This is an article version of the CBS Sports HQ AM Newsletter, the ultimate guide to every day in sports. You can sign up to get it in your inbox every weekday morning here.
💰 Good morning to all but especially to …
PAOLO BANCHERO AND THE ORLANDO MAGIC
There’s Magic in the air in Orlando, and Paolo Banchero is set to be at the forefront of it for a long time after signing a five-year max rookie extension worth up to $287 million that ties him to Orlando through 2030-31.
- The No. 1 overall pick in 2022, Banchero was the Rookie of the Year in 2022-23 and an All Star in 2023-24. He missed a significant part of 2024-25 with an oblique injury but still averaged a career-high 25.9 points.
- In October, Banchero became the youngest player in Magic history to have a 50-point game. He’s one of just 10 players ever to have a 50-point game before turning 22.
- His six 40-point games are already third in franchise history, behind Tracy McGrady and Shaquille O’Neal.
Banchero got a player option for 2030-31, the first player to receive such language in his rookie extension since Luka Dončić and Trae Young in 2021. Banchero could potentially hit free agency again at 27 and command another massive payday while still in his prime.
Orlando now has Banchero, Franz Wagner, Jalen Suggs and newly acquired Desmond Bane under contract through at least 2028-29, and it’s a core that should be competitive — at least — for the next half-decade. Brad Botkin placed the Bane blockbuster among his 10 best additions of this offseason.
- Botkin: “When you give up four first-round picks and two rotation players for a dude who’s never made an All-Star team, you better know what you’re doing. Luckily, I think Orlando knows what it’s doing here. Bane is perfect as the scoring and shooting punch Orlando desperately needs. … Orlando’s potential fringe-contender ascension isn’t based only on what Bane does himself, but what he frees up Banchero and Wagner to do with a true third threat to open up some of their driving lanes.
👍 Honorable mentions
🎾 And not such a good morning for …
Getty Images
GRIGOR DIMITROV
The tears in his eyes told the entire story: Grigor Dimitrov, playing one of the best matches of his life and on the precipice of one of the biggest wins of his life, was betrayed by his own body again. The 34-year-old Bulgarian suffered a pectoral injury and medically retired while up two sets on world No. 1 Jannik Sinner 6-3, 7-5, 2-2 in the Wimbledon Round of 16.
- Dimitrov appeared to injure his right pec on a low backhand volley into the net. He aced the next serve to win the game but immediately grabbed for the right side of his chest and sat on the grass grimacing.
- After a short on-court examination, Dimitrov exited the court but quickly re-emerged to retire. Sinner put an arm around the emotional Dimitrov, whom he called a “good friend.”
- Sinner, it should be noted, hurt his right elbow on a fall earlier in the match and had to take a medical timeout in the second set.
It’s a brutal turn of events for a player who has experienced so many of them. Dimitrov has medically retired in each of the last five Grand Slam appearances due to a litany of injuries, the only man in the Open Era to medically retire at five straight slams.
Making it all the more painful is how well he was playing. Dimitrov, whose only win over a world No. 1 came in 2013 against Novak Djokovic, had 14 aces to Sinner’s three and nearly doubled up Sinner in winners, 36-19.
Sinner will face Ben Shelton in the quarterfinal. Here are the scores and schedule.
👎 Not so honorable mentions
🏀 Norman Powell to Heat, John Collins to Clippers in three-team trade
Getty Images
The NBA trades just keep coming, the latest a three-team deal between the Clippers, Heat and Jazz. Here are the details:
- Heat get: Norman Powell
- Clippers get: John Collins
- Jazz get: Kyle Anderson, Kevin Love, 2027 second-round pick from Clippers
Powell is the biggest name here, coming off a season in which he averaged a career-high 21.8 points, and Miami earns an “A-” in James Herbert’s trade grades.
- Herbert: “Powell had a legitimate case to make his first All-Star Game last season. … In the aftermath of the Jimmy Butler trade and a first-round series loss to the Cavaliers that team president Pat Riley described as ‘humbling,’ Miami needed a player like Powell. He will relieve some of the scoring burden on Tyler Herro and Bam Adebayo, and, especially with Duncan Robinson gone, his shooting will improve the overall offensive ecosystem. Powell has made 44.9% of his catch-and-shoot 3s over the past seven seasons.”
That’s a great grade … and also the same one the Clippers got. Collins finally moves after years and years of trade rumors, and he’s a good fit as a stretch four (39.9% from 3 last season) who also has plenty of explosiveness and can gobble up rebounds, too.
It also gives the Clippers a chance to pursue Bradley Beal, whose situation with the Suns is tenuous at best. Sam Quinn broke down Beal’s contract status and where he could land.
🏀 Why the NCAA Tournament doesn’t need to expand
Getty Images
A decision regarding NCAA Tournament expansion is likely coming this week, when the Division I men’s basketball committee meets.
I’m not a fan of it, and neither is Matt Norlander. There are the emotional reasons: the drama of Selection Sunday, the perfect Cinderella storylines, the simple feeling that this is the ideal number, etc.
But there are also the tangible reasons, and Matt runs through the data that proves 68 teams is the right size for the NCAA Tournament, including …
- Expansion has never been about “access” — “There have been 91 Division I teams added since 1984-85 (with six of those having defected since). Those schools have a total of 168 NCAA Tournament bids. Out of those 168 bids, how many earned an at-large spot? One of those 168 bids, but even more eye-popping: one out of 362 overall at-larges in 40 years!”
- High-majors taking more bids than ever — “Over the past 10 NCAA Tournaments, there have been 362 at-large bids … 304 of them went to schools in a power conference. That’s 83%. … And if you think expanding the field would provide significantly more opportunities for mid-majors, never forget which people have been at the forefront of trying to change this tournament.”
🏈 Top 25 NFL moments of the first 25 years of the 2000s
Getty Images
The NFL just delivers, over and over again. It’s an empire that dominates not just one day of the week, but really the entire fall and a lot of the winter, too.
With the century one-quarter of the way over, Cody Benjamin ranked the top 25 NFL moments of the 21st century, and No. 1 is no surprise.
- Benjamin: “1. The Helmet Catch — The Giants weren’t just in the Super Bowl against the Patriots. They were looking to halt history, trying as underdogs to spoil New England’s bid for the first perfect NFL season in more than 30 years. They were trailing in the final two minutes. And then Eli Manning escaped the tugs of a Patriots pass rush and sent the ball to the skies in desperation, only for David Tyree to go up and come down with the pigskin pinned to his blue helmet in what some might’ve perceived as proof of divine intervention.”
(Hot take: Manning dropping it in the bucket to Mario Manningham on the Super Bowl-winning drive four years later — again against New England — was a better throw, but we can discuss another time.)
Anyway, this list is a wonderful trip down memory lane.
📺 What we’re watching Tuesday
⚽ Fluminense vs. Chelsea, 3 p.m. on TNT/truTV
🏀 Grizzlies vs. 76ers, 7 p.m. on NBA TV
⚾ Dodgers at Brewers, 7:40 p.m. on TBS
🏀 Aces at Liberty, 8 p.m. on ESPN
🏀 Thunder vs. Jazz, 9 p.m. on NBA TV
🏀 Lakers vs. Spurs, 10 p.m. on ESPN
⚾ Braves at Athletics, 10:05 p.m. on MLB Network
