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The NBA owners and players reached a tentative agreement to end the lockout and start the season on Christmas Day.

Here are the key dates under the tentative agreement:

Dec. 9: Training camp opens
Dec. 9: Free agency begins
Dec. 25: NBA regular season begins

Read up on this joyous development here:

CBSSports.com

ESPN

Yahoo

Special delivery.

In case you haven’t noticed, yesterday we finished our previews/analyses of each NBA team for what I’m tentatively referring to “2011-12.” I suppose celebrating this accomplishment is akin to hitting a technical free throw and low-fiving imaginary teammates.

Though I’ll spare you the confetti and balloons, I do want to offer this: a simple list of all 30 fantasy basketball team previews. You can also access it atop the website, no matter what page you’re on.

Here’s what’s included in every team preview:

• depth chart (free agents and players locked into overseas contracts are noted)
• list of relevant fantasy players with projected per-game stats
• sleeper
• player most likely to surprise
• player most likely to disappoint
• category specialists
• things to consider
• the team’s statistical ranks in 2010-11
• fantasy-friendliness grade
• fun bonus video

Now I’ll be working on updating those rankings.

Youngsters might not remember, but back in Minnesota, KG was one B.A.M.F. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Reddit is a wonderful thing. Reddit’s r/NBA subreddit just makes it even wonderfuller.

User Browsing_From_Work recently posted a spreadsheet including all NBA player stats from 2004-2011, scraped from NBA.com. Go have fun with it. (The best way to play with the data is to go to “File” –> “Download as” –> “Excel,” then sort and fiddle to your heart’s content.)

Using that data, here are the 10 most efficient individual player seasons from 2004-2011:

1. LeBron James, 2009-10 (CLE): 32.42
2. Kevin Garnett, 2004-05 (MIN): 31.96
3. LeBron James, 2008-09 (CLE): 30.88
4. Chris Paul, 2008-09 (NOH): 30.46
5. LeBron James, 2007-08 (CLE): 30.33
6. LeBron James, 2005-06 (CLE): 29.42
7. Dwyane Wade, 2008-09 (MIA): 29.29
8. Kevin Garnett, 2006-07 (MIN): 29.17
9. Shawn Marion, 2005-06 (PHX): 28.85

Here are the 10 most efficient players in 2010-11:

1. LeBron James (MIA): 28.58
2. Kevin Love (MIN): 28.37
3. Dwight Howard (ORL): 28.31
4. Blake Griffin (LAC): 25.63
5. Pau Gasol (LAL): 25.40
6. Kevin Durant (OKC): 24.95
7. Dwyane Wade (MIA): 24.78
8. Amar’e Stoudemire (NYK): 24.59
9. Zach Randolph (MEM): 24.43
10. Dirk Nowitzki (DAL): 23.49

Do you notice any big names missing from these lists? What other interesting tidbits do you find in this data?

DeMarcus looks ready to head back to school. Are you? (NBA/Getty Images)

We’re on the cusp of Labor Day weekend, which means students who haven’t already started their new school year are now seeing their summer vacation quickly slipping away. If there’s any solace for students wincing at the thought of going back to school, it’s that they can rest assured that the 2011-12 school year is actually happening. While that may not be much of a comforting thought in and of itself, the start of a school year means graduation is closer than it was yesterday. Imagine if an entire school year were put on hold: While visions of an extended “summer break” are certainly enchanting, it would mean that students would commence their education a year older than they should be, and that graduating and heading off to that coveted next stage of life would be put on a maddening hold. (continue reading…)

This might make sense if you read this post.

Around this time last year this blog was kicking it with mock drafts and updates about the realm of fantasy basketball. This summer is different, for obvious reasons.

With the lockout in full swing and the fount of NBA news slowed to a muddy trickle by inane updates about which players are “considering” playing overseas, I’ve had more time to keep abreast of non-NBA news. One story that recently caught my eye was about Abercrombie & Fitch paying Michael “The Situation” Sorrentino not to wear its merchandise.

Before I proceed, I’ll admit that I’ve never been drunk enough mustered up enough courage to sit down and watch a single minute of a single episode of “Jersey Shore.” This means my low regard for Mr. Sorrentino is fueled by snippets I’ve seen on TV or read on the Internet, and by his awful delivery.

That said, this news story compelled me to ask myself a question: Which players would I (figuratively) pay to not be on my fantasy basketball team?

Thus, a blog post was born.

Assuming an act of God forced me to miss my next fantasy basketball draft, here are 10 players I’d “pay” to leave my team if the dreaded auto-draft pooped them onto my roster. Following each player’s blurb is a series of “Situations” reflecting how badly I’d want these players off my team. (continue reading…)