Trade demands, a historic draft year, plus almost 200 new contracts with a total value of almost 4 billion US dollars – the busy NBA summer has ensured that the balance of power in the world’s best basketball league has been shaken up again.
A gigantic basketball, 112 meters high and 157 meters wide, lights up the Las Vegas skyline these days. Not a real basketball, of course, but the outer shell of “The Sphere”, the largest spherical building in the world, near the “Venetian Resort” casino. More than a million LED lights, each the size of a hockey puck, are beaming the National Basketball Association’s message in a blaze of color right now. Like every year, they celebrate the unofficial transition from one season to the next with their Summer League in Nevada. The message here is clear: Bigger! More expensive! Better?
It was a landmark summer for the NBA. Less than a month after the Denver Nuggets surprisingly won their first title in franchise history, the balance of power in the world’s top basketball league has again shifted sharply. What was at the end of May and beginning of June counts for almost nothing anymore. What counts is always only the future. And suddenly it looks completely different than it did a few weeks ago.
Superstars willing to change, a historic draft year, plus almost 200 new contracts totaling almost $4 billion – all of this has ensured that the best teams in the NBA have moved even closer together, today there are more title contenders at the same time there than ever before. Almost half of all 30 clubs have (more or less realistic) championship hopes. The rest are at least optimistic.
That was the intended effect of the new collective agreement, which was ratified at the end of April and came into effect on July 1 for the next seven years. Gone are the days when super-rich owners – the league now calls them “governors” – could squander tens of millions in luxury taxes above the salary cap more or less without consequence in order to chase titles. More parity at the top and bottom, more competition on the floor – regardless of the size of the market or the bank account of the decision-maker, that’s the goal. In this way, the NBA hopes to be able to optimize its product forever and remain competitive in the never-ending struggle for TV, sponsorship and consumer money.
“The rich get richer”
While the two finalists Denver Nuggets and Miami Heat (more on that later), as expected, endured personal plundering of the opponents and consequently had to let some of their rotation players go (Bruce Brown in Denver, Gabe Vincent and Max Strus in Miami) because they were interested Rivals were offered higher salaries, almost every other playoff team was able to strengthen their staff.
The Los Angeles Lakers finally resisted the usual urge to sign the flashiest names regardless of passing accuracy. So instead of chasing after a Russell Westbrook caliber like last year, this time their own free agents like D’Angelo Russell, Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura were kept, and on top of that meaningful role players like Miami’s Vincent were brought in. In this way, one of the two most successful franchises in NBA history wants to maximize the few remaining seasons of the soon-to-be 39-year-old LeBron James. As long as “King James” and Big Man Anthony Davis are healthy, the preseason conference finalist always has a chance.
The only other club to have scooped 17 championships like the Lakers bolstered with the throwing Latvian Kristaps Porzingis – the best available center on the transfer market this summer. The Boston Celtics lost some of their depth and toughness but are aiming for a return to the NBA Finals, where they lost to the Golden State Warriors in 2022, thanks to more varied offense.
The Warriors, led by megastar Stephen Curry, parted ways with team president and general manager Bob Myers (the architect of their four championship teams), but at least kept their foundations intact when they agreed to four more years with defensive specialist Draymond Green. On top of that, the “Dubs” brought in Chris Paul, one of the best point guards in history (via trade with Washington, including for Jordan Poole) and want to attack again.
Paul’s former team, the Phoenix Suns, are among the big winners this offseason after a series of aggressive moves. Not only because they converted Paul into the younger, more dangerous Bradley Beal via a trade with Washington, but also because they almost ideally reinforced the squad, which was peppered with superstars like Kevin Durant and Devin Booker, with seven useful, cheap veterans. New team owner Matt Ishbia is paying a lot for his new toy, but he’s desperate to bring the title to the Arizona desert.
The time of the euros
Phoenix lost in the finals series to the Milwaukee Bucks two years ago. Greek star Giannis Antetokounmpo’s side avoided a sell-out and loss of their aging performers by signing winger Khris Middleton and center Brook Lopez. Both are essential pieces of the puzzle for Wisconsin’s championship aspirations and allow one of the best players in the world to continue playing at the top for the foreseeable future. Antetokounmpo underwent minor knee surgery a few days ago and is in danger of missing the upcoming FIBA World Cup in the Philippines, Indonesia and Japan.
A visibly slimmer and fitter Luka Doncic, who can also set the course for a much more successful season for his Dallas Mavericks than last time, could come up trumps there with Slovenia. The Texans were among the league’s biggest disappointments last season, missing the playoffs entirely a year after reaching the Western Conference Finals. After the contract extension for the enigmatic Kyrie Irving (126 million US dollars for three years) and a series of smart personal additions (Curry’s younger brother Seth – an excellent long-range shooter; the lightning-fast Australian Dante Exum – most recently successful in the Euroleague; Grant Williams – a defensive combo forward) the Mavericks, whose core also includes Maxi Kleber, want to cause a sensation again. The New York Knicks, where Isaiah Hartenstein struggles under the boards, cleverly reinforced with the versatile Donte DiVincenzo.
Two German internationals – Dennis Schröder and Moritz Wagner – were also in focus as free agents. Schroeder left the Lakers for the Toronto Raptors, where he not only signed a more lucrative multi-year deal (two years, $25 million) but also has great chances of a starting role as a replacement for Houston-bound point guard Fred VanVleet. The man from Braunschweig has not held it full-time since the 2020/21 season. At his sixth station since 2020, the 29-year-old is hoping for a little more stability than last time.
Meanwhile, the older of the two Wagner brothers seems to have found a basketball home in Orlando thanks to his rugged, energetic style of play; the Florida team rewarded Moritz’s best season to date with a new two-year contract and a $16 million guarantee. So, alongside the ever-improving Franz and a number of promising talents at the Magic, Moritz will continue to try to make the playoffs for the first time in his career. The club has only been there twice since 2012.
San Antonio also wants to return to the postseason, which the team of coaching veteran Gregg Popovich achieved an incredible 22 times in a row between 1998 and 2019. After three quiet years, thanks to number one pick Victor Wembanyama, things should be spectacular and successful again. The 2.25 meter tall Frenchman with the 2.40 meter wingspan and the ball skills of a guard is described by James himself as an “alien” and is already captivating people thanks to qualities that have never been seen in this form. The very young Spurs will not have anything to do with the title in the coming season. The future clearly belongs to “Wemby” & Co.
Waiting for Lillard and Harden
Although the vast majority of free agents are already off the market and even the one-week moratorium has already passed – teams can only theoretically make agreements with new players for days, officially signing and swapping is only allowed from July 6th – the answer to what is probably the most urgent question is there during this transition period: Where will Damian Lillard and James Harden end up?
Both guards are among the 75 best players of all time honored by the NBA to mark the 75th anniversary of the league. Both guards have made it unmistakably clear to their current clubs, Portland and Philadelphia, that they want to wear different jerseys in the future and expect a trade to another team. A team of your choice, of course. This star airs and sometimes passive-aggressive requests are usually given in in the league because no one wants to mess with the top earners and their increasingly influential power agents. After all, the next jewel is already somewhere in the making, who knows when we will have to negotiate face-to-face again over tens of millions of dollars and the future of entire franchises.
And so not only are all the protagonists gathered in Las Vegas waiting, but fans all over the world are eagerly awaiting the resolution of this double dilemma. Despite his almost 34 years, Harden is still good enough, for example, to transform the LA Clippers from a mediocre team into a serious top team overnight; he desperately wants to return to his hometown of Los Angeles, where he could form a dangerous “Big Three” with Kawhi Leonard and Paul George.
In the end, the all-important man remains Lillard. The seven-time All-Star is the kind of basketball player who can single-handedly decide a championship race. It is certain that the sniper with the crazy threesomes will leave his Trail Blazers after eleven years. His preference – his only preference – is Miami. The team, which, as is well known, only failed in the NBA Finals to Nikola Jokic and Denver, would be one of the absolute favorites for the title right away. If you believe insiders, a deal with the Heat is only a matter of time. It would be the next big transfer sensation – and would turn everything upside down again within seconds. Even before James, Davis, Leonard, George and other high-flyers became free agents in 2024…