NBA fans have been starving for some basketball as of late due to the Coronavirus-imposed shutdown. It’s been a sad state of affairs for sports fans around the world although leagues are hard at work to find a solution to this inconvenience. The NBA has been one of the leagues impacted the most by the virus and over the last few months, they have been contemplating a whole slew of scenarios that could see a return to action.

During an episode of The JJ Redick Podcast, the Pelican sharpshooter spoke about a potential return to play and noted that the league has a way in which they can reduce the risk of infection. As it turns out, this plan includes fewer teams coming back to the court. 

As he notes, the top 6 teams in each conference wouldn’t have to play any more regular-season games. From there, teams 7-12 would be fighting it out for the final two playoff spots in each conference. As for teams 13-15, well, they would be told to stay home and their seasons would effectively be over.

In this scenario, the Golden State Warriors, Phoenix Suns, Minnesota Timberwolves, Atlanta Hawks, New York Knicks, and Detroit Pistons would be done for the season.

It’s an interesting proposal although it remains to be seen if the players decide to accept it.

This season has been monumental for Jimmy Butler as he is proving himself to be a superstar who can carry a team when the pieces are right. The Miami Heat were having an incredible season prior to the hiatus and if and when the league comes back, the team has the potential to go on a big run. 

Butler is consistently referred to as one of the hardest working and competitive players in the league. Sometimes, his competitive spirit rubs people the wrong way but for those who want to win, his attitude is a breath of fresh air. There are plenty of guys who have played with Butler who like him and two of those men are Duncan Robinson and JJ Redick.

During an episode of Redick's podcast, the NBA veteran noted that Butler takes issue with being guarded by white people and made sure to let Redick know. Butler even told Robinson that he has no chance of successfully guarding him, either.

The glory days of cruel and unusual rookie hazings in sports are no more, as first-year players in the NBA, NFL and other leagues are much more likely to be forced to carry around a Dora The Explorer stuffed animal, rather than being duct taped to a goal post and tortured. This has been a great development for the youngsters coming up in today's NBA, but that road was paved on the blood, sweat and tears of rookies gone by.

During a recent episode of the JJ Redick Podcast, the New Orleans Pelicans' veteran explained one of the harrowing experiences he endured during his rookie season with the Orlando Magic in 2006.

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According to Redick, his teammates coaxed him into a chair in the locker room under the guise that he would be apologizing to the team for being late to practice. However, the minute he sat down their devious plan sprung into action.

"As soon as I sat in the chair like three guys grabbed me and they duct taped me to the chair. And then they stuck me in the shower and the water was running, it was super cold, and they left it cold. They sat me in front of the cold water in the shower for like an hour. Everybody left practice and then the equipment manager found me like an hour later."

Redick laughed as he told the story so it's clear he doesn't hold any ill will towards his former Magic teammates, which includes the likes of Grant Hill, Bo Outlaw, Hedo Turkoglu, Dwight Howard, Pat Garrity and Jameer Nelson. You can listen to Redick's recollection of the events in the audio clip embedded below.

Social media has taken over everything we do. Almost every profession requires at least some sort of baseline social media presence and athletes are well aware of this. In order to connect with fans and get your name out there, posting to social media is a necessity. NBA players are constantly on the gram showing off their outfits and making sure they are both seen and heard. For some, social media is just a natural extension of one's self while for others, it is a huge distraction.

JJ Redick of the New Orleans Pelicans appears to be the latter. The veteran NBA player recently spoke on his podcast about how some of today's young guns are too focused on social media and that it's begun to affect their performance.

Zion Williamson is arguably the most hyped-up rookie since LeBron James. Unfortunately, we haven’t seen him on an NBA court since the preseason where he suffered a knee injury. It remains to be seen when we’ll see Zion on the court although we’re very excited for that day to come. Williamson is a box office player who delivers highlight-reel dunks on a nightly basis. During his time at Duke, Zion was an electric factory who delivered huge plays every single game.

During a recent appearance on the JJ Redick Podcast, Zion spoke about his time at Duke and how he almost didn’t declare for the NBA draft. Zion loved his time at the school so much that he wanted to come back for a second season. Eventually, he was convinced to go to the NBA as it would help him provide for his family.

“Me, I wanted to go back. No one ever believes me, they think I’m just saying that, but no. I really wanted to go back,” Zion explained. “I felt like the NBA wasn’t going anywhere. The money thing… I don’ play for the money. I play because I love the game. I just loved my experience at Duke that much to where I wanted to stay. But it was one of those situations where Coach K isn’t gonna let me come back because he wants me to do what’s best for the family. My teammate would’ve said it would be dope for me to come back, but at the same time they’re telling me I would be leaving too much, I didn’t work this long to get to that. It was tough.”

At this point, we’re sure Zion was happy to declare for the draft. He has a huge deal with Jordan Brand and his contract is bringing in quite a few dollars as well. Zion and his family are set for life which is something Duke wouldn’t be able to do for him.