2020-2021 NBA Regular Season thread

Don’t forget Wilton Norman Chamberlain

 

Miami changes its arena name to that of a cryptocurrency exchange:

Get to know FTX: Miami Heat arena close to finalizing new name

 

Bill Russell, too.

 

Always thought the LA Colosseum should be sponsored by Trojan

 

Every game there is a rubber game.

 

Trade deadline today. Complete with a Woj bomb:

 

I like that the Magic do a deal to ship out one of their big men and still can't but help get a big man back in return. Outside of that though, I really like it for the Magic, depending on the protections on the first round picks. It's not hard to imagine that Chicago's combination of LaVine, Vucevic and friends slips into the lottery if there are some injuries.

 

This morning’s announcement that Dick Stockton, 77, is retiring from Fox Sports should be mentioned on the NBA thread even though he hasn’t called an NBA game in decades.

Stockton was the PxP announcer for the NBA on CBS at a time when nobody cared about the NBA, starting in 1981 when the NBA’s Topps trading cards were three players to a perforated card. No fancy flourishes, just straightfoward play-calling that let the players provide the flash. He provided the words that accompanied the rise of the NBA in the 1980s from struggling league to global phenomenon, and that’s why he’s deservedly in the Basketball Hall of Fame.

 

I know he's on a 10-day out of G League, but Alizea Johnson had a double-double for the Nets in Utah. Fam from Williamsport know him for years, very happy for him.

 

Both are top-four protected.

 

Nice - That's fairly light. Vučević (thanks copy-paste) is actually signed at a nice number for a big man for the next couple of years, but the Magic have such a log jam at PF/C with younger players that it made sense to move him, especially as he heads into his 30s. All of them are worse than Vučević, but I don't think you can tell if any of them are good enough to keep if he's gobbling all of the minutes. I guess I'm surprised that the acquiring team is Chicago - This seems like one of those "desperate to make the playoffs" moves, like Charlotte used to make all the time.