Link Storm: Post Thanksgiving Haze Edition

Hey there. There is a scene in Chronicles of Narnia (book version) where, after the reign of the White Witch, everyone comes out as the snow melts. Santa –well, the version of him in Narnia –hands out presents and everyone is excited.

That is how we feel at Air Alamo HQ (may or may not be my living room). The NBA is back, baby!

You may have noticed that we have been away briefly. The rumors are true: we were busy. Now, then. Let’s move on to linkage. We have been trying to digest the flood of details coming out of the meetings. For the casual fan, the most important piece of information is that the season begins on Christmas Day and it will be 66-games long.

Here are some of our favorite writers’ takes on what that means:

Zach Lowe —Questions for Western Conference Teams

In the short term, the Spurs can duck the tax by using the amnesty provision on Richard Jefferson. That move would leave rookie Kawhi Leonard as perhaps the only NBA-ready small forward on the team.

More Zach Lowe —Amnesty Clause

Beyond Jefferson, there are only untouchable stars, cheap role players and young building blocks, with Matt Bonner (about $8 million guaranteed over the next three seasons) the only player who might not fit cleanly in any of those categories.

Larry Coon — Deal Breakdown

Perhaps the two sides got the best anyone can hope for in an extended and contentious negotiation: a deal neither side is happy with, but one that both sides can live with.

Marc Stein —Player victories

Bucher reported that one concern on the player side is the fact that only broad, basic tenets of a new deal have been agreed to by both sides, meaning that disagreements on what was said and mutually accepted could arise when it comes to committing the entire deal to writing. It remains to be seen, furthermore, how quickly both sides can get through the B-list issues, which is also expected to include the league’s drug and discipline policies