A bunch of links for you today.
- We begin with this video of JaVale McGee and Nick Young eating cinnamon in a spoon, which made the Internet rounds yesterday. For their efforts, the clip will apparently be shown on ESPN2 at 4 p.m. This is what passes for NBA content during the lockout. [SB Nation D.C.]
- Jan Vesely returned home to the Czech Republic, his agent says. They're meeting with his former club team to plot the next course of action. Seems to me like both seem a bit unprepared for the labor fight that was bound to happen. [Michael Lee]
- As pointed out earlier by jasonj, John Wall was at a New York City nightclub during a fatal shooting. He wasn't involved, and his text to confirm this is priceless. [Lee]
- Michael Katz and I list a bunch of things we'll miss about not seeing the Wizards this season, including the new uniforms and the Chipotle Burrito Dash. [SB Nation D.C.]
- Some character on a show called "Homeland" became the five zillionth person to mock the Wizards' nickname. Ted Leonsis responds by saying that "any press is good press." [Steinberg]
- Payday was supposed to be yesterday, so a bunch of players missed paychecks. Of course, TV networks also missed some ad revenue. [Ziller]
- Speaking of Ziller, here's a great read on why the "missing paychecks" thing may not affect these players like it affected the ones in 1999. Agree or disagree, certainly thinks this has a lot of merit. Let's not immediately assume the players will be begging for mercy because of missed paychecks. [Ziller]
- More lockout links:
- Henry Abbott on the "unicorn" of competitive balance slowing down the season. [True Hoop]
- Matt Moore believes the players are acting too emotional in their decision-making. [Eye on Basketball]
- A good read on how the two sides could continue negotiating while the lawsuits are happening. [Steve Aschburner, NBA.com]
- Ian Thomsen believes the solution here is David Stern, TV cameras and an open forum. Seems kind of idealistic to me. [SI]
- Remembering JaVale vs. Cousins. [Truth About It]
- Finally, here's Gus Johnson and a large dog. [Mister Irrelevant]