Ladies and gentlemen, we might have just witnessed the most significant 6 hours in NBA History. As 40% of the league was set to hit the open market, it was known that a lot of big decisions would be made, but not this many. With all of these superstars shifting places, it is clear that the 2019-2020 NBA season could be the most competitive one in the past two decades. There is quite literally no team that stands out above the rest as clear championship favorites. At least 5 teams have extremely good chances of winning a chip. Today, we will be examining all of the moves and seeing how it affects the league.
Let's start with the Brooklyn Nets, who made so many moves that they got their own article. In short, they added Kyrie Irving, Kevin Durant, and DeAndre Jordan to create one of the best teams in the league. They will not be contending next year, as KD is hurt, but will still be a playoff team and have an extremely bright future.
Next, the Celtics. Boston was able to turn things around after losing their two best players(Kyrie and Al Horford) in free agency, by signing Kemba Walker to a max, and also by clearing enough cap to sign a decent big man with the leftover money. The Celts will also be a playoff team, but need to make one more marquee move if they want to contend.
Philly also made some huge moves to establish themselves as firm title contenders. They were able to resign Tobias Harris on a 5 year, 180 million dollar deal. Jimmy Butler left in order to take his talents to South Beach, but the Heat gave Philly Josh Richardson in return. To cap off the day, they signed Al Horford, probably the best Joel Embiid defender, on a 4 year, 109 million dollar deal. The Sixers did lose sharpshooter JJ Redick, but are still in a great spot to make a push for a championship.
Milwaukee will remain among the top of the Eastern Conference hierarchy, and retained most of their core. Khris Middleton stayed on a 5 year max, Brook Lopez agreed to a 4 year extension, and the Bucks got George Hill to stay put on a 3 year deal too. Despite losing Malcolm Brogdon, the Bucks have a good chance of finding themselves back at the top of the Eastern Conference.
Speaking of Malcolm Brogdon, the Pacers improved themselves too. They acquired Brogdon and signed him to a 4 year, 85 million dollar deal, and also managed to sign Jeremy Lamb. Indiana also has TJ Warren, who they got in a draft day deal with the Suns. Indiana is going to be a threat in the East with their new additions playing along Victor Oladipo, who is returning from a quad injury this year.
Out West, the Pelicans made a few under the radar moves that solidify them as a top playoff team. They signed JJ Redick to rain threes on the defense, and traded for Utah's Derrick Favors. The Pels now have one of the brightest futures in the league, and have a chance to win now too.
The Warriors made a questionable decision, trading Andre Iguodala to the Grizzlies, and then signing guard D'Angelo Russell. This is a confusing move because the Warriors have one of the greatest backcourts in history, and adding a guard on a max deal leaves them with no space at all, as Steph Curry is on a super-max and Klay Thompson just got a 5 year, 190 million dollar deal. However, it was recently reported that the Warriors plan to trade Russell after the season, which would make more sense as they would get Thompson back from his ACL injury,
Finally, we look at the Nuggets and Blazers. Both teams did not sign anybody new, but made big strides towards keeping their core. Portland and Damian Lillard reached an agreement on a 4 year super-max starting next season, and the Nuggets gave Jamal Murray a 5 year, 170 million dollar extension. Both teams will be contenders this year.
You might have noticed that Kawhi Leonard is not to be seen in this article. This is because the Board Man has not yet reached a decision on his new team. If he stays with Toronto, they remain contenders. Going to the Clippers would make them a contender, while teaming up with LeBron and AD on the Lakers would kill the entire point of this article as the Lakers would be the clear-cut favorites.
As you can see, the entire weight of the NBA has been shifted, and we will not know who becomes the next great NBA power.
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