Sports
Ranking the Wildest NBA Offseasons of the Past Decade – Bleacher Report
When the buzzer sounds on the decisive game of the NBA Finals, basketball fans quickly enter offseason mode.
Sure, no games are happening. But anyone who follows the league throughout the summer months knows that the NBA has plenty of drama happening in late June, July and occasionally into August.
Between the draft, blockbuster trades and a frenzy in free agency, an offseason can reach “off-the-rails” status.
And we love every minute of it.
One important point of clarity is these offseasons aren’t necessarily viewed as productive summers. We’re not remembering the best string of moves around the NBA; we’re focused on the wildest group.
Although the free-agency class proved underwhelming, a sharp $24 million rise in cap space fueled a chaos-filled summer.
Was it smart to spend $64 million Timofey Mozgov? Nope! That didn’t work out. Same applies to $72 million to Luol Deng, $70 million on Evan Turner or $50 million for Miles Plumlee and on and on.
But, friends, NBA executives had newfound money to burn, and they poured some diesel fuel on it.
The headline move belonged to Kevin Durant, who bolted the Oklahoma City Thunder for the Golden State Warriors.
OKC also dealt Serge Ibaka to the Orlando Magic for Victor Oladipo and Domantas Sabonis in a trade that set up fireworks in a future offseason. Al Horford left the Atlanta Hawks for the Boston Celtics, too.
If the NBA Twitter Saga of 2015 means nothing to you, I simply wish I could transfer my memories into your brain.
Because I am literally laughing out loud right now.
Easily the best story from that offseason centered on DeAndre Jordan. After agreeing to a contract with the Dallas Mavericks, the Los Angeles Clippers center began to have second thoughts.
Chandler Parsons, then of the Mavs, tweeted an airplane emoji. Clippers wing J.J. Redick tweeted a car emoji, and Blake Griffin followed with a plane, a helicopter and a car. Chris Paul, in a moment of elite self-awareness while presumably on vacation, sent a banana and a boat.
And then Paul Pierce, the lovable old man, attempted to join the fun—but failed in hilarious fashion with a low-quality image of a rocket.
It was chaos. It was mayhem. It was incredible.
Oh, and LaMarcus Aldridge joined the San Antonio Spurs. That was a pretty big deal at the time. No emojis, though.
Four summers after rejoined the Cleveland Cavaliers, LeBron James again departed his hometown team. This time, he headed out to Hollywood and signed with the Los Angeles Lakers.
Within two weeks, the Spurs acquiesced to Kawhi Leonard’s trade request and shipped him to the Toronto Raptors.
Given that Leonard propelled the Raptors to a title in 2019 and LeBron took the Lakers to a championship in the 2020 Orlando bubble, those two transactions shaped the immediate future of the NBA.
Plus, the Mavericks took a couple of big swings.
Dallas finally signed DeAndre Jordan—no emojis necessary in 2018—and traded draft rights to Trae Young and an additional first-round pick to the Hawks in exchange for Luka Doncic.
Throw in DeMarcus Cousins joining the Golden State Warriors and Tony Parker not re-signing in San Antonio, and 2018 had plenty of drama.
Do you like trades? Oh, buddy, did 2017 have trades.
First, the Los Angeles Clippers dealt Chris Paul to the Houston Rockets. Then, the Indiana Pacers moved Paul George to the Thunder for Oladipo and Sabonis. Rounding out the trio of superstar deals, Kyrie Irving forced his way out of Cleveland to Boston.
And the list goes on.
Each of the Minnesota Timberwolves, Atlanta Hawks and Brooklyn Nets landed a first-round selection in respective trades involving Ricky Rubio, Danilo Gallinari and DeMarre Carroll.
The wildest part is how quickly the trades overshadowed Gordon Hayward picking the Celtics in free agency. Although a gruesome leg injury in his debut ultimately ruined his tenure with Boston, Hayward looked like a rising star in that moment.
For good measure, the Washington Wizards matched a $106.5 million offer sheet for Otto Porter Jr., the New York Knicks tossed $71 million at Tim Hardaway Jr. and the Denver Nuggets picked up Paul Millsap.
No offseason in the decade, however, can compare to this one.
Highlighted by Kevin Durant to the Nets with D’Angelo Russell to Golden State, 2019 became the summer of the sign-and-trade. Jimmy Butler headlined a four-way trade to the Miami Heat, Malcolm Brogdon joined the Pacers and Kemba Walker went to the Celtics.
Take a breath, maybe grab a drink of water and buckle in; we still have the normal trades and free agency to discuss.
Anthony Davis headed to the Lakers for a package that included Brandon Ingram, Lonzo Ball, Josh Hart and more. Mike Conley landed with the Utah Jazz, the Clippers added Paul George and the Rockets and Thunder swapped Chris Paul for Russell Westbrook.
On the open market, Kawhi—fresh off a title in Toronto—signed with the Clippers. Irving and Horford departed Boston for Brooklyn and the Philadelphia 76ers, respectively.
I think we all needed a nap after watching the 2019 offseason unfold.
