A lot of teams made big swings this offseason to try and put themselves in position to get closer to a title. While it’s easy to think about the major part of a transaction, it’s key to remember just how much it can impact an entire roster. How many more options do we have now? Are we stronger on both ends of the floor?
Teams may open doors for questions about fit, but they did it for a reason: We think this is going to outweigh those flaws at the end of the day.
With training camp getting closer and closer — can you believe it? — the challenge of a season is upon us. Let’s break down some of the biggest swings we saw this summer.
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It’s one thing to turn Paul George into Jaylen Brown, but also turning that into LeBron James is the headline. Of course it is; you’re not supposed to be able to add all of that to a team led by Tyrese Maxey and Joel Embiid. What makes this a big swing, though, is the combination of trying to open up a championship window at the same time as attempting to formulate championship talent into a team.
It’s not a new concept or a never-before-seen attempt — we’ve seen unexpected superteams form time and time again — but this one feels loftier. There is something about the specific stage the Sixers’ key pieces are in that I can’t seem to shake (and why I believe it may end up working out).
LeBron’s fit in Philly will be fascinating to watch. (Photo by Hunter Martin/Getty Images)
(Hunter Martin via Getty Images)
The LeBron portion speaks for itself: he wants another championship no matter what Father Time may have to say. Embiid has wanted LeBron to be a Sixer for a long time, and he gets his wish at a moment where he has played less than 40 regular-season games in three straight years in Philly. Say what you want about Brown, but there is zero doubt that he absolutely, positively would like to prove many people wrong. Maxey, meanwhile, continues to grow and can be unlocked with more talent around him.
But how quickly can all of these ingredients start producing a high quality meal?
The Sixers are going to have to use the regular season to figure out what they want to run, when they want to run it, and whom they want to play with whom. How do they want to guard? How many schemes can they execute? In theory, the payoff would come in the playoffs. It’s just such a rare case of a ceiling that you can visualize, but a base that might take some time to settle in. Then again, this is a team that won 45 games last year and now gets to add top-tier talent to make it even better.
The Heat finally put all their chips on the table for Giannis Antetokounmpo. Landing a superstar with that kind of talent is obviously going to elevate your goals, but the swing here is how Miami is adding a player who fits what it’s already known for while adding to what it could become.
The competitive nature of Giannis next to Bam Adebayo should give the Heat a lot of firepower on the defensive end. If one of them is involved in an action, there should be a level of scheme versatility the Heat can tap into while also having one of them on the weakside. If opponents choose not to attack either, both can provide help. That should help balance their lineups, strengthen them come playoff time and put them in a position to not have to rely on zone defense.
Offensively, as Miami has tried to reshape and retool its attack, it’s always found a way to get to pressure points. Whether it’s been ball movement and handoffs or spacing and drive and kick, the Heat have tried to maximize their talent. While there may be questions about playmaking and shooting throughout the roster, Giannis provides something they have had to work to get to: grabbing a defense’s attention.
Whether Giannis is driving or posting up, opposing teams are going to work to show a level of help. That should allow Miami to have catch-and-shoot opportunities or the ability to drive rotations. On top of that, his talents as a screener and ball-handler should put pick-and-roll back on the menu. The fit may have to get ironed out, but the Heat have more things they can get to than in years’ past.
It all points to the fact that Erik Spoelstra has a very specific challenge and a very specific task ahead of him. A lot of his work has been understanding where his team needs to go, and understanding what his roster can do. If the defense is stronger and the offense can hit more pressure points, the Heat could push things along faster than many expect. At least that appears to be the attempt.
It was only a matter of time before things shifted from LeBron to Luka; I’m just not sure any of us were prepared for how fast that shift would come. Before we could fully absorb that LeBron was going elsewhere, the Lakers were already at the grocery store trying to get as many of the ingredients for a Luka Dončić team as possible.
The big swing points to Walker Kessler because of what the Lakers had to give up. You get a big who can roll and who can defend, and that tends to work well with Luka. But if defenses are going to shift coverages, if Luka is going to get two on the ball, if the weakside helps on a roll? You sprinkle in Sandro Mamukelashvili and Quentin Grimes, players who can knock down shots but also can keep an advantage off the bounce. Need more guard play and competitive spirit? Here’s Collin Sexton. Defense? Matisse Thybulle, Ziaire Williams, come on down.
It’s not an apples-to-apples comparison to a Luka Dallas team, but you can see where the inspiration comes from. It also comes with some of the same question marks: What level can the defense hit, and does it have the navigators and effort to help Kessler be as impactful as possible? Will the offense be strong enough to make it work? How many different lineup combinations can they hit?
The swing is to lean into Luka, and pick-and-roll may be their bread and butter, but with more pieces the Lakers could have more movement offensively that benefits the team when Luka is on the bench. With clear roles and expectations, they also know exactly where they will have to get to defensively to prosper. There’s a level of continuity they could find within the roster.
Were the Lakers able to address all of their weaknesses? No. The swing is on making their strength that much better as they try to walk the path of contention.
I have often felt that overachieving is one of the hardest things to manage in the NBA, trying to figure out if your roster is the one that should go to the next part of the journey.
I don’t put the Timberwolves in that category: they had a clear formula that provided success. You don’t go to the Western Conference finals in back-to-back seasons by accident. The tricky part was the work that it took to get there each year and the fact that, maybe, just maybe, that group had reached its ceiling. It felt like a refresh was coming. I just did not know that would mean no more Naz Reid, no more Julius Randle, and hello, LaMelo Ball.
It’s a swing to continue to empower, enhance and build around Anthony Edwards. Adding LaMelo is an upgrade to their guard room. His ability to score, make plays, attack in transition and knock down 3s will help. It also gives Ayo Dosunmu and Jaden McDaniels the opportunity to continue to attack and grow offensively without forcing a level of offensive responsibility. Adding Jonathan Kuminga to a roster that wanted him there has value, too.
If questions exist about Minnesota’s defense, we can be honest they likely were not going away. The Timberwolves will have to hit a certain level to let the transition have its desired effect, but that’s always been a part of the discussion.
For Edwards, there is an ability to continue to grow without having to shoulder every single part of creation. When he’s made quick decisions, when he’s forced defenses to shift through coverages, we’ve seen what the Wolves can do. We’ve also seen how the Thunder and the Spurs have opted to treat them, the ways they mixed coverages to bog the Wolves down, leaving them late in the shot clock trying to find a way. With more attacking and playmaking, I wonder what that looks like. Tim Connelly tends to acquire talent he believes in and Chris Finch tends to form the relationships to get the most out of them. That’s the swing the Wolves are banking on.
The theme has pointed to teams swinging for the fences, trying to do their best to put themselves closer to the championship tier. I try my best to avoid limiting a conversation to just one criteria, and I do believe sometimes you just have to appreciate a swing on talent.
On the surface, being a team that made the playoffs and has added not only Ja Morant but a returning Damian Lillard is interesting. Is there any guarantee this will work? No. Am I mad at those who stamp this with fit questions, defense questions and call it a day? I mean, give it a chance, but I understand. There may be question marks about both Morant and Lillard as they return to the court, but this a swing on opportunity for all parties involved, and that may end up meaning more than anything down the line.
Morant likely sees this as a fresh start; whatever clouds that may have lingered in the past can be replaced by basketball and … well, the traditional rain clouds of Portland. Morant can get downhill, he can get paint touches and he’s joining a team that led the NBA in drives per game at 59.6. For Lillard, it’s not just a return to the game, but a return on his home court. I’d imagine there is a desire to return to joy and remind everyone just has good he was before he tore his Achilles. Jrue Holiday should also allow the Blazers to have a level of versatility with their lineups, so they will have good guard play for 48 minutes a night. If you end up with an ability to move the ball side-to-side, to drive and force defenses to help, to attack in pick-and-roll, there could be more variety offensively.
Sometimes the best opportunities end up being the ones you never thought that much about. Morant and Lillard are in perfect situations to buy-in, and first-time head coach Micah Nori will likely be looking to take full advantage of this opportunity to showcase what he can do. Maybe this doesn’t lift them toward the top-5 of the Western Conference in Year 1, but maybe it opens a path for the Blazers that may not have been available before.
What if the best swing is some version of betting on yourself? We love to throw that around when success comes, but it comes with question marks beforehand.
As big of a move as Boston made in trading Brown for Paul George, was the bet not on the Celtics being able to replicate their winning formula on both ends? For as much disappointment as many have felt about the Nuggets’ offseason, are they not tripling down on Nikola Jokić, Jamal Murray and the offensive machine? The Eastern Conference has had teams swinging left and right, but what about the Pistons trusting their defense and adding shooting?
Ultimately, teams are chasing an opportunity to get to the top and, while that requires ambition, it can work both ways. At the end of the day, only one team gets to be champion, and you have to salute teams trying to put themselves in the best position possible.
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