The dust from a wild NBA season and draft week cleared for but a moment until it swirled again, populated by free agent questions and inquiries on movable players. The best league in sports (@ me) takes no days off, no matter how often its best players find it appropriate to take a night of rest to prepare for Tuesday’s regular season game against the Atlanta Hawks. Storylines are on a never-ending assembly line, being pieced together by the Wojs and O’Connors of the world, as well as the LeBrons and the Currys. So, heading into what the NBA’s most avid and dedicated contingents might call, “the real offseason,” what questions do we have to consider?
1. Where will King James take his talents?
An emerging theme for NBA teams has become the regular season and playoff slogan. For the Cleveland Cavaliers, recent mantras have been the likes of “Whatever It Takes” and “All In.” Both will have to be honored in full force for the entirety of this offseason, especially in the coming days and weeks, as the world’s greatest player finds his big decision looming. The Cavs will obviously do “whatever it takes” by going “all in;” you’d expect any team in their right mind to do the same. But James doesn’t necessarily want a recruiting circus. ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne reports that “while James hasn’t decided yet whether to pick up his player option, sources close to the situation tell ESPN that he has no intention of hearing elaborate pitch meetings from teams.” There have been billboards, signs, and even tweets from the likes of Enes Kanter and Joel Embiid. All may be for naught, or at least placed on the back-back-back burner in LeBron’s mind.
Jokes and foolishly ordered/premature custom jerseys aside, LeBron’s future is likely to, in turn, shape the landscape of the NBA’s foreseeable future. First Take’s Max Kellerman believes that the lack of desire James has for elaborate recruiting productions means he has narrowed his decision to two: Cleveland and Los Angeles (no, Clips, not you).
He was reported to be looking for schools for his kids in LA, but he has also changed his entire Twitter to be Akron-themed.
So, what can you take away from this overly long-winded written history of the beginnings of LeBron’s offseason saga? You can predict where he’ll head, but at the same time, you can’t. At least not logically, because more or less, this is a glorified crapshoot. You can believe this decision is all about basketball, or you can be convinced that’s it’s all about life after such. You can believe Kellerman, or you can continue to ponder the idea of LeBron in a Celtics/Rockets/Sixers/Spurs/Heat (again)/Clippers (ha-ha) uniform. It’s up to you.
What isn’t up to you is the basketball situations that Cleveland’s savior will be considering. He has the Lakers, whose young core is unproven and… well… young. At the same time, players like Paul George and Kawhi Leonard have expressed interest in playing in LA. If the three were to link up, or even two of the three, the powerhouse would begin its long foreshadowed formation. That’d be a gauntlet of talent that at least 26 or 27 NBA teams would be unable to take down in a seven game series. The Sixers young core is much more proven and all around much better. The East is an easier conference to succeed in, so is that something LeBron truly desires? Is the simplest path to the Finals really the top of his wish list?
In the words of Ryan Seacrest, we’ll find out… *long pause* *another long pause* *one more little pause* …AFTER the break.
Or by the time the Fourth of July rolls around. Thanks, Brian Windhorst’s report. You ruined the minimally funny conclusion to this cascading set of predictions.
2. Will PG-13 head to his long foreshadowed future (and childhood) home of Los Angeles?
*I’ll just get this out of the way for you guys. If I EVER refer to Los Angeles, I’M NOT TALKING ABOUT THE CLIPPERS. No one’s going to the Clippers. Except Marcin Gortat, and even that was against his own will.*
Paul George has said in the past that “[he] would love to go back home and play for [his] city,” this prior to last summer’s trade to Oklahoma City. I mean, the guy called it “his city.” Does that tell you something, or nothing?
I once believed that George had a real chance of remaining in Indiana for an extended period of time, but as his desire to move became clearer, that thought evaporated. Due to obvious suspicion that he’d inevitably head for LA, the Pacers shipped him out of town for a future foundation of Victor Oladipo and Domantas Sabonis. Now, Indiana proved that they won this trade with a season that culminated into a playoff run, concluding in a seven game bout with LeBron. While Oklahoma City has a “real opportunity” to keep PG (according to Adrian Wojnarowski), there are teams who will be additionally aggressive.
Speaking of his decision, though…
Do we really think a star player plans to stay put, and to inform the nation of such decision with a three-part SportsCenter series? I doubt it. But at the same time, there’s no guarantee that this is a series chronicling his difficult free agency related decisions. I think he stays in OKC, but not for very long at all. George has an opportunity to create something exciting and something fun with Westbrook and… Steven Adams. He has the same opportunity elsewhere, with better chances at both thriving individually and winning quicker with a young, up-and-coming core that enjoys sharing the ball. His decision, whilst secondary to LeBron’s, is a heavy one for the league.
3. WTH is up with Kawhi Leonard?
Think of a franchise in sports that has had constant success for the greater part of multiple decades, has made the playoffs in 21 straight seasons, and has never run into a serious dispute with a player. Got one? There’s literally only one choice, so if you thought of any team other than the Western Conference machine based out of San Antonio, you’d be wrong.
Until the 2018 season, the Spurs were the Western Conference’s perennial threat. They’d often find themselves in the Western Conference Finals or beyond, and they’d often find themselves pleased and optimistic upon season’s end, regardless of how bitter Gregg Popovich’s postgame press conferences may seem. Then, Tony Parker basically called Kawhi a whiny little ________, and now the man who was once the Spurs best hope at continued dominance wants out.
While in March, Kawhi openly denied reports of friction saying that he wished to retire a Spur, his tune has changed come June. Various meetings with Popovich and crew have just made things worse, while at the same time, Spur’s GM R.C. Buford won’t “openly” shop Kawhi. NBA Insider for USA Today Sam Amick reports that they won’t keep him in the West, if they even get rid of him at all. It’s a lot to throw at you, I know. That’s because with a situation like this, the moving parts are endless.
What does this all mean? For starters, it means that the Spurs want teams to come to them. With that, especially following the details of the Amick report, comes the question of whether a trade is worth it for a team in the East. It’s likely that Leonard eventually heads for the purple and gold pastures of Los Angeles, whether that be this offseason or next. For any given team to trade anything for a one-year rental is a humongous risk.
To trade assets of Kawhi-level value could become an assisted suicide. It would take a solid, proven player with capability of filling an immediate starting role in San Antonio. Possibly even multiple. In addition, draft picks would have to be involved, and likely more than one. So, for kicks, let’s throw Philadelphia in the ring as a possible trade destination. They’re amongst the favorites to land Leonard, and they would like have to trade the likes of Markelle Fultz, or Dario Saric, or Robert Covington, PLUS a few draft picks, OR a salary booster. For them, dumping Jerryd Bayless might be a positive move too. Kawhi Leonard, when healthy, is a perennial top-five player. He’s worth a lot, no matter how much chaos currently circles his camp.
The other option that satisfies multiple camps would be a SA-LAL trade involving Kawhi and a package involving one or two of the likes of Brandon Ingram, Kyle Kuzma, *gulp* Lonzo Ball(?), or Julius Randle in a sign-and-trade situation. Complicated, and probably not the Lakers favorite option. But would Magic Johnson or Rob Pelinka really lose that much sleep over the loss of Josh Hart or Luol Deng’s abhorrent contract, especially if they’ve roped in a future, longtime star like Leonard? No. And especially with the emergence of apparent hesitation on LeBron James’s end to be the first star to sign with this young Lakers team, a move for Kawhi is better to come now rather than later.
If I were to venture a gander on the Kawhisis, I’d say the Spurs would be smart to trade him now. But for other teams in the race for the former Defensive Player of the Year and Finals MVP, it may be smart to hold off, waiting for free agency, so as they won’t have to rid of valued assets. The general theme of the NBA offseason is a constant state of up in the air-ness. Kawhi Leonard’s odd saga is just one more example of just that.
4. Would the Pelicans be smarter to part with Cousins, or go all in?
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Come on. This isn’t actually a debate… right?
ALSO. This is the most forgotten story of this NBA offseason… right?
Pelicans center DeMarcus Cousins loves what has been created in New Orleans. He’d be open to returning, re-upping their contract, and continuing to strengthen and what has become one of the league’s best front courts and more exciting young teams. These are his (paraphrased) words, and they send all the right messages.
However, he ruptured his achilles. That same injury has been known to derail careers, most notably the likes of Elgin Baylor, Patrick Ewing and Kobe Bryant. It takes extended time to heal, and even after full healing, it takes time to regain full strength, or at least to the point where 36-minute nights on a basketball court is a real possibility. Guys have seen their stats and minutes dwindle, even disappear. Now, it is possible the Boogie handles things correctly, and comes back stronger than ever. In that event, he could be a real target for some teams that may otherwise shy away due to fear of a continued injury plague. If not, his career could never be the same.
The good news for Cousins is the fact that yes, he is only 27, which by NBA standards is still young. He has value. The unknown thing is how valuable he can be after a major, potentially career altering injury. For the Pelicans, it might just be smarter to move on. They improved without their second of two big-men. Anthony Davis took the leader role as his own, and a squad of role-guys to the playoffs as the sixth seed in the West. Let AD run things, and let Dallas throw their 100-million-plus max contract at a faulty and risky achilles tendon.
5. The league-wide conundrum: who can dethrone Golden State?
As two teams, one obviously superior to the other, competed for the 2018 championship, 28 other teams sat on their summer home couches subconsciously (or consciously) preparing for their own chance at dethroning the league’s next dynasty. The Warriors seem to grow stronger with every passing offseason, adding subtle, quieter talent and capable role players. David West, Nick Young and JaVale McGee are just a few names. With the likes of J.J. Redick, Trevor Ariza, Wayne Ellington, Marco Belinelli and oh, maybe, Seth Curry available this offseason, it’s likely that more will join forces with the two-time defending champions.
Who’s next, though? Who raises the trophy in 2019? Do the Warriors three-peat? Or does someone else spoil the party? One team can’t win every game, or every championship, try as they might.
Philadelphia 76ers
There’s a wealth of free agents available for cheap or minimally expensive contracts that the Sixers can glance at. I mentioned Trevor Ariza before, and Tyreke Evans falls into a similar mold. But if they want to really make a dent in the gap between their Eastern Conference little brother distinction and that of a real threat to the West, a star has to come somewhere and somehow. Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid are currently the closest things that the Sixers have to a star. While those two have begun forming a great foundation, Ben Simmons is still only 21, with a lot of improving and refining to get after, and Joel Embiid could feasibly (with his injury history) have 100 games left on his NBA clock. They’re good, potentially even great, but they can’t be relied on to take a team to the Finals on their own. Look at this past year. They were favored by the time they walloped Miami in five games. They then ended up on the wrong end of that same 4-1 result in a second round series against Boston where Terry Rozier went off and confetti was shot too early.
The top men on the market are all guys who have been previously mentioned in this piece: LeBron, Paul George, and Kawhi. LeBron and PG would be easier, per say, due to the fact that major assets wouldn’t necessarily need to be shipped off like they would in a trade for Kawhi Leonard. If they want to win now, as in next year, they can trade for Kawhi. A trio of Simmons, Embiid, and Kawhi might still not cut it, however. It’s a difficult goal for the Sixers to reach. According to insiders like The Ringer’s Kevin O’Connor, it is obviously possible.
Boston Celtics
The thing about the Celtics that truly make them unique is the fact that they don’t necessarily need to make a free agent splash to make a splash in next year’s playoffs, maybe even Finals.
Within the first five minutes of the 2017-18 season, Gordon Hayward had “broken his leg,” as Kevin Harlan emphatically told millions watching the C’s-Cavs opener on TNT. Later, their season-long motor in Kyrie Irving underwent an overdue knee surgery, sidelining him for the rest of the year. In their absence, Al Horford proved himself as a leader, Jaylen Brown came into his own in his second year, and rookie Jayson Tatum figured out that he was Boston’s best player.
As a Celtics fan, there is so much to be optimistic about. Even though the potential loss of Marcus Smart due to inability to pay the guy what he wants is apparent, the roster that was most effective for the latter half of the season (not to mention healthy) is still intact. Brad Wanaker is coming over from the Euroleague, and Robert Williams might have just been the steal of this years’ NBA Draft. It’s interesting. This team is and has been quite interesting for the last year and a half or so. But interesting is a good thing. In this case, the interesting, weird, and fun Celtics are bound to be the threatening Celtics.
Houston Rockets
I mean, they were a CP3 injury away from the Finals, right?
I’m guessing you’ve read that before. Look, it isn’t true, but it might have helped. They took Golden State to seven games this year, and one more role guy (or, you know, a LeBron James… who is definitely going to consider H-Town) could push them towards finally tackling the Warriors in a proper manner.
Wherever LeBron goes
He’s the most dominant single player in league history. He can throw a team on his back like no other. He’s not to be counted out. It’s that simple. •
Will Bjarnar 