The NBA currently has no summer league, no free agency and no communication between its teams and its current players, whose very existence it would rather not acknowledge. (That’s something it has done exceptionally well, except for when Mark Cuban got to hang out with his NBA champion Dallas Mavericks at last week’s ESPYs).
But it does have a schedule, and it’ll be a tad bit awkward when it’s announced Tuesday, a month earlier than what has been normal in recent years. That’s because there’s no need to wait for free agent moves to help prearrange matchups.
It’ll also be weird because there’s one other thing the NBA and the players union don’t have: any major negotiating sessions that would give reason to hope that next season’s games will actually be played.
On the schedule that will be unveiled, the Mavericks are supposed to open the season by hosting Chicago, according to ESPN.com. At least we know what game will be canceled first.
