Welcome to Glass Slipper! The same old Cincinnati Reds; please enjoy the show.

- Jacob Rhee

**NOTICE: Glass Slipper will arrive on Tuesday and Saturday next week.

Here are my 10 biggest takeaways through 24 weeks of the NBA season.

1. The Suns are finished.

Thank goodness. We should all guess how many members of their 15-man roster will still be on the team for the 2025-26 season opener. I’ll start. Five.

2. Another questionable lottery pick.

To put it nicely, I don’t exactly love what I’m seeing from Devin Carter. He’s 23, and looks like he has no business being on an NBA floor. I’m willing to be patient, but my hopes are not high.

3. A bombshell in Denver.

Let’s create a scale to measure the amount of surprise that a given piece of NBA news elicits. Miles Bridges taking a selfish, contested shot is a one, and the Luka-AD trade is a 10. This Mike Malone and Calvin Booth double-axe is like an 8.5.

Look, a part of me can understand why Memphis shoved Taylor Jenkins out the back door a couple of weeks ago. If he was getting the hook this summer anyway, you might as well turn the upcoming postseason run into an opportunity to evaluate your in-house replacement candidate. Optimistic Nuggets folks might argue that their squad is simply following the same blueprint. I’d contend that things are a bit different when the dude being fired is the longest-tenured coach in franchise history, won the organization its first ring ever, and has a special bond with the city’s golden goose.

This is some gutsy stuff by Josh Kroenke. The best basketball player on Earth resides in Denver, and - even if he understood the decision - you’re now actively disrupting his ecosystem. Sure, Nikola Jokic doesn’t seem like the type to demand a trade. But neither did Kawhi Leonard, and he pouted his way out of San Antonio once upon a time.

You better hope this works out.

4. Fear the Deer?

As a Cavs fan, I’m starting to get clammy hands. Giannis Antetokounmpo - clearly the best player in the conference - has flicked the switch to bully mode. Even if Damian Lillard is done for the year, I do not want to deal with that man in Round 2. Give me Indiana or Detroit.

5. Kon Knueppel to Philadelphia.

It has to happen. More than any of his on-court abilities, I love how Knueppel carries himself. He’s an easygoing kid, who morphs into an intense competitor on gameday. After dealing with Paul George’s weirdness for a season, Sixers folks would instantly embrace a dude like that.

6. A Dillon Brooks redemption arc?

Hey, pal. It’s now been two full years since you tried to punk LeBron, got humiliated, and then chickened out when it was time to face the music.

A strong individual playoff run can repair your reputation. Don’t mess this up.

7. Dyson Daniels is the Defensive Player of the Year.

But the Hawks are 38-42! You can’t give the award to a guy on a below-average team! Um… why not? Two of the first four individuals to ever hoist this trophy played for a squad that was .500 or worse. Social media exploded with anger when Victor Wembanyama lost the race last season, even though the Spurs were 22-60. Don’t just make up qualifiers for the heck of it.

Draymond Green is probably going to win this thing. Why? He intentionally turns up the energy for national television contests and promotes himself on a podcast, while Dyson and Evan Mobley don’t. That’s pretty stupid.

8. A Celtics thought experiment.

Boston will likely draw Orlando in the first round. I seriously believe you could chop the Celtics in half, and be left with two separate groups that would beat the Magic. Jrue Holiday, Jaylen Brown, Baylor Scheierman, Al Horford, and Kristaps Porzingis on Team 1. Payton Pritchard, Derrick White, Sam Hauser, Jayson Tatum, and Luke Kornet on Team 2. I’d take Boston both times.

9. The Luka Special.

I mean, we all knew that was coming. 45-8-6 in his return to Dallas, with Nico Harrison pretending not to hear the entire city calling for his job.

Please give us a Mavs-Lakers playoff series next year. I want to figure out the breaking point, where those fans in Texas stop finally stop cheering for their departed hero.

10. My updated MVP ladder.

1) Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Thunder

2) Nikola Jokic, Nuggets

3) Jayson Tatum, Celtics

4) Cade Cunningham, Pistons

5) Giannis Antetokounmpo, Bucks

6) Karl-Anthony Towns, Knicks

7) Donovan Mitchell, Cavs

8) LeBron James, Lakers

9) Jalen Williams, Thunder

10) Anthony Edwards, Timberwolves

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