METAIRIE, La. -- David Griffin said he is "certain that's a false narrative" that Zion Williamson or any other potential No. 1 pick in the NBA draft would need to be convinced to play for the New Orleans Pelicans.

And Griffin said he is hoping to convince Anthony Davis to stay on board as well, now that the Pelicans are on a remarkable offseason winning streak.

The Pelicans' makeover continued this past week when they won the NBA draft lottery, then lured Trajan Langdon away from the Brooklyn Nets to become their general manager. Griffin, who was hired last month as New Orleans' executive vice president of basketball operations, said he plans to visit with Davis soon.

"We'll probably sit together in Los Angeles at some point around the draft workouts that take place there," Griffin said Tuesday during a conference call to introduce Langdon. "And I think that's the next step -- really to look each other in the eye and talk about what's important to us. And we're very optimistic from previous conversations with Rich Paul, his agent, and with all of the people here that know Anthony and know what he's about. We're very confident that we have a compelling situation for him here.

"And if winning is what he is indeed all about, which we have every reason to believe, we feel confident that we can create -- and are creating -- the right environment for Anthony and frankly for high-caliber players of all types to want to be a part of. This is something that we hope creates an energy that recruits itself, and Anthony would just be one step in that process."

So far, there has been no indication that Davis plans to back away from his desire to be traded from the Pelicans or to leave as a free agent after next season. But the team is optimistic that Davis could be swayed by the caliber of changes being made this offseason, including the likely addition of Duke's Williamson with the No. 1 pick.

As for Williamson, Griffin balked at speculation that he might not want to play for a struggling, small-market franchise in New Orleans. Griffin said "we know unequivocally" that either Williamson or top prospect Ja Morant would be "thrilled to join us in New Orleans" after Griffin and Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry spent time with each of them following the lottery.

"I'm certain that's a false narrative relative to the players that could potentially be the No. 1 pick," Griffin said. "We've sat with multiple players that we're looking at for that first pick. In fact, in the case of Zion Williamson, Alvin Gentry and I sat with he and his parents the night of the lottery. ... And Alvin and I were also together in interviewing Ja Morant in Chicago as well. And I think because we sat with those kids, who are both incredible human beings and all about all the right things, we know unequivocally that either one of them would be thrilled to join us in New Orleans. And they're both very much excited about the concept."

That concept of building a winner in New Orleans certainly seems to be attracting some of the top executives around the NBA. In addition to Griffin and Langdon, the Pelicans also hired respected trainer Aaron Nelson away from the Phoenix Suns.

Griffin joked that "the next one in is jumping on the bandwagon."

Griffin credited owner Gayle Benson, who took over both the Saints and Pelicans franchises last year following the death of her husband, Tom. Griffin said Benson has been committed to changing the Pelicans' approach after they fell short of building a winner around Davis over the past seven years.

"It's become something that it's very clearly her baby, and the Pelicans matter immeasurably to her. And literally in all these hirings, she's putting her money where her mouth is and she's empowering us to go and attract the best and the brightest," Griffin said. "And I think when you win the lottery in the midst of all those other things, it starts to really lend itself to changing a narrative.

"Certainly, [the new hires] are buying into the momentum at this point."

Langdon, who helped oversee a similar rebuild over the past three years as the Nets' assistant GM, said that momentum and commitment level is what drew him to New Orleans -- as well as the chance to work with Griffin again after they spent the 2015-16 championship season together with the Cleveland Cavaliers.

"The opportunity to join up with Griff again and do something special in a place that nobody believes it can be done, aside from the people in this organization and the city, is something that is very intriguing," said Langdon, who described it as a "very difficult decision" for him and his family to leave the Nets and said his time there was "fantastic."

"So I think it's another challenge, and one that's greater being in a smaller market," Langdon said. "I think Brooklyn has put themselves in a place now where they can attract those big-name people. And that's what we want to do there as well, but in a different market. And like Griff has said in the past, doing that in a small market like we did in Cleveland is just a lot more rewarding when you find that success at some point. And whether that will be in one, two or four years, who knows? But when the success does come, it's gonna be incredibly rewarding."

The first five picks of the 2018 draft proved predictive regarding the 2019 All-Rookie first team, announced by the NBA on Tuesday.

Top overall pick Deandre Ayton of the Phoenix Suns was joined by the Sacramento Kings' Marvin Bagley III (No. 2), Dallas Mavericks' Luka Doncic (No. 3), Memphis Grizzlies' Jaren Jackson Jr. (No. 4) and Atlanta Hawks' Trae Young (No. 5) on the first team.

Doncic and Young were unanimous selections from the 100 media voters. Those two, along with Ayton, are finalists for Rookie of the Year.

The last time the top five picks were all first-team rookie honorees was in 1984-85 -- a class consisting of Hakeem Olajuwon, Sam Bowie, Michael Jordan, Sam Perkins and Charles Barkley.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Collin Sexton, Landry Shamet, Mitchell Robinson and Kevin Huerter were named to the second team.

DENVER -- The prospects of a return home to Washington and the Wizards were undeniably appealing to Tim Connelly. But not nearly as alluring as finishing what he started with the Denver Nuggets.

The Nuggets' president of basketball operations elected to stay in town, even with the Wizards calling.

The Nuggets, who boast a young nucleus led by big man Nikola Jokic, won 54 games this season before the No. 2 seed lost to Portland in Game 7 of the second round of the playoffs.

"It's safe to assume, and maybe it's me being overly optimistic, that we're going to see a better version of us next year," Connelly said Tuesday. "I don't know if that means more wins. I don't know if we're going to win a playoff series and advance, but I don't think there's any reason to think there will be any regression next season."

A Baltimore native, Connelly appreciated the audience with Washington owner Ted Leonsis. He said he was flattered by their recent "exchange of ideas" as the Wizards look to fill the role of team president after Ernie Grunfeld was fired in April.

"The relationships that have been built up here and the hard times we've been through -- it was very hard to envision leaving something that has been so hard and so long coming in its build," said Connelly, who broke into the NBA with the Wizards as an intern in the basketball operations department, then as an assistant video coordinator and as a scout.

Connelly was hired as Denver's general manager in July 2013, and team president Josh Kroenke stayed patient with him. Connelly brought in coach Michael Malone before the 2015-16 season and they've steadily progressed since -- from 33 wins in Malone's first year to 54 this season, including a league-leading 34-7 home mark.

"We did not get off to a good start by any stretch, and [Kroenke] doubled down on what easily could have been perceived as an initial mistake because he liked the processes and liked how we attacked our job day to day," said Connelly, who was promoted to president of basketball operations in 2017. "Loyalty and patience is such a rarity in professional sports and that's here in spades. So those things matter to me."

Connelly and his staff have struck it rich in the draft, taking Jokic with the 41st pick of the second round in 2014. They've also selected Jamal Murray, along with up-and-comers Juancho Hernangomez, Malik Beasley and Michael Porter Jr., who sat out this season as he recovered from back surgery.

The biggest offseason decision remains what to do with veteran leader Paul Millsap. The team holds a $30 million option, which could be restructured.

"I fully expect Paul to be back in a Nuggets uniform," Connelly said.

On the free-agency front, Denver hasn't exactly been an attractive landing spot in recent summers. But Connelly sees that starting to change and believes the unselfish play of Jokic could be an enticing selling point. Denver could be in the market for another shooter and a power forward in order to take the next step.

"It will be fascinating to make those calls" in free agency, Connelly said. "If they say it's about winning and the answer is about winning and they don't talk to us, then I think it's a disingenuous answer."

The Nuggets turned some heads throughout the regular season as they challenged Golden State down to the wire for the best mark in the West. They beat San Antonio in seven games in the first round before falling to the Trail Blazers.

"We sent a pretty loud message," Malone said. "I think there were questions about our team all year long, for whatever reason. How legitimate are they? Are they really a No. 2 seed? Can they take their game into the playoffs with so many young guys that've never been there before?

"We answered so many questions about our team in the best way possible."

The Portland Trail Blazers and head coach Terry Stotts have agreed to a multiyear contract extension.

The Blazers announced the extension Tuesday but did not disclose terms.

The deal was announced one day after the Golden State Warriors swept Portland in the Western Conference finals. It was the Blazers' first trip to the conference finals since 2000.

Portland surged to its most successful season in nearly two decades despite losing starting center Jusuf Nurkic to a fractured leg on March 25.

Stotts just completed his seventh season as the Blazers' coach and has guided Portland to six consecutive playoff appearances.

Stotts, 61, is 325-249 in his seven seasons with Portland and owns a career record of 440-417 in parts of 11 seasons with the Blazers, Milwaukee Bucks and Atlanta Hawks.

ARLINGTON, Texas -- Texas Rangers reliever Shawn Kelley learned that two lumps removed from his throat last week were benign, and the 35-year-old right-hander was activated from the 10-day injured list Tuesday.

Kelley was placed on the injured list on May 9, and the lumps were removed Thursday. Kelley, who doesn't use tobacco, had reported discomfort when talking and when rolling over while in bed.

"I really did feel like everything was going to be OK and that a lot of it was precaution," he said Tuesday. "And [for the news] to come on a day when I was going to be reactivated, anyways, is pretty exciting."

Kelley is 3-0 with two saves and a 1.29 ERA in 14 appearances in his first season with the Rangers. He said the only pain he feels is when he looks straight up, because of the two internal stitches.

"If there's a popup on the mound, I'm going to need help," he said with a laugh. "You're going to see me leaning back."

Left-hander Brett Martin was optioned to Triple-A Nashville.

The Los Angeles Angels are placing shortstop Andrelton Simmons on the 10-day injured list after an MRI on Tuesday revealed a Grade 3 left ankle sprain.

Simmons was hurt while trying to beat out an infield hit in the eighth inning of Monday night's loss to the Twins.

X-rays were negative, but the MRI confirmed the Grade 3 sprain. Simmons will see a foot and ankle specialist Wednesday, the team said.

Also, Shohei Ohtani will play Tuesday night against the Twins after taking a ball off his right finger while swinging at a third strike on Monday against Minnesota.

Ohtani will DH and bat third for the Angels.

Milwaukee Brewers slugger Christian Yelich has been scratched from Tuesday's game against the visiting Cincinnati Reds with back spasms, the team announced.

Yelich was slated to play right field and bat second in the original lineup. He was replaced by Ben Gamel.

Brewers manager Craig Counsell said Yelich's back "locked up on him," not as the result of any baseball-related activity.

Yelich missed five games and parts of two others after injuring his lower back on an attempted steal against the Mets on April 28.

Entering Tuesday's games, the 27-year-old Yelich leads the National League in home runs (19) and stolen bases (9), is second in runs (40), third in RBIs (41) and is fifth in the league with a .325 batting average.

World Rugby has launched a new global campaign 'Try and Stop Us' to increase participation in the women's game.

More girls have started playing rugby than boys in the past two years.

The number of registered female players has risen by 28% to 2.7 million since 2017.

"We firmly believe that the development of women in rugby is the single greatest opportunity for our sport to grow in the next decade," said World Rugby chairman Sir Bill Beaumont.

The campaign includes the stories of 15 women and girls involved in rugby at all levels from around the world.

World Rugby women's advisory committee chairman Serge Simon says rugby is "one of the world's fastest-growing team sports" and women are at the "heart of the success story".

World Rugby has also launched a website to promote the campaign.

Grand Slam winners England became the first 15-a-side professional women's team on 1 January when the Rugby Football Union (RFU) awarded 28 full-time contracts, along with seven elite player squad agreements.

In August 2018, the RFU awarded 17 full-time England women's sevens contracts for the 2018-19 season.

BBC Sport has launched #ChangeTheGame this summer to showcase female athletes in a way they never have been before. Through more live women's sport available to watch across the BBC this summer, complemented by our journalism, we are aiming to turn up the volume on women's sport and alter perceptions. Find out more here.

World Rugby's revolutionary Nations Championship concept faces a crucial 24 hours as the powerbrokers of the world game meet in Dublin on Wednesday.

The Six Nations unions last month agreed to a period of due diligence while also weighing up offers from private equity.

Sources say there has been "real engagement" over the world league plan, and remain optimistic.

The deadline for a final decision is likely to be set for June.

Scheduled to launch in 2022, the Nations Championship would see a top division of 12 teams from both hemispheres play each other once in a calendar year, either through traditional competitions like the Six Nations or an enlarged Rugby Championship, or in summer or autumn Test windows.

The top two teams would then meet in an end-of-year showpiece final.

It is designed to globalise the calendar and increase competitiveness, with many international games currently glorified 'friendlies'.

A major sticking point is the concept - and the timing - of promotion and relegation, with certain unions keen on a period of ring-fencing in order to establish a vibrant and sustainable second tier.

The process of two countries joining the Six Nations and Rugby Championship sides in the top tier is also up for debate, with a 10-team first division being touted for an initial period before expansion.

Potential tweaks to the proposals will also be discussed at the World Rugby council meeting.

The players' union are also believed to harbour reservations over the travel required in the July international window, when northern hemisphere teams traditionally play in the south.

However, despite the various issues, it's believed some of the more reticent countries are being swayed by the financial package on offer from World Rugby.

The Nations Championship is being backed by a £5bn investment from sports marketing giants Infront.

For example the Rugby Football Union are thought to be open-minded, especially in light of the worrying financial picture at Twickenham.

The World Rugby council consists of 51 members across various rugby territories.