Opinion | NBA officially re-opens for business but nothing can be forecast until the Durant shoe drops

The gloves come off the NBA today when all those deals we’ve been writing about for a week can become official and we can write about them all over again.

I suspect we’ll get to talk to the Raptors signees over the next couple of days and think about all those other deals that may affect them – what Knicks did, what Miami did, what Boston managed to accomplish – and that might impact the balance of power in the East.

I want to do it, my bosses want me to do it, I presume many of you would like to see what we think about who got better and who didn’t before we shut it down for August.

Damn Kevin Durant.

Until that deal happens – or finally doesn’t happen – all this “what’s the East going to look like” chatter is little more than a make work project and, trust me, I’ve got enough work to get done that I don’t need to seek out extra.

I suspect, to some degree, Durant will affect what goes on in Toronto and likely Phoenix (Deandre Ayton) and maybe Indiana (will Myles Turner be available?) so until it’s resolved there’s little we can do in that regard.

We should be able to chat with Otto Porter Jr. and ask him how many thousands of times he’s heard that he bears a striking resemblance to a young Wilt Chamberlain and I hope we get some more terrific personal insight from Chris Boucher and Thad Young’s always a good guy to interview but for hard news or longer-term implications of the Summer Shenanigans, we can’t even touch it until the Brooklyn situation gets sorted.

When will that be?

Some people are telling me it might be weeks because there’s absolutely no rush and the parameters are in place.

And some people I’ve talked to think it should get wrapped up in the next few days because it’s basically time to move on with life and things won’t change with much more chatter and negotiation.

I tend to side with the latter group – it’s time to move on to other issues and there’s really no point in prolonging it – and, man, I hope I’m write.

Other than that, I sure hope Otto Porter Jr. is a good guy to talk to.

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We’ve got very few submissions for Ye Olde Mailbag, it looks like after taking a quick glance at Ye Olde Inbox.

So get that rectified by clicking on [email protected] sometime today, please. Tomorrow and Friday might be easy days for me to get ahead of things in the afternoon and I know you all want to make my life a little bit easier, right?

Thanks.

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What a difference a few days makes.

Remember when the Blue Jays took two of three from Boston and then won two over Tampa and things could not have been better.

That was, what Friday?

Today, there are fans who would like Customs to deny re-entry into Canada to Yusei Kikuchi when the trip ends, the middle of the lineup is scuffling and pitching depth is a major issues and, by goodness, the sky is indeed falling.

Sports. What an emotional ride.

I’d suspect there will be good days ahead and when it all comes out in the wash that the Blue Jays will be a playoff team and finding themselves somewhere in the middle of the ’27 Yankees and ’61 Mets.

But, man, it’s a fun and infuriating ride, isn’t it?

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So, the first day of this big GLOBL Jam endeavour Canada Basketball is undertaking is in the books and it went pretty much I expected.

Tiny crowds – first day, first time, you could see that coming a mile away and I suspect it will gain some momentum over the next five days.

Okay basketball – these are kids, it’s not going to be the WNBA or the NBA or even the G League but there were no horrible blowouts and plenty of individual talent on display.

I think Sportsnet deserve some credit for the time and resources it’s dedicated to it. I watched a bit of the first game on TV and it looked great, I saw all the women and men who were part of the night doubleheader and they were treating it as a big-time event, as they should.

A couple of Canada Basketball officials asked me at times last night what I thought and even though it is really, really early days, the answer was easy and I don’t think it’ll change before it wraps up on Sunday.

It’s a bit of a gamble but I do think it’s an important gamble and one that will eventually pay off. I don’t think anyone expected it to be a slam dunk on Day 1, Year 1 but that doesn’t mean it’s not worthwhile.

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