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The Cleveland Cavaliers are counting down the days until Ricky Rubio is cleared from his torn ACL.

Andscape's Marc J. Spears reported on the Hoop Collective podcast the Cavs are "ecstatic about Rubio's return."

"He means much more to that franchise as a leader and as a guard coming off the bench than I think a lot of people know," Spears said at the 40:20 mark.

Brian Windhorst of ESPN added Cleveland is hopeful that a healthy Rubio will allow Darius Garland to play off the ball a little more.

Rubio initially wasn't thrilled to be traded to the Cavaliers ahead of the 2021-22 season but warmed to the franchise as it far exceeded expectations. The 32-year-old played a key role in Cleveland's hot start, and his knee injury was one reason the team couldn't sustain that level in the second half.

In 34 appearances, the 6'2" guard averaged 13.1 points, 6.6 assists and 1.4 steals. He also shot 33.9 percent from beyond the arc, while his 1.7 made threes per game is a career high.

Because of his lengthy layoff, Rubio will likely have an adjustment period as he gets comfortable on the court again. Even if he isn't as good as he was last season, his presence alone could make a difference for the Cavs.

Raul Neto is ostensibly the backup point guard at the moment, yet he's logging just 8.9 minutes per game. Garland and Donovan Mitchell, meanwhile, are each playing at least 36 minutes a night.

Adding another facilitator to the mix will allow head coach J.B. Bickerstaff to ease the burden on his two best guards, so it's easy to see why Rubio's eventual season debut is such a source of excitement.

Former West Virginia quarterback JT Daniels is transferring to Rice, according to ESPN's Pete Thamel.

The Owls will be the fourth school of Daniels' college career. He began his journey at USC before moving to Georgia after two years. He was a member of the Bulldogs in 2021 when they won the College Football Playoff national title.

The 6'3" signal-caller then joined the Mountaineers for 2022 and threw for 2,107 yards, 13 touchdowns and nine interceptions.

Rice is coming off its fifth straight losing season under head coach Mike Bloomgren, though the school did earn its first bowl berth since 2014. The Owls fell 38-24 to Southern Miss in the LendingTree Bowl.

Bloomgren is clearly counting on Daniels to inject some life into a passing game that averaged 232.9 yards per game. The unit will be losing leading receiver Bradley Rozner and Isaiah Esdale, who combined for 1,420 yards, but retain Luke McCaffrey. The Nebraska transfer had 58 catches for 723 yards and six touchdowns in his first full year as a wideout.

Thamel noted Bloomgren and Daniels have some history. Bloomgren tried to recruit Daniels out of high school was he was Stanford's offensive coordinator and then again when Daniels entered the transfer portal.

You'd expect Daniels to open the 2023 season as the starting quarterback. TJ McMahon, the incumbent, finished with 2,102 yards, 18 touchdowns and 14 interceptions in 10 appearances in 2022.

Assuming Daniels gets the nod, he'll have a stiff test right out of the gate. Rice opens next year on the road against Texas.

The offseason of Steve Cohen continued with a stunning turn of events Wednesday when Carlos Correa agreed to a deal with the New York Mets.

Per Jon Heyman of the New York Post, Correa hammered out a 12-year, $315 million contract with the Mets after his pact with the San Francisco Giants fell through.

Correa and the Giants were set to announce his 13-year, $350 million deal Tuesday, but Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area reported the team postponed the press conference less than three hours before its 11 a.m. local time start.

Per Ronald Blum of the Associated Press, the Giants postponed the press conference because of a "medical concern" that arose from Correa's physical.

Heyman noted Correa will play third base, as Francisco Lindor is entrenched as the Mets' starting shortstop.

There were rumblings that Cohen was trying to get in on Correa before he agreed to a deal with the Giants.

Speaking to Heyman on Dec. 17, the Mets owner said he was told by Correa's agent, Scott Boras, they were "already down the road" with San Francisco by the time the Mets tried to get in on the two-time All-Star.

"We thought maybe he might fall to us," Cohen said.

After the Mets stole Correa from San Francisco, Cohen told Heyman he thought the team needed "one more thing" to help it win a World Series.

"This was important … This puts us over the top," he said. "This is a good team. I hope it's a good team!"

While it's not unheard of for an agreement to fall through because of a medical concern, the Mets' swooping in to get Correa at the eleventh hour speaks to how committed Cohen is in his attempt to bring a championship to Queens.

Assuming Correa's deal gets finalized, the Mets will come out of this offseason with arguably the best position player and starting pitcher (Justin Verlander) on the free-agent market. They also added Japanese star Kodai Senga and re-signed Edwin Diaz and Brandon Nimmo.

Per ESPN's Jeff Passan, the Mets are projected to pay a total of $495 million between payroll ($384 million) and luxury-tax payments ($111) in 2023.

The 2015 Los Angeles Dodgers previously held the record for highest payroll in MLB history at $291 million.

Adding Correa to a lineup that includes Lindor, Nimmo, Pete Alonso, Starling Marte, Eduardo Escobar and Jeff McNeil has the potential to give the Mets the best offense in MLB.

As details continue to emerge regarding a locker room confrontation among Chicago Bulls players, star shooting guard DeMar DeRozan offered his perspective on the situation.

K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports reported that "multiple teammates directed frustration at Zach LaVine" during a "strong exchange" at halftime of Sunday's 150-136 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves. Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times reported that there was an additional confrontation after the loss.

After snapping a four-game losing streak with a 113-103 win over the Miami Heat on Tuesday, DeRozan told reporters he believes the exchange was healthy for the Bulls.

"It'd be a problem if we didn't have any aggressive confrontation. It ain't like nobody threw blows or chairs or anything," DeRozan said. "To have any type of confrontation is just a true sign of a competitor. When you want to win, and things aren't going right, frustration kicks in."

Earlier on Tuesday, The Athletic's Shams Charania and Darnell Mayberry reported that LaVine and the Bulls "are not seeing eye to eye." The report also stated, "there's been a palpable feeling across various parts of the franchise of a disconnect over LaVine's situation in Chicago."

The Bulls signed the two-time All-Star to a five-year, $215 million max contract extension over the summer, but the 2022-23 season has not gone the way they'd hoped. Chicago is just 12-18 after Tuesday's win over Miami and sits in 11th place in the Eastern Conference.

However, to DeRozan's point, the confrontation on Sunday may benefit the Bulls in the long run. Chicago put forth one of its better offensive performances of the season on Tuesday, with Nikola Vučević (29 points), DeRozan (24) and LaVine (21) all shooting over 50 percent from the field in the victory.

The Bulls will look to carry that winning formula into Wednesday's road matchup against the Atlanta Hawks (16-15).