'Space Jam' is our greatest art

Good morning. That's just an irrelevant opinion in the headline. Just noting it for the record. More good stuff in Friday's NBA newsletter!

By Tom Ziller Jul 24, 2015, 8:49am EDT

Good morning. Let's basketball.

TOLD YA: We warned you free agency would get weird. So Paul Flannery and I caught up in a new F&Z to talk about the Pacers, the Spurs, the Thunder, the Clippers and the other big summer movers and shakers.

PROBABLY FOR THE BEST: It appears, according to Brian Windhorst, that the Cavaliers will be unable to pull an actual player back in a Brendan Haywood deal. So instead, it's likely they will move the deal for a large trade exception before Haywood gets waived on August 1.

WHERE ARE U NEXT: Ricky O'Donnell predicts where the top 10 uncommitted 2016 recruits will land. I think he's underselling Sacramento State as a destination for Thon Maker.

While I'm here, let me note for the record you'll be seeing some more amateur, college and WNBA links in GMIB as I try to capture all of basketball instead of just the NBA. The focus is still heavily tilted by the NBA, and I have been including links to amateur and women's basketball all along. But I'm making a conscious effort over the next year to be more comprehensive in scope while still focusing on sharing only the best or most interesting individual links. Does that make sense?

SPEAKING OF THON MAKER ... My God! He's 7'1!

LAMARCUS SPEAKS: LaMarcus Aldridge went on the (very good) Ryen Rusillo show and said some real interesting things.

GOODBYE CAP'N JACK: Stephen Jackson has officially retired. Eight reasons we'll miss him badly.

SHRINKING TO GROW: Roland Lazenby on the smallball trend.

NOTED: Scott Walker, the Wisconsin governor and Presidential candidate, hates raising taxes ... except for public-backed arenas and stadia.

AHEM: I wasn't going to dignify Matt Ufford's claim that Space Jam is overrated with a link, but now I feel so strongly that he is wrong I want the world to know it. Hey! Matt Ufford is fallible and has a very bad opinion about a true piece of art!

SPEAKING OF TRUE ART ... "An Oral History Of Alejandro Jodorowsky's Space Jam 2." God bless The Classical.

FASCINATING: The South Korean league draft was held in Vegas during Summer League. Les Carpenter has the story.

HEY JOHN WALL: I like your shark pants. They are cool.

UM: This is Tony Parker peddling a caged bicycle buggy thing away from an angry tiger who is being heckled by Boris Diaw, Ronny Turiaf and Nicolas Batum. Now imagine Gregg Popovich watching that.

GOD BLESS YOU CHUCK TAYLOR, WHEREVER YOU ARE: Converse is upgrading the interior of their Chucks with Nike tech to make them not destroy your feet if you, like me, where them all day and walk a lot. Hallelujah. I used to wear shell-toe three-stripe Adidas almost exclusively, but now I mix Vans and Chucks. And man those Chucks do a number on my feet if I wear them too long.

Happy Friday. We'll see you next week.