Suns give Allen extension
Grayson Allen and the Suns agreed to a fouryear, $70 million contract extension on Monday, keeping one of the NBA’s top three-point threats in Phoenix long-term.
Allen was scheduled to hit free agency in July, but the new deal secures the sharpshooter’s future with the Suns following a regular season during which he led the league by making 46.1% of his threes.
His agents at CAA confirmed the terms of the deal to ESPN on Monday morning.
Allen averaged 13.4 points per game in his first season with Phoenix and was a critical piece of the offense that needed to withstand extended periods of time without all-stars Bradley Beal and Devin Booker due to injuries.
The 28-year-old Allen was acquired from the Bucks in the offseason as part of the three-team deal that sent Damian Lillard to Milwaukee and Deandre Ayton to the Portland Trail Blazers.
Allen’s salary of just over $15 million next season would put the Suns in the second level of luxury taxes, essentially costing the team more than $75 million in total payroll and NBA luxury taxes.
Allen was a first-round pick by Utah in 2018 and played for the Jazz (2018-19), Memphis Grizzlies (2019-21) and the Bucks (2021-23) before joining Phoenix.
NBA
The NBA broke all-time regular-season records for total attendance, average attendance and sellouts for the second straight year.
The final numbers released by the league Monday included a total attendance of 22,536,341 (up from 22,234,502 in 2022-23), an average attendance of 18,322 (18,077 last season) and 872 sellouts (791 in 2022-23). Arenas were filled to 98% capacity, also an all-time high.
AUTO RACING
Chase Elliott broke a 42-race winless streak by holding off Ross Chastain in the second overtime Sunday to win the NASCAR Cup Series’ cautionfilled AutoTrader EchoPark Automotive 400 at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, Texas.
Elliott and Denny Hamlin restarted on the front row twice in the final laps of regulation, but Hamlin brought out the 14th caution in Turn 4 while outside of Elliott’s No. 9 Chevrolet.
After Harrison Burton’s wreck caused the final caution, Elliott won a drag race with Chastain – who also wrecked and finished 32nd – to earn the victory in the 267-lap race, the season’s ninth event.
The victory was the 19th of Elliott’s career and first since he won at Talladega on Oct. 2, 2022.
Brad Keselowski came in second, with William Byron, Tyler Reddick and Daniel Suarez rounding out the top five.
MLB
Ken Holtzman, who tossed two no-hitters for the Chicago Cubs and won four World Series, died Sunday at 78.
The two-time all-star left-hander’s passing was confirmed Monday by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. He had been hospitalized for three weeks while battling heart issues.
Holtzman was 174-150 with a 3.49 ERA and 1,601 strikeouts in 451 games (410 starts) over 15 seasons with the Cubs (1965-71, 1978-79), Oakland Athletics (1972-75), Baltimore Orioles (1976) and New York Yankees (1976-78).
NFL
The Philadelphia Eagles made a long-term commitment to wide receiver DeVonta Smith on Monday. The team exercised his fifth-year option and agreed to terms on a three-year contract extension through 2028.
Smith’s option for 2025 is worth $15.6 million and NFL Network reported the extension is for $75 million, with $51 million guaranteed.
Smith, 25, has tallied 240 catches for 3,178 yards and 19 touchdowns in 50 games (49 starts) since being drafted 10th overall in 2021 out of Alabama.
Colts extend Buckner: Colts defensive tackle DeForest Buckner signed a two-year extension through 2026.
Under terms of the new deal, Indianapolis will pay Buckner a total of $46 million for the 2025 and 2026 seasons after the final year of his four-year, $84 million deal expires at the end of the upcoming season, according to ESPN and NFL Network.
The 30-year-old Buckner joins the top five at his position in terms of annual average salary.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Almost two weeks after Sania Copeland entered the transfer portal, the former Wisconsin women’s basketball player has found a home.
The 5-foot-7 guard will continue her college career at Kansas. She has two years of eligibility remaining.
The move leaves her less than an hour from her hometown of Kansas City, Kansas.
– Staff and wire reports