Stephen Kimball
NBA Insider
The NBA landscape completely changed as the Los Angeles Clippers made the biggest moves in the offseason by Signing Kawhi Leonard and trading for Paul George. The Clippers were pushed by Leonards team to trade for Paul George to pair him with another all-star. This makes the Clippers the instant title favorites for the upcoming season’s championship. The Clippers could be the best defensive team in the entire NBA as they pair Patrick Beverly and Montrezl Harrell with now Kawhi Leonard a former defensive player of the year and Paul George who finished 3rd in the DPOY award this past season. The Clippers were able to do what in town rivals, Lakers, never could by bringing these two stars back home. The Clippers swung for the fences and hit a home run in terms of a team that could mesh and have instant chemistry it will be hard for any team to match the type of energy that they will bring onto the court. With this trade, California will be the main destination for competition in the NBA as the Clippers, Lakers, and Warriors are all heavy title contenders and the Kings are a young team on the rise. It will make the Western Conference even harder to get out of.
The next team that finally decided to make a splash in free agency was the Houston Rockets with such little cap space and a tight team already making a large signing was not something they would be able to do. However, this did not stop them from exploring all potential trade options as they were able to strike a major deal with the Thunder to reconnect James Harden and Russell Westbrook. This Rockets gave up Chris Paul and a gaggle of picks for Westbrook, which is a smart move on the Rockets end as they see the opportunity for a championship by pairing Harden and Westbrook. It gives the Rockets a similar team as they had last season but Westbrook will add more scoring than Chris Paul. Westbrook will also add more durability which has been a problem for Paul as of late. The Duo the Rockets now rollout will be able to compete with any other team in the league.
With these two large moves, it has only cemented that the NBA is now a league of Duos and no longer of super teams. The balance of the NBA is now level as it will be a season full of surprises because even though the Clippers are now the favorite to win the Finals nothing is guaranteed anymore as it was with the Warriors. Be sure to tune in to this next NBA season as it could be the most exciting the NBA world has ever seen.
