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NBA free agency moves fast — and it gets faster each year. Remember “The Decision,” LeBron James’ televised announcement he was heading to Miami 14 years ago? That was on July 8, and it wasn’t until that domino fell that most others followed that summer. Today, in a fast-moving world where teams can negotiate with their own free agents after the season (but before the official start of free agency) and tampering is rampant decisions are made quickly, free agency is done long before July 8. As an executive put it to NBC Sports, free agency is two-thirds done before it officially starts.
With everything happening so fast, fans can be forgiven for missing what new faces are in new places for the 2024-25 NBA season. To catch you up, here are the biggest players to switch teams in the offseason.
Paul George to Philadelphia
Philadelphia decision-maker Daryl Morey pushed all his chips in on a massive bet — he spent years hoarding future cap space to ensure the 76ers would have max cap space in the summer of 2024, allowing him to reshape the roster around his MVP-level center Joel Embiid and fast-rising guard Tyrese Maxey.
That bet paid off when Paul George hit free agency after the Clippers tried to low-ball him (at least from George’s perspective — he said he would have taken less to stay, as Kawhi Leonard did, but he wanted a no-trade clause so they couldn’t just get him for less then move him wherever, and the Clippers wouldn’t give it).
Morey and the 76ers pounced.
Philadelphia now has a Big 3 with Embiid in the paint, George on the wing and Maxey at the point — that’s three All-NBA level players at once. Morey also did a good job getting solid role players around that core (Caleb Martin, Kelly Oubre Jr., Eric Gordon and more) despite limited resources. If Philly can get Embiid and George to the playoffs healthy the 76ers are a legitimate threat to Boston at the top of the East.
Mikal Bridges, Karl-Anthony Towns to New York
New York is coming off its best season since the Carmelo Anthony era, winning 50 games and advancing to the second round of the playoffs. Team president Leon Rose doubled down on that run…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/nba-offseason-moves-2024-players-115000151.html
Author : NBC Sports
Publish date : 2024-10-12 11:50:00
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