NEWSLETTER
When I was younger, I played a lot of NES.
By no means was this considered my generation’s console of choice, but that doesn’t mean the games weren’t awesome. When I wasn’t trying to beat the original Mario, I spent my time playing a mix of Base Wars and Double Dribble. In case you’re unaware, Base Wars was a dope game where a bunch of pink and blue robots played baseball on a spaceship in the middle of nowhere.
If you were lucky, you’d hit a home run into orbit. As for Double Dribble, this was single-handedly the worst and hardest basketball game ever created. The players were slow, they bricked every shot, and there was zero crowd noise.
I was thinking earlier today that if we combine the two … you basically have the NBA bubble. Sure, they’re not robots and it doesn’t take place in space (though it should). But we’re about to watch a bunch of guys who haven’t played basketball in months perform in a weird isolated environment. Don’t get me wrong, I’m totally down, but this is probably going to feel quite weird. I mean, Walt Disney World Basketball sounds like a video game I’d 100 percent play.
• Got you calenders? Good, the NBA rattled off a bunch of important dates this morning, so let’s run through them. According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the 2020 free agency will begin at 6:00 p.m. on October 18th, which is five days after the possible conclusion of the 2019-20 NBA season (if needed, Game 7 of the Finals would take place on Oct. 13th). Per usual, a moratorium period on the deals will be from October 19th-23rd. Prior, the NBA Draft will occur on October 16th with an early entry deadline of August 17th. The early entry withdrawal date will then be scheduled for October 6th (via Woj). These are dates that should grab Arturas Karnisovas and Marc Eversley’s attention.
• Also, that early entry deadline of August 17th could shake-up the prospect pool. While this would have little impact on the top player in this year’s draft, it could shake-up the later picks quite a bit.
A bit of a bombshell here. What this means is that college and international players who had previously elected NOT to enter the 2020 NBA draft now have until August 17th to revisit those decisions and potentially enter now. News story coming. https://t.co/2W4wn1j37M
— Jonathan Givony (@DraftExpress) June 20, 2020
• Flip back to this month and mark June 23rd to June 30th as the NBA’s new transaction window. All 30 teams will be able to make moves, but all eyes will be on the 22 teams headed to Orlando. Considering these squads are probably unsure if (1) all players will travel with the team and (2) all players will remain free of isolation during their stay, the NBA is allowing each team to hold a roster of 17 players. Individuals who held an NBA/G-League contract this season or were not under contract with a professional team overseas will be eligible to sign with a franchise. For instance, as the New York Times’ Marc Stein points out, players like Jamal Crawford, JR Smith, Nick Young, and DeMarcus Cousins are all available.
• If you’re a good Bulls fan, then you know Joakim Noah signed a 10-day contract with the Los Angeles Clippers right before the league shut down. The NBA announced that all players who were on such contracts would become free agents at the start of the June 23rd transaction period, but that doesn’t mean the Clippers are ready to move on. According to The Athletic’s Shams Charania, the Clippers plan to sign Noah through the remainder of the season! Sooooo … IT ME. DEVOTED CLIPPERS FAN. TIME TO GET THAT BOI A RING!!
Joakim Noah and the Clippers plan for him to sign a rest of season deal next week, sources tell @TheAthleticNBA @Stadium. Current 10-day contracts, including Noah, expire on June 23.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 20, 2020
• Fact: The Pistons should buyout Derrick Rose so he can also sign with the Clippers.
• Wendell Carter Jr., along with many members of the Bulls organization, participated in a Juneteenth peace march in Grant Park yesterday. Friend of the program Rob Schaefer was there to capture the scenes, and I highly recommend you give his latest a read:
Sights and sounds from today's Juneteenth march in Grant Park — organized by Bright Star Church Chicago/Faith in Justice and Peace, and attended by members of the Bulls https://t.co/JJvz0UK7VQ
— Bulls Talk (@NBCSBulls) June 20, 2020
• For the Bulls, the first time, second time, and third time is the charm.
June 20, 1993.
27 years ago, we got our first three-peat. pic.twitter.com/BGlyvh3hWj
— Chicago Bulls (@chicagobulls) June 20, 2020
• In this house … we don’t want to hear about Isiah Thomas.
Dennis Rodman: 'Isiah Thomas pretty much saved my career' https://t.co/kZqPu8mrn4 pic.twitter.com/N5YfDHLqyd
— HoopsHype (@hoopshype) June 20, 2020
• I mean … duh?
With a 21-20 victory, Michael Jordan has advanced to the Final Four in the Tournament of Height Champions for our all-time one-on-one tournament that began with every player in NBA history.
LeBron James has been eliminated from the competition. pic.twitter.com/HNz2OuGPDk
— NBA Math (@NBA_Math) June 20, 2020
• I bet Jordan would purposely let LeBron tie the game at 18 only to hit a game-winning 3 right in his face.
• Sorry if I’m a little too excited about Daniel Gafford, but I just love his upside. I mean, I think it’s only a matter of time before we’re saying “wait, he went in the second round!?”
Daniel Gafford Has the Makings of the League’s Next Sparkplug Big Manhttps://t.co/GudYf4GLc3
— Bleacher Nation Bulls (@BN_Bulls) June 19, 2020
