Good morning, I’m Tyler Lauletta. Now that the NBA season is over, we can get to the busiest part of the NBA season—the NBA offseason.
In today’s SI:AM:
🏀Final NBA Mock Draft
🏉Rodgers’ Redemption
🏉Daniels’ Ascent
Next year’s race for the NBA title is already rolling
Less than 48 hours removed from the Oklahoma City Thunder’s claiming of the 2025 NBA championship, teams across the league are already busy gearing up for next year.
The big moves started before the Finals even began, with Kevin Durant getting shipped to the Houston Rockets in a deal that sent Jalen Green, Dillon Brooks, the No. 10 pick in the 2025 NBA draft and five second-round picks to Phoenix in return.
Even before that, Desmond Bane jumped from Memphis to Orlando for a haul that included four first-round picks—once a king’s ransom but now simply the cost of doing business in many NBA trades.
The great reshuffling continued on Monday night, with the Boston Celtics trading Jrue Holiday to Portland in exchange for Anfernee Simons and two second-round picks—a deal that will go a long way toward helping the Celtics drop under the second apron.
This is just the start of what ESPN insider Shams Charania said could be the ‘craziest’ offseason the league has ever seen. Giannis Antetokounmpo could leave the Milwaukee Bucks. The San Antonio Spurs are still likely to add a piece to pair alongside Wemby. And even if the biggest projected trades don’t come to fruition, it’s inevitable that something truly wild will materialize seemingly out of the blue, as the Luka Doncic trade did earlier this year.
It’s not just the also-rans that will be retooling. The Indiana Pacers will have to decide how much of the band to keep together—a decision complicated by Tyrese Haliburton’s injury, which will likely leave him out for most if not all of the 2025–26 campaign. The Oklahoma City Thunder are expected to work on extensions for their trio of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren, and those extensions will necessitate some changes to the periphery of their roster.
Meanwhile, veteran rosters like the Lakers, Warriors and Nuggets are searching to fill out their rotations with players that can help them contend for another championship before their window’s close and a full reset is deemed necessary.
Safe to say, rosters across the NBA are going to look quite different when next season tips off in October. But if this year’s champions can teach us anything, it’s that, in many cases, the side of the blockbuster trade that makes the biggest difference is not the one you might expect.
Thunder general manager Sam Presti built this current team of champions piece by piece, but one of the undeniable turning points that helped shift the fates of Oklahoma City was the team’s 2019 trade of Paul George to the Los Angeles Clippers in exchange for a package that included SGA and a slew of picks, one of which turned into Williams.
While it feels surreal to think about now, Gilgeous-Alexander was probably viewed as the third most important aspect of the deal, behind George and the five first-round picks that the Thunder received in return for him.
There are going to be some ground-shaking deals across the NBA in the coming weeks—the tremors will only get stronger once the draft is completed and teams have a clearer idea of where they stand heading into the new year.
But let this year’s Thunder title be a reminder to teams that we sometimes don’t know the true fallout of a roster decision until years later. This is not necessarily a call for patience—Mavs fans totally have their right to be frustrated with Nico Harrison even if we don’t know what the next four years hold for Dallas—but rather one for consideration. Things in the NBA change faster than any of us would like to admit.
The best of Sports Illustrated
- Cooper Flagg and Dylan Harper are the top two picks in the final SI NBA Mock Draft, but all eyes are on where Rutgers freshman Ace Bailey slides on Wednesday.
- In the latest installment of 32 Teams in 32 Days, the Steelers are banking on veteran quarterback Aaron Rodgers, new weapons like DK Metcalf and a stout defense to break out of a playoff rut and elevate the franchise beyond its recent mediocrity.
- The Minnesota Vikings, fresh off a 14–3 season, are entering a pivotal year as second-year quarterback J.J. McCarthy takes over with a bolstered offensive line and a strong defense led by Brian Flores. Matt Verderame writes in SI's 32 Teams in 32 Days series that McCarthy's development will be the key to realizing the team's championship ambitions.
- In 2022, Jay Monahan held a press conference at the Travelers Championship in response to LIV Golf. Last week, it was announced in Connecticut that he'll step down next year. Max Schreiber writes that the symmetry is stunning.
- Albert Breer discusses how the Commanders are transforming into contenders in 2025, as Jayden Daniels brings poise, leadership and killer preparation, reshaping the team's identity from “hunters” to the hunted.
- Diamondbacks star outfielder Corbin Carroll is headed to the IL with a fractured wrist after a hit-by-pitch scare in Toronto, casting uncertainty over his return and dealing a blow to Arizona’s playoff hopes.
The top five…
…things I saw last night.
5. Let this be a lesson to Emmanuel Acho—never get in a posting war with Kevin Durant.
4. A’ja Wilson and Bam Adebayo need a reality show.
3. Shohei Ohtani’s dog Decoy got his own Yu-Gi-Oh! card. Listen, I love this dog, but these are some awful stats.
2. SGA was pretty sleepy on Good Morning America.
1. Thunder fans sharing this year’s NBA championship with the friends and family that couldn’t be here.
More on Sports Illustrated
This article was originally published on www.si.com as SI:AM | The NBA offseason is already rolling.
