While the NBA won’t announce its full schedule for the 2018/19 regular season until this Friday, the league revealed some marquee matchups today, announcing its schedule for opening night, Christmas Day, and Martin Luther King Jr. Day, along with some additional nationally-televised opening week games (link via Sam Amick of USA Today).
The opening night of the 2018/19 NBA season will feature the Sixers vs. the Celtics in the early game, followed by the Thunder vs. the Warriors. For our purposes though, the most crucial detail of opening night is the date it will happen — Tuesday, October 16. That means that Monday, October 15 represents an important deadline for a number of contract-related decisions.
Teams will have until 5:00pm central time on October 15 to finalize any rookie scale extensions for 2018. Currently, Devin Booker is the only player to sign a rookie scale extension so far this offseason, leaving 22 players still eligible. Of those players, Karl-Anthony Towns (Timberwolves), Larry Nance (Cavaliers), Justise Winslow (Heat), Bobby Portis (Bulls), Kristaps Porzingis (Knicks), Myles Turner (Pacers), Terry Rozier (Celtics), and Trey Lyles (Nuggets) are among the extension candidates worth keeping an eye on.
October 15 will also be the last day for teams to complete a Designated Veteran Extension, though Kawhi Leonard was the only legit candidate for such a deal and he’s no longer eligible now that the Spurs have traded him. Additionally, October 15 will be the last day for teams to extend a veteran contract with more than one season left on it. Expiring veteran deals can still be extended during the season.
Other deadlines on October 15? It’s the last day for teams to complete sign-and-trade transactions during the current league year. And it’s the final day that an Exhibit 10 contract can be converted into a two-way deal for the coming season.
Finally, October 15 is the deadline for teams to cut their rosters down to 15 players (not counting players on two-way contracts) for the 2018/19 regular season.
All for the Warriors to breeze through the playoffs…… I’ve never been less excited about the NBA. To me a sport is at its best when two teams are competing at their top performance. So if the warriors are at their best performance, it’s no contest as to who wins. The only way another team beats them is if the warriors underperform.
The Rockets pushed them and had them on the ropes. So, by your definition, the sport is at its best.
Yeah but now give the Warriors a real center and the team has 5 all stars when everyone is healthy
A real unhealthy center
Ok you’re right, then it’s a flawed definition. You did have stars coming off injuries for golden state, which may or may not have played an impact on the series being close. Either way, the NBA is still not exciting today in my, and many others, opinions
Indeed, predictability is boring. College > NBA
College certainly has more controversy. But it isn’t better in any way shape or form.
College BB is terrible compared to the past, with top players not present and every team using the same philosophy. There is less effort and more diaper-dandyism. And the finals have been played in football domes. The last good year for them was well over a decade ago, maybe Kansas’ year.
Other teams should draft better and supplement through free agency like the Warriors did. It’s not like the formula for success in pro sports is a secret.
Draft better is a valid point. But not free agency. Any team in the NBA would have signed Durant if given the opportunity.
Become a desired destination. He could have gone anywhere. Correct. He could have been the man in most places.
But he’d rather go to work and enjoy being at work in an atmosphere of unselfishness and team unity and help on defense. Any team could create that.
Look at the Celtics. There are a wonderful example of teammates playing together with grit and helping each other. Marcus Smart Avery Bradley when he was there, and the current group, they were tremendous help defense cover for your guy, team.
Al Horford as well, was as important a free agent signing as any in the last couple years. Huge.
I like your posts.
You’re the only one I think. Lol.
I’m not mad at the warriors at all, they should be all in for adding a star already to their developed team. Durant ruined the NBA. Anything he does in GS has a * next to it because there is no competition. And honestly the league should’ve stepped in to better the game. The NBA is a top-heavy league and I think that’s good, but when it’s too predictable as to who will win the finals it’s no fun to watch. The regular season or any series in the playoffs is borderline meaningless because everyone knows in the end that the warriors win it all.
2012orioles… the Stugotz is strong in you.
Realistically you’re not in the mood to enjoy the NBA regardless of how scary GSW looks. It happens. I quit the MLB in the late 90s.
Draft Better? Get lucky the Knicks remain stupid and skip out on Steph Curry talent? It’s that simple everyone
To me it doesn’t make any difference if GSW win or not. I don’t watch the games just for who wins, I enjoy seeing the performances of my favorite players, regardless if my team wins or loses, I enjoy watching a good show with many highlights, if my team wins all the better if not I have been entertained for 2-3 hours so is a win win for me. People takes the winning too seriously at the end of the day is just entertainment a show.
Exactly, LeBron fans!
I tend to agree with CHS for this issue. I’ve been a cavs fan since they came into the league. They have one title to show for it but I’ll still go to as many Cavs games as possible bc they are my team. I love he sport
However we all know the warriors are going to win it again. So let’s look at it this way, we all know The Boss’s voice isn’t what it was ten years ago, but we still go to his concerts as fans.
Cesc not CHS. lol
I’m really a Pacers fan, but I never get to see them on tv or go to games any more. I just like to watch the games. I enjoy watching teams that still pass the ball a lot, don’t travel a lot, and they want to dunk the ball all the time, kind of like the Harlem Globetrotters play. I’ll get the NBA package this season. I know, the Globetrotters travel a lot too.