Hello everyone, guess who? If you guessed it’s Shanna McCarriston, congrats!
There was no shortage of sports action yesterday. I mean, what a crazy Thursday it was. At night we had the NBA Draft, which took so many more hours to complete than it should have. But before that, a giant name in the sport, Russell Westbrook was traded. And that’s not even beginning to scratch the surface of trades that happened in the sports world, as multiple MLB All-Stars were moved earlier on Thursday.
Oh, and *checks notes* we are in the midst of the Summer Olympics, in case you forgot.
I won’t leave you hanging, don’t worry. Let’s get started on catching up on everything.
📰 What you need to know
1. Recapping the NBA Draft: Cade Cunningham, as expected, goes to Detroit 🏀
We have so much stuff to go over today, but let’s start with the most recent happening: the NBA Draft took place last night. As expected (after weeks of smokescreens!), Cade Cunningham was selected by the Detroit Pistons with the No. 1 overall pick. According to our basketball experts, Cunningham was the best prospect in the draft and should’ve gone first no matter which team had the top pick.
- CBS Sports’ Gary Parrish: “If the Pistons spend the coming years building back to a place of relevance, this decision they made tonight will be the biggest reason why.”
Our draft tracker notes that Cunningham has great passing vision and the guts to execute off what he sees. He also is able to use his size to his advantage on offense and defense. However, he did average more turnovers than assists at Oklahoma State, so there is room for improvement there.
Here is a look at the players who went in the top ten, along with the team that drafted them and the grade CBS Sports’ NBA experts gave the selection:
- No. 1: Cunningham, Pistons, A+
- No. 2: Jalen Green, Rockets, A+
- No. 3: Evan Mobley, Cavaliers, A+
- No. 4: Scottie Barnes, Raptors, A-
- No. 5: Jalen Suggs, Magic, A+
- No. 6: Josh Giddey, Thunder, B+
- No. 7: Jonathan Kuminga, Warriors, A+
- No. 8: Franz Wagner, Magic, B-
- No. 9: Davion Mitchell, Kings, A+
- No. 10: Ziaire Williams, Pelicans, A-
The first five picks were rather predictable, but it’s the rest of the top 10 that becomes a bit more questionable.
Parrish noted that the reason Giddey’s pick got a lower score was because OKC should’ve picked Kuminga instead. When it comes to the other non-A grade, Wagner is young and has a lot of room to develop, but Parrish was surprised that he was top-10 pick material.
2. Russell Westbrook gets sent to the Lakers 🏀
Russell Westbrook is going back to Cali. The Wizards traded the UCLA product to the Lakers, along with second-round picks in 2024 and 2028, in return for Kyle Kuzma, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Montrezl Harrell and the No. 22 overall pick.
Let’s take a look at the breakdown of this trade:
- Wizards trade Russell Westbrook to the Lakers, along with second-round picks in 2024 and 2028
- Westbrook set to make over $44 million next season
- Wizards receive Kyle Kuzma, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Montrezl Harrell and the No. 22 overall pick
- Harrell is opting into the final year of his contract at $9.7 million, which the Lakers needed for salary purposes
- Kuzma, Caldwell-Pope and Harrell combine to make nearly $36 million
The Wizards plan to keep their other star, Bradley Beal, according to ESPN, even though he will be a free agent next offseason.
While it may seem like Westbrook isn’t the perfect fit for Lakers, who are ranked 24th in 3-point attempts and 21st in 3-point percentage last season and may not want someone who is known for struggling from three, he does fit as the secondary playmaker they’ve been looking for. This will take some pressure off LeBron James and help the Lakers, as he is a dynamic scorer.
This is Westbrook’s fourth team in four seasons. While Westbrook has an impressive resume, he does not have an NBA championship. This might be his best shot yet.
3. Four All-Stars moved as wild MLB trade deadline approaches ⚾
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Remember when I said at the top that yesterday was a busy sports day? Well, MLB kind of led the way with the craziness. The Dodgers acted like the Dodgers and, after it was reported in the afternoon that the Padres were closing in on a deal to get Max Scherzer, Los Angeles turned around and acquired Scherzer AND shortstop Trea Turner from the Nats.
The Padres were oh so close to a deal for Scherzer, but it never got done and the Dodgers swooped in and stole him. That’s the wild wild NL West for you. Here’s a look at the details of this trade:
- Dodgers get ace Max Scherzer and All-Star Trea Turner
- Nationals gets catcher Keibert Ruiz, pitcher Josiah Gray, outfielder Donovan Casey and pitcher Gerardo Carrillo
- Scherzer is owed the balance of a $34.5 million salary for this season
- Scherzer is eligible for free agency this winter
- Turner will remain under team control through the 2022 season
This season, Scherzer has pitched to a 2.76 ERA with 147 strikeouts and 28 walks in 111 innings. Turner has hit .322/.369/.521 (146 OPS+) with 18 home runs and 21 steals (on 24 tries). Not a bad haul for the Dodgers, who are an impressive 62-42 but very well may not win their division because of how great the first-place Giants and third-place Padres are.
While that was one of the biggest deadline blockbusters in years, it was not the only involving All-Stars that went down.
Both Anthony Rizzo and Kyle Schwarber are now in the AL East and on different sides of the sport’s more storied rivalry.
The New York Yankees and Chicago Cubs agreed on a trade that put first baseman Rizzo in pinstripes, while the Red Sox took advantage of the Nationals selling off most of their roster and acquired Schwarber.
Oh, and the trade deadline isn’t even until 4 p.m. this afternoon, so get the popcorn, because more big trades are likely to happen.
4. Olympics schedule: What’s happening on Friday🏅
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The Olympics are far from over and the events seem to keep getting more exciting as the days go along. We’ve seen Caeleb Dressel and Suni Lee take gold this week and we have lots of events to watch today as well.
Here’s a look at watch to watch on Friday, highlighted by the final chapter of Katie Ledecky vs. Australia’s Ariarne Titmus in the women’s 800m freestyle:
- Women’s soccer quarterfinals: USA vs. Netherlands | Live updates as the action is underway right now
- Men’s golf third round, 6:30 p.m.
- Swimming finals, starting at 9:30 p.m.: Men’s 100m butterfly, women’s 200m backstroke, women’s 800m freestyle, mixed 100m medley
📝 Odds & Ends
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📺 What to watch tonight
🏅 2020 Tokyo Olympics | TV: fuboTV, NBC
⚾ Red Sox vs. Rays, 7:10 p.m. | TB -135 | TV: MLB.TV
⚾ Yankees vs. Marlins, 7:10 p.m. | MIA +135 | TV: MLB.TV
🏅 Best thing I saw on the internet
I love an adorable family moment and the Olympics are filled with lots of them. Just like with Caeleb Dressel’s family, Suni Lee’s family had an amazing reaction when she won gold in the individual all-around. I mean, who doesn’t love an emotional, happy reaction from years of their family member’s hard work accumulated to an Olympic medal?! Simone Biles, who has outwardly shown immense support for her teammates, also had a fantastic reaction to her friend taking gold.
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