Harden declines $47M option with 76ers
James Harden is taking less with hopes the Philadelphia 76ers can do more.
A person familiar with the situation said Harden chose not to exercise his $47.4 million option for next season and will become a free agent — but with no designs on leaving Philadelphia. Harden made the decision to allow the 76ers the flexibility they need to sign other players this summer, said the person who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.
That will be a major factor when the NBA opens the free agency negotiating window at 3 p.m. on Thursday, with Philadelphia among the teams that will be expected to target Miami forward P.J. Tucker, among others.
SOURCE: NUGGETS, WIZARDS AGREE TO 4-PLAYER SWAP »
The Denver Nuggets have agreed to a deal that would send guards Will Barton and Monte Morris to the Washington Wizards for Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Ish Smith, a person with knowledge of the negotiations said.
The trade becomes the latest move by Nuggets general manager Calvin Booth to reshape the lineup around two-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokic. Barton and Morris were both starters last season on a Nuggets team that was eliminated from the playoffs in the first round by eventual champion Golden State.
Barton averaged 14.7 points and Morris 12.6 points on an injury-riddled Denver team that was missing point guard Jamal Murray (ACL recovery) for the entire year and Michael Porter Jr. (back) for most of it. NBA FINALS VIEWERSHIP UP 24 PERCENT » Nearly 14 million people watched the Golden State Warriors win its fourth NBA championship since 2015 by beating the Boston Celtics in the sixth game of their series.
The series that matched the NBA’s most current dynasty against the one with the most championships overall averaged 12.3 million viewers, which was 24% more than the 2021 series between Milwaukee and Phoenix, the Nielsen company said.
As is typical, the series built in audience as it went on, with the 13.99 million people who watched the final game nearly a million more than the audience for any other game, Nielsen said.
MMA UFC STAR CHARGED IN SHOOTING SUES MAN OVER ALLEGED MOLESTING »
Cain Velasquez, the former UFC heavyweight champion accused of trying to kill the man he claims molested his 4-year-old son, is suing the man and his family who own a day care where the alleged molestation occurred.
Velasquez was arrested in San Jose last February after he shot at a pickup truck carrying the man through busy streets in three Silicon Valley cities, ramming the vehicle with his own truck during a high-speed chase, prosecutors said.
A judge in March denied bail to Velasquez, who faces attempted murder and multiple gun assault charges.
Velasquez claims in a civil lawsuit that Harry Goularte sexually molested Velasquez’s son while the boy was attending a day care run at a home by Goularte’s mother, Patricia Goularte, the Los Angeles Times reported.
College athletics BIG 12 PICKS ROC NATION’S YORMARK AS NEXT COMMISSIONER »
Brett Yormark, an executive with Jay-Z’s Roc Nation and former CEO of the Brooklyn Nets, was named Big 12 commissioner, another unconventional hire by a major conference amid
the rapidly changing landscape of college athletics.
Yormark is taking over for Bob Bowlsby, who came to the league a decade ago after stints as athletic director at Stanford, Iowa and Northern Iowa.
The background for Yormark isn’t in college athletics, but could play an interesting role for a conference bracing for challenges in revenue with the impending departures of Oklahoma and Texas while adjusting to athletes cashing in on use of their celebrity.
6 MONTHS’ HOME CONFINEMENT FOR EX-USC COACH IN COLLEGE SCAM »
A former University of Southern California soccer coach who took bribes in exchange for helping unqualified kids into the school was sentenced to six months in home confinement after cooperating with authorities investigating the college admissions scandal.
Prosecutors had not been seeking home confinement or prison time for Ali Khosroshahin, citing his quick acceptance of responsibility and his help in prosecuting
others in the massive case.
But U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani in Boston decided that prosecutors’ recommendation of time served wasn’t enough, noting that Khosroshahin dragged his assistant coach into the corrupt scheme, among other things.
Khosroshahin, who was the head women’s soccer coach from 2007 to 2013, appeared to fight back tears as he apologized to USC, his former athletes, his family and the deserving students who missed out on an admissions spot because of his “lies and greed.”
“I want to thank the government for bringing this whole thing to light because if they hadn’t, innocent hardworking students may still be shut out of schools simply because they don’t have the money that others have, and people like me might still be facilitating this,” Khosroshahin said.
Khosroshahin is the fifth athletic coach to be sentenced in in the Operation Varsity Blues probe that revealed a scheme to get
wealthy kids into top universities through rigged test scores and bogus athletic credentials.
College basketball WILLIAMS, CALHOUN AMONG COACHES HEADED TO HALL »
Roy Williams and Jim Calhoun will join John Beilein and Lon Kruger in a starstudded cast of coaches who will be inducted into the National College Basketball Hall of Fame in November.
Another longtime coach, Jerry Krause of Eastern Washington, will join the quartet along with players Richard Hamilton of UConn, Larry Miller of North Carolina, Frank Selvy of Furman and Jimmy Walker of Providence.
The date of the induction ceremony has not been announced, but it typically coincides with the Hall of Fame Classic, which is set for Nov. 21-22 at the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Missouri.
Hockey
KINGS GET FIALA IN TRADE WITH WILD » The Los Angeles Kings have acquired high-scoring forward Kevin Fiala from the Minnesota Wild in exchange for their first-round pick in the upcoming draft and prospect Brock Faber.
The Kings are expected to sign the Swiss star to a longterm contract extension.
Fiala was one of the most attractive potential acquisitions in the NHL this summer after putting up career highs of 33 goals and 52 assists for the Wild last season.
Motor sports
PIQUET APOLOGIZES TO HAMILTON OVER COMMENT » Former Formula One champion Nelson Piquet apologized to Lewis Hamilton, saying the racial term he used about the Mercedes driver was “ill thought out” but was not meant to be offensive.
The 69-year-old Brazilian has faced heavy criticism this week over comments he made in Portuguese last November on a podcast where he referred to Hamilton as “neguinho,” which means “little Black guy.”
Piquet used the term three times during the interview as he discussed a crash between Hamilton — a seven-time F1 champion and the only Black driver in the sport — and Max Verstappen during last year’s British Grand Prix.
Soccer FIFA TO PUT MORE WORLD CUP TICKETS UP FOR ONLINE SALE »
FIFA will put more World Cup tickets up for sale next week on a first-come, first-served basis.
Soccer’s governing body said that a total of 1.8 million tickets for the World Cup in Qatar have already been sold ahead of the next sales round, which opens Tuesday on the FIFA website. The tournament is being played from Nov. 21 to Dec. 18.
The cheapest tickets for fans from outside Qatar are priced at $69.