Good morning, everyone but the Pacers had a fun media day
That and much more in Tuesday’s NBA newsletter.
Good morning. Let’s basketball.
MEDIA DAY HIJINKS! Monday was Media Day for the clubs who aren’t going international in the preseason. (Those teams had Media Day on Friday.) Our curated StoryStream has lots of goodness. Some highlights:
* The Wizards are having a mohawk contest. Martell Webster, that is some mohawk, man. Also, can I say that seeing Marcin Gortat with hair is completely unnerving?
* J.J. Redick thought his son was an alien when he was born. Thanks, Dad!
* Timberwolves Twitter got a little weird. (That’s probably going to happen a lot this season.) Thad Young also got to throwing shade at Kevin Love, for some reason.
* NBA Mustache Alert: Steven Adams Edition. Actually, with a mustache, he automatically now goes by Steve Adams.
HOW THE MORRIS TWINS GOT PAID: Nice reporting by Bright Side Of The Sun’s Dave King, who talked to Lon Babby about how Phoenix handled early extension negotiations with the Morris twins. (They signed for a combined $52 million over four years on Monday.) Basically, Babby told the brothers he had $52 million to split between them, so he let the twins figure out how the split should go. It allowed the twins to avoid free agency, which would have greatly increased separation. And it let the Suns get a deal, in all likelihood. Brilliant maneuvering.
SPEAKING OF WHICH ... Our explainer on how early extensions work.
CAN KEVIN DURANT PALM A BASKETBALL? An investigation. An amazing maybe fact.
HOT SEAT CHECK: I wrote about the three head coaches on the hot seat this season, led by Kevin McHale, who I am seriously stunned is still in Houston.
NBA BLOG PREVIEWS: It’s time! First up: Blog a Bull and Denver Stiffs.
WELP: Here’s David West to bring us down. The Pacers have become the most pitiable team in the NBA.
HA! Kevin Durant is already sick of the Wizards 2016 rumors. Guess that means it’s a good time to start the Kings 2016 train ... wait, hello? Where did everyone go?
WOW! The Kings have reportedly hired Dean Oliver, the godfather of advanced basketball metrics. He previously worked for the Denver Nuggets and most recently as the head of ESPN’s analytics crew.
MORE DURANT: We linked Sam Amick’s big KD piece on Monday. Here are the deleted scenes.
WHIMSY: Assassins Creed: Kittens.
Happy Tuesday. See you next time.
