Gloucestershire 151 for 8 (Hammond 63) beat Middlesex 148 for 9 (Simpson 42*) by two wickets

Cheltenham-born Miles Hammond delighted his home crowd with a brilliant array of shots as Gloucestershire inflicted a first defeat on Middlesex in this season's Vitality Blast.

In front of a sell-out 5,000 attendance at a steaming College Ground, the 23-year-old opener smashed 63, including nine fours and three sixes, to help see his side to a two-wicket win after the visitors had won the toss and elected to bat.

Without AB de Villiers, who was nursing a hand injury, Middlesex could post only 148 for 9 on the fast-scoring College Ground, Stevie Eskinazi making 40 and John Simpson 42 not out. David Payne claimed 3 for 32, while Ryan Higgins and AJ Tye both returned 2 for 23.

In reply, Gloucestershire slipped to 84 for 5, despite Hammond's efforts, before Benny Howell (33) and Jack Taylor (24) made sure they reached 151 for 8 and won with four balls to spare.

Middlesex began like a team who had won their first two group games, as Eskinazi hit three fours off the first four balls of the match, sent down by Payne, and Dawid Malan lofted Graeme van Buuren's second ball from the other end over deep square for six.

But left-arm spinner van Buuren stemmed the early momentum with his next delivery, which saw Malan caught and bowled off a skyer.

Dan Lincoln came in at three in the absence of de Villiers for his Middlesex debut. The 24-year-old Surrey-born batsman and Eskinazi, who faced only 26 balls, took the score to 73 before the latter was brilliantly stumped by James Bracey off a Howell leg-side wide.

Lincoln, a non-league goalkeeper who was only registered by Middlesex yesterday, made sure the momentum was maintained, hitting Higgins for a straight six, before being caught at deep midwicket off the following delivery for a promising 30.

The same over saw Nick Gubbins taken at long-on for a single and at the halfway stage Middlesex were 81 for 4. The visitors were then squeezed by Howell, AJ Tye, Higgins and Tom Smith, losing George Scott cheaply as they added 26 in four overs.

Toby Roland-Jones and Tom Helm perished to catches at extra cover off Payne, while Nathan Sowter also succumbed to an attempted big hit, and Mujeeb was bowled by Tye for a duck.

Middlesex had lost their early momentum, with a straight six by Simpson off Howell in the 15th over a rare blow of defiance.

Gloucestershire's innings began as their opponents' had done, Hammond hitting two fours and a six in the opening two overs.

But the third saw Tom Helm strike a double blow, having dangerman Michael Klinger caught behind for ten and Ian Cockbain taken at point two balls later to leave the hosts 25 for 2.

Hammond continued to attack with a series of sweetly-timed shots that help take the hosts to 59 for 2 at the end of the powerplay. Soon the local boy was raising his bat to acknowledge warm applause for a 26-ball fifty.

Bracey and Higgins fell cheaply before Hammond's superb knock was ended by a low catch from wicketkeeper Simpson off Roland-Jones. At 84 for 5, Gloucestershire had to regroup.

Howell, dropped at short cover before he had scored, and Taylor added 45 priceless runs together. Both fell at the end, along with van Buuren, but had already ensured a hugely successful festival for Gloucestershire ended in style, as Smith hit the winning runs.

Mitchell Starc may be in line to miss the opening Ashes Test in Birmingham in order to ensure he has found the ideal red-ball rhythm that was far more evident in the bowling of James Pattinson, Peter Siddle, Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood on a Southampton pitch the captain Tim Paine labelled "bordering on dangerous".

As the Australian squad prepared to be cut back from 25 to a likely 17 on Friday, Paine revealed he had made his last contribution to the selection debate on Thursday morning before the Australians' internal trial and warmup game concluded well inside three days. He also spoke glowingly of the toughness of Cameron Bancroft, who ground out the highest score of the match and faced down the best that Cummins, Hazlewood and Starc could hurl at him.

But in assessing the pacemen, Paine was frank in his statement that Starc remains in transition mode from his World Cup exertions. He was far more enthusiastic in his praise of Pattinson and Siddle in particular, lauding their accuracy in probing on a surface that offer assistance both lateral and vertical, while also indicating Hazlewood was tracking as desired.

"Josh, who I have been with for the last five or six weeks, he hasn't played cricket since the Indian series last year but what we have seen with him is he is tracking in the right direction, every time he has bowled in a match he has got better and better," Paine said. "We're thrilled with that and obviously he is going to be a key bowler for us at stages during this Ashes series. He is getting better and better every time.

"We know what Starcy can do when he is on fire and on song like we saw in some of the World Cup games, he can get any batter out in the world. He's coming off a lot of white-ball cricket, so Starcy takes a little it of time to adjust back up with his lengths and stuff, but he'll be working hard next week again, and when he's song he will be playing a huge role in these Ashes.

"It was a different wicket but the really accurate bowlers were a real handful, whether they were bowling at James Pattinson speed or Peter Siddle speed the guys that hit the correct length on that wicket were an absolute handful. It's going to be no different, we need guys that can adjust to different conditions really quickly and bowl the appropriate length on different surfaces and guys that can adapt to that really quickly is a real key and we saw some of our seasoned pros adjust to that really quickly and hit a perfect length on that surface."

Adjustment was also crucial to the way Bancroft, David Warner and Marnus Labuschagne made runs in often fiendish circumstances. Bancroft was happy to wear blows to the body, while leaning on his cover drives with a carefully angled bat that reduced the chance of outside edges while the runs ticked over steadily.

"I thought Bangers played unbelievably well. To get basically a hundred on that wicket was an unbelievable effort," Paine said. "I thought what it showed is Bangers' toughness. The reason the guys were getting stuck on the crease a lot is because the odd ball was jumping up at them.

"That can play on a guy's mind, and mix with a batsmen's feet, particularly when they are bowling the speeds guys were. But that just shows the mental application and toughness that Bangers has got, to keep going forward, to keep wearing balls on the body. The boys think he has a bit of a screw loose but he seems to enjoy getting hit on the body, it seems to make him bat better. He was superb in that second innings."

Alongside Bancroft, Smith and Warner have eased into their Test series preparations for the first time with quiet resolve a little more than a year on from the Newlands scandal. Paine, eager to stress the issue as closed, focused on how much English knowhow the trio possess.

"That's all in the past. I think everyone is rapt to have them back, that's the emotion, everyone is excited to have two of our loved teammates back in, and Bangers, three," Paine said. "Having all three adds not only to our team but knowledge of English conditions. Bangers has played a lot of cricket over here now and the other two are two of the best players in the world. We are thrilled from a cricket aspect, we are thrilled from a team aspect to have those guys back in around our group."

"I'll speak to all the guys who are going home, and you obviously feel for them because they've got so close to every Australian cricketer's dream" Tim Paine

The batting forebearance shown by Bancroft in particular will have to be mirrored by the eight players informed they will not be going on the remainder of the Ashes tour. Labuschagne, Bancroft and Alex Carey have county deals to keep them on hand should they miss the cut, while others will be charting European holidays in the midst of a British hot spell that nudged 38C in London on Thursday.

"I've already spoken to them [the selectors] this morning, so I've given my thoughts. Obviously we've been in constant communication for some time and bouncing squads and teams off each other the whole time. I sort of had my final say this morning and they'll make the rest of the decisions from there. On the phone, this morning we had a hook up. I passed on what I think is the best mix to win the Ashes in England.

"I'm not totally a part of the final decision. So obviously I'll speak to all the guys who are going home, and you obviously feel for them because they've got so close to every Australian cricketer's dream. To have it taken away a week before the first Test is going to sting but we've got a really close group of 25 cricketers here and I'd imagine every one of our squad will be speaking to those guys in the next 24 hours."

The team's balance remains in some doubt, with the preponderance of Tests and tour matches over little more than six weeks leaving open the possibility of a sixth fast bowler being part of the group. Balance between the batsmen and the need for an allrounder are also key debates.

Possible Ashes squad: Tim Paine (capt), David Warner, Marcus Harris, Usman Khawaja, Steven Smith, Cameron Bancroft, Travis Head, Matthew Wade, Marnus Labuschagne, Mitchell Marsh, James Pattinson, Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins, Peter Siddle, Josh Hazlewood, Nathan Lyon, Jon Holland.

METAIRIE, La. -- Wide receiver Michael Thomas has not reported to New Orleans Saints training camp as the two sides continue to negotiate a long-term contract extension, a source told ESPN's Adam Schefter.

Saints veterans were scheduled to report to camp Thursday, with the first practice scheduled for Friday. Thomas, who is due to make $1.148 million in the final year of his rookie contract, is subject to a maximum fine of $40,000 per day for missing camp.

Thomas, 26, participated fully during the Saints' organized team activities and minicamp practices earlier this offseason, telling ESPN, "I'm a football player first; I like being at work."

But the first-team All-Pro has been unable to work out a long-term extension with the Saints despite negotiating for weeks, according to Schefter.

A source told ESPN's Dianna Russini last month that the Saints were comfortable making Thomas the NFL's highest-paid receiver -- a title currently held by Odell Beckham Jr., whose deal is worth $18 million to $19 million per year with $65 million in guarantees.

Thomas could be seeking a significant bump from that amount, considering fellow top receivers such as Julio Jones, Amari Cooper, A.J. Green and Tyreek Hill are also seeking new deals that should continue to raise the salary bar.

The Saints have never paid a skill position player more than $10 million per year, which was the size of tight end Jimmy Graham's extension before he was traded away in 2015. But Thomas, who was drafted in the second round out of Ohio State in 2016, has played a bigger role in New Orleans' offense than any skill position player to come before him in the Sean Payton-Drew Brees era.

Last year, Thomas set franchise records with 125 catches and 1,405 yards while catching nine touchdown passes. His astounding catch rate of 84.5% in 2018 was the highest of any NFL receiver since at least 2001, according to ESPN Stats & Information.

Thomas' 321 career catches are the most in NFL history by a receiver in his first three years. Beckham ranks second with 288.

The Saints have about $12 million in salary-cap space after they signed All-Pro defensive end Cameron Jordan to a lucrative contract extension earlier this offseason. But they have some serious budgeting issues to consider in the near future.

Next year, Brees, backup quarterback Teddy Bridgewater and guard Andrus Peat are among the scheduled free agents. Then running back Alvin Kamara, guard Larry Warford and linebacker Demario Davis come due in 2021, followed by cornerback Marshon Lattimore and offensive tackles Terron Armstead and Ryan Ramczyk in 2022.

The Saints also have more than $26 million in "dead money" scheduled to count against their salary cap in 2020 because of the way they have structured Brees' contract.

PITTSBURGH -- One of the NFL's longest-tenured head coaches is extending his stay in Pittsburgh.

The Steelers announced an extension for Mike Tomlin, who is now under contract through at least the 2021 season.

Tomlin had two years left on his deal, and the team added an additional year plus an option year, a source told ESPN. His contract is aligned with that of quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, whose deal goes through 2021.

"Mike is one of the most successful head coaches in the National Football League, and we are confident in his leadership to continue to lead our team as we pursue our goal of winning another championship," team president Art Rooney II said in a statement.

Since his 2007 hiring, Tomlin has not had a losing season and has won at least 10 games in eight of his 12 years. Among active head coaches, only New England's Bill Belichick and New Orleans' Sean Payton have logged more years in their current jobs.

"I am very appreciative of this contract extension and opportunity and want to thank Art Rooney II and everyone in the organization for the support in my first 12 seasons," Tomlin said in a statement. "We have a goal of winning the organization's seventh Super Bowl championship, and I couldn't be more excited about this upcoming season."

The Steelers have typically extended Tomlin's contract every other year around training camp. In 2017, the team agreed to a two-year extension with the coach.

OXNARD, Calif. - Running back Ezekiel Elliott is not on the plane to Los Angeles with the majority of Dallas Cowboys teammates and coaches for the start of training camp in Oxnard, California, multiple sources told ESPN on Thursday.

That does not yet mean Elliott is a no-show for training camp. Players have to be at the team's River Ridge Residence Inn set-up by Friday morning in time for physicals and a conditioning test before they are considered late for camp and subject to a fine.

The Cowboys' first practice is Saturday.

Rumors have persisted for most of the offseason that Elliott would sit out of camp in hopes of getting a long-term contract extension, but he did not miss a day of the voluntary offseason program or mandatory minicamp in June. He is under contract for two more years, set to make $3.85 million in 2019 and $9.09 million on the 2020 fifth-year option the team picked up in the spring.

Elliott's agent, Rocky Arceneaux, did not return messages seeking comment.

Coach Jason Garrett told reporters Wednesday that he expected Elliott to be on the plane.

If Elliott does not report, he would be subject to fines of $30,000 per day, while a missed preseason game would cost him roughly $226,000. If he does not report by Aug. 6, he would not earn an accrued season toward free agency.

The Cowboys and Arceneaux have had talks within the last two weeks regarding a deal, but sources have said nothing is close.

Once the team arrives in Oxnard, the plan is to kick-start talks with quarterback Dak Prescott and wide receiver Amari Cooper, who are in the final years of their contract, but owner and general manager Jerry Jones said the Cowboys do not have a pecking order in who needs to get done first, including Elliott.

The Los Angeles Rams signed Todd Gurley to a lucrative extension last offseason after his third season, and Elliott would like to have the same in place.

Elliott has led the NFL in rushing in two of his first three seasons but missed six games in 2017 because of a suspension. He recently avoided penalty from the league under the personal conduct policy after an incident in Las Vegas. The Cowboys have supported Elliott through his off-field issues and Stephen Jones said what happened in Las Vegas would not impact the negotiations.

The Cowboys have plenty of cap room to get a deal done, adding $5 million with the release of wide receiver Allen Hurns on Wednesday.

They have a history of getting extensions done with players during camp with Tyron Smith and Travis Frederick the most recent and would like to finalize deals for Prescott, Cooper and potentially Elliott if possible.

For now, however, the Elliott Watch commences.

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- USA Basketball's depth is already getting tested, weeks before the FIBA World Cup even starts.

The Americans released their updated national team roster Thursday, adding six players and deleting eight who removed themselves from consideration over the past several weeks. It means 17 players -- barring any more additions or subtractions, both of which remain possible -- are expected to vie for the 12 spots on the team that the U.S. will take to China for the World Cup next month.

The Americans are the two-time defending World Cup champions.

"Since USA Basketball started the men's national team program in 2006, we have understood the necessity of fluidity within the program and the importance of having a deep national team roster that features both young and veteran standout NBA players," said Jerry Colangelo, the men's national team managing director of USA Basketball.

Boston's Jaylen Brown and Marcus Smart, the LA Clippers' Montrezl Harrell, Denver's Mason Plumlee, New York's Julius Randle and Chicago's Thaddeus Young are the newest names on the roster. They'll all head to Las Vegas for training camp -- the first to be led by new USA coach Gregg Popovich -- starting Aug. 5.

Also on the national roster: Boston's Kemba Walker and Jayson Tatum; Toronto's Kyle Lowry; Milwaukee's Khris Middleton and Brook Lopez; Sacramento's Harrison Barnes; Detroit's Andre Drummond; the Los Angeles Lakers' Kyle Kuzma; Utah's Donovan Mitchell; Houston's P.J. Tucker; and Indiana's Myles Turner.

Of the 17 current national team members, only five -- Lowry, Walker, Drummond, Middleton and Lopez -- have been NBA All-Stars.

The list of recent team dropouts is loaded with star power. Portland's Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum, Houston's James Harden and Eric Gordon, Washington's Bradley Beal, the Lakers' Anthony Davis, Philadelphia's Tobias Harris, Denver's Paul Millsap and Cleveland's Kevin Love have all taken themselves out of the World Cup mix in recent weeks.

They're not the only ones no longer under consideration. USA Basketball released a list of 35 candidates for the World Cup and the 2020 Tokyo Olympics in April 2018, and 29 of those players won't be playing this summer. LeBron James, Paul George, Russell Westbrook, Stephen Curry and Jimmy Butler are among those who passed long ago on the chance to play in the World Cup.

Many of the NBA players not playing World Cup are likely to reconsider next summer, provided the U.S. -- as expected -- qualifies for the Tokyo Olympics.

"We're looking forward to exposing the selected players to FIBA World Cup competition and the incredible experience of representing their country," Colangelo said.

USA Basketball also released the names of 13 players who will be on the select team that will play against the national team in training camp, a list that includes four members of last season's NBA All-Rookie team.

The select team players are Atlanta's Trae Young and John Collins; Brooklyn's Jarrett Allen and Joe Harris; Sacramento's Marvin Bagley III and De'Aaron Fox; Phoenix's Mikal Bridges; Dallas' Jalen Brunson; Milwaukee's Pat Connaughton; Orlando's Jonathan Isaac; New York's Mitchell Robinson; the Clippers' Landry Shamet; and San Antonio's Derrick White.

The national team and select team players will play an exhibition game Aug. 9 in Las Vegas, before camp resumes the following week in El Segundo, California. The World Cup in China begins Aug. 31.

WASHINGTON -- Wizards forward C.J. Miles will undergo surgery for a stress fracture in his left foot.

The team said the operation is set for Thursday in New York and that he is expected to be reevaluated in six weeks.

Washington acquired Miles, 32, from the Memphis Grizzlies this summer for center Dwight Howard. New general manager Tommy Sheppard said the Wizards' medical team has done a "fantastic job of proactively diagnosing C.J.'s condition and establishing a treatment protocol."

The veteran averaged 6.4 points per game last season with Toronto and Memphis. Miles played 838 regular-season NBA games for five teams before joining the Wizards.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- The ex-wife of slain former NBA player Lorenzen Wright has agreed to a deal in which she pleads guilty to facilitation to first-degree murder and receives a 30-year prison sentence.

Sherra Wright entered the plea Thursday during a hearing in Shelby County Criminal Court in Tennessee.

Judge Lee Coffee said Sherra Wright would be eligible for parole once she served 30% of her sentence, which would be around nine years.

Lorenzen Wright's body was found in a swampy field in Memphis in July 2010. He had been missing for 10 days before his body was found riddled with bullet wounds. Sherra Wright and co-defendant Billy Turner were charged in December 2017 with first-degree murder and had been scheduled to go to trial Sept. 16.

Turner, a landscaper in the Memphis suburb of Collierville, and Sherra Wright attended the same church. Witnesses said Sherra Wright masterminded a plan to have two men kill Lorenzen Wright at his home in Atlanta, but that attempt failed, according to an affidavit read by a prosecutor in a previous court hearing.

She and Turner then conspired to kill Wright in Memphis, authorities have said.

After Sherra Wright entered her plea, the judge allowed Lorenzen Wright's mother, Deborah Marion, to address the court. Marion spoke directly to Sherra Wright, telling her she wants to see her grandchildren.

"I just hate what happened to my child, but he left some nice-looking grandkids," Marion said.

Defense attorney Juni Ganguli told reporters outside of the courtroom that Sherra Wright's defense at trial would have been that her ex-husband beat her for years and she was tired of it. He said the defense would have been "scorched earth."

OKLAHOMA CITY -- Speaking publicly for the first time since trading stars Russell Westbrook and Paul George, Oklahoma City Thunder general manager Sam Presti expressed appreciation for both players, but he also politely disagreed with George's claim that the decision to deal him was "mutual."

"I think the world of PG. I think everybody knows that," Presti said. "I know that he had used the term 'mutual.' I wouldn't necessarily agree with that because that would infer that we were wanting to trade Paul George, which I think most people would agree that that probably wasn't on the top of our offseason priority list. But I would say that it was not adversarial at all, and I also fully respect the way that it was handled. And the fact that we were able to make it work in a way that benefited the franchise made it something that we could do."

At his introductory press conference on Wednesday in Los Angeles, George said the trade process between him and the Thunder was collaborative with the two sides working "hand in hand" and that it was a "mutual thing between both of us that the time was up and we both had ideas of doing things differently."

George requested a trade from the Thunder a few days into free agency, with the Los Angeles Clippers his preferred destination to go in tandem with Kawhi Leonard, who recruited George to join him.

"The players have the freedom to be able to talk and recruit, and there's nothing limiting that, and that obviously changed the game for us," Presti said. "But I feel really good about the fact that we were able to make it work for everybody and figure out a solution because based on just looking down the runway, we were probably going to be faced with that scenario probably after the following season. He would have had one year left on his contract at that point in time, and although we may have had more time to plan, I don't think we were going to be in a position to be able to recoup the value that we were able to in that particular situation."

The Thunder obliged George on the condition they could find an agreeable trade return, which resulted in an unprecedented haul of future first-rounders as well as Danilo Gallinari and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

"I wouldn't say that we were going to appease the request simply because it was made, but more than anything, it was because of the fact that we were able to get the return that we did, which then allowed us to accommodate what he was looking for, as well," Presti said when asked if he considered denying George's trade request. "It wasn't necessarily permission. It was how can we make this work for everyone. And the reality is we've seen these situations in other cities. I just don't think for us, we can take that risk, given the lengths that we had gone to to try to keep the run that we started in 2008 together, one more year without everybody being totally on board knowing that we could be faced with the exact same situation, from a business perspective, from a practical perspective, it would be irresponsible not to look at that opportunity. And it worked out."

As a result of moving George, the Thunder transitioned to working on an agreeable outcome for Russell Westbrook, with the favored solution being a trade to the Houston Rockets.

"Obviously Houston was the place he wanted to go, and we were able to find a way to accomplish our goals and his," Presti said. "If we couldn't accomplish our goals we wouldn't have traded him to Houston, but we were able to find a way to communicate through that process to get that to happen. But to answer your question, you sit down, where are we going from here, where are you with things right now, and I think he and the organization came to the same conclusion, that hey, if there's something that makes sense for everybody, then we'll look at that for sure, and we were fortunate that it worked out the way it did."

The Thunder added more future draft compensation as well as Chris Paul in trading Westbrook to Houston, and with speculation about Paul's future in OKC percolating, Presti said the plan is to move forward into the season with him as the Thunder's point guard.

"I can't give you a forecast on how many years or anything like that, especially after ... some of this transition we're going through right now," Presti said. "But I would say that we're excited about having him here. He's excited about the opportunity here. And I think he has an opportunity to really impact the team in a positive way. What happens two or three years from now, again, I hate to keep coming back to this, but what used to be five years in the NBA has become like five months in the NBA or two years in the NBA. I mean, predicting anything beyond two hours in the NBA is what it's kind of become and evolved to. I don't know the answer to that.

"But I do know that I think he's going to have a really good year for us, and I do think he's excited about the opportunity to have an impact on the team.".

There was a recent report mentioning "discontent" among the Thunder's two stars which may have contributed to their trade situations, though Presti said he was unclear on how to categorize the reported discontent.

"I just could tell you this: I don't know how many people in the NBA are contented at the end of a season," he said. "I mean, and I don't know what the discontent is referring to. I don't know if it was pancakes not fluffy enough or we're not winning enough games. You're not giving me anything to really work with. All I can tell you is those guys are great guys. We're going to have conversations with those guys at the end of the year. When you don't reach the potential that you think you have as a team, there's going to be frustration, of course. But I think all systems were go going into the season, and we were excited about it, but that's just not the path that it took. I feel really good about the way that we were able to handle that from that point."

LOS ANGELES -- Throughout Kawhi Leonard's free agency, we heard and talked a lot about his desire for secrecy and discretion in his negotiations. The three teams involved mostly abided by those wishes, lest they risk losing the two-time NBA Finals MVP over a careless leak or slipup.

But on the night of July 5, before the news broke that Leonard had committed to the LA Clippers -- with whom he'd be joined by forward Paul George after the Clippers acquired him in a trade with the Oklahoma City Thunder -- a major breach occurred.

Clippers coach Doc Rivers was at dinner at Nobu, an upscale sushi restaurant in Malibu, with a group of friends. He'd been told to stay close to his phone all night, knowing the deals for George and Leonard were close. But watching his phone for updates was torture and, in Rivers' mind, possibly a jinx. So he put it out of his mind and tried to enjoy his night.

Tried.

Finally, the text from Lawrence Frank, the Clippers' president of basketball operations, came in: "It's done. Call me as soon as you can."

Rivers was in a very public setting, but they're used to protecting celebrities at a place such as Nobu. He stepped outside to call Frank, escorted by a security guard.

"I remember going, like, 'Yessss!'" Rivers said. "And the security guard was like, 'I got a feeling I know what that 'yes' is about.'"

Rivers looked around to see if anyone else was eyeing him and connecting the dots on why he was so excited. The security guard smiled. Rivers laughed, knowing the security guard had figured out that the Clippers had landed Leonard but not wanting to confirm anything and break the first rule of Kawhi Club.

"And then he was like, 'Yeah, I'm sure of it,'" Rivers recalled. "I couldn't even acknowledge him. He was laughing. I was laughing."

Shortly thereafter, the rest of the NBA world knew why. The Clippers not only landed Leonard; they got George too. That's two seismic moves that figure to alter the league for years to come.

Rivers called it "a movement" at the introductory media conference the Clippers held for Leonard and George on Wednesday. If the Clippers make good on the enormous promise they have now, it certainly will be a defining moment -- or movement -- for a franchise that has never won a championship.

But Rivers has been in this place before -- the media conference at which everyone is excited about possibilities and potential. He came to Los Angeles in 2013 with a media conference like this as the purported missing piece for the "Lob City" era of the Clippers.

That group -- with Chris Paul, Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan -- never bore fruit, which makes this something of a do-over for Rivers.

"I never think you start over," he said. "I don't think you get to. I think you go through stuff, and you learn from it and keep going.

"So I view this as another opportunity to win it. And let's be honest: You don't have a lot of opportunities to actually win it. When you have that, you take advantage of it."

Rivers said he will go on vacation for a bit before he starts to figure out how to take advantage of the opportunity this group has.

But if there's one thing he has learned -- or one regret from the Lob City era he'd like to make right -- it's impressing a sense of urgency upon this group.

"I never felt like I could get that group [the Lob City group] to understand that this was their time, the urgency of it," Rivers said. "When we beat Golden State [in the 2013-14 playoffs], that following year, Golden State decided this was their time. I don't think we decided that. We just showed up and wanted to try to win. But that's not enough."

In Boston, where Rivers won a championship in 2008 with Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen and Paul Pierce, the coach got that buy-in and willingness to sacrifice.

"Sometimes you have to be at the right time of a player's life for them to want to win," he said. "Everyone says they want to win. It's B.S. Most people want to win as long as they can do whatever they want to do. Everything has to be perfect for them. But you have to sacrifice something to win. That group [in Boston] understood that. It was time for Ray and Paul and Kevin to win because they'd each had the individual success."

The only question was how long it would take for that group to come together.

"When we got together everyone said, 'Well, they won't win it this year. They'll win it next year,'" Rivers said. "I remember giving this speech, 'Next year? Next year we're older. Next year you could be injured. Next year could be anything. This is your time.'"

It's too soon to say how this Clippers group will fare. Rivers is still getting to know his two new superstars. Last week, he visited with Leonard and his family at Leonard's house in northern San Diego County.

"We talked basketball for two hours, three hours. I met some other people that he works with," Rivers said. "We went over a lot of stuff, especially offensively.

"But I don't know Kawhi yet. We're learning each other. The two things that have stood out for so far -- and he actually did it again when he was up on stage, where he talked about, 'It's not just us two, all 15 have to buy into their role' -- is his understanding of accepting roles.

"The second is how many times he said, 'You know, you can coach me.' I don't know how many times he said this, when we were looking at a play, where he said, 'Coach, whatever you run, I'm running.' He kept saying, 'You know, you can coach me.'"

Rivers hasn't yet met with George to take his temperature. They were supposed to have dinner this week, but house-hunting and family obligations got in the way. But they will connect and then reconnect all season long, Rivers said.

"You have to build trust with everyone," he said. "I always use this word: re-trust. You always have to build re-trust with the guys you have. It never stops, the trust thing."

That's why it was important to keep things quiet during the free-agency period and start earning Leonard's trust.

And that's why Wednesday's ceremonial introduction felt like a lesson learned, rather than déjà vu.

"It's a different energy," Rivers said. "[In 2013], I joined a group. And that group had -- had some success and also some baggage.

"This group is new. This is our creation. I feel like that college coach, when you first get the job and you take all the recruits that are there and try to win with them. And then you get your recruits. That's how I feel. This is our team. ... And we feel really good about it."