Klay Thompson is the NBA’s best grandpa

Good morning. Let’s basketball.

[SIREN]: Lee Jenkins on LeBron in the afterglow, chasing the ghost of Michael Jordan.

SAME SONG, DIFFERENT VERSE: Another Team USA smackdown in warmups. This time, Nigeria. Kevin Durant can’t even with this DeMar DeRozan dunk. Tournament starts for real in six days.

GET PAPER: In the wake of C.J. McCollum’s quasi-max extension, I wrote about the other 2013 NBA Draft classmates looking at massive contracts.

TRUE: Kevin Durant said we don’t appreciate James Harden enough. He’s right.

KLAYTHEISM: Shams Charania on Klay Thompson’s coming adjustments in the wake of Durant. The best and Most Klay Possible excerpt: “I was sleeping and my brother came to my room and woke me up to tell me that KD committed. I didn’t believe it at first when he told me, so I had to check my phone and verify it. I was like, ‘Seriously? KD really chose us?’ It was an incredible moment for our organization, and I was psyched. We had the final form of our team. And then I went back to sleep.”

LIMITED UPSIDE: Prada and Epstein turn their attention to the Phoenix Suns this time around.

PARSING PARSONS’ IMPACT: Joe Mullinax determines which Grizzlies will benefit the most from the presence of Chandler Parsons.

SOAR: Amar’e Stoudemire offers a sweet remembrance of his own NBA career and announces he is indeed putting off full retirement to play in Israel (for a team he co-owns) next season.

AHEAD OF HIS TIME: Jonathan Tjarks on Kevin Garnett’s futurism is a very good read about an intensely important player.

NOT GIVING UP MY CONDO ON LOCKOUT BAY: Michele Roberts, chief of the players’ union, expresses optimism a labor deal can be reached without a work stoppage in 2017. She specifically cites the December 15 opt-out date as a target for a deal. I remain skeptical.

THE LOGO MAN: Meet the man behind the logos of the NBA and MLB. Via REDEF.

IMPACT: Two retired players -- Etan Thomas and Mark Eaton -- respond to the players’ union’s decision to fund healthcare for retirees.

IN DEFENSE OF CARGO SHORTS: Cargo shorts are destroying marriages and the Wall Street Journal is on it. More propaganda from the flat-front shorts lobby. Here’s the problem. It’s hot out. I’m either a) staying inside or b) not wearing pants. If I’m not wearing pants, I’m wearing shorts. I need somewhere to put my phone. My phone has one of those military-grade protective cases on it because I am careless and don’t want to buy a new phone every year. I can wear flat front shorts, but my phone isn’t going to fit in those pockets with my wallet and keys. You want me to get a cell phone holster? No? Then I’m wearing cargo shorts, America. I’m wearing cargo shorts.

Happy Tuesday. See you next time.