By Alejandro Menendez and Nico Oliva
As the final buzzer sounded in the TD Garden and the Celtics were crowned NBA champions, the conclusion of the 2023-24 NBA season was upon us. For all 32 NBA teams, this buzzer signified the start of a new season; the beginning of a new race for a championship in the 2024-25 NBA season.
Through the first month of NBA Free Agency, we have seen teams in both conferences improve, some run it back, and others lose talented players.
The East's Best Got Better
In Recent Years, many NBA fans have looked at the Eastern Conference’s arsenal of elite teams as inferior compared to that of the West. On the West Coast you've got teams like the Warriors' who are always in contention, the Nuggets who have a star studded duo with Jokic and Murray, among others who simply had more starpower than the best in the East in the past. But the times seem to be changing.
One of the most improved teams in the Eastern Conference is the New York Knicks. The Knicks are showing they are all in on winning now, after dealing a total of 5 future first round draft picks to the Nets bringing 27 year old Mikal Bridges from Barclays, to the Garden.
Last season the Knicks saw themselves staring at their first conference championship berth in 24 years in Game seven at home against the Pacers. But injuries soon derailed the Knicks hopes for another year. What makes this move so great is that New York managed to re-sign OG Adonoby to a five year extension, along with Jalen Brunson to a four year contract.
New York keeps their Nucleus together, while adding some extra firepower. Look for the Knickerbockers to be fighting for a top seed next year.
Enough of New York, let’s shift over to the city of Brotherly Love, where the 76ers brought back their young star in Tyrese Maxey while adding a 9 time all star to the mix.
Maxey, jumped on to the scene in this year’s playoffs as an up and coming star averaging 29.8 points with 6.8 assists a game in the first round of the playoffs.
But even with Maxey’s efforts in the postseason, a banged up Joel Emmbid and his lack of availability lead to a first round exit, further showing why the 76ers were in need of another top player.
Daryl Morey and the 76ers front office wasted no time, grabbing the biggest name available in Paul George. PG-13, brings veteran experience, something that Philadelphia hasn't had a lot of.
While adding a 20+ points per game scorer to a team on the brink of serious contention is an upgrade, George being 34 and injury riddled throughout his career, and especially as of late, makes a 4 year max contract look like a little too much of a cost for a player this at this stage in their career.
Even after the 76ers spent big money on George, they snagged Caleb Martin from the Heat at an affordable four year 32 million dollar deal. Only time will tell how far these additions can help take the Sixers.
Cavs Stay Put, Are the Heat Dangerously Looming?
When you think of the losers of the offseason you think of those teams who aren't great, and don't make any moves to go in any direction. That's where the Cavs are at right now. After a disappointing 2nd round exit against Boston, Cleveland showed that they lacked the right firepower to play with top dogs in their conference.
Regardless of this, The Land only managed to re-sign Donovan Mitchell, and while locking up their star player for three years is an accomplishment in its own right, this roster does not line up well with the current state of teams like Boston, and the revamped 76ers.
Donovan Mitchell averaged 26 points per game last season at age 27 and it's safe to say that he's just entering his prime. If Cleveland values that, they would be wise to not waste it and go on the market for some necessary upgrades that they have failed to make as of late.
Since Jimmy Butler made his way to South Beach, the Heat haven’t made any big name additions, and they’ve kept that trend going, sort of… They did not sign any new players outside of 35 year old vet Alec Burks, but the team is doing what they do best instead and that is adding players through the draft and scooping up undrafted free agents. One draft addition that shows promise is that of rookie center Kel’el Ware who has been tearing it up in the summer league averaging just over 17 points per game, 8 rebounds, and 2 blocks.
Some undrafted players like Keshad Johnson, who’s size and athleticism jumps off the page and Isaiah Stevens, a shifty point guard who is averaging just over 8 assists per game, are showing why the Heat are so good at what they do and that's finding diamonds in the rough and developing them into quality players in this league. It seems like the Heat are going to be under the radar as usual with no major add ons, but don't be surprised if you see that the Heat on the cusp of contention once again.
Thunder Win the West
Shifting to the west, the Thunder have had a sneaky good offseason that could help them reach that next level. This past season, the Thunder were eliminated in 6 games by the Dallas Mavericks, who would go on to make the NBA Finals.
Although this is not how the Thunder wanted the season to end, this year was far from disappointing for the franchise. The Thunder, boasting the number one seed in the Western Conference and having some of the best young stars in the league such as Shai-Gilgeous Alexander and Jalen Williams, proved that they are going to be dangerous for years to come.
The Thunder have continued to build onto this young roster this offseason by adding players such as Isaiah Hartenstein from the Knicks and Alex Caruso from the Bulls. These solid role players should contribute well to the fiery young core of the Thunder.
In addition to this, the Thunder decided to release Josh Giddey, which seems to have been a smart move as his numbers were in decline last season. But maybe the most important part of the Thunder’s off season is picking up rookie Nikola Topic at pick #12 in the NBA Draft. Topic, a 6’7 Serbian point guard could serve as a useful weapon for the Thunder, especially at the point guard position.
The Oklahoma City Thunder may have had the best offseason in the NBA. They’re already among the youngest teams in the league and are coming off a first-place finish in the West.” Said Bleacher Report’s Andy Bailey, who gave the Thunder an “A” grade for this offseason. Needless to say, after this offseason, the future looks bright in OKC.
The Rest of the West
Besides the Thunder, other teams in the West have made moves to improve their rosters in 2024-25. The Mavericks have added veteran Klay Thompson, who they hope will be able to bring some experience and three point shooting to this roster who came so close to a championship last year. This move is interesting as Klay was a long time member of the Warriors and had much success with them.
This move upset many fans of the game, but it seems to be a good move for both the Warriors and the Mavericks going into the future. Additionally, the San Antonio Spurs acquired veteran Chris Paul from the Warriors. Although this move seems to not be worth more than a glance, it has some value in terms of the development of Victor Wembanyama.
As one of the most hyped up rookies of all time, Wembanyama had a stellar first season, winning Rookie of the Year. But alongside an experienced point guard like Chris Paul, Wemby could be on pace to make a huge jump in terms of his skill as a player in the league.
The Pelicans also acquired Point Guard Dejounte Murray from the Atlanta Hawks, another move that may go overlooked but could be a tremendous help to a Pelicans team that has underperformed.
Conclusion
With teams around the Association finalizing the rosters and putting the finishing touches on their two-way contracts, this NBA free agency period has definitely been an exciting one.
With familiar faces on new teams looking to make an impact and brand new faces just stepping onto the court as a pro for the first time, this upcoming season is one that fans like yourself can definitely look forward to.
Commentaires