It is a bit weird that a lot of the NBA buzz to come will be about two players who have yet to wear a uniform this year and another who has been away from his team for months with no expectation he will ever return.
But this is a period of annual peak weirdness that descends on the NBA and the next couple of weeks will once again try the patience of fans around the league.
Ah, yes.
The annual run-up to the trade deadline is here, a period of disinformation, misinformation, rumour, innuendo and the reading of tea leaves that often has a tendency to go “pffft” when the day finally arrives.