Four weeks in and the NBA is already ripe with new drama
The NBA season is about a month old and as always, there are more than enough storylines floating around.
Ben Simmons and Kyrie Irving still yet to play
Coming into the season the biggest NBA storyline was the playing statuses of both Irving and Simmons. Simmons was holding out from the Sixers in hopes that they would trade him, while Irving was unable to play in home games due to his vaccine status, thus forcing the Nets to say that he won’t be allowed to play until he’s vaccinated.
On the Simmons front, it appears that he is no closer to playing than he was at the start of the season. While he has reported to Philadelphia, he has cited that mental health issues are keeping him from being able to play. He has been working with a mental health doctor but doesn’t appear to be in a rush to take the court as long as he is still a Sixer. On Monday, the Sixers fined Simmons for failing to travel on their six-game road trip.
Timberwolves fined for offseason workouts
The Minnesota Timberwolves were fined $250,000 by the NBA for violating league rules against arranging or paying players for offseason workouts outside of the team’s home market. The violations took place in September, where the Timberwolves worked out in Miami around the home of new owner Alex Rodriguez.
NBA tampering investigation nearing conclusion
The NBA announced in August that they were investigating potential tampering issues during this summer’s free agency period. More specifically, surrounding the Chicago Bulls and Miami Heat.
Both the Bulls and Heat pulled off complex sign-and-trade moves during the opening minutes of free agency. The NBA has interviewed multiple executives of the teams in question and has gathered electronic messaging of the front office executives in question.
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported that penalties could include a fine of up to $10 million per team, the loss of draft picks and the suspension of team executives.
Warriors revenge tour
After five year of dominance, basketball fans got in their licks at the demise of the Golden State Warriors. However, they appear to be back. Golden State currently boasts the best record in the league at 11-2. What makes this scarier, they are doing it without Klay Thompson and James Wiseman, who have yet to make their season debut.
It’s no surprise who is leading the charge for the Warriors, Steph Curry is putting up yet another MVP-level performance. He is averaging 28.1 points, 6.7 assists and 6.2 rebounds per game. I hope everyone got their laughs in at the Warriors when they could, because they are back to being the favorites in the Western Conference.