NBA set for next makeover
Draft gives way to free agency
As draft night approached, some of the heavy hitters in the NBA — Cleveland, San Antonio, Houston, Boston, the Clippers among them — were jockeying, making calls and looking for deals to try to position themselves to make a run at Golden State.
The Warriors’ greatness has forced the rest of the teams to do deep self-examinations and be aggressive in upgrading their rosters to even have a chance to compete.
The Celtics and Cavaliers were looking hard at Pacers star Paul George and Bulls guard Jimmy Butler. The Rockets and
Spurs were looking at clearing cap space to make a run at some big-name free agents next week.
Draft night always lays the groundwork for what will happen when free agency begins July 1. And with all of those contenders looking to make a splash, the biggest move was made by the Minnesota Timberwolves.
The Wolves reunited Tom Thibodeau with Butler, giving up two promising young players in Zach LaVine and Kris Dunn and the No. 7 overall pick to land one of the best two-way players in the game. The move should jump-start Minnesota’s pursuit of its first playoff spot since 2004 and, the Wolves hope, pave the way for success in free agency.
“I think it will [help] a lot,” Thibodeau said. “With players, they look around the league, they see the makeup of the team, they see how they play, play together. That’s the main thing. Both offensively and defensively.”
The Timberwolves have long had difficulty attracting free agents to a relatively small market that spends four months of the year covered in ice and snow. Landing a top15 player like Butler to team with Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins sends a sign of how aggressive NBA teams could be.
The Bulls plunged headfirst
into a rebuild with the decision, and now it’s up to the Pacers to decide whether they want to do the same.
Much to the dismay of Pacers General Manager Kevin Pritchard, George let it be known last week that he did not plan to re-sign in Indiana when he becomes a free agent next summer. Most of the league assumes that he wants to play for the Los Angeles Lakers.
“I’m confident we’ll get something,” Pritchard told reporters in Indianapolis on Friday.
Free agent point guards were affected Thursday night. Philadelphia, the Lakers, Sacramento, New York and Dallas all drafted point guards in the top 10, which could diminish
the options for veterans such as Jrue Holiday, George Hill, Jeff Teague and Patty Mills.
The elite point guards available — Chris Paul and Kyle Lowry — should have no trouble finding significant contracts. With Tony Parker suffering a serious injury in the playoffs, the Spurs reportedly were trying to clear cap space to make a run at Paul, who has spent the past six seasons with the Los Angeles Clippers but has yet to advance to the Western Conference finals.
The Clippers are trying to make a decision about retooling around the core of Paul, Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan, but really it’s a decision that depends largely on Paul’s thinking. He has
long struggled to win big in the postseason, and heading to San Antonio to join with Kawhi Leonard or Houston to team up with James Harden could prove to be more attractive.
Lowry figures to remain in Toronto with a Raptors franchise that he has helped put on the map, but after that there will be few teams in the market for a high-priced starting point guard. Denver, Utah, New York and Indiana could wade into those waters. But if they look at themselves as still being a couple of years away, they might be hesitant to spend big bucks on a veteran.
Other big names available include Gordon Hayward, Paul Millsap and Andre Iguodala.