Former NBA All-Star Stephon Marbury is continuing his professional basketball career -- in a different fashion -- by becoming the head coach of the Beijing Royal Fighters of the Chinese Basketball Association, where he retired from playing last year.

Monday's announcement came after weeks of speculation among Chinese basketball insiders that the 42-year-old New Yorker was set to take a head coach position with Beijing.

"Thank you for the opportunity. I will give everything I have on the sidelines just like I gave everything inside the Lines," Marbury wrote on his Weibo social media account. "The end is another start, I am back, are you with me?"

The team first announced the hiring in a statement hours earlier. Marbury signed a three-year deal with Beijing, according to Chinese media reports.

After 13 seasons in the NBA, Marbury moved to China in early 2010 and joined the CBA, winning three championships there, and has since become one of the best foreign imports the league has seen.

Since retirement from playing, Marbury has been devoted to his business ventures and to youth basketball training in China.

The NBA fined the New York Knicks $50,000 on Monday for violating the league's rules regarding equal access for media by not giving the New York Daily News access to their post-draft news conference on Friday.

The rest of the New York media was invited to the news conference to introduce draft picks RJ Barrett and Ignas Brazdeikis.

"The Knicks acknowledge that we did not comply with the NBA's media policy and made an error in interpreting Friday's announcement as an invite-only event," the team said in a statement. "As we do throughout the year, we have and will continue to provide access to credentialed media as per the league's policy."

The Professional Basketball Writers condemned Friday's incident in a statement Saturday, saying it was "unprofessional and unacceptable."

The PBWA said, "James Dolan, the owner of the Knicks franchise, previously has said that barring Daily News employees from media availabilities sends the Daily News 'a message.' In reality, the only message he is sending is that he is a bully who retaliates against legitimate news outlets that publish content he dislikes."

It was not the first time the Daily News has been barred from a news conference. In December, after the newspaper ran the headline "Do It" on a story about Dolan potentially selling the team, Daily News columnist Stefan Bondy was not allowed to attend a news conference with Knicks president Steve Mills.

When asked by the paper why Bondy was banned, a representative for the team said, "It was invitation only. There is nothing more to add."

OAKLAND, Calif. -- Golden State Warriors general manager Bob Myers demurred when asked if he was optimistic heading into formal conversations with Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson this week regarding their respective futures with the team.

"We'll see," Myers said during a Monday news conference to introduce Warriors rookies Jordan Poole, Alen Smailagic and Eric Paschall.

Durant has a player option for next season that he has been expected to opt out of all year. Thompson will be an unrestricted free agent.

The topic of free agency for Durant and Thompson hovered over the organization all season and gained even more intrigue over the past two weeks, after each player suffered an injury that will affect his future. Durant ruptured his right Achilles tendon in the second quarter of Game 5 of the NBA Finals, and Thompson tore the ACL in his left knee during the third quarter of Game 6.

The injuries have not changed the feeling inside the organization regarding the pair's potential future with the team. While it's against league protocol for Warriors owner Joe Lacob to publicly say he would give each player a max extension, the feeling internally has been that the team would like to re-sign both players and continue their dynastic run.

No matter what both players decide, the Warriors are confident that each man knows the organization's culture well enough to make an informed decision on whether he wants to stay or not.

"There's no recruiting," Warriors head coach Steve Kerr told ESPN recently, regarding the topic of Durant and Thompson's respective futures.

"We're not doing any videos and tours of the city. Basically it's a 'We want you back and we hope you decide to come back and see what happens,' but we're at a different place now," Kerr said. "But any time you're trying to retain your own players, I think the song and dance, the pomp and circumstance is unnecessary and I actually think it's unnecessary even for other players. You just got to do what you got to do, but with our group it's just -- conversation."

Kerr's comments came earlier in the postseason, prior to both player's injuries, but the mood inside the organization remains the same as it was throughout the season. The feeling has been that Thompson would re-sign on a max deal worth $190 million over the next five years, while it was unclear whether Durant would come back, even though the Warriors have the ability to offer him more money than any other team. Kerr admitted as much during his end-of-season news conference after the Warriors lost to the Toronto Raptors in the NBA Finals.

"The injury throws everything for a loop," Kerr said at the time. "So I have no idea what Kevin's going to do. I know that we all want him back. We think this is a great situation for him and vice versa. So hopefully we get him back and keep this thing going, with the understanding that he's a free agent and we want what's best for him and he's free to make any choice he wants."

Durant has already had surgery on his Achilles. Myers said Thompson is expected to have surgery later this week.

"I think it's been scheduled," Myers said. "Maybe potentially this week. But I don't know the exact time or day, but that's what I'm hearing."

The Portland Trail Blazers have traded Evan Turner to the Atlanta Hawks for Kent Bazemore.

Turner, a former No. 2 overall pick of the Philadelphia 76ers, spent the past three seasons with the Blazers.

Bazemore had been with Atlanta for the past five seasons, making him the longest-tenured current Hawk before the trade. At 29 years old, Bazemore had been the third-oldest member of the Hawks behind Vince Carter (42) and Miles Plumlee (30).

The teams announced the deal early Monday night.

Bazemore started 35 of the 67 games in which he played last season, averaging 11.6 points, 3.9 rebounds and 2.3 assists while shooting 32.0 percent from 3-point range in his seventh NBA season.

Turner averaged 6.8 points, 4.5 rebounds and 3.9 assists while playing almost exclusively as a reserve. His 21.2 percent shooting from behind the arc was the worst of his nine-year, four-team career.

Both wing players are headed into the final year of their respective four-year deals.

Who should win the major NBA awards this season? And who will win?

There's a tight race for MVP between Giannis Antetokounmpo and James Harden, and a deep list of candidates for each trophy.

With less than a week to go in the regular season, our ESPN Forecast panel offers its picks and predictions for MVP, Rookie of the Year, Coach of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year, Sixth Man and Most Improved Player.

The NBA will officially announce the winners June 24.

Note: Voters gave their top three picks for each award, with five points for first place, three points for second and one point for third.

Rookie of the Year

Trae Young's incredible finish to the season isn't enough to supplant Luka Doncic, who is an overwhelming favorite, according to our panel.

All season long, Doncic has combined usage, efficiency and scoring in rare ways for a player his age.

Others receiving votes: Marvin Bagley III, Mikal Bridges, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jaren Jackson Jr., Mitchell Robinson, Landry Shamet and Collin Sexton

Who will win?

• Luka Doncic: 98 percent

• Trae Young: 2 percent

MORE: Year One: All access with the top rookies

Coach of the Year

The most challenging leap to make in the NBA is going from good to great. The Milwaukee Bucks' ascendancy to best regular-season team -- with mostly the same pieces from last season -- is driving Mike Budenholzer's candidacy here. He has developed a system around Antetokounmpo that has made the Bucks top three in both offensive and defensive rating.

Budenholzer is joined by a deep list of strong candidates, but it looks like he has pulled away.

Others receiving votes: Kenny Atkinson, Brett Brown, Steve Clifford, Gregg Popovich and Nick Nurse

Who will win?

• Mike Budenholzer: 75 percent

• Doc Rivers: 12 percent

• Michael Malone: 8 percent

• Nate McMillan: 5 percent

MORE: Four stunning stats driving the Bucks' revolution

Sixth Man of the Year

Lou Williams is on track to win his third Sixth Man award -- as long as he can hold off his own teammate. Williams and Montrezl Harrell have sparked a surprising LA Clippers' season as an unstoppable bench duo, with Williams collecting most of the first-place votes here.

Domantas Sabonis, who essentially could not miss to start the season for the Indiana Pacers, joins the Clips in the top three.

Others receiving votes: Malik Beasley, Davis Bertans, Jaylen Brown, Monte Morris, Larry Nance Jr., Derrick Rose, Dennis Schroder and Dwyane Wade

Who will win?

• Lou Williams: 90 percent

• Domantas Sabonis: 8 percent

• Montrezl Harrell: 2 percent

MORE: Inside the magic of Lou and Trez, LA's freestyling bench stars

Most Improved Player

Kawhi Leonard is on pace to miss more than 20 games, yet the Toronto Raptors will likely finish with the second-best record in the NBA. Pascal Siakam is a big reason why. Once a defensive role player and promising sixth man, Siakam has flourished into a real offensive threat -- creating looks in transition and becoming a capable shooter from deep.

Breakout guards D'Angelo Russell and De'Aaron Fox are his main competition here.

Others receiving votes: Giannis Antetokounmpo, Malcolm Brogdon, Jaylen Brown, John Collins, Montrezl Harrell, Tobias Harris, Buddy Hield, Zach LaVine and Derrick Rose

Who will win?

• Pascal Siakam: 55 percent

• D'Angelo Russell: 23 percent

• De'Aaron Fox: 7 percent

MORE: Inside Pascal Siakam's 6,000-mile journey to Raptors stardom

Defensive Player of the Year

Rudy Gobert is on track to win his second DPOY award in a row if he can fend off Paul George and Antetokounmpo.

Defensive impact is maybe the hardest quality to quantify. Still, Gobert has a strong case. He is comfortably No. 1 in ESPN's defensive real plus-minus (4.50), ahead of George and Antetokounmpo (tied for 19th at 2.85).

Others receiving votes: Isaiah Briscoe, Robert Covington, Draymond Green, Al Horford, Kawhi Leonard and Jusuf Nurkic

Who will win?

• Rudy Gobert: 50 percent

• Paul George: 25 percent

• Giannis Antetokounmpo: 18 percent

MORE: Rudy Gobert is this season's most underrated offensive weapon, too

Most Valuable Player

In a close vote, our panel is taking Antetokounmpo over Harden. Interestingly, Antetokounmpo has a much more clear advantage in our panel's pick for who will win the awards, rather than who should.

So how is anyone really supposed to decide between these two great seasons? Five of our experts weigh in here.

Others receiving votes: Joel Embiid, Kevin Durant, Kawhi Leonard, Damian Lillard and Karl-Anthony Towns

Who will win?

• Giannis Antetokounmpo: 68 percent

• James Harden: 32 percent

MORE: Giannis or Harden? The MVP question that's dividing the NBA

_{Image credits: Scott Cunningham/NBAE via Getty Images; Tim Warner/Getty Images; AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez; Zach Beeker/NBAE/Getty Images; AP Photo/Rick Bowmer; Benny Sieu/USA TODAY Sports}

NEW YORK -- Toronto Blue Jays right-hander Marcus Stroman likes pitching in the Bronx, and he'd love it even more if he weren't there to face the New York Yankees.

Asked Monday at Yankee Stadium about trade speculation connecting him with New York, Stroman stopped short of saying he was hopeful for a deal but insisted he could handle the city's notoriously tough stage.

"I love it. New York's like the mecca of the world," Stroman said. "I love excitement. I love bright lights. I love competition. I love pressure.

"I've always loved pitching here. Even though I haven't always pitched fairly well here, I've always enjoyed it. Yankee lineups are brutal. They're hard to kind of navigate. But yeah, I love the spotlight. The bigger the moment, that's where I've always wanted to be."

The 28-year-old Stroman is from Long Island and has family in the area. He was expecting about 40 family and friends for Monday night's series opener between Toronto and New York, including his brother's youth baseball team, which came early to watch batting practice. Stroman pitched six scoreless innings against the Red Sox on Sunday at Fenway Park and won't throw during this three-game series.

With the AL East-leading Yankees on the prowl for starting pitching before the July 31 trade deadline, Stroman is a sensible target. He's set to become a free agent after this season and is off to a strong start, with a 3.04 ERA. He's 5-9, but that reflects more on the rebuilding Blue Jays, who came into the day 31-47.

Stroman is 2-5 with a 6.37 ERA in nine career starts at Yankee Stadium.

The right-hander said the trade talks have been "hard to kind of grasp," but he has had time to let it set in.

"Obviously, it's hard to ignore all the rumors," he said. "I don't think I'm at a point where they're going to sign me long-term. I've kind of come to terms with it, but it's not something I'm thinking about daily."

Asked if he would prefer a trade to New York, Stroman laughed, said "no comment" and then elaborated carefully.

"I don't know," he said. "I don't really want to think about it like that just because I have no idea how it's going to play out or where it's going to go. I don't want to get all my eggs in one basket."

He's certain he could handle the Bronx, though.

"I'm built for this," he said. "Anybody can say whatever, but I'm built for the bright lights and the moment. I'm not scared of it. I've never been. I'll take that ball each and every time you put pressure on. I love it."

St. Louis Cardinals closer Jordan Hicks has a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his pitching elbow.

The Cardinals announced the injury Monday but did not disclose whether Hicks will undergo surgery, saying that they are "determining the next course of action."

Hicks was removed from Saturday's 4-2 win over the Los Angeles Angels in the ninth, after 1 1/3 innings.

The 22-year-old has thrown 211 pitches at least 100 mph this season, over 100 more than the next-closest player. Last year, Hicks threw 673 100 mph pitches and became the only player in the past 10 years to throw 500 or more 100 mph pitches in a single season.

Hicks is 2-2 with a 3.14 ERA and 14 saves this year.

Major League Baseball fans support installation of more safety netting at ballparks by an overwhelming majority in a survey commissioned by ESPN.

Fans agreed by a margin of 78 percent to 22 percent that netting is a good idea because it protects fans who often do not have enough time to react to foul balls or bats that fly into the stands.

The survey was conducted last week by Hart Research Associates.

The opponents to netting said it is a bad idea because it obstructs fans' views, and because fans know and understand the risks of getting hit.

The survey was commissioned after an incident May 29 in Houston in which a 4-year-old girl was injured when she was struck by a foul ball off the bat of Cubs outfielder Albert Almora Jr. during a game between the Chicago White Sox and the Houston Astros. On Sunday, after the survey was taken, a woman at Dodger Stadium was taken to a hospital for precautionary tests after being struck in the head by a foul ball.

The results of the survey showed that Americans are more divided on whether MLB teams should be held responsible when a fan is hit, with a slight majority saying teams should not be held responsible. By a margin of 55 percent to 45 percent, respondents said teams should not be responsible, with MLB fans, avid fans and those who attended games more strongly supporting the idea.

Since 1913, every ticket to a major league game has included a disclaimer saying the holder of the ticket assumes all the risks inherent to the game. Called the "Baseball Rule," it has made it nearly impossible for fans injured at games to successfully sue teams or MLB.

Following recommendations from MLB, by the start of the 2018 season all 30 teams had expanded their protective netting to at least the far ends of the dugouts after several fans were injured by foul balls in 2017.

Earlier this month, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred, reacting to the incident in Houston, said he did not expect teams to make changes to the netting around ballparks during the season, but said he expected conversations to continue about whether the netting should be extended.

The White Sox and Washington Nationals recently announced they will extend their netting to the foul poles, with the Nationals saying they will make the changes during the All-Star break.

The Los Angeles Dodgers announced Monday night that they would extend their safety netting, likely this season.

New York Mets manager Mickey Callaway continued to have issues with reporters on Monday, after being fined for a confrontation with a reporter in the clubhouse on Sunday.

When he initially met with media on Monday, Callaway offered no apology for the incident, calling it a "misunderstanding."

"Obviously, for things like that to happen, it's always a misunderstanding. I'm sure there was no malintent by either, it's just something that happened and we have to move forward obviously," Callaway told reporters.

Later, the manager added, "Billy Martin punched a reporter one time. It's part of this game. ... Hey, I'm a passionate guy about baseball, I'm a tough competitor. Sometimes you'll see it with the umpires, sometimes you'll see it with the players. The thing is you guys don't need to see it directed toward you guys. You guys have a job to do, I understand that, always understood that, and you guys don't need to see it directed toward you. That's the number one thing."

About 90 minutes later, Callaway brought the media back into his office to formally apologize for what happened and note that he had apologized to the reporter involved in private.

"It's something I'm not proud of," he said.

Earlier in the day, Mets general manager Brodie Van Wagenen announced that Callaway and pitcher Jason Vargas, who was also involved in the incident, had been fined. The GM did not comment when asked whether the Mets considered suspending Callaway or Vargas. The Mets do not expect Major League Baseball to further punish either Callaway or Vargas, according to Van Wagenen.

The dust-up with beat writer Tim Healey of Newsday occurred after the Mets blew a late lead in their 5-3 defeat to the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field. There was no physical contact.

The incident followed a tense postgame news conference, when reporters asked Callaway repeatedly about his decision to stick with reliever Seth Lugo during the eighth inning instead of going to closer Edwin Diaz. Lugo allowed a go-ahead three-run homer to Javier Baez.

After the news conference, Callaway walked past Healey and other reporters in the clubhouse. Healey said to Callaway, "See you tomorrow," and Callaway responded by calling Healey a "m-----f-----." Callaway walked away and then returned, cursing at Healey again and telling him to leave the clubhouse.

"I thought he was leaving for the day, so I said, 'See you tomorrow, Mickey,'" Healey said. "And then he said, 'Don't be a smart-ass.'

"I tried to tell him I didn't mean anything by it," Healey added. "I was just saying, 'I'll see you tomorrow.' And then he said, 'Get this guy out of here,' and that got the attention of Jason Vargas."

Vargas stared down Healey and shouted at him, including saying, "I'll knock you the f--- out, bro," according to a Yahoo! Sports account. He eventually tried to move toward Healey but was held back by teammates, including Carlos Gomez and Noah Syndergaard.

"The situation that happened yesterday I think was unfortunate for all parties," Vargas told reporters on Monday. "An unfortunate distraction. ... The team addressed the situation, the organization made a statement. And that's really all there is to it."

Vargas then left without taking any questions.

Healey said Sunday night that Mets chief operating officer Jeff Wilpon called him "to apologize on behalf of the organization."

The Los Angeles Dodgers plan to extend the netting at Dodger Stadium, likely this season, after another fan was hit by a foul ball Sunday.

"We have been talking for some time with different providers and looking at different options," team CEO and president Stan Kasten said Monday, according to the Orange County Register. "Surely we will be expanding netting. I don't know yet the final configuration. Obviously there are some different choices to be made and different products which each come with their own set of challenges."

Kasten said he wasn't sure when the change would happen, but that "I think it's likely" it gets done before the end of the season.

Following recommendations from MLB, by the start of the 2018 season all 30 teams had expanded their protective netting to at least the far ends of the dugouts after several fans were injured by foul balls in 2017.

Earlier this month, reacting to the incident in Houston, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred said he did not expect teams to make changes to the netting around ballparks during the season, but he said he expected conversations to continue about whether netting should be extended.