NEW YORK -- CC Sabathia, pitching in the final year of his illustrious major league career, keeps hitting milestones.

This time it was a wins mark: 250 of them, to be exact.

Seven weeks after becoming the 17th pitcher in big-league history to record 3,000 strikeouts, Sabathia added his name Wednesday to the list of 48 pitchers to have registered 250 wins in a career.

"It's crazy to put my name up there with some of those guys that I idolize, and some of those names that are enshrined in baseball history," Sabathia said. "To be part of that, it's a big deal."

Sabathia accomplished that "big deal" in somewhat smooth fashion, lasting six comfortable innings by striking out seven in a one-run three-hitter as his New York Yankees blew out the division-rival Tampa Bay Rays, 12-1.

The win locked up a series sweep for the Yankees, extending their American League East lead over second-place Tampa Bay to 3½ games. New York also has now taken seven of the nine games the teams have played.

Even on such a momentous day, Sabathia didn't lose sight of the importance of the midseason win. In fact, when first asked what win No. 250 meant to him, he offered this reply: "Just another win for us; a sweep against a very good team. We wanted to keep it rolling."

With a six-run first inning by the Yankees, it didn't take long for the historic win to start coming into view. Still, Sabathia said his mind was on making sure he kept getting the game back in his offense's hands as quickly as possible so it could do even more damage.

"That's a great lineup, a great team," he said of a Rays club he has gotten into verbal spats with during recent starts, due to his teammates either being thrown at or hit by pitches. "I'm still focused on trying to get the team back in the dugout to score more runs. Let's have a quick inning, and get back in the dugout and try to put some more pressure on their pitchers." The first-inning outburst was one of two the Yankees had in the lopsided victory. They added a six-run seventh for added insurance.

Sabathia is now the 14th pitcher in baseball history with both 250 wins and 3,000 strikeouts. All but one of the previous 13 are in the Hall of Fame. Roger Clemens is the lone pitcher on that list who hasn't yet been voted in.

"This is a sport that goes back a long, long ways, and those are numbers that more so than any other sport, mean something, and speak to his greatness and his longevity," said Aaron Boone, the Yankees' current manager who also played with Sabathia earlier in his career.

Additionally, Sabathia has become only the third left-handed pitcher to hit both marks, joining Hall of Famers Steve Carlton and Randy Johnson. He's also just the third African American pitcher to have a 250-win, 3,000-strikeout career, joining Bob Gibson and the Canadian-born Ferguson Jenkins.

"That means a lot, being an African American pitcher, being from the inner city, and wanting this game to grow and getting back in the inner city," Sabathia said. "Having a chance to put up these numbers and let some of these kids know that I'm from where they're from, and I love this game of baseball, hopefully it'll open some doors for some kids and open their eyes to start playing the game."

Much of Sabathia's success Wednesday hinged on his ability to throw strikes with a pitch that he had been struggling with in recent starts: his cut fastball. It was after his previous outing at the Chicago White Sox when Sabathia said he had trouble finding the grip on the pitch that, of late, has kept his career alive and thriving.

In a 4⅔-inning outing in Chicago on Friday, Sabathia allowed 10 hits and six runs in a Yankees loss. The cutter just wasn't being located the way the lefty had hoped it would be.

"In between starts, I sat with the baseball the whole time, and just played with my thumb on the ball, and tried to figure out a good, comfortable spot to move my thumb to get that good feel of where I was able to get the ball to cut," Sabathia said.

All of that time sitting with a baseball, coupled with what he felt was a strong bullpen session this past Monday, led to his dominant milestone outing.

"It's an honor to somehow be involved in his history," catcher Gary Sanchez said through an interpreter. Sanchez also was behind the plate in April when Sabathia notched career strikeout 3,000 in a loss at Arizona.

Sabathia's current 3,043 strikeouts are well beyond the 2,813 and 2,117 totals that this year's Hall of Fame starting pitching inductees, Mike Mussina and Roy Halladay, had. The duo is entering Cooperstown alongside former Yankees closer Mariano Rivera, a pitcher who Sabathia acknowledged Wednesday.

It was during spring training of 2014 when Rivera and another former Yankee, southpaw starter Andy Pettitte taught Sabathia how to throw the cutter that has helped resurrect his career.

At the time, knee troubles, age and a loss of velocity were forcing the longtime power pitcher to reinvent himself. Finesse and control became the new name of Sabathia's game.

"If I hadn't learned that pitch in 2014, I probably would be out of the game," Sabathia said. "So to have those two being willing to help me and willing to tutor me means a lot."

Sabathia, whose first big-league win came in Detroit in April 13, 2001, has long said reaching win No. 250 wasn't very important to him. He'd rather have crossed the 3,000-strikeout plateau.

"I really did mean that," Sabathia said. "I just want to go out and pitch well and help this team win games.

"To get a win, so many things have to go right. I feel like strikeouts is kind of you. It's a team win more than it is yourself. One of those things I feel like, when the team wins or when I win a game, it's because of everybody else."

Ever the consummate teammate, Sabathia, whether in Cleveland, Milwaukee or New York, has been lauded over the years by the people who have played with him. Yankees shortstop Didi Gregorius explained why.

"The guy has been in the game for 19 years and he always battles and goes out and gives it his heart," Gregorius said. "He's one of the kind of pitchers you want to go out there and see pitch every day, and he's a great leader here in the clubhouse and guys love him."

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic -- Former Red Sox slugger David Ortiz was shot in the back by a gunman who mistook him for the real target, another man who was seated at the same table at an outdoor cafe, Dominican officials said Wednesday.

The Dominican Republic's attorney general and national police director told reporters that the attempted murder was ordered from the United States by Victor Hugo Gomez, an associate of Mexico's Gulf Cartel. They said Gomez had hired a gang of killers to eliminate his cousin, whom Gomez suspected of turning him in to Dominican drug investigators in 2011.

The cousin, Sixto David Fernandez, was seated with the former baseball star on the night of June 9, when a gunman approached and fired a single shot at Ortiz, the officials said. Fernandez owned an auto-repair shop and was friends with Ortiz, according to Attorney General Jean Alain Rodriguez and Maj. Gen. Ney Aldrin Bautista Almonte, director of the Dominican Republic's national police.

Ortiz remains hospitalized in Boston, where doctors have upgraded his condition from guarded to good.

At least 11 people have been arrested in the case so far, ranging from the alleged gunman to a series of drivers and relatively minor accomplices. Rodriguez and Bautista said the case of mistaken identity began when one of the accomplices shot a blurry photo of Fernandez seated at the Dial Bar and Lounge in an upscale section of Santo Domingo. In the photo, a white freezer obscures Fernandez's lower body, making it look like he was wearing white pants when, in fact, he was wearing black pants, officials said.

"It was a badly lit photo taken minutes before the attack," the chief prosecutor said.

Ortiz was wearing white pants on the night of the shooting and law-enforcement officials said that the gunman, Rolfy Ferreyra, mistook him for the target and fired.

Nonetheless, many Dominicans were skeptical that their country's most famous person, a 6-foot-3-inch man weighing around 250 pounds, could be mistaken for Fernandez, who appeared to be far smaller with a lighter complexion in a photo provided by authorities.

"He is big. He likes to attract attention," said Daniel Pou, an independent consultant on public security. "He wears a lot of jewelry. He's flashy all around."

The alleged shooter is a skinny, tattooed 25-year-old whom U.S. prosecutors said is wanted on armed robbery and gun charges in New Jersey. His driver was captured immediately after the shooting when he fell off the motorcycle he was trying to use to escape.

Ferreyra and the other suspects were captured over the next few days. Ferreyra told reporters from the window of a jail cell this week that he did not mean to shoot Ortiz, but fired at him in confusion over his clothing.

Gomez, the alleged mastermind, is believed to be in the United States and is being sought by the Drug Enforcement Administration, Bautista said, pointing to a news report in which federal authorities identified Gomez as one of several suspects in a March 2019 drug trafficking sting in Houston, Texas.

The weapon used in the shooting, a Browning Hi Power semiautomatic pistol, was buried in the garden of one of the suspect's home and was later turned over to police by his mother, according to court documents obtained by The Associated Press.

Also accused is Gabriel Alexander Perez Vizcaino, aka Bone, whom they say was hired by someone who is in prison on unrelated charges to be the liaison between the hit men and the person who paid them. Authorities say Perez shared the picture of the target as he met the other suspects at a nearby gas station just minutes before the shooting.

They said Perez then sold the cellphone used to plan the attack and to distribute a picture of the target to a woman for $180 so he could get rid of the evidence a day after the shooting.

Police are still looking for at least three other suspects: a woman known as The Venezuelan or Red; Luis Alfredo Rivas Clase, aka The Surgeon, who is wanted for a 2018 shooting in Reading, Pennsylvania, and was believed to be driving a car used to stalk Fernandez; and Alberto Miguel Rodriguez Mota, whom authorities believe paid the hit men. Authorities have said coordinator of attack was offered 400,000 Dominican pesos, or about $7,800.

A video from the scene of the shooting shows everyone fleeing or crouching except for Rodriguez, who stands calmly amid the chaos.

"He grabbed his beer to make sure it was safe," Bautista said.

Authorities also are investigating Fernandez, the supposed target, Bautista added.

Ortiz is recovering at Massachusetts General Hospital. Doctors in the Dominican Republic removed his gallbladder and part of his intestine before he was wheeled into an air ambulance sent by the Red Sox and flown to Boston.

He led the Red Sox to three World Series championships, was a 10-time All Star and hit 541 home runs. The Red Sox retired his number, 34, in 2017, and he has a bridge and a stretch of road outside Fenway Park named after him. He has a home in Weston, on the outskirts of Boston, that he shared with his wife and three children before putting it up for sale.

Although he lives in Boston, the 43-year-old Ortiz visits the Dominican Republic several times a year. His father and sister live in Santo Domingo.

SARVER, Pa. – Due to persistent rain this week at Lernerville Speedway, and with more rain expected, World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Model Series and track officials have canceled the Thursday portion of the 13th annual Firecracker 100.

The decision makes the event a two-day racing extravaganza on Friday and Saturday.

Click here for the complete adjusted event schedule.

Those who purchased a ticket in advance through the World of Outlaws to the Thursday, June 20, Firecracker event at Lernerville Speedway will receive a face value credit to their MyDirtTickets.com account to be used towards any World of Outlaws event available at WorldofOutlaws.com/schedule, including the Don Martin Memorial Silver Cup on July 23 or the Commonwealth Clash on September 28.

Bubba Wallace and Carson Ferguson were duking it out up front on Tuesday night at Charlotte Motor Speedway during the Bojangles’ Summer Shootout, but they forgot about Ryan Mackintosh.

Before anyone knew it, the third man in the fight quickly had a shot to win it in stunning fashion. (Video Courtesy of Legends Nation)

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – The 97th edition of the Broadmoor Pikes Peak Int’l Hill Climb presented by Gran Turismo will begin marching up Pikes Peak on Sunday, June 30.

Roughly 7,000 racing fans from as many as a dozen countries and 44 states will watch from designated spectator areas on the 14,115-foot mountain as 88 competitors from 17 countries, including 29 rookies, take on the challenge of the world’s most famous hill climb.

Pikes Peak is the second-oldest motorsport race in America (1916), behind only the Indianapolis 500 (1911).

Competitors on the Peak will come from the United States, Canada, Great Britain, Belgium, France, Japan, Italy, Norway, Sweden, Australia, New Zealand, Scotland, China, Brazil, Germany, Northern Ireland and the Czech Republic.

The Race to the Clouds is still basking in the glow of the fabulous performance last summer by French driver Romain Dumas in the 2018 Volkswagen I.D. R Pikes Peak, toppling the old mark of 8:13.78 set by Sébastien Loeb of France in 2013.

Dumas careened up the 156-turn, 12.42 mile course to the summit in a jaw-dropping time of 7:57.148 to establish a new course record and earn Autoweek’s Moment of the Year.

“We never know what incredible moments each year will become part of the race’s history,” said PPIHC Executive Director Megan Leatham, “We have an awesome lineup of competitors from around the world coming to Pikes Peak again this summer to take on the mountain, so buckle up.”

Pikes Peak has seen champions since 1916 who are part of American motorsport history —Ari Vatanen, Parnelli Jones, Mario Andretti, Rick Mears, Michèle Mouton, Nobuhiro Tajima, Bobby Unser, and Malcolm Smith, just to name a few.

This year’s Indy 500 winner, Simon Pagenaud, finished second on Pikes Peak in 2013 in the Exhibition Class.

While it’s unlikely that Dumas’ mark will be eclipsed this year by a talented stable of drivers, everyone will be watching the decorated veteran Rhys Millen, as he attempts to break the Time Attack 2 Production record in the Exhibition Division.

The time to beat is David Donner’s 10:26.896 set in 2015, driving a 2014 Porsche 911 Turbo S.

Millen, 46, a New Zealander who moved to the USA in 1990, and son of Pikes Peak legend Rod Millen, will be competing for the 24th time in the race, this time in a jazzy, luxurious Bentley Continental GT coupe sporting the Bentley 100th anniversary livery.

He’ll also be seeking his 13th championship in his race history, which began in 1992 with a title in the Open Division.

In 2015, he was named “King of the Mountain” after breaking the electric modified record with a time of 9:07.22 — a record he topped the following year by 10 seconds (8:57.118). His fabulous life includes stunt driving for commercials and movies, the latest a sizzling spot for Hankook Tires, seen by millions.

Other notables entered this year include Paul Dallenbach, Greg Tracy, Liam Doran, William Au-Yeung and Robin Shute.

UFC flyweight and bantamweight champion Henry Cejudo is undergoing left shoulder surgery after tearing his subscapularis muscle during his fight against Marlon Moraes earlier this month, Cejudo told ESPN.

Cejudo said he suffered the injury in the first round of his fight at UFC 238. Despite the injury, he defeated Moraes via third-round TKO to become just the fourth fighter in UFC history to be crowned champion in two weight classes at the same time.

The subscapularis muscle is the most used muscle in the shoulder and is part of the rotator cuff.

Cejudo severely injured his ankle days before the fight while training at the host hotel in Chicago, but he told ESPN the injury will not need surgery.

Cejudo's doctors have told him he will need about four to five months before he is cleared to fully train again, meaning he'll likely be out for the rest of the year.

Cejudo (15-2) will no doubt be in the running for 2019 Fighter of the Year. In January, he knocked out TJ Dillashaw in 32 seconds.

The NBA comparison game is tricky in any draft. No two players are identical, and it's easy to talk yourself into or out of a prospect just because he reminds you of someone else.

But for a player as unique as Duke's Zion Williamson, comps are even more challenging. Williamson is this year's consensus No. 1 pick, likely headed to the New Orleans Pelicans at the start of the 2019 NBA draft on Thursday (7 p.m. ET on ESPN). There's also a strong case that he's the best college prospect since Anthony Davis.

But Zion still has a few doubters around the league, and those lingering naysayers often pose the question, "Who is he in the NBA?"

We've never seen a prospect quite like Williamson before. In trying to picture what exactly NBA Zion will look like, we need to look at five players instead of one.

Here's how standout aspects of the Duke phenom's game compare to different NBA players at the same stage, and what it might mean for Williamson at his pro peak.

1. Draymond Green | Defensive versatility

Schmitz: Zion delivers amazing rim-rattling slams, but it's his defensive versatility and willingness to work on that end that make him the ideal modern big prospect, with the 1-through-5 switchability of Draymond Green. Williamson even produced a 7.2 defensive box plus-minus in his lone season at Duke -- identical to Green's defensive impact as a senior at Michigan State. In the NBA, Green has consistently ranked among the most effective stoppers in the league, according to ESPN's defensive real plus-minus, despite his size.

Like Green, Zion plays far bigger than his measurables suggest, allowing him to slide all the way up to the center spot, giving Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry ultimate flexibility at the other four positions. Although Draymond (7-1½ wingspan, 8-9 standing reach) is longer than Zion (6-10½ wingspan, 8-7 standing reach), Williamson is close to 50 pounds heavier, with far superior leaping ability to go along with similar defensive feel and toughness.

Zion's nuclear bounce allows him to play with his head at the rim in verticality situations, while his catlike quickness and motor help him cover ground in the blink of an eye to rotate for blocks. Even when he is tasked with checking more traditional bigs, his frame, low center of gravity and competitiveness are enough to neutralize opponents.

Williamson comfortably checked all five positions at Duke, stifling point guards like Ky Bowman, wings like Jarrett Culver and centers like the 260-pound Steven Enoch. He can shift between anchoring a defense to switching to point guards, displaying nimble feet for a player of his weight. Williamson also has outstanding anticipation in the passing lanes, regularly jumping routes with elite closing speed.

He can stand to improve his discipline, but Williamson covers up a lot of his mistakes with effort.

Goldsberry: Green's unique blend of size, strength, speed and smarts has made him one of the definitive players of this decade. As NBA offenses embraced pace-and-space, defenses had to adapt. Many traditional stoppers like Roy Hibbert have lost their jobs, as bigs are now required to defend both the edges and the interior of the court. Green is so unique because he can play great defense everywhere.

He can switch onto almost any player, from Chris Paul to Joel Embiid, and if Zion can do the same in the NBA, his team will be a nightmare. Green's versatility as an individual force is arguably the most important factor that has enabled Golden State to develop one of the best defensive schemes for the current era.

If there were such a thing as a defensive quarterback in basketball, Green would be all-pro.

2. Ben Simmons | Transition skills

Schmitz: Like Simmons at LSU, Williamson is shifty in the open court for a player his size, pushing off the glass and weaving through traffic with guardlike agility before exploding at the rim for tomahawk dunks. Both players are at their best getting downhill in transition, and the unpredictability of these grab-and-go attacks is what makes positionless players like Simmons and Williamson so difficult to guard in space.

At the collegiate level, Simmons was used as more of a traditional big man in the half-court while being given the freedom to carve up defenses in transition, leading to a host of SportsCenter Top-10 plays. Both players love to use powerful in-and-out dribbles to catch defenders off balance, playing high-to-low and changing speeds impressively, making them nearly impossible to stop with a head of steam. Williamson is an underrated ball handler, with great body control, allowing him to maintain balance while taking off of either foot.

Although Simmons is a far superior passer who has clearly been groomed as a jumbo lead guard, Williamson's court vision similarly expands in the open court. Whether it's through a Hail Mary outlet over the top of the defense or an aggressive push into a thread-the-needle bounce pass, Zion is a heady facilitator against a scrambling defense, something that should come alive even more in the NBA when surrounded by athletes and shooters.

Goldsberry: Everybody loves to point out that Simmons can't shoot 3s. While that's true, it's also misleading, because Simmons is a prolific 3-point creator as a passer. Consider these two facts, via Second Spectrum:

• Simmons ranked third in the NBA in 3-point assists this season with 255 (Klay Thompson made 241)

• Simmons led the NBA in total transition assists

It's not just that Simmons has a knack for creating shots -- he ranked second in the NBA in passes to shooters this season, per Second Spectrum tracking, trailing only Russell Westbrook -- it's that he has a knack for creating some of the best shots in the game: the ones in transition and the ones from beyond the arc.

During the regular season, Simmons created a whopping 12.1 3-point assist opportunities per 100 possessions, per Second Spectrum. His vision and feel for the court is world-class, particularly in transition, but those passes are possible because defenses have to honor his own ability to attack the rack.

The world's best transition playmakers are able to both create for themselves and for teammates in the open floor. One reason Zion has such high expectations is because he has the potential to check both boxes at a very high level. He can't match Simmons as a transition distributor right now, but his scoring threat gives him a chance to generate nearly as many great looks for teammates in time.

3. Blake Griffin | Playmaking athleticism

Schmitz: We've never seen a 285-pounder who can sky for dunks quite like Williamson, but Griffin (248 pounds as a 20-year-old) was a close replica. Like college Griffin (6-11 wingspan), Williamson is a power dunker set to tear down the rim on every attempt, doing so despite mediocre positional length. He seems to get just as much lift off one leg or two and is challenging for any shot-blocker to challenge when he gets to his launching pad. But it's not just the dunks that make these two similar.

They're both extremely agile, with sure handles and impressive functional athleticism. They drop fluid spin moves, crossovers, hop steps and low-to-the-ground drives rare for players that strong. Given his strength and coordination, Griffin has developed into quite the shot-creating big, with the ability to even play some 4-5 pick-and-roll, something we saw often with DeAndre Jordan during the Lob City days.

Zion figures to find similar success, as we saw Duke use him as a mismatch ball handler in pick-and-roll situations, scoring 28 points on 22 such possessions. He loves to reject ball screens but can also use the pick to either get downhill and attack or slow up and find an open teammate.

Zion uses devastating lateral hop steps, and like Griffin, his combination of sheer strength, ballhandling, vision and shiftiness makes him a tough cover in space. Williamson is also a comfortable post passer, and his facilitating is likely his most underrated skill. A slightly superior passer at the same stage of development, Williamson should eventually become an even more dynamic playmaker and driver than Griffin as his career progresses.

Goldsberry: Imagine if Dominique Wilkins could pass like Vlade Divac. That's what Blake Griffin has become -- an unprecedented combination of scoring, highlight dunks and crafty passing. The 2013-14 version of Griffin, when he finished third in MVP voting, showed that the best way to discourage overzealous help defense and double-teams is with smart dishes.

Whether in the pick-and-roll or in the post, for Zion to reach his full potential he needs to become a great half-court passer at the NBA level. As the league trends more and more toward perimeter scoring, ball-dominant bigs are increasingly rare, and the ones who persist can facilitate like Griffin, who averages more than five assists per game.

As Zion leaves the crowded scoring areas of the ACC, his vision and passing will be vital in the spaced-out world of the NBA. While the combination of interior prowess and perimeter shot creation may seem like an odd formula, it's one that rests at the core of a few of the league's best superstars, including LeBron James and Giannis Antetokounmpo.

4. Charles Barkley | Motor/rebounding

Schmitz: Barkley developed into one of the better undersized rebounders the game has ever seen, so this comp is high praise, but Williamson is deserving.

Zion has consistently proved to be one of the most effective offensive rebounders in college basketball, utilizing quick, powerful swim moves or aggressive spins to beat opponents to the ball regularly. Not only can he sky in a crowd and snatch the ball at its highest point with strong hands, but he'll also throw his weight around, voluntarily crashing against the hardwood to create extra possessions.

Like Barkley, he'll also use his low center of gravity to wedge opponents out of the play on the defensive glass before attacking rebounds in a hurry. The nastiness with which he plays on the glass resembles the NBA legend, too.

Williamson is a thankless superstar who doesn't need plays called for him to have an impact, and his rebounding prowess and motor on the backboards are the main reason why.

Goldsberry: The Round Mound of Rebound is one of the most evocative nicknames in basketball history, but it also doubles as a very brief scouting report for Barkley. Despite his relative shortness and roundness, Sir Charles became one of the best rebounders in his era thanks to his blend of motor, boxouts and smarts.

Zion has a bigger frame than Barkley, but his energy is similar, and that's a major compliment. The pace-and-space era has reduced the number of goliath bigs even trying to get boards, which should benefit Zion. If he can learn the NBA arts of boxing out and back taps, Williamson will become one of the most formidable physical forces chasing rebounds around the NBA.

5. Julius Randle | Posting scoring style

Schmitz: Williamson was one of the most efficient post-up scorers in college basketball, punishing switches or even more traditional bigs with a fairly simple approach. Similar to Randle at the same stage, Zion has tremendous drop-step footwork, erasing defenders with his combination of physicality and quickness, turning over his right shoulder before exploding to the rim for short push shots or layups.

Like Randle, Williamson is a bit undersized for his position, with average length and reach, which helped him develop touch shots from all different angles to combat superior length. Both are left-hand dominant, although Zion already was far more efficient at the same stage. Williamson shot 74.7% on all 2s at Duke, while Randle converted 57.1% at Kentucky.

Will Williamson maintain that level against NBA bigs? I'm not sold that he'll operate on the block as often as he did at Duke. He'll certainly have to add counter moves, like Randle did, operating more out of midpost face-up situations. He's still a bit of a blank slate in terms of his post-up attack, but the ingredients are there to make it work.

Goldsberry: The Randle comparison is nice, especially stylistically. I also see a lot of Toronto-era Chris Bosh here if we're talking efficiency.

First of all, Zion is an absolute beast in the paint. He made 76% of his shots inside of 10 feet -- that's LeBron-in-his-prime-level efficiency, and by far the highest such mark of any lottery prospect. But his shot activity near the basket also reflects his dominant left-handedness.

That combination of volume and efficiency is something Randle could only dream about when he was 19. If Zion can extend his Duke-era interior dominance into the NBA, we might be looking at the most effective southpaw since Bosh was at his most ferocious with the Raptors.

In trading for Mike Conley, the Utah Jazz announced themselves as a legitimate contender to make the Finals next season and swiped the first domino in what is set up to be an interesting and unpredictable point guard market.

To review: Utah traded Jae Crowder, Kyle Korver, Grayson Allen, the No. 23 pick in Thursday's NBA draft (7 p.m. ET on ESPN), and a protected future first-round pick that will mostly likely shift over to Memphis in 2022 -- when it will be top-six protected, per league sources.

Contracts tied to Conley and Rudy Gobert expire after the 2020-21 season, so by (probably) deferring the pick until 2022, Memphis has at least given itself a shot of catching the Jazz in a down year at the same time the NBA might have a "double draft" combining one-and-done college prospects with newly eligible players coming out of high school.

This is good return for Memphis, which is losing a franchise legend and the last remaining on-court link to the beloved Grit-N-Grind era. (Conley should have a statue outside FedExForum in Memphis soon after his retirement.)

The Grizzlies took a slight risk in waiting until now to deal Conley instead of acting at the trade deadline, but it ended up costing them nothing beyond the chance to clear more 2019-20 salary. They might have come out better for it.

They always wanted two first-round picks, and they got them. The Detroit Pistons opted against paying that price, sources say, and even had the Pistons agreed, Memphis might have been stuck with Reggie Jackson. The Pacers would not surrender two first-round picks and Aaron Holiday, sources say.

In Allen, Korver, and Crowder, Memphis gets three useful players. (Depending on how they structure the trade, the Grizzlies could also create a fat trade exception of about $25 million.) Allen, the 21st pick a year ago, logged just 416 minutes as a rookie, but Utah remained optimistic about his potential. The Grizzlies can almost argue they acquired three first-round picks in this deal. Waiting also allowed Memphis to have certainty over where Utah would pick in Thursday's draft.

Korver and especially Crowder are movable for value. (Memphis trading Crowder for two second-round picks makes too much sense for it not to happen -- and maybe soon.) Crowder leaves a gaping hole at power forward in Utah. (The Jazz's best lineups since acquiring Crowder at the 2018 trade deadline have featured him as a small-ball power forward.)

No matter how the Jazz timed this trade, adding Conley's $32.5 million salary takes them out of the market for max-level free agents, according to ESPN's Bobby Marks. Utah can open $16.9 million in space by waiving Derrick Favors, whose deal for next season is nonguaranteed, but even that does not create maximum space with Conley's mega-salary coming in.

Utah probably coughed up one more asset than it would have liked, though that might have been unavoidable. It's hard to tell if Boston's interest in Conley was ever real, but you can't blame Utah for believing it became real once reports had both Kyrie Irving and Al Horford potentially heading for the exits. Utah also needed to send out enough salary to keep Favors and remain under the cap. Sending Crowder over Dante Exum is a big bet on Exum. The Jazz need Exum to help next season.

Utah using its space on Conley also marks some minor good news for Philadelphia and any other suitor for Tobias Harris. The Jazz had Harris listed among its major free-agency targets, sources say, but they will move down into lower power forward tiers depending on what they do with Favors. Keep him, and they will be limited to using the room midlevel exception of about $4.8 million. Waive him, and they can crack open enough space to sign someone in the Nikola Mirotic/Bobby Portis/Marcus Morris/DeMarre Carroll tier. They could also send out Favors in a sign-and-trade for a free agent around that level.

If all else fails, they could elect to keep Favors in his role as token starting power forward and heavy-minutes backup center behind Gobert.

Utah has never quite given up on the Favors-Gobert starting duo, even if it seems like they give up on it when the going gets tough in the playoffs. Utah has always defended like all hell in its twin towers alignment. Favors has won them playoff games. The questions have all come on offense.

Spacing was tight with Ricky Rubio running point. Utah's offense mostly survived in the regular season -- minus a disastrous start in 2017-18 -- but things got dicier against dialed-in playoff defenses. The Favors-Gobert pairing would have a more honest chance with Conley, Donovan Mitchell, and Joe Ingles surrounding them in what could be a killer starting five. Georges Niang loosened Utah's spacing as a break-in-case-of-emergency rotation guy in the playoffs against Houston, and figures to get a real chance next season.

Utah may discover it needs a better, more versatile power forward option than is on the roster now. If so, the Jazz have the time and tools to rectify that.

Conley is a very snug fit regardless. You need multiple plus playmakers to score against elite playoff defenses. Mitchell was a little overtaxed as a No. 1 option. He shot 39 percent across his two playoff runs, and finished with more turnovers than assists in Utah's dispiriting first-round loss to Houston this season.

Mitchell is 22! Expecting expert-level navigation from him in the playoffs this soon was not super-reasonable. He's not LeBron James. All things considered, Mitchell has managed well enough; he certainly looked ready for the moment as a rookie in coaxing Carmelo Anthony onto an island and running Oklahoma City out of the 2018 playoffs.

Ingles is a fine all-around player, but he was a little overburdened as a No. 2 option who ran Utah's offense when Mitchell rested -- and sometimes even when Mitchell was on the floor.

Acquiring Conley slots everyone into a more natural hierarchy. Very quietly, Conley had an All-NBA-caliber season in what ended up as his Memphis swan song. He can share the controls with Mitchell; both will munch on more catch-and-shoot 3s as a result. Conley is a steadier and more precise crunch-time ball handler who can calm Utah's offense amid the late-game frenzy.

Ingles settles back into a role as a secondary creator against scrambled defenses. He has drained at least 40 percent of his catch-and-shoot 3s in each of the last four seasons, and cracked the 46 percent barrier -- wow! -- in both 2016-17 and 2017-18 before a slight downturn last season.

Conley has lost a half-step, but he is still at least Rubio's equal on defense -- and probably a little better in hothouse moments. He is less prone to gambling out of scheme. Utah's defense should remain among the league's two or three best with Conley and Gobert bookending things.

Utah is 2-8 against Houston over the last two postseasons. It became fashionable to brand them with the dreaded backhanded compliment: regular-season team. On one level, that is kind of an empty term. It really just means that a team isn't quite as good as the best teams, and Utah before this deal plainly was not as good as the best teams.

But the label was at least hinting at real issues. Utah did not quite have enough stylistic diversity on either end. Acquiring Conley doesn't change that in regard to Utah's defense. Play enough postseason series, and Gobert is going to run into a tough matchup. That is just life for paint-bound rim protectors. (That said, Gobert got more comfortable last season venturing out toward the 3-point arc. His defense -- and Utah's as a whole -- steadied against Houston after a disjointed first two games in which James Harden obliterated an exaggerated scheme designed to take away his step-back 3-pointer.)

On offense, Utah's whirring perpetual motion machine of handoffs and screens looks gorgeous in the regular season. In the playoffs, more defenses roll their eyes at that Basketball 101 stuff, switch every action, and dare someone to get buckets one-on-one.

Conley gives Memphis a second guy who can dust behemoths on switches. The upgrade in shooting will make each of those handoffs and screens more dangerous, and reduce the opposing defense's margin for error. On more of those two-man actions, both players will be multifaceted threats. Any mistake -- any window opened -- will carry more risk.

Remember: Even in bricking away to a ghastly 99 points per 100 possessions against Houston, the Jazz found 22 wide-open 3s per game -- the most of any postseason team, per NBA.com. They just missed a crazy portion of them. Adding another elite shooter gives them a bit more insulation against such slumps.

The cost is real, but this is what you do when you have a chance to make the Finals. Six years ago in a down cycle, the Jazz happily gobbled up two first-round picks from the Golden State Warriors in exchange for absorbing cap detritus -- allowing the Warriors to unlock enough space for Andre Iguodala.

Now in an up cycle, with the Golden State dynasty in shambles amid an unthinkable rash of injuries, Utah is going for it -- and (they hope) paying a similar price.

There are a ton of dominoes left to fall in the West. The Lakers need to build a team around LeBron James and Anthony Davis; if they do a halfway decent job of it, they could be scary. The Clippers could claim conference finals favorite if they sign Kawhi Leonard and another All-Star-level player. (Personally, I love the fit of Horford with the Clippers -- if they lure Leonard away from a great situation in Toronto.)

The bickering Rockets are still here. None of Denver, Portland, Oklahoma City, and San Antonio are going anywhere. At least one -- maybe more -- have the goods to make a big win-now move. (Can we get Kevin Love to Portland somehow, please?)

But Utah was a legit 50-win team before adding Conley, and they have given themselves a chance to be something more.

Other ripple effects of a major trade:

• The rest of the NBA's free agent point guards lost a source of leverage in Utah. One fun quirk: Several of the teams with holes at the position have dynamic wings who soak up a lot of ball-handling duty -- Mitchell in Utah, Victor Oladipo in Indiana, Devin Booker in Phoenix, Luka Doncic in Dallas.

Do those teams want traditional floor generals, or guys more like Patrick Beverley -- 3-and-D spot-up types? (Malcolm Brogdon is perhaps the apex version of this player on this summer's free agency market, but he is restricted and the Bucks would like to keep him.)

Utah went for the best talent available.

Indiana is circling Ricky Rubio, though they have eyes on other targets -- including trade options -- if Rubio's market gets too frothy, sources say. Brooklyn believes it is the frontrunner for Irving, sources say, which would put D'Angelo Russell in play somewhere. Russell is an intriguing fit next to those ball-dominant wing types; playing him in more of a hybrid role might actually nudge his shot selection toward a healthier direction -- more catch-and-shoot 3s.

Phoenix still has no proven point guard; Tyler Johnson could be available if he opts into his contract for next season, sources say. The Mavericks can create about $30 million in cap room. They may opt to use that on a big man instead of chasing Kemba Walker or some other high-profile point guard, though nothing has been decided yet, sources say. (Dallas pursuing Horford has been the hottest rumor of the day; they will face competition for him.)

Orlando has D.J. Augustin for one more season, and a giant question mark at the position beyond that. Washington has Tomas Satoransky heading into restricted free agency; will anyone hit him with an offer sheet fat enough to stress the Wizards?

• Boston owns the Grizzlies' pick next season, but only if it falls outside the top six. Trading Conley signals a full-on rebuild. If the Grizzlies pick in the top six next season, Boston gets Memphis' pick in 2021 regardless of where it falls. Will it still be a golden chip then? Or can Memphis bottom out this season, keep its pick, and improve to the point that it is merely a run-of-the-mill lottery team in 2021?

The Minnesota Twins placed infielder Marwin Gonzalez on the 10-day injured list and right-handed reliever Blake Parker on the family medical emergency list Wednesday.

Gonzalez has a strained right hamstring, the team said. He is hitting .255 with nine home runs and 26 RBIs in his first season with the Twins. He has made starts all around the infield this season, at third base (31), second base (two) and shortstop (one). He also has made 16 starts in the outfield.

He was lifted for pinch hitter Max Kepler in the sixth inning Tuesday night against the Boston Red Sox. Kepler, who was supposed to get the night off Tuesday, ended up playing 12 innings and getting three hits, including the game-winning single in the 17th inning.

The team did not disclose details on Parker's family medical emergency. He leads the Twins with nine saves this season (in 10 chances) and is 0-2 with a 4.26 ERA in 25 1/3 innings pitched.

The Twins recalled catcher/infielder Willians Astudillo and right-hander Sean Poppen from Triple-A Rochester in corresponding moves.

Astudillo hit .250 with two homers and 11 RBIs in 33 games with the Twins earlier this season. Since being sent to Rochester, Astudillo hit .526 with three home runs and 11 RBIs in nine games.