An NBA weekend that will resonate for years
The new labor deal and latest standings chaos, plus fresh developments from the coaching carousel, dominate our around-the-league spin to tip off a new week
The bad news in the desert: Kevin Durant will at most play 10 games in a Phoenix Suns uniform before his first playoff game as a Sun.
The good news: In the six games that Durant has been healthy enough to dress with his new team, Phoenix is 6-0.
The Suns' promising form with No. 35 available and the Los Angeles Lakers' unexpected late surge into contention for a top-six slot in the West (which now houses four teams from No. 5 to No. 8 with 38 losses) are the standout weekend developments in the standings heading into the final week of the NBA's 2022-23 regular season.
More of my latest reactions, opinions, disseminations and reflections regarding #thisleague and associated matters follow:
🏀 The most important NBA development so far in 2023 took place in the wee hours of April Fools' Day and did not feature a basketball.
The NBA and Players Association came to terms early Saturday on a new collective bargaining agreement that ensures labor peace through at least 2028-29 at a time when a work stoppage of any length this summer would have been the dumbest in league history.