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Those odds did not change after the draft, as Banchero, Jabari Smith Jr., and Chet Holmgren are the top choices to win the award next season. Banchero went No. 1 to the Magic, followed by Holmgren going No. 2 to the Thunder, and Smith Jr. going No. 3 to the Rockets. Jaden Ivey, Keegan Murray, Bennedict Mathurin, Johnny Davis, and Ochai Agbaji are other rookies who will make some noise and could be excellent value plays....

The NBA makes its long-awaited return on Thursday evening when the New Orleans Pelicans take on the Utah Jazz in the first game to be played in the bubble in Orlando, Florida. A degree of rustiness may be expected after four months off, but the Pelicans can’t afford to ease themselves back into the season as they are one of the 22 teams invited to ESPN’s Wide World of Sports Complex at Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando currently outside the playoff picture....

While many of the top picks, such as Zion Williamson or Ja Morant, don’t need to dazzle with highlights — Morant won’t even suit up for the Grizzlies as he recovers from knee surgery — the 10-day tournament in Las Vegas serves as a last chance for many former college standouts to make an NBA team or sign a G League contract. NBA DRAFT TEAM GRADES: Who passed with flying colors?...

The announcement came after a member of the Utah Jazz was confirmed to have contracted the virus, ESPN reported. The NBA said that a Utah Jazz player preliminarily tested positive for COVID-19. The test result was reported shortly prior to the tip-off of Wednesday’s game between the Jazz and Oklahoma City Thunder at Chesapeake Energy Arena, the NBA reported. The player allegedly affected was not in the arena, and Wednesday night’s suspension of the season was rather abrupt....

So with Sterling gone, the Clippers need somebody to supervise the team's operations. The league will appoint one soon, executive vice president of communications Mike Bass announced Saturday. “The best way to ensure the stability of the team during this difficult situation is to move quickly and install a CEO to oversee the Clippers organization. The process of identifying that individual is underway," Bass said in a statement. MORE: Sterling speaks...

Yeah, about that… Once Anthony Davis made his trade request and told the Pelicans he had no intention of re-signing with the team, the league went crazy. Rampant rumors seemingly touched every team in the last few days, including Wednesday morning’s stunner that sent Tobias Harris to the 76ers. MORE: Ranking worst trades of last decade But it all came to an end Thursday afternoon. Any contenders looking to make roster upgrades must now investigate the buyout market....

“When you come off the bench you don’t know exactly the timing,” Rozier said. “You should come out aggressive and the same mindset and be ready no matter if you’re starting or not. But like I said, if you are starting you can just think about it all day and know you’re starting so it’s just a little different.” For an added bonus, the Celtics got a big day from rookie forward Jayson Tatum, who scored a career-high 27 points on 11-for-19 shooting....

Multiple teams are reportedly interested in the Raptors star, who is averaging 18.0 points, 6.5 assists, 5.5 rebounds and 1.2 steals per game this season while shooting 46.1 percent from the field and 39.5 percent on 3-pointers. He would be a strong addition for any contender in need of a point guard. TRADE RUMORS: Bucks, Lakers among teams interested in P.J. Tucker If the Raptors and Lowry do decide it is best to part ways before the March 25 deadline, Toronto is willing to trade him to a “preferred destination if they get something of value in return,” according to The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Keith Pompey....

We’ve already seen a few blockbusters go down with Kristaps Porzingis heading to the Mavs and Tobias Harris being sent to the 76ers. It was only a few weeks ago it felt like there would be little action ahead of Thursday’s 3 p.m. ET cutoff, but that certainly isn’t the case now. SN EXCLUSIVE: Davis’ list has Bucks owner thinking big And as though anyone could forget, the Anthony Davis saga will continue to hang over the rest of the NBA until the deadline passes....

NBA FREE AGENCY: Chris Paul joining the Spurs is a bad idea Officials inside the Knicks’ front office are still interested in acquiring the 26-year-old Rubio, according to ESPN.com. With the NBA Draft less than three weeks away, a Rubio trade to New York could be inevitable. Not only does Minnesota have a surplus of talent at point guard in Tyus Jones and last year’s fifth overall pick Kris Dunn, but, if the Knicks let Rose walk, it would free enough cap space to absorb Rubio’s $14 million salary....

Houston will send Ryan Anderson and 2018 second-round pick De’Anthony Melton ​to Phoenix in exchange for Brandon Knight and Marquese Chriss, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. The Rockets had been looking to move Anderson’s contract (two years, $41 million remaining) for more than a year, but this surprising trade isn’t just about pushing salaries off the books. Let’s take a look at the good, bad and confusing for each side in this rare August swap…...

The four-time All-Star has requested a trade, according to The Athletic’s Shams Charania and Jon Krawczynski. Butler has given Minnesota a short list of teams with which he is open to signing a long-term deal. (UPDATE: Butler has these three teams in mind, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski: the Nets, Clippers and Knicks. They will each have enough cap space for a max salary next summer. Of course, this doesn’t mean that the Timberwolves are going to grant Butler’s wish....

Forward Anthony Davis is still a Pelican. Brandon Ingram, Kyle Kuzma, Lonzo Ball and friends are still Lakers. Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown are still Celtics. The Knicks, no matter how hard they try, still have only a 14 percent chance at the No. 1 pick in the league. The Bucks, really, are just happy to be here. SN EXCLUSIVE: Davis’ list has Bucks owner thinking big We’ve seen 12 major deals in the past eight days in the NBA, involving more than 40 players and a dozen draft picks, but what we have yet to see is the deal we’ve all been waiting for: Something involving Davis....

The network and the PGA of America announced the deal Thursday. NBC has televised the Ryder Cup since 1991. NBC Sports Group, which includes Golf Channel, lost the U.S. Open to Fox in August. The debut of cable channel Fox Sports 1 has heightened the already fierce competition for live sports rights, with lengthy contracts now the norm. Thursday's extension also includes the Senior PGA Championship, Ryder Cup coverage beyond the week of the biennial event, and Spanish-language highlights on Telemundo....

This year’s tournament will begin Friday, May 29, and culminate at the College World Series in Omaha, Neb. June 13-24. MORE: College World Series 2015 Schedule | College teams use Rock, Paper, Scissors to wait out rain delay Here’s how the tournament’s schedule breaks down: Regional Round Friday, May 29- Monday, June 1 Top 16 seeds host Regional TV TBD Super Regional Round Friday, June 5- Monday, June 8...

USA Today released the Amway Coaches Preseason Top 25 on Thursday , and Clemson is ranked No. 1 for the second straight season. MORE: SN bowl predictions for 2020 The Tigers, which have made the College Football Playoff each of the last five seasons, led all schools with 1,589 points. Clemson returns quarterback Trevor Lawrence, who is ranked No. 1 in Sporting News Top 40 players for 2020 . Ohio State, which lost to Clemson in the College Football Playoff semifinals last season, is ranked No....

This NCAA Championship game is about respect. This is all hooey, really, but we’ll go with it for a moment. MORE: When did your team last win a national title in college basketball? It is about redemption for the North Carolina Tar Heels because they lost the 2016 title on a buzzer-beating 3-pointer by Villanova forward Kris Jenkins that will forever rank among the most famous shots in NCAA Tournament history....

Why did they keep making all those sequels? Each entry in the “Points of Emphasis” series ended the same way: in barbarity and mayhem. The most recent edition, issued in November 2012 and rolled out nationwide into the spring of 2013, was the most brutal of all. MORE: Sporting News’ All-Americans | Preseason Top 25 In the 2012-13 college basketball season, despite the efforts of the NCAA rules committee to curb physical defense and to mitigate the practice of defenders jumping in front of airborne shooters to claim bogus charging fouls, scoring plunged to its lowest point in more than six decades, long before the shot clock and 3-point shot were introduced....

According to the Chronicle of Higher Education, the NCAA is investigating allegations of academic misconduct on 20 campuses. The NCAA’s head of enforcement told the Chronicle that 18 of the cases are in Division I, one is in Division II, and one is in Division III. The official declined to name any of the colleges. MORE: UNC academic scandal unprecedented | Highest paid coaches | Best states for college hoops...

Oklahoma took Game 1 of the Womens College World Series final, 7-5 in 17 innings, then won 5-4 in Game 2 on Tuesday, June 6. MORE: Men’s College World Series super regionals Here’s the full bracket and schedule for the 2017 Women’s College World Series (all times Eastern). Softball College World Series bracket, schedule (Double elimination tournament; winners in bold) Thursday, June 1: Games 1-4 Game 1: Texas A&M (42-10) vs....