Knicks’ incredible offseason gets even better; USWNT opens Olympic play with high hopes

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🏀 Good morning to everyone but especially …

TOM THIBODEAU AND THE NEW YORK KNICKS

Fresh off just their second 50-win season in the last two decades, the Knicks are making sure their coach isn’t going anywhere. New York and Tom Thibodeau agreed to a three-year extension that ties him to the franchise through the 2027-28 season.

Thibodeau’s relentless, no-nonsense coaching style has been a perfect fit for his team full of underdogs, who have in turn maximized their abilities in the Big Apple. Jalen Brunson has become a star while players like Donte DiVincenzo have taken huge steps forward under Thibodeau, who owns a 175-143 record with New York and won Coach of the Year in 2021. The Knicks have won a playoff series in consecutive years for the first time since 1999-2000.

This puts a bow on what’s been an incredible offseason for New York.

• The Knicks acquired standout two-way wing Mikal Bridges from the Nets in the first trade between the two teams since 1983.
• They also kept another standout two-way wing by re-signing OG Anunoby. The Knicks were 26-6 (including playoffs) when Anunoby played last year after they acquired him from the Raptors.
• Brunson signed a team-friendly four-year, $156.5 million extension; had he waited until he was an unrestricted free agent next offseason, he would have been eligible for a projected five-year, $269.1 million deal. Bridges is also expected to take a team-friendly deal.

Sam Quinn handed out offseason grades for every Eastern Conference team, and the Knicks earned a “B+.”

• Quinn: “Was Bridges an overpay from a value standpoint? Maybe, but it made perfect sense in context. This is what you hoard picks to do. The Knicks have a legitimate chance to win the championship right now, and unlike many of their competitors, they are going to have a sustainable financial structure that keeps them in the hunt for years to come. If that’s the outcome of the trade, who cares about the value proposition of a single trade? The Knicks are a center away from getting an ‘A.'”

Sam also gave out Western Conference grades, where the Thunder and Spurs were the only teams to earn an “A.”

😀 Honorable mentions

• The NBA signed a new 11-year, $76 billion TV deal with ESPN, NBC and Amazon. Sam Quinn broke down its implications on the salary cap.
• The Red Sox extended Alex Cora.
• Tee Higgins explained his decision to sign his franchise tag and report to training camp.
• Daniel Jones was cleared for full team drills.
• Coco Gauff will be the female flag bearer for Team USA.
• Lincoln Riley was the latest coach to vouch for Mike Leach‘s Hall of Fame candidacy.
• Andrew Nembhard got a three-year, $59 million extension from the Pacers.
• The Oilers hired Stan Bowman as GM.
• Salt Lake City will host the 2034 Winter Olympics.

⚽ And not such a good morning for …

ARGENTINA

The Paris Olympics men’s soccer competition is already a wild one, and the opening ceremony is still a day away. Argentina lost 2-1 to Morocco in one of the most unusual and chaotic situations you’ll ever see in any sport.

• Morocco went up 2-0 behind Soufiane Rahimi‘s brace on either side of halftime before Giuliano Simeone‘s 68th-minute goal halved Argentina’s deficit.
• Cristian Medina then scored what appeared to be the game-tying goal in the 106th minute (16th minute of injury time) after a hectic sequence that included two saves and two shots going off the goal frame.
• This set off pure pandemonium: fans throwing objects (including what appeared to be flares) at the Argentina players, fans on the field, etc. Players were taken off the field, and the match seemed to have ended. Then the Olympic broadcast said that the game had instead been “interrupted.” Video boards inside the stadium instructed spectators to leave. Finally, players re-emerged for the three minutes left to play in front of an empty stadium.
• Two hours after the match had been stopped, video review confirmed Medina had been offside in the build up to the goal, and the goal was waved off. Morocco then held on for the wild win.
• Lionel Messi posted “Insólito” (Spanish for “unusual”) on his Instagram story. Argentina coach Javier Mascherano called it “the biggest circus I have ever seen in my life.”

James Benge provided some background information.

• Benge: “Given that Moroccan immigrants and their descendants make up one of the largest such communities in France, Argentina might always have expected the crowd to be against them in the Stade Geoffrey-Guichard. Events in recent weeks though served to heighten the level of enmity aimed at the Argentine football team. After all, Chelsea midfielder Enzo Fernandez had posted a video to social media in which the victorious Copa America side made racist chants about France and the nationality of their footballers.”

Not a great start!

😕 Not so honorable mentions

• Training camp fights are back! In Kansas City, Travis Kelce got involved in some chippiness between Kadarius Toney and George Karlaftis. In Houston, Derek Stingley and Dalton Schultz got into it.
• The Jets fined Aaron Rodgers for his unexcused absence due to a trip to Egypt.
• Trent Williams is holding out.
• Mike Trout (knee) left his rehab assignment to get evaluated back in California.
• There was a (kind of hilarious) benches-clearing incident between the Rockies and Red Sox.
• The Team USA U-23 men fell to host nation France, 3-0.
• Chauncey Billups said one of his players posted his dunk to social media during halftime of a blowout last season.
• Christian Yelich (back) is on the IL.
• Soccer Spygate? Canada women’s soccer used drones to spy on a New Zealand practice.

⚽ USWNT opens Olympic play vs. Zambia

The USWNT opens its Olympic Games today against Zambia (preview here), and with no age restrictions like on the men’s side, there are plenty of big names in Paris. It’s a huge chance for the Americans to get on the road back to establishing themselves as one of the world’s top teams, and it’s Emma Hayes‘ first big chance to lead that quest. Pardeep Cattry has a great profile on the new coach.

Our experts have made their picks, and they all have the USWNT earning some sort of medal. In order to do that, they’ll need a key returner to step up, Pardeep writes.

• Cattry: “Mallory Swanson: Since the USWNT exited the Women’s World Cup on the back of a scoreless run of over 200 minutes, the team’s attack has been a major area of focus. Many will point to the fact that Swanson’s absence last year after she tore her patella tendon messed with the USWNT’s plans Down Under, but her return to play this year for both club and country has offered encouragement that this team can return to attacking ways.”

Here’s more:

• Schedule
• Rose Lavelle is looking to return to form.
• Why Alex Morgan isn’t at the Olympics
• Scouting Zambia and its star, Barbra Banda

🏀 NBA signs new TV deal with ESPN, NBA, Amazon

The NBA officially has a new TV deal … and a shiny price tag, too. The league agreed to an 11-year, $76 billion deal with the Walt Disney Company (which airs games on ESPN and ABC), NBC Universal and Amazon. The deal begins in the 2025-26 season — after the current nine-year, $24 billion deal expires — and will run through 2035-36.

Among the key details …

• The NBA Finals will remain on ABC.
• ABC/ESPN will have one of the conference finals in 10 of the 11 years of the deal, while NBC/Peacock and Amazon will each get one of the conference finals in six of the 11 years of the deal. All three partners will broadcast first- and second-round games every year.
• Amazon Prime Video will stream the NBA Cup and the Play-In Tournament.

That makes this upcoming season the final one for TNT and its popular pre/postgame show “Inside The NBA.” Turner has broadcast NBA games since 1989, and TNT Sports said it will take further action, believing it matched the Amazon offer.

This new deal will multiply the NBA’s annual national media revenue by roughly 2.6 times. In 2016, when the deal brought a similar increase, the salary cap jumped 34%. Remember Allen Crabbe, Tyler Johnson, Ian Mahinmi and Solomon Hill getting huge deals? But that won’t happen this time around: New league rules mandate that the cap cannot increase by more than 10% per year. It will, however, likely rise by that maximum 10% every year.

Sam took an excellent look at how the salary cap will change under the new TV deal.

📺 What we’re watching Thursday

⚽ USWNT vs. Zambia, 3 p.m. on USA Network