NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION NOTES
Simmons, 76ers agree to 5-year deal
The Philadelphia 76ers and All-Star guard Ben Simmons have agreed to a $170 million, five-year contract extension. Simmons was the No. 1 overall draft pick in 2016. He made his NBA debut in the 2017-18 season and was the Rookie of the Year. He was an All-Star for the first time last season. He has averaged 16.4 points, 8.5 rebounds and 7.9 assists in his two seasons. Philadelphia is 101-58 in regular-season games when Simmons plays. He has had 22 triple-doubles in the past two seasons, tied for third most in the league with Denver's Nikola Jokic and trailing Oklahoma City's Russell Westbrook (59) and the Los Angeles Lakers' LeBron James (26). Simmons also has had 80 double-doubles over the past two seasons. "Ben Simmons is an important piece of our core and he is one of the NBA's most dynamic and talented young players," Sixers general manager Elton Brand said. "It was a priority for our organization that we finalize a contract extension with Ben this summer. He was Rookie of the Year in his first season, an All-Star in his second and we expect him to continue grow and succeed for seasons to come. Ben positively impacts the game in so many ways and we look forward to continuing our championship pursuits with him as one of our leaders."
Knicks finalize deals with Morris, Bullock
The New York Knicks have finalized contracts with Marcus Morris and Reggie Bullock, two of their offseason additions. The forwards join Julius Randle, Bobby Portis, Taj Gibson, Elfrid Payton and Wayne Ellington as free agents who the Knicks hope will improve what was the NBA's worst team last season. Morris averaged 13.9 points and 6.1 rebounds in 75 games last season for Boston, his fifth straight season scoring more than 10 points per game. Bullock averaged 11.3 points while playing for Detroit and the Los Angeles Lakers.
Grizzlies win Summer League title
Memphis Grizzlies head coach Taylor Jenkins has yet to lead an official NBA game, but he's bringing some hardware home to Beale Street. Brandon Clarke had 15 points and 16 rebounds to lead the eighth-seeded Grizzlies to a 95-92 victory over the third-seeded Minnesota Timberwolves in the championship game of the NBA Summer League on Monday in Las Vegas. "It was a lot of fun, this is why I do what I do," said Jenkins, the only NBA head coach to coach a summer league team. "I love to compete, love to teach and have a great group of guys on the court and our staff off the court. It was so much fun to work with them for 20 days. It's a lot to do in a short amount of time. And to be able to win a championship is fun. I told the guys this morning when you have a chance to win a championship there's nothing like it." Clarke, who was named overall MVP for the summer league, also had three blocks and four assists to earn the championship game MVP. He had four double-doubles in the tournament. "I feel like I'll just fit in perfectly (with Memphis) because his system and his culture is similar to what it was like at college at Gonzaga," said Clarke. "It was just really fun playing for him. He was just a really great coach. Every day he was up to play hard and up to get us better. It was awesome playing for him." The Grizzlies, who led by as many as 17 points, led by only two after the three quarters, but got a boost from Grayson Allen, who scored 10 of his team-high 17 points in the second half and deflected the ball away to keep Minnesota from taking a last-second shot. "He's played in lots of big games, he's just somebody that's used to making those big shots, making those big plays," Clarke said. "Adding him to the team is something that's gonna be really big for us." Bruno Caboclo and Dusty Hannahs also had 15 points for the Grizzlies, while Tyler Harvey added 12 points and five assists. Memphis tied its league-high 31 points for a quarter when it opened the game with a 31-19 edge after one, while its 56 first-half points were a new team-high for the 11-day event. The Timberwolves, who went into the game as the lone undefeated team, clawed their way back into the game behind the hot hand of Kelan Martin, who drained three 3-pointers in the third quarter. Minnesota cut Memphis' lead to one point six times. Martin led five Timberwolves in double figures, finishing with a game-high 19 points. Jordan Murphy scored 14, Mitchell Creek had 13, Barry Brown Jr. chipped in 12 and Keita Bates-Diop finished with 10 for Minnesota. Joining Clarke on the all-tournament first team was New Orleans' Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Brooklyn's Jarrett Allen, Miami's Kendrick Nunn and New York's Mitchell Robinson. Fan favorite Rui Hahimura from Washington headlined the second team, and was joined by Toronto's Chris Boucher, New Orleans' Jaxson Hayes, Portland's Anfernee Simons and San Antonio's Lonnie Walker IV.