Browsing: reaches

Denver Nuggets guard Christian Braun has agreed to a five-year, $125 million rookie contract extension with the franchise, agent Bill Duffy of WME Basketball told ESPN on Monday.

Braun, the No. 21 pick in the 2022 NBA draft, has been a developmental find and success for the Nuggets brass. The Nuggets’ top executives, Ben Tenzer and Jon Wallace, made it a priority to negotiate a new long-term deal to lock in Braun as part of the franchise’s core moving forward.

Editor’s Picks

Braun became a full-time starter and averaged 15.4 points last season, up from 7.3 points in 2023-24, while recording 5.2 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 39.7% 3-point shooting per game over 79 contests (77 starts). He was one of just five players to average at least 15 points and five rebounds while shooting 58% from the field and the only non-center on that list.

Braun’s growth at shooting guard is vital to support perennial MVP candidate Nikola Jokic, star guard Jamal Murray, integral forward Aaron Gordon and newcomer Cameron Johnson. Specifically in transition, Braun provides offense for the Nuggets, leading the NBA in total fast-break points last season, according to ESPN Research. He became the first player with at least 400 fast-break points in a season since Buddy Hield in 2018-19.

The Nuggets, meanwhile, are not expected to reach a rookie extension with Peyton Watson ahead of Monday’s deadline, sources said. Watson was the Nuggets’ No. 30 selection in the 2022 draft.

Source link

There are legitimate questions about what the Portland Trail Blazers will look like on the court in a few years and which parts of their young core will be part of that future, but an athletic scoring wing and an All-Defense forward can fit in any plan.

Which is why Portland locked down two key young players on Sunday with rookie contract extensions. The Blazers and Shaedon Sharpe agreed to a four-year, $90 million extension, a story broken by Shams Charania of ESPN. The Trail Blazers have also agreed to a four-year, $82 million contract extension with defensive forward Toumani Camara, a deal also broken by ESPNâ€s Charania.

This is fantastic work by the Portland front office — they have locked up their two best wing players for the next five years at a price that will be less than 15% of the salary cap (hat tip to Keith Smith).

Sharpe is an athletic wing who averaged a career-high 18.5 points a game last season, adding 4.5 rebounds a night, but seems poised for a breakout season. He needs to improve his efficiency — 31.1% on 3-pointers last season and a 55.1 true shooting percentage that was a tick below the league average — and on the defensive end, but if he does, this will be a steal of a contract. His athleticism and ability to throw down dunks are not in question.

A lot of people around the league thought Sharpeâ€s extension would end up north of $100 million, to get him at $90 million for the four years is a win for the Trail Blazers.

The Camara extension locks up a 25-year-old All-Defense Team player from a year ago who has been improving on offense each season. Camaraâ€s max extension would have been four years, $87 million, and that would have been a fair price. To get him on a contract worth less than $21 million on average is a great deal from Portlandâ€s front office.

Camara was almost a throw-in part of the three-team trade that sent Damian Lillard to Milwaukee and brought Deandre Ayton to Portland, but he ended up being one of the best parts of it for the Blazers. On top of being an elite defender, Camara is improving on offense and averaged 11.3 points and 5.8 rebounds while shooting 37.5% from beyond the arc last season.

Source link

Shaedon Sharpe has agreed to a four-year, $90 million extension of his rookie-scale contract with the Trail Blazers, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania — a move that keeps the hyper-athletic young swingman in Portland through the end of the decade, and that represents a vote of confidence that the seventh overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft can be a player of consequence for the next competitive iteration of the Blazers.

The new deal for Sharpe comes on the heels of extensions in Portland for general manager Joe Cronin and head coach Chauncey Billups after the 2024-25 NBA season. The Blazers finished 36-46 — their fourth straight sub-.500 season following the firing of longtime former head coach Terry Stotts. They improved dramatically over the course of the campaign, though, bouncing back from a 9-20 start to go 27-26 after Christmas. Portland posted the Westâ€s eighth-best record and net rating after Feb. 1, fueled by a defense that allowed fewer points per possession over its final 34 games than any team outside of Golden State, Oklahoma City, Orlando and Boston — all playoff teams (and, in the Thunder, the eventual NBA champions).

Advertisement

While correlation isnâ€t causation, it seems notable that the Blazers†significant defensive uptick began in earnest when Sharpe moved from the starting lineup to the bench mid-season. After a 22-point beatdown by the Rockets stretched their losing streak to five games, the Blazers ranked 28th in the NBA in defensive efficiency. Billups sent Sharpe to the bench, explicitly calling out his shortcomings on the defensive end of the floor.

“We need to be better defensively. … He’s struggled a little bit,†Billups said, according to Sean Highkin of the Rose Garden Report. “As a head coach, as I’m trying to build and develop these guys, I don’t believe in playing on one side of the ball. I just can’t allow that. I can’t have that on my watch. Shae has to get better. I’ve seen him be so good so many different times, but he’s just struggled a little bit. And when he struggles, there needs to be consequences for that.â€

[Get more Trail Blazers news: Portland team feed]

Over the next six weeks, the Blazers went 13-5 with the leagueâ€s second-best defense — setting a template for an identity shift that continued this summer when Portland plucked ace defensive veteran Jrue Holiday from the fire-selling Celtics. Sharpe, for his part, responded to the demotion well, continuing to score well in a reserve role and maintaining his offensive potency after a late-season return to the starting five, averaging 21.5 points, 6.3 rebounds and 3.3 assists in 35.2 minutes per game down the stretch.

Advertisement

That sort of up-and-down season produced something of a conundrum for Portlandâ€s braintrust as Sharpe became eligible for an extension this summer. If the Blazers want to be a defense-first team, built around sturdy wings Deni Avdija and Toumani Camara and backstopped by 2024 lottery pick Donovan Clingan at center, and they have an eye on improving their collective long-range game — 19th in made 3-pointers per game, 26th in team 3-point accuracy — then would it make sense to throw the proverbial bag at a career 33% 3-point shooter that they had to bench for defensive malfeasance?

On the other hand: For an organization thatâ€s been searching for its next foundational star since before trading Damian Lillard, and thatâ€s still searching even with Dame now back in the building, might Sharpe be the best bet they can make at the moment? And might making it now — rather than letting Sharpe play out the season and enter a restricted free agency market where, unlike this frigid summer, more teams might have the financial flexibility with which to toss him an offer sheet if heâ€s coming off a breakout run — actually be the more prudent course of action? (Especially with extension decisions on the likes of Avdija and former No. 3 overall pick Scoot Henderson fast approaching.)

Advertisement

All told, Sharpe averaged 18.5 points, 4.5 rebounds and 2.8 assists in 31.3 minutes per game on .551 true shooting in his third professional campaign. The list of players to produce like that by their age-21 season includes only 26 other names; 24 of the 26 went on to become All-Stars, and Magic forward Franz Wagner was on pace to make it 25 last season, if not for a torn oblique muscle. (Weâ€ll keep a candle lit for you, John Collins.)

Thatâ€s not to say that Sharpe will wind up blossoming into a LeBron/Luka/KD/Tatum/SGA-level top-flight perimeter superstar. But when youâ€re talking about a 6-foot-5 wing with a near-7-foot wingspan and nuclear athleticism, whoâ€s still playing catch-up a bit after skipping college ball entirely, and whose development curve already compares favorably to where several somewhat similarly styled players were at the same age, you can understand a team deeming it reasonable to ante up, paying for the right to see if that kind of blossoming does happen — and to be able to reap the benefits if it does.

Thatâ€s the path the Blazers took, agreeing to terms that will carry Sharpe through his mid-20s, the anticipated upswing toward his athletic prime. Theyâ€re betting that Sharpe — who has reportedly turned heads in training camp — will continue his upward trajectory, taking the kind of leap that will solidify him as not only one of the most exciting young perimeter talents in the NBA, but as a bona fide cornerstone of the core theyâ€re building in Portland.

Advertisement

“Shaedon, man — I think everybody knows the talent that he is and what he can do, but that boy can hoop,†the veteran Holiday recently told reporters when asked who had stood out to him in camp. “When you go up against him in practice, first-hand, every single day — heâ€s got it.â€

Source link

The Curry brothers are back together again.

Seth Curry reached a one-year deal with the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday night, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania. Seth will join his brother, Stephen Curry, and the Warriors at the start of training camp this week. Specifics of his deal are not yet known.

Advertisement

Seth spent last season with the Charlotte Hornets, where he averaged 6.5 points and 1.7 rebounds largely off the bench. He became a free agent at the end of the season. The Warriors will mark the fifth team that Seth has played for in the past five seasons.

Seth went undrafted in the 2013 NBA Draft out of Duke, but he signed a deal and got his start with both the Memphis Grizzlies and Cleveland Cavaliers during his rookie season. He’s bounced around for much of his career, and also spent time with the Phoenix Suns, Sacramento Kings, Dallas Mavericks, Philadelphia 76ers and Brooklyn Nets before landing with Charlotte during the 2023-24 campaign. In total, he’s averaged 10 points, two rebounds and 1.9 assists while shooting better than 43% from behind the arc in his career.

[Get more Warriors news: Golden State team feed]

This will mark the first time that the Curry brothers have been on the same team in the NBA. Stephen has been with the Warriors for his entire career after they took him with the No. 7 overall pick in 2009. The two-time MVP and two-time scoring champ been a centerpiece in their dynasty run that won four NBA championships. He averaged 24.5 points and six assists last season with the Warriors while averaging a league-high 4.4 made 3-pointers per game.

Advertisement

The Warriors went 48-34 last season and fell in the Western Conference semifinals for the second time in the past three seasons. The move to add Seth was the second that the Warriors made on Tuesday. They reached a two-year, $48.5 million deal with Jonathan Kuminga earlier on Tuesday afternoon after months of a contract dispute.

The Warriors will open the regular season on Oct. 21 against the Los Angeles Lakers.

Source link

Golden State Warriors wing Jonathan Kuminga isn’t going anywhere after all.

Kuminga reached a two-year, $48.5 million deal to return to the Warriors on Tuesday afternoon, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania. The deal includes a team option that is designed “to be ripped up and renegotiated next summer.” The new contract came after months of a contract dispute between the two sides that felt like it was going nowhere.

Advertisement

Kuminga, according to Charania, chose this deal over a three-year deal worth around $75 million in order to maintain control over his immediate future. He will be eligible to be traded in January, which is something that is still likely to be explored.

[Yahoo Sports TV is here! Watch live shows and highlights 24/7]

The Warriors selected Kuminga with the No. 7 overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft, taking him one spot ahead of the Orlando Magic’s Franz Wagner, who showed All-Star potential prior to an injury last season.

Kuminga has not consistently shown the same promise, though he has flashed glimpses of the athleticism and creativity that made him one of the highest-upside players in his draft. He has averaged 15.8 points (on 50/31/71 shooting splits), 4.7 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game over the past two seasons.

Advertisement

It is no secret that the Warriors have long been shopping Kuminga in various trade scenarios, as he completely fell out of their playoff rotation in a seven-game, first-round series with the Houston Rockets.

Most recently, the Miami Heat and Sacramento Kings have been linked as suitors for Kuminga.

For his part, Kuminga wants a consistent role, which he believes will grant him the chance to be great.

“Things take time, but I feel like Iâ€m at the point where that has to be my priority, to just be one of the guys a team relies on,” he told The Athletic. “Aiming to be an All-Star. Multiple times. Aiming to be great. … Wherever Iâ€m going to be at, it donâ€t matter if itâ€s the Warriors or if itâ€s anywhere else, itâ€s something I want. I want to see what I could do. I know I got it. So I want to really see. Iâ€ve never got that chance.”

It has been difficult on a Warriors team that now boasts Stephen Curry and Jimmy Butler, both of whom have earned their share of scoring opportunities. Butler also plays the same position as Kuminga, whose commitment to defense and sharing the ball within Golden State’s motion offense have raised concerns.

Advertisement

For all the concerns, though, when Kuminga was thrust into a higher-profile role — as Curry was sidelined to injury over the final four games of their Western Conference semifinals series against the Minnesota Timberwolves — he stepped up, averaging 24.3 points on 55/39/72 shooting splits in 31 minutes a night.

It is that potential for which he received this lucrative contract.

Source link

Jannik Sinner will face USA’s Learner Tien in the final of the China Open (Images via Getty Images) Jannik Sinner reached the China Open final for the third year in succession on Tuesday, setting up a title clash with teenage American Learner Tien. The world number two was made to work hard in his semi-final against Alex de Minaur before prevailing 6-3, 4-6, 6-2. Sinner is now just one win away from lifting his second Beijing crown.“Itâ€s a very special place for me. This court has always been amazing,†Sinner said after his victory, as quoted by AFP. “Many things were positive finding myself again here, playing the last match of the tournament, itâ€s great.†Standing between him and the trophy will be 19-year-old Tien, who stunned Daniil Medvedev in the other semi-final. The Russian struggled physically, with his leg strapped and movement restricted by cramps. He fell 0-4 behind in the deciding set before retiring in frustration.
Medvedev clashed with the chair umpire during the contest, reacting angrily to being issued a code violation for lack of effort. “Why is every referee in the world trying to intimidate me? Iâ€m telling you I am giving my best effort. Iâ€m not going to try to continue,†Medvedev said before leaving the court. Tien, at 19 years and nine months, became the second-youngest player to make the Beijing final, behind Rafael Nadal. Sinner, who was runner-up to Carlos Alcaraz at last yearâ€s edition, will begin as the clear favourite on Wednesday.

Coco Gauff marches on

In the womenâ€s draw, defending champion Coco Gauff fought past Belinda Bencic 4-6, 7-6 (7/4), 6-2 to reach the quarter-finals. It was a tense battle that included an exchange of words between the players at the changeover, with Bencic complaining about Gauffâ€s team “chatting†during play. The American, however, kept her composure to win the second set tiebreak after Bencic double-faulted on set point.

Poll

Who do you think will win the China Open final?

“It was a tough match,†Gauff said. “I had chances in the first to close it out but overall Iâ€m happy with how I fought. She was being really aggressive.†The 21-year-old secured her spot at the WTA Finals in Saudi Arabia with the win. She next faces Germanyâ€s Eva Lys, who reached her first WTA 1000 quarter-final by defeating McCartney Kessler 4-6, 6-1, 6-2.

Source link

Manchester United have come to a big agreement, as they look to transform their season.

That’s according to a report in Italy, after the Red Devils fell to their third defeat of the Premier League season at the weekend in just their sixth game of the campaign.

The pressure is now increasing on Ruben Amorim, with Manchester United having failed to win back-to-back games under the Portuguese.

In sharp contrast to Amorim in England, Como are flying high in Serie A and looking to target Europe under Cesc Fabregas.

The Spaniard, ranked at no.21 in FourFourTwo’s list of the best managers in the world right now, is overseeing a revolution in Lombardy, with Italian outlet Corriere Como reporting that the club have identified Fabregas “as the symbol of the project”, adding that he has instilled “modern play, organisation and the development of talent” at Stadio Giuseppe Sinigaglia.

Cesc Fabregas has been a hit in Serie A (Image credit: Getty Images)

Now, the report states that United’s Joshua Zirkzee is next on the radar in a potential January transfer.

Zirkzee swapped Bologna for Old Trafford last summer, with FourFourTwo understanding that there was interest from Italian giants in bringing him back during the 2025 window – but Rasmus Hojlund was eventually jettisoned to Napoli, where he has started brightly under Antonio Conte.

The best features, fun and footballing quizzes, straight to your inbox every week.

Corriere Como offers conflicting information, stating that the Red Devils have “reached an agreement” with Como’s owners, the Hartono brothers, while also stating that Como have just “concrete interest” in the Dutchman.

FourFourTwo believes that Fabregas could well be on the shortlist of managers United look at to replace Amorim, should he be relieved of duties – but the former playmaker is not without a chequered history with the 20-time English champions.

Joshua Zirkzee is wanted by Como (Image credit: Getty Images)

The former Arsenal and Chelsea man has claimed that the club tried to sign him twice before – as a 15-year-old prior to his Gunners move, and over a decade later, when he was leaving Barcelona.

Fabregas has also confirmed his role in the Premier League’s infamous ‘Battle of the Buffet’, admitting in 2017 that he threw pizza at Sir Alex Ferguson after United ended Arsenal’s 49-game unbeaten run in the league in controversial fashion.

Source link

ATLANTA — James Wood is heading into the final series of the season with momentum. The slugging outfielder reached the 30 home run milestone in his first full Major League season.

Wood crushed two home runs on Wednesday in the Nationals†4-3 win over the Braves at Truist Park, bringing his total to three homers in his last two games.

“It definitely feels a lot better going into the offseason knowing that youâ€ve kind of got out of the other end of it, instead of feeling like youâ€re searching,†Wood said. “Itâ€s good to have something that you can stick with going into the offseason, for sure.â€

In the sixth inning, Wood blasted a sinker from right-hander Bryce Elder a Statcast-projected 445 feet to center field at 111.6 mph. It was his fifth homer of the season that traveled 445 feet or more.

Two frames later, Wood jumped on another slider, this one from righty Tyler Kinley. The Nationals’ insurance run traveled a Statcast-projected 436 feet into center field at 109.2 mph.

The previous night, the lefty-hitting Wood went yard to right-center field against southpaw Dylan Lee. After working a full count, he walloped a slider 416 feet at 102.7 mph.

“Every time that he stays to the middle, left-center, heâ€s going to have a chance to hit 40, 50 homers,†said interim manager Miguel Cairo. “Thatâ€s his strength.â€

Wood, who turned 23 on Sept. 17, is the third player in Nationals team history (2005-present) to collect 30 home runs in his age-22 season or younger. He joined Bryce Harper (42, age-22) and Juan Soto (34, age-20).

Among all of baseball, Wood is one of three Major League players to do so this season. Junior Caminero of the Rays has hit 44 home runs (age-21) and Nick Kurtz of the Athletics has hit 33 (age-22) entering play Wednesday.

“Itâ€s definitely cool,†Wood said. “Itâ€s something I was reaching towards and kind of scared myself a little bit, but it feels good to get it.â€

Wood belted 24 of his home runs in the first half of the season, for which he earned his first All-Star selection and an invitation to the Home Run Derby at Truist Park. Since the break, Wood has been looking for that slugging consistency. He has hit his second-half home runs on Aug. 9, Aug. 21, Sept. 2, and then the three combined on Tuesday and Wednesday.

“I definitely did [get frustrated],†Wood said. “Thatâ€s part of baseball. Youâ€ve just got to be able to fight through that.â€

Wood has already appeared in 154 games with three remaining on the schedule. He leads the Nationals in hits, doubles, home runs and RBIs, among other statistical categories.

“Itâ€s a good number for his first year in the big leagues,†Cairo said. “I know thereâ€s more in the tank in there. Hopefully, he can stay in the middle of the field, because thatâ€s where heâ€s dangerous.â€

Source link

SAN DIEGO — Freddy Peralta already was important to the Brewers†hopes of reversing their recent postseason heartbreaks and playing deep into October. Now, with everything happening around him in Milwaukeeâ€s uncertain starting rotation, heâ€s even more important.

Peralta reached the 200th strikeout plateau for the third straight season.

The back-and-forth final innings showed how fun a Brewers-Padres NLDS could be. But the early innings were indicative of the way the teams went into Monday with slightly different priorities, the Brewers beginning to taper Peraltaâ€s pitch count to freshen him for October and the Padres pushing their vaunted bullpen to the limit in order to formally clinch a postseason berth with Mondayâ€s win.

Before the end of his 76-pitch allotment, Peralta became the third pitcher in Brewers history with at least three seasons of 200-plus strikeouts, joining Yovani Gallardo (four in a row from 2009-12) and former teammate Corbin Burnes (three in a row from 2021-23).

“That comes from being able to pitch all the time and stay consistent in the work that I have to put in every five days,†Peralta said.

Did knowing he might meet the Padres again in less than two weeks alter his approach?

“No,†he said. “I just went out there to compete.â€

Peralta left the game with the Brewers leading, 3-2, before it turned into the sort of loss that highlights the little things. Brewers reliever Nick Mears lamented walking a pair of batters before surrendering the tying run in the seventh inning. Jackson Chourio made a regrettable swing decision on a 2-0 pitch in the 11th that wound up altering his at-bat on the way to a double play and a scoreless inning that positioned the Padres to walk it off.

But there were plenty of good things, like Brice Turangâ€s dash home for the go-ahead run in the 10th inning, and highlight-worthy defense from both teams. The Brewers nearly won in the 10th when Andruw Monasterio had a chance for what would have been an incredible game-ending double play, but it wasnâ€t to be.

“Iâ€m proud of our guys for not just showing up and saying, ‘Well, weâ€ve clinched a bye, we won the division,†and showing up and playing as hard as they did,†Brewers manager Pat Murphy said. “That touched me. That was special. Guys were disappointed we didnâ€t win. I am, too.â€

Peralta allowed the two runs on four hits with one walk and six strikeouts, ending his night with a scare when Padres star Manny Machado hit a flyout to the warning track in center field to finish the fifth. Through 32 starts, Peralta has a 2.68 ERA and 201 strikeouts in 174 2/3 innings. He is scheduled for one more shortened start before the end of the regular season.

Heâ€s the easy choice to start Game 1 of the National League Division Series on Oct. 4, no matter which team winds up being the opponent. And getting Peralta to that game in good health is a top priority for the Brewers, who wonâ€t have Woodruff or veteran left-hander Jose Quintana (left calf strain) for the remainder of the season and have ruled out using Misiorowski as a starter in the NLDS.

“Itâ€s very sad,†Peralta said of the Woodruff news. “I donâ€t know yet how bad it is. Iâ€m giving him time because I donâ€t want to make him think more about what his situation is right now. But itâ€s really sad because we are very close, we are friends and I know how hard he worked to come back. … For the team, itâ€s a huge loss because we know how great he is and what he was doing for us. But we have to move forward.â€

Peralta will lead the way forward.

“Heâ€s been our ace from Day 1. Very few blips on the screen for a guy who is 32 [starts] in,†Murphy said.

Murphy and the Brewers are trying to figure out ways to navigate this series against the Padres knowing the teams might square off again with even higher stakes in the NLDS. They are also trying to play hard over the final six games of the regular season, knowing that the No. 1 seed in the NL and overall in MLB is still in play, while also keeping their players rested and ready for the postseason.

“You have to thread the needle a little bit,†Murphy said. “You canâ€t be ridiculous about how you go about it because youâ€re not in desperation mode, but youâ€re in ‘win tonight†mode — thatâ€s all there is to it. If youâ€re undermanned or you’re injured or your guys are not available, so what? Every team goes through it.

“Itâ€s our journey to 162. Weâ€re grateful, weâ€re fortunate, weâ€re thankful. But at the same time, youâ€ve got to keep your foot to the pedal.â€

Source link

WorldofVolley :: Thrilling Knockout Stage Set as Volleyball World Championship Reaches Eighthfinals – WorldOfVolley By continuing to use the site,…