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The NBA has already seen a dramatic change in its landscape during this offseason, with the latest move of the bomb being the center of the La stars DeMarcus Cousins' decision to join the Golden State Warriors for a one-year contract Twenty-nine teams were already in pursuit of the Warriors, who have won three titles in their last four years, but now the opportunity to steal a championship seems a little darker.
That being said, a few other names could be finding new teams during the off season, and helping the contenders get closer to the top of the mountain in various ways. We will take a look at three of them below.
Kawhi Leonard
The gap between Kawhi Leonard, a two-time first-team member of the NBA, and the San Antonio Spurs was one of the worst-case scenarios. most outstanding of the 2017-18 season. Leonardo wants to start again in a new city: According to Chris Haynes of ESPN on The Jump (h / t Raj Prashad of Dime Magazine ), "Los Angeles is the favorite destination of Leonard, he will consider Philly, it is the only team from the East Conference that he would consider if they could put together a package. "
On July 1 Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN noted that Leonard wants to be a Laker from Los Angeles.
Focusing on LA, the team does not have many attractive choices down the line, especially considering that the addition of LeBron James will almost certainly make them a much more competitive team. , which in turn drops the Lakers the first round
But the Lakers have an exciting young nucleus in front Brandon Ingram and Kyle Kuzma, in addition to guards Josh Hart and Lonzo Ball, and a combination of this quartet could help to form a good starting point for concluding a deal.
That being said, LA can be better off keeping all three, waiting a year and trying to sign Leonard in free agency: The 27-year-old can withdraw from his contract in the off season. And if a Leonard deal fails, the team can fall back on the fact that they still have this young core of players.
Jordan Schultz of Yahoo Sports provided more clarity on the situation from the Spurs' point of view:
Jordan Schultz @ Schultz_Report
1 GM tells me that #Spurs remains extremely stubborn, not wanting to move even a little – at least not yet – with requests from #Kawhi. SA in unknown territory, could make fun of it if their 27-year-old superstar is unhappy. Just like w / Melo, this could be suitable for the summer … https://t.co/Quvyj3b1Gx
It makes sense that the Spurs are waiting for it because they have all the cards in this situation with Leonard under contract. As long as Leonard is still unhappy with the team in the foreseeable future, the Spurs can wait for him and hope that a team will increase his offer.
Carmelo Anthony joined the Oklahoma City Thunder in an offseason trade last year to help form a new big three alongside Paul George and Russell Westbrook.
While Oklahoma City was dealing injuries throughout The Thunder has lost in the first round of the playoffs in six games against Utah Jazz and has improved only in the last four games. a regular season victory over the previous year.
Anthony looked like a strange man at times, as the 10-time All-Star fought in his 15th NBA campaign. He had a low number of career points (16.2 points per game) and shots (40.4%). Part of this could probably be attributed to the fact that Anthony is at the back of his stellar career, although the team never really developed the chemistry needed to go further in the playoffs.
Looks like Anthony and Thunder are looking towards new ways, Adrian Wojnarowski and Royce Young of ESPN have reported that "the two parties will separate this summer". They also noted that "the Houston Rockets, Miami Heat and Los Angeles Lakers are among several teams likely to express their interest in (Anthony)."
Schultz also provided more information on a potential Lakers-Melo partnership:
Jordan Schultz @ Schultz_Report
Source close to Carmelo Anthony says that the #Lakers are the # 39, one of Melo's favorite destinations, and that he has a good chance of finally playing with #LeBron. Also keep in mind that Carmelo owns a home in Los Angeles.
Miami is an intriguing possibility because Anthony would again have the chance to be the leading scorer of a team. Heat point guard Goran Dragic led the team with 17.3 points per game last year, but Miami could use another marker that can play one or more than 20 consistently.
On paper, the heat seems to be the best. The Lakers build around their young talent and / or Leonard join their team, and the Rockets are built around the three-pointer, which has never really been Melo's fort (he fired 34.7 percent for his career beyond the bow).
Kevin Love
The Cleveland Cavaliers enter a new era while LeBron James has retired from his contract and joined the Los Angeles Lakers during the off season
. of what the Cavs are going to do with their All-Star, a great man, Kevin Love, who could hypothetically be treated as the team seeks to rebuild and start a new era
Per Terry Pluto de [19659029] The Plain Dealer ] an NBA executive thinks that Love will be in the team early in the season, noting that "he will be in greater demand during the season from here the date trading limit. "
The executive also added that "Kevin could have a very good year for the Cavs being the focal point of the attack, he's a talented player."
Love comes out of its most effective season since the 2013-14 campaign, while it's got an efficiency rating of 22.4 players. For the season, the 29-year-old scored 17.6 points per game with 9.3 rebounds. He shot 45.8 percent from the field and 41.5 percent from the three-point range.
In the end, what the executive says makes sense: Although the best bet of the Cavs is probably to move the love and look to the future , teams may be willing to process further by the deadline. Some teams may face unfortunate frontal injuries and need reinforcements. In addition, rival teams might covet another player to help him overcome the bump and further in the playoffs.
That being said, it is difficult to see love in Cleveland much longer. undergo a complete reconstruction and acquire young hopes and draft picks.
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