Summary judgments: Phillies greatest of all time? Sixers trade outlook? Eagles big-money outlook?

Additions, subtractions, corrections, and clarifications for the record as the Eagles hit the practice field, the Sixers watch Karl-Anthony Towns compete for an NBA Finals berth, and the Phillies clear-cut the majors.

The worst part about the Phillies’ 37-14 start? They are still 42 days away from facing the Braves or the Dodgers. Which means they are still several months away from allowing us to ask the question that has been gnawing at our impulse controls.

Are the Phillies the greatest team of all time?

I’d like nothing more than to sit down and make a serious attempt at an answer. After a 5-2 win over the Rangers on Thursday afternoon, the Phillies are the eighth team in the division era (1969) to start a season at 37-14 or better.

Their three-game blitz of the defending World Series champs was their seventh sweep of the season, equaling their total from all of last season. They have won 29 of their last 35 games, tied for the best 35-game stretch in franchise history. They are off to the best start of any major league team since the 2001 Mariners, who finished that year with a record 116 wins.

Of course, those Mariners kind of underscore the meaninglessness of an in-season GOAT discussion. All that matters is the postseason, especially now that the postseason includes four rounds. Just last year, the Rays started the season 36-15, won 99 games, and lost in the wild-card round.

Which brings us to the Braves and Dodgers. As great as the Phillies have been, as fun and flawlessly as they’ve played, there is a very good chance that everything they have accomplished over the last two months, and everything they will accomplish over the next month, will serve merely as a long exercise in killing time before they travel to Atlanta on July 5.

» READ MORE: On the paradox of modern sports schedules, and the Phillies’ future outlook

I’ll reevaluate that statement if the Phillies rattle off another 29-6 and take a 12-game lead in the division. For now, though, the rest of the season is shaping up to be a three-way round-robin for the top seed in the postseason.

Lose seven of 10 to the Braves and four of six to the Dodgers and the narrative will change quite a bit. That’s especially true since all of those games will happen during a 50-game stretch, beginning with that three-game series in Atlanta in July and ending with the culmination of a four-game series against the Braves at Citizens Park on Sept. 1.

In between, the Phillies will play a pair of three-game series against the 33-19 Dodgers, the second of them coming after a run of nine straight games against the three current AL division leaders. All told, the Phillies will play 24 of 30 and 34 of 53 against teams who entered Thursday at least three games above .500. But those Dodgers and Braves games will essentially count double within the context of the race for the No. 1 seed.

You’ve heard a lot about the Phillies schedule. Most of it is nonsense. True, they haven’t played a team with a winning record since the first series of the season. But there’s more than a little self-fulfillment baked into that factoid. Three days ago, the Rangers were a .500 team. Now, they are three games under .500. That’s how it often goes for a team that plays the 2024 Phillies.

The schedule doesn’t diminish what they’ve accomplished. Rather, it forces us to wait for what they ultimately must prove.

I’m skeptical that the trade market is going to offer the Sixers a path to the promised land.

There has been a lot of hype about the prospect of significant player movement on this year’s trade market, but I suppose that all depends on how you define the word significant.

Donovan Mitchell’s exit from Cleveland does not appear to be nearly as imminent as the conventional wisdom had suggested. Absent a superstar of that caliber, it is difficult to see any incentive for Miami to end the Jimmy Butler Era. Right now, the biggest dominoes look to be a trio of fake superstars, none of whom makes sense for the Sixers.

» READ MORE: Ten potential Phillies (rental) trade targets to monitor before the MLB deadline

Even if Zach LaVine can be had for nothing, it might be too high of a price to pay for a perennially injured player whose teams have never had the kind of success you’d expect with a star who puts up his numbers in a lead role.

LaVine’s ability to get a bucket is undeniable. But the Bulls have been better without him on both ends of the court over the last two seasons, according to his on-off splits. It’s my belief that the NBA is trending toward two-way stars. I’d much rather see the Sixers build their supporting cast than take a desperation chance on someone like Lavine or Trae Young.

As for Brandon Ingram, you can get 85% of the production for 50% of the price. At the end of the day, he does not give the Sixers the situationless bucket-getting dynamism they need on the wing.

The biggest question with the Eagles isn’t their defense. It’s whether their offense will produce commensurate with its price tag.

Saquon Barkley said something interesting at the Eagles’ ongoing practices.

“The biggest thing that struck me is my first seven-on-seven huddle, you see A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith, Dallas Goedert, and Jalen Hurts,” the Eagles’ new running back said. “That’s not a bad group to be out there with. And that’s not even including the offensive linemen.”

Call them The Portfolio. Roster building is all about return on investment. In a salary-capped world, championships are more often than not a measure of bang-for-buck. The identify of a team is often a reflection of its asset allocation. There is a reason guys get paid what they do.

For all the talk of the need for improvement on defense, what the Eagles need most of all is for Brown, Smith, Goedert, Barkley, and Hurts to earn their money. The Eagles’ top four salary-cap hits belong to offensive players (Lane Johnson, Hurts, Brown, Jordan Mailata). Goedert and Smith rank sixth and eighth.

The Eagles are structured to win games on the strength of their offensive skill. They are not paid to be very good. They are paid to be great. That’s what the Eagles are going to need them to be.