The folks that choose the portal dates must either be as dumb as rocks, or
perhaps they desire to diminish the game.
They have either completely ignored the impact of the December window on the playoffs, or simply, they oddly believe that the ability of the players to make a change right before the playoffs — to have complete autonomy— is more important than the integrity of the game itself.
You have to wonder if anyone actually thought this through. You have teams that play their guts out to have a chance to play for a championship, and then because of the early portal window, those same teams can have their rosters devastated before they play, obviously compromising the significance of the playoffs, and compromising the game’s integrity.
Hard to believe.