c/o Sports Illustrated
Following an unorthodox season defined by injury, an abbreviated schedule, and a temporary lack of in-person attendance, the NBA has undeniably entered a new era. None of the teams that made the Conference Finals last year had won a championship within the past forty years, and they lacked the star-studded rosters of the previously favored teams. New stars stepped into bigger roles, teams faced unforeseen challenges, and the drastic alteration in the NBA landscape was an indicator that things needed to change. Oct. 19 will mark the opening of the NBA’s 75th season; however, the offseason that preceded this historic milestone was equally consequential.
Every offseason is punctuated by player movements, yet the transactions and reorganizations that transpired this summer have demonstrated a new trajectory of basketball philosophy. The 215 free agents at the end of the 2020–21 season were an eclectic assembly of players, many of whom have radically altered franchise fortunes by their signing decisions for the coming season. Complex trades have also soared into the headlines, posing seismic shifts that may signal a coming changing of the guard for basketball.
One of the quieter buildups this summer has come from the Chicago Bulls, a team that is eager to bring overlooked talent to its roster to complement the impressive abilities of Zach LaVine. The two biggest names to arrive in the Windy City were Lonzo Ball from the Pelicans and DeMar DeRozan from the Spurs. DeRozan had been a consistent offensive presence for the Spurs in the three seasons he spent in San Antonio, generating 21.6 points and 6.9 assists per game this past season. He was a solid foundational piece for a young Spurs team, but lacked adequate support from the rest of the San Antonio roster. In many respects, Ball is the more interesting acquisition, despite keeping a low profile with New Orleans over the past two seasons. After a disappointing stint with the Lakers, Ball played second fiddle to the generational draft talent of Zion Williamson. While Ball has struggled to live up to his No.2 draft position, he is a strong point guard with offensive stat lines just shy of notoriety. His style of play should nicely complement LaVine, who has carried the Bulls’ offensive burden for too long. Despite playing on losing franchises, DeRozan and Ball have demonstrated their leadership abilities. Alongside the pieces already assembled in Chicago, they look to turn the Bulls from playoff hopefuls into new contenders in the east.
Sometimes losing is the best wakeup call. The Phoenix Suns, who blew a 2–0 lead in the 2021 finals to give the Milwaukee Bucks their second championship, have opted for small movements this offseason, committing to the core that got them to the finals in the first place. The aging glue of their tragic playoff run, 36-year-old All-Star Chris Paul, decided to re-sign with Phoenix, citing his happiness with the city and its fanbase.
“After this season in Phoenix and experiencing how amazing the fans were…I knew Phoenix was where I wanted to be,” Paul said.
Paul’s uncanny handling and offensive coordination skills make him an ideal companion to the franchise’s blossoming scoring talent, Devin Booker. Taking a more comprehensive approach to roster building, the Suns have brought in Landry Shamet of the Nets and JaVale McGee from the Nuggets as two players who can add necessary depth to the powerful Paul and Booker duo. However, even though the team has doubled down on the CP3 magic, Paul is an aging guard who does not have a ton of life left in the league. The Suns are effectively using Paul as a Band-Aid to hold together a rising franchise until its new acquisitions and promising talent, such as Deandre Ayton and Mikal Bridges, become the dominant supporting cast the organization believes they can become.
One of the more notable teams that hasn’t changed very much since being bounced out of the playoffs is the Brooklyn Nets. Beginning in 2019, the franchise set its sights squarely on opportunities to build a dynamic roster with multiple high-level scorers. It is a strategy that has worked before with the legendary superteams of years past. The formula is simple: trade away a swath of young talent in return for formerly isolated All-Stars and then do everything in your power to convince them to stay with your organization. After starting last season with Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, the Nets deftly acquired James Harden in a multi-team trade that sent away an excessive amount of bench talent. The newest Big Three played a bizarre season, taking the court together only a handful of times during the regular season before an injury-prone postseason led to a surprising loss to the Bucks in Game 7 of the Conference Semifinals. While the Nets have invested heavily in encouraging their figurehead players to stay with the franchise, in the long run, the most important decision this offseason was forward Blake Griffin re-signing after being acquired mid-season in 2021. An essential rebounding and post up presence when motivated, Griffin showed glimmers of his former greatness this past season and will likely utilize his stable position on the team to show the league more this year. The Nets have once again positioned themselves as the team to beat, making a rematch with the reigning Bucks a likely and invigorating match-up to anticipate.
The two most storied franchises in the league, the Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics have taken markedly different approaches to better their rosters.
The Celtics, a team that underperformed this past season with an exit from the first round of the playoffs, have pursued minor alterations to their roster that will shore up their weaknesses while creating better chemistry for their perennial stars Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. Two of the biggest trades have been those involving Evan Fournier and Kemba Walker, who are now reunited on the Knicks. Walker was originally traded along with a first-round pick to Oklahoma City in return for former Celtic Al Horford and young center Moses Brown, who was subsequently sent to the Mavericks. Walker, a shifty point guard who has at times resembled a prime Allen Iverson, never capitalized on his talents during his time with the Cs, leading Boston to sign free agent Dennis Schröder of the Lakers as his replacement. Schröder had been a solid point guard with the Lakers, yet his complementary role alongside Celtics’ guard Marcus Smart is hard to assess. Their offensive strengths are rather similar, yet the youth that Schröder provides may be a necessary boon to what is becoming a younger franchise.
The Lakers have been anything but conservative with their respective moves. LA has more closely mirrored the former strategy of the Nets, as they traded away much of their solid youth base. In a deal that sent away Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Montrezl Harrell, and Kyle Kuzma, the Lakers received the aging but revolutionary point guard Russell Westbrook in addition to several second-round picks. Notably, Westbrook is one of the most talented players in the league, with his uncanny ability to rack up triple-doubles like no player has before. His decision to join the LA rebuild is part of LeBron James’ larger networking campaign, wherein the 36-year-old superstar has continually used his leverage as the most prolific player in the league to lobby players and organizations over the course of his career. Dwight Howard also decided to sign with the Lakers after the 76ers were unexpectedly booted out of the playoffs by the Atlanta Hawks; Howard is an aging talent who has rarely been a difference-maker on the handful of teams he has bounced around between since his prime days with the Magic, and there is no sign that will change with the Lakers. Of the two, Westbrook’s presence will definitely be more consequential, though his comprehensive dominance will be diminished due to James’ own offensive abilities. Their weaknesses are noteworthy, yet the Lakers have almost always found success with roster overhauls and might very well do so again.
The multitude of player shuffles is easily overwhelming, yet the large shift within the league has generated several clear realities. The Lakers, despite an embarrassing postseason and now aging roster, have become instant title contenders in the West alongside the dynamic and hungry Suns. Both teams have talent that, on paper, could deliver them a title, and a Western Conference Finals match-up between the two appears to be a near certainty. The East, as it has been in the past few years, is generally more ambiguous when attempting to predict playoff standings, though the Nets appear to be heavy favorites to represent the conference in the Finals. Their three-pronged offensive steamroller has not yet been fully implemented, but their depth and playoff DNA grants them virtually unlimited potential. The teams with the best odds at present are those with an abundance of All-Star talent, yet if the 2021 playoffs taught the basketball world anything, it was that big names don’t guarantee results. The idea of a 22-year-old Trae Young walking through the Eastern Conference was inconceivable only a few months ago, and then it happened. With league parity generating growing uncertainty, even minor player changes involving oft-overlooked teams warrant immense speculation. The 2021 playoffs were the prelude to a new chapter for the NBA, and the movements of this offseason have created new teams that will make the coming season one for the ages.
Niall Calvert can be reached at ncalvert@wesleyan.edu.