The trade deadline is five days away. This is usually the time of year when everyone becomes an amateur accountant or a salary cap enthusiast. My uncle used to say that taxes are just a suggestion until they take your house, but the NBA luxury tax is a bit more rigid than that.
There is a theory floating around that if a player gets suspended for drugs, their forfeited salary only counts for half against the luxury tax. Paul George apparently mentioned this, and now people are looking at Jakob Poeltl with a strange glint in their eyes. If Jakob is already injured, perhaps he could just do something questionable to help the team balance the books. It is a bleak way to look at professional sports, but we are all just numbers in a spreadsheet eventually.
The Cost of Watching
If you are the type of person who enjoys watching a team try to figure out its identity in real time, League Pass is now fifty dollars. That covers the rest of the season. It is a reasonable price for sixty or so nights of mild bewilderment and occasional joy.
People are hoping for a playoff push. I remember when hope felt different, like a fresh bagel from St. Urbain. Now hope feels more like checking the mail and finding out you do not owe the government any extra money. It is a quiet, heavy relief.
Movement and Magic
The roster is shifting again, which is the only constant in life besides the wind on the Gardiner Expressway. Keon is apparently gone, or at least that is the word on the street. One prospect leaves and we immediately look for the next one to fill the void in our hearts.
Everyone is talking about Yves Missi and Trey Murphy. They want Bobby Webster to perform the Masai magic, which I assume involves a lot of phone calls and very expensive coffee. We are all waiting for the big purchase, or even a small one, just something to prove we are still participating in the economy of basketball.
Speedrunning the Deadline
We are currently in a speedrun to the deadline. Recent losses have made some people want to turn off the console entirely, but you have to finish the level. Whether we end up with new starters or just more cap space remains to be seen.
I sometimes think about Primo Brezec. He was tall and he was there. Sometimes being there is enough. We will see who is still here when the clock hits zero in five days, provided the accounting department stays creative enough to keep the lights on.