Obviously, there’s under a month — and an NBA Finals that has yet to be completed — before free agency begins this summer.
But consider the reported deal between the Brooklyn Nets and Atlanta Hawks the first offseason shot across the bow.
The Nets dealt a couple of first-round picks along with Allen Crabbe and his contract worth $18.5 million in 2019-20 in exchange for forward Taurean Prince and a second-round selection. That frees up enough cap space to have spots for two max salary players, and the news comes just days after a report that Kyrie Irving has interest in joining a promising Nets team.
That sets up this scenario in a few weeks:
That pretty much sums it all up. The arms race that’s about to commence in the NBA just got another contender vying for the big names — Irving, Kevin Durant, Kawhi Leonard, Klay Thompson, Kemba Walker, Jimmy Butler, Tobias Harris, DeMarcus Cousins, and Kris Middleton could ALL be in the mix — who could command big money. And that also includes Anthony Davis, who could be dealt to one of those teams or elsewhere. In the case of the Nets, a decision to sign Irving could result in D’Angelo Russell being available if Brooklyn doesn’t want to pair two ball-dominant guards.
How nuts does that sound? The four teams in the two of the biggest markets have the goods to become powerhouses again, or some of those names could stay put with their current franchises for bigger paydays.
Away we go. This summer is shaping up to be amazing.
