After one of its craziest offseason ever, the NBA is back to having seven or eight teams with legitimate chances of taking home an NBA title.
Seemingly, every NBA star has switched jerseys this past season.
As for Western Conference powerhouses, former Pelican and three-time All-NBA center Anthony Davis will be pairing up with Lebron James as Lakers. On the other side of Staples Center will be a new dynamic duo of reigning Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard (acquired via free agency) and Paul George, coming off a career year in which he finished third in MVP voting (acquired via trade, where a historic five first round picks were sent in the deal to Oklahoma City).
Triple-double machine Russell Westbrook was dealt to Houston to pair up with former teammate James Harden, and the Warriors added all-star DeAngelo Russell after losing MVP Kevin Durant.
As for the East, Kemba Walker left the Charlotte Hornets (despite being the franchise-leading point scorer) to head north to Boston. This move was the Celtics’ attempt to replace Kyrie Irving, who went south to Broooklyn to team up with an injured Kevin Durant and DeAndre Jordan.
Due to the formation of several elite basketball teams, the Philadelphia 76ers knew they had to improve. Making moves to improve was not easy though, considering closer Jimmy Butler requested a trade to Miami. The Sixers capitalized on this by performing a sign-and-trade to acquire 26-year-old Josh Richardson, who is expected to start at shooting guard and possibly become the backup point guard. Richardson averaged 16.6 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 4.1 assists last year to go along with 41.2/35.7/86.1 shooting splits. The Tennessee graduate will add valuable defense as well as a midrange game to the team.
But this was not the most surprising move of the offseason, as former Celtic Al Horford signed a four-year, $109 million deal to come to Philly.
Other vital moves during the break included a contract extension to Ben Simmons, resigning Tobias Harris, and adding bench assets like Raul Neto, Trey Burke, and Kyle O’Quinn. Also, the Sixers first-round draft pick Matisse Thybulle seems like a future NBA all-defensive player, and the team hopes he develops into a 3-point shooter.
Overall, the 76ers get an “A” for their offseason.