BASKETBALL

Owners OK move The WNBA owners have unanimously approved the Tulsa Shock moving to the Dallas- Fort Worth area next season. The Shock ( 10- 8) will finish out the current year in Tulsa. They will play next year at the University of Texas at Arlington, subject to approval by the Texas system’s Board of Regents. This was the first season that Tulsa had success on the court winning eight of their first nine games before star guard Skylar Diggins was lost for the season with an ACL injury. The Shock have lost seven of nine since. Majority owner Bill Cameron announced his plans to move the team to the Dallas- Fort Worth area on Monday. The Shock moved from Detroit in 2010.

The Dallas Mavericks have signed free- agent rookie forward Maurice

Ndour. The 6- 9 Ndour, a native of Senegal, averaged 9.6 points and 4.8 rebounds in five games for the New York Knicks’ summer league team this month. Ndour averaged 16 points, 8.3 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per game as a senior last season at Ohio University. He spent two seasons with the Bobcats after two years at Monroe College, a junior college in New York. He played high school basketball in Japan. Dallas announced the deal Thursday.

The Cleveland Cavaliers have traded second- round pick Rakeem Christmas to the Indiana Pacers for a second- round selection in 2019. The Cavs selected Christmas, who averaged 17.5 points and 9.1 rebound as a senior at Syracuse, with the No. 36 overall pick last month. He appeared in four summer league games for the Cavs in Las Vegas, averaging 8.0 points, 4.5 rebounds and 20.9 minutes. Pacers President Larry Bird said the team liked the 6- 9 Christmas when he worked out for them before the draft. Christmas was thought to have a shot at making Cleveland’s roster for next season, but Cavs General Manager David Griffin decided instead to acquire a future asset for him. The Pacers had acquired the second- round pick in their trade with the Los Angeles Lakers for center Roy Hibbert.

The Sacramento Kings have signed veteran forward Caron Butler. The Kings announced Butler’s signing Thursday. The deal is for two years and $ 3 million, with a player option in the second season. Butler averaged 5.9 points, 2.5 rebounds and 20.8 minutes with Detroit last season. Butler, 35, has averaged 14.3 points and 5.1 rebounds in his 13- year career with Miami, the Los Angeles Lakers, Washington, Dallas, the Los Angeles Clippers, Milwaukee, Oklahoma City and Detroit. The Heat drafted Butler 10th overall out of Connecticut in 2002.