Cavaliers land All-Star guard
Cleveland gives up players, picks
All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell is on his way to the Cleveland Cavaliers, who acquired one of the NBA’s best scorers in a trade with the Utah Jazz.
Cleveland is sending guard Collin Sexton, forward Lauri Markkanen and rookie guard Ochai Agbaji along with three unprotected first-round picks to the Jazz.
Sexton, who played in just 11 games last season before undergoing knee surgery, will sign a four-year, $72 million contract as part of a sign-and-trade agreement with Utah, his agent confirmed.
There had been speculation for months that Mitchell might get moved, and it appeared the New York Knicks were the frontrunner for him. But when talks with Utah broke down, Cleveland jumped in and general manager Koby Altman added a player capable of pushing the Cavaliers into title contention.
Cleveland hasn’t made the playoffs since 2018, when LeBron James led the Cavs to their fourth straight Finals.
The 6-foot-1 Mitchell can take over a game, and he’ll give coach J.B. Bickerstaff a player to run his offense through as well as another late-game option.
Golf
British Open champion Cameron Smith and Joaquin Niemann are among six players to leave the PGA Tour for Saudi-funded LIV Golf, which returns this week for a fourth tournament, this time outside of Boston. The signing of Smith, who had been deflecting questions about his imminent departure since the day he won the claret jug, gives Greg Norman his first player from the top 10 in the world.
• Chinese rookie Ruoning Yin turned her irritation over a bogey into six birdies over her final 10 holes in Sylvania, Ohio, for a 6-under 65 and a three-way tie for the lead in the LPGA Dana Open. Hye-Jin Choi, who like Yin earned her Tour card last year for the first time, and Carlota Ciganda of Spain also had 65s at Highland Meadow. A large group at 66 included Lexi Thompson, Lydia Ko and Leona Maguire of Ireland.
• Ross McGowan of England shot a bogey-free, 9-under 62 to lead by one stroke after the first round of Made in HimmerLand in Farso, Denmark. Among the late starters, McGowan chipped in for eagle at No. 8 — his next-to-last hole — and tapped in for birdie at the par-4 No. 9 to overtake a group of five players already in the clubhouse at 8 under: Justin Walters, Matthew Southgate, Ewen Ferguson along with the Danish pair Rasmus Hojgaard and Marcus Helligkilde.
Baseball
Designated hitter Wagner Lagrange went 2 for 4 with a two-run home run and catcher Devon Fisher added a two-run homer as the Washington Wild Things (59-34) beat the visiting Evansville Otters (50-42), 9-1.
Hockey
United States forward Hilary Knight broke the record for career points at the women’s hockey world championship with a goal and an assist as the Americans overpowered Hungary, 12-1, in the quarterfinals in Herning, Denmark. The 33year-old Knight has a total of 87 points from 12 appearances at the worlds, surpassing Canadian forward Hayley Wickenheiser’s previous mark of 86.
• The Dallas Stars signed Jake Oettinger to a $12 million, three-year contract, securing the young goaltender whose 64 saves in Game 7 of the playoffs capped the season in which he became the team’s starter. The 23-yearold Oettinger had a 30-15-1 record for the Stars.
Auto racing
Kyle Busch confirmed to reporters at NASCAR’s Cup Series playoff media day that multiple teams have extended contract offers to the veteran driver, and he indicated that a deal might come to fruition soon. The driver of the No. 18 Toyota told reporters that there is “more than one that has paper in front of me,” referring to teams that have extended official contract offers.