NBA Shootaround: The Earth isn't flat, but the trade deadline almost was

All-Star Weekend and the NBA trade deadline are behind us, and boy was it all weird.

The All-Star Game was its usual kind of boring, and the dunk contest was deeply devastated by Zach LaVine's absence and Aaron Gordon's inability to replicate what he showed last year. So, since the main events were a snore, let's take a look at the things that really turned heads this week.

- Kyrie Irving thinks the earth is flat. On teammate Richard Jefferson's podcast, Irving confessed to being a flat-earth truther... because apparently those exist even though guys like Pythagoras and Plato tried to squash this long ago.

What's even more troubling than Irving continuing to urge people to "decide for themselves" on the matter, is that other stars have joined in and said "he is entitled to his opinion." WHAT?!

One guy siding with Irving is Draymond Green of the Warriors. Green didn't exactly agree with him, but gave his blessing for people to make opinion-based claims about scientifically proven facts - and used iPhone panoramas as an arguing point.

I know this news is a few days old, but I haven't stopped shaking my head.

- DeMarcus Cousins was sent to New Orleans. I mean, of course he was sent there for the All-Star festivities, but then he was traded to the Pelicans. As the main event wrapped up and Boogie sat on the bench, playing just over two minutes, the reports came out.

Boogie and The Brow are now our favorite duo, based purely on nicknames.

It was really awkward the next couple days, with the Sacramento Kings' front office basically saying they'd rather get rid of Cousins and try to rebuild (even though they were 1 1/2 games out of 8th place in the West) rather than keep him. General manager Vlade Divac slammed Cousins on camera, saying "character matters."

But Boogie took it in stride. Look at how awkward the moment was when he found out he was traded, immediately following the All-Star game, and how he quickly turns to his new-found love of New Orleans.

- The trade deadline was mostly a dud. The Boogie dust settled, and we were all waiting to see what would happen Thursday at 3 p.m. ... and it was a letdown. Most of the rest of the big-name ballers stayed put.

I say 'letdown' because if it doesn't affect your rooting interest, then when the deadline passes and big names aren't included, most would say it was uneventful.

But I think the people that stayed put - I'm lookin' at you Jimmy Butler, Paul George, Carmelo Anthony - are going to make things pretty eventful if the trajectories they're on continues.

There's unrest in all corners of the NBA, and people are going to start making a fuss. I just hope we all get to watch.

Must Watch List

All times are Eastern.

Pelicans at Thunder, Sunday, 7 p.m, NBA TV. Cousins' debut with New Orleans didn't go exactly as planned when Houston (and new Rocket Lou Williams) gave the Pelicans another 'L'. So it'll be interesting to see how Boogie and The Brow handle crazy-man Russell Westbrook. Who needs a good nickname, by the way.

Cavaliers at Celtics, Wednesday, 8 p.m, ESPN. These are the Eastern Conference leaders. Now that we are on the back end of the season, they will be going at the other top contenders with more fight than before, trying to knock everyone down a peg before playoff seeds are is set in stone.

League Pass Alert: Mavericks at Timberwolves, Friday, 8 p.m., OR Pelicans at Mavericks, Saturday, 8:30 p.m. We all want to see how Nerlens Noel is going to fare with his new Texas family. These are the first chances to see it happen.