Wed, Feb 5th, 2020

The NBA trade deadline is 24 hours away. We'll send a newsletter tomorrow once the dust is settled with details on every trade.

• The Grizzlies vs. Andre Iguodala is playing out like a bad sports movie 

• Pat Connaughton is proving Golf Digest right

• The first 12-player trade since 2000 happened last night

• The 2019-20 76ers are turning into the 2018-19 Celtics

 1. The Lead: The Grizzlies are living in a corny coming of age sports movie 

The Grizzlies are in a cold war with their technical teammate Andre Iguodala. For those not caught up, here’s an explainer:

• Iguodala got traded this offseason by the Warriors as a salary dump to the Grizzlies.

• Iguodala immediately stressed his disinterest in actually playing for Memphis, and hasn’t, despite Memphis paying his $17 million contract. 

• The Grizzlies have since become a competent team and are now speaking out against Iguodala. 

• This has polarized players and talking heads onto two different sides -- the side respecting the OGs, versus the side empowering the youth.

This manifested itself in a quote from Dillion Brooks (“I can’t wait until we find a way to trade him so we can play him and show him what really Memphis is really about”), which was seconded by Ja Morant, which Steph Curry indirectly responded to on Instagram, which Morant directly responded to on Twitter, which led to an indirect tweet by Lou Williams.Got it?This situation, though, is actually best explained as a corny coming of age sports movie.What we’ve already seen: 

• Intro: A fake SportsCenter reports on the trade sending Iguodala to the Grizzlies. Stephen A. Smith makes a cameo. 

• Setup: Memphis’s 11-20 start is shown through bad and unintentionally funny basketball scenes.

• Montage: The Grizzlies win 13 of their next 18 games. Fort Minor’s Remember the Name plays. 

• Conflict: The Grizzlies, feeling themselves, call out Iguodala, which serves as a thinly-veiled front for the underlying pain Iguodala has caused them.

What’s coming: 

• The climax: A head on confrontation between Iguodala and the team. Iguodala admits some fault. The team confronts its repressed feelings. 

• The end: Iguodala doesn’t get traded, and comes back like Ed Monix in Semi-Pro. A playoff series with the Lakers ensues, and the Grizzlies come up just short. In the locker room, Iguodala smiles, looks at his team and says, “Don’t worry guys, we’ll get ‘em next year.”

Or, Iguodala

and this never gets resolved. One or the other.

2. We know this guy!  

In case you haven’t heard, Pat Connaughton is a participant in the 2020 dunk contest.In the wise words of Golf Digest, Whatever you do, don't laugh at Pat Connaughton in the Dunk Contest!

3. By the numbers

  12 players

Clint Capela is heading to the Hawks and Robert Covington is heading to the Rockets in a four-team trade involving 12 players in all.The 12-player trade is the highest volume of human beings sent to other teams since the trade that sent Patrick Ewing from the Knicks to the Sonics in 2000.For those confused about the Rockets not wanting Capela anymore -- us included -- here’s a stat that helps explain it.And here’s a thorough breakdown of the trade. 

99 games; $94 million

The Hawks waived Chandler Parsons yesterday, a few weeks after getting in a likely career-ending car accident.In 2016, he signed a four-year deal for $94 million with Memphis. Since, he’s played in 99 NBA games. 

9-18 road record

The 76ers are 9-18 on the road this season, which is akin to the Knicks’ road record of 8-18.You hate to see it.

  29 charges

Montrezl Harrell has drawn 29 charges this season, the most in the NBA by seven charges.

  5 for 5

LeBron turned into Steph Curry last night, making five straight 3s in a four-minute span.

4.  Quick Hits 

• Zion vs. Giannis brought us some entertaining moments last night.

• Here’s a nice story from a Rockets beat writer about Clint Capela. 

• Here’sShaq definitely calling out Aaron Gordon for being stoned on live TV. 

• Dwight Howardsaid yesterday that Kobe had accepted his invite to help him out in the dunk contest, and wished he’d made amends with him before he died. 

• Spotify is buyingThe Ringer.

• Damian Lillard and the Blazers' hot streak came to a stop last night, losing by 28 points to the Denver Nuggets. Lillard had 21 points on 8-of-23 shooting.

5.  Off the press

• The Knicks still have no idea what they’re doing, so they fired someone again [The Ringer]

• The official NBA All-Star Game mock draft [ESPN]

• Answering nine big questions before the trade deadline [ESPN+]