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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Tried.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

MINNEAPOLIS -- Nearly two hours before the first pitch Wednesday night, New York Yankees infielders Gleyber Torres and Gio Urshela were sitting in front of their neighboring Target Field lockers, busting out in random bursts of laughter.

At the time, Urshela was holding a cardboard box, delivered to the ballpark from Amazon. It had been opened just enough for him to see that the right contents were inside. He was pleased they were there.

Later in the evening, as fellow Yankees slugger Edwin Encarnacion finished rounding the bases following his milestone 30th homer of the season, the plush piece that was inside that box was finally shared with the world.

"I've been waiting for that," Encarnacion said, smiling. "It looked nice."

"It" was a stuffed animal -- a red, white, yellow and blue parrot, to be precise -- that had been gifted to Encarnacion near the Yankees' on-deck circle at the end of his ninth-inning round-tripper.

This is now the eighth straight season that Encarnacion, 36, has hit at least 30 homers.

"Thank God for blessing me," Encarnacion said of reaching the milestone again. "But I do the hard work every offseason, and trying to be consistent every year, it's not easy to do it. But thank God I've been doing it the past [eight] years, and I feel blessed."

Encarnacion started the streak when he was 29. But among players beyond the age of 30 to have had 30 or more homers in consecutive seasons, his seven such years rank fifth all time. Only Barry Bonds (10 straight 30-homer seasons), Rafael Palmeiro (nine), Mike Schmidt and Babe Ruth (eight) have had more consecutive 30-homer seasons past age 30 in baseball history.

"That's amazing in itself, and to be able to do that consistently and be a guy that's very productive, it's awesome to see," Yankees center fielder Aaron Hicks said. "He's a great hitter, and he does what he has to do to be able to put barrel on the ball and obviously be able to hit the ball out of the ballpark."

The 385-foot solo shot that Encarnacion deposited into the Yankees bullpen extended their lead over the Minnesota Twins, giving the Yankees a 10-7 advantage that they held onto in the bottom half of the ninth. With Wednesday's victory, the Yankees also won the crucial series in Minnesota, taking two of three from the Twins before visiting the Boston Red Sox for four games beginning Thursday.

Encarnacion's long ball also was the 20th and final home run that the Yankees and Twins had hit in a series that doubled as a veritable two-team Home Run Derby. At 7,875 feet, the teams' combined blasts traveled a distance that is nearly the equivalent of 1.5 miles. That's roughly the same distance as the Empire State Building (at 34th Street) is from Columbus Circle (at 59th Street) in Manhattan.

"Similar to us, they do a really good job of making [a pitcher] come into the strike zone," Yankees manager Aaron Boone said of the Twins. "They have guys that, when you make a mistake, they don't just get hits, they get it out of the ballpark."

Encarnacion's homer, which followed another he hit Tuesday, also came on the same at-bat in which he drilled an off-speed pitch onto the top of his left foot. In obvious pain after the foul ball, he walked back away from the batter's box and toward the on-deck circle, where Boone and head athletic trainer Steve Donohue chatted with him.

The designated hitter told them he was OK and walked back to the box to finish his at-bat. Suddenly, he unloaded on an 83 mph changeup that was down in the zone, sending it over the wall in left-center field.

"It's just sore," said Encarnacion, who also fouled a pitch off the same foot on Monday. "It got me good. It's just been a little sore.

"We'll see [Thursday] how I'm feeling, but I'm pretty good right now."

Once the Yankees get a better handle on how Encarnacion feels when he wakes up in Boston, they will have a better idea of how to proceed following the injury.

As he began his home run trot, Encarnacion's jog turned quickly into a noticeable limp. Even his typical home run celebration with a single raised arm looked hindered. Normally, he holds his arm up as he lets his imaginary parrot ride there on the first-to-third portion of his trot. But by the time he got halfway between second and third base, Encarnacion dropped his right arm and proceeded to gingerly run the rest of the way.

"When you hit one off the bunion like that, it's always tough to be able to come back and get it," Hicks said.

It was when he began high-fiving teammates while entering the dugout that Torres handed Encarnacion the toy parrot that had arrived at the Yankees clubhouse earlier in the afternoon. Starting pitcher Domingo German then took Encarnacion's helmet and the parrot from him, and placed them both on the bench next to where the veteran power hitter sat down.

Urshela said the idea behind the toy parrot just came to him as he wanted to have a little fun with his older teammate.

TORONTO -- If Wednesday night was Marcus Stroman's final start at Rogers Center as a member of the Toronto Blue Jays, he left the home fans with something to remember him by.

Stroman allowed one run and five hits in seven innings in a 4-0 loss to the Cleveland Indians, further burnishing his credentials ahead of next week's trade deadline. The right-hander pitched seven shutout innings to beat the Detroit Tigers on Friday.

The fiery Stroman gestured to the stands and yelled, "This is my house!" as he walked off the field following the top of the seventh.

"I just thought it could be my last outing here," Stroman said afterward, wearing a visor with the words "Let me be me" on it.

"I've always been emotional. I feel like I've had a pretty good tenure as a Blue Jay," Stroman said. "There's been no willingness from the front office to sign me, so I've just kind of come to terms with it and I'm ready to dominate, wherever that may be, absolutely dominate."

The loss was Stroman's first since June 20 at Texas, ending a streak of five unbeaten starts and dropping him to 6-11 with a 2.96 ERA on the season. The game marked the eighth time in 21 starts this season in which Stroman received no runs from his offense.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

It has been slow going on the trade front so far, but the past few years have shown us activity increasingly happens in the final hours before the July 31 MLB trade deadline hits at 4 p.m. ET. The fact that so many teams in the National League are still in the playoff race has also complicated things.

But there's also this: Front offices are increasingly wary of making a big mistake for what might just be a minor upgrade or a small chance at merely winning a wild card. Basically, they don't want to make a trade that ends up on a list like this one -- the worst deadline trade for all 30 teams.

The trade deadline as we know it really began in the early 1990s. By the 2000s, it became expected that your team would make a deal if you were in playoff contention. Now we spend the weeks leading up to the deadline speculating what might happen. Teams are smarter now, so a lot of these bad deals happened in the 1990s and 2000s. Maybe some more recent trades will eventually stand out -- Chris Paddack from the Marlins to the Padres for Fernando Rodney in 2016, for example, or Felipe Vazquez from the Nationals to the Pirates, or last year's trade that sent Austin Meadows and Tyler Glasnow from the Pirates to the Rays for Chris Archer.

Time will tell. For now, a bad trade for every team (OK, two bad ones for the Mets).

The ultimate punch-in-the-gut trades

Boston Red Sox: Trade Jeff Bagwell to the Astros for Larry Andersen (Aug. 30, 1990)

Future WAR traded away: 79.9

WAR acquired: 3.8

The Red Sox actually have another deal that could be considered worse -- we'll get to that -- but this is the classic prospect-for-rental deal that backfired in a big way: a future Hall of Famer for 22 innings of a setup guy. The one that was arguably worse? In 1988, the Red Sox traded Curt Schilling and Brady Anderson to the Orioles for Mike Boddicker -- 115.3 of future WAR traded away. Boddicker did go 39-22 with the Red Sox and helped them win division titles in 1988 and 1990, so it wasn't a complete disaster, however, and the memory of the Bagwell deal is stronger (in part because Schilling never did anything for Baltimore).

Detroit Tigers: Trade John Smoltz to the Braves for Doyle Alexander (Aug. 12, 1987)

Future WAR traded away: 66.4

WAR acquired: 6.3

This is often cited as a win-win transaction because Alexander went 9-0 with a 1.53 ERA in 11 starts down the stretch for the Tigers. Let's cut through it though: It wasn't a win-win trade. Maybe if the Tigers had won the World Series instead of flaming out in the ALCS against the Twins, you could ignore that Smoltz went on to a Hall of Fame career. But you can't. So: bad trade for the Tigers; franchise-altering trade for the Braves.

Seattle Mariners: Trade Derek Lowe and Jason Varitek to the Red Sox for Heathcliff Slocumb (July 31, 1997)

Future WAR traded away: 58.1

WAR acquired: 0.4

The Mariners had a good team in 1997 and would win the AL West that year, but they had a terrible bullpen, driving Woody Woodward into a panic-driven deal that would haunt the Mariners and help the Red Sox break the curse in 2004. Slocumb had saved 31 games in 1996 but had a 5.79 ERA with nearly as many walks as strikeouts. For some reason, the Mariners decided this was the closer they needed. They gave up the first-round pick from 1994 in Varitek plus Lowe, who had already reached the majors. Legend has it that Red Sox GM Dan Duquette asked for Lowe or Varitek and Woodward misheard and agreed to both players.

Special meritorious note because the Mariners are particularly awful at deadline trades: David Ortiz to the Twins for Dave Hollins (Aug. 29, 1996)

Future WAR traded away? 55.3 ... most of that with the Red Sox, of course. Hollins played one month with Seattle.

Washington Nationals/Montreal Expos: Trade Cliff Lee, Grady Sizemore, Brandon Phillips and Lee Stevens to the Indians for Bartolo Colon and Tim Drew (June 27, 2002)

Future WAR traded away: 101.4

WAR acquired: 1.9

The Expos were under the stewardship of MLB at the time, after Jeffrey Loria had sold back the team (at a great profit) to purchase the Marlins from John Henry (who had bought the Red Sox). It was a grisly situation all around and with the Expos surprisingly in playoff contention, the front office made the calculated gamble that maybe it could secure a new stadium if the team made the playoffs (much like what happened in Seattle in 1995). So GM Omar Minaya traded three minor leaguers for Colon, a free agent at season's end. The Expos were 6½ games out of first at the time of the trade, so the playoffs were going to be a long shot anyway. Colon pitched well, but the Expos finished 83-79 and the three minor leaguers turned out to be pretty good.

New York Mets: Trade Scott Kazmir and Jose Diaz to the Devil Rays for Victor Zambrano and Bartolome Fortunato and trade Jose Bautista to the Pirates for Kris Benson (July 30, 2004)

Future WAR traded away: 58.4

WAR acquired: 4.2

This was not a good day for the Mets and GM Jim Duquette. The Kazmir trade is famous in Mets lore as they traded away their best pitching prospect for a pitcher who was averaging 6.8 walks per nine at the time of the trade. In fact, Zambrano -- despite playing the final two months in the National League -- still led the American League in walks in 2004. Actually, he didn't even play the final two months as he made only three starts for the Mets before getting injured. He then went 7-12 in 2005 and missed most of 2006. Meanwhile, by 2006, Kazmir was an All-Star with Tampa Bay. What if the Mets had him in 2006, when they lost the NLCS to the Cardinals? Or 2007, when they missed the playoffs by one game? Or 2008, when they also missed by a game?

But that might not even have been the worst trade of the day. Earlier in the day, the Mets acquired Bautista from the Royals, then included him in the Benson trade. Benson would go 14-12 in his year-plus with the Mets and Bautista would eventually blossom after a trade to the Blue Jays. The 2004 Mets? They finished 71-91.

Houston Astros: Trade Ben Zobrist and Mitch Talbot to the Devil Rays for Aubrey Huff (July 12, 2006)

Future WAR traded away: 45.1

WAR acquired: 8.6

The Astros had been to the World Series in 2005 but were 44-46 at the All-Star break in 2006 when they decided they needed Huff to add some power to the lineup. Huff was a rental and would produce 0.2 WAR in his two-plus months with Houston (which missed the playoffs) before signing with Baltimore as a free agent. Zobrist was a 25-year-old hitting .327 in Double-A -- too old at that level to be considered much of a prospect. The Rays believed in the numbers and Zobrist exceeded even the highest of expectations with an outstanding career.

San Diego Padres: Trade Corey Kluber to the Indians as part of three-way trade with Cardinals, receive Ryan Ludwick (July 31, 2010)

Future WAR traded away: 33.1

WAR acquired: 0.2

No Fred McGriff? That 1993 trade with the Braves was a famous one -- 23.7 future WAR for three minor leaguers who would produce negative WAR in the majors -- but the Kluber trade is even worse. Kluber had a 3.45 ERA in Double-A at trade time but also had 136 strikeouts in 122⅔ innings. Baseball America ranked him Cleveland's No. 26 prospect entering 2011, but he would add a little velocity and perfect that curveball and become a two-time Cy Young winner. Ludwick would hit .228 in 160 games for the Padres.

New York Yankees: Trade Jay Buhner to the Mariners for Ken Phelps (July 21, 1988)

Future WAR traded away: 23.1

WAR acquired: 1.0

As Frank Costanza says to George Steinbrenner, "What the hell did you trade Jay Buhner for? He had 30 home runs, over 100 RBIs last year, he's got a rocket for an arm, you don't know what the hell you're doing!"

It's not often that a deadline deal enters popular culture folklore, but this one did thanks to "Seinfeld." As Steinbrenner says on the show, his baseball people loved Ken Phelps -- a 33-year-old platoon DH who would hit 17 home runs for the Yankees over two seasons while Buhner would hit 307 for the Mariners.

Thanks for the painful reminder

Toronto Blue Jays: Trade David Cone to the Yankees for Marty Janzen, Mike Gordon and Jason Jarvis (July 28, 1995)

Future WAR traded away: 22.0

WAR acquired: minus-0.5

This is why you don't make intradivision trades. Cone was one of the best starters in the game, having won the Cy Young Award in 1994 with the Royals (who had traded him to the Blue Jays) and he'd finish fourth in 1995. Two of the three minor leaguers the Jays acquired never even reached the majors and Cone helped jump-start the Yankees dynasty, re-signing with them as a free agent after the 1995 season.

Baltimore Orioles: Trade Jake Arrieta and Pedro Strop to the Cubs for Scott Feldman and Steve Clevenger (July 2, 2013)

Future WAR traded away: 32.0

WAR acquired: 4.2

This was an interesting trade because Arrieta wasn't a prospect who then made good, but a major leaguer with a 5.46 career ERA over 63 starts at the time of the trade. He immediately turned things around in Chicago and became the 2015 Cy Young winner. Strop added more value to the Cubs. Feldman went 5-6 with the Orioles, who missed the postseason, and he then signed with the Astros as a free agent.

Chicago Cubs: Trade Josh Donaldson, Matt Murton, Eric Patterson and Sean Gallagher to the A's for Rich Harden and Chad Gaudin (July 8, 2008)

Future WAR traded away: 41.7

WAR acquired: 4.4

It would take five years before the Cubs realized the mistake on this one as Donaldson didn't break out until 2013. He had been a supplemental first-round pick in 2007 and was catching in Class A when the trade was made. With the A's, he eventually overhauled his swing and a move to third base helped him relax and he became the 2015 AL MVP (after a trade to the Blue Jays). The injury-prone Harden was great down the stretch with the Cubs in 2008 (5-1, 1.77 ERA in 12 starts), but he lost his one start in the division series as the Dodgers swept the Cubs.

Special Lou Brock note: The Cubs traded Brock to the Cardinals for Ernie Broglio on June 15, 1964 -- the trade deadline at the time. Brock would earn 41.8 WAR with St. Louis and make the Hall of Fame. Broglio went 7-19 for the Cubs over three seasons. The trade deadline in those days wasn't really like it is now, but if you want to make this the worst deadline trade in Cubs history, that works.

Miami Marlins: Trade Adrian Gonzalez, Ryan Snare and Will Smith to the Rangers for Ugueth Urbina (July 11, 2003)

Future WAR traded away: 42.2

WAR acquired: 3.3

You can argue this was the Marlins' version of the Gleyber Torres-for-Aroldis Chapman trade. Urbina was terrific down the stretch (3-0, 1.41, six saves) and had four saves in the postseason as the Marlins won the World Series. They gave up a future star for a ring -- although, as with Chapman, Urbina had a couple of touchy moments in the postseason, and it's worth noting Josh Beckett went all the way in the clinching Game 6. Gonzalez was the first overall pick in 2000, but he hit only five home runs in the upper minors in 2003, so at the time his star potential appeared limited. Indeed, the Rangers would trade him a few years later to the Padres and he became a five-time All-Star.

Milwaukee Brewers: Trade Nelson Cruz and Carlos Lee to the Rangers for Francisco Cordero, Kevin Mench, Laynce Nix and Julian Cordero (July 28, 2006)

Future WAR traded away: 44.8

WAR acquired: 9.6

The Rangers were .500 when this trade was made -- but just 1½ games out of first place. Lee was an All-Star slugger heading into free agency, so the Rangers gave up the erratic Cordero and a couple of spare parts to get him -- oh, and had the Brewers throw in a Triple-A slugger. Cruz would become the headliner in the deal, and most of Cordero's remaining value came with the Reds, not the Brewers, after leaving as a free agent. (Don't give the Rangers full credit here though: They once removed Cruz from their 40-man roster before he finally broke out in 2009, so any team could have claimed him.)

Pittsburgh Pirates: Trade Aramis Ramirez and Kenny Lofton to the Cubs for Jose Hernandez, Bobby Hill and Matt Bruback (July 23, 2003)

Future WAR traded away: 41.4

WAR acquired: 1.1

The Pirates of this era drafted poorly, developed poorly and boy did they trade poorly. Lofton was veteran center-field insurance for the playoff-bound Cubs, but this trade was mostly about Ramirez for Hill. Ramirez was a young third baseman who had a monster 2001 and wasn't eligible for free agency until after 2006. Hill was actually a couple of months older than Ramirez. Ramirez would play 1,635 games in the majors after the trade. Hill would play 185.

Philadelphia Phillies: Trade Curt Schilling to the Diamondbacks for Travis Lee, Vicente Padilla, Omar Daal and Nelson Figueroa (July 26, 2000)

Future WAR traded away: 43.6

WAR acquired: 22.0

Schilling certainly had one of the most interesting trade histories of any great player ever. The Red Sox dumped him as a prospect, the Orioles traded him to the Astros in a terrible deal, the Astros traded him to the Phillies for Jason Grimsley, the Phillies traded him when he still had many peak seasons left and then the Diamondbacks traded him to the Red Sox and didn't really get anything back. The Phillies actually got some value back (although only 9.5 of that 22.0 WAR came with the Phillies) and 2000 would be the last of seven straight losing seasons, but none of the players in the Schilling trade were around by 2007, when they finally returned to the playoffs.

Colorado Rockies: Trade Andy Ashby, Brad Ausmus and Doug Bochtler to the Padres for Bruce Hurst and Greg Harris (July 26, 1993)

Future WAR traded away: 42.3

WAR acquired: minus-2.5

When the Padres held a fire sale in 1993, the expansion Rockies viewed it as an opportunity to acquire a couple of veteran pitchers. Unfortunately, Hurst and Harris were done as effective major leaguers. Ashby won 70 games for the Padres and became a two-time All-Star with them, and Ausmus had a long career as a defensive stalwart behind the plate.

On second thought, we'd like a do-over

Texas Rangers: Trade Kyle Hendricks and Christian Villanueva to the Cubs for Ryan Dempster (July 31, 2012)

Future WAR traded away: 21.4

WAR acquired: 0.2

Dempster went 7-3, albeit with a 5.09 ERA, in his two months with the Rangers. This was the year Texas blew a four-game lead on the A's with six to play to fall into the wild-card game -- which the Rangers promptly lost to the Orioles. Dempster started that six-game skid with a loss to the Angels (four runs in 5⅔ innings) and he also started the season finale, a loss to the A's in which he gave up five runs in three innings. Hendricks wasn't much of a prospect because of his middling velocity, but the control artist has produced 19.0 WAR and counting so far for the Cubs.

Oakland A's: Trade Mark McGwire to the Cardinals for Eric Ludwick, T.J. Mathews and Blake Stein (July 31, 1997)

Future WAR traded away: 19.3

WAR acquired: 2.7

McGwire was to become a free agent after the 1997 season, so even though he was chasing the single-season home run record -- he would finish with 58 between the A's and Cardinals -- the A's traded him away for three pitchers in what seemed like a reasonable deal at the time. McGwire would sign a three-year, $28.5 million extension with the Cardinals before reaching free agency -- money the A's could have easily earned back in ticket sales the following season if Big Mac had hit 70 for them. More importantly, none of the three pitchers did anything for the A's. If then-GM Sandy Alderson had nailed this trade, maybe the Moneyball A's of the early 2000s win a couple of World Series.

Kansas City Royals: Trade Carlos Beltran to the Astros, receive Mark Teahen, Mike Wood and John Buck in a three-way trade with the A's (June 24, 2004)

Future WAR traded away: 44.9

WAR acquired: 7.8

Beltran was the big trade chip in 2004, a multitooled center fielder heading into free agency whom the Royals wouldn't be able to sign. So you can argue the Royals received three players for a guy who was going to leave anyway. Still, Buck was the best of the group, a journeyman catcher. When trading a guy like Beltran, you hope to hit the lottery. The Royals failed to do that and they would follow 2004 with eight more losing seasons in a row.

Los Angeles Dodgers: Trade Carlos Santana and Jon Meloan to the Indians for Casey Blake (July 26, 2008)

Future WAR traded away: 29.2

WAR acquired: 9.2

Santana had come out of nowhere to post huge numbers for Class A Inland Empire at the time of the trade, but had just started catching the year before so was considered a player without a position. Blake did help the Dodgers reach the NLCS in 2008 and was the team's regular third baseman the next two seasons, but the Indians clearly won the long-term WAR faceoff in this trade.

Cleveland Indians: Trade Drew Pomeranz, Alex White, Matt McBride and Joe Gardner to the Rockies for Ubaldo Jimenez (July 30, 2011)

Future WAR traded away: 9.8

WAR acquired: 2.8

No team might have more good deadline deals than the Indians. Not only are three of the other trades on this list in their favor (the Cliff Lee/Grady Sizemore/Brandon Phillips trade with the Expos, Carlos Santana from the Dodgers, Corey Kluber from the Padres), but you can also include two separate deals with the Mariners (Shin-Soo Choo for Ben Broussard, Asdrubal Cabrera for Eduardo Perez). Even the CC Sabathia trade turned out OK since they got Michael Brantley. They got Carlos Carrasco in a deadline deal for Lee.

The Jimenez trade wasn't so bad in terms of future value lost, but rates as a disappointing trade. It was the rare time the Indians actually traded prospects -- Pomeranz and White had been first-round picks -- to upgrade the current roster. Jimenez had a 5.11 ERA with Cleveland in 2011, went 9-17 with a 5.40 ERA in 2012 and was decent in 2013 (13-9, 3.30) as the Indians lost a wild-card game. Still, Pomeranz and White had a lot of trade value at the time and the Indians didn't cash in as well as they could have.

Los Angeles Angels: Trade Jean Segura, Ariel Pena and Johnny Hellweg to the Brewers for Zack Greinke (July 27, 2012)

Future WAR traded away: 18.2

WAR acquired: 39.7

The Angels, despite being a big-market team, have a curiously uninteresting trade deadline history, at least if you consider big wins or big losses interesting deadline deals. This was a rental and Greinke was fine down the stretch for them, but they still missed the playoffs. He signed with the Dodgers, so only 1.5 of that future WAR came with the Angels. Segura was a top prospect who became a two-time All-Star.

Cincinnati Reds: Trade Edwin Encarnacion, Josh Roenicke and Zach Stewart to the Blue Jays for Scott Rolen (July 31, 2009)

Future WAR traded away: 31.1

WAR acquired: 7.6

It's hard to completely criticize this one. Encarnacion was a bad third baseman, and with Joey Votto at first base there wasn't really room on the roster. Rolen did help the Reds reach the playoffs in 2010 and 2012 (although he had trouble staying healthy in his three-plus years in Cincinnati). Encarnacion, however, has hit 338 home runs since the trade.

San Francisco Giants: Trade Dave Burba, Mark Portugal and Darren Lewis to the Reds for Deion Sanders, Scott Service, John Roper, David McCarty and Ricky Pickett (July 21, 1995)

Future WAR traded away: 28.9

WAR acquired: 2.6

You don't remember Deion with the Giants? That's because he played only 52 games with them. He sat out the 1996 season and then returned to the Reds in 1997. The Giants didn't give up any big names, but all three players were still productive big leaguers while none of the five they acquired did much.

Arizona Diamondbacks: Trade Brad Penny, Vladimir Nunez and Abraham Nunez to the Marlins for Matt Mantei (July 8, 1999)

Future WAR traded away: 17.0

WAR acquired: 2.4

In just their second year of existence, the Diamondbacks were a playoff contender and needed a closer. Mantei was one of the first of the new breed of 100 mph flamethrowers (he would fan 99 in 65⅓ innings in 1999) and saved 22 games for Arizona as it won the NL West before losing to the Mets in the division series. Mantei lost the clinching game when he served up Todd Pratt's walk-off home run. He battled injuries after that while Penny had some good years with the Marlins and Dodgers.

Tampa Bay Rays: Trade David Price to the Tigers in a three-way trade with the Mariners, receive Willy Adames, Drew Smyly and Nick Franklin (July 31, 2014)

Future WAR traded away: 18.7

WAR acquired: 6.3

The worst trade in Rays history was when they selected Bobby Abreu from the Astros in the 1997 expansion and sent him to the Phillies for Kevin Stocker in a prearranged deal. But that came in November, not July. They haven't really had a notable bad deadline trade and this one has a lot of time to age in the Rays' favor, although Adames has really struggled at the plate this season. If you consider the Rays later dealt Smyly for Ryan Yarbrough and Mallex Smith, the trade evens out even more. The only argument is that Price was the big kahuna at the 2014 deadline and had another year of team control and the Rays could have done better than Adames (the Tigers got Matthew Boyd and Daniel Norris a year later for Price).

Some oldies, but goodies (er ... baddies?)

Atlanta Braves: Trade Brett Butler and Brook Jacoby to the Indians for Len Barker (Aug. 28, 1983)

Future WAR traded away: 62.4

WAR acquired: 0.4

Here's a fun older one. Barker was a hard-throwing but erratic right-hander with a 5.11 ERA whom the Braves acquired when they were a half-game up on the Dodgers in the NL West. (Remember when the Braves were in the NL West?) Barker went 1-3 in six starts and the Dodgers won the division. Butler went on to become one of the most underrated players of the 1980s and early '90s, a good center fielder who scored 100 runs six times.

St. Louis Cardinals: Trade Keith Hernandez to the Mets for Neil Allen and Rick Ownbey (June 15, 1983)

Future WAR traded away: 25.9

WAR acquired: 2.7

One reason the Cardinals have remained so successful for four decades is that they don't make many bad trades. This was one of them, especially since it involved a division rival. Hernandez was a free agent and the Cardinals weren't sure they could re-sign him, but Whitey Herzog wanted Hernandez gone because he thought his star first baseman was dogging it, as he would write in his autobiography. "I couldn't live with his attitude," Herzog wrote. "I've got two basic rules -- be on time and hustle -- and he was having trouble with both of them." The Cardinals still won division titles in 1985 and 1987 (after acquiring Jack Clark), but the Mets won in 1986 and 1988 with Hernandez as a team leader.

Chicago White Sox: Trade Doug Drabek and Kevin Hickey to the Yankees for Roy Smalley (July 18, 1984)

Future WAR traded away: 29.2

WAR acquired: 1.9

Drabek was dominating Double-A at the time, when the White Sox for some reason decided they needed the aging Smalley to play third base (he was hitting .239/.286/.349 with the Yankees). Yes, general managers used to do a lot more silly stuff than they do now. Drabek would win a Cy Young -- with the Pirates, after they stole him from the Yankees.

Minnesota Twins: Trade Bert Blyleven and Danny Thompson to the Rangers for Roy Smalley, Mike Cubbage, Bill Singer and Jim Gideon (June 1, 1976)

Future WAR traded away: 55.6

WAR acquired: 32.7

The Twins don't really have an obvious bad trade here. Their two most interesting deadline trades both involved Blyleven. He was traded to the Rangers on June 1, 1976, mostly because cheapskate owner Calvin Griffith didn't want to pay him. Smalley was a good player and the Twins later acquired Greg Gagne from the Yankees for him (their shortstop on the 1987 World Series champs). In 1985, they acquired Blyleven from the Indians for Jay Bell. Bell would have 21 more future WAR than Blyleven, but Blyleven helped those '87 Twins win it all.

The GB international says he made “an incredibly stupid and uncharacteristic mistake”

British international runner Luke Traynor has been provisionally suspended from participating in athletics after being charged with having committed an anti-doping rule violation.

According to a statement released by Traynor on Thursday, he tested positive for benzoylecgonine, a metabolite of cocaine.

His provisional suspension was announced by UK Athletics (UKA), with his case to be handled by UK Anti-Doping (UKAD). UKA says Traynor now has the opportunity to respond to the charge against him including the right to a full hearing of the case.

“I was notified recently by letter from UKAD that I have been charged with a violation of the UK Athletics anti-doping rules for benzoylecgonine, a metabolite of cocaine. This was devastating news for me and I take full responsibility for it,” Traynor wrote in a statement posted on social media.

“I have made an incredibly stupid and uncharacteristic mistake and for that I am deeply sorry. I am sorry to my family, friends, coaches, sponsors and anybody who has supported my progress at any stage of my career. I want to make it completely clear that my violation was in no relation to sport or enhancing performance. This happened as a one-off and in a purely social situation with a drug I should never had taken.

“I have co-operated fully with all relevant bodies and will now face the severe consequences, the extent to which is still not certain but could be up to a 4 years ban.

“I live a sporting lifestyle to compete. Athletics is my passion. It’s all I think about and it’s what gets me out of bed each morning. I am yet to come to terms with the fact that I have ruined this for myself with one senseless act.

“Over the last three weeks I have had the time to reflect on just how much this has and will continue to affect my life. I do not seek sympathy, I have accepted my mistake and need to fully come to terms with the final punishment. I only ask that people understand that this was a stupid mistake, had nothing to do with trying to enhance performance and in fact, had the opposite effect.”

Please see the below for my statement on the latest UKA announcement. pic.twitter.com/95ckURAJIH

— Luke Traynor (@luketraynor1) July 25, 2019

The 26-year-old made his senior debut for Great Britain at the IAAF World Half Marathon Championships in Valencia in March 2018, where he placed 38th overall and second Brit. He went on to run PBs of 28:31 for 10km and 61:57 for the half-marathon which rank him third on both Scottish all-time lists.

He experienced injury issues with plantar fasciitis toward the end of 2018 but returned to international action at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships in Aarhus in March, where he placed 109th.

He last raced at the České Budějovice Half Marathon in Czech Republic at the beginning of June but collapsed shortly after finishing 10th.

“We are aware of the case involving Luke Traynor,” said Scottish Athletics.

“There is a process to be followed and we have to await the outcome of that process which will involve UK Athletics, UK Anti-Doping and Luke himself.”

Top Diamond League field also set to feature Shaunae Miller-Uibo, Elaine Thompson and Dafne Schippers

Britain’s Dina Asher-Smith will headline a stacked women’s 200m in front of a home crowd at the Müller Grand Prix Birmingham on Sunday August 18.

Fresh from two sub-11 second times of 10.91 and 10.92 at last week’s Müller Anniversary Games and a second place finish in the final, reigning triple European champion Asher-Smith has carried her incredible form into 2019.

Competition to the British record-holder will once again be strong in Birmingham, however, with world leader in the 100m and 200m Elaine Thompson of Jamaica among a crop of global stars also confirmed to race over 200m.

The reigning double Olympic champion, who is now re-finding terrific form in the build up to the world championships, was comfortably victorious over 200m at the Anniversary Games but will come up against stiffer opposition on her return to the UK.

Also joining the line-up is Olympic 400m champion Shaunae Miller-Uibo, who is third in the world standings this year ahead of Asher-Smith in fifth, with the Bahamian an incredible talent over both the 200m and 400m. Victorious last time out in Birmingham, Miller-Uibo put down two fast marks in four days over 200m to open her season over the distance, clocking 22.09 in Monaco in mid-July.

Completing the quartet heading up the field is two-time 200m champion Dafne Schippers, who comes off the back of a disqualification in the women’s 100m at the Anniversary Games, hoping to bounce back over her preferred distance.

“The atmosphere at the Müller Anniversary Games in London last week was great. I expect the same energy from the crowd in Birmingham,” said Asher-Smith.

“The British fans are exceptional and the athletes really appreciate the support. It pushes us to even better performances.

“With the World Championships in Doha getting closer, the Müller Grand Prix Birmingham is positioned perfectly to help me prepare and fine-tune my performances.”

The Müller Grand Prix will take place at Birmingham’s Alexander Stadium, home of British Athletics. Some moments from last year include Greg Rutherford’s emotional retirement in his final long jump performance as well as Christian Coleman and Reece Prescod’s close finish in the men’s 100m.

Tickets for the Müller Grand Prix are on sale at theticketfactory.com/british-athletics