In a rare trade involving an NBA Finals participant, the Denver Nuggets are acquiring a 2024 first- and second-round pick and a 2023 second-round pick in a deal with the Oklahoma City Thunder for a protected 2029 first-round pick, sources told ESPN on Friday.

As the Nuggets try to maximize this championship window, they'll get the least favorable of Oklahoma City's first-round picks in the 2024 draft, and the 37th pick in the June 22 draft, sources told ESPN.

Denver will have the 37th and 40th pick in this draft, and the deal gives Nuggets general manager Calvin Booth additional opportunities to acquire low-cost contracts and create some trade tools as the franchise navigates the luxury tax with this star-laden team built around Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr. The league's new collective bargaining agreement will make it more difficult for tax teams to add veteran talent, and there will be a greater premium on drafting and developing young players.

Oklahoma City still owns Denver's top-five-protected 2027 first-round pick from the JaMychal Green trade last year.

The Thunder had a glut of picks in the next few years and now spread those out with a protected first-round pick in 2029. Oklahoma City has one of the deepest rosters of young talent in the league and owns 15 first-round picks through the 2029 NBA draft.

ESPN's Bobby Marks contributed to this report.

French endurance athletes Marion Delespierre and Benjamin Roubiol enjoy victory in gruelling 86.7km event at the World Mountain and Trail Running Champs

When the so-called ‘short trail’ races at this week’s World Mountain and Trail Running Championships in Innsbruck-Stubai in Austria took athletes more than four hours, it was clear the ‘long trail’ events on Friday (June 9) would be ultra-challenging to say the least.

After 86.7km of racing, including 6500m of ascent, it was two French athletes who emerged as winners too with Marion Delespierre and Benjamin Roubiol winning the women’s and men’s titles respectively.

Delespierre, who works as a doctor when she is not running on the trails, finished in 11hr 32min 21sec ahead of Katharina Hartmuth of Germany as another French athlete, Manon Bohard Cailler, took bronze, while defending champion Blandine L’Hirondel pulled out in the early kilometres.

Roubiol, 23, beat Italian Andreas Reiterer into second as Peter Frano from Slovakia took bronze. Reiterer led for the first 45km but began to struggle although he held on for silver as Roubiol clocked 9hr 52min 59sec.

“It was awesome to see that I came closer and closer to the leader,” said Roubiol. “After I overtook Andreas I did not realise that I would win. I tried to stay focused. It is so great to be here now.”

Leading Brits home were Thomas Joly de Lotbiniare with 11th in the men’s race and Fiona Pascall with 18th in the women’s race.

The championships conclude on Saturday (June 10) with the under-20 and senior up-and-down mountain races.

Britain's Alfie Hewett and Gordon Reid have reached the French Open wheelchair men's doubles final as they bid for a fourth title together in Paris.

The pair have won 16 Grand Slams together and won the Australian Open title earlier this year.

Hewett will also aim to retain his world number one ranking in singles when he plays Oda in Saturday's final.

In the quad doubles, Britain's Andy Lapthorne and South African partner Donald Ramphadi beat top seeds Sam Schroder and Niels Vink 4-6 6-4 10-6 to reach the final.

Lapthorne and Ramphadi, bidding for their first quad doubles title together, will face Australian Heath Davidson and Canada's Robert Shaw on Saturday,

It is the business end of the season in English domestic rugby union as four sides prepare for the semi-finals of the Premier 15s.

Then on Sunday it is a repeat of last year's final as champions Saracens travel to Sandy Park to take on Exeter Chiefs.

Gloucester and Bristol aim for first-ever final

Gloucester are on paper the most fancied side to make the final on 24 June after winning 16 of their 18 games, and one of those two losses came last week to second-placed Exeter with top spot already secured.

The Cherry and Whites crushed Bristol 36-5 when the sides met in November in Gloucester, although there was only two points in it when they came away from their neighbours in the return fixture in February.

Off the field they have had an inspirational pep talk from adventurer Jamie McDonald - the first man to run Canada coast-to-coast unaided and the world record holder for the most miles run on a treadmill.

On the field they have an inspirational force in England back-row Sarah Beckett who joined last summer having won the title at Harlequins to add to their other England stars.

"Having someone like her in that number eight pivotal spot is great for us," head coach Sean Lynn told BBC Radio Gloucestershire.

"But also having Zoe Aldcroft, who's been in the World Cup final and Six Nations, then you've got Mo Hunt at nine, and then you've got someone like Lleucu George, the territorial gain from her is outstanding.

"It helps when you go into these play-off games that it's not just one or two voices, they're all playing a big part in this, and that's something that we've been working on in the last three weeks."

Standing in their way is a Bristol side who suffered heartbreak at this stage last season when they conceded a try three minutes from full-time to lose 28-24 at Exeter.

Despite finishing 17 points off Gloucester in the regular season Bristol's boss Dave Ward feels a trip to Kingsholm does not mean they cannot book a place in the final.

"I'm happy to take the underdog tag heading in out of the four teams," he told BBC Sport.

"The way we've been playing we can beat anyone on our day, all we need is two days to do it and we can go and win this league.

"The girls have worked incredibly hard to get to where they are and I just want them to go and enjoy Saturday, but Saturday's not our final, Saturday's a semi-final, and that'll be our message this week."

Bristol share their training facilities with the men's side, which means Ward and his players have had some extra expertise to help them prepare.

"I was chatting yesterday to Pat [Lam, Bristol's men's director of rugby] about selection," Ward said. "It was quite funny, he was like, 'What are you going to go for?'

"We've also got the likes of Ellis Genge and Kyle Sinckler, they're training at the moment because they're getting prepped for their World Cup camp.

"The fact they're over my shoulder saying, 'Look at this, look at the hooker, she's standing up,' or whatever it may be, it's just a great learning environment for me and the girls and they're bouncing off each other, which is fantastic."

Will home advantage be key as Exeter host Saracens?

Sunday's semi-final at Sandy Park seems a tough one to call - both sides have won their home games against one another, and neither has ever won at the home of their opponents.

Saracens are the away team by virtue of getting three fewer bonus points than the Chiefs despite both sides ending on 15 wins and three losses.

Exeter have the edge in knockout rugby already this season when a young Chiefs side beat Saracens in the Allianz Cup final at Sandy Park a few weeks ago.

So can they repeat last season's Premier 15s final when they won a third title in four full campaigns [the 2019-20 season was abandoned due to Covid-19], or will their Sandy Park hoodoo come back to bite them once again?

"It's like the elephant in the room, really. You don't need to talk about it because it's quite obvious," said Saracens' England forward Marlie Packer.

"Exeter are talking about it, everyone seems to be talking that we've not beaten Exeter down at Exeter, but we've not lost a semi-final yet in this league, so they aren't talking about that right now, are they?"

"You could chuck so many different things at this, but whichever team turns up on the day and puts that 80-minute performance in is going to win the game."

So can Exeter do something that has never been done before in the six-year history of the Premier 15s and beat Saracens in a semi-final?

"If any team knows how to win a final it's Sarries," said Exeter back-row Poppy Leitch.

"Last year [we] just found ourselves marginally overwhelmed by the environment, the moment, the atmosphere, the stage, and the game went like that, it was done, it was over and we'd lost.

"This year we took a lot of learning from that, we're a little bit more comfortable when we're under the cosh, we're a little bit more comfortable on a big stage.

"A lot of that's come from being at Sandy Park with a big crowd every week, that's allowed us to get used to what that feels like from an atmosphere point of view.

"The best people for us to play in a semi is Sarries as well, that puts the pressure a little bit on them having to play at Sandy Park and it fits in where we're strongest.

"People feel we're much more prepared mentally and physically than we were compared to last year."

Both matches will be shown live on the BBC Sport website and BBC iPlayer.

Bristol will replace London Irish in next season's Champions Cup, European Professional Club Rugby has confirmed.

They will not be allowed to compete in any league next season.

Their European spot will therefore be taken by the Bears, who finished ninth in the Premiership table and were the highest-placed team not to qualify for the tournament.

London Irish were punished after missing a deadline to pay players and staff or complete a takeover.

Owner Mick Crossan and a US consortium have been unable to reach a deal and the west London club has subsequently filed for administration.

The 123rd U.S. Open begins Thursday at Los Angeles Country Club in California. Here's a look at the pre-championship interview schedule for the men's third major of the season, per the USGA (all times ET):

Monday, June 13

• 4 p.m. - Matt Fitzpatrick
   
• 6 p.m. - Olin Browne, Jr.
   
• 6:30 p.m. - Berry Henson
   
• TBD - Cameron Smith

Tuesday, June 14

• Noon - Rory McIlroy
   
• 12:30 p.m. - Collin Morikawa
   
• 1 p.m. - Jon Rahm
   
• 1:30 p.m. - Brooks Koepka
   
• 5:30 p.m. - Patrick Cantlay
   
• 6 p.m. - Max Homa
   
• 6:30 p.m. - Scottie Scheffler

Wednesday, June 15

• 12:30 p.m. - Johnny Miller, 2023 Bob Jones Award winner
   
• 2 p.m. - USGA press conference

Erling Haaland has said he is feeling "pressure" to deliver the Champions League trophy for Manchester City.

The Norway striker will line up against Inter Milan in Istanbul on Saturday as Pep Guardiola's side look to complete the treble.

- Stream on ESPN+: LaLiga, Bundesliga, more (U.S.)

But Haaland is acutely aware that City won both the Premier League title and the FA Cup before he arrived from Borussia Dortmund last summer and said his job is to win the Champions League for the first time in the club's history.

"Of course I feel pressure," Haaland said. "I would lie if I said I didn't. You say it yourself and it's true, they won the Premier League without me, they won every trophy without me. So I'm here to try to do a thing that the club has never done before and I'll do my best.

"The Premier League, they won it two times in a row before I came here. So they know how to win the Premier League. The only thing they miss now is the Champions League, you can think and read between the words, and the lines, I have been coming here for a reason."

The 22-year-old is the top scorer in the Champions League this season with 12 goals. He's had a record-breaking first season in England, although the goals have dried up recently with just one in his last seven games. Haaland, though, is choosing to look at it differently.

"You can think of it as one goal in seven games or 52 goals in 52 games and eight assists, I think," he said.

"You can think of it in both ways. I'm not stressed. I feel really good. I didn't expect to score this many goals but, again, I could have scored more. I've been missing a lot of chances, so I could have scored more. That's the truth."

Despite scoring 36 goals in the Premier League and more than 50 in all competitions, Haaland has, at times, been criticised for having too few touches during games and failing to get involved in City's build-up play.

The 22-year-old says he tries to block it out -- including the questions which followed a missed chance in his first City game against Liverpool in July.

"I think often it's a good thing when people start criticising you," said Haaland. "I scored every single game and then people started criticising me. That's what happened, basically. When people criticise you it's normally a good thing it's just about trying to smile a bit and enjoy life."

"The Community Shield, I missed a couple of big chances. It can happen, it will happen again. What can you do? Nothing. We have to focus on the next thing, the next game and that's what I did. I scored two goals in the next game, so it was still not a bad start.

"There is one game left we have to perform at our best in. We have been doing it now for so many games in a row. It's about keeping going."

Meanwhile, Inter boss Filippo Inzaghi told his Friday news conference that his side have a special plan to stop Haaland in Saturday's final.

"Clearly we know how strong City is and how strong a player Haaland is," he said. "We will have a special eye for him, but he is an attacking player and we have set up something.

"It will be the whole of Inter, but it is not just Haaland, but we have to concentrate on the whole of Manchester City."

ESPN's Mark Ogden also contributed to this report.

The chasm in financial forces between Saturday's Champions League finalists is shown clearly by the status of their Argentine strikers, Julian Alvarez and Lautaro Martinez.

Less than six months ago, Alvarez was one of the break-out stars of Argentina's World Cup win. He became first choice during the course of the campaign in Qatar. His youthful legs did a lot of the hard running for Lionel Messi and he contributed four goals to the cause -- the only Argentine player other than Messi to score more than once. Lautaro, meanwhile, lost his place in the starting lineup, seemed to suffer a breakdown in form, had to content himself with a bit-part role off the bench and was not able to get onto the scoresheet. Come the end of the tournament, then, there was no doubt about the respective places in Argentina's pecking order.

- Stream on ESPN+: LaLiga, Bundesliga, more (U.S.)

But at club level it is a very different story.

True, this is the first season at Manchester City for Alvarez, and he has certainly not disappointed. His total of 17 goals in all competitions is a more than reasonable return, especially as his opportunities are limited. For his club, Alvarez is the bit-part player; Erling Haaland is king of the front line and everything has to fit around the Norwegian goal machine. When City are at full strength, Alvarez has to make do with a place on the bench, where he sits in very good company alongside outstanding players such as Phil Foden, Riyad Mahrez and the ghost of the 2022-23 season, England's Euro 2020 first-choice central midfielder, Kalvin Phillips.

Internazionale have nothing like the same astonishing strength in depth, but they pose a threat. They can rotate their big striker, with the veteran former Manchester City centre-forward Edin Dzeko starting and then giving way to Romelu Lukaku. But alongside them there is no doubt about it -- he may have lost the World Cup battle to Alvarez but, at Inter, Lautaro is the main man. The 25-year-old responded to the experience of Qatar by helping himself to 20 goals this season, and City will underestimate him at their peril.

Lautaro will look to take advantage of flicks and knock downs from Dzeko and Lukaku and will prowl around them with the predatory menace of a hammerhead shark. After five seasons in Italy he has scored more than 100 goals for the club. It is almost inevitable that he will have to get by on scraps in Istanbul on Saturday. City will surely enjoy the bulk of possession, leaving Inter to take the direct route whenever they can. Lautaro may go a while without seeing the ball and chances on goal may be scarce. But if and when they come, his teammates have total confidence in him. And he has enough in himself to deal with the pressures of the big occasion.

His World Cup made for fascinating viewing. In the first half of the opening game against Saudi Arabia he helped himself to a couple of efficiently taken goals, both ruled out for the narrowest of offsides. Thereafter, with Argentina under surprise scoreboard pressure, his touch seemed to desert him, and then things only got worse. He was clearly struggling for form, going through one of those phases when the target looks tiny and the goalkeeper looms large. In subsequent games, Argentina would bring him off the bench and try to get him a goal, and the harder he tried the worse his finishing became.

And then came that penalty shootout against Netherlands. Argentina had the game in the bag, only to be foiled by an outrageously cunning last-gasp equaliser. Might the same thing happen in the shootout? The South Americans were two up and seemingly on the verge of triumph. But then Enzo Fernandez shot wide. Netherlands scored, the nerves were jangling and the pressure was right back on. Some went weak at the knees when they saw Lautaro stride forward to take the next penalty. Nothing, absolutely nothing, had gone right for him in the tournament until that point. Was he now going to confirm his status as the villain of the piece?

Merely having the guts to step up at a time like that was an act of valour. Blasting his kick home as if he never held the slightest doubt was almost superhuman. And it helps explain why Lautaro scores so many goals: because he has the mental strength to accept the responsibility, and the chance that he might miss.

Manchester City are the form horse. They have the style and the swagger, and the silverware already this season to back it up. They have a squad with sufficient quality to leave Alvarez on the bench. But to achieve the dream and lift the Champions League trophy they will need to keep a close eye on Lautaro.

Pep Guardiola has never been able to escape the accusation that he owes his two Champions League titles as Barcelona coach to Lionel Messi, so the Manchester City manager might need to prepare for the same assessment of Erling Haaland if he ends a 12-year wait to win his third on Saturday against Inter Milan.

- Stream on ESPN+: LaLiga, Bundesliga, more (U.S.)

It's a harsh appraisal of Guardiola to suggest that his success in the Champions League has relied heavily on his team boasting the world's best player at the time. But, equally, since leaving Barcelona in 2012, the 52-year-old has been unable win to the competition despite three seasons with Bayern Munich and six attempts, prior to this season, with City. He is now one game away from winning the Champions League at the seventh time of asking with City, but this time around, he has Haaland taking the Messi role as the one player who has proven to be unstoppable this season, with 52 goals in 52 games.

Messi was the X-factor in Guardiola's great Barcelona teams -- the Argentina forward was similarly central to Luis Enrique's team when they achieved a treble in 2015 -- and Haaland is the same for City now. The Norway international was signed for €60 million from Borussia Dortmund last summer as the missing ingredient in City's Champions League quest -- a reality the player admitted this week.

"This is why they bought me of course, to get this [Champions League]," Haaland told the BBC. "We don't have to hide that."

Guardiola's two Champions League-winning teams at Barcelona and this season's treble-chasing City side are about more than just one superstar player, but recent Champions League history also shows that, to win it, you need a forward who scores against all opponents in the biggest of games. When Barcelona won the Champions League in 2008-09, Messi scored nine goals in the competition and registered five assists -- 14 goal involvements. Two years later, when Barca were crowned European champions again, he scored 12 goals and registered three assists -- one better than in 2009.

This season, Haaland has already scored 12 Champions League goals for City, with one assist, and his goals alone have taken Guardiola's team to a new level. In each of Guardiola's six previous seasons as City manager, no player has come close to breaking the 10-goal barrier in the Champions League.

Winger Riyad Mahrez registered the highest return for Guardiola's side with seven goals in last season's competition. A year earlier, Ferran Torres was City's top scorer with four goals, while Raheem Sterling (six goals, 2019-20), Sergio Aguero (six in 2018-19), Gabriel Jesus (four in 2017-18) and Aguero again (five in 2016-17) emerged as top scorers with relatively low totals in Guardiola's other seasons with City.

When Manchester United won their third Champions League title in 2007-08, Cristiano Ronaldo top scored for Sir Alex Ferguson's side with eight goals and one assist, but it has become rare for a team to be successful in the competition without a striker as prolific as Messi or Haaland. Liverpool proved to be an exception in 2018-19 when they won their sixth Champions League with Mohamed Salah scoring just five goals and registering two assists, although Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane weighed in with four goals each.

In 2013-14, Cristiano Ronaldo scored 17 goals, with four assists, on the way to helping Real Madrid win the competition, while Messi scored 10 and produced five assists a year later as Barca won their third Champions League in six years. With Madrid then dominating the competition by winning three consecutive Champions Leagues under Zinedine Zidane, Ronaldo was their clutch forward in each season. In 2015-16, he scored 16 goals with four assists. A year later, he scored 12 with five assists, and then in 2017-18, the Portugal forward scored 15 and created three assists. Even without Ronaldo, Madrid still had a player to regularly score goals when it mattered to win their 14th European Cup last season with Karim Benzema scoring 15 goals and creating two assists.

City's repeated failure prior to this season has been in part due to their inability to pull clear of opponents by taking advantage of half-chances to score in tight games. They often suffered exits by one-goal margins or on the old away goals rule after ties finished level on aggregate.

Haaland has been their game-changer, both in terms of volume and importance of his goals, scoring in both legs of the 4-1 aggregate quarterfinal win against Bayern Munich. He didn't score over two games against Madrid in the semis, but his mere presence on the pitch ensured more space for his attacking teammates to score in an emphatic 5-1 aggregate win.

City and Guardiola knew what they were getting when they signed Haaland. He now has 35 goals in 29 Champions League appearances at the age of 22, and official UEFA statistics show that, with 18 first-half goals and 17 in the second half, he is dangerous throughout the 90 minutes. He is the fastest player to 20 goals in Champions League history (14 games) and also to 30 goals (25 games.)

Only Sebastien Haller (six games) scored 10 goals in the competition quicker than Haaland, who took seven games to reach that mark. Ruud van Nistelrooy's record of 40 goals in 45 games looks certain to be the next one to fall to Haaland, while he could become the youngest, too, if he manages it before Kylian Mbappe's mark of 23 years and 317 days.

Just as Messi's peerless talent provided rocket fuel for Guardiola's Barcelona, Haaland's is having the same impact on Guardiola's City. But that's why City signed him. He is simply doing what he was expected to do -- score the goals to win the Champions League.