Chris Paul and Dwight Howard following their potential last games as a Clipper and Laker (Getty Images)

As fans and media, we’re allowed to bash around the idea of Los Angeles Lakers center Dwight Howard and Los Angeles Clippers point guard Chris Paul heading to other teams when they become free agents in July. We’re not employed by the NBA, and we’re not even really required to call them “Lakers center” or “Clippers point guard” when we discuss their futures.

[Related: Kobe Bryant wants 'final word' in effort to keep Dwight Howard in L.A.]

NBA teams aren’t allowed such freedoms. In the past, several prominent league executives have been fined hefty amounts merely for honestly answering no-brainer questions about future free agents. Howard and Paul are still technically members of the since-dismissed Lakers and Clippers until their contracts run out and they become free agents on July 1. Until then, teams can’t even bring up their names, much less talk about coveting them.

Which is why the Atlanta Hawks could be in a whole lot of trouble. As a fan and member of the media, I can point out that the Hawks began clearing cap space for a run at Howard and Paul last summer. New general manager Danny Ferry made quick work of the above-average ceiling so happily clung to by his predecessor, but because of that smart decision the team and its fans are facing an uneasy future that could result in a Howard and/or Paul-less training camp. That’s a hard sell to season ticket holders, which is why the Hawks reportedly sent out a letter to potential ticket buyers talking up a future that specifically mentions Mssrs. Howard and Paul.

From the Atlanta Journal-Constitution:

The letter, obtained by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, was on team letterhead and headlined “Hot New Player news: Chris Paul and Dwight Howard.”

Chandler Parsons, not at prom (Getty Images)

Twitter’s pretty cool. It allows for a direct, real-time line between any of its users, and if handled appropriately, it can serve as a nice form of communication between fans and the famous. Whether that’s good-naturedly ribbing Larry King for his latest Larry King-ism, or congratulating Roy Hibbert on a season well-played, if you walk into an @ reply with some charm and tact, you might get a nod in return.

This is exactly what Houston area high school student Stephanie Flores came through with in May. The young Houston Rockets fan decided to throw caution to the Twitter wind in asking Rox swingman Chandler Parsons to swing on by, man, to her high school’s prom. Here’s here initial reach-out:

@chandlerparsons pleaseeee make my life and escort me to my prom on May 31st!!! A simple response would make up for it. I am a huge fan!!!

— Stephanie Flores (@steph_marie03) May 20, 2013

Parsons, a Florida native who has likely been away from Texas since his Rockets were dismissed from the playoffs in early May, responded after several of Flores’ friends and family-members re-tweeted her initial proposal:

Roy Hibbert and David West, during Monday's Game 7 loss (Getty Images)

With every season that ends, for the playoff teams at least, we felt it right to take a look ahead. TNT already has the rights to "Gone Fishin'," and because we're sure that someone, somewhere, still likes that Wyclef song, we're going with "Gone Till November." And, yes, we know the season starts in October. Today? The Indiana Pacers.

Short memories may get in the way of remembering just how many people thought that a Miami/Indiana Eastern Conference final was going to be the expected result of the 2012-13 season when things tipped off last October. Some may have leaned heavily toward New York to put it all together, or Derrick Rose to return for home stretch and lead the Chicago Bulls to the third round, but Indiana was quite a few observers’ expected third round pairing. The Pacers were always going to win the Central, and they always were going to give a good postseason showing after impressive clashes with Chicago in 2011, and Miami in 2012. What was left for them, last fall, was to put that roster and that experience together in order to make the next step.

Indiana made that third round, taking the Heat to its second straight seventh game in the Eastern Conference finals. And because the Pacers are comparatively much younger and come much cheaper than last year’s Miami combatant – the aging and well-financed Boston Celtics – the easy assumption is that things are on the upswing in Indiana. A first followed by second followed by third round defeat, if NBA history is any indication, is prologue to a trip to the Finals and a possible championship. And when you factor in the team’s obvious matchup benefits with Miami, and the possible decline of LeBron James’ supporting cast, the future has to look bright.

Right?

Kobe Bryant tries to bend Dwight Howard's ear (Getty Images)

Dwight Howard is doing what Dwight Howard usually does. The attention shifted away from him, once his petulance cost him an early exit in Game 4 of Los Angeles’ first round loss to the San Antonio Spurs, and he can’t say “no” to any credentialed media member that wants to talk about Dwight Howard with Dwight Howard. So Dwight Howard talked about Dwight Howard recently, leaking news of his intentions to seriously consider signing with Houston and Dallas when his contract with the Lakers (the one he committed to a year ago while a member of the Orlando Magic, because he can’t say “no” to anyone) expires at the end of June.

As a result, Kobe Bryant and the Lakers are going to do what Kobe Bryant and the Lakers have always done. They’re going to look Dwight Howard in the eye and ask him if he really wants to leave 72 degrees and sunny and tens of millions of dollars to leave Los Angeles. Even if such a departure might be the best basketball decision for someone who has made a career out of not making basketball-related decisions.

Here’s part of Kobe Bryant’s sit-down interview with Dave McMenamin at ESPN Los Angeles:

"For me, you kind of let him do his due diligence and then move in and talk to him and figure out if this is a place he wants to be," Bryant said. "We all want him here. But then that's when the selling begins [after Howard is courted by other teams]. You don't start the selling process right before he goes and does all this stuff. You want to get the last word. You want to have the final word and the closing argument.

The 2013 NBA Finals will air on ABC, which means the Miami Heat's Game 7 win over the Indiana Pacers was the final game that TNT will broadcast in this 2012-13 NBA season. That means we had to say farewell to the "Inside the NBA" crew — Ernie Johnson, Charles Barkley, Kenny "The Jet" Smith and Shaquille O'Neal — for the summer. And that's noteworthy, whether it makes you sad because you think "Inside" is still great television worth watching for the interplay among Ernie, Charles and Kenny, makes you happy because you kind of feel like the addition of Shaq last season has basically ruined a once-awesome show, or makes you feel somewhere in between.

Well, wherever your sympathies lie, the gang gave you something to remember them by on Monday. Before the game, there was Charles' assessment of whether LeBron James should look to get then-struggling teammates Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh more involved in Miami's offense, which afforded Barkley an opportunity to jab at one of his favorite targets:

The relevant quote again, repeatedly, via Vine:

Heading into Monday's Game 7, I wondered whether Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra would continue a trend he started in Games 5 by taking minutes away from forward Shane Battier, who'd been struggled mightily with his outside shot against the Indiana Pacers, and continued in Game 6 by giving them to swingman Mike Miller, who came off the bench to provide a spark and a couple of 3-pointers.

Spoelstra doubled-down on the switch on Monday, going to Miller early (first-quarter Mike Miller minutes!) and often (17 minutes total, albeit without a bucket, though he did grab three steals and play with some energy), while keeping Battier fastened to the bench. The 12-year veteran didn't log a second in the Heat's 99-76 Game 7 win, his first DNP-CD since a Jan. 14 loss to the Utah Jazz.

So you can understand the Duke grad reacting thusly to a congratulatory fan:

Fan, to #Heat Shane Battier, who was benched in G7, as he left AAA: "Great game, Shane." Battier: "Thanks. But I didn't do anything."

— Sean Deveney (@SeanDeveney) June 4, 2013

Au contraire, Monsieur Battier. The TNT cameras clearly showed you doing something during a timeout on Monday:

See, that's just professionalism, right there.

Noted basketball enthusiast Justin Bieber takes in Heat-Pacers Game 7. (AP/Lynne Sladky)

Hey there, Justin Bieber. Glad to see you could make it to courtside for Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals between the Miami Heat and Indiana Pacers on Monday. I'd seen your tweet asking the Beliebers who they thought would win, but I wasn't sure you'd be able to get to the game — I figured you might have to lay low until some of that Keyshawn Johnson heat dies down — so when the TNT cameras spotted you, it was a pleasant surprise. (Although I was a little bummed you didn't join the broadcast. I haven't heard "Boom goes the dynamite" in a while.)

Sorry it wasn't a more competitive game, though. I know — by the end, there, I was just folding my arms, staring at the clock and wishing it would be over, too. Who wants to see garbage time? Especially when such weird stuff can happen in garbage time.

'C'moooooooon.' (Issac Baldizon/NBA/Getty Images)

Indiana Pacers center Roy Hibbert had a difficult Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals against the Miami Heat. Despite putting up a respectable line of 18 points on 7-of-11 shooting and eight rebounds, he failed to make a huge impact on the game and saw his team fall to the defending champions in a 99-76 rout. It was a disappointing end to a fantastic season for Hibbert and the Pacers.

It stands to reason that Hibbert was a little upset at the final buzzer. So, instead of sticking around to exchange handshakes and pleasantries with the Heat, Hibbert headed straight to the locker room. This was not a team-wide decision — several Pacers, including All-Star Paul George, put a bow on the series by talking to their opponents.