When the Goodman League competes against the Indy Pro-Am on Sept. 24,  Celtics draft pick JaJuan Johnson will reportedly suit up for the Indy Pro-Am squad. He will compete against Jeff Green, who could potentially be Johnson’s teammate whenever the NBA returns.

John Wall, Kevin Durant, Michael Beasley and DeMarcus Cousins have all committed to join Green in representation of the Goodman League, according to separate reports by Mike Wells and Michael Lee. Johnson’s Indy Pro-Am team will reportedly also include Zach Randolph, Mike Conley, Eric Gordon, George Hill, Lance Stephenson and Gordon Hayward.

Note: I am about to ramble about Gordon Hayward for a short period of time, just because his name triggered some great NBA League Pass memories. Bear with me.

On April 5, 2011, Hayward put on one of last season’s least-expected shows, metaphorically staring Kobe Bryant straight in the eyes until Kobe blinked.

Two nights before, Hayward had established a career high of 19 points against the Sacramento Kings, but nothing about his bland rookie season signaled that Hayward was ready to build on the career night, especially not against the Los Angeles Lakers. The Jazz had played the Lakers earlier in the week and Hayward was both inefficient and  unproductive. He finished the game with 7 points on 3-9 shooting, playing 29 minutes and barely putting his fingerprints on the game. The Jazz lost after leading by 17 points and Hayward scored only two points in the second half, an alley-oop from Earl Watson after the game was already out of reach.

The Lakers were on a typical tear, winning 17 of their past 19 games, and the Jazz were somewhere between listless and helpless, losers of eight straight, a franchise in shambles after Jerry Sloan’s retirement and Deron Williams’s trade, a franchise watching idly as the memories of two great decades burned slowly to the ground. Al Jefferson was acquired in the offseason, but he and Paul Millsap did not mesh in the front-court. Derrick Favors came to Utah as part of the Williams trade, and he could provide occasional entertainment with a fierce dunk or a high-flying block, but his prime was years away at best. Tyrone Corbin tried to fill Sloan’s enormous shoes, but Utah’s talent was lower than it had been in years and Corbin, well, Corbin was not Sloan. Meanwhile, the Jazz’s lottery draft choice, the league’s next white hope, Gordon Hayward blended into the background, struggling to deal with the strength and quickness of his NBA opponents.

Kobe Bryant is not normally the right prescription for a rookie struggling to find his NBA calling. But the second time Hayward played Kobe that week, he transformed into something different, something better, the player Utah hoped he would be, a player his parents and friends could be proud of, a player who dueled against Kobe Bryant and scored 22 points, including 10 in the final quarter, grabbed 6 rebounds, dished 5 assists, drilled the game-winning free throw, forced Bryant into a turnover on the game’s final possession, and walked off the court with at least one new fan.

“I’m very, very fond of him. He’s a very-skilled, all-around player,” said Kobe Bryant. “I think he’s going to have a very bright future in this league. He reminds me of a more talented Jeff Hornacek. Jeff couldn’t put the ball on the floor as well as (Hayward) can.”

Less than two weeks later, the Jazz ended their season by beating the Denver Nuggers. Hayward pumped in 34 points.

John Wall is unlikely to play in tonight’s game. That means one thing:

I’M NOT WATCHING!!!

I kid. While it would have been heavenly to see the Wall-Rondo matchup, I was one who stuck it out during the Marty Conlon days. I don’t care if the Celtics are playing St. Anne’s School for the Deaf and Blind, I’m going to watch.

But they aren’t playing St. Anne’s, they’re playing the Washington Wizards – who happen to have an exciting (if painfully inefficient and poorly put together) team. Even if Wall doesn’t play, this should be fun.

Three things to look for (besides whether Wall suits up):

1. Delonte West’s return – Mr. West is in the building, swagger on a hundred thousand trillion. Or something like that. I don’t know what to expect from West tonight. He has kept in shape, but game shape is a different animal. Once West works himself into top gear, though, the Celtics have themselves a new weapon. No pun intended. But speaking of weapons:

2. Gilbert Arenas – Say what you want about Arenas’s odd-duck behavior, or his complete (and initial) lack of remorse for the whole gun incident, or his shot-happy (basketball-wise) tendencies. Gilbert, on the court, has always been fun to watch. He’s an ultimate showman, whether he’s screaming out “Hibatchi” before shots or simply lighting up the scoreboard at a phenomenal rate.

I’m not even an Arenas fan, but the NBA has been a different place since Gilbert stopped being so quirky. There was something enjoyable about Gilbert’s tell-all blog on NBA.com, something about his personality that just seemed genuine. He was always odd, that’s for damn sure, but he was real. There are a lot of NBA stars that aren’t.

I’m not the only one who misses the old Gilbert, am I?

3. Kevin Garnett vs. Andray Blatche – First Garnett made Blatche cry. Then Blatche just about made Garnett cry, scoring 31 points and 11 rebounds against the Celtics and causing everyone to stand and shout, “The demise of Kevin Garnett!!!!!!!” The only reason Garnett didn’t cry was that he only cries to John Thompson.

Now Blatche won’t let the feud die. When asked what he would do if Garnett talked more trash tonight, Blatche replied:

“Who? I don’t think I know nobody I’m going to talk back to. I ain’t got nothing to say. I’m going to play my game and help my team win.”

… “and help my team win.” Umm, we’ll see about that, Andray.

Nice to see former Celtic Lester Hudson making the best out of his opportunity in Washington. Even though Hudson had two turnovers in the game (to go along with 5 points and 1 rebound, in 8 minutes), a game-winning three-pointer’s not a bad way to start the season. Hudson was one of 11 Wizards to see action in the game, which could mean he has an inside track at making the regular season roster. One player who didn’t see action? Adam Morrison. As a wise man once said, some things don’t never change.

In other news out of Wizards camp, Gilbert Arenas wants out of Washington and seems kind of depressed by John Wall’s arrival in town. According to ESPN’s Marc Stein, Arenas said he had no emotions because “”I lost all feeling a long time ago.” Arenas also “spoke of a new role that, in his view, demands him to ‘hit open shots, teach John [Wall] the ins and outs of the game and then eventually go on and move on and I’m on my way.”

“Right now the city is John’s,” Arenas said. “I’m not here to fight anybody. I’m here to just play alongside him. He’s Batman and I’m Robin. When I came in, Larry [Hughes] moved aside for me to become a star and I’m moving aside so [Wall] can become a star. Let him fly and I’ll just fill in the gaps. When I came to Washington, that’s what Larry did for me and that’s what I’m doing for him.”

Sorry, I’d finish the rest of this story but I can’t stop laughing. Larry Hughes moving aside so somebody can become a star. Ha!

We normally do just one highlight reel a day, but this video was too good not to post right away.

The Elite 24, along with NBA stars Brandon Jennings, Tyreke Evans, and John Wall, got together last night for some late-night hoops at the Hangar Athletic Xchange (HAX) in Hawthorne, CA. Ballislife.com was able to tape the pick up games, which you won’t want to miss. Look out for Austin Rivers crossing up John Wall just past the one-minute mark.

The Boost Mobile Elite 24 is a basketball event featuring the nation’s 24 best high school basketball players. The event will be held at the Venice Beach Courts in Los Angeles on Friday and Saturday. The slam-dunk contest is Friday at 8 PM ET, while the game is on Saturday at 7:30 ET. Both will be televised on ESPNU. Among the participants are Doc Rivers’s son Austin, and Dennis Johnson’s nephew, Nick Johnson. For the complete roster, click here.

(h/t @MrMichaelLee)

The only way John Wall doesn’t make dozens of All-Star games is if he suffers a career-threatening injury. And oh yeah by the way, this time last year Avery Bradley was rated ahead of Wall in recruiting rankings.

I’m desperately trying to talk myself into Bradley, I really am, but Bradley being rated ahead of Wall in high school doesn’t really help. Why not? Because right now Bradley is on an operating table somewhere while Wall is busy writing his 2029 Hall of Fame Induction speech. Well, either that or interviewing bodyguards to protect himself from Gilbert Arenas. Either way, I don’t expect any instant dividends from Bradley. As much as I try to sell myself on his potential and athleticism, there are reasons why Bradley’s production at Texas was flimsier than Shaun Livingston’s biceps.