Every transaction has a reaction
The Larry O’Brien Trophy isn’t won in the offseason, but these teams’ moves may help
The NBA’s Summer ’16 will go down as its most dramatic and landscapealtering since LeBron James and Chris Bosh joined Dwyane Wade in Miami in 2010. Kevin Durant rocked the league with his free-agency decision, but after that, the most significant moves came in the Eastern Conference.
Here’s a look at the top-five moves of the off-season. 1. Bull’s-eye on Warriors: Kevin Durant jumping ship in Oklahoma City and going to Golden State is the move people will talk about for the rest of his career and it’ll be the story that dominates this season. The Warriors, in turn, should dominate everywhere they go. Adding a 27point-per-game player in his prime to an already loaded team that won 73 games a year ago feels like something that could only happen in a video game. The spotlight, the pressure and the boos they’ll likely get on the road will be immense, but as we saw with the Heat in 2010-11, that’s part of the deal. There was a circus around the Warriors last season. It’ll be so much more than that this year. 2. Boston lands big man: It’s a move that lacks the drama that Durant generated in his move to the Warriors, but Al Horford going to the Celtics ran them up the projected Eastern Conference standings, right behind Cleveland, annoying many Raptors fans. At six-foot-10 and 245 pounds, Horford brings everything that a team would want from its big man. He can play under the basket (15 points and seven rebounds per game last year in Atlanta) and has added a decent three-point shot to his game, making 88-of-256 last year (34 per cent), after taking 65 in the previous eight years. With all-star Isaiah Thomas and Avery Bradley in the backcourt, the Celtics have three high-end weapons. They could be dangerous this season. 3. Bulls hand Butler the keys: In trading Derrick Rose to the Knicks in June, the Bulls finally let Jimmy Butler know that he’s their focus for the team going forward. When free agency opened, Bulls GM Gar Forman took a gamble and signed 34year-old Dwyane Wade to a twoyear, $47 million contract, then inked point guard Rajon Rondo — a challenging teammate at times in his career — to a two-year, $28 million deal. On the court, it could work. Rondo’s always been a distributor and led the league in assists last year with 11.8 per game. With Butler fully capable of carrying the offence, Wade’s workload doesn’t have to be extreme, which could help preserve him for the playoffs, which is what the Bulls will be shooting for after missing them last year. 4. Knicks overhaul: Derrick Rose isn’t the player he was when he won the MVP five years ago, but after so many seasons lost to injury, last year was a stabilizing success for him. He played in 66 games and gave the Bulls 16 points and 4.7 assists per game. Injuries limited Joakim Noah to 29 games and some of the worst numbers of his career (4.3 points, 8.8 rebounds per game). Both, if healthy, can add much to a Knicks team that’s buoyed by Carmelo Anthony and will be bolstered by a second-year Kristaps Porzingis. The competitive side of Rose may not like splitting minutes with Brandon Jennings, but their point guard depth is a blessing for the Knicks and a preservation method for Rose, if the Knicks see that necessary. 5. Superman goes home: Howard landed back in his hometown this summer, the fourth team in a 13-year career, signing a three-year, $70.5 million deal with the Hawks. After an impassioned I’m-not-the-bad-teammate-you-think-I-am speech on TNT during the playoffs this spring, Howard has another chance to show that he can be an important part of a successful playoff team. He’s done less with better opportunities (his season with the Lakers in 2012-13 quickly comes to mind), but playing alongside Kent Bazemore and Paul Millsap, the Hawks could have the most dominant frontcourt in the Eastern Conference this year. The Hawks aren’t the same team that went to the East final in 2015, but are still capable of being very good. It’s on Howard, as it was in Orlando, L.A. and Houston before this, to show that he can lead, be mature and win.