Good morning. Shaq is a business, man.
That and more in Thursday’s NBA newsletter.
Good morning. Let’s basketball, before Taco Tom Thibodeau gets sick.
IT’S A GREAT MORNING, REALLY: This is Pau dancing with Elmo.
INSIDE THE SHAQ EMPIRE: A totally engrossing read on the business of Shaq from the New York Times. It includes this line: “His 1996 film, “Kazaam,” was not considered for an Academy Award.” The vignette about product placement in the new Shaq Fu game was coffee-spitting gold.
THE GRUDGE: Chris Bosh reveals he hasn’t talked to LeBron since The Decision 2, and seems to think this is totally un-extraordinary.
FINALLY, SOMEONE WHO CAN BEAT THE SPURS: San Antonio loses a preseason exhibition against Alba Berlin. Dirk is going to troll Tim so hard.
WILT’S TALL TALES: 15 years after his death, The Sports Fan Journal remembers Wilt Chamberlain.
THERE IS A LIGHT: Flannery talked to Brett Brown about the Sixers’ long rebuild and how he stays sane.
BLAKE’S NEW WEAPON: Prada on why you should be terrified of Blake Griffin’s new jumper.
THE LATEST SIGN THAT FRANK VOGEL IS NOT GETTING REPLACED: He in fact signed an extension.
RULES IS RULES: Nene, DeJuan Blair suspended for the regular season opener for leaving the bench during PokeFest 2014. Shouldn’t preseason crimes be punishable only in preseason? Preseason should basically be The Basketball Purge. I want to see DeMarcus Cousins get ejected from every preseason game due to really weird rule violations.
NBA BLOG PREVIEWS: Hot Hot Hoops has the Heat and Grizzly Bear Blues covers the, uh, Grizzlies.
CAN THE BULLS WIN THE EAST? Dan Rubenstein explores. I need a little more time watching Rose and Mirotic before I make an inaccurate prediction.
GOOD FOR THE GANDER: A few stars attacked the max contract in the context of the new TV deal. At least one owner defended capping individual salary. So I suggested extending that policy to individual franchise profits. And now I’m the socialist ...
THIS SHOULD BE FUN: The Kings hired a Grinnell College assistant to coach their D-League team. Grinnell College has an odd system that involves super-quick possessions and an inordinate number of substitutions. You may remember the team from when its star Jack Taylor scored 138 points in a game two years ago.
EVERYTHING IS ONE INJURY AWAY FROM BEING TERRIBLE: Kyrie Irving is wearing a walking boot as a precaution.
GOT ‘EM: DeMarcus Cousins catches Nik Stauskas taking a picture of his per diem cash on a flight to China.
Happy Thursday. See you next time.
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