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The UConn Huskies produced back-to-back national championships, and they also produced a pair of top-10 picks in this year’s draft.
UConn star freshman guard Stephon Castle was selected No. 4 overall by the San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday. Then a few picks later at No. 7, the Portland Trail Blazers took big man Donovan Clingan.
Castle and Clingan join Ben Gordon and Emeka Okafor (2004) as the second UConn duo to be drafted in the top 10 of the same draft.
Stephon Castle & Donovan Clingan are the second @UConnMBB duo to both go Top-10 in the same NBA Draft, joining Emeka Okafor & Ben Gordon in 2004. pic.twitter.com/qL9hvZRWmG
— CBS Sports College Basketball (@CBSSportsCBB) June 27, 2024
From national champions to top-10 picks
Stephon Castle and Donovan Clingan are livin' the dream pic.twitter.com/hn3AlUCWeT
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) June 27, 2024
After coming off the bench as a freshman, Clingan started 33 of 35 games last season for the Huskies. The 7-foot-2 center averaged 13.0 points, 7.4 rebounds and 2.5 blocks per game in the 2023-24 season. He helped lead the Huskies to a national championship in both of his seasons with the team. Clingan also is the third-highest drafted UConn center in school history.
Castle was the only freshman to see significant minutes for UConn lass season. The 6-foot-6 guard averaged 11.1 points per game last season and now will be asked to give Victor Wembanyama some offensive help.
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Six NBA players most likely to be traded
NBA teams won't assemble for training camp until September, but some players may not be on those teams for long. Here are six NBA players likely to get traded in the upcoming season. 1. Lauri Markkanen, Utah Jazz Some NBA teams go all-in. The Utah Jazz have gone all-out, ditching veterans Collin Sexton, Jordan Clarkson and John Collins this summer. Their lone remaining high-priced player is Lauri Markkanen, a 2023 All-Star who has four years and $196M left on his contract. He had a down year in 2024-25, playing just 47 games and dropping to 19 points per game, but the Jazz were also holding Markkanen out so much that they got fined. Markkanen's shooting would fit on nearly any NBA team, and he's still only 28 years old. The Jazz have amassed a lot of future draft picks, but many of them aren't great — pick swaps with the Cleveland Cavaliers and Minnesota Timberwolves, and a 2027 Los Angeles Lakers first-rounder. Trading their Finnish superstar could get them a huge return, especially if NBA teams are seeing him dominate in EuroBasket exhibition games. 2. Jonathan Kuminga, Golden State Warriors It seems like a foregone conclusion that Jonathan Kuminga will resign with the Golden State Warriors and equally inevitable that the Warriors will then try to trade their 22-year-old forward. The only holdup is that the restricted free agent and his team can't agree on a new contract. The Warriors need to get something back for their former lottery pick, but they also need to preserve his salary slot. Kuminga and his agent couldn't work out a sign-and-trade this summer, but once free agents who signed this summer can be traded Dec. 15, far more trade options will open up. Kuminga doesn't want to be on the Warriors. The Warriors don't want to guarantee him playing time. The breakup looks like it's coming. 3. Anfernee Simons, Boston Celtics In a year where the Boston Celtics have dramatically slashed their payroll in Jayson Tatum's absence, they have a huge incentive to deal Anfernee Simons, the guard acquired from the Portland Trail Blazers in the Jrue Holiday trade. Getting rid of Simons gets them under the luxury tax, which is worth tens of millions of dollars, while also keeping the Celtics out of penalties for repeatedly being a tax team. It all depends on whether the Celtics will settle for the financial savings or hold out to get assets back for the impending free agent. But Simons is almost certainly headed somewhere. 4. P.J. Washington, Dallas Mavericks P.J. Washington was a huge part of the Dallas Mavericks' run to the NBA Finals in 2024. Unfortunately, he plays the same position as the guy the Mavericks just took with the No. 1 pick in the draft, Cooper Flagg. The Mavericks also have Anthony Davis, Dereck Lively II and the newly-extended Daniel Gafford. Washington and his expiring contract are now expendable. 5. CJ McCollum/Khris Middleton, Washington Wizards The Washington Wizards took on McCollum and Middleton in trades in the past year, moves that were primarily made to shed the long-term salaries of Jordan Poole and Kyle Kuzma. But even though those players were both born in 1991, they should still be able to contribute to winning teams in 2025-26. The Wizards may value their veteran leadership, but they also have a roster full of recent draft picks who need playing time — and you can never have too many future draft picks.
Tennessee's groundbreaking Adidas deal a game-changer for college sports in NIL era
The Tennessee Volunteers are going back to Adidas as its primary apparel provider after a decade of wearing the Nike swoosh. On Wednesday, Adidas announced a $100M, 10-year deal to be the exclusive apparel provider for the school's sports teams. The deal is set to begin on July 1, 2026, following the expiration of the current agreement with Nike. On the surface, it's just another apparel deal between two popular brands, but in the era of NIL (name, image and likeness) in college sports, it's a game-changing agreement. As part of the agreement, Adidas will establish a fund for NIL deals between the University of Tennessee and student-athletes. The German-based company will provide Tennessee with at least $10 million annually for the NIL deals, which, as of now, is about half of the $20.5 million that schools participating in the revenue-sharing model are allowed to give directly to student-athletes. That figure will almost assuredly increase with each passing year, meaning both current and future Tennessee Volunteers will benefit directly from this deal. Adidas will aim to make top student-athletes brand ambassadors by giving them national marketing campaigns and signature shoe lines. With NIL deals becoming a centerpiece of how college athletic departments attract top recruits, this deal is a bellwether for how apparel deals will be renegotiated across the world of college sports. Of course, at the center of this deal is football, as it remains the most popular sport in the country. According to The Athletic, the Volunteers' football program is estimated to be valued at $1.37B, the ninth-highest valuation in college football. It's only natural, then, that Adidas wants to get its logo back on Tennessee football jerseys. Adidas sponsored the team for 20 years before the university switched to Nike in 2014. While some fans were hoping Tennessee would re-up their partnership with Nike, fans who remember the 1998 National Championship team will probably feel good seeing the Adidas logo on the jersey again. Adidas also sweetened the deal by providing assurances that Tennessee athletics can design its apparel in-house, in collaboration with the company. Aside from nostalgia and big business, Tennessee and Adidas both know that for the school to remain one of the top programs in the country, they'll need star recruits. Before the ascendance of NIL deals, recruiting top talent was a mix of promising top-of-the-line facilities and flaunting the pedigree of the program. NIL money has changed that equation and already impacted Tennessee. In April, star quarterback Nico Iamaleava shocked the school by not reporting to spring practice and transferring to UCLA. Reports suggested part of the disagreements between Iamaleava and the school was over his NIL deal. How Iamaleava plays this season will make Tennessee wonder if it should've allocated more NIL money to keeping him happy. If that's the case, it's safe to wonder if Tennessee will tap into this deal as much as possible to keep future stars away from the transfer portal. This deal with Adidas certainly opens new doors for athletes to maximize their branding and will test the NIL distribution system over the next decade. Expect these types of deals to become the norm, too, as universities seek every competitive advantage against one another.
Pete Alonso gets awesome gift from Mets after breaking HR record
Pete Alonso is officially the New York Mets' all-time home run king, and the team has pulled out all the stops while crowning its slugger. Alonso hit the 253rd and 254th home runs of his Mets career in the team's 13-5 win over the Atlanta Braves on Tuesday night. He surpassed previous franchise record-holder Darryl Strawberry, who hit 252 home runs with the Mets from 1983-1990. Prior to Thursday night's game against the Braves, the Mets presented Alonso with a custom painting that was made from 253 baseballs. The portrait shows Alonso in the home-run trot from his 253rd homer. That was not the only gift the Mets had for Alonso, either. They also gave him a new Ford F-150 truck. Alonso entered free agency last offseason but did not generate as much interest as he had hoped. He wound up returning to the Mets on a two-year, $54M deal. The second year is a player option, and Alonso is widely expected to opt out. One Mets player suggested that Alonso's new home run record could inspire the 30-year-old to re-sign with the team, but New York would have to pay up to make that happen. Alonso entered Thursday batting .272 with 28 home runs and an MLB-leading 98 RBI. His relationship with the Mets seems strong at the moment, and the gifts may have helped solidify it even further. That does not mean Alonso is going to offer any type of hometown discount.
Jimmy Garoppolo's pass to Davante Adams draws attention for wrong reasons
Jimmy Garoppolo and Davante Adams have been reunited on the Los Angeles Rams, and the star receiver may have nightmares over one throw that came his way on Thursday. The Rams and New Orleans Saints held a joint training camp practice on Thursday. At one point during an 11-on-11 scrimmage, Garoppolo floated a pass toward Adams into traffic over the middle of the field. Adams did not make the catch, and for good reason. He was between three defenders and was fortunate that hitting was not allowed. Otherwise, he probably would have gotten throttled. It is possible that Garoppolo threw the pass knowing Adams was not going to be hit by a defender. The veteran quarterback would probably think twice about making a throw like that during an actual game — or so Adams hopes. Adams was one of the players featured on the Netflix documentary series "Receivers" last year. During one of the episodes, Adams was shown ranting about Garoppolo when the two were teammates on the Raiders. Adams was heard saying he needed to get out of Las Vegas "before I lose my (expletive) life." The six-time Pro Bowl receiver also said he had "never been hit this many (expletive) times in my career." Garoppolo is now the backup with the Rams and has been taking first-team reps while Matthew Stafford nurses a back injury. Adams said in an interview last month that he loves Garoppolo and chalked any previous issues up to everyone being "pretty miserable" when the Raiders were losing. The Rams are hoping Stafford will be fully healthy by Week 1. If he is not, Garoppolo may have to play. The quarterback had better get those so-called "hospital balls" out of his system in training camp.
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