The NBA keeps churning out stories whether the teams are playing games or not. Similar to the NFL, there’s always something going on if you wait a couple of weeks. So far, we haven’t had to wait longer than a few days before we had more stuff to talk about. Let’s examine.
The NBA Champion
We can’t start without at least acknowledging the NBA Champs. Oklahoma City pulled out the series in 7 games to win their 1st ever NBA championship. This team was special all season long and they truly deserved to have the right to play for and win a championship. Indiana was a great opponent but after losing their leader Tyrese Haliburton, they didn’t have enough to compete in that Final game. These two weren’t the sexiest of teams but the series brought a level of excitement and intrigue that was needed for a Finals matchup. Congratulations OKC, the 2024-2025 NBA Champions.
The Durant Trade
During the day of game 7 of the Finals, June 22nd, a huge trade actually went down. Kevin Durant was traded to the Houston Rockets. It was inevitible that he was going somewhere after Phoenix underachieved the past two seasons. The transaction is a historic 7 team trade that was just finalized on July 6th. Houston should be a Finals contender with Durant and all the moves they have made since that point. Time will tell. Durant’s teams haven’t fared so well since he left Golden State so I’m a little skeptical.
The NBA Draft
Then came the NBA draft and as expected, Cooper Flagg was drafted with the 1st overall pick to the Dallas Mavericks. There are some other story lines, including the strange Utah Jazz/Ace Bailey storyline, but Flagg is the dominate story here. He gets to play for a team where he doesn’t have to be the best player on the team for a while. He doesn’t even have to be the second or third best player. The Mavs will be able to slot him in the lineup as a starter or a 6th man and bring him along slowly if needed. It will be interesting watching Flagg develop with a team that is expected to compete with the top teams in the Western Conference.
Free Agency
Free Agency is always a big deal, no matter who’s available as an unrestricted free agent. Not only do teams get to sign players to these gigantic contracts that nobody expects, but teams also get to trade for other team’s misfit stars. It’s always fun to message and text with my homeboys about the eye-popping transactions. The Durant trade has been mentioned here already. But here are some other notable moves;
Milwaukee Bucks waive Damain Lilliard to sign Myles Turner.
Naz Reid being a 6th man and still signing for 125 million for thewith Minnesota Timberwolves.
James Harden keeps getting paid handsomely.
Here is a more thorough breakdown by ESPN.
Summer League
And now the Summer League is off and running with the start of the California Classic and the Salt Lake City Summer league games, which started on July 5th. The big tournament, the Las Vegas Classic will start on July 10th. This is the league where all 30 teams are represented and we’ll get our first look at Cooper Flagg against lower level NBA competition.
And this has all happened in the last three weeks! We haven’t had many games but we’ve had plenty of NBA business and action. For us sports junkies, the summer league action should hold us over until the start of the NFL season at the end of July. But for now, I’ll continue to enjoy and keep an eye on what’s going on in the NBA. It’s been another eventful offseason already and I’m sure there’s much more to come. Enjoy the ride.