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Pistons and Cunningham agree on five-year deal
DETROIT | Cade Cunningham and the Detroit Pistons have agreed on a five-year contract extension worth at least $224 million, two people familiar with the situation told The Associated Press on Tuesday.
The deal could reach nearly $270 million if Cunningham becomes eligible for a supermax extension, according to the two people who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the team had yet to announce the agreement.
ESPN was first to report the agreement, which starts with the 2025-26 season.
Detroit drafted Cunningham No. 1 overall in 2021, and the former Oklahoma State star has had individual success amid hard times for a three-time NBA-championship winning franchise.
The 6-foot-6 point guard has averaged 20 points, 6.5 assists and five rebounds in his career, which included an injury-shortened second season.
The Pistons clearly are including Cunningham in their next attempt at rebuilding, an effort led by new president of basketball operations Trajan Langdon and coach J.B. Bickerstaff.
After finishing with the league’s worst record for the second straight year, Detroit fired general manager Troy Weaver following a four-year run of futility and coach Monty Williams after only one season.
Langdon has been busy, aiming to surround Cunningham with outside shooters as part of a desperately needed influx of talent.
He signed former Pistons forward Tobias Harris to a two-year, $52 million deal, acquired Tim Hardaway Jr. from Dallas in a trade, extended a qualifying offer to Simone Fontecchio and drafted Ron Holland of the G League Ignite with the fifth pick overall.
The Pistons haven’t won a playoff game since 2008, when they appeared in the Eastern Conference finals for the sixth straight year, and have been the last-place team in the Central Division the past four seasons.
Cunningham, who is from Arlington, Texas, has done his part by producing in two of his three years.
In his second season, he was limited to 12 games because of a stress fracture in his left leg. He bounced back from the injury well enough to average 22.7 points and 7.5 rebounds last season while grabbing 4.3 rebounds per game.
Cunningham was unanimously voted to the 2022 NBA All-Rookie first team after averaging 17.4 points, 5.6 assists and 5.5 rebounds.
Royals-Cardinals game postponed to Wednesday because of rainfall
ST. LOUIS | The game between the Kansas City Royals and St. Louis Cardinals originally scheduled for Tuesday night was postponed because of heavy rainfall from the remnants of Hurricane Beryl, which was moving through eastern Missouri on its way north from the Gulf of Mexico.
The cross-state rivals will play a split doubleheader on Wednesday at Busch Stadium. The first pitch for the opener will be at 12:45 p.m., and the nightcap will begin at the originally scheduled time of 6:45 p.m.
The Royals are flip-flopping their rotation, with Alec Marsh (6-6, 4.57 ERA) starting Game 1 against Andre Pallante (4-3, 4.00) of the Cardinals. Michael Wacha (5-6, 3.74) will start the nightcap for Kansas City. St. Louis had yet to decide on its starter for Game 1, though Sonny Gray (9-5, 3.30) was originally scheduled for Wednesday night.
The forecast Tuesday called for rain lasting throughout the day and localized flooding. The rain was not supposed to ease up until the evening, though the forecast for Wednesday calls for warm weather and a sunny sky.
Phillies reinstate Bryce Harper, Kyle Schwarber from injured list
PHILADELPHIA | The Philadelphia Phillies have reinstated first baseman Bryce Harper and designated hitter Kyle Schwarber from the 10-day injured list and could have both key players when they face the Los Angeles Dodgers in a matchup of division leaders starting Tuesday night.
Harper was reinstated Monday after missing time with a hamstring injury suffered in a 7-4 loss to Miami on June 27. The two-time MVP was hitting .303 with 20 doubles, 20 homers and 58 RBIs and was named National League player of the month for May and June.
Schwarber was reinstated on Tuesday. He was batting .250 with 17 homers and 49 RBIs and was leading the NL in walks before sustaining a left groin injury in that same game while playing the outfield for just the third time this season.
Both players ran earlier this week in anticipation of being reinstated.
The Phillies designated outfielder David Dahl for assignment on Monday and optioned infielder Kody Clemens to Triple-A Lehigh Valley on Tuesday. Clemens hit .242 in 24 games with the Phillies, while Dahl batted .207 in 19 games.
Keegan Bradley doesn’t just want to be captain, he wants to make the team
NEW YORK | Keegan Bradley was clear about his intentions when he was introduced Tuesday as the U.S. Ryder Cup captain for 2025.
He doesn’t just want to be Captain America, he wants to play on the team at Bethpage Black in New York.
“I feel as though I’m still in the prime of my career and can make this team,” Bradley said at his introductory news conference.
Bradley would be the first U.S. Ryder Cup playing captain since Arnold Palmer in 1963 if he were to qualify.
“I’m not going to pick myself,” Bradley said. “The only way that would happen is if the team was insisting it but even if they did I don’t see that happening. I want to make the team on points, otherwise I’m going to be the captain.”
Whether he plays or not, Bradley’s captaincy is already tied to Palmer. At 38 years old, Bradley is the youngest U.S. captain since a 34-year-old Palmer led the team in ‘63.
He said he will soak in advice from his predecessors, but plans to refresh the staff with a youthful approach.
“What’s personally important to me is I would like the vice captains to set up the future,” Bradley said.
Bradley competed in the Ryder Cup in 2012 and 2014, both losses for the Americans. He has long talked about wanting to make it back to the Ryder Cup to redeem those results.
Mu not included in
relay pool for U.S. track team going to Paris
About the only real surprise when the U.S. track and field roster came out Tuesday was who didn’t make the list: Athing Mu.
Although the middle-distance runner didn’t qualify at U.S. trials to defend her 800-meter Olympic title, she figured to be under consideration for a spot in the relay pool. Instead, one of the biggest names in track will be left on the sideline for the Paris Games, which start later this month. Mu had been recovering from a torn hamstring leading into trials.
As expected, Noah Lyles, Sha’Carri Richardson, Gabby Thomas and Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone were all on a U.S. roster that boasted more than 100 athletes. The U.S. squad includes four reigning Olympic champions in Ryan Crouser (shot put), McLaughlin-Levrone (400-meter hurdles), Katie Moon (pole vault) and Valarie Allman (discus).
Quincy Wilson, a 16-year-old high school student from Maryland who turned in dazzling times to finish sixth in the 400 meters at trials, and sprinter Christian Coleman are in the relay pool.
Mu missed out on a chance to make the team in the 800 when she got tangled up and tumbled to the track in the final at the U.S. Olympic trials two weeks ago. She wound up finishing last in the race. Mu was a key member of the team’s gold-medal win in the 4×400 relay at the Tokyo Olympics.
Lyles will be the one to catch in the 100 and 200. He won both events at the world championships last summer in Budapest, Hungary, along with helping the U.S. capture the 4×100 title. Kenny Bednarek also will be competing in both sprint competitions.
It will be the Olympic debut for Richardson, the reigning 100-meter world champion. She missed the Tokyo Games in 2021 because of a positive marijuana test. Richardson figures to be the sprinter to beat in Paris.
Karissa Schweizer and Grant Fisher both earned spots in the 5,000- and 10,000-meter races.
There was some shuffling that took place coming out of the trials, with Elle St. Pierre electing to concentrate on the 1,500 meters and scratch the 5,000. The spot went to Parker Valby, but the runner from the University of Florida decided that she would focus on just the 10,000. That led to Whittni Morgan getting the spot in the 5,000 after taking fifth at trials. Morgan has made a fast recovery after undergoing a patellar tendon debridement procedure in November.
—From AP reports
