Editor's note: This story originally ran on June 25. It has been updated to account for Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer's historic five-set Wimbledon final on Sunday, with Djokovic winning 7-6 (5), 1-6, 7-6 (4), 4-6, 13-12 (3). This was the first singles match at Wimbledon decided by a tiebreaker.

On Sunday, Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer entered the record books when their Wimbledon championship match reached 12-all in the fifth set. Djokovic won the ensuing tiebreaker 7-3, marking the first Wimbledon final decided by a final-set tiebreaker after a new rule was instituted this year at Wimbledon that would trigger a tiebreak if the final set of a match reached 12-12. Previously, Wimbledon did not use a final set tiebreak, instead playing the match out to conclusion.

But as good as this reform looks, Wimbledon's transformative decision to adopt a final-set tiebreaker may not solve the worst feature of the overtime fifth set: the impact it has on the winner's immediate future. As Roger Federer said of extra-long matches at Wimbledon in 2016: "It's very cool. ... It goes further and further. [But] the chances get slimmer and slimmer to win that next round."

How slim?

Since 2000, the fifth set lasted for longer than 20 games (or, 10-10) in 28 men's matches at Wimbledon. On only two of those occasions did the winner advance beyond the next round.

In 2017, Novak Djokovic was unable to complete his fourth-round match on the scheduled day because of the time soaked up by Gilles Muller's 15-13 fifth-set upset of No. 4 seed Rafael Nadal (Muller would lose his next match in five sets). Djokovic later said, "For a player to play a five- to six-hour match, come back the next day and perform, it's not really what your body's looking for. ... If you are already getting to 6-all in the fifth set, you might as well just decide it in a tiebreak."

The advantage final set produced a perfect storm at Wimbledon last year. Three of the extra-time men's matches occurred in the quarterfinals and semis -- Kevin Anderson over Federer in the quarterfinals (13-11 fifth set) and Anderson over John Isner (26-24) and Djokovic over Nadal (10-8) in the semifinals -- and they unfairly disrupted the schedule.

Worse, Anderson -- who went into overtime to beat Federer in the quarters -- was beyond useless in the championship match against Djokovic following his marathon 26-24 semifinal win over Isner. Anderson not only lost the final after his ordeal, four of his toenails later fell off because of the punishment.

And contrary to the mythology that surrounds such matches, the length of Anderson's match didn't have the crowd entirely enthralled. One fan eager to see Djokovic and Nadal in the second semifinal yelled, "Come on, I came to see Rafa."

Anderson heard.

"It's also tough being out there, listening to some of the crowd," he said later. "Hopefully they appreciated the battle that we faced out there ... [but] they've paid to see two matches, and they came pretty close to only seeing one match."

A tiebreaker at 12-all in the third may not be such a heavy lift for the women, who have demonstrated that, if necessary, they can play five-set matches. The Wimbledon solution means they might play the equivalent of four sets plus a tiebreaker. But for the men, the 12-all tiebreaker means the winner in effect plays a six-set match. And that's a lot to recover from in as little as 36 hours.

"I think a tiebreaker at 6-all creates more drama," Greg Rusedski, a former US Open finalist who now works as a commentator for Sky Sports, said last fall when Wimbledon announced its decision. "It also has the added advantage that players will be less tired for the next round. A whole extra set will take the legs away even more."

Initiating the change was a bold reform by the tradition-minded All England Club, and most stakeholders welcomed it. Marathon match veteran Isner -- who arguably has the most skin in this game, having played the two longest matches in Wimbledon history -- said that the change was "long overdue." He, like Federer, endorsed Wimbledon's new rule.

The Australian Open, taking its cues from Wimbledon, soon followed suit. Like the US Open, the Australian Open now ends final sets with a tiebreaker at 6-6, albeit the 10-point "match tiebreaker" variant on the common 7-point one. The French Open is the lone holdout, continuing the advantage-set tradition.

Announcing the scoring change in October, All England Club chairman Philip Brook said in the statement: "We feel that a tiebreak at 12-12 strikes an equitable balance between allowing players ample opportunity to complete the match to advantage, while also providing certainty that the match will reach a conclusion in an acceptable time frame." Brook's use of the term "ample opportunity" is a little odd. It implies that ending a match in a tiebreaker is a regrettable necessity, perhaps even a slight to the game.

So which Grand Slam does it best?

Wimbledon's leadership role is earned and deserved, but it ranks third of four majors when it comes to deciding final sets. The best solution is the newest: the Australian Open's use of the match tiebreaker, which is also used in place of a third set in tour-level doubles matches. The 10-pointer is longer than the common 7-point tiebreak, diminishing the role of luck and bolstering the idea that the solution is not just practical but unique. Who's going to find that disappointing, at a time when soccer matches are decided by penalty-kick shootouts and the NFL embraces sudden death in overtime?

The next-best solution is the US Open's standard option: a common 7-point tiebreaker at 6-all in the final set. Many matches have been decided that way, and only staunch traditionalists have complained.

Wimbledon does still beat out the French Open solution, which is to just stick with the same old, same old. Clearly, the French Open is trying to take the high ground of tradition by refusing to change. But it's also true that clay isn't nearly as hard on the body as grass or hard courts.

Isner is the big winner here. His place in tennis history was assured when he won that epic, three-day 2010 Wimbledon first-round match with Nicolas Mahut, 70-68 in the final set. Then came that 26-24 loss to Anderson last year. Those moments made headlines. He cherishes them. But he has no desire to repeat them.

Like so many others who survived overtime five-set marathons, he lost in the next round after beating Mahut. And isn't winning the point?

Novak Djokovic outlasted Roger Federer in an epic five-set match Sunday, winning the first fifth-set tiebreaker in a Wimbledon's men's final to repeat as the men's champion for the second time and win his fifth title at the All England Club.

The fifth-set tiebreaker was also the first in any men's final at the four Grand Slams.

The top-seeded Djokovic defeated Federer 7-6 (5), 1-6, 7-6 (4), 4-6, 13-12 (3) to remain unbeaten against the second-seeded Swiss in three Wimbledon final matchups. Djokovic also won in 2014 and '15, when he repeated as champion for the first time.

He won his first Wimbledon title in 2011.

At four hours and 55 minutes, it was the longest final in Wimbledon history, featuring 68 games, 422 points and 35 aces.

Djokovic, 32, saved two match points to reach the fifth-set tiebreaker, becoming the first man since 1948 to save championship points in the final and go on to win.

"Unfortunately in these kinds of matches,'' Djokovic said, "one of the players has to lose.''

Federer, at 37 years and 340 days old, was seeking to become the oldest men's Grand Slam winner in the Open era (since 1968).

It is Djokovic's 16th Grand Slam title overall, moving to within four of Federer's record 20.

Wimbledon traditionally didn't play tiebreakers in the final set of matches but introduced one for this year if the score reaches 12-12.

ESPN Stats & Information and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

The Athletics bolstered their beleaguered rotation by acquiring right-hander Homer Bailey from the Kansas City Royals, Oakland announced Sunday.

Bailey, 33, has experienced something of a renaissance in 2019, posting his highest strikeout rate in more than half a decade to go along with a 7-6 record and 4.80 ERA -- his best number in that category since 2014. His numbers have also improved over the past month and a half, as he had a 3.48 ERA in June, going 3-1, and a 3.60 ERA in July.

Bailey had been set to pitch Sunday for Kansas City against the Detroit Tigers, but he was scratched from the game shortly before its scheduled start.

In exchange, the Royals received Kevin Merrell, a 23-year-old Double-A infielder hitting .246/.292/.339 and whose greatest attribute is his speed.

While Bailey is making $23 million this season, Oakland will be on the hook for less than $250,000. After dealing for him in a salary-dump trade over the winter, the Los Angeles Dodgers cut Bailey and assumed almost the entirety of his contract. The Royals signed him for the major league minimum $555,000, and Oakland will pay a prorated portion of that for the remainder of the season.

At 52-41, Oakland currently holds the second wild-card spot in the American League and trails the Tampa Bay Rays for the top wild card by 1½ games. The A's are six games back of the Houston Astros in the AL West, though their run differential of plus-80 is similar to the Astros' plus-86.

Oakland's rotation, which was dinged with the PED suspension of starter Frankie Montas, has nevertheless been solid, backed by one of the best defenses in baseball. Starters Mike Fiers, Brett Anderson and Chris Bassitt all have ERAs under 4.00. Oakland could see reinforcements coming off the injured list too, with Jharel Cotton at Triple-A recovering from Tommy John surgery and Sean Manaea at high Class A after shoulder surgery.

Kansas City is expected to deal more players before the July 31 trade deadline, including reliever Jake Diekman and, if they pay down a significant amount of his salary, closer Ian Kennedy.

BOSTON -- It didn't take long to dredge up the memories of last October. On Friday, as the Dodgers returned to Fenway Park for the first time since losing the 2018 World Series to the Red Sox, Max & Leo's, a pizza restaurant located in Fenway Park, put up a sign facing those crossing the David Ortiz Bridge toward the ballpark. Its message? "Hey L.A., In case you forgot, this is what the World Series Trophy looks like."

Victory lap aside, the cross-country rivals find themselves in different positions from last season. The Dodgers occupy the same territory as the 2018 Red Sox, running away with their division while maintaining the best record in major league baseball. The defending World Series champions, meanwhile, sit in third place in the AL East, one game out of a wild card, chasing the Tampa Bay Rays and the Cleveland Indians.

"This is the team that everybody knows is the best team in baseball," Red Sox manager Alex Cora said of the Dodgers. "They are. If you look for motivation after the All-Star break, it's right there. From day one until the All-Star break, what they've been doing is amazing."

Saturday's trade for Andrew Cashner by Boston marked the official beginning of a playoff push as president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski moves to shore up some areas of the roster. But not all improvements can come from the outside, as the front office intently monitors the payroll and manages any potential luxury tax penalties.

Boston will need to see improvements up and down the roster to put itself back at the forefront of the playoff picture. Here's the short list of what has to happen, in no particular order:

1. Andrew Cashner needs to solidify the No. 5 spot in the rotation

The Red Sox made clear that they were looking to upgrade their starting rotation in recent weeks and got their man in Cashner, trading away two 17-year old prospects, infielder Noelberth Romero and outfielder Elio Prado. Since Nathan Eovaldi hit the disabled list with loose bodies in his throwing arm, the Red Sox have depended on the likes of Hector Velazquez, Ryan Weber and others for innings, with a lack of consistency from the last spot in the rotation contributing to the overworked bullpen's workload. In 16 starts this season, the hodgepodge group of starters asked to fill out the rotation has amassed a 6.79 ERA in just 51⅔ innings.

Similar to his pre-deadline deal last year for Eovaldi, Dombrowski landed a starter before the rush of the trade deadline, locking down his major trade acquisition two weeks ahead of July 31. Cashner will make his Red Sox debut on Tuesday against the Blue Jays. So far this season, the 32-year-old righty has posted a 3.83 ERA with a 1.19 WHIP, striking out 66 batters in 96⅓ innings, posting a 9-3 record. Boston hopes for more of the same.

"He's been throwing the ball well," Dombrowski said. "He's been a guy that has been in the big leagues for a long time. He's throwing the ball as well as he ever has. ... Definitely gives us an improvement in that fifth spot, which we've scuffled for such a long time."

2. Nathan Eovaldi needs to become a reliable reliever

When Eovaldi returns to Boston, which Dombrowski expects to happen next week, he will return as the team's closer, a role the team refused to assign to anyone else coming out of spring training, channeling the 2003 Red Sox with a closer by committee. Following the departure of free agent Craig Kimbrel, Dombrowski decided to stay pat with the bullpen and not sign an established reliever, instead turning to the likes of Marcus Walden and Josh Taylor. Dombrowski views Eovaldi's return as equivalent to a major acquisition for Boston heading into the deadline.

"We are going to add Nathan Eovaldi," Dombrowski said on Saturday. "Some people seem to not grasp onto that. He's a big addition for us."

This, however, operates under the assumption that Eovaldi will stay healthy. Eovaldi, who signed a four-year, $68 million deal with Boston this past offseason, has undergone two Tommy John surgeries in his career and underwent a second surgery to remove loose bodies from his elbow in March 2018.

"We've always thought he could pitch in the pen," Dombrowski said. "A lot of people have felt that. When we signed him, he really was choosing to not do that because he had other organizations approach him and signed him as a starter. He changed himself with his time frame and said, 'I'm willing to do whatever you'd like. I'm happy to go to the bullpen and pitch.' We think he can be very helpful for us at the back end of our bullpen."

3. Chris Sale needs to get right

It has been an uncharacteristically down season for the Red Sox lefty. Sale signed a five-year, $145 million extension this offseason, but he hasn't won a game in Fenway Park since July 11 of last year, posting a 4.27 ERA and 1.14 WHIP in 46⅓ innings at Fenway so far this season. That winless Fenway starts streak continued on Saturday, when Sale lasted just 4⅔ innings, allowing five runs, seven hits and one walk while striking out seven against the Dodgers. His ERA of 4.04 far outpaces his career-high ERA of 3.41, posted back in 2015.

"I'm going out there every fifth day and getting my ass kicked," Sale said on Saturday after the loss to the Dodgers. "It's not fun. I'm still working, still grinding. I'm not going to give up, but it's tough going out there and being a liability to your team."

The Red Sox won the World Series without Chris Sale looking like Chris Sale for most of the postseason, when he posted a 5.76 ERA in 25 innings pitched. But Boston wouldn't have gotten there in the first place without his 2.11 ERA in 27 starts in 2018. Cora said it's the responsibility of the coaching staff to make sure Sale is clicking on all cylinders, which he hasn't all year. Sale, however, shifts the blame to himself.

"I'm trying to locate my fastball. That's the biggest thing," Sale said. "I've been throwing it all over the place. I've been trying to throw it in and it's going away. I'm trying to throw it away and I'm throwing cut fastballs right now and I have never done that in my life. All my hit by pitches this year have been on breaking balls on right-handed hitters. That can't happen. Shutdown innings, I haven't had a single one all year. I'm digging my team a hole they can't get out of early and they're doing everything they can."

4. Rafael Devers needs to stay hot

Devers has been a revelation for Boston this season. He has laid claim to the No. 2 spot in the lineup behind Mookie Betts, has markedly improved his plate discipline and has made a leap defensively, dramatically improving his footwork following a rocky first month. The 22-year-old is hitting .327/.380/.557 with 17 homers, 64 RBIs and 26 doubles, and he has been one of the team's most consistent hitters this season.

As history has shown time and time again, one good half-season doesn't mean someone has officially arrived in the big leagues. Devers is still a young player, which often goes hand in hand with inconsistency. With offensive production drops from Betts and Andrew Benintendi, Devers has made up a lot of the slack, and the team will depend on him for big offensive production if the rest of the lineup remains at its current levels of production.

5. Consistency, consistency, consistency

As boring as it may sound, the Alex Cora buzzword of the season has been "consistency," because Boston has been anything but. It's something Cora constantly brings up in his news conferences, a near-daily reminder that his team hasn't been what it was just a calendar year ago. Just as frequently, Cora mentions that he believes his team can emerge from its yearlong funk.

"We're very talented. That's the bottom line," Cora said on Friday. "We can play a lot better and everybody knows it. I think that was the coolest thing in the All-Star Game how many people in that clubhouse still believe in us. I don't know if they like it or not, but they let us know how good we are. If we forgot about that, the three guys that were there and the coaching staff, the players reminded us."

Those reminders will need to turn into production soon if Boston hopes to even have a chance to defend its World Series title.

VENRAY, The Netherlands – After a dominant practice session, Jacques Villeneuve and Go Fas Racing took the pole position for the ninth ELITE 1 race of the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series season at Raceway Venray on Sunday.

In what was his last attempt with less than two minutes to go in qualifying, the Canadian posted a 19.369-second lap around the half-mile banked short track to beat Loris Hezemans’ time by just .044 seconds.

It was the first pole position in the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series and the first on an oval for the former Indy 500 winner, as well as the second of his NASCAR career after the road course pole he grabbed at Montreal in 2011.

“It’s fun and exciting, I was really waiting to race on this oval,” said Villeneuve. “It’s a proper oval track with high banked corners and a length of half a mile. It was fun, the car was actually meant to be better in race trim. It was a little bit loose in qualifying trim, but it was enough for one very good lap.

“The tires seemed not to heat up too much, so I’m really looking forward to this race.”

Villeneuve and Hezemans will start side by side two months after their intense battle in the NASCAR GP Italy at Franciacorta. Racing for Hendriks Motorsport, Hezemans will rely on the experience he gained at New Smyrna in February, when he was third in the overall standings of the World Series of Asphalt.

ELITE 1 points leader Stienes Longin will be third on the grid after missing the pole position by just .066 seconds. The PK Carsport driver edged his teammate Nicolo Rocca, who comes from his first win of the season at Autodrom Most.

Hendriks Motorsport’s Martin Doubek closed the top five with a 19.571-second lap, ahead of local hero Sebastiaan Bleekemolen.

Six-time Euro Series oval winner Frederic Gabillon ended up seventh ahead of three-time NWES champion Ander Vilarino. The RDV Competition driver was .051 seconds faster than the Spaniard and his No. 48 Racing Engineering Ford Mustang.

Reigning champion Alon Day secured the ninth spot on the grid. The CAAL Racing driver was .357 seconds slower than the polesitter and will have a steep mountain to climb if he wants to win the NASCAR GP Netherlands at Raceway Venray.

Day’s teammate, Thomas Ferrando, will start alongside him in 10th place.

Henri Tuomaala grabbed the best spot in the Challenger Trophy classification by finishing 16th. The Finn edged Mauro Trione and Kenko Miura.

Nineteen drivers were separated by less than nine tenths of a second in qualifying.

SILVERSTONE, England – A timely safety-car period catapulted Lewis Hamilton to his record sixth British Grand Prix victory during Sunday’s Formula One stop at the Silverstone Circuit.

Hamilton, who ran second to Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas for the first 16 laps, saw his fortunes turn when he elected to stay out on the 17th tour as Bottas came down pit lane for fresh tires.

That put Hamilton into the race lead, a position that proved to be fortuitous when the yellow flag waved three laps later after Alfa Romeo’s Antonio Giovinazzi went off and got stuck in the gravel on-course.

As the field slowed behind the safety car, Hamilton was able to utilize a 20-second lead to pit for hard-compound Pirelli tires and still come out in front of Bottas at the head of the field.

From there, the scales tipped and it became Hamilton’s race, as he raced away from Bottas on the only restart of the race at lap 24 and methodically paced the field the rest of the way en route to victory.

Hamilton took the checkered flag in front of Bottas by 24.928 seconds, after Bottas pitted a second time for fresh tires inside of 10 to go, for his seventh win in 10 races this year and his 80th F-1 victory overall.

The Briton also set a new lap record of 1:27.369 on the final lap to earn an extra bonus point.

“I’m honestly a bit out of breath after that one,” admitted Hamilton in parc ferme. “I can’t tell you how proud I am to be (standing) here today, in front of a home crowd, with my whole family here and with this incredible team. There’s so many British flags out there and I could see them, lap after lap today.

“You would think you’d get used to something like that, but it still feels like the first time,” he added. “I’m just a link in the chain today. It took a team effort to get this one done, and we obviously caught a break with being able to pit under that safety car. Just an incredible day all around.”

Bottas, who started from the pole and was in control during the opening stint, found himself on the wrong end of the yellow flag Sunday and had to settle with a disappointing runner-up finish.

“I don’t know, really, what to say,” admitted Bottas. “Obviously, congrats to Lewis on a great performance, but we got hurt by that safety car. I stopped first and had been controlling the pace, but Lewis got a free stop there and then … because we were on the mediums, we had to stop again.

“It’s tough to lose one like that, but we still had a lot of positives from this weekend that I’m proud of and I’ll keep fighting. It just wasn’t my day in the end today.”

Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc completed the podium, his fourth-straight top-three finish, with Red Bull’s Pierre Gasly tying his career-best F-1 finish just behind Leclerc in fourth.

Gasly’s teammate, Max Verstappen, capped off the top five despite being rear-ended by Sebastian Vettel with 15 to go under braking. The collision caused both drivers to spin after battling for third.

McLaren’s Carlos Sainz crossed sixth, followed by Renault’s Daniel Ricciardo, Alfa Romeo’s Kimi Raikkonen, Toro Rosso’s Daniil Kvyat and the second Renault of Nico Hulkenberg.

Vettel had to pit for a new front wing after his collision with Verstappen and could never recover, finishing 16th among the 17 drivers who made it to the checkered flag. Adding insult to injury, the four-time champion was also assessed a 10-second time penalty by the stewards for causing a collision.

Hamilton now leads the driver’s championship by 39 points over Bottas.

The finish:

Lewis Hamilton, Valtteri Bottas, Charles Leclerc, Pierre Gasly, Max Verstappen, Carlos Sainz, Daniel Ricciardo, Kimi Raikkonen, Daniil Kvyat, Nico Hulkenberg, Lando Norris, Alexander Albon, Lance Stroll, George Russell, Robert Kubica, Sebastian Vettel, Sergio Perez, Antonio Giovinazzi, Romain Grosjean, Kevin Magnussen.

July has settled in, and the league is still as wild as it was when the month arrived. Summer league in Las Vegas has started to wind down, but the chatter is still piping hot.

As of Sunday morning, there are only four teams still active in the tournament -- and the countdown to the 2019-20 season continues.

What have executives, scouts and coaches said about the most intriguing transaction news and prospect sights? Here are the latest and most relevant messages from the MGM Resorts Summer League.

More: Summer league scores/schedules | Free agency news | Trades

OKC wins star point guard swap

At one point during a game between the Oklahoma City Thunder and Portland Trail Blazers in Las Vegas on Thursday afternoon, a pop went through the crowd -- and particularly among the executives sitting watching the game. It wasn't, however, for anything that was happening on the court.

It was over the stunning exchange of future Hall of Fame point guards, with Chris Paul, two first-round picks and two swaps going to Oklahoma City in exchange for Russell Westbrook. After the initial shock was over, the talk immediately shifted to how impressive a move it was for the Thunder.

"Huge win for Oklahoma City," said one executive.

While another exec characterized it as a "clear win" for the Thunder, the deal also elicited plenty of confusion as to what, exactly, the Houston Rockets will look like with Westbrook playing alongside James Harden. The price to secure Westbrook was reasonable in the eyes of several executives, even if they liked the deal better for Oklahoma City, because it would've likely taken a first-round pick or two to move Paul into someone's cap space this summer.

In this deal, of course, the Rockets also got a star in Westbrook who remains a polarizing player around the league.

"Are they better? Worse? The same? I don't know," said a scout. "They're going to be potent offensively. They're going to be a factor. But now they have, arguably, the two most ball-dominant players in the league playing on the same team."

An executive summed it up simply: "I kind of like the trade for Houston too. The two existing guys were going to kill each other, and this one is a lot more durable."

-- Tim Bontemps

Golden State's polarizing offseason

One of the biggest topics of debate in the team section at the Thomas & Mack Center was how the Golden State Warriors reacted to Kevin Durant's departure in free agency. Instead of a more conventional attempt to replace Durant and injured Klay Thompson in free agency and by creating a trade exception in a sign-and-trade deal sending Durant to the Brooklyn Nets, the Warriors instead boldly worked out a sign-and-trade for Brooklyn free agent D'Angelo Russell. This subjected Golden State to a hard cap of $138.9 million that forced them to trade away former Finals MVP Andre Iguodala.

Some of the team employees I talked to thought Golden State had rushed the Russell sign-and-trade, costing it a lightly protected first-round pick to send Iguodala to the Memphis Grizzlies. Another thought the Warriors had a good offseason and people were sleeping on them in the playoffs. The overall sentiment trended more toward the former position.

To the extent that Golden State's moves are polarizing, it's largely because Russell is such a polarizing player. Some scouts are skeptical he really is as good as his All-Star appearance last season with the Nets made him appear -- particularly in a situation in which he will no longer be featured on offense.

The moderate position suggests waiting to see what moves are next for the Warriors, who could eventually look to flip Russell in a trade that brings them better-fitting young talent and depth to help replace what they lost this offseason. One possible explanation for the Russell move is that Golden State simply didn't want to lose Durant without getting anything in return, even if the move potentially cost the Warriors a pair of first-round picks because -- as reported by our Brian Windhorst on Thursday -- Durant felt the Nets should get a first-round pick in the trade.

-- Kevin Pelton

No more moratorium

With Marcus Morris' reversal on a commitment to the San Antonio Spurs and eventual agreement to a one-year, $15 million deal with the New York Knicks, this now marks three times in two years that players have reneged on a verbal agreement. (Nemanja Bjelica and Yogi Ferrell backing out last summer with the Philadelphia 76ers and Dallas Mavericks, respectively, to sign with the Sacramento Kings were the other two.)

The topic of players backing out of agreements -- and whether this will become a trend -- was much discussed among league executives in Las Vegas.

Some said that going back on one's word is unacceptable in any situation -- especially when San Antonio cleared the space to sign Morris by agreeing to a sign-and-trade with the Brooklyn Nets and Washington Wizards to acquire DeMarre Carroll, sending Davis Bertans to Washington. San Antonio recovered Thursday by signing Trey Lyles to a two-year deal, but it still was an unfortunate situation for the Spurs.

Others saw it differently, though. People are allowed to change their minds, as Morris did in this case. And until a deal is official, there is still the chance for someone to do so and back out of an agreement (as DeAndre Jordan did with the Mavericks back in 2015 after the famous sit-in by his then-teammates with the LA Clippers in his Houston home).

What just about everyone who was asked agreed with, though, is that this could place further momentum behind shortening the league's annual moratorium in July -- something just about every executive in the league doesn't like.

Yes, it does allow for more creative sequencing of moves. But as one executive put it, "a five-day window is a lot of time for s--- to go down."

Another put it even more simply: "It's just too long."

And while it exists, it still leaves open the chances for players to have second thoughts on making a move they previously agreed to.

-- Tim Bontemps

Teams outside Oklahoma no longer hoarding draft picks

Within the past six months, we've seen a dramatic change in the way teams are valuing first-round draft picks. When the Mavericks traded for Kristaps Porzingis ahead of the trade deadline, I noted that it was the first time a team had traded two future first-round picks without getting one in return since the 2015 deadline.

The Porzingis trade opened the floodgates. We've subsequently seen four more such deals: the 76ers giving up a pair of first-rounders for Tobias Harris; the Los Angeles Lakers giving up three first-round picks and a swap for Anthony Davis; and more recently, the Clippers giving up five first-rounders and two swaps in their deal for Paul George on July 5, and the Rockets giving up two first-rounders and two swaps in their deal for Westbrook on Thursday night.

Team employees have definitely noticed a change. One pointed out that ahead of this year's deadline, teams still were trying to negotiate heavy protection on any picks they moved. The Lakers and Clippers both were willing to include unprotected picks -- three of them from the Clippers, along with one they acquired in the Harris deal.

It's possible, one scout noted, that we're seeing an overcorrection after teams were too reluctant to part with first-round picks in the recent past. Others have pointed out, however, that the value of the "bird in the hand" often will outweigh the uncertainty of draft picks -- particularly for big-market teams who want to build through free agency rather than the draft. With a championship a more realistic goal than it was when the Golden State dynastic core was intact, teams might continue using future picks to improve their current rosters.

-- Kevin Pelton

ANAHEIM, Calif. -- The shrine that has become Tyler Skaggs' locker in the Los Angeles' clubhouse had a new addition Saturday -- the ball from the final out of the no-hitter the Angels pitched while wearing their late teammate's jersey.

As they prepared to face Seattle on what would have been Skaggs' 28th birthday, the Angels were still trying to take in everything that transpired a day earlier in a remarkable 13-0 victory.

Taylor Cole started with two perfect innings and Felix Pena held the Mariners hitless the rest of the way in the Angels' first home game since Skaggs was found unresponsive in his hotel room in Texas on July 1.

Cole was wearing a T-shirt with Skaggs' catchphrase -- "We're Nasty" -- in the clubhouse before the game. He said he was still hyped up after the win.

"I feel great to have been a part of history and helping this city cope a little bit," he said. "When you can comfort and help people heal, and help people realize that there is something more to this than baseball, everybody is going to be OK."

Catcher Dustin Garneau said he still had over 100 text messages on his phone that he hadn't had a chance to look at after being behind the plate.

"Honestly, it was what we needed and hopefully what his family needed to where it kind of gives them some solace. For us, it brought us all together," he said. "After the game, we were all sitting at our lockers and were still in shock. It was really cool to see it happen."

It was the first combined no-hitter thrown in a game in California since July 13, 1991, which was the day Skaggs was born. That wasn't the only numerological coincidence. The Angels scored seven runs in the first and finished with 13 for the game -- 7/13, like his birthday.

Mike Trout's first-inning home run traveled 454 feet, matching Skaggs' No. 45 jersey.

"I've seen all the numbers that surrounded the game. It's pretty remarkable," manager Brad Ausmus said. "You don't know if you really could even script it. You'd have to have a wild imagination to script that."

The Angels went back to wearing their regular jerseys on Saturday, but Skaggs' red No. 45 was still hanging in the third-base dugout. The makeshift memorial of flowers and other tokens of remembrance were still outside the home plate gate at Angels Stadium. A short video remembering Skaggs' birthday was played midway thru the first inning.

While Friday's game was emotional, starting with Skaggs' mother Debbie throwing out the first pitch, many of the players said it provided them with a sense of normalcy. Shortstop Andrelton Simmons said it was the first time he had slept well since Skaggs' death.

"It was very comforting from the last couple weeks," he said. "Every once in a while, you try to move on, try to move past the fact. It is still difficult at times, but you have to."