Craig Sager left the world more colorful

Good morning. Let’s basketball.

BEACON OF JOY: As you have surely heard by now, NBA broadcasting icon Craig Sager has died after a hard two-year fight with leukemia. Rachel Nichols, Sager’s former co-worker and longtime friend, learned the news just before going on the air for her NBA show The Jump; her eulogy for Sager was lovely. J.A. Adande’s print eulogy on Sager’s reporting chops is beautiful. TNT put together an amazing tribute for its Thursday night broadcast. Players from all over paid him tribute. Gregg Popovich got emotional remembering his frequent combatant. Steve Kerr led the Warriors crowd in a moment of joy to celebrate Sager’s life. And here’s SB Nation’s own Zito Madu on how Sager made us smile, even in his darkest hour.

Craig made the world a helluva lot more colorful with his presence. We’ll miss him, and remember him.

The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society should be receiving lots of donations in Craig’s name right about now.

LABORIOUS: I present eight winners and four losers from the NBA’s new labor deal. One of those winners: Chris Paul, the union’s president, who stands to be the first and most prominent beneficiary of the new Banana Boat Rule. Plus, here are seven reasons the NBA avoided a lockout. Draymond Green thinks lower-tier players are getting hosed in the deal (despite a massive increase in the minimum salary, mid-level exception and biennial exception). Meanwhile, while the league’s decision to shrink preseason will reduce back-to-backs going forward, it won’t solve the problem of stars resting at opportune times.

INCREDIBLE: The Warriors assisted on each of the first 36 buckets they scored on Thursday.

SCORES GALORE ...

Bulls 97, Bucks 108
Pacers 95, Pelicans 102
Blazers 120, Nuggets 132
Spurs 107, Suns 92
Knicks 90, Warriors 103

SHEESH: The Rockets renounced rights to Donatas Motiejunas on Thursday. So much for having worked out a deal. He’s now an unrestricted free agent. What an ordeal.

A WALT BY ANY OTHER NAME: Fascinating piece by Marc Spears on Mahdi Abdul-Rahman, better known as Walt Hazzard, who struggled after converting to Islam in the early ‘70s.

GRIND ALERT: Mike Conley is on track to come back soon ... a month early.

RUDE: Jeff Hornacek made Knicks rookies run wind sprints during a timeout.

NEAT: Jeremy Lin makes a cameo in the current comic of The Hulk.

SHEESH PART II: Team USA 11th man Draymond Green didn’t like that Kristaps Porzingis said he was going to go at him after struggling vs. Golden State last season. So Green shut The Unicorn down and talked that talk.

NEXT UP: ESPN’s highly weird doubleheader features Lakers-Sixers at 8 p.m. ET and Mavericks-Jazz at 10:30. Hornets-Celtics (7:30) and the Bucks-Bulls reprise (8) might be better options.

AND FINALLY: Cindy Stowell, who died before her Jeopardy! run was televised, raised a grip of money for cancer charities. We don’t know when her run will end, but she’s a reminder that heroes walk among us.

Be excellent to each other.