If and when a transformational collective bargaining agreement is finalized -- and there is now mounting optimism it could be done sometime in the next week -- it is expected to change the NFL's playoff structure as it is currently constituted for next season, league sources told ESPN.

Under the current CBA proposal that NFL owners are pushing for, the playoff field would be expanded to seven teams from each conference, while the regular season would be increased to 17 games per team and the preseason shortened to three games per team, sources said.

As part of the proposed playoff format, only one team from each conference would receive a first-round bye as opposed to the two that currently do, league sources said. That would mean a revised postseason schedule that includes six games on wild-card weekend, with three on Saturday and three on Sunday.

The changes to the NFL's playoff format would take effect for the 2020 season, assuming the new CBA is ratified beforehand. Had the proposed format been in place this past season, the Los Angeles Rams and Pittsburgh Steelers would have been the next teams included in the expanded playoff field.

"That's been agreed to for a long time," one source familiar with the CBA talks said about the NFL's new playoff structure. "There wasn't a lot of disagreement to that issue."

Additionally, the players on the teams that earn a first-round bye will receive postseason pay for that weekend. That was not the case under the current CBA, which has always rankled some players.

Now the sides are trying to work through the final issues, including getting the players to sign off on a 17-game regular season. That has yet to be agreed to, and it would not take effect until 2021 at the earliest.

As part of the deal now on the table, players would go from a 47% revenue share under the current deal to 48% share at 16 games, and then to a 48.5% share if they go to 17 games, shifting $5 billion of revenue to the players' side.

"The new CBA's not done, there's no term sheet yet, there still are issues being negotiated, but I'd be very surprised if there's not a new CBA for the new league year," the source said.

Undefeated MMA heavyweight Tyrell Fortune faces the stiffest test of his career on Friday, when he meets 10-year veteran Timothy Johnson at Bellator 239 in Thackerville, Oklahoma. Fortune, 29, is one of Bellator's most promising prospects. A former NCAA Division II national champion wrestler at Grand Canyon University, Fortune (8-0) has recorded finishes in six of his eight professional fights, including his past four. He trains alongside Bellator's two-weight champion, Ryan Bader, in Tempe, Arizona.

Fortune believes he carries a unique perspective on life and not taking opportunities for granted, which comes from a 2012 near-death experience during his amateur wrestling career. As Fortune prepared for a significant landmark in his MMA career, he recalled that experience with ESPN's Brett Okamoto.

Editor's note: Fortune's recollection has been edited for clarity.

This is one of those stories that happens to you, and you almost think it didn't. I tried to forget about it for so long ... because it seemed so far-fetched. Like, "Man. I died. Everything was over for a second, and I came back to life."

And it really changed my perspective of life in general and how I view just living life on a day-to-day basis. When you're in a situation like that, you really start to look at your values as a person, and you see what's important to you, because it was all self-inflicted.

It was just after my junior-college season, and I wasn't a big heavyweight. I averaged around 220, 230 pounds. That's in the middle of two weight categories. International weight classes are 211 and 265 pounds. I'm at 230. I'm like, "I can either give up this 30 to 40 pounds, or I can cut weight and be bigger than everybody at 211." So that's what led to the decision to cut weight.

I just went about it all wrong. I started cutting the week before. Six days to lose 27 pounds. I started barely eating or taking any water. I gave myself a bottle of water, a grain bar and a cup of mandarin oranges. Those were my meals. Three of them per day. And my goal was to lose 5 to 6 pounds in a workout and go to sleep.

After I got done cutting as much as I could and running my muscles out, I couldn't run anymore. I was still about 5 pounds overweight. I heard about this rubbing alcohol Epsom salt bath that you take in hot water that will just pull the water out of you. So I did that in my hotel bathroom, with my girlfriend at the time and one of my best friends. I took the bath and ended up coming out like 0.6 pounds over still.

I went to weigh-ins, and it was about 20 minutes before weigh-ins started. My coach was sitting there telling me, "Come on. Don't break. Don't be a b----. You wanted to do this. You've already cut 25 pounds. Don't let this last pound stop you." So he's saying all these motivational things, and I'm running, I'm doing another lap, and I'm like, "Yo, Coach. Something's wrong. I'm telling you." And he's like, "Dude, that's just your mind playing against you. Don't listen to it."

So I hit another lap, and I come back around, and I said, "No, f--- you. Something's wrong. I need water. I'm telling you. Something is about to happen." One person is in front of me in line for the water fountain, and my coach is sitting there, and he's literally telling me, "You're gonna break? You're gonna drink water like this?" This person moves, and I push the water fountain and start to drink and just fall straight back. I started foaming at the mouth. I'm having a seizure.

The scariest part about the situation is that I could physically hear and see everything, but I couldn't control my body. I start seeing white foam, and I'm just thinking, "I'm dying. I'm about to die." I can see my coach over me, bawling, "Please don't die! Please don't die!" He's in tears, and I'm thinking, "Well, it don't matter now. I'm dead."

I pass out.

The next time I wake up, I'm in an ambulance. It's me, my girlfriend and the guy in the ambulance, and he's telling me, "Your organs are failing. You completely dehydrated your body. Your liver and heart are stopping every time you pass out. We've hit you with the defibrillator already to bring you back. Try to stay awake."

I panicked right away, anxiety attack, pass right back out.

That is when they actually pronounced me dead. At that time, they hit me with the defibrillator four times, and I was nonresponsive. When I woke up again, I was in the hospital, but I was completely covered with a sheet from head to toe. I had been strapped from my forehead, my jaw, my chest, all the way down, to make sure I couldn't move anymore.

"The scariest part about the situation is that I could physically hear and see everything, but I couldn't control my body. I start seeing white foam, and I'm just thinking, 'I'm dying. I'm about to die.' I can see my coach over me, bawling, 'Please don't die! Please don't die!' He's in tears, and I'm thinking, 'Well, it don't matter now. I'm dead.'" Tyrell Fortune

I just started freaking out. I started crying. I'm asking this nurse, like, "Can you please unstrap me?" She goes, "We can't. You keep having seizures. It's for your own protection." That's not what I want to hear. So I start cussing this nurse out. The police come, and they're like, "OK, let this guy up."

She lets me up, and I start apologizing to her, but I'm like, "Yo, the last thing I heard is that I'm dying from going to sleep. I keep passing out. I want to sit up." She starts giving me soda, orange juice, saltine crackers. I'm like, "OK. I think I'm starting to feel a little better now." And I have another seizure, which ends up being the last one.

They finally get me in a room, and my girlfriend, she was sitting on top of me, just slapping my face every time the heart monitor flatlined. I want to say the entire thing lasted about seven or eight hours. I probably left the hospital around 2 in the morning.

I was born and raised a Christian. I lived across the street from a church since I was, like, 12 years old. But as I got older, I always asked the question, "Why?" So I took a world religion class in college, and I started to question religion a lot. I'm not a religious person at all now. I believe in God, but I do not believe in church. That was my mindset before this event, and then after this event, when I died, there was nothing. There was no light. There was nothing but coldness and emptiness. There was nothing. No dream. It was like you shut down.

I knew I was dead. I could feel that when I woke up. My limbs, everything felt cold. It wasn't like before. It was different. It was very dark. When I woke, that's what really changed my perspective.

This is the only life you get, as far as I'm concerned. You don't have a second chance, so give it everything you have. There's nothing left after this. This is our one life. This is the only time I have to be Tyrell Fortune, so I can't waste it.

SAN FRANCISCO -- As the Golden State Warriors prepare for Stephen Curry's return to the floor next month, they do so emboldened by the fact that they never considered shutting him down for the season after he broke his left hand on Oct. 30.

As some critics and fans wonder whether allowing Curry to come back is in the best interest of the organization this season, Warriors players and coaches are embracing that the former MVP is nearing a return after missing four months of action.

Warriors coach Steve Kerr said he doesn't see the argument from some that Curry shouldn't return this season.

"He's perfectly healthy," Kerr said Wednesday. "He's in the prime of his career. If the point is because he might get hurt, then what's the point of ever playing anything? People can get hurt any day. I guess the argument would be, 'Well, we're not going to the playoffs.' So are we not trying to entertain our fans? We're selling tickets to all these people who love basketball, and Steph Curry is one of the most amazing, graceful, exciting basketball players on earth. And if he were healthy and we didn't present him to our fans and say, 'Here you go. Here's your gift for staying with us for this whole season,' what would that say about us? That we don't care about our fans?

"So to me it's never been a question. As soon as he's ready, he's coming back. Our fans deserve it. We need it as a team to springboard into next year, and it's the right thing to do."

Warriors forward Draymond Green echoed Kerr's sentiment, saying he understands why Curry wants to return.

"If he didn't come back, everybody would say, 'That's bulls---,' he's making $40 million,'" Green said after Wednesday's practice. "It's never enough. And it will never be right. Anthony Davis shut it down a few years ago [in New Orleans], he was healthy and everybody was like, 'He's wrong. What is he doing?' Then you get a guy come back, and [it's like], 'Why is he coming back? They're not making the playoffs.' Clearly, a superstar just did it a year or two ago, and everybody had a problem with it, so it will never be the right thing, it will never be enough.

"As a competitor, you never just want to work out, you want to play. And so I understand him coming back. Who wouldn't want to come back? You play basketball for a living, and you love what you do. Most importantly, your days are numbered. All of our days are numbered in this league. I understand why he wants to be out there."

Kerr reiterated that he felt it was key for Curry, 31, to play with several younger teammates, including new addition Andrew Wiggins, in advance of next season. Curry has been working out more with the Warriors over the past month, but he still hasn't been cleared for contact. Kerr said Curry hasn't been pushing the Warriors to come back and play because both the team and the player have been on the same page since the injury -- he will be back whenever he's ready.

"It's never even been a conversation," Kerr said. "Steph doesn't have to talk us into anything. We know he wants to play because he loves basketball, and we want him to play because we need him for the continuity to build that momentum for next year and then our fans are dying to see him.

"He's playing. He's almost healthy, he's almost ready, so he's playing. No discussion. He doesn't need to convince me of anything. This is a totally different deal than Klay [Thompson]. Steph had surgery on his [hand], it's basically healed. He's right on the cusp [of returning]. Klay had an ACL [injury]. It's a totally different conversation. I think there's a big distinction there."

Kerr, who noted last month that he asked both Curry and Thompson to start being around the team more as they rehab, acknowledged that he and the Warriors players have enjoyed watching Curry ramp up his workouts over the past few weeks.

"To me, it's been one of the things that's been missing from our practices this year, the individual workouts of Steph, Klay and Kevin [Durant]," Kerr said. "The last few years post-practice, it's like a clinic. It's a clinic for younger players -- how you have to conduct yourself as an NBA player. The work that you put in once practice is over is really the bar for how good you want to become and how serious you're taking this. And Steph, I've never seen anybody work harder than Steph in his post-practice workouts. And so now we're seeing that, all the younger guys are looking over there and they're seeing him. And they're seeing what he goes through, what he does, and it's beautiful to watch. So I think our team is getting a bounce from that, a bounce of energy and a reminder that better days are ahead."

Green noted that he believes Curry's reemergence in the Warriors lineup is a good thing for the entire league, not just Bay Area fans who are excited to see him again.

"Obviously we're all excited seeing him ramp it up, being in more drills and practicing," Green said. "He's been putting a ton of work in here by himself, while still doing the stuff with us in practice, so it's obviously exciting just to see him back out there on the floor. The game definitely missed Steph and Klay, that's for sure. The game of basketball missed those two guys. And Kevin [Durant] as well. We got three guys out this year who have been anchors in this league the last 10-plus years. The game missed those guys.

"But obviously with Steph coming back, it's exciting. I'm looking forward to playing with him again. I'm more excited for these young guys to get a chance to play with him as well, because the game will change. And so it will be good for them to get that little bit of experience with him going into next year, because the game will be completely different."

SAN FRANCISCO -- As the Golden State Warriors prepare for Stephen Curry's return to the floor next month, they do so emboldened by the fact that they never considered shutting him down for the season after he broke his left hand on Oct. 30.

As some critics and fans wonder whether allowing Curry to come back is in the best interest of the organization this season, Warriors players and coaches are embracing that the former MVP is nearing a return after missing four months of action.

Warriors coach Steve Kerr said he doesn't see the argument from some that Curry shouldn't return this season.

"He's perfectly healthy," Kerr said Wednesday. "He's in the prime of his career. If the point is because he might get hurt, then what's the point of ever playing anything? People can get hurt any day. I guess the argument would be, 'Well, we're not going to the playoffs.' So are we not trying to entertain our fans? We're selling tickets to all these people who love basketball, and Steph Curry is one of the most amazing, graceful, exciting basketball players on earth. And if he were healthy and we didn't present him to our fans and say, 'Here you go. Here's your gift for staying with us for this whole season,' what would that say about us? That we don't care about our fans?

"So to me it's never been a question. As soon as he's ready, he's coming back. Our fans deserve it. We need it as a team to springboard into next year, and it's the right thing to do."

Warriors forward Draymond Green echoed Kerr's sentiment, saying he understands why Curry wants to return.

"If he didn't come back, everybody would say, 'That's bulls---,' he's making $40 million,'" Green said after Wednesday's practice. "It's never enough. And it will never be right. Anthony Davis shut it down a few years ago [in New Orleans], he was healthy and everybody was like, 'He's wrong. What is he doing?' Then you get a guy come back, and [it's like], 'Why is he coming back? They're not making the playoffs.' Clearly, a superstar just did it a year or two ago, and everybody had a problem with it, so it will never be the right thing, it will never be enough.

"As a competitor, you never just want to work out, you want to play. And so I understand him coming back. Who wouldn't want to come back? You play basketball for a living, and you love what you do. Most importantly, your days are numbered. All of our days are numbered in this league. I understand why he wants to be out there."

Kerr reiterated that he felt it was key for Curry, 31, to play with several younger teammates, including new addition Andrew Wiggins, in advance of next season. Curry has been working out more with the Warriors over the past month, but he still hasn't been cleared for contact. Kerr said Curry hasn't been pushing the Warriors to come back and play because both the team and the player have been on the same page since the injury -- he will be back whenever he's ready.

"It's never even been a conversation," Kerr said. "Steph doesn't have to talk us into anything. We know he wants to play because he loves basketball, and we want him to play because we need him for the continuity to build that momentum for next year and then our fans are dying to see him.

"He's playing. He's almost healthy, he's almost ready, so he's playing. No discussion. He doesn't need to convince me of anything. This is a totally different deal than Klay [Thompson]. Steph had surgery on his [hand], it's basically healed. He's right on the cusp [of returning]. Klay had an ACL [injury]. It's a totally different conversation. I think there's a big distinction there."

Kerr, who noted last month that he asked both Curry and Thompson to start being around the team more as they rehab, acknowledged that he and the Warriors players have enjoyed watching Curry ramp up his workouts over the past few weeks.

"To me, it's been one of the things that's been missing from our practices this year, the individual workouts of Steph, Klay and Kevin [Durant]," Kerr said. "The last few years post-practice, it's like a clinic. It's a clinic for younger players -- how you have to conduct yourself as an NBA player. The work that you put in once practice is over is really the bar for how good you want to become and how serious you're taking this. And Steph, I've never seen anybody work harder than Steph in his post-practice workouts. And so now we're seeing that, all the younger guys are looking over there and they're seeing him. And they're seeing what he goes through, what he does, and it's beautiful to watch. So I think our team is getting a bounce from that, a bounce of energy and a reminder that better days are ahead."

Green noted that he believes Curry's reemergence in the Warriors lineup is a good thing for the entire league, not just Bay Area fans who are excited to see him again.

"Obviously we're all excited seeing him ramp it up, being in more drills and practicing," Green said. "He's been putting a ton of work in here by himself, while still doing the stuff with us in practice, so it's obviously exciting just to see him back out there on the floor. The game definitely missed Steph and Klay, that's for sure. The game of basketball missed those two guys. And Kevin [Durant] as well. We got three guys out this year who have been anchors in this league the last 10-plus years. The game missed those guys.

"But obviously with Steph coming back, it's exciting. I'm looking forward to playing with him again. I'm more excited for these young guys to get a chance to play with him as well, because the game will change. And so it will be good for them to get that little bit of experience with him going into next year, because the game will be completely different."

The Cleveland Cavaliers announced Wednesday that John Beilein has officially resigned as head coach and will be reassigned to a different role in the organization.

"Over these last nine months, I have given my all to this organization, but after much reflection, I have decided that it is best that I step back and resign from my position as head coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers and assist the organization in a different capacity," Beilein said in a statement. "I am very grateful to [owner] Dan Gilbert, [general manager] Koby Altman and the entire Cavaliers organization for the opportunity they have provided me.

"This was a very difficult decision for me, but I want to be clear -- this was my decision to step down and I truly appreciate the understanding and support of the front office during this time. I find losing very challenging and this year has taken a much bigger toll on me than I expected. I grew concerned for the consequences this toll could potentially take on my own health and my family's well-being down the road. I was not certain I could be at my best for the remainder of the season and in the future. That would not be fair to the players, coaches and support staff."

Associate head coach J.B. Bickerstaff will take over for Beilein and was expected to run his first practice with the team Wednesday night.

"I also would not be doing this now, during the season, if J.B. Bickerstaff was not ready and capable to assume the head-coaching role immediately and continue the rebuilding process that we have started," Beilein said. "For 45 years and more than 1,300 games, my journey as a basketball coach has been a dream come true. I have never been afraid of a challenge and have given each one my all -- sometimes to the detriment of my own well-being."

Bickerstaff was hired as part of an eventual succession plan with Beilein, but that elevation came much sooner than expected after Beilein was hired in the spring.

"This gives you an opportunity to make very difficult decisions without that same amount of weight that you have to face, where as an interim you're fighting for your life," Bickerstaff said Wednesday. "This gives you a little bit of relief from that, and you can make harder decisions based on the long term and not just the short term.''

Before the Cavaliers officially announced his resignation, Beilein spoke to his players. Cleveland forward Kevin Love described the coach's actions as "ballsy'' and the mood as "powerful."

"For him to come in and do that and look us all in the eye, and acknowledge that integrity and willingness, that's big,'' Love said. "That's real man s--- right there. So I respect him for coming in and doing that because he didn't have to.''

Beilein and the Cavaliers negotiated a financial settlement that will pay him a portion of the remaining money on his 2019-20 contract, league sources previously told ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski. Beilein left Michigan in May and signed a five-year contract with Cleveland that included a team option for the final season, a deal that paid him more than $4 million per season, league sources said.

"While it's unexpected, we understand and respect his decision to step down as head coach of the Cavaliers," Altman said in a statement. "I was excited about the development of our young players, who have all shown growth and maturity under Coach Beilein. ... The NBA is a unique business that sometimes requires aggressive risk-taking on important long-term decisions to move a franchise forward and ultimately compete for championships."

Beilein, 67, struggled to connect with NBA players and was never able to implement his collegiate offense into the pro game. The plight of some previous coaches who made the leap to the NBA also befell Beilein: players quickly tuning him out with his penchant for screaming, and believing that Beilein was treating them as young, college athletes, not as professionals, league sources previously told Wojnarowski.

Beilein also had to apologize to his players after a January team meeting in which he referred to his players as "no longer playing as a bunch of thugs," saying he had meant to use the word "slugs."

What also really hurt Beilein was the losing after so much success in college.

Cleveland's 14-40 record is the worst in the Eastern Conference and second-worst in the NBA, ahead of only the Golden State Warriors (12-43). Management expected the team to lose a significant number of games as it turned toward rebuilding its roster around a younger core, but Beilein had several missteps along the way that shook the players' confidence in his leadership, league sources said.

"He came in every day, he busted his ass, wanted to be better, wanted to change the culture,'' Love said. "But sometimes, what do they say, 'If you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans.' Sometimes it doesn't always shake out or work the way you want it to.''

ESPN's Brian Windhorst and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

The Cleveland Cavaliers announced Wednesday that John Beilein has officially resigned as head coach and will be reassigned to a different role in the organization.

"Over these last nine months, I have given my all to this organization, but after much reflection, I have decided that it is best that I step back and resign from my position as head coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers and assist the organization in a different capacity," Beilein said in a statement. "I am very grateful to [owner] Dan Gilbert, [general manager] Koby Altman and the entire Cavaliers organization for the opportunity they have provided me.

"This was a very difficult decision for me, but I want to be clear -- this was my decision to step down and I truly appreciate the understanding and support of the front office during this time. I find losing very challenging and this year has taken a much bigger toll on me than I expected. I grew concerned for the consequences this toll could potentially take on my own health and my family's well-being down the road. I was not certain I could be at my best for the remainder of the season and in the future. That would not be fair to the players, coaches and support staff."

Associate head coach J.B. Bickerstaff will take over for Beilein and was expected to run his first practice with the team Wednesday night.

"I also would not be doing this now, during the season, if J.B. Bickerstaff was not ready and capable to assume the head-coaching role immediately and continue the rebuilding process that we have started," Beilein said. "For 45 years and more than 1,300 games, my journey as a basketball coach has been a dream come true. I have never been afraid of a challenge and have given each one my all -- sometimes to the detriment of my own well-being."

Bickerstaff was hired as part of an eventual succession plan with Beilein, but that elevation came much sooner than expected after Beilein was hired in the spring.

"This gives you an opportunity to make very difficult decisions without that same amount of weight that you have to face, where as an interim you're fighting for your life," Bickerstaff said Wednesday. "This gives you a little bit of relief from that, and you can make harder decisions based on the long term and not just the short term.''

Before the Cavaliers officially announced his resignation, Beilein spoke to his players. Cleveland forward Kevin Love described the coach's actions as "ballsy'' and the mood as "powerful."

"For him to come in and do that and look us all in the eye, and acknowledge that integrity and willingness, that's big,'' Love said. "That's real man s--- right there. So I respect him for coming in and doing that because he didn't have to.''

Beilein and the Cavaliers negotiated a financial settlement that will pay him a portion of the remaining money on his 2019-20 contract, league sources previously told ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski. Beilein left Michigan in May and signed a five-year contract with Cleveland that included a team option for the final season, a deal that paid him more than $4 million per season, league sources said.

"While it's unexpected, we understand and respect his decision to step down as head coach of the Cavaliers," Altman said in a statement. "I was excited about the development of our young players, who have all shown growth and maturity under Coach Beilein. ... The NBA is a unique business that sometimes requires aggressive risk-taking on important long-term decisions to move a franchise forward and ultimately compete for championships."

Beilein, 67, struggled to connect with NBA players and was never able to implement his collegiate offense into the pro game. The plight of some previous coaches who made the leap to the NBA also befell Beilein: players quickly tuning him out with his penchant for screaming, and believing that Beilein was treating them as young, college athletes, not as professionals, league sources previously told Wojnarowski.

Beilein also had to apologize to his players after a January team meeting in which he referred to his players as "no longer playing as a bunch of thugs," saying he had meant to use the word "slugs."

What also really hurt Beilein was the losing after so much success in college.

Cleveland's 14-40 record is the worst in the Eastern Conference and second-worst in the NBA, ahead of only the Golden State Warriors (12-43). Management expected the team to lose a significant number of games as it turned toward rebuilding its roster around a younger core, but Beilein had several missteps along the way that shook the players' confidence in his leadership, league sources said.

"He came in every day, he busted his ass, wanted to be better, wanted to change the culture,'' Love said. "But sometimes, what do they say, 'If you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans.' Sometimes it doesn't always shake out or work the way you want it to.''

ESPN's Brian Windhorst and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Minnesota Timberwolves center Karl-Anthony Towns will remain sidelined indefinitely as he continues to recover from a left wrist injury.

Coach Ryan Saunders told reporters that the team held Towns out of its first practice after the All-Star break on Wednesday. Saunders said Towns will miss upcoming games, but the coach did not specify how many.

Towns missed Minnesota's final game before the All-Star break after an MRI revealed the injury.

Towns is averaging a career-best 26.5 points and 10.8 rebounds per game this season. He missed 15 games earlier this season with a sprained left knee.

Minnesota returns to action Friday night at home against the Celtics.

It is a "good assumption" the NBA will use a target score to end next season's All-Star Game after experimenting with the concept for the first time Sunday, Byron Spruell, the NBA's president of league operations, told ESPN on Wednesday in New York.

That is not set in stone yet, as league higher-ups have not fully debriefed since Sunday, Spruell said. But there is real momentum behind using the concept going forward at the All-Star Game.

Team LeBron [James] defeated Team Giannis [Antetokounmpo] 157-155 on an Anthony Davis free throw that took Team LeBron's score up to the designated target of 157. The league tabulated that number by adding 24, one of Kobe Bryant's jersey numbers, to the leading team's score after three quarters.

The idea is similar to the Elam Ending used in The Basketball Tournament, a $2 million winner-take-all tournament held over the summer. Nick Elam, a professor at Ball State University, came up with the idea of generating a target score by adding points to the leading team's total once the clock crosses a certain threshold in the fourth quarter. His main goal was to eliminate intentional fouls. He pitched the idea across the NBA before finding a willing audience with The Basketball Tournament. That event currently adds eight points to the leading team's score once the clock hits 4:00.

The Big Three, a 3-on-3 league co-founded by Ice Cube, also uses a target score instead of a running clock.

The NBA and the players' association have been working for years to make the All-Star Game more competitive. Changes began in 2017-18, when the league scrapped the East-versus-West format and replaced it with one in which two captains pick teams from among 24 All-Stars.

Thunder guard Chris Paul, the president of the NBA Basketball Players Association, coached a team in The Basketball Tournament last year and grew fond of the Elam Ending. He suggested it as one potential tweak for the All-Star Game in meetings with the league earlier this season, Paul and Adam Silver, the NBA's commissioner, have said. Jose Calderon, special assistant for Michele Roberts, the executive director of the players' association, and Toronto's Kyle Lowry, a member of the NBA's competition committee, were also enthusiastic supporters, Spruell said.

The group initially discussed calculating the target score by adding 38 -- the average 4th quarter output per team under the dueling captains All-Star system, Spruell said -- to the leading team's total after the third quarter. They dropped that to 35, and then to 24 to honor Bryant. If they use a target score again next season, they will likely add more than 24 to the leading team's score and incorporate at least one television timeout, Spruell said.

The 4th quarter of Sunday's game featured intense play over the equivalent of 15 minutes of game time and 39 minutes of real time, league officials told ESPN.

"The intensity popped," Spruell said. "The guys really bought in."

"The ending was good," Nick Nurse, the Toronto Raptors coach who helmed Team Giannis, told ESPN. "And it would be even more interesting with some practice."

The NBA will "discuss" using the target score system in the G League, but any full-scale adaptation there seems unlikely. The league has some concern about making G League play too different from play in the parent league, since one of the G League's main functions is to prepare players, coaches and referees for the NBA, Spruell said.

"We want to have as much consistency of play as possible," between the G League and the NBA, Spruell said.

A first step might be using the target score system at the annual G League Showcase, Spruell said.

The league will also discuss using a target score in the elimination rounds of any midseason tournament, should the Board of Governors at some point vote in favor of adding one to the league schedule. The league wanted to add a midseason tournament and a separate play-in tournament for the final two playoff spots in each conference -- among other scheduling changes -- for the NBA's 75th anniversary season in 2021-22, but hopes for that appeared to dwindle last month when the NBA backed off plans to bring the measures to a Board of Governors vote in April.

Spruell reiterated that adding both remains on the NBA's wish list, and that the league would like to add them at the same time -- as opposed to adding one without the other. The league has not abandoned hope of adding them in time for the 2021-22 season; the Board of Governors could vote on those measures again in September, Spruell said.

The league is still considering reseeding the final four in the playoffs by overall record, regardless of conference affiliation, but Spruell acknowledged a relative lack of support for that plank of the NBA's slate of reforms.

"It's still up for discussion," he said. "It just didn't have as much of a favorable reaction as the other two pieces."

The most recent version of the in-season tournament included pool play, with designated tournament games built into each team's regular schedule. The top-eight teams based on the results of pool play would then meet in a single-elimination tournament. Under the most recent proposal, all games -- including pool play -- would fall between Christmas and the week of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Spruell said.

The league has considered using a 40-minute format for games in the elimination portion of the tournament, Spruell said. Given the outcome of the All-Star Game on Sunday, the league will also discuss the possibility of using an Elam Ending-style target score in those elimination games, Spruell said.

"We were already looking at 40-minute games to make those games look a little different," he said. "So here again [the target score] is something we would consider."

If the NBA uses the target score at next season's All Star Game, they may tinker with the rules so that the game cannot end on a free throw, Spruell said. They have already discussed taking points away from any team that commits a shooting foul on a potential winning shot instead of awarding free throws, Spruell said. They could also force that team to remove the player who committed the foul and replace him with someone else for a certain number of possessions, Spruell said.

Oakland Athletics pitcher Mike Fiers on Wednesday said, "I can defend myself" and that he doesn't need extra security from Major League Baseball during the 2020 season.

"I don't know how they would," Fiers told The Athletic on Wednesday. "I'm not asking for extra security. I'm here to play baseball and I can defend myself, if anything. We do have National League games and I'm going to have to get into the box [to hit] just like everybody else.

"It's part of the game. If they decide to throw at me, then they throw at me. There's nothing much you can do about it."

MLB commissioner Rob Manfred on Tuesday promised to "take every possible step" to protect Fiers, who revealed to The Athletic in November that the Houston Astros were stealing signs.

"I want to be really clear about this: Mike, who I do not know at all, did the industry a service," Manfred said Tuesday. "I do believe that we will be a better institution when we emerge at the end of this episode, and without a Mike Fiers, we probably would have had a very difficult time cleaning this up. It would have taken longer. ... I have a real problem with anyone that suggests Mike did anything other than the right thing."

In its investigation, MLB found that the 2017 Astros used a live feed from a center-field camera to decipher the opposing catchers' signs in real time and deployed a system that involved banging on a trash can to alert their hitters of upcoming pitches.

"I've dealt with a lot in my life," Fiers told The Athletic on Wednesday. "I've dealt with people hating me before. I've dealt with a lot of life problems. It is what it is. And if someone's going to retaliate then by hitting me with a pitch, it's not a big deal."

Oakland Athletics pitcher Mike Fiers on Wednesday said, "I can defend myself" and that he doesn't need extra security from Major League Baseball during the 2020 season.

"I don't know how they would," Fiers told The Athletic on Wednesday. "I'm not asking for extra security. I'm here to play baseball and I can defend myself, if anything. We do have National League games and I'm going to have to get into the box [to hit] just like everybody else.

"It's part of the game. If they decide to throw at me, then they throw at me. There's nothing much you can do about it."

MLB commissioner Rob Manfred on Tuesday promised to "take every possible step" to protect Fiers, who revealed to The Athletic in November that the Houston Astros were stealing signs.

"I want to be really clear about this: Mike, who I do not know at all, did the industry a service," Manfred said Tuesday. "I do believe that we will be a better institution when we emerge at the end of this episode, and without a Mike Fiers, we probably would have had a very difficult time cleaning this up. It would have taken longer. ... I have a real problem with anyone that suggests Mike did anything other than the right thing."

In its investigation, MLB found that the 2017 Astros used a live feed from a center-field camera to decipher the opposing catchers' signs in real time and deployed a system that involved banging on a trash can to alert their hitters of upcoming pitches.

"I've dealt with a lot in my life," Fiers told The Athletic on Wednesday. "I've dealt with people hating me before. I've dealt with a lot of life problems. It is what it is. And if someone's going to retaliate then by hitting me with a pitch, it's not a big deal."