We have that and more in Thursday’s NBA newsletter.
Real heads know that the NBA playoffs arethe start of the best part of the basketball calendar, not because the regular season is worthless, but because the playoffs bleed right into NBA draft season, which overlaps with summer trade season, which bleeds right into free agency. Three months of frenetic magic. This season, that sequence fits even better because, in the case of Zion Williamson and Anthony Davis, the draft and the biggest trade chip of the summer are intertwined.
The Finals might also be the unofficial start of free agency on a couple levels. The two biggest free agents -- Kevin Durant and Kawhi Leonard -- are two of the biggest stars in the series. Durant’s camp has credibly claimed that the superstar hasn’t decided what he’s doing yet in free agency yet. Is it at all possible he comes back? Do the Warriors winning or losing in the Finals change that calculus? We all remember Durant saying that he wouldn’t have joined the Warriors in the first place had they won the 2016 championship. Will he decide to stay if the Warriors can’t beat the Raptors, with or without him?
Kawhi has made no commitments whatsoever, and the good people of Toronto say they’d be cool if he decided to leave in free agency, even after this magical run. We can’t pretend to imagine what’s in Kawhi’s head about Los Angeles, about the Raptors, about the next four years of his life. But it’s easy to assume that winning the championship in Toronto would affect Kawhi’s plans and Toronto’s reaction to whatever Leonard decides. So would losing the Finals.
You wonder if the fate of the Warriors in this series might embolden or deter other teams with big ideas, like the Lakers and Rockets. You wonder if an ultimate success for the Raptors might embolden other teams like the Celtics or Sixers to go for it with a rented Anthony Davis.
There’s just a lot on the table over the next six weeks, and it starts unfurling right now.
Rocket the Boat
The great and powerful Woj reports that everything is on the table for the Rockets, including trading Chris Paul. Many are skeptical that Daryl Morey could find a taker for CP3 given the fact that the Point God is three years removed from an All-Star or All-NBA team and making upwards of one-third of the salary cap. But we were all skeptical Morey could pull off a trade for CP3 in the first place, so perhaps some deference on the possibility is in order.
My question is how much this has to do with remixing a challenger to Warriors Western hegemony and how much is about saving money on a team that regressed and looks to be headed in the wrong direction overall. Only time will tell on that.
(Dearest Lakers fandom: it’s eight years late, but how do you feel about trading for CP3 now?)
Links
Game 1 of the NBA Finals is scheduled for 9 p.m. ET on ABC.
ICYMI: I ranked all 30 players on the two NBA Finals rosters. Free Chris Boucher!
Alex Wong on the Raptors fandom coming out of the darkness.
Kelly Dwyer’s Finals preview. Zach Lowe’s Finals preview.
Michael Pina on what these playoffs mean for Pascal Siakam’s future.
Rob Mahoney on Draymond Green’s playoff performance.
Everything you need to know about Drake in the NBA Finals.
In a podcast interview with Chris Haynes, Adam Silver indicates the NBA is looking at its marijuana ban and could change course in the next collective bargaining deal.
Nck Nurse and the art of the head coaching save.
Anthony Davis met with David Griffin. It seems like he still wants to be traded.
Some amazing nuggets in Marc Stein’s piece on Kawhi, including that the Clippers unsuccessfully tried to buy out Nike’s partial ownership of Kawhi’s Klaw logo in an apparent attempt to gift it to the dude they are chasing in free agency.
On the narrative of Kevin Durant’s value to the Warriors.
And finally: Bronny James and Zaire Wade will apparently be teaming up for SoCal basketball powerhouse Sierra Canyon next season. The Lil’ Heatles have arrived!
Be excellent to each other.