Blue Jays Acquire Jose Berrios - MLB Trade Rumors

12:02pm: The Blue Jays have announced the trade.

11:31am: The Blue Jays and Twins have a deal in place sending right-hander Jose Berrios to Toronto, reports Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (Twitter link). MLB.com’s Jon Morosi reports that top pitching prospect Simeon Woods Richardson is part of the return. Infielder Austin Martin, the No. 5 overall pick from last summer’s draft, is also going to Minnesota, reports Dan Hayes of The Athletic.

Berrios, 27, gives the Blue  Jays perhaps the second-best pitcher on this summer’s trade market, trailing only Max Scherzer, who is expected to join the Dodgers later today. Unlike Scherzer, he’s controllable beyond the 2021 season, as he’s only in his second arbitration season. Berrios is earning $6.1MM in 2021 and will be due one more arbitration raise this winter before reaching free agency upon conclusion of the 2022 campaign.

Berrios will join Hyun Jin Ryu and the resurgent Robbie Ray atop the Toronto rotation, comprising what now looks to be a formidable trio. He’s in the midst of one of his finest seasons, pitching to a 3.48 ERA with a career-best 25.7 percent strikeout rate, an excellent 6.5 percent walk rate and a career-high 43.6 percent ground-ball rate. He’s posted those numbers through 20 starts and a total of 121 1/3 frames, standing out as one of the dwindling number of pitchers in today’s game who averages six-plus frames per outing.

Of course, Berrios isn’t simply durable on a per-game basis. He’s been one of the game’s most durable starting pitchers overall, throughout the entirety of his career. He’s never been on the Major League injured list and is currently on pace for what would be his fourth straight season of a full slate of starts. He made 26 appearances back in 2017 — the final season he was optioned to the minors — and has since made 32 starts, 32 starts, 12 starts (a full workload in last year’s 60-game season) and 20 starts so far in 2020.

During that time, he’s never posted an ERA above 4.00 and has pitched to an overall 3.76 mark with a 24.2 percent strikeout rate and a 7.2 percent walk rate. Berrios may not quite be a Cy Young-caliber, top-of-the-rotation ace, but he’s as consistent and durable as it comes for a second/third starter.

The Blue Jays paid a steep price to acquire a year and a half of that consistency. Martin, last year’s No. 5 overall pick, was viewed by many in the industry as the best all-around player in the draft class. It was a legitimate surprise when he slipped beyond the No. 2 overall pick and fell to the Jays with the fifth selection. He’s currently ranked as the No. 16 prospect in the game at MLB.com, No. 21 at Baseball America and No. 23 at FanGraphs.

Martin starred at Vanderbilt in college, hitting .368/.474/.532 in his college career. The Jays dropped him right into Double-A to begin 2021, his first professional season, and it hasn’t looked like he’s missed a beat. In 250 plate appearances, Martin has posted a .281/.424/.383 with a pair of homers, ten doubles, two triples and nine stolen bases. He’s walked at a hearty 14.8 percent clip against a 21.2 percent strikeout rate. That batting line is 32 percent better than league average in an immensely pitcher-friendly Double-A environment, by measure of wRC+.

The main question on Martin is simply one of where he’ll play. He’s split his time evenly between shortstop and center field in Double-A this season. At the time of the draft, some scouts questioned whether he could stick at shortstop in pro ball, but the Jays have been giving him that chance. Even if shortstop isn’t his ultimate home on the diamond, however, most scouting reports on the 22-year-old Martin agree that his athleticism will translate to third base, center field or second base. The general expectation surrounding Martin is that he’ll be an above-average regular regardless of where he settles in on the diamond.

Woods Richardson has had a rougher season as Martin’s teammate in Double-A, but he’s only 20 years old — nearly five years younger than the average age of his competitors at that level. He entered the season widely regarded as a top 100 prospect, and while he’s since dropped off Baseball America’s list following the draft, he still ranks 49th at FanGraphs and 68th at MLB.com.

The Jays initially acquired Woods Richardson from the Mets in the trade that send Marcus Stroman to Queens. He’s made 11 starts in New Hampshire this season and posted a grisly 5.76 ERA, although that number is inflated by a .359 average on balls in play and an abnormally low 58 percent strand rate. Woods-Richardson has walked too many hitters (12.8 percent) but also fanned a third of his opponents so far on the year. Woods Richardson is away from the club right now, pitching for Team USA in the Olympics (as is fellow newly acquired Twins pitching prospect Joe Ryan).

FanGraphs’ Eric Longenhagen writes that Woods Richardson works with both a four-seamer and a two-seamer, also praising the righty’s changeup and the shape of his curveball. MLB.com’s report praised Woods Richardson’s changeup as the best in Toronto’s system, and the general consensus on the right-hander is that if he can add a little velocity as he continues to fill out, he has the makings of a No. 2 or No. 3 starter.

It’s an impressive haul for the Twins, though the organization has to be disappointed that the season came to this. Minnesota entered the year as defending AL Central champs and hopeful contenders, but their season spiraled out of control early and has yet to recover. That’s prompted the front office to pivot to what certainly looks like it’ll be an accelerated retooling of the roster.

The Twins still have an impressive crop of controllable hitters, and the additions of Martin, Woods Richardson, Ryan and Drew Strotman in their first two trades of deadline season give them four upper-minors talents who could impact the club by 2022 (perhaps 2023, in Woods Richardson’s case). Parting with Berrios means bidding adieu to the best pitcher the organization has developed in more than a decade, but they’ll hope that the recent influx of talent quickly supplements their foundation of young hitters and produces another arm or two of Berrios’ caliber before long.

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2021-07-30 17:29:46Z
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2021 NBA Draft winners and losers: Magic accelerate rebuild with Suggs, Wagner - Sportsnet.ca

The 2021 NBA Draft has come and gone with a number of surprising selections and fun moments over the course of the evening.

We won’t actually know how teams performed in this draft until years down the line, but in the immediate aftermath there appears to be some clear winners and losers from Thursday night.

Winners

Orlando Magic

At the trade deadline this past season, the Magic went on a fire sale, trading away franchise cornerstones Nikola Vucevic and Aaron Gordon.

It was a deliberate move to try to tank for the No. 1 overall pick, something that didn’t pay off as they only ended up with No. 5 at the draft lottery.

Coming into this draft, Orlando was likely thinking it would have to find a way to make Jonathan Isaac co-exist with Scottie Barnes. But then the Toronto Raptors ended up taking Barnes at No. 4, and with Jalen Suggs on the board suddenly the Magic had a no-brainer decision on their hands, taking Suggs with No. 5 to help accelerate their rebuild.

Suggs is a natural-born leader and could be just what Orlando has been needing to help turn their sorrowfully mediocre culture around.

Throw in Franz Wagner, whom the Magic got with the No. 8 overall selection from the Chicago Bulls as part of the Vucevic deal at the deadline, and Orlando had itself a hell of an evening.

And a large reason for that was because of the Raptors’ decision to take Barnes.

Houston Rockets

Another team in the early phases of a rebuild, the Rockets got themselves a major boost by taking Jalen Green at No. 2 and then adding defensive stud Usman Garuba and ultra-athletic guard Josh Christopher later in the draft with the 23rd and 24th overall pick, respectively.

These look to be three building-block pieces for a Houston team that’s basically starting from scratch now after the drama James Harden and his exit put them through last season.

Green, in particular, appears to be a young man with a legitimate star quality to him. From the way his game projects at the NBA level, to the swagger he carried himself with on draft day he looks like he could be a real foundational piece for Houston moving forward.

Charlotte Hornets

The Hornets may have gotten the steal of the draft in dynamic UConn guard James Bouknight falling to them at No. 11.

Originally projected to go within at least the first eight picks, Bouknight kept falling and falling until he fell right into the Hornets’ lap, where his potential as a legitimate three-level scoring threat could pair very well with LaMelo Ball, even if there might be some positional and role overlap down the line between Bouknight and Devonte' Graham.

Additionally, the Hornets got Mason Plumlee, a very serviceable centre, and the No. 37 pick – who ended up being JT Thor from Auburn -- from the Pistons for just the No. 57 pick as Detroit was desperate to dump Plumlee’s salary.

And to top it off, Charlotte made a move with the New York Knicks to trade up for athletic big man Kai Jones at No. 19, a prospect who offers tremendous upside down line, particularly as a lob threat from Ball.

This was some good work from the Hornets.

Canadian basketball

On draft night, five Canadians made the league, three of whom were outright drafted.

The list includes Josh Primo, Chris Duarte (if you’re willing to count him that is), Dalano Banton, Eugene Omoruyi and AJ Lawson.

Primo was probably the biggest surprise pick of the entire evening as the Toronto native went No. 12 overall to the San Antonio Spurs, way higher than where he was originally projected to go.

Immediately following up Primo was Duarte, who went to the Indiana Pacers at No. 13. Duarte was born in Montreal, but was raised in the Dominican Republic so he identifies as Dominican more than anything. However, the Canadian roots still remain.

Omoruyi and Lawson have reportedly signed as undrafted free agents with the Dallas Mavericks and Miami Heat, respectively as well.

But the biggest win for Canadian basketball Thursday night came from Banton, who made history as the first Canadian to ever get drafted by the Raptors.

A tremendous moment.

Losers

Traditional positions in basketball

We are in the era of “position-less” basketball and for proof of this you need look no further than what the Raptors did Thursday night.

At No. 4 they had an opportunity to take Suggs, a more traditional point guard who could’ve seamlessly stepped in as Kyle Lowry’s heir apparent, but they instead went with Barnes and his Swiss Army Knife-like skillset.

Then, at No. 46, the Raptors took Banton, another long, versatile player who figures to be able to play multiple positions.

It’s clear that the Raptors like these long, athletic, multi-positional players because they now have four of them on their roster in Barnes, Banton, OG Anunoby and Pascal Siakam.

Whether or not they fit a traditional position on the floor seems irrelevant to the Raptors, as being as flexible -- both offensively and defensively -- is the name of the game these days.

The Raptors aren’t the only team that thinks like this, either, they’re just the most apparent in pushing the idea of playing without actual positions.

Los Angeles Lakers

The Lakers are acquiring Russell Westbrook from the Washington Wizards.

It’s costing them a fair bit as they’re giving up Kyle Kuzma, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Montrezl Harrell and the No. 22 pick in Thursday’s draft (who ended up being Kentucky big man Isaiah Jackson – whom the Wizards then flipped to the Indiana for Aaron Holiday), but the Lakers managed to land their man.

With Westbrook in the fold the Lakers have a star trio of him, LeBron James and Anthony Davis that combine for 34 all-star selections and 30 All-NBA team selections.

That’s some impressive stuff.

It also does nothing to help shore up the Lakers’ needs.

What Los Angeles needs is a guy who can help space the floor and give more room for James and Davis to operate around the basket.

Westbrook is a brilliant talent who is the legitimate king of the triple-double, but he doesn’t do that for the Lakers and will, most likely, do the exact opposite of that for them as he wants to dive into the paint just as much as his new superstar teammates do.

What’s funny is before this Westbrook deal came about there were reports about the Lakers looking to deal for Sacramento Kings sharpshooter Buddy Hield involving a similar package to the one they’re sending to the Wizards.

Hield isn’t anywhere close to the star that Westbrook is, but his acquisition would’ve helped the Lakers more than this Westbrook one would have.

“Expert” pre-draft analysis

All of those mock drafts and big boards published in advance of the draft appeared to be for naught as this was a draft where it felt like teams were going off the board from all over.

From the Raptors taking Barnes at No. 4, the Oklahoma City Thunder taking Josh Giddey at No. 6, Bouknight falling to No. 11 and Primo getting scooped up at No. 12, if you compare the actual draft results to the mocks from most of the foremost draft experts you’ll see a very different picture.

It just goes to show, what media members value – even incredibly connected and informed media members – will differ to what actual team executive do.

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2021-07-30 14:24:00Z
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Canada's Rosie MacLennan fell short of bronze at Tokyo Olympics, but she bounced back and acted like a champion - The Globe and Mail

Rosie MacLennan competes in final Friday for women's trampoline at the Ariake Gymnastics Centre in Tokyo. MacLennan missed the podium in the event, where she won gold in 2012 and 2016.

Melissa Tait / The Globe and Mail

Things started out okay.

Megu Uyama floated into the mixed zone after trampolining on Friday. It had been a rough day for the 25-year-old Japanese world trampolining champion. You only get one chance to lay down a score in this discipline. Uyama hadn’t taken it. She placed fifth.

Still, she was strong to begin with. Chin up, eyes forward, clear voice. Since you couldn’t understand what she was saying, your attention drifted. But then the voice started to rise and crack and everyone’s attention drifted back.

Uyama had begun to cry. Then she cried harder. By the end, she was in floods of tears and could not seem to stop herself from talking. This went on past the point when people had begun to look away.

Asked what Uyama was saying at such great length, one of the two local journalists on hand to record this display of misery said, “She was apologizing to Japan.”

Megu Uyama of Japan reacts after her routine.

Mike Blake/Reuters

Just then Rosie MacLennan showed up in her bare feet, schlepping all her gear, and said, “Hi!”

Superficially, MacLennan had nearly as bad a day as Uyama. She was the double-defending gold medallist in this event. Six weeks ago, she was in a walking cast after a training injury. She’d had to reimagine her routines and come in cold. Just getting here was a triumph of the will.

Then she’d finished in fourth place. That’s what cynics used to call the “Canadian bronze.”

But MacLennan, 32, was not gutted. She wasn’t happy, either. But minutes after what some people would see as a life-defining disappointment, she had already recalibrated her emotional radar and was focusing on other things. Like, how great it was for her opponents who had won medals and how they must feel right now; or how much she was looking forward to flying home and seeing family with whom she hasn’t been in the same room in a year.

These are the things people expect you to say after you’ve come fourth at the Olympics, but you can tell when it’s an acting job. This wasn’t that.

MacLennan and coach Dave Ross sit after her routine.

Melissa Tait / The Globe and Mail

Famously, MacLennan has had the same coach for 20 years, Dave Ross. Ross is renowned as a mad scientist of gymnastics.

(He spent a good while on Friday explaining how he had changed MacLennan’s path across the trampoline from back and forth to forth, back, back and forth, back … I can’t even tell you. It was like listening to a theoretical physicist explain the nuts and bolts of time travel, but harder to follow.)

Ross told a story about losing.

Years ago, a young athlete came to his house. He spotted a shelf of Ross’ sports psychology books. “Oh, head books! Cool,” he apparently said, pulling one off the shelf.

He flipped randomly to a Vince Lombardi quote – “Show me a good loser, and I’ll show you a loser.” He said, “Right on,” closed the book and carried on.

“He doesn’t know that it’s in a chapter about how adults make sport too serious for children and ruin them …,” Ross said. “You can’t put those types of values on people and expect that there’s no damage.”

MacLennan, 32, arrived at the final weeks after a training injury that forced her to rethink her routine.

Melissa Tait/The Globe and Mail

That damage has been a running, maybe even the overarching, theme of this Olympics. It is the crux of the Simone Biles situation. The core problem of creating an Olympian – how do you make someone the very best, without also hinging their entire sense of self-worth on that goal? And is it morally defensible to do so knowing that only one person is walking out the arena with that self-worth realized? We used to call this grit. Now, at this level, people are starting to call it abuse.

MacLennan is, in part, the answer. She has been an elite athlete her entire adult life. She’s been to four Olympics. She is an enormous star at her discipline. And she is also a normal person who loses and doesn’t feel like a loser.

How is that done? Part of it is obviously age and experience. Another part is knowing you can go home and wear your two Olympic gold medals around the house while you eat a bowl of cereal, just to do it.

But the important part, according to MacLennan, is understanding your rationale for devoting your life to this work.

She could have gone out on top after London or Rio. She just gave five more years to this and it hadn’t worked out. Any regrets?

“Absolutely not,” MacLennan said, with the sort of emphasis that suggested she’d thought about this many times before Friday. “Obviously, we’re always trying to push ourselves to be the best. Obviously, I really did want to come out here and win a medal for Canada. But at the end of the day, my experience of sport – there’s so much depth to it. There’s so much I’ve learned through sport that I can take with me through the rest of my life. I wouldn’t trade a second of it.”

MacLennan says she has no regrets about how she's pursued a third gold over the past five years.

Melissa Tait / The Globe and Mail

MacLennan has led a charmed Olympic life, but not a charmed athletic one. She’s had terrible injuries. She suffered concussions that, like Biles here, left her “terrified” to be in the air. She’s been through the athletic wars.

And it is those wars that have formed her, just as much as gold medals.

I’m not sure you can teach that sort of perspective. Maybe you have to be born with a predilection for it or, more likely, surrounded by people from a young age who reinforce it.

It is a depressing truth that athletes who are driven are more likely to succeed at the elite level than ones who are encouraged. As long as they are giving out medals made of gold, someone will be willing to go to any lengths to get one.

Only a fortunate few will get the entire breadth of possibilities – reaching the peak, and still feeling the “depth” (great word) – of the sporting life. If you could describe a perfect athletic life, that would probably be it. And in order to be full, it would have to include a fair share of disappointment.

After five years of effort, Rosie MacLennan came to Tokyo and lost out on a medal by less than one third of one point. That’s a single jump whose launch point you misjudged in mid-air by centimetres. That is something a lot of people might never let go of.

So why does it feel as if of all the competitors who competed all across the Olympic disciplines on Friday, none of them is winning more than MacLennan?

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video guide

Canada’s latest medal moments

Canada closed out its rowing campaign at the Tokyo Olympics with gold in the women’s eight, adding to a bronze won in women’s pairs. In the pool, Penny Oleksiak missed the podium by a thin margin. The Globe and Mail

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Visual guide

How Olympic gymnastic events work

Qualification

Artistic

Rhythmic

Trampoline

Artistic

Rhythmic

Trampoline

One of the world’s most exciting, dynamic and daring sports, gymnastics tests athletes’ balance, strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, and endurance. Acrobatic feats such as high-flying tumbles, somersaults, flips, spins and handstands are performed on special apparatus.

RHYTHMIC

Rhythmic gymnasts possess strength, speed, skill, flexibility and are capable of profound and expressive beauty. Gymnasts are scored on the artistry of their performances, which are set to music, and the skill with which they execute difficult manoeuvres with handheld apparatus.

Individual

ARTISTIC

Athletes perform short routines and are judged on the difficulty and execution of each performance.

Individual

Floor

Exercise

Horizontal

Bars

Parallel

Bars

Pommel

Horse

Uneven

Bars

TRAMPOLINE

Gymnasts spring to heights of up to 10 m and perform a series of short routines containing a variety ovf twists, bounces and somersaults.

Individual

The trampoline itself consists of a rectangular ‘bed’ made from a woven synthetic fabric and measuring 4.28 m x 2.14 m. The bed is attached to a frame with steel springs so that its recoil action propels performers high into the air.

SOURCE: REUTERS

Qualification

Artistic

Rhythmic

Trampoline

Artistic

Rhythmic

Trampoline

One of the world’s most exciting, dynamic and daring sports, gymnastics tests athletes’ balance, strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, and endurance. Acrobatic feats such as high-flying tumbles, somersaults, flips, spins and handstands are performed on special apparatus.

RHYTHMIC

Rhythmic gymnasts possess strength, speed, skill, flexibility and are capable of profound and expressive beauty. Gymnasts are scored on the artistry of their performances, which are set to music, and the skill with which they execute difficult manoeuvres with handheld apparatus.

Individual

ARTISTIC

Athletes perform short routines and are judged on the difficulty and execution of each performance.

Individual

Floor

Exercise

Horizontal

Bars

Parallel

Bars

Pommel

Horse

Uneven

Bars

TRAMPOLINE

Gymnasts spring to heights of up to 10 m and perform a series of short routines containing a variety ovf twists, bounces and somersaults.

Individual

The trampoline itself consists of a rectangular ‘bed’ made from a woven synthetic fabric and measuring 4.28 m x 2.14 m. The bed is attached to a frame with steel springs so that its recoil action propels performers high into the air.

SOURCE: REUTERS

Qualification

Artistic

Rhythmic

Trampoline

One of the world’s most exciting, dynamic and daring sports, gymnastics tests athletes’ balance, strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, and endurance. Acrobatic feats such as high-flying tumbles, somersaults, flips, spins and handstands are performed on special apparatus.

RHYTHMIC

Rhythmic gymnasts possess strength, speed, skill, flexibility and are capable of profound and expressive beauty. Gymnasts are scored on the artistry of their performances, which are set to music, and the skill with which they execute difficult manoeuvres with handheld apparatus.

Individual

ARTISTIC

Athletes perform short routines and are judged on the difficulty and execution of each performance.

Individual

Floor

Exercise

Horizontal

Bars

Parallel

Bars

Pommel

Horse

Uneven

Bars

TRAMPOLINE

Gymnasts spring to heights of up to 10 m and perform a series of short routines containing a variety ovf twists, bounces and somersaults.

Individual

The trampoline itself consists of a rectangular ‘bed’ made from a woven synthetic fabric and measuring 4.28 m x 2.14 m. The bed is attached to a frame with steel springs so that its recoil action propels performers high into the air.

SOURCE: REUTERS

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2021-07-30 12:13:26Z
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U.S. swimmer Ryan Murphy suggests race 'probably not clean' after Russian beats him in 200m backstroke - National Post

The celebratory mood at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre changed after Murphy relinquished the 200 backstroke crown, as Rylov, who also won the 100, touched first in an Olympic record

Author of the article:

Reuters

Simon Evans

Ryan Murphy lost the second of his Rio backstroke titles to Russian Evgeny Rylov at the 2020 Olympics on Friday and the U.S. swimmer then suggested doping had played a part in his demise as events took an acrimonious turn at the Tokyo pool. Photo by OLI SCARFF /AFP via Getty Images

Article content

TOKYO – Ryan Murphy lost the second of his Rio backstroke titles to Russian Evgeny Rylov at the 2020 Olympics on Friday and the U.S. swimmer then suggested doping had played a part in his demise as events took an acrimonious turn at the Tokyo pool.

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Another morning of memorable racing saw Tatjana Schoenmaker win the women’s 200m breaststroke in a world record 2:18.95 to deliver South Africa’s first gold medal of the Games, while China won their first men’s swimming gold in Tokyo, Wang Shun coming home first in the 200m medley.

There was no easing up from Australia’s gold medal greedy swimmers, with Emma McKeon winning the women’s 100m freestyle for her country’s sixth Olympic title in the pool.

But the celebratory mood at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre changed after Murphy relinquished the 200 backstroke crown, as Rylov, who also won the 100, touched first in an Olympic record.

“It is a huge mental drain on me to go throughout the year, that I am swimming in a race that’s probably not clean and that is what it is,” Murphy told a reporter in the post-race ‘mixed zone’ after finishing second to the Russian with Britain’s Luke Greenbank taking bronze.

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But at a later news conference the American, who took bronze in the 100m, backed away from any suggestion that his rivals in the race had cheated.

“I need to be clear, I’ve never made… , my intention is not to make any allegations here. Like, congratulations to Luke and Evgeny. They did an incredible job, they’re both very talented swimmers,” he said.

“At the end of the day … I do believe it (doping) is still big in swimming and it is what it is.”

Instead of reliving his thrilling victory at his post-race news conference Evgeny Rylov found himself defending his doping record. Photo by Carl Recine /Reuters

“I always do the doping tests … I would not be able to forgive myself if I had taken something. I don’t know how to react to this. I haven’t been accused of anything,” he said.

The Russian Olympic Committee fired back at Murphy’s comments with a statement of their own.

“Yes, we are here at the Olympic Games. Absolutely by right. Whether someone likes it or not,” the statement said, via The Associated Press.

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“You need to be able to lose. Not everyone has that gift.”

CAST A CLOUD
The exchanges cast a cloud over what had been another excellent session, which began with Africa’s second gold medal of the Games.

Schoenmaker, who had claimed silver in the 100m breaststroke on Tuesday, powered home to finish 0.97 seconds ahead of American Lilly King, with Annie Lazor of the United States in third.

The 24-year-old’s victory came after Tunisian Ahmed Hafnaoui’s success in the men’s 400m freestyle on Sunday.

King led until the 150m turn when Schoenmaker went in front and then delivered a powerful final length to smash the world record and grab gold.

“It still hasn’t sunk in,” Schoenmaker said. “I don’t wish my Olympic dream over, but I am excited to go and celebrate even just being at the Olympics.”

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Australia’s McKeon led at the turn in the 100m free and held off Hong Kong’s Siobhan Haughey down the final straight to win by 0.31 seconds, with team mate Cate Campbell taking bronze.

“I can’t believe it,” McKeon said. “I can just feel my emotions bubbling up now. I feel like this week has been a bit of an emotional rollercoaster — just getting up for your races and trying to relax again.”

The 29-year-old Campbell has three gold medals from relays to her name but had been looking for a first individual title to go with her bronze in the 50m freestyle from Beijing.

Although she had to settle for another bronze, Campbell said her tears were of joy.

“Honestly, it means the world to me. It’s been a really long journey to get here. I’m incredibly proud of that performance. These aren’t sad tears at all,” she said.

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Wang overtook American Michael Andrew in the final freestyle leg to win the 200m medley with a time of 1:55 with Britain’s Duncan Scott taking silver and Switzerland’s Jeremy Desplanches the bronze.

Andrew had led at the final turn but faded to finish fifth, while Hungary’s Laszlo Cseh, in his fifth Olympics at the age of 35, had been second at the halfway stage but ended seventh.

Wang said he had taken a more focused approach in Tokyo.

“I was just a kid at the London Olympics and it was easier, more of a fun feeling. When I was in Rio I wanted to compete with my team mates and also get a medal,” he added.

“This time I just wanted to focus on myself.”

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2021-07-30 10:10:03Z
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Prospect of Interest: Raptors second-round pick David Johnson - Sportsnet.ca

With the No. 47 pick in the 2021 NBA Draft, the Toronto Raptors took Louisville sophomore guard David Johnson.

Johnson is a player featuring excellent size for a guard and is solid in a lot of ways, but appears to lack one discernible NBA skill that makes him stand out.

Here’s a little more on the new Raptor.

TORONTO LETS GET TO WORK! https://t.co/4P9oLyIzck

— David johnson ひ (@davidjohnson13) July 30, 2021

Age: 20
School: Louisville
Position: Point guard
Height: Six-foot-five | Weight: 210 lbs
2020-21 stats: PPG: 12.6 | RPG: 5.8 | APG: 3.2 | 3P%: 38.6

A big guard with enticing measurables

Johnson’s greatest asset is his size.

At six-foot-five, 210 pounds with a six-foot-10-inch wingspan, to go along with big hands and an already solidly built body, physically Johnson looks to already be prepared for the NBA.

Because he’s played basically his entire life in the backcourt, he’s managed to use his size to his advantage against smaller guards and that is something that he should be able to continue to do at the NBA level.

And strictly speaking from a Raptors perspective, the addition of Johnson will give them a new dimension in their backcourt. With players like Fred VanVleet, Malachi Flynn and, if he returns, Kyle Lowry, the Raptors have talented guards, but they’re also relatively small.

With Johnson, however, suddenly those jumbo lineups that Raptors coach Nick Nurse is fond of at times could actually feature five men who are huge with the addition of Johnson.

Doesn’t seem to have a true, projectable position

As big and tall as Johnson is, however, he unfortunately looks to be a bit of a “tweener.”

That is to say, he’s a player who looks caught in between positions.

Louisville tried to play him at point guard during his career with them, but while he could make quick reads and fire off strong passes, he was also turnover prone, especially as opposing defences would attempt to blitz him and speed him up.

Additionally, while he’s proven himself an adept spot-up and catch-and-shoot shooter from deep, he isn’t very threatening coming off the dribble, and because his handle isn’t as tight as you’d want it to be for a lead guard, he’s also struggled at times to create his own shot, despite seemingly having the size to be able to get to a spot and then shoot over a smaller defender.

Lastly, while his size is, of course, a great tool to have on defence, he lacks the lateral quicks to keep up with guards, meaning he might be limited defensively to just wing players.

For someone as big as Johnson is at the guard position, there’s always mismatches to be found, but that can also be a two-way street, especially in today’s pace-and-space NBA, meaning it might be tougher than people think to find real rotational minutes for Johnson until he, at least, improves his handle.

Solid, but unspectacular

Despite the flaws mentioned above, Johnson does still appear to be a pretty solid prospect.

He does most things that you’d want from an NBA guard well enough, but there isn’t one aspect of his game that really leaps off the page.

Of course, he is a second-round pick and guys with those kinds of ready-made NBA skills are usually lottery picks, but outside of tightening up his handle and becoming a better shot creator for himself, it’s tough to see where, exactly, Johnson might still be able to improve.

This appears to be a problem that the Raptors’ vaunted player development program will have to solve.

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2021-07-30 12:17:00Z
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Why Did The Raptors Draft Scottie Barnes Over Jalen Suggs? | Instant Analysis - SPORTSNET

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2021-07-30 03:54:24Z
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NBA Draft 2021: Toronto Raptors select Scottie Barnes with the 4th overall pick - RaptorsHQ

The Raptors have upended consensus in the 2021 NBA Draft, opting to select Florida State forward Scottie Barnes with the fourth overall pick. To say this was a complete shock is not entirely true — there was buzz the Raptors were at least somewhat intrigued by Barnes’ potential — but it also felt like Toronto would not take the gamble (e.g. it felt like Jalen Suggs at no. 4 was a lock).

Barnes joins the Raptors just before his 20th birthday. He’s listed at 6’9” and 227 pounds, which puts him in the small forward category, by my math. Barnes spent one season at Florida State during which he averaged 10.3 points, 4.1 assists, and 4.0 rebounds per game across 24 contests. Admittedly, the numbers don’t exactly pop — Barnes only started seven games — but Toronto must love his potential.

Said potential is what our guy JD got at in his column here. Barnes has serious defensive skills, a player who can already guard almost every position via his strength, speed and know-how. The broadcast compared him to Draymond Green, which is not a bad place to be — particularly for a Raptors team that obviously values defensive ability and versatility. Like Green, Barnes has flashed an advanced play-making game for a forward, and he also has a limited offensive arsenal. Few are looking at Barnes, who shot 28 percent from three and 62 percent from the free-throw line, to be a lights-out gunner. Maybe he gets there in time, or maybe his skill-set is less dependent on his shot.

So then the risk: did the Raptors just get a player who can’t start for the current squad with OG Anunoby and Pascal Siakam locked in at the small and power forward position? Could it be that Barnes only tracks as another second or third-ranked player on a championship calibre team? (If that; some are worried he’s the next Stanley Johnson.) In all, the question remains: will Toronto regret missing on Suggs?

Or do the Raptors have something else planned with regards to their roster construction? Right now it’s unclear, but we do know one thing for now: Toronto has selected Scottie Barnes in the 2021 NBA Draft.

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2021-07-30 00:30:00Z
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