Not quite enough
Rivals beef up, but Warriors, Cavaliers still the best in their conferences,
Western Conference
The harsh reality: The defending champions got better, too.
While the Houston Rockets were trading for Chris Paul to put him alongside James Harden, the Oklahoma City Thunder were landing Paul George as a Russell Westbrook co-star and the Minnesota Timberwolves (Jimmy Butler trade) and Denver Nuggets (Paul Millsap signing) were making significant strides at cutting that competitive gap, the Warriors have done everything right in free agency so far — again. They basically kept their team intact. So, did any West team gain ground?
Rockets: The Paul trade comes with curious questions about X’s and O’s. How will Harden and Paul fit together? How will coach Mike D’Antoni handle having two of the league’s best point guards, with egos to boot? But general manager Daryl Morey and his staff didn’t stop with Paul. They added a tough and reliable big man in forward P.J. Tucker and re-signed center Nene. The loss of point guard Pat Beverley to the Los Angeles Clippers in the Paul deal hurts, but Houston — which went 55-27 and fell to the San Antonio Spurs in the second round of the playoffs — is even more in the hunt than before.
Thunder: General manager Sam Presti found a way to improve without putting much on the line in the George deal. The players he gave up to the Indiana Pacers, Victor Oladipo and Domantas Sabonis, were acquired in June 2016 for Serge Ibaka as he entered the final year of his deal. In essence, he swapped a player who would have become a free agent for an MVP-caliber talent in George, who will be a free agent next summer and has a year to decide if Oklahoma City is the place for him. Presti didn’t stop there, coming to terms with 28-year-old forward Patrick Patterson, who offers the kind of shooting range the Thunder badly need. Timberwolves: The Timber- wolves, who haven’t been to the postseason since 2004, look poised to end the league’s longest playoff drought. Butler will work well with Karl-Anthony Towns & Co. after he was reunited with coach Tom Thibodeau via trade. Point guard Ricky Rubio was sent to the Utah Jazz in exchange for a 2018 first-round pick, and the team added point guard Jeff Teague and forward Taj Gibson.
Eastern Conference
The East didn’t get the stars the West did, but Cleveland’s path to the NBA Finals might not be as easy now that the Boston Celtics have reached a deal with All-Star forward Gordon Hayward. So did the gap narrow?
Boston: Hayward makes the Celtics better. He gives them another quality scoring option from the perimeter, and a HaywardIsaiah Thomas-Al Horford trio is a strong base with which to start. But is it enough — along with some depth and promising young talent — to beat the Cavaliers in a
seven-game series? The addition of Hayward closes the chasm between the Celtics and Cavs, but a gap still exists.
Toronto Raptors: The Raptors, who tied with Cleveland for second in the East behind Boston, retained All-Star guard Kyle Lowry and forward Serge Ibaka. That’s the status quo, but president of basketball operations Masai Ujiri and GM Bobby Webster are searching for improvements.
Washington Wizards: The Wizards made mild upgrades and should be better as guards John Wall and Bradley Beal and small forward Otto Porter improve. That still might not be enough to beat Cleveland or Boston in the playoffs. Milwaukee Bucks: The Bucks are another team on the rise. Forward Jabari Parker and guard-forward Khris Middleton are healthy, and if the rest of the roster can remain healthy, forward Giannis Antetokounmpo could help push the Bucks into the top four in the conference.