Filippo Ganna came up with the goods for Italy when it mattered most with a stunning display of power in the final laps of the men's team pursuit final.

Italy clinched their sixth gold of the Tokyo Olympics by overcoming favourites Denmark in a thrilling race at the Izu Cycling Centre on Wednesday.

Ganna, the reigning world time trial champion, proved decisive as he hit the front in the final 1,000 metres, with Italy gaining a second on Denmark to cross the line in 3:42.032 and claim their eighth Olympic title in the event.

It marks a new world record and clocked in at almost eight seconds faster than Great Britain's winning time in Rio five years ago.

Denmark had looked well set to prove their favourites credentials after a superb opening three kilometres, but they failed to replicate the power shown by Ganna in the final laps and lost by 0.166s.

The Danes had overcome Team GB on Tuesday to make the final, albeit in contentious fashion, with lead rider Frederik Madsen crashing into the back of Charlie Tanfield.


FINISHING WITH A FLOURISH

Team GB had ultimately fallen foul of a somewhat controversial judging call, which meant they had to face off against Switzerland for a seventh-place finish.

However, the outgoing champions recovered to cruise to victory, setting the fastest Olympic time by a British quartet in the process.

"I wouldn't say a point to prove, we just wanted to go out on a positive note, not be disappointed because we had disappointment over the last few days and we wanted to overcome that, go out on a high and look forward to Paris," Oliver Wood told BBC Sport.

There was drama in the bronze medal race too, as Australia triumphed in a trans-Tasman tussle with New Zealand, who had to forfeit when one of their riders fell as a consequence of an overlapping wheel.

Australia have now won eight medals in the last 10 Olympic Games in the men's team pursuit, more than any other nation.


SPRINTING THROUGH

Team GB were able to get over their team disappointment with some fine individual showings from Jack Carlin and Jason Kenny in the men's sprint.

Carlin set a new Olympic record in his first heat, only to qualify as the third fastest, and though he had to survive a wobble in his second race, he progressed safely through to the quarter-finals.

He will be joined by Kenny, who showed typical tactical nous to surprise Yuta Wakimoto on the inside. World record holder Nicholas Paul of Trinidad and Tobago also progressed.

The women's Keirin heats also took place, with the major favourites all making it through.

Katy Marchant – a bronze medallist in Rio – had to do it the hard way, however, after she was relegated for an infringement in her first heat. The 28-year-old atoned in the repechage to take her place in the quarter-finals.

Great Britain's Ben Whittaker was left in tears after Arlen Lopez denied him a gold medal in the men's light heavyweight final.

A bronze medallist at the 2019 World Championship, Whittaker went one better in Tokyo. However, his gold medal hopes were dashed after a 4-1 defeat to the Cuban, who claimed his second Olympic gold in the process.

The 24-year-old looked dejected as he took to the podium, while opting not to wear the silver medal and placing it in his tracksuit pocket.

"Every boxer does not go in there to receive a silver medal. Every boxer in my weight class wanted the gold and I was one of those," he said.

"I truly woke up this morning and believed it was my time. 

"I had the whole of the west Midlands behind me, Great Britain, and I just felt like a failure, so I couldn't celebrate the silver at that time.

"I still can't just yet. When I look back in a few years it will probably be a great achievement, but I was just so upset as I wanted that gold, not the silver."


NO COMPLAINTS FROM WHITTAKER

Despite his disappointment, Whittaker was full of praise for his opponent.

Lopez became the eighth boxer to win Olympic gold medals in two events, having also won when competing at middleweight in Rio five years ago.

"The right man won. I didn't have the right gameplan and he was a lot better than I thought," Whittaker admitted.

"He's a two-time gold medallist for a reason. It showed what level he is at.

"He is a fantastic boxer and hopefully I get to see him again and try and right that wrong."
 

CLARKE BID CUT SHORT

A cut above his right eye denied Frazer Clarke a place in the men's super-heavyweight final.

The Team GB boxing captain sustained the blow during his bout with top seed Bakhodir Jalolov, who subsequently advanced through to fight for the gold medal.

But despite his disappointment, Clarke was thrilled to secure a bronze medal.

"It's not the fairy tale that I wanted, but I'm proud of myself," Clarke told BBC Sport.

"The last six months of my life, I've made more sacrifices than I've made in the last 18 years when it comes to boxing. 

"To get in there with one of the best, it's a pleasure for me, an honour for me. I'm an Olympic bronze medallist; never could I see that for myself."


TORREZ THROUGH

Jalolov will face America's Richard Torrez Jr in the battle to claim gold.

Torrez impressively stopped Kamshybek Kunkabayev of Kazakhstan in round two of their semi-final bout and the 22-year-old believes that winning a gold medal is his destiny.

"I feel like I'm supposed to be here. I feel like it's meant to be," he said. "I'm just going to keep doing all I can to be on that gold medal podium."

No American has fought in the final at the weight limit since Riddick Bowe back in 1988. He lost out to Lennox Lewis, who was representing Canada.

Adam Peaty hailed the achievement of 13-year-old Sky Brown, who claimed bronze for Team GB in the women's park skateboarding event at Tokyo 2020 on Wednesday.

Peaty enjoyed a stellar time in the pool in Japan, winning two gold medals and a silver, becoming the first British swimmer to defend an Olympic title in the process thanks to his victory in the men's 100m breaststroke.

The 26-year-old has now returned home to Britain, having confirmed he will take a break from the pool ahead of a gruelling schedule in 2022.

He is still keeping close tabs on Team GB's progress in Tokyo, however, and was thrilled to see youngster Brown clinch bronze in the debut Olympic sport.

Brown became Britain's youngest ever medallist as she nailed a final run at the Ariake Urban Sports Park to finish third behind Japanese duo Sakura Yosozumi and Kokona Hiraki.

Thirteen years Brown's senior, Peaty put her feat into perspective by admitting when he was her age his main focus was gaming.

"When I was 13 I was in my room all day playing RuneScape (with a bit of swimming)," Peaty tweeted.

"This is a crazy achievement, well done @skyandocean_".

Remarkably, Brown, who suffered a skull fracture in a crash in California last year, was not the youngest on the podium, with silver medallist Hiraki becoming the first athlete to win an Olympic medal prior to her 13th birthday.

Brown hopes her efforts havd inspired other prospective athletes to believe in themselves from a young age.

"I really hope I inspire some girls. I feel like people think I'm too young and I can't do it but, if you believe in yourself, you can do anything," she said.

"I believed in myself and I'm here.

"I honestly feel that accident made me stronger. That accident was pretty bad. It was a hard time for my parents and a hard time for a lot of people and coming back and getting the bronze is really cool.

"I'm really happy. It's really made me stronger."

Real Madrid look set to be without Toni Kroos for the start of the new season, with the midfielder confirming he has been suffering with a pubic bone issue.

Madrid confirmed on Tuesday that Kroos, who retired from international football following Germany's disappointing showing at Euro 2020, had been diagnosed with a pubalgia – a strain or tear of the soft tissue in the groin.

Kroos subsequently revealed on Twitter that he had been suffering with the problem for some time.

"After several month (sic.) of problems on my pubic bone I think it's time to give it a rest and work on it to be well prepared for a long season. Back asap as always," the 31-year-old tweeted.

On Wednesday, reports in Spanish publication AS suggested Kroos could be out for around a month.

Even if the estimation proves incorrect, Kroos seems highly unlikely to be able to play in Carlo Ancelotti's opening LaLiga match of his second stint in charge of Madrid.

Los Blancos, who face Milan on Sunday in their final pre-season friendly, take on Deportivo Alaves on August 14. They then travel to Levante and Real Betis before the first international break of 2021-22.

Kroos made 28 league appearances last term, scoring three goals. 

Men’s 110 Metres Hurdles 

Two Caribbean men advanced to the final. Jamaica’s Ronald Levy advanced after winning semi-final 1 in 13.23.

Levy’s teammate, 2012 Olympic bronze medallist Hansle Parchment, also advanced to the final after finishing second in semi-final 3 in 13.23.

Jamaica’s third participant in the semis, Damion Thomas, narrowly missed out on a place in the final after finishing third in semi-final 2 in 13.39.

Shane Brathwaite of Barbados and Eddie Lovett were the other Caribbean competitors in the discipline but both men failed to progress from the heats. 

 

Men’s 200 Metres

Jamaica’s Rasheed Dwyer and Trinidad & Tobago’s Jereem Richards will both contest the final.

Dwyer advanced by finishing second in semi-final 1 in a time of 20.13, while Richards finished third in semi-final 2 with 20.10 to advance as one of the two fastest losers.

 

Women’s 800 Metres

Jamaica’s Natoya Goule was the Caribbean’s lone competitor in the final.

Goule attempted to go with the early pace set by outstanding American teenager Athing Mu and unfortunately faded towards the end of the race, eventually finishing eighth in 1:58.26.

The race was won by Mu in an American record of 1:55.21 and she was followed by Great Britain’s Keely Hodgkinson, also only 19 years old, who ran a British record 1:55.88 for silver and American Raevyn Rodgers who ran a personal best 1:56.81 for bronze.

 

Women’s 200 Metres

Elaine Thompson-Herah created history by becoming the second person to win the 100-200 double at back-to-back Olympics, the first being the great Usain Bolt who did it at three straight games from 2008-2016.

She crossed the line first in a new personal best of 21.53 to become the second-fastest woman of all time over the distance.

Namibian Christine Mboma won silver in a world junior record of 21.81 and American Gabby Thomas won bronze in 21.87.

Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce ran 21.94 to finish fourth and Shaunae Miller-Uibo, evidently saving her legs for the 400 metres, jogged home to finish 8th in 24.00.

 

Men’s Javelin

No Caribbean men advanced to the final.

Grenada’s Anderson Peters, a 2019 World Championship gold medalist, finished 15th in qualifying with a best distance of 80.42.

Trinidadian 2012 Olympic Champion, Keshorn Walcott, finished 16th in qualifying with 79.33.

Walcott was aiming to win javelin medals at three straight Olympics after winning gold in London in 2012 and bronze in Rio in 2016.

 

Women’s 400 Metres Hurdles

The running theme of spectacular 400-metre hurdling at the Tokyo Olympics continued as the women’s equivalent also saw a new world record being established.

American Sydney McLaughlin won gold in a new world record of 51.46, breaking her own previous world record of 51.90 which she set at the US trials.

Her teammate Dalilah Muhammad, the defending champion in the event, finished second in 51.58, a new personal best.

Dutch rising star Femke Bol won bronze by setting a new European record 52.03.

Jamaica’s Janieve Russell finished a distant fourth but came away with an outstanding new personal best of 53.03 in the process.

 

 

 

Danielle Collins eased past Shelby Rogers 6-4 6-3 to book her spot in the second round at the Silicon Valley Classic on Tuesday.

World number 36 Collins proved too strong for American compatriot Rogers, winning in one hour and 25 minutes.

Collins will meet another American in the second round, with Sloane Stephens up next.

Former U.S. Open winner Stephens beat Caty McNally 6-4 6-2 earlier in the day.

Yulia Putintseva, meanwhile, eased her way into the second round with a 7-5 6-3 win over Croatian Donna Vekic.

Putintseva will face Australian Ajla Tomljanovic in the second round after she fought back to overcome Amanda Anisimova 1-6 7-5 7-5.

France's Kristina Mladenovic won 6-4 6-4 over Han Na-Lae, while American Claire Liu won in three sets against Dayana Yastremska.

Mladenovic will face top seed Elise Mertens, while Liu meets second seed Elena Rybakina.

Miguel Cabrera moved closer to his 500th career home run with number 498 in the Detroit Tigers' 4-2 win against the Boston Red Sox.

The 38-year-old designated hitter sent Garrett Richards over the fence at right-field with the Tigers trailing 2-0 in the second inning.

The home run takes two-time American League MVP and 11-time All-Star Cabrera's 2021 majors tally to 11 homers, and 498 for his career.

Akil Baddoo drove in Derek Hill's to make it 3-2 to the Tigers in the fifth inning, before Robbie Grossman brought Jonathan Schoop home for an RBI single and insurance run.

 

Polanco's game to remember

Gregory Polanco robbed Eduardo Escobar of a walk-off homer in the ninth inning before the Pittsburgh Pirates on 8-5 over the Milwaukee Brewers.

The catch capped a spectacular game for Polanco who brought up a no-hitter in the seventh inning by grounding a single, before the Pirates late rally.

After a long lay-off, Hyun-Jin Ryu returned to the mound at home and tossed down eight strikeouts across seven innings as the Toronto Blue Jays won 7-2 over the Cleveland Indians.

Bryce Harper homered in the eighth inning against his former club as the Philadelphia Phillies edged the Washington Nationals 5-4.

Tommy Pham hit a lead-off home run, the fourth of the day, as the San Diego Padres won 8-1 at the Oakland Athletics.

 

Five straight defeats for Red Sox

The Red Sox' 4-2 loss to the Tigers means they have lost five games in a row, including three against the Tampa Bay Rays, one against the Toronto Blue Jays (13-1) as well as Detroit. Boston are 63-45 and drop to second behind the Rays in the American League East.

 

Another Mookie Betts special

Los Angeles Dodgers star Mookie Betts pulled off a spectacular diving catch on the grass just outside the diamond to rob Michael Brantley of a hit. Only two days ago Betts pulled off another special grab against the Arizona Diamondbacks. For the record, the Dodgers lost 3-0 to the Houston Astros who improve to 64-42.

 

Tuesday's results 

Philadelphia Phillies 5-4 Washington Nationals
New York Yankees 13-1 Baltimore Orioles
Toronto Blue Jays 7-2 Cleveland Indians
Detroit Tigers 4-2 Boston Red Sox
Minnesota Twins 7-5 Cincinnati Reds
Miami Marlins 5-4 New York Mets
Seattle Mariners 4-2 Tampa Bay Rays 
Los Angeles Angels 11-3 Texas Rangers
Pittsburgh Pirates 8-5 Milwaukee Brewers
Chicago White Sox 7-1 Kansas City Royals
Atlanta Braves 6-1 St Louis Cardinals
Colorado Rockies 13-6 Chicago Cubs
Arizona Diamondbacks 3-1 San Francisco Giants
San Diego Padres 8-1 Oakland Athletics
Houston Astros 3-0 Los Angeles Dodgers

 

Padres at Athletics

The San Diego Padres (62-47) continue their series against the Oakland Athletics (60-48).

Many athletes have expressed their joy after competing at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020. They have done so through their social media pages and interviews.

 Antigua’s Joella Lloyd is one such athlete. She competed in the women’s 100 metres where she comfortably won heat 3 of the preliminary round in a time of 11.55 seconds. She then went on to finish 7th in heat1 with a slightly improved time of 11.54 seconds. That heat was won by the USA’s Teahna Daniels while Great Britain’s Dina Asher-Smith came second and Murielle Ahoure from the Ivory Coast finished third.

 Via her Instagram account, she posted a photo of herself waving at the start of her race with the caption, “Walking out and lining up for the 100m at the Tokyo Olympics was everything I dreamt it would be.”

 She then expressed gratitude to all those who supported her throughout the season.

 The caption ended, “All the love and encouragement has not gone unnoticed and I’m extremely grateful for it. It was a pleasure representing Antigua and the Vols on the big stage. Antigua, I love y’all plenty plenty and we’ll be back at it next year!”    

Sydney McLaughlin admitted after watching Karsten Warholm's record-breaking men's 400m hurdles run she felt Wednesday's women's final could see records fall.

McLaughlin smashed her own world record in her gold medal-winning time of 51.46, eclipsing her previous mark of 51.90.

The American's run means both gold medal winners ran a world record in the women's 400m hurdles and men's 400m hurdles finals at Tokyo 2020.

McLaughlin said she watched Warholm win the men's equivalent in 45.94, breaking his previous mark of 46.7, with amazement.

"When I saw the time yesterday I was amazed but not surprised," she said. "I knew it was going to be a really fast race for them. It definitely shocked me and I thought tomorrow [Wednesday] is going to be something fast."

In both 400m hurdles events, the silver medal winners ran faster than the old world record. All six medal winners ran faster than the previous Olympic records in these events.

"I'd definitely say it's a fast track," McLaughlin said about Tokyo Olympic Stadium. "You can feel the difference. It's one of those tracks which gives you the energy."

Silver medalist Dalilah Muhammad also broke the previous world record with 51.58, while Femke Bol from the Netherlands claimed bronze in 52.03 – a European record.

"Anything is possible," McLaughlin said about future world records. "You have such an amazing field of women.

"The more we race each other, anything is possible. Technically there's always more to improve upon. in terms of what's possible, it's completely limitless."

McLaughlin's gold was the 1000th won in athletics in Olympic Games history (since 1896).

CUNHA TRIUMPHS IN SWIMMING MARATHON

Five-time world champion Ana Marcela Cunha claimed the gold medal in the women's 10km marathon swim.

The Brazilian touched first in 1.59.30.8, only 0.9 seconds ahead of reigning Olympic champion Sharon van Rouwendaal from the Netherlands. Australia's Kareena Lee claimed the bronze.

Cunha finished 10th in her home games in Rio but the open water swimmer dominated in warm yet good conditions with minimal wind or current at Odaiba Marine Park.

YOUNGSTERS DOMINATE SKATEBOARDING

Japanese teenager Sakura Yosozumi won the first-ever women's park skateboarding gold medal with a best score of 60.09 in her first of three runs.

Yosozumi beat out 12-year-old compatriot Kokona Hiraki who scored 59.04 in her second run.

Sky Brown scored a 56.47 in her final run to claim bronze and become Team GB's youngest ever Olympic medallist, at the age of 13 years and 28 days.

DUTCH DELIGHT IN RIO RE-MATCH

Felice Albers scored a double as the Netherlands secured their spot in the women's hockey gold medal match after a 5-1 win over reigning champions Great Britain.

In a re-match of the 2016 Rio gold medal showdown, the world number one Dutch side proved too strong, scoring twice within a minute in the second quarter to open up a 2-0 half-time lead.

The Netherlands will be the favourites in the final, when they play either India or Argentina on Friday.

Dutch coach Alison Annan said: "This was a really solid performance and when you win 5-1 in a semi-final you can only be very happy and proud of the players and the team with the performance they put together."

Great Britain's youngest ever Olympic medallist Sky Brown explained her final run in the park skateboarding feels "like a dream" after she claimed bronze in the debut event.

Brown, who suffered skull fractures in a fall in California last year, was already Britain's youngest representative in the nation's history at summer Olympic Games, breaking Margery Hinton's 93-year-old record.

She came into the Tokyo event in excellent form, having won gold at the X Games in July, though falls during her first two attempts at the Ariake Urban Sports Park meant she needed to pull something special out of the bag on her final run.

The 13-year-old did just that, landing every trick to score an impressive 56.47 which, with Japan's Misugu Okamoto subsequently slipping on the next run, was enough to secure bronze.

It made Brown, who finished second in qualifying, Team GB's youngest medallist at the age of 13 years and 28 days.

Okamoto's mistake also denied Japan a clean sweep of the podium, with 19-year-old Sakura Yosozumi winning gold and 12-year-old Kokona Hiraki taking silver with high scores of 60.09 and 59.04 respectively.

"I'm so happy," said a beaming Brown, whose comradery with her competitors was also evident.

"I fell twice and I was like, 'that's kinda sketchy', so I was like, 'I gotta make it'. I didn’t really think I was going to make it but I did it, and I'm so happy.

"This is insane. Everyone did amazing, everyone was doing so well, I'm so proud of everyone, and just being on the podium with my really good friend [Yosozumi] is just insane.

"It was unbelievable. Even right now it feels like a dream. It's insane. I'm so happy and so thankful and so proud of every one of the other girls, too."

 

"This is incredible – it feels unreal I'm so happy to be here – I'm blessed," Brown added in an interview with BBC Sport.

"I was definitely bumped, I fell twice, that made the last run feel even better. All the girls are ripping it, it was insane, it was a super sick final."

Asked what she was planning to do next, Brown laughed: "Hang out with some friends, and party?!"

While Japanese-born Brown made history for Team GB, Hiraki became the first athlete since 1936 to win an Olympic medal before her 13th birthday.

Japan have now won all three golds up for grabs so far in the skateboarding, with Momiji Nishiya and Yuto Horigome having triumphed in the street events last week.

In fact, it is the first time Japan have had a gold and silver one-two in an Olympic event since since 1976, when Mitsuo Tsukahara and Eizo Kenmotsu collected the top two medals in the men's gymnastics horizontal bar. 

Second seed Felix Auger-Aliassime survived after an early scare against Andreas Seppi to progress to the third round at the Citi Open in Washington D.C. on Tuesday.

The Canadian world number 15 won 2-6 6-2 6-2 in just under two hours over the 37-year-old Italian.

Seppi had beaten Auger-Aliassime in the opening round at the French Open in June.

Auger-Aliassime this time hit 25 winners, including nine aces, overcoming a slow start where he was broken twice inside the opening six games to win in three sets.

Youngster Jenson Brooksby continued his bright start in Washington D.C. with a 7-6 (7-4) 7-5 win over fellow American Francis Tiafoe.

Australian Nick Kyrgios was bundled out by Mackenzie McDonald 6-4 6-4, while 12th seed Sebastian Korda eased past Vasek Pospisil 7-5 6-4 in the second round.

Seventh seed Cameron Norrie also triumphed in straight sets over Marcos Giron 6-4 6-3, while emerging star Brandon Nakashima celebrated his 20th birthday with a 6-3 6-3 victory over Alexei Popyrin.

Denis Kudla beat Feliciano Lopez to set up a second round date with 10th seed Taylor Fritz, while Tennys Sandgren will meet 14th seed Lloyd Harris after beating James Duckworth in three sets.

Finland's Emil Ruusuvuori beat India's Prajnesh Gunneswaran 2-6 6-1 6-1 and will take on fifth seed Jannik Sinner in the second round.

Sydney McLaughlin shaved almost half a second off her own world record as she came from behind to win the women's 400m hurdles at Tokyo 2020 on Wednesday.

The American followed up Karsten Warholm's world record feats in the men's equivalent event on Tuesday, with a time of 51.46.

McLaughlin eclipsed her previous mark of 51.90, set in June earlier this year at the USA Olympic trials in Eugene.

USA's Dalilah Muhammad also broke the previous world record mark, claiming silver with a personal best 51.58.

Muhammad set the early pace but McLaughlin mowed her down over the final 100m to claim victory.

Femke Bol, from the Netherlands, won the bronze medal with a European record time of 52.03.

The top three all beat the previous Olympic record of 52.64, set by Jamaica's Melaine Walker at Beijing 2008.

Jamaica's Janieve Russell was fourth with Ukrainian pair Anna Ryzhykova and Viktoriya Tkachuk unable to threaten from the inside lanes, to finish fifth and sixth respectively.

Decorated sprinter Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce insists she has plenty more left to give, despite heading toward an age that most runners are already retired.

Fraser-Pryce, now 34, entered the Tokyo Olympics as favourite for the 100m title but had to settle for second behind compatriot Elaine Thompson-Herah.  In the 200m event, she finished just outside the medals in the fourth position behind Thompson-Herah, Namibia’s Christine Mboma, and the United States’ Gabrielle Thomas.

Despite admitting to some amount of disappointment, Fraser-Pryce who turns 35 at the end of the year expects to press on, for now.

“A lot of persons believe that you’ve reached a certain age, you’ve achieved so much, why do more?” Fraser Pryce said.

In Tokyo, the athlete won her fifth Olympic individual medal, two of which have been gold.  In addition, she has five individual World Championship gold medals.

“I believe there’s more to give.  As you can see, I ran 21.9, I ran 21.7 earlier at the Jamaica National Champions.  I ran 10.6, I’m still running 10.7s.  It just shows the power of God and the gift and the talent that I have been given.  When I’m ready when it’s time I’m hoping that someone along the way has been inspired."

The athlete has repeatedly said that she expects next year’s IAAF World Championships in Oregon to be her final major Games appearance.

DeMar DeRozan is headed to Chicago on a new three-year, $85million contract after the Bulls and San Antonio Spurs orchestrated a sign-and-trade deal, multiple outlets on reported Tuesday.

The Spurs received Thaddeus Young and Al-Farouq Aminu, who are both on expiring contracts, as well as a future first-round draft pick and two future second-round picks.

DeRozan, who turns 32 later this week, is one of the most consistent scorers in the NBA, averaging at least 20 points per game over each of the last eight seasons.

The 6ft 6in swingman averaged 21.6 points and a career-high 6.9 assists last season for San Antonio while shooting 49.5 percent from the floor.

DeRozan's game, however, has come under scrutiny by some due to his unwillingness to attempt and inability to make three-pointers.

He shot just 22.7 percent from beyond the arc in his three-season tenure with the Spurs.

The move is the latest for Bulls vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas and general manager Marc Eversley in an effort to end the franchise's four-season playoff drought.

Also joining Chicago will be point guard Lonzo Ball, who received a four-year, $85m contract Monday in a sign-and-trade deal that ended his tenure with the New Orleans Pelicans.

The Bulls also signed restricted free agent guard Alex Caruso after the Los Angeles Lakers declined to match Chicago's four-year, $37m offer.

Chicago were buyers at last season's trade deadline, acquiring former All-Star center Nikola Vucevic from the Orlando Magic, and are making an urgent push to build around Zach LaVine and win their first playoff series since 2015.

Always a dangerous scorer, LaVine achieved new levels of efficiency last season, shooting 50.7 percent from the field and 41.9 percent from three-point range, both career highs.

Chicago was thought to be in the market for a polished player or two this offseason, but many thought the team would need to part ways with a young asset.

But the Bulls' front office was able to add both DeRozan and Ball without giving up Lauri Markkanen, Patrick Williams or Coby White. 

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