Welcome to NBA trade season! Hope you brought a book

Good morning. Sorry we’re late. Let’s basketball.

HAPPY TRADE SEASON! It’s officially NBA trade season as most players acquired or signed in the summer can now be moved. Here’s a list of potential names for the rumor mill, including one Dwight Howard. (Dwight addressed rumors he wants to leave H-Town with Sam Amick. Of course, Dwight has not proven to be particularly trustworthy in what he says to the media in the past.)

SCORES SCORES SCORES ...

DAL 81, IND 107
CHA 98, ORL 113
MIA 104, BKN 98
BOS 116, DET 119
MIN 102, NYK 107
PHI 106, ATL 127
MEM 85, CHI 98
POR 90, OKC 106
WAS 95, SAS 114
NOP 104, UTA 94
PHX 103, GSW 128
MIL 90, LAC 103

THIS IS THE THING ABOUT THE WARRIORS: Steph Curry and Klay Thompson have incredibly quick releases. They gather and bang! The shot’s up. That’s a big advantage. But they also have some of the more creative, risk-taking passers in the league in Curry, Andrew Bogut, Draymond Green and Andre Iguodala. They do some wild s--t. That leads to a split second of recognition being required for the defenders ... which, if the pass is to Steph or Klay, is death. This ridiculous no-look toss from Steph to Klay on Wednesday is a good example. Brandon Knight recognizes pretty quickly that Klay is getting the ball in his spot ... but it’s still too late. It’s just a deadly combo.

MESMERIZING: This is not a particularly notable dunk, but watching C.J. Miles blow by a disinterested Raymond Felton and then dunk on an oblivious JaVale McGee has a certain je ne sais quoi that increases its rewatchability 100 percent.

IN FRONT OF THE PACK: The Cavaliers aren’t blowing the doors off of the East. But as Paul Flannery writes, LeBron is carrying them to No. 1 while everything settles into place. We still don’t know how good they can be when everything clicks.

BOBAN IS SO TEXAS IT HURTS.

GO FIGURE: It costs a lot more to see the Warriors in Oakland or on the road all of a sudden.

OH MY: Kristaps Porzingis had seven blocks on Wednesday, many of them on Andrew Wiggins.

BIG FUN: Tim Duncan casually flips the ball boy’s cap off. A stoic prank.

YEP: Why Hassan Whiteside trade rumors don’t really make sense.

SUBSCRIBE: Adrian Wojnarowski has a new podcast to go with his new vertical, aptly named The Vertical. You’ll want to a) listen to the first episode starring Adam Silver and b) subscribe.

INTERESTING: What the people around Jahlil Okafor are saying about Jah’s recent troubles.

ALRIGHT: “Justin Bieber was baptized in Tyson Chandler’s bathtub.“ Alright. OK.

SAY CHEESE: Prada’s Pictures digs into the Spurs, who are pretty similar to what they’ve been in key ways.

THIS IS THE LAKERS OF HANDSHAKES: Kobe hit a nails-as-hell shot and then executed a Sixersesque handshake.

THIS IS A VERY BAD FULLCOURT HEAVE.

NO MERCY: I just adored this piece from old friend Dan Shanoff on the lessons learned as his 10-year-old son’s team gets obliterated by ringers repeatedly at a basketball tournament. Youth sports are a fascinating world.

NEAT: An oral history of the high school provincial tournament that set Steve Nash on a path to stardom. Via REDEF.

TONIGHT TONIGHT: We’re gonna call Thursday’s TNT doubleheader whiplash: Thunder-Cavaliers (whoa!) followed by Lakers-Rockets. I guess we can all go to bed early, at least.

Happy Thursday. See you next time.