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🤯 Five things to know Tuesday
Two blockbuster trades have shaken up the NFL. On a day when everyone was expecting one big trade, we got a 2-for-1 special. As expected, the Eagles dealt star WR A.J. Brown to the Patriots in exchange for a 2028 first-round pick and a 2027 fifth-rounder. The surprise of the day was the Rams, who swung a mammoth deal to acquire reigning Defensive Player of the Year Myles Garrett in exchange for Jared Verse and three draft picks, including a first-round selection. Los Angeles hasn’t abandoned its “f— them picks” mentality and is once again all-in on winning the Super Bowl in its home stadium. We’ll have more on this chaos below.Serena Williams is making her return to tennis after an extended layoff. Even with the French Open in full swing, Williams won the day on the court as she announced her return to end a four-year absence. In the first phase of her return, Williams will participate in doubles at the HSBC Championships in London next weekend. This will be Williams’ first professional tennis match since the 2022 US Open, and while it’s still unclear what this means for the long term, it will be good to see her back in action.Odell Beckham Jr. has reunited with the Giants. They say you can’t go home again, but OBJ will put that theory to the test. After undergoing his second workout with the team, Beckham signed a contract to become a Giant once again, and he will have some company in the receiving room. New York also signed free-agent WRs JuJu Smith-Schuster and Braxton Berrios in hopes of beefing up that position. No one should expect peak Beckham anymore, but can he make an impact in a depth role for the Giants?Kentucky basketball made a splash in the transfer portal. Mark Pope needed an offseason win, and he got a big one on Monday night when former Iowa State sharpshooter Milan Momcilovic announced his commitment to the Wildcats. Last season, Momcilovic averaged 16.9 points while knocking down 48.7% of his shots from 3-point range for the Cyclones. Kentucky paid a big price to get him, but Momcilovic changes the team’s outlook for the 2026-27 season.Hall of Fame NBA coach Rick Adelman died at the age of 79. Tragedy struck the basketball world on Monday night when news broke that Adelman had died at 79. Inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2021, Adelman ranks 10th all-time in wins among NBA coaches with 1,042. The father of Nuggets coach David Adelman, Rick took the Portland Trail Blazers to the 1990 and 1992 NBA Finals. As coach of the Kings from 1998-2006, Adelman coached the team to eight consecutive playoff appearances, and he’s the only coach to reach the postseason more than once since the team relocated to Sacramento.
🏈 Do not miss this: Myles Garrett, A.J. Brown trade grades
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June 1 is always a busy day in the NFL, but yesterday it looked more like the trading floor on the NYSE. Teams were wheeling and dealing in hopes of drastically improving their outlook — either for the 2026 season or beyond. So, were they successful? Well, for the most part, yes.
The Browns stunned everyone by shipping Myles Garrett, the reigning Defensive Player of the Year who also just set the single-season sack record, to the Rams. Zach Pereles handed out trade grades for both sides, and Cleveland did surprisingly well in spite of unloading one of the best defensive players of all time.
But what about the Rams? Well, they did just add one of the best defensive players of all time. Period.
Pereles: “Let’s not overthink this: How often does one of the greatest defenders in NFL history become available? Aaron Donald never switched teams. Lawrence Taylor never switched teams. J.J. Watt did, but he had sustained several major injuries, was about to turn 32 and was coming off a five-sack season when the Texans cut bait. Those are the only players with more Defensive Player of the Year awards than Garrett.”
The Garrett deal was a true blockbuster with premium assets going both ways, and it immediately jumps into the top five NFL trades of all time.
Bryan DeArdo got out his red pen and rubric to grade the A.J. Brown deal between the Patriots and Eagles. This one was less of a shocker, but that doesn’t make it any less impactful. New England got high marks for adding a potential game-changer at wide receiver, but this is the rare trade where it’s fair to second guess Philly GM Howie Roseman.
DeArdo: “While Roseman deserves credit for rebuilding the Eagles’ receiving corps, the fact that he was unable to get a 2027 first-round pick for Brown is baffling. Back in 2022, the Packers received future first- and second-round picks from the Raiders in exchange for Davante Adams. Adams was a better player than Brown is now, but that doesn’t explain the compensation disparity.”
Even before these deals went down, Brown and Garrett were among the top 100 most important players going into the 2026 season. That was only intensified by teams spending big to acquire each player for a Super Bowl push.
🏒 Expect competitive Stanley Cup Final
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The Hurricanes and Golden Knights are the last two teams standing in the NHL, and the puck drops on the 2026 Stanley Cup Final tonight. What these teams lack in tradition and brand recognition on the national stage, they make up for with skill and intensity. Hockey fans are in for a treat.
So, which team will lift the Stanley Cup at the end of this series? Our very smart experts have logged their series predictions, and yours truly thinks Carolina’s forecheck could expose the Vegas blue line. Noah Hanifin and Rasmus Andersson were supposed to solidify the Golden Knights’ defensive corps, but they’ve done the opposite.
Nivison: “Shea Theodore is one of the most underrated players in the league, but outside of him, I wonder how well the Golden Knights will hold up against the Hurricanes’ dogged forecheck. That’s especially true of the duo featuring Noah Hanifin and Rasmus Andersson. Surprisingly, those two have struggled in the playoffs to the tune of a 41.9% expected goals share and a minus-1 goal differential at full strength.”
In my ranking of the top 10 players in the Stanley Cup Final, I found that Mitch Marner gives the Golden Knights a real edge in star power, but the Hurricanes have ample depth.
As the action gets underway tonight, stay tuned to CBS Sports for score updates and the full broadcast schedule with our handy bracket.
👍👎 The best (and not-so-best) of the rest
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📺 What we’re watching Tuesday
⚾ Padres at Phillies, 6:40 p.m. on TBS🏒 Stanley Cup Final: Golden Knights at Hurricanes, Game 1, 8 p.m. on ABC🏀 Aces at Sparks, 10 p.m. on League Pass
