Breaking down the deluge of NBA drama from the past 24 hours

In what has historically been the doldrums of winter, the basketball gods gave the NBA snow globe a violent shake. Here's a breakdown of the dramatic storylines you might have missed from the past 24 hours:

Milwaukee Bucks fire Jason Kidd

Of all the crazy stories to break, this one takes the cake. And like a cake, this treat has layers:

The Bucks had a winning record (23-22) when they pulled the trigger.
Initial reports of Kidd's firing broke just four hours before tipoff of the Bucks' home game against the Suns.
When the news first broke on Twitter, Kidd had reportedly not been informed of his dismissal, sources told ESPN's Chris Haynes.
Giannis Antetokounmpo offered to try to save his job. Kidd declined.
The decision came less than a month before Kidd's likely election to the Basketball Hall of Fame.
The Bucks won their first game under interim coach Joe Prunty anyway.

That's one way to celebrate your franchise's 50th NBA season.

Kawhi's camp refutes reports of his unhappiness

Gregg Popovich's team almost always operates with a blunt, matter-of-fact approach to uncomfortable situations like Tony Parker's benching and LaMarcus Aldridge's offseason trade demand, so the conflicting reports about Kawhi Leonard have been rattling.

Here's what we know:

Leonard was shut down indefinitely last week due to his lingering quadriceps injury.
From out of nowhere, the league was hit by a massive report from ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, Michael C. Wright, and Zach Lowe that there's a growing disconnect between Leonard and the organization due to disagreements over how his injury is being handled.
Within hours of the original report, Leonard's uncle shot it down, telling The San Antonio Express-News' Jabari Young: "There is nothing true to that story. Kawhi's camp and the Spurs are how they've always been - doing the right thing for the team and right thing for Kawhi."

The fact that there was a report for Kawhi's camp to refute in the first place may be a sign of the impending apocalypse.

Cavs reportedly call out Kevin Love - and everyone else

Kevin Love ducked out of the Cavs' last game after just three minutes due to an illness, missing out on Cleveland's 148-point evisceration at the hands of the Oklahoma City Thunder. That incensed his teammates enough that they reportedly held a spirited team meeting in which several of them questioned the legitimacy of his ailment.

The roast didn't stop there, with everyone from Isaiah Thomas, to coach Ty Lue, to general manager Koby Altman, to owner Dan Gilbert also drawing blame for the team's recent struggles.

Nothing unites a down-and-out team better than an aggressive tongue-lashing from LeBron James unnamed colleagues.

Lillard reportedly requests meeting with Trail Blazers' owner

When Damian Lillard isn't kvetching over being underappreciated, he's reportedly going right to the top of the chain of command to meet with Trail Blazers owner Paul Allen.

The reason for last week's sit-down - Lillard apparently only wanted Allen's assurance that the team was devoted to putting a championship roster together - seems innocuous enough, but it's a statement that doesn't need to be made if he's satisfied with the team's direction. That might be why Allen was said to be concerned Lillard was meeting to request a trade.

While Lillard may not have delivered an ultimatum to his team's owner, there's clearly an impetus to make their most marketable star happy. For their part, the Blazers have reportedly shown interest in acquiring Clippers All-Star center DeAndre Jordan, according to The New York Times' Marc Stein.

Jordan refuses to trade Kemba without getting All-Star back

Speaking of All-Stars on the block, Hornets owner Michael Jordan threw water on reports that his front office was preparing for a fire sale. His Airness declared he wouldn't trade 2017 All-Star Kemba Walker for "anything but an All-Star player," contradicting initial reports that the team would seek to pair Walker with one of their several onerous veteran contracts to alleviate their hamstrung cap sheet.

Boogie records ludicrous triple-double

It took two overtime periods and 52 minutes of playing time, but DeMarcus Cousins crammed the stat sheet with one of the most absurd triple-doubles in NBA history. He finished with 44 points (13-for-29 from the field, 5-for-11 on 3-pointers, 13-for-14 from the charity stripe), 24 rebounds, 10 assists, four steals, and one block.

According to Basketball Reference, he was the first player to record a 40-20-10 stat line since Wilt Chamberlain (53-32-14) in 1968.

In the end, the Pelicans barely outlasted the 18-29 Chicago Bulls, winning by just four points.

Kobe is nominated for an Oscar

After a crazy night of NBA news, the twists and turns didn't stop when the sun came up.

On a scale of Three 6 Mafia to Meryl Streep, Kobe Bryant's chances of ever being nominated for an Academy Award were decidedly closer to that of the Memphis-based rap group than the silver-screen legend.

And yet, Three 6 Mafia wasn't only nominated but won for Best Original Song for the film "Hustle and Flow." Now, the Black Mamba is officially on the shortlist, nominated for Best Animated Short for "Dear Basketball." The short film is an animated retelling of the poem he wrote when he announced his impending retirement from the sport.

That's a fitting bookend to one of the craziest 24-hour periods around the league in recent memory. To quote Bryant's fellow 2016 retiree Kevin Garnett: "Anything is possible."