Off-season NBA Moves to Keep an Eye On
Complete and utter chaos ensues each and every July within the NBA community. The NBA Finals come and go and then free agency arrives. To see the chaos I speak of look no further than the past two free agency periods. In July of 2015, DeAndre Jordan committed to the Mark Cuban and the Mavericks .... That was until his Clipper teammates barricaded him inside of his own home until he ultimately changed his mind and decided to return to Los Angeles. Then this past summer, Kevin Durant altered the entire NBA landscape as he left one Western Conference power for another. There is no reason to believe that this July will be any different. With that being said, here are three moves that I could see taking place come July.
1. Chris Paul to the Spurs. This potential move is no secret, and in fact, it has been well-documented as a legitimate possibility. Paul, who is 32, has yet to taste even the Conference Finals in his 12-year career. Signing with San Antonio, Paul could revitalize the Spurs, taking over for Tony Parker while also resuscitating LaMarcus Aldridge's game.
2. Steph Curry to the Hornets. On the surface this may seem totally asinine. Why would a player who has had the recent success that Curry has endured leave town? I am not saying that he will, but I certainly wouldn't rule it out. Steph is from North Carolina, he went to Davidson, and still has a home there in the off-season. The reason I think this is possible is that Steph went from being the man in Golden State to playing second fiddle to Kevin Durant. He has already won two MVP's and could have two titles under his belt as well. If he wants to be "the guy" again, what better place to do so than for his hometown team the Charlotte Hornets?
3. Blake Griffin to the Heat. A core of Blake, Hassan Whiteside, and Goran Dragic? Sign me up! While they wouldn't be at Cleveland's level, or even close for that matter, they would make the East a hell of a lot more entertaining. Pat Riley is desperate for a superstar to come to South Beach. I expect for he and the Heat to pursue Gordon Hayward and Danillo Gallinari relentlessly. If they can somehow land Griffin, there's no telling what else Riley might have up his sleeve.
