NBA: An interesting offseason awaits us ahead of the 2017-18 season
There is plenty to look forward to in the NBA offseason, which officially begins in a few days
The NBA Finals and post-mortem of the seasn that was is now behind us, but this upcoming summer in the NBA is going to be just as interesting as the regular season and playoffs.
Perhaps more.
Let’s take a quick look at three reasons why we should look forward to a wild offseason.
Free Agency
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Like any NBA summer, there are some solid free agents but there are also a couple names that stand out more than others. Guys like Blake Griffin, Chris Paul, Gordon Hayward, Steph Curry and Kevin Durant are all up for a new deal. While it is likely that Durant and Curry will both take pay cuts in order to keep the superteam intact in Golden State, the other three big name free agents have some serious decisions to make.
Paul and Griffin will have options to both leave Los Angeles but also come back. Paul possibly could return to New Orleans with DeMarcus Cousins and Anthony Davis, or head down to San Antonio to chase a ring with Gregg Popovich and Kawhi Leonard. There is also some other options.
Griffin could go back home to Oklahoma City to team up with Russell Westbrook or head to a place like New York or Miami. Gordon Hayward seems to be down to Utah and Boston, although rumors say the Heat might have a shot too.
Nothing crazy like last summer is expected, but there could be some power shakes up, especially in the East.
NBA Draft
The NBA Draft is another interesting aspect of the offseason that will go on this summer. This is widely considered the best draft class since 2003, and with good reasoning. The thing is, a No. 1 seed has the No. 1 overall pick.
The storylines of UCLA point guard Lonzo Ball are also bigger than the draft itself. Where will the Knicks go and who will they draft? Those are all things that are being talked about heavily. There is tons of talent in this draft, and a lot of teams will make out well. It should be very hard to screw up your pick this time around, but I am sure some team will still manage to do it. I am looking at you, Phil Jackson.
Tradeapoolza
Another thing that could happen this summer is a lot of trades. The Celtics might look to strengthen immediately rather select a superstar in the making with the first pick. The Miami Heat might look to dump some salary to make some signings or moves themselves. I also think it is 100 percent certain that the Oklahoma City Thunder will make some moves to help out Russell Westbrook.
The biggest question mark of them all is what will Cleveland do? They have now lost 2 of the last 3 NBA Finals together as the unit, and the Warriors have only gotten better. Right now, with the restraints they have, it is going to be very hard from to get better.
Must Read: Sixers, Celtics discussing trade centered around the No. 1 pick
Someone needs to be traded, but who? The Cavaliers front office has a lot of questions to answers and moves to make if they wanna take back the title next season.
This summer will be everything but boring in the NBA, with more storylines than ever. Stay tuned.