NBA free agency not landscape altering
There are years when NBA free agency is transformative. Think 2010, when Dwyane Wade. LeBron James and Chris Bosh did the Big Three thing with the Miami Heat. Or 2016, when Kevin Durant jumped from the Oklahoma City Thunder to the colossus that has become the Golden State Warriors.
And then there is this offseason, when some of the biggest moves are the ones that didn't happen, such as Paul George staying with the Thunder or contributing role players such as Fred VanVleet and Rudy Gay opting for the status quo.
No, the NBA will not be reshaped by the Summer of 2018.
But that doesn't mean there haven't been impactful decisions, even with some viewed as somewhat less than such.
1. LeBron James. For all the disappointment from the Cleveland Cavaliers and Philadelphia 76ers about what didn't happen for their franchises, at least there was a decisiveness, with LeBron acting on the first day of free agency. But this also is the perfect example of how muted this offseason has been: For the first time, a LeBron relocation did not alter the NBA's championship landscape. The Los Angeles Lakers are better, but championship contenders?
2. Paul George. Another example of a player who could have altered the championship landscape – but didn't. Alongside LeBron with the Lakers or even with the Philadelphia 76ers, George could have been looking at at least conference finals. Instead, there was a return to a largely intact Oklahoma City Thunder roster that finished fourth in the West last season and bowed out in the first round.
3. Trevor Ariza. It's not as much about what Ariza might do for the Phoenix Suns or even that he was deemed worthy of $15 million for 2018-19. It's more about what the shift removes from the Houston Rockets, namely as close as they had to a lockdown defender. In some ways, this was a transformative move, but in a negative sense for Houston.
4. DeMarcus Cousins. On the face of it, this is one of the most overstated signings of the summer. Foremost, not only could the debut be delayed until midseason, but there then is the question of the resulting productivity following the torn Achilles. Beyond that, at the moments of truth, it is just as likely that the Golden State Warriors will be featuring Draymond Green, Kevin Durant and Andre Iguodala in their frontcourt. The significance of Cousins is that he could have been far greater use to the other 29 teams.
5. Rajon Rondo. Just not sure what to make of this, other than it appeared that Rondo would have been more valuable to the New Orleans Pelicans than he will be to the Lakers. The Pelicans had something intriguing going on at the end of last season with Anthony Davis, Jrue Holiday, Nikola Mirotic and Rondo (and without Cousins). Now, in this, shall we say, un-transformative NBA offseason, some of that intrigue is gone.
6. Aaron Gordon. The theme continues here. With Gordon back, the Orlando Magic in 2018-19 will be ... a lottery team. The intrigue with Gordon was whether he could be injected into the playoff mix, perhaps with the Indiana Pacers, perhaps with another team on the rise. For now, the highlight of Gordon's seasons figures to continue to be the dunking contest during All-Star Weekend.
7. Tyreke Evans. By contrast, this is a move that takes a player from lottery afterthought to at least competing for homecourt advantage at the start of the playoffs. Victor Oladipo finally will be able to go to the bench for the Indiana Pacers without the offense grinding to a halt. But the question with Evans remains: Just a good player on a bad team, or a player poised for a playoff breakthrough after only four career postseason appearances?
8. JJ Redick: The year-by-year approach continues to benefit both Redick and the Philadelphia 76ers, allowing each side to annually explore the possibilities of free agency. While losing the 3-point shooting of Marco Belinelli and Ersan Ilyasova might hurt, Redick is the glue to the 76ers stretching the floor. An argument could be made of this as the most impactful Eastern Conference playoff-race signing of free agency.
9. Fred VanVleet. This is similar to the 76ers' signing of Redick, in that it keeps a leading conference contender largely intact. The benefit for the Toronto Raptors is that with VanVleet in place, it makes it more palatable to potentially move on from DeMar DeRozan or Kyle Lowry, although in the now non-LeBron East, it also says plenty about Toronto wanting to make one more run.
10. Nikola Jokic. The Denver Nuggets made it clear in risking bypassing a qualifying offer and making Jokic an unrestricted free agent that it's all about the long view with the versatile big man. Now the question becomes whether the five-year, $147 million agreement moves Denver any closer to being a legitimate contender in the loaded West.
This story was originally published July 8, 2018 at 11:58 AM.