Good morning. Let’s basketball.
2 weeks until the NBA preseason begins!
Good morning. We have that and more in Friday’s NBA newsletter.
THE BOSH SAGA: Chris Bosh’s fight with the Heat over whether he can play — which started last spring — continues. He said he’s good to go in time for training camp. The Heat remain silent.
HERE COMES THE D-LEAGUE: The D-League is up to 22 teams and counting. What tweaks does the NBA need to make to turn the D-League into a true farm system?
POIGNANT: The Grizzlies unveiled a powerful, deeply considered alternate uniform memorializing Martin Luther King’s assassination, the Lorraine Motel and Memphis’ National Civil Rights Museum. I am an avowed fan of leveraging the canvas of the basketball uniform to tell a story, which is what I think the Grizzlies have carefully. Some have expressed discomfort with the morbid nature of a basketball uniform with accents pulled from the site of a horrific murder. To that I would say that a) all feelings are valid, and b) the accents really are about remembering Dr. King (the wreath, the black color of the uniform) and tying in the Museum, which was built around the Lorraine. But I can understand residual discomfort. I trust the Grizzlies to surround it with context in their MLK Day proceedings.
OH: Forbes estimates that North Carolina will lose at least $100 million in sports-related tourism revenue due to the NBA and NCAA decisions to pull events from the state over HB2. A number of other businesses had already halted expansion plans or relocation plans, too. This is just for sports tourism.
WHOA: Oculus VR had a press screening for a 25-minute documentary on the 2016 NBA Finals, in which the Warriors had a 3-1 lead but lost in seven, shot entirely with virtual reality cameras. It sounds like being there in person, which is something I’m sure lots of Cleveland fans and roughly zero Golden State fans are interested in experiencing. Via REDEF.
PELTONHIVE: I linked Kevin Pelton’s OKC preview a few days ago. It turns out there’s a hub to read all of his team and player previews. SO WORTH the price of Insider.
THE DISRUPTOR: Steph Curry spoke at TechCrunch Disrupt, proving the Warriors truly are Silicon Valley’s team. Also via REDEF.
PODCAST WORLD TOUR: The Wizards are up next for Prada and Epstein.
[SINGLE TEAR] Draymond Green is still quite angry Kevin Hart tied him in a three-point contest at the All-Star Game.
[OPENLY WEEPING] Gregg Popovich used to buy carrot cake from fancy restaurants and drop it off outside Tim Duncan’s hotel room on the road.
SO READY: Dan Devine’s Anthony Davis preview piece makes me wish the NBA season started right freaking now.
SPARTY ON: Tom Izzo is bringing five-star recruit Jaren Jackson, Jr. to Lansing. His dad won a title with the Spurs in ‘99 as Mario Elie’s backup.
TOP 25 PREVIEWS: Texas A&M is going to be young. Florida State has a killer NBA prospect.
‘I DON’T HATE YOU’: Powerful piece from Mike Wise on Shaq and a biological father he never met ... until now.
IMPOSSIBLE IS NOTHING: Basketball on a glacier. Ball is life.
THE KINGS HAVE ANOTHER POINT GUARD: With Darren Collison likely to be suspended about 20 games on a guilty plea for domestic abuse, the Kings decided to add another point guard: Jordan Farmar.
AND FINALLY: Derrick Rose’s accuser speaks. Read it. (Kudos to Lindsay Gibbs for owning this story.)
Be excellent to each other. See you next time.
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