England battled back from the brink with three important wickets on the fourth morning of the second Ashes Test.
After taking control on day three, Australia had the chance to bat the home side out of the game at Lord’s, resuming 221 ahead with eight wickets in hand.
But England’s seamers scrapped away valiantly, taking out Usman Khawaja, Steve Smith and Travis Head to keep themselves just about in the hunt.
Australia will still feel well on top, leading by 313 at lunch as they moved from 130 for two to 222 for five.
England already require the second highest chase at the home of cricket, with the West Indies making 344 in 1984, but England have made a habit of hunting formidable targets in the ‘Bazball’ era.
They memorably made 378 for three to beat India at Edgbaston last summer and assistant coach Jeetan Patel spoke on Friday night about his side’s hunger to break records.
Having lost a handful of their own batters to short-pitched bowling, England mimicked the tactic with a sustained bouncer barrage of their own and enjoyed similar rewards.
After a messy opening hour that cast neither team in their best light, Stuart Broad removed stalwart opener Khawaja for 77 with a perfectly-directed bumper.
Khawaja has excelled in the series by showing endless concentration and, after initially refusing to engage, he opened up to hook and picked out substitute fielder Matthew Potts at fine-leg.
Having already seen a half-chance clear wicketkeeper Jonny Bairstow a few minutes earlier, there was no escape for the left-hander this time.
Head should have followed for a golden duck, slashing the impressive Josh Tongue straight to James Anderson at short point.
The 40-year-old let the chance burst through his hands, his second drop of the innings, and took an age to pick himself back up.
Tongue did not allow the disappointment to show, tearing straight back in after the batters crossed ends and dismissing Smith with the very next delivery.
Smith (34) was the latest player to get sucked into the hook, aiming for the stands but finding the hands of Zak Crawley prowling at deep backward square.
Tongue raced away in celebration, marking his third success over Smith in as many attempts this summer, starting for Worcestershire against Sussex and continuing in the first innings here.
The surge continued when Head fended a lifter from Broad towards short-leg, where Joe Root leapt to claim a fine one-handed catch.
The wind was in England’s sails now, but Cameron Green and Alex Carey shut things down to reach the interval, putting on an unbeaten stand of 25.
Tiber Flow provided trainer William Haggas and jockey Tom Marquand with back-to-back victories in the JenningsBet Chipchase Stakes at Newcastle.
Sense Of Duty notched her fourth successive victory with a brilliant display in the Group Three contest 12 months ago, but it was significantly harder work for her stablemate.
Tiber Flow, already a dual course winner and narrowly beaten on All-Weather Championships Finals Day last year, was the 5-2 favourite to make a triumphant return to Gosforth Park following a couple of sound efforts in defeat earlier this season at Newmarket and Haydock.
Always travelling strongly in midfield, the grey responded to Marquand’s urgings to run down Spycatcher inside the last of the six furlongs, with a neck separating them at the line.
“He’s a cracking little horse with loads of ability, he just needs things to go his way,” said Marquand.
“We didn’t go overly quick there, but there’s a headwind and the surface is bit slower than it looked like it was yesterday. He is a horse that has won over seven furlongs before, so if they go a nice tempo and you’ve got one to aim at you’re confident you’re going to be the strongest finisher.
“I think he’s still progressing. He’s a strong little horse and has probably become become more effective at sprinting this year. He was fast before, but he almost didn’t realise how quick he was.”
Maureen Haggas, assistant to her husband, said: “It’s hard work (the surface) today and he just ground it out really.
“He’s a sweet horse with a great temperament. He won a Listed race at Newbury last year so to win a Group Three is really nice.
“We’ll see how he is and see what the ground is like. William will work out where to go.”
Haggas also provided an update on Sense Of Duty, who has not been seen since blitzing her rivals here last year.
She does hold an entry in the July Cup, but appears unlikely to make her comeback at Newmarket.
She added: “We’re trying (to get her back). She’s such a good filly, she’s just delicate and has front legs that go in four different directions.
“Yes she’s coming back, but it’s a slow process and we’re now looking at the Sprint Cup at Haydock (in September).
“We were sort of hoping for Royal Ascot, but that didn’t happen and she wants soft ground, so we’d have been struggling anyway.”
Star Of Mystery ran out an ultra-impressive winner of the Maureen Brittain Memorial Empress Fillies’ Stakes, as Charlie Appleby made a welcome return to the big-race winner’s enclosure at Newmarket.
Appleby has endured a quiet time of late, drawing a blank at Royal Ascot, but the performance of the hugely promising daughter of Kodiac gave the Moulton Paddocks handler plenty to smile about.
Second to the well-regarded Carla’s Way on debut, Star Of Mystery wasted little time opening her account in tremendous fashion at Haydock on her second start, which saw her sent off the 4-5 favourite for this Listed contest.
And she gave favourite-backers barely a moment’s worry, quickening smartly from a forward position in the hands of William Buick to blow the opposition away in fine style, registering a visually taking four-length success from Cry Fiction in the process.
It was Appleby’s second win in the six-furlong contest, following the success of Summer Romance in 2019. However, Appleby does not think she will become a Classic filly next season.
“She is a filly we know pedigree-wise, she is a from a speed-on-speed family,” he said.
“We came here today confident that she would come forward from that run at Haydock.
“We knew at the time when she got beaten at Lingfield that the winner that day was strongly fancied. It was a big ask to go to Ascot and it didn’t materialise unfortunately. We then went to Haydock and and obviously thought we hadn’t beaten a great deal, but when you win by 11 lengths, it is still a very impressive performance and physically she has done well since then.
“The natural route would be to work back from a Cheveley Park realistically. That’s the likelihood. I’m not going to say where we go next, but that will be our target.
“I think she is a six-furlong filly. People have asked if she is a Guineas filly. No, I don’t think she’ll get a Guineas, unless they shorten it by a couple of furlongs. No, realistically, she is not a Guineas filly and it will be wrong to train her like that.
“She is a set little model and we’ll keep cracking on as we are and hopefully she will do what we hope she can achieve in the Cheveley Park and we’ll be delighted.
“We will be positive with her this year.”
Chelsea have announced the signing of Portugal Under-21 international Diego Moreira from Benfica.
Moreira, 18, joined Benfica from Standard Liege in 2020 and was part of the side which won the 2022 UEFA Youth League.
Having made his senior debut in May 2022, Moreira featured regularly for Benfica B last season.
The teenage winger is part of Portugal’s squad at the European Under-21 Championship, where they will face England in the quarter-finals on Sunday.
Moreira’s arrival on a free transfer follows on from the signings of forwards Nicolas Jackson from Villarreal and Christopher Nkunku from RB Leipzig, while Ruben Loftus-Cheek has completed a permanent move to AC Milan.
Loftus-Cheek’s departure is one of several recent outgoings as new Blues boss Mauricio Pochettino reshapes his squad ahead of the start of the season.
Arsenal completed the signing of midfielder Kai Havertz, while N’Golo Kante, Kalidou Koulibaly and goalkeeper Edouard Mendy all headed for Saudi Arabia.
The PA news agency understands that midfielder Mason Mount is also set to depart after Manchester United agreed to sign the England international for an initial £55million.
Though the mindset is to always give of their best to go as deep as possible in a tournament, Jamaica's Head coach Xavier Gilbert reiterated that the Central American and Caribbean (CAC) is more focused on aiding the development of some of the country's young football prospects, as they prepare to transition to the senior level.
In fact, Gilbert pointed out that their opening 2-5 loss to host nation El Salvador was evident as to why their exposure to high level football is significant, as he believes the below par performance was a result of stage fright.
The Reggae Girlz outfit at the tournament comprises mostly Under-20 players with only a handful –Chris-Ann Chambers, Olufolasade Adamolekun, Mireya Grey and twins Mikayla and Malikae Dayes –boasting senior team experience.
This is due to the fact that Jamaica's more experienced players are currently preparing to grace the FIFA Women's World Cup in Australia and New Zealand later this month.
While Shanhaine Nelson (13th) and Natoya Atkinson (79th), got goals for Jamaica, the combination of Danya Guitierrez (5th), Victoria Sanchez (7th and 54th), Brenda Ceren (27th) and Jackeline Velasquez (50th), did the damage for El Salvador.
"It was a tough loss. We just didn't settle, and the opponents got two early goals on us and that kind of set us back. We managed to pull one back but the crowd and energy that El Salvadorans played with, we couldn't match that and we just we just didn't find our footing even though we were much better in the second half," Gilbert told SportsMax.tv.
"So, for I have to give the players credit for the second half display, we made the necessary adjustments, and they performed well then. But there were a lot of nerves in the first half and at this level, with the fanfare, the excitement and just the overall the atmosphere, playing in hostile territory was difficult for them.
"So, I boil it down to nerves but they're young they're still learning, and this is why these kinds of games, and this exposure is important for them and for their development moving forward. So that for me is the most positive thing than anything else, even than the result and they'll only get better from there," he added.
For Gilbert, this evening's contest against Puerto Rico will be an opportunity for the Girlz to bounce back, but more importantly, it will be another test of their mettle, both physically and mentally.
Game time is at 5:00pm
"This is what international football is all about bouncing back after a loss, bringing that fighting spirit and never-say-die mentality to the fore which is why we are more focused on mental preparation and recovery right now heading into our next game against Puerto Rico," Gilbert shared.
"We don't anticipate that it is going to be anything different. They didn't too bad against the Mexicans, they had their moments, and we know that the tournament was going to be tough. So, it's just to see how best we can recover and fix some of the errors from the first game and that's why we are focused on more mental preparedness than anything else," he noted.
Gilbert's side as well as the Puerto Ricans are both hunting their first points, as El Salvador and Mexico occupy the first two spots and are on course to progressing to the medal round.
If the Reggae Girlz are to stand a chance of medalling, they will have to better Puerto Rico and take a point off Mexico in their last game, provided that the Mexicans and the Puerto Ricans better El Salvador when they meet.
“We just have to bounce back against Puerto Rico, we have to go out there and get it right. We are still in the tournament, and we are still trying to see if we can get to the next round, so will do our best to keep the ladies motivated to give it their best,” Gilbert said.
Lewis Hamilton will start today’s sprint race at the Austrian Grand Prix from a lowly 18th as Max Verstappen took pole position.
Defending champion Verstappen raced to top spot for the second day in succession following his qualifying triumph for Sunday’s 71-lap Grand Prix.
Sergio Perez joins team-mate Verstappen on the front row for today’s 23-lap dash round the Red Bull Ring, with McLaren’s Lando Norris an impressive third.
Norris, who finished nearly six tenths back from Verstappen, lines up one place ahead of Haas’ Nico Hulkenberg.
The winner of today’s race will be awarded eight points, but the result has no bearing on Sunday’s main event.
Hamilton was eliminated in the opening phase after he had three laps deleted for exceeding track limits.
“That was really bad time usage,” said Hamilton over the radio. “Am I out?”
“Yes we are,” replied his race engineer Pete Bonnington.
Hamilton had been leading the way in Q1 before he had a hat-trick of laps chalked off by race director Niels Wittich for running all four wheels of his Mercedes over the white line at the final bend.
Hamilton tumbled down the order and was knocked out at the first hurdle of qualifying for only the second time in the last six years.
In Friday’s qualifying session, which determined the grid for Sunday’s main event, Verstappen said Wittich made the drivers look like “amateurs” with his over-zealous refereeing.
But Wittich did not hold back in the second qualifying running of the weekend, with Hamilton not the only driver penalised. Verstappen also had multiple laps scrubbed off.
Following his early exit, Hamilton said: “It is for a sprint race so it does not really matter.
“I wish I was still out there. But there is nothing really to say. We focus on what we can do and we could easily have been much further up. Today I will have some fun from the back.”
Hamilton was soon followed out of qualifying by team-mate George Russell after he suffered a hydraulic failure. Russell’s Mercedes mechanics were forced to change his steering rack meaning that he was unable to post a lap in Q2. He starts 15th.
Today’s sprint race takes place at 4:30pm local time (3:30 BST).
William Buick is to replace suspended Frankie Dettori on Emily Upjohn in next weekend’s Coral-Eclipse, after partnering the John and Thady Gosden-trained filly in a piece of work at Newmarket on Saturday morning.
Emily Upjohn, 10-11 favourite with the sponsors for the 10-furlong Sandown showpiece, worked a mile on the July course with Oaks winner Soul Sister and Mimikyu, who was beaten a short head in a York Group Three on her seasonal bow.
The trio all worked nicely, with Mimikyu in particular looking on very good terms with herself, and the trio finished within a length of each other.
Thady Gosden said: “Following Frankie’s appeal, the owners wanted William to ride and that’s the way we are going. Obviously, William is an excellent rider and we are delighted to have him aboard.
“It is disappointing and frustrating for Frankie not to be riding her, and with William not having a ride in the race he seemed a very sensible option for the owners.
“William had not sat on her before today, but he seemed pleased with what she did. She is a pretty laid-back filly in the mornings.
“Mimikyu always works very well. She has always been a very nice filly.”
Buick won the Eclipse for Gosden in 2012 with Nathaniel and they will team up again at the Esher track, where they could potentially meet Aidan O’Brien’s St James’s Palace Stakes winner Paddington.
Gosden went on: “The Eclipse remains the plan. Although she is coming back to a mile and a quarter after the Coronation Cup, we feel that this is the right spot for her. She likes Sandown, as she has proved before.”
Soul Sister, meanwhile, has several options and could be supplemented for the Irish Oaks at the Curragh on July 22, although she also holds entries in the King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Ascot a week later and the Nassau Strakes at Goodwood on August 3.
Gosden senior said: “I was pleased with all three fillies’ work.
“Mimikyu always works well, the other two are always a bit more laid back about life, but I’m pleased with them. Emily Upjohn is bright and happy and William is pleased with her.
“There is no final decision where Soul Sister goes at this stage, but Emily Upjohn is on course for the Eclipse and Mimikyu is in a couple of places.
Lewis Hamilton will start Saturday’s sprint race at the Austrian Grand Prix from a lowly 18th.
Hamilton was eliminated in the opening phase of the sprint shootout on Saturday in Spielberg after he had three laps deleted for exceeding track limits.
“That was really bad time usage,” said Hamilton over the radio. “Am I out?”
“Yes we are,” replied his race engineer Pete Bonnington.
Hamilton had been leading the way in Q1 before he had a hat-trick of laps chalked off by race director Niels Wittich for running all four wheels of his Mercedes over the white line at the final bend.
Hamilton tumbled down the order and was knocked out at the first hurdle of qualifying for only the second time in the last six years.
Today’s 23-lap sprint race takes place at 4:30pm local time (3:30 BST).
America’s Taylor Moore and Canadian Taylor Pendrith shared a narrow lead ahead of a jam-packed leaderboard at the halfway mark of the Rocket Mortgage Classic in Detroit.
The pair finished Friday’s second round on 13 under par after mirroring each other’s scores across the first two days – Moore carding a 64 and 67, while Pendrith scored a 67 on Thursday followed by a 64.
They lead by one stroke from America’s Rickie Fowler and Sweden’s Ludvig Aberg.
England’s Aaron Rai features among a group of four players in the hunt on 11 under, after he recovered from an early bogey to head into the clubhouse on Friday with a score of 68.
Six players are a shot further back, with just four strokes separating the top 18.
Tyrese Haliburton has landed a max contract extension with the Pacers, a deal that could be worth up to $260 million.
The deal is the largest in franchise history and also Indiana's second deal ever to surpass $100 million.
The third-year pro was an All-Star for the first time last season, becoming the first player in league history to average 20 points and 10 assists while shooting 40 percent from 3-point range in a season.
Haliburton was drafted 12th overall by the Sacramento Kings in 2020 but was traded to the Pacers in February 2022 in a deal that send Domantas Sabonis to the Kings.
Desmond Bane and the Memphis Grizzlies have agreed to a five-year, $207 million max contract extension.
Bane, 25, gets the first $200 million deal in Grizzlies' history as he's developed into one of the NBA's best young shooting guards in his three seasons with Memphis.
He set career highs with 21.5 points, 5.0 rebounds, 4.4 assists and field goal percentage (48 percent) for the Grizzlies last season.
Bane is among the best 3-point shooters in the NBA, making 42.5 percent of his attempts in his career, while increasing the volume each season.
Matt Olson hit two of the six home runs for the Atlanta Braves and baseball’s hottest team rolled to a 16-4 rout of the Miami Marlins on Friday.
Olson went 4 for 5 with his National League-leading 27th and 28th home runs and fell a double shy of the cycle as Atlanta won its sixth straight to finish June with a major league-best 21-4 record.
The 21 victories tied the Atlanta record for most wins in a calendar month, a mark that was set in May 1998 and matched in August 1999, in June 2002 and in June 2022.
Ronald Acuna Jr., Austin Riley, Sean Murphy and Eddie Rosario also went deep to help Atlanta raise its home run total to 153, by far the most in the majors.
Mike Soroka won in his first home start since Aug. 3, 2020, when he tore his Achilles tendon for the first of two times. He allowed three runs and five hits in six innings without a walk and seven strikeouts.
Atlanta scored five runs in the first inning and never looked back. Riley doubled home Acuna and Olson followed with a 434-foot, opposite-field blast to centre. After Murphy struck out and Marcell Ozuna walked, Rosario belted his 14th home to make it 5-0.
Olson’s second homer of the game – another two-run shot – in the fifth inning extended the lead to 10-3 and Rosario’s groundout made it 11-3.
The Marlins ended a five-game winning streak and a seven-game run on the road.
Steer’s walk-off homer in 11th gives Reds wild win
Spencer Steer delivered a walk-off home run in the 11th inning after Matt McLain had a game-tying two-run homer in the 10th to lift the Cincinnati Reds to a wild 7-5 win over the reeling San Diego Padres.
After Elly De La Cruz doubled home the tying run in the 11th, he tried to score from third on Nick Senzel’s grounder but was called out because he didn’t touch the plate before Gary Sanchez’s tag.
Steer made that irrelevant shortly after when he belted a 2-2 pitch from Drew Carlton over the left-field wall for his 13th home run.
Cincinnati won its third straight despite Alexis Diaz’s save streak being stopped at 23 in a row. San Diego has lost a season-high six in row.
Ohtani hits 30th home run in Angels’ loss
Shohei Ohtani's hit the longest home run of his career for his major league-leading 30th of the season but the Los Angeles Angels lost to the Arizona Diamondbacks, 6-2.
The Japanese sensation took Tommy Henry 493 feet out to right field in the sixth inning for the longest homer in the majors this year. He became the first player since 2013 to hit 30 homers by the end of June.
He also extended his own team record for home runs in a month with 15 and tied the AL mark for June homers.
Under-pressure England desperately need to land some blows on the fourth morning of the second Ashes Test following a dispiriting third day at Lord’s.
Rain spared Ben Stokes’ side of any further punishment when it arrived at 5.10pm on Friday with Australia on 130 for two, a lead of 221 runs.
England had been skittled for 325 in the morning session after they resumed on 278 for four with Harry Brook and Ben Stokes unable to live with a terrific opening spell from Mitchell Starc, who finished with three for 88.
Usman Khawaja then continued his rich vein of form with 58 not out at the top of the order and will aim to move Australia’s lead into uncharted territory alongside first innings centurion Steve Smith on day four.
View from the dressing roomNo Lyon, no problem!
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When Nathan Lyon arrived at Lord’s on crutches for day three, England’s eyes should have lit up but the absence of Australia’s frontline spinner with a “significant” calf strain only contributed towards the hosts being skittled out in 14 overs.
Australia captain Pat Cummins stuck with the short-pitched plan that worked against England’s aggression in the evening session on day two and played his part in sending Brook and Jonny Bairstow back to the pavilion.
With the tail blow away in quick time thanks to more bumpers, after Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope and Joe Root had got out in similar fashion on day two, England can expect more short-pitched bowling in their second innings.
Broad blow least of his worries
Stuart Broad took a nasty blow to his jaw in the morning session from a Josh Hazlewood bouncer, but after a concussion check was able to carry on. While slightly shaken, Broad was more unhappy after tea when his loud appeal for lbw against Marnus Labuschagne fell on deaf ears.
Broad’s belief that the Australian was out saw him barely appeal and even though he was left flabbergasted by the not out decision, he was even more perplexed at captain Stokes’ decision to not review.
It proved a poor call by Stokes because after the next delivery Broad looked up at the TV screens inside the ground and saw ball tracker show his ball would have hit leg stump. It capped a frustrating day for England even if Labuschagne was out 14 runs later.
Marathon man eyes record
Labuschagne may not be at the crease, but Khawaja is and could have an Ashes record in his sights after a marathon knock at Edgbaston.
After reaching the end of day three on 58 not out from 123 balls, Khawaja has taken the total number of deliveries he has faced in the Ashes onto 711. The record after the opening two matches of the series is Bill Brown’s tally of 999 balls faced back in the 1938 series.
Bettering that looks unlikely, but Khawaja will certainly fancy his chances after he fronted up to 321 in the first innings in Birmingham.
Starc, Stokes, gone!
Stokes looked to have played the perfect captain’s knock on day two, digging in for 57 balls after England’s mini-wobble to ensure he was there for the third morning, but he lasted one ball on Friday and it set the tone.
In fairness, Stokes could do little to a beauty from Starc, who squared up the England captain and found the outside edge with Cameron Green doing the rest in the slip corden.
Stokes would have cursed his luck and England’s day never got any better with a poor batting display followed up by another wicketless new ball period. Josh Tongue did make the much-needed breakthrough and Broad bowled impressively, but with Australia holding a 221-run lead with eight wickets in hand, the odds are stacked against the hosts.
Angeball meet Bazball
New Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou spent his final day before his work officially begins with the Premier League club by taking in some Ashes cricket at Lord’s. It would have been intriguing to know what the one-time Melbourne native made of the day’s play.
Ex-Australia manager Postecoglou has developed a strong reputation in football with a bold and aggressive style of play that has won many trophies, but does not differ much from what England are trying to achieve under Stokes and Brendon McCullum with their famed ‘Bazball’ approach.
Perhaps Postecoglou would feel more at home playing for the hosts than the more pragmatic tourists. Nevertheless, he starts work at Tottenham on Saturday and no doubt the Ashes will be on the training ground TVs.
It didn’t take long for some of the NBA’s top free agents to come off the board.
Point guard Fred VanVleet is leaving the Toronto Raptors after agreeing with the Houston Rockets on a three-year maximum contract totalling $130million, according to multiple media outlets.
The NBA's negotiating period began Friday at 6 p.m. EDT. Deals will not be made official until the end of the league's annual moratorium on July 6.
Undrafted out of Wichita State, VanVleet broke out during the Raptors’ 2019 title run and was a coveted prize in this year’s free agent class.
VanVleet averaged 19.3 points and a career-high 7.2 assists last season.
The Rockets entered this free agency period with the most salary cap room in the NBA, an estimated $68million.
The Raptors responded by adding Dennis Schröder on a reported two-year, $26million deal as they look to build around Pascal Siakam and Scottie Barnes. Toronto was also able to retain center Jakob Poeltl on a four-year, $80million deal.
Irving stays paired with Dončić
Kyrie Irving has agreed to a contract to remain with the Dallas Mavericks and stay paired with superstar Luka Dončić, multiple media outlets reported Friday at the dawn of free agency.
The deal is reported to be worth $126million over three seasons, with a player option for the final year.
The Mavericks acquired Irving at last season’s trade deadline for Spencer Dinwiddie, Dorian Finney-Smith and draft compensation, but Irving reportedly explored other options in free agency.
Irving had been eligible for a maximum contract of up to five years and $272million with Dallas, but he landed at a shorter deal after playing about 40 games per year over the last four seasons.
The Mavericks also came to terms with sharp-shooting guard Seth Curry on a two-year deal.
Blazers keep Grant on 5-year deal
As a busy NBA offseason moves forward, Damian Lillard and his future with the Portland Trail Blazers continue to steal the spotlight.
Forward Jerami Grant and the Trail Blazers agreed on a five-year, $160million deal to keep him in Portland, multiple media outlets reported Friday.
The implications of Grant’s new deal on Lillard’s situation remain unclear, but a total tear-down to build solely around No. 3 overall pick Scoot Henderson appears less likely with Grant signed through the 2027-28 season.
Acquired from the Detroit Pistons for a draft pick a year ago, Grant averaged 20.5 points and 4.5 rebounds in 63 games with the Trail Blazers last season.
Even after retaining Grant, Portland projects to be about $15million under the luxury tax threshold, with a key decision still to come on restricted free agent Matisse Thybulle.
Draymond Green staying with Warriors
The Golden State Warriors kept their core intact, agreeing with Draymond Green on a new four-year, $100million contract, according to multiple media outlets.
Green had declined a $27.6million player option earlier this offseason.
An 11-year NBA veteran, Green has spent his entire career with the Warriors, winning four championships and being named to an All-Defensive Team eight times.
Bucks retain Middleton on 3-year deal
The Milwaukee Bucks also kept a key player from a championship team, agreeing with Khris Middleton on a three-year contract worth $102million.
Earlier this offseason, Middleton turned down a player option for next season at $40million.
Middleton, a three-time All-Star, helped the Bucks win a title in 2021. A right knee injury limited him to 33 games last season.
Veteran center Brook Lopez remains an unrestricted free agent.
Kuzma cashes in with Wizards
Kyle Kuzma became one of the big winners early in free agency, agreeing with the Washington Wizards on a four-year, $102million deal.
Kuzma’s contract comes after he turned down a $13million player option earlier this offseason.
After making $13million in each of the last two seasons, Kuzma will make $22.8million next season.
Kuzma is coming off a career year in which he averaged 21.2 points and 7.2 rebounds for the Wizards.
Johnson gets $108M from Brooklyn
The Brooklyn Nets and restricted free agent Cam Johnson have agreed on a new four-year contract worth $108million.
A key part of the trade that sent Kevin Durant to the Phoenix Suns last season, Johnson scored a career-high 15.5 points per game last season, including 16.6 per game in 25 contests with the Nets.
Brown leaves Denver for Indiana
After helping the Denver Nuggets win their first NBA title, Bruce Brown is headed to the Indiana Pacers on a two-year, $45million contract.
Brown played a key role for the Nuggets off the bench, averaging a career-high 11.5 points during the regular season, plus 12 points per game on 51.1-percent shooting in the playoffs.
Vincent headed to Lakers
Also cashing in on a strong postseason run was Gabe Vincent, who left the Miami Heat for the Los Angeles Lakers on a three-year, $33million deal.
The undrafted guard averaged 12.7 points and shot 37.8 percent from 3-point range during Miami’s run to the NBA Finals.
The NBA’s top free agent is already off the board.
Kyrie Irving has agreed to a contract to remain with the Dallas Mavericks and stay paired with superstar Luka Dončić, multiple media outlets reported Friday.
The deal is reported to be worth $126million over three seasons, with a player option for the final year.
The NBA's negotiating period began Friday at 6 p.m. ET. Deals will not be made official until the end of the league's annual moratorium on July 6.
The Mavericks acquired Irving at last season’s trade deadline for Spencer Dinwiddie, Dorian Finney-Smith and draft compensation, but Irving reportedly explored other options in free agency.
Irving had been eligible for a maximum contract of up to five years and $272million with Dallas, but he landed at a shorter deal after playing about 40 games per year over the last four seasons.
Irving accepting less than his maximum eligible contract opens up some or all of the non-taxpayer midlevel exception, up to $12.4million, for Dallas to use on role players.
While the Mavs were determined to keep a co-star to pair with Doncic, some have questioned the viability of the fit.
Dallas finished the season 9-18 after acquiring Irving and missed the playoffs. Irving averaged 27 points, five rebounds and six assists in 20 games with the Mavericks last season.
After helping the Cleveland Cavaliers win the 2016 NBA title, Irving has morphed into one of the more enigmatic players in basketball. His stints with the Cavs and Nets both ended with trade demands.
Irving has played 671 career games since being drafted No. 1 overall in 2011, averaging 23.4 points, 3.9 rebounds and 5.7 assists.
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