The biggest reason the Vikings enter the 2025 NFL Draft with a limited number of picks at their disposal is because general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah traded most of them away while navigating the 2024 NFL Draft.

Not that he regrets what he did.

Asked about the pair of trades he executed last year that ultimately cost the Vikings a pick in the second round, third round, and fourth round this year, he replied, “I know exactly why we did those things at the time.”

The trade with the the Houston Texans, which cost the Vikings a pick in the second round this year, allowed them to move up from No. 42 to No. 23, and provided them with some optionality before they ultimately selected Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy.

The trade with the Jacksonville Jaguars, which cost the Vikings a pick in the third round and fourth round this year, allowed them to move up from No. 23 to the No. 17, and put them in position to select Alabama edge rusher Dallas Turner.

Both players are extremely talented and expected to be foundational pieces for the Vikings.

“Those are all things that went into the calculus,” Adofo-Mensah said. “We feel good about that exact approach and that thought process.”

How will it impact strategy heading into the 2025 NFL Draft? That remain to be seen.

Unless the Vikings make a trade of some sort, they will only have a pick in the first round (No. 24), third round (No. 97 pick), fifth round (No. 139), and sixth round (No. 187). That lack of ammo seemed to impact the intentionality with which they approached free agency, unafraid to pay a premium to make sure they addressed their weaknesses.

“We were able to do a lot of different things that really sets us up for the draft,” Adofo-Mensah said. “We want to be in a place where we’re proactive instead of reactive.”

Though many are suggesting that the Vikings make a trade that allows them to move back from No. 24 while acquiring more picks in the process, they could also decide to stay put and take the best player available.

“You have to earn the right to be the type of team that drafts for impact and not need,” Adofo-Mensah said. “We’re able to do that with what we did in free agency and some of the things we’ve done the past couple of years here.”

In the meantime, the Vikings are simply making sure they have things in order so they’re ready to go whenever they’re on the clock.

“We try to make sure our board is correct in terms of how we view things,” Adofo-Mensah said. “If we’re picking No. 24, we’d better have 24 names that we’re willing to stand up and clap (for) and feel great about. That’s first and foremost. The foundation of how we build this thing.”

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The Lakers only have one true center in their rotation — Jaxson Hayes, a career-long reserve who starts for Los Angeles but generally plays less than 20 minutes a game.

And he’s certainly not a member of the Lakers’ best five-man grouping. Included in that collection is LeBron James, Luka Doncic, Austin Reaves, Rui Hachimura and Dorian Finney-Smith. That’s a lineup that features ample shot creation, scoring and enough length — everyone but Reaves features a wing span of 7 feet or better — to be bothersome defensively.

It’s the type of lineup that would figure to give Minnesota problems, but the Wolves potentially have one large advantage in that spot — specifically, the center spot. And large is exactly how Rudy Gobert has played over the final quarter of the season.

Over the past 11 games of the regular season Gobert averaged 18.5 points and 14.5 rebounds for Minnesota as he dominated physically overmatched opponents.

After the center got off to a slow start to the season, Timberwolves coach Chris Finch believes Gobert may have been in a “lower gear” to open the campaign after consecutive summers spent playing international basketball. He said Gobert told the team before and after the all-star break that he knew what needed to happen to return to playing to his potential.

And he’s done just that.

“I just think, you know, I got in a little groove by trying to be more aggressive, try to really set the tone for this team,” Gobert said. “And obviously the importance of the moment and importance of every single game down the stretch, I think, probably allowed me to play at an even higher level.”

The Lakers are certainly better than any team Minnesota saw in that span, but even 80% of Gobert’s his end-of-season production would go a long way toward the Wolves winning the first-round series that starts Saturday in Los Angeles.

Can he reach that? Not if you listen to national podcast conversations, which suggest that Gobert will struggle against the Lakers’ “small-ball” approach and force Finch to look for alternative lineup options.

Never mind that Gobert has been serviceable this season in isolation defense, per NBA.com. He allows 0.99 points per possession in such spots. And while that’s certainly up from the 0.73 ppp he allowed a year ago, even the number surrendered this year is better than, say, the Spurs’ Victor Wembanyama. Many players have tried and failed to size Gobert up on the perimeter.

“Some of these narratives are cheap. They’re easy. They grab a hold of them and just spin them all the time,” Finch said. “But if you study what’s really going on, what the numbers might say, or being true to yourself in a lot of ways and trusting in why that’s been good to you, then I think there’s a lot of value in that.”

Why does perception veer so far from reality? Because anecdotes reverberate in the minds of all. There were playoff games during his time in Utah in which Gobert was “exploited” by opposing five-out lineups where he had to sprint out to shooters — Terance Mann and Maxi Kleber come to mind — then rush back to the paint to prevent layups.

Then, of course, there’s the end of Game 2 of last year’s Western Conference Finals, when Doncic got Gobert on a switch and buried a difficult step-back triple in his face to give the Mavericks a 2-0 series lead. When that moment appeared in Doncic’s tribute video this month in his post-trade return to Dallas, the star admitted he got emotional.

Gobert noted his detractors have probably seen that clip “a thousand times.”

“So did I,” he said. “But, you know, this is one clip amongst a lot of other defensive possessions. That’s why I know a lot of people don’t like the numbers, but … I mean, over a long period of time the numbers speak more than the eye test.

“You know it’s going to be up to us to be able to be consistent with our approach. … I’m very likely to be crossed over. Very likely people are going to hit some tough shots over me, and then I might get dunked on. All this stuff might happen, but let’s see what happens over the course of hundreds and hundreds of possessions.”

Gobert noted he doesn’t have try to rewrite any narratives. The center has reached the point in his career where he is comfortable and confident in who he is and how he impacts winning. “I’m really worried about setting the tone, being myself and letting the game take care of itself,” he said.

Protect the paint. Grab rebounds. Finish at the rim. Make the right plays when the ball comes your way. If Gobert checks all of those boxes, he’ll be an integral part of Minnesota’s success in the series, regardless of which lineups the Lakers trot out.

“Rudy’s going to have to be huge, I think he knows that. I think he’s prepared himself for this for the last couple months,” Wolves guard Mike Conley said. “He’s really worked himself into great shape. He looked really good the last few weeks of the season, and we know we’re going to have to utilize him a lot, whether that’s him in the dunker or in the post or underneath the rim, lob threat or crashing the glass.”

And, Conley noted, on defense against any group.

“The whole point, I think, in the playoffs and basketball and anything is to try to force the other team to adapt to you,” Gobert said, “and not the other way around.”

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For a 19-year-old rookie who has never before played in am NHL game, new Wild defenseman Zeev Buium looked plenty comfortable during practice Thursday at TRIA Rink, showing some of the skill that made him one of college hockey’s top players last season.

In fact, the blue liner spent time practicing with Minnesota’s top power-play unit.

Wild coach John Hynes would not say for sure whether Buium’s NHL debut will come on Sunday in Game 1 against the Golden Knights but likes what the University of Denver product showed in his first full practice Thursday.

“I just think he’s a really good player, but let’s try to do the right things to give him the best chance,” said Hynes, who did not play Buium in the regular-season finale against Anaheim. “Today I thought he did a good job, and talking to him after practice, he obviously felt more comfortable. But (he) said it was a little bit different too — the passes, the speed of the practice. The details guys play with are good, so good day for him.”

After practice Buium also talked about the little things, like switching from the full facemask required in college hockey to the half shield that NHLers wear.

“Obviously, really nice to get out there with all of them and get a real practice under me. Felt better as the practice went on, and it was just good to be out there,” he said, noting that if he plays Sunday, it will be easy for his family to travel from San Diego. “I’m just excited. I mean, every day coming to the rink it’s fun to be here. This is the highest level, this is where you want to be. If my name gets called upon, I’ll be ready.”

In 2023, former Minnesota Gophers star Brock Faber stepped right into the Wild lineup for their first round series versus Dallas.

“I’m excited for him. … He’s such a good kid. I’ve gotten to know him for the past three days and I’m just excited. We all want this guy in the lineup,” Wild forward Marcus Foligno said. “I think just the way Zeev holds himself, carries himself, he’s gonna be just fine going into Game 1 against Vegas. He’s got the support of us, his new teammates now, and we want him to flourish.

“If he could be the offensive guy that we saw in college. and can help us get some other looks and plays, we just need to make sure that we’re giving him a confidence boost to make those plays and back him up.”

In the past month, Hynes had often employed five forwards on the Wild’s power play could seemingly swap in an offensive-minded defenseman like Buium when Vegas has a player in the penalty box. Hynes is not showing his cards just yet.

“I don’t wanna get too far ahead with it, particularly now that we have two days off,” the coach said. “Now, you ask me that question Saturday, I’ll have the answer for you for sure. But today was like, ‘OK, let’s see some things.’ … We’re healthy and it was a good day put him in some situations that we think he can help us in.”

The Wild fly to Nevada on Friday afternoon and will skate at the Golden Knights’ practice facility on Saturday.

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HOUSTON (AP) — A Southwest Airlines flight had to be evacuated on Thursday after an engine fire forced it to return to a Houston airport.

The flight was leaving Hobby Airport on its way to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, when it was forced to return around 11:15 a.m. due to the fire, according to the Houston Fire Department.

When the plane landed, firefighters extinguished the blaze as well as a small grass fire near the runway, the fire department said in a statement.

No injuries were reported. The flight crew helped the 134 passengers evacuate the plane, Southwest Airlines said in a statement.

In this image from video, passengers walk across the tarmac after evacuating from a Southwest Airlines plane at Hobby Airport in Houston on Thursday, April 17, 2025. (KTRK via AP)

Passengers exited the aircraft on a taxiway at the airport, the Federal Aviation Administration said in an email.

The cause of the fire was being investigated, the FAA said.

The airline was working to get all passengers to their final destination in Mexico.

“We appreciate the professionalism of our flight crew in responding to this situation. Nothing is more important to Southwest than the safety of our customers and employees,” Southwest Airlines said.

The engine fire comes as air travel is under heightened scrutiny following a series of crashes and mishaps. Federal officials have tried to reassure travelers that flying is the safest mode of transportation, and statistics support that.