Sports shorts Nets acquire Okafor from 76ers

A person familiar with the deal says the Philadelphia76ersaresettotradebeleaguered center Jahlil Okafor to the Brooklyn Nets.

Okafor, the No. 3 pick of the 2015 draft, was dropped from the rotation this year and has played in only two games. The Sixers would also send guard Nik Stauskas and a 2019 second-round draft pick to the Nets for forward Trevor Booker.

The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the trade was not yet official. Okafor has largely been considered a bust and he asked for a contract buyout once the Sixers declined to pick up his option. The Sixers declined to release Okafor for nothing and continued to shop the 6-foot-11 center out of Duke and finally found a taker in the Nets.

Stauskas had played in only six games for the 76ers. Booker is averaging 10.1 points for the Nets.

Miami second baseman Dee Gordon has been traded to the Seattle Mariners for three prospects in a deal that marks the start of the Marlins’ latest payroll purge, this time under new CEO Derek Jeter.

The Marlins want to cut their payroll by more than 20 percent to $90 million or less, which is why NL MVP Giancarlo Stanton is also on the trading block.

Seattle has eight-time All-Star Robinson Cano at second base and is expected to move Gordon to center field. While Gordon has never played center in the majors, the Mariners believe he can make the transition and fill perhaps the biggest remaining need among their position players.

Miami acquired righthander Nick Neidert, the Mariners’ No. 2 prospect, along with infielder Chris Torres and righthander Robert Dugger. Seattle gets international signing bonus pool allotment, boosting the amount it can offer Japanese star pitcher and outfielder Shohei Ohtani.

Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Ryan Shazier underwent surgery on Wednesday night to stabilize his spine.

The team announced Thursday Drs. David Okonkwo and Joseph Maroon performed the surgery after Shazier was transferred from a hospital in Cincinnati to one in Pittsburgh.

The 25-year-old Shazier suffered the injury while hitting Cincinnati’s Josh Malone in the first quarter of Pittsburgh’s 23-20 victory over the Bengals on Monday night. Shazier motioned to his lower back immediately following the hit and was taken off the field on a stretcher.