Lancashire 160 for 2 (Davies 75*) beat Northamptonshire 157 for 7 by eight wickets

After the rare taste of defeat against Birmingham Bears, normal service resumed as Lancashire Lightning eased home with nine balls to spare on a night on which one sensed they would not have broken into a sweat even had the temperature been 10 degrees warmer.

With Alex Davies dominating with a masterful 75 at the top, finding the boundary 10 times but impressing also with some skilful shot placement backed up with superb running between the wickets, the absence of their leading scorer, Glenn Maxwell, through a minor hamstring injury was barely noticed.

Supported with vigour by Liam Livingstone at the start, with measured calm by Steven Croft through the middle overs and improvisation by Dane Vilas at the end, Davies underlined the depth of resources in the current Lightning squad that sees them with a five-point cushion at the top of the North Group, albeit from a match more than everyone else.

Adam Rossington (40) and Dwaine Pretorius (38) top scored as the Steelbacks posted 157 for 7 but even on a used pitch that gave the slow bowlers something to work with there was a never even a hint of a wobble from their opponents, who surely have one foot in the quarter-finals, not least with Maxwell set to return for Friday's game against Birmingham.

Northamptonshire are not completely out of the picture, even in eighth place, but they will have to go some to qualify from here.

What had been shaping up as a pretty decent powerplay for the home side stalled rather dramatically after a bemused Richard Levi, aiming to chip into the legside field, was caught at third man off a leading edge in the fourth over. Adam Rossington worked a four off his hips in the same over to take the total to 37 for 1 after four but Richard Gleeson conceded only three in the fifth over and Saqib Mahmood just a single in the sixth, in which the Steelbacks lost another big wicket when Josh Cobb holed out to deep square leg without scoring.

Lancashire, who had won the toss and fancied there would be something in the conditions for their bowlers after a miserably wet day, then took the pace off and put the squeeze on some more before Rossington and Alex Wakely eased the pressure with a boundary each as Northamptonshire reached the halfway stage at 69 for 2.

On a slow pitch against disciplined bowling, the Steelbacks struggled to build any momentum, picking up only a couple of boundaries in the next five overs. A full swing of the bat from Wakely sent the ball over the rope at deep midwicket, but in the same over of an impressive spell of legspin by Livingstone came another setback as Rossington failed to clear the fielder at long-on.

Livingstone cleverly bowled Wakely in his next over to finish with a tidy two for 24 before Rob Keogh and Pretorius gave the innings some belated substance with a flurry of big blows, the latter walloping Matt Parkinson for consecutive legside sixes on his way to 38 off 22 balls before the legspinner thudded the next delivery into his pads.

The two had added 52 in five overs, most of them in a furious assault against Mahmood and Parkinson that accrued 37 in 12 deliveries. But James Faulkner tightened things up again with a superb final over that conceded only four and claimed two more wickets as he finished with 3 for 36.

Needing just under eight an over to overhaul the Steelbacks and claim their sixth win after three no-results in their first 10 matches, Lancashire could not have asked for a more emphatic statement of intent from their openers than Davies provided by smashing the first three balls of Ben Sanderson's opening over to the rope.

Livingstone took up the gauntlet, needing little time to loosen up as lofted three of his first nine deliveries for six and though he was out looking for a fourth, well caught at deep mid-wicket, Lancashire were ahead of the game at 55 for 1 after the powerplay, even though the Steelbacks dragged the rate back a little in overs five and six.

The torrent of boundaries had dwindled to a trickle as Lightning reach the halfway point at 83 for 1 after some largely tidy work by Graeme White and Keogh but Davies and Croft were content with ones and twos with wickets in hand and the scoring ahead of the required rate.

Davies took advantage of a couple of loose deliveries from White to raise his boundary count to eight as he passed 50 in 38 balls before Faheem Ashraf checked Lancashire's progress a little by yorking Croft in an excellent over that went for just two singles.

But Davies continued to play splendidly, rarely passing up the opportunity for an easy boundary that came his way all too often and never keen to settle for singles if a two was available as the target came down to 34 off the last five.

By now, the Steelbacks' heads had dropped as Vilas warmed to the task and chopped Sanderson away twice through the offside before the game ended in a manner that aptly reflected the crumbling nature of the home side's cricket as Vilas swatted away a Nathan Buck full toss which Wakely's misfield at deep backward square turned into the winning boundary.

The Committee of Administrators (CoA) has appointed the Cricket Association of Uttarakhand (CAU) as the representative body to run cricket in the state, ending a long-standing dispute in which four different associations (later three, with two of them merging) had pushed their claims to be in charge.

The CoA order on August 13 came after it constituted an Affiliation Committee, consisting of Saba Karim, the BCCI general manger, and Anshuman Gaekwad. On the basis of their report, the CoA determined that CAU was the best placed to take charge of cricket affairs. The CAU will have to comply with the Supreme Court judgment of August 9, 2018, and file a compliance certificate with the CoA, appoint an electoral officer, and conduct elections in accordance with the approved constitution on or before September 14.

With the infighting among associations, the BCCI had constituted a Uttarakhand Cricket Consensus Committee headed by Ratnakar Shetty to run cricket affairs in the state last year, when Uttarakhand made its debut in domestic cricket. The players did exceptionally well on the field, not losing a single game in the Plate Group and qualifying for the quarter-finals, where they lost to eventual champions Vidarbha. Their showing earned them a promotion, and they will be in Group C this year.

The four associations who each staked claim for BCCI recognition were United Cricket Association (UTCA), Uttaranchal Cricket Association (UCA) and Uttarakhand Cricket Association (UKCA), apart from the CAU. In September 2017, UTCA merged with CAU, making it a three-horse race. That was narrowed to two associations - UCA and CAU - with the CoA stating that the documents provided by UKCA to the Affiliate Committee proved "grossly inadequate" to make a fair assessment of the association's ability to run cricket in the state. The CoA also said the infighting within UKCA showed that promoting cricket appeared to be a "secondary objective" for UKCA.

While the Affiliation Committee did not make any recommendation between the two remaining associations (UCA and CAU), the CoA leaned towards CAU due to their superior revenue generation. The CAU's aggregate revenue from the financial years 2005-06 to 2017-18 was INR 25,980,456, while that of UCA was only INR 1,084,028. The CoA found this to be a significant difference in the ability of both associations to carry out cricketing activities in the state, and awarded membership to CAU.

However, the CoA also noted that as per the report prepared by Karim and Gaekwad, UCA had much better administrative infrastructure, more professional management, better connect with former cricketers, and had their documents in order - all of which were lacking in CAU.

The inaugural season of the Euro T20 Slam has been cancelled, just two weeks before the tournament had been scheduled to start.

Speculation had been rampant in recent days that the tournament could be canceled and that soon turned into reality on Wednesday evening as tournament organisers led by Gurmeet Singh's Bombay Sports Limited and Woods Entertainment, the same group in charge of the Global T20 Canada, had run into increasing financial difficulties in recent weeks.

A player protest at the Global T20 Canada occurred on Wednesday August 7 over unpaid wages, bringing the organizers under intense pressure. Sources have also stated that some player salaries and player of the match award prize payments as well as vendors and event contractors from the 2018 edition of the tournament have still gone unpaid.

On the back of the Global T20 Canada final on Sunday, financial and logistical issues continued to mount for the Euro T20 Slam leading to an emergency board meeting on Tuesday, August 13 between organisers and the sponsoring member boards of Cricket Ireland, Cricket Scotland and the KNCB of Netherlands to address concerns held by the three host member boards. Multiple sources confirmed to ESPNcricinfo by 8:15 p.m. on Wednesday evening that the tournament was being scrapped with projected logistical cost overruns of having to build temporary stadium seating and broadcast facilities at three venues in three countries being a key factor.

The tournament's organisers released a statement a short time later saying that "the board of the Euro T20 Slam, funding partners and franchise owners of this exciting new T20 tournament have reluctantly come to the decision that staging of the event will not be possible in 2019," though did not expand upon the specifics behind the decision. The league tweeted a later statement citing "unforeseen circumstances".

Various marquee players had been drafted to play in the league, including Rashid Khan, Eoin Morgan, Dale Steyn, Babar Azam and Faf du Plessis. It is understood that the players had been unaware of the tournament's cancellation before the statement was issued.

Hours earlier, both Peter Trego and Ben Cutting - who had been signed by the Rotterdam and Amsterdam franchises respectively - had tweeted about preparations for the tournament. The Euro T20 Slam's official account tweeted only six hours before the cancellation was confirmed that Ross Taylor had signed as a replacement player.

"We want to ensure that the inaugural staging of the Euro T20 Slam provides the best springboard to making this a truly flagship event on the global cricket calendar," the statement said. "As such, we believe the right course of action is to postpone the Slam to a further date. This will give us the necessary breathing space to ensure we are ready to go.

"We will work with the three cricket boards, our principal investors, the franchise owners, players and other stakeholders within the game to ensure we fulfil any commitments we have made to the extent possible. We want to ensure the goodwill and integrity that we have built up rolls on into 2020."

Warren Deutrom, the chief executive of Cricket Ireland, said the board was "deeply disappointed with the decision".

"However, we fully empathise with the rationale that has led to the tournament's postponement," Deutrom said. "The excitement and energy that the Euro T20 Slam had generated since it was announced has demonstrated a high level of interest amongst the Irish public in seeing world-class cricket hosted here in Ireland. We hope that the interest will carry on until 2020 when the Slam will finally get underway.

"We will continue to engage with the event organisers to ensure all commitments are met to their fullest extent, including any receivables owing to Cricket Ireland itself. We will additionally be seeking increased comfort that the organisers will be able to avoid a repeat of this year's challenges in future editions."

Malcolm Cannon, the chief executive of Cricket Scotland, said: "While this was a very difficult decision to make at this late stage, we believe that it is the right one and one which leaves us with a great opportunity to launch the Euro T20 Slam next year with its deserved noise level."

Betty Timmer, Chair of KNCB, said: "As said, it is extremely disappointing that the Euro T20 Slam is not going ahead in 2019. With the scheduled opening games only two weeks away the KNCB was looking forward to this exciting new event that would have brought cricket much closer to the Dutch fans."

Virat Kohli's performances in this series -120 and 114 not out in the second and third ODIs - can only be described as masterful. Both knocks were also the bedrocks of India's innings. And on both occasions, he found able support in tricky situations from Shreyas Iyer, who added partnerships of 125 and 120 with his captain.

After India sealed the ODI series 2-0, one of the first things Kohli said was how impressed he was by Iyer's batting and attitude, adding that the Mumbai batsman reminded him of his own early days in the India side.

"He understood the value of performing in these situations," Kohli said after India's six-wicket win (DLS method) in Port-of-Spain on Wednesday. "It will only boost his confidence further. I was exactly the same when I came in - any opportunity I got I wanted to win games for my team and play according to the situation and you have to take risks. He was brave under pressure. You need to reveal your game to realise who you are, what your game is and what kind of a player you are.

With India still trying to figure out their middle-order puzzle, Kohli said Iyer could be a "strong contender and a regular feature in the middle order" if he continued to take responsibility like he did during this series.

"Both times he was batting with me, I've been around for a while, and he wasn't intimidated at all, he was very confident, very sure of his game. I think that is great to see, hopefully he builds on to this and keeps performing like this for the team.

"Today we were under a bit of pressure, I think Shreyas, the way he played took all the pressure off me and I could just play with my usual tempo and control the game from one end."

Kohli said he took pride in his performances that earned him the Player of the Match and Player of the Series awards, bringing his experience into play in pressure situations. In the second ODI, he had walked in to bat after Shikhar Dhawan had fallen in the first over and the side needed to rebuild. On Wednesday, with India facing a target of 255 in 35 overs, he came out to bat in the third over and saw his side through, with a 99-ball 114.

"I have been around for a while. Experience counts in pressure situations, understanding where the game is heading and what I need to do in terms of the tempo of the game," he said. "So, you obviously want to take a lot of pride in stepping up for the team as much as you can and I definitely take a lot of pride in that.

"Two good games with the bat for me, but more importantly we got the result because of my contribution as well, so that always feels much, much better and eventually that's all that matters - when you cross the line and finish the game."

India looked to be in some trouble at the start of the third ODI after West Indies openers Chris Gayle and Evin Lewis had raced away to 114 off the first ten overs. Kohli admitted the side was nervous at that point because the DLS target would have been difficult on that track had West Indies continued batting in that fashion.

"It was actually good that we got game time and we got those wickets otherwise we'd be chasing close to 280 in whatever overs we had bowled. So, that would have been a humongous task on a pitch that was slowing down," he said.

"When Chris and Lewis play like that you know why they are rated as two of the most dangerous players in the world especially in white-ball cricket. We tried literally everything and bowled every ball possible, but they were just absolutely brutal - actually that was tremendous batting from both of them."

Echoing Iyer's comments of different players in the team stepping up to take responsibility, Kohli said that attitude had become a template for the team over the last few years.

"What he said [about every team member taking responsibility] was exactly spot on that's what we want to do. As I said last game and this game Shikhar and Rohit have been brilliant performers for us, one of them usually gets a big score, but if they don't then it's my responsibility in the top three to get a big score.

"That's how we have played and that's why we have been successful - 75% win percentage in the last three-four years, so we have a good template we follow as a team."

The United State Soccer Federation and members of the women's national team reached an impasse Wednesday in their attempts to mediate the ongoing dispute over equal pay, with a spokesperson for the players saying they "eagerly look forward to a jury trial."

Spokesperson Molly Levinson released the statement on behalf of the U.S. players after mediation ended Wednesday evening.

"We entered this week's mediation with representatives of USSF full of hope," Levinson said in the statement. "Today we must conclude these meetings sorely disappointed in the Federation's determination to perpetuate fundamentally discriminatory workplace conditions and behavior.

"It is clear that USSF, including its Board of Directors and President Carlos Cordeiro, fully intend to continue to compensate women players less than men. They will not succeed. We want all of our fans, sponsors, peers around the world, and women everywhere to know we are undaunted and will eagerly look forward to a jury trial."

U.S. Soccer said in a statement: "We have said numerous times that our goal is to find a resolution, and during mediation we had hoped we would be able to address the issues in a respectful manner and reach an agreement. Unfortunately, instead of allowing mediation to proceed in a considerate manner, plaintiffs' counsel took an aggressive and ultimately unproductive approach that follows months of presenting misleading information to the public in an effort to perpetuate confusion.

"We always know there is more we can do. We value our players and have continually shown that, by providing them with compensation and support that exceeds any other women's team in the world. Despite inflammatory statements from their spokesperson, which are intended to paint our actions inaccurately and unfairly, we are undaunted in our efforts to continue discussions in good faith."

Although equal pay has been a point of contention between the federation and the players for years, with five prominent players filing a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in 2016, the current dispute began when 28 members of the national team player pool filed suit this past March alleging gender discrimination.

The two sides subsequently agreed to enter mediation after the Women's World Cup.

Cordeiro released a public letter on July 29 that attempted to make the case that U.S. Soccer had paid members of the women's national team more than their male counterparts over the span of nearly a decade. Representatives of the players argued that the numbers unfairly counted the salaries that women players receive for playing in the National Women's Soccer League.

Asked about Cordeiro's letter before the opening game of the current Victory Tour, Megan Rapinoe said it caught her by surprise because it was her understanding that the two sides wouldn't speak publicly about the matter while mediation was ongoing.

No new mediation is currently scheduled.

"The world looks to the U.S. to lead," Levinson said. "And the players would like to tell the world that the USSF pays women equally to men. The goal is equal pay."

When asked if Wednesday's statement precluded any attempts at further mediation, Levinson pointed to a letter to U.S. Soccer officials dated Aug. 12 and signed by all 28 players involved in the suit that seems to leave open the possibility of resolution out of court.

"For both parties, the risk of not resolving our disagreements over equal treatment that were not addressed either in bargaining or through the EEOC is too high," the letter from the players stated. "U.S. Soccer's reputation, sponsor relations, fan support and federal funding for the 2026 World Cup tournament are all at risk, and that risk continues should we not reach resolution. We have demonstrated that we can perform at high levels on the field even while pursuing equality off the field, but it is certainly not what we want to continue to go through with a new coach and the upcoming Olympic Games if a resolution is possible.

"While we are prepared to take our equal pay fight through a trial if necessary, we believe that both sides would benefit from an equal pay and equal working conditions settlement now."

Oakland Raiders wide receiver Antonio Brown is facing a civil lawsuit that alleges that he stiffed a chef's bill of nearly $40,000 during Pro Bowl festivities in 2018.

Stefano Tedeschi -- who goes by the name "The Sports Chef" -- filed suit in Osceola (Florida) County on July 30, claiming that Brown's balance of $38,521.20 remains unpaid.

Brown rented an Orlando-area mansion and hired the chef to prepare food for multiple days, a culinary show and other services for nearly 50 Pro Bowl teammates and many other party guests, Tedeschi told ESPN in an interview Wednesday.

Brown wrongfully terminated the agreement and did not allow Tedeschi to retrieve his equipment and food from the premises, the lawsuit states. A Brown associate told Tedeschi not to make eye contact with Brown on his way out, Tedeschi told ESPN.

Tedeschi added that he never got an official reason for the lack of payment. He paid staff members out of pocket for their work and forwent other work opportunities by committing to Brown.

"I've cooked for countless NFL superstars and celebrities," said Tedeschi, who says he has prepared food for Arizona Cardinals receiver Larry Fitzgerald, New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees and Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Jameis Winston, among others. "Never once have I had one problem [until this]. My food is so good, and my mannerisms in someone's home is second to none."

Brown's attorney, Darren Heitner, responded to the lawsuit, saying only, "We expect to be filing a motion to dismiss the complaint and will let the filing speak for itself."

Tedeschi claimed that Brown later offered to pay Tedeschi in social media advertising, which Tedeschi said he didn't accept.

This is the latest legal incident for Brown in Florida. The All-Pro faced two lawsuits from an April 2018 incident in which Brown allegedly yelled at security and threw items from inside an apartment off a balcony, according to documents obtained by ESPN. Both lawsuits were for "damages in excess of $15,000, exclusive of" attorney fees and interest.

In April, Brown settled the lawsuit brought by the guardian of a 2-year-old boy alleging "intentional infliction of emotional distress and assault" after items flung from the 14th floor of The Mansions at Acqualina nearly hit the child.

In January, Brown was involved in a domestic dispute during which he allegedly pushed the mother of his daughter to the ground in Hollywood, Florida. No arrests were made and no charges filed. Heitner called the allegations "baseless and false," and Brown later filed for majority custody of his daughter.

Traded from the Pittsburgh Steelers to the Raiders in March, Brown recently filed a grievance with the NFLPA over the expiration of his Schutt AiR Advantage helmet. Brown lost the grievance on Monday and reported to the Raiders on Tuesday. He is also dealing with a foot injury that's keeping him off the practice field.

The Undefeated's Jesse Washington contributed to this report.

NEW YORK -- Unsigned NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick might as well have been seated next to NFL commissioner Roger Goodell during Wednesday's news conference to officially announce the league's new partnership with Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter's entertainment company.

The former San Francisco 49ers quarterback's presence was definitely in the room.

Although Goodell and Carter both faced a volley of questions about Kaepernick, who became a polarizing figure nationally after protesting police brutality and systemic oppression before games, Carter was repeatedly asked to explain his reasoning for partnering with the NFL while Kaepernick, whom he has strongly supported, has not been on a roster since the end of the 2016 season.

Several of the questioners echoed the sentiments of many on social media, who have expressed disappointment and anger that Carter would agree to have his company, Roc Nation, lead the NFL's endeavors in music and entertainment.

Through music and entertainment, Carter said, he can help amplify the league's Inspire Change initiative for social justice. And the opportunity to potentially accomplish big things and uplift many in communities important to him was an opportunity he couldn't ignore.

"We forget that Colin's whole thing was to bring attention to social injustice. In that case, this is a success. This is the next phase," the entertainment magnate said. "There [are] two parts of protesting. You go outside and you protest, and then the company or the individual says, 'I hear you. What do we do next?'

"For me it's like action, [an] actionable item, what are we gonna do with it? Everyone heard, we hear what you're saying, and everybody knows I agree with what you're saying [in Kaepernick's underlying message]. So what are we gonna do? You know what I'm saying? [Help] millions and millions of people, or we get stuck on Colin not having a job."

Carter appeared unfazed while answering only slightly different versions of the same question about Kaepernick throughout the invitation-only gathering at Roc Nation's offices. In a sign of how important the partnership with Roc Nation is to the NFL, the commissioner of professional sports' most powerful league went to Carter's turf for the roll-out. And Goodell knew exactly what to expect, he said.

"I don't think either one of us expected that this relationship wouldn't have its critics," Goodell said. "But you don't let the critics or the negativity overwhelm the chance to do something really positive. We talked about this [Kaepernick's situation].

"We talked about a variety of issues. When we first met, we talked about entertainment and how we do that. But the No. 1 thing we went to was impact, that we can have an impact together, and that we can do some really positive things in our communities."

Kaepernick did not comment on the deal, but he posted a tweet later Wednesday to commemorate the third anniversary of "the first time I protested systemic oppression."

"Today marks the three year anniversary of the first time I protested systemic oppression," he wrote in the tweet. "I continue to work and stand with the people in our fight for liberation, despite those who are trying to erase the movement! The movement has always lived with the people!"

Carter understands that many people believe he should have shut the door on the NFL, "but people have to evolve," he said. "People have to want to be better and people have to want to have conversations. This isn't Twitter.

"You can't just throw someone out if they make a mistake. This is the real world. You can't say, 'Oh, you made a mistake, you're canceled. I'm never speaking to you again.' That's doesn't accomplish anything. That's what I believe. I believe real change is had through real conversation and real work."

New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, who sits on the board of REFORM Alliance, a nonprofit criminal justice advocacy group that Carter co-founded, introduced Carter to Goodell, believing they would work well together. After Kraft participated in their first meeting, Goodell and Carter envisioned a path forward together.

"We're both committed to sort of saying, 'Let's get to work,'" Goodell said. "Let's go show people that this is going to be a great thing."

AKRON, Ohio -- LeBron James went back to school and back in time on Wednesday.

Joined by four high school teammates, the NBA superstar dedicated a multicolored outdoor basketball court at the I Promise School, which he founded last year for underprivileged children in his hometown.

James took a break from his starring role in "Space Jam 2," which is currently in production, to spend time with the kids and support his family foundation.

Before taking the court for a quick pickup game against the youngsters, James took the microphone and addressed the kids, encouraging them to chase their dreams the way he and his friends have.

"This is a basketball court, and we see basketball hoops, but it teaches you so much more than just basketball," he said. "To be able to create a brotherhood or sisterhood and create things that will last forever. A lot of people say things you do in high school you'll forget. Well, we created a friendship 25 years ago, and we're still firm and strong. This is our way of giving it back to you guys -- paying it forward."

Then James was dribbling and passing with Dru Joyce III, Willie McGee, Romeo Travis and Sian Cotton, the "Fab Five" from St. Vincent-St. Mary High School, a group that won a state title and became nationally known as James rose from an Ohio teen prodigy to professional icon.

His former coach, Dru Joyce, was also on hand.

James, who is spending more than $1 million on various upgrades for the school, dunked to break in one of the new hoops but missed a couple of long 3-pointers.

The 34-year-old will soon begin his second season with the Los Angeles Lakers. The team missed the playoffs last season, with James failing to make the Finals for the first time in nine years.

The four-time MVP did not speak to the media following his on-court appearance.

James and the Akron Public Schools teamed up on the school, which is providing a nurturing academic environment for at-risk kids.

After reaching agreement on a $100 million contract extension earlier this month, Draymond Green is once again embracing the doubters who are down on the Golden State Warriors' prospects for next season after Kevin Durant's departure and Klay Thompson's ACL injury.

"I've heard people say we're not gonna make the playoffs. That's crazy to me," Green said in an interview with ESPN's Rachel Nichols on Wednesday's The Jump. "I mean, that's just, like, that's total disrespect, but no different than the disrespect we've all been getting for years."

The Warriors are still expected to make the playoffs, opening at minus-400 to reach the postseason at Caesars Sportsbook. But that's a far cry from the minus-10,000 odds they had before last season.

Whether it's the odds or just chatter, Green said he's fine with hearing skepticism around his team.

"I like it," he said. "You know, being the underdog. It's been a while since we been the underdog. But it brings that underdog chip back, and I miss that chip. I'm pretty sure Steph [Curry] missed that chip, and some of the stuff Klay been texting me this summer, I'm positive he misses the chip.

"... So to the oddsmakers, thanks. You got me where I am today. I look forward to where they take me again."

On Aug. 3, Green's agent, Rich Paul of Klutch Sports, told ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski that the sides had agreed to a four-year, $100 million extension. A league source told ESPN's Nick Friedell that the deal includes a player option for the final season.

For Green, the contract is a statement against the "garbage" surrounding him and the Warriors last season and proves that those who thought he wouldn't make it in the NBA were wrong, calling that fact "very sweet."

"It just tells you that there was a method to that madness," Green told Nichols. "And while so many people tried to write it differently, as I said before, they were wrong. There's proof in the pudding now that you were wrong. And I enjoy that just a tad."

He also said he didn't want to wait until he became a free agent next season, saying he could "come up short" on a megadeal and would never want to bail on the Warriors.

Asked about Durant's decision to join the Brooklyn Nets, Green called him his "brother" but told Nichols he didn't know Durant was leaving until "everybody else found out," adding that he wouldn't have expected to hear about it beforehand.

"It's my life, like, am I supposed to come to you and A) let you know that that's what I wanna do, or B) ask you for permission? No," Green said. "And so I found out when everybody else found out, which is exactly how it should be."

LOS ANGELES -- Tyronn Lue is close to a deal with the LA Clippers to become a top assistant coach on Doc Rivers' staff.

A source familiar with the situation confirmed to ESPN that Lue is nearing a deal to reunite with Rivers. The New York Times first reported that the Clippers are closing in on a contract with Lue.

Lue was a top candidate to become the Los Angeles Lakers' head coach until negotiations broke down earlier this summer. Lue wanted to coach LeBron James again -- the pair helped produce an NBA championship in Cleveland in 2016 -- but the coach and the Lakers could not agree on contract terms before the team ultimately decided to hire Frank Vogel.

Lue was fired as Cleveland's head coach six games into the 2018-19 season despite guiding the Cavaliers to three consecutive NBA Finals appearances. He had a 128-83 record in three-plus seasons in Cleveland.

Rivers has remained close with Lue, who was an assistant on Rivers' staff in Boston and with the Clippers before.