Narratives: The Most Exciting, Interesting, and Perplexing Storylines of the 2018-2019 NBA Season.
The 2018-2019 NBA regular season is still over 4 months away, but it's already shaping up to be one for the ages. With free-agency winding down, GMs are firing up their trade machines and cap sheets to make the final tweaks to their roster before training camps open up in October. From the LeBron Lakers, to the Kawhi Leonard saga, this NBA season is going to be chalk full of interesting storylines. Here are some of the most interesting narratives to look out for.
The LeBron Lakers
Unless you've been living under a rock these past few weeks, LeBron James agreed to a 4-year, $153 million dollar to take his talents to The City of Angels. Many are calling it a "lifestyle" choice, and even LeBron's agent, Rich Paul, has stated that this move came down to "LeBron doing what he wants". You can say that LeBron is done chasing titles, chasing the ghost of MJ but we all know that to be false.
We've seen a team of rookies take LeBron to 7 in last year's Boston Celtics, and it's hard to imagine LeBron being unable to replicate that success in Los Angeles with young guns in Brandon Ingram, Lonzo Ball and Kyle Kuzma. It's hard to imagine that Magic and Pelinka will roll into the playoffs with the roster as currently constructed, as the dearth of one-year deals should prove to be attractive trade pieces come the Trade Deadline in February. Regardless, whether or not the "LABron" experiment is successful, it should still prove to be one of the most entertaining storylines of this season.
The Battle for The East
The King is Gone, All Hail the King. With the departure of LeBron James, the Eastern Conference, for the first time in roughly 8 years will be up for grabs. Teams such as the Celtics, Pacers, Bucks, and especially the Raptors can all breathe a collective sigh of relief as they finally have a chance to make it out of the East. The question is, who's going to make it?
Boston currently is the most obvious answer, with the rise of young studs Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum, as well as the return of star players Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward make this Boston squad one of the deadliest in the East. However, other teams are vying to take the crown away from the leprechaun, most notably Milwaukee and Indiana, who each have re-tooled their teams this offseason, with the Bucks hiring a top-tier coach in Mike Budenholzer, who may be the key to unlocking Giannis Antetokounmpo maximum potential, and the Pacers adding major depth pieces in Kyle O'Quinn, and Tyreke Evans.
After the departure of Dwane Casey, and the hiring of his former assistant Nick Nurse, the Raptors are looking to re-vamp their team for the umpteenth time, hoping that the long-standing chemistry between Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan is enough to be a Finals contender. Regardless of who makes it out of the East this year, the battle to get there should prove to be an interesting one.
The Kawhi-sis
We are all wondering the same thing. What the hell is going on with Kawhi Leonard and his "group"? This has been a saga that has already been going on since last season, with Kawhi nursing a left quad injury and refusing to return to action, even after being cleared by the Spurs medical staff. After returning for a brief 9-game stint, where he put up less than stellar numbers, Kawhi once again sat out, this time for the rest of the season.
After numerous reports of friction between Kawhi's camp and the Spurs organization, and passive-aggressive comments from long-time Spurs veterans Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker, we have now reached a tipping point in the Kawhi Leonard saga. Kawhi has made it clear he no longer wants to be a Spur, demanding that he be traded before the start of training camp, preferably to one of the two Los Angeles teams. This friction between the two parties could very well drag on into the regular season, and force the Spurs to make a Trade Deadline move, but until then, the Spurs are staying adamant about their demands, and are standing pat, hoping that the prospect of the Super-Max, which no player has yet to turn down, will be enough to bring Kawhi back into the fold. Either way, whether Kawhi continues his career in San Antonio or is moved somewhere else, the Kawhi-sis is the most perplexing story in the NBA.
The Demarcus Cousins Experiment
Demarcus Cousins is a Golden State Warrior. I'll take things I never thought I would have heard for $800 Alex. After a devastating Achilles injury that sidelined Demarcus Cousins for a large chunk of the 2017-2018 season, Boogie declined a larger deal to stay in New Orleans, opting to take the MLE worth about $5.4 million dollars instead of the 2-year $40 million deal that NOLA offered him.
Now say what you will about Boogie's decision, and the impact it will it have on the rest of the league, but one thing is for certain, there's a reason he was available at that price point. Locker room issues aside, a big-man, especially one as lumbering and reliant on athleticism, coming off an Achilles tear doesn't bode well.
However, Golden State is one of, if not the only team, that has the flexibility to make such a high-risk, high-reward move. No other team either needed a center, or felt that taking a gamble on Boogie was worth the risk. Even the Los Angeles Lakers, who as it stands, are currently starting Javale McGee, felt that signing Cousins was too risky. However, if Boogie is able to even be 60% of what we saw pre-injury, then the Warriors will be a force to be reckoned with when he returns to action.
This is also exciting because it has the chance to completely blow up in the Warriors face, with Cousins going back to his locker-room dividing ways and creating a rift within the organization. I'm skeptical on this happening however; Cousins is good friends with Draymond and KD, and have already spent time together as members of Team USA, both during their olympic run, as well their FIBA tournament run in 2014.
NBA narratives are what drive the league. It's what makes us want to tune in night in and night out, and it fuels the analysts, and talking heads. Each year we get a fresh batch of stories to talk about, and this year is no different. The 2018-2019 regular season is still a long ways away, but these narratives have already made themselves known, and they are only going to get more interesting as we get closer to opening night.
