LAKERS’ KUZMA GETS 3-YEAR, $40M EXTENSION
Forward Kyle Kuzma has agreed to a three-year, $40 million extension to remain with the NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers, a person familiar with the deal said Sunday.
The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the Lakers didn’t disclose the terms of the deal in their announcement of an extension. ESPN f irst reported the terms of Kuzma’s rookie contract extension, which begins in 2021 and includes a player option for the 2023-24 season.
Kuzma has been a key component of the Lakers’ core for three seasons since the team acquired him in a draft-day trade in 2017.
“It is especially gratifying for our Lakers franchise to draft, develop and now sign one of our own to a contract extension,” Lakers General Manager Rob Pelinka said. “Kyle has shown tremendous growth over the last three years, and played a crucial role on last season’s championship team.”
Kuzma made the All-NBA rookie first team in 2018, and the smooth scorer averaged a career-best 18.7 points in his second pro season after the arrival of LeBron James.
When Anthony Davis and several veteran additions transformed the Lakers into title contenders last season, Kuzma transitioned into a supporting role as a reserve scorer and a wing defender. His scoring average and shooting percentage declined, but he worked on improving his defense and playmaking.
The Lakers begin defense of their 16th NBA championship on Tuesday night against the Clippers.
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Rudy Gobert signed a contract extension with the Jazz, the team said without divulging terms. A person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press that the deal is worth $205 million over five years, though Gobert holds an option to end the deal one year early.
NHL
Hockey is set to return Jan. 13 after the NHL and players completed a deal to hold a 56game season that would include playoffs lasting into July to award the Stanley Cup. The regular season is scheduled to go until May 8 with a 16-team playoff to follow.
The season will be highly unusual in at least one respect: There will be four divisions — North, South, East and West — and all play will be within divisions to minimize travel and the potential for the coronavirus to disrupt the season. The North Division contains only the seven Canadian teams.
Most of the league will open training camp Jan. 3. The seven teams that didn’t make the playoffs last season — including the Kings and Ducks — can start as soon as Dec. 31.
Soccer
Manchester United waited 16 years to play old rival Leeds in the English Premier League, and then made it look distinctly second-class. United charged to a 6-2 victory, though both teams could easily have scored more, as it roared back into the EPL title race in third.
The easy win put United ahead of Tottenham, which swept United aside 6-1 in October but is now mired in problems of its own. A 2-0 loss to Leicester dropped Tottenham out of the Champions League spots and left Jose Mourinho’s team with one draw and two defeats in an eight-day spell.
• Rafael Leao scored the fastest goal in Serie A history, netting after just six seconds to set league leader AC Milan on the way to a 2-1 win at Sassuolo.
• Neil Lennon became the first person in Scottish football to win the domestic treble as a player and manager after Celtic won the Scottish Cup final. The 4-3 penalty shootout win over Hearts ensured the pandemic-disrupted 2019-20 season was finally completed even as a new season is underway.
Skiing
Alexis Pinturault held off a challenge from unheralded Norwegian skier Atle Lie McGrath to win the classic men’s World Cup giant slalom on the Gran Risa course at Alta Badia, Italy.
• Ester Ledecka edged Corinne Suter for her first win in a women’s World Cup super-G at Val d’Isere, France, nearly three years after winning Olympic gold in the discipline. The Czech skier finished three hundredths ahead of Suter, the World Cup super-G champion from Switzerland who won a downhill on the same slope Friday.