Brian Windhorst and a team of ESPN's Insiders sort out life and the news from in and around the NBA world, including how the New Orleans Pelicans face a market quandary, what the Dec. 15 deadline really means for trades, the newest player rivalry in the West and how the Sacramento Kings are lighting a path to the playoffs:
The Pelicans sit, unexpectedly, near the nexus of the NBA's future.
Young and upwardly mobile in the midst of a possible breakout season, the Pelicans have a good value roster that looks certain to get more expensive in one of the league's smallest markets. Their starting point guard, CJ McCollum, is running the labor talks for the National Basketball Players Association. Their owner, Gayle Benson, sits on the exclusive and powerful owners committee charged with forming league strategy.
The Pelicans' future might ride on superstar Zion Williamson's health and continued progress. But it might also hinge on the deal their organizational leaders are shaping.
So far, the talks are proceeding:
Without great animus. The sides just agreed to push back a deadline for a new collective bargaining deal from December to February.
Largely in secret. The sides have vowed to clamp down on leaks, and thus far it seems to be working because even teams that don't have representation on the negotiating committee have been kept at a distance so far, sources told ESPN.