NBA Notes: Schedule, Suns, James Jones, Bulls

NBA

• The league has informed teams that the 2023-24 regular season will tip off on Oct. 24, 2023 and conclude April 14, 2024, per Shams Charania of The Athletic.
• In the event an in-season tournament is approved, each team will be scheduled for just 80 games, down from 82, Charania added. Several players and agents who spoke to Hoops Wire have stated they are against the idea of an in-season tournament.
• That said, commissioner Adam Silver has been a big proponent of the idea, presumably as an additional revenue stream.

Suns

President of Basketball Operations/GM James Jones indicated the Suns are still working on a trade of small forward Jae Crowder, and from the sounds of things, the Suns have options.

“Jae is a good player and he’d help any team and teams know that,” Jones said, via Duane Rankin of the Arizona Republic. 

Jones added that “timing” will be the biggest factor when it comes to finally being able to pull off a Crowder deal.

“There’s no window where they say, hey, all deals are done here,” Jones said, via Rankin. “We have natural deadlines like the trade deadline where we usually have a flurry of deals, but other than that, it’s just finding the right fit and we just haven’t been able to find that yet.”

“… I always believe in team. At the end of the day, what we’re talking about is where we end up and where we finish, not where we start. There are a bunch of different paths you can take on that journey towards the end.

“So we’re just going to be patient and find the best path for it, but eventually something will get done and when it does, we’ll move on to the next challenge or the next decision that people will become anxious for us to make.”

• We have much more on Crowder and perhaps some interested teams right here.
• In case you missed it, Jones recently received a promotion and new title. We have that full story here.

Bulls

• While a report surfaced earlier that point guard Lonzo Ball is progressing, Bulls coach Billy Donovan cautioned that Ball s really “not anywhere close” to returning, per Julie Poe of the Chicago Tribune.
• Ball missed the final 47 games of last season and the first 20 so far this year. At one point, he had to shut down his rehab because of persistent pain. 
• In case you missed it, the Bulls reportedly signed Donovan to a contract extension ahead of the season — but have yet to make an official announcement. We have the full story here.