After an investigation that lasted almost four months, the league announced on Wednesday that both the Bulls and Heat would lose second-round draft picks for premature discussions with then-pending free agents Lonzo Ball and Kyle Lowry. Plus, the Bulls will be without Coby White, after the point guard tested positive for the coronavirus.

Considering the punishment that could have been slammed down on the Bulls organization Wednesday afternoon, the franchise had to feel very good about what amounted to a slap on the wrist.

In the wake of an investigation by the NBA that began almost four months ago, both the Bulls and the Heat were hit with the loss of second-round draft picks for what the league determined to be premature discussions into the then-pending free agency of Lonzo Ball and Kyle Lowry.

While the Bulls have obviously stayed very mum throughout the process, they did issue a statement after the punishment was announced, saying “We are glad this process has concluded and look forward to the rest of our season.”

They should also be glad that the NBA felt like both organizations fully cooperated, hence lessening the extent that the punishment could have reached.

The NBA has gone out of its way the last few years to stop the practice of recruiting and tampering by organizations when it comes to the free-agent period, and put in penalties that included fining teams up to $10 million, suspending executives and front-office personnel, forfeiting draft picks, and if they wanted could even simply void the contract if a deal was done.

When free agency opened last Aug. 2, the Bulls and Heat opened some eyes with the NBA office, announcing sign-and-trade deals for Ball and Lowry, respectively, just minutes into the opening window. Sign-and-trades usually take some work to get completed, so that’s why the spotlight moved in that direction.

The Bulls made a deal with the Pelicans to acquire Ball, signing the point guard to a four-year, $80 million contract, and sending over Garrett Temple and Tomas Satoransky.

Miami negotiated a three-year, $85 million deal for Lowry, shipping over Goran Dragic and Precious Achjuwa to Toronto.

“While we disagree, we accept the league’s decision,” the Heat said in a statement.

As far as Bulls coach Billy Donovan was concerned, he was just glad the entire situation was in the rearview mirror.

“I’m obviously, for the organization, happy it’s over and done with,” Donovan said. “Before anything came out, [Bulls executive vice president of basketball operations] Arturas [Karnisovas] was very transparent with me that this was going on, but just based on the league and the way it was being handled, just wasn’t able to offer me any information. Outside of finding out that it all got put to bed [Wednesday], in the middle of that I really wasn’t involved at all.”

Plus, Donovan had enough on his table to deal with in-house.

After losing Nikola Vucevic for seven games because of a positive test for the coronavirus last month, the coach found out just before the trip to New York that Coby White was the latest Bull to test positive.

That meant no trip east to take on the Knicks and then the Nets, as well as a recovery time, and then the point guard needing to pass the cardiovascular scanning before he can be cleared.

White had missed all of the summer workouts and fall camp because of a left shoulder surgery to repair a torn labrum, and was just starting to get his minutes up and find a rhythm. So the timing couldn’t be much worse.

“I feel bad for Coby just because he’s coming off the shoulder injury,” Donovan said. “He’s trying to find his way back and now he’s got another period of time where he’s not going to be able to do anything physically until the league clears him to go through cardiac testing. However long that takes.”

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Philanthropist Jacqueline Avant, wife of music executive Clarence Avant (pictured) and mother-in-law of Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos, was shot and killed during a home invasion robbery in the early hours Wednesday in the Beverly Hills, California area. She was 81. | Getty

Clarence Avant is known as the “Godfather of Black Music” and was recently inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

Jacqueline Avant, a Los Angeles philanthropist and the wife of music legend Clarence Avant, was fatally shot in Beverly Hills, California, early Wednesday, according to authorities and a Netflix spokeswoman.

Netflix spokeswoman Emily Feingold confirmed that Jacqueline Avant was killed in the shooting. Avant’s daughter, Nicole, is married to Ted Sarandos, Netflix co-CEO and chief content officer.

Jacqueline Avant was a local philanthropist who was president of the Neighbors of Watts and served on the board of directors of the International Student Center at the University of California, Los Angeles.

Her husband, Clarence Avant, is known as the “Godfather of Black Music” and was recently inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Former President Barack Obama and Vice President Kamala Harris were among those who paid tribute to him in a video made for the induction ceremony in October.

Nicole Avant, who served as U.S. ambassador to the Bahamas from 2009 to 2011, is now a film producer whose work includes a 2019 Netflix documentary about her father, “The Black Godfather.” In an interview with NBC News about the documentary, she praised her mother.

“My mom is really the one who brought to my father and our family the love and passion and importance of the arts and culture and entertainment,” she said. “While my father was in it, making all the deals, my mother was the one who gave me, for example, my love of literature, my love of filmmaking, my love of storytelling.”

Beverly Hills police have not identified Jacqueline Avant as the victim in Wednesday’s violence. They have only said that detectives are investigating a shooting that killed one person.

The coroner’s office has not yet officially identified the person, either, but said the victim was reported as a woman in her 80s.

The suspect — or suspects — fled the scene and have not been found, Beverly Hills police said in a news release.

Police received a call at 2:23 a.m. reporting the shooting in a neighborhood. Officers found a person with a gunshot wound, who was later pronounced dead.

The police chief was expected to hold a briefing later in the day with more information.

TMZ first reported Jacqueline Avant’s death.

The Avants were married in 1967. They had two children, Nicole Avant and Alexander Du Bois Avant.

Clarence Avant, 90, is a Grammy-winning executive, concert promoter and manager who mentored and helped the careers of artists including Bill Withers, Little Willie John, L.A. Reid, Babyface, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis.

He founded Sussex Records and Tabu Records in the 1960s and 1970s, and was chair of Motown Records in the 1990s.

Basketball icon Earvin “Magic” Johnson wrote on Twitter that he and his wife were “devastated” by the news of Avant’s death, calling her “one of our closest friends.”

“This is the saddest day in our lives,” he wrote.

Rep. Karen Bass, a Democrat from California, said she was heartbroken by the violence.

“Mrs. Avant was a force of compassion and empowerment locally and nationally for decades, as well as a model of service and giving back to those who needed it most,” Bass wrote on Twitter.

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Members of the 1983 Division champion White Sox LaMarr Hoyt (left), Harold Baines (center) and Tony LaRussa after Hoyt and LaRussa threw out the ceremonial first pitch before the Sox played the Oakland Athletics in Chicago on Sunday, June 9, 2013. (AP Photo/Charles Cherney)

Right-hander won Cy Young Award with 1983 division champion ‘Winning Ugly’ White Sox

LaMarr Hoyt, the 1983 Cy Young Award winner who helped the “Winning Ugly” White Sox win the American League West Division championship that season, died Monday in Columbia, South Carolina, following a lengthy illness, the Sox confirmed Wednesday. He was 66.

Hoyt, who posted a 98-68 record and 3.99 ERA with 48 complete games during an eight-year career, went 24-10 with a 3.66 ERA in 1983, winning 13 straight games in one stretch in the second half while walking only 31 batters over 260 2/3 innings. After posting a 13-18 record and 4.77 ERA in 1984, Hoyt was traded to the Padres in a multiplayer deal that brought shortstop Ozzie Guillen to the South Side.

“My dad passed away from cancer with me by his side early in the morning of the 29th,” said Mathew Hoyt, LaMarr’s oldest son, in a release from the Sox. “He genuinely loved being a part of the White Sox organization, and I can say without a doubt those were the best years of his life. All he talked about in his final days was baseball, the White Sox and all of his former teammates.”

Said Sox manager Tony La Russa, who managed Hoyt during the pitcher’s years with the Sox: “My first impression of LaMarr was, ‘Here is a pitcher’. He had average stuff but amazing command and tremendous confidence, and he never showed fear.”

Hoyt made his major-league debut on Sept. 14, 1979 against the Oakland Athletics and opened the 1980 season in the starting rotation. He faced the minimum 27 batters in a victory against the Yankees on May 2, 1984 at old Comiskey Park, allowing a seventh-inning single to Don Mattingly, who was retired on a double play. Hoyt led the AL with 19 wins in 1982.

“We brought him up to the big leagues in 1979 and nothing bothered him,” La Russa said. “He had this impressive cool where he believed if he made his pitches, he would get hitters out. He faced teams multiple times in a season but could change up his looks and keep them off balance. What a great competitor.”

With the Padres in 1985, Hoyt started and was the winning pitcher for the National League at the All-Star Game in Minnesota and finished the season with a 16-8 record and 3.47 ERA over 31 starts.

Hoyt fell victim to drug problems and was out of baseball by 1987. He was 31 when he pitched his final season in 1986 with the Padres, pitching to a 5.15 ERA in 35 games. He was arrested twice on drug-possession charges following the 1985 season and was arrested on the U.S.-Mexico border after the 1986 season. He was sentenced to 45 days in jail on Dec. 16, 1986, and suspended by commissioner Peter Ueberroth.

The Sox signed Hoyt after he was released by the Padres, giving him a second chance, but he was arrested a fourth time, ending his return.

Hoyt was born Dewey LaMarr Hoyt Jr. on Jan. 1, 1955 in Columbia. He originally was selected by the New York Yankees in the fifth round of the 1973 draft and traded to the Sox on April 5, 1977 with outfielder Oscar Gamble and pitcher Bob Polinsky in exchange for shortstop Bucky Dent.

Funeral arrangements are pending.

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Members of the 1983 Division champion White Sox LaMarr Hoyt (left), Harold Baines (center) and Tony LaRussa after Hoyt and LaRussa threw out the ceremonial first pitch before the Sox played the Oakland Athletics in Chicago on Sunday, June 9, 2013. (AP Photo/Charles Cherney)

Right-hander won Cy Young Award with 1983 division champion ‘Winning Ugly’ White Sox

LaMarr Hoyt, the 1983 Cy Young Award winner who helped the “Winning Ugly” White Sox win the American League West Division championship that season, died Monday in Columbia, S.C. following a lengthy illness, the Sox confirmed Wednesday. He was 66.

Hoyt, who posted a 98-68 record and 3.99 ERA with 48 complete games during an eight-year career, went 24-10 with a 3.66 ERA in 1983, winning 13 straight games in one stretch in the second half while walking only 31 batters over 260 2/3 innings. After posting a 13-18 record and 4.77 ERA in 1984, Hoyt was traded to the Padres in a multiplayer deal that brought shortstop Ozzie Guillen to the South Side.

“My dad passed away from cancer with me by his side early in the morning of the 29th,” said Mathew Hoyt, LaMarr’s oldest son, in a release from the Sox. “He genuinely loved being a part of the White Sox organization, and I can say without a doubt those were the best years of his life. All he talked about in his final days was baseball, the White Sox and all of his former teammates.”

Said Sox manager Tony La Russa, who managed Hoyt during the pitcher’s years with the Sox: “My first impression of LaMarr was, ‘Here is a pitcher’. He had average stuff but amazing command and tremendous confidence, and he never showed fear.”

Hoyt made his major-league debut on September 14, 1979 against the Oakland Athletics and opened the 1980 season in the starting rotation. He faced the minimum 27 batters in a victory against the Yankees on May 2, 1984 at old Comiskey Park, allowing a seventh-inning single to Don Mattingly, who was retired on a double play. Hoyt led the AL with 19 wins in 1982.

“We brought him up to the big leagues in 1979 and nothing bothered him,” La Russa said. “He had this impressive cool where he believed if he made his pitches, he would get hitters out. He faced teams multiple times in a season but could change up his looks and keep them off balance. What a great competitor.”

With the Padres in 1985, Hoyt started and was the winning pitcher for the National League at the All-Star Game in Minnesota and finished the season with a 16-8 record and 3.47 ERA over 31 starts.

Hoyt fell victim to drug problems and was out of baseball by 1987. He was 31 when he pitched his final season in 1986 with the Padres, pitching to a 5.15 ERA in 35 games. He was arrested twice on drug-possession charges following the 1985 season and was arrested on the U.S.-Mexico border after the 1986 season. He was sentenced to 45 days in jail on December 16, 1986, and suspended by commissioner Peter Ueberroth.

The Sox signed Hoyt after he was released by the Padres, giving him a second chance, but he was arrested a fourth time, ending his return.

Hoyt was born Dewey LaMarr Hoyt Jr. on Jan. 1, 1955 in Columbia, S.C. He originally was selected by the New York Yankees in the fifth round of the 1973 draft and traded to the Sox on April 5, 1977 with outfielder Oscar Gamble and pitcher Bob Polinsky in exchange for shortstop Bucky Dent.

Funeral arrangements are pending.

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Philanthropist Jacqueline Avant, wife of music executive Clarence Avant (pictured) and mother-in-law of Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos, was shot and killed during a home invasion robbery in the early hours Wednesday in the Beverly Hills, California area. She was 81. | Getty

Clarence Avant is known as the “Godfather of Black Music” and was recently inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. — Jacqueline Avant, the wife of music legend Clarence Avant, was fatally shot in Beverly Hills, California, early Wednesday, according to authorities and a Netflix spokeswoman.

Netflix spokeswoman Emily Feingold confirmed that Jacqueline Avant was killed in the shooting. Avant’s daughter, Nicole, is married to Ted Sarandos, Netflix co-CEO and chief content officer.

Clarence Avant is known as the “Godfather of Black Music” and was recently inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

The suspect — or suspects — fled the scene and have not been found, Beverly Hills police said in a news release.

Police received a call at 2:23 a.m. reporting the shooting in a neighborhood. Officers found a person with a gunshot wound, who was later pronounced dead.

The police chief was expected to hold a briefing later in the day with more information.

Nicole Avant produced “The Black Godfather,” a 2019 documentary about her dad that streamed on Netflix.

TMZ first reported Jacqueline Avant’s death.

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Emerson Miller, right, leans on her friend Joselyn’s shoulder as they listen to Jessi Holt, pastor at LakePoint Community Church, during a prayer vigil at the church after the Oxford High School school shooting, Tuesday, Nov. 30, 2021, in Oxford, Mich. | AP

Investigators were still trying to determine a motive for the shooting Tuesday at Oxford High School, located in a community of about 22,000 people roughly 30 miles north of Detroit.

OXFORD TOWNSHIP, Mich. — A fourth student, a 17-year-old boy, died Wednesday from wounds he suffered when a sophomore opened fire at a Michigan high school a day earlier, authorities said.

The other victims included a 16-year-old boy who died in a deputy’s patrol car on the way to a hospital. Seven people were wounded, some critically, including a 14-year-old girl who was placed on a ventilator after surgery.

Investigators were still trying to determine a motive for the shooting Tuesday at Oxford High School, located in a community of about 22,000 people roughly 30 miles north of Detroit. Authorities said they were searching the suspect’s cellphone, school video footage and social media posts.

“The person that’s got the most insight and the motive is not talking,” Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard said late Tuesday at a news conference.

Deputies rushed to the school around lunch time and arrested the suspect in a hallway within minutes. He put his hands in the air as deputies approached, Bouchard said.

The boy’s father on Friday bought the 9 mm Sig Sauer used in the shooting, Bouchard said. He did not know why the man bought the semiautomatic handgun, which his son had been posting pictures of and practicing shooting, Bouchard said.

Authorities did not immediately release the boy’s name.

The four students who were killed were identified as 16-year-old Tate Myre, 14-year-old Hana St. Juliana, 17-year-old Madisyn Baldwin and Justin Shilling, who died Wednesday.

Bouchard said Myre died in a patrol car as a deputy tried to get him to an emergency room.

A teacher who received a graze wound to the shoulder left the hospital, but seven students ranging in age from 14 to 17 remained hospitalized through the night with gunshot wounds, he said.

The gun the boy was carrying had seven more rounds of ammo in it when he surrendered, Bouchard said.

Undersheriff Mike McCabe said the student’s parents advised their son not to talk to investigators. Police must seek permission from a juvenile’s parents or guardian to speak with them, he added.

Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald said in a statement that her office expects to issue charges quickly and that an update would be given Wednesday.

After the attack, authorities learned of social media posts about threats of a shooting at the roughly 1,700-student school. The sheriff stressed how crucial it is for such tips to be sent to authorities, while also cautioning against spreading social media rumors before a full investigation.

McCabe downplayed the significance of a situation in early November when a deer’s head was thrown off the school roof, which he said was “absolutely unrelated” to the shooting. The incident prompted school administrators to post two letters to parents on the school’s website, saying they were responding to rumors of a threat against the school but had found none.

Bouchard said the student in custody in the shooting had no previous run-ins with his department, and he was not aware of any disciplinary history at school.

“That’s part of our investigation to determine what happened prior to this event and if some signs were missed, how were they missed and why,” he said.

The district said in a statement that all schools would be closed for the rest of the week.

Isabel Flores, a 15-year-old ninth grader, told Detroit television station WJBK that she and other students heard gunshots and saw another student bleeding from the face. They then ran from the area through the rear of the school, she said.

A concerned parent, Robin Redding, said her son, 12th-grader Treshan Bryant, stayed home Tuesday after hearing threats of a possible shooting.

“This couldn’t be just random,” she said.

Bryant said he had heard vague threats “for a long time now” about plans for a shooting.

At a vigil Tuesday night at LakePoint Community Church, Leeann Dersa choked back tears as she hugged friends and neighbors. Dersa has lived nearly all of her 73 years in Oxford. Her grandchildren attended the high school.

“Scared us all something terrible. It’s awful,” Dersa said of the shooting.

Pastor Jesse Holt said news of the shooting flooded in to him and his wife, including texts from some of the 20 to 25 students who are among the 400-member congregation.

“Some were very scared, hiding under their desks and texting us, ‘We’re safe, we’re OK. We heard gunshots, but we’re OK.’ They were trying to calm us, at least that’s how it felt,” he said.

___

Associated Press writers Corey Williams in West Bloomfield, Michigan; David Aguilar in Oxford Township, Michigan; Kathleen Foody in Chicago; and Josh Boak in Rosemount, Minnesota, contributed to this report.

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