CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Memphis starting guard Jaylen Wells broke his right wrist on a hard fall on his arm and head from a midair collision at the end of a fast-break dunk during a victory over Charlotte on Tuesday, likely ending the rookie's season right before the Grizzlies go into the playoffs.
Wells was down for eight minutes before being lifted by medical personnel onto a stretcher with his head strapped in to restrict motion and taken to a hospital, where he had movement in all of his extremities, interim coach Tuomas Iisalo said.
“It puts everything into perspective seeing that situation and to see Jaylen there,” Iisalo said. “He’s an incredibly tough kid and had a great season.”
The rookie's father, Fred Wells, told the Memphis Commercial Appeal that his son was alert enough to ask what the score of the game was. He had pain in his face, jaw and back.
Wells caught an outlet pass from Ja Morant and went up to the rim, when Simpson inadvertently undercut him from behind after trying to catch up to the play. The contact caused Wells to lose his balance while in the air and land awkwardly on his side as his head slammed against the court near the baseline.
“It’s tough. I threw the pass and turned around and was doing our little touchdown celebration. When I got there, the first thing I saw was blood, and I’ve got a weak stomach," Morant said. "We’ve just got to stay with him and keep praying for him. It’s next man up. Obviously that hurts. Guys will just have to be ready.”
The game was delayed a total of 23 minutes, including warmup time for both teams. Officials called a Flagrant 2 foul on Simpson after a replay review for unnecessary contact, which comes with an automatic ejection. Simpson immediately bent down to check on Wells after their collision and was visibly distraught while Wells was being tended to in the silent arena.
A 2024 second-round draft pick out of Washington State, Wells has yet to miss a game for Memphis while starting 74 of 79 games. The 6-foot-7 Wells entered Tuesday’s game with averages of 10.5 points, 3.4 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game. The Grizzlies with the win moved into a tie for fourth place in the crowded Western Conference race, but they could still drop as low as eighth.
AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA
Memphis Grizzlies forward Jaylen Wells (0) watches his shot during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Charlotte Hornets, Tuesday, April 8, 2025, in Charlotte, N.C. (AP Photo/Jacob Kupferman)
Memphis Grizzlies interim head coach Tuomas Iisalo looks on during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Charlotte Hornets, Tuesday, April 8, 2025, in Charlotte, N.C. (AP Photo/Jacob Kupferman)
Memphis Grizzlies forward Jaylen Wells (0) brings the ball upcourt during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Charlotte Hornets, Tuesday, April 8, 2025, in Charlotte, N.C. (AP Photo/Jacob Kupferman)
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — After months of tense negotiations, the U.S. and Ukraine signed a deal that is expected to give Washington access to the country’s critical minerals and other natural resources, an agreement Kyiv hopes will secure long-term support for its defense against Russia.
According to Ukrainian officials, the version of the deal signed Wednesday is far more beneficial to Ukraine than previous versions, which they said reduced Kyiv to a junior partner and gave Washington unprecedented rights to the country's resources.
The agreement — which the Ukrainian parliament must ratify — would establish a reconstruction fund for Ukraine that Ukrainian officials hope will be a vehicle to ensure future American military assistance. A previous agreement was nearly signed before being derailed in a tense Oval Office meeting involving U.S. President Donald Trump, U.S. Vice President JD Vance and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
“We have formed a version of the agreement that provides mutually beneficial conditions for both countries. This is an agreement in which the United States notes its commitment to promoting long-term peace in Ukraine and recognizes the contribution that Ukraine has made to global security by giving up its nuclear arsenal,” Economy Minister Yulia Svyrydenko, who signed the deal for Ukraine, said in a post on Facebook.
The signing comes during what U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said would be a “very critical” week for U.S.-led efforts to end the war that appear to have stalled. Ukraine sees the deal as a way to ensure that its biggest and most consequential ally stays engaged and doesn’t freeze military support, which has been key in its 3-year-old fight against Russia’s full-scale invasion.
“This agreement signals clearly to Russia that the Trump administration is committed to a peace process centered on a free, sovereign, and prosperous Ukraine over the long term,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who signed for the U.S., said in a statement.
Here is a look at the deal.
The deal covers minerals, including rare earth elements, but also other valuable resources, including oil and natural gas, according to the text released by Ukraine's government.
It does not include resources that are already a source of revenue for the Ukrainian state. In other words, any profits under the deal are dependent on the success of new investments. Ukrainian officials have also noted that it does not refer to any debt obligations for Kyiv, meaning profits from the fund will likely not go toward the paying the U.S. back for its previous support.
Officials have also emphasized that the agreement ensures full ownership of the resources remains with Ukraine, and the state will determine what can be extracted and where.
The text of the deal lists 55 minerals but says more can be agreed to.
Trump has repeatedly expressed interest in Ukraine's rare earth elements, and some of them are included in the list, as are other critical minerals, such as titanium, lithium and uranium.
They are a group of 17 elements that are essential to many kinds of consumer technology, including cellphones, hard drives and electric and hybrid vehicles.
China is the world’s largest producer of rare earth elements, and both the U.S and Europe have sought to reduce their dependence on Beijing, Trump’s chief geopolitical adversary.
They include elements such as lanthanum, cerium and scandium, which are listed in the deal.
The agreement establishes a reconstruction investment fund, and both the U.S. and Ukraine will have an equal say in its management, according to Svyrydenko.
The fund will be supported by the U.S. government through the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation agency, which Ukraine hopes will attract investment and technology from American and European countries.
Ukraine is expected to contribute 50% of all future profits from government-owned natural resources into the fund. The United States will also contribute in the form of direct funds and equipment, including badly needed air defense systems and other military aid.
Contributions to the fund will be reinvested in projects related to mining, oil and gas as well as infrastructure.
No profits will not be taken from the fund for the first 10 years, Svyrydenko said.
Trump administration officials initially pushed for a deal in which Washington would receive $500 billion in profits from exploited minerals as compensation for its wartime support.
But Zelenskyy rejected the offer, saying he would not sign off on an agreement “that will be paid off by 10 generations of Ukrainians.”
Ukraine’s rare earth elements are largely untapped because of state policies regulating the industry, a lack of good information about deposits, and the war.
The industry’s potential is unclear since geological data is thin because mineral reserves are scattered across Ukraine, and existing studies are considered largely inadequate, according to businessmen and analysts.
In general, however, the outlook for Ukrainian natural resources is promising. The country's reserves of titanium, a key component for the aerospace, medical and automotive industries, are believed to be among Europe’s largest. Ukraine also holds some of Europe’s largest known reserves of lithium, which is required to produce batteries, ceramics and glass.
In 2021, the Ukrainian mineral industry accounted for 6.1% of the country’s gross domestic product and 30% of exports.
An estimated 40% of Ukraine's metallic mineral resources are inaccessible because of Russian occupation, according to data from We Build Ukraine, a Kyiv-based think tank. Ukraine has argued that it's in Trump’s interest to develop the remainder before Russian advances capture more.
FILE - President Donald Trump, right, meets with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the Oval Office at the White House, Feb. 28, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/ Mystyslav Chernov, File)
President Donald Trump welcomes Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House in Washington, Friday, Feb. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)
