Sports
Hernández: How committed is LeBron James to the Lakers after Luka Doncic trade?
As it was, the Lakers were reluctant to sacrifice their future for the sake of building the best possible team around a 40-year-old version of LeBron James.
Now, with the Lakers trading for the Next LeBron, was the Old LeBron concerned they could further prioritize the future over the present?
“What’s wrong with that?” James replied.
Before I could remind him of his public campaigns to directly or indirectly shame Lakers management into improving the roster in the weeks leading up to every recent trade deadline, he continued, “If I had concerns, I would’ve waived my no-trade clause and got up out of here.”
The declaration wasn’t entirely convincing, not because of what he said but because of how he said it.
His body language certainly didn’t project enthusiasm at the prospect of remaining with the Lakers for the remainder of his career, as his voice was monotone and his lips were pursed.
I asked James if he still envisioned retiring with the Lakers. Just five weeks ago, he said that was “the plan,” but he could become a free agent this summer by declining a player option for the 2025-26 season.
“I mean, listen, I’m here right now,” James said. “I’m here right now. I’m committed to the Lakers organization.”
More specifically, he said he was committed to helping integrate the team’s three newly-acquired players.
“As a leader of the team, as one of the captains of the team, it’s my job to make it as seamless as possible,” James said.
So he didn’t waive the no-trade provision in his contract — for now. He’s here — for now. He didn’t say he didn’t want to retire with the Lakers, but he didn’t say he wanted to either.
Maybe James didn’t want to look or sound overly delighted with his team’s overnight transformation out of respect to his handpicked sidekick and close friend Anthony Davis, who was unceremoniously traded to the Dallas Mavericks. Maybe James was concealing how upset he was.
Or, more likely, maybe James didn’t know what to think about how the Lakers suddenly went from being his team to Luka Doncic’s.
James is notoriously passive-aggressive. He often refrains from explicitly saying what he wants, but he usually finds a way to convey how he’s feeling.
When he declined to say at the end of last season whether he thought he might have played his last season for the Lakers, he was basically calling on them to surround him with better players and draft his son Bronny. When he said last month that the Lakers had to play “close-to-perfect basketball” to win, he was demanding they upgrade the team.
His words after the Lakers’ 122-97 victory over the Clippers on Tuesday night at the Intuit Dome were uncharacteristically hard to decipher.
Why?
Probably because he was still trying to figure out how the trade for Doncic would affect him.
James has spent his entire 22-year career as the most important person on every team on which he’s played, and that counts the teams’ owners. He influenced the construction of rosters, which were designed to magnify his virtues, and rightly so. He’s one of the greatest players of all time.
Even in this final stage of his career, James has wielded significant power over the Lakers. He might have lost the ability to carry a team to a championship on his own, but his stardom offered an otherwise incompetent franchise something to sell. As long as the Lakers had James, they were relevant. So when James wanted them to draft his son, they did.
Doncic cost James his leverage. Before finalizing their trade for Doncic, the Lakers should have been frightened by the thought of James retiring, as it would have sent them into the kind of Dark Age they endured between Kobe Bryant’s retirement and James’ arrival. Doncic might not deliver the Lakers a championship, but he will provide them with an identity. In addition to being a generational scorer, the Slovenian also speaks Spanish, which could help him connect with his heavily-Latino city in ways James never could.
General manager Rob Pelinka said earlier in the day at Doncic’s introductory news conference, “Luka will be at the center of what we build long-term.” Pelinka never mentioned James.
James, who was unaware a trade was in the works until it was completed, said the magnitude of the deal shocked him.
“I ain’t never seen this one,” he said. “I have seen it all up until this one. I have never been part of one transaction like that. That was different.”
Since the death of owner Jerry Buss, the Lakers have been known to take the path of least resistance. In this case, that would be for James and Doncic to play well together, for the two players to lead the Lakers to a title, and for the ageless James to teach the soft-bodied Doncic how to take better care of himself.
Such a scenario would count as a win for everyone involved, and James has started the process of building a relationship with Doncic, sitting next to the sidelined newcomer on the bench during the Lakers’ win over the Clippers and sharing his admiration of him after.
“Luka’s been my favorite player in the NBA for a while now,” James said.
For his part, Doncic said he has long admired James from a distance and said playing alongside him would be “a dream come true.”
The partnership could very well be a failure, however. James and Doncic both like to have the ball in their hands, and at least one of them will have to figure out how to play off the ball. The team’s defense could also be problematic, especially if the Lakers don’t land a center before the trade deadline on Thursday. James was solid defensively against the Clippers, but how consistent can he be on that end of the floor at his age? Doncic and Austin Reaves can guard only the most limited offensive players.
“It’s kind of hard right now to digest what it’s going to look like on the floor,” James acknowledged.
That’s probably why James was unclear about his future.
By playing for the Lakers as long as he has, James has shown he values living in Los Angeles more than he does winning another championship. The smart money would be on him to finish his career with the Lakers.
But what if the Lakers don’t want to re-sign him when he becomes a free agent after next season? What if the team wavers in its commitment to develop his son?
The choice might not be his.
For the first time in his career, LeBron James isn’t in control.
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Oba Femi and Brock Lesnar’s feud will come to a head at SummerSlam in August, and the showdown has the potential to be WWE’s match of the year.
Femi beat Lesnar at WrestleMania 42 and led to “The Beast Incarnate” deciding to retire – at least for a moment – at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. Lesnar made a dramatic return a few weeks later, challenging and beating Femi at Clash in Italy.
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Oba Femi looks on during Monday Night RAW at Allstate Arena on July 6, 2026, in Chicago, Illinois. (Melina Pizano/WWE via Getty Images)
At SummerSlam, Femi and Lesnar will do battle inside a Hell in a Cell.
WWE Hall of Famer John Bradshaw Layfield called the next meeting between Femi and Lesnar a “generational matchup.”
“I’ve never seen anything like Oba – well, I have. I’ve seen Brock,” he told Fox News Digital. “It’s very much the carbon copy of Brock coming in. Brock coming in was like, oh my God, who is this guy? The guy can even talk, and he’s gonna be one of the biggest stars in wrestling. Not only could he talk, he’s a really smart guy. Brock became one of the biggest draws in professional wrestling. He came one of the biggest draws in UFC. It’s an unbelievable story, and now you got somebody who can rival that character.
Brock Lesnar in action against Oba Femi during “Monday Night Raw” at TD Garden on March 23, 2026, in Boston, Massachusetts. (Michael Owens/WWE via Getty Images)
“This Oba Femi comes out with the silly little walk he does. Everyone kinda does it, it’s like The Bushwackers. But the whole arena does it. I was in Vegas and I didn’t want to go to the matches and deal with the traffic and deal with the backstage area, and so I kinda just watched it in a sports bar. I stood in the back where nobody could recognize me, and as soon as Oba came out, the entire sports bar was sitting there doing that Oba Femi dance. The guy is just unbelievably over.
“I really think that somewhere in the NFL this year, you’re going to see an entire NFL arena doing this dance. You’re gonna have somebody like Saquon Barkley or ‘King’ (Derrick Henry) or some of these guys do this dance, and it’s infectious. Once one of them does, one of these great running backs or wide receivers, or somebody scores a touchdown, that’s when I think you’re gonna see entire arenas doing it. I just think Oba Femi is lightning in a bottle and Brock has always been that way. This is, to me, a generational matchup.”
Brock Lesnar and Oba Femi face off during WrestleMania 42: Night 2 at Allegiant Stadium on April 19, 2026, in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Georgiana Dallas/WWE via Getty Images)
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SummerSlam will take place on Aug. 1 and 2 at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis.
Sports
Commentary: ‘I don’t want any handouts.’ Amid the Angels’ drought, a starry homecoming for Mike Trout
Mike Trout last played in an All-Star Game seven years ago. It’s crazy, really. The best player of the previous decade, the link that ties Barry Bonds and Albert Pujols to Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani, has not taken an All-Star at-bat this decade.
Injuries, mostly. And he turns 35 next month.
Next week’s All-Star Game takes place in Philadelphia, about 40 miles north of Trout’s hometown of Millville, N.J. Major League Baseball reserves a potential All-Star roster spot or two each summer for distinguished players: Bryce Harper and Justin Verlander this year, Clayton Kershaw last year, Pujols and Miguel Cabrera in past years.
That could have been Trout’s spot this summer: a worthy honor for a three-time most valuable player, a local hero feted on the national stage the Angels have failed to provide him.
“I wouldn’t have done it,” Trout said.
Not even at home?
“It’s an honor to get voted in and represent the American League,” he said. “For me, I don’t want any handouts.”
Trout is an All-Star for the 12th time, the old-fashioned way: He earned it.
Fans voted him into the starting lineup, with the most final-round votes of any AL outfielder. His peers voted him as one of the top three outfielders in the AL.
“It means a lot,” he said. “I’ve been through a lot of hurdles, a lot of adversity. I put some hard work in, and I did not let up. I could have easily got down on myself and not pushed through it and not come back.
“I know what I am capable of. I know I have the confidence to get back to the player I used to be.”
His .874 OPS entering play Thursday ranks second among AL outfielders, a career season for many players. In 11 of his 14 full seasons — all but the previous three — he has posted a higher OPS.
In April, in a four-game series against the New York Yankees, Trout hit five home runs and drove in nine runs.
“Everything was clicking,” he said. “When I first came up, that’s how I felt the whole season.
“Just to be able to get that feeling back, that little spark, to know it’s still in there, it makes you feel pretty good.”
For him, so does playing in Philadelphia. The first time he played there with the Angels, Millville basically closed down for the night, and just about everyone in town boarded a bus to the game. Then Trout had an exceptionally rare experience, a visiting player cheered at the home of the boo.
Mark Gubicza can testify to that. Gubicza, the two-time All-Star pitcher and now the Angels’ television analyst, grew up in Philadelphia.
“I don’t care if you were God himself, if you were wearing a different color uniform, I was still booing you,” Gubicza said. “But he was cheered.”
Still is. Trout is a diehard Philadelphia Eagles fan, with his season tickets not in some climate-controlled luxury suite but along the sideline.
“The players all walk by him and say ‘Trouty!’ ” Gubicza said. “Before they all go out to get their heads beat in, they’re all saying hi.
“He’s not one of those guys that comes there to be seen. He’s going there to root. That’s why they love him: He’s one of us.”
Said Trout: “I know how passionate I am about the Eagles. From my experience as an Eagles fan, it’s just different.
“It’s like win or die.”
It’s not like that in Southern California, where almost no one listens to sports-talk radio, and where a nice day is always a day away.
No one would begrudge Trout for living year-round along the Orange County coast. (OK, maybe Philadelphia fans would.)
Roy Hallenbeck, Trout’s high school coach, remembered visiting years ago on what he called “a perfect day” and asking Trout how he could ever get tired of all that sunshine.
“Yeah, coach, I couldn’t live here,” Trout told him. “‘I need my seasons.”
Trout built a family home near his boyhood home. He built his Trout National golf resort, with a course designed by Tiger Woods, in Millville.
He is as loyal to the Angels as he is to Millville. He appreciates the team that “took a chance on a kid from a little town in southern New Jersey” and signed him to two nine-figure contract extensions.
Trout was the last Angels player to take a postseason at-bat, in 2014. Even amid baseball’s longest playoff drought, he still considers Anaheim a special place, and always will.
“It’s where it all began,” Trout said. “I think the fuel of people doubting us kind of makes it more of a fire for me to try to get back to the playoffs. I think that’s the biggest key for me.
“Could I take the easy way out and just leave? Yeah. But I think — I said this last year around this time, but it’s the same feeling I’ve been having — I really haven’t sat down and talked to anybody about it specifically, but I know there’s a time where, if things change, who knows? I don’t know. But, for me, right now, my focus is on trying to get this club back in the playoffs.”
At the All-Star Game, Trout might well hear Phillies fans beseech him to come play for the home team. However, Hallenbeck said, the hometown folks no longer are as strident in that long-held wish.
“I think the overriding sentiment of most people I talk with, even Phillies fans, is we would all — as people that know him, love him and care for him — love to watch him play relevant baseball in August and September,” Hallenbeck said. “It doesn’t matter where. It doesn’t matter who. Just being relevant late in the season would be something we would all love to see.
“Hopefully, it’s with the Angels. They’ve been so good to him. We’d love to see it there.”
So would we. In the meantime, in the absence of a World Series, Trout deserves to enjoy his homecoming game.
Sports
London descends into disorder as Morocco fans flood streets after World Cup elimination by France
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Public unrest began in parts of London late Thursday night, and it appears Morocco’s exit from the 2026 FIFA World Cup at the hands of France is the reason.
France took down Morocco 2-0, eliminating the African country for the second consecutive tournament, this time in a quarterfinal match.
As a result, many feared Paris would erupt into riots, especially after the chaos that followed Paris Saint-Germain’s UEFA Champions League victory over Arsenal in May.
Instead, images and videos from Edgware Road in northwest London showed police clashing with large crowds as smoke billowed through the streets and debris littered the roadway.
A police vehicle is parked in a road as people from pro-Palestinian activist groups gather near the Edgware United Synagogue during a demonstration against the “Great Israeli Real Estate Event” organized by real-estate agency My Home in Israel, which markets property in Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, in London, Britain, June 14, 2026. (Toby Shepheard)
Riot police, equipped with shields and body armor, tried to contain the crowds as they clashed with people launching fireworks and throwing debris. One video also appeared to show an officer down.
KYLIAN MBAPPÉ, OUSMANE DEMBÉLÉ FIRE FRANCE INTO WORLD CUP SEMIFINALS WITH WIN OVER MOROCCO
It’s unknown what happened to the officer who was down on the asphalt or how he was injured.
Fans waved Moroccan flags in the middle of the streets, which held up traffic. Some even jumped on top of vehicles trying to get through the area.
Moroccan fans in the stands before a FIFA World Cup 2026 quarterfinal match between France and Morocco at Boston Stadium July 9, 2026, in Foxborough, Mass. (Richard Sellers/SportsphotoAllstar)
Similar scenes unfolded after Egypt’s World Cup exit, when Argentina rallied for a controversial 3-2 victory that featured several disputed officiating decisions.
Paris, on the other hand, looked more like a city celebrating than one on the brink of a riot. Supporters of both France and Morocco flooded the streets, slowing traffic in several parts of the city.
One video showed horns blasting from cars with French and Moroccan flags out the windows on the L’avenue des Champs-Élysées in Paris. Supporters on the side of the road, waving their own flags, joined in on the celebration.
France’s Kylian Mbappé scored his eighth goal of this World Cup, which ties him for the most with Argentina’s Lionel Messi. Ousmane Dembélé also scored in the second half for France in the 2-0 win over Morocco.
It’s the third straight semifinal appearance for France, while Morocco still made World Cup history despite the loss. After becoming the first African country to reach the quarterfinals and semifinals in World Cup history in 2022, Morocco added to that by becoming the first-ever African nation to reach more than one quarterfinal.
Moroccan fans react while attending a watch party for the World Cup round of 8 match between France and Morocco in Boston, Massachusetts, on July 9, 2026. (Joseph Prezioso/AFP)
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Morocco’s exit means there are no more African nations alive in the World Cup. France will be taking on the winner of Spain and Belgium, while England and Norway and Argentina and Switzerland face off in the quarterfinals.
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