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Bleacher Report catches you up on the latest news from the WWE Universe.

George Kittle Open to Wrestling

San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle could be the next NFL player to try his hand at professional wrestling.

Appearing on KNBR's Murph and Mac show (h/t Andre Porter of Ringside News), Kittle said he is "open to all opportunities" when asked about stepping into the squared circle at some point.

Rob Gronkowski, Lawrence Taylor, Steve McMichael and Goldberg are among the many former gridiron stars who have made their presence felt in wrestling.

Kittle doesn't hide his wrestling fandom. The three-time Pro Bowler pays tribute to AEW star Penta El Zero Miedo's "zero fear" hand gesture whenever he makes a first down during games.

Penta gave Kittle a custom mask when the 49ers played the Arizona Cardinals in Mexico City for Monday Night Football on Nov. 21.

pic.twitter.com/I8OWcyWfne

— Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful.com (@SeanRossSapp) November 22, 2022

It will likely be a little while before Kittle is able to get in the ring, if he ever does. The 29-year-old is preparing for the postseason after helping the 49ers win the NFC West for the first time since 2019.

WWE Taped Roman Reigns' Raw Segment

Even though Monday's episode of Raw was built around The Bloodline taking over the red brand, the group's leader wasn't actually on the show.

Per Fightful Select (h/t Sunil Joseph of Ringside News), Roman Reigns' segment at the start of the show was filmed during Friday's SmackDown taping.

Monday's show kicked off with the Tribal Chief warning Kevin Owens that he would need more help than just John Cena to take out the Bloodline. The segment continued by showing Sami Zayn and Solo Sikoa beating up Mustafa Ali in the locker room.

It was pretty apparent that Reigns wasn't at the building, otherwise he would have come out in front of the live crowd. When Zayn and the Usos were in the ring for a promo later in the show without the group's leader, it seemed like a tipoff he didn't make the trip to Des Moines, Iowa.

Even without Reigns at the arena, the Bloodline were all over the show. Zayn defeated A.J. Styles with an assist from Sikoa. The Usos didn't fare as well, losing a tag match to Owens and Seth Rollins.

Reigns will be back on TV for the Dec. 30 episode of Friday Night SmackDown when he teams with Zayn to take on Owens and John Cena in a tag match. It will be Cena's first television bout since he lost to Reigns at SummerSlam in August 2021.

Triple H Prioritized Bronson Reed

Bronson Reed made his return to WWE on Monday to help The Miz beat Dexter Lumis in their ladder match.

Per Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful Select (h/t H Jenkins of Ringside News), Triple H considered Reed a "priority hire" when he took over as WWE's chief content officer.

Since taking over as the top creative voice in the company over the summer, Triple H has brought back several superstars who were released by Vince McMahon in recent years.

Reed joins a group of returning superstars that includes Dakota Kai, Karrion Kross, Scarlett, Braun Strowman, Bray Wyatt, Emma, Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson.

WWE originally signed Reed in 2019 and assigned him to NXT. Triple H clearly saw a lot in the Australian big man because he defeated Johnny Gargano to win the NXT North American championship in May 2021.

Reed was released by the promotion three months later. He has since been working for New Japan Pro Wrestling, with Sapp noting the promotion was "hopeful" it would have been able to keep Reed.

It will be interesting to see how the pairing of Reed and Miz works out. A number of the stars Triple H has brought back haven't made a huge impact thus far, but there's nothing wrong with having more depth on the roster to build around.

Listen to Ring Rust Radio for all of the hot wrestling topics. Catch the latest episode in the player below (warning: profanity).

Atlanta Hawks general manager Landry Fields is replacing Travis Schlenk as the team's president of basketball operations.

Schlenk, who's pivoting to an advisory role, cited personal reasons for his decision:

Throughout this season, Tony and I have had multiple, honest conversations about some of the personal things I've been going through and how I've been feeling, and I appreciate the counsel he has provided me as well as the opportunity he gave me six seasons ago to be a first-time general manager. As we enter a new year, the timing feels right for me to take a step back, reflect and prioritize my family.

The move comes as the Hawks are off to a disappointing 16-15 start that has them seventh in the Eastern Conference. ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski referenced what could be Fields' first big piece of business in his new position:

Schlenk has multiple years left on his contract, and will remain in the organization working with owner Tony Ressler, sources said. Fields was promoted to GM in June and will step up and take on a larger role now. Hawks are 16-15 and remain engaged in trade talks on John Collins. https://t.co/6RySqItJgO

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) December 21, 2022

Fields has had a rapid ascension in the front office. He was only just promoted from assistant general manager to GM in June, and now he'll be running the show.

The 34-year-old is inheriting what appears to be a difficult challenge.

Schlenk did well to accelerate the Hawks' rebuild. Their run to the 2021 Eastern Conference Finals doesn't happen without the arrivals of Bogdan Bogdanović and Danilo Gallinari.

The downside of the playoff run was that it significantly raised expectations for the organization and gave the front office the wrong idea about the roster it had.

In the aftermath of the 2021 postseason, John Collins got a five-year, $125 million extension and Kevin Huerter got a four-year, $65 million deal. Huerter has already been shipped out to the Sacramento Kings, and Collins is the source of trade speculation as well.

The Dejounte Murray trade also reflected the increased pressure Schlenk felt to atone for a first-round exit in 2021-22. You give up three first-round draft picks for a player when you think you've found the final piece of the puzzle.

Murray is averaging 20.6 points and 6.1 assists through 26 games, but the trade isn't working out as planned with the team out of the top six in the East. And the front office is now without the kind of assets that could land another difference-maker on the squad.

You also have the reported tension between star guard Trae Young and head coach Nate McMillan. On top of being active prior to the Feb. 9 trade deadline, Fields could plausibly be looking for a new coach before the end of this season.

Even if Wednesday's move was something Schlenk had been considering for some time, he's stepping down at an opportune time for himself.

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.

For a moment, everything clicked for the Chicago Bulls in their 113-103 win Tuesday night over the Heat in Miami. The team's three stars combined for 74 points, almost as if news of on-court frustrations between stars hadn't engulfed the franchise earlier in the day.

But ending a four-game losing streak with a win over a Miami team missing Jimmy Butler and Kyle Lowry will only go so far in healing a fractured franchise.

The dysfunction remains, and teams are looking closely at the Bulls as a potential seller ahead of the February 9 trade deadline. While some think DeMar DeRozan or Nikola Vučević could become available, recent events raise the possibility that LaVine may want out.

The Bulls (12-18) remain half a game outside the play-in tournament. A string of wins might get Chicago as far as a first-round series against the Milwaukee Bucks or Boston Celtics.

Most executives polled believe a teardown is the way to go in theory, but in the same breath aren't convinced Chicago has the appetite for one.

"The right basketball move is accepting a rebuild, but I don't know that they're willing to do that," one Eastern Conference executive said. "They [face] the sunken-cost fallacy that they gave up Wendell Carter Jr., Franz Wagner (No. 8 in 2021) and this year's pick for Vučević. I don't think they feel like they can justify what they should do, and instead will try to [retool]."

The Athletic's Shams Charania and Darnell Mayberry gave a glimpse at the internal dysfunction centered around LaVine and DeRozan not seeing eye-to-eye, including a note about "one-on-one, face-to-face sitdowns between DeRozan and LaVine."

Inside the Chicago Bulls' concerning dynamics, the franchise and Zach LaVine not seeing eye-to-eye, and the organization's efforts to manage the on-court disconnect with LaVine and DeMar DeRozan — with @DarnellMayberry at @TheAthletic:https://t.co/k5dz1z00q8

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) December 20, 2022

The players can downplay the friction, as they did to K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports after last night's game, but their play together over the coming weeks will dictate how the front office proceeds.

Multiple sources took the Athletic story, told from a very LaVine-centric point of view, as an effort by his representation to get the two-time All-Star moved to a new home.

"LaVine never chose Chicago. He was traded there and had his offer sheet [from the Sacramento Kings in 2018] matched," one NBA source said. "He wasn't going to turn away $215 million from the Bulls. No one else had that kind of money to offer."

"Zach's contract was one of those deals that immediately became an eyesore the moment he signed it. He's just not that healthy," the source continued. "I don't know that the Bulls have a real market for him."

Through 26 games, LaVine is averaging 21.7 points on 44.5 percent from the field and 36.5 percent from three-point range—his lowest output dating back to the 2017-18 season.

The guard joined Klutch Sports Group in 2021, which naturally raises the specter of the struggling Los Angeles Lakers making a bid for the star. The Lakers could make a pitch for LaVine and Vučević for Russell Westbrook and 1-2 future first-round picks as compensation.

Many around the league are worried about LaVine's health. He overcame his 2017 ACL injury but underwent offseason arthroscopic surgery last offseason, leading to a few missed games "of scheduled maintenance," per The Athletic.

It's enough to give teams pause, but if Anthony Davis isn't out for too long with a foot injury, the Lakers could be willing to take the risk given their struggles in the Western Conference.

Los Angeles has long monitored the Chicago situation, with DeRozan and Vučević potential targets. LaVine, 27, is a better shooter than DeRozan to complement LeBron James. But would L.A. take on that money even if Klutch urged the move?

Contract and health aside, LaVine would complement the Lakers' two stars with his shooting ability. Both he and DeRozan can score, but LaVine is the better outside shooter.

Not many teams would consider taking on a player dealing with knee issues on such a massive contract. Multiple NBA sources struggled to come up with market value given the circumstances. The same sources agreed if there's a price no one else would pay, the Lakers might be willing, though one didn't think the Buss family would consider that large a contract.

Of course, that speculation could easily be moot. As one agent declared, "[Bulls chairperson Jerry] Reinsdorf isn't helping the Lakers."

If LaVine wants out, Reinsdorf and the Bulls have no obligation to honor any request.

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Bulls Have Yet to Shop Their Best Players

The buzz circling the NBA's Winter Showcase in Las Vegas, with most front offices in attendance, is that the Bulls have yet to shop their best players.

DeRozan, 33, is under contract at $27.3 million (with another season at $28.6 million.) Vučević, 32, is an expiring $22.0 million but could be open to an extend-and-trade in the right situation.

While DeRozan has dipped from last year's career-high 27.9 points a game, he's still at 25.9 while actually shooting a slightly improved 50.7 percent from the field (his three-point shooting is down from 35.2 percent to 30.2, but he has never been a prolific outside shooter). DeRozan is older than LaVine, but his contract is nowhere near the same commitment.

At this early stage, finding viable Chicago partners is purely speculation but worthwhile, given the likelihood. For DeRozan, would the Bulls take on Evan Fournier's $18.9 million for 2023-24 if the New York Knicks offered enough young players (Obi Toppin, Immanuel Quickley, Cam Reddish, etc.) and/or draft compensation?

What about Vučević? Would teams like the Dallas Mavericks, Toronto Raptors or Portland Trail Blazers go after the veteran center?

Outside of the Lakers' interest and given each player's age, the Bulls may not find enough of a return to justify a change of direction.

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Advantage of Blowing It Up

The Bulls owe their first-round pick to the Magic for Vučević with top-4 protection. It may already be too late, barring extreme lottery luck, but Chicago can still get in range of the Detroit Pistons (8-25), Charlotte Hornets (8-23) and Houston Rockets (9-21). With players like Victor Wembanyama and Scoot Henderson bringing extraordinary hype to the top of the lottery, this is a good year to have a top pick.

Losing the pick would be a tough pill to swallow regardless, especially if the Bulls don't re-sign Vučević.

"Even if he's coming back at a good price, they shouldn't reinvest in a losing combination [of players]," an NBA source said.

Of course, if they blow it up, tank and the lottery isn't kind, then re-signing Vučević would still be a tough sell for the front office to make to Reinsdorf.

"What they have doesn't work. They went all-in on it, and I don't think small moves change anything for the team," an NBA source said. "They may just be stuck."

"The Bulls looked great to start last season until Lonzo got hurt. He's so critical to that team; they haven't been the same since," a different Eastern Conference executive said.

Ball's status, like the Bulls' path to contention, remains uncertain. Chicago has until February 9 to decide if there's a fix. By then, the chance of keeping this year's pick may be close to nil.

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Email Eric Pincus at eric.pincus@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter @EricPincus.