MIAMI _ And, so, here we've arrived, at the NBA's annual tampering convention, otherwise known as All-Star Weekend.
Because if there ever was a season when gaining any early advantage could pay dividends, it certainly is one when Kevin Durant, Kawhi Leonard, Kyrie Irving, Klay Thompson, Kemba Walker, Nikola Vucevic, Khris Middleton and D'Angelo Russell stand as free agents, all in Charlotte this weekend for Sunday's All-Star Game.
As is LeBron James, he of the desperate need to find a running partner with the Los Angeles Lakers before he ages out.
There is, of course, a line drawn by the NBA, one that Lakers President Magic Johnson is more than familiar with, considering every time he seemingly opens his mouth to discuss a player, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver is there to present a fine.
That had Johnson quipping, when benignly asked in Charlotte about hometown favorite Walker, "You know I can't answer any questions about no players, because every time I do, I get fined. But anybody else do it, they don't get fined. So I'm gonna stay away from that one."
But the league has made it clear that it is different with players, even clearing James in a potential tampering kerfuffle regarding his interest in eventually playing alongside Anthony Davis, another member of this weekend's All-Star cast, albeit now dealing with a shoulder issue.
So James seen huddling with Irving? What say you, Danny Ainge?
Or Irving alongside Durant? A double-team about to ensue July 1.
To many, fraternization-as-implementation dates to Dwyane Wade, LeBron James and Chris Bosh first coming together for international competition and then coming together with the Miami Heat for four runs to the NBA Finals from 2011 to 2014, including championships in 2012 and '13.
Just this past week, in an interview with the Arizona Republic, former Phoenix Suns executive and national-team organizer Jerry Colangelo noted how the Heat's Big Three used such a canvas at the 2006 World Championships to set the table for the Heat's eventual free-agency coup.
"They bonded," he said. "That's the kind of thing you want on a team, so that was healthy. Was there anything wrong with them talking about coming together and playing together? I don't think so as long as it was above board, but I think it has gotten out of (control)."
For the Heat, having Wade as a franchise cornerstone, and already as a 2006 NBA champion, made it easier for Heat President Pat Riley to complete the team's haul in 2010.
So the question now becomes _ with both the New York Knicks and Los Angeles Clippers potentially having enough cap space for two max-level free agents this summer _ whether already having a potential top-tier running mate in place means more than being able to select your own plus-one.
For example, will the Lakers have an edge with James already locked in?
Similarly, did the Dallas Mavericks create such an advantage by acquiring Kristaps Porzingis at the recent NBA trading deadline, allowing for a window-shopping advantage for a recruit?
Or is the new approach somewhat of a step back to the Heat's approach in 2010, of creating enough space that your No. 1 target in free agency can also bring along his No. 1A, as some have suspected of the approach of Durant and Irving?
Indeed, left with little to use as a recruiting chip (with all due respect to Zach LaVine and Lauri Markkanen), the Chicago Bulls decided to take on the contract of Otto Porter, aware that the last time they went shopping without a star running mate already in place, all they wound up with in 2010 was Carlos Boozer.
For the Heat, the relevance to the eventual math of choice is their own potential opportunity to shop for a single prime free-agent addition in 2020, and whether they can create enough currency in the interim with Josh Richardson or Justise Winslow to make them the lure for a plus-one.
For now, let the tampering take place in Charlotte.
And in July we will learn whether in the NBA's latest math is having a star making it easier to get a star. Or whether there is something to be said about the power of none (and a big bag of cash).
