the New York Jets, where he spent one season. It wasn’t until he suited up for the rival Minnesota Vikings the next season that he really spurned his loyal Packer fans, though, as Favre marched into Lambeau Field two times over the course of the 2009 and 2010 seasons, defeating his former team once on his old turf, and another time in Minnesota.

Favre understandably got boos from the many thousands of former fans in those games, but he and the team will be looking (and hoping) for a much different result this time around.

On Tuesday, July 29th, Oakland Raiders owner Mark Davis confirmed that he and 2 other top Raiders higher-ups met with San Antonio officials at the Alamo Dome and also took a helicopter tour of the city.

Davis allegedly told the city officials that he would prefer a small, intimate stadium that could feature a statue of his father, the late Al Davis. Mark Davis downplayed the significance of his visit to San Antonio. Davis:

“Former San Antonio mayor Henry Cisneros is a friend, and Henry suggested I take the opportunity to meet with some of the city officials while we were in town. I have nothing further to discuss on the topic.”

Cowboys owners and large video screen enthusiast Jerry Jones responded, unsure that a team in San Antonio could draw away many Cowboys fans from the area or even if this story is more than just another rumor. Jones:

“I am very pleased that we have the fan base that we have down there and the percentage of fans we have. I think it is 97, 98, 99 percent Cowboys fans in the area. But it doesn’t surprise me at all. I know that there were those kind of rumors regarding the Saints.”

It is true: San Antonio was floated around as a possible destination for the Saints after Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans and the Superdome sustained heavy damage. In hindsight this sounds ludicrous as we now know the team stayed in New Orleans and Drew Brees took the team to a Super Bowl title. This move may also fall through; it could be typical business posturing Davis can use in negotiations with Oakland officials.

But you never know: maybe this time San Antonio, the 7^th largest city in the US with a city population of 1.4 million and metro population of 2.3 million, finally gets their team.

Saying the Dallas Cowboys have been unlucky on the defensive side of the ball lately is probably a vast understatement. After losing stud inside linebacker Sean Lee for the year with a torn ACL, the ‘Boys were dealt more bad news on Tuesday – rookie pass rusher Demarcus Lawrence would miss time with a broken foot.

Lawrence reportedly broke his foot in practice and could miss up to 8-10 weeks. The rookie defensive end was “slammed to the turf” by starting offensive tackle Tyron Smith and injured his foot, which will reportedly require surgery.

It’s a bad break for the rook, who was pegged to starter with long-time Cowboy DeMarcus Ware jetting for Denver in free agency. Made a second round pick by the Cowboys out of Boise State, Lawrence was a mild surprise at that point in the 2014 NFL Draft but at least offered a potential spark in terms of athleticism in his first season.

It’s an even tougher break for the Dallas defense, though, as they get hit with their second significant injury of the offseason. The return timetable for Lawrence means he will miss the start of the season, leaving the Cowboys undermanned in the pass rush department for the first few weeks, if not longer.

Jeremy Mincey is expected to step up at one of the end spots in place of the rookie, with George Selvie locking down the other side. It’s not an ideal situation for a Dallas defense that ranked dead last overall in the league a year ago, as Mincey brings just five sacks in his last 26 games to the table.

Without stability at linebacker in the middle of the field and an explosive pass rush on the outside, Dallas is in serious danger of getting torched once again on a weekly basis. Both their run and pass defenses should struggle mightily all year long – even once Lawrence is able to return to the field.

Cleveland Browns superstar wide receiver Josh Gordon may be a victim of bad luck. That bad luck could end up weighing in his favor, though, which could potentially help him win his appeal to overturn his recent suspension.

Per ProFootballTalk.com, Gordon’s initial drug test that generated a positive result “barely” did so, and could have been a result of “bad luck”. Per the report, Gordon was summoned for a urine sample and his sample was then split into two bottles – bottle “A” and bottle “B”. Bottle A is supposedly tested first, and if it generates a positive result, the second bottle is then also tested. Apparently one bottle tested positively and the other did not, but the testing handler simply tested them in the order that did not work out beneficially for Gordon.

With Gordon’s 2014 NFL season hanging in the balance, however, it’s not completely impossible that a silly stipulation could help him overturn his season long ban. A complete reduction of his suspension isn’t actually all that likely, but the new evidence seems to help Gordon enough that it could help get his suspension reduced. In that scenario, the Browns could be looking at getting Gordon back for at least half of the season.

Gordon would still serve a pretty length suspension in this case, and would also be subject to a greater suspension if he got caught up in anything else within the next year.

Either way you look at it, Gordon is on thin ice with the league. A suspension reduction would be huge news for him and the Browns, though, and Gordon certainly is doing the right thing by exercising every avenue to try to stay on the field for 2014.

Gordon has taken the necessary steps so far to give himself the best chance at playing at least some games this year. Appealing the suspension for said reasons was the first step, while hiring the same lawyer that helped Seattle Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman avoid a four-game ban was arguably an even better step.

Gordon still faces an uphill battle against the league, but we’ll find out much more about his immediate future once the league makes a decision on Friday.

Jamaal Charles isn’t the only star NFL running back who had holding out on the brain. Turns out, Seattle Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch got the fever, as well.

According to NFL.com, Lynch’s previous whispers about desiring a new contract were no joke and the star back will not be in camp until he gets a new deal.

Lynch might be waiting for a while. Just into his second season of a brand new $30 million deal that he signed in 2012, Lynch is looking to break the bank like some other stud rushers have.

It’s probably no coincidence that the news breaks just one day after Kansas City Chiefs star rusher Jamaal Charles got paid. Charles briefly threatened a hold out, but was quickly granted his request for a pay raise just one day after rumors spread of his potential stand.

Lynch’s situation is markedly different, though. Charles is a much younger and more explosive running back, which helped make him a bigger part of his teams’ offense. For instance, Charles caught 70 passes a year ago, while Lynch has never caught more than 47 in his entire career.

Charles was also vastly underpaid when you consider his age, talent and productivity. He was set to make under $4 million this year, while the league leader and the same position, Adrian Peterson, will make roughly $14 million. In fact, several other top running backs make around $7-9 million.

Lynch is already making over $5 million a year and is now simply regretting not trying and succeeding to get more money the first time around. This time, the 28-year old back may not have much leverage to work with.

For one, he’s closing in on 30 years of age, which usually signifies the close to elite production for an NFL running back. He’s also taken on over 1,000 carries over the last three seasons. While he’s been an elite back in each of those seasons and was a big part of Seattle’s Super Bowl win a year ago, the team is going to do what is best for the franchise.

What’s best might be to let Lynch sit and stew, and just move forward with the solid talent they have behind him in Christine Michael and Robert Turbin. There were already plans to integrate both backs more in the offense, especially Michael given his exceptional talent. Lynch holding out could expedite that, while trade rumors might even pop around as a possibility.

It’s also possible the Seahawks cave and pay a guy they could ride into the ground for another two years. Considering Lynch is already arguably fairly compensated for the next two years, it’s not likely the Seahawks are the ones to crack here. After all, Lynch will face a continuous $30,000 fine for each day of training camp he doesn’t show up.

That didn’t last long. Despite threatening to hold out, Jamaal Charles didn’t stay away from training camp for more than a day, as the Kansas City Chiefs quickly responded to his desire for more money with a new $18 million contract extension.

Charles was set to enter the 2014 NFL season as arguably one of the most underpaid running backs in the entire NFL, as he was primed to see $3.9 million. That was good for $11 million less than the league leader at the position, Adrian Peterson. Charles was still far below several other elite running backs, as some of the league’s top backs made less than Peterson but still had annual salaries in the $7-9 million range.

The Chiefs wasted no time in vaulting Charles into the range appropriate for his talent and production, as they extended his contract by two years for the $18 million. Charles is now signed on to stay in Kansas City through the 2017 NFL season.

While Charles is a big name and probably deserved a pay raise on his sheer talent alone, his 2013 season was a huge reason why the Chiefs couldn’t say no to a bump up in payment. Charles was Kansas City’s offense a year ago, as he touched the ball over 320 times (70 receptions), accumulated over 1,900 total yards and scored 19 total touchdowns.

Not only was Charles one of the most efficient running backs in the league last year, but he’s been one of the most consistent performers to play at an elite level at his position throughout his career. In fact, Charles averaged a ridiculous 5.0 yards per carry in 2013 on 259 rushing attempts, giving him a yards per carry average of 5.0 or greater in every single season he’s been in the league.

On top of his 2013 and career production, Charles was set to once again be the face of Kansas City’s offense in 2013. With no key additions made on offense by the Chiefs during the offseason, Charles was slated for another huge role (if not potentially bigger) and he understandably wanted to get paid appropriately.

The good news here is that there was no real hold out (it lasted a day) and the Chiefs wasted no time in showing their best offensive weapon how much he means to them. The new deal makes Charles the league’s second highest-paid running back, behind only the aforementioned Peterson.

The Kansas City Chiefs could have a hold out on their hands. CBS Kansas City reports that star running back Jamaal Charles will seriously consider holding out in an effort to land a new contract with the team.

Per the report, Charles is prepared to hold out “for as long as it takes”. There is also a conflicting report from the Kansas City Star, which suggests Charles does want a new deal done, but will show up to camp “regardless of whether an extension is in place”.

Only one can be completely true, so it’s understandable if the Chiefs are slightly concerned. They should be, at least, as Charles is easily one of the elite backs in the NFL and is arguably being vastly underpaid for the numbers he puts up. Charles is fresh off of an insanely productive season, where he touched the ball a total of 329 times, while putting up over 1,900+ yards and 19 total touchdowns.

Despite the clearly elite numbers, Charles won’t make much more than $4 million in this year or in 2015, and is set to become a free agent in 2016. By comparison, some of the top paid running backs make up to 7-8 million per season, while arguably the game’s top talent at the position – Adrian Peterson – makes over $11 million annually.

Charles can’t possibly be expecting to land Adrian Peterson-type money, but with several running backs making considerably more money than him, Charles has a pretty strong argument to try to get himself a nicer payday.

Also working in Charles’ favor is the fact that he’s coming off probably his best, most complete season as a pro. In addition, he’s all the Chiefs really have on offense, so entering some type of real hold out isn’t even remotely in the best interests of the team.

Kansas City would be forced to roll with a combination of Knile Davis, Cyrus Gray and De’Anthony Thomas at running back if Charles were to in fact hold out. We can expect this situation to be resolved well before the season starts.

Kevin Durant might not play for the Oklahoma City Thunder forever. In our free agency era, anyone can leave any team once their contract is up. Just ask LeBron James. But could the Thunder’s best player and one of the NBA’s top stars really relocate when he’s a free agent in 2016?

Former Maryland Terrapins head coach Gary Williams seems to think so. Per the Washington Post, Williams suggested Durant might be paying close attention to the media buzz surrounding LeBron James’ return to his hometown. Depending on how Durant views it, he could consider heading for the nation’s capitol.

While it’s just summer chatter from a former college coach that has no direct ties to Durant’s thinking, it’s still worth listening to. It’s especially true given Washington’s steady rise in the Eastern Conference, where it’s arguably a lot easier to field a title contender than it is in the ultra competitive West.

That’s slowly changing with James going to Cleveland and other Eastern Conference teams making moves, but the Wizards could continue their rise moving forward. Washington was able to win a playoff series last season and even gave the Indiana Pacers a tough series in the next round before bowing out.

The Wizards were solid enough to convince veteran small forward Paul Pierce to latch on with them for next season, while Marcin Gortat also agreed to a long-term deal. Washington returns all but one starter from a year ago (Trevor Ariza signed with the Houston Rockets) and if they can continue their solid momentum, it’s not crazy to think Durant could bolt for a change of scenery.

In that same breath, it’s still entirely reasonable to think Durant has found a new home with the Thunder, as he’s formed a fairly formidable team even in a tougher conference. Then again, even if Durant did decide to leave Oklahoma City, just the Thunder and Wizards aren’t going to be the only high level suitors for his services. It’s in a far off land in hypotheticals for now, but the early whispers of a potential Durant departure could give way to quite a frenzy in the summer of 2016.