Summer ‘Drama Kings’ Hold Sports World Hostage by Changing Teams

When LeBron James was a young player in the NBA, Nike launched the campaign, “We are all witnesses.” Now, we are all hostages.

The drama across the nation’s top three sports leagues this year has come with much fanfare, accompanied by a lot of static.

Whether it’s the organizations or the players themselves, the headline-consuming process to decide on teams or land players is squeezing some of the life out of summer fun.

Here are the rankings for this year’s “drama kings”:

5. Myles Garrett, Los Angeles Rams

The Cleveland Browns at the start of June sent Myles Garrett, two-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year, to the Rams in exchange for two-time Pro Bowl pass rusher Jared Verse and multiple draft picks.

This sudden move was shocking for both teams, the Rams adding to an already-strong defensive pass rush, while, after nine outstanding seasons from Garrett, the Browns added an up-and-coming player.

The trade caught much of the NFL off guard, mostly because the Rams were the talk of the draft after the team used one of its first-round picks to take quarterback Ty Simpson out of Alabama. The signal caller isn’t expected to contribute to the team this season—unless reigning MVP Matthew Stafford gets injured and there’s an extreme emergency.

The Rams had taken heat from fans as well as talk radio hosts who tried to make sense of the deal. The trade started to make sense after that, but it rocked the sports world for days, kicking off the drama.

4. Giannis Antetokounmpo, Miami Heat

The prolonged Giannis Antetokounmpo move became fodder for TV debate shows and all forms of sports talk chatter, and threatened to suck some of the life out of the highly successful NBA Finals.

Rumors had the two-time league MVP and a Finals champion going anywhere from L.A. to New York. He and his previous team, the Milwaukee Bucks, had a fairly public breakup in which neither side wanted to be the first to say goodbye.

But the Heat introduced a gleeful Antetokounmpo this past week, and the team is confident it has a strong chance to make a deep playoff run.

3. Tarik Skubal, Detroit Tigers

The rumors around a Tarik Skubal trade have remained like a pesky slap hitter in the batter’s box, facing a soft-tossing lefty—a lot of foul balls and not much solid contact.

The Tigers are expected to part ways with the two-time Cy Young Award-winning southpaw, in part because his agent is Scott Boras, a man who figures to squeeze every cent of value out of a deal for his client. Detroit—considered a small-market outfit compared to the likes of the L.A. Dodgers and New York’s Yankees and Mets—isn’t likely to fork out top dollar for one player.

That means the Tigers would have to trade Skubal, in his seventh season, or risk losing him to another team in free agency without acquiring a player in return.

The pundits and talking heads insist the Dodgers are in play for Skubal, even though L.A.’s loaded rotation wouldn’t be able to make room for the hurler unless a couple of arms are included in the deal.

Meanwhile, the Tigers have made a bit of a push in the American League, and team officials have to weigh competing this year against acquiring future assets.

 2. Aaron Donald, Los Angeles Rams

Aaron Donald walked away from the game two years ago, one season after cementing his Hall of Fame legacy with a Super Bowl championship. Rumors began surfacing that he might come back soon after the deal for Garrett, leaving many in Los Angeles in constant need of a towel to catch all the drool they produced while thinking about a D-line featuring two of the best defensive players in NFL history.

Donald and the Rams have been slow-playing the decision, which is reportedly in the hands of the player, a three-time DPOY at defensive tackle and a beast whose return has some predicting a 17–0 regular season for L.A.

Donald was never much a fan of training camp before he retired, and he’s likely still in that mindset. However, with the recent stalker-like video footage of him at practice and no comments from the man himself saying he has no plans to come back, it seems like it’s simply a matter of time.

But time seems to be standing still on this decision.

 1. LeBron James, Destination Unknown

King James takes the crown in this ranking. He is in the midst of The Decision, version 2—whatever.

Even NBA Commissioner Adam Silver felt compelled late last week to hasten the former L.A. Laker’s decision as a free agent.

“Where LeBron plays will affect the schedule,” Silver said at the CNBC Sport x Boardroom: Game Plan Summit. “So, I would like him to make his announcement already, so we can finish the schedule. Because, as you might imagine, the teams are calling us, the networks are calling us, and everybody wants to lock in the schedule.”

When the league’s top man is forced to step in and put his foot down on all the drama, we know it’s time to stop holding everyone hostage.