The most unpredictable NBA summer ever continued Thursday night when the Oklahoma City Thunder agreed to trade Russell Westbrook to the Houston Rockets in exchange for Chris Paul and a bevy of first-round picks, league sources told ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.

In Houston, Westbrook will be reunited with James Harden. The two were teammates in OKC in 2012, when the Thunder lost to the Miami Heat in the NBA Finals, and they're just the latest in a growing list of star duos to hook up this summer, following LeBron James and Anthony Davis with the Los Angeles Lakers, Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving with the Brooklyn Nets, and Kawhi Leonard and Paul George with the LA Clippers. This summer's endless whirlwind of transactions has left even NBA players shaking their heads and predicting that the upcoming season could be the best ever.

WOW!! https://t.co/4g2Z6UVJfN

— Enes Kanter (@EnesKanter) July 12, 2019

Well Damn?

— DWade (@DwyaneWade) July 12, 2019

I got so much to say ofcourse on this CP3 trade but I'll save my comments until i talk to my brother. ??‍♂️

— DWade (@DwyaneWade) July 12, 2019

All i know is my jersey swap collection is looking kinda bootleg since FA started ???. In 20 years ain't no one believing those players played in those uniforms❤️

— DWade (@DwyaneWade) July 12, 2019

This league boi!!!!

— Bradley Beal (@RealDealBeal23) July 12, 2019

?

— Nene Hilario (@NeneHilario42) July 12, 2019

Craziest NBA summer by far... And Summer just started a few wks ago!! WOW...

— ? Jamal Crawford (@JCrossover) July 12, 2019

This year about to be littt????

— Patrick Beverley (@patbev21) July 12, 2019

CP back in the city.. throwbyke to the Hornets.!

— Josuélito (@J_Rich1) July 12, 2019

This League is crazy y'all.... But y'all already knew that !

— Trae Young (@TheTraeYoung) July 12, 2019

So now that we know the duos, list out the best trios in the league... lol

— Spencer Dinwiddie (@SDinwiddie_25) July 12, 2019

Meanwhile, Houston Texans superstar defensive end J.J. Watt had a heartfelt parting message for Paul, thanking him for his impact on the Houston community at large.

Gonna miss you @CP3. Not many people know, but CP was literally the first celebrity to reach out and donate to the hurricane fundraiser. He had just recently been traded to Houston, called up and said he wanted to help. Very first one. Absolute legend.

— JJ Watt (@JJWatt) July 12, 2019

The Oklahoma City Thunder have agreed to a blockbuster trade to send Russell Westbrook to the Houston Rockets to reunite him with James Harden, league sources told ESPN.

The Rockets will send guard Chris Paul, two protected first-round picks (2024 and 2026, both protected Nos. 1-4) and two pick swaps (2021 and 2025) to the Thunder, league sources told ESPN.

The Rockets are reuniting two former MVP guards who started their careers together with the Thunder. This was a deal Harden and Westbrook were each enthusiastic about, league sources said.

Thunder general manager Sam Presti worked with Westbrook and his agent, Thad Foucher, to help honor the star guard's hopes of playing with the Rockets, league sources said. The Thunder also discussed a possible deal with the Miami Heat, sources said.

In making the trade, the Rockets believe that the age difference between Paul (34) and Westbrook (30), gives them a better chance to extend the championship window of Harden, who will turn 30 next month.

"We're excited to have Russell Westbrook," Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta told Houston's Fox 26. "I would watch him play for Oklahoma City, and he's so athletic. At the same time, this franchise just had the two years with the most wins it's ever had in consecutive years, and we wouldn't have accomplished that without Chris Paul. Chris Paul is unbelievable, and he's gonna be sadly missed."

Oklahoma City has accumulated eight first-round picks since the June 20 NBA draft, creating a long game unseen in recent NBA history. With the possibility that Oklahoma City could retain its own 2020 pick (top-20 protected to Philadelphia) and 2022 pick (lottery protected to Atlanta), the Thunder could have 15 first-round picks and swap rights in four different seasons between 2020 and 2026.

The Thunder could continue to work to find a new team for the 34-year-old Paul, league sources said. Paul has three years, $124 million left on his contract -- one year fewer than Westbrook would've had on the Thunder's books. If the Thunder keep Paul, they'll have a representative lineup that currently includes him, center Steven Adams and forward Danilo Gallinari.

If Oklahoma City wanted to incentivize a trade for Paul, the Thunder could use part of their massive pool of picks to facilitate a deal. Paul has some positive history with Oklahoma City, having played there with the Hornets starting in 2005-06, when Hurricane Katrina forced the franchise to temporarily relocate.

Houston hoped to find third-team destination preferable to Paul but ultimately leaves those next steps to Oklahoma City to execute once Presti confers with Paul's agent, Leon Rose, league sources said. They worked together last year on a similar situation with Carmelo Anthony. Miami remains a possibility for Paul.

Caesars Sportsbook moved the Rockets from 10-1 to 7-1 to win the 2019-20 NBA title, behind only the Los Angeles Lakers (7-2), LA Clippers (4-1) and Milwaukee Bucks (9-2).

"I said at the end of the year, 'We're never gonna stand pat,'" Fertitta said. "We're always gonna try to get better. I think this makes us a better team. I hate to lose Chris Paul, but we felt like we did what we had to do to become a better team.

"I think it'll be very interesting and fun. James and Russell wanted to play together. It ought to be fun this year."

Westbrook and Harden will be the fourth pair of teammates to play together after each winning an MVP award within the previous three seasons, per Elias Sports Bureau research.

Westbrook has four years and $171 million remaining on his contract, with a player option in the final year of his deal set to pay him $47 million should he opt in.

After Paul George's trade to the Clippers, Westbrook and Foucher worked with the Thunder to find an agreeable path forward on Westbrook's future with the franchise. With free agency effectively concluded, and Westbrook's list of preferred destinations extremely short, the timing made trade negotiations complicated.

Still, the Thunder wanted to accommodate Westbrook's wishes as much as possible, with his first and foremost desire to reunite with Harden in Houston, while also finding a trade that fit OKC's objective of rebuilding.

Drafted fourth overall by the Thunder (then the Seattle SuperSonics) in 2008, Westbrook leaves as the franchise's all-time leader in points (18,859); second in assists (6,897); third in rebounds (5,760) and steals (1,442); and fourth in games played (821). In the Oklahoma City era, Westbrook ranks first across the board.

Westbrook won the MVP in 2016-17, making NBA history as the first player since Oscar Robertson in 1962 to average a triple-double. He broke Robertson's mark of triple-doubles in a season with 42, and then went on to average a triple-double in two more seasons. Westbrook ranks tied for second all time with Magic Johnson at 138 career triple-doubles, behind only Robertson (181).

Westbrook is one of just 10 players in NBA history to record 15,000 points, 5,000 rebounds and 5,000 assists with a single franchise, seven of whom are in the Hall of Fame. The remaining two are Kobe Bryant and LeBron James.

Since Westbrook was drafted by OKC, only the Spurs (613) and Rockets (541) have more wins than the Thunder (538). Westbrook was part of a historic run of picks by the Thunder, as the only team in NBA history to select three consecutive future MVPs (Kevin Durant, Westbrook and Harden). Since Westbrook's debut, the Thunder are the only team to have three different players finish in the top three of MVP voting (Durant, Westbrook and George). OKC has had 16 All-NBA selections since 2009, the most in the NBA in that span.

The Thunder made the playoffs in each of Westbrook and Harden's three seasons together, going from the 8-seed in 2009-10 to No. 4 in 2010-11 to No. 2 in 2011-12. They reached the NBA Finals in their final season, losing in five games to Miami, before Oklahoma City traded Harden to Houston that October.

Westbrook will be forever connected to the Thunder as the face of the franchise, pledging his loyalty to the organization in the wake of Durant's departure to the Golden State Warriors in 2016. Westbrook re-upped with OKC, stabilizing the roster and providing a path forward, and then signed a five-year extension in 2017, at the time the largest contract in NBA history.

Information from ESPN's Ramona Shelburne was used in this report.

Veteran right-hander Shelby Miller and the Milwaukee Brewers have agreed to a minor league deal, The Athletic reported Thursday.

Miller was released by the Texas Rangers last week after the team had designated him for assignment.

Looking to bounce back after a series of injuries, Miller signed a one-year, $2 million deal with the Rangers in the offseason, but he struggled mightily with the team before being designated. In 19 appearances, including eight starts, he was 1-3 with a 8.59 ERA. Opponents were hitting .317 against him.

Prior to this season, the 28-year-old Miller had thrown a total of just 139 innings since the start of 2016, going 5-18 with a 6.35 ERA, as he dealt with several injuries, including Tommy John surgery.

Milwaukee comes out of the All-Star break at 47-44, a half-game behind the National League Central-leading Chicago Cubs.

ARLINGTON, Texas -- All-Star infielder Alex Bregman left Houston's game at Texas on Thursday night after a ground ball bounced up and hit him on the chin.

Manager AJ Hinch said during an in-game interview on the ESPN broadcast that it looked like Bregman's chin was split open. Hinch said Bregman wanted to stay in the game, but the team got him out to get checked by a doctor.

Bregman was playing shortstop, and shifted toward the middle of the infield in the third inning when he went to field a grounder hit by Shin-Soo Choo. The ball took a late high hop and caught Bregman squarely on the lower half of his face, and there appeared to be blood when he was tended to by a trainer.

The Astros later characterized the injury as a chin laceration.

Bregman is Houston's primary third baseman, but he has been playing shortstop with Carlos Correa on the injured list.

Myles Straw replaced Bregman at shortstop.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

CLEVELAND -- Carlos Carrasco's smile remains bright, his mood and outlook as positive as ever.

Outwardly, the Indians right-hander doesn't seem different. He's determined not to let cancer change him.

"I never put anything bad on my mind," Carrasco said. "Everything's good. So I don't feel different. I just push myself to work more and get stronger."

Diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukemia last month, the 32-year-old Carrasco spoke to media members Thursday for the first time since his life took a dramatic, unexpected turn. As he dealt with so many unknowns, Carrasco said he's never once asked "why me" after learning of his condition.

"I'm not that kind of person," he said. "If it's happened, it's for a reason."

Carrasco said he first knew something was wrong after he took his annual physical at the start of spring training in Arizona. But after more blood work was done, doctors at The Cleveland Clinic told him he had a treatable form of leukemia and that he could continue pitching as long as he felt up to it.

He has barely slowed down.

Carrasco has been throwing bullpen sessions, doing some recent workouts at nearby Lake County (A) while Cleveland hosted the All-Star Game.

While he said everything feels normal when he's on the mound, Carrasco doesn't know if he'll be able to pitch for the Indians again this season.

"Man, I don't know," he said. "I'm just here. I'm just going to take it day by day. I don't know. I don't have the answer, but I'm glad to be here around my teammates."

Carrasco said he has been overwhelmed by the support he has received from teammates, coaches and Cleveland's fans.

During his interview session, manager Terry Francona stood just a few feet away from the popular starter, another sign of the club's devotion.

On Tuesday night, Carrasco felt all of baseball's love.

During the fifth inning of the All-Star Game, Carrasco walked on the field for Major League Baseball's "Stand Up To Cancer" salute along with Francona and All-Star teammates Francisco Lindor, Carlos Santana, Shane Bieber and Brad Hand.

As the group stood in the third-base coach's box, Carrasco held a sign that read: "I Stand" while the other Indians held placards that said: "Cookie," Carrasco's nickname.

When the group was shown on the ballpark's giant scoreboard, the crowd erupted with loud cheers.

Francona described the powerful moment as perfect.

"Holy smokes," he said. "You talk about putting an exclamation point on it. It was incredible."

Indians pitcher Mike Clevinger, who was sitting in one of the dugout suites, said seeing Carrasco embraced like that was special.

"As hard as it was to watch, it was really moving," Clevinger said. "It was good to see him feel that. I know he knew how much support was out there, but to really feel that not just from the league, but feel it from across America, behind the scenes even when you looked at Twitter afterward.

"That was big for him and definitely big for us."

When he arrives each day at Progressive Field, Carrasco said he's quickly greeted with hugs from teammates.

Shortly after the Indians learned about his condition, a meeting was held without him at which Lindor, Santana and others pledged to win for their ailing teammate.

"Everyone from the team, if I could show you, I had like 300, maybe 500 texts from them every day, asking how did I feel," Carrasco said. "They are special to me. They feel like home. They feel like family. They always send me a text, even the guys that played here before, they send me a text every day. It feels great."

Carrasco chose not to disclose the type of medical treatment he's receiving.

In the meantime, the Indians are being mindful not to rush him.

"There isn't a plan and I don't mean that like we don't care," Francona said. "But the idea is for him to do as much as he can -- or as much as he can tolerate -- because it will be good for him. Other than that, we're not pushing him. We're just trying to be supportive."

And as his teammates have backed him, Carrasco has returned the love.

For Monday's All-Star Home Run Derby, Carrasco wore a customized jersey with the names of Santana, Lindor, Bieber and Hand on the back.

"The way they've been supporting me, I just came to the game to support them, too," he said. "Why not?"

MONTREAL -- The Montreal Canadiens re-signed Finnish forwards Joel Armia and Artturi Lehkonen to two-year contracts Thursday.

Armia's contract has an average annual value of $2.6 million, while Lehkonen's has an average of $2.4 million.

Armia, 26, set career highs for goals (13), power-play goals (two) and power-play points (six) in his first year with the Canadiens this past season. He also added 10 assists. Armia has 39 goals and 42 assists in 237 career NHL games for the Buffalo Sabres, Winnipeg Jets and Canadiens.

Lehkonen, 24, appeared in all 82 games for the Canadiens last season, setting career highs in assists (20), points (31), game-winning goals (four), shots (176) and differential (plus-10). He has 41 goals and 30 assists in 221 career games, all with Montreal.

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has reiterated that the club will be measured rather than spend massively this summer following their opening 6-0 pre-season victory over Tranmere Rovers.

The club's latest acquisition, 16-year-old Harvey Elliot, was in the Prenton Park stands to witness several of his teenage teammates stand out.

Rhian Brewster, Yasser Larouci and Ki-Jana Hoever were particularly impressive as Liverpool got their preparations for 2019-20 underway.

Klopp admitted it will be a testing conditioning period for the European champions on account of their absent world-class talent.

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Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino and Alisson have only just begun their off-season break following exertions at the Africa Cup of Nations and Copa America, respectively.

Sadio Mane's Senegal are in the AFCON semifinals to be contested on Sunday and are favourites to reach next Friday's showpiece in Cairo.

Naby Keita and Xherdan Shaqiri are nursing injuries and Klopp admitted that while Liverpool are keeping an eye on the market, there is unlikely to be major business.

"The transfer market is open. We will see what we do, but I don't think it will be the biggest transfer window of all time," he said.

"Rhian Brewster, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and all the young boys didn't play for us last year.

"It is a difficult pre season for us -- Sadio is in the semifinal, which means he has two more games and will come late.

"The Brazilians have finally finished a 13-month season. We will not have a pre-season together, only just a week before we start the games.

"We looked tonight like we can find some solutions. It was a good sign for us, but we have to be better than last season."

Brewster, the standout player against Tranmere with two goals and an assist in the first half, was one such solution to alleviating the attacking burden on Firmino, Salah and Mane.

"Rhian is a top striker, he is a top talent and I have told him already that he has an important role this year, but how important depends on him," Klopp said.

"We will see. He has to play different positions as well -- the centre, the wing is possible I think. We will see how we line up, but there will be opportunities for him, I am sure."

Thursday night provided the first opportunity to see Liverpool in action again following their Champions League triumph, but Klopp reminded his players that their focus should be on the objectives for the season ahead rather than the success already attained.

"They should be happy and get confidence from it, but it is not like we are running around saying we are Champions league winners 24-hours a day," the manager said.

"It looked tonight like they are all confident.

"During the season we have to go for winning something new and not look back. We want to play the best season we can play."

Manchester United may be forced to end their pursuit of Sean Longstaff after Newcastle slapped a £50 million price tag on the midfielder, sources have told ESPN FC.

United value the 21-year-old, who has made just nine Premier League appearances, at between £18m to £20m but Newcastle are asking for more than double.

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Sources have told ESPN FC that chief negotiator Matt Judge, head of corporate development, spoke to Newcastle managing director Lee Charnley over the weekend but a formal bid was not submitted because the two clubs are so far apart.

Newcastle, according to sources, are using the £50m paid to Crystal Palace for Aaron Wan-Bissaka as a barometer for their valuation, a stance that has stunned United chiefs considering Longstaff's lack of experience.

United have prioritised the signing of Leicester defender Harry Maguire while talks are continuing with Inter Milan over the sale of Romelu Lukaku.

Manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer wants at least one new midfielder before the transfer deadline after Marouane Fellaini departed in January and Ander Herrera joined Paris Saint-Germain at the end of the season.

If Newcastle refuse to compromise over Longstaff, who is under contract until 2022 after signing an extension in December, United are prepared to move on to other targets.

Meanwhile, Inter bosses have flown to England in a bid to negotiate a deal for Lukaku, who was absent from training in Perth on Thursday evening.

The striker has told United he is keen to move to the Serie A side despite assurances from Solskjaer that he will get opportunities next season.

Inter are keen to sign Lukaku on loan with an obligation to buy in two years but United are holding out for a fee of around £80m after paying Everton £75m two years ago.

Eoin Morgan has admitted the prospect of playing in a World Cup final seemed laughable by the time England were knocked out of the 2015 World Cup.

England endured a miserable campaign in New Zealand and Australia four-years ago sustaining a series of crushing defeats and failing to make it to the quarter-finals.

But a resounding victory over Australia at Edgbaston on Thursday means England will play their first World Cup final since 1992 at Lord's on Sunday. All of which left Morgan, the England captain, reflecting on a remarkable improvement in his side's ODI cricket during the last four years.

WATCH on Hotstar: Jason Roy's innings (India only)

"If you had offered us the position to play in a final the day after we were knocked out of the 2015 Cup, I would have laughed at you," Morgan said. "Looking back where we were in 2015 to where we will be on Sunday, it is a dramatic improvement in the style of play and the level of expectation which we've created.

"In 2015 we were way off the mark. We struggled against the top teams - and the teams below that level - so there was quite a drastic change in the way we played and the way we looked at playing our 50-over cricket. The last four years have been a process."

Chris Woakes was named Player of the Match for his return of 3 for 20, but Morgan was equally full of praise for Jonny Bairstow and Jason Roy, who recorded their fourth century partnership in succession.

"Chris is a cool customer," he said. "He goes about his business, day in and day out, exceptionally. Today was his day. He and Jofra Archer were outstanding. It was one of our bowlers' standout performances in the last four years.

"Jason and Jonny are in the form of their lives. They are imposing when they get in. And they set the tone for the whole group."

While Morgan accepts Sunday's final will be a high-profile affair, he is urging his team to embrace the occasion and continue to play the bold style of cricket that earned them victory on Thursday.

"Sunday's not a day to shy away from," Morgan said. "It's a day to look forward to. We have created the opportunity to play in a World Cup final. It will be a matter of trying to produce everything that we can performance-wise, but enjoy the day.

"It's an opportunity for us on Sunday. A huge one. Making the most of the opportunity of getting to the final would be fantastic, but just getting there is awesome.

"Everybody out there on the field and in the changing room loved every ball that was bowled [against Australia]. There was no lack of commitment, application and we had a bit of a day out. It's cool when it happens like that, particularly when the bowlers bowl like that. It is awesome."

Morgan is particularly pleased that Sunday's final will be broadcast free-to-air on Channel 4 or, while the British Grand Prix is in progress, on More 4. He says his own experiences of watching cricket on free to air television helped inspire his love for the game and hopes more people will now have the same opportunity.

"It's very cool," he said. "Particularly given that the 2005 Ashes [which was the last series broadcast free-to-air in the UK] was, for me, sort of the day cricket became cool. Throughout the whole summer, the game was on the front and back page of every newspaper and everyone was talking about it. That is really good for the game and it's the game I love, so it's great news that it's on free-to-air."