Baseball is almost back. Spring training will officially start on Wednesday when pitchers and catchers are due to report to the Phillies’ facilities in Clearwater, Fla. Phillies writer Lochlahn March took to Reddit to answer all your questions before camp starts.
Here are a few highlights …
(Questions have been lightly edited for clarity and brevity.)
The Phillies are expected to move on from Nick Castellanos going into the last year of his contract.
Q: Any surprises for the opening day roster? What moves are left before spring training?
A: The Phillies still need to find a resolution for Nick Castellanos. They’ve been open about finding a change of scenery for him, which should happen soon through a trade or release. Other than that, I think other additions before spring training, if any, would be depth minor-league signings.
As far as surprises, I think the battle for the last two bullpen spots could get interesting. The Phillies have some newcomers from trades, minor league signings, and a Rule 5 selection, who will all be in contention.
Q: Is Aidan Miller expected to be up this year?
A: It’s possible. After Trea Turner’s improvements defensively last year, I don’t see him moving off shortstop any time soon, but the Phillies are planning to get Miller some reps at other infield positions — third base and possibly some second — this spring.
If he starts this season the way he ended last season, I’d expect him to be at the top of the list in triple A in the event of an injury or other opening on the major league infield.
It’s important to remember that if Miller is on the major league team, he will be playing every day. He won’t be called up to sit on the bench, so even if the Phillies deem him ready, they will wait for the right opportunity.
Q: What does Crawford’s skill set and rookie season look like? Could he be the throwback leadoff hitter this team needs?
A: Lots has been made about Justin Crawford’s high ground-ball rate, and it remains to be seen how that will translate to the major league level, and whether his speed — which is one of his best attributes — can offset that. He’s an aggressive hitter and makes a lot of contact.
I would be very surprised to see him at leadoff to start the season. It’s already a lot of pressure to hand him the keys to the outfield, not to mention sticking him at the top of the order right away. It’s also a good thing to have a guy with that hitting profile who can steal a lot of bases in the lower half of the order to lengthen the lineup.
Q: What are the internal expectations for Jean Cabrera and Michael Mercado?
A: The Phillies have pretty thin starting depth in the minors at the moment, and Jean Cabrera would likely be one option in case of an injury to the rotation this year. Mercado is relief depth. He was non-tendered this winter but re-signed to a minor league deal. They both will be at major league camp next week, and I expect both to likely wind up in triple A.
Q: Who might be this year’s Weston Wilson/Kody Clemens/Brad Miller/Otto Kemp emerging role player type?
A: I think the Phillies hope Dylan Moore could occupy a similar role that Weston Wilson did last season, and he provides a ton of versatility defensively.
As far as emerging players, one name to keep an eye on is Gabriel Rincones Jr. The Phillies like the pop in his bat, but he has a real drawback at the plate against left-handed pitching. I could see him getting his feet wet in the majors at some point this year, but it would most likely have to be in a platoon role.
Q: Who do you expect to get an increased role on the team this season?
A: I’m going to go with Otto Kemp. His name is one that Dave Dombrowski has brought up a lot this offseason. I expect him to get a chance to play some more left field, probably as a platoon partner for Brandon Marsh. Kemp had some offseason surgeries to clean up his shoulder and address a bone fragment in his knee that he’d been playing through since June, but he should be ready to go for spring training. I’m interested in seeing what he can do when he’s fully healthy.
Q: On a scale of minor inconvenience to major life-altering issue, how concerned should we feel about Bryce Harper and his possible decline?
A: I think Bryce Harper is extremely motivated this season. He started hitting this winter earlier than he normally does — part of that is because he’s preparing to play for Team USA in the World Baseball Classic, but I think there’s another part, too. His 2025 didn’t live up to his (very high) standards, and he’s an extremely competitive person. Also remember: He was dealing with a wrist injury for part of last season. I wouldn’t be concerned about a decline just yet.
Q: … Knowing Zack Wheeler won’t be ready for the start of the season, what are the odds he just retires before returning and we’ve already seen the last of him?
A: Wheeler has been open about expecting to retire at the end of his contract, which runs through 2027. It would be a major surprise if Wheeler didn’t return before then. His rehab this offseason by all accounts has been going well. The latest update from a couple of weeks ago was that he was throwing up to 90 feet.
Q: Will Garrett Stubbs be back as the third catcher in triple A?
A: This year, the backup catching battle isn’t as cut-and-dried, as Stubbs and Rafael Marchán are out of options. Whoever does not make the team will have to be designated for assignment and pass through waivers to report to triple A.
How do you live down a mistake that will stick with you for, well, probably forever? Laughing at yourself isn’t a bad place to start, at least after all the initial feelings and impulses — anger, disappointment, self-flagellation — washed over you.
When Phillies pitchers and catchers hold their first official workout Wednesday in Clearwater, Fla., it will have been 125 days since Kerkering bobbled a comebacker at his feet, tried to get an out at home instead of at first base, and lobbed it over Realmuto’s outstretched mitt, ending the Phillies’ season in the 11th inning of the fourth game of the division series.
It wasn’t the reason they lost to the Dodgers. It probably wasn’t even among the top 10 reasons. But it was only the second time ever that a playoff series ended on an error, and in the age of social media, clips of Kerkering’s blunder were everywhere.
Orion Kerkering’s errant throw to home plate ended the Phillies’ playoff run in Game 4 of the divisional round last season.
“No matter what you do, whether it’s the internet, just basic browsing — even looking up a recipe or something — it’s going to be there. It’s like the first thing,” Kerkering said this week on The Inquirer’s Phillies Extra podcast. “It’s going to always be brought up. You can’t get around it. It’s always going to be stuck there.
“But I don’t want it to like define who I am as a ballplayer in the future.”
It shouldn’t define Kerkering, who has already made 136 appearances in the majors despite not turning 25 until April. But relievers, like football kickers, tend to be remembered for their missteps. Ask Mitch Williams. Brad Lidge, too.
Kerkering faced his head-on. After the game, he stood before a wall of cameras and, with red and swollen eyes, broke down what happened. Then, rather than jetting off to an island in the middle of the ocean to get a respite from seeing his errant throw over and over, he stayed in South Jersey until the week before Thanksgiving.
“I thought it was just important to kind of embrace what happened a little bit and just try to be in the area and not run away from your problems,” Kerkering said. “Just trying to understand why everything happened and try to digest everything in that moment.”
Kerkering didn’t know how people who recognized him in Wawa or at the gym would react. He found it to be quite the opposite of Williams, who received death threats after the Joe Carter homer in 1993, and recently deposed Eagles offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo, whose South Jersey house was egged in the midst of a December losing streak.
“It was just like, ‘Hey, you’re all good; we believe in you,’ and stuff like that,” Kerkering said. “What kind of took me off-guard is how many people, they know you messed up, they know you can do better next time, but how kind of supportive they are.”
Support came from other sources. Dave Dombrowski said the Phillies would offer the pitcher “whatever assistance he needs,” and Kerkering said the team’s mental health staff checked in on him. He heard from friends and former teammates and coaches.
At first, Kerkering avoided looking at his phone. But his dad, a sniper for 20 years in the Marines before becoming the emergency manager for the police department in Sarasota, Fla., has a saying that resonated.
“You’ve got to rip the Band-Aid off,’” Kerkering said. “It’s going to hurt, obviously. But the slower you do it, the more it’s going to be painful.”
After a week, Kerkering rewatched the play. He realizes now that he had more time than he thought after bobbling the ball and should’ve taken the easier out at first base. He has been told that he tends to rush things on the mound. It’s a flaw. It’s also correctable.
Lidge reached out, too, almost immediately. Although he and Kerkering hadn’t previously met, Lidge could relate. Three years before throwing the clinching pitch of the 2008 World Series for the Phillies, while with the Astros he gave up a crushing playoff homer to Albert Pujols. In 2009, he blew a save in the World Series against the Yankees.
“We had a good conversation, just kind of him explaining his experiences,” Kerkering said. “Everyone takes their time of getting over that hump. Some days are good, some days are bad. It’s how you get over that hump, even just in regular day-to-day life where it’s like, ‘What can you do to get over it?’
“Because it’s going to linger no matter what. But how can you internally fix it or fix that mindset moving forward?”
“We’ve all made mistakes. Mine just so happened to be in front of whatever, 10 million people,” says Orion Kerkering.
But Kerkering remains. He dominated in May and June, looking like a future closer. But the Phillies traded for star closer Jhoan Duran at the deadline in July, and Kerkering struggled through the summer. He regained his mojo late in the season and appeared in all four playoff games against the Dodgers.
“I don’t think I really had that good of a year,” said Kerkering, who finished with a 3.30 ERA in 60 innings. “It’s like, be more consistent with the heater, be more consistent with the sinker, get the sweeper back to what it was in ’23, ’24, how dominant it was, and kind of get more guys to swing.”
Team officials believe in Kerkering’s stuff. As important, they believe in his head.
Kerkering is aware of his reputation within the clubhouse as “a goofy kind of kid.” Former Phillies reliever Jeff Hoffman once described him as having “no filter” and keeping everyone on their toes with what comes out of his mouth next.
Teammates say Kerkering takes his job seriously, but not himself. So, rather than dwelling on a season-ending mistake, he’s intent on learning from it — and occasionally making light of it.
“You just kind of live and forget with it,” Kerkering said. “We’ve all made mistakes. Mine just so happened to be in front of whatever, 10 million people, between watching it, hearing about it around the whole country. However you want to look at it, it [stinks].
“But I think, just overall, it’s like, if that’s how someone wants to define you, then let them. But I’m not going to let it define me.”
NEW YORK — Nude photos. The names and faces of sexual abuse victims. Bank account and Social Security numbers in full view.
All of these things appeared in the mountain of documents released Friday by the U.S. Justice Department as part of its effort to comply with a law requiring it to open its investigative files on Jeffrey Epstein.
That law was intended to preserve important privacy protections for Epstein’s victims. Their names were supposed to have been blacked out in documents. Their faces and bodies were supposed to be obscured in photos.
Mistakes, though, have been rampant. A review by The Associated Press and other news organizations has found countless examples of sloppy, inconsistent or nonexistent redactions that have revealed sensitive private information.
A photo of one girl who was underage when she was hired to give sexualized massages to Epstein in Florida appeared in a chart of his alleged victims. Police reports with the names of several of his victims, including some who have never stepped forward to identify themselves publicly, were released with no redactions at all.
Despite the Justice Department’s efforts to fix the oversights, a selfie taken by a nude female in a bathroom and another by a topless female remained on the site, their ages unknown but their faces in full view, as of Wednesday evening.
Some accusers and their lawyers called this week for the Justice Department to take down the site and appoint an independent monitor to prevent further errors.
A judge scheduled a hearing for Wednesday in New York on the matter, then canceled it after one of the lawyers for victims cited progress in resolving the issues. But that lawyer, Brittany Henderson, said they were still weighing “all potential avenues of recourse” to address the “permanent and irreparable” harm caused to some women.
“The failure here is not merely technical,” she said in a statement Wednesday. “It is a failure to safeguard human beings who were promised protection by our government. Until every document is properly redacted, that failure is ongoing.”
Annie Farmer, who said she was 16 when she was sexually assaulted by Epstein and his confidant, Ghislaine Maxwell, said that while her name has previously been public, other details she’d rather be kept private, including her date of birth and phone number, were wrongly revealed in the documents.
“At this point, I’m feeling really most of all angry about the way that this unfolded,” she told NBC News. “The fact that it’s been done in such a beyond careless way, where people have been endangered because of it, is really horrifying.”
Trump administration defends its Epstein files redaction efforts
The Justice Department has blamed technical or human errors on the problems and said it has taken down many of the problematic materials and is working to republish properly redacted versions.
The task of reviewing and blacking out millions of pages of records took place in a compressed time frame. President Donald Trump signed the law requiring the disclosure of the documents on Nov. 19. That law gave the Justice Department just 30 days to release the files. It missed that deadline, in part because it said it needed more time to comply with privacy protections.
Hundreds of lawyers were pulled from their regular duties, including overseeing criminal cases, to try and complete the document review — to the point where at least one judge in New York complained that it was holding up other matters.
Epstein files rife with missed or incomplete redactions
Associated Press reporters analyzing the documents have so far found multiple examples of names and other personal information of potential victims revealed.
They have also found many cases of overzealous redactions.
In one news clipping included in the file, the Justice Department apparently blacked out the name “Joseph” from a photo caption describing a Nativity scene at a California church. “A Nativity scene depicting Jesus, Mary and (REDACTED),” it said.
In an email released in the files, a dog’s name appeared to have been redacted: “I spent an hour walking (REDACTED) and then another hour bathing her blow drying her and brushing her. I hope she smells better!!” the email said.
The Justice Department has said staff tasked with preparing the files for release were instructed to limit redactions only to information related to victims and their families, though in many documents the names of many other people were blacked out, including lawyers and public figures.
Images remain uncensored
The Justice Department has said it intended to black out any portion of a photo showing nudity, and any photos of women that could potentially show a victim.
In some photos reviewed by The AP, those redactions did obscure women’s faces, but left plenty of their bare skin exposed in a way that would likely embarrass the women anyway. Photos showed identifiable women trying on outfits in clothing store dressing rooms or lounging in bathing suits.
One set of more than 100 images of a young woman were nearly all blacked out, save for the very last image, which revealed her entire face.
While it may not be in the average American’s vocabulary, the wine trade term “unoaked” — found on this wine’s label — is now formally recognized as a word by most dictionaries. It refers to wines or spirits that do not come into contact with wood in the winemaking process and therefore do not feature the constellation of sensory traits that are traditionally imparted to wine through either fermentation or aging in oak barrels.
Oaky wines feature the distinctive tastes and smells of toasted oak — a nutty, caramelized quality reminiscent of vanilla, bourbon, and dessert spices. While oakiness is present in the vast majority of premium red wines, it doesn’t stand out as vividly as it does in white wines, so is rarely mentioned by the winery. As a result, the word unoaked is almost invariably used as a white wine descriptor, since in this category it has both a useful descriptive meaning and positive connotations from a marketing perspective. Chardonnay is the main white grape whose wines become more desirable when they are oaked, so it is also the main style where customers may be actively seeking an unoaked version.
This unoaked chardonnay from California is an atypical example in that it is both lighter bodied and fresher tasting than the winery’s premium, barrel-fermented offering. Made entirely in stainless steel tanks, it is also decidedly more refreshing, with more prominent snappy acidity. Its flavor profile is of fresh-picked orchard fruits like golden apples and ripe green pears, with a juicy touch of cantaloupe.
Joel Gott Unoaked Chardonnay
Joel Gott “Unoaked” chardonnay
California; 13.8% alcohol
PLCB Item #4010 — on sale for $14.99 through March 1 (regularly $16.99)
Trading McCain is a big risk, especially since the Sixers didn’t make any other significant moves, according to columnist David Murphy.
After drawing all the attention, Giannis Antetokounmpo remains with the Milwaukee Bucks, who will consider trading him in the offseason.
Next up on the calendar is the NBA All-Star game, which will take place on Sunday, Feb. 15. Tyrese Maxey will be a starter.
// Pinned
// Timestamp 02/05/26 3:01pm
Trade deadline passes with Sixers making two minor moves
Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey didn’t get any help at the trade deadline.
The NBA trade deadline has come and gone without the Sixers making any additions to their roster, not even to fill in during Paul George’s 25-game suspension.
Earlier Thursday, the Sixers traded Eric Gordon to the Memphis Grizzlies in a salary dump. Wednesday they parted ways with Jared McCain, the 2024 No. 16 overall pick, for draft picks.
The Sixers did create some roster spots that could be used to sign Dominick Barlow and Jabari Walker to a standard NBA contracts. They could also still sign a player waived by another team, and are now $5.3 below the luxury tax.
The Brooklyn Nets are waiving Cam Thomas, allowing the scoring guard to enter free agency, sources tell ESPN. The Nets made the decision to allow Thomas to find a new home. pic.twitter.com/sK75uB6ZV1
Sixers sign Charles Bassey to another 10-day contract
Charles Bassey will remain with the Sixers, at least for another 10 days
The 76ers signed Charles Bassey to a second 10-day contract.
The 6-foot-11 center was not active for any games with the team during the initial 10-day deal that he signed on Jan. 26. However, he excelled for their NBA G League affiliate, the Delaware Blue Coats.
This extends Bassey’s second stint with the Sixers.
The team initially selected him with the 53rd pick in the 2021 draft out of Western Kentucky. He appeared in 23 NBA games as a rookie, averaging 3.0 points on 63.8% shooting along with 2.7 rebounds, 0.7 blocks, and 7.3 minutes.
Bassey became expendable when the Sixers added reserve center Montrezl Harrell to the roster in September 2022. The Nigerian player was waived on Oct. 13, 2022.
Tyrese Maxey thought Jared McCain trade was a joke
Tyrese Maxey with Jared McCain, who was traded Wednesday to the Oklahoma City Thunder.
LOS ANGELES – While on the team bus as the 76ers traveled from San Francisco to Los Angeles, Jared McCain approached the group to share that he had been traded.
“It was just like, ‘All right, whatever. He’s just joking,’” All-Star point guard Tyrese Maxey recalled. “Calls start coming in, and then you realize it’s real.”
McCain had been sent to the Oklahoma City Thunder for a first-round pick and additional draft compensation. The “part of the business” cliche has been uttered by players and coaches throughout the league leading up to Thursday’s trade deadline. But this particular deal was emotional for Maxey, who called McCain a “little brother” as part of his first rookie-veteran NBA relationship.
“I’m happy for him,” Maxey said from the Sixers’ shootaround at Crypto.com Arena ahead of Thursday’s game at the Los Angeles Lakers. “Hopefully he gets an even better opportunity over there to succeed. He’s got a fan in me for life, a brother in me for life.”
McCain quickly endeared himself to the Sixers fan base because of his impact play and colorful personality, before knee and thumb surgeries led to struggles in his second season. Maxey experienced those qualities day-to-day, saying McCain “just cared” about people and his craft.
“Anybody that worked that hard for me is going to be somebody that I probably gravitate to,” Maxey said. “He was a good person, as well. He treated everybody with respect. A lot of people in this organization were sad to see him go.”
The emotions hit Maxey again this morning, when he woke up and realized “Man, I’m not going to see ‘JMac’ downstairs.”
“It’s just unexpected,” Maxey said. “That’s really all I got to say. You just never know.”
Then Maxey headed to shootaround, which began about two hours before the deadline. Veteran guard Eric Gordon was present, before reportedly being traded to the Memphis Grizzlies. So was veteran center Andre Drummond, who is viewed as another potential contender to be moved by the deadline.
Eric Gordon is heading to Memphis in a salary dump by the Sixers.
As expected, the 76ers parted ways with Eric Gordon.
Sources confirm the Sixers traded the reserve shooting guard on Wednesday to the Memphis Grizzlies for a 2032 second-round pick swap. This move gives the Sixers various options.
It opens up a roster spot to convert Dominick Barlow’s two-way contract into a standard deal. It also gives them a little over $7.6 million in salary cap space under the first apron. And they can sign players on the buyout market in addition to using up to $8 million in trade exception to acquire a player.
Gordon only played in six games, with his last appearance coming Dec. 23 against the Brooklyn Nets.
The 37-year-old, in his 18th season, signed a one-year, $3.63 million contract on July 1 after declining his $3.47 million player option. Gordon’s deal created a $2.3 million cap and a $2.3 million dead cap value, which was considered a good, low-risk expiring salary for potential trades.
The thought was the Sixers could entice a team with a lot of cap space, with a second-round pick, just to take on Gordon’s contract for the remainder of the season. It turns out they found a trade partner in the Grizzlies.
The Denver Nuggets are trading Hunter Tyson and a 2032 second-round pick to the Brooklyn Nets for the lesser favorable of a Clippers/Hawks 2026 second, sources tell ESPN. Denver creates an open roster spot for the buyout market and gets out of the luxury tax.
Eric Gordon, seen during warm ups before a game against the Knicks last month.
The Sixers are in talk to move veteran guard Eric Gordon before the trade deadline, according to The Athletic’s Tony Jones.
The Philadelphia 76ers are working to find a landing spot for veteran guard Eric Gordon, according to League Sources. Multiple teams are involved in that discussion
Gordon, on the tail end of a successful career, has played in only six games in his second season as a Sixer. Trading the 37-year-old and his $3.6 million contract in a salary-dump move would open up an additional roster spot that could be used to sign Dominick Barlow and Jabari Walker to a standard NBA contract.
The Sixers already created one spot when they traded Jared McCain to the Orlando Thunder Wednesday.
Bucks won’t trade Giannis Antetokounmpo before deadline: ESPN
Giannis Antetokounmpo won’t be part of any blockbuster trade ahead of Thursday’s deadline.
So much for that.
The Milwaukee Bucks have told teams they won’t be trading two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo ahead of Thursday’s deadline, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania.
"They were never serious," said one team executive who was discussing a Giannis Antetokounmpo trade with Milwaukee.
The Milwaukee Bucks have indicated to teams that they are keeping Giannis Antetokounmpo through the trade deadline and will start making other trades, sources tell ESPN.
The Bucks are currently in 12th place in the Eastern Conference, 9 games below .500 and completely out of the playoff picture. Hopes for a second-half turnaround seem fleeting under Doc Rivers, who’s barely been a .500 coach (85-82) in his two-and-a-half seasons with the Bucks.
If the Bucks try to move him in the offseason, Antetokounmpo will have more leverage over his destination, since he could opt for free agency following the 2026-27 season.
Lakers find a sharpshooter on the wings for Luka Doncic, Austin Reaves and LeBron James while the Hawks land a veteran guard, create a $11 million trade exception and pick up an asset. https://t.co/GIY8HNo0Zp
Minnesota traded Rob Dillingham, Leonard Miller and four second-round picks to Chicago for Dosunmu and Julian Phillips, sources said. https://t.co/bVhLA9Sb3f
Giannis trade not looking likely before the deadline, says ESPN’s Brian Windhorst
Giannis Antetokounmpo dribbles against Adem Bona during a game against the Sixers last season.
All eyes remain fixed on the Milwaukee Bucks as the contemplate trading two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo.
The teams most often mentioned in trade talks have been the Golden State Warriors, Minnesota Timberwolves, and Miami Heat, and one distant report about Antetokounmpo being intrigued about playing for the Sixers.
But according to ESPN NBA insider Brian Windhorst, it looks more likely Antetokounmpo will remain with the Bucks past the deadline, pegging the chances around 60% a trade won’t happen.
“Minnesota is still out there, but I’ll be honest with you: I don’t think Minnesota’s offer was as good as Golden State’s,” Windhorst said on ESPN’s Get Up Thursday morning. “And if Golden State’s offer wasn’t good enough and Minnesota can’t make a trade to improve their offer, I don’t think Minnesota’s realistic.”
“Miami is making a player and semi-draft pick offer – it’s a decent offer but I don’t think it’s something that [Milwaukee] would stop everything for Giannis,” Windhorst added.
Looking back at previous Sixers’ trade deadline deals under Daryl Morey
Sixers team President of Basketball Operations Daryl Morey.
LOS ANGELES — Nick Nurse briefly chatted with Daryl Morey Tuesday about the looming trade deadline.
At that point, the 76ers coach and president of basketball operations had not had a conversation in a couple days. Nurse added he had not yet had “any discussions” with players about potential moves or speculation.
“I mostly let him do his thing,” Nurse said of Morey and the front office. “They’re obviously working long hours.”
Another phone call was certainly worthy by Wednesday afternoon, when the Sixers got into the deadline mix by trading second-year guard Jared McCain to the Oklahoma City Thunder for a 2026 first-round draft pick and additional draft compensation. It is unclear if that is a precursor for another deal before 3 p.m. Thursday, or a way to get under the luxury tax threshold while also acquiring assets.
Either way, the typically aggressive Morey has already fulfilled the expectation that he will always do something this time of year. He is entering his sixth trade deadline with the Sixers, where his moves have ranged from pulling off a blockbuster to executing a straight salary dump.
Here is a look back at each deadline move for the Sixers since Morey joined the organization in 2020:
Andre Drummond is the Sixers’ best rebounder and has 12 double-doubles this season.
Could we see another alteration to the 76ers‘ roster before they face the Los Angeles Lakers at 10 p.m. Thursday at Crypto.com Arena?
There was always a belief that the Sixers would shed some salary before the 3 p.m. Thursday trade deadline to get below the luxury tax threshold. They also needed to free up a roster spot to sign two-way players Dominick Barlow and Jabari Walker to standard deals.
And the squad might have accomplished both by trading Jared McCain to the Oklahoma City Thunder in exchange for the Houston Rockets’ 2026 first-round pick and three second-rounders. One of the second-rounders is the 2027 most favorable pick from Oklahoma City, Houston, the Indiana Pacers, and Miami Heat. The others are the 2028 Milwaukee Bucks and 2028 Thunder picks.
The Sixers are now $3 million below the luxury tax threshold after trading away McCain’s $4.2 million salary for draft assets.
But is there another deal to be made? There’s a sense that this roster, as it’s currently constructed, has a chance to position itself for an Eastern Conference title.
Multiple sources insist that the Sixers are still willing to trade reserve center Andre Drummond.
But while McCain battled inconsistent play during his return from last season’s knee surgery, Drummond is the team’s best rebounder and has 12 double-doubles this season.
Parting ways with Drummond would be a blow to the Sixers’ depth. With Joel Embiid resting on the second night of a back-to-back, Drummond started his 18th game of the season Tuesday night against the Golden State Warriors. The 6-foot-11, 279-pounder had 12 points, 12 rebounds, one steal, and a block in the 113-94 victory.
If there’s a Giannis trade, maybe the Sixers could land someone like ex-Villanova star Donte DiVincenzo.
As of Wednesday night, there were no indications the Sixers were gearing up to make a legitimate run at acquiring Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo, who was previously reported to be intrigued by the possibility of teaming up with Tyrese Maxey and the Sixers. Such a move would almost certainly require the Sixers to part with rookie star V.J. Edgecombe. That’s a move they almost certainly will not do.
But the Sixers could easily end up involved on the periphery of the Giannis talks.
If Minnesota is determined/desperate to add Giannis, then it would presumably need to be desperate/determined to acquire the first-round picks that the Bucks would require (the Timberwolves don’t have much in the way of draft capital to trade). Minnesota’s determination/desperation creates some intriguing possibilities for a third team that does have first-round picks it can trade.
The dream scenario would be someone like young sweet-shooting big man Naz Reid becoming available. A more realistic opportunity could come in the form of former Villanova-turned-Knicks-turned-Timberwolves grinder Donte DiVincenzo.
I’m throwing those names out there mostly as for-instances. The world remains Daryl Morey’s oyster until the clock strikes 3 p.m. EST on Thursday.
Kristaps Porzingis traded to the Warriors; ex-Sixer Buddy Hield headed to the Hawks
Kristaps Porzingis
The Golden State Warriors found their dependable big man by acquiring Kristaps Porzingis from Atlanta and granted forward Jonathan Kuminga his wish to be traded while also dealing guard Buddy Hield to the Hawks, according to a person with knowledge of the swap.
The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Wednesday night because the trade had not yet been approved by the league.
Kuminga sat out Tuesday night’s 113-94 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers because of a bone bruise in his left knee, his fifth straight missed game.
The Hawks had listed Porzingis — who has recently missed time with an Achilles tendon injury — as questionable for Thursday’s game against Utah because of an illness. Atlanta also acquired center Jock Landale from the Jazz, a person with knowledge of the trade told the AP.
In mid-January, Warriors coach Steve Kerr spoke with Kuminga about being out of the rotation for more than a month and the expectation that he would be traded. However, general manager Mike Dunleavy said on Jan. 20 after Jimmy Butler’s season-ending knee injury that there wasn’t an immediate indication other teams were interested in Kuminga.
“As far as the demand, I’m aware of that,” Dunleavy said, referencing Kuminga’s trade request. “I think when you, in terms of demands, when you make a demand, there needs to be a demand on the market. So we’ll see where that unfolds.”
Kerr discounted any issues between him and Kuminga as the reason the high-flying forward requested a trade after not being used in 17 of 18 games — though he has been listed as injured for nine games this season.
— Associated Press
// Timestamp 02/05/26 7:35am
Trading Jared McCain is a big risk, unless something bigger is in play
Patience will be needed to determine whether the Sixers were smart to jettison their 2024 first-round pick, guard Jared McCain.
Curious.
Suggestive.
Dangerous.
Most of all, unfortunate.
Those are the only sorts of words you can use right now when evaluating the Sixers’ decision to trade Jared McCain to the Thunder on Wednesday afternoon in exchange for a 2026 first-round pick and some ancillary draft capital.
To judge the move in more definitive terms would be irresponsible given the amount of time that still remains between now and Thursday’s NBA trade deadline. The final verdict depends on what happens next.
If nothing happens next, then, yeah, the Sixers’ decision to jettison their promising 2024 first-round pick will rank somewhere on a spectrum between “underwhelming” and “foolish.” If their primary motivation was to duck below the luxury tax yet again, it will be a level beyond foolish. It will be criminal.
That being said, there are a lot of other ifs in play, many of them more plausible than Daryl Morey viewing a legitimate asset as a cost-savings vehicle.
The NBA trade deadline is today. The Sixers have a mixed track record.
The NBA trade decline is Thursday at 3 p.m.
This year’s NBA trade deadline is Thursday at 3 p.m., the annual cutoff for trades during the season.
It’s generally a busy day in the league. Last year, 45 players changed teams on deadline day, including big names like Luka Dončić, Jimmy Butler, and De’Aaron Fox.
The Sixers have also been active in recent years, with varying degrees of success since Daryl Morey was named the team’s president of basketball operations at the start of the 2020-21 season.
Last season, they acquired Quentin Grimes and Jared Butler, both of whom remain on the roster. In 2024 they landed Buddy Hield, only to later trade him to the Golden State Warriors.
In 2023 the Sixers traded Matisse Thybulle to the Portland Trailblazers. In 2022, they dealt Ben Simmons to the Brooklyn Nets in a deal that brought James Harden to Philly, who was later traded to the Los Angeles Clippers.
LOS ANGELES — Nick Nurse briefly chatted with Daryl Morey on Tuesday about the looming trade deadline.
At that point, the 76ers coach and the president of basketball operations had not had a conversation in a couple of days. Nurse said he had not yet had “any discussions” with players about potential moves or speculation.
“I mostly let him do his thing,” Nurse said of Morey and the front office. “They’re obviously working long hours.”
Another phone call was certainly worthy by Wednesday afternoon, when the Sixers got into the deadline mix by trading second-year guard Jared McCain to the Oklahoma City Thunder for a 2026 first-round draft pick and additional draft compensation.
On Thursday, the Sixers sent veteran shooting guard Eric Gordon and a second-round pick swap to the Memphis Grizzlies, opening a roster spot to convert Dominick Barlow’s two-way contract into a standard deal and creating additional salary cap space under the first apron.
Morey thus fulfilled the expectation that he will always do something this time of year. This was Morey’s sixth trade deadline with the Sixers, where his moves have ranged from pulling off a blockbuster to executing a straight salary dump.
Here is a look back at previous deadline moves for the Sixers since Morey joined the organization in 2020.
Quentin Grimes came to the Sixers in a trade with the Mavericks at the trade deadline in 2025.
2025
Deal 1: Acquired Quentin Grimes and a second-round draft pick that became Johni Broome from the Dallas Mavericks for Caleb Martin.
Deal 2: Acquired Jared Butler and draft capital from the Washington Wizards for Reggie Jackson.
Deal 3: Traded KJ Martin to the Detroit Pistons for cash considerations.
Even amid a miserable season, Morey found a way to upgrade the roster. The Sixers nabbed Grimes from the Mavericks for an injured Caleb Martin, a slick deal that still flies under the radar because of Dallas’ disastrous trade of superstar Luke Doncic a couple of days earlier. Grimes was a breakout player during the Sixers’ tank job down the stretch of last season and is now their sixth man who can impact both ends of the floor. Martin entered Thursday averaging 3.7 points in 57 games across parts of two seasons with Dallas.
Butler got a tryout as a young reserve guard but became expendable when the Sixers drafted VJ Edgecombe third overall last summer. KJ Martin now plays in the Chinese Basketball Association.
2024
Deal 1: Acquired Buddy Hield in a three-team deal with the Indiana Pacers and San Antonio Spurs, which sent out Furkan Korkmaz, Marcus Morris Sr., and draft compensation.
Deal 2: Traded Jaden Springer to the Boston Celtics for a second-round draft pick that became Adem Bona.
Deal 3: Traded Patrick Beverley to the Milwaukee Bucks for Cameron Payne and a second-round draft pick.
Deal 4: Traded Danuel House Jr. to the Detroit Pistons for a second-round draft pick.
Morey said then that he believed Hield was the best player moved on the actual deadline day. The sharpshooting Hield theoretically should have been a smooth fit as a floor spacer, but he did not get much chance to play off an injured Joel Embiid. Hield eventually slipped out of the starting lineup and the playoff rotation, other than his Game 6 breakout against the New York Knicks.
Payne was a clear upgrade over Beverley and part of the playoff rotation before joining the Knicks in free agency.
2023
Deal 1: Acquired Jalen McDaniels and a second-round draft pick in a four-team trade with the Charlotte Hornets, Portland Trail Blazers, and New York Knicks that sent out Matisse Thybulle.
Though Thybulle had not proved himself to be offensively reliable enough to play in the postseason, McDaniels also fell out of the rotation in the Sixers’ second-round series against Boston that season.
2022
Deal 1: Acquired James Harden and Paul Millsap from the Brooklyn Nets for Ben Simmons, Seth Curry, Andre Drummond, and two first-round draft picks.
Harden led the NBA in assists during Embiid’s MVP season, and helped the Sixers get to Game 7 of the second round against the Celtics in 2023. But he was in Philly for less than two seasons, forcing his way out early in the 2023-24 season after the Sixers would not offer him a long-term extension. The losses of Drummond and Curry were also sneaky important during the Sixers’ second-round playoff exit in 2022.
Simmons has never been the same player, primarily due to health issues. He last played for the Los Angeles Clippers in 2024-25 and has not been on an NBA roster this season.
2021
Deal 1: Acquired George Hill and Ignas Brazdeikis in a three-team trade with the Oklahoma City Thunder and New York Knicks, while sending out Tony Bradley and Terrance Ferguson.
The Sixers brought in Hill to attempt to shore up their backup point guard position down the stretch. Waiting in the wings that season: a rookie named Tyrese Maxey.
If you have a cervix you may have felt a surge of relief — joy, even — when the American Cancer Society (ACS) announced its updated guidelines for cervical cancer screening in December. I know I did.
The organization now allows for a self-collection test for human papillomavirus, or HPV, a sexually transmitted infection that causes almost all cases of cervical cancer, as an alternative to a more traditional clinician-collected test. For some women — including me — this endorsement means that we can finally access this lifesaving screening.
Over the last decade, there have been notable changes in how and when women are screened for cervical cancer. The go-to method used to be the Pap smear, which involves inserting a speculum so that a provider can collect cells from the cervix, the lowest end of the uterus that connects to the vagina. Eventually, in 2020, the ACS began recommending that all women at average risk of cervical cancer start screening at age 25 with a clinician-collected HPV test.
For the patient, the experience was the same for a Pap or HPV test: Your provider would still have you lie on your back with your feet in stirrups, insert a speculum, and use a swab to collect a sample of cells from your cervix. As someone with vaginismus — a condition that causes my vaginal muscles to involuntarily contract — it would have been impossible for me to get these done.
Then, in 2024, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved self-collected HPV tests for use in healthcare facilities — meaning that women at average risk could opt to do a less-invasive self-swab of their vagina with their provider present. And in 2025, the FDA approved the first at-home tool, a wand made by Teal Health, to screen for cervical cancer, allowing women to collect the sample and mail it to a lab without even needing to visit their doctor. (If you have a personal history of cervical cancer or are at high risk, you may not be a candidate for self-collected testing).
At 26, I was officially overdue for my first screen, so my doctor recommended I try the in-office self-collection test.
What the self-collected HPV test was like
Before self-collection became an option, I would lie on the exam table at my gynecologist’s office, put my legs in stirrups, and involuntarily clench at any touch. I was excited to try the self-collection test, but also skeptical that it would work for me.
The self-swabs in the clinic looked manageable and controllable, something I could hold and insert myself. The handle was as narrow as a mascara wand, and the brush at the end was made of flexible plastic bristles that felt soft. Most importantly, it did not need to directly touch my cervix. It was less invasive, without the internal pressure that usually made my body tense. I inserted the swab about two inches into my vagina, rotated it for 30 seconds and then handed it to my doctor, who swirled it inside a vial with liquid solution.
“That’s it?” I asked my doctor once she screwed the cap on the vial. “Is it for sure as accurate as a regular Pap smear?” Yes and yes, she assured me. I was in awe. There was a time earlier in life when my vaginismus made it feel impossible to even insert a tampon — I couldn’t believe I had completed an HPV test.
My doctor mailed my sample to a lab, and I received the results in less than two weeks. My Pap smear came back normal with no signs of HPV. Even better, this meant I did not need to be tested again for another five years.
Amy Banulis, an OB/GYN and associate medical director for Women’s and Maternal/Child Health at Kaiser Permanente in Virginia, said most women will be able to comfortably complete the self-collected test, even if they have vaginismus.
“For those that still do have discomfort, there are relaxation techniques that can be utilized,” Banulis said. These could include progressive muscle relaxation, deep breathing, and imagery or visualization. If these tactics don’t make a difference, your OB/GYN can refer you to a pelvic floor physical therapist that may be able to help you with this, Banulis said.
How effective it is compared to a traditional Pap
The experience was so seamless that I actually worried something was wrong. What if I didn’t insert the swab high enough? I wondered when I got home. Would the results of the test still be reliable if, God forbid, I did not rotate it long enough? It almost felt too comfortable, so how effective was it really? Many women share the same concerns, but they don’t need to worry, said Jasmin Tiro, a professor of public health sciences at the University of Chicago.
Many women who use the test say it’s easy to do and doesn’t hurt, Tiro said, adding: “It’s very hard to do it wrong.”
It’s important to clarify that the self-collected HPV test is not the exact same test as a Pap smear or a clinician-collected HPV test, she said. The self-test collects vaginal cells, while the latter two tests use a sample of cervical cells. While a cervical sample can be tested for both HPV and abnormal cells (cancerous or precancerous), vaginal cells can only reveal if you have HPV, Tiro said.
This means that a self-collected test may be only one part of the screening process, Tiro said. About 10% of women will screen positive for HPV, she said. If you get a positive HPV self-collected result, the next step may be a type of test or procedure that involves a pelvic exam to look for precancerous or cancerous cervical cells. That follow-up test is essential for the screening process to be effective, Tiro said.
However, HPV does not always turn into cervical cancer; especially in people in their teens or early 20s, the virus often clears on its own without causing any health issues — which is why screening isn’t even recommended before 25. So depending on your age, your doctor may just want to retest you a few years later to see if you still have an HPV infection and determine then if that warrants further testing.
My takeaway: We need to make screening more accessible
I’m grateful for testing that is less invasive and painful, but I still find myself wondering why it took so long for us to arrive here. How many women would have been protected if our pain and concerns were not routinely diminished? In the past, I had doctors tell me, “Since you’ve had sex before, the speculum shouldn’t feel intimidating.” I became so used to people, including well-meaning physicians, questioning the validity of my pain. And I felt demoralized that I couldn’t even complete a test that was essential for detecting and preventing a disease that kills about 4,000 women in the U.S. each year.
I also wonder what, if anything, can be done to ensure the new self-swab testing is accessible to all women who want or need it? When I asked Tiro, she told me that gathering more patient testimonials, developing patient-centered guidance for people who may still not want to complete the test, and devoting more research to the testing can all help. These are all things that physicians and researchers are actively working on.
Personally, the self-collected HPV test has given me a sudden sense of agency, something I have rarely felt in a gynecologist’s office. My hope is that this alternative option can give other women greater control over their healthcare, too. Cervical cancer screening is an essential preventive care service. If you have trouble undergoing a Pap smear, ask for the alternative self-collection test. There is no shame, only power, in advocating for your health.
Stars align: Find out how a first-time homebuyer was able to purchase a North Philly house that originally was out of his price range.
Art imitates life: Read on for a preview of this James Ijames play about gentrification and a sports arena development that I went to with a colleague.
Putting down roots: Peek inside this East Mount Airy rowhouse bought by a first-time homeowner who loves the neighborhood.
Mark Asher has been designing homes from Cape May to the Philly suburbs for more than 40 years.
When you’re at the Jersey Shore and see homes with cedar siding, wooden gambrel roofs, and indoor spaces that flow into outdoor patios and pools, you’re seeing Asher’s influence.
The first house he designed was in the ‘80s for his parents. It was an 1,800-square-foot Cape Cod in Ocean City.
Asher, who’s now based in Jenkintown, has since designed for yacht clubs and for families. His designs have evolved over the years to keep up with his clients’ changing needs.
Do you have strong feelings about rocks vs. grass at Shore properties? Asher does. The architect brought in green lawns. “The stones were hot in the summer, cold in the winter, and ugly all year round,” he said.
In December, my colleagues Ryan W. Briggs and William Bender told us about a mystery surrounding the sale of properties around Temple University.
Clients of real estate agent Patrick C. Fay were paying almost double the asking price for properties that had been sitting on the market. The sales looked suspicious.
But Fay didn’t handle transactions alone. In a follow-up investigation, my colleagues found that more than two dozen Philly-area real estate agents helped arrange $45 million worth of questionable deals involving student rentals.
The prices recorded on deeds and other official documents were much higher than what sellers actually received, which was closer to the original listing price. One appraiser said agents tried to pressure him to raise the valuation of a property.
As a former assistant U.S. attorney told my colleagues, “If you don’t present an accurate picture to the financial institution that is financing the loan, you’ve got problems.”
The Inquirer’s reporting on this possible mortgage fraudhas led to investigations by at least two organizations: Coldwell Banker, Fay’s former employer; and Temple, which is looking into possible impacts on student renters.
Cooper Lee Kidd celebrated a milestone birthday in a big way.
He bought his first home one day before he turned 30. He wanted more indoor and outdoor space after living in small apartments in Queen Village and Rittenhouse Square.
He purchased a 900-square-foot rowhouse in East Mount Airy. It was actually the first home he toured during his home search.
The house has tall ceilings and gets lots of natural light. Kidd decorated with his photography, turned the second bedroom into an office, and cleared out the trash in the backyard to make room for a garden.
The previous owner left some furniture that Kidd was happy to have.
When you hear the word faith in relation to the history of African Americans in the United States, what do you imagine? Do you see a preacher, or a gospel choir, or imagine a church mother in a resplendent hat?
These images, while valid depictions of the Black church, are not the only measures of how faith informs and shapes the history of African American life.
For African Americans, faith has not been simply about belief in a deity. By necessity, it has also been about having the faith to fight for freedom, faith in showing the shortcomings of democracy, faith in finding hope during struggle, and protecting the community. It was also the only way, for many years, to organize and establish places of worship or set up businesses.
In the American context, many equate African American religion with Protestant Christianity. Yet, faith isn’t limited to a particular religious tradition or organized religion. It is an intentional practice of believing. The history of African Americans’ personal faith and organized faith traditions is what has sustained them in their tumultuous history in America.
It is impossible to speak about the history of faith and African American life without speaking of the brutal realities of the Atlantic slave trade and slaveholding in America. Africans who were captured and sold into slavery from ports in West Africa came to the Americas from rich traditions steeped in different African religious practices, like Vodun.
Some of the enslaved, like Omar Ibn Said, were Muslim, and still others were from places like Congo and had been introduced to Christianity in Africa. Examples of the longevity of these religious traditions can be seen in the practices of the Gullah people in South Carolina, who have shared their traditions like rice growing, ring shouts, and burial practices from enslavement to the 21st century.
Portraits of Mother Bethel AME Church founder, the Rev. Richard Allen, and his wife, Sarah, are displayed on a wall at the church’s museum in Philadelphia.
Faith also defined the involvement and influence of African Americans in the struggle for equality and freedom. Richard Allen and Absalom Jones, both important members of the freed Black community in Philadelphia, left St. George’s United Methodist Church over the racism there. Both Allen and Jones would establish churches: Allen starting Mother Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church and Jones establishing the African Episcopal Church of St. Thomas.
The Rev. Absalom Jones was a priest in the African Episcopal Church of St. Thomas.
To wrest Mother Bethel from the attempts of the white Methodist group to gain control over it, Allen would use the legal system, incorporating the church in 1796 and then fighting to keep control of it from the larger white Methodist denomination. Faith, as well as acumen, would give him the determination to see the legal process through to incorporation in Pennsylvania.
Today, the AME denomination is a worldwide church, estimated to have more than two million members.
Faith would also play a role in establishing organizations within the African American community.
Schools in the 19th and early 20th century found their formation in religious organizations post-Civil War. Clergy would pair with white denominations to form schools such as Spellman and Morehouse. Other organizational structures formed by religious communities would include insurance organizations, funeral homes, fraternities, and sororities. The best-known organization, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, would also find pastors and religious figures in the initial call for its formation.
Faith leaders from various religious communities were also instrumental in reminding and challenging white leadership of the promises of democracy and freedom in our founding documents.
In the 20th century, new religious movements such as Garveyism, Moorish Science Temple, the Nation of Islam, and Father Divine’s peace movement would all organize as a counternarrative to the harsh conditions of racism and Jim Crow in American life. All these movements offered an alternative narrative of not only uplift but also promoted different visions of race through religion that drew followers who questioned the merits of white Protestantism for African Americans.
Of course, we cannot forget the role of faith in the civil rights movement. While it is obvious to think of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., it is important to remember that King not only found his voice through Christianity, but through the principle of satyāgraha, soul force, coined by Mohandas Gandhi, the famous Hindu leader who promoted nonviolent struggle that formed the foundations of the civil rights movement. Diane Nash, who was Catholic and considered being a nun before becoming an activist while at Fisk College in Nashville, would become an important part of the movement — along with figures like the late U.S. Rep. John Lewis, who was enrolled in divinity school before joining the movement.
All of these are very brief examples from a very diverse history of faith in the African American community that was not only about individual belief, but many times served as a counter to the racism of religious communities in America that treated African Americans as second-class citizens.
Suppressing this history by altering it or calling it DEI does an injustice to the history of faith-based organizing in America.
African Americans’ faith, and the challenges they brought to bear on the racial issues of America, highlighted the promises of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. Now, more than ever, we need that faith to sustain us during the 250th anniversary of America.
Anthea Butler is the Geraldine R. Segal Professor in American Social Thought at the University of Pennsylvania.
Good morning, Philly. As the 2026 Winter Olympics kick off this week, it’s a great time to consider: What is curling, really? We have your explainer, courtesy of a visit to a local curling club.
Eleven days past the region’s biggest snowfall in a decade, mounds of slush and ice are still blocking crosswalks and messing with commutes.
🏔️ Much of the city’s slow recovery from the 9.3 inches and icy sleet that fell on Jan. 25 can be attributed to the Arctic freeze that followed.
🏔️ Yet while the Parker administration says it has deployed 1,000 workers and 800 pieces of snow-removal equipment to deal with the emergency — an unusually large arsenal compared with what it has mobilized to battle storms in the past — mobility remains limited in many neighborhoods.
🏔️ Now, Parker, who campaigned on a promise to provide city services, is feeling the heat from fed-up Philadelphians. Such resentment has burned other cities’ mayors before.
Following four months of tumult that included a panned rebrand, the ousting of its top executive, and the resignation of its marketing chief, the cultural institution formerly known as the Philadelphia Museum of Art has a new name: the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
Rebrand fallout: In October, the nearly 150-year-old museum announced its name would change to the Philadelphia Art Museum, or PhAM, in a bid to seem more accessible and attract new audiences. Critics quickly pounced (cue the unfortunate internet nickname “PhArt”). Board members said they had been given little notice before the rollout. A month later, director and CEO Sasha Suda was gone.
Changes to come: The board voted unanimously on Wednesday to revert to the old name. But much of the look of the rebrand, which cost around $1 million, will remain.
What leadership says: Daniel H. Weiss, who took over in November after Suda’s departure, called the entire rebrand episode “an unnecessary distraction for us. We want to move on and focus on things that matter most to our mission.”
Pennsylvania officials pushed back after President Donald Trump said federal officials should oversee elections in cities like Philadelphia and repeated unproven claims of election fraud.
A teenager who was detained for 49 days over his friend’s killing at a SEPTA station contends police “buried” footage that showed he was innocent. Now he’s suing the city and transit officers.
A former Villanova professor says in a federal lawsuit she was fired from the Catholic university after accusing its law school of racial discrimination involving one of her students.
Philly’s crowded congressional race has yet to attract much money from political action committees or donors outside the region. That may change as the primary approaches.
U.S. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick of Bucks County has more cash on hand than any other GOP incumbent in a swing district nationwideas the party prepares for a tough election.
Philadelphia biotech companies are worried about losing a key source of federal funding for early-stage innovation. The city’s new matching program offers a small boost.
The new Norristown school board is moving to oustits superintendent, saying the district needs a new leader to reverse years of poor test scores.
Quote of the day
The developer wants to transform one of South Jersey’s deadest malls, now called the Voorhees Town Center, into a mixed-used development. But he says he needs money from the state to do it.
The 76ers have traded guard Jared McCain to the Oklahoma City Thunder. Besides his basketball skills, which is a reason he became famous in Philadelphia?
Cheers to Marie Bacon, who solved Wednesday’s anagram: Philadelphia. America’s oldest warship, sunk by the British in 1776, is getting a 250th-birthday makeover.
Photo of the day
The bronze sculpture “Ben on the Bench” is covered with snow and ice on Locust Walk at the University of Pennsylvania.
At least we’re getting some sun this week. See you back here tomorrow.
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