Easy Fixes for 10 Flailing Sports Teams
Many sports teams just can't get things right.
Some are not complete lost causes. In certain instances, teams can turns things around and find winning ways with one right move or one right decision. We see this in sports just about every year: A side that loses more than it wins one season competes for a championship the next.
Look at Leicester City as an example.
The Cleveland Browns can help their fortunes by making a difficult choice. A noteworthy trade could benefit the Miami Dolphins. Premier League side Arsenal need to make a move that has been discussed by analysts and fans for years if they are to take that next figurative step in European play.
Implementing easy fixes for flailing sports teams is sometimes easier said than done for a variety of reasons. Organizations often fail to see the writing on the wall as it pertains to making changes. Teams hold onto hope that players and managers will figure things out and play roles in winning games.
Everybody loves progress, but nobody likes change.
New York Mets: Get Jonathan Lucroy
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This obviously isn't a fix for this season. The New York Mets cannot execute such a transaction until after the World Series. It is, however, a fix the Mets need for 2017.
Travis d'Arnaud isn't the answer at catcher for the Mets. Injuries and a lack of consistency at and behind the plate plagued d'Arnaud throughout his time with the organization. As Ryan Hatch of NJ.com wrote earlier this month, the Mets recently placed d'Arnaud on the waiver wire.
Hatch also wrote about how the Mets reportedly attempted to trade for two-time All-Star catcher Jonathan Lucroy while he was still a member of the Milwaukee Brewers. That trade never happened, and the Brewers eventually dealt Lucroy to the Texas Rangers.
The Mets can take another swing at it this offseason.
The final year of Lucroy's contract, per Spotrac, is a club option for $5.25 million. He is a bargain at such a price. Lucroy has not committed himself to the Rangers past 2017, though, and thus the possibility for a trade arises.
The Rangers went all-in on 2016 when the club landed Lucroy, outfielder Carlos Beltran and closer Jeremy Jeffress before the trade deadline. As Jonah Keri of CBS Sports wrote, Texas traded away multiple promising prospects to complete those transactions.
Texas may look to stock back up if the club feels Lucroy will want to explore free agency next year.
Detroit Lions: Trade for Torrey Smith
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The Detroit Lions cannot merely replace Calvin Johnson. Johnson, who retired at 30 years old following the 2015 season, was one of the best wide receivers in the NFL when fully fit. The wide receiver affectionately known as "Megatron" may one day be enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. There aren't many better at the position today, and none of those players are on market.
The San Francisco 49ers, meanwhile, will likely be terrible in 2016.
The 49ers are currently staging somewhat of a quarterback battle between Colin Kaepernick and Blaine Gabbert. It isn't much of a competition, as Kaepernick is currently dealing with muscle fatigue in his shoulder, as explained by Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee. That leaves the often underwhelming Gabbert as the favorite to win the starting job for at least a week.
Torrey Smith, currently on the 49ers, is no Calvin Johnson in talent and in size. Smith is an upgrade, however, to Detroit's WR position, and he offers cover if tight end Eric Ebron misses any meaningful time due to an injury.
Some may point to Smith's lackluster production last season as a reason for why Detroit shouldn't consider this deal. Smith, per Pro-Football-Reference.com, was targeted only 62 times, a career low for the veteran of five seasons.
Detroit QB Matthew Stafford could use some additional help this season. What QB couldn't? The 49ers, meanwhile, need all of the future draft picks they can land.
This trade is not a crazy suggestion for either side.
Philadelphia 76ers: Trade a Big Man
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The Philadelphia 76ers will theoretically start getting things right. The law of averages suggests any team will, at least, eventually trip and fall into success.
Don't misunderstand us. The 76ers remain years away from contending for a winning record let alone for any hardware. Philadelphia is in the middle of a lengthy rebuild. There is, however, hope for the future.
That hope now comes in the form of a future trade.
As Jesus Gomez of SB Nation wrote in July, the 76ers currently have one big man too many. Philadelphia drafted Ben Simmons earlier this year. Simmons likely isn't going anywhere unless a team presents a historic offer. That leaves Joel Embiid, Nerlens Noel and Jahlil Okafor.
Not all three of them can slide down in the starting lineup. That leads to the difficult part of the equation.
Philadelphia must avoid trading the best of those three players while at the same time landing the most assets in a deal. That's difficult, if only because every other team in the NBA knows the 76ers are sellers as it pertains to one of those players.
Gomez explained why the 76ers may not necessarily need to land equal value in a future trade:
"As far as problems go, having too many good players at the same position isn't that damaging. If Embiid and Simmons prove to be the franchise-altering talents Philadelphia thinks they are, not getting equal value for Okafor and Noel won't really have a big impact on the 76ers' future.
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That's a valid point, but it is one that includes the 76ers being spot-on regarding evaluations of multiple players. This franchise has gotten more wrong than right in recent history.
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Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim: Trade Mike Trout
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The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim are a horrible baseball team.
Their record speaks for itself. The Angels enter the third weekend of August at 51-70. They are third-worst in the American League, just slightly ahead of the Minnesota Twins and Tampa Bay Rays, as it pertains to futility.
Mike Trout is the club's lone bright spot. Trout, who turned 25 years old earlier this month, is a perennial All-Star and arguably the best young player in the league today. His talent is undeniable, as is what he could contribute to the Angels in the future.
The problem, as Ben Reiter of Sports Illustrated wrote in July, is that Trout is the only promising part of the club's future:
"Their farm system is a dust bowl, without a single prospect in any of the four major current top 50 or 100 lists. And the player who represented by far their second-best trade chip—No. 1 starter Garrett Richards, Trout's longtime housemate—blew out his elbow in May and may be out for the year. In other words, with all conventional remedies unavailable, the team might soon have only one course of action left.
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Trading Trout is that action.
Trout, per Spotrac, is signed through 2020. A club knowing it would control Trout's rights for four full seasons could entice that team to pull the trigger on a monster trade, one that involved the Angels landing a fortune in talented prospects.
A team only trades a player such as Trout when it is desperate. The Angels are in danger of wasting Trout as an asset. He is worth more to the club on the market than what he's worth on the field.
U.S. Soccer: Fire Jurgen Klinsmann
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Brian Willett of The Federalist made an interesting point in June when he noted that Jurgen Klinsmann hasn't accomplished anything of note while serving as the head coach of the United States men's national soccer team.
The U.S. survived a supposed "group of death" at the 2014 World Cup. A heroic display from goalkeeper Tim Howard prevented the Americans from being embarrassed by Belgium in the round of 16, but the U.S. lost that match in extra time. Klinsmann's selection of players then failed to qualify for the final of the 2015 Gold Cup.
The U.S. barely registered a sound during the 2016 Copa America. After advancing to the knockout rounds of a tournament played on home soil, the Americans were unceremoniously bounced from the competition following a 4-0 defeat to Argentina. The U.S. finished fourth after losing to Colombia.
Where's the progress? How is U.S. Soccer better today than it was when Klinsmann took over in 2011? Sports are about results. Success is measured in wins.
An NFL coach with Klinsmann's record would've been fired a year ago.
In July, Will Parchman of Top Drawer Soccer wrote about why he believes FC Dallas coach Oscar Pareja should be next in line for the job:
"It has never been more obvious to me, since Klinsmann’s ideological rampage through American soccer these past five tumultuous years, that whoever steers the rudder of American soccer in the future must have an intimate, almost familial relationship with soccer in the U.S. Klinsmann claimed this by dint of his longtime residency in Southern California, but he never really did, has, or will truly understand American soccer. Oh, he knows it, but understanding—truly—it is another beast entirely.
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Pareja played in MLS during the league's infancy before becoming an assistant in 2006. He knows soccer in this country. He has experienced highs and lows as a player and a coach working within American soccer.
Hiring Pareja could be an easy fix for a program traveling in circles.
Miami Dolphins: Trade for Josh Gordon
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The Miami Dolphins and quarterback Ryan Tannehill are connected for the foreseeable future. Miami guaranteed that by signing Tannehill to a new contract last year. According to Spotrac, the dead cap value of the contract dips from $10.4 million for 2017 to $4.6 million the following year.
Tannehill should remain the Miami starter, as long as he remains healthy, for at least the next two seasons.
The Dolphins, thus, should put Tannehill in the best position to win now. Acquiring Cleveland Browns wide receiver Josh Gordon may do just that.
Optimistic Cleveland fans who are hopeful Gordon can become a superstar may mention multiple standout performances produced by the WR in 2013. That was three seasons ago. Since then, Gordon has played in a total of five regular season games. He is a repeat violator of the league's substance abuse policy, and he missed all of 2015 due to suspension.
Gordon is seemingly one off-the-field incident away from being out of the NFL. That's why Cleveland may trade him. For Miami, this high-risk transaction comes with the potential reward of Gordon finding his form and remaining available while in a new NFL home.
Gordon wouldn't be a one-man show in Miami. He would line up alongside Jarvis Landry and tight end Jordan Cameron. That trio creates difficult matchups for just about every defense in the NFL.
The Browns stuck with Gordon throughout the past several years. Remember, though, that Cleveland's current coaching staff and front office never drafted or signed Gordon. Miami needs to make the phone call and see if Cleveland's regime is willing to part ways with a talent who may not be worth the worry in northeast Ohio.
Miami Marlins: Trade Giancarlo Stanton
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The Miami Marlins sit in an awkward place as fall approaches.
Miami isn't terrible. The Marlins, as of the afternoon of August 19, sit only 2.5 games back from a playoff spot. Having a 62-59 record is no reason to blow things up and start over.
With that said, the Marlins are well behind both the Washington Nationals and Chicago Cubs in the standings and in overall talent. There is no guarantee Miami will make the playoffs this fall, let alone take Chicago or Washington in a postseason series.
Giancarlo Stanton possesses special talent. The slugger is a three-time All-Star who turns 27 years old in November. Stanton led the National League in home runs in 2014. Per Baseball-Reference.com, he earned MVP votes three different seasons between 2011 and 2014.
Stanton is also on a massive contract. That deal, according to Spotrac, could be worth $325 million if he doesn't opt-out after the 2020 campaign. Stanton's contract led Joel Sherman of the New York Post to speculate last September about the player's long-term future.
Why would the Marlins trade Stanton? Money is a factor. As Sherman wrote, the Marlins need young talent in the organization. Miami also cannot count on injuries sinking the New York Mets every summer between now and the end of the decade.
Injuries are a concern with Stanton. He suffered a serious facial injury in September 2014 after he was struck by a pitch, and he broke a bone in his left wrist while swinging the bat in June 2015. Stanton's season came to an early end this August when he injured his groin.
The Marlins must locate a partner willing to send pieces to Miami and also accept the financial burden that comes with acquiring Stanton. Doing so is a positive step toward building what could be a bright future for the club.
New York Knicks: Trade Carmelo Anthony
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Silence any "hot-take" alarms you hear sounding off in the distance. The New York Knicks trading Carmelo Anthony at some point over the next six months makes all kinds of sense.
Do not think for a second that the Knicks now possess some formula to defeat the Cleveland Cavaliers or the Golden State Warriors in a seven-game series. Compare recent transactions completed by the Knicks to a large individual making a grand leap into a pool. Such a jump creates a big splash, but judges at the Olympics wouldn't rate that dive at all.
For starters, the Knicks are supposedly counting on whatever is left of guard Derrick Rose. Rose turns 28 years old later this fall, but his body, specifically his knees, began failing him well before the start of his physical prime. You're quite the optimist if you believe Rose will stay healthy for multiple seasons moving forward.
Joakim Noah, Rose's teammate when the two played for the Chicago Bulls, signed with the Knicks earlier this summer. Injuries also slowed Noah this past season. Kristaps Porzingis played well in his debut NBA campaign, but he still needs some seasoning and time to mature as a pro.
Some marriages don't work out for whatever reasons. Anthony didn't bring a championship to New York. He isn't doing so anytime soon unless LeBron James suffers a serious physical setback between now and the spring of 2018.
Ironically, James could play a role in Anthony leaving the Knicks.
James spoke with Howard Beck of Bleacher Report in February about how he would like to play with Anthony, Dwyane Wade and Chris Paul before his career ends. The first step toward building such a team could involve the Cavaliers trading Kevin Love to the Knicks for Anthony.
That may be what's best for all involved.
Arsenal: Replace Arsene Wenger
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ESPN's Nick Miller hit out at Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger following Arsenal's 4-3 defeat to Liverpool on the opening day of the 2016-17 Premier League campaign:
"One of the signs that things are really going wrong is when someone, in the desperate search for some sort of redeeming quality, talks up the bare minimum. After the game Wenger commented that "mentally, we kept going," as if trying for 90 minutes is beyond the call of duty. Arsenal are standing still while everyone else is moving forward. It's no wonder none of this is remotely surprising.
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This is hardly a new criticism. Arsenal should be one of the biggest clubs in the world let alone in England. The Gunners last won the Premier League over a decade ago. Arsenal are not, on paper, close to winning the Champions League when you compare them to the likes of Barcelona, Real Madrid or Bayern Munich.
ESPN's Dan Kilpatrick wrote in July about Atletico Madrid manager Diego Simeone being interested in managing outside of Spain. Simeone has done all he can at Atletico. He won the La Liga and Copa del Rey. He guided the club to a pair of Champions League finals, matches lost to rivals Real Madrid.
Simeone is younger than Wenger. He regularly competes against arguably the two biggest clubs in the world. His resume is outstanding.
Simeone is the perfect replacement for Wenger.
Arsenal legend Thierry Henry will likely one day take over as Arsenal boss. Henry served as somewhat of a player-coach during his final seasons with Major League Soccer side New York Red Bulls. That's the future. Arsenal need a change today.
Exchanging Wenger for Simeone is the right move.
Cleveland Browns: Tank
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This is neither a lazy comment nor is it a hot take. The 2016 Cleveland Browns should go out of their way to tank the upcoming NFL season.
The Browns are not all that close to winning anything of merit. Cleveland needs a true franchise quarterback. It needs a lack play-makers on both sides of the football. Cleveland's best player is Joe Thomas, an offensive tackle who entered the NFL back in 2007 and who turns 32 years old before the end of the upcoming season.
This team gains little by winning a handful of games in 2016.
The Browns hit the figurative reset button (again) when the team moved on from the Mike Pettine era and hired Hue Jackson as new head coach. Jackson shouldn't pay for sins of the past committed well before he ever wore a Browns shirt. He needs more than a year to right the ship in Cleveland.
Jackson's first action must be to phone-in 2016.
WalterFootball.com currently lists two QBs atop his mock draft for next spring. Jackson and his staff have half of a calendar year to choose which QB they want so long as they ensure the Browns "earn" the first overall pick of the 2017 NFL draft.
Nobody likes losing. That is understood. The Indianapolis Colts allegedly gave up on an entire season not all that long ago. In doing so, the Colts earned the right to draft QB Andrew Luck.
What happens if rookie Cody Kessler proves to be Cleveland's QB of the future between now and next spring? That gives the Browns options at the top of next year's draft, but only if they do the right thing and tank this season.
Take the "L" for 2016, Browns. You'll be happy you did.
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