Grading the NBA trade deadline deals: Pelicans steal from Kings; For both the Sacramento Kings and DeMarcus Cousins, the time for excuses is over; The Dodgers are ready to give Yasiel Puig another opportunity — for now; MLBPA boss: Yankees president’s remarks on Dellin Betances were ‘unprofessional’; What’s the Los Angeles Angels’ mission? Avoid squandering Mike Trout’s prime.; Adam Silver sides with science, says Earth is in fact round; This year’s NBA All-Star Saturday night stunk; Adam Silver discusses possibility of taking NBA All-Star Weekend back to Charlotte; Even without Kevin Durant, Sam Presti’s plan for the Thunder holds up; With Angels, Danny Espinosa found a soft landing for a hard fall; Some couldn’t afford to sign Mark Melancon. The Giants couldn’t afford not to.; For NBA players, the DeMarcus Cousins trade was a definite ‘wow’; UFC fighter makes a play for Ronda Rousey after knocking out her boyfriend; DeMarcus Cousins trade explains why he hardly played in NBA All-Star Game; LeBron James did his best Steph Curry impression with a near half-court bucket; Ex-NFL player Stanley Wilson arrested while naked for third time; Jimmer Fredette scores 73 points in Chinese league game; LeBron James is quite ‘okay’ with Kyrie Irving’s flat-Earth comments; Yankees president Randy Levine beats Dellin Betances in arbitration, then rips him; Mo Farah closes out indoor track career by setting new European record; Mikaela Shiffrin wins third straight slalom world title, the first to do so in 78 years; These scorching-hot NBA players are about to cool off in a big way   National sports stories and blog updates   For NBA players, the DeMarcus Cousins trade was a definite ‘wow’ The deal to send the Kings' all-star center to the Pelicans caused quite a reaction in the rest of the NBA. By Des Bieler  •  Early Lead  •  Read more » Grading the NBA trade deadline deals: Pelicans steal from Kings New Orleans's deal for Cousins is well worth the risk. By Tim Bontemps  •  Read more »   For both the Sacramento Kings and DeMarcus Cousins, the time for excuses is over Now that Cousins has been traded to New Orleans, we'll see whether he or his former team's leadership was the reason for all of the dysfunction in Sacramento. By Tim Bontemps  •  Read more »   The Dodgers are ready to give Yasiel Puig another opportunity — for now Los Angeles hopes the former star outfielder can reclaim the magic of his rookie season, but the team has fallback options just in case. By Dave Sheinin  •  Read more »   ADVERTISEMENT   UFC fighter makes a play for Ronda Rousey after knocking out her boyfriend In post-fight comments, Derrick Lewis also noted that Travis Browne had been accused of domestic violence by his ex-wife. By Des Bieler  •  Early Lead  •  Read more »   DeMarcus Cousins trade explains why he hardly played in NBA All-Star Game The glaring lack of playing time could also have been because the Kings center was “dinged up,” but Sacramento was reportedly in talks with other teams during the game. By Des Bieler  •  Early Lead  •  Read more »   LeBron James did his best Steph Curry impression with a near half-court bucket James had a record-setting All-Star Game, which featured plenty of highlight reel plays. By Des Bieler  •  Early Lead  •  Read more »   MLBPA boss: Yankees president’s remarks on Dellin Betances were ‘unprofessional’ Tony Clark had sharp criticism for New York President Randy Levine's comments made after winning an arbitration hearing with Betances. By Dave Sheinin  •  Read more »   What’s the Los Angeles Angels’ mission? Avoid squandering Mike Trout’s prime. Now 25, the reigning American League MVP plays for a team that's taken on water and is staring at a potential rebuild. By Dave Sheinin  •  Read more »   Adam Silver sides with science, says Earth is in fact round “Kyrie and I went to the same college,” Silver said, drawing laughs. “He may have taken some different courses than I did." By Tim Bontemps  •  Read more »   This year’s NBA All-Star Saturday night stunk The league's annual skills showcase was a long, drawn-out spectacle with little in between commercial breaks to capture people's attention. By Tim Bontemps  •  Read more »   Adam Silver discusses possibility of taking NBA All-Star Weekend back to Charlotte The NBA commissioner hopes a change in state law could bring All-Star Weekend back to Charlotte. By Candace Buckner  •  Read more »   ADVERTISEMENT   Even without Kevin Durant, Sam Presti’s plan for the Thunder holds up The Thunder is almost certain of making the playoffs after the crushing blow of losing Durant in free agency. By Tim Bontemps  •  Read more »   With Angels, Danny Espinosa found a soft landing for a hard fall The mustache is the same, but almost everything has changed for the former Nationals infielder. By Dave Sheinin  •  Read more »   Some couldn’t afford to sign Mark Melancon. The Giants couldn’t afford not to. After an epic playoff bullpen meltdown, San Francisco's offseason priority was clear. By Dave Sheinin  •  Read more »   Recommended for you   Politics Pure politics. The big stories and commentary shaping the day ahead. Sign Up »         Share Sports Break:       Twitter      Facebook Trouble reading? Click here to view in your browser. You received this email because you signed up for Sports. For additional free newsletters or to manage your newsletters, click here. We respect your privacy. If you believe that this email has been sent to you in error or you no longer wish to receive email from The Washington Post, click here. 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