It’s nearly Valentine’s Day — which means the NBA All-Star Weekend is set to descend upon us.

 

There’s no reason to overreact.

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NBC will air a dunk contest with players you've never heard of, a three-point contest headlined by a wounded star, and a few insouciant All-Star games no one actually understands. 

 

Kevin Hart is set to make yet another All-Star Game appearance, now  appropriately qualified to deliver another piecemeal bit of tall NBA player lampshades short comedian.

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Despite the obvious, this year seems especially revealing.  

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What should’ve been a fascinating trade deadline has quickly jettisoned into uncertainty. Several teams that acquired valuable players are either sitting them late in games, or shelving them altogether. The tanking has become symbiotic. And it’s arrived a month ahead of schedule.

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Eight teams have effectively punted the season. Meanwhile, load management continues even among the playoff-bound and Adam Silver has never been busier handing out suspensions. 

 

There's also those game-fixing and salary circumvention scandals that have yet to be acknowledged.  

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The play-in tournament was supposed to fix tanking.  It didn't.  

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And since we’re talking about tournaments no one understands, the NBA Cup has unraveled into a cartoon that even the cup champions are reluctant to claim.

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The league continues to innovate. The returns remain unclear, for now.  

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All of this will be addressed during Saturday’s NBA State of the Union, where Silver will undoubtedly face tough questions — and rightly so. 

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The NBA will again assume this all fades away once the playoffs begin.  Until then, they'll bide time.