Thursday, Dec 3rd, 2020

  The Opening Tip

• We’re 19 days from the start of the season

• John Wall’s contract, once thought to be untradable, is headed to Houston

• The terrible free agency contract roundup

1. The next month of the NBA calendar, explained

We'll see Kevin Durant in a Nets uniform for the first time in the regular season on Dec. 22

The 2020-21 NBA season starts in 19 days with a Clippers-Lakers, Warriors-Nets doubleheader. Crazy, right?

  Does the NBA remember that there is a pandemic going on?

Yes! In fact, the NBA last night announced the results of 546 NBA player COVID tests, with 48 coming back positive. They didn’t release the names of the players, and it’s unclear whether, or how many of, those 48 players will be approved to play by the start of the season.

  What happens when a player tests positive during the season?

According to ESPN, an asymptomatic positive will require a 10-day window away from the team. For actually ill players, it will be a case-by-case basis.

  Will there be any fans at the games?

Three of the 30 NBA teams -- the Hawks, Grizzlies and Jazz -- have announced a plan to have a limited number of fans allowed into their home games to start the season. The other 27 have either ruled it out or not announced anything. (Adam Silver has made it clear he hopes to eventually have fans in all 29 stadiums.) In the meantime, college basketball’s empty backdrop has served as a good example of what to expect for the start of the NBA season.

  What’s the overall timeline?

The season is scheduled for 72 games, which the league has been considering for a while anyway. The playoffs are slated to start on May 18 with the 7-10 play-in tournament, with the Finals scheduled to finish in mid-July, about a month later than the pre-pandemic timeline. This rushed season is being done with the hopes of a return to normalcy for the 2021-22 season.

  Lastly, why does Canada think it’s better than us?

Just kidding. But, much like the Blue Jays, who were forced to move to Buffalo for the 2020 season, the Raptors have been banished to Tampa Bay until at least March.(The Toronto mayor wants us to stop calling them the Tampa Bay Raptors, so we’re going to keep calling them the Tampa Bay Raptors.)(The Tampa Bay Raptors will be playing all of their home games at Amalie Arena, where the Lightning play.)(By our count, the Tampa Bay Raptors are the first true pro basketball team in the area.)(The Tampa Bay Raptors’ win total is set at 41.5.)(Interestingly, Florida has no known dinosaur fossils. Maybe the Tampa Bay Raptors should change their name to something more Florida, as to create a new identity in its new city, thus cleanly separating from the city that no longer wants it.)Also: A full schedule is expected for Christmas Day. Here it is.[READ: Wins and standings projected for all 30 NBA teams]

2. There is no such thing as an untradable contract

John Wall hasn’t played in an NBA game since Dec. 26, 2018. And he’s spent the last two years recovering from a torn Achilles, the type of injury that zaps a players’ explosiveness and athleticism, two of his trademarks.He’s 30 years old and collected $38 million last season to do nothing. He’s owed $130 million over the next three seasons, including a player option in 2022-23 for $46 million, and hasn’t played a full season since 2016-17. Before the Achilles tear, his long-term health was, to be generous, a question mark. Now, expecting him to have a fruitful post-30 career is like hanging on to hope that Jeff Green might finally turn into a star.His value around the league has been a net negative since 2017. The supermax contract he was given in 2017 was an overpay when he was at his best. He’s made one All-NBA Third-Team in his career, and has never approached being a top-10 NBA player. He’s a limited shooter who’s of little use without the ball in his hands.And, still, he was traded yesterday to Houston along with a protected 2023 first-round pick for Russell Westbrook, who has a similar amount of money owed to him over the next three years.Long thought to be the final frontier of dead-in-the-water, untradeable contracts, Houston and Washington's Wall swap proved yesterday that no mistake can’t be flipped into something else.For the Wizards … this has to be considered a win. Westbrook at least plays, and was an All-Star and All-NBA player last year. (He’s played in two All-Star games since Wall played in a regular season game.) He and Bradley Beal immediately turn that team into a playoff contender. Plus, Westbrook has never been unleashed upon an Eastern Conference schedule. In a non pandemic, he’d sell tickets and give D.C. a reason to watch its team.For the Rockets … one of their two angry stars is gone, which might make the other angry star less … angry. (According to Woj, James Harden preferred Wall to Westbrook. Last year, Harden preferred Westbrook to Chris Paul.) Houston will still probably make the playoffs, because Harden is good enough to promise a top-eight finish by himself. But Wall is their burden now, perhaps the final punishment for signing Paul to an exorbitant deal two years ago, which has now yielded a third expensive and aging point guard.[READ: The Rockets break ground on their rebuild with the Westbrook-Wall trade]

3. Trivia time

LeBron James and Anthony Davis, who both signed mega-extensions to tie them to Los Angeles for the foreseeable future, both made the All-NBA First-Team in 2020.Since 1990, four other teammates have made First-Teams in the same season. How many can you name?Answers at the bottom.(H/T ESPN Stats & Info)

4. A roundup of the most unreasonable free agent contracts

Gordon Hayward, Charlotte, four years, $120 million: The only thing more lackluster than Hayward’s time in Boston was the generate-a-thank-you-note message he left Celtics fans with. At least he didn’t keep us waiting for a Players’ Tribune article.Bogdan Bogdanovic and Danilo Gallinari, Atlanta, a combined seven years, $133.5 million: The Hawks are in win-now territory. The tell-tale sign was paying Bogdanovic and Gallinari -- two players who will never make an All-Star team -- a combined $133.5 million. On the other hand, it isn’t like they were going to land Giannis in next year’s free agency.Jerami Grant, Detroit, three years, $60 million: Grant is a super role player. Paying him like an All-Star probably won’t be a great ROI, especially when the Pistons have otherwise spent the offseason signing big men like it’s 1985.Marcus Morris, Clippers, four years, $64 million: A four-year, big money commitment to a 31-year-old role player seems rash.FYI: Here’s a list of every signing.[READ: The Atlanta Hawks are going all-in on offense]

5. We figured you’d want to see this picture of Paul Pierce, Kendrick Perkins, (NBA champion) Gabe Pruitt and McLOVIN

In 20 years, when people ask what the year 2008 was like, show them this picture, along with

of Michael Cera and the Jersey Shore crew.

 6.  Quick hits 

• LiAngelo Ball, the forgotten Ball brother, signed a one-year, non-guaranteed contract with the Pistons on Wednesday, which means both the Holidays and Balls currently have three brothers with NBA contracts. 

• Paul George (aka Playoff P, aka Way-off P) went on the “All the Smoke” podcast and took some digs at his now-former coach, Doc Rivers.  

• Austin Rivers on signing with the Knicks: “I don’t understand someone not wanting to play for a city like New York.” It’s not the city, Austin. 

• Clippers coach Ty Lueforgot who Luke Kennard was on a Zoom call yesterday, then pretended he had a poor connection while someone presumably reminded him of his new players’ name. 

• This isn’t new, but Bobanmeeting soccer player Eden Hazard is quality content.

 7.  Off the press 

• Inside the great NBA bubble experiment [GQ]

• Here’s a hot take for you: Danny Ainge is one of best things that ever happened to Celtics [The Boston Globe]

• Kawhi, chemistry and a failed Clippers title run: Inside the issue that defines 2021 [The Athletic]