Ever since the Golden State Warriors became the NBA Champions in June, a lot has happened and teams have changed drastically. Some teams made minor changes, while others made major moves to include new players, new coaches, and more. Let’s take a look at everything that has unfolded since June 16th.
NBA Draft
The NBA Draft took place on June 23rd in New York. The Orlando Magic had the first pick and selected Duke forward Paolo Banchero. The Oklahoma City Thunder selected Gonzaga center Chet Holmgren with the second overall pick. With the third overall pick, the Houston Rockets selected Auburn forward Jabari Smith. To close out the top 5 picks, the Sacramento Kings selected Iowa forward Keegan Murray (4th) and the Detroit Pistons selected Purdue guard Jaden Ivey (5th).
Pre-Free Agency
On June 27th, the Brooklyn Nets’ controversial starting point guard Kyrie Irving agreed to his player option for the upcoming season. The Nets star forward Kevin Durant requested a trade on June 30th and this was just a few hours before NBA free agency was set to begin. The Nets got calls and offers but nothing was enough to let go of Durant. Durant wished to be traded to the Miami Heat or the Phoenix Suns. Trade offers started to dwindle by July 20th.
In early August, Durant updated his wishlist with the addition of the Boston Celtics and Toronto Raptors. Durant made an ultimatum to team owner Joe Tsai, that either Durant goes or general manager Sean Marks and coach Steve Nash go. Tsai agreed to do what is best for the team. On August 23rd, the Nets decided to keep Durant and move forward with the team as is.
Free Agency
Many teams made additions or lost players but we’ll focus on the biggest signings and losses that occurred:
- The Boston Celtics signed forward Danilo Gallinari to a two-year deal.
- The Brooklyn Nets signed forward TJ Warren to a one-year deal.
- The Charlotte Hornets signed guard Dennis Smith Jr to a one-year deal.
- The Chicago Bulls signed guard Goran Dragic and center Andre Drummond.
- The Bulls also re-signed star guard Zach Lavine to a five-year deal.
- The Cleveland Cavaliers signed center Robin Lopez to a one-year deal. The Cavaliers also re-signed All-Star guard Darius Garland and veteran guard Ricky Rubio.
- The Dallas Mavericks signed veteran center JaVale McGee to a three-year deal.
- The Los Angeles Clippers signed both veteran point guard John Wall and veteran forward Robert Covington to two-year deals.
- The Los Angeles Lakers signed veteran point guard Dennis Scrhoder to a one-year deal.
- The Memphis Grizzlies extended the contract of star point guard Ja Morant for five more years. The Milwaukee Bucks signed forward Joe Ingles to a one-year deal.
- The Minnesota Timberwolves signed Kyle Anderson, Bryn Forbes, Luka Garza, Eric Paschall, Taurean Prince, and Austin Rivers all to one or two-year deals.
- The New Orleans Pelicans re-signed star forward Zion Williamson to a five-year extension.
- The New York Knicks signed guard Jalen Brunson to a four-year deal.
- The Philadelphia 76ers signed veteran forwards Montrezl Harrell and PJ Tucker to deals.
- The 76ers also re-signed star shooting guard James Harden to a new two-year deal.
- The Phoenix Suns re-signed center Deandre Ayton to a four-year deal and star shooting guard Devin Booker to a four-year contract extension.
- The Portland Trail Blazers re-signed star point guard Damian Lillard to a two-year contract extension.
- The Toronto Raptors signed veteran forward Otto Porter Jr.
- The Utah Jazz signed veteran center Cody Zeller.
- The Washington Wizards signed veteran power forward Taj Gibson to a one-year deal. The Wizards also re-signed star shooting guard Bradley Beal to a five-year contract extension.
Trades
On Draft day, the New York Knicks traded Kemba Walker to the Detroit Pistons, the deal also included the Charlotte Hornets who received four future second round picks and one first round pick. The Pistons received Kemba Walker and Jalen Duran, and the Knicks received a future first round pick.
The day after the Draft, the Houston Rockets traded Christian Wood to the Dallas Mavericks. In return, the Rockets received Sterling Brown, Trey Burke, Marquese Chris, Boban Marjanovic, and Wendell Moore.
The San Antonio Spurs traded All-Star point guard Dejounte Murray to the Atlanta Hawks for Danilo Gallinari and four future draft picks. Gallinari was waived by the Spurs in July. The Denver Nuggets traded Will Barton and Monte Morris to the Washington Wizards for Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Ish Smith.
The Detroit Pistons traded Jerami Grant and Ismael Kamagate to the Portland Trail Blazers for Gabriele Procida and three future draft picks. The Utah Jazz traded All-Star center Rudy Gobert to Minnesota Timberwolves for five players, four first round picks, and a pick swap. Malik Beasley and Patrick Beverley were among those included in the deal for Gobert. The Gobert trade by far has been the biggest trade of this offseason.
The Indiana Pacers traded Malcolm Brogdon to the Boston Celtics for Daniel Theis, Aaron Nesmith, Nik Stauskas, Juwan Morgan, Malik Fitts and a first round pick. The Utah Jazz traded Patrick Beverley to the Los Angeles Lakers for Talen Horton-Tucker and Stanley Johnson.
The second biggest trade of the offseason had to be Donovan Mitchell being traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Cavaliers traded Collin Sexton, Lauri Markkanen, Ochai Agbaji and five future draft picks to the Jazz for Mitchell. This trade of another star player confirmed thoughts that the Utah Jazz are now in full rebuild mode. The Jazz also traded forward Bojan Bogdanovic to the Pistons for Saben Lee and Kelly Olynyk.
Coaching Changes
The Los Angeles Lakers fired head coach Frank Vogel and hired Darvin Ham as their new head coach. The Sacramento Kings fired head coach Luke Walton during the season, then fired his replacement Alvin Gentry after the season and now hired Mike Brown as their next head coach.
The Charlotte Hornets fired head coach James Borrego and hired former Hornets head coach Steve Clifford as his replacement. The Utah Jazz hired Will Hardy as their new head coach, after firing Quin Snyder who had been the Jazz head coach since 2014.
Other News
In some sad basketball news over the summer, the Boston Celtics legendary center Bill Russell died at the age of 88. The NBA announced that Russell’s number 6 would be retired throughout the league and only players that already were wearing the number can continue to wear it.
The Phoenix Suns owner Robert Sarver was suspended for one year and fined $10 million. Sarver was found to have made racist and misogynistic remarks. After the backlash from this, Sarver decided he will sell his share of the team.
Just recently, Boston Celtics head coach Ime Udoka was suspended by the team for one year because of an inappropriate relationship with a staff member. Udoka’s future with the team is uncertain at this time.
The second overall pick by the Oklahoma City Thunder Chet Holmgren injured his foot and will be out for the 2022-23 NBA season. Newly signed Boston Celtics forward Danilo Gallinari tore his ACL while playing for the Italian national team and will miss the entire NBA season.
Milwaukee Bucks All-Star shooting guard Khris Middleton will miss the start of the season with a wrist injury. Chicago Bulls point guard Lonzo Ball will be out to start the season. The Memphis Grizzlies star forward Jaren Jackson Jr will be out until at least January with a broken foot.
Season Predictions
With all the moves this offseason, some teams improved while other declined or stayed the same. The top teams in the East are shaping up to be the Bucks, Heat, Nets, and 76ers. The Celtics could be included but with the Gallinari injury and Udoka suspension they will have a tougher time this season. The Bucks will need some support for Giannis while Middleton is out.
A healthy Heat, Nets, and 76ers might be dangerous to start the season. The Hawks could be a surprise good team in the East and the Knicks could be the surprise team to struggle in the East.
The West has the Warriors, Clippers, Mavericks, Nuggets, and Timberwolves, all teams that could be at the top when the season is over. The Mavericks added some help for Luka Doncic. The Clippers signed John Wall and should have Kawhi Leonard back. The Nuggets should have Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr. back to help Nikola Jokic.
The surprise team could be the New Orleans Pelicans. Zion Williamson should be back healthy to help Brandon Ingram and CJ McCollum. The Utah Jazz are rebuilding so expectations are low, but the Memphis Grizzlies and Phoenix Suns might be good teams that start the season off slow.
The 2022 NBA offseason has been filled with several moves and some drama. The upcoming season will be a memorable one for sure. Teams have improved to be in title contention, while others seem to be building up draft picks for their future.
In just a few days, the NBA regular season will be underway.