3 Teams poised to make an NBA championship run after bold offseason moves
By Ryan McCrary
Taking a closer look at three teams that could be primed for an NBA Championship run after bold free agency moves.
The NBA offseason feels like it has just begun, but the NBA Draft is over and free agency is well underway. This year’s draft and free agency both lacked star power, but a few teams, including the 76ers, Thunder, and Mavericks, made significant improvements to their roster and now they have a legitimate shot at winning a championship.
Let’s dive into each of these teams and see why they are primed to make a championship run after bold offseason moves.
Philadelphia 76ers
The Philadelphia 76ers have had an extremely productive offseason, using the draft and free agency to bolster their roster for a run at a title.
Their offseason kicked off when they drafted Duke guard Jared McCain with the 16th pick in this year’s draft. McCain is an interesting prospect as he’s an elite shooter who can play off-ball and makes good decisions with the ball in his hands. He’s a bit undersized and he doesn’t have much creation upside, but shooting is highly coveted in the NBA and McCain’s analytical profile suggests that he may find more success in the NBA than other prospects with a similar physical profile and playstyle.
McCain may not have a huge impact on the 76ers as a rookie, but that’s fine because the team got the biggest star on the open market in free agency when they signed Paul George to a four-year $212 million contract.
It appears that most people underrate just how good George is even at the age of 34. Last season, he averaged 23 points, five rebounds, and four assists per game on 61.8% true shooting. He also had an EPM of +5.7, his best mark since 2019 when he was an MVP finalist as a member of the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Not only that, he ranks 10th in DPM, a plus-minus metric that creates forward-looking projections daily that factor in box score production, on-off numbers, and every single NBA game a player has ever played while giving more weight to most recent results. This means that even when you factor in George’s age and experience, he is still one of the best players in the NBA.
With George being an efficient three-level scorer who can shoot off the catch at a high level and is still an impactful defender, he is a perfect fit for the 76ers roster that now has a strong trio of stars.
If Joel Embiid can stay healthy and perform well in both the regular season and playoffs, the 76ers can be one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference and they may give the Boston Celtics a run for their money if they meet in the postseason.