The Great Huestis Experiment: Oklahoma City’s Gamble and the Future of Late First-Round Picks

Huestis could guarantee himself $1.5 million today by signing a contract the Thunder had to place in front of him earlier this month by league rule. But Huestis isn’t signing that contract. It’s there, dangling in front of him, an untouchable temptation on the level of the water and fruit that the cruel Greek gods placed just beyond the reach of the king Tantalus.

Going Down Wikipedia’s NHL Rabbit Hole

Here are my selections for the strangest, funniest, or just plain saddest direct quotes from each NHL franchise’s current Wikipedia page.

Mark Deeks: The Englishman Who Went Up the Internet But Came Down an NBA Contracts Expert

Imagine spending a dozen hours or more a day researching and watching the NBA in a country where the games come on at midnight and end at 7 a.m. and basketball is so disregarded that your home country cut the funding for its Olympic team. That should give you an idea of how unusual Deeks’s rise to prominence is.

About Last Night: Phinishing Off the Phillies

In case you decided it was the day to finally terminate your personal relationship with Jose Canseco, here are the top five stories you missed in sports on Wednesday.

Jamal Crawford Is Trying to Keep Seattle’s Basketball Dreams Alive

Crawford has developed Seattle’s premier summer league into a must-visit basketball spectacle in the Pacific Northwest, reigniting the passions of a city.

Hot Head? Mild Salsa! Exploring Manny Machado’s Meh Foray Into the Condiment Game

Manny Machado is an excellent young baseball player … but is he an equally excellent salsa frontman?

Sammy Watkins Is Going to Be a Problem

Emmanuel Mudiay and the Choice College Basketball Makes

Given the stakes, all the people who want the NCAA to burn to the ground will be rooting like crazy for Mudiay to succeed overseas. He would be giving other high school stars the blueprint to skip college basketball in the future. On the other side, there will be plenty of college hoops purists who point to Brandon Jennings and Jeremy Tyler.

Eric Bledsoe’s Long, Hot, Restricted Summer

Eric Bledsoe and Greg Monroe are the last guys in the free-agency green room, discovering together how the weird netherworld of restricted free agency — where you’re neither fully restricted nor fully free (but perhaps verklempt) — can unfold at a snail’s pace.

Jalen and Jacoby: Marshawn Lynch’s Lamborghini and Emmanuel Mudiay’s Decision

Jalen and Jacoby talk about the implications of Emmanuel Mudiay’s decision to play overseas and Marshawn Lynch’s decision to put velvet ropes around his Lamborghini.

How the NL Central Will Be Won

Barring an unexpectedly huge winning or losing streak from one of the contenders, the NL Central looks like it’s going to be a four-team dogfight the rest of the way. But someone has to win the most competitive division in baseball.

B.S. Report: Chuck Klosterman

Chuck Klosterman joins the show to discuss his dislike of LeBron’s “I’m Coming Home” essay, the legacy of Kobe vs. Wade, and why American soccer fans are so passionate.

About Last Night: Fear the Brew Crew

In case you were busy wondering if Donald Sterling is ever going to get around to naming you as a defendant in a frivolous lawsuit, here are the top six stories you missed in sports on Tuesday.