Uriel Antuna scored a hat trick as Mexico got their Gold Cup campaign off to a dominant start with a 7-0 rout of Cuba in their opener at the Rose Bowl on Saturday.

The 21-year-old was a last-minute replacement for injured defender Jorge Sanchez in the Mexico squad for the tournament and the addition paid big dividends.

The LA Galaxy midfielder, on loan from Manchester City, gave Mexico the perfect start in their quest for a seventh Gold Cup title when he scored in the second minute of the match, moments after Raul Jimenez had hit the post from close-range.

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Antuna, who just made his international debut 10 days ago off the bench against Venezuela, gave his team a 4-0 advantage in the 44th minute, then capped his night with a final goal in the 80th minute.

Wolverhampton Wanders star Jimenez scored twice, while Diego Reyes and Ernesto Vega also tallied for El Tri.

Cheered on by a supportive crowd, Mexico showed no sign of letting down their fans down despite missing key figures like Hector Herrera, Javier "Chicharito" Hernandez, Carlos Vela and Hirving Lozano from their squad.

It was a first competitive win for new manager Gerardo "Tata" Martino, who was hired back in January and had overseen three friendly wins against South American opposition.

"I was surprised I was going to get the start," Antuna told Univision after the match. "But I just took advantage of the situation, [Martino] showed great confidence in me."

Cuba, making their first Gold Cup appearance since 2015, have now lost to Mexico four times in as many meetings in the biennial championship of the North, Central American and Caribbean region.

"We had a great match, we took the initiative from the beginning," Jimenez told Univision after the match. "The first goal helped us, it opened up with the match."

Canada earlier thrashed Martinique 4-0 at the same stadium in Saturday's other Group A match.

Information from Reuters was used in this report.

PARIS -- For the players involved, a World Cup can be a repetitive cycle of meetings, practices, meals and waiting that is interrupted only occasionally by 90 minutes of soccer. So it was hardly a surprise to find a contingent of American players wasting time at one of the countless outdoor cafes in Reims, France, a few days before the U.S. played its opening game.

And it was hardly a surprise to see Lindsey Horan take charge when someone needed to act as spokesperson in the interactions with the waitstaff. Still a few days away from her World Cup debut, she wasn't the most senior player in the group. But after living and working in the country for more than three years as a member of Paris Saint-Germain, she is the team's Francophile. When it comes to navigation or language, teammates are happy to follow her lead.

"She's definitely guiding us around," Samantha Mewis said after the team moved on to Paris. "She gives us little French tips when we have questions. My parents and I followed behind her and her parents last night, like 10 feet away, to dinner because I had no idea where to go. So we were just like little ducklings."

What remains to be seen is whether a generation of players will follow her lead to future World Cups. Against the backdrop of this tournament in Europe -- one in which the oft-discussed recent rapid growth of national teams such as those from England, the Netherlands, Spain and even host France will be tested -- Horan is at least partly the product of a European development model.

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After a successful debut with a goal in the rout of Thailand, her return to Paris for Sunday's game against Chile brings her full circle. She once came to this city as a teenager looking for a soccer experience she couldn't get at home. Now she returns hoping to prove the U.S. remains a team unlike any in the world.

"I went through a lot," Horan said last week. "But it's prepared me for me being here today."

The World Cup now underway in France had yet to be awarded to the country when Horan made headlines by passing up a scholarship at the University of North Carolina to sign a professional contract with PSG in 2012. While the money committed to the men's team drew more attention after Qatari interests purchased Paris Saint-Germain in 2011, the takeover also marked a new era for the women's team, which saw funds committed to foreign players such as Horan and Sweden's Kosovare Asllani. It was big-time soccer.

While common enough in a sport such as tennis, Horan's move to bypass college in favor of the professional ranks was essentially unprecedented in major women's team sports in the United States. It created a path where none previously existed, even if trailblazing wasn't her intention.

"At the time, that definitely is not what I was thinking," Horan, 25, said this week. "It was more so just what was best for me, and what I needed to do to meet my goals and put myself in an uncomfortable position. And something that I've always wanted to do in my life was play professionally overseas and do whatever I could to get myself on the women's national team."

Among those well aware of Horan at the time was Jill Ellis, in her role as a college coach at UCLA until 2011 and then as U.S. Soccer development director when Horan signed with PSG.

"I was a little bit surprised," Ellis recalled, "but I've always been someone that believes that people have to determine their own path. And I never want to walk in someone's shoes. So I applauded her for that, the courage to make that decision, to pursue that goal."

As invested as Ellis is in the college model, not just from her time as a coach but also as a student who found far greater soccer opportunities in the U.S. than her native England, she is also a realist now in charge of a national team competing against nations with very different developmental models. Foreign players abound on NCAA rosters -- a Finnish player captained Florida State to the national title in 2018. World Cup rosters, too, are full of women who played college soccer in the United States. It's still a model that works for a lot of people in a lot of places.

Yet increasingly at the very top of the sport, it's a model that separates the U.S. from most of its main rivals. And arguably constrains it.

U.S. defender Crystal Dunn took the collegiate path Horan bypassed, playing at North Carolina, but she also saw the emerging alternative while playing for a year with Chelsea. From youth teams to the senior team, men or women, the club was interconnected. Teenagers trained next to, and sometimes alongside, pros perhaps a decade older.

"I think that really was important for them to be thrown in that environment and obviously see where they stand," Dunn said. "Just the way they set up their development is really spectacular because they put a lot of thought and resources into their youth because they feel like that's the key to the future. It's important that the young ones are feeling like pros."

That's the path Horan followed from the time she was 18.

Now one of Horan's close friends on the U.S. team, having played alongside her going back to the under-20 national team, Rose Lavelle on Thursday recalled being intimidated when Horan, the professional, came into the same youth team for the first time. Later, in regard to her own journey, Lavelle also talked about how much more seriously she had to take soccer, the mental and physical preparation, when she entered the National Women's Soccer League and debuted for the senior national team in 2017. As a college player, she admitted, she could get by with some shortcuts.

Horan didn't get to take those shortcuts. She was a pro among amateurs when she returned to youth camps. That would seem intimidating to those around her.

"I was so used to playing on my youth team [growing up in Colorado] and being one of the best players and being able to do whatever I wanted," Horan said. "It was a different situation with PSG. I had to learn how to come off the bench, as well, and not always have that starting role. It made me mentally tougher."

Horan sounded almost wistful this week talking about the pleasure of hearing French again, even as she knocked the rust off of her own language skills. She has talked in the past of cherishing memories as simple as taking her parents to see tourist destinations when they visited. Time gilds memories. But she doesn't hide the fact that soccer was only part of the challenge, maybe even the easier part.

"It's insanely different," Horan said recently. "At 18 in Paris, I'm young, I'm shy, I'm very nervous about the culture and language, and socially just kept myself inside and didn't get out there until more internationals came and Tobin [Heath] was there. And as I got more comfortable, things started getting easier for me and I actually got out of my apartment."

Ideally, of course, players who choose the same path as Horan won't have to follow it across any oceans. The NWSL wasn't in operation when Horan went overseas. The model for the select few in the future might look more like U.S. teammate Mallory Pugh, who elected not to play college soccer at UCLA and signed professionally with the Washington Spirit. Olivia Moultrie, who signed with the Portland Thorns at 13, might be next in line.

But whether it's in their own country or overseas, where the monetary possibilities and training facilities from teams such as recent Champions League finalists Barcelona and Lyon will always be tempting, players pondering the decision would be wise to consider not just Horan playing in front of thousands in Paris this weekend but also Horan sitting alone and uncertain in an apartment at 18.

"They just have to know it inside," Horan said recently. "It took me a year to make the decision to go pro and skip college and give up that. You really have to know inside that you do not want to do [the college route], that professional soccer is what you want to do with your life.

"You're giving up a lot, and you need to know it's not going to be easy."

The midfielder now so important for U.S. title hopes, who switched effortlessly in the opening game between playing deep in midfield as a conductor to attacking the goal from a wider position, was made in Portland just as much as Paris. The reigning NWSL MVP cites that club as the place where she found her confidence as a world-class player.

So maybe she is a blueprint. Or maybe she is unique. Either way, she followed a different path.

"We kind of always knew she'd be here," Mewis said of the World Cup. "Everyone in the youth camps was always like, 'We just knew that this was where Lindsey was going to end up.'"

Back on a soccer field in Paris, as it turns out.

The World Cup is the culmination of a process. Teams have fought to be there. They are battle hardened and ready, clear about what they are trying to do.

The Copa America is the opposite. It is the start of a new process, kicking off a new cycle of competitive games. That is even more true about Brazil 2019. Qualification for the 2022 World Cup starts later than usual -- next March rather than this October. That has taken away some of the urgency of the current tournament -- seen most clearly in the case of Argentina, who have come with an inexperienced caretaker coach.

Lionel Scaloni took over after Russia 2018 with a clear idea in mind. He spoke of his belief in direct football, in rapid transitions rather than elaborate midfield passing moves. And in last year's friendlies he set up his side in accordance with this way of thinking. He fielded two wingers, and the midfielders were expected to deliver the ball quickly into wide spaces.

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It was probably in Scaloni's favour that Lionel Messi was taking a break from the international game at the time. This is not a method of play made for Messi. Now he has returned -- and as Saturday's 2-0 defeat to Colombia made very clear -- Scaloni is caught between ideas.

The inclusion of Messi already robs Scaloni of one of his wingers, making it very hard to stretch the opposing defence and open up space. The other winger, Angel Di Maria, was unable to make any impact on the match because the ball never came his way. Occasionally Argentina tried to go long, with hopeful punts upfield predictably gobbled up by the giant Colombian defenders.

With the inclusion of Messi, Scaloni's Argentina were no longer equipped to go the direct route. But they were also unable to pass their way through the midfield, and thus bring Messi and Sergio Aguero into play close to the Colombian goal. Canny Colombia coach Carlos Queiroz packed the midfield, using Juan Guillermo Cuadrado in an interesting double function; he would play his normal wide role when James Rodriguez drifted across. But otherwise Cuadrado tucked infield, making the extra man through the centre, outnumbering Argentina and freeing the outstanding Wilmar Barrios to keep a watching brief on Messi.

At halftime, his team having made no impression on the game, Scaloni was forced to abandon his favoured idea. Off came Di Maria. Argentina were now left with no wingers. Rodrigo De Paul gave them the extra man in midfield.

Argentina began to work themselves higher up the pitch, putting some passing movements together in the Colombian half. It was better, but there was little penetration. Entirely right-footed out on the left, De Paul could only effectively go inside, and so the play was all in front of the Colombian defence. Argentina had become the exact opposite of Scaloni's original intentions.

Even so, they nearly took the lead. It took a moment of magic to unlock the defence: Aguero's backheel put Messi through, who sliced the back line in half but, before Messi could pull the trigger, Barrios was back to nip the ball away from him. And with Argentina higher up the field, it then became easier for Colombia to catch their vulnerable defence in open space.

Both times Argentina were caught out by switches to their right. The first time came from a magnificent cross-field ball from James. It was all too comfortable for Roger Martinez to collect, cut inside right-back Renzo Saravia and fire across into the far corner.

The second came after the belated introduction of centre forward Duvan Zapata, who always looked like being too much of a handful for the Argentina centre-backs. He set up the move, bodies bouncing off him as he went cross-field, found Martinez, who slipped to the overlapping Jefferson Lerma. Saravia was played out of the game, and then Lerma's cross cut out centre-backs German Pezzella and Nicolas Otamendi for Zapata to fire emphatically home.

The problem for La Albiceleste is that these players are not suddenly going to get better. Argentina's defensive woes are going to persist. What may change, though, is the overall idea of play.

Against Colombia, they fell ludicrously between two stools: Unable to play long, and then without the width to penetrate when they went short.

But the Copa is just beginning. Eight of the 12 teams go through to the quarterfinals. And one of the most fascinating aspects of tournaments is that they can serve as time sped up. Teams can suddenly fall apart, or they can suddenly come together.

If Messi is to end his national team title drought this year, then the second option will have to apply to Argentina.

Australia are finding a way. As the group stage of the World Cup nears its halfway mark the defending champions are at the top of the table. They face Bangladesh next and if they win it will take them to 10 points, which could already be enough for a semi-final spot before the tougher challenges of New Zealand and England.

The match against Sri Lanka, won by 87 runs after they quelled an early onslaught by the openers, ended a run of four matches in ten intense days for Australia as they dodged the rain which dogged the last week of the tournament. None of the wins have been perfect, even the ultimately comfortable margin of the latest success coming with further questions about the middle order. Still, they are digging deep into their resources having been forced to rejig the side in the absence of Marcus Stoinis.

The century for Aaron Finch and four-wicket haul for Mitchell Starc took the headlines on Saturday, but the all-round performance of Glenn Maxwell was a crucial part of ensuring the holes that remain in the Australia side did not prove pivotal. His 46 off 25 balls meant that while the final total was probably 20 runs light of where it could have been, momentum was not totally lost at the death.

WATCH on Hotstar (India only) - Maxwell's rapid 46

Then, perhaps more importantly given the questions of balance, he was able to bowl his ten overs for 46 runs despite Sri Lanka having a terrific platform to build on. That might say more about the issues in Sri Lanka's batting, but the use of Maxwell's bowling - which he had the opportunity to use extensively during his time with Lancashire earlier in the season - has been one of the significant developments in Australia's one-day side over the last few months.

Until March he had not bowled his full 10 overs in an ODI since 2015 - the year he was played as Australia's lone spinner for the majority of their successful World Cup campaign - with Steven Smith preferring Travis Head's offspin in the last couple of years of his captaincy. Now he has sent down his quota four times in his last 14 matches, three times going for less than fifty. In this match, he bowled 15 dot balls to Dimuth Karunaratne who could only strike at 71 against him and of the batsmen to face more than one delivery from him, only Kusal Mendis could take him for a run-a-ball. There was no need for Finch or Smith to take their net bowling into the middle.

"I think Smithy obviously rated Heady's bowling a little bit more, and that's fine. That happens. That's an on-the-day decision. I think [Maxwell] has done really well when he's had the opportunity," Finch said. "He was a big part of us reining it in today. Two lefties, he had a nice breeze to bowl with, to across, which allowed him to drift the ball quite a bit which made it - made it, he could shut down one side of the ground a bit easier."

With a decision being made on Stoinis before the next match - and Mitchell Marsh waiting in the wings - Australia's XI for the Bangladesh game will be interesting given they will have a seam-bowling allrounder to again pick from if needed. The last two matches have seen them go with four quicks, leaving Adam Zampa and Nathan Lyon on the sidelines.

The attack continues to lean very heavily on Starc and Pat Cummins - currently the top two wicket-takers in the tournament - and the next few days is a chance for them to catch their breath with Australia's final four group matches spread over the last two weeks of qualifying. There may even be the chance for some rotation if things continue to go to plan ahead of the semi-finals, but Starc does not want to be part of that.

"We spoke about that before this fixture and wanted to give as much as we could to get the result then have a little bit more relaxed back end to the tournament where we can perhaps have a few more training days or if we need some days we can factor that in as well," he said. "Ultimately is not up to me but it's a World Cup and you have to pick your best XI depending on the conditions and opposition but I definitely won't be putting up my hand up to rest."

WATCH on Hotstar (India only) - Maxwell's rapid 46

Having been Player of the Tournament in 2015, Starc is again proving a World Cup trump card with a five-wicket and four-wicket haul already under his belt. "For me I just try to keep my white-ball game very simple," he said. "I don't have all these variations. I'm pretty clear on what I want to do whether it's new ball, old ball or through the middle.

"What I've added is able to play different roles against different teams or in different conditions. I might go for more runs but I'm there to make a breakthrough in short, sharp spells. That's something that has stayed consistent in my one-day cricket. Whether my game suits that, I don't know. Test cricket is still the pinnacle but the fact I've kept my game plan pretty simple in white-ball cricket has kept me in good stead through World Cups and when times haven't gone so well."

Top of the table with the leading wicket-taker and leading run-scorer is a handy position to be in. Have Australia convinced they can be champions again? Perhaps not, but while they keep winning that doesn't really matter.

Buckle up. It's time for India v Pakistan. Follow ESPNcricinfo's live updates and analysis here. (If the blog doesn't load for you, please refresh your page.)

LAS VEGAS -- Tyson Fury, the larger-than-life lineal heavyweight world champion, fancies himself as a showman, and he came to the Las Vegas Strip for the first time to put on a show. He did just that on Saturday night.

Fury easily destroyed the unknown Tom Schwarz in the second round to retain the lineal title for the fourth time before an announced crowd of 9,012 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.

In the main event of the heavily publicized ESPN+ card, Fury came to the ring dressed in red, white and blue to the James Brown song "Living in America" from "Rocky IV," and he dazzled as expected against a heavy underdog.

"The key was to enjoy myself," Fury said. "I used the jab. I was slipping [punches] with my hands down and sliding and shifted to southpaw, and I caught him with a straight left. It was a good shot. It would have put anybody away."

Fury set a quick pace in the opening round as he fired jabs, combinations and even a couple of body shots against a very inactive Schwarz, who was trying to figure out how to get inside against the much bigger man and had no success.

The 6-foot-9, 263-pound Fury (28-0-1, 20 KOs), 30, of England, came in a bit heavier than his last fight in December but still was light on his feet for being such a big man.

"I put on an extra [seven] pounds. I really feel it," Fury said. "This time I had a few malts out of the ring. But I came here to put on a show for Las Vegas and I hope everyone enjoyed it as much as I did."

Fury turned to a southpaw stance in the second round and landed an uppercut that got Schwarz's attention. And then Fury began to unload on Schwarz.

"The Gypsy King" landed a left hand that clearly hurt him and gave the 6-5, 245½-pound Schwarz (24-1, 16 KOs), 24, of Germany, a bloody nose. Moments later, Fury, who had been bouncing up and down on his toes and fighting in a rhythm, landed a powerful left hand to the head and Schwarz melted to the canvas on his knees. He beat the count, but the fight was basically over.

Fury was all over him. He cornered him and was unloading punches when Schwarz's corner threw a white towel into the ring to signal resignation. Referee Kenny Bayless, however, was facing the fighters and did not see the towel, but he stepped in to stop the battering anyway, calling a halt to the action at 2 minutes, 54 seconds and sending the largely British crowd into a celebration.

According to CompuBox punch statistics, Fury landed 45 of 158 shots (29 percent), and Schwarz landed 6 of 30 (20 percent).

"That was amazing. Tyson Fury is a force of nature," said Top Rank chairman Bob Arum, who was promoting his first Fury bout. "This was one of the great shows I've ever seen and not just because of the boxing. He's an entertainer. He is truly unique. Now that he's in shape, he can knock out every heavyweight in the world. Deontay Wilder is not going five rounds with him. We will have another fight, then we will fight Wilder."

Then Arum invoked the name of a fighter he promoted for many years.

"I haven't seen a fighter with that much charisma since Muhammad Ali," Arum said.

It has been an impressive comeback for Fury, who after winning three belts and the lineal title from Wladimir Klitschko in a huge upset in 2015 nearly lost his career and life.

Fury was stripped of the belts and was out of the ring for 31 months dealing with drug and alcohol issues, massive weight gain and mental health problems that had him on the verge of suicide.

But he returned last June and took on two lesser opponents on the comeback trail, stopping Sefer Seferi in the fourth round and winning a shutout 10-round decision over Francesco Pianeta before fighting to a controversial draw with Deontay Wilder in December.

Fury, who as usual began to sing Aerosmith's "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing" to his wife after Saturday's fight, is expected to be back in the ring again in either Sept. 21 or Oct. 5, possibly in New York, as he steamrolls toward a rematch with world titleholder Wilder (41-0-1, 40 KOs).

After another tuneup fight, Fury said, "Next year we are going to hold down Deontay Wilder to give me that green belt," referring to Wilder's WBC title.

Fury was fighting for the first time since his exciting draw with Wilder in December in Los Angeles. That night, Fury survived two knockdowns, including a very hard one in the 12th round, but he had outboxed Wilder for long stretches and emerged as the fighter most thought deserved the victory.

Fury and Wilder each vociferously called for an immediate rematch, and it was nearly finalized when Fury and promoter Frank Warren decided to go in a different direction, at least for the time being. Fury instead signed a megadeal with Top Rank to co-promote him and bring his fights to ESPN platforms, which kicked off with the heavily publicized fight with Schwarz on ESPN+.

A deal for a pay-per-view rematch between Fury and Wilder has already been made for the first quarter of 2020, assuming Fury wins his fall fight and Wilder retains his title against Luis "King Kong" Ortiz this fall in a rematch of Wilder's dramatic 10th-round knockout of Ortiz in a candidate for 2018 fight of the year. The deal for the rematch marks a rare deal for a marquee fight between rivals Top Rank and Premier Boxing Champions.

"There are two networks, and it's 50-50. It's easy to do," Arum said of the deal that will mean a joint pay-per-view between ESPN and one of PBC's network partners, either Fox or Showtime. "You've got my word it's going to happen. First quarter of next year. Right here [in Las Vegas]."

Schwarz, who was fighting in the United States for the first time and facing a top opponent also for the first time, was a heavy underdog looking to pull an enormous upset that would have been even bigger than the one Andy Ruiz Jr. pulled on June 1 in New York when he scored four knockdowns and shockingly stopped Anthony Joshua in the seventh round to take his three heavyweight world title belts in a shocker. But lightning did not strike twice.

Schwarz had even eaten a Snickers bar at the ceremonial weigh-in on Friday as an homage to Ruiz's well-publicized prefight snack and said Ruiz was an inspiration for him.

But Fury proved to be far too much. Fury might be too much for any heavyweight in the world.

Count Las Vegas oddsmakers among those who were not caught off guard by the Los Angeles Lakers' blockbuster trade for superstar Anthony Davis.

In anticipation of a potential trade for Davis, the Lakers were installed as the favorites to win next year's championship at multiple sportsbooks, shortly after the Toronto Raptors finished off the Golden State Warriors on Thursday in a decisive Game 6 of the NBA Finals.

The Lakers' status as favorites was solidified Sunday. After the trade news broke, Caesars Sportsbook trimmed the Lakers' odds to win the 2019-20 NBA title from +400 to +350.

The SuperBook at Westgate Las Vegas reported accepting a $10,000 bet on the Lakers at 5-1 at 3 p.m. PT, shortly before news of the Lakers' trade for Davis broke. The Lakers are now 3-1 at the SuperBook.

The Milwaukee Bucks and LA Clippers are each +600 at Caesars Sportsbook, followed by the Raptors and Houston Rockets, who are each +800.

Every book had the Warriors as the favorites entering the NBA Finals, but Golden State lost stars Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson to serious injuries and saw its odds lengthen to as long as 14-1 to win the title next year. On Friday, the SuperBook took a $10,000 bet on the Warriors to win next year's title at 14-1 odds, according to executive director John Murray.

Durant suffered a ruptured Achilles tendon in Game 5 of the NBA Finals, and Thompson tore his ACL late in the third quarter of Game 6. Durant and Thompson, two of several big names that potentially could be on the move this offseason, each face a long recovery.

"[Golden State] is now [Stephen] Curry and Draymond [Green] without much else," Caesars head of risk Jeff Davis told ESPN on Friday morning. "There has been almost zero interest in them in the future market so far, so we made the decision to raise them and lower others."

Durant's and Thompson's injuries throw a wrench into an offseason capable of shaking up the balance of power in the NBA. The champion Raptors head into the summer hoping the franchise's first championship will be enough to persuade star Kawhi Leonard, a free agent, to stay in Toronto.

Caesars sportsbook senior oddsmaker Alan Berg said Thursday that he had already taken bets "big enough to make me respect them" on the Clippers and Lakers.

"We are treating all these bets as sharp on the basis that it's a very speculative market, with all the powerful free agents who can turn these teams into championship contenders," Berg added.

The Philadelphia 76ers are +1,200, followed by the Boston Celtics at +1,300 and Denver Nuggets at +1,500.

LOS ANGELES -- Not long after learning his son Lonzo Ball will be part of a blockbuster trade for Anthony Davis, LaVar Ball made his thoughts clear on what he felt the Los Angeles Lakers had just agreed to do.

"I guarantee: Like I say again, it will be the worst move the Lakers ever did in their life and they will never win another championship," LaVar Ball told ESPN while at the Drew League on Saturday to watch his son LaMelo play. "Guarantee it.

"They're going to regret it. I'm going to have fun with it. Because I told you all, it was crashing down. Now [the Lakers] completely crashed, but at least my son got off the boat before the thing exploded. I gave them a chance. You can rewind it and go back. I said if you get the three Ball brothers, you can survive this. You let him go, oh, it's going to be a cold day in hell. Trust and believe that."

Lonzo Ball, LiAngelo Ball and LaVar Ball were all at the Drew League to watch the youngest Ball play not long after sources told ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski that the Lakers and New Orleans Pelicans had agreed to a deal to send Lonzo, Brandon Ingram, Josh Hart and three first-round draft picks -- including this year's No. 4 overall selection -- in exchange for Davis.

Lonzo stopped and took pictures with several fans before politely declining to answer questions about the reported deal.

LaVar told ESPN in February, before the trade deadline, that he did not want Lonzo traded to New Orleans before talks between the Lakers and Pelicans fell apart. The elder Ball told ESPN then that if his son couldn't remain in Los Angeles, the Phoenix Suns would be a good fit.

On Saturday, LaVar was asked if Lonzo will play for the Pelicans, who also have point guard Jrue Holiday.

Lonzo missed the last 36 games of the season with an ankle injury but had been shooting on the court and was due to begin contact drills next month, according to a source.

LaVar said his son is feeling "great."

"Lonzo don't care about no trade," LaVar said. "He just wants to play. So his main thing is, 'As long as my foot keeps getting better, I'll play for anybody.'"

The agreed-upon trade marks the end of the Ball era in Los Angeles, which lasted just two injury-marred seasons with the Lakers. Lonzo, who starred at Chino Hills in Southern California while in high school, was drafted second overall in 2017 out of UCLA amid enormous expectations.

Magic Johnson, the former Lakers president of basketball operations, believed so much in Ball that he traded former No. 2 overall pick D'Angelo Russell in June 2017 to let Ball become the franchise's leader. Johnson declared at the introductory news conference for Ball that the then-19-year-old prospect would someday have his No. 2 jersey hang in the rafters along with the other Lakers legends.

The boisterous LaVar only added to the enormous hype around Lonzo as he pumped life into his athletic apparel company, Big Baller Brand, with headline-drawing predictions about his son.

Ball's Lakers career started with a bang as he created a buzz with his play to help them win the Las Vegas Summer League in 2017. But injuries slowed him, and Ball never played more than 52 games in either of his two seasons.

He averaged 10 points, 6.4 assists and 6.2 rebounds while shooting 38 percent from the field and just 43.7 percent from the free throw line in 99 games for the Lakers.

"What do I think went wrong? I know what went wrong," LaVar said of the Ball era in L.A. ending prematurely after so much hype. "The coaching was the beginning. When I didn't see [former Lakers coach Luke Walton] believe in Lonzo and start taking him out after five or six minutes and put him back in and not starting the fourth quarter, he ain't never played like that. ... Now you don't let him win. You get these raggedy-ass trainers who got him training with these rubber bands -- guess what, you're going to get hurt."

"Magic knows talent," LaVar added. "He knows how good Lonzo is. And when you got these folks in the way messing up your vision, you ain't got no good precision."

LaVar said the pass-first Lonzo only will help Zion Williamson, who is expected to be taken first overall by New Orleans in Thursday's draft.

"Lonzo could be with Sara Lee, and she gonna be good," LaVar said. "Lonzo with anybody. Lonzo going to groom him, letting him know that when you get open, you're going to get the ball. He's going to make him so much better than what everybody's thinking. So everybody doubting him and saying, 'You know what? You don't have these post moves. You're not polished, just a good runner and athletic,' Lonzo will fine-tune him."

LaVar said the Lakers are "gonna be known for always getting rid of great players," adding that "everybody who gets away from the Lakers, boy, they do so much better after they get away."

"The proof is in the pudding," he said, citing Russell and ex-Laker Julius Randle. "I'm not just saying this. ... Anybody that leaves, unless you were with Lonzo and then you get stuck in Cleveland like Larry Nance and [Jordan] Clarkson. They're not doing as good. Zo makes them better than that."

LaVar, who still wants to see a team sign all three of his sons to play together, said a fresh start might be a good thing for Lonzo.

"I don't care where Lonzo plays," LaVar said. "I want him to play. And it is better to go somewhere where you can just play and do your thing and be that guy instead of having all these question marks behind you.

"And once you don't believe in him, it is kind of hard to come back and be like, 'Oh, we believe in him now because now we don't know if you're true or not.' You had the first chance to believe in him and you didn't, so guess what, it's time to go."

Last summer, the San Antonio Spurs thought they had the Los Angeles Lakers right where they wanted them. L.A. had the inside track to sign LeBron James as a free agent on July 1. But the belief around the league was that James wouldn't come to the Lakers by himself and spend the last years of his prime babysitting their young roster.

The Spurs thought it was a moment of maximum leverage from which to trade Kawhi Leonard, and they wanted everything the Lakers could offer. Not a couple of the Lakers' young players and draft picks. All of them.

The Lakers had spent five years building their team through the lottery and felt good about how they had reshaped their roster. They had held on to their young players when Paul George was traded. When Jimmy Butler was traded. When DeMarcus Cousins was traded. Were they really going to part with all of them now? Could they sign James without that second star in place?

The Lakers held firm. James came anyway, banking on the Lakers getting him a co-star in a trade or via free agency in the summer of 2019. Leonard was traded to the Toronto Raptors and won an NBA title.

The Pelicans' trade demands in exchange for Anthony Davis were nearly identical to the Spurs' requests for Leonard. Their pressure points, leverage and even the young players involved were virtually the same.

But the Lakers were in a very different place this time around. The NBA is in a very different place this time around. Because two of the top free agents about to hit the market -- Klay Thompson and Kevin Durant -- just suffered catastrophic injuries that will keep them out all or most of next season. A third, Leonard, just won his second Finals MVP, and the Lakers' chances for even getting a meeting with him on July 1 seemed to be dimming. And a fourth, Kyrie Irving, just fired his agent and has been increasingly linked to the Brooklyn Nets.

That's virtually the entire top tier of this summer's vaunted free-agent class essentially coming off the Lakers' board. All of which made Davis the top player that the Lakers had the chance to acquire this summer.

The Lakers couldn't leave things to the whims of free agency anymore. Not with James hitting his mid-30s and the pressure on controlling owner Jeanie Buss and general manager Rob Pelinka reaching a fevered pitch following the embarrassing resignation and media tour from former team president Magic Johnson.

Sure, Pelinka could've cut some of the tension at his news conference on draft night by making fun of himself for the fake Heath Ledger story that ESPN's Baxter Holmes revealed last month.

But the only way for Pelinka to truly relieve some of the pressure on himself and the franchise was to acquire a superstar at any cost. The Lakers simply could not afford to miss on this trade and free agency again.

Which is exactly what the Pelicans were banking on. And exactly why this trade couldn't happen until everyone set egos, and hurt feelings from February, aside.

Now, calling those discussions in February "negotiations" is a bit of a stretch. The Pelicans were never serious about dealing with the Lakers then. They didn't like being forced into this position by Davis and his representative, Rich Paul. And they probably weren't going to let former general manager Dell Demps make this big of a decision anyway.

So the Lakers -- really just Johnson, because Demps wouldn't talk to Pelinka -- would call and Demps would write names on the board without giving them any feedback. Those names would leak publicly and do damage to the Lakers' team chemistry. But eventually, Johnson and the Lakers got the hint and stopped banging up against what had become an incredibly self-destructive wall.

Everyone involved in those failed trade discussions got hurt.

The Pelicans' season tanked. The Lakers imploded. Demps was fired. Johnson quit, then threw everyone under the bus. Lakers coach Luke Walton left. James, Paul, Pelinka and Buss endured months of withering criticism. Davis was booed by the home fans, taken off promotional materials and criticized for some suspect fashion choices.

It was bad business for both sides. And when everyone came up for air and surveyed the damage, both sides realized there was still a hell of a deal to make if they could get over themselves.

Said one source close to the negotiations, "The biggest difference this time was David Griffin [the new Pelicans executive vice president of basketball operations]. He wasn't involved before. He could negotiate frankly and fairly."

For the Lakers, this is a massive gamble, with Davis hitting free agency next summer. He is a better player -- and probably a healthier one -- than Dwight Howard was in 2012, when the Lakers took a similar chance and got massively burned for it. Again, this is what the Lakers do. Chasing superstars is part of their DNA. Add in the pressure of maximizing this three-year window with a still-in-his-prime James and this was an automatic reflex for them. Plus, the Lakers still have up to $32.5 million in cap space this summer. Adding Davis is probably the best pitch they can make to free agents.

For the Pelicans, this could be a Herschel Walker-type haul for a player they were going to lose in a year. They essentially got three top-five lottery picks out of the deal, two of which already have gone through their NBA growing pains. Just the idea of Lonzo Ball throwing lobs to probable No. 1 overall pick Zion Williamson is enough to bring fans back to the Smoothie King Center. Ball and Jrue Holiday might already be the best defensive backcourt in the NBA.

The Pelicans might be the rare team to trade a superstar in his prime and not have to rebuild. And this is before we know whether the Pelicans will keep the No. 4 pick or flip it for an established veteran.

Either way, the Lakers gave up a massive load of assets to acquire Davis that they'll either be lamenting for years to come like they did after the Howard and Steve Nash trades or celebrating their iron stomachs if Davis and James team up to restore the franchise to glory.

This is a legacy-defining move for Griffin. He mutually parted ways with the Cleveland Cavaliers after the 2017 season so he could run a franchise the way he wanted, without ownership interference. Griffin was so determined to do things on his terms this time, he passed on an opportunity and massive payday to run the New York Knicks two years ago, because he wasn't guaranteed full control of basketball operations.

Instead, Griffin spent his downtime in Sonoma, California, with his wife. They did a lot of wine tasting and enjoyed the region's world-class culinary scene. He hosted a sports talk show on SiriusXM.

The right opportunity would come. The right terms. And if it didn't, Griffin would just enjoy his life. When Pelicans owner Gayle Benson called this spring, Griffin got everything he wanted.

That's also the approach he took to the negotiations for this trade. The Boston Celtics were serious about trading for Davis, as well. They were willing to discuss young, talented players such as Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and Marcus Smart, according to sources close to the negotiations. But the Celtics were never going to give up as much as the Lakers. And Boston didn't have a high draft pick this year to offer, because it simply hadn't gotten as lucky in the lottery as both L.A. and New Orleans.

And so, in a back room of the Hilton Chicago in May, Pelinka and Pelicans head coach Alvin Gentry were together where the NBA draws the combinations of numbers for the draft lottery.

The winning combination is drawn first. So everyone knew right away that the Pelicans had won the rights to draft Williamson. But a few minutes later, the Lakers' number came up, as well, and they jumped to No. 4.

Both franchises knew their fortunes would be forever changed. On Saturday, those draft picks formed the bedrock upon which this blockbuster trade was built. For the Pelicans and the Lakers, it's a second chance to expose themselves to true risk -- and championship rewards.