The Weekside: Where superstar calls come from

Around the Association

Atlanta Hawks

The Hawks once did a Tinder night where they encouraged spectators to “swipe right” for their team and now they’re having a lady named Ashley Madison entice fans of other teams to renounce their loyalty and buy tickets. Perhaps clever, certainly creepy.

Chicago Bulls

The Cavaliers seem unchallengeable in the Eastern Conference for the foreseeable future (which in the NBA is really only one year at this point). I personally like the Wizards squad a lot, but they were over-reliant on Paul Pierce, who was both old as dirt and is now gone. It’s hard to see them hanging with the King and Co. The Bulls are the only team that seems remotely close, and a lot of that is due to Jimmy Butler poised to become a real star this year. But it’s also based on the throwback-the-clock performance we saw from Pau Gasol last season. Will he produce that well again? Will Derrick Rose stay healthy. I hate to say it, but neither seem likely. Hopefully I’m proven wrong.

Cleveland Cavaliers

LeBron should go back to the headband (via Fear the Sword … click for full size)

Detroit Pistons

This Stan Van Gundy appearance on The Lowe Post podcast is a quite dated now, but I just caught it last week. And anyone interested in the franchise who hasn’t yet listened should do the same. The team’s coach/general manager is very candid about losing Greg Monroe in free agency, how the team is structured to allow him to have a dual role, and the notion of draft-day grades. (The more recent Rachel Nichols and Howard Beck episodes are just as good.)

Houston Rockets

First thought: What you even talking about, homie?

Second thought: If someone just paid me $200 million to wear shoes — or not wear shoes, as it were — I wouldn’t even be able to speak English after leaving the club.

Indiana Pacers

This isn’t strictly Pacers-related but … HOW IS CHERYL MILLER ONLY #4th?

Miami Heat

NBA Tigger has still got it.

Milwaukee Bucks

Minnesota Timberwolves

EURO FIGHT. After the Spanish national team beat France, Rudy Gobert had some complaining about the refs to do. Ricky Rubio didn’t take to kindly to thems fighting words and the two publicly had a mini-fight on Twitter, which I guess is just what people do now.

New York Knicks

Jab step. Jab step. Jab step. Jab step. Jab step …

New Orleans Pelicans

Icarus died because he flew too close to the sun. In this instance, I’m more concerned for the sun’s safety.

Oklahoma City Thunder

Russell Westbrook went on Jimmy Kimmel’s show. And he wore some sort of jorts/farmhand/backwards leather hat/unneeded glasses outfit. It’s stuff like this that make you not feel sorry that some misguided fans criticize him for shooting too much.

San Antonio Spurs

Tim Duncan is about to be just the 14th player in league history to play a 19th season. The bad news: Only seven of those already in the club played even half their teams games in year 19. The good news: Three of those seasons have occurred in the past few seasons, which might suggest that modern training and care means players are a tad more likely to stay healthy even at this advanced age. The best news: Tim Duncan is a cyborg who will probably end up playing for 29 more years after this one. (chart via Bleacher Report)

Washington Wizards

Kids today might not believe it, but there was a time when Gilbert Arenas was the funnest thing about the NBA. And now he is, yeah, not.

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