The Wild, Wild NBA Offseason

This article was originally featured on the City Gear blog in July 2018. Not all products in this collection are currently available on Hibbett.com. Last updated: February 6, 2020.

The offseason leading up to the 2018-2019 NBA season has been absolutely wild. With the bevy of trades and free agent signings the NBA offseason has been more exciting than this year’s NBA Finals wherein the Cleveland Cavaliers were unceremoniously swept by the Golden State Warriors. Next year’s NBA will be markedly different, barring an Air Bud level basketball miracle, it is highly unlikely that we will see a Golden State Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers matchup during the 2019 NBA Finals for the first time since 2014.

After being outgunned by the San Francisco sharpshooters for the 3rd time in 4 years it was time for a change. On July 2, LeBron James let off the shot heard ‘round the world. LeBron James is headed West to the Los Angeles Lakers to lead the promising young core of Lonzo Ball, Kyle Kuzma, Brandon Ingram and NBA Summer League MVP, Josh Hart. The Western Conference is a slugfest compared to the East but if anyone can bring the struggling Lakers back to prominence it’s the King.

If you thought that was a game changer then you’re in for a treat. Soon after LeBron announced he was headed to Hollywood his dreaded nemesis Golden State Warriors revealed their own blockbuster news–they added All-Star center Demarcus Cousins to the team (‘cause they really needed the help). Their starting lineup will be feature an All-Star at literally every position.

Paul George shocked the world by announcing he was rejoining Russell Westbrook and the Oklahoma City Thunder for the next 3 seasons after being traded by the Indiana Pacers. Many speculated that George, a California native, would leave Oklahoma and join his hometown Lakers–especially after being bounced in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs by the Utah Jazz and their upstart shooting guard Donovan Mitchell. 10 time All-Star and one of the NBA’s most prolific scorers Carmelo Anthony was traded to the rebuilding Atlanta Hawks in exchange for point guard Dennis Schroder. The Hawks have released Anthony making him a free agent though he has not signed to a team things point to Melo joining one of his banana boat buddies in their quest for glory.

Jabari Parker joined his hometown team the Chicago Bulls who also resigned dunk champ Zach Lavine. These two young guns are high-flying, hard-dunking, walking buckets though a bit porous on the defensive end. Add in Lauri Markkanen and the Bulls have surprisingly solid young core to build around.

Every team in the Eastern Conference threw a party following LeBron’s departure. After almost a decade of dominance, the East is finally free of his stranglehold. Top tier teams like the Philadelphia 76ers, Boston Celtics and Toronto Raptors have a legitimate chance of reaching the NBA Finals and they’re all gearing up for the ultimate challenge. The Boston Celtics will have their injured All-Star duo of Gordon Hayward and Kyrie Irving back on the court. The 6ers have improved exponentially and, thanks to years of being at the bottom of the NBA’s standings, feature a slew of young talent with game-changing skill. The Raptors ended the regular season with 59 wins, the best in the East, but they were swept by the Cleveland Cavaliers.

In an effort to capitalize on LeBron’s absence and become the one true ruler of the East, the Toronto Raptors shipped their All-Star shooting guard DeMar DeRozan to the San Antonio Spurs in exchange for Kawhi Leonard who had grown distrustful of San Antonio. The Raptors trade makes Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors the only member of the 2009 Draft Class to remain with the team that drafted them.

We didn’t even get to talk about the bevy of NBA-ready talent that joined the league in this year’s draft. With all these changes, it’s safe to say that the NBA will be different. Will LeBron take the Lakers to the playoffs after 5 years? Will Kawhi take the Raptors to their first Finals appearance? Will he even play for the Raptors? Where will Carmelo land? How good will the Celtics be if they have a full season of Irving and Hawyard? What will happen to the Spurs? Will it all just be moot and end up in another year of dominance from Golden State?

We have no clue what will happen this season but we do know it’ll be fun.